The Osteopathic Mind E-Book

Alan Bergues

• Herausgeber: Editorial Autores de Argentina
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 410

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Possibly, this work is destined—sure as fate—to become the least read of all Osteopathy books. We already know that the world has fewer and fewer readers (and, conversely, more and more consumers of 15-second videos, promptly forgotten within the next 2 minutes). Worse still, if we were to tell those few remaining readers that the book they hold in their hands is a resounding call into the desert of reflection, of thought, and of philosophy, their interest in reading it would surely diminish even further. BUT… If there is an Osteopath, Therapist, or Healer willing to plunge into the depths of these pages, we can promise that such an in-dividual will emerge from these turbulent waters utterly transformed, challenged, refined, and carrying a new revelation. It is time to recycle much of what we have believed about Osteopathy. This book is not for just any cheerful taxpayer; it is a summons that will only be answered by strong, perceptive minds seeking their highest expression as Osteopaths and Healers. Let the flame be lit once more…

Leseprobe

ALAN BERGUES

The Osteopathic Mind

Bergues, AlanThe Osteopathic Mind / Alan Bergues. - 1a ed. - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires : Autores de Argentina, 2025.

Libro digital, EPUB

Archivo Digital: descarga y online

ISBN 978-987-87-6860-1

1. Medicina. I. Título.CDD 610.28

EDITORIAL AUTORES DE [email protected]

Traducción al ingles: Maria Luna Buchara y Silvina Oda @instituto_sunlight

Contents

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Why the Fuck Write a Book on Osteopathic Philosophy in the Age of the Reel?

THE STORY OF SIMÓN

A Few Guiding Notes Before We Begin

ADAM, The Ancestral Man and the Tree of Life (and the Osteopaths)

A Return to Origins

Before We Begin: A Brief Historical Reflection

The story now takes on a somewhat more intense turn..

Have we really evolved?

The story continues (third question in a row):

What did Eve see?

The Creator, His patience waning

God enraged

Here comes the mythological explanation:

What would I have done in Adam’s place?

But what does any of this prehistoric chatter have to do with us, modern Osteopaths?

How do we press the true Escape key from the Matrix?

The good news continues with the Tree of Life

And what is the promise if we eat from the Tree of Life?

Adamic and Osteopathic Conclusions

OSTEOPATHY (and the Arché)

A brief clinical story to conclude

What is Life? The ARCHÉ of Andrew Taylor STILL

What is Life?

What Is Vitalism?

Further Attempts at Vitalism

Aristotle vs. Still

The Vital Problem

Still vs. Aristotle

How does this continue?

Lovers of Life?

Why is it so important to reconsider our motors when approaching the Triad?

The fear of Death (And the coming conquest of Adam)

First, a Bit of Imagination

In This Dissatisfaction (or Extreme Satisfaction) Lies the Seed of Deification

Is There Any “Natural” Precedent for Overcoming Death?

How Does All This Begin?

What happened to us?

What Does Philosophy, the Mother of All Sciences, Say About Conquering Death?

Philosophy as the Necessary Substrate of All Action

And What about Us, the Osteopaths?

Why Does Transhumanism or Posthumanism Appear Now, of All Times?

How Will They Sell Us The Non-Death?

Would We Buy?

Would we buy it?

What Did the Watchers of the Infinite Say About This Matter of Non-Death?

We Will Achieve It—But at What Cost?

Some questions come to mind

Osteopaths—How Can We Avoid Falling Into the Same Trap Adam Inevitably Will?

SOLE...

“I Am Alive”

The Infinite (and Osteopathy)

Intro

A Bit of History

What Is the Ouroboros?

A Brief History of Mathematical Infinity

Kant and his pristine exactitude, a touch of colour

Let us continue

L.K.

Who was Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor? (1845–1918)

Now it is David Hilbert’s turn

“I Have a Dream”

Infinity from the Perspective of Osteopathy

Osteopathic Infinity?

The Explorer

What am I missing?

Conclusion

Infinity (Something More Practical)

The City. The Urban Man (The Osteopath...?)

Before diving into the complexity, a few facts about the real “Wall”

The Great Wall of China, Symbol of the Great and First Symbol

The Tower of Babel: A Reinterpretation of an Ancient Allegory

A Brief Interlude on Geography and the Human Spirit

Let us talk about the Great Leader (Genesis 10:8–9)

A brief historical note

The symbolic-historical explanation of the historical event

What was Cain’s punishment for his crime?

