, as a
constitution modified by vaccination is not made
more able to resist perturbing influences in general,
it must be made less able. Heat and cold and wet
and atmospheric changes tend ever to disturb the
balance, as do also various foods, excessive
exertion, mental strain. We have no means of
measuring alterations in resisting power. and hence
they commonly pass unremarked. There are,
however, evidences of a general relative debility. Measles is a severer disease than it used to be, and
deaths from it are very  numerous. Influenza yields
proof. Sixty years ago, when at long intervals an
epidemic occurred, it seized but few, w as not
severe, and left no serious sequelae; now it is
permanently established, affects multitudes in
extreme forms, and often leaves dama ged
constitutions. The disease is the same, but there is
less ability to withstand it. There are other significant facts. It is a familiar
biological truth that the organs of sense and the
teeth arise out of the dermal layer of the embryo. Hence abno rmalities affect all of them; blue -eyed
cats are deaf, and hairless dogs have imperfect
teeth. (“Origin of Species,” Chap. 1.) The like
holds of constitutional abnormalities caused by
disease. Syphilis in its earlier stages is a skin
disease. When it is in herited, the effects are
malformation of teeth, and in later years iritis
(inflammation of the iris.) Kindred relations hold
with other skin diseases; instance the fact that
scarlet fever is often accompanied by loosening of
the teeth, and the fact that wi th measles often go
disorders —sometimes temporary, sometimes
permanent —of both eyes and ears. May it not be
thus with another skin disease —that which
vaccination gives? If so, we have an explanation of
the frightful degeneracy of teeth among young
people i n recent times; and we need not wonder at
the prevalence of weak and defective eyes among
them. Be these suggestions true or not, one thing is
certain: The assumption that vaccination changes
the constitution in relation to smallpox, and does
not otherwise  change it, is sheer folly. “When once you interfere with the order of nature, there
is no knowing where the results will end.”

    Interfering with the order of nature is a vast subject —one
without end; but nature “comes smiling through,” except
when overwhelmed. Health —good health —is a greater
force than bad —than every interference —and can correct
every evil effect that is not fatal, if the influence is
removed. Stimulants, continued over a long period, cause a gradual
deterioration, and finall y, unless the habit is stopped, end
fatally. Toxin is a stimulant and a natural product of
metabolism. When the body is normal, the toxin is removed
as fast as generated; but when any enervating habit is
practiced beyond the power of recuperation, the toxi n
accumulates, and Toxemia is established —which means
that the body has lost its protecting power. Now, if vaccine
or any infection gains entrance into the blood, “there is no
knowing where the effects will end.”

   Toxemia throws light on this perplexin g point. When an
infection takes place in a person with normal resistance,
creating a vaceinia —a local skin inflammation —and pus -
formation occurs, it usually ends with the healing of the
abcess. If inoculation of smallpox virus is made in the
Jennerian way, by inserting the virus subcutaneously —
splitting the skin and rubbing it in —violent septic infection  takes place, causing death in many cases. Laws were
passed in England many years ago prohibiting this practice. In toxemic subjects, a local infecti on set up by the virus
of sepsis from any source vaccination, a badly cared -for
injury, a wound that fails to drain, an infected tooth, sinus,
etc.—causes a septic fever of a malignant type, which is
liable to end in death or in invalidism. A system badly
enervated and toxemic, has little power to resist; and when
the blood is very toxemic, it is very vulnerable to the
influence of any infection. Where the infection is not so malignant as to overwhelm
the system, due to the virulence of the infecting a gent, or to
the enervation and toxemic state being so great as to have
destroyed resistance, the patient may rally from the crisis
and get well under the proper management. If, however, the
management is bad, the patient may linger in a state of
semi-invalidism for a few months or years, and finally die. Mr. Roosevelt’s illness and taking -off at least twenty -five
years too soon was a pronounced type of such
derangement. The great and forceful man was
pronouncedly toxemic. He was injured, as everybody
knows, on one of his trips into the jungles. Infection took
place, which probably would have killed a less robust man. He returned home, and continued enervating habits,
preventing his fine body from cleaning house. Such cases can be brought back to th e normal, but never
under conventional treatment. When toxemic subjects are infected, the infection will
never be eliminated entirely until enervation and Toxemia
are overcome. Unless patients of this character are put to
bed and fasted until eliminat ion is completed, then fed
properly, and taught how to eat within their limitations, and
unless they are willing to give up all enervating habits,
there is no hope of their ever getting well. These subjects
often develop tuberculosis, Bright’s disease, and  other
lingering so - called diseases. Our federal hospitals are full
of young men who will never get well; for Toxemia is
developed faster than it is thrown ok. Scientific medicine is
helpless. Nature’s order is interfered with by enervating habits
until Toxemia is established; then a vaccination, or an
infection from any source, acts sooner or later as a
firebrand in causing the most vulnerable organ to take on
organic change. The organ, however, has nothing to do
with cause, and directing treatment t o the organ is
compounding fallacy. Types of such nonsense are blood - transfusion for pernicious anemia; gland treatment for
gland impotency; cutting out stones, ulcers, tumors, etc. There is no question but that one of the most pernicious
practices i n vogue today is treating so -called disease with
disease, and immunizing with the products of disease. One of the first things to do to get rid of any so -called
disease is to get rid of Toxemia; for it is this state of the
blood that makes disease pos sible. Infection, drug -and
food-poisoning may kill; but if they do not, they will be
short-lived in a subject free frown enervation and Toxemia. Conversely, the poisoning will linger in the system until
Toxemia is overcome; then elimination will remove all
traces of infection. Syphilitic infection in a pronouncedly toxemic subject is
thrown into great virulency by conventional treatment. The
infection is the least offender of the trio. Add fear and
wrong eating, and we have a formidable symptom -
complex, justifying all that professional syphilomaniacs say
and write about the disease. Remove Toxemia, drugging,
fear, and vile eating, and there is little left. What there is
can easily be thrown out by nature. WE are builders of tomorrow, and we need not pa y a
fortune -teller—a doctor, lawyer, preacher, banker —to
tell us what will happen to us tomorrow. “Nothing will
happen. The inevitable will come. We shall inherit the
fruits of today’s sowing. Poise

   THE state or quality of being balanced. Figurativ ely,
equanimity; repose. Equanimity —Evenness of mind or temper; composure;
calmness. (Standard Dictionary.) I presume that, to be technically poised, we should be
anatomically, physiologically, and chemically balanced;
but, as asymmetry is the rul e, we cannot hope to be
balanced. We can, however, strive for equanimity —
evenness of mind and temper. Contentment comes with striving, not with possession. Apparently this is not always true; for we see people very
dissatisfied and unhappy who are bus y. Someone has said: “Blessed is the man who has found
work.” This means that he is fully occupied and contented
with his work, not its emoluments. No man is satisfied with
work that has nothing in it but the dollars he gets out of it. Nothing but cre ative work satisfies the mind. What is there in it? Advancement, self -development, and
a chance in the future to do good are about as little as will
satisfy ambition. To make for contentment, the work must occupy and
satisfy the mind. Idle minds  are dissatisfied minds. If asked
what


