 than 15%
from the expected values);
• malignant tumors;
• active tuberculosis of the lungs and other or-
gans;
• bronchiectasis;
• systemic diseases of the blood;
• type I diabetes mellitus;
• thyrotoxicosis;
• disorders of the heart rhythm and/or of the
pulse propagation of any origin;
• post -focal myocardial infarction;
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.fr• heart failure of II B - III degree;
• chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver;
• chronic renal failure and renal failure of any
genesis;
• thrombophlebitis.

2. Relative contraindication s:
• coronary heart disease with rhythmic disor-
ders and cardiac failure greater than stage II
A;
• severe hypotension;
• cholelithiasis;
• urolithiasis;
• stomach ulcer and duodenal ulcer;
• chronic venous insufficiency;
• type II diabetes mellitus;
• gout;
• febrile conditions;
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.fr• pregnancy and breastfeeding;
• in childhood (up to 14 years) and the elderly
(over 70);

Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.fr
4. What is the scientific background of
therapeutic fasting and dry fasting in
particular?
In Russia therapeutic fasting has a research
tradition that can be traced back to 1769, when
Petr Vilyaminov, professor of the Moscow Uni-
versity medical school, wrote the treatise Slovo o
postakh kak sredstve predochraneniya ot
bolezney  (“On fasting as a means of disease pre-
vention”).
Later, between the early 1800s and the mid -
20th century, many Russian researchers and
physicians became interested in fasting, among
which we cite prof. I. G. Spassky, Dr. N. Zeland,
prof. V. Pashutin, A. S uvorin and prof.
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frBakulyev, who studied the physiological and
pathophysiological characteristics of fasting and
applied it in animal studies and in a clinical set-
ting.
But the great promoter of fasting as a thera-
peutic practice was the psychiatrist Yuri Nik ola-
yev: he was responsible for the approval and the
introduction of fasting in the USSR state
healthcare system. Thanks to the contribution of
prof. Nikolayev fasting was scientifically investi-
gated in studies that began in the 1960s and con-
tinue to the present day, with a peak of activity
in the decades of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
It was Professor Nikolayev who coined the
term razgruzochno- dieticheskaya terapiya
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.fr(RDT) (“fasting -dietary therapy – FDT”)6. The
term distinguishes spontaneous fasting or fast-
ing induced by circumstances beyond personal
control from therapeutic fasting researched and
applied in the medical field on the basis of pre-
cise protocols approved by the Ministry of
Healthcare first in the Soviet Union and later in
Russia. This is also under stood as a therapeutic

6 The razgruzochno- dieticheskaya terapiya  (RDT) (“fasting -dietary
therapy – FDT”) was based on the method of complete “ water ” fast-
ing, developed by Professor Yu. S. Nikolayev and approved by the
Ministry of Healthcare of the USSR in 1990, then revised and ap-
proved by the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation in
2005. The course of therapy consisted of three main periods: pre-
paratory, fasting and restoration periods (see the Methodological
Recommendations Primenenie razgruzochno -dieticheskoj terapij
(RDT) v vosstanovitelnoy medicine. Posobye dliya vrachey  (Method-
ological Recommendation for application of FDT (RDT) in Reha-
bilitation Medicine. A Manual for Physicians), Moskva 2005).
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frpractice based on the transition of the organism
to an endogenous diet.
With regards to dry fasting specifically, it was
only in recent decades that (in Russia) total ab-
stinence from food and water started being ap-
plied in clinical p ractice (V.A. Zakirov7  and I.E
Khoroshilov8), although the physiologist

7 Zakirov V. A., Klinicheskaya i funktsionalnaya kharakteristika
bolnykh bronkhialnoy astmoy pri reducirovannoy (trednevnoj)
rasgruzochno- dieticheskoy terapii metodami “vlazhnogo” I “suchogo”
golodaniya, (Clinical and functional characteristics of patients with
bronchial asthma treated with fasting dietary therapy (three days)
and "  water  " and "dry" fasting methods”) // Nemedikamentoznye
metody v lechenii i reabilitatsii bolnykh nespecificheskimi
zabolevaniyami legkikh  (Non -pharmacological methods in the
treatment and rehabilitation of patients with non -specific lung dis-
eases // Leningrad 1989, pp. 63 -67.
8 Khoroshilov I. E., Kliniko- gigienicheskye aspekty absoljutnogo go-
lodaniya, St. Petersburg, 1994.
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frVladimir Pashutin9 in 1902 and the gastroenter-
ologist and dietician M. Pevzner10 in the 1950s
had already written about the possibility to limit
water during an absolute fast.
The method of dry fasting has scientific evi-
dence. The Scientific Research Institute of Pul-
monology in St. Petersburg, led by prof. A. Ko-
kosov11, has produced guidelines on the

9 Pashutin  V. V. (1845 —1901), Kurs obshchey I eksperimentalnoy
patologii (patologicheskoy fiziologii)  (The Course of General and Ex-
perimental Pathology (pathological physiology), St. Petersburg,
1902.
10 Pevzner M. I. (1872 -1952), Osnovy lechebnogo pitaniya  (Funda-
mental of Therapeutic Nutrition), Moscow,1958.
11 Kokosov A. N., Osinin S. G., Trofimov V. I., Razgruzochno -diet-
icheskajya terapiya bronkhialnoy astmoy  (The FDT (RDT) in the
treatment of bronchial asthma), Leningrad, 1978; Razgruzochno -di-
eticheskajya terapiyja bolnykh bronkhialnoy astmoy (The FDT in the
treatment of patients with bronchial asthma), Tashkent, ed. Medic-
ina, 1984; Opyt lechenija bronkhialnoy astmoy metodom
Copyright © Vera Giovanna Bani 2019 www.dryfasting.infoThis Ebook was purchased by Gilberto Franchi email: gilbertofranchi@hotmail.frtreatment of various lung diseases using the dry
fasting method. A clinical experiment con-
ducted in the mid -1990s at the Medical Acad-
emy of Ivanovo, showed that absolute fasting
(without food and water) opens interesting pro-
spects for the treatment of cancer and serious
immunodeficiency disorders. It is scientifically
demonstrated that dry fasting allows the organ-
ism to develop the highest concentrations of bi-
ologically active substances, hormones, immu-
nocompetent cells and immunoglobulins in
body fluids (according to the research developed

razgruzochno- dieticheskoj terapiey (Experiment in the treatment of
bronchial asthma using the FDT method), Leningrad, 1986; the
guidelines for the Physicians Razgruzochno- dieticheskaja terapiya
bronkhialnoy ast


aste

Directions

1.
Stir	all	the	above	ingredients	in	your	pitchers	or	bottles.	Then,	transfer	tea
to	a	fridge.

2.
Serve	well	chilled	and	garnished	with	lemon	wedges	if	desired.Berrylicious	Iced	Tea
(Ready	in	about	15	minutes	|	Servings	6)

Ingredients

1.
6	cup	water

1.
2	black	tea	bags

1.
4	mixed	berry	tea	bags

1.
Agave	syrup,	as	per	taste

1.
1	tablespoon	orange	juice

1.
3	tablespoons	fresh	mint	leaves

Directions

1.
Bring	water	to	a	boil.	Pour	boiled	water	over	tea	bags	in	the	pitcher;	steep
tea	bags	for	about	10	minutes.

2.
Then,	discard	tea	bags.	Chill	covered	for	about	2	hours.

3.
Stir	in	agave,	orange	juice,	and	mint	leaves.	Serve	well	chilled	and	enjoy!Blackberry	Iced	Tea
(Ready	in	about	15	minutes	|	Servings	6)

Ingredients

1.
5	cups	water

1.
5	strawberry	tea	bags

1.
2	cups	frozen	blackberries

1.
1/3	cup	honey

Directions

1.
Steep	strawberry	tea	bags	in	5	cups	of	water	for	8	to	10	minutes.	Allow	to
chill	overnight.

2.
In	a	blender,	mix	2	cups	of	frozen	blackberries,	1	cup	of	steeped	tea	and
honey.

3.
Add	blackberry	puree	to	the	steeped	tea,	stir,	and	pour	into	glasses.Strawberry	Lemon	Iced	Tea
(Ready	in	about	20	minutes	|	Servings	10)

Ingredients

1.
10	tea	bags

1.
1	cup	strawberries

1.
1	cup	fresh	lemon	juice

1.
1/2	cup	agave	syrup

1.
3	cups	sparkling	water

1.
Berries	for	skewers

Directions

1.
Bring	10	cups	of	water	to	boil.	Turn	off	burner	and	add	tea	bags;	now	allow
to	steep	completely.	Pour	tea	into	a	pitcher	and	allow	to	chill	completely.

2.
Put	the	strawberries	and	lemon	juice	into	your	food	processor	or	a	blender;
purée	until	smooth.	Then,	strain	puréed	mixture	in	order	to	discard
strawberry	seeds.

3.
Add	strawberry	purée	to	the	tea	in	the	pitcher.	Stir	in	agave	syrup	andsparkling	water.	Stir	to	combine	well.	Garnish	with

fruit	skewers.Tropical	Iced	Tea
(Ready	in	about	20	minutes	|	Servings	12)

Ingredients

1.
12	cups	boiling	water

1.
12	tea	bags

1.
1	cup	pineapple

1.
1	cup	fresh	orange	juice

1.
1/2	cup	agave	syrup

1.
3	cups	lemon	soda

Directions

1.
Place	boiling	water	and	tea	bags	in	a	teapot;	now	allow	it	to	steep.	Place	in
a	refrigerator	until	it	is	completely	chilled.

2.
Put	the	pineapple	and	orange	juice	into	your	blender;	purée	until	the
mixture	is	uniform	and	smooth.	Add	pineapple	purée	to	the	pitcher.

3.
Lastly,	add	agave	syrup	and	lemon	soda.	Stir	and	serve	well	chilled.Jasmine	Tea	with	Almond	Milk
(Ready	in	about	20	minutes	|	Servings	8)

Ingredients

1.
8	jasmine	tea	bags

1.
1/4	cup	honey

1.
1/4	cup	heavy	cream

1.
1/4	cup	unsweetened	almond	milk

1.
Lime	slices,	for	garnish

Directions

1.
Bring	6	cups	water	to	a	boil	and	add	the	tea	bags.	Turn	off	burner	and	let
the	tea	steep	about	5	minutes.

2.
Add	honey,	heavy	cream,	and	almond	milk.	Garnish	with	lime	slices.
Lastly,	refrigerate	until	cold.	Serve	the	tea	over	crushed	ice.Tea	with	Coconut	Milk
(Ready	in	about	20	minutes	|	Servings	4)

Ingredients

1.
4	tea	bags

1.
4	cups	simmering	water

1.
Maple	syrup,	to	taste

1.
3/4	cup	full-fat	coconut	milk

1.
1/4	teaspoon	grated	nutmeg

Directions

1.
Place	1	tea	bag	in	each	mug.	Pour	simmering	water	over	your	tea	bag;	let	it
steep	for	about	5	minutes.	Allow	to	cool	completely.	Stir	in	maple	syrup.

