 told them in the first place ; she had wanted to avoid this kind of a scene. Marie did not have enough personal integrity to withstand the domination of her immediate family. They put her in a hospital,
where Marie had a radical mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. Assured that  they had done everything that should have been
done, the self -righteous parents went back home. Marie never recovered from chemotherapy and radiation. She died in the hospital
surrounded by her lesbian friends who took dedicated, ever -so-sympathetic turns  maintaining an emotional round -the-clock vigil. Marie's death was partly my fault. She was an early case of mine. At the time I did not yet understand the total effect of la ck of
ethics and irresponsibility on illness. Had Marie really wanted to live in the first place, she would have sought treatment three
years earlier. In our counseling sessions she always evaded this question and I had not been wise enough to pin her down with  my
knee on her chest and make her answer up. Marie had too many secrets from everybody and was never fully honest in any of her
relationships, including with me. I think she only came to Great Oaks at her lover's insistence and to the day she died was t rying to
pretend that nothing was wrong. All Marie really wanted from her life was to be loved and have a lot of loving attention. In the end, her dramatic death scene
gave her that, which is probably why she manifested cancer and kept it and eventually, died from it. The name for this game is "secondary gain." A lot of sick people are playing it. Their illness lets them win their deepest desire;
they get love, attention, revenge, sympathy, complete service, pampering, create guilt in others. When sick people receive to o
much secondary gain they never get well. One of  the hardest things about being a healer is that one accumulates an ever -enlarging series of dirty, failed cases like this one. It is depressing and makes a person want to quit doctoring. Whenever I get involved with a case I really want them to get bet ter. My life is put entirely out of joint for several months dealing with a residential faster. My schedule is disrupted; my famil y life
suffers; my personal health suffers. No amount of mere money could pay for this. And then some of these people go and wast e all
my help to accomplish some discreditable secret agenda that they have never really admitted to themselves or others. Constant Complaints
    Alice was a middle -aged woman who couldn't understand why she had always felt tired, even when she was young. Her life had
been this way ever since she could remember. Most puzzling to her was why her life was so Job -like. She did everything the
proper way. Doing things correctly was important to her, and fitted her Puritan background. Alice supported all the ri ght causes,
did good works, was active in a Unitarian church and bought all her food at the healthfood store –and made sure it was organically
grown. But in spite of Alice's righteous living, her existence was a treadmill of constant, minor complaints. She was constantly
exhausted, so much so she had difficulty getting up in the morning and feared she might have chronic fatigue syndrome (whatev er
that is). Alice suffered bouts of depression over thoughts like these, and had many acute illnesses like cold s that hung on
interminably and would not go away. She had a constant post -nasal drip. Though she enjoyed life, her body was a millstone around
her neck. I've had a lot of clients exactly like Alice. Sometimes they complain of headaches; sometimes cons tant yeast or bladder
infections. Whatever the complaints, the symptoms are rarely severe enough to classify themselves as someone who is seriously
ill, but their symptoms rarely go away and they almost never feel good. Medical doctors rarely find anything  wrong with them,
though they will frequently prescribe an antibiotic to treat a somewhat constant infection, or an antihistamine for sinus sym ptoms. Getting a new prescription drug makes the complaint go away for a short time until their resistance is low ered again and the very
same complaint returns. These people frequently depend on over the counter pills and are routinely prescribed sleeping remedi es
and antidepressants. If instead of this route they will but take my medicine they are usually easy to fi x and afterwards are amazed
that it was all that simple and that so much of their life has been less than it could have been. Alice had been through the medical doctor route. She had become quite familiar with antibiotics for her colds and flu, and al so
took synthetic thyroid hormone –the doctor had diagnosed her fatigue as being caused by an underactive thyroid, which was partly
correct –but the thyroid medication didn't give her much more energy. Alice had been supporting this medical doctor in grand st yle
for over thirty years but never obtained the relief she sought. I put Alice through my usual two hour first -time-visit thorough analysis. For two weeks before coming to see me she had saved
tiny samples of everything she ate, wrapped them in plast ic film, carefully labeled, and put them in the freezer. Along with these
food samples and a typed list of all these foods, she brought a big box full of her condiments, herb teas, vitamins, spices,
prescription medications, over the counter drugs, oils, g rains, breads, crackers and small samples of her usual fresh vegetables and
fruits. Even her water. Her entire kitchen! By biokinesiology we proceeded to test all of her foods for allergic reactions. I  also
tested the integrity of her organs and glands and  in the process, got a detailed medical history and list of her complaints. Alice had exhausted adrenals, and they probably had been that way for thirty years. Her pancreas was now too weak to digest
the legumes that made up a large part of her vegetar ian diet. She was allergic to wheat, soy, and dairy products and had especially
been eating dairy in the mistaken notion that it was necessary to keep up her protein intake. Really very typical. So many he alth
food store shoppers these days mistakenly beli eve that, because they are vegetarian and do not eat meat, they especially need to
boost their protein intake with dairy and soy. Unfortunately, so many North Americans are highly allergic to dairy and
unfortunately, soy products are as hard or harder to d igest than cooked meats. Alice was especially shocked to discover that she was allergic to such foods as cabbage family vegetables, alfalfa sprouts an d
citrus. Most people don't think that anyone could be allergic to something as healthy as alfalfa sp routs. The doctor was right about
one thing; her thyroid was underperforming. He had not noticed that her heart was weak. Medical doctors rarely discover an organ weakness until that organ actually begins to catastrophically fail. A busy honest do ctor
will usually tell the complaining patient there is nothing wrong with them: go home, take two aspirin, accept the fact that y our
body is not perfect and don't worry about it. A hungry doctor will be delighted to perform countless lab tests, seeking any p ossible
reason for the complaint. This can go on as long as the patient has money or as long as the insurance company will pay. They
rarely find anything "wrong" and the patient is far better off if the doctor doesn't discover something "serious" to treat be cause
their treatment may carry with it consequences far more severe than the complaint. For example, I have seen dozens of people
whose lives were virtually ruined after surgical treatment for chronic back pain. Biokinesiology is actually a far more s ensitive system of analysis than lab tests. It picks up weaknesses at a very early stage so
total organ failure can be prevented. Rarely will any of the organ weaknesses I discover be confirmed by a medical doctor. Fi rst I
put Alice on a six week cleanse. She did one week on fresh, raw food; one week on dilute carrot juice with some green leafy
vegetables juice too; one week on water fasting; and then she repeated the series. After six weeks of detoxification, I gave Alice a
life extension megavitamin formu la, discovered she could not handle the acid form of vitamin C (that she had already been taking)
and had her start on protomorphogens to rebuild her weakened endocrine system, her exhausted adrenals and weak pancreas. She
also began taking pancreatic enzy mes when she ate vegetable protein. She was put on a maintenance diet that eliminated foods she
was allergic to; the diet primarily consisted of whole grains, nuts, cooked and raw vegetables, and raw fruits. On her mainte nance
diet Alice had a profound res urgence of energy and rediscovered a sense of well -being she had not known for decades. She began
to feel like she had when she was a child. Her constant sinus drip was gone. She was able to stop taking synthetic thyroid
hormones and instead, supported her  endocrine system with protomorphogens. A Rampaging Infection
    At the age of 40, John, an old bohemian client of mine, came into a moderate inheritance and went "native" in the Fiji Island s in
the South Pacific. He spent about four months hanging out w ith the locals. Life there was so much fun that John completely forgot
that his body was actually rather delicate, that many of his organs were weak, and that to feel good, he had to live a fairly  simon -
pure life. But the jovial, accepting, devil -may-care Fijians enjoyed


 seen cases of recovery from various diseases, including cancer, by means of fasting and a healthy diet.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Also by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
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Printed in the United States of AmericaFor Elizabeth Crow. 10,000 thank-yous for your magical,
loving presence. It is evident on every page of this book. For my brother David. We balanced each other
through all the lean years. I love you. CONTENTS
Intr oduction
CHAPTER 1:  An Infinity of For ests Lies Dormant W ithin the Dr eams of
One Acorn
CHAPTER 2:  Ther e’ s Mor e to Life Than Making It Go Faster
CHAPTER 3:  Y ou Can’ t Kiss Y our Own Ear
CHAPTER 4:  Y our Addictions T ell Y ou, “Y ou’ll Never Get Enough of What
Y ou Don’ t W ant”
CHAPTER 5:  Y ou’r e Not  What Y ou Eat; Y ou’r e What Y ou  Believe about
What Y ou Eat
CHAPTER 6:  Y ou Can’ t Discover Light by Analyzing the Darkness
CHAPTER 7:  Fighting Any Adverse Condition Only Incr eases Its Power
Over Y ou
CHAPTER 8:  Love Is What’ s Left Over When Falling in Love Fades A way
CHAPTER 9:  Earth’ s Crammed with Heaven
About the Author“Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have
was never large enough to cover....”
