, has observed : "The science of medicine
is based on mere guess-work." Sir John Forbes has remarked :
"Notwithstanding the skill of physicians, it is Nature which cures
most men of their diseases. "Dr. Baker tells us : "In cases of night
fever many more patients die of the drugs than of the disease." Dr.
Froth declares that it is difficutl to find a more disbounest profession
than that of medicine. Dr. Thomas Watson writes : "In the most
important matters our profession drifts on a sea of dubious
hypotheses·." Dr. Caswell feels that the human race would benefit
immeasurably if the entier medical pr~fession was ended. Dr. Frank
avers that thousands have been killed in hospitals. Dr. Mason Good
says: "Drugs claim a heavier sacrifice of human lives than do wars,
epidemics and famines." We find that an·increase in the number of
doctors is followed in one place after another by a rise in the
incidence of disease. Large advertisements appear in newspapers
which do not accept other advertisements. When Indian Opinion
used to accept advertisements, its workers had to go about soliCiting
these from others, but as for drug advertisements, their
manufacturers pressed them on the. journal and would even tempt
[us] with large sums. We pay a rupee for medicine which should
cost no more than a pie. Most manufacturers generally do not let us
know what the drugs are made from. A drug-manufacturer recently
brought out a book entitled Secret Medicines, his object being to
ensure that people ·are not misled. He reveals therein that the
ingredients of sarsaparilla, fruit salt, syrup and other well-known
patent medicines, for which we pay from three to seven shillings a URINE THERAPY -ALREADY A SCIENCE : 183
bottle cost from a farthing to a penny. This means that we P~Y from
36 to' 336 times the actual cost of the medicine. The proftt to the
dealer is thus 3500to 35000 per cent.
The reader ought surely to see from all this that it is unnecessa~
for a patient to rush to a doctor or buy drugs in a hur~. But few WI~ I
so forbear. All doctors are not dishonest. That every time the drug IS
harmful, the common man wi.ll not admit. To such persons, one may
say: n Forbear as much as you can. Do not bother a do_ctor as long
as you can help it. If you must call in one, get only a reliable_ person
and, having called him, stick to him. Consult another onl~ ~f h~ so
advises. Your disease is not under your doctor's control. If It IS given
to you to live, you will get well and if, in spite of all that you ~ave
done death comes to your or to your relatives, know that death IS no
I.
more than a transition."...
(From Gujarati : Indian Opinion, 11-1-1913)
The Coll~cted Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. XI
(March 1964), pp. 434-36
CHAPTER Ill
URINE THERAPY -ALREADY A SCIENCE
I have ~ust now read the book Water of Life. T~e autho~ has
mentioned human urine itself as water of life. The unn_e of ant_m_als
also is water of life, i.e. the water produced ~y life or ltvtng
organism. The new system of urine therapy cl_alms that ~ good
number of ailments can be cured with human unne. The ~als~.avas
will disagree with this. They would ask -'Is urine also a ~nnk. But
the author says that while on one hand the human betng spends
thousands of rupees for medicines, on the other they do n?t car~ to
have any benefit from this supreme medicine. Eve~ybody IS advtsed
to drink aut~-urine. It is a panacea for diff~_rent. dtseases. Any~y
can come to me and see that book. Shri RaOJibhal Patel, an assoetate 184 : AUTO-URINE THERAPY
of Gandhiji in South Africa, has written a book in Gujarati entitled
Ma~av Mutra (The Human Urine) on the basis of the book. This
subject ~as also become a science. It is, therefore, advised that in
future urrne and stools should no more be objects of hate.
From an address by Saint Vinoba on 4-4-1959
CHAPETER IV
THE FOLLOW-UP WORK
..E~ery mission. requires a follow-up work. But unlike politics,
m1~S1onary work 1tsefl creates its own missionaries and workers.
u.nne therapy is a missionary work and it has created its own
p1oneers for its development anc;J propagation. It is a universal
remedy and it is developed in different countries to a greater or
lesser e~tent. From the foregonig chapters it can be seen that it was
kn.own.m En~land and Armstrong gave it a scientific form. Protestant
prrests 1n Afnca used to cure the natives by urine therapy of their
own and they had two books on this therapy with them. They gave
them to Dr. Manubhai Patel, District Medical Officer of Mehasana
when he was in Africa. In lnd,ia this therapy was commonly known
to the ~randmothers and the artisans. It is very well mentioned in
Ayurved1c.and other texts. Shri Raojibhai took up Armstrons's thread
a~d experrmented not only on himself but on his relatives and
frrends and the mission spread automatically. So urine therapy
bega~ to ~evelop. Shri Raojibhai was not alone to do
experrmentat10n in the field of urine therapy. Shri Juthabhai Shah
gave Raojibhai Armstrong's book and intorduced him to this
thera~y and at the same time carried on his own experimentation
on urrne. Dr. M~n~bhai. Patel also knew about this therapy from
the Protestant ~ISSionanes in Africa. Some allopathic doctors also
kn~w about th1s therapy and they used it to cure thousands of
pat1ents during the first and second World Wars. All these facts THE FOLLOW-UP WORK : 185
prove the universality of urine cure. But somehow it could not
become popular. It required missionaries for its develpment and
propagation. Armstrong in England did a real pioneering work in this
field. shri Raojibhai took up his mission and gave it a great impetus
not only to. its propagation but to its development by
experimentation. Urine therapy by its very nature is in a way easy
for a trial and hundreds of people took up his suggestion to cure
themselyes by auto-urtne. There were hundreds of successful cases
of urine experiments and the experimenters gladly wrote and
informed Shri raojibhai of their successful urine treatments. It was a
self-styled propagation of urine therapy. But there was the moving
and guiding spirit of Shri Raojibhai to gave impetus to the self-styled
experimenting patients whenever they required guidelines at the
time of difficulty. So the idea of urine therapy caught fire ·and
began to spread automatically. It was as if in the air and at that very
time there were others too, who were independently thinking and
trying to propagate this therapy.
Such a worthy person was and still is Dr. Paragjibhai D. Desai.
He had read Armstrong's book of his own in 1955. He first tried
this therapy on himself and found it very useful. Himself being a
doctor and an eye-specialist, he could very well understand the
limitations and abuses of medical science. He was t.he only popular
eye-specialist in this area of South Gujarat during the years between
the two great World Wars. Being a very experienced doctor and
having an altruistic attitude of mind, urine therapy caught his
imagination and he began to use it on some willing patients and
thus he began to gather sufficent material in support of this therapy.
When Shri Raojibhai began to propagate this therapy he heartliy
welcomed his activity and so naturally after Shri Raojibhai's demise,
his mantle fell on Dr. Paragjibhai's shoulders. Now he is 82, but he
works so hard for its propagation and development that it seems the
spirit of Shri Raojibhai has entered his body! Once somewhat shy,
he has now become an active prapagandist of urine therapy!
Dr. Paragjibhai has already started two urine therapy centres at 186 : AUTO-URINETHERAPY
Bulsar and at Bombay for the last seven years. For sometime he
used to visit Poona and Baroda and Ahmedabad to give guidance to
patients in urine treatment. He was honoured for this philanthropic
work in an assembly at Bombay presided by Shri K. K. Shah, the


again
to show  how necessary  it is to live on a varied and well‐ balanced  diet. It
is significant  that until recently, the Medical Profession  ignored
Potassium  (potash) as a salt of any importance  to the human  body.  And
yet it has since been discovered  by exponents  of the Biochemic  System
that a deficiency  of one or other  forms of potash is a contribut,ng  cause
in most diseases ‐especially  in cancer and  growths. Nevertheless,  this
was already discovered  by Dr. Schuessler,  of Oldenburg,  Germany,  in
the latter  half  of last century. Yet it was only brought  into greater
prominence  in 1912 by Dr. Forbes‐Ross (already mentioned)  who had
probably never even heard  of Dr. Schuessler  or of his momentous  but
largely  ignored  discovery.  In his General Sketch of The Biochemic
System of Medicine  G. W. Carey, M.D., significantly  points out that a
lack of any of the inorganic  cell salts  will set up certain symptoms  which
are merely  Nature's method  of indicating  that one or more  of the vital
workers of the body are absent  and  must be supplied. "Each mineral
salt has a special  work to do. Each  has an affinity for certain organic
materials  used in building up the human frame. Thus, Kali mur (chloride
of potash) molecules  work with fibrin. If a deficiency  occurs in this salt,
a portion of the fibrin not having inorganic  salt to unite with becomes a
disturbing  element and  may  be thrown out of the  vital  circulation
through  the nasal passages or lungs... producing  conditions  called
catarrhs, colds, coughs, etc.”  101
 Here,  then, we have the biochemic  explanation  of colds a kindred
ailments such as leucorrhoea  (the whites) which  when the discharge  is
milky white,  indicates a deficiency  of chloride of potash in the female
organism.  (Carey.) I think I have now produced  sufficient  evidence  to
show  that the common  cold together with all catarrhal conditions,
whether acute or chronic, is primarily the result of wrong  feeding, on
which  I shall  enlarge  in a later  chapter.
 102
 CHAPTER  XVI,
URINE‐THERAPY  ON ANIMALS

When certain  people want  to disparage  a given treatment  they ascribe
its efficacy to Faith. For instance some opponents  of homoeopathy
have glibly dismissed  it as a "faith‐cure." Yet the homoeopath  has an
argument  to hand which  soon  squashes that assumption;  he contends
that homoeopathy  cures animals when in the nature of things they
cannot know  they  are being treated. Cures of hundreds  of animals  are
mentioned  in homoeopathic  literature.  One is of a cat which  had
paralysis  of its hind legs. After various treatments  had been tried, its
owner gave it mag.  phos in a colossally  high attenuation,  and  cured it
completely  in a very short  time.  The sceptic will say "coincidence."  To
which  one can only retort: "How  astonishing  is the credulity of the
sceptic!"  This allusion to homoeopathy  on animals  is so far relevant in that one
or two "credulous  sceptics" have even said that urine‐therapy must  be
a "faith‐cure." I can but smile and  employ the same argument  as have
the homoeopaths.  Let me substantiate  my argument  with a few facts.
It so happens that  my grandfather  was rather well  known in the sixties
and  seventies  of last century  for his way with  horses, dogs, etc.,  and  it
was from him I Iearned that urine and  even cow‐dung were his
favourite remedies  in successfully  treating the ailments and  injuries of
animals. He thought  nothing of fasting cows, horses and  dogs up to a
month on water and  cow's urine, to administer  which  he used a horn;
though when thirsty they  would drink  without  this adjunct. Having 103
 learnt much from my grandfather,  I treated animals  myself. It was often
a long and laborious  job, and  some adventures  I could quote are not
without  their humorous  side.  I remember  I once  fasted  a cow, which
had tetanus, for 120 days, during which  I rubbed it for eight hours  a day
with the urine (caught in buckets) of other  cows. To drink  I gave it its
own urine (at first it was thick, yellow and  concentrated  as mustard)
and  the urine of healthcows.  It also  drank plain cold water. My vaccine
patient lost all its hair, went to skin and  bone, but made a complete
recovery,  regaining  its natural  weight on grassfeeding  in about two
months.
I have also treated dogs by the urine‐therapy  fast. One method of
inducing a dog to drink urine (though  they  will often drink a bitch's
urine) is to fasten the animal  to a tree and  then syringe its head with a
fine spray of the vital fluid. I used my own newly passed  for the purpose.
As the urine drips  down over its face the dog will lap it up.
Case‐history. Airedale terrier " Rough. " Treated him for a swelling in his
abdomen  which  developed  after he had  been run  over by the back
wheel of a motorcar.  He fasted  19 days on my urine and  cold water
when desired, and


