 surface, palm
side down. Using the outside edge of the little
ﬁnger, apply the tapping technique, making several
contacts. Reposition your hand to work another
portion, proceeding to work the entire top side. rejuvenating the hands 31916Finish your work with a
series of desserts. First,
apply the hand-stretcher technique. 17Go on to the squeeze
dessert, gently pressing
along the length of the hand. 18Finally, use the ﬁnger-pull
dessert. Gently pull the
thumb and then each finger. 13  Apply the
palm-mover
technique by pressing gently
on the long bone of the index
ﬁnger, while pulling up with the
thumb to create counter-
movement. Repeat on the long
bone of each ﬁnger. 14Now rest the hand on a
padded surface. Apply
the cupping technique. 15Turn the hand over and
apply the cupping
technique to the palm. 320 reflexology for rejuvenationSelf-help for tired hands
Revive your own hands  when they are tired by applying the cupping,
tapping, and percussion techniques. Using these techniques on yourself will
bring the added advantage that you’ll be able to appreciate what they feel like
to the receiver when you apply them to someone else. Self-help cupping
1Rest your hand on your leg,
palm side down. Apply the
cupping technique, ﬁrst to the
body of the hand and then to the
ﬁngers. Remember that the outer
rim of the cupped hand should
make contact. Also listen for the
sound of a mufﬂed clap as you
apply the technique.2Turn your hand over so that the palm
faces upward. Now apply the cupping
technique to the palm of your hand. Listen
again for the sound of a muffled clap.Basic techniques
Begin by testing the hand to be worked by flexing
it several times. Afterward flex it again to feel for the
difference. Time yourself to see how much technique
is needed to create a relaxed feeling.Self-help for tired hand S321Self-help tapping
1Work on the palm, using the tapping technique. Keep your ﬁngers loose as you make contact
with the outer edge of the little ﬁnger. The sound
should be like the tapping of a closed fan. 2Turn your hand over and apply the tapping
technique to each part of the top of your hand. Self-help percu SSion
1Form a loose ﬁst and use the padded outer
edge to apply the percussion technique to each
part of the palm. 2Apply the percussion technique to each part of
the top of your hand. Move the ﬁngers of both
hands to compare how the worked hand feels as
opposed to the unworked hand. Repeat the above
series on the other hand.322 reflexology for rejuvenation10-minute hand-relaxer workout
1 Start on the hand-relaxer workout by using the
squeeze technique and applying a succession of
brief and gentle squeezes that encompass the whole
of the hand. 2Go on to use the ﬁnger-pull technique,
wrapping your whole hand around the thumb,
then gently pulling and holding it. Repeat the same
process on each of the ﬁngers. 3 Next, apply the walk-down/pull-against
technique. Walk down the top side of the
index ﬁnger while stretching the lower side
against your ﬁngers. Go on to each finger.4 Continue your work, applying the percussion
technique to each part of the top of your hand. Taking the time for a relaxing workout helps
you prepare for the work day ahead. It also
reduces stress during the day, and helps
recovery from the efforts expended afterward. Check your own reactions to the
workout as you go along. How long you
work and which techniques you favor are
up to you. They may vary from time to time.ten-minute relaxer workout 3235Next, turn your hand over
so the palm faces upward
and apply percussion technique to
each part of the palm. 6 Now gently rock the index
ﬁnger as you apply the
side-to-side technique. Go on to
work each finger.7 Apply the walk-down/pull-
against technique to the side
of the index ﬁnger, and then
each of the other ﬁngers. 8 Now apply the walk-down/
pull-against technique to the
top side of the index ﬁnger, and
then go on to each ﬁnger. 9 Continue your work with
the tapping technique
applied to each part of the top
of the hand. 324 reflexology for rejuvenation14Rest your hand on your
leg and apply the cupping
technique to the top of the hand. 13Reapply the squeeze
technique, making a
succession of brief contacts
with the length of the hand. 12Go on to apply the palm-
counter-mover. Apply
several times to the knuckle below
each of the fingers.11Continue the workout
with the palm-mover. Apply several times and go on to
the knuckle below each finger.10Turn your hand over to apply the tapping technique to the
palm. Reposition your hand to tap each part of the hand
and fingers. Keep your hand relaxed and your fingers loose.18Finally, use the nail-
bufﬁng technique to
complete your workout. self-help for tired hands 32519To test how the worked hand
feels as opposed to the unworked
hand, move the ﬁngers of both hands and
compare how they feel. Repeat the above
series on your other hand.17Apply the finger-pull
technique to the thumb
and then each finger. Hold for
several seconds.16As you approach the end
of your workout, apply
the squeeze technique again to the
length of the hand. 15Turn your hand over to
face palm upward and
apply the cupping technique to
the palm of the hand. 326 reflexology for rejuvenationHand concerns
Hand problems can result  from overuse, injury, or the inability of the
hand’s muscles to move easily. To ease hand problems, use these movement
techniques to increase the hand’s flexibility. Regular and systematic use helps
prevent and ease stiffness and soreness. Tired and sore hands
If your own hands are tired and sore, think
about what caused the problem and seek
ways of avoiding such stress in the future. Using self-help techniques may tire your
Working the hands
When the recipient you are working on has tired
or sore hands through overuse, pay careful
attention to his or her comfort levels by asking
questions and adjusting treatment accordingly. 1Start the
treatment by
repeatedly pressing
down on the back of
the hand, as shown. 2Grasp the receiver’s hand on
each side, as shown, and
stretch the hand outward. Repeat
several times, pressing downward
and upward.hands even more, but a warm paraffin wax
bath (see p68) is soothing and requires very
little effort. Alternatively, ask a friend to apply
the following desserts. Concentrate on relaxing the hands through
applying plenty of desserts before and after
treatment. Slowly and gently apply the
techniques listed below.hand concerns 3273Apply the side-to-side
technique to each joint of
each digit. Note which joints are
stiffer and need more work.4Move and countermove the
long bones as shown. Press
rhythmically and vigorously
several times.5Squeeze each digit, holding
for several seconds. Finish by
squeezing the whole hand. Repeat
on both hands. 7Gently apply the finger-pull
technique (see p122) to each
finger and thumb in turn. Hold for
several seconds; then turn them
over gently.6Apply the walk-down/pull-
against technique on each
finger and both thumbs.helping tired hands
  consider what causes your tired
hands and cease the activity or
compensate with a counter-
movement. for example, after
curling your fingers around a
tennis racket for lengthy periods,
stretch them in the opposite
direction to relax them.   use a vibrating wand to relax
your hands while watching tv.   think about your hands before
launching into a project or activity. if they are tired and sore,
avoid activities that will cause
any further stress.328 reflexology for rejuvenationCarpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is compression of the median nerve
at the wrist where it runs through a narrow gap between
bones. Symptoms include pain, numbness, and tingling in the
hands, wrists, and forearms. In some cases, the condition is
associated with occupations that involve repetitive hand
movements, such as typing. The following techniques will
help to relax the hand and may alleviate the symptoms. 1Pull gently on the thumb with one hand, while
stretching the hand back with the other.Working the hands
Before starting, find out from the recipient which directions of
movement or parts of the hand are particularly sensitive. Always
work within the person’s comfort zone. 3Holding the hand as shown, press down with
the fingers while pushing up with the thumb.2Thumb-walk lightly between the heels of the
hand (the impacted median nerve is


 your emotional self in t he third chakra is about appreciating all
your life’ s circumstances not as forces against you but as forces for you, to
propel you toward your highest self. Healing the Spiritual Body
Although the third chakra rests  in the physical plane, there is something
innately spiritua l about its ener gy. In the second chakra we harness the
power of creation, the creative force of the universe. T o mold  somethingnew out  of nothing is an incred ible and miraculous power to behold. Y et
creation for its own sake isn’ t all that fulfilling until it’ s prese nted to the
world. When we shift from the second to the third chakra, we reveal our
creation. Our creativity manifests in physical form, and we bring it to light. For example, the conception and nine-month growth of a baby isn’ t
fulfilling to the parents in itself; only when the baby breaks  out of the
womb that has kept him protected and emer ges into the world is he a
complete joy for his creators. W RITING  D OWN  Y OUR  I NTENTIONS AND  D ESIRES
Y our will and de sires cannot manifest until you get clear on what you want
out of life. Y ou m ay meet people who are constant seekers, turn ing this way
and that but lac king true direction. Solar ener gy is heating, penetrating,
bright, and intense. If you’re abl e to use this ener gy to create ext reme focus,
you can accomplish anything. Have you ever w alked into a da rk room with a flashlight? If you shine
the flashlight outward into the room, the light dissipates and covers a
greater area. While it will give light, it’ s dif ficult to make out objects
clearly. But if yo u focus the light on a specific object closer to you, you can
examine the object in detail. Li ght is powerful. Focused and concentrated
light, such as a laser, can cut through human flesh or even steel. Setting your intentions and nam ing your desires is a way of focusing
your ener gy and attention on a few things you would like to see  manifested
in your life. Th e act of focusing is half the work, as summe d up in the
expression “Where attention goes, ener gy flows.”