2.
Meanwhile,	froth	coconut	milk	using	a	hand	blender.

3.
Then,	gently	pour	frothed	milk	over	the	tea.	Sprinkle	with	grated	nutmeg
and	serve.Sparkling	Cranberry	Iced	Tea
(Ready	in	about	15	minutes	|	Servings	12)

Ingredients

1.
4	cups	water

1.
1/2	cup	maple	syrup

1.
2	tea	bags

1.
3	cups	fresh	cranberry	juice

1.
4	cups	sparkling	water

1.
Orange	rind	strips,	for	garnish

Directions

1.
First	of	all,	bring	4	cups	of	water	to	a	boil.	Add	maple	syrup	and	cook	until
it	is	completely	dissolved,	stirring	periodically.

2.
Pour	maple	water	over	tea	bags.	Then,	let	stand	covered	for	about	5
minutes.	Now	discard	tea	bags,	add	cranberry	juice,	and	cool	it	completely.

3.
Pour	in	sparkling	water,	divide	among	serving	glasses,	and	garnish	with
orange	rind.	Enjoy!Sparkling	Apple	Tea
(Ready	in	about	15	minutes	|	Servings	12)

Ingredients

1.
4	cups	boiling	water

1.
4	tea	bags

1.
1/2	cup	honey

1.
3	cups	fresh	apple	juice

1.
4	cups	sparkling	water

1.
Apple	slices,	for	garnish

Directions

1.
Combine	boiling	water	with	tea	bags.	Let	it	steep	for	a	few	minutes.

2.
Now	discard	tea	bags,	add	honey	and	apple	juice;	stir	to	combine	and	cool
it	completely.

3.
Lastly,	add	sparkling	water.	Serve	garnished	with	apple	slices.	Enjoy!Lemongrass	Iced	Tea
(Ready	in	about	15	minutes	|	Servings	2)

Ingredients

1.
2	stalks	lemongrass,	chopped

1.
Zest	of	1	lemon

1.
1	tablespoon	honey

1.
1	cup	brewed	black	tea,	cooled

Directions

1.
Put	lemongrass	and	lemon	zest	into	a	heatproof	pitcher.	Pour	2	cups	of
boiling	water	over	it;	let	steep	for	15	to	20	minutes.	Strain	and	add	honey.

2.
Divide	prepared	liquid	among	two	ice-filled	glasses.	Top	with	black	tea	and
serve	chilled.Ginger	and	Mint	Iced	Tea
(Ready	in	about	15	minutes	|	Servings	2)

Ingredients

1.
6	ounces	fresh	ginger	root,	peeled

1.
6	mint	tea


 it all. That’ s changing
today.Olsson wipes a hand on his Abercrombie sweatshirt and scoots over so
that I can see the readouts on the machines. All his vitals are normal: heart
rate hovers around 75, systolic blood pressure clocks in at 126, oxygen
levels at 97 percent. Thr ee, two, one,  he begins breathing.
But slowly, very slowly. He inhales and exhales three times slower than
the average American, turning those 18 breaths a minute into six. As he sips
air in through his nose and out through his mouth, I watch as his carbon
dioxide levels rise from 5 percent to 6 percent. They keep rising. A minute
later, Olsson’ s levels are 25 percent higher than they were just a few
minutes ago, taking him from an unhealthy hypocapnic zone to squarely
within a medically normal range. All the while, his blood pressure drops
about five points and heart rate sinks to the mid-60s.
What hasn’ t changed is his oxygen. From start to finish, even though
he’ s been breathing at a third of the rate considered normal, his oxygen
hasn’ t wavered: it stayed at 97 percent.
W e’d experienced the same confounding measurements during our bike
workouts earlier in the week. The beginning of those workouts, like all
workouts, sucked. W e felt our lungs and respiratory system desperately
trying to meet the needs of our hungry tissues and muscles: the dinner rush
of the body. Normally, I’d open my mouth and huf f and puf f, trying to sate
that nagging need for oxygen. But for the last few days, as I cranked the
pedals harder and faster, I forced myself to breathe softer and slower. This
felt stifling and claustrophobic, like I was starving my body of fuel, until I
checked the pulse oximeter. Once again, no matter how slowly I breathed or
how hard I pedaled, my oxygen levels held steady at 97 percent.
It turns out that when breathing at a normal rate, our lungs will absorb
only about a quarter of the available oxygen in the air. The majority of that
oxygen is exhaled back out. By taking longer breaths, we allow our lungs to
soak up more in fewer breaths.
“If, with training and patience, you can perform the same exercise
workload with only 14 breaths per minute instead of 47 using conventional
techniques, what reason could there be not to do it?” wrote John Douillard,
the trainer who’d conducted the stationary bike experiments in the 1990s.
“When you see yourself running faster every day, with your breath rate
stable . . . you will begin to feel the true meaning of the word fitness.”
I realized then that breathing was like rowing a boat: taking a zillion
short and stilted strokes will get you where you’re going, but they pale incomparison to the ef ficiency and speed of fewer, longer strokes.
On the second day of using this slower, nasal breathing approach, I’d
outdistanced my mouthbreathing record by.13 of a mile. The next session, I
pedaled.36 miles farther—a 5 percent increase over mouthbreathing. By
my fifth ride on the stationary bike, I pedaled 7.7 miles, almost a full mile
longer, in the same amount of time, using the same amount of ener gy, than I
had the previous week. This was a significant gain. It wasn’ t quite yet up to
the levels Douillard’ s cyclists reported, but I was edging closer.
During that ride, I started playing around with my breathing. I tried to
inhale and exhale slower and slower, from my usual exercising rate of 20
breaths a minute to just six. I immediately felt a sense of air hunger and
claustrophobia. After a minute or so I looked down at the pulse oximeter to
see how much oxygen I was losing, how starved my body had become.
But my oxygen hadn’ t decreased with these very slow breaths, as I or
anyone else might expect. My levels r ose.
•       •       •
A last word on slow breathing. It goes by another name: prayer.
When Buddhist monks chant their most popular mantra, Om Mani
Padme Hum, each spoken phrase lasts six seconds, with six seconds to
inhale before the chant starts again. The traditional chant of Om, the “sacred
sound of the universe” used in Jainism and other traditions, takes six
seconds to sing, with a pause of about six seconds to inhale.
The sa ta na ma  chant, one of the best-known techniques in Kundalini
yoga, also takes six seconds to vocalize, followed by six seconds to inhale.
Then there were the ancient Hindu hand and tongue poses called mudra s. A
technique called khechari, intended to help boost physical and spiritual
health and overcome disease, involves placing the tongue above the soft
palate so that it’ s pointed toward the nasal cavity. The deep, slow breaths
taken during this khechari  each take six seconds. Japanese, African,
Hawaiian, Native American, Buddhist, T aoist, Christian—these cultures
and religions all had somehow developed the same prayer techniques,
requiring the same breathing patterns. And they all likely benefited from the
same calming ef fect.
In 2001, researchers at the University of Pavia in Italy gathered two
dozen subjects, covered them with sensors to measure blood flow, heartrate, and nervous system feedback, then had them recite a Buddhist mantra
as well as the original Latin version of the rosary, the Catholic prayer cycle
of the A ve Maria, which is repeated half by a priest and half by the
congregation. They were stunned to find that the average number of breaths
for each cycle was “almost exactly” identical, just a bit quicker than the
pace of the Hindu, T aoist, and Native American prayers: 5.5 breaths a
minute.
But what was even more stunning was what breathing like this did to the
subjects. Whenever they followed this slow breathing pattern, blood flow to
the brain increased and the systems in the body entered a state of coherence,
when the functions of heart, circulation, and nervous system are
coordinated to peak ef ficiency. The moment the subjects returned to
spontaneous breathing or talking, their hearts would beat a little more
erratically, and the integration of these systems would slowly fall apart. A
few more slow and relaxed breaths, and it would return again.
A decade after the Pavia tests, two renowned professors and doctors in
New Y ork, Patricia Gerbar g and Richard Brown, used the same breathing
pattern on patients with anxiety and depression, minus the praying. Some of
these patients had trouble breathing slowly, so Gerbar g and Brown
recommended they start with an easier rhythm of three-second inhales with
at least the same length exhale. As the patients got more comfortable, they
breathed in and breathed out longer.
It turned out that the most ef ficient breathing rhythm occurred when
both the length of respirations and total breaths per minute were locked in
to a spooky symmetry: 5.5-second inhales followed by 5.5-second exhales,
which works out almost exactly to 5.5 breaths a minute. This was the same
pattern of the rosary.
The results were profound, even when practiced for just five to ten
minutes a day. “I have seen patients transformed by adopting regular
breathing practices,” said Brown. He and Gerbar g even used this slow
breathing technique to restore the lungs of 9/11 survivors who suf fered
from a chronic and painful cough caused by the debris, a horrendous
condition called ground-glass lungs. There was no known cure for this
ailment, and yet after just two months, patients achieved a significant
improvement by simply learning to practice a few rounds of slow breathing
a day.Gerbar g and Brown would write books and publish several scientific
articles about the restorative power of the slow breathing, which would
become known as “resonant breathing” or Coherent Breathing. The
technique required no real ef fort, time, or thoughtfulness. And we could do
it anywhere, at any time. “It’ s totally private,” wrote Gerbar g. “ Nobody
knows you’re doing it.”
In many ways, this resonant breathing of fered the same benefits as
meditation for people who didn’ t want to meditate. Or yoga for people who
didn’ t like to get of f the couch. It of fered the healing touch of prayer for
people who weren’ t religious.
Did it matter if we breathed at a rate of six or five seconds, or were a
half second of f? It did not, as long as the breaths were in the range of 5.5.
“W e believe that the rosary may have partly evolved because it
synchronized with the inherent cardiovascular (Mayer) rhythms, and thus
gave a feeling of wellbeing, and perhaps an increased responsiveness to the
religious message,” the Pavia researchers wrote. In other words, the
meditations, A ve Marias, and dozens of other prayers that had been
developed over the past several thousand years weren’ t all baseless.
Prayer heals, especially when it’ s


