 throat. Aching in the chest. Night sweats, especiallyaround the head (Silicea, Nat Mur). Hawking toclear throat. Cough in anemic persons or teethingchildren. Circulatory organs – Intercurrently in most
cases of heart trouble. Poor circulation, with coldextremities. Palpitation of the heart, followed byweakness. Leukemia (excess of white corpusclesin the blood). Back and extremities – Calc Phos, appropri-
ately named “the bone r emedy,” plays an impor-
tant role in disease located in the back andextremities. Curvature of the spine (used in con-junction with mechanical supports). Numbness
and coldness of the limbs. Pains and aching in
the joints. Cold sensations in the limbs, as if
cold water were being poured over them. Pains
in the bones, especially the shinbones. Painworse at night and in cold, damp weather. Rheumatism of the joints and in the backbetween the shoulders; very severe and worseat night or during rest. Lumbago (Ferrum
Phos). Hydroma patella (swelling of the kneecaps), cysts. Hydrops (swelling). Articular(joint) spinal irritation. Injuries of the coccyx. Infants are slow in learning to walk, and theirbones are soft and friable. Bowlegs (used in con-
junction with mechanical supports). In chil-dren, thin neck (Nat Mur). Broken bones; thissalt is essential to facilitate the deposit of extramaterial necessary for their mending. Rickets:“This disease appears to consist essentially inthe nondeposition of phosphate of lime in theosteoid (bone) tissues” (from Thomas’ Medical
Dictionary, as cited by Dr. Carey. In the case of
syphilis, inflammation of the periosteum (bonecovering). Ulcers and abscesses, when deep-seated on the bones or joints. Neuralgia, whendeep-seated as if on the bone, commencing atnight (Silicea). Pain in limbs, restlessness, limbsfall asleep; better when moving them. Nervous symptoms – Neuralgia, which is
worse at night, colic, cramps, spasms, convul-sions, etc. (take if Mag Phos fails to relieve thesesymptoms). Convulsions in teething children,young girls, and old people, when the lime saltsare deficient. Paralysis, when associated withrheumatism. Fatigue and weariness. Pains very
severe at night, with sensation of creepingnumbness and coldness. Pains shoot all overthe body like electrical shocks and, at othertimes, like trickling cold water. Skin – Eruptions on the skin, when the dis-
charge is thick and clear. Pimples, acute orchronic, with itching. Itchy skin, without erup-tions. Eczema, with yellowish-white crust. Facefull of pimples. Scrofulous affections, intercur-rently. Dry skin. Skin itching and burning, asfrom nettles. Perspiration on hands from spinalweakness. Lupus, with characteristic symptoms. Pruritus (itching) of vagina, with or withoutthick, clear leucorrhea (Nat Mur). Freckles(apply a 10 percent solution of cell salt in waterto the face). Chafed skin (Nat Mur). Acnerosacea. T ubercles (nodules) on the skin. Scalyherpes on the shins. Tissues – Bones weak, easily broken; when
broken, bones will not unite or, when new bonematerial is needed. Rickets. Tabes, or atrophy ofany organ tissue. Poor nutrition through indi-
gestion. Ulceration of bone substance. Stuntedgrowth. Defective development, with pale,greenish-white complexion. Polyps. Disease ofthe pancreas. Emaciation, chlorosis, anemia. Intercurrently in all bone affections, constitu-tional weakness. As a tonic for delicate, anemicpersons (Ferrum Phos). All ailments caused bya deficiency or disturbance in the phosphate oflime (Calc Phos) molecules. Febrile conditions – Chilliness and shiver-
ing, when beginning of fever (Ferrum Phos). Excessive perspiration, night sweats in cases of
phthisis (tuberculosis). Phthisis. Cold, clammysweat on the face and body. After typhoid and
other fevers, as the disease recedes, to promotethe deposit of new material in place of thatdestroyed. Sleep – Restless sleep due to worms (Nat
Phos), drowsiness, sleepiness, difficulty wakingin the morning. Vivid dreams. Modalities – Symptoms are generally worse
at night in damp, cold weather (Nat Sulph), with
change of weather, upon getting wet, etc. Better
in warm weather and in warm room. FACIAL SIGNS OF CALCPHOS
DEFICIENCY
A waxy appearance is often seen on areas
with cartilage such as the nose, ears, etc. Themore facial surface having this waxy quality, thegreater the deficiency. Ears may appear waxy on the cartilage and
ear muscle. Look for a waxy intensity. Eyebrows Look for a waxy appearance to the
skin. There may also be waxy-looking stripescoming diagonally from the eyebrows. White spots on the teeth and nails show a
Calc Phos deficiency. We also see teeth withtranslucent tips (Calc Fluor). Stretched cheekbone musculature is another
sign. People with this symptom exhibit a biting orhard-bitten look or character, as though life hasdealt them a hard hand. Small lips also suggest a hard life. These sig-
nify poor mineral absorption. Yogurt appearance, a creamy-whitish look. This can occur in the case of Calc Sulph deficien-cy as well. THERAPEUTIC INDEX OF CALCPHOS
Adapted from: Therapeutic Index (1890) by Dr. W. H. Schuessler
Anemia, first remedy. Bone diseases, see also Rickets. 32 FACIAL DIAGNOSIS OF CELLSALTDEFICIENCIESCalc Phos
Summary
ORGAN AND TISSUE AFFINITIES
Nutrition, bones, tendons, teeth,
protein binder,muscles, cartilage, chest. MODALITIES
Symptoms worse < teething, loss of
fluids, exposure to cold, wet wind,thinking of symptoms, puberty, eatingfruit. Symptoms better > summer warmth,
dry weather, lying down, rest. DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS
Muscles are sensitive to cold. White
marks on fingernails and teeth. Tips ofteeth are translucent. DISEASE CONDITIONS
Bone problems, weak ankles,
teething problems, osteoporosis, spinabifida, stiff neck, rickets. CHAPTER 4: C ALCPHOS 33Calc Phos (a)
The tips of the teeth clearly show the translucent quality of a Calc Phos deficiency. A Calc Fluor deficiency
can also show up as translucence of the teeth. The chin is red and thus shows a Nat Phos deficiency. Thereare brownish spots on the skin that show a Kali Sulph deficiency. Calc Phos (b)
This picture shows a Calc Phos deficiency with a waxy appearance around the eyes, root of the nose and
into the eyebrows. The redness of the cheeks shows a Kali Mur deficiency. 34 FACIAL DIAGNOSIS OF CELLSALTDEFICIENCIES
CHAPTER 4: C ALCPHOS 35Calc Phos (c)
This woman shows a Calc Phos deficiency by the waxy appearance around her eyes, nose and forehead. She also has a Nat Phos deficiency because of the appearance of the red acne blemishes. The brownish-black of the inner eye area is a Calc Fluor deficiency sign. The middle of her forehead has a greenish tinge,suggestive of a Nat Sulph deficiency. Calc Phos (d)
This woman has the Calc Phos deficiency symptoms of a waxy appearance of the root of the nose, eyes
and into the eyebrows. She has the reddish overlay indicative of a Mag Phos deficiency, and a Calc Fluordeficiency can be noted in the raised pattern in the corner of the eyes. The bags under her eyes denote aNat Sulph deficiency. Her squinting appearance, horizontal lines on the root of the nose, and short eye-brows also show a hypothyroid condition. Such conditions accompany a weak liver. Another sign of livermalfunction is seen in the greenish appearance, a Nat Sulph deficiency. 36 FACIAL DIAGNOSIS OF CELLSALTDEFICIENCIES
CHAPTER 4: C ALCPHOS 37Cancer, in scrofulous (swelling of the lymph
nodes) constitutions. Catarrh (mucus congestion), in chronic or ane-
mic persons. Chlorosis (greenish tint to skin) type of anemia. Convalescence, during and after acute diseases. Convulsions, from teething, without fever, if Mag
Phos fails. Cough, in consumption (tuberculosis). Delicacy, in growing girls and children. Diabetes mellitus. Diptheria, first remedy, to reduce the fever and
limit inflammation of throat. Dropsy (swelling), from non-assimilation or ane-
mia. Eczema, with anemia. E


,  but with equal justice you could
call it a syste m for curing delusions, for stripping away the
convincing quality of disease and letting a healthier reality
take its place. (The name itself suggest s that Ayurveda ismeant to be medicine in the broadest sense. It comes from
two Sanskrit roots, Ayus, or “life,” and Veda, which means
either “knowledge” or “science. ” The literal meaning, then,
is “science of life. ”)
Patients are curious to know what kinds of treatments are
speciﬁcally Ayurvedic—are there new pills to try, exercises,
diets, or more arcane Eastern therapies. I say yes to all of
these, but then with some embarrassment I have to add
that I spend much of my time just talking, trying to get
people not to be so convinced by their disease. In Ayurveda,
this is the ﬁrst and most important step in healing. As long
as the patien t is convinced by his symptoms, he is caught
up in a reality where “being sick” is the dominant input. The reason why meditati on is so important in Ayurveda is
that it leads the mind to a “free zone” that is not touched
by disease. Until you know that such a place exists, your
disease will seem to be taking over completely. This is the
principal delusion that needs to be shattered. It is undeniable that we all create scenarios and then
become convinced by them, down to our very cells. A young
girl from Boston who went to college in Vermont was
brought in to see me recently by her parents. They had
become quite  distraught when she showed up in the middle
of spring term with sharp chest pains. These had set in
while she was recovering  from a cold and over a period of a
week became alarmingly severe. One night the girl had a
bad attack—she began to experience shortness of breath,
palpitations, and dizziness, eventually grow ing so
frightened that her parents rushed her to the nearest
emergency room. By the time they got there, the whole family was in a
state of near panic. The ER doctor listened to the girl’s
heart, detect ed that she had a slight heart murmur, and
decided to run an EKG, or electrocardiogram. The EKG
read-out showed occasio nal ectopic beats, mean ing extrabeats that were outside the heart rhythm. He then used
ultrasound to perform a more sophisticated test, called an
echo-cardiogram, from which he discerned an actual heart
defect. “She has mitral valve prolapse,” he informed the family. This meant that when one of her heart valves closed, it
ballooned inward, toward the chamber of the heart. “I want
her to spend the night here in the intensive care unit,” he
continued, and within an hour the girl was taken upstairs,
hooked to an intravenous drip of morphine for her pain,
and supplied with extra oxygen through small tubes taped
to her nose. Around her were heart -attack and stroke
victims, some  of them obviously dying. She found the whole
experience highly distressing and began to hallucinate
from the morphine as she drifted oﬀ to sleep. The next morning, a careful examination of her tests led
the doctors to diagnose that her pain was probably due not
only to the mitral valve prolapse but to pericarditis, an
inﬂammation of the peric ardium, the covering around the
heart. She was released on strong anti-inﬂammatory agents
for this, as well as beta blockers to slow her heart rate. The
pain in her chest subsided; however, she found it
impossible to tolerate the beta blockers—besides aﬀecting
the heart, these drugs attach to receptors in the brain,
causing drowsiness and mental disorientation. Her medications were changed, only to bring on new side
eﬀects and expand her constellation of symptoms. The new
prescriptions were meant to dilate her blood vessels, but
this lowered her blood pressure too much, causing her to
feel dizzy and nauseated; at times she would faint without
warning. She managed to tolera te these side eﬀects,
largely becau se she wanted to stay in school at any cost. Every time she tried to cut back on her medication, even
slightly, the original chest pain returned in full force,
accompanied by her other symptoms. She came home forsummer vacation and horriﬁed her parents by clutching her
chest one evening at dinner. She started to hypervent ilate
so severely that her mother went scurrying to ﬁnd a paper
bag for her to breathe into. Within a few minutes, she felt
violent heart palpitations, began to vomit, and eventually
passed out. Her parents sat up with her all that night and
many nights to come. Since there was nothing more that her doctors could do,
the family cast about for other approaches. They hit upon a
news story about Ayurveda, and one July day all three,
mother, father, and daughter, came to the Lancaster clinic. I took a very detailed medical history from the girl, looked
at her EKGs, and found myself quite surprised. “Your pain isn’t from your heart,” I told her, and to prove
it I pressed ﬁrmly on her sternum, the bone in the middle of
the chest that covers the heart. She ﬂinched. “You’re still
tender because what you originally had was an
inﬂammation there, where the rib cartilage and the
sternum meet. It is a condition called costo-chondritis,
which can sometimes set in after a cold or other viral
infection. ”
She and her parents looked startled, but I went on, taking
apart the puzzle piece by piece. On the night they had
rushed her to the ER, her high anxiety caused her to
exhibit the occasional ectopic, or extra, heartbeats. Her
main diagnosis, mitral valve prolapse, may occur in as
many as 10 percent of young women with slender builds
like hers. The reason for this is not known, nor is there
conclusive evidence for why it should cause any pain,
although in some patients it does. Similarly, the heart
murmur that comes with it does not seem to be dangerous. Her pericarditis was a misreading of her EKG—the violence
of her attack had probabl y made the ER doctor overanxious
to ﬁnd something wrong. The remaining symptoms—
