 God, and punishment is expected rather than love. On the level of fear,
the fear may be so great that the problem of God cannot even be faced, so
that the subject is blotted out of consciousness, and God is viewed as
fearful, punishing, avenging, jealous, and angry. On the level of anger, God
is viewed as depriving, arbitrary, capricious, and failing. On the level of
pride, there is egotism about one’ s religious or spiritual position,
characterized by rigidity, inflexibility, intolerance, proneness to exclusivity,
bigotry, clannishness, religious ar gumentation, and warring.
On the level of courage, we are willing to take responsibility for our
religious or spiritual position. The increased awareness often results in the
emer gence of the spiritual seeker, and the pursuit of truth in its religious or
spiritual sense truly awakens. This may result in a reaf firmation of our
previous position, but now from a totally new viewpoint—that of choice. It
may bring about changes, which may be either slow and gradual, or sudden.
On this level, there is the awakening of consciousness and the realization
that our beliefs and views are now a result of our choice, not just a result of
previous blind programming. There is a search for meaning, and this may
occur on the level of ethics and humanitarianism rather than in the area
specifically denoted as formal religion. W e investigate our social function
and role in the world, and we inquire as to the value of our lives, not only to
ourselves but also to others.
Carl Jung said that the healthy personality is equally balanced between
work, play, love, and an aspect of personality called spirituality, which we
could also define as the search for meaning and value. These investigations
bring inner upsets but also moments of acceptance and peace. There are
moments of intuitive understanding which beckon us on to continue the
quest, to find out if there is anything beyond just the physical and material
world and its ever -changing phenomena.
This level of consciousness is a good one from which to look at and let
go of more negative feelings. On this level, we have the ener gy, capacity,
self-confidence, and willingness to acquire know-how and under go the
necessary steps of learning. On this level, there is a desire for self-improvement and the realization that better states of mind are possible. The
level of courage knows that it is not necessary to endure the pain and
suf fering of the negative emotions or their interference with the
satisfactions of life.
In courage, we are no longer willing to pay the cost of negativity. W e
are concerned about the ef fects of our negative feelings on the welfare of
others with whom we are closely associated. Most people who have learned
the letting go technique will continue to use it until they have reached this
level of consciousness. On this level, their major life problems are now
under control. They are experiencing vocational satisfaction and success.
Material wants are supplied. Major problems in relationships have
straightened out. They are no longer consciously experiencing pain and
suf fering, and there is satisfaction from having grown and developed in
certain areas.
When we are comfortable, there is a temptation to stop using the
technique and only resume it in emer gency situations, or when negative
feelings again become painful and necessitate our attention. However, there
is more yet to be had. Because there is always a feeling going on which can
be surrendered, the continuation of the process will lead to greater and
greater benefits.
Continual surrender will bring about constant, subtle changes,
especially on the levels of subtle awareness in our capacity for love.
Previously, we had likened the radiation of love, which stems from our
higher aspect, to the ener gy of the sunlight. W e noted that, as the dark
clouds of negativity are removed, this ener gy and our capacity to accept it
and radiate it outward, increases progressively.
On the level of courage, our capacity to love is now much stronger, and
it has the power to support and encourage others, lending strength to that
which is positive and constructive in them. Assisting their development
brings us the pleasure of watching their growth and their increasing
happiness. This capacity within us can grow ever stronger. It can become
ever more powerful and self-rewarding as well as more beneficial to others.
W e can utilize courage to reinforce our desire to grow beyond our
present state, because on this level, we are already getting inklings that
there is something within us that we had hitherto unsuspected. These are
indicated by those sudden episodes of perfect stillness and peace in which
we have great clarity, understanding, and heightened sensitivity to beauty.W e discover that it was thr ough  the music—and not because of it—that
we experience our mind going suddenly still, and, in that moment of
stillness, we were allowed to experience a greater dimension. There may be
fleeting seconds in which we feel a complete identification and oneness
with others, as though there were no separation.
These are the moments of breaking through into the experiencing of
our real inner Self. The memory of those moments is never for gotten. When
they first start to happen, we don’ t know what they mean. W e think they are
“accidental.” “Just due to chance.” W e attribute the feeling to external
events such as the beauty of a sunset, a symphonic passage, or a loving
gesture. But, as we investigate further, we find that these were only the
circumstances that allowed something else to happen. They were not the
cause. They allowed a certain stillness of the mind to take place, and
because of that stillness, we were allowed a moment in which we were able
to experience something other than the chatter of our own mind with its
incessant, restless play of sensations, feelings, thoughts, emotions, and
memories.
In the moments when time seems to stand still, we get a glimpse of
what is possible. These moments are so rewarding that they are treasured
for a lifetime. When they occur, something is experienced that is very
impressive. Could it be that, beyond the turbulence of the world and our
own mind, there is silence? A realm of peace that is always waiting?
CHAPTER
11
A C C E P T A N C E
In acceptance, we enjoy the experience of harmony. W e feel as though
events are flowing. W e feel secure. W e can be of service to others without a
feeling of self-sacrifice. There is the feeling: “I’m okay,” “Y ou’re okay,”
and “It’ s okay.” It is a feeling of belonging, connectedness, fullness, loving,
understanding, and the feeling of being understood. It is a feeling of caring,
warmth, and self-worth. Because of the security of this state, we can allow
ourselves to be soft, mellow, and natural. There is joy, and we feel “in tune”
and relaxed. There is the feeling that it’ s all right just to be ourselves.
Everything Is Perfect As It Is
In the state of acceptance, there is the feeling that nothing needs to be
changed. Everything is perfect and beautiful the way it is. The world is to
be enjoyed. There is compassion for others and for all living things. In this
state we are automatically nurturing and supportive of others without any
feeling of sacrifice. Because of the inner security and feeling of abundance,
there is generosity and ease of giving, with no expectation of return or
record keeping, such as, “Here’ s what I am doing for you.” When we are in
a state of acceptance, we love our friends instead of being critical, and we
are willing to love them in spite of their limitations, which we willingly
overlook.
The way people appear to us from this space is that everyone is
actually doing the best they can with what they have at the moment. W e seethat all of life is evolving towards its perfection, and we are in sync with the
laws of the universe and consciousness.
In this state we really begin to understand love. On the level of
acceptance, love is experienced as a stable state, a permanent condition of a
relationship. The source of love is seen to be within ourselves, emanating
from our own nature and reaching out to include others. In the state of
desire, by contrast, we speak of being “in love,” as the source of happiness
and love is thought to be outside of ourselves. When we are in the lower
ener gy level of desire, we are looking to be loved. It seems to be something
we “get.” On the level of acceptance, however, our lovingness radiates out
naturally from the essence of our being, because many of the blocks to its
awareness have been surrendered.
W e discover that this lovingness is our inner nature and that it appears
spontaneously and automatically when the blocks are removed. This is what
the great teachers mean by our true inner essence, our true Self. It is the aim
of our inner Self to transcend the ego, that composite of all our negative
feelings, programs, and thoughts, so that we are able to experience the inner
essential nature.
There are many pathways that carry us to the state of acceptance, and
this is the gateway which leads eventually to the next highest states,
described as the consciousness levels of love and peace. T o many


