Dr. Fab Mancini: Unlock your natural healing potential

FABRIZIO MANCINI is a very well known personality around the world, not only as a Chiropractor, but also as a bestselling author “The Power of Self-Healing”. I met Dr Mancini during his visit in London where he was invited to speak at one of the biggest summit “The Blue Cow” and had the chance to have a chat with him about his life journey.

Fabrizio was born in South America. Her mother is from Colombia and his father was of Italian decent. He feels very blessed for the various cultures in his family, however now he lives in Texas, Dallas. He moved to the US in 1978 when he was 13 years old and couldn’t speak a word of English. His parents wanted a better future for him and his brothers. They were five brothers and they all chose very different careers from one another, but it all stemmed going back to what they were passionate about doing.

When did you realise that you have a mission and purpose in this world?
I heard Dr Wayne Dyer make a statement 27 years ago saying, ‘That we are not human beings living a spiritual experience, but we are spiritual beings living a human experience’. When I heard that mantra, I realised my life as a human being is limited. But as a spiritual being it is unlimited, extraordinary and abundant. What I needed to find out was that if I chose to live my life as a spiritual being rather than a human being, what cause would I support to help humanity evolve to a higher level of vibration.

For me it made sense to become a health care provider, an educator and Doctor. It was making people understand that health is a priority. When we are in good health, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually it impacts every area of our lives, it allows us to fulfil our true potential. I’ve dedicated the past 25 years to understand what allows us to heal form the inside out. How to regain that power without giving it away to those that is not meant to receive it.  Without that understanding I wouldn’t have been able to help.  There are so many people that don’t heal because they don’t have the understanding. It is us up to me and all of us to help everyone see that there is hope.

I can see in your name that you are not originally from America?
I was born in South America, Colombia. My mother is from Colombia and my father was of Italian decent. I feel very blessed for the various cultures in my family, however I now live in Texas, Dallas.

Does this mean that you are a migrant man in the United States?
I moved to the US in 1978 when I was 13 years old and couldn’t speak a word of English. My parents wanted a better future for me and my brothers. We were five brothers. Our parents always encouraged us to do what we were passionate about. Education was the top priority. They also gave us the option to either work or play sports in our spare time, but we chose sports as it was about dedication and accomplishment. What you put in is what you get out.  My brothers and I also chose very different careers from one another, but it all stemmed going back to what we were passionate about doing.

Our magazine is about women from around the world. I find that many times the individuals we speak to or hear about make excuses for their circumstances, such as poor background or lack of support from family, or language barriers. You seem to come from such circumstances, how did you overcome the challenges?

My humble story goes like this; I moved to Florida, Miami from Columbia. I was supposed to go to seventh grade. On the first day of school my teacher told me they were unable to put me in my grade because of my language barrier and they did not have English as a second language. The teacher then decided to pair me up with a girl called Maria who was the only girl who spoke Spanish in my class. She was the person who helped me two hours a day after school to help translate the school work.  I then discovered that learning was a discipline and even though I was put back two years, I graduated top of my class and with a year of University work.

Just when I thought that being put back was an adversity, a negative, it actually became the greatest teacher in how to become a life-long learner. To this day I’m probably one of the best students I know because I realised that only by applying yourself as a student and being a constant learner you will reach your full potential. I know that there are people out there that are going through some challenges and setbacks, but I promise you that those obstacles are only there to make your stronger and allow you to understand that it’s all part of your journey.

How did you find the direction of your journey, who supported you, and what made you become who you are today?
My main support always came from my parents and my brothers, because they loved me. Not many individuals can say that they have a parent or sibling who loves them, but I want you to know that love really comes from oneself first. I had to learn to love myself. That was my power. My power was that I believed my parents when they said, that we can become anything we wanted to become. That with enough discipline and work, we could do anything we wanted to do. I loved myself enough to recognised that I was destined to succeed and was born to be something special.

I never looked at myself trying to be anyone else. I don’t like to compare myself to anyone else. I have an accent, I don’t look typical American, and my English is different because I speak multiple languages. My children make fun of me because I am different. The one thing I remind them of is that our uniqueness is what makes us special.  That my journey had many hardships and achievements and that is what made it exciting.

I’ve become an expert to many and trusted in my work. What makes us different are not anything to be ashamed off, they are part of who we are. I learned to celebrate and embrace the things that are unique about me. I embrace my successes, I embrace my challenges, I embrace my circumstances and I embrace my culture. I always look back at where I came from and find that they are the values in which I have built everything from. They are the things that made me who I am today. I celebrate the successes of others and I invite them to celebrate mine.

