 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


ed	to	others
in	an	objective,	rational,	or	(to	the	skeptic)	convincing	manner. All
profound,	subtle,	or	significant	awareness	occurs	within	the	nonlinear
levels	of	consciousness,	which	are	not	describable	within	the	ordinary
Newtonian	linear	causality-limited	paradigm	of	reality	(which	ends	at
calibrated	consciousness	level	499).The	conventional	world	is	confined	to
the	limited	level	of	form	reflected	in	language	and	mechanistic
determination. The	worlds	of	spiritual	experience	are	outside	the	limited
paradigm	of	logic;	thus,	they	lack	the	capacity	to	denote	meaningfulness	or
validity	to	the	ordinary	ego. Actually,	all	the	most	profound	and	significant	experiences	in	life	occur
in	the	realm	of	the	nonlinear. Force	is	linear;	power	is	nonlinear. It	is
meaning	that	empowers	and	transforms	people’s	lives,	and	the	onlyimportance	of	facts	is	what	they	actually	mean	to	them. Happiness	has
nothing	to	do	with	facts	but	instead	stems	from	attitudes. Q:	What	is	the	essence	of	the	spiritual	quest? A:	The	spiritual	quest	could	be	simplified	as	the	task	of	transcending	the
limitations	of	linear,	sequential	duality	created	by	perception	so	as	to
reveal	Reality,	which	is	unlimited	and	nonlinear	and	therefore	nondual. On	a	calibrated	scale	of	consciousness,	we	can	see	that	the	weakest
levels	below	200	have	to	rely	on	force	as	a	substitute	for	power. As	one
gets	closer	to	Reality,	the	power	increases	exponentially	at	a	rapid
logarithmic	rate. The	400s	denote	the	realm	of	the	highest	development	of
the	Newtonian	paradigm	and	indicate	mastery	of	the	physical	domain. The
world	of	science	is	unsurpassed	in	its	capacity	to	comprehend	and
manipulate	the	world	of	materiality. Science	gets	us	to	the	moon,	but	only
man’s	consciousness	gives	the	feat	meaning	or	significance. Likewise,	joy
does	not	come	from	figures	or	statistics	but	from	what	they	mean. Q:	Where	is	Reality	to	be	sought? A:	Life	is	lived	solely	on	the	level	of	experience	and	none	other. All
experience	is	subjective	and	nonlinear,	and,	therefore,	even	the	linear,
perceptual,	sequential	delineation	of	‘reality’	cannot	be	experienced	except
subjectively. All	‘truth’	is	a	subjective	conclusion. Once	having	understood	that	the	only	significance	or	importance	of	the
linear,	perceptual	world	is	how	it	is	subjectively	experienced,	the	quest	for
truth	shifts	from	‘out	there’	to	within. To	the	worldly,	success	is	something
‘out	there’	to	‘have’	and	to	be	acquired. To	the	more	experienced	and	sophisticated,	it	becomes	apparent
through	wisdom	that	the	source	of	happiness	is	within	the	subjective	inner
world	of	experiencing,	which	is	the	result	of	inner	qualities,	meaning,	and
context. Q:	How	does	one	arrive	at	meaning? A:	It	is	meaning	that	gives	life	its	value,	and	when	life	loses	meaning,	suicide
results. Meaning	arises	from	value. The	realization	that	it	is	not	the	facts	or
events	of	life	but	their	meaning	that	determines	happiness	leads	to	an
interest	in	the	subject	of	philosophy. This	is	the	highest	realm	to	which	the
intellect	can	aspire;	it	is	the	realm	of	examination	of	meaning	and	its
subtle	implications. Philosophy	tries	to	define	its	components	and	how
man	comes	to	understand	meaning. This	investigation	leads	to
epistemology,	or	the	science	of	how	man	knows	anything,	that	then	bringsforth	cosmology,	which	tries	to	define	what	it	is	that	is	potentially
knowable. Beyond	epistemology	and	cosmology	arises	theology,	which
stretches	the	linear	intellect	to	try	to	comprehend	the	nonlinear	Reality	of
Divinity	itself. The	next	higher	step	in	abstraction	is	to	move	on	to	metaphysics,	which
addresses	the	Reality	of	nonduality	and	reemphasizes	the	subjective	as	the
domain	of	spiritual	truth. The	word	‘metaphysics’	simply	means	‘beyond
the	physical’. Beyond	the	realities	addressed	by	metaphysics	are	the	levels
of	experience	traditionally	described	as	mystical. Beyond	mystical	states	is
the	condition	of	Awareness,	traditionally	called	Enlightenment. Enlightened	states	reach	from	the	awareness	of	the	presence	of	God	to	the
final	completion	of	spiritual	evolution	with	the	relinquishment	of	all
duality	of	a	self	that	is	apart	from	God. The	final	realization	is	that	there	is
only	total	Oneness,	and	that	the	Self	and	source	of	Self	are	one	and	the
same. The	Infinite,	Ultimate	Potentiality	is	the	Actuality	of	Existence. ‘All
That	Is’	is	therefore	innately	Divine	or	it	could	not	exist	at	all. The
absolute	expression	of	divinity	is	Subjectivity. If	I	exist,	then	God	Is. Enlightenment	is	the	verification	that	all	existence	is	not	only	the	result
of	Creation,	but	also	that	existence	itself	is	not	different	from	the	Creator. The	created	and	the	Creator	are	one	and	the	same. Once	the	false
dichotomy	produced	by	perception	is	removed,	the	exact	nature	of	Reality
is	clear	and	obvious. There	is	no	fallacious	subject-object	artifact	of
mentation	left	to	separate	Reality	into	the	Creator	versus	the	created. In	the
nondualistic	reality	of	pure	subjectivity,	all	illusion	disappears. The	substrate	of	all	existence	and	creation	is	the	state	of	subjectivity. God	is	the	very	essence	of	subjectivity. What	is	aware	of	existence	is	the
awareness	of	the	presence	of	God	within	us. With	this	realization,	we
resolve	the	spiritual	conundrum	of	that	which	is	seeking	is	that	which	is
sought;	in	essence,	it	is	the	subjective	searching	for	the	subjective. The
illusion	that	there	is	a	dualistic	set	of	opposites	called	subjective	versus
objective	dissolves. It	is	the	ultimate	human	paradox	that	man’s
dependence	on	perception	precludes	his	being	able	to	know	his	own
identity. As	the	state	of	enlightenment	presents	itself,	there	is	a	glad	moment	as
though	experiencing	a	reentry	into	the	profoundly	familiar. There	is	a
fleeting,	transitory	thought	that	one	had	forgotten	who	they	were. This
forgetting	was	a	consequence	of	the	operation	of	perception	itself. This	is
allegorically	alluded	to	in	Genesis	as	the	eating	of	the	apple	of	the
perceptual	domain	of	the	opposites	of	good	and	evil. The	innocence	ofsubjectivity	was	now	contaminated	by	a	positionality	that	condemned
mankind	to	endless	suffering	in	error. Without	divine	intervention,	the
return	to	Reality	is	not	possible,	and	thus,	mankind’s	solution	is	only	by
means	of	the	grace	of	God. Q:	Is	the	realization	of	God	‘personal’	or	‘impersonal’? A:	Although	the	pathway	to	the	realization	of	the	presence	of	God	and
enlightenment	has	been	described	thus	far	in	terms	of	an	evolution	of
awareness	through	the	levels	of	consciousness,	that	is	merely	due	to	the
languaging	that	has	been	chosen	in	order	to	make	the	transition
comprehensible. The	levels	of	consciousness	describe	the	terrain	to	be
traversed,	but	they	leave	out	the	essential	factors	of	love	and	devotion	that
activate	the	journey	and	give	strength	to	the	endeavor. These	are	the
sources	of	the	requisite


ﬀ. The pr oblem is it is used
to create either a life-pr oducing heat or a life-destr oying
conﬂagration. Wher e ther e is no love, ther e is fear. And fear,
once it has gripped the mind, is lik e a vice that thr eatens to
crush the soul. So that’s what it is, this thing we call the shadow. It does
not appear, in most of our lives, as a gigantic ﬁr e, but
simply as a slow bur n. It is you when you mak e the stupid
remark, hurting someone you love and possibly ruining a
relationship. Or you when you do the stupid thing that
sabotages your car eer. Or you when you pick up the drink,
although you know you’r e an alcoholic and that if you
continue doing this it will kill you. In other wor ds, it is the
you within you that does not wish you well. It is your
shadow, and it can only be eliminated by shining forth your
light. God’s love both dwells within us and e xtends out fr om us
every moment of every day. When we ar e living inalignment with our true selves as God cr eated us, we
receive love constantly and then e xtend it outwar d as we
have r eceived it. That is what it means to live in the light. Yet as commonsensical as this sounds, it does not feel lik e
common sense when someone has behaved in a way that
seems undeserving of our love. A t such a moment,
extending our love to that person feels lik e the wr ong thing
to do, and withholding our love feels right. That moment—
that little bit of unloving thought that seems lik e just a tiny
thing, just a r easonable judgment—is the r oot of all evil. It is
the cor nerstone of the shadow’s thought system, for it
involves a separation fr om God and a casting of blame. God
never withholds love, and we achieve sanity by lear ning to
love as God loves. Our task, if we ar e to cast out the shadow, is to lear n to
think only immortal thoughts, even though we live on the
mortal plane. Our higher thought for ms will lif t the
frequency of the planet, and the world will then transfor m.
