Meet Dr. Nick

I felt like an 18-year-old man inside an 80-year-old body.

I remember thinking, “What will life be like as I get older, if I already feel this horrible?”

I was at wits end and not getting any answers.

As a child, and young adult, you would have never known by looking at me that I was sick and felt horrible on the inside.  I grew up a normal kid, however, I did tend to worry a lot.

Germs were scary.  I remember hearing on the radio that people could die from the flu, so I figured I was going to be a future victim.  I never drank from the same glass as someone even it was my own family member.  Eeeww!  Germs!

I would wash my hands obsessively – 20 plus times a day.

My skin became so dry on my hands that I had to have a prescription lotion.

I had chronic bloody noses.  I grew up in the dry desert of western Colorado, but I wondered, “Why didn’t everyone else have bloody noses as often as me?”

By the time I was about 10 years old, I started having an obsessive fear that I would choke on my food.  I could hardly swallow and would have to drink warm water to soften my esophagus, so I could swallow to eat.  It was a strange phobia, a phase I’m glad I grew out of.  Why did it happen though?

I had panic attacks.  I remember being in a movie called, “Dad.”  It was with the actor, Ted Danson, and his Dad was dying of cancer.  I remember watching the sadness and fear of the actors and then I felt all the blood rush out of my limbs and I felt numb.  I thought I was getting cancer right then and there.  My heart was racing and I could do nothing about it.  I nearly passed out as I was taken out of the theater to a friend’s house to lie down on their couch and recoup.  I thought it was going to be “light’s out” for me.

I remember thinking, “What was wrong with me!?!”

I remember seeing a boy in 4^th grade that had cancer.  I was sure to hold my breath anytime I was near him, because I thought if anyone was going to catch “cancer germs,” it would be me.

I had strange superstitions.  I would play basketball with friends and all of a sudden I had a thought that I would need to bounce the ball 10 times really fast, or something bad would happen to my family.  So I did it.

Where did that thought come from?  What was the matter with me?

I remember a friend that had a weird habit where he would clear his throat and make a noise through his nose.  After staying over at his house one night, hanging around him and listening to his weird habit, I found myself doing the same thing the next day!  What the heck!?

By the time I was in high school, I began developing chronic indigestion.  I thought I was too young for all these problems!  Any food I ate would burn and bubble up my esophagus.  I was sitting in chemistry lab as a sophomore in high school.  I had such pain and burning and bubbling up that I had to hide my head and spit into a bucket that I placed paper towels in.  I was so scared anyone would see me.  I was mad too.

I was so mad.

I started a prescription medication that would coat my esophagus, so I could eat food.  It was nasty and only helped temporarily.

I started getting fatigue and light sensitivity.  I would walk through our mall and my eyes would burn.  I would sleep 8-10 hours per night and would find myself falling asleep in classes the next day.

I remember a trip to Disneyland with my cousins.  They were laughing and playing and running around and at the time my stomach was so upset.  I was at the happiest place on earth and I couldn’t enjoy it.

I kept a lot of it to myself.  The Doctors didn’t have any answers that seemed to help.  I passed all their tests.  “Nothing seems to be wrong.”

“What do you mean, nothing seems to be wrong, are you kidding me?!?!”

I would drink lemonade and get an immediate headache.  My friends were fine.  I remember having a root beer and playing basketball with a friend afterwards and I was seeing “stars,” and was dizzy.  He was fine after his root beer!?

Why?  Why me?  I yearned for answers, yet no one could tell me what was wrong with my body.

The only thing I was sure of, was that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.  Then something happened…

When I was 18, something happened that changed my life forever.

Before I go into the details of one of the most pivotal events in my life, let me tell you how I am doing today.

That ONE EVENT, put me on a course to get ANSWERS.

Today, I currently have NO SYMPTOMS WHATSOEVER.  Rarely do I have symptoms arise of any sort.

The last time I took a medication (other than 2 short rounds of antibiotics in 2010 and 2011), was Aleve the night after my bachelor party in May of 2000.  I had a headache for the first time in over 2 years that morning, and I wanted to enjoy playing golf.  (That includes ALL meds, even over the counter meds).