 your prescription
as fully as I can, and find the manipulations very beneficial.  My greatest
difficulty is concerning the baths.  While my son has been laid aside for
some six or seven weeks, I have been able in a great measure to supply
his  lack  of  service  in  ministering  to  a  congregation  numbering  from
twelve to fifteen hundred persons.  I read ‘The Laws’ with undiminished
interest. Very truly yours,
“(Rev.) Henry Bleby, Author of ‘ Missionary Tales,’ etc.”PNEUMONIA AND PLEURO-PNEUMONIA.
We have treated several cases of pneumonia and pleuro-pneumonia,
and have never failed in a single case in bringing about decisive and
complete relief, the patients being not simply cured of the disease,
but restored to good health without a single sequela or complication
remaining.  Indeed, we have never failed to relieve patients of any
diseases dependent primarily upon acute congestions.  The processes
heretofore described have been invariably successful.
GASTRIC AFFECTIONS—DYSPEPSIA, LIVER COMPLAINT,
DIARRHOEA, ETC.
The Nutritive-cure is peculiarly effective in the treatment of diseases
such  as  these,  and  of  all  diseases  which  originate  in  the  gastric
system.  We propose to cite a few out of the great number of cases
successfully treated. Mrs. John Morgan, of Mahanoy City, Pa., is a
notable one.  This lady had suffered agonies for seven months, during
which time she had been under the care of numerous physicians,
who, finally despairing of benefiting her, advised travel, change, etc.
Mrs. Morgan is in excellent health at the time of writing, January,
1881.  Mr. Morgan is deacon of the Welsh Congregational Church in
his town, Mahanoy City, Pa., and as he describes his wife’s conditions
pretty fully, we will let him speak. He says :
“Seven months ago the attending physician declared that my wife could
not live an hour ; for these seven months she never laid down ; during all
this time she suffered intense agony, breathing with great difficulty.  Shevomited continually ; she could not sleep for pain, and the only ease was
through heavy doses of narcotics.  Her limbs were swollen almost to
bursting, and her whole body was swollen to the size of a barrel.  We
have been with you three weeks, and what a change!  The swelling is
entirely gone, the pain almost wholly ceased, no more  vomiting, no
difficulty of breathing, she lies down and sleeps all night like a child.  The
transformation is wonderful. It seems almost miraculous.  She will soon
go home healthy and happy, and it is no stretch of the imagination to
say that she owes her life, under Providence, to you.  I will be glad to
give any further information to any who address me.”
Reese P. Daniels, from the same place, who was the means of sending
Mrs. Morgan to us, can hardly be said to be a less remarkable case.
When he came to us he was as near a walking skeleton as men are
often found.  His pulse was reduced below 40 per minute, and it
would  be  hard  to  find  a  more  deplorable  wreck  mentally  and
physically than he.  Read what he said three years ago, and also his
testimonial, lately furnished.  He said in 1876 :
“Thirty  months  ago  I  came  to  your  institution  a  complete  wreck,
weighing 102 pounds.  I had tried everything, even water cure of the
most extreme fashion, and was reduced to a skeleton.  It took me a long
time to learn to follow your advice, but when I did I gained eleven
pounds in thirteen days.  I now weigh 151 pounds, and am looking better
and feeling better than I ever did in my life.  A million dollars would not
be any compensation to me for the loss of what you have done for me.  I
wish the whole world knew what value there is in your system, which I
believe is superior to anything known.
Reese P. Daniels, Mahanoy City, Pa.”
November 24th he writes :
“To an unprejudiced mind, this system of treatment is a self-evident
truth.  In my case it is considered by a great many people a miracle that
I am enjoying the health that I am, but to me it is plain.  I have no
person to thank for it but you.  After having baffled the skill of our best
physicians  and  been  reduced  to  a  skeleton  I  was  restored  by  yourtreatment, and find to-day that I am healthier and happier than I ever
have been in my whole life before.  And when I think of the fact that for
five years I was not able to perform any kind of labor, while at the
present time I am laboring hard everyday, I must say that it is to you
and your system of treatment I am indebted for these great benefits,
and my greatest desire is that your institution will keep on increasing in
size, until the rays of truth that radiate from it shall spread their lustre
over the whole world, enlightening and saving a suffering people.
“Reese P. Daniels, Mahanoy City, Schuylkill Co., Pa.”
G. O. Hougan, of Ossian,  Iowa, was a similar case, and he writes,
after gaining several pounds at the Mountain Park ; ‘‘l have gained
thirty-three pounds of flesh, since I left, and strength accordingly”
and later reports have always been in enthusiastic acknowledgment
of firm and buoyant health.
Leroy R. Means, of Cotton Gin, Texas, gained sixty pounds of flesh,
and strength accordingly, and says:  “You have been the instrument
in God’s hands of saving my life, and I shall ever remember you with
heartfelt gratitude.”
Perhaps a more remarkable case is that of Miss Eleanor Kinmont, of
Glendale, Ohio, one of the worst cases of chronic nervous dyspepsia,
with more or less spinal irritation, that we have ever met.  She was
brought to us on a bed, so reduced that she could not bear a three-
minutes’ conversation. Four years ago she wrote as follows :
“I am constrained to write in acknowledgment of the wondrous results of
your treatment in my case.  I had suffered greatly for years from nervous
dyspepsia, causing spinal irritation.  I tried medicine to no permanent
benefit ; then water and diet cure under the prescriptions of the most
eminent of those physicians, with decided injury.  I was unable to read or
to be read to, to sew, or to walkout. I could not bear even light in myroom.  The sound of voices, or walking on the floor, would cause me
agonies at times.  But all is changed. I was taken to the Mountain Home
on a bed, but now, after eighteen months, I am like another being.  Life
looks brighter than ever before, I can climb the mountains with ease, can
face the cold blasts of winter, can walk and sit out in the damp without
fear ; can read, write and sew.  I wish that all the sick and suffering ones
could know what may be in store for them at the Mountain Home.  I feel
that I cannot be too grateful to you, Drs. Walter, but especially to Mrs.
Walter for her unwearied attention, care, and patience.  Her bright and
hopeful spirit sustained my faith, and cheered me in the darkest hours.
May God bless you both, who, under Providence, have been the means
of my cure, and may the Mountain Home extend its influences overall
the land is my prayer.”
While now, November the nth, 1880, she writes :
“Of the  four years that have  passed since I left the Home, in each
succeeding year I have gained on the one which went before, and that
my faith grows stronger in the principles taught in the institution, and
that I am constantly surprising my friends with what they call wonderful
feats.  They do not cease to regard me as a walking miracle, seeing as
they do that I grow stronger year by year. I had my first illness since I
returned from the Home this summer.  It was caused by not taking my
vacation till August.  Since then my stomach did not recover its tone
until I went back to the two-meal system, and am now more than ever
convinced that it is the best way to strengthen weak digestion. Of course
my lost vitality cannot be restored, and when by necessary overwork I
am  run  down,  I  resort  to  compound  oxygen,  which  enables  me  to
recover.”
We desire to add a remark in connection with this communication—
namely, that compound oxygen is a powerful stimulant, and we are
afraid that our friend will come to grief if she undertakes first to
overwork and then to stimulate herself by this means.  Nature will
endure such violence for a time, but there will be a reaction which
will not be so pleasant or agreeable.Here is from another dyspeptic some sixty odd years of age.


 give up the child for adoption or abort the fetus
for any reason.
If you are grieving the loss or absence of a child, you need time to
process your deep sadness, and you may need ways to cope with any
accompanying insomnia, anxiety, anger, apathy, disassociation, or
depression. Agni and appetite may be very low. Incorporate as many of the
postpartum basics from this chapter as possible, as well as the remedies
listed throughout. Some additional, grief-specific Ayurvedic remedies
include these:
Take ashoka baths to remove sorrow and strengthen the uterus (see
this page ).
Have a ceremony to honor the life of the soul you carried.Take Ayurvedic rose petal jam (see recipe below) to support the
heart.
Honoring the time following the end of your pregnancy will bring you
closure, give you the space to restore your health, and provide the
opportunity to nourish your body, mind, and heart.
Sun-Cooked Ayurvedic Rose Petal Jam
According to Ayurveda, rose rules sadhaka  pitta, the aspect of pitta
that governs the emotions. Rose is uplifting and healing to the
emotional heart. Rose petal jam is an ancient Ayurvedic healing
recipe good for any time your heart is in need of extra love. This
recipe from Sarva Blackwell of Inner Sun & Moon can be used in the
fourth month of pregnancy, when the heart is developing in the fetus;
during early postpartum, when mama’ s emotions are vulnerable; or
after a loss.
Ingredients
organic dried rose petals
organic turbinado sugar
Instructions
Sterilize a glass jar by heating it in the oven at 300 degrees
Fahrenheit for fifteen minutes. Sterilize its lid by boiling it in water for
twenty minutes and then allowing it to air dry completely. Once your
jar and its lid are sterile and dry, you are ready to begin!
In the morning collect enough fresh organic roses to fill the jar
(ideally collect them before sunrise, as the sun will evaporate some
of the precious oil and aroma). Gently wash the roses with water and
shake of f any excess water. Remove the petals and pat them dry.
(Optionally, spread them out on a towel for an hour or two to let alittle more water evaporate.) W eigh the petals. Then, based on the
weight of the rose petals, weigh out twice as much sugar by weight.
If the sun is not intense where you are, use a clean cof fee grinder or
food processor to grind the sugar into a powder. If the sun is intense
where you are, you can leave the sugar as granules. Fill the clean
dry jar with the rose petals and sugar. Stir well with lots of love,
prayer, and intention. Put the lid on the jar and set the jar in a sunny
windowsill for the rest of the day.
The next day, the rose petals will have wilted and will no longer be
filling the jar to the top. Repeat the same process as the day before,
collecting enough new fresh roses to fill the jar the rest of the way up
again. W ash them as before, shake out the excess water, remove
the petals, pat them dry, and weigh them. Fill the jar to the top with
the new rose petals and twice the amount of sugar by weight as the
weight of the petals. Stir well with love, prayer, and intention, put the
lid on the jar, and set it in a sunny windowsill for the rest of the day.
Continue this every day until the jar is still completely filled to the top
when you check on it the next day. Then, continue to leave it in the
sunny windowsill for three or four more weeks. Every day, open it up,
stir it well with love, prayer, and intention, then close it back up
again.
After three or four weeks you will have a beautiful rose petal
compote with a jam-like consistency. Store the jam in the refrigerator
and use it as a spread the way you would use any jam or eat
spoonfuls of it on its own.
Notice the ef fect it has on your emotions, mood, and heart.
Mothers often call their children “my heart outside my body.”
I thought I knew what that meant;
I thought it was just a way to express
how much they love their children.Ayurveda says that from the fourth month of pregnancy, the
mother has two hearts:
her own and her baby’ s.
I thought I knew what that meant;
I thought it meant the heart is formed in the fetus, so the mother
has two physical hearts in her body.
So simple. So obvious. I thought.
But now I know what it truly means.
From the very beginning of motherhood I felt the duality  of
reality become intensified.
And I realized
I am feeling what it is like to have two hearts.
One heart is excited to experience the world and grow and learn
together, while the other laments the passing of time and
sweet, sweet moments that are just too short.
One heart loves connecting with others, and forming bonds and
relationships,
while the other heart feels the separation from the times when it
was just you and me.
One heart feels proud of developing independence and new
skills,
while the other heart simultaneously wishes you
would only need me, forever.
At first I was confused
constantly feeling my heart completely torn apart by the duality
of every experience.
But now I understand.
It’s not my heart, it’ s you.
I feel not only what I am feeling,
but also what you are feeling.
From the fourth month of pregnancy,
your heart was formed.
And so, all the duality I felt,it was you.
Your desires, your wishes, your emotions
Your experiences.
As you grow I feel what you feel
and I also feel what I feel.
So now I know,
a mother has two hearts.
One lives in her,
and the other,
Is you.
Niskaraman Samskara: Welcoming Baby to
the Larger World
After the sacred window, the first place mama and baby visit
leaves a strong impression in the mind. The Niskaraman
Samskara is the intentional first outing beyond the family
home. Rather than your first trip out of your house being to
the grocery store or to run errands, let it be to a thoughtfully
chosen place that feels sacred to you.
In the V edic tradition, the mama and babe remain in the
birthing room ( sutika grha ) for ten to thirty days. After that
time period, she and the newborn child can leave the
birthing room, though they continue to remain indoors until
the third lunar day of the third waxing moon after the birth.
On this day, the baby is bathed in the morning. Then, at
sundown, the parents take the baby to the temple of the
Lord. Standing in front of the deities with mama on the
father ’s left side, holding the baby in a clean cloth, mama
hands the baby to the father. She then walks behind thefather to stand on his right side, still facing the Deity. The
father then recites the following prayer:
I pay respects to the all-pervading Lord who existed
before the material creation, from whom emerged the
protector of the worlds, and into whom the worlds
merge at the time of destruction. O all-pervading Lord,
may misfortune not come to my child.
The Lord, who is the giver of consciousness, giver
of strength, whose order all beings in the universe obey,
whose very shadow is immortality, who is death to
death personified, whom we should worship with fine
offerings. Therefore O Lord, death of death personified,
may misfortune not come to my child.
May Nara Narayana, the Lords of protection, bestow
to the child, and to me, the good fortune that mother
and child not be destroyed.
After this, the father shows the child to the deities, while
chanting a V edic mantra. He continues singing as he hands
the baby back to the mother, and they all return home
together.
After three more waxing moons, on the third lunar day,
the father returns to the temple. He goes to the deities and
offer flowers three times, saying this prayer:
The Lord, to whom no living being is superior, who has
entered the worlds as the living entities, is the Lord of
the living entities, but is intimately united with them. All-
knowing V isnu, pervading all, may harm not come to
our child.
After he returns home, singing V edic prayers, the
ceremony is considered complete. Now baby and mamahave ceremoniously honored their sacred window and are
ready to gradually rejoin the world.
SKIP N OTES
* This section is contributed by Krsna Jivani, a botanical Ayurdoula, herbalist, and
mama.
OceanofPDF.comNewborn Mama 7
No par ent is ALWAYS conscious, gentle, positive, peaceful, and
authentic.
We have to choose to be and practice moment by moment, day after
day.
The mor e we practice, the str onger we gr ow.
Lelia Schott, certified parent and family wellness coach
You have tilled the field, planted the seed, nourished your little one with all
the love, care, and attention you could of fer. You have been mothering your
little angel since the moment they arrived in your womb,