But what about now? What mak es us for get who we ar e,
thus tur ning oﬀ the light and splitting the world into two
separate states—love and fear? It is one thought: that
someone is guilty. How we deal with human imperfection is
the essential question that decides whether we dwell in the
shadow or in light. God does not look at a person who has made a mistak e
the same way we do. God does not seek to punish us when
we have made mistak es, but to cor rect us. When we r eturn
to our right minds, loving unconditionally and unwaveringly,
then the world itself will self -correct. That does not mean we lose discer nment, boundaries, or
brain cells. Divine love is not a weakness. God’s love is not a
gooey love. It’s not even always “ nice,” in a kind of pink,
fuzzy way. It involves radical truth telling, the kind of truth
that the heart knows even when the mind r esists it. It has
less to do with style and mor e to do with substance. Ther e
are ways to very sweetly withhold love, putting too muchemphasis on a half -baked understanding of the wor ds
“positive” and “supportive” and ther e are ways to e xtend
love with a kind of harshly r ealistic honesty that only
appears, much later, to have been love at all. It is time for all of us to get deeply serious about love. In
the wor ds of Dr. Martin L uther King, Jr., it is time to inject
“new meaning into the veins of human civilization.” W e
need to e xpand our sense of love beyond the personal, to its
social and political implications as well. Only in doing so will
we cast out darkness that now hangs lik e a specter above
the world. Living in the darkness, we ar e living in the
shadow. And in the shadow, suﬀering r eigns. IT MIGHT NOT BE REAL, BUT IT SURE L OOKS REAL
Sometimes you have a ﬁght with someone you love and you
can’t even believe it’s happening. It feels lik e a nightmar e.
You actually hear yourself saying, “This can’t be
happening!” And that’s because it isn’t—you ar e lost in a
parallel universe, a hallucination of separation and conﬂict. Years ago, I told myself not to wor ry about the Devil,
because that was all in my mind. And then I r emember what
happened ne xt. I simply stood ther e, stopped in my tracks
by the thought that, in fact, that was the worst place it
could possibly be. I’m not so much comforted by the idea
that ther e’s no Devil out ther e stalking the planet for my
soul, as stagger ed by the idea that ther e is an ever -present
tendency within my own thinking to per ceive without love
and thus mak e myself miserable. So wher e did this “tendency” come fr om? If God is love
and love only, and God is all-powerful, then how did a
counterfor ce ever come into being? The answer, metaphysically, is that actually it did not. Nothing but God’s love e xists, and in the wor ds of A Course
in Miracles,  “What is all-encompassing can have noopposite.” The operative r eason for how an illusory world
that actually does not exist but seems so str ongly to exist
came into being is the principle of fr ee will. We can think whatever we want to think. Our thoughts,
however, have power no matter what we think, because our
creative power comes fr om God. The law of cause and eﬀect
guarantees that we will e xperience the r esult of whatever it
is we choose to think. When we think with love, we ar e
cocreating with God and ther efore cocr eate mor e love. When we think without love, however, we manufactur e fear. What that means is that we have split minds. One part of us
dwells in the light, eter nally at one with God’s love. Y et
another part of us—a part most of ten aligned with the
mortal world—dwells in darkness. And that is the shadow
self. God doesn’t see the shadow because, not being love, it
does not actually e xist. Y et being all-love Himself, He
register ed our suﬀering when we fell into the darkness and
provided for us an instantaneous healing. In that moment,
He cr eated a loving alter native to our self -imposed insanity
and fear. This alter native is lik e a divine ambassador that
dwells with us in the world of darkness, always available to
lead us back to light, should we r equest it. This ambassador
has many names, fr om Thought A djuster to the Holy Spirit. For our purposes her e, we will call it the Illuminator. In A Course in Miracles,  it is said that we ar e not perfect or
that we would not have been bor n—but that it is our mission
to become per fect her e. It is our mission to transcend the
shadow and become our true self. The Illuminator acts as a
bridge between our shadow self and our light. It has been
empower ed by God to use all the for ces of heaven and earth
to lead us out of the darkness back into light. It does so ﬁrst
and for emost by r eminding us that the darkness is not r eal. When we ar e lost in the darkness, our gr eatest power lies in
calling on the Illuminator, whose task is to separate truth
from illusion. W e do this thr ough prayer, and thr oughwillingness. “I’m willing to see this diﬀer ently” is a sentence
that gives the Illuminator per mission to enter into our
thought system and lead us fr om insanity back to truth. A few years ago I went to visit a friend, who alr eady had
several close girlfriends at her home when I ar rived. One
woman in the gr oup had a manner of speaking that seemed
to me very grandiose, so much so that every time she spok e
I felt as if someone wer e running ﬁnger nails acr oss a
blackboar d. Obviously my mind was wild with judgment, as I
could not understand how someone could possibly be so
aﬀected in the way she spok e.
As a seek er on the path, I knew that the pr oblem was not
with the woman, but within myself—my own lack of
compassion. I inwar dly said a prayer and e xpressed my
willingness to see her diﬀer ently. Almost instantly, or so it
seemed


ments. The	brain,	although	it	constitutes	only	one-fiftieth	of	the	body’s	weight,	contains	about
one-fifth	of	the	total	blood	volume	in	the	body. It	uses	up	vast	amounts	of	glucose. Gallstones	in	the	liver	drastically	reduce	glucose	supplies	to	the	brain	and	the	rest	of	the
nervous	system. This,	in	turn,	can	affect	the	performance	of	the	organs,	senses,	and	mind. At	the	early	stages	of	imbalance,	a	person	may	develop	food	cravings,	particularly	for
sweet	or	starchy	foods,	and	experience	frequent	mood	swings	or	emotional	stress. There	are	other,	even	more	serious	problems	arising	from	the	occurrence	of	gallstones
in	the	liver. The	liver	forms	the	plasma	proteins	and	most	of	the	blood-clotting	factors
from	the	body’s	amino	acid	pool. Occurrence	of	gallstones	in	the	bile	ducts	of	the	liver
increasingly	inhibits	this	important	function. When	the	production	of	clotting	factors
drops,	platelet	count	drops,	too,	and	there	may	be	spontaneous	capillary	bleeding	or
hemorrhagic	disease. If	a	hemorrhage	occurs	in	the	brain,	it	may	cause	destruction	of
brain	tissue,	paralysis,	or	death. The	severity	of	the	bleeding	may	be	determined	by	such
variable	triggers	as	hypertension	and	alcohol	abuse. Platelet	counts	also	drop	when	the
production	of	new	cells	does	not	keep	pace	with	the	destruction	of	damaged	or	worn-out
cells;	this	occurs	when	gallstones	cut	off	the	blood	supply	to	the	liver	cells. Vitamin	K	is	another	element	essential	for	the	synthesis	of	major	clotting	factors. It	is	a
fat-soluble	vitamin	stored	in	the	liver. To	absorb	fats	in	the	intestines,	the	body	requires
bile	salts	that	are	made	available	through	bile	secretions. Gallstones	in	the	liver	and
gallbladder	obstruct	bile	flow,	which	leads	to	inadequate	fat	absorption	and	subsequent
vitamin	K	deficiency. As	discussed	earlier,	gallstones	in	the	liver	can	lead	to	disorders	of	the	vascular	system. When	the	blood	undergoes	changes	and	becomes	too	thick,	blood	vessels	begin	to	harden
and	become	damaged. If	a	blood	clot	forms	in	an	injured	artery,	a	piece	of	that	blood	clot
(
embolus
)	may	lodge	in	a	small	artery	distant	from	the	injury	and	obstruct	the	blood	flow,
causing
ischemia
	and
infarction. If	the	infarction	occurs	in	a	brain	artery,	it	is	called	a
stroke. All	circulatory	disturbances	affect	the	brain	and	the	rest	of	the	nervous	system. The
disruption	of	liver	functions	particularly	affects
atrocytes
—cells	that	form	the	mainsupporting	tissue	of	the	central	nervous	system. This	condition	is	characterized	by	apathy,
disorientation,	brain	fog,	delirium,	muscular	rigidity,	and	coma. Nitrogenous	bacterial
waste	absorbed	from	the	colon,	unless	detoxified	by	the	liver,	may	reach	the	brain	cells	via
the	blood. Other	metabolic	waste	products,	such	as	ammonia,	may	reach	toxic
concentrations	and	change	the	permeability	of	the	blood	vessels	in	the	brain,	thus	reducing
the	effectiveness	of	the	blood-brain	barrier. This	may	permit	various	noxious	substances	to
enter	the	brain	and	cause	further	damage. If	a	large	number	of	neurons	of	the	brain	no
longer	receive	enough	nourishment,	there	is	atrophy	of	neural	tissue,	which	leads	to
dementia
	or
Alzheimer’s	disease. When	a	certain	class	of	neurons	that	are	responsible	for
producing	the	brain	hormone	and	neurotransmitter
dopamine
	suffer	malnourishment,
Parkinson’s	disease
	results. Repeated	exposure	to	certain	environmental	or	internally
produced	toxins	can	also	be	responsible. Multiple	sclerosis	(MS)
	occurs	when	the	cells	that	produce
myelin
	(a	sheath	of	fatty
material	that	surrounds	most	axons	of	nerve	cells)	suffer	malnutrition	and	insufficient
lymph	drainage. The	myelin	sheath	diminishes,	and	axons	become	injured. MS	patients
always	suffer	from	progressive	congestion	in	the	large	intestine;	this	prevents	proper
nutrient	absorption. Cleansing	the	eliminative	organs	and	improving	nutrition	are	among
the	most	powerful	ways	to	halt	and	possibly	reverse	MS. The	liver	controls	the	digestion,	absorption,	and	metabolism	of	fatty	substances
throughout	the	body. Gallstones	interfere	with	fat	metabolism	and	affect	cholesterol	levels
in	the	blood. Cholesterol	is	an	essential	building	block	of	all	our	body	cells	and	is	needed
for	every	metabolic	process. Our	brains	consist	of	more	than	10	percent	pure	cholesterol
(all	water	removed). Cholesterol	is	important	for	brain	development	and	brain	function. It
protects	the	nerves	against	damage	or	injury. An	imbalance	of	blood	fats	can	profoundly
affect	the	nervous	system	and,	thereby,	cause	almost	any	type	of	illness	in	the	body. Removing	gallstones	from	the	liver	and	gallbladder	increases	nutrient	supplies	to	all	the
cells,	thus	rejuvenating	the	nervous	system	and	improving	all	functions	in	the	body. Disorders	of	the	Bone

Although	bone	is	the	hardest	tissue	in	the	body,	it	is,	nevertheless,	very	much	alive. Human	bone	consists	of	20	percent	water;	30-40	percent	organic	material,	such	as	living
cells;	and	40-50	percent	inorganic	material,	such	as	calcium. Bone	tissue	contains	many
blood	and	lymph	vessels	and	nerves. The	cells	responsible	for	balanced	bone	growth	are
osteoblasts
	and
osteoclasts. Osteoblasts	are	the	bone-forming	cells,	whereas	osteoclasts
