, a new book, a
fragrant rose, a fresh strawberr y. Stay alert to the amazing display that is
taking p lace around you. Pay a ttention to the remarkable dance of nature
that is ever fresh and new. Ene r gized alertness is the basis of enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm reverses aging.
SPONT ANEITY
A youth ful mind is spontaneous. It is unpredictable. It has not been
conditioned. A youthful mind is awake to all possibilities and is not
inhibited by established norms.  A youthful mind relinquishes the need to
narrowly define itself. A youthful mind tolerates ambiguity, which gives
rise to spontaneity.
Y ou hav e sponta neous impulses  inside of you right now. Close your eyes
and feel  the exuberance of spontaneity that wants to manifest. Right now, as
you are reading this book, do something spontaneous. Find the impulse
within you and nourish it with your attention. Here are some suggestions:
Kiss your spouse
Start dancing
Call your motherStart singing
T ake of f your clothes
Read a poem
Draw a picture
Be s pontaneous. It is not possib le to “practice” spontaneity, but you can
be a lert to nurtur ing the spontaneous impulses that are bubbling up inside of
you. Spontaneity is a quality of a youthful mind.
FLUIDITY AND ADAPT ABILITY
A youth ful mind  is fluid and adaptable. It does not allow itself to be trapped
by b oundaries that overshadow the unity of all things. It natura lly sees the
interrelatedness of life, and therefore is able to flow with changing
situations and circumstances wi thout resistance. A youthful mind does not
get stuck in fine distinctions.
Be a daptable. Don’ t allow you rself to get trapped into viewi ng things
from a narrow, limited perspective. Practice seeing the big picture. A void
letting boundari es overshadow your unity. Look for the interrelatedness of
all things in life.
YOUR QUANTUM MIND
At th e le vel of quantum reality,  the universe is not made up of things. It is
comprised of oscillating fields of ener gy. The quantum domain is
spontaneous. It is inherently unpredictable, resisting all ef forts to define it
precisely. In the quantum domain, everything is interrelated. Any
perturbation in the field influences everything else in the field.The quantum realm has unlimited ener gy, unlimited unpredictability, and
unlimited interconnectedness. Another way of saying this is that the
quantum realm is enthusiastic, spontaneous, and fluid. These are the
qualities of the cosmic mind that every moment gives rise  to a fresh
universe. These are the qualities of a youthful mind that every moment
gives rise to a new body.
Heightening Y our Level of Sensory A wareness
A youthful mind is alert to the rich inner and outer sensations  of life. An
aged mind is dull and oblivious to the sensory delights that are available
internally and externally. Y ou can create a youthful, exubera nt mind by
heightening you r state of sensory awareness. A waken to the rich  sensations
inside and outside of you. Enliven your imagination. A youthful mind is
tuned in to the multidimensional, multisensory universe we inhabit.
NOURISHING YOUR BODY/MIND THROUGH THE FIVE
SENSES
Pay attention to your environment. Feed your senses delectable, interesting,
awe-inspiring impulses. A youthful mind is nourished through the
exploration of new domains. See your environment with fresh eyes. Don’ t
take your world for granted.
Listen to beautiful, interesting, dif ferent music from around the world.
Listen to the sounds of nature—birds singing, the wind blowing
through the leaves, rain beating on your roof, ocean waves crashing
against the shore.
Feel the texture of things. Dig your hands into the earth. Stroke your
pet. Caress your loved ones. Feel a sculpture. Rub your hands along a
tree’ s bark.Look at your world with fresh eyes. Notice things you don’ t usually
pay attention to. Look at the many shades of green that nature paints.
W atch the clouds manifest and dissolve. Go to your local art museum
and walk through the galleries. Really look at the faces of the people in
your life.
T aste things as if for the first time. Bite into a tart apple. Savor the
flavor of freshly baked cherry pie. Pop a clove bud in your mouth.
T aste your lover with a passionate kiss. Drink a freshly squeezed glass
of orange juice. Delight your taste buds.
Notice the aromas in your environment. Breathe in the fragrances of
your garden. Snif f the smells of dinner. Inhale the scents of your loved
one. Go outside after a rain and smell the earth. Notice how closely
smells are linked with your memories and emotions.
EXP AND YOUR IMAGINA TION
The ener gy and information of the world is translated into subtle sensory
impulses that are experienced on the screen of your consciousness. These
inner impulses are known in A yurveda as T anmatras. W e can think of them
as mental quanta, the subjective equivalent to the subtlest units of matter in
the physical world. A wakening the T anmatras through active imagination
creates a youthful mind.
Read th e following visualizatio ns, then close your eyes and invoke a
vivid impression in your mind.
Sound
Imagine the sound of:
A church bell tolling on Sunday morningA cricket, chirping outside your window at night
A marching band performing at a high school football game
A grandfather clock sounding six o’clock
A coyote howling at the moon
T ouch
Imagine the sensations of:
W alking on a sandy beach
T aking a hot shower
T ouching a rose petal
Stroking the soft cheek of an infant child
Caressing satin sheets
V ision
Imagine the sight of:
The sun setting over the Pacific Ocean
A flock of geese flying in formation overhead
Cumulus clouds on a warm summer day
A children’ s ballet performance
An Olympic diver jumping of f the platformT aste
Imagine the taste of:
A fresh, ripe peach
A spoonful of chocolate-chip ice cream
Gar gling with mint-flavored mouthwash
A pungent jalapeño pepper
A bitter leaf of endive lettuce
Smell
Imagine the smell of:
Bread baking in the oven
A new bar of sandalwood soap
A cinnamon stick
A freshly cut lemon
A fragrant rose
MUL TISENSOR Y IMAGINA TION
Y ou can develop your subtle sen ses by imagining multisensory experiences.
Start with the fo llowing exercises and then create your own vi sualizations
to exercise your imagination.Imagine:
Y ou are walking along the beach on a tropical island. Y ou feel the warm
sun on your body. Y ou hear the ocean waves lapping at the sh ore and the
call of seagulls. Y ou smell the faint waft of your coconut suntan lotion.
Imagine:
Y ou are in a late-fifties diner. The sounds of an Elvis Presley song fill the
room from the jukebox in the corner. The young men in the re staurant are
wearing white T -shirts with their sleeves rolled up. Y ou tak e your first
swallow of the chocolate milk shake served in a lar ge frosty fountain glass.
Imagine:
Y ou are lying o n a lounge chair on a warm summer night. Fir eflies are
glowing on and of f as you gaze  into the dark sky. Crickets are chirping in
unison. The fragrance of night- blooming jasmine perfuses the air. As you
take a bite out of a fresh peach, a shooting star flashes through the sky.
Nurture the enthusiasm that comes with heightened awareness of the
sounds, sensatio ns, sights, tastes, and smells in your outer and in ner worlds.
Pay attention to the gifts your senses bring you.
Learning and Gr owing
A yo uthful mind is a growing m ind. It is dedicated to continua l expansion
and lea rning. A youthful mind thrives on new experiences and new
knowledge. Experience combined with knowledge leads to wisdom.
