 one. Bananas contain a lot of potassium, which will help
maintain the balance between fluids and electrolytes if you are vomiting. Look for what is fresh, juicy, and local as a guide to what might nourish you
most. Dried fruits and nuts, soaked, are another good option for this time. Organic figs, dates, apricots, raisins, almonds, and walnuts are greatchoices, as they provide you with magnesium and iron as well as the fat to
support your little one’ s brain development. A combination of nourishing foods called panchamrit —from pancha,
meaning “five,” and amrit,  meaning “immortal” or “nectar of the gods”—is
beneficial to eat in the early morning, before breakfast, to give you ener gy,
nourish the tissues of your body, and reduce fatigue. The five ingredients
come together quickly to make a warm, sweet ener gy booster for mama. Panchamrit
Ingredients
5 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons ghee
1 teaspoon raw cane sugar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon yogurt
Instructions
Warm the milk, ghee, and sugar. Take of f the heat, and add the room temperature yogurt and honey. Stir it all together, and enjoy! SECOND MEAL OF THE DAY, 9–10 A.M. Your main breakfast meal could include one milk product such as fresh
yogurt, raw butter, paneer (fresh cheese), or cream-top spiced milk, to
supply your body with calcium, vitamin D, and protein. Grain dishes such
as poha  (flattened rice), upma  (semolina), or porridge made from soaked
oats, millet, or rice are other good options, as they provide carbohydrates
that will give you good ener gy and help you feel satisfied.Sprouts, either roasted in ghee or baked, are a great addition to this
meal, as they are a rich source of protein. If you are feeling acidic or
nauseated, include breads such as whole-grain or sourdough toast, parathas
(Indian stuf fed breads), or mung bean pancakes. THIRD MEAL OF THE DAY, 12–2 P.M.
A good midday meal might include steamed green leafy, local vegetables—
to provide vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, iron, and calcium—and
dal, which provides the body with necessary protein and calcium. Yellow
split mung dal is easiest to digest and the only bean that does not increase
vata dosha. Dal will also help to maintain your hemoglobin levels. Some type of bread with raw butter or ghee can add good
carbohydrates, and thus easy-to-use ener gy, to this meal: options range from
an Indian flat bread, such as chapati or roti, to your favorite multigrain or
sourdough toast. You can also substitute another grain for the bread, such as
rice, millet, barley, or quinoa. In either case, eating a good amount of
carbohydrates midday will reduce cravings and acidity, and help you feel
more nourished and satisfied. Add at least 1 teaspoon of ghee to your meal. ALL-DAY HYDRATION
Lime water provides the body with antioxidants and vitamin C, which
supports iron absorption and also serves as a natural antacid. This will also
improve your digestion and support hydration. You can add a half-teaspoon
of Himalayan or sea salt to increase mineral content. Buttermilk is incredible for your digestion. It contains vitamin B12,
which aids iron absorption as well as reducing acidity and relieving
bloating. Try adding a pinch of salt, sugar, black pepper, and cumin powder,
a combination that will serve to support your digestion even more. It is best
consumed before sundown.Coconut water helps maintain balance between fluids and electrolytes,
and later in pregnancy it will help maintain amniotic fluid levels. FOURTH MEAL OF THE DAY, 3–5 P.M.
Late afternoon is a good time for snacking on juicy fruits such as oranges,
grapes, peaches, and mangos (depending on what is growing locally); the
vitamin C in these fruits increases immunity, and the fiber will support
elimination. For a more substantial healthy snack, make some dry-fruit
laddus to have on hand. Fruit-nut balls will supply you with stable ener gy,
and the dried-fruit laddus in the following recipe are a powerhouse of vital
nutrients, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids. They support the development
of your baby and keep mama going strong. Dry-Fruit Laddus
Ingredients
1 cup almonds
1 cup walnuts
1 cup cashews
½ cup sesame seeds
handful of raisins (finely chopped)
1 cup dried apricots (finely chopped)
2 cups seedless dates (finely chopped)
1 cup dried figs (finely chopped)
pinch of cardamom powder
pinch of cinnamon powder
a few drops of vanillaInstructions
1.In a pan, dry roast the dried almonds, walnuts, cashews, and
sesame seeds until they turn golden brown. 2.Mix the nuts in a blender until they are chopped into small pieces. 3.Next, stir the nuts together with the finely chopped dried raisins,
apricots, dates, and figs. 4.Add a pinch of cardamom and cinnamon powder and a few drops
of vanilla extract; mix thoroughly. 5.Form the mixture into small balls and store in an airtight container. FIFTH MEAL OF THE DAY, 6–8 P.M.
A substantial meal for the end of the day could include fresh bread with
ghee, a blended vegetable soup (for something warm, nourishing, and easy
to digest); a grain porridge or rice gruel (which provides hydration and
grounding); a seasonal vegetable curry; kitchari; or rice with ghee. If you are not hungry enough for supper, having a cup of spiced milk is
a great option. Milk nourishes all the tissues in your body, as well as the
body of your babe. (The Sushruta Samhita  considers milk to be a complete
food, as it contains proteins, fats, calcium, vitamins, and sugar.) Not only is
milk capable of nourishing your body, but it also calms your mind. Heating
the milk changes its molecular structure and makes it easier to digest,
absorb, and assimilate. Rice Gruel
Ingredients
½ cup basmati rice
1 teaspoon ghee
½ teaspoon cardamom3 cups milk
½ cup raw cane sugar
Optional: ¼ cup cashews or pistachios
Optional: splash of rose water
Instructions
1.Rinse the rice until the water turns clear. Then soak the rice in
water for twenty to thirty minutes. Drain the soaked rice using a
colander and set aside. 2.Heat a heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. Add ghee and
cardamom to the pan, then add the soaked and drained rice. Stir
the rice with the ghee and cardamom for one or two minutes,
stirring constantly until aromatic. 3.Add the milk to the pan and stir well. Set heat to medium-high. 4.Let the milk come to a boil, stirring occasionally so that the milk
doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. 5.Once the milk has come to a boil, lower the heat to low and let the
mixture cook for about twenty-five minutes on low heat. Stir every
five minutes or so. 6.Add the sugar and optional nuts and cook for an additional five
minutes. 7.Bless and enjoy!GENERAL DIET GUIDELINES FOR
PREGNANCY AND THE
POSTPARTUM WINDOW
The following tips support you in choosing foods for pacifying the excess
vata dosha often prevalent during pregnancy and always present in the
postpartum period. FAVOR WARM OVER COLD
With an eye not only toward temperature but also toward the ef fect that
food has on the body, favor warm over cold: As much as possible, lean
toward eating food that is warm in temperature, freshly cooked, and
warming to the body. Warm softens and opens the channels in the body,
whereas cold constricts. The warm quality of the food can be enhanced by
using digestive spices generously. Spices such as ginger, cinnamon, cloves,
cumin, black pepper, and mustard seeds all have a warming ef fect. Try to
minimize foods with a cooling ef fect, such as cold and frozen foods or
drinks, raw veggies, and leftovers that have been kept in the refrigerator or
freezer. FAVOR MOIST AND OILY OVER DRY
The Ayurvedic emphasis in pregnancy and postpartum is to nourish and
build. To this end, favor moist and oily over dry: Cook everything that you
eat with more water than usual so that it is soupy, hot, and moist—making it
easier to digest, absorb, and assimilate. Also, plan to add an extra teaspoon
of ghee to everything you eat, to keep your tissues nourished and to support
digestion and the elimination of toxins. What is more nourishing than being
invited to add a generous amount of high-quality oils, raw butter, or ghee to
all the warm food you are preparing? The dryness of vata is of fset byadding moisture, drinking plenty of fluids (ideally warm or


 fasting:
    Case 8 was the only instance in which there was staining of adjacent tissues. Others were as noted or normal. Page 70 of  72     One fact of significance shown in the post mortem findings and in the comparison noted above is that, no matter how general
were the defects in other organs, nor how emaciated the body, unless they themselves were organically imperfect, the heart, t he
lungs, and the brain were normal in size and in functioning ability. It may be added that, although not always specifically s tated,
the brain in each instance in the cases cited was thoroughly dissected. Through the facts related the immediate cause of death in every case described may easily be traced to its origin. And
furthermore these facts virtually prove that organic deficiency, if not produced by drug dosage, is the direct result of dige stive
impairment. The scientific worth of this observation  is much enhanced for the reason that in these autopsies the entire organism in
each case was exhibited unaffected by recent drug paralysis. Observation also shows that the subjects in whom glands were
hardened or atrophied were invariably of an emaciated or wiry physique, while those in whom a softening of the organs had
occurred were inclined to obesity. It is also interesting to note that, where mental control was lacking at any stage of the fast, the
colon upon dissection showed displacement and distort ion, so much so that its evacuation was rendered most difficult even with
the aid of enemata. From the scientific viewpoint the observations included in the present chapter are of greatest import. By them the theory of
Fasting for the Cure of Disease  is fully substantiated, and proof of its efficacy as a therapeutic measure is rendered
incontrovertible. SUMMARY OF DEATHS IN THE FAST

N
o. Sex Lengt
h of
Fast
Days  Age Height  Weight
at
Begin
ning of
Fast Weight
at Death  Pulse at
begi-
ning of
fast Pulse
at
mid
fast Pulse
before
death  Temp at
begin -
ning of ast  Temp at
mid fast  Temp before
death
1 F 40 38 5'5" 124 86 82 72 86 99 98 97
2 F 57 39 5'2" 110 68 74 72 68 96 98 94
3 F 60 24 5'7" 132 75 90 104 112 97 99 96
4 F 59 35 5'8" 144 90 78 84 108 100 100 96
5 M 19 24 5'7" 110 87 80 68 60 96 97 94
6 M 30 46 5'11"  145 112 88 92 96 98 99 97
7 M 38 56 5'5" 115 70 60 68 50 94 96 94
8 M 49 22 5'6" 128 100 90 86 102 97 98 97
9 M 21 27 5'10"  125 88 56 54 48 94 96 94
10 M 35
(Diet)  34 5'9" 146 120 54 52 50 94 94 94
11 F 80
(Diet)  33 5'2" 78 65 56 60 62 94 96 94

