 are, but not so dirty; for I paid forbaths, washing, and in some instancesfurnished clothing. Besides supplying theseluxuries, I gave them occasionally a big silverdollar which they called a " cart wheel."
It was surprising to see these degenerates
freshen up jn appearance and lose theirblotchiness and greasiness of facial appearance.I knew how to talk to them to get theirconfidence, and they looked on me as justanother " freak" like themselves, but with somekind of a money " pull." There were fat and thinamong them, and it was a matter of surprise
that after a little some of the thin got stouter and
the fat fell off in weight at the same time. One of
them was a belligerent socialist and the authorof a well-known book which had quite a voguein the earlier history of present-day socialism.Up to the time I began my own experiment, I
had been a social drinker of alcohol in all formsto the full extent of "gentlemanly decency," withoccasional slips when near the outer edge thatmade me ashamed of myself after I got soberagain. I am now more ashamed than ever whenI am reminded of my early foolishness, but sincemy experiences are being turned to goodaccount I forgive myself. Not only were socialoccasions an excuse, but I often ordered thesocial occasions to serve as an excuse. I hadnever resorted to snake-bites to give legitimateexcuses, but I so crowded my resources in thisdirection that at one time I held the " record,"for the community in which I lived, for whatwas called " hollowness of legs and steadiness ofhead," and so much was this " strength ofcharacter " valued in that community inAmerica, that one was supposed to take pride inholding the record.
The result of my own pursuit of thorough
tasting of my food had been that my ownponderosity of front weight fell off, and at thesame time I had no desire for wine or beer. Itwas all a surprise to me, but it was not anamazing surprise until one day one of my tramp
guests came to me and said : " Boss, this eatin'game is great; think of me with a dollar in mypocket and not wantin' beer."
In a short time I forgot that I had ever liked
wine or beer. It never occurred to me to order itexcept for a guest, and then I took it with him,or, rather them, for there were usually severalor many at my eating parties, but in theFletcherian manner which is so eminentlyEpicurean that a few sips went as far as a half-bottle used to do. Here is an important point inprofitable economics that any one candemonstrate for himself at once and not rely onmy say-so, or that of any one else. Later on Iwill tell how to do it. The secret is worth itsweight in gold as an Epicurean prize as well asa money-saver. I have to tell, a little further on,of a very large experiment which came as asurprise also. It was in a section of country, andamong a class of people, where to escape fromthe toils of the drink demon is nothing short of amiracle.A REMARKABLE  MAN.
But before I relate this climaxic experience I
will once more refer to one of the mostremarkable men I have had the pleasure ofmeeting. His case covers more sides of healthyvariety than that of almost any one, but he haseven a better showing in some respects thanany. He is an M.D.; a Ph.D.; an Sc.D.; an A.M.;and a P.H.D. ; which last is the " stiffest exam."of them all. He is a champion athlete; the fatherof an all-round college champion; and asgraceful a gymnast as any one ever saw do the" Giant Swing " on the horizontal bar. He is alsoa grandfather and now past fifty.
This was his experience in 1902 or 1903, in
connection with my being called to New Havento submit to examination under the supervisionof Professor Chittenden. It is Dr. Anderson towhom I refer, and he permits my stating hisexperience as often as I like for the good it willdo. My expression of appreciation of hisacademic and athletic accomplishments is allmy own and not authorized.
When I was turned over to Dr. Anderson for
physical examination in the Yale gymnasium,my fitness was surprising to him as he has
stated in his reports. He was also ripe for thereasonableness of my revelations. He seemed tome to be in the " pink of condition " himself, andhe was so, as " pink " was judged at the time, fora man of his age.
Dr. Anderson tried more careful mastication
than usual, and paid more attention to thethorough enjoyment of his food with the samepleasant results that come to everybody whenmaking the trial, no matter how moderate andtemperate they have been before. It isequivalent to putting a little keener edge onappetite than usual. Children and even fineladies will perk up a little when they areconscious of being noticed, and the humansenses are human in more ways than one.
Dr. Anderson was pleased with the new
revelation as a pleasure promoter, but did notnotice that he was forgetting to take his dailyprescription of stimulant. He was a medicalman, past forty, beginning to slack up a little inhis elasticity and strength. He was reachingthat age when even the most temperate andcareful begin to be a little lenient withthemselves. His doctor friends were in the habit
of prescribing a little stimulant to counter-balance this expected decline in energy and hetook their advice. It was the medical fad of theperiod.
At first, Dr. Anderson ordered for himself one
small drink of good medicinal whisky a day, andthe effect was as expected. By and bye, however,a little more was needed, and this increasingdemand continued its insistence until threedrinks were no more efficacious than one hadbeen at first. When I was introduced to him hehad begun on his fourth drink daily, and yetburned it up in his exercise without feeling itmuch.
A couple of weeks after he began to check up
my tests by personal experience, which is theonly scientific way, he all at once remembered,one day, that he had forgotten to take hiswhisky, and yet he was fitter than usual. I hadnot mentioned my own experience in this regardto him, I believe, as when we were together hekept me busy with the exercises of the ‘Varsitycrew, and I had little chance to give himaccounts of my full experiences. Besides, it didnot occur to me that it would interest him who
seemed to be moderation and temperancepersonified. And so he was, according to thescientific estimate of the time, but Nature hasanother standard of temperance, and under herstrict guidance very little but good spring wateris needed or desired.
HOW TO ENJOY  WINE.
To illustrate this and also suggest a way of
letting Mother Nature prove that I representher correctly in this important matter, I willgive an account of an actual happening.
I was lecturing in Buffalo, New York, in
America, and was invited to address themembers of the sumptuous Buffalo Club. Idwelt especially on Fletcherizing as a means ofgetting the good and the best out of food anddrink, and yet for little cost, and at the close ofthe lecture a dozen or more of the audienceasked me to demonstrate my point as above. Iwas happy to do this, and called for a pint of thechoicest still wine, with cordial glasses. Therequest caused a smile among some of my hosts
who were proud of being " one bottle " consumers.When the wine came I poured out half a
cordial glass as the portion I selected for myselfand recommended the same prescription for theothers, as a " starter." Then I breathed andsipped my delicious grape-juice, as I hadlearned to do from the professional wine-tasterson the Rhine, in Germany, and in the Burgundyregion, in France. The others did the same, andseemed to get unusual satisfaction from boththe boquet and the taste.
What happens is this : You sense the wine by
means of the olfactories as you would breathe inthe odour of a delicately perfumed flower. Tasteis excited and becomes jealous of Smell. Yougive Taste a taste. Something more subtle thantaste ; a sort of aroma, so to speak, spreads overthe head. You feel the taste of the delicacy uparound the temples, and the sensation isdelightful in the extreme, fading slowly awaybut leaving a lovely memory impression.
Then you take another sip, and the sensation
is about the same, and so on for a sip or twomore, when the supremest delicacy of the wineceases to express itself. Two or three sips more,and the wine no longer tastes good. Carriedfurther, in this appetite-respecting manner,
there will be a desire to spit out the sips, andthere is no temptation to drink them.
Professional wine-tasters are supposed never
to drink wine. After tasting it they spit out the
remnant from which the taste has beenexhausted. Tea tasters and beer tasters andspecial food tasters do the same in order topreserve their keen taste discrimination. Thereis just as definite Swallowing Sense andExpectorating Sense as there is Taste Sense.There is just as strong Appetite Sense forproteid, when the


