 and refined carbohydrates. You can also reduce your estrogen
load by avoiding commercial beauty and oral care products. Build the plasma and blood. These are the life-giving and nutrient-
giving tissues of your body, to the extent that the blood volume increases by
almost 50 percent during pregnancy. [*2] Ensure you’re staying well-
hydrated in a healthy way by consuming juicy fruits, cream-top milk, herbal
teas, mineral water, and electrolytes. Eat or ganic and local foods rich in
nutrients. Most women are underfed, undernourished, and overworked. Not
eating enough will create hormonal imbalances, increase stress hormones,
and down-regulate the thyroid. You can supplement your diet with calcium,
iron, vitamin B12, and folate as needed. An or ganic food-based multivitamin
is the easiest source.Prioritize mineral intake. Minerals are what make your cells run and are
the foundation in which your body works. They are the catalyst for your
hormones, and without them thousands of enzymatic reactions are
compromised. When you don’ t have adequate levels of certain minerals,
specific physiological responses become compromised (like hormone
regulation, thyroid function, and digestion). Prioritize your major minerals:
magnesium, potassium, sodium, and calcium. A vata-pacifying diet and lifestyle (as described on this page  in chapter
1) should be honored preconception to ensure that you will feel nourished,
grounded, and ready to receive this new life. (W ithin the first days of
pregnancy, when rapid internal movement begins to take place, a vata-
pacifying diet and lifestyle preconception will assure stability in the midst
of so much change.) For women, it is always important to take care of yourself during
menstruation and particularly during the preconception months. Follow the
Ayurvedic guidelines for that time: avoid traveling; avoid skipping meals;
eat foods that are warm, nourishing, and easy to digest; and take real rest as
needed during your menstrual cycle. The following herbs can help of fset the ef fects of stress in the busy
lifestyles of today, as well as nourish the deeper tissues of your body:
Ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is a highly rejuvenating herb that both
promotes semen production and strengthens the uterus. Its name
refers to the strength of a horse, and it acts as a natural aphrodisiac. Brahmi. In Ayurveda, brahmi  is considered the feminine essence of
Universal Consciousness. This herb, also known as water hyssop,
promotes fertility and supports implantation. It balances all three
doshas and all seven tissues in the body, but it is especially known
for supporting brain functions and helping to pacify anxiety. Brahmi is
beneficial in preconception and pregnancy because it brings the
quality of sattva (purity) into your mind and body and relieves
symptoms that may be coming from excess pitta. During thepostpartum period, it helps in clearing brain fog, otherwise known as
“mama mind/milk mind.”
Chyavanprash. Chyavanprash  is a delicious traditional Indian
nutritional jam made from around forty dif ferent herbs, ghee, and
honey. The main ingredient is amalaki  (Indian gooseberry, also
known as amla), a powerful antioxidant. It has been used in India to
promote immunity, strength, and fertility. Shatavari. Shatavari  (Asparagus racemosus, a type of asparagus
root with many uses in Ayurveda) is a powerful fertility-enhancing
herb whose name means “she who has a hundred husbands.” It can
be taken to strengthen the uterus without altering the estrogen
balance. Note:  shatavari is contraindicated for any woman who has a
history of any estrogen imbalances, such as cysts, fibroids, or
reproductive cancers. In such cases, guduchi  (Tinospora cordifolia,
or heart-leaved moonseed) can be used. Shilajit. Shilatjit  is rich in fulvic acid which helps to improve your
ability to absorb essential nutrients and minerals from food. It also
improves digestion, boosts immunity, reduces inflammation, and
increases energy levels in your body. Apart from this, shilajit also
contains essential minerals (such as iron, selenium, zinc, and
calcium). Triphala. Triphala  is a blend of three fruits: amalaki, bibhitaki
(Terminalia berecilla ), and haritaki  (Chebulic Myrobalan ). Along with
being a powerful immune enhancer, triphala is considered a
rasayana —that is, it is a rejuvenator that nourishes all the tissues in
the body. Triphala is also used as a detoxifier, as it cleans out the
gastrointestinal tract and promotes healthy digestion and elimination,
so vital for good health. See the resources section on this page  for more information on where to
find these herbs.TIMING OF CONCEPTION AND
SEASONAL ADJUSTMENTS
The mental condition of a child depends upon the mental status of his
parents at the time he is conceived. Accor ding to the V edic system,
therefore, the garbhādhāna-sa$$kāra, or the cer emony for conceiving
a child, is observed. Befor e begetting a child, one has to sanctify his
perplexed mind. When the par ents engage their minds [in connection
to their higher power] and in such a state the child is born, naturally
good, conscious childr en come. When the society is full of such good
population, ther e is no tr ouble fr om [dysfunctional] mentalities. —Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3, chapter 20, verse 28
An Ayurvedic approach to conception emphasizes the importance of
appropriate timing. Ayurveda of fers an optimal daily rhythm to prepare for
pregnancy and also takes into account the ideal time of your life, the time of
the month, and the necessity of adapting your lifestyle based on the time of
year in order to maintain your best health. When Ayurveda considers the appropriate time of life for conception, it
considers the age of the parents and other factors. Is it a good time in your
relationship to have a child, where there is harmony, respect, and love? Is it
a good time in your career, where you will have enough time and ener gy to
nourish your little one? Ayurveda suggests that the best biological time of
life for conception and pregnancy is between the ages of eighteen and thirty
for women and ages twenty-one to forty for men. The traditional
understanding is that this is the period when the reproductive tissue, shukra
dhatu, is fully matured. Although it might be physically easier to conceive
during those windows of life, that does not mean that it will necessarily be
hard to have a baby later on in life (or easier to raise a baby earlier in life). The guidelines and ideas about daily, monthly, and seasonal rhythms
described in this chapter are Ayurvedic approaches to having fertile tissuesand the ability to bring a healthy and happy baby into the world even after
what would traditionally be considered “peak” biological time. The Ayurvedic principle of living your life according to the flow of the
seasons is called ritucharya. Ritu  means “season” and charya  means
“regimen.” An Ayurvedic adage states, “as is the macrocosm, so is the
microcosm.” In order to maintain balance in your body and mind, your
habits, routines, and dietary choices (the microcosm) should have a
seasonal rhythm (following the macrocosm)—that is, ebbing and flowing
with the time of year. While this idea may at first seem daunting, many
people find that the recommended seasonal adjustments come quite
naturally and that a few simple changes can dramatically improve your
health and sense of well-being while you are trying to conceive. Using the equation “like increases like” and “opposites create balance,”
Ayurveda of fers ways to stay balanced and precautions to take throughout
the seasons. The following pages describe the qualities of each season and
explain how to invite the opposites to maintain balance throughout the year. (Of course, because the seasons vary widely from one place to another, as
do the qualities that they engender, you may need to make your own
location-specific adjustments to this Ayurvedic template.) LATE WINTER INTO SPRING: KAPHA SEASON
Late winter into spring is kapha season: a time of year characterized by still
cool weather and a sense of heaviness from increased moisture in the air. As
the sun gets warmer it melts the lingering snow. In the same way, the
warmth begins to liquefy accumulated kapha in your body so that it can be
eliminated with ease. This process can either be a revitalizing event or can
trigger congestion, colds, hay fever, and aller gies, depending on your diet
and lifestyle during this time. Toward the end of winter and into spring, you’ll want to invite extra
lightness, sharpness, dryness, and heat so that you can support your
physiology in its natural process of springtime renewal and


 perspective and
concept broadened by experiences to which those of my predecessors and contemporaries compare as mere bagatelles. Because of my intimate ass ociation with Dr. Dewey in the early years of my work, because he deemed me a practitioner worthy of
his confidence during his last hours, and because I have developed to the utmost his theory and his art, I do not think that I can be
denied my place with him and with Dr. Tanner as a pioneer in the therapeusis of the fast. There are others, physicians as well as laymen, to whom is due recognition as pioneers in furthering the fast as a remedial m easure. Among these must be mentioned Charles C. Haskell, no w deceased, also a writer and issuer of books, who was friend of Dr.
Dewey and his publisher as well; Lloyd Jones, head of the firm of H. I. Jones & Son, Ltd., book dealers and publishers, of
Wanganui, New Zealand, whose personal advocacy, writings and pub lications have done so much to spread the new gospel of
health throughout Australia and the South Seas; and the late Dr. C. E. Page of Boston. All of these are entitled to place and  honor
for their untiring efforts in support of the doctrine promulgated in  the pages of the text. PART TWO: THEORY OF FASTING

CHAPTER II
UNITY OF, DISEASE AND CURE

FASTING AND STARVATION DEFINED: DISTINCTION BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL AND ORGANIC DISEASE:
THE CAUSE OF IMPURE BLOOD: THE NATURE OF DISEASE AND CURE

DISEASE and cu re are a unity. The former may not be suppressed lest the latter fail of attainment. In order that a clear conception
of the substance of the text may be obtained, a short explanation of the meaning of the thought expressed in the first senten ce and
of the  principles upon which the efficacy of the fast in the treatment of disease is based is essential. It is also necessary, for t he
purpose of defining the distinction that exists between fasting and starvation, to discuss later on the physiological changes
developed in the progress of the latter phenomenon, since, in the popular mind, fasting is invariably confounded with starvati on. Fasting is defined as follows: the voluntary denial of food to a system which is diseased, and which, because of disease, nei ther
demands nor desires nourishment until, rested, purified, and with hunger in evidence, it is again able to resume its metaboli c
processes. Then, and not till then, is food supplied; then, and not till then, does starvation begin. For the purposes of the text starvation is defined as the denial of food, by accident or design, to a system needing and demanding
sustenance. Hunger, true desire for food, indicates the want and calamitous consequences ensue when its call is denied. Relieving physical unba lance by voluntarily withholding food is based upon the logical conclusion of the argument herein that,
disregarding the variously designated symptoms by which disease is manifested in differing subjects, always there is present one
predominating morbid ph enomenon --an impure blood current. And the cause of impure blood is primarily faulty nutrition. An important distinction in condition here needs exposition. Organic disease, whether inherent, or the result of continued
functional disturbance, or of physi cal shock, is that in which one or more of the organs of the body is deformed, undeveloped, or
otherwise structurally disabled so as to interfere with its work, a state comparable to that of a machine with a defective co g.