How many children do you have and how old are they?
I have two boys who are 18 and 15 years old.

It must be difficult to juggle two very important roles – what has your experience as a father been?
The first thing I learned about fatherhood is that your children only want one thing, your love and acceptance. They don’t want things, they may say they want material things, but they really want you as a parent. My rule is that no matter what, no matter where I am in the world, when my children or wife calls, I pick up the phone. It’s important for them to know that I am available and that I do not necessarily have to be next to them in order for us to communicate. I’ve learned that being is a father is not about being perfect, it’s about doing the best I can to set an example, and letting my children understand that their future has nothing to do with my past. My past does not determine their future.

How I choose to live my life is an example of what is possible for them. They have to choose to live their lives and do what they think is possible for them. What I have noticed is that when you love your children unconditionally, even when they make mistakes, you must celebrate those mistakes and learn the lessons from it. They will disappoint you sometimes, but you shouldn’t be setting high expectations anyway.

They need to live their lives the way they need to. Sometimes those disappointments are the best lessons they will learn in life. As a parent I love my children no matter what they do, as long as they understand, that life is a choice and choices have consequences. When you choose to live life to your fullest, you will always be successful regardless of what you do.

When I fell in love 26 years ago, I never thought I would marry an American girl, because of my culture, I thought she would be an Italian girl or a Latin girl. But that is the funny thing about love, you can’t predict when love is going to come and from who it’s going to come from. I realised early on that all I had to do is to let it unfold and not judge it. I was very young at the time and I didn’t think about having a relationship or getting married. I was busy finishing my graduate studies and so was she. We became very good friends, before we became more intimate with one another. I believe that if you have a very strong friendship where you can be yourself, then there is a different level of acceptance from the other person.

Our religious backgrounds were different too and she decided to convert to my religion without me asking. The beauty behind all is that I celebrate my wife’s traditional religion because we want to make sure that we embrace the belief system we were raised with. Even religion is a choice and as long as you understand that your religion is only there to support you and not to judge you, then you can embrace it and understand it.

In fact it’s about two people spiritually looking towards the same direction, rather than against each other. We had different careers; she was a career woman, a ballet dancer and I was a doctor. I supported every aspect of her career and she supported mine. When she was pregnant with our first son, she chose to give up dancing because she wanted to be able to raise her children and be a greater support to me.

One of the things I realised in this relationship is that we have to embrace what the other person wants to do and if it’s to have a career or not have a career or to be a stay at home mum, we need to be there and except what is important to that person. It is some of the things that has allowed us to be together all these years and have the respect and love for one another. We have been through so many changes, the loss of parents, siblings, ups and downs, tough economic times, disagreements, but always knew we could rely on one another and accept the other for who we were.

Just looking back on your career, you chose not to stay and be just a Chiropractor general practitioner like everyone else, you decided to go beyond and achieve a higher purpose. How did it happen?
I went to school to become a doctor, I opened my own practice, which became very successful for ten years, Later, I was asked to become president of a university. I didn’t think I was capable of doing it, so I refused it for a year and then agreed to do it at the age of 33.  I eventually said yes, as it wasn’t about me anymore, but I knew that the Universe and God had something more in store for me. I do listen to the little voice inside of me. Television stations interviewed me asking, “How is it that I was the youngest person to become a president of a university?”. My answer to them was, that I was a product of this university, so I knew what the possibilities were, and that I understood their mission and I could carry that mission out. I was following my inner voice and I was trusting it.

I have just retired after almost fourteen years of serving at the university. What I do know is that I need to be true to who I am and understand that when the universe calls you to step up out of your comfort zone, it doesn’t make mistakes, it’s only calling as you have been asked to embark on the journey. The question is, if we as individuals are willing to accept the challenge or do we dismiss it?

How do you recognise the inner voice, your inner voice?
The way that the universe speaks to us, or especially the way it speaks to me, It’s with an inner quiet whisper where I have to remove my thoughts and everyone else’s thoughts. This way I can listen. The problem with many of us is that we are so preoccupied with what other people dictate or want for us. We all want acceptance and validation, but at what expense. If only we listen to the little voice, it will never steer us the wrong way. Every single time it has led me to what I believe is my divine destiny. If my life is too comfortable, that means that I am not doing what I am supposed to be doing.