 are full of nourish
ment and will help your GAPS patient to detoxify quicker in order to
achieve his or her full potential.
"We had bad experiences with phenols. Tom used to get red ears, would
become irritable, basically "off the wall" When we started the diet (she
means the correct diet for GAPS) we tried the phenol foods again. Now we
have no phenol problems. Hooray!"
Tom's mother,
Correspondence via e-mail
The Anti-Candida Diet
As we discussed before the era of antibiotics and steroids gave yeasts and
moulds a special opportunity. These ubiquitous micro-organisms always
lived in our bodies. However, in a healthy body they are controlled by the
beneficial bacteria and do us no harm. As these good bacteria get
destroyed by antibiotics and other modern influences, yeasts get out of
control and turn from a harmless neighbour into a terrible menace. One
particular family of yeasts called Candidahas received the most attention. It is a large family of fungi which cause a commonly known problem, called
"thrush" When that happens Candida transforms from its harmless one
cell state into an invasive active state, when it grows long stringy hyphae
and puts "roots" through the tissues of the body This sort of growth can
happen in the digestive system and many other internal organs producing
a whole host of toxic substances, alcohol and acetaldehyde being some of
them. Pretty much every chronic degenerative disorder has been con
nected to Candida overgrowth from arthritis and digestive problems to
ME, MS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromialgia and neurological dis
orders. GAPS children and adults almost without exception are seriously
affected by Candida species and possibly other fungi.
As Candidaand other yeasts thrive on sugars, the anti-candida diet aims
to remove all food sources for these pathogens: sugar and everything, that
contains it, fructose, maltose, lactose and other sugars, including maple
syrup and honey. Fruit is excluded as it is viewed as a source of simple
sugars. As Candida overgrowth can cause an allergy to other fungi and
moulds, all fungi and fermented foods are also eliminated: yeast and baked
foods made with yeast (breads, pastries, etc.), soured milk products, all
cheeses, all fermented beverages, vinegar, malt, mushrooms, tea and
coffee, dried fruit and fruit juices. However, grains are not excluded from
the diet: corn, barley, wheat, rye, millet, oats, rice, etc. and foods, made out
of them, as long as they do not contain yeast. Starchy vegetables are not
excluded either: potato, yams, sweet potato and Jerusalem artichoke....
And this is where the problem is. Let us see, why?
Candida is never alone in the digestive system. It lives in company with
some other 500 or more different microbes which can cause disease. And
indeed, when the gut flora of a GAPS patient is tested apart from Candida
there are many other pathogens detected, Clostridia family being the most
common one. These pathogens and their toxins damage the gut lining,
making the enterocytes (major digesting and absorbing cells of the gut)
unable to perform their duties of splitting up carbohydrates into small
enough molecules to be absorbed. The result is that complex carbohy
drates, those found in grains and starchy vegetables, do not get digested
and become food for the pathogenic flora. They undergo fermentation and
putrefaction in the gut, instead of proper digestion, and become a source
of toxins, which would further damage the gut wall and undermine the
immune system. The majority of pathogens, including different bacteria,
fungi, protozoa and worms feed on undigested carbohydrates.
The anti-Candida diet in combination with GFCF diet and often with phenol free diet is promoted for autistic children. In practise what it boils
down to is lots of rice and things made out of it, potato, potato crisps,
gluten free breads, biscuits and other baked goods, as autistic children
crave processed carbohydrates. Unfortunately these carbohydrates will
allow their inflamed and damaged gut to stay inflamed and damaged,
keeping up the toxicity in the body. That very toxicity which makes these
children autistic.
So, what exactly should GAPS people avoid in their diet?
To understand that we need to look at how foods are absorbed in our
human digestive tract The absorption of digested foods happens in the
small intestine, mainly in its first two parts: the duodenum and jejunum.
The walls of these parts of digestive system form tiny finger-like protru
sions, called villi, to increase the absorptive surface. These villi are lined by
the cells, called enterocytes. These are the cells, which absorb our food and
pass it into the blood stream to nourish our bodies (FIG. 3).
The importance of these cells in our health simply can not be overesti
mated. These cells are born at the base of the villi and through the course
of their short life travel to the top of the villi, slowly getting more mature on
the way. When they reach the top of the villi they get shed off, because by
then they have performed so much work that they become old and worn
out. This process of constant renewal of enterocytes is ruled by the benefi
cial bacteria, which live on them. As already mentioned in the chapter on
gut flora, the beneficial bacteria ensure that enterocytes are healthy and
capable of performing their jobs. When the beneficial bacteria are not
there and instead of them the absorptive surface of the intestine is popu
lated by pathogenic microbes, the enterocytes can not be healthy and can
not perform their duties. The animal research shows that in the absence of
good bacteria enterocytes change their shape, their travel time to the top of
the villi becomes too long which can turn them cancerous. But most
importantly they become unable to perform their jobs of digestion and
absorption of food. Let us have a look how enterocytes absorb different
groups of nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Carbohydrates
All carbohydrates are made of tiny molecules, called monosaccharides.
There are many of them. The most common ones are glucose, fructose and FIG. 3 The absorptive surface of intestines. galactose. These monosaccharides or monosugars can easily penetrate the
gut lining, they do not need digestion. Glucose and fructose are found in
abundance in fruit and vegetables. Honey is made of fructose and glucose
and does not require much digestion. Galactose is found in soured milk
products, like yoghurt. Monosugars from fruit and some vegetables are the
easiest carbohydrates for us to digest and should be the main form of
carbohydrate in the diet of any person with a digestive disorder.
The next size carbohydrates are disaccharides or double sugars, made
out of two molecules of monosaccharides. The most common ones are
sucrose (the common table sugar), lactose (the milk sugar) and maltose
from digestion of starch. These double sugars can not be absorbed without
quite a bit of work on the part of enterocytes. The tiny hairs (microvilli) on
the surface of enterocytes, called the brush border, produce enzymes dis-
accharidases which break down the double sugars into monosaccharides
to be absorbed. This is where the biggest problem lies for people with
digestive disorders. The sick enterocytes loose their ability to produce
brush border enzymes. As a result double sugars, like sucrose, milk sugar
lactose and products of starch digestion can not be split into monosugars
and hence can not be absorbed. They stay in the gut becoming major food
for pathogenic bacteria, viruses, Candida and other fungi, getting con
verted into a river of toxic substances which damage the gut wall even fur
ther and poison the whole body. Deficiencies in disaccharidases almost
always accompany all sorts of digestive disorders. Recent studies per
formed by Dr K. Horvath in Maryland University and Dr T. Biiie in Harvard
confirmed these deficiencies in autistic children. So double sugars or dis
accharides have to be out of the diet for GAPS children and adults in order
not to feed abnormal flora and to allow the villi time to recover by shedding
off sick enterocytes and building a layer of healthy ones.
We have mentioned maltose - the result of starch digestion. Apart from
sugar (sucrose) starch is the main form of carbohydrates we consume. All
grains and some root vegetables (potato, yams, sweet potato, Jerusalem
artichoke, cassava) are very rich in starch. Starch is made of huge
molecules with hundreds of monosugars connected into long strands with
many branches. Digestion of starch requires quite a bit of work on the part
of the digestive system and apparently even in healthy people, due to its
complex structure, a lot of starch goes undigested. Undigested starch pro
vides a perfect food for pathogenic flora in the gut, allowing it to thrive and
produce its toxins.
Whatever starch does get digested, the result of this digestion are molecules


 the purpose of the coffee enema is not to promote evacuation, but it does that
anyway, especially on the 5-a-day routine. So why must I also take that ghastly castor oil?
A: Seriously ill cancer patients usually carry a huge toxic load of tumor tissue. As this load
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 157Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comis attacked by the recovering immune system and gets excreted, lar ge amounts of toxins are
released into the blood stream, collected by the liver, and released into the small intestine for
eventual evacuation. Most people don’t realize that the transit from the release by the liver/bile
system to the anus can take many hours, even with the regular five daily enemas. During that
time it is unavoidable for the body to re-absorb some of those toxins.
 Castor oil is needed to remedy that situation. The oil rapidly clears the entire intestinal tract,
not just the colon, and especially the small intestine, where the re-absorption would take place.
The same cleansing effect would also benefit non-cancer patients who, due to so-called civilized
living, are carriers of large amounts of not just the colon, and especially the small intestine, where
the re-absorption would take place. The same cleansing effect would also benefit non-cancer
patients who, due to so-called civilized living, are carriers of large amounts of toxic substances
other than tumor tissue. They may well recover without the castor oil enemas, but using the
additional detoxifying by orally taken castor oil speeds up healing.
Q: Can I do this therapy at the same time as receiving chemotherapy treatment?
A: It seems a contradiction to poison the body on the one hand with chemotherapy drugs,
and on the other to detoxify it at the same time with coffee enemas, juices, etc. So sharp is
the contrast between the two approaches that patients who come to the Gerson Therapy after
chemotherapy has failed to help them, have to go on a reduced form of the Gerson programme
for at least six months, to allow for the gradual detoxification of the body. You may, however,
support your body during chemotherapy by switching to the Gerson diet and having no more
than 3 glasses of freshly made juice and one enema a day, as long as you realize that you are not
doing the Gerson Therapy.
Q: If this therapy is so effective, why isn’t it recognized by the medical authorities?
A:  As is well known, the present orthodox medical system is dominated by the huge and
powerful pharmaceutical companies. They even control, via substantial donations to medical
schools, what is being taught to medical students: drugs, drugs and more drugs to suppress
symptoms. But drugs never heal, with the result that chronic degenerative diseases are termed
“incurable.”
The Gerson Therapy cuts totally into drug use, and therefore drug sales, by healing the
body of its true underlying problems—the disturbances in the entire metabolism, the diminished
immune system and the damaged essential organs.
Thus the whole body can be healed, “cured” of the underlying problems, and health is restored.
The problem is that the big pharmaceutical companies cannot make money out of natural organic
food, such as a sack of carrots. So they fight the nutrition-based therapy as long as they can. They
know that the public is beginning to understand what is going on.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 158Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comQ: There are so many different kinds of cancer. How can the same therapy be right for all of
them? What about specialization?
A: It is true that when the body is severely damaged by toxins, steady irritation, genetic causes
or any other reason, normally it is the weakest part that breaks down and allows the wild cell
growth, which equals cancer. Hence the wide variety of malignant disease. However, the Gerson
Therapy works on the entire organism; it restores the body’s defenses, so that it becomes able
to attack and destroy malignant tissue, which is actually foreign to it. The healthy immune
response kills and removes this “foreign” tissue, no matter what its name, origin or location!
This doesn’t mean, of course, that precise minor adjustments are not made in the program,
according to individual needs. But beyond that, specialization is a mistake, since the bottom line
remains the need to heal ALL the body systems along with the immune system, including the
mineral balances, the hormone system, the essential organs—everything. Only that ensures true
healing.
Q: Can the Gerson Therapy be used on small children, and how is it scaled down to suit
them?
A: Yes, small children respond extremely well. (see Case No.15 in “A Cancer Therapy—Results
of 50 Cases,”  where the patient was an 8-months-old boy. Of course since then we’ve had many
successes, with patients ranging from toddlers to teens.) Medication is scaled down more or less
according to their weight, but they are well able to take juices, even from a nursing bottle, and
generally don’t need coffee enemas before the age of 2-3.
Q: What’s the earliest age a baby can be given carrot juice?
A: There are some babies that are allergic to EVERY type of milk: mother’s milk, when the
mother is ill, goat’s milk, soy milk, formula, everything. Such babies have been raised on
NOTHING but organic carrot juice, starting at a few weeks of age. The juice gives them all the
nutrients they need and they grow up totally well and healthy.
Q: Some people are terrified of needles. Why can’t they take the liver extract with B12 by
mouth?
A: People who are afraid of needles are surprisingly not afraid of putting every kind of poison
into their bodies, including nicotine, alcohol and all sortsof toxic painkillers and other drugs.
The problem is that when they are terminally ill, the body is so severely depleted that oral
administration is insufficient to make up for the deficiency to stop cancer growth. The other
problem is that we already use liver powder, which is not enough, and B12 (which is needed to
enhance the production of healthy red blood cells) is poorly absorbed in almost all people. For
proper absorption of B12 orally, the body needs the so-called ‘intrinsic factor,’ which very few
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 159Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.compeople have. So they must get B12 faster and more efficiently by intramuscular injection.
By the way, if the injection is correctly delivered into the ‘gluteus medius’ (as Dr. Gerson
instructed), not into the ‘gluteus maximus,’ as most doctors and nurses wrongly do, it is entirely
painless.
Q:  Beet is generally considered a very healthy vegetable. Why is it not used in the juices?
A:  Beet IS a healthy vegetable and it is all right to use it as such. Dr. Gerson avoided it for
juicing, probably because it is very sweet (beets are used in sugar production). Also, it is a
powerful cleanser, and patients already undergoing systematic detoxification should not be
given any extra cleansing substance. However, small amounts used occasionally as vegetable
will not do any harm.
Q: Since these days even organic produce is lower in nutrients than it used to be, shouldn’ t
patients be given extra vitamins and minerals?
A: It’s true that organic produce is not as rich as it used to be. However, synthetic vitamins and
minerals, which the pharmaceutical industry uses in its supplements, are almost always poorly
absorbed. Moreover, some are outright damaging (see Appendix II in “A Cancer Therapy ”),
such as Vitamins A and E and several of the B vitamins. A & E are found in fish oils and soy
oil. These have to be avoided, since the fatty substances stimulate tumor growth. The only B
vitamins that are important to use are B3 (niacin) and B12. The others disturb the metabolism; Dr.
Gerson found that they cause damage to the patient.
Even if organic foods are lower in nutrients, with 13 glasses of freshly made juice a day
the patient’s body is thoroughly flooded with vitamins and minerals in their living, active form,
that even the sick body is able to assimilate—and they are being  given in truly huge amounts,
to replenish the sick, damaged organs. Pharmaceutical vitamins and minerals, even so-called
‘organic’ ones from plant sources, are usually not, or only poorly absorbed, so that some go into
the system and others do not. This causes new imbalances.
Q: Why can’t a cured patient after a year or two start eating a normal diet?
A: In theory a ‘cured’ patient could start to eat a ‘normal’ diet.   But what is normal? Canned,
tinned, preserved with chemicals, artificially flavored and colored, frozen food? Most patients