CHAPTER XXI
NATURAL THERAPY AND THE FAST

OSTEOPATHY AND CHIROPRACTIC:
THE TENDENCY OF OSTEOPATHY TO REVERT TO MEDICINE:
THE BROAD BASIS OF NATURAL THERAPY

    AS ELSEWHERE expressed the fast in itself is primarily an eliminative agency, a process of purification, and therefore it mus t
be regarded, not as the actual restorative, curative power, but as a means to this end. Ability to recover from disease, cure  itself,
resides within the individual organism, the fast, together with its accessories, permitting, and at times even compelling, ga thered
body impurity to be eliminated through the various natural, normal channels of evacuation. It prepares and furnishe s a restored and
renovated foundation upon which a new and healthy physical structure may be re -erected. The accessories utilized in fasting have been in greater part explained and elaborated. But one important auxiliary agency th at is
daily brought into play during the regimen imposed is that of body manipulation, including adjustment and correction of bony
lesions, be the latter located in the spinal column or elsewhere. In this connection two distinct schools of healing have ari sen
within comparati vely recent time, those of Osteopathy and of Chiropractic. Osteopathy, the theory of which was first propounded by Dr. A. T. Still in 1874, is defined as "that science or system of hea ling
which treats disease of the human body by manual therapeutics  for the stimulation of the remedial forces within the body itself, for
Page 71 of  72 the correction of misplaced tissue, and for the removal of obstructions or interferences with the fluids of the body, all wit hout the
internal administration of drugs or medicine. " It may perhaps serve to make this definition more lucid if Dr. Still's own
interpretation of his discovery is added. It is this: -- "Osteopathy deals with the body as an intricate machine, which, if kept in
proper adjustment, nourished and cared for, will run smoothly into ripe old age. When every part of the machine is adjusted and in
perfect harmony, health will hold dominion over the human organism by laws as natural and immutable as are the laws of
gravitation. Every living organism has within it the power to manufacture and prepare all chemicals, materials, and forces needed
to build and rebuild itself, together with all of the machinery and apparatus required to do the work in the most perfect man ner,
producing the only substances that can be utilized in t he economy of the individual. No material other than food and water taken in
satisfaction of the demands of the appetite can be introduced without detriment. " The name, Osteopathy, derived as it is from two Greek words, osteon, a bone, and pathos, su ffering, is not such a misnomer as
at first might appear. The osteopathic theory, it is seen, is based on the belief that disease is caused by some part of the human
mechanism being out of proper adjustment, as in the ease of misplaced bone, cartilage or l igament, adhesions or contractions of
muscle, any one of which results in unnatural pressure on, or obstruction to, nerve, blood, or lymph. Osteopathy, then, throu gh the
agency or use of the bones, especially the long ones which are employed as levers, see ks to adjust the misplaced parts. It pays
attention to all portions of the organism, but it devotes much of its work to the spinal column, which, owing to its complex
structure, is liable to several forms of sub -dislocation, depending upon the region in wh ich they may occur. The most common of
these is that of rotation followed by forward or backward displacement of a single vertebra. Compensation always succeeds the se
changes so that the disturbance is communicated to the vertebrae above or below, thus for ming a group. These lesions and others
are detected by the touch and are verified by tenderness of the surrounding parts. Chiropractic is defined as "a system of therapeutic treatment for disease through the adjustment of the articulations of the human
body, particularly those of the spine, with the object of relieving pressure or tension upon nerve filaments. " As in osteopat hy, the
operations necessary are performed with the hands, no drugs being administered. There is no doubt that mobility of  the spinal column is of first importance, for in health there is motion between adjacent
vertebrae. Lack of movement may be caused by muscular tension, by stretching of ligaments, or by a union of the parts because  of
bony deposit. Following any of these conditions, both osteopathy and chiropractic hold, are functional or organic disturbances,
acute becoming chronic. Nerves are pinched or impinged, and, as circulation of blood to an organ depends upon its nerve contr ol,
organic mechanism is interfered with, and disease results. That these two schools are closely related in theory is evident. But each falls short of its greatest possibilities when offe red as a
sole agency for the relief of human ills. Osteopathy has begun to recognize this fundamental fallacy in principle, but in doing so, it
has to a degree departed from the vision of its founder, a departure which, in the opinion of the author, is vital error. At the time
this is written osteopathy is leaning backward towards that profession which Dr. Still repudiated a half century ago, and only its
leading members can save it from amalgamation with the dominant cult, a union which will surely prove its annihilation. Alrea dy
in the osteopathic curriculum there have been introduced materia medica, phar macology, and minor surgery, with side journeys
into bacteriology. The official magazines of the profession now carry articles on subjects which, if not strictly medical in tone, are


 dialogue
between dual authors—an unnished conversation, the most
coherent statement we can express at this time. It’s not the
denitive summary of Chinese medicine, the last word, but a
starting point for new discou rse that invites the next utterance. The
“we” refers to our collaborative voice, whereas the “I” belongs to
Harriet, who sometimes chooses to convey ideas through her
personal narrative. Between Heaven and Earth  is a cross-cultural transmission and
transplantation. In transposing Chinese ideas into our own idiom,
our challenge has been to bridge gaps—between mind and body,
theory and practice, therapy and self-care, practitioner and patient,
ancient and modern, convention and invention, East and West. We
have dug into and mined the rich ore of Chinese medicine for the
purpose of creating new metal, a rened alloy. Through cultural
blending, we are transmuting wisdom from early China  into what
has relevance for us today. Welcome to an ongoing process. We have divided our discussion of Chinese medicine into three
overlapping parts:
• Theory: the ideas—about nature, the human body, and the self
—upon which the medicine is based
• Types: the psychology in Chinese medicine—how ve
archetypes symbolize human character, illuminating  our
personal tao, the way we are
• Therapy: the treatment methods of acupuncture, herbs, diet—
what they are and how to use themThe rst section, “Theory,” introduces you to the essential
principles of traditional Chinese medicine and explains the beliefs
upon which this foreign medicine rests. We also examine how these
beliefs dier from the assumptions we take for granted in Western
medicine—the conceptual baggage we carry with us from home. After establishing the philosophical grammar, the logic and
vocabulary through which Chinese medicine speaks, you can begin
to acquire the uency to converse in its language. As we worked on the second section of the book, “Types,” we
played with Chinese theory, elaborating upon it to suit American
conditions and needs. Our intellectual chemistry commingled with
Eastern thinkin g, propagatin g reactions of its own. What  came out
of this was an articulation of the psychology implicit in Chinese
medicine yet not explicitly developed by the Chinese. For Americans, psychology—the study of how people think, feel,
and behave—captures immense interest. In contrast, the gaze of
Chinese cultur e is averted away from the individual and instead
directed toward social groups (the family, collective, and state), so
psychology in China is quite underdeveloped, and its medicine has
focused primarily upon physical symptoms. But becau se Chinese
medical theory assumes human process unfolds as a consequence of
the tension and unity between interacting system s, mental
phenomena are not considered to be altogether separate or distinct
from physical events. We have fused Chinese theory with outlooks from Western
psychology for the purpose of transcending our cultural practice of
isolating physiology from psychology so that we can begin to knit
together the fracture that splits body from mind. Toward that end,
we have generated a schema of types: ve metaphors for the
emotional, physical, and spiritual dynamics that organize us. Each
of these types has idiosyncratic traits, motivations, and struggles—
ve styles of being in the world. You are invited to discover how
your style of interpreting reality ts within these categories and
discern who you are:
• The Pioneer, determined to make things happen• The Wizard, seeking magic and excitement
• The Peacemaker, constantly arranging and harmonizing the
world
• The Alchemist, who masters form and function
• The Philosopher, relentlessly in pursuit of truth
By identifying people’s archetypes, the sources of their virtues,
strengths, dilemmas, and limitations become apparent. These
depictions help to counterac t the discomting image many of us
have of ourselves as a hapha zard collection of disjointed events and
shifting identities. Instead there is a pattern in our tapestry—woven
through us and by us—we embody and manifest its design. Examining its fabric informs  us about how we are predisposed to
suer and derive satisfaction  in particular ways. An outco me of self-
recognition can be self-acceptance, often a precursor to self-mastery. This system is a lens, a model, a paradigm through which we can
understand, explain, and help ourselves and others. Although this book is not a manual or textbook, we want to
encourage you to experience as well as comprehend the potential
this medicine oers. So the third section of the book, “Therapy,”
explains methods of treatmen t and the thought process used by each
one. Acupuncture need not be intimidating; herbal medicine need
not be mystied; and the promise of Chinese food therapy has not
yet begun to dazzle our palates. In addition to explanation, we provide practical counsel by
guiding you toward the herbal remedies and foods appropriate for
you. To do this, we devised a system that simplies yet preserves
the art of prescribing. Since Chinese herbs can be purchased over-
the-counter, we outline a set of herbal formulas and herbal food
recipes so that those of you so motivated can put your
understanding into action. As you read this book you may want to selectively navig ate your
passage, readin g the text out of sequence, skipping to sections that
most engage you. Some will be intrigued by the ideas, others by
traditional Chinese diagnosis and physiology, others will search forthe right herb formula, and still others will be immediately drawn to
the middle of the book to identify themselves and their family
within the schema of the ve archetypes, returning later to the other
chapters. Many people in our culture have been nurturing a shift in
consciousness as they search for alternatives to the threatening
political and environmental dilemmas our civilization has created. Our overarching concern, the meta-purpose of this book, is to
demonstrate that to think through the mind of Chinese medicine, to
see through its eyes, is in itself a healing process. What makes Chinese medicine distinct, even more than its needles
and herbs, is its metaphysics (assumptions about reality),
epistemology (ways of acquiring knowledge), and ideology (system
of beliefs and values), all of which nd their expression in the Taoist
imperatives of preserving life and living in accord with nature. To
the extent that we learn to live with nature—with our own nature,
each other, and the earth—we have freedom, power, and purpose
and can enjoy life. To the extent that we do not, we suer. For us,
the ethic of Chinese medicine is to assist us in this striving. OceanofPDF.comI
THEORY
OceanofPDF.comOur Journey East: Exploring Foreign TerritoryCHAPTER ONE
OUR JOURNEY  EAST: EXPLORING  FOREIGN
TERRITORY
Lying motionless, gazing at a chart on the wall showing streams
of force  connec ting the little toe with the corner of the eye in a
web of continu ous loops, I feel my breath soften and my vision
sharpen
Delicate pins protrude from my elbow, ankle, and knee. My
arms and legs are ooded by tiny rivulets of current. It’s not
like a hypodermic needle that injects a foreign substance—what
I’m feeling is simply more of myself. It’s strange, in the sense of
odd and unfamiliar, but as a sensation not unpleasant. In fact,
the edges of my mouth are cradling a silly smile. The skin is stretched less tightly over my bony frame as my
pores relax. I sense movement as I lie quiet, aware of impulse
within my mind at rest. Thoughts tumble into consciousness,
roll over, and shue o. With my eyes closed, and perception directed inward,
simultaneous layers of activity play like instruments in concert
with each other. I am the composer and the composed, the
musician and the listener, the instrument and its player. SUBTLE YET PALPABLE, MY INITIAL ENCOUNTER WITH ACUPUNCTURE LEFT me
tantalized by mystery and promise. Mystery, in that tiny needles
could extend my eld of awareness and completely alter the state ofmy being. Promise, in that by burrowing into the conceptual soil of
this system, I could deepen my self-understanding. As the daughter of a surge on and the granddaughter  of two
surgeons, my early life was steeped in the cauldron of medicine
brewed over several generations. Enthusiasm for healing was
contagious, and I became infected. As a child I was impressed by my
father’s devoti on and satisfaction. He rushed to the hospital day or
night to opera te on a man lacerated in a motorcycle accident or a
child threatened by a ruptured appendix. Lives would have been lost
without his heroic intervention. The role of doctor and the appeal of medicine came naturally—
but why Chinese medicine? The ideology of Chinese medicine
immediately captivated me by its stark contrast to the perspective of
Western medical science. I had never been comfortable thinking of
myself in my father’s language of electrolytes and blood-g as ratios, a
collection of quantities and statistics. The Chinese medical
vocabulary contained metaph ors from nature like Wood


