 juice is one of the most potent of the juices. It should
never be taken alone in quantities of more than one or two ounces at
a time unless mixed with a sufficient quantity of carrot or other raw
vegetable juices such as celery, lettuce, or spinach, and even then, in
not too great a proportion in relation to the volume of other juices. Raw parsley juice has properties which are essential to oxygen
metabolism in maintaining the normal action of the adrenal and thyroid
glands. The elements in parsley are proportioned in such a manner
that they help to maintain the blood vessels, particularly the capillaries
and arterioles in a healthy condition. It is an excellent food for the
genitourinary tract, being of great assistance in conditions of calculi
in the kidneys and bladder, albuminuria, nephritis, and other kidney
troubles. It has been used effectively in dropsy. It is also efficient in every ailment connected with the eyes and
optic nerve system. Weak eyes, ulceration of the cornea, cataracts. 48 conjunctivitis, ophthalmia in all of its stages or laziness of the pupils
have been effectively treated by drinking raw parsley juice mixed
with carrot juice and with carrot, celery, and endive juices. Never drink too great a quantity of raw parsley juice by itself, as
its high concentration may result in a disarrangement of the nervous
system. Taken with other juices properly mixed, it is extremely
beneficial. Strictly speaking, parsley belongs to the herbs classification;
hence, its highly concentrated effect. It is used effectively to help
promote menstrual discharge, particularly in conjunction with beet
juice or with beet, carrot, and cucumber juices. Cramps as a result of
menstrual irregularities have been relieved and frequently corrected
entirely by the regular use of these juices when concentrated starch
and sugar foods have been omitted from the diet. RAW POTASSIUM BROTH
There are many vegetables rich in potassium, the outstanding of
which are carrot, celery, parsley, and spinach. To obtain the full value
of this potassium element, it should be taken as a drink in its raw,
undiluted state so that the body may absorb and assimilate it
completely in its natural form. The organic minerals and salts in this combination of raw
potassium "broth" embrace practically the entire range of those
required by the body. Its effect in reducing excessive acidity in the
stomach has been truly remarkable. There is probably no food more
complete in every respect than this for the human organism. When the sick are unable to assimilate other food, it has been
found that raw potassium broth has usually furnished the nourishment
to bring the patient back to normal. In the case of convalescents, raw
potassium broth is invaluable, and it is astonishing that all hospitals
and sanitoria have not adopted this food as a regular part of their
daily diet. Some people do not find Potassium as palatable as the straight
carrot juice or some of the other juice combinations. We must bear in
mind, however, that when the body is starved for the live atoms of
food so essential for the regeneration of the cells and tissues of the
body, the time has passed when the matter of taste has any bearing
whatever on the choice of the juices we need. As we have previously stated no drug in the entire Pharmacoepia
will supply the body with the live organic food atoms, vitamins, and
49 hormones essential for the regeneration of the wear and tear that results
in sickness and disease. Such food is most quickly obtained by the
body when we drink fresh-raw vegetable juices. The atoms that make up the cells and tissues of our anatomy are
mineral and chemical elements. Our glands, organs, and in fact, every
part of the systems represent combinations of such atoms in certain
definite patterns. It is therefore why we are able to determine that
certain combinations of chemical and live mineral elements in our
food, and particularly in our juices, can nourish corresponding parts
of our body. PARSNIP JUICE
This juice has a very low calcium content and much less sodium,
but is very rich in potassium, phosphorus, sulphur, silicon, and
chlorine. Because of the low calcium-sodium content, the all-around
food value of this vegetable is not as great as that of some of the other
tubers, but the therapeutic value of the juice of its leaves and root
place it high on the list of beneficial juices. The rich silicon-sulphur content is most helpful in correcting the
condition of brittle nails. The phosphorus-chlorine elements are of
particular benefit to the lungs and the bronchial system. Thus making
this juice an excellent food for tubercular and pneumonia victims,
and those afflicted with emphysema. The high potassium content is of such excellent value to the brain
that this juice has been effectively used in many mental disorders. WARNING:The foregoing applies only to the cultivated parsnips. The wild variety must not be used in juices because it contains some
poisonous ingredients. PEPPER JUICE (GREEN)
This juice has an abundance of silicon which is greatly needed by
the nails and the hair. The tear-ducts and sebaceous glands also benefit
greatly from the use of this juice. In combination with carrot juice, in the proportion of one-quarter
to one-half of green pepper juice to the rest of carrot juice, it is an
excellent aid in clearing up skin blemishes, particularly if colonic
irrigations and enemas are taken with sufficient regularity to remove
waste matter from the colon while the cleansing processes within the
body are progressing. 50 Those bothered with gas or wind in the alimentary canal, and
those suffering from colic or flatulence, have found significant relief
from drinking one pint of this juice combination every day. In addition,
one should also drink a pint of carrot and spinach juice per day as
well. Of course, these juices need not be taken at one time. In fact,
drinking them at the rate of one tumblerful at a time with intervals of
one, two, or three hours in between, have given better results. We
prefer to drink them before and between meals. POTATO JUICE
The raw potato contains easily digestible natural sugars which,
upon cooking, are converted into starch. Potatoes should be omitted
from the diet of those suffering from venereal diseases and those
afflicted with aphrodisiac tendencies. The combination of cooked meat
and potatoes intensifies the solanine poison of the potato (an alkaloid
poison more particularly prevalent in potatoes too green in color),
which has an affinity for the nerves controlling the sexual organs;
this, together with presence of uric acid crystals resulting from the
ingestion of meat, may cause excessive irritation of these organs. The juice of raw potatoes, however, has proved very beneficial in
clearing up skin blemishes. This cleansing is due to the high content
of potassium, sulphur, phosphorus, and chlorine in the potato. These
elements, however, are only of value when the potato is raw, in which
state they are composed of live organic atoms. When the potato is
cooked, these are converted into inorganic atoms and, as such, they
are of little or no value for constructive purposes. Fresh-raw organically grown potatoes are very palatable to eat,
many people do like them and they are unquestionably a good food. Raw potato juice has proved to be a healthy cleanser of the system
and to be very beneficial, particularly in combination with carrot
juice. The juice of raw potatoes, combined with that of carrot and celery,
is a boon to those suffering from gastric, nerve, and muscle
disturbances, such as gout and sciatica. In such cases, one pint of this
combination in addition to one pint of carrot, beet, and cucumber
juice daily, has often given complete relief from these discomforts in
a surprisingly short time, provided that meat, fowl, and fish were
eliminated completely from the diet. Some emphysema victims have been helped and found relief in
using a combination of carrot, parsley and raw potato juices. 51 SWEET POTATO, botanically, is not in any way related to the
ordinary or "Irish" potato. It contains one-third more carbohydrate;
in the form of natural sugars than the Irish potato, three times as
much calcium, twice as much sodium, more than twice as much
silicon, and more than four times as much chlorine. The juice of sweet potatoes has, therefore, more general beneficial
value than that of the Irish potato. Care must be exercised in choosing
them, as they are more readily spoiled by bruises and decayed spots,
which quickly affect the whole tuber, than the Irish potatoes, which
will stand rougher and careless handling with impunity. RADISH JUICE
This juice is extracted from the leaves and the roots, but should
never be taken alone, as it is too strong in its reaction if taken by
itself. In conjunction with carrot juice, the combined elements help
to restore the tone of the mucous membranes in the body. It is used
most effectively about one hour after taking horseradish as described
in the section covering that subject. It has had the effect of soothing
and healing the membranes and cleansing the body of the mucus which
the horseradish sauce has dissolved. It has at the same time helped to
regenerate and restore the muc


 f the land. As our evidence accumulated, it became ever more impressive. John
McDougall, MD, for years has been treating people, with great success, for
a variety of illnesses with the plant-based diet that Rip recommends in this
book. Recently, he and other physicians have cured most Type 2 diabeticsand, in many cases, have greatly reduced insulin needs even for Type 1
patients. Rip’ s father, Caldwell B. Esslestyn, Jr., MD, reverses and even
cures advanced heart disease with this diet. Roy Swank, MD, followed
multiple sclerosis patients for thirty-four years, using very much this same
type of diet, and concluded that “about 95 percent of MS patients
[diagnosed early], remained only mildly disabled for about thirty years. ”
I have been lecturing extensively around the country and have heard
from many cancer patients that they believe that they are cured or at least
are in remission because of using a plant-based diet. This belief is borne out
by the findings in our extensive experimental animal studies, in which we
could turn on and of f cancer development by relatively modest nutritional
means, using a model of this same diet. Obesity can be controlled, migraine
headaches reduced, arthritic conditions alleviated—the list goes on and on. The idea that Rip Esselstyn elaborates in this book is “spot-on,” as my
associates across the big pond say. I predict that this book will be as ef fective as any on the market in
conveying an exceptionally important health message in a most personal
way. Just read it, and you will see what I mean. T. Colin Campbell, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Co-author (with Thomas M. Campbell II) of The China
Study  (2005)
OceanofPDF. comPART I
The E2 Diet
OceanofPDF. com1
ENGINE 2
The evening of January 5, 2000, was bitterly cold, a night no one in
the Austin, Texas, Fire Department will soon for get. At the time I was
working at Central Station, the city’ s largest. Central was called “The
Animal House” because we firefighters were notorious for our bizarre
antics, from launching water balloons at passersby from the second-story
rooftop to breaking rookies down until they burst into tears. There were no
barriers and no boundaries. The weather was bad when we went to bed in the firehouse dorm that
night, but by early morning it was worse: A freezing rain was falling, and
temperatures were heading toward record lows. Then, at 4:20 a. m., a heavy
box alarm sounded. (The word “box” refers to a home; a regular box alarm
signals that a single-family house is on fire, but when a heavy box alarm
sounds, it means a fire at a lar ger building, such as an apartment complex. ) Just as at the start of an athletic competition, all my senses went into
overdrive—my heart rate jumped, my stomach churned, my mind raced. Normally I’d leap right out of bed, jump into my bunker pants, and pull up
my suspenders, but because I was going to be driving this shift, I had only
enough time to stumble into my station pants and cotton shirt before sliding
down the eighteen-foot brass fire pole. I was also preparing for the worst. The real burners generally occur
between midnight and 6 a.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What are the magic numbers you want your total and LDL,
A:
Q: What percentage of heart attacks occur with people who have,
A:
Q: If there are 4 grams of sugar in 1 teaspoon, and 39 grams of sugar,
A:
Q: What is the purpose of the book?,
A: The purpose of the book is to provide a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, emphasizing the importance of a plant-based diet.