Functional disease is that in w hich the vital organs in general are in condition to do their work, but certain of them have become
unable partially or wholly to function by reason of congestion and irritation, the result of food chemically changed into nox ious
substances through causes later to be related in detail. In this state fermentation and putrefaction occur in the intestinal canal and
elsewhere, and toxins are produced that enter the blood, thus impairing its quality and deranging the vital processes. Extra labor is
also entailed  upon other organs, since they are not only stimulated in unwonted degree by the presence of substances harmful to
their action, but are also compelled to perform, in so far as they may, the work of their disabled allies. Page 8 of  72 Organic disease is a cause in it self of faulty nutrition, for, when it is present, the organs affected are always partially crippled in
function. While this form of disease is usually beyond the hope of recovery, its harmful results may be reduced to a minimum by
means of judicious appli cation of the fast at properly regulated intervals; and a combination of abstinence from food with
corrective dieting will lengthen the life of the sufferer to the degree to which a defective organism will permit vitality to  operate. Functional disease a nd its ultimate consequence, functionally caused organic disease, are the results of nutrition impaired by
incorrect methods in feeding, by improper selection of food, or by a supply beyond the power of the metabolic processes to ha ndle. The latter include  those operations by which on the one hand dead food is converted into living tissue, and on the other by which
living matter is broken down into simpler products in a cell or organism. In any of the circumstances poisons are produced th at
injure the syste m, until finally the condition becomes general and disease is apparent. The subject cannot have been ignorant of
disturbance for some time previous to actual disability, for minor aches and pains have given ample warning. Mild preventive
steps, taken when symptoms first appear, will obviate by anticipative action later drastic measures, but natural resident power of
contending against bodily abuse is limited only by individual characteristics, and these may permit of extended transgression  of
hygienic law. Usually a positive halt is not called until the physical machinery has been well nigh obstructed with food waste and
its products

It is possible that at first sight the principles here set forth may not be fully apprehended, hence, as important premises to the
argument, they are again enumerated for reference by the student in connection with the body of the text. In disease, whatever abnormal conditions are present, whatever the nominal symptom, an impure blood stream is always
discovered. Impure blo od is caused primarily by impaired nutrition. Impaired nutrition results from

(a) Taking into the body food wrongly selected in kind or in quantity, wrongly prepared, or wrongly masticated. (b) Taking into the body food that may have been correctly se lected, prepared, and eaten, but that in quantity is greater than is
needed for the repair and growth of tissue. (c) Nerve force inhibited at its source, at some point in transmission, or by reflexive stimulus, irritation, at its termini. (d) Mental pert urbation, such as worry, fear, jealousy, anger, and the like. Any of these causes being operative, food ingested fails of complete digestion, ferments and putrefies, generating circulatin g
poison that creates and continues disease until the producing cau se can be eliminated. Inherent or congenital organic disease and functionally caused organic disease in its later stages embody defects in form, si ze, or
cell structure of any one of the vital organs. Except in rare instances through surgical interventio n, such structural deficiencies are
beyond the hope of repair, but a carefully selected dietary combined with judicious application of the fast and its accessori es will
afford relief and prolong existence. In disease that is purely functional in cause th e vital organs are normally developed and are physically perfect in structure, but are
obstructed in action by food -excess and its toxic products. Functionally caused disease is a condition that always admits of full
recovery, and cure is a certainty when natural law is permitted its course. Any symptom of disease is evidence of poison circulating in the blood. The conventional method of treatment invariably aims a t
the suppression of the symptom rather than at the removal of its cause. On the other hand,  the natural manner of handling the
situation recognizes disease as health perverted, and far from attempting to suppress its symptoms it aims at still further
uncovering the condition by assisting the action of the very evident eliminative process in oper ation. And oftentimes this
assistance of the eliminative function results in an aggravation of symptoms, in an apparent increase in the severity of dise ase. This
is a purely logical and salutary consequence of natural curative phenomena. Disease in itself being but a process of the elimination
of toxins from the system, nature, given free rein, thus expresses herself in determined effort towards the restoration of he alth, the
normal state of physical existence

Hunger and disease cannot exist simultaneousl y in the animal body. This is a truth that cannot be too strongly emphasized. When
hunger is absent because of disease, food is required neither for cell rebuilding nor for strength, and all animate creation,  save man,
obeys the primal law of abstinence wh en the physical scale no longer balances. Knowing that disease arises from a single source,
natural therapeutics knows as well but a single means of relief --rest for organs overworked, and prompt removal by natural aids of
substances deleterious to health. To revert to the symptoms of disease --the function of digestion is generally regarded as an extensive and complicated process, and
it is so closely related to the functions of other parts of the body that it is difficult to describe the bounds, if any,


INKS CONSUMED
IN AMERICA IS A SOFT DRINK!Let’s talk about filtration and distillation. FILTERS:
  Regardless of the process or the technology behind it,
the
main
 purpose of these devices is to produce the cleanest, purest
,
healthiest
 water possible. The most commonly used method
for cleaning
up tap water is the carbon block filter which removes
the water’s
 bad
taste, smell, chlorine, nitrates and many chemicals. It is
,
 indeed
,
 the most
economical form of water treatment available
; however
, it comes with
several serious drawbacks:



It does not remove all chemicals present;


Chemicals can build up in the filter to dangerous concentrations
which end up in your body if you don
’
t change the  filter
regularly;


A carbon filter is a breeding ground for bacteria and germs;


The filter can develop channeling from water taking the path of
least resistance. Therefore, unfiltered water can pass
straight through the
filter, unobstructed. The second most popular and effective filter system is reverse osmosis. The RO process involves a special membrane which most pollutants
cannot pass through, in addition to prefiltering and post-filtering, to ensure
that 99% of the pollutants are removed. The most effective process of rem
oving everything from the water,
including bacteria and cysts
,
 is steam distillation – along with
a post
-
carbon filter to catch any resid
ual volatile gases that escape
with the
steam. Because distilled water is pure, clean H
2
O and
has a
 pH of 7
(neutral on the pH scale of 1 to 14 with “1” being
acid and
 “14” alkaline), it
is used in science and medical
laboratories and
 research facilities
including biology and chemistry
lab
s due
 to
its pure neutral qualities. Unlike with RO and distillation, filtration and the ionizers do not remove the
hardness or inorgan
ic minerals from the water. According to Dr. Charles Mayo of the Mayo Clinic and the American
Medical Association, Harvard Medical School, along with many doctors
and  nutritional experts, have determine
d that very few of the minerals
found
 in water are
organic
,
 nor are they chelated
or
able  to be absorbed
easily
by our cells and tissues. Consequently,
 they contribute to many
ailments and
diseases related
 to the intestinal tract. They also contribute to
kidney stones
, gall stones, hardening of the arteries and plaque buildup
in
the
 colon. Dr. Charles M
ayo, Founder of the Mayo Clinic, said,
“
water
hardness
”
 is the underlying cause of many, if not all, of
the diseases
resulting from poisons in the intestinal tract. These (hard minerals) pass from the intestinal walls and get into the
lymphatic system, which delivers all of its products to the blood which, in
turn, distributes to all parts of the body. This is the cause of much human
disease. Since the ionizers and filters do not remove the minerals from the
water (including chemicals and other toxins), advocates, manufacturers
and sales associates malign the use of reverse osmosis and the distillation
process. They claim that the minerals in water are good for you and that these two
processes remove the
“
valuable
”
 minerals. They also go so far as to say
that because reverse osmosis and distilled water is so pure, they will leach
good minerals from your body, depleting the supply. Promoters of alkaline
water even say that distilled water is an acidic which causes it to dissolve
even more minerals. Distilled has a pH of 7 (neutral). The alkaline water industry is now extremely profitable and has become so
by making false medical claims that
this
water can cure a myriad of
diseases and prevent many others. In order to support their claim that
alkaline water is superior to any other purified water, they must find fault
with the two purest and healthiest water purification processes available. The main reason for the popularity of the alkaline water machine is
because of the exorbitant profits and the fact that it is sold through multi-
level marketing (MLM). Each machine retails at between $2,000 and
$5,000.Can clean water and dirty water both flow from the same spring? There are medical doctors such as Dr. Joseph Mercola and Dr. Zoltan
Rona who also promote an MLM water filter for the whole house, shower
or sink, prompting both of them to claim that,
“
drinking pure, clean, healthy
distilled water
 will result in early death. ”
 This is not only a false claim, it
would cause anyone with common sense to question the scientific
knowledge and medical judgment and reliability of these doctors or any
other
“
nutritional
experts. “The
 next time you hear anyone claim that:



The minerals found in water are totally beneficial to our body
’
s
health;


Distilled water is acidic;


Distilled water will leach valuable minerals and nutrients from
your body; or


“
Early death will come from drinking distilled water
,
”
Ask them, i
f these claims were true, why would the government allow tens
of thousands of naval sailors to continuously drink distilled water found on
all Navy ship
s for well of over five decades? Also ask, “Why would the Mayo Clinic and many other hospitals, medical
centers and clinics recommend distilled water to their patients
? ”

 Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D., nominated as one of Newsweek
’
s
“
top 100 most
influential people in the world,
”
 states that,
“
the minerals that the body
needs come from our food, not from our water, and the pH of foods or
water does not have an effect on the body
’
s pH.”

Dr. Andrew Weil also
states
 that
,
“
the minerals
that the

body needs come
from our
 food, not from
our water
, and the pH
of foods
 or water does not
have an
 effect on the body
’
s pH.” Alkaline water machines
and their
product, alkaline water,
are “
bogus. ”

Dr. Weil continues,
 “
Don
’
t buy a machine or the
alkaline water
; save your
money. Whether you
’
re drinking distilled
water with
 a pH of 7 or
orange
juice
 with a pH of 5.5 or alkaline
water with
 a pH of 8.0, when
these reach
the stomach, their pH
is changed
 immediately to the pH
the body
requires.”

If we were to
 drink something extremely acidic,
the duodenum
 wouldneutralize the
 acid. And if it is extremely alkaline
, the
 stomach will
produce
additional
 acid to neutralize it.”

The distillation process involves turning
water into steam,
leaving behind
 all of the pollutants, then capturing the
steam, cooling it
, converting
 it back to a liquid free of pollutants. This is
how
mother nature
 has been purifying water since this planet was created.The Hydrological Cycle

The hydrological
 cycle is the process of water being heated by the sun
,
evaporating
 and collecting in the atmosphere in
 the form of clouds
; cooling
,
condensing, and falling back to earth as
pure (
distilled) water free of
pollutants which were left on the
earth
’
s surface
. Drinking Unpolluted WaterThe Hunza people living in the Himalayan
Mountains
are
 known
to
live for
well over 100 years. They experience
 few diseases and little
or no
sickness,
are extremely
 health
y, vibrant and strong. It has b
een
determined that, in addition to eating homegrown  fruits and  vegetabl
es
and hormone-free meat, their source  of  drinking water is melted glacier
ice
 (distilled water). These glaciers were formed thousands of years ago (before the
atmosphere was polluted) as
a result
 of pure rain and
snow (
distilled
water). This
author
has been drinking one to one-and-a-half gallons of
distill
ed
water daily
 for
over 40 years
, in ad
dition to fasting (
not eating any
food)
for a minimum

of 21
 days per year. As a result, I am in perfect
health
and free

of sickness
 and disease. So for those of you who have a
desire
to argue, feel
 free. But,

“
a man with an experience is not at the mercy
of a

man [
or doctor
] with
 an argument.”

