 Yet extracting teeth
has led to noticeably altered facial features to the patient’s detriment. 19
 The other conventional
method for making all of the teeth fit besides extractions is to fan them out forward. Part of the
problem with the bite in an individual with an overbite (closed bite), is not enough height in the
molars for the jaw to swing forward naturally and to have the molars comfortably touch. When the
teeth are fanned out with braces, the back molars stay at the same low height, and then the height of
the front teeth is also lowered by being rocked outward. Rather than working with the correct therapeutic model as described earlier and the natural growth
direction of the body, conventional orthodontics works against it. Rather than bringing the jaw
forward, conventional orthodontics pushes the maxilla (upper palate) back and compounds the
problem and further prevents the mandible (jaw) from growing. 20
 Conventional orthodontics lowers
the height of teeth that do not need to be lowered, removes teeth that are perfectly beautiful and
healthy, pushes teeth into the jaw bone and causes their roots to shorten. To say that conventional
orthodontics is a massive disaster would be a grave understatement. The wires in orthodontic appliances contain nickel and can cause personality changes such as a lack
of affection and lowered intelligence. Homeopathic remedies for nickel poisoning can resolve this
situation.Functional Orthopedics
The good news is that nearly every problem with orthodontics can be corrected to some degree with
orthopedics. Finding a practitioner who understands all of the aspects and integrative care required
for dental orthopedic changes can be difficult since dental orthopedics requires the specialty of three
or more areas of expertise. As a result, the combination of a dentist who practices orthopedics along
with physical therapies is required for the best treatment outcomes. Dental orthopedics requires not
just an understanding of, but the physical manipulation of the cranial bones, the jaw bones, the TMJ
joint, the fascia which is a fibrous tissue that surrounds muscles, nerves, and the
dura mater
 which
surrounds the brain and spinal cord. The younger the patient, and the less severe the imbalance, the
less expertise is going to be required from multiple fields to produce a successful result. Craniopathy
Craniopathy has its origins in an old system of chiropractic work. When we breathe, the bones in our
head actually breathe and expand. The human head contains a set of 23 interlocking bones. There are
eight cranial bones and fourteen facial bones. When we are born, many of us have slight imbalances
in the bones of our body, particularly the cranial bones. This creates a cranial birth distortion. Over
time these distortions, or bone malformations in the cranium or cervical vertebrae, can lead to bite
distortions, particularly left/right imbalances where one side of the jaw develops more fully than the
other. Injuries and other traumas in life can also cause cranial bones to become stuck, which over
time can cause physiological problems. The other important understanding with relation to braces or any functional orthopedic appliance
therapy is that every time you move even one tooth, some or all of the 23 cranial bones are going to
move with it. This is because the tooth is attached to our jaw bone. The
dura mater
 and fascia also
move when teeth are moved. The net result of the interconnection of cranial bones and teeth is that it is possible to go through an
entire round of orthopedics or orthodontics and have the jaw and bite function perfectly, but still have
a distorted cranial system. If the distorted cranial system in that situation is fixed by a craniopath who
moves cranial bones, then the interlocking bones of the skull will move the bite back out of position,
and the dental treatment will need to be redone. The moral of this story is that any work done on the
teeth to correct bite imbalances must involve substantial additional therapies to maintain the
alignment of the cranial bones. You can find certified craniopaths at the Sacro Occipital Research
Society International
www.sorsi.com
Jaw Alignment through Body Work
There are several modalities to help your jaw, head and bite all feel more comfortable and function
more correctly. Amazingly, each modality which I present here, which I have experienced personally,
has a unique perspective on what is important. Each modality generally completely misses something
that a practitioner from another modality feels is important. For example, after seeing several experts
including an osteopath, several chiropractors from different modalities, and two different cranial
sacral therapists, none of them discovered a simple fact that my TMJ joint on the left side wasjammed. The next chiropractor I saw, a craniopath, was able to release the locked joint in one or two
quick adjustments. 21
 While I believe that all these different modalities can learn from one another,
and that the specialties could all be involved and enhanced, the reality is most practitioners do not
see anything close to the entire picture, and unfortunately many are closed-minded and mired in
limiting belief systems even when they offer excellent therapeutic treatments. The first step to functional orthopedics is nearly always to have body work treatments done. This is
my opinion. This is not any official recommendation from any organization. The more treatments, the
better. I received body work treatments with a craniopath, a directional non-force chiropractor, and a
biodynamic osteopath for about 8 months before getting a dental appliance. 22
 I kept receiving the
treatments until I would hit a wall in which the treatments were no longer helpful because I needed
extra support for my bite from a dental appliance. There are of course other body work modalities
and forms of chiropractic work not mentioned here that may help or even completely heal any bite
dysfunction. www.cranialacademy.org
 – Osteopaths who specialize in the cranial field. www.nonforce.com
 – directional non-force chiropractic, especially good with aligning
vertebrae. www.myofascialrelease.com
 – focuses on releasing tension in the fascia, many Rolfers also
work with the fascia. Functional Appliances and Practitioners
When I first started searching dentists or functional orthodontists to help correct my bite, I was
focused on finding a practitioner who used a specific appliance. This was the wrong way to approach
the problem. Dental orthopedics is an art form. You want to search for a functional orthopedist who
knows how to use his tools. Having a good saw or a fast drill does not make a good handyman (or a
good dentist). Likewise, using a highly reputed technology for bite correction does not necessarily
mean the practitioner understands the bite. It is hard to explain this until you actually see it in action. The best of the best functional orthopedists are superlative because they know how to use their tools
to produce a result, not because their tools are necessarily advanced or special. Unfortunately,
without substantial background education in chiropractic care, physical therapy, craniopathy and
osteopathy, dentists are very poorly equipped to correct bite dysfunctions because they never learned
how the body functions as a complete organism. They have not been taught how to check for and
repair functionality by physically manipulating the patient’s body. For example, a chiropractor might
muscle test the patient and check for indicators for certain misaligned bones. The chiropractor then
adjusts the body accordingly and the bones are realigned. Without having direct hands-on access to
the body and without a chiropractor’s or osteopath’s training in bodywork, the conventional dentist is,
in a way, working in the dark. Nothing like this is currently taught in dental school. Conversely,
chiropractors and osteopaths are limited in their ability to correct the cranial system and bite of the
individual because they have little or no training in orthopedic appliances to overcome physiological
obstacles. The best treatment modalities available therefore are the ones in which the dentist workssimultaneously or in close proximity with a cranial expert such as an osteopath. This means literally
that an osteopath will be in the office, working with the dentist, helping the dentist fine tune the dental
appliance to the patient. This ensures that the dental appliance fits in a way that is beneficial for the
patient’s body. Without the supplemental bodywork treatments, patients can develop chronic tension
and pain as their bodies struggle to adapt to the appliance. Functional Dental Appliance Goals
My opinion is that the healthiest and most ideal correction of bite imbalances involves correcting
both the height and the width of the bite. The improvement in height and width is in harmony with our
therapeutic model of the skulls that show fuller dental arch development. The correct bite height
allows the jaw to come forward into the position where the front teeth are completely aligned and
with the molars comfortably touching, as demonstrated in figure
a. The correct bite width widens the
maxilla and mandible to allow all of the teeth to fit, including the wisdom teeth. Some critics
complain that bite height correction is wrong because it makes the face too long. However if you
combine height with width, then the face will look balanced and the head and body will function in a
healthier way. Most of the dental orthopedic work done with children focuses on widening the bite, which is very
important but such an approach usually ignores the vertical height aspect. If a child had pretty good
vertical height to begin with, as in a