W riting down your intentions and desires is a simple yet p owerful
process. There is no wrong way to do this. Get out a pen and paper or your
favorite electron ic device, and write down everything that comes to mind. Whatever you do, just get it out there. If it remains in your head, it’ s just an
idea. Br ing it out into the physi cal world. Don’ t worry about w hether your
desires a re “realistic.” The universe will handle those details. Intentions and
desires that vibrate at a lowe r frequency won’ t manifest anyway. For
example, if you write, “I’d like my mother -in-law to die,” even if you’re
joking, t hat is a lower frequency desire, and it won’ t manifest. That beingsaid, it might b e worth exploring why you have those negative feelings
toward her in the first place. But if you write down, “I’d li ke an Audi
convertible,” th at may or may  not be a higher desire depending on its
meaning in the o verall trajectory  of your life. In other words, try not to hold
yourself back when writing this initial list of intentions and desires. See
what comes up. B EING  H ONEST WITH  Y OURSELF
When you’re discovering who you are on the inside and who you wish to be
on the outside, honesty is important. Many of us spend our entire lives
trying to  be what we think someone else wants us to be. W e carefully select
our wor ds, beha vior, and actions based on what others might think of us. It’ s impossible to harness your personal power if you succumb  to masking
your true self. Y our job is to be the most authentic “you” y ou can be. Otherwise you will do a pretty a wful job of being someone else — that isn’ t
who you were designed to be. If you’re someone who likes living with
luxurious object s, don’ t pretend to be a monk. Or if you want t o be single,
don’ t get married simply to appease your family. The thir d chakra  is a good place to begin getting honest with y ourself. Y our int entions and desires list will give you the opportunity to see exactly
where you are i n your journey. For example, if you see a lot of material
objects on your list, it could mean you’re in a place where yo u don’ t feel
that your financial or material  needs are well met or you place great
importance on status and position in the outer world. It might also indicate a
lack of spirituality in your current life. Honesty in this exercise isn’ t about judging yourself. It’ s about
understanding w here you are. And where you are is exactly where you’re
supposed to be. How can you change direction if you have no idea where
you are? When you get ho nest about who you are, you can break out of the mold. Let’ s go back to the analogy of the baby coming out of h is mother ’ s womb. Until he  exits the womb and enters this world, and the cord i s cut, he is
completely and utterly depende nt on his mother for everything. He cannot
survive without her. Even after birth, for the first couple of ye ars he mustlook to her for basic survival an d nurturance. Then, as he grow s, he begins
to assert his independence and says, “Hey, world, this is who I am!” This
assertiveness of will doesn’ t ofte n come smoothly or easily. Y ou  may be all
too fami liar wit h the toddler ’ s outbursts of willfulness: “I wan t to do this
my way” or “I do it myself!” Such statements are examples of the child
dif ferentiating himself from his parents and caretakers and becoming an
individual with wants, needs, and desires. MANIPURA GUIDED MEDIT A TION
Sit o r lie down comfortably with  your spine elongated, and clos e your
eyes. Br eathe in deeply, allowing your lower belly to expand, and then
exhale complete ly. Repeat twice. As you relax into your body,  place
your aw areness on your solar pl exus. Imagine a big circle surrounding
your belly button like a bright shining sun. Then imagine a ro tating
disk mo ving thr ough you, from your navel to your back on the  other
side. This spinning wheel is rotating and vibrating quickly  as it
generates open ener gy. V isualize the color yellow, vibrant like
sunlight. Imagine the rays of this sun moving outward from your
navel in  all directions. This is your sense of personal power. This
bright light is m eant for you to shine outward into the world. I t’ s the
expression of your contributio n to others through your gifts and
talents. Fill yourself with the inner knowing that you can accomplish
anything you set your mind to. Y ou are powerful. Y ou are strong. Y ou
have enormous passion and ener gy to achieve your goals. As you bask in the glow of your personal power, bring to mi nd
your intentions and desires. Like  the sun that allows the planted seeds
to fu lfill their de stiny, you know that your glowing solar ener gy  gives
life to your inten tions and brings your desires toward their fulfil lment. Y our in ner pow er breathes life into your intentions with each
inhalation and exhalation. W ith time and patience you will bring the
manifestation of  your intentions to light. Y ou know this to be true, and
you have absolute confidence in yourself and your ability to manifest. Feeling your third chakra ener gy, you know who you are. Y ou
have a strong sense of self. Y ou  are proud to show who you are  to theworld. Y ou feel confident in your gifts, your talents, and what you
have to of fer. Y ou can enhance the vibrations by chanting the m antra
sound RAM  three times. E NERGY -B ODY  H EALING WITH  G EMS AND  C OLORS
Immersing your self in solar ener gy, notably the sun, is the best way to heal
through the color of the third chakra. If it’ s not sunny outside or it’ s a
season when you don’ t see the sun much, spend time in the lig ht of a full-
spectrum sun therapy lamp. Gemstones for the third chakra include amber, citrine, yellow
tourmaline, and tiger ’ s eye. Third Chakra Mindfulness Ideas to Ponder
1. I can assert my will in a positiv e manner. I stand true to my b eliefs
and am entitled to my own opinion. 2. I am confident in who I am, and I own my story. 3. Honesty with myself and others is the only way to authenticity. 4. I am  strong in my personal power, and I will


ck, a viewpoint bounded by time and space. Instead of feeling that I inhabit a body, I sense myself as infinite
consciousness expanding with infinite speed through infinite dimensions. These three strokes of moksha require extreme purity and refinement of
awareness to be sustained. The greatest masters and saints throughout
history have been capable of this liberation; it is the quest each of usundertakes when we step onto the path to love. Without ecstasy the
experience of liberation might seem impossibly distant, given its incredible
magnitude. At the end of the Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna, who has been
posing as a chariot driver to the warrior Arjuna, agrees to show  himself as
he really  is. He opens his mouth, in which appear all worlds and creatures,
infinite universe s expanding so rapidly that the mortal Arjuna reels on the
verge of extinction. Yet all that moksha represents is a shift in awareness, a final perception
of who we are. Therefore the insights of ecstasy have much more to do with
the final expansion of conscio usness than with any feeling or emotion,
however remarkable. Ecstasy carries you completely outside your ego boundaries. In ecstasy you know yourself as cosmic ego, unbounded in time and space. The end of love’ s journey r eturns to the sour ce of all awar eness, power, and being. Moksha is not an ending but a beginning—we begin to live in fullness only after liberation. A liberated soul is a citizen of the universe. There is really no adequate equivalent for moksha in Western culture;
redemption  may be the closest synonym. Moksha unites self and soul in the
mystic marriage that in Christian terms is union with the Redeemer. Angels
are said to be in this state, whic h gives rise to their ecstatic praise of God. The dif ficulty with redemption, however, is that it is generally a future state,
realized after death; therefore it is much more mystical than moksha, which
can be achieved here and now. DREW’S STORY
Having said that liberation is like a new birth, I’d like to relate the story of
someone who went through that birth, my mystical friend Drew. Mystical  is
a term that has been attached to Drew since the day we met. It was at a
meditation course years ago, and Drew attracted considerable attention. He
wore a white Indian dhoti, sandals, and more chains of beads than I had
ever seen on a yogi in the Himalayas. When everyone gather ed in chairs
before the outdo or stage for presentations, he sat in lotus posit ion under agrove of trees on a nearby hill. I’d never met anyone who had a foot more
firmly planted in the “other world,” and his talk was an outpouring of mind-
boggling experiences of astral planes and angelic visitations. When I last
heard of Drew, he was in Nepal, having taken vows in a monastic order
deep in the mountains. In some ways I felt jealous of the life he had chosen. Then one day he called me and asked if we could meet. He appeared at
my door sans beads, sandals, and dhoti, dressed in a sports shirt and chinos. We talked, and I quickly found out that, unlike ten years ago, Drew now
never visits psychics or readers of any kind and in fact feels total
indifference toward paranormal phenomena. “I haven’ t sold out on all that,”
Drew said. “Something deeper took its place.” He proceeded to tell me
about a breakthrough experience he had had, one so powerful that it had
changed his life. “You don’t know me very well, but I’ve always been ambitious, fiercely
so, some people would say. I fought to get into the best prep school, the best
college, the best fraternity. I don’t remember how I hooked up with the idea
of mysticism and enlightenment —maybe an old girlfriend or a trip on LSD
—but once bitten I wasn’ t going to give up until I turned into something
magical—sorcerer, warrior, seer, psychic, and prophet if I got that far. “It was all rampant ego, as I look back on it now, but at the time my
experiences were pretty fantastic—I had the lights, the bliss, the angelic
voices, and while it was all happening it never occurred to me that what I
was experiencing was actually one and only one thing: my expectations. Mysticism was high drama, with me at the center lapping it all up. We’re
talking about ten years of extraordinary visions. Then one day I was
in/Vermont, walking up a perfectly green hill, when it all collapsed. “It was like being sucked down a drain. My head started spinning, and I
had to sit down. I couldn’ t tell if I was plummeting down a hole or if the
earth was sinkin g out from under me. It was a terrifying sensat ion. I had a
sudden horror of turning around, for I expected to see the sky opening into a
funnel that would suck out the world. I closed my eyes and lay down,
praying that whatever this was would just end. “It took about an hour. I might have passed out during that time—I didn’ t
have a watch on—because even when I felt like I was coming back to
reality, my head buzzed. I got up, still extremely wobbly, and walked downthe hill to my cabin; the dizziness didn’ t fully go away for several days, and
I continued to feel disoriented. What do you make of that?”
