 gently until potatoes and fennel are cooked. Purée. Add the
chopped apples to the puréed soup.  Serve immediately.
 Variation: Omit apples, if you wish.
Argyll Soup
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves 4
2 large carrots, sliced
2 large onions, roughly chopped
4 sticks celery, sliced
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
parsley
Slice the carrots, roughly chop the onions and slice the celery. Peel and chop the potatoes and
crush the garlic. Put all into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Turn down the
heat and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Purée. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 235Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comAutumn Flame Soup
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves 4
1 large onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb. squash (or pumpkin), peeled and chopped
4 large red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 lb. tomatoes, chopped
thyme
fresh green herbs (2 small bay leaves, fresh parsley or cilantro)
Chop the onion and crush the garlic. Peel and chop the squash into small chunks. Seed the
peppers and chop into small pieces. Put it all into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil.
Turn down the heat and add the chopped tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves. Simmer gently for
no longer than 20 minutes. Purée. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh green herbs of your
choice.
Beet Soup
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves 4
2 medium beets, unpeeled and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 medium carrot, unpeeled and chopped
2 large tomatoes, unpeeled and chopped
red cabbage leaves, chopped
1 bay leaf
water
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
herbs
yogurt
parsley
Chop up beets, onion, carrot, tomatoes, without peeling (except for the onion!). Put into a
large pot. Add chopp ed cabbage leaves and the bay leaf. Cover with water and add apple cider
vinegar, lemon juice and herbs. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer gently for about 1
hour. When cooked, purée (with electric blender or food mill) and serve with a swirl of yogurt
and garnish with parsley.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 236Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCabbage Soup
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 2-4
1 small green (or white) cabbage, coarsely chopped
2 leeks, coarsely chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 onions, coarsely chopped
2 sticks celery, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic
yogurt
parsley, chopped
Coarsely chop the vegetables. P ut in a pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat
and simmer until vegetables are tender. Purée.  Serve hot with swirls of yogurt and garnished
with chopped parsley.
Broccoli Floret Soup
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Serves 2-4
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
6 oz. potato, peeled and chopped
1 lb. broccoli, trimmed and cut
bay leaf
yogurt
Peel and chop the onion and potato. Trim the broccoli and cut into florets. Keep a few florets
to one side and put the rest into a pot with the chopped onion, potato and bay leaf, and cover
with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the other florets and simmer for an
additional 10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf. Take the whole florets from the soup and put onto a
hot plate. Put the rest of the soup through the food mill. Add the other cooked florets. Reheat the
soup gently. Serve immediately with a swirl of yogurt.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 237Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCarrot and Orange Soup
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 2-4
1 lb. carrots, chopped
8 oz. onions, chopped
8 oz. potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 orange, juice d
pinch of thyme
Chop the vegetables and put them into a pot with the orange juice and  the thyme, and cover
with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until vegetables are tender. Purée.
Cauliflower Soup
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 2-4
1 large cauliflower
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stick, sliced
10 oz. yogurt
parsley, chopped
Trim the cauliflower and break into small florets. Chop the onion and slice the celery. Put into
a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
Purée. Stir in the yogurt. Reheat gently before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 238Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCelery, Carrot and Apple Soup
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves 2-4
1 lb. celery, sliced
1 lb. carrots, diced
8 oz. sweet apples (e.g., Pink Lady or Gala), chopped
dill (or lemon  grass)
celery leaves, chopped
Slice the celery, dice the carrots and chop the apples. Put into a large pot and cover with water.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat, add the dill (or lemon grass) and simmer for 40 minutes.  Purée.
Serve immediately and garnish with chopped celery leaves.
Celer y Root  and Swiss Chard Soup
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 2-4
1 small celery root, scrubbed and chopped
1 medium leek, scrubbed and chopped
2 oz. Swiss chard, torn
apple cider vinegar  (or lemon juice)
parsley
Scrub and chop the celery root and leek, and tear the Swiss chard into small pieces. Put into a
pot with apple cider vinegar  (or lemon juice) and cover with water. Bring to a boil, turn down
the heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Purée. Serve hot or cold and garnish with
parsley.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 239Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCorn Chowder
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves 2-4
3 sticks celery, diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 bay leaf (or a pinch of ground bay leaf)
4 ears of corn, sliced
parsley, chopped
Dice the celery, potato and onion. Remove the seeds from the pepper and dice the flesh. Put into
a pot with the bay leaf and add cover with water. Simmer gently until the vegetables are almost
cooked. Slice the corn from the cobs and add to the soup. Cook slowly until all the vegetables
are soft but not broken (about 5 minutes. ). Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.
Potato, Cabbage and Dill Soup
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 2-4
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium leek, chopped
white cabbage, chopped
4 tsp. dried dill
chives, chopped
Chop the potato, onion and leek. Put into  a pot with the chopped cabbage  and cover with water.
Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and add half the dill. Simmer gently until the potatoes are
cooked. Puré e. Add the rest of the dill and reheat gently. Garnish with chopped chives and serve
immediately.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author


hormonal
system
is
self-regulation.
And
such
an
impulse
to
further
development
can
be
given
by
receiving
one's
own
urine
or
the
urine
of
another
person
of
the
same
sex
and
approximately
the
same
age.
This
will
enhance
thefeedback
and
tune
other
functions.
The
Shivambukalpa
book
of
Indian
yogis
even
claims,
that
by
using
urine
for
a
period
In
3
months,
a
person
will
get
rid
of
all
diseases
completely
and
forever!
I
believe
it,
after
a
few
years
of
very
moderate
urine
use
I
feel
absolutely
bulletproof.
No
sickness,
no
trouble
at
55.
And
that
I
was
really
riddled
with
diseases.
There
will
probably
be
a
lot
of
psychology
involved
here,
I
just
don't
admit
that
I
could
be
sick
at
all.
3)
thyroid
produces
the
hormone
thyroxine,
a
complex
substance
containing
iodine.
This
hormone
affects
the
activity
of
certain
enzymes.
If
it
is
not
produced
enough,
metabolism
and
cell
division
slows
down,
the
organism
lags
behind
in
spiritual
and
physical
development.
There
is
cretinism.
Urine
has
a
very
favorable
effect
on
this
gland.
Saves
iodine,
especially
if
there
is
little
of
it
in
food.
The
thyroid
gland
consists
of
vesicles,
entwined
with
blood
capillaries,
and
the
cells
of
the
vesicles
are
filled
with
a
mucous
fluid
(colloid)
in
which
the
hormone
accumulates.
If
the
colloid
is
poorly
diluted,
the
hormone
is
not
secreted
from
the
cell
in
full
and
there
is
a
lack
of
it.
The
intake
of
urine
helps
to
dilute
the
colloid,
reduces
its
viscosity
and
allows
free
penetration
of
thyroxine
into
the
blood.
Hence
the
first
warning:
in
Bazed's
disease,
when
the
activity
of
the
thyroid
gland
is
too
intense,
the
intake
of
urine
must
be
very
careful.
And
if
symptoms
of
worsening
condition
appear
-
insomnia,
irritability,
muscle
weakness,
weight
loss
-
then
urine
cannot
be
used.
4)
Parathyroid
glands
there
are
four
in
total
and
they
regulate
the
conversion
of
calcium
in
the
body,
its
content
in
the
blood.
There
must
be
two
potassium
ions
for
one
calcium
ion.
This
ratio
is
regulated
by
parathormone.
When
there
is
not
enough
of
this
hormone,
convulsions
occur,
mostly
in
the
limbs.
Many
people
have
experienced
a
significant
improvement
in
their
health
after
taking
urine,
because
urine
helps
to
replenish
insuf ficient
amount
of
parathyroid
hormone
.
5)
Thymus
gland
is
a
gland
that
produces
10
hormones.
One
of
them
is
growth
hormone.
The
main
function
of
the
thymus
is
to
ensure
the
immune
protection
of
the
organism.
Under
immune
protection,
we
mean
the
distinction
and
destruction
of
everything
foreign
in
the
body:
pathogenic
cells
of
microor ganisms,
old,
diseased
or
altered
cells,
cancerous
and
others
that
are
foreign
to
the
organism.
T-lymphocytes,
produced
by
the
thymus,
provide
anti-viral
and
anti-tumor
defense.
However,
with
age,
the
mass
of
the
thymus
decreases
considerably
and
thus
the
immunity
also
deteriorates.
The
organism
becomes
much
more
sensitive
to
various
infections,
the
risk
of
developing
atherosclerosis,
cancer,
Parkinson's
disease
and
other
ailments
increases.
However,
it
is
possible
to
stop
the
dying
of
the
thymus
function
if
we
take
children's
urine,
which
the
old
healers
already
considered
very
beneficial.
The
child's
urine
is
saturated
with
the
whole
range
substances
helping
to
strengthen
immunity.
It
is
best
to
use
a
child's
urine,
starting
from
a
newborn
and
ending
at
the
age
of
12-13
years.
Therefore,
if
you
want
to
increase
your
own
anti-infection,
anti-virus
and
anti-cancer
defenses,
dissolve
foreign
tissue,
e.g.
corneal
clouding,
you
must
regularly
use
baby
urine.
6)
Pancreas
weighs
about
80
grams.
Its
juices
help
digest
food.
The
gland
secretes
the
hormone
insulin,
which
regulates
the
sugar
level
in
the
body.
With
the
help
of
this
hormone,
sugar
is
stored
in
the
body
(in
the
muscles,
liver,
etc.).
Glucagon
-
another
hormone
of
the
pancreas
or
pancreas
-
has
the
opposite
effect
of
insulin.
Dysfunction
of
the
pancreas
leads
to
diabetes.
Practice
has
shown
that
taking
urine,
especially
in
non-neglected
cases,
makes
it
possible
to
eliminate
this
disease.
7)
Adrenal
glands
consist
of
two
parts:
the
brain
(inner)
and
the
cortex
(outer).
These
parts
secrete
hormones
that
have
a
variety
of
functions.
Adrenaline
is
a
brain
substance
hormone
that
constricts
blood
vessels,
increases
blood
pressure,
and
speeds
up
heart
contractions.
Glucocorticoids
regulate
carbohydrate
and
nitrogen
metabolism.
These
hormones
areconsidered
stimulators
of
all
life
processes.
Hormones
coming
from
the
cortex
of
the
adrenal
glands
are
closely
related
to
the
hormones
of
the
gonads.
Their
lack
leads
to
disorders
in
the
sexual
sphere.
In
women,
it
causes
the
growth
of
hair
on
the
face,
in
men,
an
increase
in
the
voice,
and
a
reduction
in
sexual
needs.
Many
cases
are
known
when
taking
urine,
especially
evaporated,
helped
normalize
hair
growth
in
women
(facial
hair
disappeared),
improve
potency
in
men,
and
also
eliminate
various
diseases
associated
with
adrenal
gland
dysfunction.
8)
Gonads
they
produce
a
whole
complex
of
hormones,
on
which
our
health,
our
appearance,
mood
and
general
feeling
of
well-being
largely
depend.
As
already
said,
the
gonads
work
with
increasing
load
every
year,
as
the
sensitivity
of
the
hypothalamus
to
them
de


