 e speaking feels what we have chosen r egardless
of our wor ds. The choice to join is the k ey to communication
because it is the k ey to communion. The point is not to seek
our goal in a communication, but to ﬁnd a pur e ground of
being fr om which to mount our message. W e don’t seek
joining thr ough our wor ds; we accept the thought that we
are joined with the other person befor e we speak. That
acceptance is itself a miracle. The teacher of God is a ﬁnely -tuned intuitional
instrument. A Course in Miracles  says we’r e to listen to our
brother, ﬁrst and for emost. If we’r e supposed to speak, He’ll
let us know. Jesus once sent His disciples out into the
countryside and told them to teach the gospel. “What shallwe say?” they ask ed Him. His answer was, “I’ll tell you when
you get ther e.” W e’re not to try to ﬁgur e out what to say to
a brother. It is mer ely our job to ask the Holy Spirit to purif y
our per ceptions of the other person. F rom that place within,
and only fr om that place, will we ﬁnd the power of wor ds
and the power of silence, which bring the peace of God. 16. COMMITMENT
“Whom God hath br ought together, the ego
cannot put asunder.”
A Course in Miracles  says we ar e to have total commitment
in all of our r elationships, and they will never compete with
one another. Commitment in a r elationship means
commitment to the pr ocess of mutual understanding and
forgiveness—no matter how many conversations it tak es,
nor how uncomfortable those conversations might
sometimes be. When we physically separate fr om someone we’ve been
involved with, that doesn’t mean the r elationship is over. Relationships ar e eter nal. The “separation ” is another
chapter in the r elationship. Of ten, letting go of the old for m
of the r elationship becomes a lesson in pur e love much
deeper than any that would have been lear ned had the
couple stayed together. At the so -called end of r elationships,
I have sometimes felt lik e I was falling in love with the
person mor e deeply than I had been befor e. What I’ve
discover ed for myself is that the Holy Spirit sometimes pulls
out all the stops at that moment, simply because it tak es all
the love we’r e capable of to let a person go. “I love you so
much that I can r elease you to be wher e you need to be, to
go wher e you need to go.” This moment in a r elationship is
not about an ending. It’s about the ultimate fulﬁllment ofthe purpose in any r elationship: that we ﬁnd the meaning of
pure love. Sometimes the lesson to be lear ned in a r elationship is
how to hang in ther e and try to work things out. Other
times, the lesson to be lear ned is how to e xit a situation that
doesn’t serve. No one can deter mine for another person
what principle applies in what cir cumstance. It is ultimately
our connection to the Holy Spirit, our own intuitional
guidance, that alone can lead us to the higher unfoldment
of events thr ough the deepest understanding. I have said in many lectur es, “Never abandon a person
when you’r e leaving.” What does that mean? It means that
it’s important for us to honor the eter nal natur e of
relationships. When r elationships change for m, their content
need not be diminished. The ego says, “ Look, it’s over with
them. It didn’t work out. We’re no longer together. What
was, was. I’m with someone new now.” The “e x” becomes a
second-rate citizen. Of ten the new mate feels justiﬁed in
saying, “Why ar e you talking to them? W e’re together now.”
Woe to the person who doesn’t support the healing between
a man or woman and their e x. Ultimately you discover that
how the person tr eated the last one is e xactly how they’ll
treat you. W e feel jealousy, the need to hold on to what
we’ve got, because in this ar ea, as in every other, the ego
says that ther e’s only so much love to go ar ound, that
another person’s good tak es away fr om our own. The ego is
a belief in ﬁnite r esour ces, but love is inﬁnite. Whenever
love is added to any part of the system, ther e is an incr ease
to every part. L ove only gives rise to mor e love. If my
husband or boyfriend heals with his past r elationships, it
only incr eases his capacity to love me fr om a healed and
whole place. The last woman in his life is not my
competition. She is my sister.A man I once knew came over to my house for dinner. We
had been dating a short time, and I ask ed him what he had
been doing all day. He told me he had been working on a
script with his last girlfriend, who was still his writing
partner. He told me that they had gotten into a pr etty stick y
conversation about their r elationship. She was still hurt,
having a har d time letting go, the same stuﬀ we all know. I
asked him how they had lef t it. He said she was pr etty
upset. I put down the food I was pr eparing, look ed him in
the eye and said, “Go call her.” The thought of that woman
being on the other side of town somewher e, enduring that
horrible anxiety while we sat down to a r omantic dinner,
was har d for me to bear. I had been in her place. How totally
unethical it would have been for me not to support that
woman in her feelings. “You don’t mind?” he said. “Not at all,” I told him. “ Dinner can wait.”
Our needs ar e not separate. If we contribute to another
person’s pain, it will always come back to haunt us. If we do
what we can to help them, someone will always come
around to do the same for us. It’s not enough to sit idly by
while others hurt, using the catchall phrase “It’s not my
responsibility” or “It would be codependent of me to get
involved” as an e xcuse for a selﬁsh stance. A woman once
said to me af ter a situation in which I felt betrayed, “I never
intended to hurt you.” I said, “ But you never intended to
love me, either.” Love is not neutral. It tak es a stand. It is a
commitment to the attainment of the conditions of peace
for everyone involved in a situation. 17. F AITH IN RELA TIONSHIPS“Faith is the acknowledgement of union.”
Often we long for another person because, in an invisible,
intangible r ealm, we’r e still communicating, still connecting,
still seeking r esolution. P eople will say, “You’re being
neurotic. It’s time to let go.” But ther e was a time when
widows wor e weeds for a year; grief was understood,
acknowledged, validated. It’s not neur otic to grieve a
relationship; what’s neur otic is when we don’t. On some
level, no matter how disassociated fr om our feelings we
might be, every r elationship brings hope—hope that this
might be a safe place, a haven, a r est af ter all our battles. When a r elationship doesn’t work out, for whatever
reason, our disappointment is natural. Every intense
encounter r epresents a deep and complicated k armic
connection. An ending r elationship is much lik e a death, and
in many cases the sadness is even gr eater. When someone
has died, ther e has of ten been completion and
understanding that doesn’t occur when both people ar e
alive but have separated without higher awar eness. P erhaps
the one we love is simply on the other side of town now,
sleeping with someone else, yet they ar e really universes
away since the r esolution we so crave has not occur red. There’s no need to pr etend this isn’t a knife to the heart. It
is, and ther e’s nothing to do but cry the tears that gush
forth lik e blood fr om a wound. ‘Now is the time for faith.’ L et us be sof tened by our
tears. When emotional knives hit the heart, walls crumble
that didn’t belong ther e to begin with. W e can lear n then. We can lear n what is illusion and what is r eal. W e can lear n
that idols can never ever be trusted, and we can lear n about
a love that never, ever leaves.There are many conﬂicts in r elationships that try our
faith. One of


 need to have a relationship with yourself at all? Why can’ t
you just be  y oursel f? When  you have a relationship with yourself, you
have spl it yourself into two: “I” and “myself,” subject and object. That
mind-created duality is the root cause of all unnecessary complexity, of
all problems and conflict in your life. In the state of enlightenment, you
ar e  you rself — “yo u” and “yourself” mer ge into one. Y ou do not judge
yourself, you do not feel sorry for yourself, you are not proud of
yourself, you do not love yours elf, you do not hate yourself, and so on. The spl it caused by self-reflective consciousness is healed, its curse
removed. There  is no “self” that you need to protect, defend, or feed
anymore. When you are enlightened, there is one relationship that you no
longer have: the relationship wit h yourself. Once you have given  that up,
all your other relationships will be love relationships.CHAPTER NINE
B E Y O N D  H A P P I N E S S
 A N D  U N H A P P I N E S S
 T H E R E  I S  P E A C E
THE HIGHER GOOD BEYOND GOOD AND BAD
Is ther e a differ ence between happiness and inner peace? Y es. Happiness depends on cond itions being perceived as positive; inner
peace does not. Is it not possible to attract only positive conditions into our lif e? If our
attitude and our thinking ar e a lways positive, we would manifest only
positive events and situations, wouldn’ t we? Do y ou truly kn ow what is posi tive and what is negative? Do you have
the total  picture? There have b een many people for whom limitation,
failure, loss, illness, or pain in whatever form turned out to be their
greatest teacher. It taught them to let go of false self-images and
superficial ego-d ictated goals and desires. It gave them depth, humility,
and compassion. It made them more r eal. Whenever anyth ing negative happens to you, there is a dee p lesson
concealed within it, although you may not see it at the time. Ev en a briefillness o r an accident can show you what is real and unreal in your life,
what ultimately matters and what doesn’ t.
