We at Ultimate Health believe in treating the whole person. We find that addressing the mental/emotional aspect of health is an important part of this process. Stress plays a huge role in the health of every individual. Unfortunately, many people are under a tremendous amount of stress for a variety of reasons including race. Listen to the latest podcast on Ultimate Health Radio as Dr. Brad Schapiro interviews Eric Vanzant and Lee Brannon on the subject of "Race Division" and it's impact on health.
We at Ultimate Health believe in treating the whole person. We find that addressing the mental/emotional aspect of health is an important part of this process. Stress plays a huge role in the health of every individual. Unfortunately, many people are under a tremendous amount of stress for a variety of reasons including race. Listen to the latest podcast on Ultimate Health Radio as Dr. Brad Schapiro interviews Eric Vanzant and Lee Brannon on the subject of "Race Division" and it's impact on health.
It's time for the ultimate health podcast with dr. Brad Shapiro. For more information, you can reach us at(931) 967-6308. And don't forget to check out our Facebook page, facebook.com/ultimate chiropractic or our website@wwwdotultimatehealthtn.com. Now let's join dr. Brad for the ultimate health podcast.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone. And welcome to ultimate health radio. I'm dr. Brad Shapiro. It's been a while since we've done a show, but we're excited to communicate to you guys. We're excited to share what we believe is a really important topic, but before we get started, I'm going to give you the standard. Disclaimer, please understand that we are not trying to treat you over the airwaves. So if you do have a health care concern, or if we talk about anything, sparks your interest, please seek out the healthcare provider of your choice, whether it's chiropractor like myself or a medical doctor, a massage therapist, dentist, whatever the case may be, please seek out the healthcare provider of your choice. So with that, we'll get started one of the hot topics right now. And one of the things that we're seeing routinely in the clinic is just the issue of stress. People are under a lot of stress. It ties into world events. It ties into relationships. It ties into politics. It ties in all kinds of things. And just to give you some of my background, and we've talked about this in past shows, but we do, um, some mental, emotional techniques here at ultimate health. So there's techniques, there's neurological techniques that you can do to essentially reboot the brain around emotions, kind of like rebooting a computer around a virus. And so there's different ways to do that. Some of it ties into figuring out what people's triggers are. You know, it's really affected them in a negative way from a stress standpoint, but that's a big focus of the practice. We also have a pastorial counselor on staff with us, pastor Jerry Yoakam. And so we just, we put a lot of emphasis into this mental, emotional aspect of health. We put a lot of emphasis in distress. And so one of the topics right now is just the impact of race division and its impact on health. I know it's kind of a touchy subject. I know it's kind of a difficult subject, but we really feel like it's important to talk about it. We feel like we've got to talk about these things that a lot of people are struggling with. A lot of people are concerned about that. A lot of people are angry about, and that a lot of people feel a lot of stress around, you know, this whole idea of again, race division and its impact on health. So to do this, to take on this, um, this a difficult topic, but this important topic, I've got two amazing people with me. I've got two close friends. Uh, Eric Vanzant is one Lee, Brandon is the other, but we're just excited to talk about this. And so as we get started, I just want to welcome them to the show. And, uh, if you guys wouldn't mind, just tell, tell the listeners a little bit about yourselves, just a little bit about your background. Um, and kind of just some of the things that you've experienced. Okay.
