 Y ou: Using Heart-Center ed Principles for Lasting Abundance
and Fulfillment
Transcending the Levels of Consciousness: The Stairway to Enlightenment
Truth vs. Falsehood: How to T ell the Differ ence
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How to Surr ender to God
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or
electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval
system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private use—other than for “fair use” as
brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews—without prior written permission of the publisher. The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a
form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician,
either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to of fer information of a general nature to
help you in your quest for emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of
the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for
your actions. Excerpts from Healing and Recovery  (2009) are used with permission from the author and
publisher. An excerpt from Discovery of the Pr esence of God: Devotional Nonduality  (2007), Chapter 7: The
Razor ’s Edge, p. 133 is used with permission from the author and publisher. Excerpts from The Map of Consciousness Explained: A Pr oven Ener gy Scale to Actualize Y our
Ultimate Potential  (2020), Preface, p. xiv–xv, are used with permission from the author and
publisher. Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congr ess
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OceanofPDF.comC O N T E N T S
Forewor d
Introduction
Chapter 1: Moving from the Ego to Service
Chapter 2: Calibration
Chapter 3: Spiritual Consciousness
Chapter 4: Obstacles to Spiritual Growth
Chapter 5: Surrender
Chapter 6: T ruth
Chapter 7: The 9 Fundamentals of Conscious Spiritual Growth
Chapter 8: Spiritual Practices
Chapter 9: Enlightened Healers
Chapter 10: Enlightenment
Bonus Material: The Most V aluable Qualities for a Spiritual Seeker
About the Author
Hay House Unlimited Audio
Continue Y our Journey with Hay House
OceanofPDF.comF O R E W O R D
David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D., affectionately called “Doc” by his spiritual
students, died peacefully at his home in Sedona, Arizona, on September 19,
2012, at the age of 85. Even up to the last breath, he gave his all to help
others. He left a body of work that includes over 15 books and hundreds of
hours of audio-visual programs. Those of us who had the great fortune to hear Dr. Hawkins speak in
person will neve r forget what it was like. People from all walks of life, even
from faraway countries, attende d the sold-out monthly seminars he offered. We heard the material he presen ted, yet we experienced something deeper
than words. The information was delivered via a carrier wave of Love,
silent and all-pervading. Historically, this nonverbal transmission has been
called the “Grace of the Teacher.” Through his oral teachings, he conveyed
profound truths in a personable  way that awakened the inner  Self of the
listener. A transformative  effect occurs also through his writing. The late spiritual
and self-help author, Wayne Dyer, called Dr. Hawkins’ s book Power vs.
Force “perhaps the most important and significant book I’ve read in the
past 10 years.” Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote this to him after
reading his manuscript for Power vs. For ce: “Conti nue to use your beautifu l
gift of writing to the full.” Legendary musician Nipsey Hussle, shortly
before his untim ely death, said to an interviewer: “The most powerful book
I’ve read in the last ten years is called Power vs. For ce.”
Power vs. Force, Dr. Hawkins’ s first spiritual book, has sold more than a
million copies and has been translated into more than 25 languages. He had
wanted to publis h it anonymously, for he said it came “through” him rather
than “from” him. Of its signific ance, he observed: “The karma of mankind
changed with the writing of that book.”That book was followed by Eye of the I: From Which Nothing Is Hidden
and I: Reality and Subjectivity. These three books, he said, are the
foundational “trilogy” of his teachings. From there, he wrote many more
books to apply his teachings to all areas of life, from physica l healing to
overcoming addiction, to succe ss and happiness. In 2019, a primer of his
work, The Map of Consciousness Explained, was published to illumine the
many facets of his key discovery, The Map of Consciousness®. Surprisingly, Dr. Hawkins did not begin his spiritual writing until he was
65. This in itself is an encourage ment to us, the readers, to trust his teaching
that our lives contain hidden potentials waiting to be actualized when the
time is right. In fact, the book you hold in your hand may be the catalyst
needed to actualize a potential within you. He explains:
That is the value of the presenc e of a Teacher whose energy field is
like a catalyst. The high energy field of the Self is already present in
the student. It does not have to be acquired but only activated, which
is a consequence of positive karmic potentiality. — Discovery of the
Presence of God: Devotional Nonduality  (2007), Chapter 7: The
Razor ’s Edge, p. 133. This book is a unique and wonderful resource of teachings from Dr.
Hawkins. It has been adapted from one of Dr. Hawkins’ s classic audio
programs, and it gives readers the ambience of his oral conve yance. You
might imagine that you are sitting there in his audience—listening and
watching, laughing and receiving. His wife, Susan Hawkins, who was always on stage with him as his
lovemate, co-researcher, and “right arm,” gave this account of his lectures:
When I was on stage with him, I saw how he would say thing s in a
powerful way and suddenly people’s faces would light up—they got
it! It was so fulfilling to see that response and to know that some one’s
life was changed. For Dave, it was never about himself—he cared
only about the message and its impact on others. He had a contagious
sense of humor; it was impossible not to laugh whenever he was
laughing. He didn’ t care about appearances or getting approval from
others, because he knew who and what he was. — The Map ofConsciousness Explained: A Proven Ener gy Scale to Actualize Your
Ultimate Potential  (2020), Preface, p. xiv. As you read this book, you will perhaps realize why someone described
his lecture style as a mixture of Einstein, the Buddha, and Mr. Magoo. He
was a liberated being—free, spontaneous, compassionate, humorous, and
totally available. His spaciousness welcomed everyone and everything. Being in his presence, you knew he saw into you, he saw through your
facades, and he loved you exactly as you were. He addressed himself to the
greater Self within you. Though he appeared in the form  of a man, he was somehow beyond male
and female, human and nonhuman. He knew the Divine Light in all things;
he recognized the sacredness even in the little beetle and the mother skunk. He was the “Eye of the I” from which nothing was hidden. Nothing existed
that was not included in this Love. He inhabited the rarefied realm of what the world calls “enlightenment,”
yet he was dedicated to helping others overcome the painful obstacles in
everyday life. He strove to be helpful and ordinary. As you go through this
book, you will encounter very advanced teachings coming through in the
simplest way possible. The purity of the message is due to his total
surrender of personal gain.


 “What else did you read?”
“Emmet Fox’ s works were a big help,” she says. “Why did these books help you feel prosperous?”
“They spoke of an innate potential for love and prosperity that exists in
all of us,” she says. “How did you feel about that?”
“Well, at first I thought it was ridiculous!” she says with a big laugh. “Why?”
“The abundance of the universe had nothing to do with me. I could
believe it existed for others, but not for me.”
“You didn’ t feel loveable,” I say. “I had very poor self-esteem back then. I was also very angry,” she says. “Why were you angry?”
“These books told me that I was the one who was blocking my potential
for love and prosperity,” she says, laughing again. “Yet still you kept turning the pages.”
“Yes. These books were my lifelines. I remember telling myself that now
that I’d found these books I would find a way to experience this potential
for love and prosperity, and that I wouldn’ t let myself forget about this
potential ever again,” she says.I reflect on Louise’s story about when she first felt truly prosperous. Those books were her Aladdin’ s lamps. They woke up a potential that
already existed in her. This potential was waiting for her to take the first
step on her healing journey. And here she is now, some 40 years later, one
of the best-selling authors on the planet. “When did you first feel truly prosperous?” Louise asks me. “When I was 18 years old,” I tell her. “You were very young,” says Louise. “I elected to take my midlife crisis early,” I say. “We shouldn’ t compare our journeys, I know, but sometimes I wish I’d
learned what I know now a lot sooner,” she says. “‘There is a Divine Design for each man!’” I say, quoting Florence
Scovel Shinn, which makes Louise smile. “So what happened when you were 18 years old?” she asks. “I met A vanti Kumar, my first spiritual mentor.”
“What did he tell you?”
“Well, he gave me a lot of books to read. Books like the Tao Te Ching,
the Bhagavad Gita, The Dhammapada, and Autobiography of a Yogi, which
is where I first learned about af firmations. These books were my lifelines.”
“Did you struggle like I did?” she asks. “Yes. Just like you, I believed in a divine potential that exists in everyone
else but not in me,” I tell her. “You felt unloveable,” she says. “Yes, but I kept on turning the pages.”
“You were listening to your inner ding,” Louise says with a smile. “I’m so grateful that I did.”
“So how did this help you feel prosperous?” she asks. “Avanti was the first person to tell me that I am already abundant,” I tell
her. “Did you believe him?” she asks. “I asked Avanti, ‘If I’m already  abundant, why can’t I feel it?’ And he
said it was because I was blocking it!”
“I hope you got angry,” Louise says, laughing. “Yeah, I did some pillow bashing,” I tell her. “And then what?”
“Avanti said something that blew my socks of f!”
“What did he say?”“He said the reason I didn’ t feel abundant already is that I didn’ t expect
to feel abundant now; I expected to feel abundant in the future.”
“That’ s very good,” says Louise. “Avanti helped me take my first step on the spiritual path.”
“What was that first step?” asks Louise. “It was the willingness to seek the blocks to love inside myself.”
“Dissolving our barriers,” says Louise. “Amen.”
Avanti Kumar taught me what I call The Already Principle. The
Unconditioned Self, which is our true nature, is already blessed. “From the
very beginning, all beings are Buddha,” said Hakuin, a Japanese Zen
Master. We carry with us a timeless wisdom that exists already in us and
helps us to reme mber what we forgot. In the depths of our soul,  we find our
divine inheritan ce. We discover that we already are the person we most
want to be. Divine potential exists now, not in the future. This potential is our divine
mirror. We see our God-given talents in this mirror. This is where we find
the big happines s, the timeless wisdom, and the boundless love. Somehow,
though, we forget about this mirror. It gets covered over with a thousand
Post-it notes. These notes have terrible messages written on them, like I’m
not loveable  and I’m not enough. They are full of our judgments and self-
criticism, self-rejection and unworthiness. Pablo Picasso is often quoted as
saying that “[e]very child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an
artist once we grow up.”
According to the Already Principle, you have already been given
everything you need for your journey in this life. No matter which road you
take, divine guidance will meet you there. ”I am fully equipped for the
Divine Plan of my life; I am more than equal to the situat ion,” wrote
Florence Scovel  Shinn. Florence’ s affirmation reminds me of the scene in
the film Mary Poppins  in which, before Jane’ s and Michael’ s eyes, Mary
Poppins pulls item after item from her bottomless carpetba g. Our real
potential is like this. It reveals itself when it is needed and when we ask for
it. It’ s bigger than anything our ego can carry. What about our darkest moments, when our ego is on its knee s? When
we doubt that love exists? When we can see “only one set of footprints” andfeel utterly alone? In terrible times, it’s virtually impossible for anyone to
say the right thing. Words are probably not appropriate, anyway. They make
a wound sting even more. You can’t possibly know it then, but even in the
most forsaken place, the healing has already begun. That’ s how reality
works. Nothing takes place outside the Oneness. Love abandons no one. The Already Principle reminds us of our true nature and the nature of
reality. It teaches us that there is more to this world than meets the eye. Even in a world of fear, there is love. Even when you are in lack, there is
abundance. Even when you experience conflict, there is peace. Even when
you are alone, there is help. Even when you are confused, there is guidance. Everything you need is here, and it’s here now. That’ s why Louise always
encourages us to pray and af firm in the present tense. Just like this:
I am willing to let life love me today. Everything I need to know is revealed to me. I gratefully accept all the good I have
in my life now. I release all struggle now, and I am at peace. My healing is already in progress. I now accept and appreciate the
abundant life the Universe of fers me. Beyond Independence
I teach a modul e called “Life Loves You” in my three-day Loveability
program. In this module, we explore the blocks to love. We look especially
at the ways we make it difficult to be loved. We see how our lack of self-
love makes it harder for others  to love us. We examine fears about love,
roles we play in relationships, old grievances we carry, and defenses that
stop us from letting love in. One block to love we pay special attention to is
independence. How independent are you? I ask my studen ts this question at the start of
the “Life Loves You” module. I follow that question up with this one: Areyou a H.I.P. or a D.I.P.? I explain that H.I.P. stands for Healthy Independent
Person and D.I.P. stands for Dysfunctional Independent Person. On the
spectrum of independence, there is a healthy range and a dysfunctional
range. It’s impor tant that you know the difference and that you choose well,
if you want to let life love you. Healthy independence is a creative force that moves through everyone
and everything. This creative force comes from the Oneness. It’s how the
Unified Field—the energy of the universe—grows flowers and whales,
rainbows and stars, amethysts and people. It gives form to life and makes
embryos into babies. It helps children take their first steps and stand on
their own two feet. “I can do it all by myself,” cries the child. Soon he can
run and play. And all of this happens not in isolation but in a holding
environment of support and love. Healthy independence helps you to take your place in the collective. It
helps you to express yourself as I Am. You know deep inside yourself that I
am blessed  and I am loved  and I am loveable. You are an I that is made out
of everything. Everything helped to create you. This isn’t just poetry, by the
way; this is science. In the “Life Loves You” module, I show my students a
short film featuring Carl Sagan, the astrophysicist and cosmologist. In it
Sagan says, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first
invent the universe