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2002.
59
 Nolan, L.A., et al. Chronic Iodine deprivation attenuates stress-induced and diurnal variation in corticosterone secretion in
female Wistar rats. J. Neuroend. 2000. Dec; 12(12); 1149-59
60
 Rodzaevskaia, E.B., et al. Age-dependent thymus involution in experimental iodine deficiency. Arkh. Patol. 2002 Mar-
Apr; 64(2):13-6
61
 Rodzaevskaia, E.B. Morphological impairment of oogenesis in experimental iodinedependent thyroid transformation. Arkh.
Patol. 2002. Mar-Apr; 64(2):10-3
62
 Nolan, et al. IBID. 2000
63
 Abraham, G. IBID. 2002Chapter 9
The Importance of Iodine Before Pregnancy
CHAPTER 9: THE IMPORTANCE OF IODINE BEFORE PREGNANCY
For nearly 100 years, it has been known that iodine deficiency is associated with a lowered intelligence quotient (IQ). In fact,
the research has been clear: iodine deficiency can result in mildly to severely lowered IQ levels. Cretinism, the most severe form
of iodine deficiency, was first described in the late 18
th
 century. Cretinism is associated with severe mental deterioration and
significantly lowered IQ levels, swelling of the skin, hair loss, and short stature. Neurological impairment with reduced muscle
tone and slowed reflexes are also present in cretinism.
Unfortunately, cretinism is still present in remote areas of the world.
With the advent of iodized salt, cretin


	Zero	Point	Field—
Akasha—is	more	real	than	the	visible	universe.	Akasha	organizes	and
coordinates	all	the	projections	we	call	time,	space,	matter,	and	energy.	If	this
is	correct,	then	we	have	established	a	foundation	for	several	key	assertions	in
Vedanta:
The	material	world	is	projected	from	a	nonmaterial	source.
The	invisible	world	comes	first.	It	contains	the	seeds	of	time	and	space.
Reality	increases	the	closer	one	gets	to	the	source.To	put	it	in	human	terms,	we	do	not	have	to	fear	that	death	is	a	vanishing
act	because	life	has	always	been	one.	What	we	most	value	in	ourselves,	our
capacity	to	think	and	feel,	didn’t	come	about	from	entering	the	physical
world.	It	got	projected	into	the	physical	world	from	a	source,	the	Zero	Point
Field,	that	is	the	root	of	consciousness,	extending	back	billions	of	years	and
ahead	into	the	foreseeable	future.	Far	from	being	a	religious	vision,	this
model	explains	the	universe	better	than	any	other,	and	gives	us	what	the	rishis
and	modern	physicists	both	demand:	a	bridge	between	mind	and	matter.14
T
HINKING
	O
UTSIDE	THE
	B
RAIN
IF	I	DIE
	and	the	information	contained	in	my	brain	survives,	does	that	mean	I
will	survive?	Survival	means	remaining	intact	at	some	level—mind,
personality,	memory,	or	soul—that	is	“me.”	To	a	materialist,	when	the	brain
dies,	so	does	the	person.	Fortunately,	over	the	past	two	decades	some
ingenious	experiments	have	raised	hope	that	the	mind	extends	outside	the
brain,	and	that	the	qualities	that	you	and	I	cherish,	such	as	love	and	truth,	may
be	embedded	permanently	in	the	field.
The	closer	we	can	get	to	showing	that	the	field	is	intelligent,	the	more
credible	it	will	be	that	our	own	intelligence	can	survive	after	death.	One	way
to	approach	this	issue	seems	strange	but	turns	out	to	be	very	fruitful:	animal
telepathy.	Many	pet	owners	will	attest	to	the	ability	of	a	dog	or	cat	to	know
what	the	owner	is	thinking.	A	few	minutes	before	going	on	a	walk,	a	dog	gets
excited	and	restless;	on	the	day	when	a	cat	is	going	to	be	taken	to	the	vet,	it
disappears	and	is	nowhere	to	be	found.	These	casual	observations	led	the
ingenious	British	researcher	Rupert	Sheldrake,	a	trained	biologist	now	turned
speculative	thinker,	to	conduct	controlled	studies	to	find	out	if	dogs	and	cats
can	actually	read	their	owners’	minds.	One	study	was	very	simple:	Sheldrake
phoned	sixty-five	veterinarians	in	the	London	area
and
	asked	them	if	it	was
common	for	cat	owners	to	cancel	appointments	because	their	cats	had
disappeared	that	day.	Sixty-four	vets	responded	that	it	was	very	common,	and
the	sixty-fifth	had	given	up	making	appointments	for	cats	because	too	many
couldn’t	be	located	when	they	were	supposed	to	come	in.
Sheldrake	decided	to	perform	an	experiment	using	dogs.	The	fact	that	a
dog	gets	excited	when	the	time	comes	to	go	for	a	walk	means	little	if	the	walk
is	routinely	scheduled	for	the	same	time	every	day,	or	if	the	dog	gets	visual
cues	from	its	owner	that	he	is	preparing	to	go	out.	Therefore,	Sheldrake
placed	dogs	in	outbuildings	completely	isolated	from	their	owners;	he	then
asked	the	owner,	at	randomly	selected	times,	to	think	about	walking	their
dogs	five	minutes	before	going	to	get	them.	In	the	meantime,	the	dog	was
being	videotaped	in	its	isolated	location.	Sheldrake	found	that	when	their
owners	started	thinking	about	taking	them	for	a	walk,	more	than	half	the	dogs
ran	to	the	door	wagging	their	tails,	circling	restlessly,	and	keeping	up	this
behavior	until	their	owners	appeared.	No	dog	showed	anticipatory	behavior,however,	when	their	owners	were	not	thinking	about	taking	them	for	a	walk.
This	suggests	something	intriguing,	that	the	bond	between	a	pet	and	its
owner	creates	a	subtle	connection	at	the	level	of	thought.	Polls	show	that
about	60%	of	Americans	believe	they	have	had	a	telepathic	experience,	so
this	result	is	not	completely	startling.	The	next	leap	is	quite	startling,	however.
After	writing	up	his	results	with	telepathic	pets,	Sheldrake	received	an	e-mail
from	a	woman	in	New	York	City	who	said	that	her	African	gray	parrot	not
only	read	her	thoughts	but	responded	to	them	with	speech.	The	woman	and
her	husband	might	be	sitting	in	another	room,	out	of	sight	from	the	bird,
whose	name	is	N’kisi,	and	if	they	were	feeling	hungry,	N’kisi	would	suddenly
say,	“You	want	some	yummy.”	If	the	owner	and	her	husband	were	thinking
about	going	out,	N’kisi	might	say,	“You	gotta	go	out,	see	ya	later.”
Greatly	intrigued,	Sheldrake	contacted	the	owner,	an	artist	named
Aimee
Morgana.	The	situation	he	found	was	remarkable.	African	gray	parrots	are
among	the	most	linguistically	talented	of	all	birds,	and	N’kisi	had	a	huge
vocabulary	of	over	700	words.	More	remarkable	still,	he	used	them	like
human	speech,	not	“parroting”	a	word	mindlessly	but	applying	it	where
appropriate;	if	he	saw	something	that	was	red,	he	said	“red,”	and	if	the	object
was	another	color,	he	said	that	color.	But	Aimee	had	even	more	astonishing
stories	for	Sheldrake.	When	she	was	watching	a	Jackie	Chan	movie	on
television,	during	one	scene	with	Chan	perilously	perched	on	a	girder,	N’kisi
said,	“Don’t	fall	down,”	even	though	his	cage	was	behind	the	television	with
no	line	of	sight	to	the	picture.	When	an	automobile	commercial	came	on	next,
N’kisi	said,	“That’s	my	car.”	Another	time	Aimee	was	reading	the	lines,	“The
blacker	the	berry,	the	sweeter	the	juice,”	in	a	book	when	simultaneously	from
another	room	the	bird	said,	“The	color	is	black.”
Sheldrake	wanted	to	confirm	this	for	himself.	On	his	first	visit,	Aimee
gave	him	a	taste	of	N’kisi’s	telepathy:	she	looked	at	a	picture	of	a	girl	in	a
magazine,	and	with	remarkable	clarity	from	the	adjoining	room	the	parrot
said,	“That’s	a	girl.”	The	next	step	was	to	conduct	a	formal	experiment.	If
N’kisi	could	understand	words	and	also	had	telepathic	abilities,	could	the	two
be	tested	together?	Sheldrake	proposed	that	Aimee	would	look	at	pictures	that
corresponded	to	words	her	parrot	already	knew.	She	would	sit	in	one	room
while	N’kisi	remained	isolated	in	another.	The	bird	would	have	two	minutes
to	utter	a	“key	word”	that	matched	the	picture.	If	he	said	the	word


