TNR Happenings, March 3, 2025

We hear so much about community these days.  The purveyors of online superficiality want you to believe that someone from far away has a commonality with you and is now your brother or sister. Talk about a stretch. Of course it’s nice to have a companion along a treacherous journey (4 Ds), but the old saying, “misery loves company”, holds true. Yes, it’s nice to know people that know more about something than you do. Examples are experience with chainsaws, home improvements, financial services, etc. As we get to more profound matters, the community dries up with impotent, well-meaning, although criminal, advice about things way above the ordinary person’s understanding. It’s really about,  ‘do what I did.’ It’s about positionality, rhetoric, and ego-consciousness, not results or what truly works. It’s fun to troll athletes and celebrities and see the outfits they attempt to shock you with at awards programs or online; however, the commentators are not in their position. They are offering their opinion for free, which will not change the circumstances. With lots of things it is okay to judge or comment on; not with health! Health is not a spectator sport. It’s a verb, an action verb.

I have learned so much of this from James Hollis. Most of his 24 books are academic, Jungian, and analytical, not entertaining, but if you stay with it, he gives you a glimpse of human behavior you will never see in the world of the ordinary. Like the tip of the iceberg concept, it’s never about what it’s about. This is from his book, A Life of Meaning: “Community often is found ironically in the meeting of those who’ve undertaken a journey - a journey seeking some forms of consciousness, some forms of awareness, and some willingness to submit themselves to a process that is less invested in ego security and the fixities of knowledge that we think our ancestors had, but rather in the unfolding discoveries of those journeys. Our own psyche keeps showing up, keeps knocking on the door, keeps summoning us back to the high calling of the journey.” 

I started this journey decades ago with a man named Dr. Joe Flesia. He was an amazing man, the likes I have not known before or since. I had seen him open and close large gatherings of DCs; but what I remember the most about him is ‘stopping the show.’ I was his apprentice for more than a decade. There were lots of DCs along the way who also said they wanted to be his apprentice. Still, they drifted off into the more welcoming waters of economics, technique, academics, and certifications, with less connection to humanity and no recognition of upgrading clinical skills. I also met another doctor, Dr. Ed Plentz, along this path. We formed the TNR community together for over 15 years and endeavored to bring Chiropractic, humanity, health, success, and a way of life that is not found in the world of the ordinary.  

I know a thing or two about community. Unless there is shared deprivation, suffering, pain, or the constant threat of quitting, there is no true community and it will not be a lasting central core to your life. I have seen over a thousand people come and go in TNR. Like anything, they go at it at first, attend all the trainings, do Head-to-Heads, some even refer Miracle Training clients to me, and then something inside them dies. They get complacent, move toward comfort and security, default to living a life of no risk, agree with the world of ordinary, and die a thousand deaths (living lives of little to no meaning or purpose.) Growing up the way we did, most of us are not equipped for the long haul of living boldly. There are so many landmines to step on: kids, sickness, distractions, parents dying or handicapped, divorce, relationship strain with families, financial issues, or fear and laziness lay their claim.

If you are all-in, embrace being all-in and hold on to the bucking bronco for as long as possible (8 seconds in the ring is worth a lifetime in the stands.) The community of TNR is a two-edged sword. For example, how many of your practice members can simply complete the DCME 21-day video? They skip days, forget to send in homework, etc. Without massive input, insight, and someone to hold them accountable, these traits will define their lives. When you start listening to your spouse, family, or parent’s opinion of TNR, you are nearing your end in the TNR community. Like social media, it gives unqualified people a platform to comment on things they know nothing about. Why would you voluntarily engage in such a cesspool? Online activity tends to wear people down. The most successful people are on social media, but do not live on it. What’s it like for someone to lose their mojo? Like old people, they talk a lot, play on their computers, and do little. They disparage and discourage younger people from taking risks, etc. “Sit down at the table and rest for a spell.” Their molecules do not vibrate rapidly; instead, they are static. Very often their thinking is static as well. Many are heavy to be around: always blaming, talking about nostalgia, and complaining like they are the first person in history to grow old.

Miracle Training

How can one day make such a difference? You have a loved one who is in dire straits, and yet they will do nothing about it. They are holding you hostage, but you are powerless to change them. You complain, argue, nag, or guilt them with the effect their behavior has on the kids, etc., to no avail. Then something magical happens. My phone rings, and it’s a person agreeing to be humbled, work to the bone, give their best effort, and drop their pride in exchange for an opportunity to get their lives back. I have been an admirer of this mystery all of my life. Rags to riches stories never bore me. Each has a DNA, a fingerprint, an individuality to them, and fitting into the collective archetypes of situations they find themselves in.

Is this dynamic for the masses? Hell no; that’s what makes it so unique. There is no doubt that many of our spouses, siblings, or practice members need heavy duty care in a far-away town called Norwood, MA, but most will rationalize, justify, protect, and defend their pride and think time will make it go away, or it’s not that bad yet. If you know someone in dire straits, talk to them about me and Miracle Training. Then ask them to pick up the phone and call me.