People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof, but on the basis of what they find attractive. - Blaise Pascal

I've had 2 instances in my life that made me stop and question my beliefs. The first one was when I hurt my back. I was just playing volleyball and instantaneously my back went into a crippling spasm. I spent the whole night on the floor (literally I couldn't get into bed).

I was 21 and thought I could do anything. I could do anything, until that day. It was so humbling. Heck, I'd even broken my leg 7 years earlier and that didn't phase me like this back pain. I think it was because I was debilitated. I realized I could be taken down at a moments notice.

That chiropractor changed my life forever. I saw scoliosis, I had been accumulating for years and didn't know it. I changed my behavior and I've had adjustments almost weekly ever since. I didn't know what I didn't know. My beliefs about myself, life, and health were completely upended.

The other time, I was sitting in a lecture and the speaker was talking about how destructive soy products are. I was drinking soy milk at the time and buying American made tofu.

What?

My ears perked up because someone was challenging my beliefs. At the break, the guy behind me confirmed what she said with a scholarly tone of voice. After doing my own research, I quit taking soy products of any kind.

I'll bet when you think about your life, you can find instances like that where someone melts your mind.

Over the last 20 years, "truth" has been a quest of mine. As a chiropractor, I get to see a constant stream of lies and misdirection from the health care "business" industry.

The truth can be elusive because your beliefs can create a filter for your mind.

I'll give you an example. Where do we see evidence needed most? In a court case, right? Each side, piles up their own facts and a jury or judge makes the call on who's right.

Back in 1987, a trial between the chiropractors and the AMA concluded. (The Wilks case) The AMA was guilty of conspiracy against chiropractors. Crazy right. They had a committee with one job, to smear chiropractors. For decades that propaganda hurt people. People still "believe" the propaganda, even though the mountain of evidence says otherwise.

So where do your beliefs come from?

The first place is your parents, then maybe your friends, and society in general. You might have a church leader thrown in there. Now it starts to get more interesting, i.e...things that Blaise Pascal was talking about in the beginning. Things you find attractive, peaceful, and give you comfort.

Are those really good reasons to believe something?

Just because triple brownie fudge ice cream makes you feel amazing, is it true that it's good for you?

Just because your parents taught you that a certain race of people are evil, does that make it true?

Just because heroin can make you feel great, is it true that it must be good for you?

How you feel about something isn't a great way to decide if it's true. If you believe something that isn't true, it can kill you. The truth protects you. If you keep shooting heroin into your veins, you'll eventually die.

The truth may hurt if you challenge it. If you like standing in the street, sooner or later when a bus hits you, the true pain of physics will be revealed.

I have believed many lies over my life. Now, to me, finding truth is an adventure. Here is a way to evaluate something that challenges you.

Truth: is true 100% of the time, for all people. Truth is timeless and absolute. Truth exists whether we believe it or not.

The earth was still round even when people believed the world was flat.

If you feel something is true for you and someone comes along and says they believe the opposite, by simple definition, you both can't be right.

You can believe something different from someone else, but you can't have two different truths.

Why is this so important? Who cares if things are true or not?

Discovering the truth will help protect you in life. If you hold onto false beliefs, you will be lead down many false paths in life.

For example, I have "discovered" 100% of patients tested have aluminum in their bodies at a toxic levels, myself included. Now, if someone comes along and shows me one person without it, I should, and will change my belief.

Aluminum is a neurotoxin and the primary cause of Alzheimer's. If I believe it's no big deal and harmless then I'll suffer the consequences over time.

Pain is another one. Do you believe pain is a signal that something is wrong? Is that true for 100% of normal humans? There are a few people born without pain sensations, but that's not normal. If you just suppress pain and don't investigate the cause you are traveling down a false path. Whether you believe it or not. The truth that pain is a signal is still valid.

I sat in on a patient consult once where the lady's arm was completely numb. It didn't work...at all. The other health practitioner asked my opinion on the relevance of chiropractic in this case. She'd already done everything else more extreme, including steroid injections and neck surgery.

I did a 5 minute presentation on how releasing the nerve compression might help. She nicely turned me down saying she didn't believe it would help. She was 100% right. I left and 5 minutes after that, the other practitioner dismissed her from the office. Her belief was so strong, she had no chance of getting better.

Things to think about this week.

1. Seek the truth in all areas of your life. If you disagree with someone, that might be an opportunity to learn a new truth, or teach one to someone else.

2. People spend a great deal of time, money, and effort to hide the truth. So don't be afraid to challenge them. It could save your life. It makes the truth fun and frustrating.

3. If the people you try to help with XYZ belief, and you care about them, try and get them to agree to the definition of truth. Ie...Use gravity for example, it always works, 100% of the time on earth. Gravity doesn't just work for me and not for you.

-Dr. Altman

P.S. Silent Soldier day is on the 7th of July. If you know a active military member suffering in silence, have them come to the office Thursday the 7th. It's free to them and they may discover some new truths about health.