	tells	his	young	pupil	all	the	Vedantic	knowledge	about	death,
reincarnation,	and	the	projection	of	all	worlds	from	the	Self.	I’ve	kept	this
book	at	my	side	for	many	years.
T
EXT	NOTE:
p.	25
	Modern	attempts	to	weigh	the	soul	at	the	moment	of	death	are	discussed
online	at
http://www.snopes.com/religion/soulweight.asp
.
Chapter	2:	The	Cure	for	Dying
The	story	of	the	Tibetan	delog	Dawa	Drolma	is	recounted	by	her	son
Chagdud	Tulku	in	his	introduction	to	her	book,
Delog:	Journey	into	Realms
Beyond	Death
	(Padma	Publishing,	1995).	This	is	the	best	entry	into	personal
experiences	of	the	Bardo	that	I’ve	found.	The	classic	work	on	death	and	dying
in	the	Tibetan	tradition	is	the	now-famous	Tibetan	Book	of	the	Dead.	It	may
strike	many	Westerners	as	too	exotic	and	detailed	in	its	Buddhist	ritualism,
which	is	the	product	of	many	centuries	of	religious	practice.	More	accessible
is	Sogyal	Rinpoche,
The	Tibetan	Book	of	Living	and	Dying
(HarperSanFrancisco,	1993),	which	covers	the	same	ground.
Near-death	experiences	were	introduced	to	the	public	in	the	1970s	through
several	bestsellers,	one	of	them	being	the	immensely	popular
Life	After	Life
by	Raymond	Moody	(Mockingbird	Books,	1975),	a	quick	read	that	still
retains	the	excitement	of	a	physician	who	has	just	discovered	a	remarkable
phenomenon.	Since	then	the	literature	on	NDEs	has	grown	enormously.	A
great	deal	of	it	is	summarized	and	updated	on	a	Web	site,
www.near-
death.com
.	This	site	gives	details	of	some	of	the	most	prominent	and	widely
publicized	experiences,	but	it	branches	much	further	into	almost	every	aspect
of	death	and	the	afterlife.
The	near-death	experiences	of	children	are	particularly	fascinating
because	they	are	considered	to	be	innocent,	unbiased	witnesses.	Of	the	several
books	on	the	subject,	I	turned	to	another	physician’s	book,	Melvin	Morse,
Closer	to	the	Light:	Learning	from	the	Near-Death	Experiences	of	Children
(Ivy	Books,	1990).	Dr.	Morse	has	several	other	titles	in	the	near-death	field.
Another	notable	writer	is	P.	M.	H.	Atwater;
the
	book	of	hers	I	read	was
Beyond	the	Light:	The	Mysteries	and	Revelations	of	Near-Death	Experiences
(Avon	Books,	1994).	The	mainstay	of	such	books,	of	which	there	are	dozens,
are	real-life	stories	told	firsthand	by	those	who	have	come	back	fromclinically	dying.
The	best	clinical	study	on	NDEs	was	conducted	in	Holland	by	Dr.	Pim
van	Lommel.	It	is	well	described	in	Mary	Roach,
Spook:	Science	Tackles	the
Afterlife
	(W.	W.	Norton,	2005),	a	book	told	from	the	perspective	of	a	bemused
journalist.	An	even	more	detailed	account,	told	without	the	bemusement,	can
be	found	online	at
www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4207&l=en
.
T
EXT	NOTES:
p.	37
	The	percentage	of	Americans	who	tell	pollsters	they’ve	had	a	near-death
experience	is	cited	in	the	online	article	“Religious	Interpretations	of	Near-
Death	Experiences”	by	David	San	Filippo:
http://www.lutz-
sanfilippo.com/library/counseling/lsfnde.html
.	The	doctoral	essay
contains	many	other	academic	references	to	the	NDE	phenomenon	as
well.
p.	38
	The	story	of	the	historical	delog	Lingza	Chokyi	is	told	at
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/mackay/info-theory/course.html
.
p.	42
	“Science	isn’t	about	knowing	the	mind	of	God	…”	is	quoted	from	“What
Was	God	Thinking?	Science	Can’t	Tell”	by	Eric	Cornell	(
Time
,	Nov.	14,
2005,	p.	100).
p.	43
	“At	that	moment	these	people	are	not	only	conscious	…”	is	quoted	from
an	online	interview	with	van	Lommel	at
http://www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4207&l=en
.
Chapter	3:	Death	Grants	Three	Wishes
Religious	belief	is	a	vast	topic,	but	for	a	thumbnail	sketch	of	where	religion	is
headed	in	modern	America,	I	consulted	a	leading	poll,
The	Next	American
Spirituality:	Finding	God	in	the	Twenty-First	Century
,	by	George
Gallup
	Jr.
(Cook	Communications,	2000).	The	Gallup	organization	is	dedicated	to
documenting	the	actual	beliefs	of	every	faith	around	the	globe,	which	is
especially	needed	in	the	Islamic	world,	where	reliable	data	has	been	scarce,
even	in	recent	years.	You	can	do	your	own	browsing	of	opinions	across	the
board	on	Google,	entering	topic	phrases	like	“church	attendance”	or	“believe
they	will	go	to	heaven.”
T
EXT	NOTE:
p.	49
	Figures	about	church	attendance	in	the	United	States	come	from	an
online	article:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rel_rate.htm
.
Chapter	4:	Escaping	the	NooseI	didn’t	rely	on	any	specific	book	for	the	Christian	conception	of	heaven,	but
for	official	theological	answers	I	consulted
The	Catholic	Encyclopedia
,	which
“proposes	to	give	its	readers	full	and	authoritative	information	on	the	entire
cycle	of	Catholic	interests,	action	and	doctrine.”	The	home	page	for	the
encyclopedia	is
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/
.	I	did	not	explore	the
thicket	of	contrasting	beliefs	stemming	from	Protestant	theology,	although	as
always	there	were	many	helpful	articles	at	Wikipedia.
For	anyone	who	wants	to	browse	the	religious	landscape,	the	easiest	way
to	begin	is	to	take	a	question	like	“Where	is	heaven?”	or	“What	is	heaven
like?”	and	enter	it	at	Google—innumerable	results	crop	up.	One	can	browse
the	beliefs	of	various	denominations	online	at
http://www.religioustolerance.org/heav_hel.htm
.
The	vagaries	of	the	Old	Testament	God,	with	his	many	faces	and	changes
of	mood,	are	thoroughly	covered	in	Jack	Miles,
God:	A	Biography
	(Vintage,
1996).	The	book	is	nonreligious,	treating	the	Old	Testament	as	source
material	in	the	life	of	a	fascinating,	captious,	mercurial	person	who	happens
to	be	God.
When	I	contend	that	Jesus	often	sounds	like	a	Vedic	rishi,	I	have	in	mind
the	Book	of	Thomas	and	other	Gnostic	gospels.	The	fascinating	history	of
how	these	seminal	Christian	writings	came	to	be	unearthed	accidentally	by	a
wandering	Egyptian	shepherd	in	1945,	and	their	subsequent	suppression	by
the	Church,	is	told	best	by	Elaine	Pagels	in
The	Gnostic	Gospels
	(Vintage,
1989).	Hers	is	one	of	those	exceptional	books	on	religion	that	hugely
influence	public	opinion;	it	came	as	a	revelation	that	the	Christian	tradition
had	an	early,	authentic	mystical	tradition	that	allowed	women	full	status	and
told	an


 in a junkyard. Two atoms
of oxygen and iron are involve d, and the net result is that the iron gets
broken down and deteriorates.
The same oxygen and iron atoms interact in your blood stream,
imparting the color to red blood corpuscles. Yet the effect is the exact
opposite of rusted iron. The oxygen is used to nourish the qualities of life—
refreshing every  cell, giving it vitality, allowing the cell to sustain itself and
grow. Without the qualities of life carried by prana, the physical side of life
would deteriora te into random chemical reactions, leading to chaos and
decay.
Prana automatically tends to the qualities of life as you breathe, but you
can choo se to expand or diminish its effectiveness. What gives you control
over prana is your state of awareness. Since prana has the same source in
pure awareness that you do, it is affected by your mental state. Consider
two psychological states—anxiety and depression—that hamper the flow of
prana. When prana is weake ned, life feels dull, enervated, insecure,
exhausting, overwhelming in its daily functioning, and without any sense ofvibrancy. These are precisely the clinical description of depression and
anxiety.
The drugs used to treat anxiety and depression do not actually cure
those condition s. This failing has always been a thorn in the side for
psychiatry, but Royal Yoga points to a much more significant phenomenon.
The same areas of the brain affected by these drugs are simila rly affected
through talk, or couch, therapy. In other words, exchanging words with a
therapist about how you feel—t he qualities of life as you experience them
—can alleviate anxiety and depres sion as effectively as drugs and with no
side effects. Yoga’s explanation for this is that going to the level of qualities
(i.e., subjective experience) allows prana to be consciously redirected back
into a healthier pattern.
This is a prime example of the basic insight Royal Yoga delivers: You
can only change  what you are aware of. Awareness guides prana, and prana
communicates to your cells the changes you want to make.
Exercise
The basic takeaway today is that changing the quality of your life
depends on changing the many qualities of your life. A blanket intention (“I
want things to get better”) isn’t effective. What’ s effective is to focus on the
primary qualitie s that prana carries as it moves through mind  and body.
Look at the list of qualities and begin to focus at first on one or two of
them.
How can you make your life feel refreshed instead of routine? What
creative activity  can you take up? Which daily problems and challenges can
you deal with more intelligently? Be specific. Write down the thoughts that
come to you. A great help is to consult a trusted friend or family member
who exemplifies the quality you want to develop. This can be someone who
is strikin gly creative or self-suf ficient or smart about dealing with their own
issues. When you engage in a stimulating back-and-forth, you are
enlivening the flow of prana then and there, which is half the answer.THURSDAY
Energy Healing
Begin by silently repeating today’ s theme:
I redirect my energy wherever it is needed.
I redirect my energy wherever it is needed.
Awareness brings change. Wherever you direct your awareness, a
change occurs in the way prana flows. This principle lies at the heart of
energy work, a broad term that can apply to traditional Easter n therapies,
like Ayurveda, qi gong, and acupuncture, or to modern chiropractic and
osteopathy. They all depend on redirecting vital ener gy at a subtle level.
Right at this moment, you are redirecting prana in ways that help to
either promote or interfere with the healing process. You canno t change the
pathways that prana flows throu gh—these are as fixed as blood vessels or
the central nervous system. But you can improve prana in several ways.
THE PRACTICES TO MAXIMIZE PRANA
Meditation
Controlling your breathing
Eating food that is as fresh as possible, drinking pure water,
breathing pure, unpolluted air
Sleeping restfully and soundly
Reducing stress
Maintaining an optimistic outlook
Engaging in regular stretching and moving throughout the day
Going out into Nature
Avoiding mental and physical exhaustion
Nothing on this list is new or surprising, which is as it should be. Each
limb of Yoga takes a different angle on the same goal, which is to achievean ideal  life. But constant reminders to do what is good for you aren’ t
effective as motivation. You need to experience change in a healing
direction, which  then increases your desire for more of the same. In modern
terminology, you need to create a positive feedback loop.
The simplest and most natural way to do that, when it comes to prana, is
to get it moving. Flowing water remains fresh; stagnant water doesn’ t. The
same holds true for prana. If you return to the list above, each practice spurs
prana to circulate naturally, without exhausting or depleting your energy.
Meditation migh t seem to be the exception, but it isn’t. By calming the
activity of the mind ( vrittis ), meditation opens the subtle channels through
which prana flows.
Exercise
You can easily and gently bolster your prana by making your daily
routine a little more conscious.  Move and stretch every hour. Choose the
freshest greens and vegetables in the market. Don’ t eat leftovers. Pay more
attention to getting regular, good-quality sleep. Meditate, if only for a few
minutes. These gradual changes require you to pay attention, and once a
positive feedbac k loop is set up, it becomes more and more automatic. The
watchwords with prana are natural, unfor ced, and easy—literally as easy as
breathing.
FRIDAY
Eternal Creation
Begin by silently repeating today’ s theme:
I am part of a living, breathing creation.
I am part of a living, breathing creation.
Prana solves a mystery that otherwise defies explanation. If you look at
a bumbl ebee from the perspective of an airplane engineer, the creature istoo heavy, slow, and fat to fly. In a similar way, the human body shouldn’ t
be alive if you look at it merel y from a physical perspective. None of its
chemical compo nents are alive. If you take a quivering muscle cell or a
pulsating heart cell and trace its makeup backward, from cell to molecules
to atoms, the instant you take the first step, which brings you to the
essential proteins that make up every cell, life has vanished. The most
complex molecule inside you, your DNA, somehow learned the trick of
dividing itself perfectly down the middle, and there’ s no doub t that life is
based on passing on this trick so that cells can divide.
Ever since you started out as a single cell in your mother ’s womb, you
have been the fortunate result of this trick. But DNA unzipping itself down
the middle is still a purely chemical process, not all that distant from the
way crystals multiply. Take a dense solution of sugar and wate r, suspend a
string in it that has a single sugar crystal on it, and overnight many more
crystals will magically surro und it. A clump of sugar develops
spontaneously and keeps on developing as long as the sugar  solution is
dense enough. But crystals aren’t alive, and even when given billions of
years to evolve, they never come to life.
The mystery of life disappears once you realize that everything is alive,
and what keeps everything alive is prana. The spark of life isn’t physical.
Life is part of existence itself. It emer ges at every level of creation,
including the physical cosmos and the atom. Without creative intelligence,
your body wouldn’ t survive another minute. At every level prana knows
how to sustain life.
THE LIFE-GIVING FUNCTIONS OF PRANA
It brings nourishment to every cell.
It determines whether to create, destroy, or maintain life.
It promotes growth and evolution.
It organizes and regulates every process.
It synchronizes every biorhythm in the body.
It dynamically connects mind and body.None of these functions can be explained through physical processes
alone. Whereve r creative intelligence flows, prana is flowing inside it.
Physics employs matter and energy as the building blocks of creation, but
this leaves out the critical element of intelligence.
Prana knows  what it is doing. You can see how vitally important this is
if you think of the electricity powering the lighting, heating, and appliances
in your house. Can you conce ive of the electrical current knowing the
difference between a dryer, a fluorescent light, and a space heater before it
reaches those appliances?
Yoga holds that everything in creation is a transforma tion of
consciousness in different stages. The eight limbs of Yoga are levels of
transformation. You can choos e to expand your control over one level
separately, the way pranayama  controls breathing and asana  controls
physiology, but each limb is a facet of the whole. As a Vedic adage says,
“Yoga is like a table with eight legs. Move one leg, and the whole table
moves.”
Pure conscious ness is timeless, so is prana. The act of creation
happening in your body in the next split