Pcm,lx giuscug); it is surrounded by legend and
tnystique, and little-kno\vn tnodern scientific data. This humb le
looking root is atnong the best known and least understood in the
West. Most Westerners think of it vaguely as a panacea, an aphro
disiac, or an expensive nonsense steeped in superstition. For centuries the Chinese have revered it as the plant of lite,
the root of rejuvenation. They call it ginseug, or "human root,"
because it often resen1blcs a human figure. They have clain1ed en
thusiastic ally that it invigorates the mind, rejuvenates the body,
protnotes longevity, prevents many diseases, and restores sexual
vitality. In the past, Western scientists have been skeptical, ignoring or
ridiculing the value of ginseng. To the "rational" West, which
demands laboratory proof, anecdotal claims are subjective, un
scientific, and therefore to be discounted. Can tnoder n science
fully analyze a substance valued so highly by the Chinese for
thousands of years? In this century, a few non-Chin ese scientists
have n1ade isolated probes, but a serious assault began in I 96 I,
when Japanese and Soviet scientists independently studied the
root and found similar results. Today scientists in China, Japan,
Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, Great Britain, and other
countries have greatly augn1ented their data. In carefully controlled tests, laboratory mice and dogs given
ginseng were found to swim twice as long before exhaustion, to
increase their sexual activity, to minin1ize the trauma of stress,
and even to incur less radiation damage to the body. In hunun
beings, ginseng has been found to increase the overall efficiency
and accuracy of radio operators and proofreaders. In both hununs
and laboratory anitnals ginseng "tunes up" the central nervous
system (the brain and the spinal cord), normalizes blood pressure,
and alleviates incipient diabetes. l.W Scientists have detennined that ginseng contains numerous
cornplex organic compounds. Of these, the n1ost significant were
at least fifteen saponins, substances found in various plants which
produce a soapy lather. Some water-soluble saponins stimulate
the central nervous system, while some alcohol-so luble saponins
sedate it. The latter also act like sex hormones for both males and
temales. Besides the saponins, ginseng contains essential oils,
fatty acids, mucilaginous resins, sugars, alkaloids, and silicic acid;
ginsenin, which resembles insulin; enzymes for digesting starch
and protein; flavonoids, which increase capillary elasticity; and
phytosterols, which promote hormone production. Ginseng also
contains traces of numerous minerals, including manganese,
magnesium, copper, cobalt, vanadium, iron, zinc, potassium,
calcium, sulfur, phosphorus, and germanium, which is known to
attack cancer cells. In addition, ginseng has vitamins B1, B7, Be! ;
biotin; pantothenic acid; choline, which lowers blood pressure;
panaxic acid, which reduces cholesterol; panacene, which relieves
pain; panaxin, which tonifies the central nervous and cardio
vascular systems; panquilon, which stimulates the secretion of
pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal hormones ; and maltol, an antioxi
dant now recognized for its antiaging effects. It is very likely that
other components of the humble-looking root have yet to be iso
lated and identified, and that the properties and functions of those
already identified arc not entirely known. Ginseng' s action is unique. It has ingredients that stinurlate the
central nervous systcn1 and others that sedate it. It has ingredients
that lower blood pressu re and others that elevate it. According to a
careful study conducted in an American university, howeve r, long
h:rnl usc n1ay rt·sult in a steady lowering of blood pressure, as
blood vessels in certain parts of the body arc relaxed. GinSl'ng
also lowers blood cholcstl'rol and nonnalizcs blood sugar. Gin -
...
seng conditi ons and soothes thl' central nervous systcrn, thereby
regulating and nornulizin� nujor body functions. It shidds the
body froan hann ful inner factors such as strl'SS, and detoxifies the
body frorn da rnagi ng outside derncnts such as clirnatic cxtrc-n1cs,
drugs. and l'Vcn radiation. Not only docs it stinnrlatc thl' Sl'Cfl'
tion of Cl'rtain honnones, but sornc of its cornponl 'nts bchavl' likl'
sex honnonl ·s� it Ius, for inst;UlCl\ an effect likt· that of estrogen
on rncno pausal won1cn and prl'Vents vaginal atrophy. Although
ginseng is not an inst�lnt aphrodisiac in the narr ow sensl'of the word, it is a top sexual nutrient, which preserves and restores sex
ual well-being in 111 iddlc-aged and older peo ple. And it has no
harntful side eftl.·cts i f taken regularly and in snull doses. No otht·r single plant-no single iten1, in t:Kt-is known to
have such properties. Scientists coined the term "ada ptogen" to de
scribe a substanc e's ability to hdp the body adapt it sci f to diftl.·rent
conditions-if and when this is needed. This modern tcnn af
tinns what tht• Chinese have long known about the root, and the
uses to \vhich they put it. They have reserved it for ntiddk-aged
and older people. tor convalescents, f(x the phy sically and nlen
tally exhausted. Ginseng is not a tonic tor the young and healthy. Is ginseng really the root of rejuvenation, as the Chinese have
claitned? With ntodern laboratory results incontplete but sugges
tive, the answer seen 1s to depend on where one's prejudice lies. No
wonder Chinese ernpcrors and polygantous husbands took it. No
wonder Soviet cosntonauts and Olytnpic athletes have taken it. No wonder its prices have been pushed sky -high today through
avid purchases by tnany newly rich japanese businessmen. Although North American ginseng (Panax quitzqu� {tllium) is a
close relative of the Oriental variety, it is less potent and different
in various properties. It has been used by the Chinese as a nu
trient, but not a sexual nutrient. THE PLANT OF IMMOR TALITY
When the term "adaptogen" was coined, ginseng was the only sin
gle substance known to help the body regulate its functions as it
did. Since then, modern researchers have discovered other ada pto
gens. Among the latest to be tested in the laboratory is ling-chih, the
"divine mushroom" (Gan odenna lucidum). As mentioned earlier,
it provides a favorite motif in Chinese art, represents a felicitous
sign, and is a symbol of female sexual essence. Major Chinese
medical treatises rank it with ginseng as the best of "superior med
icines." Legends claim that ling-chih brings eternal youth and as
sures longevity. It was said even to resurrect the dead, and hence is
sometimes called the ''plant of immortality." So fabulous was its
reputation and so rarely was it found that when a large growth of
ling-ch ih was reported to En1peror Wu of the Han dynasty in the
second century B. c., he declared a national celebration and or
dered a general amnesty. I..p Earlier efforts to cultivate liu.�-chih failed, but in 1972 research
ers succeeded in doing so in Taiwan. Subsequent ly it was planted
successfully in Japan, South Korea, and China, and intensive re
search and experimentation became possible. Because ling-chih
has the same capability as ginseng to normalize blood pressure
and blood sugar, it too is classified as an adaptogen. In clinical
tests in China and Japan, it has been found effective in lowering
blood cholesterol and fat. It is believed effective in preventing or
alleviating some two dozen ailments or diseases, including bron
chial asthma, chronic hepatitis, diabetes, hemorrhoids, varicose
veins, rheumatoid arthritis, strokes, and deficiency of steroid
honnones secreted by the adrenal cortex. More recently, reports that ling-chih can combat certain types
of cancer (of the breast, uterus, and digestive tract) have been at
tracting attention in Asian medical circles. Precisely why ling-chih
may be effective is not known, although one Japanese scientist sus
pects that the rich amount of the anticancer mineral germanium it
contains may be the answer. Ling


periential discipline that
comes from being a senio r software engineer  in a
Fortune 500 technology company. We were desperately
in need of that knowledge and experience. Tim and I spe nt hours together and really got to like
each other. He was a perfect fit for what Personalized
Programming needed, both professionally and
personally. Bu t I still had one issue that needed to be
resolved. If Tim was going to seriously consider taking
the job, I needed to be sure he was going to be
comfortable with who I was. At some point he was
certainly going to hear about the Temple across the
street. I  decide d the only fair  thing to do was to take him
over there and show him around. I was amazed by how open T im was to the Temple. He
was fascinated by the artifacts of the various religions
and asked a lot of deep questions about meditation and
yoga. It turned out that Tim was much more than a very
religious person—he was deeply spiritual and was truly a
lover of God. R ather than being offended by how I had
come up, he w as inspired by it. A very deep spiritual
bond formed that day as we shared our spiritual
experiences and beliefs with each other. This bond of
spiritual friendship grew stronger and stronger over the
next ten years that we worked together. Apparently, life
had outdone itself once again
I h ired Tim, an d we decided to quietly bring him in as
a de veloper instead of as top management. He wanted to
work directly with my people to get to know the
development e nvironment fi rsthand. The plan was that
after so me months he would start to reorganize and take
charge of the development teams. I would remain in
charge of product direction; he would be in charge of
engineering. I couldn’t wait t o find out how much of the
load Tim would be capable of carrying.The Me dical M anager product was more than fifteen
years ol d by the time Tim began working with it. It had
been designed for small doctor practices and was now
being used to run large clinics and sprawling managed
care or ganizations. It was not unusual for some of our
larger d ealers to install systems that supported hundreds
of users. If this kept up, we w ould eventually outgrow the
technical capabilities of the software. In addition, our
clients were beginning to ask us to modernize the overall
product. The writing was on the wall: unless we did
something, our days were numbered. If we wanted a
solid foundatio n for the future, we were going to have to
completely rewrite the product. This was not a  decision for the faint of heart. It was
going to take a tremendous investment, putting at risk
years of development resources and millions of dollars. As I  pondered over the enor mity of the project that lay
before us, it fin ally hit me—this was the real reason that
Tim had been sent to us. He had been sent to reengineer
The Medical Manager into a t otally new product with the
latest development technology. We couldn’t afford to stop the rapid pace of
development o f the existing system, so I gave Tim the go-
ahead to hire an entire additional development team to
build the new product. Intergy would be the new
product’s name, and it was a good thing we were building
more buildings because we were certainly going to need
them. I trusted Tim implicitly and gave him whatever he
asked fo r. It took us close to five years to release the new
product, but when all was sa id and done, we ended up
with a product that would kee p us in the marketplace for
many y ears to come. As I loo k back now, it is so obvious
that we could never have su cceeded as we did without
Tim showing up exactly when he did. How in the world
does this keep happening, again and again?4 2. M e a n w h i l e — B a c k  a t  t h e  R a n c h
T here was so much work to do at Personalized
Programming that I pretty much worked all my waking
hours—except for my morn ings and evenings in the
Temple. The Temple community was so stable that it
hardly took any of my management time. Radha was able
to manage the Temple and its finances even though her
position as the chief financia l controller at Personalized
Programming kept her working day and night. In the
midst o f all this transformatio n, the Temple was about to
experience a change of its own. At the end of 1994, Amrit had a major falling-out with
his followers. As is the case with so many people we put
up on a pedestal, some inappropriate behavior from his
past came to light, and the situation proved extremely
difficult for everyone. When I heard that Amrit had
actually left the community, I invited him and his wife to
come s pend s ome quiet time living with us at the
Temple. To be there when a person is soaring high is an
easy relationship. To be there during hard times requires
deep fri endship. All of us had  received a great deal from
Amrit over the years. We were humbled at the
opportunity to give something back. Radha had been living in the Jenkins house for several
years by then. Since it was  the nicest house on our
property, she immediately offered to move out. In
December 1994, Amrit and his wife moved into that
house a nd ended up living t here for the better part of
three years. It w as an amazing experience to be that close
to such an evolved person going through such a life-changing experience. While he was here, Amrit simply
allowed the situation to p ut him through whatever
changes he needed to go thro ugh. Situations like this are
like fir e, and Amrit just w anted to use that fire for
spiritual purification. He wasn’t sad, he wasn’t hurt, and
he wasn ’t scare d—he was just completely surrendered to
going through the experience. I constantly saw in Amrit
what I always saw inside of  me: when push comes to
shove, I don’t care what it takes, just free me from
myself. The only meaningful prayer is that this white-hot
fire be so dest ructive to the personal self that it severs
the cord that binds. Standing soul to soul, Amrit and I
had that in common—liberation at any cost. I didn’t isolate myself from what Amrit was going
through. I wanted to share the experience of exploring
what it would be like insid e if everything were taken
away outside. I recalled Kin g Solomon’s wisdom: For
every thing there is a season, a time for every purpose
under heaven. I had been honored to know Amrit as a
world-renowned teacher; I was now all the more
honored to be close to him as  he passed through a period
of g reat darkness or, better  put, as a period of great
darkness passed through him. He never complained, and
he never got depressed or despondent. He just spent
each day surrendering at a deeper and deeper level. Reality was what it was—mig ht as well use it to let go of
the personal self. As with  all things, in time the energy began to shift. The noise of the past subside d and opportunities for the
future began to open up. One  day Amrit asked me to take
a dr ive with him to see a place he had found in the Ocala
National Fores t. It was in a very small town less than an
hour and a ha lf south of the Temple. I couldn’t believe
the place when I saw it. It w as an absolutely beautiful
giant house sitting on the sh ore of a gorgeous lake, and
there were also five or six cabins on the property. It was a
perfect home for Amrit and  his family. Every place Iwalked, I felt Amrit. I had k nown him for years, and I
knew his taste. You could no t have custom built a home
specifically for him that was more perfect than this place. I ha d to hold back tears as I realized—it was over. The
period of darkness had passed. I encouraged him to buy
the property if he could afford it. He then told me the
price. I  couldn’t believe my ears—it was the deal of the
century. I learned a lot  about surrender by being with Amrit
during this whole ordeal. What I saw was that no matter
who we are, life is going to p ut us through the changes
we n eed to go through. The question is: Are we willing to
use this force for our transformation? I saw that even
very int ense si tuations don’t have to leave psychological
scars, if  we are willing to proc ess our changes at a deeper
level. My surrender experiment had already taught me to
deeply honor the transformative power of life. Sharing
that time with Amrit would  prove to be all the more
important since life as I knew it was once again about to
go through a major, unexpected change.S e c t i o n  V I I I
Embracing Explosive
Expansion4