Q: What is the author's motivation for writing this book?,
A: The author, Rip Esselstyn, wants to help people make a positive change in their lives and improve their health.
Q: What is the main idea of the Engine 2 Diet?,
A: The diet is based on eating a plant-based diet, avoiding meats, dairy products, and refined foods, and focusing on nutrient-dense, whole foods.
Q: What is the significance of the cholesterol levels in the pilot study?,
A: The study showed that the participants' cholesterol levels dropped significantly, with an average decrease of 39 points.
Q: What is the author's message to the readers?,
A: The author emphasizes the importance of a plant-based diet for optimal health, citing the research and results of his father's studies and the benefits he has seen in his own life and in the lives of others.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Reality:  Some carbs do, but good carbs don’ t.
Most trendy diets claim that all carbohydrates are bad guys, yet of the
three macronutrients that provide calories in our diet (carbs, protein, and
fat), carbohydrates are the body’ s primary fuel source. They’re responsible
for managing your heart rate, digestion, breathing, exercising, walking, and
thinking. Roughly 70 percent of your daily calories should come from good
(complex) carbohydrates. The ones to avoid are called simple carbs. Both types of carbs are sugars. Both are digested and converted into
glucose, which is used by the body for ener gy: in the blood as glucose, or
stored in either the muscles or the liver as glycogen. When consumed in
excess, carbohydrates can be converted to fat. Simple carbohydrates include table sugar, molasses, honey, alcohol,
white bread, white pasta, white rice, fried chips, sugary cereals, fruit juices,
candy, and milk. Most simple carbs are nutritionally empty because they
have been tinkered with by humans, stripped of their fiber, minerals, and
vitamins. They are digested quickly by the body and cause a sharp spike in
your blood sugar levels. In response to this spike, your pancreas pumps out insulin to transport
and deliver the ener gy-bearing glucose to cells throughout your body. This
process causes your blood sugar and insulin levels to swing like a
pendulum, leaving you feeling fatigued, hungry, and craving still more
simple carbohydrates. And because simple carbohydrates are digested so quickly, any excess
sugar is converted to fat. For these reasons, most simple carbohydrates are a
poor food choice. In contrast, complex carbohydrates are nutritious, and include
vegetables, whole grain breads and pastas, beans, peas, brown rice, sweet
potatoes, oats, fruits, and whole grain cereals. They are loaded with fiber,
vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients. Unlike simple carbohydrates,
complex carbohydrates cause a balanced and controlled release of sugar
into your system. This slow release gives the body more time to use the
carbohydrates as fuel; as a result, fewer turn to fat and insulin remains
stable.So if you consume, whole, good, natural carbs, you will enjoy more
consistent ener gy throughout the day without gaining extra pounds. As you can see, the two types of carbs dif fer immensely from a
nutritional standpoint. Simple carbohydrates are calorie laden, providing
little nutrition and causing weight gain. Complex carbohydrates are lower in
calories and, because they are loaded with fiber, provide bulk that fills you
up sooner, alleviates hunger pangs, and keeps you feeling satisfied longer. So go eat your carbs—as long as they’re complex. Myth 4
You can’ t get enough calcium eating a plant-based diet. Reality:  A diverse, plant-based diet is one of the best available sources
of calcium—and lets you avoid the deleterious ef fects associated with dairy
products. Great sources of calcium include green leafy vegetables, nuts, oranges,
kidney beans, lima beans, whole grains, Swiss chard, lentils, raisins,
broccoli, kale, celery, tofu, and romaine lettuce. One reason why Americans have such a high incidence of osteoporosis
(or weakening of the bones) isn’ t a lack of dietary calcium but an excess of
animal protein, which leaches calcium from the bones. In fact, did you know that the countries with the highest rate of dairy
consumption, including the United States, New Zealand, Britain, and
Sweden, also have the highest rates of osteoporosis? Although their citizens
consume massive amounts of dietary calcium, the excessive protein in that
milk, cheese, steak, fish, and eggs always trumps this important mineral,
leaving them with a net deficit. Meanwhile, people in rural China, who consume one-third the amount of
dairy we do, have almost zero cases of osteoporosis. Dr. John McDougall,
author of The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart, has scoured the
medical literature on the topic and has yet to find one case of dietary
calcium deficiency in humans—so long as they consumed an adequate
number of calories. So no milk mustache for you! Myth 5
You can’ t get enough fat eating a plant-based diet.Reality:  Trace amounts of fat are present in all fruits, vegetables, and
other plant foods. Strawberries are 5 percent fat; bell peppers, 6 percent; broccoli, 8
percent; spinach, 1 1 percent; and soybeans, 41 percent. Several high-fat
plant foods contain in excess of 80 percent fat


, neck,
shoulders, thyroid, parathyroid, mouth, tongue, jaw, larynx, and vocal
cords. The sense is hearing, and the sense or gans are the ears. The San skrit wo rd V ishuddha  mea ns “ purity,” and I love this translation
because it captures the true essence of the fifth chakra. Its p urity comes
from speaking the truth that resides in our hearts. Pur e  me ans uncontaminated, clear, innocent, clean, or impeccable. When y ou reach  this level of consciousness, you are exploring the part of
you that is pure. Y ou have reached the level of spirit th at is unadulterated. From the heart chakra you come to a place where you are awakened to
truth. Th at is such a beautiful realization. All the debris has been swept
aside. In  the lower chakras you  had to sift through such debris to see thetruth in everything. Now the only thing you see is truth, and it feels clear. There is liberation in seeing truth. V ishuddha is like looking into the Caribbean Sea and not seeing the
bottom of it. One year I took a trip to Jamaica. I had always seen pictures of
the Cari bbean w ith its crystal-clear turquoise waters and its white sands as
far as the eye can see. When I arrived in Jamaica I didn’ t see what I had
imagined. Aroun d my hotel all I could see was lots of seaweed, rocks, and
sand. I was so disappointed because I wanted to experience the beauty of
the c lear waters like I had seen in the pictures. In order to see this, I had to
travel far by bus to find it. When I arrived, it was well worth the trip. Y ou hav e traveled up four chakras to find the clarity of the fifth. The
debris o f deception, lies, and c onfusion has drifted away, and you never
again have to live in darkness. The A yu rvedic d osha that rules the fifth chakra is V ata. The tw o gunas
that rule this chakra are rajas and sattva. The color we attribute to the throat chakra is cerulean blue. The mantra,
or bija (seed) sound, we vocalize for the fifth chakra is HUM. Fifth Chakra Ailments
Ailments of the fifth chakra include diseases of the throat and the thyroid
and parathyroid glands, neck and  jaw problems, speech impediments, colds,
and hearing problems. From a psychological standpoint, imbalances can
include unexpressed grief, sadness, anger, judgment, and feelings of
depression. Fifth Chakra Energy
The pow er that lies within the fifth chakra is the power to trans cend space-
time. Communic ation enables us to transcend space as sound w aves travel
through phone lines, cell towe rs, and internet connections. W e can be
virtually presen t in another place — through audio and mo re recently
through video — without leaving our physical location. Communication happens on m any levels, not only the physical. W e
communicate through words and sounds, facial expressions, body language,
thoughts (also known as telepat hy), and vibration. A thought is a vibrationon a subtle level, which will be  explained in more detail in the chapter on
the sixth chakra. The or gans and body parts in the fifth chakra allow us to
create and absorb the vibrations of sound. Sound can be used to harm or to heal. The voice of a loved one can be
used to say, “I love you,” or it can be used to say, “I never want to see you
again. ” When used for unkind intentions, such as in rap lyrics filled with
words of hate, s ound creates separateness and dissonance. How ever, when
harnessed as a powerful expres sion of beauty, as in Mozart’ s  Forty-First
Symphony or Beethoven’ s Fifth, it creates harmony, entrainment, and
synchronization. W ords have the power to heal when you speak inner truth to yourself. Y our inner and outer dialogue about yourself determines how healthy you
are. If you repea t to yourself dai ly, “I’m so fat and I’ll never get thin,” those
words h ave the power to become your reality. However, if you t ell yourself,
“I’m wo rking on  getting healthier each and every day,” you will have quite
a dif ferent outcome. W ords from others also have the power to heal. When a
child fal ls and skins his knee, he will heal faster if his parent says, “Y ou’re
all right. Get up and go play. ”
When I was in F rance around 2006, I went to the eye doctor because I
was having trouble reading. I was thirty-five years old at the time and
thought my age was contributin g to the fuzzy words I was seeing. I shared