, clogged bloodstream s! Then
disease strikes with all its powerful force! Cataracts blind and blur the
vision. Arthritis cripples and stiffens joints. Ears go deaf. Varicose veins
cripple the legs. Ulcers form in the stomach and intestines. Piles and deadly
fissures attack the rectum. These are just a few of over 4,000 crippling
diseases that can make life a living hell while on this Earth!
These tragic things do not just happen... it’s again the Eternal Law of
Compensation at work. Disease is not like a thief in the night that creeps up
on you and attac ks you. You created the horrible condition which can sadly,
often torment your every waking hour! These people who have, through
ignorance or willfulness, brought themselves to this wretched physical
condition, then will cry out in pain and anguish, “Save me! Help me from
my suffe ring and torment!”  We are sorry to inform them that there is no
simpler, more effective treatment to restore health and peace of mind than
the cure Mother Nature provides through natural living.
Mother Nature is a hard taskmaster, disobey her laws and soon she will
give you punishment that is beyond human comprehension. Go to any
hospital and see the wretched, suffering humans on their beds of pain.
These are people who never learned her great natural laws. Many of them
scoffed when well-meaning relatives and friends suggested that they live a
healthier lifestyle! They were not going to give up their fun... so they
smoked, drank alcohol, coffee, cola and sugar drinks and loaded up on
refined and dead foods to their hearts’ content. If you tried to correct their
unhealthy lifesty le, they had all kinds of excuses and answers to cover up
their dietetic, unhealthy sins. “I am healthy,” they would boast. “My
grandmother lived to be 89 and smoked, drank and ate what she liked. I will
be like my old grandmother!”  But it seldom works out that way. Now on
their hospital beds they are helpless, broken humans.You are what you eat, drink, breathe, think, say and do. – Patricia Bragg
Dr. Schuller ’s Hour of Power Sermon featured this saying on worldwide television.
So this morning begin by eating God’ s food, drinking plenty of water, thinking positive thoughts,
affirming aloud and taking positive action and tomorr ow will be brighter, happier and healthier than
you ever dreamed possible! – Robert Anthony Schuller, former  pastor, world-famous Crystal
Cathedral
Health Road or Sickness Road? Which Road
Will You Take?
Your health and the length of time you are going to remain on this earth
are strictly up to you and you alone! You must make your choice! You can
decide to travel the average (unhealthy) road. But seldom will someone tell
you the errors of this way. No one will stop you! You will have lots of
company. The average person  takes their health and youthfulness for
granted. They want the big thrills of life, or what they think are the big
thrills... they don’t have a sense of real values. “Live it up!”  is their cry,
“Eat what agr ees with you and makes you happy.”
Again let us give you a serious warning... remember that you are going
to pay dearly for every sin you commit against your body! The wages of sin
are physical suf fering, aches, pains and often a premature early death!
The choice of which r oad to take is up to you.You alone decide whether to r each a dead end or live a healthy lifestyle for
a long, healthy, happy, active life. – Paul C. Bragg
Don’t Clog the Pipes of Your Body
Your body is really a great plumbing system. You are made up of small
pipes, medium-sized pipes and large pipes like the gastrointestinal tract,
which is 30 feet long. Through the gastrointestinal pipe, from the mouth to
the rectum, flow all the food and drink you consume.
There is a great miracle muscular system within the gastrointestinal tract
that propels the food slowly down and outward. To keep this muscular
action efficient, the food we eat must contain bulk, moisture and
lubrication. This is supplied by coarse raw vegetables such as cabbage (red
and green), beets,  broccoli, carrots, celery, turnips and radishes, etc. All raw
vegetables contribute to strengthen the muscular action along the
gastrointestinal tract. We call raw vegetables and raw fruits “Nature’ s
Broom”. They are absolutely necessary if you want to enjoy higher health
and longevity! Even the American Cancer Society and the United States
Surgeon Genera l agree: eating fruits and vegetables is important for the
prevention of cancer.
In our opinion, every disease – no matter what its scientific name – is
basically caused by the clogging of the human pipe system! Any localized
symptom is therefore merely the result of a local clogging by the buildup of
toxic waste poisons at that particular point. Any part of the pipe system can
become clogged. The #1 killer of them all in America is “Hea rt Disease,”
the accumulation of matter (cholesterol, fats, toxins) that clogs the
cardiovascular system and the heart! Yes, this is the world’ s most deadly
disease – hardening of the arteries. The vicious toxic material that hardens
the arteries can completely block them so that your vital life-giving
oxygenated blood cannot pass through. Hardening of the arteries does not
happen overnight; it takes a long time to develop this fatal condition! Yet,
recent studies show that some people start to get hardening of the arteries at
a very early age. The cause is their unhealthy lifestyle!
Everything in excess is opposed by natur e. – Hippocrates, Father of Medicine
Coronary heart disease is due to a lack of sufficient blood to the heart.
– Dr. Dean Ornish, author, Stress, Diet and Y our Heart • Website: ornish.com
Learn to Apply Health Lessons from History
Premature harde ning of the arteries was observed even as early as the
Korean War, when 350 soldiers were closely examined after death. These
were young men, between the ages of 18 and 28. The autopsies revealed that
all of them had a certain amount of hardening in their arteries! There is little
doubt that these  young men had, since childhood, been fed on the Standard
(unhealthy) American diet (S.A.D. ). They ate meals high in fats, meats,
sugared cereals, desserts and other highly processed foods. Their
devitalized, highly refined diet was heavily loaded with salt, saturated fats
and refined white sugar. (Widely used today is a toxic sugar substitute
called aspartame. See page 40 and web:  www.douglassr eport.com )Many
doctors and studies agree refined  white sugar, salt and saturated  fats lead to
diabetes, heart conditions, hardening of the arteries and premature ageing.
All of their lives these young men had been fed on commercially
hardened fats of all kinds. They  had eaten smoked and brine-cured meats
such as bacon, ham, sausage, luncheon meats and all other kinds of
preserved meats. They were also heavy users of processed fast foods
containing table  salt (a harmful inorganic sodium ) and toxic preservatives.
The naturally occurring organic sodium found in foods, seaweeds and
Bragg Kelp Seasoning, are the best source! (Celtic salt in small amounts is
acceptable if desir ed.)
Why Does Premature Ageing Happen?
In other words, these young soldiers grew up on a diet of hardened fats,
cholesterol and toxin-producing foods. As a result of their unhealthy diet
they started to develop cardiovascular degenerative disease before the age
of 30! Remember, clogging of the human pipe system can start when a
youngster! This is the reason why many people prematurely age! It’s sad
that people age way before their time. In our world travels we find many
people who look and act 20 to 30 years older than their chronological age!
Why? It’ s their unhealthy lifestyles!
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as
though everything is a miracle. – Albert Einstein
Forget Calendar Years – Be Ageless!
Study the people who are close  to you. Look at their posture, walk and
eyes – do you see good health  and high energy or poor health and little
energy? Look at their foreheads  and temples and see how many veins pop
out like small snakes. Many are quite deaf, many have poor vision and
many have slow reflexes... they move stiffly and slowly and their brains
think slowly. They become like the cemented living dead, a product of their
unhealthy, harmful lifestyle of living!
These people may be in their 40s, 50s, 60s or 70’s but they are far older than
their calendar years – often prematurely old because of obstructions and
clogging in their internal pipe systems. Their bodies are soaked and
saturated with clogging, poisonous, toxic materials!
Just because a person lives to be 60, 70, 80, 90 or more is


