ualistic,	i. e.,	the	one	who	loves	and	that	or	who	which	is	loved. Love	starts	out	as	conditional	and	a	feeling	state,	but	it	progresses. It
becomes	apparent	that	love	is	a	way	of	seeing,	experiencing,	and
interpreting	life. Later,	it	becomes	apparent	that	it	is	a	state	of	being. Life	itself	becomes	the	expression	of	love,	and	that	love	is	the	way	to
realizing	that	one’s	life	is	love. In	the	final	realization,	the	divinity	of	love
transforms	perception	into	spiritual	vision,	and	the	presence	of	God	as	All
That	Is	becomes	self-revealing. All	existence	radiates	forth	the	Divinity	of
its	essence	as	Creation,	which	is	the	manifestation	of	the	love	of	God. Q:	Love	is	the	pathway	of	devotion. Is	it	not	therefore	the	most	effective. A:	Love	is	transformative;	its	power	sweeps	away	all	obstacles. It	is	both	the
means	and	the	end. It	brings	forth	willingness	and	the	capacity	to
surrender. It	brings	forth	compassion	and	the	desire	to	understand. With
understanding,	forgiveness	ensues. With	the	relinquishment	of
positionality,	one	then	realizes	there	is	nothing	to	forgive. Judgment
dissolves	and	condemnation	and	hatred	are	no	longer	possible. Ignorance
born	of	innocence	is	seen	to	be	the	only	‘defect’	that	needs	to	be
transcended. It	is	seen	that	the	nature	of	Creation	is	as	it	is	and	not	in	need
of	correction. Q:	Is	love	not	merely	a	commonplace	emotion. It	is	talked	about
endlessly. A:	Love	is	definitely	not	the	prevailing	level	of	consciousness	of	mankind. Seventy-eight	percent	of	the	world’s	population	calibrates	below	200
(basic	Integrity)	and	is	therefore	focused	on	negativity. Only	0. 4	percent	of
the	population	ever	reaches	the	level	of	Unconditional	Love	that	can	be
called	‘lovingness’. Love	is	an	awareness,	an	attitude,	a	context	for	understanding	life. Love	is	the	leading	edge	of	Reality	and	the	oneness	and	essence	of	the
Spirit. To	deny	love	is	to	deny	God. Love	is	obscured	by	positionality	and
judgment. Most	of	society	invalidates	love	as	a	rational	basis	for	decision
and	action. There	are	whole	segments	of	the	population	that	view	love	for
one’s	fellowman	as	a	weakness. Mankind	really	wants	gain,	pride,
possession,	power,	and	the	right	to	revenge	and	retaliate	with	punishment. The	United	States,	or	the	land	of	‘freedom’,	has	more	people	and	a
greater	percentage	of	its	population	in	prison	than	any	other	countryexcept	China. Society	declares	‘war’	on	its	problems	that,	of	course,	then
multiply. Force	is	ineffective	and	a	weak	substitute	for	power. In	contrast,
people	will	do	almost	anything	out	of	respect	and	love	and	very	little	out
of	fear. Without	the	loyalty	born	of	respect,	even	a	general	cannot
command	his	troops	to	obey,	and	without	that	aspect	of	love	called	respect,
insurrection	and	mutiny	arise. Force	can	only	act	as	a	temporary	stopgap. All	the	empires	that	were	ruled	by	fear	have	collapsed. Religions	that	are
based	on	the	fear	of	sin	rather	than	on	the	love	of	God	are	inherently	weak. Lovingness	is	a	way	of	relating	to	the	world. It	is	a	generosity	of
attitude	that	expresses	itself	in	seemingly	small	but	powerful	ways. It	is	a
wish	to	bring	happiness	to	others,	to	brighten	their	day	and	lighten	their
load. To	merely	be	friendly	and	complimentary	to	everyone	one	meets	in
the	course	of	a	day	is	revealing. That	this	is	not	a	commonplace	attitude	is
revealed	by	people’s	responses	when	they	encounter	it. Often,	they
respond	with	surprise	or	even	a	pleased	state	of	shock. “Nobody	ever
compliments	what	I	do;	they	only	complain,”	is	a	remark	that	will	be
heard. Most	people,	because	they	are	focused	on	their	own	wants	and
critical	attitudes,	apparently	do	not	even	see	the	positive	aspects	of	life	and
cannot	respond	to	them. They	take	others’	service	for	granted	with	the
explanation,	“Well,	they’re	getting	paid	for	it,	aren’t	they. ”	(Which	is
really	beside	the	point. ) Major	segments	of	society	operate	on	the	level	of	lovelessness. Giant
corporations	and	government	agencies	can	only	be	described	as	dourly
functioning. Gratitude	does	not	appear	nor	is	it	even	considered	to	be
socially	appropriate. Love	is	belittled	as	‘touchy-feely’. Love	is	therefore
socially	restricted	to	romance,	mothers	and	their	children,	or	one’s	dog. Expressed	elsewhere,	it	becomes	an	embarrassment. There	are	a	few
masculine	areas	where	love	is	okay,	such	as	for	family,	sports,	one’s
country,	or	a	car. The	large	area	of	life	that	is	socially	acceptable	and	open	to	everyone	is
that	which	is	called	‘caring’. To	‘care	for’	is	a	wide-open	avenue	for	the
expression	and	expansion	of	love. People	say	they	cannot	find	love	as
though	it	were	something	to	be	gotten. Once	one	becomes	willing	to	give
love,	the	discovery	quickly	follows	that	one	is	surrounded	by	love	and
merely	did	not	know	how	to	access	it. Love	is	actually	present
everywhere,	and	its	presence	only	needs	to	be	realized. The	universe	responds	to	love	by	revealing	its	prevalence. It	is	hidden
to	ordinary	perception,	but	the	awareness	is	finessed	by	lovingness	itself. Awareness	is	a	capacity	that	is	beyond	the	senses	or	emotions. If	one
ceases	anthropomorphic	projections	and	limitations,	it	is	revealed	that	allthat	exists	is	innately	conscious	and	emanates	love	as	a	consequence	of	the
divinity	of	Creation. Every	plant	is	aware	of	its	surroundings	and	the	admiration	and	respect
for	it. It	returns	to	us	by	reviewing	its	own	intrinsic	perfection	and	beauty. Each	plant	stands	forth	as	a	unique,	creative	sculpture	and	is	a	perfect
expression	of	its	essence. Divinity	shines	forth	from	all	Creation	to	those
who	can	see. Nature	becomes	not	unlike	a	children’s	cartoon	where	the
trees	smile,	the	animals	talk,	and	the	flowers	move	gaily. When	perception
ceases,	the	world	of	wonder	reveals	itself. Consciousness	is	in	all	that
exists. It	recognizes	itself	manifesting	as	the	Allness	of	Creation. Q:	How	can	such	a	wondrous	revelation	come	about. A:	By	the	mere	intention	of	kindness,	respect,	and	consideration	for	All	That
Is,	without	exception,and	in	every	detail,	including	oneself. We	see	what
we	believe	and	accept	that	we	ourselves	are. The	qualities	of	gratitude,
thankfulness,	gentleness,	and	appreciation	are	themselves	powerfully
transforming. Our	experience	of	the	world	and	life	is	totally	the	result	of
inner	beliefs	and	positionalities. Out	of	love	and	respect	for	God	arises	the
willingness	to	surrender	all	these	prejudgments,	and	the	humility	that
ensues	opens	the	doors	to	the	splendor	of	reality,	which	is	the	revelation	of
the	Self. Love	is	the	magic	catalyst


 then mer cy ar rives. And the same is true for a
group. When Ger man chancellor Ger hard Schr oeder
apologized to the P olish people for the mur der of half a
million P oles during W orld W ar II, and when P ope John P aul II
apologized for the Inquisition, such “puriﬁcation of
memory,” as these admissions wer e described by the late
pope, called down a light fr om the consciousness of heaven
and shadows wer e dispersed. Individuals ar e on a path of destiny, and so ar e groups. Sometimes, we tak e two steps forwar d into love and then
one step back into the shadow. But the lur e of the light is in
the ﬁnal analysis much gr eater than the lur e of the dark. GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT ENOUGHThe moder n mind has undeservedly high self -esteem; it is
arrogant in its belief that it can simply “decide” what it
wants and then mak e it happen. Y et think of the things that
fall away fr om its grasp: the end to unnecessary suﬀering,
world peace, a healthy planet. Why, in a world so full of
genius, does the shadow still lurk and cause the pr oblems it
does? One of the r easons the moder n world r emains at the eﬀect
of the shadow is that it fails to r ecognize the shadow’s
metaphysical r oots. Evil is an ener gy, just as love is an
energy. It arises fr om fear, and fear arises fr om
lovelessness. T rying to eradicate darkness only by material
means is to deal with it on the level of eﬀect, but not cause. You can cut oﬀ a wart, but it will gr ow back unless its r oots
are bur ned out. And the r oots of evil ar e not material. But ther e is a diﬀer ence between nonmaterial ener gy that
is simply mental and the kind that is spiritual. Many people
today have an inﬂated view of the power of “intention.” But
in fact, as it says in A Course in Miracles,  your good
intentions ar e not enough. F or alcoholics, mer ely intending
to no longer drink will not quite do the trick; mer ely
intending  to be a better spouse is not quite enough, if an
actual change in behavior is necessary. Yet sometimes the
change of behavior that is called for in life is not so easy to
achieve. Mer e intention to do better can be over ridden by
the power of the shadow. The shadow can over ride our best
intentions, and only love can over ride the shadow. Love is God, and God is love. Whether people call on God
using the name “ God” or simply give up all r esistance to
love—in which case God is pr esent, even if unacknowledged
—the divine power of love is the only power gr eat enough to
cast out evil. Whether it’s the wisdom to know that feeding
more of the starving childr en of the world is one of the best
ways to eliminate futur e terrorist thr eats, or sur rendering
our character defects to God for healing and asking that
they be r emoved, ther e is a defer ence to the higher powerof love without which we cannot over come the power of
fear. The shadow’s lair is not in your conscious mind, but in
your subconscious mind. Y ou don’t consciously  decide to do
the stupid thing. Y ou don’t consciously  decide to say
something that would mak e your spouse hate you. Y ou don’t
consciously  decide to get drunk at your daughter’s wedding
and ruin everything. “The Devil made me do it” is not as
unsophisticated a notion as it sounds. Good intentions mak e
the Devil laugh. But what don’t mak e him laugh ar e prayer,
atonement, for giveness, and love. Those things mak e him
leave. Which brings up the question of r eligion. Why, if r eligion is
a conduit for divine love, does so much evil still lurk in the
world and even within its own ranks? How does one of the
largest r eligious institutions in the world come to harbor
pedophiles in its priesthood? And the answer of course is
that some r eligion has nothing at all to do with God. In fact,
if anything, the shadow—the ener getic counterfor ce to God
—loves to play in the ﬁelds of r eligion. It loves to confuse,
and it’s deﬁnitely confusing to the mind when doctrine or
dogma based on love is actually a cover for the gr ossest
lovelessness. If a religious person hates, God is not pr esent. If an atheist
loves, then ther e He is. As it says in A Course in Miracles,
the line in the Bible that “ God shall not be mock ed” means
that He isn’t. When seeking r eligious discer nment, however, it’s
important to not thr ow out the baby with the bathwater. The
Latin r oot of the wor d “religion ” is religio,  which means to
“bind back.” R eal religion—whether it occurs within the
conte xt of an or ganized institution or a mor e universal
spirituality—r econnects us to the truth of who we ar e, to the
love at our cor e, and to the compassion that heals. The only
way to over come the shadow is to become our true self, and
whatever it is that tak es us to that place is in its essence areligious e xperience. F or some people, that is an e xperience
at chur ch, synagogue, mosque, or shrine; for some, it is the
experience of a spiritual or psychotherapeutic practice; for
some, it is the e xperience of natur e; for some, it is the
experience of holding their child in their ar ms for the ﬁrst
time. The point is not what gets us to the e xperience, but
rather what happens to us and within us once we ar e ther e.