 started to trust in the Spirit and Jesus. Sometimes  I would
go to A Course in Miracles  groups while traveling, not knowing where I
would sleep the next night, and then three different people at the group
would say, “Come and stay at my home.” So, it wouldn’ t be a question
of whether I would have a place to sleep, but about which friend I was
supposed to stay with. It was like the Holy Spirit wanted to show me
another angle, that I was going to be taken care of. I needed only to pay
attention, and He would direct the plan moment by moment. These experiences built up a lot of trust and also launched me into
seeing that I was perfectly taken care of wherever I would go. I got to
see that I didn’ t have to use my lifetime of past learning and ten years of
full-time univers ity. Instead, I had a lot to unlearn. Jesus said, “We have
some big boulders we’ve got to knock off your shoulders in order for
you to be truly helpful.” I couldn’ t continue to hold onto the arrogance of
thinking that I could direct my own way in this world and of believing
that I knew enough to navigate time and space. To let go into trust and let the Holy Spirit lead the way reverses  the
ego mentality that says that if we want to do something, we have to
come up with the means. God knows the prayer of our heart before we
even utter a word. We are invited to a place of silence deep inside the
mind, to find an experience of purpose and intention. Purpose andintention are all about an inner connection with the Holy Spirit. It is an
experience of a strength and clarity that shows the way. Trust is the willingness to dive into presence and authentically “go
for it.” You come to a state of not planning anything; you follow the
strong inner compass that is the Holy Spirit, moment by moment. You
may not know where this is leading you, but one thing is certain, it will
be miraculous! I am sure that as children, we did not express to Mum and Dad that
we didn’ t care or plan for ourselves. We did not want the consequences,
the reactions. “What are you going to do with your day?” “Noth ing!” Or
better yet, “I will see how it unfolds.” “What about your chores? ” “I will
see how they unfold.” We would think those thoughts when we were
children; we just would not say them. But now it is like a new day, a new
start, a new heart, and a happy day filled with joy. Isn’t it great? That is
our theme: God’ s will for us is perfect happiness, and we are just like
children opening up to that experience. The prayer of our heart is “Show
me, show me!” This is how we trust and learn to becom e God-
dependent. “Except ye become as little children” means that unless you
fully recognize your complete dependence on God, you cannot know the
real power of your true relationship with Him. I have always loved the curiosity of children because curiosity is a
reflection of openness. If you are curious, you don’t think you already
know. That is so important; that is one of those things you cultivate, just
staying curious and open to being shown. It’s very much like when you
are on a trust-walk where they blindfold you, and you put your arms out
and trust your guide to lead you and show you. I have done a number of
those experienti al trust-walks over the years, and it is just fantastic
because you really have to let go of what you think you know with your
senses. You are blindfolded, you have your hand out, and your guide is
with you in every step. It is intuitive trust, moment by moment,  that gets
us to a place of deep peace and joy. This journey with the Holy Spirit requires trust and gentleness, and
by patting yourself on the back and being grateful for every little
willingness that you can muster, you will naturally grow in trust andopen up to miracles. When you start to live in the miracle, your concerns
and struggles disappear not to come back again.Exercise: Leap of T rust
Take some time now to look inward. Invite the Holy Spirit to join
you in preparation for this assignment. Reminding yourself of the miracles that you have
experienced and then sharing them is a very helpful way to
reinforce the truth in your mind and to build trust. Allow a time
when you were guided to take a “leap of trust” to arise  in your
mind. It could be when you felt compelled to contact someone or
had a feeling that it was time to change jobs. In your journal, write
down your responses to these questions. 1. Describe the situation when you were being called to make
a decision or take action. 2. Do you recall what you feared you could lose if you took
that leap? Describe any thoughts and feelings of hesitation. 3. What compelle d you to take that leap of faith, even though
you couldn’t be sure of the outcome? 4. What was your experience afterward? How did you and
everyone else in the situation benefit from your willingness
to trust? 5. Are there any other steps on your horizon that you are
fearing to take? Explore all your thoughts and feelings in
your journal so that they may be dispelled. In prayer and trust, know that peace and love are your
desired outcomes. Let this notion support your intention to move
forward with clarity! Prayer:  Spirit, Here I Am
A very short prayer that can open you up to trust is “Spirit, here I
am.” Say this prayer and wait quietly with an open mind. Stay
attentive and relaxed. Watch what comes. Use this prayer toconnect to the deep quiet experience of the Holy Spirit in your
mind. Your focus is finding the quiet center within where the light
in your mind can be welcomed and revealed. Let go of any sense
of a need to do something. Instead, just be and witness this
moment. When you are able to find the place of alert stillness in
your mind, notice how it feels completely natural to trust. Spirit,
here I am. When you feel ready, take your pen and journal and make
some notes of how this time of prayer has been for you. Then, if
you’re inspired to, write a poem about your current experience of
trust in the Holy Spirit or maybe a prayer springs forth from your
heart’ s desire to strengthen your level of trust. Be still and know that trust settles every problem now! Trusting What Is Given
When we practice trust, things coming our way will be seen as truly
given gifts rather than threats or problems. We all have miracles waiting
for us in the present. Miracles want to come through in a very beautiful
way, but we have to allow for them. If we freeze into “shoul d I” and
“could I,” then we are gettin g locked into the ego’s doubts and
comparisons, and we close ourselves of f from trust. There can surely be periods of disorientation. These come because
we are loosening from the ego’s hold on how we live, and its laws of
scarcity, lack, defenses, and reciprocity. You’re going to have a lot of
reactions and reflexes coming from a fear of the light. But the good news
is that from these disorientati on periods, you’re going to come out
sailing and soaring in the most glorious state of mind that you could ever
want. At first, miracles can seem a little strange because you are not used
to them. You are not used to arriving on time to a meeting that seemed
impossible to make. You are not used to the Holy Spirit arrang ing time
and space for you and life being  like a wonderful flow. The ego may try
to dismiss the miracles and push  these experiences out of aware ness, butthe more  you hang with it, the more consistent is the experience of peace
of mind and joy. I was guided from one job to another in a series. I was not guided to
just quit all jobs because I had debts, and it doesn’ t work very well to
quit all your jobs when you have debts. So, I was guided to work to pay
off my debts. I saw that the jobs were used to help me heal certain
aspects of my mind and become more dependent on the Holy Spirit. I
asked to be shown which jobs I should take. Once I was at the job, it was
just as importan t to understand what was guided, and so I would ask
Holy Spirit, “How can I be most helpful here?” It was very practical, and
this experience showed me that I just need to trust Him. I need nothing
but this trust. Because with jobs and relationships, we cannot always
judge what is most beneficial for our healing. Sometimes people who have lost their jobs say it was the best thing
that ever happened. Sometimes I have even heard people say when they
have lost their husband or wife that it was the best thing that happened in
their life. So, whenever you feel frightened about outcomes like losing a
job or certain relationship, it is a time to go within, release the fear, and
open to a deep trust that can only lead to miracles. Living a life of devotion doesn’ t mean dropping responsibilities. The practice is to trust that you


.
Krippaehne said that his friend has treated patients from all over the country, often
without charge, has given money to people in need, including members of the
university staff, without requiring repayment, and has put extra money back into
university research programs. “If he didn’t do charity work,” Dr. Krippaehne said,
“his net income would be significantly into six figures.” He also said that Dr.
Jacob, an associate professor of surgery and author of over 100 medical journal
articles, was a “catastrophe” when it came to business matters. Dr. Krippaehne made these statements on the witness stand, as the Justice
Department also brought criminal charges against Dr. Jacob for three counts of
improper payments to an FDA official and one count of conspiracy. The trial for
the surgeon and the FDA official took place in May 1982 but ended in a mistrial. The government bureaucrats continued their attack and pursued Dr. Jacob in a
second trial after Dr. Pani pleaded guilty to misdemeanor. Dr. Jacob welcomed the initial trial, stating that it would give him a chance to
vindicate the use of DMSO. At the second trial not only was he acquitted of all
the charges, but the Justice Department actually dropped the charges on the fifth
day of the trial, held October 29, 1982. Dr. Jacob was cleared completely and
received a semblance of an apology from the government. The grand jury
indictment was totally dismissed. In our interview, Dr. Jacob explained what happened: “Dr. K.C. Pani is a
friend of mine. His wife was my patient. I got to know him well. He had
horrendous medical bills. I loaned him money by personal check which Dr. Pani
returned by personal check. And this exchange of checks was the basis of the
indictment for conspiracy and giving an illegal gratuity to a government official. “I learned a lot from this experience. For instance, I was under the erroneous
impression that a Grand Jury of the United States hands down an indictment only
after it has sifted through all the evidence and has weighed it carefully. That isn’t
true at all. Most of the time the United States Grand Jury merely does what the
United States attorney tells them to do. This is what happened in my case. The
result is that the United States taxpayer has invested one to two million dollars in
investigating this case, sending inspectors and investigators across the country
several times, preparing for the trial, conducting the trial, and finally dropping the
charges to vindicate me and DMSO. Still, the prosecutors seemed to be
aboveboard. I developed respect for both United States attorneys. I had the feeling
that they were going through the motions of prosecution but that they almost wishthey hadn’t gotten involved in the case. Their hearts weren’t in it. “The judge had strong feelings that the case should be dismissed and he
relayed his feelings to the Justice Department. So, my attorneys and the
prosecutors worked out an arrangement where we mutually read statements in
open court that said in essence, I understand where people could interpret that our
exchange of checks was a conflict of interest, and I’m sorry such an interpretation
was made.’ The federal attorneys in turn stated, ‘We are dropping all charges
against Dr. Jacob, and we wish to take this opportunity to commend him for his
good services to the community.’”
Additionally, Dr. Jacob admitted that it had been “wrong” and “inappropriate”
for him to make payments to an FDA scientist even though the payments in no way
involved a conspiracy to clear DMSO and win its approval for other uses. The
government, furthermore, excused its own action by saying that its sole purpose
was to simply
“ensure that the integrity of the regulatory process is upheld.” In
effect, Assistant United States Attorney Richard E. Dunne III said that the Justice
Department wasn’t after Dr. Jacob as a profiteer because of his early financial
connection with Research Industries Corporation, the producer of Rimso-50, but
the case was pursued because DMSO could be considered the Laetrile (an anti-
cancer drug) of the eighties. DMSO is a drug that hundreds of thousands of people are using, and for which
there is a great public pressure to make legal nationally. There is also tremendous
congressional pressure to approve DMSO for general use. But the bureaucratic
record thus far is enormously distressing. There is a failure on the part of the FDA
to properly handle DMSO. The agency has undergone internal conflict as a result,
and the Inspector General is investigating that situation. DMSO has had inefficient
and ineffective overall review. Problems that have been discovered were not
expeditiously corrected, and it took the FDA an overly long time to make those
discoveries. Perhaps the FDA has perpetuated the greatest failure of all those
committed, because it is supposed to be the regulator beyond reproach guiding the
others to do what is good and true. The result is, as Senator Kennedy points out, that a travesty has been made on
the drug regulatory process and serious questions have arisen in the minds of
thousands of physicians and possibly millions of potential patients who need and
want to use DMSO. It may alleviate their suffering from a variety of ailments, but
the drug is being denied to them because of uncertainty as to its safety and
efficacy. The FDA itself has been a blot on the drug regulatory record. Senator Kennedy assured the public that this entire matter of allegedmisreporting, misstatements, and alterations of data was going to be evaluated for
criminal content by the United States Department of Justice. And it has been. Overall, charges have not been brought or they’ve been dropped without definitive
conclusions. Doctors and patients continue to use DMSO in spite of the cloud concerning
its safety. In over fifteen years of use, I have not heard of one patient complaining
of vision problems, and some of these patients have been using DMSO regularly
for ten, twelve, and even fifteen years without complaint. Even if nuclear sclerosis,
or progressive myopia, does occur in some people, it is hardly of clinical
significance in that patients are unaware of changes and do not complain of visual
impairment. All of the studies done up to now show that lens changes seen in
experimental animals are reversible simply by discontinuing the medication. A study by Dr. Jack de la Torre, reported in the
Journal of Toxicology
and
Environmental Health
 7:49–57, 1981, states: “Daily funduscopic examination
during the testing period failed to reveal any abnormalities in any of the monkeys
tested.... a double-blind slit lamp examination of the lens was performed the day
before saline or DMSO administration and then again 10 and 120 days after saline
or DMSO. No changes in refraction or translucency of the lens and no other
abnormalities were noted in any animal before, during, or eighteen weeks after any
drug administration.”
There is no therapeutically effective agent on the market that does not have the
potential of causing some untoward side effect. Although penicillin,
phenylbutazone, clofibrate, and even aspirin can cause death in some patients, no
one has suggested that these drugs be taken away from the people. “Adverse eye
findings” have been reported with
all
 of the arthritis drugs such as Anaprox,
Naprosyn, and Motrin (as per their package inserts). Yet, no one has suggested
that these minimally effective agents (about the same as aspirin) be taken off the
market because of these adverse eye findings. Even if the Scherbel findings are verified, DMSO will still be one of the safest
and most important agents when it’s made available. If a person is dying from a
stroke or severe burn, it is unlikely that he or his loved ones will worry about
clinically insignificant lens changes. Because of the question of eye changes, and in spite of many studies showing
that eye pathology does not occur, most physicians recommend, but do not insist
on, a slit-lamp eye examination every six months for patients using DMSO on a
continual basis. I can only hope that this scientific and bureaucratic bungling doesn’t setDMSO therapeutics back another twenty years. It seems that the American people
are entitled to a better performance from everyone involved—the FDA, the
medical researchers, and the private business sector. In the interest of the patients
who are suffering and are full of anguish, we must have a quick, accurate, and
definitive approval of DMSO for general medical use, as it is, indeed, the new
healing power. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS CONFIRMING DMSO’S VALUE
FOR SCLERODERMA
In 1986, the German journal
Dermatologische Monatsschrift
 published a scientific
article that verified the value of dimethyl sulfoxide in the treatment of
scleroderma. The solvent was combined with dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, and
administered as a local treatment that worked well. 3
In 1983, the Dimexide brand of DMSO was applied to Russian patients for
counteracting their scleroderma. Good therapeutic results were reported as
circumscribed drug therapy. 4
Again in 1983, skin manifestations in the form of scleroderma were improved
by the patients