I have been married since 2000 and my wife and I have three beautiful children.  None of them have ever been on any medication.  Now, don’t get me wrong, if they had an emergency or needed something we would take appropriate medical action.

We discovered and understood something that a very small percentage of our population understands.  Because of our discovery, it’s allowed us to live with a freedom of health that few people get to experience.

No it doesn’t have to do with some rare berry found in a remote jungle that we eat.

In fact, you need nothing more than a shift in perception. 

I believe and know that shift in perception for me came as a result of accumulated years of questioning and pondering.

When I was young and wasn’t busy worrying about things like getting sick and dying I found myself asking BIG QUESTIONS.

While I was in the midst of asking BIG QUESTIONS I remember a night when for some reason I couldn’t fall asleep.  I looked at a bookshelf and a book was immediately drawn to my attention.

Have you ever had a book leap out to you?  It’s like it chooses you.

At 1 am I pulled this book off the shelf.  It was called, “Illusions,” by Richard Bach.  In the beginning there’s a short story and it goes something like this:

“There’s these creatures at the bottom of a stream bed and their whole existence is spent clinging to rocks bracing against the current being swept over them.  One day one of these creatures says, “I am tired of clinging, I am going to let go and see what happens.”

“You fool,” the other neighboring creatures shout to him.  “If you let go, you will surely be tossed along the bottom of the creek bed and you’ll die sooner than know what happens to you.”

He clung a bit longer and then determined that the unknown possibility was less grim than his current existence.  He let go.

And…sure enough his neighbors saw him get pummeled along the rocks, but then something amazing happened.  He was quickly swept up in the current and in the flow.

Now he was appearing to fellow creatures clinging below him.

“Look!  One of us in the flow of the current, and he is enjoying life!”

“He would shout to them, “Let go,” and join me!”

They would shout back, “we are scared, we might get injured and bounced along the rocks if we let go.”  He replied, “you may, but you’ll soon be swept up in the current of this life, join me!”

By then he had passed them by and they no longer saw an example from above.  They were left clinging in fear passing on stories to their children and offspring about the day they saw “one of them” up in the current and the flow.

When I finished reading that passage I was in tears.  It had a huge impact on me.  What I observed in the outside world was fear and CLINGING day to day to get by.  It provided an ANSWER to a lot of BIG QUESTIONS I had in my head about life and living.

I promised myself I would attempt to lead a different life.  I wouldn’t cling.  I would let go and take risks.

I was 13 at the time.

Fast forwarding to age 18 where my story started.  I had a house.  I owned it.  I was working hard and going to college.  I was proud of my achievements, yet I was fried.  I remember looking at a pile of bills and wondering how I was going to make ends meet.

I was stressed.  I was afraid.  I was CLINGING.  I also had the horrible chronic indigestion.

It was at this time when my Mom recommended I see a chiropractor.  She had been getting relief from her asthma and also significantly reduced her medication due to her chiropractic care she had started along with some supplements targeted to help her.

I knew nothing of chiropractic.  I thought it was only for neck pain, back pain, or maybe if you got in a car accident.

I figured I had nothing to lose, so I went.

The chiropractor asked me a few questions and then I remember him “popping” my neck and it feeling actually quite good.  I was surprised and couldn’t hold back from smiling.  He sat me up, put his hand behind my mid-back and gently rolled me back onto his hand and “BOOM,” a HUGE release in my mid back had occurred.  IT FELT SOOOOO GOOD!!

I left his office feeling amazing.  I distinctly remember pulling out of the parking lot and I felt like my peripheral vision had expanded.  I felt like before the adjustment I was only seeing very narrowed focus of only what was right in front of me.

He started me on an adrenal support supplement and a digestive enzyme.  Within a couple of weeks and a few more adjustments, the chronic indigestion, chronic fatigue, the stress, the worry all had dissipated.  No more meds, just an excellent feeling of being WELL for the first time in a long, long time.

It was then I decided to take a risk and LET GO.

I had no idea what I wanted to major in, in college.  After my chiropractic experience I decided I wanted to do to as many people as possible what that chiropractor had done to me.