Something changes in us once we have r eturned to the cor e
of our being, if even just for a moment. It gives us a taste of
what’s possible, within us and ar ound us. It lif ts the veil that
shrouds the r eality of love, and the e xtent of our true power. Once we’r e realigned with our essential natur e, we’ll have
the power to mak e shadows disappear. According to A Course in Miracles,  “miracles occur
naturally as e xpressions of love.” Whenever our hearts ar e
open, the darkness is r eplaced by light. In the meantime—
whether it’s in a type of medicine that doesn’t include a
holistic perspective, a r eligion that doesn’t include love, a
therapy that doesn’t include a higher power, or a
relationship that doesn’t include a sacr ed dimension—the
shadow will hover ar ound the door until some moment of
fear. Then at that point it will steal thr ough the darkness and
put a stak e through the heart of someone’s dr eams. OWNING AND A TONING
No matter how much we understand about the shadow, the
point is to get rid of it. But to do this, we must own it ﬁrst. The solution to the pr oblem of the shadow, in both Jewish
and Christian thought, is the principle of atonement. It is the
idea that once we have acknowledged our sins and
surrender ed them to God with true r emorse, we ar e
released fr om their spiritual consequences. (“Sin ” derives
from an ar chery ter m meaning you’ve missed the mark; the
spiritual meaning of the wor d “sin ” is “er ror.”)Buddha described the law of karma, which basically
means cause and eﬀect—action, r eaction, action, r eaction. The principle of atonement means that in a moment of
grace, bad k arma is bur ned. A tonement is a kind of cosmic
reset button, by which mortal shadow thoughts ar e undone
and r eplaced by the perfection of love. In the Catholic r eligion, the practice of confession is an
ongoing e xperience of atonement, as penitents confess
their sins and ask God for for giveness. In the Jewish r eligion,
the Day of A tonement, or Y om Kippur, is the holiest day of
the year. On that day, Jews admit and ask for giveness for all
sins committed during the year leading up to that day; they
ask God for the chance to be inscribed for another year in
the Book of Life. In Alcoholics Anonymous, addicts ar e
advised to tak e a fearless moral inventory, admitting their
character defects and asking God to r emove them. All of
these ar e examples of the spiritual pr ocess by which the
shadow, when br ought to the light, is then transfor med
through the power of atonement. Atonement e xists


,
andyouareinterestedinpreventingproblemsbeforetheydevelop,
orifyouarecurrentlystrugglingtoregainyourhealth,paycarefulattentiontothefollowingelementsofhygiene. DentalHygieneandYourHealingSystem
Goodhealthdependsonproperdigestion. Digestionbeginsinyourmouthwiththechewingoffood,whichdependsonthehealthof
yourteeth. Forthisreason,regularlybrushingyourteethandobserv
inggooddentalhygieneisimportant. Whenyoubrushregularly,youpreventthepossibilityofplaquebuild-up,cavityformation,andgumdisease,allofwhichcanimpairdigestion,interferewithpropernutri
tion,andadverselyaffectyourhealingsystem. BathingandYourHealingSystemBathinghelpspreservethefunctionandintegrityofyourskin,whichisoneofyourbody’sprimarydefenseorgans. Regularbathingleavesyourskinfeelingfreshandclean,anditremovesbacteriaand
germsthatcanaccumulateonthesurfaceofyourskin. Bodiesthat
arenotwashedorbathedregularlyaremorepronetoskininfec
tions. Microorganisms,includingstaphandstrepbacteria,caninvadeyourbodyafterfirstappearingonyourskin. Regularbathing
canaidyourhealingsystembyeliminatingtheseinfectionsattheir
source. EliminationandYourHealingSystem:BowelandBladderHygieneBecauseofnormalinternalmetabolicprocesses,largeamountsof
toxicwastesareproducedandaccumulateinyourbodyduringeach
StrengtheningandFortifyingYourHealingSystem 81
day. Failuretoeliminatewasteproductsandtoxinspromptlyandefficientlycontributestothesteadybuild-upofthesematerials,whichcancauseyourhealingsystemtobogdownandbecomeseriouslyimpaired. Withoutregularelimination,youwillliterallydrown
orsuffocateinyourownwaste. Irregulareliminationcancontribute
totheonsetofanumberofserious,life-threateningdiseases. Solid,unwanted,toxic-wasteproductsareeliminatedthrough
thelargeintestinesinyourbowelmovements,whileliquidsareeliminatedprimarilythroughthekidneysandbladder,intheurine. Ensuringthehealthoftheseorgansisessentialforyourhealingsystemtooperatewithmaximumefficiency~
TipsforHealthyElimination
~Drinkplentyoffluids,includingwater. Yourbodyisapproximately70percentfluid,andthemorefluidsyoubringintoyourbody,themoreefficientlyyourhealingsystemcaneliminateand
removetoxinsfromit. Ifyourbowelsaresluggishandneedalittlecoaxinginthemorning,alargecupofhotwaterorawarmbeveragewillusuallybringfastresults. oIncreaseyourfiberintakethroughoutthedayandatnight. Adequatefiberintakeensuresmoreeffectiveeliminationofwasteproductsfromyourintestines,thusreducingtheriskofcolon
cancerandotherintestinaldiseases. Thebestsourcesoffiberincludewholegrains,seedsandnuts,andfruitsandvegetables. Increasephysicalactivity,whichimprovesbloodflowtotheintestines,whichhelpselimination. oAvoidlow-residuefoods,suchasprocessedstarches,cheeses,
andprepackagedmeatsandotherfoods,whichlackfiberand
cancauseconstipation. oAvoidexcessalcohol. Alcoholcandehydrateyourbody,andcan
causeconstipationalongwithbowelorbladderproblems. Alcoholisanintestinalandbladderirritant,andchronicusecancontributetoproblemswiththeseorgans. oLimitcoffee,tea,andcaffeinatedsodas,becausetheseusuallycontaintannicacids,whichcanserveasirritants. Caffeinestimulatestheparietalcellsinyourstomachtoproducehydrochloricacid,which,ifproducedinexcess,candamagetheliningofyour
82 YourExtraordinaryHealingSystem
stomachandintestines,andpotentiallyleadtoanulcerorotherintestinalproblems. cJEliminatefoodsthatarehighlyprocessedorcontainartificialchemicaladditives. Thesefoodscanalsoirritateanddamagethedelicateliningofyoururinaryanddigestivesystems. HealingSystemRx#3:
EataWell-BalancedDietConsistingofNaturalFoods
Foodsuppliesthebasicbuildingblocksforthesustenanceofevery
cellandtissueinyourbody,providinglife-supportingenergyformetabolicactivities,mechanismsofdefense,andtheprocessesofrepairandrestorationgovernedbyyourhealingsystem. Justasanyotherhigh-powered,performance-orientedmachinerequiresthe
bestfuel,yourhealingsystemrequirespureandwholesomefoodto
ensureoptimumperformanceandfunctioning. Hereareafewbasic
butcriticalguidelines:
Eatawell-rounded,high-performancedietthatincludesade
quateamountsofprotein,carbohydrates,fatsandoils,essentialvitamins,minerals,andtraceelements. Additionally,makesure
youareconsumingadequateamountsoffluidsandfiber. DFavorfreshfruitsandvegetables,wholegrains,andlegumes,whichcontainanabundanceofallofyourbody’sbasicnutritionalrequirements,overfleshfoods. Althoughfleshfoodsareexcellentsourcesofprotein,youshouldminimizetheminyourdailydietbecauseoftheirtendencytowardahigherfatcontent,
lackoffiber,andpotentialforhigherconcentrationofheavymetalsandenvironmentaltoxins. ~Minimizeeatingpackagedorprocessedfoods,whichoftencon
tainpreservativesandadditivesthat,whiletheyincreaseshelf
life,mayhaveharmfulsideeffects. Packagedandprocessedfoodsgenerallylackthevitality,fiber,andnutrientqualitythat
freshandwholefoodscontain. ~Donotbefanaticalinfollowingarestrictivediet. Someflexibil
ityandleniencyisnecessarytoavoidbecomingstressedwhen
yourfoodchoicesarelimitedorunavailable. Thestressofbeing
StrengtheningandFortifyingYourHealingSystem 83
toorigidinyourdietdetractsfromwhateverbenefitsyourdietmightbeproviding. oMakesureyoursurroundingsarepleasantandenjoyablewhen
youeat. Yourhealingsystem’sabilitytoremainstrongandactive
isinfluencednotonlybythechemicalconstituentsofthefoods
youeat,butbyyourmealpatternsandthetimingofyourmeals,
inadditiontomanyotherfactorssurroundingfood. Forexample,properlychewingfoodandthecircumstancesunderwhichfood
iseatenalsoplayaroleinthedigestionandabsorptionofnutri
ents. Whenyoutakeyourmealsinapeacefulatmosphere,digestionandassimilationareenhanced. (Inthenextchapter,I’lloffer
morespecificinformationonnutritionforyourhealingsystem. ) HealingSystemR. x#4:
GetAdequateExerciseandPhysicalActivityMovementisafundamentalprincipleofallmatterintheuniverse,
and,alongwithexercise,itisanimportantkeytoastrongandhealthyhealingsystem. Movementandexerciseareessentialforthemaintenanceofhealthyjointsandmuscles,andtheyarevitalfor
yourcirculationandthehealthofyourcardiovascularsystem. Your
dailyactivitylevelisanintegralpartofyourbody’sabilitytostayhealthy,resistillness,andmaintainanactiveandvibranthealingsystem. TheBenefitsofExerciseforYourHealingSystem
Thebenefitsofexerciseforyourhealingsystemarenumerous. Becauseyourhealingsystemisconnectedtoalloftheotherorgansystemsinyourbody,anyexerciseyoudoregularlywillsignificantlybenefityourhealingsystem. Amongitsmanybenefits,exercise
oEnergizesandactivatesyourhealingsystem
oClearsdepression
oImprovescirculationtoyourbrain,whichimprovesclarityofthinking
oImprovesoverallmusclestrengthinyourbody
oImprovescardiachealth
84 YourExtraordinaryHealingSystem
~Improvesbloodflowtostomachandintestines,whichimprovesdigestionandelimination,andreducesconstipation