long beard. Gautama moved as silently as he could, and he didn’ t speak in
greeting to the old ascetic, who made no motion, not even the flutter of an
eyelid, to acknowledge his visitor. Finding the shade of a nearby tree,
Gautama sat under it and folded his legs. For ten years now he had been
meditating, and just as Asita promised, it had become his refuge from the
outside world. At first he had found it hard to settle down completely. As the scriptures
say, the mind is like a runaway coach, and the driver never stops whipping
the horses. But from inside the coach a voice whispers, “Please stop.” At
first the team and driver ignore the voice. It is very soft; it never insists. Over time, however, the voice wins obedience, and the driver and horses
stop wildly galloping. Bit by bit they slow down until the mind is at rest. Thus Siddhartha learned a basic lesson: whatever can run can also stand
still.Gradually the tree shade moved away, and he began to sweat. He could
see an orange glow in his eyelids and knew, if it was this near sunset, that
hours must have passed. Gautama took a peek, but the hermit was still
motionless under his lean-to. There was no guarantee that he possessed any
wisdom or could be a useful teacher. But Gautama had promised himself
that he would seek out someone like Asita. How can freedom be taught
except by someone who is free? Darkness descended, and still there was no sign of activity. Gautama got
to his feet and headed toward a stream he’d crossed near the clearing. Stooping to drink, he realized that waiting could take longer than he’d
thought. He collected some fruit from the trees and headed back to the
clearing. He fashioned a bed of boughs and went to sleep. The hermit
became a black outline against the nearly black night sky. In this way three days passed. The hermit’ s ability to remain as still as
one of the Shiva statues outside Canki’ s temple impressed Gautama deeply. His own body ached from the hours he had put in sitting and waiting for
something to happen. He fidgeted, obeyed the call of nature, ate and drank
when he had to. Like a force of nature, the wiry old man remained
immobile. Once or twice Gautama gave a soft cough to make his presence
known. On the second day he ventured to say “Namaste” in a quiet voice. On the evening of the third day, he walked over to the ascetic, squatted on
his heels beside him, and said, “Sir?”
The hermit opened his eyes. “Y ou talk too much,” he said. His voice
was clear and alert; the trance he was waking up from was no ordinary kind. “Can you teach me?” Gautama asked, wanting to seize the moment
before the hermit retreated back into his deep samadhi  once more. But he
was too late. The hermit closed his eyes, and soon the sun set. Gautama
stretched out on the ground for the night, having no idea if he’d made any
progress. Apparently he had. When he woke up the next morning the hermit
was standing over him. “Maybe,” the hermit said. Gautama sprang to his feet. “What shall I do first?”“Be quiet.”
The hermit went back to his place under the lean-to and resumed his
meditation. Gautama suspected that he wouldn’ t open his eyes for another
three days. It took four. In the meantime, however, the new disciple wasn’ t
bored. Gradually he began to be filled with his teacher ’s presence. It
happened invisibly. Gautama was obliged to meditate along with his master. Imitating the guru was the main path for a disciple: you ate when the guru
ate, slept when the guru slept, listened when the guru spoke. Y et the greatest
teachers, so Siddhartha had been told when he interrogated visitors to court,
taught in complete silence. Apparently Gautama had run into one of those, for whenever he closed
his eyes, something new would happen. He found stillness, as before, but
now it was vibrant and alive, as if a shower of sparkling white light were
falling inside him. Its ef fervescence caused his body to tingle gently, a
delicious sensation that made it ef fortless to sit in meditation for hours at a
time. In between, when Gautama found that his limbs were too stif f and his
body too restless to sit any longer, he puttered around the clearing,
sweeping away debris, placing a gourd of water beside his master, gathering
fruit and firewood for the night. He was eager to ask the hermit how he
managed to enter a disciple and fill him with his presence. Then he
remembered his master ’s rebuke about talking too much. On the evening of
the fourth day the hermit surfaced from his samadhi. His first word was, “W ell?”
Gautama prostrated himself at the hermit’ s feet. He could have said, “I
am satisfied,” but his gesture of obeisance was enough. His teacher had
given him a taste of all that was to come, and when he said, “W ell?” he
meant, “Do you accept me?” The bond between a guru and a chela,  or
disciple, exists deep in the heart. Gautama had become so sensitized that
this one word, “W ell?” said everything. It said, This is how things will be. If
you want praise and smiles, go to someone else. I’m not her e to flatter you. The routine at camp was soon established. The disciple performed the
small duties that kept the necessities of life going. Most of the time the two
of them simply sat, facing each other across the clearing like two life-sizeicons abandoned by a sculptor in the forest. Then the face of Y ashodhara
began to appear in Gautama’ s mind. She was smiling, and he couldn’ t help
looking at her smile. The scriptures give permission to meditate upon
various divine images, so why not his wife? If love is divine, can’ t a woman
also be? Y et the moment Gautama fixed his mind’ s eye on Y ashodhara’ s
face, her body appeared, and it was not clothed. The young monk squirmed,
praying that his master didn’ t see the physical reaction this caused, which
wasn’ t his fault. He fought his reaction. Meditating on arousal wasn’ t in the scriptures. Yashodhara’ s face changed; it began to mock him. Her hands moved down
her body. He fought harder. Perhaps if he focused on the purity of his love
for her. Gautama thought about the day he chose her to be his wife. She was
sixteen, he was nineteen. He had given up on finding Sujata but was far
from losing her memory. When it was announced that he was to be
betrothed, eager fathers drove a long distance to present their daughters in
faraway Kapilavastu. Nobles, princes, and kings of neighboring domains
crossed the border with elaborate entourages of slaves and horses. Siddhartha sat on the ramparts looking down at the scene with Channa. “If the interviews are too much for you, I can always take a few of f your
hands,” Channa said. Some of the younger girls were barely twelve; it
wasn’ t expected that he would live with them im mediately—arrangements
would be made. But delay was only temporary. Suddhodana couldn’ t be put
off. “Choose a girl who plays with dolls, choose an old maid of nineteen,”
the king said. “But you can’ t walk away without choosing someone.” They
both knew that the future of the dynasty was at stake. On the ceremonial day when all the hopeful brides were assembled at
court, Siddhartha entered the hall in the same elaborate coat and plumed red
turban he had worn when he turned eighteen. Each girl was prostrate on the
floor, and as the prince walked down the line, he would catch a fetching or
shy glance, a glint in one eye that promised sensual delight, in another a
darting shyness that spoke of innocence and even bewilderment. Only one
girl didn’ t look up at him, keeping her veiled face to the floor. She made
Siddhartha curious.“A great day!” declared Suddhodana in a loud, jovial voice. But when
his son walked into his embrace, he whispered in his ear, “None of your
tricks. They’re not here so you can pray with them.”
Siddhartha knelt. “I know my duty, father.” As he turned around, a
chamberlain ran up and handed him a garland of gold necklaces. Siddhartha
pulled out a strand and approached the first girl. “You are very beautiful. Why do you wish to marry me?” he asked,
lifting her from the floor. Her direct gaze told him she wasn’ t shy. “Because you are kind and good. And handsome.” She gave him a
seductive look, one that was well practiced. Siddhartha knew it was