are	responsible	for	resorption	of	bone	to	maintain	optimum	shape. A	third	group	of	cells,
known	as
chondrocytes,
	are	in	charge	of	forming	cartilage. The	less	dense	parts	of	the
bone,	called
cancellous	bone,
	contain	red	bone	marrow,	which	produces	red	and	white
blood	cells. Most	bone	diseases	occur	when	bone	cells	no	longer	receive	enough	nourishment. Gallstones	in	the	liver	usually	lead	to	lymph	congestion	in	the	intestinal	tract	and,
consequently,	in	other	parts	of	the	body	(see
Disorders	of	the	Circulatory	System
). Good
bone	health	results	from	the	sustained	balance	between	the	functions	of	osteoblast	and
osteoclast	cells. This	delicate	balance	becomes	disturbed	when	nutrient	supply	is	deficient
and	thereby	slows	the	production	of	new	bone	tissue	by	osteoblasts. Osteoporosis
	results
when	the	amount	of	bone	tissue	is	reduced	because	the	growth	of	new	bone	does	not	keep
pace	with	the	destruction	of	old	bone. Cancellous
	bone	is	usually	affected	before
compact
bone
	is. Compact	bone	makes	up	the	outer	layer	of	the	bone. In	generalized	osteoporosis,	excessive	calcium	is	reabsorbed	from	bone,	thereby	raising
the	calcium	levels	of	blood	and	urine. This	may	predispose	a	person	to	form	stones	in	the
kidneys	and,	possibly,	suffer	renal	failure. Gallstones	in	the	liver	substantially	reduce	bile
production. Bile	is	essential	for	the	absorption	of	calcium	from	the	small	intestines. Even


ar ed for or r ejected, I’ve been thr ough enough in my life
to know that the evil does not lie in what he just said. He is
not the enemy. The enemy is this feeling, which in the past
has led me to attack or defend enough to mak e him feel
exactly what I’m feeling he’s feeling but he r eally isn’t. I can
choose to see this diﬀer ently. This is my wall. This is wher e
we must be very conscious and call on God. Ask for a
miracle: “ Dear God, please help me. This is it. Right her e. There is wher e the swor d enters my heart. This is wher e I
blow it every time. ”
The moment when the pain is gr eatest is a wonderful
opportunity. The ego would pr efer that we never look too
directly into the pain. When in crisis, ther e’s a good
opportunity we might have a slip and ask Heaven for help. The ego would pr efer that we not go into crisis. The ego
prefers that a mild river of misery run thr ough the
backgr ound of our lives, never bad enough to mak e us
question whether our own choices ar e creating the pain. When the pain is her e, that is when we have a chance to
“rout Satan and r emove him for ever. ” A man once said to
me, “Y ou know, Marianne, you can work on this stuﬀ with
your therapist, A Course in Miracles, your editor, the
relationships lectur er, and all of your girlfriends, but none of
them pr ovide you with the opportunity that you have by
working it out with me. ” What he meant of course, is with
them I could describe the pain, but with him I could feel it. And in that moment, if I didn’t tak e the childish, nar cissistic
copout and leave, but r emained to face the fear and move
through it, then the purpose of the r elationship could be
fulﬁlled. When our darkness is br ought to light and for given,
then we can move on. We heal thr ough noticing, and prayer. Awareness alone
does not heal us. If analysis by itself could heal our wounds,
we would all be healed by now. Our neur oses have become
deeply embedded into our psyches, lik e a tumor that wraps
itself ar ound a vital or gan. The pr ocess of miraculous change is twofold:
1. I see my er ror or dysfunctional patter n. 2. I ask God to tak e it fr om me. The ﬁrst principle without the second is impotent. As
they say in Alcoholics Anonymous, “ your best thinking got
you her e. ” You’re the pr oblem but you’r e not the answer. The second principle isn’t enough to change us, either. The Holy Spirit can’t tak e from us what we won’t r elease to
Him. He won’t work without our consent. He cannot r emove
our character defects without our willingness, because that
would be violating our fr ee will. W e chose those patter ns,
however mistak enly, and He will not for ce us to give them
up. In asking God to heal you, you ar e committing to the
choice to be healed. This means the choice to change. The
ego’s r esistance to this is intense. It wants us to think that
an old dog doesn’t change. “I’m angry because I’m an
alcoholic,” for instance, might describe your anger, but it
doesn’t justif y it. The only advantage of knowing that you’r e
angry, is so that you can mak e a choice to be otherwise. Y ou
can spend years in therapy, but until the choice is made to
do it diﬀer ently, you just k eep going ar ound in cir cles. Of
course it feels unnatural to be gentle when you’ve been
harsh for many years, but that’s no e xcuse for not trying. A Course in Miracles  says that the most eﬀective way to
teach a child is not by saying ‘Don’t do that,’ but ‘Do this. ’
We don’t r each the light thr ough endless analysis of the
dark. W e reach the light by choosing the light. Light means
understanding. Thr ough understanding, we ar e healed. If the purpose of a r elationship is for people to be healed,
and healing can only occur when our wounds ar e revealed,
then the ego confr onts us with a ter rible Catch-22. If I don’t
show myself, ther e can be no gr owth. W ithout gr owth, ther e
will ultimately be bor edom, which is death for therelationship. But if I do r eveal myself honestly, then I might
appear unattractive and my partner will leave. The ego’s nar cissism has us waiting for the perfect
person to appear. The Holy Spirit knows that the sear ch for
perfection in another is just a smok escreen that hides our
need to develop the perfect within ourselves. And if ther e is
a perfect person out ther e—which ther e isn’t—would they
date you. When we give up the childish obsession with
scanning the planet for Mr. or Ms. Right, we can begin to
develop the skills of compassionate r elationship. W e stop
judging people and start relating to them instead. W e
recognize, ﬁrst and for emost, that we’r e not in a r elationship
to focus on how well the other person is lear ning their
lessons, but rather to focus on lear ning our own. The ego defends against love, not fear. Pain in
relationships can be a perversely comfortable pain, in that it
is one we know. We’re used to it. I once hear d a tape by
Ram Dass, an American spiritual teacher, in which he told of
seeing a newspaper article about an abused baby being
taken away fr om his mother. As a police matr on tried to tak e
the baby, he k ept struggling to r emain in his mother’s ar ms. Although his mother was the one who beat him, she was the
one he knew. He was used to her. He wanted to r emain in
familiar ter ritory. This story illustrates our r elationship to our own egos. The ego is our pain, but it is what we know, and we r esist
moving out of it. The eﬀort it tak es to gr ow out of painful
patter ns of ten feels mor e uncomfortable than r emaining
within them. P ersonal gr owth can be painful, because it can
make us feel ashamed and humiliated to face our own
darkness. But the goal of personal gr owth is the jour ney out
of dark emotional patter ns that cause us pain, to those that
create peace. Psychotherapy : Purpose, P rocess and P racticesays that at their peak, r eligion and psychotherapy become
one. They both r epresent the r elationship between thought
and e xperience, and ar e used by the Holy Spirit to celebrate
one of the most glorious human potentials: our capacity to
change. There is a tendency these days to analyze our neur oses
ad inﬁnitum, yet use the analysis itself to justif y rather than
heal the wound. A fter a certain point, having seen why a
patter n developed (“My father was emotionally
unavailable,” or “My mother abused me”) and the eﬀect it
has had on our personalities (“I don’t know how to let a man
get close to me,” or “I now have a har d time trusting any
authority ﬁgur e”), actual change occurs because of a
decision on our part: the decision to heal, the decision to
change. It ultimately doesn’t matter so much why I become
angry or defensive. What matters is that I decide I want to
be healed, and I ask God to help me. Like an actor r eading lines fr om a script, I can choose a
new r esponse to life, a new r eading. Some people at this
point would yell, “ Denial. ” But what we ar e denying is the
impostor within us. Just because we have an honest feeling,
that doesn’t mean it’s who we honestly ar e. My angry self is
not the r eal me. Does it have to be acknowledged. Y es, but
only in or der to go beyond it. Once I’ve seen my anger, I’m
ready, as they say in A A, to “act as if” I can do it diﬀer ently. Because I can. Our ego has made up a ﬁctional character
that we now think of as our personality. But we ar e
constantly cr eating that personality, and if we choose, we
are constantly r ecreating it. I was once talking to a friend and he made some
comment about how he was afraid that, if we got closely
involved, one of us might get hurt. “Which one of us ar e you
concer ned for


 ca lled: Die
before you die. Go into it deeply. Y our physical form is dissolvi ng, is no
more. T hen a moment comes when all mind-forms or thoughts also die. Y et you  are still there — the divine presence that you are. Radiant, fully
awake. Nothing that was real ever died, only names, forms, and illusions. The realization of this deathless  dimension, your true nature, is the other
side of compassion. On a deep f eeling-level, you now recognize  not only
your own immortality but through your own that of every other creature
as well. On the level of form, you share mortality and the precariousness
of ex istence. On the level of Be ing, you share eternal, radiant li fe. These
are the two aspects of comp assion. In compassion, the seemingly
opposite feelings of sadness and joy mer ge into one and become
transmuted into a deep inner peace. This is the peace of God. It is one of
the most noble feelings that humans are capable of, and it h as great
healing and transformative power. But true compassion, as I have just
described it, is as yet rare. T o have deep empathy for the suf fering of
another being certainly require s a high degree of consciousness but
represents only one side of compassion. It is not complete. T rue
compassion goe s beyond empathy or sympathy. It does not hap pen until
sadness mer ges with joy, the joy  of Being beyond form, the joy o f eternal
life.T OW ARD A DIFFERENT ORDER OF REALITY
I d on’ t agr ee th at the body nee ds to die. I am convinced that we can
achieve physical immortality. W e believe in death and that’ s why the
body dies. The body does n ot die because you believe in death. The body exists, or
seems to, because you believe in death. Body and death are part of the
same illusion, created by the ego ic mode of consciousness, which has no
awareness of the Source of life and sees itself as separate and constantly
under threat. So it creates the illusion that you are a body, a dense,
