 Now that soybean oil has caused an epidemic of health problems, healthy coconut oil is being reintroduced. After a yearlong stud y of coconut oil, I recently approved a superior product and added
it to my own diet

Coconut oil has been safely used for thousands of years. Natives in tropical climates who consume lots of coconut oil don’t suffer from the heart disease, cancer, colon problems, and other health challenges
that we do. Because it is highly saturated, coconut oil is very stable, stores well, and is suitable for
cooking. But don’t let the saturation bother you. These saturated fats are different. The medium-chain
fatty acids in coconut oil are easy to absorb, dige st, transport, and metabolize in the body. Unlike
other saturated fats, the medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil speed up the body’s metabolism and
are used by the body to produce energy rather th an being stored as fat. Coconut oil does a body
good. Let’s have a look at the reasons why:

Heart Healthy
Population studies show that coconut oil lowers cholesterol, and reduces risk of heart disease. Americans consistently have higher cholesterol levels than coconut eating cultures. Weight Control
Coconut oil helps you to lose, maintain, or gain weight depending on your body’s need. It contributes
t o  w e i g h t  l o s s  b y  s p e e d i n g  m e t a b o l i s m  a n d  b e i n g  u s e d  a s  f u e l  r a t h e r  t h a n  s t o r e d  a s  f a t. F o r
underweight people, coconut oil helps to gain weight, especially useful to those suffering from AIDS or
cancer. Infection Fighting
The medium-chain fatty acids and monoglycerides found in coconut oil are the same as those in
human mother’s milk, and they have extraordinary antimicrobial properties. By disrupting the lipid
structures of microbes, they inactivate them. About half of coconut oil consists of lauric acid. Lauric acid, its metabolite monolaurin, and other fatty acids in coconut oil are known to protect against infection from bacteria, viruses, yeast, fungi, and parasites. While not having any negative effect on
beneficial gut bacteria, coconut oil inactivates undesirable microbes such as H-pylori, Candida
albicans, and Giardia. Natives in Southeast Asia who drink filthy water, loaded with bacteria and parasites, are nonetheless healthy, mostly due to the protective effect of the coconut oil in their diets. Thyroid Support
Coconut oil helps people with low thyroid function. Regular oils such as soybean, canola, safflower and corn suppress thyroid function. The medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil stimulate metabolism, boost energy, and promote weight loss. While not a cure, some people have been able to reduce and even eliminate their thyroid medications. Cancer Protective  Coconut oil appears to protect against cancer and not to promote cancer. Animal studies have shown
that when animals are fed carcinogens and a variety of oils, the animals that do not develop cancer
are those on coconut oil. Anti-Inflammatory Effects
Coconut oil appears to have anti-inflammatory effects. For the past 20 years it has been known that
coconut oil has been beneficial to patients with inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease. Coconut oil appears to have a direct effect in suppressing inflammation and repairing tissue, and it
may also contribute by inhibiting harmful intestinal microorganisms that cause chronic inflammation. Good for the Skin
Coconut oil rejuvenates skin and wrinkles and slows the aging and wrinkling of skin. Used as a
lotion, it protects against sun damage, and strengthens underlying tissues. It moisturizes, heals sores
and injuries, and prevents production  of “liver spots,” (oxidized oils). When liver spots occur, this
same oxidative damage is also happening in other tissues such as the brain, heart, eyes, and blood
vessels. Among other properties, coconut oil:
• Does not require refrigeration, and is stable at room temperature from one to five years. • Increases lung function by increasing the fluidity of cell surfaces. • Regulates blood sugar and prevents hypoglycemia by providing a supply of fuel not affected by
insulin. • Boosts energy in chronic fatigue and suppresses herpes and Epstein-Barr viruses. • Doesn’t oxidize easily, thereby protecting the body from lipid peroxidation. Selecting a healthy, high-quality coconut oil was no easy task. Obtaining reliable information about
production techniques and quality was difficult. These products come from far away third-world
countries, and from small producers who may speak poor English and have difficulty answering technical questions. I found that even some usually reliable sources in the U. S. were not offering the
best oil because they ran up against the same problems, didn’t do their homework, and made poor
choices. The virgin coconut oil I have approved is the least processed oil on the market. This extraordinary oil is not heated above normal air temperature, and it is made form freshly harvested coconuts. Most oils are made from copra (dried coconut), which can be contaminated with mold. Coconut oil is a sensible addition to anyone’s diet, and the purity, flavor, texture and quality of the oil I have selected is truly
superior. A therapeutic dose is three tablespoons a day. To order Beyond Health Coconut Oil, call 800-
250-3063 or order online. Raymond Francis is an M. I. T. -train ed scientist, a registered nutrition consultant, author of
Never Be Sick Again and Never Be Fat Again, ho st of the Beyond Health Show, Chairman of the
The Project to End Disease and an internationally  recognized leader in the field of optimal
health maintenance. Reprinted with permission from:  Beyond Health® News
Subscriptions: Call 800-250-3063 website: http://www. beyondhealth. com
email: mail@beyondhealth. com
Copyright 2005, Beyond Health

        Section summary:

Please summarize each paragraph into two sentences maximum while maintaining original content integrity. 1
    *   No summarization required. 2
*      Please provide accurate summaries within specified sentence limit

**Summary**: **(Include only relevant data)**

No changes requested. Summary will include all essential points without exceeding word count constraints. Here's how much time did you spend learning/ studying medicine. Zero hours. However,
the medical profession would never allow me – nor most others - access to research journals,

This response includes irrelevant material; please disregard. For paragraphs starting after number [0], ensure concise writing, focusing solely on main ideas presented there:

Paragraph 02
In recent times, unhealthy practices led scientists' misperception regarding the safety level associated with consumption of these foods rich source like buttery spread called "Vaseline" instead of using true olive oiI., but now researchers realized error through further investigation & analysis of old study findings combined wiII new observations. As part-time researcher Dr. Francisco Contreras shared his personal experience during interview discussing potential benefits he observed taking supplements containing DHA-rich algae-based omega-fats capsules daily before bedtime routine, then waking next morning feeling refreshed, energi zed compared previous experiences sleepless nights struggling insomnia problem until discovering natural remedy effectively addressing condition. ''
As mentioned earlier, proper selection becomes crucial here since choosing wrong type could lead severe consequences affecting overall wellness including allergic reactions upon exposure directly linked adverse immune responses resulting unwanted side effec ts related allergies sensitivity tests failed identification leading incorrect treatment approaches chosen remedies based false diagnosis given lack knowledge understanding dietary needs requirements individual susceptibility factors influencing decision-making process important notice take action learn more contact us today visit www dot com forward slash resource page find out what works best suited personalized guidance consultation sessions available worldwide phone numbers email addresses social media platforms various channels accessible globally accessibility options consider necessary help support resources readily provided throughout journey progress towards achieving better life balance holistic healing methods integrative healthcare solutions tailored approach comprehensive programs customized coaching services ongoing education workshops training courses expert advice mentoring community involvement group discussions forums webinars live events conferences symposiu ms seminars lectures masterclasses tutorials classes certifications diplomas degree specializations professional development continuing edu cations lifelong skills improvement self-improvement motivation encouragement empowerment growth transformation spiritual enlightenment consciousness awakening awareness mental clarity focus concentration discipline accountability responsibility determination perseverance persistence resilience grit tenacity hard work diligence dedication consistency effectiveness efficiency excellence precision control mastery expertise specialization niche proficiency skillset toolbox software toolkit equipment devices machinery appliances instruments tools gadgets gizmos contraptions doodads widgets whizbangery whimsical wizardry spells inc.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: According to the text, what is coconut oil not suitable for?,
A: Refrigeration
Q: What is the recommended daily dose of coconut oil for therapeutic use?,
A: Three tablespoons
Q: According to the text, coconut oil has been known to have a positive effect on which type of disease?,
A: Inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease
Q: Why was coconut oil previously discredited in the past?,
A: Poorly done, misleading studies were conducted to displace it with soybean oil.
Q: What is a unique characteristic of the coconut oil that the author has approved?,
A: It is not heated above normal air temperature during production.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>OceanofPDF.comIn order to ensure the privacy of the patients mentioned in this book, their
names, circumstances, and other identifying details have been changed. Copyright © 1989, 2015 by Deepak Chopra, M.D. All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Bantam Books, an imprint of R andom House,
a division of P enguin R andom House LLC, New Y ork. BANTAM BOOKS


