utathione-S-transferase—in the liver, which is able to remove toxic free radicals from
the blood stream.5 The normal activity of this enzyme is increased by 600-700% by the coffee
enema, hence vastly increased detoxification results. Coffee is also rich in potassium, which helps
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 8 9Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comprevent intestinal cramping by boosting the potassium content of deficient smooth muscles in the
colon.
In 1990 a remarkable study appeared in a peer-reviewed German medical journal under the
title “Experiences with the Use of Dietary Therapy in Surgical Oncology.” Its author, Dr. Peter
Lechner, of the Oncological Outpatient Department, District Hospital, Graz, Austria, reported
on a six-year clinical study of a modified version of the Gerson Therapy followed by a group
of 60 cancer patients who were also receiving orthodox treatment. According to Dr. Lechner,
this greatly reduced version of the Gerson protocol was used as an adjuvant therapy, not as
an alternative to conventional oncological treatments. Moreover, the patients carried out the
nutritional therapy in their homes, which made strict supervision impossible. Even so, at the end
of six years Dr. Lechner was able to report the following results: patients generally suffered
fewer post-operative complications and adverse side effects of radio- and/or chemotherapy,
their need for analgesics and psychotropic drugs was less than that of the controls, existing
liver metastases progressed more slowly, and the patients’ psychological state was good
throughout. The malnutrition-caused cachexia (severe wasting), which normally occurs in
advanced stages of the disease could be prevented or at least greatly delayed in most cases.
One 77-year-old woman patient on the nutritional regime achieved a complete remission
without conventional therapy.6
In the course of the six-year clinical study Dr. Lechner and his colleagues were also able to
justify Dr. Gerson’s use of coffee enemas, by following up independent research by Djerussi (1959)
and Kaufmann (1963). This showed that the two active ingredients of the coffee, Cafestol and
Kahweol, increased up to sevenfold the activity of Glutation-S-Transferase, which, as we know
from the Minnesota research (see above), plays a central role in the elimination of toxins from the
liver. All in all, cautious and restrained though Dr. Lechner’s conclusions are, it is clear from his
report that even a greatly watered-down version of the Gerson Therapy achieves unexpected and
unprecedented good results in the treatment of patients with metastasized malignancies.
The most recent in-depth study of the anti-cancer components of Gerson’s food regime was
written by Carmen Wheatley, Ph.D., a member of the Orthomolecular Oncology Group, U.K.
She became interested in the subject through the experience of her friend, Oxford Professor of
English Literature Michael Gearin-Tosh, who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1994. His
prognosis was poor: 6-9 months’ survival without any treatment, 1-2 years with “appropriate”
chemotherapy. Professor Gearin-Tosh refused the latter and after considerable searching chose
the Gerson Therapy, boosting it with meditation, acupuncture, and Chinese breathing exercises.
He described the process from diagnosis to his then current state in his brilliant, highly amusing
book, Living Proof—A Medical Mutiny7 (Against expectations, he lived for 11 years and
eventually died of blood poisoning following dental work.)
Watching her friend’s progress, Dr. Carmen Wheatley became intrigued by the fact that Dr.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 9 0Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comGerson, apparently intuitively, selected foods for his Therapy that have since, some 50 years later,
been shown to have anti-cancer properties. She wrote up her findings in an essay, titled “The Case
of the 0.005% Survivor,” which was peer-reviewed by four eminent physicians, and appeared
as an afterword in Professor Gearin-Tosh’s book. To start with, Dr. Wheatley points out that the
Gerson diet contains several foods in which modern research has identified some key cancer-
fighting components, e.g. flax seed oil with its important contents of Omega-3 fatty acids, fruits
rich in minerals and in bioflavonoids, vegetables of the cruciferous family, namely cauliflower,
cabbages and broccoli, whose anti-cancer properties are borne out by current scientific nutritional
research.
She comments, “ Gerson’s fruit and vegetable diet could be subjected to exhaustive
analysis in the light of modern nutritional oncology research. He didn’t have any of this
scientific knowledge, yet empirically devised a method which ensures that a large range of
these products would be delivered to the cancer patient, intact and in pharmacologically
active doses ” (added emphasis).
In the rest of her study Dr. Wheatley reviews further components of the Gerson Therapy,
from the value of juicing to the importance of coffee enemas and finds all of them scientifically
justified. In conclusion let us quote one of her shrewd comments: “ Conventional medical
methods of treating cancer—chemotherapy, radiation—routinely wipe out an already
depressed immune system and do little to restore it. Yet, as Gerson realized, it is the immune
system which is needed to fight cancer, and therefore building it up should enhance chances
of survival. ”
As time goes on and the lack of success of much of conventional oncology becomes ever
more obvious, research into nutritional therapies is bound to expand and take up its due place in
mainstream medicine. Its findings are bound to confirm again and again that the principles and
practice of the Gerson Therapy are sound and accurate, offering an eminently logical way to heal
disease and maintain health.
References:
1. Cope, F.W. Physiological Chemistry and Physics, V ol.10, No.5. 1978
2. Ibid  V ol.9, No.6, 1977
3. Spain Ward, P. Monograph submitted to the US Office of Technology Assessment, 1988
4. Foster, H.D. International Journal of Biosocial Research, V ol.10, No.1, 1988
5. Sparmins, V.L; Lam, L.K.T; Wattenberg, L.W. Proceedings of the American Association
of Cancer Researchers and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 22:114, Abstract
453, 1981
6. Lechner, P. Aktuelle Ernaehrungsmedizin, V ol.2, No.5. 1990
7. Wheatley, C. in Living Proof— Medical Mutiny, by Michael Gearin-Tosh, Scribner, 2002
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 9 1Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 9
The Gerson Household
Whether a patient is able to spend some time at a Gerson facility or decides to embark on the
therapy at home, the longest part of the healing process—up to two years or more with malignant
disease, much less with other chronic conditions—will have to take place in his or her residence.
For the duration of the treatment the home needs to be turned into a kind of private clinic, where
everything serves the goal of getting well, and nothing is allowed to interfere with that process.
How do we go about that?  Quite simply by bearing in mind that the twin pillars of the Gerson
program are nutrition and detoxification. Since the ill patient suffering from a chronic disease is
both toxic and nutritionally deficient, as a first task the household has to be cleared of all toxic
chemicals and damaging materials or appliances. These are present in vast arrays in most modern
households. Chemical cleansers, gadgets and labor-saving devices emitting harmful radiation or
so-called electro-smog are used daily and taken for granted. It’s only when their dire effects on
the body are understood that we get rid of them.
As the second pillar of the therapy is to provide the patient with hyper-nutrition, a suitably
equipped kitchen is the all-important center where all foods and juices are prepared daily in large
amounts. Let us start by listing the correct equipment for a smoothly running, efficient Gerson
kitchen.
Refrigerator : one very large one or two of average size will be needed to store the large
quantities of organic produce required. A cool, preferably dark, well-ventilated pantry or laundry
room is ideal for storing root vegetables, which don’t need refrigeration.
Juice Machines
As freshly made organic juices are one of the most important healing components of the
Gerson program, they must be of the best possible quality, and therefore it is vital to choose the
most efficient juicer—one that will stand up to constant use over two years or so.
There are plenty of models


ystic breast disease, she also had cysts on her
ovaries. Leslie commented, “I kept thinking that there must be something wrong with me. Why would I be getting all of
these cysts in my body?” On examination, Leslie had an enlarged thyroid gland and many signs of an underactive thyroid
condition, including being very fatigued. Laboratory testing showed severe iodine deficiency with a 12% excretion on an
iodine-challenge test (normal levels should be above 90%). Upon taking iodine (in the form of an iodine/iodide
mixture—
Iodoral
®
), Leslie noticed a dramatic improvement in her condition. “Within two weeks of taking iodine, I had more
energy and within one month, my breast cysts began to fade. After taking the iodine for two months, my breasts were soft
and the lumpiness was gone. It no longer hurts to wear clothing. It feels like a miracle,” she said. The ovarian cysts
Leslie had struggled with also resolved. Repeat testing of iodine levels showed a normal excretion rate on a challenge
test (94% excretion). Leslie’s holistic treatment plan includes the use of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and natural hormones.
Update on Leslie’s condition: Leslie has been on iodine for over three years now. “I am 100% better. There is no sign
of fibrocystic breast disease. I would like to tell everyone who suffers with this disease that there is a simple treatment—
iodine. No one should suffer from this illness,” she said.
New 5
th

Edition Update on Leslie’s condition: At Leslie’s last visit, I told her I was writing an update to the iodine
book. She became excited and said, “You must let your readers know how much it has changed my life. I was miserable
before taking iodine. Every woman with fibrocystic breast disease should know about this.”
Leslie’s case is not unique. The treatment of breast cysts with iodine has been reported for over 50 years. Most patients with
breast cysts will significantly improve their condition with
iodine supplementation.
Chapter 8
 contains more information on the
relationship between breast disease and iodine deficiency.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I have used various iodide preparations for years, with mixed success. Although they are effective for certain conditions such
as sinusitis, there is clearly an advantage to using a combination of iodide and iodine together. The results that I have seen in my
patients have convinced me that using a combination of iodide and iodine is a much more effective and appropriate treatment than
using iodide alone.
1
 Thrall, K. Distribution of iodine into blood components of the Sprague-Dawley rat differs with the chemical form
administered. Fundamental and applied Toxicology. 15:75-81. 1990
2
 Eskin, B. Different tissue responses for iodine and iodide in rat thyroid and mammary glands. Biological Trace Element
Research. Vol. 49, 1995
3
 Eskin, B. IBID. 1995
4
 Aceves, C. Is Iodine a gatekeeper of the integrity of the mammary gland? J. of Mammary Gland Biol. and Neoplasia. Vol.
10, No. 2. April 2005.Chapter 4
Iodine and the Thyroid Gland
CHAPTER 4: IODINE AND THE THYROID GLAND
Iodine is an essential ingredient in all of the thyroid hormones. T4 (thyroxine) contains four iodine atoms. T3 (triiodothyronine)
contains three iodine atoms. Without sufficient iodine supply, the thyroid gland is unable to make thyroid hormones in adequate
amounts.
The thyroid gland cannot optimally function in an iodine-deficient state. One of the consequences of an iodine-deficient state
is goiter (swelling of the thyroid gland). Over a hundred years ago, it was shown that goiter could be avoided and often reversed
with iodine. In addition to goiter formation, iodine deficiency may also lead to other thyroid conditions including hypothyroidism,
autoimmune thyroid diseases such as Graves’ and Hashimoto’s disease, as well as thyroid cancer. Studies have shown that
iodine-deficient individuals have an increased incidence of anti-thyroid antibodies.
1

2
 This chapter will focus on the relationship
between low iodine levels and hypothyroidism. More information about iodine and autoimmune thyroid illnesses and thyroid
cancer can be found in the
Chapter 6
.
Iodine is found throughout the body, with approximately 15-20mg stored in the thyroid of the average adult.
3