I had been listening to Drew without comment. “Well,” I said, “if a
patient came to me with that kind of experience, I guess I’d suspend
judgment until we took a brain scan and ran a psychiatric profile.”
“Bingo—either I was dying of a brain tumor or I had suffered a psychotic
break. That’ s exactly what I told myself. I ran to the village library and
madly scanned some old medical books. The thing was, I didn’ t have
double vision or any return of severe dizziness. I didn’ t have disordered or
racing thoughts. The clinical explanations for this episode didn’ t seem to
apply. Gradually my symptoms vanished, but not without a trace. “I was different. It was as if someone had pulled the plug and drained out
my—what? Battery fluid. I didn’ t have any charge left; no ambition,
curiosity, purpose, drive. I was pointless to myself, and my mystical
experiences had disappeared completely. If I shut my eyes to meditate, there
wasn’ t any light; I didn’ t expand outside my body or see angel s. For a few
days afterward I felt extreme anxiety, as though demons were going to get
me, but that didn’t happen either. So if it wasn’ t tumors, madness, or divine
punishment, what was it? I waited for an answer.”
“Did you get one?” I asked. “Yes, but not the way I expect ed. The answer was a process, which I
began to call ‘ego surgery.’ That dramatic moment on the mountain was
like having my chest opened up by an invisible surgeon, and once opened I
couldn’ t close myself up again. It hadn’ t occurred to me, in my headlong
pursuit of the never -ending high, for that’s what spiritual life had meant to
me, that spirit is carved out of the very things a person doesn’ t want to face. Like most people, I wanted not to be sad, anxious, powerless, unlovable,
and hostile. I wanted ‘It,’ the big spiritual payof f. But what I now got was
every speck of sadness, anger, anxiety, and so on that I thought I had gone
beyond.”
“It must have been a dif ficult time,” I said. “To put it mildly. Whoever this surgeon was, he dug deep, probing for
every hidden secret, every dark deposit of guilt and shame. There were
mornings when I felt that nothing could be worse than simply living with
myself. But I got used to what was happening, once I realized that thesurgeon was me, working on myself. At some deep level I had given myself
permission to go through the dark night of the soul. “Ironically, I’d always thought  that getting to God meant climbing a
mountain, gettin g so close to Him that He would say, ‘Ah, you’ve made it, I
see.’ With a smile of approval He would then grab my hand and pull me
into heaven. There’ s only one problem with that scenario. What  happens to
the parts  that get left behind? I certainly didn’ t expect God to say, ‘Bring
along your shame and guilt.’ To me, being spiritual meant jettisoning the
‘bad’ me and boosting the ‘good’ me to heaven.”
“But that would  imply,” I said, “that God judges against the ‘bad’ you
and only loves the ‘good’ you. Such a God couldn’ t be a God of love. He
would be a God of ego, since that’s exactly what our egos do all the time—
judge against the bad and accept only the good.”
“Exactly,” said Drew. “I suppos e that’s why ego surgery was so difficult
to face. Once these awful things—the ghosts in the basement,


 my mother except  as his wife. Her beauty will remain at a
certain distance. In a happy relationship, this price is worth paying,
many times over. In the absence of true intimacy, the price becomes
too high. A father may say to his son, “I only criticize you because I
love you,” and in his own eyes that may be true. But the son has to
untwist love from criticism as best he can. This is why so many
people, after they’ve grown up, feel a core of suspicion toward being
loved. From childhood onward, we all learned to cope with a
complicated situation where the most basic feelings and perceptions
were blended with one another much of the time. Life would be
simpler if we could see directly into the crystal-clear ideals, the
wondrousness and beauty, that the yogi declares to be at the heart
of life, meaning our own hearts. But Shiva’s teaching barely
penetrates the shell of modern skepticism. A skeptic often harbors
an idealist within who has suered the pain of disillusionment one
too many times. If idealists are born to be disillusioned, why not be
disillusioned to begin with? Again and again, Freud stressed the
importance of “the reality principle” as an index of psychological
health. The reality principle is the recognition that you are not theworld’s creator. Your ego stops at a certain boundary, beyond which
you have no inuence. A baby is thus considered primitive because he feels that he is at
the center of the world, indulging the fantasy that everything is
himself. As a child grows up, he is supposed to shed this infantile
illusion of boundlessness. “Me” and “not me” congeal into their
separate space s, and hopefully it is not long before “me” learns how
to cooperate with “not me.” Parents are generally quite anxious to
promote this cooperative attitude, even when their child is
obviously too young to adopt it. They ignore the child’s discomfort
out of fear that he is being selsh. It is hard for them to see that
their own hidden anxiety is being reected here—they are afraid
themselves to be fully self-accepting. Their own parents signaled
that being self-centered was wrong, and this value judgment is being
passed along now by seeing most forms of satisfaction as “selsh.”
The raw selsh ness of a newborn baby is not a model for future
behavior, needless to say, but it needs to be tempered naturally into
more seless behavior. If the growing-up process sacrices a child’s
very sense of being, then something has been lost that is too
precious to lose. Being carrie s with it a subtle feeling of uniqueness,
and out of that feeling come s a sense of union with the world, of
being bathed in beauty and love. This is reality, too, but of a higher
order. Many young children report experiences that t remarkably well
with the supreme goals of spirituality. One woman writes of a vivid
childhood memory: “At age four I was lying in the grass making
pictures with the clouds. At a certain point I realized that they had
stopped moving. Everything around me was very still, and I felt
merged into the sky. I was everything and everything was me. I
don’t know how long this lasted, and I’ve never felt that way since. But it’s possible.”
Her experience closely mirrors the meditation in the Shiva Sutras
that goes, “Look into the blue sky beyond clouds” in order to sense
eternity. Many children recall mome nts just before they fell asleep at
night when they had the sensation of lightness or oating—again,
this echoes the meditation whose instruction is to be weightless  whilelying in bed. A spiritual exercise that seems so dicult to an adult,
“seeing a beauteous person as if for the rst time” is completely
eortless for a four-month-old. He greets the sight of his mother, the
most beauteous person in his universe, with adoration and delight,
day after day. As long as she is in the room, his eyes remain xed on
her, unable to see anything else. To be, for a newborn, is to be in
the center of a magical world. Some children can remember the magic suusing into much later
stages of development. At ve and six, the poet William
Wordsworth saw the mountains, lakes, and meadows around him
“apparelled in celestial light,” and had to cling to a tree to remind
himself that material things were not visions. Without this eort, he
tells us, he would have been swept away into an ideal world of pure
light and divine feeling. Seeing through Maya, then, may be much
more natural than we suppose. Who knows how many of us have
played in elds of light only to lose the memory of it? What is
certain is that our current ideal of a sound psychological upbringing
is rooted in the real, not the ideal. Through many repeate d lessons a
child is taught that the rough  bark of a tree is more real than divine
feelings; as soon as he is old enough to go to the playground he
nds out that sidewalks skin knees and sts hurt when they hit your
face. In meditation, a yogi erases this rough sense of reality and points
himself back toward the light, the ideal, the divine. Yoga aims for
perfection, which means living from one’s creative core twenty-four
hours a day, without disguise or evasion, free of any form of
unreality. The successful yogi does not simply contac t the all-
knowing nucle us, he becomes  it. As beautif ul as that sounds, the
adult mind instinctively holds aloof. Our experiences of pain and
disillusion are extremely convincing, whereas the premises of Yoga
seem far removed. “Anythin g can be accepted as true today,” a
friend of mine likes to say, “as long as it isn’t the Truth.” He has
understood the reality principle all too well. The Flash of InsightFortunately, higher reality has a way of breaking out
unexpectedly. There are moments when the all-knowing nucleus of
the self defeats the mind’s narrow prejudices. We call these ashes
insight, and they give us a good sense, at least in passing, of what it
must be like to be enlightened. As the Vedas put it, the enlightened
mind is like the sun, compared to which all other minds are like
candles. But a candle has value, because once it is lit, the darkness
cannot be total. In the ash of insight, a corner of the self is
revealed for what is really there. One silently exclaims “Aha!”  and a bit of the truth is brought out
from under wraps. Insight is not always deep or lasting—psychiatrists spend huge
amounts of time shoring up new insights and making sure that the
patient does not lose hold of old ones and regress. Nor does the
body always follow the mind’s lead into a healthier state. Even so,
the moment of insight often manages to shift the entire self, and
that is the key to its power. A social worker in his early forties tells this story: “I was walking
down the hall at work, and I was casually sharing some opinions
with a friend. I told him that I felt he was taking his cases too
personally and might be applying a lot of unnecessary guilt to them. Suddenly he turned on me and snapped, ‘You’re imposing your own
emotions on me, and I resent it.’ Then his voice softened a little and
he said, more reasonably, ‘It’s just something you should work on. I’ve noticed that you have a habit of imposing your own hostile
feelings on other people.’
