, I think we will see an exponential
increase in the maturation of our species—s uch that many truths
about our human behaviors will be obvious to many more  of us, and
most of our self-destructive behaviors may be altered before we get
to that 50-year limit beyond which it might not be possible to put a
halt to the destruction we have started.
On the other hand, if some of our behaviors are not altere d, life
as we know it will disappear from the face of the Earth.
But I am very hopeful. I may not live long enough to see it,
because I don’t think that biogenetics is going to catch up with
events fast enough to keep me alive that long (laughs). But it’s okay.
Maybe I’ll come back as a new baby and experience a better life
than we’ve ever had before on Earth.

DR. COOPER: So what would you say to anyone reading this who is
in tune with the Conversations with God ideas, who wants to see
these changes  occur, and who believes in the potential of humanity
to turn this planet around? What would you say in terms of how one
person can make a difference?

NEALE: There ’s only one thing that I believe is effective and, to
respond to your question, that we could do. That is to enhance and
to expand the expression of the Self as a living, breathing, model of
Divinity, so gloriously that simply being Who We Are would set an
example that could no longer be ignored.That would cause hundreds,  thousands perhaps, maybe  even
millions— great numbers of other people— to look at us and say,
“What is it that you know that I don’t know? What is it that you have
that I don’t have, and how can I get it? How can I experience that?”
And I would suggest we begin by not telling others that they’re
“doing it wrong”—living their lives wrong, experiencing their careers
wrong, handli ng their health wrong, eating wrong, whatever.
Because in my observation, this doesn’t work. We have to model  the
behaviors we wish to encourage in others. Gandhi put this perfectly:
Be the change you wish to see.
You know who was one of the greatest changers of people’ s
individual lifestyles? Jack LaLanne. He was in such good health
himself that he looked at the age of 70 and 75 and 80 as if he was
50, 55, and 60. He modeled such extraordin ary understanding of
what keeps the body physica lly healthy  that everyone else went to
him and said, “Okay, okay, fair enough. T ell us what you know.”
And the same is true of people who have advanced thems elves
spiritually and metaphysically. The Paramahansa Y ogananda’ s of the
world. The Thich Nhat Hanh’ s of the world. The Pema Chödrön’ s of
the world. The Byron Katie’ s and Eckhart T olle’s of the world.
Now imagine combining the two! Imagine a whole race of
beings functioning at that level, physically and metaphysically. Do
you think they would take care of the Earth on which they live any
less wondrously than they care for themselves?
So the answer is not going to be, what can I do? Can I form a
club, can I join an organization, can I create  an organization or start
a move ment or give speeches or get on a soap box? Can I sendpetitions aroun d, or what kind of doingness can I engage in to fend
off this impending end-of-life-as-we-know-it scenario?
Don’t get me wrong. Those can be helpful things to do to assist
in awak ening consciousness, both in oneself and in others. But
ultimately, the end of life as we know it on this planet can only be
averted by beingness.  Those activities I just spoke of, those calls to
action, must be directed at changing people’ s state of being. When
that is changed, what we are all doing will automatically change.
What must change is what people believe. What they believe
about Who They Are. What they believe about each other. What they
believe about life, its purpo se, and how it works. And what they
believe about God. When  that changes, everything  changes.
People’ s behaviors are created by their beliefs.
So I would say to all of those who are finding value in the
Conversations with God material: choos e to move through the space
of Life at such  a high level of beingness that the glory and the
wonder of Who You Are and How you Behave will suddenly become
deeply desirab le. Then others will pay attention to you! (Not that you
are being who you are being to get them to pay attention you. You
are being what you are being to get you to pay attention to you! But
others paying attention to the attention that you are paying to who
you are and how you are behaving will just happen automatically.)
Then you will tell them that this is who they are also, and how they
can behave also. And in this you will give people back to
themselves.
This is the invitation that Conversations with God has offered to
all of us.You won’t have to get on any soapbox and give any speeches,
or try to find any podium or place from which to share the wondrous
message of who we are and why we are all here.  People will come
flocking to you because of the way you are acting, because of the
way you are being, because of the way you are moving through the
world. “Okay,” they will say, “there’ s clearly something you
understand that I don’t understand, the understanding of which
would change everything.”
And, you know, it’s been this way from the beginning. The
people who change the world —and there have been those who have
done it alread y. I mean, the world has changed a lot in the past
several thousand years—and the people who have changed
humanity’ s experience of itself have not done so by doing
something, nearly as much as by being something.  They have done
so by who they were  being.
That’ s true of Lao Tzu, that’s true of Buddha, Moses, Christ,
Mohammed, and other spiritual masters. Mary, the mother of Jesus,
is surely held up as such a Master. So are Hildegard of Bingen,
Beatrice of Nazareth, Julian  of Norwich, St. Catherine of Genoa,
Saint Elizabeth, Joan of Arc, Birgittta of Sweden, Melania the Elder
and, more contemporarily, H.P. Blavatsky, Annie Besa nt, Mother
Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Mātā Amṛtānandamayī Devī, and Mother
Meera. All of their demonstrations have been exactly the same. They
have demonstrated their highest idea of Divinity.

DR. COOPER : So it’s about being, not doing. As Communion with
God says, “Be the light that truly lights the world.”
 NEALE: This is, of course, the only reason to be alive.
You see, We Are All One. So if we want to express and create
the maximum health—physic al and metaphysical, spiritual and non-
spiritual, so to speak, of the “single body,” of the one thing we are—
the best thing we can do is to be the healthiest part of that body—not
run around killing all the rest of the body, then saying “You’re not
doing it right.”
I’ve learned that even in my own family, and in my own
organization. I spent the first few years telling everyone around me
how they’re not doing it right. “You’re not thinking positively, you’re
not approachin g the problem in the most efficient and effective way,
your attitude is hurting you, blah-blah-blah.” And that got me
nowhere. And I finally realiz ed this. I realized that it was creating
more negativity, actually, and a reluctance to change on the part of
other people.
So then I bega n to pay more  attention to my own expres sion,
and my own experience. And I began trying to live more  fully into the
messages that I was inviting them to look more closely at. And I
would never claim or assert that I have somehow “mad e it,” that I
have “gotten there,” that I no more demonstrate those old behaviors.
Because those who know me know better. But I have improved. I’ve
shifted my approach, trying more and more to be the change I wish
to see. And others see, I think, the changes I am trying to make. And
they’re making them as well.
We’re all here to help each other. We’re all here to lead each
other back home. And we don’t lead by saying, “I’m doing everything
right. Follow me.” We lead by saying, “We all can improve. I’ll go
first.”
DR. COOPER: I love those thoughts. I love that advice. And I’m
going to start that right now. Thank you for those ideas.

NEALE: Y ou’re very welcome.Part Two

•

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSThis section contains questions that both of this book’ s authors
have heard from many sources


