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A name dropped into my brain this morning, one I’ve not thought of for some 40 years and where it suddenly came from, I can’t imagine.
Dr Felder was a chiropractor who I consulted briefly when I first developed neck pain. She told me I had “military neck” which ultimately she was unable to remedy.
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Next, I visited a clinic that appeared dedicated to young athletes and there I was told I’d have to live with it, which is not something you really want to accept at the age of 40.
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So, I decided to try acupuncture and encountered an exceptional man who was a gifted healer.
Norman had an aura about him. Just being in his presence was calming. He had what I think of as Buddha face.
Kind eyes that radiate peace.
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If I sound like an impressionable old woman, bear in mind that I was still young then, never mind that conventional physicians had already written me off. Nor was I in love with the man. It wasn’t that kind of thing. I can think of no other person who ever affected me as he did. The moment he entered the room, a change came over me and I found myself completely at ease.
The clinic itself was very peaceful. It was sound-proofed and had a hushed atmosphere, the only sound gently trickling water. Colours were muted and I seem to recall the air was faintly scented with incense.
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At the time I encountered this amazing man, I had been in psycho-therapy for over a decade which had helped me get on with life without really chipping away at the core issues.
In the end, several changes occurred that shifted my mindset and I am sure that my sessions with Norman were a part of that.
It was in this new frame of mind that I found the strength to make the very sudden, surprising decision to transfer to Seattle, ironically tearing me away from contact with the man who had helped me so much.
Once settled in my new home on the West Coast, I searched for a new acupuncturist. There were many to choose from, but I never found any practitioner with Norman’s gift.
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Over the 25 years since I moved to the West Coast and back again, I have often thought about Norman. Losing access to his care was one of very few regrets I had when I left New York and I sometimes wonder how different life might have been had I remained.
What I have learned though, is to go with my instinct. Every major decision I have made has been in that same seemingly impulsive way that made my friends gasp “Carolyn, you can’t!“
While most decisions see me wavering, analysing, worrying and weighing odds, in those particular instances, I have simply forged ahead, totally focused in a way that retrospectively made me wonder myself whatever had possessed me!
Yet those have been the best moves I ever made.
Thank you, Carolyn, for your philosophical thoughts and the beautiful views of the pathways.
Joanna
I have never had acupuncture, but I know many people who have found great relief from chronic pain by having that treatment, and one woman who gave up smoking after 25 years of being a smoker with just one session of acupuncture.
Best wishes, Pete.
Yes. It can be very effective.
Forging ahead often gives us the best outcomes. Well done you!
Berto sustained a neck injury during a rugby match at school. For years he suffered from constant neck pain – no doctor could help (and basically said the same thing that was said to you: “live with it”). Until he ended up at a chiropractor, and after ten treatments his neck pain was gone … it’s 25 years later and the pain never returned. So, chiropractors get our vote!!