	tablets	before	you	eat,	to	prevent	acid	indigestion,	is
not	a	good	idea. It	only	makes	a	bad	situation	worse. The	best	remedies	for	acid
indigestion	are	to	pay	attention	to	basic	food	combining	principles	and	to	chew
your	food	well. Supplementing	with	digestive	enzymes	also	can	be	helpful. (Note:	Supplementing	with	hydrochloric	acid	tablets	is	also	possible,	but	this
much	more	aggressive	measure	requires	education	and	careful	monitoring.) Most	absorption	of	nutrients	takes	place	in	the	small	intestine. By	the	time	it
reaches	the	small	intestine,	food	must	have	undergone	proper	digestion. The
small	intestine	extracts	nutrients	from	the	food	and	they	enter	the	bloodstream. Waste	products	move	along	to	the	large	intestine	where	they	are	excreted	from
the	body. Food	not	properly	processed	by	the	time	it	reaches	the	small	intestine	creates	a
host	of	problems. Poorly	digested,	putrefying,	fermenting	and	rotting	food
particles	in	the	intestines	create	vast	amounts	of	toxins. Undigested	food
molecules	can	pass	through	the	intestinal	walls	and	move	directly	into	the
bloodstream. In	the	bloodstream	the	body	recognizes	these	food	molecules	as
foreign. The	immune	system	may	attack	them. This	response	resembles	a	classic
food	allergy;	poor	digestion	of	a	food	can	cause	you	to	become	allergic	to	it.Worse,	each	allergic	reaction	damages	the	intestinal	tissue	and	makes	it	more
permeable,	perpetuating	the	problem. An	increasing	number	of	food	allergies
and	numerous	other	health	problems	may	result. These	ongoing	allergic
reactions	can	overtax	and	exhaust	the	immune	system,	making	you	vulnerable	to
low-grade,	chronic	infections,	such	as	chronic	sinus	infections. Provided	the	digestive	process	goes	well	in	the	intestines,	allowing	the	proper
nutrients	to	enter	the	bloodstream,	those	nutrients	must	still	go	to	the	proper	cells
and	then	inside	those	cells. This	activity	often	requires	separate	“transporter
nutrients”	(certain	amino	acids,	for	example)	that	also	come	from	your	diet. In
other	words,	nutrients	are	used	for	many	purposes,	including	delivery	of	other
nutrients. This	is	one	example	of	how	nutrients	work	together	in	tandem,	and
why	you	cannot	afford	to	miss	a	single	one. Once	the	necessary	nutrients	have
arrived	at	the	target	cells,	they	still	need	to	pass	through	the	cell	membranes. If
the	membrane	is	not	constructed	properly	(as	described	in	the	fats	and	oils
section	of	the	Big	Four),	new	problems	arise. Nutrients	can	have	a	difficult	time
being	transported	through	cell	membranes	constructed	from	“bad”	fats	and	oils
(hydrogenated	oils,	refined	supermarket	oils,	deep-fried	foods	and	excessive
saturated	fats). The	final	step	in	proper	digestion	is	the	elimination	of	waste	products,	which
must	be	eliminated	as	quickly	and	efficiently	as	possible. Otherwise,	toxins	may
reabsorb	back	into	the	body. The	best	ways	to	improve	bowel	function	are	to	eat
sufficient	fiber,	follow	proper	food	combining	and	chew	food	well. If	you	select
a	food	with	good	fiber	content	and	then	cook	it,	however,	you	may	be	short-
changing	yourself. Some	of	the	fibrous	structure	of	food	can	be	lost	in	the
cooking	process,	so	be	sure	not	to	overcook. Many	people	find	it	uncomfortable,	even	embarrassing,	to	talk	about	their
body’s	waste	products. Being	comfortable	with	these	natural	processes	is
important	because	one	of	the	simplest	ways	to	measure	the	health	of	your
digestive	system	is	to	be	aware	of	your	bowel	movements	and	to	note	the	quality
of	your	stools,	in	terms	of	frequency,	texture	and	odor. Most	Americans	are	constipated;	many	have	a	bowel	movement	only	every
other	day	or	think	that	one	movement	per	day	is	ideal. Not	true. If	you	do	not
have	frequent,	efficient	elimination,	then	food	wastes	remain	in	your	intestines,
where	they	putrefy	and	poison	you. Optimal	is	two	or	three	bowel	movements	a
day—one,	at	the	very	least. Loose	stools	or	exceptionally	dense	stools	are
reflections	of	serious	problems,	especially	if	they	persist. Well-formed	and
floating	is	a	good	rule	of	thumb. Excessive	gases	(stomach	or	intestinal)	or	stool
odor	also	may	indicate	digestive	trouble. Be	aware	of	your	elimination	process,and	if	you	have	a	problem,	take	steps	to	remedy	it	by	following	the	guidelines	in
this	chapter. Choosing	the	Right
Dietary	Supplements
Eating	good	foods	and	digesting	them	well	may	not	be	sufficient	to	make	sure
your	cells	receive	all	the	nutrients	they	need	every	day. Supplementing	your	diet
with	high-quality	vitamin,	mineral	and	essential	fatty	acid	supplements	is	also
important. Supplements	have	become	a	necessity	in	our	society	for	two	reasons:	First,	the
supply	of	nutrients	is	down. Intensive	commercial	farming,	depleted	soils	and
food	processing	have	reduced	the	nutritional	content	of	our	food	so	dramatically
that	our	diets	no	longer	contain	the	nutrients	required	by	our	cells	to	maintain
good	health. Second,	our	need	for	certain	nutrients	is	up	because	of	the	effects	of
environmental	pollution,	which	puts	extra	stress	on	the	body. Responding	to	this
stress	uses	up	essential	nutrients,	in	particular	antioxidants,	such	as	vitamins	A,
C	and	E.	With	the	supply	of	nutrients	down	and	the	need	for	nutrients	up,	is	it
any	wonder	that	three	out	of	four	Americans	have	a	diagnosable	chronic	disease? Supplementation	is	necessary	to	bridge	the	gap	between	what	we	need	and	what
comes	from	our	diet. Most	physicians	(who,	on	average,	receive	only	two	and	a	half	hours	of
nutritional	training	during	four	years	of	medical	school)	often	tell	you	that
supplements	are	not	necessary—	that	they	make	little	more	than	expensive	urine. The	position	often	taken	by	physicians	is	that	you	can	get	all	the	nutrition	you
need	to	maintain	health	by	eating	a	balanced	diet	of	commercially	produced
foods. You	know	by	now	that	this	claim	is	absolutely	false. Numerous	studies	have	shown	that	virtually	all	Americans	are	not	receiving
the	recommended	amounts	of	nutrients	on	a	daily	basis. Many	nutritional
researchers	(myself	included)	believe	that,	in	our	modern	world,	obtaining	the
nutrients	we	need	from	diet	alone,	even	if	we	eat	good	foods,	is	impossible. Over
the	last	quarter	century,	research	has	established	that	a	huge	gap	exists	between
the	small	amounts	of	nutrients	required	for	preventing	overt	nutritional-
deficiency	diseases	and	the	large	amounts	of	nutrients	required	to	maintain
optimal	health	and	fortify	our	bodies	against	disease	in	general. Dietary
supplements	help	fill	the	gaps	in	your	nutrition,	especially	in	those	nutrients	for
which	you,	as	an	individual,	may	have	a	particularly	high	need. One	final	note:Supplements	are	not	an	invitation	to	e


40% of the CO
2 captured is released through the plants’ roots to feed the soil microbes below. Soil microorganisms transform these carbon resources, resulting in a complex mixture of plant and microbial biochemical compounds in various stages of decomposition. Soil or -
ganic carbon can persist in the soil for decades or millennia when physically protected in soil aggregates and chemically protected by soil minerals. Carbon sequestration serves multiple purposes, including mitigating climate change and
improving the health and biodiversity of our global soils, which allows for higher agricul -
tural yields. Healthy, carbon-rich soils are also directly tied to fresh water availability and create greater resilience in the face of droughts and floods. By implementing agricultural practices that actively encourage carbon sequestration,
we can begin to transform our soils and put carbon back into the land where it is needed most. 115
FruiticultureRegenerative Agricultural Practices
Soils are dynamic. They can act as a source or sink of carbon, depending on how they
are managed. The conversion of native grasslands to cropland, wide-scale deforestation, and practices that leave soil uncovered and exposed to the elements, encourage soil to act as a source of carbon, releasing it as CO
2 into the atmosphere. Regenerative agri-
cultural practices do just the opposite, fostering soil’s natural role as a carbon sink and enabling it to store carbon in a stable, solid form. Here are some common regenerative practices. Cover Crops - The practice of planting and maintaining crops that return nutrients to
the soil and are typically not harvested, in order to avoid bare soil
•  Suppresses weed growth and common crop diseases•  Lowers soil temperatures during hot weather•  Improves soil fertility•  Reduces soil erosion•  Provides habitat for beneficial organisms
Perennial Plants - The practice of selecting and planting perennial crop varietals, which
are better able to capture and store carbon than their annual counterparts
•  Increases soil’s ability to capture and store carbon•  Extensive root networks protect against soil erosion and runoff•  Lowers annual labor and input costs•  Improves soil structure and nutrient content•  Increases soil’s water storage capacity116
FruiticultureMulching - The practice of leaving crop remains after harvest in food forests and or -
chards to decompose, rather than clearing them from the land
•  Improves soil fertility•  Increases nutrient availability•  Increases soil biological activity and fertility•  Reduces soil erosion•  Moderates soil temperature•  Suppresses weed growth •  Feeds beneficial bacteria and fungi that facilitate soil carbon sequestration
Composting - The practice of collecting organic waste, such as food scraps, yard and
farm trimmings and other plant waste materials, and allowing them to decompose and transform into a nutrient-rich agricultural input
•  Reduces greenhouse gas emissions from landfills•  Increases nutrient content of soil•  Improves soil’s ability to retain water •  Increases agricultural yields •  Feeds beneficial bacteria and fungi that facilitate soil carbon sequestration
Crop Rotation - The practice of growing different crops on the same land in succession,
in order to preserve a balance of nutrients in the soil and enhance ecosystem processes. •  Reduces the prevalence of early-season pests and damage from these insects •  Improves productivity of rotation crops •  Reduces the need for synthetic inputs and chemicals•  Improves water quality •  May increase farmers’ profits, due to lower input costs and higher yields117
FruiticultureDr. David Klein’s editorial addition:
Fruitcentric Agroforestry - The practice of integrating fruit trees, fruiting vines and
bushes, vegetables, herbs, shrubs, ornamentals and flowers in crop production
•  Provides additional habitat for beneficial organisms•  Decreases atmospheric CO
2 concentration and increases oxygen content
•  Reduces soil erosion•  Improves health and stability of soil•  Improves soil’s ability to retain water•  Increases crop yields
f
118
FruiticultureRegenerative-Biological Agriculture
by Gerry Ross, Ph.D.
www.kupaafarms.org
“Organic farmers and organic farming
are the answer to climate change. ”
-Dr. Gerry Ross
Currently, modern conventional agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gases. It
has caused dramatic losses of topsoil and contamination of freshwater and marine water bodies through unmitigated agricultural runoff. Additionally, agriculture faces a daunt -
ing task of feeding a growing population on a static or shrinking base of arable land. The philosophy of Earth system science examines cross-dis-ciplinary interconnections of our planet from a holistic per -
spective in much the same way that permaculture approaches agriculture. Applying these holistic concepts to agriculture re -
veals important lessons that can help address key elements of human survival by utilizing and building on the strength of the soil ecosystem, i.e., Regenerative-Biological Agriculture. The soil ecosystem is an under-explored aspect of modern ag-
riculture but has evolved with plants since their emergence from the oceanic realm more than 400 million years ago. Regenerative-Biological Agriculture can be a powerful ally in the “more with less” challenge. Examples include drought
resistance and enhanced mineral availability by culturing symbiotic soil fungus, us -
ing nitrogen fixing microbes to decrease our reliance on chemical fertilizers, and en -
hanced resistance to soil erosion through soil particle aggregation, a byproduct of a healthy soil ecosystem. Perhaps the greatest opportunity of widespread application of Regenerative-Biological Agriculture will be sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the form of organic matter (humus) such that properly stewarded agricultural lands
119
Fruiticulturerepresent our best bet to rescue our planet from the brink of climate damage. A most optimistic perspective on the role of Regenerative-Biological Agriculture is of -
fered by the Rodale Institute:  “... climate change has provided an unparalleled opportu -
nity to harness cutting-edge technologic understanding, human ingenuity and the rich
history of farmers working in tandem with the wisdom of natural systems to arrive at a stable climate by way of healing our land and ourselves. Let’s get going. ”  For more infor -
mation, please visit:
http://rodaleinstitute.org/regenerative-organic-agriculture-and-climate-change/. n
Watch Dr. Ross’s presentation on Regenerative-Biological Agriculture given at a Hawaii
Farmers Union United meeting on Maui (2015):
https://youtu.be/wUvqJ-wrQSo
f
Kupa’a Farms, Kula, Maui 120
FruiticultureWhole Life Systems Depend on
Healthy Soil
by Don Weaver
It was during 1977, while spending a year study -
ing Ecology and Natural Agriculture and Whole
Life Systems at Farallones Institute in Northern California, that I first discovered the think -
ing and writings of engineer-farmer-ecologist John D. Hamaker, while reading through the back issues of Acres, U. S. A. (“A Voice for Eco-Agriculture”). My initial impression was “here is a remarkably brilliant, unique and fascinating human being with some very important things to say!”  All these years later I think there was no one more intelligent as an “ecological thinker”  on this planet, nor one with more to contribute to human and biospheric health and survival. (Taking nothing away from the huge contributions of Bill Mollison, Richard St. Barbe-Baker and others, of course). One of the first John Hamaker articles I read began as follows:“This study is about some of the basic laws of nature to which we must conform. Those who
see the human race as masters of nature invite death on a massive scale. Those who see nature as a code of laws superior to any man-made law can look forward to a quality of life which is almost unbelievable from the perspective of an economy of scarcity subsisting in a wasted land. The land is wasted because it has lost its fertility. Organic matter is not fertility in itself but
is only a rough measure of fertility. Organic matter is made up of the residues of dead plants and microorganisms. Dead plants, as such, provide no fertility. Soil fertility is protoplasm—
121
Fruiticulturethe substance inside the cellular walls of microorganisms. The microorganisms can be fresh,
in which case the protoplasm is available fertility. Or the microorganisms can be dehydrat -
ed, in which case the protoplasm is not available but constitutes the bank of fertility. The cycle of life is really the story of the travels of the protoplasm as it goes from microorganisms to the life above the soil and back into the soil again. Microorganisms produce the protoplasm of all living things. Microorganisms themselves
feed on the total mixture of minerals and gases in the biosphere and are energized by car -
bon. We can build enormous per acre tonnages of protoplasm into the soil in a very short time—enough so that sun energy reaching the plant becomes the limit of growth. The foods of microorganisms are the cheapest raw materials on earth. ”  (“The Second American Revolution, ” Part I, Acres U. S. A., April 1974)
As one already very excited about optimum nutrition and health for all living things,
hopeful that humanity could still find and implement the ways of living which would make possible the regeneration of itself and the Earth, and committed to helping how -
ever I could, this fellow Hamaker was striking some deep chords in me. The more I read, the more I realized that his messages were designed to strongly influence not only my own life, but probably everyone else’s. Soon I read his four-part series in Acres, U. S. A. entitled, “Life or Death—Yours”, which had this conclusion:
“Everything in this world is connected