ine, it will not be
possible to harvest the virus. This test presents the most clear conclusion that the AIDS test is only an indicator of
an on-going amino acid imbalance in the body. It is important to remember that if the level of one amino acid in the
body is not enough, then a drastic imbalance in the percentage composition of the other amino acids also will exist.
These new ideas on AIDS a re presented to the readers of this book to indicate that a metabolic approach to dealing
with this social problem will produce more satisfactory and quicker results. A prudent correction of the initial
metabolic imbalance might boost the expressio ns of normal gender definition and decrease homosexual
tendencies, not to mention preventing AIDS, particularly in those who develop homosexual tendencies in the later
years of life, such as fathers or mothers with kids, who begin to feel homosexual pulls. In women who begin to lose
libido and lose hair with a "male pattern" distribution, the above precautionary measures might arrest such a decline
at its early stages.
An easy way to stop muscle breakdown is by an intelligent adjustment of the daily wa ter intake and by eating a
balanced high-protein diet. Take a look at Edward Dippre's letter on page 150. As you can see, water and some salt
intake have reversed muscle breakdown in a dehydration-produced "disease" con dition. Not knowing the cause, the
problem h as been labeled as muscular dystrophy.
Enhancing daily exercise  and physical activity at the same time wou ld force the body into a physiological program to
build up its muscle s, instead of breaking them into their amino acid components to feed the rest of the body. You
need to realize the human body is designed to defend itself against all types of infections. It survived fast acting
viruses such as sm allpox, measles, polio, and others during its development. It generally takes the body about nine
days to mount an effective defense against even fast viruses. If the body can  survive fast viruses, surely it is m ore
than capable of defending itself against slowly growing viruses.
All that we need to understand is how to  make the body stronger and stop actions that would make it vulnerable.
Let us remember, if the camel had a back-breaking point to the weight of the last straw, surely the human body
must also have a physical breaking-point to being life-stylishly overloaded? The question is, do we continue to
measure the straw o r the inherent structural and physiological limitations? Do we pay attention to the limitations of
the body, or do we in carefree abandon blame an ineffective slow virus for  the ills that befall some members of our
society?
Edward Dippre
217 North Street
West Pittston, Pa. 18643
March 15,1995
Global Health Solutions
c/o Dr. Batmanghelidj
P.O. Box 3 189
Falls Church, Va. 22043
Dear Dr. Batmanghelidj
Around November 1 my legs were giving out. They became black and blue from my knees to my thighs, and verypainful. I went to the doctor and he told me that my muscle  enzymes were at 660 and normal was 90. Then I wen t to
another doctor and he said that I had muscular dystrophy.
I started talking to Dr. Batmanghelidj who told me to start drinking 2 quarts of water daily. I have been, I feel much
better, and all symptoms disappeared in two months. I also use sea salt liberally with all my meals.
I went back to the doctor and had additional Woodwork done. The enzyme levels in my m uscles were back to
normal, and the doctor couldn't understand how it was possible.
As of this date, March 15,1995,1 am free of all discomfort and symptoms. I also have more energy and better health
than I can remember for a long time.
Edward Dippre
THE SI MPLEST OF  TREAT MENTS I N MEDICI NE
"You  cannot by reasoning correct a man of ill opinion which by reasoning he never acquired." —Bacon
Your body needs an absolute min imum of six to eight 8-ounce glasses o f water a day.
Alcohol, coffee, tea, and caffeine-containing beverages don't count as wat er.
The best times to drink water (clinically observed in peptic ulcer disease) are: one glass one half hour before taking
food—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and a similar amount two and one half hours after each meal. This is the very
minimum amount of water your body needs. For the sake of not shortchanging your body, two more glasses of
water should be taken around the heaviest meal or before going to bed.
Thirst should be satisfied at all times. With increase in water intake, the thirst mechanism becomes more efficient.
Your body m ight then ask you to drink more than the above minimum.
Adjusting water intake to mealtimes prevents the blood from becoming concentrated as a result of food intake.
When the blood becomes concentrated, it draws water from the cells around it.
Water is the cheapest form of medicine to a dehydrated body. As sim ply as deh ydration will in time produce the
major diseases we are confronting now, a well-regulated and constantly alert attention to daily water intake will
prevent the emergence of most of the major diseases we have come to fear in our modem society.
William Gray's letter is introduced here as an example of how simply water is a better medication for the treatment
of so many differently labeled complications of chronic dehydration. His letter had to be typed into this segment of
the book because the original could not fit in this page size. As y ou will see, Mr. Gray is a highly intelligent person.
His observations provide a great deal of insight into the possible complications of chronic dehydration in the human
body. For this reason I selected this section of the book to present to you his observations. My hope is to impress
upon your mind a simple fact. There is more natural magic in a glass full of water than any medication you are
brainwashed to use for the treatment of the conditions I have explained in this book. And I do not sell water!
From:  William E. Gray (Bill)
411 Ayrh ill Avenue
Vienna, VA 2 2180 11-2-94
703-938-6330
To: Dr. Batmanghelidj
2146 Kings Ga rden Way
Falls Church, VA 2 2043
It has been one year since I first read your book, which was g iven to me as a present by Ma rcel Thevoz. Since then
my health has improved significantly. lam now 52 and in excellent health. This wa s not the case before your book
and Marcel's kin dness inspired me to make water an integral part of my life.
To most people J was su ccessful and in excellent health - normal weight, unusual strength and endurance, above
average at sports, with an excellent diet (a lot of fresh vegetables and whole grains and very little mea t, animal
products o r processed food). Yet my list of complaints stre tches over the last fifty ye ars and includes: duodenal
ulcer (age 19), indigestion, colon and elimination problems (age 19 to 51), food allergies (age 12 to 17), chronic
sinus infection (age 5 to 51), chronic and acute back problems (age 13 through age 51), emotional illness and
mental confusion (age 6 to age 51).
These problems were even more bewildering and confusing because lam intelligent, educated and motivated to find
solutions to problems. I have been searching for answe rs to these problems for 35 years. I have looked for answers
in: diet, diet supplementation, exercise, yoga, med itation, Traditional Religion, spiritual practices, Acup uncture,
traditional medicine, Chiropractic, Massage, Raki,  Polarity Ba lancing, 12 Step programs, and self impr ovement
books and courses, such as Est and the Hoffman Quadrinity Process.
I had of course read many times about the importance of drinking plenty of water. I even investe d in reverse
osmosis water filter 6 years ago hoping that the improved taste of the water would motivate me to drink more water.In spite of this I never gave water therapy a fair chance. Until I read your book, other beverages always looked
better to me, particularly tea and coffee.
At the time I read your book I had a chronic nerve injury in my upper back that intermittently prevented me from
playing golf or racket ball for a period of two years. M y arm strength was 1/3 of what it had been only 2 years
previously. I was at a low point in my life physically and men tally.
I have never been drunk in my life or smoked more than 5 cigarettes in a day. At the time I was not smoking or
drinking alcohol. Yet I found myself obsessed with thoughts of caffeine, smoking and drinking. Although I have been
a frequent visitor at Chiropractic, Oste opathic and Massage therapists, I had not needed to visit medical doctor for
years. In my desperation I went to an MD who prescribed an anti-stress m edication, a pain reliever, and a muscle
relaxant. I took the prescrib ed doses and fell into a semi coma for 16 hours, and discontinued the med ication. A few
weeks later Marcel came to my home for dinner and gave me your book.
Within one week of adding 2-3 quarts of water


. As
water was to be eliminated from her body, she was not given any
water to drink. The treatment had already been continued for long
and the patient was unwilling to prolong it. Her attendant informed
me that she was taking water secretly because she could not control
herself.
I felt this would not do. It would give the treatment an ill name. I
instructed Ranjitbhai to give up the treatment. The blood-pressure
had come down from 240 to 150 and we could consider our
tre.ttment as successful. After that the lady was treated by a Vaidya
for five weeks and she unfortunately expired. In my view the urine
experiment was successful. I do not claim that urine can avoid even
death. The doctors held that he patient could be cured if
blood-pressure came down even to 170-175. For this purpose they
had cut out the nerves by two operations but he pressure did not
abate. They had, therefor, lost all hope. With the treatment of unine,
blood-pressure was brought down from 240 to 150 and many of her
pains disappeared. This is no ordinary success. It is unfortunate that
she coLld not control hereself. The urine cure is not to be blamed for HIGH BlOOD-PRESSURE : 87
this. Thank God, (had the intuition to stop the treatment in time so
as to save the urine treatment from getting a bad name. Such cases
can. enlighten the path of any person engaged in research work on
urine therapy.
Low Blood-pressure : Shri Devdas Pandya of Nadiad (of Kala
Mandir) suffered from low blood-pressure and was feeling
discomfort and weakness due to it. He had a relative who was a
Vaidya and wanted him to undertake urine treatment. He devised a
trick for this. He used to collect urine of Shri Pandya on the pretext
of its examination and returned the same telling him to be cowls
urine! Shri Pandya used to drink it thinking it to be so. As a result,
his blood-pressure went up from 11 0 to 122 and weakness
diminished.
Had the Vaidya asked him in the beginning to drink auto-urine,
he would not have done so. So he was compelled to give it in the
name of cow1s urine. Now he has overcome nause and can
participate in a number of activities without feeling any exer;ion.
AFTERMATH OF CASES
1. Shri Ratilal Mody (7, Triveni Plot No. 62, Sion, Bombay) had
tried this therapy in full faith. He was fuffering from blood-pressure
for the last 30 years and had diabetes and eczema too! He could
bring under control blood-pressure· and diabetes and could. cure
eczema. This is a case of three-in-one-cure treatment. It IS no
wounder urine thrapy is really an ali-in-one-cure treatment.
2. Shrimati Saralaben R. Desai, (Vadifalis, Store Sheri, Surat) aged
thirty years,'had. high blood-pressure during pregnancy.
Blood-pressure durJng pregnancy is certainly a serious sy.mpt?m.
Doctors could not'bring it down. She began to take auto-unne 1n 4
oz. dose. She could not fast nor did she rub urine. Even then
blooil:pressure became normal and delivery was quite easy. She
recommended all pregnant women to take auto-urine to keep free
from big or small ailments during pregnancy. CHAPTER IV
TUBERCULOSIS
T. B. of Lungs : On the 12th and 13th March 1960, we held a
seminar on urine therapy in Harijan Ashram, Ahmedabad. The chair
was occupied by Dr. Pranjivandas Mehta,.M.D.M.s., the Director of
Ayurvedic Research Institute, Jamnagar (Saurashtra). A number of
doctors and Vaidyas participated in it. About 40 people related their
ideas and experiences about urine therapy. Shri Rambhai Himabhai
Patel, a farmer from Navagam (Ahmedabad), gave his account of
recovery from T.B. of lungs by the application of urine. The
chairman was surprised to hear his account and asked him to send a
written statement. It is as follows:
"I had been suffering from T.B. of lungs for the last four years. It
was preceded by cough and fever. I had been reduced to a bare
skeleton. I took the treatment of doctors and had some relief. In the
next winter, there was a relapse and cough and fever attacked me
·again. Another doctor advised me to undergo an operation and get
rid of the affected ribs.
"But God willed otherwise. I happened to go to a relative. He
asked me to try urine treatment before undergoing operation and I
agreed..
"I started with rubbing of urine on the 7th auspicious day of the
dark half Chaitra. After a week, drinking of urine was also begun.
After two weeks, I saw Shri Raojibhai and related to him my
experience. He listened to me with much interest and gave further
instructions. After that there was considerable improvement. Eleven
months have passed since then but I have never been obliged to see
any doctor or take any medicin. There is considerable improvement
in my appetite and power of digestion. Motions are regular. While
working in the field on two or three occasions, I got drenched in the
rains but there was no adverse effect on my healtp. The experiment
88 TUBERCULOSIS : 89
has been continued for cough were experienced but they
disappeared after three or four days. Neither had I to take doctor's
medicine, not to keep in bed. Really this experiment is very
effective and encouraging."
Dr. Gunanidhi Bhatt, a homoeopath, has his dispensary near
Fernandiz Bridge, Gandhi Road, Ahmedabad. He has successfully
cured two T. B. patients with urine, though they were declared
as incurable. He has given me a report of the cases is writing,
on 13th November 1948.
Case No. I : "Shri K. D. Mehta, twenty-five years of age,
Suakadi Sheri, Ahmedabad, was an unmarried youth. About a
dozen doctors had diagnosed him a T. B. patient and had given
treatment. They had given up the case as incurable.
;'Occasionally he had attacks of blood-vomiting and dysentery.
The temperature continued from 100° along with cough. He could
not relish or digest any food. His body was reduced to have
skeleton. Even the slightes exertion caused gasping.
, "I gave him homoeopathic treatment for abou~ four months and
he felt some relief. After two months, the patient again sent for
me and after examination. I found that the disease was still there.
I advised him to drink an ounce of his own urine in the morning
and it was gradually increased to 3 oz and thrice a day. He was
also advised to rub urine before going to bed and wash the body
with warm water the next morning. The improvement began with
the first day ·of the treatment and a gradual relief was felt in
dysentery, fever digestion, vomiting, weakness and anemia. Due
to dysentery, the weight had been reduced to 80 lb. but it
increased to 1 00 lb. by two month's treatment. There was an
astonishing improvement in his appearance, nature, colour and
vigour in the body. Nobody could say Shri Mehta had suffered
from a fatal disease. I had permitted him· from the very beginning
to take a simple and digestible diet as it was dangerous to keep
such a week patient on fast."
Case No. II : "Miss K. R. Shah of Ahmedabad, aged seventeen, 90 : AUTO-URINE THERAJ>Y
suffered from bone-T. B. She was so weak that she could not get up
from the bed, nor was she able to t-urn on one ~ide or the other. She
could not even take a cup of tea. She had a boil of the ::lze of a
guava on her left thigh. Dqctors forwarded the -:ase to me. I gave her
one dose of homoeopathic medicine and opened the boil and about
a pound of pus was discharged from it. This. discharge gave her
some relief ailld she had some sleep after a long period· of
sleeplessness. I gave her homoeopathic medicine for some time but
there was no desired result; the disease could not be rooted out.
T~1ere was no change in cough, fever andweakness. The pus also
ccntinued. It appeared that she would not survive even for a week I
had to take recourse to the urine treatment.
"She was given to drink one ounce of auto-urine thrice a day. She
was permitted to take simple and easily digestible diet. She applied
the pads of urine on the boil. On the third day, the discharge of pus
ceased and the patient showc:.