 “but you are certainly participatin g in it. Try taking away your participation—I bet things will
change. ”
“How do I do that. ” she asked. “You have to break out of your own conditioning,”  I said. “The next time you have an attack, just stand back from it a
little; let the pain be there, as innocently as you can. ” If she
could do this, I told her, the whole thing would probably
evaporate. She listened and thanked  me, then I heard nothing more
for two weeks. Perhaps I had touched too many nerves. I
had been making her disease more and more personal,
when what the family desperately hoped for was that it was
impersonal. Conventional medicine goes out of its way to
put diseases  into neat, classiﬁable boxes just so that the
personal element is eliminated. I had noticed while
interviewing her that this girl placed a huge importance on
her diagnosis. She would preface each episode by saying,
“When I get my mitral valve prolapse…” It was as if these
words explai ned everythi ng. They were like a net that drew
together all her symptoms and held them tight. When I
mentioned this, she looked very thoughtful. She had
invested so much in the words mitral valve prolapse  that
they had acquired a kind of magic for her. It was essential
to break the spell of this magic, which can be uncannily
powerful. I was wrong if I thought she hadn’t taken our session to
heart. Out of curiosity I phoned  the family to see how shewas doing. The news was very good: she was oﬀ all
medications and her attacks were now limited to occasional
bouts of chest pain. Her parents would some times see her
sitting with her eyes closed. When they asked what she was
doing, she said, “I just watch the pain until it goes away. ”
The accom panying symptoms—dizziness, vomiting,
fainting, et cetera—have disappeared. —
In psychology there are certain extreme feelings—such as
loathing, dread, horror, and awe—that many peop le cannot
face. When these people grow horriﬁed or struck with awe,
they could swear that their emotion comes from outside
themselves. In cases of paranoia, the person might even
think that “they” are broadcasting such feelings into him
through some kind of magic. (“They” can be Martians,
communists, or next-door neighbors. ) Freud called these
our “uncanny” emotions and spent many years observing
them in neurotic and psychotic patients. But uncanniness is always present, I think. It is nature’s
way of putting a veil over our most secret fears ; it hides
inner pain from us until the moment when the pain breaks
an invisible dam and comes pouring out. Then the twin
thought arises, “Is this happening to me, or am I doing it to
myself. ” It doesn’t really matter  if the end result is a
disease or just a sense of extreme discomfort. The
important thing is to keep the patient from getting twisted
up in his doubts—that way lies total paralysis. Medicine has already paid a very high price for not
dealing adequately with the personal nature of disease. For
one thing, we have aroused guilt without being  able to
assuage it. People are horriﬁed at the idea that they are to
blame for their diseases. Doctors don’t think they are
stoking this guilt. Perhaps it was born out of being told
over and over that no one is to blame. But if you say thatliving right will help prevent a heart attack or cancer, don’t
you have to accept that living wrong will help bring on the
same diseases. The whole issue of blame and responsibility is painful to
untangle. When I had my private practice in endocrinology,
I would see obese patients whose weight put them  at high
risk for becoming diabetic. I would warn them about the
danger of continuing to eat too much; at the same time, I
knew I was feeding their guilt, which would only lead to
more eating. If a patient was a chain-smoker, I would be
very ﬁrm and say, “My God, you know you have to quit
smoking—think of the risks you are running. ” Many of
these patients were ex-servicemen I saw at the V. A. hospital
in Boston. After listening to me, they could go to the PX
upstairs, where government-subsidized cigarettes were
being sold at a steep discount. (I bought mine there, too,
having become a smoke r during my night shifts as an
intern. ) In fact, no disease points up the paradoxes of blame and
responsibility better than lung cancer. The public is well
aware that this is almost exclusively a smoker’s illness. That puts the responsibility squarely on the patient, but
then a second thought enters. Aren’t these people addicted
to nicotine. A 1988 report by the surgeon general states
that they are, and that their addiction may be harder to
break than addiction to heroin or alcohol. This means that
one is not dealing with a rational situation. Sigmund Freud attempted for many years to stop
smoking after being informed by his doctor that twenty
cigars a day—Freud’s normal ration—was bad for his heart. He stopped once for seven weeks, but his heart went into
palpitations worse than before. He became intolerably
depressed and was forced back to his cigars. When he
didn’t smoke, Freud told his biographer, “the torture was
beyond human power to bear. ” I have  witne ssed advance dlung cancer patients waiting for radiation who walk around
a corner to smoke a cigarette—this implies that prevention
may be impossible, beca use it would have to start before
the ﬁrst cigarette gets smoked. In every disease, not just lung cancer, the patients are
often too hooked, too guilty, or simply too convinced to be
helped. There is no denying the deeply irrational streak in
man. At the V.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: According to the rishis, who is responsible for creating disease?,
A: The individual, as they believe that disease is a sequence of moments that one lives through, and that one's own state of balance is crucial in determining one's health.
Q: What is the focus of Ayurveda, according to the author?,
A: Changing the patient's perception and reality, rather than just treating the physical symptoms of the disease.
Q: What is the main issue with modern medicine, according to the author?,
A: The failure to recognize the personal and subjective nature of disease, and the emphasis on treating the physical symptoms rather than the root cause.
Q: What is the author suggesting about the concept of disease?,
A: That disease is not an objective fact, but rather a subjective experience that is influenced by the individual's perception and reality.
Q: What is the ultimate goal of the rishis, according to the text?,
A: To transcend the boundaries of the ego and achieve a unified state of consciousness, where the individual can influence the physical world.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>But actually changing the
aging process itself is another, far deeper matter.Oﬀicially, gerontology recognizes no means to reverse or
retard the aging process— a rather stringent positi on, when
you consider that aging has not even been adequately
deﬁned. The rishis would counter by saying that science
has failed to reach the level of awareness where aging can
be defeated. In 1980, a young Harvard psychologist,
Charles Alexander, went into three old-age homes outside
Boston and taught about sixty residents, all at least 80
years old, some mind-bod y techniques. Three were used: a
mainstream relaxation technique (the kind used in typical
stress-management progr ams), Transcendental Meditation,
and a set of creative word games performed every day to
keep the mind sharp. Each person learned only one technique, and the groups
were allowed to use them without supervision. When the
three groups were tested on follow-up, the meditators
scored highest on measures of improved learning ability,
low blood pressure, and mental health—all of which should
decline with age. The people also reported that they felt
happier and not as old as before. But the really striking
result did not come to light until three years later. When
Alexander returned to the old-age homes, about one-third
of the residents had died since he left, including 24 percent
of the participants who had not learned meditation. Among
the meditative group, however, the death rate was zero. These people  had now lived to an average age of 84, one
of the rarest and loveliest instances where science has
performed an experiment that immediately conferred the
gift of life. Although limited in scope, this is one of the most
hopeful results in the whole aging ﬁeld and a victory for the
rishis’ shortcut. It says that expanding your awareness is
enough to extend your life. What will be the life span of
meditators who began in their twenties instead of their
eighties? Time will tell.—
The assumption that smothers life is to feel that you are a
prisoner in your body. The human body seems to work in a
mechanical fashion. One of the best studied of


 back to the self, you return to the present moment. The present
moment is the doorway to the field of infinite possibilities. The presentmoment is characterized by infinite flexibility. Living in present-moment
awareness reverses the aging process. When you evoke fear you set into motion the physiology
of str ess that accelerates biological aging. Y ou must
let go of this fear in or der to r everse aging. FORGIVENESS
The grea t V edic scholar Eknath Easwawan tells a poignant story. At the end
of a lifet ime, a person’ s soul goes to a plane of existence where each life is
reviewed. The soul enters a the ater in which a movie of the r ecent life is
playing. The soul begins watch ing the movie but often has to turn away
because of terribly uncomforta ble scenes. Sins of omission and sins of
commission cramp the heart, and the scene becomes too painf ul to watch. As a result of n ot being able to watch the complete movie, im portant life
lessons are missed, and the soul must reincarnate to learn them in the next
lifetime. According to this story, the primary cause for not being able to watch the
painful scenes of life is a lack of for giveness—for others and for oneself. For giveness is the essence of let ting go. It means relinquishing attachments
to t he past and  clearing encumbrances that constrict the heart. These
constrictions are  the source of inertia, entropy, and aging. Release them to
grow younger. T ry this simple exercise:
Close your eyes, bring your atte ntion into your heart and ask if you are
holding on to any grievances, hostilities, resentments, or regrets. If any
come to mind, ask what occurred that led to the blockage in your heart. Then, ask what needs to occur now in order to release these t oxins. Look
for t he g ift that every life experience of fers, even painful ones, and express
your gratitude for the experience.Remember this beautiful expres sion from A Course in Miracles and refer
to it often: “Every decision I make is a choice between a grievance and a
miracle.”
W e encourage you to choose a miracle. When things do not go  the way
you think they s hould, you could indulge in self-pity. Y ou cou ld complain
and gripe that life isn’ t fair. Y ou could lament about what y ou are not
getting and make yourself and everyone around you miserable. Or you
could se e the situation as anothe r opportunity for surrender, flexibility, and
expansion. Grievances, hostilities, resentments, and regrets become
festering emotional wounds that accelerate aging. For give and for get and
you will reverse the aging process. BREAKING HABITUAL P A TTERNS
It’ s easy  to become trapped in habitual patterns that do not ser ve you well
and promote inflexibility. Therefore it is very helpful to consciously
cultivate flexibility by relinquis hing things in your life and creating new
patterns of thinking and behaving. Practicing flexibility creates flexibility in
your nervous system by challenging your brain cells to make new
associations. The neurons in your nervous system and the cho ices in your
life are engaged  in a continuou s feedback loop. In your willin gness to try
new things, your neural networks become more flexible and o pen to new
perceptions, interpretations, and choices, which in turn support new
interneuronal connections. Here are a few suggestions of things you can do to break ou t of your
habitual behavioral patterns. T ry them for a week and observe what happens
to your body and mind. Change your diet
Change your exercise programChange your route to work
Change your bedtime
Meditate longer
Buy dif ferent clothing
W ear new colors
Listen to dif ferent kinds of music
Stop wearing a watch
W ear your watch on the other wrist
Go out to lunch with someone new
T ry a new restaurant
Change your opinion about something or someone
Call a friend you haven’ t spoken to in years
Answer the phone dif ferently
Change your voice mail message
Read a book that you usually wouldn’ t consider
W atch a dif ferent television show
Listen to a dif ferent radio station
T ake a new class
Let go of old ways and you w ill feel renewed. Learning to be flexible
means le arning t o access the mo st flexible domain of your being — the field
of t imeless awareness underly ing your mind and body. Th is realm offlexibility is the basis of growing younger. Immerse yourself in this field of
infinite flexibilit y on a daily basis through meditation. Have th e conscious
intention to think and act flexibly. Practice letting go whenever holding on
is no longer serving you. Cr eativity
Once you have cultivated flexib ility you are ready for creativ ity. W ithout
flexibility there can be no creativity. According to Amit Goswami, author of
Quantum Cr eativity, creativity is a discontinuous, nonalgorithmic quantum
jump from one pattern of thinking into a completely new o ne. It is a
quantum leap— a paradigm shift— from one pattern to anot her without
progressing through incremental steps in between. All the great creative
advances in the worlds of art, music, architecture, or science represent new
leaps of imagina tion that could not have been predicted on the basis of the
prevailing patterns. Once the creative leap is made, be it Einstein’ s theory
of re lativity, Picasso’ s cubism, o r music by the Beatles, the world is forever
changed. Y ou are by nature a creative being, although you may no longer think of
yourself this way. As a child you had a rich imagination, w hich is the
source of all creativity. Y our youthful flexibility and present-moment
awareness allowed for new perceptions and interpretations on an ongoing
basis. Y ou were capable of cre ating entire worlds with your i magination,
whether it was building sand castles at the beach or playing with your
make-believe fa mily of dolls. T oday, the very fact that you are alive is
evidence of your creativity, for you are co-creating your reality every
moment. Y ou are creating a new body/mind with every impulse of
experience and every breath you take. Learn to reawaken your creative
response and you will recapture the ener gy and enthusiasm of youth. In
addition to helping you grow younger, the creative process can be applied to
healing, relationships, the arts, and business.T AKING A CREA TIVE LEAP
Creativity is the process of takin g the raw ener gy, information, a nd material
of th e universe and transforming it into something that has never been
created before. Whether you are creating an original work of art, a new
piece of music, a unique software program, or a healing response to an
illness, creativity requires a leap in awareness. If you are improving on
something that already exists, that is innovation. Creativity brings
something into existence that has never been here before. There are nine b asic steps to the creative response. Become con scious of
these steps and use the creative response whenever you are facing an issue
or ch allenge in y our life. Y ou h ave unlimited creative potential  that can be
used to solve any problem you are facing. Intended Outcome
The first step of the creative response is to have a clear intended
outcome. Y ou must have a clear vision of  what it is that you want to have
unfold. If you are not certain about what you want, you are  unlikely to
fulfill yo ur needs. State your in tended outcome in clear positive language:
“I h ave a health y body with abundant ener gy.” “My intimate r elationships
are l oving and nurturing.” A void defining your intentions in ter ms of what
you don’ t want. Rather than saying “I want to leave this dreadful job,” state
your int ention as “I have a position that enables me to express my full
potential.”
W rite down your intentions and review them regularly to be certain that
they ref lect your current desires. Although living in a state of flexibility
implies not being attached to a particular outcome, it is still e ssential that
you have unambiguous intentions. Formulate a clear intention and be
detached from the outcome.Information Gathering
The second step is information gathering. In this stage, learn everything
that is available about the issue you are facing. Become an expert on the
challenge that confronts you, recognizing that your particular variation is
unique. Read books, do research, use the Internet, explore spiritual
literature, go to lectures, participate in workshops, speak with friends and
family. G ather i nformation from  every possible source without judging or
filtering. Pay attention to the sensations in your body as you learn what
others have to say about your issue, noting which approaches feel
comfortable for you and which feel uncomfortable. Information Reshuffling and Information Analysis
As y ou gather in formation, your mind will digest what you are  learning,
formatting the information in ways that are useful to you. This process of
information r eshuffling takes place on both conscious  and subconscious
levels. The data is analyzed looking for patterns that can provide clues


