Fellow Journeyers on the Principled Path

By Dr. Stew Bittman

My 48th trip around the sun began the other day (i.e. my 47th birthday has come and gone), and it coincided with the 2nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks. My birthday is now “Patriot’s Day.” It’s a little strange to see the flags at half-mast on one’s day to celebrate life, and I wish the date had not become so immediately and inextricably linked with the event, but so it goes. And undoubtedly for a reason. Maybe I’m crazy or naive or just plain ornery, but I believe in the principle of chiropractic and its affirmation of the balance and perfection in the universe, even when it applies to tragedies. So there must be a reason, and there must be some good. One of the gifts I’ve already noticed is the incredible number of folks I’ve met who share the same birthday. Prior to 2001, I’d only known a handful. (I spoke at the Unity Church a few weeks ago and mentioned my now-famous birthday, and someone came up to me afterward to tell me he was also born on that date, in 1933. He agreed with me that it was never really a great date for a birthday anyway, as it was always around the first day of school.) And there’s a much more vital gift I’ve also noticed: my birthday now reminds me, more than ever, of the importance of my mission.

The world doesn’t appear to be awakening from its deep sleep quickly enough. We continue to react to things instead of changing from the inside out. Every day brings excuses for hopelessness and despair. But I’m not buying into it. Every day also brings opportunities for growth and new choices. Every day brings reasons for joy and love. Every day brings new angels into my life. Every day brings possibilities to heal my own wounds of war; to shed the illusions of separateness and “being right” that fertilize the soil from which hatred and war arise. Yes, my birthday now stands as a vivid reminder to become zero, and to allow my life to become my message.

The Universe is One. One Spirit, One Mind; one person, one moment, one adjustment. I cannot add to it, certainly not with my ego and my belief systems. They always base their inane and insane desires on a microscopic speck of the big picture. They only serve to separate me from the One, and thereby subtract from It. When I endeavor to become more than zero, more than Innate, more than what I truly am, I help to create all the things we have in such abundance on this planet that I don’t want. So, I realize that I must continue to work toward becoming zero, so my unique song can bring its indispensable note to the One Song that is this uni-verse. I must continue to work toward remembering, in each moment, that I need not be attached because I’m already connected. I must continue to work toward True Present Time, toward love, toward my deepest center where Innate lives, and where I and the Father are One.

Chiropractic’s birthday is exactly 7 days after mine, and I believe the lessons for it are the same. Chiropractic needs a born again experience, and the rebirth begins in your heart and mine. You and I have been prepared to be the midwives for this birth, which should be as eagerly anticipated as any other in the past 2000 years, because it would mean the rebirth of humankind’s connection to the divine consciousness within us all. You and I are the shepherds and the wise men and women. And we have a responsibility to make choices in our own lives with the full awareness that our lives are our message. To make choices as if the world depended it. It does. With each birthday, my choices and my responsibilities become more critical. And though part of me longs for the days when my biggest choice was whether to roll a joint or use the bong, I’m OK with the change, because each trip around the sun brings more clarity, more peace, and more fulfillment. Thanks again for joining me on this trip.

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Dr. Stew Bittman maintains a box practice in South Lake Tahoe, CA along his wife Hillary and daughter Ari. He has a video, “The Mission of Chiropractic” that is available for purchase through Planet Chiropractic. In this video, recorded at one of his weekly evening talks, Stew communicates the big picture of chiropractic – the ability to express our life’s full potential free from interference.

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