 interest. In contrast, the gaze of
Chinese cultur e is averted away from the individual and instead
directed toward social groups (the family, collective, and state), so
psychology in China is quite underdeveloped, and its medicine has
focused primarily upon physical symptoms. But becau se Chinese
medical theory assumes human process unfolds as a consequence of
the tension and unity between interacting system s, mental
phenomena are not considered to be altogether separate or distinct
from physical events.
We have fused Chinese theory with outlooks from Western
psychology for the purpose of transcending our cultural practice of
isolating physiology from psychology so that we can begin to knit
together the fracture that splits body from mind. Toward that end,
we have generated a schema of types: ve metaphors for the
emotional, physical, and spiritual dynamics that organize us. Each
of these types has idiosyncratic traits, motivations, and struggles—
ve styles of being in the world. You are invited to discover how
your style of interpreting reality ts within these categories and
discern who you are:
• The Pioneer, determined to make things happen• The Wizard, seeking magic and excitement
• The Peacemaker, constantly arranging and harmonizing the
world
• The Alchemist, who masters form and function
• The Philosopher, relentlessly in pursuit of truth
By identifying people’s archetypes, the sources of their virtues,
strengths, dilemmas, and limitations become apparent. These
depictions help to counterac t the discomting image many of us
have of ourselves as a hapha zard collection of disjointed events and
shifting identities. Instead there is a pattern in our tapestry—woven
through us and by us—we embody and manifest its design.
Examining its fabric informs  us about how we are predisposed to
suer and derive satisfaction  in particular ways. An outco me of self-
recognition can be self-acceptance, often a precursor to self-mastery.
This system is a lens, a model, a paradigm through which we can
understand, explain, and help ourselves and others.
Although this book is not a manual or textbook, we want to
encourage you to experience as well as comprehend the potential
this medicine oers. So the third section of the book, “Therapy,”
explains methods of treatmen t and the thought process used by each
one. Acupuncture need not be intimidating; herbal medicine need
not be mystied; and the promise of Chinese food therapy has not
yet begun to dazzle our palates.
In addition to explanation, we provide practical counsel by
guiding you toward the herbal remedies and foods appropriate for
you. To do this, we devised a system that simplies yet preserves
the art of prescribing. Since Chinese herbs can be purchased over-
the-counter, we outline a set of herbal formulas and herbal food
recipes so that those of you so motivated can put your
understanding into action.
As you read this book you may want to selectively navig ate your
passage, readin g the text out of sequence, skipping to sections that
most engage you. Some will be intrigued by the ideas, others by
traditional Chinese diagnosis and physiology, others will search forthe right herb formula, and still others will be immediately drawn to
the middle of the book to identify themselves and their family
within the schema of the ve archetypes, returning later to the other
chapters.
Many people in our culture have been nurturing a shift in
consciousness as they search for alternatives to the threatening
political and environmental dilemmas our civilization has created.
Our overarching concern, the meta-purpose of this book, is to
demonstrate that to think through the mind of Chinese medicine, to
see through its eyes, is in itself a healing process.
What makes Chinese medicine distinct, even more than its needles
and herbs, is its metaphysics (assumptions about reality),
epistemology (ways of acquiring knowledge), and ideology (system
of beliefs and values), all of which nd their expression in the Taoist
imperatives of preserving life and living in accord with nature. To
the extent that we learn to live with nature—with our own nature,
each other, and the earth—we have freedom, power, and purpose
and can enjoy life. To the extent that we do not, we suer. For us,
the ethic of Chinese medicine is to assist us in this striving.
OceanofPDF.comI
THEORY
OceanofPDF.comOur Journey East: Exploring Foreign TerritoryCHAPTER ONE
OUR JOURNEY  EAST: EXPLORING  FOREIGN
TERRITORY
Lying motionless, gazing at a chart on the wall showing streams
of force  connec ting the little toe with the corner of the eye in a
web of continu ous loops, I feel my breath soften and my vision
sharpen
Delicate pins protrude from my elbow, ankle, and knee. My
arms and legs are ooded by tiny rivulets of current. It’s not
like a hypodermic needle that injects a foreign substance—what
I’m feeling is simply more of myself. It’s strange, in the sense of
odd and unfamiliar, but as a sensation not unpleasant. In fact,
the edges of my mouth are cradling a silly smile.
The skin is stretched less tightly over my bony frame as my
pores relax. I sense movement as I lie quiet, aware of impulse
within my mind at rest. Thoughts tumble into consciousness,
roll over, and shue o.
With my eyes closed, and perception directed inward,
simultaneous layers of activity play like instruments in concert
with each other. I am the composer and the composed, the
musician and the listener, the instrument and its player.
SUBTLE YET PALPABLE, MY INITIAL ENCOUNTER WITH ACUPUNCTURE LEFT me
tantalized by mystery and promise. Mystery, in that tiny needles
could extend my eld of awareness and completely alter the state ofmy being. Promise, in that by burrowing into the conceptual soil of
this system, I could deepen my self-understanding.
As the daughter of a surge on and the granddaughter  of two
surgeons, my early life was steeped in the cauldron of medicine
brewed over several generations. Enthusiasm for healing was
contagious, and I became infected. As a child I was impressed by my
father’s devoti on and satisfaction. He rushed to the hospital day or
night to opera te on a man lacerated in a motorcycle accident or a
child threatened by a ruptured appendix. Lives would have been lost
without his heroic intervention.
The role of doctor and the appeal of medicine came naturally—
but why Chinese medicine? The ideology of Chinese medicine
immediately captivated me by its stark contrast to the perspective of
Western medical science. I had never been comfortable thinking of
myself in my father’s language of electrolytes and blood-g as ratios, a
collection of quantities and statistics. The Chinese medical
vocabulary contained metaph ors from nature like Wood, Fire, Earth,
Metal, and Water, Heat, Wind, and Cold.* This cosmological
description of human process conrmed what I knew intuitively to
be so—that what moves the world outside moves within me—that
subject and object are two aspects of one phenomenal world. As
peculiarly outside my cultural context as it was, Chinese  medicine
felt familiar. What enticed me even more than my sense of
continuity with family tradition was the anity I felt with its
concepts, and I wondered if the ancient wisdom embedded within
its constructio n of reality could untangle some of our modern
predicaments.
When Efrem and I were rst introduced to acupunctu re at a
seminar at Esalen in the spring of 1972, there was tremendous
upheaval in the world. The Chinese were in the midst of a cultural
revolution, and so were we. During the sixties the concerns I
wrestled with were more social than medical. Many of us were
seeking to antidote the toxicity of racism in the American social
body and heal the wounds inicted by a decade of violence in
Vietnam. I struggled to understand and reconcile how Western
civilization, having achieved some outstanding accomplishments,could so often contribute to rather than alleviate human suering.
How could it perpetuate vast environmental insult and the threat of
nuclear disaster and yet be building a better future?
To remake the world it seemed we needed to rethink it. After all,
solutions depend on how problems are framed, the context within
which they exist. At issue for me was in part how we dened reality
—and the reality assumed by Chinese medicine made sense.
Chinese medicine echoes the logic of quantum physics, which
suggests that we exist in a relative, process-oriented universe in
which there is no “objective” world separable from living subjects.
The essential questions cannot be resolved by measuring static
“things”; rather, answers become stories about interactions and
relationships. Within this paradigm contradictions are not only
sanctioned but prevail, and truth is purely contextual. In contrast
with our conventional Western tendency to draw sharp lines of
distinction, Chinese thought does not strictly determine the
boundaries between rest and motion, time and space, mind and
matter, sickness and health. Chinese medicine transcends the
illusion of separation by inhabiting the reality of a unie d eld,


 should
always be purchased by the hand, not detaching them until they are needed for use. They should also be kept in the
sunshine as much as possible.
SWEET FRUITS.
Dates, figs and seeded raisins constitute a group of the
best foods known to the dietary. They contain about seventy-
five per cent. of carbohydrates, which is sometimes called the
powder of the human system. The black French date, known
as the "Fard Diamond R.," is one of the best varieties
imported to this country.
The Turkish pulled fig, that is, the unpressed fig of the
largest variety obtainable, is much preferable to and more
cleanly than those that have been pressed.
Raisins should never be eaten without discarding the
seeds; therefore, the seeded raisin is always preferable.
EVAPORATED FRUITS.
The process of evaporating the water from! fruits, so they
can be kept from season to season, is of great importance. It
has added one of the greatest luxuries known to the uncooked
bill of fare. In the selection of peaches care should be taken to
secure the largest, best ripened and unpeeled variety. Never
select peaches from which the peeling has been removed,
because the fruit must be taken in  an unripe condition, so that
it is firm enough to peel and handle easily without crushing.
The same rule should apply to the selection of apricots.
Prunes are one of the best evaporated fruits in the
American market. The largest varieties, running from 20 to
30 to the pound, should be. selected for the uncooked table.
OLIVES AND OLIVE OIL.
Olives have become as standard on the American table as
pickles, but we do not recommend their liberal use. The ripe
olive has something to reco mmend it; mainly because it was
allowed to get ripe. Pure oliv e oil occupies a conspicuous and
necessary place on the uncooked bill of fare. For those who
cannot thoroughly masticate nuts—because of defective
teeth—olive oil, or even good peanut oil, affords one of the
most necessary articles of diet. An ordinary body requires
each twenty-four hours from two to two and a half ounces of
pure fat (fuel). The required quantity of nuts may be eaten,
but unless mastication is perfect, they do not contribute to the
body all the fats they contain, while olive oil overcomes
completely this difficulty.
MILK AND HONEY.
Milk and honey seem to be the only two things in
existence that were made primarily for no purpose except
food. All other articles upon wh ich people subsist were
created for some other purpose. All cereals, legumes, fruits,
nuts and vegetables in the great scheme of nature, grow
wholly to reproduce themselves; but the primary purpose of
milk and honey, when they are created, is for food. They
seem to have no other purpose to fulfill.
In order to be sure of securing pure honey it is best to
purchase it in the comb. Pure milk as it comes from the cow should contain
twelve to fourteen per cent solids and from three and a half to
four and five eighths per cent. cream. Pure milk is one of the
best proportioned foods known to science. Great care should
be exercised, therefore, in its selection. The best results are
obtainable when it is taken unskimmed, as nature has
proportioned its nutritive elements in accordance with the
requirements of the body. The custom of salting butter is
altogether wrong, and inexcusable from a hygienic
standpoint. It had its origin, no doubt, in the fact that it
became commercially necessary in order to preserve it for the
purpose of shipping, transporting and marketing. During the
last few years fresh or sweet butter has come into general use
in all the large cities and well-appointed hotels and cafes. In
Paris, where the culinary art is studied and kept at a higher
standard than at any other city in the world, it is considered
an offense to serve salted butter. It is taken for granted that
the article is aged and would have spoiled had it not been
preserved with salt.
FOOD COMBINATIONS.