 or to distract yourself from pain. Even though your
emotional self isn’t your true self, it should mirror your true self, which is
silently sending you impulses of bliss and total self-acceptance.
The niyamas  are also defined by what you shouldn’ t do if your aim is
right living. Being aware of what not to do is just as productive as knowing
the practices for self-acceptance. Emotional intelligence contains both. The
opposite of self-acceptance is low self-esteem, so this is the area to focus
on.WAYS YOU LOWER YOUR SELF-ESTEEM
Comparing yourself unfavorably to other people.
Reminding yourself of your shortcomings.
Condemning all your mistakes, however trivial.
Setting up an ideal of perfection that you will never attain.
Being unreasonable in the demands you place on yourself.
Holding on to old experiences of guilt and shame.
Pretending to be better than you actually think you are.
Deprecating yourself in moments of false modesty.
I’ve offered many specifics in these two lists, yet emotional intelligence
isn’t difficult to come by, nor is self-acceptance. Just keep in mind that your
emotional life isn’t the be-all and end-all of existence. By their nature,
emotions rise and fall. If you accept this basic fact—that your feelings are
transient and can be mercurial, even on your best days—half the job of self-
acceptance is done. You have achieved a measure of detachment, which
allows you not to be so consumed by your feelings, especially the negative
ones; they are events in your mental activity, not aspects of your essential
true self.
You are never going to have a blissful emotional life by struggling with
your emotions or trying to escape them, either. This is one area where
allowing life to unfold naturally, without interference, is very ef fective.
Exercise
The single most important practice for contentment is not to resist the
flow of life. In other words, take things as they come. The opposite of this
is to offer resistance. Pause to reflect on the people you tend to resist in
various ways. Often, they are the people who are closest to you, whether
family member s, colleagues, or even friends. Consider the kinds of
resistance that are casually practiced. They include:
Bickering and argumentsUnresolved disagreements
Rejection
Ridicule
Resentment
Feeling either superior or inferior
Pushing people away
Expressing a lack of respect
Nagging
Indulging in petty criticisms
Emotional intelligence teaches that resisting others contributes to your
own lack of contentment and self-acceptance. One way of increasing
contentment in your life is to back down from unnecessary habitual
resistance. Try using the princip le of opposites. For instance, if you realize
that you can be highly critical, begin practicing criticism’ s oppo site: praise.
Instead of pointing out someone ’s flaws or complaining, take a breath and
offer a word of admiration or encouragement. Using this simple tactic
becomes your way of contributing to the flow of life.
WEDNESDAY
The Fire of Transformation
Begin by silently repeating today’ s theme:
I allow the light to create transformation.
I allow the light to create transformation.
The third niyama  is abou t transforming your old emotional habits.
Habits block the light by forcing you to react automatically without
consciously being in control. In classic Yoga, the lasting impressions that
rob us of choice are like seeds that must be burned away. The burning is
done by awareness itself, using the light’ s ability to purify the mind. It isalso taught that the fire of trans formation burns away ignorance. The point
here is that the obstacles that keep us from living in the light are frozen bits
of consciousness. Therefore, only consciousness can melt them away.
Old form s must  be destroyed to make room for the new. This makes
perfect sense emotionally. If you are consumed with resentment about a
failed relationship, a bad boss, or an unfair monetary loss, you can’t move
on until the emotion you are stuck in is dissipated.
There is considerable misunderstanding about how the process works,
however, and words like fire, destr oy, and burn  can mislead someone into
thinking that some kind of violence is involved. In many religious traditions
the ritual of mortifying the flesh had the intention of purifying the spirit,
using the body’ s pain as the fire. Fortunately, such rituals are irrelevant to
modern life. Simply by focusing your awareness, you can begin to burn
away the vrittis  that block your true self. It takes dedication to achieve
transformation. Focus is a necessity.
We are all familiar with how focus works whenever we become
absorbed in a game or hobby. Focusing for hours at a time without feeling
any strain is entirely natural. Royal Yoga teaches that experiences like these
are gateways to the true self. Becoming absorbed in the mom ent comes
naturally, so the only change is that you focus inwardly. Then you can allow
your awareness to do what it already wants to do, which is to find the light.
The practices of the third niyama  expand upon this basic insight.
THE PRACTICES OF SELF-TRANSFORMATION
Have an interest in ﬁnding your true self.
Enjoy going inside.
Value every experience of being in the light.
Don’t look for fulﬁllment in the outside world.
Make conscious choices, instead of following unconscious
habit and routine.
Welcome change, instead of resisting it.
See every experience as a mirror of yourself.Regularly meditate.
Take the opportunity for “in time” and “down time” every day.
These are all gentle practices, but the profoundest transformation is
gentle. Unlike our struggle to improve ourselves, the essence of
transformation is to allow the light to do all the work. This is the law of
least effort. Wha t you are aiming for is a series of revelations, insights, and
“Aha!” moment s. They signal that change is at hand. Only the light can
deliver these transformative experiences. Your ego and a burni ng desire to
get rid of the things you dislike about yourself cannot do the job. You will
be surprised at how steadily revelation comes once you get out of the way
and allow the focus of awareness to develop of its own accord.
Exercise
The key to transformation is getting out of the way, which happens to
be the opposite  of what most people do when they desire change. They
struggle, push themselves, and fight against frustration. (A good example of
how futile those tactics are is revealed in the dismal fact that only 2 percent
of dieters, in their struggle to lose weight, succeed in keeping off 5 pounds
for two years.)
You can turn this pattern around  in two ways. First, look honestly at an
area of your life where you have struggled and resolve not to keep doing
what never worked in the first place. Second, find enjoyable ways to meet
yourself “in here.” As alluded to earlier, seek some “in time” and “quiet
time” every day. Stillness conc entrates the light, while chaos scatters it.
Become accusto med to the comfort of being in communion with yourself.
Once this becomes your new habit, you are getting out of the way, setting
the stage for the process of transformation as it is really designed to work.
THURSDAY
Tracking Your True SelfBegin by silently repeating today’ s theme:
I reﬂect on my true self to bring it closer.
I reﬂect on my true self to bring it closer.
The fourth niyama  calls for clearly  understanding that your true self is
real, tangible, and powerful. The word self is one of the most important in
Yoga, and most people will have no trouble seeing that they have a social
self and an emotional self. Much more foreign is the notion that everyone
has a true self, hidden like a jewel in the stormy activity of the mind.
Various interpretations speak of this niyama  as self-reflection, but it
matters deeply whether you are reflecting on a self you can trust and have
faith in. Without a doubt, we don’t fully trust our emotions. We feel them,
sometimes strongly, but they are temporary, changeable, and fickle. It is
baffling why this niyama  would ask you to reflect upon the swirling
whirlpool of your emotions.
The key is that self-reflection enables you to stand aside and not
become so involved in your emotions. Think about a moviegoer who sits
entranced by an adventure film or a romantic comedy on the screen, and yet
who doesn’t know that he’s watching a movie or, worse, that movies even
exist.
We are all that moviegoer to some degree or other. Entranced by the
movie we are living, we don’t realize the illusory nature of what we are
watching, and, worse still, we don’t realize that everything we observe is
the play of consciousness. Self-reflection clears up this confusion and
therefore points us toward our true self.
THE PRACTICES OF SELF-REFLECTION
Keep in mind that you are here to evolve.
Don’t get stuck in emotional habits.
Place a high value on experiences that reﬂect your true self
(e.g., love, compassion, beauty, insight, creativity, andmental clarity).
Don’t add to the drama around you.
Resist buying into other people’s drama.
Avoid immersing yourself in news stories about catastrophes


 ourself,
“Why not? Why is this impossible?” Wait for a reply and let it
unfold, telling you all the reasons you can’t have or be w hat you
want.
Now ask yourself, “Who says I can’t?” There is no good answer
to this question. Things are i mpossible not because anybody says
so. The y are impossible because the whole setup of virtual reality
says so. All limitations are built into virtual reality. When anyone
says that something is impossible, she is only upholding virtual
reality. Who says you have  to follow suit? Nobody, in cluding
yourself. When this realization sinks in, you begin to glimpse how
free you really are.
YOUR EXPERIENCE:

 DAY 22

When infinite awareness is edited, form and phenomena
appear (i.e., things we can see, hear, touch, taste, smell,
and think about).
For the  purposes of everyday life, infinity needed to be edited.
Everyone agre es about that, but we forget that there was no
rulebook or set of guidelines for editing reality. The only rules are
self-imposed. Pure consciousness unfolded into the physical
universe, imposing time, space, matter, and energy upon its
creation. But pure consciousn ess didn’t believe it had to do things
this way. Billions of other u niverses with different setups have
been proposed by modern physics.
Knowing that rules are self-im posed was never in doubt a t the
level of  pure consciousness. We inherited this certainty. Art and
culture express  the certainty that the human mind can construct
any setu p while also accepting the setup of the physical universe.
This makes it seem that life has two compartments—the  mental,
which is unlimited, and the p hysical, which is limited. But that’s a
mistake. A house isn’t separ ate from the desire to build a house
and the  knowledge of how it is done. Mental and physical are
aspects of one thing: creative intelligence at play. When you wake
up, you  will see how creative intelligence works, and with
fascinated curiosity you will become a co-creator of reality.
For Today
To become aware of how creative intelligence unfolds, start
with a small object. Whether it is a nail, an earring, or the keys to
your car, these things are id eas that took physical shape. Now
consider some thing larger, like the Empire State Building or theGolden Gate Bridge. They too are ideas that took physical shape.
Does it matter that an earring is tiny and the Golden Gate Bridge
immense? No. Creative intel ligence isn’t large or small. Nor is it
hard or soft, here but not there, visible or invisible. The ability to
create is entirely self-contained, respecting no limitations of forms
and shapes. Creativity ne eds only itself. Without creative
intelligence, forms, shapes, and events couldn’t arise.
Now see yourself in the m irror and say to yourself, “I am
infinite creativity that has taken on a form.” Stop identifying with
the form and start identifying with the creativity. This is how you
wake up.
YOUR EXPERIENCE:

 DAY 23

Every form and phenomenon is actually one thing: the
modification of the formless, the infinite reduced to the
finite, pure awareness given a beginning, a middle, and
an end.
The world rewards big thinkers and gives them a place in
history. By comparison with an Albert Einstein or a Leonardo da
Vinci, everyone feels like a l ittle thinker. But a big thin ker isn’t
necessarily the biggest thinker. The biggest thinker sees that
reality is one thing, creation one process. That’s the whole picture
in one view, which becomes your reality when you wake up.
The whole picture becomes clear when the mind stops
constantly blurring your view with interfering thoughts,
sensations, images, and feelings. They represent the ba ck-and-
forth be tween you and the ou tside world. When you wake up, the
interference patterns fall aw ay. You accept as a natural fact that
infinite, formle ss pure consciousness is the source of al l things.
What makes this realization natural is that you see yourse lf as an
expression of one thing, not a jumble of mental and physical
activity.
For Today
If you see an object in the outside world, you view it from  the
outside. Wholeness—the one thing—has no outside. It also  has no
inside. Therefore, you can’t view it. Because you are  it, you can’t
even relate to wholeness in  various ways, like accepting it or
rejecting it, participating on e day and taking time out the next.
When y ou wake up, you know that you are the one thing. Yet even
now you can stop relating to it in false ways.Today, practice having no attitude toward your mind. Let
thoughts arise and fall, and when you are tempted to have an
attitude toward  what is going on, don’t. Don’t say that one thought
is good and a nother bad. Don’t assign labels like SMART, DUMB,
POSITIVE,  or NEGATIVE. T he mind is none of those things. It is the
flow of activity from the absolute. To label the mind is like saying
that wholeness  is bad, good, positive, negative, and so on.  Clearly,
wholeness is beyond all lab els. So is your awareness. By not
judging your thoughts, you begin to adopt the open,
nonjudgmental state of being awake.
YOUR EXPERIENCE:

 DAY 24

Only awareness is real. Even as it plays the role of
observer and observed, even as it creates worlds “out
there” and “in here,” its own nature is unchanging.
Awareness exists. Everything else is a passing experi ence.
These two sentences have be en said and resaid for centur ies. This
fact shows, at the very least, that human beings looked at reality
and found it mysterious. How did change emerge from
nonchange? How did One become Many? The mystery was
formulated in countless different ways. Asking “What came before
time began?,” as modern cos mology does, is merely a va riant on
the medieval question “What existed before God?”
The answer is contained in t he question. What came first has
been here forever. Change i s just a mask worn by nonchange.
Once hu man beings saw the mystery, we saw our own nature. We
are creator and created, One and Many, changing experience and
unchanging awareness. None of this has to be proved o r tested.
Whether you accept your true nature or not has no bearing on
your tru e natu re. It continues to be. On waking up, you see your
true nature clearly, and then a new life begins.
For Today
Taking a moment or two, l et your mind roam across some
things you can recall from your past—memories of early
childhood, your parents, birthdays, school, your first kiss, some
things t hat are  sad, and so on. It doesn’t matter what you choose
to see. Now ref lect on the one thing they all have in comm on. You
were there. You are the nonchange in the midst of change. Now
you know your true nature. Everything else is window dressing.YOUR EXPERIENCE:

 DAY 25

Human suffering is built into virtual reality. It doesn’t
exist in awareness itself.
When you suffer and feel unhappy, anxious, depressed, or
hopeless, your suffering feels totally real. You are experiencing
something that  is a given, feels like a given, rooted in phys ical pain
and mental anguish. But virtual reality, our collective
spell/dream/illusion, is a construct. Suffering is embedded in the
construct, which is why it fee ls inevitable. Beliefs about suffering,
whether they originate in the doctrine of sin or karma or modern
medical theories, reinforce virtual reality.
Waking up doesn’t guarante e that there will never again be
physical pain or sad days. Th e conditioned mind is stubborn, and
our body has been bombar ded constantly by signals from the
conditioned m ind. Shadows of conditioning continue  to fall
(always remembering that t he shadows can be light as well as
heavy). On waking up, yo u abandon your allegiance  to the
conditioned mind, and, from that moment, it begins to fade and
lose its grip. Y ou see that freedom from suffering is possible and
natural. Suffering doesn’t ex ist in awareness itself, which is your
true nature.
For Today
When people suffer—for example, when they feel depressed or
are diag nosed with a life-threatening illness—there’s a tem ptation
to b lame themselves. “Did I do this to myself?” is a questio n posed
out of guilt, and guilt is quick to blame. The best answe r is that
your suffering is part of virtual reality. You accepted virtual reality,
which makes your participation in pain and suffering inevitable.Not tha t you are doomed; some people escape serious s uffering.
But you r partic ipation is a se aled deal, no matter who yo u are or
what happens to you, unless you make a change.
To end suffering, break the deal. When you wake up, the w hole
contract is annulled. Today yo u can prepare the way by not buying
into pain and suffering as so mething fated and inevitable. Think
back


	identify	some	of	the	most	important	psychological	concepts,	as	well
as	some	of	the	most	common	(and	self-destructive)	mistakes.	The	goal	is	to	help
you	improve	your	psychological	pathway—one	of	the	major	avenues	betweenhealth	and	disease.
Minds	Need	Reprogramming
Our	minds	are	rather	like	computers:	Whether	intended	or	unintended,	they	do
what	they	have	been	programmed	to	do.	A	big	part	of	using	the	psychological
pathway	to	stay	healthy	is	the	ability	to	recognize	your	current	programming	and
to	learn	new	programs—new	thoughts,	attitudes	and	behavior	patterns.
As	demonstrated	by	my	clients	Lisa	and	Ruth,	some	people	find	it	hard	to
develop	the	will	to	change	old	patterns.	For	these	two	women,	habitual	thinking
and	imagery	created	their	destiny.	They	were	in	reach	of	health,	but	let	it	go.
Why?	Not	because	they	lacked	the	necessary	information,	the	problem	most
people	face,	but	because	their	strategies	for	achieving	short-term	security	had
been	tried	and	proven,	and	were	too	difficult	to	unlearn.
Negative	health	programming	can	come	from	a	visit	to	the	doctor.	Even	the
sight	of	a	physician	can	cause	blood	pressure	to	rise;	the	effect	is	called	“white-
coat	hypertension.”	The	stress	resulting	from	the	diagnosis	of	a	grave	disease
can	do	serious	damage,	precisely	like	voodoo	or	a	witch’s	hex.	A	1991	study	in
the
Medical	Journal	of	Australia
concluded	that	negative	suggestions	from
physicians	and	caregivers	were	significant	negative	factors	in	cancer	recovery.
Deepak	Chopra,	M.D.,	made	a	similar	observation	in	his	book,
Creating	Health:
“I	have	frequently	observed	that	a	rapid	progression	of	symptoms	and	then	death
from	cancer	occurred
after
the	diagnosis	of	cancer	was	made.	It	is	almost	as	if
the	patient	was	dying	from	the	diagnosis	and	not	from	the	disease.”
Physicians	must	exercise	great	care	not	to	create	negative	expectations.	We
need	support	and	reassurance	from	our	physicians	and	caregivers.	We	need	them
to	believe	in	us	and	to	help	us	through	our	processes	of	healing	and	recovery.
Certainly,	we	expect	honesty	from	them,	but	we	do	not	need	discouraging
remarks	and	ominous	statistics	about	our	slim	chances	for	survival	(as	I	was	told
that	nothing	more	could	be	done	for	me,	before	I	saved	my	own	life).
Regardless	of	what	your	health	practitioner	says	or	does,	getting	well	and
staying	well	is	your	responsibility.	Taking	that	responsibility	actually	helps
make	you	healthier.	Unfortunately,	most	patients	relinquish	this	responsibility	to
their	doctor.	They	play	a	passive	role	of	bystander	or	victim;	they	think	of	the
health-care	provider	as	their	problem	solver.
Patients’	positive	attitudes	toward	their	health	or	disease	help	to	make	them
not	only	informed	but	also	empowered.	Approaching	health	care	with	the	belief
that	you,	as	the	patient,	are	in	charge	can	vitalize	your	efforts.	You	ask	morequestions.	You	feel	more	control	over	the	outcome.	As	Bernie	Siegel,	M.D.,
reminds	us	in
Love,	Medicine	&	Miracles,
the	patient	must	be	the	primary	source
of	healing.	“Exceptional	patients,”	he	wrote,	“refuse	to	be	victims.	They	educate
themselves	and	become	specialists	in	their	own	care.	They	question	the	doctor
because	they	want	to	understand	their	treatment	and	participate	in	it.	They
demand	dignity,	personhood,	and	control,	no	matter	what	the	course	of	disease.”
There	is	nothing	wrong	with	going	to	the	doctor—so	long	as	you	realize	that
your	health	is	your	responsibility,	not	your	doctor’s	or	anyone	else’s.	Because
belief	in	your	own	health	makes	a	critical	difference,	you	need	to	work	with
professionals	who	acknowledge	how	essential	this	outlook	is.	You	need
caregivers	to	support	you	in	your	efforts	to	participate,	and	who	can	assist	you	in
educating	yourself	productively,	rather	than	hinder	you,	which	is	often	the	case.
Often,	psychological	healing	is	thought	to	be	unimportant	to	treatment	in
modern	health	care,	but	the	miracle	is	precisely	the	opposite.	Unfortunately,
modern	medicine	overlooks	the	whole	person.	“Fixing”	only	the	physical	body,
as	if	it	were	a	separate	entity,	is	to	overlook	the	complex	weave	of	physiological,
psychological	and	spiritual	dimensions	that	define	human	beings—including
you,	your	tissues	and	all	of	your	cells.	The	standard	approach	is	not	good
enough.
Healthy	Mind,	Healthy	Immune	System
Negative	behaviors,	thoughts,	emotions	and	stress	can	adversely	affect	the
functioning	of	your	immune	system;	they	can	lower	your	resistance	to	infections
and	make	you	more	susceptible	to	bacteria,	fungi,	viruses	and	other
microorganisms.	Yet,	you	can	exercise	control.	You	can	begin	immediately,
actively	and	consciously	to	improve	your	ability	to	fight	disease	and	maintain
optimal	health.
Speaking	about	the	psychological	dimension	of	the	immune	system,	David
Felton,	M.D.,	professor	of	neurobiology	and	anatomy	at	the	University	School	of
Rochester,	said,	“Now	there’s	overwhelming	evidence	that	hormones	and
neurotransmitters	can	influence	the	activities	of	the	immune	system	and	that
products	of	the	immune	system	influence	the	brain.”
In	order	to	protect	you	from	infections,	your	brain	and	your	immune	system
must	be	in	constant	dialogue.	The	brain	sends	information	to	the	immune	system
by	producing	certain	types	of	chemical	messengers	(neuropeptides).	That
information	is	delivered	to	immune	cells	through	receptor	sites	on	cell
membranes.	Rather	like	plugging	an	electrical	appliance	into	a	wall	outlet,chemical	messengers	from	your	brain	“plug	in”	to	the	receptor	sites	on	the
immune	cells.	This	messaging	process	happens	on	a	very	large	scale,	allowing
the	brain	to	deliver	information	to	immune	cells	throughout	the	body.	Likewise,
the	body’s	immune	cells	respond	by	creating	new	chemical	messengers,	sending
information	back	to	the	brain.	This	process	creates	a	constant	link	or	feedback
loop	between	the	brain	and	the	immune	system.
The	role	of	the	psychological	pathway	in	immune	system	function	is
illustrated	by	a	study	of	twenty-six	bereaved	spouses.	The	study	demonstrated
that	the	pain	and	stress	of	bereavement	significantly	depressed	the	effectiveness
of	the	immune	system.	In	other	studies,	depressed	immunity	in	students,
determined	by	the	number	and	activity	of	T-cells,	has	been	shown	to	result	from
the	psychological	stress	of	taking	exams.	Psychologically	depressed	immunity
can	even	lead	to	cancer.	As	far	back	as	the	second-century	A.D.,	the	physician
and	philosopher	Galen	observed	that	melancholy	dispositions	disposed	women
toward	developing	breast	cancer.	A	1998	study	in	the
Journal	of	the	National
Cancer	Institute
came	to	the	same	conclusion.	In	that	study,	women	who
experienced	long-term	depression	were	almost	90	percent	more	likely	to	develop
cancer	than	their	upbeat	counterparts.
The	Jekyll	and	Hyde	of	St