 of the self with a body sets in
motion the entire cycle of rebirth. Ayurveda and the Mind
On the positive side, ego as self-sense provides a focus
of mind. It helps consciousness differentiate who we are
from the external nature. It causes us to evolve a personal
and social existence apart from the instinctual and animal
realm. But ego is not the final goal of Nature's evolution,
nor does it represent who we really are. Ego is the point of
transition between the material and spiritual evolution. It
is an intermediate phase between an outward-directed
mentality under the control of Nature, and an inward-
directed mind in harmony with the Spirit. The Soul — Our Divine Individuality
Ego is our sense of transient identity, that we are the
creature of a particular life or body. The soul, on the other
hand, is the sense that we are an immortal conscious being,
an individualized portion of Divinity. This soul is called
Jiva in Sanskrit, the life-principle, because it is the source
of all our vitality and energy, both physical and mental. It
is also called Jivatman, the individual or living (Jiva) Self
(Atman). It is our individual portion of the Divine Self
through which we have the sense of "I am. " The individ-
ual soul is the higher self-sense behind our individual exis-
tence, our true individuality. The soul is the entity behind the causal body, composed
of our various kannas, that persists throughout the entire
cycle of rebirth. As a soul we recognize ourselves as immor-
tal conscious beings, bom in various bodies, seeking Self-
realization and liberation. The soul leads us back to unity
while the ego drives us into division and multiplicity. We are usually not conscious of the soul or reincarnat-
ing entity within us. Nevertheless it creates and sustains
all that we do. The soul exists everywhere in Nature, giv-
ing life and sustaining form in all things. The soul is latent Ego and Self 133
in the elemental kingdom. It sleeps in the plants, dreams
in animals, wakes in human beings, and becomes fully
conscious of itself in Self-realized sages. Most of us experience the soul (deep feeling) only with
other human beings, with the feeling of love. We do it to
some extent with animals, particularly pets. It is possible
to communicate with the soul in plants and the soul in the
elements as well. We can feel our soul in all existence. The cosmic counterpart of the soul is God (Ishvara), the
creator of the universe, who is the Lord of all souls and the
dispenser of the fruits of all kannas. As our self-sense
becomes universalized, we can experience the reality of
God within our minds and commune with the Creator. We
feel ourselves as servants or workers for God, following His
will, which is for the full unfoldment of consciousness in
the universe. Energy
The soul controls all our positive energy, creativity and
vitality. It sustains the master Prana behind our deeper
consciousness (Chitta). All that was said relative to this
applies here as well. Composition
The soul (Jiva) is the entity inherent in our deeper con-
sciousness (Chitta) as its awakened or Sattvic function. For
this reason, the soul is not always differentiated from Chit-
ta in its pure form or from the awakened intelligence
(Buddhi), both of which function through Sattva. 'File
purification of Chitta and the awakening of intelligence
come about through the soul coming forth and taking
charge of our existence. The soul (Jiva) becomes conscious through the pure Ayurveda and the Mind
Sattva developed in our various lives. Through it, the
causal Prana (vital force) arises by which we become alive
and animate. The soul is the source of life (Prana), love
(Chitta) and light (Buddhi), which are its three main pow-
ers. Because of it we wish to live forever, to be perfectly
happy, and to know absolute truth. Functions
The soul works through the power of identification
but, unlike the ego, it expands its field of identification to
include all of which it is aware. It has two main functions:
1) Self-knowledge, and 2) Surrender to God. The soul's knowledge is Self-knowledge — knowledge
of our true nature as Pure Consciousness. This allows us to
find unity with all that we perceive and opens up all the
secrets of the universe to us. Its main action is surrender to
God (Ishvara-pranidhana) and following the Divine will. The higher functions of consciousness and intelligence,
like samadhi and intuition, function through it. Through
the individual Self, both consciousness and intelligence
get activated, causing knowledge of truth, immortality
and infinity. *'
To really enter the spiritual path, we must become con-
scious of ourselves on a soul level. This requires getting to
the real soul awareness that lies hidden in our deeper con-
sciousness (Chitta). The soul comes forward when we set
aside our sense of bodily identity and recognize ourselves
as an individualized portion of Divinity. When the soul
comes forth, we set aside our transient ego goals and orga-
nize our lives toward our eternal goal of God-realization. The soul is the most subtle form of ego or individuality,
through which we can go beyond the ego. Ego and Self 135
The Soul and Healing
Getting to the level of the soul is the key to all fonns
of healing. The soul is the great healer because it is one
with both God and Nature and carries all their powers and
grace. It is not so much that we need to heal our souls as
that we have to become aware of our souls. Becoming
aware of our soul is the deepest healing possible, not only
for the soul but also for the mind. The awareness of the
soul releases all the healing powers inherent within us. The word soul, however, can have many meanings,
according to different thinkers. Some call soul our emo-
tional nature. Others see it as connected to some heavenly
realm that is our ultimate goal, like an angel. The Vedic
idea of the soul (Jiva), however, is the first individualized
portion of consciousness. The true soul is not an emotion-
al belief, but a state of higher awareness beyond all forms
and preconceptions. It does not belong to any particular
religion and is not in need of salvation. Rather, the soul
itself leads to all redemption and transformation because it
transcends the limitations of the ego, mind and body. The Supreme Self— Our Divine Nature
The mind is not the source of consciousness or aware-
ness. Any conditioned consciousness — consciousness
dependent upon thought, emotion or sensation — is not
true consciousness at all. It is like a light reflected in a
mirror, not the true source of the light. True consciousness
is beyond all objects and qualities, and not dependent
upon any physical, sensory or mental instrumentality. This
pure consciousness is our true Self. In our unconditioned
Self we are one with all beings. This is the Supreme Self
(Paramatman) of Vedanta, the supreme Vedic philosophy
behind Ayurveda.'136 Ayurveda and the Mind
The Supreme Self exists beyond both God and the indi-
vidual soul. It transcends all beings, all worlds, and all
three gunas. While conditioned consciousness (Chitta) is
composed of thoughts, the true Self is thought-free aware-
ness (Chit). The Self is the real light that illumines the
modifications of the mind and is never affected by them. It
is the unity behind both the soul and God, which includes
all the world of Nature in the formless Absolute. It is the
immutable peace at the core of the mind, through which
we immediately transcend all psychological problems. Through setting aside the ego and awakening our soul
(Jiva), we bring ourselves gradually into contact with this
higher Self. Any contact with our true Self lifts us beyond
all human and creaturely problems. Because the purpose of
this book is more psychological, we will not examine this
Self in depth. This occurs in the teaching of Vedanta. 46 To
calm psychological disturbances, it is often enough to
restore the proper usage of the conditioned mind. Yet to go
beyond all sorrow we must know our true Self, and any real
healing of the mind benefits from even the slightest con-
tact with our true nature. All the methods given in this book for psychological
healing also aid in the higher goal of Self-realization. Removing negative conditioning from the mind is neces-
sary for both psychological harmony and for Self-realiza-
tion. The difference is that, to perceive our true Self, a
much deeper level of deconditioning has to be achieved
than is necessary for resolving our psychological problems,
like fear, anger or depression. The Yogi's concern is devel-
oping consciousness to create the appropriate vessel for the
perception of the Self, which is always present but
obscured by our shifting thoughts. The Ayurvedic physi-
cian's concern is developing consciousness to counter our Ego and Self
ordinary human problems. Purification of consciousness1'
is