The only way we can grow is to have a struggle or a challenge. We need to be uncomfortable to grow. My life is not about me, it really is about what I can contribute to others. I look for ways to contribute to those in need.  I understand that people are struggling with their health, and emotions and when I feel their pain and feel that compassion. I think about what it would be like to share my secret and solution, what would I share with others and start sharing it with the world.

Part of your program mentions that there are three steps – the physical, emotional and spiritual connection. What is the importance of having all three?
Look at yourself as a three legged stool. One is physical, one is emotional and the other spiritual. Science and observation has taught us that that when we work on those three areas of our lives we tend to be healthier than if we don’t. I believe it’s like baking a cake. If you put the right ingredients together you will create the perfect cake, but if you ignore any ingredient, it does not come out that great. Every single day we should pay attention to the foods we eat and we should exercise our bodies.

We also need to pay attention to our emotions like forgiveness, gratitude and love, because these emotion has shown to actually help us be a healthy human being. We need to understand from our spiritual perspective, what our purpose in living is. Are we spending enough time in nature or are we stuck inside buildings? Are we relating to our other people to realise that we are not islands out there, but connect with others as human beings? Do we have a spiritual practice? Do we meditate or pray and understand there is a conversation going on between us and a higher intelligence? It may mean something different for everyone. I believe all of these ingredients work together. This helps us to reach our full potential.

In positive psychotherapy, an area I specialise in, there are four legs. I teach my students that you must have at least two to three legs healthy to maintain a balance. Which leg is the most important and what is your recommendation?
My answer might surprise you, but what I’ve observed the last thirty years is that the spiritual leg controls the emotional leg and the emotional leg controls the physical leg. If you only have one aspect then you should have a spiritual leg as this brings meaning and value to your life. When you recognise this, you will be more emotionally stable and it helps you build good relationships with the other legs. You cannot sit on a two legged stool now can you?

Every element is important. I believe what is missing in society today, is having a spiritual experience with yourself, others, the universe and nature. Once you have that, you will be more emotionally balanced and physically healthier.

Does the background in medicine helped you on having a better meaning of what you are doing? Combining science and spirituality together?
One of the things as a doctor that others have questioned, is why am I talking about emotions and spirituality? In my last book, The Power of Self-Healing, I researched the latest science on our emotions and how it is helping us to heal.  How our spiritual lives makes us live healthier and how doing the right things like healthy eating and good nutrition and exercise, are essential to be healthy. There is a lot of science supporting this, but is not discussed as much. What works and doesn’t work for us.  We need to reflect on what we do.  Use our common sense. Ask yourself what is working? We do have the power to change.

Has the background in medicine helped you on having a better meaning of what you are doing? Combining science and spirituality together?

One of the things as a doctor and scientist, is that I get scrutinised a lot on the things that I mention. When I wrote about self–healing, I researched the latest science on our emotions and how it is helping us to heal, how our spiritual lives makes us live healthier, how we were making sure we do the right things in eating and nutrition and exercise.  To me I believe there is a balance and non-science. The non-science is the observation that we really have every single day. What works and doesn’t work for us.  We reflect on what we do.  Use our common sense. Ask yourself what is working? We do have the power to change.

You have met a lot of influential people, I’m intrigued and would like to hear more.

There is a saying that says, when the student is ready the teacher will hear. In my journey, I’ve had a lot of teachers that have become friends.  This journey has taken me to the most influential friends, Dr Wayne Dyer, Dr Deepak Chopra, Dr Eckhart Tolle, Dr Andrew Wild, Dr Patch Adams- who taught me that medicine is far more than just taking care of illness, but actually taking care of people, and Dr Phil, a big mentor of mine in media. When you tell yourself you are ready to learn, you will find those mentors show up in your life ready to help you fulfil your mission.

ABOUT FABRIZIO MANCINI
Dr. Fab Mancini is FOX News’s Healthy Living Expert, a world renowned Chiropractor, Hay House’s best selling author of The Power of Self-Healing and host of his popular radio show, Self-Healing with Dr. Fab.  He is also the best selling author of Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul, an internationally acclaimed educator, business leader, speaker, and President Emeritus of Parker University.

He has been featured on Dr. Phil, The Doctors, Fox News, CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, Univision, Telemundo and others. He has been interviewed in various documentaries and has received honors like Heroes for Humanity, Humanitarian of the Year, CEO of the Year, and induction into the Wellness Revolutionaries Hall of Fame.  Most recently, the President of Mexico even named the library at UNEVE, Mexico’s new leading university, after him.   Dr. Mancini is also a graduate of the prestigious Institute for Educational Management in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.

www.drfabmancini.com

Article by Mirela Sula