oImprovesimmunefunction
oImprovesboneandjointhealth
DImprovesthehealingtimeoffracturesandjointinjuriesImprovescomplexionandskinhealthbyincreasingbloodflow
toskin
oImprovesbloodflowtogenitals,whichimprovessexualfunction
Just30minutesofexerciseeachdaywillbringyouallofthesebenefits,andmore. Afewofthemorecommontypesofexercisearelistedinthefollowingsections. Chooseoneormore,andfollowtheguidelineslistedtostrengthenandfortifyyourhealingsystem. WalkingWalkingisoneofthesimplestandmostnaturalwaystoexercise. Intraditionalcultures,beforetheadventoftheautomobileandmotor
izedtransportation,peopleusedtheirowntwolegsastheirprimary
meansoftransport,inadditiontotheir


step-by-step,showing
howyou,too,cantriumphoverpainrediscoverthejoyofliving. Brownsteinhaswrittenapersonal,practical,andinformativebook
helppeoplepreventandtreatbackpain.Itsapproachisconsistent
thephilosophyofintegrativemedicinethatIteach,anditscontentscientificallyaccurateandfullofhopeforsufferers.”
—AndrewWell,M.D.Founder,TheCenterforIntegrativeMedicineAuthorofNaturalHealth,NaturalMedicine;SpontaneousHealing;and8WeekstoOptimumHealth
\HealingBackPainNaturallyonlineat
~www.harborpress.com. byphone,calltoll-free888-851-9090. a
AlsobyDr.Brownstein
Inhisfirstbook,HealingBackPainNaturally:TheMind-BodyProgramProventoWork,Dr.ArtBrownsteintellshowhelearnedtopermanentlycurehimselfafterenduring20yearsofcrippling
backpain. Dr.Brownsteinincorporatedthe
lessonsofhisownextraordinary
healingintotherevolutionaryandworld-famousBacktoLifeprogram,
whichhassincecuredthousandsof
otherpatientswithoutdrugsorsur
gery.InHealingBackPainNaturally,
Dr.Brownsteinleadsyouthrough
theprogramstep-by-step,showing
howyou,too,cantriumphoverpain
andrediscoverthejoyofliving. “Dr.Brownsteinhaswrittenapersonal,practical,andinformativebook
tohelppeoplepreventandtreatbackpain.Itsapproachisconsistent
withthephilosophyofintegrativemedicinethatIteach,anditscontent
isbothscientificallyaccurateandfullofhopeforsufferers.”
—AndrewWeil,M.D.Founder,TheCenterforIntegrativeMedicineAuthorofNaturalHealth,NaturalMedicine;SpontaneousHealing;and8WeekstoOptimumHealthff1h~pc—ANnR,%’.MI)
OrderHealingBackPainNaturallyonlineatwww.harborpress.com. Ortoorderbyphone,calltoll-free888-85 I-9090. ‘1<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        •Duringthispause,takeabriefinventoryofhowyoufeelinyourbodyandmind. Makesureyouarenotforcingorstraining,and
thatyouarecomfortablewithyourbreathing. •Makesureyouarecomfortableatalltimeswhileyouareperformingthispowerfulbreathingexercise. Ifyoutrytoprolong
thepauselongerthanyoucanhandle,youwillexperiencebreathdeprivation,discomfort,andasensationofforcingorstraining. Additionally,therhythmofyourbreathingwillnotbesmoothandflowing,butratherjerkyandinterrupted. Asyoubreatheout,andthenagainasyoubreathein,andevenduring
thepause,yourbreathshouldbesmoothandflowing,andyoushouldfeelcomfortableandpleasurablesensations. Inthebeginning,dothisbreathingexercisefornomorethan3to
5minutesatatime,andnotmorethanfourtimesaday,nomatter
howpleasurableandrelaxingyoumayfindit. Eventhoughitisgentleandsoothing,thistechniqueisalsoextremelypowerfulandsubtle,andyoucanoverdoit,especiallyinthebeginning. Intime,
youcanbuildupto20to30minutesatatime. •Also,overtime,youcangentlyprolongthepausebetweeneachinspirationandexpirationforuptooneminute,orevenlonger. Remembertofocusyourawarenesswithin,andtakeabriefinventoryofyourbodyandmindduringthispause. Duringthe
pause,whichisatimeofcompletecessationofrespiration,anaccompanyingslowingdownofphysiologicalprocessesandmentalactivitiesoccurs. Thisslowingdowncanbecalmingandpeaceful,anditisextremelybeneficialtoyourhealingsystem,which,asyou’llrecall,doesitsbestworkwhenyourbody’sinter
nalenvironmentisquietandcalm. Breathingexercisescalmthemindandbody,andtheyareextremelybeneficialtoyourhealingsystem. Incorporatetheseexer
cisesintoyourdailyroutine,andbeforelongyou’llbegintoseetheirremarkableeffects. 358ActivatingYourHealingSystemWhenYou’reSick
GuidedImagerytoStrengthen
andFortifyYourHealingSystem
Yourbraintranslatesmentalimagesintoelectricalandchemicalsignalsthataretransmittedtoyourbody. Becauseofthisdeepconnectionbetweenyourbrainandyourbody,thetechniquesofvisualizationorguidedimagerycanbeapowerfulwaytoactivate,strengthen,andfortifyyourhealingsystem. Manystudieshaveshownthehealth-enhancingbenefitsofguidedimageryandvisualizationtechniquesinhelpingmotivatedpatientsovercomeseriousillnesses,includingcancerandheartdisease. (Formoreinformation
onguidedimageryandvisualization,seeChapter6. ) “MeetingYourHealingSystem”Guided-VisualizationTechnique
Beginthistechniqueasyouwouldtherelaxationtechniquesdescribedearlierinthebook,suchasDeepRelaxation,ProgressiveRelaxation,orBlueSkyFloatingonYourBackRelaxation. Readthroughthedirectionscompletelyonceortwicebeforeyouattempt
topracticeit. Youmayalsowanttogetataperecorderandrecord
yourownvoiceasyoureadthroughthisexercise. Thenyouwillbe
abletocloseyoureyesandlistentoyourownvoiceguideyouthroughtheimagery. Followthesesimplestepstodothistechnique:
oMakesureyouareinacomfortableposition,lyingonyourback
withyoureyesclosed. oFocusonyourbreathingasyouallowyourmindandbodyto
relaxcompletely. oAsyoubegintofeelyourselfbecomingrelaxed,takeadeep,sigh
ingbreath. Asyoubreatheout,letallthetensionleaveyourbody. oTakeasecond,deep,sighingbreath,and,asyoubreatheout,allowyourmindandbodytobecompletelyrelaxed. Makesure
youfeelcompletelyrelaxedbeforeyouproceedfurtherwiththisexercise. Itisimportantnottohurryorrushthroughthisstep. oAfteryouaresomewhatrelaxed,keepyoureyesclosed,andallow
animagetoforminyourmindofanyquiet,serene,uplifting
AdditionalMethodsandTechniques 359
place. Yourimagecouldbeabeautifuloutdoorsettingorinsidein
afavorite,cozyroomofahouse. Itcouldbeaplaceyouhaveactu
allybeentoinreallife,aplaceyousawinapicture,oratotallyfreshimagethatyouhaveneverseenbefore. ‘Whateverimagebeginstoappear,donotforceorstrainwiththeimagery~anddo
notjudgeitinanyway. *Asyoucontinuetobreatheandrelax,bepatientwiththeimagery. Allowittokeepforminginyourminduntilyouhave
afairlyclearpictureoftheplace. •Onceyourspecialplacebeginstocomeintofocus,andyouhave
afairlyclearideaofwhereyouare,continuetobreathedeeply
andrelax. •Allowtheimagetobecomeclearerandmorewelldefined. •Noticeallthesenses,andanswerthesequestionsinyourmind:•
•Whatarethesights. ‘Whatarethesounds. ‘Whatarethesmells. •‘Whatkindofdayisit. Whatdoestheskylooklike. ‘Where
isthesun. •Whatdoesthecountrysideorsurroundingenvironment
looklike. •Whatsensationsareyoufeelingonyourskin. •‘Whatistheairquality. Isitcoolorwarm. Istherehumid
ity,orisitdry. Arethereanybreezes. •Whatareyouwearing. •Breathedeeplyandrelaxasyouallowyourmindtoabsorbtheimages. *Findaplacetositdown(or,ifyoufeelmorecomfortable,toliedown,orevenstand)inyourquiet,specialplace. Inyourimage,makesureyouareinacomfortableposition. •Onceyouarecomfortableinyourspecialplace,allowyourawarenessandimaginationtogoinsideyourbody. •Seeyourselfexaminingtheinnerworkingsofyourbodyasyougentlysurveythelandscape. 360ActivatingYourHealingSystemWhenYou’reSick
oAsyoumovearoundwithinthevariousstructuresandtissuesof
yourbody,imagineyourselfgoingonajourneyofdiscovery. oFindaquietplace,deepwithintherecessesofyourbody’sinter
nalenvironment,whereyoufeelsafeandprotected. oStopandrelaxonceyou’vefoundaplacewhereyoufeelcomfortable. Letyourintuitionguideyou. 0Breathedeeply,andallowyourselftorelaxinthisquietplacewithinyourbody. oSeeyourselfwaitingwithanticipation,asyoupreparetomeet
yourhealingsystem. 0Waitforthefirstimagetoformasy


	accumulation	of
gallstones	in	the	liver	and	gallbladder	(the	nose	is	likely	to	return	to	center	once	the	stones
are	removed). Eyes

Skin	color	under	the	eyes	is	yellowish. This	indicates	that	the	liver	and	gallbladder	are
overactive. A
dark,	even	black	color
	in	the	same	area	results	when	the	kidneys,	bladder,
and	reproductive	organs	are	overtaxed	because	of	a	prolonged	disorder	of	the	digestive
system. A
grayish,	pale	color
	occurs	if	the	kidneys	and,	occasionally,	the	lungs	are
malfunctioning	owing	to	improper	lymph	drainage	from	these	organs. Also,	the	endocrine
system	may	be	affected. Water-containing	bags	under	the	lower	eyelids. These	are	formed	as	a	result	of
congestion	in	the	digestive	and	excretory	organs,	which	results	in	inadequate	lymph
drainage	from	the	head	area. If	these	eye	bags	are	chronic	and	contain	fat,	this	points
toward	the	presence	of	inflammation,	cysts,	and,	possibly,	tumors	in	the	bladder,	ovaries,
fallopian	tubes,	uterus,	and	prostate. A	white	cloud	covers	the	pupil	of	the	eye. The	cloud	consists	mostly	of	mucus	and
degenerate	protein	particles. It	indicates	the	development	of	cataracts	brought	about	by
longstanding	poor	liver	and	digestive	performance. Constant	redness	in	the	white	of	the	eye. This	condition	is	caused	by	the	protrusion	of
capillaries,	indicating	disorders	in	the	circulatory	and	respiratory	functions. White	or
yellow	mucus	patches
	in	the	white	of	the	eye	show	that	the	body	is	accumulating
abnormal	amounts	of	fatty	substances	because	the	liver	and	gallbladder	have	amassed
large	quantities	of	gallstones. When	this	occurs,	the	body	has	a	tendency	to	develop	cysts
and	both	benign	and	malignant	tumors. A	thick	white	line	covers	parts	of	the	periphery	of	the	iris,	particularly	the	lower