Seen from a higher perspective, conditions ar e  always positive. T o be
more pre cise: th ey are neither po sitive nor negative. They are as  they are. And when you live in complete  acceptance of what is  — which is the
only sane way to live — the re is no “good” or “bad” in your life
anymore. There is only a higher good — which includes the “bad.” Seen
from th e perspective of the m ind, however, there is good-bad, like-
dislike, love-hate. Hence, in the Book of Genesis, it is said that Adam
and Eve were no  longer allowed to dwell in “paradise” when they “ate of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

This sounds to me like denial and self-deception. When s omething
dr eadful happen s to me or someone close to me — accident, illn ess, pain
of some  kind, or death — I can pr etend that it isn't bad, but the fact
r emains that it  is bad, so why deny it? Y ou are not pretending anything. Y ou are allowing it to be as it is, that’ s
all. T his “allowing to be” takes you beyond the mind with its resistance
patterns that create the positive-negative polarities. It is an essential
aspect of for giveness. For givene ss of the present is even more i mportant
than for g iveness of the past. If you for give every moment — allow it to
be as it i s — then there will be no accumulation of resentment that needs
to be for given at some later time. Remember that we are not talk ing about happiness here. For example,
when a loved on e has just died, or you feel your own death app roaching,
you cannot be happy. It is impossible. But you can  be at peace. There
may be  sadness and tears, bu t provided that you have reli nquished
resistance, underneath the sadness you will feel a deep serenity, a
stillness, a sacred presence. Thi s is the emanation of Being, this is inner
peace, the good that has no opposite. What if it is a si tuation that I ca n do something about? How can I allow
it to be and change it at the same time? Do w hat you have to do. In th e meantime, accept what is. Since mind
and resistance are synonymous, acceptance immediately frees you from
mind do minance and thus reconnects you with Being. As a result, the
usual eg o motivations for “doing” — fear, greed, control, defending or
feeding the false sense of self —  will cease to operate. An intelligence
much greater than the mind is now in char ge, and so a dif ferent quality of
consciousness will flow into your doing. “Accept whatev er comes to you  woven in the pattern of your de stiny, for
what could more aptly fit your needs?” This was written two thousand
years ago by Marcus Aurelius, one of those exceedingly rare humans
who possessed worldly power as well as wisdom. It seems that most people need to experience a great deal of suf fering
before they will relinquish resistance and accept — before they will
for give. As soon as they do, one of the greatest miracles happens: the
awakening of Being-consciousness through what appears as evil, the
transmutation of  suf fering into i nner peace. The ultimate ef fect of all the
evil and suf fering in the world i s that it will force humans into realizing
who the y are beyond name and form. Thus, what we perceive as evil
from ou r limited  perspective is actually part of the higher good that has
no opposite. This, however, doe s not become true for you except through
for giveness. Until that happens, evil has not been redeemed and therefore
remains evil. Through for giveness, which essentially means recognizing the
insubstantiality of the past and allowing the present moment to be as it is,
the mira cle of transformation happens not only within but also without. A silent space of intense presence arises both in you and around you. Whoever or whatever enters tha t field of consciousness will be  af fected
by it, sometimes visibly and im mediately, sometimes at deeper levels
with visible changes appearing at a later time. Y ou dissolve discord, heal
pain, dispel unconsciousness —  without doing  anything — simply by
being  and holding that frequency of intense presence.THE END OF YOUR LIFE DRAMA
In th at state of acceptance and  inner peace, even though  you may not
call it “bad,” ca n anything still come into your life that would be called
“bad” fr om a perspective of or dinary consciousness? Most of the so-called bad things that happen in people’ s lives are due to
unconsciousness. They are self-created, or rather ego-created. I
sometimes refer to those things as “drama.” When you are fully
conscious, dram a does not come  into your life anymore. Let me remi nd
you briefly how the ego operates and how it creates drama. Ego is the unobserved mind tha t runs your life when you are not present
as the witnessin g consciousness, the watcher. The ego perceives itself as
a separate fragment in a hostile universe, with no real inner connection to
any other being, surrounded b y other egos which it either sees as a
potential threat or which it will attempt to use for its own ends. The basic
ego patterns are designed to combat its own deep-seated fear and sense
of lack. They are  resistance, control, power, greed, defense, attack. Some
of the ego’ s strategies are extremely clever, yet they never truly solve
any of its problems, simply because the ego itself is the problem. When egos come together, whether in personal relationships or in
or ganizations or institutions, “bad” things happen sooner or later: drama
of o ne kind or  another, in the form of conflict, problem s, power
struggles, emotional or physical violence, and so on. This includes
collective evils such as war, genocide, and exploitation — a ll due to
massed unconsciousness. Furthermore, many types of illness are caused
by the ego’ s continuous resistance, which creates restrictions and
blockages in the flow of ener gy through the body. When you r econnect
with Bei ng and are no longer run by your mind, you cease to create those
things. Y ou do not create or participate in drama anymore. Whenever two or more egos come together, drama of one kind or another
ensues. But even if you live t otally alone, you still create y our owndrama. W hen you feel sorry fo r yourself, that’ s drama. When you feel
guilty or  anxiou s, that’ s drama. When you let the past or future  obscure
the p resent, you are


 rev. 3rd ed. by
M. Dollinger, E.H. Rosenbaum, and G. Cable. Kansas City, Mo. :
Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1997, pp. 600-610. 8
Welburn, L. “Alternative medicine.” Nanaimo T imes. April 21, 1992. 9Rosenbaum, E.H.; Dollinger, M. “Pancreas.” In Everyone’ s Guide to
Cancer Therapy : How Cancer Is Diagnosed, Treated, and Managed Day
to Day, rev. 3rd ed. by M. Dollinger, E.H. Rosenbaum, and G. Cabl e.
Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1997, pp. 616-622. OceanofPDF.comChapter Twenty-Two
RECIPES
This final chapter contains recipes for dishes prepared only with certified
organically grown fresh fruits, dried fruits, vegetables, grains, and
sweeteners. Especially important here are the following items:
• Hippocrates soup, recommended by Dr. Max Gerson in the first edition
of his book
• Juices as described
• Salads of all types
• Many kinds of salad dressing
• Cooked vegetable dishes of all types
• Potatoes baked or prepared in dif ferent ways
• Vegetarian loaves
• Soups based on the Hippocrates soup
• Many kinds of fruit dishes
• Dairy dishes of several types (when allowed)
• Breads of or ganic rye with little whole wheat, unsalted
• Desserts of many types of fruit, raw or stewed
NOTE 1: The recipes that follow were compiled and edited with the
cooperation of Christeene Lindsay-Hildenbrand to be used in conjunction
with the Gerson Therapy videotape “Charlotte Gerson Demonstrates Basic
Gerson Food Preparation.”
NOTE 2: Recipes marked with a YN were contributed by Yvonne
Nienstadt, director of health services at Cal-a-V ie, Vista, California. Recipes marked with a SD sign were contributed by Susan DeSimone of the
Gerson Institute. Recipes marked with an MZ were contributed by Marisol
Zuniga of the Hospital Meridien in Tijuana, Mexico. Recipes marked with a
GSG were contribute d by the Gerson  Support Group in England. The recipes
marked with RC were contributed by Richard Crowell. Recipes marked
DAIR Y contain restricted dairy ingredients; instructions for their preparationshould be follow ed carefully. The recipes with an asterick (*) can be found
in the Dairy section of the Gerson Therapy Handbook. GERSON  THERAPY  RECIPES
The Gerson Therapy offers a diet containing a large variety of vegetarian
foods ingested in huge quantities. Eating them in the recommended
amounts will enable a consumer to reach an ideal weight level and remain
there. And one’s metabolism will achieve only homeostasis as well. But
these two healthy situations are attained only when ingestion is done under
certain conditions. First, use only certified organically grown fresh fruits, dried fruits,
vegetables, grains, and sweeten ers. We repeat: Use strictly fresh fruits and
vegetables and absolutely no canned fruits or vegetables. Second, the produce should not be peeled or scraped unless indicated. To
clean the foods, use only lukewarm water and a brush. Third, sweeten only with Gerson-approved light honey, maple syrup, or
sugar. Dried organic cane sugar (Sucanat®), which has a molasses flavor,
may be added in recipes calling for brown sugar. Some cooks may prefer
other sweetening options. Special Soup (Hippocrates Soup)
For one person use a 4-quart pot, assemble the following vegeta bles, then
cover with distilled water:
1 mediu m celery  knob (or 3 to 4 stalks of celery), 1 medium parsley root
(if available), garlic as desired, 2 small leeks (if not available, replace with
2 medium onions), 1½ lbs tomatoes or more, 2 medium onions, 1 1b
potatoes, and a little parsley. Do not peel any of these speci al soup vegetables; just wash and scrub
them well and cut them coarsely ; simmer them slowly for 2 hours, then put
them through a food mill in small portions; only fibers should be left. Vary
the amount of water used for cooking according to taste and desired
consistency. Keep well covered in refrigerator no longer than 2 days. Warm
up as much as needed each time. Note: For recipes that call for soup stock,
use the liquid from this special soup.PREP ARA TION OF  JUICES
Juices are alway s freshly prepared. (As a reference, see the classic book
A Cancer Therapy, p. 240.) Please be aware that it’s not acceptable to
prepare the full day’ s juices in the morning. Carr ot-Apple (8 oz juice)
3 carrots (6 oz) and 1 lar ge green apple (6 oz). Green Juice
Obtain as many  as possible of the following kinds of leaves (no others):
romaine lettuce,  Swiss chard, beet tops (young inner leaves), watercress,
some red cabbage, green pepper (¼ of small one), endive, and escarole. Add 1 medium apple for each glass when grinding. Orange Juice
Squeeze only with a reamer -type juicer made of glass, plastic, or
porcelain. Do not use any juice press into which the orange is inserted with
the skin (if the skin is also pressed out, it will emit harmful fatty acids and
aromatic substa nces contained in its surface). Do not use an aluminum
juicer. JUICERS
Use a separate grinder and a separate press for juicing or a juicer that
incorporates both. Do not use liqueifiers, centrifuges, juice mixers or
masters, and so on. Pressing Pr ocessTake 1 or 2 coarsely woven nylon cloths, 12” square, and place a cupful
of pulp into center of moistened cloth, fold in thirds in both directions, and
press. Rinse cloths in cool water after each juice preparation. Do not allow juice to dry on the cloths. Wash thoroughly each night in warm or hot water; rinse thoroughly. Keep the pressing cloths overnight in a freezer. It is essential to clean the machine and cloths very well. If juice retains the taste of cloth, use a new cloth. Allow 2 cloths per juicing. Have 1 set of cloths for each type of juice. Leftovers of all pressings can be used only for compost or as animal
food. If the patient goes to work again  after healing, apple and carrot juice only