 thoughts is like a dog’s trying to chase its own tail. This is why many serious and committed meditators do not reach
Enlightenment, even after many years of devoted meditation. They are
simply looking in the wrong place (calibrates as true). Q: Then how can one silence the mind? A: One cannot. It stops of its own accord when the energy of interest is
removed. It is of greater service to merely disown it and stop identifying
with it as ‘my mind’. Thoughts are the automatic consequence of a
specific calibrated level of consciousness plus personalization by which
they gain value. With relinquishment of the activation of memory, one
lives in the emergent instant rather than hanging on to the past or
anticipating the future. Q: To withdraw the magical value of ownership and the concept of
‘mine’ silences the mind? A: It stops when it is not narcissistically energized. Thoughts, ideas, and
concepts are of pragmatic and useful value to worldliness, but with the
relinquishment of worldliness, they are excess baggage and of no value. In the infinite stillness of a great forest, of what value is a portable
radio? One can visit the great, magnificent cathedrals of Europe and
witness visitors busily talking on their cell phones and completelymissing the wonderment of the stark, stunning beauty. They seem to be
walking about unconsciously in some kind of dream world, oblivious to
the timeless and silent beauty and magnificence. Again, the mind stops when it is no longer narcissistically energized. Thinkingness is intrinsically a vanity. Survival is spontaneous and
autonomous, an automatic karmic consequence. Even when the mind
becomes totally silent, the body goes about its business like a karmic
wind-up toy. Q: What about meditation on an image or concept? A: That is focused attention on the linear; however, eventually the mind
gets out of the way of the nonlinear, and greater meaning then springs
forth because it is unobstructed. Formal meditation holding a Divine
image in mind is a form of worship and supplication. By surrender and
invocation, a knowingness arises via attunement to the teacher’s etheric
spiritual energy and the consciousness level of the vibrational field. Thus, an image can be inspirational and uplifting, but eventually, that,
too, has to be given up as a dependence. Q: What is the value of mantras? A: They are in accord with all the above. The purpose is to still the mind
and invoke a high energy field. The calibrated levels of various mantras
are listed in Chapter 17 of Truth vs. Falsehood. For greater benefit, the
sound should be held silently. There is an inherent limitation to repetitious mantras in that they too
often result in a semi-autohypnotic, altered state of consciousness that
actually becomes an obstruction to the sought-for state of Realization. Enlightenment is not an altered state of consciousness induced by alpha
waves, feedback, or rhythmic repetitions of dance, sound, breathing, or
body movements. It is not the ‘high’ of drumming, music, bells,
chanting, or ascetic extremism. All the above are transitory. When the
stomping feet, drums, bells, incense, gongs, and flashing lights stop, so
does the artificially induced trance state, which is an altered state of
consciousness rather than a Knowingness. Psychedelics also allow
glimpses of states of advanced awareness, but they, too, recede. States of spiritual joy and ecstasy occur naturally at the calibrated
levels of the high 500s. To reach Enlightenment, they also must besurrendered to God, and in their place arises a great Peace beyond all
description. The Peace of God experientially transcends all prior states,
as exquisite as they might have been. Meditation
Q: What should one focus on in meditation? A: There are three basic styles that can be described that are effective and
fruitful. The first could be described as psychological insight or self-
examination. The second is through the thought field, and the third is
the simplest by which to bypass the thought field. Style 1: Psychological
The purpose is focused on understanding and investigating inner
motives, attitudes, presumptions, and hidden feelings. This has
historically been called self-examination, spiritual inventory, or self-
assessment designed to ‘know thyself’. The requisite is strong
commitment to inner honesty and relinquishment of self-judgment. This
reveals the instinctual drives and their emotional and psychological
components. These are then processed through forgiveness, acceptance,
and recontextualization. Style 2: Through the Mind
Look for the energy field of silent stillness, which is ever present and
‘situated’ just prior to and beneath the advent of thought. Look for the
energy source out of which thoughts arise. Watch how a thought begins
to arise as a vague kind of feelingness. Progressive specificity then
develops. For example, a thought may start out as a general feeling of
‘dogginess’, and then it specifically evolves into ‘a dog’. Next, it
quickly particularizes as ‘Rover’. Then arises the thought of ‘Good old
Rover’, followed by the sad story of Rover and how he got lost one day,
and so on. By sharp focus and declining involvement, the capacity develops to
sharply witness the formation of thought earlier and earlier in the
thought-formation process prior to its becoming concretized and linear
in defining a specificity. By the above process, attention will be led to
the silent, nonlinear origin of the energy field of thinkingness itself. This
is the energy field of the desire to think, which is highly prized by theego, for it is related to the belief/ concept of ‘I’ or ‘me’. Thus, it has a
creative urgency as a ‘need to think’ or ‘have to think’, and the mind
flails around in panic to grab a thought in order to survive. One can surrender the desire of thinkingness to God, which then
quickly brings up the mind’s fear of survival. At that point, one has to
surrender the will to survive to God. If one stops thinking, there is the
fear of being mindless. To be thoughtless is called ‘Divine idiocy’, or
‘Divine stupidity’. However, what actually needs to be known will
reveal itself, not as thoughts but as comprehension, understanding, and
apperception via totalities. The Infinite Reality is omniscient and
independent of talkingness, thinkingness, and verbalization of words. The narcissistic ego is addicted to talkingness. It is of no value to the
Self. The ego/mind believes that if it stops thinking/feeling, the personal
self will die for it is intrinsic to the ego’s survival system. Therefore, it
fears and avoids silence and stillness. The ego/self identifies with that
which is linear, discrete, separate, and definable, i.e., content. Style 3: Bypassing the Mind
Whereas Styles 1 and 2 are educative, Style 3 is purely
subjective/experiential and not mental, psychological, emotional, or
conceptual. It is the most rapid and basic and consists of a simple
‘doingness’. The steps are very simple: relax completely and deeply;
close the eyes; witness the visual field and merely focus on what is
witnessed. Within the darkness, notice numerous tiny bits of dancing
light phenomena (called “phosphenes”). Become at one with the lights
(thoughtlessness ensues), and merge with the visual field. In due time,
the context simultaneously begins to shift and deepen. The seeming
separation between the witness and the observer disappears. One
‘becomes’ the phenomenon sans a localized observer. Eventually, only awareness itself prevails, and all is spontaneous and
nondual. The mind is bypassed and surrendered to Mind, which is
autonomous. With practice, the capacity to be ‘at one’ with the silent,
thoughtless state can be maintained with the eyes open. One then lives
within the silent state. In the beginning, the state is lost when it is necessary to return to
functioning or necessary mentation. With practice, however, even that
distraction can be transcended, and the silent state prevails even thoughthe persona goes about relating and acting in the world. Eventually, the inner state prevails and selfless action operates
spontaneously and autonomously. It is the karmic ‘wind-up toy’. It can
eventually even think and respond to the world without interrupting the
state of silent peace. The persona is perceived by the world to be ‘you’, whereas it is only a
linear functionality. It is like the ripples or waves of the ocean. As with
contemplation, the sense of Self moves from content to context. One
then abides in the silent awareness that Ramana Maharshi termed turiya,
or the “fourth state.”
Q: Does that not result in impairment of functioning? A: Yes. It may be necessary to leave the ordinary world for some years. At
that point, it is of no concern. The world is surrendered to God. Q: What replaces the mind when it disappears? A: Divine wisdom unfolds. Consciousness/awareness remains but it is an
autonomous quality or condition. Loss of mind does not result in
‘nothingness’; on the contrary, it is replaced by Allness. The