,
while bringing a sense of a spiritual ener gy into my life, which allows me to
be problem free in those moments. Make this the day that you practice
being a peacemaker, rather than looking for peace to come to you from
outside. T ruly, it is in giving peace that you will receive it. Make peace with yourself. You cannot give away what you don’ t have. If
you are not at peace with yourself you cannot give peace away. If you don’ tgive peace away, you’ll never become an instrument of peace. Make the
decision to for give yourself for all your weaknesses and failures, to let go of
your self-destructive guilt over past mistakes and know there was value in
your journey through the dark night of your soul. When you make peace with yourself you take a hard look at everything you
have ever done and you remind yourself that you needed all of those
experiences in order to provide you with the ener gy to propel yourself to a
higher spiritual frequency. Eventually you acknowledge that virtually every
spiritual advance is preceded by a disaster of some kind, and that all of the
unwanted events of your life were necessary. Why? Because they occurred,
and there are no accidents in this intelligent system we call our universe. If
you are better than you used to be that is reason enough to make peace with
yourself. All the self-reproach, guilt, disappointment, self-hatred, and anger
that you direct at yourself simply take you away from peace. I have found that whenever I go into an episode of self-renouncement that I
begin to feel anxious and even sick. In these exact moments I now think
about the opening line of Saint Francis’ s prayer, “Make me an instrument of
thy peace.” Then in my mind I surround myself with the brilliant light of
peace, and I summon peaceful loving ener gy toward myself enveloping me
in a self-imagined blanket of serenity from God. As if by magic, my anxiety
and ill feeling fade to a wonderful feeling of well-being. W ith this newly
envisioned peace I find myself giving that away rather than the harshness I
was giving away in my moments of anxiousness and self-repudiation. By
making peace with myself, and summoning peace from God I am able to
forgive myself for my trespasses and vow to simply be better than I used to
be. T ry it today in any moment of self-repudiation. Y ou’ll be surprised and
delighted with the results. Get back to natur e. Luther Burbank observed, “There is no other door to
knowledge than the door nature opens, there is no other truth except the
truths we discover in nature.” Becoming an instrument of peace is easy to
do when you return to the natural world. Many times I’m sure you’ve heard
it said that the solution for chaos is to go for a walk on the beach or in
nature. When you return to nature you are returning to the silence and
harmony that is your most natural setting.Away from the fast-paced world of high technology, investment decisions,
cell phones and e-mail, disputes, noises, and mostly a crowded world,
nature beckons to you. I know that you can feel nature calling because
everyone I talk to about it expresses a desire to escape to a natural
environment. Every time you pass a beautiful park there seems to be
magnetic ener gy that pulls you to just walk among the trees and flowers and
quiet your mind. The idea of hiking or camping out in the wilderness has
enormous appeal to even the most committed city dwellers. Listening to the
sounds of birds and bugs and the wind is a pleasing experience for almost
everyone. The experience of being in a dark place and looking up at zillions
of stars on a clear evening sends a rush of peace and bliss up the spine of
everyone I know. Recently my wife and I walked down inside the Haleakala
Crater on Maui and our one comment to each other was to note the peace
we felt in the silence of this majestic place. My wife’ s grandmother always
told her “walking makes you beautiful.” She was referring to more than
physical appearance. Give yourself the gift of nature as often as you can. Immerse yourself in the
peace that surrounds you, and notice for yourself how you are almost swept
up into the arms of God, how you love the silence and the way it all seems
to fit together in perfect harmony. For me, a long-distance swim in the
ocean fills me with peace regardless of what is transpiring in my life at the
time. The bonus I receive from that swim is that I sense a new clarity in my
work. Areas that had appeared muddy and unclear become lucid and
apparent. Nature gives you peace, because you are in the ener gy field of
God, where spirit rather than illusion rules. Y our return to nature literally
opens up a whole new set of spiritual solutions to every one of those so-
called problems. Edna St. V incent Millay conveys this message as beautifully as I’ve ever
seen in her poem God’ s World. Her ecstatic feeling of peace conveys what I
write about here. GOD’S W ORLD
 O world, I cannot hold thee close enough! Thy winds, thy wide gray skies! Thy mists, that roll and rise! Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with color! That gaunt crag
To crush! T o lift the lean of that black bluf f! World, world! I cannot get thee close enough! Long have I known a glory in it all
But never knew I this,
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart. Lord, I do fear
Thou’ st made the world too beautiful this year. My soul is all but out of me—Let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call. In bringing about a spiritual solution to any and all problems, first and
foremost, become “an instrument of thy peace.” It is this peace that you will
deliver to the presence of problems and see them dissolve in the power of
peace. OceanofPDF.com8
WHERE THERE IS HA TRED,
LET ME SOW LOVE
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries
—ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING
As you examine the bag of troubles that are your unique problems keep in
mind three words written by Saint Paul in his letters to the Corinthians,
“Love never fails.” Ponder these three words while asking yourself if you
can think of any exceptions. “Never” means what it says—never. I think
you will come to the same conclusion I did. Whenever I am caught in a
perceived problem, sending love never fails. Whatever you perceive to be
your problems you can find a solution in these three straightforward, no
nonsense, no room for equivocation words, love never fails. This holds true
even in situations where hatred seems to be the problem. I take a stand on hatred that is consistent with what I have presented
throughout this book. The presence of a belief  in hatred is a major source of
most troubles. At first this may seem incomprehensible to you. Nevertheless, I believe examining how you think about hatred will help you
do what the title of this chapter suggests. Sowing love means dissolving theillusion of hatred by becoming a delivery system for love. When you can do
this you are on the path of accessing spiritual solutions for all problems. WHA T IS HA TRED? You can see the contending forces of good and evil, love and hatred
everywhere. Many believe that these two opposing forces in the world are
God versus the devil. I have spent considerable time in this book attempting
to disavow such a preposterous notion. How is it possible for both God and
the devil to exist if there is only one creator and one power in the universe? Did God create the devil? Or if the devil exists, did he create God? If there is only one creative truth behind the universe and you accept the
devil as this truth you are then required to believe that hatred, violence,
ugliness, prejudice, disease, poverty, and chaos are manifestations of this
truth. And all love and goodness are false. If you accept God as the truth
then you must accept that love is the truth and that evil is false. And hatred
is surely part of that evil that is false. For me, the truth about hatred is that hate is love. That’ s right, I perceive
hate as love ener gy going in the opposite direction. All hatred can be
transcended by love because love is all there is, so it must include hate. The
feeling and expression of hate must be reversed to head in the opposite
direction. In the ancient Dhammapada  we are reminded that hating ceases
by loving, not by hating. This is why Saint Francis asked God for the ability
to bring love to the presence of hatred, and thus remove the illusion that
hate exists. Basically, people who seem to be spewing hate are projecting their feeling
of being unloved. They do not perceive life as loving them. When you feel
unloved by life, you deny the presence of love, even though love is the
elixir that holds everything together in the universe. So you take the
presence of this omnipresent force called love and turn it in the opposite
direction