“I didn’t know what to say. I gured he would apologize for
attacking me. Instead, he simply walked away. When I got to my
oce, I sat down at my desk, but it was impossible to work, I was
feeling so angry. “I simmered for a few minutes like a child on the verge of
throwing a tantrum. I felt outraged and extremely sorry for myself. Why would a friend betray me like this? To discharge my anger, I
started talking  out loud to him, imagining that he was in the room. ‘You don’t seem to care how much you’re imposing your hostile
feelings on me! You have really hurt me, and I have to tell you thatyour accusation is totally and completely unfounded.’ This ploy
made me feel better for a few seconds, but some rational part of me
knew that I wasn’t merely the victim of a pointlessly cruel remark.”
At this point a surprising process of emotional release began. “All
at once, I began to split into layers. It was the most extraordinary
thing. To describe it completely would take a long time, so many
images began to ash by in my mind. I saw my self-pity as a defense
against a huge amount of anger, which was out of all proportion to
what my friend had said—I  wanted to kill him! Then I saw my
father as he looked years ago. He was asking me to do chores
around the house, something I hated as


, there probably weren't any aspirin
in the entire place. Oh, and there was very little mortality during childbirth, as little or less than we have today with all  our
hospitals. And the people uniformly had virtually perfect teeth and ke pt them all till death, but did not have toothbrushes nor any
notion of dental hygiene. Nor did they have dentists or physicians. (Price, 1970)
    And in those fortunate places the most common causes of death were accident (trauma) and old age. The typical life span was
long into the 70s and in some places quite a bit longer. One fabled place, Hunza, was renowned for having an extraordinarily high
percentage of vigorous and active people over 100 years old. I hope I've made you curious. "How could this be?" you're asking. Well, here's why. First, everyone of those groups lived in
places so entirely remote, so inaccessible that they were of ne cessity, virtually self -sufficient. They hardly traded at all with the
outside world, and certainly they did not trade for bulky, hard -to-transport bulk foodstuffs. Virtually everything they ate was
produced by themselves. If they were an agricultural peop le, naturally, everything they ate was natural: organic, whole, unsprayed
and fertilized with whatever local materials seemed to produce enhanced plant growth. And, if they were agricultural, they li ved on
a soil body that possessed highly superior natural  fertility. If not an agricultural people they lived by the sea and made a large
portion of their diets sea foods. If their soil had not been extraordinarily fertile, these groups would not have enjoyed sup erior
health and would have conformed to the curre ntly widely -believed notion that before the modern era, people's lives were brutish,
unhealthful, and short. What is common between meat -eating Eskimos, isolated highland Swiss living on rye bread, milk and cheese; isolated Scottish
island Celts with a dietary of oat porridge, kale and sea foods; highland central Africans (Malawi) eating sorghum, millet tropical
root crops and all sorts of garden vegetables, plus a little meat and dairy; Fijians living on small islands in the humid tro pics at sea
level  eating sea foods and garden vegetables. What they had in common was that their foods were all at the extreme positive end of
the Health = Nutrition / Calories scale. The agriculturists were on very fertile soil that grew extraordinarily nutrient -rich food, the
sea food gatherers were obtaining their tucker from the place where all the fertility that ever was in the soil had washed ou t of the
land had been transported –sea foods are also extraordinarily nutrient rich. The group with the very best soil an d consequently, the best health of all were, by lucky accident, the Hunza. I say "lucky" and
"accident" because the Hunza and their resource base unknowingly developed an agricultural system that produced the most
nutritious food that it is possible to gro w. The Hunza lived on what has been called super food. There are a lot of interesting books
about the Hunza, some deserving of careful study. (Wrench, 1938; Rodale, 1949)

Finding Your Ideal Dietary
    Anyone that is genuinely interested in having the bes t possible health should make their own study of the titles listed in the
bibliography in the end of this book. After you do, award yourself a BS in nutrition. I draw certain conclusions from this bo dy of
data. I think they help a person sort out the massi ve confusion that exists today about proper diet. First principle: Homo Sapiens clearly can posses extreme health while eating very different dietary regimens. There is no one
right diet for humans. Before the industrial era almost everyone on Ear th ate what was produced locally. Their dietary choices were pretty much
restricted to those foods that were well adapted and productive in their region. Some places grew rye, others wheat, others m illet,
others rice. Some places supported cows, others goa ts, others had few on no domesticated animals. Some places produced a lot of
fruits and vegetables. Others did not. Whatever the local diet, during thousands of years of eating that diet natural selecti on
prevailed; most babies that were allergic to or not  able to thrive on the available diet, died quickly, probably of childhood bacterial
infections. The result of this weeding out process was a population closely adapted to the available diet of a particular loc ale. This has interesting implications fo r Americans, most of whose ancestors immigrated from somewhere else; many of our
ancestors also "hybridized" or crossed with immigrants from elsewhere. Trying to discover what dietary substances your partic ular
genetic endowment is adapted to can be diffic ult and confusing. If both your parents were Italian and they were more or less pure
Italian going way back, you might start out trying to eat wheat, olives, garlic, fava beans, grapes, figs, cow dairy. If pure  German,
try rye bread, cow dairy, apples, cab bage family vegetables. If Scottish, try oats, mutton, fish, sheep dairy and cabbage family
vegetables. If Jewish, try goat dairy, wheat, olives and citrus. And certainly all the above ethnic derivations will thrive o n many
kinds of vegetables. Afro -Americ ans, especially dark -complexioned ones little mixed with Europeans, might do well to avoid
wheat and instead, try sorghum, millet or tropical root crops like sweet potatoes, yams and taro. Making it even more difficult for an individual to discover the ir optimum diet is the existence of genetic -based allergies and
worse, developed allergies. Later in this chapter I will explain how a body can develop an allergy to a food that is probably
irreversible. A weakened organ can also prevent digestion of a foo d or food group. One more thing about adaptation to dietaries. Pre -industrial humans could only be extraordinarily healthy on the diet they were
adapted to if and only if that diet also was extraordinarily high in nutrients. Few places on earth have na turally rich soil. Food
grown on poor soil is poor in nutrition; that grown on rich soil is high in nutrition. People do not realize that the charts and tables
in the backs of health books like Adelle Davis's Lets Cook It Right, are not really true. They a re statistics. It is vital to keep in
mind the old saying, "There are lies, there are damned lies, and then there are statistics. The best way to lie is with stati stics." Statistical tables of the nutrient content of foods were developed by averaging numerous samples of food from various soils and
regions. These tables basically lie because they do not show the range of possibility between the different samples. A chart may
state authoritatively that 100 grams of broccoli contains so many milligrams of  calcium. What it does not say is that some broccoli
samples contain only half that amount or even less, while other broccoli contains two or three times that amount. Since calci um is
a vital nutrient hard to come by in digestible form, the high calcium br occoli is far better food than the low calcium sample. But
both samples of broccoli appear and taste more or less alike. Both could even be organically grown. Yet one sample has a very
positive ratio of nutrition to calories, the other is lousy food. (Schu phan, 1965) Here's another example I hope will really dent the
certainties the Linda Clarkites. Potatoes can range in protein from eight to eleven percent, depending on the soil that produ ced
them and if they were or were not irrigated. Grown dry (very low  yielding) on semiarid soils, potatoes can be a high -protein staff
of life. Heavily irrigated and fertilized so as to produce bulk yield instead of nutrition, they'll produce two or three time s the
tonnage, but at 8 percent protein instead of 11 percent. N ot only does the protein content drop just as much as yield is boosted, the
amino acid ratios change markedly, the content of scarce nutritional minerals drops massively, and the caloric content increa ses. In
short, subsisting on irrigated commercially -grown potatoes, or on those grown on relatively infertile soils receiving abundant
rainfall will make you fat and sick. They're a lot like manioc. Here's another. Wheat can range from 7 to 19 percent protein. Before the industrial era ruined most wheat by  turning it into
white flour, wheat -eating peoples from regions where the cereal naturally contains abundant protein tended to be tall, healthy and
long-lived. Wheat -eating humans from regions that produce low protein grain tended to be small, sickly and s hort-lived. (McCarrison, 1921, 1936, 1982; Albrecht, 1975)
    Even cows have to pay attention to where their grass is coming from. Some green grass is over 15 percent protein and contains
lots of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium to build strong bodies. O ther equally or even better looking green grass contains only
six or seven percent protein and contains little calcium, phosphorus or magnesium. Cows forced to eat only this poor type of grass
can literally starve to death with full bellies. And they have a hard time breeding successfully. The reason for the difference:
different soil fertility profiles. (Albrecht, 1975)
    When people ate local, those living


 baby becomes enervated from too much excitement, too much
handling, overclothing, cold or in any other way, resulting in inhibition of excretion, a channel of
compensatory or supplementary elimination is established through which to expel the accumulated
toxin. The mucous membranes of the body are favorite channels through which fontannels—
openings for use in discharge of excretions—are established for elimination purposes. If, as a
consequence of local irritation, from overeating or candy eating, for example, the lining of the
stomach is requisitioned to do vicarious duty, the baby has gastritis or indigestion. If the lining of
the intestine or colon is chosen for supplementary services, a diarrhea will develop. Perhaps a week or longer before the beginning of a fever, the observant mother may notice white
specks in the bowel movements of her baby. These mean that the milk is not being well digested,
perhaps due to overfeeding. The white specks may vary from small, white milk-curds throughout
the stool to an amount of milk curd that makes up two-thirds to three-fourths of the stool. If the
stool is gray and the consistency of putty, it is composed largely of undigested milk curd. If the
stool is sour, this indicates fermentation. If the condition is corrected at this stage, nothing further
will develop; but if not immediately corrected, inflammation of the stomach, small intestine and
large intestine will develop. If the indigestion is confined to the stomach, the child will be restless, irritable and feverish. At
first there will be vomiting of food stuff. This is soon followed by vomiting of water and mucus,
which may be slightly tinged with yellow. If food is withheld and water given in small doses, this
74crisis will end in a day to three or four days. The baby is likely to be thirsty and mothers are prone
to mistake this for hunger, and to feed. The food will be vomited, even water is frequently ejected. Water, when given, should be warm and taken in small amounts. It is important for mothers to
know that it is not a kindness on their part to feed a sick child. Food should always be withheld in
stomach and intestinal diseases. In short, while always acting under proper
Hygienic
 direction with your child, do all that you
can to let the natural tools of rest and peace and quiet restore the child if there is upset or illness—
or even if it is only a question of how much he wants to eat. For there are ways in which the instinctive wisdom of the infant or child in such matters may be
far greater than we could possibly guess. 75Fasting to Help You Get Well
In this section of the book we will examine more closely the uses of fasting for health. In general
we will seek to give the reader a grasp of the nature of certain malfunctions and the way in which
the fast can be of value. Again we stress the fact that fasting in itself has no force but rather it
enables the body’s organs and recuperative forces to turn their full energies upon the problem to be
corrected. This is the great secret power within. 7617
Fasting in Acute Disease
“My baby is dying,” a mother said over the telephone to a
Hygienist. It was the winter of 1927. The
Hygienist
 was located in New York City, the mother called him
from Nyack, N. Y. “How do you know the baby is dying?”