. Had  he "read, marked,
learned and inwardly digested " the old book I have already quoted, on
the value of urine for "any green wound" he might have known  that a
cure  had  already been found years ago. As it was, I little thought then
that it would be given to me to prove  the truth of that sentence,  and
much less did the thought  occur  to me that it would not be a crown of
gold I should receive, but metaphorically  speaking,  a crown of thorns !
For although the story  is not relevant to this book, I have had to suffer
for my doctrines  and their demonstration.
The first case  of gangrene  I ever treated was in 1920. The patient was a
lady of fifty‐three. She had  been in the care of a well‐ known Bradford
physician  who was an, authority  on fasting and dietetics.  Anaemia had
developed,  the lungs  showed signs  of grave disturbance,  and there  was
a gangrenous  condition  in one foot, with a number  of skin eruptions  of 30
 varying dimensions  on each leg. There was also a jaundiced  condition
which  had turned her complexion  to that of an Eurasian, and the whites
of her eyes yellow. Her abdomen  was  distended  and hard, and her body
had become thin and scraggy almost to emaciation.
Although the doctor was quite willing that my method should be tried
for at least a month, I was loathe to advise upon the case,  for I felt that
no period of less than sixty to seventy  days would restore  the patient  to
However,  to my surprise, some encouraging  health.  Developments
occurred fairly quickly, and gave me the first opportunity  of observing
that gangrene  is far from being that hopeless  condition  which  the
public and the doctors have been led to believe.
By dint  of fasting the patient  on her own urine and  water,  and  rubbing
urine into her body and  applying urine compresses,  at the end of ten
days the kidneys and bowels  were working " overtime,"  and though the
eruptions  had increased,  they were  less irritable.  The breathing  became
normal  and  easy,  the patient slept  better,  and  above all, the
gangrenous  foot began to show  signs  of healing.
By the eighteenth  day of the fast the foot was quite normal; the urine
had  formed new  skin, and  there  was no trace whatever  of the livid
abrasions.  The foot  had healed without  even leaving a scar.
Yet need we be surprised,  once  we understand  that urine is not dead
matter,  but so to say,  flesh, blood  vital  tissues in living solution? As the
result of this cure,  I was invited to take on another  case  of gangrene.  It
was that of a woman 'in the early  forties.  Her right leg was in such a
state, of putrefaction  that her medical adviser  had urged amputation  of
the limb.  31
 The trouble had  begun  nearly two years previously  with a swelling at
the ankle. This had been ascribed  to her occupation  which  entailed
much kneeling on a hard  stone floor.  She had  submitted  herself to
many treatments,  both orthodox and  unorthodox,  but her afflictions
merely  increased.  She suffered  from severe constipation,  piles, eczema,
anaemia, insomnia,  tic nerveux, general depression,  sore mouth and
tongue, faceache,  eruptions  at each corner of the lips‐and  above all,
more  cavities had  occurred in the gangrenous  leg. In spite of her
tribulations,  however,  she was a woman, of great spirit, and  I had  no
difficulty in persuading  her to fast on all the urine she passed, and up to
six half pints  a day of cold water,  which she always sipped.
During the first  five days of the penance the eruptions  began to
disappear,  and  the skin in every part of her body began to look
healthier in every respect.  The faceache  vanished  by the second  day,  on
the third night  she slept  soundly after weeks of insomnia,  and by the
end of the first week, the bowels  and kidneys were working " overtime
" and  the piles  were cured. In a fortnight there  was no sign of the
gangrene,  and new  skin had grown in place of the cavities.  The diseased
leg, which previously  had  become twice  the size of the other  one, was
now completely  normal‐ not even a scar remaining  anywhere  to remind
her of what she had  suffered! I subsequently  put my recovered  patient
on an exclusive diet of grapes,  bananas  and raw tomatoes  for a week in
small quantities,  added  fresh unpasteurised  milk for the second  week,
and in the third week finally got her back on a normal  diet.
According  to my experience,  gangrene  is often  much quicker  in
response than many other  major  or "killing diseases, a matter which
may  be seen from a few brief case‐ sheets which  I now will add. I should 32
 mention that nearly all these  cases were treated after the physicians
had urged amputation.
Mrs.  E. Gangrenous  feet and  toes following  upon paralysis  after
vaccines had  been administered,  48 days fast. Urine  healed feet and
toes in the first  20 days.
Mr. D. Diabetic gangrene  of left forearm. Fasted


 his clarity, authenticity, sense of purpose, and ease. He is
authoritative and consistent. David has devoted his life to proving and
teaching the principles of A Course in Miracles. I have been with the
Course about as long as David has. Still, I encounter fear, resistance, and
ego. David has been a huge inspiration and accelerator to my
advancement in the Course, through his impeccable understanding and,
most important, his model. If you sincerely intend to master A Course in
Miracles or any related spiritual path, David is a guide of the highest
caliber. A Course in Miracles  is a delight to the spirit, but a huge
confrontation to the ego. It pulls the rug out from under the ego’s tricks
and exposes it for the nothingness it is. For that reason, all students of
the Course experience resistance to the program. Many students quit
doing the lessons, and others complain, “I don’t understand the text.”
Yet, the very same students admit, “I know the Course contains truths
that can change my life. I just wish it were easier to apply.”
The book you are holding can help you do exactly that. Here is a
brilliant map of the journey from fear to love. David takes the essential
principles of the Course and breaks them down into easy-to-grasp ideas,
exercises, and steps to help you make the truths work in your life. David
can take you where you want to go because he has walked the path you
and I now walk. He knows where the open road is and where lurk the
pitfalls that may waylay us. Read, learn, open, awaken, and transform. In one of David’ s teachings, he mentions that Mahatma Gandhi
retained his peace of mind even while he was in prison. The reveredleader did some  of his best writing there. The lesson David extracts is
that it is not what our body is doing that makes us happy or miserable,
but where our mind is. Hearing that, I remembered a prisoner I used to
visit. While Ray was in college, he flew into a fit of rage and beat his
girlfriend. A few days later, she died. Ray was conv icted of
manslaughter and sentenced to many years in jail. I met Ray during his
ninth year of incarceration, when he came up for parole for the third
time. “My girlfriend’ s parents are wealthy and politically influential
people,” he told me. “Every year when I come up for parole, they wage
an intensive campaign to ‘keep this vicious killer off the streets.’ So far,
they have been successful, and I have been denied parole.”
I didn’t see a vicious killer before me. To the contrary, the Ray I
knew was a gentle, kind man, penitent for his tragic mistake. He was a
model prisoner, given the highest privileges and appointed manager of
the prison laundry. He was a devoted student of A Course in Miracles. He was peaceful, his heart was open, and he displayed an exemplary
disposition. Ray’ s attitude and that of his girlfriend’ s parents were a great
teaching for me. His body was in prison, but his spirit was soaring. That
couple had all the material amen ities and physical freedom anyone could
desire, but their hearts were consumed with hatred and revenge. Who
was really in prison? After walking the spiritual path for many years, I have observed
two kinds of seminars: One kind teaches us how to get stuff. The other
kind teaches us how to get free. David’ s teachings are among the best of
the latter. When I met David, I told him that I watch his YouTube videos and
read his books before I go to sleep each night. Immersing myself in his
ideas and consci ousness is a soothing, healing way to undo the tangles of
the day and segue into a peace ful night’ s sleep. David’ s teachings can
achieve the same for you, day or night. I count this man as one of the
great blessings in my life. When climbing  a mountain in India, Sherpas (guides) help you
ascend. One Sherpa takes you to a certain altitude, and then anotherSherpa guides you to the next level. So it is with life. We are graced to
have guides show us the way when we feel lost or confuse d. David
Hoffmeister is a Sherpa of immaculate purpose. Trust him. He can show
you the way to the mountaintop. —Alan CohenIntroduction
The Ever-Present Miracle of Now
All we need to do is go within to find the answer of love. There is an answer that is so deep that it can bring truth and healing
to everyone and to this whole world. We have been searching for it
everywhere, except in the only place we could truly find it: within. This moment extends all the way to eternity. It is the now that
extends peacefully and is forever and ever. It is infinite happiness,
without end, without limit. It is untouched by fear, guilt, or suffering of
any kind. It is untouched by anything but love. There is so much
appreciation when experiencing something for the first time. There is no
comparison. For in the ever-unfolding now, we are always brand new. We can just bask in it, fully mer ge with it. There are no past references to
it, for it doesn’ t fit on the timeline. It’s just a happy sense of soaring way
beyond time and space, like an ongoing meditation. This ever-present miracle of now is our doorway within. It is our
doorway Home. It is an experience of something ever-new. It’s a happy
feeling, one that makes you want to sing to the world. It’s very beautiful
and very simple too. It’s having the allowance to merge when you are
watching a flower, a butterfly, or a bird singing in the tree; it’s a
contentment like, “Ah yes, thank you; let me be whole.” This is what
Saint Francis was talking about: just communing. The allowance that
everything is perfect. W e can really allow ourselves to smell the roses. It is through the doorway of the present moment that we are truly
able to hear the deep messages of love coming from within. They are
boundless and eternal, for the voice of the inner guide is always speaking
to us of our true identity and of our oneness with everyone and
everything. But in order to hear it, we need to walk through the doorway
and invite this deeply loving guide into our minds and lives.I first knew about this present moment, where boundless joy
resides, early on. The true drive of my heart, even as a young boy, was to
feel joy and extend love. I remember playing all summer. I loved the
neighborhood creek, which was full of frogs and crawdads. I would just
play, play, play—play my heart out all day. I was truly in the moment,
naturally! Then, as I got older and the world’ s rules and expectations set in, I
bought the bait. I started thinking that I had to learn my way through this
world. However, the more intricate the education and learning, the more
confused and lost I became. I didn’t like the idea of “improving” and the
sound of “makin g a living.” It sounded like pressure, like living to just
survive. That was not inspiring. It felt like the world was set up with an
ever-increasing number of complications. There came a time when I
began to question all this; I questioned how it was all set up. I started seeking the answer when I got into graduate schoo l. I
began to question everything that I believed and everything I had learned
in my ten years of university. Even though I got a couple of degrees, I
soon realized that there was no point in learning more stuff and
developing more special skills. I wanted the answer to something deeper. This was definitely not popular with people in my life. They said, “No,
no, not good, you have no direction; you are going to amount to
nothing.” They would say things like, “Y ou are crazy, get a life.”
So, I would say, “Okay, let’s talk about that. Get a life: Can you be
a little more specific? I actually believe I am going for life. So, would
you tell me what you mean by get a life?”
They said, “Well, get a life: a girlfriend, a partner...something. Then
get a house, get a mortgage, get in debt like the rest of us.”
“That is what you mean by get a life? And then what?”
And they said, “And then you grow old, and your hair goes gray.”
“And then what?”
“And then you get sick.”
“And then what?”“And then you die.”
And I said, “Absolutely unacceptable. All I can say is, if that is your
definition of a life, I am not going to get a life. There has to be
something more  than just strugg le and work and suffer and get sick and
die and get educ ated along the way. There has to be a little bit more than
that, a deeper and more fulfillin g experience. And I am going to get the
bottom of it; I am going to get to the bottom of this fishy world, and I am
going to find out what is truly