Make a commit ment to learn th roughout your life. Here are j ust a few
suggestions to keep your mind growing:Read—the classics, novels, Shakespeare, science fiction, fantasies. T ry
genres you do not usually choose.
Read poetry—Rumi, T agore, Hafiz, Blake, Longfellow, Frost,
Ginsber g, and the modern poets
Read spiritual literature—the Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the
Upanishads, the Dhammapada
T ake classes at your local college
Learn a foreign language
T ake piano lessons
Learn to dance
T ake art classes
Learn to cook
T ake writing classes
Join a choir
T ake pottery classes
Learn a new computer program
T ake a poetry-writing class
Go to workshops—on love, on human potential, on success, on
spirituality, on health
T ake horseback-riding lessons
T ake a photography classV isit new places
T ravel to foreign lands
Go to museums and art galleries
W atch foreign films
Go


 free from meats,
fats, milk products, eggs, etc., contributes greatly to this success. But there is another important
factor: the use of flax seed oil. Cold pressed from organically grown flax seeds, as discovered by
Dr. Johanna Budwig 1, it is high in the important Omega 3 and low in the Omega 6 fatty acids.
This ratio causes the excess cholesterol to be dissolved and carried off via the bloodstream and
the liver.
(By way of contrast, a high cholesterol diet is high in Omega 6 and seriously deficient in
Omega 3 fatty acids.)
As an immediate result of embarking on the Gerson Therapy, patients present a more normal
level of cholesterol, and they are able to stop taking the statin drugs prescribed by their doctors.
These drugs represent one of the largest markets for any prescription medication; they are liver-
toxic, but doctors feel impelled to use them to prevent heart attacks and strokes. By being able
to do without statins, patients on the Gerson program avoid yet another source of toxicity. Any
remaining cholesterol surplus is easily eliminated by the niacin (vitamin B-3), which is an integral
part of the Gerson protocol. Of course smoking, another source of elevated cholesterol, is strictly
banned on the therapy.
The Gerson treatment not only helps to clear arteries of plaque, (which medicine claims
cannot be done), thus avoiding strokes or more serious second heart attacks. It is also a natural
method of prevention, even in people who may have a genetic predisposition to heart disease, and
has also helped patients, who have already suffered a heart attack or stroke, to recover and even
restore some lost functions.
Case History: In December 1993, the 87-year-old father of recovered Gerson patient M.
W. suffered a heart attack. After the ambulance delivered him to the Emergency Room, he had a
stroke. Subsequently he spent 3 weeks in the hospital’s intensive care unit, was given a pacemaker
and a great deal of drugs, and eventually his wife was told to take him to a nursing home. M.W,
however, persuaded her mother to take him home instead, and immediately rushed to join her
parents. She was shocked at the sight of her father, sitting in a wheelchair, head drooping to one
side, drooling. But she worked with him day and night, cautiously putting him on the Gerson
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 5 3Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comTherapy. At first she gave him a few juices while he was still taking all the prescribed drugs, and
then slowly increased the intensity of the protocol. In three months the old gentleman was out of
his wheelchair. In August 1994, eight months after the heart attack and stroke, he walked into the
Department of Motor Vehicles office and applied for—and got—a driver’s license. He remained
well, celebrated his 90th birthday in August 1996, and passed away a few years later.
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Blood pressure, i.e., the pressure exerted by the blood against the walls of arteries, plays
an important role in health or disease. The average normal blood pressure is 120/80. When it
rises over 140/90, it is considered abnormal and dangerous, linked to kidney disease and, as
a contributory factor, to coronary artery and cerebral vascular disease. The standard medical
response is to reduce the pressure with drugs, which, patients are told, they must take for the rest
of their lives in order to preserve their kidneys.
The increase in pressure can have many causes. The chief one is the narrowing of the blood
vessels, essentially by cholesterol deposits forming plaque. Other causes include kidney disease,
coronary artery disease, and hyperthyroidism (over-activity of the thyroid gland). Stress, nervous
tension or excitement can cause a temporary rise of the blood pressure.
The standard allopathic medical treatment involves mainly the statin family of drugs. These
reduce blood pressure, sometimes by as much as 25-35 mmHg ( millimeters on the mercury scale
used for measuring). However, they are highly liver toxic. Moreover, doctors rarely inform their
male patients that the statins cause impotence. This is not surprising, if we consider that the drug
relaxes the pressure exerted on the arteries—including the pressure needed to cause an erection.
Many marriages have been destroyed due to the effects of this drug.
Since hypertension is generally believed to respond only to palliative drug treatment while
remaining incurable, it may come as a surprise that it is easily overcome with the salt-free,
vegetarian basis of the Gerson program. At the start of the treatment the patient continues to take
the prescribed allopathic medication, but needs to reduce the dose by 50% after three days on the
therapy, which has already started to work. By the sixth day the drug has to be cut out completely,
since the patient’s blood pressure has become normal, and to lower it further to an abnormally low
level might cause him or her to faint.
High blood pressure, together with heart disease, is the No.1 killer in the U.S.  Treated with
the Gerson Therapy, to which it responds easily and quickly, it would lose much of its menace,
and tens of thousands of lives could be saved every year.
Case history: G.C. at the time aged 54, suffered from a number of serious health problems
when he arrived at the Mexican Gerson hospital, having been given a second death sentence
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 5 4Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comby his doctors a few weeks before. The patient was suffering from liver cirrhosis, acid reflux
(highly unpleasant  return of acid into the esophagus from the stomach), gastric ulcers, sleep
apnea (temporary cessation of breathing), pulmonary lung disease, diabetes, high blood pressure,
chronic fatigue, and depression. He had undergone triple by-pass surgery, and had tried Viagra,
then doubled the dose, without the hoped-for result.
17 months after starting the Gerson Therapy, all G.C.’s test results were within the normal
range. His last examination was a total metabolic work-up, including tests for his liver, kidneys
and all other essential organs. He reports that he is feeling great, has good energy—and no longer
needs to even think about Viagra.
In addition the patient’s wife had been doing the therapy alongside him. As a result her
monthly migraine headaches that had landed her in hospital with dry heaves and even blackouts
have ceased. She stopped smoking, looks younger, has better energy, and feels truly well.
Diabetes
Diabetes is the No.3 killer of Americans, following heart and circulatory disease and cancer.
We need to distinguish between two different types of the disease, namely juvenile, or ‘brittle’
diabetes, and age-onset diabetes mellitus. Both require a different approach, as set out below, but
generally speaking it is fair to say that “the usual suspect,” namely the modern American diet with
its excessively high sugar and fat content is largely to blame for the exponential rise in cases of
diabetes mellitus. If you add up all the sugar that an average American adult consumes daily in
the form of sweets, cookies, cakes, convenience foods, ice cream, and the worst culprits, namely
soft drinks, the sum total is pretty frightening. The human body and its most concerned organ, the
pancreas, are unable to deal with this onslaught, and after a while diabetes sets in. However, the
causation of juvenile diabetes is a different story…
Juvenile or ‘brittle’ diabetes is described as ‘insulin dependent,’ 2 which is correct, since
those suffering from it do not produce enough insulin to satisfy their bodies’ needs. Insulin is
a hormone, secreted by the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. It is essential for the proper
metabolism of blood sugar, and for the maintenance of proper blood sugar level. Insufficient
production of insulin is generally due to severe damage to, or infection of, the pancreas, which
leads to the Islets of Langerhans being damaged or partly destroyed. The remaining ones are
unable to produce enough insulin.