The mother’s reply was not heartening: “He has pneumonia. Five physicians have just held a
consultation. It is their verdict my baby will die. There is nothing more that science can do.”
“Let’s fool them,” said the
Hygienist. “We could try to save her, you know—”
Over the phone the
Hygienist
 then advised: “The first thing I want you to do is go to the table at
the bedside of your baby and sweep all the boxes and bottles of drugs that are there into the waste
basket. Next, open the window and let some fresh air into the room. Keep your baby warm, but
give it some fresh air. Give the baby as much water as it wants, but no food and no more drugs.”
Twenty years later this baby, grown to splendid young womanhood, was married and wedding
pictures of her and her husband are prized possessions of the
Hygienist
 who took over after the
physicians had declared the baby would die. It is not unusual to see patients recover after it has been declared that every thing had been done
that science could do. This is so because the very things that science does are so often the causes
of death. Drugs to suppress the cough and anodynes to stop the pain in the chest in pneumonia are
frequent causes of death. Feeding in pneumonia is also dangerous. When in both pneumonia and
pleurisy the patient is fed, not only is the toxemic supersaturation kept up, but the feeding prevents
resolution, that is, it prevents the inflamed lung or pleura from returning to normal. This may result
in abscess formation. In the acute forms of disease—fevers and inflammations—the desire for food is absent,
indicating that no food should be taken. There is an absence of the digestive juices, perhaps the
walls of the digestive system are pouring out mucus profusely, as in acute gastritis or in typhoid
fever, just
as do the lining membranes of the nose and throat in a cold; the normal muscular
movements of the digestive tract are suspended, and there is absence of power to digest food. Inflammation, pain and fever each suspend the digestive secretions and the movements of the
stomach. When the sufferer with acute disease is fed his pains and discomforts are increased, his
temperature rises and his chances of recovery are reduced. In acute disease the digestive system is
as little fit to digest food as the limbs are for locomotion. Both require rest. What good does it do
for a man to take food, even the finest food, if he is unable to digest and assimilate it? Restless,
suffering with nausea, not only with no desire for food, but actually loathing it, and not retaining it
when swallowed, food certainly should not be taken. Forced feeding under such conditions is not
nourishing, but depleting. Fasting is the only rational plan of care of a sick person presenting such
symptoms. A man is prostrated; everything tastes bitter to him, every little noise is agonizing and his mind
wanders. His tongue is coated with a yellow-brown coat, the region over his stomach and bowels
is sensitive, he vomits at short intervals, his temperature is above normal. 77Should he be fed? Or could he be fed without adding to his discomfort and without danger? Loss of desire for food is one of the first symptoms of acute disease. Go over the whole list—
smallpox, typhoid fever, typhus fever, pneumonia, diphtheria, measles, cholera, and you realize
that one of the first developments in these crises is the suspension of all desire for food. Wisely,
nature cuts off all demand for food when it cannot be used. Fasting is a means of getting through
such crises. The fast is a temporary expedient by means of which the body achieves some of its urgently
needed work, an expedient employed by the living organism to help it over many of the
emergencies of life. It is almost correct to say that fasting and surgery are all that are of value in
disease. But we can say this only if we recognize that the regular or ordinary elements of nature’s
great plan of
Hygiene
 are as essential in illness as in health, except that their use must be modified
to conform to the crippled powers of the organism. Instead of fasting being a
cure,
 it is an essential and integral part of the healing process. When
the digestive system is prostrated and all desire for food is cut off, as it is in acute disease, we
have an expedient that is as much a part of the remedial process, the process of restoration, as the
concomitant prostration of the body as a whole that sends the sick person to bed. To be extremely
precise, the fasting process is an actual part of the
remedial process
 that we call disease. Including surgery among the useful expedients in disease does not imply approval to all surgery
performed today. Skillfully done, as much of it is, it is performed all too often for purely
commercial motives rather than only
when there is a legitimate reason for it. The fact will
someday be known that fasting will obviate the supposed need for much of the surgery that is
performed today. In stressing the fact that much surgery is without valid reason I am stating no
more than has been repeatedly stated by leading members of the surgical profession itself. On the plane of instinct this lack of desire for food is duly respected. The sick dog hides. He
will not eat. He refuses a wet compress on his brow. He does not feel sorry for himself and does
not seek for sympathy. He refuses to permit his friends to hold his paws. All he wants is to be left alone. He wants no food and he takes none. Rest, quiet, warmth, air
and, sometimes, a little water, are all he wants. He will not take juices or diluted milk, if offered
these, nor will he take the juice of


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ed that the brain can be changed by
practicing mind fulness meditati on. This is tremendous news, n ot only for
those in  sports but also for anyone suf fering from anxiety or depression. The ability to bring about chang es in the brain could enable people to take
back con trol of their mental health rather than accepting a lifelong reliance
on mind-altering medication. Neuroscientists from the most prestigious universities around the world,
including Harvard and MIT, have conducted much research to investigate
the changes that take place in t he brains of people who medita te. There is
strong evidence that present-moment awareness literally changes the brain,
making many regions more powerful and ef ficient. A team of scientists
from the University of British  Columbia and Chemnitz University of
T echnology pooled data from twenty studies investigating this
phenomenon. R emarkably, all studies showed that mindfulness meditation
resulted in an increased density of gray matter, leading to more ef fectiveprocessing of information. MRI scans revealed that at least eight dif ferent
regions of the brain increased in ef ficiency, including the orbitofrontal and
hippocampal, w hich play a role in our ability to hold attention, cultivate
positive emotions, and retain emotional stability. People who meditate are
happier with themselves, are better able to resist distractions, and learn from
past experience—all traits that are essential in today’ s modern life. The anc ient Greek aphorism “know thyself” is written in the forecourt
of the T emple o f Apollo at Delphi. While its exact meaning is often the
subject o f debate  among scholars, in the context of harnessing the power of
meditation, the words ring with  truth. When you are mindful, you become
more aw are of your inner monologue, allowing you to stop the cycle of
compulsive thought processes an d step out of the prison of self- doubt. Only
when yo u realiz e that you are a prisoner of the mind is it possible to escape. And while the w alls and bars ma y not be concrete and steel, being a captive
of your thoughts can have a sig nificant ef fect on your ability t o focus and
perform. I like to divide thoughts into two categories: practical thoughts,  which
are useful and serve a purpose, and distracting thoughts,  which serve no
purpose at all. T o decide on a course of action and achieve anyt hing in life,
practical thoughts are essential. Conversely, distracting, useles s, repetitive
thoughts only serve to scatter your focus and prevent you from entering the
zone. Practical thoughts will help an athlete to plan for an upcoming event,
put t ogether a training schedule, and or ganize any logistics such  as booking
travel o r accommodation. Prio r to a game an athlete might channel his