this thou ght with the doctor, who told me it had nothing to do with age and
that I had some sort of eye dis ease that would cause me to need stronger
and stronger prescriptions as the  years went on. He was very ela borate as he
spoke ab out my future with certainty and conviction. I was taken aback that
he, a medical doctor, could “read” into my future and dared say so with
such doom and gloom. Luckily, I was already on a spiritual path of knowing
that we create our own destiny,  so I brushed it of f as ignorance. However,
his w ords did have power becau se I remember them to this day. Now at age
forty-six, eleven years later, my sight isn’ t a whole lot worse. My
prescription has changed once, but I’m optimistic about my vision staying
the same or getting better over the next decade or more. Can you  see the potential damage in the words you or others  speak. Had I believed the doctor and taken his words to be reality,  I probably
would be blind by now. His words were not truth, but a potential truth. On the positive side of words, h ave you noticed that when you talk to a
person y ou’re close to, your speech patterns tend to mimic each other ’ s. W ords connect in fluid harmony people who like to be together. Y ou can
notice th is best in teenagers. Listen to the way they speak. They  create their
own language with words that o nly they seem to understand. If  you have a
teenager, you know this. And the language changes quickly,  every few
years or  so. W ords such as sick  to  describe something awesom e or LOL,
taken fr om text-speak to mean “laugh out loud,” are already outdated,
according to my teenager, when his siblings used those word s only four
years ago. Singing and chanting are ageless forms of sound vibration. Singing has
been use d for thousands of years to band people together with a purpose. Song has the power to transcend. Much of today’ s soul music originated
from music sung by enslaved Africans in the Americas. They used songs to
strengthen community and tran scend the conditions in which they were
living. T hey also used song to connect with God, which brought them to a
state of transcendent bliss. Singing and chanting can be used unconsciously for brainwave
entrainment. People with close relationships entrain, which means their
bodily rhythms work together in synchronistic harmony through sound. Mothers chant or sing to their babies to soothe their cries. When my
children were babies and they were fussy or I was trying to get them to
sleep, I used to hum a simple,  repetitive tune to them. I’m not sure if I
spontaneously made it up or if perhaps it was hummed to me when I was a
baby. I only hummed it to each of them for their first year of life or so,
when ba bies need the most soothing. The strange thing is, the o ther day my
youngest son, who is now thirteen, told me of the tune I hummed to him as
a ba by. He hummed it back to me and said, “Mom, I loved i t when you
hummed that tune to me. I remember it well. ” He couldn’ t have been more
than a year old when he last he ard it, being that he is the youngest. How
could he remember it now, twelve years later. I believe the power of that
sound created synchronization in  his brain that signaled well-be ing. So now
as a young man, when he has a s ense of well-being, in particular around me
as h is mother, that sound comes  to mind as one of his earliest memories of
well-being. Y ou too can e ntrain your cells to work in synchronistic h armony
through sound. In each chapter, I provide a mantra sound you can use for
chanting. By chanting the sou nd HUM  rep eatedly, you will align the
vibrational ener gy in the fifth chakra and cause your cells to remember their
purpose and work toward the greater good, which in this case is keeping
you heal thy and  whole. Mantras in meditation are used for this p urpose too. Y ou can chant a mantra, incanta tion, or af firmation out loud or even in your


 silence, 290, 294–95
as spiritual release, 286–90
and transformation, 293, 295
varieties of, 283–86
and wholeness, 289–90
Ego:
boundaries of, 291and control, 199–200
cosmic, 275, 276
and equality, 127
vs. falling in love, 24, 1 16, 165
isolation of, 165
vs. love, 107–1 1, 116, 161
and marriage, 159, 162
needs of, 108, 1 16, 190, 204
and or gasm, 135
and sensitivity, 128–29
and separation, 162
signals from, 259
vs. spirit, 157, 164, 168, 204
and surrender, 156–57, 163–64, 168, 169
Ego sur gery, 279–81
Emotions, 263–69
Energy:
creative, 230
renewal of, 49
sexual, 142, 146, 229, 284
of Shakti, 239
spiritual, 228
Enlightenment, 135
Equality:
and acceptance, 77–78
and courtship, 127, 130
spiritual, 163
Evolution, personal, 167, 168
Expectations:
in ‘I love you,” 1 13
and sex, 142–49
Falling in love:
vs. being in love, 5
blessed state of, 23–24
and desire, 269–71
ego vs., 24, 1 16, 165and escape, 1 15, 1 16
healing via, 215
needs and, 102
as opening, 62–63
and psychology vs. spirit, 91–93
relationship and, 159
and soul, 66, 71
surrender in, 163–64, 165
False love, 1 13–15, 120–22
Fantasy:
and courtship, 109
and false love, 1 13–14
and fear, 68–69
and infatuation, 89, 99
and sex, 135–36
Fatalism, 194
Fear:
black holes of, 212–15
of commitment, 100
control of, 199–200, 201–4
and danger, 111
of death, 221–22
and fantasy, 68–70
about for giveness, 280
healing of, 215–16
of life, 268, 269–70
and memory, 110–1 1
of risk, 22–24
and selfishness, 1 15
survival, 214–15
Fragmentation, 103–4, 191
Freedom, and intimacy, 137–41
Freud, Sigmund, 10, 12, 37
God:
action of, 244, 247in the beloved, 37
devotion to, 87–88
knowledge of, 247
as love’ s source, 9, 62, 84–85, 86, 249
mirror of, 1 1
as present in death, 247
relationship with, 5
separation from, 191, 205
and soul, 275
Spirit as, 13
as within, 243
Grain of sand, 301–3
Growth, and love, 42
Gyana, 35
Gyana Shakti, 238–40, 241–42
Happiness, 227, 282
achievement of, 39–41, 105
and control, 40
as pleasure response, 40–41
Healing:
death as, 9
defined, 43
by falling in love, 216
of fear, 215–16
of love, 16, 27, 41–43
of separation, 205
Heart:
attention on, 53–55
as center, 51
chakra of, 317
expansion of, 292
meditating on, 52–55
purification of, 51–55
Human nature:
as mirror of God, 1 1spiritual vision of, 10–15
I am enough, 212–17, 321
I am love, 1–3, 33
spiritual tradition of, 5, 1 1–12
I am loved, 322–28
I am That, 274
Icha Shakti, 238–40, 241
Illusion:
and need, 108
vs. reality, 14–15
“I love you”:
emotions in, 1 17
hidden meanings in, 1 12, 1 17, 200–1
and passion, 270
Immanence, 92
Immune response, 88
Independence, and aloneness, 58
Infatuation, 64, 87–105
between two worlds, 89–93
and fantasy, 89, 99
and innocence, 90
loving practice, 94–97
in our lives, 98–105
and perception, 91–92
regression in, 91
and transcendence, 92–93, 94
Infinity, 250
In our lives:
but never the bride, 98–105
Cinderella for sale, 123–30
dying unto death, 218–24
house of light, 314–21
somebody out there, 20–28
what about me., 179–88
what’ s a little gray., 79–86who will rescue me., 56–61
wooing the goddess, 261–71
worn-out lover, 151–55
Insight, 299
Inspiration:
cultivating, 299–313
infinite moment in, 300–3
threads in fabric of, 303–13
Intimacy, 64, 131–55
as agreement, 135–36
and desire, 131–34, 135
and freedom, 137–41
loving practice, 142–50
in our lives, 151–55
and resistance, 139–40
with the self, 134–35, 273–76
and shared self-expression, 135
see also  Sex
Intuition, 244–47
Isolation, 27, 57, 165
Joy, pure, 295
Judgment, 45–46
Kali, 228
Kama, 131–34
Karma, 35, 193–97, 223, 242
Knowledge:
of God, 247
and gyana, 35, 241–42
as love of truth, 1 1–12
Kriya Shakti, 238–40, 242
Letting go, 25, 169–78
and awareness, 170
emotionally, 175–78mentally, 174–75
physically, 173–74
times for, 170–71
and voice of spirit, 258–60
ways of, 173
of what, 172
Liberation, 276
Life:
fear of, 268, 270
as love, 1 1–12
passion for, 227, 229, 234, 237
perfection of, 131
spiritual goal of, 3
Loneliness, 26, 58, 165
Lovability, 70–73
Love:
ability to receive, 84
absence of, 47–50
alignment with, 19
and balance, 42
divine revealed in, 250
vs. ego, 107–1 1, 116, 161
falling in, see Falling in love
false, 1 13–14, 120–22
giving and receiving, 44
God as source of, 9, 62, 84–85, 86, 249
and growth, 42
healing of, 16, 27, 41–43
importance of, 9–10
life as, 1 1–12
messages from, 96–97
vs. non-love, 1 1
path to, see Path to love
and power within, 29
as protection, 202reality as, 14, 16, 27
and relationship, 46
and religion, 12, 36–37, 88
of Self, 216
Self as source of, 14, 33, 46, 65
and sex, 136
social pattern of, 4
and soul bar gain, 17–19
and spirit, 2–3, 1 1–12, 23–24, 29, 33, 37, 39, 65
spiritual meaning of, 3–6, 12, 39
unconditional, 327
and unity, 35
universal


. At one point durin g our rst talk, I wanted her to know
how impressed  I was with her level of insight, and I started out by
saying, “For a brilliant person like you—”
She cut me o with a strange look. “Why did you say that?” she
demanded.“What?”
“That I’m brilliant. What makes you say that out of the blue?”
“Well,” I explained, “it is obvious that you have more self-
awareness than ninety-nine percent of the people I deal with.”
“How can you tell that after one meeting?” she asked
suspiciously. I said I just could, and she let the matter drop. Half an
hour later, she interrupted  herself and asked, this time rather
timidly, “Do you really think I’m brilliant?” I repeated that I did. Again, the matter was quickly dropped. When we met a few days
later, the rst words out of her mouth were “I’ve been thinking
about why you called me brilliant.”
Then I couldn’t help but notice that my compliment held a special
charm for her. It was a token, not just of my respect, but of my
aection. By calling her brilliant, I had said, “I feel close to you.”