In many cases the problem starts in early childhood, hence the name ‘juvenile.’ Children
tend to catch colds and flu fairly often; their concerned parents take them to a pediatrician, who
routinely prescribes antibiotics. These suppress and temporarily clear the symptoms, but tend to
damage the children’s immune system. As a result, more infections develop until at some stage
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 5 5Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comthe apparent flu is very severe, persists for some weeks and finally slowly clears. That flu turns
out to have been pancreatitis, i.e., inflammation of the pancreas. A short time later the child is
diagn


, practicing, and building
his own outrigger  canoe.  He was convinced  that if he  imagined  himself
winning the  race, his team would  come  in first.
Next year, he, his team and  at least a  dozen others flew  to Hawaii from
Southern California  to compete  in the  annual race.  There  were several
teams with much more  experience who were  considered  likely to place  in
the top ten, although the  Hawaiians were  still considered  the favorites. At
the end of the  race, E.P.’s team finished  first, ahead  of the  Hawaiians and
all the  other  teams. E.P. now  holds a  paddle  engraved  with the  words
“World  Champion”  which was given to him upon his team taking  first
place.
After winning  this coveted  title, this young  man went on to coach other
teams. He  also began manufacturing  paddles for outrigger  canoes. His
paddles are  known throughout the  world  and are used by outrigger  teams
who are  among  the top teams in the  world.
E.P. now  makes his home  in Hawaii and  enjoys coaching  teams, manufac -
turing  paddles, fishing  and sailing  his own boat. He  also uses his boat as
an escort craft for the  annual  outrigger  races.
*****
Mrs. J.K. was living  in her  twin sister’s home  after having  been divorced.
Mrs. J.K. had   three children, a  son and  boy twins. Her  sister  and her hus-
band had three boys. Needless to say, this was a  crowded  household. Mrs.
J.K. was very desirous of getting   married  and living  in her  own home.
She had  been dating  a man but decided  that she  did not wish to continue
the relationship  and broke  it off. Many of her  friends attempted  to “fix”
Mrs. J.K. up  with eligible  men they knew,  but she  was not interested  in
going  on blind dates. Several of her  friends commented  that if she wished
to meet an eligible  man, she  would  need to get out and  go places.
More Free Books Law of Attraction HavenThe twins believed  in the  creative  power  of imagination, and  they had a
friend  who also knew  of the  power  of imagining. The  three women deter -
mined  that they would  imagine  a ring on Mrs. J.K.’s finger, which would
imply that she  was married.  They did  this for several weeks. During  this
time, Mrs. J.K. also imagined  herself living  in her  own home.  However,
when she  attempted  to do so, she found  herself imagining  a home  exactly
like her sister’s.
One day, Mrs. J.K. received  a call from a  friend  who asked  her to come  to
her home  and  help her wallpaper her  kitchen. Mrs. J.K. agreed  to help
her friend  who lived  a few blocks away in the  same  tract of homes. While
she was there, a  male neighbor came  to visit her friend. The  friend  intro-
duced  Mrs. J.K. to her  neighbor. He  later called  Mrs. J.K. and  they  began
to date.  Five months later, Mrs. J.K. married  this man. The  interesting
part of this story is that all of these  people  lived in the  same  large tract of
homes. There  were only four homes in the  tract of 1200  that had the
same  floor plan. Yes, this woman’s husband  owned  one of the  homes that
had the same  floor plan as Mrs. J.K.’s twin sister. Even  though Mrs. J.K.
imagined  herself living  in her  own home, she  had only been able  to  imag -
ine herself living  in a house  identical to her  sister’s.
*****
This is a  story about the  friend, Mrs. L.M., who had  introduced  Mrs. J.K. to
her new  husband. During  their friendship, Mrs. J.K. had  tried to explain
the principle  of imagination to her  friend  who was very doubtful that “it”
would  work. One  day, Mrs. J.K. asked  her friend  to come  to one  of
Neville’s lectures. Mrs. L.M. agreed  to attend  but was not at all convinced
that imagining  she had what she  wanted  would  result in obtaining  it. But,
she decided  to imagine  a very simple  thing – the receipt of a handker -
chief. She imagined  that someone  had given her  one and then dropped
the whole  idea. Much to her surprise, she  received  a handkerchief in the
mail from the  mother  of a friend  who came  to her  house  for lunch while
she was in town for a  visit. This woman sent Mrs. L.M. a   handkerchief
with a  thank  you note. Mrs. L.M. was not only surprised  when she  re-
ceived the  gift, she  became  very frightened  as she  thought there  was
something  supernatural  about it. Mrs. L.M. had  attempted  to disprove  that
imagination produces the  thing desired. When she  received  the handker -
chief she  had imagined, she  interpreted  it to be  some  sort of Black Magic
and didn’t want to know  any more  about this teaching.
*****
I could  relate  hundreds of incidents involving  dozens of people  in which
imagination was used  to bring  about the  desired  results. I have  chosen
a few stories to illustrate  that imagination can be  used to solve  all manner
of problems and  bring into your experience your every heart’s desire.
More Free Books Law of Attraction HavenFundamentals
From INTA Bulletin, “New Thought”  Summer  1953.
With so vast a  subject, it is indeed  a difficult task  to summarize in a few
hundred  words what I consider  the most basic  ideas on which those  who
seek a true understanding  of metaphysics should  now concentrate.  I shall
do what I can in the  shape of three fundamentals. These  fundamentals
are: Self Observation, Definition of Aim, and Detachment.
The purpose  of true  metaphysics is to bring  about a  rebirth or radical psy -
chological change  in the  individual. Such a  change  cannot take place  until
the individual first  discovers the  self that he  would  change.  This discovery
can be  made only through an  uncritical observation of his reactions to
life. The sum total of these  reactions defines the  individual's state  of con -
sciousness, and  it is the  individual's state  of consciousness that  attracts
the situations and  circumstances of his life.
So the  starting  point of true  metaphysics, on its practical side, is self ob -
servation in order  to discover  one's reactions to life,  reactions which form
one's secret self –  the cause  of the  phenomena  of life.
With Emerson, I accept the  fact that “Man surrounds himself with the true
image of himself... what we are, that only can we  see."
There  is a definite  connection between what is outer  and what is inner  in
man, and  it is ever  our inner  states that attract our outer  life. Therefore,
the individual must always start   with himself.
It is one's self that must be  changed.
Man, in his blindness, is quite  satisfied  with himself, but heartily dislikes
the circumstances and  situations of his life.  He feels this way, not knowing
that the  cause  of his displeasure lies not in the  condition nor the  person
with whom he  is displeased, but in the  very self he likes so much. Not re -
alizing  that "he  surrounds himself with the  true image of himself" and
that "what he  is, that only can he  see," he is shocked  when he  discovers
that it has always been his own deceitfulness that made him suspicious of
others.
