Q. Dear Dr Harvey,
I have seen the term "innate intelligence" used a number of
times by chiropractors. What exactly is innate intelligence,
and why do chiropractors use this term so often?

A. The term "innate intelligence" is at the core of a true understanding of what chiropractic philosophy is all about. Innate intelligence is that part of universal intelligence that is within us all. Before we go further, let me define these terms. Universal intelligence is just as it implies: it is the intelligence that runs the universe. It is what makes the earth turn, the sun always rise in the east, the rain fall, gravity work, etc. Universal intelligence may also be known as Mother Nature, God, or by similar names. Innate intelligence is the intelligence that runs the body. It is what makes your liver, kidneys, heart, etc., function without you thinking about it. For instance, can you tell what function your liver is performing right now? No, you can't, but your innate intelligence is controlling all the functions clear down to the metabolism of the individual cells.

To bring innate intelligence into focus -- it is the intelligence that started us all from two cells, then controlled the growth until we became the approximately four trillion cells we are today. Remember that, as the embryo grows, the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) are the first to develop. From the central nervous system, the branches of the nervous system grow (the peripheral nervous system). Then, from the peripheral nervous system, the organs develop and grow. At each stage of growth, innate intelligence controls all functions. Once the person is born and continues to grow, innate intelligence maintains such things as normal functions, cell reproduction, repair and immune response. For instance, have you ever wondered why if you shave the hair on your arm it only grows back to normal length, while the hair on your head keeps growing? Or why, if you cut your arm, the body will heal itself, stop the bleeding, lay down scar tissue, etc.? Innate intelligence does all of this. To sum it up, the power or intelligence that made the body can maintain and heal the body as long as it is not interfered with.

So how does all this apply to chiropractic philosophy? The major purpose of chiropractic is to remove nerve interference (interference with innate intelligence) in the form of subluxation. The subluxation is vertebral misalignment with resulting pressures on the nervous system. This is what chiropractors are trained to find and fix.

To go into a thorough discussion of innate intelligence and its relationship to chiropractic philosophy would fill a book. The main point to understand here is that the body has far more intelligence than any doctor. We have yet to gain a complete understanding of how the nervous system works, but we do know that it works much better without interference. The job of the chiropractor is to remove the interference. The job of any doctor should be to raise the patient's natural or innate healing ability to its highest efficiency.

If you would like more information on this, please contact me at my clinic.

Dr. Gregory D. Harvey, D.C., N.M.D., is the Founder/Director of the New Life Chiropractic Clinic in Solana Beach, CA, just north of San Diego. It is one of the largest clinics in Southern California.

©1999 New Life Chiropractic Clinic,Inc.
983 Lomas Santa Fe #G, Solana Beach,CA 92075
Phone:(619) 509-0800 Fax:(619) 509-9907

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