Speaker 3:Uh, I'm Eric van Zandt and I am currently the director at the camp or family resource center. I have a bachelor's degree in psychology and I am, uh, one of the ordain ministers at a God day ministries. Um, I have pretty much just worked with children and families, my entire adult life, um, from all different socioeconomic background backgrounds, different religions, different belief systems, and just love people. And I feel that God has called me to be that servant, uh, just a man out here to proclaim his goodness, uh, to tell people about his love, but even more than to tell people about his love, to show people about the love of God. Um, and that doesn't mean that I always agree with where people are, uh, but I have to love them right where they are. I love them enough to meet them where they are. I love them too much to let them stay where they are. And I think that that's, that's how God loves us. That's how God loves us. So that's a little bit about me
Speaker 2:From, what about you, mr. Brandon?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, yeah, my name is Lee Brandon, and, um, I am the pastor of burning Bush in the church of God in Belvedere, as well as the school counselor, Franklin County high school. Um, I have, um, my EDS in, um, leadership from MTS Shu and I have been working in the school system for quite a while now. And I'm so glad to be back in Franklin County. I started off in Lincoln County, um, such a blessing to be here in my own County to help out with students here, as well as what I do in the community, just trying to help people. And as Eric has already, um, eloquently said, um, role is just to show love to people and to be there for people, um, to help people get to the next level. Um, Eric and I always talk about the fact of meeting people at the well, um, as you just stated at where they're at and I'm leading them to and talking to them and encouraging them to get to where God wants them to get to. And so that's, um, pretty much my background,
Speaker 2:Good stuff. So you can say both these guys have great backgrounds. Um, they've got a perfect background for what we're going to talk about, so that's why we want to have them on the show. That's why we felt like this would just be a great way to approach this topic. So with that, I'm going to kick off the first question. So Eric and Lee, how do you think, uh, the issue, this issue of race has been communicated? What's um, how do you feel like it's been communicated? What do you think has been, uh, done properly? What do you think maybe by may, maybe be a little bit confusing for people, but how do you feel like this issue has been communicated? And then do you feel like we have turned race into a political issue?
Speaker 3:I'm with Brad? I think I'm on several levels here. As far as race being communicated nationwide. I think it's definitely has become a political issue for us. Um, and, and unfortunately when you begin to put it in political, a political issue, then you have the issue of, um, one side versus the other side. And it's not based on one side based on the other side is based on right and wrong. And so when we continue to hold things in a political stance, we miss the real issues. I think race relations in, in let's be real. There's, there's some deep seated issues there, but a lot of things could be solved if people with common sense and intellectual ability would come together and not be afraid to talk to somebody who has dif has different views than they have. And when we begin to sit down and talk, we begin to see that maybe there's misunderstanding between what we're actually saying as well as a misunderstanding of our intent of what's being said. And so the have those conversations and, and, um, deal with those elephants in the room is very important. Um, I think even locally looking at Franklin County, um, that's been a lot of things that in, in, in this past, dealing with this, even this rebel mascot, I think, um, there was a lot of, um, misunderstanding. Um, one thing that we did not do that probably should have been forefront in this whole issue is to have a set down, um, to have that conversation because when we begin to have that conversation, then people can begin to see both sides and they can begin to see, um, what's really going on in the whole matter.
Speaker 2:I think that's a great point lately. You know, one of the ways that I like to communicate that message is, is to tell people you can't live in an echo chamber. A lot of us live in an echo chamber where the people that we spend time with and the people that we hear from typically communicate things that we agree with. And that we're used to hearing. This could be a health issue. This could be a relationship issue. It could be a race issue. It could be any number of things, but you don't really know if where you stand holds up until you hear other perspectives until you have that conversation, like what you're talking about. Um, so I think that's a great insight. Just the whole idea of just sitting down and just having that conversation. One of the things we tell our son, you know, we have one son, my wife and I, and we tell him, you know, we can talk about anything, you know, politics, religion. We want to hear your frustrations. We want to hear your ideas. The only rule is you gotta be respectful. That's the only role. And so above and beyond that, um, you know, of course Jackson's 10, or it actually just turned 11. So we try to keep it on 11 year old level. But, uh, but it's important to have those conversations. That's the only way you, where people stand, what they're thinking, uh, where their life experiences are. But if you have that conversation, then you can really work through those things. But, um, what do you think mr. Eric?