CHAPTER 2
Distilled Water –
Simple Yet Misunderstood

 O
ne of the very first signs of dehydration is fatigue and lack of energy…
80% of all Americans are dehydrated to some degree. Our body
’
s cry for more water is usually mistaken for a hunger for food;
so we end


 holding and releasing the
Blood, the Liver spreads the Qi. The Liver governs the tendons,
ligaments, small muscles, and nerves, motivating and regulating all
body movement. In Weste rn terms, the Liver’s function bears
resemblance to the sympathetic nervous system insofar as it is the
mechanism of excitation and arousal. This movement of Blood  andQi, of muscles, joints, limbs, and viscera, constitutes the active life
of the body. When movemen t is steady and tissue resilient, it means
the Liver is functioning in accord with its character and
responsibility. Inability to evenly spread the Qi arises from a disturbance of the
Liver’s powe r to store and release Blood. This manifests as erratic
activity in the body and a volatile temperament. For example,
migraines occur when the Liver is not able to properly store,
discharge, and distribute the blood to the eyes, ears, and brain: the
head becomes hot and congested while the hands and feet become
cold. A similar thing happens with painful menstruation: as the
discharge of blood begins, if the Liver cannot release easily and
evenly, the uterus will cramp. This same pattern of poor circulation
also causes spasm in the muscles. Problems of irregularity  as diverse
as disturbed sugar metabolism, sudden outbursts of emotion,
uncoordinated movement, blurry vision, indigest ion, and
constipation, or diculty unwinding after working hard, may all
occur as a result of the Liver’s inability to maintain the smooth ow
of Qi and Blood. MATE TO THE  LIVER. THE GALLBLADDER
The Gallbladder  is the paired Yang organ of the Liver Network, which
executes a part of the Qi-regulating role. Unlike the other Yang
organs, which only transform  and transmit matter but do not store
it, the Gallbladder  stores and secretes the bile, a pure and essential
substance that stimulates peristalsis in the Stomach  and intestines,
aiding assimilation and elimination. The Gallbladder  imparts the power of decision and the Liver the
power of action. The purity of the bile assures pure and proper
judgment, clarity of vision, thought, and decision making. If the
Liver and Gallbladder  are dissonant, action occurs without judgment,
decisions go unactualized, or a Hamlet-like paralysis of decision and
action persists. Metaphorically, the Gallbladder  and bile form a
liquid crystal like the lens of the eye through which we perceive
existent and anticipated, inner and outer, reality. Our prescienceand foresight arise from this faculty. With a deterioration in
function of the Liver Network, a veil obstructs vision and thought. Cataracts, glaucoma, and other deformities of the eye that diminish
vision may arise. STAGNATION OF  QI AND BLOOD
Poor Liver function can lead to stagnation of Qi and eventually
Blood. Stagnation of Qi is experienced  in the body as a feeling of
fullness, disco mfort, or pain in the chest, belly, or head; in the
psyche it manifests as agitation, nervous tension, suppressed
emotion, and frustration. Stagnation of Blood  is experienced as a
localized stabb ing or cutting pain. If this stasis of Blood  persists for
too long, it gives rise to hard lumps, masses, tumors, or chronic
inammation in the chest, abdominal, and pelvic region. A mass or
lump may come and go unpredictably, like an intestinal spasm when
Qi is obstructed, or may become a benign or malignant tumor in the
nal stages when Blood  becomes “congealed.” This situation is often
the case in women who develop uterine broids, uterine
hemorrhage with large clots, irregular, scanty, or suppressed
menstruation, cervical dysplasia, or ovarian cysts or tumors. Stagnant Qi can also obstruct the Spleen, aecting its ability to
generate and distribute Moisture  and Nutritive Essence  in the body. This impairment of Spleen  functio n results in the accumulation of
Dampness  and an attrition of vitality. The uid excess itself then may
become a secondary source of stagnation since it impedes the ow
of Qi. The body often generates Heat to counteract this uid excess
by drying it. This Heat then accumulates and interm ingles with the
Dampness. Damp Heat can settle in the pelvis, where it damages and
obstructs the Blood. Over time this will lead to coagulation and
deciency of Blood. Damp Heat in the Liver also sets the stage for
problems such as genital and perianal herpes, jaundice, and
hepatitis. In men the manifestations of stagnated Liver Qi  with Damp
Heat are prostatitis, epididymitis, urethritis, and painful ejaculation. BLOOD OF THE  LIVERThe Blood  stored by the Liver is responsible for nourishi ng the
tendons, ligaments, muscles, joints, and eyes. When the Liver cannot
properly store the Blood, symptoms such as muscle spasm, dizziness,
numbness of the limbs, and dry eyes occur. If the ow of Blood  is
poorly regulated, muscles and nerves become easily fatigued, and
metabolic waste products are not eciently eliminated. Stagnation
of Qi and Blood  in the Liver leads to pain and sensitivity in the
muscles, eyes, and glands (such as breasts, thyroid, prostate, testes,
and ovaries) and tiredness, especially fatigue that is worse after rest. JUDICIOUS  GRACE
In short, the job of the Liver Network  is to monitor ow, maintaining
evenness of emotions and clarity of judgment, giving grace and
exibility to the physical and mental body. When the Liver is
healthy, judgm ent and decision making are sound, vision is clear,
and action is resolute. Strengthening the Liver develo ps drive and
adaptability, enhancing our capacity to cope with the vicissitudes of
life. FIRE: THE HEART
The Heart  is considered  the ruler because like a benevolent and
enlightened monarch, it is all-knowing and ever-present, sharing its
wisdom unconditionally for the good of the whole. Our Fire aspect
represents fulllment: the total expression and integration of our
being, the full extent of our expansion, maturation, and
development.Heart-Small Intestine
PROPELS  BLOOD, ENFOLDS  SPIRIT
The Heart  propels the Blood  through the body and enfolds the Spirit,
maintaining awareness. This continuous ow of Blood  through the
vessels both nurtures the body and serves as a vehicle for
communication. The Blood  communes with each and every cell,
pervading all regions of the soma. It also “houses the mind,” serving
as the material matrix of the psyche. Just as the sun provides warmth and light for all of creation, so
the Heart  suuses and permeates the body with consciousness,
sensation, and feeling. The Heart  maintains awareness by integrating
and communicating experience, establishing an interconnectedness
between our inner life and external universe. The Heart  holds and
envelops the Spirit. In Chinese medicine, the Shen, or Spirit, does not
refer to an independent, discarnate entity and is not to be confused
with Western religious ideas  about the soul or immortal aspects of
human identity. Spirit  in Chinese medicine connotes the totality of the person’s life
force at any given moment and represents the complete outward
expression of the Qi through the personality. When the Spirit  is
strong, it means that the soma, psyche, and personalit y are well
blended. This is reected by aliveness of emotional expression,
presence of mind, bright eyes, and a lustrous complexion. The Spirit
is also the realm of the higher moral and spiritual faculties. Conscious identication with nature and humanity and the
compassion that accompanies those sentiments emanate from the
Heart.Heart Network
A sense of individualized being and at the same time a sense of
union with others is the power of the Heart. The Heart  as the
foundation of the mind in Western terms resembles the integrative
function of the cerebral cortex, which gives rise to the capacity for
thought, perception, sensation, speech, communication, and
memory. What the Kidney  receives through the sense  organs, the
Heart  expresses through speech, the resonance of the voice, and the
radiance of the complexion and eyes. MATE TO THE  HEART. THE SMALL INTESTINE
The paired Yang organ of the Heart Network  is the Small Intestine,
which separates out the useful constituents of digested food,
conducting uid waste to the Kidney  and solid waste to the Large
Intestine. This function  permits the Essence  of food to be assimilated
by the Spleen  and extracted into the Blood, which ows to the Liver. The Small Intestine  assists the Heart  in communication by the
purication and transportation of uids and substances that enter
the Blood. By separating the purer from coarser


