	energy	to	make	and	sustain	the	effort	and
commitment	to	persevere. By	analogy,	one	can	have	a	car	and	a	map,	but
without	gasoline,	the	source	of	energy	and	power,	the	vehicle	does	not
move. The	destination	is	sought	because	one	is	impelled	towards	it	and
attracted	by	it. The	way	is	lighted	by	God’s	grace	as	the	Holy	Spirit,	which
is	the	Guide	and	Sustainer. In	the	end,	the	God	of	Transcendence	and	the	God	of	Divine	Love
merge	in	the	Supreme. The	Unification	of	that	which	is	loved	is	the
fulfillment	of	divine	destiny	and	the	core	of	salvation. Love	is	therefore
the	means	and	the	end. If	the	essential	dynamic	of	one’s	spiritual	seeking	is	not	spiritual
ambition	(to	get	somewhere)	but	the	progressive	surrender	of	the	obstacles
to	Love,	then	that	which	is	called	‘spiritual	ego’	does	not	later	arise	as	an
obstacle. A	given	calibrated	level	of	consciousness	is	not	better	than
another	but	merely	represents	the	level	that	is	being	worked	on. It	is	the
basic	building	blocks	that	enable	a	structure	to	ascend,	and	it	is	the
dedication	that	ensures	the	completion	of	a	cathedral. Q:	How	does	one	eliminate	the	obstacles? A:	The	spiritual	work	that	presents	itself	most	obviously	to	the	pathway	of
devotion	is	the	removal	of	the	obstacles	to	Love. All	these	obstacles	stem
from	the	errors	of	perception	that	arise	from	positionality. Positionality	is
the	originator	and	perpetrator	of	‘the	illusion	of	the	opposites’. These	arise
from	opinionating,	which	in	turn	arises	from	the	vanities	of	the	ego. These
vanities	are	sustained	and	fed	by	the	ego’s	propensity	to	overvalue	and
cherish	what	it	conceives	of	as	‘mine’. Once	a	thing	is	labeled	‘mine’,	it
becomes	a	valued	viewpoint	from	which,	like	a	prism	intercepting	light,reality	now	becomes	split	into	differences,	divisions,	and	opposing	views. Thus,	the	one	becomes	the	illusion	of	the	many. The	sense	of	‘I’	now
proceeds	to	identify	with	these	views	and	defends	them	as	the	reality	of
‘me’. Once	caught	in	the	duality	of	the	polarity	of	the	opposites,	the
ego/mind	is	trapped	and	projects	its	views	and	holds	them	to	be	an
objective	reality. Having	denied	its	authorship,	the	ego-self	now	becomes	the	victim	of
its	own	projections. The	sense	of	reality	that	accompanies	the	awareness	of
existence	is	now	ascribed	to	these	projections	as	arising	from	‘out	there’,
and	imagination	produces	an	‘objective	reality’	whose	original	source	has
now	been	forgotten. This	forgetfulness	is	reinforced	by	the	well-known
psychological	mechanisms	of	denial,	isolation,	repression,	and	projection. With	the	disowning	of	authorship,	there	is	the	relinquishment	of	power
to	a	perceptually	created	false	conception	of	a	reality	where	‘causes’	now
explain	the	phenomena	that	have	been	disowned. Because	the	perceived
dualistic	images	of	reality	are	the	very	filter	through	which	experiences	are
interpreted,	the	senses	then	reinforce	the	images	and	qualities	that	have
been	projected	to	be	external. The	physical	world	is	said	to	exist	separately
from	that	which	experiences	it. Sensation	replicates	belief	and	is	sorted
and	interpreted	in	accordance	with	the	construction	and	forms	of
perception	that	have	accorded	the	objects	of	sensation	with	separate
identities	and	discreet	and	unique	nominalization. Language	then	enforces
the	perceived	world	and	subtly	reinforces	its	appearance. An	‘objective’
universe	then	arises	out	of	arbitrarily	selected	points,	the	imaginary
distances	between	these	points,	the	imaginary	planes	and	dimensions,	and
the	illusions	of	time	and	space. In	order	to	project	the	world	of	illusion,	the	ego-self	experiences	itself
as	separate	from	its	own	creation. The	greater	the	feeling	of	separation
from	God,	the	greater	the	anguish. As	a	consequence,	the	self	now	fears
annihilation,	death,	and	even	worse—perhaps	endless	suffering	at	the
hands	of	an	angry,	retaliatory	God	who	has	been	made	angry	by	sin. The
lower	levels	of	perception	become	preoccupied	with	energies	of	negativity
that	are	the	ego’s	conceptions	of	itself	at	the	lowest	levels. It	now	fears	its
own	worst	projections	and	struggles	with	the	opposites	of	heaven	and	hell. Man	is	therefore	not	the	victim	of	an	‘out	there’	to	be	feared,	but	is
instead	its	originator. These	imaginations	are	not	even	personal	but	merely
consequences	of	the	interaction	of	the	fields	of	consciousness	with	their
hidden	inner	attractor	fields	that	determine	the	content	of	each	level	of
consciousness. The	ego’s	final	victory	is	the	belief	that	its	own	illusory
reality	created	by	its	own	projections	was	‘created	by	God’. Thus,religious	truth	becomes	obscured	by	religious	superstitions,
misinterpretations,	and	false	beliefs. It	is	important	to	realize	that	that
which	is	of	God	brings	peace,	and	that	which	is	not	of	God	brings	fear. Q:	How	can	one	avoid	such	error? A:	In	today’s	world,	the	level	of	truth	of	any	statement	or	teaching	can	be
quickly	calibrated. The	ego	has	created	many	impressive	spokesmen. It	is
also	helpful	to	remember	that	Reality	is	beyond	form	and	not	definable. Q:	You	mentioned	earlier	the	path	of	simplicity. What	do	you	mean	by
that? A:	For	the	average	person	who	is	involved	in	a	busy	world,	the	intense
requirement	and	commitment	of	a	spiritual	seeker	of	enlightenment	is
usually	impractical. This	does	not	mean	that	a	different	goal	should	be
sought,	but	that	the	means	should	be	attenuated	to	daily	life. It	is	really	unnecessary	to	comprehend	the	content	of	the	discussions
and	dialogs	that	have	been	described	primarily	to	convey	understanding	to
areas	of	human	consciousness	that	are	not	well	understood. For	significant
spiritual	growth,	only	one	simple	tool	is	required. It	is	merely	necessary	to
select	any	simple	spiritual	principle	that	is	appealing	and	then	proceed
with	its	application,	without	exception,	to	every	area	of	life,	both	within
and	without. For	example,	one	could	therefore	choose	kindness,
compassion,	forgiveness,	understanding,	or	noncritical	acceptance. One
could	choose	to	be	unconditionally	loving	or	committed	to	seeing	the
innocence	of	life. Whatever	principle	is	chosen	then	has	to	be	applied	to
everyone,	including	oneself,	without	exception,	and	with	absolute
persistence. This	process	will	bring	about	spiritual	purification	as	the
obstacles	to	these	spiritual	principles	are	brought	up	for	examination. The	accomplishment	of	the	spiritual	goal	will	require	changes	of
perception	that	will,	in	turn,	require	growth	of	understanding	and
reconceptualization. Q:	What	is	a	realistic	spiritual	goal	for	the	average	person? A:	Any	advance	along	the	levels	of	consciousness	is	significant	and	very
worthwhile. The	practical	goal	that	is	reachable	by	any	person	who	is
seriously	spiritually	committed	is	that	of	Unconditional	Love. That	is	a
transformative	level,	and	from	there,	one	can	relax	as	the


 to me, one of the other women in the r oom said to
the woman whom I’d been judging so ﬁer cely, “I hear d your
father is being let out of prison. Is that true?”