4
 When body
iodine levels are sufficient, the thyroid gland can hold up to 50mg of iodine. The thyroid gland requires adequate iodine levels to
make thyroid hormone. The thyroid gland has developed a specialized system to concentrate a large amount of iodine as
compared to its size. This system is known as the sodium/iodide symporter (NIS). There are other tissues of the body that utilize
NIS to concentrate iodine including the breasts, kidneys, placenta, stomach, rectum, and salivary glands.
5
The thyroid gland is located in the lower part of the neck and produces thyroid hormone. It is regulated by the pituitary gland
which produces thyroid stimulating hormone—TSH. TSH stimulates the thyroid gland to release thyroxine (T4). Triiodothyronine
(T3) is converted from T4 in the periphery of the body. T3 is believed to be the active form of thyroid hormone that drives the
metabolic functions of the body. The Figure below illustrates how the thyroid gland produces thyroid hormone.
T4 and T3 are the most common thyroid hormones produced. The ‘4’ in T4 and the ‘3’ in T3 refer to the number of iodine
atoms present. As previously stated, T4 has four iodine atoms present, while T3 has three iodine atoms present. The end result of
iodine deficiency is severe. It can include a poorly functioning thyroid gland, goiter, increased autoimmune thyroid problems, and
an increased risk of thyroid cancer.
Thyroid hormone is essential for normal brain development of the newborn. Since iodine is necessary for the production of
thyroid hormone, an iodine-deficient state may predispose the newborn to abnormal brain development. In children, iodine
deficiency can result in mental retardation, goiter, lowered IQ, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism.
Furthermore, fetal iodine deficiency is associated with
increased rates of stillbirth, abortion, and congenital anomaly.
6
 The World
Health Organization stated that iodine deficiency is the single greatest cause of preventable mental retardation.
7
 Research has
found almost a 50% increase in perinatal mortality due to iodine deficiency.
8
 When iodine deficiency is rectified, neonatal
mortality has been shown to decline by over 50%.
9

10
Many studies have shown that children who live in iodine-deficient areas have lower IQ’s as compared to children living in
iodine-sufficient areas. A large analysis comparing children in iodine-deficient and iodine-sufficient areas showed a 13.5 point
difference in IQ score.
11
Janet, age 57, had been treated for hypothyroidism for two years. She was found to be deficient in iodine and given a
therapeutic trial of a combination of iodine and iodide (Iodoral
®
). I asked her to write a letter to me about her
experience with iodine. She wrote the following letter:
“After taking Armour
®
 thyroid for over two years, I began to feel somewhat sluggish and felt that perhaps I needed
more thyroid hormone. Dr. Brownstein told me to take two tablets of iodine (Iodoral
®
–25mg) with my thyroid medicine. It
has been over five months since I began the iodine treatment and I still feel the perkiness everyday that I have been
looking for. In fact, I started to feel better the first day that I took the iodine. The
iodine certainly was needed. I am just
thrilled about how much better I feel.”
WHAT ABOUT IODIZED SALT?
As mentioned in
Chapter 2
, iodine was added to iodized salt over 70 years ago to combat goiter and cretinism. The RDA to
combat these illnesses was established (150ug/day) with one goal in mind: prevent goiter and cretinism. The RDA for iodine has
been successful at combating goiter and cretinism; however, the RDA is woefully inadequate in preventing many other thyroid
disorders including hypothyroidism, Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s disease, and thyroid cancer. Furthermore, the RDA for iodine
fails to provide optimal amounts of iodine for the rest of the body’s iodine needs. Finally, our increasing exposure to toxic
halogens—bromide, fluoride, and chlorine derivatives—have markedly increased our iodine requirements. Other illnesses
associated with iodine deficiency (e.g., breast cancer, fibrocystic breast disease) are covered in other chapters.
HOW COMMON ARE THYROID PROBLEMS?Thyroid illnesses are found at ever increasing numbers. Recent studies have estimated that 10% of the adult population of the
United States (13 million) may have laboratory evidence of thyroid disease.
12
 I have written in my book,
Overcoming Thyroid


	things.
Dreams	are	illusory,	so	every	other	subtle	phenomenon	is	an	illusion	also.
If	you	see	or	hear	anything	that	isn’t	physical,	you	must	be	hallucinating.
Seeing	a	god	or	angel	is	the	equivalent	of	seeing	a	UFO.	Both	are	outside
normal	experience.
Sacred	visions	are	the	result	of	organic	diseases	like	epilepsy	or	paranoid
schizophrenia.
Yet,	to	create	in	consciousness	is	our	greatest	gift,	and	what	we	create
continues	to	evolve.	If	you	open	yourself	without	judgment	to	your	role	as	a
creator,	you	gain	much	more	freedom.	Genesis	doesn’t	have	to	be	a	far-off
event	that	put	the	universe	into	play.	It	can	be	a	constant	event	that	renews
itself	at	every	moment.
A	great	work	of	art	can	begin	in	a	dream,	a	vision,	or	an	inspirational
moment.	It	gestates	in	the	invisible	reaches	of	the	imagination,	but	then	the
artist	begins	to	shape	it	in	clay	or	on	a	canvas.	The
Mona	Lisa
	needed	an
audience,	and	that	audience	had	to	think	that	painting	was	important.	The
painting	had	to	inspire	viewers	with	its	beauty,	and	as	it	did,	it	gained	fame,
appreciation,	and	understanding.	Eventually,	if	an	artwork	is	supreme,	a
whole	culture	adores	it.	The	word	“angel”	could	be	substituted	for	“Mona
Lisa”	without	much	change.	Being	a	work	of	art,	a	human	product,	the
Mona
Lisa
	doesn’t	stir	our	skeptical	nature,	but	since	we	can’t	observe	ourselves
creating	angels,	we	aren’t	as	accepting	of	the	process.	The	next	step,	then,	is
to	unfold	that	process	in	detail.
Projection
The	mechanism	by	which	angels	are	created	is	called	projection.	In	the	field
of	psychology	this	term	is	often	used	pejoratively,	as	a	synonym	for	hanging	a
subjective	state	on	an	object	outside	ourselves.	Instead	of	being	able	to	accept
their	own	negative	emotions,	for	example,	people	frequently	project	them
onto	others.	Consider	these	familiar	exchanges:
I	don’t	think	you	love	me	anymore
.	You’re	just	projecting.	Of	course	I	do.
There’s	a	noise	outside.	I’m	sure	it’s	a	burglar
.	You	think	every	noise	is
something	dangerous.	You’re	just	projecting.If	I	go	to	the	party	next	week	without	losing	ten	pounds,	everyone	will	think
I’m	disgusting.
Stop	projecting.	You	look	fine
.
Projection	can	get	complicated.	A	society	that	feels	endangered	can
project	wild	fantasies.	Muslim	fundamentalists	project	a	West	that	is	corrupt,
unholy,	and	decadent,	while	Christian	fundamentalists	project	an	Islam	that	is
barbaric,	fanatical,	and	godless	in	return.	Projection	is	“successful”	when	we
no	longer	can	see	reality	but	have	created	a	false	version	based	on	fear,
hostility,	anxiety,	or	insecurity—any	negative	emotion	for	which	we	refuse	to
take	responsibility.	Projection	also	can	be	positive,	as	it	is	when	a	smitten
lover	sees	perfection	in	the	object	of	his	love,	although	to	friends	and	family
the	beloved	remains	an	ordinary	creature	of	flesh	and	blood.
Vedic	rishis	said	that	projection	is	the	mechanism	by	which	consciousness
created	reality.	We	are	all	familiar	with	this	because	the	movie	business
depends	entirely	on	projection.	In	Hollywood,	a	star	is	an	actor	who	has
crossed	the	dividing	line	between	reality	and	projection.	When	Tom	Cruise
stops	to	help	a	stranded	motorist	change	a	tire,	or	when	Jennifer	Aniston	goes
out	on	a	date,	it’s	worldwide	news.
Why?
	Because	stars	are	projected	into	a
superhuman	dimension.	Their	smallest	gesture	is	significant	beyond	reason.	If
you	or	I	help	someone	change	a	tire,	it’s	not	a	feat	of	heroism;	if	a	young
woman	goes	out	on	a	date,	the	Goddess	of	Love	hasn’t	entered	the	world.
Projection	is	a	recipe	for	turning	the	human	into	the	superhuman,	and	the
natural	into	the	supernatural.	Here	are	some	of	its	ingredients:
Symbolism:
	Our	projection	must	stand	in	for	something	deeper	and	more
significant.
Desire:
	Our	projection	must	fulfill	a	wish	or	need	that	cannot	be	fulfilled
directly.
Fantasy:
	Our	projection	must	operate	in	the	realm	where	physical
constraints	don’t	hold	sway.
Myth	and	archetype:
	Our	projection	must	be	universal	in	meaning.
Idealism:
	Our	projection	must	connect	us	to	higher	values.
These	requirements	can	be	met	only	in	the	consciousness	of	a	creator.	A
fireman	who	rescues	a	child	from	a	burning	building	isn’t	a	hero.	He’s	just	a
man	in	a	fireproof	coat	who	runs	into	flames	as	part	of	his	job.	Heroism	is
created	by	projecting	the	necessary	ingredients:
The	fireman
symbolizes
	a	protecting	father.
He	fulfills	our
desire
	to	be	rescued	from	peril.
In
fantasy
	he	is	more	powerful	than	the	fire.	He	defeats	it	in	personal
combat.
He	fits	the
myth
	of	the	great	warrior	and	the	prince	who	rescues	themaiden	in	distress.
We
idealize
	him	as	heroically	masculine.	Firemen	don’t	just	do	a	job—
they	live	up	to	our	manly	ideal.
Without	projection	we	wouldn’t	see	firemen	the	way	we	do,	and	they
wouldn’t	see	themselves	that	way	either.	This	is	a	good	example	of	how	we
first	create	the	projection	and	then	participate	in	it.	Society	is	constantly
caught	up	in	the	rise	and	fall	of	its	projections.	Sports
figures
	who	take	drugs
become	fallen	heroes;	soldiers	in	battle	step	into	hell;	movie	actresses	are
goddesses	until	their	next	extramarital	affair,	which	turns	them	into	home
wreckers.	People	we	deem	larger	than	life	have	learned	how	to	manipulate
symbols,	fantasies,	ideals,	and	myths.	The	most	successful	products	in	the
marketplace	do	this	as	well.
However,	these	superficial	examples	of	projection	hide	a	profound	power
inside	all	of	us.	Our	entire	culture	has	been	built	upon	projection,	and	at	this
moment	you	and	I	are	continuing	the	process.
Projection	creates	meaning
.	By
themselves,	events	are	meaningless	until	we	give	them	value.	Think	of	the
many	deaths	we	see	on	the	television	news.	Some	deaths	feel	meaningless	to
us	because	they	seem	so	remote.	But	if	we	attach	value	to	a	person,
everything	changes.	Certain	phrases—“somebody’s	child,”	“cancer	victim,”
“a	soldier	who	loved	his	country”—cause	us	to	project	a	positive	meaning.
Other	phrases—“insurgent,”	“escaped	convict,”	“gang	member”—flip
meaning	to	the	negative	side.	It	could	be	the	same	death	in	question,	since
everyone	is	someone’s	child,	for	instance.	We	react	to	information	(which
often	comes	prepackaged	with	spin	included)	so	quickly	that	we	lose	sight	of
the	power	we	are	exerting	as	creators.
Everything	that	is	real	at	one	level	of	con