— RALPH WALDO EMERSON
INTRODUCTION
The concept of b alance defines our Universe. The cosmos, our p lanet, the
seasons, water, wind, fire, and earth are all in perfect balance. W e humans
are the only exception. This boo k is my attempt to help you restore this natural equilibr ium in all
aspects of your life. Getting in balance is not so much about ad opting new
strategies to change your behaviors, as it is about realigning yourself in all
of your thoughts so as to create a balance between what you des ire and how
you conduct your life on a daily basis. When my editor completed her final reading of this book, she scribbled
these wo rds to me on a cover sheet: “W ayne, Being in Balance  i s great! No
one can read th is and not come  away revitalized. I feel as if I’m back in
balance myself.” I trust that you will feel the same sense of joyful
awakening to the perfect balan ce of our Universe as you read and adopt
these nine principles. It is precisely what I had in mind as I allowed these
ideas to flow through me and materialize within these pages. I love this book. I love the way it feels in my hands, and I love the
message it


ess. It is easy to cultivate an
appetite for natural foods and to cultivate health habits which not only
build sound bodies but nourish right thinking and the moral nature. CHAPTER 38. BORN AGAIN I EXPERIENCE A NEW LIFE
 Only recently a group of my fellow townsmen, on a Hereford
street corner, were talking about my  seemingly inexhaustible fund of
health and vitality. One old friend of mine recalled that he had seen
me when I was so weak that had I ventured just one more step it would have been my last. That incident in May, 1925, marked a
turning point in my life. It was on that May morning I began to
experience a rebirth. Then, in my 57th year, having seen a great light that revealed to
me the double sources of my almost fatal sickness, bad eating and bad
thinking, I began the upward climb which, except for a few stumbles, I
have maintained since. Day by day I can think of myself as getting
better and better. I am continually getting new ideas as to ways of
living—ideas that seem to pop up in my head out of nowhere—and
nothing will satisfy me but to put those ideas down on paper and, so
far as practicable, try them out in my daily life. It appears to me, therefore, that I have robust health in my 80s,
when I'm due to be old and feeble because I have continually revised
my way of living. My secret, I'd say,  is to eat natural, unrefined, life-
giving foods and, the while, to think life-giving thoughts. I know well
enough that my bodily machine, given the right materials to work
within, can keep itself in repair. One day I ran across a carpenter at work and gave him a puzzle
to solve:
"What is the difference between a man and a building?" When he gave up, without even venturing a guess at the answer, I
explained that a building cannot repair itself. It has no life and no power to think. Man, a living organism, as a general rule, can effect
his own repairs. If he believes in himself and obeys Nature's laws, he
will have but infrequent occasion to  call in the repair man (doctor). Nature will do the job for him. The trouble is too many people are set in their ways. By force of
habit, they go through the same old round day after day. They get up
at the same hour, ask for and get the same old breakfast, do the same
routine work. Whatever they eat is cooked up in the same way, as on
the day before. When lunch time and supper time come the process is repeated. Consequently, there is too much sameness in the diet. When it is subjected to, I should say punished by, that sort of
routine, the body does not get all the elements which it needs for
essential repairs and does not get the elements in the right proportion. Maybe the body comes up short of protein, calcium or phosphorus;
but it is more apt to be found short on iron, magnesium, boron, iodine
or some other 'trace element.' It is probably short also on the vitamins
that keep life processes running smoothly because most persons
subsist largely on white bread, potatoes, cakes, pies and meat. The
typical diet is too heavy in sugar, starch, fats and oils. It is no wonder, under those circumstances that the bodily
machinery gets out of kilter and th e person is plagued with aches and
pains. More often than otherwise when he goes to the doctor that
person gets medicine to soothe his pain but nothing more. He is not told that he must revise the family eating and other living habits which
made him sick in the first place. For that reason, I say that, to do the
job which they are supposed to do, both medicine and dentistry must
get a new viewpoint. They must center their attention on finding and
removing the causes of sickness or tooth decay, and not on relieving
symptoms or repairing damage. If people must be slaves to habit—whether in eating, working for
a living or amusing themselves, it seems to me, they at least might
take pains to see that those habits  are constructive, not destructive. They should learn enough about diet; that is, about what elements the
body and what foodstuffs will supply those elements, to pick out a
well-balanced, health-giving menu a nd then make that habitual. Next,
they should vary the day's work with healthful recreation. To sum up, people ought to cultivate health-building, not tearing-down habits. Why should a man be a slave to routine at all. Why should he not
begin each new day highly resolved to be master of his little world,
not a slave wearing a ball and chain. I think I know the reason why: Routine requires no effort of the mind. One can just drift through the day, do what is required half au tomatically and get by with it. By
contrast, thinking is hard work. So me philosopher truthfully has said
that "Nothing is so disturbing as a new thought." Yet, to me, nothing
is more thrilling and rejuvenating than a new idea. Since I had my
rebirth visions of new ways of lif e are coming to me continually. A
flood of thoughts will pour upon me as I lie awake by night until I feel
compelled to get up, turn on my lig hts and write down what has come
to me. Even so during my years of health and constantly renewed life,
I have contrived to keep certain key thoughts always before me. In
particular, these verses from the Gospel have been my mainstay and
guide:
What things so ever ye desire, in my name, believed that ye
receive them and ye shall have them. What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them. If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what
ye will, and it shall be done unto you. In my life, I have found those sayings as true as the north star, so
far as I have proved myself true to  them. That is why I can say to the
person who is sick, ailing or discouraged. You have the power within
yourself to gain back your health, strength and hope. The power is
yours to command. You have only to use it. Then, I say, "Choose you whom you will serve." Take the high
road of life. Resolve from this day forward to live above sickness and
sin. For whatever your trouble may be, it is, when you come down to
it, of your own making. So must you cast off your disease-building habits, particularly
habits of thought which are more potent than you perhaps realize. Seek the reason why you are sick, weak and sore-trouble. When you
have found the cause of your ills, the remedy will suggest itself. After
dragging your trouble out into the open and taken a look at it
objectively you have won more than  half the battle. The reason why so
many people are continually sick, or enjoying poor health (as they
actually seem to do), is they do not have the least idea why they are
sick. The habitual drinker does not know why he craves alcohol, nor
does the rheumatic know why he su ffers those twinges and pains. If
they were born again in the sens e that Jesus taught, both could see
what was wrong—and once having seen would be started on the road
to mastery over their infirmities. That is to say, those ailing persons
would get a right attitude toward life. When you are born again you
become as teachable as a child. When Jesus expounded that truth to
his listeners they were puzzled. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God." "How can a man be born when he is old?" asked Nicodemus,
ruler of the Jews. Then Jesus answered him:
"Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God." "How can these things be?" answered the still skeptical
Nicodemus, but he showed later that he could grasp the idea. He
became Jesus' advocate before the chief priests. In my 80s, I am vigorous and alert by virtue of having been born
again. I can seek the truth with an open mind. I can learn sane living
habits by practicing them. Any person who tries can do the same, but
first he must get out of his rut. He must be born again. To be born again is to see ones troubles and discard them by
living a life in harmony with natural law. Since man appeared upon
the earth, barring natural resources whatever has appeared man, we the people, created it. A ll our wars, debts, worn out soil, diseases and
what have you we create them. To be born again simply means to reverse every line of thinking
and habit—discard every disease creating food—disease can appear
only through the food that is consumed. When the food is correct,
health will be correct. Disease never needs treatment —remove the
cause the disease disappears. We must be born again before we can
reverse our vicious living habits. The Kingdom of God is any place where natural law is obeyed. To be born again is to see the truth and obey it—live it, then disease
cannot appear. CHAPTER 39


 repetitive breath-hold
dives to approximately 6 meters in ten Korean ama  (diving women)
and in three Ja panese males who were not experienced in breath
holding. Following the breath holds, splenic size and hematocrit were
unchanged in the Japanese male divers. In the ama,  splenic volume
decreased 19.5 percent, hemoglobin increased by 9.5 percent, and
hematocrit increased 9.5 percent. The study showed that long-term
repeated apneas induce a stronger spleen contraction and resultant
hematological r esponse. Hurfo rd WE, Hong SK, Park YS,  et al. Splenic contraction during breath-hold diving in the Korean ama. J
Appl Physiol. 1990 Sep;69(3):932–6. 138  F or example, a study: Andersson and colleagues from Lund University
in Sweden conducted a study involving fourteen healthy volunteers
who performed a series of 5 maximal duration breath holds whi le their
faces were immersed in water. The authors observed that breath-hold
time increased by 43 percent across the series of breath holds. Andersson JP, Schagatay E. Repeated apneas do not af fe ct the
hypercapnic ven tilatory response  in the short term. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2009 Mar;105(4):569–74. 138  Another study found: French researchers Joulia et al. observed that
trained d ivers who had 7–10 yea rs of experience in breath-hold diving
were abl e to hold their breath fo r up to 440 seconds at rest, compared
with inexperienc ed individuals who held their breath for 145 seconds
at m ost. Joulia F, Steinber g J G, W olf f F, Gavarry O, Jammes Y. Reduced oxidative stress and blood lactic acidosis in trained breath-
hold human divers. Respir Physiol Neur obiol. 2002 Oct;133(1–2):121–
30. 138  Similarly, the duration: Jouli a F, Steinber g JG, Faucher M, et al. Breath-hold training of humans reduces oxidative stress and blood
acidosis after static and dynamic apnea. Respir Physiol Neur obiol. 2003 Aug 14;137(1):19–27. 8. Finding the Zone
141  “Y o ur w hole be ing is involved”: Geirland J. Go with the flow. W ir ed. September 1996.143  Recounting the race: Bentley R, Langford R. Inner Speed Secr ets:
Mental Strategi es to Maximize Y our Racing Performance. Osceola,
WI: MBI Pub. Co.; 2000. 143  W e no longer g ive: Kevin Kelly. Personal e-mail to Patrick Mc Keown,
August 15, 2013. 144  Selk er s uggests: T urning into digital goldfish. BBC. February 22, 2002.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1834682.stm (accessed September 2, 2014). 144  Reading a piece: Bilton N. Steve Jobs was a low-tech parent. New Y ork
T imes. September 10, 2014.
www.nytimes.com/2014/09/1 1/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-
tech-parent.html?_r=0 (accessed January 24, 2015). 144  “They haven’ t used it”: Ibid. 145  “Th e focus on oneself”: Giggsy  doing it for himself. Y ahoo E urosport
UK. November 28, 2013. A vailable at
sg.newshub.or g/giggsy_doing_it_for_himself_ 53525.html (accessed
September 2, 2014). 145  Earl W oods believed: Carter B. T iger emer ges from W oods as golfing
icon. ESPN Classic. espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/woods_tiger.html (accessed
September 2, 2014). 145  In the film: The Legend of Bagger V ance  movie review. Movieguide. www.movieguide.or g/reviews/the-legend-of-bagger -vance.html
(accessed September 2, 2014). 146  I n an interview: Isaacson W. Steve Jobs. CD. Simon & Schuster Audio;
2011. 146  Eig ht Marine infantry: John son DC, Thom N, Stanley E, et al. Modifying resilience mechanisms in at-risk individuals: A controlled
study of mindfulness training in marines preparing for deployment. Am
J Psychiatry. 2014 Aug;171(8):844–53. 146  I n othe r studies with: Hruby P. Marines expanding use of me ditation
training. W ashington T imes. December 5, 2012.