32

 Accelerating the detoxification process    33
  1. Cleaning the bowel      33
  2. Fasting       35
  3. Oxygen Therapies      39
  4. Exercise       41
  5. Sauna       41
  6. Removal of Dental Amalgams    42

 Some unusual effects of detoxification    43

 Diet – minimizing the intake of toxins    44
  Why we should avoid eating meat    47
  Vegetarian cuisine      48
  Microwaves       48
  How much to eat. 48  4   When should we eat. 49
  Tradition       49

POLLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT     50

DETOXIFICATION AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE   50

HELPING OTHERS        51

THE BOTTOM LINE        52

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS       54

APPENDIX A: HERBAL METHOD OF PURGING PARASITES   55

REFERENCES        56

SUMMARY         58

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND RELATED LINKS    59

  5 INTRODUCTION

Living should be a wonderful experience. The best and most important  things in life
should be free and effortless. When we are born our bodies are perfect  and they should
stay in a perfect state of health for as long as we want. O ur attention should be free
from any worries whatsoever about disease, so we can fully conce ntrate on our own
development to achieve complete satisfaction and fulfillment. So why we observe so much suffering around us. Why are so many people developing
cancer or other incurable or extremely uncomfortable diseases. Why are there more and more incurable or chronic diseases. Why  does our society
develop more sickness and it costs us more and more each year. Why our medical
sciences cannot succeed in improving our health. This book attempts to answer the above and many other similar questi ons, with
simplicity, logical arguments and by referring to the avail able scientific literature for
those who might need it. This book was written by a scientist (but not in way a medical pra ctitioner), with a true
love for all human beings and all the life on our planet. Please forgive the author’s
criticism, which may seem to be too sharp at first. Among us, ther e are people who are
less loving than others. Some of us are less honest than most. There w ill also be those
among us who will sometimes try to take advantage of others. The intention of this book is not to criticize anyone, but to provide for t hose interested
some critically selected information, and some loving advice so tha t everyone can help
himself/ herself to become healthier, happier and more loving for the benefit of  us all. All advice in this book is given with love, sincerity and the best sc ientific ability of the
Author who cured himself first and actively uses the techniques prese nted here on an
everyday basis. The book was prompted by the increasing number of people becoming interest ed in the
spectacularly simple method of restoring health, engaging the Author  in long and
exhausting discussions. The main message of this book is following: you are totally  (100%) responsible for the
state of your own health (all your diseases) and you also have com plete power to
improve your health to the best possible state (in particular free  yourself from any
disease). There are no incurable diseases, only distorted knowledge, misinformati on and your
limited understanding of what your mind and body are doing and why. This book will not be long and laborious to read. The author is of opinion, that t he
concise presentation is best. Information and arguments selected for  this book are  6 carefully chosen from many books and articles to illustrate the m ain message and
present it in a logical and convinsing way. Those who might need addit ional
information and scientific evidence in certain areas in order to f ollow the author’s
reasoning, are referred to specific literature, which is listed in the Re ferences. If you intend to use the advice from this book to heal yourself, please make sure, that
you fully understand that it is you who accept the full, undivided responsi bility for the
health of your own mind and body. By taking the advice presented in this book you
confirm, that you have assumed such responsibility. It is a sad fact, that we do not value our health until we lose it. While the advice in this book will be helpful at any stage of any  disease, it will be the
most effective, when your body is not yet damaged beyond repair. Prev ention is much
better than cure. 7 WHAT’S WRONG WITH ORTHODOX MEDICINE. Before we start to discuss the limitations of conventional medic ine, let us consider the
following facts, which are very easy to verify, but for some rea son or another escape
the attention of the public:

1. Medical Practice and research concentrates on the study of cur ing diseases,
rather than on the study of maintaining perfect health. 2. Medical Practice is BIG business (doctors, hospitals, medical equi pment, drugs,
pharmaceutical supplies, health insurance, etc). This business  as whole is not
interested at all about people getting healthy. On the contrary the more people
are sick, the better the business. 3. It is in the best interest of medical business to fight, criticize, ridicule, discredit
and preferably make illegal any method potentially capable of im proving the
health of the population. 4. Medical Education and Research are funded to a large extend by c hemical and
pharmaceutical companies, which are in a position to decide what to te ach
doctors and what research direction should be funded. Note, that no research
can be performed if there are no funds to support it. 5. Centralized Medical Authorities (with members educated in the envi ronment
describe above) have complete monopoly and also final jurisdiction over our
health. These authorities advice Governments that there will more sick to treat
next year, and it will cost more. They make recommendations, that he alth
insurance should be mandatory and that the best way to ensure this is  to
introduce a health tax. Guess who benefits most from such a scheme. 6. People who control the chemical industry – the largest business on thi s planet –
are in a very special business position: on one hand they invent, manufac ture
and recommend food  additives, artificial sweeteners, food extracts, food
processing, plastics, cleaning agents, solvents, pollute our environment etc, and
on the other hand, they benefit greatly from our bad health by selling us drugs. This state of affairs offers a unique opportunity for corruption. Such c orruption
could be very difficult to detect, especially if there is a long  delay between the
consumption of food additives or living in polluted environment and related
health effects (20 years for example) and if there are many possible diseases
(due to the varying proportion of additives and pollutants taken by each person). 7. Medical Business educates the population, that the only one way to cure
diseases is to use drugs (and surgery in extreme cases). We are told that drugs  8 are supposed to do the healing, and if one drug does not help, we should tr y
another. We are made to believe that for each disease there should be a different
“cure” in the form of a drug. The single most important document in any
modern medical, practice becomes a prescription. Have you ever a left a
doctor’s surgery without one. 8. We are told that we are not in any way responsible for our diseas es. They “just
come with age” or “they are result of an infection”, or “there ar e aggressive
bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms trying to kill us” a nd everybody
around is getting sick anyway, so we are not alone in our sufferin g Therefore,
we should accept our sickness together with drug treatment and pay for it too. 9. Doctors are paid in accordance with the number of patience they att ended
without regard to the results they produce (the cure rate). This encourages
doctors to work in a hurry to attend as many patients as possible. 10. Doctors who successfully cure patients using their own observation, ta lent and
reasoning and who do not strictly follow the prevailing medical docto ring, not
only risk to be criticized by orthodox practitioners, but also risk l osing their
“license” to practice, even if ALL their patients are grateful helping the m. The above facts suggest the conclusion, that progress in the medical sc ience is limited
to the areas of study of diseases and to the development of drugs, extracts, hormones,
etc. to “cure” these diseases and/or provide some relief. It was therefore convenient for medicine to adopt the so called “ bacteria theory of
disease”. Briefly speaking, this theory, introduced by Pasteur, sta tes that each disease is
“caused” by the corresponding “bug” – a bacterium. This theory h as gained universal
public and scientific acceptance. According to the theory, killing bac teria by newly
found chemicals, antibiotics, enzymes, etc. should be the ultimate function of medicine. 9 Bacteria and viruses

Most of us, (including most doctors and medical scientists) are kept unaware that the
“bacteria” theory of disease is simply NOT true, and


  in
our  lives. The  Shapes  of  Ancient  PottCI  \
157
j(m,
THE    PRACTICE    OF    AYURVEDA
Modern  Utensils
The  pressure  cooker  and  enamelware  pot  are  definite
improvements  over  the  stomach  lining  of  an  animal. However,  our  modern  stand-up  work  tables  and  stoves
have  deprived  us  of  an  essential  sadhana — working  in
various  crouching  positions. These  provided  excel-
lent stimulation  of  the  vital  organs  and  tissues  as  well
as  a  means  of  receiving  the  earth's  energies  through the  womb  and/or  hara. Similarly,  a  gas  and  electric  stove  deprives  us  of  the
direct  exchange  with  the  fire  of  transformation  that
we  would  experience  with  a  wood-burning  stove. Of
the  two,  a  gas  burning  stove  is  far  better  than  an
electric  stove  since  the  direct  flame  still  provides  some
benefit. Electrical  applicances  generate  noise  pollu-
tion and  are  drying  to  the  internal  and  external  or-
ganism. When  electricity  passes  through  food  it  dam-
ages the  tanmatra,  or  energy  quanta  of  the  food,  which
aggravates  all  three  doshas,  and  Vata  in  particular. Microwave  cooking  is  hazardous  to  one's  health. It
transmutes  and  distorts  the  energy  structure  of  a  food,
depleting  food  of  its  ojas-producing  potential  and  of
its  memory. Electric  blenders,  food  processors,  dough-
kneading  machines,  and  so  on  have  definitely  removed
the  most  important  aspect  of  food  sadhanas  from  our
lives:  the  handling  of  fresh  grains,  beans,  vegetables,
and  spices,  and  their  transformation  through  pro-
cessing by  our  own  hands  and  feet. Dissonant  ma-
chinery cannot  refuel  and  refine  the  exchange  of  en-
ergy between  the  human  body  and  nature. Hand  grinders  certainly  generate  results  more
quickly  than  the  hard-to-find  giant  mortar  and  pestle. Hand  grinders  are  valid  kitchen  tools  because  our
hands  are  still  engaged  to  a  certain  degree. Even  the
occasional  use  of  a  blender  or  an  electric  coffee  mill  is
acceptable. While  I'm  not  proposing  that  we  revert
back  to  500  B. C.,  we  do  need  to  make  conscious  choices,
ones  that  allow  for  the  maximum  amount  of  human
exchange  with  nature. The  sadhanas  reaped  from
preparing  foods  with  hand  tools  are  irreplaceable. These  are  the  peaceful  weapons  that  were  given  to
humans  so  that  we  could  live  in  harmonic  vigor  with
nature. Walk  gingerly  through  the  maze  of  cooking
inventions. Consider  what  portion  of  your  vital  and cognitive  memory  you  are  willing  to  sacrifice  to  the
insipid  conveniences  of  modern  life. The  principle  of
sadhana  is  so  simple  that  it  becomes  impalpable. We
need  to  retrieve  our  innocence. We  need  to  learn
through  remembering. We  need  to  trust  that  the  jour-
ney of  time  holds  the  essence  of  all  knowing. We  need
to  embrace  our  ineffable  nature. We  need  to  find  our
stillness  amid  the  pother  and  welter  of  daily  life. We
need  to  ponder  these  things. Making  the  Transition
The  suggestions  listed  below  will  prove  helpful  at  the
beginning  of  your  food  transition. 1. Simplify  your  kitchen. Get  rid  of  all  utensils  that
are  not  being  used. 2. Discard  all  old  spices,  frozen  food,  and  canned
food. 3. Keep  your  cooking  space  neat  and  uncluttered. 4. Gradually  eliminate  most  electrical  appliances,
as  you  increase  your  inventory  of  hand-oper-
ated utensils. 5. Familiarize  yourself  with  your  new  foods. Begin
with  the  most  familiar  and  appealing  items. Secure  the  basics:  spices,  oils,  grains,  and  beans. If  possible,  buy  vegetables  daily  and  be  alert  to
their  quality. Use  as  many  fresh,  organically
grown  vegetables  and  herbs  as  you  can. 6. Be  conscious  of  maintaining  variety  in  your
menu. Take  pride  in  the  pleasing  and  artistic
presentations  of  your  food. Visually  pleasing
foods  stimulate  the  appetite  and  can  be  a  suc-
cessful way  to  impress  your  family  with  a  new
way  of  life. Always  discuss  the  food  changes
with  your  family  and  provide  them  with  infor-
mation on  the  wholesome  benefits  and  the  per-
sonal and  universal  need  for  these  changes. Conscious  awareness  needs  to  be  taught  gen-
tly. Your  changes  will  succeed  only  when  they
are  well  presented  and  backed  by  reason  and
thoughtfulness. When  a  feeling  of  deprivation
is  invoked,  all  else  fails. Remember  that  the
only  thing  you  are  being  deprived  of  is  harmful
158
jmt. FOOD    SADHANAS
and  regressive  foods. Your  attitude  as  the  chef
will  make  the  difference  between  "Yuk. " and
"Wow. " 7. Be  alert  to  your  energies. At  stressful  times,  take
a  few  minutes  to  silence  your  mind  by  sitting  in
a  comfortable  place  and  taking  a  few  deep
breaths. In  the  beginning,  take  the  support  of
soothing  music,  soft  lights,  and  "saging"  the  air
(burning  dried  sage). These  are  all  tools  for  in-
viting stress  and  misery  to  leave  your  kitchen. Never  cook  when  you  are  dominated  by  anger
or  grief. Emotions  permeate  the  energies  of  the
foods  you  are  handling. 8. Consult  the  Food  Charts  (pages  74-130)  daily
on  meal  preparation,  food,  taste,  and  color  com-
binations. Use  these  as  guidelines  to  help  you
knowledgeably  orchestrate  meals. 9. Use  the  Seasonal  Menus  (pages  135-148). These
are  organized  according  to  body  type  and  are
specifically  designed  to  help  you  in  making  your
food  transition. 10. Clean  your  kitchen  thoroughly  after  each  meal. This  functions  as  a  beautiful  invitation  to  return
to  it. Enlist  the  help  of  your  family,  and  establish
routine  cleaning  duties  for  every  member  who
shares  in  the  meals. The  Puranas  are  replete  with  stories  that  elucidate
our  forgetfulness  of  the  self. There  is  an  ancient  story
of  a  guru  who  was  crossing  a  river  with  his  disciples. The  ten  of  them  set  out  together  on  a  journey  to  the
forest. After  they  crossed  a  turbulent  river,  the  guru