nausea, vomiting, heart palpitations, dizziness, fainting,shortness of breath, and hyperventilation—were brought on
either by the medications or directly by her. “I have tried to go back to the moment when your
condition was born,” I said, “to show you how it built itself
up, step by step. In its present form, your disease is a
reﬂex. It is being kept alive by your own expectations. ”
At this point the girl’s parents looked quite oﬀended. I
knew the anxiety they felt sitting up all night, worr ying that
she might be in real dang er. To make the parents see that I
wasn’t blaming anybody, I told them about my experience
on the airplane when the No Smoking sign set my heart
going. Add a little more fear to the situation, and my
pounding heart could have been the start of a “heart
condition” just as convincing as their daughter’s. They were still uneasy. When their daughter suﬀered
stabbing chest pains, they thought of her as a victim of
illness; now I seemed to say that she was doing it to
herself. The era of mind-body medicine has made this an
extremely sore point. Life was simpler when a disease
without a germ was considered “all in your head. ” The
germs have largely been pushed back, but instead of
leaving us free of disease, this has made disease far more
enigmatic. Am I waiting  for cancer to strike me, or is my
personality giving it to me. This girl’s case is a perfect
example; A cardiologist might point to her heart defect as
the cause of her pain; a psychiatrist could say that the
defect didn’t do anythin g—the girl simply panic ked. The
drugs she took induced vomiting, but she still vomits when
they are removed. Her low blood pressure  can cause
fainting, but so can anxiety. Modern medicine has swung
back and forth debating these points endlessly. The result, according to patient surveys, is a huge
increase in guilt. There is such a ﬁne line between probing
a patient’s fears and fueling them. I have sat for hours
counseling people with cancer. They listen attentivelybecause “the doctor is talking. ” I tell them they can beat
the cancer, and they quickly, anxiously agree. But when I
am alone again, I am haunted by a terrible thought I see
lurking in their eyes: “You say I’m sick, but really I did it to
myself. ”
The girl had not spoke n for quite a while. “So I’m
creating this thing. ” she ﬁnally said. “No,” I replied,


 life is their ability to let go. Long-living people have flexibility and resiliency when facing the
inevitable challenges in life. If y ou live to be a hundred years old, chances
are goo d you have experienced challenges and losses, yet these super
seniors have been able to move through adversity and get on with their
lives. They relinquish their hol d on experiences that do not serve them. They let go and move on. From a n A yurvedic perspecti ve, this ability to deal with what is
happening but not incur residua l damage is a symptom of strong digestive
power, known in Sanskrit as Agni. The expression “digestive power” is
applied not just to the ability to digest foods but to digest all experiences in
life. Agni is the root of the English word ignite, referring to the power of
fire to metabolize things. When your digestive force is power ful, you arecapable of extracting the nourishment you need from any experience and
eliminating whatever is not serving you. A strong Agni enables you to
digest what life presents without carrying unprocessed residues, which
inhibit your ability to fully embrace life. A strong digestive power is an
essential feature of people who live long, vital lives. Learning to let go is necessary because life is a process of continual
change and transformation. Att empting to stop change by ho lding on is
fighting the natural force of evolution. Ultimately, nature will h ave its way,
and your struggle against the river of life will exact its toll on your
physiology. Th e wear and te ar born of resistance accelerates aging. Relinquishing your resistance and embracing change reverses aging. Learning to let go does not mean relinquishing your intentio ns. Y our
intentions and desires orchestra te the course of your life and catalyze the
experiences you  need to evolve to higher levels of awareness. Flexibility
does not require letting go of intentions. Flexibility does, however, require
letting g o of your attachment to a specific outcome. Y ou cannot control the
outcome of a si tuation, and holding rigidly to your idea about how things
should b e leads to strain, stress, and aging. Whenever it appears that your
intended outcome is not the one manifesting, bear in mind the following
expression, which we heard from a spiritual teacher:
When things don’ t seem to go my way, I let go of my
attachment to how I think they should be, trusting that
I am not seeing the big pictur e. If I knew the big pictur e
I would understand that ther e is a r eason for things
unfolding the way they ar e, and that the cosmos has a
plan for me much grander than anything I have conceived. Letting go and d etaching from outcome is the essence of genuine power
and of fers the on ly real possibility of security. Detachment from  a particular
outcome derive s from trust in the intelligence of the universe and your
connection to it. It implies a will ingness to step into the unknow n—the fieldof al l po ssibilities. This is the re al meaning of flexibility. Attachment to the
known is attachment to the pas t. The past is stability. The past is inertia. The past is entr opy. The past is stagnation. Attachment to th e known—
attachment to the past—accelerates aging. Most people spend their entir e lives seeking security through their
attachments. Attachments are usually to positions and possessions. Because
these att achments rarely bring security or happiness, people often believe
their pro blem is that they need greater positions or more possessions. The
internal conversation sounds like this: “If I just had more money... if I just
had a better job ... if I just ha d a more passionate relationship... then I
would fe el secure and happy.” M oney, positions, possession, and titles are
symbols of security. Symbols of security cannot substitute for real security,
which can only come from within. Paradoxically, finding genuine and lasting security comes from
surrendering to the wisdom of uncertainty. It means cultivating an inner
attitude of curiosity and acceptance. It means detaching from a particular
outcome and developing the mind-set that whatever occurs is the most
evolutionary out come at the tim e. This state of flexibility, in which you are
able to embrace the unknown and detach from a particular outcome,
reverses the aging process. Relinquishing your r esistance and embracing change
r everses aging. PRESENT -MOMENT A W ARENESS
The Buddhists have an expression: “Nothing should be clung to as me or
mine.” Nothing you identify wi th can really be called yours. Although you
may con sider th e physical vehicle you inhabit as your body, you know by
now that every atom comprising it is only on temporary loan from yourenvironment. W ithin a year, alm ost every atom that you currently call yours
will no longer b e within the boundaries of your skin. Y our thoughts are not
really yo ur thou ghts. They are p art of the collective mind. A hundred years
ago, you could not have had the thought “I am flying on a 747 jet to Las
V egas,” because  these concepts were not yet a part of the collective mind. Y our emotions are not your emo tions. Every emotion you have ever had—
elation, despair, joy, frustration, ecstasy, jealousy—has been experienced by
people s ince the  beginning of hu manity. Not a single molecule, not a single
thought, not a si ngle emotion you have ever had is uniquely yours. Y ou are
part of a lar ger scheme. Y ou ar e woven from a few strands in the infinite
cosmic web of ener gy, transformation, and intelligence. “Nothing should be clung to as me or mine.” Underlying this pre scription
is the recognition that all stress in life results from either grasping or
aversion. When you hold on to anything, be it a material object, a position,
or a relationship, you constrict your awareness and accelerate aging. Y ou
accelerate aging because, at a su btle level, every attachment is accompanied
by fear—fear of loss, fear of losing control, fear of losing approval. When
you evoke fear you set into motion the physiology of stress that accelerates
biological aging. Y ou must let go of this fear in order to reverse aging. The incl ination of the mind is to lean toward something that you hope
will brin g pleas ure or away fro m something that you fear will  bring pain. As a  res ult of this tendency, of t his inclination, you are unable t o remain in
the present moment. When y ou find yourself out of t he present moment, ask yourself, “What
is w rong with this moment?”  Y ou will see that there are only two
possibilities: either you are resisting it or you are just not in it. If you are
resisting it, consciously surrender to the here and now. If you are just not in
it, gently  bring yourself back to the present. Open yourself to the infinite
possibilities that the present moment of fers. Y ou can cultivate present-mome nt awareness through the practice of alert
witnessing—shifting your attention from that which is observed to the silentever -present witness to the observation. In the midst of observation, come
back to the self. Y our observations change on a moment-to-moment basis. If you identify
who you are wi th your observations, your identity has no permanence. It
becomes a moment-to-moment fabrication. When you identi fy yourself
with the objects of your perception, which are in constant flux, you sacrifice
your tru e self for the objects of your self-image. If you identify yourself as
the presi dent of a company, as the owner of a luxury car, as the manager of
an a rtist or mu sician, your sense of self is dependent upon an external
source. This is sometimes kno wn as agency power because your power
derives from attachment to an external agency, be it an or ganization, bank
account, or relationship. The problem with agency power is th at when the
attachment ends, so does the power and your sense of self. The opposite of agency power  is self-power, which comes fr om your
inner connection to Spirit. Underlying all your observations and
experiences in life, underlying all your attachments to people, situations,
and circ umstances, is a domain of ever -present witnessing awareness. This
is your true self; this is your Spirit. In alert witnessing you shift your attention from goal orientation to
process orientation. Y ou become  completely flexible. Y ou are unattached to
outcome. Y ou are comfortable in the realm of uncertainty. When Spirit is
your int ernal ref erence point you neither anticipate nor resist—you simply
allow. When you walk a certain road, you have the intention to reach a
particular desti nation, but if more interesting opportunities present
themselves alon g the way, then  have the flexible inner attitude  to go with
the flow. This process can be s ummed up in one statement, “T ake it as it
comes.” The process becomes the goal. Whenever you find yourself grasping or recoiling, anticipating or
resisting, shift your attention to your witnessing self. In this simple process
of coming


. Antibiotics:
Most of us have been given an antibiotic at one time or another, and
this contributes to one of our largest sources of toxins—those generated within our
own digestive systems. Antibiotics are designed to kill disease-causing bacteria, but
they also kill the friendly bacteria in our digestive systems. If these bacteria are
absent or out of balance, a chain of unhealthy events is initiated, including
undigested or mal-absorbed food. Beneficial intestinal bacteria produce needed
vitamins, such as B-complex vitamins, vitamin B
12
and vitamin K. These essential
nutrients are no longer produced when the friendly bacteria are displaced, and
vitamin deficiency can result. In addition, friendly bacteria prevent undesirable yeasts from proliferating by
competing for food and producing biotin to inhibit yeast growth. When antibiotics
kill beneficial bacterial, undesirable yeasts and bacteria thrive and take over,
establishing their own ecosystem. This inhibits the beneficial bacteria from
reestablishing themselves. Yeasts also produce numerous immune-reactive
substances that force the immune system to form antibodies constantly. This stress
may lead to impaired functioning of the immune system to the point of immune
suppression or even breakdown. Also, yeasts inhibit magnesium absorption (which
can lead to numerous neurological problems), damage gut tissue and cause leaking
gut syndrome. A variety of health problems can result, ranging from chronic fatigue
to allergies, arthritis and other immune dysfunction diseases. A January 1996 article in
Internal Medicine World Report
stated that in 1991,
more than 40 million prescriptions were written in America for antibiotics to treat
people for the common cold. This use is inappropriate; antibiotics have no effect on
the common cold. Vast overprescribing of this type fosters the development of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In May 1996, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report warning that
“incurable” strains of bacteria are being discovered. Many infectious diseases,
formerly controllable with antibiotics, are reappearing in forms difficult or even
impossible to treat. “We are standing on the brink of a global crisis in infectious
diseases,” said Hiroshi Nakajima, M.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What was the purpose of the hospital oversight committee?,
A: The purpose of the hospital oversight committee was not specified in the passage.