 You don’t need to do
anything. Just be the one who notices that the mind is creating thoughts, and
you are aware of them. In order to do that, you can’t be disturbed by the
thoughts that are being created. If the thoughts bother you, you will leave
the seat of objective observati on and try to change the mind. To truly
achieve witness consciousness, you must be willing to let the thoughts be as
they may and simply be aware that you are aware of them.
If you want to experience true witness consciousness, just look in front
of you. Do you see what’ s there? Don’ t think about it, just see it. That’ s
witness conscio usness. It’s just seeing. You are simpl y witnessing what’ s
there. Now, turn your head and look around. Practice the imme diacy of just
seeing. Notice that your thoughts often have something to say about what
you see. Can you simply notice these thoughts like you noticed what was
outside, or do you have to do something about them? Thoughts,  emotions—
they come up by themselves. Good, now simply notice them.
When you reach the state wher e you can observe what is going on in
the mind and heart, you’ll notic e that you’re not always comf ortable with
what’ s happening inside. What is more, there is the tendency to want to
willfully do something about it. That’ s very natural. If you want to willfully
do something, here’ s what you do—relax. This is certainly not the intuitive
thing to do. You want to prote ct yourself from the inner disturbance by
getting rid of it. That struggle just makes it worse. You are capable of
simply relaxing and not engagi ng with the disturbed energies. At first this
seems impossibl e because you’re trying to get the disturbance itself to relax.
Don’ t do that; You relax. You who notices the disturbance are not the
disturbance. You are witnessing the disturbance, and you are welcome to
relax in the face of it.
You are in the seat of awareness, way back inside, watching the dance
of mind and heart. It’s a very natural place, this place back inside. If you
don’t get pulled into the thoughts and emotions, you can just relax and
notice. Don’ t think about it. The moment you see what’ s going on—just
relax. Relax your shoulders, relax your tummy, relax your buttocks, and
most importantly, relax your heart. Even if the heart itself won’ t relax, the
area around your heart will. You have willpower in there, use it. Here’ s what
you do with your will: relax and release. First relax through your initial
resistance, then release the disturbed energy that comes up. When you dothis, you are actually providing space for the release of the samskaras
causing the disturbance. You are giving them more room to release because
you’re not struggling with the thoughts and emotions they are creating.
Eventually there  is no struggle,  as you have created distance between the
seat of Self and the noisy mind. To be free, you need distance between those
two—subject and object.
Spirituality is not about changing the objects you’re looking at.
Spirituality is about accepting the objects but not getting sucke d into them.
It’s about being detached and feeling at peace with whatever your mind and
heart are doing. When you are totally comfortable with everything that can
come from your mind and heart, they will stop creating inner disturbance.
You don’t know that yet, but it’s true. People often ask whether the mind
will keep talking once you are at peace with it. The mind is talking because
you’re not okay, and it’s trying  to figure out how to be okay  by getting
things the way you want. Once you’re okay in there, there’ s much less to
talk about. Whe n you’re in the presence of someone you love, you’re not
thinking about how to find love. You’re just experiencing the beauty of the
love. Likewise, when you are okay in there, you will not be thinking about
how to be okay. You will just be relaxing into the quiet state of peaceful
well-being. This requires that you be okay with your thoughts and emotions.
Relaxing in their presence is a good start to being okay with them. If you
can’t willfully relax in the face of thoughts and emotions, you will have to
do something about them. You will get pulled down into them and attempt
to do something  to fix what is bothering you. Better to simply relax and
allow the samsk aras the room they need to release. When you relax back
into witness consciousness, you are surrendering to the reality of what’ s
happening.
First relax, then lean away. You who notices are at a distance from
what you are noticing. You don’t have to think about it. Just notice that what
you are seeing in there, thoughts and emotions, are all distinct and at a
distance from you. Now, lean away from their noise. The mind and
emotions make noise. That is not a problem. Just relax and lean away from
the noise. When you lean away from the noise, you are creating distance
between You (the consciousn ess) and the objects of consciousness (the
thoughts and emotions). In that distance, the samskaras have room to release
their energy. It’s going to get uncomfortable, and that’s natural. The
discomfort you are experienci ng is the discomfort of samskaras beingreleased. They were stored with pain; they are going to release with pain—if
you let them. This is the pain that ends all pain.Chapter 31.
Low-Hanging Fruit
The best way to let go of stored pocke ts of pain is to practice. Just as you
practice scales to learn the piano or practice a sport to get good at it, so you
practice letting go to learn how to do it. You start with simple things. We
call these the low-hanging fruit. There are many situations each day when
you create inner disturbance for absolutely no good reason. Bothering
yourself about the car in front of you does no good at all. It only makes you
tense and uptigh t. The cost-benefit analysis is one-hundred-perc ent cost and
zero benefit. Letting go of that tendency should be easy, but it’s not. You
will find that you’re in the habit of insisting and demanding that things
should be the way you want, even if it’s irrational. Things are the way they
are because of all the influences that made them that way. You are not going
to change the weather by complaining about it. If you are wise, you will
start to change your reactions to reality instead of fighting with reality. By
doing so, you will change your relationship with yoursel f and with
everything else.
Start with the small things to prove to yourself that you are capable of
doing this. Working with yourself at this level is practicing letting go. Once
you are able to relax and release through the relatively easy stuff, you will
find you are better able to deal with the bigger situations. You are training
yourself to deal with yourself.
Lots of differen t experiences in life fall into the low-hanging fruit
category. A good practice for letting go can be found in your relationship
with the weather. Believe it or not, you can use the weather for tremendous
spiritual growth. There’ s alway s weather out there: hot, cold, windy, dry,
humid, and everything in between. The weather has nothing to do with you.
It has to do with the forces that are causing it to be the way it is. If you can’t
handle the weat her without getting disturbed, how are you going to handleanything else? Complaining about the weather is a perfect example of
something that has a one-hundred-percent cost and zero benefit. What do
you gain by complaining about the weather? Nothing, except to get upset. “I
couldn’ t handle the heat today. It was terrible. I was sweating.  I hated it.”
Congratulations, you didn’ t have a nice day, and it didn’ t change the
weather one bit.
Eventually, you start to work with yourself. When your mind
complains about the weather, don’t fight with it. If you want, you can use
positive thinking. For example, when the mind starts up with, “It’s hot; I’m
so hot,” instead of getting into that, ask yourself, “How did it get hot? What
does that mean ‘it’s hot’?” Use your mind to remind you that there’ s a star
ninety-three million miles away that is so hot you can actually feel its heat.
That’ s amazing.  Use your higher mind to appreciate and respect reality
instead of complaining about it. When you do this, you are willfully using
your mind for something positive and constructive. Y ou are raising yourself.
Though this practice of positive  thinking is beneficial, ultimately, what
you need to do is relax and release past the disturbance. If you bother to
relax and release, you won’ t be so hot. After all, You in there can’t get hot—
you can only experience that the body is hot. You are way back inside,
witnessing the experience of heat. If you relax and release back into your
seat of cons


 for the improvement of human existence.
It se ems too g ood to be true that mind-forged manacles will
simply drop away of their o wn accord. But that’s exactly what
Rumi m eant w hen he declared that the jail cell is open. S ince we
are alre ady fre e, there is no effort needed to get free. You are free
once you base your life on one thing, your sense of self.
But as things stand, the sense of self is almost t otally
overlooked. Woody Allen’s 1 983 movie, Zelig, depicted its title
character as a kind of historical phantom. Even though he was
totally insignificant, Leonard Zelig was a human chameleon. Hehad the ability to melt into his surroundings completely. The
movie t akes pla ce in the 1920 s and 1930s, and the novelist  F. Scott
Fitzgerald is the first to notic e Zelig’s amazing transformations. At
a Great Gatsby –like party, Zelig is in the liv ing room talking in a
refined Boston accent and upholding Republican values, while
later in the k itchen he comes off as a common man with
Democratic ideas.
Somehow Zelig is everybod y and nobody, everywhere  and
nowhere. That’s a parable for the sense of self. It is present in
every experience but melts invisibly into the backgroun d—until
you star t payin g attention to it. Then the sense of self, un likely as
this seems, takes center stage.
The firs t step is to begin to n otice your sense of self. Imag ine a
debating society where one side is defending a controversial
position on the Middle East conflict, abortion rights, or racism.
See yourself standing up and delivering an eloquent argument on
one side. Let’s say you vehe mently oppose racism, beli eve in a
two-state solution for the Palestinians, and support a woman’s
right to have an abortion.
Now pu t yourself on the opp osing side and make exactly the
contrary argument for each issue. It might help if the contrary
position is outrageous—you might see yourself defend ing the
necessity to ban all abortions or supporting the terrorists who
deny the right of Israel to exist. Even though you will experience
resistance in abandoning the  side you actually believe in, debaters
do it all the time. They shift perspective from pro to co n at the
drop of a hat. This ability to s hift perspectives is beyond any set of
beliefs. We can put on any coat we want to wear. Yet whether you
speak up for i deas you love or ideas you hate, you  are always
present. Your sense of self is independent of anything you think or
say.
Next ex ample: Take any common object in your house and
touch it. Is it you who touched it? Anyone will automatic ally say
yes. Lo ok at the same objec t. Is it you who sees it? Yes again.
There is no time in the history of humankind when the  answer
would be different. What kee ps changing is our mental m odel of
what it means to touch and  see an object. In prehistory, before
language arose, there was no explanation for seeing and to uching.In a n ag e of faith, when dead flesh, the body, was animate d by the
soul, it was God who ma de sensation possible. Today, the
experience of seeing and touching is ascribed to the central
nervous system and the activity of the brain in receiving sensory
data from the world “out there.”
Yet if you don’t bother with any of these explanations, th ere is
only the self having an experi ence. You can modify this ex ercise in
other w ays. In medical school, students are taught that bodily
sensations reach the brain through a spidery web of afferent
nerves running everywhere. If you touch your hand or lift your
arm, the signals from affere nt nerves are responsible for feeling
the experience. Every signal is like an Inca runner dashing from a
remote region to the Andes to the emperor in the royal city of
Cuzco. The information from afferent nerves is constantly flowing,
so w hy don’t w e feel every limb’s weight, position, warmth, and
the like all the time? Sit in your chair and let your attenti on roam
from the top of your head to your nose, then to your heart, then to
the tips of your toes.
If I ask, “Who is roaming from one sensation to another? ” you
will sur ely answ er, “I am.” Th e self selects whatever it wan ts to pay
attention to. Therefore, the self is not bound by the activity of the
nervous system. It is present no matter which nerve cells are
firing.
One fin al exam ple: If you clos e your eyes and see the color blue,
this exp erience is happening  in your awareness. If you open your
eyes and gaze at the blue sky, where is the blueness? It i s still in
your awareness. The experience of blue “in here” and blue “out
there” o ccurs in the same p lace. When you handle an object or
smell it or hea r it, you can remember those sensations. Did the
sensations travel from the outside world to your inside world? We
assume they did. Sitting arou nd a warm campfire and wat ching its
flickering flames is different from remembering the warmth and
the flickering flames. But both experiences happen in awareness.
Hearing a bang in your head and hearing a car backfire on the
street are two different experiences, but they share the undeniable
fact that both occur in awareness.
If awa reness is present both inside and outside, it is
independent of space. Likewi se, the campfire you sat beside mighthave be en in childhood, while the memory of it is now. Since
awareness was registering th e campfire both then and now, it is
independent o f time. Once you see that awareness isn’t b ound by
time and space, then you—the real you that is pure consciousness
—must not be bound by time and space. Wherever your aw areness
goes, yo ur sen se of self is present; the two are fused. The self is
present in everything, but we don’t notice this because, like Zelig,
the self knows how to melt perfectly into every situation.
I thi nk most people, with a little reflection, can accept that  they
have a sense o f self following them everywhere like an invisible
shadow. But to fully pass the “So what?” test, the sense of s elf can’t
simply be a by stander. Part of Woody Allen’s conceit was  that, if
you loo k closely, Zelig appears in photos of momentous events like
a presid ential inauguration—but this didn’t make him im portant.
Similarly, sensing yourself in every experience doesn’t put it
center stage. The direct path brings the sense of self to light.
What’s needed next is to discover the enormous difference this
modest attainment actually makes.
The leap from human to m etahuman, the shift from virtual
reality to the “ real” reality, is all contained in the simple act of
noticing the self. Not the eg o, which wants to hog the l imelight
and cla im that  it and it alone is the self. The ego-personality can’t
help but contain the sense o f self—every experience contains it.
But the  ego blocks our view. It is tied to virtual reality an d keeps
luring our attention everywhere but  the sense of self.
As we’ll see in Part Three, once you rid yourself of all the t hings
you don ’t actually need, your ego can be discarded, too,  but not
your sense of s elf. As the unnecessary burdens and rubbis h of the
spell/dream/illusion are tossed out, the sense of self doe sn’t hog
the limelight. Being the only thing about you that is timeless and
eternal, it doesn’t have to do anything. It simply is, a be acon of
pure aw areness that shines constantly in every second of your
existence. Ironically, everything else in your life has a much
harder time passing the “So what?” test.A10