 The first approach could be called the way of avoidance and is the default
approach for most people. The second could be called the way of self-enquiry
or investigation, and the third, the way of openness. In the way of avoidance, the intense, painful emotion is considered un -
bearable and we distract ourself from it with objects, substances, activities
and relationships. In this case the sense of lack, and the separate self or ego
on whose behalf it arises, will remain intact, albeit temporarily masked by
the distraction. However, as soon as the object, substance, activity or rela -
tionship has passed or changed, the underlying sense of lack will resurface. In an attempt to avoid it, we may again turn away from it towards the
distraction of our choice, only this time a slightly stronger dose will be
required. In this way a perpetual cycle of lack, avoidance, temporary fulfilment
and inevitable failure will lead eventually to despair and, often, addiction. T o illustrate the difference between the second and third approaches –
the way of enquiry or investigation and the way of openness – imagine  you are the happiness you seek
a professional boxing match. When the two boxers are at a distance of about
one metre from one another, they are dangerous and in danger. In the in -
terval between rounds, each goes to his respective corner, where he is safe. However, during the fight itself it is not possible for either boxer to retire to
his corner. So what does a boxer do if he wants respite from the intensity of
the fight? He comes close to his opponent and wraps his arms around him
in a ‘clinch’, thereby neutralising him. He finds safety in closeness. The path of self-enquiry is the equivalent of the break that the boxers
take between rounds. That is, in self-enquiry we increase  the apparent dis -
tance between our self and our suffering. We disengage from the struggle
with our emotions, trace our way back through the layers of our experience,
and come to rest in and as the presence of awareness. In reality, awareness is so utterly, intimately one with all experience that
it cannot separate itself from any experience and stand at a distance from it,
any more than a screen can be separated from an image. At the same time,
awareness is utterly free and independent from the content of experience. So the analogy of the boxers retiring to their respective corners is simply
meant to illustrate this disentanglement from the content of experience and
the return to the peace of our true nature. In other words, in the way of enquiry or investigation, we turn away from
the feeling and investigate the suffering self: Who is this ‘I’ on whose behalf
my suffering arises? The way of self-enquiry is, as such, an inward-facing
path, in which we turn away from the unpleasant emotion and question the
‘I’ at its heart, thereby tracing our way back to our essential, irreducible
being, the presence of awareness. It is often initiated, at least in the early
stages, by a process of negation or discrimination, in which we discard every
aspect of our experience that is not essential to us: ‘I am not this, not this,
not this’. In the Western tradition it is known as the Via Negativa. In the way of openness, we turn towards  the unpleasant emotion and em -
brace it. This is like the clinch during the boxing match. We decrease  the
distance between our self and our suffering. We turn towards  it. We embrace
the danger, neutralising it in our welcoming presence. In fact, we need not turn towards any afflictive emotion; it would be
enough to cease turning away from it. The presence of awareness that we
essentially are is already turned towards, or open without resistance to,
134attending to painful emotions
all experience. This openness is what we are, not what we do. It does not
need to be practised. However, all psychological suffering arises because we have temporarily
forgotten or overlooked that we are this resistanceless presence of awareness
and, as a result, have mistaken our self for a separate self or ego. Therefore,
it is legitimate to suggest to this apparently separate self or ego that it turn
towards the suffering that it would normally seek to avoid. Some courage may initially be needed as we face the discomfort of the
sense of lack from which we have been in flight for much of our lives. How -
ever, by facing the sense of lack in this way we will be withholding from it
the one thing that it requires for its survival, namely, our resistance to it. By welcoming what was previously unacceptable to us we are, without
necessarily realising it at first, taking our stand as the presence of awareness,
and it is only a matter of time before the peace and joy that is its very nature
will begin to emerge and percolate into the foreground of experience. In the way of openness, we go deeply into the emotion itself and find at
its very core the peace we previously sought by avoiding it. It is a path in
which we turn towards  the content of experience. It is the way of surrender,
of embrace, the way of ‘yes’, the Via Positiva. T o summarise the distinction between these two approaches, when we
say, ‘I feel lonely’, there are two elements to the experience: I, myself, and
the feeling of loneliness. In the way of self-enquiry or investigation, we explore
the ‘I’ and ignore the loneliness; in the way of openness, we embrace the
loneliness and ignore the ‘I’. It is legitimate to explore either of these approaches. Both pathways,
if followed all the way, lead to the same conclusion, namely, the dissolution
of the sense of separation and the suffering that inevitably attends it, and the
return to the peace and happiness that is our natural condition. investigating the ‘i’

I understand this approach in theory, but can you give an example of what the
way of investigation looks like in practice? Imagine someone were to say to you, ‘Isn’t it a beautiful day today?’ Would
you be upset by it? 135you are the happiness you seek
No. You hear the words, you register their meaning and they vanish without leaving
any trace in you, and without your wanting either to hold on to them be -
cause they are so pleasant or to get rid of them because they are so unpleasant. But imagine that someone were to say something that you find hurtful. In this
case, the words don’t just pass through you without leaving a trace. Something
in you resists the words and, as a result, you feel upset. Who is it that is upset? I am upset. T ell us about the ‘I’ that is upset. My image or idea of myself. Usually I would feel like, ‘They shouldn’t have
done that’. Can an image or an idea be upset? No. So who or what is it that is upset? You refer to whatever that is as ‘I’. ‘ I am
upset by what he said.’ ‘ I am hurt by her behaviour.’ Who or what is this
upset ‘I’? This is how to look for the ‘I’. When you hear the words ‘Isn’t it a
beautiful day today?’ there is no holding on to or resisting the words. No ‘I’
rises up to say, ‘I like it’ or ‘I don’t like it’. The words just float unimpeded
through awareness and leave no trace on it. What is it that rises up and says,
‘I am upset’? Is the awareness that heard the supposedly hurtful words upset? No. Awareness is like an open, empty, knowing, space-like presence; it cannot be
hurt, stained, tarnished, moved, changed or destroyed by words, or indeed
by anything else, any more than empty space can be hurt or destroyed by
whatever takes place within it. Imagine throwing a ball through empty space. The ball just flows through
the space until it meets with some resistance: someone raises a hand or it
136attending to painful emotions
hits the wall. In the absence of any such resistance, the ball just flows through
the space. Likewise, without the rising of the ‘I’ that says, ‘I like it, I want it’
or ‘I dislike it, I don’t want it’, the words will flow through you without af -
fecting you in any way. Now, when you hear the supposedly hurtful words, something rises up
and resists the words and says, ‘I don’t like it’. The counterpart of the thought
‘I don’t like it’ is felt in the body as an emotion of hurt or suffering. What is
this ‘I’ that rises up and resists the words? On whose behalf does the resis -
tance arise? It is obviously not the ‘I’ of awareness. The ‘I’ that I think I am. Go to that ‘I’. T ry to find it. What exactly is it? Where is it? What is it
made of? Your hurt feeling is arising on its behalf, so you must know it. In fact, most of your life revolves around it. What do you find when you
go towards it? I guess it’s a story. Don’t guess. It is only necessary to guess about something you don’t know. But you know yourself more intimately than you know any other thing. Your
whole life revolves around ‘I’. Be specific. What is that? It’s a story, yes, but
can a story be upset? No.


 The	misguided	may	trumpet	the	virtues	of	one	specific	nutrient	or	chemical,
but	this	thinking	is	too	simplistic. Our	bodies	have	learned	how	to	benefit
from	the	chemicals	in	food	as	they	are	packaged	together,	discarding	some
and	using	others	as	they	see	ht. I	cannot	stress	this	enough,	as	it	is	the
foundation	of	understanding	what	good	nutrition	means.PRINCIPLE	#2
___________
Vitamin	supplements	are	not	a	panacea	for	good	health. Because	nutrition	operates	as	an	infinitely	complex	biochemical	system
involving	thousands	of	chemicals	and	thousands	of	effects	on	your	health,	it
makes	little	or	no	sense	that	isolated	nutrients	taken	as	supplements	can
substitute	for	whole	foods. Supplements	will	not	lead	to	long-lasting	health
and	may	cause	unforeseen	side	effects. Furthermore,	for	those	relying	on
supplements,	beneficial	and	sustained	diet	change	is	postponed. The	dangers
of	a	Western	diet	cannot	be	overcome	by	consuming	nutrient	pills. As	I	have	watched	the	interest	in	nutrient	supplements	explode	over	the
past	twenty	to	thirty	years,	it	has	become	abundantly	clear	why	such	a	huge
nutrient	supplement	industry	has	emerged. Huge	profits	are	an	excellent
incentive,	and	new	government	regulations	have	paved	the	way	for	an
expanded	market. Furthermore,	consumers	want	to	continue	eating	their
customary	foods,	and	popping	a	few	supplements	makes	people	feel	better
about	the	potentially	adverse	health	effects	caused	by	their	diet. Embracing
supplements	means	the	media	can	tell	people	what	they	want	to	hear	and
doctors	have	something	to	offer	their	patients. As	a	result,	a	multibillion-
dollar	supplement	industry	is	now
part	of	our	nutritional	landscape,	and	the
majority	of	consumers	have	been	duped	into	believing	that	they	are	buying
health. This	was	the	late	Dr.	Atkins’s	formula. He	advocated	a	high-protein,
high-fat	diet—sacrificing	long-term	health	for	short-term	gain—and	then
advocated	taking	his	supplements	to	address	what	he	called,	in	his	own
words,	the	“common	dieters’	problems”	including	constipation,	sugar
cravings,	hunger,	fluid	retention,	fatigue,	nervousness	and	insomnia. 1
This	strategy	of	gaining	and	maintaining	health	with	nutrient	supplements,
however,	started	to	unravel	in	1994–1996	with	the	large-scale	investigation	of
the	effects	of	beta-carotene	(a	precursor	to	vitamin	A)	supplements	on	lung
cancer	and	other	diseases. 2,	3
	After	four	to	eight	years	of	supplement	use,	lung
cancer	had	not	decreased	as	expected;	it	had	increased! No	benefit	was	found
from	vitamins	A	and	E	for	the	prevention	of	heart	disease	either. Since	then,	a	large	number	of	additional	trials	costing	hundreds	of	millions
of	dollars	have	been	conducted	to	determine	if	vitamins	A,	C	and	E	prevent
heart	disease	and	cancer. Recently,	two	major	reviews	of	these	trials	were
published. 4,	5
	The	researchers,	in	their	words,	“could	not	determine	the
balance	of	benefits	and	harms	of	routine	use	of	supplements	of	vitamins	A,	Cor	E;	multivitamins	with	folic	acid;	or	antioxidant	combinations	for	the
prevention	of	cancer	or	cardiovascular	disease.”
4
	Indeed,	they	even
recommended	against	the	use	of	beta-carotene	supplements. It	is	not	that	these	nutrients	aren’t	important. They	are—but	only	when
consumed	as	food,	not	as	supplements. Isolating	nutrients	and	trying	to	get
benefits	equal	to	those	of	whole	foods	reveals	an	ignorance	of	how	nutrition
operates	in	the	body. A	recent	special	article	in	the	New
York	Times
6
documents	this	failure	of	nutrient	supplements	to	provide	any	proven	health
benefit. As	time	passes,	I	am	confident	that	we	will	continue	to	“discover”
that	relying	on	the	use	of	isolated	nutrient	supplements	to	maintain	health,
while	consuming	the	usual	Western	diet,	is	not	only	a	waste	of	money	but	is
also	potentially	dangerous.PRINCIPLE	#3
___________
There	are	virtually	no	nutrients	in	animal-based	foods	that	are	not	better
provided	by	plants. Overall,	it	is	fair	to	say	that	any	plant-based	food	has	many	more	similarities
in	terms	of	nutrient	compositions	to	other	plant-based	foods	than	it	does	to
animal-based	foods. The	same	is	true	the	other	way	around;	all	animal-based
foods	are	more	like	other	animal-based	foods	than	they	are	to	plant-based
foods. For	example,	even	though	fish	is	significantly	different	from	beef,	fish
has	many	more	similarities	to	beef	than	it	has	to	rice. Even	the	foods	that	are
“exceptions”	to	these	rules,	such	as	nuts,	seeds	and	processed	low-fat	animal
products,	remain	in	distinct	plant	and	animal	“nutrient”	groups. Eating	animals	is	a	markedly	different	nutritional	experience	from	eating
plants. The	amounts	and	kinds	of	nutrients	in	these	two	types	of	foods,	shown
in
Chart	11.2
,
7,	8,	9
	illustrate	these	striking	nutritional	differences. CHART	11.2:	NUTRIENT	COMPOSITION	OF	PLANT	AND	ANIMAL-
BASED	FOODS	(PER	500	CALORIES	OF	ENERGY)
Nutrient
Plant-Based	Foods*
Animal-Based	Foods**
Cholesterol	(mg)
—
137
Fat	(g)
4
36
Protein	(g)
33
34
Beta-carotene	(mcg)
29,919
17
Dietary	Fiber	(g)
31
—
Vitamin	C	(mg)
293
4
Folate	(mcg)
1168
19
Vitamin	E	(mg_ATE)
11
0.5
Iron	(mg)
20
2
Magnesium	(mg)
548
51
Calcium	(mg)
545
252
*	Equal	parts	of	tomatoes,	spinach,	lima	beans,	peas,	potatoes
**	Equal	parts	of	beef,	pork,	chicken,	whole	milk

