By Michael Dorausch, D.C.
In 1997 I had the good fortune to be the student president for the International Chiropractors Association representing the chiropractic campus at CCCLA in Los Angeles, California. One of the highlights of my involvement in student politics was the times I enjoyed talking with legendary chiropractors like Sid Williams, Bobby Braile, Fred Barge, and James Sigafoose. Philosophical chiropractic was red-hot in the Southern California area in 1997 and 1998 (and it is again today thanks to DCS), with events drawing large crowds of chiropractors focused on a mission of serving the planet. Dr. Ian Grassam was a key speaker at these SoCal events, and his words of inspiration left lasting impressions on a large number of those attending the events. While he passed away in November of 1999, the influential chiropractic words from Ian Grassam continue to live on. Even though legendary talks from him and others have been available on Planet Chiropractic for nearly 10 years, we just recently had all of the audio transcribed from a 1997 talk he gave during an ICA conference in Orange County, California.
(photo: Chiropractor Ian Grassam speaking during a student luncheon at CCCLA in 1997)
Dr. Grassam’s presentation was more than an hour long which transcribed into over 8000 words. Due to the large amount of content, it is being presented in a multi-part post, which will include some photographs and other related information. It took great effort to transcribe the audio into text format, and my intention was to preserve the historic nature of events such as this one. Without further ado, this is Dr. Ian Grassam…
His name was Wallace. He was a Scotsman. And I have walked the fields upon which he fought, because I was born in Scotland. And came here as a small boy, with a purpose in my life. And that purpose was to be here with you. And to share with you the message of freedom. And be willing to let you know that you will pay a price for that freedom. The price of that freedom, is you must give up all that holds you back from being who you are, for you were born free.
That’s the story of William Wallace, and the battles that he fought, and the death that he experienced, and the price that he paid.
We went to L.A., it’s a joy. That’s all those lunatics in the middle section over there. And then from there we went to LACC, and found those people just as crazy as as the people at Cleveland. Palmer West was our next invitation, I’d be glad to speak, spoke at Life West the last time we were here. And, somethings happening on the West Coast. There’s a revolution in education on the west coast. To even have me invited to LACC is a revolution. [Applause]
However, as we shared with the students at LACC and at Cleveland, that you serve the administration, you serve the community, you serve your fellow students, you serve the patients in your clinic, you continue to serve, and serve, and serve, and serve, and serve. And pretty soon you are the master of your universe. Because if you ever chose to be master, you must be servant to all – that is the price.
The price is to give up yourself, and realize what it is you are here for and what it is you are trying to accomplish, and change the world accordingly. The students at the west coast schools are making a major, major difference in their institutions. And it’s a love for this principle of chiropractic that has motivated them in that direction. They will benefit beyond all belief. Those students who at this time are serving those institutions, and their fellow students, will be the leaders that will take these meetings in the next 20 years and turn them into ten and fifteen thousand people.
That’s the leadership that is here today from the schools. You don’t realize this. You say, “Ian, how do you know that?” I know that because when I was in my student years, so many years ago at Logan College, it’s what I did. I was the head of this organization and the head of that organization and we coordinated that movement, we brought these speakers on – we were the radicals on campus. I went back my first year after graduation and was thrown off campus. I was thrown off campus when I was a student, I was thrown off campus after I was a student. I was thrown off campus! There was a price!
They said, “Ian Grassam, get off our campus where not going to listen to that trash.” And that trash was about subluxation, and the correction of the subluxation, and the fact that it was the answer to the health care needs of a nation. And uniquely enough that was 30 years ago, and I went out over those years, and went and spoke to the various groups around this country.
And you know, I really, really enjoyed the fact that David Kennedy, dentist, was on your platform this weekend. Because there are more David Kennedys out there than you know, that exist than other professionals. Who at the heart of their life and their professional service know what we know, but imagine…I mean here we are very comfortable in this room, putting forth the principles that we believe in. Discussing the foundation of our science. Can you imagine what the dental world thinks of David Kennedy? His fellow dentists? Can you imagine the names that that man is called, and his wife is called, and his family puts up with?
He is standing up in a profession, that if given half a chance, could push a button, and have David Kennedy disappear. Do you understand that? That’s the price he’s paying. He’s standing up here and he feels wonderful and warm, and probably brief moments of his life he wishes he was a chiropractor just to have this kind of support. But the reality is that when David goes home, on Monday morning he’ll be a dentist. He’ll be part of a profession, nationwide, that doesn’t really appreciate what he stands for. We in Chiropractic have an opportunity to lead the David Kennedys of this world.
You know and I know that throughout this country, there are literally tens of thousands of people, professional, laymen, what have you – that are into wellness. Am I right? I mean from every nutritionist, every massage therapist, every acupuncturist, every person that deals in clinical psychology and wellness care, the understanding of the total being – those people are out there. They are fractionated. They’re like David, god bless him, he’s off on a movement and running things for a program he believes in. You’ve got them out there doing this all over the country – what is it they need?
Leadership. They need leadership. They need focus. They need something that helps put it all together. What happens when chiropractic establishes nationwide? And I’m trying to talk with the ICA, and the ICA is talking about this, and that is about having a health freedom day, where all people who practice a natural healing science will march on Washington DC and tell those people they cannot pass laws that hold back freedom of health care for the people of this nation.
How many tens of thousands of followers of this wellness movement, who understand that this has to come to be? Gerry talked about being in a post-critical mass mental plane. And this is where we are today. I spent the last 25, 30 years of my life going around this country and going throughout the world telling the chiropractic story, telling the story, telling the subluxation based story, relating the science of chiropractic – that the body is a self healing, self regulating organism. And I have watched medicine go through many phases in a short period of time.
It’s sometimes hard to realize the suffering that is going on within the basic medical paradigms within this nation. From Australia to the United States to Canada and I’ve been in Europe, been in Russia, we were in Russia before the Iron Curtain came down, and we watched the medical paradigm fail after failure after failure after failure. To the extent, that the people are beginning to challenge that now.
That’s what Gerry was talking about earlier this morning. The medical paradigm is collapsing on itself. It is collapsing under the pressure of its own failure. It does not supply people what they need. Especially an enlightened society.
[To Be Continued]
planetc1.com-news @ 9:42 am | Article ID: 1211474576
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