 heir f ami lies healt h y. It immedi at el y oc c ur r ed t o me t hat t his m y st er y subst anc e c ould be just w hat I w as look ing
f or t o help m y patient s ha v e bett er r esult s. N o w, I c alc ul at ed t hat f ar mer s, e v en in t he 1800s,
w er e f air l y poor people, and so w hat e v er t he y g a v e t heir f ami l y had t o c ost some w her e
ar ound one penn y, if t hat muc h. H o w e v er, al l t hese medic ines w er e super seded b y, or w er e not as po w er f ul as, t hose used b y
t he A f r ic an sl a v es. M ast er s w ould g o t o t he sl a v e quart er s w hen t he y had ser ious ai lment s
t hat w er e lif e-t hr eat ening. I said, “ Hmm, if a sl a v e is using it, it must be v er y ine x pensi v e and
quit e c ommon. ” I sear c hed t hr oug h al l of m y her bal book s, and b y t hat time, I had o v er 300
suc h book s. I c ould not f ind a r ef er enc e in an y one of t hem t o an y t hing t hat w as ine x pensi v e
and w ould impr o v e one’ s healt h. I had mir ac le c ur e book s, and sti l l not hing—no mention.M y name is D r. J ennif er D aniels and I ha v e been tr ained as an al lopat hic medic al
ph y sic i an. I
att ended medic al sc hool at t he U ni v er sit y of P enns y l v ani a. I also
r ec ei v ed a bac helor' s
deg r ee f r om H ar v ar d U ni v er sit y, as w el l as a mast er’ s in
business administr ation f r om t he
W hart on S c hool of B usiness. A s C andid a is v er y muc h a lif est y le disease, it is import ant t o k no w t hat m y
par ent s r aised
me in t he usual manner, w it h meat, sug ar, juic e, and al l t he
t hing s t hat c ontr i but e t o a
C andid a-c ausing diet. I disc o v er ed t he C andid a
C leaner w hi le mak ing t he same lif est y le
tr ansitions t hat man y of y ou w i l l ha v e
t o mak e.
A s a ph y sic i an, I ha v e had t he pr i v i leg e of assisting hundr eds of people
in mak ing t his
tr ansition and obser v ing t heir pr og r ess.T h e S ear c h f o r  th e C ur e
T hen, I notic ed w hi le r eading m y litt le her bal book s t hat t he C hinese g o v er nment
seemed t o
spend $ 35 eac h y ear per per son t o pr o v ide healt hc ar e t o t heir c itizens—
and t heir c itizens
li v e long er and healt hier t han t hose in t he US, w hic h spends
t housands of dol l ar s eac h y ear
per c itizen. T his g a v e me c onf idenc e t hat w hat I w as
look ing f or w as eff ec ti v e, aff or d able,
and r eal l y e x ist ed. F urt her r eading of hist or y
g a v e mor e c lues. O ne d a y, m y c hi ldr en and I w er e r eading about A f r ic an sl a v es. W e r ead t hat t he sl a v es
had
somet hing t hat t he y used t hat w as e x tr emel y po w er f ul. A nd in c oloni al times, it
w as f elt t hat
t he medic ine of t he A mer ic an Indi ans w as mor e po w er f ul t han t he
medic ines used b y r ur al
A mer ic ans, and w as sti l l mor e po w er f ul t han t he medic ines
used b y t he sl a v e o w ner s.06
S inc e I had an ac ti v e f ami l y pr ac tic e, I said “ A ha! I w i l l ask m y patient s. M an y of t hem w er e
desc ended f r om sl a v es. ” S o, I ask ed t hem, “ W as t her e somet hing t hat w as v er y c heap t hat w as g i v en
t w ic e a y ear and c ur ed e v er y t hing? M a y be y our mot her used it, or y our g r andmot her used it?”
A t f ir st, I didn ’t g et muc h inf or mation, but I k ept ask ing. F inal l y, some patient s just st art ed l aug hing
and l aug hing and l aug hing. T he y said, “ D r. D aniels, oh y es, it must be t hat tur pentine. Y ep,
tur pentine and sug ar. ”

P er son af t er per son mentioned tur pentine and sug ar t o me. J ust tur pentine and sug ar. I r eplied, “ W ho in y our f ami l y used tur pentine and sug ar?” T he y al l said, “ M y g r andmot her. ”
I ask ed, ” W el l, do y ou use it?" A nd e v er y one I quer ied r eplied, “ O h, absolut el y not. ” T hese w er e people
in t heir f orties. I pr esumed t hat t heir g r andpar ent s w er e dec eased. I t hen ask ed, " W hen did y our g r andmot her die?" “ O h, no, she is sti l l ali v e, ” t he y ans w er ed. “ Ninet y -
si x and sti l l k ic k ing; sti l l t ak ing her tur pentine and sug ar. ”
I ask ed, “ W el l, do y ou t hink she mig ht t al k t o me about it?”
I w as t y pic al l y t old, "She stic k s pr ett y muc h t o her self. T ak es c ar e of her o w n house and doesn 't
bot her muc h w it h people. " I w as v er y impr essed t hat t ak ing tur pentine and li v ing independent l y t o
t he ag e of 90+ w er e c ompati ble. S omeho w, I c ouldn ’t g et an y one t o c onnec t me w it h t heir
g r andpar ent, so I sti l l sear c hed and sear c hed t he lit er atur e f or mor e inf or mation. N ot a sing le
r ef er enc e t o tur pentine. S o, I ask ed t hese same people, “ W el l, ho w muc h tur pentine?” T he y r esponded, “ I don ’t k no w”. I said, “S o ho w muc h sug ar?” T he y said, “ I don ’t k no w. ”
I said, “ W el l, w hat k ind of sug ar?” T he y said, “ I don ’t k no w. ”
I said, “ W el l, ho w of t en?” A g ain, t he ans w er w as, “ I don ’t k no w. ”
N o w, an y tur pentine c an y ou bu y is g oing t o ha v e some pr ett y impr essi v e l abeling on it, as it is t he
l a w. T he l abel w i l l look li k e t he f ol lo w ing:
* K no w n t o c ause birt h def ec t s in t he st at e of C alif or ni a. * F at al. * D ead l y if s w al lo w ed. * C ont ac t y our doc t