 achieving
greatness and losing it again,  or playing the roles of oppressor andoppressed. On e person at a time can awaken to reality. It will be
enough. The mystery of being human has been hidden from each
of u s, w hich m ay be why it remains so tantalizing. We have never
stopped being a self-created species. If we can create a world of
glorious highs without being  fully awake, imagine what we could
do with our eyes wide open.A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
I fe el gratitude every time a new book is finished for the
generous and productive relationship I have with my publisher.
Beginning with Gina Centrello, president and publisher of
Penguin Random House, who has shown unwavering loyalty to
me. Thank you.
At Harmony Books, I enjoy a trusting relationship with my
perceptive editor, Gary Jansen, who is untiring in offering
suggestions to improve the manuscript. I can’t count how often
Gary ha s guided my writing in the right direction—an author can
hardly ask for more. In ad dition, I’d like to acknowledge the
support of everyone at Harm ony Books who dedicated their time,
creativity, and passion to this book, including Aaron Wehner,
Diana Baroni, Tammy Blake, Christina Foxley, Molly Breitbart,
Marysarah Quinn, Patricia S haw, Jessie Bright, Sarah Horgan,
Heather Williamson, Kellyann Cronin, and Ashley Hong. And a
special word of thanks to Ra chel Berkowitz, in the foreign rights
department, w ho has been in strumental in helping to spread my
work ar ound th e world. The p ublic has little idea of how dedicated
the team  at a publishing house needs to be and how mu ch they
love books and serve writers. Many thanks.
A special thanks to Poonacha Machaiah, an inspired innovator,
good friend, and wise guide.
Finally, there is everyone clo ser to home. I would like to t hank
the teams in California and in New York: Paulette Cole, MarcNadeau, Teana David, Sara McDonald, Aaron Marion, Angie Lile,
Attila Ambrus, and Kendall Mar-Horstman.
The newest collaborators in my life are the Infinite Potential
podcast team: Jan Cohen, David Shadrack Smith, Julie Magruder,
and friends at Cadence 13— thank you for allowing me to be
connected to the digital world along such a productive new path.
While Metahuman  was being written, a year of new challenges
faced the Chopra Foundation board of directors, who adapted with
fantastic suppo rt and guidance, so deepest thanks to Alice Walton,
Matthew Harris, Ray Chambers, Francois Ferre, Fred Matser, Paul
Johnson, and Ajay Gupta, along with the “explorers” who are on
the journey of a wareness. I’d also like to welcome Tonia O’ Connor,
CEO of Chopra Global.
My family has grown over the years, gone through many
changes, and yet continues t o be a source of loving warmth and
joy: Rita, Mallika, Sumant, Gotham, Candice, Krishan, Tara, Leela,
and Geeta, I hold you in my heart forever.A B O U T  T H E  A U T H O R
DEEPAK CHO PRA, M.D., FACP, founder of the Ch opra
Foundation and cofounder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing and
Jiyo, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and
personal transformation, and he is board certified in internal
medicine, endocrinology, and metabolism. He is a Fellow  of the
American College of Physicians; a clinical professor in the
Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the
University of California, San Diego; a researcher of neurology and
psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital; and a member of
the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The
WorldPost  and The Huffington Post  global Internet survey ranked
Dr. Cho pra as #17 of the most  influential thinkers in the w orld and
#1 in medicine. Chopra is the author of more than 8 5 books
translated into over 43 languages, including numerous New York
Times  bestsellers. Time  magazine has described Dr. Chopra as
“one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.”Wat’s next on
your reading list?
Discover your next
great read!
Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.
Sign up now.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>OceanofPDF.comCopyright © 2022 by Deepak Chopra
Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Cocorrina
Illustrations originally appeared in Afﬁrmations and Meditations by
Deepak Chopra, published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of
Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New
York, in 2021.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an
imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House
LLC, New York.
clarksonpotter.com
CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a
registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
ISBN 9780593234020
Ebook ISBN 9780593234037
Illustrations by Cocorrina
Edited and compiled by Gary Jansenrhid_prh_6.0_139653424_c0_r0
OceanofPDF.comCONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Mindful Moments
OceanofPDF.comBreathe-Reality is DIFFERENT in
diﬀerent states of
consciousness. To REVISE
your reality, look within.In my stillness, I am the eternal
possibility.
In my movement, I am the cosmos.
Inﬁnite being is also inﬁnite love.KNOWING YOURSELF IS KEY
TO KNOWING THE WORLDThe world outside your skin is as much
you as the world inside. Your personal
and universal bodies are equally
yours.
There is no center of consciousness in
the body because consciousness is not
in the body. The body is in
consciousness.
Gratitude is ABUNDANCE
consciousness.Intention with LOVE and
detachment makes even the
most IMPROBABLE
happen.Words are noises in the air.
Consciousness gives them life.
Names and forms are many.
Reality is one.
Embrace the unpredictable and the
unexpected.
That is the path to your inﬁnite
creativity.
If you want inﬁnite energy, focus on
the inﬁnite.BLISS, CONSCIOUSNESS,
and LOVE are the essence
of BEING.Joy, ecstasy, and
unbounded LOVE are
the natural state of the
unconditioned mind.Awareness conceives, governs, and
sustains body and mind. You need
only not interfere with it.
Your personal desire is also a
manifestation of the total universe.
Everything you call the “world,” including your
own body, is sensations, images, feelings, and
thoughts in consciousness.
When you look at your body, you are looking at
your past.
To love and to be
loved—this is the most
natural and
spontaneous
expression of our
being.Love is the HIGHEST
intelligence.Everything perceived as “outside” is sensations,
feelings, images, and thoughts within you, and
“you” has no location.
The observer has no location in space or time. The
terms inside and outside do not apply.
Addiction is not getting enough of what
you don’t want. It is being hooked to a
memory of pleasure that is now pain.
Fear is the memory of pain. Addiction is
the memory of pleasure. Freedom is
beyond both.
To SHIFT your identity to
your INNERMOST being is
to aﬃrm your perfection.ere is ONLY innity.Letting go of our habitual certainties
opens the doorway to creativity.
Instead of thinking outside the box, get
rid of the box.
Consciousness
exists in every cell
of our body and in
every particle in the
universe.
OceanofPDF.comThis moment is as it should be, unless you think
about it. This moment is eternal before you label it.
This is the moment of power.
Be the moment.
Every experience
creates its own
bodymind. I
experienced childhood
and youth in diﬀerent
bodies, diﬀerent
minds.Beyond LOGIC is
POETRY.
Beyond POETRY is
MUSIC.
Beyond MUSIC is the
DANCE.
Beyond the DANCE,
just LOVE.Pure consciousness is the source of
synchronicity and meaningful
coincidence.
As you rest in pure awareness and
watch synchronicity unfold,
“surrender to God” takes on new
meaning.The universe dances to a silent, abstract,
mathematically perfect symphony in the cosmic
mind.
The laws of physics are precisely ﬁne-tuned for us
to exist and even to allow us to discover those
laws.
You CREATE your past
and your future NOW.Your senses send electrical
information to your brain.
Your consciousness
converts that information
into a material universe.
When we don’t nourish our self with love, we
replace self with stuff—that is, material things—but
stuff never ful


