Coming out isn’t just a matter of disclosing a sexual or gender identity. For many LGBTQIA+ people, it’s a lifelong and even a spiritual practice; I look inward, I find what’s really there – what’s really true about who I am – and I bring what I find outward, to share and show myself authentically. I name aloud what and how I am. I use the phrase “coming out” to denote that I’m doing my work of self-discovery and revelation.
Which is to say:
MOM, DAD, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT: I’M A WIZARD.
Ok, this is maybe not that shocking an announcement, since “Posture Wizard” has been on my business cards for over 3 years. Bear with me a second.
I got into Chiropractic so that I could have a set of technical skills and knowledge to really help people, and a “doctor” in front of my name to lend me credibility. Before I started school, I had this thought:
“I’ll be a chiropractor so I have a convincing and socially acceptable smokescreen behind which I can take people on transformational journeys in their bodies.”
When I started school, to my absolute shock, I discovered that this is already a well-established tradition in chiropractic.
What I’ve been learning in quarantine (the Mandatory Introspection Period, as my best friend terms it) is that the most meaningful work I can offer is work that is transformational, at least a little bit magical, and rooted in a philosophical position that the body itself is our greatest spiritual teacher.
The best results I know how to deliver involve not just healing the physical structure of the body, but transforming the entire story of our lives to be one of deeper meaning, greater joy, and more heartfelt connections. Healing and understanding the body is the best way I’ve learned to do that.
I have resisted that word, “spiritual” for a long time. I don’t want to be one of those chiropractors. I’ve wanted to be taken seriously. I’ve wanted to be seen as a “legitimate” doctor.
But when I look at my values, there are two things that matter most to me:
- This process of turning inward to learn, turning outward to name and share what I’ve found.
- Loving people so hard that they can’t help but start loving themselves more.
And that is literally my spiritual practice, y’all. When I use the word ‘wizard’ to refer to myself, I mean I’ve practiced diving into the dark inside, and naming the lights I find there. It means I can hold the flashlight for you while you dig, and hold your hand when it gets hard, and cheer for you when you catch a fragment of truth in there.
Helping people grow and evolve and share who they truly are is the Great Work. I am glad you’re doing it with me. Let’s make the world a better place by growing into who we are meant to be. The world needs us all awake and fully alive.