 have to take supplements. The diet, which is described in this book,
will provide you with concentrated amounts of nutrition in a natural form,
which the body recognises and knows what to do with. luicing will add
more concentrated amounts of vitamins, minerals and other useful sub
stances. A good probiotic on average increases absorption rate of nutrients
from food by 50% or more. On top of that probiotic bacteria are supposed
to be the main source of vitamins B, K, bio tin and many other substances
in the body. Indeed, that is the first group of nutritional deficiencies which
usually disappear when the patient starts taking therapeutic doses of a
strong probiotic. The diet and probiotic will start healing the digestive
system, so the patient will start absorbing the nutrients from the food
properly. Another important point we have to consider when it comes to our GAPS
patients is that their digestive system is inflamed and damaged. A lot of
synthetic supplements, fillers and binders in tablets and capsules will
aggravate and irritate already sensitive GAPS gut lining and interfere with
the healing process. I have seen many patients who put a lot of effort into
implementing the diet, but would not achieve the best results until they
removed most of their supplements. That is why I normally do not recommend any vitamin or mineral sup
plementation at the beginning of the programme. I recommend putting
most effort into implementing the diet first and starting the healing pro
cess in the gut. Once the digestive system starts working properly in many
patients their nutritional deficiencies disappear without any supplemen
tation. They disappear the natural way through the body sorting it out for
itself. Of course, aU patients are different and some of them require targeted
supplementation. But that is a matter for a qualified practitioner to decide. Here are some important points to keep in mind. • Choose supplements without any ingredients which may aggravate
the gut condition. Supplements in a liquid form are better than in
powder, tablet or capsule. Substances, which are not allowed on the
diet, should also be out. • Choose supplements with a high absorption rate, for example, vita
min and mineral supplements with added fulvic acid. Fulvic acid (not
to be confused with folic acid) is produced by bacteria in soil. It can
ensure a very high absorption rate for a supplement the natural way. It
also has good chelating properties for heavy metals. Soil bacteria in
your probiotic will provide your gut with this acid. • Keep supplements to an absolute minimum. DETOXIFICATION FOR
PEOPLE WITH GAP SYNDROME
Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. Erma Bombeck
We live in a polluted world. Every day we breath in car fumes and industrial
wastes. We eat foods containing pesticides, herbicides and other agricul
tural chemicals. We drink milk and eat meat from animals which are rou
tinely given antibiotics, steroids and other drugs. We eat a countless
number of various chemicals in processed foods. We use personal care
products full of various chemicals shown to be carcinogenic and generally
toxic for humans. Our modem energy-conserving homes and offices have
become toxic places. Modern building materials, insulation, paints,
domestic cleaning chemicals and fire retardants all outgas toxic sub
stances which we breathe day in and day out. For example, chemical anal
ysis on outgassing of common carpets and carpet adhesives in modern
homes found considerable amounts of toxic substances such as formalde
hyde, toluene, xylene, benzene, methacrylate, tetrachloroethylene, methyl
naphthalene, phthalates and styrene. All these chemicals are known toxins
for a human and we breathe them in large quantities all the time we are at
home. Hospitals and shopping centres have even higher amounts of toxic
substances in the air, that is why many people feel so tired and drained
after a shopping trip or a long visit to a hospital. And as if all that is not
enough, we routinely take prescription drugs, drink alcohol and smoke
tobacco. So, how do we survive. How do we manage to live our lives, go to work,
have children, without just dropping dead after our first breath of traffic-
jam air in the morning. We survive thanks to a very important system in our bodies. A system
which until recently we did not know much about - a DETOXIFICATION
SYSTEM. It is a system, which is like a cleaner in the body. It constantly cleans out
all the toxins, produced as a result of normal body metabolism, and toxins
arriving from the outside. It has got its headquarters in the liver and
departments in every cell of the body. The sophistication and complexity
of this system is staggering to even the most knowledgeable biochemists and there is a lot we still don't know about how it works so efficiently. But
what we do know is that this system, in order to function well, has to have a
constant supply of certain nutrients: zinc, magnesium, selenium, molyb
denum and other minerals and trace elements, hundreds of enzymes,
many amino acids and essential fats - all the substances which our GAPS
children and adults are deficient in. Due to these deficiencies the detoxifi
cation system cannot function at an optimum level in a GAPS person. At
the same time this system is overloaded with work, because GAPS patients
are very toxic people. Imagine a worker, who is being starved of food and
drink, and at the same time is being given more and more work to do. How
is he going to cope. He is going to put most of this work into a backlog,
hoping for easier times when he would be able to attend to it. That is
exactly what the detoxification system does in a GAPS patient - it stores
various toxic substances in different tissues in the body in order to deal
with them later. That is why when these patients are tested for heavy
metals, petrochemicals and other toxins they always test positive. Unfortunately, a lot of these chemicals have affinity for fats and therefore
get stored in body fats. A human brain and the rest of the nervous system
have a very high proportion of fats in its tissues and become a storage site
for these toxins. A brain clogged with toxicity cannot develop or function
well. We see this very clearly in GAPS patients.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What is the maximum amount of vitamin A that can be given to a child with a vitamin A deficiency?,
A: 60,000 micrograms as a single dose.
Q: What is the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A for an adult, and what is the recommended dose for a small child?,
A: The recommended daily allowance is not specified in the text, but it is mentioned that an adult would need 20 times the recommended daily allowance to reach toxic levels, which translates to 20 teaspoons of cod liver oil. For a small child, it is not specified, but it is mentioned that a dose is needed that is different from the recommended daily allowance.
Q: What is the recommended approach to treating GAPS patients with vitamin A deficiency?,
A: The recommended approach is to test the patient's vitamin A status and adjust the dose accordingly, taking into account the poor absorption of vitamin A in GAPS patients. However, in practice, most patients cannot be tested regularly, so it is recommended to follow the recommended daily allowance according to age.
Q: What is the recommended approach to detoxification in GAPS patients?,
A: The recommended approach is to reduce exposure to environmental toxins, use natural remedies, and not use antibiotics. It is also recommended to use probiotics, and to avoid using processed foods and personal care products that contain toxic substances.
Q: What is the recommended approach to treating ear infections in GAPS patients?,
A: The recommended approach is to try natural remedies first, such as using warm compresses, drinking hot drinks with honey, and using garlic and olive oil. If these measures do not work, antibiotics can be used.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Chemically altered and artificial fats: margarines, butter replace
ments, cooking and vegetable oils, processed foods prepared with
these fats. 4. Lack of high quality protein in the diet from meats and fish, eggs,
dairy products, nuts and seeds. 5. Exposure to man-made chemicals: cleaning and washing chemi
cals, personal care products, paints, fire retardants, petrochemi
cals, pesticides, etc. 6. Exposure to man-made radiation: electronic screens (TV; comput
ers, play stations, etc. ), mobile phones, high-power electricity
lines, nuclear stations and nuclear wastes. 7. Drugs: antibiotics, steroids, antidepressants, painkillers, anti
cancer medication, anti-viral drugs, etc. 8. Lack of fresh air and physical activity. 9. Lack of exposure to sunlight. io. Lack of exposure to common microbes in the environment. Living
in a too sterilised environment is strongly associated with compro
mised immunity. The immune system needs constant stimulation
from the microbes in the environment. 4. CONSTIPATION
Many GAPS children and adults, whom I see in my clinic, are constipated. Sometimes the constipation is very severe when the person cannot pass
the stool for 5-7-10 or more days. This is one of the common scenarios. A little boy J. would not have a
stool for a week or so and then he would pass an enormous stool,


I would just choose not to go out because of the devastating
effect driving had on my attitude. Sometimes I just wanted
to run drivers off the road or honk at them, and I just felt
unusually frustrated with the whole experience. I should
mention there was a point in my life when I loved to
drive. Now, something amazing has happened, I can enjoy
driving again. The local driving habits of people, or the lack
thereof, haven’t changed. I have. It just doesn’t bother me
anymore. I am amazed, too, when this happens. I think to
myself, “Wow, that person just cut me off and that’s OK. I am OK with that. ” Whereas I used to think, “Who in the f#*$ is that a%&#. +. ” That is a big difference. I just feel so much better. I want to thank Dr. Platt and his team for their
courage to move forward and really try to heal people
during a time when people need it most. I know that there
will be/is a lot of resistance, there always is with change, but if I can ever be of help I am here. It has been less than a week since I was there and I am seriously a new person. Before coming in to your office I had been working so hard
on the physical and mental parts, but something was still
missing. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for filling
the missing part. I can now truly live my life. BIPOLAR DISORDER
In my opinion, understanding how excess adrenaline can
affect the body sheds light on the condition known as bipolar
disorder. The older term, “manic-depressive disorder,” was
perhaps a more apt name. ADRENALINE DOMINANCE 80  |
People with this condition go from periods of extreme
restlessness and hyperactivity to periods of extreme depression. In the hypomanic phase (a true manic phase is rarely seen
outside of an institution), the mind can go extremely fast and
the person may exhibit rapid speech or have grandiose ideas. These characteristics are symptoms of excess adrenaline in the
brain. This same output of adrenaline, the anger hormone, can
lead to depression when the anger is internalized. Subsequently,
the adrenaline causes a swing back to euphoria. There is no way of accurately determining the behaviors
through which a bipolar tendency will be expressed. It may
be that right-brained patients exhibit more rapid speech and
flow of ideas, while left-brained patients may manifest extreme
activity. I suspect that both can become severely depressed
and suicidal. I also suspect that everyone with this condition started out
with ADHD. People with ADHD  can actually be pushed into
a bipolar state simply with the use of commonly prescribed
antidepressants that are in the norepinephrine reuptake
inhibitor (NRI) category, or with stimulants. A partial list
of these drugs includes: Wellbutrin, Effexor, Cymbalta,
Lyrica, Pristiq, Adderall, Strattera, and Ritalin. The last three
are prescribed for ADHD  specifically, while the others are
commonly used for depression. Bipolar patients are often
placed on antidepressants, with Cymbalta and Lyrica added
for pain control. |   81 ExCESS  ADRENALINE: THE  UgLy

Doctors are giving bipolar patients medications that
increase the adrenaline level in the brain when they
have too much adrenaline in the brain to begin with. All of these drugs can increase the amount of adrenaline
in the brain. Reminiscent of how doctors often treat type II
diabetics with insulin or drugs that increase insulin, the very
hormone that causes type II diabetes, doctors are giving bipolar
patients medications that increase the adrenaline level in the
brain, when they have too much adrenaline in the brain to
begin with. Is it any wonder that suicide and sudden death
are listed among the side effects of these drugs. As one patient
wrote in a brief note:
Patient C. K. You have taken me off my bipolar drugs and have
changed my life. My whole family acknowledges the
following: I am more alert. I am walking better with
“more life” in my step. My anxiety level is way down and I am no longer sluggish in thought. How ADHD  can convert into a bipolar disorder is
illustrated by the case of a 32-year-old patient of mine. He
had a history of hyperactivity caused by high adrenaline. In
his youth he was active in sports and had trouble focusing
in school; as an adult he became a workaholic. His excess
adrenaline took away his appetite, which forced the release of even more adrenaline to provide fuel for the body. This also created stress, which led to cortisol production. The cortisol raised his sugar level, leading to the release of insulin, which ADRENALINE DOMINANCE 82  |
resulted in hypoglycemia—prompting the output of still
more adrenaline. His very high adrenaline caused hypomanic
behavior along with episodes of severe depression due to
internalization of anger. When I first met with this patient, he was on four
medications: lithium, Depakote, Paxil, and Effexor. The drugs
caused him to gain 65 pounds, which added to his depression,
along with brain fog. I put him on a program to lower his
adrenaline and wean him off all his psychoactive medications. His bipolar behavior disappeared along with his weight gain. He underwent a remarkable transformation, attesting to the ability of the body to heal itself when the underlying cause of the problem is addressed. Part of the protocol I recommend for treating bipolar
disorder is natural bio-identical progesterone cream. Because
progesterone is a natural antidepressant that affects most, if
not all, of the neurotransmitters in the brain, using it helps
patients to wean themselves off their antidepressant drugs. One woman who came to see me had been diagnosed with
bipolar disorder and was on Lyrica, Cymbalta, Effexor, and
Wellbutrin. All four drugs are NRIs. NRI drugs increase the level
of norepinephrine—a hormone that acts similarly to adrenaline—
in the brain. For someone whose adrenaline level in the brain is already raised, taking NRIs can have tragic consequences. The woman was also in her first trimester of pregnancy. I
advised her that if she wanted to maintain the pregnancy, she
should go “cold turkey” off her medications to avoid damage to
the fetus. She abruptly stopped all medications while applying
progesterone cream every one to two hours and did not have
a single withdrawal symptom. Needless to say, her bipolar
disorder also disappeared. |   83 ExCESS  ADRENALINE: THE  UgLy
A Canadian patient who drove all the way from Manitoba
to Southern California to see me shared that she had been
on 43 medications at one time or another for her bipolar
problem and had been institutionalized numerous times
for this disorder. Obviously, the drugs were not solving her
problem. I helped her wean herself off her medications and
prescribed for her high doses of progesterone cream. Not only
did she return to feeling normal, she was able to go out and get a job for the first time in 10 years. When she visited the doctor who had been treating her for
years, he didn’t even recognize her. It was the first time he had
seen her wearing makeup. Prior to this visit she would drag
herself out of bed and didn’t have the energy to apply makeup. She told him how wonderful she felt off of her medications
and on hormones. The doctor promptly scolded her and fired her as a patient. This was not surprising, since she threatened this doctor’s approach to treating patients. Another woman, aged 42, had been diagnosed with bipolar
disorder, plus type II diabetes and hypertension. At the time I
first saw her, she was on the following daily medications—an
example of gross mistreatment of a patient, yet, surprisingly, still within the guidelines of the “standard of care”:
Insulin – 90 units (an extremely high level)Seroquel – 25 mgAbilify – 5 mgLexapro – 30 mgRitalin – 30 mgProvigil – 200 mgMetformin – 2000 mgNeurontin – 600 mgCitrical – 2 tabletsADRENALINE DOMINANCE 84  |
Aspirin – 325 mg
Nexium – 40 mgAtenolol – 50 mgRanitidine – 75 mgLipitor – 40 mgTricor – 145 mgXenical – 120 mgLotensin – 20 mgProvera – 10 mgNiaspan – 2 capsulesSynthroid – 88 mcg
I eliminated every one of her medications except the
thyroid (Synthroid). Her brain fog disappeared. Her sugar
level normalized, as did her blood pressure. Her cholesterol
actually went down when she was off the Lipitor and Niaspan,
and she lost 65 pounds. Certainly, treating patients with psychoactive disorders can
be complex and should not be taken lightly. Reducing adrenaline
and weaning off psychoactive drugs may not be suitable for every
patient. That said, what I do know is that, given the choice,
most patients prefer to treat the cause of their problem and not
be subjected to a