 f e  t o d a y,  I  m i g h t
a l s o  m e n t i o n  h o w  I  a m  f e e l i n g  a b o u t  i t,  a n d  b o t h  a r e
c o n s i d e r e d  r e l e v a n t. B u t  w h e n  i t  c o m e s  t o  o u r  c o l l e c t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e,  p u b l i c  d i a l o g u e  a l l o w s  f o r  l i t t l e  d i s c u s s i o n  o f
e v e n t s  o f  e q u a l l y  p e r s o n a l  m a g n i t u d e. “ W e  a c c i d e n t a l l y
b o m b e d  a  s c h o o l  t o d a y,  a n d  f i f t y  c h i l d r e n  d i e d. ”  H o w  d o
w e  f e e l  a b o u t  t h a t? U h - o h,  w e  d o n ’ t  g o  t h e r e …. S o  w e  c o n t i n u e  t o  t a l k  m a i n l y  a b o u t  o t h e r  t h i n g s,  a t  a
t i m e  w h e n  t h e  n e w s  o f  t h e  d a y  i s  a s  c r i t i c a l  a s  a t  a n y  t i m e  i n
t h e  h i s t o r y  o f  t h e  w o r l d. N o t  d e a l i n g  w i t h  o u r  i n t e r n a l
d e p t h s,  w e  e m p h a s i z e  e x t e r n a l  s u p e r f i c i a l i t i e s. R e p o r t s  o n
t h e  h o r r o r s  o f  w a r  a p p e a r  i n t e r m i t t e n t l y  b e t w e e n  r e p o r t s  o n
b o x  o f f i c e  r e c e i p t s  f o r  t h e  l a t e s t  b l o c k b u s t e r  m o v i e  a n d  a
H o l l y w o o d  a c t r e s s ’ s  v i n t a g e  V a l e n t i n o. I  s e e  t h e  s a m e
b e h a v i o r  i n  m y s e l f,  a s  I  j u m p  f r o m  w r i t i n g  a b o u t  t h i n g s  t h a t
d e m a n d  I  d i g  d e e p  t o  o b s e s s i v e l y  c h e c k i n g  m y  e - m a i l s  f o r
s o m e t h i n g  l i g h t  a n d  f u n  t o  d i s t r a c t  m e. I t ’ s  l i k e  a v o i d a n c e
b e h a v i o r  i n  t h e r a p y — w a n t i n g  t o  s h a r e  t h e  g o s s i p  b u t  n o t
w a n t i n g  t o  d e a l  w i t h  t h e  r e a l,  m o r e  p a i n f u l  i s s u e s. O f  c o u r s e
w e  w a n t  t o  a v o i d  t h e  p a i n. B u t  b y  d o i n g  s o,  w e  i n e v i t a b l y
c a u s e  m o r e  o f  i t. T h a t  i s  w h e r e  w e  a r e  t o d a y. W e  a r e  a c t i n g  o u t  o u r  a n g e r
a n d  f e a r  b e c a u s e  w e  a r e  n o t  f a c i n g  t h e  d e p t h  o f  o u r  p a i n. A n d  k e e p i n g  t h e  c o n v e r s a t i o n  s h a l l o w  s e e m s  a  p r e r e q u i s i t ef o r  k e e p i n g  t h e  p a i n  a t  b a y. T h o s e  w h o  w o u l d  e n g a g e  i n  a
d e e p e r  c o n v e r s a t i o n  a r e  s y s t e m a t i c a l l y  b a r r e d  f r o m  t h e
m a i n s t r e a m :  f r o m  n e w s p a p e r s  a n d  m a g a z i n e s,  f r o m  T V,  a n d
e s p e c i a l l y  f r o m  p o l i t i c a l  p o w e r. O n e  n i g h t  I  w a s  w a t c h i n g  a  n e w s  b r o a d c a s t  a b o u t  t h e
l a t e s t  v i d e o t a p e  p u r p o r t e d l y  s e n t  b y  O s a m a  b i n  L a d e n  t o  a n
A r a b  t e l e v i s i o n  n e t w o r k. T h e  f o c u s  o f  t h e  A m e r i c a n  n e w s
s t o r y  w a s  n o t  o n  b i n  L a d e n ’ s  m e s s a g e  b u t  r a t h e r  o n  t h e
t e c h n o l o g y  b y  w h i c h  A m e r i c a n s  h a d  v e r i f i e d  t h e  r e c o r d i n g. H i s  m e s s a g e  w a s  t o o  h o r r i f y i n g ;  i t  w a s  a s  t h o u g h  w e  w e r e
t r y i n g  t o  e m o t i o n a l l y  d i s t a n c e  o u r s e l v e s  f r o m  i t  b y  h a v i n g  a
b e a u t i f u l  n e w s  r e p o r t e r  d i s c u s s  t h e  t e c h n o l o g y  o f  t h e  t a p e
r a t h e r  t h a n  i t s  c o n t e n t s. V i s i t i n g  a  m e d i c a l  o f f i c e  o n e  d a y  r e c e n t l y,  I  a s k e d  m y
d o c t o r,  a  m e m b e r  o f  t h e  “ g r e a t e s t


 ’ m  w i l l i n g  t o  t a k e
t o t a l  r e s p o n s i b i l i t y  f o r  m y  o w n  e x p e r i e n c e,  I  c a n  s e e  t h e
v a l u e  o f  i n v i t i n g  t h e  H o l y  S p i r i t  t o  e n t e r  m y  m i n d  a n d  f i l l
m e  w i t h  H i s  s p i r i t. C o n s c i o u s n e s s  p r e c e d e s  f o r m,  a n d  t h e
p e r f e c t  f o r m  a r i s e s  f r o m  a  c o n s c i o u s n e s s  o f  t o t a l  l o v e. T o t a l  l o v e  s e e m s  l i k e  a  v e r y  t a l l  o r d e r  u n t i l  w e  c o n s i d e r
t h e  r e a l i t y  t h a t  t o t a l  l o v e  i s  w h a t  w e  a r e. S o  w h e r e ’ s  t h e
d i s c o n n e c t? W e  a s k,  “ I f  I  a m  l o v e,  a n d  l o v e  c r e a t e s
m i r a c l e s,  t h e n  w h y  i s  m y  l i f e  s o  s c r e w e d  u p? ”
A t  a  c e r t a i n  l e v e l  i t ’ s  n o t  o u r  d i v i n e  r e a l i t y  t h a t ’ s  t h e
i s s u e —  t h e  i s s u e  i s  h o w  m u c h  o f  t h a t  r e a l i t y  w e  a l l o w
o u r s e l v e s  t o  e x p e r i e n c e  a n d  e x p r e s s. I n  t h e  i n t r o d u c t i o n  t o  A
C o u r s e  i n  M i r a c l e s,  i t ’ s  s t a t e d,  “ T h e  c o u r s e  d o e s  n o t  a i m  a t
t e a c h i n g  t h e  m e a n i n g  o f  l o v e,  f o r  t h a t  i s  b e y o n d  w h a t  c a n
b e  t a u g h t. I t  d o e s  a i m,  h o w e v e r,  a t  r e m o v i n g  t h e  b l o c k s  t o
y o u r  a w a r e n e s s  o f  l o v e ’ s  p r e s e n c e,  w h i c h  i s  y o u r  n a t u r a li n h e r i t a n c e. ”  L o v e  i s  a l l  a r o u n d  u s,  b u t  w e ’ r e  i n  t h e  m e n t a l
a n d  e m o t i o n a l  h a b i t  o f  d e f l e c t i n g  i t. W i t h  e v e r y  a t t i t u d e  o f  a t t a c k  o r  d e f e n s e,  w e  s e n d  l o v e
a w a y. W i t h  e v e r y  p e r c e p t i o n  o f  a n y o n e ’ s  g u i l t,  w e  t e l l  l o v e
t o  l e a v e. W i t h  e v e r y  t h o u g h t  o f  l i m i t e d  p o s s i b i l i t y,  w e  t e l l
m i r a c l e s  w e  d o n ’ t  w a n t  t h e m. A n d  t h e n  w e  w o n d e r  w h y
w e ’ r e  d e p r e s s e d. T o  t r e a t  t h e  d e p r e s s i o n,  w e  m u s t  a s k  o u r s e l v e s  e s s e n t i a l
q u e s t i o n s :  W h a t  a m  I  d o i n g,  o r  n o t  d o i n g,  t o  a l l o w  f e a r
r a t h e r  t h a n  l o v e  t o  p r e v a i l  h e r e? W h o  a m  I  a t t a c k i n g  o r  n o t
f o r g i v i n g? W h a t  a m  I  m y s e l f  n o t  g i v i n g  t o  t h i s  s i t u a t i o n? W e  i n d u l g e  o u r  f e a r  a s  i f  w e ’ r e  b e i n g  s t r o n g  t o  d o  s o,
“ h o n e s t ”  i n  a  w a y  t h a t  m a k e s  u s  m o r e  “ r e a l. ”  B u t  w h a t  i s  s o
r e a l  a b o u t  p l a y i n g  w e a k  i n s t e a d  o f  s t r o n g? S o m e t i m e s  w e
n e e d  t o  t e l l  o u r  f e a r  t o  g o  t o  h e l l,  w h i c h  i s  l i t e r a l l y  w h e r e  i t
c a m e  f r o m. T h e  e g o  i s  b a c k e d  b y  t h e  w e i g h t  o f  a n  e n t i r e  t h o u g h t
s y s t e m,  c o n s t a n t l y  l u r i n g  u s  a w a y  f r o m  l o v e  a n d
l i m i t l e s s n e s s  t o w a r d  f e a r  a n d  s c a r c i t y. I t  i s  a  v i c i o u s
t a s k m a s t e r,  a n d  i t  h a s  o u r  h e a r t s —  i n d e e d  o u r  e n t i r e  p l a n e t
— i n  i t s  g r i p. A n d  s o m e  p e o p l e  w o u l d  r a t h e r  d i e  t h a n
c h a n g e  t h e i r  m i n d s. *
T h e  t r a n s f o r m a t i o n  o f  t h e  h e a r t  w i l l  t a k e  m o r e  t h a n  a n
i n t e l l e c t u a l  d e c i s i o n. T h e  e g o  i


 a  i n t o  o u r  h e a r t s. A n d
w i t h  o u r  h e a r t s  r e s t o r e d,  o u r  m i n d s  b e g a n  w o r k i n g  b e t t e r  a s
w e l l. W e  w e r e  o n e  n a t i o n,  a  t r u e  c o m m u n i t y,  s o m e  o f  u s
e x p e r i e n c i n g  i t  f o r  t h e  f i r s t  t i m e  i n  o u r  l i v e s. A n d  t h e  v e r y
i n t e l l i g e n t  q u e s t i o n  o n  m a n y  p e o p l e ’ s  l i p s  w a s,  “ W h y  d o
t h o s e  p e o p l e  h a t e  u s  s o  m u c h. ”  O v e r  d i n n e r  t a b l e s  a n d
a r o u n d  o f f i c e  w a t e r  c o o l e r s,  w e  a s k e d  q u e s t i o n s  w e  h a d  n o t
b e e n  a s k i n g  o f t e n  e n o u g h  o v e r  t h e  l a s t  f e w  d e c a d e s :  W h a t
h a s  A m e r i c a  b e e n  d o i n g  a r o u n d  t h e  w o r l d,  a n d  h o w  a r e  w e
p e r c e i v e d  b y  o t h e r s. E v e n  m a i n s t r e a m  A m e r i c a n  t e l e v i s i o n,
n o t  a l w a y s  k n o w n  f o r  i t s  i n t e l l e c t u a l  d e p t h,  h o s t e d  b r i l l i a n t
p o l i t i c a l  t h i n k e r s  a n d  p h i l o s o p h e r s  t o  e d u c a t e  t h e  A m e r i c a n
p e o p l e  o n  i s s u e s  w e  n o w  p a i n f u l l y  r e c o g n i z e d  w e r e  r e l e v a n t
t o  o u r  l i v e s. Y e t  s e v e r a l  d a y s  l a t e r  i t  w a s  l i k e  s o m e o n e  h a d  p u l l e d  t h e
p l u g. N o  m o r e  i n t e r e s t i n g  t h i n k e r s  o n  T V,  j u s t  c h e e r l e a d e r s
f o r  r e v e n g e. W e  w e r e  t o  m o v e  i n t o  w a r  m o d e,  a n d  q u i c k l y ;
t h a t  m o d e  c o u l d  n o t  t o l e r a t e  t h e  s u g g e s t i o n  t h a t  A m e r i c a
h a d  p l a y e d  e v e n  t h e  t i n i e s t  p a r t  i n  a t t r a c t i n g  o u r  m i s f o r t u n e. A n y o n e  w h o  e v e n  h i n t e d  s u c h  a  t h i n g  w a s  d e s c r i b e d  a s“ b l a m i n g  A m e r i c a. ”  C l i c h é s  w e r e  s u b s t i t u t e d  f o r
m e a n i n g f u l  c o n v e r s a t i o n ;  i n t e l l e c t u a l  e x c e l l e n c e,  h e a l t h y
s k e p t i c i s m,  a n d  a n y  d i s c u s s i o n  o f  s p i r i t u a l i t y  o r  c o m p a s s i o n
a s  t h e y  r e l a t e d  t o  t h e  t h r e a t  o f  t e r r o r i s m  w e r e  d e e m e d  t h e
u n d e r m i n i n g  m a c h i n a t i o n s  o f  u n p a t r i o t i c  A m e r i c a n s. Y e t  I ’ v e  n o t i c e d  t h a t  i t ’ s  t h e  p e o p l e  w h o  s u f f e r e d  t h e
m o s t  o n  9 / 1 1  w h o  h a v e  o f t e n  d i s p l a y e d  t h e  c a p a c i t y  f o r  t h e
h i g h e s t  v i s i o n  o f  w h a t  o c c u r r e d  t h a t  d a y. F r o m  p u s h i n g  f o r
a  9 / 1 1  c o m m i s s i o n  w h e n  t h e  p r e s i d e n t  h i m s e l f  w a s  r e s i s t i n g
i t,  t o  f o r m i n g  g r o u p s  l i k e  S e p t e m b e r  E l e v e n t h  F a m i l i e s  f o r
P e a c e f u l  T o m o r r o w s  w h i c h  s t a n d  f o r  c o m p a s s i o n  a n d
f o r g i v e n e s s  i n  t h e  m i d s t  o f  t h i s  h a u n t i n g  d a r k n e s s,  t h o s e
w h o  s u f f e r e d  t h e  m o s t  h a v e  t a k e n  t h e  s t r o n g e s t  s t a n d  f o r  t h e
p o w e r  o f  t r u t h. O n e  d a y  I  w a s  w a t c h i n g  a  T V  r o u n d t a b l e  d i s c u s s i o n  w i t h
t h r e e  v i c t i m s  o f  9 / 1 1. O n e  w o m a n  h a d  l o s t  h e r  h u s b a n d  a t
t h e  W o r l d  T r a d e  C e n t e r ;  o n e  m a n  h a d  l o s t  h i s  y o u n g  s o n,
w h o  w a s  w o r k i n g  a t  t h e  P e n t a g o n  w h e n  i t  w a s  b o m b e d. A


