 enough, yet apparently the
number of complications from these vaccines is much higher than any
body would expect. On top of all this we have to remember that vaccines
are commercial products made with profit in mind. Is it true that the £3
million, which the UK government recently spent on MMR promotion, was
paid by the companies who have a commercial interest in this vaccine?
So, does MMR cause autism?
I do not believe that things are that simple. Here we have to look at vac
cination as a whole.
Let us have a look at what is happening to children in our modern society.
If you look around, how many healthy children do you see? Childhood
asthma, eczema, diabetes, allergies, hay fever, digestive disorders, ADHD
and autistic spectrum disorders have all gained epidemic proportions! The
majority of siblings of autistic children have eczema, asthma or another
one of those disorders. And though all these health problems appear
to be different, they have one thing in common. A very big thing - a compromised immune system. A compromised immune system is not
going to react to environmental insults in the normal way! Vaccination is a
huge insult to the immune system. The manufacturers of vaccines produce
them for children with normal immune systems which will react to these
vaccines in a predictable way. However, in our modern society with our
modern way of life, we are rapidly moving to a situation where a growing
proportion of children do not have a normal immune system and will not
produce an expected reaction to the vaccine. In some of these children
vaccination, putting an enormous strain on an already compromised
immune system, becomes that "last straw which breaks the earners back"
and brings on the beginning of autism, asthma, eczema, diabetes, etc. In
other children, whose immune system is compromised to a lesser degree,
vaccination will not start the disorder, but it will deepen the damage and
move the child closer to it.
So while MMR and othervaccines maynotbe the direct cause of autism,
in immune-compromised children they can do a lot of harm and in some
children may well provide the trigger which starts the disorder.
Following all the scandals around vaccinations it is no surprise that a lot
of people around the world express an opinion that we should abandon
childhood vaccinations altogether. What these people forget is that before
the vaccination era it was quite normal for every family to loose one, two,
three and sometimes even more children to childhood infections, like
measles, rubella, mumps and others. This is the natural selection law,
which Mother Nature has imposed on all living creatures on Earth. No
animal would have all of its young survive. In fact in many species most
babies in the litter die with only the strongest surviving. This law of natural
selection ensures that the planet is populated by the best and the fittest in
each species. In our modern world we humans are not prepared to obey
this law. No mother would allow her child to perish, when there are ways to
let the child live, despite the fact that this child may not be the best and the
fittest she can produce. Childhood infections are one of the tools of natural
selection. Children, who survive them, come out healthier with stronger
immune systems, weak children are not supposed to survive them.
Vaccinations are one of those ways we humans have invented to allow our
weaklings to survive. So, we cannot abandon vaccinations altogether
unless we are prepared to obey the laws of Nature. We have to come up
with a more rational approach to vaccinations.
Vaccinations, which saved the lives of millions of children world-wide in
the last century, are becoming dangerous thanks to changes in our VACCINATIONS. DOES MMR CAUSE AUTISM? 61
life-styles. The number of immune-compromised children in developed
countries is enormous and growing every day. It is time for the medical
profession and governments to review their attitude to vaccinations. The
rule to vaccinate everybody has to change!
In this book I propo se the following procedure : a comprehensive
immunological survey should be performed with every baby before a
decision about vaccination be made. This survey should include:
1. A questionnaire to assess the health history of the parents and the
infant.
2. A comprehensive stool and urine analysis to assess any risk of gut
dysbiosis in the baby.
3. Test to assess the infant's immune status.
These questionnaires and tests have to be put into an appropriate pre-
vaccination panel for all babies and the results of this survey have to be an
essential part in the process of deciding which of the following steps to
take:
• No vaccinations at all. An infant born to a mother with ME, fibro-
mialgia, digestive problems, asthma, eczema, severe allergies, auto
immune disorders or neurological problems should not be
vaccinated. An infant presenting with eczema, asthma, digestive
problems or any other disorder, which would indicate compromised
gut flora and immunity, should be a red flag not to vaccinate! Younger
siblings of autistic children, children with severe eczema, asthma,
allergies, ADHD, epilepsy and insulin dependant diabetes should not
be vaccinated. At the age of five years these children can be re-tested
and in those cases where the child does not have immune deficiencies
vaccination with single vaccines only may be considered. These single
vaccines should be spaced by at least six weeks from each other.
• Delayed vaccination until the results of the tests are better. This would
apply to infants who have generally healthy mothers and do not
present with any particular health problems, but on testing show
abnormalities in their immune systems. These children should be
re-tested every six to eight months and vaccinated with single
vaccines only when they are ready.
• Standard vaccination protocol with single vaccines only. This would
apply to healthy infants who have healthy parents and whose tests
show normal immune development. These are just initial guidelines, which need to be worked on in order to
set an appropriate vaccination protocol. Those £3 million which the British
government spent on promoting MMR might have been just enough to
develop such a protocol, and, in my opinion, be a much more worthwhile
investment in the future health of our nation.
Concerning our current standard vaccination protocol there is a strong
argument to administer single vaccines only rather than combined vac
cines, like MMR and DPT. In a natural situation a child would never be
exposed to measles, mumps and rubella at the same time. Indeed, in those
extremely rare occasions in history when two of these infections happened
at the same time the medical literature describes impaired physical and
mental development in the child. Of course the proponents of the com
bined vaccines would say that millions of children around the world were
vaccinated this way without any ill effects. However, in view of GAPS con
ditions reaching epidemic proportions we have to review our old policies.
It is very likely that combined vaccines will have to be abandoned
altogether. 9. SCHIZOPHRENIA
Schizophrenia is that big bag, where psychiatrists put all the patients who
are difficult to understand. There is a considerable overlap between
depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, dyslexia and
schizophrenia. Quite often a patient would be diagnosed as bipolar to be
later re-diagnosed as schizophrenic. Depression is often the only symptom
present in a patient for years before other symptoms of schizophrenia
develop. Members of the family of a schizophrenic patient often suffer
from dyslexia, dyspraxia, depression, bipolar disorder, autism, ADHD and
obsessive-compulsive disorder. Just as it is with childhood learning disabil
ities we see that psychiatric patients do not fit neatly into our diagnostic
boxes. Is it because we are missing some underlying problem, which may
be causing all these different conditions in different people?
The only treatment modern psychiatry can offer schizophrenic patients
are antipsychotic drugs. The use of these drugs is often based on trial and
error and though in many cases they do control psychotic symptoms, they
have serious side effects and do not cure the patient. Like most drugs, used
in modern medicine, they are symptomatic, which means that they only
reduce the symptoms without treating the disease. On average anti
psychotic drugs reduce symptoms only by 15-25 %, which means that
75-85% of symptoms are left unresolved.
Before the era of pharmaceuticals ruling medicine, psychiatrists rou
tinely recorded that psychiatric patients not only have psychiatric prob
lems, but are also very ill physically. The most common physical problems
are digestive, cardio-vascular, diabetes, lung and urogenital infections,
autoimmunity and other signs of immune abnormalities. In an old
Textbook of Psychiatry by Henderson and Gillespie, published in 1937, it is
clearly stated: "A thorough physical examination is absolutely essential in
every case - schizophrenics are commonly poorly nourished". Recent
research proves it to be correct. Deficiencies in vitamins (such as niacin or
B3, B6, B12, Bi, folic acid, vitamin C) and many minerals (such as magne
sium, zinc, manganese, etc) are routinely recorded in schizophrenic
patients. A Canadian doctor Abram Hoffer has successfully treated thou-sands of schizophrenic patients with supplementation


 x 1  same    same 1 weekly   same  —- -
          .

Depending on test results, thyroid medication may have to be increased or decreased.

Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 133Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 18
Adapting the Therapy for Chemo-Pretreated
and Severely Weakened Patients
PLEASE NOTE: the same modifications apply for both categories
Chemotherapy drugs were just beginning to be introduced during Dr. Gerson’s years of
practice, and their effects were largely unknown. This explains why no reference to chemotherapy
can be found in his classic book, A Cancer Therapy—Results of 50 Cases.  The large-scale use of
this treatment, based on the theory that strong poisons administered to the cancer patient would
kill the malignant cells but allow the healthy cells to recover, only built up in the years following
Dr. Gerson’s death; by now it is used almost universally all over the world. Sometimes it is applied
as an adjuvant treatment, in combination with other modalities; in other cases it is prescribed
for patients prior to surgery, to shrink their tumor, more often than not in terminal cases. Many
doctors, if questioned, admit that at best chemotherapy can only extend life expectancy by a few
months, and certainly does not promise a “cure.”
Our aim here is not to discuss the positive or negative results of chemotherapy, which are
amply described by Ralph Moss, Ph.D. ( The Cancer Industry, revised edition of the original
The Cancer Syndrome,  1989; ISBN#1-55778-075-7, Paragon House, NY) and many others.(see
Chapter 20, pg. 142 ) We are solely concerned with the changes that need to be made to the Gerson
protocol for patients who have previously been treated with toxic chemicals.
When the Therapy was first practiced 18 years after Dr. Gerson’s death in the first Mexican
Gerson hospital, the doctors were reluctant to admit patients who had received chemotherapy.
There was no mention of it in A Cancer Therapy, which served as their exclusive guide. Later, as
they became more familiar with the treatment and saw its positive effects, they cautiously accepted
two chemo-pre-treated patients who begged for their help. At that time, realizing the additional
damage caused by the highly toxic chemo drugs, the doctors assumed that these patients should
also undergo the regular detoxifying treatment, to remove the accumulated poisons from their
bodies.
Accordingly, they administered the strict intensive protocol, including the castor oil treatment,
and were shocked to see that the castor oil began to remove those poisons too rapidly, releasing
them into the blood stream, actually causing the patients to suffer from an overdose of chemo
drugs. They had to be transferred to intensive care; fortunately both survived. This incident
quickly taught the doctors not to give chemo-pre-treated patients any castor oil, moreover to
work out a somewhat reduced treatment program for them, in order not to over-stress the liver or
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 134Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comrelease toxins too rapidly.
Since then we have seen a number of such patients making satisfactory long-term recoveries.
But the results are achieved more slowly. Also, since the body is much more toxic owing to its
load of synthetic chemicals, the results are also somewhat less reliable. (see Chapter 27  for the
stories of patients who were unsuccessfully treated with chemo before being sent home to die—
yet recovered on the Gerson program).
Chemo-pretreated patients also produce healing reactions (see Chapter 16.) These vary in
intensity during the first few months. However, as a rule a major chemo healing reaction occurs
approximately after six months on the Therapy, which is different from the standard flare-ups
experienced by chemo-free patients. The chemo-burdened patient excretes the toxic drugs still
stored in his or her organism and suffers disturbances that are similar, though less severe, than the
ones caused by the chemotherapy. They include some hair loss, nausea, mouth sores, pain, drop
in red- and white blood corpuscle counts, weakness, and changes in the test results. Some patients
can actually smell the chemicals being excreted through their skin. Often the enema returns also
smell of chemicals. Such a six-month chemo reaction can last up to three weeks, after which time
the patient is much improved. The chemo-caused symptoms clear, the blood picture improves
once again, the tumors regress more rapidly, hair re-grows and energy returns.
After this major clear-out, one important procedure, namely the Castor Oil Treatment  can
cautiously be added to the protocol. The patient is started on the castor oil enema only. Instead
of the usual amount, (see Chapter 13, pg. 113 ) only two teaspoonfuls are added to the coffee
enema for 2-3 weeks, up to twice weekly. If the patient does not react too violently, this amount
is increased to four teaspoonfuls for another three weeks. Again, if this addition is well tolerated,
the patient should be given one teaspoonful  of castor oil orally, followed by the usual cup of hot
sweetened coffee; then, 5 hours later, by the castor oil enema—twice a week. After this again
slowly the amounts are gradually increased, together with the number of coffee enemas, until the
patient is able to take the complete regular castor oil treatment and restore the reduced Therapy to
its full intensive level, as used by regular patients.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 135Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comHere are the details of the modified treatment for chemo-pretreated
and/or severely damaged patients :
A typical hourly schedule*
Enema MealFlax-
seed
OilAcidoll
CapsulesJuicePotassium
CompoundLugol’s
Solution
1/2 strengthThyroid NaicinLiver
Caps.Pan-
creatin
TabletsInjection
Liver &
B12
6:00
am
8:00
am 2Orange 2 tsp. 1 drop 1 gram 50mg2 3
9:00
am Coffee2 tsp.
9:30
am
10:00
amCarrot/
Apple2 tsp. 1 drop 1 gram 50mg
11:00
amCarrot NO21 daily
12
noonGreen 2 tsp.
1:00
pm1 Tbsp. 2Carrot/
Apple2 tsp. 1 drop 1 gram 50mg3
2:00
pmCoffee Green 2 tsp.
3:00
pm
4:00
pm
5:00
pmCarrot/
Apple2 tsp. 1 drop 50mg3
6:00
pmCoffee Green 2 tsp.
7:00
pmDinner 1 Tbsp. 2Carrot/
Apple2 tsp. 1 drop 1 gram 50mg3
10:00
pm
Make a blank schedule to be filled in later as the medications change and the frequency of enemas and liver with B-12
injections is reduced.
Castor oil enemas: NO CASTOR OIL TREATMENTS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
*The exact treatment, specifying the number of juices, enemas, medications, etc. needs to be
adjusted by a Gerson trained practitioner.
For easy reference, here is a summary of the items contained in the schedule:
10 glasses of 8 oz. each of a variety of juices (apple/carrot, carrot, green, orange) reduced in
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 136Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comseverely damaged patients to eight glasses; or to 10 containing four to six ounces each.  For
such patients up to two ounces of strained oatmeal gruel can be added to each glass of juice to
ease digestion. (see Chapter 16, pg. 127 )
20 teaspoons of potassium compound (2 tsp. in each of 10 glasses)
11⁄2  to 3 grains thyroid
5 drops 1⁄2 strength Lugol’s solution
5 tablets of 50 mg. Niacin (omit if bleeding is present)
6 capsules Acidol Pepsin
6 capsules of Liver Powder
12 tablets Pancreatin
3 cc liver extract with 50 mcg B-12 (1 intramuscular injection daily)
3 coffee enemas
200 to 600 mg CoQ-10 starting cautiously with one tablet of 50 mg daily
The meals are unchanged, and include two tablespoonfuls of organic flax seed oil daily for one
month; then 1 tablespoonful daily for the rest of the treatment.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson


 he may be having an organification problem with the iodine. I
explained to him that his
cells were unable to effectively utilize iodine. After placing him on Vitamins B2 (100mg) and B3
(500mg) two times per day, John noticed an immediate improvement. “It was a miracle. With the second dose of the B-
vitamins, my head cleared and all my fatigue went away. I felt 20 years younger. I have never taken anything that works
that quickly,” he said. John has continued to take iodine (now 50mg/day) in addition to vitamins B2 (200mg/day) and B3
(1,000mg/day). His thyroid antibody levels gradually lowered to normal levels over the next six months. Most
importantly, John now feels well. “I can’t believe how much energy I have. Everybody has noticed the difference,” he
claims.

John’s story is not unique. Ensuring optimal oxidation and organification of iodine improves the immune system function and
energy production.

Figure 8
 (next page) shows what happens to iodide once it enters the thyroid gland. Once iodide is transported into the
thyroid cell, it undergoes oxidation. This is the process whereby iodide (the reduced form of iodine) is oxidized to iodine. What
this means is that iodide is relieved of one electron which results in the production of iodine, as illustrated in
Figure 8
.

The oxidation process occurs through the interaction of hydrogen peroxide (H
2
0
2
) with thyroperoxidase (TPO). This step is a
very important process in the body’s ability to utilize iodide.

Abnormalities of the oxidation of iodide can result in the production of anti-thyroperoxidase antibodies (anti-TPO). This leads
to a condition called Hashimoto’s disease. More about Hashimoto’s disease will be discussed near the end of this chapter.
 FIGURE 8: The Oxidation of Iodide

Hydrogen Peroxide: An Essential Element for Oxidation
Adequate hydrogen peroxide production is essential for facilitating the oxidation of iodide. Without adequate hydrogen
peroxide production, iodine will not be formed from iodide. Hydrogen peroxide is a potent oxidizing agent. In the thyroid cell, its
function is to oxidize iodide to iodine (
Figure 8
). Hydrogen peroxide along with TPO is essential for this step.

If the production and utilization of hydrogen peroxide is not closely maintained, it can damage tissue and cause autoimmune
thyroid disorders such as Hashimoto’s disease. The immune system has developed defense mechanisms to keep H
2
0
2

from
harming tissues. This is primarily done with the selenium-containing enzyme glutathione peroxidase which functions to keep
hydrogen peroxide reduced to H
2
O after it oxidizes iodide.
1

2
 A deficiency of selenium can impair this defense mechanism. More
about selenium can be found in
Chapter 7
.

If the oxidation process occurs correctly, the next step in the utilization of iodine is called organification.
THE ORGANIFICATION OF IODINE
Once iodine is formed, it undergoes organification and becomes part of cholesterol, lipids (fats), and proteins (
Figure 9
, next
page). Organification simply means being bound to an organic molecule. As can be seen from
Figure 9
, iodine in RDA amounts–
150μg/day–can be bound to thyroglobulin and make thyroid hormones—T1, T2, T3, and T4. However, it takes larger doses of
iodine–at least 100x the RDA for iodine–to produce the important iodo-lipids such as δ-iodolactone.

At 100x the RDA, iodine can be organified to lipids in order to produce δ-iodolactone and other iodo-lipids. δ-iodolactone,
as well as the other iodo-lipids will not be formed in any appreciable amounts when iodine is taken in RDA amounts. Simply put,
RDA
amounts of iodine barely give the cell enough iodine to make thyroid hormone and prevent goiter.

FIGURE 9: THE ORGANIFICATION OF IODINE

Rick, a 52-year-old physician was very active in his daily life. He played tennis twice per week and exercised daily. “I
feel good most of the time, but I still have my ups and downs,” he said. Rick was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease 15
years ago. Since that time, his main problem was maintaining his concentration. He claims, “Although I can still do
everything, my brain has never felt the same after Hashimoto’s disease came along.” Rick was on a holistic treatment
regimen of vitamins, minerals, and eating a good diet for years. When Rick added in iodine (75-100mg/day), he
immediately noticed the difference. Rick stated that, “Ninety percent of my complaints melted away with the iodine. It
was
miraculous.” After two years of taking the iodine, Rick was tested via blood, urine, and saliva and we found that he
had an organification defect with iodine. That means his cells were not properly utilizing the iodine he was supplementing
with. Upon taking two doses of a supplement containing 100mg of Vitamin B2 and 500mg of Vitamin B3 (ATP
CoFactors
®
) he felt “fabulous”. “I have never felt that good with just starting a new supplement. This cleared up all my
nagging complaints. I now feel 100% healthy,” he said.
Rick is my partner, Dr. Richard Ng. His story is not an isolated story. If there is an inability to organify or oxidize iodine, the
body will not receive the true benefits of it. It is important to keep searching for answers if you are not receiving the best results
with iodine therapy. Rick was not satisfied until he felt 100% well.
AT THE RDA FOR IODINE: PRODUCTION OF THYROID HORMONE
When iodine is taken in amounts consistent with the RDA–approximately 150μg/day–iodine can be bound to thyroxine
molecules and become thyroid hormone. If there is insufficient iodine to accomplish this, it can lead to an inadequate production
of thyroid hormone and a hypothyroid state. The different thyroid hormones are shown in
Figure 9
.AT 100X THE RDA FOR IODINE: PROTECTION FROM CANCER
When iodine is taken in amounts at least 100x the RDA (>15mg/day), iodine can now also bind to other molecules including
lipids (i.e., fats) and proteins. The binding of iodine to the fat molecule lactone results in a fat-like substance known as δ-
iodolactone. δ-iodolactone is a key regulator of apoptosis and cellular proliferation of the thyroid gland.
3

4
 In other words, δ-
iodolactone is an anti-cancer substance. Apoptosis refers to the programmed cell death that all of our normal cells have.
IODINE AND APOPTOSIS: PROTECTION FROM CANCER
Apoptosis is a very important concept. All cells, like all living things, have a life cycle. All cell life cycles have a growth phase,
a division phase, and a death phase. After a cell dies, it is replaced by a new cell. We want our cells to undergo apoptosis or
programmed death. Without apoptosis, cells will continue to divide until they overwhelm the body. Cancer cells are examples of
cells that do not undergo apoptosis. One of the mysteries of cancer is why these cells do not undergo apoptosis. A potent
anticancer item would be one that would promote apoptosis of cancer cells, without toxicity to other cells.
Iodine is one of these nutrients. We know that iodinated lipids such as δ-iodolactone have been shown to regulate and
promote apoptosis. Common sense would lead one to conclude that it is important to ensure adequate iodine intake in order to
promote the production of iodinated lipids such as δ-iodolactone. These iodinated proteins are not detected in human tissue when
iodine deficiency is present. However, they are detectable when iodine is taken well in excess of the RDA for iodine.

