The Curse Of Modern Technology

Remember the TV commercial for some cell phone company that was showing how human reactions to what is said, or is not said, depends very much on what message is received, or not received? That's pretty much what has been happening during the past four days between me and Joni, the person I am to share office space with in Edgerton. I had already pulled the plug in my mind, and I made contact with Joni's competition to examine the possibilities there. Then suddenly this morning I received a phone call from Joni saying that she had placed the ad in the local paper about me joining her office, and the reporter wanted to interview me for an article. WHAT??? Here is the same person I hadn't heard from in 12 days, who never returned my phone calls. And now she's acting as though everything is just peachy? Hmmmmm! When I called her back and wondered what was up, she asked me if I had received the phone messages she had left on my cell phone both Thursday AND Friday. I received neither, thus she was very surprised by my reaction when I called her back today.

After we figured out a way to get around this glitch so that neither of us thinks the other has dropped the ball and lost interest, we proceeded to make plans for opening day. The ad for me in the Edgerton area newspaper will start running THIS Wednesday, and my first day actually working there, provided somebody calls and sets an appointment, will be next Wednesday the 18th. Wow, what a turn-around! And once again I am looking forward to a regular breakfast stop at Emma Krumbee's. Once again I look forward to seeing those windmills dot the countryside as I drive into town. The sun has risen on Edgerton! Whew!

Oh, and regarding my conversation with Dr. Graber, my new "competition," I found out all about his game plan. I guess this curse of technology was meant to be JUST so I can find out what this guy is up to -- and figure out a way to outmaneuver him. I don't see him as competition, though. In reality, there aren't ENOUGH chiropractors in the world. There just aren't enough people going to chiropractors, and there aren't enough people who are educated to the fact that chiropractic is all about optimal wellness and not just relieving back pain. Perhaps in the future it would be great for Dr. Graber and I to cohort. However, from learning a bit more about him I will say that the way we treat our patients vastly differ. He uses physiotherapy machines to zap and prod his patients. I use my hands to correct their subluxations and help them HEAL.

Another Thought On Edgerton

So Joni, who appeared to be quite interested, suddenly changed her mind without telling me. After saying how excited she was and that she would do all this advertising and even make up new business cards for me, she is no longer answering my e-mails or returning my phone calls. But let's look at the other side of it all -- she certainly was not all smily and friendly. She was very businesslike, and she kept referring to her "competition" who suddenly moved into town, that being a salon up the street, who she seemed determined to undermine. So, in the end, it all seemed like one big territorial war for her. Add to that the fact that she said, for whatever reason I have no idea, that the massage therapist that shared her little place with her was not happy there and wanted to be on her own. Oh well. I guess nothing was lost after all.

Now let's look at another situation. There IS a chiropractor in town, and he only works eight hours a week, two mornings a week. His main office is in Fulda, which is about 30 miles away, and Edgerton is his satellite office. His office is located inside that very salon that Joni was afraid would pull all her massage business from her because they have a massage therapist there too. So, what do you think my next step is if I want to keep this Rural Minnesota Chiropractic Initiative alive? Well, I'm no dummy. It dawned on me tonight that I should give this chiropractor a call and see if he wouldn't mind having me share the space with him in the afternoon hours. If he's okay with it, I am sure he will refer me to talk to the owner of the salon. I am all for that. This MAY be my chance to still open shop in Edgerton. If not, then it's on to the next town.

One thing Joni said when I was at her place was, "Don't go running off to those guys," referring to her salon competition. My answer was, "Nooooo. To me it's all about loyalty." I am a loyal person. When I find someone who is willing to give me a thumbs up or a cause that is worth fighting for, I'm ALL for it, and I'll come out with all barrels loaded. Apparently Joni's barrels were empty. And now it's time for me to take my loyalty elsewhere. That's the way it goes in life, and ESPECIALLY in business! Loyalty doesn't really exist these days when it comes to making a buck. It might have in the "old days". But the "new" days are "me first" days, and loyalty is a very antiquated, and practically dead, concept. Let's see where my new idea leads.