 t y  f o r  m e  t o  s t r i k e  t h e  b a l a n c e  b e t w e e n  a s s e r t i n g
a p p r o p r i a t e  d i s p l e a s u r e  r e g a r d i n g  s o m e o n e ’ s  p r o f e s s i o n a l
p e r f o r m a n c e  a n d  s h o w i n g  g r a c e  a n d  c o m p a s s i o n  t o w a r ds o m e o n e  w h o  h a d  s i m p l y  m a d e  a  m i s t a k e. A s  m y  f o u r t e e n -
y e a r - o l d  d a u g h t e r  s a i d  t o  m e  a f t e r  l i s t e n i n g  t o  m y  e n d  o f  t h e
p h o n e  c a l l,  “ Y o u  d i d  g r e a t,  M o m. Y o u  l e t  h e r  k n o w  s h e  h a d
d o n e  i t  w r o n g,  b u t  y o u  d i d n ’ t  s h a m e  h e r. ”
F r o m  a  p u r e l y  m o r t a l  p e r s p e c t i v e,  G o d ’ s  p l a n  m i g h t  h a v e
b e e n  t h a t  I  t a k e  a  v a c a t i o n. B u t  o n  a  d e e p e r  l e v e l,  G o d ’ s
p l a n  h a d  t o  d o  w i t h  w h a t  C o n n i e  a n d  I  b o t h  l e a r n e d  f r o m
t h a t  e x p e r i e n c e :  s h e,  t o  b e  m o r e  c a r e f u l  i n  t h e  w o r k  s h e  w a s
d o i n g  f o r  h e r  c l i e n t s,  a n d  I,  t o  h a n d l e  s u c h  a  s i t u a t i o n
w i t h o u t  b e i n g  e i t h e r  t o o  e a s y  o r  t o o  h a r d  o n  s o m e o n e
a r o u n d  m e. N o  m a t t e r  w h a t  g r e a t n e s s  m i g h t  o t h e r w i s e  u n f o l d  i n
C o n n i e ’ s  l i f e,  i t ’ s  b l o c k e d  i f  s h e ’ s  n o t  p e r f o r m i n g  a t  h e r
b e s t. A n d  n o  m a t t e r  w h a t  g r e a t n e s s  m i g h t  u n f o l d  i n  m y  l i f e,
i t ’ s  b l o c k e d  b y  w h a t e v e r  i s s u e s  I  m i g h t  h a v e  i n  d e a l i n g  w i t h
p e o p l e. A n d  t h a t  i s  G o d ’ s  p l a n — t h a t  t h e  b l o c k s  t o  o u r  i n n e r
l i g h t  b e  r e m o v e d,  t h a t  H i s  l i g h t  m i g h t  t h e n  s h i n e  t h r o u g h. T h e  C o u r s e  i n  M i r a c l e s  w o r k b o o k  e x e r c i s e  “ I  a m  a m o n g
t h e  m i n i s t e r s  o f  G o d ”  s a y s,  “ I t  i s  n o t  o u r  p a r t  t o  j u d g e  o u r
w o r t h,  n o r  c a n  w e  k n o w  w h a t  r o l e  i s  b e s t  f o r  u s ;  w h a t  w e
c a n  d o  w i t h i n  a  l a r g e r  p l a n  w e  c a n n o t  s e e  i n  i t s
e n t i r e t y …. ” I t  c o n t i n u e s,

W h a t e v e r  y o u r  a p p o i n t e d  r o l e  m a y  b e,  i t  w a s  s e l e c t e d
b y  t h e  V o i c e  f o r  G o d,  W h o s e  f u n c t i o n  i s  t o  s p e a k  f o r
y o u  a s  w e l l. S e e i n g  y o u r  s t r e n g t h s  e x a c t l y  a s  t h e y  a r e,
a n d  e q u a l l y  a w a r e  o f  w h e r e  t h e y  c a n  b e  b e s t  a p p l i e d,
f o r  w h a t,  t o  w h o m  a n d  w h e n,  H e  c h o o s e s  a n d  a c c e p t sy o u r  p a r t  f o r  y o u. H e  d o e s  n o t  w o r k  w i t h o u t  y o u r  o w n
c o n s e n t. … Y o u  b e c o m e  a w a r e  a t  l a s t  t h e r e  i s  o n e  V o i c e  i n
y o u. A n d  t h a t  o n e  V o i c e  a p p o i n t s  y o u r  f u n c t i o n,  a n d
r e l a y s  i t  t o  y o u,  g i v i n g  y o u  t h e  s t r e n g t h  t o  u n d e r s t a n d
i t,  d o  w h a t  i t  e n t a i l s,  a n d  s u c c e e d  i n  e v e r y t h i n g  y o u  d o
t h a t  i s  r e l a t e d  t o  i t. S o m e t i m e s  s o m e o n e  s a y s,  “ W e l l,  I ’ d  l o v e  t o  b e  o f f  d o i n g
G o d ’ s  w o r k,  b u t  I ’ v e  g o t  t h r e e  k i d s  a t  h o m e — I  c a n ’ t  g o
a n y w h e r e. ”  Y e t  m i n i s t r y  i s  d e t e r m i n e d  b y  i t s  c o n t e n t,  n o t  i t s
f o r m. T h e r e


they could not describe. commitment to goals aligned with true
the sake of excellence, goes powerfully
distinct from the thrill of success; it is a
The movie achieves an accurate
power.4 Alignment with these high power
strong, and we cannot push down his arm
depiction of the world's greatest deep-sea
attractor patterns is not limited to thewith even the greatest ef fort. 69
70
(145) Thus the competitor motivated by
to abandon the power of ethical principle
move from personal pride to an esteem
awareness of that principle in all people. pride or greed, or interested primarily in
and descend to the grossest level of force. which is an expression of unconditional
These heroes and their spokesmen have a
defeating an opponent, will go weak at
There could hardly be a more telling
love, and which honors one's opponents,
potentially powerful influence on all of
the moment of the starting gun and be
example of how submission to a negative
as well, for their dedication to the same
mankind, literally the power to lift the
unable to achieve the maximum attractor field can produce a rapid
lofty principles. world on their shoulders. The nurturingcontinued ef fort necessary for great
collapse of an otherwise promising
The media tend to evoke the downside of
of excellence and recognition of its value
achievement. At times we see an athlete
athletic career. sports and undermine the athlete, because
is the responsibility of all men, because
start badly for such reasons, but, as the
Where higher motivations toward
celebrity status either consciously or
the quest for excellence in any area of
contest progresses and selfish goals are
excellence give access to the realm of
unconsciously elicits this egotism. Great
human endeavor inspires us all toward
for gotten, improve his performance. W e
grace and power, self centered
athletes need to gird themselves against
the actualization of every form of man's
also see the opposite happen when an
motivations of (146) personal gain draw onethis source of contamination. Humility
yet unrealized greatness. athlete starts well because he is almost magnetically into the realm of
and gratitude seem to be the only
competing for the honor of his country,
13. SOCIAL POWER AND THE
force. The reaping of recognition-even in
ef fective shield against the onslaughts of
his team, or of the sport itself, and then
HUMAN SPIRIT
the symbolic form of a medal, let alone
media exploitation. Athletes in the
falters as he nears the goal and the
the financial reward that may accompany
traditional martial arts employ specific
WHEN WE CHEER THE SPIRIT of the
anticipation of personal glory or triumph
it has little to do with true athletic
exercises to overcome any tendency
true athlete, what we applaud is a
over a rival makes him lose strength and
greatness, which proceeds from antowards egotism. The dedication of one's
demonstration of all the significances the
form. attainment of stature of the spirit; it is
skill, performance or career to a higher
word "spirit" entails for us: courage,
One unfortunate sequence of this that we laud in the champion. Even if
principle provides the only absolute
tenacity, commitment, alignment with
consciousness occurs when an athlete
the competitor does not surrender to the
protection. principle, demonstration of excellence,
sets a new record during qualifying trials,
lust for wealth and fame so prominent in
(147) T rue athletic power is characterized
honor, respect and humility.1 T o inspire
arousing new personal ambitions, and
the case just cited, the drive to attain
by grace, sensitivity, inner quiet and,
implies filling with spirit; dispirited
then during the final competition goes todominance in one's sport, rather than to
paradoxically, gentleness in the non-
means dejected, hopeless, defeated. But
pieces to the puzzlement of the audience. simply manifest all the excellence of
competitive lives of even fierce what exactly does the term "spirit"
If top performers are imbued with the
which one is capable, has its own
competitors. W e celebrate the champion
signify? The collective totality of human
belief that their excellence is not a
corrupting egocentric ef fect, entrainment
because we recognize that he has experience can be comprehended by
personal accomplishment but a gift by the negative forces associated
with the overcome personal ambition through spirit in phrases such as
"team spirit" or belonging to all of mankind as a
level of Pride. sacrifice and dedication to higher when we exhort people to "get into the
demonstration of man's potential, they
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with
principles. The great become legendary
spirit." That spirit is a highly pragmatic
will go strong and remain so through anysome manifestations of pride. W e all may
when they teach by example. It is not
factor which can determine the dif ference
event. well be proud when we take the
what they have, nor what they do, but
between victory and defeat is well known
The scale of consciousness may be seen
America's Cup or our Olympians win
what they have become that inspires all
by military commanders, coaches and
in one aspect as a scale of ego, with the
medals, but that is a dif ferent kind of
of mankind, and it is that which we honor
CEOs. An employee or other group
level of 200 being the fulcrum at which
pride. It is an honoring of human
in them. W e should seek to protect their
member who doesn't enter into the spirit
selfishness begins to turn to selflessness. achievement that transcends personal
humility from the forces of exploitationof the group enterprise soon finds himself
At the rarefied plane of Olympic pride. W e honor the endeavor, not the
that accompany acclaim in the everyday
without a job or group. competition, the disastrous
personal accomplishment, which is only
world. W e need to educate the public that
(150) From all the above it is clear that the
consequences, both in private and in
the occasion and expression of something
the abilities of these athletes and their
term "spirit" refers to an unseen essence,
public life, of motivations emanating
greater, universal and innate in the
great performances are gifts to mankind
and that although its expression varies
from levels below 200 are all too clearly
human heart. The Olympics, one of the
to be respected and defended from the
from one situation to another, the essence
illustrated by the recent debacle of figure
greatest dramas of human striving, andabuse of the media and corporate itself never changes. 2 This essence is
skater T onya Harding. This athlete's
one which captures everyone's
commerce. vital; when we lose our spirit, we die-we
excessive zeal to capture an Olympic
imagination, provides a context which
The Olympic spirit resides within the
expire from lack of that which inspires. medal and defeat her rival Nancy should counteract personal pride. The
heart of every man and woman. Great
Clinically speaking, then, we can say that
Kerrigan by any means available led her
whole setting inspires the competitor to
athletes can, by example, awaken Spirit equates with Life; the ener gy of
71
72
(145) Thus the competitor motivated by
to abandon the power of ethical principle
move from personal pride to an esteem
awareness of that principle in all people. pride or greed, or interested primarily in
and descend to the grossest level of force.which is an expression of unconditional
These heroes and their spokesmen have a
defeating an opponent, will go weak at
There could hardly be a more telling
love, and which honors one's opponents,
potentially powerful influence on all of
the moment of the starting gun and be
example of how submission to a negative
as well, for their dedication to the same
mankind, literally the power to lift the
unable to achieve the maximum attractor field can produce a rapid
lofty principles. world on their shoulders. The nurturing
continued ef fort necessary for great
collapse of an otherwise promising
The media tend to evoke the downside of
of excellence and recognition of its value
achievement. At times we see an athlete
athletic career. sports and undermine the athlete, because
is the responsibility of all men, because
start badly for such reasons, but, as theWhere higher motivations toward
celebrity status either consciously or
the quest for excellence in any area of
contest progresses and selfish goals are
excellence give access to the realm of
unconsciously elicits this egotism. Great
human endeavor inspires us all toward
for gotten, improve his performance. W e
grace and power, self centered
athletes need to gird themselves against
the actualization of every form of man's
also see the opposite happen when an
motivations of (146) personal gain draw one
this source of contamination. Humility
yet unrealized greatness. athlete starts well because he is almost magnetically into the realm of
and gratitude seem to be the only
competing for the honor of his country,
13. SOCIAL POWER AND THE
force. The reaping of recognition-even in
ef fective shield against the onslaughts of
his team, or of the sport itself, and thenHUMAN SPIRIT
the symbolic form of a medal, let alone