parts. This	indicates	the	accumulation	of	large	amounts	of	cholesterol	in	the	blood
circulatory	system. The	lymphatic	system	also	has	major	congestion	and	fat	retention. (
Note:
	If	you	wish	to	understand	the	connection	of	the	eyes	and	iris	with	the	various	parts
of	the	body,	I	recommend	that	you	study	the	science	of
iridology,
	or	eye	interpretation.) The	eyes	have	lost	their	natural	luster	and	shininess. This	signals	that	both	the	liver
and	kidneys	are	congested	and	unable	to	filter	the	blood	properly. “Dirty”	blood,	loaded
with	toxins	or	waste	products,	is	heavier	and	more	sluggish	than	clean	blood. The
thickened	blood	slows	circulation	and	reduces	oxygen	and	nutrient	supply	to	the	cells	and
organs,	including	the	eyes. If	this	condition	persists,	the	cells	will	deteriorate	and
inevitably	age	or	die	off. The	eye	and	brain	cells	are	especially	affected	because	the	blood
has	to	flow	against	gravity	to	reach	them. Most	vision	problems
	are	the	direct	or	indirect
result	of	reduced	blood-cleansing	capacity	by	the	liver	and	kidneys. Clean	and	nutrient-rich	blood	from	a	healthy,	efficient	liver	can	flow	easily	and	nourish	the	eye	tissues	better,
thereby	improving	most	eye	problems. Tongue,	Mouth,	Lips,	and	Teeth

The	tongue	is	coated	yellow	or	white,	especially	in	the	back	part. This	indicates	an
imbalance	in	the	secretion	of	bile,	which	is	the	major	cause	of	digestive	trouble. Toxic
residues	of	undigested	and	fermented	or	putrefied	food	linger	in	the	intestinal	tract. This
blocks	lymph	flow	in	the	thoracic	duct	and	prevents	toxins	and	microbes	in	the	throat	and
mouth	area	from	being	removed. Teeth	impressions	on	the	sides	of	the	tongue,	often	accompanied	by	white	mucus
discharge. This	indicates	weak	digestion	and	inadequate	absorption	of	nutrients	from	the
small	intestine. Pimples	on	the	tongue. They	are	indicative	of	poor	digestion	and	the	presence	of
fermenting	and	putrefying	food	in	both	the	small	and	large	intestines. Cracks	on	the	tongue. These	are	signs	of	long-term	intestinal	trouble. When	food	is
not	being	mixed	with	a	sufficient	amount	of	bile,	it	remains	partially	undigested. Undigested	foods	are	subjected	to	bacterial	putrefaction	and,	thereby,	become	a	source	of
toxicity. Constant	exposure	of	the	intestinal	wall	to	the	toxins	that	these	bacteria	produce
irritates	and	injures	it. The	resulting	lesions,	scars,	and	hardening	of	the	intestinal	walls	is
then	reflected	by	the	cracks	on	the	tongue. There	may	be	little	or	no	mucus	discharge	on
the	tongue. Repeated	mucus	discharge	into	the	throat	and	mouth. Bile	may	regurgitate	into	the
stomach,	thereby	irritating	its	protective	lining	and	causing	excessive	mucus	production. Some	of	the	bile	and	mucus	may	reach	the	mouth	area. This	can	create	a	bad	(bitter)	taste
in	the	mouth	and	give	rise	to	frequent	attempts	at	clearing	the	throat,	which	sometimes
involve	coughing. Mucus	discharge	without	this	bitter	taste	results	when	food	is	not
digested	properly,	and	toxins	are	generated. The	mucus	helps	to	trap	and	neutralize	some
of	these	toxins,	but	as	a	side	effect,	it	causes	congestion. Bad	breath	and	frequent	burping. Both	signs	point	toward	the	presence	of
undigested,	fermenting,	or	putrefying	food	in	the	GI	tract. Bacteria	acting	on	the	waste
material	produce	gases,	which	can	be	very	toxic	at	times,	hence	the	bad	odor	emanating
from	the	breath. Crust	formations	at	the	corners	of	the	mouth. This	indicates	the	presence	of
duodenal	ulcers,	caused	by	regurgitation	of	bile	into	the	stomach,	or	by	other	reasons
discussed	earlier. Ulcers
	in	various	parts	of	the	mouth	or	on	the	tongue	show	thatinflammation	or	ulceration	is	occurring	in	the	corresponding	parts	of	the	GI	tract. For
example,	a	mouth	ulcer	on	the	outside	parts	of	your	lower	lip	points	to	the	presence	of
ulcer	lesions	in	the	large	intestine. Herpes	(“cold	sores”)	on	the	lip	corresponds	to	more
severe	inflammation	and	ulceration	of	the	intestinal	wall. Dark	spots	or	patches	on	the	lips. These	marks	occur	when	obstructions	in	the	liver,
gallbladder,	and	kidneys	have	resulted	in	slowness	and	stagnation	of	blood	circulation	and
lymph	drainage	throughout	the	body. There	may	be	advanced,	abnormal	constriction	of
blood	capillaries. If	the	color	of	the	lips	is	reddish	(dark)	or	purple,	this	indicates	that
heart,	lung,	and	respiratory	functions	are	subdued. Swollen	or	expanded	lips. This	condition	indicates	intestinal	disorders. If	the	lower	lip
is	swollen,	the	colon	suffers	constipation,	diarrhea,	or	both,	alternating	between	them. Toxic	gases	are	formed	from	improperly	digested	foods,	which	gives	rise	to	bloating	and
abdominal	discomfort. A	swollen	or	enlarged	upper	lip	indicates	stomach	problems,
including	indigestion,	frequently	accompanied


ective 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 every for m
taught me something essential to my “car eer development. As ministers of God, we let our car eers be an e xpression
of our own depth, of what r eally matters  to us. Knowing that
we ar e acting on behalf of a higher purpose than our own
self-aggrandizement gives us the joy we’r e all seeking. Whatever we do, whatever our job, it can be a vessel
through which we teach the message of salvation: that the
Son of God is innocent, and we ar e all Sons of God. Kindness
to Him transfor ms the world. W e don’t necessarily teach this
verbally, but rather non- verbally. The pr oblem most people
have is that they’r e mor e concer ned with the mode of their
expression than with what they’r e seeking to e xpress. That’s
because they don’t know  what they want to e xpress. This
generation, this cultur e, is full of people who want
desperately to write a story, but for all the wr ong r easons. I
meet people who want to be in the spotlight, but have no
idea what they would say if it was pointed at them. This is a
fraudulent postur e. It means we want the r ecord contract
more than the satisfaction of making music. The highest
prize we can r eceive for cr eative work is the joy of being
creative. Cr eative eﬀort spent for any other r eason than the
joy of being in that light-ﬁlled place, love, God, whatever we
want to call it, is lacking in integrity. It diminishes us. It
reduces inspiration to mer e sales. A few years ago I visited K auai. My friend and I took a
ride on a boat along the Napali coastline. The boat was one
of a ﬂeet owned by a man known as Captain Zodiac. Zodiac
is the wor d for the incr edible land for mations that meet the
sea ther e. This man loved the coastline so passionately that
he took the wor d for his own name. One day someone said
to him, “Y ou know a lot about this coastline and its history. A
lot of people would love to see what you see her e, and know
what you know. Why don’t you tak e people out on your boat
and give them a tour. ”Captain Zodiac’s rides ar e a gr eat service to tourists on
Kauai. They spr ead joy. They lif t the cultural vibration. And
the boat rides became quite a business. Captain Zodiac now
has lots of boats, and he’s very successful. His business
formed ar ound his love. The issue is whether we’r e working for money, or
working for love. What we need to investigate is which one
is the mor e abundant attitude. As with Captain Zodiac, and
contrary to the ego’s ar guments, love is actually good
business. Any job can become a ministry, as long as it is dedicated
to love. Y our car eer can be an empty canvas for God to write
on. Whatever your talents or abilities, He can use them. Our
ministry becomes a joyous e xperience for ourselves and
others as we let a mysterious for ce dir ect us. W e simply
follow instructions. W e are allowing God’s spirit to move
through us, using our gif ts and r esour ces however He sees
ﬁt, to do His work in the world. This is the k ey to a
successful car eer. Success is not unnatural; it is the most natural thing in
the world because it is the natural r esult of man’s
cocreation with God. In A Movable F east, Hemingway writes
about writing. He describes the diﬀer ence between his
writing a story, and a story writing itself. When he ﬁnds
himself writing the story, he knows it’s time to stop for the
day. Our life is meant to be a story that mysteriously writes
itself, and our work is the cr eative fruit of our lives. “God, please use me” is the most powerful aﬃr mation
we can say for an abundant car eer. It is the miracle work er’s
prayer. Everybody wants a gr eat job. A ccept that it’s alr eady
been given to you. The fact that you’r e alive means a
function has been assigned to you: open your heart toeveryone and everything. That way you’r e a vessel of God. Don’t wor ry about what to say or what to do. He’ll let you
know. I used to think I was lazy. I was always tir ed. A ctually, I
was just block ed until I discover ed the purpose of my life. When our ener gy is applied in the dir ection of co -creating
with God, of a willingness to supply love wh


 in volved in working on the level of ef fect, it is all too easy
to lo se yourself in it. Stay alert and very, very present. The cau sal level
needs to  remain your primary fo cus, the teaching of enlightenment your