 always works if package
directions are followed; homemade pectin requires guesswork a nd may not
always produce a reliable result. See “ Homemade Pectin ”.
T esting for the Jelly Stage
Y ou only  need to test for the jell y stage when you are not using commercial
pectin. W hen commercial pectin  is used following the package directions or
the recipes in this book, the mixture will always set, or jell. Some of the
recipes i n this book do not use commercial pectin, but rely on the natural
pectin in the fruit. So it’ s important to know how to test for the jelly stage.
When a mixture  of fruit or fruit juice, sugar and acid (usually in  the form of
lemon ju ice) is boiled rapidly, or “hard” boiled, eventually it will reach the
“jelly st age.” D epending on the natural pectin in the fruit, this could take
anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. T esting is important to see if the
mixture has reached the jelly st age, so the highly concentrated fruit-sugar
mixture does not go past it and on to the soft or even hard candy stage.
Anyone who has ever for gotten a pan of strawberry jam on the  burner andcome back to find soft strawber ry tof fee can attest to the importance of this
test. There are three ways to test for the jelly stage.
Thr ee W ays to T est for the Jelly Stage
1. The Thermo meter T est:  The jelling point for jelly is 220°F (104°C).
Using a  candy thermometer is the most accurate way to measure the
temperature of a preserve. Once the mixture has reached 220°F (104°C),
remove it from t he heat to keep it from progressing to the soft and hard ball
candy stages.
2. T he S heet T e st:  U sing a cold m etal spoon, scoop out some boiling jelly.
Before t he mixt ure has reached the jelly stage, it will drip of f the spoon in
two separate drops. When the mixture comes of f the spoon in  a sheet or
when tw o drops  come together before dripping of f the spoon,  the jelly is
done.
3. The Plate T est  (below) : Drop a tablespoon (15 mL) of the mixture onto a
cold plate and freeze for 5 minutes. Remove the plate from the freezer. The
mixture is done if it wrinkles when pushed with a fork.Essential:  Remove the kettle from the heat while you are doing sheet or
plate tests, because if heated past the jelly stage, the mixture will go to the
soft ball candy stage.
Home Canning Equipment and Methods
There m ay be some lingering habits from the past that are co nfusing the
whole issue of sterilization and food safety for you. Y ears ago it was
thought that high concentrations of sugar, salt and vinegar wer e enough to
preserve high-acid foods (without processing after the food was canned) as
long as they were packed into s terilized jars and sealed properly. That was
called th e Open  Kettle Method of canning, and you may still find recipes
for jams  made with high-acid fruits that use it. I must say that, for the most
part, the  technique worked, and I used it myself. But I wouldn’ t want to be
the individual who, in February, discovered her favourite strawberry jam
warming itself in the cold cella r with little green angora-like sweaters—or
worse, the person who poisoned someone with home preserves!
The Ope n Kettle Method relies on four things for a safe prod uct. First, it
can only be use d with high-acid foods (fruit). Second, it hard boils the
mixture, meaning the fruit and s ugar mixture is brought to a rolling boil that
cannot b e stirred  down, and it is held there for 20 minutes or lo nger. Third,
the jars and lids must be able to seal hermetically—there can be no nicks in
the jar rims, and you must use new lids every time—or you m ust seal the
top of the food with a thin laye r of food-grade wax. Last (and this is themost dif ficult to achieve), the jars, lids, kitchen utensils and anything else
that will come into contact with the preserve must be sterile.
T oday, we want quick results and have come to rely on commercial pectin
to th icken our fr uit condiments,  sometimes even if they are already high in
natural fruit pectin. This is convenient, but in doing so, we eliminate the
need for  the hard boil, which kills spore-forming bacteria. Be rnardin, the
preserving experts, recommend that the only way to ensure com plete safety
of ca nned foods is to use a boiling water bath or pressure-canning technique
in clean, hot pre serving jars that are capped with new flat tops and screw
bands. When food is processed for the specified length of time, the food, as
well as the jar  and lid, are sterilized, so unlike with the O pen Kettle
Method, the jars only need to be hot, not sterilized, before packing them
with food.
Essential:  A lways process canned food using either the Boiling W ate r
Method or the Pressure Canner Method.
When I first started this book,  I was not clear about using t he oven for
heating preserving jars. I had never used that method, but I knew people
did. Aga in, I went to the experts, the people who manufacture  preserving
jars. The ir answer: Do not heat canning jars in the oven beca use hot and
cold spots can occur, causing the jars to explode when filled with boiling
food.
Equipment
If yo u a re only preserving fruit and making jams, jellies and fr uit spreads,
some small tools, a jam kettle and a lar ge pot will be all you need. If you
plan to include vegetables (other than pickles, which can be processed using
the Boiling W ater Canner Method), you will need a pressure canner.
Jars and Lids
I hav e h eard of people using all sorts of recycled jars and lids (even antique,
glass-top types) to preserve, and some say they have never had a  problem. Irecommend that  only Mason jars be trusted with your precious  condiment
gems, because these jars are s pecifically designed to withsta nd the high
temperatures of heat processing, as well as the subsequent cooling.
Essential:  For  preserving, never use recycled jars that previously hel d
commercial food products. The lids will not seal properly, and the jars may
not hold up to water boiling and subsequent cooling.
Choose the size of jar according to the recipe and how you will use it later in recipes. Y ou can recycle
Mason jars (if they have no nicks or cracks) and the screw band part of the lids, but use new flat tops
each time you preserve. Basic jar sizes shown here are (clockwise from top): quart (4 cups/1 L), 1
cup (250 mL), pint (2 cups/500 mL).Mason jars are sealed with tw o-piece lids—flat tops and screw bands.
Always use new flat tops because, once sealed, they must be pried of f,
leaving the rims raised (sometimes only slightly) enough that a perfect seal
will not be possi ble next time. T he gummy ring around the inside of the flat
top allows for th e airtight seal. T he ring is softened when the lids are heated
(see step 2 in the Boiling W ater Method, Boiling W ater Method, Step by
Step ). The screw band holds the flat top in place while the food inside the
jar is heating. Steam from the hot food escapes, causing a vacuum inside the
jar that pulls the flat top down  and creates a hermetic seal. Screw bands
must only be tightened firmly by hand (see step 5 in the Boiling W ater
Method, Boiling W ater Method, Step by Step ) in order to allo w the steam to
escape. Later, once a seal is obtained (see step 8 in the Boiling W ater
Method ), th e ba nds can  be removed, cl eaned and stored for the next batch
of preserves.
Small T ools
I find that using tools designed for a specific task makes the job  easier. My
canning equipment includes a thermometer, magnetic lid lifter, non-metallic
air releaser and headspace measure, stainless steel wide-mouth funnel and
expandable jar lifter.
Kettles
Pr eserving Pans
Although any lar ge, deep pot or saucepan can be used to boil fru it and sugar
for jams, the hea vier the pan, the  less the risk of scorching, because the heat
will be evenly d istributed across  the base. Be sure to use a pot d eep enough
to allow for the mixture to bubble up, which can happen rather q uickly once
the sugar melts into the juice.
My favo urite preserving pan is a stainless steel Maslin pan. Conical in
shape, w ith a narrow, heavy base that fits modern burners, the pan flares
slightly from bottom to top, w hich allows for maximum evaporation of


 intelligent by
applying your very own standards to yourself. In fact, the happier
you make yourself, the more intelligent you are. If you are deficient
in any areas such as algebra, spelling or writing, it is simply the
natural result of choices you have been making up until now. Should
you decide to devote enough practice time to any of these tasks, you
would undoubtedly be more proficient in them. If your image of
yourself is of someone who is not too intelligent, remember what
we said about intelligence in Chapter I. If you underestimate your-
self, it is because you have bought that notion, and you compare
yourself to others on certain school-related variables.
It may surprise you to hear this, but you can choose to be as bright
as you desire. Aptitude is really a function of time, rather than some
inborn quality. One support for this belief can be found in the grade
norms for standardized achievement tests. These norms demonstrate
that scores achieved by the top stu-36 / Your Erroneous Zonesdents at one grade level are achieved by the majority of students at
a later grade level. Further studies show that although most students
eventually reach mastery on each learning task, some students
achieve mastery much sooner than do others. * Yet the label “defi-
cient” or even “retarded” is often attached to those who move more
slowly toward absolute mastery of a skill. Listen to John Carroll as
he talks on this point in his article, “A Model for School Learning,”
which appeared in Teachers College Record:
Aptitude is the amount of time required by the learner to attain
mastery of a learning task. Implicit in this formulation is the
assumption that, given enough time, all students can conceiv-
ably attain mastery of a learning task.
With enough time and effort you could, if you so chose, master
almost any academic skill. But you don’t make that choice, for very
good reasons. Why should you put that kind of present-moment
energy into solving obscure problems or learning something that
doesn’t interest you. Being happy, living effectively and loving are
far greater goals. The point is that intelligence is not something that
you inherited or had otherwise bestowed upon you. You are as smart
as you choose to be. Not liking how smart you’ve chosen to be is
mere self-contempt, which can lead only to injurious consequences
in your own life.
The logic of being able to choose your self-pictures applies to all
of the photographs of you that are lodged in your brain. You are as
socially adept as you choose to be. If you dislike the way you behave
socially, you can work at changing the behavior and not confusing
it with your own self-worth. Similarly, your artistic, mechanical,
athletic, musical and other abilities are largely the result of choices
and should not be confused with your worthiness. (See Chapter IV
for a full treatment of your self-descriptions and why you’ve chosen
them for yourself.) In
*Benjamin S. Bloom, et al., Handbook on Formative and Summative Evaluation of
Student Learning  (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971).FIRST LOVE  / 37the same light, the preceding chapter made a case for your emotional
life being the product of your own choices. Self-acceptance based
upon what you believe to be appropriate for you is something you
can make a decision about now. Repairing those things that don’t
measure up can be a delightful undertaking, and there’s no reason
to choose to feel unworthy, just because there are things about
yourself that you’re going to improve.
Self-dislike can take many forms, and perhaps you engage in some
putting-down-of-yourself behavior. Here is a brief list of some typ-
ically recurring behavior that falls into this category of the self-veto.
• Rejecting compliments directed at you. (“Oh, this old thing….
I’m really not smart, just lucky I guess”…)
• Making up excuses for why you look nice. (“It’s my hairdresser,
she could make a toad look good”…“Believe me, it’s the wardrobe
that does it”…“Green is my color”…)
• Giving credit to others when it rightfully belongs to you. (“Thank
God for Michael, without him I would be nothing”…“Marie did all
the work, I just stood around and supervised”…)
• Using other-directed references when speaking. (“My husband
says”…“My mother feels”…“George always tells me that”…)
• Having your opinions verified by others. (“Isn’t that right
dear?”…“That’s what I said, didn’t I, Martha?”…“Just ask my hus-
band, he’ll tell you”…)
• Refusing to order something you want, not because you can’t
afford it (although this may be your stated reason) but because you
don’t feel that you’re worth it.
• Not having orgasms.
• Not buying yourself something because you think you have to
buy it for someone else, although sacrificing is not necessary;38 / Your Erroneous Zonesor not treating yourself to the things you would like to own, because
you’re not worth it.
• Avoiding indulgences such as flowers, wine or whatever, which
you love because that would be wasteful.
• In a crowded room, someone yells out, “Hey, Stupid,” and you
turn around.
• Using pet names for yourself (and having others use them as
well) that are really put-downs, including Dum-dum, Silly, Sweetie-
pie or Baby (for an adult), Funny-face, Shorty, Fatty, or Baldy.
• A friend or lover gives you a gift of jewelry. The thought in your
head goes something like this…“You must have a drawer full of
jewelry at home for other girls.”
• Someone tells you that you look good. The sentence in your
head is, “You’re practically blind or you must be trying to make me
feel good.”
• Someone takes you to a restaurant or theater. You think, “This
is how it is in the beginning, but how long will it last once he finds
out what kind of a person I really am?”
• A girlfriend accepts a date and you feel that she is going along
just to be charitable.
I once worked with a young woman who was quite attractive and
obviously much sought after by men. Shirley insisted, however, that
all her relationships ended badly and that, though she wanted des-
perately to marry, she had never had the opportunity. It came out
in counseling that Shirley was ruining each of her relationships
without realizing it. If a young man told her he cared for her or loved
her, Shirley’s head contradicted with “He’s only saying that because
he knows it’s what I want to hear.” Shirley was always searching
for a sentence that would repudiate her worth. There was no self-
love and so she rejected efforts by others to love her. She didn’t be-
lieve that anyone could find her appealing. Why? Because she didn’t
believe that she was worth being loved in the first place, and so the
intermi-FIRST LOVE  / 39nable cycle of renunciation was her way of reinforcing her notions
of her lack of worth.
While many of the items in the list above may appear to be petty,
they nevertheless are tiny indicators of self-rejection. If you sacrifice
or refuse to be extravagant with yourself, which often turns out to
be choosing hamburger-helper over lamb chops, it is because you
don’t feel you’re worth the better cut. Perhaps you’ve been taught
that common courtesy calls for denial of a compliment or that you
really aren’t attractive. These are the lessons you’ve learned and the
self-denying behavior is now second nature. There are numerous
examples of self-repudiation behavior that surface in conversations
and in everyday behavior. And each time you engage in any kind
of a self-put-down, you reinforce that old bugaboo that others have
laid on you and reduce your own opportunities for any kind of love
in your life, be it self or other-directed love. Surely you are too
worthy to go around putting yourself down.
Accepting Yourself Without Complaint
Self-love means accepting yourself as a worthy person because
you choose to do so. Acceptance also means an absence of complaint.
Fully functioning people never complain, and particularly they don’t
complain about the rocks being rough, or the sky being cloudy or
the ice being too cold. Acceptance means no complaining, and hap-
piness means no complaining about the things over which you can
do nothing. Complaining is the refuge of those who have no self-
reliance. Telling others about the things you dislike in yourself helps
you to continue the dissatisfaction since they are almost always
powerless to do anything about it except deny it and then you don’t
believe them. Just as complaining to others accomplishes nothing,
so permitting others to abuse you with their own tote bags full of
self-pity and misery helps no one. A simple question to ask will
generally end this useless and unpleasant behavior. “Why are40 / Your Erroneous Zonesyou telling me this?” or “Is there anything I can do to help you with
this?” By asking yourself the same questions, you will begin to re-
cognize your complaining behavior as ultimate folly. It is time spent
in a wasteful manner, time which might be put to better use in