	they	need	in	order	to	repair
themselves.
Genetically	Modified	Foods:	Risky	Business
No	contemporary	discussion	on	genetics	is	complete	without	discussing	the
powerful	genetic	technologies	in	use	today,	particularly	with	our	foods.	With
modern	genetic	technology,	what	would	have	seemed	miraculous	just	a
generation	ago	is	now	possible.	However,	whether	or	not	these	technologiespose	a	threat	to	our	health	is	a	huge	debate.	Scientists	on	both	sides	constantly
argue	their	points.	These	technologies	present	the	potential	both	for	great
achievement	and	for	catastrophe.	Not	enough	research	is	available	to	know	what
will	happen,	although	the	research	that	is	available	presents	cause	for	serious
concern	or	even	alarm.	I	recommend	against	consuming	genetically	modified
foods	because	I	believe	these	foods	may	be	lower	in	nutrients,	higher	in	toxins
and	present	other	potential	risks	as	well.
Never	before	in	human	evolution	has	humankind	eaten	a	genetically	modified
food.	Only	in	recent	years	have	we	developed	the	technologies	that	allow	us	to
create	these	foods.	Now	genetic	technologies	are	being	developed	and	deployed
rapidly,	with	few	controls	and	almost	no	consideration	for	long-term
consequences.	Most	of	the	food	in	your	supermarket	already	contains	genetically
modified	components.	Yet	there	is	insufficient	research,	particularly	long-term
research,	to	establish	the	safety	of	genetically	modified	foods	and,	indeed,	ample
reason	to	believe	they	may	not	be	safe.
If	we	keep	producing	and	consuming	genetically	modified	foods,	we	will	be
unable	to	prevent	genetic	contamination	from	becoming	prevalent	throughout
our	entire	food	supply.	If	ever	these	foods	are	determined	unsafe,	the	damage
will	be	irreversible.	Unexpected	results	from	these	foods	might	not	become
obvious	until	years	after	they	are	introduced,	at	which	point	taking	it	back	is	too
late.	Our	scientists	do	their	best,	but	when	experimenting	with	genetics,	the
potential	for	unanticipated	side	effects	is	almost	incalculable.	Here	is	one
scenario:	Over	time,	genetically	modified	organisms	interact	with	their
environment,	mutate	and	evolve,	and	pass	on	their	mutant	characteristics	to	other
related	and	unrelated	organisms,	including	us.	This	sets	off	a	chain	of	events
throughout	the	entire	ecosystem,	jeopardizing	life	on	earth	as	we	know	it.	I	know
this	scenario	sounds	dramatic,	but	messing	with	genes	and	the	course	of
evolution	is	risky	business.
Is	That	a	Jellyfish	in	Your	Potato?
Producing	new	foods	with	modern	genetic	engineering	is	no	minor	event.
Genetic	engineers	cut,	splice	and	transfer	genes	between	totally	unrelated
species	to	produce	combinations	that	could	never	occur	in	nature.	Scientists	are
inserting	jellyfish	genes	into	potatoes,	scorpion	genes	into	vegetables,	human
genes	into	pigs	and	fish	genes	into	tomatoes.	Perfect	accuracy	using	these	gene-
splicing	techniques	and	knowing	exactly	what	will	be	produced	is	almost
impossible.	Researchers	at	the	prestigious	Rowett	Institute	in	Scotland	studied
different	batches	of	genetically	modified	potatoes	and	found	substantialdifferences	from	the	same	gene	insertion.	Two	lines	of	potatoes	grown	from	the
same	gene	insertion	and	the	same	growing	conditions	had	a	20	percent
difference	in	protein	content,	demonstrating	the	unpredictability	inherent	in
genetic	modification.
Genetically	modified	foods	may	be	of	altered	nutritional	value,	and	they	also
may	contain	allergens	or	toxins	they	would	not	naturally	contain—including
ones	not	normally	associated	with	that	type	of	food.	For	example,	genes	from
Brazil	nuts	were	used	to	engineer	a	new	soybean;	but	people	allergic	to	Brazil
nuts	were	now	highly	reactive	to	these	soybeans.	Fortunately	the	problem	was
discovered	before	anyone	was	harmed.	Other	genetically	modified	foods	may
present	similar	risks.	A	1999	study	printed	in	the	British	medical	journal
Lancet
showed	that	genetically	modified	potatoes	damaged	the	stomach	and	intestinal
linings	of	rats.	People	are	also	eating	genetically	modified	potatoes,	but	similar
tests	are	not	being	performed	on	humans.
Do	you	recall	one	of	the	health	“scandals”	of	the	late	1980s?	Many	people
who	took	an	essential	amino	acid	called	tryptophan	(which	is	used	for	treating
depression	and	other	emotional	problems)	had	devastating	reactions.	Thirty-
seven	people	died,	fifteen	hundred	were	permanently	disabled,	and	five	thousand
became	extremely	ill.	As	it	turned	out,	one	particular	manufacturer	in	Japan	had
produced	tryptophan	using	a	genetically	modified	bacterium,	which	did	produce
commercial	quantities	of	tryptophan,	but	which	also	produced	a	powerful	nerve
poison.	Of	course	this	poison	did	not	exist	until	we	created	it	with	genetic
engineering,	so	it	could	not	be	detected	by	existing	safety	tests.	We	cannot	test
for	toxins	we	don’t	know	about,	which	is	the	problem	with	genetically
engineered	foods.	They	are	capable	of	producing	the	unexpected.
Supermarkets	Full	of	Genetic	Experiments
Food	industry	journals	estimate	that	about	70	percent	of	the	processed	foods
in	our	supermarkets	would	test	positive	for	genetically	modified	ingredients.
Most	common	are	genetically	engineered	corn,	soybeans,	tomatoes,	yellow
crookneck	squash,	canola,	papaya	and	Russet	Burbank	potatoes.	Other	foods	are
being	developed,	such	as	apples,	rice,	wheat,	broccoli,	cucumbers,	carrots,
melons	and	grapes;	genetically	modified	versions	of	these	foods	are	either	in
stores	already	or	they	soon	will	be.
A	1999	study	by
Consumer	Reports
found	that	only	one-third	of	U.S.
shoppers	realize	they	are	eating	genetically	modified	foods.	The	FDA	does	not
require	these	foods	to	be	labeled	“genetically	modified,”	and	consumers	do	not
realize	what	they	are	buying.	People	buy	so-called	“fresh”	produce,	unaware	thatthese	foods	did	not	evolve	through	a	natural	process.	As	always,	your	best	bet	is
to	purchase	only	fresh,	organic	foods.	If	you	are	unable	to	buy	organic,	stay
away	from	commercial	foods	most	likely	to	be	genetically	modified,	particularly
corn	and	soy	(including	tofu).	Avoid	commercially	processed	and	prepared
foods,	70	percent	of	which	contain	genetically	modified	components,	often
including	soy	as	a	hidden	ingredient.
Even	organic	foods	are	not	guaranteed	to	be	free	from	genetically	modified
components.	Segregating	organic	crops	completely	from	genetically	modified
crops	during	harvest,	handling,	transport	and	milling	is	not	possible.	Similarly,
insects,	birds	and	wind	carry	seeds	and	pollen	from	genetically	modified	plants
into	organic	fields	and	cross-pollinate.	America’s	crops	are	so	contaminated	by
genetic	modification	that	the	Organic	Federation	of	Australia	announced	in	2001
that	it	could	no	longer	verify	the	purity	of	organic	crops	imported	from


 have tremendous longevity and are never sick. For instance,
there are freshwater trout and there are ocean-water trout, and they couldn’t be more different in
seawater Minerals and the Coming Agricultural Revolution
their health patterns—but, genetically, they’re practically identical. However, because of the lack of
minerals in freshwater, freshwater trout are always sick in some way. So this inspired Dr. Murray to do
some tremendous research on animals—chickens, pigs, every kind of animal—and what he saw was
tremendous differences in their health and how they grew.
Mike : How much research did he do with humans?
Hartman : Well, remember, he grew up in a time when lab instruments were not particularly sensitive
and with very little funding, so I would say his human research was fairly limited, although he did get
interesting results. I encourage people to read his book, “Sea Energy Agriculture,” which is available
from us. It’s really his quest to find out what is special about seawater and all the experiments that he
did. Another interesting thing that people recognize commonly now is that the absence of lithium in
your diet causes bipolar disorder. People are sensitive to it, and this is fairly understood now, twenty-
something years after Dr Murray’s death. Every disease, I think, at the end of the day, will be traced to
some missing element.
How humans are really seawater creatures
Mike : Ultimately, if you go back into our ancestry, we have strong ties to seawater. We even have ocean
chemistry inside us, and in the first stages of fetal development, we actually grow gills, just like fish.
Hartman : I’m glad you brought that up, because your blood plasma, which is the clear part of your
blood, is like seawater—every element in the same proportion. In fact, there was a French doctor who,
in the early part of the 19th century, did therapy that injected clean seawater intravenously into humans.
He had tremendous results with terminal patients and extremely ill patients, and it’s a therapy that is
still ongoing today. There’s a South American doctor who—and I know PETA people will be appalled,
and I love animals too—but he drained out three quarters of the blood from a dog and replaced it with
clean seawater, and the dog was up and running around half an hour later, no problem.
Mike : Wow, that’s very interesting. It’s definitely a horrifying experiment, and I’m against experimenting
on animals, but it certainly demonstrates an interesting point because you can imagine that most
people’s blood is lacking some of these elements.
Hartman : Another interesting discovery that is now well known is that seawater, hemoglobin and
chlorophyll have very similar chemistries, except that seawater is based on sodium, human blood is based
on iron, and chlorophyll is based on magnesium. Other than their prime elements being different, the
other elements fall in order, in proportion. And chlorophyll and hemoglobin have very similar carbon
chemistry. They are the same shape molecule, the only difference being the iron and the magnesium.
seawater Minerals and the Coming Agricultural Revolution
It’s very easy for the body to convert chlorophyll, like you have in wheatgrass juice, to blood. I mean,
it’s a tremendous treatment for somebody who, for instance, is anemic.
Mike : I think it’s important to connect these dots again. Chlorophyll is the blood of plants, hemoglobin
is the oxygen-carrying part of blood in people, and ocean water is the blood of the earth. That is
wonderful.
Getting Ocean Grown seawater concentrates
Mike : Your website, again, is OceanGrown.com. Can you give us a little description of what people
can get there. What can they order, and how do they get it?
Hartman : Let me give you some background. We’ve been in business five years, and we’ve been on
the market two years. But we’re trying to build a distribution network, so typically we try to dissuade
commerce through the website because we try to encourage our distributors. If there is no distributor
in your area, we’d be happy to take the order, but, wherever possible, we try to push orders through
distribution. We have a growing loyal following of distributors, and that’s coming along very well.
Mike : How do people find local distributors?
Hartman : Just drop us an email and we’ll respond.
Mike : So there are retail stores in cities around North America where people can find this?
Hartman : Yes, and it’s growing all the time. Someday, I hope we’ll be in the big box stores. You’ll be
able to find it on every shelf like you see Miracle-Gro today.
Mike : I don’t know if you can answer this, because of the pending patent, but people are going to
wonder where your ocean water is from? I hope it’s not from Miami Beach.
Hartman : I’m glad you brought that up, because, typically, when people first hear about Dr. Murray,
they race down to their local ocean if they’re fortunate enough to live near one. But think about what
ends up in coastal waters. You’ve got chemical plants dumping things in there. You have sewage and
all kinds of other things going in that coastal water that I don’t think you’d want in your food—heavy
metals in odd proportions and that kind of thing. What we typically do is go out to sea at varying
distances, anywhere from 30 to—our longest trip was 600 miles—and we are in very clean areas. We
process the water at sea, so what we have when we come back is a concentrate that’s ready to package
and ship, but we don’t do that just yet. What we do is quarantine that product in our distribution
seawater Minerals and the Coming Agricultural Revolution
center and send samples out to an environmental lab to get tested for volatile organic compounds, like
chemicals and pollutants. We don’t ship that product unless there is no detectable pollution, and there
are 70 different things that they look for, and their detection limit is half a part per billion. When that
test result comes back, it has to say ND next to every pollutant: “non-detectable.” When we get that
test result back, we liberate whatever that voyage produced to be packaged.
Mike : So you’re saying there is still ocean water that’s fairly clean on this planet?
Hartman : There is, but not coastally. You can’t just run a pipe down to your local coast. Even if you’re
on some island in the Caribbean and you think, “Well, maybe I’ll just put a pipe in the water,” you
might be lucky. But if you look at the boating regulations at what can be dumped at sea, it’s pretty
staggering what boats are allowed to dump if they’re far enough away from a coast.
You know, God invented this; we’re not taking credit for inventing seawater. What we’re trying to do
is collect it in a way that doesn’t damage it or change the proportion of it or hurt the aerobic bacteria
that are in it. We are very careful about how we do it and where we do it, and we work to make sure
that it’s pollutant free, and we try to make it as economic as possible to ship. We are within a year of
having a higher concentration, which will further reduce the shipping costs. But before I forget, I just
want to mention this aerobic bacteria. Seawater has about five times more aerobic bacteria—and that is
the friendly kind, the kind that stimulate roots to pick up elements and nutrition—than the healthiest
soils. To give you an idea of what aerobic bacteria can do, they can help the soil fix nitrogen, which is
very important to soil. The role of the bacteria is terribly important. It comes with seawater, and we do
everything we can to make its life happy and healthy and to preserve it in our product.
I think Dr. Murray mentions in his book that seawater bacteria can fix 40 pounds of nitrogen per acre.
Currently, chemical farmers are putting about 200 pounds of nitrogen on an acre, let’s say, to grow corn,
so that alone will help them reduce the need for that much nitrogen. You say, “Why do they have to
add anything at all?” Well, the reason they have to add nitrogen in the first place is because they use
highly hybridized species of corn that require it, and it’s kind of a self-fulfilling process. You have these
companies that are hybridizing corn, and they need more of the product they sell.
What about the salt in seawater?
Mike : Here’s a common question that I’m sure you must get: If there is salt in seawater and you put
seawater on your crops, won’t it increase the salt content of your tomatoes? What about people who are
worried about too much salt in their diet? It sounds like a silly question, but I’m sure you get it.
Hartman : It’s a great question. Think about when you go to a hospital. What’s the first thing they
give you?
0seawater Minerals and the Coming Agricultural Revolution
Mike : Sodium chloride.
Hartman : They give you a saline solution. So what is so important about sodium that it happens to be
number one in seawater and number one in health care? Well,