 Gregory Bateson, Fritjof Capra says, “From the
systems point of view, life is not a substance or a force, and mind
is not an entity interacting with matter. Both life and mind are
manifestations of the same set of systemic properties, a set of
processes that represent the dynamics of self-organizatio n” (The
Turning Point, 290). Bioenergetic psycho logist Stanley Keleman
emphatically argues that consciousness is not separable from our
biological experience: “Life makes shapes. These shapes are part
of an organizing process that embodies emotions, thoughts, and
experiences into a structure. This structure, in turn, orders the
events of existence.…  Feeling s are the glue that hold us together,
yet they are based upon anatomy.…  Without anatomy, emotions
do not exist. Feelings have a somatic architecture.…  Existence is atribute to how life organizes living forms. To be an individual is
to follow the urges of one’s own form, and to learn its unique
rules of organi zation.…  Each of us is a process, a whole made up
of living events with an urge toward organization.…  Human form
as a whole is made up of living events just as the universe  is made
up of living sub-systems” (Emotional Anatomy  [Berkeley, Calif:
Center Press, 1985], xi–1). And mythologist Joseph Campbell
says, “A mythology is not an ideology. It is not something
projected from the brain, but something experienced from the
heart, from recognitions of identities behind or within the
appearances of nature  … framing its community to accord with
an intuited order of nature and … conducting individuals through
the ineluctable psychophysiological stages of transformat ion of a
human lifetime” (The Inner Reaches of Outer Space  [New York:
Alfred van der Marck, 1985], 17–20). 3. We began with the ancient rudiments of psychological inference
that already exist in correspondence thinking: the sensory,
mental, and emotional mani festations of Organ Network  function
as well as the dynamic activity associated with the seasons (for
example, the Liver corresponds with visual clarity, purposeful
thinking, and volatile reactions—it also corresponds with the
arousing, initiatory, and changeable activity of spring), asking
ourselves, What is the organizing principle that links all aspects
(season, color, sound, organ, tissue, emotion, climate, faculties) of
each of the Five Phases? And can we use these ve so-called
organizing principles as a set of constructs to invent a typology of
human character and physique that describes the people we
know? 4. In A Short History of Chinese  Philosophy, Fung Yu-Lan points out a
dierence in social and cultural values, currently and historically:
Western civilization is a seafaring, exploring civilization, and
Chinese civilization is a land-based, continuity-pr eserving
civilization. In the former, the qualities of the uniqu e heroic
pioneering individual are mythologized, whereas in the latter the
qualities of the conformin g and adaptive lineage-up holdingindividual are revered. (Fung Yu-Lan, A Short History of Chinese
Philosophy. New York: Free Press, 1948.) 5. Constitutional typing classies people according to an established
set of criteria. The concept of constitution incorporates and
synthesizes knowledge about the composition, structure,
formation, and organization of human mental and physiologic
process. Historically many typological systems have been devised
to explain the formation and disintegration of human character
and structure. The Galenic medicine of ancient Greece classied
people accord ing to the four humors: sanguine, choleric,
phlegmatic, and melanchol ic. Eclectic physicians in the late
nineteenth century sorted people as constitutionally strong
(sthenic) or weak (asthenic). East Indian Ayurvedic medicine
catalogs people according to the three doshas: air (vatta), bile
(kapha), and mucus (pitta). Each of these systems uses what is
perceived to be a set of fundamental principles. 6. We have reinterpreted into our own conceptual language the
meaning of psychospiritual faculties classically associated with
each Phase ; thus Fire is associated with Shen (Transcendent Mind),
Earth  with Yi (Intellect or Self-Aware Mind), Metal  with Po
(Primitive or Subconscious Mind), Water  with Zhi (Instinctual or
Collective Unconscious), and Wood  with Hun (Ego or Executive
Mind). 7. Carl Jung states, “I have long been struck by the fact that besides
the many individual dierences in human psychology there are
also typical dierences.…  I must presume unduly upon the
goodwill of the reader if I may hope to be rightly understood. It
would be relatively simple if every reader knew to which category
he belonged. But it is often very dicult to nd out whether a
person belongs to one type or the other, especially in regard to
oneself. In respect of one’s own personality one’s judgment is as a
rule extraordin arily clouded. This subjective clouding of judgment
is particularly common becau se in every pronounced type there is
a special tendency which is biologically purposive since it strives
constantly to maintain the psychic equilibrium. The compensationgives rise to secondary characteristics, or secondary types, which
present a picture that is extremely dicult to interpret”
(Psychological Types  [Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
1978], 3). We know that people share similarities that set them apart from
other people, but we also know that these same people compared
with one another will reveal important dierences that make us
wonder whether or not they really were so alike to begin with. This is the dilemma of any typology: to make true generalizations
about the various expressions of human nature without ignoring
the individual dierences that are essential in understanding each
person’s unique character. No typology will be able to “explain”
all of the idiosyncrasies of a particular person: its truths are broad
and relative, not specic and absolute. We come back to the
statement of general sema ntics, that “the map is not the
territory,” merely a device to get us to the neighborhood that we
wish to explore. So, within the loose categories of our Five-Phase
typology— Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water  types, with
exaggerated  and collapsed  patterns—we  are able to make some
useful statements about people that are both explanatory and
predictive, such as what is the general nature of their process of
development in health and disease, and what kinds of
predicaments they are likely to encounter in the future. This is not
a method of divination—it is much more like a road map that
indicates cities, towns, and intersections along your route of
travel or like an almanac that indicates probable seasonal  weather
conditions and ora and fauna that you may encounter. It is very
often wise to consider this kind of information because it enables
us to make intelligent choices as we move through our lives
rather than “ying by the seat of our pants.” These human maps
help us form strategies for conscious living rather than simply
reacting to events as they happen to us. 8. Nathan Sivin, in Traditional Medicine in Contemporary China,
quotes Ko Hung (c. A.D. 320): “A human body is the counterpart of
a state. The placement of the [organs within the] thorax andabdomen is like that of buildings [in a compound]. The
arrangement of the limbs is like that of suburbs and outlying
districts. The articulation of the bones and joints is like [the
organization of] ocials in the civil service. The spirit [for
example, the body’s gover ning vitalities, Shen] is like the
monarch; the xue [Blood ] is like the ministers; the qi is like the
people. Thus we know that one who keeps his own body in order
can keep a state in order. Loving care for one’s people is what
makes it possible to keep the body intact. When the people are
dispersed the state perishes; when the qi [is] exhausted the body
dies. What is dead cannot be brought to life; what has perished
cannot be preserved. Becau se all this is so, the perfected man
allays catastro phe before it happens, and cures illness before it
has developed. He treats it in advance rather than chasing to
catch up after it has passed  him by. One’s subjects are hard to
nurture, easy to endanger; one’s qi is dicult to keep pure, easily
sullied. That is why one cultivates a majestic virtue in order to
protect one’s lands, and gets rid of desires in order to preserve
one’s vitalities.” Sivin points out that the physician’s role is to
mediate between the cosmic  and somatic, just as the emperor’s
mission was to mediate between the cosmic and political orders. He says, “The analogy between the body and state implies that
the conditions for normality are the same in both” (


