There is no "good health" or "bad health." There is only perfect health.

How do you like these photos?

I shot them last week on a day that was mostly cloudy, rainy and quite chilly. It wasn't the kind of spring day most people hope for. I shot the pics in color; composition was good...nice lines...crisp, clear color. The pictures were decent but not that great. Ho hum! Then I played around with them on the computer and -- POP -- surreal and engaging. I can't stop looking at the first one. Perfect!

Now let's talk about the weather that day. All day long, people were complaining about it. Earlier that afternoon, I heard someone describe it as "yucky." Yet, when I was out for a walk in the park at City Beach in downtown Sandpoint, although it was cold, windy and rainy, I saw a family playing baseball together, laughing, enjoying each other, splashing through puddles, sliding in the soggy grass and having a fabulous time. Perfect!

Even when we don't enjoy the prolific spring rains around here, we all know how important they are. And the cold? That serves a purpose too. I don't know what that purpose was on that particular afternoon, but just because most people didn't like it, that doesn't mean the cold was "bad." If you doubt the perfection of the cold, the rain and the synergy of all weather conditions, just look around and behold the spectacular scenery of North Idaho. I'm here day in and day out, and I'm constantly blown away by the exquisite splendor surounding me. I can't tell you how many times I have been talking about an unrelated subject, then looked at the Cabinet Mountains, the Seven Sisters, a dilapidated barn, an newborn colt, Schweitzer Mountain, a moose, a cloud formation, Lake Pend Oreille, or any of the endless variety of sights, and stopped mid-sentence to say, "WOW! That's amazing! Perfect!

How do you feel today...?

Perfect!



Until next time,
Dr. Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor, lightworker, energy healer, writer, speaker
Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

PS: Here is this week's update on the Oby Phenomenon:



You can now purchase or order Oby's Wisdom! A Caveman's Simple Gude to Health and Well-being at your favorite local bookstore. Here in the Inland Northwest, Oby is on the shelves at these locations:
Spokane: Auntie's Bookstore, downtown
Coeur d'Alene: Hastings and Borders
Sandpoint: Inquire Within, Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, Zero Point and Vanderford's Books & Office Products





Book signings:
There are no book signings currently on the schedule, although I'm working on one at Borders in North Spokane, perhaps next month.

If you would like to host or help arrange a book signing, please let me know and we will make it happen.

You can also visit the official Oby's Wisdom website to purchase a copy. www.ObysWisdom.com

Buy Oby's Wisdom on Amazon. Oby enjoyed a spike in Amazon sales this past week. Thanks!

Buy Oby's Wisdom at BarnesAndNoble.com

In India and other locations in Asia, Oby's Wisdom is available at Infibeam.com
(Free shipping in India.)

If you would prefer to read the book digitally, you can find Oby's Wisdom in various digital formats at:

Barnes and Noble's Nook

Sony e-reader

Other digital formats at Smashwords.com

Coming soon to Kindle.

I think Oby may be available for Apple's iPad now. I'm not sure. If you have an iPad, check it out. (BTW - I'm thinking about buying an iPad. If you own one, please post a comment about how you like it.)

We are equally served by beauty and pain.

Cricket snapped this photo last month while we were visiting Saguaro National Park near Tuscon, Arizona. We were there when the desert was alive with the vibrant color of spring flowers.

Take a look at the picture above. Two parts of the cactus jump right out. First, of course, the eye is drawn to the bright flowers. If you come close to pick one, or take a whif of the pleasant scent, be careful. As you see, the cactus is also covered with sharp spines.

Beauty and pain...

Contrasts such as this are everywhere in the natural world.

Flowers and spines...

Sunshine and rain...

Warm summer breezes and the biting winds of winter ...

Bright daytime and the darkness of night...

Bunny rabbits and coyotes...

Bees pollinating and bees stinging...

While we might not always enjoy puncture wounds, getting wet, having to bundle up, darkness, the death of cute critters and the prospect of painful bee stings, it is easy to understand the importance of all of these things in the elegant design of Nature.