 and inﬁnite:
it does not arise nor cease to be. It is ever present in
moving and unmoving creatures, in the sky, on the
mountain, in ﬁre and in air.”
This last quote doesn’t come from Schrödinger, however,
but from one of the most ancient texts in the Indian
spiritual tradition, the Yoga Vasistha. The fact that a sage
living thousands of years ago could take an inner journey
and make discoveries consistent with quantum physics
wasn’t news  when Quantum Healing  came out. But the
world of sages, seers, and saints felt closed oﬀ from
ordinary life back then. All the ensuing research  in mind-
body medicine has helped to build a bridge between two
worlds, and the sage Vasistha, like Buddha, could be our
contemporary.
What would it take to turn all healing into quantum
healing? I will addre ss this, the most burning question
facing modern medicine, in the expanded edition you’re
now reading. After each chapter you’ll ﬁnd a section titled
“Expanding the Topic,” which approaches the mystery ofhealing as viewed by cutting-edge medical research and
the world’s wisdom traditions.
Beyond the mind-body connection there is a deeper
connection between now and eternity. The human brain
knows only the now. Every electrical impulse or chemical
reaction in your brain occurs right this second. The
feedback between mind and body is being replenished
thousands of times a minute. We can take great hope in this
fact, because it means that the entire universe has
conspired to bring about this very minute.  Inﬁnite
creativity, intelligence, and power are supporting us once
we open ourselves up to them.
When I wrote this book, I knew it was pointing in the
right direction. If I felt the barbs of skeptics then (and
there were many), I was conﬁdent that conﬁrming studies
were still to come. Now the idea of quantum healing has
had nearly thirty years of supporting research. Let’s hope
this expanded edition prompts open-minded readers to
revisit this concept. Hope is born from impossible ideas. To
the skeptical mind, the most impossible idea is this: We are
children of the universe. Our source is beyond all
boundaries. Seeing ourselves as isolated, limited physical
creatures is merely an assumed identity. I suppose those
are three ideas, but once they are fused into a new
mindset, the era of true healing will have arrived.
*1 In 2013 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that
a third of cancer cases were related to smoking and another third to obesity.
*2 The cited lifestyle factors include cigarette smoking, diet (fried foods, red
meat), alcohol, sun exposure, environmental pollutants, infections, stress,
obesity, and physical inactivity.
OceanofPDF.comOceanofPDF.comSeveral times in my medic al career I have been privileged
to witness miraculous cures. The most recent began last
year when a 32-year-old Indian woman came to see me in
my oﬀice outside Boston. She sat quietly facing me in a
blue silk sari. To keep her composure, she clasped her
hands tightly in her lap. Her name was Chitra, she said,
and together with her husband, Raman, she ran a
neighborhood import store in New Y ork City.
A few months earlier, Chitra had noticed a small lump in
her left breast that was sensitive to the touch. She
underwent surgery to remove it, but unfortunately the
surgeon found that the lump was malignant. When he
explored further, he detected that the cancer had spread to
her lungs.
After removing the diseas ed breast and a large portion of
tissue around it, Chitra’s doctor gave her initial  doses of
radiation and then place d her on intensive chemotherapy.
This is standard procedure for treating breast cancer and
saves many lives. But the lung cancer was going to bemuch harder to treat; it was obvious to everyone that
Chitra was in a very precarious position.
Examining her, I noticed that she was very anxious. When
I tried to reassure her, she surprised me with a touching
statement: “I don’t mind for myself if I have to die, but my
husband will be so lonely without me. Sometimes I pretend
to be asleep and then sit up all night, just thinking about
him. I know  Raman loves me, but after I’m gone, he will
start seeing American girls. I can’t bear to lose him to an
American girl.” She stopped and looked at me with
suﬀering in her eyes. “I know I shouldn’t say that, but I
think you understand.”
You do not get used to the sorrow that cancer creates,
but I felt a deeper sorrow from knowing that time was
Chitra’s enemy. For the moment, she still looked healthy.
She had even managed to hide her disease from her
relatives, dreading having to be watched as she wasted
away. We both knew it was going to be very bad for her.
No one can say that he knows a cure for advanced breast
cancer. Conventional therapy had provided all that it could
for Chitra. Given that her cancer had already spread to
another organ, the statistics said that her chance of
surviving for ﬁve years was less than 10 percent, even with
the most intensive routine of chemotherapy that could be
safely administered.
I asked her to start a new course of treatme nts, as
prescribed by A yurveda.
Like me, Chitra had grown up in India, but she had little
idea of Ayurveda. Her grandparents’ generation was the
last to “believe” in it, I would imagine; today, every
progressive Indian living in a big city would prefer  Western
medicine if he could aﬀord it. To explain to Chitra why I
wanted her seemingly to turn her back on progress, I told
her that her cancer was not just a physical disease but a
holistic one. Her whole body knew she had cancer and wassuﬀering from it; a tissue sample taken from her lungs
would show that malignant cells had migrated there, while
a sample from her liver would be negative. Yet, her liver
had the same blood coursing through it, and therefore it
picked up the signals of disease that were coming  from the
lungs. This in turn aﬀected its own functions.
Similarly, when she felt pain in her chest or had to sit
down owing to shortness of breath, signals were racing
throughout her body, going to and from her brain. Sensing
the pain, her brain had to respond to it. The fatigue she
was feeling, along with her depression and anxie ty, was a
brain response that had physical consequences. So it was
wrong to think of her cancer as just an isolated tumor that
needed to be destroyed. She had a holistic diseas e and for
that she needed holistic medicine.
The word holistic, which tends to oﬀend orthodox
doctors, simply means an approach that includes the mind
and body together. I believe Ayurveda does this better than
any alternative, although it may not be very apparent on
the surface. In fact, many well-publicized mind-body
techniques such as hypnosis and biofeedback are far more
ﬂashy than Ayurveda. If Chitra had gotten sick at home in
Bombay, her grandmother might have ﬁxed her some
special meals, brought home medicinal herbs in a brown
paper sack from the Ayurvedic pharmacy, and insisted that
she stay in bed. Various purgatives and oil massages might
be prescribe d to clean the body of toxins generated by the
cancer. If there was a spiritual tradition in the family, she
would have begun to meditate. In essence, I was going to
have her do these same things, with a few additions. There
is as yet no scientiﬁc reason why any of this should work,
except that it does. Ayurveda has hit on something deep in
nature. Its knowledge is rooted not in technology but in
wisdom, which I would deﬁne as a reliable understanding
of the human organism gathered over many centuries.“I want you to go to a special clinic outside Bosto n for a
week or two,” I told Chitra. “Some things that will happen
to you there will seem highly unusual. You are used to the
idea of a hospital as a place with respirators, IV tubes,
transfusions, and chemotherapy. By that standard, what we
will do for you at this clinic will seem like nothing.
Basically, I want to get your body into a deep, deep state of
rest.”
Chitra was a trusting person; she agreed to go. In part, of
course, she had no altern ative. Modern medicine had done
all it could, using the strategy of physical assau lt on her
cancer. The initial advantage of assaulting a disease is that
you hope to wipe it out physically as soon as possible. The
tremendous disadvantag e is that the whole body is
damaged in the assault on one of its parts. In the case of
chemotherapy, there is the very real danger that the
immune system will become so weakened that the door is
opened for other cancers to develop in the