	use	muscle	testing	to	sort	out	the	content
of	one’s	spiritual	library. Put	the	books	that	allow	one	to	go	weak	on	one	side
and	the	ones	that	make	one	go	strong	on	the	other. It	is	highly	educative. It	is	very	important	to	remember	that	it	is	an	impersonal	fact	that	the
consciousness	of	the	seeker	is	naïve	and	has	no	means	of	discovering	truth
from	falsehood. Avoid	the	attractive	but	irrelevant. There	are	astral	realms
and	universes	without	number,	each	with	its	own	teachers,	masters,	spiritual
hierarchy,	and	belief	systems. Many	are	quite	intriguing. The	unwary	can	be
easily	entrapped	by	these	fascinating	and	esoteric	doctrines;	however,	the
seeker	of	enlightenment	will	remember	that	the	ultimate	state	is	not	reachable
via	the	levels	of	form. Many	people	think	they	ought	to	be	involved	in	spiritual	endeavor	but	are
intimidated	by	what	appears	to	be	complexity,	rituals,	requirements,
sacrifices,	commitments,	complicated	readings,	dogma,	and	money. Some
spiritual	groups	even	insist	that	the	applicant	become	‘initiated’	and	go
through	strange	ceremonies,	pledges,	and	agreements. Proprietary	groups
have	mandatory	attendance,	training	courses,	and	the	payment	of	many	fees. In	reality,	there	is	nothing	one	has	to	join,	do,	or	study. There	are	no	rules,
regulations,	or	requirements;	there	are	no	rituals	or	strange	garb,	and	no	odd
breathing	exercises	or	postures	are	necessary. Many	new-age	groups	sound	less	demanding	but	rely	on	misleading
sources	of	information. There	is	emphasis	on	strange	garb,	odd	diets,	weird
headdresses,	and	all	manner	of	necklaces,	symbols,	card	readings,	psychics,
channelings,	mediums,	chantings,	and	mantras. It	is	best	to	beware	of	and
avoid	all	manipulation	of	energies,	light	fields,	mystical	visualizations,	colors,
mystical	numbers,	signs,	and	‘ancient	secret	teachings’. Some	misleading
figures	claim	special	private	instructions	from	God	and	become	self-
proclaimed	prophets	and	visionaries. It	is	simple	to	see	through	all	this	with	a
simple	muscle	test. These	distractions	all	rely	on	form	and	specialness. The	whole	field	takeson	a	carnival-like	atmosphere,	with	reference	to	spaceships,	UFOs,
extraterrestrials,	and	doomsday	prophecies. All	these	aspects	are	mistakenly
labeled	as	spiritual	and	tend	to	be	accepted	at	face	value. One	is	easily	misled
into	the	astral	circus	thinking	that	it	is	‘spiritual’. The	whole	new-age
community	becomes	enamored	of	an	endless	array	of	‘babas’,	‘masters’,	and
legendary	figures,	most	of	whom	cause	one	to	go	weak	with	muscle	testing. Research	reveals	that	many	famous	gurus	have	sold	out	spiritual	integrity	for
power	over	others	and	delusions	of	grandeur.CHAPTER	10
The	Nature	of	God
Introduction
Although	it	may	seem	like	putting	the	cart	before	the	horse,	it	serves	the
spiritual	aspirant	to	know	something	of	the	destination	in	order	to	avoid	being
led	off	track	by	the	fallacious. Error	is	rampant	and	often	pervasive	by	the
sheer	masses	of	people	who	follow	erroneous	and	misleading	concepts	and
proselytize	error. To	know	God	via	direct	experience	is	extremely	rare. Enlightenment
occurs	to	less	than	one	person	in	more	than	ten	million	people. True	teachers
are	few	and	pretenders	abound. If	the	masses	were	headed	in	the	right
direction,	sainthood	and	enlightenment	would	be	common. They	are	not. The
Buddha	said,	“Put	no	head	above	your	own. Follow	the	true	teachings	only.”
The	true	way	is	simple	and	direct. The	Qualities	of	Divinity
This	knowledge	is	important	to	comprehend	so	that	one	can	quickly
discern	what	God	is
not
. Many	religions	teach	what	God	is
not
	in	the	form	of
misunderstanding	and	distortions	of	truth	that	occur	because	of	the	ego’s
misinterpretations	and	projection	of	anthropomorphic	perceptions. To	know
what	God	is	and	to	have	a	tool	available	that	can	calibrate	levels	of	truth	is	to
be	very	well	prepared	indeed	for	what	can	be	at	times	a	difficult	journey	or
process. God	is	everywhere	present,	including	the	here	and	now. God	is	not
elsewhere,	such	as	only	in	a	distant	heaven	or	in	the	future	so	as	to	be
available	only	when	one	gets	to	heaven. The	presence	of	God	is	thus	available
to	everyone	all	the	time. To	realize	this	is	just	a	matter	of	awareness. It	is	said
that	without	the	help	of	a	guru,	savior,	or	avatar,	this	awareness	is	unlikely	to
occur	in	the	lifetime	of	most	people,	which	may	be	true. God	is	beyond	perception,	duality,	positionality,	or	having	parts. God	is
beyond	all	opposites,	such	as	good	and	bad,	right	and	wrong,	win	and	lose. Like	the	sun,	God	shines	equally	on	all. God’s	love	is	not	reserved	for	the
favored	few. It	is,	however,	experienced	directly	only	by	the	few,	but	it	does
shine	through	the	clouds	via	the	love	we	experience	with	others,	including
even	pets	and	nature. The	degree	to	which	one	experiences	the	presence	ofGod’s	love	varies	markedly	from	one	person	to	another,	depending	on	one’s
level	of	consciousness. The	presence	of	God	is	the	quintessence	of	profound	peace,	stillness,	and
love. It	is	overwhelming	in	its	profundity. It	is	totally	enveloping,	and	the	love
is	so	powerful	that	it	dissolves	any	remaining	‘non-love’	held	by	the	residual
ego. Like	empty	space	that	is	unsullied	by	its	content,	or	water	that	is
unaffected	by	the	fish	that	swim	through	it,	the	Reality	of	God	is	beyond,	yet
within,	all	form. Like	space,	it	is	equally	present	in	the	objects	therein. That	which	is	omnipotent,	omniscient,	and	omnipresent	is	not	vulnerable
to	threat	or	emotional	upset;	thus,	God	is	not	prone	to	revenge,	jealously,
hatred,	violence,	vanity,	egotism,	or	the	need	for	adulation	or	compliments. The	beneficiary	of	worshipping	is	the	worshipper. God	is	totally	and
absolutely	complete	and	has	no	needs	or	desires. God	is	not	unhappy	or	upset
if	you	have	never	heard	of	him	or	do	not	believe	in	him. Many	of	the	old-world	descriptions	of	God	are	actually	reprehensible	and
figments	of	man’s	guilty	projections	of	fear. Primitives	thought	that	every
storm	meant	that	God	was	angry	and	needed	sacrifices	to	calm	down. Volcanoes	also	indicated	that	God	was	angry. The	ego	demands	explanations
and	looks	for	‘causes’. God	was	therefore	rationalized	to	be	the	‘cause’	of
earthly	events	that	created	fear,	such	as	earthquakes,	famine,	floods,
pestilence,	storms,	drought,	barrenness,	or	ill	health. God	was	considered	the
great	punitive	enforcer	as	well	as	the	g


ect of nar rowing your awar eness. Wholeness, it tur ns out, is the same as ﬁnding your sour ce. There is no division at the sour ce. You don’t have to conquer
every aspect of yourself that is tinged with darkness (which
would be impossible in any case). Become who you r eally
are, and fr om that moment on darkness is no longer
anything you can identif y with. You ar e living near the sour ce of consciousness when the
following ar e true:
You ar e at peace. You cannot be shak en from your center. You have self -knowledge. You empathize without judgment. You see yourself as part of the whole. You ar e not in the world. The world is in you. Your actions spontaneously beneﬁt you. Your desir es manifest easily, without friction or struggle. You can perfor m intense action with detachment. You ar e not personally invested in any outcome.You know how to sur render. The r eality of God is visible everywher e.
The best possible time is the pr esent. Wholeness Is Beyond the Shadow
Human beings have fought against the shadow for untold
centuries, but as far as I have ever discover ed, it has never
been defeated. The only ones who conquer the shadow
don’t ﬁght it; they transcend it. When you transcend, you go
beyond. In everyday life we transcend all the time. F or
example, when a mother sees her young child being crank y
and demanding, she doesn’t meet the child on those
grounds. She r ealizes that he’s tir ed and needs to sleep. What has she done? She has transcended the level of the
problem, moving to a diﬀer ent level to ﬁnd the solution. This
gives rise to a spiritual truth: the level of the pr oblem is
never the level of the solution. Instinctively we know this, yet applying it brings us to
grief. Our fantasies for ce us to ﬁgur e out which side is good
and which is bad, in hopes that if we choose the winning
side, victory will be total. It never is. Every dilemma has two
sides. Every war fought in the name of God depends on an
illusion, because the other side r elies on God just as much. (Has any ar my adopted the slogan, “V ictory is ours because
God is not on our side”?) The enemies of transcendence
play right into the hands of the shadow. You ar e choosing
not to transcend when you struggle at the level of the
problem. Consider the following:
You have a chr onic pain. Instead of going to the doctor,
you tak e mor e painkillers.You hear that someone dislik es you. Y ou ﬁnd r easons to
dislik e that person. Your child is ﬁghting with another child at school. Y ou
are certain that your child is in the right. You hear that a couple is getting a divor ce. You choose
sides. An evangelist comes to your door pr eaching a new
religion. Y ou slam the door in her face, because your
God is the right one. These ar e all instances in which the option to transcend has
been r ejected, and since these ar e such common situations,
it’s not har d to see how the shadow gains power. In each
case, one side has been labeled good and the other bad. Someone is made wr ong, so that you can feel right. Being
judgmental is validated as a healthy way to view the world. The pr ocess of escaping the fog of illusion begins when you
realize that no one is beneﬁting e xcept the shadow. You will
never be right enough, victorious enough, or virtuous
enough to dispel the anger, r esentment, and fear that ar e
engender ed in the people you have made wr ong. Once you
see this, transcendence becomes a viable option. Y ou start
looking for the level of the solution rather than the level of
the pr oblem. Wholeness R esolves All Conﬂicts
I wish that the wor d “transcend” didn’t come loaded with
mystical connotations. When you r ealize that you can “go
beyond” in any situation, transcending comes down to
earth. Conﬂict is the natur e of duality. Resolving conﬂicts is
the natur e of wholeness. This is only natural. When you
aren’t just black or white, good or bad, light or dark, but
both sides at once, conﬂict melts away. The ﬁrst step is themost important. Shif t your allegiance away fr om duality. Quit labeling, blaming, and judging. Give up fantasies of
showing the world that you ar e right and others ar e wrong. Spiritual teachers have oﬀer ed this advice for centuries. Remember what the V edas pr oclaim: “Y ou ar e not in the
world. The world is in you.” Jesus taught that the kingdom of
heaven is within. Ther e has been no lack of teachings about
the path to unity. But people don’t heed these teachings, because the
invisible world holds too much inﬂuence, much of it dark. Wholeness isn’t r eal until the hidden conﬂicts in your life ar e
resolved. L et me outline these conﬂicts in ascending or der,
beginning at the most basic level, such as what a helpless
child might e xperience. Each conﬂict becomes mor e diﬃcult
than the one befor e, until we r each the level of spiritual
conﬂict, which is lik e a war inside your soul:
The conﬂict between being safe and being unsafe. The conﬂict between love and fear. The conﬂict between desir e and necessity. The conﬂict between acceptance and r ejection. The conﬂict between the One and the many. These conﬂicts ensnar e everyone, e xtending far beyond
the individual. Think of the countries that pr oclaim peace,
but feel so unsafe that their r eal ener gies go to ar maments
and defense. They haven’t r esolved the basic pr oblem of
how to feel safe. Think of the times you have wanted to
express love to someone, but felt afraid and vulnerable. Y ou
are in the same position as war ring factions in a civil war
who cannot embrace each other as one people. Conﬂict is
entangled in everything, fr om relationships to inter national
diplomacy.Safe V ersus Unsafe
The solution: Be established in your true self. What does it tak e to feel safe in an uncertain world that is
beyond your contr ol? The gr eat sages and teachers based
their answer on the fundamental axiom that duality is
unsafe and wholeness is safe. This is one of the gr eat
forgotten lessons. Many people work desperately to be safe
by building up their defenses. They wall themselves oﬀ fr om
the scarier elements of society. They cushion their e xistence
with money and possessions. They lock the doors and pray
that some unseen catastr ophe doesn’t strik e. These tactics
derive fr om a primitive belief that says that if your body is
safe fr om har m, you ar e safe. P erhaps we inherited this
predisposition; per haps it suits our materialistic way of life. People in past ages didn’t feel safe unless the gods, or God,
approved their actions. T o that end, they would tolerate
being impoverished as long as or ganized r eligion told them
that their souls wer e assur ed of salvation. The moder n view is that safety is psychological. T o be safe
in the world, you must ﬁnd the inner k ey to safety. Houses,
money, and possessions ar e irrelevant. In fact, some of the
most insecur e people ar e the ones who feel driven to
excesses of wealth and success. The k ey to feeling safe
psychologically is elusive. F reudian psychology holds that
parenting in the ﬁrst thr ee years deter mines how safe a
child feels gr owing up. Jungian psychology holds that feeling
unsafe must be r ooted in the collective psyche and
speciﬁcally in the shadow, with its shar ed fund of fear and
anxiety. But if you look at the r esults of a century of
therapy, the psychological answer has bar ely work ed in
either case. So much insight and brilliance led to little mor e
than the rise of P rozac and a generation of therapists who
spend most of their time writing pr escriptions for drugs.You will feel safe when you discover that you have a cor e
self. It exists at your sour ce, as we saw pr eviously. At the
source ther e is no division, and ther efore the e xternal world
can’t thr eaten the inner world. Anxiety needs an e xternal
focus, whether it’s the memory of some past trauma or a
free-ﬂoating fear that cr eates dr ead simply because what
comes ne xt is not known. Y our cor e self is stable and
permanent; ther efore it has nothing to fear fr om


 reality or the truth. Dogma s are collective conceptual
prisons. And the strange thing is that people love their prison cells because they
give them a sense of security and a false sense of “I know. ”