main purpose, and peace your most precious gift to the world. CHAPTER TEN
T H E  M E A N I N G  O F
 S U R R E N D E R
ACCEPT ANCE OF THE NOW
Y ou mentioned “surr ender” a few times. I don’ t like that idea. It sounds
somewhat fatali stic. If we alway s accept the way things ar e, we ar e not
going to  make any effort to imp r ove them. It seems to me what pr ogr ess
is al l about, bot h in our person al lives and collectively, is not to accept
the limitations of the pr esent bu t to strive to go beyond them and cr eate
something better. If we hadn’ t done this, we would still be living in caves. How do you r ec oncile surr ender  with changing things and getting things
done. T o some people, surrender may have negative connotations, implying
defeat, g iving up, failing to rise to the challenges of life, b ecoming
lethar gic, and so on. T rue surrender, however, is something entirely
dif ferent. It does not mean to passively put up with whatever situation
you find yourself in and to do nothing about it. Nor does it mean  to cease
making plans or initiating positive action. Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to  rather than
opposing  the flow  of life. The only place  where you can  experie nce the
flow of life is the Now, so to surrender is to accept the present  moment
unconditionally and without reservation. It is to relinquish inner
resistance to what is. Inn er r esistance is to say “no”  to what is, through
mental judgment and emotional negativity. It becomes pa rticularly
pronounced whe n things “go wrong,” which means that there is a gapbetween the demands or rigid expectations of your mind and  what is. That is the pain gap. If you hav e lived long enough, you will know that
things “go wrong” quite often. It is precisely at those times that surrender
needs to  be practiced if you wan t to eliminate pain and sorrow from your
life. Acceptance of what is  immed iately frees you from mind
identification and thus reconnects you with Being. Resistance is  the
mind. Surrender is a purely inner phenomenon. It does not mean that on the
outer level you cannot take acti on and change the situation. In fact, it is
not t he o verall s ituation that you need to accept when you surre nder, but
just the tiny segment called the Now. For example, if you were stuck  in the mud somewhere, you wouldn’ t
say: “Ok ay, I resign myself to being stuck in the mud. ” Resig nation is
not s urrender. Y ou don’ t need to  accept an undesirable or unpleasant life
situation. Nor do you need to deceive yourself and say that there is
nothing wrong with being stuck  in the mud. No. Y ou recognize fully that
you want to get out of it. Y ou then narrow your attention down to the
present m oment without mentall y labeling it in any way. This means that
there is no judgment of the No w. Therefore, there is no resis tance, no
emotional negativity. Y ou accep t the “isness” of this moment. Then you
take action and do all that you can to get out of the mud. Such action I
call posi tive action. It is far more ef fective than negative action, which
arises ou t of anger, despair, or f rustration. Until you achieve the desired
result, y ou continue to practice surrender by refraining from labeling the
Now. Let me give you a visual analog y to illustrate the point I am mak ing. Y ou
are walk ing alo ng a path at night, surrounded by a thick fog. But you
have a powerful  flashlight that c uts through the fog and creates a narrow,
clear space in front of you. The fog is your life situation, which  includes
past and future; the flashlight is your conscious presence; the cl ear space
is the Now. Non-surrender h ardens your psychological form, the shell of the ego, and
so creat es a strong sense of separateness. The world around you and
people in particular come to be perceived as threatening. The
unconscious compulsion to destroy others through judgment arises, as
does the need to compete and  dominate. Even nature becomes yourenemy a nd you r perceptions and interpretations are governed  by fear. The men tal dise ase that we cal l paranoia is only a slightly more acute
form of this normal but dysfunctional state of consciousness. Not only  your psychological form but also your physical form  — your
body — becomes hard and rigid through resistance. T ension arises in
dif ferent parts of the body, and the body as a whole contracts. The free
flow of life ener gy through the body, which is essential for it s healthy
functioning, is greatly restricted. Bodywork and certain forms of
physical therapy  can be helpfu l in restoring this flow, but unless you
practice surrender in your everyday life, those things can only give
temporary symptom relief since the cause — the resistance pattern —
has not been dissolved. There is  something within you that remains unaf fected by the transient
circumstances that make up your life situation, and only through
surrender do you have access t o it. It is your life, your very Being —
which exists eternally in the timeless realm of the present. Finding this
life is “the one thing that is needed” that Jesus talked about. If yo u fi nd your life situation unsatisfactory or even intolerable, it is only
by surre ndering first that you can break the unconscious r esistance
pattern that perpetuates that situation. Surrender is perfectly compatible with taking action, initiating change, or
achieving goals. But in the surrendered state a totally dif ferent ener gy, a
dif ferent quality, flows into your doing. Surrender reconnects you with
the sour ce-ener gy of Being, and if your doing is infused with Being, it
becomes a joyful celebration of  life ener gy that takes you more deeply
into the Now. Through nonresis tance, the quality of your consc iousness
and, therefore, the quality of whatever you are doing or cr eating is
enhanced immea surably. The results will then look after themselves and
reflect that quality. W e could call this surr ender ed action. It is not work
as we have known it for thousa nds of years. As more humans  awaken,
the word work  i s going  to disappear from our vocabulary, and perhaps a
new word will be created to replace it. It is  the quality  of your conscio usness at this moment that is the main
determinant of what kind of future you will experience, so to sur render is
the m ost important thing you ca n do to br ing about p ositive change. Any
action you take is secondary. No  truly positive action can arise out of an
unsurrendered state of consciousness. I c an see that if I am in a situa tion that is unpleasant or unsatisfactory
and I completely  accept the moment as it is, ther e will be no suf fering or
unhappiness. I will have risen a bove it. But I still can’ t quite see wher e
the ener gy or motivation for taking action and bringing about change
would come fr om if ther e isn’ t a certain amount of dissatisfaction. In th e st ate of surrender, you see very clearly what needs to be done, and
you take  action,  doing one thing  at a time and focusing on one thing at a
time. Learn from nature: See how  everything gets accomplished  and how
the mira cle of life unfolds without dissatisfaction or unhappiness. That’ s
why Jesus said: “Look at the lil ies, how they grow; they neithe r toil nor
spin. ”
If your overall situation is unsatisfactory or unpleasant, separate out this
instant  and surrender to  what is. Th at’ s the flash light cutting through the
fog. Y our state o f consciousness then ceases to be controlled by  external
conditions. Y ou are no longer coming from reaction and resistance. Then look at the specifics of the situation. Ask yourself, “Is there
anything I can do to change the situation, improve it, or remove myself
from it. ” If so, you take app ropriate action. Focus not on the one
hundred things that you will or may have to do at some future  time but
on the one thing  that you can do now. This doesn’ t mean you sh ould not
do any planning. It may well be that planning is the one thing yo u can do
now. But make sure you don’ t start to run “mental movies, ” project
yourself into the future, and so lose the Now. Any action you take may
not


ijoó, E.J. “Régimen ácido Como tratamiento de la tuberculosis
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pulmonar.” Rev. españ. de med. y gir. 16:124-128, Mar. 1933. Cattell, H.W. “ “Diet in treatment of tuberculosis.” Internat. Clin. Vol. 1,
41st Series. 1931. Clairmont, P; Dimtza, A. “Dietary treatment in tuberculosis.” Klin. Wchnschr. 9:5, Jan. 4, 1930. Conrad, A.H. “Lupus V ulgaris.” Archiv. Dermat. Syph. 24:688, 1931. Cope, F.W. “A medical application of the Ling association-induction
hypothesis: the high potassium, low sodium diet of the Gerson cancer
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Sauerbruch-Herrmannsdorfer -Gerson. ”Arch. f. Kinder h. 96:231-235,
1932. Curschmann, W. “Ein klärendes Wort zur Ablehnenden Kritik der
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Beitr. z. Klin. T uberk. 77:540-590, 1931. Curschmann, W. “Beobachtung en bei Gersonscher Diät.” Beitr. z. Klin. Tuberk. 80:120-131, 1932. Danholt, N. “Culture of tubercle  bacilli from lupus lesions of patients under