sleep,	may	reduce	your	skin’s	ability	to	recover	from	sunlight	exposure.
Need	more	proof?	A	study	at
Sweden’s
University	of	Stockholm	found	that
sleep	deprivation	produced	visible	signs	of	aging,	including	increased	hanging
eyelids,	darker	circles	under	the	eyes,	more	wrinkles	and	fine	lines,	swollen	eyes,
and	more	pronounced	droopy	corners	of	the	mouth.
11
	Anything	that	promotes
the	use	of	the	word
droopy
	to	describe	your	face	must	obviously	be	avoided	as
much	as	possible!
WEIGHT	GAIN
In	general,	those	who	do	not	sleep	well	tend	to	weigh	more	than	those	who	get
good	levels	of	sleep.
12
	A	University	Hospitals	Case	Medical	Center	clinical	trial
found	that	poor	sleepers	were	nearly	twice	as	likely	to	be	overweight	than	those
who	slept	well.	In	their	study,	23	percent	of	the	“good	quality”	sleepers	were
obese,	versus	44	percent	in	the	group	that	reported	poor	sleep	quality.
13
	A
Wisconsin	Sleep	Cohort	study	found	that	as	hours	of	sleep	per	night	went
down,
body	mass	index	(BMI)	went	up	proportionally.
14
	This	further	disputes
the	vastly	oversimplified	approach	that	what	is	on	your	plate	and	how	much
you	work	out	are	the	only	factors	that	determine	your	weight.
In	another	study	published	in	the
American	Journal	of	Epidemiology
,	women
who	slept	5	hours	or	less	a	night	had	a	15	percent	higher	risk	of	becoming
obese	than	women	who	slept	7	hours	a	night.	Over	the	course	of	the	sixteen-
year	study,	the	women	who	got	less	sleep	also	had	a	30	percent	higher	risk	of
gaining	30	pounds	than	the	women	who	got	7	hours	of	sleep	per	night.
15
You	may	be	wondering	exactly
how
	sleep	affects	your	weight.	It	turns	out	that
a	lack	of	proper	sleep	can	disrupt	the	key	hormones	that	control	appetite,
making	those	who	sleep	poorly	more	hungry	than	those	who	sleep	well	throughthe	night.
16
	A	study	published	in	the
Journal	of	Clinical	Endocrinology	and
Metabolism
	looked	at	the	connection	between	sleep	and	the	hormone	leptin,
which	controls	appetite,	and	found	that	circulating	levels	of	leptin	in	your	body
are	influenced	by	the	quality	of	your	sleep.
17
	This	means	that	the	more	sleep
you	get,	the	better	your	body	becomes	at	sensing	when	it	is	full.
The	connection	between	sleep	duration,	body	weight,	metabolism,	and
specific	hormones	was	backed	up	by	a	team	of	researchers	from	the
Stanford
University	School	of	Medicine,	who	found	that	getting	less	sleep	can	lead	to
higher	levels	of	ghrelin,	a	hormone	that	triggers	appetite,	and	lower	levels	of
leptin,	which	tells	your	body	it’s	full,	as	well	as	an	increased	BMI.
18
	In	other
words,	the	less	you	sleep,	the	hungrier	you	will	be	and	the	more	food	it	will	take
to	make	you	feel	full!
The
Harvard	School	of	Public	Health	suggests	that	not	getting	enough	sleep
leads	to	other	factors	that	contribute	to	weight	gain.	For	example,	people	who
don’t	sleep	enough	may	be	too	exhausted	to	exercise,	leading	to	weight	gain.	Or
perhaps	these	people	simply	have	more	opportunities	to	eat	since	they	spend
more	hours	of	the	day	awake.	And	we’ve	all	experienced	pesky	food	cravings.
When	sleep	deprived,	you	may	feel	more	emotional,	fatigued,	and	susceptible	to
cravings.	One	study	showed	that	the	amygdala,	a	set	of	neurons	in	the	brain
responsible	for	emotional	reactions	in	the	decision-making	process,	was	more
active	when	subjects	did	not	get	adequate	sleep.
19
Interestingly,	the	ease	with	which	you	gain	weight	or	maintain	a	healthy
weight	may	be	related	to	childhood	sleep	patterns.	A	recent	study	in	the
Archives
of	Pediatrics	and	Adolescent	Medicine
	found	that	not	getting	enough	sleep	in	early
life	(through	preschool)	can	be	a	long-term	risk	factor	for
obesity
throughout
life.
20
	The	study	also	found	that	napping	was	not	a	viable	substitute	for
nighttime	sleep	as	it	relates	to	obesity	prevention.
21
	If	you	are	a	parent,	you	can
rest	assured	that	your	perhaps	frequent	bedtime	battles	are	well	worth	it	for	the
sake	of	your	child’s	long-term	health.
HORMONAL	IMBALANCE
Hormones	are	chemicals	that	are	produced	by	different	organs	and	glands	and
send	important	signals	to	different	parts	of	the	body.	As	hormones	largely
regulate	repairs	that	take	place	in	the	body,	impacting	how	you	look	and	feel,	it
is	essential	to	balance	your	hormones	in	order	to	express	your	Radical	Beauty.
Hormones	can	be	compared	to	keys	that	“unlock”	certain	cells	but	not	others.
Like	keys,	different	cells	fit	with	specific	hormones.	When	the	“key”	is	turned
and	the	cell	is	“unlocked,”	it	receives	a	signal	to	multiply,	make	proteins	orenzymes,	or	perform	other	vital	tasks,	including	releasing	other	hormones.
There	is	a	high	level	of	intelligence	with	hormones.	Some	may	fit	with	many
types	of	cells	but	have	different	effects	on	each	type	of	cell.	For	example,	a
hormone	may	stimulate	one	type	of	cell	to	perform	a	task,	while	the	same
hormone	turns	off	a	different	type	of	cell.	To	complicate	this	even	more,	the
way	a	cell	responds	to	a	specific	hormone	may	change	over	time.
While,	thankfully,	our	bodies	and	all	their	intrinsic	parts	perform	their
duties	without	us	having	to	direct	them,	it’s	important	that	we	create	an	ideal
environment	for	our	hormones	to	function	properly.	The
National	Institute	on
Aging	teaches	us	that	hormone	production	fluctuates	during	the	day	and	also
during	different	points	in	your	life.
22
	While	some	natural	fluctuations	are
normal,	we	want	to	avoid	the
unnatural
	variations	that	occur	if	you	don’t	get
enough	sleep	on	a	consistent	basis.	Restoration	is	key	to	your	all-around	well-
being	and	for	your	natural	beauty	to	express	itself.
It’s	been	well	documented	that	inadequate	sleep	can	negatively	affect	certain
hormone	levels	in	the	body.
23,
24
	In	addition	to	its	effects	on	the	hormones	that
control	appetite,	a	lack	of	sleep	causes	your	body	to	produce	excess	amounts	of
the	hormone	cortisol,	which	can	break	down	your	skin	cells	and	contribute	to
various	skin	issues.
25
	Cortisol	is	a	stress	hormone	that	tends	to	accumulate
around	the	stomach,	unfortunately	leading	to	weight	gain	specifically	in	the
belly	area,	as	stomach	fat	cells	are	sensitive	to	cortisol	and	store	excess	energy
there.
26
Another	hormone	affected	by
sleep	is	called	HGH,	or	human	growth
hormone.	This	is	an	important	hormone	for	beauty	because	it	helps	your	skin
grow	thicker,	healthier,	and	more	elastic	or	pliable	in	texture,	which	further
helps	to


 and causing the danger to arrive more quickly. Fear
attracts the danger of which one is afraid. We should bo afraid of
nothing except of being afraid.
The process of eliminating fear consists of two processes.
The first is an intellectual proce ss and consists of a close analysis
of the thing feared. The danger is not a real one; it is only real in
the imagination. In death, for instance, as Thomas d'Aquinas
pointed out, it is the pomp and circumstance of death that terrifies
us rather than death itself. Death is perfectly natural. But we
exaggerate it with ceremonies', with dolorous behavior and with
sorrowful thoughts. Epicurus observed that we have no relation to
death. When we are alive, death is not with us, while when we
are dead, we are no longer alive to be grieved about it.
The second phase in the avoidance of fear is voluntary. It is
not sufficient simply to understand the fear with the intelligence
and realise that it is not too good to have it. The realisation must
also become a strong sentiment within us. It cannot be overcome
intellectually; the force of an awakened sentiment is necessary as
well. The technique for awaking the sentiments is discussed
below. It is part of the education of the will.

EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY SCIENTIST
AND PHILOSOPHER

A Review by D ION BYNGHAM
(Health and Life, July 1936)

If the contents of a book could save our contemporary world,
which is eddying and crashing to ruin, that book, I believe, has been
written. If the contents of a book could redeem us as individuals from a
common destiny of disease and death, that same book has appeared. If
between the covers of a book might be found the sure path to creative
peace, to superb health and beauty, to an optimal abundance of Joy in
Life, let us open and read. For if, while reading, we should perchance
resolve to try and live what "we read, all these seeming miracles might
assuredly happen.
How and where shall one begin? As a reader, certainly, at the
beginning, meditating and mastering every word to the end. But as a
reviewer, the significance of some 800-odd pages to compress within
four or five...! For nothing less than Cosmos, Man and Society is the
theme. And the author, Professor Edmond Szekely, is a philosopher, a
sage and   a  scientist   of   immense   erudition  who—albeit with
perfect lucidity and simplicity—has well-nigh taken the reins of infinity
within his grasp. Primarily a research-ethnologist, he has been directed
in all his researches by the light of one dominant motive: to discover
and formulate for himself and his fellowmen the laws of an optimal life,
to focus the entire forces of Eternal Life for the ultimate conquest of
death.
As a pre-eminently and practical outcome, Professor Szekely has
arrived at a comprehensive restatement of Natural Therapy which excels
in completeness, applicability and precision anything so far achieved. And so, as promised in his preface, his book becomes virtually "the
encyclopedia of a new science—Paneubiotics or Omnilaterial
Aristology—whose purpose is to realize the best and optimal forms of
omnilateral life based on the totality of the natural and cosmic laws and
their manifestations in the individual and society (cosmic, solar,
terrestrial and human radiations)."

COSMIC RADIATIONS
In that word "radiations" is really the core and gist of the matter.
We live as witnesses to the dawn of the radioactive era. It is therefore
essentially in tune with the times that natural therapy itself should be
synthesized around the conception of radiations, cosmic, solar,
terrestrial and human. This, in the first place, is what Professor Szekely
has accomplished—not, however, as a merely metaphysical theorist
discoursing vaguely on "vibrations," but with all the authority of a
realistic research-scientist whose findings have been tested and
confirmed in every detail by his therapeutic practice and experience in
many parts of the world.
It will unquestionably be of supreme interest to the practical
reader, whether lay or professional, to find in this book the whole
rationale of sun, air, water and earth therapies and hygiene, as well as
the properties of properly grown li ving foods like uncooked fruits and
vegetables, re-interpreted and. applied in a new light as accumulators
and transmitters of cosmic radiations for the healing, health and optimal
vitality of man. The entire technique of hydropathy (baths, packs,
compresses, the internal douche and so forth) is incidentally restated
and brought up to date. This makes a valuable section for all who wish
for a working knowledge of water; treatment, which, in many respects,
was the original basis of nature cure.
Dietetic science is likewise fully re-formulated with special
reference to the organic salts, vitamins and aromatics as basic
constituents and stimulants of the life-processes, as transmitters of vital
vibrations to glands and organs and to all the living cells of the body
and brain. Fifty foods, "accumulators of cosmic energies," are detailed,
together with. specimen daily menus for each season of the year. Of
several particulars that impress me about these menus I must mention
three. First, their extreme simplicity and frugality—yet it is obviously
the frugality of a man who enjoys every mouthful he masticates with
unperverted taste and unspoiled piquancy of appetite. Secondly, the
frequent combination of proteins and vegetables. Thirdly, the stress
laid   on   aromatics:   onions,   garlic,   chervil. chives, shallot, mint,
parsley, thyme, celery and the rest.
These aromatics are undoubtedly nature's own aperitifs. Through
both taste and smell and by virtue of their volatile essences they
stimulate digestion and vitalise our internal functions and secretions, in
addition to their valuable, antiseptic and blood-cleansing properties.
Professor Szekely, who is everywhere insistent upon the importance of
teen healthy senses, practically identifies such imponderable neural
excitations from our food—transm itted through sight or through taste
and smell— with the vitalising vibrations which are the vitamins
themselves. Many a person, probably, remains obsessed by the
blandishments of cunning cookery and dependent upon the eondimental
savour of flesh foods, solely through ignorance of these superlatively
natural flavourings which would minister to his instinctive craving for
appetising aromas and palatable meals. The raw diet regimen would
never be dull were this understood, and no one can be a true initiate of
Professor Szekely's "natural optimal dietetics" by whom it is not
understood.
To trophotherapy and dietetics is added a section. describing fifty
medicinal plants and herbs with their properties and remedial uses, so that the gist of botanical therapy is also included. The regenerative role
of fasting fills a fundamental place, as also does deep rhythmic
breathing, since Professor Szekely regards sun-irradiated air as the
medium for direct transmission of solar and cosmic vital forces through
the lungs to the body and mind. From this point of view the yoga
doctrine of pranayama receives corroborative evidence. A practical
chapter on the Art of Breathing, included in the section on "Individual
Harmony," is a revelation in itself. Air, as well as water, must, for
instance, have been recently sun-irradiated to be of any living value at
all. 'Man's roots are his lungs."