Nothing has inflicted more suffering on humanity th an its dogmas. It is true that
every dogma crumbles sooner or later, because reali ty will eventually disclose its
falseness; however, unless the basic delusion of it  is seen for what it is, it will be
replaced by others. What is this basic delusion. Identification with th ought. ***
Spiritual awakening is awakening from the dream of thought. ***

The realm of consciousness is much vaster than thou ght can grasp. When you no
longer believe everything you think, you step out o f thought and see clearly that the
thinker is not who you are. ***

The mind exists in a state of “not enough” and so i s always greedy for more. When
you are identified with mind, you get bored and res tless very easily. Boredom
means the mind is hungry for more stimulus, more fo od for thought, and its hunger
is not being satisﬁed. When you feel bored, you can satisfy the mind’s hun ger by picking up a magazine,
making a phone call, switching on the TV, surfing t he web, going shopping, or —
and this is not uncommon — transferring the mental sense of lack and its need for
more to the body and satisfy it briefly by ingestin g more food. Or you can stay bored and restless and observe what  it feels like to be bored and
restless. As you bring awareness to the feeling, th ere is suddenly some space and
stillness around it, as it were. A little at first,  but as the sense of inner space grows,
the feeling of boredom will begin to diminish in in tensity and significance. So even
boredom can teach you who you are and who you are n ot. You discover that a “bored person” is not who you a re. Boredom is simply a
conditioned energy movement within you. Neither are  you an angry, sad, or fearful
person. Boredom, anger, sadness, or fear are not “y ours,” not personal. They are
conditions of the human mind. They come and go. Nothing that comes and goes is you. “I am bored. ” Who knows this. “I am angry, sad, afraid.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What is the role of a true spiritual teacher, according to Eckhart Tolle?,
A: A true spiritual teacher does not have anything to teach in the conventional sense, but rather helps you remove what separates you from your true nature and the truth of who you already are.
Q: What is the purpose of the book "Stillness Speaks"?,
A: The purpose of the book is to help you recognize the stillness within yourself and realize that it is the essence of your being.
Q: What is the main difference between the ancient sutras and the writings in this book?,
A: The ancient sutras are not accessible to a specific religion or spiritual tradition, whereas the writings in this book are immediately accessible to all humanity.
Q: What is the ultimate goal of the ego, according to Eckhart Tolle?,
A: The ultimate goal of the ego is to maintain its own existence and sense of self, and to justify its own existence through the external world.
Q: What is the key to a harmonious and fulfilling relationship, according to the author?,
A: The key is to acknowledge and appreciate the existence of the other person, and to recognize that they are not just a means to an end, but rather a part of the interconnected web of life.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>The possibility
of knowing who we are beyond name and form, the dim ension of the transcendent,
disappears from our lives because death is the open ing into that dimension. ***

People tend to be uncomfortable with endings, becau se every ending is a little
death. That’s why in many languages, the word for “ good-bye” means “see you again.”

Whenever an experience comes to an end–a gathering of friends, a vacation, your
children leaving home–you die a little death. A “fo rm” that appeared in your
consciousness as that experience dissolves. Often t his leaves behind a feeling of
emptiness that most people try hard not to feel, no t to face. If you can learn to accept and even welcome the end ings in your life, you may find
that the feeling of emptiness that initially felt u ncomfortable turns into a sense of
inner spaciousness that is deeply peaceful. By learning to die daily in this way, you open your self to Life. ***

Most people feel that their identity, their sense o f self, is something incredibly
precious that they don’t want to lose. That is why they have such fear of death. It seems unimaginable and frightening that “I” coul d cease to exist. But you
confuse that precious “I” with your name and form a nd a story associated with it. That “I” is no more than a temporary formation in t he field of consciousness. As long as that form identity is all you know, you are not aware that this
preciousness is your own essence, your innermost se nse of I Am, which is
consciousness itself. It is the eternal in you–and that’s the only thing you cannot
lose. ***

Whenever any kind of deep loss occurs in your life– such as loss of possessions,
your home, a close relationship; or loss of your re putation, job, or physical
abilities–something inside you dies. You feel dimin ished in your sense of who you
are. There may also be a certain disorientation. “W ithout this...who am I?”

When a form that you had unconsciously identified w ith as part of yourself leaves
you or dissolves, that can be extremely painful. It  leaves a hole, so to speak, in the
fabric of your existence. When this happens, don’t deny or ignore the pain or  the sadness that you feel. Accept that it is there. Beware of your mind’s tend ency to construct a story around
that loss in which you are assigned the role of vic tim. Fear, anger, resentment, or self-pity are the emotions that go with that role. Then become aware of what lies
behind those emotions as well as behind the mind-ma de story: that hole, that empty
space. Can you face and accept that strange sense o f emptiness? If you do, you may
find that it is no longer a fearful place. You may be surprised to find peace
emanating from it. Whenever death occurs, whenever a life form dissolv es, God, the formless and
unmanifested, shines through the opening left by th e dissolving form. That is why
the most sacred thing in life is death. That is why  the peace of God can come to you
through the contemplation and acceptance of death. ***

How short-lived every human experience is, how flee ting our lives. Is there
anything that is not subject to birth and death, an ything that is eternal? Consider this: if there were only one color, let us  say blue, and the entire world and
everything in it were blue, then there would be no blue. There needs to be
something that is not blue so that blue can be reco gnized; otherwise, it would not
“stand out,” would not exist. In the same way, does it not require something that  is not fleeting and impermanent
for the fleetingness of all things to be recognized? In other words: if everything,
including yourself, were impermanent, would you eve n know it? Does the fact that
you are aware of and can witness the short-lived na ture of all forms, including your
own, not mean that there is something in you that i s not subject to decay? When you are twenty, you are aware of your body as strong and vigorous; sixty
years later, you are aware of your body as weakened  and old. Your thinking too
may have changed from when you were twenty, but the  awareness that knows that
your body is young or old or that your thinking has  changed has undergone no
change. That awareness is the eternal in you–consci ousness itself. It is the formless
One Life. Can you lose It? No, because you are It. ***

Some people become deeply peaceful and almost lumin ous just before they die, as
if something is shining through the dissolving form. Sometimes it happens that very ill or old people be come almost transparent, so to
speak, in the last few weeks, months, or even years  of their lives. As they look at you, you may see a light shining through their eyes. There is no psychological
suffering left. They have surrendered and so the pe rson, the mind-made egoic
“me,” has already dissolved. They have “died before  they died” and found the deep
inner peace that is the realization of the deathles s within themselves. ***

To every accident and disaster there is a potential ly redemptive dimension that we
are usually unaware of. The tremendous shock of totally unexpected, imminen t death can have the effect of
forcing your consciousness completely out of identi fication with form. In the last
few moments before physical death, and as you die, you then experience yourself
as consciousness free


 on the skin or dri nk that prom otes heal ing or fi ght disease i n the body. Silver
has been used for t housands of y ears i n alternative healing pract ices and i n East ern m edicine. Colloidal
silver also has ant i-fungal  and ant i-viral propert ies, and pl ay funct ion on t he immune sy stem. Colloidal silver was in com mon use until 1938. Peopl e use to put silver m oney in m ile and other
solutions t o keep t hem fresh at  room  temperature. B efore t o 1938, col loidal silver was used as important
antibiotic. A letter from  the Food and Drug Adm inistration (FDA) st ates: "These product s may cont inue t o
be marketed. as long as they are advert ised and l abeled for t he sam e use as i n 1938 and as l ong as t hey
are m anufact ured i n the ori ginal manner. " (9/ 13/1991). Som e of the manufact uring methods used before
1938 are still used today (Natural Health  and Longevity Resource Center, 2006). The argyria can be happened fol lowing the use of di etary suppl ements cont aining col loidal silver
protein. Gul branson et  al observed a pat ient who was using a silver-cont aining product  for col d and al lergy
prophy laxis. They  reviewed the past and present  medicinal roles of si lver and i nclude a di fferent ial
diagnosi s for argy ria. The hy perpi gmentation of ar gyria was usual ly perm anent, and i t followed a sun-
exposed distribution. This case report  highlighted the pot ential for t oxicity following the use of di etary
suppl ements and dem onstrates the importance of physician inquiry regardi ng alternative medicines. Finally, they exam ine the limited rol e of the Food and Drug Adm inistration (FDA) i n regul ating al ternative
medicines m arketed as di etary suppl ements (Gul branson, 2000). 74
Journal  of Am erican Sci ence, 3(3), 2007, M a Hongbao, Horng Dengnan, C herng Shen, C olloidal Silver