F R E E I N G  Y O U R  B O D Y
s we saw, co nsciousness i s everywhere, always, and
everything. If that’s true, then you are everywhere, always, and
everything. But in your daily life, even if you were totally
convinced abo ut this, you a re guided in the opposite d irection.
You’ve endured  a lifetime of training and conditioning telling you
that you  are a s olitary person  sitting by yourself in a room. Instead
of always, your life span is ve ry limited, bookended by two events
—birth and death. Instead of  everything, you are a bundle of very
specific things, beginning with your name, gender, marital status,
work, and so on.
The vir tual reality we want to dismantle is made up of many
moving parts that occupy the ir own compartments. One part is the
body, another the mind, the world, and


	diet	should
consist	of	organic,	fresh,	whole/raw/unprocessed	foods,	pure	water	and
avoidance	of	heavily	processed/cooked	foods.
Clean	Up	an	Unrecognized	Toxic	Site:
Your	Pantry
The	hard	part	is	to	obtain	accurate	information	about	what	is	good	for	you	and
what	is	not.	A	woman	who	had	studied	extensively	in	the	fields	of	health	and
nutrition	reminded	me	of	this	fact	in	a	startling	way.	Even	with	her	background,
she	had	little	understanding	of	how	to	select	a	nontoxic	diet.
I	met	Cynthia	at	one	of	my	all-day	seminars.	By	the	end	of	the	day	she	was
motivated	to	make	major	changes	in	her	life	and	asked	if	she	could	purchase	a
day	of	my	time	so	that	I	could	teach	her	how	to	shop	for	healthful	foods.	Despite
all	of	her	previous	study,	she	felt	overwhelmed	with	information	and	confusedabout	how	to	make	healthy	choices.
My	day	with	Cynthia	and	her	husband,	Tom,	serves	as	a	general	guide	for	you
to	start	on	a	path	toward	a	life-sustaining,	nontoxic	diet.	The	first	thing	I	did	with
the	couple	was	to	clean	out	all	toxic	foods	from	their	refrigerator	and	pantry.	We
ended	up	with	several	boxes	filled	with	foods	to	be	discarded;	a	lot	of	it	was
toxin-loaded	breakfast	cereal	that	her	children	would	have	eaten.
Then	we	headed	to	the	local	health	food	store.	We	went	down	each	aisle	and
examined	foods,	read	labels	and	discussed	how	to	select	foods	that	are	either
nontoxic	or	at	least	less	toxic	than	supermarket	alternatives.	For	example,	a
healthy	substitute	for	the	boxed	cereals	was	found	in	the	grain	section	of	the
health	food	store.	We	purchased	a	variety	of	organic,	whole	grains	that	could	be
cooked	like	rice	and	fed	to	the	children.	(By	the	way,	the	kids	loved	it.)
As	Cynthia,	Tom	and	I	walked	through	the	store,	I	began	to	explain	principles
that	would	help	them	in	the	future.	Almost	any	type	of	food	that	has	been
packaged—in	a	box,	jar,	can	or	bottle—has	been	processed	and	is	likely	to
contain	toxic	chemicals.	These	toxic	chemicals	either	can	be	deliberately	added
to	the	foods	(food	additives),	or	they	can	result	from	food	production	practices
(chemical	residues).	Whatever	the	source	of	these	chemicals,	processed	foods
(such	as	breakfast	cereal,	bread,	canned	foods,	frozen	foods,	oils	and	vegetable
shortenings,	soft	drinks,	ice	cream,	cookies,	cake	and	candy)	are	loaded	with
them.	In	addition	to	their	lack	of	nutrition,	the	high	toxic	content	in	processed
foods	makes	them	a	poor	choice.
A	variety	of	food	additives	are	used	to	enhance	flavor,	color	and	texture;	to
help	foods	process	better;	and	to	extend	their	shelf	life.	In	all,	more	than	three
thousand	FDA-approved	additives	are	in	use	today,	and	the	average	American
ingests	more	than	ten	pounds	of	them	per	year.	Imagining	someone	eating	ten
pounds	of	toxic,	synthetic	chemicals	a	year	is	difficult,	but	we	do	it—a	little	at	a
time,	without	realizing	how	it	adds	up.	Although	food	additives	must	be
approved	for	safety,	frequently	they	are	initially	determined	to	be	safe,	only	to
be	removed	later	from	the	market	due	to	unanticipated	harmful	effects.	Do	not
assume	that	food	additives	are	safe	just	because	the	FDA	has	approved	them.
Furthermore,	researchers	usually	test	one	additive	at	a	time,	even	though	we
eat	them	in	combination.	Almost	no	research	goes	into	studying	the	safety	of
food	additive	combinations.	Our	modern	exposure	to	many	different
combinations	of	food	additives	is	a	gigantic	and	dangerous	chemistry
experiment.	The	combined	toxic	effects	of	food	additives	were	reported	in	a
study	conducted	by	B.	H.	Ershoff	(published	in	a	1976
Journal	of	Food	Science
)
that	examined	three	different	FDA-approved	food	additives:	an	artificial	color,an	artificial	sweetener	and	an	emulsifier	(a	substance	that	keeps	oil	and	water
from	separating).	When	fed	one	at	a	time,	these	food	additives	caused	no	readily
observable	side	effects	in	experimental	animals.	But,	when	two	of	the	additives
were	consumed	at	the	same	time,	the	animals	became	sick.	When	all	three	were
combined,	the	test	animals	died	in	less	than	two	weeks!	Bearing	this	in	mind,
pick	up	an	average	box	of	breakfast	cereal	(or	just	about	any	other	highly
processed	food)	and	count	how	many	additives	are	in	the	product.	Obviously,
you	are	eating	these	additives	in	combination.	After	examining	the	labels	on
boxes	of	breakfast	cereal	in	Cynthia	and	Tom’s	pantry,	we	discarded	all	of	them
because	the	labels	showed	that	they	contained	artificial	colors,	flavors,
preservatives	and	hydrogenated	oils.
Read	the	labels	on	the	foods	that	you
buy.When	a	food	contains	artificial	colors,	flavors,	preservatives	or	other
additives,	do	not	buy	it.
What	would	happen	if	we	eliminated	certain	food	additives	from	our	diet?	A
study	reported	in	a	1986	issue	of	the
International	Journal	of	Biosocial	Research
addressed	this	question.	Between	1979	and	1983,	the	New	York	City	public
school	system	gradually	removed	foods	containing	artificial	colors	and	flavors
from	the	school	lunches	served	to	more	than	one	million	children.	During	this
same	period,	without	any	other	changes	being	introduced,	the	schoolchildren’s
academic	performance	skyrocketed.	New	York	City	schools	experienced	the
largest	four-year	gain	in	academic	performance	ever	measured	in	any	city	school
district	in	U.S.	history.	How	was	such	improvement	possible?	Food	additives	are
toxic;	they	poison	cells.	When	you	stop	poisoning	cells,	health	improves.	As	the
health	of	brain	cells	improves,	so	does	the	ability	to	think,	learn	and	remember.
A	contributing	factor	to	today’s	poor	academic	performance	is	the	burden	of
toxic	exposure	on	the	developing	minds	of	our	young	people.	Unfortunately,
once	the	experiment	was	over,	because	of	political	pressure	from	conventional
food	suppliers,	the	New	York	City	schools	reverted	to	“normal”	foods,	and	these
extraordinary	gains	were	lost.
Another	risk	in	processed	foods	you	do	not	find	on	the	label:	toxic	chemical
residues.	The	manufacturer	does	not	deliberately	add	these	chemicals,	but	they
are	present	in	almost	all	ordinary	commercial	foods.	If	manufacturers	do	not	add
it,	they	do	not	have	to	list	it.	(Recall	David’s	exposure	to	mercury	in	tuna	fish;
obviously,	mercury	is	not	listed	on	the	label	but	it	is	in	there,	because	it	was	in
the	fish.)	Chemical	residues	come	from	many	different	sources,	including
industrial	chemical	and	pesticide	residues,	herbicides,	fungicides,	artificial
ripening	agents,	hormones	and	other	veterinary	drugs	and	packaging	materials.
On	our