The Mind of the Infinite and the City

Translating This into the Modern World

What Are Walls Made Of?

#WeAreAllBabel

Why Was the City Synonymous with Evil to the Ancients?

How Does the Idea of the City Evolve in These Myths?

What Has Babel to Do with Osteopathy?

The URBAN Osteopath

Who is the Urban Osteopath?

Brief Comment – A Return to the Wall

“Primitive Man” versus “Weak Man”

Osteopathy Needs to Recover the Primitive Thinkers

How Can We Recover Our Lost Identity?

B. The Osteopath with an Osteopathic Mind knows he is a character in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Osteopathic life in EXPLORER mode

The Wanderer, the Explorer

The Feeling of Wonder

What is Wonder?

Wonder as a Primary Emotion

Wonder in Philosophy

The Explorer’s Wonder

Astonishing Confusions

The Ancient Mythical Explorer: Enoch

THE VITAL PRINCIPLE

“Keep it pure, boys! Keep it pure.”

Our Beacons

Osteosophy & Pathos?

Our Identity

Why speak of Nature and Osteo?

OSTEOPATHY

Osteopathic Expansion

So then, what does it mean?

The Psychopathy of Pathos

Our Gift

Adam and Pathos

When it rains, it pours...

Pathos TODAY

On Pathos and the Present: Don’t be so pathetic!

Final Reflections: Transformation Through Gratitude

Do Only Tissues Know?

“What Did Adam Experience with the ‘BREATH’?”

When Eve spoke to the serpent, did she use her voice?

How did they heal when something happened to them?

The “Breath of Life”

The Ruach

Let us examine the derivatives of “Ruach”

Why did he distort it?

Conclusions

Cain & Abel in Osteopathy

Let’s begin: does this 3,500-year-old story apply to today?

Let’s go to the essence of their names.

Why did God “look with favor” on Abel’s offering and not on Cain’s?

MY READING

WHO COULD ABEL BE?!

Exegesis of the reading

What else must we learn?

East and West—What Should We Do?

So then—what to do “osteopathically”?

So what is all this for?

Final thought

Osteopathy and What Is Life? (For Me)

Does The V Law exist?

To begin with: What is Number?

Perhaps the Symbol gave birth to language

What else could a Symbol be?

“To cast together and reunite.”

Who casts the Symbol?

Violet Note

Shall We Go to Five?

In summary... and reflection:

Why did we change the written format of “The V Law” from when it was first published in 2017?

What do the Astro-Nuts and Conspiranoids say?

So, what is and what does “The V Law” symbolize?

Acknowledgements

Ailin: Turning pain into art was the calling of your life. Thank you for your loving help and your wonderful photos!! @milenasanzana @grupofocus.ar

Erika: “We are the perfect couple, never doubt that.” Thank you for helping me become a complete man, for your loving companionship in this book and every area of life... thank you...

Guillermo Bergues: When I started working on this book, I was in deep darkness; my brother, a man of intellect and a reader of great depth, brought me a much greater light and challenged me to improve the work and explore myself. Guille, thank you for your enormous contributions to this project. (Don’t miss reading his fantastic book, I Have a Plan!) @gjbergues

Laura Rago: If we cut this amazing designer’s veins, we’d see art and magic gush out with her blood. Thank you for so much!! Always!! @laurirago

Mom: always grateful for your effort and help in every stage of my life! And along with her, to my beloved sister... thank you!!

There were tireless osteopaths with enormous vision who were very important on our path and opened doors so that we could share our work:

Zezé, @antoniodocuse, designer of the vast Brazilian school IDOT, @idotofficial, @idotinternacional (Herminio and Marcel), and Marce @marcelabehr for being the spark.

Francisco Fajardo (Spain) @iioa_oficial, @franciscofajardo_do, extraordinary creator of osteopathic content.

Fabiola Marelli (Italy), Creso @fabiola_marelli.

My friend Daniel Rodriguez, @rodriguezdanielfernando, @centroterapeuticoarbol.

Patricia Bersa @patobersa, along with the circle of kinesiologists MDQ.

University of Gran Rosario, @ugranrosario, Raul Beribé (and Alicia @alitaceballos for being the little motor).