NEARLY  every article of food known, as bad as some of
them are, will agree with the stomach if eaten alone or with a
few other articles, in normal quantities, whose chemical
properties harmonize. When we say that certain things do not
agree with us, the fact is that these things do not agree with
themselves. The truth is, we have eaten a combination of
things that do not agree one with the other; and the stomach,
being the receptacle of this chemical disturbance, is made the
sufferer. The question of combinations is extremely important
in cooked foods, because the tendency of modern cookery is
to mix, to jumble together an innumerable number of things
and pour over them condiments, sauces and dressings that are
composed of dozens of other ingredients, until it becomes
utterly impossible to ascertain by any method of calculation
how many different articles compose one whole. While it is
always well to observe correct combinations, it is in reality of
secondary importance, for in subsisting on uncooked foods
the natural tendency is towards simplicity. This is one of the
greatest virtues following their adoption. In the beginning
many are likely to desire each meal to be composed of a large
number of articles. They like to see it spread around; they
want to see the table covered; they want to see it groaning
beneath a load, simply because th ey were raised that way.
They have no standard to measure from, except a cooked
standard; but this optical appetite soon wears off, and the
taste and delicious flavors that are developed by combining
two or three things, lead the elementary student to ignore
numerical display and make a meal upon three or four things.
A very delicious taste will be developed by eating fruits
and nuts together, care being taken to masticate the nuts
thoroughly before the fruits are put into the mouth. If this rule
is observed in eating vegetables and nuts, the same delightful
taste will be experienced.
The following combinations have been found by
experience to be chemically harmonious, healthful and very
nutritious:
Flaked wheat, with nuts, dates and cream.
Flaked wheat, nuts, honey, milk and cream.
Combination cereal with grated nuts and cream.
Egg-nog, protoid nuts, dates, lettuce salad with olive oil
and cream.
Cold slaw with olive oil, protoid nuts, unfired bread,
sweet apple with thick cream.
The following articles compose three ideal meals for a
perfectly normal person:

Breakfast.
One red apple with combination nut butter.
One ounce protoid nuts.   Five or six black dates.
One glass Milk. Luncheon.
Sauce dish Combination Cereal. One ounce Pecan Meats.
Two Turkish pulled Figs.  One ounce protoid nuts.
Cold Slaw with Olive Oil.  Two cakes of Unfired Bread.
Four prunes with thick cream.  Sweet Butter.
Glass of Egg-nog.
Dinner.
Two ounces Nut Meats.
Vegetable Salad with Hygeia Dressing.
Two or three cakes Unfired Bread. Combination nut butter.
Very ripe Banana with thick cream.
Pint of Whole Milk.

There is a popular opinion among the majority of people
that appetite, that is, a desire for food, is an evidence of good
health. This is one of the serious mistakes into which people
have gradually evolved. Irrita tion of the mucous membranes
of the stomach is one of the most serious and unhealthy
conditions with which this much -abused organ is afflicted;
and while in this condition, it ca lls with ferocity for food, the
satisfying of which has killed suddenly hundreds of
thousands of people whose death is attributed nearly always
by the learned doctors to heart failure. And we agree with
them completely. We have ne ver known any other method of
demise, except for the heart to fail. It is unquestionably the
customary way to die, and it matters but little whether the
"heart failed" on account of being shot, beheaded by a Cuban
machete, or on account of an overloaded stomach,—the
doctor's "heart-failure" theory is safely correct.
There are five different classes of food; there are five
different digestive organs and fi ve different kinds of digestive
fluids.
The five classes of foods are, water, proteids,
carbohydrates, fat and mineral salts. The five organs of
digestion are, the mouth, stomach, liver, pancreas and
intestinal glands.
The five different digestive fluids are, saliva, gastric
juice, pancreatic juice, bile and intestinal juices.
All the different kinds of food contain more or less water.
All of the different digestive fluids are composed largely of
water.
Foods classed under the head of proteids are composed
largely of nitrogen, and embrace albumen in animal foods,
the gluten and gelatine in cereals, cellulose in vegetables, and
the casein in milk and cheese.
The foods classed under the head of carbohydrates


,	the	data	have	been	traditionally	ignored	or	discarded	as
noise	or	chaos.	The	Newtonian	universe	is	therefore	definable,	logical,
predictable,	and	coincides	with	linguistics,	conventional	semantics,	and
explanations	by	reason	of	causality.
					This	is	also	the	realm	of	the	ego	where	perception	sets	up	the	categories
of	the	‘opposites’.	The	underlying	weakness	of	this	paradigm	is	that	it
projects	the	mental	mechanisms	of	cognition	onto	a	presumed	and
purportedly	self-existent	‘objective’	universe	that	exists	independently	of
the	observer.	This	paradigm	fails	to	recognize	the	crucial	and	ever-present
substratum	of	subjectivity	that	is	the	basis	of	all	experience	and
observation	or	so-called	scientific	description.	Therefore,	this	deficiency
reveals	an	underlying	epistemological	flaw	in	that	all	purported	objectivity
rests	solely	upon	subjectivity	that	is	present	as	a	necessary	substrate	of	all
that	is	‘objectively’	possible.
					To	merely	state	that	objectivity	exists	is	already	a	subjective	statement.
All	information,	knowledge,	and	the	totality	of	all	experience	are	the
product	of	subjectivity,	which	is	an	absolute	requirement	intrinsic	to	life,
awareness,	existence,	and	thought.
					It	is	not	possible	to	make	any	statement	that	is	not	inherently	subjective
as	its	substratum.	Based	on	perception	are	the	animal	world,	sensation,	and
the	human	emotions	and	motivations	of	like	and	dislike.	Thesesubsequently	elaborate	into	psychological	mechanisms,	attitudes,	and
individuality.	In	the	world	of	perception,	differences	are	all-important,	all-
defining,	and	spell	out	value,	desirability,	and	pleasure/displeasure	within
the	contrasting	sets	of	opposites	of	attraction	and	aversion.	This	leads	to
either	seeking	or	avoidance	and	the	determination	of	value	and	desirability
that	then	become	the	mainspring	of	society.
					In	contrast	to	the	tangible	and	visible	linear,	sequential	world	of	cause,
effect,	and	form	based	on	perception,	there	is	the	infinite,	all-
encompassing	domain	described	as	‘nonlinear’.	It	has	only	recently	been
addressed	by	science	in	the	fields	now	labeled	‘chaos	theory’	and
‘nonlinear	dynamics’.	The	study	of	nonlinear	dynamics	was	only	recently
occasioned	by	the	advent	of	rapid	modern	computers	which	could	detect
ultra-minute	events	that	had	previously	been	ignored	as	stochastic
(meaningless),	indefinable,	and	outside	the	world	of	predictable	order.
					In	order	to	be	‘objective’,	science	excluded	the	essentially	human
elements	of	experience	other	than	intellections.	In	contrast,	psychiatry	and
psychoanalysis	dealt	with	the	unseen	domain	of	feelings,	options,
meaning,	value,	significance,	and	the	very	essence	of	life	itself.	All	life	in
its	essence	is	nonlinear,	nonmeasurable,	and	nondefinable.	It	is	purely
subjective.
					All	that	is	really	meaningful	and	significant	in	human	life	is	nonlinear,
invisible,	and	unmeasurable.	It	is	the	domain	of	spirituality,	life,
consciousness,	awareness,	and	existence	itself.	It	is	the	domain	of	the
subjective	and	the	capacity	for	experiencing	without	which	knowledge
would	have	no	value.	This	profound	substrate	has	been	ignored	by	science,
which	relegated	it	to	the	‘lesser’	significance	or	importance	of	philosophy,
metaphysics,	and	mysticism.
					Qualities	of	experience	that	are	of	crucial	importance	to	human	life,
such	as	love,	inspiration,	respect,	joy,	happiness,	peace,	satisfaction,
completion,	and	fulfillment,	have	been	relegated	by	science	to	the	‘warm
and	fuzzy’	questionable	realities.	It	was	therefore	thought	that	such
subjects	were	‘unscientific’	and	thereby	consigned	to	philosophy	and
literature.	Even	psychology	was	downsized	to	experimental	data	and	the
Skinner	and	Pavlovian	theories	where	white	mice	and	levers	produced
comforting	data	of	reasonable	statistical	significance	of	stimulus	and
response	in	the	pristine	atmosphere	of	the	academic	laboratory.
					The	nonlinear	domain	is	invisible,	without	form,	and	beyond	time,
dimension,	or	measurement.	It	includes	qualities	and	meanings,	and	power
emanates	from	its	intrinsic	essence.	The	source	of	power	and	creation	is	in
the	invisible,	nonlinear	domain	and	by	the	exercise	of	will	can	result	inform.	The	visible	world	is	therefore	the	world	of	effects	and	the	interaction
of	forces.	It	is	out	of	inspiration	and	volition	that	action	arises	by	assent	of
the	will,	which	has	the	capacity	to	activate	possibilities	or	options.
					For	simplification,	the	characteristics	of	linear	as	compared	to
nonlinear	can	be	listed.	It	is	to	be	realized,	however,	that	they	are	not
separate	but	mutually	inclusive,	and	that	the	linear	is	contained	within	the
nonlinear,	just	as	all	form	is	included	within	the	formless.	These	are,
therefore,	not	two	different	realms	but	are	the	same	viewed	from	two
different	points.	In	common	parlance,	we	speak	of	digital	versus	analog,
left	brain	versus	right	brain,	holistic	versus	specific,	or	limited	versus
unlimited	to	imply	that	there	are	two	different,	contrasting	approaches	to
reality.