The same important balance is inherent in my and your life experience.

We enjoy the good feeling of vibrant and robust health; but our challenges with pain and dis-ease always present an opportunity to grow, heal and expand. Always.

Remember the basic truth: You are beautiful and perfect! Always...!

Enjoy these other photos Cricket and I took at Saguaro National Park that all depict the beauty and perfection of Nature.









Until next time,
Dr. Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor, lightworker, energy healer, writer, speaker
Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

PS: Here is the latest on the Oby Phenomenon:
You can now order Oby's Wisdom! A Caveman's Simple Gude to Health and Well-being through your favorite local bookstore. Here in the Inland Northwest, Oby is on the shelves at these locations:
Spokane: Auntie's Bookstore, downtown
Coeur d'Alene: Hastings and Borders
Sandpoint: Inquire Within, Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, Zero Point and Vanderford's Books & Office Products

Book signings:
There are no book signings currently on the schedule. If you would like to host one, or if you know someone you think might like to, please let me know and we will make it happen.

You can also visit the official Oby's Wisdom website to purchase a copy. www.ObysWisdom.com

Buy Oby's Wisdom on Amazon

Buy Oby's Wisdom at BarnesAndNoble.com

In India and other locations in Asia, Oby's Wisdom is available at Infibeam.com
(Free shipping in India.)

If you would prefer to read the book digitally, you can find Oby's Wisdom in various digital formats at:

Barnes and Noble's Nook

Sony e-reader

Other digital formats at Smashwords.com

Coming soon to Kindle and Apple's iPad.

Which voice do you choose to listen to...?

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in the annual Bloomsday Run in Spokane, Washington. Bloomsday is a fun time, with about 50,000 participants running or walking 12 kilometers (about 7 and a half miles). It's a hilly and challenging course. All along the route thousands of spectators cheer the runners on with signs and shouted words of encouragement. It's a very motivating experience!

This year, a couple of miles from the end, there were two guys who had a different message. Take a look at the picture above. You can read the red sign: "Just quit now." The green sign says, "You'll never make it."

These two guys were quite a contrast to the countless others who were offering cheers of support and encouragement at a point where the race was really becoming a challenge. It was all in fun and I doubt they de-motivated anybody. I'm sure they got many thousands of laughs from the passing runners. Even so, these guys serve as a colorful illustration of the contrasting messages that swirl around in our heads as we encounter life's challenges. Whether it be health, wealth, love or whatever; we often have two voices speaking to us: a naysayer and a motivational speaker. One will always be louder than the other. We always have a choice about which voice to listen to.

Which voice do you choose listen to -- the one that is loudest, or the one that serves you the best...?

Until next time,
Dr. Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor, lightworker, energy healer, writer, speaker
Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

PS: Happy birthday to me!

PSS: Here is the latest on the Oby Phenomenon:
You can now order Oby's Wisdom! A Caveman's Simple Gude to Health and Well-being through your favorite local bookstore. Here in the Inland Northwest, Oby is on the shelves at these locations:
Spokane: Auntie's Bookstore, downtown
Coeur d'Alene: Hastings and Borders
Sandpoint: Inquire Within, Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, Zero Point and Vanderford's Books & Office Products

Book signings:
The recent book signings at Hastings in CdA, Auntie's in Spokane and Borders in CdA were a great success. Thanks to all who attended! I will post future book signings here as they are scheduled.

You can also visit the official Oby's Wisdom website to purchase a copy. www.ObysWisdom.com

Buy Oby's Wisdom on Amazon

Buy Oby's Wisdom at BarnesAndNoble.com

In India and other locations in Asia, Oby's Wisdom is available at Infibeam.com
(Free shipping in India.)

If you would prefer to read the book digitally, you can find Oby's Wisdom in various digital formats at:

Barnes and Noble's Nook

Sony e-reader

Other digital formats at Smashwords.com

Coming soon to Kindle and Apple's iPad.