As	you	can	see,	plant	foods	have	dramatically	more	antioxidants,	fiber	and
minerals	than	animal	foods. In	fact,	animal	foods	are	almost	completelydevoid	of	several	of	these	nutrients. Animal	foods,	on	the	other	hand,	have
much	more	cholesterol	and	fat. They	also	have	slightly	more	protein	than
plant	foods,	along	with	more	B
12
	and	vitamin	D,	although	the	vitamin	D	is
largely	due	to	artificial	fortification	in	milk. Of	course,	there	are	some
exceptions:	some	nuts	and	seeds	are	high	in	fat	and	protein	(e.g.,	peanuts,
sesame	seeds)	while	some	animal-based	foods	are	low	in	fat,	usually	because
they	are	stripped	of	their	fat	by	artificial	processing	(e.g.,	skim	milk). But	if
one	looks	a	little	more	closely,	the	fat	and	the	protein	of	nuts	and	seeds	are
different:	they	are	more	healthful	than	the	fat	and	protein	of	animal	foods. They	also	are	accompanied	by	some	interesting	antioxidant	substances. On
the	other	hand,	processed,	l


 how love is
born. It is our pr edestination to live this way; it is our
"normal" state of consciousness. And then, of course, the
whole world would be transfor med if enough people lived in
this "space. W e'll come back to that later, because basically
we're still pointing to the one essential truth: the truth about
who you ar e.
- RAM DAS S: I would lik e to say that love is not an
emotion; rather, love is a kind of conversation between
souls, a conversation between souls, because this "I" that is
each individual her e is a soul and we ar e all one; they ar e
two diﬀer ent levels of consciousness. When one
individualized soul meets another individualized soul, one
soul r ecognizes the other soul....and... the ego has its r oots
in negative things while the soul has its r oots in love. That
is, when you ar e in your ego, you ar e afraid and separated
from all others. When a soul is separated fr om another soul
but they r ealize that they shar e a consciousness. If one
perceives with the soul, the other people appear as souls. Like for e xample when you go to a stor e, ther e are diﬀer ent
people playing diﬀer ent roles; ther e is the customer, and
the cashier. But I go into that stor e and I r ealize that they
are souls and they ar e only playing these r oles in this
incar nation. They have chosen these r oles only because of
their particular k arma. Is that wor d clear?... yes. I think it is. Question : A question about this: not only do you very
rarely use the wor d "love" in your teaching, but you don't
use the wor d "soul" very of ten either. I hear you talk a lot
about how our conceptualized thinking separates us fr om
the ﬁeld of unity and being, but the idea of an individualized
soul...? I'm curious if you can say anything about that, how
it ﬁts for you in that conte xt. - ECKHAR T TOLLE: I never decided not to use the wor d
"soul"; it just didn't appear; I never decided not to use the
word "soul"; it just didn't appear; lik ewise, I don't use "God"
much...soul... means to me, as R am Dass just said, that you
walk into a stor e or wher ever, you see all kinds of people,
diﬀer ent for ms, and it's wonderful to see the diversity of life
forms ar ound you without having to believe that the
fundamental r eality of each person you see or come incontact with is in their for m or in the r ole they play; they'r e
only temporary; but you can still enjoy the diversity of life
forms and even enjoy the r oles that people play. You can
only r eally enjoy it if you r ecognize the other at a deeper
level and if that r ecognition tak es place - and it can only
succeed if you r ecognize who you ar e beyond your own r ole
and for m - and that is consciousness, the light of
consciousness, the for mless. Consciousness has tak en a temporary for m and so the
universe generates billions, trillions, an inﬁnite number of
life for ms, even on this one planet, even in the one human
form. Every human being is diﬀer ent in some way, it's
amazing! But if you only see the diﬀer ences, you ar e
trapped at that level. One must be able to feel one's own
fundamental r eality as consciousness to be able to
appreciate the play of for ms. Because otherwise, not only
the play of for ms attracts us, but we ar e looking for
something in those for ms, the fulﬁllment, thr ough other
forms, other people; the ego again, which would lik e other
people to bring us fulﬁllment. Along with this device, ther e
is also the r ole... So if we ar e sitting; these ar e only
temporary for ms, this for m will soon go away, and sooner or
later all these for ms her e will have dissolved. Lik e soap
bubbles. And all that's lef t is the One that has e xpressed
itself in the many. And when one r ecognizes oneself as the
One, -and this happens when the ﬂow of thoughts stops-,
there is only an attentive pr esence, a vast, conscious,
formless pr esence. That is what one is - beyond for m - and
from ther e one can enjoy the play of for ms. If we ar e not ther e, the play of for ms is thr eatening. Or one
constantly tries to complete oneself by trying to r each
certain for ms. The play of for ms is never satisf ying until one
has touched the r oot of all satisfaction, that is, being itself,consciousness itself. The Buddha has alr eady taught us that
the unsatisfactory natur e of "things", -he said: wher ever one
ﬁnds oneself, one ﬁnds "duca"-suﬀering- no matter what
situation one is in, ther e is always a "crack" in everything. And of course, these wor ds of L eonar d Cohen: "Ther e is a
crack in everything, and that's how the light gets in". This
means that everything that goes "wr ong" her e in our
encounter is in fact beautiful, not being able to speak is for
example a possibility to be silent. It is to welcome what may
arise, while being in contact with what is unchanging, the
consciousness itself, to feel it, to feel it, in this moment, the
silent and attentive pr esence within. And is it an individual
presence or is it an impersonal pr esence? I don't think you
can r eally separate them; the sense of "I", which is the
formless consciousness, is at the same time the basis of
one's sense of identity, which is however confused with the
stories of the mind. But if we r eally dive deep: wher e does
this feeling of "I" come fr om? Not the "I" = my story or the "I
want" and the "I need" and the "I must have" etc. but the
deeper sense of being "I", the "I am"; "I am the way" said
Jesus and I think they lef t out one wor d: I am IS the way. And
the distinction between personal and impersonal no longer
really appears, because the essence of each individual's
identity beyond the for ms is consciousness itself and it is
the impersonal soul that e xpresses itself as an individual
person...so......that was the answer...? I never wonder if I
will survive as that personal "self", no; I don't have the
sense of personhood because. The essence of who I am is
timeless, I know that. I don't need to know the details; what
will the essence of who I am, the timeless, do in the futur e? To me, it seems that you associate the individual soul and
the collective unity; you don't ﬁnd it important to mak e a
distinction between the two. No, because many of these things ar e just wor ds; Buddhism,
Hinduism; in Hinduism we have the atman; the inner God is
called atman; Buddhists say : no, ther e is no atman; ther e is
only emptiness! And they ar e both talking about the same
thing, because the atman is for mless. Emptiness" cansometimes be mor e useful, because one cannot believe in
it. The moment you say, "Ther e is an atman!" you begin to
believe in something; you have another spiritual concept. And the buddah made it very diﬃcult for people to believe
in what he was imparting; very diﬃcult, because they could
not say, "W e believe in emptiness!" Maybe they do in
Buddhist monasteries, but actually it shouldn't be e xpressed
that way, it should be r ecognized, and the moment it is
recognized, it is clear : atman and emptiness ar e the same
thing. L'... soul... The individual soul... W e agr ee that we see
the atman in our interlocutor. So it's not r eally a thought;
the soul is consciousness and as my guru was saying that
you have to love everybody, I said that the soul is the loving
consciousness....and... when he said to me, "L ove
everybody", I ﬁrst thought of the politicians; should I love
them? So some of them I could stand, but I said,
"Maharadshi, I can't do that! I can't do that, I can


