 of your life. You
run constantly into problems and repeated patterns that have their
origin in your attempt to reproduce the childhood situation so as to
correct it. This unconscious compulsio n is a very strong factor, but is
so deeply hidden from your conscious understanding. The most frequ ent way of attempting to remedy the situation is in
your choice of love partners. Unconsciously you will know how to
choose in the partner aspec ts of the parent who has particularly
fallen short in aection and love that is real and genuine. But you
also seek in your partner aspects of the other parent who has come
closer to meeting your demands. Important as it is to nd both
parents represented in your partners, it is even more important and
more dicult to nd those aspects that represent the parent who
has particularly disappointed and hurt you, the one more resented
or despised and for whom you had little or no love. So you seek theparents again—in a subtle way that is not always easy to detect, in
your marital partners, in your friendships, or in other human
relationships. In your subconscious, the following reactions take
place: Since the child in you cannot let go of the past, cannot come
to terms with it, cannot forgive, cannot understand and accept, this
very child in you always creates similar conditions, trying to win
out in the end in order to nally master the situation instead of
succumbing to it. Losing out means being crushed—thi s must be
avoided at all costs. The costs are high indeed, for the entire
strategy is unfeasible. What the child in you sets out to accomplish
cannot ever come to realization. The Fallacy of this Strategy
This entire procedure is utterly destructive. In the rst place, it is
an illusion that you were defeated. Therefore, it is an illusion that
you can now be victorious. Moreover, it is an illusion that the lack
of love, sad as that may have been when you were a child, is indeed
the tragedy that your subco nscious still feels it to be. The only
tragedy lies in the fact that you obstruct your future happiness by
continuing to reproduce the situation and then attempting to master
it. My friends,  this process is a deeply unconscious one. Of course,
nothing is further from your mind as you focus on your conscious
aims and wishes. It will take a great deal of digging to uncover the
emotions that lead you again  and again into situations where your
secret aim is to remedy childhood woes. In trying to reproduce the childhood situation, you unconsciously
choose a partner with aspects  similar to those of the parent. Yet it is
these very aspects that will make it as impossible to receive the
mature love you rightfully long for now as it was then. Blindly, you
believe that by willing it more strongly and more forcefully, the
parent-partner will now yield, whereas in reality love cannot come
that way. Only when you are free of this ever-continuing repetition,
will you no longer cry to be loved by the parent. Instead, you will
look for a partner or for other human relationships with the aim ofnding the maturity you really need and want. In not demanding to
be loved as a child, you will be equally willing to love. However,
the child in you nds this impossible, no matter how much you may
otherwise be capable of it through development and progress. This
hidden conict eclipses your otherwise growing soul. If you already have a partner, the uncovering of this con ict may
show you how he or she is similar to your parents in certain
immature aspects. But since you now know that there is hardly a
really mature person, these immaturities in your partner will no
longer be the tragedy they were while you constantly sought to nd
your parent or parents again, which of course could never come to
pass. With your existing immaturity and incapacity, you may
nevertheless build a more mature relationship, free of the childish
compulsion to recreate and correct the past. You have no idea how preoccupied your subconscious is with the
process of reenacting the play, so to speak, only hoping  that “this
time it will be dierent. ” And it never is. As time goes on, each
disappointment weighs heavier and your soul becomes more and
more discouraged. For those of my friends who have not yet reached certain depths
of their unexplored subconscious, this may sound quite preposterous
and contrived. However, those of you who have come to see the
power of your hidden trends, compulsions, and images will not only
readily believe  it, but will soon experience the truth of these words
in their own personal lives. You already know from other ndings
how potent are the workings of your subconscious mind, how
shrewdly it goes about its destructive and illogical ways. Reexperiencing the Childhood Hurt
If you learn to look at your problems and unfulllment from this
point of view and follow the usual process of allowing your
emotions to come to the fore, you will gain much further insight. But it will be necessary, my friends, to reexperience the longing and
the hurt of the crying child you were once, even though you werealso a happy one. Your happiness may have been valid and without
self-deception at all. For it is possible to be both happy and
unhappy. You may now be perfectly aware of the happy  aspects of
your childhoo d, but that which hurt deeply and that certain
something you greatly longed for—you did not even quite know
what—you were not aware of. You took the situation for granted. You did not know what was missing or even that there was anything
missing. This basic unhappin ess has to come to awareness now, if
you really want to proceed in inner growth. You have to
reexperience the acute pain you once suered but you pushed out of
sight. Now you have to look at this pain conscio us of the
understanding you have gained. Only by doing this will you grasp
the reality value of your current problems and see them in their true
light. Now, how can you manage to reexperience the hurts of so long ago. There is only one way, my friends. Take a current problem. Strip it
of all the superimposed layers of your reactions. The rst and most
handy layer is that of ration alization, that of “proving” that others,
or situations, are at fault, not your innermost conicts that make
you adopt the wrong attitud e to the actual problem that confronts
you. The next layer might be anger, resentment, anxiety, frustration. Behind all these reactions you will nd the hurt of not being loved. When you experience the hurt of not being loved in your current
dilemma, it will serve to reawaken the childhood hurt. While you
face the present hurt, think back and try to reconsider the situation
with your parents: what they gave you, how you really  felt about
them. You will become aware that in many ways you lacked a
certain something you never clearly saw before—you did not want
to see it. You will nd that this must have hurt you when you were
a child, but you may have forgotten this hurt on a consc ious level. Yet it is not forgotten at all. The hurt of your current problem is the
very same hurt. Now, reevaluate your present hurt, comparing it
with the childhood hurt. At last you will clearly see how it is one
and the same. No matter how true and understandable your present
pain is, it is nevertheless the same childhood pain. A little later you
will come to see how you contributed to bringing about the presentpain because of your desire to correct the childhood hurt. But at
rst you only have to feel the similarity of the pain. However, this
requires considerable eort, for there are many overlaying emotions
that cover the present pain as well as the past one. Before you have
succeeded in crystallizing the pain you are experiencing, you cannot
understand anything further in this respect. Once you can synchronize these two pains and realize that they
are one and the same, the next step is much easier. Then, by
perceiving the repetitious pattern in your various diculties, you
will learn to recognize the similarities between your paren ts and the
people who have caused you hurt or are causing you pain now. Experiencing these similarities emotionally will carry you further on
the particular road toward dissolving this basic conict. Mere
intellectual evaluation will not yield any benet. To be fruitful and
bring real results, the process of giving up the recreatio n must go
beyond mere intellectual knowledge. You have to allow yourself to
feel the pain of certain unfulllments now and also the pain of the
unfulllment of your childhood, then compare the two until, like
two separate picture slides,  they gradually move into focus and
become one. Experiencing the pain of now and the pain of then, you
will slowly come to understand how you thought you had to choose
the current situation becaus e deep inside you could not possibly
admit “defeat. ” Once this happens, the insight you gain, the
experience you feel exactly as I say here, will enable you to take the
next step. It goes without saying


yoga  lineage holder. Viniyoga  aims to
make yoga relevant to every sit uation and every individual person,
and concentrates on postures, breath, meditation and prayer. The ben efits of yoga are many: T aken from the Sanskrit,  yoga
means “ union” or “joining”, so the ultimate aim of yoga is to join
with the  Almighty. This may not  be within the reach of many, so, on
a m ore prosaic level, yoga con fers many less ambitious benefits. Physically, practitioners report increased flexibility, be tter
lubrication of joints, massaging of internal or gans, toned muscles
and detoxification of the entire body. These are joined by mental,
spiritual and emotional benefits as well. Devotees often report
transformations in their lives once yoga is practiced regularly.Stress, anxiety, ill health, unhappiness and anger are replaced by
peacefulness, vibrant health, service, and love towards all creation. Many Indian spas, hotels, resorts, retreats ashrams and healing
centers of fer yoga. People also often attend yoga schools or  sala,
and there are li terally hundreds of inspired settings in India ( and
outside India) in which to prac tice this ancient art (see photo  on
page 100). A painting depicts the Hindu  sapta rishis  or seven sages who are extolled in the
Vedas and other Hindu literature. They  are regarded as the patriarchs of the Vedic
religion, so have perfected many of the teachings in the V edas. The sage at center
bottom is in  urdhva-padmasana  or elevated lotus position.A relatively low-key, but top-notch, yoga school in Mysore is the Mandala Yoga
Sala housed in a 100-year old house on Dewan street in the Laxmipuram area. Set up by Harish Bheemaiah, the school is renowned for its excellent tuition by
acharya  (teacher) Mr V Sheshadri and his son. Sheshadri was a student of
Yogaratna Sri B N S Iyengar (not to be confused with B K S Iyengar) and has
achieved recognition at both international and national levels. He helps students
push beyo nd their limits with a unique style of adjustment (he often sits or stands