 sure it’s the same as Louise’ sinner ding. I call it my Yes because it is deeply affirming and I feel it has
my best interest s at heart. It is also constantly supportive and always on
hand when I need it. My inner voice feels like a Yes when I experience its
presence in my body, my heart,  and my thinking. The Yes is what I listen
for when I have a decision to make. The Yes helps me recognize and follow
the big plan. The Y es is my light on the path. “My inner ding is life’s way of loving me,” Louise tells me. I feel the
same way about  my Yes. Louise  consults with her inner ding throughout the
day. “In the beginning I used to meditate in order to be able to hear my
inner ding,” she says. “I found meditation very difficult to begin with. I
experienced violent headaches. It was most uncomfortable. I stuck with it,
though, and eventually I learned  to enjoy meditation. Meditation helped me
to listen from within. I found it a big help early on.”
When I ask Louise if she still meditates, she tells me abou t a great
exercise she does. “I don’t meditate daily now. Just occasionally. When I
wake up I go to the mirror and say, ‘Tell me what I need to know today.’
And then I listen. It’s by doing this exercise that I learned to trust that
everything I need to know will be revealed to me in the perfect  space-time
sequence.” Louise tells me she often asks the question What would you
have me know? when she wants  guidance on something specific, such as a
health issue, a business decision, or a meeting with someone. Louise’ s brilliant exercise reminds me of a prayer in A Course in
Miracles  that I call the Guidance Prayer. I have recited it almost every day
for the last 20 years. The idea is to be still, make a conscious connection
with your inner voice (whatever you call it), and then simply ask:
What would Y ou have me do? Where would Y ou have me go? What would Y ou have me say and to whom? Love Who Y ou Ar e
“I am a Yes person living in a Yes universe,” says Louise.“That sounds wonderful,” I tell her. “What do you mean?”
“Life loves us, and this love sustains us and guides us on our adventures. And so the universe is always saying Yes to us.”
“Love is the inner ding!” I exclaim. “Yes,” says Louise, smiling. “And I am a Yes person because I always
follow my inner ding.”
“Why do we resist following our inner ding?” I ask. “Children don’t hear the word yes enough,” Louise says. “They hear no
and don’t and stop that and do as I say. The people who say these things
heard the same when they were children.”
The first word most children learn to speak is no, according to research. I
was asked to comment on this research for a BBC news show, and I was
surprised by the findings. I thought the most common first word would be
Mum  or Dad. Perhap s not. Other research says children hear the word no up
to 400 times a day. Everyone agrees a child needs to hear the word no, but
not that much. So maybe no is the most common first word. In the
beginning was the word, and the word was no. Our life starts with a no. That’ s not much of a start, is it? Imagine if the first word we learned to
speak was yes. “Every child has an inner ding,”  says Louise, “but they need to grow up
in a loving, positive environment in order to trust this inner voice.” Louise
goes on to draw a parallel between healthy children in a family and healthy
cells in the body. She refers to Bruce Lipton, the developmen tal biologist
who wrote The Biology of Belief. Lipton has collated a large body of
research showing that the health of a cell depends on the environment it
exists in. A loving, positive environment creates health; but a fearful,
negative environment causes unrest. “Without a loving, positive
environment, a child for gets about the inner ding,” says Louise. Listening to our inner ding is how we learn to love ourselves. It’s how we
get the courage to live our truth. When we stop listening to our inner ding, it
causes us to reject ourselves. Instead of being true to ourse lves—being
original, if you like—we try to fit in, to please others, to be normal. But we
didn’ t come here to be normal! Being normal is not following your joy. At
the end of your life, your guardian angel or Saint Peter or whoever isn’t
going to ask you, “Were you normal?” They won’ t make you take a Normal
Test!“We are constantly invited to be who we are,” wrote Henry David
Thoreau. To do this we must honor our inner wisdom. I have an exercise
about inner wisdom that I teach in my eight-week happiness program, Be
Happy, which is the signature event  of my work with The Happiness
Project. The exercise is an invitation for everyone in the group to stand up,
one by one, and say out loud the following af firmation: I am a wise person. Affirming I am a wise person  may sound simple to you, but not everyone
finds it easy. Many students experience palpitations just hearing about the
exercise. They get weak in the knees as they stand up to say, “I am a wise
person.” They feel strong emotions, and sometimes tears flow. In the review
of this exercise,  I encourage my students to notice which “self ” finds this
exercise difficult. Is it the soul bird, the Unconditioned Self; or their self-
image? During one Be Happy  program, a man called Alan refused to do this
exercise. A senior teacher at a large school in London, he is very capable. Yet when it came to his turn to stand up, he couldn’ t speak, and he put out
his hand to me as if to say, “No, I can’t.” Alan had been very sociable and
had participated fully in the program up until that point. I could  see that his
outstretched hand was a firm No. He wasn’t ready. And so we moved on. A
few days later, I received an e-mail from Alan. Here’ s an excerp t from what
he wrote:
Dear Robert,
Thank you for the Be Happy program, which I have been enjoying immensely. As you
know, last weekend was difficult for me … I was taken by surprise at my response  to the [I
Am a Wise Person] exercise. Something in me froze. It said, “No.” I couldn’ t speak … I am a
teacher whose greatest joy is to help young boys and girls find their voice. The irony is not lost
on me. This is my invitation to heal and to love myself. I am a 46-year -old man, and it is never
too late to be a wise person! I want you to know that I am willing to honor the wisdom that
you say is in each of us. “I am a wise person.” “I am a wise person.” “I am a wise person.” I
am standing up as I type these words! … Tears are rolling down my cheeks … “I am a wise
person.” I know this is only in writing … I ask that the next time we meet you will give me a
chance to say out loud—to the whole group —“I am a wise person.” It’s important for me to do
this …
Blessings,
AlanThe habit of self-rejection takes  control when you play deaf to the wise
voice of your true self. You stop listening from within. You override what
your body is telling you. You ignore the internal memos from your heart. You don’t listen  to the song of the soul bird. You move away from yourself. Do you recognize the face in the mirror? Is it really you? Subtly or not so
subtly, we give up on ourselves. We tell ourselves we don’t matter. We stop
believing in ourselves, and we stop caring. “Not being consciou s of oneself
as spirit is despair,” said Søren Kierkegaard. When you stop following your inner voice, you become estranged from
yourself. You forget who you are, and you have no way of knowing what
you really want. Like everyone else, you pursue happiness, you chase
success, and you look for love, but your loss of inner guidance means you
end up looking in the wrong places. You are full of desire, but can you tell
the difference between a genuine holy longing and a conditioned response
to marketing and advertising? You won’ t ever get enough of what you
didn’ t really want in the first place. Do you know what you really want to
say yes to? “Every time I hear the word should, a bell goes off in my head,” says
Louise. When you hear yourself say, “I should do …” or “I should be …” or
“I should have …” you need to ask yourself, “Who is saying this?” Is this
the voice of your Unconditioned Self? Are you really followin g your joy? Or is this the voice of your ego? “The more you drop should  from your list,


 back to your dinner, all of you. And
don’t stink up your breath,” she warned. Sujata remained standing there, her gaze locked on Kumbira. Impudent girl,  Kumbira thought. Still, she had some backbone, and the
old woman wouldn’ t want that to be totally crushed. “Y ou’ve got breasts
like a suckled sow. Go to your room and take some ice water to firm them
up with. It’ s going to be a long night. ”
There was general tittering, and Sujata gasped in embarrassed hurt. She
turned and fled the room. Kumbira didn’ t watch her go. She had done
Sujata a secret kindness by driving her away, and none of the others
suspected it. Kumbira’ s role wasn’ t to bring Siddhartha and the girl
together, but at least she could keep the greedy hands of other men of f her. Kumbira walked toward the window and wished she were watching
Siddhartha in his glory. Cheers and applause rang once more from below. It
must be past midnight. She smiled and thought of how proud the old king
must be. And how drunk. THE GREA T FEAST  had wound down. The bulk of the guests had already
retired or collapsed in a stupor. It was only a few hours before dawn. Siddhartha stepped over them and left the tent without his father noticing. The king sat in a heavy drowse, his head lolling on his chest. Siddhartha
had made a show of drinking to every raucous toast but had actually sipped
very little. He needed a clear head to make good his escape. Tonight, after all the years of being kept like a nightingale in a gilded
cage, he would be free. Excitement coursed through Siddhartha. He hurried
back to his apartments and didn’ t bother lighting a candle. He’d lived all of
his life inside these rooms and could make his way around them in the dark. Moving quickly, he packed a traveling sack, rolling a few clothes inside. He
didn’ t know what to take or how much. He didn’ t want to be recognized as
the king’ s son, so he packed rough breeches and shirts that he wore in the
stables. He slid his sword through his sash and secured it at his hip. All the
travelers he’d talked to had agreed that the roads were dangerous. He’dshare the common risk of being robbed, but if his identity were ever
discovered, there would be the added one of kidnapping for ransom. He
added some bread, dried fruit, and what few coins he possessed. Inside the
palace walls he had never needed money; outside them he was genuinely
poor. The coins came from Channa and various young nobles in games of
chance or when he sold them trinkets he knew his father wouldn’ t miss. Just as he was finishing, the ponderous closing of the main gates
reverberated inside Siddhartha’ s room. He ran to the window and peered
out. Moonlight burned cool against his bare skin. Below in the central
courtyard the guards staggered to their posts, proving that the liquor had
made its way to the barracks. The new arrivals shot the bolts on the gates;
the noise was as loud as an ax splitting wood. Those portals had stood
against armies who had fought against his father, as witnessed by the
hacked scars that decorated their exterior. Siddhartha heaved the laden sack over his shoulder and fled, going
quietly down the stairs. A throbbing drummed in his ears. Only a short
distance on, he paused and heard muf fled voices through the walls. It
sounded like men ar guing. Siddhartha shifted the sack’ s weight and pressed
on. He kept his hand on his sword hilt so it wouldn’ t strike anything. Dark
shadows filled the hallway; the torches in their sconces had long guttered
out. Then a sudden movement in the shadows sent him into hiding against
the wall. Siddhartha went flat and stopped breathing. The cold stone wall
leached the warmth from his body. He watched intently for a while before
relaxing enough to start breathing again. But as he started forward, the
shifting shape returned like a shadow puppet against a dark screen. This
time he saw that it was a woman. She was slim hipped and moved quickly
on light feet. Her face and glowing eyes were visible for a fleeting second
in a bar of moonlight. Sujata. She paused as if she could hear him thinking her name. What was she
doing here. Siddhartha started to softly call out, but before he could, she
turned and ran down the hallway as if in a panic. Siddhartha’ s escape planvanished from his thoughts. He let his sack slide from his shoulder to the
floor and ran after her. As he rounded the next corner he saw the figure—he was certain now it
must be Sujata—disappear through a doorway. He followed her into the
royal gardens, not daring to call out, knowing that amours were taking place
in hidden nooks among the camellias and roses. The gardens had been
designed by his mother. Maya had intended them to be a place of eternal
fascination, and the centerpiece was an intricate knot, a maze crafted with
topiary dragons and elephants, along with fabulous sea monsters like the
magan and the mythical karaweik bird of hypnotic song. The sweet smell of
night blossoms thickened the air. Sujata paused at the entrance to the maze
and looked back over her shoulder. Her expression was inscrutable. “Wait. ” Siddhartha raised his voice, more intent on the fleeing girl than
on preserving his anonymity. He tried to use the tone of command that his
father had mastered. Instead, Sujata vanished into the maze. Siddhartha was helplessly drawn; he ran toward the entrance and
ducked inside. The tall walls of the maze closed in around him, and the
darkness became more complete. He ran, listening for her footsteps, shifting
through twists and turns to follow the sounds she made. Then they stopped. If she had been as close as he thought, Siddhartha would have tripped over
her by now. Footsteps sounded to his left, on the other side of the hedge
wall. He tried to slip through the tangled growth, but the greenery was
packed too tight. “It’s me, Sujata. Stay where you are. Y ou’re safe. ”
Siddhartha put his hand on the left wall of the maze. It guided him back
to the last turn, and this time he took the route he’d passed up before. At
that moment the moon disappeared behind a cloud, and in the darkness he
ran into somebody blocking the way. “Sujata. ” he whispered. Her voice came back, and it was very close. “How fitting. Y ou’re lost in
the maze of your mind, and now you’re lost in this maze. ”Siddhartha was startled by Sujata’ s arrogant tone, but it was definitely
her voice. “I saw you running away. Are you in trouble. ”
“I’m never in trouble. I make trouble. ”
Sujata’ s voice had deepened, and despite his attraction to her,
Siddhartha instinctively took a step backward. His eyes had adjusted to the
dark, and he perceived that the figure before him was not the curved, slim-
hipped girl. “Who are you. ” Siddhartha’ s hand went to the hilt of his sword, though
he wondered how much use a weapon would be against a magician, if that
was what he was confronting. Canki had told him that such beings existed
and must be countered through ritual observances that made a person
immune to spells and malevolent magic. “I can be her if that makes you more comfortable. I can be whoever you
imagine. ” The shadowy figure stepped closer, and there was no doubt that
its voice was now a man’ s. “Have you hurt her. Where is she. ”
The stranger drew himself up; he smoothed his long-nailed fingers
against the sides of his robe. “How do you know I’m not her. How do we
know who anyone really is. ”
“I’m going back. ” Siddhartha made a move to leave, but the stranger ’s
voice spoke again with a peculiar allure. “You think that if I take her shape she must be in danger. Y ou could be
right. The greatest danger she faces right now, however, is from you. ”
Siddhartha’ s temper flared. “Deceiver. Whoever you are, either fight
me or leave me in peace. ”
The stranger ’s voice took on an aggrieved tone. “Y ou mistake me,
young sir. I’ve come to bring you peace, only peace. How can I convince
you. ”The moon had come out again, and Siddhartha saw that he was
confronting a tall young man, somewhat older than himself, who could have
been his cousin, Devadatta. For a moment he almost called out Devadatta’ s
name, but he realized that this encounter couldn’ t be anything but
supernatural. “Don’ t you recognize me. ” the tall young man said. “I’m the son