It is important to emphasize that the apoptotic (i.e., anti-cancer) effect of iodine only occurs when iodine is ingested with
doses in excess–100x–of the RDA for iodine. Similar effects have also been shown to occur in animals (dogs) as well.
5
 I believe
one of the major reasons we are seeing a significant increase in cancer of the iodine dependent tissues (including the thyroid,
breasts, ovaries, and prostate) is due to a deficiency of iodine resulting in non-apoptotic cells as well as a suboptimal environment
for oxidation and organification.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: WHAT DOSE OF IODINE IS THE BEST FOR PROTECTING AGAINST
CANCER?
If we want to achieve the proper oxidation and organification of iodine, it becomes clear that the RDA for iodine
is woefully
inadequate to provide the apoptotic (i.e., anti-cancer) effect. In fact, I believe the RDA for iodine is not only inadequate for
providing the apoptotic effect of cells throughout the


altar.
This	must	be	a	sign
,	she	thought.	Ramana	hung	back,	as	with	bowed	head
Savitri	begged	Vishnu	to	help	her.
I	will	do	anything
,	she	implored.
When	she	raised	her	eyes,	the	god	Vishnu	was	actually	standing	before
her.	Savitri	was	awestruck.	“You	will	do	anything	for	me	if	I	save	your
husband?”	he	asked.	Fervently	Savitri	said	yes.	“Then	go	to	the	river	and
fetch	me	a	drink	of	water,”	said	Vishnu.
Savitri	ran	off	to	do	as	she	was	bade.	Ramana	was	nowhere	to	be
seen
,	but
she	remembered	passing	the	river	and	knew	it	was	close	by.	Kneeling	beside
it,	she	wondered	what	she	could	carry	water	in	when	her	eye	caught	sight	of
someone	else	along	the	bank.	It	was	Satyavan!	Overjoyed,	Savitri	ran	to	him,
bursting	into	tears.	Satyavan	embraced	her	and	asked	what	was	wrong.
In	between	sobs	Savitri	told	him	the	danger	he	was	in.	“Then	we	shall	not
return	home	at	all,”	Satyavan	declared.	He	took	Savitri	tenderly	by	the	hand.
They	walked	along	the	river	until	they	spied	a	boatman	tied	up	to	shore.
The	boatman	greeted	them	cordially	and	said	that	he	had	been	out	fishing.
He	pointed	to	an	island	in	the	middle	of	the	river.	“That’s	my	home,”	he	said.
Quickly	Satyavan	made	a	bargain	with	the	boatman	to	become	his	helper.	He
and	Savitri	were	carried	to	the	island,	where	they	began	a	new	life.
Savitri	became	sublimely	happy,	for	after	a	few	days	it	was	apparent	that
Yama	had	not	pursued	them.	Her	husband	learned	to	be	a	fisherman,	and
together	they	lived	in	peace	on	the	island.	Years	passed.	They	had	two
children,	which	were	the	joy	of	their	hearts.	Then	one	night	a	great	stormcrashed	down	on	the	island.	The	winds	howled,	and	the	river	rose	higher	than
it	ever	had.	By	morning	everything	had	been	washed	away.	Savitri	had	been
saved	by	tying	herself	to	a	tree	with	a	rope.	At	sunrise,	she	saw	that	Satyavan,
their	house,	and	their	children	had	been	swept	away	into	the	river.
She	managed	to	find	a	boat	and	rowed	to	shore,	but	Savitri	was	so
devastated	that	all	she	could	do	was	lie	on	the	sand	moaning.	Suddenly	she
felt	a	shadow	looming	over	her.	She	looked	up	to	see	Lord	Vishnu.	“Did	you
remember	my	drink	of	water?”	he	asked.
Savitri	looked	down	and	was	amazed	to	see	she	was	wearing	the	same	sari
as	the	day	years	ago	when	Vishnu	first	appeared	to	her.	As	she	bent	to	get	him
some	water,	her	reflection	showed	her	the	same	young	woman.	“What
happened?”	she	asked	in	bewilderment.
Vishnu	replied,	“With	me	there	is	no	time,	for	I	am	beyond
death
.	Time	is
the	field	of	gain	and	loss.	As	long	as	you	are	in	time,	it	is	an	illusion	to	think
that	you	can	prevent	loss,	which	is	just	another	word	for	change.”
“Then	Satyavan	may	still	be	alive!”	Savitri	exclaimed.	“Can	he	be
saved?”
Vishnu	was	already	beginning	to	fade	away.	Savitri	grasped	at	his	image,
but	all	she	held	was	air.	When	she	turned	around,	she	saw	Ramana	standing
behind	her	on	the	path.
“You	see,”	Ramana	said,	“whatever	you	are	afraid	to	lose	is	unreal.	Death
cannot	touch	what	is	real.	In	a	way	that	is	a	gift	from	Death.”
“I	don’t	see	that,”	Savitri	said	dejectedly.
“When	you	die,	you	will	be	forced	to	lose	everything,	yet	something	will
remain.	It	is	the	soul,	which	is	real.	Therefore	you	should	celebrate	loss.	The
trappings	of	existence	can	fall	away	at	any	time;	the	essence	will	always
remain.	And	that	essence	is	you.”
LIVING	BEYOND	BOUNDARIES
The	afterlife	is	not	just	a	mystery	to	be	solved.	It’s	an	opportunity	to	expand
life	beyond	boundaries.	As	the	rishis	described	it,	awareness	begins	in	an
unbounded	state	with	pure	consciousness	and	then	cascades,	plane	by	plane,
until	it	reaches	the	physical	world.	Each	level	is	in	you.	At	any	given	moment
you	could	place	yourself	anywhere;	the	choice	of	boundaries—or
unboundedness—is	yours	alone.	Therefore	journeys	to	heaven	and	hell	are
daily	occurrences,	not	far-off	possibilities.	This	is	hard	for	many	people	to
accept,	because	they	want	a	fixed,	reliable	“me”	that	will	bring	stability	to	an
unstable	world.	But	there	is	no	separation	between	observer	and	observed.
The	inner	and	outer	worlds	are	changing	constantly.After	death	experience	shifts	to	the	subtle	realm,	which	presents	its
infinite	variety.	Yet	we	are	already	touching	on	subtle	experiences
every
	day.
Here	are	some	of	the	labels	we	apply	to	our	voyages	in	the	subtle	world:
Dreams
Imagination
Myths
Archetypes
Epiphanies
The	“shadow”
Collective	consciousness
Numinous	creation	(angels,	demons,	saints,	bodhisattvas,	deities)
Sacred	visions
Desires	and	wishes
Inspiration
Somewhere	on	this	list	falls	everything	the	rishis	called	“consciousness
filled	with	subtle	objects.”	You	cannot	see	yourself	as	a	complete	person
without	taking	these	subworlds	into	account.	They	are	destinations	in	the
future	but	are	also	in	the	here	and	now.	The	“shadow”	may	be	an	unfamiliar
term;	it	refers	to	hidden	forces	that	influence	us	as	if	beyond	our	will.	The
shadow	self	in	Jungian	psychology	is	a	region	of	the	unconscious	where	we
store	energies	that	become	our	version	of	dark,	evil,	shameful,	or	adversarial
beings.	It’s	hard	to	imagine	how	the	shadow	can	occupy	the	same	space	as
beings	of	light,	which	are	numinous	and	include	angels	and	deities.	We’re
tempted	to	allot	separate	places	for	each,	but	there	are	no	physical	divisions	in
the	subtle	domain	and	therefore	no	barriers	between	heaven	and	hell,	light	and
shadow.	Access	to	the	entire	subtle	world	is	always	open.	If	you	can	imagine
and	dream,	you	can	also	experience	departed	spirits,	angels,	or	gods.
Therefore,	the	first	step	for	anyone	who	wants	to	enter	the	subworlds	of
consciousness	is	to	drop	one’s	inflexible	rules	about	what	is
real
	and	unreal.
Many	cultures	have	viewed	the	barrier	between	life	and	death	as	permeable.
We	insist	on	making	it	into	a	wall,	and	behind	this	insistence	lurks	a	good	deal
of	unspoken	fear.	We	equate	the	entire	subtle	domain	with	the	realm	of


 up inside. That’ s why so much of the mind’ s dialog is
negative. The vast majority of energy you have stored inside is because of
things you didn’ t like. When subsequent events happen that stimulate these
negative samskaras, the new events are automatically experienced as
negative. In essence, the negativity keeps compounding.
If you really want to see how your preferences manage to make life a
negative experience, go build a house and decide to paint the kitchen walls
white. Do you know there are more than fifty shades of white? Just wait
until you try to pick which white you want. In other words, there  is only one
tiny window of color choice that will align with your preferences and make
you happy. All the rest will get you upset. Just look at the odds you’re up
against. There are billions of things that can happen in life that don’t match
your preferences, and there are only a few that do. Under these  conditions,the probability that life is going to be a negative experience is extremely
high. This is not because life is negative. It is because the only thing that
isn’t negative to you is that which exactly matches your preferences.
It is so importan t to understand this. You have set up a system in which
you can’t win. You have expanded what can bother you to include all
experiences that remind you of what bothered you before. What is more, life
almost never totally satisfies you because everything has to be exactly what
you want—to a T. This shows you the power of past and present preferences
—the more preferences you have, the less you will be okay.
So far, we’ve learned a lot about mind. We began with an
understanding of empty mind. Then we discussed the here-and-now layer of
mind, which internally renders the images being received by the senses. On
top of that layer  of mind, the real trouble begins. You in there, the conscious
entity that knows you’re there, used the power of will to keep certain images
from passing right through. This resulted in the layer of mind called the
samskara layer. It holds the impressions you stored from your past that are
the basis for your personal preferences. As if it’s not enough that you built
this entire structure in your mind, you then committed your life to thinking
about how to serve it. Your consciousness is pretty lost, constantly focusing
on this false mental concept of self.
Fortunately, there is a way out—it’ s called witness consciousness. If
you can learn to sit back and simply watch that voice inside your head, you
can free yourself. This is not about shutting up the voice. Don’t ever fight
with your mind.  You’re the one who did this to your mind; how dare you
complain about the mind. If you keep eating food that’s making you sick, do
you yell at the food? Of course not—you change your behavior. Likewise,
since it is these stored samskara s that are messing up the greatness of your
mind, you chang e your inner behavior. The way to do this is quite simple:
release the samskaras you’ve already stored and don’t store any more.
Easier said than done, but we will certainly explore how to do this.
One thing comp licates our task. The mind is not the only force making
it difficult to find peace inside—there are also emotions. It’s bad enough
that the mind is constantly relea sing stored energy through that inner voice,
but the mind has a little sister, the heart. The heart can create emotions that
make it really interesting to live in there. Sometimes it’s like there are
volcanos going on inside, and other times your inner state is so beautiful
you just want to melt into it. What’ s going on with that? And moreimportantly, what can you do about it? As you might expect, that is exactly
where we’re going as we contin ue our journey into exploring what it’s like
to live inside yourself.PART V:
The HeartChapter 21.
Understanding Emotions
Examining the nature  of the world around us, as well as the nature of mind,
teaches us a lot about ourselves. One thing becomes pretty clear: it’s not
always easy living inside. The thoughts being created by the mind can be
very uncomfortable, and the world coming in through the senses can start a
veritable firestorm within. On top of all this, there is something else we
experience inside that can be even more disturbing than thoughts: emotions.
Emotions are very different from thoughts, but most people don’t
bother to separate them. The combination of your thoughts and emotions
makes up what can be called your psyche, or your personal self. The psyche
is comp letely distinct from your physical body. The psyche is the
nonphysical world going on inside you.
Clearly seeing the difference between your thoughts and your emotions
is very important. If you were asked to point to your thoughts, you would
not point to your toes; you would point to the area around your head. This is
because thoughts are generated  in the mind which is associated with the
brain. On the other hand, if you were asked to point to where emotions like
love come from, you would point to your heart. That’ s why valentine cards
have hearts on them and not toes—we associate the emotion of love with
our heart. That is understandable because emotions are generated by the
heart. Not just nice emotions—all emotions. If someone does something that
hurts you or makes you jealous, you feel the pain or turmoil in your heart. If
you get inspired at work, you can put your whole heart into the project. This
is not referring to your physical heart—you can’t put that into the project.
What we are referring to is your spiritual heart or your energy heart, which
we will soon discuss in great depth.
Your emotions are not physical. You can be standing next to someone
who is experiencing joy or sadness, and they don’t necessarily show it.Emotions are not something you see; they are something you feel. In fact,
the words “emotions” and “feelings” are interchangeable. Just like you
experience your thoughts inside, you experience your feelings inside.
Nonetheless, your emotions are completely dif ferent from your thoughts.
Let’s examine this difference. As we previously explored, your mind
creates thoughts and presents them to you in two different ways. One is
verbally via that voice inside your head, and the other is visually in your
mind’ s eye. Your heart communicates quite differently. Your emotions do
not talk to you verbally. They are not simply a voice inside your head
saying, “I feel so jealous.” The voice says that because you feel jealous.
There is a feeling, a sensation— that is what an emotion is. That’ s why we
use the word “feelings” when we talk about our emotions, as in “He hurt my
feelings.” Sayin g this means the interaction with the person created an
emotion inside of you that was uncomfortable. Thus, you have verbal or
visual thoughts inside your mind, and you also have these totally different
things called emotions emanating from your heart. They are actually
vibrations. They  don’t form specific objects like thoughts do. They’re more
etheric. Emotions are more like clouds instead of defined objects. They
come up and can be like waves flowing over you. They flush what we call
your aura or energy body. Emotions are simply the sensation of
experiencing a change in your energy. Like Obi-W an in Star Wars put it, “I
felt a great disturbance in the Force.”
You are always having inner feelings, but you don’t notice them until
they change. Notice that you only talk about emotions when they go to the
extremes. “It hurt me tremendously. I can’t believe how you hurt me.” Or, “I
felt so much love. It was the most beautiful feeling I ever had.” These are
examples of extremes in your emotions, and they catch your attention. You
probably don’t notice it, but you have a normal state of emoti onal energy
flowing through your heart all day. When it drops out, you notice the change
and say, “My heart fell out from  under me. I lost my strength.” Your heart
can fall out from under you when fear takes over. Something happens and
the energy just drops. In contras t, you can say, “My heart has wings.” All of
a sudden the emotional energy in your heart rises up and inspires you. These
are chan ges from the steady state of emotional energy that normally flows
through your heart. As you get more and more in tune with your emotions,
you will notice that, like thoughts, emotions are almost always there.Just as with thoughts, the questions become: Who is it that feels these
emotional shifts? How do you know you feel anger? How do you know you
feel love? You know because you are in there, and you are aware of what is
going on in there. That clarity is very deep, spiritually. You have been so
concerned about the emotions, themselves, you didn’ t realize you are the
one in there experiencing them. The goal of this journey we are taking
together is not to change your thoughts or emotions, it is for you to stay
seated in the seat of Self while accepting these dif ferent shifts that are taking
place. From this vantage point, the emotions can change, you can notice
them changing, but you don’t go anywhere. You remain the one who