Q: What is the main concern with the use of antibiotics?,
A: The main concern with the use of antibiotics is that they can kill friendly bacteria in the digestive system, leading to a variety of health problems.
Q: What is the author's perspective on the effectiveness of vaccinations?,
A: The author does not explicitly state a perspective on the effectiveness of vaccinations, but implies that they are ineffective and potentially harmful.
Q: What is the author's view on the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT)?,
A: The author does not explicitly state a view on HRT, but implies that it is not recommended.
Q: What is the author's suggestion for treating allergies?,
A: The author suggests that allergies are not normal and should be treated by improving cellular health, rather than using antihistamines or other medications.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>His life expectancy was estimated between six months and three years, and no one in
his condition had been known to live beyond five years. As I am writing this chapter, eleven years have passed since my brother’s surgery. He is living a high-quality life. How did he do it? First, he had to change hisperspective. The existing belief system said he should have died a long time ago. Rather than accept his cancer as a death sentence, my brother took on the challenge
of restoring normal function to his cells. The new understanding of one disease says
disease has only two causes—deficiency and toxicity—and that addressing those
causes along the six pathways can heal virtually all disease. My brother’s recovery came as the result of radical changes in diet and the
addition of vitamin supplements, essential fatty acids and frozen shark cartilage—
not chemotherapy and radiation. Conventional cancer treatments do nothing to
reverse the underlying causes of cancer (abnormal cell chemistry), and they do
devastating damage to the body. The most important steps you can take to change your perspective about health,
and thereby reduce morbidity and mortality, is to shift your view from one side of
these equations to the other. That is, reconsider the differences between
• Disease care versus health care
• Diagnosing symptoms versus preventing disease
• Treating symptoms versus restoring health
• Relying on doctors versus relying on yourself
• Eating make-believe food versus eating real food
• Germs causing infection versus compromised immune systems
• Toxic versus nontoxic living
• An active life versus sedentary sickness
Let us take a closer look at each of these shifts in perspective. Disease Care Versus Health Care
Existing medical practice is not about health care; it is about disease care. Modern
medicine is based on the belief that you are healthy until you have a diagnosable
disease, after which the task is to give the disease a name (diagnose) and then
suppress (treat) its symptoms. This perspective waits for disease to happen; makes
no attempt to measure health in its initial decline; ignores the effects of nutrition,
toxins and behavior; and gives little or no recognition to the body’s self-healing
abilities. The patient is not empowered, and the personal and monetary costs are
enormous. Modern medicine excels at treating emergencies and trauma, and in doing
surgery, but does poorly at preventing or healing disease because it is almost totally
unequipped to diagnose and treat the two causes. The new perspective on health presented in this book is based not on waiting for
disease to happen, but, rather, actively working to prevent disease. If disease does
occur, then we must look for the true cause and restore health by addressing that root
cause. This approach recognizes the body as self-regulating and self-healing, and
seeks to optimize health by helping the body to function as it is designed to do. Thisapproach incorporates all we have learned about the effects of nutrition, toxicity and
behavior. The underlying inspiration is that health is a choice and that almost all
disease is preventable. Diagnosing Symptoms Versus Preventing Disease
The process of diagnosing a patient rests on waiting for illness to strike and then
matching the symptoms to a so-called disease, thus giving that group of symptoms a
category and a name. This activity can be very expensive and time consuming, and is
often hazardous to the patient. Yet, what does it achieve? Does this tell us what
caused the problem or how to fix it? Not very often. Because only one disease exists,
spending a lot of time, money and resources to give a group of symptoms any one of
thousands of meaningless names is not a productive activity. Because of its focus on diagnosing and treating disease after it occurs, modern
medicine has paralyzed itself, which is why it cannot reverse our epidemic of
chronic disease. We cannot continue to perceive disease as something that strikes
like a bolt of lightning; people in good health do not become ill. The only way to
reduce disease is to promote health and thereby prevent disease in the first place. Treating Symptoms Versus Restoring Health
The best way to deal with any problem—in business, personal lives, engineering,
etc.—is to identify the cause, address the cause and solve the problem. Unfortunately, modern medicine does not focus on identifying the cause. Traditional medicine suppresses symptoms, usually by poisoning patients with
toxic drugs, removing essential body parts or exposing the patient to cancer-causing
radiation— sometimes, all three tactics. Meanwhile, diseases remain chronic, and
disease-care costs continue to escalate to unsustainable levels. Diseases are healed
with nutrients and the removal of toxins, not with drugs and surgical scalpels. Relying on Doctors Versus Relying on Yourself
Most people wait until they get sick, then go to a doctor and hope to get well. I did
this when I was ill, only to discover that my physicians had no idea how to make me
well. This practice negates our own responsibility for health. Do we really think we
can eat an unhealthful diet and live an unhealthful lifestyle and that our doctor will
make us well after we have worked so hard to make ourselves sick? Health and disease are choices. We, as a society and as individuals, are the ones
making those choices. Today, health is compromised at so many levels. If we want
to improve our health, prevent or reverse disease, and extend life, we have to make
special choices in order to compensate. We cannot rely on physicians to “fix” us
after we have spent decades making ourselves sick—almost all physicians are stuckin the old disease-care paradigm and have no idea how to restore cells to health. The responsibility for health is ours, and we must teach this to our children so
they and their children can claim their birthright to lifelong good health. We must
also ask our governments and society at large to make changes. Why do we allow
soft drink and candy vending machines into our schools? Why is it that medical
insurance covers failed traditional treatments but does not cover alternative
treatments that are safer and more effective? Why do we allow our government to
subsidize the dairy and sugar industries? Why do we allow genetically modified
foods to be sold without labeling and without adequate testing for safety? Why do
we continue to allow the use of fluoride in our drinking water? Why do we continue
to allow dentists to put mercury in people’s mouths? All of us need


ans, A yurvedic texts re late
certain parts of the head  to other body parts and /or
symptoms or diseases. Therefore, a  champi  or head
massage does not only af fect the immediate areas massaged:
it can be a healing, rejuvenating and thoroughly stimulating
experience as well. The moment a b aby is born, th e fontanel on the top of its head is
covered immediately with cloth soaked in oil with a  bala  root
decoction to strengthen the head, sight and intelligence. Mothers
massage their babies’ heads to facilitate strong skull and brain
development, and later, give their daughters head massages to
stimulate the scalp and infuse c onditioning oils into the hair. Men
are used to rec eiving a sharp rubdown at the barber ’ s shop and
another place you are likely to r eceive an Indian head massage is in
a salon or spa. The massage normally takes 30 to 60 minutes and is given
seated in a chair. It may be dry or oils may be used to both condition
hair and calm t he nervous system, as hair roots are connected to
nerve fi bers. T echniques vary, but the therapist usually start by
gently kneading  upper back, shoulder and neck muscles, then worksup to  the  head. Here, the scalp is squeezed, rubbed and tapped  and
hair may be combed or pulled. The therapist locates the  marma
points a long the head and spends time tugging and pres sing
earlobes, before  moving on to the face. Facial massage is usually a
mixture of acupressure and gentle manipulation, ending with soft
stroking. People who suf fer from vertigo, headaches, migraines,
insomnia, tinnitus and depression are all reported to find  champi
helpful. As the therapist works on the three higher  chakras, the
vissuddha  (the base of the throat),  ajna  (the forehead) and
sahasrara  (the crown), mental and emotion al stress is immediately
released. In addition, the localiz ed massage improves the supply of
glucose and blood to the brain, improves the circulation of
cerebrospinal flu id, dissipates accumulated toxins and opens pr anic
channels. Results include improved memory, clarity of mind, better
eyesight and concentration, and clearing of the sinuses. The thera pist at the Ayurvedic Penthouse at Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok, first
prepares for a 60-minute Indian head massage session by creating an
atmosphere of calm with candlelight and aromatic oil burners. Then, she starts the
therapy with pressure point massage to stimulate the vital energy points in the
skull, thereby increasing the flow of subtle energies in the body. The result  is a
client comforted, nurtured and relaxed. udwarthanam  Dry Massage with
Herbal Powder
A stimulating massage that uses dry powders not oil,
udwarthanam  is vigorous, ener gizing and not for the faint
hearted. Dry herbal powders, chosen according to on e’ s
dosha, are rubbed into the skin in the opposite direction to
hair growth with strong repeated movements. The friction of
the powder during the massage creates body heat that
increases circu lation, breaks  down cellulite, firms muscle
tone and reduces fat by im proving the metabolism of the
muscles. It is recommende d for those who want to lose
weight, as it reduces cholesterol levels and adipose tissue
and promotes better digestion and. It also removes toxins
and exfoliates the skin, leaving skin tingling, soothed and
soft. Most A y urvedic massages tend to use long, flowing strokes that go
away from the heart and from bottom to top, but  udwarthanam
employs short, sharp superfic ial rubs that go in the opposite
direction, away from the heart to wards the extremities and from the
top of the body downwards. This is the opposite of the  dosha  flow. According to A yurvedic physician, Dr Ajitha of Soukya, the pow der