physical vehicle that is constantly under threat. T o perce ive you rself as a vulnerable body that was born and a little later
dies — that’ s the illusion. Body and death: one illusion. Y ou can not have
one without the other. Y ou want to keep one side of the illusion and get
rid o f the other, but that is impossible. Either you keep all of it or you
relinquish all of it. However, you cannot escape fr om the body, nor do you have to. The
body is an incre dible misperception of your true nature. But y our true
nature is  concealed somewhere within that illusion, not outside it, so the
body is still the only point of access to it. If you saw an angel but mistook  it for a stone statue, all you would have
to do is adjust your vision and look more closely at the “stone  statue,”
not start looking somewhere els e. Y ou would then find that there never
was a stone statue. If be lief in death cr eates the body, why does an animal have a body? An
animal doesn’ t have an ego, and it doesn’ t believe in death.... But it still dies, or seems to.Remember that your perception of the world is a reflection of your state
of co nsciousnes s. Y ou are not separate from it, and there is no objective
world out there. Every momen t, your consciousness creates the world
that you inhabit. One of the greatest insights that has come out of modern
physics is that o f the unity betw een the observer and the obse rved: the
person conducting the experiment — the observing consciousness —
cannot b e separated from the ob served phenomena, and a dif ferent way
of looking causes the observed phenomena to behave dif ferently. If you
believe, on a de ep level, in sepa ration and the struggle for survi val, then
you see that belief reflected all around you and your perceptions are
governed by fear. Y ou inhabit a world of death and of bodies fighting,
killing, and devouring each other. Nothing is what it seems to be. The world that you create and see
through the egoic mind may see m a very imperfect place, even a vale of
tears. Bu t whatever you perceive is only a kind of symbol, like an image
in a dream. It is how your consciousness interprets and interacts with the
molecular ener g y dance of the universe. This ener gy is the raw material
of so -called physical reality. Y ou see it in terms of bodies and birth and
death, or as a struggle for survival. An infinite number of co mpletely
dif ferent interpretations, completely dif ferent worlds, is possible and, in
fact, exists — all depending o n the perceiving consciousness. Every
being is a foca l point of consciousness, and every such fo cal point
creates its own world, althoug h all those worlds are interco nnected. There is a human world, an ant world, a dolphin world, and so on. There
are coun tless beings whose consciousness frequency is so dif ferent from
yours th at you are probably unaware of their existence, as they are of
yours. Highly conscious beings  who are aware of their connectedness
with the Source and with each other would inhabit a world that to you
would appear as a heavenly realm — and yet all worlds are ultimately
one. Our collective human world i s lar gely created through the level of
consciousness we call mind. Even within the collective human world
there are vast dif ferences, many dif ferent “sub-worlds,” depending on the
perceivers or creators of their respective worlds. Since all worlds are
interconnected, when collective human consciousness becomes
transformed, nature and the animal kingdom will reflect that
transformation. Hence the statem ent in the Bible that in the com ing age“The lion shall l ie down with the lamb.” This points to the poss ibility of
a completely dif ferent order of reality. The world as it appears to us now is, as I said, lar gely a reflection of the
egoic mind. Fear being an unavoidable consequence of egoic delusion, it
is a wor ld dominated by fear. Just as the images in a dream are symbols
of in ner states an d feelings, so o ur collective reality is lar gely a symbolic
expression of fear and of the heavy layers of negativity t hat have
accumulated in the collective human psyche. W e are not separate from
our world, so when the majo rity of humans become free of egoic
delusion, this inner change will  af fect all of creation. Y ou will literally
inhabit a  new world. It is a shift in planetary consciousness. The strange
Buddhist saying  that every tree and every blade of grass will eventually
become enlightened points to the same truth. According to St. Paul, the
whole of creation is waiting for  humans to become enlightened. That is
how I interpret his saying that  “The created universe is wait ing with
eager ex pectation for God’ s sons to be revealed.” St. Paul goes on to say
that all of creation will becom e redeemed through this: “Up to the
present...the w hole created universe in all its parts groans as if in the
pangs of childbirth.”
What is being born is a new consciousness and, as its inevitable
reflection, a new world. This is also foretold in the New T estam ent Book
of Reve lation: “ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away.”
But don ’ t confu se cause and e f fect. Y our primary task is no t to seek
salvation through creating a better world, but to awaken out of
identification wi th form. Y ou are  then no longer bound to this w orld, this
level of reality. Y ou can feel your roots in the Unmanifested an d so are
free of attachment to the manifested world. Y ou can still e njoy the
passing pleasure s of this world,  but there is no fear of loss anymore, so
you don’ t need to cling to th em. Although you can enjoy sensory
pleasures, the craving for senso ry experience is gone, as is the constant
search for fulfillment through psychological gratification, through
feeding the ego. Y ou are in touc h with something infinitely greater than
any pleasure, greater than any manifested thing. In a way, you then don’ t need th e world anymore. Y ou don’ t even need it
to be dif ferent from the way it is.It is only at this  point that you begin to make a real contribution toward
bringing about a better world, toward creating a dif ferent order of reality. It is only at this  point that you are able to feel true compassion and to
help oth ers at the level of caus e. Only those who have transce nded the
world can bring about a better world. Y ou ma y remember that we talked about the dual nature of true
compassion, wh ich is awareness of a common bond of shared mortality
and


 be heavy and close-fitting. You may have to place wax paper under the lid to aid the seal. Artichokes
Cut artichoke ends and rinse in the center. Bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Add artichokes. Lower temperature, cover, and simmer for approximately 1 hour. Serve with salad dressing on the side as a dip. Asparagus
Bake in covered  casserole with a small amount of soup stock or lemon
juice in low oven 1 hour, or simmer with ½" soup stock for 30 minutes or
until tender. Beautiful BorschtSD1 onion,  3 garlic cloves, 1 cup Special Soup, 6 small beets with tops, 1
large potato, 1 carrot, 4 red cabb age leaves, 2 bay leaves, 3 cups water, and
2 tomatoes. Run all the vegetables through your grinder and add the water and bay
leaves. Cook for 30 minutes on low heat. Serve with a dab of nonfat yogurt. Beets
Bake or boil beets in their jackets. Glazed BeetsYN (serves 6–8)
Scrub 9 large beets and boil in 1” water until tender, approx. 1 to 1½
hours. Peel in cold water. Slice or cut into bite-sized pieces. Glaze for Beets:
Combine:
  cup fresh orange juice, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1½ tsp cider
vinegar, and 1 tsp honey or crude brown sugar. Cook over low flame until thick. Add beets and mix well. Variation: Use ½ cup apple juice and 3 tsp lemon juice in place of orange
juice. Beets, Cooked and Cr eamedDAIR Y
3 cooked beets, 6 tbsp nonfat yogurt, 1 tbsp fresh snipped chives, 2 tbsp
finely chopped onion, finely chopped parsley. Put cook ed, chopped beets into a saucepan with the yogurt, chives, and
onion and heat gently. Put into serving dish and sprinkle with chopped parsley.Broccoli
Bake in a cover ed casserole in low oven with onions or a small amount
of soup stock for 1–2 hours. Serve with tomato sauce. Broccoli and HerbsMZ
2 bunches of broccoli, 4–6 cloves of garlic, ½ onion sliced, ¼ tsp dill,
and ¼ cup Special Soup broth. Wash broccoli and peel stems. Put garlic and onion in one pot and cook until onion becomes translucent. Add cut broccoli crowns and stems, dill, and broth. Cook on low heat until broccoli is tender. Festive Br occoliYN (or Festive Gr een Beans)
1 large bunch broccoli (or 3½ cups sliced green beans), 1 clove garlic
minced, 1 small onion diced, 1 medium sweet red or yellow bell pepper cut
in strips, 2 tsp lemon juice (optional), and ¼ tsp dried or 1 tsp fresh dill
weed. Select dark green bunch of broccoli with no yellowing. Wash well and cut into spears, peeling tougher stalks at base. Place onion and garlic in pot. Cover and stew on low flame for 45 minutes or until tender. Add pepper strips for last 20–25 minutes of cooking. Add lemon just before serving  (lemon will discolor broccoli if added
during cooking). Sprinkle vegetables with dill and serve. Cauliflower
Wash cauliflower and break into sections. Add 2-3 tomatoes, sliced and cut into chunks. Stew together for approximately 45 minutes (or until tender) on low heat.Cauliflower and Carr ot Sauce
1 small cauliflower, 3 carrots, and flaxseed oil. Separate the cauliflowerets and place in a baking dish with a little water
and cook until soft at 250° F. When ready, drain of f the water. At the same time, simmer the carrots on low heat with enough water until
they are soft. Blend carrots in blender with the oil. Pour sauce over the cooked cauliflower, and place in warm oven (turned
off) for 5-10 minutes, before serving. Carr ots and Honey
Wash carrots, cut of f ends, and slice. Do not peel or scrape. Stew in a small amount of soup stock for 45 minutes or until tender. Last 5-10 minutes of stewing add: ½ tsp honey for slight flavoring. Chard Rolls, StuffedMZ
1 bunch of chard, 6 medium potatoes, 4 carrots, ½ onion sliced, and 3
large cloves of garlic minced. Cook onions and potatoes separately. In another pot, cook carrots and garlic. When done, puree each potful separately, then mix together. Put chard leaves in very hot water, being sure not to overcook. Spread each leaf and remove tough center stem. Then place puree in center of leaf and roll tightly. Display on tray and serve with ketchup (see recipe, p. 85 of the Gerson
Therapy Handbook ). Corn
Corn may be baked in the husk wrapped in foil.Bake in low oven for 1 hour or place in boiling water for approximately 7
minutes. Corn with Mixed V egetables
3 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, 2 ears of corn, and 2 zucchini squash. Wash the corn well and husk it. Cut the kernels of f.