 Priebe wrote:
For the record I’d like to share some observations about Melody Clark’s
oral development. Melody has been a regular patient under my care since
11 August, 1976. I have been paying particular attention to tooth size and
nature of
dorsal tongue mucosa, all of which have altered developmental patterns in
Down’s syndrome children. It is my clinical impression that this patient seems to be significantly
more normal in every aspect of the above compared with other Down’ssyndrome children of similar age. Palate development, while high, has
lowered considerably during the time she has been with me. Arch
development and particularly tongue development seem to be becoming
within the range of normalcy. Behaviorly, Melody has demonstrated that she can handle the stress of
dental treatment as well as children not having Down’s syndrome. Progress reports on Melody’s functional development in the classroom showed
her able “to read fluently from storybook to teacher and independently complete
comprehension questions on take home,” said Rose M. Mullan, a special
education teacher at the Wenatchee Sterling Middle School. The girl was “able to
compute two-digit, one-column addition and subtraction facts from dictated story
problems.”
When Melody was not yet seven, she could also speak in complete sentences. Ms. Mullan said, “The first response in a complete sentence was made in
November 1979. When told at recess that all the balls were being used, Melody
responded, ‘Denise will share with me.’” Then, she was able to respond to
personal data and give her full name, age, address, city, state, birthday, phone
number, and parents’ names and was able to name in order the days of the week
and the seasons of the year. She was accepted by her peers on her personal merit. “Melody socializes with
her peers at recess and in the classroom,” noted Ms. Mullan. “She participates in
classroom games and shares classroom responsibilities. Melody is very
conscientious in completing her school assignments, and she is proud of her
academic accomplishments.”
Another of Melody’s teachers, Marion A. Kennedy, commenting on the girl’s
writing ability, said: “Melody can group letters into words and generally maintains
her letters within the boundary of primary paper. She copies directly from the
chalkboard and many sight words she simply reads and then writes on her paper. (As opposed to having to copy letter for letter, she spells.) She always reads her
‘boardwork’ independently prior to copying it.... There is no question that
Melody has made great strides in every area of academic and social and physical
development this year. The progress is quite remarkable.”
“All of this progress is because of DMSO,” said Melody’s mother, “so I’m
sure you realize why I would like to see this drug made available for suffering
people. It certainly offers parents like us a lot of hope.”
The little girl is unique in the progress she made. No scientist quiteunderstands how DMSO worked to make changes in her—and in other children
with Down’s syndrome—but that the drug did is undeniable. Don Bonker, a
Congressman from Washington state who is one of the members of the House
Select Committee on Aging, told Dr. Jacob and all those assembled in the hearing
room the day DMSO was discussed, “Today Melody is a miracle child for the
entire community. She walks, runs, talks, reads, spells well, her teeth are
developing almost normally. Her tongue does not protrude. “Are you familiar with this case?” Mr. Bonker asked Dr. Jacob. “Today our
office has received three phone calls from a community in the state of Washington
regarding Melody Clark, this eight-year-old child who has what is known as
Down’s syndrome. At eleven months she was typically unable to stand or walk,
had protruding tongue and all the other symptoms. Her parents heard of Dr.
Stanley Jacob and went to Portland to try DMSO on her.”
Dr. Jacob knew her well—she was one of hundreds of trisomic (Down’s
syndrome) children who had some of their abnormalities partially reversed with
DMSO therapy. OTHER DOWN’S SYNDROME EXAMPLES RESPONDING TO
DMSO
Bronwyn Nash of Rock Island, Washington, was another trisomy 21, the form of
Down’s syndrome with the greatest number of problems. She had been treated with
DMSO since the age of ten months. When I investigated Bronwyn’s case she was
twenty-eight months old and improving steadily. The girl had been very slow to gain weight. Her pediatrician had done several
tests to see if there was a medical reason but none was discovered. She was a
frail, tiny baby. It was right after she was put on DMSO for treating her Down’s syndrome that
Bronwyn’s weight started to go up. Dorothy Nash, her mother, described how the
baby progressed: “She seemed to have more interest in food and ate a little more
but was basically nursing until she was a year old, so we’re convinced the DMSO
helped her. We and other people around us noticed an increased awareness of
people and objects
around Bronwyn. She started taking a real interest in reaching
out and touching things.”
At eighteen months Bronwyn crawled, sat up, and pulled herself to a standing
position. She got into her mother’s cupboards, started to feed herself, and held herwater glass well. She became an alert, cheerful little girl much enjoyed and well
loved by the Nash family. Mrs. Nash said, “We are so pleased to have Bronwyn on DMSO and hope it
will be available to others soon.”
From Santiago, Chile, Nicholas Weinstein, M.D., supplied the DMSO
aminoacid compound used for the Down’s syndrome treatment of young Billy King
in the United States. The child was suffering from trisomy 21 and had been treated
for eight years with traditional therapies, without any improvement. Then, for over
two years he was given DMSO therapy with an imported drug product. By the time
he was ten years old, the boy had experienced no unfavorable side effects and
improvement was definitely observed. His mother, Betty Lou King, reported,
“Billy has grown from a size five to a fifteen and has now complete control of his
bladder and bowels. He has gained a large vocabulary. His mongoloid looks are
diminishing.” The photographic comparison of changes in Billy King for just one
year are striking. He looks normal now whereas before the boy possessed the
facial characteristics of obvious Down’s syndrome. DMSO AMINOACID THERAPY FOR TRISOMIC CHILDREN
Medical teams working in clinical and pharmacological research from Canada, the
United States, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile use DMSO aminoacid therapy in an
ongoing search for new means to fight mental retardation. The combination of
ingredients is not yet approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration and
any physician who employs the compound in this country risks a lot personally
and professionally. Parents don’t risk much because the medicine has been proved
safe after years of clinical trials—and the parents have hardly any other hope of
restoring their trisomy children to near normality. An experiment was carried out with a group of 18 children suffering from
trisomy 21. While they showed marked differences on an intellectual level, they
were pathogenically homogeneous, as they all had the typical symptoms. The
results obtained with this experimental group were checked against those of a
control group of 91 children of similar physical and mental ages who had Down’s
syndrome. Chief of research was Lydia F. De Coriat, M.D., Assistant Head of the
Neurological Service of the Municipal Pediatric Hospital, Buenos Aires,
Argentina, who is also President of the Argentine Association for the Scientific
Study of Mental Retardation. Dr. De Coriat used an evaluation technique on thechildren that covered four levels:
1
. Impression of the child’s parents regarding behavior at home, degree of
integration and language organization, and general deportment. 2
. The personal impression of the physician regarding clinical changes in the
patient including his or her general aspect, muscular tone, psychomotor
activity, appearance, and expression. 3
. A psychological evaluation made by comparing the IQ in repeated
psychometric tests. 4
. An evaluation of side effects, laboratory assays, and other supplementary
tests for the medication. For psychometric control of the development of the Down’s syndrome babies,
the Gesell test for child development was used. 1
 The Therman-Merril test was
used for older subjects. The neurological maturity of the 109 children of both
sexes, aged between two months and five years, was recorded. They had been
subjected to early stimulation since babyhood. Each child was studied and examined for six consecutive months. Only the 18
children of the group received treatment with DMSO aminoacid therapy. It
included the intramuscular injection into each child of five series of twelve
ampoules of the DMSO aminoacid compound every other day. Additionally, the
rhythm of stimulation and specialized learning for all babies and children were
maintained at previously determined levels. The diet was kept at an optimum, and
psychopharmacological and aminoacid oral treatments were continued where
necessary. The 91 children in the control group received only “basic treatment,” no
DMSO aminoacid therapy. The injections for Down’s