thoughts into rehearsing the pe rfect shot or visualizing winning the race
with confidence. Mental imagery like this can serve as useful preparation
and is a positive way to use your thoughts. Distracting thoughts, however, will be habitually negative and irrational,
often so automatic that the individual is unaware of them. This type of
thinking creates tension, draining you of ener gy and distracting your game. As the Irish writer Oscar W ilde once said, “Thinking is the most unhealthy
thing in the world, and people die of it just as they die of any other disease. ”
Thinking is a habit. W e have been taught how to think by the in fluences
of societ y, education, and our fr iends and family. From a young  age we are
conditioned to believe that think ing is a good thing—how many  times haveyou been told to “think about it” or “think it over”. Developing the mind
into a sharp analytical tool is o bviously very useful for achieving in the
world of  academ ics and other li velihoods, and while it is impor tant that we
learn how to th ink, it is equa lly important that we learn how to stop
thinking. Just as a fire provides  comfort and warmth from the cold, it can
also be a destructive force when out of control. The mind is  a similarly
double-edged sword. At this point you might be thin king, What is he talking about. I’m in
contr ol of my own mind. But are you really. How easily can you turn of f
your thoughts. I would like you  to try a simple exercise: Stop t hinking and
observe how long it takes before the first thoughts enter. Is it 5 or 10
seconds, perhaps. The deg ree to which you are in control of your mind depends on how
long you are ab le to remain free  from thought. The longer you can remain
ef fortlessly free from thought, the better your powers of concentration and
focus. Most people are only able to clear their mind for a few seconds at
most. It is likely that your mind has more control over you th an you may
have im agined. The good news is that there is much to gain from taking
control o f your thought processe s. Learning to quiet your mind is easy to do
with a little focus and practice. Think of it as a challenge, just lik e any other
new form of training, but one that will inevitably improve your health and
sports performance. The first step to escape the trappings of a busy mind and take control of
your thought processes is to become aware of the thoughts inside your head. Seldom do we observe our minds. Seldom are we aware of our thought
activity and the ef fect it has on mood, tension, and performance. Bring your
thoughts to the f orefront of your mind. When you first observe the activity
in your head, you might find that your thoughts become amplified. This is
simply because they are under y our scrutiny rather than running unhindered
in th e background. Y ou may als o discover that the same repetitive thoughts
have been running through you r mind for quite some time, possibly for
years. T his is also normal, so d on’ t be critical of yourself. Ob serving the
mind is a most p ositive activity, allowing you to realize just how active it is. This aw areness is the first step in allowing you to break free from the
trappings of the mind and improve your concentration and focus. When y ou take time out to obse rve your thoughts, you will rea lize just
how ofte n you are stuck inside your head. There is no need to  analyze or
judge what is going through your mind—doing so will only pile on more
thoughts. The mind is never calmed by further questioning, and thinking too
much is the very habit that we want to address. In order to step out of this
constant circle of thought—to get out of your head and into life—you must
learn to tame your mind. By s imply making the commitm ent to pay attention to your thoughts
periodically thro ughout the day, you can take control of the most important
tool you  possess —the power of your mind. The clarity of your mind plays a
significant role in determining  your quality of life: A still mind brings
benefit to your sleep patterns,  mood, and health, while a mind full of
incessant though ts and distractions will blunt your ability to reach your full
potential. It is especially important to observe your thoughts w hen an
undercurrent of negative thou ght takes over. Don’ t let yourself be
overwhelmed by self-doubt and  worry. The mind is unable to dif ferentiate
between an imagined and a real event; to the body, both are the same. If you
are experiencing  pregame nerves or overthinking the decision o f a coach or
worrying about being dropped f rom the team or anxious that you won’ t be
able to complete that charity fun run, your body will react as if the event
has alrea dy taken place. As soon as you become aware of an anxious train
of thought, take notice of its ef fect on your body. Does your head or
stomach feel tense. Is your b reathing getting faster. Are negative and
repetitive thoughts causing y ou to feel nauseated. How you think
determines how you feel, and how you feel feeds back into how you think. A feeding frenzy of negative thought and emotion will inevitab ly result in
poor performance and health. Each tim e you find your head fu ll of internal chattering, ask yo urself if
all th is t hinking and analysis is a ctually helpful. Is it getting you  anywhere. Is it helping to s olve the problem. If you continue thinking in th is way, will
it do  any thing to address the situation, or is it just a never -ending merry-go-
round of  habitual anxiety. Asking these questions provides an insight into
the nature of repetitive thought and the way it af fects your life. The
realization that these negative thoughts serve no purpose to you can of fer
the impetus you need to escape from the clutches of your mind. Be patie nt with your observation. At first, your thoughts may continue
unabated as you start to notice t he tension created within your body—your
heart beats faster, butterflies flut ter in your stomach, and your mind refuses
to cease  its activity. In time, an d with practice, you will learn to still your
mind an


with salt that we don’t notice it. What we do notice is that we think we like thetaste of salted food and consider that food tastes flat without it. But take away aperson’s salt shaker and they become very uncomfortable. That’s because theaddict isn’t getting their regular dose. What’s wrong with repetitive adrenal whipping is that adrenal fortitude is
variable; many people’s adrenals eventually fail to respond to the prod of salt andthe body begins to suffer from a lack of adrenal hormones. Often those inheritingweak adrenals manifest semi-failure in childhood. The consequence is that
ordinary, irritating substances begin causing severe irritation. The person becomes
allergic to pollen, dust, foods, animal danders, etc. We see asthma, hay fever,sinusitis, etc. Though one can then discover specific allergens and try to removethem from the environment or diet, often this case can be solved far more easilyby complete withdrawal from all salt. This rests the adrenals and they mayrecover their full function; almost certainly their function will improve. The asthma,allergies and etc., gradually vanish. Most of us don’t need to eat salt as a nutrient. There’s enough sodium in one
dill pickle to run a human body for a year. There’s enough natural sodium in manytypes of vegetables to supply normal needs without using table salt. Perhapsathletes or other hard working people in the tropics eating deficient food grownon leached-out depleted soils, people that sweat buckets day after day may needa little extra sodium.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: Why is it recommended to use small bottles of oil and transfer it to jars with minimal exposure to air?,
A: To prevent rancidity, as oil reacts with oxygen in the air to become rancid, and this process is accelerated at warmer temperatures.
Q: What is the main reason people enjoy eating fats, according to the text?,
A: Fats are hard to digest and slow down the digestive action of the stomach, making a person feel full for a long time.
Q: Why is it recommended to grind one's own grains at home?,
A: To ensure the quality of the grains and prevent rancidity, as commercial products may have been exposed to air and heat during processing, leading to a loss of nutritional value.
Q: What is the author's stance on the use of sugar?,
A: The author believes that sugar is a harmful substance and should be avoided, as it can lead to addiction and other health problems.