Self observation would  reveal this deceitful one  in all of us; and  this one
must be  accepted  before  there  can be  any transformation of ourselves.
At this moment, try to notice your inner  state.  To what thoughts are you
consenting? With  what feelings are  you identified? You  must be  ever care-
ful where  you are within yourself.
More Free Books Law of Attraction HavenMost of us think  that we are  kind and loving, generous and  tolerant, for -
giving  and noble;  but an uncritical observation of our reactions to life  will
reveal a  self that is not at all kind  and loving, generous and  tolerant, for -
giving  and noble. And


s,
and	ways	of	thinking.	To	some	extent	I	have	adapted	some	of	these	as	my
own,	which	further	blurs	the	line	between	us.
When	we	speak	to	the	dead	we	are	using	a	familiar	connection,	then,	and
it	can	be	strong	or	weak.	When	it’s	weak,	we	see	and	hear	the	deceased	in	our
minds;	when	it	is	strong,	we	see	and	hear	them	more	vividly,	as	if	outside
ourselves.	But	neither	I	nor	my	father	is	outside	the	field.	That’s	the	point	the
rishis	emphasize	over	and	over,	and	my	experience	tells	me	it’s	true.
The	Powers	You	Need
To	successfully	navigate	the	“other	side”	means	mastering	the	powers	that	are
needed	there.	If	the	“other	side”	isn’t	merely	an	imitation	of	this	side,	those
powers	must	be	different	from	willpower,	physical	strength,	and	the	other
familiar	supports	of	life	in	the	material	world.	Yet	our	subtle	powers,	being
part	of	ourselves,	can’t	be	totally	foreign,	either.	For	most	of	us	our	primary
world	is	physical,	of	course,	but	we	are	using	subtle	powers	all	the	time,	and
these	may	support	us	in	the	afterlife.	If	the	rishis	are	correct	in	saying	that
everyone
inhabits
	the	Akashic	field,	both	in	life	and	after	death,	then	subtle
powers	of	consciousness	unite	both.
T
HE
	P
OWERS
	Y
OU
	N
EED
Self-awareness:
	The	power	to	know	yourself.	This	power	keeps	you
centered.
Willingness:
	The	power	to	open	your	mind.	This	power	allows	reality	to	beseen	despite	old	conditioning	and	beliefs.
Intention:
	The	power	to	manifest	desires.	This	power	connects	you	with
your	purpose.
Discrimination:
	The	power	to	make	fine	distinctions.	This	power	guides
you	in	the	subtleties	of	understanding.
Acceptance:
	The	power	of	nonresistance.	This	power	enables	you	to
integrate	reality	into	yourself.
To	truly	know	something	as	deep	as	what	happens	after	death,	your	mind
must	call	upon	these	powers.	That’s	the	only	thing,	really,	separating	us	from
the	Vedic	rishis:	they	used	their	subtle	powers	to	the	fullest;	we	call	on	them
to	a	much	lesser	degree.	We	are	postponing	the	soul	journey	until	we	die.	Yet
our	subtle	powers	are	needed	every	day—for	ourselves	and	for	those
relationships	that	expand	our	horizons.
You	have	to	be	centered	and
self-aware
	so	that	you	don’t	manipulate
others	or	allow	yourself	to	be	manipulated.
Your
willingness
	to	see	beyond	your	own	ego	creates	an	open	space	for
the	relationship	to	grow.
Instead	of	allowing	the	relationship	to	fluctuate	as	mood	dictates,	you
intend
	for	it	to	become	richer	and	deeper.
Your	partner	is	constantly	filling	you	with	a	stream	of	desires,	needs,	and
opinions	(you	are	doing	the	same	back).	You	must
discriminate
	how	much	of
this	outside	influence	is	positive	for	you,	neutral,	or	outright	negative.
Having	paid	attention	to	all	of	the	above,	you	can	fully
accept
	your
partner	without	posing	a	threat	to	your	integrity	and	personal	growth.
Now	substitute	the	word	“soul”	for	“relationship.”	All	the	things	that
make	a	relationship	work	apply	to	your	soul.	Those	skills	will	be	crucial	if	the
afterlife	brings	you	into	the	soul’s	domain,	as	every	spiritual	tradition	says	it
does.	You	and	I	can	already	identify	with	every	experience	that	occurs	in	the
afterlife	because	they	are	familiar.	As	I	grow,	so	do	my	powers.
I	will	become	more	self-aware	as	the	boundary	between	“me”	and	“not
me”	dissolves.	The	self	will	begin	to	encompass	much	more	of	reality	as	the
boundary	dissolves.	I	will	feel	free.
I	will	become	more	willing	to	change	and	evolve.	My	old	beliefs	will	be
tested	and	allowed	to	change	if	need	be.	I	will	feel	curious	and	fascinated.
I	will	trust	in	my	intention	to	know	the	truth,	whatever	it	may	reveal.	I
will	feel	in	control.
I	will	find	that	I	can	discriminate	very	fine	layers	of	nature.	Subtle	worlds
won’t	be	hidden	from	me	because	they	are	inside	my	self	already.	I	will	feel
connected.
I	will	accept	my	own	truth	as	it	unfolds.	This	brings	a	final	end	to	fear	and
doubt.	I	will	feel	fulfilled.I’ve	placed	so	much	emphasis	on	feeling	because	for	most	of	us	the
reason	to	be	alive	is	so	that	we	can	pursue	the	feelings	of	being	safe,	loved,
happy,	and	fulfilled.	We	connect	to	the	soul	through	these	desires,	and	we	are
motivated	to	move	into	the	subtle	realm	of	the	soul	for	the	same	reason.	For
some	people	that’s	motivation	enough,	but	most	of	us	require	a	breakthrough
or	a	turning	point	before	we	can	fully	put	our	subtle	connections	to	work.
“My	husband	and	I	were	having	problems,”	a	woman	in	her	forties	told
me;	I’ll	call	her	Kate.	“He	promised	to	work	less	and	spend	more	time	with
his	family,	but	that	didn’t	improve	things	much.	He	kept	moping	around	the
house,	and	instead	of	sneaking	off	for	a	drink	he’d	sneak	off	to	check	his
voice	mail.	Just	for	peace	of	mind	I	agreed	to	a	friend’s	suggestion	and
learned	the	same	meditation	technique	she	was	using.”
This	involved	sitting	alone	in	a	quiet	room	twice	a	day	for	ten	to	twenty
minutes	and	repeating	a	mantra,	Kate	said.	The	first	few	times	she	fell	asleep,
but	her	teacher	reassured	her	that	this	was	a	positive	sign.	She	had	a	lot	of
stress	to	release	from	her	body.
“The	second	week	went	better.	My	mind	got	quieter	and	I	stayed	awake.