www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/5/marines-expanding-use-
of-meditation-training (accessed December 3, 2014). 147  Until recently: Congleton C, Hölzel BK, Lazar SW. Mindfulness can
literally change your brain. Harvar d Business Review. J anu ary 8, 2015.hbr.or g/2015/01/mindfulness-can-literally-change-your -brain (accessed
January 24, 2015). 147  A team of scientists: Ibid. 162  However, in a: ROG—The Ronan O’Gara Documentry [ sic ]. R TE
T elevision. www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/rog.html (accessed Sep tember
2, 2014). 167  A study investigating: The results showed that hyperventilation
significantly af f ects mental performance. Bruno Balke and coll eagues
from the  U.S. Air Force School o f A viati on at Randolph Field, T exas,
researched the ef fect of hyperventilation among jet pilots and w hether
it w as a possible cause of unexplainable aircraft accident s. The
objective of the study was to investigate the af fect of hyperven tilation
on m uscular activity that require d mental processing. Six healthy male
individuals were tested on a U.S. Air Force coordination apparatus
before, d uring, and after hyperventilation of 30 minutes duration. Lung
carbon dioxide decreased to 1 2–15 mmHg during, hyperventilation
(normal PaCO 2  is 40 mmHg). The researchers found that mental
performance deteriorated by 15 percent when the concentration of
arterial c arbon d ioxide reduced to 20 to 25 mmHg, and by 30 percent
when carbon dioxide concentra tion in arterial blood lowered to 14
mmHg. Balke B, Lillehei JP. Ef fect of hyperventilation on
performance. J Appl Physiol. 1956 Nov 1;9(3):371–4. 167  Ano ther study f ound: Research ers from the department of psy chology,
University of Leuven, Belgium, investigated the ef fect of reduced
carbon dioxide on performance that required attention. The paper
reported that hyperventilation that reduces arterial concentration of
carbon d ioxide is associated with physiological changes in the brain
and with subjective symptom s of dizziness and concentration
problems. The researchers fou nd that more errors were made and
progressively sl ower reaction times were observed during re covery
from low er pres sure of carbon d ioxide. V an Diest I, Stegen K, V an de
W oestijne KP, Schippers N, V an den Ber gh O. Hyperventilation and
attention: Ef fect s of hypocapnia on performance in a stroop tas k. Biol
Psychol. 2000 Jul;53(2–3):233–52.167  A study from the department: Ley and colleagues from the department
of p sychology and statistics at t he University at Albany in New Y ork
found that students with high anxiety had lower levels of en d-tidal
carbon dioxide and faster respiration frequency than low-anxiety
students. The study found that t he “high-test-anxiety group reported a
greater f requency of symptoms of hyperventilation and a lar ger drop in
level of end-tidal CO 2  dur ing testing than low-test-a nxiety group.”
Ley R, Y elich G. Fractional end-tidal CO 2  as an index of t he ef fects of
stress on math performance and verbal memory of test-anxious
adolescents. Biol Psychol. 2006;Mar;71(3):350–1. 168  Sleep apnea: Kim et al. 2010, 533–9. Kreivi et al. 2010, 488–9 4. Ohki
et al. 1 996, 228–30. Lee et al. 200 7 Ju n, 1102 –6. Scharf, Cohen 1998
Oct, 279–87; quiz 287–90. W asilewska, K


 what stuff in my mind and my body was reallymine and what was another’s. I needed to apply certain mental techniques of self-protection known to and practiced by many healers. I knew beyond doubt that Ihad developed sympathetic breast cancer because a similar phenomena hadhappened to me before. Once, when I had previously been working on a personwith very severe back pain with hands-on techniques, I suddenly had the pain,and the client was totally free of it. So I protected myself when working with sickpeople. I would wash my hands and arms thoroughly with cold water, or withwater and vinegar after contact. I would shake off their “energy,” have a coldshower, walk bare foot on the grass, and visualize myself well with intactboundaries. These prophylaxes had been working for me, but I was particularlyvulnerable to people with breast cancer. I also began detoxification dieting, took more supplements, and used
acupressure and reflexology as my main lines of attack. My healing diet consistedof raw food exclusively. I allowed myself fruits (not sweet fruits) and vegetables(including a lot of raw cabbage because vegetables in the cabbage family such ascauliflower and broccoli are known to have a healing effect on cancer), rawalmonds, raw apricot kernels, and some sprouted grains and legumes. I drankdiluted carrot juice, and a chlorophyll drink made up of wheat grass and barley
green and aloe vera juice. I took echinaechia, red clover, and fenugreek seeds. I
worked all the acupuncture points on my body that strengthen the immune system,including the thymus gland, lymph nodes, and spleen. I also worked the meridians,and reflex points for the liver, and large intestine. I massaged the breast along thenatural lines of lymphatic drainage from the area. Last, and of great importance, I KNEW that the treatment would work, and
that the tumor would quickly disappear. It did vanish totally in three months. Itwould have gone away quicker if I had water fasted, but I was unable to do thisbecause I needed physical strength to care for my resident patients and family. Eighteen years have passed since that episode, and I have had no further
reappearance of breast tumors. At age 55 I still have all my body parts, and havehad no surgery except the original lumpectomy. Many, viewing my muscles andathletic performance, would say my health is exceptional but I know my ownfrailties and make sure I do not aggravate them. I still have exactly the same organdeficiencies as other cancer patients and must keep a very short leash on mylifestyle. If for some reason I wanted to make my life very short, all I would have to do
would be to abandon my diet, stop taking supplements, eat red meat and icecream every day and be unhappy about something. Incidentally, I have had manyresidential clients with breast cancer since then, and have not taken on theirsymptoms, so I can assume that I have safely passed that hurdle. I’ve helped dozens of cases of simple breast cancer where my treatment
began before the cancer broadly spread. Kelly’s case was not the easiest of thisgroup, nor the hardest. Sometimes there was lymphatic involvement that themedical doctors had not yet treated in any way. All but one of my early-onsetbreast cancer cases recovered. I believe those are far better results than achievedby AMA treatment. Before I crow too much, let me stress that every one of these women was a
good candidate for recovery—under 40 years old, ambulatory and did not feel
very sick. And most importantly, every one of them had received no other
debilitating medical treatment except a needle biopsy or simple lumpectomy. None of these women had old tumors (known about for more than six months)and none of the tumors were enormous (nothing larger than a walnut). Clearly, this group is not representative of the average breast cancer case. Hygienic therapy for cancer is a radical idea these days and tends to attractyounger people, or older, desperate people who have already been through theworks. In every one of my simple cases the tumors were reabsorbed by the bodyduring the thirty days of water fasting and the client left happy. Except one. I think I should describe this unsuccessful case, this “dirty case,”
so my readers get a more balanced idea of how fearsome cancer really isn’t if thesick person can clearly resolve to get better and has no problem about achievingwellness. Marie was an artisan and musician from Seattle who grew up back East in an
upper-middle class dysfunctional family. She was in her late twenties. She hadbeen sexually abused by an older brother, was highly reactive, and had neverbeen able to communicate honestly with anyone except her lesbian lover(honestly., maybe, about some things). Three years prior to coming to see me Marie had been medically diagnosed as
having breast cancer and had been advised to have immediate surgery. Sheignored this advice; Marie never told her friends, said nothing to her family andtried to conceal it from her lover because she did not want to disrupt their life. On her own she did begin eating a Macrobiotic diet. In spite of this diet, the
tumor grew, but grew very slowly. After two years the tumor was discovered byher lover, who after a year of exhausting and upsetting arguments, forced Marie toseek treatment. Since Marie adamantly refused to go the conventional medicalroute, she ended up on my doorstep as a compromise. By this time the tumor was the size of a fist and had broken through the skin of
the left breast. It was very ugly, very hard. Biokinesiology showed the usual
deadly triangle and other associated organ weakneses typical of cancer. Marie
began fasting on water with colonics and poultices and bodywork and counselingand supplements. At the end of the water fast, Marie looked much healthier, withclear eyes and clear skin and had a sort of shine about her, but the tumor had onlyreceded enough for the skin to close over it; it was still large, and very hard. Tofully heal, Marie probably needed at least two more water fasts of equal lengthinterspersed with a few months on a raw food diet. But she lacked the personaltoughness to confront another fast in the near future. Nor was she emotionally upto what she regarded as the deprivation of a long-term raw foods healing diet. So I advised her to seek other treatment. Still unwilling to accept standard
medical management of her case, Marie chose to go to the Philippines to have“psychic surgery. ” She was excited and optimistic about this; I was interestedmyself because I was dubious about this magical procedure; if Marie went Iwould have a chance to see the results (if any) on a person I was very familiarwith. Marie had her tickets and was due to leave in days when her lover, againstMarie’s directly-stated wishes, called her parents and informed them of what washappening. The parents had known nothing of Marie’s cancer and were shocked, upset,
outraged. They had not known Marie was a lesbian, much less that their daughterwas flirting with (from their view) obvious quackery. Their daughter neededimmediate saving and her parents and brother (the one who had abused her) flewto Oregon and surprisingly appeared the next day in a state of violent rage. Theythreatened lawsuits, police, incarceration, they threatened to have their daughtercivilly committed as unable to take care of herself. They thought everything Mariehad done for the last three years was my fault. I was lucky to stay out of jail. Ofcourse, all of this was why Marie had not told them in the first place; she hadwanted to avoid this kind of a scene. Marie did not have enough personal integrity to withstand the domination of
her immediate family. They put her in a hospital, where Marie had a radical
mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. Assured that they had done everything
that should have been done, the self-righteous parents went back home. Marienever recovered from chemotherapy and radiation. She died in the hospitalsurrounded by her lesbian friends who took dedicated, ever-so-sympathetic turnsmaintaining an emotional round-the-clock vigil. Marie’s death was partly my fault. She was an early case of mine. At the time I