 any logical way responsible for what you’r e
experiencing or failing to experience today. The wake is just
what it is, and nothing more—a trail that you’ve left behind. But have you? Being a Victim of Your Personal
History
For well over a quarter century now, I’ve work ed with people
to help them access higher levels of awar eness. It’s my
experience that most people live their life in the wake by
hanging on to personal histories to justif y their self-
defeating behaviors and the scarcity in their lives. They
hang on to past pains, abuses, and shortcomings as calling
cards to announce a “poor me” status to everyone they
meet, withi n minutes of their introduction. “I was
abandoned as a child,” “I’m an alcoholic,” “I’m an incest
survivor,” “My parents were divor ced and I’ve never gotten
over it.” The list could go on for hundr eds of pages. Your past is over! By bonding to your past, you not only
ensur e that you’ll be immobilized today, but you prevent
yourself from healing. By referring to past struggles and
using them as the reasons for not getting on with your lifetoday, you’r e doing the equivalent of attributing to the wake
the ability to drive the boat. This also works in reverse. Many people  refer to the good old days that are gone
forever as the reason why they can’t be happy and fulﬁlled
today. “Everything has changed,” “No one respects anyone
else like they used to,” “A dollar used to be worth  a dollar,
now everything is so overpriced,” “People don’t seem to
want to help out like they did in the past,” “When  we were
kids, we respected author ity; today’s kids walk all over their
parents.” This is also living in the wake and assigning
responsibility to the past for why you can’t be successful or
happy today. Getting Out of the Wake
Imagine a pencil with the ability to only write your past
history. It has no use otherwise. All of your past is in that
pencil. Are you going to keep it? What for? Are you going to
give it up? Perhaps Omar  Khayyam will inspir e you with his
poem:
The moving ﬁnger writes and having writ moves
on. Nor all thy piety nor wit can lure it back to cancel
half a line,
Nor all thy tears wash out one word of it. You can cry all night about the history in that pencil, all that
it contains, and all you wish you could erase—or bring back
again—but all of your tears can’t wash out one word of the
past, as the poet-philosopher r eminds you. You want to let go of your personal history that’s symbolized
by that pencil, but when you walk away from it, no matter
how far you walk, you look back and there it is. You’re readyto be rid of your personal history and to more fully live in
the present moment. But the pencil is always there when
you look back. I suggest that you pick up the pencil, and
with compassion, allow the words, wounds, and pain of the
past to be written, embraced, examined, understood,
accepted, and loved for all that you’ve learned and
experienced. The act of picking it up and embracing it will
give you the str ength to transfor m the past into song, poem,
paint, or ritual if you feel called to do those things, or to
throw it away in your unique manner. Embracing Your Personal History
In a universe that’s an intelligent system with a Divine
creative force supporting it, there simply can be no
accidents. As tough as it is to acknowledge, you had to go
through what you went through in order to get to wher e you
are today, and the evidence is that you did. Every spiritual
advance that you will make in your life will very likely be
preceded by some kind of fall or seeming disaster. Those
dark times, accidents, tough episodes, periods of
impoverishment, illnesses, abuses, and broken dreams were
all in order. They happened, so you can assume they had to
and you can’t unhappen  them. Embrace them from that perspective, with help if you need
it, and then understand them, accept them, honor them,
and ﬁnally retire and/or transfor m them in your own way. (I
know someone who gives them a new job description.) Become free to immerse yourself in this moment—the now
that’s called the present —because it’s simply that—a
present to open, relish, nurtur e, play with, and enjoy and
explor e.No Longer Relying on Your Past
Make an eﬀort to remove all labels that you’ve placed on
yourself. Labels serve to negate you. You must ultimately
live up to the label rather than being the limitless spirit that
is your true essence. You’re not an American, an Italian, or
an African. You’re a mem ber of one race, the human race. You’re not a male or a female, a Democrat or a Republican. You are one with the true oneness, God. You are not athletic
or magical, mathematical or literary, or any other label. Transcending labels, particularly those that have been
placed on you by others in your past, opens you to the
opportunity of soaring in the now in any way that you
desir e.
Your past history and all of your hurts are no longer here in
your physica l reality. Don’t allow them to be here in your
mind, muddy ing your present moments. Your life is like a
play with several acts. Some of the characters who enter
have short roles to play, others, much larger. Some are
villains and others are good guys. But all of them are
necessary, otherwise they wouldn’t be in the play. Embrace
them all, and move on to the ne xt act. OceanofPDF.comAll You Get Is Now
The past has gone, the future is still to come, so the present
—the here-and-now—is all we have. This is our topic for
today. The willingness and ability to live fully in the now elude
many people. While eating your appetizer, don’t be
concer ned with dessert. While reading a book, notice wher e
your thoughts are. While on vacation, be there instead of
thinking abou t what should have been done and what has to
be done when returning home. Don’t let the elusive present
moment get used up by thoughts that aren’t in the here and
now.There’s an irony to this habit of having your mind drift to
other times and other places. You can only drift oﬀ in the
now, because now is all you ever get. So drifting oﬀ is a way
of using up your present moments. You do indeed have a
past, but not now! And yes, you have a futur e, but not now! And you can consume your now with thoughts of “then” and
“maybe”, but that will keep you from the inner peace and
success you could e xperience. It’s doubtful that other creatur es waste the present in
thoughts of past and future. A beaver only does beaver, and
he does it right in the moment. He doesn’t spend his days
wishing he were a young beaver again, or ruminating over
the fact that his beaver siblings received more attention, or
his beaver father ran oﬀ with a younger beaver when he
was growing up. He’s always in the now. We can learn much
from God’s creatur es about enjoying the present  moment
rather than using it up consumed with guilt over the past or
worry about the futur e. Practice living in the moment, and
refuse to allow any thoughts based on your past to deﬁne
you. Stop and take notice of all that’s in your immediate space—
the people, creatur es, vegetation, cloud formations, building
designs, everything. Stay in the present by meditating and
getting closer to the ultimate now… God. God Is Only Here Now
Think about this. God will not be doing anything diﬀer ent
one hour from now than God is doing now. And God is not
doing anythi ng diﬀer ent now from what God was doing a
thousand years ago. The truth is that you can only come to
know God if you’r e willing to be at peace in the present
moment.Earlier, in Day 8, I discu ssed how meditation is a way of
making conscious contact with God. Here, I would like to let
you in on a sublime secret that I learned from one of my
most inﬂuential teachers:
You will only come to truly know God when you
give up the past and the future in your mind and
merge totally into the now, because God is always
here now. Very few people understand and live this principle, largely
because of their conditioning and unwillingness to train their
minds in present-moment living.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        OceanofPDF. comAlso in the 21 Days series


 I don’t enjoy. When we choose to become more conscious and in-tune, we can deliberately choose music that
internally matches itself in high  vibrations, that  also matches
our own desired vibration. Once we know with greater clarity
the vibration we are seeking, we  can search to find the music
that can uplift us or inspire us, in the vibrational direction we
seek to go. Thus, if you are s eeking to feel magical, there are
many songs that can fill our spirit  with the vibrational, lyrical,
and rhythmical essence of magic. If its empowerment we desire, there are many songs that  beat the drum of empowered,
confident vibrations of  strength. If it is happiness we desire,
there are many songs that sing the chor us of vibrational
upliftment and joy to us. Music is a quick, easy bridge to good
feeling feelings, or at least vibr ational matches to our desires, if
we are conscious of its vibrational offerings to our inner life. Music can bring the ping that makes us want to sing. If you can find your way to be in the experience of that, then you are on your way to feeling good and in the flow of Source energy. This ping and flow attracts your non-physical desire into the physical. When you can sing your ping, you can feel your own sentient cue that you are in a st ate of allowing. Our inner eyes
can more clearly see the truth of our inner light in this state, and the truth of all of our good - already existing in our present experience. I have included this brief chapter to more consciously
invite the “ping” into our daily  awareness. Finding easy Cosmic Wealth
 84
uplifting music, friendships, creative expressions, inner
visionings, affirmations, and natural blessings from Mother Earth in our daily lives - brin gs the ping that supports us to
open our hearts toward inner rising. The better we feel, the more love we generate, the lighter the global energy becomes, and the more expansive our entire  collective cosmos infinitely
is. 85
/G14/G15/G0B/G16/G0F/G09/G08/G01/G20/G17/G09/G1A/G18/G09/G21
Universal Laws, Strings, and Time

/G1C/G01/G06/G03/G04/G06/G01/G02/G05/G06/G04/G05/G05/G16/G05/G09/G06/G01/G02/G0F/G01/G06/G17/G03/G0C/G11/G04/G0A/G06/G06/G1D/G02/G05/G06/G04/G05/G05/G16/G03/G0C/G0E/G06/G03/G04/G06/G01/G02/G05/G06/G16/G05/G1A/G06/G1A/G07/G12/G06/G19/G12/G04/G01
turn, to play your part and br ing wisdom to others. In
your search for truth, truth will be revealed. Seeking truth
deepens your journey... and reveals the truth – the timeless
truth of greater laws imaginabl e.  In these laws, in these
inner caverns, your prosperi ty and heartfulness grows. /G28 Spirit 1/5/09