 expla in the magic trick that occu rs in
the gap between quantity—things to be measured and counted—
and qualities, the sights, sounds, tastes, textures, and smells that
we experience as human beings. Humanizing the quantum is
exciting, but human beings don’t experience the world through a
microscopic level of differences, even though we theo reticallycould. Instead, we lump experiences together according to useful
concepts like color. Red is red, not every different vibratio n in the
wavelengths of light between 630 and 700 nanometers (a
nanometer is one billionth of a meter).
Likewise, sweet is sweet, not the molecular interaction between
sugar m olecules and recepto rs on the tongue. We are so used to
the clumping process that we don’t catch ourselves doing
anything. But we are constantly taking transient expe riences,
cramming them  into prearranged slots, turning discontinu ity into
continuity, and making solid what is actually fluid.
The technical term for what’s happening is reification —giving
immaterial experiences “thingness.” So convincing is this
transformation that rocks seem solid and heavy when, in fact, your
mind reified them—you have created solidity and heaviness in
your own awareness. This constitutes another outrageous
conclusion to anyone who is out to reinforce and reaffirm the
spell/dream/illusion. But you cannot thaw out the “thingness” of
the physical world unless you break down the process that created
it. I’m hesitant  to use any kind of jargon, but we need to de lve into
how reification works.
The dictionary definition of reify  is  “to m ake something more
concrete or real.” The mental image of money gets reified into a
dollar bill, which you can fold up and stick in your wallet.
“Parenting” gets reified when  you decide to have a baby you can
hold in your ar ms. What’s earthshaking is that virtual reality owes
its existence entirely to reification.
The web of connections that entangles everything in the
spell/dream/illusion with everything else comes down to the
mind, b ecause connections ar e mind-made. No object is a ctually a
physical thing, pure and simple. “Object” and “thing” and
“physical” are strands of a mental web.
People find it relatively easy to accept that a piece of paper
currency is the reified form of a concept (money), but they balk
when they are told that the same is true of body, bra in, and
universe. The key is to reve rse the whole process of reification,
bringing physical objects closer to reality. As you now view them,
the bones in yo ur arm are so lid and fixed; it’s hard to accept thatthey are  fluid and malleable. But all physical objects are actually
processes in motion. Bones are no exception; they constantly
exchange a stream of oxygen  and calcium at the molecul ar level.
Each bo ne cell  is an activity of life in motion. If you wear shoes
that are  ill-fitting, your leg b ones will gradually bend to conform
to your lopsided gait.
The fact that a process is slow or fast doesn’t make a difference
to the basic reality that things are processes. Broken bones heal
more slowly than a cut finger, but the very fact that healing occurs
testifies to the body being a process. Bone cancer is much feared
because it is so  painful, but in their normal healthy state, nerves
connect your bones to the brain and then to the outside w orld. By
clumping toget her all the flee ting sensations you are having right
now, yo u seem to have a body that is fixed, but in reality your body
today isn’t the body you had as a newborn, toddler, or ado lescent;
it isn’t even the body you had yesterday or five minutes ago.
It’s surp risingly easy, then, to reverse the habit of thinking that
reifies t he body, turning a my riad of interconnected proces ses into
a thing. This reversal helps to get us back to where creation
originates, in consciousness alone. When you master the reversal,
you can undo anything in virtual reality by tracing it back to the
mind’s creativ e genius. This is what it means to th aw out
“thingness”: objects are reduced to a level of consciousness where
we can begin to experience  the creative process. As yo u come
closer to pure consciousness, the thawing process become easier
and faster. As “thingness” stops being so stubborn, experience is
transformed into something fluid, flexible, and malleable. The
reality of the “true self” is critical, because, as things stand,
everyone has a self filled wi th contradictions. The self you have
been identifying with keeps you in the spell/dream/illusion. The
true self takes you from illusion to reality.
T h r e e  V e r s i o n s  o f  t h e  S e l fThe tru e self lies hidden beh ind layers of disguise. The layers
are so thick t hat no one can confidently define what the self
actually is. “Self” is a convenient fiction, lumping together a
jumble of beliefs, experience s, old conditioning, and secondhand
opinions. This is a greater problem than you’d imagine. For almost
everyone, there is a wide gap between “being yourself” and
“knowing yourself.” The first is considered desirable. When you
are able to be yourself, you feel natural and relaxed, without
pretense or defenses. Knowi ng yourself is a different matter. A
century after Freud discovere d the subconscious mind, it has been
identified with the dark side of human nature. We repress our
urges of anger, anxiety, envy, insecurity, and even violence. Of
course you cannot get along with other people if you say
everything you think or act on your every impulse.
But the re’s mo re to it. When  the inner world is identified with
the dark side, people don’t w ant to look there. They dislike and
fear wh at they find, or mig ht find. We identify with the ego-
personality, which presents the self we want the world to see, and
we ignore the o pportunity to  explore what a deeper self might be.
In time, countless people actually believe that their ego-
personality is their real self. Yet there are two more selves we all
possess, and they are nothing  to fear. In fact, they are the  richest
sources of human fulfillment.
The first is th e unconscious  self. Even though we rout inely
shove negative emotions and impulses out of sight  in the
subconscious, the whole story is much more positive. The
unconscious self is creative and sensitive. When you walk into a
room w here two people have been arguing or someone was crying,
you silently sense it “in th e air.” Actually, you are sensing it
through your unconscious self. At the level below everyday
awareness, you constantly p erceive your surroundings. Y ou also
have the power of intuition in your unconscious self. You gain
“aha” moments when the unconscious self reveals something to
you that your conscious mind didn’t realize.
As you grow to maturity, you begin to value what is rooted in
the unc onscious. You feel confident, self-reliant, and sure  of what
you kno w. You  know how to  do certain things—cooking, driving,
balancing your checkbook, finding a good restaurant. B ut at adeeper level you have a settled feeling that is hard to explain.
Paying attention to all of your life experiences, your unco nscious
self distills the essence of your life into the experience of inner
fulfillment, wh ich over time becomes a natural part of w ho you
are. You know yourself a s a set of values, purpos es, and
achievements. There are countless people who do not arrive at this
stage, a nd they don’t know th e experience of inner fulfillment. Nor
can it be imparted, because so much happens out of sight in the
unconscious.
T. S. Eliot comes to mind on ce again. In 1925 he wrote “The
Hollow Men,” a poem that h igh schoolers used to love to recite,
because adoles cence is marked by hidden fears. The fir st verse
begins:
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass.
Writing in 1925, Eliot is exploring one of our deepest fears, that
life can turn meaningless, haunted by death and nothingness—the
ultimate hollow ness. In times of great peril and horror, as in the
two world wars of the twentieth century, the dread of losing all
meaning feels very real. Ye t the unconscious self, drawing on
reserves of infinite meaning, re-creates the world in a new image,
one that is livable despite all terror and horror in the past.
There is yet an other self, however, and it is even more val uable
—call it the “true self.” This is a level of awareness very close to our
source in pure consciousness. Pure consciousness is silent and
still. It has th e potential