may be taken and kept in a thermos for no longer than 4 hours to drink on
the job. SALADS AND  DRESSINGS
Raw fruit or raw vegetables, when finely grated or shredded,  must be
used fresh, as quickly as possible. Raw living tissues may not be stored after any kind of preparation (please
see A Cancer Therapy, p. 189). The following vegetables are very important to consume (finely grated if
necessary, or chopped; mixed or separate): knob celery, tomatoes, escarole,
cauliflower, romaine, chives, green peppers, apples, carrots, lettuce (all
types), chicory, watercress, radishes, scallions, and endives. Buttermilk Dr essingYN *
1 cup churned buttermilk (not cultured),
  cup nonfat yogurt cheese
(Quark), ¼ tsp horseradish powder, 2 tsp honey, 1 tsp cider or wine vinegar,
pinch of dill, and tarragon or savory. Hand beat or buzz in blender until smooth. Leftover dressing may be kept
in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator for 48 hours.Garlic and Onion Dr essing
½ tsp lemon juice or wine vinegar, 2 tsp water, 1 tsp brown sugar, a little
diced onion, 1 clove garlic, and a small amount of permitted herbs. Mix ingredients together, allow  time for flavors to mingle, and serve on
salad. Herb Dr essing
2
 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp brown sugar,
 cup water. Mix these three  basic ingredients together and add some or all of the
following herbs  (optional) and leave them to infuse: tarragon (pushed in
stalk first), shallots or spring onions chopped finely, 2 cloves garlic peeled
and crushed with the back of a knife, and 1 fresh bay leaf. Orange Dill V inaigr etteRC
½ cup vinegar, 3 cloves peeled garlic, 1 cup orange juice, ½ cup water, 1
green onion, 2 tbsp honey, ½ tsp dried dill, and ¼ red bell pepper. Blend all ingredients in Osterizer. Makes 1 pint of zesty and sweet
dressing. Variation: Substitute juice of 1 lime or lemon for orange juice; increase
water. Substitute sage or thyme for dill. Spinach Dr essingYN *
1 cup nonfat yogurt, 2 cups spinach chopped raw or 1 cup spinach
cooked, 3 green onions chopped, 1-2 tsp vinegar, ½ tsp dill weed, a pinch of
mace. Place in a blender and spin until smooth. Yoguefort Dr essing*
¾ cup dry, fat-fr ee and


sis”;
none of us is too “smart” to fall into the ego’s trap when it comes to
relationships. The cleverness of our own minds, after all, will be used in the
ego’s service if we allow it to be. The ego is suspicious at best and vicious
at worst. The only way to override it, to dissolve its influence, to cast it
back into the nothingness when ce it came, is to love so profoundly that it
doesn’ t have a chance. In moments when it seems too hard, one call and He will be there. OceanofPDF.comForgiveness
He will not tell you that your brother should be judged by what your eyes behold in him, nor
what his body’ s mouth says to your ears, nor what your fingers’  touch report of him. He passes
by such idle witnesse s, which merely bear false witness to God’ s Son. He recognizes only what
God loves, and in the holy light of what He sees do all the ego’s dreams of what you are vanish
befor e the splendor He beholds. * (WB-278)
We’ve all been taught the ego’s version of forgiveness. Someone else
was a jerk, but you (you wond erful thing, you), you’re so advanced and
spiritually superior that you’re willing to for give them! Such a perspect ive is not true forgiveness but rather covert judgment;
what a perfect ego concoction. Seeing ourselves as up here and the poor
wretch sinner down there, we’re simply fortifying the separation. I’m
amused when judgmental people say they don’t believe in sin. It makes me
think, Oh, yes, you do! If you believe that guilt is real, you believe in sin. True forgiveness is the realization that someone’ s mistake is not who
they are. Our willingness to see through the veil of illusion—to extend our
perception beyo nd what our physical senses perceive, to what we know to
be true in our hearts—such is the miracle that shifts a relation ship on the
causal level. Recently I’d had a back-and-for th with a friend who was annoying me
greatly. I wanted to process the issue; she was pulling away and not
responding. I’d called once; I’d texted once. I figured anythin g more and
I’d look like a fool. But I was starting to feel angry and began articulating my attack
thoughts in the comfort of my own mind. Maybe she was using again! Clearly, she wasn’ t into this friendship anymor e! I just know the kinds of
people she’s hanging out with now, so wher e is the surprise here?! I wasn’t
beyond having such judgmenta l thoughts, but I was beyond thinking they
were sane.I let my judgmen tal thoughts boil to the surface, and I simply gave them
to God. I knew better than to act on them. But I needed a miracle to calm
my anxiety and I prayed for one. Dear God, please help me see her
innocence. A couple of hours later I got a text from her. She’d had the flu since last
week, she was only starting to feel better, and could she call me tomorrow? She topped it of f with a sweet “I love you!”
I hate to admit it even to myself, but there was a time in my life when I
might have preempted that miracle with a ridiculous text. The ego claims to
be the solution to any anxiety we feel when conflict arises: Project the
blame outwar d! Tell that person how you feel! Tell them how wrong they
are! The ego doesn’ t want us to realize, of course, that the attack will
boomerang on us. In fostering guilt in anyone, the ego seeks to cancel out God. The ego
constantly seesaws between thoughts of attack and thoughts of defense,
both of which foster a belief that someone is guilty and theref ore separate
from us. Forgiveness reminds us of the eternal innocence in which we were
all created. It also reminds us of our oneness with each other, opening our
eyes to our spiritual unity. Recognizing our oneness dissolves the ego,
because ego is the false belief that we’re separate, and it disappe ars when
we see we’re not. Where love is, ego cannot be. Forgiveness means remembering everyone is innocent becau se God
created us that way. All of us lose conscious contact with our innocence at
times, living as we do in a world that so contradicts it. But love sees
through the illusion of the mistaken self to the truth that lies beyond. Everyone makes mistakes. Forgiveness has to do with how we respond
to them,  and how we respond to them has to do with how we interpret them. The miracle-min ded interpretation of all human behavior is to see whatever
someone did as either love or a call for love. In either case, the appropriate
response is love. When we judge someone, we’re holding them hostage to our
expectations and standards. But we’re holding ourselves hostage as well,
for the warden can’t leave the prison anymore than the prisoner can. The
only way we can free ourselves is if we are willing to free others. What I
perceive in you I cannot escape experiencing within myself. “Forgiveness is a selective remembering, based not on your selection”*
(T-354). It is a conscious decision to focus on things that a person did rightwhile our ego is screaming about the thing they did wrong. In the case of
my friend—and how often this is true—she hadn’ t even done  anything; I
just imagined that she had! Forgiveness is a choice to stand on what we
know in our hearts, more than on what we perceive with our physical
senses. Forgiving you, I free myself from the effects of whatever lovelessness
you had shown me. Choosing not to believe in the cause, I am invulnerable
to the effects. And as I choose that miracle in my own life, I become a
miracle worker in yours. You are blessed, because my choice to see your
innocence remin ds you it is there. I am blessed, because in releasing you
from guilt I am releasing myself from guilt. Every encounter is a path to
heaven or a path to hell, depending on whether I choose for my heart to be
open or closed. It is only in choosing to see your innocence that I can see
mine. We cannot experience inner peace if we’re holding thoughts of attack
against anyone. We can escape the world we don’t want only by giving up
attack thoughts. Everyone we meet is either our crucifier or our savior,
depending on what we choose to be to them. Forgiveness is both our function and our salvation. It is the only
antidote to our war on ourself and others. It is our return to sanity in a world
that has gone insane. Forgivene ss is an illusion, because it remains within
the realm of mortal thought. But it is an illusion that leads beyond illusion. Forgiveness is the way we are set free. The mystic Jesus is the mind of forgiveness. He loves all of us
unconditionally because he sees us with the eyes of God. Seeing  us with the
eyes of God, he sees there is nothing not to love. The miracle of forgiveness
is that then we can see it too. Dear Jesus,
I know yours is the mind of unconditional love,
but of myself I cannot get ther e.
My wound, my trigger, my pain is too gr eat. I cannot see the innocence in one who hurt me. But I am willing,
for I know that in my r esistance to love I only hurt myself. My mind and heart ar e open to r eceive you. Please change my mind and uplift my heart,
that I might love as you do and thus know inner peace. AmenOceanofPDF.comGiving Up Grievances
The ego’s plan for salvation centers around holding grievances. It
maintains that, if someone else spoke or acted differently, if some external
circumstance or event were chan ged, you would be saved. Thus, the source
of salvation is constantly perceived as outside yourself. Each grievance you
hold is a declaration, an assertion in which you believe, that says, “If this
were different, I would be saved.” The change of mind necessary for
salvation is thus demanded of everyone and everything except yourself. The role assigned to your own mind in this plan, then, is simply to
determine what, other than itself, must change if you are to be saved. According to this insane plan, any perceived source of salvation is
acceptable provided that it will not work. This ensures that the fruitless
search will continue, for the illusion persists that, although this hope has
always failed, there is still grounds for hope in other places and in other
things. Another person will yet serve better; another situation will yet offer
success. Such is the ego’s plan for your salvation. Surely you can see how it is in
strict accord with the ego’s basic doctrine: “Seek but do not find.”* (WB-
121)
Many of us have experienced relationships that felt at some point too
hard to heal. Sometimes we’ve held on to grievances for decades. Yet even
the smallest grievance is like a shadow that blocks the sun. Giving up grievances can be particularly difficult when we feel
convinced that the grievance is valid. Then it feels as though by forgiving
someone, we’re condoning bad behavior. But refusing to forgive someone
isn’t hurting them; it


 and said to me,
“Take your sign down. We will go into escrow now.”
Immediately I pulled the sign up and took it to the garage. T he outer
action conformed to the inner. There is nothing new about this. As
within, so without, meaning according to the image impressed on your
subconscious mind, so it is on the objective screen of your life. The
outside mirrors the inside. External action follows internal action. Here is another very popular method used in selling homes, la nd, or
any kind of property. Affirm slowly, quietly, and feelingly as f ollows:
“Infinite intelligence attracts to me the buyer for this home who wants
it and who prospers in it. This buyer is being sent to me by the
creative intelligence of my subconscious mind, which makes no
mistakes. This buyer may look at many other homes, but mine is t he
only one he wants and will buy, because he is guided by the infi nite
intelligence within him. I know the buyer is right, the time i s right,
and the price is right. Everything about it is right. The deepe r currents
of my subconscious mind are now in operation bringing both of us
together in divine order. I know that it is so.”