Slice the other vegetables into smaller pieces. Put the corn in a baking dish and add the vegetables. Bake in the oven at 200° F for 1 hour. Creamed Corn
3 ears of corn and 1 green bell pepper. Husk corn and cut of f the kernels. Put kernels from 2 ears in a blender and blend. Add the kernels from the third ear to the blended corn. Place in a baking dish and on the top place sliced green pepper. Bake in the oven 1½ hours at 200–250° F. Corn with Orange Juice
2 ears of corn and 1 glass of orange juice. Wash the corn well, husk, and cut of f the kernels. Put this in a baking dish with a lid and bake in the oven at 250° F until
done. Pour the corn juice of f, and add the orange juice. Let set 5-10 minutes before serving. Dilly BeansYN
3 cups green beans,
  cup onion sliced in half rings, ½ tsp dill weed, 2
tsp lemon juice, and green or white cabbage.Combine in pan: ½ cabbage, shredded thinly, pinch marjoram, 3-4 tsp
apple cider vinegar, 1 lar ge tomato, chopped sage, and 1 onion diced. Combine and bake in low oven in a covered casserole until tender. Stew approximately 1 hour, until tender. Do not add water. Eggplant, Baked
Put some soup stock in bottom of lar ge covered baking dish. Add in layers: 1 chopped onion, 1 eggplant sliced, plus 2 tomatoes sliced
and skinned. Cover and bake in low oven for 2 hours. Eggplant, Stewed
Combine in a stew pot: 1 eggplant cut into cubes, 2 onions chop ped, and
3 tomatoes (peeled and chopped). Stew approximately 30 minutes (until tender). Do not add water. Eggplant RouladesDAIR Y with Red Pepper Sauce
The Sauce:
1 red pepper quartered and deseeded, 1 onion finely chopped, 2 tomatoes
chopped, 1 clove garlic crushed, and 6 tbsp water. To make the sauce, cook the pepper, onion, tomatoes and garlic in the
water, and simmer for 20 minutes. Put through the food processor or blender. The Roulade:
2 eggplants, 16 oz of cottage  cheese (unsalted, nonfat), 2 tomatoes
skinned and chopped, plus herbs (such as parsley or coriander). For the roulade, cut the eggplants lengthwise into ¼ inch slices. Put in an oven-proof dish and cook a little in the oven to soften them. In the meantime, mix together the cottage cheese and herbs and prepare
the tomatoes.Then spread a little cottage cheese over each partially cooked  piece of
eggplant, scatter with tomatoes and roll up. Place back into the oven-proof dish and cook for 15–20 minutes. Serve hot, garnished with the pepper sauce. Fennel T reatSD
1 bulb of fennel, 1 large tomato  cut into ¼" slices, and 2-3 cloves garlic
peeled and sliced thin. Cut of f stalks and leaves from fennel. Slice bulb in half lengthwise so you have two flat halves. Rinse halves under running water to remove sand and put them in a
baking dish with cut side up. Cover halves with tomato slices and place garlic slices on top of
tomatoes. Cover dish and bake at 250° for 1-2 hours. Serve with a baked potato and a salad of grated carrots on a bed of pretty
greens. Green Chard Rolls
4 leaves  of green chard, 2 carrot s, ¼ head broccoli, 2 cloves garlic, ½ cup
rice uncooked, ¼ head cauliflower, 2 small zucchini squash, 1 ear of corn
(cut kernels of f), and 1½ tomatoes. Wash the vegetables well. Put the chard leaves in hot water long enough to wilt them so they will
bend. Cut the other vegetables into small pieces, and put them in a pan with a
little bit of water to boil on low heat


 are spiritual
dynamics that underly our thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Fear
depresses us, while love uplifts us. This is the existential loom onto which
we weave our lives. In every  instant we choose crucifixion or resurrection, fear or love. In
any mom ent the ego will have its way with us, and in any moment we can
rise above. The ego crucifie s by separating us from each other, which is why we
cannot be joined in crucifixion. We are joined in resurrection, for it is the
realization that we cannot be separated. Every thought of guilt is the nail by
which we crucif y, and every thought of forgiveness is the power by which
we resurrect.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Too many times  a therapist will say, “Why do you think you always
pick the same man. ” when perhaps it would serve the client best if the
therapist asked,  “Why do you think you always act a certain way with
men. ” In other words, why do you push love away. You seem to pick the
same man because you keep acting the same way. In many cases, contemporary psychotherapy has become a cult of
blaming someone else. Often it’s the ego’s hotbed of grievances and
victimization, using modern buzzwords like “trauma” and “narcissist” to
pretty much explain everything. While those words are meaningful and
carry significant messages given by important voices in the culture, they
shouldn’ t be cookie-cutter solutions applied  to every singl e issue. They’ve
been cheapened so much at this point that they’re used as a description, an
excuse, an almost jingoistic label slapped onto every problem. And notice
how rarely the problem seems to be you. While your therapist is explaining that the person you dated was
probably a narcissist, consider whether that person might be talking to their
therapist on the other side of town and hearing that you are. The ego just
loves to talk about other people’ s issues, and brilliantly ignores our own. I spent years in and out of thera py, and often with smart and very wise
people. But I think I would have been better served if I’d been coddled
much less and busted much more. Therapy should not be a place where we
are bolstered in our belief that we’re weak, or victimized, or forever
harmed. It should be a place where we are aided in letting go of the barriers
that stand in front of our hearts, that the love that is all around us might
enter in and give us peace. “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the
barriers within yourself that you have built against it”* (T-338). Most of us,
if we’re honest with ourselves, could write down on a piece of paper some
of the things we do that drive other people crazy. And if we don’t know
what those things are, our best friends could probably tell us. It’s our own behavioral patterns  more than anything else that deprive us
of love. We continue to grasp for love, when usually what we most need to
do is identify the ways we push it away. Our souls are swim ming everymoment in an ocean of love, for that is God’ s universe. But the ego is truly
a sly opponent, being, after all, our own mind turned against us. The biggest
mistakes I’ve made in love I actually thought were a good idea at the time. Send love to your friends, to your family, to your customers, to your
clients, to your boss, to your colleagues, to your employees, to the people
you know, to the people you don’t know, to your president, and yes—to that
ex-president too. Send love to Nancy Pelosi and to Marjorie Taylor Greene. Jesus would. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “God said I have to love my
enemies; He didn’ t say I have to like them. ”
The world we’re living in today is saturated by a mental poison. It is
more than toxic; it’s hateful. And all of us know it. None of us can afford to
sit out the process of doing what we can to de-escalate the madness. And it has to start with us. With every thought we think we’re either
adding to the solution or adding  to the problem. Either our heart is opened
or our heart is closed. There is a way to disagree, to set boundaries, even to
oppose behavior  that is intolerable, without withholding love. That is the
message of Jesus. It is as radical today as it was two thousand years ago. While I was writing this book, focusing deeply and sincerely on what it
would mean to truly deeply love, my assistant made an administrative
mistake, and I made a snark y comment. Sometimes people have the
extraordinary audacity not to do exactly what we want them to do. Shocking, but it happens. That’ s what makes a relationship the ultimate teaching and learning
opportunity. The point is not that other people have to change, but that we
do. The work is always on ourselves. The ego is certain that a relationship
will be fine as soon as the other person starts acting differently. But the fact
that we can’ t accept them as they are acting now is the actual problem. What a victim I was. Couldn’ t she see that I was trying to write a book
and I needed support here, dammit. There was a time in my life when I would have seen the situation that
way—as simply  about me not attracting the support I neede d. But this
wasn’ t some random event ironically at odds with the book  that I was
writing. It was an exact reflection  of the book I was writing. The fact that
I’m writing abou t these things brought up all the ways in which  I’m not yet
living them. That is how perfectly the cosmic computer works. If my only response to an assistant who doesn’ t do as I wish is simply to
get angry, then I’m limiting my ability to find the words or behavior thatcan help her do better. It also keeps me from having larger clarity about the
relationship as a whole. This isn’ t about her. It’s about me. But what about healthy boundaries. When is it okay to hold someone
else accountable. I threw such questions at Jesus as I made a cup of coffee
and slammed shut a cabinet door. “Yeah, I’m sorry you’re going through
this” was all I could imagine him saying at the time. I know it’s okay to set healthy boundaries, disagree when necess ary, and
hold someone else accountable. But all those things can and must be done
with respect and love. When we attack another person, we’re wrong even if
we’re right. The issues we’re here to monitor are our own. My ego would argue that the problem was her behavior; the Spirit
points out that the problem is my anger. Situations such as that will
continue as long as I consistently push up against the same wall. But the
wall isn’t going to give; I have to. That wall is the place—and most of us
have one—at which point we can’t see how to act with love and still get our
needs met. But we’re going to have to learn. The situation is going to repeat
itself until we do. So what do we do in such situat ions. Pray for a miracle. Pray for a shift
in perception. Say you’re willing to see the situation dif ferently. Sit down, breathe, pray, and your perceptions will begin to shift. As
your mind begins to calm down, one of two things will happen:
1. Your guidanc e will be to say nothing, to absorb the moment and just
let it pass. OR
2. Your guidance will be that something does need to be said, but you’ll
be given the wisdom to say what you need to say at just the right time and
in just the right way. You’ll be guided not only in what you should say but
in who to be while you’re saying it. The Holy Spirit doesn’t handle
situations for you, but turns you into a person who knows how to handle
them yourself. The main point is to see that the problem is within yourself; therefore so
is the solution. If you think the only solution is to find someone else to
fulfill whatever function you had assigned to that person, you’ll simply
attract someone else who acts the same way, or whom you subconsciously
set up to act the same way, until your eyes are opened to the real issue: you. The universe is intentional. It is always nudging us to be better, and if
that means putting people in our lives who make us have to confront ourown barriers to love, then it will. “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have
loved you” (John 15:12, ASV). To say this is easy; to live it is hard. That’ s why the mystic Jesus is so
relevant and important. Whether through religion or psychotherapy, the
world is in desperate need today of lessons in how to love. Both are the healing of the mind. Religion is limited when it lacks
psychological astuteness, and psychotherapy is limited when it lacks
spiritual understanding


. He had a dream in which a pe rfect
design for the switch was portrayed. When he awoke, he sketched his
new design according to the outline of his dream. This visionary catnap won Hammerstrom a check for $15,000; the
largest award the firm ever gave an employee for a new idea. • How a famous professor solved his problem in sleep
Dr. H. V. Helprecht, Professor of Assyrian at the Uni-versit y of
Pennsylvania, wrote as follows: “One Saturday eve-ning... I had be en
wearying myself, in the vain attempt to decipher two small fragments
of agate which were supposed to belong to the finger rings of some
Babylonians. “About midnight, weary and exhausted, I went to bed and dreamed
the following remarkable dream: A tall, thin priest of Nipp ur, about
 143  forty years of age, led me to the treasure chamber of the te mple... a
small, low-ceilinged room without windows, while scraps of agate and
lapis-lazuli lay scattered on the floor. Here he addressed me as
follows: ‘The two fragments which you have published separat ely on
pages 22 and 26 belong together, are not finger rings... The first two
rings served as earrings for the statue of the god; the two fragments
(you have)... are the portions of them. If you will put them toget her
you will have confirmation of my words.’... I awoke at once... I
examined the fragments... and to my astonishment found the dream
verified. The problem was then at last solved.”