Newtonian
Linear
Nonlinear
Duality
Nonduality
Form
Formless
Ego
Spirit
Material
Nonmaterial
Visible
Invisible
Force
Power
Time
Timeless
Location
Nonlocal
Limited
Unlimited
Duration
Eternal
Perception
Vision
Quality
Essence
Know	about
Be
Dimension
Immeasurable
Tangible
Intangible
Desire
Inspire
Material
Spiritual
Local
Diffuse
Motion
Immobile
Move
Still
Audible
Silent
Mathematical
UnpredictableTravel
Stationery
Fact
Meaning
Difference
Sameness
Separate
Oneness
Distinct
Diffuse
Start	–	Stop
Continuous
Finite
Infinite
Duration
Timeless
Structure
Quality
Effect
Source
Sequential
Simultaneous
Precise
General
Controllable
Useable
Exhaustible
Inexhaustible
Depleted
Ever	Present
Observe
Know
Content
Context
Material
Life
Object
Subject
Without
Within
Exclusive
Inclusive
Physical
Metaphysical
Thing
Witness
Object
Observer
Either	–	Or
Both
Here	–	There
Everywhere
Divided
United
Part
Whole
Forcing
Facilitating
Adrenaline
Endorphin
Desire
Fulfill
Tension
Relaxation
Incomplete
Complete
Caesar
God
Cost
Value
It
IDependent
Independent
Illusion
Reality
Temporal
Infinite
Secular
Spiritual
Describable
Ineffable
Deplete
Sustain
Observed
Awareness
Desire
Motivate
Change
Unchanging
Vulnerable
Invulnerable
Thought
Consciousness
Want
Satisfaction
Conflict
Peace
Stress
Ease
Proof
Self-evident
Price
Value
Impulsive
Spontaneous
Relative
Absolute
Past	–	Future
Now
Limited
Transcendent
Scientific
Mystical
Object
Field
Receive
Give
Definition
Meaning
Q:	How	does	one	transcend	the	opposites?
A:	Consciousness	does	so	automatically	when	understanding	occurs	through
reflection,	familiarity,	prayer,	meditation,	or	inspiration.	It	is	also
facilitated	by	the	words	or	level	of	consciousness	of	the	teacher.	What	is
impossible	at	one	level	of	consciousness	becomes	obvious	and	simple	at	a
higher	one.	A	human	being	is	both	spirit	and	body;	therefore,	it	is	at	all
times	actually


 and into your genitals.
3. Repeat this movement for a total of 12 times.
NOTE: At all times keep pressure on your hands so that a slight
warmth may be felt as you massage your leg. Breathe normally
throughou t the exercise. You may also practice this exercise by just
concentrating on rubbing the area from the knee to the thigh. This is
the most important part of the exercise.
Downward Massage
By massaging the outside of the legs in a downward fashion, problems
such as high blood pressure, water retention, and obesity (all of which are
163 The Internal Exercises
associated with the gallbladder, bladder, and stomach meridians) can be
corrected or prevented from occurring. Problems of bursitis and arthritis
can also be reversed or at least prevented from degenerating further.
This exercise may be done standing, sitting, or lying down. The standing
position also helps to stretch the hamstrings, knees, tendons, and calves of
the legs and brings energy down into the toes.
1. Place the palms of your hands on the outside of your thighs.
2. In a continuous motion, rub your hands down your legs along the
outside of your knees and calves until you come to the ankles.
3. Repeat this movement for a total of 12 times. Breathe norm ally as
you perfonn the exercise.
This movement helps dispel the energy from the body. This is why it
helps problems such as obesity, water retention, and high blood pressure.
You will want to do this in the morning as at that time it is preferable to
energize the body by practicing the upward massage only.
\
\
\ l I
\ \ I I
'\ \,' I
\ \'J, \ \'•• I �
I \1\,' �I I
I I.�.1 I II
\'�\�/,,·I
\ 'f''I'{
'1 ·�x
a. Upward Meridians. b. Downwa rd Meridians.
Figures 8la and 8lb. Meridian Massage: Leg Rubbing.
164 The Internal Exercises
Arm Massage
Just as with the leg massage, you may massage your arms to stimulate
the heart, lung, and Heart Constrictor meridians which run down the inside
of the arm and the Triple Heater, large intestine, and small intestine
meridians which run up on the outside of the arms toward the shoulders.
1. Place your left palm on the inside of your right shoulder.
2. In a continuous motion, rub your palm down through the inside of
your elbow to the tips of your fingers.
3. Bring your left palm over your fingers and continue to rub up the
back of your hand, through the outside of your elbow and onto your
shoulder.
4. Repeat this movement for a total of 12 times.
S. Reverse the above by bringing your right hand onto your left arm,
rubbing first downward on the inside of the arms, then upward along
the outside of the arms. Repeat this also for a total of 12 times.
......'
\
I •
I
"
Figures 82a and 82b. Meridia n Massage: Arm Rubbing.
165 The Internal Exercises
The efficacy of the Internal Exercises is based on the development of the
proper flow of energy throughout the meridians in the body. Each exercise
is designed to stimulate a particular meridian, or, as in the case of the
Meridian Meditation, the entire meridian system. By learning the Internal
Exercises, especially the Meridian Massage, we are able to help our bodies
gain control over the very energy upon which all life depends. We can then
use this energy to heal both ourselves and others, and to insure our
continuing health and spiritual growth and even our potential immortality. PART ill
ADVANCED
LIVING 7
Taoist Meditative,
Contemplative,
and Breathing Exercises
In addition to the physical exercises, the ancient Taoists discovered
invaluable methods of meditation and breathing, such as the Meridian
Meditation, Brain Cleansing and Breathing Exercises. They used these to
augment the energy within their bodies, to help provide for a constan t and
unimpeded flow of energy along the meridians, as well as providing a tool
for observing inner states of weakness and disease. They also discovered
practical contemplative exercises, such as the North Star Meditation,
Candlelight and Sunlight Contemplations, and Concentration Exercise,
which were used to focus their energy in desired directions toward specific
goals, such as a new job or financia l security or to cultivate the mind or
peace of mind.
The Taoists developed meditative breathing techniques which were
concerned with transmuting the flow of the generative energy. Instead of
being discharged to procreate offspring or to waste away, it is retained in
the body for purification and transmutation into positive vitality. These Taoist Medita tive, Contempl ative, and Breathing Exe rcises
technique�, called Immortal Breathing (the Small and Large Heavenly
Cycles), 8fC a series of comp rehensive methods designed to create an
alchemical change within the practitioner to bring him or her into a final
state of self-realization and immortality.
The Taoist exercises, including the physical, meditati ve, contemp lative,
and breathing techniques, are aimed at the unification of the spirit, mind,
and body. If an individual is forever unified in mind, body, and spirit, he or
she will never die, for death is a separation of spirit and body. Unification is
the way of God, or life, and separation is the way of Satan, or death. With
these principles in mind, one can isolate true teachings from the false: those
which are true will promote life, and those which are false will promote
separation of spirit and body. Upon practicin g the Internal Exercises the
practitioner will immediately recognize the exercises as being the former,
for friction between the spirit, mind, and body will be reduced until there is
only complete unification, oneness, and stillness-the realization of Tao.
The fi� step in all the Internal Exercises encourages the practitioner to
do somet ·ng, to take some kind of action either through specific physical
orconcen rative tasks. Then these will enable the practitioner to go beyond
I
action into the Tao, or a state of ac tion without action. The practice of the
breathing and meditative aspects of the Internal Exercises leads one into a
realization of this second step-that of non-action.
According to Taoist theory, realizing the Tao occurs in three stages. The
first stage is called you wei, meaning "action", or diligent practice. By
working hard, we will arrive at the higher stage, which in Chinese is called
wu wei, meaning ''no action''. At this point we need not attend to
everything personally in order to do everything. However, for the entering
into the Tao to occur, we must learn that in every state of non -action there is
action, in order to enter into the highest stage, called wu bu wei, where
everything is done without any need for action.
In the pur suit of lear ning, every day something is acqu ired.
In the pur suit of the Tao, every day som ething is droppe d.
Less and less is done
Until ;,on -action is achie ved.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undon e.
The world is ruled by letting things take their course.
It cannot be ruled by interfering.
Tao Te Ching XLVIII
170 Taoist Medit ative, Contempl ative, and Breathing Exercises
By practicing the Internal Exercises, man prepares himself for this final
ttansformation which occurs in a state beyond time and space, in which
man realizes his true natural place in the universe. •
MERIDIAN MEDITATION
Utilizing the pathways of energy which already exist in the body,
Meridian Meditation enables its practitioner to tum her/his eyes inward to
her/his own body and detect states of weakness as if she/he were seeing
them clearly with her/his eyes. Once properly versed in this discipline, no
one will be better equipped than you to diagnose your own state of physical
health.
Modem day machines and analytical techniques (X-rays, scanners,
blood and urine analysis, etc.) are useful in diagnosing certain ktiseases,
especially inflammatory diseases, but they have more problems di�gnosing
degenerative diseases related to nerve and energy problems which subtly
weaken organs and tissues and later lead to complex medical problems.
These problems are detected only when it is too late. Weakness is the first
step toward disease. If we have no weakness es, then it will be im�ssible to
contract a serious illness. Through the technique of Meridian Meditation
we are able to enter into our own energy pathways and detect any illness
before it is too late. Then when we discover a problem such as an energy
blockage, we can use the different modes of healing available to us� such as
Internal Exercises, herbs, Tui-Na, etc.
Meridian Meditation can often be used to uncover the ori�ns of a
weakness first thought to be located in another point in


ed	in	this	book,	in	addition	to	carrying	out	the	liver	cleanses.

Q.	I	have	a	lot	of	moles	on	my	arms	and	forearms,	some	that	have	developed	within
the	last	year.	Is	this	an	indication	of	gallstones,	the	same	as	liver	spots	on	the	back	of
the	hands,	or	brown	patches	on	the	temple	area?	Do	moles	and	skin	discolorations
disappear	as	the	liver	is	cleansed	of	gallstones?

A.
	Most	of	these	skin	blemishes	appear	in	direct	relation	to	existing	or	newly
developing	gallstones	in	the	bile	ducts	of	the	liver	and	gallbladder.	Many	of	them	tend	to
fade	and	disappear	once	the	liver	and	gallbladder	are	completely	clean	or,	in	some	cases,
after	releasing	most	of	the	gallstones.	Another	cause	of	moles,	freckles,	and	liver	spots	is	a
deficiency	in	ionic	selenium	(see	“Take	Ionic	Essential	Minerals”in	Chapter	5).	To	remove
moles	through	external	applications,	see	my	book
Timeless	Secrets	of	Health	and
Rejuvenation.