Remember always, that what you are seeking is also seeking  you,
and whenever you want to sell a home or property of any kind, there is
 125  always someone who wants what you have to offer By using the
powers of your subconscious mind correctly, you free your mind of al l
sense of competition and anxiety in buying and selling. • How she succeeded in getting what she wanted
There is a young lady who regularly comes to my lectures and
classes. She had to change buses three times; it took her one a nd a half
hours each time to come to the lectures. In one lecture I explained how
a young man who needed a car in his work received one. She went home and experimented as outlined in my lecture. He re is
her letter in part, narrating her application of my method, a nd
published by her permission:
Dear Dr. Murphy:
This is how I received a Cadillac car—I wanted one to come to t he
lectures regularly. In my imagination I went through the identica l
process I would go through if I were actually driving a car. I went to
the showroom, and the sales-man took me for a ride in one. I also
drove it several blocks. I claimed the Cadillac car as my  own over and
over again. I kept the mental picture of getting into the car, drivi ng it, feeling
the upholstery, etc., consistently for over two weeks. Last we ek I
drove to your lectures in a Cadillac. My uncle in Inglewood p assed
away, and left me his Cadillac and his entire estate. • A success technique employed by many outstanding executives
and businessmen
There are many prominent businessmen who quietly use the abstr act
term, “success,” over and over many times a day until they rea ch a
conviction that success is theirs. They know that the idea of success
contains all the essential elements of success. Likewise, y ou can begin
now to repeat the word, “suc-cess,” to yourself with faith a nd
conviction. Your subconscious mind will accept it as true of you, and
you will be under a subconscious compulsion to succeed. 126  You are compelled to express your subjective beliefs, im-p ressions,
and convictions. What does success imply to you? You want,
undoubtedly, to be successful in your home life and in your
relationship with others. You wish to be outstanding in your chosen
work or profession. You wish to possess a beau-tiful home, and all  the
money you need to live comfortably and happily. You want to be
successful in your prayer life and in your contact with the powers  of
your subconscious mind. You are a businessman also because you are in the busi-ness of
living. Become a successful businessman by imagining yoursel f doing
what you long to do, and possessing the things you long to possess. Become
imaginative; mentally participate in the reality of the s uccessful
state. Make a habit of it. Go to sleep feeling successful every night,
and perfectly satisfied, and you will eventually succeed in i mplanting
the idea of success in your subconscious mind. Believe you were born
to succeed, and wonders will happen as you pray! • Profitable pointers
1. Success means successful living. When you are peaceful, happy,
joyous, and doing what you love to do, you are successful. 2. Find out what you love to do, and then do it. If you don’t know
your true expression, ask for guidance, and the lead will come. 3. Specialize in your particular field and try to know more about it
than anyone else. 4. A successful man is not selfish. His main desire in life is to serve
humanity. 5. There is no true success without peace of mind. 6. A successful man possesses great psychological and spirit ual
understanding. 127  7. If you imagine an objective clearly, you will be provided w ith the
necessities through the wonder-working power of your subconscious
mind. 8. Your thought fused with feeling becomes a subjective belief, and
according to your belief is it done unto you. 9. The power of sustained imagination draws forth the miracle -
working powers of your subconscious mind. 10. If you are seeking promotion in your work, imagine your
employer, supervisor, or loved one congratulating you on your
promotion. Make the picture vivid and real. Hear the voice, see the
gestures, and feel the reality of it all. Continue to do this fre quently,
and through frequent occupancy of your mind, you will experience the
joy of the answered prayer. 11. Your subconscious mind is a storehouse of memory. For a
perfect memory, affirm frequently: “The infinite intellig ence of my
subconscious mind reveals to me everything I need to know at all
times, everywhere.”
12. If you wish to sell a home or property of any kind, affirm
slowly, quietly, and feelingly as follows: “Infinite intell igence attracts
to me the buyer for this house or property, who wants it, and who
prospers in it.” Sustain this awareness, and the deeper c urrents of your
subconscious mind will bring it to pass. 13. The idea of success contains all the elements of success. R epeat
the word, “success,” to yourself frequently with faith and convict ion,
and you will be under a subconscious com-pulsion to succeed. • Scientists Use the Subconscious Mind
Many scientists realize the true importance of the sub-consc ious
mind. Edison, Marconi, Kettering, Poincarè, Ein-stein, and many
others have used the subconscious mind. It has given them the i nsight
and the “know-how” for all their great achievements in modern
science and industry. Research has shown that the ability to b ring into
 128  action the subconscious power has determined the success of al l the
great scientific and research workers. An instance of how a famous chemist, Friedrich von Stradonitz,
used his subconscious mind to solve his problem is as follows: H e had
been working laboriously for a long time trying to rearrange t he six
carbon and the six hydrogen atoms of the benzine formula, and he was
constantly perplexed and unable to solve the matter. Tired and
exhausted, he turned the request over completely to his subconsci ous
mind. Shortly after-ward, as he was about to board a London bus, his
subconscious presented his conscious mind with a sudden flash of a
snake biting its own tail and turning around like a pin wheel. This
answer, from his subconscious mind, gave him the longsought answer
of the circular rearrangement of the atoms that is known as th e
benzine ring. • How a distinguished scientist brought forth his inventions
Nikola Tesla was a brilliant electrical scientist who br ought forth
the most amazing innovations. When an idea for a new invention
came into his mind, he would build it up in his imagina-tion, know ing
that his subconscious mind would reconstruct and reveal to his
conscious mind all the parts needed for its manufacture in concre te
form. Through quietly contemplating every possible improvement, he
spent no time in correcting defects, and was able to give the
technicians the perfect product of his mind. He said, “Invariably, my device works as I imagined it should. In
twenty years there has not been a single exception.”
• How a famous naturalist solved his problem
Professor Agassiz, a distinguished American naturalist, disc overed
the indefatigable activities of his subconscious mind while he slept. His widow in her biography of her famous husband has reported the
following. 129   “He had been for two weeks striving to decipher the some-what
obscure impression of a fossil fish on the stone slab in w hich it was
preserved. Weary and perplexed, he put his work aside at last, and
tried to dismiss it from his mind. Shortly after, he waked one night
persuaded that while asleep he had seen his fish with all the missing
features perfectly restored. But when he tried to hold and ma


 better known. This is the effect on the organs of
generation. This was worked out some years ago by Evans, Bishop, and Barnett Sure. This work has shown that in the female who does not get enough vitamin E there is an inability to carry pregnancy through to full term. Abortions occur in animals or humans
who do not get enough vitamin E. The effect of the vitamin is also well worked out in
the male. Here it produces a lack of sperm. In the male the damage done is permanent. No amount of feeding vitamin E will restore the deficient male to fertility. In the case of
the female, the ovary may lose its function so that it is practically useless, but this may
be built up again by administering a sufficient amount of vitamin E.
   When we consider the many-sided functions of vitamin E on ovaries, testes, spinal
centers, and red muscle, we must conclude that  this is one of the most important needs
for good health and proper functioning of the human organism. One of the reasons why this need has not been more universally recognized is that
vitamin E is an element that is present in practically every kind of food. It exists in
small quantities in vegetables and fruits, being in the greatest concentration in leaf
lettuce and wheat germ oil. It exists also in meats, sea food, and dairy products. It stands
the ordinary heat incident to cooking without destruction. The lack of vitamin E that occurs in human diets occurs because the amount present in the natural foods taken is
diluted by the amount of non-vitaminized and nonmineralized carbohydrates which are
consumed as sugar and white flour products. If 75 per cent of the food intake is
composed of these sugar and white flour pro ducts, it will readily be seen that the
amount of foods containing vitamin E is reduced 75 per cent. This same principle of course applies to  other vitamins. It also applies to minerals
such as calcium, iodine, and iron. Nature having distributed this vitamin in many different kinds of foods, no ordinary food combination would ever produce a
deficiency. It is only by the use of factory foods that vitamin E deficiencies are produced. CHAPTER III
WHY WE MUST HAVE MINERALS
   The ordinary student of nutrition has paid a good deal of attention to individual
vitamins, but has paid little attention to minerals. There is no doubt but that mineral deficiencies exist as commonly as vitamin deficiencies, and that the mineral deficiencies stem from the same source--factory-made food s. In an article by Dr. Alice Bernheim in
the journal of the American Medical Association of April 1, 1933, it was shown that the
average diet of the average civilized person does not contain enough calcium. The
calcium needs of a person of 150 pounds was shown to be from 71/2 to 10 grains a day
(a grain = 60 mg). The ordinary diet, composed largely of white flour and sugar, does
not contain this much calcium. The conclusion reached by Dr. Bernheim is that calcium deficiency is universal in all civilized countries. Another important point brought out by
Dr. Bernheim is that different forms of calci um have different degrees of absorbability. Some calcium salts are readily absorbable and are used in the body. Others are not
absorbable and pass through the gastrointestinal tract unchanged. It is well understood at the present time that the best forms of calcium are those which
have gone through some kind of animal metabolism. Ground bone is more easily
absorbed than other forms, and is properly used a good deal in baby foods. The forms of calcium that exist in milk and,cheese have been through the metabolism of the cow,
and therefore have been metabolized and are easily absorbed by the human animal. Milk
and milk products, then, furnish the best source of calcium. With a sufficient source of calcium, nerves are less irritable. Without a sufficient amount, pains may exist which completely disappear after a sufficient amount of calcium is taken. Some of the pains of advanced cancer may be completely relieved by giving calcium. This does not mean
that the nerves of the cancer patient have been obtunded as they would be by some drug, but that the pain has been simply a cry of the diseased nerves for calcium. Calcium is excreted from the body in the discharges which comes from wounds and
open sores, and ulcers. Cancer usually exists as an ulcerated area. Much calcium is lost in the fluid that seeps from the ulcerated cancer surface. The small bodily supply is