This demonstrates clearly the creative manifestation of his
subconscious mind, which knew the answer to all his problems. • How the subconscious worked for a famous writer while he slept
Robert Louis Stevenson in one of his books, Across the Plains,
devotes a whole chapter to dreams. He was a vivid dreamer and had
the persistent habit of giving specific instruc-tions to his  subconscious
every night prior to sleep. He would request his subconscious to
evolve stories for him while he slept. For example, if Ste venson’s
funds were at low ebb, his command to his subconscious would be
something like this: “Give me a good thrilling novel which wi ll be
marketable and profitable.” His subconscious responded
magnificently. Stevenson says, “These little brownies [the intelligences and powers
of his subconscious] can tell me a story piece by piece, like a serial,
and keep me, its supposed creator, all the while in total ig norance of
where they aim.”
And he added: “That part of my work which is done when I am up
and about [while he is consciously aware and awake] is by no means
necessarily mine, since all goes to show that the brownies have a hand
in it even then.”
• Sleep in peace and wake in joy
 144  To those who suffer from insomnia, you will find the following
prayer very effective. Repeat it slowly, quietly, and loving ly prior to
sleep: “My toes are relaxed, my ankles are relaxed, my a bdominal
muscles are relaxed, my heart and lungs are relaxed, my hands  and
arms are relaxed, my neck is re-laxed, my brain is relaxed, my  face is
relaxed, my eyes are relaxed, my whole mind and body are relaxed. I
fully and freely forgive everyone, and I sincerely wish for them
harmony,  health, peace, and all the blessings of me. I am at peace; I
am poised, serene, and calm. I rest in security and in peace. A great
stillness steals over me, and a great calm quiets my whole be ing as I
realize the Divine Presence within me. I know that the re alization of
life and love heals me. I wrap myself in the mantle of love  and fall
asleep filled with good will for all. Throughout the night peace
remains with me, and in the morning I shall be filled with life  and
love. A circle of love is drawn around me. I will fear no evil, for Thou
art with me. I sleep in peace, I wake in joy, and in Him I live, move,
and have my being´
• Summary of your aids to the wonders of sleep
1. If you are worried that you will not wake up on time, sug-gest  to
your subconscious mind prior to sleep the exact time you wish to
arise, and it will awaken you. It needs no clock. Do the same thing
with all problems. There is nothing too hard for your subconscious. 2. Your subconscious never sleeps. It is always on the job. It
controls all your vital functions. Forgive yourself and every-one  else
before you go to sleep, and healing will take place much more rapidly. 3. Guidance is given you while you are asleep, sometimes in a
dream. The healing currents are also released, and in the morning you
feel refreshed and rejuvenated. 4. When troubled by the vexations and strife of the day, still the
wheels of your mind and think about the wisdom and intelligence
lodged in your subconscious mind, which is ready to respond to you. This will give you peace, strength, and confidence. 145  5. Sleep is essential for peace of mind and health of body. La ck of
sleep can cause irritation, depression, and mental disorders. You need
eight hours’ sleep. 6. Medical research scholars point out that insomnia precedes
psychotic breakdowns. 7. You are spiritually recharged during sleep. Adequate sleep is
essential for joy and vitality in life. 8. Your tired brain craves sleep so hungrily that it will sacr i-fice
anything to get it. Many who have fallen asleep at the wheel of  an
automobile can testify to this. 9. Many sleep-deprived people have poor memories and lack pro per
coordination. They become befuddled, confused, and disorientated. 10. Sleep brings counsel. Prior to sleep, claim that the in finite
intelligence of your subconscious mind is guiding and di-recting  you. Then, watch for the lead, which comes, perhaps on awakening. 11. Trust your subconscious completely. Know that its tendency is
always lifeward. Occasionally, your subconscious answers you i n a
very vivid dream and a vision in the night. You can be forewarned in a
dream in the same way as the author of this book was warned. 12. Your future is in your mind now, based on your habitual
thinking and beliefs. Claim infinite intelligence leads and guide s you
and that all good is yours, and your future will be wonderful. Beli eve
it and accept it. Expect the best, and invariably the best will come to
you. 13. If you are writing a novel, play, or book, or are working on an
invention, speak to your subconscious mind at night and claim boldly
that its wisdom, intelligence, and power are guiding, directing, a nd
revealing to you the ideal play, novel, book, or revealing the p erfect
solution whatever it may be. Wonders will happen as you pray thi s
way. 146  14
Your Subconscious Mind and Marital
Problems
Ignorance of the functions and powers of the mind is the cause of al l
marital trouble. Each using the law of mind correctly can so lve
friction between husband and wife. By praying together they stay
together. The contemplation of divine ideals, the study of the  laws of
life, the mutual agreement on a common purpose and plan, and the
enjoyment of personal freedom bring about that harmonious marria ge,
that wedded bliss, that sense of oneness where the two become one. The best time to prevent divorce is before marriage. It is  not wrong
to try to get out of a very bad situation. But, why get into the bad
situation in the first place? Would it not be better to give attention to
the real cause of marital problems, in other words, to reall y get at the
root of the matter involved? As with all other problems of men and women, the prob-lems of
divorce, separation, annulment, and endless litigation are directly
traceable to lack of knowledge of the working and interrelations hip of
the conscious and subconscious mind. • The meaning of marriage
Marriage to be real must first be on a spiritual basis. It must be of
the heart, and the heart is the chalice of love. Honesty, sincerit y,
kindness, and integrity are also forms of love. Each partner should be
perfectly honest and sincere with the other. It is not a true marriage
when a man marries a woman for her money, social position, or to lift
his ego, because this indicates a lack of sincerity, honesty, a nd true
love. Such a marriage is a farce, a sham, and a masquerade. When a woman says, “I am tired working; I want to get marri ed
because I want security,” her premise is false. She is not  using the
laws of mind correctly. Her security depends upon her knowledg e of
 147  the interaction of the conscious and subconscious mind and its
application. For example, a woman will never lack for wealth or health if she
applies the techniques outlined


 private, are largely wasted efforts. The millions of
dollars which are being expended in the chase for some magic shot-in-the-arm cure can
never, even though successful, result in the optimum situation as regards cancer. The only solution of the cancer problem which will be satisfactory is the working out
of means and methods of prevention. Discovering the case early and treating it
successfully do nothing in removing the etiology which brought the cancer into being. The same person is exposed to the same cause again and may grow another cancer. The
magic-cure solution of the problem would require constant follow-up. The doctor with
the magic shot-in-the-arm cure must follow the patient and give him the shot whenever
the same cause which produced the original cancer has caused a new cancer to grow. This kind of a solution of a medical problem is of course ridiculous, and yet this is the
basis at the present time and in past times for all cancer research. One of the few things we do know at the present time about cancer is that it is a
disease which follows another disease. It is never primary, but always secondary. It
never grows on healthy tissues, but always grows on previously diseased tissues. The
part of a body on which a cancer grows has a special soil on which the invader finds a
favorable environment. If the soil is not prep ared in advance, the cancer simply can not
and will not take root and grow. Cancer in this respect may be compared to a rotten log in a shady place where the rottenness and the lack of light conspire to bring forth a
group of poisonous toadstools. A change in th e soil or exposure to sunlight brings about
conditions in which the toadstools cease to be produced. A recurrence of the toadstool growth may be prevented by preventing the rottenness in the wood which they found to
be a suitable environment for their particular growth. Whether the immediate cause of
cancer may ultimately be found to be a virus, a fungus, a bacillus, or a chemical
compound makes little difference in the question of prevention, since the clinical facts
show that previous local disease must exist before a cancer growth may be started. The
important fact is that the diseased area on wh ich the cancer finds its suitable soil must
not be allowed to exist. By the prevention of locally diseased areas in the body, we may
prevent cancer. A study of the anatomical locations in which cancer occurs locally--the lip, eyelids,
tongue, and other visible parts where the disease may be studied from its very
beginning--shows that these parts have, before the development of the cancer, been the
seat of old, chronic, low-grade infections. A clean lip, a healthy eyelid, a mouth free from infection, or clean skin never develops a cancer. Dr. Bloodgood, of Johns
Hopkins, one of the most notable students of cancer, said that a good-looking woman
never dies of cancer of the face. The reason for that is that a good-looking woman takes
pride in her appearance, and any kind of dirt or disease appearing on the face in any
form is taken care of promptly so that the soil for the development of a disease is not
permitted to exist. If we were able to inspect our internal parts and took the same pride in their good
health, we would undoubtedly be able to prevent cancer in any part of the body. The
vital point in this connection is that locally diseased areas which continue over a long
period of time may become the seat of cancer growth. Efforts to cut down the incidence
of cancer will be completely successful if we can eliminate these precancerous areas of
local disease. When we speak of a local diseased area, we mean but one thing--an area in which the
disease referred to is a chronic low-grade in fection. The steps in the development of
cancer are plain. First, injury of a chemical, thermal, or mechanical nature which breaks
down Nature's protective wall of epithelium  (skin or mucous membrane). Second, a
repetition of the same insult before the protective walls have a chance to heal. Third, invasion of the injured area by microorganisms which establish themselves and continue