CELL-REGENERATION IN SEVEN MONTHS
All of these practical measures and many others are combined in a
complete system of what Professor Szekely calls "omnilateral
cosmotherapy." This term "omnilateral," connoting as it does extension
along, and convergence from, all sides and all fronts as correlated to the
central objective of optimal healing, health and life, is what
distinguishes Professor Szekely's truly "cosmic" conception from all
limited, "unilateral" or one-sided methods hitherto applied. As a
therapeutic system, competently administered and with the faithful
collaboration of the patient, he has proved that it will not only cure
specific and chronic diseases but will actually regenerate the individual
entirely, through intensive cell-renewal, in from three to seven months.
Adopted thereafter as a way of life, anthropocentric "cosmovitalism"
becomes the basis of Paneubiotics, the art and science of optimal vitality
and integral well-being which, Professor Szekely believes, will lead to
maximal longevity and even to the ultimate conquest of physical death.
Having said so much I am barely at the beginning of any adequate
disclosure of the wealth that this book contains, in fact I have left out
the beginning, plunged into the middle, and thereby postponed all
reference to what for me personally, along with the end, form the most
fascinating features. To those who,


 had happened
during the week where that  voice had told him to do
something stupid. He spoke about that brief moment of
awareness wherein he got to choose whether to listen or
just let it go. Invariably, while telling the story the inmate
would start laughing about how in the past he would
have just immediately expressed that destructive
behavior. This time, he just let it go. My heart would melt
listening to them share with one another how to do this—
how to let go of yourself. No words can express howhonored and grateful I was that life had serendipitously
put me in those sessions.
Most of my g roup were in for life, but periodically
some of them would get shipped off to another
institution. Th e ones who stayed at Union Correctional
Institution for a long time formed deep bonds and
encouraged one another in the spiritual life. Often one
person in the group got the teachings so deeply that he
became a leader for the others. I will recount the story of
one such unlikely person because of the insights into
surrender that the story portrays.
It w as back in 1975 when I first met David. My group
was meeting upstairs in the chapel at Union Correctional
Institution wh en a very large  man walked up front and
sat d own close to me. He was  the size of an NFL football
player, not fat, just big. After my talk, he came up to me
and said, “Hey, my name’s Cr eature, and I’m an Outlaw.”
I had heard of the Outlaws; they were a motorcycle gang
like the  Hells Angels. I got up, stuck out my hand, and
said, “H i, I’m Mickey.” That was my first encounter with
a guy named Creature.
The name on Creature’s shi rt read: DAVID CLARK. He
came to  every one of my classes from that day forward.
Most of my group was eith er black or Hispanic, and
David stood out as a white so utherner. It intrigued me as
to w hat would keep a perso n with his history in this
group. Little by little, I saw that he was very sincere in
wanting to improve himself and grow spiritually. He
started to ask for a number  of books. He began with
Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi.  A few visits later,
I noticed that Creature was carrying a picture of
Yogananda aro und with him. I didn’t know what to make
of this very sincere and intelligent person who was
serving multiple life sentenc es for what he had done as
one of the lead ers of one of the most violent motorcycle
gangs in the co untry. I will te ll you that I felt tremendouslove for him and was deeply honored that life had
brought us together at this important stage of his growth.
David would generally approach me after class and ask
some very deep qu estions indicative of someone who had
been m editating a lot. In f act, I could tell from his
interaction with others in the group that David had been
organizing meditation sessions for the men in his cell
block. This went on for years. David became a leader who
was obviously friends with, and respected by, the rest of
the group.
One day, David approached  me and said something
had happened that was going to affect his ability to come
to the group. A uthorities had  apparently uncovered the
bodies of some rival gang members from many years
earlier, and David and a few other Outlaws were going to
be char ged. He didn’t seem disturbed by this turn of
events. In fact, he told me that he saw it as a way of
working off some of his past karma. He had done bad
things in the past, and he wanted the opportunity to
work them through. I was humbled by how completely
surrendered and at peace David was with the situation.
While a waiting trial, David was placed in confinement
in the high-security lockup c ells of a building called the
Rock. T he Rock housed the original cell blocks at UCI,
which d ated ba ck to 1925. Th e living conditions were so
atrocious in the Rock that i t was finally torn down in
1999 under court order. I wa s not allowed to see David
while h e was in lockup, but h e wrote and told me that he
had been spending hours a day in meditation and
chanting.
Once when Amrit was schedu led to come down for one
of his annual retreats, David wrote us about how much it
would mean to him to meet a great yogi like Amrit. David
knew that given his condition, it would never happen.
But you  could  feel the since rity of his devotion radiate
from the letter. I sent the letter to Amrit and asked if he
was willing to visit David if I could arrange it. Amrit hadnever been in a prison before, but he was very moved by
the letter and David’s whole story. Amrit’s simple
response was, “How could I not?”
I used every c onnection I had at the prison. I had
become very close with the c haplain over the years, and
the warden was familiar with me because of donations
we had made. Each year after the start of Built with Love,
we would donate thousands of dollars to enhance the
chapel and help the chapla in serve the needs of the
inmates.
Ultimately, I received permission for a visit between
Amrit and David. The conditions were very strict. David
could not come out; Amrit a nd I would have to go into
the lock up area of the Rock to meet him. I will never
forget that day. Amrit wore a saintly off-white gown that
flowed when he walked. When we made it through the
main gates into the prison, we remained silent because
Amrit wanted to feel what it was like to live in there. I
could never succeed in describing what it was like to
walk in to the Rock. Each win g we walked by was just a
solid row of barred cells on one side facing a stone wall
on t he other. T here was not one drop of color anywhere.
But we were not going to one  of those cells. We were led
right past those wings to a da rk area where there were no
windows. This was the lockup area of the Rock. We were
led to a diml y lit cell that must have been used for
meetings. It was a one-man cell with a filthy toilet sitting
bare in  the middle of the room. There was a small,
broken table with three chairs and nothing else. Amrit
and I took our seats at the w obbly table while a number
of guards stood around.
After a short while, David wa s led into the cell. He was
shackled hands and feet, but he looked beautiful to me. I
was so glad to see him a gain. We hugged, and I
introduced him to Amrit. We all took our seats at the
table with David sitting oppo site Amrit. We sat there for
a long time with David’s head facing downward. Theenergy in the room felt like the Temple after Amrit had
finished chanting mantras. It was so strong that you
could hardly think. Not a wo rd was spoken until Amrit
asked David what he was feeling. David lifted his head to
speak, and that was the firs t time I could see his face.
Tears were pouring down his cheeks, and his face was
aglow w ith a gentle light. In a  whisper of a voice he said,
“I gues s I’m feeling how m uch love you have for me,
because I’m completely overwhelmed with love.” Those
were the only words spoken that day. We sat in silence
for a while lon ger, and the guards took David back to
confinement. A mrit and I we re escorted out of that dark
hole, past the wings of cell b locks, and out of the Rock.
We were left to find our own way back to the front gates.
As my eyes acc limated to the sunlight, I was overcome
by a single thought. On this earth, the re are many
different places where people live. Some are high places
and some are low places. T hat hole where David was
living in solitary lockup, a veritable prison within a
prison, had to be one of the lowest places on earth for a
human being to end up. You couldn’t go much lower. Yet
the sincerity of his spiritual practices had just attracted
one of the hig her beings on the planet into that dark
hole.
I n ever got to a sk David what he experienced that day,
but he was glo wing when he left. I remembered what I
had exp erienced the night Amrit put his hand on my
forehead. A deep peace came over me as I realized that
my dear friend David would get to keep that
overwhelming experience of love for the rest of his life.2
2  For those interested, at trial David threw himself at the mercy of the
court. Based upon his prison behavior record, he was sentenced to time to
be served concurrent with his existing sentence. In essence, David got to
work out his past without one day added to his sentence. David was
transferred from UCI shortly after


.
EMOTIONAL/MENTALSYMPTOMS
Capricious.Indifferentinchildrentoplaying.
Irritable.
Rheumisforteethingchildrenwhoarecolicky.They
willbeirritable,difficultchildrenwhoarepeevishand
restlessandwhodon'twanttoplay.
PHYSICALCOMPLAINTS
Diarrhoea
SymptomsInteethingchildren.Stools:sour;
pasty.
Causesteething.
140•Rhododendron (Rhod.) INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA
Thechildmayeatalot,withoutappearingtoenjoyit.
Foodisnotassimilatedwellandthecolickypains
causethechildtocryandtossaboutatnight.
Teething
SymptomsPainfulinchildren.Withdiarrhoea
(seeabove).
Thegeneralandemotional/mentalsymptomsshould
alsobepresent.
Rhododendron (Rhod.)
Familyname:Ericaceae
Othernames:yellowsnowrose;rosebay;rosage
alpenrose;rhododendronchrysanthum; Siberian
rhododendrongatheredwhentheseedcapsuleshaveripened,anda
tinctureismadefromthem.
GENERALSYMPTOMS
Complaintsfromchangeofweathertostormy.
Betterformovement.
Worseforcold;forcold,wetweather;forstormy
weather;beforethunderstorms; forwind.
Rhododendrontypesareextremelysensitivetothe
changeinpressurethatprecedesastorm;theirsymp-
tomscomeonthenoraregenerallyworse.Theyare
alsosensitivetochangesintheweather,particularlyto
cold,wetandwindyweather,andareworseduring
theseasonsofchange-springandautumn.Their
symptomsmayabateeitherduringorafterthestorm
hasbroken.
Thisspeciesofrhododendron isindigenoustothe
mountainsofSiberia,andisnowcultivatedworld-
wide.Itisasmallbushthatgrowstoaheightof
1-1V2feet,andhasgoldenflowers.
Thoughnotwidelyknowningeneralmedicine, it
wasmuchusedinitsnativeSiberiaasaremedyfor
rheumatism,goutandsyphilis.Thegrowingcon-
ditionsoftheplant-itsurvivesthestovms,windsand
rainoftheSiberianmountains-indicateitskeynoteas
ahomeopathicremedy;thatis,asensitivitytostormy
andchangeableweather.
Forthehomeopathicpreparation,theleavesareEMOTIONAL/MENTAL SYMPTOMS
Fearfulofthunderstorm.
Thisisasmallremedywithveryfewstrongemotional
symptomsbuttheaggravationthatoccursbeforea
thunderstorm isemotionalaswellasphysical.These
peoplemayfeelapprehensive, fearfulorjust'unwell'
beforeand,toacertainextent,duringastorm.They
mayalsobeparticularlyafraidofthunder.
PHYSICALCOMPLAINTS
Backache
SymptomsPains:inlowerback;inneck;rheumatic;
sore,bruised.
Befferformovement.
Worseforwetweather.
Headache
SymptomsPainstearing.
Betterforgettingup;forwalking;forwalkinginfresh
air;forwrappingupthehead.
Worsebefore/during astorm;fordampweather.
Thepainsareinthefaceandeyesandarealways
worsebeforeandduringastorm.
Jointpain
SymptomsPains:inarms/legs/shoulders; drawing;
tearing.
Betterformovement;forstretchinglimb.
Worseforchangeofweather;forsittingdown;for
stormyweather;forwetweather.
INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA Rhustoxicodendron (Rhus-t.) •141
Toothache
SymptomsPains:spreadingtotheear;grumbling
Fefferaftereating;forheat;warmcompresses.
Worsebeforeastorm.
RHUSTOXICODENDRON (Rhus-t.)
Familyname:Anacardiaceae
Commonnames:poisonivy;mercuryvine;poison
ash;poisonvine;pubescentpoisonoak;trailing
sumach
Thisdeciduousshrubgrowsinfields,woodsand
alongfencesalloverNorthAmerica.Therootsends
upmanystemswhichdivideintowoodybranchesand
trailalongthegrounduntiltheymeetwithsupport-
forexampleawall,oratree-whichtheywillclimb.
Theplantproducesamilkyjuicewhichturnsblackon
exposuretotheairandishighlypoisonous.
Poisonivy'smedicinalpropertieswerefirstnotedin
1798byaFrenchdoctorwhoobservedthatafteran
accidentalpoisoningbytheplantapatientofhiswas
curedofalong-standing herpeticeruption(rash)on
hiswrist.Hewentontousetheivytocuresimilarskin
diseasesaswellastotreatparalysisandrheumatism
withsomedegreeofsuccess.
Inplaceswheretheplantgrowsfreely,accidental
poisoningsarecommon;symptomsbeginwithan
extremelynastyrash,oftenwithaviolentfever,lossofappetite,nausea,headacheanddeliriumfollowedby
swollenglandsandulcersofthemouthandtongue.
Therashishot,itchesviolentlyandblisterspainfully.
Forthehomeopathicpreparationthefreshleaves
arecollectedwhenthepoisonismostactive:beforeit
flowers,duringthenight(itisthoughttobealmost
innocuouswhenexposedtosunlight)andindamp
weather(seeGeneralSymptoms).Theleavesare
choppedandpoundedtoapulp,thenlefttostandin
alcoholbeforebeingstrainedandsuccussed.
GENERALSYMPTOMS
Complaintsfrom:gettingwet;changeofweather
tocoldtodamp;gettingchilled.Facered.Glands
swollen.LikesmilkLipsdryPains:burning;
pressing;shooting;sore,bruised.Sweat:worsefor
lvingdownanduncovering;worseforslightest
physicalexertion.Taste:mouthtastesmetallic.
Tonguered-tipped.
Betterforchangingposition;forfreshair;formove-
ment;forsweating;forwarmthofbed;forhotdrinks.
Worseintheautumn;forchangeofweather;for
cloudyweather;forcold;forcold/wetweather;
forfoggyweather;forcolddrinks/food;fordamp;for
draughts;onbeginningtomove;forlyingdown;
forbeinguncovered;swimmingincoldwater.
Rhusfarisoneofthemainmumpsremedies,indicated
bythehard,swollenglandsthatoftenfeatureinRhus
toxacuteillnesses.Thetongueiscoatedwhiteor
vellowvwhiteandhasatriangularredtiptoitthat
maybesore.
Thesepeoplefeelbettergenerallyforsweating,
especiallyduringafever,butgettingchilledwhilst
sweatingwillaggravatetheirconditionsandproduce
acoughorcold.Theyareextremelychilly-theyhate
thecoldinanyform:coldfoodordrink,swimmingor
washingincoldwater,andcoldandwetweatherin
anyform(cloudy,foggyordamp).Theyaresosensi-
tivetocoldthattouchingcoldthingscanaggravate,
andputtingahandoutofbedintothecoldaircan
makethemfeelworse.Eveneatingice-creamonahot
daywhenapersonisoverheatedcanbringonan
aggravationofsymptoms.Theyfeelasifthecoldness
isrunningthroughtheirbloodvessels,althoughthis
mayalternatewithafeelingofheatinthevesselsif
thereisanaccompanying fever.Notsurprisingly,they
feelbetterfortheheat,forwarm,drycompresses(heat
packs)andforhotbaths.
Theyarealsoverysensitivetothedamp,sothat
whenautumncomes,bringingadampatmosphere,
thosewithRhustoxrheumatism willstarttomoan
andcomplain.Thisisoneofthemostimportant
homeopathicrheumatic/arthritic remedies,solongas
thegeneralsymptomsagree.
NBSEEALSOPAGES203-26FORGENERALADVICE,DOSANDDON'TS.
142•Rhustoxicodendron (Rhus-t.) INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA
Rhustoxpainsaretypicallyaching,soreandbruised
withtearingorstitchingpainsthatareworseonfirst
movingafterarest.Theseeaseoffafterthejointhas
beengentlyexercisedby,forexample,gentlewalking.
Butafterawhilethepersonwillfeeltired,thepains
maystartupagainandtheywillneedtorestonce
more,onlytofeelthattheyneedtomoveafterashort
periodofsitting.Andsothecyclecontinues