 the quality t hat is desired, and then, much to one’ s
surprise, discover that it has b een a nonactivated and latent aspect of
one’ s own potentiality. Many people make self-improvement the number
one prio rity in their lives and identify with admired figures instead of
envying them. As a practical ex ercise, before leaving the house, review how one would
like oneself to be and decide to act that way. In so doing, note the
response of others to one’ s b eing friendly, considerate, gracious, or
loving. Decline seduction and temptation by that which is tawdry and
sensational. Surrender the dubio us pleasure of ‘getting even’ or ‘getting
the best of a deal’ in emotional interchanges. As a pleasant ex ercise, consciou sly and purposely allow other people to
‘win’ and thus discover one’ s own inner greatness and generosity. T o be
emotionally stingy creates emot ional poverty. Every ‘win’ that one gives
others paradoxi cally makes one richer, and by practice, one ends up
emotionally wealthy. Q: Is that not self-effacing or ‘people pleasing’? A: These are illusory attitudes consequent to spiritual poverty and low
self-esteem. T o act from spiritual Grace means being magnanimous
because the source of Grace is Love, which is unlimited and nascent
within. T o act sm all and mean from stinginess supports spiritual poverty
and clos es the door to the Source of Infinite Grace that is already present
as the Self. The small self acts from lim itation and sees itself as needy and
insuf ficient. It is therefore defe nsive and watchful for gain. T he small
self is miserly, guarded, and greedy. It is experientially unaware that
there is an altern ative Self that merely awaits activation by invit ation and
assent. T he sma ll self is fearful and unwilling to trust the Self; t herefore,
transcendence requires both faith and courage. Q: By example, you often use humor during lectur es and
interpersonal interaction. People ar e often surprised because theyhave an image of a spiritual teacher as being serious and pio us or as
an orator of exhilarative, inspirational exhortation. A: The paradox is that humor is actually a quite serious approach to
spiritual conflic ts and dilemmas and is often far more ef fec tive than
platitudinous homilies. Humor arises from abundance of good  will. It
of fsets and precludes emotional  pain and anxiety, and it transcends the
negative by exposing unspoken fallacies that would otherwise be
unapproachable. By own ing a fallacy as a hidd en aspect of one’ s own person ality, its
absurdity is revealed. That is th e mechanism of hyperbole that exposes
invalid b elief systems that are of fered by rationalized distortions of truth. Humor bridges the gap between  r es inter na (cog itans) and r es externa
(the wor ld the way it is). Theref ore, it forms a striking contrast  between
what the mind perceives or bel ieves and the essence of the un derlying
reality. Humor thus exposes the ego’ s self-serving deceptions. Humor reveals alternative viewpoints and options and is therefore
liberating and freeing. Clinical ly, it is also associated with improved
health and even longevity. Humorists characteristically calibrate in the
high 400 s, are long-lived and b eloved by everyone. Humor exposes the
suppressed aspe cts of the human psyche so they can be identified and
more easily acknowledged, owned, and thereby transcended by the
transparency of their fallacy. One need not be defensive about human
frailties and foibles if they are recognized, accepted, and owned. T rue
spiritual awareness arises from recognition of essence. Great humorists are beloved because their strength to own, face, and
laugh at  human weakness revea ls the listeners’ capacity to do the same. The ef fect of hu mor is therapeutic, and it also increases human bonding
and compassion via mutual recognition. Humor reduces inner pain,
shame, and guilt, thereby revealing more benign options. Psychological denial stems from guilt, and when guilt is assuaged, inner
honesty ensues. Humor is the antidote to
emotional/psychological/spiritual poverty and its proclivity to smallness,
meanness, and lack of stature. Q: I s humor th er efor e a palatable avenue by which to appr oach the
painful downside of one’ s ego? A: Y es. It serves as the example of therapeutic/spiritual techniques that
lead to inner freedom, honesty, and liberation. It is an antidote to shame,
fear, and  guilt. It subtly reveals the capacity of inner strength th at allows
the recognition  of one’ s inna te, nascent bigness. W ith humor, the
unapproachable becomes available for recognition, ownership, and
transcendence. Humor facilitates inner integrity. In contrast, the
unmodified ego is humorless and grim. Q: How does humor fit in with devotion? Ar e they not diverse? A: Devotion is the dedication to T ruth and Love by which humor
becomes a handmaiden to assis t in realizing the goal. It diminishes the
value of  fallacy by contrasting truth with falsehood by putting them into
juxtaposition. Th e underlying intention of humor is actually quite serious
and ded icated to liberation from illusion, fear, hatred, and guilt. It
unmasks the ego, thereby decreasing its dominance. It leads away from
the self to the Self. Q: How does that come about? A: T he ego’ s pr ograms are linear and are comprised and defined by the
restriction of content. The spir it, or Self, is nonlinear and represents
context. The restricted linear content of the ego is relinquished via
exposure of the nonreality of its  perceptions and positionalities. One can
see that the ego’ s perceptions are aligned with conquest and gain. When
the falla cies of its propositions are exposed to the daylight of awareness,
the dominance of illusion fades away. Realization of the Self is neither a gain nor an acquisition. It is the
Realization that unfolds of its ow n when the obstructions are surrendered
or re moved. Ef forting is merely  the consequence of resistance that, in
turn, is the product of illusion. As the clouds in the sky fade away, the
sun shin es forth  of its own. The Presence within is to be w elcomed,
loved, and not feared for it is ultimately benign and rev eals the
transformative power of Love. The concept of God as fearful is actually
the ultimate joke of the ego’ s theatre of the absurd. Q: How does devotion come to be a dominant quality? A: A ccept that o ne is attracted b y the destination rather than pro pelled by
the past. The evolution of consciousness is one’ s karmic in heritance
because it is a quality innate to human consciousness itself. Courage
arises from commitment and integrity of alignment and dedication. A
valuable charac teristic of dedication is felicity, which e ventually
becomes empowered as a quiet but persistent inner fervor. The  value of
watchful witness ing is that even  just awareness of an ego defect tends to
undo it. By sur render and prayerful invocation, Divine W ill f acilitates
transition from the lesser to the greater for the Self ef fortlessly supports
and ener gizes intention. The Se lf is like a magnetic attraction by which
the personal will is progressively surrendered and resistance is
weakened. Thus, the pathway itself is self-fulfilling, gratifying, and
reveals p rogressive rewards. Ea ch step, no matter how seeming ly small,
is equally valuable. Q: What about the effect of the Spiritual T eacher? A: T he consciousness level of the T eacher via silent transmission also
facilitates transf ormation of information from the mental to a subjective
experiential reality. The consciousness level and vibrational ener gy field
of the aura of the T eacher is a product of the evolution of consciousness
and is not pers onal. It activates nascent qualities in the student on a
nonverbal level. By analogy, it could be termed the spiritual equivalent
of the previousl y mentioned ‘Roger Bannister ef fect’. It transmits as a
high-frequency, high-ener gy field via the aura. Its quality deri ves from
certainty that is based on experi ential Reality. The same phenomenon is
accepted by recovery groups in  which the sponsor ’ s power is  derived
from successful experience and, therefore, mastery of the presenting
problem. Such spiritual groups  radiate a high ener gy field that then
benefits the newcomer by indivi dual and group alignment maintained by
self-honesty. Each level of consciousness represents an attractor field
that dominates a specific field of consciousness by virtue of i ts innate
intrinsic power. In lar ge groups of long standing, this is referred to
literally as ‘the H igher Power ’. Often the word ‘God’ is avoided because
it is pro ne to error of definition and multiple conflicting belief systems,
including fear and