did not yet understand the total effect of lack of ethics and irresponsibility onillness. Had Marie really wanted to live in the first place, she would have soughttreatment three years earlier. In our counseling sessions she always evaded thisquestion and I had not been wise enough to pin her down with my knee on herchest and make her answer up. Marie had too many secrets from everybody andwas never fully honest in any of her relationships, including with me. I think sheonly came to Great Oaks at her lover’s insistence and to the day she died wastrying to pretend that nothing was wrong. All Marie really wanted from her life was to be loved and have a lot of loving
attention. In the end, her dramatic death scene gave her that, which is probablywhy she manifested cancer and kept it and eventually, died from it. The name for this game is “secondary gain. ” A lot of sick people are playing it. Their illness lets them win their deepest desire; they get love, attention, revenge,sympathy, complete service, pampering, create guilt in others. When sick peoplereceive too much secondary gain they never get well. One of the hardest things about being a healer is that one accumulates an ever-
enlarging series of dirty, failed cases like this one. It is depressing and makes aperson want to quit doctoring. Whenever I get involved with a case I really


 with the key that leads to the peaceful life you desire. Stress Is a Desire of the Ego
That pesky ego is at work when you’re experiencing stress or anxiety. Perhaps your ego-self feels more effective dealing and coping with stress
because you feel you’re actually doing something in the world. Perhaps it’s
habit, custom, or believing that this is the right way to be. Only you can
analyze the why. But the fact is that stress is familiar, and tranquility is
unfamiliar, so ego desires stress. But there’s no actual stress or anxiety in the world; it’s your thoughts that
create these false beliefs. You can’t package stress, touch it, or see it. There
are only people engaged in stressful thinking. When we think stressfully, we
create reactions in the body, valuable messages or signals requesting ourattention. These messages might reveal themselves as nausea, elevated
blood pressure, stomach tension, indigestion, ulcers, headaches, increased
heart rate, difficulty breathing, and a zillion other feelings—from minor
discomfort to serious, life-threatening illness. We speak of stress as if it were present in the world as something that
attacks us. We say things like I’m having an anxiety attack as if anxiety is a
combatant. But the stress in your body is rarely the result of external forces
or entities attacking you; it’s the result of the weakened connecting link to
intention caused by your belief that ego is who you are. You are peace and
joy, but you’ve allowed your ego to dominate your life. Here’s a short list of
stress-inducing thoughts that originate in your ego self:
• It’s more important to be right than to be happy. • Winning is the only thing. When you lose, you
should be stressed. • Your reputation is more important than your
relationship with your Source. • Success is measured in dollars and accumulations
rather than in feeling happy and content. • Being superior to others is more important than
being kind to others. The following lighthearted way to stop taking yourself so seriously is
from a book by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander (he’s the conductor of the
Boston Philharmonic) titled The Art of Possibility. It illustrates in a
delightful way how we allow ego to create many of the problems we
encounter that we label stress and anxiety. Two prime ministers are sitting in a room discussing affairs
of state. Suddenly a man bursts in, apoplectic with fury,
shouting and stamping and banging his fist on the desk. The
resident prime minister admonishes him: “Peter,” he says,
“kindly remember Rule Number 6,” whereupon Peter is
instantly restored to complete calm, apologizes, and withdraws. The politicians return to their conversation, only to beinterrupted yet again twenty minutes later by an hysterical
woman gesticulating wildly, her hair flying. Again the intruder
is greeted with the words: “Marie, please remember Rule
Number 6. ” Complete calm descends once more, and she too
withdraws with a bow and an apology. When the scene is
repeated for a third time, the visiting prime minister addresses
his colleague: “My dear friend, I’ve seen many things in my
life, but never anything as remarkable as this. Would you be
willing to share with me the secret of Rule Number 6. ” “Very
simple,” replies the resident prime minister. “Rule Number 6 is
‘Don’t take yourself so goddamn seriously. ’ ” “Ah,” says his
visitor, “that is a fine rule. ” After a moment of pondering, he
inquires, “And what, may I ask, are the other rules. ”
“There aren’t any. ”
As you encounter stress, pressure, or anxiety in your life, remember
“Rule Number 6” at the moment you realize you’re thinking stressful
thoughts. By noticing and discontinuing the inner dialogue that’s causing
stress, you may be able to prevent its physical symptoms. What are the
inner thoughts that produce stress. I’m more important than those around
me. My expectations aren’t being met. I shouldn’t have to wait, I’m too
important. I’m the customer here, and I demand attention. No one else has
these pressures. All of the above, along with a potentially endless inventory
of “Rule Number 6” thoughts are from the ego’s bag of tricks. You aren’t your work, your accomplishments, your possessions, your
home, your family. your anything. You’re an aspect of the power of
intention, dressed in a physical human body intended to experience and
enjoy life on Earth. This is the intention that you want to bring to the
presence of stress. Bringing intention to the presence of stress. In any given day, you have
hundreds of opportunities to implement “Rule Number 6” by bringing the
power of intention into the moment and eliminating the potential for stress. Here are a few examples of how I’ve employed this strategy. In each ofthese examples, I activated an inner thought that was in vibrational harmony
with the universal field of intention, and I fulfilled my personal intention to
be tranquil. These examples occurred in a three-hour period of a normal
day. I offer them to you to remind you that stress and anxiety are choices
that we make to process events, rather than entities that are out there
waiting to invade our lives. — I’m dropping off a prescription at the drugstore and the person ahead
of me is talking to the pharmacist, asking a series of seemingly inane
questions—all of which, my stress-producing ego tells me, are intended to
deliberately delay and annoy me. My inner dialogue might go like this: I’m
being victimized. There’s always someone just ahead of me in line who
fumbles with money, can’t find what’s needed to prove participation in some
kind of an insurance plan, and has to ask silly questions designed to keep
me from dropping off a prescription. I use those thoughts as a signal to change my inner dialogue to: Wayne,
stop taking yourself so goddamn seriously. I immediately make the shift
from pissed to blissed. I take the focus off of myself, and at the same time, I
remove resistance to my intention to live a stress-free and tranquil life. I
now see this person as an angel who’s ahead of me in line to assist me in
reconnecting to intention. I stop judging, and actually see beauty in the
slow, deliberate gestures. I’m kind in my mind toward this angel. I’ve
moved from hostility to love in my thoughts, and my emotions have shifted
from discomfort to ease. Stress is absolutely impossible in the moment. — My 17-year-old daughter tells me about her disagreement with a
school official who’s taken action against some of her friends, an act she
considers totally unfair. It’s Saturday morning and nothing can be done until
Monday. The choice. Spend two days in misery replaying the details of her
story, and have a weekend of inner stress, or remind her how to activate
thoughts that will make her feel good. I ask her to describe her feelings. She
responds that she’s “angry, upset, and hurt. ” I ask her to think about “Rule
Number 6” and see if there’s any other thought she could activate. She laughs at me, telling me how crazy I am. “But,” she admits, “it really
doesn’t make any sense to be upset for the entire weekend, and I’m going to
stop thinking thoughts that make me feel bad. ”
“On Monday we’ll do what we can to rectify the situation,” I tell her. “But for now—and now is all you have—put ‘Rule Number 6’ into play
and rejoin the field of intention where stress, anxiety, and pressure don’t
exist. ”

To fulfill the intention of this chapter, to live a stress-free and tranquil
life, you must become conscious of the need to activate thought responses
that match your intention. These new responses will become habitual, and
replace your old habit of responding in stress-producing ways. When you
examine segments of stress-producing incidents, you always have a choice:
Do I stay with thoughts that produce stress within me, or do I work to
activate thoughts that make stress impossible. Here’s another easy tool that
will help you replace the habit of choosing anxiety and stress. Five magic words: I want to feel good. In an earlier chapter, I described
how your emotions are a guidance system informing you of whether or not
you’re creating resistance to your intentions. Feeling bad lets you know that
you’re not connected to the power of intention. Your intention here is to be
tranquil and stress free. When you feel good, you’re connected to your
intentions, regardless of what goes on around you or what others expect you
to feel. If there’s a war going on, you still have the option to feel good. If
the economy goes further into the toilet, you have the option to feel good. In
the event of any catastrophe, you can still feel good. Feeling good isn’t an
indication that you’re callous, indifferent, or cruel—it’s a choice you make. Say it out loud: I want to feel good. Then convert it to: I intend to feel good. Feel the stress, and then send it the love and respect of the seven faces of
intention. The seven faces smile and say hello to what you label as feeling
bad. It’s that feeling that wants to feel good. You must be to your feelings as
your Source


 containing mouthwashes to
an increased risk of oral cancer. In addition to this, there are cases of
accidental poisoning in children. That right there is enough to make me
want to make my own!Mouthwash
-Mouthwash is great, but it is
no substitute for brushing or
flossing, even though mouthwash
commercials make it seems like
20 seconds of swishing is the
same as going to the dentist for a
teeth cleaning. -Do not use tap water, as it
contains various chemicals
that can affect teeth and gums
negatively. Use filtered or distilled
water instead. -Some of the recipes below
include essential oils-be sure
to avoid adding too much or
swallowing these, as it could
cause some digestive upset
(I have never had a problem
personally, but some people
might.) -If you would rather avoid
essential oils, you can boil herbs
to draw out their beneficial
properties. These mixtures should
be kept in the refrigerator for a
maximum of 2 weeks. 259Copyright 2014 everydayroots.comTips & TroubleshootingThis refreshing mouthwash contains peppermint and rosemary, the former to give that cooling tingly minty fresh
sensation so many people love, the latter because it contains constituents that may help fight odor causing