Aaron and Jury, fantastic couple, citizens of the world @clinicasmetodolibertad, @libertadmejias, @dr_aaronhc.

Thank you for believing! The world of Osteopathy owes so much to these great gladiators.

To the friends of La V Ley, to the friends of life, to the patients who shape us every day... thank you!!

Finally, and before anyone else: To the Infinite Father who inspires in dreams. Everything is because of You... thank you, always...

Prologue

Why the Fuck Write a Book on Osteopathic Philosophy in the Age of the Reel?

The philosopher Baruch Spinoza, in his book Ethics, proposition XLIII, wrote:

“He who has a true idea simultaneously knows that he has a true idea, and cannot doubt the truth of the thing perceived.” This is my case. I have a deep certainty in my bones that sets my blood on fire. I have plenty of reasons to write this book, although I feel that, simply and at times, I was only a stubborn puppet of the words of the Infinite, whose spirit has a life of its own. The signs were various; sometimes sensations and thoughts came like a roaring torrent as I wrote. My brain did no deductive work here—it simply let itself be inflamed by Inspiration. Sadly, I imagine this might end up being the least-read book in our market. Who gives a damn about philosophy and deep thought in the hollow age of “influencers”? But then again, I get deeply moved watching the final chapter of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, where the Jedi finally defeat the Emperor. I get intensely emotional, I repeat, when I hear Zorii Bliss say: “They win by making you think you’re alone.” (Sorry, but a while ago I decided that I’d allow myself to be moved by my wife, by my friends, by nature, by a good film, and by the little wonders of life) When I think about how philosophy doesn’t sell, how only prepackaged answers do, I also find—on those solitary paths—the ones who still think, who still believe, who still read, who still dream. Even if, as Ricardo Arjona says, “dreams were banned by the president.” I anchor myself to that lifeline as my only hope—the lifeline of dreams that inspire us. And drifting a bit in this vast, tumultuous sea, “No life insurance covers dreams, even though I know just down the street they become eternal.” (Rossana)

Maybe to see those dreams come true, we need to walk down a parallel avenue.That’s why I don’t write standing on any school’s platform, but from the path where pilgrims and outsiders walk, gazing at the horizon. I also write from the frustration I feel when I see some of my chubby colleagues clowning around on social media to chase likes—while talking about Osteopathy and health. Disgust, at times, fed me as I scribbled some lines. Other times it was love and a sense of mission. Sometimes it was the inner fire of the calling.

So many feelings passed through me, so many thoughts I committed to paper—and many more I kept hidden. Solitude was my only advisor as I let these ideas come through me. I’m happy. These ideas will be their own defense and their own owners. Thankfully, there are no masters of Osteopathy or its concepts (though many try to act like it). There are only translators.

I’d like to name just a few of the scarce reasons that helped me swallow the boldness of writing about Philosophy without holding a philosopher’s degree.

1. Since the time of Still, not a single comprehensive volume has been devoted to the Philosophy of Osteopathy. This silence is not merely an oversight—it is a tragedy. For as has been said, “A lack of philosophical understanding confines one to the realm of the massage therapist.” And indeed, many who speak in the name of science on social media, in the end, serve more as technicians than as thinkers. This must change. And change, if it is to be profound and enduring, must begin in reflection—in philosophy.

2. I have chosen to write on this matter precisely because it remains unwritten. Philosophy is not a decorative appendage to our discipline; it is one of its most unshakable pillars. Colleagues, it is time to philosophize.

3. Osteopathy is the experience of the deconstruction of the impossible. What does impossible mean? Simply an internal limit, self-imposed by ignorance and fear, a linguistic and mental boundary. Let us be realists, let us demand the impossible. History teaches that something remains impossible until someone makes it possible. Who defines the limits of what is possible? Sadly, only two parties: myself (or yourself) and the teachings of my masters. It is time to transcend the boundaries set by our teachers. To know and to flirt with the impossible begins when the door to philosophizing is opened.

4. I am powerfully drawn by the idea of writing a book about some of the lies we were told.

5. Still used to say he dreamed of Osteopaths standing upon the “rock of Reason.” That summit can only be reached philosophically. Reason is the necessary and sufficient condition for philosophizing. Until now, we have not begun to walk the path that leads us to that rocky peak. Technique will not serve as a tool to solve the philosophical problems of our Art. We need another instrument.