I finished my pre-requisites and enrolled into the fast track program to finish my bachelor’s degree and attain my Doctor of Chiropractic at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.

During my enrollment process I learned all I could about chiropractic.  I discovered that BJ Palmer (the developer of chiropractic) was friends with Marcus Bach, the father of Richard Bach (author of the book that created one of my life’s transformations: Illusions).  What an amazing coincidence.

As I entered chiropractic college I absorbed the philosophy.  Chiropractic is founded on a principle called: Vitalism.

Vitalism states that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  Meaning you are more than just your body.  In essence, the mystery of life cannot be defined solely by physical and chemical explanations.  The Power of your Mind and your perception is key.

It is separate and distinct from modern medicine in that modern medicine is based in Allopathy.  Allopathy states that:  the whole is equal to the sum of its parts.  In essence it functions to treat disease through physical and chemical means (drugs) to create the opposite effect of the symptoms.

What’s amazing is that Vitalism encompasses and allows Allopathy to function within its paradigm.  It is obvious that our bodies can be influenced by physical and chemical means.  It cannot be denied.  But Allopathy is not the be all, end all.  How many people do you know are on a medication and they might have to take another medication due to the side effects of another medication they are on?

Allopathy has no place in its paradigm for Vitalism.  It refuses to look at the BIG PICTURE.  Drugs and surgery become the mantra.

All I know in my life and experience is that there’s a time and place for both, and what I’ve discovered over the past 15 years is that if you are interested in building a healthy, active life, the timeless principles of VITALISM will set you on the path.  Allopathy is reserved best for emergency purposes.

Think of it like this:

• Allopathy is like the fire department with drugs (fire hoses) and surgery (axes).
• Vitalism is like the restoration company. (Paint/ hammers/ tools to help your home recover and be maintained)

So in an emergency like a fire, would you want a boat load of restoration people at your door?

Likewise, if your house needs maintenance and updating or “prevention” from a fire, would you think it’s a good idea to have the fire department soak your house in water every few days?

Both have their time and place.

Vitalism restored my life.  Through chiropractic, it’s all-encompassing philosophy, through improved nutrition, exercise and most importantly, the right mindset, I shifted my perception and chose a different path.

I chose Vitalism in an Allopathically dominated world.  What we see today is more sickness and more disease than we’ve ever seen before.  We also have more advanced medicine than we’ve ever had before. Do you see the disconnect here?

What we have are better ways of dealing with more serious illness.  And that can most certainly be applauded. However, …

The real issue is this.

Allopathy can only sustain a miserable life, keep it in existence.

And that’s all some people unfortunately want.  And if you want a “quick fix” without taking any responsibility for your life where you get to continue to blame others for your misfortunes and accrue more side effects and bigger problems through compensations, then by all means, full speed ahead into your Allopathic world with the blinders full up, ignoring the bigger picture…

Sorry to be so drab there, but that’s the reality.

If on the other hand, you are willing to explore a different perception of life, a life of possibility, then I welcome you to the world of Vitalism.  A world that still allows you to occasionally take a drug, obtain a surgery, but only in a last resort scenario.  You take responsibility in this world.  You commit to yourself and your wellbeing and you make good things happen!

Vitalism can help rebuild, regenerate and bring you to a higher level of life expression.  This is secretly what the deepest part of you desires and hopes for. 

If you haven’t already bought into the CLINGING ILLUSION that you are too old, it’s too late for you, then there is HOPE.

Because of the path I was drawn to, because of the impact of the book I read at 1 am at age 13, because of the adjustment I received during a period of intense stress and frustration I am on a different path than most.

I am blessed to help people every day embrace and put into practice the timeless principles of VITALISM.

If you are ready to stop CLINGING and LET GO, then let’s do this.

The process is simple (not necessarily easy), but so worth the effort.

Join me.

On this site you will be introduced to a principle called: “The Elevation Principle.”

From optimal movement, nutrition and mindset, this site will have and grow the tools and processes needed to get your life on track and sustainably improving.

This holds the key to your freedom.  Explore it, understand it, digest it, make it a part of your daily life.  You will approximate your dreams and you will understand and enjoy the journey more.

Welcome to The Elevation Principle…