on them!). Urdva danurasana  or “intense back bend”.Uttanasana  or “forward bend”.Kukkutasana  or “rooster pose”.An adjustment to  uthita trikonasana.Virabhadrasana 1  or “warrior 1”. Urdva mukha shvanasana  or “upward facing dog”.Adho mukha shvanasana  or “downward facing dog”. Punatanasana  or “east extension posture”, an  asana  that helps strengthen
shoulders and wrist joints.Adho mukha svanasana  or “downward facing dog”, one of the postures in the Sun
Salutation series. Matsyasana  or “fish posture”, helpful for neck and spine. Shreyas Retreat, just outside Bangalore, combines five-star facilities with an ethos
that can best be described as boarding school basic. As the owner explains, it is
about “living an ashram-style life with daily yoga, meditation sessions, organic
vegetarian food, no alcohol, communit y service and farming”. For those who want
to immers e themselves in India’ s ancient wellness traditions, it offers innovative
tuition and plenty of peace and quiet, but does not skimp on creature comforts. It
markets itself as a place that helps guests to find their “inner core.”Sarvangasana  or “supported shoulder stand”, a posture that helps with thyroid
disorders.Trikonasana  or “triangl e pose”: Maintained to streng then knees and calf and thigh
muscles, this posture is good for the spine. Aided by Shreyas instructor Bharat Kumar Patra, our model and yoga teacher
Yana Odnopozov demonstrates some of the different  asanas  in the yoga
repertoire. Asanas  should be “steady and comfortable” according to Patanjali and
Yana looks nothing if not poised in these photographs.This is a variation of  padmasana  or “lotus pose”; usually performed sitting upright,
here the practitioner leans back.The headstand, known as  sirsasana, is a major pose in yoga. Hands and arms
can be used in a number of different ways to support this pose which stretches thespine and builds neck muscle. The crane pose or  bakasana  is a yoga posture that stretches the knees,
hamstrings and lower back. It is one of the easiest balance arm postures in the
yoga repertoire. This posture is known as  halasana  or “plough pose” ( hala  in Sanskrit translates as
plough). As the plough makes the hard ground soft, the veins are stretched here
to reduce stif fness in the body. Another variation of  padmasana. Parsva bakasana  or “side crane pose ” gives an intense stretch in the lower back
and requires good upper body strength. The lower arms bones (ulna and radius)
act as supporting beams and the legs are bent at the knee. This is a variation of
the side crane posture, as the participant has stretched out both her legs to one
side.Pulling arms and legs stretches the abdomen; hamstring stretch; twisting from the
waist to free up muscles in the upper arms; pulling the client towards  dhanurasana
or the “bow pose” to stretch shoulders and elongate the spine. The skilled  Amanbagh therapist pulls, turns, manipulates and stretches the client’ s
body to simulate certain yoga postures and stretches. All the while, she works
along the energy lines, using acupressure, reflexology and internal organ
massage. The aim is to clear blockag es of  prana  and give the client a full body
workover to improve overall health and create a feeling of wellbeing. amulya uphar  Lazy Man’s Yoga
Similar to Thai massage, but based on the stretching
facilitated by yoga postures, Amulya Uphar is a unique
technique of fe red at Rajasthan’ s Amanbagh. T ranslating as
“Priceless Gift” from the Hindi, it is an oil-free treatment
that takes place on a mattre ss on the floor, with the client
wearing a loose  kurta  pyjama suit. The therapist works on
the client’ s meridian lines and acupressure points,
manipulating the body into dif ferent positions to open upener gy chann els that in t urn stimulate sluggish blood
circulation, movement of lymph and the flow of  chi. First of all, clien ts are prepared for the body work with a foot wash
with a hot towel to remove negative ener gy and a gentle touch on
the solar plexus and crown  chakra  to let them know they are in safe
hands. L ying on their back on a mattress on the floor, they  are
requested to breathe normally before the massage begins. This
always starts with the feet as it  is here that the body weight re sts:
Using thumbs and the palms on the meridian lines, reflex points  are
awakened on the soles, then the masseuse moves up the legs to
stomach and hands, shoulders and head. After this, the client turns
over and the therapist works on the legs, back, neck and head. Amulya Uphar is quite a physically demanding experience, with
the thera pist sometimes sitting on the client, and often pulling him
or her into somewhat contorte d positions. The cobra pose, for
example, has the therapist kneeling on the pressure points of the
client’ s thighs while holding both hands and pulling them
backwards. At certain points the client may be requested to breathe
in or out in ord er to facilitate the opening up of the body, but the
therapist — by listening to the  body — knows how far it can  be
coaxed, stretched or twisted. Amulya Uphar can be an ama zingly de-stressing experience,
with ma ny clients reporting deep relaxation, relief of tension and
increased suppleness afterwards. As with W atsu, a similar practice
of fered i n water, it works best if clients give themselves up enti rely
to the therapist by relaxing completely. Such yo gic stretching is of fered at other venues in India and
overseas: Essentially, the body is being assisted into yoga  asanas
and stret ches wi thout having to make any ef fort itself. It has all  the
benefits of yoga, but much less of the hard work!Another “bow pose” angle. Stretching arms to work on the triceps.pranayama  Therapeutic Breathing
Exercises
T aken from the word  prana  meaning “vital ener gy” or “life
force” and  ayama  that means “control” or
“extension/expansion”,  pranayama  comprises a series of
breathing exercises that c alm the mind, improve the
condition of the abdominal and chest area, and eliminate
toxins from the body. Orig inally expounded by Patanjali
(see page 100), it is all about the expansion of the


 (e)  Now inhale,  hold,  and clench  the feet,  fists, teeth,  perine um,
and buttocks. Exhale  and relax. (f) Inhale  again,  hold,  and clench  the teeth,  fists, feet,  perine um,
and buttocks:  tilt the  sacrum back, slightl y arching  the back to  help
the energy  flow more easil y into the  spine. Exhale  and relax. (g)  This ti me, add  an upw ard movement of the  eyes: looking  up
will help  focus  the energ y toward the brain. Practice  again:  inhale,
hold,  clench  every thing, and look  up. Exhale  and relax. (h)  Now it is tim e to add the last item, which will force  the energ y
up into the  brain. Perfor m all the  clenching,  and then  a series  of
nine strong  contracti ons of the perineum. These  contractions  are
essential  to keep  the orgas m in the body  and propel  it up ward. - 143  -Orgasmic Upward Draw
2. Practice  in an Aroused St ate
A. Overview
    No w that you have  practiced  all the  clenching  exercises,  you
are ready  to try the Orgasmic Draw  in an  arouse d state. To reach
an aroused  state you will massage  the breasts,  and stim ulate  the
clitoris, in  whatever position  you are accusto med to. As y ou
approac h what you consider  to be a high  state  of arous al, provide
enough  time before  you know you will climax. Then clench
every thing, and while holding  your breath,  simultaneously  execute
nine hard  contractio ns. Later  when we fully describ e the Orgas mic
Upward Draw, we will go into detail  on how  to move the  sexual
energy  up. You will notice  that after  your first Orgasmic Draw  there  will be a
transfer  of arouse d energ y upward, first mo ving up the  spine  to the
top of the  head  and to the pineal  gland  (thro ugh the Governor
Channel),  then  dow n (throug h the Function al Channel ) as the ener gy
continues  in the  Microcosmic Orbit. When you feel the ener gy fill
the Orbit, you will start  to mo ve the orgasm s arouse d ener gy into
the ovaries,  then  into the left and  right  kidne ys, to the  liver spleen
and lungs,  and finall y up to  the left and  right  sides  of the brain,
completing  what we call the  “organs’  and glands’  orgasm.” Additional
stimulation  will again  raise the level  of sexual  arousal,  and you will
be able to practice  anoth er Orgas mic Dra w. If yo u wish, you can
then continue  to com plete  a set  of three  to six dra ws. Practice
three  to six repetitions  once  or twice a da y, and you will quickly
refine  your abilit y to do  the Orgas mic Dra w. Practice  until you can
fully control  the ma nner of transfer ring the orgas m upward, using
your mind to circulate  the orgas m throu gh the Micr ocosmic Orbit
to all of the  glands  and organs, thereb y increasing  the amount  of
energy  going  to the  brain. You will find that as  control  of the Orgas mic
Draw  gradu ally moves inside,  the process  will requir e less and
less ph ysical clenching. Ultimately, after  perha ps six m onths to a
year of practice,  the control  will be totally  internaliz ed. B. Importance  of Virtue Energy
   Raising  the organs’  and glands’  Chi to increas e the ovaries’
sexual  energy  is one  of the most important  ways to rejuvenate  the
organs  and glands  and start  the return  of youthful feelings. The
- 144  -Chapter  VI
most re juvenatin g energ y, virtue  energ y: is gener ated from the
organs:
   (1) Gentleness  from the  kidney s and bladde r:
   (2) Kindness  from  the liver  and gall bladder:
   (3) Honor  respect,  joy and happin ess from the heart  and small
       intestine:
   (4) Fairness  from the  spleen,  stomach and  pancre as:
   (5) Righteous ness  from the lungs and large  intestine. The sexual  organs  are linked  to all  of the  major organs  and
glands. With prop er stim ulation,  as the Taoists  classically  state,
the energy  of the glands  and organs  will contribute  to full sexually
aroused  energ y: and all the  good  virtue  ener gy emerging  from the m
will comb ine into the best  energy  we know ; the energ y of
compassion. If you can redirect  the energ y of compassion  back to
the organs,  you will charge  them to their  fullest  extent,  and negativ e
energy  will have  no room  to rem ain. If you have  too much negative
energy  in the  organs  and do not  try to remove it, w hen you begin  to
multiply your sexual  energy, the negativ e energ y will increase,  and
so will your negative  emotions. The Micr ocosmic Orbit  Medita tion, Inner  Smile, S ix Healing
Sounds,  and Healing  Love  practices  all help  to transform negative
emotional  energ y into good  virtue  energ y. A more extensive  practice
of transfo rming negative  energ y into good  virtue  and blending  all
virtues  with the energ y of com passion  will be explained  in a later
practice  of the Healing  Tao, called  Fusion  of the Five Elem ents. When fully  aroused  sexuall y the glands,  organs  and nervous  system
will be exercised  to their  fullest  extent  as well. C. Mass aging brea sts will  raise the Organs and Glands’ Chi. When you massage  the breasts  or the clitoris,  be aware of the
Chi energ y that is activated  as you stim ulate  the many nerves  they