My	breathing	settled	into	a	soft,	slow	rhythm.	It	surprised	me	one	day	when	I
had	the	feeling	that	I	wasn’t	even	breathing	at	all.	Even	more	surprising	was
the	time	I	had	the	impulse	to	sit	on	the	floor	in	a	modified	lotus	position.	I	had
never	taken	a	yoga	class;	my	body	seemed	to	know	what	it	wanted	to	do.”
Kate	felt	good	about	all	this,	and	she	began	to	feel	more	centered	in	her
daily	life,	less	subject	to	flashes	of	anger	and	irritation.	Things	settled	down
considerably	in	her	marriage.
“Then	one	night	as	I	was	falling	asleep,	I	noticed	a	faint	blue	glow.	My
eyes	were	closed,	and	at	first	I	thought	it	was	just	an	afterglow	from	the
bedroom	lights,	the	kind	you	see	when	a	photo	flash	goes	off	in	your	eyes.
But	this	was	different.	The	blue	I	was	seeing	felt	magnetic.	I	couldn’t	keep
my	attention	off	it.	Then	I	opened	my	eyes	in	the	dark,	and	the	whole	room
was	filled	with	the	same	blue	glow.	There	were	sparkles	or	flecks	of	gold	in
it.”
I	told	Kate	that	this	w


 it is, and there are billions of influences going back
billions of years. In contrast, you’re just making up how it’s supposed to be
based on the impressions you held inside from your past. When realitydoesn’ t happen the way you want, you say reality is wrong. “I don’t like
that. It should not have happened.”
Here’ s a technique for getting perspective. Put your mind in outer
space and realize that there’ s nothing out there but 99.999 percent
emptiness. Ther e’s just empty space between all the stars. Your nearest star
after the Sun is 4.2 light-years  away. To get an idea of how far that is,
imagine holding  a light beam above the Earth. Now, let it go for one second.
In that one second the light circumnavigated the globe seven and a half
times. Travel at that speed every second for 4.2 years, and you’ll reach the
next star. There’ s pretty much nothing but empty space in between. We call
it interstellar space. That’ s how it is between all the stars, all over the
universe. How would you like to be out there and see nothin g? Because
that’s what 99.999 percent of the universe is. What you get every day is a
miracle! There are colors, shapes, and sounds along with all the amazing
experiences you’re given with each passing moment. Yet all you do is say,
“No, it’s not what I want.” Of course it’s not what you want. That’ s not the
point. Instead of comparing the moment in front of you against the
preferences you’ve built up inside your mind, why don’t you compare it
against nothing? Since that’ s what makes up 99.999 percent of the universe.
If you do this, you’ll find yourself being thankful that you get to have
your daily experiences. They are certainly better than empty space. That’ s
how a wise person lives. The alternative is to suffer because things are not
the way you want. Previously, we discussed Buddha’ s first noble truth: All
of life is suffering.  Now we get to the second noble truth: The cause of
suffering is desir e. In other words, the cause of suffering is preference,
deciding how you want things to be and getting upset when they’re not that
way. Not surprisingly, it turns out Buddha was right. Events don’t cause
mental or emotional suffering—you cause yourself mental and emotional
suffering about the events. If you are not doing that, things are the way they
are. Always remember, it took 13.8 billion years of everything unfolding
exactly as it did for the moment in front of you to be the way it is.
A perfec t example of how we cause ourselves mental suffering  is how
we view our bodies. When you’re young, you look a certain way. You get
older, and you look another way. What’ s wrong with that? It’s just
miraculous. You watch your body change all by itself. That is a natural
process, and it should not cause suffering. Likewise, in this life you go
through many different experiences. They should not cause suffering.Experiences are not suffering. They are experiences. But if you decide how
you want them to be, and they’re not that way, then you suffer. Suffering is
caused by the contrast between what you mentally decided you wanted and
the reality unfolding in front of you. To whatever degree they don’t match,
you suf fer.
What we’re exploring here is deeper than most people want to go, but
it is the truth. You have set up in your mind what you like and what you
don’t like based on your past impressions. Now you honestly believe the
world should be that way. Obviously, that’s not a belief founded in reality.
As long as you do that, you’re going to have a very hard time in life.
We now have a pretty clear view of the personal mind. We have seen
that the first layer of mind is the one that receives the senses.  The second
layer is the samskaras we did not let pass through as life flowed into us.
Based on this foundation, we built very personal thought pattern s of like and
dislike and how to get life to unfold the way we want. These impressions of
what we liked and disliked are so powerful that our consciousn ess becomes
completely absorbed in the model of life they generate. In fact, we focus on
it so completely  that it forms our self-concept. “I am the one who likes this,
doesn’ t like that, and I’m dead serious about getting what I want.” We are so
distracted by this model that we’re not even aware of being back there
watching all this. But we are—how else would we know it’ s going on?Chapter 18.
Willful and Automatic Thoughts
You’re in there, and you have the ability to create a thought. Right now say
“Hello” inside your head. Say it over and over again. It’s doing it, isn’t it? If
you had not purposely said that word, it would not have been in your mind,
would it? You clearly have the ability to willfully make your mind create
thoughts. In general, there are two very distinct types of thoughts: willful
and automatic. The first one we’ll explore, as its name indicates, is a
thought that you willfully create.
You can willfull y create thoughts in two different ways. You can create
auditory thoughts through the voice inside your head talking to you, saying
“Hello,” or you can create visualizations in your mind’ s eye. For example,
right now, visualize a boat. Do you see it in your mind? Now  visualize a
bigger boat, and an even bigger one. See the Queen Mary in there. That boat
would not be in there unless you purposely willed it to be. Once again, we
see that you clearly have the ability to make your mind create thoughts.
There’ s another category of thoughts besides willful thoughts:
automatic thoughts. These are the thoughts you did not purpose ly decide to
create—they just pop into your mind on their own. You may pay attention to
them once they’re there, but you did not willfully decide to create them like
you did with the boat. The vast majority of your thoughts are automatically
generated. You’re driving down the street enjoying your day, and your mind
starts creating thoughts by itself: “Why did I have to say those  things? If I
hadn’ t said them, we might still be together. Well, that’s unlikely—we were
having problems before that.” You’re not willfully making your mind create
these thoughts. This is that voice inside your head talking on its own. If you
doubt that this is happening by itself, try stopping it for any length of time.
The mind’ s stream of thoughts will return in no time.Let’s say somebody was supposed to call you at three o’clock and by
three thirty they still haven’ t called. What happens during those thirty
minutes? Your mind creates thoughts by itself. You are not willfully
deciding, “I want to worry about this. Okay, mind, start creating worrisome
thoughts. Did he have an accid ent or is he standing me up?” You’re not
doing that. Your mind is doing it all by itself. They’re not even  meaningful
thoughts—they’re destructive thoughts. They are ruining your thirty
minutes. The question becomes, if you’re going to end up waiting thirty
minutes for the person to call, why do you want to make yourself miserable?
Well, technically, you’re not. Y our mind is doing it for you.
If you pay attention, you will see that the mind creates most thoughts
on its own. They go on all the time. Just watch yourself in the shower.