Q: What is the author's opinion on the importance of food combining in digestive health?,
A: The author emphasizes the importance of eating one type of food at a time, as combining foods can lead to poor digestion and the formation of toxins in the digestive tract.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>This means that the person who istaking care of the critically ill person must be experienced enough to adjust theintensity of the body’s healing efforts and accurately assess the ability of theperson to process toxic waste products clamoring for removal so the ailing bodyis not drowned in it’s own poisons. It is often necessary to use clear vegetablebroth, vegetable and wheat grass juices, and fruits juices, or whole sprouts toslow down the cleansing gradient and sometimes, to resupply the tissue’sexhausted nutritional reserves. I wish all cases of critical illness had such a positive outcome as Ethyl’s, but
unfortunately they don’t. I had Marge on the same program at the same time. Shealso had cancerous tumors all over her body and had similarly been sent home todie. In some ways Marge’s body was a more likely candidate for survival thanEthyl’s. Marge did not have heart failure or diabetes and was still able on arrivalto at least take small amount of water orally and walk to the bathroom. Put on asimilar program, her tumors also shrunk and were reabsorbed and she too wenthome. But Marge did not really have a strong reason to live. Although her husband
was by her side throughout the treatment program, Marge was deeply upsetbecause she was estranged from one of her sons who she had not seen for over10 years. When she went home from Great Oaks, the son finally consented to seehis mother, went to the effort of trying to work things out with her, and finallyconfessed that under it all he still loved her. At that point Marge died in peace. She had accomplished the last thing she
wanted to take care of and her will to live did not extend beyond that point. Hadshe died several months earlier as predicted by the medical profession, Margewould have been unable to resolve this relationship. This was what Marge’s lifewas pivoting on at the end. I was glad to assist her in doing what she needed todo. Her husband and other family members found it difficult to understand, andthey were hurt that Marge did not wish to continue her life with them. Diet For The Chronically Ill. The chronically ill person has a long-term degenerative condition that is not
immediately life threatening. This condition usually causes more-or-less continuoussymptoms that are painful, perhaps unsightly, and ultimately will be disabling oreventually capable of causing death. To qualify as “chronic” the symptoms musthave been present a minimum of six months, with no relief in sight. People withthese conditions have usually sought medical assistance, frequently have hadsurgery, and have taken and probably are taking numerous prescription drugs. Some examples of chronic conditions are: arthritis, rheumatism, diabetes, early
onset of cancer and aids, asthma, colitis, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome,some mental disorders, arterial deposit diseases, many of the itises(inflammations). Before fasting, the chronically ill often do have time to prepare the way with
limited dietary reform, and frequently begin to feel relief quite quickly. Beforeactually fasting they should limit their diet to raw foods and eliminate all toxicfoods like alcohol, coffee, tea, salt, sugar and recreational drugs for two months ifthey have been following a typical American diet. If the chronically ill had been following a vegetarian diet, perhaps a diet
including with eggs and dairy, if they had been using no addicting substances, thenone month on raw foods is sufficient preparation for fasting. If the person hadwater or juice fasted for at least a week or two within the last two years, and
followed a healthy diet since that time, one or two weeks on raw foods should be
a sufficient runway. During preparation for a fast, I never recommend that a chronically ill person
quit taking prescription medicines because doing so can seriously disrupt theirhomeostasis. However, if their symptoms lessen or vanish during the pre-fastingclean up, the person might try tapering off medications. The length and type of fast chosen to resolve a chronic illness depends largely
on available time, finances, availability of support people, work responsibilities,and mental toughness. If you are one of those fortunate people rich enough to givetheir health first priority, long water fasting is ideal. If on the other hand you can’tafford to stop working, have no one to take care of you and assist with somehousehold chores, and/or you are not mentally tough enough to deal with self-denial, compromise is necessary. Ideally the chronically ill person would fast for an extended period under
supervision until their symptoms were gone or greatly improved, with a fall-backplan to repeat the whole process again in three to six months if necessary. If youare not able to do that, the next best program is to fast for a short period, like oneor two weeks, with a plan to repeat the process as often as possible until you arehealed. I have had clients with potentially life-threatening conditions such as obesity
with incipient heart failure, or who came to me with cancer, that were unable tostop work for financial reasons, or who could not afford a residential fastingprogram, or who felt confident in their own ability to deal with detoxification intheir own home. These people have fasted successfully at home, coming to seeme once a week. Almost inevitably, successful at-home fasters had already donea lot of research on self healing, believed in it, and had the personal discipline tocarry it out properly, including breaking the fast properly without overeating. Foods To Heal Chronic Illness
Sprouts Baby Greens Salad Juices Fruit
alfalfa sunflower lettuce beet grapefruit
radish buckwheat celery celery lemon
bean zucchini zucchini lime lime
clover kale kale orange orange
fenugreek endive radish parsley apple
wheat tomato tomato raspberries
cabbage cabbage cabbage blueberries
carrot carrot grapes
spinach apple peaches
parsley grapefruit apricots
sweet pepper lemon strawberry
Fruits should be watery and lower in sugar. Some examples of poor fruit
choices would be pineapple, ripe mango, bananas, dates, raisins, figs. Fruitsshould not be combined with vegetables. Vegetables should not be starchy, packed-full of energy. Poor vegetable
choices would be potato, parsnip, turnip, corn, sweet potato, yam, beet, wintersquash. Sprouts and baby greens are vegetables and may be included in salads. Juices should not be extremely sweet. Apple, orange, beet and carrot juice
should be diluted with 50% water. Fruit juices should not be mixed with vegetablejuices or with vegetables at the same meal. Salads should include no fruit. Salad dressings should be lemon or lime juice,
very small quantities of olive oil, and herbs. No salt, soy sauce nor black pepper.Cayenne can be okay for some. I have also helped chronically ill people that were not mentally prepared to
water fast, but were able to face


 de Mello’s observation in One Minute
Wisdom:
Why is everyone here so happy except me. “Because they have learned to see goodness
and beauty everywhere,” said the Master. Why don’t I see goodness and beauty everywhere. “Because you cannot see outside of you what you
fail to see inside. ”
What you may fail to see inside is a result of how you choose to process
everything and everyone in your world. You project onto the world what
you see inside, and you fail to project into the world what you fail to see
inside. If you knew that you were an expression of the universal Spirit ofintention, that’s what you’d see. You’d raise your energy level beyond any
possibility of encumbrances to your connection to the power of intention. It
is only discord acting within your own feelings that will ever deprive you of
everygood thing that life holds for you. If you understand this simple
observation, you’ll curb interferences to intention. There’s a vibratory action to your thoughts, your feelings, and your body. I’m asking you to increase those frequencies so they’re high enough to
allow you to connect to the power of intention. This may sound like an
oversimplification, but I hope you’ll try raising your energy level as a way
to remove the obstacles that prevent you from experiencing the perfection
you’re a part of. You cannot remedy anything by condemning it. You only
add to the destructive energy that’s already permeating the atmosphere of
your life. When you react to the lower energies you encounter with your
own low energies, you’re actually setting up a situation that attracts more of
that lower energy. For example, if someone behaves in a hateful manner
toward you and you respond by hating them for hating you, you’re
participating in a lower energy field, and impacting all who enter that field. If you’re angry at those around you for being angry people, you’re
attempting to remedy the situation through condemnation. Don’t use weakening energies employed by those around you. Other
people can’t bring you down if you’re operating at the higher energies. Why. Because higher and faster energies nullify and convert lower/slower
energies, not the reverse. If you feel that the lower energies of those around
you are bringing you down, it’s because you’re joining them at their energy
levels. Your unbending intention may be to be slim and healthy. You know that
the universal all-creative Spirit brought you into existence in that
microscopic dot of human cellular tissue not to be sickly, overweight, or
unattractive. but to create love, be kind, and express beauty. This is what
the power of intention intended for you to become. Now get this: You
cannot attract attractiveness into your life by hating anything about what
you’ve allowed yourself to become.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What can be felt, but not seen?,
A: Sound waves
Q: What is the ultimate in energy, according to the text?,
A: The Spirit world, which is characterized by the seven faces of intention
Q: What is the result of holding onto low-energy thoughts and emotions, according to the text?,
A: It will attract more of the same low energy into your life
Q: What is the key to connecting to the power of intention, according to the text?,
A: Letting go of self-importance, need to win, and need to be right
Q: What is the impact of your presence on others, according to the text?,
A: You will inspire them, empower them, and help them feel energized, motivated, and connected to the power of intention.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>In fact, the higher your energy field
resonates, the more you’re able to impact others with your own healing
energy. (See Chapter 13 for a more thorough treatment of healing and
intention.) Become aware of your own amazing capacity to affect the
healing and health of those around you simply by the silent presence of
your high-energy connection to intention. This is a literal energy that
emanates from you. In the hopes that you will recognize the importance of raising your
energy level, I’m going to conclude this chapter with a look at how our
entire civilization is impacted when energy levels are synchronized with the
Source of our Creation. This will require an open mind and a bit of
stretching on your part; however, it’s something that I know is true, and I’d
be remiss if I left it out. It may appear peculiar or even outlandish to some
who fail to see the ways in which all of us on this planet are connected and
therefore impact each other from distances not discernible by our senses. Your Impact on the Consciousness
of All of Humanity
Many years ago I was with one of my daughters as she completed a
lengthy program in the wilderness to help her deal more effectively with
some of her teenage dilemmas. The last thing the counselor at the
wilderness camp said to her was, “Remember at all times that what you
think and what you do affects other people.” This is true even beyond the
impact we have on our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. I believe
that we impact all of humanity. Thus, as you read this section, keep in mind
that what you think and do affects all other people.In Power vs. Force, Dr. David Hawkins writes: “In this interconnected
universe, every improvement we make in our private world improves the
world at large for everyone. We all float on the collective level of
consciousness of mankind, so that any increment we add comes back to us. We all add to our common buoyancy by our efforts to benefit life. It is a
scientific fact that what is good for you is good for me.” Dr. Hawkins has
backed up his remarks and conclusions with 29 years of hard research,
which I invite you to examine if you’re so inclined. I’ll briefly summarize
some of these conclusions and how they relate to the impact you have on
others when you’re connected to intention. In essence, every single person as well as large groups of people can be
calibrated for their energy levels. Generally speaking, low-energy people
cannot distinguish truth from falsehood. They can be told how to think,
whom to hate, whom to kill; and they can be herded into a group-think
mentality based on such trivial details as what side of the river they were
born on, what their parents and their grandparents believed, the shape of
their eyes, and hundreds of other factors having to do with appearance and
total identification with their material world. Hawkins tells us that
approximately 87 percent of humanity calibrates at a collective energy level
that weakens them. The higher up the ladder of frequency vibration, the
fewer people there are in those high levels. The highest levels are
represented by the truly great persons who originated spiritual patterns that
multitudes have followed throughout the ages. They’re associated with
divinity, and they set in motion attractor energy fields that influence all of
humankind. Just below the energy level of pure enlightenment are the energy levels
associated with the experience designated as transcendence, self-realization,
or God consciousness. Here’s where those who are called saintly reside. Just below this level is the place of pure joy, and the hallmark of this state is
compassion. Those who attain this level have more of a desire to use their
consciousness for the benefit of life itself rather than for particular
individuals. Below these supremely high levels, which few ever attain in a permanent
way, are the levels of unconditional love, kindness, acceptance of everyone,beauty appreciation, and on a more limited but nonetheless profound level,
all of the seven faces of intention described in the opening chapters of this
book. Below the levels of energy that strengthen us are the low energy
levels of anger, fear, grief, apathy, guilt, hatred, judgment, and shame—all
of which weaken and impact us in such a way as to inhibit our connection
to the universal energy level of intention. What I’d like you to do here is take a leap of faith with me, while I
present a few of the conclusions that Dr. Hawkins came to in his second
book, called The Eye of the I. Through his precise kinesiological testing for
truth versus falsehood, he’s calibrated the approximate number of people
whose energy is at or below the level that weakens. I’d like you to consider
his findings and conclusions relative to your impact on civilization. Dr.