 in the later pregnancies owing either to
reproductive exhaustion or to too advanced age of the mother." We are concerned at this point for
evidence that will throw light on the relationship between the functioning of the pituitary body in the
base of the brain and the development of this type of facial and mental deformity.
    A striking case is that of a boy sixteen years of age who was a typical Mongolian idiot. He had
two sisters who were much older than he. His mother was a partial invalid when he was born late
in her life. We have no data relative to the details of the children who may have been lost. His
father was living and well except for a railroad injury. This boy at the age of sixteen was infantile in
many of his characteristics and developments. The genitals were those of a boy eight years old.
The facial expression was that of the typical Mongolian idiot. By the Binet test he had a mentality
of about four years. Roentgenograms of his hands showed that the epiphyseal bones had not
united. He played on the floor with blocks and with rattles like a child. His interest was in children's
activities. (Fig. 125.) The outstanding physical characteristic was his maxillary arch which was so
much smaller than the mandibular arch that it went entirely inside it. In order to give him a
masticating surface, and with the hope of helping him both physically and mentally, since several
cases had greatly benefited by such an operation, I determined to widen his arch by moving the
maxillary bones apart about one-half inch. The position of his teeth before the moving of the bones
is shown in Fig. 126. Roentgenograms showing the opening of the median suture with increase of
pressure are also shown in Fig. 126. An important phase of this case was that the left nostril was
entirely occluded, and probably had been all his life. A rhinologist spent half an hour trying to
shrink the tissue with adrenalin and cocain sufficiently to get air or water through, and was not able
to do so. The quantity of air that he was able to inhale through his right nostril was so scant that he
continually breathed with his mouth open. At night he was forced to lie with something like his coat
rolled into a hard ridge and placed under the back of his neck and his head pushed far back to a
position that would open his mouth and retain it so, or he would awaken, strangling because of the
closing of his mouth.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 221/250FIG. 125. These views show physical changes in the
mongoloid type due to movement of maxillary bones to
stimulate the pituitary gland in base of brain. Left, front and
side view before, center, front and side view in thirty days.
Right, front and side view six months after. Aged sixteen,
infantile before, adolescent after operation. While he
improved mentally he was harmless before and a sex pervert
after operation and had to be placed in an institution.
FIG. 126. These x-ray pictures show the position of the teeth
7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 222/250FIG. 126. These x-ray pictures show the position of the teeth
before operation to move maxillary bones; and progessively,
by the dates shown, the widening of the upper arch. In
twelve weeks' time the boy passed through adolescence.
New bone rapidly filled in the space between the separated
bones. The space was retained with a fixed bridge carrying
two additional teeth. His mother was nearly fifty when he
was born.
    With the movement of the maxillary bones laterally, as shown progressively in Fig. 126, there
was a very great change in his physical development and mentality. He grew three inches in about
four months. His moustache started to grow immediately; and in twelve weeks' time the genitals
developed from those of a child to those of a man, and with it a sense of modesty. His mental
change was even more marked. The space between the maxillary bones was widened about one-
half inch in about thirty days. This lateral pressure on the maxillary bones was accomplished by
rigid attachments to the teeth of the two sides of the upper arch. The outward movement of the
maxillary bones (which form the roof of the mouth and sides of the nose) by pressure on the
temporal bones produced a tension downward on the floor of the anterior part of the brain, thus
stimulating the pituitary gland in the base of the brain. In a few weeks' time he passed through
stages that usually take several years. At first, he got behind the door to frighten us; later, he put
bent pins on chairs to see us jump when we sat down, and finally he became the cause of a
policeman's coming to the office from where he was conducting traffic on the corner below to find
who it was squirting water on him when his back was turned. He developed a great fondness for
calling people over the telephone, wanted to borrow my automobile to take his mother for a drive,
and with his arm caressingly about the shoulders of one of the secretaries, invited her to go with
him to a dance. All this change developed in about twelve weeks.
    A most remarkable event happened in connection with this procedure. He lived in another city,
and so, while with me, stayed in a boarding house at a little distance from my office in order that he
might have frequent, and almost constant attention. On his return to his home town, his efficiency
had increased to such an extent that his mother could send him with the money to the grocery store
with the order for the day's groceries, and he could bring back the right change and could tell when
it was correct. He could also come alone to me ninety miles by railroad and make two changes of
trains and the various transfers on the street cars of the city with accuracy and safety.
    He wore an appliance in his mouth to keep the bones in position. This appliance became
dislodged; the maxillary bones settled together; immediately, or in a day or two, he lapsed into his
old condition of lethargy accompanied by an old trouble, which had frequently been distressing,
namely, nausea, this sometimes lasting for twenty-four hours. With the readaptation of the
separating appliance and the reconstruction of the retaining appliance, he returned rapidly to his
improved condition.
    But a new problem had developed. We had changed an infant to a potential man with the
impulses of a man, but with the mind of a child. With the change in his physical condition he
became a menace in his community as a sex pervert. His mother died and his sister married. It
became necessary to have him placed in a state institution for defectives. During the period he was
in my care, he had learned to read child stories and newspaper headings, and had spent much time
doing so. The changes in his physical appearance are shown in Fig. 125, above, front view, and
below, side view. The first picture at the left shows his appearance before the operation; the
second, thirty days after; and the last, six months later. The opening produced in the upper arch in
front of half an inch was filled by supplying two teeth on a restoration, which at the same time held
the maxillary bones in their new position. In six months he had developed whiskers and moustache.
The progressive changes in the position of the maxillary bones with the opening of the median
suture are shown in Fig. 126, together with the mechanical appliance. In the last view, the
restoration carrying the porcelain teeth to fill the space is shown.
    A very important contribution to our knowledge of the cause of Mongolism has recently been
published by Dr. Clemens E. Benda, (8) Clinical Director of the Wrentham State School,7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 223/250Wrentham, Massachusetts, in association with the Harvard Medical School of Boston. He and his
group have approached the problem of Mongolism from two different angles; first, as to determine
whether it is accidental, and second, whether it is a unit of symptoms which can be related to more
essential alteration. Their studies including careful anatomical studies have been made on the basis
of an examination of 125 Mongoloids. He states:
    Summarizing our investigations, the pituitary in mongoloids reveals a peculiar and definite
pathology. On the basis of fourteen cases we feel justified in emphasizing that in mongolism
definite failure of the pituitary development is to be found. Mongolism appears as a
hypopituitarism of a specific type, in which the absence or deficiency of basophiles seems to be
essential.
    The evidence indicates that this severe type of facial and brain injury is related directly to a
lowered reproductive capacity of the mother associated with age, since the majority are born to
mothers beyond forty years of age, and to an inadequate nutrition of the mother, particularly in
vitamin E since this vitamin plays so important a role in the nutrition of the pituitary body.
    Important new data have been provided in an analysis of births in the United States in


; happiness,
moments of joy and pleasure; return of a good appetite and love of food;
better sleep, calmer dreams; lack of bad odors in the mouth and skin, less
sweating; increased physical strength and endurance; and regular physical
functioning (digestion, respiration, motor coordination, and so on).
All of these will come in time. The great joy of getting clean is that the
body loves to be that way. I do not even favor the term rehabilitation. What
you are doing is washing yourself off, inside and out. It is a natural process
that will bring greater results the longer it continues. Temporary relapses are
little more than minor obstacles, as long as you are willing to get back up
and try again. A healthy, beautiful world is waiting for you and gets nearer
with every step you take.
OceanofPDF.comCHAPTER 9
AGING IS A MIST AKE
Although everyo ne falls prey to the aging process, no one has ever proved
that it is necessary. One great advantage of the quantum mechanical body is
that it does not age, a quality one sees throughout the quan tum level of
nature. Protons and neutrons do not grow older; nor does electricity or
gravity. Life, which consists of these fundamental particles and forces, is
astonishingly durable; your DNA has remained much the same for at least
600 million years. A horseshoe crab crawling in the muck of ancient seabeds
bears no visible likeness to a dinosaur, or a dinosaur to a gorilla,  but from the
vantage point of DNA, these are tiny variations on one unending theme.
As far as its chemical bonds go, DNA  is not glued together any more
firmly than is a leaf or a speck of pollen. You would think that such a loosely
gathered bundle of atoms would unravel over time, like an ancient,
crumbling tapestry. Certainly the forces operating against DNA ’s survival are
immense: physic al wear and tear, random destructive mutations, invasion by
competitive microbes, and abov e all entropy, the tendency of the physical
universe to wind down like a neglected clock.
DNA  has outlasted them all. Mountain ranges have been worn down to
hills over the life span of DNA, and yet it is never worn down by even a
thousandth of a millimeter. The glue of the quantum mechanical body is too
strong. If DNA ’s inner intelligence is this powerful, defying time and the
elements for aeons, it seems that aging is not natural at all. Ayurveda
operates on this assumption. Looking past the fact that everyone ages, we go
to the really important question, “Do we have to?” The ancient sages,
renowned for their own immens e longevity, ascribed aging to a “mistake of
the intellect” (called pragya aparadh in Sanskrit).This mistake consists of identifying oneself solely with the physical body.
To exten d life requires correcting the intellect’ s mistake, identifying with the
quantum mecha nical body instead. If you take your mind to a level of
functioning that is beyond age, then your body will begin to be touched with
the same  quality. It will age more slowly because your mind tells it to, at the
deepest level. Seeing yourself as free from aging, you in fact will be. This is
a startlingly simple principle, as yet unrecognized in mainstream Western
medicine, but as we will discover, it is valid.
AGING VERSUS HEALING
Aging seems so complicated that it is difficult even to pin down exactly
what it is. A typical liver cell performs five hundred separa te functions,
which gives it five hundred different ways to go wrong. All of these
possibilities constitute the ways  in which it can age. On the other hand, the
view that aging is complex may be wrong. Despite the thousand waves that
bring it in, the ocean tide is a single phenomenon, driven by a single force.
The same may be true of huma n aging, although we see it as hundreds of
waves: disconnected aches and pains, new wrinkles around the eyes and
deeper smile marks at the corne r of the mouth, a slight but inexorable rise in
blood pressure, a faint loss of hearing and eyesight, and innumerable other
minor inconveniences.
Ayurveda tells us not to be fooled by this complex, distressing show.
Aging is only one thing, the loss of intelligence. Healing, as we saw, is the
ability of intelligence to repair itself. Aging is the opposite, gradually
forgetting how to make things right after they go wrong.
Consider the cells of a newborn baby, which are fresh, full of vigor,
unscarred by time. If you place  them under a microscope side by side with
old adult cells, there is a startling contrast. Old adult tissue is disturbingly
ugly; its cells look battered and used up. It is, after all, a microscopic vision
of an old body. It displays dark patches here and there where debris has
collected and soft tissue has turned fibrous.This drastic change appears to be the result of wear and tear, but DNA,
which controls all the functions of cells, is virtually invulnerable  to wear and
tear, as we just observed. So we are led to conclude that some kind of
invisible damag e is at work. For example, an artery starts out in life looking
perfectly smoot h, shiny, and white, like a piece of rubber surgical tubing
fresh from the factory. But this tubing is actually a community of cells that
have gotten together and taken on the job of forming an artery, mastering the
precise sequenc es needed. Before they joined at their specialized outpost,
each cell could have wound up as part of the brain, the heart, or the stomach
—every possibility was open, because every cell contains the same DNA.
Yet, evolution has dictated that these particular cells take up one job only,
that of being an artery. However specialized, the job is not simple. Rubber
tubing lies passively and lets liquid flow through it. Your arteries, on the
other hand, respond to everything that happens to you, and their responses
have to be both active and intelligent. In biology textbooks, we get the idea
that a cell divides again and again until its time is up, after about fifty
divisions, at which point it dies. But this is a drastically simplified, even a
false view. A cell has experien ces. It remembers what happens to it. It is
capable of losing its skills if links in its innate knowledge  are lost or
damaged. By the same token, a cell could be new all the time, without decay,
if it preserved its complete store of intelligence. The difference  between life
and death for a cell lies in its smriti, or memory. If you take the longest
perspective, a perfect memory in a cell would lead to immortality, for there
can be no death as long as renewal continues without flaws or mistakes.
Science has never proved that DNA is limited in its ability to run a cell in
good working order. Each of your arteries contains the same DNA  that
formed the arteries in Stone Age humans fifty thousand years ago. If DNA
can manage to make perfect arteries for five hundred centuri es, each one
containing milli ons of perfectly operating cells, there is no intrinsic reason
why your DNA  should botch the job after sixty years.
But the botching takes place, and in a lot fewer than sixty years. By age
12, a typical artery changes markedly in appearance. It begins to develop
irregularities in the form of yellow fatty streaks. At the microscopic level,one finds that these irregularitie s started as a result of tiny, nearly invisible
cracks on the inside of the arterial wall. A cell biologist can look at one cell
from such an artery and see the indisputable signs of age. Over the next five
decades, the signs become obvious even to a layman. If you were attending
open-chest surgery and touched a piece of old aorta, the major artery leading
from the heart, it would feel like a stiff pipe (often as stiff as bone, if
arteriosclerosis has advanced far enough). Inside, it would be riddled with
fatty pockets called plaque. You would have no trouble seeing that a terrible
mistake has been made somewhere.
How does one close the gap between one reality—the immortality of
DNA—and another—the frail life span of a human being? In fact the two
realities are very close. There is no physical distance between  us and our
DNA. There is only a gap that exists in the nonphysical realm of knowledge.
As I have made abundantly clear by now, Ayurveda makes a shift away
from the idea of the cell as a physical package of molecules, adopting
instead the idea of the cell as a package of knowledge. As the illustration
below indicates, knowledge is dynamic. It is not packaged inertly, but in
living form, as the constant interplay of three elements.
To have living knowledge, there must be a knower, an object that it
knows, and the process of knowing that connects the two. The Vedic terms
for this basic triad are rishi (knower), devata (process of knowing), and
chhandas (object of knowledge)—taken together, they form the totality of
knowing, or Samhita, the undivided state of pure awareness. The humanmind, then, is a three-in-one creation