 OP heals “migraine head-aches, bronchitis, diseases of teeth and gums,
thrombosis, eczema, encephalitis, ulcers, stomach, intestinal disorders, gastro enteritis,
peritonitis, diseases of heart, kidney, liver, and lungs; chronic blood disorders like leukemia;
arthritis and related illnesses; Neuro-physiological paralysis, meningitis, chronic sleeplessness
and women's hormonal disorders. In terminal diseases such as cancer, Aids, and chronic
infections, this treatment method has been shown to success fully replace all others”.
I got a pamphlet on OP at a homeopathy course during December 1992. My wife and I started
practicing OP from Jan 1993 and now for over twelve years. At the age of 63 I have been cured
by OP of allergic sneezing and cold in the morning/night-of over four decades, asthma,
sleeplessness, palpitation, allergies due to food items, smells, and digestion problems for many
years. My wife aged 56 was cured of three decades’ old migraine (headache), four decades old
varicose veins and ulcers, Arthritis, blood pressure, and many other minor ailments. We suffered
from the above diseases without hope, obtaining only temporary relief from different systems of
medical treatment. OP cured our diseases without medicine after practicing for over a year.
Having lived in Bangalore for over 37 years I was fully aware and experienced about how
comfortable is weather for a healthy person and how terrible it is for one with allergy, asthma etc.
This reason prompted us to propagate this therapy to help others suffering like us. To do this I got
an English pamphlet printed on OP.
I was obsessed with the idea that OP should be brought to the notice of who ever was suffering
with any disease. We started with telling personally and also distributed OP pamphlet. Fortunately
one copy reached the editorial staff of Andhra Jyothi a Telugu daily. Few of them tried, found its
effective and curative power and published it in their Sunday supplement on Oct 3, 1993 under
the Heading "Adbhuta Chikitsa - (Wonderful Therapy) - OP" in my name. I volunteered to answer
to all queries from readers.
How OP has spread
Andhra Jyothi continuously published articles in their Sunday special for three years till
September 1996. It was described as a "Health Movement" in Andhra Pradesh, India. Many of the
experiences were also published in the paper.
Articles on OP and interviews with me on OP were published in Kannada, English, Telugu, Tamil,
Urdu dailies and periodicals at various times during the last 12 years.
I have received more than twelve hundred letters giving their experiences from the people after
practicing OP. This is in addition to a few thousand people who practiced OP with beneficial
results who either visited or telephoned me. I also had the good fortune to meet a large number of
people who had personally related their experiences regarding cures of diseases with OP during
over a thousand lecture engagements organized by Rotary, Lions and Ladies clubs,
Associations/Groups of Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, Employees, Senior Citizens, and Students
in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and major cities in other states- - over a
period of twelve years.
All of them narrated how they suffered from one disease or the other without cure from other
medical treatments, but were cured only by OP.
During the last twelve years, I also responded to a very large number of telephone calls and
letters seeking help and guidance from people practicing OP.
Results of OP Survey by Andhra Jyoti
In 1996, two and half years after continuous publication of a regular column in their Sunday edtion
on OP, Andhra Jyoti a Telugu daily, conducted a survey to find out the types of diseases cured
and the effectiveness of OP.  Out of a total of 1041 respondents, 927 (89%) reported cure of one
or more diseases. People who did not report any cure were 114(11%).    The analysis indicated
cure of the following types of chronic diseases:
Pains in the body and problems pertaining to neck and above  758 cases
Allergy and respiratory problems of lungs  like asthma, bronchitis etc191 cases
Skin problems  like pigmentation, itching, scars, black patches, and eczema etc 171 cases
Digestive system -155 cases
Constipation -110 cases
Arthritis and joint pains -91 cases
Heart disease  and B.P-74 cases
Diabetes- 56 cases
Piles- 27 cases
Diseases pertaining to female  reproductive system reported by women-21 cases
Diseases like Polio, Cancer, Leprosy, polycystic kidney, neural fibroma, paralysis etc 72
Procedure for practice of Oil Pulling:
• Take one tablespoon (two tea spoons=10ml) of refined sunflower oil or sesame oil  in
the mouth on an empty stomach in the morning.
• With the mouth closed and chin up, without speed or effort, sip, suck, and pull the oil
through the teeth in a relaxed way, and also exercise the jaw as if chewing, for a total
period of 15 to 20 minutes.
• Do not gargle in the throat.
• Initially the oil is viscous but slowly it turns thin and white like milk as you continue.
• (If the oil color is yellow and has not turned white pulling is not done sufficiently long or oil
quantity is more).
• Spit out as and when the mouth gets full.
• Wash your mouth and teeth thoroughly.
• Drink two or three glasses of water.
Precautions :
• Do not swallow. However, inadvertently if you swallow, there is nothing to worry. It will go
out through motion if not digested.
• Do not spit where people walk or on vegetation. You can spit in the toilet and flush it.
• If you are allergic to a particular brand, change the brand of oil or to different oil. Make
sure the oil is good and refined.
• Keep chin up so that pulling covers the back of oral cavity and the molar teeth.
• For children of five years and above, only one teaspoon full (five ml) of oil will do.
Important note: Oils other than sun flower and sesame oils do not produce desired results.
Frequently asked questions
QIn the early morning, should we do OP after brushing and washing mouth or without
brushing and washing mouth?
ADo OP after brushing and washing mouth.  The important thing is to thoroughly wash, brush
and rinse mouth, teeth and gargle in the throat after spitting out the oil at the end of OP.
Who can Practice OP?
Anyone above five years of age
People with dentures should remove them during practice
Women can also practice during monthly periods and pregnancy.
Which is the best time for doing OP?   The best time is when you do not feel well for any health
problem on empty stomach.
How much time gap is required if we eat or drink?   If after meals leave at least a gap of four
hours before doing OP. If you drink, tea, coffee or soft drink or water give a gap of at least one-
hour.
What other Oils can be used for OP?    Dr (med.) Karach has suggested refined sunflower Oil.
Sesame Oil was prescribed in Ayurvedic texts for mouth gargles. Both oils worked well in curing
health problems. Majority has used refined sunflower oil. Some found sesame oil better.
Q  Some problems that may arise during OP : - (a) Oil does not become watery or thin even
after 30 minutes. (b) Nose block due to accumulation of mucus (c) Sneezing and coughing
(d) Phlegm in the throat gets loose and comes into the mouth (e) Urge to pass urine or
stools.
A. (a) Oil does not become watery because there is inadequate salivation and mouth is dry. In
most cases, it happens in the morning and in some cases evening also. This is mainly due to lack
of water in the body. In such cases drink water one hour  before OP.
    (b) To avoid nose block during OP wash, clean and blow your nose before starting OP. Slowly
blow out nose to clear while holding the oil in the mouth. Repeat if necessary as OP continues
    (c) Sensation/irritation may cause sneezing or coughing while doing OP.  Do OP slowly in a
relaxed state to avoid such irritation. Stop pulling and relax as irritation or sensation to sneeze is
felt. It will subside. You can sneeze or cough while holding oil in mouth. If you have to sneeze or
cough through mouth do it in the sink or some such place to avoid oil driblets spray all over or
cover mouth with tissue paper.
    (d) If phlegm comes into the mouth, making pulling inconvenient, spit and do pulling with fresh
oil again.
    (e) Urge to urinate or pass stools will arise only if you have not gone through nature’s calls
before OP. In all cases of urge to pass stools or urinate during OP, the best is to relax on the
commode and do OP.
How long will it take to cure a particular disease?
How long it takes to cure a particular disease is difficult to specify because it depends on the age,
state of health and disease, food and other habits etc of each person.
Dr Karach however said “that chronic diseases may take a year whereas acute diseases can be