	quality
of	your	stools,	in	terms	of	frequency,	texture	and	odor.
Most	Americans	are	constipated;	many	have	a	bowel	movement	only	every
other	day	or	think	that	one	movement	per	day	is	ideal.	Not	true.	If	you	do	not
have	frequent,	efficient	elimination,	then	food	wastes	remain	in	your	intestines,
where	they	putrefy	and	poison	you.	Optimal	is	two	or	three	bowel	movements	a
day—one,	at	the	very	least.	Loose	stools	or	exceptionally	dense	stools	are
reflections	of	serious	problems,	especially	if	they	persist.	Well-formed	and
floating	is	a	good	rule	of	thumb.	Excessive	gases	(stomach	or	intestinal)	or	stool
odor	also	may	indicate	digestive	trouble.	Be	aware	of	your	elimination	process,and	if	you	have	a	problem,	take	steps	to	remedy	it	by	following	the	guidelines	in
this	chapter.
Choosing	the	Right
Dietary	Supplements
Eating	good	foods	and	digesting	them	well	may	not	be	sufficient	to	make	sure
your	cells	receive	all	the	nutrients	they	need	every	day.	Supplementing	your	diet
with	high-quality	vitamin,	mineral	and	essential	fatty	acid	supplements	is	also
important.
Supplements	have	become	a	necessity	in	our	society	for	two	reasons:	First,	the
supply	of	nutrients	is	down.	Intensive	commercial	farming,	depleted	soils	and
food	processing	have	reduced	the	nutritional	content	of	our	food	so	dramatically
that	our	diets	no	longer	contain	the	nutrients	required	by	our	cells	to	maintain
good	health.	Second,	our	need	for	certain	nutrients	is	up	because	of	the	effects	of
environmental	pollution,	which	puts	extra	stress	on	the	body.	Responding	to	this
stress	uses	up	essential	nutrients,	in	particular	antioxidants,	such	as	vitamins	A,
C	and	E.	With	the	supply	of	nutrients	down	and	the	need	for	nutrients	up,	is	it
any	wonder	that	three	out	of	four	Americans	have	a	diagnosable	chronic	disease?
Supplementation	is	necessary	to	bridge	the	gap	between	what	we	need	and	what
comes	from	our	diet.
Most	physicians	(who,	on	average,	receive	only	two	and	a	half	hours	of
nutritional	training	during	four	years	of	medical	school)	often	tell	you	that
supplements	are	not	necessary—	that	they	make	little	more	than	expensive	urine.
The	position	often	taken	by	physicians	is	that	you	can	get	all	the	nutrition	you
need	to	maintain	health	by	eating	a	balanced	diet	of	commercially	produced
foods.	You	know	by	now	that	this	claim	is	absolutely	false.
Numerous	studies	have	shown	that	virtually	all	Americans	are	not	receiving
the	recommended	amounts	of	nutrients	on	a	daily	basis.	Many	nutritional
researchers	(myself	included)	believe	that,	in	our	modern	world,	obtaining	the
nutrients	we	need	from	diet	alone,	even	if	we	eat	good	foods,	is	impossible.	Over
the	last	quarter	century,	research	has	established	that	a	huge	gap	exists	between
the	small	amounts	of	nutrients	required	for	preventing	overt	nutritional-
deficiency	diseases	and	the	large	amounts	of	nutrients	required	to	maintain
optimal	health	and	fortify	our	bodies	against	disease	in	general.	Dietary
supplements	help	fill	the	gaps	in	your	nutrition,	especially	in	those	nutrients	for
which	you,	as	an	individual,	may	have	a	particularly	high	need.	One	final	note:Supplements	are	not	an	invitation	to	eat	a	poor	diet;	they	are	to	be	used	in
addition	to	healthy	foods.
Countless	people	have	been	cured	of	chronic	health	problems	by	the	addition
of	dietary	supplements.	Consider	Albert,	a	man	who	sought	my	advice	several
years	ago.	Albert	had	been	suffering	from	serious,	“untreatable”	depression	for
almost	a	decade.	He	had	exhausted	his	resources	going	to	hospitals,	clinics	and
physicians,	but	nothing	had	helped.	His	life	was	a	living	hell,	and	he	was
suicidal.
At	our	first	meeting	I	learned	that	he	subsisted	on	a	meager	diet	consisting
mostly	of	processed	foods	and	that	he	was	addicted	to	sugar.	I	suggested	that	he
eliminate	sugar	and	incorporate	fresh,	raw	fruits	and	vegetables	into	his	diet.	I
recommended	a	supplement	program	of	specific	vitamins	and	essential	fatty
acids.	Albert	was	skeptical	that	these	seemingly	simple	suggestions	would	make
any	real	difference,	considering	how	many	“expert	doctors”	he	had	already	seen.
In	less	than	a	week	after	starting	the	diet	and	supplement	program,	Albert	called
to	say	that	he	felt	as	if	a	great	burden	had	been	lifted	from	him.	He	was	no
longer	feeling	suicidal.	In	all	of	his	years	of	treatment	for	clinical	depression,	I
was	the	first	person	who	had	suggested	that	poor	nutrition	could	be	the	cause.	In
fact,	poor	nutrition	is	the	leading	cause	of	depression	(and	almost	every	other
disease).
Although	Albert	had	been	taking	nutritional	supplements	before	he	saw	me,
he	had	been	taking	the	wrong	kinds	of	supplements	(those	with	low	bioactivity,
which	means	they	were	in	a	form	that	the	body	could	not	easily	absorb	or	use).
Ultimately,	bioactivity	is	critical	to	whether	supplements	will	be	effective	or	not.
When	institutions	like	the	Centers	for	Disease	and	Control	and	Prevention	and
the	National	Academy	of	Sciences	have	performed	large-scale	population
studies	to	measure	the	benefits	of	taking	supplements,	they	have	failed	to	find
any	benefits	because	most	people	are	taking	poor-quality	supplements.
Quality	is	everything—in	supplements,	as	well	as	food.
For	Albert,	quality
supplements	(with	high	bioactivity	at	the	cellular	level)	made	all	the	difference.
Having	been	a	technical	consultant	to	vitamin	companies,	I	can	tell	you	that	of
all	the	vitamin	products	on	the	market	today,	few	actually	do	much	good.
An	investigative	report	aired	on	NBC’s
Today
show	in	1990	determined	that
36	percent	of	the	multivitamin	brands	tested	did	not	dissolve	soon	enough	to	be
absorbed	and	be	of	use	to	the	body.	In	fact,	some	never	dissolved	at	all!	These
failures	included	only	the	most	popular	brands.	The	numbers	of	failing	brands
would	have	been	far	higher	had	all	the	minor	brands	been	measured.	NBC’s
testing	also	allowed	a	generous	one-hour	for	the	pills	to	dissolve.	Using	a	moreconservative	(and	appropriate)	time	of	forty-five	minutes	would	have	made
almost	half	the	tested	brands	fail.
Almost	half	of	all	vitamin	brands	are	not	going
to	do	your	body	any	good,	yet	these	are	what	most	people	use.
One	reason	that
these	brands	fail	is	because	they	are	filled	with	additives,	which	can	constitute
up	to	half	of	the	volume	of	the	pill.	These	additives	are	used	as	fillers,	binders,
lubricants,	colors	and	preservatives,	but	they	can	cause	real	problems—not	only
interfering	with	the	p


ly an increase over the provision made in the modernized foods which displaced them of 5.7
fold for calcium, 6.4 fold for phosphorus, 26.4 fold for magnesium, and 22.4 fold for iron; while
the fat-soluble activators were increased at least ten fold. The Polynesians provided through their
native diet for an increase in provision over that of the displacing imported diets, of 5.6 fold for
calcium, 7.2 fold for phosphorus, 28.5 fold for magnesium, 18.6 fold for iron; and the fat-soluble
activators were increased at least ten fold. The coastal Indians of Peru provided through their
native primitive diets for an increase in provision over that of the displacing modernized diet of 6.6
fold for calcium, 5.5 fold for phosphorus, 13.6 fold for magnesium, 5.1 fold for iron; and an excess
of ten fold was provided for fat-soluble vitamins. For the Indians of the Andean Mountains of
Peru, the native foods provided an increase over the provision of the displacing modern foods of S
fold for calcium, 5.5 fold for phosphorus, 13.3 fold for magnesium, 29.3 fold for iron; and an
excess of at least ten fold was provided for fat-soluble vitamins. For the cattle tribes in the interior
of Africa, the primitive foods provided an increase over the provision of the displacing modernized
foods of 7.5 fold for calcium, 8.2 fold for phosphorus, 19.1 fold for magnesium, 16.6 fold for iron
and at least ten fold for fat-soluble activators. For the agricultural tribes in Central Africa the native
diet provided an increase over the provision of the displacing modern diet of 3.5 fold for calcium,
4.1 fold for phosphorus, 5.4 fold for magnesium, 16.6 fold for iron and ten fold for fat-soluble
activators. All the above primitive diets provided also a large increase in the water-soluble vitamins
over the number provided in the displacing modern diets.
7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 167/250FIG. 95. Effect of different wheat products on rats. Left: whole wheat.
Center: white flour. Right: bran and middlings mixture. The graphs
record actual amount of indicated minerals present, as milligrams per
cent. Only the rats on the whole wheat developed normally without
tooth decay. Those on white flour had tooth decay, were underweight,
had skin infections and were irritable. They did not reproduce. The
third group were undersize. The balance of the ration was the same for
all.
    From the data presented in the preceding chapters and in this comparison of the primitive and
modernized dietaries it is obvious that there is great need that the grains eaten shall contain all the
minerals and vitamins which Nature has provided that they carry. Important data might be
presented to illustrate this phase in a practical way. In Fig. 95 will be seen three rats all of which
received the same diet, except for the type of bread. The first rat (at the left) received whole-
wheat products freshly ground, the center one received a white flour product and the third (at the
right) a bran and middlings product. The amounts of each ash, of calcium as the oxide, and of
phosphorus as the pentoxide; and the amounts of iron and copper present in the diet of each group
are shown by the height of the columns beneath the rats. Clinically it will be seen that there is a
marked difference in the physical development Qf these rats. Several rats of the same age were in
each cage. The feeding was started after weaning at about twenty-three days of age. The rat at the
left was on the entire grain product. It was fully developed. The rats in this cage reproduced
normally at three months of age. The rats in this first cage had very mild dispositions and could be
picked up by the ear or tail without danger of their biting. The rats represented by the one in the
center cage using white flour were markedly undersized. Their hair came out in large patches and
they had very ugly dispositions, so ugly that they threatened to spring through the cage wall at us
when we came to look at them. These rats had tooth decay and they were not able to reproduce.
The rats in the next cage (illustrated by the rat to the right) which were on the bran and middlings
mixture did not show tooth decay, but were considerably undersized, and they lacked energy. The
flour and middlings for the rats in cages two and three were purchased from the miller and hence
were not freshly ground. The wheat given to the first group was obtained whole and ground while
fresh in a hand mill. It is of interest that notwithstanding the great increase in ash, calcium,
phosphorus, iron and copper present in the foods of the last group, the rats did not mature
normally, as did those in the first group. This may have been due in large part to the fact that the
material was not freshly ground, and as a result they could not obtain a normal vitamin content
from the embryo of the grain due to its oxidation. This is further indicated by the fact that the rats in
this group did not reproduce, probably due in considerable part to a lack of vitamins B and E
which were lost by oxidation of the embryo or germ fat.
    There is a misapprehension with regard to the possibility that humans may obtain enough of the
vitamin D group of activators from our modern plant foods or from sunshine. This is due to the
belief viosterol or similar products by other names, derived by exposing ergosterol to ultraviolet
light, offer all of the nutritional factors involved in the vitamin D group. I have emphasized that there
are known to be at least eight D factors that have been definitely isolated and twelve that have
been reported as partially isolated.
    Coffin has recently reported relative to the lack of vitamin D in common foods as follows: (5)
1. A representative list of common foods was carefully tested, by approved technique, for
their vitamin D content.
2. With the remote possibility of egg yolks, butter, cream, liver and fish it is manifestly
impossible to obtain any amount of vitamin D worthy of mention from common foods.
3. Vegetables do not contain vitamin D.
   It will be noted that vitamin D, which the human does not readily synthesize in adequate amounts,
must be provided by foods of animal tissues or animal products. As yet I have not found a single
group of primitive racial stock which was building and maintaining excellent bodies by living entirely
on plant foods. I have found in many parts of the world most devout representatives of modern
ethical systems advocating the restriction of foods to the vegetable products. In every instance7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 168/250where the groups involved had been long under this teaching, I found evidence of degeneration in
the form of dental caries, and in the new generation in the form of abnormal dental arches to an
extent very much higher than in the primitive groups who were not under this influence.
    Many illustrations might be presented showing the special wisdom of the primitives in the matter
of reinforcing their nutrition with protective foods.
    Few people will realize how reluctant members of the primitive races are, in general, to disclose
secrets of their race. The need for this is comparable to the need for secrecy regarding modern
war devices.
    The Indians of the Yukon have long known the cure for scurvy and history makes an important
contribution to their wisdom in treating this disease. It is of interest that W. N. Kemp (6) of
Vancouver states:
    The earliest recorded successful treatment of scurvy occurred in Canada in 1535 when
Jacques Cartier, on the advice of a friendly Indian, gave his scurvyprostrated men a decoction
of young green succulent'shoots' from the spruce trees with successful results. These happy
effects apparently were not appreciated in Europe, for scurvy continued to be endemic.
    Since that time untold thousands of mariners and white land dwellers have died with this
dreaded disease.
    Shortly before our arrival in Northern Canada a white prospector had died of scurvy. Beside
him was his white man's packet of canned foods. Any Indian man or woman, boy or girl, could
have told him how to save his life by eating animal organs or the buds of trees.
    Another illustration of the wisdom of the native Indians of that far north country came to me
through two prospectors whom we rescued and brought out with us just before the fall freeze-up.
They had gone into the district, which at that time was still uncharted and unsurveyed, to prospect
for precious metals and radium. They were both doctors of engineering and science, and had been
sent with very elaborate equipment from one of the large national mining corporations. Owing to
the inaccessibility of the region, they adopted a plan for reaching it quickly. They had flown across
the two ranges of mountains from Alaska and when they arrived at the inside range, i.e., the Rocky
Mountain Range, they found the altitude so high that their plane could not fly over the range, and,
as a result, they were brought down on a little lake