further depleted, therefore the giving of calcium by mouth or by intravenous use quiets the cancer pains. As calcium deficiency is one of our most widespread deficiencies, it shows up also in
the lack of resistance in our teeth. The mention of tooth destruction in pregnancy calls
to mind the direct robbing of calcium-bearing areas to furnish calcium to the child. But
old infections may also rob teeth and bones, as calcium may be needed to erect barriers against invading microorganisms. This takes place in the lungs in tuberculosis. A
tuburcular body being examined at postmortem will show many areas in the lungs
which resemble small marbles. These densely calcified areas are simply Nature's
method of trying to wall in the poisonous germs which are lodged in the lung. Calcification may take place in other parts of the body. It is not uncommon to find
calcified areas in fibroid tumors of the uterus, and in any old chronically infected area. In all such conditions Nature's first call is on the normal body calcium, in the hope that it may be used as a defensive mechanism in the area where disease is going on. Ordinary whole wheat bread, meat, fruit and vegetables contain some calcium; but the
amounts in ordinary diets are not sufficient to give the optimum needed by the body. There is no question but that calcium is one of our greatest body needs, as the bony
structures of the body are perhaps the greatest in bulk and weight next to the voluntary muscles. The optimum calcium supply is a surplus and a surplus does no harm. In order that physiological processes may be carried on in a normal, proper way,
oxygen must be carried to each individual cell. The oxygen is carried to the cells of the body by a compound which is made up partly of iron. Oxygen enters the lungs,
penetrates the wall of the air cells, and enters the blood. The iron containing
hemoglobin exists in the red blood corpuscl es and having combined with the oxygen,
carries it to the cells, where oxidation takes place. Without iron, no metabolism and no
oxidation would occur. The need for iron is constant, as much of the hemoglobin is being destroyed and excreted every day. As new supplies of calcium must be provided,
so new supplies of iron must come in by way of the gastrointestinal tract in order to provide for new hemoglobin daily. In the life processes of the ordinary individual, around 3 percent of the red cells are
being destroyed every day. This means that a certain definite amount of iron must be provided to make up for what is lost. Iron must be supplied and absorbed in the amount
of 10 to 25 milligrams every day. The diluti on of iron-containing foods be devitalized
carbohydrates makes this optimum impossible. We may measure the amount of iron in the blood by the amount of hemoglobin present (red coloring matter). * (* Much of the iron in the body is used over and over again but there is a steady loss of a few millgrams
a day.) In making blood examinations on large groups of individuals, it is very rare to find a
100 percent hemoglobin reading. This means readings on persons ordinarily considered
normal--life insurance examinations, soldiers, and examinations for entrance into
industrial positions, and of women entering hospitals for obstetrical work--all are found
to be more or less deficient in iron. Our best food source of iron is lean meat. The richest sources of iron among the
various kinds of meat are liver, heart, and kidney. The muscle meats which are
ordinarily eaten--steaks, chops, and cutlets--are also rich sources of iron and furnish this
element in a greater degree than any form of vegetable or fruit. One of the most important of the mineral needs is the need for iodine. Without iodine
the thyroid gland does not properly develop. In diets which contain quantities of iodine
below the normal amount, all the life processes are operating below par. The thyroid
gland contains the largest amount of iodine of any of the organs of the body, and as all
the blood in the body goes through this gland every 17 minutes, it evidently serves as a
trap for the filtering out of toxic material, the iodine acting as an antitoxin. A good deal of the toxic material in the blood stream is living material--that is, low-grade
microorganisms that gain access to the circulating fluids of the body. The iodine-
containing thyroid undoubtedly inhibits the growth of these invading germs. In cases where the amount of iodine in the diet is definitely small, the thyroid undergoes a
compensatory growth. It becomes many times larger than normal. This is evidently an
attempt to furnish more thyroid cells to more effectively to filter out and use what little
iodine there is in the blood stream. This function carried to excess produces the more poisonous types of goiter. We may consider iodine, then, as a necessary part of the dietary intake for its
beneficial effect in cleansing the blood stream. Dr. Plummer and other workers in this
field have established the needs of the human body at around 10 milligrams a day. Iodine is to be found in grains, fruits, and garden vegetables. It is


otherapy would actually promote a more virulent
disease than it cured. (Likewise, the persistent
staphylococcus infections  that patients come down with in
hospitals are often highly resistant to antibiotics, because
only the most vicious bacteria can live in the sterile
environment of operating rooms and withstand the
continual bombardment of penicillin injections.) One can
easily conceive of a strain of “super cancer” that might
arise from one or two malignant cells that had the
strongest resistance to treatment. In any case, the early promise that chemotherapy would
wipe out cancer in our generation, widely believed in the
1950s, has sobered. Now a few cancers at a time aredefeated, such as lymph ocytic leukemia in children and
some kinds of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, while other major
killers, such as lung and brain cancers, are virtually
untouchable through chemotherapy. —
Nothing I have said so far about the body’s know-how is
hypothetical. We have all been informed, doctors and public
alike, about the body’s wondrous intricacy. Yet we persist in
thinking of the body in an obsolete mold, as basically
matter, but with a smart technician inside who moves the
matter around. This technician was once called a soul; now
it tends to be demoted to a ghost inside the machine, but
the same emphasis remains. Because we see and touch our
bodies, carry  their solid weight around with us, and bump
into doors if we don’t watch out, the reality of the body
appears to be primarily material—such is the bias of our
world. But the bias has a huge blind spot in it. Despite the
overwhelming superiority  of the body’s know-how, which
scientists freely acknowledge, a minute amount of time and
money is spent trying to grasp the living body as a whole,
and for very good reason. The Greek philosopher
Heraclitus made the famous remark, “You cannot step into
the same river twice,” because the river is constantly being
changed by new water rushing in. The same holds true for
the body. All of us are much more like a river than anything
frozen in time and space. If you could see your body as it really is, you would never
see it the same way twice. Ninety-eight percent of the
atoms in your body were not there a year ago. The skeleton
that seems so solid was not there three months ago. The
conﬁguration of the bone  cells remains somewhat constant,
but atoms of all kinds pass freely back and forth throughthe cell walls, and by that means you acquire a new
skeleton every three months. The skin is new every month. You have a new stomach
lining every four days, with the actual surface cells that
contact food being renew ed every ﬁve minutes. The cells in
the liver turn over very slowly, but new atoms still ﬂow
through them, like water in a river course, making a new
liver every six weeks. Even within the brain, whose cells
are not replaced once they die, the content of carbon,
nitrogen, oxygen, and so on is totally diﬀerent today from a
year ago. It is as if you lived in a building whose brick s were
systemically taken out and replaced every year. If you keep
the same blueprint, then it will still look like the same
building. But it won’t be the same in actuality. The human
body also stands there looking much the same from day to
day, but through the processes of respiration, digestion,
elimination, and so forth, it is constantly and ever in
exchange with the rest of the world. Certain atoms—carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen
—pass through the body very quickly, being an essential
part of the things we use up the fastest—food, air, and
water. If it were up to only these four elements, we would
be creating new bodies for ourselves literally every month. However, the pace of renewal is slowed by other elements
that do not ﬂow through us very rapidly. The calcium bound
into our bones can take a whole year to replace itself—
some authorities extend the time to several years. Iron, the
component that makes red blood cells red, is held onto
quite tenaciously, being lost mainly through the sloughing
of dead skin cells or the actual loss of blood. Even though  the rates of change may diﬀer, change is
always there. What I am calling “intelligence” takes on the
role of guidin g this change so that we do not collapse into a
heap of brick s. That is one of the most obvious facts aboutthe physiology, but intelligence is so changeable, so quick
on the move—in other  words, so alive —that medical
textbooks devote almost no space to it at all. To get an idea of how limited our current knowle dge is,
consider the structure of a neuron. The neurons that
compose the brain and central nervous system “talk” to one
another across gaps called synapses. These gaps separate
the tiny branchlike ﬁlaments, the dendrites, that grow at
the ends of each nerve cell. Everyone possesses billions of
these cells, divided between the brain and the central
nervous system, and as we saw, each one is capable of
growing dozens or even hundreds of dendrites (the total
estimated at 100 million million), meaning that at any one
time, the possible combi nations of signals jumpin g across
the synapses  of the brain exceed the number of atoms in
the known universe. The signals also communicate with
one another at lightning speed. To read this sentence, your
brain takes a few milliseconds to arrange a precise pattern
of millions of signals, only to dissolve them instantly, never
to be repeated again in exactly the same way. In medical school, we were taught a simple model of how
neurons communicate: an electrical charge forms on one
side of the synapse, and when the charge is large enough,
it jump s like a spark across the gap to deliver a signal to
another nerve cell. Assuming that this is the correct
mechanism (in reality it isn’t), the description we learned in
our neurology textbook in 1966 told us next to nothing
about how neurons act in real life; the book model makes
sense only for a single nerve cell, isolated, stopped in time,
and stripped of context. In truth, the action taking  place at
the gaps in the nervous system is like that of a cosmic
computer reduced to a microcosmic scale. This awesome
computer operates continuously, handles hundreds of
programs at a time, deals in multiple billions of “bytes” ofinformation every second, and, most miraculous ly of all,
knows how to run itself. It is not really our medical training that was at fault here. How can any textbook possibly describe this whole
process? To think is to form patterns inside ourselves that
are just as complex, ﬂeeting, and rich in their diversity as is
reality itself. Thinking is the mirror of the world, and
nothing less. Science simply does not have the tools to look
at such a phenomenon, which is at once inﬁnite and alive. The living body will not stop to be studied, certain ly not as