Q.	How	many	colonics	does	a	person	generally	need	to	perform	to	be	clean?

A.
	The	number	of	colon	treatments	required	varies	with	the	individual	and	his	or	her
prevailing	condition,	diet,	and	lifestyle.	In	some	cases,	the	waste	is	so	hard	and	affixed	to
the	colon	wall	that	it	may	take	a	series	of	up	to	seven	colonics	to	sufficiently	soften	and
loosen	this
accumulated	fecal	material.
	Some	people	may	not	have	startling	results	for	the
first	few	treatments.	That	is	why	a	series	of	at	least	three	treatments,	once	per	week,	is
recommended	and	advisable	for	anyone	who	has	never	done	any	colon	cleansing.	It	is	also
important	that	you	monitor	your	colon	health	by	listening	to	any	pain	signals	or	stiffness
that	may	occur	in	the	neck,	shoulders,	low	back,	pelvic	area,	or	arms.	These	aches	and
pains	will	let	you	know	that	it	is	time	again	for	another	colon	cleanse.	To	detect	any
hidden	areas	of	pain	or	tension	in	the	colon,	you	may	gently	press	the	abdominal	area
about	2	to	4	inches	away	from	the	navel—on	the	left	of	it,	above	it,	and	on	the	right	of	it.
Check	for	any	tender	spots	or	hardness.

Q.	Do	colonics	have	harmful	side	effects?
	A.
	Colonics	have	no	known	harmful	side	effects.	It	is	possible,	however,	for	some
people	to	have	cold-like	symptoms	or	a	headache	after	a	colonic.	The	cause	is	toxins	that
have	been	lying	dormant	in	the	colon	and	are	now	being	flushed	out.	Some	waste	deposits,
though,	may	only	be	partially	removed,	not	cleared	out,	and	a	small	amount	may	be
reabsorbed	into	the	body.	Such	a	healing	crisis	generally	passes	quickly,	and	the	person
will	realize	a	greater	feeling	of	well-being	with	further	treatments.	Having	dealt	with
colonic	irrigation	for	nearly	two	decades,	I	have	not	yet	seen	any	ill	effects.

Q.	Can	colonics	damage	normal	intestinal	flora?

A.
	The	normal	intestinal	flora,	consisting	of	friendly	bacteria,	will	not	be	disturbed.	The
first	half	of	the	colon	is	responsible	for	generating	and	gathering	the	intestinal	flora
required	for	balanced	colon	functions.	The	appendix	serves	as	the	main	breeding	place	for
beneficial	bacteria.	When	food	is	not	digested	properly,	feces	tend	to	attach	to	the	inside	of
the	bowel.	Layer	upon	layer	of	fecal	encrustation	inhibits	the	lining	of	the	intestine	from
producing	the	necessary
intestinal	flora
.	This	also	leads	to	poor	lubrication	of	the
intestinal	lining	and	intensifies	the	congestion	and	generates
toxemia
.	This,	in	turn,	upsets
the	normal
acid-alkaline	balance
	(pH)	and	further	inhibits	the	growth	of	beneficial
bacteria.	Consequently,	this	imbalance	invites	destructive	bacteria	to	overpopulate	the	gut.
(Destructive	bacteria	help	to	break	down	waste,	but	produce	strong	toxins	as	a	result	of
this	action.)	Colon	cleansing	helps	to	restore	the	normal	pH-value	in	the	bowel.	In	this
more	supportive	environment,	the
beneficial	bacteria
	will	once	again	thrive,	and	disease-
causing	bacteria	will	find	it	more	difficult	to	develop.
	Afterword

Cleansing	the	liver	is	not	something	that	was	invented	recently.	All	ancient	cultures	and
civilizations	knew	of	the	necessity	to	keep	the	liver	clean.	Plenty	of	useful	cleansing
formulas	still	exist	that	were	handed	down	through	the	generations,	either	by	ancestral
education	or	by	traditional	healers.	Although	the	exact	mechanisms	of	these	time-tested
cleansing	procedures	were	not	as	well	understood	then	as	they	are	today	(through	methods
of	scientific	understanding	and	investigation),	they	are	no	less	valid,	scientific,	and
effective	than	any	newly	proven	therapy.	Medical	science	has	yet	to	come	to	terms	with
the	fact	that	numerous	useful	methods	of	healing	have	worked	for	millions	of	people
throughout	the	ages	and	can	make	all	the	difference	in	the	treatment	of	the	most
threatening	diseases	that	plague	modern	societies.

Every	house	and	appliance	requires	some	form	of	maintenance	or	repair	work	from	time
to	time;	otherwise,	it	will	lose	its	ability	to	carry	out	the	true	purpose	for	which	it	was
designed.	The	same	principle	applies	to	the	liver.	No	other	organ	in	the	body	besides	the
brain	is	as	complex	and	has	as	many	vital	functions	as	the	liver.	We	clean	our	teeth	and
wash	our	skin	every	day	because	we	know	that	exposure	to	food,	air,	chemicals,	and
normal	metabolic	processes	tends	to	leave	residues	that	can	make	us	feel	unclean	and
uncomfortable.	Not	many	people,	however,	think	that	the	same	principle	of	cleaning	also
applies	to	the	inner	parts	of	the	body.	The	lungs,	skin,	intestines,	kidneys,	and	liver	deal
with	a	tremendous	amount	of	internally	produced	waste,	which	is	a	necessary	by-product
of	breathing,	digestion,	and	metabolism.
Under	normal	circumstances,	the	body	can	properly	deal	with	the	metabolic	waste
products	that	accumulate	daily	by	eliminating	them	safely	from	the	system.	These	normal
circumstances	include	eating	nutritious	and	organic	foods,	living	in	a	pollution-free
environment,	having	plenty	of	physical	movement	and	exercise,	and	living	a	balanced,
joyful	lifestyle.	Yet	how	many	of	us	can	claim	to	live	such	fulfilling	lives?	What	happens
when	our	diet,	lifestyle,	and	environment	are	no	longer	balanced	enough	to	suit	the	body’s
requirements	for	energy,	nourishment,	and	flawless	circulation?	One	of	the	organs	that
suffers	the	most	from	an	overload	of	toxic	chemicals,	poor	quality	of	food,	and	lack	of
exercise	is	the	liver.	Hence,	it	is	of	utmost	importance	for	everyone	who	is	concerned
about	their	health	to	ensure	that	their	liver	is	cleansed


 and
future whenever they are not needed. Step out of the time dimension as
much as possible in everyday l ife. If you find it hard to enter the Now
directly, start by observing the habitual tendency of your mind to want to
escape from the Now. Y ou will observe that the future is  usually
imagined as either better or worse than the present. If the imagined
future is better, it gives you h ope or pleasurable anticipation. If it is
worse, it creates anxiety. Both are illusory. Through self-observation,
more pr esence  comes into your life automatically. The moment you
realize y ou are not present, you ar e  p resent. Whene ver you are abl e to
observe your mind, you are no longer trapped in it. Another f actor has
come in, something that is not of the mind: the witnessing presence.
Be present as the watcher of your mind — of your thou ghts and
emotions as well as your reactions in various situations. Be at least as
interested in your reactions as in the situation or person that ca uses youto react.  Notice also how often  your attention is in the past o r future.
Don’ t ju dge or analyze what you observe. W atch the thought,  feel the
emotion, observ e the reaction. Don’ t make a personal problem out of
them. Y ou will then feel some thing more powerful than any of those
things th at you observe: the sti ll, observing presence itself behind the
content of your mind, the silent watcher.

Intense p resence is needed when certain situations trigger a reaction with
a strong  emotion al char ge, such as when your self-image is threatened, a
challenge comes into your life that triggers fear, things “go wrong,” or an
emotional complex from the past is brought up. In those instances, the
tendency is for you to become “unconscious.” The reaction or emotion
takes yo u over — you “becom e” it. Y ou act it out. Y ou justify, make
wrong, a ttack, d efend...except that it isn’ t you, it’ s the reactive  pattern,
the mind in its habitual survival mode.
Identification with the mind gives it more ener gy; observation of the
mind w ithdraws ener gy from it. Identification with the mind creates
more tim e; observation of the mind opens up the dimension of the
timeless. The ener gy that is withdrawn from the mind turns into
presence. Once you can feel what it means to be present, it becomes
much easier to simply choose to step out of the time dimension whenever
time is not needed for practical purposes and move more deeply into the
Now. This does not impair your  ability to use time — past or future —
when yo u need to refer to it for p ractical matters. Nor does it im pair your
ability to use your mind. In fact, it enhances it. When you do use your
mind, it will be sharper, more focused.
LETTING GO OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TIME
Learn to use tim e in the practical aspects of your life — we may call this
“clock time” — but immediately return to present-moment awarenesswhen th ose prac tical matters have been dealt with. In this way, t here will
be no buildup o f “psychologica l time,” which is identification with the
past and continuous compulsive projection into the future.
Clock time is not just making an appointment or planning a trip. It
includes learning  from the past so that we don’ t repeat the same mistakes
over and  over. Setting goals and working toward t hem. P redicting the
future by  means of patterns and laws, physical, mathematical a nd so on,
learned from the past and taking appropriate action on the basis of our
predictions.
But even  here, within the sphere of practical living, where we c annot do
without reference to past and f uture, the present moment remains the
essential factor: Any lesson from the past becomes relevant and is
applied now. Any planning as well as working toward achieving a
particular goal is done now.
The enli ghtened person’ s main focus of attention is always the Now, but
they are still peripherally aware of time. In other words, they continue to
use clock time but are free of psychological time.
Be alert  as you practice this so  that you do not unwittingly transform
clock time into psychological ti me. For example, if you made a mistake
in the past and learn from it now, you are using clock time. On the other
hand, if you dw ell on it mentally, and self-criticism, remorse, or guilt
come up, then you are making the mistake into “me” and “mi ne”: Y ou
make it part of your sense of sel f, and it has become psychological time,
which is always linked to a f alse sense of identity. Nonfor giveness
necessarily implies a heavy burden of psychological time.
If yo u set yourself a goal and w ork toward it, you are using clock time.
Y ou are aware of where you want to go, but you honor and give your
fullest a ttention to the step tha t you are taking at this moment. If you
then bec ome excessively focuse d on the goal, perhaps because you are
seeking happine ss, fulfillment, or a more complete sense of self in it, the
Now is no longer honored. It be comes reduced to a mere stepp ing stone
to the future, with no intrinsic value. Clock time then turns into
psychological time. Y our life’ s journey is no longer an adventur e, just an
obsessive need to arrive, to att ain, to “make it.” Y ou no longer see or
smell th e flowers by the waysid e either, nor are you aware of th e beautyand the miracle of life that unfo lds all around you when you are present
in the Now.

I can  see  the supr eme importanc e of the Now, but I cannot quite go along
with you when you say that time is a complete illusion.