The Rural Minnesota Chiropractic Initiative

The title of this post is what I call my effort to bring my services to underserved areas of Minnesota. The remainder of this post is actually a re-post of my progress that I wrote this past Thursday in my Facebook notes. I will also attempt to post the same cute picture that I posted there as well:

My chiropractor, Dr. Joe Donahoe in Roseville, MN, told me that if I wanted to be very successful in my practice that I should look for a town out in the middle of nowhere. So, being the audie that I am, I decided to do that in a very methodical way. Using the criteria that a zip code had to have no chiropractors listed in it, according to the Minnesota Board of Chiropractic's list, AND no chiropractors listed in all the adjacent zip codes, I cam up with a list of 40 towns. While the closest of those towns is 118 miles from where I live here in Richfield, MN, I chose to seek out the more populated towns instead. Redby came out on top, but I didn't find any info on the place anywhere. So, next on the list was Edgerton. But according to the latest census, Edgerton is actually bigger than Redby. Not only that, I did find business listings and a whole bunch of stuff on the city of Edgerton.

I found one massage therapist listed in Edgerton, so it was obvious where I would start in my search to open a new door. Her name is Joni, and I've been in contact with her by e-mail for about a month before actually making the trip to Edgerton to visit her yesterday. The trip was exactly 196 miles from where I live to her office. Edgerton is right on the "edge" of the Minnesota state line, just before you cross over into South Dakota, and is located in Pipestone County. The drive was long and boring. Once I got outside of Bloomington, I saw nothing but wheat fields as far as the eye could see for the ENTIRE trip! I did stop at Minnesota's famous Emma Krumbee's restaurant in Belle Plaine to have breakfast on the way there. What I saw RIGHT before I got into Edgerton was indeed a sight to see -- HUNDREDS of windmills dotted the landscape for as far as you could see! WOW!

Joni and I came up with a business plan. For now, my office hours in Edgerton will be from 3-10 PM on Wednesdays and Thursdays. But if nobody signs up on a particular day, I won't drive all the way there for nothing. Joni will do all the advertising and setting appointments for me. That sounds like a pretty neat arrangement, and I pay her a percentage instead of a flat rent. Pretty cool! Also, the next closest chiropractors to town is 17 miles away in Pipestone or 21 miles away in Luverne. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this pans out.

So the plan is that I will travel down there on a Tuesday night if I have patients scheduled for Wednesday, and I will drive back to the Cities on Thursday night, assuming I have patients scheduled on Thursday as well. It is a 3-1/2 hour drive. Yesterday I drove down and back all in the same day, and that way definitely too much! Then I would work at the Guthrie, like I have been, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. The job at the Guthrie, and with Mill City Security, will stay unless things get SO busy in Edgerton that I end up increasing my hours there.

Sure it would be a bit of a strain with Bianca and I not seeing each other for a couple days. But she did suggest a while ago that I look for work elsewhere since nothing is panning out here in the Cities. So, that's what I am doing here. Although Austin, Texas WOULD be a nice change! (haha) Besides, I have come to accept the fact that I am a MINNESOTAN now, and I better get darn used to this winter crappy weather. I've become accustomed to living in the constant below-freezing weather. But it is when the temperature drops below 10 above zero that things start to get unbearable, and I start screaming that I need to get out of this place. Oh well. C'est la vie!

The Meaning Of "Spirituality"

When I tell people that I diverted from my Roman Catholic background and was ordained as a "ULC" minister, I get all kinds of reactions. Most people are confused as to what that actually means. The term "ULC" has become standard for ANY type of minister who has obtained their credentials through making an online donation to a church that gives them a piece of paper or one who has completed correspondence coursework to obtain their ordination. In proper, "ULC" stands for the Universal Life Church, who originally started this trend back in the 1950s. Now there are many different variations of the ULC concept, and everyone that follows it is lumped into the "ULC" category. But what is this "ULC" religion anyway? While many ULC-type churches may pass themselves off as Christian, their basic creed is spiritual in nature. For example, the Universal Life Church itself adopted the creed "Do only that which is right." When I start discussing spirituality as a way of believing, people get even more confused. So, that is my topic for this discussion.