violent ar guments through the wall.As these arguments continued, he began to develop headaches. Instead of
feeling bright and focused all the time, Matt noticed that he fell into stretches
of depre ssion. He left for college, but separation from home made his
symptoms worse. His headaches became blindingly severe, causing acute
pain, dizziness, and vomiting. His depression deepened, and before the first
semester was over, he had to drop out. He could hardly conc entrate well
enough to read a newspaper or listen to music.
Matt moved in with his father, a prominent lawyer who was bitterly
disappointed over what had happened to his son. He hired Matt to work as a
clerk in his firm and sent him to psychiatrists, who tried couc h therapy as
well as antidepressants. Nothing worked very well or for very long. Medical
treatment for the headaches was also unsuccessful. By the time he was 21
Matt was still so depressed that he had to struggle against thoughts of
suicide.
At this point he heard about meditation through a friend; his doctor agreed
that it might be helpful and advised him to try it. Matt learned that
meditation is a purely mechani cal technique employed for twenty minutes
morning and evening. He was given a mantra, selected not for its meaning
but strictly for its sound. That sound alone attracts the mind and leads it,
effortlessly and naturally, to ever more subtle levels of the thinking process.
As the mantra comes and goes in one’s awareness, it begins to seek still
subtler levels of thought until eventually all thought is left behind. At this
point we say that the mind has transcended. Because it is no longer caught
up in thoughts of any kind, the mind is exposed to its own deep est nature, to
pure awareness. The silence of pure awareness is extremely refreshing to the
mind, which finds it increasingly easy not to cling to old thought patterns;
rigid habits of thinking and feeling begin to fall away of their own accord.
When this happens, the mind is actually learning to heal itself.
The first few times Matt medit ated, he in fact began to notice a distinct
change in his mental state. Smal l islands of clarity began to appear, in which
he felt complete ly alert, free of dullness or depression, and infused with
happiness. Over time the islands grew bigger and bigger; Matt lived for the
moments when he found them. However, the islands of clarity wererestricted to his meditations. When he was active, his depression returned at
full force. After a few months he consulted me.
“What you are experiencing,” I said, “are different levels of awareness.
Your depression is on one level, your headaches on another, your islands of
clarity on another still. Meditation is taking you deeper and deeper inside
yourself, until you reach the area untouched by illness. This is a very real
part of yourself.
“As you keep meditating, these moments of clarity will expand and
become the norm. Right now, you are fixated on certain patterns in your
awareness, and your body knows it. Your depression has captured your
attention, which  is why you find it difficult if not impossible to focus on
other things.
“But as you have seen, you can let go. Meditation is a kind of letting go,
allowing yourse lf simply to be. And when you permit that to happen, your
attention will always fly back to the silent, peaceful, unchang ing level we
simply call the self. The self is home base for the mind, and by returning to
it, you infuse your mind with the same peace and silence.”
I drew a simple diagram.
“Using the technique of meditation, one takes the mind out of activity into
silence. After a few seconds or minutes, the mind will naturally come back
up, like a diver bobbing back up to the surface of the water. What brings it
back? The same impulses that guide us every day—our desires. A faint
desire causes a ripple of activity inside the silence, this ripple expands, and
eventually you have a full-blown thought.
“However, this thought is not the same as before. It will have an aura of
happiness and freshness, just because you have fetched it from a deeper level
of yourself.”
Matt mentioned that recently a new phenomenon had begun. When he felt
a mome nt of clarity, he would suddenly envision lines of verse. These
formed a complete poem, whic h was not coming to him word by word or
even by the ordinary process of thinking. It simply appeared.
“That’ s a good sign,” I said. “As you get closer to your own creative
center, your whole style of thinking is changing. In place of bits and pieces,
things appear as a whole. In place of troubling conflicts, there is no conflict.
The self is a different landscape, new scenery for the mind to absorb. As
long as you are in that landscape, you will experience yourself as completely
different.”
In a gentle tone I added, “The intense suffering you experience in your
mind is a distraction from reality. The reality is that you can go to these
peaceful islands anytime you want. They are permanent parts of yourself; if
you lived on them permanently, there would be no way for depression to
touch you. Wha t meditation is teaching you is that reality, in the sense of
wholeness, has a powerful pull. It is trying to call you home. You are already
beginning to trust this process, aren’ t you?”
Matt admitted that he was, adding that his headaches had decreased
considerably, and that he had begun to see the possibility of actually turning
his attention to his lifelong dream of becoming a writer.
“That trust is another good sign,” I said. “You are remembering yourself.
Finding your true self is a very profound process, which has no end. Your
body is listening  to healthier signals now, and as long as you continue to take
your mind back to its source,  over and over, the signals will get even
healthier. You’ve made a breakthrough; getting well is just a matter of time.”
MEDIT ATION AS MEDICINEThis is an enco uraging story from one patient, but the application of
meditation to large-scale disorde rs is also highly promising. One of the best
examples is high blood pressu re, or hypertension, the infamous “silent
killer” that has almost no symptoms and yet is implicated in the vast
majority of heart attacks and strokes.
As many as a third of American adults fall into the borderline
hypertensive range; an estimate d 30 million have already been warned by
their doctors and yet take no treatment. Borderline hypertension often
responds extrem ely well to meditation. This was first established by a 1974
study conducted at Harvard Medical School. Twenty-two hypertensive
patients were measured twelve  hundred times, both before and after they
learned to meditate. Over a period ranging from one month to five years,
their average readings dropped from 150/94 to 141/88. This was enough to
bring the lower number (diast olic pressure) back from borderline to an
acceptable readi ng; it did not lower the upper number (systo lic pressure)
quite enough—120 or 130 is considered normal here—but at least there was
significant improvement. These results, subsequently repeated in many other
studies, were independent of whether the subjects took blood-pressure
medication.
You may think that reducing mild hypertension is not a great achievement,
yet even a small  rise in blood pressure is considered extremely dangerous in
the long run. Half of all death s associated with hypertension fall into the
borderline range. Insurance companies use blood pressure as the most
significant indic ator of life expectancy. A middle-aged man with normal
blood pressure (120/80) is expected to live sixteen years longer than
someone with moderate hypertension (150/100). Just by practicing
meditation, most people under the age of 40 could expect to fall below the
limit set for borderline hypertension, which is 130/90.
Meditating can also lower abnormally high cholesterol levels. Cholesterol
is a primary risk factor for heart attacks, because excess cholesterol in the
blood is directly  linked to the fatty plaque deposits that clog the arteries
leading to the heart. On the surface, it seems amazing that the mind could
control serum cholesterol. Your serum cholesterol is determined by acomplex interplay of diverse factors, all of them physical: diet, age, heredity,
digestive efficiency, and liver function all play an important part. Several
years ago two researchers in Israel, M. J. Cooper and M. M. Aygen, selected
twenty-three patients with elevated cholesterol levels; twelve were taught
meditation and practiced it for eleven months, while the remaining eleven
did not.
At the end of that time, the meditating group showed a marked drop in
their cholesterol levels, from an average of 255 to 225 (a readi ng of 200 is
considered ideal for adults in the United States). The nonmeditators did not
show a significa nt decrease. The subjects were screened so that age, diet,
weight, and exercise were not factors. Similar reductions were obtained in a
separate study by the same team, this time showing that cholesterol could be
lowered in people who had more normal cholesterol readings.
These findings suggest that the entire mind body system can be influenced
by a single mental technique, and indeed the encouraging results with
hypertension and cholesterol were recently expanded to cover many