As I listened, I hear d her story unfold. Although I don’t
remember all the speciﬁcs, I do r emember that this woman
had been held captive by her own father thr oughout much
of her childhood in the basement of their home. She had
eventually been r escued, and her father had gone to jail for
many years. Hearing of this woman’s suﬀering, I r ealized
why she spok e the way she did. She literally had no model
of a healthy adult persona gr owing up; she didn’t even know
how to speak in a natural way and was doing her best to
piece together what she consider ed a nor mal personality. The same mannerisms that had ar oused in me such
judgment ﬁve minutes earlier now ar oused in me deep
admiration and compassion. She had not changed, but I
had. In praying, I had called forth the light. The Illuminator
enter ed into the world of darkness and deliver ed me fr om
my shadow self, my judgmental self, by giving me the piece
of infor mation that would r eplace my thoughts of fear with
thoughts of love.And wher e, in this lifetime, had I gotten my tendency to
judge so harshly to begin with? F rom a metaphysical
perspective, I was not bor n with it. W e are not bor n in
original sin, or er ror, but in fundamental and primal
innocence. I seem to have a very powerful birth memory. I can’t know
of course whether it’s actually true, but I’ve had it for as
long as I can r emember. I even r emember seeing the light
ﬁxtur e that hangs over operating tables, which adds to my
feeling that this might be true. A ccording to the memory, I
came into this world with an inﬁnite amount of love to give,
beyond anything I’ve allowed myself to feel since. But this was in 1952, when doctors still thought they wer e
supposed to slap newbor n babies to get them to br eathe. So
just as I felt this e xtraor dinary love beaming out of me to all
living things, in the very ne xt moment I felt myself slapped. The doctor, whom I alr eady loved, had hit me. I r emember
being absolutely and totally confused, hurt, and
traumatized. Why would he do that? I just could not believe
that this had happened. And then my mind went blank. I
descended into whatever I descended into, and that was
that. That memory, or whatever it is, speaks to the question of
whether we ar e bor n with the shadow. The answer is no, we
are bor n in perfect love. But whoever we ar e and whatever
we have been thr ough, something or someone—of ten with
the best of intentions—casts us into the r ealm of shadow,
and the task of the r est of our lives will be to e xit the
darkness and r eturn to light. From that one moment as a newbor n—that one traumatic
split fr om love that r eenacted within me the separation of all
humanity fr om the love at our cor e—I would be for ever
tempted to lose sight of love. Having been denied love,
even for a moment, I am now tempted to deny love to
others. And the purpose of my life, as it is the purpose of allour lives, is to r emember the love within me by
remembering its pr esence in everyone else. The woman at my friend’s house, admirable though she
was, tempted me at ﬁrst to judgment. But I ask ed for help,
and I was given it. As soon as I was willing to see the light in
her, my own light r eturned. And the shadow was gone. WHERE THERE’S NO L OVE, EXPECT FEAR
Any thought not ﬁlled with love is an invitation for the
shadow to enter. We are led to believe in the myth of
neutrality : that we don’t r eally need to love as long as we
don’t actively do har m. But every thought either heals or
harms. The inﬁnitely cr eative power of thought guarantees
that whatever we choose to think will r esult in an eﬀect. If I
do not choose to love—if I choose to withhold my love at all
—then in that moment ther e is cr eated a psychic void. And
fear will rush in to ﬁll the space. This applies to my thoughts about others and to my
thoughts about myself. Having focused on aspects of
someone else’s shadow, I cannot but enter my own: the
angry one, the contr olling one, the needy one, the dishonest
one, the manipulative one, and so forth. Once I enter the
darkness of blame and judgment, I’m blinded to my own
light and cannot ﬁnd my better self. Or having for gotten the essential truth of my own being—
not appr eciating myself by appr eciating the divine light that
dwells within me—I fall easily into the trap of self -
destructive behavior. I engage in whatever for m of self -
sabotage will mak e others for get, as I have for gotten, who I
really am. Whether we ar e attacking others or attacking
ourselves, the shadow pr ovides the temptation to thoughts
of destruction and insanity. The mind in its natural state is in constant communion
with the spirit of love. But the shadow, lik e love, has itsambassadors within us—thoughts that lur e us constantly to
perceive in a loveless way. “He said he would hir e me and
he didn’t; he is such a bastar d.” “Her politics disgust me; I
can’t stand her.” “Eat the whole cak e; it doesn’t matter
what the doctor said.” “It doesn’t matter if you k eep that
money; they will never know.” The world is dominated by
thoughts of fear, and we ar e constantly fortiﬁed in our
shadow beliefs. In the absence of prayer or meditation—an e xperience of
shared love between Cr eator and the cr eated—we ar e easily
tempted to per ceive without love, thus entering the shadow
zone within ourselves. Whether we ar e projecting guilt onto
others, actually har ming another, or engaging in addictive
or self -hating behavior that hurts primarily ourselves, the
shadow e xerts an ugly inﬂuence. Yet why should we be surprised? Most of us wak e up in the
morning and, in eﬀect, sur render our minds to darkness. The ﬁrst thing we do is tur n on the computer, r ead the
newspaper, or tur n on radio or television news. W e
download thought for ms of fear fr om literally all over the
world, allowing our minds, at a time when they ar e most
open to new impr essions, to be inﬂuenced by the fear -based
thinking that dominates our cultur e. Of course  we r espond
from shadow, for all we’ve look ed at is shadow! Of course
we feel depr essed, unhappy, out of sorts, and cynical. The
world is dominated by fear -based thinking, and on the
mortal plane fear speaks ﬁrst and fear speaks loudest. There’s no darkness to analyze her e, so much as light we
need to tur n on! In or der to avoid the clutches of the
shadow, we must constantly r each for the light. The voice of love is called in both Judaism and Christianity
the “still, small voice” for God. That is the voice of the
Illuminator, and even ﬁve minutes of serious meditation in
the mor ning can guarantee that it will guide our thinking
throughout the day. How much better this world would be if
more of us would cultivate the sacr ed in our daily lives. Ourbusyness is of ten our enemy, making it har d for us to slow
down long enough to br eathe in the ethers of the spiritual
planes. Just as we sometimes sit in fr ont of our computers
while a ﬁle is downloading, knowing ther e’s nothing we can
do to rush the pr ocess, so ther e is no way to simply give a
quick nod to love as we rush out the door in the mor ning
and e xpect the r ealms of darkness and fear to not invade
our day. In slowing down, we’r e mor e likely to cultivate quiet. Our
moder n lifestyle is too of ten pr ey to shadow thoughts for no
other r eason than that it’s too noisy. Too much television,
too much computer, too much outer stimulation diminishes
the light that is found only in r eﬂective and contemplative
thought. Silence is an attitudinal muscle we build up, giving
us the capacity to mor e easily transfor m the ener gies
conjur ed up by


ion,whatyourbodydoesn’tneedorcannotuse
iseliminatedthroughthelargeintestinesintheformofsolidwastes. Eliminationaidsyourhealingsystembyriddingyourbodyofunwantedtoxinsandwasteproducts. YourRespiratorySystem
Yourrespiratorysystemconsistsofthenose,mouth,sinuses,middleear,throat,tonsils,trachea,larynx,bronchi,bronchioles,alveoli,andlungs. Becauseoftheirroleinbreathing,theribsanddiaphragmareconsid
eredancillarystructuresoftherespiratorysystem. Thehealthofeachof
thesestructuresaffectsthehealthofyourentirerespiratorysystemand,ultimately,yourentirebody. Yourrespiratorysystemdirectstheflowof
airinandoutofyourbodythroughthesevariousstructures. Therespiratorysystemisresponsiblefordeliveringoxygento
yourblood,whichisthenpumpedtoeverycellandtissueinyourbody. Withoutoxygen,yourcellsandtissuescannotlive. Yourres
68 YourExtraordinaryHealingSystem
piratorysystemisalsoresponsibleforriddingyourbodyofcarbondioxide,atoxicwasteproductofnormalcellularmetabolism. Therespiratorysystemisconnectedtomanyothersystems,includingyournervous,circulatory,lymphatic,anddigestivesys
tems. Whenthebodyhasanoxygendeficit,suchaswhenaperson
isinshock,hasafever,orhassustainedaseveretrauma,illness,orinjury,orwhenstressissignificant,ratesofbreathingtendtoautomaticallyincreasetobringmoreoxygenintothebody. Thisisjust
oneexampleofacriticalcooperativeeffortbetweenyourrespirato
rysystemandyourhealingsystem. YourCirculatorySystem
Thecirculatorysystemconsistsofyourheartandbloodvessels,
theblood,andallthevariousconstituentsinyourblood,including
yourredbloodcells. Inyourheart,thecoronaryarteriesarespecialarteriesthatbringthebloodsupplybacktotheheartitself. Ifthesearteriesbecomeclogged,aheartattackcanoccur. Theirhealthiscriticaltothehealthofyourheart,uponwhosehealthyourhealingsystemandentirebodydepend. Thecirculatorysystemhasmanyvitalfunctions. Itisresponsi
blefor
oPumpinganddistributingblood,whichcontainsoxygenandothervitalnutrientsandsubstances,toeverycellandtissueinyourbody. Thesenutrientsandsubstancesincludehormones,antibod
ies,enzymes,neurotransmitters,vitamins,minerals,andtraceele
mentsthatarevitaltothefunctioningofyourhealingsystem. oRemovingtoxicmetabolicbyproducts,suchascarbondioxide
andlacticacid. oCarryingoxygenfromthelungstothevariousorgansandtis
suesinyourbody. Hemoglobin, averyimportantmoleculein
redbloodcells,accomplishesthistask. oClottingoftheblood. Whitebloodcells,whicharecrucialfor
thefunctioningoftheimmunesystem,areessentialforbloodclotting. Bloodclottingisauniquefunctionofthecirculatory
TheTeamMembersofYourHealingSystem 69
system,anditoccursduringtimesofinjurytopreventexcessivebloodloss. Bloodclottingrepresentsoneofthetruemiraclesof
thehealingsystem. YourLymphaticSystem
Youcanthinkofyourlymphaticsystemastheblood-purificationsystem. Thelymphaticsystemconsistsofaseriesoflymphaticves
selsandlymphnodesthatarestrategicallylocatedthroughoutspecificpartsofyourbody. Lymphfluidcirculatesfreelythroughout
thelymphsystem;thisfluidcontainswhitebloodcells,antibodies,
andimportantchemicalsoftheimmunesystem. Yourlymphaticsystemworkscloselywithyourcirculatory,immune,andhealingsystemsasitcirculatesandremovestoxinsandimpuritiesfromyourbodytokeepyourtissuesandbloodfreefromdiseasecausedbybac
teria,viruses,andotherinvaders. YourUrinarySystem
Yoururinarysystemisprimarilyresponsibleforactingasafilterfor
yourbloodtoremovewastesandtoxinsfromyourbody. Themajororgansofyoururinarysystemincludeyourkidneysandbladder,and
theysupportyourhealingsystemthroughanumberofimportantfunctions. Thesefunctionsincludethefollowing:
aYoururinarysystemhelpstoconserveandregulatefluidlevels
inyourbody. aYoururinarysystemfiltersandpurifiestheentirebloodcircula
tionwithinyourbody. aYoururinarysystemregulateselectrolytelevels,assuringthat
yourbodyhasproperamountsofsodium,potassium,calcium,
andotherkeymineralsandtraceelementsthatsupportvitalphysiologicalprocessesthatareessentialforyourhealingsystem. aYoururinarysystemmonitorsproteinconcentrationintheblood,whichiscriticaltoyourhealingsystem. 70 YourExtraordinaryHealingSystem
YourReproductiveSystem
Inwomen,thereproductivesystemislocatedinthelowerabdomen
andpelvicarea,anditconsistsoftheovaries,uterus,cervix,andvagina. Thebreasts,locatedinthechest,arealsoincludedinthis