The truth of the timeless essence of the non-physical
world came barreling into my life, when my own personal karmic appointment came due. A being, an old energy, and a
profound challenge from another place, space, and time had re-
birthed itself into my experience again. Again. I distinctly
remember how no one in my life at the time was prepared for the conversation I needed to have, about what had unbelievably unearthed itself in my life, including /G14/G07 /G0A /G01/G01/G3A/G04/G10  I can say now,
with a clarity that comes from th e comfort of a long zoom lens,
our perceptions of time and space are only relative to /G01/G02/G03/G04 time
and space reality. Those who feel a regular connection to the world of the non-physical likely experience the truth of timelessness themselves. For time is an experienti al element of
the physical, and timelessness is an experiential element of the
non-physical. Experiencing the timelessness of the nonphysical world is very similar to journeyi ng within the magic of belief,
and creating a physical world out of  one’s imagination. It is an
experiential journey, that each of us travels, en route to true self-
discovery. In this chapter, I transcrib e a message from Spirit, about
the concepts of universal laws, divine order, divine timing, universal connections, and the rea lities of time. Whether or not
you yourself have felt time /G04/G01/G09/G05/G01/G0D/G02, stand still, or reappear in
your life from past “time-space” realities, these messages can help us all to put some perspective on our journeys here, our quest for greater expansion, an d our true core eternal light.Cosmic Wealth
 86
I received this message during a sentient journey into the world
of the nonphysical (through my inner, higher self), that I believe
can apply to us all. Dear One –
You have come back to where you belong. Anywhere you go
at any point in time, you can alwa ys zoom back to this special
space and timeless place. It is yours. Today, we want to talk to yo u about universal laws. It is
important to clarify why they exist at all. Dear One – time is a necessary illusion for growth and
expansion on your ea rth plane. So, while we ask you to be
aware of time, it is with the knowledge that it is mere illusion. In those pockets of time when humans forget the /G0D/G06/G06/G02/G0F/G0D/G01/G0A /G06/G32/G07/G17/G06
time), it helps motivate and stru cture life on a physical plane. Without time as an illusory motivator, there would be more
chaos – unnecessary for the growth that all are desiring. And
so, time is a truth as well as an illusion. Time is both of its
own contrasts, whic h is really ingenious, if given proper
respect for its role in our expansion efforts. Universal laws provide Divine Order. Divine order speaks
to the fact that everything is  governed and guided for the
highest good of all. Highest good of /G05/G06/G06 – so for the individual
and for the collection of humanity, and all those existing
entirely in the universe. It is an expansive “order.”  It is not
easily understood. But it can be easily accepted, by those ready
for the path of truth and trust. Divine order is a sacred law
that manifests everything in perf ect time and space, bringing
all laws together in synchronistic flow, at divine right timing. Divine timing is the universal knowing of Divine perfect order. And once order is achieved, divine timing coordinates itself
to bring the desired outcome into being. Divine timing is
different than physical time, in that it follows and operates
under higher, universal law. Divine timing accesses universal intelligence at all times, to know with precision – right order,
right time, right place, right expanse, right present./G36/G03/G02/G14/G04/G05/G16/G12/G0C/G01/G1B/G12/G1C/G16/G09/G01/G2E/G10/G05/G02/G03/G0E/G16/G09/G01/G12/G03/G11/G01/G18/G02/G0F/G04  87
/G0A/G06/G0A/G06/G0A/G06/G25/G07/G12/G06 /G27/G0C/G0B/G0E/G01/G1E/G09/G28 /G01 /G07/G0C/G05/G06/G14/G03/G01/G02/G06/G01/G02/G03/G04/G06 /G27/G13/G0E/G0E/G09/G08/G01/G1A/G13/G0A/G09/G28 /G01 /G04/G08/G0F/G0D/G05/G24/G06/G14/G03/G01/G02/G06/G0F/G10/G10/G06
space and time. When you want to step out of the illusion of
physical time – you can step into  the truth of divine time. This is one way to access the inn er state, in this sacred space
you are remembering as well as creating for yourself.... Universal laws a re for all peoples – on all planes, in all
galaxies. Therefore, what one does in one galaxy, orbit, or
plane is the same effect as on another plane, space, or galaxy. What one does in one area, co nnects energetica lly to what
another experiences. It is a deeply connected universe – thus
the Laws of One.... /G18/G0B/G04 Laws of One /G27/G0A/G08/G10/G25/G01
Lemurian/Atlantean times] /G01 /G14/G05/G09/G05/G06/G0D/G09/G05/G0F/G01/G05/G11/G24  or /G0C/G05/G02/G0B/G10/G0C /G06/G26 we


namic way,  reflecting  the  enormous  variety  of  life,  joy,
and  love  that  you  may  experience  in  your  foods. The
six  tastes  in  Ayurveda  serve  to  garner  the  spirit  of
allowance,  kindness,  joy,  and  plenty  within  the  bodily
organism,  so  that  we  may  learn  about  our  true  nature. As  you  practice  this  dynamic  science  of  well-being,
you  will  gradually  notice  principles  of  balance  mani-
festing within  yourself  and  in  your  home. Eventually,
as  you  maintain  a  consistent  routine,  you  will  develop
ease  and  grace  with  your  food  preparation. Remember  that  these  guidelines  are  only  tools  to
support  and  augment  your  own  commitment  to  ex-
cellent health  and  spirit. Once  the  essence  of  Vedic teaching  is  grasped,  you  will  blossom  with  rapidity
into  your  own  splendor. Be  aware. Do  not  become  attached  to  your  learn-
ing tools — use  them  for  a  while,  and  thereafter  refer
to  them  from  time  to  time. The  heart  of  this  teaching
is  that  you  make  it  your  own. Ayurvedic  cooking  is
not  Indian  cooking. It  is  a  universal  principle  of  ab-
solute wellness,  and  thus  may  be  translated  into  all
cultures. Allow  the  balance  achieved  in  the  act  of  cooking  to
become  a  reflection  of  the  greater  achievement  of
balance  in  self,  universe,  and  God. I  encourage  you  to
share  the  wisdom  you  have  learned. May  Isvara  grant
abundant  grace  to  you,  your  family,  and  your  friends. Note:  Menu  items  that  are  capitalized  refer  to  reci-
pes that  can  be  found  in  this  book  (see  the  index  for
page  references). Many  of  the  other  items  can  be  found
in  natural  food  stores. Wlien  a  specific  type  of  fruit
lassi  is  specified,  substitute  a  fruit  appropriate  to  your
body  type. Remember  to  add  honey  to  tea  only  after  it
has  cooled. Some  recipes  appropriate  for  your  body  type  may
contain  small  amounts  of  an  ingredient  that  is  not
recommended  by  the  food  charts. Small  amounts
of  these  foods  will  not  hinder  the  overall  dosha-
benefiting  aspects  of  that  dish. MENUS  FOR  VATA  TYPES
VATA,  VATA- PITTA,  VATA- KAPHA
Spring
BREAKFAST  (7-8)
Cream  of  Wheat  Porridge  with  raisins
LUNCH  (12-1)
Carrot  and  Broccoli  Soup  with  moist  wheat  bread
fresh  fruits  (grapes,  mango,  melon)  with  yogurt
TEA  (4-4:30)
1  cup  lemon  balm  tea
ginger  cookies DINNER  (6-7)
Seitan,  Daikon,  and  Carrot  Stew
brown  b.ism.iti  rue
Daikon  Pickle  (Mula .Uli.u  I
Almond  and  Ha/eliuit  Cream  Pie
1  glass  spring  water
l  VENING  BREW  (7  7:30)
l  cup  Wai  in  Saffron  Milk
135
m
THE    PRACTICE    OF    AYURVEDA
MENUS  FOR  VATA  TYPES  (continued)
K
Spring
BREAKFAST  (7-8)
Soft  Rice  with  Gomasio
xli  melon  with  touch  of  lime  juice
1  cup  Spice  Tea
LUNCH  (12-1)
Masala  Dosa  or  Rice  Idli
with  Green  Ginger  and  Coconut  Chutney
yogurt  and  fruits EVENING  BREW  (7-7:30)
1  cup  rose  flower  tea
Amasake  and  Cardamom  Pie  (or  pudding)
TEA  (4-4:30)
1  cup  chamomile  tea
Marzipan  Date  Cake
DINNER  (6-7)
Sesame  and  Onion  Sauce
Tofu  and  Broccoli
Cinnamon  Spiced  Wheat
1  glass  spring  water
EVENING  BREW  (7-7:30)
Warm  Almond  and  Nutmeg  Brew
Spring
BREAKFAST  (7-8)
Hot  Milk  Tea  (Chai)
puffed  rice  cereal  with  almond  milk
orange  slices
LUNCH  (12-1)
Plain  Dhal  and  Chapati
Pressed  Red  Radish  Salad
1  glass  spring  water
TEA  (4-4:30)
peach  nectar  diluted  with  sparkling  spring  water W
Summer
BREAKFAST  (7-8)
mixed  fruits  (bananas,  nectarines,  oranges),  or
whole  wheat  bread  soaked  in  almond  milk  with  honey,  or
puffed  rice  or  wheat  cereal  with  hot  milk  and  dates
LUNCH  (12-1)
whole  wheat  noodles  with  Pesto  for  V  Types
Sauteed  Asparagus  with  sprinkle  of  mirin
DINNER  (6-7)
Spiced  Yogurt  Drink
Tamarind  Rice
Dried  Masala  Okra TEA  (4-1:30)
1  cup  peppermint  tea
Fruit  Cobbler
DINNER  (6-7)
Almond  and  Carrot  Rice  Salad
Carrot  and  Oat  Sauce
Vegetable  Stir- Fry  with  Vata  vegetables
EVENING  BREW  (7-7:30)
Warm  Spiced  Soy  Milk
Summer
BREAKFAST  (7-8)
puffed  wheat  cereal  with  warm  milk
1  cup  twig  tea  with  unrefined  brown  sugar
[/2  grapefruit
LUNCH  (12-1)
White  Basmati  Kichadi
Lime  Pickle  (Nimbu  Achar)
1  glass  spring  water
TEA  (4-1:30)
1  cup  fennel  and  peppermint  tea
Blueberry  Pudding  Cake
136
^Cr
EATING   WITH    THE    CYCLES    OF    N  ATU  RE  — S  E  ASON  A  L    MENUS
MENUS  FOR  VATA  TYPES  (continued)
DINNER  (6-7)
Barley  and  Pea  Salad  with  Orange  and  Fennel  Dressing
Oil  Roti  with  Ghee
1  glass  spring  water
EVENING  BREW  (7-7:30)
Warm  Almond  and  Peach  Nectar
1  mango
m Summer
BREAKFAST  (7-8)
whole  wheat  toast  soaked  in  amasake
with  sprinkle  of  orange  zest
1  cup  lemon  halm  tea
LUNCH  (12-1)
udon  noodles  with  mild  tamari  sauce
Mustard  Greens  and  Asparagus  with  Hollandaise  Sauce
1  glass  spring  water TEA  (4-^4:30)
peppermint  tea Peppermint  and  Walnut  Mousse
DINNER  (6-7)
Linguini  with  Beet  Sauce
1  glass  spring  water
seasonal  fruits  (fresh  or  cooked)
EVENING  BREW  (7-7:30)
Warm  Sandalwood  Milk  Brew
TEA  (4-4:30)
wild  ginger  and  spearmint  tea  with  milk
fresh  fruits
DINNER  (6-7)
Creamed  Squash  with  Chapati
Water