.
Whole Grains and Childhood Tooth Decay
In reviewing my older daughter’s own case of severe cavities, I found several photos of her
consuming whole grain products we made at home. The grain foods were usually from freshly ground
organic grains which were soaked overnight prior to cooking. The whole grains were even consumed
in the context of a nutrient-rich diet high in fat-soluble vitamins.
Toxins in grains, whether it is phytic acid, lectins or other compounds, can cause severe cavitiesquite rapidly. A severe case of cavities in a five-and-a-half-year-old girl was related to me from a
Canadian correspondent which illustrates the point. The mother took the child to her dentist regularly
every 6 months for the child’s entire life. She submitted the child to dental surgery under general
anesthesia and spent thousands of dollars on her dental treatments. Yet even after all of this, the child
needed four more root canals, three more crowns and five new fillings. A severe case like this is not
the result of a high sugar diet, but the result of a potent toxin in grains. When questioned about the
girl’s diet, the mother told me that the girl received, along with nut butters, seeds, and sweet fruits, a
daily supplement of wheat bran and wheat germ in her morning smoothies.
I have studied the diets of several cases of children and adults with rampant cavities. Severe cavities
behave like an unending torrent of decay which seems impossible to stem as new cavities rapidly
form. One tooth may have multiple cavities, and nearly every tooth is infected with tooth decay.
Under most circumstances, it is quite difficult to cause this sort of rampant severe tooth decay in such
a brief period of time. For example, in adults, drinking multiple cans of decay-causing soft drinks
every day over a period of several years will produce severe cavities. A diet consisting of a large
percentage of fruit over a period of many years in one case produced ten cavities. Yet in a relatively
short period of time, whole grains can cause severe cavities in children with hypoplastic (weak) teeth
from birth.
Young children cannot digest modern grains well. A good suggestion is to wait until they are one or
two years old to feed them any grains at all. Always avoid white flour, crackers and store-bought
breakfast cereals. Avoid any grains containing bran. The exception may be pseudo-cereals like
buckwheat and quinoa. If your child has significant cavities I would not recommend feeding any
grains to your child until the severe tooth decay has stopped. If a child has minor tooth decay, then
you can feed the safe grains as discussed in chapter four, such as sourdough bread from unbleached
flour, or correctly prepared rice. Sprouted grain breads are not helpful for any child with cavities
because of their bran content.
Severe Tooth Decay and Children
Children with a weak constitution or ones who develop cavities easily many times have been exposed
to toxins from the bran and germ in grains, or to an extremely inferior diet such as a vegan diet filled
with lots of sweet foods. Because these children face a large nutritional deficiency, you will need to
be extremely vigilant to heal these types of cavities. If whole grain consumption (no matter how you
prepared it) is the cause, then your child will be hypersensitive to most grains. I recommend at least
avoiding all grains for 3 weeks for a child with pain or severe tooth decay. You will want to focus on
increasing calcium in the diet such as from cheese, and vitamin D such as from fermented cod liver
oil, and vitamin C from vegetable or berry sources. These children will do better on a lower grain
and lower carbohydrate diet. Their diet will therefore focus primarily on vegetables, with animal
proteins and fats. You can use sweet potatoes, other root vegetables, or dairy products to provide
them with carbohydrates.
Tooth Infections and Tooth Pain
A young child with severe decay can develop infections in the gum as a result of compromised teeth.
The infections come and go and are usually a result of poor food choices by the parents. The whitepus is a sign that the rest of the body will be protected. With improved diet, tooth infections normally
heal.
Echinacea with goldenseal tincture diluted in water can help heal tooth and gum infections
.
This is to be taken internally by both the child and breastfeeding mother. I have seen echinacea
perform wondrous healing of infections. Goldenseal powder or plantain powder can be placed on the
infected gum itself. Again use herbs with care. Try a very small dose at first to make sure your child
doesn’t react adversely to it, and make sure not to use these herbs with prescription medications or
other strong herbs unless advised to do so by a practitioner.
You can learn more about tooth infections in the dentistry section. The same general principles apply
to children. Make sure to closely monitor teeth that can become infected. Infected teeth that do not
heal properly can result in bone loss, or the child getting sick from a focal infection. Infected teeth
that do not heal or improve in a short period of time usually need to be extracted. If the pain and
infection do not go away and stay away then this is a sign that the body is not able to heal the damaged
tooth. Remember there could be years of deficiency that have caused the tooth to break down. While I
would not recommend pulling teeth as a preventative measure since there is no evidence to support
this, pulling out painful teeth or ones where the infection does not heal quickly can be a good idea.
This is your decision to make along with your dentist. You know what is right to do, so trust your own
feelings on the matter.
Moderate Tooth Decay in Children
Not all children require heroic measures to restore their dental health. It really depends on how
strong they are, and how many cavities they have. Children with a few small cavities will respond
very well to a moderate amount of dietary modifications. In particular, adding fat-soluble vitamins
into the diet, and getting good quality raw milk or cheese is usually sufficient to remineralize small
cavities in children’s teeth. This along with avoiding too many sweets is a good place to begin if you
feel unable or unwilling to completely clean up your child’s diet.
Junk Foods in Schools, at Parties and Gatherings
There are two types of sweet foods. There are sweets that in moderation do not harm healthy children
who have no tooth decay, and then there are just plain harmful sweets. Occasionally having sweet
fruit or natural sugar in a dessert does not harm a healthy child. But many children are exposed to high
intensity sweeteners with high fructose corn syrup (corn sugar). When children eat these foods at
parties, such as ice cream, or cake, it throws their body chemistry into a tail spin. Children with tooth
decay can be adversely affected by these sweets for weeks and months. When well-meaning adults at
schools, community gatherings or birthday parties feed children high intensity sweeteners, they are
poisoning them with highly toxic artificial food. This is not acceptable behavior from organizations
that are supposed to support and safeguard children’s health and safety. Be vigilant about keeping
these sweets away from your child especially if he has tooth decay.
Grains You Can Feed Your Children
If your child’s cavities have remineralized and you believe the original cavities were not caused by
too many whole grains, then you can safely feed your child grains as discussed in the previous
chapters. Likewise if your child has a strong and robust constitution and the tooth decay is not toobad, you can follow the grain guidelines for adults. If your child has more severe cavities or other
damage from grains, you will need to be very careful with any grains you feed your child for many
years, and in this case, grains should be used minimally.
Vegetarian Children
Vegetarian children should follow a diet similar to the diet in the vegetarian section. I would
encourage a parent whose child is vegetarian and has severe cavities to consider some sea food or
cod liver oil. Green Pasture’s™ butter oil is a must for vegetarian children because they will
otherwise be lacking in fat-soluble vitamin D.
Dairy-Free Diets for Children
Since children with tooth decay may be lacking calcium, having dairy foods in the diet is extremely
helpful in healing tooth cavities. If your child is sensitive to dairy foods, see if kefir, goat milk, or
some type of grass-fed cheese is comfortable for them to eat. If your child absolutely cannot tolerate
dairy products, then you will need to get calcium from sea foods and vegetables. In this case you will
need to prepare vegetable soups and stews, preferably with a meat or fish stock base to provide
adequate calcium. The calcium guidelines in chapter four will help you with more suggestions for
calcium-rich foods.
Feeding Children Who Won’t Eat Good Food
Children mirror and mimic their parents’ food habits. Pay attention to the foods you eat and you might
find that even though you may eat meat or eggs, you could be a finicky eater and consume too many
foods that are not in balance with your needs. While these habits may not affect you overtly, they
affect your child to a greater degree. Sometimes children won’t eat meat if they have a chronic feeling
of pain and emotional upset. If a parent smiles and enjoys a particular food, then the child will usually
follow. Sometimes you will need to be positively assertive to persuade your child to eat certain
foods. A small struggle may ens