Replaying the tapes, I nd that Karin also managed to call me
brilliant severa l times that day—apparently quite unconsciously—
and whenever she did, one heard a shy, embarrassed intimacy in her
voice. Why was this little game of emotional hide-and-seek so important
to her? I think  it’s because she nds it much easier to intellectualize
about feeling unreal than to openly express the much more
wrenching feeling of being lost. Before their emotions get covered
over with a thick coat of denial, many children feel lost, set apart. Karin reminds me of a wide-e yed child one might nd on the fringes
of a social gathering—a wedding reception, cocktail party, or
Thanksgiving reunion—peer ing at the adults like a fascinated
spectator at the zoo. What the child wonders at is quite ordinary and yet very
disturbing: the casual deception of daily life. Behind the words “I
love him” or “I love her” lie guarded feelings and secret betrayals. People who put on a show of generosity turn out to be secretly the
most selsh. Jealousy lurks under a smile. Children do not know
how to live this way, and Karin still doesn’t have the knack for it. From her perspective, other people are living securely inside a
shared reality,  while she is outside lookin g in—“I live in another
dimension,” she mourns. This persistent feeling of isolation makesthings very fearful for her. She has no security. The rest of us are at
home; she is the eternal stranger. Many sensitive  people feel this way. Wisdom and poetry can arise
from the situation as easily as anguish. But given how lonely such
people generally are, I can see why anguish is the most common
response. It is by relating to other people, after all, that most of us
manage to feel real in the rst place. Three years ago, Karin asserts, she felt completely normal and
connected—she is particularly adamant on that point. She was
thirty-one and had just decid ed to break up with a man whom she
had been seeing steadily for several years. “From the very beginning
of our relationship,” she said, “I knew that Rodney was not ‘the
one,’ but we cared for each other and really enjoyed each other’s
company.” What made her nally break o with this man was her
decision to seek someone whom she really might want to marry. This reason satised her, and the breakup occurred without rancor. But Karin immediately starte d having doubts about what she had
done. She glossed over that part with me: “When Rodney and I
broke up, I felt a sudden sense of loss. I wondered if I had done the
wrong thing, if I should get back with him, you know, blah, blah,
blah. Then I went on with my life.” Within a month after the
breakup, she met another man, a customer at her catering business. She fell deeply  in love with him and continues to say that their
relationship, which was brief but intense, was the closest she ever
came to marrying anyone. From the very outset, however, she knew
that his parent s, who were Orthodox Jews, strongly disapproved of
her because she was Catholic. “At rst it was okay, because I was
condent and elated, and I didn’t allow them to become involved in
my life. But after a certain amount of treatment that I considered
worse than torture.…”
Karin stopped speaking at that point. I gathered that there was a
tempestuous breakup and she had a “collapse” or “nervous
breakdown.” Whether in fact she suered an actual psychosis is not
clear. She did develop a morbid fear of having AIDS. “Whenever I
gave blood I would shake like crazy. Three times they needed my
blood that year, and I was terried that I would be infected.”Several times she called the local AIDS hotline in a panic, always to
be reassured that she had no real reason to be afraid (a fact
conrmed by all her blood tests). It was in the midst of this dicult period that she rst began to
feel unreal. She says that the sensation was quite new and
unexpected when it rst arrived. Never in her life had she ever had
the feeling of “being out of my body” or “having my awareness up
here” (holding her hand above her head). When I told her that many
people have similar feelings without being disturbed, she curtly
responded, “What does that matter if I still feel miserable?”
I tend to believ e Karin when she says that she began to feel unreal
all of a sudden. On the other hand, I cannot buy her story that her
life was so perfect before “something happened.” She has an
unshakable nostalgia for the past; it is the ip side of her refusal to
open herself to the present. She says that her only wish is to return
to the way she was three years ago, before the unfort unate love
aair. That period has become xed in her mind as a rapturous
ideal:
“I felt centered and relaxed then. I was condent, and I had a
purpose. I felt integrated: I had a relationship, I had money, I had
peace of mind. I felt good about what I did and was able to feel
humble about it. I felt I was on a nice road to growth. I felt like a
part of the universe, like I really wanted to be here. People looked
up to me, and I was able to make them feel good.”
Karin has split time into then and now, the good and the bad,
with no gray in between. It is no wonder that her situati on ties her
in knots, because it cannot be resolved as she has set it up. On one
hand she has this need to make sure that the split in her life
continues (in order to preserve the myth of the perfect past she left
behind), while  on the other she longs to feel real again, which
would mean jumping back into the ow of things. For the time
being, clinging to her black-and-white view of the world feels like
the only safe course. Don’t Tell Me I’m Not CrazyKarin is surely  real; she has just had the misfortune to nd herself
moving from one level of reality to another, like an infant who one
day realizes that crawling, which he has thoroughly mastered, is
starting to give way to the uncertain prospect of learnin g to walk. Babies make this transition instinctively, and their parents guide
them over the rough spots with encouraging attention. But when an
adult psyche begins to test the possibility of a completely new
perspective, the transition period is fraught with diculty. There are no guidelines for “normal” experiences of a higher Self. The image we have of saints  suddenly pierced by a shaft of divine
light is far too simple; even the greatest spiritual attainments take
place within the limits of daily mental life, with its doubts, fears,
hopes, and denials. What people need is the same encouraging
attention that parents give to a wobbly toddler. Sadly, our society is
bereft in this area, and each of us has to row alone to the foreign
shore that is beckoning us across the waters. But what is even more disturbing is that the growing pains of self-
awareness might get mistaken for the goal. Karin was making this
mistake, and her self-doubt echoes a culture that feels profoundly
suspicious of spiritual exper iences. I am not just referr ing to the
accusations of insanity that surround anyone who breaks out of the
normal ways of thinking, seeing, and behaving—that problem exists
in all cultures, unfortunately. The deeper worry is that our society is
so fearful of the Self that we equate it with death and dissolution. When Freud was confronted  with the fact that every psyche has a
hidden longing for unboundedness, he coined the phrase


 burned out of them and never perform optimally. Exercise also changes the metabolic rate so your body burns more calories –not only while you are exercising, but also for a 24
hour period following exercise. This maintains a healthful body weight into old age, or helps to lose weight. Most people fin d that
exercise in moderation does not increase appetite, so that it is possible to consistently burn more calo ries in a day, and gradually
reduce weight if that is desirable. It is necessary to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound of weight. Most forms of exercise allow you
to burn 300 to 600 calories per hour at a moderate pace which would be achieved by doubling the resting pulse. Without even
considering the weight -loss benefit of achieving a raised metabolism, an hour of daily exercise continued for a week or two
dependent upon the type of exercise and pace should lead to one pound of weight loss if the caloric intake is held constant. The flip side of having a higher metabolism is rarely appreciated but is extremely important. Recall the basic equation of he alth:
Health = Nutrition / Calories. Exercise permits a person to eat somewhat more while not gaining weight. If the food is nutrient
rich, the body has a chance to extract more vitamins, more minerals, more amino acids. The person who remains slender by rigi dly
reducing their food intake to near starvation levels may lack vital, health -building nutrition. And only exercise moves lymphatic fluid. The blood is pumped through the body by the heart, but the lymphatic system, lacking
a heart, requires muscular contractions to move from the extremities of the body to the central cavity. The lymphatic system picks
up cellular waste products and conducts these toxins to disposal. Frequently, people with rheumatic aches and pains or other
generalized muscular discomforts physicians like to give Latin diagnostic names to can give up taking pain pills if they will  but
begin exercising regularly. Only when they begin moving their lymph can they begin to detoxify properly. There is another benefit from exercise which is not to be ignored, and that is that it gives the person a chemical sense of w ell
being. It actually will help to emotionally boost up people who are chronically depressed and make them smile. After a good
workout, especially one done outside, everything seems brighter, more positive; whatever was bothering you somehow just doesn 't
seem like that big of a deal now. I am not making pro -exercise propaganda. This is not a figment of the imagination. An exercis ing
body really does make antidepressant neurochemicals called endorphins, but only after about 45 minutes to an hour of aerobic
workout. Endorphins are powerful, with painkilling and euphoric effects equal to or greater than heroin, but without any u ndesirable side
effects. If chemists could learn to cheaply synthesize endorphins I'm sure that millions of people would want to become addic ted to
them. Because I make such a point of getting in my workout every day, my husband has accused me of being an endorphin junkie,
and he is right! I admit it, I'm really hooked on the feeling of well being I consistently get from any sustained exercise. I  defend my
addiction staunchly because it is the healthiest addiction I know of. I have also been accused of  carrying exercise to extremes, and I admit to that also. For a few years I trained for Ironman
triathlons. I now think doing ironman distances is immoderate and except for a few remarkable individuals with "iron"
constitutions, training that hard can only  lead to a form of exhaustion that is not health promoting. I have become much more
sensible in my "old" age, and in recent years have limited my participation to the Olympic distance triathlons. I was on the
Canadian team at the World Championship in 1992, and intend to do it again in 1995. I do not find the Olympic distance
exhausting, in fact I think it is great fun and truly exhilarating. I get to see all these wonderful age group competitors fr om all over
the world who look and feel fantastic. It does my soul good to see a group of people aging so gracefully, not buying into the
popular notion that old age is inevitably disabling, depressing, and ugly. Sport brings a degree of balance to my life after spending
so much time in the presence of the sick. I  plan to maintain my athletic activities into old age, barring accident or other unforeseen
obstacles to fitness. To maintain basic fitness it does not matter so much what form of exercise is chosen, as long as it is not damaging to the sk eletal
system  or connective tissues. Many people are unable to run due to foot, knee, hip, or back problems, but almost everyone can
walk. Walking outside is better than inside on a treadmill, and walking hills is better than walking on flat ground. Exercise
machines s uch as stationary bikes, cross country ski machines, and stair steppers work well for a lot of people who live in the city,
especially in the winter, or for those who hate exercise. Whatever you choose to do, it is important to at least double the r esting
pulse for 30 minutes no less than four days a week. This is the absolute minimum required to maintain the health and function  of
the cardiovascular -pulmonary system. If your resting pulse is 70, you must walk, jog, ski, bike, swim or what have you, fast
enough to keep the pulse at 140 beats per minute for at least 30 minutes. I have a strong preference to exercising outside in isolated places where there is only me and the forest, or only me and the  river. Running along logging roads in the hilly back c ountry, or swimming in the green unpolluted water of a forest river is a spiritual
experience for me. It is a time to meditate, to commune with nature, and to clear my mind and create new solutions. The repet itive
action of running or walking or swimming, along with the regular deep breathing in clean air, with no distractions except what
nature provides is truly health promoting. Sharing these activities with friends or family can also be great fun and some of the best
in social interactions. It is one of my favorite ways of visiting with people. I don't expect other people to be as enthusiastic about
exercise as I am, but I do hope that everyone will make an effort to be minimally fit as an ongoing part of their health prog ram into
old age. Diet For A Lon g, Long Life
    Some people not only want to be healthy, but they want to live in good health long past the normal life span projected by
statistical tables for Homo Sapiens. Dr. Roy Walford, a well -respected medical research gerontologist who has been ac tively
studying longevity for many years, is one of those. He has scientifically demonstrated with accepted studies that a qualitati ve life
span up to at least 115 years of age is reasonably attainable by the average person if they start working on it no l ater than about 50
years of age, though earlier is much better. Walford's principles of extending life are very simple. All you have to do is restrict your caloric intake to about 1,500 per  day,
and water fast two days a week. Or alternatively, reduce your caloric intake to 1,200 per day and fast only one day a week on
water. And make sure that every single bit of food you do eat is packed with nutrition, every single calorie, without excepti on. You
continue this program for the rest of your life along with moderate daily exercise and high but reasonable dosages of vitamins,
minerals, and also take a few exotic food supplements. The supplement program is not particularly expensive nor extreme,
Walford's supplement program is more moderate than the life e xtension program I recommend for all middle -aged and older
people. The best foods for this type of program is a largely raw food diet (80%) with a predominance of sprouts and baby gree ns,
some cooked vegetables, and raw nuts and seeds. And make sure you ge t 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every other day. While Dr. Walford's focus is on caloric reduction while maintaining sufficient nutrition, most other life extensionists focus  on
increasing the nutrition side of the equation for health without b othering to reduce caloric intake. This approach is much easier
because essentially, it involves gobbling nutritional supplements by the handfuls without requiring self -discipline, though it can get
quite expensive. I'll have more to say about this approac h in the next chapter, which is about vitamins. In this book I can't explain all the aspects of prolongation of life through conscious life -style choice. Those who are interested are
referred to the Bibliography. Chapter Six
Vitamins and Other Food Supplements

From The Hygienic Dictionary

Vitamins. [1] The staple foods may not contain the same nutritive substances as in former times.... Chemical fertilizers, by
increasing the abundance of the crops without replacing all the exhausted elements o f the soil, may have indirectly contributed to
change the nutritive value of cereal grains and of vegetables.... Hygienists have not paid sufficient attention to the gen esis of
diseases. Their studies of conditions of life and diet, and of their effects  on the physiological and mental state of modern man are
superficial, incomplete, and of too short duration.