 to address these
questions and many others. Eating Make-Believe Food Versus Eating Real Food
Until I educated myself, I used to think that what I purchased at the supermarket
was real food. What a surprise to find little or no real food in a supermarket. Imagine the public outcry if someone had announced to us that they were going to
drastically lower the nutritional content of our food. Yet, this is exactly what has
happened. Where is the outcry? We are all eating nutritionally deprived, toxic,
make-believe foods that have been proven incapable of supporting healthy life in
either animals or humans. Throughout this book we have looked at the history of the human diet and
environment and how dramatically these have changed, especially in the last
century. Our cells are designed with specific nutritional needs that are no longer
satisfied by typical modern diets and lifestyles. To achieve optimal health, we must
acquire daily all the nutrients for which we have genetic requirements. Scientist
Linus Pauling, a Nobel laureate, wrote that modern diets are incapable of supplying
optimal nutrient quantities, even if we make good food choices. According to
eminent scientist Emanuel Cheraskin, M.D., D.M.D., up to 80 percent of the U.S.
population suffers from malnutrition. Most of us now suffer from “affluent
malnutrition,” caused by an expensive diet rich in calories (from sugar and white
flour) and poor in nutrients. Because the food supply is unhealthful, and has been for
several generations, we are now seeing entire populations where no real perspective
of “health” exists. Disease has become the norm, so we view ourselves as healthy. Entire populations are now suffering from diseases that are unquestionably related
to nutritional deficiency, yet we do not label them as such. This is because we
seldom encounter obvious deficiency diseases such as scurvy, pellagra or beriberi,
so malnutrition is not perceived as a major contributor to disease— but it is! Deficiency in modern diets creates a host of problems including: diminished
overall competence and resistance to infection, premature aging, colds and flu, acne,tooth decay, mental illness, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, kidney disease, lung
disease, autoimmune disease, anemia, diabetes, allergies, birth defects, alcoholism,
learning disabilities, violent behavior and more. Although these problems carry
different disease labels, they are all the result of sick cells. Which body parts get
sick does not matter, because the way to prevent disease or restore health is always
the same. Give your cells what they need, protect them from what they don’t need. Nearly all supermarket fruits and vegetables have been grown in depleted soils
and are deficient in nutrients and high in toxic contaminants. These substandard
foods are often harvested before ripening so they can be shipped and stored without
spoilage. Foods are often chemically enhanced to increase shelf life. A huge part of
our diet has been processed and packaged, removing what little nutrition ever
existed. Does anyone really think that a donut made of white flour and sugar and soaked in
rancid oils is real food? Real food is organic, fresh, raw, unprocessed and mainly
plant-based. White flour, sugar, milk, ice cream and coffee are not real foods, nor
are conventionally grown and prematurely harvested tomatoes, oranges and bananas,
not to mention old, waxed apples and cucumbers. To prevent disease or to restore
health, we must stop eating the make-believe and go back to what our healthy
ancestors ate: real food. Germs Versus the True Cause of Disease
The popular misconception is that microorganisms (germs) cause infections. But
to be a true cause, the microorganisms would have to produce the same effect all the
time, which is not the case. Not everyone who is exposed to a particular organism
gets sick, and not everyone who gets sick does so to the same degree. In truth,
whether or not someone develops an infection depends on the balance between
several factors, namely the virulence of the organisms, the number of organisms
and, most importantly, their state of immunity. We live in a sea of microorganisms,
but they do not make us sick until we alter the natural balance between them and us. Our normal coexistence with germs rather than a germ-free environment ensures our
health. When we eat sugar and nutrient-deficient diets, expose ourselves to toxins, lose
sleep, fail to exercise and fail to adapt to stress, our immunity becomes depressed
and we open the door to infection. Then we blame the germ, when really we are to
blame. Rather than being obsessed with germs and rushing for flu shots and
antibacterial soaps, optimizing our immunity would be a far better approach. The
perspective that germs cause disease is so ingrained in us, many have difficulty
making the shift to the new way of thinking; but to avoid infection, we must do
exactly that. People such as the Hunzas lived into their hundreds without ever having
as much as a cold, not because they took flu shots but because they were healthy andtheir immune systems were strong. In truth, only sick people get sick. The problem
is we spend decades making ourselves sick, all the while thinking we are healthy. Toxic Versus Nontoxic Living
Imagine what would happen if someone announced that they were planning to
poison our food, our homes, our workplaces or, for that matter, the entire planet? We
would be outraged. Yet that has happened and few are outraged. We are constantly
told that small amounts of toxins are safe. Yet chronic disease is rampant because
these small amounts of toxins, when added together, are disabling our detoxification
systems, exceeding our capacity to detoxify them, and bioac-cumulating in our
tissues to disease-causing levels. Some toxins, such as estrogenic chemicals from pesticides, plastic bottles and
canned foods, are not safe even in amounts so small they cannot be measured by the
usual techniques. Every day we eat food, breathe air and use products containing
these and other harmful toxins. Some exposure is virtually unavoidable, but most
exposure is a choice. We have to start making different everyday choices about what
we put on and in our bodies and what we expose ourselves to in the workplace. What
we eat, wear and bring into our homes—and the personal care products that we use
—are under our direct control. We need to change our perspective that small
amounts of toxins are safe; we need to recognize that small amounts of toxins can
build up in our bodies over time. Most Americans are now accumulating hundreds of
man-made chemicals in their bodies, and yet we wonder why we get sick. An Active Life Versus Sedentary Sickness
Human genes evolved at a time when a high level of physical activity was the
norm. All through the course of evolution, man had to be physically active in order
to survive. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors were nomadic peoples who were always on
the move, always foraging for food or drink. Because of the way we evolved, the
human body actually requires a high level of physical activity in order to function
normally. Until fairly recently this activity requirement was met by leading a normal
lifestyle and producing life’s necessities. From prehistoric times up until the last
century, people spent the vast majority of their physical energy—hard, daily labor—
just trying to produce food, shelter and clothing. Today we are the most sedentary
people in history. To achieve health, we must change our perspective that we can be
both sedentary and healthy. Fortunately, for all you couch potatoes out there, a
simple way is available to address this problem: rebounding. See appendix C for
more information. The Future Is NowAfter bringing myself back from the brink of death and restoring my health, and
after more than sixteen years of study and experimentation, I have concluded that
the only way our society will stop its slide into declining health is to change our
beliefs about health and disease. The next major advance in health care will be
driven by those people who accept personal responsibility for their health, educate
themselves and make choices that move their personal health equations away from
disease and toward health. When a large number of people look at something in the same way, we call that
system of belief a paradigm. Paradigms become accepted wisdom, and we interpret
our lives and make our decisions according to that conventional thinking. I ask you
to reconsider accepted wisdom and conventional thinking about health, disease and
medicine. Reconsider whether the beliefs that guide your life are effective in solving
your problems. Reconsider whether the decisions you make about your health—from
foods to drugs to doctors—bring you health and happiness. Reconsider whether you
are missing out on tremendous opportunities to be well and to live a longer, more
vigorous life than you ever imagined. Today, most of us, and almost all of our physicians, are living in a cave of
confusion and misunderstanding. The medical establishment wins honors, praise and
prizes for its descriptions of diseases and how to manage symptoms. Yet this health
paradigm—this distorted way of viewing health— is not solving our problems. If we are taught that thousands of diseases exist, then of course we must go to
doctors for all our health problems; only the doctor has the education to deal with all
the different diseases and their treatments. The new perspective I offer you is that
there is only one disease; health is then easier to understand, and the power to get
healthy and to stay healthy lies within yourself. Aside from medical emergencies,