 most deleterious
processes known in the culinary art, is introduced. The evils which follow the cooking or superheating of all
other articles of food cease with their cooking, which consist
principally in lessening their food value. But bread, the so-
called staff of life, is not only subjected to the devitalizing
process of baking, but is infected with a germ that converts a
large amount of the nutritive value of the grain into carbon
dioxide poison. The first step in nature's process of disintegration—that
is, the changing of matter back into its original elements, is
fermentation. When foods ferment in the stomach, it is
because too much has been eaten, or that combinations have
been put together, the chemical properties of which act with
violence, one upon the other. The stomach being unable to
dispose of the burden, nature, in her kindness, aids in its
disposition by an attempt at disintegration by fermentation or
decay. From the standpoint of him who knows the Laws that
govern Health, it is indeed amazing to contemplate the means
men and women have employed  to harm themselves—to
shorten their lives—to change their mental condition from
happiness to unhappiness. One of the quickest known methods for the
accomplishment of these ends is the use of fermented foods. As an instrument for making disease, indigestion, irritation of
the mucous membranes, nervousness, and troubles of all sorts
in all the intestinal machinery, it is the most effective and
successful thing ever employed. People seem not to be content with subjecting their foods
to a powerful heat and robbing them of their original
elements—devitalizing them, changing their life-giving
carbon into carbonic acid gas—changing the starch into
dextrine, etc. But to make sure they are thoroughly unfit for
use introduce yeast germs into dough and allow it to stand
over night in a nice, warm, comfortable place, so as to be
certain that the few germs will multiply themselves into
millions and billions more. We do not wish to spoil the reader's appetite for
fermented bread; but since we are discussing the subject, let
us tell the truth about it. Bread rises when infected with the
yeast germ, because millions of these little worms have been
born and have died, and from their dead and decaying bodies
there arises a gas just as it does from the dead body of a hog,
or any other animal. This gas being confined in the dough,
expands, and the whole mass rises. It is at this particular point that it becomes fit for baking—fit for human food. Think of
it! It is at this point that it is supposed to be the proper
material out of which to make the best quality of flesh and
blood. It looks incredible, i ndeed, that such a process has
found favor all these years among a sane, sensible and
civilized people. In reference to fermentation, Dr. E. P. Miller, an eminent
authority on the subject, writes: "Fermentation passes through
three different stages or processes. In the first one, yeast
fermentation converts starch and sugar into yeast germs, and
during the process carbon dioxide poison and alcohol are
developed. "In the second, acetic fermentation changes the alcohol
and other substances containing it  into acetic acid or vinegar. "The third stage is putrefaction, by which the
decomposition of food substances containing nitrogen, such
as albumen, gluten, casein, etc., takes place by being
converted into dead and putrid matter. Digestion is not
fermentation and the digestive fluids are not ferments, as has
long been supposed. Digestion is a physiological process, and
hence should not be considered as any part of the normal
digestive acts. "Fermentation does not exist in any portion of the
alimentary canal under healthy conditions. The difference
between digestion and fermenta tion is the difference between
taking nutritive material, foods, and converting them into
living tissue, as takes place under the true digestive process,
or taking these nutritive materials, as is done by the yeast
germ, and starting them on the way to destruction,
putrefaction and death. "One is a process by which nutritive material is used for
the support and maintenance of life. The other takes nutritious
material and converts it into death—starts it on the way to
corruption. The one is health-g iving and life-maintaining, the
other is disease-producing and death-dealing." The process of fermenting bread is exactly the same as
that which is carried on in the vat for making beer, or through
which the grain passes in making whiskey and through which
fruit passes in making brandies and wines. It creates in the
human organism the same set of conditions that is created in
the production of nearly all intoxicating beverages; therefore,
what seems to be the natural appetite for intoxicants is a false
cry of perverted nature first created and set in motion by what
we are pleased to call the staff of life— fermented bread. The temperance people would do well to go into their
laboratories and study causes instead of spending so much
nervo-mental force in dealing with effects. They would be
entitled to the profoundest respect of the thinking world if
they would solve the question of why people desire
intoxicants, instead of trying to close a few rum-shops by
calling on the police. No man or woman who will live for six months on pure,
clean, uncooked foods can possibly keep alive an appetite for
stimulants or narcotics. From this rule there is absolutely no
variance. There can be no room in the human body, a body made of nature's unchanged foods, for such foreign elements
as tobacco and rum. Note:—Fermented bread has come into  such general use and occupies
such an important position in modern cookery that we feel justified in
digressing in this one instance and gi ving a recipe for a pure, unfermented
wheat bread. See recipes. CONDIMENTS. THE use of condiments must have originated in the desire to
supply something that was missing in the taste of cooked
foods, and it is undoubtedly true that in the process of
cooking the nature of many food products becomes so
changed that they taste flat a nd insipid. For instance, a sweet
turnip is tasty and liked by many  in its raw state, but when it
is cooked it seems to need salt or something to give it flavor
and life. In boiling or cooking in heated water the mineral
elements are dissolved and lost in the water which is thrown
away, and so we try to restore to them that which we have
destroyed. But our 'efforts are vain. No condiment has ever
been devised which would restore a lost flavor or the
elements that have been destroyed. In the use of elementary foods all of this is avoided, and
the demand or desire for condiments is entirely overcome. Many people go through the world and eat three meals a
day until they have marked off their three score years and ten,
and never know the real taste of the commonest article of
food. The use of condiments, the pouring of some mixed-up
mess of something over foods just before we eat them, in the
vain hope of making them better,  seems to be a sort of weird
superstition. It seems to have become a kind of unaccountable
insanity. Of all the errors and stupid blunders that people have
made in their foolish effort to fix up foods, the condiment
habit has the least excuse for existence. Think of taking a
pure article of food and pouring over it a muddy colored
liquid that was made somewhere in Europe out of—well, here
we are compelled to call a halt. The imagination fails, and if it
did not, language would. Most individuals in polite society are extremely careful
about their persons. Their dress must fit just so, it must be
made of certain choice material, the linen must be spotless,
the colors with which they  bedeck themselves must
harmonize. They are extremely careful about their
companionship. Their house must face a certain way and the
furnishings must be just right. They are very cautious about
what they say. They are very jealous of their opinions. They
select with much care their language. They will not venture
out in threatening weather. They restrict themselves in every
conceivable useless thing. They put the chain upon nearly all
their liberties, and try hard so metimes to manacle the liberty
of others. But these same wise people will sit in a fashionable cafe
and dine upon an undrawn, cold-storage turkey that has been
a year dead, and pour over its ancient flesh a tar-colored fluid
that has been upon the shelf of  a grocer several years—until it
has reached that limit of delic ious decay suggested by the
green, slimy mildew in Roquefort cheese. All condiments, especially stock sauces and dressings,
vinegar, mustards, and such things, possess absolutely no
constructive property, but all of them possess to a very large
degree the elements of decay and destruction. The great
increase in stomach and intestinal  diseases referred to by the
best medical authorities in the country is very largely due to
the habit of using condiments. The use of condiments is followed by two very
pronounced evils: First, they cause fermentation of foods, and
ir


	prime	objective
has	been	reached. Innate	within	the	level	of	Unconditional	Love	is	the
desire	to	perfect	that	condition. As	that	level	is	reached,	even	the	slightest
imperfection	of	Love	is	unacceptable	and	calls	for	correction.Q:	What	is	the	most	effective	means	of	spiritual	purification? A:	Focus	on	Love	itself. That	is	the	royal	road	to	God	and	one	that	is
everywhere	present	and	available	to	everyone. In	the	beginning,	love	is
seen	as	dualistic,	i.e.,	the	one	who	loves	and	that	or	who	which	is	loved. Love	starts	out	as	conditional	and	a	feeling	state,	but	it	progresses. It
becomes	apparent	that	love	is	a	way	of	seeing,	experiencing,	and
interpreting	life. Later,	it	becomes	apparent	that	it	is	a	state	of	being. Life	itself	becomes	the	expression	of	love,	and	that	love	is	the	way	to
realizing	that	one’s	life	is	love. In	the	final	realization,	the	divinity	of	love
transforms	perception	into	spiritual	vision,	and	the	presence	of	God	as	All
That	Is	becomes	self-revealing. All	existence	radiates	forth	the	Divinity	of
its	essence	as	Creation,	which	is	the	manifestation	of	the	love	of	God. Q:	Love	is	the	pathway	of	devotion. Is	it	not	therefore	the	most	effective? A:	Love	is	transformative;	its	power	sweeps	away	all	obstacles. It	is	both	the
means	and	the	end. It	brings	forth	willingness	and	the	capacity	to
surrender. It	brings	forth	compassion	and	the	desire	to	understand. With
understanding,	forgiveness	ensues. With	the	relinquishment	of
positionality,	one	then	realizes	there	is	nothing	to	forgive. Judgment
dissolves	and	condemnation	and	hatred	are	no	longer	possible. Ignorance
born	of	innocence	is	seen	to	be	the	only	‘defect’	that	needs	to	be
transcended. It	is	seen	that	the	nature	of	Creation	is	as	it	is	and	not	in	need
of	correction. Q:	Is	love	not	merely	a	commonplace	emotion? It	is	talked	about
endlessly. A:	Love	is	definitely	not	the	prevailing	level	of	consciousness	of	mankind. Seventy-eight	percent	of	the	world’s	population	calibrates	below	200
(basic	Integrity)	and	is	therefore	focused	on	negativity. Only	0.4	percent	of
the	population	ever	reaches	the	level	of	Unconditional	Love	that	can	be
called	‘lovingness’. Love	is	an	awareness,	an	attitude,	a	context	for	understanding	life. Love	is	the	leading	edge	of	Reality	and	the	oneness	and	essence	of	the
Spirit. To	deny	love	is	to	deny	God. Love	is	obscured	by	positionality	and
judgment. Most	of	society	invalidates	love	as	a	rational	basis	for	decision
and	action. There	are	whole	segments	of	the	population	that	view	love	for
one’s	fellowman	as	a	weakness. Mankind	really	wants	gain,	pride,
possession,	power,	and	the	right	to	revenge	and	retaliate	with	punishment. The	United	States,	or	the	land	of	‘freedom’,	has	more	people	and	a
greater	percentage	of	its	population	in	prison	than	any	other	countryexcept	China. Society	declares	‘war’	on	its	problems	that,	of	course,	then
multiply. Force	is	ineffective	and	a	weak	substitute	for	power. In	contrast,
people	will	do	almost	anything	out	of	respect	and	love	and	very	little	out
of	fear. Without	the	loyalty	born	of	respect,	even	a	general	cannot
command	his	troops	to	obey,	and	without	that	aspect	of	love	called	respect,
insurrection	and	mutiny	arise. Force	can	only	act	as	a	temporary	stopgap. All	the	empires	that	were	ruled	by	fear	have	collapsed. Religions	that	are
based	on	the	fear	of	sin	rather	than	on	the	love	of	God	are	inherently	weak. Lovingness	is	a	way	of	relating	to	the	world. It	is	a	generosity	of
attitude	that	expresses	itself	in	seemingly	small	but	powerful	ways. It	is	a
wish	to	bring	happiness	to	others,	to	brighten	their	day	and	lighten	their
load. To	merely	be	friendly	and	complimentary	to	everyone	one	meets	in
the	course	of	a	day	is	revealing. That	this	is	not	a	commonplace	attitude	is
revealed	by	people’s	responses	when	they	encounter	it. Often,	they
respond	with	surprise	or	even	a	pleased	state	of	shock. “Nobody	ever
compliments	what	I	do;	they	only	complain,”	is	a	remark	that	will	be
heard. Most	people,	because	they	are	focused	on	their	own	wants	and
critical	attitudes,	apparently	do	not	even	see	the	positive	aspects	of	life	and
cannot	respond	to	them. They	take	others’	service	for	granted	with	the
explanation,	“Well,	they’re	getting	paid	for	it,	aren’t	they?”	(Which	is
really	beside	the	point.) Major	segments	of	society	operate	on	the	level	of	lovelessness. Giant
corporations	and	government	agencies	can	only	be	described	as	dourly
functioning. Gratitude	does	not	appear	nor	is	it	even	considered	to	be
socially	appropriate. Love	is	belittled	as	‘touchy-feely’. Love	is	therefore
socially	restricted	to	romance,	mothers	and	their	children,	or	one’s	dog. Expressed	elsewhere,	it	becomes	an	embarrassment. There	are	a	few
masculine	areas	where	love	is	okay,	such	as	for	family,	sports,	one’s
country,	or	a	car. The	large	area	of	life	that	is	socially	acceptable	and	open	to	everyone	is
that	which	is	called	‘caring’. To	‘care	for’	is	a	wide-open	avenue	for	the
expression	and	expansion	of	love. People	say	they	cannot	find	love	as
though	it	were	something	to	be	gotten. Once	one	becomes	willing	to	give
love,	the	discovery	quickly	follows	that	one	is	surrounded	by	love	and
merely	did	not	know	how	to	access	it. Love	is	actually	present
everywhere,	and	its	presence	only	needs	to	be	realized. The	universe	responds	to	love	by	revealing	its	prevalence. It	is	hidden
to	ordinary	perception,	but	the	awareness	is	finessed	by	lovingness	itself. Awareness	is	a	capacity	that	is	beyond	the	senses	or	emotions. If	one
ceases	anthropomorphic	projections	and	limitations,	it	is	revealed	that	allthat	exists	is	innately	conscious	and	emanates	love	as	a	consequence	of	the
divinity	of	Creation. Every	plant	is	aware	of	its	surroundings	and	the	admiration	and	respect
for	it. It	returns	to	us	by	reviewing	its	own	intrinsic	perfection	and	beauty. Each	plant	stands	forth	as	a	unique,	creative	sculpture	and	is	a	perfect
expression	of	its	essence. Divinity	shines	forth	from	all	Creation	to	those
who	can	see. Nature	becomes	not	unlike	a	children’s	cartoon	where	the
trees	smile,	the	animals	talk,	and	the	flowers	move	gaily. When	perception
ceases,	the	world	of	wonder	reveals	itself. Consciousness	is	in	all	that
exists. It	recognizes	itself	manifesting	as	the	Allness	of	Creation. Q:	How	can	such	a	wondrous	revelation	come	about? A:	By	the	mere	intention	of	kindness,	respect,	and	consideration	for	All	That
Is,	without	exception,and	in	every	detail,	including	oneself. We	see	what
we	believe	and	accept	that	we	ourselves