 tremor is rhythmic and regular and persists during sleep as well as during waking
hours. Beginning mildly, paralysis agitans progresses gradually with tremor and weakness beginning in
an extremity, usually one hand and arm. In the beginning the tremor can be controlled by the will,
but the disease gradually extends until an entire side is affected and it becomes no longer possible
to control the tremor. In advanced stages, there is often dullness of the mind, drooling, a tendency to go forward (the
so-called propulsion walk), and restlessness of the fingers, which appear to be continually going
through the motions of crumbling bread. There is a progressive loss of power in the affected
muscles, moderate rigidity, alternations in the gait, and, at times, mental impairment. In advanced
states, the tongue and chin may become tremulous. Rarely is speech lost. Some of the patients
become very much worse under excitement and so great is the tremor that they literally jump up
and down. Often the tremor is of minor importance in the estimation of the patient. He visits a physician for
hypertension, digestive troubles, arthritis or other affection. I have seen one or two cases of
arthritis, with rigidity of the limbs, in which the tremor showed up only after the arthritic condition
cleared. The arthritis seems to have masked the paralysis agitans. Wilson’s disease so greatly resembles Parkinson’s disease that it is difficult to distinguish them. In Wilson’s disease there is also enlargement and sclerosis of the liver. In general, Wilson’s
disease would seem to be less favorable than paralysis agitans. It appears to be much rarer. The single case of a woman I have seen personally did make considerable improvement during
a period of three months under my care. She had been unable to write for seven years, so great was
the tremor of her hands and arms. After two weeks of fasting she was able to write letters and was able to hold her hands as
steadily as the most normal individual. There was a recurrence of tremor after the fast was broken,
but it was not great enough to prevent her from writing letters. No second fast was undertaken and
the patient passed from under my care. Paralysis agitans is defined as a “nervous disease of unknown origin.” Its cause is said to be
“entirely unknown.” Studies of changes in the brain and nerves all follow the death of the patient,
hence the findings represent end-points rather than the condition of these structures at the first
appearance of symptoms. Patients often live for as many as twenty or more years after symptoms first develop, so slowly
does the disease progress. Certainly the changes in the brain and nerve tissue at the end of a twenty
year period of development tell us nothing of the condition of these tissues twenty years earlier. It is not enough to say that sometimes the nervous system wears out prematurely; it is essential
that we trace the cause of the premature wearing out of the brain and nerves. What is the cause of
the premature wearing of these vitally essential tissues? In later life paralysis agitans is supposed
to occur as a result of hardening of the arteries which supply the nerve cells at the base of the brain
and which have an important office in controlling the muscles of voluntary motion. Or it may develop rather early in life as a result of degeneration of the brain cells themselves. In
a few instances it has followed a head injury. 130Often tremor is seen in men of great enervation, especially in men past sixty, in whom hardening
of the arteries is already well advanced. Tremors often put in their first appearance after some
exhausting experience that leaves the individual profoundly enervated. It would seem that the causes of great enervation and of tissue hardening are the most likely
reasons for paralysis agitans. Among these sexual excesses are probably of great importance. Enervation is brought on by overindulgence in the pleasures of work and play—over-enjoyment
of the wholesome activities of our existence.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        It is characterized
by difficult breathing (dyspnea) blueness of the lips and fingers (cyanosis) rapid, but feeble heart
actions, venous engorgement, a decreased urinary output, with, in severe cases, an accumulation of
fluid in the tissues—edema, dropsy, anasarca. Although already greatly weakened, the increased work of the heart occasioned by the
accumulating fluid, adds to its difficulties. The heavier burden on the heart becomes intolerable
and it slowly weakens under the load. As the heart weakens the dropsy increases and as this
increases, the work of the heart is increased. A vicious cycle is established from which it is
difficult to escape. Another source of edema is the taking of common table salt (sodium chloride). This salt is non-
usable and poisonous. It is excreted with difficulty, hence it tends to accumulate in the body of the
salt-eater. It is stored in the surface tissues just under the skin and in cavities, along with water that
is needed to dilute it, thus forming brine. This salt-occasioned edema, often sufficiently marked in
supposedly healthy individuals to be easily
 detected (in others existing as a hidden edema) places
an added burden upon the heart and kidneys. The body of the fasting patient is able to bring the salt and water back into the circulation, from
where it is excreted. There is commonly an enormous urinary excretion of sodium chloride, in such
cases, up to 78 grams of salt a day having been observed to be excreted during a fast. It has been
shown by careful biochemical observations that fasting results in an absolute increase in the
amount of sodium chloride excreted, even in cases in which the total urinary output is small. As the sodium chloride content of the blood remains normal during the fast, the indication is that
the salt excreted is from the edema and effusion flud accumulation. The first step in the excretion of the salt-water accumulation is the return of the water and salt to
the blood stream. Fasting favors the absorption of the fluid from the tissues and its subsequent
excretion. When the fast is instituted and all intake of salt is entirely discontinued, the body is
enabled to rapidly withdraw the water and sodium chloride from the edematous tissues. The
hidden edema and dropsy disappear at a rapid rate. The principle of lightening the work of the circulatory system and particularly that of the heart
by decreasing the food intake and by eliminating salt from the diet is carried to its ultimate stage
when the heart patient fasts. Often it is even found necessary to reduce greatly the amount of water
taken. Especially in cases of marked edema (dropsy) is it important to reduce the water intake in
order to facilitate the excretion of the fluid from the tissues. In decompensation of the heart, there is commonly renal (kidney) stasis—stoppage of the blood
flow—which impairs the function of the kidneys. The fast seems to result in an instantaneous
improvement in the function of the kidneys, so that there is an immediate increase of elimination. There are different views about water intake in this condition, some fasting advocates favoring
taking water freely, on the theory that the kidneys can function better if plenty of water is taken;
others holding that the intake of liberal quantities of water slows down the excretion of the
111edematous accumulation. I favor limiting water intake. With the increased excretion, through the kidneys, of water and sodium chloride, so that the
edema is reduced or obliterated, the heart is greatly relieved. It has also been suggested that fasting
may favorably affect certain vaso-motor centers, (the nerve centers that control circulation), thus
causing improvement in the condition of the heart and arteries. Certainly it would be folly to say that the excretion of water and sodium chloride in dropsical
conditions is alone responsible for the wide relief of symptoms that occur. The concomitant
general improvement of the heart and circulatory condition must be taken into full consideration,
but there is reason to think that the increased urinary outpout and the absorption of
 water and salt
from the tissues is due, in great measure, to the improvement of the general circulatory action, the
improvement tending to persist after eating is resumed. An Italian physician, Giorgio Dagnini, M. D., studied the results of fasting in sixteen cases of
cardiac decompensation and presented a detailed account of his observations in the
Institute of
General Medicine and Therapeutics
 of the University of Modena, Italy. I am indebted to an
American physician, who is interested in fasting, for an English translation of the account. Dagnini says of these sixteen cases, many of whom had previously proved “refractory of therapy
with cardiac drugs,” that all of them suffered with severe cardiac decompensation. In addition to
the fast, the patients were all given bed rest and all the water desired but no drugs. Twelve of
these patients suffered with edema of the serous cavities; four had no edema. Of the twelve edematous patients the clinical diagnoses were myocardial sclerosis (hardening
of the heart muscle) in six cases; mitral stenosis (narrowing or stricture of the mitral valve of the
heart) in two cases; mitral and aortic stenosis (stenosis of both the mitral and aortic valves)


, Mattie Go rdon Reed. Like myself, she was
reared on a farm, a Sinclair County girl. Mattie had begun teaching at the age of 18 years. As I, too, had
taught school, she and I found things in common. She lived in
Albertville only during vacation time. For the rest of the year she was
either teaching somewhere or going to school herself. For four years
she taught in Roswell, New Mexico. During those absences, Mattie and I wrote to each other
regularly. When she was in town, we were together on Sundays and
sometimes during the week we would go buggy riding. Even though
she was at home in Albertville only during the summer, Mattie was
my only regular girl. She quit teaching about a year before we were
married. Our courtship lasted for seven years. We were "just good
friends," with never a thought of petting. I was still terribly bashful
and could not yet drum up courage to ask Mattie to be my wife. (One time I consulted a psychologist who told me that seven was
my lucky number.) There does appear to be some truth in what she
told me. After having known each ot her for seven years, Mattie and I
were married. Again the number one has been significant for me also. I was once married and have one son. Two numbers, one and seven,
do run through my history. What does that mean, Oh, Nothing in
particular. A notice of street addresses of many of my friends have
seven or one, and sometimes both. As the months and years passed by and I had accumulated wealth
sufficient for feeding another mouth, I began to notice that the evening
hours at Mattie's house were getting shorter and that midnight came
quicker than before. One night I remember having over-stayed my
time. The clock's hand was moving along toward the small hours. Still
I showed no disposition to say good-night. Suddenly Mattie showed
me a little game she had made up he rself. She had me make a row of
ciphers like this: "0000 000 00." Then she had me draw lines to the
ciphers to make them read: "Good God Go." I took the hint. Again when I stayed too late—and my timidity still tied my
tongue when the question that needed asking popped into my head—
Mattie suddenly said to me:
"Do you know, Doctor, I sometimes think that you and I ought
never to be separated. You won't go home." "You mean, Mattie, you think we ought to get married..." We had then gone together for six years and both were well
along—so it was about time. So Mattie and I were married in 1906, when she was 34 and I
was 39 years old. Soon afterward we built a nice home in Albertville
where we expected to live out our lives. Five years later our only