Principle Applica tion
Colloidal silver is pure, metallic silver (not a chem ical com pound)  of particles 15 atom s or fewer, each
with a positive electric ch arge, and attach ed to a m olecule of simple protein. Orally, colloidal silver has
been used to treat ear infections, em physem a, bronch itis, fungal infections, Lym e disease, Rosacea, sinus
infections, stom ach ulcers, yeast inf ections, chroni c fatigue syndrom e, AIDS, and t ubercul osis, etc. It has
been used orally for antibacterial, food poisoning, a llergies, appendicitis, arthritis, blood parasites, bubonic
plague, can cer, ch olera, co litis, cystitis, co njunctivitis, ato pic dermatitis (crad le cap ), diabetes, dysentery,
eczem a, gastritis, and gonorrhea. It also has been used  to prom ote rapid heali ng and subdue inflam mation,
to treat gum  diseases, t o improve digestion, and to prevent  flu and col ds. Ot her uses i nclude i mpetigo; hay
fever; herpes; leprosy; leukem ia; lupus; lymphangitis; malaria; m eningitis; parasitic infections; pneum onia;
pneum ococci; psoriasis; prostatitis; rhinitis; ringworm ; scarlet fever; and septic conditions of the eyes, ears,
mouth, and throat. It has been also  used for Salm onella, sep ticem ia, sh ingles, sk in can cer, syp hilis,
tonsillitis, to xemia, tren ch foot, viruses, warts, an d yeast in fectio ns. Colloidal silv er has been used during
pregnancy  to aid the baby's growt h and heal th as well as the m other's delivery and recovery. Topically,
colloidal silver has been used for acne, burns, ey e infections, fungal  infections, t hroat infections, skin
infections, and St aphy lococcus i nfections. Colloidal silver near a vi rus, fungus, bact erium or any  other si ngle cel l pathogen di sables its oxygen
metabolism enzy me. Within a few m in, the pat hogen suffocat es and di es, and i s cleared out  of the body  by
the im mune, lym phatic and elim ination system s. Norm al pharm aceutical antib iotics possibly destroy
anim als’ enzym es, but colloid al silver leaves these tissu e-cell enzym es intact, as th ey are radically different
from the enzymes of primitive sin gle-celled  life. So  that co lloidal silv er is safe for humans, reptiles, plants
and other multi-celled  living matter. High concentratio ns of silver do not kill disease g erms more effectiv ely th an the safe range of 3 to 5
parts per million (ppm ). 1 teaspoon of 5 ppm  colloidal silver equals about 25 m icrogram s (mcg) of silver. 1-4 teaspoons per day (25-100 mcg) is generally considered to be a "nut ritional am ount" and is reported to
be safe t o use for ext ended peri ods of t ime. Am ounts higher t han this are general ly consi dered "therapeut ic
amounts" and should only be used peri odically. In cases of illness, natura l health practitioners have often
recom mended taking double or triple the "nutritional amount" for 30 to 45 days, then dropping down to a
smaller maintenance dose. Am ounts from  1-32 ounces per day  have report edly been used i n acut e
condi tions. There are three types of silv er that are lab eled and sold on the market: (1 ) colloidal silv er (ionic silver);
(2) si lver prot ein; (3) true col loidal silver. The t hree types of product s norm ally labeled as “col loidal silver”
can be categorized as ionic silver solutions, silver protein, and true colloidal silv er. Silver is also wi dely used i n the bioassay s (Koshi, 2005). For exam ple, by  Zagoski na’s st udies, fi tness
of dot immuno-anal ysis for detection of Brucella antigens l abeled wi th colloid silver was eval uated. Soluble lipopolysaccharides and protei n-saccharide antigen and corpuscular antigens of  22 Brucella strains
(7 speci es) pat hogeni c for hum ans and ani mals in the S and R  form s were used. The speci ficity of the
method was t ested on 10 het erologous m icroorgani sms whose antigens were closely related. The suggest ed
test system  was sim ple, econom ic, highly sensitive (from 62 thousands to 8 m illion CFU/m l) and specific,
requi res no expensi ve equi pment, and was an al ternative to enzy me immuno-assay  and dot immuno-
analysis with gold immunosol e (Zagoski na, et  al, 2002). In the silver appl ication, the size of si lver is important. As Chairman of Natural-Immunogeni cs Corp. Stephen L. Qui nto, emphasi zed at  3rd International Silver Conference (C hangsha, C hina, Oct ober 20t h-
21st, 2004):  “The si lver hy drosol  we have devel oped present s with almost perfect  dispersi on [in electron
microscopy]. That dispersion dem onstr ates the powerful charge each partic le possesses. Thus isolated, they
have a m ean di ameter of 0. 8 nm  (or 8 Angst roms), al though t hat has been rounded up t o 1 nm  in the
electron m icroscopy lab at the University of Miam i Medical School where such work was recently done. We won’t  quibble over 2 Angst roms. ” (Qui nto, 2004). Research reports on colloidal silver
Multiresistan t bacteria h ave become an important problem in prosthetic joint infectio ns. Their frequent
resistance agai nst gent amicin, whi ch is com monly used i n antibiotic-loaded bone cem ents, makes a new
prophylaxis necessary. In Alt’s st udy, NanoSilver bone cem ent did not show any significant differences
compared to the non-t oxic control group.


. The miracle work er sees that his purpose in
life is to be used in the service of the for giveness of
mankind—to awak en us fr om our collective sleep. The Course tells us: “The Bible says that a deep sleep fell
upon A dam, and nowher e is ther e reference to his waking
up.” So far, ther e has been no “compr ehensive r eawak ening
or rebirth.” W e can all contribute to a global r ebirth to the
extent that we allow ourselves to be awak ened fr om our
own personal dr eam of separation and guilt, to r elease our
own past and accept a new life in the pr esent. It is only
through our own personal awak ening that the world can be
awak ened. W e cannot give what we don’t have. We’re all assigned a piece of the gar den, a cor ner of the
universe that is ours to transfor m. Our cor ner of the
universe is our own life—our r elationships, our homes, our
work, our cur rent cir cumstances—e xactly as they are. Every
situation we ﬁnd ourselves in is an opportunity, perfectly
planned by the Holy Spirit, to teach love instead of fear. Whatever ener gy system we ﬁnd ourselves a part of, it’s our
job to heal it—to purif y the thought for ms by purif ying our
own. It’s never r eally a cir cumstance that needs to change—
it’s we who need to change. The prayer isn’t for God to
change our lives, but rather for Him to change us. That’s the gr eatest miracle, and ultimately the only one:
that you awak en from the dr eam of separation and become
a diﬀer ent kind of person. P eople ar e constantly concer ning
themselves with what they do: have I achieved enough,
written the gr eatest scr eenplay, for med the most powerful
company? But the world will not be saved by another gr eatnovel, gr eat movie, or gr eat business ventur e. It will only be
saved by the appearance of gr eat people. A glass vase is meant to hold water. If mor e water is
poured into the vase than its volume can contain, then the
vase will shatter. So it is with our personalities. The power of
God, particularly at this time, is pouring into us at rapid
pace and high velocity. If our vessel, our vehicle—our
human channel—is not pr epared pr operly thr ough devotion
and deep r everence for life, then the very power that is
meant to save us begins to destr oy us. Our cr eativity, rather
than making us personally powerful, then mak es us
hysterical. That is why cr eative power—God within us—is
experienced as a double-edged swor d: if r eceived with
grace, it blesses us; if r eceived without grace, it drives us
insane. This is one of the r easons why so many cr eative
people have tur ned to a destructive use of drugs: to actually
dull the e xperience of the r eception of God’s power rather
than enhance it. God’s power coming into us, in a cultur e
that had no name for that power or acknowledgment of
genuine spiritual e xperience, so frightened us that we ran to
drugs or alcohol to avoid feeling what was r eally happening. It was only when we wer e stoned that we had the courage
to claim our own e xperience. “Miracles ar e everyone’s right,” says A Course in
Miracles, “but puriﬁcation is necessary ﬁrst.” Impurities—
mental or chemical—pollute the system and desecrate the
altar within. Our vehicle then can’t handle the e xperience of
God. The waters of spirit rush into us, but the vase begins to
crack. It’s not the ﬂow of power we have to work on—God’s
love is alr eady pouring in as fast as we can handle it—but
the pr eparedness with which we r eceive it. A Course in Miracles  likens us to people in a very bright
room who have their ﬁngers in fr ont of their eyes,complaining that it’s dark in her e. The light has come but
we don’t see it. W e don’t r ealize that the pr esent is always a
chance to begin again, a light-ﬁlled moment. W e respond to
light as if it wer e darkness, and so the light tur ns to dark. Sometimes it is only in r etrospect that we can see that we
were given another chance at life, a new r elationship or
whatever, but because we were too busy r eacting to the
past, we missed the opportunity at something radically new. When we’r e truly honest with ourselves, our pr oblem is
not that opportunities for success haven’t appear ed. God is
always e xpanding our possibilities. W e are given plenty of
opportunities, but we tend to under mine them. Our
conﬂicted ener gies sabotage everything. T o ask for another
relationship, or another job, is not particularly helpful if
we’re going to show up in the new situation e xactly as we
showed up in the last one. Until we’r e healed of our inter nal
demons, our fearful mental habits, we will tur n every
situation into the same painful drama as the one befor e.
Everything we do is infused with the ener gy with which we
do it. If we’r e frantic, life will be frantic. If we’r e peaceful, life
will be peaceful. And so our goal in any situation becomes
inner peace. Our inter nal state deter mines our e xperience of
our lives; our e xperiences do not deter mine our inter nal
state. The ter m cruciﬁxion means the ener gy patter n of fear. It
represents the limited, negative thinking of the ego, and
how it always seeks to limit, contradict or invalidate love. The ter m resurrection means the ener gy patter n of love,
which transcends fear by r eplacing it. A miracle work er’s
function is for giveness. In perfor ming our function, we
become channels for r esurrection. God and man ar e the ultimate cr eative team. God is lik e
electricity. A house can be wir ed for it, but if ther e aren’t anylight ﬁxtur es, what good does that do? If God is seen as
electricity, then we ar e His lamps. It doesn’t matter the size
of the lamp, or its shape, or design. All that matters is that it
gets plugged in. It doesn’t matter who we ar e, or what our
gifts are. All that matters is that we ar e willing to be used in
His service. Our willingness, our conviction, give us a
miraculous power. The servants of God bear the imprint of
their Master. Lamps without electricity cast no light, and electricity
without lamps casts no light either. Together, however, they
cast out all darkness. 4. COSMIC ADUL THOOD
“Child of God, you wer e created to cr eate the
good, the beautiful and the holy.”
As we become pur er channels for God’s light, we develop an
appetite for the sweetness that is possible in this world. A
miracle work er is not gear ed towar d ﬁghting the world that
is, but towar d creating the world that could be. Just tr eating the symptom of a pr oblem isn’t r eally
treating it. T ake nuclear bombs, for e xample. If we all work
hard, sign enough petitions and elect new oﬃcials, then we
can ban the bomb. But if we don’t get rid of the hatr ed in
our hearts, what good will that do, ultimately? Our childr en
or our childr en’s childr en will manufactur e a destructive
force mor e powerful than the bomb, if they ar e still car rying
within them enough fear and conﬂict. Everything in the physical universe becomes part of the
journey into fear, or the jour ney back to love, depending on
how it’s used by the mind. What we devote to love, is usedfor love’s purposes. So we work within the worldly illusion,
politically, socially, envir onmentally, etc., but we r ecognize
that the r eal transfor mation of the world comes not fr om
what we’r e doing, but fr om the consciousness with which
we’re doing it. W e’re actually just buying time while the r eal
transfor mation of global ener gies has a chance to kick in. The miracle work er’s purpose is spiritually grand, not
personally grandiose. The high cosmic drama is not your
career, your money, or any of your worldly e xperiences. Your car eer is certainly important, as is your money, your
talent, your ener gy, and your personal r elationships. But
they’r