6. Osteopathy began as a Philosophy, that is, as a language of the soul. What happened then, that this philosophy did not spread, like a movement of consciousness, and remained stagnant for a hundred years, when the only book of Philosophy was unloaded from the cloud without there later being many others on the matter? It is time to gently propel this fractal once again.

7. This book is born with the sole aim of interpreting Osteopathy through the prism of nature and from its own philosophical lens. I have grown weary of the pathetic popularizers of science peddling sterile hybrids.

8. The final theme of this book is Utopia, conceived as the highest vital and osteopathic aspiration. I am a Platonist, a lover of ideas, and I believe I shall die one (not an Aristotelian of the scientific method). Osteopathy was born both as a Utopia and as an entirely new Idea (as the originality of its Logos defines it). It is time to return Home.

9. I observe, in modern Osteopathy, an almost imperceptible drift toward allopathy. This poses a risk to our science. It is time to return to thinking independently.

10. If I am to die, let it be under my own Law; if I am to live, let it be by that same Law that was once revealed to my own heart. At 36 I wrote The Fifth Law; perhaps this time I could go even further...

11. “We all seek something. Madness is the quickest path to attain it— the crooked lines of God.” That is why... when wings grew upon me, I flew (and went mad, and did not hide).

12. This is a book intended for thought, for pausing, for slowing the vertigo. At first, it was a book for myself, which I later wished to share with my friends, with those who love Osteopathy. My friend, read to reflect, not merely to judge.

Why are Andrew Still’s writings so often misunderstood? For the simple reason that Derrida’s or Henri Bergson’s writings—or indeed those of any philosopher—are equally misunderstood. Even philosophers themselves do not always understand one another. Philosophy is not easily grasped if not in the pursuit of one’s own reflection. That is, the philosophical surgeon does not seek merely to convey ideas, but to elicit profound reflection in the reader. We might say that the aim of Philosophy is not to be understood, but to be contemplated. What did Andrew mean? That is what we must ask ourselves... that question shall serve as our guide throughout these pages.

“Philosophers who have speculated on the meaning of life and the destiny of man have not sufficiently noticed that nature has taken the trouble to inform us about herself. She warns us through a precise sign that our destiny is being fulfilled.

That sign is joy. I say joy, not pleasure. Pleasure is but an artifice imagined by nature to secure, for the living being, the preservation of life; it does not indicate the direction toward which life is propelled. But joy always proclaims that life has triumphed, that it has gained ground, that it has achieved a victory: every great joy bears a triumphant accent. Now then, if we heed this indication and follow this new line of facts, we find that wherever there is joy, there is creation: the richer the creation, the deeper the joy.”

-H. Bergson

THE STORY OF SIMÓN

It is August 4th, the height of winter in a city known for its magnificent ski resort: San Martín de los Andes. Thanks to climate change, I am enjoying a bit of sunlight after finishing at the clinic. I had written the draft of three or four chapters of this book, which posed an enormous mental and spiritual challenge (and brought along some doubts). Nearly nothing is too easy in wonderful yet chaotic Argentina. At that moment, I was pondering how to come to an understanding of Life, how to grasp this epic osteopathic narrative put forth by Andrew Taylor Still, and then, having understood it, how to practice it so as to convey it clearly in a world that is... difficult... and filled with complexities and challenges such as those we have been destined to face.

At that moment, I get a call from my friend Mariana García—a deeply sensitive therapist, one of the most sensitive people I have ever met. I pick up right away, surprised to hear from her. I don’t think we’d spoken in at least two years. With an enthusiastic “Helloooo!” I answer the call and immediately say: “Two days ago I dreamed about you. It was one of those strange, senseless dreams... but there you were.”

(I get the feeling something good might come from this call, so I switch on my full Attention.) She tells me about a patient she thought I should see. We ask each other how we’ve been, what life’s been like. I tell her I’m working on my third book and that it’s a huge challenge. “Life is a huge challenge,” she replies.She ends the call by sharing an experience she had with her 10-year-old son. She had walked into his room while he was playing, and found a phrase written on the wall in thick black permanent marker.

Parents will know the kind of fury these “artworks” can stir—especially on a freshly painted, perfect white wall. She immediately starts scolding him, questioning him, reprimanding him—while the boy simply looks at her with calm, understanding eyes.