contain. The nerves  are connecte d to all the  major organs  and
glands  of the bod y beginning  at the  top of the  crown with the pineal
gland. From this point  you will begin  to feel the  stim ulation  of all  the
glands  and organs  as the  sensation  descends  and flows throug hout
your body  Use y our mind to  guide  the glands’  and orga ns’ Chi to
flow to the breasts,  blending  their  energies  to prod uce the best
possible  glands’  and orga ns’ Chi. This special  blending  of orga ns’
and glands’  Chi can  have  a very  powerful creative  and healing  effect. - 145  -Orgasmic Upward Draw
Pineal Gland
   Pituitar y Gland
Activate  the en docrin e
glands by massaging
the ar ea one an d a
half inches ar ound the
nipples, using three
fingers.Thyroid Gland
Thymus  Gland
Adren al Gland
Pancre as Gland
Ovarian  Palace
Ovaries
Fig. 6.6 Activating  the Endocrine  Glands
- 146  -Chapter  VI
(1) Gland Chi Arous ai
   When certain  glands  are stimulated  to secrete  their hormones
(Fig. 6.6),  the organs  with which they are associate d become
activated,  and eventu ally ever y cell of  the body  is affected. Stimulation  of the breasts  especiall y affects  the pineal,  pituitar y
and thymus  glands. Fig. 6.7 Course of  the Kidney Meridian
- 147  -Orgasmic Upward Draw
(A) Pineal Gland Chi
    The kidne y meridian  passes  throu gh the breasts  (Fig. 6.7),  and
as you use your fingers  to gently  massage  the nipples,  their
stimulation  activates  the kidneys and bladder  as w ell, which, in
turn, help  to activate  the sexual glands. The clitoris,  having  a direct
relationship  to the pineal  gland  at the  hormonal  path way, respon ds
and brings  the sensation  to this  point. The pineal  gland  is the bod y’s
time clock


 beautiful that,
for the first time in your life, you feel completely at peace. You’re not
looking for anything. If you look out into the world, you see what’ s there—
not what you want or don’t want to be there. The experience of the outside
doesn’ t stimulat e any preferences inside of you. It just comes in, passes
through, and leaves you as it found you—in a state of ecstatic well-being. Chapter 39. In the World but Not of It
Once you have reached a deep level of inner clarity, you will notice that just
because you are content with reality doesn’ t mean you don’t interact with it. The world continues to appear  before you, but there’ s nothi ng personal
about it anymore. It is just the part of creation passing before you at that
moment. Reality  doesn’ t bother you because you don’t need anything from
it. It simply exists and you simply exist—in perfect harmony. Every moment
unfolding in front of you is there for you to serve. It can be as simple as
appreciating it, or you may be able to raise the energy of the moment
passing before you. A smile, a kind word, a helping hand—these are all
ways of raising the energy as it passes by. Doing your job to the best of your
ability, taking care of your family, serving your community—these simple
acts are just as much service to the universe as anything else. Imagine you’re taking a walk and there’ s a piece of paper on the side of
the road. You feel the disharmony, and you pick it up. It’s not a “have to” or
a “supposed to”; you’re simply an artist making the world more beautiful. Your mind doesn’ t say, “I’ll pick this one up, but I’m not going to pick up
every single piece of litter. ” Nor does your mind say, “What idiot threw this
piece of paper down here. This is the kind of person who ruins the world. ”
No. You are simply a spontaneous being who is in harmony with life. You
expect nothing back from your actions because they were not done for
approval or recognition. You can’t help but share the beautiful energy going
on insid e of you with the mome nt in front of you. The highest life you can
live is when every single moment that passes befor e you is better  off because
it did. Serve the present moment with all your heart and soul. Imagine what
the world would be like if everyone did that. Start by raising what appears before you. If you can’t even serve what
is put in front of you, how are you going to change the world. If you aregetting so upset about conditions in the world that you’re  edgy with
everyone around you, you’re not helping anyone. If you can’t create
harmony in your own household, what right do you have to complain that
countries are shooting missiles at each other. You have to live a life that, if
everyone lived it, there would be peace. If you can’t do that, you are part of
the problem, not the solution. It’s all about letting go of yourself. The world
is going to come in, and it’s going to hit what’ s left of your samskaras. What
you feel going on inside when that happens is reactive energy. Don’ t ever
act based on that. You will just be polluting the environment with your inner
blockages. No good can come from that. A spiritual life is not about adhering to a given set of rules—it’ s about
never acting based on your personal energy. You won’ t be able to do that to
start with, so work on it. When the energy gets disturbed, just let it go. Your
initial reaction will generally be your personal stuff coming up. If you let it
go, you’ll be able to interact with the moment in front of you in a more
constructive manner. Simply ask yourself, “Is there something I can be
doing to serve the moment in front of me. Not for me; I already let go of
me. Now  that I’m clear and nonreactive, is there something I can do to raise
the moment as it passes by. ”
Once you learn to let go of the reactionary noise of personal thoughts
and emotions, things will become clear. You will know how to work with
the situation in front of you. If you’re conscious, present, and paying
attention, you will know what to do. The moment in front of you is talking
to you. It doesn’ t have to be in words. The piece of paper on the ground, the
person who needs some help, whatever it is, your respon se becomes
obvious. The deepest truth is that it doesn’ t even matter what you do. What
matters is where you’re coming  from. What matters is your motive. If your
motive is to let go of yourself and serve the moment in front of you, you are
worthy of great respect. How would you like to meet some body whose
entire motive and purpose in life is to first let go of their personal blockages
and then do their best to serve what’s in front of them. They can’t do wrong
because their motive is pure. If the motive itself is pure and impersonal, in
the end, it will spread light. Be sure your motive is pure, then don’t look back. If somebody
criticizes your actions, just apolo gize and let go. Always be willing to learn. If you come from the highest place you can, there’ s no guilt, no shame. The
fruits of the best you can do are a very holy thing. If someth ing terriblecomes back from the best you can do, own it. It’s yours. Let it teach you. Let it make you better, so you’ll do better next time. Please, don’t feel bad
about it. Don’ t judge anything. It’s only when you didn’ t do your best—you
got personally disturbed and gave in to it—that’ s when you build karma and
things become really complicated. Practice letting go, and eventua lly you will find yourself in a seat of
awareness that can’t be disturbe d by anything you are experien cing. There
will always be a beautiful energy feeding you and raising you. At that point,
there are no more techniques; there are no more teachings. It all happens
naturally from then on. Intuitive ly, it dawns on you that this beau tiful energy
flow must be coming from somewhere. Yogananda wrote in Whispers from
Eternity (1949, 156), “O, what has become of me. Intoxication on
intoxication. Endless, indescribable throngs of divine intoxications
ceaselessly come to me. ” Where is this energy coming from. You feel it as
a flow, just as if rushes of water were flowing upward within you. This is
not theoretical, it’s real. There is a constant experience of shakti, of spirit
flowing up inside you. It must be coming from somewhere. It has to have a
source. You are now ready for the next stage of your journey home—you
begin to seek the source. You will very quickly realize the mind cannot help you on this journey. Any focus on thoughts draws consciousness away from Self and diminishes
the energy flow. This is not an analytical or philosophical journe y. Only one
thing can seek the source of the energy flow: that which is exper iencing it—
your consciousness. To seek the source of a freshwater spring, you swim
toward the flow. You feel the current and go into it. It is the same when you
are seeking the source of the shakti flow. Your consciousness feels the flow
and melts into it. This becom es your entire spiritual practice. This is
surrender, real surrender. Heretofore, you’ve practiced surrender by letting go of your lower self. Now that you’ve learned to feel this higher energy flow inside, you
surrender to it. Until this final surrender, there is still a subject-object
experience: consciousness (subject) is experiencing the shakti flow (object). If you want to truly know the flow, you must fall into it, become one with it. To get closer to becoming one with flow, you must surrender your
entire sense of separation. It’s not enough to experience the energy, you
must release yourself into it. As you let go, the flow will pull you in. That’ s
where the great  masters went. In Sanskrit, the word yoga means “union. ”Meher Baba said that when he first went into the highest state of
enlightenment, it was like a drop of water fell into the ocean. T ry to find that
drop. You can’t—it merged with the ocean. Christ said, “I and my Father are
one” (John 10:30). These teachings are the same. When you cease to
separate your sense of self from  this flow of the energy, it starts  to pull you
into it, and you become one with it. Yogananda called it a river of joy
flowing inside you. Your path is to find it, go there, get in, and drown. Now
we’re discussing the highest state, and everyone is capable of achieving this
state. Remember how we got here. We got here by letting go of the


and turn them into meaningful, orderly bits of reality opens up enormous
creative possibil ities. However, these possibilities exist only when you are
aware of them. While you are reading this book, a huge portion of your
consciousness is engaged in creating your body without your participation. The so-called involuntary or autonomic nervous system was designed to
control function s that have slipped out of your awareness. If you began
walking down the street in a daze, the involuntary centers in your brain
would still be coping with the world, keeping on the lookout for danger,
poised to activate the stress response at a moment’ s notice. A hundred things you pay no attention to—breathing, digesting, growing
new cells, repairing damaged old ones, purifying toxins, preserving
hormonal balan ce, converting stored energy from fat to blood sugar,
dilating the pupils of the eyes, raising and lowering blood pressure,
maintaining steady body temperature, balancing as you walk, shunting
blood to and from the muscle groups that are doing the most work, and
