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The secret to my success

O Institute

How living consistent with my life philosophy helped me create a life of meaning.


Today is my birthday.

Happy Birthday to me!


For those of you who don't know, which is probably most of you, I have spent most of my adult life trying to figure out the meaning of life. No, I'm serious.

When I was 29 years old I took a 6 week trip to the Philippines and worked with kids with special needs. During that time I stayed with a family who would help change my life. I spent my 30th birthday there and was introduced to Hinduism. Now, I am not a Hindu but that time started me on a spiritual journey of trying to understand the meaning of my life. I would spend the next 20 odd years walking this path.



I started with reading, reading, and more reading.


My first "self-help' book on my quest for spiritual enlightenment was written by Deepak Chopra of all people. He appealed to my scientific mind. He is an MD who intertwined spiritual concepts with healing; that resonated with me.

Maybe this was to be my model as well?

Perhaps I could bridge the span between what the scientific research showed and what we intuitively understood and "knew" to me true?


I quickly realized that reading in and of itself was not enough. The gathering of knowledge is simple. The actualization of that knowledge or putting it into action; changing my life and behavior was a totally different matter.

I started joining yoga and meditation groups, going to retreats and seminars, traveling to workshops.

I tried it all.

Some of them were merely educational.

Others were radically disruptive.

I laughed. I cried.

I was made very vulnerable, very uncomfortable, very exposed and yet... very seen.


sweat lodge-mexico













I did stuff I thought I would never do in front of others:

  • telling personal stories about my relationships and family

  • discussing my issues with money

  • sharing personal finance

  • "spooning" strangers

  • crying like a baby (I never cry. It was a measure of my manhood, apparently)

  • singing in front of people

  • and so many goofy things

And they were all good.


 

I evolve.


My personal philosophy on life begins to emerge:


"Everything that happens is for my greatest good."

Even if I don't understand it now or judge it as "bad," it is just a matter of time before I realize it was exactly what needed to happen for my greater good. I just did not give things enough time to reveal themselves as being for my benefit.

Just like every good movie plot puts the main character through a trial to help them gather the strength to save the world, this is our real life.


"We learn by being challenged, gaining awareness, and evolving into a greater version of ourselves."

 

I lean into my power


The micro-universe shows us that we are made up of atoms.

Everything is made up of atoms.


What are atoms made of?

Protons. Electrons. Neutrons. All arranged in an electron cloud.


What is this electron cloud made of?

Energy.


electron cloud

One workshop I attended talked about this concept. Electron clouds are the very make up of us. It's what makes up the entire universe. And that cloud is potential energy.


One theory says that we can convert this potential energy into kinetic energy.

Now think about that...you can convert the energy that makes up the entire universe into whatever you want! Mind. Blown.

But it gets even more mind blowing.


How to we spark that conversion? The conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy?

Thought.


That's right.


"By focusing your thoughts, you can create anything you want."


As a byproduct of this concept, I began to understand the model of Intention- Manifesting.


"By setting a clear intention, we are able to manifest the life that we want."

I test it out.

Again and again and again.

It proves itself every time.

Every. Time.


And this is the model by which I live my life.


 

It's not all rainbows and unicorns


When you think about manifesting whatever you want, you only think about all the "positive" things you will create.

But remember that intention is focusing your thoughts.


What happens if you focus your thoughts on something negative?

Ah... see?

We don't always think positive thoughts.

We often focus on and ruminate on things that are problematic for us

We often worry about how things can go wrong.

Many people live by the philosophy of "plan for the worst and hope for the best."

See where I am going with this?


How to set the intentions you really....intend?


It takes practice.

Practice. Practice. Practice.


This is where I find tools to be valuable.


Remember the books I was reading?

Well many of them had tools.

Practices you could use to help create new habits.

These new habits help you have clearer focus on what you want to manifest.


So keep reading because the tools that work for you will be the ones that seem easiest for you to follow. The ones that just feel natural.


For me, meditation and writing seem to be the best tools. They help me visualize my intentions and get clarity on what really matters and how my decisions align with my philosophy.


 

Putting it all together


So, let's summarize.

I use the model of intention-manifesting to create the life that I want.

And that model has to align with my fundamental philosophy that everything that happens in my life is for my greatest good.


In order to make sense of all of that, I have to release my judgment.

I cannot judge something as being "good" or "bad." It just is.

The best example of this is the weather.

I don't judge the weather as good or bad. It's just the weather.

We may have a preference for a certain type of weather, but that doesn't make the other types bad.


"In the same way, what happens in my life, always happens for a reason and that reason is eventually always for my greatest good."


So what do I want in my life?


Well, of course I want to make a lot of money and be able to take care of my family and all that. But if I whittle it down to the essence, I end up here:

  • I want joy in my life.

  • I want to live a life of purpose.

 

My work gives me purpose


I have been a chiropractor for over 25 years. Man, it is wild to say that out loud.

What a blessing in my life.

When I was an early intern, one of my mentors taught me,

"Everyday you should be confused."

He added, "the day you are no longer confused you are no longer helping people and you should stop practicing."


Why?

Because you are no longer striving to understand. And in healthcare, you are always trying to understand. Cuz, let me tell you, this stuff is confusing!


The other thing I was taught was that as a physician, my philosophy needs to be one of BEING IN SERVICE.

It has taken me a long time to understand the truth of what that means. It has evolved as I have evolved.


Today, it means that I need to look at how I can support what my patients want and need. I have to try to put aside my ego and listen, listen to their pain, listen about their lives, listen to their humanity. It is here that I can be of service to them to the best of my capability.


Recently, I had an awareness about how I may have been letting ego drive my practice. Again.

As many of you know, my practice is referral only and I am selective about who I take as a new patient. I have not taken a patient with "simple" back pain in a very long time. I have always just referred them to someone else. I felt that those cases were "easy" and anyone could help them with that. I justified this behavior as wanting to make sure that I had people who were committed to their health and I only had so many appointments so why not keep them for people who were on the same page.


But have I been letting my ego make this decision?

Is that in alignment with my basic philosophy of being in service?

If I start seeing everyone, am I just trying to make more money?

Am I compromising?

I don't know.


I would so much appreciate your guys' thoughts on this.

Please comment.


It's a funny thing to be confused about. I don't think this is what my mentor was talking about. But then again....


 

The people I love bring me joy


I recently went to LA for my nephews' wedding.

It was a hassle.

We set out Saturday morning at the crack of dawn and returned Sunday night.

It was worth it.


I realize that that is what life is all about- spending time with those you love.

It's what brings me joy.



 

What I have learned so far


  1. Put in the work to discover your personal philosophy on life.

  2. Use that philosophy as a filter for everything you do, every decision you make.

  3. Be true to yourself

Maybe in another decade I will rewrite this thing and it may look very differently. But in the meantime, I will keep manifesting my best life and "in-joy-ing" the time I have alive.


with LOVE,

Thomas







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1 Comment


Alsu Khafizova
Alsu Khafizova
Apr 04, 2023

Happy belated birthday, Thomas! Have a great year filled with joy, love and happiness! We miss you very much :)

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1.Liu YZ, Wang YX, Jiang CL. Inflammation: The Common Pathway of Stress-Related Diseases. Front Hum Neurosci. 2017 Jun 20;11:316. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00316. PMID: 28676747; PMCID: PMC5476783.

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