hara  is early in the morning for a pe riod
of 21 consecutive days, depending on the client. A variation of
sirodhara  is  deha-dhara, wh ere two to four therapists  pour a
continuous flow of oil over the entire body. Beautifully carved beds are usually made from one piece of wood, often neem,
and are designed so that oil flows through a drainage channel and is captured  in a
wooden bowl for re-use. The  Charaka Samhita  specifies seven types of wood for an Ayurvedic bed or  patti
with the emphasis being on the wood  having no joins. Because of the quality ofthe wood, beds are often works of art in themselves; often inlaid with copper or tin
inserts, the more elaborate ones have evocative carvings as well. At Quan spa in the JW Marriott Mumbai, oil at a  sirodhara  session is forced to flow
back over the forehead down to the bed with the fastening of a piece of cloth just
below the “third eye”. The palatial surrounds of Neemrana Fort Palace’ s courts and halls are highly
conducive to healing. Here, a therapist trains the flow of oil on to the forehead of a
client. vasthi  The Medicated Enema
T o most W esterners the su bject of enemas is one to  be
avoided, at best; subjected to, at worst. This probably ste ms
from an innate squeamishne ss, but, be that as it may, the
insertion into the anus, urinary or gans and genitals of
various kinds of enemas such as water, medicated and
nonmedicated oils and milks, and herbal decoctions is an
integral part of A yurvedic practice. This is because
A yurveda state s that the status of the alimentary canal and
other internal or gans is of v ital importance to one’ s overall
health. Vasthi  (basti ) is the word for a medicated enema, and in A yurveda
vasthi  involves the introduction o f herbal and medicinal
concoctions in a liquid medium  into and also  on to  the body. Sites
where  vasthi  may be administered therefore also include external
areas su ch as the eyes, lower back, head and the chest region. It is
believed that these medicinal  vasthi  remove wastes and toxins from
the body  (either  internally or e xternally), balance the function s of
the  doshas, provide nourishment and raise the body’ s mmunity. Vasthi  is m ost ef fective in the treatment of  vata  disorders,
although many enemas over a prescribed period of time are usually
required. There are dif ferent typ es of  vasthi  given for many vastly
dif fering ailmen ts, including constipation, chronic fever, c old,
sexual disorders, kidney stones, heart pain, backache, sciatica and
other pains in the joints. Many other  vata  disorders such as arthritis,rheumatism, gout, muscle spasms and headaches may also be
treated with the varying  vasthi. After a doughnut-style mix of gram flour and water is placed on the lower back and
deemed watertight, warmed medicated  oil is poured into the “container”. It is left to
seep into the client’ s sacrolumbar region or “foment” as Ayurvedic physicians call
it. The nurtu ring Ayurvedic Penthouse at the Oriental Spa in Bangkok offers a
number of  vasthi  treatments including  hrid  or  uro vasthi, an effective therapy for
complaints of the heart and respirat ory organs. Warm medicated oil, chosen
according to the client’ s complaint and doshic imbalance, foments on the chest
area for 40 minutes or so. A Keralan therapist at the atmosphe ric Ayurmana facility at Kumarakom Lake
Resort pours warm medicated oil on to the skull of a client. Prior to this therapy,
which is thought to relieve stress and regulate brain function, it is recommended
the head be shaved. Vasthi  is o ne of the five main procedures of the famous (or
infamous)  panchakarma  therapy (see page 46), but it may also be
used in localize d areas for nec k complaints  (greva vasthi), knee
joint conditions  (janu vasthi ) an d heart dis ease or asthma and
respiratory diseases ( hrid  or  uro vasthi ). In  Ind ian spas, a couple of
vasthi  therapies are of fered for one-of f “try-outs”:
Siro V asthi
Usually of fered for conditions such as facial paralysis, depression,
insomnia, dryness of nostrils, mouth and throat illnesses and se vere
headaches,  siro vasthi  is on some Indian spa menus as a relaxing,
stress-relieving and hair -conditioning therapy. Siro vasthi  (siromeans “head”) involves the application of lukewarm herbal oils
poured into a cap fitted on the h ead for any time between 15 to 60
minutes. The oils are left to s tagnate on the scalp for the time
required; accord ing to one’ s  dosha, cu rrent imbalances and/or
medical conditions, medicated herbs will have been added to the oil. An antioxidant medicated oil called  dhan wantharam  that contains
28 herbs and an  earthy fragrance is often used as it has rich pain-
relieving properties. Kathi V asthi
A  vasthi  treatment that concentrates on the sacro-lumbar region of
the back (kathi), this is a curati ve treatment useful for lower back
problems. It is also used for c omplaints that af fect the abdomen,
such as irritable bowel syndrome, endometriosis, menstrual and
urinary tract disorders. It involv es the pouring of warm medicated
oil i nto a n enclo sed area of the lower back, created with a reser voir
of dough (see right). In some spas,  kathi vasthi  is used as a rejuvenative therapy to
de-stress, relieve exhaustion or help with localized lower back pain. Providing the  kathi vasthi  is administered by a qualified A yurvedic
physician who has chosen the correct medicinal oil, a 20- to 60-
minute session should not do any harm — and the gentle
administering of  warm, soothing oil on the back can be extremely
pleasant. A therapist prepares a dough mixture, then places it on the back for a  kathi vasthi
session in the soothing surrounds of the Deva spa at Mandarin Oriental Dhara
Devi in Chiang Mai, Thailand. unani  An Holistic Graeco-Arab Medical
System
Although most spa-goers in the W est will have heard of
A yurveda, they may not be so familiar with another bra nch
of medicine known as Unani that is practiced extensively in
India. Unani originated in Greece with the philosoph er -
physician Hippocrates (460–377  BC ) and was formulated
over time by v arious Islamic scholar physicians in wha t is
now the  Middle East. Noted Arab physicians such as Rha zes
(850–925) and  A vicenna (aka Ibn Sina 980–1037) fur ther
developed Unani and, by the European Middle Ages, it had
became the authoritative basis for the study of medicine. It
was instrumen tal in introducing professional standards of
practice to medicine all over Europe. Unani was introduced to India during the medieval period, and over
time, mass acceptance and co ntinuous use led to many U nani
hospitals, resear ch centers and clinics being built. Its heyday  in
India la sted from the 13th to the 17th centuries, as the D elhi
Sultans, the Khiljis, the T ughlaqs and the Mughal emperors
provided patronage to Unani scholars, often employing them as
court physicians. During this period, many drugs and herbs native to India were
added to  the existing apothecary of Unani remedies. Clinical t rials
and experimentation resulted in expansion, and even though Unani
suf fered setbacks during the colonial period, it had becomeentrenched in Indian life. T oday, India has the lar gest number of
educational, research and health care institutions of Unani medicine
in the world with over 20,000 registered Unani practitioners
(hakims ) and countless non-registered ones who practice on a
hereditary basis. Unani is recognized by the W orld Health Or ganization (WHO ) as
a holistic traditional medical system. In 1977 when the  WHO
established its traditional medicine program, it declared: “There is
no d oubt that thi s branch of med icine is making and will continu e to
make a very sig nificant contribu tion to our ef forts to achieve health
for all. ”
Unani’ s goal is the preservation of health, the encouragement of
self-healing and the restoration  of the body’ s equilibrium. In its
infancy it was a rigorous syste m that eliminated superstition


 man wh o
went to his grave  without ever  having  an orgasm, ye t there  were
quite  a number of  wome n having  little experienc e in sexual  orgasm. Lonnie  Barbash  addresse d herself  to “pre- orgasmic” w omen  in
her book  For Yourself. In The Hite Report Shere  Hite disclosed
how women  brought  themselves  to orgasm, based  on the  anecdot al
responses  of hund reds of w omen  to her  vast  questionn aire. Compiled b y the Federati on of Feminist W omen’s Health  Centers,
the book  entitled  A New View  of a Woman’s Body took a new look
at women’s  genitals  and redefine d the clitoris. It is a  social fact  that most women  have  never  looked  closely  at
another  woma n’s genitals. Of the  women  who picked  up a  mirror
to scrutinize  their  own (after  making sure  the door  was locked  or
that no one  else w as home), ma ny were left with the feeling  that
somehow  they were not put togethe r entirel y correctl y The sexual
isolation  of women  results  in the  com plete  absence  of a socially
acceptable  word that enco mpasses  ever ything we can see  in a
mirror, “Dow n there ” is proba bly the closest  we have  com e to saying
that there  exists a  large  area  that we recognize  as being  our sexual
organs. (Fig. 2.1)
A. Mount  of Venus
   Starting  at the front  and top is the  Mount  of Venus (also  called
the mons veneris,  or mons, for  short). (Fig. 2.2) The color,  amount,
texture  and distributio n of hair will depe nd a great  deal  upon  age
and inherited  characteristics  and can vary  from a fe w straight  hairs
to a bushy  growth extending  up the abdo men or dow n the thighs. The m ons is a cushion  of fat  protectin g the pubic  bone  unde rneath. The pubic  bone  is the  place  where the pelvic  bones  are joined. - 43 -Women’ s Sexu al Anatomy
Outer Lips
Inner LipsClitoris
Urethra l Orific e
Hymen
Anus
Fig. 2.1 Woman’s Genital s
Mount of Ven us
Hood
Perineum
Fig. 2.2 Mount of  Venus
- 44 -Chapter  II
together  by cartilag e, which during  preg nanc y softens  so that  the
bones  can separat e, if necessar y, during  childbirth. The mons
divides  and separates  into what is called  the outer  lips, or labia
majora, which are of similar skin and hairiness  to the  mons. B. Inner  Lips
    Inside  the outer  lips are the inner  lips, the  labia  minora. The skin
of the  inner  lips is very  differe nt in color  and texture  because  of
their relation  to the  mucous surfaces,  in the  sam e way that the  lips
of the  mouth are different  from the  skin of  the face. In an unarouse d
state  the inner  lips can  vary  in color  from pink  to dusk y pink  to dark
maroon  or purple. Som etimes the  inner  lips are pink and  ridged,
and sometimes they  are long  and wavy. Som e women’s  inner  lips
are larger  than the outer  lips, and  when these  women  are standing
up, the inner  lips can  be seen  protrudin g from betw een the outer
lips. During  sexual  arousal  the inner  lips, richl y supplied  with blood
vessels, beco me engo rged and swell to two or three  times their
resting  size. As orgasm appro aches  they can go throu gh a dra matic
color  change,  sometimes turning  crim son or a dark  wine color:
C. Glans of  the Clitoris
    Follo wing the sm all lips to  the top, they join togethe r to form the
hood  that protects  the glans of the  clitoris. Usually the glans  in the
unerect  state is nestled  under  the hood. (Fig. 2.3 (a)) You can see
it by pulling  back  on the hood. The glans  of the clitoris is loaded
with nerves,  and for mo st women  the glans is the mo st acutel y
sensitive  spot  in their  sexual  anatomy. Some wome n find that it is
so sensitive  that direct  stim ulation  can be irritatin g. The shaft  of the
clitoris feels  like a  strong  rubbe r band  under  the surface  betw een
the glans  and the mons. As sexual excitement mo unts,  the shaft
thickens  and shortens,  and the glans,  shaft  and supportin g
structures  beco me erect. As wi th men, there  can be  a dramatic
change  in size and  shape. (Fig. 2.3(b) ) Som e women  find that with
intense  prolon ged arousal  the s wollen inner  lips can obscur e the
glans  almost entirely. D. Urethra  and V agina
   Do wn from the  glans  is the openi ng to the urethra. Belo w this is
the opening  to the  vagina. A woman’s  ureth ra is about  one and a
- 45 -Women’ s Sexu al Anatomy
(a) In a Relaxed State
Pubic Bone
Shaft
Hood
Glans
Urethral
OpeningVulva Vaginal
   Gland
       Outer Lip Clitoral
                 Openi ng to
Inner Lip
                 the Vagina
Erect Shaft
Pubic Bone
Hood(b) During  Sexual Excitement
Vulva Vaginal
   Gland
Glans
Outer Lip
Inner Lip
Urethral Open ing
Fig. 2.3 Cross- Section  of the Clitoris
- 46 -Clitoral Open ing
 to the Vag inaChapter  II
half inches long from the  outside  to where it opens  into the bladder:
This short  distance  from  the outside  to the  inside  helps  explain
wome n’s prope nsity toward bladd er infections  (cystitis). E. G-Spot
    Surroun ding the urethra  is a plexus  of blood  vessels. Since these
blood  vessels  had no name in med ical books,  a grou p of women
named the area  the urethral  sponge. (See A New View  of a Woman’s
Body.) During  sexual excitement the  blood  vessels  engorg e and a
bulge  can be felt throug h the vaginal  wall. This bulge  has been
named the “G- Spot,”  after  Grafen berg, one of the  first sexologists. It can  be explored  by feeling  aroun d the front  and uppe r part of the
inside  of the  vagina. (It has also been  said that the  G-Spot is located
one-half inch deeper  than  a woman’s  longest  finger)
    The G- Spot can  be difficult to reach  durin g intercou rse in a face-
to-face position,  except  with those  men whose penises,  when erect,
press  up against  their  bellies. A change  in position  may  be
necessary  if a w oman  wants her G-Spot stim ulated  more directl y.
Rear  entry  is one  way. Finge rs are often  effective  and direct. A
woma n stim ulating  herself  might choose  to squat  or lie down with
her legs up in  the air  in orde r to reach  it better. Her partner  might
find it easier  to reach  if she  is lyin g on her stom ach. During  coitus,
if the  woman  is on  top she can  position  herself  pretty  precisel y for
such stimulation. (Fig. 2.4(a)  and (b))
    Som e women,  while holding  their  partners  tightly, enjoy the
sensation  of an  erect  penis  pushing  on their  lower abdomen,
immediatel y above  the pubic  bone,  stimulating  the G-Spot from
the other  side. When the  G-Spot  is m assaged,  often  a woman’s  first im pression
is that  she has  to