 will
have this e xperience as part of their r ecipe. A fter his six-
year-old son A dam was mur dered, John became an advocate
for victims’ rights and tur ned his anger into action by
establishing a television pr ogram and advocating for
legislation that has led to the pr osecution of tens of
thousands of criminals. He could have just as easily chosen
to swallow his grief or stay a victim himself to this most
horriﬁc e xperience, but instead he chose to use his anger,
pain, and heartache to cr eate the television show America’s
Most W anted,  which is r esponsible for capturing over athousand fugitives and bringing home mor e than ﬁf ty
missing childr en. Out of the heartbr eak of his personal
trauma, he was able to save others fr om e xperiencing the
same pain and has emer ged as a man who is awed and
respected. After her only sister died of br east cancer at the age of
thirty -six, Nancy Goodman Brink er—a br east-cancer survivor
herself—founded the Susan G. K omen Br east Cancer
Foundation, a nonpr oﬁt that has raised over $1 billion for
resear ch, education, and health services. By embracing the
events of her life and making a commitment to not be a
victim, she has done e xtraor dinary things to raise
awar eness, to help others seek early detection of this
potentially life-thr eatening disease, and to advance the
search for a cur e.
Can you imagine what our world would look lik e if Thomas
Edison had not embraced all of himself and his e xperiences? At a very young age, he had all the evidence in the world to
believe that he was a loser, a failur e, and an idiot. He tried
thousands of diﬀer ent theories for discovering electricity,
each of which appear ed lik ely to succeed—and failed each
and every time. But instead of giving up, he look ed beyond
his failur es, lear ned fr om them, and k ept going. He held on
to and believed in the possibility of his genius, his vision,
even befor e it had been pr oven. If he had done what most of
us do, if he had labeled himself a loser and stayed trapped
within the conﬁnes of his limitations, r efusing to for give
himself for his failur es, we would all still be in the dark—
literally. Because Edison was able to integrate and lear n
from his failur es, he found the motivation to continue to
pursue success and tur n on the lights for all of us. Edith Eva Eger ar rived at Auschwitz on May 22, 1944. After being separated fr om her father and witnessing her
mother being tak en away to the gas chamber, Edie lived
each day in the most hor riﬁc of cir cumstances, watching
other inmates electr ocute themselves on the barbed-wir efence sur rounding the concentration camp and not knowing
when she took a shower whether water would come out or
gas. Edie survived the worst cir cumstances that any of us
could imagine, yet if you met her today, you would see a
beautifully integrated human being who allowed herself to
thrive in spite of—and in some ways because of—her painful
past. She did this by e xercising the choices that wer e still
available to her even under these bleak and inhumane
conditions. When she was ask ed to dance for Dr. Mengele,
the ar chitect of cruelty who was r esponsible for the tortur e
and mur der of millions of Jews, she closed her eyes and
chose to imagine that the music was T chaik ovsky and she
was dancing in Budapest to Romeo and Juliet. When the
German soldiers took her blood twice a week, telling her
that it would help them win the war, she chose to tell
herself, “I am a paciﬁst. I am a ballerina. My blood will never
help them win the war.” She chose to view the guar ds who
held her captive as mor e imprisoned than she was. She
soothed the pain of her mother’s death by r epeating to
herself over and over, “The spirit never dies.” She clung to
the part of herself that she still had the power to contr ol and
refused to allow anything that happened e xternally to
murder her spirit. “If I survive today,” Edie told herself,
“then tomor row I’ll be fr ee.”
Edie, now a gif ted and compassionate clinical psychologist
and the matriar ch of a wonderful family, is clear that by
integrating the darkness that was thrust upon her, she
exacted the sweetest type of r evenge against Hitler. When
she was being ﬁlmed for The Shadow Eﬀect  movie, I ask ed
her if she held any anger towar d Hitler. She innocently
looked me straight in the eye and said, “I wouldn’t hold on
to any anger towar d Hitler. If I did, he would win the war,
because I would still be car rying him ar ound with me
wher ever I went.” Edie is a champion of fr eedom, the car rierof a light that is so gr eat and inspiring that we would all be
served if we walk ed in her footsteps. It’s so easy to get trapped in our hurt and pain and allow
our shadow and our history to dictate our futur e and
under mine our well-being. When we hold on to our
resentments towar d ourselves or anyone else, we bind
ourselves to the very thing that has caused us pain by a
cord stronger than steel.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        If we r outinely cover
over feelings of loneliness, they may surface in the quiet of
the night as an insatiable hunger for sugar, alcohol, or
sedatives to ﬁll the emptiness we feel. If the rage we wer e
subjected to decades ago is not addr essed and r eleased, it
may seek e xpression by tur ning us in to a nagging par ent or
a bick ering spouse. Maybe our distaste for our cheating
parent causes us to k eep attracting partners who can’t be
trusted and ar e emotionally abusive. It could be that our
normal se xual curiosity was shut down at a young age,
giving rise to an insatiable fascination with illegal
pornography or danger ous se x. However, to fr ee ourselves
from the unmanageable compulsions that cause us to live a
secret life, we must ﬁnd healthy ways to e xpress our
repressed aspects so that we can be safe fr om behaviors
that can sabotage our life. Matthew was the chief of staﬀ at a pr estigious medical
university. He was admir ed by his colleagues and had a
loving wife and thr ee healthy childr en. Although to the outerworld he look ed lik e a pillar of society, he found himself
bored with his intellect and all the accolades that came with
success. One night Matthew r eturned home af ter making
rounds and started watching late-night TV. He became
fascinated by a young actr ess who was star ring in a movie
and decided to go online and check her out. One thing led to
another and, while visiting a por n site, he click ed on an ad
for a local strip club. The images he saw ﬁlled him with
excitement. His mind began to wander, and he fantasized
about stopping by the club on his ne xt day oﬀ. F eeling a bit
of excitement and fear, he rationalized his decision,
reasoning that since the club was located on the other side
of town, he could just put on a baseball cap and avoid being
recognized by anyone he knew. Soon visits to this strip club became Matthew’s r egular
patter n. He found himself gr owing overly attracted to one of
the women and eventually made a date to get together. The
stories he told his wife became mor e and mor e complicated,
with deeper and deeper layers of deception. He began
looking for medical confer ences to attend in obscur e parts
of the country, so he could enjoy a week end of de bauchery
without wor rying about being caught. As se x with his wife
became less fr equent and less e xciting, he became mor e
adventur ous and started taking bigger risks. He even got
into the habit of buying se xy lingerie and outﬁts he could
take with him on his outings to ensur e that his women could
turn him on. One week end, Matthew’s wife, Maria, took his car to dr op
their kids oﬀ at a tennis lesson, and when she opened the
trunk to tak e out their equipment, she noticed a medical
bag she had never seen befor e. After getting her kids to
their lesson, she r eturned to the parking lot and—on an
instinct


	failure,	congestedbronchi	and	lungs,	swelling	or	enlargement	of	the	neck	area,	stiffness	in	the	neck	and
shoulders,	backaches,	headaches,	migraines,	dizziness,	vertigo,	ringing	in	the	ears,
earaches,	deafness,	dandruff,	frequent	colds,	sinusitis,	hay	fever,	certain	types	of	asthma,
thyroid	enlargement,	eye	diseases,	poor	vision,	swelling	in	the	breasts,	breast	cancer,
kidney	problems,	lower	back	pains,	swelling	of	the	legs	and	ankles,	scoliosis,	brain
disorders,	memory	loss,	stomach	trouble,	enlarged	spleen,	irritable	bowel	syndrome,
hernia,	polyps	in	the	colon,	and	others. The	thoracic	duct	typically	empties	its	detoxified	waste	contents	into	the	left
subclavian
vein
	at	the	root	of	the	neck. This	vein	enters	the
superior	vena	cava,
	which	leads	straight
into	the	heart. In	addition	to	blocking	proper	lymph	drainage	from	the	various	organs	or
parts	of	the	body,	congestion	in	the	cysterna	chyli	and	thoracic	duct	permits	toxic
materials	to	be	passed	into	the	heart	and	heart	arteries. This	unduly	stresses	the	heart. It
also	allows	these	toxins	and	disease-causing	agents	to	enter	the	general	circulation	and
spread	to	other	parts	of	the	body. Hardly	a	disease	can	be	named	that	is	not	caused	by
lymphatic	obstruction. Lymph	blockage,	in	most	cases,	has	its	origin	in	a	congested	liver
(the	causes	of	gallstones	in	the	liver	will	be	discussed	in	the	following	chapter). In	the
extreme	eventuality,
lymphoma
	or
cancer	of	the	lymph
	may	result,	of	which
Hodgkin’s
disease
	is	the	most	common	type. When	the	circulatory	system	begins	to	malfunction	because	of	gallstones	in	the	liver,
the
endocrine	system
	starts	to	be	affected	as	well. The	endocrine	glands	produce	hormones
that	pass	directly	from	the	glandular	cells	into	the	bloodstream,	where	they	influence
bodily	activity,	growth,	and	nutrition. The	glands	most	often	affected	by	congestion	are	the
thyroid,	parathyroid,	adrenal	cortex,	ovaries,	and	testes. A	more	severely	disrupted
circulatory	function	leads	to	imbalanced	hormone	secretions	by	the
islets	of	Langerhans
	in
the	pancreas	and	the
pineal
	and
pituitary	glands. Blood	congestion,	which	is	characterized	by	the	thickening	of	the	blood,	prevents
hormones	from	reaching	their	target	places	in	the	body	in	sufficient	amounts	and	on	time. Consequently,	the	glands	go	into
hypersecretion
	(overproduction)	of	hormones. When	lymph	drainage	from	the	glands	is	inefficient,	the	glands	themselves	become
congested. This	brings	about
hyposecretion
	(lack)	of	hormones. Diseases	related	to
imbalances	of	the	thyroid	gland	include
toxic	goiter,	Graves’	disease,	cretinism,
myxoedema,	tumors	of	the	thyroid,	hypoparathyroidism. Thyroid	disorders	can	also
reduce	calcium	absorption	and	cause
cataracts
,
	as	well	as
behavioral	disorders
	and
dementia. Poor	calcium	absorption,	alone,	is	responsible	for	numerous	diseases,	including
osteoporosis
	(loss	of	bone	density). If	circulatory	problems	disrupt	the	secretion	of
balanced	amounts	of	insulin	in	the	pancreatic	islets	of	Langerhans,
diabetes
	may	develop. Gallstones	in	the	liver	can	cause	liver	cells	to	cut	down	protein	synthesis. Reducedprotein	synthesis,	in	turn,	prompts	the	adrenal	glands	to	overproduce
cortisol
,
	a	hormone
that	stimulates	protein	synthesis. Too	much
cortisol
	in	the	blood	gives	rise	to
atrophy	of
lymphoid	tissue
	and	a
depressed	immune	response,
	which	is	considered	the	leading
cause	of	cancer	and	many	other	major	illnesses. An	imbalance	in	the	secretion	of	adrenal	hormones	can	cause	a	wide	variety	of
disorders,	as	it	leads	to	weakened
febrile	response
	(fever)	and
diminished	protein
synthesis. Proteins	are	the	major	building	blocks	for	tissue	cells,	hormones,	and	so	forth. The	liver	is	capable	of	producing	many	different	hormones. Hormones	determine	how
well	the	body	grows	and	heals. The	liver	also	inhibits	certain	hormones,	including
insulin,	glucagon,	cortisol,
aldosterone,	thyroid,
	and
sex	hormones. Gallstones	in	the	liver	impair	this	vital	function,
which	may	increase	hormone	concentrations	in	the	blood. Hormone	imbalance	is	an
extremely	serious	condition	and	can	easily	occur	when	gallstones	in	the	liver	have
disrupted	major	circulatory	pathways	that	are	also	hormonal	pathways. For	example,	by
failing	to	keep	blood	cortisol	levels	balanced,	a	person	may	accumulate	excessive	amounts
of	fat	in	the	body. If	estrogens	are	not	broken	down	properly,	the	risk	of	breast	cancer
increases. If	blood	insulin	is	not	broken	down	properly,	the	risk	of	cancer	rises,	and	the
cells	in	the	body	may	become	resistant	to	insulin,	which	is	a	major	precursor	of	diabetes. Disease	is	naturally	absent	when	blood	flow	and	lymph	flow	are	both	unhindered	and
normal. Both	types	of	problems—circulatory	and	lymphatic—can	be	successfully
eliminated	through	a	series	of	liver	cleanses	and	prevented	by	following	a	balanced	diet
and	lifestyle. Disorders	of	the	Respiratory	System