sensing moveme nts and sounds in the surrounding environmen t—continue
ceaselessly. These automatic processes play a huge part in aging, for as we age, our
ability to coordinate these functions declines. A lifetime of unconscious
living leads to numerous deteriorations, while a lifetime of consciousparticipation prevents them. The very act of paying conscious attention to
bodily functions instead of leaving them on automatic pilot will change how
you age. Every so-called involuntary function, from heartbeat and breathing
to digest ion and hormone regulation, can be consciously controlled. The era
of biofeedback and meditation has taught us that—heart patients have been
trained in mind-body laboratories to lower their blood pressure at will or to
reduce the acid secretions that create ulcers, among dozens of other things. Why not put this ability to use in the aging process? Why not exchange old
patterns of perception for new ones? There are abundant techni ques, as we
will see, for influencing the involuntary nervous system to our advantage. 2. Our bodies ar e composed of ener gy and information. To transform the patterns of the past you must know what they are made
of. Your body appears to be composed of solid matter that can be broken
down into molecules and atom s, but quantum physics tells us that every
atom is more than 99.9999 percent empty space, and the subatomic particles
moving at lightning speed through this space are actually bundles of
vibrating energy. These vibrations aren’ t random and meaningless,
however; they carry information. Thus, one bundle of vibrations  is coded as
a hydrogen atom, another as oxygen; each element is in fact its own unique
code. Codes are abstract, and so ultimately is our cosmos and everything in it. Chasing the physical structure of the body down to its ultimate source dead-
ends as molecules give way to atoms, atoms to subatomic particles, and
these particles to ghosts of energy dissolving into an empty void. This void
is mysteriously imprinted with information even before any information is
expressed. Just as thousands of words exist silently in your memory without
being spoken, the quantum field holds the entire universe in unexpressed
form; it has been that way since the Big Bang, when billions  of galaxies
were compressed into a space millions of times smaller than the period at
the end of this sentence. Yet even before that infinitesimal dot, the structure
of the universe existed in unmanifest form. The essential stuff of the universe, including your body, is non-stuf f, but
it isn’t ordinary  non-stuf f. It is thinking non-stuf f. The void inside everyatom is pulsating with unseen intelligence. Geneticists locate this
intelligence primarily inside DNA, but that is only for the sake of
convenience. Life unfolds as DNA imparts its coded intelligence to its
active twin, RNA, which in turn goes out into the cell and imparts bits of
intelligence to thousands of enzymes, which then use their specific bit of
intelligence to make proteins. At every point in this sequence, energy and
information have to be exchang ed or there could be no building life from
lifeless matter. The human body derives its primary energy by burning sugar, which is
transported to the cells in the form of glucose, or blood sugar. The chemical
structure of glucose is closely related to common table sugar, sucrose. But if
you burn table sugar, you don’t get the exquisite, complex structures of a
living cell; you just get a charred lump of ash and traces of water and
carbon dioxide in the air. Metabolism is more than a burning process; it is an intelligent act. The
same sugar that remains inert in a sugar cube supports life with its energy
because the body’ s cells infuse it with new information. The sugar may
contribute its energy to a kidney, heart, or brain cell, for exam ple. All of
these cells contain completely unique forms of intelligence—the rhythmic
twitching of a heart cell is completely different from the electrical
dischar ges of a brain cell or the sodium exchanges of a kidney cell. As marvelous as this wealth of diverse intelligence is, at bottom there is
one single intelligence shared  by the whole body. The flow of this
intelligence keeps you alive, and when it ceases to flow, at the moment of
death, all the knowledge stored  in your DNA is rendered useless. As we
age, this flow of intelligence becomes compromised in various  ways. The
specific intellige nce of the immune system, the nervous system, and the
endocrine system all start falling off; these three systems are now known by
physiologists to function as the master controls of the body. Your immune
cells and endocrine glands are outfitted with the same recepto rs for brain
signals as your neurons are; therefore, they are like an extended brain. Senility cannot be looked upon, then, simply as a disease confined to our
gray matter; when intelligence  is lost in the immune or the endocrine
system, senility of the whole body is creeping in.Since all this happens at an unseen, unmanifest level, the losses go
unnoticed until they have progre ssed to a very late stage and are expressed
as a physical symptom. The five senses cannot go deep enough to
experience the billions of quantu m exchanges that create aging. The rate of
change is at once too fast and too slow: too fast because individual chemical
reactions take less than 1/10,000th of a second, too slow because their
cumulative effect will not show up for years. These reactions involve
information and energy on a scale millions of times smaller than a single
atom. Age deterioration would be unavoidable if the body was simply material,
because all material things are prey to entropy, the tendency of orderly
systems to become disorderly. The classic example of entro py is a car
rusting in a junkyard; entropy breaks down the orderly machinery into
crumbling rust. There is no chance that the process will work the other way
—that a rusty scrap heap will reassemble itself into a new car. But entropy
doesn’ t apply to intelligence— an invisible part of us is immune to the
ravages of time. Modern scienc e is just discovering the implic ations of all
this, but it has been imparted for centuries through spiritual traditions in
which masters have preserved the youthfulness of their bodies far into old
age. India, China, Japan, and to a lesser extent the Christian West have given
birth to sages who realized their essential nature as a flow of intelligence. By preserving that flow and nurturing it year after year, they overcame
entropy from a deeper level of Nature. In India, the flow of intelligence is
called Prana  (usually translated as “life force ”), which can be increased and
decreased at will, moved here and there, and manipulated to keep the
physical body orderly and young. As we will see, the ability to contact and
use Prana is within all of us. A yogi moves Prana using nothin g more than
attention, for at a deep level, attention and Prana are the same—life is
awareness, awareness is life. 3. Mind and body ar e inseparably one. Intelligence is much more flexible than the mask of matter that hides it. Intelligence can express itself either as thoughts or as molecu les. A basicemotion such as fear can be described as an abstract feeling or as a tangible
molecule of the hormone adrenaline. Without the feeling there is no
hormone; withou t the hormone there is no feeling. In the same way, there is
no pain without nerve signals that transmit pain; there is no relief from pain
without endorphins that fit into the pain receptors to block those signals. The revolution we call mind-body medicine was based on this simple
discovery: Wher ever thought goes, a chemical goes with it. This insight has
turned into a powerful tool that allows us to understand, for example, why
recent widows are twice as likely to develop breast cancer, and why the
chronically depressed are four times more likely to get sick. In both cases,
distressed mental states get converted into the biochemicals that create
disease. In my medical practice, I can see two heart patients afflicted with angina
pectoris, the typical squeezing, breathless pain that is typic al of heart
disease. One patient will be able to run, swim, and perhaps even mountain-
climb, totally ignoring his pain or not even having any, while the other
nearly faints


.The
remediesaresometimestestedintheirdiluted-
potentised-formor,iftheyarenotpoisonous,in
crudedoses(inthe'mothertincture').Oncetheprov-
ingiscompleteandtheindividualswhohavepro-
ducedasymptompicturehavereturnedtoastateof
health,theresultsarecollated.Noteverybodywho
provesasubstancewillprovidesymptoms:onlya
proportionofpeoplearesusceptibletoanyonesub-
stance,asisthecasewithdiseases.Allsymptoms-
physical,emotionalandmental-arenotedinpains-
takingdetail,thengatheredinaschematicwayand
commonthemesnoted. Apartfromthesymptomsthathavebeendeliberate-
lyprovedbyhomeopathsovertheyears,twoother
typesofsymptomaretakenintoaccount:
Accidentalprovingshaveprovidedarichsourceof
valuableinformationthatmightnototherwisebe
availabletous.Substancessuchasdeadlynightshade,
snakevenoms,hemlockandmanyothersareofgreat
12•TheMateriaMedica PRINCIPLESANDCONCEPTS
value:becausetheycancauseextremelyseriouscon-
ditions,theyalsohavetheabilitvtocurethem. Understandably, notallthevolunteerswhowill-
inglyprovedremedieswereaskeenasConstantine
Hering(seepage7)torisktheirhealthbytesting
highlypoisonoussubstances.However,homeopaths
havebeenabletoaddsymptompicturesofsubstances
suchasdeadlynightshade,theremedyBelladonna,or
snakevenomssuchasLachesistotheMateriaMedica
bydrawingondetailedaccountsofaccidentalpoison-
ings.Deliberatepoisonings,suchasthedeathof
Socratesbyhemlock(theremedyConium),havealso
providedhomeopathswithmuchusefulinformation. Curedsymptoms.Afteraremedyhasbeensuccess-
fullyprescribed,symptomscuredbyitwhichdidnot
emergeeitherintheprovingsorintheaccidental
provingsarenoted.Iftheremedyconsistentlycures
thesesymptomsinmanypeople,thentheyareadded
tothepicture. TheMateriamedica
TheMateriaMedica(Latinfor'MedicalMatter'or
'Material')liststhesymptompicturesofeachremedy,
asdiscoveredintheprovings.Themanyhundredsof
remediesarearrangedalphabeticallyandthesymp-
tomsofthoseremediesarearrangedaccordingtobody
area.Newremediesareconstantlybeingdiscovered
andadded. Theprofessionalhomeopathworkswithanumber
ofMateriaMedicascompiledbydifferenthomeo-
paths,eachreflectingpersonalexperienceovertheir
careers.Theyallhavethesamebasicinformation,as
theyarebasedontheoriginalprovings; itishowthe
individualhomeopathpresentsthematerialandinter-
pretstheinformationthatisinteresting. Withinthisvastamountofinformationcertainpat-
ternsemergeanditisthesepatternswithwhichthe
homeopathbecomesfamiliar.Heorshewillmemorise
thestrongsymptomsorkeynotesofaremedy,butthe
smallortheobscuresymptomswillneedlookingupin
theMateriaMedica.Forexample, ifapersonissuffer-
ingfromacoldafterbeingcaughtoutintherain,a
numberofremediescometomind,butitisthepar-
ticularsymptomsofthepatient'scoldthatmaythen
needtobelookedupinordertodecidebetweenthe
differentremedies. TheRepertory
TheRepertory isanindexofsymptomsfromthe