“germs” in the mouth. The anise seeds can also eliminate bacteria that contribute to odor.Rosemary Mint Mouthwash
-2 ½ cups of water
-1 ½ tablespoons of fresh
rosemary leaves OR 3 drops of
rosemary essential oil
-1 ½ tablespoons of fresh
chopped mint leaves OR 4-5
drops of peppermint essential
oil
-1 teaspoon of anise seeds
-A container with a tightly
fitting lid1. If you are steeping the herbs, place the rosemary, peppermint, and
anise seeds in 2 ½ cups of water in a pot over medium-low heat. Infuse for 20 minutes, strain, and bottle once cooled. To use, swish a
tablespoon around in your mouth for 1 minute. Keep in the refrigerator
for up to 2 weeks. 2. If you are using essential oils, omit the anise seed and simply add 4-5
drops of peppermint and 3 drops of rosemary essential oil to 2 ½ cups
of water. Swish 1 tablespoon around in your mouth for 1 minute. Be sure
to give the bottle a good shake before using-this will last up to a month. 260Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com MouthwashY ou will need… DirectionsPerhaps my favorite mouthwash, this recipe contains cinnamon powder, honey, baking soda, and lemon juice. Unlike mint, which tends to simply mask the smell of bad breath, cinnamon truly kills off odor causing bacteria,
reducing it by up to 50%. Honey sweetens the flavor a little bit, without adding a bunch of artificial sugar to the
blend. It also has antibacterial properties. The best kind of honey to get is Manuka honey (from New Zealand) as
it contains 127 times the amount of methylglyoxa, the antimicrobial agent that kills off bacteria, than other types
of honey. Lemon juice has a refreshing citrus smell, and also stimulates the salivary glands-helpful, since a dry
mouth contributes to bad breath. Baking soda also works against bacteria, and may help whiten teeth.Cinnamon Mouthwash
-2 lemons
-1/2 teaspoon-1 teaspoon
baking soda
-1 ½ teaspoons of honey
-1 cup of warm water
-1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
-A bottle or jar with a tightly
fitting lid1. Put cinnamon, baking soda, and warm water into your container. 2. Stir in the lemon juice and honey. 3. Shake well to combine everything. When you need to freshen your
breath swish/gargle 1-2 tablespoons for 1 minute. Shake before each
use in case any cinnamon has settled on the bottom. This will keep for
2-3 weeks in the refrigerator. 261Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com MouthwashY ou will need… DirectionsTea tree oil has antimicrobial properties, while the peppermint helps masks the smell of bad breath and the
flavor of the tea tree oil. Be sure not to swallow this mixture, as the internal effects of tea tree oil have not been
carefully studied.Tea Tree Peppermint Mouthwash
-1-2 drops of tea tree oil
-2-3 drops of peppermint oil
-1 cup of water1. Pour the water into your container and add the essential oils. Swish 1
tablespoon for 1 minute. Shake before each use. This will keep for up to
3 weeks in the refrigerator. 262Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com MouthwashY ou will need… DirectionsShampoo has some incredibly convincing tricks that it plays on the
unassuming buyer. While it can be tempting to buy fancy bottles of
shampoo, with their alluring names and grand promises of perfect hair,
there are good reasons to steer clear of it. First, it’s expensive! At least,
the “good” stuff is. Second, there’s a good chance you’re paying for a
bottle that probably has some sort of irritating chemical in it, one that
is counter-productive in the long run for what you’re trying to achieve. Third, when you make your own shampoo you do not just yourself, but
the environment, a huge favor. The packaging, the plastic bottles, the
process of making the shampoo, all of it is wasteful and polluting. At its core, setting aside any other claims commercial products dish up,
shampoo is here to keep hair looking and feeling clean. A secretion
called sebum is produced by oil glands in the scalp that keeps hair
healthy, shiny, and full. When too much sebum accumulates, hair starts
to clump and look greasy. Shampoo works by breaking down that oil
and making possible to wash out, because no matter how much water
you use, it will not wash oil out-dust and dirt perhaps, but not oil. Shampoo
-Don’t over wash your hair. If you
are prone to greasy hair, you
may need to shampoo every day,
but if not, skip the shampoo one
day and see what happens. This
doesn’t mean you have to forego
a shower, by the way. Where
too much sebum can make hair
greasy and your scalp itchy, too
little sebum and your hair will be
frizzy, prone to breaking, and/or
dull. There’s a reason our scalp
makes sebum, and it’s actually
your friend when it comes to good
looking hair. -Lather does absolutely nothing
when it comes to how well a
shampoo cleans your hair/scalp. It is a marketing hook that keeps
consumers coming back because
they are satisfied with the foamy
lather-if its lathering it must be
doing something right? No. It
makes no difference. It’s the same
as foaming toothpaste. -Keeping your hair looking good
isn’t just dependent on your
shampoo-washing habits, any
other products you use in your
hair, and heat treatments like
blow-drying and straightening all
contribute to damage or dullness. 263Copyright 2014 everydayroots.comTips & TroubleshootingThis recipe calls for liquid castile soap, vegetable glycerin, and optional essential oils for scent. The castile soap
is what does the grunt work, breaking down oils and what not. The vegetable glycerin keeps your hair looking
healthy, shiny, and prevents it from totally drying out-it also nourishes your scalp as well. Castile soap on its
own tends to leave hair feeling a little dry and tangled, which is where the coconut milk comes in, softening and
nourishing your hair and scalp even further. It also adds a nice, rich, sulfate-free lather…and even though lather
doesn’t do anything on its own, it’s still nice to have. Homemade Liquid Shampoo
-1/2 cup of liquid castile soap
-5-8 teaspoons of coconut milk
-3 teaspoons of vegetable
glycerin
-1/2 cup of water
-10 drops of essential oil1. Stir together all the indigents and store for up to 1 week in the
refrigerator. 264Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com ShampooY ou will need… DirectionsThis requires one ingredient that everybody should have in their home-baking soda! The fine grains scrub away
excess sebum, dirt, dandruff, you name it. Baking soda is very alkaline, so to keep your hair from becoming too
dry or brittle, follow up with an apple cider vinegar rinse. The vinegar will also wash any baking soda residue out
of your hair-just make sure to use it after you have rinsed the majority of baking soda out.Simple Baking Soda Shampoo
-Baking soda
-1 cup apple cider vinegar
-1/2 cup of water1. Mix baking soda with water to form a paste, or add to your regular
shampoo. Use as you would normal shampoo, rinse, and then use 1 cup
of apple cider vinegar diluted with ½ cup of water to balance pH levels
and leave hair shiny and healthy. 265Copyright 2014 everydayroots.com ShampooY ou will need… Directions266Copyright 2014 everydayroots.comSugar Cub


 on dog blood. 1700coulombsat 10 vohs
were applied in vivo be
tween the aorta (cathode)
and neck muscles (anode). A
sample of venous blood
from the animal was hepar·
inized and centrifuged. Blood smears were made
from (a) top layer, which
showed birefringent pani·
des inside and just outside
the periphery of red blood
cells (compare Fig. XIV: lOa), and (b) bottom
layer' wruch showed mainly
normal erythrocytes, and (c)
mjnor changes similar to
those produced in vitro
(compare Fig. XIV: 11 b)
were found in a few regions. XJV: JOe) showed similar differences in distribution
("attracting and repelling haemoglobin "). Concentra
tion of haemoglobin in separate cells or "repelling
haemoglobin " in adjoining cells was common in both
anodic and cathodic fields. Changes in erythrocytes could also be produced in
in vivo experiments with direct current in dogs. Thus,
blood is shown from a dog in Fig. XIV: 14 after it had
received 1 700 coulombs at 10 vohs between the aorta
(cathode) and the neck musculature (anode). Blood
was taken from a vein and heparin added. After cen
trifugation, blood from the top and bottom layers was smeared on slides. Erythrocytes from the top layer
(Fig. XIV: 14 a) showed birefringent haemoglobin par
ticles inside and just outside cells, very much like the
cathodic cell material which was shown in Fig. XIV: lOa. Blood from the bottom layer (Fig. XIV: 14b) showed cells which have been interpreted
as appearing normal, although they seemed possibly
less stainable than control blood. Some changes were,
however, found in this blood (Fig. XIV: 14c), which
resembled cathodically transformed erythrocytes. The morphologic changes observed in blood from
the anodic and cathodic fields varied considerably with
the distance from the electrodes. Erythrocytes at the
anodic electrode surface were completely destroyed. At a sufficient distance from the electrodes, normal
cells were seen in both the anodic and cathodic fields. Thus far we may conclude that considerab le mor
phologic changes can be observed in red blood cells in
both the anodic and cathodic fields. As will be shown
in Chapter XVI, fat and water in adipose tissue can be
induced electrophoretically to move over cellular
membranes. It is therefore likely that similar mecha
nisms are also involved i.n the development of the
morphologic changes just described for red blood
cells. The experimental conditions in vivo and in vitro
are certainly not comparable in many respects with
spontaneous in vivo conditions. Nevertheless, an aug
mented experimental activation of anticipated BCEC
channels may give us a hint about the capability of this
biokinetic mechanism to modify the structure of cells
and tissues. With this possibility in mind we will now
consider the in vivo behaviour of leukocytes in a
VICC activated experimentally in mesentery. I. Accumulation of
granulocytes
One of the dramatic morphologic changes in the elec
tric field is marked accumulation of granulocytes
around the anode at "low" voltages. One volt, which must still be regarded biologically
as a relatively high voltage difference, was app.lied
between the electropositive platinum electrode placed
against the mesentery of a dog and the electronegative
platinum electrode in the aorta (Fig. XIV: 15). After
0.002 coulombs (60 minutes, 0.6JIA), the current was
interrupted and a piece of the mesenteric tissue excised
around the site of the anode. The tissue was then
placed o.n a glass slide, fixed in formalin and stained
with hacmatoxylin and eosin. Dark brown material
was found to have accumulated near the edge of the
electropositive electrode (Fig. XIV:!Sa). The large
dark vessel in the figure is a vein, which anastomosed
15-814586 N(lfJnmriim Fig. XIV: IS. Accumulation or granulocytes around the an
ode after application of direct current to dog mesentery. (a) 0.002 coulombs were delivered at I V overpotcntial be·
tween an anodic mesenteric electrode and an aortic cathodic
electrode. Mesentery then was flxed i.n formaldehyde and
stained with haematoxyJin and eosin. Brown material accu·
mula ted at the site or the anode (left). The blue \•esse I to the
right is a vein. It is entirely fllled with granulocyte s. Brown
material in lhe large vessel to the left consists mainly of de·
compo<ed granulocytes. (b) Detail view shows white blood