helps to open up the micro-channels in the body, so reduces fat
accumulation, tautens up muscles, reduces bad body odor and
exfoliates dead surface skin cells. In a clinical setting,
udwarthanam  is usually prescribed for 10 to 14 days for those withama twan  or sl owness of f low in the channels, and as a means to
reduce fat. However, the massage type is increasingly finding its
way into spas a nd retreats, where its invigorating style is gain ing
popularity. At t he s pa at Udaivilas, a beautiful resort on the shore of Lake
Pichola in Udaipur, one of three A yurvedic powders or  choornam
are used : the popular  triphala choornam  or three fruit powder, a
powder composed from  Terminalia chebula  or  Terminalia
bellaruca, or  kola kula thadhi choornam, made from a variety of
pulses and herbs. The massage i s quite rough and the powder enters
the s uperficial bloodstream, but  also enters nasally as it flies ab out
in th e air. This cleanses the internal system too. Afterwards, the
client is encouraged to spend 1 0 minutes in the steam room and
further massage any residual powder into the skin. As sweating
occurs, t oxins ar e released through the skin’ s pores, and the skin is
left feeling soft, extremely smooth and rejuvenated. Another place that of fers  udwarthanam  is Soukya International
Holistic Health Center. Here it is prescribed for guests who are
obese and the powders are prepared on site. They dif fer from patient
to patient, but may contain  vacha  (Acorus calamus ) to alleviate
swelling, the A yurvedic all-rou nd wonder fruit  amalaki  or Indian
Gooseberry (Emblica officinalis ), green gram powder and/or basil. All the herbs are  washed, cut into small pieces, dried and pulver ized
on s ite t o make either a fine or coarse powder, which is then str ewn
on to the body and massaged in by two therapists simultaneously. Some of the powde rs used at Udaivilas; they contain what doctors call  madagna
properties that reduce fat and help clear blockages. Two therapists at Soukya massage a client with powder made on site. Udwarthanam  is also useful as a depilatory because the short, sharp rubs tend to
pluck hairs from the roots. sirodhara  Oiling the Third Eye
Surprisingly,  sirodhara  is the most widespread A yurvedic
therapy of fered  at spas outside India. Why this is the case is
unclear, as it is not prescribed for many ailments in a clinical
environment. It invariably comes top of the A yurve dic
menu, and even spas without an A yurvedic department of fer
bastardized ve rsions. Many people have tried it, and even if
they haven’ t, they will almost certainly have heard of it. Coming from  siro  (“head”) and  dhara  (“pouring of herbal liquids
on s pecific body parts”),  sirodhara  denotes the continuous pouring
of herbal oils, milk, buttermilk or ghee over the head and scalp. The
patient lies on his or her ba ck on a wooden treatment table,
cocooned in warm towels, while a therapist trains a steady rhythmic
stream o f warm liquid from a perforated vessel made of clay, w ood
or metal on to the forehead. The table is made from one of seven
therapeutic woods and is designed to catch the oil for recycling on
the same client. Oil strok ing the “third eye” has a balancing ef fect on the deepes t
recesses of the b rain and is profoundly relaxing. In A yurveda, it is
seen as a stimu lating procedu re for the nervous system and is
prescribed for bringing down aggravated  vata  conditions such as
insomnia, headache, insecurity, fear and nervous strain. Irritable
pitta  predominant people with overactive minds can experience a
cooling, calming benefit from a session or two and  kaphas  often
fall aslee p. Used in conjunction with other therapies,  sirodhara  has
been practiced for thousands of years to treat many and variedconditions such as ear, nose and throat disturbances, glandular
problems, psychiatric disorders, hypertension, skin diseases, facial
paralysis and more. During a session, the nervous system unwi nds,
busy brains become clear, and tired bodies are refreshed. In a clinical environment, the choice of liquid and duration of
treatment varies  according to the individual. Vata  patients are
generally prescribed medicated herbal oil,  pitta  types receive herbal
milk, gh ee or coconut oil, and buttermilk is often recommended  for
kapha  patients. Ancien t texts denote 53 minutes for  vatas, 43
minutes for  pitas  and 31 minutes for  kaphas. It is suggested the
best tim e to receive  sirod


 woman  to woman,  depe nding upon  her level of  energy. The practices  of Ovarian  Breathin g and the Orgasm ic Upward Draw
strengthe n a woma n’s vagina  and direct  the Chi  flow to her  sexual
organs. Man y women  who do not  exercise  the lower region- -the
ovaries,  cervix  and vagina- -lack Chi flo w and lose mu scle tone. - 38 -Chapter I
Eventually  the energy  leaks  out, turning  the sexual regio n cold. Their
menstrual  periods  might co me at the  wrong time. The y might have
pre-menstrual  syndrome, headaches,  lower abdominal aches,  or
adverse  emotional  reactions,  any of which can affect  their  energ y
levels, lo wering their  sexual  energy  as we ll as their  general  energy. It takes  a mu ch longe r time for a woman  to be  aroused  to her
“boiling  point,”  or point  of orgasm, than  it takes  a man to become
aroused. It takes  more heat and energy  to bring  ice water to a boil,
just as it takes longe r for a partn er to arouse  a woman  if her  sexual
region  is cold. If a man is lo w in “fire energy ” (male sexual  Yang
energy ) he will not have  enoug h energ y to melt the “ice”  and will not
be able to bring  the woman  to her  “boiling  point.”
    For  men the  recycling of sexual  energ y is very  important. Such
techniques  as Testicle Breathin g, Scrotal  Com pression  and the
Big Draw  recycle a man’s sexual  energy  and increase  his Yang
(hot) sexual  potential. These techniq ues are presente d in the  book
Taoist Secrets  of Love: Cultivating Male Sexual Energy. 2. Emoti onal Level
    Often  when a man and  woman  first meet, there  is an  unexplain ed
attraction  for one another. The reason  might be  that at the  time
they both  have  a high  energ y level,  as w ell as emotional  and spiritual
levels. It  is as if a  strong  magnetic  force  has drawn them  togeth er. Sometimes, after marriage  stress  occurs  because  of fam ily
troubles,  children,  etc.,  and their  energi es are draine d, gradu ally
wearing out their  magnetic  forces  until  there  no longer  is a strong
attraction  betw een them. During  this period  the man and  woman
seem far  apart  and alone. We see many people  starting  out in the
practices  of the Microcosmic Orbit  and Taoist Secrets  of Love
beco me aware of and  improve  the foods  they eat and do regular
exercises  to increas e their  romantic forces  and reesta blish a close
feeling  with their  partn er. Orgas ms com e mu ch easier  then. 3. Sp iritual  Level
If a couple  can find tim e to do me ditation  together,  sit wi th each
other  or do palm-to- palm touching  of one  anoth er, they will quiet
down and be able to feel  the energy  of the partner. Energy  can still
be exchanged  with your partne r even  if he  is low in energy  and
unable  to move it. Y ou can expand  your Micr ocosmic Orbit  into his,
- 39 -Taoist View  of Wom an’s
and he can do  the same w ith you so that y ou can help  one anothe r
move the  energy. If he  is in a  low mood, y ou can assist him  by sending  him your
smiling energy. If you learn  the Fusion  of the Five  Elements, you
can actually  absorb  his negative  emotions  and fuse  them  to return
good  life-force  back  to him. He can  do the same to y ou. A good  sexual  relationshi p can involve  many other  factors,  but it
must have  a good  beginning,  like fine  wine. I. Goal of  Taoist Meditati on
1. Discovery of Chi
   Long  ago it was discovered  that the most effective  way to
observe  the subtle  workings of the  Tao and  the inner  natur e of men
and wome n was throu gh quieting  the mind in sitting  meditation. It
was the practice  of sitting meditation  that revealed  the existence  of
Chi as a  subtle  electromagnetic  force  flowing within the bod y The
pathways the Chi follo wed reveale d the meridian  system of  the
human body. 2. The  Body is com posed of  Three  Parts. Through  such me ditation  the earl y Taoists developed  a great er
refinement and  increas ed awareness of the body  as a  composite
of three  parts:  the physical body, soul  body  and spirit bod y. (Fig. 1-
2) These  three  bodies  were studied  to differentiat e each  one’s
nature  and purpose. Unlike  other  meditative  traditions  of Asia, w hich cultivate  the soul
and spirit at the  expense  of the physical body, the ancient  Taoists
considere d all three  bodies  important. The Taoists  found  a way to
climb consciousl y into the  spiritual  realms, and  equall y important,
to clim b back  into the  physical world to be creativel y active here. 3. Develo ping the Physical  Body
   The novice  in the  Universal  Tao S ystem begins  with a wide range
of exercises  which develop  the ph ysical body into an efficient  and
healthy  organism, capable  of living peacefull y in the  world, and yet
- 40 -Chapter I
Spirit Body
Soul Body  or
 Chi Body
Physical Body
Fig. 1.2 Three  Bodies
- 41 -Taoist View  of Wom an’s
free of the  tensions  and stresses  of ordin ary daily life. The  aim of
the first level  is to develop  self- awareness of the physical body  and
its energ y relationship  with the environment  and other  people. At
this level  one learns  to heal  oneself  by learning  to sense  and direct
the circulation  of Chi wi thin the meridian  system of  the body  (the
Microcosmic Orbit  Meditatio n). The practice  of loving  self-
awareness generat es a positive  energy  condition  in which greater
respect  and love  for others  radiat es constantl y without conscious
effort. The healthie r the body is, the  more Chi it can  produce  and
transfer  into spiritual  energy. By practicing  in this  life to  transfer  Chi
energy  into spiritual  energy, we give birth  to ourselves,  raise  our
souls and  spirits, and  educat e them. The first  level of  Taoist practice  is accomplished  by utilizing  the
Microcosmic Orbit  Meditatio n, Six Healing  Sounds,  Inner  Smile,
Fusion  of the Five Ele ments,  Tai Chi  Chi Kung,  Five Elements
Nutrition,  and Iron Shirt  Chi Kung. As the  awareness of the  physical
body  is develope d, increase d levels  of ener gy are made available
by controllin g and transfo rming  sexual  energ y through  Seminal Kung
Fu and Ovarian  Kung  Fu practices. 4. Giving Birth  to the Self, the  Soul Body
    Giving  birth  to the  self,  the goal of Taoist me ditation,  is awakening
that part of oneself  which perceives  and acts free of the  bound aries
of environmental  educati on and karmic conditioning. The birth  of
the self is not  a symbolic im age or poetic  metaphor:  it is an  actual
process  of energy  conversi on leading  to the formation  of a subtle
body  with the capacity  to develop  reasoni ng, feelings  and a will of
its ow n.