The Key to Health is Synergy.

I learned a brilliant lesson about health a few days ago -- in a game of dodgeball -- from an opposing team who calls themselves "Team Stupid"...!

A few evenings ago, my dodgeball team played our final match of the regular season. We discovered that we are not very good at coordinating our efforts as a team. The other team, on the other hand, was very good at that. Our opponents jokingly named themselves "Team Stupid," but, in reality, they were very smart. In contrast to my team,they were very effective at coordinating their efforts. There was one point when four people on Team Stupid each threw a ball at me all at the same time. They got me! They employed that tactic time after time and they won the best-of-five series against us.

A winning dodgeball team operates on the same principle as a healthy living being. That principle is synergy. When your body is functionng in a synergistic manner, with no interference, guided by your Innate intelligence, you are free to express vibrant health.

Unfortunately, our lifestyles bring in a lot of interference:
Processed, lifeless food...
Lack of sleep...
Not enough clear water...
Too much time in front of the tube...
Sedentary ways...
Prescription medications...
The list goes on...
and on...

These factors do not bring in poor health; what they do is diminish the expression of vibrant health. Here is an example that everybody can relate to from personal experience: We all need adequate sleep to function optimally in every aspect of our beings -- physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Go just a few days on limited z's and you'll be cranky, you will zone out any time you try to concentrate on a mental task and you will tire quickly when performing physical tasks. Get a couple nights of good, restful sleep, and everything falls back into place.

Another great example that I have extensive experience in is the power of the Chiropractic Adjustment. Your spine is the center of the structural and neurological functioning of your body. It is also key to your spiritual expression. Time and time again, I have seen people's lives blossom when they are under Chiropractic wellness care. Why? Because, when there is less interference, there is greater synergy!

Life needs no help, just no interfernece!

Until next time,
Dr. Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor, lightworker, energy healer, writer, speaker
Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

PS: Here is the latest on the Oby Phenomenon:
You can now order Oby's Wisdom! A Caveman's Simple Gude to Health and Well-being through your favorite local bookstore. Here in the Inland Northwest, Oby is on the shelves at these locations:
Spokane: Auntie's Bookstore, downtown
Coeur d'Alene: Hastings
Sandpoint: Inquire Within, Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, Zero Point and Vanderford's Books & Office Products

Upcoming book signings:
April 29, Thursday - Auntie's Book Store, Downtown Spokane, 7-9 PM. A reading and Q&A will precede the book signing.
May 1, Saturday - Borders in Coeur d'Alene, 1-3 PM

You can also visit the official Oby's Wisdom website to purchase a copy. www.ObysWisdom.com

Buy Oby's Wisdom on Amazon

Buy Oby's Wisdom at BarnesAndNoble.com

In India and other locations in Asia, Oby's Wisdom is available at Infibeam.com
(Free shipping in India.)

If you would prefer to read the book digitally, you can find Oby's Wisdom in various digital formats at:

Barnes and Noble's Nook

Sony e-reader

Other digital formats at Smashwords.com

Coming soon to Kindle and Apple's iPad.

The Internet is a Stick

That's right; the internet is a stick!

A very wise and good friend of mine named Grover told me that a few days ago, and I was struck by the simplicity and depth of that wisdom. What Grover said was that, if you sit with stick for awhile, you can access all of the wisdom of Creation. Think about everything a stick is synergistically connected with. The Sun, the Earth, the Animal World, Humanity, the Universe...

A simple stick represents the Mother of all internets.

A simple stick represents you and your critical part of that vast and wondrous internet!

Think about it...