ed
watching	funny	movies,	and	when	the	effect	would	wear	off,	he	would	switch	on
the	projector	and	laugh	some	more.	The	laughter	had	profound	and	beneficial
effects	on	his	body	chemistry	and	contributed	to	his	recovery.	Fourth,	he
discovered	the	powerful	anti-inflammatory	properties	of	vitamin	C.	He	decided
to	take	twenty-five	grams	a	day	administered	by	intravenous	drip.	This	action
had	a	profoundly	beneficial	effect	on	his	highly	inflammatory	condition.	By
avoiding	toxic	prescription	drugs,	changing	his	attitude,	laughing	and
administering	plenty	of	vitamin	C,	Cousins	made	a	miraculous	recovery.
Lying	on	what	had	been	pronounced	my	deathbed,	I	thought	about	Cousins’s
book	in	relation	to	my	graduate	school	days	doing	scientific	research	at	MIT.	I
wondered	how	Cousins	managed	to	find	the	pertinent	information	he	needed	to
save	himself.	If	Cousins,	a	dying	man	with	no	scientific	training,	could	obtain
such	critical,	life-saving	knowledge,	why	couldn’t	his	physicians?	After	all,
these	professionals	had	devoted	their	entire	careers	to	medicine.	Knowing	that
Cousins	had	found	a	way	to	save	his	own	life	encouraged	me;	I	hoped	that	my
scientific	training	as	a	chemist	might	enable	me	to	do	the	same.
As	I	lay	there	with	a	poisoned	liver,	dying	from	chemical	hepatitis,	I	realized
that	if	I	wanted	to	live	I	must	act	quickly.	Not	much	time	was	left.	Thinking
about	how	instrumental	vitamin	C	was	in	Cousins’s	recovery,	I	remembered
from	my	study	of	biochemistry	that	vitamin	C	plays	an	essential	role	in	liver
detoxification.	Because	my	liver	had	been	poisoned	by	a	toxic	drug,	perhaps
some	vitamin	C	would	help	it	detoxify.	It	seemed	like	an	experiment	worth
doing,	and	besides,	I	knew	of	no	other	options.
It	worked.
Twenty-four	hours	after	starting	oral	doses	of	vitamin	C	(about	four	grams	a
day),	my	vital	signs	began	to	stabilize.	In	forty-eight	hours	I	was	able	to	sit	up	in
bed.	A	few	days	before,	death	had	been	a	certainty.	Now,	I	could	sit	up,	which
was	the	first	time	I	had	experienced	a	measurable	improvement	in	all	those
months.	Progress,	even	in	the	form	of	something	as	simple	as	sitting	up	in	bed,
can	be	incredibly	inspiring.	At	that	point,	I	knew	I	could	take	action	that	would
make	a	difference.	Meanwhile,	my	physicians	could	not	understand	why	I	not
only	survived	but	actually	improved.
I	was	still	far	from	well,	though.	I	was	a	frail	skeleton.	I	had	difficultyperforming	the	simplest	tasks,	such	as	dressing,	or	tying	my	shoelaces.	I	had	no
energy	and	became	fatigued	from	the	slightest	exertion.	My	hands	and	feet	were
numb;	I	had	difficulty	walking	and	moved	slowly.	I	was	lightheaded	and	tended
to	fall	over	easily.	Worse,	my	brain	had	trouble	functioning;	I	felt	like	I	was	in	a
mental	fog.	I	had	difficulty	with	short-term	memory	and	simple	calculations.
Even	as	I	improved	enough	to	venture	out	again,	I	could	not	make	correct
change	at	the	grocery	store	and	easily	forgot	what	I	intended	to	do.
Perhaps	worst	of	all	was	the	horrific	chemical	sensitivity	that	I	continued	to
suffer,	causing	me	to	become	weak,	disoriented	and	debilitated.	The	toxic	assault
on	my	body	by	the	metronidazole	had	left	me	with	acute	chemical	sensitivities.
For	instance,	when	I	turned	on	a	water	faucet	the	subtle	chlorine	fumes	coming
out	with	the	water	were	enough	to	cause	me	to	become	weak,	lightheaded	and
disoriented.	I	could	not	read	or	be	near	printed	materials	because	of	the	chemical
fumes	coming	from	the	ink	and	paper.	I	used	only	a	speakerphone	because	I
would	react	to	the	fumes	off-gassing	from	the	plastic	telephone	receiver.	My	gas
water	heater	had	to	be	replaced	with	an	electric	unit	because	I	reacted	to	the
combustion	fumes	diffusing	into	the	surrounding	living	space.	I	had	to	wear
clothes	made	only	from	natural	fibers,	to	avoid	the	toxic	fumes	from	synthetics.	I
had	to	purchase	special	water	and	air	filters.	But	even	with	these	many
precautions,	I	was	debilitated	by	my	relentless	reactions	to	a	myriad	of
environmental	chemicals.
Someone	who	has	not	personally	experienced	chemical	sensitivity	has	a	hard
time	understanding	how	just	a	whiff	of	certain	chemicals	can	create	total	havoc
in	a	matter	of	seconds.	I	remember	once	taking	a	piece	of	Scotch	tape	off	a	roll
and	being	devastated	for	the	rest	of	the	day	by	the	seemingly	inconsequential
chemical	odor	from	the	tape!	With	chemical	sensitivity,	the	nervous	system
develops	a	“memory”	of	past	reactions.	This	effect	is	called
classical
conditioning
(i.e.,	biological	learning)	and	upon	detecting	these	reactive	agents
again,	even	in	infinitesimal	quantities,	a	full-scale	response	is	produced.	Our
modern	world	is	permeated	with	chemicals	that	can	produce	such	reactions	in
susceptible	people.
In	this	hideous	state	of	health,	I	fell	into	a	deep	depression.	I	thought	about
taking	my	life.	Although	I	had	made	some	progress,	I	was	allergic	to	almost
everything,	and	I	was	in	a	constant	state	of	debilitating	reactions.	My	life	was
ruined.	No	doctor	could	help	me.	I	was	unable	to	do	any	meaningful	activity	and
had	nothing	to	look	forward	to.	I	could	not	even	watch	television	because	of	the
chemical	fumes	off-gassing	from	the	TV	set	as	it	heated	up.Choosing	to	Live
One	beautiful	afternoon,	I	was	sitting	out	in	the	sun	and	contemplating	the
meaning	of	life.	Illness	has	a	powerful	way	of	providing	perspective	and	time	to
think	about	the	really	important	things.	I	asked	myself	whether	or	not	I	wanted
to	continue	living.	I	decided	that	I	did	not	want	to	die—I	wanted	to	live.
However,	life	was	not	worth	living	in	such	a	debilitated	state.	My	only	option
was	to	find	a	way	to	become	healthy	again.
How	could	I	do	this?	The	doctors	could	not	help.	In	large	measure,	doctors
had	brought	me	to	my	failing	condition.	I	recall	thinking	about	the	explosion	of
knowledge	in	the	world—about	all	the	new	scientific	data	being	published	every
day.	Surely	somewhere,	some	key	bit	of	information	would	help	me.	I	became
determined	to	find	out	whatever	I	could,	but	it	was	not	easy.	My	vision	was
blurred	and	my	eyes	hurt.	Given	that	I	was	unable	to	be	near	printed	materials
because	of	the	ink	fumes,	how	could	I	study?	My	mind	didn’t	work	right,	either:
Contemporary	literature	about	chemically	sensitive	people	describes	this
debilitating	type	of	“brain	fog.”	In	my	early	quests	to	research	my	health
condition,	I	would	find	myself	lost	in	a	mental	fog,	spending


 in diluted acid, as acids tend to kill the sperm.
MAKING LOVE
'Making love' commonly is just a polite expression for having sex withou t feeling love. One can have a loving sexual relationship for
just one night or a lifelong sexual relationship without love. For maximal emotional satisfaction try to make, feel and express love with
each sexual encounter. It is said that the most important sexual organ of a woman is her brain and I would add that the heart is of
equal importance.
Kinsey reported on the sexuality of the American male that about three quarters reach ejaculation within two minutes after the
initiation of sexual relations and frequently ten to twenty seconds after penetration. Luckily for women, things appear to have
improved since the Kinsey report in 1948, but many still remain dissatisﬁed with the undue haste of their man.
Loving foreplay is part of the romance, stimulating the heart as well as the right side of the brain. This is not only important for women
but increasingly also for men once they are no longer full of youthful vigour.
Not only women but also many men enjoy and need to be played with to get 'into the mood'. Increasingly, they come to resent the
perception that they are expected to 'perform'. They feel that they have to do all the work, ﬁrst enticing a woman into bed, excitedly
undressing her, then stimulating her to get her ready, then 'hopping on' and ﬁnally make her come. Women, on the other hand, resent
being made to feel just as sexual objects.
There is often so much hidden fear and misunderstanding on both sides. Therefore, take it easy, there is neither need to hurry nor to
perform. Talk to each other about what you like and how you like it. Make  each other comfortable and dispel any notion that he has to
perform or she has to have an orgasm. This is important even if you are already in a long-term relationship together.
Not every time you have a sexual play you need to penetrate and not every time you have penetrative sex you need to aim for an
orgasm. If you do want an orgasm, there is nothing wrong with having a clitoral orgasm but try to aim also for a vaginal orgasm.
To increase the ﬂow of energies and feelings enhance pelvic movements by rhythmically tensing and relaxing all the muscles
between the knees and the lower back. Intentionally make expressive sounds wherever this can be done in privacy.
While different positions and movements can offer different experiences, they are less important than achieving a union of feelings.
Do not try to increase your pleasure with fantasies, go for the real thing instead. Focus your full attention on your own feelings and on
feeling united with your partner. Fantasising of having sex with someone else is just like another form of masturbation.
For some men it may be preferable to delay ejaculation to either extend the pleasure or give their partner time to build up towards the
climax. This may be done by playful interruptions, by slowing the breath, or temporarily even holding the breath, by concentrating the
feeling awareness on the heart or, with the penis fully inserted, keeping in close contact with the pubic areas, increasing and
decreasing pressure in unison while not moving the penis.
A somewhat drastic but nevertheless effective method of preventing ejaculation, is to tense the whole body while also holding the
breath. Alternatively, strong ﬁnger pressure on the perineum just before ejaculation will keep the ejaculate inside the body. This may
require some practise as with all of these techniques. However, if the climax is deﬁnitely approaching, do not try to suppress it but
start moving vigorously for a full orgasm. Suppressing ejaculation repeatedly by tensing all muscles may lead to persistent muscle
tension in the pelvic area. A better method is to prevent ejaculation by deliberately remaining very relaxed with slow breathing and
focusing on the heart or forehead center.
HOW OFTEN?
The frequency of intercourse is, of course, a highly individual matter. Normally I see no reason to restrict sexual play if it does not
involve either ejaculation or suppression of sexual impulses. However the orgastic potential is usually much stronger after a period of
total abstention or separation.
From a bio-energetic point of view females are much better able to have several lovers than males who would either have to neglect
one or become worn out. However, I believe that even for females moderation leads to greater wellbeing. I also believe that the
difﬁculty of many women to achieve  vaginal orgasm has much to do with our somewhat unnatural habit of mating all year-round just
for pleasure. Female animals have days when they are in heat and strongly attract males for mating. The same may be natural for
humans.
Around ovulation time a healthy woman who abstained for a month will have a strong orgastic potential and her biochemistry and the
whole body are geared to receive a male. If there are no strong emotional blockages, she may ﬁnd it easier to have a vaginal
orgasm, even after only short but vigorous penetration.10/30/24, 2:57 PM Health-Science-Spirit - Sexuality
https://health-science-spirit.com/Healing_Our_Emotions/Sexuality.html 7/10Frequent intercourse causes even more problems for men. While an occasional full orgasm can be strongly invigorating, frequent
ejaculation is decidedly weakening, especially for men low in overall energy. If a man is sexually overstimulated, he should better
remove the nutritional and biochemical causes and ﬁnd other creative outlets for his energy. I have the impression that gluten allergy,
often associated with a rather whitish inner iris, sometimes may be able to cause over-stimulation of the sex centre in the brain,
synthetic food colourings and possibly other chemicals may do the same. Such over-stimulation can lead to excessive masturbation
with several ejaculations every day. The basic cause is the same as with drug addictions or any other addictions - to stimulate and
experience the release of dopamine. Generally it is much healthier to have fewer ejaculations with strong orgasms than frequent
ejaculations with weak orgasms.
In teenagers frequent ejaculation may impair the mental and physical development while in later life sexual overactivity makes us
susceptible to diseases and premature ageing. What is 'frequent' depends very much on the individual's constitution and
commitments. For a healthy and strong young man habitually having several ejaculations per week may be invigorating but that might
be too much for someone much older or with a weaker constitution.
In a long-term relationship I see the ideal in having only sensuous and spiritual sex plays for most of the month and orgastic
intercourse close to ovulation, as often as desired. A female in touch with her body will feel when the time is right and let her partner
know. Unfortunately, this also is the time with the highest risk of conception, and therefore is not suitable without a safe
contraceptive.
ALTERNA TIVES
For those without a sexual partner the obvious choices are masturbatio n or abstinence. For masturbation the same principles apply
as for making love. That is to aim for fewer climaxes but with stronger  orgastic releases. For both sexes this means waiting with
masturbation until one feels a strong  charge of sexual energy and using pelvic movements, sound and feeling awareness to ensure a
strong orgasmic discharge.
For celibates an easy solution is a low-protein diet with few spices and condiments. This may be suitable if there is sexual over-
stimulation due to too much histamin e from over-acidity or food allergy, but otherwise I am not in favour of this low energy approach.
Rather I believe in making ourselves as energetic as possible, including plenty of sexual energy, but learning to channel this sexual
energy into creative outlets, such as healing, sports, charity work or arts.
An alternative is the following'rejuve nation rite' which is supposedly from a Tibetan monastery where rejuvenation of the body was
successfully practised. This rite was used in combination with several other rites as shown in 'The Eye of Revelation' by Peter Kelder.
Also a daily raw egg yolk is recommended for those of us who are no longer youthful in order to increase the sexual energies.
When sexually excited, stand and bend over with your hands on the knees and push all the air out of your lungs. Then straighten up
and with the hands on the hips push up the shoulders. Pull the stomach in and up and hold this position as long as possible. Then
forcefully inhale through the nose and exhale immediately through the mouth. The arms may now hang to the sides while you take
further deep breaths through the nose or the mouth. If you are still sexually excited, repeat the same procedure as often as
necessary.
What many singles and especially women miss even more than sex is touching and hugging. Some try to satisfy this need with
regular massage therapy. However, there may be a simple solution. If you feel deprived of touching and hugging just form a local
"hug club". Either discretely spread the word around or put a notice in a suitable place asking for interested individuals to contact you.
You can then arrange a weekly meeting where you just hug for an hour or two. As a follow-up step you may also give each other
massages. You may be surprised by the amount of interest in hugging 'out there'. You may also form or join a healing group where
hugging may be practiced together with massaging, reﬂexology and the multitude of other self-healing techniques available.
Eventually you may also want to experiment with Karezza and meditative forms of hugging as described in the separate
article  Spiritual Sex. Sexual energy