- 42 -Chapter II
Chapter 2
Women’s Sexual Anatomy
The publication  of Mas ters and Johnson’s  Human Sexual Resp onse
in 1966  opened  the floodg ates for books,  articles,  and seminars
that interlocked  with the sexual  revolution  of the  sixties and
seventies. The little- known profession  of sexology  burgeo ned. Graduall y sexologists  began  to pa y attention  to the  particula r
sexual  needs  of women. They  noticed  that it was a rare


 you have to deal with theirs also. Don’ t get scared. This doesn’ t mean you don’t have meaningful
relationships. There are beautiful relationships, and they can last forever. In
fact, they can get more and more beautiful all the time. But they are not
samskara relationships—they are not based on the world outside matching
your inner patterns. They are based on unconditional love. Once love is
always flowing freely inside of you, you will be pleased to share it with
another person. Such love is not based on needs or expectations—it’ s based
on pure love wishing to express itself, unconditionally. How do you reach such a state of unconditional love and well-being? Instead of trying to get the world to match your blockages, you work on
letting go of the blockages. That’ s the secret of real spiritual growth. That is
the real paradig m shift. If you don’t have the samskaras, nothing will be
blocking your inner energy flow. You will feel love, joy, and inspiration all
the time. If you are willing to experience the moment unfolding in front of
you, you will have the opportunity to be inspired by everything. The simple
fact that things exist will be suf ficient to move you. You only have two choices: either you devot e your life to getting the
world to match your samskaras,  or you devote your life to letting go of your
samskaras. If you choose the latter, you don’t end up with both a worldly
life and a spiritual life—you end up with one life. Work, meditation retreats,
taking out the garbage, sweeping the floor, driving, showering, they’re all
the same. The same thing is going on in all your activities—you are letting
go of your blockages. It’s equally beneficial to be letting go of your
blockages at work, when you’re  driving the kids to soccer, picking up the
groceries, or doing whatever you’re doing. Every single moment of your
life, you are either naturally enjoying what is or letting go of what’ s keeping
you from  enjoying what is. If you let go of the wants and fears that are
limiting you, you’ll always be okay. Letting go of yourself, instead of
serving yourself, is the real paradigm shift.Chapter 28. Working with the Heart
We interact with life every wakin g moment of our time on Earth. If we are
committed to growing spiritually, we must learn to use that interaction to
clear out our blockages. This inevitably returns us to the heart since we store
blockages there. As we’ve discussed, your heart experiences myriad
different emotions and feelin gs based on the sam skaras you have
accumulated. Your inability to handle the breadth of these emotions keeps
you locked in the human predicament of controlling life in order to be okay. If you wish to break free and live unconditionally, you must learn to clear
out your heart. The purification  of your heart begins with being grateful that you have
one. Your heart is like an orches tra. Have you ever watched a movie without
the score? It’ s dead. It doesn’ t have any juice to it. When something happens
in your life, the orchestra of your heart begins to play. It adds richness to
your life by playing high notes and low notes that are generally  appropriate
to the events unfolding before you. Your heart is not an obstacle or a
punishment. Your heart is a beautiful gift. Would you rather not have one
and live your life without feelings? Just as the human mind is something extraordinary that can take you
beyond the limit of your senses, so the human heart is even more
extraordinary. It can play notes  from one end of the spectrum to another. Your heart can go from absolute  ecstasy to deep pain and sorrow in a matter
of secon ds. It can raise you to heights where you feel like angel wings are
carrying you to heaven, and it can bring you down to your darkest hour. Your heart is capable of doing all of that, without any effort of your own. What an amazin g instrument you carry inside of you. The trouble is you’re
not okay with the full range of your heart. You want to control your heart so
it only plays the notes you can handle.Spirituality is about learning to thank your heart for the beautiful
expressions it is creating within you. Unfortunately, you’re going to find out
that you can’t do that all the time. There are vibrations your heart is capable
of making that you’re not willin g to experience. It’s as though you are not
evolved enough to handle the fullness of your heart, so you resist it. Just like
you resist the world when it is not how you want, you resist your heart when
you’re not comfortable with its expressions. As you expand and grow spirit ually, your range of comfort with the
outside world will become wider and wider, allowing you to handle more of
the moments passing before you. The same is true with your heart. As you
grow spiritually, through honoring your day-to-day experiences, you will
learn to become more comfortab le with your heart. As a child, the first time
you experienced fear or jealousy you might have been overwhelmed and
had difficulty holding yourself together. Over time, you became more
accustomed to these emotions and at least tried to deal with them. Perhaps
the best you could do at first was control your emotions and put on the
outward appeara nce of being okay. Though that’s not necessarily so healthy,
it is better than losing yourself completely and letting emotions overcome
you. If you let an unbridled emotion act out externally, it has the power to
change the course of your life—not usually for the better. Little by little, as you learn to accept that emotions are a reality  of life,
they will come and go if you let them. This is spiritual evolution. Just as our
bodies have evolved through eons of challenging outer experiences, so our
souls evolve through the fires of inner experiences. It is not that a great
being does not have emotions; it is that they are at peace  with their
emotions. They can handle the various changes their heart goes through. If
somebody you know dies, it’s natural to feel a sense of loss. You’re going to
feel a certain amount of sadness if you cared about the person. That is your
heart expressing itself in harmony with what’ s happenin g. Like an
instrument playing something beautiful, your heart is composing a song of
sadness for you. The trouble is you’re not okay with that. Eventually you
will realize that the emotion itself is not the problem—the problem is you’re
not able to hand le the emotion. We come back to the same place again and
again: Do you want to devote your life to controlling the world so your heart
never feels emotions you can’t handle? Or do you want to devote yourself to
the evolutionary work of becoming comfortable with your heart?Just as we found  with the mind, if you want to work with your heart,
understand why it is the way it is. You may have noticed it can be sensitive,
volatile, and difficult to live with. The heart is this way because you didn’ t
handle the natur al emotions it created, you resisted them, which stored their
energy inside you. Now you’re in trouble. It’s bad enough that you pushed
away thought patterns, but you’ve also pushed away the vibrat ions of your
heart. These blocked energy patterns are making a complete mess of your
heart. The heart has become out of balance, and it has stopped opening
when it needs to express healthy emotions. Let’s say someone does
something that makes you feel fear. There are times when fear is a normal,
healthy reaction to outer events. But you aren’ t able to handle the emotion,
so you suppress it to get it out of your consciousness. Later, you hear
something bad happened to that person. Instead of feeling comp assion, you
feel relieved. Your emotions are no longer in harmony with outer situations,
instead they are releasing the blocked ener gies from your past experiences. Spiritual growth is about fixing the heart and returning it to a state of
well-being. It should be clear by now that the problem is not outside in the
world; the probl em is your inabi lity to handle your heart’ s full expression of
the world. Learning to handle these expressions is the solution, and it is the
essence of spiritual growth. Feelings of loss or fear or anger in your heart
are just objects of consciousness that Self is experiencing. They cannot
harm you, unless you resist them. They actually make you richer because
you experienced them. Every experien ce makes you a greater person if you
don’t resist it. Come to peace with the expressions of your heart. It may seem
impossible to be comfortable with emotions that are uncomfortable, but the
truth is you already have experience doing that. Take Shakespeare’ s play
Romeo and Juliet. As a tragedy, it certainly is not fun. Let’s say a
Shakespeare troupe comes through town and performs Romeo and Juliet. They do such a good job that you cry with a level of relief you’ve hardly
ever felt before. The performance was completely heart-wrenching. What do
you do? You tell all your friends to go see it. You say, “I cried for three days
afterwards. It was unbelievable. It touched my heart so deeply. I’ve never
felt such pure sadness. I want to


 at the trial indicated that themanufacturer had been aware of cardiac problems associatedwith Vioxx for many years. In point of fact, this was not secretinformation. The association between Vioxx and heart151 THOUGHT S ON CHOLESTEROL  attacks was generally well publicized in various studies but
unfortunately was not noted by the physicians, whoprescribed 2. 3 billion dollars worth of the drug per year. Inmy view, the jury was saying: we understand that drugs cancause serious side effects, and if a drug company knows thata certain segment of a population (e. g., heart patients) shouldnot take a certain drug, then the company should let theFDA and the drug-taking population know it, too, and sendout “Dear Doctor” letters. That brings us to the medication Zocor, made by the
same pharmaceutical company. Right now, it is the numberone selling drug in the world. Side effects of the drug includebrain damage, memory loss, nerve damage, irreversiblekidney damage secondary to severe muscle damage, heartdamage, and sudden death. Most, if not all, of these sideeffects are related to the lowering of coenzyme Q-10, anextremely potent antioxidant that the heart cannot functionwithout. Sixteen years ago the company that manufacturesZocor received a patent for a new formulation of Zocor thatincludes coenzyme Q-10. When the time comes forstatin-type drugs to be scrutinized more for safety, this factmay come back to haunt the manufacturers. It may representanother example of prior knowledge of potential problemsand not publicizing the fact that all people taking statindrugs should probably also be taking coenzyme Q-10. 152 THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  MORBID OBESITY AND
ROGER P. chapter EIGHTEEN
Roger P., 47, arrived for his intake interview weighing 420
pounds. His pear-shaped body was the classic body type forsomeone who is pouring out excess estrogen along with toomuch insulin. His hormone imbalance was accompanied by a host of
other problems. He was reclusive, a drinker, and his body wasin constant pain. As Roger tells his story, the reader willappreciate the extent of his struggle against obesity, whichcreated devastating physical and emotional havoc. I’ve been fat my whole life. Being the fat kid in school made
me an outcast. When you’re always on the outside looking in, yourlevel of caring declines. I felt that everything and everyone wasagainst me, and I was an angry kid. Not only was I fat but I was weird looking, too. I carried all
my weight in my hips and thighs, like a woman. I was one of thoseobese people who seem to be not a “he” or a “she” but an “it. ” Ilooked like two different people stuck together. In my line of work, which is designing and building binary data
systems, I’m able to work solo as a contract employee. I always choseto work from home, going in for meetings as infrequently as possible. I fashioned my career to allow for maximum reclusiveness. 153I was always ashamed and embarrassed. Whenever I went out
to eat I would find the darkest, most secluded corner in therestaurant to hide out in. Clothes were a problem, too. For years Iwore bib overalls, the monster size. I couldn’t button them all theway up on the sides. And I lived in fear of children. Children would see me in
public and pipe up with something totally humiliating. I startedscheduling my visits to the market for the middle of the night justto avoid being humiliated by little kids. In the midst of all of this humiliation, I had a strong feeling
that this obesity was not my fault. I would keep going to doctors totry and get some help. Normally their response, after they’d takenmy money, was to say, “Go home, kid, and quit eating so much. ”I would tell them, “I don’t eat that much,” and I didn’t, I neverhave. You and I could eat the same exact meal and you’d beunaffected, but I’d wake up the next morning and my pantswouldn’t fit. But every doctor I tried to get help from told methat although I probably didn’t think I was a huge eater, inreality I was. They made me feel like a liar. Some of them gaveme amphetamines. At age 23 I started getting leg pains, and then later on I
developed full body cramps. I was cramping all the time, havingnight sweats and weird vision problems. None of the doctors Iwent to had any solutions for me. These problems were variouslymisdiagnosed as gout, pseudo-gout, tendonitis, and a bunch ofother things. My life was miserable. I’d do my work, come home, drink a