 ). Gently drop both
knees to the ground and slowly slide the body down at an angle as you
bring the chest and chin to the ground. All eight limbs—both the toes,
knees, chest, hands, and chin—touch the floor. Hold this very briefly
and then continue to move into the next pose.
Cobra position ( Bhujangasana ). On the inhalation, lift and expand
the chest forward and up as you press down with the hands. Keep the
elbows close to the body and continue to extend the spine upward.
Open and widen the chest and move the shoulders down and away
from the ears to free the neck and head. Let the upper back widen and
lengthen. Do not initiate this movement with the head or lift the body
with the neck.Figure 5. Mountain position.
Figure 6. Eight limbs position.Figure 7. Cobra position.
Mountain position ( Adhomukha Svanasana  ). Repeat position 5. On
the exhalation, raise the buttocks and hips, press down with the hands,
and allow the spine to release upward and back. Stretch the heels down
toward the floor and lengthen through the backs of the legs. Relax and
free the head and neck.
Equestrian position ( Ashwa Sanchalanasana  ). Repeat position 4.
Inhale and swing the right leg forward between the hands. The left leg
stays extended back, knee to the ground.Figure 8. Mountain position.
The front knee should be bent with the foot flat on the floor. Extend
the spine, lifting the chest forward and up. Allow the head and neck to
lengthen upward.
Hand to foot position ( Uttanasana ). Repeat position 3. As you
exhale, step forward with the left leg and continue to bend the body
forward and down, lengthening the entire spine. The arms and head
follow in line with the spine. Both hands remain on the floor. Let the
knees soften or bend freely. Avoid collapsing the chest or overrounding
the upper back. Keep the elbows and shoulders relaxed.Figure 9. Equestrian position.
Raised arm position ( Tadasana ). Repeat position 2. On the inhalation
lift the arms from the upper back as you open the chest forward and
up. Do not lift the body from the head or neck. Continue to lift and
expand the chest as you come up, extending the arms over the head.
Keep the breathing smooth, deep, and continuous.
Salutation position ( Samasthiti ). Repeat position 1. Exhale as you
lower the arms and bring the palms of your hands together in front of
your chest. You are standing tall with the feet in a parallel position at
hip distance. Lift the chest and expand the ribs as you look straight
ahead. Vertically lengthen the spine and neck.Figure 10. Hand to foot position.
This completes one cycle of the Sun Salute.
Hold the Salutation position while continuing to breathe for a few
breaths. Then begin the secon d cycle. This standing Salutation position
becomes positio n 1 of the second set. On the next inhalation, continue into
position 2—the raised arm position—and repeat the movements in a fluid
sequence.Figure 11. Raised arm position.Figure 12. Salutation position.
On subsequent sets of the Sun Salute, you will alternate which foot is
extended back and which swings forward in positions 4 and 9—the
Equestrian posit ion. In the first cycle, the left foot extends back in positions
4 and 9, with the right foot forward. Alternate which leg extends back on
the next set and continue to alternate sides with each new cycle.
After you have completed the sequence of Sun Salutes, lie on your back,
lengthen the spine, and let the body completely relax. Close your eyes and
rest for a minute or two. Allow your breath to be free and easy.
YOGA  POSITIONSTime: 10 to 15 minutes, moving slowly
Repetitions: 1 set in the morning and 1 set in the afternoon
The following easy poses, which take about 15 minutes to perform, are
considered the basic Ayurvedic exercise. A set can be practiced before
morning and afternoon meditati on, with or without the Sun Salute. These
positions are taught as part of the neuromuscular integration program at our
Center and are comfortable for anyone in good health, regardless of age or
previous physical training.
What follows is a specific seque nce that begins with toning and warming
up the body. The set continues with seated and forward bends, standing
postures, inverted poses, backbending postures, twists, a restin g pose, and
ends with a short breathing exercise. Each of the postures in this sequence
has a specific therapeutic effect on the physiology. We will mention a few
of the well-known benefits of each pose, as given in the ancient texts.
In general, the toning and warm-up exercises increase circulation and
improve blood flow to the entire body. Seated poses help to create stability,
proper spinal alignment, and good posture, while the forw ard bends
stimulate digesti on, increase the spine’ s flexibility, and calm the physiology.
Backbends create mobility and suppleness in the spine—especially in the
upper back—and at the same time are invigorating. Inverted poses stimulate
the endo crine system and allow for increased circulation, while twists aid
digestion, elimin ation, and tone the spinal column. All of these postures are
succeeded by the resting pose and breathing exercises, which bring
increased awareness, orderliness, and balance.
A sequence of postures is important because it first prepares the body in
order to warm it up and remove stiffness. It progresses to invigorate,
strengthen, and stretch the entire body. This is why it is valuable  to practice
in an orderly sequence, as each pose is a preparation for the following
posture or a counterbalance for the preceding one.
Here are a few guidelines to follow befor e practicing:Perform the postures slowly, making sure you inhale and exhale, without
holding the breath or controlling it in any way. Breathing should be easy,
fluid, and continuous.
No pain, most gain. If you can’ t touch your toes without excruciating
effort, do not push. Let the knees soften or bend freely. Never  strain
or push the body in these exer cises. Hold the postures for a few
seconds and then release easily. Movements should be performed
slowly and comfortably. Never move in or out of the postures abruptly
or bounce in a pose. Use the breath to facilitate the movement.
How far should you reach? In each pose, go to the point where you
feel the stretch. Just move as far as you easily can without ef fort.
Allow your awareness to naturally go to the area of the body that is
being stretched. Don’ t overextend, force, or overstretch. Sometimes it
helps to release or back of f completely from the stretch, then easily
stretch it again. Do not  forget to br eathe!
Over the months you’ll notice increased strength, flexibility, and
suppleness. So it is not necessary to push the body to reach a desired
goal. In fact, these postures are not designed to impose a specific
structure on your body, and there is no “ideal” pose. Rather, your
progress comes from the integrated functioning of awareness,
movement, and breath.
All Ayurvedic exercise involves the mind as well as the body. In each
exercise, a particular area is stretched. Allow your awareness to
naturally go to that area. The softening of the accumulated stress is
said to come from letting the attention be on the area of stretch.
For that reason, allow the exercises to have your full attention. Don’ t play
the radio or TV in the background. Just let your mind be easily aware of
your body.
Wear comfortable, loose clothing. Use a flat, nonslippery surface, but
avoid performing these exercises on a bare floor. Rather, use a folded
wool blanket, rug, exercise mat, or other semisoft surface.Note: It is important to mention that all postures should be adapted to
meet the needs of the individual. In certain situations, such as acute
illness, pregnancy, menstruation, and specific structural problems, the
posture may be adjusted or changed in order to be more ef fective and
to serve one’ s particular requirement. In any of these special cases,
please check with a qualified yoga instructor.
I. TONING-UP  EXERCISES (1 to 2 minutes)
We begin with a few exercises that invigorate and tone the body. The first
exercise consist s of progressively massaging the body with the hands and
fingers, moving in the direction of the heart.
First come to a comfortable sitting position. Using the palms and
fingers of both hands, press the top of your head and gradually
continue to press and release with the hands moving forward over the
face and down the neck and chest. Again start at the top of the head
and press the head with the palms and fingers moving down and over
the back of the neck, coming around to the chest.
Figure 1. Toning-up exer cise, head.
To tone the hands and arms, begin by massaging the right side first.
Grasp the fingers of the right hand with your left hand and continue to
press and release upward


protect	against	wrinkling.	Natural	production	of	HGH	also	helps	with
muscle	building	and	tissue	repair.	Unfortunately,	disturbed	sleep	can	inhibit
your	natural	production	of	HGH.
27
	This	can	make	it	more	difficult	for	your
body	to	build	lean	muscle	and	resilient,	youthful	skin.
WEAKENED
IMMUNE	SYSTEM
A	growing	body	of	research	is	finding	a	strong	relationship	between	sleep	and
immunity.
28
	Increasing	evidence	shows	that	inadequate	sleep	leads	to	a
weakened	immune	response.
29
	Sleep	may	help	facilitate	the	redistribution	of	T-
cells	to	lymph	nodes.
30
	T-cells	are	a	vital	part	of	our	immune	system	that	help
maintain	our	wellness	and	vitality,	and	the	more	efficiently	they	travel	through
the	lymphatic	system,	the	better.	Since	our	entire	population	appears	to	be
suffering	from	a	sleep	deficit,	our	immunity	must	be	reduced	across	thepopulation	as	a	whole.	Can	you	imagine	the	health	implications	for	our	entire
society	if	we	all	slept	better?	The	entire	health	of	the	community	would	be
bolstered,	and	health-care	costs	might	be	dramatically	reduced!	But	this	very
much	has	to	start	with	you.
Getting	sick	isn’t	just	inconvenient	or	annoying;	it	can	also	be	aging.	Some
theorize	that	diseases	and	routine	illnesses	like	the	common	cold	can	actually
create	free	radicals	in	your	body.
31
	When	these	sicknesses	occur,	your	immune
system	creates	free	radicals	on	purpose	to	help	neutralize	harmful	viruses	and
bacteria.	But	those	free	radicals	also	create	cellular	damage	and	contribute	to
the	visible	effects	of	aging.	In	other	words,	minimizing	and	avoiding	getting
sick	isn’t	just	to	benefit	your	health;	it	can	be	another	powerful	tool	in	your
anti-aging	arsenal.
SLUGGISH	DETOXIFICATION
Sleep	gives	your	body	the	rest	it	needs	to	perform	its	vital	functions,	such	as
detoxification.	It	is	therefore	critical	to	help	promote	optimal	detoxification
and	clear	metabolic	waste	from	your	system.
32
	As	you	know,	the	more	detoxed
and	cleansed	your	internal	body	is,	the	more	beautiful	you	will	become.
POOR	PERFORMANCE
It’s	well	established	that
sleep	improves	your	performance	and	alertness.
33
When	you	sleep	more,	you’ll	drive	more	safely,	and	your	memory	will	improve,
too.
34
	Reduced	sleep	means	you	aren’t	able	to	perform	at	your	highest	potential
for	all	tasks	in	life.	If	you	aren’t	able	to	feel	as	present	and	alert	at	work,	when
working	on	your	creative	pursuits,	while	playing	with	your	children,	or	during
your	workouts,	it’s	very	frustrating	and	reflects	a	diminishing	quality	of	your
life.
ANXIETY	AND
DEPRESSION
Poor	sleep	can	also	contribute	to	worsening	anxiety.
35
	In	a	parallel	fashion,
insomnia,	the	extreme	end	of	bad	sleep,	may	be	a	risk	factor	for	full-blown
anxiety	disorders.
36
	On	the	opposite	end	of	the	spectrum,	when	you	feel	fully
rested	and	consistently	get	enough	sleep,	it’s	easier	to	feel	calm	and	present.
Calmness	helps	you	deal	better	with	stressors	in	life,	and	as	we	discussed	earlier,
dealing	with	stress	better	helps	delay	aging	all	around.
For	someone	suffering	from	depression,	bad	and	irregular	sleep	is	often	part
of	the	disorder.	In	fact,	some	recent	therapies	focus	on	loss	of	good	sleep	as	the
first	sign	that	a	bout	of	depression	may	soon	occur.	This	onset	can	be	avertedby	paying	close	attention	to	good	sleep	before	the	depression	actually	hits.	Is
good	sleep	a	preventive	for	depression?	That’s	not	agreed	upon,	but	it’s
definitely	worth	trying	to	incorporate.
PERMANENT
BRAIN	DAMAGE
An	aging	brain	leads	to	less	vitality	overall,	and	vitality	is	a	big	component	of
being	your	most	Radically	Beautiful.	Researchers	at
Duke-NUS	Graduate
Medical	School	Singapore	(Duke–National	University	of	Singapore)	found	a
relationship	between	the	fewer	hours	of	sleep	adults	get	and	accelerated	aging	in
the	brain.
37
Most	of	us	presume	that	a	few	nights	of	missed	sleep	are	not	a	big	deal.	We
think	we	can	recover	by	getting	more	sleep	in	the	future.	But	a	study	from
researchers	at	the
University	of	Pennsylvania	found	otherwise.
38
	The	lead
researcher,
Sigrid	Veasey,	MD,	notes,	“This	is	the	first	report	that	sleep	loss	can
actually	result	in	a	loss	of	neurons.”
39
	She	continues,	“No	one	really	thought
that	the	brain	could	be	irreversibly	injured	from	sleep	loss.	In	general,	we’ve
always	assumed	full	recovery	of	cognition	following	short-	and	long-term	sleep
loss.	But	some	of	the	research	in	humans	has	shown	that	attention	span	and
several	other	aspects	of	cognition	may	not	normalize	even	with	three	days	of
recovery	sleep,	raising	the	question	of	lasting	injury	in	the	brain.”
40
	Whoa…now
this	is	a	pretty	strong	reason	not	to	put	off	sleep!
Sleep	deprivation	is	considered	a	constant	stressor	to	your	system	and	has
been	shown	in	some	research	to	reduce	the	capacity	for	learning	and	memory.
Reducing	sleep	deprivation	is	even	hypothesized	to	help	prevent	or	slow	the
progression	of	Alzheimer’s	disease.
41
	Of	course,	the	sharper	and	more	alert	your
brain	is,	the	more	powerful	and	confident	in	your	beauty	you	will	be.
All	of	these	findings	help	us	to	understand	how	the	most	basic	of	nature’s
rhythms	contributes	to	every	aspect	of	life.	But	please	don’t	be	alarmed.	This
shift	was	not	meant	to	frighten	you	with	the	disastrous	effects	of	getting	too
little	sleep,	but	rather	to	open	your	eyes	to	all	of	the	benefits	you’ll	soon	see
from	getting	more,	better	quality	sleep.	In	the	next	shift,	you’ll	learn	how	to
tune	in	to	your	body’s	natural	rhythms	in	order	to	achieve	Peak	Beauty	Sleep.SHIFT	11:
Tune	In	to	Your
Body’s
Natural
Rhythms
Nature’s	Timetable
Being	more	in	tune	with	our	natural	rhythms	aligns	us	to	nature’s	power	and
beauty.	It’s	easy	to	think	of	nature’s	power	in	a	dramatic	flash	of	lightning	or	in
the	heat	of	the	sun,	but	equal	to	this	power	is	the	strength	of	rejuvenation.	We
need	to	harness	this	power	to	retract	and	go	inward	in	order	to	have	the	most
effective,	deep	sleep	that	fuels	our	creative	power	and	allows	our	natural	beauty
to	fully	shine	through.
Radical	Beauty	is	about	living	in	harmony	with	nature’s	inherent	wisdom.
From	a	sleep	perspective,	this	means	that	the	more	in	tune	you	are	with	natural
light,	the	better.	This	shifts	every	season	with	the	influence	and	timing	of	the
sun	and	the	larger	bodies	of	energy	beyond	our	planet.	The	sun	coordinates	the
movement	of	the	Earth	around	its	axis,	which	influences	the	larger	seasonal
shifts	as	well	as	the	daily	shifts	that	create	longer	and	shorter	days.	Even	though