Speaker 4:Um, I agree with Lee totally. Um, it has definitely become a political issue and that's sad. I think that is extremely sad because what's happened is people are looking at things and I am seeing even Christians that are looking at things through political lenses instead of Christian compassion. And when that happens, then what people end up hurt people end up hurt, hurting people, end up really being more hurt because it's, it, it looks as if people are not listening, you know, and the biggest part of communication is listening. Somebody told me a long time ago, we have two ears and one mouth, we should listen twice as much as we talk. And I have heard a lot of rhetoric and it, I could tell that it was coming from a political position and not from that Christian compassion that we're supposed to have for each other. Um, I feel that we are one body. So if any part of the body hurts, the whole body is affected. And so if we would just get to the point to where we sit down and we just listen to each other, because listen, listening is going to cause us to have understanding. And, and the thing about the Bible says wisdom is the principle thing. And it goes on in that particular verse. And it says with all that getting get understanding. And so it's very important that we do get understanding and not just assume, not just assume. I think that's what a lot of times we were doing. Uh, we want to base other people's experience some time off of our own. And that's that's that doesn't help at all. When we base other people's experience base, are there other people's experiences offer our own experience? I heard a song years ago, years ago, and it was TD Jakes. TD Jakes had put out this, this, uh, CD and it was called sacred love songs. And there was a song on it called satin sheets. And, uh, there's a young lady. She was, she was going to have a romantic evening with her husband. So she's walking through the stores, she's picking up roses. She he's got food and she walks by this all. It's an end cap. And she says, Ooh, satin sheets. Cause he sat and sheets on sale. She said, I'm going to get these my husband, I love these. So she, she buys these saddened sheets and she puts them on the bed and they eat and they Rose pedals everywhere. And they go to the bed and pull back the covers. And he says, Ooh, satin sheets. She said, you don't like them. He said, they slide the hook to the song said, you need to love the way I need to be loved. You need to learn how to love me from my side because satin sheets slide, she was loving him based off of what she liked. And I think that sometimes that's what we do with our experiences. We put, we place, we, we say, well, because I have never gone through certain things. We think other people are not going through certain things. And I think that's why we have to sit down and talk even this. I think that what happens is, um, we talk empathy, but we don't show empathy. That's great. You know? And, and when you, you don't have to experience something to ask yourself, how would I feel if they said that to me? How would I feel if that happened to me? And I go into schools and I talk about these kinds of things, but I don't think a lot of times the children get it because they go home to adults that don't get it. So absolutely. I believe it has become a political issue.
Speaker 2:No, that's great. Great, mr. Eric, you got my wheels turning, doing double back flips right now. That's good stuff. I mean, a lot of it is the empathy issue. I heard somebody say one time that the golden rule in some ways is not correct because you need to treat other people, not the way you would want to be treated, but the way they want to be treated, you know, and I mean the rules of kindness and love and all those things always apply. But it also, it's healthy to understand where people are coming from and what they've been through. And you can never get to that point if you don't listen, like what you were talking about. But I think those are great, great insights for both of you guys. Um, so what, what standards should we use? Because a, for a lot of people, um, you know, and I call them hot buttons and this is just my opinion, but a lot of people, their hot button might be, um, a humanity issue, but it might be abortion. It might be sexuality, it might be race. It might be any number of things that are being talked about a lot right now. Um, and so I see people kind of get into, um, disagreements just because their standards and their perspectives are different. And so what standards should we use? How can we kinda, uh, have some sort of a filter to filter things through, to have understanding not only around race, but anything else?
Speaker 4:I think, again, it goes back to that one body, but many members and that every part of the body is important, but every part of the body does not function in the same manner. And so, uh, saying that, that there are some things that I may be called to that God really called me to that. I really have a passion to see change in that particular. So what I do not do, I do not act minimize what you're doing because it's not what the, the passion that God placed in my heart, even it is something that needs to be done. So what we need to do the body in itself supports each part, each part of the body, it supports the other part of the body. So it's very important that we, as the body of Christ, we support each other. Now that means that I may not be able to physically be there as you're advocating for some things, but I can call you and I can encourage you. I may be able to give you, uh, some kind of monetary contribution to what, what you're doing. And, and I may also, I may, if I'm in church, I may make announcements about what you're doing, because there will be some parts of the church that I attend that may have the same passion and may want to help. And so I'm just saying we simply support each other instead of acting like what you're doing is more important than the next person, what the next person is doing. It's all important and what it all will do. It will all tear down the barriers or the walls that separate us, that the enemy bills to con continuously separate us to keep us divided. Because somebody told me years ago as well, is that if you had two teeth in your mouth, they will go better together. We work better when we work together. And so we have to get an understanding of what it is that God has called for the body of Christ to do as a whole, and then begin to support each other. And I think that's how we get through that.