Both	mental	and	physical	health	depend	on	the	effectiveness	and	vitality	of	the	cells	in	the
body. The	cells	of	the	body	derive	most	of	their	energy	from	chemical	reactions	that	take
place	in	the	presence	of	oxygen. One	of	the	resultant	waste	products	is	carbon	dioxide. The	respiratory	system	provides	the	routes	by	which	oxygen	is	taken	into	the	body	and
carbon	dioxide	is	excreted. Blood	serves	as	the	transport	system	for	the	exchange	of	these
gases	between	the	lungs	and	the	cells. Gallstones	in	the	liver	can	impair	respiratory	functions	and	cause
allergies,	disorders
of	the	nose	and	nasal	cavities
,	and
diseases	of	the	bronchi	and	lungs. When	gallstones
distort	or	injure	the	lobules	(units)	of	the	liver,	the	blood-cleansing	ability	of	the	liver,
small	intestine,	lymphatic	system,	and	immune	system	diminishes. Waste	material	and
toxic	substances,	normally	rendered	harmless	by	these	organs	and	systems,	now	begin	to
seep	into	the	heart,	lungs,	bronchi,	and	other	respiratory	passages. Constant	exposure	to
these	irritating	agents	lowers	the	resistance	of	the	respiratory	system	to	them. Lymph
congestion	in	the	abdominal	region,	particularly	in	the	cysterna	chyli	and	thoracic	duct,
hampers	proper	lymphatic	drainage	from	the	respiratory	organs. Most	respiratory	ailments
occur	because	of	such	lymph	blockages. Pneumonia
	results	when	protective	measures	fail	to	prevent	inhaled	or	blood-borne
microbes	from	reaching	and	colonizing	the	lungs. Gallstones	harbor	harmful	microbes,	as
well	as	highly	toxic,	irritating	material	that	can	enter	the	blood	v


 mak e
sure that I would never have any money. What we mentally
refuse to per mit others, we r efuse ourselves. What we bless
in others, we draw to us. When I was younger, I cherished the belief that, by being
poor, I was somehow showing my camaraderie with the
impoverished. Behind that thought, I see now, was my fear
that I would fail if I tried to mak e money. I ultimately r ealized
that poor people didn’t need my sympathy so much as they
needed cash. Ther e’s nothing pur e or spiritual about
poverty. We often see impoverished people who ar e very
holy, but it isn’t the poverty that cr eates the holiness. I’ve
known some e xtremely spiritual wealthy people, and I’ve
known some poor people who wer e anything but.The Bible says it’s har der for a rich man to get into
Heaven than it is for a camel to walk thr ough the eye of a
needle. That’s because the attachment  to money is a huge
temptation to deviate fr om love. But the moral imperative is
not to block the r eception of money into our lives. The
challenge is to spiritualize our r elationship to it, by seeing
that its only purpose is to heal the world. In an enlightened
society, rich people will not necessarily have less money. Poor people, however, will have much mor e. The pr oblem,
contrary to the ego’s per ception, is not just the distribution
of wealth, but the consciousness ar ound it. Money is not
scarce. It is not a ﬁnite r esour ce. W e are not poor because
the rich ar e rich. W e are poor because we do not work with
love. It behooves us to r emember that our money is God’s
money, and we want to have whatever He wants us to have
in order to do with it whatever He wants us to do. God wants
us to have whatever material support contributes to our
greatest happiness. The ego tries to convince us that God
demands sacriﬁce, and that the life of service would be a
life of poverty. This is not the case. ‘Our purpose on this
earth is to be happy,’ and it is the Holy Spirit’s function to
help us achieve that. He leads us to whatever material
abundance supports us in standing forth joyously within the
world, without binding us further to it. There’s much work to be done for the healing of the
world, and some of it costs money. Often the Holy Spirit
sends us money so that we can perfor m tasks He wants
accomplished on His behalf. A responsible attitude towar ds
money is one in which we’r e open to whatever comes, and
trusting that it always will. In asking for miracles, we ask the Holy Spirit to r emove
the obstacles to our r eception of money. These obstaclestake the for m of thoughts, such as: money is impur e, or
having money means we’r e greedy; rich people ar e bad, or I
shouldn’t mak e mor e money than my par ents did. Having
money means that we have mor e money with which to
employ other people and heal the world. Ther e’s nothing
beautiful about what happens to a society when money
stops cir culating. One of the principles to r emember about money is how
important it is to pay for services r ender ed. If we begrudge
someone else the right to mak e a living, we ar e begrudging
ourselves the same. What we give, we will r eceive, and
what we withhold will be withheld fr om us. And the universe
doesn’t r egister the diﬀer ence between stealing fr om a huge
corporation, or stealing fr om a nice little old lady. The universe will always support our integrity. Sometimes
our debts ar e so big or confusing, that even though we have
the best of intentions, the bur den and the guilt may be so
overwhelming, that we just go on automatic, push the bills
to the back of the drawer and try to for get them. Or change
our phone number. The universe will not support that. A big
person is not someone who never falls down. A big person is
someone who, when they fall, does what it tak es to get up
again. As always, the issue is to ask for a miracle. Ther e’s
no debtor’s prison in this country. Once again, accor ding to
the Course, “Miracles ar e everyone’s right but puriﬁcation is
necessary ﬁrst.” P urity of heart cr eates br eakthr oughs. If
you owe back bills, no matter how much, write a letter to
the company or individual, own the issue, apologize if
appropriate, and let them know that you ar e setting up a
payment plan, eﬀective immediately. Send them something
with the letter. Don’t set yourself up for failur e. If you can’t
aﬀord to send ﬁf teen dollars a month, that’s ok ay. Send ﬁve
dollars, if that’s all you can. But mak e sur e you send it and
send it r egularly and on time. It doesn’t matter if the bill isﬁfty thousand dollars. The Course says “ther e is no or der of
diﬃculty in miracles.” No matter what the shape of a
problem, its for m or its size, a miracle can handle it. Miracles mean that at any moment we can begin again. No
matter what the pr oblem, as long as we r eturn our minds to
a graceful position now, the universe will always help us
clean up the mess and start over. To repent means to think
again. In every ar ea, the universe will support us to the
extent that we support it. Most of us have a lot “ on” money—anything fr om an
inappr opriate need for it to an inappr opriate judgment of it. Many of us r eceived str ong messages about money during
our childhoods. W e wer e taught, verbally or nonverbally,
that it is overly important, or unspiritual, or har d to get, or
the root of all evil. Many of us ar e afraid that people won’t
like us if we don’t mak e money, or afraid that they won’t lik e
us if we do. Money is an ar ea wher e we need, individually
and collectively, a radical healing of our mental habits. We pray. Dear God, “I sur render to you all my thoughts
about money, I sur render to you my debts, I sur render to
you my wealth. Open my mind to r eceive abundantly. Channel your abundance thr ough me in a way that serves
the world. Amen.”
5. MINISTR Y
“And that one V oice appoints your function and
relays it to you, giving you the str ength to
understand it, do what it entails, and to succeed
in everything you do that is r elated to it.”
There’s no mor e potent way to thank God for your gif ts, or
to incr ease them, than by sharing them. Y ou will be given asmuch power in the world as you ar e willing to use on His
behalf. Think of your car eer as your ministry. Mak e your work an
expression of love, in service to mankind. W ithin the worldly
illusion, we all have diﬀer ent jobs. Some of us ar e artists,
some of us ar e business people, some of us ar e scientists. But in the r eal world that lies beyond all this, we all have the
same job: to minister to human hearts. All of us ar e her e as
ministers of God. A few years ago I went back to Houston for a special
reunion of my high school drama department. Our teacher
was r etiring, and e xstudents of his fr om all over the country
came to pay their r espects. A t the dinner, a lot of attention
was given to the fact that many of Mr. Pickett’s students had
gone on to become successful actors. But many of his
students had gone on to become successful people, period. By teaching us the truth about acting, he taught us the truth
about life. Once you know; 1. L eave your personal pr oblems
at the stage door; 2. T reat the material with honesty, dignity
and without embellishment; 3. Show up fully no matter how
many people ar e in the audience, then you know everything
you need to know in or der to have a powerful pr ofessional
career. To know the r eal truth about anything is to know the
truth about everything. In lear ning the principles of ministry,
we lear n the principles of success, r egardless of what for m
our ministry tak es. One of the things I’ve r ealized is that I’ve r eally only had
one car eer. I’ve had many jobs, but they all had one basic
element in common: me. The for m of my work had mainly to
do with wher e I was at that time in my life, and


from th e perspective of the m ind, however, there is good-bad, like-
dislike, love-hate. Hence, in the Book of Genesis, it is said that Adam
and Eve were no  longer allowed to dwell in “paradise” when they “ate of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ”