a whole. So when it delivers a shock to science, as in a
spontaneous cure of cancer, medicine all but halts in its
tracks, bewildered to ﬁnd that life does not behave as
neatly as the laboratory model. In 1986, a shock was delivered that could turn the whole
ﬁeld of brain research on its head: a Mexican neuro-
surgeon, Dr. Ignacio Madrazo, successfully implanted
healthy new cells into the brain of a patient with
Parkinson’s disease. Not only did the transplant take, which previously was
considered impossible, but the patient showed an amazing
85 percent return to normal functioning. Before the
surgery, the patient, a Mexican farmer in his late thirties,
had been rendered virtually helpless by his disease. Parkinson’s strikes about 1 percent of people over age 50. It begins with muscle tremors, rigidity of the limbs, or a
tendency to move very slowly. The immedia te cause of
these symptoms is a deﬁciency of dopamine, the same
brain chemic al that leads to schizophrenia when it is in
oversupply. For reasons not yet known, the nerve cells that
produce dopamine, located in a part of the brain stem
called the substantia nigra, begin to die, creating the
deﬁciency. Without enou gh dopamin e, the brain’s ability to
regulate muscle movement is impaired and ﬁnally lost.Any or all three of Parkinson’s symptoms grows worse
over time, until the patient is totally incapacitated. The
playwright Eugene O’Neill contracted Parkinson’s in his
ﬁfties. It became increasingly diﬀicult for him to write as
his shaking became more  severe. He had planned a cycle of
four plays that were to be his masterpiece, but his disease
destroyed everything: one glance at the surviving
manuscripts reveals that O’Neill could barely form the
cramped, spidery, pathetically illegible letters. Through
heroic endurance, he managed to commit his words to
paper, but no one has ever been able to decipher what they
say. In Mexico, Madrazo


 when he came to learn
primordial sound. I asked how he was doing, and he
answered that he had something important to tell me—he
had AIDS. The diagnosis had been made four years earlier after he
came down with pneumonia. Rather than the typical
pneumonia caused by the pneumococcus bacteria,  his came
from a protozoa known  as Pneumocystis carinii;  this
disease is one of the most common that strike AIDS
patients when their immune systems collapse. He
recovered from the attack and decided to change  his life. He learned to meditate, and for the ﬁrst time in his adult
life he gave up the habit ual routine of long nights, heavy
drinking, pills, smoking, and promiscuity that had been
attached to his career. (Interestingly, a survey of long-term
AIDS survivo rs shows that all of them have made this kind
of “take charge” decisi on over their disease. Standard
medicine cannot explain why this should be such a
lifesaver, but it is. ) By the time he learned the bliss technique, two years
later, his health had improved to the point where he looked
totally normal. The bliss technique becam e a major focus of
his determination to overcome AIDS. “I don’t think of myself as ﬁghting my sickness,” he
remarked. “I’m just learning that all the unhappiness and
anguish I used to live with was wrong. ” Inside, he began to
experience a much more  positive range of emotions—he
told me that he had never suspected that he could get
hooked on happiness. Today, four years after the original
diagnosis, he looks completely healthy, and except for a
certain amou nt of fatigue, he lives as if the AIDS were not
there. Each year’s international symposium on AIDS discloses
deeper gloom about defea ting it. AIDS is caused by the HIV
virus, plus its related mutations, which are a researcher’s
nightmare, because they belong to a particularly  baﬄing,
elusive class of organis ms called retroviruses. Even a
normal virus, such as the one responsible for colds, has
remarkable powers to elude the body’s immune system. Contrary to the way it responds to bacteria, our DNA
mysteriously forgets how to ﬁght against an invading virus
—in fact, it actually appears to cooperate with it. When a
virus comes near the cell wall, it melts through,
penetrating as if without resistance; it is next ushered
directly to the cell’s nucleus, where the DNA obligingly
shuts down normal operations and begins to manufacture
the proteins for making new viruses. A cold or ﬂu virus is content to let DNA build proteins for
it, but a retrovirus like HIV goes one better by blending
into the DNA’s own chemical strands, masking itself as the
host’s genetic material. There it sleeps until the day, which
may come years later, when the DNA is triggered to ﬁght
another disease. Then the retrovirus awak ens and begins to
replicate itself by the millions, using the host cell as an
incubator and eventually resulting in the host cell’s death. The cell bursts open, loosing a horde of lethal viruses into
the bloodstream. Every step of the cycle is so mysterious
and complica ted that the AIDS virus has quickly earned a
reputation for being the most complex disease organism
ever discovered. No drug is capable of treating it; AZT,
which helps postpone the active phase, is riddled with
major side eﬀects, making it impossible for some patients
to take the drug. This is not to deny Western medicine its own approach. When a life-threatening disease arises, it is necessary to
take drastic  measures —on this point there is no
disagreement. But I believe that viewing disease as adistortion of intelligence might represent a move toward a
deeper level of understanding, and therefore of treatment. Both cancer and AIDS seem to be cases where the proper
sequence of sutras must be unraveling at the deepest level. In other words, they are failures of intelligence, like “black
holes” where  bliss gets distorted out of its normal pattern. What makes both diseases so intractable is that the
distortion runs so deep— it is locked inside the DNA’s own
structure. This causes the cell’s self-repair mechanism
either to break down or turn against itself. In the case of
cancer, DNA actually seems to want to commit suicide by
ignoring its knowledge of proper cell division. In both diseases the distortion apparently penetrates as
far as the very force ﬁelds that hold DNA together. (Cell
physics is a complex ﬁeld, but it is believed that a cell
senses and interacts with viruses in the ﬁrst place by
detecting their chemical and electromagnetic resonances;
such signals are interpreted by the DNA and presumably
can also fool it. ) From the perspective of the sutras, or Vedic sounds,
there must be a distor tion in the proper sequence of
intelligence as it unfolds into the relative world. “Hearing”
the virus in its vicinity, the DNA mistakes it for a friendly or
compatible sound, like the ancient Greek sailors who heard
the siren’s song and were lured to their destruction. This is
a believable explanation once one realizes that DNA, which
the virus is exploiting, is itself a bundle of vibrations. If this explanation is valid, then the remedy is to reshape
the improper sequence of sounds, using Ayurveda’s
primordial sound (known as Shruti  in the Sanskrit texts,
from the verb that means “to hear”). These sounds are
basically like pottery molds—by placing the mold back over
the distorted sequence, one guides the disrupted DNA back
into line. This treatment is subtle and gentle in its eﬀects,
but some preliminary results have been quite dramatic. Once the sequence of sound is restored, the tremendous
structural rigidity of the DNA should again protec t it from
future disruptions. In the near future Ayurveda will blossom, I believe, and
help us to create a new medicine, one of knowledge and
compassion. At its best, current medi cine already contains
these ingredients—the medical system is in trouble, but its
woes are transcended by caring individuals. They will be
the ﬁrst to see that Ayurveda is not in conﬂict with their
work as doctors; it can only help the process of recovery
and bring healing under our control. EXPANDING THE TOPIC
Looking back, I realize that the concept of a universe based
on vibrations, leading to the concept of the human body as
a bundle of vibrations, was a bridge too far for many. There
have been “vibrational healers” in every culture, if by
vibration we include light, sound, music, mantras, chants,
and shamanistic rituals. Probably the most comprehensive
“science of vibrations” is found in the area of Vedic
knowledge known as shabda,  the Sanskrit word for
“speech. ” The intriguing feature of shabda  is that it ﬁts the
demand of Western science for a reductionist model—every
phenomenon is reducible to a unique vibrational state—
while at the same time ﬁtting the “top-down” Eastern
approach, which sees all phenomena emerging from the
ﬁeld of consciousness. Yet anyone in a gotcha state of mind would ﬁnd it easy to
accuse vibrational healing of being a sham—the underlying
concept is too alien to materialistic thinking. Once again
quantum theory may bolster speculation, since there are
physicists now toying with the idea that if the universe
exists in Hilbert space (a strictly mathematical concept)and if Schrödinger’s equation holds true (the classic
equation that accounts for quantum probabilities
throughout the universe), there may be an elegan t way to
reduce creation to a single wave function. (The legendary
physicist Richard Feynm an long ago speculated that all
electrons may be reducible to one electron. ) Once again
this would be pure mathematics, yet by reducing the
physical universe to a single wave function that gets
entangled with itself to break down into the inﬁnite waves
that underlie inﬁnite particles, something unique happens. There is no longer a split between reductionism and a top-
down approach. One wave would give us a singular source
from which everything else can be derived. The
entanglement of the wave into countless subdivided waves
would satisfy the demand  for speciﬁc data that can be built
up into complex explanations for higher-order forms like
atoms, molecules, stars, galaxies, and so forth. Anyone who isn’t fully conversant in advanced
mathematics can only watch from the sidelines before such
a theory is accepted or rejected. Shabda  gives everyo ne a
chance to get back in the game, however, because of its
practical extension into healing and the power of
consciousness in general. A thought “in here” is
vibrationally connected to a result “out there,” and so two
worlds, mind  and matter, are bridged. A gotcha mentality is
rarely fair, but skepticism has no rebuttal to the unshakable
fact, stated by Sir John Eccles in an earlier chapter


relatedness of
all things in life. YOUR QUANTUM MIND
At th e le vel of quantum reality,  the universe is not made up of things. It is
comprised of oscillating fields of ener gy. The quantum domain is
spontaneous. It is inherently unpredictable, resisting all ef forts to define it
precisely. In the quantum domain, everything is interrelated. Any
perturbation in the field influences everything else in the field.The quantum realm has unlimited ener gy, unlimited unpredictability, and
unlimited interconnectedness. Another way of saying this is that the
quantum realm is enthusiastic, spontaneous, and fluid. These are the
qualities of the cosmic mind that every moment gives rise  to a fresh
universe. These are the qualities of a youthful mind that every moment
gives rise to a new body. Heightening Y our Level of Sensory A wareness
A youthful mind is alert to the rich inner and outer sensations  of life. An
aged mind is dull and oblivious to the sensory delights that are available
internally and externally. Y ou can create a youthful, exubera nt mind by
heightening you r state of sensory awareness. A waken to the rich  sensations
inside and outside of you. Enliven your imagination. A youthful mind is
tuned in to the multidimensional, multisensory universe we inhabit. NOURISHING YOUR BODY/MIND THROUGH THE FIVE
SENSES
Pay attention to your environment. Feed your senses delectable, interesting,