Watch yourself when you’re driving. Watch yourself whenever you take a
break from work. You’ll see the mind is constantly creating thoughts. Even
when someone is talking to you, the words may be coming in through your
senses, but you’re not totally listening to them. You’re also listening to your
mind’ s reaction to what’ s being said. You’re thinking, “I don’t agree with
that. I would never do it that way.” Your mind just made the discussion all
about you instead of what the person is saying. If you watch those
automatically generated thoughts, you’ll see they range anywhere from
funny to frightening. Regardles s, is it so smart to have all that noise going
on inside your head all the time? If you bother to pay attention to it, you’re
going to find out that it’ s not.
Where do those thoughts come from? Why does the mind  create
thoughts by itself without you willfully doing it? We’ve actually already
discussed this. When you store a samskara, an unfinished mental and
emotional pattern, that pattern will not sit quietly inside of you. Anything
that ever got stored inside your mind, because you resisted or clung to it, is
trying to release. It’s an energetic reality, like Newton’ s laws of motion. The
energy cannot stay in there unless you continuously assert an opposing force
of will to keep it in there. That’s why it keeps coming back up. Mommy
yelled at you twenty-five years ago, and that hurt you. Now suddenly
somebody menti ons


 fo rce of evolution, created meaning out of cha os—it is
a given in the universe.
The mind field has the ca pacity to turn into a mine field,
depending on what kind of m ind a child develops. The peo ple who
hide fro m their own inner w orld, who dutifully shape their lives
according to social norms, do it in order to avoid trouble. But
hiding out from the mind’s dark side doesn’t defuse the threat. A
tragic view of life hangs over us after the unthinkable carnage of
the twentieth century, when an estimated 100 million people died
as a result of war and genocide.
The cognitive explosion that anthropologists surmise occurred
in p rehistory, a leap that re vealed the world of self-awareness,
repeats itself with every baby’s cognitive explosion as the baby
learns to think and speak. The infant brain adapts to the
worldview imp osed on it. In finite potential gets reduced in ways
far too limiting and self-defeating. The British writer Aldous
Huxley took a similar view decades ago. He wrote extensively
against the use of the brain as a “reducing valve” that n arrowed
down the mind. Here’s one o f Huxley’s most forceful statements
on the matter:
Each on e of us is potentially M ind at Large. But in so far
as w e are anim als, our business is at all costs to survive.
To make biological survival possible, Mind at Large hasto be funneled  through the r educing valve of the brain
and ner vous system. What comes out at the other end is
a m easly trickle of the kind o f consciousness which will
help us to sta y alive on the surface of this particular
planet.
Using other words, Huxley is contrasting the unbounded field
of consciousness with the tightly bound perspective the everyday
mind ta kes. His central point, that the “reducing valve” of the
brain was necessary for our survival, has gained modern support
from va rious proponents of evolutionary psychology. They, too,
view th e narrowing of mind as a necessity for survival. But I’ve
been arguing that consciousness never loses its infinite potential,
no m atter what is happening  to us inside virtual reality.  Placing
the blame for our flawed e xistence on the brain points in the
wrong direction. The brain is another mode of consciousness. Its
potential isn’t inherently limited. Let’s go deeper into why this is
so, because, for practical purposes, accessing metareality won’t be
possible unless the brain can break free from its narrowness and
take us there.
M i n d  a t  L a r g e  a n d  P s y c h e d e l i c s
The firs t requirement is to op en up the brain’s reducing valve,
which h as been happening through a surprising avenue. A new
wave of medical interest surrounds the potential value of
psychedelic dr ugs, spurred by a thorough, sensible review of a
once-taboo subject by Michael Pollan in his first-person account,
How to Change Your Mind. Fo r ha llucinogens to resurfa ce was a
“Come out, come out, wherever you are” proposition. LSD, magic
mushrooms, a nd mescaline had their day in the sixties and
emerged from that time badly tarnished. Leaving aside various
antidrug laws largely prompt ed by fear, a medical researcher who
looked into psychedelics typically faced the risk of censure,perhaps career-ending censure. At the very least, such research
wasn’t taken very seriously and was quickly brushed aside.
The general view of psychedelics has been, up until recently,
that they are p otentially unsafe and medically useless. Th at is all
changing. What has changed this conventional wisdom is deeper
knowledge and better understanding of the brain. In particular,
the area of the  brain that seems to cause the mind-alterin g effect
of L SD and c ompany is the so-called default mode network
(DMN), a collection of regions in the higher brain that organizes
and regulates a wide range of cerebral activity. The DMN filters
out the flood o f information that bombards us every day, s electing
and controlling  our response to the world. It is the physiological
location for the editing of r eality we’ve been discussing  in this
book. A  troubling implicati on of the DMN is that our brains
evolved physically to become Huxley’s reducing valve. LSD jolts
the DMN temporarily, but on ce the trip is over, we go bac k to the
brain’s status quo.
Undoubtedly, the DMN ser ves a totally necessary function.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed by a barrage of chaotic stimuli, a
stable b rain helps us approach life with a balance of judgment,
experience, an d self-interest. The DMN has been called the “me”
network, because it functions in the brain the way the ego
functions in psychology, tam ping down irrational impu lses and
keeping them in check while organizing a balanced adult self.
The DMN doesn’t develop until around age five, coinciding
with the time w hen children become proud of “not being a baby.”
This entails many things—not throwing tantrums and crying over
each lit tle disc omfort; showing more courage, independence, and
self-possession; wanting to be useful by helping out; and
defending their own tastes and inclinations. A great deal of inner
self-regulation is required for such a complex shift in behavior,
and the DMN handles the majority of that.
But this  shift isn’t altogether good and positive. From Hu xley’s
perspective, M ind at Large is  being reduced for the sake of crude
animal survival. From a medical standpoint it is conjectured that
the DM N, although totally necessary so that we aren’t tripping all
the tim e in a w hirling blur of sights and sounds, has a downside.
Over time its automatic (i.e., default) responses become ingrainedand rigid. On the one hand,  this may account for the stubborn
narrow-mindedness associated with growing old, while  on the
other there may be a tie-in t o disorders like anxiety, depression,
and addiction. These become ingrained responses that won’t be
dislodged until the DMN stops controlling them so tightly.
One of the most searching accounts of personal transformation
on psychedelics is Trip, the 2018 memoir of the American writer
Tao Lin, born of Taiwanese parents in Florida in 1983. Lin had
long been afflicted with despondency. As he puts it:
Life stil l seeme d bleak to me, as it had in evolving ways
since I was thirteen or fourt een. I was chronically not
fascinated by existence, which…did not feel wonderful
or profound but tedious and uncomfortable and
troubling.
Isolated, leading a hermit-like life whose solitude was
aggravated by what Lin calls  his addiction to the internet and his
smartphone, h e came to psyc hedelics by bingeing for thirty hours
on the YouTube soliloquies of Terence McKenna, a passionate
advocate of tripping who died in 2000. Lin was attracted by the
message that psychedelics c ould increase his imaginat ion and
bring him closer to Nature.
Lin has a comp lex story to tell—during one trip he sees hi mself
being fired out of a cannon i nto the Milky Way—and he ponders
“all kind s of issues about what is reality, what is language, what is
the self, what is three-dimen sional space and time.” This echoes
what people report from nea r-death and out-of-body experiences.