erals	such	as	mica	are	not
considered	organic	because	they	are	not	plant	based.	Also,	water	and	salts	are
excluded	when	determining	a	product’s	percentage	of	organic	ingredients.	This
means	that	some
great	products	may	be	an	effective	blend	of	nontoxic
ingredients	derived	from	nature	and	science,	but	may	not	be	necessarily	labeled
100	percent	organic.
There	are	literally	tens	of	thousands	of	beauty	products	on	the	market,	all
virtually	screaming	at	you	from	store	aisles	with	their	bold,	brightly	coloredpackages.	If	you	glance	at	magazines,	you’ll	see	the	latest,	hottest	new	skin-care
ingredients	pop	up	every	month.	It	can	be	very	confusing	to	determine	the
best
(and	worse)	choices	for	your	skin.
HOW	TO	READ	SKIN-CARE	PRODUCT	LABELS	(IT’S	NOT	WHAT	YOU’VE	HEARD)
The	FDA	requires	that	ingredients	be	listed	in
INCI	(International	Nomenclature	of
Cosmetic	Ingredients)	language.	These	labels	often	are	not	easily	read	and	usually
contain	long	words	and	names.	An	overly	simplified	and	false	statement	you	hear	a
lot	is	that	if	you	can’t	pronounce	it,	you	should	not	eat	it	or	use	it	on	your	skin.	But	if
you	look	at	the	INCI	language	required	for	a	natural	ingredient	like	shea	butter,	you
would	see
Butyrospermum	parkii
,	and	for	avocado	you	would	see
Persea
gratissima
.	These	hard-to-pronounce	words	(which	are	the	binomial	plant	names)
would	scare	anyone	who	tried	to	follow	this	rule!	If	you	are	unsure	of	an	ingredient
or	INCI	language	name,	you	can	search	the	INCI	directory.
Best	Radical	Beauty	Skin-Care	Ingredients
Despite	the	“breakthrough”	ingredients	that	are	constantly	being	introduced	by
skin-care	companies,	there	are	some	important	staples	that	should	be	included
in	your	external	beauty	skin-care	routine.	Over	time,	these	have	held	up	as
being	the	most	effective,	from	both	a	clinical	research	and	an	anecdotal	point
of	view.	They	are	among	the	most	important	beauty	ingredients	to	include	in
your	personal	external	skin-care	beauty	arsenal.
Antioxidants
Unless	you	haven’t	opened	a	beauty	or	health	magazine	in	the	last	two	decades,
you	have	surely	heard	of	antioxidants.	Antioxidants,	naturally	present	in	most
plant	foods	in	varying	degrees,	can	help	counter	skin-aging	free	radicals	and
prevent	damaged	skin	cells.	This	means	slowing	down	those	pesky	skin	issues
we	all	want	to	avoid,	such	as	wrinkles,	dry	or	dull	skin,	dark	under-eye	circles,
and	crow’s	feet.
You’ll	find	a	very	wide	range	of	antioxidants	and	corresponding	plant
ingredients	touted	in	various	skin-care	products.	These	can	range	from	coffee
berry	to	acai	and	a	range	of	other	berries	and	fruits.	Some	of	the	most	powerful
antioxidant	ingredients	are	listed	below.
Vitamin	C
Vitamin	C	is	so	powerful	and	produces	such	great	results	that	no	skin-care
routine	should	be	without	it.	It’s	present	in	many	fruits	and	vegetables	and	is
added	into	skin-care	products	in	a	concentrated	form.	Vitamin	C	has	long	beenconsidered	a	workhorse	ingredient,	and	its	effectiveness	has	been	backed	up	by
clinical	research.
6
	It	increases	collagen	production,	which	creates	firm,
beautiful,	and	thicker	skin	over	time,	helps	to	keep	skin
hydrated,	and
diminishes	fine	lines	and	wrinkles.	As	an	antioxidant	vitamin,	it	helps	squash
skin	damage	caused	by	unstable	free	radicals	and	sun	exposure
7
	and	also	boosts
the	efficacy	of
vitamin	E.	On	a	label,	concentrated	forms	of	vitamin	C	often
read	as	L-ascorbic	acid.
Vitamin	E
Vitamin	E,	made	up	of	tocopherols	and	tocotrienols,	is	another	great
antioxidant	vitamin	that	is	highly	protective	of	your	cells	and	helps	your	skin
retain	moisture	to	stay	supple	and	beautiful.	Vitamin	E	also	helps	reverse
existing	damage	to	your	skin,	including	scarring	from
acne	and	blemishes	and
age	spots.	Used	in	a	skin-care	product	formulation,	vitamin	E	also	helps
stabilize	other	ingredients	as	well	as	oils,	preventing	them	from	going	rancid.
Tocopherol	acetate	is	an	artificial	form	of	vitamin	E	that	is	often	seen	on
product	labels.	It’s	made	from	a	combination	of	naturally	derived	vitamin	E
and	other	chemical	compounds,	such	as	acetic	acid.	The	natural	vitamin	E	is
generally	considered	preferable.
Vitamin	A	and	Its	Derivatives
There	has	been	a	lot	of	research	on	this	ingredient	dating	back	to	the	1980s,
proving	it	to	be	a	highly	effective	anti-aging	treatment.	It	helps	improve	cell
communication,	in	effect	“telling”	your	skin	cells	to	correct	themselves.	This
improves	the	look	of	wrinkles	and	promotes	firmness	so	your	skin	appears
more	healthy	and	youthful.	Vitamin	A	is	the	precursor	to	retinoids,	which	can
be	applied	topically	or	ingested;	they	cannot	be	made	in	the	human	body.	These
retinoids,	or	retinoic	acids,	come	in	various	forms,	including	retinol,
retinyl
palmitate,	tretinoin,	and	tazarotene.	Some	of	these	require	a	prescription,	while
retinol	and	retinyl	palmitate	can	be	found	in	various	over-the-counter	products.
This	category	of	ingredients	has	been	shown	to	help	promote	smoother	skin
and	overall	brighter	skin	tone,	while	reversing	discoloration	and	repairing
cellular	structure	damage,	such	as	scars,	lines	and	wrinkles,	and	even
acne.
This	is	all	great,	but—and	there’s	a	big	“but”	here—retinoids	are	considered	by
some	to	be	toxic.	This	is	largely	due	to	their	ability	to	make	you	more	sensitive
to	sunlight	and	because	of	pregnancy	concerns.	The
Environmental	Working
Group	states,	“Data	from	an	FDA	study	indicate	that	retinyl	palmitate,	when
applied	to	the	skin	in	the	presence	of	sunlight,	may	speed	the	development	of
skin	tumors	and	lesions.	The	FDA	and	Norwegian	and	German	health	agencieshave	raised	a	concern	that	daily	skin	application	of	vitamin	A	creams	may
contribute	to	excessive	vitamin	A	intake	for	pregnant	women	and	other
populations.”
8
Retinoids	can	also	be	irritating	and	intolerable,	so	be	sure	to	check	with	your
dermatologist	and	evaluate	whether	or	not	retinoids	in	any	form	are	right	for
you.	They	are	considered	a	highly	effective	ingredient,	but	from	a	toxicity
standpoint	they	are	not	completely	in	the	clear.	Again,	evaluate	for	yourself	and
see	what	is	right	for	you	and	your	skin.	If	you	do	choose	to	go	this	route	and
use	some	vitamin	A	derivatives,	be	sure	to	use	strong	protection	from	the	sun
or	avoid	sunlight	altogether.	And	remember	that	all	women	trying	to	conceive
or	who	are	pregnant	must	completely	avoid	retinoids.
Alpha	Hydroxy	Acids	(AHAs)
Exfoliation	helps	your	skin	shed	old,	damaged	surface	s


 condition of the body in r eflex affect the minds. Observation shows that it has such influence upon brain
function that perfect reflection of physical condition is continuously displayed in the working of the intellect. A healthy a nd
balanced mind can emanate only from a healthy bo dy. The reverse is equally true.