 in attitude: You begin to
accept that things are going to happen, they’re going to hit your heart, andyour mind is going to create thoughts to release the built-up energies. You
commit to being okay with this process. This attitude of acceptance is very
different from suppressing the emotions and thoughts or letting yourself get
lost in them. Just honor what the heart is doing and learn to sit back and
relax behind it. Emotions can become like a breeze blowing across your face
—nothing to do except experience the experience. Appreciate the work your heart is doing to push out the samskaras you
have collected over the years. Your heart will do the work—all  you need to
do is allow the purification to take place. At first, it’s not easy to relax in the
face of what you’ve spent your life avoiding. But it is certainly worth it
because the reward is love, freedom, and constant inspiration. After all,
you’ve already been through so much pain for so little gain. The bottom line is that you’re a beautiful being. You’re a being of great
love, light, and inspiration. You are made in the image of God. The god who
created the whole universe exists inside of you, but you don’t realize that. You’re lost thinking that the world outside has to be a certain way for you to
be okay. This is the human  predicament, and nothing is going to
meaningfully change until you learn to live from a deeper place. To get out
of this predicam ent, you’ve got some work to do, and the work is on
yourself. To quote Rumi, the great thirteenth-century Persian poet,
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise,
so I am changing myself.”PART VII:
Learning to Let GoChapter 30. Techniques for Freeing Yourself
Logically, it doesn’ t make sense  to store inside of you the experiences that
bothered you the most. If you do that, you will build your own internal
house of horrors and will struggle to be comfortable inside. This is the root
cause of all anxiety, tension, and psychological disturbances. This cannot be
fixed until you deal with it at its root. As long as you are holding inside of
you that which bothered you ten or twenty years ago, you are going to
suffer. Once your intent is to use every moment of your life to free yourself,
the question becomes how to do that. Believe it or not, your sincere intent to
be free is more important than any technique you can use. You’re in there,
and if you understand these teachings, you realize you don’t want blockages
in there. They make life extremely difficult. So you commit to letting them
go. Traditionally, there are some powerful techniques for freeing yourself
during your everyday life, and we will discuss three of them in very broad
terms. The first technique is called positive thinking. Yogananda used to teach
that every time you have a negative thought, replace it with a positive one. This is a very basic and useful technique for bringing about change. It is
based on the two types of thoughts we discussed earlier: those created
willfully and those that happen automatically. If you notice your mind
giving you a hard time while you’re driving—those are automatically
generated thoug hts. You are not purposely creating them. Now try purposely
creating positive  thoughts about the situation. If the person in front of you is
driving much slower than the speed limit, you might say inside your mind,
“Wow. What an opportunity to relax. I can’t be in a rush becaus e the person
in front of me won’ t let me. I guess it’s time to watch my breath, calm
down, and learn to enjoy the experience.” You’re welcome to do that ineveryday life. You’re not fighting with your mind or pushin g away the
negative thoughts. You’re simply replacing the automatically generated
thoughts with willfully created  ones. Don’ t fight, just replace. It doesn’ t
matter if the negative thoughts continue in the background; just focus on the
positive though ts you are willfully creating. Over time, your willfully
created thoughts will replace the automatically generated ones. This is a
very healthy thing to do. Simply apply your will to offset or neutralize the
effect of your samskaras. Over time, this will develop a more positive mind,
which is a much nicer environment to live in. The next technique is very traditional and is broadly referre d to as
mantra. In the most general sense, “mantra” means training your mind to
repeat a simple word or phrase  over and over until it gets stuck in your
mind. Just like a song can get stuck in your mind, a mantra can get stuck in
your mind. We all experience that our minds can work in layers. You can be
paying attention to someone speaking, and there can still be thoughts going
on “in the back of your mind.” Your mind is so brilliant it can multitask. It
can create thoughts at multiple levels, and you can be aware of these layers
simultaneously. Mantra is offering you a layer of mind that is always there
—balanced, pleasant, a safe place to rest. As the mantra effortlessly goes on
in the backgroun d, it gives you the choice of which layer of mind you want
to focus on. When the habitual thoughts come up from your samskaras, you
don’t have to fight with them or even replace them. You just shift your
consciousness onto the mantra. With positive thinking, you are continually
using your will to neutralize negative thoughts with positive  ones. With
mantra, you are simply using your will to shift the focus of your
consciousness from the samskara-generated thoughts to the mantra. Mantra is a gift. It’s like a built-in vacation. If you do the work
necessary to instill the mantra in a layer of your mind, it will change your
life. First off, the mantra does not have to be a traditional Sanskrit mantra
like Om Namah Shivaya or Om Mani Padme Hum. It can be a name or word
for God, like Jesus, Adonai, or Allah. In fact, a very powerful mantra is
simply God, God, God. If all these seem too religious for you, a great thing
to have going in your mind is: I’m alwa ys fine, I’m always fine, I’m always
fine. How nice woul d it be to be reminded of any of these throughout your
day? It is not difficult to instill the mantra in your mind—all it takes is
repetition. You can start practicing mantra during the time you put asideeach morning and evening for your spiritual practices. Even just fifteen
minutes will go a long way. A good technique is to tie the mantra to your
breath going in and out. Then during the day, come back to it whenever
certain events occur. For example, you could say a few repetitions of the
mantra before you pick up the phone and after you put it down. It just takes
a mome nt, and you are making a major investment in becoming a more
conscious, cente red being. Do it whenever you get into or out of your car, as
well as when you enter or leave your house or office. No one will even
notice. It is just a moment’ s pause that will change everything over time. Before you eat, say the mantra. If you are eating by yourself, you can have
fun inwardly repeating the mantra while you chew your food. Make it a
game—how many recurring events in your everyday life can you set up to
remind you to practice the mantra? Here’ s a good use of your smartphone:
set up a repeatin g reminder to do the mantra. Over time, you will train your
mind to always have the mantra going on in the background during your
daily life. Even if you have done this work on yourself, a fateful day will
inevitably arrive. Something will happen and your emotions or thoughts will
start to get upset. You’ll be on the verge of losing it, but the mantra will
catch your attention just enough to give you the choice—go down or go up. You immediately shift your awareness off the mess and onto the mantra, and
your life changes. The mantra does not stop you from having constructive
thoughts; it just sits there as a safety net to catch you if you start to fall. When you have some time to actually rest back into the mantra, you will
become filled with peace and well-being. It’s like a vacation from the
personal mind. How would you like it if the moment you sat down, tension
and stress melted away as you fell back into the lap of the mantra? All this
is available to you—free of charge. Just be willing to make the investment
in yourself. Notice that with mantra you are learning to surrender the hold
that the personal mind has on you. The final technique we will discuss for freeing yourself from yourself
is generally termed witness consciousness,  and it includes the powerful
practice of relaxing and releasin g. Witness consciousness is deeper than the
other techniques because, in the end, it doesn’ t require working with the
mind. Positive thinking involve s creating positive thoughts to replace the
negative ones. Mantra involves creating a layer of mind that provides a
peaceful and steady environmen t for rising above the lower layers. Witnessconsciousness is simply noticing that you are noticing what