to grow. Fourth, the continuation of the chemi cal, thermal, or mechanical insults. Fifth,
the building up of a great wall of cells as a defense measure to shut out the invading
organisms and the loss of inhibition in this mass of cells which permits them to grow
indefinitely. This wild, anarchistic cell growth is the disease we call cancer. The only difference between a cancer cell and the cell which is able normally to repair
injury to tissue is that in the latter the stimulus to growth of new cells disappears when
the repair is completed. In the case which goes on to development of cancer, the cells
have been over-stimulated to such a degree that the urge to reproduce and build more
and more cells is the only function left in the cell. Cancer, then, is an exaggerated healing response, and it is exaggerated because the insult to tissue has been continuous
and long-drawn-out. The irritant is a living irritant and is therefore, through the process of reproduction, immortal. The factors involved in the picture so far have been only local factors, but that there
are constitutional factors as well as local factors can not be denied. The constitutional
factors which have to do with the growth of  cancer are the factors which let down the
resistance against infection and permit old chronic infections, which in a wellnourished
person would heal, to drag along for months and years without healing. A high ability to heal would undoubtedly overcome and destroy the infectious microorganisms which
establish themselves in the precancerous area. The problem of old chronic infection as related to cancer is a problem which involves
anatomical locations and the normal physiology of these anatomical locations, as well as the other factors mentioned. A pipe may damage the smoker's lower lip. This may
lead to the development of a chronic ulcer which in turn leads to cancer. Another man
with the same kind of a pipe but with a higher healing power will have as much
mechanical damage done to the lip, but healing being better, the lip will not break down and ulcerate, and the soil for cancer growth will not be produced. Cancer of the uterus occurs at a point wh ere the uterus has been torn. In a woman with
good healing power, a good scar will be produced and healing will be complete. In the undernourished woman, the uterus is less elas tic and the childbirth tear is greater. This
increases the likelihood of nonhealing in the badly nourished woman, and in her case the soil for the development of cancer is favorable. Cancer of the eyelid usually occurs in a spot where old chronic eczema of the lid has
existed for years. Eczema is a bastard word used to designate all chronic nonspecific
skin infections. To say cancer of the eyelid  develops on an eyelid which has had eczema
means to say the cancer has developed in an  area of the lid which has carried an old,
chronic, lowgrade infection. The mention of me chanical or chemical insult to tissues as
having to do with precancer infers these may be  causative factors, but they are causative
factors only as they destroy natural local de fenses and allow the entrance of infection. The real immediate cause of the cell multip lication which we call cancer is the presence
of some kind and degree of irritation produced by invading microorganisms. If this were
not true, we would find that cancer would present itself clinically, springing up from
clean, sterile locations. Since this never happens, either in man or animal, we must
conclude that the irritating agent which produces the growth is virus, fungus, bacillus,
or some other form of microscopic life. If it be a virus, the causative organism could be carried on in each generation of new
cells, as viruses are very small as compared to cells in virus diseases the viruses exist
within the cells not between the cells as in most other kinds of infection. It would be easily possible for each of the new proliferating cells to contain new virus, and this
would serve to irritate the cell in such a wa y as to keep up the crazy growth impulse in
this crazy mass of cells which we call cancer. If we apply the principles herein set forth to a cancer of the stomach, which is the
most common form of cancer, we find that the behavior of the disease fits into the
picture very well. The stomach is subjected to irritation and overstimulation. Ulceration
takes place, the ulcer is followed by cancer. The invading microorganisms are provided by pus swallowed from the diseased mouth. The diseased mouth has been provided by
scurvy. The scurvy comes about as results of errors in diet. On the clinical side, many internists and some surgeons have come to consider
vitamin C as a cure for stomach ulcers. Here they are recognizing a truth, but only a part
of the whole truth--lack of vitamin C is undoubtedly one of the predominant causes of stomach ulcer (and stomach cancer). A complete treatment would mean a treatment
with all other vitamins and minerals lacking in the individual's diet, as well as with vitamin C.
   When we consider cancer of the internal parts of the body which are not exposed to
external invading agents as are the lip, the mouth, and the stomach, we have further
confirmation of the deadly effect of localized  infections in producing cancer. In spite of
the fact that during the last ten years many external cancers have been cared by radium, surgery,


,
and the whole digestive tract is alerted not to function. Naturally, this is a twisted reaction, but the thought and
the reaction come packag ed together, and there is no place
to drive in a wedge betw een them. What is at work here is
something we can call an “impulse of intelligence,” which
means a thought and a molecule tied together, like a two-
sided coin. Once the impulse starts to rise, there is no
turning it back. The thought is the molecule; the moleculeis the thought. At the time it takes place, an impulse of
intelligence constitutes the patient’s whole inner reality. When an anorexic is repelled by food, her reaction is all
there is (at least for that instant)—she is her disease at the
moment. The same holds true for the obese person trying
to resist food, the smoker trying to resist another cigarette,
and so on. You cannot change a thought after you have had it—the
entire inner struggle of such patients is totally futile. But
there is another component to an impulse of intelligence
besides the thought and the molecule. The third component
is silence; this is the unseen component. Like all of us, the
anorexic must fetch thoughts from the region that lies
deeper than thought, and it is there that a cure might be
found. The anorexic’s dreaded realization, I am my disease, may
be true, but it is not the ﬁnal truth. If the anorexic could
transcend her compulsions, looking on them without
involvement, her disease would end. Becoming a silent
witness would be enough to disentangle her from the
ghost. Archimedes said that if he had a lever long enou gh
and a place to stand on, he could move the Earth—
presumably, he would have to stand in outer space. The
anorexic needs just such a place; unfortunately, a human
being is conﬁned to inner space. No one has a spare
nervous system hanging in the closet in case his primary
one gets strange ideas. Sadly but inevitably, there is no
place outside to stand on. —
Without realizing it, we count very heavily on the fact that
our thoughts  will trigger the right chemicals in our bodies;
the mind and its messen ger molecules are automatically
and perfectly matched. But this process can break down,
and then the resulting confusion is like running twoprograms on the same computer—when the input is
scrambled, it is no wonder that the printout, your body,
becomes garbled. For example, one of the most ambiguous
drugs ever devised is V alium. Valium belongs to a class of chemicals called
benzodiazepines, which are used as both tranquilizers and
sleeping pills. These substances were greeted in their day
as revolutionary. Their predecessors, the barbiturates, had
many notorious drawbacks: they were highly addictive;
they induced  poor-quality  sleep because they blocked REM,
or dream sleep; and overdoses could prove fatal. Valium
and its relatives, on the other hand, produced better sleep
with less hangover, were  much harder to overdose on, and
at ﬁrst seemed nonaddictive. At the height of its imme nse
popularity, Valium was said to account for one-quarter of all
new prescriptions written in America. Now it is known that Valium is itself addictive, that it
produces sleep irregular ities of its own (interfering with
the third and fourth stages of deep, dreamless sleep), and
that serious withdrawal symptoms occur after prolonged
use. If you look at the level of the receptors on the cell wall,
none of this is surprising, because Valium acts by
outcompeting the body’s own neurochemicals and taking
over their receptor sites. This kind of interference would
perhaps be advantageous if Valium competed only with the
neuropeptides responsib le for causing the feelings of
anxiety (called octadeca neuropeptides). But the calming
eﬀect of the drug does not come by itself; Valium confuses
the nervous system as a whole. Moreover, it was recently
discovered that the monocytes of the immune system also
are attracted to Valium. So when a doctor gives what he
thinks is a sleeping pill or a tranquilizer, he is aﬀecting the
immune system at the same time, adding more confusion at
the level of the receptors.No one knows if this has caused any harm, largely
because the ﬁnding about  the immune system is too new. In
all likelihood, we will discover that nature has already
provided our bodies with an exact internal analogue to
Valium, which means that we are clumsily reproducing
something that already exists in nearly perfect form. If I
ask myself whether I like the idea of plugging the same
chemical into my immune cells every day, in the
indiscriminate fashion that Valium was doled out to millions
of patients, primarily women, for thirty years, the answer is
obvious. The immune cells have a reason for each receptor; they
use them to think, act, perceive, and respond in precise
ways. A person uses the same two eyes to view the whole
world; a cell, however, has a diﬀerent eye for each thing it
needs to see. In other words, a constantly ﬁlled receptor
renders the cell blind to one speciﬁc thing. At a time when
the incidence of many cancers, such as breast cancer, is
still rising, sending unkn own messages into the immune
system seems very risky. —
Currently there is a “chem ical revolution” under way in the
treatment of mental disease, and it seems as miraculous as
Valium did thirty years ago. Doctors now widely give their
mental patients mind-altering, or psychotropic, drugs to
clear up the overt symptoms of their sickness, mainly
depression, mania, and hallucinations. The symptoms are
often relieved, sometimes quite dramatically and suddenly,
although many patients cannot tolerate the mental