system. Thebreastsareactuallydual-purposeorgans,servingasnutritive,lactatingglandsthatdelivermilkimmediatelyfollowingchildbirth;inaddition,theyactasattractiveforcestotheopposite
sex,andastissuesofarousalthathelppromotesexualandreproduc
tiveactivities. Inthisway,thebreastsservebothanendocrine,secretoryfunctionandareproductiveone. Inmen,thetestes,prostate,seminalvesicles,urethra,andpenismakeupthereproductivesystem. Morethananyothersysteminthebody,thereproductivesystemisresponsibleforhelpingtodifferentiatethephysicalcharacteristicsofmenandwomen. Thesedifferencesareresponsiblefor
thestronglymagneticforcesthathelpfosterthesexualattractionbetweenthesexes. Thenaturalresultofthisattraction,andthemainfunctionofyourreproductivesystem,isreproductionandproliferationofthespecies. Althoughwomencanlivewithoutauterusorovaries,andmencanlivewithouttestesandaprostate,thereproductivesystemisessentialforthesurvivalofthehumanrace. Thereproductivesystemmaintainsanintimateconnectionwith
theendocrinesystem. Inadditiontohavingreceptorsforhormonesproducedbyotherorgans,thereproductivesystemproducesitownhormones,mostnotablyestrogeninfemalesandtestosteroneinmales. Thesehormonescontributetooverallhealth,andtheycaninfluenceemotionalandmentalstates. Forinstance,estrogenexerts
aprotectiveinfluenceontheheart. Manyothersystemsinthebodyalsoareconnectedtothehealth
andproperfunctioningofthereproductivesystem. Theseinclude
thenervous,endocrine,circulatory,andlymphaticsystems. YourImmuneSystem
Yourimmunesystemconsistsofacomplexnetworkofcellsand
organsthatcanproduceextremelypowerfulchemicalsknownas
TheTeamMembersofYourHealingSystem 71
antibodies. Littlewasknownaboutyourimmunesystemuntilquiterecently. Researchisstilldiscoveringnewfactsaboutthisamazingsystem,whosechieffunctionistodefendyourbodyagainstinfec
tionandotherintruders. Thecellularcomponentsofyourimmunesystemconsistlarge
lyofwhitebloodcells,withhighlyspecializedrolesandfunctions. Youcanthinkofwhitebloodcellsasinfantrymenwhoareprogrammedtodestroyanyinvadingenemyintheformofpathogenicbacteria,viruses,fungi,parasites,orotherharmfulorganisms. Thedivisionoflaboramongthemanytypesofwhitebloodcellsofyourimmunesystemissodetailed,subtle,sophisticated,andpreciseastomakeanyotherarmyormilitaryforceinthehistoryoftheworld
appearprimitiveandimpotentincomparison. Antibodies,whichareproducedindirectresponsetospecificthreatsandcanbelikenedtomolecularcruisemissiles,arereleased
intothebloodstreamtoseekoutanddestroyunwantedintruders
withremarkablespeed,accuracy,andprecision. Antibodiesarepres
entintheblood,producedinlargequantitiesupondemand. They
alsoareinthebody’smucousmembranes,suchasthenose,mouth,respiratorysystem,intestines,urethra,andotherbodytissuesandcavitiesthatconnecttotheoutsideenvironment. Yourimmunesystem,oncethoughttobeacompletelyindependentsystem,isnowknowntobedirectlylinkedtoyourbrain
andnervoussystem,andtoothersystems,aswell. Forexample,whitebloodcellshavebeendiscoveredtopossessreceptorsforneurotransmittersproducedbythebrain,whichdemonstrates adirectchem


if	the	body	received	more	than	enough	calcium	foods	or	food	supplements,	a	shortage	of
bile	would	render	much	of	the	ingested	calcium	useless	for	bone	building	and	other
important	metabolic	processes. In	addition,	the	presence	of	gallstones	in	the	liver	raises
the	level	of	harmful	acids	in	the	blood,	some	of	which	are	neutralized	by	calcium	leached
from	the	bones	and	teeth. (Something	similar	happens	when	a	person	drinks	cow’s	milk. To	neutralize	the	high	phosphorus	concentration	of	ingested	milk,	the	body	uses	not	only
the	milk’s	calcium	but	also	calcium	from	the	bones	and	teeth. ) Eventually,	the	body’s	calcium	reserves	become	depleted,	diminishing	bone	density	or
bone	mass. This	may	lead	to	bone	and	hip	fractures	and	even	death. With	more	than	half
of	all	women	over	age	50	already	affected	by	osteoporosis	(albeit	only	in	industrialized
nations),	it	is	obvious	that	the	current	approach	of	taking	hormones	or	calcium
supplements	is	a	shot	in	the	dark;	it	in	no	way	addresses	the	imbalance	in	the	liver	and
gallbladder	caused	by	reduced	bile	output	due	to	gallstones. Rickets
	and
osteomalacia
	are	diseases	that	affect	the	calcification	process	of	bones. In
either	case,	the	bones	become	soft,	especially	those	of	the	lower	limbs,	which	are
bowed
by	the	weight	of	the	body. The	fat-soluble	vitamin	D,
calciferol,
	is	essential	for	balanced
calcium	and	phosphorus	metabolism	and,	therefore,	healthy	bone	structures. Insufficient
bile	secretion	and	disturbance	of	the	cholesterol	metabolism,	both	of	which	are	caused	by
gallstones	in	the	liver,	lead	to	vitamin	D	deficiency. Lack	of	sufficient	exposure	to	natural
sunlight	further	aggravates	these	conditions. Infection	of	bones,	or
osteomyelitis,
	may	result	when	there	has	been	a	prolonged
lymphatic	obstruction	in	the	body,	especially	in	or	around	bone	tissues. Consequently,
blood-borne	microbes	gain	unhindered	access	to	bones. As	mentioned	before,	infectious
microbes	only	attack	tissues	that	are	acidified,	weak,	unstable,	or	damaged. The	microbes
may	originate	from	gallstones,	a	tooth	abscess,	or	a	boil. Malignant	tumors
	of	the	bone	can	occur	when	lymphatic	congestion	in	the	body	and
the	bones,	especially,	has	reached	extreme	proportions. The	immune	system	is	depressed,
and	malignant	tumor	particles	from	the	breasts,	lungs,	or	prostate	gland	can	spread	to	or
develop	in	those	parts	of	the	bones	that	have	the	softest	tissue	and	are	more	prone	to
congestion	and	acidification,	that	is,	the	cancellous	bone. Bone	cancer	and	all	other
diseases	of	the	bone	indicate	lack	of	nourishment	of	bone	tissue. Such	diseases	usually
defy	treatment	unless	all	gallstones	in	the	liver	are	removed	and	all	other	organs	and
systems	of	elimination	are	cleared	of	any	existing	congestion	as	well. Disorders	of	the	Joints

Our	body	contains	three	types	of	joints:
fibrous
	or	fixed	joints,
cartilaginous
	or	slightly
movable	joints,	and
synovial
	or	freely	movable	joints. The	most	susceptible	to	disease	are
the	joints	of	the	hands,	feet,	knees,	shoulders,	elbows,	and	hips. Rheumatoid	arthritis,
osteoarthritis,
	and
gout
	are	among	the	most	commonly	found	joint	disorders. Most	people	stricken	with	rheumatoid	arthritis	have	a	long	history	of	intestinal
complaints:
bloating,	flatulence,	heartburn,	belching,	constipation,	diarrhea,	coldness
and	swelling	of	hands	and	feet,	increased	perspiration,	general	fatigue,	loss	of
appetite,	weight	reduction,
	and	more. It	is	reasonable,	therefore,	to	conclude	that
rheumatoid	arthritis	is	linked	with	any	of	these,	or	similar,	symptoms	of	major	intestinal
and	metabolic	disturbances. I	have	personally	experienced	all	the	symptoms	mentioned
above	when	I	suffered	painful	bouts	of	juvenile	rheumatoid	arthritis	during	my	childhood
years. The	GI	tract	is	constantly	exposed	to	a	large	number	of	viruses,	bacteria,	and	parasites. In	addition	to	the	many
antigens
	(foreign	materials)	contained	in	foods,	the	digestive
system	may	also	have	to	deal	with	insecticides,	pesticides,	hormones,	antibiotic	residues,
preservatives,	and	colorings	contained	in	so	many	foodstuffs	today,	as	well	as	some	large-
molecule	drugs	such	as	penicillin. Possible	antigens	include	pollen	from	flowers,	plants,
plant	antibodies,	fungi,	bacteria,	and	the	like. It	is	the	task	of	the	immune	system,	most	of
which	is	located	in	the	intestinal	wall,	to	protect	us	against	all	these	potentially	harmful
invaders	and	substances. To	be	able	to	accomplish	this	task	every	day,	both	the	digestive
and	lymphatic	systems	must	remain	unobstructed	and	efficient. Gallstones	in	the	liver
seriously	disturb	the	digestive	process,	which	leads	to	an	overload	of	toxic	substances	in
the	blood	and	lymph,	as	mentioned	above	(see	“
Disorders	of	the	Circulatory	System
”). Doctors	consider
arthritis
	an
autoimmune	disease
	affecting	the	synovial	membrane. Autoimmunity,	a	condition	in	which	the	immune	system	develops	immunity	to	its	own
cells,	results	when	antigen/antibody	complexes	(
rheumatoid	factors
)	are	formed	in	the
blood. Naturally,	the	B-lymphocytes	(immune	cells)	in	the	intestinal	wall	become
stimulated	and	produce	antibodies	(
immunoglobulins
)	when	coming	into	contact	with
these	antigens. The	immune	cells	circulate	in	the	blood,	and	some	settle	in	the	lymph
nodes,	spleen,	mucus	membranes	of	the	salivary	glands,	lymphatic	system	of	the	bronchial
tubes,	vagina	or	uterus,	milk-producing	mammary	glands	of	the	breasts,	and	capsular
tissues	of	the	joints. If	there	is	repeated	exposure	to	the	same	types	of	toxic	antigens,	antibody	production
will	increase	dramatically,	particularly	in	areas	where	immune	cells	have	settled	becauseof	a	previous	encounter	with	the	invaders. These	harmful	antigens	may	consist	of	protein
particles	from	putrefying	animal	foods,	for	example. In	such	a	case,	intense	microbial
activity	can	occur. The	new	encounter	with	the	antigens	raises	the	level	of
antigen/antibody	complexes	in	the	blood	and	upsets	the	fine	balance	that	exists	between
the	immune	reaction	and	its	suppression. Autoimmune	diseases,	which	indicate	an
extremely	high	level	of	toxicity	in	the	body,	directly	result	from	a	disturbance	of	this
balance. If	antibody	production	is	continually	high	in	synovial	joints,	inflammation
becomes	chronic,	leading	to	gradually	increasing	deformity,	pain,	and	loss	of	function. The	overuse	of	the	immune	system	leads	to
self-destruction
	in	the	body. If	this	form	of
self-destruction	occurs	in	nerve	tissue,	it


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


 immortality. At this deep level, compassion becomes healing in the
widest s ense. In that state, your healing influence is primarily based not
on doin g but on being. Everybody you come in contact with will be
touched by your presence and af fected by the peace that you emanate,
whether they are conscious of it or not. When you are fully present and
people around you manifest unconscious behavior, you won’ t feel the
need to react to it, so you don’ t give it any reality. Y our peace is so vast
and deep that anything that is not peace disappears into it as if it had
never ex isted. This breaks the karmic cycle of action and reaction. Animals, trees, flowers will feel  your peace and respond to it. Y ou teach
through being, through demonst rating the peace of God. Y ou become the
“light of the wo rld,” an emanation of pure consciousness, an d so you
eliminate suf feri ng on the level of cause. Y ou eliminate unconsc iousness
from the world. This do esn’ t me an that you m ay not also teach through doin g — for
example, by pointing out how to disidentify from the mind, recognize
unconscious patterns within on eself, and so on. But who you ar e  is
always a more vital teaching a nd a more powerful transformer of the
world than what you say, and more essential even than what you do. Furthermore, to recognize the primacy of Being, and thus wor k on the
level of cause, does not exclude the possibility that your compassion may
simultaneously m anifest on the level of doing and of ef fect by alleviating
suf fering whenever you come across it. When a hungry person asks you
for b read and yo u have some, yo u will give it. But as you give the bread,
even though your interaction may only be very brief, wh at reall y matters
is this moment o f shared Being, of which the bread is only a symbol. Adeep healing takes place within  it. In that moment, there is no giver, no
receiver. But ther e shouldn’ t be any hunger and starvation in the first place. How
can we cr eate a better world without tackling evils such as hunger and
violence first? All evils are the effect  of unco nsciousness.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        T o defend himself against her
pain-body’ s atta ck, which he sees as totally unwarranted, he wil l become
even mo re deeply entrenched in his mental positions as he justifies,