the Gerson-Herrmannsdorfer -Sauerbruch diet.” Acta dermat.- vener eol. 13:617, Nov. 1932. (Directives). “Richtlinien für die Heilkostbehandlung der Tuberkulose nach
Gerson-Sauerbruch-Hermannsdorfer.” Med. W elt. 3:1229, Aug. 24, 1929.de Raadt, O.L.E. “Factor responsible for curative value.” Wien. Klin. Wchnschr. 43:752-753, Jun. 12, 1930.
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147, Jan. 29, 1932. Doerf fel, J. “Clinical, experimen tal and chemical studies on the influence of
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tuberculosis of the skin.” Proc. Mayo Clinic. 7(6):73-78, Feb. 10, 1932. Doerf fel, J. “Effect of a diet low in salt in cases of tuberculosis of the skin.”
Arch. Dermat. Syph. 26:762-764, 1932. Doerf fel, J.; Passar ge, W. “Lokale Ektebinbehandlung der Haut tuberkulose
bei gleichzeitiger Kochsalzarmer Diät (Gerson-Herrmannsdorfer -
Sauerbruch).” Dermat. Wchnschr. 99:1 173-1 179, Sep. 8, 1934. Drosdek-Praktische. “Erfahrungen mit der Gerson-Sauerbruch-Diät.” Beitr. z. Klin. d. T uberk. 78:697-723. 1931. Eckhardt, H. “Die Stellung der Krüppelfürsor ge zur Gerson-
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Ztschr. f. Krüppelfürsor ge. 28:79, May-Jun. 1935. Egues, J. “Regimen dietetico en los tuberculoses pulmonares.” Rev. Asoc. red. Ar gent. 46:1574-1581, Dec. 1932. Elder, H.C. “The Influence of the Gerson regime on pulmonary
tuberculosis.” Trans. Med.-Chir. Soc. Edinbur gh. Nov. 1932. Eller, J.J.; Rein, C.R. “The value  of an equilibrated salt diet in the treatment
of various dermatoses: a modification of the Herrman nsdorfer -
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1932. Emerson, C. “Treatment of tuberculosis by altering metabolism through
dietary management. (Gerson-Sauerbruch method. )” Nebr. St. Med. J. 14(3):104-107, Mar. 1929. Falta, W. “Ist die Gerson-Diät bei Tuberkulose zu empfehlen?”  Wien. Klin. Wchnschr. 43:148-149, Jan. 30, 1930. Falta, W. “Ist die Gerson-Diät bei T uberkulose zu empfählen?” Aerztl. Prax. 99–101, Apr. 1, 1930. Fishbein, M., ed. “The Gerso n-Herrmannsdorfer dietetic treatment of
tuberculosis.” J. Amer. Med. Assoc. 93(1 1):861-862, Sep. 14, 1929.Fishbein, M., ed. “Dietetic treatment of tuberculosis.” J. Amer. Med. Assoc. 93(16):1237, Oct. 19, 1929. Fishbein, M., ed. “Gerson’ s cancer treatment.” J. Amer. Med. Assoc. 122(1 1):645, Nov. 16, 1946. Fishbein, M., ed. “Frauds and fables.” J. Amer. Med. Assoc. 139:93-98, Jan.
8, 1949. Formenti, A.M. “Studi sulla lipasi ematica nella dieta di Gerson-
Herrmannsdorfer -Sauerbruch.” Riv. di. clin. pediat. 36:319-350, Apr. 1938. Foster, H.D. “Lifestyle changes and the ‘spontaneous’ regressio n of cancer:
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1988. Francois, P. “Le regime de Gerson-Sauerbruch-Herrmannsdorfer dans le
traitement de la tuberculose lupeuse.” Bruxelles-med. 11:1034-1038, Jun. 28, 1931. Frontali, G. “La dieta di Gerson nel trattamento della tuberculosis
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Berücksichtigung des Lupus vulgaris.” Dermat. Zts


 great
Hermetic tradition which passed to Greece, Greek  culture
being spread widely later by the conquests of Alexander
the Great. Arabian alchemy also rose from the Alexandrian
School in Egypt but was, at the same time, in touch with
Chinese thought. From Greek and Arabic culture alchemy
spread into Europe, but showed a direct inheritance from
Hermes/Thoth. Arabic and Byzantine alchemy were, like
the ancient Hellenic practices, a mixture of magic,
astrology and mysticism  touched with the tradition of
Hermes Trismegistus. Some authorities have maintained that all alchemy  came
from China originally and spread westward later ; others
believe that it arose in Egypt. Babylon has also beensuggested as the source, while others again, as has been
said, have propounded the theory that the same ideas and
concepts arose spontaneously and existed simult aneously
in diﬀerent countries. However, the idea most basic to
Chinese alchemy, the Elixir of Life, did not appear in the
West until the twelfth century AD, when it was introduced
there from China by the Arabs. Similarities between eastern and western alchemy are
seen in the concept of polarity and the universal symbolic
reverence for gold as the great solar power, with its
counterpart in the lunar silver. The Sol and Luna theme,
presented in various guises, runs through all alchemy:
Fludd, for instance, expre ssed this polarity as the Sun, the
father, the heart, the right eye, with the left eye as the
Moon, the mother, the womb, as well as the basic duality
of sulphur and quicksilver. All branches of alchemy
reverenced the Earth, the Great Mother, in whose womb
were nourished the metals and from which they were
born. The essential diﬀerence between Chinese alchemy and
that of the West was that while the latter was always
associated with gold, whether in the transmutation of base
metals into gold or the transformation of the base metal of
unregenerate man into the pure gold of the spiritual life
and realization, Chinese alchemy was primarily concerned
with the ﬁnding of the Elixir of Immortality—again, either
at the lower level of prolonging physical life for its own
sake, or for ﬁnding personal immortality, or, on the
spiritual side, prolonging life in this world in order to gain
more time to spiritualize the soul or to gain immortality as
the enlightened being, the ‘True Man’ at one with the T ao. The Chinese  approach was through the fundam ental
doctrine of yin and yang;  the inﬂuenc e of, and dependence
on, the I Ching, the Book of Changes; and the teaching of
the Five Elements School of thought, the whole outlookbeing more on a mental-spiritual level, even in its lower
branches, than the gold-seeking slant of western alchemy. Materialism came later as a decadent growth in Chinese
alchemy at certain periods; but, as Waley says, the work
with metals and elixirs had practically ceased by AD 1000
and given place to the mystical path, which still used
alchemical phraseology and symbolism. Of this stage he
says that: ‘Whereas in reading the works of western
alchemists one constantly suspects that the quest with
which they are concerned is a purely spiritual one; that
they are using romantic phraseology of alchemy merely to
poeticize religious experience, in China there is no such
disguise. Alchemy becom es there openly and avowedly
what it almost seems to be in the works of Böehme or
Thomas Vaughan.’ Chine se alchemy, with its emphasis on
longevity and immortality, is much easier to account for
than that of the West. Serious western scholars and
alchemists often had to cover their spiritual quest with the
trappings of the laboratory and the search for material
gold for fear of persecution as heretics; but the Chinese
searcher after the Tao could reasonably study and follow
experiments in which he ‘spiritualized’ himself: he did not
need to make concessio ns to the material gold cult. A
further diﬀerence between East and West lay in the
theistic attitudes adopted in the Work. The western
alchemist, if he were involved in the esoteric, spiritual
branch of the Work, invoked the God of monotheism. His
eastern coun terpart in classical Taoism was non-theistic,
living in accord with and working for Nature and the
impersonal Tao and calling on no god; but the ‘bellows
blowers,’ as the exoteric, personal seekers were  called,
invoked a host of gods, spiritual beings and powers and
were closely involved with spirits and demons, repelling
the latter and depending on the aid of benevolent spirits.There is no doubt at all that alchemy operated in two
distinct branches existing side by side: the physical and
the metaphysical. The true alchemy was the realm of the
mystic, its aim being the transmutation of base man into
perfection; but at the same time there existed the
materialistically motivate d gold seekers together with the
seriously scientiﬁcally-minded knowledge seekers and
experimentalists, of whom Paracelsus said: ‘They do not
give themse lves up to ease and idleness... but they
devote themselves diligently to their labours, sweating
whole nights  over ﬁery furnaces. These do not kill time
with empty talk, but ﬁnd delight in their laboratory.’1
Chinese alchemy, embedded in Taoism, was probably
mystical in character before it became a science or art; it
was sacred before it became profane, so that in a sense
the scientiﬁc -chemical aspect was a decadent stage. The
two branche s could have little in the way of contact or
mutual unde rstanding, since the esoteric, mysti cal side
could engen der no desires, for these do not exist in the
Tao; the reverse was true of the gold, or elixir, or longevity
seekers. Ko Hung, in the Pao P'u Tzu, wrote that the adept
in Taoism regards ‘a peerage as an execution cauldron, a
seal of oﬀice as a mourning dress, gold and jade as dirt, a
splendid hall as a prison. How diﬀerent from those pseudo-
alchemists who, clenching their ﬁsts, mouth empty
phrases and wait for good  luck, or who lead a leisurely life
in a gorgeous room, endowed with countless grants,
appointed to high oﬀice, and still are discontented with
their power and wealth!’