awe-inspiring impulses. A youthful mind is nourished through the
exploration of new domains. See your environment with fresh eyes. Don’ t
take your world for granted. Listen to beautiful, interesting, dif ferent music from around the world. Listen to the sounds of nature—birds singing, the wind blowing
through the leaves, rain beating on your roof, ocean waves crashing
against the shore. Feel the texture of things. Dig your hands into the earth. Stroke your
pet. Caress your loved ones. Feel a sculpture. Rub your hands along a
tree’ s bark.Look at your world with fresh eyes. Notice things you don’ t usually
pay attention to. Look at the many shades of green that nature paints. W atch the clouds manifest and dissolve. Go to your local art museum
and walk through the galleries. Really look at the faces of the people in
your life. T aste things as if for the first time. Bite into a tart apple. Savor the
flavor of freshly baked cherry pie. Pop a clove bud in your mouth. T aste your lover with a passionate kiss. Drink a freshly squeezed glass
of orange juice. Delight your taste buds. Notice the aromas in your environment. Breathe in the fragrances of
your garden. Snif f the smells of dinner. Inhale the scents of your loved
one. Go outside after a rain and smell the earth. Notice how closely
smells are linked with your memories and emotions. EXP AND YOUR IMAGINA TION
The ener gy and information of the world is translated into subtle sensory
impulses that are experienced on the screen of your consciousness. These
inner impulses are known in A yurveda as T anmatras. W e can think of them
as mental quanta, the subjective equivalent to the subtlest units of matter in
the physical world. A wakening the T anmatras through active imagination
creates a youthful mind. Read th e following visualizatio ns, then close your eyes and invoke a
vivid impression in your mind. Sound
Imagine the sound of:
A church bell tolling on Sunday morningA cricket, chirping outside your window at night
A marching band performing at a high school football game
A grandfather clock sounding six o’clock
A coyote howling at the moon
T ouch
Imagine the sensations of:
W alking on a sandy beach
T aking a hot shower
T ouching a rose petal
Stroking the soft cheek of an infant child
Caressing satin sheets
V ision
Imagine the sight of:
The sun setting over the Pacific Ocean
A flock of geese flying in formation overhead
Cumulus clouds on a warm summer day
A children’ s ballet performance
An Olympic diver jumping of f the platformT aste
Imagine the taste of:
A fresh, ripe peach
A spoonful of chocolate-chip ice cream
Gar gling with mint-flavored mouthwash
A pungent jalapeño pepper
A bitter leaf of endive lettuce
Smell
Imagine the smell of:
Bread baking in the oven
A new bar of sandalwood soap
A cinnamon stick
A freshly cut lemon
A fragrant rose
MUL TISENSOR Y IMAGINA TION
Y ou can develop your subtle sen ses by imagining multisensory experiences. Start with the fo llowing exercises and then create your own vi sualizations
to exercise your imagination.Imagine:
Y ou are walking along the beach on a tropical island. Y ou feel the warm
sun on your body. Y ou hear the ocean waves lapping at the sh ore and the
call of seagulls. Y ou smell the faint waft of your coconut suntan lotion. Imagine:
Y ou are in a late-fifties diner. The sounds of an Elvis Presley song fill the
room from the jukebox in the corner. The young men in the re staurant are
wearing white T -shirts with their sleeves rolled up. Y ou tak e your first
swallow of the chocolate milk shake served in a lar ge frosty fountain glass. Imagine:
Y ou are lying o n a lounge chair on a warm summer night. Fir eflies are
glowing on and of f as you gaze  into the dark sky. Crickets are chirping in
unison. The fragrance of night- blooming jasmine perfuses the air. As you
take a bite out of a fresh peach, a shooting star flashes through the sky. Nurture the enthusiasm that comes with heightened awareness of the
sounds, sensatio ns, sights, tastes, and smells in your outer and in ner worlds. Pay attention to the gifts your senses bring you. Learning and Gr owing
A yo uthful mind is a growing m ind. It is dedicated to continua l expansion
and lea rning. A youthful mind thrives on new experiences and new
knowledge. Experience combined with knowledge leads to wisdom. Make a commit ment to learn th roughout your life. Here are j ust a few
suggestions to keep your mind growing:Read—the classics, novels, Shakespeare, science fiction, fantasies. T ry
genres you do not usually choose. Read poetry—Rumi, T agore, Hafiz, Blake, Longfellow, Frost,
Ginsber g, and the modern poets
Read spiritual literature—the Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the
Upanishads, the Dhammapada
T ake classes at your local college
Learn a foreign language
T ake piano lessons
Learn to dance
T ake art classes
Learn to cook
T ake writing classes
Join a choir
T ake pottery classes
Learn a new computer program
T ake a poetry-writing class
Go to workshops—on love, on human potential, on success, on
spirituality, on health
T ake horseback-riding lessons
T ake a photography classV isit new places
T ravel to foreign lands
Go to museums and art galleries
W atch foreign films
Go to concerts
Relinquish rigid ideas about who you are, and challenge yourself with
new experiences and new perspectives. Expand your vocabulary. Keep
abreast of trends in art, science,  technology, medicine, politics,  music, and
fashion. Don’ t be afraid to question prevailing beliefs, including your own. Learn something new every day. As you continue stimulating your mind to
grow, your brain will continue c reating new connections among  its billions
of cells. Experience combined with knowledge leads to wisdom. Playfulness, Lightheartedness, and Laughter
A yo uthful mind is playful and lighthearted. It laughs easily, gen uinely, and
with abandon. Y ou can probab ly recall times from your child hood when
you giggled so hard you could barely stand or walk. Playfulness  and joy are
qualities of Spirit, which is i nherently lighthearted. Knowing itself as
eternal and unbounded, Spirit d oes not surrender its magic and  enthusiasm
for trivial concerns. Play and recreation go hand in hand. Play is literally an opportunity for
re -cr eation— an opportunity to re-create yourself. When you play with
abandon, you enter into the present moment. Y ou let go of t he past and
for get about the future. When you are playing, you lose track of time. The
timeless domain of play is the realm of Spirit. Spirit is innately playful.The ego, on the other hand, is serious. It is solely concerned wi th power,
control, and approval. The ego is easily of fended. Whatever arrogance or
self-importance people may project, if they are dominated by their ego,
their un derlying experience is one of fear—fear of losing control, fear of
losing p ower, fe ar of losing app roval. This fear leads to seriousn ess and the
tendency to be easily of fended. When yo u shift your internal reference from ego to spirit, you r elinquish
your need to co


,
giving, all-kno wing, and capable of uninterrupted joy and bliss. Youcan always get in touch with it when you are in truth, when you
give from your heart, and through meditation and prayer. The layer that surrounds the divine self is the hidden world of
egocentricity that we call the lower self. This is your undeveloped
part, which still contains negative emotions, thoughts, and impulses
such as fear, hate, or cruelty. The outermost layer, with which people cover up their lower
selves and often even their higher selves as a protective shield, is
the mask self, or idealized self-image. Needless to say, there are many degrees and stages within each of
these levels of consciousness. The way they overlap, cancel each
other out, and create confu sion, along with indirect eects and
chain reactions, needs to be explored and understood. This work of
exploration is what you are engaged in on this path. All these
aspects of the personality can be conscious or unconscious to
varying degree s. The less awareness you have of any of them, the
more conict will be in your life and the less you will be equipped
to deal with the challenges that come your way. If your awareness is
low, it will slow down the process of transformation by which you
will eventually  integrate your lower self and your mask self into
your divine center. It is about the mask self, or idealized self-image, that I want to
speak to you tonight. Pain is part of the human experience, beginning with birth. Though pleasurable experiences are bound to follow the painful
ones, the know ledge and fear of pain are always present. The most
signicant countermeasure to which people resort in the false belief
that it will circumvent unhappiness, pain, and even death, is the
creation of the idealized self-image as a universal pseudo-protection. It is supposed to be a means of avoiding unhappiness. Unhappiness,
insecurity, and lack of belief in oneself are interconnected. By
pretending what one is not, that is, by creating the idealized self,
one hopes to reestablish happiness, security, and self-condence. In truth and reality, healthy and genuine self-condence is peace
of mind. It is security and healthy independence and allows one to
achieve a maximum of happiness through developing one’s inherenttalents, leading  a constructive life, and entering into fruitful human
relationships. But since the self-condence established through the
idealized self is articial, the result cannot possibly be what was
expected. Actually, the consequence is quite the contrary and
frustrating because cause and eect are not obvious to you. You need to grasp the signi cance, the eects, the damages, and
the links between your unhappiness and your idealized self-image
and to fully recognize in what particular way does it manifest in
your individual case. To nd this requires a great deal of work. The
dissolution of the idealized self is the only possible way to nd your
true self, to nd serenity and self-respect, and to live your life fully. Fear of Pain and Punishment
As a child, regardless of what your particular circumstances were,
you were indoctrinated with admonitions on the importance of
being good, holy, perfect. When you were not, you were often
punished in one way or another. Perhaps the worst punishment was
that your parents withdrew  their aection from you; they were
angry, and you had the impression you were no longer loved. No
wonder “badness” associa ted itself with punishm ent and
unhappiness, “goodness” with reward and happiness. Hence to be
“good” and “perfect” became  an absolute must; it became  a question
of life or death for you. Still, you knew perfectly well that you were
not as good and as perfect as the world seemed to expect you to be. This fact had to be hidden; it became a guilty secret, and you started
to build  a false self. This, you thought, would be your protection
and your means of attaining what you desperately wanted—life,
happiness, security, self-condence. The awareness of this false front
began to vanish, but you were and are permanently permeated with
the guilt of pretending to be something you are not. You strain
harder and harder to becom e this false self, this idealized self. You
were, and unconsciously still are, convi nced that if you strain hard
enough, one day you will be that self. But through this articial
attempt to squeeze yourself into something that you are not, youcan never attain genuine self-improvement, self-puric ation, and
growth. You started building  an unreal self on a false foundation
and left your real self out. In fact, you are desperately hiding it. The Moral Mask of the Idealized Self
The idealized self-image may assume many forms. It does not
always dictate standards of generally recognized perfection. Oh yes,
the idealized self-image often does impose high moral standards,
making it all the more dicult to question its validity. “But isn’t it
right to want to be always  decent, loving, understanding, never