Page 58 of  72     In health the constructive and destructive changes that take place in the human body progress without noticeable diminution o r
increase in excellence of brain function so long as balance between assimilation and elimi nation is the rule. In conditions of
debility from whatever cause, but especially when the intake of food is in excess of demand, and waste is accumulated in quan tity
too great for disposal by the eliminative organs, absorption of poisons generated in ferm enting refuse retained in the intestinal tract
is continuous, and the subject becomes a victim of autointoxication, is drunk with the products of his own decomposition. Thi s
condition, long continued, is no less baneful in effect than is that of alcoholic saturation, and in some instances it takes the form of
insanity, while in all diminished brain power is in evidence.

    The digestion of a meal with the subsequent forcing of food waste through the bowels consumes nerve energy in amount greater
than is ordinarily conceived. Some investigators go so far as to say that the process involved requires nervous expenditure in
excess of that demanded in the exercise of the voluntarily controlled muscles. In any event overfeeding never fails to result  in
weakened  vitality. In the normal subject, sufficient food, perfectly digested and assimilated, produces a body with brain power
equal to clear thought, an organism with a maximum of both physical and mental energy. Food in amount more than the individua l
requires entails excessive labor upon the organs of digestion, drain upon nerve power, and consequent of vitality.

    Barring destructive changes in brain or nerve tissue from injury, the cause of mental disease is one and the same with that o f
physical unbalanc e. Physical signs invariably preceding mental danger signals should be heeded and remedied when first
displayed. One of the simplest of these warnings is the drowsiness that overcomes the overfed. Here the nerves evince fatigue, and
incidentally fatigue, b oth muscular and mental, is one of the safety valves of the human machine. If at this time stimulating effort
is resorted to, results are always detrimental, for, as in exercise, to stifle a feeling of fatigue in order to be able to co ntinue
muscular exert ion is like forcibly closing the safety gauge so that the boiler may be overheated. In other words, taking a stimulant
when tired in order to whip up flagging physical or mental vigor subsequently leaves both body and mind in condition more
exhausted than when the sensation of fatigue first signaled its warning. Likewise food, which in itself is stimulating in effect, taken
when either physical or mental weariness is felt, carries its own quota of detrimental consequences.

    We cannot escape the conclus ion that mind influences function just as function influences mind. It is also virtually axiomatic
that continued functional derangement finally ends in organic disease, and organic disease gives rise to characteristic menta l states
that vary from the fear ful anxiety of the sufferer from neuralgia of the heart to the hopeful attitude of the dying consumptive.

    It is an established feet that drugs, however powerful, do not affect the structure of brain tissue; and it is equally well k nown that
in most instances of insanity there is no apparent deterioration in quality or structure of nerve substance. In these  phenomena lies
strong collateral proof that the sources of mental disease are to be sought elsewhere than in the brain. Injuries and ailment s that
involve structural change in brain matter will necessarily interfere with brain function, and in softening o f the brain and in certain
forms of paralysis there are organic alterations that may be noted on dissection. But in hysteria, epilepsy, or any of the ma nias, no
changes in structure of either brain or nerve substance can be discovered, notwithstanding the presence of extreme mental
alienation.

    To illustrate the effect of abnormal physical condition upon mind function, the following case is cited. The patient, a man t hirty
years of age, presented a history of continuous digestive trouble accompanied by  melancholia. Examination pointed to the
conviction that the morbid mental symptom was the result of functional inactivity of the digestive tract, complicated with de cided
indications of organic disease. A tentative dietary of fruits and vegetable broths a fforded the relief usual when organic labor is thus
lightened. But skill in observing and determining the sequelae of dietetic changes caused delay in prognosis, for it is alway s
needful to distinguish between mitigation of the distress of disease that is temporary in character, and that which evinces progress
towards recovery. Hence, though symptoms in some respects were favorable, no predication was made as to the ultimate outcome.
At the end of three weeks of the regimen imposed, the major signals all po inted to organic disability of extreme gravity, and at his
request for definite opinion for or against recovery, the patient was informed that there seemed no possible hope of restorat ion to
health. He then ceased his office visits, and a month later was d iscovered dead by suicide, an act committed, as the condition of the
body showed, within a few days after discontinuing treatment. The previous conduct of the man, his brooding depression, and t he
contents of a number of scribbled letters found among his e ffects, now definitely fixed the case as one of insanity, whatever the
state of his body might prove to be. The latter was in condition such that an autopsy could be performed, and it revealed the
following: the kidneys were normal; the lungs and the heart  were congested, but functionally equal to their tasks; the liver was
hardened, and there was but a rudimentary gall sac, which contained no bilious fluid and gave no indication that the liver ha d been
functioning, no characteristic stain being present, th e color of the sac being a chalky white; the stomach was dilated and filled with
food, and glandular activity in the organ must have been inoperative for some time previous to death; the small intestines sh owed
bleached portions that had undoubtedly been w ithout function for an indefinite period; the transverse section of the colon was
much dilated, contained a large amount of hardened feces and had fallen shaping the whole organ into a letter "M", with the v ertex
of the dropped portion resting upon the pel vis; it, as well as the ascending and descending parts, were adherent at their angles for
several inches; the bladder was apparently normal; the pancreas was a soft degenerated mass; the spleen was hardened; the
mesentery exhibited old lesions, while no tr ace of the omentum was found; but the brain was structurally perfect.

Page 59 of  72     The instance cited shows a body exceedingly deformed internally in which, despite its faulty structure, the processes of grow th
and maintenance progressed for thirty years. The cau se of the organic defects discovered is to be attributed to digestive activity
partially inhibited in early life through disease, the effects of which were very probably augmented by the use of drugs. In this case
progressive inability to function produced  morbid mental disturbance. It may be asked why a similar result was not observed in
each of the instances related elsewhere in the text, or for that matter in any diseased human body; and reply is made that ph ysical
unbalance in any degree invariably affe cts mind -function, and this usually in adverse manner. But here again we enter the domain
of the idiosyncrasy of individuality, of the limitations and requirements of a subject segregated from other individuals by h is own
constitutional peculiarities and t endencies, be these mental or physical. For instance, it is well known that there are certain
temperaments that develop delirium in fever, even when the latter is mild in type, while there are others who may experience rise
in body heat of as much as four or five degrees above register without sign of loss in mental equilibrium. But the close observer
notes that the latter in the circumstances will exhibit certain other vagaries of the mind that are not apparent when functio n is
normal in character.

    Yet we must not neglect to mark and to ponder the other side of the question, for, as has been said, as mind influences functi on,
so function influences mind. As an example, it is admitted that arterial strain, an undue pressure upon the walls of the arte ries
commonly known as high blood pressure, tends to produce a fatty degeneration of their inner coat, and thus gives rise to arte rial
tumors and to cerebral hemorrhage, which sometimes causes paralysis, apoplexy, and softening of the brain. Now it is certai n that
such tension may result from continued anxiety, and that it is the cause of many cases of angina pectoris or neuralgia of the  heart,
effecting those cardiac changes to which some of the forms of angina are due.

    It is also well established that  mental disturbance gives rise to dyspepsia, and observation and experiment show that anger and
other emotions arrest the secretion of gastric juice, and that probably the peristaltic action of both stomach and intestines  is
likewise affected. In this conn ection the extreme constipation of melancholia is to be noted. Simple


 more expansive than my mind could imagine.
Just be fore Durga was born, I received a call from a
commercial outfit wanting to convert an ABC liquor store
in Gainesville into a clothing store. I had never done a
commercial job, but it was permitted under Built with
Love’s license.  By then I had a crew doing most of the
work, and I wa s driving around in a pickup truck playing
contractor. I got the job, but before I could even begin,
the fun started. The woman in charge of getting the store
open called me and insisted that I come over
immediately f or a meeting. When I arrived, she
explained that they had changed their plans and needed
some extra work done. I offe red to work up a change in
price, b ut she got very irate  and said she didn’t care
about the cost; she wanted it done right away. As her
energy got intense, I began to  quiet my breath and focus
on m y mantra. Even back th en I used my work in the
world as an op portunity to let go of myself and remain
calmly centered. I politely, though somewhat kiddingly,
asked if she wanted me to immediately drive to where
my crew was w orking, pull them off the job, and have
them d o the extra work rig ht away. I knew I was in
trouble when she said, “Yes, that is exactly what I want.”
I to ld her th at it was going to be an expensive
proposition, an d she told me in no uncertain terms that
she was on a very tight schedule and throughout the job
would be demanding a lot of  me, but her company waswilling to pay whatever it to ok to get it done. I assured
her that I would do the best I could to help them out.
Throughout the job, she kept changing things and
wanting every thing done yesterday. But she also kept
throwing money at the job to be sure I was properly
motivated. I got the work done in close to half the time
originally allotted, in spite of all the changes. With all the
bonuses, chang e orders, and overtime charges, I walked
away fr om that job in just four weeks with a profit of
around $35,000. I remember that amount because it was
way beyond the few thousand a month I had been
earning and because of what happened next. I received a
call from a nei ghbor who owned one of the five-acre lots
that ad joined o ur land. She had been building two very
rustic cabins on her propert y but had now decided to
move. She informed me that s he would accept $37,000 if
I could come up with the up-front cash she wanted.
To say I was humbled by the fact that I had just earned
almost exactly  the same amo unt of money on that very
strange job would be an understatement. I saw a
synchronous flow that I would never forget for the rest of
my life. Was this part of some Universal Plan that the
Temple expand  beyond the o riginal ten acres? I had no
interest in such an expansion ; I had never even thought
of it. Bu t the money was there, and it was obvious what it
was intended for. None of this had anything to do with
me—I was just the middleman, the caretaker. I didn’t feel
like the  money  was mine. I had never asked for it or gone
out of my way to get a single job for Built with Love. The
jobs just came by word of mouth, one after the other, and
I served them to the best of  my ability. All I had to do
now wa s simply step aside and allow the money from
that very strange job to be used to purchase our
neighbor’s property in the name of the Temple.2 9.
C o m m u n i t y  B a n k i n g
N ot even  a year had passed since Radha and I had
finished Deput y Knowles’s garage enclosure. Built with
Love had grown so much tha t I was running two crews,
and Radha was a full-time office manager/bookkeeper.
Not onl y were we getting mo re and more work, but the
jobs we re becoming larger and larger. In September
1977, right after the clothing store job, the inevitable
happened—a young couple asked me to build them a
house.
Up to that point, Built wit h Love had been doing
remodel work, and job financing was always handled by
the home owner. The building of a house, however,
would require a construction  loan between the company
and a bank. I had no assets in my name; I had signed
everything over to the Temple. Any profits Built with
Love wa s maki ng were also b eing donated to the Temple.
So neither the company no r I had the balance sheet
necessary to obtain a first -time construction loan. I
simply took the attitude that  if we were meant to build
houses, something would work out.
I pu t together a portfolio for Built with Love that
included some  references from jobs we had done, as well
as o ur nine-month financia l history. We hadn’t even
earned a hundred thousand dollars yet, so to show that I
had exp erience in building houses, I listed the buildings I
had constructed on my land. I dropped the portfolio off
at a number of  banks along with loan applications. When
it came  time for a follow-up appointment, I went from
bank to bank only to receive rejection after rejection.Built wi th Love  simply did no t meet the profile necessary
for a first-time construction loan.
Before giving up, I played a game with life. I agreed to
follow up with just one more  bank before taking it as a
sign th at hom e building was not in our future. I
remember sitting in the lobby of one of the nicer banks
in down town Gainesville. I had been waiting a long time
for a loan office r, but people kept being moved in front of
me. It was rat her disheartening, but I used the time to
focus on letting go of what ever the voice was saying
about the situation. That is  one thing I had noticed:
running the business was putting me into very different
situations than I had experienced living alone in the
woods. I found this very helpful to my spiritual growth.
By watching different parts of my psyche get stimulated,
I could learn to let them go.  Without realizing it, I had
become conscious enough to use sitting in a bank
preparing for the inevitab le loan rejection as an
opportunity to fall behind whatever the voice was saying.
If the whole purpose of my surrender to life was to get
rid of myself, it was working out quite well.
Finally, the receptionist who had been putting every
customer in front of me aske d me to follow her. But she
wasn’t leading me to the gr oup of loan officers in the
open lobby area; she was tak ing me to one of the offices
that overlooked  the lobby. As she knocked on the door, I
noticed the nameplate: Jim O wens—Branch President. I
was kin d of shocked but not nearly as shocked as by what
happened nex t. I was invite d into the office, and the
president took his place behind the desk. He proceeded
to tell me that  though my ap plication did not meet the
normal stand ards set by the loan committee, he
personally felt that a community bank should try to
support comm unity business es. It seems Jim Owens had
taken such an interest in m y application that he had
driven out to m y land and looked in the windows of my
house and the Temple building. He had then personallygone to the loan committee and hand carried my
application thr ough. He was here today to tell me that
the con struction loan request for $20,000 had been
approved, but his neck was o n the line, and I had better
not let him down.
What do I say  to this man? Who are these people,
anyway—Alan Robertson, Rama Malone, Deputy
Knowles? They’re like messengers from God sent to tell
me wha t I’m supposed to be doing with my life: teach at
Santa Fe, invite Baba to Gainesville, start Built with
Love, go forth and build hous es. All I could do was thank
him and assure him that I wo uld rather die than let him
down.
The you ng cou ple was overjoyed, and we built them a
beautiful little house. Moreover, Built with Love was now
in the position to start building larger, custom homes. I
felt so honored to have met a man like Jim Owens. I
never thought that the presid ent of a bank would go so
far out of his w ay for a total stranger—especially one who
lived in a spiri tual community. I obviously had a lot to
learn.
If I had thought this was the end of my story with Jim
Owens, I would have been v ery wrong. A decade later,
after I had experienced significant business success, the
hand o f life brought us back together again under the
most unlikely of circumstances. I was working late one
night at  Donna’s and decided to take a break. There was
nothing on TV, so