In a ll these cas es, the self-model stops being the default vi ewpoint
on reality, or, in neurological terms, the DMN.
By releasing the hold of t he DMN, psychedelics allow an
opening for altering brain function among people with mood
disorders and the like. The D MN was only discovered in 2001 by
researcher Michael Richie using advanced fMRI scans. For the
first time, researchers could  see the interconnected parts of the
DMN light up when a perso n was asked, for example, to choose
adjectives tha t described himself. To a neuroscientist, theincreased blood flow to the DMN that accompanies this task
shows, in effect, that the self is a brain function—your DMN knows
who you are b ecause it created your default responses when you
think about yourself.
The increase and decrease of blood flow is a useful indicator in
brain research, as are patterns of electrical activity, but these are
still no t a measure of th e mind, only its physical mirror.
Psychedelics c hange the pattern of blood flow in unusual ways.
Pollan cites a study in which nineteen subjects suffering from
depression imp roved after taking psilocybin, the active in gredient
in “magic mushrooms,” after being resistant to conventional drug
therapy. The researchers fou nd that blood flow to the amygdala
(the brain’s emotional center) decreased, but this doesn’t explain
why the subjects also reported profound mystical experiences.
Many are skeptical about such findings. One problem is that
there’s no way to give a pla cebo to a control group tha t would
simulate the real drug’s hallucinogenic effects. (No one actually


!
Unpleasantly	surprised,	he	traced	the
oranges	back	to	their	source.	He	found	they	had	been	harvested	while	still	green,
stored	for	two	years	and	then	artificially	colored	prior	to	being	sold	as	“fresh
fruit.”	This	is	what	the	consumer	is	up	against	and	why	purchasing	fresh,	organicproduce	is	so	important.
One	Size	Does	Not	Fit	All
The	amount	of	nutrients	required	for	optimal	nutrition	differs	for	every	person
and	changes	as	a	person’s	life	progresses.	We	are	not	genetic	cookie-cutter
replicas	of	each	other.	In	addition,	individual	factors	can	affect	our	nutritional
needs,	such	as	age,	physical	activity,	climate,	illness,	injury,	pregnancy	or
menstruation.	Your	need	for	calcium	may	be	far	higher	than	your	neighbor’s;
your	neighbor’s	requirements	for	vitamin	C	may	differ	widely	from	yours.
In	his	book
Nutrition	Against	Disease,
biochemist	Roger	Williams,	Ph.D.,
reported	on	laboratory	animals	that	were	bred	to	have	similar	genes	and,
theoretically,	have	similar	nutritional	needs.	Yet,	some	animals	were	found	to
need	forty	times	as	much	vitamin	A	as	others.	Similarly,	human	nutritional
requirements	operate	across	a	wide	range.	Williams	described	another	study
performed	on	healthy	young	men	which	demonstrated	that	their	needs	for
calcium	varied	almost	sixfold.
Does	someone	in	your	family	catch	colds	and	flus	noticeably	more	often	than
everyone	else?	Have	you	considered	that	his	or	her	need	for	vitamin	C	(vital	for
immune	function)	might	be	higher	than	everyone	else’s?	Is	vitamin	C	deficiency
a	problem	for	them,	not	because	they	get	less	of	it,	but	because	they	need	more?
Researcher	and	Nobel	laureate	Linus	Pauling	was	plagued	with	frequent	colds
and	flu	all	of	his	adult	life	until	he	started	taking	high	doses	of	vitamin	C.
Likewise,	women	have	special	nutritional	needs	(especially	when	pregnant	or
menstruating),	as	do	elderly	people,	athletes	and	anyone	who	is	fighting	off	an
infection	or	suffering	from	a	chronic	disease.	When	it	comes	to	nutritional	needs,
the	“average	person”	does	not	exist.
Women	are	more	likely	to	be	nutritionally	deficient	than	men.	Why?	Because
women	typically	eat	less	food	but	still	require	roughly	the	same	amount	of
nutrients.	That	women	are	more	susceptible	to	certain	diseases—including
osteoporosis,	chronic	fatigue	syndrome	and	autoimmune	diseases—is	no
coincidence.
Because	of	reduced	activity	and	appetite,	older	people	require	fewer	calories
(fuel),	but	they	retain	the	same	need	for	nutrients;	in	fact,	nutritional	needs	may
actually	increase	with	aging	(not	to	mention	that	digestion	of	food	and
assimilation	of	nutrients	is	often	impaired	in	older	people).	Unfortunately,
elderly	people	often	are	less	able	to	buy	and	prepare	fresh	foods,	and	they	often
subsist	on	packaged,	processed	or	frozen	foods,	thus	consuming	fewer	nutrients.This	diet	makes	a	bad	situation	worse,	contributing	to	widespread	disease	and
disability	among	our	older	population.
Almost	certainly,	you	have,	for	at	least	a	few	nutrients,	unique	needs	that	are
substantially	higher	than	average.	More	than	a	quarter	century	ago,	medical
pioneers	like	Dr.	Carl	Pfeiffer	were	able	to	use	this	concept	to	cure	many	cases
of	“incurable”	schizophrenia	by	giving	patients	extra	vitamins	and	minerals
(above	and	beyond	what	was	available	through	a	regular	diet).	With	their
nutritional	needs	being	met,	Pfeiffer’s	schizophrenic	patients	were	able	to	return
to	a	completely	normal	life.	Such	nutrient	deficiencies	are	a	major	cause	of	the
many	mental	and	behavioral	problems	in	our	society.
Arbitrary	Standards
Although	science	has	proved	that	we	have	individual	nutritional	needs,	at
present	we	have	no	way	of	measuring	each	person’s	needs.	The	Recommended
Daily	Allowances	(or	RDAs)	that	are	listed	on	foods	and	vitamin	supplements
are	arbitrary.	They	do	not	provide	accurate	information	about	what	you	need	in
order	to	stay	healthy.	These	standards	are	a	measurement	only	of	the	minimum
dosage	necessary	to	prevent	a	diagnosable	deficiency	disease,	such	as	scurvy	(a
vitamin	C	deficiency	disease	common	to	sailors	who	went	too	long	without	fresh
fruits	and	vegetables).	You	can	easily	meet	RDA	standards	and	still	lack	the
nutrients	necessary	to	prevent	other	diseases	not	specifically	known	as
“deficiency	diseases.”	In	fact,	optimal	health	usually	requires	at	least	several
times	the	RDA	values.
In	reality,	however,	most	people	do	not	meet	even	these	minimum	standards.
A	study	by	Professor	Suzanne	Murphy	at	the	University	of	California,	Berkeley,
published	in	the	November	1992	issue	of	the
Journal	of	the	American	Dietetic
Association,
measured	the	diets	of	5,884	people	for	fifteen	essential	nutrients.
The	average	person	consistently	measured	below	two-thirds	of	the	RDAs	for
three	to	six	essential	nutrients.	A	separate	study,	sponsored	by	the	U.S.