 responsi-
bilities. Discovering our own Dhanna means learning
what is appropriate for us individually according to our
role in society, stage of life and spiritual development.77
Dhanna is the foundation necessary for Yoga to proceed in
a genuine way.
Yama — the First Limb of Yoga
Many people in the West consider that Yoga is a per-
sonal thing or even a self-preoccupation. Actually, Yoga in
the true sense requires a high sense of social responsibility
and ethical behavior defined by the five Yamas or rules of
social conduct. The Yamas are the five main attitudes nec-
essary to establish a right relationship with the external
world.
1) non-violence (ahimsa)
2) truthfulness (satya)
3) control of sexual energy (brahmacharya) The Eightfold Method of Yoga I 265
4) non-stealing (asteya)
5) non-possessiveness (aparigraha)
The first and most important of the Yamas is non-vio-
lence: not wishing harm to any creature in thought, word
or deed. Non-violence is the most important attitude for
bringing about a right relationship with the world and
preventing negative energies from entering into us. Vio-
lence is the greatest distorting factor in life. Wishing harm
to others is the prime cause of mental unrest because it
introduces an energy of violence in the mind where it must
breed distortion and result in wrong action.
Truthfulness keeps us in harmony with the forces of
truth in the world around us, and removes us from the
influences of falsehood and illusion. It gives mental peace
and equipoise and allows us to discover what is real. Truth-
fulness means doing what we say and saying what we do.
Lying, deceit, dissimulation and dishonesty distort the
mind and lead us to wrong judgment. Non-violence and
truthfulness must go together. Truthfulness should not be
harsh or violent. Non-violence should not be apart from
truth or it is merely appeasement or placation. We should
speak the truth but in a way that is as pleasant as possible.
Sex is the most powerful energy that connects us with
the world and is the main source of misconduct in life.
Without controlling our sexual urge, we must run into
sorrow and conflict. Control of sexual energy, the most
powerful of vital forces, removes us from unnecessary emo-
tional entanglements and builds up the internal power
necessary to bring the mind to a higher level of awareness.
Mental imbalances always involve some distortion of sexu-
al energy, which is the root energy of the senses and mind.
Uncontrolled or misdirected sexual energy distorts our Ayurveda and the Mind
physical and mental functions. It leads to tremendous loss
of energy as well as deep-seated entanglements.
Non-stealing means not taking what rightfully belongs
to others. This includes not only the property of others but
their work or any credit due them. It establishes our right
relationship with other people and keeps us free from envy
and jealousy. Non-stealing is not just a simple matter of
avoiding theft, it requires honesty about who we are and
what we have done and not taking anything that is not
rightfully ours. Whatever we have taken from others
breeds deception that warps the mind and inhibits real
understanding.
Non-possessiveness means not being possessive of
external things, even that which we may acquire rightful-
ly. It requires not feeling that we own things, but consid-
ering that we are custodians of resources that belong to
everyone. This principle stands for material simplicity and
not craving material comforts. Non-possessiveness gives us
freedom from the world. It is a particularly important
observance for the modem affluent world, where we have
so many possessions and such a seeking of affluence and
prosperity. What we think we own actually owns us.
Non-possessiveness does not mean that we necessarily
have to give away all our possessions, but it does mean that
we should not accumulate unnecessary things. Having too
many things creates many worries, for which the only solu-
tion may be to give them up. There are many negative psy-
chological consequences of having too many possessions.
These include suspicion and attachment, which make the
mind heavy and self-protective.
Non-stealing and non-possessiveness go together. The
wrong possessions, whether material or mental, like grav-
ity, hold us down and bind us to the objects involved. The Eightfold Method of Yoga I 267 A
Unless we change our material environment and our men-
tal attitude toward it, we may not be able to change the
mind. We must purify our external environment in order
to interiorize the mind. Too many or inappropriate posses-
sions create a negative psychic force that prevents our con-
sciousness from expanding. Through such yogic obser-
vances, we will no longer create a limiting material
environment around our consciousness.
If we do not have an honest, truthful and detached rela-
tionship with the world and with other people, we cannot
have harmony of body or mind. Wrong social conduct is
the basis of most psychological and many physical diseases.
Right social conduct is an important tool for treating all
disease. Before we look within to treat the mind or devel-
op our consciousness, we must create the foundation of a
right relationship with the world around us, not only in
our thoughts but in our actions.
Niyama — the Second Limb of Yoga
The Yogic rules of personal conduct refer to our daily
life-style practices. These are the main disciplines or regi-
mens that we must follow in order to evolve in conscious-
ness. The five Niyamas are:
1) contentment (santosha)
2) purity (shaucha)
3) study of spiritual teachings (svadhyaya)
4) self-discipline (tapas)
5) surrender to God (Ishvara pranidhana)
Contentment comes first. This means finding happi-
ness inside ourselves rather than in outer involvement. As
long as we are discontented and distracted, we will not Ayurveda and the Mind
have the peace and consistency to look within. Yoga is not
a movement of the disturbed mind seeking entertainment,
but a movement of the calm mind seeking inner truth.78
We should cultivate contentment by cultivating inner
sources of creativity and awareness. This is another key to
mental peace.
Purity and cleanliness are the most basic practices that
we must follow in life. We should cleanse the body
through proper vegetarian diet and right exercise, and
cleanse the mind through proper impressions, emotions
and thoughts. Lack of cleanliness on a psychological level
causes as many mental problems as not cleaning the body
causes physical problems. Such mental impurities include
worry, gossip, disturbed imagination and jealousy.
Study of spiritual teachings means examining teachings
that help us understand who we are and the nature of the
universe in which we live. For this we need a genuinely
spiritual or enlightened teaching based upon the works of
Self-realized sages. Spiritual teachings introduce higher
thoughts into the mind and teach us a language through
which we can understand our own higher consciousness.
Self-study includes the repetition of mantras that help us
move into our deeper mind. It is not an intellectual study
but requires contemplation of what we examine. We must
study great spiritual truths in our own life and character
and see how we create our destiny.
Self-discipline is necessary to accomplish anything sig-
nificant, whether in the creative arts, sports, business or
spiritual practice. We must learn to coordinate and direct
our actions in a meaningful manner toward a higher goal
or ideal. This means we must be willing to sacrifice what
is not useful to our goal, like superficial involvement and
distractions. Self-discipline is necessary to control the The Eightfold Method of Yoga I 269
mind. Yoga, like all great endeavors, requires effort and
dedication or we cannot go far in it.
Lastly we should never forget to honor the greater pow-
ers of the universe. We must acknowledge and surrender
inwardly to the intelligence that guides this vast cosmos,
apart from which we could not even breathe. This is to
honor God, the universal life, and the friends and teachers
who guide and help us. As long as we are open to such help
and guidance, we cannot suffer from the loneliness and
alienation that causes so many human problems.
If our lifestyle does not reflect such truth principles, we
are also likely to be prone to psychological unrest. Howev-
er, these disciplines must be cultivated on a daily basis
over time. Their results do not manifest overnight. We
must build a careful foundation of right conduct in order
to have stability in our life and mind. Right social and per-
sonal conduct supports the proper functioning of all
aspects of our consciousness. It aids particularly in the
right orientation of intelligence, but also helps control the
mind and senses and purify the body. Without this
Dhannic foundation, what we build in life is not likely to
endure.
The Outer Disciplines of Yoga
On this Dhannic foundation we can then begin the