Hawkins suggests that it’s crucial for each of us to be aware of the
significance of raising our frequency of vibration to the level where we
begin to match up with the energy of the universal Source, or in other
words, make our connection to the power of intention. One of the most fascinating aspects of this line of research is the idea of
counterbalancing. High-energy people counterbalance the negative effect of
low-energy people. But it doesn’t happen on a one-to-one basis because of
that 87 percent of humanity that’s in the lower weakening frequencies. One
person connected to intention, as I’ve described it here in this book, can
have an enormous impact on many people in the lower energy patterns. The
higher up the scale you move toward actually being the light of
enlightenment and knowing God consciousness, the more negatively
vibrating energies you can counterbalance. Here are some fascinating
figures from Dr. Hawkins’s research for you to contemplate as you review
the impact you can have on humanity simply by being on the higher rungs
of the ladder to intention:
• One


1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
pepper
-1/2 teaspoon of powdered
ginger
-3 tablespoons of organic, raw,
honey
-1/4 cup of lemon juice
-1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar1. There are two ways to make this recipe. One uses heat to encourage
thorough infusion of the ingredients, the other is more convenient. If
you are using heat, pour lemon juice, cayenne, ginger and apple cider
vinegar into a pot and bring to a gentle simmer for 3 minutes. 2. Let the mixture cool some and then stir in honey. Store in a jar in a
cool, dark, place for up to 1 month, or in the refrigerator for up to 3. I
have never had issues with it going bad, but the flavor eventually gets
tamer. 3. If you are not using heat, simply mix up all the ingredients as above
and pour into a jar. Let it infuse on its own for 24 hours before taking. Adults take ½ -1 tablespoon every 3 hours, or as needed. Children 5
years and older take 1/2 -1 teaspoon every 3 hours as need ed. 54Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com CongestionY ou will need… DirectionsGrowing up my mom would always use a special rub when I had a cold, and I swear it was one of the only things
that helped when I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t breathe or get comfortable. It was truly
miraculous. What she used is no longer made, so here is my homemade version of it. The peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils contain menthol, and have a strong aroma. Speaking technically,
peppermint does not actually relieve swelling the nasal passages. That said the menthol creates a strong
cooling sensation when inhaled that at least feels like it eases breathing, breaking through congestion with
its powerful aroma. Eucalyptus is thought to have properties that actually do ease inflammation, which can be
beneficial in times of narrowed, swollen airwaySimple Peppermint Salve
-10-12 tablespoons of any
liquid oil
-1 tablespoon of beeswax,
grated or pastilles
-8-10 drops each of
peppermint and eucalyptus oil 1. Set up a double boiler over medium heat and add your oil and
beeswax. 2. Stir once or twice to blend the two together. When fully incorporated,
turn off the heat and add 8-10 drops each of peppermint and eucalyptus
essential oil. When you pour it into your jar or tin, put the lid on
immediately so the essential oils don’t evaporate and lose strength. In a
cool dark place this will last for a year. 55Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com CongestionY ou will need… DirectionsGoing off of one of the tips above, this steam treatment incorporates the aromatherapy of essential oils to help
clear congestion. It’s quite simple and very effective. The only other ingredient, aside from water, is a blend of
essential oils that will work wonderfully to reduce congestion and swelling. The tea tree oil also has wonderful
airborne anti-microbial properties that can help ward off any virus or bacteria hiding out in your nose.Scented Steam Bath
-A bowl
-A towel
-2 drops of peppermint oil
-2 drops of tea tree oil
-At least 1 cup of boiling hot
water1. Place the essential oils and hot water in a bowl. Stir to get the scent
spreading. 2. Make sure the water has cooled to a safe, but still warm temperature,
as steam can be quite painful. Lean over the bowl at a comfortable
height and drape the towel over your head to trap the steam. Breathe
slowly, and deeply. Do this for as long as needed at least 3 times a day. 56Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com CongestionY ou will need… DirectionsConstipation is something that many people suffer with in silence. With
a culture in which we often shame one of the most natural processes
the human body can go through-going to the bathroom-constipation
is not an easy thing to deal with. So let’s just let that go-if you have
constipation, no worries. Now, as terrible as constipation is, running
for the OTC laxatives may not be your best bet. They are hard on the
system, and if used long-term, can end up creating a chronic problem. Instead of worsening the situation, people are learning that it is easy
to treat constipation at home by natural means. Y ou’ll notice that these
remedies are “drinks” in some form or another-that liquid is much
needed. Constipation happens when your large intestine absorbs too much
water from your food as it moves, slower than usual, through it. This can
be caused by more complicated factors, and sometimes no reason is
found at all. Most commonly it is caused by inadequate fiber intake and
not enough fluids.Constipation
-Get moving to get stuff moving
through you. Even a short walk
around the block can help. -Stay hydrated. Stool will harden if
you don’t have enough liquid, and
become difficult to pass. Drink
drink drink! -Eat healthier. Fruits and veggies
will help keep your digestion on
track. Eating foods high in fiber
will also help add bulk to your
stool and move it along. Be sure
to increase water intake when you
increase fiber. -When nature calls, answer! Our
bodies only send the signal to
go to the bathroom for a certain
amount of time-hence why you
often times ‘lose the urge’ if you
hold it in-and that can just cause
a bigger buildup. It doesn’t matter
if you have a busy work schedule,
when you need to poop you need
to poop and that’s that. -Thanks especially to processed
foods and our increasingly
sedentary lifestyles, constipation
is becoming more and more
common. Trying to live a healthier
and more natural lifestyle does
more than you think it might
for constipation-and if you’ve
ever suffered from it, especially
chronically, you know it’s worth
making the extra effort. 57Copyright 2014 everydayroots.comTips & TroubleshootingOlive oil is a natural lubricant (just think about its consistency on its own) and stimulates the digestive system. It’s considered a healthier fat too, so consuming it isn’t something to feel guilty about, as long as it is in
moderation. While you can take just a tablespoon straight, adding lemon juice is an added kick that usually tips
the scales if you’re really blocked up. There’s something about its acidic nature that really gets things moving
along the G.I. track.Olive Oil & Lemon Juice
-1 tablespoon of olive oil
-1 teaspoon of lemon juice1. Mix olive oil and lemon juice and take straight on an empty stomach,
first thing in the morning. Repeat if needed in the evening. 58Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com ConstipationY ou will need… DirectionsThe thought of prunes brings back a flood of childhood memories. Every time I had an issue going to the
bath room, my mom would bring out the prunes. In this drink, you get the added benefit of fluids along with
everything else. There’s the water soluble fiber from the prunes, the acidic nature of the lemon juice, and some
extra fluid from it too, and the power of molasses. Make sure the molasses is blackstrap-the third boiling of
molasses results in blackstrap, which contains vitamins, minerals, and magnesium (which is what really helps
constipation.) While I’ll be the first to admit it’s not the prettiest (or tastiest) thing in the world, it’s so worth it. I’ve
also heard of someone making a thicker version and spooning it over oatmeal, but I have never taken that step.Hot Molasses, Lemon & Prune Drink
-1-2 cups of water
-1-2 teaspoons of blackstrap
molasses
-2 tablespoons of lemon juice
-1/4 cup pitted prunes, cut in
half1. Place everything in a pot on the stove and bring to a simmer. Let the
mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 2. With a slotted spoon remove the prunes. Make fresh and drink once a
day. 59Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com ConstipationY ou will need… DirectionsRaisins are packed full of dietary fiber. This means that the body can’t really digest them, so they add bulk to
stool and encourage things to move through the system. It also means they draw water from the intestinal track,
which can soften stool that is hardened and is difficult to pass. Drink the water along with the raisins to add fluid.Soaked Raisins
-1 cup of regular raisins
-1 ½ cups of fresh water
-a bowl1. Soak raisins overnight and eat in the morning. Drink the water that
they were soaked in as well. Repeat daily as needed. 60Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com ConstipationY ou will need… DirectionsI went through a period of time in which I came down with multiple
bouts of bronchitis, and in that time I got far more intimate with coughs
than I ever wanted to. Whether you have the flu, a cold, bronchitis,
or just