defends himself, or counterattac ks. Eventually, this may activate his own
pain-body. When  both partners h ave thus been taken over, a level of deep
unconsciousness has been reached, of emotional violence, savage attack
and counterattack. It will not subside until both pain-bodies have
replenished them selves and then enter the dormant stage. Until the next
time. This is only one of an endless number of possible scenarios. Many
volumes have been written, and  many more could be written, about the
ways in which unconsciousness is brought out in male-female
relationships. Bu t, as I said earlier, once you understand the root of the
dysfunction, you do not need to explore its countless manifestations. Let’ s briefly look again at the scenario I have just describe d. Every
challenge that it contains is actually a disguised opportunity for
salvation. At every stage of the unfolding dysfunctional process, freedom
from unconsciousness is possible. For example, the woman’ s hostility
could become a signal for the man to come out of his mind-identified
state, aw aken into the Now, become present — instead of becoming even
more id entified with his mind, even more unconscious. Instead of
“being” the pain-body, the woman could be the knowing that watches the
emotional pain in herself, thus accessing the power of the Now and
initiating the transmutation o f the pain. This would remove the
compulsive and automatic outward projection of it. She could then
express her feelings to her partner. There is no guarantee, of co urse, that
he w ill listen, b ut it gives him  a good chance to become present and
certainly breaks  the insane cycle of the involuntary acting out of old
mind pa tterns. If the woman m isses that opportunity, the man could
watch h is own  mental-emoti onal reaction to her pain, his own
defensiveness, r ather than being  the reaction. He could then watch hisown pain-body being triggered  and thus bring consciousness into his
emotions. In this way, a clear a nd still space of pure awarene ss would
come in to being — the knowing, the silent witness, the watcher. This
awareness does not deny the pain and yet is beyond it. It allows the pain
to b e an d yet transmutes it at the same time. It accepts everything and
transforms everything. A door would have opened up for her through
which she could easily join him in that space. If you are consistently or at least predominantly present in your
relationship, thi s will be the greatest challenge for your partn er. They
will not be able to tolerate your presence for very long and stay
unconscious. If they are ready, they will walk through the door that you
opened for them and join you in that state. If they are not, you will
separate like oil and water. The light is too painful for some one who
wants to remain in darkness. WHY WOMEN ARE CLOSER T O ENLIGHTENMENT
Ar e the obstacles to enlightenment the same for a man as for a woman. Y es, but the emphasis is dif ferent. Generally speaking, it is easier for a
woman to feel a nd be in her body, so she is naturally closer to B eing and
potentially closer to enlightenment than a man. This is why many ancient
cultures instinctively chose female figures or analogies to represent or
describe the formless and transcendental reality. It was often s een as a
womb that gives birth to everything in creation and sustains and
nourishes it during its life as form. In the T ao T e Ching, one of the most
ancient and profound books e ver written, the T ao, wh ich could be
translated as Being, is described as “infinite, et ernally present, the
mother o f the universe. ” Natural ly, women are closer to it than m en since
they virt ually “e mbody” the Unmanifested. What is more, all creatures
and all things must eventually return to the Source. “All things vanish
into the T ao. It alone endures. ” Since the Source is seen as female, this is
represented as the light and dark sides of the archetypal fem inine in
psychology and mythology. The Goddess or Divine Mother has two
aspects: She gives life, and she takes life. When the mind took over and humans lost touch with the realit y of their
divine e ssence, they started to think of God as a male figure. Society
became male-dominated, and th e female was made subordinate to the
male. I am  not suggesting a return to earlier female representations of the
divine. Some people now use the term Goddess  i nst ead of God. They are
redressing a balance between m ale and female that was lost a l ong time
ago, and that is good. But it is still a representation and a concept,
perhaps tempora rily useful, just as a map or a signpost is temporarily
useful, b ut more a hindrance th an a help when you are ready t o realize
the reality beyond all concept s and images. What does rem ain true,
however, is that the ener gy frequency of the mind appears to be
essentially male. The mind resi sts, fights for control, uses, man ipulates,
attacks, tries to grasp and possess, and so on. This is why the traditional
God is a patria rchal, controllin g authority figure, an often angry man
who you  should  live in fear of, as the Old T estament suggests. This God
is a projection of the human mind. T o g o b eyond th e mind and rec onnect with the deeper reality o f Being,
very dif ferent qualities are needed: surrender, non-judgment, an openness
that allo ws life to be instead of r esisting it, the capacity to hold all things
in th e loving em brace of your knowing. All these qualities a re much
more closely related to the fem ale principle. Whereas mind-ener gy is
hard and rigid, Being-ener gy is soft and yielding and yet infinitely more
powerful than mind. The mind r uns our civilization, whereas Being is in
char ge of all life on our planet and beyond. Being is the very Intelli gence
whose visible manifestation is the physical universe. Although women
are potentially closer to it, men can also access it within themselves. At this time, the vast majority o f men as well as women are still in the
grip of the mind: identified with the thinker and the pain-body. This, of
course, is what prevents enlightenment and the flowering of love. As a


. When cooked, drain the water of f.
Make a sauce in the blender with the tomatoes and garlic, and pour this
sauce on top of the vegetables and raw rice. Place some of the vegetables-ri ce mixture in the center of each leaf and
roll them up. Put these in a baking dish with a lid and bake in the oven for 1 to 1½
hours at 250° F.Green Peppers
2-4 sliced green peppers and 2-4 sliced onions. Stew in tightly covered pot approximately 30 minutes (add no water). Lima Beans and Zucchini
1 large onion, 1 clove garlic, ½ cup soup stock, 1 cup fresh lima beans, 3
cups zucchini, 4 med. tomatoes, ½ tsp cornstarch, 4 sprigs fresh parsley, a
dash of thyme and sage or a pinch of dried parsley. Mix all ingredients except herbs. Simmer about 15 minutes (until tender). Thicken with cornstarch mixed with a little water. Just before serving add herbs. Onions and Raisins
1 onion peeled and chopped plus ¼ cup raisins. Stew in tightly covered pot approximately 30 minutes. Onions, Cheese Marinated*
2 tbsp lemon juice, 3 oz pot cheese (unsalted, nonfat), ½ tsp brown sugar,
and 2 cups onions sliced thick. Stuffed Peppers  *
1 large green or red pepper, 4 oz pot cheese, ¼ onion, 1 zucchini, 1 small
carrot, 3 tomatoes, 1 small turni p, 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp fresh mixed herbs,
and 4 oz Special Soup. Put the pepper in a saucepan with a little water and cook over low heat
(covered) until tender. Remove from the pan and leave the pepper upside down to drain and
cool.Finely chop the onion, zucchini, carrot, herbs, tomatoes, turnip, and
garlic. Place in a small saucepan with the soup and simmer over low heat for 45
minutes to an hour. Core the pepper with a sharp knife, removing all seeds. Mix the pot cheese with the cooked vegetables and fill the pepper using a
small spoon. Stand the pepper in a suitable baking dish and bake for 40 minutes at
350° F. Serve with French T omato Sauce, baked potato, and a green vegetable. Potatoes
Potatoes are most often boiled slowly in a covered pot over medium-low
heat approximately 1 hour until tender. Baked Potatoes
Baked potatoes should be thoroughly washed, not scraped or peeled. Bake in a low-heat oven for 2 or 2½ hours or, alternatively, bake for 50
minutes to 1 hour at 350° F
Mashed Potatoes
Peel and cube potatoes. Place in pan with one small onion and enough water to bring to a boil and
simmer until done. When done, there should be no water left. Mash with enough nonfat yogurt to make smooth. Mashed Potatoes and Chard
Take one bunch of chard, green or red, wash and shred, and put in pan. Add small amount (4-5 tbsp) of water or soup stock, and start to boil. When boiling, turn down to simmer.Meantime, peel 3 large or 4 medium potatoes; cube and place on top of
the chard. Let simmer until potatoes are soft and done. Remove water if any remains, and add approximately 6-8 oz of nonfat
yogurt. Mash all together. Add a little more yogurt if the mixture is too dry. The same recipe  can be used with kale. When using kale, remove central
stems by stripping them before shredding into pan. Parsley Potatoes
Boil several potatoes in their skins until done. Remove the peel and roll in some chopped parsley after slightly brushing
with flaxseed oil. Potato Puffs  (Note: this is marginal food; eat rar ely)
Take a baking potato and cut it into thin (½") slices. Place the slices on the oven rack and, without any addition, bake at high
heat (425° F) to puff, turn over, and lower heat to 325° F (with oven door
cracked open). Bake for another 20 minutes. The slices puf f up and become crisp and tasty, almost like fried potatoes. Done when shiny brown on both sides.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        By the end of April 1980, the patient traveled to the Gerson hospital once
again for his first six-month checkup. (In all, after November 1979, he
returned to that hospital for semiannual examinations twelve times. ) His
cancer markers and blood tests showed a near -normal physiology so that the
Gerson diet was modified by Dr. Arturo Ortuna, who after eight weeks had
included yogurt, rye bread, raw skimmed milk, infrequent meals of fish,
chicken, and a few other items  heretofore forbidden. Senor Lechuga was
feeling better and better, and his mental outlook became optimistic. He told
stories, joked, sang, and became a joy to everyone around him. Having reported  his progress to Charlotte Gerson during the weekend of
October 17 and 18, 1981, he accepted her invitation to participate as aspeaker in San Diego at a “Gerson Survivors’ Conference. ” In June 1985,
Dr. Arturo Ortuno traveled with Senior Lechuga to a San Diego diagnostic
center for him to under go a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI ) to confirm
that after five years his cancer had completely cleared. It had. Receiving the
affirmative MRI report, Dr. A. Ortuno declared his patient officially cured
of cancer and asked him to return to the Gerson Hospital in one year for
another checkup. Then the doctor suggested that he go back to the very
restrictive Gerson Therapy for just one month more as a kind of “insurance”
toward his cure. This Senor Lech uga agreed to do along with promising that
he would report results of his following the difficult lifestyle for a final
month that’ s demanded by the therapy. When the patient telephoned Dr. Arturo Ortuno that single month later to
report on the experience, he learned that his forty-year -old physician had
just died and was being buried. While Dr.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: When did Jesus Lechuga have his first six-month checkup at the Gerson hospital?,
A: By the end of April 1980.