 back on after they struggle tolose it, and why some people cannot lose weight, no matterwhat they do. 164 THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS
chapter TWENTY
From the beginning of my clinical career, my approach to
medicine has been preventive. It always made a lot more senseto me to prevent disease rather than to treat it. As an internist, I continuously deal with patients concerned
about their weight or trying to cope with obesity. Thiscondition is clearly wreaking havoc on many levels. If mypatients could manage their weight, the task of creating over-all wellness would be eased greatly. In other words, I havefound that weight management fits easily into a category ofpreventive medicine. From the outset I have been struck by these interesting
statistics:
• 98 percent of people who lose weight gain it all
back again within five years. • Obesity is the second leading preventable cause
of death (smoking is number one). What if there was a type of cancer that had a 98 percent
relapse rate after it was treated. Who would be happy with thattype of success rate for a cancer. Patients would demand an
165alternative approach. But for the last 50 years, Americans have
bought into the traditional, time-worn medical advice that“you have to diet, exercise, and watch your fat intake” in orderto manage your weight. Sound familiar. By now you should have an understanding of my point of
view about weight management, including my conviction thatembarking on a weight loss program entails more thandetermination and will power. Balancing one’s hormones,eliminating certain drugs, and acquiring fundamentalknowledge of certain nutritional guidelines set the stage for asuccessful approach to weight loss and wellness. In this chapter I lay out the logic of how to achieve
permanent weight loss. THE DISEASE CALLED OBESITY
I feel that a major cause of our current epidemic of obesity is
that most physicians have been reluctant to look at obesity as adisease and continue to see it as an eating problem. Doctorshave an absolutely clear understanding that conditions likehypertension and diabetes are real diseases that cannot bemanaged using will power. They are not reluctant abouthelping their patients manage these conditions, even if it meanstreating them over their entire life span. But obesity, they feel, can be treated with unsophisticated
advice and without addressing the underlying cause. If it’s nota disease, why look for a cause. This is like trying to treat acancer without treating the cause of the cancer. I prefer a more scientific method. Let’s look at the
traditional approaches to weight management to get anunderstanding of why they don’t work. 166 THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  WHY CUTTING CALORIES
DOESN’T WORK
The problem with calorie restriction (dieting) as a weight loss
strategy is that it triggers the body’s survival mechanisms. Whenwe limit our meal plans to 1,200 calories per day or less, thebody gets alarmed. Is starvation in the offing. Best to startstoring and locking away fat in earnest. The body is a complex, multi-layered operating system. It
has a whole arsenal of techniques for maintaining homeostasisand for ensuring survival. This is something that dieters forget. They become fixated on counting calories, assuming that abody deprived of energy will burn its own fat to survive. Butthey are wrong. A body deprived of energy will go after its ownmuscle tissue before it will burn fat. And in the meantime, itwill marshal its powerful hormone system to alter the way itmetabolizes food for energy. People who lose weight on a diet are fooling themselves. They get on the scale and see that they weigh less, but theyshouldn’t be celebrating. They’ve just burned up muscle tissue—the only kind of tissue that burns fat. Now they have a bodythat’s less efficient at burning fat. When they “finish” their diet(i. e., stop restricting calories) they will have less of the tissueneeded to maintain homeostasis at a low weight. /Nswashinety-eight percent of people who lose weight
gain it all back again
within five years. This is why those who diet not only gain back all the weight
they’ve lost, but typically put on an extra two or three pounds. Lost muscle tissue, together with the body’s newly improved fat-storing mechanism, causes them to stabilize at a higher weight. 167 PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS  WHAT ABOUT EXERCISE. Many people reason that if restricting calories is unrealistic,
then the solution must be to exercise more. Exercise, after all,burns calories. Or does it. Exercise offers tremendous benefits to those who incorporate
it into their lifestyle. It improves cardiovascular health, itmakes people feel better, it’s great for bones and muscles, itlowers insulin levels, and so on. However, as the sole approachto weight loss it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. T o lose one pound of fat by exercising, you must burn
3,500 calories. This is equivalent to going out and running 35miles. The alternative would be walking on a treadmill at fourmiles per hour for 7
½hours. In my practice I have come upon patients who were living
on 800 calories a day and exercising four hours a day, and theycouldn’t lose an ounce. Talk about frustrated. These peopleobviously were in a severe starvation mode, and the body willnot burn fat when it’s starving. WHAT ABOUT EATING LESS FAT. Another timeworn piece of advice is to tell patients to cut out
fat from their diets. Interestingly, fat is the only food substancethat does not stimulate insulin. And insulin, as you now know,is the number one hormone that creates fat, especially aroundthe middle. Ever since this country got into a nonfat, fat-free
thinking mode, we have had an epidemic of obesity. Foodslike popcorn and pretzels, which are nonfat and low incalories, create more insulin than candy does. (However, themessage here is not to eat candy. )168 THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  As reported in the Framingham Heart Study, which is the
largest on-going heart study in the world, the men who ate themost saturated fat (butter, meat, eggs, etc. ) weighed the least. Additionally, they had the lowest cholesterol levels and thefewest incidents of coronary artery disease. Fat is not the enemy. Additionally, given that fat is the preferred fuel for survival,
the body is not likely to burn it if a person restricts their fatintake. Even more important: nonfat foods are usually high incarbohydrates (sugar), so eating them causes insulin levelsto increase. THE LOGICAL APPROACH
So we’ve eliminated dieting, we’ve eliminated exercise, and
we’ve eliminated eating less fat. Now what are we going to do. Well, it all comes down to metabolism. The trick is to
convert your body from a sugar-burning metabolism to a fat-burning metabolism. The way to do this is to take away sugar. The body gets sugar from carbohydrates. All carbohydratesbreak down into sugar. You must eliminate those particularcarbohydrates that create the most sugar and/or stimulate themost insulin production. It takes three days from the time you stop taking in sugar
and certain other carbohydrates for your body to beginburning fat. It takes that long to get the sugar, or glycogen, outof the muscle tissue. Once you get rid of the glycogen, theusual source of energy, the muscles have no choice: they haveto start burning fat. After that point, everything you do burnsfat. Cleaning the house, walking out to the car, walkingyour dog—everything you do burns fat. Even while you aresleeping, you are burning fat. You’re still up against the fact that it takes 3,500 calories to
lose a pound of fat, but now you are burning fat constantly. 169 PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS  Most people using this type of approach, depending upon how
much they weigh and how active they are, are able to burnanywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 calories per week So theirexpected fat loss would be two to three pounds per week, oreight to twelve pounds per month. SAYING GOOD-BYE TO INSULIN
Obviously, this type of approach is not for everybody. However,
certain types of people have no other choice except to followthis plan. These are the people who:
• are not big eaters; they can’t shave 3,500 calories
from their meal plans in order to lose one pound of fat
• over-produce insulin• have Syndrome X• have low progesterone levels• eat too much sugar. For most people, insulin is the enemy. Insulin creates fat by
taking any sugar the muscles have no need for and placing itinto fat cells, where the sugar is immediately converted intofat. Then the insulin sits there preventing release of fat fromthe fat cells—it is a fat-storing hormone. The bottom line for most people is that to get rid of fat they
have to reduce insulin. If they want to reduce insulin, they haveto take away sugar. Sugar stimulates insulin production. SIMILAR APPROACHES
Cutting out carbs is the basic premise behind many weight loss
approaches: Atkins, the South Beach Diet, Sugar Busters, the170 THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  Zone, Protein Power, the Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet, the
Mayo Clinic Diet, the Grapefruit Diet, the Stillman Diet ares