 call it good or
bad, touch this ring and read the inscription. that way, you will always be
at peace. This, too, will pass. What is it about these simple words that makes them
so powerful? Looking at it superficially, it would seem while those
words may provide some comfort in a bad situation, they would also
diminish the enjoyment of the good things n life. Don't be too happy,
because it won't last. This seems to be what they are saying when applied
in a situation that is perceived as good. The full import of these words becomes clear when we consider them in
the context of two other stories that we encountered earlier. The story of
the Zen Master whose only response was always Is that so? shows the
good that comes through inner nonresistance to events, that is to say,
being atone with what happens. The story of the man whose comment was
invariably a laconic Maybe illustrates the wisdom of non?judgment, and
the story of the ring points to the fact of impermanence which, when
recognized, leads to non?attachment. Non?resistance, non?judgment, and
non?attachment are the three aspects of true freedom and enlightened
living. Those words inscribed on the ring are not telling you that you should not
enjoy the good in your life, nor are they merely meant to provide some
comfort in times of suf fering. They have a deeper purpose: to make you
aware of the fleetingness of every situation, which is due to the
transience of all forms good or bad. When you become aware of the
transience of all forms, your attachment to them lessens, and you
disidentify from them to some extent. Being detached does not mean that
you cannot enjoy the good that the world has to of fer. In fact, you enjoy
it more. Once you see and accept the transience of all things and the
inevitability of change, you can enjoy the pleasures of the world while
they last without fear of loss or anxiety about the future. When you are
detached, you gain a higher vantage point from which to view the events
in your life instead of being trapped inside them. Y ou become like an
astronaut who sees the planet Earth surrounded by the vastness of space
and realizes a paradoxical truth: The earth is precious and at the same
time insignificant. The recognition that This, too will pass brings
detachment and with detachment another dimension comes into your lie
inner space. Through detachment, as well as non?judgment and inner
nonresistance, you gain access to that dimension. When you are no longer totally identified with forms, consciousness who
you are becomes freed form its imprisonment in form. This freedom is
the arising of inner space. It comes as a stillness, a subtle peace deep
within you, even in the face of something seemingly bad. This, too, will
pass. Suddenly, there is space around the event. There is also space
around the emotional highs and lows, even around pain. And above all,
there is space between your thoughts. And from that space emanates a
peace that is not of this world, because this world is form, and the peace
is space. This is the peace of God. Now you can enjoy and honor the things of this world without giving
them an importance and significance they don't have. Y ou can participate
in the dance of creation and be active without attachment to outcome andwithout placing unreasonable demands upon the world: Fulfill me, make
me
happy, make me feel safe, tell me who I am. The world cannot give you
those things, and when you no longer have such expectations, all self? created suf fering comes to an end. All such suf fering is due to an over? valuation of form and an unawareness of the dimension of inner space. When that dimension is present in your life, you can enjoy things,
experiences, and the pleasures of the sense without losing yourself in
them, without inner attachment to them, that is to say, without becoming
addicted to the world. The words This, too, will pass are pointers toward reality. In pointing to
the impermanence of all forms, by implication, they are also pointing to
the eternal. Only the eternal in you can recognize the impermanent as
impermanent. When the dimension of space is lost or rather not known, the things of
the world assume an absolute importance, a seriousness and heaviness
that in truth they do not have. When the world is not viewed from the
perspective of the formless, it becomes a threatening place, and
ultimately a place of despair. The Old T estament prophet must have felt
this when he wrote, All things are full of weariness. A man cannot utter
it.A New Earth
O B J E C T  C O N S C I O U S N E S S  A N D  S P A C E
C O N S C I O U S N E S S
Most people's lives are cluttered up with things: material things, things to
do, things to think about. Their lives are like the history of humanity,
which W inston Churchill defined as one damn thing after another. Their
minds are filled up with the clutter of thoughts one thought after another. This is the dimension of object consciousness that is many people's
predominant reality, and that is why their lives are so out of balance. Object consciousness needs to be balanced by space consciousness for
sanity to return to our planet and for humanity to fulfill its destiny. The
arising of space consciousness is the next stage in the evolution of
humanity. Space consciousness mans that in addition to being conscious of things
which always comes down to sense perceptions, thoughts, and emotions
there is an undercurrent of awareness. A wareness implies that you are
not only conscious of things (objects), but you are also conscious of
being conscious. If you can sense an alert inner stillness in the
background while things happen in the foreground that's it! This
dimension is there in
everyone, but most people are completely unaware of it. Sometimes I
point to it by saying, Can you feel your own Presence? Space consciousness represents not only freedom from ego, but also
from dependency on the things of this world, from materialism and
materiality. It is the spiritual dimension which alone can give
transcendent and true meaning to this world. Whenever you are upset about an event, a person, or a situation, the real
cause is not the event, person, or situation but a loss of true perspective
that only space can provide. Y ou are trapped in object consciousness,
unaware of the timeless inner space of consciousness itself. The wordsThis, too, will pass when used as a pointer can restore awareness of that
dimension to you. Another pointer to the truth in you is contained in he following
statement: I am never upset for the reason I think.A New Earth
F A L L I N G  B E L O W  A N D  R I S I N G  A B O V E
T H O U G H T
When you are very tired, you may become more peaceful, more relaxed
than in your usual state. this is because thinking is subsiding, and so you
can't remember your mind?made problematic self anymore. Y ou are
moving toward sleep. When you drink alcohol or take certain drugs
(provided they don't trigger your pain?body), you may also feel more
relaxed, more carefree, and perhaps more alive a for a while. Y ou may
start singing and dancing, which since ancient times are expressions of
the joy of life. Because you are less burdened by your mind, you can
glimpse the joy of Being. Perhaps this is the reason alcohol is also called
spirit. But there is a high price to pay: unconsciousness. Instead of rising
above thought, you have fallen below it. A few more drinks, and you will
have regressed to the vegetable realm. Space consciousness has little to do with being spaced out. Both states
are beyond thought. This they have in common. The fundamental
dif ference, however, is that in the former, you rise above thought; in the
latter, you fall below it. One is the next step in the evolution of human
consciousness, the other a regression to a stage we left behind eons ago.A New Earth
T E L E V I S I O N
W atching television is the favorite leisure activity or rather non? activity
for millions of people around the world. The average American, by the
time he is sixty years old, will have spent fifteen years staring at the TV
screen. In many other countries the figures are similar. Many people find watching TV relaxing. Observe yourself closely and
you will find that the longer the screen remains the focus of your
attention, the more your thought activity becomes suspended, and for
long periods you are watching the talk show, game show, sitcom, or even
commercials with almost no thought being generated by your mind. Not
only do you not remember your problems anymore, but you become
temporarily free of yourself and what could be more relaxing than that? So dos TV watching create inner space? Does it cause you to be present? Unfortunately, it does not. Although for long periods your mind may not
be generating any thoughts, it has linked into the thought activity of the
television show. It has linked up with the TV version of the collective
mind, and is thinking its thoughts. Y our mind is inactive only in the
sense


 perceive  in
More Free Books Law of Attraction Havensome  way is something. It is inconceivable  that something  can come from
nothing  or that something  can become  nothing. It is a  fact that nature  ab-
hors a  vacuum and  always rushes in to fill it with something. Some  force
or power  created  all that is. According  to the  Bible,  creation is finished. Not only is creation finished, but God  said it was good. Have you ever considered  what God  could  have used to create  all there
is. If creation is finished, how  is it possible  to pray to God  to create  some -
thing in your life  that did  not exist yesterday or today. Is it difficult to be -
lieve that God  said His creation was good. If all of creation is good, why
do people  experience problems and  how can wars, crime, starvation and
other  undesirable  conditions exist. The answers to these  questions are  contained  within the  following  pages. Your understanding  of these  answers will enable  you to see that it is im -
possible  for nothing  to exist. You  will also see that you  can obtain any -
thing you desire  because  nothing  is impossible  to the  creative  power  that
resides within you. You  can be  and you can have  all that you  desire  to be
and to have. There  is no limit to what you  can accomplish for yourself and
others. It doesn’t matter  what your present circumstances are. The  princi -
ple you have unconsciously used  to bring  about the  undesirable  conditions
in your life  can be  consciously applied  to make your every dream come
true. Creation is finished  and it is good. God  created  the earth and  all that is in
it and  God said it was good. Man has puzzled  over these  statements for
centuries. If man really understood  the meanings, he  would  not be  con-
fused  nor would  he feel anxious about his past, present or future. The un-
derstanding  of these  two statements would  enable  man to   realize that
he, alone,  controls his actions and  the circumstances of his life. Let us take the  first statement. God  created  the earth and  all that is in it. God is infinite; therefore, God  must have  been before  any form came  into
being. What substance could  He have used to create  all that exists. There  can be  only one  answer. God  created  everything  that exists from
the only substance available  – Himself. God  (thought/consciousness)
spoke  the Word and brought everything  into being  out of himself. Every -
thing you perceive  is made of the  one substance –  God. The  one sub-
stance back  of everything  is energy and  that energy is God  or the “Word. ”
Although scientists and  medical men can analyze the  various chemicals of
which the  body is made, none  can combine  these  chemicals to form a  liv-
ing person. Since God  created  all that is out of Himself, it follows that
God is the  creator and  the creation. God  is expressing  life through each
and every one  of us. It could  not be  otherwise. More Free Books Law of Attraction HavenLet us take the  second  statement. God  said that His creation was good. That statement has confused  man who believes that if God  is good, an -
other  power  must have  created  that which is not good. Yet, man also ac -
knowledges that God  is infinite, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omni -
scient. These  qualities of God  must include  all forms, all events, and  all
situations. If it were  possible  to remove  all that is discordant or inharmo -
nious from the world, it would  not be  possible  to experience the  reverse
of that condition. Perhaps this statement can be  understood  more easily if you  will think  of
the principle  of mathematics. In adding  the sum of five  and six, it is possi -
ble to obtain the  incorrect answer  of twelve. To eliminate  that possibility,
the number  twelve  would  need to be removed  from the  whole  of num -
bers. It would, therefore,  be impossible  to add  six and  six and  reach the
correct answer of twelve. You can see that by eliminating  the possibility of
a potential  wrong  answer, all numbers would  eventually be eliminated and
mathematics would  not be  possible. However, just as mathematics exists
and can be  used by anyone  who has gained  an understanding  of how  to
use the principle  to obtain correct answers, so the  principle  of creation
can be  understood  to obtain desired  results. Because  God has given all of us free will, you  can choose  the states you
wish to occupy. God  does not pre determine  your fate  nor does God  punish
you for mistakes or misdeeds. Because  a man may not understand the
law of mathematics, he  may be  adversely affected  when he  makes a  mis-
take in subtracting  an amount in his check  register. The  law of mathemat -
ics is not punishing  him. The  law simply is and  can be  used correctly or
incorrectly. God  has allowed  you complete  freedom to choose  that which
you will encounter. When you  come  to the  realization that you  are God in
form and  expression, you  will seek  to experience greater  good and nobler
purposes for yourself and  others. “In the  beginning  was the  Word and the Word was with God and the Word
was God. ”  The Word is thought or imagination. God  imagined the world
into being  and became  that which He conceived. This is the  principle  on
which all creation rests. Since God  became  man to give  man life,  man
must contain that same  creative  principle  within himself. “The   Kingdom
of Heaven is within you. ”  We have created  our personal world  through
thought. If you  are experiencing  lack, limitation, illness, disharmony or
any other  unwanted condition, you  have either  consciously or uncon -
sciously brought these  conditions into your experience. The  majority of
people  do not realize that thought, belief, and  imagination has created
their individual worlds. There  is no other  cause  for the  conditions of your
life. You  may choose  to disbelieve  this, but whether  you believe  it or not,
all that  you behold  in the  outer  world  was conceived  within your own con -
sciousness prior to your experience of it. More Free Books Law of Attraction HavenThat which you  think about with feeling, that which you  believe  to be true
and that which  you imagine  yourself to be  or to have  is the  cause  of ev-
erything  in your personal world. You  may believe  that there  is some other
cause; you  may blame  others  for your problems;  you may believe  that
the events were  wrought by fate  or chance, but if you  are objective  and
observe  your own beliefs and  thought patterns, you  will see that your
world  accurately reflects all that you  believe  to be true of yourself and
others. There  is no one  and nothing  to change  but the  ideas from which
you think. We  think from ideas that we  consent to as true  and we imagine
situations that match our beliefs. Consciousness is the  only reality. It is
the creative  principle  that brings into your experience the  exact duplicate
or reflection of that which you  imagine  to be true. The world  in which we
live mirrors all that we believe  and imagine  to be true, be it good, bad, or
indifferent. The sooner  that man rids himself of the  belief in a  second  cause, the
sooner  will he  realize that nothing  happens to him except that which origi -
nates in his own consciousness. I do  not deny that man believes that if he
contracts a  certain germ or virus that he  will manifest  a particular  illness
or disease. If he contemplates the  cause, he  may conclude  that it is be -
cause  he came  in contact with someone  else who had  the bug. He  doesn’t
realize that in some  way, his own feelings about health or illness attracted
the illness he  is experiencing. If viruses or germs were  truly the  cause  of
disease,  everyone  who came  in contact with a   particular  virus would be
affected. The outer  world  merely reflects that which a  man is in his own
consciousness. It doesn’t matter  what you  have been taught; you  can change  your beliefs
and so change  the circumstances of your life. The Bible states that when
you pray, believe  that you  have received  and you shall have  it. Most of us
have