angry, and to have no faults, but try to attain perfection? Isn’t this
what we are supposed to do?” Such considerations will make it
dicult for you to discover the compulsive attitude that denies
present imperf ection, such as the pride and lack of humility that
prevents you from accepting  yourself as you are now. This includes
the pretense and the shame  that goes with it, fear of exposure,
secretiveness, tension, strain, guilt, and anxiety. It will take some
progress in this work before you begin to experience the dierence
in feeling between the genuine desire to gradually work toward
growth, and the ungenuine  pretense imposed upon you by the
dictates of your idealized self. You will discover the deeply hidden
fear that says your world will come to an end if you do not live up
to its standards. You will sense and know many other aspects and
dierences between the genuine and the ungenuine self. And you
will also discover what your particular  idealized self demands. There are also facets of the idealized self, depend ing on
personality, life conditions, and early inuences, which are not and
cannot be considered good, ethical, or moral. Aggressive, hostile,
proud, overam bitious trends are gloried, or idealized. It is true that
these negative tendencies exist behind all idealized self-images. But
they are hidde n, and since they crassly contradict the morally high
standards of the particular idealized self, they cause additional
anxiety, in that the idealized self will be exposed for the fraud it is. The person who glories such negative tendencies, believing themto prove strength and independence, superiority and aloofness,
would be deeply ashamed of the kind of goodness anoth er person’s
idealized self uses as a front, and would consider it as weakness,
vulnerability, and dependency in an unhealthy sense. Such a person
entirely overlooks the fact that nothing makes a person as
vulnerable as pride; nothing causes so much fear. In most cases there is a combination of these two tendencies:
overexacting moral standards impossible to live up to and pride in
being invulnerable, aloof, and superior. The coexistence of these
mutually exclusive ways presents a particular hardship for the
psyche. Needless to say, the conscious awareness of this
contradiction is missing until this particular work is well in
progress. There are many more facets, possibilities, and individual pseudo-
solutions combining all sorts of mutually exclusive behaviors. All
this has to be found individually. Let us now consider some of the general eects of the existence of
the idealized self and some of the implications. Since the standards
and dictates of the idealized self are impossible to realize, and yet
you never give up the attempt to uphold them, you cultivate within
yourself an inner tyranny of the worst order. You do not realize the
impossibility of being as perfect as your idealized self demands, and
never give up whipping yourself, castigating yourself, and feeling a
complete failur e whenever it is proven that you cannot live up to its
demands. A sense of abject worthlessness comes over you whenever
you fall short of these fantastic demands and engulfs you in misery. This misery may at times be conscious but most of the time it is not. Even if it is, you do not realize the entire signi cance, the
impossibility of what you expect from yourself. When you try to
hide your reactions to your own “failure,” you use specia l means to
avoid seeing it. One of the most common devices is to project the
blame for “failure” into the outer world, onto others, onto life. The more you try to identify with your idealized self-image, the harder
the disillusionment whenever life brings you into a position where this
masquerade can no longer be maintained. Many  a personal crisis is
based on this dilemma, rather than on outer diculties. Thesediculties then become an added menace beyond their objective


 with various or g ans
and syst ems wit hin the body, so  a hand massage is not only loc ally
stimulating. For example, pressing gently into the center of the palm
stimulates the kidney area, while a massage between the thumb and
index finger helps with digestion. Many spas and clinics in India  of fer hand massage, often as a
prelude or to accompany another treatment. Comprising part of a
karashubakari  (“manicure” in Sanskrit), it can be particularly
pleasant. Many of these manicures utilize homemade herbal pastes,
scrubs and tonics and combine them with mainstream hand and nail
care such as cutting and filing nails, cuticle care and the application
of nail polish. O f particular note is the pampering manicure at the
Indus V alley A yurvedic Center: in this sequence, milk (high in lactic
acid) is used to soften hands; a disinfecting neem paste makes for a
tingling purifier ; herbal medicated oil according to one’ s  dosha  is
the base  for a vigorous hand massage; gelatine and lemon remo ves
dead surface cells while lemon  juice and sugar exfoliates; an d a
herbal pack made from  Multani mitti, milk and rosewater tightens
the skin. At over 90 minutes, it is a ritual to relish. A rich jade color, this neem paste is part of the relaxing herbal manicure given in
the comfortable Shringar Herbal Beauty Salon at the Indus Valley Ayurvedic
Center. In Indian salons, a manicure often includes a hand massage that extends all the
way up the arms. At the spa at Neemrana Fort Palace, a therapist locates
pressure points on the wrist — for deep cleansing as well as relaxation. Certain Aura spas’ therapists are trained in the art of a very particular hand
massage technique. Designed to release emotions, it can be quite a powerful
experience. Using thumbs and knuckl es, the therapist pushes up from the tip of
each finge r to release energy — and the same techniques are also employed
elsewhere on the body for a similar ef fect. foot care
In I ndia, when entering a hom e it is traditional to step across
the threshold with the right foot first. Shoes are often taken
of f, as they are when entering a temple or mosque (here feet
are often washed too), and touching the feet of an elder is
considered a mark of respect. As in other parts of Asia, feet
are full of symbolism. According to A yurvedic lore, an imbalance of  vata  lies at the heart
of all foot problems. As is u sual, most physicians recomm end
prevention rather than cure, stressing that regular foot care, pro per
posture and sensible footwea r also go a long way towards
ameliorating existing problems. Alternating hot and cold footbaths
help with aching feet and poor circulation, while regular foot
hygiene and exercise allow you to put your best foot forward at all
times. In  the same way that a footbath was traditionally of fered to
visitors after a l ong journey, today it often sets the tone at a spa. Given b efore a treatment, it benefits more than just the feet a s it
revitalizes the nervous system, improves circulation and provides a
feeling of general wellbeing. The  Charaka Samita  notes that the application of oil is the
best remedy for tired or neglected feet. It is said to alleviate coarse
and rough skin and reduce stif fness, fatigue and numbness. Furthermore, after a  padhabyangha  massage (foot massage with
oil), loca lized veins and ligaments are strengthened and feet bec ome
firm and  strong. In addition, vis ion is supposed to be enhanced, as
nerves in the soles of the feet are associated with the eyes. Padhabyangham  tends to concentrate on the pressure points
located on the soles of the feet, as it is believed that these are
connected by ener gy channels to internal or gans. Sesame or cooling
coconut oil is favored, and if the oil is enlivened with essential oils
such as peppermint,  tulsi  or black pepper, feet are also given an
antiseptic and tension-relieving  boost. It is said that a str ong
rotating, kneadi ng foot massage before bed results in a tranquil
night’ s sleep. At m any spas b oth in India and elsewhere, foot reflexology or
foot massage is a staple on the menu. Often given whilst a client lies
cocooned in a b ody wrap or as  one part of a foot ritual, there is
something wickedly sensual about having your feet nurtured in s uch
a m anne r. Anoth er option is to walk along an uneven path in bare
feet (as recommended at Soukya and Kalari Kovilakom): a couple
of ci rcumambulations around su ch a path sends messages from the
trigger p oints on  the soles of the feet through the meridian chan nels
to th e in ternal o r gans. Y our body will benefit, even if your feet feel
a little painful. “As the snake does n’t approach the eagle, so disease doesn’t affect the person
who mass ages his feet before sleepin g” goes an old Indian saying. As such, foot
massage to the  marma  points on the feet is a family activity, often given by
children to elders. Invigorating and enlivening, it is good not only for the feet, but
for the entire body. In the same way  that soap was eschewed for an  ubtan  scrub to
cleanse and purify the body, A yurvedic physicians and beauty
therapists recom mend cleaning the feet with a scrub. Not only does
this exfo liate de ad skin cells, it helps prevent foot odor and fu ngal
and bact erial infections. For a v ery Indian sensation, try the Masala
spice scrub at T aj spas: a boost for the circulation, it promotes deep
cleansing. Another winner is the or ganic thyme and peppermint
scrub at Quan sp a in Mumbai: when followed by a  marma  massage
with  parijat  oil, it leaves the whole body profoundly relaxed. The floral footbath is a staple at Indian spas, as it is elsewhere around the globe. Jasmine, rose, frangipani and chrysanthemum blooms are all popular. The four steps at Neemrana Fort Palace’ s sublime  sirolepam  treatment includes a
head massage that extends to the face, neck and shoulder areas, a mud and
yogurt pack that penetrates deeply into the epidermal layer of the scalp, a
shampoo and a final conditioner. Traditionally, hair packs were covered with leaf
wraps. hair care
Indian women are renowned for their dark, thick and
lustrous locks. Ancient texts contain numerous reference s to
treatments, rinses, lotions, infusions and pastes for
beautifying, s trengthening and improving hair hea lth,
emphasizing how Indians have always prized hair as an
integral part of beauty. Indian women traditionally sport long tresses as this Keralan portrait on glass
illustrates. Often depicting everyday household activities, such paintings were
probably introduced  to India by the British in the 18th century. Subject matter
included religious themes, portraiture, folk art, and more. Their usage was purely
decorative. In I ndian paintings, women are depicted with long hair or
ornamented hairstyles, and the pantheon of Hindu goddesses always
wear ela borate h eadgear. Simila rly, Indian brides take great prid e in
their hairstyles, with dif ferent areas favoring dif ferent styles. The
Punjabi bride wears a red  parandi  (a type of silk tassel) in her hair,
while Be ngali and Maharashtran brides opt for buns decorated w ith
white flo wers. Further south in T amil Nadu, white, orange and pink
blossoms are woven around a central plait, while Keralan br ides
sport a veil of jasmine buds tied to form anet. In the  Kumarasambhavam, the famous Sanskrit epic poem by
the poet Kalidasa, the hair pre parations for the goddess Parvati’ s
wedding to Shiva are described  in detail: first her maids dried and
scented her hair with incense, then they plaited it into a grac eful
braid, an d finally decorated it with inlaid flowers and a garland of
madhuka  flowers woven with  durva  grass. Scenting the hair with smoke or incense  (dhoop)  while it dries
is a  tradition th at has been practiced by Indian womenfolk for
centuries. Burning charcoal, mixed with  sallaki  or frankincense (a
powder made from the gum of the  Boswellia serrata  tree), is
placed on an ear then or brass tr ay and wafted beneath long tres ses. The ancient equivalent of a ha ir dryer, it helps with drying a fterwashing, imparts fragrance to the hair and prevents fungal
in