By Dr. Thomas Lamar
Columnist

The developer of the chiropractic profession, BJ Palmer, used to imprint upon the walls of his office: “Expect Miracles.” Why? Because we chiropractors are afforded a front row seat to witness them everyday as we serve our patients. It’s pretty amazing! But it’s greater than you might think.

Fantastic and seemingly unbelievable things happen when one’s nervous system is freed of life-robbing interference with a spinal adjustment.

At the risk of sounding like a snake-oil salesman, it’s not uncommon to see chronic pain and headaches relieve, constipation issues clear, digestive difficulties dissipate, asthmatic problems recede, sleeping troubles improve, and moods elevate.

It’s hard to know exactly what will happen when one’s Life Power is restored and allowed to flow freely. Sometimes, these changes are instantaneous. Sometimes, they are a process. Either way, for doctor and patient, they’ve had the privilege of watching a miracle manifest.

We like to label these — as Dr. Eric Plasker, author of the “100 Year Lifestyle,” has aptly described — “Loud Miracles.” These are the types of miracles that everyone talks about. They are shared with friends, family, and anyone who will listen. These are the types of miracles that find themselves in the testimonial section of the chiropractic office newsletter. These are the types of miracles that humble the chiropractor who doubts.

But there is another type of miracle that happens in a chiropractor’s office that is often overlooked and not given credit, and that is what Plasker refers to as the “Silent Miracle.”

Silent Miracles are the “non-story.” They miss the headlines of the newsletter and are not shared on Facebook. They can be so stealth that even the recipient ignores their presence, and the chiropractor needs reminding. But in reality, they are the greater of the two.

When one is the recipient of a Loud Miracle, a “shift” sometimes occurs. That shift is the realization that chiropractic adjustments are not for headaches, low back pain, sciatica, or any type of chronic condition — but rather something you do to stay healthy. It happens when one begins to utilize chiropractic not as an analgesic — or even as a form of prevention, for that matter — but as something that supplies the body’s innate capacity to heal, regenerate, and optimally function

By maintaining a nervous system free of interference, the body is simply able to carry forth its intended function of peak health through its encoded ability to self heal and self regulate. And when the body is able to do that regularly, a Silent Miracle occurs.

Unfortunately human nature, coupled with our over-stressed and busy, burdened lives, tends to divert our attention and focus away from these sweet and silent miracles and forces us to triage the “loud” things that capture our attention. Throngs of people have adopted lifestyles of healthy living — finding themselves in the best shape of their lives — but were forced to do so because of a heart attack.  Why is it that our lifestyles are so far off course that we need to almost die in order to truly live?

Why is it that so many of us desperately require a “Loud Miracle” for positive change to ensue? How would our lives be different if we skipped the “need” for this type of intervention and made the “shift” because we wanted to? Because by embracing the wisdom of living a lifestyle that enables our bodies to excel and operate free of interference, we begin to experience a life of “Silent Miracles”: a life in which we’d come to know, appreciate, and “Expect Miracles.”

— Dr. Thomas R. Lamar is a chiropractor at Anchor Chiropractic in the Health Services Center and hosts the Internet radio program SpinalColumnRadio.com.  Lamar can be reached at 360-297-8111.