MateriaMedicalistedinalphabeticalorderandthere-byprovidingavaluablecross-referencing system.A
goodRepertory isessentialasitisimpossibleto
memorisethevastnumberofsymptomsintheMateria
Medica. TheSingleRemedy
Theclassicalhomeopathgivesoneremedyatatimein
ordertogaugeitseffectmorepreciselythanwouldbe
possibleiftwoormoreremediesweregiventogether. Indeed,theremedieswerealloriginallyprovedsepar-
atelyanditisconsequentlynotknownhowthey
inter-react ifmixed;itwouldmakesensetousecom-
binedremediesonlyiftheyhavebeenprovedin
combination. However,thismostdifficultaspectofhomeopathic
prescribingdetersmanypeople.Findingasinglerem-
edytomatchthepatient'ssymptoms isaconstant
challengeandcaninvolveanenormousamountof
hardwork.Thelazy,busyormisguidedhomeopath
maymixseveralremediestogetherinthehopethat
onewillwork.Thishit-or-missapproachisnottrue
classicalhomeopathyasHahnemanndefineditand
showsalackofunderstanding ofthefundamental
principles. TheMinimumdose
Themorearemedyisdilutedandsuccussed(vigor-
ouslyshaken),thestrongeritbecomesasacure(see
page13).Thisidea-theinfinitesimaldose,asitis
called-isoneofthegreatstumblingblocksfora
conventionally trainedscientificmind.Ialwaystell
cynicsthattheymustseehomeopathyworkinorder
tobelieveitbecausenoamountoftheoryisacceptable
withoutsomesortoftangibleproof.Peoplewhofind
thisconceptbafflingareknowntolaughlikedrainsat
thethoughtthataverydilutesolutionofseasalt-
beyondthepointwherethereisanysaltleftinthe
solution-iscapableofcuringawiderangeofcom-
plaints,fromcoldsores,hayfeverandheadachesto
depression(seeNatrummuriaticum,page117).Logi-
cally,itdoesseemunlikelythatasubstancethatcan
causehighbloodpressureinitscrudeformcould
becomeastrongandeffectiveagentforhealingwhen
itissodilute. Thereisapharmacological lawthatstatesthat
althoughalargedoseofapoisoncandestroylife,a
moderatedosewillonlyparalyseandaverysmall
dosewillactuallystimulatethosesamelifeprocesses. Newdiscoveriesinphysicsarebeginningtoexplain
thisphenomenon.Onetheoryisthatthesuccussion
PRINCIPLESANDCONCEPTS ConstitutionandSusceptibility •13
createsanelectrochemical patternwhichisstoredin
thedilutantandwhichthenspreadslikeliquidcrystal
throughthebody'sownwater.Anotherhypothesis
suggeststhatthedilutionprocesstriggersanelectro-
magneticimprintingwhichdirectlyaffectstheelectro-
magneticfieldofthebody. Potencies
Therearetwoscalesfordilutingsubstances-the
decimalandthecentesimal.Inallcasesthestarting
remedyismadefromamixtureofthesubstanceitself
whichhasbeensteepedinalcoholforaperiodoftime
andthenstrained.Thisstartingliquidiscalleda
'tincture'or'mothertincture'. Forthedecimalscale,one-tenthofthetinctureis
addedtonine-tenthsofalcoholandshakenvigor-
ously;thisfirstdilutioniscalledaIX.Thenumberofa
homeopathicremedyreflectsthenumberoftimesit
hasbeendilutedandsuccussed:forexample,Sulphur
6Xhasbeendilutedandsuccussedsixtimes. Thecentesimalscaleisdilutedusingoneparttinc-
tureinahundred(asopposedtoten)andtheletterC
isaddedafterthenumber(althoughinpractice
homeopathshaveomittedtheCandjustusethe
numbersforthecentesimalscale). Paradoxically, a6Xiscalledalowpotencyand200
(C)ahighpotency-thegreaterthedilution,the
greaterthepotencv. Themostcommonlyusedpotencyinthedecimal
scaleisthe6X,althoughthe9X,12X,24Xand30Xare
usedbysome.Inthecentesimalscalethoselowpo-
tenciesmostcommonlyusedarethe6,12and30.The
higherpotencies-200,1M(dilutedonethousand
times),10M(tenthousandtimes)andCM(one
hundredthousandtimes)-arehighlyrespectedbv
homeopathsandshouldnotbeusedbythehome
prescribes
'Inert'substancesaregroundformanyhourswitha
pestleandmortaruntiltheybecomesoluble,aprocess
called'trituration'whichisusedformetalsaswell
asothersubstancesthatdonotdissolveeasily. TheWholePerson
Theconceptoftreatingthe'wholeperson'isanessen-
tialelementofclassicalhomeopathy.Thebasisofthis
beliefisthatsymptoms,diseasesorpainsdonotexist
inisolation,butareareflectionofhowthepersonasa
wholeiscopingwithstress.Itisthewholepersonthat
counts-notjustthephysical


ycanbehelpfulafterahead
injury(dependingontheseverityortheeffect)tohelp
anystressthespineitselfmayhavesufferedasaresult
ofafall.Somechildrencontinuetofallafteronebad
injuryandarelabelled'clumsy'whentheirbodies
havesimplybecomemisaligned.Osteopathy is
thereforeusefulasapreventivemeasure. DO
•gotohospitalforanX-rayifthefallwasserious
(andespecially ifthebackoftheheadwas
injured).GiveArnicaonthewaytothehospitalbutifthishelpsdonotbedeceivedintothinkingyour
patientisfineandgohome-byalleviatingshock
andpain,theseriousnessofaninjurycaneasilybe
masked. DON'T
•letsomeonewhohassufferedafallorblowgoto
sleepimmediatelyafterwards;thiscanhide
concussionandthepatientmayfallintoacoma. SEEKHELPIF
•thereisanydrowsinessorconfusion. •thepersonisunconscious. •Thepupilsdonotrespondtolightorareirregular
insize. •thepersonfeelsfaintorisunusuallythirsty. •thepersonissweatyorpale. HeartburnseeIndigestion
Hives
This'nettlerash'maybecausedbyanallergicreaction
tosomefoods-forexampleshellfish,eggsorstraw-
berries-ortodrugs,anditmaydevelopatanytime,
whennopreviousreactionhasbeennoted.Useboth
aninternalandexternalremedytoreduceitchingand
discomfort. SEEKHELPIF
•swellingissevereandtheitchingunbearable. •themouthortongueisswollen. •thereisanydifficultybreathing. Hotflushes
Ihaveincludedremediestorelievethedistressinghot
flushesthatoftenaccompanythemenopause,butitis
desirableduringthistransitiontohaveconstitutional
treatmenttorebalancehormonelevelsandprovide
morelong-lastinghelp. DO
•talktoyourfriendsandfamilyandtellthemwhat
youaregoingthroughsothatyouarenotisolated,
especially ifyoursymptomsareunpleasant. •eatwell. •takesomesortofregularexercise;adailywalkis
justfine. •beespeciallynicetoyourselfduringthistime. •seekhelpfromacounsellororpsychotherapist
whoisconversantwithhelpingwomenthrough
themenopause. DON'T
•assumeyoucannolongerfallpregnantuntilyour
menopause iscomplete! DISEASESYOUCANTREATUSINGTHISBOOK Jointpain•219
Indigestion
Discomfortaftereatingisoftencausedbyeatingor
drinkingtoomuch,solookatyourdietandhow
youeataswellastakingtheappropriateremedy. Indigestionandheartburnarealsocommoninlate
pregnancy,whenthefoetusputspressureonthe
stomach.SeealsoFlatulence. DO
•eatslowlyandchewyourfoodthoroughly. •makesureyourelaxbeforemeals. DON'T
•eattoomuchatonesitting. •takeantacids-theseonlyupsetthebalanceof
acidityinthestomachevenfurtherinthelongrun. SEEKHELPIF
•symptomsareaccompaniedbyacough,lossof
appetiteorlossofweight. •thereissevereabdominalpain. •paindoesnotrespondtotreatmentwithintwoor
threehours. •painbeginsaroundthenavel,thenmovestothe
lowerrightabdomen(thismightbeappendicitis). Injuries(cuts/wounds)
Usetheappropriateexternalremediestocleanse
wounds,andtakeinternalremediestostopbleeding
andpromotehealingwhennecessary. SEEKHELPIF
•bleedingisveryprofuse. •thereisanynumbnessortinglingneartheinjured
part(whichcouldindicateinternaldamage). •theedgesofthewoundcannotbeheldtogether
withplasters(inwhichcasestitchesmightbe
needed). •thewoundisontheface(theseoftenneed
stitchingtoavoidscarring). •thewoundisnotsuperficialandisonthepalmof
thehand(whereitisparticularlyopento
infection). •thereisdeeplyimbeddeddirtoraforeignbody
thatyoucannotremove(glassisparticularlytricky
toremove). •theinjuryissevere. •yoususpectafracture(seeBrokenbones). •thewoundisnearavitalorgan(heart,lungs,etc.). Insomnia
Weallhaveverydifferentsleeprequirements.Aswe
growolderweneedlesssleepandwemaygenerally
needlesssleepthanwethink.Ifyouareinsomniac,
repeattoyourselfbeforegoingtosleepthatyouare
goingtosleepdeeplyandwakerefreshed,insteadof
panickingaboutnotsleepingenoughandexpectingtofeelawfulinthemorning.Amazinglythisreallyhelps. Ifyoursleeppatternhasbeendisturbedbysickchil-
drenornightwork,trytohaveadaytimenap,orcatch
upbyhavingareallyearlynightbeforeyoufallintoa
patternofsleepingbadly. DO
•takegentleexercise,suchasawalkaroundthe
blockoranexerciseroutinebeforebed. •relaxinawarmbath. •readveryboringbooks/magazines inbed. •wearearplugsandaneyemasktocutoutnoise
andlightifnecessary. •makesureyourmattressisrightforyou(nottoo
hardortoosoft). •developaregularbedtimerelaxationroutine,
includingdeepbreathing,andperformthistwice
beforegoingtobed. •situpandmakealistofallworriesandfrustrations
ifyoucan'tsleepbecauseofthem. •makesureyouarewarmenough(butnottoohot)
andthatyourroomiswellventilated. •takeahot,caffeine-freedrinktobed:hotmilkwith
honey,oracupofchamomileteaifyoufeeltense. •seekcounsellingorpsychotherapy ifyour
sleeplessness isduetoemotionaldistresssuchas
anxiety,depressionorbereavement. DON'T
•worry!Thisalwaysmakesitworse. •readthrillers,ghoststoriesormaterialconnected
withyourwork. •havealargemealclosetobedtime. •drinktea,hotchocolate,coffeeorCocaColaor
smoketoomuchduringtheevening. •watchtoomuchtelevision,workorreadanything
upsetting. •getintothehabitofafternoonnapsorsleeping
verylateinthemorningasthiscanmakeitmore
difficulttogetbacktonormalsleepingpatterns. •takesleepingpills.Thesecanaffectyourdreamlife
sothatyouwakefeelingunrefreshed,andmany
havesideeffects,causingdrowsinessand
dependence. •drinkalcoholsteadilythroughouttheevening.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Onions:Lye
Ononesideofbody:Pho-ac
Physicalexertion:Calc-s.,Gels.,Nat-c,Nat-m.,
Sep. Pressure:Bar-c,Cina,Hep-s.,Hyp.,Lach.,Lye,
Merc-c
Rest:Puis.,Sep. Rich,fattyfood:Carb-v.,Puis. Sightoffood:Colch. Aftersleep:Lach.,Spo. Duringsleep:Op. Slightestmovement:Bry. Standing:Sul. J
198•Wounds INTERNALREPERTORY
Starchyfood:Nat-m.,Nats. Stormyweather:Nat-c,Rhod. beforeastorm:Rhod. duringastorm:Nat-c. Stuffyrooms:Calc-s.,Lye,Puis.,Sul. Sugar/sweets:Arg-n. SunseeComplaintsfromsunstroke
Summer:Kali-b. Sweating:Pho-ac,Sep. Swimmingincoldwater:Ant-c,Mag-p.,Rhus-t. Swimminginthesea:Mag-m. Thinking:Calc-c. Tightclothes:Calc-c,Lack.,Lye,Nux-v.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What is the definition of health, according to the author?,
A: According to the author, health is not just the absence of disease, but rather a sense of well-being and balance.
Q: What should you do if you have a boil?,
A: Use hot and cold compresses to bring the boil to a head, and then keep it covered until it has stopped discharging. Also, avoid popping the boil, as this can lead to infection.
Q: What should you do if you have a fever?,
A: The author suggests drinking plenty of fluids, resting, and taking the appropriate homeopathic remedy to alleviate symptoms.
Q: What should you do if you have a cough?,
A


essential to remember that what we think about is what expands,
as is expressed by “As we think, so shall we be.” If you are using
your mind to think about what is wrong and what is lacking, this
is precisely what will manifest for you. Your inner world is the
source of what you manifest. Finding fault rather than being
grateful and being a love finder guarantees that you will not be
able to participate in the co-creation of your life and the fulfill-
ment of your desires. Faultfinding does not happen because of what you observe in
your world. It is the observer located within you that chooses a
critical or angry point of view. 2: Complaining. | have a motto that I have used for many years that is
quite simple but is very effective in overcoming this obstacle to
an attitude of gratitude: “Don’t complain, don’t explain!”