cells in vein. Adjacent artery (arrow) is collapsed and empty. with a blue vein in the right-band side of the figure. This blue material consists of granulocytes (Fig. XIV: I 5 b) completely ftlling the vein. No red cells
could be seen in these vessels. Adjacent arteries are
narrow and empty of blood cells. By following the blue
vessel branches to the black ones it can be seen that the
black material consists of granulocytes, increasingly
decomposing from right to left. Fig. XIV: 16a shows a vein leaking granulocytes
about one em from the cathode. Anode and cathode in
this experiment were each placed on dog mesentery (2
volts, 2.80 coulombs). Granulocytes arc attracted to the walls of veins be
fore they pass into interstitial tissue. Tbis attraction is
seen in Fig. XIV: 16 bas "margination of leukocytes"
Activation of VICC 187 Fig. XIV: 16. Accumulation of granulocytes around elec
trodes in dog mesentery. (a) G1'1ll1ulocytes leaking through
veins into the interstitium (2 V, 2.8 coulombs) one em from
the cathode. (b) White blood cells marsinatins to the walls of
a vein (large vessel, left) near the anode. Right vessel is anal
most empty artery. in a vein containing a moderate increase in quantity of
these cells. Mesenteric electrode was anodic, aortic
cathodic (2 volts, 1.2 coulombs ). The same collection
of leukocytes in veins occurred when the polarity was
reversed. While gl'llllulocytes were accumulating selectively in
veins, adjacem aneries have been empty of blood cells. Leukocytes accumulated in veins also when the cath
ode was on the mesentery and the anode placed in the
inferior vena cava, or when the polarity of these elec
trodes was reversed. This finding is illustrated in Fig. XIV: 17, which also shows that in bnth instances the Fig. XIV: 17. Accumulation of granulocytes and altered vas
cular calibre induced by direct current in dog mesentery. (a) Mesentery cathodic and inferior vena cava anodic: a vein,
containing granulocytes, is wide. An adjacent artery, empty
of cells, is narrow. (b) Mesentery anodic and vena cava ca
thodk a vein, packed with gramtlocyles, is narrow. The ad
jacent artery, empty of cells, is wide. adjacent arteries were empty. (See also regional
"arteriocapillary" contractions and "venocapillary" ac·
cumulation of granulocytes in Chapter XU.) The distribution of individual cells may be taken as
support for the theory that BCEC systems represent an
additional circulatory system capable of selective
transports. It may be possible that BCEC syste.ms can
tl'llllsport selectively not ooly electrolytes but also
charged particles as large as blood cells. The mechanism of electrophoretic transport of
charged particles very likely depends on many factors. Thus, it is known that granulocytes make their way
Table XIV: 2. Surface-charge characterisrics and nature of chemical groups contributing to surface charge per cell surface area for
pliltekts, lymplw<ytes, and erythrocytes
Negatively charged groups
Anod!ic
electro- Cor· Phosphate
phoretic Apparent =ted Amino NANA susceptible to" Weak
mobility electron electron groups a-carboxyl acidic -SH
(pmlfi<d charges charges (+) (pK. 2.6)" RNase~· Alk. phos.' (pK-4) groups
Cell type Vicm) (x Ill") (X!IJ") (X lo') (X lo') (X 10') {X 10'') (X II}') (xiO")
PlateletS-" 0


"Beloved  Mighty  I AM  Presence,"  whose  Garment  of Light
not only  illumines  your  pathway,  but  becomes  your  Pro-
tecting  Radiance,  Invincible  in Its Activity. Great  and
Mighty  Light. release  Thy  Commanding  Presence  into  the
Earth,  so all mankind  may  quickly  enter  into  the  Con-
sciousness  of Thy  Great  Freedom  for all. First  quicken  the Desire  in the Heart  which  is surging  in
the Hearts  of all mankind  today. Then  quickly  release  the
Great  Knowledge  of This  "Mighty  I AM  Presence". In Its
Great  Current  of Energy,  which  quickens  the Light  within
their  Hearts  at Its Touch. Flow,  Oh "Mighty  I AM  Pres-20 THE  "7 AM"  DISCOURSES
ence"  into  the Heart,  the mind  and  body  of all mankind
and assert  Thyself. Take  Thy  Command. Go  forth  in
Thy Mighty  Conquering  Presence  and  fill the Earth  with
Thy Mighty  Glory. Such  is Our  Decree  for you,  Oh Be-
loved  Ones,  and  all mankind. My Love  enfolds  you  always,  unto  your  Freedom  and
Ascension. DISCOURSE  III  44
March  2, iqyj
DALLAS,  TEXAS
Beloved  Children  of the Light,  it having  been  My  Joy
and Privilege  to minister  to you during  the past  three  days,
will you  be so kind,  as to accept  Those  Qualities  which  I
have  anchored  within  your  feeling  world  for constant  use. One of Those  Qualities  is the ability  for Greater  Self-con-
trol and  Mastery  of your  human  feeling. To do this,  will
mean  Freedom  to you. Will  you  not accept  all, which  it has
been  My Humble  Privilege  to convey,  to anchor  there;  that
you may  go forth  on your  way  with  less  obstruction,  hu-
manly  speaking. Beginning  in San  Francisco,  the Great  Out-Pouring  of
the Cosmic  Light,  has made  it possible  for Certain  Things
to be done  for mankind,  which  it would  not  be wise  to
explain  yet;  but which  I am taking  advantage  of, to give  the
students  all possible  Assistance  in their  Victory  to their
Freedom. There  is only  one way,  Beloved  Ones,  by which  you  can
gain the Mastery  of yourself,  your  world  and  all substance. That  is by constantly  trying,  until  you  have  called  your
"Mighty  I AM  Presence"  into  action  with  Sufficient  Power,
to still your  human  thought;  and  compel  it to be obedient
to the Law  of your  Presence,  which  is Harmony. Thus,  the
21 45 THE  "7 AM"  DISCOURSES
Presence  enables  your  Call  to be answered  with  a sufficient
VOLUME  OF ENERGY,  governed  by Its Intelligence,  to
produce  that  which  you  require. All These  Laws  are very  practical  and  no one  need  be
deprived  of what  you  require  any  longer. Oh,  that  you
may  realize,  you  are having  a Privilege  only  given  to a few
in the Retreats,  only  a short  hundred  years  ago. A hundred
years  seems  like  a long  time  to you,  does  it not. But to Us
it is like  a day—a  day  of Great  Joy and  Achievement. One
day, you  will  find  it the same. The need  of mankind  today,  has made  it possible  for Us
to render  Such  a Service,  tonight. Some  of you  will  only
hear  Me in the intellect. Many  of you  will  hear  Me with  the
intellect  and  feel  It in your  feeling  world. Those  who  can
feel the Truth  of My Humble  Endeavor  to assist  you,  will
find It quickly  active  in your  worlds;  and  may  My  As-
sistance  cause  many  things  to disappear  from  your  worlds
quickly,  for which  you  have  long  prayed  and  hoped. Will
you not take  advantage  of This  Opportunity. I could  not and  would  not utter  idle  words  to you;  but
every  Word  I utter  to you  tonight,  shall  carry  with  It, the
Power  of Execution;  not  as your  execution  is of the outer
world,  but of the Power  of Use  and  Service. Oh,  that  you
might  all understand  all It means  to you. The Blessed  Students  who  have  heard  many  of These
Dictations,  are feeling  more  and  more  powerfully  the True
Inner  Meaning  of Them;  and  what  They  mean  to each  In-
dividual. Once,  you  understand  the  Words  an Ascended DISCOURSE  III 23
Being  speaks,  carry  in Them  the  Power  of Achievement,
you will  begin  to comprehend  what  Mighty  Power  These
Dictations  carry. Can  you  accept  THEIR  POWER  in your
feeling  world. Won't  you  try,  so It may  have  Its FULL
POWER  of Operation  and  Action. Oh, how  We long  to have  mankind  feel  the True  Import
of These  Words,  so they  may  quickly  dismiss  all human
consciousness  of limitations;  and  call  the "Mighty  I AM
Presence"  into  action,  to dissolve  all human  creations  which
have  ever  been  acquired. Then,  how  quickly  each  one
would  go forth—almost  like  a rocket—into  his or her Per-
manent  Achievement. May  I remind  you,  Precious  Ones,  that  every  particle  of
Achievement  you  accomplish,  in the Knowledge  of your
"Mighty  I AM  Presence,"  becomes  a Permanent  Thing. There  is no slipping  back  in anything,  which  you  call forth
and achieve  in the Knowledge  of your  Presence. It becomes
a Permanently  Established  Thing  and  cannot  be forgotten
and cannot  be lost. Today  in the Requirement,  according  to
the Great  Cosmic  Law,  you  have  now  drawn  within  you
the Victory  of Achievement. If you  allow  your  human  in-
tellect  to cause  you  again  to doubt  and  fear,  then  you  will
have  to wait  another  Opportunity  of the Messengers,  to re-
establish  This  Work. We are giving  you  the Opportunity  here  and  did  also
in San  Francisco,  to utilize  These  Qualities  which  We  are
anchoring  in your  feeling  world  for Definite,  but Powerful,
Use. To the degree  that  you  can feel  This  Help  and  let It 24 THE  "7 AM"  DISCOURSES
begin  to act, will  you  find  Response  and  Manifestation  in
your  outer  world  of activity. So, tonight,  you  have  entered  a New  World,  the World
of your  "Mighty  I AM  Presence. " Will  you  say to Me:  "I
don't  feel  any  change  in my body,  I do not see any outward
manifestation  of It". If that  should  be your  feeling,  you
are not apt to; but if you  can say sincerely:  " 'Mighty  I AM
Presence,'  I accept  These  Qualities  which  have  been  given
me for use. You  set them  into  action  now. 'Mighty  I AM
Presence,'  see that  I have  the feeling  of the Truth  and  the
Activity  of These  Qualities,  quickly  brought  into  my outer
use and  manifestation. " Then  you  will  have  Them. You
will begin  quickly  to experience  the Truth  of the Words  I
speak  to you. Before


, dissolve  and  consume  every  particle  of your  accumula-
tion of discord  of the centuries;  in a few  weeks  or a few
months  at most,  if the person  is very  sincere  and  in earnest! Therefore,  Beloved  Ones,  you  have  in your  hands  the
Dominion  to set yourselves  wholly  Free,  no matter  what
the mistakes  of the past  have  been. Is there  any  Greater
Mercy  than  the Presence  of Life,  which  says  to wayward
mankind:  " 'I AM'  not interested  in your  mistakes! I want
you to be Free! As quick  as you  will  listen  to Me,  and  turn
away  from  whatever  has  caused  you  to create  the discord
and limitations  which  you  experience,  then  'I AM'  ready! 'I AM'  the Presence  of all Life,  ready  to forgive  your  mis-
takes,  at your  Call  on the Law  of Forgiveness! 'I AM'  ready
to forget  all which  has been;  and  then  set the Violet  Con-
suming  Flame  into  action  to dissolve  and  consume  every
particle  of that  for you."? Do you  know,  every  one of blessed  mankind  is so good  at DISCOURSE  XVIII  285
Heart;  but  because  destructive  conditions  have  beset  the
people  sometimes,  it has made  them  feel  almost  fiendish. That  does  not belong  to them—never! It is an imposed  con-
dition  from  the generated  creation  of mankind's  discord. The Blessed  Ones  do not know  that  and  sometimes  yield
to destructive  force;  causing  themselves  to loose  their  phys-
ical Freedom  for an entire  embodiment. Look  at your  institutions,  your  asylums,  youi  institutions
of incarceration,  your  prisons,  full  to running  over. Why ? Because  mankind  not  understanding,  has  yielded  to this
impact  and  impulse  of human  discordant  creation. The
people  do not understand  their  power  of qualification  and
what  their  attention  does  in continuous  attention  held  upon