This sounds to me like denial and self-deception. When s omething
dr eadful happen s to me or someone close to me — accident, illn ess, pain
of some  kind, or death — I can pr etend that it isn't bad, but the fact
r emains that it  is bad, so why deny it. Y ou are not pretending anything. Y ou are allowing it to be as it is, that’ s
all. T his “allowing to be” takes you beyond the mind with its resistance
patterns that create the positive-negative polarities. It is an essential
aspect of for giveness. For givene ss of the present is even more i mportant
than for g iveness of the past. If you for give every moment — allow it to
be as it i s — then there will be no accumulation of resentment that needs
to be for given at some later time. Remember that we are not talk ing about happiness here. For example,
when a loved on e has just died, or you feel your own death app roaching,
you cannot be happy. It is impossible. But you can  be at peace. There
may be  sadness and tears, bu t provided that you have reli nquished
resistance, underneath the sadness you will feel a deep serenity, a
stillness, a sacred presence. Thi s is the emanation of Being, this is inner
peace, the good that has no opposite. What if it is a si tuation that I ca n do something about. How can I allow
it to be and change it at the same time. Do w hat you have to do. In th e meantime, accept what is. Since mind
and resistance are synonymous, acceptance immediately frees you from
mind do minance and thus reconnects you with Being. As a result, the
usual eg o motivations for “doing” — fear, greed, control, defending or
feeding the false sense of self —  will cease to operate. An intelligence
much greater than the mind is now in char ge, and so a dif ferent quality of
consciousness will flow into your doing. “Accept whatev er comes to you  woven in the pattern of your de stiny, for
what could more aptly fit your needs. ” This was written two thousand
years ago by Marcus Aurelius, one of those exceedingly rare humans
who possessed worldly power as well as wisdom. It seems that most people need to experience a great deal of suf fering
before they will relinquish resistance and accept — before they will
for give. As soon as they do, one of the greatest miracles happens: the
awakening of Being-consciousness through what appears as evil, the
transmutation of  suf fering into i nner peace. The ultimate ef fect of all the
evil and suf fering in the world i s that it will force humans into realizing
who the y are beyond name and form. Thus, what we perceive as evil
from ou r limited  perspective is actually part of the higher good that has
no opposite. This, however, doe s not become true for you except through
for giveness. Until that happens, evil has not been redeemed and therefore
remains evil. Through for giveness, which essentially means recognizing the
insubstantiality of the past and allowing the present moment to be as it is,
the mira cle of transformation happens not only within but also without. A silent space of intense presence arises both in you and around you. Whoever or whatever enters tha t field of consciousness will be  af fected
by it, sometimes visibly and im mediately, sometimes at deeper levels
with visible changes appearing at a later time. Y ou dissolve discord, heal
pain, dispel unconsciousness —  without doing  anything — simply by
being  and holding that frequency of intense presence. THE END OF YOUR LIFE DRAMA
In th at state of acceptance and  inner peace, even though  you may not
call it “bad,” ca n anything still come into your life that would be called
“bad” fr om a perspective of or dinary consciousness. Most of the so-called bad things that happen in people’ s lives are due to
unconsciousness. They are self-created, or rather ego-created. I
sometimes refer to those things as “drama. ” When you are fully
conscious, dram a does not come  into your life anymore. Let me remi nd
you briefly how the ego operates and how it creates drama. Ego is the unobserved mind tha t runs your life when you are not present
as the witnessin g consciousness, the watcher. The ego perceives itself as
a separate fragment in a hostile universe, with no real inner connection to
any other being, surrounded b y other egos which it either sees as a
potential threat or which it will attempt to use for its own ends. The basic
ego patterns are designed to combat its own deep-seated fear and sense
of lack. They are  resistance, control, power, greed, defense, attack. Some
of the ego’ s strategies are extremely clever, yet they never truly solve
any of its problems, simply because the ego itself is the problem. When egos come together, whether in personal relationships or in
or ganizations or institutions, “bad” things happen sooner or later: drama
of o ne kind or  another, in the form of conflict, problem s, power
struggles, emotional or physical violence, and so on. This includes
collective evils such as war, genocide, and exploitation — a ll due to
massed unconsciousness. Furthermore, many types of illness are caused
by the ego’ s continuous resistance, which creates restrictions and
blockages in the flow of ener gy through the body. When you r econnect
with Bei ng and are no longer run by your mind, you cease to create those
things. Y ou do not create or participate in drama anymore. Whenever two or more egos come together, drama of one kind or another
ensues. But even if you live t otally alone, you still create y our owndrama. W hen you feel sorry fo r yourself, that’ s drama. When you feel
guilty or  anxiou s, that’ s drama. When you let the past or future  obscure
the p resent, you are creating time, psychological time — the stuf f out of
which drama is made. Whenever you are not honoring the present
moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama. Most pe ople are  in love with their particular life drama. Their  story is
their ide ntity. The ego runs their life. They have their whole sen se of self
invested in it. Even their — usually unsuccessful — search for an
answer, a solution, or for healing becomes part of it. What they fear and
resist most is the end of their drama. As long as they ar e  their mind, what
they fear and resist most is their own awakening. When you live in complete acceptance of what is, tha t is the end  of all
drama in  your life. Nobody can even have an ar gument with you, no
matter h ow hard he or she tries. Y ou cannot have an ar gument with a
fully conscious person. An ar gument implies identification with your
mind and a mental position, as well as resistance and reaction to the
other pe rson’ s position. The result is that the polar opposites become
mutually ener gized. These are the mechanics of unconsciousness. Y ou
can still make yo ur point clearly and firmly, but there will be no reactive
force be hind it, no defense or at tack. So it won’ t turn into drama. When
you are fully conscious, you ce ase to be in conflict. “No one w ho is at
one with himself can even co nceive of conflict,” states A Course in
Miracles. T his refers no t only to confl ict with other people but more
fundamentally to conflict withi n you, which ceases when there is no
longer any clash between the d emands and expectations of your mind
and what is. IMPERMANENCE AND THE CYCLES OF LIFE
However, as long as you are in the physical dimension and linked to the
collective huma n psyche, physical pain — although rare — is still
possible. This is not to be confused with suf fering, with  mental-
emotional pain. All suf fering is ego-created and is due to re sistance. Also, as long as you are in thi s dimension, you are still subj ect to its
cyclical nature and to the law of impermanence of all things, but you no
longer perceive this as “bad” — it just is. Through allowing the “isness ” of all things, a deeper dimension
underneath the play of opposites reveals itself to you as an abiding
presence, an unchanging deep stillness, an uncaused joy beyo nd good
and bad. This is the joy of Being, the peace of God. On the level of form, there is birth and death, creation and destruction,
growth and dissolution, of seem ingly separate forms. This is reflected


