A Message From Our Editor, Issue #37 – The Connecting Intelligence
The Connecting Intelligence
There is an ancient Greek aphorism: “Know Thyself.” The age-old question implied by these words—what is the purpose of our existence?—is still stirring. As I have said many times, when we define our paradigm of credence—that is, the major premise we understand to be true— we can deduce from this premise our life’s purpose and therefore account for all choices we make in our lives. In Pathways, we make our deductions from the principle of vitalism.
The vitalistic paradigm of life and healing is a perspective that recognizes the presence of an inborn intelligence. Vitalism is defined by The Oxford English Dictionary as “The theory that the origin and phenomena of life are dependent on a force or principle distinct from purely chemical or physical forces.”
Max Planck, the physicist known for originating the quantum theory, offers this insight: “All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force…. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.”
In chiropractic, we call the inborn intelligence in living matter “innate intelligence,” and recognize it as a connecting, collaborating, coordinating force that intelligently unifies all function, activity and life.
Deepak Chopra confirms, “Intelligence is present everywhere in our bodies…our own innate intelligence is far superior to any we can try to substitute from the outside.” This vitalistic statement offers a sense of reassuring guidance and direction with purpose. This is a pinnacle of understanding that shifts our state of consciousness from fear to trust, which leads to living in a state of balance and ease.
Along with our recognition of this wise force comes our perceived identity. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a visionary French Jesuit, paleontologist, biologist and philosopher, said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience.”
When my husband, Tom, and I were first deciding to become chiropractors, it was this quote from B.J. Palmer, the developer of chiropractic, that gave us the greatest incentive to do so: “In our hasty thinking to secure an education, we are prone to say, ‘I am a body with a soul.’ Rather we should say and think, ‘I am that innate intelligence with a body in which to express myself.'”
What is this innate intelligence? This soul? This consciousness? Deepak Chopra says it’s the deeper self beyond our body, mind, personality and ego, where we discover a realm of expanded creativity and freedom, an experience of connected consciousness to all that is.
Our human recognition of this interconnectivity is exemplified in numerous international greetings: “Namaste” in India means, “The divinity in me recognizes the divinity in you.” The Mayans declare, “In’ Lakesh,” which means, “I am another you.” An African greeting, “Eh-ti-zain,” asks, “How is your soul perceiving the world?” The Lakota welcome each other with this phrase, “Mitakuye Oyasin,” meaning “All my relations.” The familiar Hawaiian hello, “Aloha,” translates to “I recognize the presence of the Divine Breath in you.” And the German salutation, “Grüss Gott,” proclaims, “Greetings, God.”
The more trust we have that we are continuously connected in and through this intelligent matrix—and yes, the more we acknowledge that our essence is this intelligence—the freer we are to begin the path of discovery of who it is we really are.
Many, many blessings,
Jeanne Ohm, D.C.