abbage, lettuce, greens (spinach, parsley, dill, basil, fresh nettle
leaves, beet tops and carrot tops),
• 50% of some tasty ingredients to disguise the taste of therapeutic
ingredients: pineapple, apple, orange, grapefruit, grapes, mango, etc.
Your patient can have these juices as they are or diluted with some water. If
throughout the day your GAPS child would not drink just water, you can
add some of these freshly squeezed juices into the water to make a tasty
drink. Initially start with 1 cup of juice a day. With a small child you may
want to start from a very small amount, like 1 teaspoon a day. Increase the
daily amount very gradually until your child has 2 cups of freshly squeezed
juices a day. These juices should be taken on an empty stomach, so first
thing in the morning and middle of the afternoon are good times.
With these juices you can make ice-lollies. Just fill ice-lolly forms with
freshly squeezed juice and freeze.
You can also make ice-cubes from these juices which can be used to
make a cold drink in hot weather. Just fill the glass with these ice-cubes and
add mineral water (still or carbonated).
The carrot pulp left from juicing can be used in your baking mixtures
together with ground nuts or as a replacement for ground nuts. You can
also use pulp left from other fruit and vegetables depending on your taste
preferences. Fruit smoothies
You can make all sorts of combinations. If you make your own goat's
yoghurt, then you can use it as well. Here are a few ideas.
Blend a banana with 7 2 ripe avocado, half a cup of home-made goat's
yoghurt and a bit of honey to taste.
Half an avocado blended with freshly squeezed apple/carrot juice or
freshly squeezed pineapple juice.
Banana blended with freshly squeezed carrot juice (apple juice, pine
apple juice, orange juice, etc.) and half a cup of yoghurt.
11. Yoghurt and creme fraiche
In the initial stages many GAPS patients tolerate goat's yoghurt better than
cow's. So, try to make yoghurt from goat's milk first. I strongly recommend
using only organic milk. A lot of milk on the supermarket shelves has been
subjected to a process, called homogenisation in order to stop milk from
separating in the bottle. This process breaks down the fat globules and
changes the structure of milk making it harmful for the body. Try to buy
milk, which apart from pasteurisation, has not been subjected to any
processing.
Goat's yoghurt is quite a lot more liquid than cow's yoghurt. You can use
it as a drink or if you want to thicken it you can drip it through cheese
cloth.
To make yoghurt you need to introduce bacteria into the milk. You can
buy commercially available yoghurt starters from many health food shops
or small-holding suppliers. Alternatively you can use commercially avail
able live yoghurt as a starter. After making their first yoghurt many people
successfully perpetuate their own yoghurt by using it as a starter for the
next batch. You can also keep the liquid left from dripping your yoghurt in
a clean dry jar in your refrigerator to use as a starter for making the next
batch of yoghurt. If at any point your own yoghurt or the "dripping liquid"
do not work you need to start again with a commercial starter or commer
cial live yoghurt.
Instructions for making yoghurt
l. In a stainless steal pan bring close to the boil l litre of milk (goat's or
cow's) stirring occasionally. You need to bring the milk close to boiling point in order to destroy any bacteria, which may linger in the milk
and interfere with the fermentation. However, do not boil the milk, as
it will change its taste. Take the pan off the heat. Cover the pan with
the lid and cool down by placing the pan into cold water until the tem
perature of the milk is around 38-45°C. If you do not have a suitable
thermometer use your own hand to determine the right temperature.
To do that take a teaspoon of milk from the pan (using a clean dry
spoon) and put the milk on the inside of your wrist. If it feels just
slightly warm then the temperature is right.
2. If you are using a commercial yoghurt starter in a powder form you
need to dissolve the powder in a little milk first before adding it to the
pan. If you are using your own yoghurt or commercial live yoghurt add
7a cup into the milk. Stir well, cover with the lid and put in a warm
place preferably at 38-45°C. You can use a clean dry thermos for this
purpose, a yoghurt maker, an electric plate, the top of your boiler or
your airing cabinet (if it is warm enough). Ferment the yoghurt for at
least 24 hours or longer.
3. After the fermentation is complete, move the yoghurt into a clean dry
glass jar, cover and refrigerate.
4. To drip the yoghurt line a large colander with a cheese-cloth. Place the
colander into alarge bowl and pouryour yoghurt into the lined colander.
Cover with a tea towel and let it drip for a few hours. You can collect the
liquid after dripping and keep it refrigerated in a dry glass jar to re-use as
a starter. You can also use this liquid for soaking the liver in to remove
any bitter taste before cooking it. Depending on how long you leave your
yoghurt dripping you can make a soft cottage cheese or thicker yoghurt.
Both soft cottage cheese and the yoghurt can be used for baking, adding
to salads and soups and as desserts with honey and fruit.
Instructions for making creme fraiche
By using cream instead of milk you can make creme fraiche or soured
cream. For llitre of cream use one sachet of commercial starter or l cup of
live yoghurt.
1. Constantly stirring, bring the cream to boil but do not let it boil.
2. Cool down by placing the pan into cold water. Keep the pan covered at
all times. 3. Test the temperature, it should be 38-45°C.
4. Add the starter and ferment for 24 hours minimum.
This soured cream or creme fraiche is very nice to use in salads, soups,
stews, in baking or as a dessert with some honey and berries. You can blend
it with a little honey and frozen fruit or berries to make an instant ice
cream. 4. IT'S FEEDING TIME!
OH, NO!
Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves,
and it is tiresome for children to be always
and forever explaining things to them.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
he Petit Prince, 1943
It is very rare to meet a GAPS child who is not a finicky eater. The same can
be said about many GAPS adults as well. This problem is particularly pro
nounced in autism. The majority of autistic children and adults have feed
ing problems, sometimes very severe. Some are very fussy and would
accept only a very limited range of foods. Some cannot chew properly and
would hold food in their mouth for a long time or try to swallow it in a
lump. Some can only suck from a bottle and would not drink from any
thing else. Feeding time is a nightmare for many parents of autistic
children.
There are number of possibilities why GAPS patients have these prob
lems.
First is a distorted sensory input. The taste buds in their mouth receive
the information about food, which gets passed to the brain. A GAPS brain is
clogged with toxicity and cannot process this information properly. As a
result, to these people the food can taste completely different to what it
should taste like. Add to that a distorted feeling of food texture and temper
ature and we start appreciating why an autistic child, for example, would
not accept many foods. The taste, texture and feeling of food can be quite
offensive for them.
Second is a craving for sweet and starchy foods typical for all people with
abnormal bodily flora, particularly with Candida albicans overgrowth. No
matter how finicky a GAPS child or an adult might be, most of them would
accept sugary drinks, biscuits, cakes, sweets, sugar-laden breakfast cereals,
chocolates, chips, crisps, pasta and white bread. In fact these are the foods
to which many GAPS people limit their diet thus feeding the vicious circle
of abnormal flora and toxicity in their bodies.
Third is the state of the mouth itself. A human mouth is home for a
large population of microbes which normally protect the mouth from pathogenic bacteria, viruses and fungi, maintain the healthy state of the
mucous membranes and various structures in the mouth. GAPS children
and adults often have a very abnormal bacterial flora in their mouths, often
with an overgrowth of Candida and other pathogenic microbes. The activ
ity of this abnormal flora produces a lot of toxins, which are stored in the
mucous membranes of the mouth and alter the