The Chinese made a crucial distinction between
external, inorganic, laboratory alchemy and the internal,
philosophical side; the former was concerned with the
Elixir, or Pill, of Immortality, with ingredients and recipes
using minerals or plants, a work which incidentally gave
rise to the experimen tal, metallurgic, chemical andmaterial aspects; the latter, which operated within the
adept's own body and soul, was concerned with the
psychological and spiritual side, with immortality and the
spiritual transformation into the True Man. The one was
the exoteric ‘outer elixir,’ in Chinese the wei tan ; the other
the ‘inner elixir,’ the esoteric nei tan; the one was
material, the other spiritual. Laboratory alchemy, dealing
with material experiments, was quantitative; the inner
alchemy, striving towards spiritual perfectio n, was
qualitative. For the spiritual work, the outw ard and
exoteric aspect was merely a symbol of the inner work. On the lowes t level were those motivated by greed and
hope of gain, either of material wealth or psychic powers;
those who mistook the real work of spiritual gold for
material riches. These were known in Chinese alchemy as
the ‘bellows blowers’ or ‘puﬀers;’ in the West they were
called ‘charcoal burners,’ ‘bunglers,’ or ‘messy cooks.’
There were also the charlatans who battened on the greed
or credulity of emperors, princes, or the public. Some
promised great results, or claimed to know of some place
where the required minerals could be found, persuading
princes and patrons to equip them with the money and
necessities for the journey, and then disap pearing. However, even here, on the lower level, experiments could
lead to knowledge of the properties of the metals and
herbs used in the processes and gave birth to early
metallurgy and chemistry, while genuine experim entalists
arrived at an understanding that was sometimes in
advance of present-day scientiﬁc achievement. The Taoism from which alchemy arose had as its main
teaching that humanity should learn to live in harmony
with Nature, with the Tao. Those who achieved this
harmony did so through a spiritual-mystical understanding
of the universe and its laws. The achievement naturally led
to a balanced outlook, an acceptance of Nature's way, andtherefore to a relaxed and happy temperament that was
naturally conducive to good health through lack


 three
months previously he had become very irritated, annoyed, and
resentful toward a dentist who, after he had promised to sign a
contract, had withdrawn at the last moment. He began to live i n the
unconscious fear that other clients would do the same, thereby se tting
up a history of frustration, hostility, and obstacles. He graduall y built
 191  up in his mind a belief in obstruc-tion and last minute cancell ations
until a vicious circle had been established. What I fear most has come
upon me. Mr. Block realized that the trouble was in his mind, and that
it was essential to change his mental attitude. His run of so-called misfortune was broken in the follow-ing way:
“I realize I am one with the infinite intelligence of my  subconscious
mind which knows no obstacle, difficulty, or delay. I live in the
joyous expectancy of the best. My deeper mind responds to my
thoughts. I know that the work of the infinite power of my
subconscious cannot be hindered. Infinite intelligence always f inishes
successfully whatever it begins. Creative wisdom works through me
bringing all my plans and purposes to completion. Whatever I st art, I
bring to a success-ful conclusion. My aim in life is to give  wonderful
service, and all those whom I contact are blessed by what I ha ve to
offer. All my work comes to full fruition in divine order.”
He repeated this prayer every morning before going to call o n his
customers, and he also prayed each night prior to sleep. In a short time
he had established a new habit pattern in his subconscious mind, and
he was back in his old accustomed stride as a successful salesman. • How much do you want what you want? A young man asked Socrates how he could get wisdom. Socrates
replied, “Come with me.” He took the lad to a river, pushed th e boy’s
head under the water, held it there until the boy was gaspi ng for air,
then relaxed and released his head. When the boy regained his
composure, he asked him, “What did you desire most when you were
under water?”
“I wanted air,” said the boy. Socrates said to him, “When you want wisdom as much as you
wanted air when you were immersed in the water, you will receive it.”
Likewise, when you really have an intense desire to over-come any
block in your life, and you come to a clear-cut de-cision that the re is a
 192  way out, and that is the course you wish to follow, then victory and
triumph are assured. If you really want peace of mind and inner calm, you will get it. Regardless of how unjustly you have been treated, or how unfair th e
boss has been, or what a mean scoundrel some-one has proved to be,
all this makes no difference to you when you awaken to your mental
and spiritual powers. You know what you want, and you will
definitely refuse to let the thieves (thoughts) of hatred, anger, hostility,
and ill will rob you of peace, harmony, health, and happiness. You
cease to become upset by people, conditions, news, and events by
identifying your thoughts immediately with your aim in life. You r aim
is peace, health, inspiration, harmony, and abundance. Feel a ri ver of
peace flowing through you now. Your thought is the immaterial and
invisible power, and you choose to let it bless, inspire, and giv e you
peace. • Why he could not be healed
This is a case history of a married man with four children who was
supporting and secretly living with another woman during his business
trips. He was ill, nervous, irritable, and cantankerous, and he could not
sleep without drugs. The doctor’s medicine failed to bring down hi s
high blood pressure of over two hundred. He had pains in numerous
organs of his body, which doctors could not diagnose or relieve. To
make matters worse, he was drinking heavily. The cause of all this was a deep unconscious sense of guilt. H e had
violated the marriage vows, and this troubled him. The religi ous creed
he was brought up on was deeply lodged in his subconscious mind,
and he drank excessively to heal the wound of guilt. Some invalids
take morphine and codeine for severe pains; he was taking a lcohol for
the pain or wound in his mind. It was the old story of adding fue l to
the fire. 193  • The explanation and the cure
He listened to the explanation of how his mind worked. He faced his
problem, looked at it, and gave up his dual role. He knew that h is
drinking was an unconscious attempt to escape. The hidden cause
lodged in his subconscious mind had to be eradicated; then the healing
would follow. He began to impress his subconscious mind three or four times a
day by using the following prayer: “My mind is full of peace, poise,
balance, and equilibrium. The infinite lies stretched in smi ling repose
within me. I am not afraid of anything in the past, the present, or the
future. The infinite intelligence of my subconscious mind leads,
guides, and directs me in all ways. I now meet every situation w ith
faith, poise, calmness, and confidence. I am now completely free from the habit. My mind is full of i nner
peace, freedom, and joy. I forgive myself; then I am forgiven. Peace,
sobriety, and confidence reign supreme in my mind.”
He repeated this prayer frequently as outlined; being fully  aware of
what he was doing and why he was doing it. Knowing what he was
doing gave him the necessary faith and confidence. I explained t o him
that as he spoke these statements out loud, slowly, lovingly, and
meaningfully, they would gradually sink down into his subconscious
mind. Like seeds, they would grow after their kind. These truth s, on
which he concentrated, went in through his eyes, his ears heard the
sound, and the healing vibrations of these words reached his
subconscious mind and obliterated all the negative mental pa tterns
which caused all the trouble. Light dispels darkness. The constr uctive
thought de-stroys the negative thought. He became a transformed man
within a month. • Refusing to admit it
If you are an alcoholic or drug addict, admit it. Do not dodge the
issue. Many people remain alcoholics because they refuse to admit i t.
