Long term readers are well aware of my back issue. For years I was told it was soft tissue injury. That is doctor speak for, "Well something may be wrong but we can't find it and it may be in your head." I actually have a legal document from a doctor stating there is no injury and I am faking it. I have been well aware for some time that stress can make it worse. So, I began to believe that it was all in my head. Then a few months ago, I had a standing x-ray and they found that I have vertebrae that had slide 9 mm to one side. The chiropractor asked me why I was walking.
I brought this up for a reason.
I asked the chiropractor why the doctors couldn't find that in 20 years. She said that doctors give MRIs while your laying down and you can't see the bone problem that way. You have to have a standing x-ray. The next time I saw my MD I told him about the vertebrae. His immediate response was, "Oh yeah, we give MRIs and we'd never see that." I was so tempted to ask why no doctor ever thought of the standing x-ray.
Now here is where the locked mind comes in.
I work with an MD. I've known him for years. He works for my agency a day a week and has a private practice. I told him that story. His response was, "Well, there is no such thing as a standing MRI." I replied that I understood that but asked why a doctor wouldn't order a standing x-ray. "There is no such thing as a standing MRI." This guy is so locked on to the idea of technology that he couldn't fathom using the old technology even though it would work better for a given situation.
As magicians, we have to be careful of this. We can get so locked into one perception of the world that we cannot change, even temporarily. Sometimes, all that is needed is a change of perspective. This is important to know before one starts throwing fireballs at twenty paces.
We must not let our minds get too rigid.
Sorry for all the verbiage to express something so simple but I found the real life example of this too appealing to pass up.
3 comments:
I had a teacher once who would badger us constantly about how the only constant in life is change. He would repeat it over and over again, to the point where it would get annoying. Now that I'm older, I see the wisdom in his actions. Being open to change - to new experiences and new ways of looking at things - is extremely important in life, whether you practice magic or not.
Good example. Also, know that you know which vertebrae is giving you grief, what is the solution?
My brother suffers from a myriad of health issues and we've definitely experienced a similar situation with him. So many modern doctors will only see what they were taught in school--and if it wasn't in their book, they disregard it. Which is a shame. Any person in a healing profession (be it physical or metaphysical) should be able to think outside the box. I don't understand how they think medical advancement occurs without seeking out every avenue of thought, practice, and solution.
Anyway, I enjoyed your post because I had never thought to apply those experiences in the medical industry to what we do with our spiritual and magickal life.
-L
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