  discriminate  between  what  is  heard  and  what  is
actual;  between  what  is  a  belief  and  what  is  believed. As  love  exhorts  us  not  to  nurture  expectations,  the
truth  urges  us  not  to  hasten  to  conclusions. I  lie  open
mind  encourages  an  alert  mind. And  m\  alert  mind
becomes  a  discriminate  mind,  whereby  we  choose  oui
daily  paths  ol  least  resistance. The  path  ol  truth  is
always  well  lit  when  oui  eves  are  open
\  3  3
^C
AFTERWORD
SADHANA  OF
DEVOTION
If  we  pray  for  anything,  it  is  that  we  remember  our
nature. Only  then  will  the  spirit  of  devotion  rise  in
celebration. To  know  ourselves  to  be  Brahman  is  to  gain  the
greatest  wealth  of  the  universe. Devotion  is  an  attitude
that  is  primarily  influenced  by  the  knowledge  of  God. It  is  an  acceptance  of  the  nature  of  all  things,  and  not
a  resignation  to  unpleasantness. It  is  the  firm,  tangible
knowing  that  all  which  comes  to  us  is  prasada,  a  gift  of
God. The  universe  has  a  cosmic  order,  and  when  we  are  in
harmony  with  it,  the  results  we  reap  are  always  reward-
ing. When  we  are  unobservant  of  its  order,  we  are
caught  by  surprise  by  its  rewards. To  accept  the  univer-
sal prasada,  without  anger  and  hurt,  whether  pleasant
or  not,  is  the  test  of  trust  in  our  attitude  of  devotion. Prayers  are  where  we  begin  in  our  spirit  of  devotion. We  acknowledge  the  omniscient  force  of  the  Lord  and
his  help  to  us. As  we  maintain  a  prayerful  disposition,
we  recognize  that  the  Lord's  help  is  always  impartial. We  benefit  from  the  grace  whether  or  not  we  see  the
results. A  bhakta  is  a  devotee,  one  whose  acceptance  of
the  Lord  as  the  provider  and  will  behind  everything  is
complete. A  bhakta  knows  that  when  we  tamper  with
God's  will,  we  incur  the  just  results,  and  that  when  we
flow  within  Isvara's  universal  harmony,  we  are  blessed
with  grace. The  grace  we  earn  may  not  always  be  what
we  hope  for,  but  when  we  accept  it  as  our  lesson  (or
lessons)  to  bear,  we  are  living  in  cosmic  love. When  we  make  an  offering  to  the  Lord,  it  comes
back  to  us,  just  like  the  fruits  we  place  upon  the  alter
and  share  with  each  other  after  prayers. When  our
offerings  return  to  us,  they  are  transformed  into  prasada. A  devotee  is  not  one  who  is  exempt  from  wrongdoing,
but  one  who  accepts  the  results  of  his  or  her  wrong
actions  with  graciousness. A  devotee  may  not  recog-
nize the  wrongness  of  an  action,  but  accepts  the  karma-
phala,  the  fruits  of  the  action,  however  unpleasant,
without  grief. The  attitude  of  acceptance  of  all  things
that  come  to  us  is  the  greatest  beauty  of  the  human
spirit. This  does  not  mean  that  when  we  are  being
abused,  we  must  remain  in  that  condition. There  are other  factors  present  in  these  situations,  and  we  must
summon  the  courage  to  run  from  destructive  interplay. Devotion  is  both  the  joyous  acceptance  of  the  good
results  and  the  recognition  of  the  poor  results  as  lessons
to  be  learned. No  stage  of  spiritual  growth  is  exempt  from  the
spirit  of  devotion. The  simple  person  who  does  not
have  the  knowledge  of  self  may  be  a  great  devotee  of
God. In  contrast,  a  scholar  of  the  scriptures  cannot
know  the  omniscient  self  without  the  spirit  of  devo-
tion. With  or  without  the  knowledge  of  Brahman,  de-
votion is  the  fundamental  spirit  of  nature. With  devo-
tion, the  poor  and  ignorant  continue  to  be  blessed  and
happy;  without  it  the  scholar  could  never  know  God. SADHANA  OF   SILENCE
Solitude,  silence,  and  freedom  are  the  nourishers  of  life. We
think  we  are  nourishing  ourselves  with  words,  ideas,
thoughts,  but  though  these  things  are  the  content  of  con-
sciousness, they  are  not  the  content  of  reality. Vimala  Thakar
As  I  write,  I  expend  breath  through  the  silent  words. There  are  many  thousands  of  breaths  granted  to  each
of  us  as  we  serve  the  mala  bead  of  one  lifetime. When
this  ration  of  breath  is  used,  the  physical  body  ceases  to
be. Even  in  deep  silence,  breath  is  spent. But  it  is  spent
wisely  as  it  hums  along  with  the  universe. The  greatest  sadhana  of  contentment  and  joy  is  to  sit
in  the  love  and  light  of  your  own  being. Silence  is  the
last  boon  given  after  all  the  lessons  of  cosmic  being  are
learned. It  is  difficult  to  begin  the  sadhana  of  silence,
but  we  earn  it  as  we  practice  the  wholesome  actions  of
the  food  sadhanas. When  memory  is  waning,  the  mind
becomes  cluttered. There  is  no  room  for  silence. We  are
shut  out  of  existence. The  penance  to  reenter  is  to  sit  in
the  self  and  observe  the  thoughts  and  emotions. The
mind  will  not  easily  empty  its  sticky  thoughts,  but  you
will  be  able  to  observe  them. This  observation  burns
the  invalid  emotions  and  leaves  the  residue  of  what  is
real. Observation  is  a  celebration  of  our  being,  even  when
we  are  in  trouble. By  observing  we  become  still. Still-
334
jmtr
AFTERWORD
ness  is  the  secret  of  the  trees  and  mountains. They  are
in  no  hurry  to  accelerate  the  process  of  becoming. When  you  bathe  in  moonlight,  you  become  moonlit;
when  you  sit  in  the  forest,  you  become  the  essence  of
the  trees;  when  you  climb  a  mountain  like  the  gravity-
defying  goats,  you  become  that  mountain. They  are  all
essential  stillness  in  quiet  motion. Observe  nature  and
allow  yourself  to  be  transformed. Transformation  is
the  fire  of  observation. Stillness  is  the  gift  of  awareness. Every  morning  take  a  bath.


 to spontaneously select
their diet, they will automaticall y select a balanced diet. So you begin to get
a return of faith in nature. You allow the body now to sort of be itself. That
which is natural within the body itself will automatically handle its
nutritional needs. Once we get off the social programming, then that which is automatically
self-healing and healthy within the body takes over. It looks after itself, and
it chooses what it needs to eat and what it wants to eat. And it does
extremely well. My body eats lots of cholesterol, and it loves cheese and
eggs, and my diet would make any dietitian faint. Any nutritionist I’m sure
would faint when they see what I have for breakfast. And yet the
cholesterol is normal, the blood sugar is normal, all the blood chemistries
are normal. I have a faith, then you might say, in the God within nature
itself, with the body being part of the beautiful nature of this planet. • • •
One of the best ways to handl e depression is to discuss it with other
people. People will give you feedback. There’ s a trust in the general human
energy. There is really a surprisi ng willingness to help other human beings. I discovered that in New Y ork City. For instance, if you’re feeling down and
you’re standing outside of a building and there’ s a doorman, and you say to
the doorman, “I don’t know what’ s wrong with me, I’m really feeling down
today,” surprisingly, the doorma n will usually say to you, “Yeah, I get those
periods too and here’ s what I do about it. ” There’ s a general helpfulness
in mankind that you don’ t realize until you call upon it. I think joining a therapeutic organization can also help. People go to
church, or group therapy, where  there is some kind of group dynamic. The
12-Step groups have been one of the most profoundly power ful ways of
overcoming a great variety of problems, social isolation among others. There are great many avenues for help in today’ s world that really didn’ t
exist when I was younger. • • •
There’ s actually a physiologic change in the brain that occurs as a result
of beco ming spiritually oriented, spiritually committed, joining spiritual
groups, practicing spiritual principles, just simply praying, genuflecting—
all things that are symbolic of acknowledgment of the presence of God as
divinity. They begin to transform  you. You begin to experience  and see the
world differently. A lot of peopl e live in pride. Let’s take spiritually
oriented people: at 500 and over, the chances are probably 90 percent that
you’re relatively happy. You’re  so used to being happy that if you’re not
happy for a moment, you think you’re unhappy. When you get a negative
thought like that you ask God to remove it, “Dear God, please help me to
get over this angry thought, and replace it with a pleasant thought. ”
I believe calling upon God is the most powerful and effective energy
field that’s available to you. And then because of divinity, you then have the
courage to speak to another human being about the fact that you’re feeling
down, and you get a chance to talk about it. And when you talk about it,
somehow the feeling diminishe s. Any feeling that you have, if you talk
about it, eventually you run it out. You can only feel so depres sed about a
certain number of things, and after you get through talking abou t it, you sort
of work out that depression. That’ s one of the reasons psychotherapy works, because you have a
chance to share your concerns with another human being, and a
psychotherapist has your well-being as his or her primary goal. It’ s useful. ACTIVE AND P ASSIVE SUICIDE
Passive suicide is not resisting the negative within you. Active suicide is
seeking it. There’ s more of an emer gency response. The activ e suicide is
more like an emer gency response of desperation. Passive suicide is morefailing to take the necessary measures to survive. And of course, passive
suicide is a guiltless way of doing it, whereas active suicide would make
you feel guilty. There’ s a moral  objection to active suicide. Passive suicide
is a way of getting around the moral dilemma and being able to excuse it. That it’s the world that did it, not you. People stop eating, and they stop
taking whatever medications they need, and they don’t do what’ s necessary
to survive. If you picture the source of happiness is something out there, well, what
happens if you lose that something out there. The title, money, job,
relationship. Again, you have to see that the source of happiness is really
within you. Even if there was something outside of you, that was only the
trigger. The source of happ iness was still within you, and the
accomplishment of something in the external world merely released it. What it released  is the capacity to experience happiness that emanates from
within. And all the external was, was a trigger. In other words, money can’t make you happy. If I say to somebody,
“Here’ s a million dollars,” and I hand them a briefcase full of money, the
person feels instantly happy. But their life doesn’ t change. They’re just
sitting in the same chair, with the same bills. It’s the thought—the thought
that now they’re suddenly going to be rich—that makes them very happy. What made them happy was this wild and crazy thought that money is
going to make them happy. It wasn’t the money, after all; it was the thought of it. If you put the
source of happin ess in something outside of you, then you live in the fear of
losing that whatever it is outside of you. If you see that the source of
happiness is only within yourself, all the external did was release something
that is internal to begin with. Nothing out there can make you happy. Nothing can make you happy in the world. Why. Because happiness
radiates from within. All I could  do is trigger that potentiality within you. If
I tell you there’ s a lot of money in this case, and I’m putting it up in the
closet, and if you need it, it’ll always be here, you’ll feel happy. You’ll feel
safe and secure. It doesn’ t have anything to do with whether there’ s real
money in there or not. The belief  that there’ s money in there is all you need. There was a famous story from many years ago, Mama’ s Bank Account. A family was very worried during the Great Depression. Everybody was
very poor, and sort of panicked. Mama said, “Well, don’t worry about it
because if we really needed the money for that, I’ll get it from my bankaccount. ” Every body would calm down. The son said, “If I lose my job,
we’re not going  to be able to pay the rent. ” Mama went, “Never mind, I’ll
get it from my bank account. ” The family would lose this fear from just the
idea of it, that Mama’ s bank account could solve their problems. And then
after Mama finally died, they found out she never even had a bank account. Underneath the depression, there is a fear or a combination of fears. And
one way out of the depression is to look at all the fears that you’re handling,
and forget about the depression and just handle the fears. And if you handle
the fears and look at the fears and resolve them, the depression will
disappear. So clinically, depression is always based on a fear: a fear that
you’re not good enough, that you will not accomplish, a fear of the future, a
fear of God’ s punishment, a fear of self-approval. If you handle the fears,
the depression will disappear. • • •
Health then comes out of a positive mental attitude. That’ s the thing
we’ve heard many times, haven’ t we. In fact, many people are annoyed by
this idea, because that infers if I have a sickness, I don’t have a positive
mental attitude. Let’s look at mental attitude then. Let’s look at what is
meant by that and the part that plays in health, and freedom of sickness and
suffering. We said the one thing that goes on in the unhealthy person is this
unconscious guilt. The cure for that is the willingness to be forgiving, to
actually take courses in forgiven ess if that is necessary, such as A Course in
Miracles, which is specifically designed to let go of that tendency of the
mind, to criticize, to attack, and to judge. The willingness then is to let go of
judgmentalism. Now the mechanism is unconscious. The person may not
see the connection between the fact that their mind is critical, judgmental. If
your mind is critical and judgmental of others, of course, it is critical and
judgmental of yourself. The creation of the unconscious guilt then goes up a certain energy which
expresses itself through the autonomic nervous system, and the acupuncture
energy system. That is the cure of that. The contribution from  mind, the
belief system, we said is the power of refusal to deny it.