 letting go technique was used. By Christmas, it was possible to
return to the dance floor. At a later time, a severely sprained ankle healed
itself in minutes by instantly surrendering the pain. Healing of V ision
One evening while giving a lecture on the mechanism of surrender and
making note of all of the above healings which had been experienced, a
member of the audience said, “Doctor, if you healed all of those ailments,
then why do you still wear glasses? Couldn’ t poor eyesight be healed the
same way?”“W ell, I never thought of wearing glasses as a disease. I always thought
of it as an anatomical-structural defect of the body. But now that you
mention it, I don’ t see any reason why that shouldn’ t heal.”
So, the bifocals were removed and stowed in a coat pocket. Indeed, at
that time, eyesight was declining to the point that trifocals had been
prescribed and ordered. In leaving the lecture that evening, the same inner
knowingness came, that the condition would heal itself with suf ficient faith
and trust. Driving home without glasses, vision was blurred. The pace was slow,
with headlights on the curb. There was an inner knowingness that we would
always see what we needed  to see but unable to see what we wanted  to see. During the next six weeks, a great deal was observed and learned about
what goes on behind our everyday, ordinary seeing. There is a whole
myriad of feelings, varying from curiosity to competition to erotic interest
to intellectual titillation. Only about five percent of our vision is absolutely
necessary to function in the world. A peculiar phenomenon occurred; only that which was necessary to see
was seen. Reading newspapers and magazines, watching television, or
going to the movies were all impossible. It became clear how most of vision
is merely escapism. On the road, it was as if Mr. Magoo were behind the
wheel. Again and again that same mysterious phenomenon would occur. As
soon as it was vital to see something, that’ s when it would be seen. The
edge of the clif f was made visible just as it was necessary to see it. There
was a great deal of anxiety, with a constant surrendering of fear. Finally, by
the end of six weeks, the fear seemed to run out. Instead, a deep surrender
took place. “W ell, I will only see that which I am allowed to see.” The other
emotional objectives which seeing had subserved up to that time were
willingly surrendered. Then, a profound sense of inner stillness and peace occurred and a
feeling of oneness with whatever it is that runs the universe. And in that
instant, suddenly, vision returned totally and perfectly. What had not been
visible or readable now was crystal clear: street signs, fine print in dim
light, objects in great detail across the room and at great distance. At the
next eye test for a driving license renewal, the evaluator said that the vision
was perfect and that glasses would no longer be required. This had never
occurred on any previous eye test!Since telling this story around the country, quite a number of other
people have taken of f their glasses and gone through the same experience. Interestingly enough, each one said that it took about six weeks. One of the
people who accomplished this decided to put his glasses on again. When
asked the reason, he said that his wife was so used to seeing him with
glasses that he looked homely without them, and so he put on blank ones in
order to please her. He did it just because he loved her and wanted to make
her happy, which is a very dif ferent reason than having to wear glasses
because of impaired vision. Those of us who have had the experience of healed vision agree on one
discovery: It is with the mind itself that we see, not the eyeballs! Recently,
one of the cases was a woman who had been blind since shortly after birth
and had gross derangements of both eyeballs. After hearing the lecture on
recovery of vision, she pursued a medical protocol and practiced the letting
go technique on her sight. W ithin two days she began to experience a return
of vision. She came up after the lecture and said, “I know you are right. I
know that one sees through the mind because that is what is happening to
me. I am seeing, and I am seeing with my mind!”
T o understand how all of these healings can come about—some of
them ver ging on the miraculous—we have to revise many of our thoughts
about bodily processes, the mechanisms of healing, and how medical
treatments bring about their results. It was discovered that there is a self-
healing power within  that is activated by continual surrender. CHAPTER
21
Q U E S T I O N S  A N D  A N S W E R S
This chapter includes verbatim questions and answers from workshops and
seminars that have been given around the world in recent years. In
anticipation of the reader ’ s questions, the most typical and frequently asked
questions about the mechanism of surrender have been included. Religious and Spiritual Goals
There are always a number of questions regarding the application of
surrender to achieving what are generally referred to as spiritual goals,
expansion of consciousness, and religious beliefs. W e can answer many of
these questions by making a general statement. The letting go mechanism does not conflict with any religion or
spiritual pathway or self-improvement program, nor does it disagree with
any philosophy or metaphysical position. It entails no spiritual teachings of
its own. Instead, it provides a mechanism so that self-understanding
removes the blocks to spiritual advancement. It is also compatible with the
humanistic movement. All spiritual pathways and religions emphasize the
need for expanding our capacity to love, and this is essentially what the
process of surrender is all about. By removing the blocks to love, the
capacity to love self, others, and God is expanded. Surrender also facilitates the basic teachings of all the world’ s great
religions. The essential goal of these teachings is to surrender the “small
self,” commonly called “ego.” The letting go technique facilitates the goal
of dissolving the small self by using a simple inner process of surrender.When the small self is transcended, the true inner Self shines forth. Let us
take, for instance, the most common short means of expression of this
surrendering phenomenon as given by most religions. T ypically, they follow
this pattern:
Let go and let God. Be still and know that I am God. T urn your life and will over to the care of God as you understand Him. Surrender to what is,  for God is in all things. It is obvious that letting go of negativity facilitates the very direction
that all religions and spiritual pathways ur ge us to take. The process of
letting go is concerned primarily with feelings, and we have seen that
feelings have a profound ef fect on our thoughts and belief systems. The
experience of most people who use the mechanism of surrender is that it
facilitates their spiritual and religious goals. Those who do not consciously
have any religious or spiritual goals have remarked that it facilitates their
capacity for lovingness, which substantially increases their happiness and
well-being. Carl Jung pointed out that, because God is one of the major archetypes
in the unconscious, each person has to take a position about God whether
they like it or not. Even the atheist has feelings about the concept of God. So whether God exists or not, the subject has to be dealt with sooner or
later. Suppressing our feelings about God or consciously being
overwhelmed by the subject is not a satisfactory solution. The letting go
technique brings resolution to long-standing inner conflicts, both to the
atheist and to the believer. Question : What is the relationship of letting go to the whole
concept of sin? Answer : If we examine the negative feelings that we have been
discussing and describe them in religious terminology, we see that
what we have really been describing are the so-called “cardinal
sins.” Inasmuch as the mechanism of surrender is a way of letting
them go, it seems obvious that letting go of the attachment to these
characteristics facilitates the achievement of religious teachings in
our personal life.Question : I am not a follower of any particular spiritual pathway
but have my own personal pathway. How could this technique be
helpful? Answer : W ithout exception, all spiritual pathways are based upon
a method of dissolving the ego. The ego includes the totality of our
negative programs. Surrendering is the process par excellence  for
letting go of negative programs. It is, therefore, the best tool to
facilitate spiritual understanding. Question : W ill this process interfere in any way with my faith? Answer : On the contrary: What are the obstacles to faith? Y ou will
notice that they are all forms of negativity. Consequently, letting
go of negativity would be removing the obstacles to faith. Question : I am a nonbeliever, but I do have an interest in learning
about spiritual matters. W ould this approach be of any use to me? Answer : The mechanism of surrender is a tool only. Y ou can use it
to remove the obstacles to making a million dollars; or you can use
it to remove the obstacles to the development of spiritual
awareness. Most people who continuously surrender report that
they discover something within themselves akin to love itself,
which is independent of the body


 love and gratitude on your body? Can you
imagine the power of love and gratitude to restore health? When you feel
love, your love af fects the water of the 100 trillion cells in your body! How to Use the Power of Love for
Perfect Health

"Wher e ther e is the gr eatest love, ther e ar e always miracles." (W il la Cather,
Pulitzer Prize W inning Novelist, 1873-1947)

T o receive the health you want and love, you must give love! In the face of
any sickness, give good feelings about health, because only love brings
perfect health. Y ou cannot giv e bad feelings about sickness and receive
health. If you hate or fear a disease, you will be giving out bad feelings,
and disease can never go away through bad feelings. When you give
thoughts and feelings of what you want, your cells receive the full force of
health. When you give negative though ts and feelings of what you don't
want, the force of health to your cells reduces! It doesn't matter if you feel
bad about a sub ject that has not hing to do with your health; when you feel
bad, you reduce the force of health to your body. But when you feel love for
anything - for a sunny  day, new house, friend, or promotio n - your body
receives the full force of health. Gratitude is the great multiplier, so say thank you for your health every
single day. All the money in the world cannot buy health, because it is a gift
from life, and so more than anything else, be grateful for your health! It's
the best health insurance you can ever take, because gratitud e is the
assurance of health!Be grate ful for your body inste ad of finding fault with it. Every time you
have a thought of something you don't like about your body, rem ember that
the w ater inside your body is receiving your feelings. Instead s ay than k you
with all your heart for what you do like abo ut your body, and ignore the
things you don't like. "Love draws forth love. " (St T er esa of Axila,1515-1582)