child, George G., was born. Through 41 years, Mattie was my faithful helpmate. For many of
those years, I was constantly sick—s ometimes barely able to trudge to
the office for my day's work. After we moved to Hereford, Mattie became my office assistant. She worked at it for 16 years. Her sister, Miss Lucy, kept house for us
and became the mainstay of our household, as she it to this day. When I started experimenting boldly with fasting, then with fruit
juices, raw foods and unrefined natu ral foods, seeking and at last
finding the way back to health through diet—Mattie went along with
me. Whenever my wife would try to get me to say how she should
carry on our affairs when I was gone, I would always say: "No,
Mattie, one of these days, I'll be a man again." Something inside me,
told me to answer her like that. All along, day after day, Mattie wo uld prepare my food with care
and skill; but one thing saw me through—her faith in me. Until she
died in 1947, in her 75th year, I was heavily dependent upon her. During the entire 41 years of ou r married life—and the more than
30 years in which her sister, Miss Lucy Reed, made her home with
us—there was never one cross work spoken in my home that I knew. I could trust her to the limit. She had her spending money in one bank
and I in the other. She usually banked the income from the office in
my bank to my credit. Occasionally she would say, "Do you think it
would be Okay to make this deposit in my bank? Always my answer
would be that it was a good idea. One day I said "I believe I'll buy
Albert Carter's place for George." She agreed and asked for my
consent to let her pay for it. I said Okay if you think you have that
much from the deposits. She never checked on it, so she never
received reports. The report showed plenty and some to spare. I have
had business men and bankers tell me it is unwise for a man to allow
his wife to check on the bank account. I could trust my wife anywhere. CHAPTER 11. HOW FAULTY DIET MADE ME SICK
 About the time I got well broke into my routine at the dental
office my health began to fail me. Almost continuously I had bad
colds, tonsilitis, chills, fever and bilious attacks. When medicines of
various kinds failed to help me, ex cept for a little temporary relief, I
began to study foods and to experiment with eating for health. But it
took me a long time to get on the right track. I had no informed
nutritionist to advise me. After Mattie and I were married  and I had settled down to a
sensible routine for eating, sleeping and working, I had thought I
surely would get straightened out—but, instead, my health kept on
giving me grief. I was pale, weak and almost constantly tired. About
that time a young doctor, just out of medical school, told me I had
auto-intoxication. But his medicines did me no good either. Before
that it was known as bilious attacks. One day I met an old friend on th e street and he gave me some
good advice:
"George, you go up to Laceys Springs and stay a month or so—
or all summer if you need to. You'll come home feeling like a new
man." I went up there and found that the hotel, a three room shack, was
two miles from the springs. The postoffice was two miles in the
opposite direction and there was no public conveyance. So every day I
would walk to the spring and to th e postoffice. The water, heavy with
magnesium and other healthgiving mi nerals and rather warm, tasted
terrible. I forced myself to dr ink two quarts a day. Soon I was
enjoying the outdoor life so much that I began to climb over the
mountain. There was a railroad on the other side and a switch where I
could flag a train back to town. After I had kept up drinking that
nasty-tasting water a few weeks, along with the daily walk and climb over the mountain, I began to feel better. I wasn't tired and fagged out
any longer. I was getting back my natural pep and ruddy complexion. I had gained several pounds. My friend was right: I went home feeling
young again and thought I was cured completely. Too soon, I had a backset. On the job again I slipped right into
my old routine, ate anything and everything I wanted and took no
outdoor exercise. After a few months of that, with patients keeping me
at my dental chair 14 hours a day, I was right back in the old rut. I felt
all tired out, could not sleep nights or  eat well. Then I went back to the
springs. Since my last visit, the place had developed amazingly. There
was a brand new hotel close by the spring and a little town of tourist
cabins around it. A hack line ran to the postoffice. There were plenty
of people to talk to or play games with. So I did not go tramping or
mountain climbing. The water (which I thought had cured me before)
did me no good at all that I could tell. I returned to my practice and managed to keep going, but felt
better lying on my office couch than running the dentist drill. Some months later I stayed another spe ll at the springs, but with no better
results. The one thing I learned af ter spending these summers at the
spring was that the minerals in the water was inorganic and of no
value as a food, but may be of value as an irritant. A small amount of
epsom salt in hot water every morn ing will be worth hundreds of
dollars spent at a health resort. Somebody was always recommending a wonderful new medicine
to me. I would try out each one as it came along, but none gave me
any lasting relief. Then our family doctor told me about a
diagnostician who was working wonders in that part of the state. So I
went to Dr. Brown at Gadsden. He told me I was anemic. He put me
on iron and told me to eat plenty of lean meat, liver, eggs, bread


books to attending my breathing  course, improving his fitness, completely
eliminating prescription medicine for his asthma, and running h alf and full
marathons in very respectable times. The word asthma  derives from Greek and means “to pant. ” While
asthma has been around for a very long time, it af fects more p eople today
than ever before. Exercise-indu ced asthma af fects an estimated 4 to 20
percent of the g eneral populati on and 11 to 50 percent of cer tain athlete
populations. Interestingly, one study showed that while 55 percent of
football athletes  and 50 perce nt of basketball players displayed airway
narrowing conducive to asthm a, athletes from the sport of water polo
showed significantly fewer asth ma symptoms. Later on in this section we
will investigate why this might be. So, what causes asthma. The  most common theories include the
hygiene hypothesis, which rests on the premise that too much cleanliness
means children are not exposed to enough germs, resulting in diminished
immune capabilities later on in life. A second commonly cited explanation
is an increase in  pollution, but while this may well be a trigger, it is not
necessarily the cause. For instan ce, the west of Ireland, where I live, has a
high asthma rate but very good air quality. Might there be another factor that plays a significant role in causing
asthma—that of  habitually breathing too much. If this were true, then
surely reducing breathing volume could result in a reversal of th e condition. By look ing at the causes and symptoms of asthma, and the p hysiological
changes resulting from the condition, we can begin to determi ne just how
important breathing exercises can be in treating asthma. Since asthma is a condition cha racterized by dif ficulty in breathing, a
logical approac h would be to  attempt to find the root cause by first
addressing poor breathing habi ts. T ackling asthma from this angle is not
new and  was employed by the ancient Greek physician Ga len and the
sixteenth-century doctor Paracelsus, who recommended breath holding and
breathing exercises for the treatment of coughing and narrowed airways. The prevalence of asthma increa ses relative to wealth. Increased wealth
leads to a chan ge in living standards: Food becomes more processed,
competitive stress increases, houses become more airtight, we perform less
physical exercise, and the majority of our jobs are sedentary. Fifty years
ago, our living and working situations were quite dif ferent, and asthma rates
were sig nificantly lower. During  that time, we ate more natural foods, had
less competitive  stress, our ho uses were drafty, and most occupations
involved physical labor. B ack then, our lifestyle was conducive to a more
normal breathing volume, and, as a result, asthma was far less common. As we have se en, normal breathing volume for a healthy adult is
generally agreed  to be 4 to 6 liters of air per minute, but adults with asthma
demonstrate a resting breathing volume of 10 to 15 liters per mi nute, two to
three times more than required. Imagine the ef fect on the respiratory system
when an  individ ual breathes twice or three times too heavily all day, every
day. Normal breathing during rest involves regular, silent, abdominal breaths
drawn in  and out through the no se. People with asthma, on the other hand,
display habitual  mouth breathing with regular sighing, snif fing, and visible
movements from the upper chest. During an exacerbation of asthma,
symptoms like wheezing and breathlessness increase along with respiratory
rate, relative to the severity of the condition. In other words, as asthma
becomes more severe, there is also an increase in breathing volume. While it  is well documented that people with asthma breathe too much,
there is a need to determine whether the increase to breathing volume is acause or ef fect of the condition. As the airways narrow a feeling of
suf focation is generated, and a normal reaction is to take more air into the
lungs to try to eliminate this sensation. Either way, it is a vi cious cycle;
narrowed airways lead to heavier breathing that causes an increase in
breathing volum e, resulting in th e narrowing of the airways and  on and on,
worsening the condition and esta blishing bad breathing habits as a matter of
necessity. The only way to  determine whether breathing too much causes asthma
is to  investigate what happens when a group of individuals with asthma
practice breathing exercises designed to bring their breathing volume
toward normal. A st udy at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane found that when the breathing
volume of adults with asthma decreased from 14 liters to 9. 6 liters per
minute, their symptoms reduc ed by 70 percent, the need for rescue
medication decr eased by 90 percent, and the need for preve nter steroidmedication decr eased by 50 percent. The study found a direct relationship
between the reduction of breat hing volume and improvement to asthma. The closer breathing volume reduced toward normal, the greater was the
reduction of asthma symptoms s uch as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness,
and breathlessness. Furthermore, the trial’ s control group—who were taught
the hosp ital’ s in-house asthma management program—made zero progress. The reason for this was solely due to the fact that there was no change to
their breathing volume. Further studies reinforced these findings by
showing that people with asthma who practiced reducing their breathing
volume had far better asthma co ntrol with a significantly reduced need for
preventive steroid and rescue medication within 3 to 6 months. Since 20 02 I have taught thousands of children and adults with asthma
how to address the root cause of their condition—breathing too much. T riggers such as animal dander, dust mites, exercise, pollution, excessive
hygiene, and changes in the w eather are often cited to be the cause of
asthma symptom s, but in my experience the vast majority of suf ferers can
take back significant control of their condition, regardless of their triggers,
by s imply learning to breathe light. The fundamental cause of ongoing
asthma s ymptoms can almost always be attributed to breathing too much. As l ong as a student understands  the exercises and devotes time to changing
his or her breathing, positive results are consistent and reproducible. Based on the fact that a number of clinical trials have shown that asthma