 pilot will have
been drinking; I hate air travel; I don’t like that I can’t tell what’ s going on;
I have no control” and so on. She tapped until she felt no intensity thinking
about any part of the travel, from arriving at the airport to landing. The true test came on flight day. “I remember looking at the plane,
stepping onto the plane, and realizing  my ‘radar ’ was not going out of
control. ” Her next thought was that she was hungry and she wondered what
they would serve on the flight. Food hadn’ t been part of the picture in the
past. Once in the air, she reports, “Instead of all the nega tive racing
thoughts, I was curious about what was going on around me. Looking out
the wind ow, I remembering thinking, ‘this is romantic, this is wonderf ul. ’”
At that point, she could still remember how the panic felt, but she didn’ t
have it. “I used to book a flight and start praying. Now I just think I used to
be afraid to fly. I don’ t have that anymore. ”
In that above case, Ali didn’ t know the origins of the phobia, and it didn’ t
matter. In the case that follows, there was an originating event. Case Study: Debbie and Fear of Stairs
Often one thing becomes linked  with another, eliciting a phob ic response. Debbie, age 45, was terrified of walking down but not up stairs. She had no
memory of a time when it didn’ t feel like she was going to die when she
had to walk downstairs; she had inched her way down stairs in terror her
whole life. We started at the top of five stories of stairs and tapped on all
aspects—every possible thought, feeling, sensation, and belie f—keeping
her from walking down one single stair. Aspects included: can’t look down,
nothing there, need to hold on, and more. After about ten minutes she took a
single step on her own. But then she wouldn’ t release her grip on the
railing. “I’ll fall,” she said. We had uncovered another aspect. We tapped
now on aspects relating to releasing her death grip on the railin g. Then, we
stepped back to the top. Now, I asked her to look down, imagine walkingwith the hand off the railing, to get her tuned back into the falling fear. I
then asked her what the falling fear reminded her of. As is common in situations with EFT, an early memory surfaced from
when she was five years old. Her family was hiking down a craggy bluff,
with Debbie lagging behind. Her parents were in front of her and arguing
loudly. Debbie had felt alone, scared, and uncomfortable, and she was also
quite close to the edge of the rocky hill. Shortly after that event,  her parents
divorced. Being  high up on the hill looking down while her parents argued
had been very scary, and it was the last time the family went on an outing
together. Someh ow, the fear of going down the hill had generalized to going
down regular stairs, crowded stairs, stairs with no railing and the like, and
they had been tightly linked ever since. But really, she had just been scared
about her paren ts arguing so heatedly and linked it to the big loss of her
father ’s regular presence and love. Once we resolved this issue, I had a
feeling she woul d be able to walk down stairs, and I was right. But were we
done. Soon after we felt “complete,” a whole group of people entered the
stairwell and her fear spiked. Now we tapped on the aspect of crowded
stairwells. She was walking up and down stairs “just like a regular person,”
no fear. The next session we went to steep, metal fire escape stairs to scan
for aspects and test our results. In fact, I was the one who had to tap on my
fear of the metal stairs. Ali was practically giddy with excitement she was
so happy to feel free of the fear that had haunted her all these years. She had
unlinked decades of terror and fear in just two sessions. Exercise: Overcoming Phobia:
Get Curious, Ask Questions
When you clear  a phobia target with tapping, your questions will be like
guideposts to direct your tappin g. Note that the following questions may
look familiar to you, as they are the same types of questions we apply to
just about any bothersome problem. List them and your answ ers in yourEFT journal. They will help you uncover aspects and specific events to tap
on. When and where did my phobic response start. Who was with me. What was going on in my life at the time. When did the fear get worse. Do I remember a time that I didn’ t have it. What does this fear feeling remind me of. When do/did I remember having a feeling similar to this. How ashamed am I of the phobia. Am I keeping my phobia a secret. What will happen if I tell someone. What happens when I tell other people about my phobia. What do I believe about myself because of the phobia. Do I have a case of the “shoulds”. Y ou know the self-talk/inner critic: “ I
should not have,” “I’m wrong to have,” “I’m bad to have this,” “I’m a
loser  to have this,” etc. What happens when I see, hear, feel, touch, taste, or think of my fear
target. What are my body sensations when I think or come near my fear tar get. Does your breathing get shallow and fast. Is your chest tight, does your
gut feel like it’ s going to clench into a fist, are your legs trembling, can
you not seem to get enough air. How Long W ill It T ake. You might be wondering how long it will take you to clear your phobia. Everyone is different. You may clear the root of your phobia in five minutes
of tapping and resolve the probl em for good. Or it may take many rounds—
or even many days—to have a breakthrough. There may be hundreds of
aspects and several specific events you’ll need to tap on before your phobia
clears. Be persistent. You can heal this. You will likely need to put yourself
in the fear situation at some point to truly test for results. Working with a
practitioner can be especially useful in situations like these. Suggestions for W orking through Phobias
Look at your phobia as if it were an archeological site; do a little digging,
and you will see many civilizations buried one on top of anoth er. Remove
them one at a time and you will unearth everything you need to know to
clear your fear. If you have a fear of saying a target word, such as “snake,”
tap on “the s-word,” for examp le. Or you can use a code word that has
nothing to do with the phobia itself, like “my bunny friend,” or “the Tesla
factor,” or “the big yuck. ” If you feel ready, you can start to tap on saying
the name of your fear target out loud and tapping on the intensity that just
saying it elicits. Do this until you can actually say out loud the name of
your fear target with neutrality or something close to it. If you can’t get
there, then you may find working with a practitioner experienced in helping
clients resolve phobias useful. Exercise: T aking the Edge Of f
Just Thinking of the T arget
Step 1. I cannot even think of my fear target without upset. If this speaks to
you, start there, at this outermost layer. Tap until you no longer feel
triggered and resistant when just thinking about the fear target. This is
similar to the Tearless Trauma  technique, approaching the most global
perspective possible to take the edge of f and be as comfortable as possible. Try customizing any one of these phrases to suit your own situation:
Even though I feel trapped, I deeply and completely love and accept
myself. Even though this fear has control over me, I deeply and profoundly
love and accept myself anyway. Even though there’ s a lot here, and I don’t know where to start, I
deeply and completely accept myself. Even though I’m terrified of certain things, I accept my terror and
myself. Even if I never get over this, I still love and accept myself anyw ay (or
that’s okay). Step 2. Remember to rate your intensity on just thinking about this issue
before creating your setup phrase, then karate chop: “Even though I don’t
even want to think about the fear I have, I deeply and profoundly accept
myself anyway. ” Now tap down the points with your reminder phrase
“don’ t even want to think abou t it,” and retest your intensity again,  just
about that one aspect of thinking about it. Step 3. Once you have  tapped that down to a neutral intensity and have
no resistance to thinking about the fear object, continue by tapping on every
single aspect that comes to mind, using the ratings scale as your feedback
loop. The most important factor is to not get ahead of yours elf but take
things one step at a time. If you push or rush past a detail that has not been
tapped down to zero, you are hampering


  w e  l o s e
o l d  j o b s,  p e o p l e  b l e s s  u s,  s o m e  p e o p l e  b e t r a y  u s. A n d  e v e r y
c h a n g e  i s  a  c h a l l e n g e  t o  r e m e m b e r  w h a t ’ s  t r u e. L o v e  i s  t h e
o n l y  a b s o l u t e  r e a l i t y,  w h i c h  n e v e r  c h a n g e s  a n d  n e v e r  d i e s. D w e l l i n g  i n  t h a t  w h i c h  d o e s  n o t  c h a n g e,  w h i l e  t h i n g s
a r o u n d  u s  a r e  c h a n g i n g  a l l  t h e  t i m e,  i s  o u r  k e y  t o  i n n e r
p e a c e. W h e n  I  w a s  a  c h i l d,  p e o p l e  u s e d  t o  b u i l d  b o m b  s h e l t e r s
— a  n o w  s e e m i n g l y  q u a i n t  e f f o r t  t o  d e f e n d  t h e m s e l v e s  i n
c a s e  o f  n u c l e a r  d i s a s t e r. O u r  u r g e  t o  g o  u n d e r g r o u n d  w h e n
t h i n g s  u p  o n  t o p  h a v e  g o n e  h a y w i r e  i s  a n  i n s t i n c t i v e
r e s p o n s e  t o  t h e  e v e r - c h a n g i n g  f o r c e s  o f  t h e  o u t e r  w o r l d. A n d  t h e r e  i s  a  c o r r e s p o n d i n g  s p i r i t u a l  t r u t h. W e  n e e d  a
s h e l t e r  f o r  t h e  h e a r t,  a n d  t h e  H o u s e  o f  G o d  i s  t h a t  s h e l t e r
w h e r e  w e  c a n  g o  e v e r y  d a y  t o  f i n d  p e a c e. W e  n e e d  t h a t  p e a c e  b e c a u s e  t h e  w o r l d  i s  m o v i n g  v e r y
f a s t  n o w,  a n d  e v e r y o n e ’ s  n e r v o u s  s y s t e m  i s  a f f e c t e d  b y  t h e
s h e e r  s p e e d  o f  t h i n g s. A l m o s t  e v e r y o n e  s e e m s  f r a z z l e d,  l i k e
w e  n e e d  a  v a c a t i o n  t o  g e t  b a c k  t o  o u r s e l v e s,  a  f e w  d a y s  j u s t
l y i n g  o n  a  b e a c h  t o  r e s t o r e  o u r  n a t u r a l  b a l a n c e. W e  p r e t e n d  t h e  s p e e d  d o e s n ’ t  a f f e c t  o u r  c h i l d r e n,  b u t  w e
s u s p e c t  i t  d o e s. W e  a l l o w  t h e m  t o  s i t  f o r  h o u r s  i n  f r o n t  o f
t e l e v i s i o n  a n d  c o m p u t e r  s c r e e n s  a t  s u c h  a n  e a r l y  a g e  t h a t
t h e i r  b r a i n s  w o u l d  h a v e  t o  b e  a f f e c t e d. I  s a w  a  n o t e  w r i t t e nb y  a  t e n - y e a r - o l d :  “ I ’ m  a  t o t a l  f – i n g  n e r v o u s  w r e c k. ” W e
c l e a r l y  h a v e  a  p r o b l e m  h e r e. Y e t  t h e  c h i l d r e n  a r e  s i m p l y  m i m i c k i n g  u s. W e ’ r e  a l l
r u n n i n g  s o  f a s t  w e  c a n ’ t  p o s s i b l y  b e  t h i n k i n g  a t  o u r  b e s t  o r
f e e l i n g  o u r  b e s t. T h e  m i n d  a n d  t h e  b o d y  n e e d  e m p t y  s p a c e
i f  t h e  v o i c e  f o r  G o d  i s  e v e r  t o  b r e a k  t h r o u g h. A n d  y e t,  e v e n
t h o u g h  w e ’ r e  f r a n t i c,  I  t h i n k  w e ’ r e  a d d i c t e d  t o  t h e
a d r e n a l i n e  o f  o u r  m o d e r n  l i v e s. W e  k e e p  m o v i n g  a s  a  w a y
o f  n o t  d e a l i n g  w i t h  s o m e t h i n g. I f  w e  m o v e  f a s t  e n o u g h,
p e r h a p s  w e ’ l l  a l l  j u s t  f o r g e t  h o w  m u c h  w e  h u r t. O u r  e x i s t e n t i a l  p a i n  b e c o m e s  i m p a c t e d,  p u s h e d  d o w n,
a n d  t h e n  i t  e a t s  a w a y  a t  u s  f r o m  t h e  i n s i d e. A s  w e  a g e,  w e
s t a r t  d e v e l o p i n g  p h y s i c a l  s y m p t o m s  o f  e a r l y  b r e a k d o w n. T h e  b o d y  c a n  c a r r y  j u s t  s o  m u c h  s t r e s s  b e f o r e  i t  a c t s  l i k e
Y e r t l e  t h e  T u r t l e  a t  t h e  b o t t o m  o f  t h e  h e a p  a n d  c r i e s  o u t,
“ N o  m o r e