When she finishes, she turns to the wall to actually read what he’d written:

“Life is a useful book for those who want to understand.”

Of course, she had to pause... reflect... and apologize to the young prophet. I was speechless when I heard the story. I thanked her for the call, and we said goodbye, as always, with lots of affection.

An emotion overwhelmed my heart. I believe the Universe had spoken to me. If I want to understand, I must learn to read Life—it holds enough pages to grasp Eternity, Infinity, and to search for answers to the very problems we keep creating ourselves.

I understand that Life can often speak through children. (Have you never had that experience with your own children or nephews and nieces?) For a moment, I understand the underground Matrix that connects us. I realize this is not a time for so much scientific method—it’s a time for a different frequency, a higher vibration. It’s time to evolve the rigid, obsolete method so skillfully sold to us by the industry. And I also begin to understand that in order to understand, I must understand that I need to become a child again—one who understands almost entirely through intuition. This is not a time for agnostics—it’s a time to believe, innocently, like children do.

“Let the little children come to me,” echoes in my mind. To be like a child does not mean to walk in immaturity or to practice infantilism. To be like a child is to embrace the new movement of truth with an open heart, and to free ourselves from the rigidity of the so-called “science,” of the “four laws,” and of those who only see a business in our Art.To be like a child is to believe in connection, in meaningful coincidences, in “God-incidences,” in the subtle Matrix that binds us, in the vitality of play, in sleeping plenty, playing even more—and in growing, growing, and believing. To be like a child is to embrace what is new. It is to deny what came before—not with rejection, but with deep respect and profound love. To deny it, nonetheless, in order to transcend it and truly learn it.

I then remembered that Andrew Taylor Still called Osteopaths the Children of the Divine Mind, and certain things began to make sense.

After that phone call, I think I was beginning to understand...And I believe that’s precisely why

I finally decided to keep writing The Osteopathic Mind, while I myself tried to read Life with at least a little innocence...

A Few Guiding Notes Before We Begin

• This book deliberately lacks exhausting references.Most of what I mention can be found on Wikipedia, the web, in papers or books.I don’t want to unnecessarily stretch the pages just to back up what I say. The goal here is reflection—not to lean on anyone, except the father of Osteopathy and the Infinite. (Also, paper’s expensive.)

• At times, some of the words might offend you—at times, I myself have felt uneasy with what I’ve written. You’ll only be able to judge this book once you’ve reached the very last letter.

• I write as a peer, a friend, and a colleague.

• You’ll come across numerous uses of myths, with the sole purpose of reaching a possible truth and opening the door to reflection. Don’t take the myths as historical facts, but rather as symbols—beyond your religion or lack thereof.

• I chose to talk about Adam, Eve, the Tower of Babel, the Apocalypse, and other Hebrew mythologies instead of Zeus, Homer, Dionysus, and Apollo... but it’s basically the same: myths rooted in real—or maybe not real—stories, seasoned with symbolism to help us learn something.

• Everything I put forward in this book is inspiration, even though I feel every word written here as if it were truth. Do I practice everything I write? Probably not. But, just like in The V Law, here too I hold on to the words of Paul of Antioch:

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal, toward the prize of the high calling...”

There is still so much—so much—to do and write in Osteopathy. That’s why I’m sure this book will open doors you never thought existed—or worse, doors you believed were closed to us. Thank you for letting me be part of your vital and osteopathic journey.

Finally:

-THIS BOOK IS MEANT TO BE READ VEEERRYYY SLOWLY...

-THIS BOOK IS NOT READ TO BE FINISHED, BUT TO BE REFLECTED UPON.

-THIS BOOK SHOULD BE READ FROM BEGINNING TO END, RATHER THAN BY JUMPING BETWEEN CHAPTERS.

“Try not to follow the same mistakes others have made.”

Chapter 01

“I am not satisfied with the explanations given by our physiologists on the subject of digestion.They tell us that we chew, swallow, and that the food undergoes many changes in the stomach...and then they stop, after giving us a few Greek words like osmosis, exosmosis, endosmosis...”

-Andrew Taylor Still

Philosopher, Mechanic, Osteopath

(This will be a long chapter...We are laying the spiritual foundations of the building from which we will later watch the sunrise.Get your backpack ready for the journey.)