symptoms and the need for asthma medication are significantly reduced
following the employment of reduced breathing exercises, there is no doubt
that over breathing is a significant contributor to asthma. Of cour se, it is also
normal for people prone to ast hma to increase their breathing volume to
compensate for a feeling of suf focation, but this action is simp ly part of a
feedback loop. Elements of modern living increase breathing volume,
which can activate asthma in genetically predisposed individuals. As their
asthma takes hold, the individual breathes faster and more intensely,
worsening the condition. While  it is important to recognize this feedback
loop, th e first step to addressing asthma is to reduce excessive breathing
habits. I can relate to any child or adult with asthma because for m ore than
twenty y ears I struggled with the same symptoms; I was unable to perform
even the most basic physical exercise, my nose was constantly stuf fed, and Icontinuously breathed through a n open mouth. Y ear after year my asth ma
medication increased with no signs of my symptoms abating. My sleep,
concentration, m ood, and quality of life were all adversely af fe cted. It was
only by chance, when I learned of the work of Russian doctor Konstantin
Buteyko, that I w as able to reve rse my asthma. W ithin a few short days my
wheezing decrea sed dramaticall y, simply by learning to unblo ck my nose
and norm alize m y breathing volume. I have now been wheeze-free for the
past thirteen years, and all I did was to learn to breathe normally again. This had  such a tremendous imp act on my life that I changed careers in
2001 an d retrained under the auspices of the late Dr. Buteyko. In 2002, I
founded Asthma Care to help publicize this information to children and
adults with asthma. Our clinics are now of fered in a number of countries. The first step to  addressing chronic overbreathing is to make th e switch
from m outh to nasal breathing. While nasal breathing is important for
everyone, for people prone to asthma it is vital. When breathing volume is
greater than normal, there is a tendency to open the mouth in order to allow
more air  to enter the lungs. Peo ple diagnosed with asthma often feel they
are n ot t aking in  enough air whi le breathing through the nose, w hich causes
them to breathe through the mouth. Mouth breathing influences asthma in a number of ways:
•   Air taken in through the mouth is not filtered of airborne
particles, including germs and bacteria. •   The mouth is simply not as ef fective as the nose in conditioning
air to the correct  temperature and humidity prior to entering the
lungs. •   B ecause the m outh provides a lar ger space to breathe throu


 he could manage by himself athome with little assistance from his wife. He had been on a typical American dietwith meat, coffee, etc., so that in spite of his dangerous condition it did not seemwise to me to add the heavy eliminatory burden of a water fast to a body that wasalready overwhelmed with fluids and waste products. Jim immediately went on a raw food cleansing diet, with no concentrated
foods like nuts, seeds, or avocados, and with one day each week fasting onvegetable juice and broth. He did enemas daily even though it wasn’t his favoritething. In one month he had lost 30 pounds, his eyes had started to sparkle, andhis complexion was rosy. The swelling had disappeared from his feet and legs,and he had to buy new pants. Starting the second month he gradually withdrew from prescription
medications. From the beginning I had put Jim on a program of nutritionalsupplements including protomorphogens (see chapter on vitamins and foodsupplements) to help the body repair it’s heart and the kidneys. In only fourmonths he had returned his body to glowing health, and looked great for his age,though he was still overweight. At the end of one year he had returned to anormal weight for his height, and only cheated on the diet a couple of times whenattending a social event, and then it was only a baked potato with no dressing. He was probably going to have many qualitative years working his garden and
living out his dreams. The local intensive care ward lost a lot of money when theyfailed to get Jim. Diet For The Acutely Ill
The acutely ill person experiences occasional attacks of distressing symptoms,
usually after indiscretions in living or emotional upsets. They have a cold, or a flu,or sinusitis, or a first bout of pneumonia, or a spring allergy attack. The intensesymptoms knock them flat and force them to bed for a few days or a week. Ifthey are sick more often than that, they are moving toward the chronically illcategory. People who are acutely ill should stop eating to whatever extent that they are
able until the symptoms are gone. During an acute illness, the appetites isprobably pretty dull anyway, so why not give a brief fast on water or fruit juice atry. Most acute conditions are short in duration, usually not lasting more than a
week. Allergy attacks, some types of flu, and a first bout of pneumonia may welllast for three weeks or a month. The general rule is to eat as little as possible untilthe symptoms have passed, self-administer colon cleansing, even if you have ahorror of such things, and take vitamin supplements, including megadoses ofVitamin C, bioflavinoids, and zinc. (See the chapter on vitamins. ) Those having alittle experience with natural medicine make teas of echinacea, fenugreek seedsand red clover and quit eating. Eating as little as possible can mean only waterand herb teas, only vegetable broth, only vegetable juice or non-sweet fruit juice,even only cleansing raw foods. If you eat more than this you have not relievedyour system of enough digestive effort. After your symptoms are gone it is very important to change your life-style and
improve your diet so that you aren’t so toxic and don’t have to experience anacute illness several times a year when your body is forced to try an energeticdetox. Diet For A Healthy Person
I doubt that it is possible to be totally healthy in the twentieth century. Doctors
Alsleben and Shute in their book How to Survive the New Health
Catastrophes  state that in-depth laboratory testing of the population at large
demonstrated four universally present pathological conditions: heavy metalpoisoning, arteriosclerosis, sub-clinical infections, and vitamin/mineral deficiencies. Those of us who consider ourselves healthy, including young people, are not reallyhealthy, and at the very least would benefit from nutritional supplementation. Infact the odds against most people receiving adequate vitamin and mineral nutritionwithout supplements are very poor as demonstrated by the following chart. Problem Nutrients in America
Nutrient Per cent Receiving Less than the RDA
B6 80%
Magnesium 75Calcium 68Iron 57Vitamin A 50B
1 45
C4 1B
2 36
B12 36
B3 33
A genuinely healthy person almost never becomes acutely ill, and does not
have any disturbing or distracting symptoms; nothing interferes with or handicapstheir daily life or work. A healthy person has good energy most of the time, apositive state of mind, restful sleep, good digestion and elimination. Healthy people do not have to live simon-pure lives to remain that way. Healthy people can afford 10% dietary indiscretions by calorie count—eating ordrinking those things that they know are not good for them but that are fun to eator are “recreational foods or beverages. ” Such “sinning” could mean a restaurantbash twice a month, having a pizza, French bread, beer or wine in moderation, icecream, cookies, cake, turkey for festive occasions, etc. The key concept ofresponsible sinning is keeping within that ten percent limit. A diet for a healthy person that wants to remain healthy should not exceed the
digestive capacity of the individual, either in terms of quantity or quality. All foodsthat can not be efficiently digested should be removed from the regular diet andrelegated to the “sin” category, including those you are allergic to and those for
which you have inadequate digestive enzymes. I have encountered very few
people that can efficiently digest cooked meat, chicken, or fish, but some can, andsome can with the assistance of digestive enzyme supplements. In order to digestmeats, the stomach must be sufficiently acid, there must be enough pepsin,pancreatin, and bile, etc., and the meat should be eaten on the extremely rare side(not pork), in small quantities (not more than five or six ounces), and notcombined with anything except nonstarchy vegetables. If you must include meat inyour dietary, it should represent a very small percentage of your total caloricintake, be eaten infrequently, with the bulk of the calories coming from complexcarbohydrates such grains, legumes and nuts, as well as large quantities ofvegetables and fruits. The healthy person that wants to stay that way for many, years is advised to
fast one day a week, to give the organs of elimination a chance to catch up ontheir internal housecleaning. If water fasting seems impossible, try a day of juicingit; if that is too rigorous, try a day on raw foods. A similar technique, though lessbeneficial than even a one day each week on raw foods, is delaying breaking yourovernight fast for as long as possible each day. Try giving up breakfast altogetheror postponing breaking your overnight fast, because from the time you stop eatingat the end of one day to the time you start eating the next is actually a brief,detoxifying fast. Eggs, milk, cheese and yogurt can be assimilated by some healthy people with
or without digestive aids. It is possible to take lactase to break down the milksugars for example; sometimes aids such as hydrochloric acid, pepsin, andpancreatin help. If you can buy it or are willing to make it raw milk yogurtcontaining lactobacillus bulgaris or acidophilus may be digested more readily,especially if it prepared from healthy cows or goats fed on unsprayed food, andserved very fresh. Eggs should come from chickens that run around outside,eating weeds, and scratching bugs. The yolks of those eggs will be intense orange,not yellow. Few people these days have ever eaten a real egg. Surprisingly, for
those of you who fear cholesterol, the healthy way to eat eggs is use just the raw
yolk from fertile eggs. It is enjoyed by many people in a smoothie–fresh fruitblended up with water or milk. Eggs contain lecithin, a nutrient that naturallyprevents the body from forming harmful fatty deposits in the arteries. Sea weeds are a wonderful source of minerals and should be eaten in soups
and salads. Other invaluable fortifying foods are algae of all kinds (such aschlorella and spirulina), lecithin, brewers yeast, and fresh bakers yeast. Manypeople have had very unpleasant experiences trying to eat living bakers yeast andso use brewers yeast instead. But brewers yeast is cooked and the proteins itcontains are not nearly as assimilable as those in raw yeast. Raw yeast is sopowerful, it feels like pep pills. It takes a special technique to eat raw yeast because in the stomach and
intestines the yeast does the job it is supposed to do: convert sugars into alcoholand carbon dioxide gas. The entire digestive tract then bloats with gas and theperson will feel very uncomfortable for some time. However, raw yeast is amarvelous source of B vitamins and proteins and can make someone feel veryenergetic—if they know how to use it. The secret is to eat live yeast very firstthing in the morning on an empty stomach and then, not eat anything at all forabout two hours, giving the stomach acids and enzymes time to kill the yeasts anddigest them before adding sugars from another meal. Some like to eat yeast infresh cake form, buying it from a bakery. Others prefer dry granular baker’s yeastblended with water into a sort of “shake. ” This is not a bad place to put your rawegg yolk either. If you need it sweetened to drink it, use an artificial or herbalsweetener like nutrisweet or stevia.


