Hi everyone,
Here's the next dose of Finemore's Five For Friday for you. Would love you to get involved if there's any health questions you have or topics you want covered.
This week I have been mostly ...
Contemplating
Life. What do we mean by the word? Life is described by physicists, chemists and biologists in totally different terms. Different cultures, religions and philosophies place different value and meaning upon it. As James Lovelock says in The Revenge of Gaia: 'Life can be observed, dissected and analysed but it is an emergent phenomenon and may never be capable of rational explanation.'
For me Life is Love; both words for emergent phenomena. Life is your fundamental love affair. You get what you give. We speak of life in terms of love, "she loves life."
Life, like love, can be disregarded but you only lose what you disregard.
I can only hope to regard my life, to be in love with being alive every day. As many have said what is life without love?
As a Chiropractor my intention is to help my clients to express more and more life. The more life (love) you have the less sickness you (and your genes) express.
Wearing
Artillery No. 6 from a perfumer at the end of my old street in east London. Angela Flanders is now in her 80's making beautiful scents using older better techniques with less nasty chemicals. You can buy online.
Listening to
The latest offering from Howe Gelb called Future Standards. Bit of a legend, bit of a maverick. Summer's evening songs. Seen him live a couple of times - well worth the money if you get a chance.
Song to listen to : 'Irresponsible Lovers' (speaks to what I am contemplating this week).
Exercising
My lateral stabilisers (obliques etc) again with a side squat. Lying on your side, knees bent, heels near your bum, propped up on your elbow, fist clenched, other hand on your hip, spine straight. Lift your hip off the deck and push your pelvis forward then back to your heels. Like squatting but on your side. Repeat 10-20 times each side. Enjoy.
Missing
Oysters. Especially the native Fal River ones. So sweet, tasty and not too big. One of the most nutritiously dense foods you can eat. Packed full of zinc and minerals which is why they are known as a aphrodisiac and a fertility food. I love 'em. Local natural produce that is truly world class. Eat 'em.
Until next week,
Simon
Finemore's Five for Friday (3)
Hi folks,
Today's Finemore’s Five for Friday comes to you from Bucharest. I'll bring you up to speed with what I'm doing out here next week, in the meantime here's the latest for you to ponder over the weekend.
This week I am mostly reading...
‘One River’ by Wade Davis is a tale of scientific exploration in the 1970s as the author follows in the footsteps of his mentor Richard Evans Schultes, the world’s leading authority on the hallucinogens and medicinal plants who in 1941 disappeared for 12 years into the Amazonian rain forest of Columbia in a dug-out canoe. Inspirational.
This week I am mostly listening to...
A Sheffield revival. Pulp's Common People and the Artic Monkeys' Whatever...
This week I am mostly appreciating...
Our capacity for altruism. Whether considering the three people in Lidl who stepped out of a queue to help me pick up every blueberry that I had spilt over the floor or the ‘Effective Altruism’ movement which enables us to have faith that the charity donation goes where we intend. For example it is estimated to cost £2835 (or £28 a month for a year) to save a human life if given wisely.
How many lives could you save in your lifetime? How many of us are donating regularly to charities unsure of what percentage of that donation is being spent on further fund raising or charity infrastructure?
http://www.effectivealtruism.com or you can listen to this podcast : https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/being-good-and-doing-good
This week I am mostly enjoying...
Surprisingly good instant coffee (served with cream - hurray) and in-flight food on a Tarom flight from London to Bucharest. No charges for food or wine, like stepping back in time. Hoping to enjoy a Cinzano with Leonard Rossiter and or Joan Colllins (that reference is too old for most). Passing through Heathrow Terminal 4 was also a relatively pleasant experience.
This week I am mostly working on...
My vision. You don’t achieve, create or complete anything without thinking of or visualising the desired result repeatedly. We all imagine outcomes. Some of us even imagine and realise unfortunate outcomes. The clearer we are in our vision of what we want the more likely we are to create it. For example you will never heal without investing in that possibility; the placebo effect is real and observable. Be careful what you wish for.
Have a great weekend and see you soon.
Until next time,
Simon
PS - Would love to know what you think of these or if you've got any questions you'd like answering send them through and I'll do my best to oblige.
Finemore's Five for Friday (Last Friday that is)
Hi folks,
Welcome to Finemore’s Five for Friday, my weekly roundup of the five things I can’t stop doing this week, I’m enjoying or are simply on my mind.
This week I am mostly listening to...
GRANDADDY - pending the release of their get-back-together album, I can't stop playing their single 'Evermore.' I love the synth sound as it opens, looking forward to seeing them live at the Roundhouse in London on the March 3rd (tickets still available). Dance or nod appropriately. Listen to Evermore by Grandaddy on Spotify.
This week I am mostly eating...
Kale from Cusgarne Organic Farm. Love this stuff. Just throw it in a covered pain with plenty of grass-fed organic butter and some chopped organic garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Eat. Here’s a 5 min omelette with kale, mushrooms and eggs all from Cusgarne and all organic. Yum.
This week I am mostly appreciating...
How we all have power over the course and direction of our lives and the fulfilment of our dreams. The thoughts we have determine our perceptions, our dreams and our actions. If you want your life to take a new direction then you must think a new thought to gain a change in perspective and a change in your actions. We have the power, to change the way we think, be careful how big you dream.
“You are only as young as the last time you changed your mind.” Timothy Leary
This week I am mostly reading...
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It is a personal account of Dr Frankl’s experiences during WW2 in Auschwitz and other concentration camps. This might sound like a heavy read but his description of human resilience and the power of perception in the face of death is uplifting and inspirational.
This week I am mostly exercising...
My Quadratus Lumborum (low back stabilisers) : Sit upright on the floor, legs straight out in front of you and lift one buttock and walk it forward then the other buttock until you have travelled 10ft, then walk back again. Done (you can hold a small kettlebell to your chest as you do this).
I hope you've enjoyed the first instalment of Finemore's Five For Friday, have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Simon
Modern Healthcare - a decidedly average approach. Chiropractic an Individual approach.
The Actor Christopher Waltz was interviewed recently in the run up to the release of the latest James Bond Movie, Spectre. In that interview he commented on judgements made by the film industry about its audience.
Waltz said that Carl Jung once claimed that if you collected a sample of 1,000 pebbles, you could calculate the average weight of a pebble on the beach. And yet the chances of finding a pebble that matches that weight is about a million to one.
Waltz loves this analogy. "You cannot reach a generality," he says, "And you cannot reach an individual through generalities."
I think that this analogy has implications for national healthcare systems that are developed by economists and influenced by endless statistics. This approach then accounts for the mean or average patient more than the individual. This leads to a generalised drug administration and care protocols.
Chiropractic has a different approach. It does not generalise, it does not base its care protocols on a mean or a typical diagnosis; it allows everyone to be an individual. Care is not standardised between people, not even between visits. You as an individual get what you need each time you visit the Chiropractor on that particular day.
the interface between you and your world is your nervous system - your spine and all its interlinking segments hold your nervous system - poor spinal function can mean poor nervous system communication which affects your ability to perform in and perceive your world… Chiropractors check you for these problems