numbness and fatigue that are common side eﬀects (not
that the side eﬀects are simple: certain antidepressants can
make the patient’s depression worse for the ﬁrst few
weeks, or swing it in the opposite direction until it turns
into wild mania).Critics of drug therapies call them “chemical lobotomies”
and charge that they strip the patient of his huma n dignity. Doubtless there are many abuses, particularly in large,
understaﬀed public hospitals for the insane. It takes very
careful ﬁne-tuning to stabilize the correct dosage of any
psychotropic drug, and horror stories abound of depressed
patients who reacted so badly to their medication that they
committed suicide rather than endure the cure. Still, the
success in this ﬁeld impli es that drugs will be used to cure
schizophrenia and depression altogether, if not today, then
in the future. A “cured” schizophreni c does not yet exist through
chemical means. This is because there is more to being
normal than not having hallucinations. Once you suppress a
schizophrenic’s bizarre visions or the strange voices he
hears in his head, you do not ﬁnd a normal person facing
you, but a shell. Altering the chemical level of dopamine,
even if it could be done a hundred times better than it is
done today, will not lead to a cure. The reason is contained
in the lesson learned from the neurotransmitters
themselves: for every chemical breakthrough, there is also
a chemical barrier. The good news about neurotransmitters is that they are
material. A thought, whether sane or mad, is hard to grasp
because it is so intangi ble; it is not something you can
touch or feel. The neurotransmitters, however, are certainly
tangible, although they are extremely tiny and often short-
lived. It is the neurotransmitter’s role to match up with a
thought. To do that, its molecules must be just as ﬂexible as
thoughts, just as ﬂeeting, elusive, changeable, and faint. Such ﬂexibility is a kind of miracle but also a curse, in
that it throws  up a barrier that is almost impossibl e to pass. No man-made drug can duplicate this ﬂexibility, either now
or in the foreseeable future. No drug actually pairs up with
a thought. This is apparent just by looking at the structureof the receptor. Receptors are not ﬁxed: they have been
accurately described as looking like lily pads that have
ﬂoated up from the depth of the cell. Like lily pads, their
roots sink downward, reaching the cell’s nucleu s, where
the DNA sits. DNA deals in many, many  kinds of messages,
potentially an inﬁnite number. Therefore, it makes new
receptors and ﬂoats them up to the cell wall constantly. There is no ﬁxed number of receptors, no ﬁxed
arrangement on the cell wall, and probably no limit to what
they are tuned in to. A cell wall can be as barren of lily
pads as a pond in winter, or as crammed as one in full
ﬂower in June. The only thing constant about a receptor is its
unpredictability. Researchers recently discovered, for
example, that a


 S ECRET
T r eat Y ourself As If Y ou Alr eady Ar e What Y ou’d Like to Be
T HE  N INTH  S ECRETT r easur e Y our Divinity
T HE  T ENTH  S ECRET
W isdom Is A voiding All Thoughts That W eaken Y ou
About the Author
T ake sips of this pur e wine
being pour ed. Don’ t mind that
you’ve been given a dirty cup. — Rumi
Arrange whatever
pieces come your way. — V ir ginia W oolfI n t r o d u c t i o n
There’ s never a day that goes b y that I don’ t think about God. More than
thinking, I experience the presence of God in most of my waking moments. It’ s a feeling of contentment an d satisfaction that’ s beyond anything that I
might convey in a book. I’ve co me to know the peace of Spirit in my life,
and because of this knowing, all of my concerns, problems,
accomplishments, and accumulations diminish in importance. In this short
book, I will elaborate on ten principles to success and inner peac e, which, if
mastered and practiced on a daily basis, will also guide you t o this same
sense of tranquility. I’ve ofte n been asked to speak a t high schools and colleges over the past
three decades. Frequently, my readers encourage me to writ e to young
adults e mbarking on the journey of adulthood and provide them with my
“secrets” for being successful and happy. The ten secrets in this book are what I talk or write about when I have the
opportunity to speak to young people. However, they’re valuable for
anyone who has decided to consciously  be on their life path. Each of us
makes that choice depending on our individual time clock. Fo r some, it’ s
early in young adulthood; and fo r others, it happens in the middle or mature
years. The secrets apply whethe r you’re just beginning your li fe path, are
nearing the end of it, or are on the path in any way. Most bo oks of this sort, as well as graduation speeches, stress the
importance of hard work, dedication, financial planning, relationship
strategies, choosing the right career, listening to one’ s elders, being
respectful of the rules, setting realistic goals, living a healthy lifestyle, and
being in  a state of gratitude. This is good advice and certainly be nefits those
who choose to listen to and apply this wisdom. It is my experience,
however, both as a lifelong teacher and a father of eight childre n ranging in
age from 11 to 33, that this kind of advice by itself leads one to  wondering,
Is that all ther e is? So, I have no advice on goal setting, putting your nose to the grindstone,
planning your financial future, listening to us older folks, respecting your
culture, and so o n. In fact, I’ve almost always listened to my ow n impulses,paying the price for taking the road “least traveled” and resisting
enculturation, so  it would be somewhat hypocritical of me to now tell you
to d o what I say and follow my rules. Instead, what I of fer you are ten
secrets that allow your spirit to guide you. In my experience working with  a variety of people over several decades,
far t oo many in dividuals choose to be anonymous members o f the pack,
therefore suf fer ing from the inner remorse that makes them feel like
failures, filled with conflict and resentment and wondering what the
meaning of life is. So, I’ve written this book in th e hopes that it will help you avoid those
feelings of inadequacy and help you feel the peace of God that truly defines
success. Read these secrets with an open heart. Apply the ones that resonate
with you, and discard those that don’ t.
When you feel peaceful and su ccessful, you want to extend and export
that peace and love. The violen ce, hatred, prejudice, and judgment in our
world suggests that we have mil es to go to reach a world of inner and outer
peace. I send you love and all gr een lights. —  W ayne W. DyerT h e  F i r s t  S e c r e t
I wish to say what I think and feel
today, with the proviso that tomorrow
perhaps I shall cantradict it all. —Ralph W aldo Emerson
I always entertain
great hopes. —Robert Frost
H a v e  a  M i n d
T h a t  i s  O p e n  t o
E v e r y t h i n g  a n d
A t t a c h e d  t o
N o t h i n g1
T h e  F i r s t  S e c r e t
Have a Mind
That Is Open
to Everythin
and Attached
to Nothing
Having a mind that is open to everything and attached to nothing sounds
easy until you think about how much conditioning has taken place in your
life, and how many of your current thoughts were influenced by  geography,
the r eligious beliefs of your ancestors, the color of your skin, t he shape of
your eyes, t he political or ientation of your parents, your size, your gender,
the schools that were selected for you, and the vocation of your great-
grandparents, to  list only some possibilities. Y ou showed up he re as a tiny
infant capable of an infinite number of potentialities. Many of your choices
remain unexplored because of a hopefully well-intentioned c onditioning
program design ed to make you fit the culture of your caretakers. Y ou
probably had next to no oppo rtunity to disagree with the c ultural and
societal arrangements made for your life. There may have been some adults who encouraged you to have an open
mind, but if you’re honest with yourself, you know that your philosophy of
life, you r religio us beliefs, your manner of dress, and your language are a
function of what your tribe (and it’ s heritage) determined was right for you. If you made any fuss about going against this preordained conditioning, you
probably heard even stronger vo ices insisting that you get back  in line and
do things the way they have “always been done.” Fitting in superseded
having a mind that was open to new ideas. If your parents were Jewish, it’ s unlikely that you were raised to honor
and resp ect the Muslim religion, and vice versa. If both your p arents were
Republicans, it’ s improbable th at you heard the virtues of the Democratic
Party extolled. Whatever the re asons our ancestors may have had for nothaving open minds, it’ s true that they inhabited a much less populated world
than we do. In today’ s overpopu lated world, we simply cannot continue to
live with  those old styles of cl osed-mindedness. I ur ge you to open your
mind to all  p ossibi lities, to resist any ef fo rts to be pigeonholed, and to
refuse to allow pessimism into your consciousness. Having a m ind that is
open to everything and attached to nothing seems to me to be one of the
most basic principles that you can adopt to contribute to ind ividual and
world peace. No One Knows
Enough to Be a
Pessimist
Find an opportunity to observe a tiny little green sprout emer ging from a
seed. When you do, allow yourself to feel the awe of what you’re seeing. A
famous poet named Rumi observed, “Sell your cleverness and purchase
bewilderment.” The scene of an emer ging sprout represents the beginning
of life. No one on this planet has even a tiny clue as to how  all of this
works. What is that creative spark that causes the life to sp rout? What
created the observer, the consciousness, the observation, and perception
itself? The questions are endless. A short while ago, Earthlings in the space program were moving a tiny
vehicle on Mars via remote control. Invisible signals took ten  minutes to
travel through space and arrived  to make right turns and instruct a scoop to
pick up some Martian real estate to examine. W e all marvel at such
technological fe ats. But think ab out it for a moment. In an endle ss universe,
Mars, o ur close st neighbor, is the equivalent of moving a billionth of an
inch across the p age you’re reading! W e move a little vehicle on a neighbor
next door and we’re so impressed with ourselves. There ar e billion s and billions o f planets, objects, and stars in our galaxy
alone, and there are uncountable billions of galaxies out there. W e are a
speck in an incomprehensibly vast universe that has no end to it. Think
about this: If we found the end, would there be a wall at the edge of theuniverse? If so, who built it? Even more perplexing, what’ s on the other
side of the wall, and how thick is it? How can  anyon e be a pessimist in a world where we know so little? A
heart starts beating inside a mother ’ s womb a few weeks after