 sugar, and some allspice. Bake covered for 20 minutes at 350°F, then remove cover and bake for an
additional 10 minutes. Sweet Potato Stuffed Oranges
3 lbs sweet potatoes (or yams), freshly made applesauce, 8 orange peel
halves, and 4 oz orange juice. Boil sweet potatoes (or yams) until done. Peel and mash with orange juice and applesauce to make it a smooth,
stuffing paste. Put stuf fing into orange peel halves and put a dab of applesauce on top. Can be reheated in a cake tray. Makes 4 servings. Recipe may actually stuff 10 or more orange peels and may make more
than 4 servings. Sweet RiceMZ
1½ cups organic brown rice, 4 cups water, 1 cup organic brown sugar
(Sucanat), and 1 cup or ganic raisins. Wash the rice and put into pot with the water. Once the water begins to boil, add the sugar and raisins and reduce the
heat. Maintain on low heat until the rice is tender. DAIRY
Dairy is temporarily forbidden in the beginning of the Gerson Therapy.Consult with your Gerson-trained health professional or physician before
adding any dairy to your diet. After 6 to 12 weeks on the thera py, upon doctor ’s orders, animal proteins
are cautiously added to the diet in the form of pot cheese, yogurt and
cottage cheese, and churned (not cultured) buttermilk, all made from nonfat
milk (preferably raw) and without salt. When starting the proteins, it must be done slowly and carefully. Just one
tablespoon at lunch and suppe r of the solid proteins and ½ cup of the
buttermilk per meal. After 3 to 4 days, these levels can be increased until, at 3 weeks, one cup
of of yogurt or churned (not cultured) buttermilk per meal have been added. While adding the dairy proteins, a Gerson patient needs to watch for
signs that the body is toleratin g these new foods. Indigestion, flatulence
(intestinal production of gas), and nasal mucus production are signs the
enzyme activity  cannot yet handle the dairy products. The patient should
reduce or, after consulting the Gerson-trained physician, eliminate the
proteins for several more weeks. YogurtDAIR Y
Combine: 2 quarts raw nonfat (not low-fat) milk heated to 118°F, 1 pkg
“Bulgarian Yogurt Culture” or 3 tsp yogurt (purchased or saved from a
previous batch). Pour mixture into sterilized glass jar(s). Incubate at 1 10°-1 15° F for 4-8 hours by one of the following methods:
• Electric yogurt maker
• In gas oven, above pilot light
• In electric oven, low heat (gauge heat with thermometer)
• In a thermos
• In a covered pan set in a container of warm water (change wate r to keep
warm)
Incubation time may vary, depending upon temperature. The yogurt is ready when a toothpick inserted point first into the yogurt
doesn’ t fall over. The yogurt becomes set a little more firmly after refrigeration. This is a thin yogurt because it has no fat or processed dried milk added.Be sure to save 3 tbsp for the starter for the next batch. Yogurt CheeseDAIR Y
Yogurt cheese is made by hangi ng nonfat yogurt in a muslin sack over a
sink or bowl or in a muslin-lined  strainer until it thickens to the consistency
of cream cheese, without the fat, in about 6 to 8 hours. Cottage Cheese LoafYN DAIR Y
1 cup dry Essene or rye bread crumbs, 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, 1-2
tsp dried  parsley, ½ tsp dill weed or tarragon, ½ tsp dry horseradish (1 tsp if
fresh), 2 cups mashed potatoes, 2
 cups dry curd cottage cheese, ½ cup
sweet red or green pepper, ½ cup celery diced, and 1 small onion diced. Combine all ingredients except the last two. Form into a loaf. Place on garnished platter. Top with decorative veggie slices. Use watercress or endive for garnish plus slices of carrot, tomato, onion,
and green or red pepper for top. Cottage CheeseYN DAIR Y
½ gallon unpasteurized, nonfat milk (which may not be available). Makes approx. 9 oz (1 cup) cheese. Warm milk to body temperature (98° to 100°F) by placing unopened
bottle of milk in sink of warm water. Incubate in warm place (near pilot light or in oven with light on). It is best to leave milk in origin al container to prevent airborne bacteria
or molds from contaminating culture. The incubation period ranges from about 24 to 30 hours. (Culture longer
for a sharper -tasting cheese.) Shake several times during this period. When curd has formed, it will rise to the top.A harder curd can be formed by putting cheese (still in bottle) in sink of
warm water and gradually incre asing temperature to 110° for soft curd, and
to 120° for farmer -style cheese. Be careful not to overheat or you will destroy precious enzymes and
beneficial bacteria. Use a thermometer to be safe. Pour cheese into a strainer or colander lined with muslin or several layers
of cheesecloth. Gather the corners of the cloth and press out whey. You may place a weight on top to speed the process. For cream-style cottage cheese add approx. ¼ cup thick yogurt per cup of
finished cheese. For herbed cottage cheese, season with any of the following: fresh
chives, crushed garlic, tarragon, parsley, dill weed, dill seed. Let set for ½ hour before serving. Variations: Add the juice of 1 or 2 lemons or
  cup yogurt to the fresh
milk instead of letting it clabber naturally. These additions result in dif ferent
flavors and textures. Experiment to find the one you like the best. Enjoy! Cottage Cheese Sour Cr eamYN DAIR Y
½ cup yogurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 1 cup dry curd cottage cheese. Blend ingredients in blender. Add any or all of the following: pressed garlic, grated horseradis h, chives
or green onion, fresh mint, or dried dill weed. Use to top baked potatoes or as dip for veggies. BREADS
Bread can be used as a snack, after breakfast, or with a meal if the patient
has a good appetite. Do not replace potatoes and vegetables with any of the breads. SourdoughSourdough is sour fermented dough used as leaven. Don’ t be put off by
the name, because sourdough breads don’t taste sour. They have a tangy
flavor. Sourdough is a white substance over which a colorless or gray liquor
called hooch collects. Hooch enables sourdough to complete its
fermentation. You have to feed sourdough and keep it in the refrigerator because it is a
living thing that’s full of microor ganisms. Colonies of these
microor ganisms can live for many decades with proper care and feeding. You can use a starter batch obtained from someone else to get your own
colonies going or buy a dehydrated starter or make it from scratch. There are many different kinds of sourdough starters: white, yogurt,
whole wheat, sour rye, and so on. For patients on the Gerson Therapy, rye
sourdough is the recommended variety. Sourdough Starter
1 tsp active dry yeast, 3 cups warm water (105°-1 15°F), and 3½ cups rye
flour. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl. Set aside for about
5 minutes. Gradually add flour, stirring until smooth with a wooden spoon. Cover with cheesecloth; leave on counter in warm, draft-free place. In about 24 hours the mixture will start to ferment. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave for another 2 to 3 days. Stir starter 2 or 3 times a day. Starter should be foamy at the end of this time. Put into a plastic
container, glass jar or crock with at least a 1-quart capacity. Stir and cover but not with a tight-fitting top. Feeding Sourdough
Put 1 cup sourdough in mixing bowl. Add 2½ cups flour and 2 cups warm water. (This combination is known
as feeding.) Mix thoroughly.Leave on counter for 8 hours or overnight. Be sure to replace 1 cup sourdough in the jar in the refrigerator. Try to feed sourdough once a week or every 10 days. Feeding is necessary to keep the culture alive and may add tang to its
flavor. (Note: Sourdough can be frozen). General Rules Pertaining to Sourdough
• Use glass, stoneware, or plastic bowls. Don’ t use metal. Wild yeast
produces acids that can corrode metal and thus kill the starter. • Use a wooden spoon. • Clean container about every week so that unwanted bacteria will not
grow and ruin your sourdough. • Wipe up spilled sourdough immediately. It can stick like glue or
cement. • Keep covered with


 of the material world in ways the mystic mind
transcends. A mystical understanding of Easter is the furthest thing in the world
from a simplisti c, merely symbolic image of hope of better things to come. It is a description of reality more advanced than our minds can yet
comprehend. As our actualized potential, Jesus is ahead of us. He’s showing
us what is possible. He’ s showing us what will yet be ours. There’ s no reason to mimic his suffering when we can celebrate, and
share, his resurrection. He didn’ t come to deliver the bad news, after all. He
is not looking for us to reitera te the suffering that he came to earth to
eradicate. He is looking to us to reflect his teaching that a better way is
possible. Demonstrating what he does through us is how we demonstrate what he
did for us. We teach miracles by working miracles, overcoming  in our own
way the wounds that have stricken us, the forces that would limit us, and
the fears that would stymie us. As we rise above our own crucifixions, he
continues to overcome through us. OceanofPDF.comViolence Against God
Crucifixion is the ego’s violence against God, against love, again st you. It
takes many forms, often subtle and difficult to decipher. In a phrase used in
Alcoholics Anonymous, it is both “cunning and baffling.” It is your own
mind turned against you. We all know that thievery, violence, murder, and so forth are evil and
wrong. What we don’t necessarily realize is that snarkiness, derision,
purposeful disrespect, arrogance, self-righteousness, selfis hness, and
condescension are nests in which such evils fester. The fact that the vast
majority of people would never steal, behave violently, or murder is
obviously not enough to create a world in which such things do not occur. The only way to defeat evil is to stop it at its source. The ethers of the world
are saturated with the origins of the most horrible things imaginable. We are living at a time when some of the most horrible things
imaginable have  now become commonplace. They appear to be distinct and
separate incidents, unrelated to each other, and on the material plane
perhaps they are. But tracing their cause goes back to underlying collective
issues. Cruelty leveled against a child can lead in time to cruelty on the part
of the adult they become. A traumatized child is likely to become a
traumatized adult. The crucified give pain because they are in pain* (T-
424). Since all minds are joined, each of us in every moment has the chance
to purify  the ethers of the world. We ourselves, in our own lives, help
invoke the resurrection that helps uplift the world. There is no large or small
contribution to the purification of the collective. The macro matters, and the
micro matters too; spiritually they are all the same. Mirac les are not
quantifiable, for they emer ge from a realm beyond time and space. As such,
they affect situations we will never even know about* (T-6). When youforgive someone  in one part of the world, you could be affecting  a situation
thousands of miles away. The closer we grow to God, the closer we grow to our natural desire to
help heal others. No serious spiritual path gives anyone a pass on
addressing the suffering of other  sentient beings. We don’t get to say, “Well,
the world is screwed, but all I can do is heal my one little life, and that’s
enough.” All of us are responsible for all of us, since all of us ar e all of us. The crucifixion relates as much to the suffering of humanity today as it
related to the suffering of Jesus on the cross two thousand years ago. He
didn’ t resurrect just for you or for me; he resurrected for the world. OceanofPDF.comThe Christ in You Cannot Be Crucified
Since only love is real and nothing else exists, the real you cannot be
crucified. The Christ in you is invulnerable to the machinations of the ego,
in others or even in yourself. Perfect love is unassailable. The body can be destroyed, but the spirit cannot. Your ego can be
bruised, but your spirit cannot be touched. That is why clarity about who we
are is the key to our experience of life. Several years ago, I went to see a one-woman play in which the writer
and actor made a rude remark about me as part of her perform ance. I was
shocked, because I’d had no idea such a thing was coming. I had actually
thought I was attending the play to be supportive. My feelings were hurt,
and I felt publicly humiliated. As I walked out of the theater, a friend I was with said, “Please call me
this week if you want to process this. I know you must feel terribly hurt.” I
did, and it was important that I not deny that feeling—but as I began to
respond to my friend’ s offer, this quote from the Course  popped clearly into
my head: “It is not Christ that can be crucified”* (WB-451). Yes, Marianne, your human personality can get all bent out of shape
about this. You can even milk it if you want to. Gee, you can even post
about it! But my spirit literally could not have cared less, for the spirit is
untouched by lovelessness. I could drag this out or I could rise right now. I
could identify with victimhood, or I could identify with victory. My choice
was whether to identify with my Self or with my ego. Remembering that the spirit can’t be crucified, I realized I had a choice
how to move through my hurt feelings. I had learned there’ s a difference
between feeling  our feelings and coddling them. I surrendered the
experience, including my hurt and humiliation, to God.I walked  back into the theater to head to the ladies’  room before we left,
and in the hallway I ran into a woman I hadn’ t seen in a while. “Hi!” I said. “Good to see you!”
“Good to see you too!” she said. “I produced the play. Did you like it?”
“Well, actually, no,” I demurred. “That line about me really hurt my
feelings...” I didn’ t say it as an attack. I was just honestly answering her
question. “I don’t blame you,” she said. “I had asked her to take out that line. I’m
sorry.”
I appreciated her understanding and asked what she thought I should do. She told me she thought I should send an email to the writer/actor of the
play. I lived with the hurt for a bit, but also stayed prayerful and asked God
to help me see this differently. After a day or two I did feel moved to write
the email. Everything we do is infused with the consciousness with which we do
it, and I knew that if I communicated from my wound then I would
exacerbate the wound. If I communicated like a victim, I would only fortify
my victimization. “The sole responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept
the atonement for himself”* (T-25). Our first and most important work in
any situation is to correct our own perception. Making God our primary relationship puts us in our right mind; only
then can we heal with others. This wasn’ t about her lesson; it was about
mine. In writing to her, I was very careful not to blame or attack. I simply
shared my hurt and said that the slight seemed to me gratuitous and
unnecessary. It was one of those situations where I read the email to a
friend, draft after draft, until he said, “Yep, you’ve got it now. No barbs. Okay to send.”
Linda kindly wrote back and apologized, something I don’t think would
have occurred had I gone on the attack. Most important, she changed the
script. That situation was a bit of a miracle in my life—a small one perhaps,
and personal to me, but when we see such principles in action we learn to
apply them more universally. All of us get our feelings hurt sometimes, and it’s not an experience to
suppress or gloss over. But neither is it a feeling we have to make more of
than it is. The way of the miracle worker is to place such feeling in the
hands of God. A spiritual alchemy then lifts us above the lower emotions
that would perpetuate the cycle of pain.Often we feel we’re hurt because of what someone else did when their
hearts were closed to us. But in reality, what happened was that their having
closed their heart to us then tempted us to close our heart to them. And that
is what hurts. I saw an interv iew with a Tibetan monk who had been
tortured and imprisoned by agen ts of the Chinese government. When asked
what his greatest fear had been, he said it was that he would give in to his
tempta tion to hate those who tortured him. Redemption lies in refusing to
close our hearts to anyone, even when they have closed their heart to us. No
matter what other people choose to do, our power lies in how we choose to
interpret what they do. When we see lovelessness as a call for love, we rise