six-pack of beer and a half bottle of T equila every night, and go tosleep and get up and do the whole thing over again. One night afriend infuriated me on the phone by telling me I was like somelittle old lady with her two dogs and no life. It sent me off the scale. I yelled at her. But I thought about it all night, and the next day154 THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  I realized that she had only described me as I really was. I had heard Dr. Platt talking about weight loss on the radio. The day after the fight with my friend I went to see him. He satme down and talked to me for over an hour. He wanted to knoweverything about my family history and my life. After my initialvisit he put me on progesterone and DHEA and started me on thediet. Right away I started losing weight. About three months into the program I had a real bad
flare-up in my knee, hip and in between; it felt like having hotsteel shoved up your leg. I tried a chiropractor and then a sportsmedicine specialist, but they didn’t help. Finally I thought, “Whatthe heck; I’ll ask Dr. Platt about it. ”
I was totally shocked by his reaction. “Look, I’m your physi-
cian and I’m treating you,” he said. “I want to know everythingthat’s happening to you. ” I found that such a strange attitude fora doctor. He added testosterone and thyroid to my medications, and
changed the type of DHEA I was taking. That same day hediagnosed my fibromyalgia, which is the pain in my leg that hadbeen misdiagnosed by so many doctors. About three days later I feltas though I’d come out of a fog. It’s hard to describe. I had beenthere so long I didn’t know I was there. I had an amazing change,a new clarity of thought. It was startling. And I was pain-free for the first time in 24 years. Strange
things started happening to me physically at this point. All my lifeI’ve been kind of a big, white farm-boy-looking guy without anymuscle definition at all. Now I’ve developed all this muscledefinition. I’m much stronger. I used to sleep eight or ten hours anight and then sit all day without wanting to do anything. NowI sleep about four hours a night and I’m never tired. Life is good. I weigh 195 pounds. It’s the first time I’ve been less than 200
pounds since I was 12 years old. My brain hasn’t kept up with my155 MORBID OBESIT Y AND ROGER P. body and my biggest challenges now are social and psychological. I’d say socially I’m probably at a junior high school grade levelbecause I’ve never participated in society outside of work. People sometimes ask me if I’m bitter about all the years when
I was looking for help and doors were being shut in my face. ButI’m not. They were blessings and gifts even though they werepainful. I’m pretty happy with who I am now. THE PAIN OF MORBID OBESITY
T o me, Roger’s case highlights the pivotal problem with the way
medicine is practiced today. As I’ve said before, too many doctors don’t have the time it
takes to listen to their patients any more. For years Roger wentfrom doctor to doctor about his weight problem, telling themthat he didn’t over-eat and asking for help. But they didn’tlisten to him. They dismissed him. And they didn’t observe him. They didn’t look at him. It
was so obvious from the distribution of his fat that there wassomething more than an eating problem going on. He had tohave a hormone problem—it was unmistakable. It’s amazingto me that so many doctors were blind to it. When I went through medical school, we had a course
called “Physical Diagnosis,” and it was fascinating. We learnedabout an array of outward physical signs, many of them verysubtle, that you could observe in a patient to pick up informa-tion about what might be going on inside their bodies. It wasa kind of visual detective work. It kept you attuned to whatyou were really seeing when you looked at your patient. I wonder if they even teach this course any more. The
medical profession has become so fixated on technology thatsimple first-person observation seems to have lost its value. 156 THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK
This may sound strange, but I often feel that the development
of blood tests has been a major setback in medicine. In the olddays—going back


 out your own ideal life, I have listed ten
keys to active mastery. They summarize much of what we have learned so
far about aging and awareness. They are also meant to be practical ideals,
ones you can aspire to in action every day (we will detail the kind of action
in the “In Practice” section that follows). TEN KEYS T O ACTIVE MASTER Y
1. Listen to your body’ s wisd om, which expresses itself through
signals of comfort and discomfo rt. When choosing a certain behavior,
ask your body, “How do you feel about this. ” If your body sends a
signal of physical or emotional distress, watch out. If your body sends
a signal of comfort and eagerness, proceed. 2. Live in the present, for it is the only moment you have. Keep  your
attention on what is here and now; look for the fullness in every
moment. Accep t what comes to you totally and completely so that
you can appreciate it, learn from it, and then let it go. The present is
as it should be. It reflects infin ite laws of Nature that have brought
you this exact thought, this exact physical response. This moment is
as it is because the universe is as it is. Don’ t struggle against the
infinite scheme of things; instead, be at one with it. 3. Take time to be silent, to meditate, to quiet the internal dialog ue. In
moments of silence, realize that you are recontacting your source of
pure awareness. Pay attention to your inner life so that you can be
guided by intuition rather than externally imposed interpretations of
what is or isn’ t good for you. 4. Relin quish your need for external approval. You alone are the
judge of your worth, and your goal is to discover infinite worth in
yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks. There is great freedom in
this realization. 5. When you find yourself reacting with anger or opposition to any
person or circumstance, realize that you are only struggling with
yourself. Putting  up resistance is the response of defenses created by
old hurts. When you relinqui sh this anger, you will be healing
yourself and cooperating with the flow of the universe. 6. Know that the world “out there” reflects your reality “in here. ” The
people you react to most stron gly, whether with love or hate, are
projections of your inner world. What you most hate is what you
most deny in yourself. What you most love is what you most wish for
in yourself. Use the mirror of relationships to guide your evolution. The goal is total self-knowledge. When you achieve that, what you
most want will automatically be there, and what you most dislike will
disappear. 7. Shed the burden of judgm ent—you will feel much lighter. Judgment impo ses right and wrong on situations that just are. Everything can be understood and forgiven, but when you judge, you
cut off understanding and shut down the process of learning to love. In judging others, you reflect your lack of self-acceptance. Remember
that every person you for give adds to your self-love. 8. Don’t contaminate your body with toxins, either through food,
drink, or toxic emotions. Your body is more than a life-su pport
system. It is the vehicle that will carry you on the journey of your
evolution. The health of every cell directly contributes to your state
of well-being, because every cell is a point of awareness within the
field of awareness that is you. 9. Replace fear-motivated behavior with love-motivated behavior. Fear is the product of memory, which dwells in the past. Remembering what hurt us before, we direct our energies toward
making certain that an old hurt will not repeat itself. But trying to
impose the past on the present will never wipe out the threat of being
hurt. That happens only when you find the security of your own
being, which is love. Motivated  by the truth inside you, you can face
any threat because your inner strength is invulnerable to fear. 10. Understand that the physical world is just a mirror of a deeper
intelligence. Intelligence is the invisible organizer of all matter and
energy, and since a portion of this intelligence resides in you, you
share in the organizing power of the cosmos. Because you are
inseparably linked to everything, you cannot afford to foul the
planet’ s air and water. But at a deeper level, you cannot afford to live
with a toxic mind, because every thought makes an impression on the
whole field of intelligence. Livin g in balance and purity is the highest
good for you and the Earth. Life is a creative enterprise. There are many levels of creation and therefore
many levels of possible mastery. To be completely loving, nonjudgmental,
and self-accepting is an exalted goal, but the important thing  is to work
from a concept of wholeness. Because society lacks a vision of the road’ s
end, the eminent psychiatrist Erik Erikson laments, “Our civilization does
not really harbor a concept of the whole of life. ” The new paradigmprovides us with such a concept, knitting body, mind, and spirit into a unity. The later years should be a time when life becomes whole. The circle closes
and life’s purpose is fulfilled. In that regard, active mastery is not just a way
to survive to extreme old age—it is the road to freedom. OceanofPDF. comIN PRACTICE:
Breath of Life
In its most complete sense, active mastery means handling the whole of life. It is a process of integration, for ordinarily many aspects of the mind are
quite separate from and out of tune with the body, and both are separate
from spirit. Sitting quietly and being aware of yourself, you will notice that
your perception is taken up with mental “noise” (random thoughts,
emotions, memo ries) and occasional physical sensations that may or may
not have  anythi ng to do with what is going on in your mind. Usually the
perception of spirit is completel y lost or ignored; even in moments of silent
witnessing, those welcome pauses when one is detached from the common
turmoil of mental events, most of us do not recognize that we are contacting
our essential selves. Bringing all these ingredients back into unity isn’t possible on either the
mental level or the physical level alone. Paying attention to one
automatically tends to exclude the other. Unity can be accompli shed at very
deep levels of awareness through meditation, when the duality of mind and
body is transcended, but meditation is restricted to the special time set aside
for it. How do we integrate the remaining hours of our active daily lives. Thousands of years ago the ancient Indian sages gave an answer in the
form of Prana,  the subtlest form of biological energy. Prana is present in
every mental and physical event; it flows directly from spirit, or pure
awareness, to bring intelligence  and consciousness to every aspect of life. You sometimes see Prana defined as “life force” or “life energy,” but what
is more importa nt than a definition is to get experiential knowledge of it. If
you can experience Prana, you can begin to nurture and preserve it. The
critical importance of life energy has been recognized in many culturaltraditions; the Chinese know it as Chi and control its flow through
acupuncture, meditation, and specialized exercises such as tai chi. Other
names for the breath of life appear in Sufism, mystic Christianity, and the
teachings of ancient Egypt. What is universally agreed on is that the more
Prana you have, the more vital your mental and bodily processes. Balanced
Prana gives rise to the following qualities:
RESUL TS OF BALANCED PRANA
Mental alertness Proper formation of tissues
Responsive nervous system;
good motor coordinationSound sleep
Balanced bodily rhythms
(hunger, thirst, sleep,
digestion, elimination, etc. )Strong disease immunity
Enthusiasm Physical vitality
Spiritual realization Sense of exhilaration
These are the natural qualities of human life when it is balanced and
whole. Depleted Prana is directly linked to aging and death. Nothing can
remain alive when Prana is absent, because Prana is intelligence and
consciousness, the two vital ingredients that animate physical matter. The
experience of Prana can be had in many ways: When you are flushed with
sudden energy, feel the inrush of sudden alertness and clarity, or simply
perceive that you are “in the flow,” your attention has been draw n to Prana. Some people sense it as a streaming or buzzing energy in their bodies. These sensations tend to get passed of f as something else (ringing in the ear,
tingling nerves, increased circulation of blood), but that is only a reflection
of how we were taught to perceive our bodies. In India the body is perceived first as a product of consciousness and
only secondarily as a material object. Conserving Prana is considered
extremely impo rtant, and the ancient teachings give the following basic
rules to ensure balanced and vital Prana in the body at all ages:Diet. Eat fresh produ ce, preferably home grown. The highest Prana is in
food eaten straight from the garden. Stale food rapidly loses its Prana; in
fact, anything stale, musty, or moldly indicates the absence of life energy
and should be avoided. Processed food is also very low in Prana


.,Kali-b.,Phos.,Sil. dryatnight,profuseduringtheday:Nux-v.
dryalternatingwithprofuse:Puis. likeeggwhite:Nat-m.
green:Kali-b.,Mercs.,Puis.,Sep. hardcrusts:Kali-b.,Sil. one-sided:All-c,Phos. profuse:All-c,Ars.,Kalis.,Nat-m.,Phos. smelly:Calc-c,Calc-s.,Heps.,Kali-b.,
Mercs.,Nat-c,Puis.,Sil.,Sul. sticky/stringy: Kali-b. thick:Calc-s.,Kali-b.,Kalis.,Nat-c,Puis.,
Sil. thin:Nit-ac. watery:All-c,Ars.,Eupr.,Mercs.,Nit-ac,
Nux-v.watery,alternatingwithblockedupnose:
Nat-m.
wateryinthefreshair:Nit-ac,Puis. white:Kali-m.,Nat-m. yellow:Calc-c,Calc-s.,Heps.,Kali-b.,Kalis.,
Lye,Mercs. dirtyyellow:Nit-ac,Puis.,Sep.,Sul. yellow-green: Kali-b.,Mercs.,Puis.,Sep. Nose:
blocked:Calc-c,Carb-v.,Lye,Nat-c
dry:Bar-c,Lye,Sul. itching:Sul. runsduringday,blockedatnight:num-v.