150
Manifest Your Destiny
The complainer always feels shortchanged and deprived, and
consequently becomes envious and bitter toward those who
seem to have been blessed with what is missing in his or her own
life. The complainer feels isolated and separate from goodness
and joyfulness. Because the fullness of life seems to be occurring
elsewhere, the complainer is full of ingratitude. To become adept at manifesting one’s desires, it is crucial
to have an attitude of unconditional love, allowing you to feel
supported and given a gift by life. The inner experience of
complaining and feeling deprived leads to being angry at the
universal source that seems to have denied you the benefit of
its infinite supply. The very attitude of wanting to complain is
enough to guarantee that you will continue to feel short-
changed in life. Complaining is an expression of the absence
of love in your inner world. When you feel love, there is no
room for being upset with God for not delivering your ego’s
demands. The ego constantly instructs you to need and want more,
and tells you that complaining helps. The problem with this is
that the ego is never satisfied. No matter how much you feed
the ego, it will give you a new list of demands almost immedi-
ately after being satisfied. If you give it alcohol until it buzzes,
and sex until it collapses in ecstasy, and drugs until it is flying
high, and money and cars and anything else that you can think
of, the next morning it will have an even longer list of
demands. The ego is never satisfied, and lives with the slogan
that more is always better, and if more does not arrive precisely
when the ego is feeling the need, then you have every right to
complain. This is a huge obstacle to an attitude of gratitude,
and an even larger impediment to manifesting the essence of
the desires of your heart. 151
WAYNE W. DYER
Taking what you have for granted. Taking things and people in your
life for granted drains you of the joy that you could be experi-
encing if you were feeling grateful. Taking things for granted
means going through life unaware of the multitude of gifts that
are here in each and every moment. Think of the activities and experiences that would be missed
if they suddenly disappeared, and cultivate an awareness that
does not take life for granted. Strive to be alert to being a love
finder. Remind yourself that there are no ordinary moments. Kicking a ball around with a child, watching the shape of the
clouds in the early morning, hearing the sounds of the seasons,
saying good night to a loved one—every single experience of life
is an opportunity to experience gratitude or its opposite, a feel-
ing of ennui. It is always a choice. Sleepwalking through life is a choice to impede the gratitude
that is necessary for you to become a manifester. If you take
everything for granted with an absence of joy and appreciation,
you will never be able to see the clues that are surfacing that will
give you the impetus to take action on your desired manifesta-
tion. The appearance of the right person or the unexpected gift
that may be the beginning of your manifestation will be greeted
with a shrug and a disinterest that will prevent you from receiv-
ing its blessing. Be awake and fully appreciative of everything and
everyone. Change an attitude of ingratitude by imagining, just for a
moment, how empty your life would be without those blessings. Often, we fail to appreciate our loved ones and all of the gifts of
the universe until it is too late and they have left our lives. I think
of this often in relation to my own children. I know that all too
soon they will be gone from our home and living their own lives
with their own primary families. I often sit in amazement, feel-
152
Manifest Your Destiny
ing how much I love each one of them. Marcelene and I make a
habit of putting our arms around them, and just telling them
how lucky we are that they are a part of our lives, and how privi-
leged we feel to be their parents. This act of love discourages us from taking each other for
granted. An expression of gratitude toward grandparents, co-
workers, spouses and even the pilots flying an airplane you are
on is a way out of the ennui trap. Discontinue taking life for
granted. Live with an appreciation for life that cultivates grate-
fulness. APPRECIATION AND DEPRECIATION
When we depreciate something, we devalue or diminish its worth. We depreciate things or people by expressing disapproval or dislike. When we appreciate something or someone, we give value with
approval and praise. When we appreciate things, we mean to
increase their worth. It is impossible to feel grateful for something or someone we do
not value. Begin to see things and people as they truly are rather than
your assessment of them, which is an inner judgment. Each person is
a child of God. See the unfolding of God in each person you meet. Then you are able to appreciate them. When you fail to do this, you
depreciate them. Your experience of misery, emptiness and fear is related to your
depreciation of what shows up in your life. Think of everything that
you criticize regularly and you will see where you have failed to
appreciate. If you find fault with blacks or whites, Muslims or Jews,
Iraqis or Americans, the young or the old, what you are doing is
devaluing groups of people. The moment you participate in the
depreciation process, you block your ability to experience gratitude
153
WAYNE W. DYER
and, consequently, you obstruct your ability to manifest prosperity,
love and joy. Essentially, the activity of depreciation means that you are not
sensing the beauty of life. Rather than reinforcing the misperceptions
of your ego, become an appreciator and, therefore, a manifester by
seeing the Christ shining back at you in the other person or groups of
people. CULTIVATING AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
Below are some suggestions for activating the practice of grati-
tude. Make the shift to being grateful for all that you are, and all that
you have, and you will facilitate your ability to manifest into your life
the essence of all that you desire. Develop an awareness of yourself as a recipient rather than as a vic-
tim. Virtually everything that you possess in your life is because of
the efforts of others. Your furniture, automobile, home, clothes,
gardens, yes, even your own body are all, in some way, gifts from
others. Without those efforts of thousands and thousands of peo-
ple all working in harmony, you would have nothing showing up in
your life. Even if you are a “self-made person,” you could not have gone
past the first moment of your independence without the gifts of the
very basics that you used to become self-made in the first place. Just
remind yourself of this fact each day and gratitude will begin replac-
ing cynicism. Practice a silent expression of gratitude when you start to see your
desires manifesting from the universal source. A very private, sim-
ple, “Thank you, God, I see you working in my life and I acknowl-
edge with love my appreciation for all that you bring to me” is all
154
Manifest Your Destiny
that is needed. These private and firm inner reminders to be thank-
ful will keep you from getting blocked by those obstacles you have
just read about. Become a person who is willing to tell those around you how much
you appreciate them. Make a concerted effort to say aloud how
much you love your family members without making it a phony rit-
ual. Be willing to say aloud what a lovely home you have and how
much you appreciate it, or to express appreciation to someone who
does your laundry or cooks a fine meal for you. Do this in a sincere
fashion and you will see how quickly this attitude is reciprocated
and appreciated. You can practice this attitude of gratitude with strangers. Do
small favors like returning a shopping cart to the store rather
than leaving it in the parking lot, or telling a waitress how much
you appreciate her kind attention to details. The more you are
willing to express gratitude, the more you are cultivating an
experience of unconditional love, which, as you know, is the
secret to manifesting. Be thankful and avoid complaining as much as possible. Remember
my own personal slogan, “Don’t


 inflammatory conditions such as duodenal ulcers, asthma, bronchitis, and pleurisy, and may be used  to reduce high blood pressure. The whole herb has antiviral activity and research is now suggesting that it acts as an adaptogen—helping the body to adapt more effectively to stress and strain.caesalpinia bonduc
(Caesalpiniaceae)
Nikkar Nut
Description  Thorny bush growing to 30 ft (9 m),
with spiny compound leaves, yellow flowers in
dense clusters, and prickly pods containing yellow seeds (nuts). Habitat & Cultivation  Nikkar nut is pan-
tropical, common in both tropical Asia and Africa. Its seeds are gathered when ripe. Parts Used  Seeds. Constituents  The seeds contain isoflavonoids,
diterpenes, a bitter principle, and a fixed oil (20%) rich in linoleic acid (68%). Medicinal Actions & Uses  Nikkar seeds are
used to treat fevers and are taken as a tonic and aphrodisiac. In India, they are often mixed with black pepper (Piper nigrum, p. 250) for medicinal use. The seeds are also taken for inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. Roasted nikkar seeds are used in the treatment of diabetes. US_180-201_Brassica_dictamnus.indd   180 26/02/16   12:47 pm181Camellia sinensis
o
th
er m
ed
icin
al plan
tsRelated Species  A decoction of the bark of
the Caribbean C. bahamensis  is used for liver and
kidney infections, and a decoction of the wood
is used for diabetes. An infusion of the leaves of
C. pulcherrima  (native to Asia and Africa) is taken
for liver problems and mouth ulcers. Calamintha ascendens
syn. C. sylvatica, C. officinalis
(Lamiaceae)
Calamint
Description  Mint-scented perennial growing
to 2 ft (60 cm). Has hairy oval leaves, and purple
flowers in late summer. Habitat & Cultivation  Calamint grows wild
in Europe and Asia from the British Isles eastward
to Iran, especially in the Mediterranean region. It
flourishes along roads and in dry places. Parts Used  Aerial parts. Constituents  Calamint contains a volatile oil
(about 0.35%) consisting mainly of pulegone. History & Folklore  In classical legend, calamint
had the power to drive away the Basilisk, a serpent
credited with the ability to kill with its gaze
or breath. Medicinal Actions & Uses  Calamint stimulates
sweating, and hence helps lower fevers. It also settles
gas and indigestion. It is expectorant, and is a good
cough and cold remedy. This range of applications
makes it a good medicinal herb for mild respiratory
infections. It should preferably be mixed with other
herbs such as yarrow ( Achillea millefolium, p. 56) and
thyme ( Thymus vulgaris, p. 143). Caution  Do not take during pregnancy. Calluna vulgaris  (Ericaceae)
Heather,
Ling
Description  Small, branched shrub growing
to 2 ft (60 cm). Has tiny leaves and white or pink
to pale-purple flowers growing on spikes. Habitat & Cultivation  Heather grows in
temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It is found on heaths, moors, bogs, and in open
woods. The herb is gathered when in flower in
late summer. Parts Used  Flowering tips. Constituents  Heather contains flavonoids,
arbutin, tannin, and an alkaloid, ericodin. This
constituent has a strongly disinfectant effect
within the bladder and urinary tubules. History & Folklore  If the “ erica” that
Dioscorides discusses in his 1st century ce Materia Medica  is indeed heather, as has been surmised, then
the flowering tips were used in classical times to
treat snake bite. Galen (131–200 ce) wrote of
the plant’s ability to induce sweating. The rootstock
of heather is made into musical pipes, the foliage
provides mattress stuffing, and the flowers produce
a delicate honey. White heather is considered very
lucky, especially in Scotland. Medicinal Actions & Uses  Heather is a good
urinary antiseptic and diuretic, disinfecting the
urinary tract and mildly increasing urine production. Besides its role in treating cystitis and inflammatory
bladder conditions, heather has been used to
treat kidney and bladder stones. Cleansing and
detoxifying, it is helpful for rheumatism, arthritis,
and gout. A hot poultice of heather tips is a
traditional remedy for chilblains and rheumatism.Parts Used  Leaves, buds. Constituents Tea contains xanthines, caffeine
(1–5%), theobromine, tannins including polyphenols,
flavonoids, fats, and vitamin C. Green tea contains
significant levels of polyphenols; black tea, which
is produced by a process of fermentation, has
lower levels. History & Folklore  In China and Japan
many rituals have developed around tea drinking. Significantly it is mostly green tea that is drunk in
this way. Medicinal Actions & Uses  Due to its
astringency, tea is useful in digestive infections,
helping to tighten up the mucous membranes of
the gut and reduce looseness. A strong brew of tea
may be used to soothe irritated eyelids,
insect stings, swellings, and sunburn, and
in an emergency, if nothing better is at
hand, tea makes a serviceable treatment
for minor burns. In Ayurvedic medicine tea
is considered astringent and a nerve tonic. The caffeine in tea may help to relieve