 at least assured of an efficient water filtration system for
its emergency supply to the important cells. You will read more about salt in chapter 12. Please bear in mind, these letters are real-life stories. They are not "anecdotes. " We  do not need statistics to
convince people of the efficacy of water, when the body is demonstrating an urgent need for it. Whos e fault  is it that
the human  body's regional calls for water, and its programs of adaptation to dehydration, have been labeled as
disease conditions. Is there any plausible reason w hy, for eva luation of n atural treatment procedures, we should
adhere to the self-serving methodology and the yardstick of the pharmaceutical industry. Their inaccurate
assertions have until now cau sed so much pain and agony for people who se bodies were only crying out for water. ASTHMA AND AL LERGIES
It is estimated that 12 million children suffer from asthma, and several thousand die every year. Let us declare an
end to asthma in less than five years. Let us save children from th e constant fear of suffocation because they do not
recognize they are thirsty for water. Asthma and allergies are indicators that the body has resorted to an increase in production of the neurotransmitter
histamine, the sensor regulator of water metabolism and its distribution in the body. It is recognized that asthmatics h ave an increase in histamine content of their lung tissue and that it is the histamine
that regulates the bronchial muscle contraction. Since one of the sites for water loss through evaporation is in the
lungs, bronchial constriction produced by histamine means less w ater evaporation during the act of breathing—a
simple natural maneuver to preserve the body water. Histamine is an agent that, apart from its wat er regulatory role, has responsibilities for antibacterial, antiviral, and
anti-foreign agents (chemicals and proteins) defense systems in the body. At a normal level of water content of the
body, these actions are held at an imperceptive or unexaggerated level. At a dehydrated state of the body, to the
point that the histamine activity becomes exaggerated for wat er regulation, an immune system activation of
histamine-producing cells will  release an exaggerated amount of the transmitter that is held in storage for its other
functions. It has been shown in animal models that histamine production in histamine-generating cells will decrease with an
increase in the daily water intake. Both of these conditions should be regulated with an alert and determined
increase in water intake. On average, these conditions respond after one to four weeks of water regulation of the
body. Mr. Peck, an asthmatic sin ce childhood, who also became sensitive to all sorts of "allergens," is no longer in fear of
these health problems.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: Who has lost over 40 pounds by the time of their wedding in October 1994?,
A: Priscilla Preston
Q: What is the author's opinion on the relationship between dehydration and the development of AIDS?,
A: The author believes that AIDS is a metabolic disorder caused by severe dehydration and not a viral disease.
Q: What is the author's view on the role of salt in the body?,
A: The author emphasizes the importance of salt in the body, stating that it is a natural anti-histamine and is essential for the body's functions.
Q: What is the main point of the author's research on AIDS?,
A: The author's research suggests that AIDS is not caused by a virus, but rather by an imbalance in the amino acid composition of the body, which is caused by dehydration and other factors.
Q: What is the author's stance on the use of certain foods, such as eggs?,
A: The author recommends eating eggs as a balanced protein source, as they have a well-balanced protein content and are not a cause of disease.
Q: Who has been able to cure their child's asthma and allergies by following the author's advice?,
A: Cheryl Brown-Christopher, the mother of Jeremy, has reported that her son's asthma and allergies have been cured by following the author's advice on water and salt intake.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>A prudent correction of the initial
metabolic imbalance might boost the expressio ns of normal gender definition and decrease homosexual
tendencies, not to mention preventing AIDS, particularly in those who develop homosexual tendencies in the later
years of life, such as fathers or mothers with kids, who begin to feel homosexual pulls. In women who begin to lose
libido and lose hair with a "male pattern" distribution, the above precautionary measures might arrest such a decline
at its early stages. An easy way to stop muscle breakdown is by an intelligent adjustment of the daily wa ter intake and by eating a
balanced high-protein diet. Take a look at Edward Dippre's letter on page 150. As you can see, water and some salt
intake have reversed muscle breakdown in a dehydration-produced "disease" con dition. Not knowing the cause, the
problem h as been labeled as muscular dystrophy. Enhancing daily exercise  and physical activity at the same time wou ld force the body into a physiological program to
build up its muscle s, instead of breaking them into their amino acid components to feed the rest of the body. You
need to realize the human body is designed to defend itself against all types of infections. It survived fast acting
viruses such as sm allpox, measles, polio, and others during its development. It generally takes the body about nine
days to mount an effective defense against even fast viruses. If the body can  survive fast viruses, surely it is m ore
than capable of defending itself against slowly growing viruses. All that we need to understand is how to  make the body stronger and stop actions that would make it vulnerable. Let us remember, if the camel had a back-breaking point to the weight of the last straw, surely the human body
must also have a physical breaking-point to being life-stylishly overloaded? The question is, do we continue to
measure the straw o r the inherent structural and physiological limitations? Do we pay attention to the limitations of
the body, or do we in carefree abandon blame an ineffective slow virus for  the ills that befall some members of our
society? Edward Dippre
217 North Street
West Pittston, Pa. 18643
March 15,1995
Global Health Solutions
c/o Dr. Batmanghelidj
P.O. Box 3 189
Falls Church, Va. 22043
Dear Dr. Batmanghelidj
Around November 1 my legs were giving out. They became black and blue from my knees to my thighs, and verypainful. I went to the doctor and he told me that my muscle  enzymes were at 660 and normal was 90. Then I wen t to
another doctor and he said that I had muscular dystrophy. I started talking to Dr. Batmanghelidj who told me to start drinking 2 quarts of water daily. I have been, I feel much
better, and all symptoms disappeared in two months. I also use sea salt liberally with all my meals. I went back to the doctor and had additional Woodwork done. The enzyme levels in my m uscles were back to
normal, and the doctor couldn't understand how it was possible. As of this date, March 15,1995,1 am free of all discomfort and symptoms. I also have more energy and better health
than I can remember for a long time. Edward Dippre
THE SI MPLEST OF  TREAT MENTS I N MEDICI NE
"You  cannot by reasoning correct a man of ill opinion which by reasoning he never acquired." —Bacon
Your body needs an absolute min imum of six to eight 8-ounce glasses o f water a day. Alcohol, coffee, tea, and caffeine-containing beverages don't count as wat er. The best times to drink water (clinically observed in peptic ulcer disease) are: one glass one half hour before taking
food—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—and a similar amount two and one half hours after each meal. This is the very
minimum amount of water your body needs. For the sake of not shortchanging your body, two more glasses of
water should be taken around the heaviest meal or before going to bed. Thirst should be satisfied at all times. With increase in water intake, the thirst mechanism becomes more efficient. Your body m ight then ask you to drink more than the above minimum. Adjusting water intake to mealtimes prevents the blood from becoming concentrated as a result of food intake. When the blood becomes concentrated, it draws water from the cells around it. Water is the cheapest form of medicine to a dehydrated body. As sim ply as deh ydration will in time produce the
major diseases we are confronting now, a well-regulated and constantly alert attention to daily water intake will
prevent the emergence of most of the major diseases we have come to fear in our modem society. William Gray's letter is introduced here as an example of how simply water is a better medication for the treatment
of so many differently labeled complications of chronic dehydration. His letter had to be typed into this segment of
the book because the original could not fit in this page size. As y ou will see, Mr. Gray is a highly intelligent person. His observations provide a great deal of insight into the possible complications of chronic dehydration in the human
body. For this reason I selected this section of the book to present to you his observations. My hope is to impress
upon your mind a simple fact