Q: What was the outcome of Jesus Lechuga's cancer treatment?,
A: The text does not explicitly state the outcome of Jesus Lechuga's cancer treatment, but it implies that he died of a new cancer diagnosis in 1999.
Q: What was the recommended treatment for Sandra Whitwell's cancer?,
A: Sandra Whitwell followed the Gerson Therapy, which included a diet and juice intake, and was able to recover from her ovarian cancer.
Q: What was the outcome of Patricia Ainey's cancer treatment?,
A: Patricia Ainey followed the Gerson Therapy and was able to recover from her pancreatic cancer.
Q: What is the recommended way to prepare vegetables according to the Gerson Therapy?,
A: According to the passage, vegetables should be cooked slowly in a covered pot over low heat, without adding water, to preserve their natural flavor and make them easily digestible.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Scalloped Potatoes
Take a glass baking dish and place one whole chopped onion in bottom. Slice potatoes and place one layer on top of the onion. Then place a layer of sliced tomato on top, another layer of sliced or
chopped onion. Sprinkle with a dash of marjoram and/or thyme and bake in a low oven
1-2 hours or until done.Potatoes and Carr ots, W estphalian Style
6-8 small carrot s sliced or 4-5 large carrots sliced, 3 medium potatoes or
2 large potatoes, 1 lar ge onion, and 3-4 tbsp of soup stock. Wash and slice carrots into pan. Peel and slice potatoes and chop onion. Add all together in pan with soup stock. Let simmer until done, adding a bit more soup stock if necessary. When done, no water should remain in pan. Red Cabbage
Combine in pan: ½ cabbage shredded, 3 tsp vinegar, 3 large chopped
onions, 2 bay leaves, and a little soup stock. Stew over low heat approximately ½ hour. Last half hour add: 3 apples peeled and grated plus 1 tsp raw sugar. Spinach
After cutting of f roots wash 3-4 times. Put in large, tightly covered pot that has a layer of onions on the bottom
of the pan. Do not add water. Stew over a low flame until spinach wilts. Pour of f excess juice. Serve chopped with slice of lemon. Stuffed Holiday SquashYN
1 large kabocha squash (about 4½ lbs), ¾ cup raw brown rice, ¼ cup raw
wild rice, rye or wheat berries, or more brown rice, 2½ cups vegetable stock
or purified water, 1 cup onion diced, 3 cloves garlic minced, 1½ cup fresh
peas shelled, or sprouted lentils, ¾ cup celery diced, ¾ cup yellow or red
bell pepper diced, ½ cup unsu lphured raisins or prunes (


. There are voices within both these days
transforming them into genuinely spiritual pursuits. Whether in
psychotherapy or at a religious service, the greatest gift we can receive is a
reminder to give more love. The ego loves to use both religion and psychotherapy for its purposes,
and clearly that includes the Christian religion as much as any other. But
there’ s no legitimate conversation about Jesus that’s not a conversation
about love. Reclaiming the radic alism of love is the only way of claiming a
radical relationship with Jesus, and the radical love of Jesus is the true
nature of the self. OceanofPDF. comRelationship to God
Every circumstance involves a relationship: our relationship to God, our
relationship to ourselves, our relationship to other people, or our
relationship to the world. Some would say we have no relationship to God because there is no
God. There are just atoms and particles that make up an amazing but
ultimately mean ingless goop. That means we’re floating in a random
universe where whatever meaning life has for us is the meaning  we bring to
it. That’s a respe ctable existenti al argument, but it’s a lonely one. It leaves
us very much on our own. It posits no “cosmic companionship,” as Martin
Luther King Jr. referred to the Holy Spirit’ s presence in our lives. If you
believe you’re on your own, in your experience then you will be. This gives
no sense of comfort, denying ourselves our inheritance of either power or
love. Then there are those who do believe in God but see Him as a
judgmental long-bearded man in the sky, just waiting for us to screw up and
not do what He told us to do so He can send us to the depths of hell. Such a
God is a God made in man’ s image rather than the other way around. The
notion of an angry God is a projection creat ed by angry people. Feeling
guilty, they assumed they deserved punishment. They therefore concocted
the image of a God who would mete out all the punishment they felt they
deserved. I can’t imagine that any of those people have made it to chapter 3
of this book. Then there are those who believe in a loving God yet don’t understand
how such a God would tolerate hungry children, global poverty, and endless
wars. Interesting, that, because it’s the question He has for us. Hungry
children, global poverty, and endless wars are a product of man’ s misuse of
power, not God’ s. Created with free will, we can think and do whatever we wish to think
and do. God Himself will not save us from the consequences. The Law of
Cause and Effect was created for our protection, and He does not violate
His own law. What He will do, and has done, is create the help we need in order that
we might choose more wisely. Asking Him to heal the world means asking
Him to turn us into the people who will do it for ourselves. Our relationship to God is, if we allow it to be, our most intimate
relationship. His is a voice that is always there to whisper in our ear. He is
closer than our breath to us. Our communion with him, our melding into
him, is the repair of our person alities and the restoration of our souls. For
many, the mystic Jesus is part of that repair. As far as the hungry children are concerned, this isn’t about our waiting
for God to work a miracle. God is waiting for us to do that. He has a very
simple answer to our prayers about this. His answer is “Feed them. ”
And we should do so now.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: What is the author's criticism of modern therapy?,
A: The author believes that therapists often focus on blaming others instead of helping clients understand their own patterns and behaviors.
Q: What is the author's perspective on the concept of "trauma" and "narcissist"?,
A: The author believes that these terms are overused and used as excuses rather than a genuine understanding of the issue.
Q: What is the author's view on forgiveness and its relationship to the ego?,
A: The author believes that forgiveness is not just about condoning someone else's actions, but about recognizing and releasing our own guilt and negativity, and choosing to respond with love.
Q: What is the author's perspective on the concept of "love"?,
A: The author believes that love is not something we can find outside of ourselves, but rather it is something we must learn to embody and choose to give to others.
Q: What is the author's view on the concept of "heaven" and "hell"?,
A: The author believes that heaven is not a physical place, but rather a state of consciousness that arises from recognizing our oneness with God and others, and that this is the only way to escape the "hell" of separation and suffering.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Guilt is the corne rstone of the ego’s thought system, just as
innocence is the cornerstone of the Holy Spirit’ s.
In projecting guilt onto someon e else, we are attacking ourselv es. Like
an autoimmune disease, the ego insanely attacks that which we are meant to
bless. Given that the power of the mind is literally infinite, it becomes an
instrument of mass destruction more powerful than any we can imagine. I remember having dinner with my daughter when she was about ten
years old. I don’t know how the topic came up, but somehow there was a
mention of nuclear bombs. I remember her putting her little head in her
hands and saying with great intensity, “The fact that they exist is insane.”
