Welcome to my collection of ideas and thoughts as I attempt to create sense and meaning of how our bodies and minds function and interface with one another as a Physical Therapist and curious human being. The purpose of this website is to guide not only my reader but myself along a journey of discovery. Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy the ride.
“Reconciling Illusions, Truth, and Evolution”
The following essay originated from taking the Postural-Visual Integration course through the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI) April 26-27, 2014 with Ron Hruska, PT and Heidi Wise, OD. It got me thinking a lot about the concept of illusions. As Ron explained, we each have our own illusions as independent, free-thinking, human beings. My perception of reality is unique and different from everyone else on this planet. What purpose does an individual illusion serve? It is our own personal truth. It gives us a reference center for what we believe our reality to be. Without these reference centers, to use one of Ron’s metaphors from the 2014 PRI Annual Symposium, “we would either implode or explode”.
I strive to constantly challenge and question my own reality as I strongly believe in the evolution of truth. I do not accept permanence and believe that the human purpose is to continue learning about ourselves and our universe. This process of discovery gives me not only ambition but a source of joy. To me, truth and evolution are symbiotic. If you believe that you have reached truth, then evolution, and hence our purpose, stops. If we stop evolving, we cease working towards understanding the truth about ourselves as well as our universe.
To be more specific, if we consider my reality as a Physical Therapist, I am always striving to figure out how to help my patients the best way possible. In order to do that, I need to continually ask myself if my intervention strategies are properly prioritized, effective, efficient, and then adjust accordingly. This discovery occurs along a continuum of trial and error during treatment sessions, reading, writing, observation, self-experimentation, discussions with other professionals, taking classes, etc. It is really all about learning from other people’s illusions and reconciling them with my own.
In order for healthcare to continue to improve, I think that infinitely striving for truth, an evolving truth, must be a mutual, persistent thread in each of our realities. We all have differing viewpoints and realities. It is the mixing of these illusions that advances our continued search for the truth and brings us progress.
I view this journey of discovery and reconfiguring of perceptions as an active collaborative process in which we offer up new viewpoints to one another. My goal is for us to share our individual realities, however different they may be, in an effort to potentially stir up new questions, new insights, and new realities so that as a community we continue to grow and progress. Most importantly, I want everyone to have fun with the process!
Congratulations on the opening of your website. Here’s to intellectual growth in general and the unique connection between vision and the body. One is the reflection of the other.