 Everything in me wanted to end my yoga session
immediately and open my eyes to see what danger I had
gotten m yself into. Well, everything except for the core of
self-discipline I had developed for ridding myself of that
scared person inside of me. T he command of steel came
from behind my fears: no way was I going to miss the
opportunity to  transcend all this inner commotion. I
closed my eyes tighter as an act of defiance and took adeep breath. I demanded a state of relaxation in the
midst of the drama. When my usual set of yoga postures was complete, I
normally sat for a half-hour meditation. I watched that
voice pl eading for permission  to skip that step. After all,
the horses had not gone any where. I could clearly hear
their breathing  right in front of me interspersed with the
periodic whispering of their riders. There really was no
decision to be made. I had clearly seen that it was this
scared person inside of me who was holding me back
from wh ere I so desperately wanted to go. I needed to be
free of him. So I took a deep breath and flowed into a
full-lotus position. I began the Mu  sound inside my belly
in a  vain attem pt to drown out what the voice was trying
to sa y. T o me it was like an act of commitment: Which do
you care about, outside or inside? When I finally opened my ey es, I saw two horses right
in front of me. They couldn’t have been more than ten
feet away. On top of the ho rses were two riders who
looked more like ranch hands than banditos. They were
smoking cigar ettes, and one of them was sitting
sidesaddle facing the other rider. When they saw that I
was ba ck in their world, they began to talk to me in
Spanish. I was somewhat  surprised that I could
understand most of what they were saying—and the very
fact that they were talking t o me was definitely a good
thing. I  began to feel relieve d, and the series of events
that transpired next left an indelible impression on my
mind to stop letting that scared person run my life. At some point in our interaction, the ranch hands
asked if it wa s my van parked down by the lake. My
mental voice immediately told me to be careful because
they could rob me. I ignored that interlude and willingly
reached my hand up when o ne of the riders offered to
pull me onto his horse and ride me back to my van. I was
a city boy; riding double on the back of a horse with a
Mexican stran ger while in my bathing suit was not aneveryday occur rence for me. As I rode down the hill, a
peace came over me from h ead to toe. This experience
was so beautiful, and I wou ld have missed it if I had
listened to my scared self. When we reached my van, the cowboy began telling
me that he and others worked this land for a rich
landowner. He  said they were all very poor, and the
landowner did not even allow them to fish in the lake. He
pointed the way to where th ey lived and invited me to
stop by before I left the nex t day. We said good-bye as
though we had been friends for years, and they turned
their horses and rode off. I fe lt so open,  so connected to the experience I was
having. Though I was going through some very deep
changes, I remember thankin g life that night for such a
special day. The pain and turmoil within me were
beginning to subside, but the yearning for the absolute
peace and silence continued to burn in my heart. The next morning after my practices, I packed up to
continue my journey northward. Before leaving, I
decided to drive farther down the dirt road to see if I
could find where the ranch h ands lived. I came upon an
area wh ere the re were fifteen to twenty adobe huts with
thatched roofs. I had read about such things, but I had
never a ctually seen a mud hu t with a roof made of straw. Before I  could decide if I wan ted to go any farther, one of
my new friends from the day before ran out to greet me. I pa rked my va n and followed the excited cowboy as he
introduced his new American friend to the villagers. I
was stunned by how primitive everything was. The huts
were dirt floored and had nothing but square openings
for win dows. There were no doors in the door openings
or windows in the window openings. Many of the people
I met stared a t me as though they had never seen an
American before. I soon found out that many of them
had not. I don’ t think the pes tering voice in my head said
one word for t he hours I was there. It was all so new tome. It was so natural, so down to earth. I sat in a hut
with women breast-feeding their babies. I had never seen
that before. I noticed I actu ally felt ashamed that my
culture had so distorted nature that natural things were
no longer natural. Once w e were back outside, we continued our tour of
the small village. When we approached my friend’s hut,
he aske d me if I knew how t o ride a horse. I told him it
had been years, but that I had ridden before. What I
didn’t tell him was that the last time I rode I was twelve,
and it was at s ummer camp with an English saddle. He
then di d the most unexpected thing. He handed me the
reins to his ho rse and pointed to an open field. This was
no time or place to be timid. I stuck my sandal into the
stirrup and swung myself int o the saddle, just as though
I kn ew what I was doing. I had always thought it would
be wild to gallop a horse across an open field. Somehow
that dr eam was about to be  realized in the middle of
Mexico where I knew absolutely nobody. I got used to
the hor se while some of the villagers gathered to watch,
and then I rod e like the wind across an expansive field. I
was really flying high, very exhilarated compared to the
strict Zen discipline to which I had been holding myself. I s pent a few more hours discussing American life with
some very inquisitive villagers and then began to bid
them farewell. I was invited to stay for dinner, but it was
time for my evening practices. I remembered that my
friend h ad told me that the y were not allowed to fish
even th ough they were struggling for food. I went to my
van and pulled out the large  supply of brown rice and
dried b eans I had stored under the backseat. I handed
them all over to the women preparing the food. The
women were so appreciative that it almost made me cry. This stuff meant nothing to me and so much to them. This was another one of life’s  lessons I never forgot: the
joy of helping people.Before I drove off, they all surrounded my van to say
good-bye. I had lived in sil ence and solitude with no
human contact for almost a month—now I was a
celebrity. How  did this hap pen? To me there was no
doubt a bout how it happened—I had let go of myself and
something very  special had followed. I was willing to face
loneliness and fear and not gr ab for relief. Yet something
happened on its own, withou t my doing it or even asking
for it. The seeds of a gre at experiment were being
planted. Was it possible that life had more to give us
than we could ever take for ourselves?8. U n e x p e c t e d  I n s p i r a t i o n
I  had grown a lot through my experiences in Mexico. Learning to embrace life as it unfolded around me was
new to me, and  the results had been very freeing. By the
time I returned to Gainesvil le my heart and my mind
were m uch mo re at peace. Pr oblem was—I had no place
to live. My last residence had been in the woods by the
lime pit east of town, so I returned to that secluded
setting and lived there in my van. All I needed in my life
was solitude, the discipline of my ever-increasing
practices, and a minimal amount of food. I realized that the probability of finishing my doctoral
degree was rapidly decreasing. I only had a few courses
left, but  then there were the qualifying exams as well as
the dissertatio n. Nothing was left in me that wanted to
be an economics professor. I wanted to explore inside,
deep inside. The depths of my meditations were all I
cared about. The chairman of the Department of Economics, Dr.
Goffman, was like a father to  me. I loved and respected
him a great d eal, and he encouraged me to finish my
degree. He thought I was jus t going through a phase in
my you th, and  I would come  out of it soon. He kept me
on my fellows hip and pushed me to at least finish my
coursework.


about	your	children. You	worry	about	the	unknown. You	worry	when	you	are	unsecure. You	worry	when	you	are	secure. Security	does	not	bring	about	a	peaceful	mind. Only	a	peaceful	mind	brings	about	a	peaceful	mind. Your	mind	is	priority. Only	with	a	peaceful	and	quiet	mind	will	you	enjoy	life. If	you	work	in	a	highly	paid	but	stressful	job,	you	might	achieve	certain
material	wealth,	but	is	this	at	the	expense	of	a	quiet	mind? You	have	achieved
success	but	at	what	price? Material	wealth	and	titles	are	helpful,	but	all	have	limitations. Wealthy	people
are	in	and	out	of	rehab,	suffer	from	depression	and	fear	of	the	future	that	at
some	point	all	of	their	achievements	will	disappear. An	attractive	person	who
depends	on	their	looks	will	be	some	day	unattractive. What	happens	to	the
wealthy	person	when	the	stock	market	crashes? Everything	is	subject	to
change. There	is	nothing	that	we	can	achieve	in	object	form	that	will	satisfy
us	permanently. I’m	not	saying	that	you	should	not	attempt	to	improve	your
lot. I	am	saying	that	you	should	know	thyself	by	observing	what	is	taking	place
in	your	mind	and	how	it	affects	both	you	and	others	around	you. Find
yourself. Material	wealth	is	out	of	reach	of	most	people	living	in	the	Eastern
world. And	yet,	these	people	are	lighter	and	happier	that	their	Western
counterparts. What	is	their	secret? The	secret	is	the	importance	that	the	Eastern	world	places	on	the	cultivation
of	a	still	mind. A	quiet	mind	translates	into	lightness	and	happiness. A	noisy
mind	translates	into	heaviness	and	unhappiness. Achieve	the	nice	car	and	house. Work	in	a	top	job. Yes,	these	are	nice	and
make	our	lifestyle	a	little	easier. However,	they	are	secondary. What	isprimary	is	the	extent	to	which	you	live	outside	of	thought. You	are	entirely
responsible	for	this	and	have	a	great	deal	of	control	over	it. Your	true	self	is	the	only	aspect	that	is	constant. It	is	does	not	change	and
remains	the	same	regardless	of	what	happens	in	the	external	environment. Tap
into	the	real	you	by	dropping	the	thought	and	living	your	life	free	from	the
filters	of	conditioning. Take	off	your	sunglasses	and	see	the	light. Feel	the	inner	body. Reduce	your	breathing!Are	you	generating	peace	or	misery	within	yourself? W
e	need	to	have	peace	within	ourselves	before	we	can	be	at	peace	with
others. How	can	you	have	peace	with	others	when	you	are	not	at	peace	with
yourself? Know	thyself,	not	just	at	an	intellectual	level	but	at	an	experiential
level. Observe	yourself. Are	you	generating	peace	or	misery	within	yourself? When	you	generate	negativity	in	your	mind,	you	are	bound	to	suffer. When
your	mind	is	peaceful	and	pure,	you	enjoy	the	kingdom	of	heaven	within
yourself. Recognize	how	your	mind	affects	the	body	and	how	emotions	of	the	body
affect	the	mind. If	you	are	angry	with	an	enemy,	you	are	the	first	victim. If	you	are	jealous	of	someone	else,	you	are	the	first	victim. If	you	hate	someone	else,	you	are	the	first	victim. If	you	seek	revenge	from	someone	else,	you	are	the	first	victim. These	are	the	fundamental	laws	of	life. If	your	mind	is	still,	pure	and	free
from	tension,	anger,	animosity	and	jealousy,	then	life	rewards	you. A	prisoner	convicted	for	many	years	can	spend	a	lot	of	time	thinking	about
getting	revenge	on	the	police	officer	who	arrested	him,	the	witness	who
testified	against	him,	and	the	judge	who	convicted	him. But	during	that	time,
he	is	making	his	life	a	misery. The	more	you	think	about	revenge	or	hating	your	enemy,	the	more	your	body
gets	tense	and	the	more	your	stomach	gets	tied	in	a	knot. You	cannot	have
negative	thoughts	about	someone	else	without	these	same	thoughts	having	a
negative	effect	on	yourself. You	will	be	very	surprised	to	see	how	situations
sort	themselves	out	when	you	are	present	with	time. You	will	know	what	to
do	and	can	act	without	looking	through	thought. Problems	do	not	sort
themselves	out	by	constant	thinking	and	struggling. I	am	not	saying	that	you	should	do	nothing	and	allow	someone	to	walk	all
over	you. If	you	need	to	challenge	somebody,	wait	until	the	time	is	right.Don’t	challenge	them	when	you	are	full	of	anger,	because	whatever	you	say
in	anger	you	will	regret	afterwards. Challenge	them	if	necessary	when	you	are
still	and	present. When	the	time	is	right,	meet	with	the	other	person. Drop	all	prior	thoughts	of
them	and	speak	the	facts. Explain	the	situation. By	dropping	all	thought,	you
will	remain	calm	and	still. This	is	very	powerful. Finally,	when	you	are	present	with	time	and	connected	with	the	greater
intelligence	of	life,	negative	situations	do	not	occur	to	the	same	extent. Life
gets	softer. “I	am	the	only	person	in	the	world	I	should	like	to	know
thoroughly.”
—
	Oscar	WildeChapter	12
	Going	Forward