She said it with a moral clarity  that only a child can express—simple
and unequivocal. There were not yet mitigating factors, complicated
justifications, or any excuses whatsoever that could veil the absolute truth
in her mind. And she was right. The issue is not that nuclear bombs are good or bad. The issue is that
they are insane. Given  that enough of them  could destroy human
civilization as we know it, or possibly even the species for at least a fewhundred thousand years, the very fact that they exist is an example of how
humanity crucifi es itself. When Gandhi said that the problem of the world is
that humanity is not in its right mind, he was right. Yet we can choo se again. We can be as vigilant against the ego as for it. The resurrection  having already been accomplished, the issue is whether or
not we choose to claim it. Resurrection is a choice. We live in a world in which crucifixion is given more respect than love. We have more faith in the powe r of cancer to kill us than we have in God to
heal us. How much more attention and resources are given to those who
know how to wage war and manufacture the means to do it, than to those
who know how to wage peace and build thriving communities? We literally
give more respe ct to fear than to love. Our collective ego uses all manner of
pseudosophistication to obscure its real intentions. The way of resurrection
is available; it’ s simply too often unchosen. Jesus having already broken the spell of darkness, the resurrection is
now an established fact in the ethers of human consciousness. It’s like a
superpower we just leave lying  on the sidewalk. Saying we believe in the
resurrection yet refusing to live its message, we simply mock Jesus as he
was mocked before. And what is our resistance? Why, with so many professing our desire to
love and to be loved, do we so often not? Surely it is not because love is
unreasonable. According to A Cours e in Miracles, love restores reason and
not the other way around. No, our resistance is about some thing deeper than that. Our resistance is
the fact that the one thing we find scarier than death is the prospect of
having to change. Some people would rather die than change their mind*
(MT-51). If Jesus is real, if he is alive and his power is available to us, then
basically everyth ing we’ve ever been taught about the world is untrue. And
that’s true—but also terrifying to the ego. The ego is terrified of love, and our identification with ego has made us
terrified of love too. The belief that we are separate is so ingrai ned into our
thought system that we fear annihilation without it. That’ s because to the
ego, love is annihilation. Those who profess love as the cure to the world’ s ailments are so often
deemed “not in touch with reality.” The reality we don’t choose  to be in
touch with is a reality that will kill us all. Even more significantly than that,the ego’s reality isn’t even ultimate reality. Humanity is awakeni ng from the
real to the Real. From climate change that could  make the planet uninhabitable for most
people, to prospects of nuclear disaster, our current way of living on this
planet is a slow-moving crucifixion of the human race. But the story isn’ t over. Resurrection is a choice. OceanofPDF.comTomb Time
Sometimes we crucify ourselves, while at other times we’re crucified by
others. We’ve felt at times like we were cast into a darkened cave, our
hopes and dreams having been shattered in front of us. We feel the ego has
won; we’re done; we


 in the respective chapters o f this book. Her wealth can come to her independent of her husband, father, or
anyone else. A woman is not dependent on her husband for health,
peace, joy, inspiration, guidance, love, wealth, security, happiness, or
anything in the world. Her security and peace of mind come fr om her
knowledge of the inner powers within her and from the constant use of
the laws of her own mind in a constructive fashion. • How to attract the ideal husband
You are now acquainted with the way your subconscious mind
works. You know that whatever you impress upon it will be
experienced in your world. Begin now to impress your sub-conscious
mind with the qualities and characteristics you desire in a man. The following is an excellent technique: Sit down at night in your
armchair, close your eyes, let go, relax the body, become very quiet,
passive, and receptive. Talk to your subconscious mind and say t o it,
“I am now attracting a man into my ex-perience who is honest,
sincere, loyal, faithful, peaceful, happy, and prosperous. These
qualities, which I admire, are sinking down into my subconscious
mind now. As I dwell upon these characteristics, they become  a part
of me and are embodied subconsciously. “I know there is an irresistible law of attraction and that I attract to
me a man according to my subconscious belief. I at-tract that  which I
feel to be true in my subconscious mind. “I know I can contribute to his peace and happiness. He loves m y
ideals, and I love his ideals. He does not want to make me ove r;
neither do I want to make him over. There is mutual love, freedom,
and respect.”
Practice this process of impregnating your subconscious mind. Then, you will have the joy of attracting to you a man possessing  the
 148  qualities and characteristics you mentally dwelt upon. Your
subconscious intelligence will open up a pathway, whereby both of
you will meet, according to the irresistible and changeless  flow of
your own subconscious mind. Have a keen desire to give the best that
is in you of love, devotion, and co-operation. Be receptive to this gift of love, which you have given to your
subconscious mind. • How to attract the ideal wife
Affirm as follows: “I now attract the right woman who is in
complete accord with me. This is a spiritual union because i t is divine
love functioning through the personality of someone with whom I
blend perfectly. I know I can give to this woman love, light, pea ce,
and joy. I feel and believe I can make this woman’s life full, complete,
and wonderful. “I now decree that she possesses the following
qualities  and attributes: She is spiritual, loyal, faithful, and true. She
is har-monious, peaceful, and happy. We are irresistibly at tracted to
each other. Only that which belongs to love, truth, and beauty ca n
enter my experience. I accept my ideal companion now.”
As you think quietly and with interest on the qualities and attributes,
which you admire in the companion you seek, you will build the
mental equivalent into your mentality. Then, the deeper current s of
your subconscious mind will bring both of you together in divine
order. • No need for third mistake
Recently a teacher said to me, “I have had three husbands and all
three have been passive, submissive, and dependent on me to m ake all
decisions and govern everything. Why do I attract such type men?”
I asked her whether she had known that her second hus-band was
the
effeminate type, and she replied, “Of course not. Had I known, I
would not have married him.” Apparently she had not learned
anything from the first mistake. The trouble was with her pe rsonality
 149  make-up. She was very masculine, domineering, and unconsciously
wanted someone who would be submissive and passive so that she
could play the dominant role. All this was unconscious motivation,
and her subconscious pic-ture attracted to her what she subject ively
wanted. She had to learn to break the pattern by adopting the right
prayer process. • How she broke the negative pattern
The above-mentioned woman learned a simple truth. When you
believe you can have the type of man you idealize, it is done unto y ou,
as you believe. The following is the specific prayer she used to break
the old subconscious pattern and attract to her the ideal mate : “I am
building into my mentality the type of man I deeply desire. T he man I
attract for a husband is strong, powerful, loving, very masculine,
successful, honest, loyal, and faithful. He finds love and happiness
with me. I love to follow where he leads. “I know he wants me, and I want him. I am honest, sincere, loving,
and kind. I have wonderful gifts to offer him. They are good will, a
joyous heart, and a healthy body. He offers me the same. It is mutual. I give and I receive. Divine intelligence knows where this man is, and the deeper
wisdom of my subconscious mind is now bringing both of us together
in its own way, and we recognize each other immediately. I re lease
this request to my subconscious mind, which knows how to bring my
request to pass. I  give thanks for the perfect answer.”
She prayed in the above manner night and morning, affirm-ing these
truths and knowing that through frequent occupation of the mind she
would reach the mental equivalent of that which she sought. • The answer to her prayer
Several months went by. She had a great number of dates and soci al
engagements, none of which was agreeable to her. When she was
about to question, waiver, doubt, and vacillate, she reminded herself
that the infinite intelligence was bringing it to pass in  its own way and
 150  that there was nothing to be con-cerned about. Her final decree  in her
divorce proceedings was granted which brought her a great sens e of
release and mental freedom. Shortly afterward she went to work as a receptionist in a doctor’s
office. She told me that the minute she saw the physician she kne w he
was the man she was praying about. Apparently he knew it, too,
because he proposed to her the first week she was in the  office, and
their subsequent marriage was ideally happy. This physician  was not
the passive or submissive type, but was a real man, a form er football
player, an outstanding athlete, and was a deeply spiritual ma n though
he was completely devoid of any sectarian or denominational
affiliation. She got what she prayed for because she claimed it men-tal ly until
she  reached the point of saturation. In other words, she mentally and
emotionally united with her idea, and it became a part of her  in the
same way that an apple becomes a part of her blood stream. • Should I get a divorce? Divorce is an individual problem. It cannot be generalized. In some
cases, of course, there never should have been a mar-riage. I n some
cases, divorce is not the solution, no more so than marriage is t he
solution for a lonely man. Divorce may be right for one pers on and
wrong for another. A divorced woman may be far more sincere and
noble than many of her married sisters who perhaps are living a lie. For example, I once talked with a woman whose husband was a
dope fiend, an ex-convict, a wife-beater, and a non-provider. Sh e had
been told it  was wrong to get a divorce. I explained to her tha t
marriage is of the heart. If two hearts blend harmoniously, lovi ngly,
and sincerely, that is the ideal marriage. The pure action of the heart is
love. Following this explanation she knew what to do. She knew in her
heart that there is no divine law which compelled her to be
browbeaten, intimidated, and beaten because someone said, “I
pronounce you man and wife.”