	status,	and	where	you	live.	If	you	are	looking	for	a	goal	number	to	try	to	plan
around,	a	very	general	recommendation	is	to	take	your	weight	in	pounds	and
divide	that	in	two,	and	that’s	around	how	many	ounces	of	water	you	need	per	day.
For	instance,	if	you	weigh	140	pounds,	then	you	need	around	70	ounces	of	water
per	day.	Monitor	your	urine	and	make	sure	it	stays	clear	or	pale	yellow,	and	always
avoid	getting	to	the	point	of	extreme	thirst	before	having	more	water.
Be	sure	to	also	keep	some	room	temperature	water	on	your	desk,	in	your	purse,
or	in	your	car.	If	you	drink	smoothies	or	green	juice,	you	are	getting	some	hydration
through	those	sources.	Juicy	fruits	and	veggies	like	cucumbers	and	celery	are	also
good	sources	of	hydration.	If	you	drink	alcohol,	which	is	dehydrating,	increase	your
water	intake	the	next	day	and	make	sure	to	drink	plenty	of	water	while	actually
imbibing	(as	well	as	before	and	afterward!).Bloating	is	more	than	unpleasant;	it’s	a	sign	that	your
digestion	has	been
compromised	in	some	way.	Luckily,	there	are	many	Radical	Beauty
recommendations	to	help	you	reduce	bloat	once	and	for	all.	The	tips	below	will
help	increase	your	digestive	power;	alleviate
constipation	and	irregular,
uncomfortable,	or	incomplete	elimination;	banish	bloat	once	and	for	all;	and
amplify	your	energy.	All	of	this	can	contribute	to	the	unfolding	of	your	own
natural	beauty’s	expression.
Radical	Action	Steps	to	Improve	Your
Digestion
and	Banish	Bloat
Now	that	you	know	how	important	good	digestion	is	to	your	beauty,	here	are
the	most	effective	steps	you	can	take	to	improve	it.
PROBIOTICS
A	high-quality	probiotic	supplement	will	help	balance	the	bacteria	in	your	gut
and	promote	better	digestion.	When	choosing	a	supplement,	remember	that	it’s
not	all	about	numbers;	don’t	look	just	for	the	highest	culture	counts	on	the
label.	Instead,	look	for	a	product	with	the	widest	array	of	soil-based	organisms
(SBOs),	which	are	the	types	of	bacteria	that	can	fully	survive	your	stomach	acid
and	take	up	long-term	residence	in	your	gut.	This	paves	the	way	for	continuing
gut	health	and	beauty.	A	formula	containing	both	prebiotics	and	probiotics	is
also	great,	as	the	prebiotics	serve	as	the	“food”	to	help	nourish	the	probiotics	in
your	gut.
FIBER
To	increase	your	fiber,	eat	more	veggies	in	general	and	include	them	at	all
meals,	as
only
	plant	foods	contain	fiber	(while	meat	and	dairy	do	not).	It’s	also
important	to	diversify.	The	bacteria	that	digest	your	food,	known	as	intestinal
flora,	consume	the	fiber	that	we	cannot	digest.	There	are	between	500	and	2,000
species	of	these	microorganisms	in	the	digestive	tract,	and	they	feed	on	all
manner	of	fiber.	Variety	is	therefore	essential,	covering	the	entire	plant
kingdom	in	your	diet,	which
means	fiber	from	whole	grains,	fruits,	and
vegetables.	To	maximize	the	effect	of	any	fiber,	use	the	whole	food;	choose
whole	fruits	over	straight	fruit	juice,	for	instance.	Buy	brown	rice	in	place	of
white,	and	choose	steel-cut	oatmeal	over	sugary,	processed	cereals.	This	natural
diversity	is	much	healthier	for	you	than	commercial	fiber	supplements.	Careshould	be	taken	with	the	rough	bran	in	bran-rich	cereals,	however,	since	it	can
scrape	against	the	intestinal	wall	and	even	injure	it.	See
this	page
	for	tips	to
increase	your	fiber	intake	while	avoiding	excessive	gassiness.
HOT	WATER
Drinking	hot	water	in	the	morning	(with	some	lemon	squeezed	in)	can
encourage	your	bowels	to	let	go	and	allow	for	more	efficient	elimination.	This
morning	practice	contributes	to	good
hydration,	which,	as	noted	earlier,	is
really	important.	It’s	also	a	good	idea	to	get	up	earlier.	Your	gut	does	not
respond	well	to	being	rushed,	so	allow	for	ample	bathroom	time	after	drinking
your	hot	water	to	let	your	body	relax	and	do	its	thing!
AVOID	HARD-TO-DIGEST	FOODS
Processed	foods,	fried	foods,	and	dairy	are	particularly	hard	on	your	digestive
system.
The	more	detoxified	your	body	is,	the	more
beautiful	you	become.
TIME	YOUR	MEALS	WISELY
Try	waiting	at	least	3	hours	between	meals	instead	of	constantly	grazing	during
the	day.	This	allows	the	foods	in	your	system	to	digest	more	fully.
Bloat	(see
this	page
)	may	be	compounded	if	your	digestive	system	is	constantly	full	of
food,	and	you	pile	more	and	more	food	that	doesn’t	have	enough	time	to	digest
on	top.	Also	try	simplifying	your	meals	by	using	fewer	components.
USE
SPICES	STRATEGICALLY
Boost	sluggish	digestion,	or
agni
	in	Ayerveda,	with	spices	like	turmeric,	cumin,
black	pepper,	and	ginger.	You	can	sprinkle	these	spices	into	stir-fries,	soups,	and
salad	dressings,	or	try	adding	them	to	hot	water	and	make	your	own	spice	tea.
TRY	A
MAGNESIUM-OXYGEN	SUPPLEMENT	(LIKE	DETOXY	+)
This	nonlaxative,	non-habit-forming	aid	helps	clear	out	accumulated	waste	in
your	system.
Constipation	and	waste	buildup	may	also	contribute	to
bloating.
TAKE
DIGESTIVE	ENZYMES	BEFORE	MEALS
These	are	capsules	you	can	take	to	help	your	food	break	down	more	efficientlyand	support	better	digestion	and	assimilation.	There	are	various	kinds	of
enzymes	included	in	various	formulations,	but	in	a	nutshell,	proteases	break
down	proteins,	lipases	break	down
fats,	and	amylases	break	down
carbohydrates.
AVOID
FIZZY	BEVERAGES
The	carbon	dioxide	that	makes
soda	and	even	plain	seltzer	bubbly	can	cause	or
exacerbate	bloating.
STEAM	YOUR	VEGGIES
If	your	system	is	rebuilding,	try
steaming	your	veggies	instead	of	eating	them
raw.	This	can	help	break	down	the	fiber	and	make	them	easier	to	digest.
EAT	MORE	SLOWLY	AND	DON’T	OVEREAT
The	latter	probably	seems	quite	obvious,	but	if	you	scarf	down	your	lunch	while
hunched	over	your	computer	or	lap	up	a	huge	plate	of	food	in	record	time	as
soon	as	you	get	home	after	a	long	workday	(maybe	because	you	skipped	lunch),
you	may	find	that	eating	quickly	has	a	sneaky	way	of	contributing	to
overeating.
Slow	down	your	consumption	and	you’ll	leave	the	space	in	your
stomach	needed	to	break	down	foods,	which	can	help	abate	bloating.
LIMIT	THE	AMOUNT	OF	DENSE
FAT	IN	EACH	MEAL
Fat	takes	longer	to	digest	than	protein	or	carbohydrates	and	can	make


 Preferably they should precede the meal, allowing at least an interim o f about
one hour before ingestion. It may be that in certain cases the system will for a time  object to the ingestion of the specially prepared
broths. Fruits, however, may be and usually are tolerated, and here a change may be made to a dietary of fruit alone, taking care
that but a single sort be eaten at a meal and that this be perfectly ripene d.

Children in illness readily respond to the fast, yet, with growing bodies and with undeveloped physical resource, the absolut e fast,
excepting for periods one or several days in duration, is, unless there is acute disease, here to be inhibited. But al ways recourse
may and should be had to the one -food dietary, either interrupted or continuous, at the same time, as for the adult, plying enemata
and cleansing tub baths.

In the list of vegetables that may be utilized for the preparation of broths none c an quite take the place of the tomato. This plant
occupies a position that lies between the classifications of fruit and vegetable; it contains food elements of every sort in varying
proportion, including relative parts of virtually all of the mineral matt er needful for systemic maintenance, being especially rich in
potassium and sodium; and it carries the three essential vitamins, "A", "B", and "C". Its acid content is one that acts in th e nature of
a solvent, aiding in the digestion of other foods. Used w hen thoroughly ripe, in its natural or in its canned state, it satisfies both
taste and nutrition, and broth made from it is the ideal form of sustenance for breaking a fast and for use during times of c orrective
eating, when the latter are interspersed wi th short fasts. There are subjects by whom a diet of tomato alone may be eaten with
benefit for several weeks or longer, excluding the while intervals of total abstinence from food, but always employing the
eliminative aids. The onion is also valuable in t his respect, and a "tomato fast" or an "onion fast", weeks in duration, may
ordinarily be personally conducted with great benefit when the eliminative accompaniments are included in the procedure.

It is explained that for the purposes of the text to fast  means to abstain from all food material save water. The latter is to be used at
all times for drinking, whether the subject be fasting or dieting --this when thirst demands. But during abstinence drinking
Page 22 of  72 increased quantities of water, hot or cold, makes f or solvency and assists in replenishing body fluids, and in flushing body organs.

In summation, long experience confirms the conclusion that fasting protracted in length of duration should never be undertake n
unless the subject be under competent directi on. In usual instances, even though essential accessory detail be faithfully observed,
personal conduct may and probably will, for reasons given, lead to disaster. But a series of short fasts, interspersed with i ntervals
of corrective eating, may with safe ty and with benefit be personally conducted, as may periods of partial abstinence on the one -
food plan, the latter liquid in form. It remains to be added that many times, in order to secure best results, the competent director
will deem it advisable or ess ential to make use of the interrupted or of the one -food fast when dealing with temperaments who by
nature possess or who develop in disease certain mental or physical idiosyncrasies.

CHAPTER VII
PREPARATION FOR THE FAST

TRUE HUNGER DISAPPEARS WHEN DI SEASE APPROACHES:
TAPERING OFF TO A COMPLETE FAST:
THE FUNCTION OF THE LIVER:
TWO PLANS FOR FASTING

WHEN disease appears in humankind, it is, as said before, not only a cautionary but a curative process. A disturbing element
needs removal; tired and a bused organs need rest and repair. Instinctively real food desire, true hunger, disappears; in fact, for
some time previous to actual disability, hunger has been absent. Appetite or stimulated demand for sustenance may, however, b e in
evidence and may rema in in evidence even after illness is manifest; but disease and hunger cannot exist at the same time in the
human body.

Bodily functions are swift in their adaptability to conditions, and bodily organs accommodate themselves and their labors eve n to
abuse. Consequently, in a system accustomed to continuous excess food supply, nature carries on existence in spite of handicap
until accumulation and subsequent decomposition institute disease. Could the subject recognize that prevention of later evil lies
entirely in his own hands, the greater portion of physical suffering would be eradicated; but prevention compels personal denial of
personal habit and enjoyment; and denial in this respect is the hardest of all virtues to inculcate and to practice.