 key question for most of us is: “What is my
purpose?” And I hear that question in as many forms as there are people
wondering about it: What am I supposed to be doing? Should I be an
architect, a florist, or a veterinarian? Should I help people or fix
automobiles? Am I supposed to have a family or be in the jungle saving the
chimpanzees? We’re befuddled by the endless number of options available
to us, and wonder whether we’re doing the right thing. In this chapter, I urge you to forget these questions. Move instead to a
place of faith and trust in the universal mind of intention, remembering that
you emanated from this mind and that you’re a piece of it at all times. Intention and purpose are as beautifully and naturally intertwined as the
double helix of your DNA. There are no accidents. You’re here for the
purpose that you signed up for before you entered the world of particles and
form. Many of the things that you refer to as problems result from the fact
that you’re disconnected from intention and therefore unaware of your true
spiritual identity. The process of polishing that connecting link and
reconnecting is basic to your intention to live your life on purpose. As you
cleanse this link, you’ll make two very important discoveries. First, you’ll
discover that your purpose is not as much about what you do as it is about
how you feel. Your second discovery will be that feeling purposeful
activates your power of intention to create anything that’s consistent with
the seven faces of intention. Feeling purposeful. In response to the question What should I do with
my life?, I suggest that there’s only one thing you can do with it, since you
came into this life with nothing and you’ll leave with nothing: You can give
it away. You’ll feel most on purpose when you’re giving your life away by
serving others. When you’re giving to others, to your planet, and to your
Source, you’re being purposeful. Whatever it is that you choose to do, if
you’re motivated to be of service to others while being authentically
detached from the outcome, you’ll feel on purpose, regardless of how much
abundance flows back to you. So, your intention is to live your life on purpose. But what is the spiritual
Source like in this regard? It’s perpetually in the process of giving its life
force away to create something from nothing. When you do the same,
regardless of what you’re giving or creating, you’re in harmony with
intention. You’re then on purpose, just as the universal mind is always
acting purposefully. Take this one step further. Does the universal Source of all life have to
think about what it’s doing with its powers? Is it concerned with bringing in
gazelles or centipedes? Does it concern itself with where it lives or what it
ultimately creates? No. Your Source is simply in the business of expressing
itself through the seven faces of intention. The details are taken care of
automatically. Likewise, your feelings of being on purpose in your life flow
through expression of the seven faces of intention. Allow yourself to be in the feeling place within you that’s unconcerned
with such things as vocational choices or doing the things you were
destined to do. When you’re in the service of others, or extend kindness
beyond your own boundaries, you’ll feel connected to your Source. You’ll
feel happy and content, knowing that you’re doing the right thing. I get that feeling of inner completion and contentment that lets me know
that I’m on purpose by reading my mail or hearing the comments I so
frequently hear when I’m walking through airports or eating at restaurants:
You changed my life, Wayne Dyer. You were there for me when I felt lost. This is different from receiving a royalty payment or a great review, which Ialso enjoy. The personal expressions of gratitude are what sustain me in
knowing that I’m on purpose. Outside of my chosen occupation, I feel purposeful in a myriad of ways
virtually every single day. When I extend assistance to someone in need,
when I take a moment to cheer up a disgruntled employee in a restaurant or
a store, when I make a child laugh who sits otherwise ignored in a stroller,
or even when I pick up a piece of litter and place it in a trash can, I feel that
I’m giving myself away and, as such, feel purposeful. Essentially what I’m saying is: Stay on purpose by expressing the seven
faces of intention, and the details will find you. You’ll never have to ask
what your purpose is or how to find it. Your purpose will find you. In a previous chapter, I reviewed the
obstacles to connecting to intention and pointed out that our thoughts are
one of the major roadblocks. I stressed that we become what we think about
all day long. What thoughts do you have that inhibit you from feeling as if
you’re on purpose in your life? For instance, if you think that you’re
separate from your purpose and that you’re drifting without direction
through your life, then that’s precisely what you’ll attract. Suppose, instead, that you know this is a purposeful universe where your
thoughts, emotions, and actions are a part of your free will and are also
connected to the power of intention. Suppose that your thoughts of being
purposeless and aimless are really a part of your purpose. Just as the
thought of losing someone you love makes you love them even more, or an
illness makes you treasure your health, suppose that it takes the thought of
your unimportance to make you realize your value. When you’re awake enough to question your purpose and ask how to
connect to it, you’re being prodded by the power of intention. The very act
of questioning why you’re here is an indication that your thoughts are
nudging you to reconnect to the field of intention. What’s the source of your
thoughts about your purpose? Why do you want to feel purposeful? Why is
a sense of purpose considered the highest attribute of a fully functioning
person? The source of thought is an infinite reservoir of energy andintelligence. In a sense, thoughts about your purpose are really your
purpose tryingto reconnect to you. This infinite reservoir of loving, kind,
creative, abundant energy grew out of the originating intelligence, and is
stimulating you to express this universal mind in your own unique way. Reread the two display quotes at the beginning of this chapter. Buddha
refers to the truth, and Sivananda suggests that God realization is our true
purpose. This entire book is dedicated to connecting to the power of
intention and letting go of ego, which tries to make us believe that we’re
separate from our divine originating Source and tries to separate us from
realizing ultimate truth. This ultimate truth is the source of your thoughts. That inner beingness knows why you’re here, but your ego prods you to
chase after money, prestige, popularity, and sensory pleasures and miss the
purpose of living. You may feel sated and gain a reputation, but inside
there’s that gnawing feeling typified by the old Peggy Lee song “Is That All
There Is?” Focusing on the demands of the ego leaves you feeling
unfulfilled. Deep within you, at the level of your being, is what you were
intended to become, to accomplish, and to be. In that inner placeless place,
you’re connected to the power of intention. It will find you. Make a
conscious effort to contact it and listen. Practice being what you are at the
source of your soul. Go to your soul level, where intention and purpose fit
together so perfectly that you achieve the epiphany of simply knowing this
is it. Your silent inner knowing. Esteemed psychologist and philosopher
William James once wrote: “In the dim background of our mind we know
meanwhile what we ought to be doing.... But somehow we cannot start.... Every moment we expect the spell to break... but it does continue, pulse
after pulse, and we float with it....”
In my experience as a therapist, and as a speaker talking with thousands
of people about their lives, I’ve come to the same conclusion. Somewhere,
buried deep within each of us, is a call to purpose. It’s not always rational,
not always clearly delineated, and sometimes even seemingly absurd, but
the knowing is there. There’s a silent something within that intends you toexpress yourself. That something is your soul telling you to listen and
connect through love, kindness, and receptivity to the power of intention. That silent inner knowing will never leave you alone. You may try to ignore
it and pretend it doesn’t exist, but in honest, alone moments of
contemplative communion with yourself, you sense the emptiness waiting
for you to fill it with your music. It wants you to take the risks involved,
and to ignore your ego and the egos of others who tell you that an easier,
safer, or more secure path is best for you. Ironically, it’s not necessarily about performing a specific task or being in
a certain occupation or living in a specific location. It’s about sharing
yourself in a creative, loving way using the skills and interests that are
inherently part of you. It can involve any activity: dancing, writing, healing,
gardening, cooking, parenting, teaching, composing, singing, surfing—
whatever. There’s no