 beyond 2 days severe blood -fat deficiency occurs. The body leeches fats from the lymph system and cells
to maintain it. This fat - leeching weakens the immune system. Another deleterious effect of fasting is that the necessary bacteria level in the intestines diminishes. Since 60 -90% of fecal
matter is born of bacteria, constipation results and severely diminishes bacterial synthesis of B vita mins and amino acids. This
further weakens and diminishes the immune system. Another side effect from fasts, resulting from blood -fat end lymph deficiencies is that many toxins from either industrial pollution
or natural by -products of metabolism are freed. They irritate, burn and often imbed in the stronger cells, therefore weakening
them. Fat, especially in lymph, usually binds with toxins and either neutralizes or escorts them out of the body through the
mucus membranes, skin or bowels. If great collecti ons of these toxins occur during fasting, kidney damage results. These side -
effects usually create edema, especially when eating is resumed. The body often tries to dilute the toxins when it does not h ave
enough fat to chelate and remove them. Mutations s ome-times result. My conclusion after 13 years experience and research with intellectually motivated fasts is that fasts are often more deleter ious
than helpful. They may have their place, but I won t gamble with people's lives using fasts as therapy. When certain situations are favorable and if an individual has no appetite, I may suggest that they fast until hungry. However, if
the individual is anorexic, I do not suggest that they fast. I have replaced fasts with a formula of raw vegetable juices (rarel y fruit juices) and raw eggs. This supplies the nutrients to form
solvents to remove toxicity and the fats necessary to eliminate them from the body. It is not as dramatic an experience, but it
works well, and more people are able to do it and still functi on. You say that fasting weakens the immune system, but Shelton and others noticed just the opposite - that colds/flus/infections in
progress would cease within a few days of starting a fast, and that new ones would never occur. Concluding that because colds and flus often cease during fasts does not mean that health is improved. It has been my
experience that colds and flus and all other diseases are detoxification. I have experienced and observed that colds and flus
often ceased during fasts because th e body could no longer tolerate such major detoxification. Some detoxification continued to
occur during fasts, however it was mainly the tremendous toxicity from the body cannibalism (acidosis). Weaker cells are
consumed to feed healthier cells. Fasts for ce the survival -of-the-fittest reality as in most starved species. This in consequence
creates a somewhat healthier body because it eliminates so many weaker and decaying cells. In most circumstances, because the body usually requires much time and nutrients, especially fats and proteins, to detoxify and
recover from fasts and because most people do not eat diets that provide proper nutrients, people lack the nutrients necessar y
to ideally enter regular major detoxification like colds and flus. Espec ially in our toxic environment bodies need major
detoxification regularly. It is also known that the starving prisoners of nazi death camps were less susceptible to typhoid than their "well -fed" guards. This, if anything, indicates a strengthened not wea kened, immune system. How do you explain things like this. I do not attribute increased immunity of typhoid to starving. The high consumption of alcohol and drugs among guards seems to
have contributed to the greater susceptibility to typhoid. Starving pr isoners died of typhoid. Your book was very informative about the role of raw animal fats, meat, and eggs for the proper nutritional fuel for our bodi es. Would you please tell us what you feel is a proper level of raw animal products in our diet, and how  you reached this
conclusion.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: How long does it take for the body to heal a particular part of the body?,
A: According to Dr. Bass, it takes 5 generations, or approximately 37 1/2 years, to heal a particular part of the body.
Q: What is Dr. Bass's view on the practice of fasting?,
A: Dr. Bass does not recommend fasting as a therapy, as it can cause more harm than good. He suggests that it is better to focus on a diet that includes nutrient-dense foods and avoids processed and refined foods.
Q: What is Dr. Bass's opinion on the use of stone tools in the past?,
A: The text does not mention Dr. Bass's opinion on the use of stone tools in the past.
Q: What is Dr. Bass's stance on the consumption of raw animal products?,
A: Dr. Bass recommends a diet that includes a significant amount of raw animal products, including raw meat, dairy, and eggs, and suggests that these foods are essential for optimal health.
Q: What is Dr. Bass's view on the use of certain foods for specific health issues?,
A: Dr. Bass recommends a diet that includes nutrient-dense foods, including raw animal products, to address health issues, and suggests that a focus on this type of diet can lead to significant improvements in overall health.
Q: Does Dr. Bass believe that it is possible to reverse certain health issues?,
A: According to the text, Dr. Bass does not believe in the idea of reversing health issues through fasting, as it can cause more harm than good. Instead, he recommends a diet that includes nutrient-dense foods, including raw animal products, to address health issues.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Eades’ book that also has been published in M2M The Natural Health Many -To-
Many can be found at: http://www.omega23.com/at_the_top_of_our_lists/pro_power.html

"Eons of natural selection and human development molded our metabolic machinery to succeed on this ancient
dietary scheme that appears to have included about 65 percent foods of animal origin and about 35 percent foods of
plant origin." Interview with Dr. Bass:
Q:  How can vegetarian natural hygienists use this information? A: For example by eating no more fruit (sugary foods) than the equivalent of a large apple  a day (12 - 16 oz/day), and reduce
grains, potatoes, rice (starchy foods) to one meal every other day, or preferably no more than 15 grams of carbohydrate a day. Also increase the green leafy and non -starchy vegetables, increase the proteins (raw sprouts,  nuts, eggs etc. ), and increase the
fats in the form of e.g. avocados, nuts, (desalted) olives and coconuts. See for example my “Discovery of the Ultimate (Vegetarian) Diet” for sample menus of the "ultimate vegetarian diet", consiste nt
with these recommendations. www.drbass.com/rosedale.html
Why Eat Less Carbohydrates? Rosedale: "The actual rate of aging can be modulated by insulin... We should be living to be 130, 140 years
old routinely." "What is the minimum daily requirement for carbohydrates? ZERO." ".Those high complex
carbohydrate diets are nothing but high sugar diets, and your body is just going to store it as saturated
fat." "Animal proteins are fine and are good for you, but not the ones that are fed grains." "Your primary
fuel should be coming from fat." The re -discovery of the tremendous improvements which occur in ALL health problems with the use of a diet which is reduced
in the use of carbohydrates, is one of the most notable of recent years. The following article indi cates the importance of carbohydrates/sugar as a factor of disease. The author makes many bold
statements, for example: "Insulin is by far your biggest poison", "You can consider saturated fat to be second generation
carbohydrates", "Medicine really isn' t a science, it is a business"

Dr. Bass will soon republish articles by the natural hygienist Arnold DeVries from the 1950's about the carbohydrate -problem. Why? Because the problem with carbohydrates, raw and cooked, needs to be discussed in today's Natu ral Hygiene. How is the following article different from Natural Hygiene? E.g. there is no mention of the importance of raw foods, sequent ial
eating and other energy -saving measures for lifespan/health increases - except for the mentioning of minimal (low -calorie)
diets. But note this quote: "...don't do anything, go home and sleep, let your body heal itself." Interesting - it looks like a few medical
doctors now have moved relatively close to the hygienic standpoint on healing. Below is a selection of long quotes to give a quick overview. Click here for the full article - rosedale2.html. The article was
copied from www.mercola.com, and can also be found other places on the web. Aug. 2002
Insulin and Its Metabolic Effects
By Ron Rosedale, M.D. Let's tal k about a couple of case histories. These are actual patients that I've seen; let's start with patient A. This patient who we
will just call patient A saw me one afternoon and said that he had literally just signed himself out of the hospital "AMA," o r
against medical advice. Like in the movies, he had ripped out his IV's. The next day