 his post, and the great wooden
gates of the capital opened. “Look sharp. ” ser geants shouted down the line. Few citizens had turned out to greet them. Suddhodana knew that the
huddled clumps of women lining the street were there to search the army
with anxious faces, praying that their husbands and sons were still among
the living. That morning the queen had awakened at dawn in case her husband
returned early, but then the rains set in, slowing everything. The trip down
from the mountains had passed in a kind of blurred ecstasy, which grew
stronger even as Maya’ s body began to fail. There was much whispering at
court because she had refused the services of a wet nurse. “It cannot be that
loving my child will kill me,” she said. Her mind returned to a dream that had visited her ten months ago. It
began with Maya waking up in her private bedchamber. She shaded her
eyes against a light that had appeared in the room. Out of the light emer ged
three angelic beings in the form of smiling young maidens. Sitting up,
Maya immediately recognized her visitors for what they were— devas,  or
celestial beings. The three devas gestured for her to join them. In wonder that they had
chosen her, Maya climbed from her warm bed to follow. With a glance over
their shoulders, they walked through the walls of her bedroom as though
through smoke. Maya never felt the wall as she too passed through it. On
the other side she was pulled faster, until the palace grounds and the worldbeyond blurred in passing. A brighter light loomed ahead, and in a moment
Maya saw that it was the sun reflected of f snow. Daylight dazzled across the
crystalline surface of a high mountain lake circled by sentinel peaks. The Himalayas (for she knew with certainty that the devas had brought
her there) had been distant, imposing presences all her life. Maya never
imagined being among them, and now the three maidens led her to a pebble
shore on the opposite side of the lake. Its surface was calm and mirror -
bright. The devas began disrobing her. Maya wasn’ t disconcerted; she grew
relaxed. Almost as quickly as they took her clothes away, they fit her with
the finest garments she had ever seen. W ith silent smiles they reached out to
touch Maya’ s belly. The contact was warm and exciting. She stepped into
the water of the lake, deeper and deeper. Then she awoke, finding herself
sitting up in bed as if she’d never left it. Except that her bedchamber was
filled by a creature whose eye captured her gaze. Expanding from the eye
was a whiteness that took the shape, as Maya’ s mind cleared from sleep, of
an enormous elephant as pale as snow. The creature looked at her with
warm, confident intelligence. Then it lifted its trunk in a kind of salute. Unexpectedly, a burning hunger filled Maya. Then she woke again, sitting
up in bed but alone. The unaccustomed desire was still within her and
wouldn’ t be denied. Quickly, almost shaking, she quit her bed, throwing on her robe, and ran
to her husband’ s bedchamber. In the dim candlelight, Suddhodana lay
twisted in the sheets. After their years of barren hopes for a son, he often
slept alone now. Another king might have taken a lover who could provide
him with a son. Another king might have simply had his wife murdered or
locked away as a madwoman to dissolve the marriage contract. But
Suddhodana hadn’ t done those things. He had remained as fierce and loyal
in love as in war. Tonight will be differ ent, Maya told herself. I have been blessed. Cautiously, not wanting to awake Suddhodana too suddenly, she lay beside
him on the bed. Gently she stroked his face, drawing him up from sleep. His
hands turned to fists at first, then his eyes opened and looked into hers. He
started to speak, but she laid a finger over his lips. She was not wild with desire, not its prisoner or slave. W ith her
husband’ s legs entwined with hers, she didn’ t want pleasure as much as
union. She encouraged him with words she never imagined saying. “Don’ t
make love to me like a king. Make love like a god. ”
The ef fect was dramatic. Ur gently, he reached for her, and she saw the
wonder in his eyes. For so long their coupling had been perfunctory, neither
of them believing that anything would come of it. But tonight he felt some
of the strong belief that had awakened within her. When she was ready, she rolled her hips and took him inside her. Her
breath caught in her throat. The strange need within her reached a
crescendo. For a few moments she entered that darkness of bliss that
imitates immortality. Gradually she returned from it with a sigh, to find that
the king was holding her in a tight embrace. He pulled her to him as if
trying to meld his flesh completely with hers. They kissed and caressed;
only her exhaustion in delight kept Maya from speaking what she knew
with certainty: they had created a child. The dream had sustained her in the terrifying trip through the forest and
the pain of her labor. Now it was returning in more ghostly form every day. Her head sank into the pillow. It was still a lovely dr eam,  she thought, and
an escape from her great weariness. She even thought it would be better to
live in her dream forever, if only she could. IN THE ROY AL NURSER Y Suddhodana gazed down at his son with awe and
love. The baby had been presented to him in crimson silk swaddling
clothes. He was certain the infant recognized him; it even grew in his mind
that Siddhartha had kept his eyes shut until that moment, a fantasy no one
dared to correct. “Should he be sleeping this much. Why is his nose running. If he’ s left
alone for a moment, I will have someone whipped. ” Suddhodana’ s demands
were incessant and maddening. As was the custom, Maya would be
quarantined for a month after the delivery, subject to cleansing and religious
rituals. Suddhodana chafed at this, but he could do nothing about it exceptsneak in by candlelight after the queen was asleep to gaze at her for a few
moments. He wondered if new mothers always looked so wan and weak. Suddhodana pushed his troubling thoughts aside. “Let him always be clothed in silk, and when they get soiled, throw
them away. If you run out of silk, tear apart the court ladies’ saris if you
have to. ” Suddhodana wanted nothing with a hint of uncleanliness to touch
his son’ s skin. But silk was also a symbol, since Suddhodana was on the
Silk Road returning home when a messenger sent by Kumbira reached him
with the news that he had a son and a wife who were both alive. Every morning the king strode forward through the ring of women that
stood fanning the young prince with their shawls. Reaching down into the
cradle, he withdrew his son and held him aloft. He stripped of f the diaper. “Look at him. ” Suddhodana displayed his son in all his naked glory. “Well made. ” All of the ladies knew what he was referring to. Kakoli, the
royal nurse, started to mumble something agreeable. “Impressively made,” Suddhodana said. “Not that I have your
experience, Kakoli. ” Suddhodana laughed and thought again how easy it
was with his son in his arms. “Don’ t blush, you old hypocrite. If he was
twenty years older and we could take forty years of f you, you’d fall of f your
feet running after it. ”
Kakoli shook her head and said nothing. The handmaidens tittered and
blushed. Suddhodana was certain they were more entertained than
scandalized by his bluntness. ASITA AWOKE  in the forest thinking about demons. He hadn’ t for many
years. He could remember glimpsing one or two in the past, on the fringes
of a famine or a battle, wherever bodies were being harvested. He knew the
misery they caused, but misery was no longer Asita’ s concern. He had been
a forest hermit for fifty years. The af fairs of the world had been kept far
away, and he passed whole days in a hidden cave when he retreated even
from the af fairs of animals, much less those of men. Now Asita knelt by a stream and considered. He distinctly saw demons
in his mind’ s eye. They had first appeared in the dappled sunlight that fell
on his eyelids at dawn. Asita slept on boughs strewn over the bare ground,
and he liked the play of light and shadow across his eyes in the early
morning. His imagination freely saw shapes that reminded him of the
market village where he grew up. He could see hawking merchants, women
balancing water jugs on their heads,