Everything	happens	in	the	present. Nothing	happens	outside	the	present. The
present	is	the	only	thing	that	matters. When	you	pay	good	attention	to	your
breath,	to	your	inner	body	and	to	your	five	senses	of	the	exclusion	thought,
you	are	present. Whenever	your	attention	is	in	your	mind,	you	are	out	of
presenceChoose	life	or	choose	thought
W
e	really	need	to	choose	life	on	a	moment	to	moment	basis. Keep	asking
yourself	over	and	over	again:	are	you	wrapped	up	in	thoughts	or	are	you
connecting	with	the	reality	of	what	is	going	on	around	you? It	is	that	simple. Relationships	and	thought	are	a	good	example. When	we	first	meet	our
partners,	life	is	a	laugh,	full	of	joy	and	fun. Over	time	we	begin	to	better	get
to	know	our	partners. We	can	often	lose	sight	of	their	good	points	and	start	to
dwell	on	their	bad	points. We	focus	on	the	habits	of	the	other	person	that	annoy	us:	clothes	are	not	put
away,	he/she	spends	too	much	money,	is	too	tight	with	money,	wastes
electricity,	is	obsessed	about	wasting	electricity,	likes	to	party	too	much,
won’t	go	out	at	all,	watches	TV	too	much,	buys	too	much	junk	food,	won’t	let
himself	go,	has	no	interest	in	others,	have	little	in	common. We	start	to
analyze	and	dwell	on	the	differences	and	we	run	them	over	and	over	in	our
mind. We	forget	about	our	partner’s	good	points	as	the	bad	points	take	over. Then,	we	meet	our	partners	and	see	him	or	her	through	this	collection	of
thought. We	begin	to	argue	and	tension	arises. Emotions	run	high	and	we	get
upset	with	each	other. This	is	a	reflection	of	the	mind. Little	habits	that	before	were	endearing	are
now	the	cause	of	m


ood	for	the
prevention	of	cancer	is	also	good	for	the	prevention
of	heart	disease,	as	well
as	obesity,	diabetes,	cataracts,	macular	degeneration,	Alzheimer’s,	cognitive
dysfunction,	multiple	sclerosis,	osteoporosis	and	other	diseases. Furthermore,
this	diet	can	only	benefit	everyone,	regardless	of	his	or	her	genes	or	personal
dispositions. All	of	these	diseases,	and	others,	spring	forth	from	the	same	influence:	an
unhealthy,	largely	toxic	diet	and	lifestyle	that	has	an	excess	of	sickness-
promoting	factors	and	a	deficiency	of	health-promoting	factors. In	otherwords,	the	Western	diet. Conversely,	there	is	one	diet	to	counteract	all	of	these
diseases:	a	whole	foods,	plant-based	diet. The	following	chapters	are	organized	by	disease,	or	disease	grouping. Each	chapter	contains	evidence	showing	how	food	relates	to	each	disease. As
you	go	through	each	chapter,	you	will	begin	to	see	the	breadth	and	depth	of
the	astonishing	scientific	argument	favoring	a	whole	foods,	plant-based	diet. For	me,	the	consistency	of	evidence	regarding	such	a	disparate	group	of
diseases	has	been	the	most	convincing	aspect	of	this	argument. When	a	whole
foods,	plant-based	diet	is	demonstrably	beneficial	for	such	a	wide	variety	of
diseases,	is	it	possible	that	humans	were	meant	to	consume	any	other	diet? I
say	no,	and	I	think	you’ll	agree. America	and	most	other	Western	nations	have	gotten	it	wrong	when	it
comes	to	diet	and	health,	and	we	have	paid	a	grave	price. We	are	sick,
overweight	and	confused. As	I	have	moved	on	from	the	laboratory	studies	and
the	China	Study	and	encountered	the	information	discussed	in
Part	II
,	I	have
become	overwhelmed. I	have	come	to	realize	that	some	of	our	most	revered
conventions	are	wrong	and	real	health	has	been	grossly	obscured. Most
unfortunately,	the	unsuspecting	public	has	paid	the	ultimate	price. In	large
measure,	this	book	is	my	effort	to	right	these	wrongs. As	you	will	come	to	see
in	the	following	chapters,	from	heart	disease	to	cancer,	and	from	obesity	to
blindness,	there	is	a	better	path	to	optimal	health.5
Broken	Hearts
P
UT	YOUR	HAND
	on	your	chest	and	feel	your	heart	beat. Now	put	your	hand
where	you	can	feel	your	pulse. That	pulse	is	the	signature	of	your	being. Your
heart,	creating	that	pulse,	is	working	for	you	every	minute	of	the	day,	every
day	of	the	year,	and	every	year	of	your	entire	life. If	you	live	an	average
lifetime,	your	heart	will	beat	about	3	billion	times. 1
Now	take	a	moment	to	realize	that	during	the	time	it	took	you	to	read	the
above	paragraph	an	artery	in	the	heart	of	roughly	one	American	clogged	up,
cut	off	blood	flow	and	started	a	rapid	process	of	tissue	and	cell	death. This
process	is	better	known,	of	course,	as	a	heart	attack. By	the	time	you	finish
reading	this	page,	four	Americans	will	have	had	a	heart	attack,	and	another
four	will	have	fallen	prey	to	stroke	or	heart	failure. 2
	Over	the	next	twenty-
four	hours,	3,000	Americans	will	have	heart	attacks,
2
	roughly	the	same
number	of	people	who	perished	in	the	terrorist	attacks	of	September	11,	2001. The	heart	is	the	centerpiece	of	life	and,	more	often	than	not	in	America,	it
is	the	centerpiece	of	death. Malfunction	of	the	heart	and/or	circulation	system
will	kill	40%	of	Americans,
3
	more	than	those	killed	by	any	other	injury	or
ailment,	including	cancer. Heart	disease	has	been	our	number	one	cause	of
death	for	almost	one	hundred	years. 4
	This	disease	does	not	recognize	gender
or	race	boundaries;	all	are	affected. If	you	were	to	ask	most	women	what
disease	poses	the	greatest	risk	to	them,	heart	disease	or	breast	cancer,	many
women	would	undoubtedly	say	breast	cancer. But	they	would	be	wrong. Women’s	death	rate	from	heart	disease	is
eight	times	higher
	than	their	death
rate	from	breast	cancer. 5,	6
If	there	is	an	“American”	game,	it	is	baseball;	an	“American”	dessert,
apple	pie. If	there	is	an	“American”	disease,	it	is	heart	disease.EVERYONE’S	DOING	IT
In	1950,	Judy	Holliday	could	be	seen	on	the	big	screen,	Ben	Hogan
dominated	the	world	of	golf,	the	musical
South	Pacific
	won	big	at	the	Tony
Awards	and	on	June	25,	North	Korea	invaded	South	Korea. The	American
administration	was	taken	aback	but	responded	quickly. Within	days,	President
Truman	sent	in	troops	on	the	ground	and	bombers	overhead	to	push	back	the
North	Korean	army. Three	years	later,	in	July	of	1953,	a	formal	cease-fire
agreement	had	been	signed	and	the	Korean	War	was	over. During	this	period
of	time,	over	30,000	American	soldiers	were	killed	in	battle. At	the	end	of	the	war,	a	landmark	scientific	study	was	reported	in	the
Journal	of	the	American	Medical	Association. Military	medical	investigators
had	examined	the	hearts	of	300	male	soldiers	killed	in	action	in	Korea. The
soldiers,	at	an	average	age	of	twenty-two	years,	had	never	been	diagnosed
with	heart	problems. In	dissecting	these	hearts,	researchers	found	startling
evidence	of	disease	in	an	exceptional	number	of	cases. Fully	77.3%	of	the
hearts	they	examined	had	“gross	evidence”	of	heart	disease. 7
	(In	this
instance,	“gross”	means	large.) That	number,	77.3%,	is	startling. Coming	at	a	time	when	our	number	one
killer	was	still	shrouded	in	mystery,	the	research	clearly	demonstrated	that
heart	disease	develops	over	an	entire	lifetime. Furthermore,	almost	everyone
was	susceptible! These	soldiers	were	not	couch-potato	slouches;	they	were	in
top	condition	in	the	prime	of	their	physical	lives. Since	that	time,	several
other	studies	have	confirmed	that	heart	disease	is	pervasive	in	young
Americans. 8THE	HEART	ATTACK
But	what	is	heart	disease? One	of	the	key	components	is	plaque. Plaque	is	a
greasy	layer	of	proteins,	fats	(including	cholesterol),	immune	system	cells	and
other	components	that	accumulate	on	the	inner	walls	of	the	coronary	arteries. I	have	heard	one	surgeon	say	that	if	you	wipe	your	finger	on	a	plaque-covered
artery,	it	has	the	same	feel	as	wiping	your	finger	across	a	warm	cheesecake. If
you	have	plaque	building	up	in	your	coronary	arteries,	you	have	some	degree
of	heart	disease. Of	the	autopsied	soldiers	in	Korea,	one	out	of	twenty
diseased	men	had	so	much	plaque	that	90%	of	an	artery	was	blocked. 7
	That’s
like	putting	a