 151  If you are in doubt as to what to do, ask for guidance, knowing that
there is always an answer, and you will receive it. Follow the lead that
comes to you in the silence of your soul. It speaks to you in peace. • Drifting into divorce
Recently a young couple, married for only a few months, was
seeking a divorce. I discovered that the young man had a consta nt fear
that his wife would leave him. He expected rejec-tion, and he bel ieved
that she would be unfaithful. These thoughts haunted his mind, and
became an obsession with him. His mental attitude was one of
separation and suspicion. She felt unresponsive to him; it was his own
feeling or atmosphere of loss and separation operating through t hem. This brought about a condition or action in accordance with the
mental pat-tern behind it. There is a law of action and react ion, or
cause and effect. The thought is the action, and the response of t he
subconscious mind is the reaction. His wife left home and asked for a divorce, which is what he fe ared
and believed she would do. • Divorce begins in the mind
Divorce takes place first in the mind; the legal proceeding s follow


 specific as might be concluded from what has been
said so far. The effects of all vitamins ove rlap and interlace to such a degree that no
disease can be cured by administering one vitamin, and no disease is caused by any
single vitamin deficiency. The single cause and the single cure exist only in
experimental animals in the laboratory. The complexities of civilized life make it impossible that the conditions surrounding
the laboratory animal could ever be duplicated in human existence. It is apparent that
the pellagra cases which show insanity as the outstanding symptom are not suffering
from just a lack of nicotinic acid, or a lack of even all the vitamin B group; but are suffering from a lack of all vitamins, the most extreme deficiency being in the B
2
complex, with emphasis on that part of it which we call niacin-amide. Such a patient undoubtedly also suffers from mineral deficiencies. The concentration of minerals and vitamins in the diets of animals that eat both
vegetable and animal foods (meat, vegetables, fruits, and milk products) is undoubtedly
sufficient to meet the daily needs without setting up much surplus. The vitamins and
minerals supplied to the body is very much like the coal supplied to the furnace. A continuous stream must be kept going in order that the mechanism may function at its
best. Some reserves of vitamin A are to be f ound in the retina and the liver. Some reserves
of vitamin C may be found in the adrenal glands. Some reserves of vitamin D exist in
fats, but these reserves are exhausted in a fe w days or weeks if a constant supply is not
provided. In order to provide an optimum supply, every food taken into the body must
be a vitamin and mineral containing food. Any part of the food intake which has been deprived of its normal, natural vitamin or mineral content dilutes the good food which is
taken by the individual and cuts down his ability to resist infection in just the degree that such a deficient intake constitutes a percentage of the whole diet. The studies made by the author of 2,707 cases of patients suffering with tumors,
cancers, stomach ulcers, colitis, constipation, neuritis, arthritis, heart disease, chronic
headaches, and high and low blood pressure disclose that fact that this group as a group
was consuming 55 per cent white flour products (bread, cookies, cake, pastries, pancakes, biscuits, muffins, etc. ). The sugar taken by this group represented by candy,
marmalade, preserves, jellies, jams, and canned goods containing heavy sugar syrups
added another 20 per cent to the deficient devitaminized, devitalized, demineralized foods. (Report by author to American Rad ium Society, Annual Meeting, Cleveland,
Ohio, 1934. ) The "Food and Drug journal" keeps an accurate record of the export and import of
food products. According to this journal, devitaminized wheat flour products imported
into the city of New York constitute around 55 per cent of the whole food intake. The
consumption of canned goods and sugar brings the percentage down to about the same as the group of 2,700 Midwest persons studied. In other words, the clinical group
suffering from definite disease was eating from 18 to 25 per cent vitamin and mineral
containing foods. The imports of food into the City of New York showed that the food intake of the population of that city measured around 25 per cent vitamin and mineral
containing food, and about 75 per cent dev itaminized, devitalized, demineralized food. The diluting of the acceptable food by foods which had been so changed as to render
them nearly pure carbohydrate (sugar, white flour, candy, etc. ) was the fundamental
error in both groups. And the group presenting well-developed disease evidently
represented only a more advanced stage of the same kind of vitamin and mineral
deficiency, The seven million people represented in the New York group had, in the younger decades, a certain freedom from the diseases mentioned; but they were laying
the foundation for the same serious diseases, as they were suffering from colds, sinus
disease, tooth and mouth diseases, chronic tonsillitis, and other things which provide
foci for the distribution of toxic material into the heart, blood vessels, brain, and
intestinal lining. More slowly and surely, they were laying the foundation for the diseases of the glands of internal secretion --for a failure of function of the pituitaries,
pancreas, gonads, liver, thyroids, parathyroids, and adrenals. The age group which we
examined ranged higher than the group represented by the whole population of New York City. They represented the culmination of years of deficiency, chronic infections,
repeated colds, of headaches, and disease of the mucous membrane. The best evidence that we are not getting the things in our diet which we should get is
the fact that persons in every one of these groups will be better physically and mentally
when put on a high mineral, high vitamin diet, and given large amounts of multiple
vitamin concentrates and minerals to make up for past deficiencies. CHAPTER V
WHAT ARE THE RESULTS
OF OUR DIETARY ERRORS. When a baby is born into the world, it is born into a fight against infection. He is
exposed to many different kinds of infection from the moment of birth until death. The best proof of the ever-present attacking microorganisms being everywhere in great
numbers is the rapidity with which a body decays after death. As long as any life is
present, some kind of a barrier is kept up against infection. The decay that occurs
immediately after death is simply the result of  the already present b acterial life attacking
a now defenseless group of cells. The defenses in our body structures are something that
are tied up with life. Life proceeds normally in the well-nourished cells with no danger
from invading microorganisms as long as the bodily defenses are kept high. There are varying degrees of life pro cesses. The flame of life may burn high or bum
low. In the well-nourished body the flame burns at its optimum, and the defense
mechanisms which have come down to us through thousands of generations function
well. The mechanisms which protect us against the ever-present and varying kinds of
infection may be lowered in various ways. The defense mechanism may be lowered by
long-continued exposure to cold, by fatigue, and by bad diet. In actual experience, the
one which must interest us most is that which has to do with diet. Since it is quite
evident that the diets in use in every civilized country today are not the optimum diets, it
is equally evident that we are all exposed to diseases which result from the barriers
against infection being lowered. Perhaps the most common infections are those connected with the upper respiratory
tract--the diseases ordinarily known as colds, grippe, flu, and pneumonia. These
diseases are largely diseases of the human animal, and undoubtedly affect humans
because of the difference between human and animal diets. The diseases of the respiratory tract affect the nose with its accessory sinuses, through the bronchial tubes
and the lungs. The acute stage of the colds passes off in a few days, but after acute colds
there remains some sub acute or chronic disease of sinuses, tonsils, and bronchial tubes. This may persist for months or years, flaring up with each newly acquired cold and
settling down to a chronic state between colds. These chronically affected areas become foci of infection for the distribution of disease germs to other parts of the body. Small
abscesses may exist in the tonsils or between the tonsils and the pillars. Larger
abscesses may exist in the sinuses, or the symptoms of focal infection may exist without
abscess formation, simply from the absorption of toxic material from the infected mucous membrane lining the bronchial tubes. In experimental animals, these symptoms and the certainty with which they take hold
may be influenced by restricting the vitamin and mineral intake of the animal. There is very great similarity between the symptoms produced in the laboratory animal and the
symptoms as they actually exist in the so-called civilized human existing on a
deficiency diet. Experimental disease of th e gastro-intestinal tract, stomach ulcer, may
be produced by feeding the kind of diets ordi narily consumed in the average household. In India, experiments made by McCarrisson a nd other British observers showed that the soldiers living in areas where stomach ulcer was prevalent also developed many cases
of stomach ulcer. This occurred when the soldiers were kept on a native diet. When put
on a better diet, the percentage of stomach ulcers was reduced to that in ordinary army life. Experiments on animals, giving them the diets of the people of these ulcer areas,
produced stomach ulcer in about the same proportion as in humans. The first treatment for stomach ulcer which attained any great attention by the medical
profession was the so-called Sippy treatment. This treatment consisted in neutralizing
the highly acid condition of the stomach with chalk and other alkalines, but it also
included hourly feedings of milk or cream and orange juice. Sippy knew nothing
whatever of vitamins, and perhaps never thought of such a thing as mineral deficiency in this class of diseases, but through a fortuitous accident his treatment provided the
patient with calcium and also with the vitamins contained in butter fat, milk, and orange juice. This treatment supplies only a part of the whole deficiency needs of a person with this
type of disease, but it was so great an improvement over the deficiency diets which produced the disease that many patients were temporarily cured. Sippy and the others of


 neurotransmitter called imipramine is
produced abnormally in the brains of depressed people. While looking for the distribution of imipramine receptors,
they were startled to ﬁnd them not just on the brain cells
but on skin cells. Why should the skin create receptors for
a “mental molecule”? What did these skin receptors have to
do with depression? One plausible answer is that a depressed person is
depressed everywhere—he has a sad brain, sad skin, sad
liver, and so on. (Likewise, researchers have examined
patients who complain of feeling jittery all the time and
discovered abnormally high levels of two chemicals,
epinephrine and norepinephrine, in their brains and
adrenal glands. However, high concentrations were then
found in their blood platelets, meaning that they had
“jittery blood cells,” too.) It has been frustrating for doctors to realize how complex
the whole business is becoming. Hopes for a quick cure of
schizophrenia, depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, and
other disorde rs were dashed in the mid-1970s, just a few
years after the original endorphins had been isolated in1973. Now the chemical barrier is stronger than ever, as
the true ﬂexibility of the messenger molecules is being
divined. —
Thinking about this probl em, I have to ask myself a deeper
question: Can a drug really exorcise the ghost of memory? My medical experience says no—I have seen too many
depressed patients who were “cured” by drugs and yet who
still radiate a feeling of hollow sickness. Instead of trusting
drugs, one needs to ﬁnd out how the patient’s sick memory
got into his chemical system to begin with. For it is
absolutely clear that the nonmaterial memory is there. It
may be taking a ride on a molecule, but its life does not
depend on that. The following case serves as an example. Walter grew up on the streets of south Boston in the late
1960s; he felt the edge of hatred that greeted black people
who moved into that neighborhood. To escape this and the
poverty that had dogged  him all his life, Walter joined the
Army at 18. Within six months he found himself in Vietnam. He fought in combat and survived, but when he bounced
back onto the street again two years later, he was hooked
on heroin, which many soldiers used to make the war less
traumatic. Unlike most soldiers, Walter had no reason to
quit when he got home. Eventually the police caught him,
and by order of the court he came under my care at the V.A. hospital for his addiction.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        In truth, no other recent event in biomedicine
has been as revolutionary as these discoveries. The arrival
of neurotransmitters on the scene makes the interaction of
mind and matter far more mobile and ﬂowing than ever
before—far closer to the model of the river. They also help
ﬁll the gap that apparently separates mind and body, one of
the deepest mysteries that man has faced since he began to
consider what he is. —
At ﬁrst, around 1973, it seemed that only two
