Category: Writings

In the mid-morning my mother sits in her chair, hot tea at hand, her collection of books about Harry Truman on the shelf behind her. Earlier in the kitchen, before breakfast, she had asked where she should sit. “Right here, as usual,” I said. She looked at me, “Nothing is usual around here.” Indeed, she is more often confused than… Read more →

Information is the antithesis of entropy John Upledger, D.O. … And a hound dog is the antithesis of a wastebasket Barrett L. Dorko, P.T. Yesterday I read yet another article about the use of magnets for pain relief. One of its proponents made a fascinating statement; “This is one of the most fundamental forces in nature.” (Advance for Directors in… Read more →

Between the idea And the realty… Falls the shadow T.S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men” Today I want to suggest that there is an entire realm of movement that is virtually ignored by the therapeutic community or, when noticed, is massively misinterpreted. I realize that this might strike you as implausible, but bear with me for awhile before you decide to… Read more →

I was an orderly in a physical therapy department at the age of 16. This was a good job for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that I never had to work weekends. In fact, therapy was not provided on weekends in most places with any regularity until I was in practice a few years. I… Read more →

There is an article about “squeezies” in my local paper today. Squeezies are the small, round, polyurethane devises that you’ve seen pop up on your supervisor’s desk the past few years. They are supposed to provide an outlet for stress by virtue of their resilience. No matter how much you squash them in your fist, they return for more, always… Read more →

The foursome just ahead of us parked their carts on the other side of a tree well left of the fairway and called for my son and I to play through. I don’t play much, and I don’t put any real time into getting any better. Instead, I depend upon my natural athletic ability and my experience watching others hit… Read more →

Only when we learn to put up with ourselves can we arrive at a place of interior peace. Thomas Moore Bill was born two years before the Titanic went down, and now his left hip hurts him. His orthopaedist tells me that his x-rays showed some degeneration, but he’s seen people like this get better in my care before, so… Read more →

Writing, for me, is a visceral act. By that I mean that I feel its effects through my torso, and not just in the muscles of my hand. I sense another relevant line of prose or poetry rise toward the surface from places deep within me, and the ink from my pen lands like a wave on the shore. It… Read more →

While a freshman at Ohio State in 1969, my roommates and I became acquainted with a student down the hall that would often perform odd, illogical rituals of movement. We’d see him stop to tap the ground with his knuckles or hear percussive sounds emanating from his room. We knew it wasn’t Ina Goda Da Vida. Being intelligent young men… Read more →

When the external act decreases, the internal act increases. Marsilio Ficino – Fifteenth Century Philosopher Sometimes I struggle to impart the specific nature of my manual technique to other therapists. I think this is because there is an aspect of its clinical application that is foreign to today’s practice; contemplation. Specifically the contemplation of another’s internal activity as it changes.… Read more →