Twin Engines
There are two very special sisters that grew up west of the Twin Cities and they both recently graduated with teaching degrees. They were on the cover of Time magazine as children and even starred in a reality TV show about their lives, just for being themselves. I doubt they have ever been to a Chiropractor, much less know anything about Chiropractic but they literally embody and exemplify some of the most fundamental principles of Chiropractic and all but prove that medicine is wrong about one of their most beloved and core beliefs. These sisters didn’t have a choice in the matter and preferred that people wouldn’t stare, but they simply can’t help being one of only a handful of dicephalic parapagus twins in the world. They live a conjoined life.
In the case of Abby and Brittany Hensel, that means they are the same in their lower half but are almost two completely different people from the waist up. They have almost double the organs, including spines and nervous systems and even personalities. Abby and Brittany are essentially two people living in one body.
Abby is better at math, Brittany is better at writing. One is afraid of heights while one is not. One likes adventure and taking charge, the other is quieter and is more of a follower. If one is cold, it is not uncommon for the other to be warm. When this happens, there is even a distinct line down the middle of their body showing the difference between the two, even though the room is the same temp. One girl’s skin turns white from her nervous system constricting the blood vessels on her side, while the skin of the other one turns pink because her nervous system is more relaxed, allowing more blood flow to the surface of her skin. If that’s not enough, when one sister gets sick it is not unusual for the other to feel fine, even though they have been exposed to the same microbes.
That’s right. Brittany is more prone to infections and sickness, getting the flu more often and at different times than Abby. So when Brittany has the flu, Abby is not only not sick, she’s even complains of being bored! Can you imagine half of you being sick and the other half not? Truly amazing!! There’s only one problem with this: They have the same circulatory system. That’s right, they share the exact same blood supply. How is this even remotely possible according to the well-accepted medical theory that health is an outside-in endeavor and specifically that microbes are to blame for all of this? Don’t look now, but the germ theory is sick. The good news is there is a better way to live than fearing germs.
Medical theories are Chiropractic histories and medical mysteries are Chiropractic certainties. This is because according to the germ theory of disease, it should be impossible for only one of these girls to get sick when the other is not. BJ Palmer, the developer of Chiropractic, once said that if the germ theory were correct, there would be no one alive to believe it. If we’re exposed to microbe, we’re supposed to be sick with that microbe because it’s in us. If we’re not exposed to it, we shouldn’t be. It should be impossible for half of the same body be infected with the same microbe while the other half is not. In reality, the microbe is everywhere in the entire body or it is nowhere. Did these girls remember to follow the advice of their doctor to not touch the other so the one sister doesn’t get the other sick? That sounds pretty absurd now, doesn’t it?
Kidding aside, the Chiropractic certainty is this: Not only do we each have an Innate Intelligence that controls and coordinates each of our bodies, the biological principles that chiropractors adhere to honors each individual body to intelligently and uniquely respond in time and place to the exact demands required from the same environment. Ultimately, the thing that determines how we respond to our environment and the microbes in it is our nervous system. You could also call it our environmental detection system. It communicates the Innate Intelligence within us that detects and more importantly responds to it, depending on its ability to perceive the germ filled world. When we realize that health comes from within, we stop fearing the world without and start living a philosophy that respects the inborn wisdom that brings us from two cells to this article.
The only logical thing to do is to simply acknowledge this intelligence, honor each of our individual perceptions to express each of our unique reactions, concerning ourselves with any interference to it. When it comes to germs, the question isn’t so much if you’ve got it or not, the real question should be, “What are you going to do with it?” In order to have a proper relationship with our environment and the invisible life within it, we have to make sure our nervous system is working without interference. This is what a Chiropractor does and why you need to see one on a regular basis so you can be your best. Each of those twins are in charge of their half of their body and we are all in charge of our half of the environment; the inside half.