 s just a  mechanical mental labeling. Because they are  not still,
not pres ent, the y don’ t truly se e the flower, don’ t feel its essence, its
holiness — just as they don’ t know themselves, don’ t feel their own
essence, their own holiness. Because we live in such a mind-dominated culture, most mo dern art,
architecture, music, and literatur e are devoid of beauty, of inner essence,
with ver y few exceptions. The reason is that the people who cre ate those
things ca nnot —  even for a moment — free themselves from their mind. So they are never in touch with  that place within where true creativity
and beauty arise. The mind lef t to itself creates monstrosities, and not
only in art gal leries. Look at our urban landscapes and industrial
wastelands. No civilization has ever produced so much ugliness. REALIZING PURE CONSCIOUSNESS
Is pr esence the same as Being? When you become conscious o f Being, what is really happening is that
Being becomes conscious of itself. When Being becomes conscious of
itself — that’ s presence. Since Being, consciousness, and life are
synonymous, we could say that presence means consciousness becoming
conscious of itself, or life attaining self-consciousness. But don’ t get
attached to the words, and don’ t make an ef fort to understand this. There
is nothing that you need to understand before you can become present. I do understand what you just said, but it seems to imply that Being, the
ultimate transce ndental r eality, is not yet complete, that it is under going
a pr ocess of development. Does God need time for personal gr owth? Y es, but  only as seen from the limited perspective of the m anifested
universe. In the Bible, God declares: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,
and I am the living One.” In the timeless realm where God dwel ls, which
is also your  home, the begin ning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega,
are one, and the essence of everything that ever has been and ever will be
is et ernally present in an unmani fested state of oneness and perfection —
totally beyond anything the human mind can ever imagine or
comprehend. In our world of seemingly separate forms, however,
timeless perfection is an inconceivable concept. Here even
consciousness, w hich is the lig ht emanating from the eternal Source,
seems to be subject to a process of development, but this is du e to our
limited perception. It is not so in absolute terms. Nevertheless, let me
continue to speak for a moment about the evolution of consciousness in
this world. Everything that exists has Bein g, has God-essence, has some d egree of
consciousness. Even a stone has rudimentary consciousness; otherwise, it
would not be, and its atoms and molecules would disperse. Ever ything is
alive. Th e sun, the earth, plants, animals, humans — all are expressions
of consciousness in varying degrees, consciousness manifesting as form. The world arises when consciou sness takes on shapes and forms, thought
forms and material forms. Loo k at the millions of life forms on this
planet alone. In the sea, on land, in the air — and then each life form is
replicated millions of times. T o what end? Is someone or something
playing a game, a game with form? This is what the ancient  seers of
India asked themselves. They saw the world as lila, a kind of divine
game th at God is playing. The individual life forms are obviously not
very imp ortant in this game. In the sea, most life forms don’ t survive for
more tha n a few minutes after being born. The human form turn s to dust
pretty qu ickly to o, and when it is gone it is as if it had never bee n. Is that
tragic or cruel? Only if you create a separate identity for each  form, if
you for g et that its consciousness is God-essence expressing itself in
form. But you d on’ t truly know  th at until you realize your own God-
essence as pure consciousness. If a fish is born in your aquarium and you call him John, write out a birth
certificate, tell him about his f amily history, and two minutes later hegets eate n by another fish — th at’ s tragic. But it’ s only tragic  because
you projected a separate self where there was none. Y ou got hold of a
fraction of a dy namic process, a molecular dance, and made a  separate
entity out of it. Consciousness takes on the disguise of forms until they re ach such
complexity that it completely loses itself in them. In present-day humans,
consciousness is  completely identified with its disguise. It only knows
itself as form an d therefore lives in fear of the annihilation of its  physical
or psyc hological form. This is the egoic mind, and this is where
considerable dysfunction sets in. It now looks as if something had gone
very wro ng som ewhere along the line of evolution. But even this is part
of lila, t he divine gam e. Finally, the pressure of suf fering created by t his
apparent dysfunction forces consciousness to disidentify from form and
awakens it from its dream of for m: It regains self-consciousness, but it is
at a far deeper level than when it lost it. This pro cess is explained by Je sus in his parable of the lost s on, who
leaves h is father ’ s home, squanders his wealth, becomes destitute, and is
then forced by his suf fering to return home. When he does, his father
loves him mor e  than before. The son’ s state is the same as it was before,
yet not the sam e. It has an added dimension of depth. The parable
describes a journey from unconscious perfection, through apparent
imperfection and “evil” to conscious perfection. Can you now se e the deeper and  wider significance of becoming present
as t he watcher of your mind? Whenever you watch the mind, you
withdraw consciousness from mind forms, and it then becomes what we
call the  watcher or the witne ss. Consequently, the watcher — pure
consciousness beyond form — becomes stronger, and the mental
formations beco me weaker. When we talk about watching the mind we
are pers onalizing an event that is truly of cosmic significance: Through
you, consciousn ess is awakening out of its dream of identifica tion with
form and withdrawing from form. This foreshadows, but is already part
of, an event th at is probably still in the distant future as far as
chronological ti me is concerned. The event is called — the en d of the
world.When conscious ness frees itself from its identification with physical and
mental forms, it becomes wh at we may call pure or enlightened
consciousness, or presence. This has already happened in  a few
individuals, and it seems destine d to happen soon on a much lar g er scale,
although there is no absolute guarantee that it will  hap pen. Most h umans
are still in the grip of the egoic mode of consciousness: identified with
their mi nd and run by their mind. If they do not free themselves from
their mind in time, they will be destroyed by it. They will experience
increasing confu sion, conflict, violence, illness, despair, madne ss. Egoic
mind has become like a sinking ship. If you don’ t get of f, you will go
down with it. The collective eg oic mind is the most dangerous ly insane
and dest ructive entity ever to in habit this planet. What do you think will
happen on this planet if human consciousness remains unchanged? Already for most humans, the only respite they find from their own
minds is to occasionally revert to a level of consciousness below thought. Everyone does that every night during sleep. But this also happens to
some e xtent through sex, alcohol, and other drugs that suppress
excessive mind activity. If it weren’ t for alcohol, tranquilizers,
antidepressants, as well as the illegal drugs, which are all consumed in
vast quantities, the insanity of th e human mind would become even more
glaringly obviou s than it is already. I believe that, if deprived of their
drugs, a lar ge part of the p opulation would become a danger to
themselves and others. These drugs, of course, simply keep you  stuck in
dysfunction. Their widespread use only delays the breakdown of the old
mind structures and the emer gence of higher consciousness. While
individual users may get some relief from the daily torture inflicted on
them by their minds, they are prevented from generating enough
conscious presence to rise above thought and so find true liberation. Falling b ack to a level of consc iousness below mind, which is the pre-
thinking level of our distant ancestors and of animals and plants, is not
an optio n for us. There is no wa y back. If the human race is to survive, it
will have to g o on to the next stage. Consciousness is evolving
throughout the universe in billions of forms. So even if we didn’ t make
it, this wouldn’


, and appropriate interventions by supervising health
professionals must be given when necessary. Alcohol
The Gerson Therapy has not often been employed for chronic
alcoholism, but we believe that alcoholics could readily be treated with the
narcotic/sedative-hypnotic/amphetamine addiction protocol described
above. Liver function must be watched carefully, and the warnings that
apply regarding hepatic insuf ficiency or weakness would be appropriately
applied to these unhappy people. Nicotine
No special modification to the Gerson protocol is required for
overcoming nicotine addiction. Some smokers may temporarily call for
mechanical props such as some thing to put into the mouth or hold in the
hands. These props may suffice to replace the physical activity  associated
with smoking. Niacin is a good adjunctive nutrient to take as a food
supplement if there are no contraindicating factors to its use. Some patients
report that niacin provides a similar effect to nicotine. (Niacin’ s actual
chemical compo nent is, afterall, nicotinic acid.) In most cases, nicotineaddiction may be eliminated without any withdrawal symptoms appearing
for the smoker engaging in the Gerson Therapy. This treatment for a smoker ’s habituation or other addictions does work,
although some more generalized explanation might be offered  for further
clarification. Further General Information about Drug Addiction
Unquestionably, the first thoug ht that comes to mind when we think
about drug addiction is what happens on the street, especially in the inner
cities. Surely in the last two decades, the use of street or illegal drugs has
reached frightening levels; but there are other, possibly even more serious
drug addictions for which we have a suggested treatment already. To clarify: an extremely common addiction is that to alcohol—a legal
drug. Some 12 million Americans are known to be confirmed alcoholics
and an untold number of undeclared ones exist as well. Another publicly shared and accepted addiction is the use of another
legal drug: coffee drinking. Starbucks Coffee Shops have built themselves
into a multi-bill ion-dollar business, a major franchise operatio n based on
this addiction to coffee. Worldwide, the public has been fooled into
believing that drinking this muddy, dark-colored beverage is diversional,
nutritional, pleas urable, harmless, and socially acceptable, while in reality it
has none of these attributes. Rather, coffee drinking is a temporary brain
excitant which brings on early fatigue; a hypoglycemic producer, it forces
excesses of insulin into the bloodstream; a deteriorator of arteries,
especially those already advanced toward blood vessel hardening from
atherosclerosis, it blocks blood flow; a potential producer of birth defects,
one can only conjecture as to the number of babies who have paid the price
of their mothers’ addiction. As for the mothers, coffee drinking  is believed
by many  in the holistic medical movement to be the possible source of
breast cancer. Numerous drugs are used for stimulants; others are considered to be
recreational. In view of the terrible damage they do, the recreational  term is
unquestionably criminally misleading. Drugs are also used extensively in medical practice for pain relief. And
here we encount er a delicate line of demarcation between use and becomingaddicted to opioids (morphine  is common). The prescribed opioids are
taken for two reasons: paink illing and as an offshoot, psychological
addiction. At this point, therefore, we need some definitions when speaking
of prescribed drugs. Tolerance  indicates that increasingly heavier dosages have to be used
since the body systems do become accustomed to the drug. And tolerance  is
a contrasting term to physical dependence,  which indicates that withdrawal
symptoms occur if the drug substance is suddenly withdrawn. But addiction
is considered present when, in addition to tolerance and dependence,
psychological dependence  is also present, or the product is compulsively
used for nonmedical purposes.1
We belie ve that a number of addictions, including alcohol and cigarettes,
stem from a basic deficiency. The habituated person is awar e that he is
craving something, often actual ly nutrients, and is not really functioning at
his best level. When he consumes alcohol, cigarettes, or coffee, he feels
either calmer or stimulated to increased physical or mental achievement. When such a person then experiments with heavier drugs, street drugs,
amphetamines, marijuana, and many more, he is easily “hooked” and
cannot stop. One of the main  reasons for this situation of becoming hooked is that the
underlying deficiency has not been solved and the nutrient intake of live
enzymes, vitamins, and minerals remains inadequate. Worse, an alcoholic
may stop eating in favor of drinking and become severely deficient in
nutrients. A person addicted to cigarettes will smoke instead of eating a
nutritious meal, especially when under stress. The Gerson Therapy and Drug Addiction
In addition to the protocol we furnished earlier for specific forms of drug
addiction, we have some other thoughts about Dr. Max Gerson’ s
procedures. The Gerson Therapy has produced some remarkable results in
overcoming addictions, even to cocaine and heroin. When an addicted
patient is given thirteen glasses of freshly pressed vegetable and fruit juices
to drink, his basic craving is satisfied with optimum nutrition, and to his
own surprise, he no longer craves the drug.Yes, withdrawal may occur. When the withdrawal symptoms set in, at a
time when the body tissues begin to release the accumulated drugs from the
cells into the bloodstream, a coffee enema clears the toxicity. The nights
remain the only problem for the first few days. At night, no juices are
served and the patient coming off his or her drug addiction sleeps so that no
detoxifying enemas are taking place. During those first nights of coming off their addictions, the patients tend
to suffer from heavy nightmares  and wake up around 1:00 or 2:00 A.M. They
should then swallow some fruit or juice and get up to take an enema. This
relieves the toxicity and possibl e craving so that the patient can go back to
sleep. The nighttime problem also clears after less than a week. We have
seen excellent results in overc oming addictions, even the heaviest ones
involving not one but multiple drugs. One young man (see the story of Rob in chapter 7) had been into various
heavy drugs and on a particular day he was showing the symptoms. In his
middle thirties, he was lying on the floor, too weak to get up, having lost
some 45 pounds and feeling ready to die. His mother saved him by
providing the foods and juices as well as the enemas of the Gers on Therapy. In a few months, the son gained back 35 pounds and felt like his former
self. He had suffered virtually no withdrawal problems even at the start of
the treatment, and returned to normal life and activity. We see that the Gerson Therap y can also achieve prompt and dramatic
results in smokers and alcohol ics. (See Beata Bishop’ s book A Time to
Heal. )2 One of the Gerson Therapy patients, another young man who is now
thirty-four years old and addicted to cocaine (supposedly the most difficult
drug addiction to overcome), came to a Gerson hospital for treatment. He
reported that all of his close friends had died from cocaine use. This fellow admitted that he was having lung troubles as a result of street
drug use and would surely die within two months if the Gers on Therapy
was unable to help him. He was also a heavy smoker. After becoming a
Gerson patient, the man went through nightmares similar to those we had
observed in others. These were  relieved with a nighttime coffee enema;
thus, he was of f the need for drugs, and smoking cigarettes, within a week. Studies have been completed suggesting that many people are addicted to
simple foods to which they are actually allergic. In his book Diet, Crime
and Delinquency, Alexander Schauss, Ph.D., points out that violent young
criminals between ages eighteen and twenty-one are often addicted to sugarand/or heavy milk consumption to which they are actually allergic. Dr.
Schauss reporte d that when the offending substances were withdrawn and
vitamins and minerals along with an appropriate diet were substituted, these
violent criminals became calm and reasonable.3
Of course the Gerson Therapy is intentionally devoid of foods  that tend
to cause allergies in some people. The organic vegetarian diet, free of
pesticides and chemical additives, achieves the purpose of overcoming
allergies and aller gic reactions. ATHEROSCLEROSIS
Atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis ), or hardening of the arteries, usually
responds excee dingly well to the Gerson protocol. This condition is
eliminated by the antiblocking nutrition present in pure, whole  vegetarian
foods and the detoxification procedures originating in the standard Gerson
protocol. CHRONIC  FATIGUE  SYNDROME
People suffering from the series of symptoms identified as chronic
fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) or chronic fatigue
syndrome (CFS)  get along just fine on the Gerson program, but they should
see significant improvement after a short time, with recovery  after about
nine months. These Gerson treatment participants are allowed to have the
full thirteen glasses of juice daily if desired. CFS patients commonly feel worse after taking enemas in the early
stages of treatment because of toxicity escaping from their body cells. Two