Sinuses:
blocked/painful: Kali-b.,Lye,Mercs.,Sil. Sneezing:All-c,Ars.,Bry.,Carb-v.,Eup-p.,
Heps.,Mercs.,Nux-v.,Puis.,Sul. betterforsneezing:Calc-f. frequentsneezing:Ars.,Carb-v.,Mercs.,
Nux-v.,Sul. difficultsneezing:Calc-f.,Carb-v.,Sil. inastuffyroom:Puis. slightestuncovering:Heps. With:
cough:Euphr. drythroat:Kali-b. eyeinflammation: Euphr.,Sul. headache:Aco.,All-c,Bell.,Bry.,Lye,
Mercs.,Nux-v.
fever:Bell.,Mercs. hoarseness:Calc-c,Carb-v.,Mercs.,Phos. itchingthroat:Carb-v.
painlesshoarseness:Calc-c. lossofsmell:Bell.,Calc-c,Calc-s.,Mercs.,
Nat-m.,Phos.,Puis.,Sep.,Sil. lossoftaste:Bell,Nat-m.,Phos.,Puis.,Sil. sneezing:All-c
sorethroat:All-c,Mercs.,Nux-v.,Phos. Better. freshair:All-c,Kalis.,Nux-v.,Puis. Worse:
coldandheat:Mercs. aftereating:Nux-v.
freshair:Nit-ac
aftergettingup:Nux-v.
morning:Calc-c,Nux-v.
evening:Ars. night:Mercs.,Nit-ac. ontheright:Ars.,Lye
fordrinkingmilk:Calc-s.
stuffyroom:All-c,Kalis.,Puis. uncovering:Heps. Causes:
gettingchilled:Aco.,Bell. gettingchilledwhenoverheated:Ars. coldwind:All-c.
. J
170•Complaintsfront/after INTERNALREPERTORY
cold,drywind:Aco. draughts:Nux-v.
gettingheadwet:Bell. gettingwetfeet:All-c.
swimminginthesea:Mag-m.
Complaintsfrom/after(seealsoWorse)
Accident/injury:Am.,Bcll-p.,Con.,Hyp.,Nats. Anger:Cham.,Cocc,Colch.,Coloc.,Ign.,Ip.,
Nux-v.,Op. suppressedanger:Stop. angerwithanxiety:Ars.,Ign.,Nux-v.
Badnews:Ccls. Gettingchilled:Aco.,Bry.,Mcrc-s.,Nux-v.,Phos. Rhus-t.
whenoverheated: Bcll-p. Changeofweather:Bry.,Caust.,Dulc,Kalis.,
Phos.,Rhod.,Rhus-t.,Sil.,Sul. anychange:Phos. fromcoldtowarm:Bry.,Kalis.,Sul. tocold:Rhus-t.,Sil. todamp:Dulc,Rhus-t.
todry(especiallydrycold):Caust. tostormy:Rhod. Coffee:Chain. Coldwind:Aco.,Bell.,Heps.,Nux-v.,Spo. Disappointed love:Ign.,Nat-in.,Pho-ac,Stop. Excitement: Coff.,Gels.,Pho-ac.,Puis.,Stap. Fear:Aco. Fright:Ign.,Pho-ac,Puis. Grief:Caust.,Cocc,Ign.,Lach.,Nat-tn.,Pho-ac,
Puis.,Stap. Humiliation(woundedpride):Coloc,Ign.,Lye,
Nat-m.,Pho-ac,Stap. Indignation:Colch.,Coloc,Stap. Injuriestonerves/coccyx:Hyp. Joy:Coff. Lossofbodyfluids:Calc-p.,Carb-v.,Chin.,
Pho-ac. Measles:Carb-v.,Puis. Mentalstrain:Arg-n.,Kali-p.,Lach.,Lye,Nat-c,
Sil.,Stap. Over-eating:Ant-c
Overwork:Kali-p.
Reprimands: Ign.,Op.,Stap. Shock:Aco.,Am.,Ign.,Op.,Pho-ac,Puis.,Sil. Sprains:Calc-c
Sunstroke:Glon.,Nat-c.
Suppressionofemotions:Ign.,Nat-m.,Stap. Surgery:Am.,Bell-p.,Hyp.,Stap. Teething:Cham. Vexation:Ip. Gettingwet:Calc-c,Caust.,Puis.,Rhus-t.,Sep. Gettingfeetwet:Puis.,Sil. Gettingheadwet:Bell. Concentration
Poor:Bar-c,Caust.,Lye,Nux-v.,Sil.ConfidenceseeSelf-confidence,Lackof
Confused(seealsoAbsent-minded; Forgetful)
Arg-n.,Bell.,Calc-c,Carb-v.,Cocc,Glon.,
Lach.,Mercs.,Nat-c,Nat-m.,Op.,Petr.,
Rhus-t.,Sep.,Sil.,Sul. Inthefreshair:Petr. Conjunctivitis seeEyeinflammation
Conscientious Ign.,Sil. Constipation Calc-c,Caust.,Heps.,Lye,Mag-m.,
Nat-mitNux-v.,Op.,Sep.,Sil. Alternateswithdiarrhoea:Nux-v.
Belly/stomach feelsfull:Sep.
Desiretopassstool:
absent:Op. constant:Nux-v.
ineffectual:Caust.,Lye,Mag-m.,Nat-m.,
Nux-v.,Sep.,Sil. Pains:
burningafterstool:Sil. stitching:Caust. Stools:
blackballs:Op. crumbling:Mag-m.,Nat-m.
hard:Lye,Mag-m.,Nux-v.,Op.,Sep.,Sil. hardatfirst:Calc-c.
knotty:Lye,Mag-m.,Sil. large:Calc-c,Mag-m.,Nux-v.,Sep.,Sil. pale:Calc-c.
passedwithdifficulty:Mag-m.
rabbits'/sheep'sdroppings:Mag-m.,Nat-m.,
Op.'shy'(theyrecede):Op.,Sil. smallballs:Mag-m.,Nat-m.,Op. soft:Heps. soursmelling:Calc-c.
With:
ineffectualstraining:Mag-m.,Nat-m.,Sep.,
Sil. unfinishedfeeling:Nat-m.,Nux-v.,Op. Better:
beingconstipated: Calc-c.
passingastoolwhenstanding:Caust. Worse:
beforeamenstrualperiod:Sil. duringamenstrualperiod:Nat-m.,Sep.,
Sil. Causes:
alcohol:Nux-v.
drinkingmilk:Mag-m.
over-eating:Nux-v.
pregnancy:Nux-v.,Sep. sedentaryhabits:Nux-v.
Convulsions Bell.,Cina,Cupr. With:
bluelips:Cupr. coldnessofhandsandfeet:Cupr. INTERNALREPERTORY Cough•171
Causes:
worms:Cina
teethingchildren:Bell.,Cina,Cupr. vexation:Cupr. CornsAnt-c,Lye,Sil. Onsolesoffeet:Ant-c.
Undernails:Ant-c.
Horny:Ant-c.
Inflamed:Ant-c,Lye,Sil. Soft:Sil. Pains:
pressing:Ant-c,Lye. sore:Lye,Sil. tearing:Lye,Sil. CoughAco.,All-c,Ant-t.,Am.,Ars.,Bar-c,Bell.,
Bry.,Calc-c,Calc-p.,Calc-s.,Carb-v.,Caust.,
Cham.,Cina,Cocc-c,Con.,Cupr.,Dros.,
Dulc,Euphr.,Ferr-m.,Heps.,Ign.,lp.,
Kali-b.,Kali-c,Kali-m.,Kalis.,Lach.,Lye,
Mercs.,Nat-m.,Nats.,Nux-v.,Op.,Pho-ac
Phos.,Puis.,Rhus-t.,Rumex.,Sep.,
Sil.,Spo.,Stap.,Sui,Ver-a. Inelderlypeople:Bar-c. Breathing


 into believing it to be your truth. Take a look around your world and notice the abundance and end-
lessness of our universe. It goes on and on, beyond our ability to
imagine its vastness. This abundance flows from the same energy that
comprises our fundamental essence. It is you. You are it. Make no
mistake about it. Material form is how spirit makes itself known to us while we are
in form ourselves. Spirit manifests in trees, oceans, fish, birds, min-
erals, vegetables, flowers and you. All that you see around you is a
part of the material manifestation of spirit. Matter is not an illusion,
or something that ought not to be, but is the necessary means
through which spirit differentiates itself on this plane of existence. To feel that it is selfish or non-spiritual to desire and manifest is to
divide the world of spirit and the world of matter into polar oppo-
sites. When we adopt an attitude of spirit being incompatible with
matter, we are denying the spirit that is in matter as its originating
72
Manifest Your Destiny
energy. We also deny the validity of ourselves as spiritual beings. There is no reason to feel ashamed of wanting things to come into
your life. It is far better to have an attitude of deserving whatever
shows up in your life and to be willing to participate in the dance of
creation as a co-creator. When we shift to seeing that together they
comprise one harmonious whole, we remove the stigma of selfish-
ness. Just as each of us is one harmonious whole comprised of spirit
and matter, so, too, is the entire universe. The process of life taking form is a mystery. That mystery is gov-
erned by a creative energy that is knowable when we genuinely feel
worthy of receiving its blessings in form. Abundance is the way of the
creative force in the universe. You are entitled to have abundance in
your life, and to radiate prosperity to all that you encounter in your
world. Nothing is gained by making yourself small and insignificant
other than to manifest smallness and insignificance in your life. To facilitate an attitude of deserving abundance, it will be helpful
to examine what you want to change in order to cultivate this know-
ing at the cellular level of your being. THE CORE COMPONENTS OF WORTHINESS
Everything that you need to master in order to make this fifth
principle a working model in your life is available as a mental activity. You do not need to go out into the world and conquer it in any way. It is simply a matter of changing your mind about your basic worthi-
ness to receive all of God’s blessings, be they material or otherwise. There has been a lot of effort put into conditioning us to feel
unworthy of having all that life has to offer. Most of us have accepted
a lot of the stuff that egos have thrown our way, beginning with our
arrival as infants. Certainly there is nothing wrong with an attitude of
poverty and asceticism. If this is your path, you know it deep within
syourself and you know that God appears in all things material and
nonmaterial. Spirit cannot be divided into better or worse, depend-
73
WAYNE W. DYER
ing on which of God’s creations you opt to have or not have in your
life. Feeling worthy of any blessings or desires is a feature of your inner
life. To remove the stigma of materialistic selfishness you may need to
rearrange your inner perceptions. Here are the major perceptions of
beings who know they are worthy and deserving of all of God’s bless-
ing. 74 My self-esteem comes from myself. This person’s statement of his or
her inner perception might be something like the following: “As
a child of God, my worthiness is a given. I am not divided into
spirit and body, rather, I am a part of the all-knowing creation
called God itself. I am a human expressing God without reserva-
tion or restraint. ”
One of the reasons children are often able to express genius is
because they have not yet been hypnotized by the idea of being
limited. If they are able to resist this hypnotic spell, they remain
geniuses and are able to express their unlimited selves through-
out their lives on earth. Too often the ideas of other egos are what constitute our
impressions of ourselves as unworthy. We listen to the admoni-
tions of others who have low self-regard, and who are attempting
to exert influence and power over us. We then take on the exter-
nal validations of our unworthiness and begin to see ourselves as
some significant others would have us believe we are. It is
beyond the scope of most young children to resist these ideas. But, as adults, we can look back at this hypnosis and free our-
selves from its absurdity. You must know within that you are a part of the light that
lighteth every man. You are evidence of the existence of God,
and in your own particularized individuality, you have God
within you. Therefore, you must be able to say with conviction,
Manifest Your Destiny
“God is me, and I am God. ” It is this truth that will free you
from your feelings of unworthiness to attract to yourself all that
you desire. Think of your own desires to manifest as having been placed
there by spirit, and that those desires, which are housed in love
and service, are precisely what God wants to give you, and that
your desire is the direct path to receiving those blessings. Let go
of the idea that desire is selfishness and remind yourself that if
you had no desires ever, you would still be living an infantile
existence with toys in a sandbox. Whenever you feel unworthy of having your manifestations
arrive, remind yourself that no one is unworthy and that the
same divine energy that flows through you flows through all of
God’s children and that all are worthy. This includes you. Your desires are the very tools that allow you to grow and
experience the perfection of the universe. They take you beyond
any limitations that you might have embraced and lead you to a
higher spiritual awareness. Even the idea of achieving enlighten-
ment and mastery is a desire that you must honor. I accept myself without complaint. A person with this self-perception
thinks something like the following: “I am willing to face every-
thing about myself, without lapsing into self-contempt or repu-
diating my essential value as a piece of God. ”