(seeFerrummetallicum).
EMOTIONAL/MENTALSYMPTOMS
Affectionate.Anxious:atnight;indoors.
Changeable.Clingy.Complaintsfrom:fright;grief;
shock.Depressed:worsebeforemenstrualperiod;in
astuffyroom;intheevening;fromsuppressedgrief;
betterforfreshair.Excitable.Fearful:attwilight;
duringtheevening.Desirestobecarried(infants).
Introspective. Irritable.Jealous.Lonely.Gentle.
Moody.Sensitive.Shy.Tearful:duringafever;
betterforfreshair.Whiny.
Pulsatillatypeshaveagentle,yielding,milddisposi-
tionandareeasilymovedtolaughterortears;theyare
highlyemotionalandcancryateverylittlething.They
areclingyanddependent,particularlysowhensick,
whentheyalsobecomeirritableandwhiny.Children
willwanttobecarriedandwillclingtotheirmothers'
skirts.Theyoftensay'It'snotfair!'inawhinyway.
Thesetypesusuallyelicitsympathyandcompassion
fromthosearoundthem,becausetheyareresponsive
toaffection,andaresoneedyandclingy.Mostparents
136•Pulsatillanigricans(Puis.) INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA
willfeelsorryforthemandprotectivetowardsthem.
However, iftheparentis,forexample,anArsenicum-
someonewhocannotstandbeingclungto-thenhe
orshewillfeelintenselyirritatedbythechild's
behaviour,whichwillmaketheirsymptomsworse.
Pulsatillasareaffectionatecreatureswholoveani-
malsandwhocannotbeartoseefilmswhereanimals
arehurt.Theytooareeasilyhurtbutmaysuppress it
andbecomeintrospective,moodyandevenirritable.
Theirdepressionwillbebetterforfreshair,and
worseduringtheeveningandinwarm,stuffyrooms.
Abreastfeedingmotherwillweepwhilenursing.
Generally,thesetypesmoanandweepduringafever,
andcrywhentalkingabouttheirillnesses.
PHYSICALCOMPLAINTS
Backache
SymptomsPains:inlowerback;insmallofback;
aching;pressing.
Betterforgentleexercise;forwalkingslowly.
Worseonbeginningtomove;before/during amen-
strualperiod;ongettingupfromsitting.
Thebackfeelsweakandtired.Gettingupafteralong
periodofsittingorbendingdown(forexampleafter
gardening) isalmostimpossible.Thebackmayactu-
allyfeelsprained.
Bedwetting
Thesearechildrenwhowetthebedwhensickwho
wereformerlydryatnight.
Breastfeedingproblems
SymptomsMilksupplyover-abundant.
Ifthegeneralandemotional/mentalsymptoms fit,
thisisausefulremedyforpost-nataldepression,
especiallyinwomensufferingfrompost-natal
'weeps'.
Chickenpox
SymptomsWithcough(seeabove).
ThereisnormallyalowfeverandtypicalPulsatilla
symptoms, i.e.,weeping,clingingandlackofthirst.
Theitchingisworseforheat.
Chilblains
SymptomsChilblains:onfeet,hands,toes;in-
flamed;itching.
Commoncold
SymptomsNasalcatarrh:dirtyyellow;green;
yellow-green;bland(non-irritating); smelly;thick;dryalternatingwithprofuse;wateryinthefreshair.Sense
ofsmell/taste lost.Withsneezinginastuffyroom.
Betterforfreshair.
Worseinastuffyroom.
Thenoseiswateryinthefreshair,andisbetter(thatis,
blockedup)intheevenings,andinawarmroom,
thoughtherewillbemuchsneezingthentoo.The
patient'ssenseoftasteislostaltogetherorthereisa
bittertastebeforeandaftereating.
Cough
SymptomsCough:constantduringtheevening;dry
atnight;looseduringthemorning;exhausting; irritat-
ing;racking;infits;violent;disturbssleep.Mucus:
yellow;green;yellow-green;copious;sticky;difficult
tocoughup(mustsitup).Withnausea(seebelow);
RETCHING.
Bettertorfreshair;forsittingup.
Worseforgettinghot;forexertion;forheat;forlying
down;duringthemorning;atnight/evening; ina
stuffyroom;inbed(oncewarm).
Causesaftermeasles.
ThePulsatillacoughdisturbssleep-thepatientwillbe
wokenbythecoughandwillneedtositupinbedto
cough;itmaythenpreventthepersongettingbackto
sleep.Therewillbeloudrattling/breathing insleep.
Thecoughisnearlyalwaysdryatnightandloosein
themornings.Thesputumischaracteristically thick
andvellow-greenish,anddifficulttocoughup;itmay
tasteunpleasantandbeworseinthemorningon
gettingup.
Cystitis
SymptomsDesiretourinate:frequent;ineffectual;
urgent.Spasmodicpains.Frequenturination.
Urinecopious.
Worseafterurination.
Causesgettingcoldandwet.
Thepersonhasfrequenturgestourinateandhas
tohurrytothelavatorytopreventurineescaping;
butonceonthelavatorytheurinedribblesslowly.
Kidneysmavfeelsoreandbruised.
Diarrhoea
SymptomsInchildren.Stools:changeable;green-
ish-yellow;slimy;watery.
Betterforfreshair.
Worseaftereating;aftereatingstarchyorrichfood;at
night;forgettingoverheated;inastuffyroom.
Causesrichfood;fruit.
Earache
SymptomsDischarge:smelly;thick;yellow;yellow-
green.Ear(external)red;ear(internal)feelsblocked.
INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA Pulsatillanigricans(Puis.) •137
Pains:aching;pressing;pressingoutwards;stitching;
tearing;throbbing.Withdeafness;itching;noisesin
THEEAR.
Worseatnight.
Causesaftercommoncold;aftermeasles.
Exhaustion
SymptomsExhaustionnervous.
Worseforheatofsun;inastuffyroom;mentalexer-
tion;morninginbed.
Pulsatillatypeswiltintheheatandcan'tthink!
Eyeinflammation
SymptomsInbabies.Discharge:purulent;smelly;
thick;yellow.Eyes:aching;burning;itching;water-
ing.Eyelidsitchingintheevening.Withsymptomsof
commoncold(seeabove).
Betterforcoldbathing;forfreshair;forcold.
Worseduringtheevening;inawarmroom.
Inthemorningstheeyesarestickyandtheinner
cornersdischarge.Theyacheandburn,especiallyina
warmroom,andtheywaterincoldairorwindand/or
withacough.
Stickyeyesinnewbornbabiescommonlyneed
Pulsatilla.
Fever
SymptomsHeat:burning;dryduringtheevening;
one-sided.Withchilliness.
Betterforuncovering.
Worseforheat;forwashing;intheafternoon;inthe
evening;atnight;inthemorninginbed;forwarm
covers;inastuffyroom;forbeinguncovered.
Thepatientwantstobecoveredforsomeofthetime
butatothertimesdislikesit.Theheatmaybeonone
sideofthebodyonlyandisoftenworse(hotter)inthe
earlyafternoon;thisisfollowedbyachillaround4p.m.
Sweatingmayalsobeone-sided(usuallytheleft)
oritmaybelocalisedtoapart.Thepersonwillsweat
whileasleepandwakeupchilled,andwillthenfindit
difficulttogetbacktosleep.Pulsatillatypesgenerally
moanandwhineduringafever.
Flatulence
SymptomsBellystomach: rumbling/gurgling.
Wind:smelly;obstructed(difficulttoexpel).
Betterforpassingwind.
Foodpoisoning
Causesrottenmeat;rottenfish.
Hayfever
Symptomsofcommoncold(seeabove).Headache
SymptomsHeadachenervous.Pains:inforehead;
one-sided;pressing;sore,bruised;throbbing.
Betterforfirmpressure;forfreshair;forlyingwith
headhigh;forwalkinginfreshair.
Worseaftereating;forbendingdown;forblowing
nose;forhotdrinks;forrunning;forstanding;ina
stuffyroom;inheat.
Causesexcitement;ice-cream;running.
Pulsatillatypesarepronetonervousheadachesover
theeyes,usuallyononeside,andtheseareworsefor
movementandbetterforfreshair.Thevarecausedby
avarietyoff