When I taught my Intro to Spirituality classes, one of the first things I said to open the class was, "No matter what religion you are, you can still be a spiritual person." Spirituality, in and of itself, is NOT a religion. Far too many people confuse it with some type of new age practice or a system of non-religious living. It is neither of those, yet if somebody follows either of those, they too can be spiritual. Spirituality simply means being connected to the Divine Source. Dr. Wayne Dyer does an excellent job at describing this connection in his book "The Power Of Intention," and I will not try to repeat his words here. Religion, on the other hand, is a disciplined approach to practicing one's spirituality.

How many Catholics, Muslims, Jews, atheists, New Agers, and Buddhists do you know that are very happy? How many people from these same religions do you know that are miserable? Wouldn't you say that the number is about the same? Why is that? They certainly have different religions, so we can't say that it is the religion, can we? Indeed not. Some people are connected to the Divine Source, eg Spiritual, while others feel disconnected and lost and are therefore not Spiritual. It's just that simple. No other explanations are needed.

People sometimes ask me how can they tell if they are connected or not. The first question I ask them is if they see the glass as being half empty or half full. If a person can stop, even in the middle of a moment of sadness, and see beauty in the sunset, then they are connected. If a person can grasp the fact that the entire universe is interconnected by the power of the Divine Source, they are Spiritual. They do not need to be taught anything else.

People are disconnected if:

- they think that their religion is better than anyone else's
- they love their family but they hate their neighbor
- they feel wounded and hopeless
- they think that ALL Muslims are terrorists and ALL Christians are superior (or insert your religions here)
- they think the word "om" is the name of a Hindu god that needs to be despised
- they think such things as energy healing and meditation are "the devil's work"
- they think that The Holy Bible, the Koran, (or enter your religion's scriptural text here) is absolute law
- they base their self-worth on how much money they make

And I am sure I can think of hundreds of other examples. On the other hand, people are connected to the Divine Source if:

- they see only equality in all people that they meet
- they see the Light of God before they actually see the person in front of them
- they feel love in their heart that NEVER wanes, no matter what
- they teach their children to play fairly with the children in their school who may be of a different race, nationality, or religion, and to treat them respectfully
- they take time out to pray or meditate regularly
- they are hopeful and joyful
- they spread their love and joy to others through their words and actions
- they shy away from gossip, greed, and discrimination
- they can look at the evils in the world, feel sad, and know that it is not their place to feel hateful because of it

Again I can think of many other examples.

I know that I left a lot of room for people to inquire, "Well, what about if (insert your dilemma here)." That's just the point -- get rid of the dilemmas in your mind and just BE. You will be connected, and you will be Spiritual.

Rural Chiropractic

I just completed a huge project that took me several weeks to complete. It was inspired by my chiropractor, who recently shared with me the plight of a chiropractor he knows very well. This chiropractor moved from a small town in western Minnesota, where he had a hugely successful practice, to the big city. Now that he is in Roseville, just north of downtown Minneapolis, he is struggling like never before to even have somebody give him any credibility. That sounds all too familiar. My chiropractor suggested that maybe the thing for me to do would be to open up shop in a small rural town. That set the wheels in motion for me to make a study of the entire state to find possible places to go.

Now I had been in a small town in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. There were 25,000 people in the city, and 25 chiropractors who were all struggling for the most part. I certainly didn't want a repeat of that situation. Therefore, I set very specific rules for what a prospective town had to have. (Remember, as an audie I thrive on making rules!) I investigated the possibilities by zip code. Not only could there not be a single chiropractor in the zip code. There could not be a single chiropractor in any of the zip codes that border that zip code. I found a great online zip code map, and I looked in chiropractic directories to double-check. In the end, I had a list of 40 zip codes throughout the state that met the criteria. The closest one, though, is 89.4 miles away from my own zip code. So if I do end up in a rural place, I certainly won't be commuting every day!