 194  Your disease is instability, an inner fear. You are refusing t o face
life, and so you try to escape your responsi-bilities through t he bottle. As an alcoholic you have no free will, although you think you have,
and you may even boast about your will power. If you are a habitual
drunkard and say bravely, “I will not touch it any more,” you have no
power to make this assertion come true, because you do not know
where to locate the power. You are living in a psychological prison of your own making, and
you are bound by your beliefs, opinions, training, and environmenta l
influences. Like most people, you are a creature of habit. You are con ditioned
to react the way you do. • Building in the idea of freedom
You can build the idea of freedom and peace of mind into your
mentality so that it reaches your subconscious depths. The latter, be ing
allpowerful, will free you from all desire for alcohol. The n, you will
have the new understanding of how your mind works, and you can
truly back up your statement and prove the truth to yourself. • Fifty-one percent healed
If you have a keen desire to free yourself from any de-struct ive
habit, you are fifty-one percent healed already. When you have a
greater desire to give up the bad habit than to con-tinue  it, you will not
experience too much difficulty in gaining complete freedom. Whatever thought you anchor the mind upon, the latter magnifies. If
you engage the mind on the concept of freedom (freedom from the
habit) and peace of mind, and if you keep it focused on this new
direction of attention, you generate feelings and emotions, which
gradually emotionalize the concept of freedom and peace. Whateve r
idea you emotionalize is accepted by your subconscious and brought
to pass. 195  • The law of substitution
Realize that something good can come out of your suffer-ing. You
have not suffered in vain. However, it is foolish to continue to suffer. If you continue as an alcoholic, it will bring about mental and
physical deterioration and decay. Realize that the power in your
subconscious is backing you up. Even though you may be seized wi th
melancholia, you should begin to imagine the joy of freedom that  is in
store for you. This is the law of substi-tution. Your imagination took
you to the bottle; let it take you now to freedom and peace of mind. You will suffer a little bit, but it is for a constructiv e purpose. You
will bear it like a mother in the pangs of childbirth, and you will,
likewise, bring forth a child of the mind. Your subconscious will give
birth to sobriety. • Cause of alcoholism
The real cause of alcoholism is negative and destructive thi nking;


apen woman standing in the door. The first woman was saying to the second, "I always go to these lectures on diets; but I always come home and cook the
same things." An appeal to the group at the Rotary Club or woman's club or chamber of commerce
who are suffering from tooth decay, scurvy, blood vessel disease, etc., is very much like
an appeal to a group of persons who are habitu ally taking morphine or codein. They are
habitues. Their habits have weakened their physical resistance and their will. A large
proportion of these persons are physically and mentally incapable of adopting radical changes in their diets. They are urged to eat green salads and drink milk. This often
results in raucous laughter and has often cal led to the mind of the author the raucous
laughter which greeted the Vicar of Wakefield in his attempts to better the conditions of
the miserable and criminal peoples to whom he preached. Educational lectures addressed to the physicians might seem to meet a better
reception, as physicians are very eager to make  a better record than their competitors. They are anxious to cure diseases in which their competitors have failed. But even with such urge in the background, the doctor looks with a cold, fishy eye on all changes in
his own dietary habits. He believes he has done  pretty well. He fails to recognize his
own deficiencies because his standards are wrong. He knows and treats marked departures from normal, but subclinical departures from normal meet no recognition as
these correspond too closely to his own and to his family's physical condition. His own
children need treatment for pyorrhea and tooth decay, St. Vitus' dance, and rheumatism. They have diseased tonsils and only partially functioning eyes. They have rickets and constipation. The average doctor may be looked upon as a factor standing for the status quo. He has
been taught certain therapeutic measures to use as he would use splints on a broken arm. He has had nothing to do with the breaking of the arm. His work is only to fix the arm after it is broken. He pays little attention to the prevention of deficiency disease. He
only thinks of doing something about the coro nary diseases, the cancer, the ulcer, or the
mouth disease after it has occurred. The editorial policy of the leading medical journals has been to play down everything
connected with vitamin deficiencies for fear that vitamins will get too much in the
hands of the laity. In spite of their attitude, this has occurred. The layman has
recognized that there is something valuable to be had along this line, and in a dumb, muddling way he has reached for it. Around half a billion dollars is spent in the United
States every year for vitamin preparations This is mostly on a nonintelligent basis. But
these remedies have undoubtedly helped in some small way, but not in a way that could
be achieved if the remedies were intelligently used. This applies to vitamins bought over the counter, and also to vitamins prescribed by
physicians. The physician has been educated mostly by salesmen who represent
commercial houses. The salesman gauges his instruction by the profits to be made in the
particular product he may be selling. Since the medical colleges pay little attention to this subject except in an adverse way, and the editorial policy of the medical journals is to consider it a minor part of medical practice, the field is left open for the physician to
be educated and exploited by the clever salesman. The hope for improvement along the lines of education is, then, a hope for something
to be done after many years of long, painful effort. If we are to receive the necessary
help and receive it in the shortest possible time, changes will have to be made by
legislation. The feeble and bungling attempt made along this line in connection with
white flour and bread, and the eagerness with which millers and bakers came into line,
after years of stoutly claiming that their flour and bread were right and perfect as they were, shows that legislative or other authority coming from a sufficiently high source
may change everything in a few weeks or months in connection with food products. We shall probably never be able to educate the population of the United States to the
value of health-producing foods, but by law or decree we may banish the deficiency
foods and substitute optimum foods in a few we eks' time. One of the obstructions in the
past to a proper information of the public has been the commercial interests at stake. These commercial interests have been able to influence research favorable to them in some universities. They have been able to influence some eminent physicians and some
editors of medical journals to acclaim the merit of their goods both in lectures and in
public prints. They have been able to keep their deficiency products in the stores and on the kitchen shelves by plausible speeches on the radio and in the common widely read
magazines. The foods which have carried the greatest th reat against the health of the state and the
individual are sugar, white flour, and canned goods. The sugar is a concentrated
carbohydrate containing no vitamin or mineral of  any kind. Every ounce of sugar that is
taken into the human economy reduces the ability to resist infection, as it furnishes only
calories and none of the elements which protect against infections. The importation and
manufacture of sugar should be prohibited as the drug heroin is prohibited. All this is true for white flour, as it is nearly pure carbohydrate. White flour does
contain, however, around 7 per cent protein. This makes it a somewhat better food than
sugar. But neither the protein nor the carbohydrate in white flour contains any appreciable amount of minerals or vitamins. By legislative enactment both sugar and
white flour should be banished from the American diet. As a substitute for sugar, honey
may be used. Honey contains all of the ordinary food minerals and valuable enzymes. It
is not probable that anyone will overeat on honey, as the appetite for sweets is very quickly satisfied after a fraction of an ounce has been taken. The only proper replacement for white flour  is whole-wheat flour. The same principle
holds true in connection with other grains--rye,  rice, corn, etc. Any grain flour should be
consumed only as whole-grain flour. Any attempt to separate and discard either the
germ or the bran or both removes valuable minerals and vitamins. As whole-wheat flour
does not keep, the milling should be done by the baker. The law in regard to milling and
baking should provide that none but whole-grain flour be used and the wholegrain flour
used in any bakery in any day should be ground by suitable mills in that same bakery on the morning of the same day in which the baking takes place. The procedure should be
to provide clean wheat or other grain early in the morning; putting this grain through the
mill; taking the fresh flour and making it into bread or other bakery goods immediately following the milling. For home use the fresh flour could be delivered daily as milk is
distributed. In England at the present time the milling of white flour is prohibited. They tried the addition of synthetics to white flour and found it to be unsatisfactory. This would not only provide better nutriti on, but better flavor. The flavor of freshly
milled wheat is very delicious, whether used in porridge, pancakes, biscuits, muffins, or
other foods. It is incomparably superior to th e flavor of aged white flour or relatively
old whole-wheat flour. Small mills for grinding wheat and other grains could formerly be obtained from
Montgomery-Ward & Company, and these mills were of various kinds and sizes. They could be obtained for home use, resembling somewhat the old-fashioned coffee mill; or
they could be obtained for restaurant or hotel use in a somewhat larger mechanism. Such mills used in the home provided good food of excellent value. In restaurants and
hotels they should be in demand because of the superior quality of the food they produce. The author first found out about the delicious flavor of freshly milled grain on a
lecture trip to Seattle, Washington. At br eakfast in the Olympic Hotel in 1931, he
immediately noticed the extremely fine flavor of the wholewheat bread and biscuits. An
inquiry as to the kind of material used in making this bread brought out the fact that the
hotel was using its own mill and grinding its own whole-wheat flour fresh every
morning. This sort of an arrangement would completely change the milling industry. The
revolution in dietary affairs would put all milling into the hands of the bakers. This
would undoubtedly work an advantage for the bakers, but to the disadvantage of the
millers; but it would be returning to somewhere near the conditions that existed before
the days of the big mills, when a farmer took his grist to the neighborhood flour milt to be ground. The canning industry is one of the largest food industries. Up to the present time
canned goods have been accepted as good food for either children or adults. Since we
have known more about the chemical characteristics of the various vitamins, it has been found that some are destroyed by heat. Those most easily destroyed by heat are the
water-soluble vitamins. Vitamin C, which has to do with the prevention of scurvy, is
destroyed by ordinary cooking temperatures in the presence of oxygen. Therefore heat
canning or any canning in the open air results in the destruction of vitamin C. Much
canning is in heavy sugar syrup which furt her relatively reduces vitamin and mineral
content. Canners are now avoiding open vessels, and are canning in the absence of oxygen,
which preserves a major portion of the vitamin C. This fact gives all the advantage to
factory


 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