neurotransmitters were needed, one to activate a distant
cell, such as a muscle, and the other to slow down the
activity. Two brain chemicals, acetylcholine and
norepinephrine, do just that; they are the “go” and “slow
down” signal s of the nervous system. They were considered
revolutionary at the time, because they proved that the
impulse sent from one nerve cell to the next was not
electrical but chemical in nature. All at once, the accepted
notion of tiny sparks jumping from neuron to neuron was
rendered obsolete. But the new chemical model at ﬁrst
continued to preserve the basic theory that only two signals
were necessary. Man-made computers operate using just
this kind of binary switch, and apparently so did the brain. Then, as molecular biologists around the world began to
investigate more deeply, numerous new neurotra nsmitters
cropped up, each with a diﬀerent molecular structure and
apparently a diﬀerent message to deliver. Structurally,
many of them were related, being built up as peptides,
complex chains of amino acids of the same kind as those
which appea r in the proteins that make up every cell,
including brain cells. A great many riddles began to be solved, directly or
indirectly, as these discoveries emerged. If you take a
sleeping cat, remove a tiny portion of its spinal ﬂuid, and
inject it into a cat that is awake, the second  cat will
immediately fall asleep. This is becau se a cat’s brain puts
its body to sleep chemically, with its own internal sleeping
potion. In order for the animal to wake up again, the
opposite chemical, a wake-up signal, must be injected into
the spinal column. In humans, where the same chemical mech anisms
operate, the body is awakened in the morning not by a rude
internal alarm but by a series of timed signals, at ﬁrst mild,
then progressively stronger, that lift us from deep  sleep by
stages. The whole process involves a gradual transition, in
four or ﬁve waves, from the biochemistry of sleep to the
biochemistry of wakefulness. If this process is interrupted,
you do not come as fully awake as you should—the
biochemistry of two distinct phases has been mixed. That is
why parents  of newborns, having to get up several times
during the night, feel that they are never quite normal
during the day. Alarm clocks also jolt us out of our natural
wake-up patterns, giving rise to grogginess that may
persist all day, until the next round of sleeping-and-waking
readjusts the mind-body chemistry. Here is a related example. All camels exhibit an unusual
tolerance for high levels of pain—they can calmly chew on
thorns while  at the same  time being beaten with a stick by
an irate camel driver. Curious researchers examined
camels’ brain cells and found that they produce large
quantities of a speciﬁc biochemical that, if injected into
other animals, causes them to ignore pain, too. Sleep and
pain toleranc e, it is now known, thus depend on precise
chemical messengers produced in the brain. One by one, various other functions that were once “all in
your head ” have been connected to speciﬁcneurotransmitters. Schizophrenics suﬀering acutely from
hallucinations and psychotic thoughts often improve
dramatically if put on a kidney dialysis machine, which
ﬁlters impurities from the blood. As we saw, brain
researchers have established that a neurotransmitter called
dopamine exists in abnormally high levels in the brains of
schizophrenics. Current chemical treatment of the disorder
entails using psycho-active drugs that suppress dopamine;
perhaps the dialysis machine is actually removin g it, or a
related by-product, from the bloodstream. By the mid-1980s, barely ten years after the original
breakthrough, more than ﬁfty such neurotransmitters and
neuropeptides were known. All ﬁfty can be manufactured
on one side of the synapses between our neurons, and once
they cross the synapses, all ﬁfty can be received by the
receptor sites on the other side. This implies an incredible
ﬂexibility to communicate from cell to cell. The individual
neuron was now seen to be a producer of messages that did
not just say “yes” or “no,” as a computer does. The brain’s
vocabulary is far larger, encompassing thousands of
combinations of separate signals, with no end in sight,
since new neurotransmitters continue to be discovered at a
fast rate. What kind of messages do nerve cells exchange with one
another. The answer is tantalizing, for certain segments of
our chemica l vocabulary  seem to be just as speciﬁc as
ordinary speech, while others are highly ambigu ous. Our
tolerance for pain, like the camel’s, depends on the class of
biochemicals discovered in the 1970s called endorphins
and enkeph alins, which act as the body’s natural
painkillers. The word endorphin  means “internal
morphine,” and enkephalin  means “inside the brain. ” And
that is their story: they are like a version of morphine
produced by the brain itself. This hitherto  unknown ability to make internal opiates
proved very exciting. It was already suspecte d that the
body must be able to regulate the sensation of pain. Although insistent, pain does not always register on our
awareness. Strong emotions, for example, can override
pain signals from the body, as when a mother rushes to
save her child from a burning house or a wounded soldier
ﬁghts on, ignoring the pain of his injuries. Under more
ordinary circumstances, all of us to some extent can take
our attention away from a minor pain—we don’t  notice a
sore throat, for instance, if we are talking to someone with
intense interest. Despite this common experience


 conception,
and it’ s a total m ystery to everyone on our planet. In compari son to what
there is to know, we are only e mbryos. Keep this in mind whenever you
encounter those who are absolu tely certain that there’ s only on e way to do
something. Resist being a pessimist. Resist with all your might, because we hardly
know anything at all in compar ison with what there is  to know. Can you
imagine what a pessimist who lived only 200 years ago would think about
the world we live in? Airplanes, electricity, automobiles, television, remote
controls, the Internet, fax machi nes, telephones, cellular phones, and so on. All bec ause of that spark of open-mindedness that allowed progress,
growth, and creativity to flourish. And what of the future and all of your  tomorrows? Can you picture faxing
yourself back to the 14th century, flying without machines, te lepathically
communicating, demolecularizi ng yourself and rearranging yourself on
another galaxy, or cloning a she ep from a photograph of a sheep? An open
mind allows you to explore and  create and grow. A closed mind seals of f
any such creative explanation. Remember that progress would be
impossible if we always did thin gs the way we always have. The ability to
participate in miracles—true mir acles in your life—happens when you open
your mind to your limitless potential. The Miracle
Mind-set
Refuse to allow yourself to have low expectations about what you’re
capable of creating. As Michelangelo suggested, the greater
danger is not that your hopes are too high and you fail to reach them; it’ s
that they’re too low and you do. Ha ve within y ou an imaginary candle
flame th at burns  brightly regardless of what goes before you. Let this innerflame represent for you the idea that you’re capable of manifesting miracles
in your life. In every  single case of a person experiencing a spontaneous healing or
overcoming som ething that was considered to be impossible, the individual
went thr ough a complete reversal of personality. They actually rewrote their
own agreement with reality. T o experience Godlike spontaneous miracles,
you mus t have a sense of your self as Godlike. The Scriptures say, “W ith
God all things ar e possible.” Now tell me, what does that leave out? A mind
that’ s open to everything means being peaceful, radiating love, practicing
for giveness, being generous, respecting all life, and most important,
visualizing yourself as capable of doing anything that you can conceive of
in yo ur mind an d heart. Whatever universal law that has ever b een utilized
to m anifest a miracle anywhere, any time, and in any person is  still on the
books. I t has never been repea led, and it never will be. Y ou possess the
same ener gy, the same God-consciousness, to be a miracle worker—but
only if you truly believe and know it within yourself. Understand that  what you think about expands (“As a man thinketh, so is
he”). If your tho ughts are filled w ith doubt and you have a closed mind, you
will of necessity act upon those closed-minded doubts, and you’ll see
evidence of your thinking virtually everywhere you are. On the  other hand,
should you decide (make no m istake about this, it is  a choice) to have a
mind that’ s open to everything, then you’ll act upon that inner ener gy, and
you’ll b e the creator as well as the recipient of miracles where ver you are. Y ou wil l experience what W alt Whitman meant when he wro te, “T o me,
every cubic inch of space is a miracle.”
What Being Open to Everything Means
Everything  me ans just what it says. No exceptions. When someone
suggests something to you that conflicts with your conditioning, rather than
responding with, “That’ s ridiculous; we all know that’ s impossible,” say,
“I’ve ne ver cons idered that before. I’ll think about it.” Open yourself up to
the spiritual ideas of all people, and listen with an open mind to crazy
schemes and ideas that at first seem to be outrageous. If someone suggeststhat crystals can cure hemorrhoi ds, that natural herbs can lower cholesterol,
that peo ple will eventually be able to breathe underwater, or that levitation
is possible—listen, and be curious. Let go of your attachments to what you’ve been trained to believe. Open
your mi nd to all  p ossibilities, because whether you believe something is
possible or impossible, either way you’ll be right. How can that be true? Y our agreement  with reality and all that’ s possible determines what you’ll
become. If you’re convinced that you can’ t become wealthy, famous,
artistic, a professional athlete, a great singer, or whatever, you will act upon
that inne r conviction that prevents you from manifesting what you’d really
like. All that you’ll get from your ef fort is being right. When you need to be
right, yo u’re att ached to your co nditioned reflex of the way thi ngs are and
always have been; and you assume they will always be. Releasing Y our Attachments
This first secret has two components: (1) a mind that is open to
everything, and (2) a mind that is attached to nothing. Y our atta chments are
the s ource of all your problems. The need to be right, to possess someone or
something, to win at all costs, to  be viewed by others as superior—these are
all a ttachments. The open mind resists these attachments and consequently
experiences inner peace and success. T o r elease attachments, you h ave to make a shift in how you view
yourself. If your primary ide ntification is with your body and your
possessions, you r ego is the dominant force in your life. If you can tame
your ego  suf ficiently, you’ll call upon your spirit to be the guid ing force in
your life. As a spiritual being, you can observe your body and be a
compassionate w itness to your existence. Y our spiritual aspect sees the folly
of a ttachments because your spiritual self is an infinite soul. Nothing can
make you happy or successful. These are inner constructs that you bring to
your world, rather than what you receive from it. If you think pea ceful thoughts, you’ll feel peaceful emotions, and that’ s
what you’ll bring to every life situation. If you’re attached to be ing right orabsolutely need something in order to be at peace or to be successful, you’ll
live a life of striving yet never arriving. It’ s poss ible to have a burning desire yet not have attachments. Y ou can
have an inner vi sion of what you intend to manifest and still deta ch yourself
from the outcome. How? Consider this observation in A Course in
Miracles:  “ Infinit e patien ce produces immediate results.” It sounds like a
paradox, doesn’ t  it? Infinite patience implies an absolute certainty that what
you’d lik e to manifest will indeed show up, in perfect order, and  exactly on
time. The immediate result you receive from this inner knowing is a sense
of p eace. When you detach from the outcome, you’re at peace, and you’ll
ultimately see the fruits of your convictions. Suppose you had a choice between two magic wands. W ith W and A, you
can have  any physical thing you  desire by simply waving it. W ith W and B,
you can have a sense of peace for the rest of your life regardl ess of what
circumstances a rise. Which would you pick? A guarantee of st uf f, or inner
peace for the rem ainder of your life? If you opt for peace, then you already
have W a nd B. Simply have a mind that is open to everything but  attached to
nothing. Let it all come and go as it will. Enjoy it all, but never make your
happiness or success dependent  on an attachment to any thing, any place,
and particularly, any person. In all of your r elationships, if you can love someone enough to allow
them to be exactly what they choose to be—without any expecta- tions or
attachments from  you—you’ll know true peace in your lifetime. T rue love
means you love a person for what they ar e, not for what you think they
should be. This is an open mind— and  an absence of attachment.T h e  S e c o n d  S e c r e t
Ther e is just one life for
each of us: our own. — Euripides
A musician must make
music, an artist must
paint, a poet must write,
if he be at peace with
himself What a man
can be, he must be. — Abraham Maslow
D o n ’ t  D i e
w i t h  Y o u r
M u s i c  S t i l l
i n  Y o u2
T h e  S e c o n d  S e c r e t
Dont Die
with Y our Music
Still in Y ou
The world you l ive in is an intelligent system