ogen.
Ethylene dibromide
Suspected carcinogen.
Permethrin
An excitotoxin (neuro-toxins) Suspected carcinogens,
liver and kidney damage.
Toluene
Kidney, liver, nervous system, endocrine, circulatory
damage.

FOOD ADDITIVES
BHT
Nitrates
Nitrites
MSG
Artificial sugars (aspartame, saccharin, etc.)
Tobacco for smoking or chewing
As you can see from the lists above there are high amounts of chemical
toxins, mostly man-made, that have been introduced into our air, water and
food supplies. Remember, for every cause there is an effect. All toxins are
irritating, damaging and inflammatory (causing an immune response) to some
degree or another.
TOXIC PESTICIDES
The U.S. Agriculture Department and independent research companies and
organizations have reported that there are high amounts of pesticides and
other pollutants on and in our foods. Tomatoes, strawberries, peaches,
spinach, turnips, squash and many other foods can have as much as 80 to 100
different pollutants, especially pesticides, on or in them. Peanuts have over
180 pollutants, and raisins can have over 110.
As you read the potential and known side effects of pesticides, ask
yourself if you’re really in favor of Bio-Tech Engineering—whereby
pesticides are genetically placed into the seeds of our foods. This means, of
course, that pesticide residues will be in the foods themselves, and that we
will have no way to remove them. Pesticides are like sulfur drugs, they have a
cumulative effect. Once reaching toxic and deadly proportions they cause
allergy reactions, inflammation, excessive immune responses and
neurological failure.
TOXIC CHEMICALS

The following contains examples of everyday toxins that you “consume”
through your foods, water, cosmetics, toothpaste, underarm deodorants, and
other products. These are just a few of the extremely toxic chemicals that
have been manufactured and released into our environment and food supply.
Aluminum (chlorohydrates, etc.)
Found in
: Underarm deodorants, canned foods, industry, cooking
utensils, etc.
Properties
: Suspected brain and nerve damage, suspected in Alzheimer’s
and other brain and nerve syndromes. May affect the endocrine
gland system, especially the pituitary.
Aspartame (NutraSweet®, Equal®)
Found in
: Diet drinks (soda, etc.), candies desserts, many prepackaged
foods, etc.
Properties
: Artificial (low calorie) sweeteners. Known carcinogen
excitotoxin (neurotoxin) affects brain and nervous system as well asthe glandular system. U.S. consumes 7000 tons per year. (CNN)
Toxic Chemicals
Educate Yourself About Toxic Chemicals
EPA’s Drinking Water Hotline 1-800-426-4791
Green Peace 1-800-326-1959
www.greenpeaceusa.org
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
www.atsdr.cdc.gov
Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska
www.ianr.unl.edu
National Resources Defense Council
www.nrdc.org

Benzoic or Benzyl
Found in
: Cosmetics, nail polish, shampoos, bath and shower products.
Properties
: Suspected carcinogen, affects endocrine gland function, also
suspected in birth defects.
BHA/BHT (butylated hydroxyanisole)
Found in
: Breads, dry cereals, cake mixes, frozen pizzas, pork, potato
chips, many oils, crackers, puddings, prepared donuts, gelatin
desserts.
Properties
: A preservative. Suspected carcinogen. Affects liver and
pancreatic tissues. Forbidden in many countries.
Caffeine
Found in
: Colas and other soft drinks, naturally occurring in cocoa,
coffees, teas.
Properties
: A stimulant. Suspected in birth defects. Affects endocrine
system and nervous system. Over stimulates the GI tract.
Caramel
Found in
: Colas and other soft drinks, bread, pudding, frozen pizzas,
candies, snacks, etc.
Properties
: A coloring. Suspected carcinogen, causes genetic defects.Carrageenan
Found in
: Cottage cheese, ice cream, sour cream, puddings, baby
formulas.
Properties
: A thickening agent. Suspected and indicated in ulcerative
conditions of the GI tract. Affects blood clotting and proper nutrient
dispersion.
Chlorine
Found in
: Tap water, showers, pool, laundry products, cleaning agents,
food processing, sewage systems, etc.
Properties
: Anti-bacterial and parasitic. Contributes to asthma, hay fever,
anemia, bronchitis, circulatory collapse, confusion, delirium,
diabetes, dizziness, irritation of the eyes, mouth, nose, throat, lung,
skin and stomach, heart disease, high blood pressure and nausea.
Probably cancer causing.
DEA (Diethanolamine)
MEA (Momoethanolamine)
TEA (Triethanolamine)
Found in
: Bubble baths, shampoos, soaps, skin washes and cleansers.
Properties
: Foaming agents. Suspected carcinogen. May bind with
nitrates and nitrites to form nitrosamines (tumor growers).
EDTA (Ethylendiaminetetraacetic Acid)
Found in
: Shellac, solvents, and personal care products that foam
(bubble baths, body washes, shampoos, soaps and facial cleansers).
Properties
: Preservative. Hormone disrupters. Suspected in at least two
types of cancer—kidney and liver cancer. Known to cause kidney,
intestinal and skin disorders. Causes cramping and the like.
Gums (Arabic, Karaya, Xanthin, Cellulose, Ghatti, Tragacanth, etc.)
Found in
: Ice cream, colas, candy, gum, beer, salad dressings, Isopropyl
alcohol.Properties
: Thickening agent. May be linked to allergies and bowel
disorders. Affects proper nutrient bioavailability
Isopropyl Alcohol
Found in
: Hair color rinses, body rubs, hand lotions, after-shave lotions,
fragrances, and many other cosmetics. A petroleum-derived
substance, it is also used in antifreeze and as a solvent in shellac.
Properties
: A solvent and denaturant. (A dena-turant is a poisonous
substance that changes another substance’s natural qualities).
Inhalation or ingestion of the vapor may cause headaches, flushing,
dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, narcosis and coma.
Lactic Acid
Found in
: Printing industry, dyes, frozen pizzas, gelatin, cheeses, frozen
desserts, olives, beer, carbonated drinks.
Properties
: A preservative. Acidosis and inflammation.
Maltol Dextrin
Found in
: Wood tars, many desserts and soft drinks, processed foods,
ice cream.
Properties
: Aroma and flavor enhancer. Suspected carcinogen.
Mineral Oil
Found in
: Commonly used petroleum ingredient. Baby Oil is 100%
mineral oil.
Properties
: Disrupts the skin’s natural immune barrier, inhibiting its
ability to breathe and to absorb moisture and nutrition. Impedes the
skin’s ability to release toxins, promoting acne and other disorders.
Ultimately causes premature aging.
Modified Food Starch
Found in
: Baked beans, creamed canned foods, beets (processed), dry-
roasted nuts, ravioli, drink powders, frozen pizzas, pie fillings, baby
foods, baking powder, frozen fish (packaged), soups, gravies.Properties
: Thickening and filling agent. Alkali in sodium hydroxide.
Suspected in causing lung damage. GI tract irritation, vomiting.
Possible cramping and spasms.
Mono- and Diglycerides
Found in
: Pies, butter, dry roasted nuts, cakes, cookies, some processed
foods.
Properties
: Binding and smoothing agent, softener. Suspected
carcinogenic, possibly causing genetic and birth defects.
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
Found in
: Many Chinese foods, sauces, canned and processed foods,
frozen pizzas, beer, salad dressings, canned meats, tomato sauces,
broths, gelatins, bouillon, soy sauce, etc. May be disguised by other
names, e.g. glutamate, glutamic acid, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed
proteins, natural flavors, caseinate, seasonings, carrageenan, maltol
dextrin, yeast extract.
Properties
: A common flavor enhancer. Excitotoxin (neurotoxin) affects
the nervous system and glandular system. Spasms, headaches
(including migraines), sweating, chest pain, diarrhea. Possibly linked
to genetic conditions, brain damage, heart conditions, tumors,
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, asthma attacks, ALS, ADD,
ADHD, GI tract conditions.
Nitrites, Nitrates (Sodium)
Found in
: Processed meats, frozen pizzas, baby foods, etc.
Properties
: Preservative, used in “curing.”
Known carcinogens. Extremely toxic.
Overdoses cause death. Binds to form nitrosamines, especially in the presence
of alcohol.
PEG (Polyethylene gly