Before y ou eat food or drink water, look at what you're about to  eat or drink
and feel love and gratitude. Make sure your conversations are positive when
you are sitting down to a meal. Blessing food gives love and gratitude for food. As you bless food, you
change t he struc ture of the wat er in the food and its ef fect on  your body. Blessing water with love and gratitude does the same thing. Y our positive
feelings of love can change the structure of water in everything - so use the
power. Y ou can give  love and gratitude and  use their power while receiving any
medical treatment. If you can imagine being well, you can feel being well,
and if you can feel it, you can receive it. T o see your health improve, all you
have to do is giv e love more than 50 percent of the time. Just 51 percent is
the tipping point from sickness to health. When ha ving yo ur eyesight checked or blood pressure checked, or if you're
having a general checkup, re ceiving results from tests, or anything
concerning your  health, it is very important that you are feeling good during
it and while receiving the resul ts, in order to  receive  a good outcom e. By
the law of attraction, the outcom e of the checkup or tests must match the
frequency you're  on, so to bring the good outcome you want, y ou must be
on the frequency to receive it! Life does not happen the other w ay around. The outcome of every situation in your life will always match your
frequency becau se that is the law of attraction! T o get yourself onto a good
feeling f requency about a test, imagine the outcome you want and feel that
you have already received that outcome.Every p ossible outcome can happen, but you must be on a g ood feeling
frequency to receive good outcomes. "Possibilities an d miracles mean the same thing." (Pr entice Mulfor d 1834-
1891)

Imagine and feel having t he health you want in your body. If you want to
restore your eyesight, give love for perfect vision and imagine having it. Give love for p erfect hearing and imagine having it. Give love for the
perfect weight, perfect body, per fect health of an or gan, and imagine having
it, a nd be utter ly grateful for everything you do have! Y our body wiU
change into whatever you want, but it can only do it through  feelings of
love and gratitude. When a  young, fit w oman was told she had a rare heart disease, her life
crumbled around her. She suddenly felt weak and fragile. Her future - a
normal, healthy life - had disapp eared with the prognosis. She was terrified
of le aving her t wo young daughters motherless. But this woman decided
she was going to do everything she could to heal her heart. She refu sed to entertain any negative thoughts about her heart. She placed
her righ t hand on her heart ev ery day and imagined her stro ng, healthy
heart. E very mo rning when she woke, she gave the deepest thanks for her
strong, healthy heart. She imagined the cardiologists tellin g her that she was
cured. She did these things every day for four months, and when her
cardiologists che cked her heart four months later, they were dumbfounded. They ch ecked an d rechecked the old tests against the new test, because the
new test showed that the woman's heart was perfectly strong and healthy. This wo man lived according to love's law of attraction. She did not own the
prognosis of a d iseased heart in her mind, but she gave love fo r a healthy
heart, and she o wned a healthy heart instead. If you are facing any kind of
illness, d o your best not to own it with your thoughts and words. Don't hate
an illness either, because that is giving negativity to it. Instead, give love to
health, own health, and make it yours. "Keep your mind as much as you can fr om dwelling on your ail ment. Think
of str ength and power and you will draw it to you. Think of health and you
get it." (Pr entice Mulfor d 1834- 1891)

Every moment you feel love for yo ur health, the force of a..riI love is
eliminating any negativity in your body! If you find it dif ficult t o feel good
about your health, all that matters ~ 4 is th at you feel love for anything, so
surround yourself with everythi ng you love, an d use those things to fee l as
good as you can. Use everything you can in the outside world so that you
feel love. W atch movies that make you laugh and feel good, not movies that
make yo u feel tense or sad. Lis ten to music that makes you feel good. Get
people to teLl you  jokes that make you la ugh, or have them tell you funny
stories a bout their most embarrassing moments. Y ou know the things you
love. Y o u know  your favorite th ings. Y ou know what makes yo u happy, so
draw on them all and feel as good as you can. Use the Creation Process. Use the Keys t o Power. Remember it only takes giving love and good
feelings a minimum of 51 perce nt of the time to reach the tippin g point and
change everything! If you want to help somebody who is ill, you can use the Creation Process
and imagine and feel full health being restored to them. Although you
cannot o verride what another person is giving to the law of attr action, your
power can help them rise to a frequency where they can receive health. Beauty Comes fr om Love

“As love  gr ows in you, beauty g r ows to o. For love , is th e beauty of the
soul.” (St Augustine of Hippo 354-430)

All beauty comes from the force of love. Unlimited beauty is available to
you through love, but the problem is that most people find fault and
criticize their body more than they appreciate it. Looking at your faults and
being unhappy about anything about your body does not bring beauty to
you! All it brings is more faults and more unhappiness. The beauty business is enormous, yet unlimited beauty is being poured
down to  you in ev ery second. But you have to give love to receive it! The
happier you are, the more beautiful • you will be. Lines will fade, skin will
tighten and begin to glow, hair will become thicker and str onger, eyes will
begin to  sparkle, and their color will intensifY : A nd more than anything ~
else, you will se e the proof that beauty comes from love when l'~ people are
drawn to you wherever you go. Y ou Really Ar e as Old as Y ou Feel
Ancient texts say that people once lived for hundreds and hundreds of
years. Some lived for eight hundred years, some lived for five or six
hundred years, but longevity was commonplace. So what


 Pour into the blender. Add cashews and maple syrup and blend on
low speed (lightly covered so that the blender doesn’t explode from
the heat! ), and gradually move toward blending on high speed until
the mixture is smooth. Pour the shake into a mug and top with ghee. Enjoy it while it’ s
warm. Warm Yam Smoothie
Yams are a perfect postpartum root vegetable. They are smooth,
building, grounding, and sweet—all qualities that soothe vata dosha. This yam smoothie is warm and blended with nut milk and digestive
spices, making it nourishing yet light and easy to digest: the perfect
postpartum combination. Ingredients
1 cup skinned and boiled yams
2–4 Medjool dates, pitted
2 cups water
4 cups fresh almond milk
½-inch chunk fresh ginger (or ¼ teaspoon ginger powder)
½ teaspoon turmeric
pinch of black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamonInstructions
Boil the yams and the dates in 2 cups of water; when the yams are
soft, remove them along with the dates. Put the yams and dates in a blender; add almond milk and spices. Blend until smooth. Enjoy warm. Kanji: Rice Porridge for Mamas
Rice porridge, also known as kanji or congee, is popular throughout
Asia and is the number-one dish for new mothers to eat during the
first few days after birth. Traditionally used in both Chinese medicine
and Ayurveda, this simple dish contains all the qualities necessary to
jump-start postpartum recovery. Hot, soft, oily, sweet, and well
spiced, this rice pudding is deeply nourishing as well as comforting. It not only soothes the nerves, but it also nourishes the tissues,
stimulates digestion, and rebuilds the blood. Kanji is medicine for
mamas! You can gradually decrease the amount of water in this kanji
recipe as your digestive capacity increases. Ingredients*
½ cup basmati rice
8 cups water
½ cup sucanat (iron-rich sugar)
¼ cup ghee
1 teaspoon ginger powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
½ teaspoon clove powder¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
*Note:  If you are craving salty, you can use the same spice blend as
in the kitchari recipe instead of the sweet spices listed here after
three days postpartum. Instructions
Rinse rice several times until the water runs clear. Bring water to a
boil and add rice. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook with the lid of f,
stirring occasionally for several hours. It is important to cook this dish
long enough so that the rice actually breaks down and loses its form
—it works great in a slow cooker! (Add all ingredients to the slow
cooker and cook on low for eight hours.) When the rice begins to
thicken, add sugar, spices, and ghee. When the consistency is
gelatinous, take the kanji of f the heat and serve hot with a spoonful
of ghee on top. Nourishing Oatmeal
Oatmeal is grounding, nourishing, and soothing for the nervous
system—all desirable qualities to cultivate after the intensity of birth. Its vata-soothing properties promote postpartum healing and
restoration. Oatmeal can be a bit heavy, so this recipe lightens it up
with some warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to
make it easier to digest. Ground flax seeds and dates will further
oatmeal’ s rejuvenative and lactation-boosting properties. It needs to
be liquidy, slimy, and smooth to have the desired ef fects of being
digestible and calming. Ingredients
¾ cup oats (soaked in water for at least 30 minutes)3 cups water (or substitute 1 cup of the water with 1 cup of milk for
added nourishment)
1 tablespoon ghee
½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
¼ teaspoon ginger powder
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg powder
5 dates, chopped
⅓ cup coconut sugar or maple syrup
¼ cup ground flax seeds
Instructions
Add oats, water, ghee, and spices to a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium-low heat, add the dates, and simmer for ten
minutes. Cook until soft and soupy. Take the pot of f the heat and add the sweetener and ground flax
seeds. Iron-Rich Dal
Mung bean soup is the perfect addition to a postpartum diet. This dal
is easy to digest, highly nourishing, and gives strength to the
recovering mama. In combination with beets—root veggies that are
rich in iron—the result is the perfect grounding and nourishing
postpartum soup. You can make a thinner soup by using a smaller
amount of beans at first, and gradually increase to the full amount as
your digestive capacity increases. Ingredients
⅔ cup yellow split mung beans5 cups water
1½ cups cubed beets
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 tablespoons lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Soak yellow split mung beans overnight. Drain and rinse the beans. Boil the beets, beans, and spices in 5 cups of water until the beans
soften and start to separate (about forty-five minutes). Add lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Optional:  Blend it all up! Be careful blending hot liquids, as the
blender might explode! Start with the vent open on super-low speed,
then gradually turn the speed up until it is at its highest. Blend until
smooth. Kitchari
Kitchari is a complete food that’ s easy to digest and gives strength
and vitality while nourishing all the tissues of the body. Kitchari is
tridoshic (balancing for all body types) and literally the perfect meal! The marriage of white basmati rice (unhulled, so it’ s easier to digest
than other grains) and split mung beans (the one legume that won’t
cause intestinal discomfort) provides the ten essential amino acids
our body craves, forming a complete plant-based protein. You will
receive fiber and nutrients from the vegetables in this recipe and
medicinal qualities from your spices. Its digestibility makes kitchari an excellent meal for postpartum
healing. When you first introduce kitchari postpartum, cut back onthe rice and mung beans (perhaps starting with a quarter-cup of
each, rather than the suggested two-thirds) to make for a soupier
kitchari. Gradually increase the amount as mama’ s digestion
increases. Ingredients
⅔ cup basmati rice
⅔ cup split yellow mung dal, soaked for four to eight hours
about 6 cups water
1½ cups assorted vegetables
2 tablespoons ghee
½- to 1-inch ginger root, chopped or grated
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon asafetida (Hing)
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
handful fresh cilantro leaves
salt to taste
Instructions
Wash rice and soaked mung beans in two changes of water. Add the beans to about 6 cups of water and cook for twenty minutes
on a low boil.Add the rice and simmer covered until it becomes soft, about thirty
more minutes. While the rice and beans are cooking, prepare the
veggies, cutting them into bite-sized pieces.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Just one tiny lesson in love
out of the billions you’ve already given me. Thank you, my little love. These months with you have been profound. BREASTFEEDING: MOTHER
NATURE’S PERFECT DESIGN
Ayurveda teaches mamas to be totally and completely present while feeding
their little ones. Nursing at the breast is potent medicine and,
simultaneously, a powerful medium of communication between mama and
babe. It is how your bodies communicate. We know that a baby receives antibodies from their mama’ s milk,
strengthening the baby’ s immunity to any germs or viruses mama has been
exposed to. Also, baby’ s saliva tells mama’ s body what antibodies to create
and then deliver through her milk, based on anything that they have been
exposed to. But deeper levels of communication are also happening: not only
physiologically but also emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. This
profound exchange of ener gy will leave both mama and baby feeling deeply
nourished (more than just a full tummy for babe. ) if feeding your little oneis approached with deep love, care, and presence—and is really respected as
sacred, quality time. BALANCING VATA DOSHA AND NOURISHING
RASA DHATU
According to Ayurveda, breast milk is the by-product of healthy rasa dhatu,
or plasma. Rasa dhatu is the first tissue to be nourished after the successful
digestion of whatever you eat, mama. Remember, there are seven tissues
that make up your physiology—and to the extent the first is nourished, the
second will be, and so on. Breast milk being a by-product of the first tissue
(rasa) means that nature designed for baby to receive the initial nourishment
from whatever it is that you eat. With the surplus of nutrients left over, the
rest of