When I say “time is an illusion,” my intention is not to make a
philosophical st atement. I am ju st reminding you of a simple fact — a
fact so obvious that you may fi nd it hard to grasp and may ev en find it
meaningless — but once fully re alized, it can cut like a sword th rough all
the min d-created layers of complexity and “problems.” Let me say it
again: th e prese nt moment is all you ever have. There is never a time
when your life is not “this moment.” Is this not a fact?
THE INSANITY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TIME
Y ou will not have any doubt that psychological time is a mental disease
if yo u look at its collective manifestations. They occur, for exa mple, in
the form  of ideologies such as  communism, national socialism or any
nationalism, or rigid religious belief systems, which operate under the
implicit assump tion that the highest good lies in the future and that
therefore the end justifies the means. The end is an idea, a point in the
mind-projected future, when salvation in whatever form — happiness,
fulfillment, equality, liberation, and so on — will be attai ned. Not
infrequently, the means of getting there are the enslavement, torture, and
murder of people in the present.
For example, it is estimated that as many as fifty million people were
murdered to further the cause o f communism, to bring about a “better
world” in Russia, China, and other countries.2 Thi s is a chilling exampleof h ow belief in a future heaven creates a present hell. Can the re be any
doubt that psychological time is a serious and dangerous mental illness?
How does this m ind pattern operate in your  l ife? Are you always trying
to ge t so mewhere other than where you are? Is most of your doing  just a
means to  an end? Is fulfillment a lways just around the corner or  confined
to sh ort-lived pleasures, such a s sex, food, drink, drugs, or thrills and
excitement? Are you always focused on becoming, achieving, and
attaining, or alternatively chasin g some new thrill or pleasure? Do you
believe that if y ou acquire more things you will become more fulfilled,
good enough, or psychologically complete? Are you waiting for a man or
woman to give meaning to your life?
In the normal, mind-identified or unenlightened state of consciousness,
the power and infinite creative potential that lie concealed in the Now are
completely obscured by psych ological time. Y our life then loses its
vibrancy, its freshness, its sense  of wonder. The old patterns of thought,
emotion, behavi or, reaction, and desire are acted out in endle ss repeat
performances, a script in your mind that gives you an identity of sorts but
distorts or covers up the reality of the Now. The mind then creates an
obsession with the future as an escape from the unsatisfactory present.
NEGA TIVITY AND SUFFERING HA VE THEIR ROOTS
 IN TIME
But the belief th at the futur e wil l be better than the pr esent is not always
an illusion. The pr esent


or Jesus Lechuga Valdez died
suddenly of heart failure. (See Illustration 21-2 depicting Senor Lechuga).
A F OUR TEEN -YEAR RECOVER Y FROM OVARIAN  CANCER
In Nove mber 1999, while taking maintenance care at the Oasis Hots-
pital, the only official Gerson Therapy facility in Tijuana, Mexico, fifty-
one-year -old Sandra Whitwell, now of Stuart, Virginia, described her
permanent recovery from carcinoma of the ovary. Sandra currently works as
a nanny and nutritionist. Fourteen years ago ovarian cancer had threatened
her life; today she shares her story about using the Gerson Therapy to cure
herself of the most common gynecologic malignancy.
As the fourth most frequent cause of cancer death in American women,
ovarian cancer ’s mortality rate exceeds that for all of the other gynecologic
malignancies combined. Every seventieth woman develops it, and 1 in
every 100 dies from the tumorous growth at its primary site or from
metastases. Arising from cells covering the surface of an ovary (epithelial
carcinoma), in 1997 in the United States 26,800 ovarian cancers were
diagnosed, whic h caused 14,200 deaths. Subsequent years have shown even
higher incidence. Despite all of the money invested in research by
American taxpayers, the incidence of ovarian cancer is rising steadily.
Cancer of the ovary spreads by a shedding of malignant cells into the
abdominal cavit y and the peritoneum (its covering membrane) and then
implanting on the surface of the liver, the large intestine, the omentum, the
small intestine, the bladder, the diaphragm, or the stomach’ s attached fatty
tissue. Ovarian cancer cells also metastasize to lymph nodes in the pelvis,
aorta, groin, and neck. Talcum powder containing asbestos is suspected as
one of the probable causes.7
Sandra Whitwel l’s ovarian cancer came upon her gradually starting with
the breakdown of her body when she was seventeen years old. Invariably
her menstrual periods were beset with unbearable cramps, and these carried
over to her early twenties when she married Lawrence Whitwell, aNashville, Tennessee, policeman. “My painful menstruation was abnormal
and an indication of ovarian problems to come,” advises Sandra. “By age
twenty-three, cysts had developed on both of my ovaries which were
removed by surgery. Next, endometriosis struck, which required more
surgery to scrape the endometriu m. After each of these two operations I had
been asked by the consulting surgeons as to whether I had ever been
pregnant, and I had not. They never explained why they wanted to know
about pregnancy, but the doctors seemed anxious to perform an
ovariectomy or hysterectomy on me.
“I never gave birth to a child. We adopted our son, Aaron, as a baby. But
then, when he was three years old his daddy was killed in the line of police
duty,” she revea ls. “Ovarian cysts formed again, one of them the size of a
baseball, and these were excised. After recuperating from a third operation
for cyst remova l, I had begun running for exercise—at least four miles a
day. I enjoyed the running and thrived on it. This vigorous daily movement
continued for me over an eight-year period. Early in 1985, however,
running stopped  abruptly for me. I awakened one morning in tremendous
pain and with a distended fluid- filled abdomen [ascites],” describes Sandra.
“The operation that followed for removal of a grapefruit-sized cyst also
included a hysterectomy, which left me feeling awful pain. Two days later
my gynecologis t together with the gynecological surgeon told me I was the
victim of ovarian cancer. They wanted to go back in and take biopsy tissue
from the ovaries and several other or gans.
“Since blood transfusions were required as well, and this was during the
time when AIDS resulted from  such transfusions, I refused the operation
and three pints of blood that went with it. Simultaneously, my health
insurance carrier did not honor our insurance contract. The insurance
company just outright canceled  my coverage,” Sandra states. “Upon my
contacting a lawyer to enforce reimbursement, he informed me that a
loophole in the policy allowed such cancelation under terms stating that this
ovarian cancer was a ‘preexistin g condition.’ I was just out of luck unless I
had lots of money to pay court costs and legal fees for litigation without any
guarantee I would win.
“Having no treatment available to me, I left the hospital after resting for
seven days diagnosed with ovarian cancer. At age thirty-six, I was alone, a
widow, the mother of a seven-year -old son showing diabetic tendencies, and
without income. Except that I owned my Nashville house and some smallcompensation from my husband ’s death, I could not afford the sophisticated
chemotherapy or other toxic modalities being offered by orthodox
medicine. But I do have loving parents living in Stuart, V irginia, who would
do anything to save my life, and they were the people who did just that.
“My mother, who has nursed cancer patients, did research and helped me
in decid ing to do nothing rathe r than take toxic therapy. With assistance
from mom and dad in caring for Aaron, I moved in with my parents. Then a
friend from Alaska sent me information about the Gerson Therapy,” Sandra
says. “Sitting with them in their living room, I remember watching
videotapes showing lectures by Charlotte Gerson. My mom said, ‘This
program makes  so much sense. Feed the immune system and give it a
chance to fight off the cancer itself.’ So not having hospital insurance was a
benefit, because I couldn’ t even consider taking any conventional therapy.
“Accompanied by my mother as companion and caregiver, I traveled to
Tijuana’ s Gerso n Hospital. My intent was to receive the Gers on Therapy
and take instructions in following it at home. The trip occurred in
September 1985, exactly one month after my hysterectomy and cancer
diagnosis. Durin g that short period before learning the Gerson program, I
became what looked like a bag of bones,” describes Sandra. “My weight
loss was excess ive, falling from 120 to 92 pounds. With a height of five
feet, six-and-a-half inches, I looked really skinny. I was weak to the point of
collapse, and I did remain bedridden for four months. Only the love and
devotion of my caregiving parents pulled me through that worst period of
my life.
“But first spend ing ten days at La Gloria Hospital to learn the Gerson
Therapy, and then returning to my parents’ home to be nursed by them,
saved me. I had rented my Nashville house to fellow church members. Then
bringing my son, I moved in with my mother and dad,” expla ins Sandra.
“At the Gerson hospital, I immediately underwent detoxification reactions
—many of them—including emotional depression, many tears, constant
nausea, vomiting, headaches, burning sensations from taking castor oil both
orally and rectally, loss of appe tite, sleeplessness, whole body pain in the
joints, muscles, and bones. And I smelled like permanent-waving solution.
It was my habit  to periodically take hair permanents, perhaps five times a
year, and that poisonous liquid  had permeated my body organs to poison
them. The Gerson Therapy pulle d out those accumulated toxins, and I gave
off the stinky odor of permanent-waving solution. I reeked of perm.”A lesson learned from Sandra Whitwell is that a person becomes what he
or she puts into and onto the body. That is, eat garbagelike foods and you
become garbage. Consume carcinogens and you turn into a walking cancer
factory. Bathe a body part in poison as Sandra did to her head, and you
make the entire  body a recepta cle for cancer. To stay healthy, you must
expose yourself only to good stuf f.
“Out of ignorance, I harmed myself with convenience or so-called
‘beauty’ items. In college, I had my room and the halls of that dormitory
smelling really bad from the permanent-waving liquid. Just think of all the
contaminated air I inhaled. Also, before I knew better, it had been my habit
to drink up to three full, six-cup pots of coffee a day,” admits Sandra. “But
instruction in the Gerson Thera py taught me how to live correctly. At my
parents’ home back then, body  weight began to come back from my dad
and mom making juices for me to drink. They used only fresh, organic
vegetables and fruits, which are more expensive than the supermarket
variety. Original ly, my mother was afraid for my life; she truly thought I
was gone, but then she saw that slowly I was improving.
“It took nearly two years of detoxifying and nourishing my body before
the immune system kicked in and took over against ovaria n cancer. I
observed it do this when one day my temperature rose to 104°F during a
healing reaction. After that point, I just got better and