, due to the stomach's requirement for blood circulation to digest the food or warm up
the beverages.
   Preparation for sleep before bedtime is therefore important. These measures have been found to help sleep come easily:

   1. The evening meal should be eaten early, at least two hours before bedtime.
   2. Avoid coffee, tea, cola drinks, nasal inhalers or drops, or any other stimulants for the last three or
four hours before bedtime.
   3. Minimize the amount of fluids drunk at night, to avoid having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Especially avoid any chilled beverage just before bedtime. If you must have some
beverage at bedtime, let it be warm, neither chilled nor extremely hot, and restrict it to a small cupful or
less, even if it is only water.

   4. Relax and take it easy for at least a half hour before sleep time. During this period avoid exciting
or irritating conversation, work, worry, and physical activity. Going to bed a little early with some light reading matter is a good way to do this.

   5. Do your bathing, hair and skin grooming, etc., before this half-hour pre-bedtime period. That kind
of thing raises the heart rate about the same as other kinds of work.     6. Try not to take problems and worries to bed with you. Our thinking ability is so poor at night we
are not likely to work out anything useful, but we certainly can keep ourselves awake trying. Think about pleasant subjects when you want to go to sleep.

   7. Some people put themselves to sleep by tapping their bodies gently with a fingertip and counting
the taps. Better than counting sheep.
   8. There is one last resort which for many people brings on sleep when all else fails, though I have no idea why: A teaspoonful or two of honey taken at bedtime. Some people keep a small jar of honey by
the bed, so they can take a nip of it if they should lie awake in the night.

   Habitual use of sleep-inducing drugs should be a voided or minimized because in time they may cause
injurious side effects.

GENERAL NOTES
   Some people find that eating pork causes them to have indigestion, with a feeling of fullness and a
greasy aftertaste. This is caused by cooking it too fast, with too much heat. Pork is the most delicate meat of all and if highly heated becomes indigestible. If it begins to sputter and pop, it is too hot, and
should be turned over, basted, or the heat reduced. When slowly cooked, as shown on pages 37 and 38,
fresh uncured pork is easily digested and can be enj oyed as often as desired. It should be cooked slowly
until rawness in the center disappears.

INTRODUCTION
   Arteriosclerosis and its kindred miseries have reached epidemic proportions in
modern times, and though it is widely agreed the disease is caused by food, no
successful explanation has previously been av ailable as to why or how it is caused or
by what foods. Conflicting academic theories have been presented, but the killer rages
unchecked, causing up to 10,000 heart attacks a day in the United States alone.
   There is a growing conviction that there is something seriously wrong with modern
food. There is, and the pitiful results of it are to be seen in every hospital, rest home,
cemetery, mental institution, and school for retarded children in the country.
   Some say our people have become dege nerate, that our morals are undermined, and
our civilization is becoming inefficient and decadent. The truth is that the people are
weakened and debilitated by poor food, with many of them so unhappy and miserable
that they vent their frustration and fury in senseless ways, not knowing where the real
hurt lies. But our old bloodlines are unchanged, our natural heritage of high intelligence, physical strength, and courage yet remain, and will quickly once more
find their full flower as in olden times when food deficiencies are corrected. We are not degenerate, only deteriorated.
   Many have blamed modern foods and advocated impractical fad diets but none have
told us what is actually wrong with the food or what we can do about it in every day
life. These riddles have at last been solved by practical scientific experimentation with
animals and humans under realistic life conditions, the only large scale feeding
research on arteriosclerosis ever backed by private initiative. Now science has at last
shown what is wrong and how we can sele ct the right foods from existing stocks.
   This work stems from controlled scientific experiments and the main body of
authoritative scientific knowledge, as may be noted from the appended list of
professional grade literature. It has no connection with faddism or business interests
of any kind.
   The book has been kept short, simple and inexpensive for use as a practical guide by
the general public.

1. HUMANS ARE BUILT AND RE-BUILT FROM FOOD
   Most people think that adult bodies are built once and for all like a machine and that
food is just a fuel. This is far from true, because our bodies are composed of
individual cells like the bricks of a building, each cell having its own life and death.
These cells are constantly wearing out a few at a time, dying and being replaced by new cells, utilizing mostly new material taken in from our food. Your clothes wear
out, but you don't, because Nature has given you the glorious ability to rebuild
yourself day by day from the food you eat. Since we are constantly being rebuilt in any case, if we improve our food our bodies gradually become finer, stronger, and better looking. Of course younger people r eact faster and have a greater range of
potential improvement, but it is never too late to make a worthwhile betterment, while
life remains.
   Experimental feeding of animals and humans has shown that dramatic
improvements even in old debilitated individuals can be made in a few months by
feeding fresh high quality food. And when pregnant mothers and later their young are
thus fed, the improvement in the offspring is even more amazing. The births are easy, and the babies are strong, beautiful, and fast growing. Food makes the man.

2. WHAT DOES OUR FOOD CONTAIN?
   The manufacturers give us an over-simplified answer, saying that food contains
protein, amino acids, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. But ask a bio-
chemist, one of those who spend their lives analyzing materials from living things,
and he will likely draw a deep breath and maybe even sigh a little before replying: Food is from the living bodies of plants and animals, and is the most complex mixture
of different materials ever discovered, a single cut of meat for instance containing
many thousand  different compounds and elements. There are several hundred
thousand different kinds of proteins, the human body alone containing over 50,000 different kinds. There are several hundred diffe rent kinds of fats, oils, and waxes in
various foods, numerous enzymes, hormones, growth factors, natural antibiotics and
so on in almost endless variety. Even more substances in food are being discovered
daily, and it is well recognized that nutrition is a young and immature science. When
one realizes the intricate design which Nature has contrived for the composition of
our bodies and for our natural food materials, it becomes clear that we cannot safely rely on manufactured food which the makers sa y contains what we need. Nature's rule
is that life shall feed upon life,  and only by following this rule can we feel sure of
getting adequate nutrition over long term periods.

3. WHAT IS MAN'S PROPER FOOD?
   All food originally comes from living plants and animals, upon which people lived
directly for many hundred thousands of years as simple food-gatherers and hunters,
eating the tender leaves, nuts, roots and fruit of the plants and the flesh of such fish
and animals as they could catch, for most of this time in a fresh raw condition. This is the kind of food for which Nature designed the human body, and upon which early
men thrived and developed tremendous physical strength with brains fully as large or
larger than ours of today. These things are known definitely from the thick strong bones and skulls of early men and the animals they ate, and from the pictures they drew and chiseled in the caves, found by scientists in many locations. The strength and perfection shown in some of these old skeletons of our ancestors compared with
the thin frail bones, stunted faces and crowded teeth of modern people shows
dramatically that we today have physically deteriorated from a stage reached over
thirty thousand years ago.
   From the bones and various relics unearthed, scientists tell us that men began
farming and living upon grain and domesticated animals less than 10,000 years ago,
which is quite recent compared with man's immensely long history as a hunter and food-gatherer, and much too recent for any change in the basic design of our digestive
organs to have taken place. Even today many thousands of people in remote places eat
the same primitive foods as early men ate and such people commonly have full size,
well developed jaws and facial bones similar to our remote ancestors.
   The past speaks for itself, so let none be lieve that we must have artificial vitamins,
or "polyunsaturated" refined oils, or bread, flour, sugar, or any of the other
manufactured foods which the advertisers would have us think we must eat to