The simpl icity of the application of the fast constitutes one of its principal drawbacks. To a mind convinced on final argument of
the efficacy of the method, nothing is more easy than to begin the omission of the daily ration, irrespective of the mental a nd
physio logical changes that are involved. But food stimulation, always an important factor in disease, asserts the power of habit
over the body; and, even though the will of the patient has been brought to understand the futility of dependence upon artIfi cial
aids to health, as embodied in medicine and in methods akin to it, general knowledge is lacking concerning the proper means to
pursue in order to overcome habit and to meet the physiological changes that ensue when food is denied the body for the purpo se
of prevention or of cure of disease.

The cultivation of a habit is a slow and insidious process, and so, in lesser degree perhaps, is its destruction. Abruptly to  cease an
action, normal or abnormal, habitually connected with bodily function, causes both phy sical and mental disturbance. Witness, for
instance, the attempts of a victim of tobacco, alcohol, or morphine to escape from the toils. In the ordinary case will power  alone
may accomplish the result sought for. But in the purifying process of the fast ab normal desire is removed, and physical habits of
this sort are thus easily conquered.

In many cases the will required to begin a fast is present, and, were this the sole consideration, food might at once be deni ed. But,
because natural physiological chan ge is always gradual in accomplishment, a like approach to cessation of digestion is essential.
The ideal manner of effecting the readjustment of organic action, the consequence of lowering to zero the intake of food, is to
diminish by degrees the amount i ngested, for suddenly to omit food at the inception of a fast sets the stomach clamoring for supply
at the hours which habit has fixed, and the results of deprivation are then comparable to those experienced by the toper or t he drug
victim when drink or na rcotic is denied. Nervous reaction is at once apparent and depression follows. Only in acute disease should
abrupt entrance be made to the fast, and this solely because at such times nature makes the issue and removes effectively all  desire
for food.

Daily baths and enemata, natural means for external and internal cleansing of the body and aids to elimination which do not dist urb
function as do purgatives, mark the commencement of treatment; and these accompaniments, with the omission of the midday
meal, embody the first stage of approach to the period of total abstinence from food. Omitting the noon meal and lessening
quantity at other meals paves the way; and, in the ordinary instance of functional disease, gradual diminution of food supply
should occupy  an interim of about ten days or two weeks, after which tomato broth, onion broth, or some similar light fluid food,
in limited quantity, may be used, dropping then to lemon juice with honey in hot water taken about three times daily. In fact, half a
lemon  and a dessert spoon of honey to a pint of hot water may in many instances be given with benefit several times each day
during the non -food interval. The slight effort of digestion required for this usually pleasant beverage does not to any degree
Page 23 of  72 interfer e with the eliminative processes, and in cases where suggestion may be used with profit, it performs this service.

If as sometimes happens the omission of the midday meal occasions distress, ripe fruit in small quantity may be eaten at the usual
hour. So ups made of vegetables gradually becoming lighter in food value should constitute the morning and evening meals until
they are dispensed with, and then it is well to use the lemon and honey as described or the juices of fruit alone for the las t few days
preceding the fast itself.

In the ordinary patient the omission of the noon meal may cause slight disturbances, such as dizziness, headache, or stomach
craving. These are mostly the results of habit change, and usually they disappear within three or four d ays, when there are
commonly no further unpleasant symptoms as the remaining meals are omitted. In the two -meal period elimination of digestive
toxins begins to gain over their formation, and, as the patient gradually lowers ingestion, it becomes most evid ent, from the
discharges in the enemata and from the odor that emanates from skin and breath, that the body is undergoing strenuous house -
cleaning. These phenomena make it apparent that previous continuously overburdened digestive function


, pr eferably with skin contact. Breasts
and uterus are especially sensitive to oxytocin as it initiates contractions
and the let -down of milk after delivery. Oxytocin is also important for
the prostate gland.  Actually,  most tissues and even tumours have
oxytoc in receptors regulating their growth. Cancer cell inhibition with
oxytocin has been shown especially for breast, uterus, brain, and bone.
But there is a third factor in this setting, and this is the exchange of male -
female energies. If our sexuality is st rong, we generate a surplus of
sexual energy which leads to increasing tension in muscles and brain. In 111
 virgins some of this tension may be released as 'Poltergeist' phenomena,
other sensitive women may have 'hysteric' episodes or release tension
by cuttin g their skin with razor blades or make needle pricks, while males
become high risk takers with a tendency to increasing violence, or they
may try to find relief with frequent ejaculations.
All of these do not work very well. Contrary to common belief, frequent
sexual activity tends to increase rather than decrease sexual tension
because it stimulates dopamine release, the same as repeated heroin
use or gambling. Relief will then come after some time not from relaxat ion
but from reduced vitality.  For a better understanding of this whole area
see the 6-part series: Healing with Sex.
Instead, the solution is with the generation of oxytoci n. Skin contact with
a partner of the opposite sex in a harmonious setting not only generates
oxytocin, but also balances the sexual energies of both. It generally
needs about 30 minutes for a full energy exchange. I do not know if or
how this works with h omosexual couples.
As a general rule we may say that dopamine -based sexual activity tends
to increase tension, and with this energy blockages, while oxytocin -
based activity reduces tension and helps to dissolve energy blockages.
There is a spectrum of sex ual activity from purely dopamine -based to
purely oxytocin -based, and in addition a mixture of both.
The main dopamine -based activity begins already with foreplay designed
to release dopamine and  stimulate sexual desire and excitement. Skin
contact afterw ards tends to be relatively short, and it lacks the focus on
a harmony of feelings that would induce the release of oxytocin and allow
sexual energies to become balanced.
The main oxytocin -based method is described in the Gnostic Gospels as
the inner tea ching of Jesus on Sacred Sexuality, and was widely
practised in early Christianity; see: The Saint and his Virgin. It consisted
of a long, quiet embrace withou t direct sexual connection. The
exchanged energy was used to activate the chakra system with the help
of guided imagery.  112
 Between these two extremes are several further methods with different
emphasis on balancing dopamine and oxytocin. Best known is Tantr ic
Sex. This encompasses a very wide range of methods and rituals, often
with the goal of using orgasmic energy to activate the chakra system, but
in modern forms also just to enhance the sexual experience.
More suitable is Karezza with an emphasis on our own inner feelings,
and on feeling in complete union with the partner. Sexual excitement and
orgasm are avoided or at least minimized. Caresses and slow controlled
movements during intercourse generate a ste ady stream of energy that
may be consciously converted into feelings of harmony, joy and love.
Therefore, this method is fully focused on generating oxytocin and
harmonizing our energies. See: Karezza  and Spiritual Sex.
Finally, there is a method described as Sex Perfection ( www.health -
science -spirit.com/Healing_with_Sexual_Energy/Bio -Energy -%26-
Sex.html ) which harmoniously combines energy exchange as well as
orgasm. The first half hour is spent in a close embrace with some sexual
connection but definitely without inducing sexual stimulation and
excitement. Then sexual activity with orgasm may take place, followed
by another long period of lying together in peaceful harmony. In this way
the dopamine release is embedded i n long periods of oxytocin
generation and leads to complete sexual satisfaction and a harmonious
relationship.
While all methods of reducing energy,  blockages are good and  tend to
increase our life -force, this is especially true for working with sexual
energy. When we let our sexual energy decline as with advancing age,
our vitality automatically declines as well because both rely on a healthy
second chakra. With any such d ecline also the production of sex
hormones declines and their rejuvenating effect on many body functions.
I have written more about this, and also on the importance of sexual
energy for developing our higher energy bodies, in Healing with Sex.
CHARGING WITH LIFE -FORCE
We obtain most of our life -force from good sleep, breathing good quality 113
 air, and from fresh raw food. In addition,  we can top up our vitality by
catching sun energy, with vortex devices, and chakra breathing.
Commonly water is being used to collect sun e nergy. The higher the
mineral content of the water, the longer it holds the energy charge. A
good example of a highly charged natural water is seawater. You may
charge drinking water by exposing it to sunlight in a flat glass or ceramic
bowl.
Exposure time  may range from minutes to hours. You may add mixed
minerals or good salt  to water low in minerals. In a similar way you may
also charge food, especially fruits that had been refrigerated, or cooked
food just before eating.
About 6,000 years ago the Sumerians had an ingenious system to re -
charge their body battery. Each home ha d an outdoor tile tub with a
shallow indentation the size of a human body. This was filled with about
10 cm of water, rising to about 15 cm with a body in it. In the late
afternoon the water was fully charged,  and people would lie in it to soak
up the ener gy.
When the sun is not warm enough, vortex energy may be used for
charging water. Magnets and crystals are common examples of vortex
energy, others are pyramids and cones. You may, for instance, let water
flow tangentially into a plastic funnel, thereby forming a vortex.
In addition,  tape a strong south -pointing magnet to the outlet, or let the
water flow between opposite magnetic poles. This same principle may
be used to charge any other liquid, such as stored or commercial juices.
If sunshine is not a vailable you may place cooked food for some time
between opposite magnetic poles. When using a blender,  you may hold
or attach magnets with opposite poles to opposite sides. Instead of
magnets you may also use crystals but they require a longer exposure
time. If you have learned to direct energy out of your hands you may
also charge food or water in this way.
Stirring water first in one direction until a deep vortex develops and then 114
 immediately in the other direction helps to absorb the vortex energy. This
method was originally proposed by Rudolf Steiner and then used in
biodynamic agriculture. Also flow forms can be used in which the water
cascades through several levels of spiral fo rmations. Another system is
a copper spiral through which the water flows.
Water may also be energised to some degree with water ionizers.
However, the most effective life -force generator with which I have worked
is based on Brown’s Gas, a mix of hydrogen and oxygen with the addition
of life energy, bioenergy, prana or orgone energy as in fresh fruit and
vegetables. In the US visit eagle -research.com/product/ac50  or
http://lotushydrocare.org/  in Australia. To understand how this works, see
http://www.orgoneaustralia.com.au/brown -gas.htm. You may  also
investigate orgone accumulators or ‘orgonite’, a mixture of about equal
parts of metal particles and resin, see: www.orgonelab.org  and
orgoniteinfo.com.
Chakra Breathing
While it is beneficial to live in an environment high in life -force, ultimately,
we can make good use of this energy only if we have suitable devices
within our body to intercept and use it properly. Such devices are our
chakra vortexes. In a similar way t hat we can develop our muscle system
by strength training, so we can also develop our chakra system with a
combination of breath and guided imagery.
To understand the principle of collecting and storing breath energy or
prana from the air, imagine that th e inhaled breath consists of two parts,
the physical air molecules as well as the energy component prana.
During inhalation the lungs automatically separate the prana from the air
molecules. You only exhale the 'empty' air while the prana flows to where
you lead it with your conscious attention. The body can use the abdomen
with its high water and fat content as a storage reservoir of excess prana.
To energize the abdomen, you imagine and try to feel the prana moving
directly into the abdomen during a deep  inhalation. During the long and
slow exhalation,  you imagine that you press the prana down so that it 115
 becomes compressed at the bottom of the abdomen. With each
successive