asbeef-tea,andtomostitis
mucheasierofdigestionthanmilk.Infact,itseldomdisagrees.
Cheeseisnotusuallydigestiblebythesick,butithasgreat
nourishmentinit,andIhaveseensick,anduotafeweither,
whosecravingforcheeseshowedhowmuchitwasneededby
them.*
Butiffreshmilkissov.alu.ableafoodforthesick,theleast
changeorsournessinitmakesitofallarticles,perhaps,the
mostinjurious;diarrhoeaisacommonresultoffreshmilk
allowedtobecomeatallsour.Themu-se,therefore,oughtto
exerciseherutmostcareinthis.Inlargeiustitutionsforthe
sick,eventhepoorest,theutmostcareisexercised.Iceisused
forthisexpresspurposeeverysummer,whilethesickpersonat
home,perhaps,nevertastesadropofmilkthatisnotsour,all
throughthehotweather,solittledoesthehomenurseunder-
standthenecessityofsuchcare.Yet,ifyouconsiderthatthe
onlydropofrealnourishmentinyourpatient’steaisthedropof
milk,andhowmuchalmostallEnglishpatientsdependupon
theirtea,youwillseethegreatimportanceofnotdepriving
yourpatientofthisdropofmUk.Buttermilk,atotallydifferent
thing,isoftenveryuseful,especiallyinfeveis.
AlmostallpatientsinEngland,youngandold,maleand
female,richandpoor,hospitalandprivate,dislikesweetthings,—
andwhileIhaveneverknownapeisontaketosweetswhenhe
wasillwhodislikedthemwhenhewaswell,Ihaveknowuimany
fondofthemwheninhealth,whoinsicknesswouldleaveoff
anythingsweet,eventosugarintea,—sweetpuddings,sweet
drinks,aretheiraversion;thefurredtonguealmostalwayslikes
•Inthe(liscnscsproducedbybadfood,suchnsscorbuticdysenteryanddiarrhoea,
thepatient’sstomachoftencravesforanddigeststhings,someofwhichcertainly
wouldneverhavebeenorderedforsick,andespeciallynotforsuchsick.Theseare
fruit,pickles,Jams,gingerbread, fatofhamorofbacon,suet,cheese,butter,milk.
ThesecasesIhaveoeennotbyones,norbytens,butbyhundreds.Andthepatient’s
sumachwasriRht
00 NOTli3ONNUUSINO.
whatissharporpungent.Scorbuticpatientsareanexception,
theyoftencravefors-weetmeatsandjams.
Jellyisanotherarticleofdietingreatfavour•withnursesand
friendsofthesick;evenifitcouldbeeatensolid,itwouldnot
nourish,butitissini])lytheheightoffollytotake^oz.of
gelatineandmakeitintoacertainbulkbydissolvingitinwater
andthentogiveittothesick,asifthemerebulkrepresented
nourlslmient. Itisnowknownthatjellydoesnotnourish,thatit
hasatendencytoproducedian'licca,—andtotrusttoittorepair
thewasteofadiseasedconstitution issimi)lytostarvethesick
underthedisguiseoffeedingthem.Ifonehundredspoonfulsof
jellyweregiveninthecourseoftheday,youwouldhavegiven
onespoonfulofgelatine,whichspoonfulInisnonutritivepower
whatever.
Dr.Christisonsaysthat“everyonewillbestnickwiththe
readinesswithwhich”certainclassesof“patientswilloftentake
dilutedmeatjuiceorbeef-tearepeatedly,whentheyrefuseall
otherkindsoffood.”Thisisparticularlyremarkablein“cases
ofgastricfever,inwhich,”hesays,“littleornothingelsebesides
beef-teaordilutedmeatjuice"hasbeentakenforweeksoreven
months;“andyetapintofbeef-teacontainsscjircelyioz.of
anythingbutwater.”
Asmallquantityofbeef-teaaddedtootherarticlesoffood
m.akesthemmorenourishing.
Thereasonwhybeef-teashouldbenourishingandjellynotso
tothesick,isasecretyetundiscovered,butitcle.arlyshowsthat
carefulobservationofthesickistheonlycluetothebestdietary.
Ag.ain,thenourishingpowerofmilkandofthepreparations
frommilk,isverymuchundervalued;thereisnearlyasmuch
nourishmentinhalfapintofmilkasthereisinaquarterofa
lb.ofmeat.Butthisisnotthewholequestionornearlythe
whole.Themainquestionis,whatthepatient’sstomachcan
derivenourishmentfrom,andofthisthepatient’sstomachisthe
solejudge.Chemistrycannottellthis.Thepatient’sstomach
mustbeitsownchemist.Thedietwhichwillkeepthehealthy
manhealthy,willkillthesickone.Thesamebeefwhichisthe
mostnutritiveofallmeat,andwhichnourishesthehealthyman,
istheleastnourishingofallfoodtothesickman,whosehalf-
deadstomachcanassimilatenopartofit,thatis,makenofood
outofit.Onadietofbeef-teahealthymeu,ontheotherbaud,
speedilylosetheirstrength.
(51 WHATVOOD?
Ihaveknownpatientsliveformanymonthswithouttouching
bread,becausetheycouldnoteatbaker’sbread.Thesewere
mostlycountrypatients,butnotall.Home-madebreador
brownbre:ulisamostimportantarticleofdietformanypatients.
Theuseofaperientsmaybeentirelysupersededbyit.Oatcake
isanother.
Towatchfortheopinions,then,whichthepatient’sstomach
gives,ratherthantoreadbooksabout“foods,”isthebusinessof
ilthosewhohavetosettlewhatthepatientistoeat—perliaps
themostimportantthingtobeprovidedforhimaftertheairhe
istobreathe.
Nowthemedicalmanwhoseesthepatientonlyonceaday,
orevenonlyonceortwiceaweek,cannotpossiblytellthis
withouttheassistanceofthepatienthimself,orofthosewho
ai’einconstantobservationofthepatient.Theutmostthe
medicalmancantellis,whetherthepatientisweakerorstronger
atthisvisitthanhewasatthelastvisit.Ishouldthereforesay,
thatincomparablythemostimportantofficeofthenurse,after
shehastakencareofthepatient’sair,istotakecaretoobserve
theeffectofhisfood,andreportittothedoctor.
Agreatdealtoomuchagainstteaissaidbywisepeople,and
agi-eatdealtoomuchofteaisgiventothesickbyfoolishpeoj)le.
Whenyouseethenaturalandalmostuniversalcravingin
Englishsickfortheir“tea,”youcannotbutfeelthatnature
knowswhatsheisabout.Butalittleteaorcoffeerestoresthem
quiteasmuchasagreatdeal,andagreatdealofteaandespe-
ciallyofcoffeeimpairsthelittlepowerofdigestiontheyhave.
Yetanurse,becausesheseeshowoneortwocupsofteaor
coffeerestoreherpatient,thinksthatthreeorfourcupswilldo
twiceasmuch.Thisisnotthecaseatall;itishowevercertain
thatthereisnothingyetdiscoveredwhichisasubstitutetotlie
Englishpatientforhiscupoftea;hecantakeitwhenhecan
takenothingelse,andheoftencan’ttakeanythingelseifhehas
itnot.Ishouldbeverygladifanyoftheabusersofteawould
pointoutwhattogivetoanEnglishpatientafterasleepless
night,insteadoftea.Ifyougiveitatfiveorsixo’clockinthe
morning,hemayevensometimesfallasleepafterit,andget
perhapshisonlytwoorthreehours’sleepduringthetwenty-four.
Atthesametimeyounevershouldgiveteaorcoffeetothesick,
asarule,afterfiveo’clockintheafternoon.Sleeplessness in
tl\eeailynightisfromexcitementgenerally,andisiucrciisedby
C2 HOTESONNUnSiNO.
teaorcofTee;sleeplessnesswhichcontinuestotheearlymorning
isfromexhaustionoften,andisrelievedbytea.Theonly
EnglishpatientsIhaveeverknownrefusetea,havebeentyjdius
ca-ses,andthefiretsignoftheirgettingbetterwastlieircraving
againfortea.Ingeneral,thedryanddirtytonguealways
prefersteatocoffee,andwillquitedeclinemilk,unlesswithtea


 on other persons is to increase their
awareness along with our own, and to give them a greater sense of freedom,
perfection, unity, and at-oneness with ourselves. In their relationship with
us, they will feel joined; they will identify with us; they will understand at a
deep level; and they will feel in communion with us. As a consequence,
they will seek our presence, because in it they feel complete, recognized,
and contented. They will experience an increased awareness of their ownreal Self. They will feel higher in our presence or when they think of us.
Their response back to us will be that of love and gratitude for the blessing
of our presence. In such a relationship, goals are automatically and
ef fortlessly accomplished. Because we are not holding negativity, there is
nothing we wish to hide from the other person, and this openness allows the
other person to drop all defenses. Nothing is hidden out of guilt or fear, and
there is a very conscious psychic connectedness.
It is on this level that so-called telepathic phenomena occur with
regularity. When we are in total harmony with another person, there is no
desire on our part to withhold or guard any thoughts or feelings. Because
the other person responds similarly, there is an ef fortless knowing of what is
crossing the other person’ s mind and what their passing feeling states may
be. There is a total acceptance of our own humanness and that of the other.
If we are really in tune with others, we for give them when we see a passing
jealousy or reactivity. W e realize it is only natural. And we know that they,
in return, are aware of our passing resentment. Y et, they are overlooking it;
they accept our humanness, and they understand the situation. They know
us so well that they recognize the likelihood of a passing resentment in
certain situations, but they know, also, that we are going to let it go. The
people with whom we share a relationship of loving acceptance are okay
with our humanness and their own. No matter the surface emotions, we
remain aware of the shared alignment to love, acceptance, and harmony
with each other and the world.
This level of communication actually can be reached with anyone. It
does not have to be someone with whom we are intimately associated. V ery
often we experience it first with our friends with whom there is less at stake
than intimate family members. Another situation where it often occurs in
the course of an average life is with an ex-lover. W ith this person to whom
we have revealed so much—now that there is no longer anything romantic
at stake—a friendship might develop in which it is no longer necessary to
hide anything. There can be truly open communication, honesty, and
integrity. W e see this not infrequently in couples that have separated or
divorced. Once the turmoil has settled down, they get along easily and may
even remain the best of friends for many years.
Ef fect of Positive FeelingsIt is obvious that higher states of consciousness have a profound ef fect on
our relationships, because one of the laws of consciousness is like goes to
like.  Our inner states are actually radiated to others. W e can positively af fect
others even when we are not physically with them. Feelings are ener gy and
all ener gy gives of f a vibration. W e are like sending and receiving stations.
The less negativity we are holding, the more aware we can be of what
others are really holding about us. The more we love, the more we find
ourselves surrounded by love. The replacement of a negative feeling by a
higher one accounts for the many miracles one can experience in the course
of life. These become more frequent as one continues to surrender.
As we surrender, life becomes more and more ef fortless. There is a
constant increase in happiness and pleasure, which requires less and less
from the outer world to be experienced. There is a diminution of needs and
expectations of others. W e stop looking “out there” for what we now
experience as coming from within ourselves. W e let go of the illusion that
others are the source of our happiness. Instead of looking to get from others,
we now look to give. Others now seek to be with us, instead of avoiding us.
In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Car ol, Scrooge experienced the pleasure
of giving instead of looking to get from others. The joy of that
transformation is available to us all.
Carl Jung wrote of the phenomenon called “synchronicity,” which
might also have been called “simultaneity,” to explain the occurrence of
events that, to the intellect, appear unrelated. As we surrender more and
more, this type of experience becomes commonplace. An illustration of this
phenomenon is the following experience related by a business executive
who had been practicing the letting go technique for about a year.
I was President of a small corporation with about fifty employees.
W e had built up a promising young man to head one of the
divisions of the company. It turned out, however, that this man was
very immature. Instead of responding with gratitude and
cooperation for all that was done for him, he reacted by becoming
grandiose, demanding, and somewhat paranoid. He declared that
he was going to bar ge into the next Board of Directors meeting and
cause a big upset with his wild accusations and demands. Although
all of his accusations could have been easily refuted, the whole
af fair sounded like a dreadful experience to live through. For days,he appeared just plain hateful with his threats. The day of the
Board meeting, which was to be at 1 P.M., I was driving along the
parkway thinking angry thoughts about him. Suddenly I let it all
go; I surrendered on him totally. I started to see the frightened
child in him, and I started to send him love. All of my anxiety
disappeared, and I felt a sympathetic love for him. I looked at my
watch and it was 12:30 P.M.  When I got to the of fice, my secretary
said that this man had walked into the of fice and stated that he was
calling of f the whole thing; he had changed his mind at the last
minute. I asked her what time he had walked into the of fice. She
said she had made particular note of the time, as the Board meeting
was soon to take place. She looked at her watch when he had made
his announcement about his change of heart. The time was exactly
12:32 P.M.
Letting Go of Expectations
When we put pressure on other people in order to get what we want, they
automatically resist, because we are trying to pressure them. The harder we
push, the harder they resist. Even though, out of fear, they may actually
concede to our demands, there is not an inner acceptance and, later on, we
will lose what we have gained. This resistance is in all of us. W e can be
aware of it as it operates unconsciously, and we evade that awareness by
making excuses and plausible explanations.
As mentioned in an earlier chapter, in his book, W inning Thr ough
Intimidation, Robert Ringer called it the “boy/girl theory.” (Boy meets girl.
As soon as she realizes he wants her, she becomes hard to get. So then if
boy decides to withdraw, she now wants him, and he in return acts aloof.)
When we refer to this phenomenon to explain sales resistance, one way
around it is to take the view that our responsibility is to make an ef fort, but
not try to determine the result. Another way is to surrender the feelings we
have about what we want from the other person, and let go of the pressures
we are putting on them in the form of expectation and desire. They, then,
have the psychic space to become agreeable or even to initiate the desired
result on their own, the result we had wished for in the first place.
An example of this dynamic is a man who was working with the letting
go technique in the midst of a divorce. He and his wife got into a heated
ar gument over something he wanted. She just kept saying “No” to hisrequest. So in the middle of it, he surrendered on the object that he wanted.
It was now okay with him if she didn’ t give it to him, and it was okay if she
did. The instant he let go of it in his mind, she suddenly turned to him and
of fered, not only to give it to him, but to have it packed and shipped as well.
This illustrates a very simple but decidedly elegant and active way of
clarifying relationships. First, look at how you are secretly feeling about a
person in a given situation. Presume that the other person is aware of those
thoughts and feelings. Then, put yourself in their place and see how you
would react. Y ou will see that their behavior is probably just what you
would have done in their place. The goal is to let go of all those feelings
until you can go up to a positive thinking-feeling space about the matter.
Once in a positive space, now see how you would react as the other person
who was aware of these new feelings. The likelihood is that their behavior
will change just as you would expect. There may be a time delay; but, if
you keep watching, the change will likely take place. Even if it doesn’ t, you
will no longer be upset about the situation. Sometimes the “