, need not
be as specialized as radiologists; and many doctors in the future
will be their own interpreters. 6
Since L-fields have been found in all living forms examined so
far, their potential usefulness is not limited to medical diagnosis. In measuring the L-fields of plants, for instance, it has been
found that the change of a single gene in the parent stock
produces profound changes in the voltage-pattern. This phenom
enon could be of great importance in the study of genetics in
plants and in animals. (See page 70.) By measuring the i-fields of seeds it is possible to predict how
strong and healthy the future plants will be. To have advance
knowledge of the future vitality of living forms could be useful
19 AN ADVENTURE IN SCIENCE
in many fields. (See page 71.) Since the fields of life are dominant and control the growth and
development of all living forms, medical science may one day
find ways directly to treat the health of the patient electrically
before the onset of physical symptoms. Agricultural scientists of the future may, perhaps, find ways
to stimulate the growth of crops electrically and to eliminate de
fects in their L-fields which render them prone to pests or diseases. It has long been known not only that sunlight-a form of electro
magnetic radiation -is essential to the growth of most plant life
but also that different species require different 'dosages' of sun
light. It is known, too, that certain frequencies or colours of
light are beneficial in specific cases. It may one day be dis
covered, then, that other and invisible electro-magnetic fre
quencies have beneficial effects on the L-fields of plants. Since animals and plants possess-and are controlled by
their characteristic L-fields, like man they are an integral part of
the Univ erse and subject to its laws. So the human race and the
animal and vegetable kingdoms are component parts of the same
whole. You and I, our pets, our trees and our plants are all sub
ject to the same universal laws. This is borne out by the mutual interdependence of species. Plants depend for their existence on sunlight-an extraterrestrial
force; plants nourish man and animals; animals feed on each
other. So when we remember that we should starve without sun
light from some ninety-three million miles away, it is not hard
to accept that we are subject to the other great forces of space. 7
It has taken only a few pages to summarize some of the re
sults of this adventure in science for the benefit of the impatient
reader. But the adventure itself occupied many years because
Nature does not share human impatience and is in no hurry to
yield her secrets. Those, therefore, who expect instant answers
from Nature are likely to be disappointed. Nature, too, does not effect instant improvemen ts; she may
20 AN ADVE NTURE IN SCIENCE
take an aeon to evolve something better. And as we are all a part
of Nature and subject to her laws, those who expect an immedi
ate improvem ent of human nature or an instant answer to some
human problem are likely to suffer from acute frustration. However impatient for results they may be, scientists realize
that they cannot impose their will or their desires on Nature;
they must follow her methods and meet her conditions. This may
explain why, in this age, science is usually more successful in
solving its problems than politics. Perhaps, then, a description of this particular adventure in
science may serve a dual purpose: while it will give the evidence
that man is linked to the Universe and subject to its laws it will
also illustrate the scientific method by which the laws and secrets
of Nature may be discovered. This has more than an academic interest at the present time
when respect for man-made laws is decreasing and many feel
that laws are made to be disobeyed. Natural laws, however, can
not be disobeyed; we cannot flout, for example, the law of
gravity. So the more we can find out about Nature's laws-and
also about how science discovers them-the easier it will be for us
to accept the need for laws and to realize that man-made laws
reflect-however imperfectly-the essential principles of a Uni
verse of law and order. Unfortuna tely, there is much confusion about the meaning of
the word'science'. The dictionary defines it as 'organized know
ledge'. But, beginning probably with Galileo, the experimental
method-with its enormous development since that time-has
revealed that it is not enough to describe and classify the Universe
in general and the earth in particular. It is also necessary to
attempt to find the meaning of all the facts that have been
accumulated. This involves trying to understand the relation between the
component parts of the Universe-an understanding that must
always be developing and changing as the experimental method
uncovers more facts. All that can be done is to interpret the facts
as best we can, always bearing in mind that our knowledge is still
tragically incomplete. Science, therefore, means not only the collection of facts and
21 AN ADVENTURE IN SC IENCE
the classification and description of the physical component s of
the Universe but also a considera tion of the laws or forces which
govern the relation between these components. This, of course, requires a primitive assumption : that the
Universe is a place of law and order which-it is to be hoped
can be understood by the mind of man. There are many who maintain that the Universe is chaos,
that the only law and order in it are those which are imposed by
the mind of man-a far more primitive assumption. For, however
great our respect for the powers of the human mind, it is diffi
cult to see how man can impose the arrangements and move
ments of the stars in their courses or, as far as we on this earth are
concerned, the nature of the forces which define a living system. It should be reasonably clear to any thinking person that noth
ing in the Universe could exist for a fraction of a millisecond if
there were not forces, laws and organization which determine the
relationship between the component parts of the Universe, all of
which-from a galaxy to the particles of an atom-are in con
stant motion. No living organism could exist if the process of
living were not regulated by meticulous and powerful forces,
about which it is obviously desirable to find out as much as we
can. Our primitive assumption, then, that the Universe is a place
of law and order is justified by both observation and common
sense. The many successes of the experimental method also justify
the hope that we can learn more and more about the laws of the
Universe. This has enormous implications for man because it follows that
man is not only in the Universe but also of the Universe, subject
to laws in the living world similar to those which can be
recognized and understood in the material Universe. At once we are faced with a curious anomaly. Many people
object to the idea of law and order in the Universe on the ground
that it is authoritarian and impinges on man's free will to de
vel'1p his own ways of doing things on his own responsibility. Yet
these same people would not dream of defying the law of gravity,
which, so far as we know, is a universal property of the Universe,
22 AN ADVENTURE IN SCIENCE
and, in fact, are fully prepared to adjust to it-especially when
walking on an icy sidewalk. Not only do we have to pay attention to the law of gravity but
also to learn as much about it as possible so that it can be put to
the service of man, whether in emptying a bathtub or for getting
astronauts safely back from space. This is true not only of the
law of gravity but also of all other natural laws that can be
discovered. 8
All this raises an important problem. Though many concede
that the Universe may be dominated by physical laws, they
maintain that man is not a part of this physical Universe but is a
separate, spiritual being, subject to spiritual law. This at once
denies the unity of the Universe, for it means that there are two
sets of laws, the laws of the material Universe and the laws of the
spiritual component of the Universe. Physical laws, determined by experiment, can be validated and
can be found to be true not only in New York but also in Tim
buktu. Spiritual laws, on the other hand, which are inventions of
the mind of man, have one set of meanings in the Western hemi
sphere and a quite different one in the East. This concept of two kinds of law make any generally-accepted
understanding of the nature of man and his part in the Universe
well-nigh impossible. Spiritual laws, to be sure, are believed to have been validated
in the experience of man and, within certain limits, this is
probably true. But laws which have different meanings in differ
ent parts of the world-and, sometimes, different meanings to
different people in the same part of the world-are not com
patible with physical laws which are universally verifiable and
accepted. This is the cause of the conflict between science and religion. It is the basic argument of religion that the intuitive, creative
imagination of man can set up laws which transcend physical
law and which describe aspects of nature which, otherwise, can-
23 AN ADVE NTURE IN SCIENCE
not be validated. It is the argument


 you to the lower astral realms. People gravitate toward
hatred because that is what they have chosen. Everyone Starts from Where They Are—There Is No
Punitive Judge
We would assume that a run-down, degenerate-looking bar and grill, with
drunks lying around the place and vermin in the place and rats eating the
garbage, that the people who go there would love it when they clean it up
and paint it and put new drapes and get rid of the rats and disarm the
patrons. And we all know that’ s not a fact. The new owner comes in, cleans
up the place with new drapes, new carpets. The old crowd doesn’ t go there
at all. They desert it. Remember the Electric Circus in the East Village—
that was early ’60s; it was the beginning of the psychedelic era. It was the
“in” place to go. Andy Warhol and all the elite intellectual, artistic typeswent to the Electric Circus—and the groups that later became famous, they
weren’ t famous then. That was the first psychedelic disco. The walls had
just drapes, because they didn’ t have money for walls and stuf f. It was hip,
cool, and everybody who was anybody went there. After a year or two, I
forget, some new owner bought it. They closed it for about two months
while they cleaned it up. Well, they cleaned it up, and now it had
curvilinear, beautiful plastic walls and stuf f, and nobody went there. The
fact that it was funky was why it was cool and a lot of people liked it. You
know what I’m sayin’? They cleaned up the old Electric Circus, and it fell
on its butt. Nobody went there anymore. It was no longer hip, wasn’ t cool,
nobody wanted it. So, as amazing as it would be to people in the 400s, there are people who
prefer to be on the streets. I’m in char ge of a treatment center, and a lot of
them, the minute you let them out, they’ll go right back to the very source
of their own devastation. Right back—exactly the same lifestyle, same
people. Just as the wife goes back to the man who beats her up—she gets a
court-order protection, and within 48 hours, she’ s back with him and then
he’s beating her up again. So it goes, over and over; the person is attracted
to that which they are karmically destined for. So that pretty much takes care of some of the questions we had there,
because it takes the view of God as judge. You might say, the universe
judges absolutely, but not in the moral, arbitrary, ego understanding of the
word judge. The idea of the judge, the punitive judge, comes from, really,
the Old Testament. The Old Testament itself arises from tribal gods. See, all
the early cultures had tribal gods. There are the Roman gods and the Greek
gods, and they all have great names—Zeus and Athena and all these various
gods—and they were supplanted over time as life evolved. Some of the
early scriptures still have these anthropomorphic gods who are subject to all
the fallacies and foibles of the human ego. The so-called gods of many
ancient cultures are nothing but exaggerated humans subject to the same
proclivities of the ego—jealousy and envy and hatred and revenge and
vanity. But when you calibrate their ener gy, you see they’re mostly the so-
called gods of the lower astral realms. They’re talking about the gods of the
lower astral realms, who rule by vanity and egotism and revenge and anger
and favoritism. So you’re not talking about the God of the evolution of
consciousness; you’re talking about gods of the lower astral realms, right? Freud said they’re all projections from the unconscious. Let’ s see what wesay about it. “The gods that I was talking about are projections from the
unconscious: resist” (T rue). Okay. “They also exist as ‘realities,’  in quotes,
in lower astral realms: resist” (T rue). “Because they got projected there:
resist” (T rue). So, they originated in the unconscious out of guilt, fear,
anger, hatred, and all those things. And they’re accepted as realities by a
large part of society. A large part of society doesn’ t know which end of this
chart God is at. You talk about spiritual confusion. Lar ge parts of society—
and I say lar ge parts, very lar ge parts of society—think God is down here. I
don’t know what they think is up there. There’ s one religious group that
thinks that to experience the Buddha nature is a demon and that God is
down here. Even if you can’ t tell the top of the chart from the bottom of the
chart, you really ought to not proselytize others, you know. I mean, you can
do damage to your own karmic potentiality, but to drag others along with
you... proselytizing has never been something I have been interested in. Karmic propensity, then, means that as a result of whatever has gone on,
you start from where you are at. Everybody has to start from where they’re
at. Where you are is from where you were. In a Christian culture, for those
who believe in karma, they have usually been influenced by Buddhic things
and by their own personal experiences to a qualified karmic understanding
of karma that, no doubt, what you do in this lifetime is going to have quite
profound consequences in the future, which may or may not include the
choice to reincarnate. The implied purpose of reincarnation is the chance to
choose again, the chance to choose again. And many spiritual teachings do
emphasize that this is a chance to choose again. Doesn’ t A Course in
Miracles  call it that? “What A Course in Miracles  says about this is a fact:
resist” (T rue). “People who incarnate now have chosen to incarnate: resist”
(True). “They were forced to incarnate: resist” (Not true). None of us were
forced to. I didn’ t know that. “W e were given an option to choose again:
resist” (T rue). “Many of us choose to undo by re-experiencing what we did
to others: resist” (T rue). Yes. I know my own consciousness before this
event that happened was one that would choose to experience that which I
did to someone else, because I didn’ t see any other way to undo it. So, the
guilt of that which I did was suf ficient that I was actually willing to re-
experience exactly what I did to that other person, you see. I gave the
example of not killing somebody that I should have killed, haha, and going
through a hernia repair without anesthesia as a karmic undo-ment of the fact
that, having run a sword right through him, I left him to die of his woundsinstead of having the spiritual courage to kill him. In that case, I should
have, out of mercy, put an end to it, but I didn’ t. So in this lifetime, I undid
it. Let’ s see if that’ s a fact or not. “That’ s a fact: resist” (T rue). Yeah, that’ s a
fact. So one will get recalls like that, and you can do spiritual research. I think it’ s valuable to do karmic research to clear up any
misunderstandings. One thing you can clear up with karmic research is self-
pity. The idea that you’re the innocent victim of all these vicissitudes of life
—with a little karmic research, you will find that you are not the innocent
victim of all these vicissitudes of life. No; that you have really chosen this. Well, it’ s a lot easier to accept the consequences of your own actions. You
say, “Out of my willingness to evolve spiritually, to be worthy of heaven, to
be worthy of God’ s Love, to experience the Infinite Reality of God”—you
can respect yourself that you are actually willing to reincarnate and go
through what you’ve gone through again as a human being for the mere
chance of undoing it and choosing better. So you can respect yourself for
what you’ve put yourself through. And you certainly have undone a lot of
bad karma, so the worse life has been, the better it is, huh? If your life’ s
been dreadful, boy, oh boy—I don’ t know how you rate. Well, I earned
heaven, I’ll tell you; I’ve been through quite a bit. You could say, “If I chose this as an option, then why did I choose it? Because it says you’re not forced to reincarnate.” You don’ t have to, don’ t
have to. It’ s an option. We can choose it. If you could skip the childhood
part of it, you know, it wouldn’ t be so bad. This time, the childhood part
was so boring, I don’ t know how I got through it. I thought children were
awfully boring, and I used to look at them: “God, they’re so dumb. They
play these dumb games.” I couldn’ t wait until I