headaches, though less effectively than
coffee ( Coffea arabica, p. 192). In light of
research, green tea is recognized as being a
much healthier drink than black tea. Research  Green tea’s strong antioxidant
activity is due to polyphenols, which give the
leaf potential as a cancer preventative. The high intake of green tea in China and
Japan is thought to be partly responsible for
the low incidence of cancer in these countries. Clinical trials indicate that green tea may help to
promote weight loss and treat hepatitis, and
there is the suggestion that it helps to prevent
tooth decay. A recent clinical trial indicated that
green tea has a genoprotective action, helping to
prevent degenerative changes within the body, and
potentially slowing the aging process. A 2013 clinical
trial found that green tea extract taken by women
for 4 months successfully shrank uterine fibroids.Heather
flowering tips in a
poultice ease the
aches and pains
of rheumatism. Tea leaves are picked throughout the year and used both
as a beverage and medicinally.Camellia sinensis syn. Thea sinensis
(Theaceae)
Tea
Description  Evergreen shrub clipped to 5 ft
(1.5 m) in cultivation, with leathery, dark green
leaves and fragrant white flowers. Habitat & Cultivation  Cultivated principally in
India, Sri Lanka, and China, tea has been grown
since the earliest times. US_180-201_Brassica_dictamnus.indd   181 26/02/16   12:47 pm
182Cananga odorataother medicinal plantsCananga odorata syn. Canangium
odoratum (Annonaceae)
Ylang-Ylang
Description  Evergreen tree growing to 80 ft
(25 m). Has lance-shaped leaves and strongly
scented yellow-green flowers. Habitat & Cultivation  Native to Indonesia
and the Philippines, ylang-ylang is cultivated in tropical Asia and Africa. Parts Used  Flowers, essential oil. Constituents  The essential oil contains
linalool (11–30%), safrole, eugenol, geraniol, and sesquiterpenes (including 15–25% germacrene). History & Folklore  The flowers are a traditional
adornment in the Far East. Their scent is thought to have aphrodisiac qualities. Medicinal Actions & Uses  The flowers
and essential oil are sedative, antimicrobial, and antioxidant. The oil has a soothing effect, and its main therapeutic uses are to slow an excessively fast heart rate and to lower blood pressure. With its reputation as an aphrodisiac, ylang-ylang may be helpful in treating impotence. QCaution  Do not take the essential oil
internally without professional supervision. Canella winterana syn. C. alba
(Canellaceae)
Canella,
Wild Cinnamon
Description  White-barked tree growing to
49 ft (15 m). Has elliptical leaves, red flowers, and
purple-black berries. Habitat & Cultivation  Native to the
Caribbean and Florida, canella is found in coastal swamps and scrubland. The bark is collected by gently beating the branches. Part Used  Bark. Constituents  Canella contains about
1% volatile oil (including eugenol, alpha-pinene, and caryophyllene), alpha-aldehydes (including canell


 (450 ml) a day. Edema
Herb Cornsilk ( Zea mays, p. 154)
Remedy Make an infusion and drink up to 3 cups
(750 ml) a day. Constipation
Herbs Psyllium ( Plantago  spp., p. 123), flaxseed
(Linum usitatissimum, p. 109)
Remedy T ake 1–2 tsp of either of the seeds
with a large glass of water each day or soak them
in cold water overnight before taking. Note  Eat more dried fruit, especially figs. Heartburn
Herb Meadowsweet ( Filipendula ulmaria, p. 98)
Remedy Make an infusion and drink 3/4–11/4 cup
(150–300 ml) a day. Headache & Nervous Tension
Herb Linden ( Tilia spp., p. 277)
Remedy Make an infusion and drink 12/3–21/3 cups
(450–600 ml) a day.Preparing for Childbirth
Herb Raspberry ( Rubus idaeus, p. 264)
Remedy Make an infusion using 1 tsp of
the chopped fresh or dried leaf per 3/4 cup
(150 ml) of water. Brew for 5–6 minutes and
drink 3/4–1 cup (150–300 ml) a day during the
last 10 weeks of pregnancy. Cautions Do not leave the infusion to brew for
more than 5–6 minutes. Do not take until the last
10 weeks of pregnancy. Stretch Marks
Herbs Aloe vera ( Aloe vera, p. 60), olive
(Olea europaea, p. 241)
Remedy Rub aloe vera gel over the affected
areas or massage olive oil firmly into the skin
1–2 times a day. Poor Sleep
See Insomnia  (the German chamomile, linden,
lavender, and passionflower remedy under
General Remedies ), p. 309. Anemia & High Blood Pressure
See Circulatory Problems, p. 301. Hemorrhoids
See Varicose Veins & Hemorrhoids, p. 302
and Constipation & Diarrhea, p. 307. Backache
See Back Pain, p. 313. Varicose Veins
See Varicose Veins & Hemorrhoids, p. 302. Vaginal Yeast Infections
See Fungal Infections, p. 314. Bladder & Kidney Infections
See Edema, left. Healing After Childbirth
See Cleansing Wounds & Healing Wounds,
p. 304. QSeek immediate professional
advice for:
■ Prolonged nausea causing an inability to
eat properly and frequent vomiting leading
to dehydration
■ Frequent urination lasting for more than
3 days (or with pain after 2 days)
■ Breast pain with swollen glands under the
arms or fever
■ Fluid retention that has not reduced after
3 days
Before taking any herbal remedies, see pages 290 & 298–299
US_316-317_Pregnancy.indd   317 26/02/16   4:43 pm
318
herbal remedies for home useInfants & Children
The following herbs are considered particularly suitable for
children, easing symptoms and speeding recovery. Most of the remedies are best given as infusions, and can be given in a bottle. Infusions can be flavored with honey (see Cautions right) or maple syrup if necessary, but they are better given unsweetened. The dosages given are for 1–6-year-olds, but they can be adjusted to suit other age groups (see below). Many of the remedies listed
in other sections are also suitable for babies and children; herbs that are not appropriate are clearly identified (see p. 299 for dosage requirements before administering any adult remedies). General AilmentsSlippery Elm
(Ulmus rubra)
Infants and children are susceptible to a wide
array of ailments.Digestive upsets that result in diarrhea
and constipation can be the result of food intolerance or allergy in infants, especially  when foods such as dairy are being introduced into the diet. Other minor digestive upsets due to infection or inflammation can cause loss  of appetite.Colic is a spasm of the gut causing cramping pain in the abdomen. It usually occurs during the first 3 months of life, particularly after feeding  in the evening, when the digestion may not be working so well.Diaper rash occurs when urine, moisture, and irritants in the diaper cause the baby’s skin to become red, sore, and damp. It’s essential to clean the baby thoroughly at each diaper change. Ensure that cloth diapers are thoroughly rinsed, avoid leaving a wet, chafing diaper on the baby, and remove the diaper completely whenever possible.Cradle cap is a thick yellow-brown encrustation on the baby’s scalp, caused by  overactivity of the sebum oil glands. Headaches, colds, congestion, and chest coughs are common problems in childhood and often respond well to herbal treatment. Insomnia is a common childhood problem even though children require more sleep  than adults and should sleep with ease. Over-excitement, teething, a wet diaper, or being too hot or cold may interfere with sleep patterns. Herbs such as linden will encourage a relaxed night’s sleep. Dosage
The dosages on this page are for 1–6-year-olds. For other ages, adapt the doses as follows:6–12 months old—
1⁄3 dose
7–12 years old—11⁄2 dose
To adapt remedies from elsewhere in the book for children, see p. 299.Digestive Upsets, Gas, & Colic
The following infusions are suitable for infants over
6 months. For those under 6 months, the infusions
can be taken by breastfeeding mothers. Herb Ginger (Zingiber officinale, p. 155)
Remedy Give 1⁄4 level tsp of powder with 1/4 cup
(75 ml) of hot water 1–2 times a day. Herb German chamomile (Chamomilla recutita,
p. 77)
Remedy Make an infusion with 1 level tsp to  3/4 cup (150 ml) of water. Give up to 1
2⁄3 cups
(450 ml) a day. Herbs Anise (Pimpinella anisum, p. 248), fennel
(Foeniculum vulgare, p. 212)Remedy Make an infusion with 1 level tsp of either of the seeds to 3/4 cup (150 ml) of water. Give up to 1 cup (300 ml) a day. Herb Slippery elm (Ulmus rubra, p. 145)
Remedy Mix 1 tsp of powder with hot water to make a paste, then blend with cold or warm water as required and flavor with honey, cinnamon, or maple syrup. Give up to 50 g powder in doses during the day. Constipation
Herbs Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum, p. 109), slippery elm (Ulmus rubra, p. 145)Remedy Give 1 tsp of flaxseed or slippery elm with a large glass of water each day. Diarrhea
Herbs Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria, p. 162), common plantain (Plantago major, p. 251)Remedy Make an infusion using 15 g of either herb to
1⁄2 liter of water and give up to 11/4 cup
(300 ml) each day. Diaper Rash & Inflamed Skin Rashes
Herb Chickweed (Stellaria media, p. 272)Remedy Apply ointment 1–2 times a day. Herb Calendula (Calendula officinalis, p. 73)
Remedy Apply ointment or cream to clean, dry skin at each diaper change. Note For diaper rash, the ointment is best. Herbs Calendula (Calendula officinalis, p. 73),
nettle (Urtica dioica, p. 146)Remedy Make an infusion with 1 level tsp
of each herb to 3/4 cup (150 ml) of water. Give 3/4–11/4 cup (150–300 ml) a day. Cradle Cap
Herb Olive (Olea europaea, p. 241)
Remedy Apply olive oil to the affected area  1–2 times a day. Colds, Congestion, & Chest Coughs
Herb Thyme (Thymus vulgaris, p. 143)Remedy Make an infusion with 1 level tsp herb
to 3/4 cup (150 ml) of water. Give 2/3– 1 cup a day. Herbs Elderberry (Sambucus nigra, p. 132),
pelargonium (Pelargonium sidoides, p. 120),  thyme (Thymus vulgaris, p. 143)Remedy Make an infusion with 1 level tsp thyme
leaves to 2/3 cup of water. Give 2/3– 1 cup a day. Remedy Give elderberry or pelargonium extract, as recommended by practitioner  or supplier. Earache
Herb Garlic (Allium sativum, p. 59)Remedy Break open a garlic oil capsule, put  1 drop on a


chia seeds
Nut butters including tahini
Nutritional yeast, spirulina powder
Our culture of extremes and indulgences makes us perfect tar gets for
manipulation, make-believe, and marketing, and if we want a balanced and
complete view of what our nutritional needs truly are, we need to lean
heavily on our c ommon sense, wisdom and intelligence. W e need to replace
our old nutritional paradigm w ith one that is holistically devoted to our
health. Paying attention to the  changing seasons, your body’ s changing
needs, and the wisdom of Nature will promote long-term health and vitality. The changing seasons provide n atural dietary guidance, if we ar e willing to
pay attention. The wisdom and truth of Mother Nature points us to a high-
protein, high-fat  diet in winter, a very low-fat diet in the spr ing, a high-
carbohydrate die t in summer tha t is heavy on veggies, fruits and grains, and
back to a little heavier diet as fall begins. Spring is the log ical time to
restrict calories as it forces the body to reset its ability to use fat as a
primary source of fuel. In essen ce, a low-fat diet in spring forces our body
to burn its own fat, which is the goal of a ketogenic diet, our latest diet fad. Any diet can b e a medicinal d iet in the short term, however when the
desired results are achieved, we must get of f that diet. W H A T  A B O U T  D A I R Y? The treatment of animals isn’ t a ny better when it comes to milk and dairy
production. T reated like milk-producing machines, cows are pl ugged in to
milking machines, they are force-fed and they are heavily drugged with
chemicals. The “motherly” qual ities that milk was revered for are no longer
available in the way milk is produced today. In In dia, cows a r e sacr ed and o ften a common household animal; they ar e
part of the fam ily. As a r esult,  milk is r ever ed and it’ s synonymous with
mother, nurturance and love. W e always had a cow while we wer e gr owingup. O ur cow wa s loved and car ed for. She had a big r oom in a  barn set in
the shad e and a nice br eeze blew  thr ough to keep her comfortable. She had
a big open space for walking in  the evenings and she had warm blankets at
night. She was b athed, fed and milked, and she was taken car e of well. In
r eturn, her milk nurtur ed the whole family and we enjoyed fr esh butter
every morning. Whenever our cow hear d my da d come home, she would not settle until he
came to see her. He would pet her and chat with her. She was a happy cow,
and she would stand quietly and peacefully while being milked. I gr ew up
drinking hot, boiled milk at b ed time. Milk was rar ely consumed cold,
unless it  was a r eally hot day. Then we would put water into the raw milk
and add ice and sugar to make a cooling drink. I still enjoy the nutritive
qualities of milk I pur chase fr om a local dairy farm. W e d o what we can. There is no judgement on whether you eat meat or not,
drink m ilk or not. If you wish to consume milk, you may want  to follow a
few gui delines below to make it digestible. Most aller gies to  milk stem
from its wrongful consumption. Buy only or ganic or raw milk if possible. Get it from a reputable
source that you know cares for their cows with kindness. Never d rink mil k cold but rather dilute it with water (50/50), add a few