hate,  anger,  condemnation  or whatever  the destructive  con-
dition  may  be. They  have  gone  thru  into  the octave  or
stratum,  where  all the discordant  accumulation  of mankind
is gathered;  and  it has rushed  in upon  them  and  they  are
helpless  before  it. Beloved  Students  and  people  of Detroit! If mankind  un-
derstood  that  one  point  alone,  it would  be worth  a whole
life-time  of experience;  if Individuals  really  grasped  what  it
means! People  have  gone  serenely  along  in their  limita-
tions;  not  knowing  every  time  they  give  way  to some  dis-
cordant  thing,  if it be continued  long  enough,  they  will  go
thru  into  the mass  accumulation  of the discord,  and  the
mass  pressure  will  rush  in upon  them! Beloved  Students,  whom  We love  so greatly,  please  listen
to Us and  give  obedience  to your  Law  of Life,  understand-286 THE  "I AM99  DISCOURSES
ing every  time  you yield  in your  feeling  to discord,  criticism,
condemnation,  judgment  or any  of those  qualities,  which
are destructive;  you  will  invite  the whole  mass  creation  to
enter  your  world  and  act there! Because  previous  under-
standing  has caused  Individuals  to believe  they  were  justi-
fied in self-protection;  or whatever  you  choose  to call  it,
does  not change  the Action  of the Law  of Energy! In the
old statement,  think  of it! "An  eye for an eye and  a tooth
for a tooth,"  which  meant  beat  the other  fellow  to it, in all
those  destructive  qualities. That  is just exactly  what  man-
kind  has been  doing  thru  the centuries! One man  of power—human  power,  says  to his associates:
"Let's  have  a war,"  and  he proceeds  to agitate  certain  ac-
tivities  of mankind  to produce  it! For  what? Praise  to the
"Great  I AM  Presence"  of Life,  mankind  for the first  time
in the history  of the world,  is awakening  to what  the war
forces  are doing! Now,  the Great  Cosmic  Light  has said  to unhappy  man-
kind:  "Your  accumulation  has become  too great!" and  to
the Great  Ascended  Masters,  It has said:  "Let  us help  once
again  and  give  the people  one  more  opportunity  to free
themselves  from  these  conditions;  and  explain  to them  in
a simple  manner,  why  the conditions  have  existed  thruout
the centuries  which  get beyond  their  control." It is all just
because  mankind  has not understood  the Presence  of Life! As you  value  everything  which  you  hold  dear  in your
Life and  the future  of the centuries  before  you,  REMEM-
BER  THAT  CHART  IS CORRECT! It gives  you the ex-DISCOURSE  XVIII  287
act eye picture  of your  position  physically  to your  own  God
Presence,  the "Mighty  I AM";  and  unless  mankind  will
understand  that  and  accept  It, as a Reality  in the feeling
world,  humanity  will  go on, and  on, and  I would  not at-
tempt  to picture  into  what! Oh, Dear  People,  do not make  any mistake  about  Us. We
are not calamity  howlers;  but We are putting  before  you,
the Exact  Truth  of Life,  which  It is your  privilege  to ac-
cept and  utilize,  if you will. If you will  not,  it is quite  your
own  business;  but let Me tell you,  the person  or student
who  has touched  This  Light  and  allows  himself  or herself
to be turned  aside,  by some  silly  human  thing  acting,  is
most  unfortunate  indeed! In every  city where  the Messengers  have  been,  there  have
been  a few,  who  thru  silly  human  gossip,  have  allowed
themselves  to be turned  from  This  Great  Pathway  of Light
—the  most  Beautiful,  Magnificent  Thing  on the face  of
This  Earth. Watch  them! They  will  drink  the dregs  of the
cup, they  have  filled  with  destruction,  and  there  is no de-
scribing  it! We do not wish  it upon  them. The  Messengers
do not wish  it upon  them;  but We have  explained  to you,
the Law  of Life  which  compels  It to act. There  is nothing
but themselves  who  can change  it. So long  as they  allow
their  feeling  to continue  pouring  forth  destructive  discor-
dant  activity;  because  it is their  own  energy  acting. This
energy  flows  thru  naturally,  as We might  say,  thru  your
Life Stream. It is going  all the time. Energy  does  not dis-
criminate! You  are the discriminating  Intelligence  of your 288 THE  "I AM99  DISCOURSES
world;  who  should  say how  your  energy  shall  act thru  you
and your  world;  but  mankind  has  not understood  that. Therefore,  how  were  people  to govern  it? Today,  the Beloved  Saint  Germain  has brought  to you,
the Clear,  Simple  Understanding  which  a child  can com-
prehend. It is Majestic  and  All-powerful  in Its Action,  for
the Individual  when  applied. Let Us take  you by the hand
and help  you  to understand  and  apply  It, with  Dynamic
Power  and  Energy. Then  see how  quickly  your  world
will be first


 between the breath, the emotions, and the working
of the barorecep tors. Stress can lead to anxiety and depression, which can
adversely affect the way the diaphragm works. Equally, changes inemotional state can cause a greater perception of pain. The study concluded
that the diaphragm influences the working of the barorecept ors and the
perception of pain, and vice versa. This may be because the movement of
the diaphragm changes the pressure within the body, and the resulting flow
of blood in the body determines the baroreceptor response, but there is not
yet clear research to confirm this. 58
SIX BREA THS PER MINUTE
To recap what we have already learned, slow breathing causes the
oscillations in blood pressure to synchronize with the rhythm of the heart,
creating the conditions for optimum blood gas exchange. Remember, there’ s
a significant connection between RSA, HRV, baroreceptors, and the ANS. Scientists have shown that slow  breathing at a rate of six breath s a minute,
with increased tidal volume (achieved by activating the diaphragm), rather
than suppressing the fight-or -flight activity of the sympathetic nervous
system, appears  to optimize the balance between the sympathetic and
parasympathetic branches of the ANS and to enhance autonom ic reactivity
to both physical and mental stress. 27
Breathing at six breaths per minute has a powerful effect on many body
systems. In the respiratory syste m, it increases air in the lungs, enhances the
function of the diaphragm, improves ventilation efficiency, pulls more
oxygen into the blood, and is thought to increase blood flow back to the
heart (venous return). This has been demonstrated in studies of athletes at
high altitude. Athletes climbing  to the peaks of Everest and K2 without
oxygen supplies were able to achieve similar oxygenation with slower
breathing rates after two week s of acclimatization in lower atmospheric
oxygen levels. It was concluded that efficiency of breathing is more
important than quantity. 62
In the cardiovascular system, breathing at six breaths per minute
increases the filling of the right heart and the amount of blood pumped by
the heart per minute. 27 It cause s blood pressure oscilla tions to synchronize
with the rhythm of the heartbea t, increases HRV, and potentially decreases
mean blood pressure. In the cardiorespiratory system, it increases baroreflex
sensitivity and HRV. In the ANS, it increases vagal tone, promotes a shifttoward PNS dominance, and improves the responsiveness of the ANS
toward physical movement. The rate of six breaths per minute optimizes the
release and meta bolism of acetylcholine, maximizing RSA. 27 It is also the
threshold for triggering the baroreflex and is the respiration rate with the
highest increase of HR V. For centuries, people have practiced techniques like meditation and
yoga for their positive effects on physical and mental health and cognition. What all these activities have in common is that breathing is attentively
guided or regulated. Even simple awareness of the breath can influence the
rate of respiration. This, in turn, explains the health benefits of such
practices throug h their impact on the balance of the ANS. The physical
functions underlying these breathing techniques have been studied to
explain the impact of respiratory vagal nerve stimulation on inflammation,
the working of the heart, gener al physical and mental health, stress relief,
and enhanced brain power, including a better working memory and greater
creativity. There has also been research into the way the body interprets the top-
down (brain to body) and bottom-up (body to brain) signals and into the
possibility of training the autonomic responses. 25 It has been confirmed that
respiratory vagus nerve stimulation (rVNS) reduces stress and inflammation
long-term. While rVNS produces an immediate shift in PNS activity during
and after practic e, it also results  in a shift in autonomic balance, increasing
vagal dominance both in resting states and in those active states requiring
behavioral and cognitive flexibility. Evidence shows  that breathing exercises with a low respiration rate can
stimulate the vagus nerve. Though how this occurs is not proven, scientists
believe the baroreflex mechanism causes this stimulation. The health
benefits felt by people practicing slow and controlled breathing are due to a
prolonged incre ase in vagal tone. Dominance of the PNS depends on the
consistent ability of the body’ s systems to relax. This provides a release
from chronic stress and prevents stress-related illness. LONG EXHALA TIONSPracticing breath holds, in particular, provides a tool to control the ANS. Breath holding also helps the body adapt to higher blood CO 2 (hypercapnia)
and provides a direct way to hack the body’ s stress response. As one paper
puts it, by practicing breath holds, you will eventually be able to “maintain
self-control in most stressful settings. ”18 Short term, the benefits include
stress reduction, better regulation of blood pressure, and more focused
attention. Prolo nged practice improves cognitive function and enhances
autonomic balance, improving your ability to come back to baseline and
respond to external and internal challenges from a balanced physical and
psychological perspective. 18
Studies into the different systems, such as the PNS, respiratory
ventilation, and HRV, have settled on a rate of six breaths per minute as
optimal. Howev er, given that the vagus nerve is activated purely  during the
out breath, why isn’t there more exploration into inhalation/exhalation
ratios. Does the vagus nerve work even better when exhalations are longer
than inhalations. One study carried out by scientists in Taiwan looked at this idea in
detail by examining healthy college students to discover the differences in
breathing with longer exhalation s compared to breathing with equal in/out
ratios in the effect on subjective feelings of anxiety and physiologically on
HRV. 63 Specifically, they explored two very similar breathing rates—6
breaths per minute and 5. 5 breaths per minute—each with inhalation to
exhalation ratios of 5:5 (equal) and 4:6 (longer exhalation). They expected slow breathing with longer exhalations to create more
intense feelings of relaxation and higher HRV than an equal ratio pattern. Previous studies showing the beneficial effects of 6 breaths per minute for
heart and lung functions had already confirmed that inhaling quickly and
exhaling slowly (2:8 respectively) was more effective in reducing mental
and physical arousal in threatening or stressful situations than inhaling