Self-acceptance is something that must be unconditionally
known within ourselves. To accept oneself is not necessarily to
accept every behavior. Rather, it is a refusal to engage in sabotag-
ing acts of self-loathing. If you are in a state of self-rejection you
cannot feel worthy of the munificence of the universe. Your
inner energy is centered on what is wrong with yourself and with
complaining to yourself and anyone who will listen. You showed up here in a specific body, with certain physical
75
76 WAYNE W. DYER
characteristics, with certain measurements and with certain par-
ents and siblings. This is your reality for the physical plane, and it
requires a high degree of willingness to look at your physical
appearance and say, “I accept this without complaint. ”
If you are unwilling to make such a declaration, your inner
energy will be sapped by anger, guilt, fear and pain, all combining
to circumvent the possibility of manifesting your desires. Remember, the ability to attract to yourself is based on the idea,
“That which ought to be. is already. ” What you desire is
already here and can only flow into your immediate life if you are
open to it doing so. Those thoughts of self-repudiation guarantee
that you cannot put out into the universe the knowing and loving
energy that is going to work for you. Self-acceptance is nothing more than a shift in consciousness. It requires only a change of mind. If your hair is falling out, then
you have the choice to mask it, worry about it or accept it. Acceptance means that you really have to do nothing. You honor
your body and the divine intelligence that is at work. When
someone else implies that you have a problem because your hair
is falling out, you don’t even know how to relate to their obser-
vation. Acceptance removes the label of “problem. ”
This is not a faked attitude. It is merely removing the ego
from your inner assessments, which are centered on the approval
of others. With self-acceptance you are able to honestly say, “I
am what I am and I accept it. ” Once this attitude is firmly in
place from a position of self-honesty, your worthiness to receive
the gifts of the universe becomes aligned with that divine power. Self-repudiation causes a misalignment with your divinity. Only you can make the shift. It is nothing more than an inner
perception that you have the power to change in this very
instant. Manifest Your Destiny
I take full responsibility for my life and what it is and is not. This
involves a removal of our strong ego-dominated inclination to
cast blame on others for what is absent from our lives. Taking
total responsibility means an awareness of the power that is
inherent within yourself. Rather than saying “They made me the way I am today” you
shift your inner thought to “I chose to be passive and fearful


variety of other ailments. QCautions  Do not take the essential oil internally. Do not use the essential oil externally during pregnancy. Tincture  (to make, p. 292). For thrush, apply 40 drops, 2–3 times daily. US_142-143_Terminalia_Thymus.indd   143 26/02/16   4:00 pm
144Turnera diffusaKey medicinal plantsTurnera diffusa syn. T. diffusa var. aphrodisiaca (Passifloraceae)
DamianaDamiana
An aromatic shrub growing to 6
1⁄2 ft (2 m),
with smooth, pale green leaves and small, single yellow flowers. Damiana is an excellent tonic herb for
physical weakness and nervous exhaustion. Habitat & Cultivation
Damiana is native to the Gulf of
Mexico, southern California, the northern Caribbean Islands, and Namibia. It is also cultivated in these areas. Damiana is grown from seed  in spring and prefers a hot, humid climate. The leaves are harvested when the herb is in flower  in summer. Related Species
T. opifera and T. ulmifolia are used  as tonics in Brazil and Central America, respectively. Key Constituents
■ Volatile oil (about 0.5–1%),
 including caryophylene,   thymol, and cadinene
■ Flavonoids
■ Hydroquinones (arbutin)
■ Tannins
Key Actions
■ Tonic
■ Nerve tonic
■ Aphrodisiac
■ Mild stimulant■ Mild antidepressant
■ Mild laxative and diuretic
Research
■ Initial research The first
study into the aphrodisiac activity  of damiana (published in 1999)  found that male rats with low  sexual activity became more  sexually active when given damiana extract. One cannot generalize
from animals to humans, but this
does correspond with traditional views of the herb. Other recent research suggests that damiana  helps to prevent raised blood-
sugar levels in diabetics. Traditional &
Current Uses
■ T onic Damiana is a tonic and
restorative for the nervous system,
and has always been considered an aphrodisiac. Its tonic action is partly due to the constituent thymol, which is antiseptic and tonic. ■ Antidepressant Technically,
damiana is a thymoleptic (having a stimulating action on the body and mind). It is given to people suffering from mild to moderate depression or nervous exhaustion. Its stimulating and restorative properties make it valuable when anxiety and depression happen together. ■ Sexual restorative Due to its
reputed testosterogenic activity, damiana has always been seen as  an herb for men, helpful in treating premature ejaculation and impotence. It is, however, beneficial for both men and women, being considered restorative to the reproductive organs of both sexes. ■ Gynecological problems
Damiana is often given for painful and delayed periods, and is used specifically for headaches connected to menstruation. ■ Urinary antiseptic Being a
diuretic and urinary antiseptic, damiana is useful in the treatment of urinary infections such as cystitis and urethritis. This action is partly due to the constituent arbutin, which is converted into hydroquinone, a strong urinary  Parts Used
Key Preparations
& Their UsesLeaves are harvested
in summer. They make a pleasant-tasting tea and  are used for a wide range  of medicinal preparations. antiseptic, in the urinary tubules. This
constituent is also found in a number of other plants, notably uva-ursi (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, p. 170). ■ Laxative Damiana is a mild
laxative, useful in the treatment of constipation due to poor bowel muscle tone. Self-help Use
■ Anxiety, depression, &
 tension, p. 308.Tincture (to make, p. 292) is a
nerve tonic and antidepressant. For mild depression, take 30
drops with water 4 times a day.Infusion (to make, p. 291) is a
tonic and is useful for urinary
infections. Drink 3/4 cup (150 ml)
daily as a general tonic.Damiana is a traditional aphrodisiac of the Maya
people in Central America. It continues to be considered valuable as an aphrodisiac and general tonic, and its stimulant, tonic action also makes it
a valuable remedy for those suffering from mild depression. Damiana has a strongly aromatic, slightly bitter taste. The leaves are used to flavor liqueurs and are taken in Mexico as a substitute for tea. Dried leavesFresh leaves
Tablets usually also
contain other herbs. T ake as a relaxing tonic. US_144-145_Turnera_Ulmus.indd   144 26/02/16   4:00 pm145Ulm Us r UbraKey medicinal plants
Capsules (to make, p. 292)
For bronchitis, take a 200 mg
capsule 2 –3 times a day.Ulmus rubra (Ulmaceae)
Slippery Elm
Habitat & Cultivation
Slippery elm is a native of the U.S.
and Canada, and is most commonly
found growing in the Appalachian
Mountains. The tree thrives on high
ground and dry soil. The inner bark
of the trunk and branches is collected
in spring. Related Species
White elm ( U. americana ) is used in
a similar way to slippery elm, and was
taken for coughs by the Mohicans. In
Europe, the dried bark of elm ( Ulmus
spp.) was used as a demulcent, and
was first mentioned by Dioscorides
in the 1st century ce. Key Constituents
■ Mucilage
■ Starch
■ Tannins
Key Actions
■ Demulcent
■ Emollient
■ Nutritive
■ LaxativeResearch
■ Mucilage  There is limited
research into slippery elm, but its
action as an herb with large quantities
of mucilage is well understood. When
the herb comes into direct contact
with inflamed surfaces such as the
skin or the intestinal membranes,
it soothes and coats the irritated
tissue, protects it from injury, and
draws out toxins or irritants. ■ Reflex action  When slippery
elm is taken internally, it is thought
likely that it causes a reflex
stimulation of nerve endings in
the stomach and intestines that
leads to secretion of mucus by the
membranes of the urinary tract. Traditional &
Current Uses
■ Nourishing  T aken regularly,
slippery elm is a nutritious and
soothing food that acts as a prebiotic,
supporting beneficial bacterial growth
within the gut. It is excellent as a baby
food and during convalescence. ■ Digestive disorders  Slippery elm
is a particularly soothing herb and can
bring instant relief to acidity, diarrhea,
and gastroenteritis. It will also help
alleviate conditions such as colic,
inflammation of the gut, constipation,
hemorrhoids, diverticulitis, and
irritable bowel syndrome. ■ Urinary problems  This herb
is a useful remedy for urinary
problems such as chronic cystitis. ■ Respiratory conditions
Slippery elm has been used to treat
all manner of chest conditions and
has a soothing effect on everything
from coughs and bronchitis to pleurisy
and tuberculosis.Slippery elm
A large tree growing
to 59 ft (18 m) with
a brown trunk and
rough gray-white bark
on the branches. ■ External uses Applied externally,
the herb softens and protects the
skin. It also works very well as a
“drawing” poultice for boils
and splinters.Slippery elm  produces red-brown fruit,
each consisting of a single seed,
in summer. Parts Used
Key Preparations
& Their UsesInner bark of 10-year-old
slippery elm trees is collected
in spring and powdered. Self-help Uses
■ Acidity & indigestion, p. 307. ■ Acne & boils, p. 305. ■ Constipation in children, p. 318. ■ Hemorrhoids, p. 302.This marvellous herb is a gentle and effective remedy
for irritated states of the mucous membranes of
the chest, urinary tubules, stomach, and intestines. It was used in many different ways by Native
Americans—as a poultice for wounds, boils, ulcers,
and inflamed eyes, and internally for fevers, colds, and
bowel complaints. Slippery elm has a strongly
mucilaginous “slippery” taste and texture.Bark contains mucilage that
soothes irritated tissues
Dried barkFresh bark
Infusion  Mix 1 heaped tsp with
3 cups (750 ml) of warm water. Infuse for 5 minutes. For
diarrhea, drink a whole dose
1–2 times a day.Poultice  For wounds, add several
drops of calendula tincture to
1 tsp of powder. Mix into a paste
and apply ( see p. 295). Tablets  T ake for diarrhea.Powder  For acid indigestion, take 1 tsp with water 2–3 times daily. US_