slices of  fresh ginger root, and bring it all to a boil first. Once you can
tolerate it, then you may not have to dilute it so much. Don’ t drink milk with salty food as it will curdle, and upse t your
stomach. Don’ t combine milk with yogurt, meat, cheese or eggs. Don’ t dr ink milk  at mealtime. It is a great bedtime treat, as it is natural
sleep aid and a laxative. How we  live and how we eat is not separate from how we heal. I encourage
all of my clients to keep an open mind and see if you can connect a little
more with the foods you consume to determine how they af fect your health
and well-being. All you need to do is pay attention, it does not require more
time. Attention takes as much time as inattention and it may give you a
sense of deeper connection and a sense of responsibility for yo ur part in it.W e mak e the world what it is! Each one of us matters. A void the all-or -
nothing approach as it tends to be temporary. Gain a deeper un derstanding
instead. Do what you can today  and this can change the direction of your
health. Think about a health issue that you may be having and see  if it has a
connection to what you ar e e ating by eliminating or r educing “that”
food.C H A P T E R  4O v e r c o n s u m p t i o n  a n d  A d d i c t i o n
W e are a cultur e of overconsumption. If a little is good, more must be
better. Big boys, big meals, fr ee refills, extra-lar ge fries, all-we-can-eat
buf fets, Costco and all-inclusive vacations are all part of our lifestyle. W e
are getting sicker as a nation in more ways than one. Do we have too much? Having too much can af fect us in one of two ways. It can create an
abundance mindset which m eans we feel secure and grateful with
everything we have and happily share it with others. This keeps the flow
going, m aking u s all feel abundant. Or it can make us feel insecure and
fearful of losing it. W e begin to hoard like pigs in mud, as if we have never
seen an item before and, who knows, we may never get it again! This
creates a “hungry ghost” as, reg ardless of how much we have, we feel we
don’ t have enough, and we there fore continue to overconsume. It’ s for each
one of us to figure out our own mindset and move in the directio n of feeling
abundant and secure. It ta kes more tha n skill to navig ate the culture of overconsumption and stay
true to our own goals and aspira tions. What’ s needed is a comp lete internal
rewiring, and a deep mindfulness. I have had my  own challenges with over consumption. Coo king small
portions was a big challenge for me as I had always seen food in lar ge
quantities due to the lar ge family into which I was born. Even in college
days, in spite of both lack of time and funds, when I did cook I would
pr epar e lar ge portions, much m or e than I needed, and I would shar e the
excess with my landlady. She wo uld enjoy what I had cooked and would say
that if I ate this way all the time, I would be very healthy! She h ad seen me
eating on-the-ru n or for getting to eat altogether, at which point she would
bring a cheese and tomato sandwich up to my r oom. I didn’ t know this was a pr oblem until I was a mom.I continued to cook lar ge portions but then I would get str essed about
having to finish what I had cooked. My sister suggested I fr eeze the
leftovers, which I did, only to r e alize that some dishes ar e just not meant to
be fr ozen. I o ver cooked because I simply b ought too much, which led to the str ess of
managing, cooking and eating the food. And the r eason I bought too much
is be cause I shopped at a very lar ge pr oduce market that not only had a
lar ge selection of pr oduce but a lar ge quantity of everything. Being a
vegetarian and a food lover, this widened my eyes way bigger than my
stomach and I would excitedly  and happily buy everything. Although I
mostly b ought v egetables and fruits, I ended up eating mor e than I needed
simply because I had bought mor e. Eventually I got a handle on over -
buying. I stopped going to the BIG stor e and learned to buy fr esh food every
few days instead of stockpiling it as if it wer e going out of style. Now, I often
simply r efrain fr om going to the gr ocery stor e until I finish wha t I have on
hand, which for ces me to become cr eative in my kitchen. Over -consuming food, material things, entertainment or any thing else,
points to two important issues. First, it means we are making up for an inner
lack of somethin g. Our subconscious plays a powerful role in compensating
for this lack, and  doesn’ t judge how we are doing that. But as we discussed
in Chapter


, and since he does not yet have even the
slightest prospect of another job, he manages to cover his true feelings very well. He says
nothing untoward, offers no criticism, displays no antipathy, and is seen on the surface as
nothing but a loyal, model employee. After months of this he is suddenly laid off. Downsized. Let go. He can’t figure it out. What did he do to deserve this. Nothing. The answer is, nothing. But he did do something to
create  it. His negative energies, inward and hidde n as they were, created the energy field
from which emerged the outcome with which he is abruptly faced. Do you believe this. Do you believe that this is the way something like this can happen. Trust me. This is exactly the way it happens. “As a man thinke th in his heart, so is he. ” If he thinks day and night, “I hate this place —I
wish I didn’t have to be here anymore,” his wish will come true —even if he never utters a
word about it. Life is like a genie let out of the bottle: It says: Your wish is my comma nd. Now let’s take your own current situation. Unlike the man in the above little story who
hated his work, what’s going on in your life right now is a change that you did not wish (in
even in your most private thoughts) would happen. This all came down ag ainst your will. So how does that  work. Simple. You may not have wished that this change would take place, but at some level
you must have known that it could, and even might. And this was not a small knowing. It
was a big knowing, in your heart. It is your knowing that creates the strongest energy, not your wishing. In fact, knowing
trumps wishing  every time. That’s because knowing has enormous power behind it. Wishing is wimpy, flimsy. “Knowing of a certainty” is the kind of faith that moves
moun tains. Someone once said, “What you know is what is so. ”
You can wish to win the million -dollar lottery, but if you know  that you don’t stand much
of a chance, then you won’t stand much of a chance. You can wish to get a date with the
most desirable person  in the class, but if you know  that you don’t stand much of a chance,
then you won’t stand much of a chance. You can wish to feel just fine about the huge change
that is happening in your life, but if you know  that you don’t stand much of a chance, then
you won’t stand much of a chance. Ah, yes. “if only wishing could make it so. ”
Well, wishing is a good start. Jiminy Cricket was right about that. But in the end, you
must turn that wish into an awareness that your wish will come true. You must know that it
will. But what do you tell yourself then  if, after all is said and done, it just doesn’t happen. You must let yourself remember that you are always creating at three levels of creation: the
subconscious level, the conscious level, and the super -conscious level. It is at the super -
conscious level that you join with all other souls in a collaboration of cosmic proportion
that allows for the perfect conditions to exist, allowing the souls involved to evolve to the
next highest level. So the reality that you have produced, the change that you are experiencing this minute,
is not something that you created alone. The fact is that you created it in collaboration with
others. All the other “players” in your Game of Life created it with you. You created t he
outcome together. For reasons known very clearly by the lot of you. In a way that serves
the agenda of all of you. This is just one more way of saying that everything happens for the best. Now when you know  that everything happens for the best, then everything that happens
is okay with you. The irony of this is that when everything that happens is okay with you, you
set up an energy field of such equanimity and harmony with the universe that the universal
law of attraction draws more equanimity and harmony into your life. Your soul knows that the process of co -creation never impinges upon the individual will
of anyone. Nothing can happen against your inner will. Not even your death. Especially  not
your death. (For a thorough and inspiring exploration of this particular insight, see Home
with God in a Life That Never Ends. ) Given Who and What you are (Divinity Individuated), it is impossible for anything to
take place that violates your highest desire. The inte rweavings of life are always in
harmony with each other. You must, therefore, have at some level agreed with all that has
occurred and is occurring. If it happened to you, it happened through  you. This is why the soul is never unhappy. Why would the soul b e unhappy when it is always
getting what it wants. Why  it would want  what it is getting is another question. The answer: there is always a
reason tied to the soul’s desire to evolve. Sometimes the soul evolves most rapidly by giving up what the mind wants,  in favor of what someone else may need, or what a
situation may require. The mind might not always be okay with this, but the soul always is. So do not recriminate against yourself. Do not make yourself wrong or chastise or
castigate yourself for any life  outcomes that you have generated, consciously or
unconsciously, that you would call negative. Rather, have compassion with yourself if you
do not understand the larger reason for these outcomes, then give praise to yourself for
your ability to meet them h ead on, then congratulate the magnificent part of yourself that
finds a way to move through them, and finally, celebrate that aspect of yourself that sees, in
the final analysis, the benefit  that has come to you as a result of them. You will know that you have changed your idea about life when you come to the last
conclusion first. You will see life and everything in life as an opportunity, not an
obstruction; as good fortune, not misfortune; as a gift, not a gaff. And your attitude about
life itself will recreate  itself in life itself. After you’ve changed your idea about life and its purpose, you are only one step away
from changing your idea about yourself —from changing your very identity. Do this, and you will change everything. And that  is something you  may wish to
Take time to ponder
Only when you’re ready, pick up the chapter at. WALKING HOME
William Shakespeare had it exactly right:
There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your
philosophy. The final change in our list of nine could very well be the first. If the entire human race
ever made a wholesale shift to this new way of thinking, to this new way of holding the life
experience itself, then every moment in every day in the life of every person in the world
woul d be transformed forever. I now invite you to make this final change. I now invite you
to. CHANGE #9:
Change your identity
When I was a child —indeed, from the time I was eight or nine until the time I left my
family of origin —my father repeatedly aske d me the same question, usually about once
every other week or so:
Who do you think you are anyway. His question was borne of frustration, but if he thought he was frustrated, he should
have lived in my reality. I had no idea who I was or what I was  doing here, nor did I have
any concept at all about what life was, or why it was the way  it was. I couldn’t understand it, I didn’t agree with it, and I wanted no part of it. Yet getting out of it was not an attractive
option. (Actually, there were times when I actually thought that it might be. I am so happy to say
that I moved through those times without succumbing to the temptation to end the most
magnificent experience a soul could ever have. My process was a little herky -jerky, for sure. A little bump y, no question. But I made it. Thank you, God. ) I came to the hope that somewhere, somewhere, there was an answer to all of this; a
reason for it all; a way that it all made some sense. I figured that there was just something
that I didn’t understand, the understanding of which would change everything. After my conversations with God I knew that I would never find what that “something”
was in the Past Data held by the mind. I knew that I would have to somehow connect with a
larger source. I knew that I was going to have to commune on a regular basis with my soul. This I did in my own way. I’ve already said that there is more than one way to meditate. The meditation technique I described earlier is one way —and one very good way —to go
about sil encing the mind and connecting with the soul. But it is not the only way, nor is it
necessarily, for everyone, the best way. There are many people who find it extremely difficult to sit in silent meditation. For
them, it may seem as if the “art of meditati on” is something that is lost to them. I felt this
way for a long time