slowly and exhaling quickly. 63 There are also various breathing exercises,
for exam ple in yoga, where techniques such as 2:1 breathing, during which
exhalations are twice the length of inhalations, are recognized as
beneficial. 64 However, contrary to expectations, the Taiwan study revealed
that a respiratio n rate of 5. 5 breaths per minute with equal length in/out
breaths (5:5) significantly increased HRV. 63 What’ s more, it increased vagalnerve/PNS activation and barore flex function more than the other breathing
patterns, meaning it has the potential to help patients with condi tions where
low HR V is a feature. Several papers point out that slow breathing can be uncomfortable. This
might explain why people are attracted to activities like yoga and
meditation where the focus is on the breath, but the practice is guided to
make breathing effortless. To comfortably breathe at a rate of 5. 5 breaths
per minute with an equal inhalation and exhalation ratio, a BOL T score of at
least 15 seconds  is required. There are programs in Chapter Two designed
to improve the BOL T score to 15 seconds, making slow breath ing practice
more attainable. It is certainly worth your time and effort, given the indications that this
breathing pattern increases PNS and baroreflex function and simultaneously
enhances relaxation. SYNCHRONIZED BREA THING—MANTRAS AND MUSIC
The age-old breathing practices cultivated in Eastern traditions have
significant scientific basis in terms of physical and mental influence. 65
However, vario us other customs and activities have also been found to
synchronize cardiovascular rhythms by reducing breathing to the optimum
rate. Recitation of both the yoga mantra “om-mani-padme-hum ” and the
rosary prayer in Latin, with one person reciting the priest’ s part: “Ave
Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tui mulieribus et benedictus
fructus ventris tui Jesus,” and the other the response: “Sancta Maria, Mater
Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae, Amen,” has
been found to lower the respiratory rate to, you guessed it, around six
breaths per minute. 65
This is no coincidence. Mantras, which are usually repeated in
sequences of more than 100, similar to the rosary, which is recited 150
times, may have evolved as a device to slow respiration, induc e relaxation
and enhance concentration. 66 The length of time required to perform over
100 mantras or to get through 150 recitations of the rosary is significant,
suggesting that one of


 the effect of 15 minutes of moderate
exercise against  3 minutes of hyperventilation in 43 young patients with
epilepsy. 39 Results were measured in terms of EEG dischar ges—
abnormalities in EEG readings consisting of repetitive sharp waves or
spikes. The epileptic subjects were compared to a control group of 20
young people who had either no organic brain injury or in whom brain
injury had not caused epilepsy. Researchers found that the number of EEG
dischar ges decreased in nearly all participants during exercise but increased
during hyperventilation. The paper concluded that modera te exercise
inhibits seizure activity, while hyperventilation exacerbates it. 39
A 1984 study found that the concentration of blood CO2 had a direct
impact on the duration of seizures. 40 The researchers induced hypocapnia
by hyperventilation to the point where concentration of CO2 in the alveoli
was only 2%. The duration of seizures increased significantl y compared
with the normal CO2 level of 5%, even though oxygen concentration
remained consta nt at 92%. Whil e different levels of oxygen did not produce
any notable changes to seizure duration, seizures became progressively
longer as the amount of CO2 in the alveoli decreased. This finding was
confirmed in a 2008 paper, which reported that moderate hype rventilation
caused a significant increase in EEG seizure duration compared to normalventilation. 41 In 1993, scientists examined 19 patients with complex-partial
seizures, reporting that hyperventilation triggered a “marked activation” of
the epileptic focus—the area of the brain from which the seizure
originates. 42
There have been attempts to determine whether the degree of
hypocapnia correlates with an increased frequency of petit mal or absence
seizures and if there is a critical concentration of CO2 at which these
seizures are reliably induced. 43 In a 1996 study, scientists monitored 12
children who had newly diagnosed absence epilepsy. EEG readings and
percentage of CO 2 in expir ed air were recorded during quiet respiration and
hyperventilation. These readings were taken while the children breathed
four dif ferent gas mixtures:
1. Room air
2. 100% oxygen
3. Room air with 4% CO 2
4. A gas containing 4% CO 2 and 96% oxygen
When the children were breathing quietly, a reduction in EEG spikes
was seen when the breathing gas contained extra CO2 (3 and 4), but a
higher concentration of oxyge n in inspired air (2) caused no changes. Seizures were triggered in eight of the children with each trial of
hyperventilation, but the level of CO2 that induced seizures was found to
differ among the children. The study concluded that it would be helpful to
discover whethe r sensitivity to blood CO2 could help predict the likely
response to antiepileptic drugs, and that more research was needed into the
possible use of CO 2 for the remission of seizures. A study from 2001 examined patients who suffered nonepileptic
seizures, 41% having coexistin g epilepsy and found the most frequent
features of nonepileptic seizures included fear, anxiety, and
hyperventilation. 44 Another paper found that typical absence (brief,
generalized) seizures are “easily precipitated by hyperventilation” in
approximately 90% of untreated  patients. Similarly, a study of children who
had epilepsy with myoclonic absences concluded that the seizures were
easily provoked by hyperventilation. 45 This finding was repeated in a 2009
study, which observed myoclonic absence seizures in three patients whichwere triggered by hyperventilation. 45 Researchers concluded that
“hyperventilation is most effective in activation of generalized absence
seizures during routine EEG studies. ”46 Researc h from 2011 repeated the
finding that hyperventilation is an effective way to activate epileptic
seizures in patients with epilepsy. 47 In a study of children aged between 3
and 11 years, hyperventilation induced seizures in all patients. 48 It’s worth
noting that around 10% of seizures in children with epilepsy are absence
seizures, otherwise called petit mal seizures. 49 These seizures have a
significant impact on quality of life. 50
CO2 has long been recognized for its anticonvulsant properties. 51 In
2007, the science news website Science 2. 0  reported research that presented
CO2 as a “new—and completely free—way to prevent fever -related
epileptic seizures” in small children. 52 Scientists believed that CO2-
enriched air could be used to stop seizures. The research showed that fever -
related seizures, which are common in children under the age of five, could
be safely suppressed within 20 seconds simply by adding 5% CO2 to
inhaled air. Experimental research indicates that these childhood seizures
may increase the risk of epilepsy developing later in life. The study suggested that CO2 therapy could also be effective in
stopping other types of epileptic seizure. 52 This theory was tested in 2011
research when scientists set out to discover whether inhaling 5% CO2
would stop seizures in epilepsy patients. 53 A pilot study of seven people
demonstrated a “rapid termination of electrographic seizures” even though
the 5% CO2 was applied after the seizure had begun. The researchers
concluded that inhaled CO2 could be used for acute treatment of epileptic
seizures. 53
A follow -on review of this study stated that the research demonstrated
the “feasibility”  of hypercapnia as a clinical treatment. 51 While more work
is needed to ensure safety and efficacy—for instance, it is important that
hypercapnia does not progress to acidosis during a prolonged seizure—the
review suggests  that this is a worthwhile avenue, concluding, “Carbon
dioxide inhalation could prove to be an easy and inexpensive intervention
for acute seizures in the hospital, and possibly in the home as well. ”A further study from 2014 soug ht to discover whether inhaling 5% CO2
could suppress hyperventilatio n-induced absence seizures and irregular
electrical discha rges in the brain known as “spike and wave dischar ges. ”54
Researchers concluded that treatment with CO2 may help treat these
seizures. A 2019 clinical review reiterated earlier findings, stating that the
“spike and wave” neuronal dischar ge typical of absence seizures is
triggered by voluntary hyperven tilation in more than 90% of patients with
absence epilepsy. The paper describes the use of hyperventilation to quickly
diagnose patien ts with absence epilepsy as “commonplace. ” While
scientists are still unclear whether a single mechanism exists to prompt
absence seizure s, the review suggests that the changes in blood pH
(alkalosis) brought on by hyperventilation may contribute. 55
In the 2014 study, 12 participants who had hyperventilation-induced
absence seizures  were examined while breathing either room air, 5% CO2,
or 100%  oxygen. Compared to hyperventilation in normal room air, the 5%
CO2 decreased the frequency and duration of seizures after hyperven tilation
and reduced the number of “spike and wave” dischar ges. This pilot study
added yet more clear evidence that hypercapnia could provide a way to treat
hyperventilation-related seizures. 54
COMORBID HEAL TH PROBLEMS IN EPILEPSY
The Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine  published a paper in
2015 that suggested that epilepsy encompasses more than spontaneous
recurrent seizures and should be classified as a “spectrum disorder. ”7 For
many epileptics and their families, what causes the greatest impact are the
many conditions that exist alongside the primary symptoms. Comorbid
conditions can include psychiatric and behavioral disorders like anxiety,
depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD ), learning
disabilities, intellectual disability, and autism. Traditionally these comorbidities were thought to be secondary to
uncontrolled seizures and adverse reactions to medication. However, they
are now acknowledged as integral to epilepsy. In some cases, the comorbid
conditions predate the seizures and can be attributed to an underlying
disorder of neuronal networks. 56 A 2007 study states that even a singleseizure can cause modifications to receptor expression and distribution,
altering neurodevelopment—the  growth of neurological pathways in the
brain that influence things like intellectual functioning, reading ability,
memory, focus, and social skills—leading to cognitive and behavioral
changes. 57
The most common psychiatric comorbidity in epilepsy is depression. This is interesting because depression is linked with dysfunction in the
hippocampus and limbic structures of the brain, areas of the brain that are
both frequently involved in epileptic circuits. The connection between
depression and epilepsy is bidirectional. People with epilepsy are more
likely to develop depression, and those epileptics with depression more
commonly suffer refractory seizures, seizures that are uncontrolled or
difficult to treat. 58
It can be difficult to achieve a clinical diagnosis of anxiety in patients
with epilepsy, but the unpredictable nature of the disease and the fear of
seizures