Speaker 3:Just to add to what Eric has already said. So clearly, um, my mom told me a long time ago, and we were having this conversation. She said, son, tequila wisdom has been able to see both sides of the story. You don't necessarily have to understand both sides, but at least be able to see both sides. And so you can make evaluations from, um, seeing both sides clearly. And that means that we come from different backgrounds, right? And we come from different places, but in spite of coming from different places, we still live in this world together. And so we got to come to the common ground on how we can work this thing out. Eric has been talking about this body. And I think about, um, the reason why I go to the chiropractor, the reason why I go to a massage step is because sometimes one of my body, because I have a bad back, my other body parts began to hurt because of that situation. And they carrying on from, from the, from the problem with my back. And it's so funny about the body because my, my, my hip or my leg never says back, I wish you would get yourself together. What they do is just kick in and start to help out because of my back. And so that is the same thing I think that we to do as well as people, we have to quit getting so frustrated with one another, um, and kick in and help out one another so that we can be better because they just also said it, we, we go better together. And, um, it's, it's, it's, it's amazing to me that when we do have those sit down conversations, how much better things actually work out in the end. And so we gotta be, we gotta be slow to calling each other names and quick to try to figure out where that perspective is coming from. Because when we begin to call people names such as rices or, or whatever name we want to use, and, um, what we do is shut down the conversation. And when we shut down the conversation, that means that I'm trying to defend myself by what you call me. And I'm no longer listen to the common sense that you might be saying. And, um, so we gotta make sure that we are staying on that page and working together.
Speaker 2:These are great insights. I really, really, really appreciate both of you guys joining us. Um, I know I learned a lot just from sitting here, listening to you guys, uh, but all this stuff ties back to go full circle. It ties back into stress. You know, it's, it's stressful when you have dysfunctional communication, it's stressful when you have division in a lack of unity. Um, and so there's just the stronger, our relationships can be with one another to work as one body to, um, you know, support each other and to love on each other. It's just going to be mutually beneficial for everybody. Um, like you guys talked about we're all in this together. There's just, there's no way around that. And so for us to work together and to support one another, um, that's, that's helpful on a practical level, it's helpful on a spiritual level, it's helpful on a mental, emotional level. It's helpful on a physical level. One of my mentors used to love to say that your issues end up in your tissues and I'd be like, I'm seeing a lot of people right now that are having physical pain, because the amount of stress that they're under with a lot of issues like race. Um, so that's why we wanted to talk about it. Um, once again, I really appreciate you guys joining us. I hope you guys, as the listeners really enjoyed this, um, we're going to put it on our Facebook page through ultimate health. We're going to put it on our website. Um, we'd love to hear your feedback. Um, we really encourage you to make sure that feedback is, uh, is respectful. It's okay if you disagree with some of the things that we've talked about, um, but we just want to keep this conversation going in a healthy way so we can, uh, so we can get to a point where it's, um, where there's some understanding there, where there's some real unity and where we can come together and just love on each other, help one another and do things to, uh, to help people. So with Adam, go ahead and close out. Really appreciate you guys joining us once again, my name's dr. Brad Shapiro with ultimate health. If you have any more questions or concerns, you can call us here at Erica nine three one nine six seven six zero eight. You can also check out our Facebook page. You'll find this podcast on there as well as check out our website@wwwdotultimatehealthtn.com help you guys have a great rest of your day, and we'll do more podcasts in the future. And thank you for listening.
Speaker 1:You're listening to the ultimate health podcast. For more information, you can reach us at(931) 967-6308. And don't forget to check out our Facebook page. facebook.com/ultimate chiropractic or a website@wwwdotultimatehealthtn.com.[inaudible].