causes.” One discovers the
secret payof fs that are obtained from unconscious secret projec tions. One’ s
underlying programs can be discovered by simply writing down one’ s litany
of griev ances and woes and then merely turning them aroun d into their
opposites. The mind’s reality is a fiction. With that realization, it loses its reign as
the arbiter of reality. Through the eye of the ego, life is a kaleidoscope of
constantly changing attractions and repulsions, fears and transient
pleasures. It bases its security  on overvalued positionalities, but, with
maturity, it progressively looks  within for enduring qualities that can be
relied upon. Without spiritual direction or information, it does not know
which way to look and may merely settle back into basic survival
techniques that have had pragmatic value. It is well to keep in mind at all times that the ego/mind does not
experience the world but only its own perception of it. The ego is the imaginary doer behind thought and action. Its presence is
firmly believed to be necessary and essential for survival. The reason is that
the ego’s primary quality is perception, and as such, it is limited by the
paradigm of supposed causality.Whereas the goal of the ego/mind is primarily to do, act, acquire, or
perform, the intention of contemplation is to “become.” While the intellect
wants to know “about,” contemplation seeks Knowingness itself and
autonomous wisdom. Rational thinking is time related, sequential, and
linear, whereas contemplation occurs outside of sequential time. It is
nonlinear and related to comprehension of essence. Devotional
contemplation is a way or style  of being in the world whereby one’s life
becomes a prayer. The ego’s addiction and survival are based on the secret pleasure of
negativity, which cannot be abandoned until it is first recognized, identified,
and owned without shame or guilt. One has to see that this is just how the
ego—which everyone inherits —operates, and recognize that it is not really
personal at all. The ego secretly “loves” and clings to the position of victimhood and
extracts a distorted pleasure and grim justification from pain and suf fering. The ego defends its own limitat ions with prideful denial, thus becoming
its own victim. Intrinsic to the very basic construction of the human ego is an innate
innocence in that it believes in the reality or truth of its own programs andis unaware that it lacks an intrin sic capacity for self-correction. The reason
for the ego’s inherent lack of capacity for verification is that its data is
limited to only internal processing systems. The internal mechanisms of the
ego lack any external, independent source of reference for verification. As we get close r to the discove ry of the source of the ego’s tenacity, we
make the amazing critical discovery that we ar e enamor ed with our self. Realization is a progressive process. Spiritual progress is hastened by
understanding the true nature of the ego. It is not an enemy to be attacked or
defeated, nor is it an evil to be vanquished. It is dissolved by compassionate
understanding. Realistic self-esteem arises from fulfilling integrous principles so that
intention becomes an important factor, which in itself is less vulnerable than
idealized results.... It takes courage to jettison the props of pride and, with
humility, accept  one’s inner reality, which is of an invulnerable  source. To
accept the inner core of one’s existence as a self-existent reality requires
letting go of any definitions of self as a “who” and, instead, seeing oneself
as a “what.”... All credit for accomplishments is given to God as the
Presence of the Divinity within instead of to the ego, and therefore
accomplishment results in gratitude and joy rather than vulnerable
pridefulness. The universe is very coopera tive. Inasmuch as the universe is not
different from consciousness itself, it is happy to create whatever we wish
to find “out there.” The problem is with the concept of cause itself, which
begs the question by presuming a time warp, a sequence, or a string of
events that would make sense. If we step outside of time, there are no
causes at all. We could say that the manifest world originates  out of the
unmanifest, but that again would be inferring a sequential causal series in
time—that is, unmanifest beco ming manifest. Once beyond the warp of
time, with its implicit restrictions of comprehension to terms of mere
sequence, there is no backwards or forwards. Because the ego is constructed of positionalities, it has no option to be
anything else except what it is. It therefore becomes an inescapable source
of endless suffering and loss. Above all else, it fears the future and the
specter of death itself, which is intrinsic to the ego’ s structure. The ego has habitual modes of determining perception. They have to be
identified first before they can be disassembled. One has to give up guilt
about having an ego. In contrast to the innate arrogance of the ego, true intelligence is a quality
of consc iousness/awareness and is not subject to attack because  its essence
is nonlinear. It is, however, utilized by the ego in its expression as mind,
which then becomes and subser ves the ego’s drive for surviva l. Thus, the
ego really uses the mind as camouflage and becomes hidden in its clever
constructions. The ego is not an enemy to be subdued but merely a comp ilation of
unexamined habits of perception. A human being is both spirit and body; therefore, it is at all times actually
existing in both the linear and the nonlinear domains. Curiously, the ego’s hold is weakened by acceptance, familiarity, and
compassionate understanding; in contrast, it is reinforced by self-criticism,
condemnation, fear, and shame. The ego conceals, whereas awareness reveals. The answer to many
defective ego positions could be subsumed in the commonly overlooked
sanity of “common sense.”
One mechanism the ego uses to protect itself is to disown the painful data
and project it onto the world and others. The ego is neith er bad nor an enemy, but merely an illusion to release so
that something far better can replace it. There is no such thing in reality as an ego; it is merely illusory. It is made
up of a compilation of arbitrary points of view supplied by mental
processing and powered by feelings and emotions. These desires represent
the attachments that the Buddha spoke of as the bondage of suffering. With
absolute humility, the ego dissolves. It is a collection of arbitrary mental
processes that gain force only because of vanity and habit. If one lets go of
the vanity of thought, it dissolves. All thought is vanity. All opinions are
vanities. The pleasure of vanity is therefore the basis of the ego—unplug it
and it collapses. The ego is extremely tenacious and therefore often seems to require
extreme conditi ons before it lets go of a positionality. It often takes the
collective exper ience of millions of people over many centuries to learn
even what appea rs to be a simple and obvious truth—namely, that peace is
better than war or love is better than hate. The ego’s rigidity and resistance to correction are based on narcissistic
egotism, pride, and vanity. The collective egos of whole nations  bring about
their downfall and destruction. The ego/mind presumes and is convinced that its percept ions and
interpretations of life experiences are the “real” thing and there fore “true.”
It also believes by projection that other people see, think, and feel the same
way—if they do not, they are mistaken and therefore wrong. Thus,
perception reinforces its hold by reification and presumptions. The ego clings to emotionality, which is intimately connected with its
positionalities; it pretends to think that it has no other choices. To
“surrender to God” means to stop looking to the ego for solace and thrills
and to discover the endless, serene joy of peace. To look within is to find
the underlying, ever -present source of the illumination of the mind itself. The inflated ego is devoid of reality testing as well as amelioration by
reason, logic, or rationality. Although the critical level of integrity (level 200 on the Map of
Consciousness) is the very threshold of spiritual progress, one can see that
due to the structure of the ego, it can be difficult to achieve. The strength of
the ego is such that it can be overcome only by spiritual power. Temptation stem s from within; it is merely the desire to exper ience the
ego’s payoff and satisfactions of an impulse, even if it is only a curiosity or
a wanting. The satisfactions of the ego are more pleasurable and addictive than the
preservation of human life, much less dignity. The ego gets a grim pleasure and satisfaction from suffering and all the
levels lacking integrity: pride, anger, desire, guilt, shame, and grief. The
secret pleasure of suffering is addictive. Many people devote their entire
lives to it and encourage others to follow suit. To stop this mechanism, the
pleasure of the payoff has to be identified and willingly surrende red to God. Out of shame, the ego blocks out conscious awareness of its machinations,
especially the secret