 h e
u n d e r m i n i n g  m a c h i n a t i o n s  o f  u n p a t r i o t i c  A m e r i c a n s. Y e t  I ’ v e  n o t i c e d  t h a t  i t ’ s  t h e  p e o p l e  w h o  s u f f e r e d  t h e
m o s t  o n  9 / 1 1  w h o  h a v e  o f t e n  d i s p l a y e d  t h e  c a p a c i t y  f o r  t h e
h i g h e s t  v i s i o n  o f  w h a t  o c c u r r e d  t h a t  d a y. F r o m  p u s h i n g  f o r
a  9 / 1 1  c o m m i s s i o n  w h e n  t h e  p r e s i d e n t  h i m s e l f  w a s  r e s i s t i n g
i t,  t o  f o r m i n g  g r o u p s  l i k e  S e p t e m b e r  E l e v e n t h  F a m i l i e s  f o r
P e a c e f u l  T o m o r r o w s  w h i c h  s t a n d  f o r  c o m p a s s i o n  a n d
f o r g i v e n e s s  i n  t h e  m i d s t  o f  t h i s  h a u n t i n g  d a r k n e s s,  t h o s e
w h o  s u f f e r e d  t h e  m o s t  h a v e  t a k e n  t h e  s t r o n g e s t  s t a n d  f o r  t h e
p o w e r  o f  t r u t h. O n e  d a y  I  w a s  w a t c h i n g  a  T V  r o u n d t a b l e  d i s c u s s i o n  w i t h
t h r e e  v i c t i m s  o f  9 / 1 1. O n e  w o m a n  h a d  l o s t  h e r  h u s b a n d  a t
t h e  W o r l d  T r a d e  C e n t e r ;  o n e  m a n  h a d  l o s t  h i s  y o u n g  s o n,
w h o  w a s  w o r k i n g  a t  t h e  P e n t a g o n  w h e n  i t  w a s  b o m b e d. A t
t h e  e n d  o f  t h e  d i s c u s s i o n,  t h e  n e w s  a n c h o r  a s k e d  o n e  l a s t
q u e s t i o n :  “ D o  y o u  w a n t  r e v e n g e? ”
A  p a i n e d  e x p r e s s i o n  c r o s s e d  t h e  f a c e  o f  e a c h  m e m b e r  o f
t h e  r o u n d t a b l e  a t  t h a t  q u e s t i o n. I  r e m e m b e r  t h e  w o m a n
s a y i n g,  “ N o,  b e c a u s e  I  c a n ’ t  i m a g i n e  a n y o n e  e l s e  h a v i n g  t o
g o  t h r o u g h  t h e  p a i n  w e ’ v e  b e e n  t h r o u g h. ” T h e  m a n  w h o  l o s t
h i s  s o n  s a i d,  “ N o,  I  t h i n k  w e ’ v e  g o t  t o  f i n d  a  w a y  t o  m a k e
t h o s e  p e o p l e  o v e r  t h e r e  k n o w  w h o  w e  r e a l l y  a r e  s o  t h e y
w o n ’ t  h a t e  u s  a n y m o r e. ” T h e  t h i r d  p a n e l i s t  s a i d  s o m e t h i n gs i m i l a r. A n d  t h e n  t h e  T V  j o u r n a l i s t,  w h o  h i m s e l f  h a d
s u f f e r e d  n o  p e r s o n a l  l o s s  o n  9 / 1 1,  s a i d  t h i s :  “ W e l l,
I  w a n t  r e v e n g e,  a n d  I  w a n t  i t  t o  b e  f i e r c e  a n d  s w i f t. ”  I t
w a s  o b v i o u s  t h a t  t h o s e  w h o  h a d  s u f f e r e d  t h e  m o s t  h a d  b e e n
l i f t e d  u p  t o  a  p l a c e  t h a t  h e  h a d  n o t. T h e y  d i d n ’ t  w a n t  t o
c o n t i n u e  t h e  v i o l e n c e ;  t h e y  j u s t  w a n t e d  t h e  v i o l e n c e  t o  e n d. T h e r e  a r e  w a r s  t h a t  t h e  v a s t  m a j o r i t y  o f  u s  w o u l d  c a l l
“ r i g h t e o u s  w a r s, ”  s u c h  a s  A m e r i c a ’ s  i n v o l v e m e n t  i n  W o r l d
W a r  I I. N o w,  a s  t h e n,  t h e r e  a r e  p e o p l e  w h o  w i s h  o u r  c o u n t r y
h a r m  a n d  w o u l d  k i l l  u s  i f  t h e y  c o u l d ;  i t  i s  c l e a r l y  b o t h  o u r
r i g h t  a n d  o u r  r e s p o n s i b i l i t y  t o  d e f e n d  o u r s e l v e s. B u t  t h e
c o n v e r s a t i o n  s h o u l d  n o t  s t o p  t h e r e. I f  o u r  f i r s t  r e s p o n s i b i l i t y
a s  i n d i v i d u a l s  i s  t o  a c c e p t  t h e  a t o n e m e n t  f o r  o u r s e l v e s,  t h e n
A m e r i c a ’ s  f i r s t  o r d e r  o f  b u s i n e s s  s h o u l d  b e  g e t t i n g  o u r


  t o  f i n d i n g  r i g h t  r e l a t i o n s h i p  w i t h
e v e r y o n e  a n d  e v e r y t h i n g. W e  c a n ’ t  s a v e  t h e  w o r l d  w i t h o u t  G o d,  b u t  G o d  c a n ’ t  s a v e
t h e  w o r l d  w i t h o u t  u s. I n  m a k i n g  o u r s e l v e s  a v a i l a b l e  t o  H i s
p l a n,  w e  c a n ’ t  a l w a y s  s e e  h o w  o u r  p a r t  f i t s  i n t o  t h e  o v e r a l l
s c h e m e  o f  t h i n g s. B u t  w e  d o n ’ t  n e e d  t o. W h a t  w e  n e e d,
p e r h a p s  m o r e  t h a n  a n y t h i n g  e l s e,  i s  e n o u g h  f a i t h  i n
o u r s e l v e s  t o  a p p r e c i a t e  H i s  f a i t h  i n  u s. H e  d o e s n ’ t  c r e a t e
s m a l l  s p i r i t s,  a n d  H e  d o e s n ’ t  h a v e  s m a l l  p l a n s. H e  c r e a t e d
u s  i n  g r e a t n e s s,  a n d  H e  h a s  g r e a t n e s s  i n  M i n d  f o r  u s. M e d i o c r i t y  h a s  n o  p l a c e  i n  G o d ’ s  c r e a t i o n. T h e r e  h a v e  b e e n  t i m e s  i n  m y  l i f e  w h e n  I  b a c k e d  a w a y
f r o m  s o m e t h i n g  e x t r a o r d i n a r y,  t h i n k i n g,  “ W h o  a m  I  t o  d o
s u c h  a  t h i n g? ”  B u t  i n  r e a l i t y,  w h o  w a s  I  n o t  t o  d o  s o m e t h i n g
i f  G o d  h a d  p l a c e d  i t  i n  f r o n t  o f  m e? L i k e  e v e r y t h i n g  e l s e,
w e  h a v e  h u m i l i t y  a n d  a r r o g a n c e  c o m p l e t e l y  u p s i d e  d o w n. I t ’ s  n o t  h u m b l e  t o  t h i n k  y o u  c a n ’ t  d o  w h a t  G o d  i s  a s k i n g
y o u  t o  d o ;  i t ’ s  a r r o g a n t  t o  t h i n k  y o u  k n o w  y o u r s e l f  b e t t e r
t h a n  t h e  O n e  w h o  t h o u g h t  y o u  u p. *
W h a t e v e r  i t  i s  y o u  a r e  g u i d e d  t o  d o,  d o n ’ t  b e  c o n c e r n e d
a b o u t  y o u r  o w n  r e a d i n e s s ;  j u s t  b e  c o n s i s t e n t l y  a w a r e  o f
H i s. *  O n c e  y o u ’ v e  a s k e d  t o  b e  t h e  c o n d u i t  t h r o u g h  w h i c h
G o d  o p e r a t e s,  y o u r  o n l y  j o b  i s  t o  r e l a x  i n t o  t h e  H o l y  I n s t a n t
a n d  a l l o w  t h e  H o l y  S p i r i t  t o  g u i d e  y o u r  t h o u g h t s  a n d
a c t i o n s. W e ’ r e  o n l y  t h e  f a u c e t ;  G o d  i s  t h e  w a t e r. T h e  p r e s e n c e  o f  f e a r  i s  a  s u r e  s i g n  t h a t  w e ’ r e  t r u s t i n g  i n
o u r  o w n  s t r e n g t h. *  O n c e  a g a i n,  i t ’ s  m a k i n g  o u r s e l v e s  t h eb i g  d e a l  t h a t  t h r o w s  u s  i n t o  f e a r. Y o u ’ r e  n o t  t h e  b i g  d e a l ;
G o d  w i t h i n  y o u  i s  t h e  b i g  d e a l. O n c e  y o u  k n o w  t h a t,  y o u  a r e  s o  f a r  a h e a d  o f  t h e  g a m e. M a k i n g  D e c i s i o n s

T h e  w o r l d  t e l l s  u s  a l l  k i n d s  o f  w a y s  t o  m a k e  i n t e l l i g e n t
d e c i s i o n s,  b u t  t h e r e  i s  n o  i n t e l l i g e n c e  l i k e  D i v i n e
I n t e l l i g e n c e. I t  e m a n a t e s  f r o m  a  p l a c e  i n  w h i c h  a l l  t h i n g s
p a s t,  p r e s e n t,  a n d  f u t u r e  a r e  k n o w n  a n d  b l e s s e d. I t  m a k e s
d e c i s i o n s  b a s e d  o n  t h e  h i g h e s t  g o o d  f o r  a l l  l i v i n g  t h i n g s. S u r r e n d e r i n g  a l l  d e c i s i o n s  i n t o  t h e  h a n d s  o f  G o d  i s  n o t  a
g i v i n g  u p  o f  p e r s o n a l  r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ;  i t  i s  t h e  h i g h e s t  f o r m  o f
t a k i n g  r e s p o n s i b i l i t y. W h e n  w e  d e c i d e  t h i n g s  f o r  o u r s e l v e s,  n o t