 transforming them. The deeper meaning of any situation is a universal longing for love. All
of us long for it; all of us are looking for it. The miracle occurs when we
realize we ourselves are here to provide it. We can see God’ s love only when we are willing to expres s it. We
cannot find what we are looking for without realizing who we are. I think of
all the years I was struggling so hard to “find God,” not realizing that I
would see His love manifest in my own life only when I sough t to make it
manifest in the lives of others. Any wall we build to keep out others will
keep God out of our conscious awareness. The only way to find His love is
by giving it away. The mystical birth of Jesus is the opening of the heart. Just as Mary
gave birth to the historical Jesus, the mystic Jesus enters the world through
us. He is born any moment that we are willing to give birth to him. He is
born again in any moment of unconditional love. This isn’t simply an
abstract idea; it’ s a practical moment we either do or do not choose. In every moment we are making a choice, whether we make it
consciously or we make it unconsciously. We can either open our heart or
close it, and our lives unfold accordingly. In every instant we are generating
a thought, and every thought will have an ef fect. How often we choose to blame instead of bless, judge instead of accept,
take instead of give. And why? Because we were trained to think that way. The ego constan tly tempts us to separate ourselves off from the rest of the
universe. But the mystic Jesus has the power to override the ego’s dictates,
to save us from our chronic temptation to withhold our love. Choosing to
align with him, we cocreate with God a dif ferent kind of world. Our power to work miracles lies in our choice to think differently. Choosing forgiveness, choosing to extend our perceptions beyo nd the level
of someone’ s guilt, choosing to see ourselves as present in any situation to
be the presence of love, we align our minds with the Mind of God and rise
above the ego. The thinking of the world is no longer like quicksand that
sucks us into it. The vibrations of higher consciousness—that is, thoughts oflove— make us invulne rable to the chaos that dominates the world. In fact,
they make us its transformers. And that is the miracle. A miracle begins as a shift in our thinking, a
change on the causal level of things that then transforms the realm of
effects. Even the tiniest candle casts out darkness. “All expressions of love
are maximal”* (T-3), like a tincture of God’ s power that makes all the
difference.<|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. comDedication
To Mickey Maudlin,
for quiet guidance and the opportunity of a lifetime. OceanofPDF. comEpigraph
You are a perfect creation, and should experience awe only in the Presence of the Creator of
perfection. 4The miracle is therefore a sign of love among equals. 5Equals should not be in awe of
one anothe r because awe implies inequal ity. 6It is therefore an inappropriate reaction to me. 7An
elder brother is entitled to respect for his greater experience, and obedience for his greater wisdom. 8He is also entitled to love because he is a brother, and to devotion if he is devoted. 9It is only my
devotion that entitles me to yours. 10There is nothing about me that you cannot attain. 11I have
nothing that does not come from God. 12The differ ence between us now is that I have nothing else. 13This leaves me in a state which is only potential in you. * (A  Course in Miracles,  Text, 7 )
OceanofPDF. comContents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Preface
Introduction
Chapter One: The Mystic Jesus
Have You Been Saved by JEEZUS. In His Name
What Is the Christ. The Only Story Ever Told
Mary’ s Love
Miracles
The Separation
The Holy Spirit
The Atonement
Enlightenment
Chapter Two: Reflections of Light
Apocalyptic Beginnings
The Power of the Morning
Being Saved
The Destination of EnlightenmentPositively You
More Powerful than All the Powers of the World
The Small Still Voice Within
Prayer
Your Holiness
Cinderella
The Meaning of Now
Chapter Three: The Temples of Relationship
Relationship to God
Relationship to Self
Relationship to Others
Forgiveness
Giving Up Grievances
Relationship to the World
Soul Growth
The Pillars of a Well-Lived Life
Chapter Four: He Did Not Die
Jerusalem
Detroit
Crucifixion
All of It Is Happening Now
Tomb Time
Easter
Violence Against God
The Christ in You Cannot Be Crucified
Sickness
Death
The Crucified World
Chapter Five: Resurrection
The Alchemy of Easter
The Remembrance
If God Is in the Cockpit
He Did Not Ignore
The MountainAwakening from the Dream
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Praise
Also by Marianne W illiamson
Copyright
About the Publisher
OceanofPDF. comPreface
I AM NOT  A Christian scholar, nor am I a Christian. I would not be qualified,
therefore, to write about the Jesus espoused by the ecclesiastic traditions of
the Christian church. Rather, this book  is based on my more than four decades as a student of
A Cours e in Miracles. The Course  is a self-study program of spiritual
psychotherapy based on universal spiritual themes, employing traditional
Christian concepts expressed in nondogmatic, psychotherapeutic ways. It is
a psycho logical training in the relinquishment of a thought system based on
fear in favor of a thought system based on love. I was a young woman in my twenties when I first picked up A Cours e in
Miracles, searchi ng for meaning and purpose in my life, no different from
anyone at that age then or now. I was intrigued by these words in its
introduction:
The Course can ther efore be summed up very simply in this way:
Nothing r eal can be thr eatened. Nothing unr eal exists. Herein lies the peace of God. Though I found those words compelling, I saw the pages of the book
were filled with traditional Christian language. I didn’ t relate to the
Course ’s terminology and simply thought it wasn’ t for me. A year later I was in such emotional turmoil that the terminol ogy in a
book didn’t matter to me, and I picked it up again. I was looking for content
that would soothe my soul and I didn’ t care what the words were. This
wasn’ t about theology, it was about my life. It quickly became clear that the Course  is not a religion but only
psychological guidance in the ways of forgiveness and love. I had always
been interested in universal spiritual concepts, sensing there is one Truth
spoken in many different ways. Many of the universal themes contained in
the Course  I had encountered elsewhere, including in my own religion,
Judaism. But what the Course  had offered me that I hadn’ t found before
were practical ways to apply these concepts to my daily life. From the beginning I was bemused by the fact that no author was
named on the cover of A Course in Miracles. The more I read it, however,
the more I saw an interesting number of statements written in the first
person. “‘No man cometh unto the Father but by me’ does not mean that I am in
any way separate or different from you except in time”* (T-2). * I remember
reading that and thinking, Wait, what. Once I read “I am the Atoneme nt”*
(T-7), I was like, Okay, I get it. As a child I never heard much about Jesus one way or the other. I was
just told we read “the other Bible. ” For Jews, there is a distinc t difference
between a reaction to Jesus and a reaction to Christian ity, whic h should
come as a surprise to no one. Jesus was a Jew; he was one of us. Institutional forces within the Christian religion, on the other hand, have
often been a source of violen t antisemitism and murderous oppression
through millennia. None of that has anything to do with Jesus, however. Christia nity and
Jesus are two distinctly different things. At times, the Christian religion has
been known to uphold the highe st ideals of Jesus, while at other times and
places it decidedly has not. At times, as it says in the Course, “some bitter
idols have been  made of him who came only to be brother to the world”*
(MT-88). My interest in Jesus has never included a desire to convert to the Christian
religion, a fact natural enough to me but that had required an explanation to
my parents. When I first became a student of the Course, they were
understandably perplexed. I remember my mother saying to me haltingly,
“So, help me understand. You’re going to stay in California. and give