Then, after looking at populations, I chose what appears to be the most populated of these 40 towns. I say "appears" because different sources give different populations. The most populated, thusfar, appears to be Edgerton, Minnesota. The actual town is 197 miles from my home in Richfield. Just before I began writing this post, I gathered a list, although quite small, of potential businesses I may want to partner up with, eg massage therapists. I WILL be contacting them very soon.

On that note, tomorrow I will be taking care of my first new patient since October. I am excited about that, and so is my new patient. Tomorrow also will begin my hopeful venture into becoming a community activist. In 46 years, I have never felt as though any one place I've ever been was "home". Now that my wife and I are settled somewhere, now that we own a home and are set in our careers (at least she is), I figure it's time to start getting involved in the community. I will be dropping by the Richfield City Hall to hand them my application to be part of either its Advisory Board of Health or one of its other seven commissions. My first choice is to be on its Civil Service Commission, since this field is where I spent twelve good years of my life when I still lived in Pennsylvania.

I have been setting stages lately. Stay tuned for the opening act!

Audie Or Not?

I see that the neuropsychologist who did my in-depth evaluation said that I DO NOT display behavior typical of someone who has an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. BUT, I found THIS: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/autism/complete-publication.shtml . This is an article right from the National Institute of Health which states that Autistic Spectrum Disorders are indeed part of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (which is what I have). So, even though I don't have "autism" per se, I am darn near close to it. It is not unusual that I identified so very closely with Sean Barron and a lot with Dr. Temple Grandin as I read their stories. I think like them, and I act like them. There is very little difference. I just wanted to make that note before I go to bed. I just spent all night doing one of my audie things -- studying all the zip codes in the state of Minnesota, but for a particular reason which I'll talk about next time. Good night.

The Year Of The Hero

It's 2009. The economy is very bad all over the world. Jobs are being lost. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Nonprofits are feeling the burn too as donations are dwindling. Sounds pretty bad, huh? I'm feeling the pinch too since my hours are being cut back at my security job, since the theater I work at is losing some of its funding. But, alas, there is some hope on the horizon. This will be the "year of the hero." One thing to look for are news bits about people who do good things. Such reports will give us all encouragement and hope that there really are good people in this world and some good things going on. Take for example the pilot whose expertise and skill saved the lives of 155 people as he safely landed an airplane in the Hudson River. There will be many more stories of heroes to come in 2009. I can feel it.

Let's look at another American hero. Now I never really discuss my political views. I won't even say if I voted for Barack Obama or not. But I will say this -- he is a hero to many. Who knows how he will be as President of the United States of America. That remains to be seen. But the fact is that he has already lifted many heads. No longer is a person's race a limitation. No longer is a person's economic status a lifelong cross. Barriers have been broken. What is even more fantastic to see is that the festivities surrounding Barack Obama's inauguration fall on the same weekend as the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. What a wonderful way to bring a message full circle! I consider it a very big deal that Barack pays so much homage to Abraham Lincoln, the very president who started the whole freedom movement for minorities. (But you have to admit, though, that Abraham Lincoln WAS a Republican.) I get goosebumps to think that a man who just 143 years ago would have been hung from a tree for disobeying a white man is now the leader of the nation. We have certainly evolved, spiritually, as a people! We must keep in mind, though, that there are those who would rather keep the mindset that existed 143 years ago, and thus we still have problems.

Dr. Wayne Dyer says in his book "The Power Of Intention" that there are just enough spiritually sound people in the world to counteract the negativity being put out by the hateful. So, instead of just seeing the damage being done by people who want to cheat, people who want to attack America, liars who serve in high positions, and even more liars who want to push an agenda, we can turn our attention to the fact that there are also people in the world who are doing much good. I believe that this is why you will hear about such people in news reports in the months to come. We need hope, and we need these people to turn to. The best of these people will not follow a particular ideology, religious belief, political agenda, or fit a particular social norm. They will appeal to ALL people, and the message will be universal. You will know them when you meet them or hear about them because they will touch your heart, and you will feel goosebumps when they speak. And how will you know that they aren't just wolves dressed as lambs? That's where gut instincts come into play. Use them wisely, and LISTEN to them. You do have that ability to be discerning. And you DO have the ability to be somebody's hero.