study	design). As	ecological	studies	go,	this	study,	with	its	sixy-five	counties,
was	unusually	large. Most	such	studies	only	have	ten	to	twenty	such
population	units,	at	most.Each	of	the	sixty-five	counties	provided	100	adults	for	the	survey. One-
half	were	male	and	one-half	female,	all	aged	thirty-five	to	sixty-four	years. The	data	were	collected	in	the	following	manner:
each	person	volunteered	a	blood	sample	and	completed	a	diet	and
lifestyle	questionnaire;
one-half	of	the	people	provided	a	urine	sample;
the	survey	teams	went	to	30%	of	the	homes	to	carefully	measure	food
consumed	by	the	family	over	a	three-day	period;
samples	of	food	representing	the	typical	diets	at	each	survey	site	were
collected	at	the	local	marketplace	and	were	later	analyzed	for	dietary	and
nutritional	factors. One	of	the	more	important	questions	during	the	early	planning	stages	was
how	to	survey	for	diet	and	nutrition	information. Estimating	consumption	of
food	and	nutrients	from	memory	is	a	common	method,	but	this	is	very
imprecise,	especially	when	mixed	dishes	are	consumed. Can	you	remember
what	foods	you	ate	last	week,	or	even	yesterday? Can	you	remember	how
much? Another	even	more	crude	method	of	estimating	food	intake	is	to	see
how	much	of	each	food	is	sold	in	the	marketplace. These	findings	can	give
reasonable	estimates	of	diet	trends	over	time	for	whole	populations,	but	they
do	not	account	for	food	waste	or	measure	individual	amounts	of	consumption. Although	each	of	these	relatively	crude	methods	can	be	useful	for	certain
purposes,	they	still	are	subject	to	considerable	technical	error	and	personal
bias. And	the	bigger	the	technical	error,	the	more	difficult	it	is	to	detect
significant	cause-effect	associations. We	wanted	to	do	better	than	crudely	measure	which	foods	and	how
much
of	these	foods	were	being	consumed. Thus	we	decided	to	evaluate	nutritional
conditions	by	analyzing	blood	and	urine	samples	for	indicators	(biomarkers)
of	multiple	nutrient	intakes. These	analyses	would	be	far	more	objective	than
having	people	recall	what	they	ate. Collecting	and	analyzing	blood,	however,	was	not	easy	to	arrange,	at	least
not	in	the	way	that	we	preferred. The	initial	problem	was	getting
enough
blood. For	cultural	reasons,	rural	Chinese	were	reluctant	to	provide	blood
samples. A	finger	prick	seemed	to	be	the	only	possibility	but	this	was	not
good	enough. A	regular	vial	of	blood	would	give	100	times	as	much	blood
and	allow	for	analyses	of	many	more	factors. Dr.	Junshi	Chen	of	our	team,	at	the	Institute	of	Nutrition	and	Food
Hygiene	in	the	Ministry	of	Health,	had	the	unenviable	task	of	convincing
these	volunteers	to	give	a	regular	vial	of	blood. He	succeeded. Sir	Richard
Peto	at	the	University	of	Oxford	of	our	team	then	made	the	very	practicalsuggestion	of	combining	the	individual	blood	samples	to	make	a	big	pool	of
blood	for	each	village	for	each	sex. This	strategy	gave	more	than	1,200–1,300
times	more	blood	when	compared	with	the	finger	prick	method. Making	big	pools	of	blood	had	enormous	implications	and	made	possible
the	China	Study,	as	it	later	became	known. It	allowed	analyses	of	far	more
indicators	of	diet	and	health. This	allowed	us	to	consider	relationships	in	a	far
more	comprehensive	manner	than	would	have	otherwise	been	possible. For
more	detail	on	the	theoretical	and	practical	basis	for	collecting	and	analyzing
blood	in	this	way	the	reader	is	referred	to	the	original	monograph	of	the
study. 1
After	collecting	the	blood,	we	then	had	to	decide	who	would	do	the	many
analyses	that	were	possible. We	wanted	nothing	but	the	best. While	some
analyses	were	conducted	at	our	Cornell	lab	and	at	Dr.	Chen’s	Beijing	lab,	the
rest	of	the	analyses,	especially	the	more	specialized	types,	were	done	in	about
two	dozen	laboratories	located	in	six	countries	and	in	four	continents. Laboratories	were	selected	because	of	their	demonstrated	expertise	and
interest. The	laboratory	participants	are	listed	in	the	original	monograph. 1HOW	GOOD	IS	THIS	STUDY? Because	this	survey	was	a	one-of-a-kind	opportunity,	we	intended	that	it	be
the	best	of	its	kind	ever	undertaken. It	was	comprehensive;	it	was	high
quality;	and	its	uniqueness	allowed	new	opportunities	to	investigate	diet	and
disease	that	were	never	before	possible. These	features
of	comprehensiveness,
quality	and	uniqueness	greatly	improved	the	credibility	and	reliability	of	the
findings—by	far. Indeed,	the
New	York	Times
,	in	a	lead	story	in	its	Science
Section,	called	the	study	“The	Grand	Prix”	of	epidemiological	studies.COMPREHENSIVENESS	OF	DATA
This	survey	was,	and	still	is,	the	most	comprehensive	of	its	kind	ever
undertaken. After	all	the	blood,	urine	and	food	samples	were	collected,	stored
and	analyzed,	and	after	the	final	results	were	tabulated	and	evaluated	for
quality	(a	few	suspect	results	were	not	included	in	the	final	publication),	we
were	able	to	study	367	variables. These	represented	a	wide	variety	of	dietary,
lifestyle	and	disease	characteristics,	now	included	in	a	dense	896-page
monograph. 1
	There	were:
disease	mortality	rates	on	more	than	forty-eight	different	kinds	of
disease
2
;
109	nutritional,	viral,	hormonal	and	other	indicators	in	blood;
over	twenty-four	urinary	factors;
almost	thirty-six	food	constituents	(nutrients,	pesticides,	heavy	metals);
more	than	thirty-six	specific	nutrient	and	food	intakes	measured	in	the
household	survey;
sixty	diet	and	lifestyle	factors	obtained	from	questionnaires;
and	seventeen	geographic	and	climatic	factors. The	study	was	comprehensive,	not	only	because	of	the	sheer	number	of
variables,	but	also	because	most	of	these	variables	varied	over	broad	ranges,
as	with	the	cancer	mortality	rates. Broad	ranges	strengthened	our	ability	to
detect	important	previously	undiscovered	associations	of	variables.QUALITY	OF	DATA
A	number	of	features	added	quality	to	this	study. The	adults	chosen	for	this	survey	were	limited	to	those	who	were	thirty-
five	to	sixty-four	years	of	age. This	is	the	age	range	in	which	the	diseases
being	investigated	are	more	common. Information	on	death	certificates
of	people	older	than	sixty-four	years	was	not	included	in	the	survey
because	this	information	was	considered	less	reliable. In	each	of	the	sixty-five	counties	in	the	study	two	villages	were	selected
for	the	collection	of	the	information. Having	two	villages	in	each	county
rather	than	one	gives	a	more	reliable	county	average. When	the	values	of
two	villages	are	more	similar	to	each	other	than	to	all	the	other	counties,
then	this	means	higher-quality	data. 3
When	possible,	variables	were	measured	by	more


, dared to tread. It is the level of the
abandonment of  hope, and few  have the courage to really look into its
face. Clinical. Unrecognized ap athy in the form of inertia is at the core of many social,
as well as personal, problems. The failure of bureaucratic/governmentagencies to ‘take care’ and assume responsibility can also result in mass
catastrophes. Ex amples abound of failure to act or function, such as
unpreparedness prior to Pearl Harbor, being ‘blindsided’ in the Korean
W ar, warnings prior to 9/1 1 an d other al-Qaeda attacks, lack of action
after the USS Cole bombing, un preparedness of the military for the Iraqi
war, belated response to hurricane Katrina, and others. Apathy i ndicates very low availability of ener gy and interest. Th is can be
endemic in cultures and regions, including metropolitan and poverty
areas. Laxity or indif ference may be culturally carried by even subtle
means. “What’ s the use?” is an infectious attitude. Sloth is included as one of the seven deadly sins because it is a rejection
of God’ s gift of life and is self-indulgence without love. In this state,
there is no concern for the welfare of others or even appropriate concern
for the quality of one’ s own life. The same attitude is then proje cted onto
God wh o is seen as rejecting, unavailable, and uncaring. The waste of
one’ s life results in a concept of God as indif ferent, condemn ing, and
unavailable. This leads to hopelessness and pessimism. Apathy is often the basis for passivity and self-condemnation, resulting
in low self-esteem and self-image. The feeling of worthlessness
reinforces negative social attitu des and behaviors that result in poverty
and low  quality of life. Hopele ssness leads to further decline, which is
then used as a face-saving rationalization. The core is that responsibility
is re jected and r eplaced by a chr onic victim mentality that seeks to avoid
the real issues by projecting the supposed source to the external world,
which is  then comfortably blamed as being the ‘cause’. The dualistic
split of victim/perpetrator is further reinforced by current ‘post-modern’,
relativistic social theories that perpetuate the illusion. Poor p arenting is relatively influential in establishing early-life
behavioral patterns in which there are a lack of love and ordinary
motivating beha vioral factors. This results in an inadequate inne r reward
system and low self-esteem, and discouragement compounds the
problem. Althou gh the ‘ego-ideal’ may develop and heroic figures may
be a dmired, the inner convictio n is that the idealized is not obtainable
due to hopeless ness and skepticism. The normal person receives some
recognition for ef fort in trying,  even if they fail. The hopeless person
sees no point in even attempting a higher level of functioning. The ene r gy attra ctor field of ap athy draws to it other expressio ns in the
same low ener gy field (the well-known ‘broken window’ principle),
which re sults in an overall depressing social milieu that breeds crime and
poverty. The apathetic condition indicate s impairment that results in resorting to
face-saving excuses. It may also result in hypochondriasis, chronic
invalidism, and a self-centered personality that is passive, nonfunctional,
and seeks dependent relations hips. The comfort of drugs may also
provide escape from the inner barrenness. When the temporary drug-
induced euphoria subsides, the return of the downside becomes
intolerable, so the drug dependence is not just an addiction but also a
lifestyle. The self-perpetuating downward spiral may result in desperate
attempts to survive, including clinging to abusive relationships. Self-
condemnation is projected onto  God and society which are therefore
blamed for the condition. The core  of the disorder is identifiable as the inability or refusa l to take
personal responsibility, which results in guilt, shame, and low ener gy that
may end up as homelessness, vagrancy, and social dependence. Lack of
life skill s leads to periodic desc ents into severe depression, which may
result in suicide. T ranscending Apathy. Apathetic moments or even periods of time may occur temporarily in
almost a nyone’ s life in which th ere are times of ‘downs’ and feelings of
discouragement. The lifestyle itself becomes a denial of the val ue of life
and of Divinity as its source. The only way out of this impasse is via the W ill, which alone  has the
potential power to compensate for the lack of intrapsychic ener gy. The
W ill, which is spiritual in nature and origin, is not to be confused with
‘will po wer ’, which is only me ntal and psychological. In an apathetic
state, the  person al will is weak and inef fectual. This can be tra nscended
only by the invocation of Divine W ill, which calibrates at 850 and has
the pow er of regeneration. While the ego/self routinely takes credit for
survival, its true source is the presence of Divinity as Self. It is only
because of the S elf that the ego  is capable of being self-sustaining. It is
only a recipient of life ener gy and not its origin, as it believes. Divine entreaty may or may not result in a desired outcome because, to
the Self,  adversi ty, or even physical death, may be the only way to defeat
the ego. T o the S elf, surrender of the personal world or the phys ical body
may be the requisite for the tr ansformation of the soul. Thus, in this
seeming paradox, defeat to the ego/mind/body entity is, in actuality, the
sacrifice of the temporary for th e permanent (evolution of the s oul) and
therefore a karmic gain. While th e perso nal will only c alibrates at the same level as does the
person (extreme ly weak in the state of apathy, at approximately  30), the
W ill calibrates at a very powerful level. These are the conditions that
illustrate the dynamic forces behind the truth that ‘man’ s calamity is
God’ s opportunity’. The inv itation to Divinity, for example, is well demonstrated by the
twelve-step groups in which the initial steps (paraphrased) are, “W e
admitted we were powerless over our lives, and only God could relieve
us o f our insan ity.” By the admission of personal powerlessness and
turning a way fro m the ego, the decision is made to turn one’ s life over to
God. This is fo llowed by a fearless moral inventory and then  seeking
guidance throug h prayer and the establishment of a daily spir itual life
pattern ( T welve Steps and T welve T raditions, 1996). The above process has been proven to bring about recovery from a whole
gamut o f very dif ficult, hopeless human problems in millions of people
worldwide for many decades. T he transformations that result are often
described as miraculous becaus e of their degree. This simple program
originally began in Oxford, England, and was brought to the United
States by Rowland, the hopeless patient of the famous Swiss
psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, whose own honesty helped Rowland hit
bottom when he said to him, “A las, neither I nor my art can help you,
and your only hope is to throw yourself wholeheartedly into a spiritual
program, for it is recorded in history that, although rare, recoveries have
occurred under those circumstances.” Eventually Rowland’ s dramatic
recovery set the paradigm for w hat is now the worldwide T we lve-Step
movement, as well as other fa ith-based programs, and has even been
ef fective in thirty-five percent of cases of extremely hardened chronic
criminals. Apathy is at the core of many seemingly hopeless conditions  that are
beyond the capacity of the hum an will or society to resolve. R ecovery
from any of thes e apathetic conditions is strengthened by participation in
spiritual groups because their overall ener gy calibrates at 540, the level
of U nconditiona l Love, which is rare in the overall popula tion (0.4
percent). Another nonspiritual but strong program devoted to recovering and
improving one’ s life by strictly accepting responsibility was
demonstrated by “est” (Erhard Seminars T raining) at calibration level
400. The technique was one of constant confrontation with
irresponsibility and the canceling of all excuses, rationalizations, and
evasions of it. In what is seen as apathy, there is actually a strong internal resi stance as
a subtly  disguis ed pride and eg otism described as “I can’ t” or  “I don’ t
want to. ” The persistence of the  ego is so strong that it frequentl y takes a
mass catastrophe, such as war or an earthquake, to confront it to the
degree t hat it is willing to surrender. Thus, by collective karm a, whole
groups a re drawn to specific si tuations that