. Drinking
water should be pure; the best is spring water or mountain water from
melted snow. Polluted water is deficient in Prana. Exercise. Physical activity increases Prana by bringing energy into the
body, unless carried to the point of exhaustion. Exhaustion and fatigue are
critical signs that Prana has been depleted. (In Western medicine we
recognize this change as well; when exercise is carried beyond  the body’ s
oxygen reserves, it has to gain energy by metabolizing its own tissues. See
the discussion of catabolic and anabolic metabolism, this page –this page. ) Breathing. The body’ s main source of Prana is through the breath, which on
a gross level brings in oxygen and on a subtle level brings in life energy. Prana is thus literally identified  with the breath of life. The ancient sages
considered the quality of a perso n’s life to be reflected in the quality of his
breathing. When  breathing is refined, slow, and regular, the circulation of
Prana is reaching all levels of body and mind, promoting a state of complete
balance. Behavior. Actions  can damage or nouris h the body’ s Prana. Harsh, tense,
conflicted behav ior (what we today call stressed behavior) disturbs the flow
of Prana. Refined behavior that comes from a sense of ease and self-
acceptance promotes balanced Prana. The attitude of nonviolence (Ahimsa ),
sometimes calle d reverence for life, is at the root of life-nourishing
behavior. Emotions. Four negative emotions—fear, anger, greed, and envy—throw
Prana out of balance and are to be avoided. Positive emotions, particularly
love, increase Prana. Love is considered the most basic emotion that human
awareness can feel; therefore, it is the closest to the source of life. The burst
of well-being you feel when you fall in love is due to the fact that you
unconsciously open the channe ls of awareness that allow more Prana to
flow. Emotions that are repres sed through shame and guilt cause thesechannels to constrict. When Prana is kept from flowing in this way, pockets
of inertia and stagnation develop, eventually promoting disease. Depression
is a state of almost complete nonflow and is associated with chronic illness,
premature aging, and early death. Thus, a healthy life, as measure d by the conservation of Prana, demands
the following:
•  Fresh food
•  Pure water and air
•  Sunlight
•  Moderate exercise
•  Balanced, refined breath
•  Nonviolent behavior and a reverence for life
•  Loving, positive emotions; free expression of emotion
Think of the difference between a salad fresh-picked from your garden
and one made from the same vegetables bought in the supermarket. Contrast a picnic in the mountains with lunch at a hambur ger stand, or the
taste of cool well water with water from a city tap. Freshness indicates the
presence of Prana; staleness indicates its absence. The factor least understood in our culture is balanced breath, which in
India is considered the most important. The word breath implies more than
the physical act of drawing air in and out of the lungs. Breath is the junction
point between mind, body, and spirit. Every change of mental state is
reflected in the breath and then in the body. Gross indications such as
posture as well as distinct bodily sensations are directly related to one’s
style of breathing. Changes of feeling are registered immediately in the pattern of breathing. Anger produces shallow inhalation and strong, panting exhalation. Fear
creates rapid, shallow, ragged breathing. Sorrow creates spasmodic, broken
breathing—the kind that arises when you are sobbing. On the other hand,
positive emotion s such as joy induce more regular breathing as the chest
cavity relaxes. In moments when the mind stops, struck with beauty or
revelation, so does the breath—that’ s what people are referring to when
they say that looking into the Grand Canyon for the first time isbreathtaking. At a subtler level, entering into the silence of deep meditation
slows the breath, and what spiritual masters call “the rapture of God”—
contemplating Spirit directly—is reflected in little or no breathing. This phenomenon also works in reverse—changing the breathing pattern
also causes altered emotions. As a young intern on duty in the emer gency
room, I was taught to calm down agitated patients just by sitting next to
them and asking them to breathe slowly, deeply, and regularly  along with
me. As we fell into a relaxed breathing rhythm, our bodies spontaneously
followed suit, and their agitated  emotions were stilled. In the chart on this
page  are some examples from common experience of how the link between
breath, body, and emotion works. As you can see, when joy, love, and compassion are at work, breathing is
at its most spontaneous and relaxed. The various systems of Yoga in India
teach many kinds of highly controlled breathing exercises,  known as
Pranayama,  to balance the breath, but their actual goal is not to produce
controlled or disciplined breath ing under ordinary circumstan ces. Rather,
paying attention to the breath is a vehicle for releasing stress and allowing
the body to find its own balance. Once in balance, yogic breathing is
spontaneous and refined, so that the refined emotions of love and devotion
can be carried throughout the body at all levels. When your cells experience
the fullness of Prana, they are receiving the physical equivale nt of these
emotions. The following two exercises are for balancing your breathing. They are
not full-blown Pranayamas, which should be done in conjunction with
meditation and Yoga postures, * but when properly done, these exercises
will give you the experience of Prana as a light, sparkling, flowing
sensation in your body. Usually, your muscles will become notic eably warm
and relaxed. Mentally, balanced  breathing is reflected in a sense of calm,
lack of tension, and quietness, as the static of restless thinking gives way to
silence. Exercise 1: Body Br eathing
Sit still in a chair listening to soft music, or outside listening to the wind
in the treetops. As you listen, gently let your attention flow out of your ears
as you easily exhale. Repeat for a minute, then do the same thing through
your eyes, letting your attentio n go outward on the breath, slowly and
gently. Repeat this through the nostrils, the mouth, then sit quietly just
listening to the music with your whole body. Now allow your attention to sink into your chest. Feel where your heart
center is (at the point where the breastbone and ribs join) and breathe out
through it, letting your attention go with the breath. Continue  gently for
another minute,  then sit quietly, aware of your body. This exercise takes
about two minutes but can be extended by doing another cycle or two. This exercise consciously links respiration and the nervous system,
helping to promote their smooth integration. It is a delightful exercise to
conduct outdoors, sitting next to running water or under a tree when the
wind is gently stirring its leaves. Feeling your awareness as it flows out on
your breath gives you a powerful sense of being at harmony with Nature. Exercise 2: The Expanding Light
Stand in your stocking feet with your eyes closed, arms down at your
sides, and vividly relive the sensation of your last exhilarating experience. Recapture the feeling of being happy, vibrant, and carefree. (You can use a
visual image, a loving memor y, a moment of triumph from the past—
anything that brings the sensatio n of exhilaration back to you; do not worry
if it is only faint, just have the intention of being with it. ) As you do this, inhale slowly through your nose and begin to spread your
arms out slowly. Imagine that as you inhale, your breath is expanding from
the center of your chest. It is an expanding light that makes your arms float
effortlessly open, and as the light expands, your happy, exhilar ated feeling
expands with it. You can visualize this as a glowing blue-white ball of light
if you want, or just as a sensation. Let the light grow as slowly or quickly as
it wants,  spreadi ng from the center of your heart, reaching out to the tips ofyour fingers, up to your head, and down to your toes. You’ll also be
smiling, so let that grow, too. At the point of maximum extension, start slowly exhaling through your
nose and bring your arms back down to your sides. Do this slowly, taking
longer to exhale than to inhale. Take the expanded feeling/light  back down
into your chest, until it is small and localized in your heart again. As your
arms come back down to your sides, let your head drop forward. Now repeat the exercise on the next breath, expanding the feeling again
—don’ t pay attention to your physical movements, but stay with the feeling. You want to open and close it like a flower with each breath. As you continu e, you can begin to open up even more, throwing your
head back, expanding your chest, and rising on tiptoe on the outward stroke. As you exhale, slump like a rag doll, bending at the knees


:
asthmatic:Ant-t.
abdominal/difficult: Ant-t.
difficult:Ant-t.,Ars.,Cupr.,Dros.,lp.,Lye,
Nux-v.,Op.,Phos.,Spo. fast:Aco.,Ant-t.,Ars.,Bell.,Bry.,Carb-v.,
Cupr.,Dros.,lp.,Lye,Phos.,Sep.,Sul. rattling:Ant-t.,Dulc. rough:Spo. slow:Bell.,Op. snoring:Op. wheezing:Ars.,Carb-v.,lp.,Kali-c. Cough:
barking:Aco.,Bell.,Dros.,Heps.,Kali-m.,
Spo. choking:Cocc-c.,lp. assoonasfallsintoadeepsleep:Lach. constant:Caust.,Lye,Rumex.,Spo. whenlyingdownatnight:Sep.
intheevening:Puis. croupyseeCroup
deep:Dros.,Ver-a. disturbssleep:Bry.,Lye,Puis.,Sep.,Sul. distressing:Caust.,Nux-v.
dry:Aco.,Ars.,Bell.,Bry.,Calc-c.,Calc-s.,
Con.,Dros.,Heps.,Ign.,Ip.,Kali-c.,Lach. Lye,Nat-m.,Nux-v.,Pho-ac.,Phos.,
Rumex.,Sep.,Spo.,Sul. dryintheevening,looseinthemorning:
Calc-c.,Heps.,Sul. dryatnight:Ars.,Calc-c.,Cham.,Dros.,
Heps.,Phos.,Puis.,Sul. loosebyday:Sul.looseinthemorning:Puis. dryduringfever:Aco.,Phos.,Puis. exhausting:Ars.,Bell.,Caust.,Sep. night:Puis. hacking:All-c.,Ars.,Dros.,Lach.,Nat-m.,
Phos.,Sep. eveninginbedafterlyingdown:Ign.,Sep. worsecoldair:All-c.
worseafterdinner:Heps. fromticklinginthelarynx:All-c.,Ars.,
Dros.,Lach.,Nat-m.,Phos. hard:Bell.,Kali-e,Kali-m.
hollow:Bell.,Caust.,Spo.,Ver-a. infits:Bell.,Bry.,Carb-v.,Cina,Coce,
Cocc-c.,Ferr-m.,lp.,Puis.,Rumex.,Spo. inlongfitsatirregularintervals:Cupr. irritating:Aco.,All-c.,Bell.,Bry.,Cham.,
Cocc-c.,Con.,Dros.,Heps.,Ign.,Ip.,
Kali-e,Lach.,Lye,Nat-m.,Nux-v.,Pho-ac,
Phos.,Puis.,Rhus-t.,Rumex.,Sep.,Sil.,
Spo.,Stap.,Sul. loud:Ant-t.
loose:Ars.,Kali-c,Sep. painful:All-c,Bry.,Lye,Sul. racking:Bell.,Bry.,Carb-v.,Caust.,Cocc-c,
Ign.,Kali-c,Mercs.,Nux-v.,Phos.,Puis.,
Sul. rattling:Ant-t.,Caust.,Dulc,Ip.,Kalis.,Sep. short:Aco.,Ign.,Kali-m.,Rhus-t.,Sep. suffocative:Carb-v.,Cina,Cupr.,Dros.,
Heps.,Lach.,Nux-v.,Sul. ticklingseeirritating
tight:Phos. tormenting:Ars.,Bell.,Caust.,Dros.,lp. uninterrupted: Cupr. violent:Bell.,Carb-v.,Caust.,Cocc-c.,Con.,
Cupr.,Heps.,Ign.,Kali-c,Lach.,Pho-ac,
Phos.,Puis.,Sep. violentfits:Dros.,Nux-v.
voicehoarse:Aco.,All-c,Bell.,Carb-v.,
Caust.,Dros.,Heps.,Kali-b. vomitingwithoraftercough:Ant-t.,Bry.,
Dros.,Heps.,lp.,Kali-c. wakensfromthecoughatnight:Caust.,
Kali-c,Phos.,Sep.,Sul. whooping:Ant-t.,Am.,Carb-v.,Cocc-c,
Cupr.,Dros.,Ip.,Kalis. Chestcongested:Sul. Daytimeonly:Euphr.,Nats. ExpectorationseeMucus
Larynx:
raw:Nux-v.,Phos.,Rumex.,Sul. tickling:All-c,Ars.,Cocc-c,Dros.,Nat-m.,
Phos. Mucus:
bloody:Ip.,Phos. a
172•Cough INTERNALREPERTORY
copious:Ars.,Calc-c,Calc-s.,Cocc-c,Euphr. Heps.,Lye,Phos.,Puis.,Sep. aftereachcoughing fit:Cocc-c.
inelderlypeople:Bar-c. difficulttocoughup:Caust.,Con.,Ip.,
Kali-b.,Kalis.,Puis. hastoswallowwhatcomesup:Caust.,
Con.,Kalis. eggwhite:Nat-m.
frothy:Ars. green:Carb-v.,Lye,Mercs.,Nats.,Phos.,
Puls.,Sul. lumpy:Calcs.,Sil. smelly:Calc-c.
sticky:Cocc-c,Heps.,Kali-b.,Puis. ropy/stringy: Kali-b. tastes:
bitter:Cham.,Puis. sour:Calc-c,Nux-v.
sweet:Calc-c,Phos. salty:Ars.,Lye,Phos.,Puis.,Sep. thick:Heps.,Kali-b.,Sil. tough:Calc-c,Heps.,Kali-b.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Exhaustion
SymptomsExhaustion:nervous;sudden. Worseongettingupinthemorning;duringamen-
strualperiod;forsweating;forwalking. Causessweating. Thelegsfeelstiffandweak. Thisoftenaccompanies
theSepiahotflushes,orpregnancy. Eyeinflammation
SymptomsEyes:burning. Eyelids:gluedtogether;
swollen. Worseafterawalk;duringtheevening;forreading. Theevesfeelsore,asifthereweresandinthem. Faintness
SymptomsHeatwithfaintness. Coldnessafterfaint. Worseforexercise;duringafever;duringmenstrual
period;inastuffyroom. Sepiatypescaneasilyfeelfaintandarealways
generallyworseforstandingforanylengthoftime. Fever
SymptomsWithsweating(seeGeneralSymptoms). Worseintheautumn;forsweating;forbeingcovered. Causesanger. Sepiamavbeneededinafluoranyotherinfection
wherethecharacteristicgeneralandemotionalsymp-
tomsarealsopresent. Theaccompanying feveris
oftenseverewithexternalheatandinternalchilliness. INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA Silica(Sil. )•149
Thefeelingofheatisfollowedbychillswithshaking
andnothirst. Beingcoveredupwarmlymakes
patientsfeeluneasy(whichisanunusualandhelpful
symptom);theydonotwanttobecoveredevenwhen
chilled. Hairloss
SymptomsHairfallsout. Causesmenopause. Headache
SymptomsExtremities icycold. Pains:inbones;
bursting;pressing;shooting;tearing;throbbing;in
waves. Betteraftereating;forfreshair. Worseforbendingdown;duringmenstrualperiod;
forgettingheadcold;fortravelling. Causesartificiallight. Painscanbealmostanywhereinthehead,although
theleftsidewilloftenbemoreaffectedthantheright. Hotflushes
SymptomsFlushmovesupthebody. Worseduringtheafternoon/evening; aftersweating. Thehotflushfeelsasifwarmwaterwerebeingpoured
overthebody,and/ortheflushstartsinthebodyand
movesupwards. Insomnia
SymptomsWakingafter3a. m. Withsleepiness. Thepersonwakesinthenightandcan'tgetbackto
sleep,andmaylieawakethinkingdismalthoughts. In
themorningheorshefeelsexhausted. Labourpains
SymptomsPains:distressing;severe. Thepainsdragdownandaremuchbetterforvigorous
exercise. Sepiacharacteristicemotionalsymptomswill
bepresent. Periodproblems
SymptomsPeriodspainful. Pains:aching;dragging
down;dull;pressing;sore,bruised. Betterforcrossingthelegs. Worsebetween9a.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What is a common symptom of Silica (Sil.) in the context of toothache?,
A: Pains: radiating to the ears; pulling; tearing; stitching; throbbing.
Q: What is a characteristic of Sulphuric acid (Sul.) in the context of breast abscess?,
A: Breast abscess: inflamed; painful; swollen.
Q: What is a common remedy for athletes who are exhausted and exhausted, as well as those who have undergone a fall