Until next time,
Dr. Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor, lightworker, energy healer, writer, speaker
Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

PS: The most important update yet on the Oby Phenomenon:
The Oby Phenomenon is much more than selling books. The Oby Phenomenon is about spreading a new, empowering perspective -- in health and in life. Here is a great example of how the Oby Phenomenon is doing that:

A couple of weeks ago, I gave my "Wellness 101" seminar to a group of employees at a particular organization. This seminar is built around the lessons in Oby's Wisdom. As always, I emphasized "The Basic Truth" that I present in Oby's Wisdom. The Basic Truth, of course, is: "You are beautiful and perfect!" About a week after the seminar, I ran into the person who had invited me to speak. She told me that they have a new office motto: "You are beautiful and perfect!" They tell it to each other regularly, especially during stressful times.

Just imagine if everyone in the world responded to a stressful moment by reminding everyone else that they are beautiful and perfect. Just imagine...

Incorporate the Oby Phenomenon into your own life! If you live in the Inland Northwest, you can buy your copy of Oby's Wisdom at these locations:
Spokane: Auntie's Bookstore, downtown
Coeur d'Alene: Hastings
Sandpoint: Inquire Within, Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, Zero Point and Vanderford's Books & Office Products

Upcoming book signings:
April 10 - Hastings, Coeur d'Alene, 2-4 PM
April 17 - Borders in Coeur d'Alene, 1-3 PM
April 29 - Auntie's Book Store, Downtown Spokane, 7-9 PM. A reading, Q&A will precede the book signing.

You can also visit the official Oby's Wisdom website to purchase a copy. www.ObysWisdom.com

Oby is also available through Amazon and your favorite local bookstore.

Your "flaws" are truly gifts!

I received this story in an email from a friend last week and knew right away I wanted to post it to this blog. Apparently it has been floating around for quite awhile, but this was the first time I have ever received it. Enjoy!

A woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”

The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.



Remember: You are beautiful and perfect!

Until next time,
Dr. Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor, lightworker, energy healer, writer, speaker
Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

PS: An update on the Oby Phenomenon:
If do not yet have your own copy of Oby's Wisdom! A Caveman's Simple Gude to Health and Well-being, why wait any longer? For those readers here in the Inland Northwest, you can pick up a copy at these locations:
Spokane: Auntie's Bookstore, downtown
Coeur d'Alene: Hastings
Sandpoint: Inquire Within, Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, Zero Point and Vanderford's Books & Office Products

Upcoming book signings:
April 10 - Hastings, Coeur d'Alene, 2-4 PM
April 17 - Borders in Coeur d'Alene, 1-3 PM
April 29 - Auntie's Book Store, Downtown Spokane, 7-9 PM. A reading, Q&A will precede the book signing.

You can also visit the official Oby's Wisdom website to purchase a copy. www.ObysWisdom.com

Oby is also available through Amazon and your favorite local bookstore.

Which aspects of yourself are you revealing?

An Elder told his grandchild: "I have two wolves fighting inside of me. One wolf is anger, suspicion and fear. The other is a wolf of love, joy, peace and generosity."

“Which wolf will win, Grandfather?” asked the child.

“The one I feed the most,” answered the Elder.

Until next time,
Dr. Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor, lightworker, energy healer, writer, speaker
Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

PS: An update on the Oby Phenomenon:
If do not yet have your own copy of Oby's Wisdom! A Caveman's Simple Gude to Health and Well-being, why wait any longer? For those readers here in the Inland Northwest, you can pick up a copy at these locations:
Spokane: Auntie's Bookstore, downtown
Coeur d'Alene: Hastings
Sandpoint: Inquire Within, Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, Zero Point and Vanderford's Books & Office Products

We had a GREAT book signing at Inquire Within in Sandpoint yesterday (Saturday). Many thanks to all who attended!

Upcoming book signings:
April 10 - Hastings, Coeur d'Alene, 2-4 PM
April 17 - Borders in Coeur d'Alene, 1-3 PM
April 29 - Auntie's Book Store, Downtown Spokane, 7-9 PM. A reading, Q&A will precede the book signing.

You can also visit the official Oby's Wisdom website to purchase a copy. www.ObysWisdom.com

Oby is also available through Amazon and your favorite local bookstore.