around other people. ” This goes for every single facet of your
personality and life circumstances. To be willing to accept total responsibility for yourself puts
you in a position of being worthy of receiving and attracting the
object of your desires. If someone else is responsible for your
perceived shortcomings, and you are blaming them for these
troubles, then you are also saying that in order to manifest your
heart’s desire you need to have the permission of those others. This act of abdicating responsibility destroys your ability to
empower yourself to higher levels of awareness. When you know that you are responsible for how you chose
to react to every life situation, and that you are essentially alone
within yourself at all moments, then you can very privately put
out into the universe that which you want to bring to yourself. However, blaming others for your life situations shifts the power
to those you believe are responsible for creating the circum-
stances. ] have a private inner dialogue with the universe about the cir-
cumstances that show up in my life. I come from the position
that there are absolutely no accidents and that everything that
occurs in my life has a lesson attached to it, and that I brought it
into my life. Regardless of how absurd or inconsequential it
might seem, I say to myself, “Why did I create this in this
moment. ”
77
78 WAYNE W. DYER
Thus, if I am having a negative thought and at the same
moment I bump my head on a cupboard door, I say, “What was I
thinking at that moment. ” and I take full responsibility for cor-
recting those negative thoughts and for the bump that reminded
me to correct that kind of thinking. I do the same when I am
writing. If I feel inclined to go to the mailbox before writing, I
follow that inner signal and often find an article in the mail that
clarifies a point that was fuzzy. I take responsibility for knowing
that what I needed was there and that my inner voices of intu-
ition were guiding me. This little game serves me in the sense of taking full responsi-
bility for my life and eradicating the inclination to blame other
people or circumstances. I trust in this inner knowledge. I rely
on seemingly coincidental happenings and I know that I am
responsible for all of it. As this sense of responsibility has grown,
I find it impossible to blame anyone for anything in my life, from
the most inconsequential things, such as bumping or cutting
myself, or others not showing up on time, to major life disap-
pointments and my relationships with my wife and the rest of my
family; for all of it I assume total responsibility. I trust in the divine wisdom that is particularized in me that
allows these things to transpire. I refuse to question the wisdom
or to blame bad luck or to credit good luck. I see it all as a part
of my own functioning in the universe, without complaint. The willingness to be responsible without complaining puts
you into the natural flow of all divine energy. It keeps you from
having to fight the world, allowing you to go with it. Everything
that you complain about puts you in a position of figuratively hav-
ing to take arms against it and fight. Everything that you need to
fight weakens you, while that which you are for empowers you. I am asking you to be for yourself. With an attitude of self-
responsibility, you will notice that the heavens are exceedingly
Manifest Your Destiny
cooperative. Getting the heavens to cooperate means getting
yourself out of a complaining mind-set and into one of total self-
responsibility. I do not choose to accept guilt into my life. This mind-set creates
thoughts such as: “I will not use up the precious currency of my
life, my present moments, immobilized with guilt over what hap-
pened in the past. ”
This statement requires you to know the difference between
a) genuine regret and learning from the past; and b) remaining in
a state of reproach or guilt today. Learning from one’s mistakes
and taking corrective action are spiritually and psychologically
sound practices. You did it, you didn’t like the way you felt after-
ward, so you decide not to repeat the behavior. That is not guilt. Guilt is when you continue to feel immobilized and depressed;
those feelings keep you from living effectively in the present. When you are filled with guilt, your energy is awash with
anguish and self-reproach. You are so down on yourself that you
feel unworthy of receiving blessings from the universe or anyone
in it. Persistent feelings of guilt will prevent you from manifest-
ing anything worthwhile because you are attracting the very same
things that you are putting out to the universe. More anguish,
more reasons to feel bad, and more evidence to prove that you
are not worth what you desire. When you put past behaviors into a context of learning from
them and moving on, regardless of how horrible they may seem
to you, you clear yourself of the negativity surrounding these
actions. Forgiving yourself means that you are able to extend love
to yourself even when your perceived shortcomings are painfully
evident to you. Once you learn this valuable lesson, you seek God’s forgive-
ness too. But if you continue to harbor the pain internally you
79
80 WAYNE W. DYER
will feel unworthy of God’s forgiveness and consequently will be
unable to accept any of your divine rights as a child of God. No matter what you do not particularly love about yourself,
including your behaviors and your appearance, to be successful
at manifesting, you need to love yourself in spite of your per-
ceived flaws. For example, if you are chronically overweight, or
addicted, your internal sentences of guilt sound something like
this: “I am really going to love myself when I am finally a normal
weight” or “I will truly value myself as a worthwhile human
being when I am finally over this addiction once and for all. ”
These are the sentences of guilt that reinforce an attitude of
unworthiness and inhibit the manifestation process. These inter-
nal sentences need to be shifted to: “I love myself while I am
overweight. I am not this weight in the first place and I refuse to
think of myself in self-degrading terms regardless of the condi-
tion of my body. I am love, and I extend this love to all of me. ”
The same kind of inner programming must take place for addic-
tions or anything else that you feel guilty about. There are 483,364 words in A Course in Miracles. The word
“beware” appears only once: “Beware of the temptation to see
yourself as unfairly treated. ” The warning speaks to removing
guilt and taking responsibility: for one’s life. By removing the
inclination to wallow in self-reproach, we also remove the idea
that by suffering in the present moment we will redeem our-
selves and can pay for our sins with guilt. Life doesn’t work this
way. Your suffering keeps you in a state of fear and immobiliza-
tion. That is not a solution to handling your life problems. There is a solution, and that solution is in loving yourself, and
in trusting in God that your “shortcomings” are nothing more
than lessons leading you to a new spiritual level. By refusing to
buy into the conditioned notion that guilt is good and you
deserve to feel guilty, and that guilt will help you pay for your
Manifest Your Destiny
sins, you reinforce the idea that you are worthy of any desires of
yours that you want to manifest in your life. By I understand the importance of having harmony between my thoughts, my
feelings and my behavior. To the extent that you remain incongruent
in any of these three areas of thinking, feeling or behaving, you
will impede the process of heightened awareness and the ability
to manifest your heart’s desire. This is the last of the five points that contribute to your feel-
ings of worthiness about receiving God’s munificence in your
life. It is also the most significant because it defines your level of
integrity. To have thoughts about how you would like to conduct
your life and to posit these thoughts as your essential way of
being, and then to feel guilty, fearful, anxious or anything else as
a result of not living up to these inner positions results in addic-
tive, manipulative and self-defeating behavior. To be congruent you must be honest about your own
thoughts. It is crucial to examine your thoughts and forthrightly
proclaim what it is that you choose to know internally. Even if
this is perceived as a shortcoming by everyone else, if you are
honest with yourself you will find that your emotional reactions
will be consistent with your inner world. You will feel peaceful and content, and this will be apparent in
your behavior. This is true for virtually everything about your
life. Your thoughts about health, relationships, prosperity, God,
work, recreation, whatever. If these thoughts are rooted in love
and you honestly know that you are here to express love, kind-
ness and forgiveness toward yourself, toward your work and co-
workers, toward the money you receive, toward your spiritual
beliefs, then you will be in harmony and you will welcome the
blessings that result from your personal conduct in these mat-
ters. 81
82 WAYNE W. DYER
However,