Department	of	Agriculture,	examined	ten	essential	nutrients	in	the	diets	of
21,500	people.	In	that	study,	not	a	single	person	was	obtaining	100	percent	of
the	RDAs	for	all	ten	nutrients	on	a	daily	basis—not	one	person	out	of	21,500!
Virtually	all	Americans	are	chronically	deficient	in	at	least	one	and	usually
several	nutrients,	even	when	measured	against	the	artificially	low	RDA
standards.	When	we	consider	that	good	health	requires	several	times	the	RDA,
the	true	magnitude	of	the	problem	becomes	apparent.	That	problem	is
compounded	by	the	fact	that	nutrients	must	act	as	a	team	in	order	to	keep	youhealthy.
Of	the	more	than	fifty	known	essential	nutrients,	each	must	be	available	to	the
body	on	a	daily	basis	and	in	the	correct	amounts	and	ratios	to	each	other.	Rather
than	acting	by	themselves,	nutrients	act	in	combination	with	each	other;	a
shortage	of	even	one	starts	a	chain	of	events	that	can	result	in	extensive
nutritional	deficiencies	and	body	system	malfunctions.
In
The	Kellogg	Report,
Dr.	Joseph	Beasley	examines	how	one	specific
nutrient	deficiency	(vitamin	B
3
)	has	far-reaching	ramifications:	A	vitamin	B
3
deficiency	impairs	absorption	of	vitamin	C,	which	impairs	absorption	of	iron,
which	causes	excessive	copper	absorption,	which	inhibits	nickel	metabolism,
which	in	turn	adversely	affects	iron	metabolism,	and	on	and	on.
If	all	those	can	occur	from	a	deficiency	of	just	one	nutrient	(vitamin	B
3
in	this
case),	just	imagine	what	happens	in	the	bodies	of	most	Americans,	who	are
chronically	deficient	in	several	nutrients.
The	most	common	deficiencies	are	calcium


 is sufficient to control wide-spread
tooth decay when used with a diet that is low in sugar and starches and high in foods providing the
minerals, particularly phosphorus. A teaspoonful a day divided between two or three meals is
usually adequate to prevent dental caries and maintain a high immunity; it will also maintain freedom
from colds and a high level of health in general. This reinforcement of the fat-soluble vitamins to a
menu that is low in starches and sugars, together with the use of bread and cereal grains freshly
ground to retain the full content of the embryo or germ, and with milk for growing children and for
many adults, and the liberal use of sea foods and organs of animals, produced the result described.
   I have previously reported (3) seventeen cases of extensive dental caries. In these patients there
were found 237 open cavities of apparently active caries. Most of the individuals were between
twelve and twenty years of age and accordingly had twenty-eight permanent teeth each, or a total
of 476. It will be noted that if one cavity is allowed per tooth, approximately half of the total
number of teeth were affected, or precisely 49.7 per cent of all the teeth had open cavities. This
group includes only persons of whom I have been making critical examination every six to twelve
months over a three-year period. In practically all cases, Roentgen-ray examinations were made in
addition to clinical examinations of the teeth. While these persons have been on the reinforced7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 178/250nutritional program during the winter and spring months of the past three years, only two new
cavities have developed in the group, or 0.4 per cent. The length of time during which the cavities
previously found had been developing is not known beyond the fact that all of the patients were
receiving frequent and thorough dental service, most of them twice a year and many of them more
frequently. It is accordingly probable that the cavities found had developed in less than a year. That
dental caries was not a new problem with these persons was indicated by the very extensive and
numerous dental restorations that had been made in their mouths. It is, therefore, apparent that 250
times as many cavities developed in the period preceding the starting of the nutritional program as
in the three years following its adoption. If these data were reduced to a yearly basis, the
comparison would show a much wider variation.
   In a group of fifty persons, including the above mentioned seventeen, who had been on the
special nutritional program for from one to six years, most of them three years or more, only two
new cavities developed. Allowing these persons to have an average of twenty-eight teeth per
person, or a total of 1,400 teeth, this would represent an incidence of dental caries in a period of
three years of 0.14 per cent. In this group of fifty, there are many instructive and striking cases.
   For example, H. F. did not have a single cavity from October, 1932, to June, 1933, while taking
additional vitamins and high mineral foods. From June, 1933, to May, 1934, while not taking the
special vitamins, she developed ten new cavities.
   S. K., prior to 1931 had rampant tooth decay with pulps nearly exposed in all first permanent
molars. The remaining deciduous teeth had been reduced to shells. She was on the special
nutritional program from December, 1931, to June, 1932, during which time caries was completely
arrested. She discontinued taking special oil in June, 1932, and did not take it again until October,
1933, during most of which time she was taking viosterol under a physician's prescription to
prevent dental caries. She came in October, 1933, with fourteen new cavities. She was
immediately placed again on the special program, from October, 1933, to May, 1934. During this
period, the dental caries was completely under control. During the time that she was not on the
special program, there developed on many of the surfaces of the permanent teeth white patches of
decalcifying enamel. Under the reinforced nutritional program, these largely disappeared, and those
that did not regain their translucency turned dark.
   Among the group of seventeen J. H., sent in from another city, had thirty-eight open cavities in
June, 193 1. In addition to active caries, he had quite disturbing heart symptoms, which curtailed
his activity, and he also had a marked sense of lassitude and weariness. He has been on the
reinforced nutritional program during the fall, winter and spring of each year since that time. During
this time, he has not developed a single new cavity. The density of all the teeth has progressively
improved as evidenced by Roentgen-ray records. His physical condition has been greatly
improved so that he is able to carry on his college activities and heavy outside work to earn money
to maintain his college expenses. He is not conscious of a heart limitation. When asked what the
principal change was that he had noticed, he said that in addition to not feeling tired, he was more
rested with six hours' sleep than formerly with ten hours'.
   A. W. had thirty-two new cavities in the two years previous to beginning the special nutritional
reinforcement. She continued this regularly during the winter and spring months for three years and
has not had a single new cavity since that time.
   In a group of children whose mothers had the special nutritional reinforcement during gestation
and lactation and who had been provided with the same dietary adjuncts during the winter and
spring months of infancy and early childhood, not a single carious cavity has developed. A number
of these children are now in public schools. Their physical development is distinctly above that of
the average children of their age, as is also their efficiency in school work.
   It is important that I emphasize here some dangers that are not usually recognized or properly
emphasized in the literature. When fish oils including cod liver oils are given in too large doses to
some patients they experience quite definite symptoms of depression. The available evidence7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 179/250indicates that fish oils that have been exposed to the air may develop toxic substances. My work
and that of others with experimental animals has demonstrated that paralysis can be produced
readily by over-dosing. Serious structural damage can be done to hearts and kidneys. I have
reported this in considerable detail. (4) My investigations have shown that when a high vitamin
natural cod liver oil is used in conjunction with a high vitamin butter oil the mixture is much more
efficient than either alone.4 This makes it possible to use very small doses. Except in the late stages
of pregnancy I do not prescribe more than half a teaspoonful with each of three meals a day. This
procedure appears to obviate completely the undesirable effects. As stated elsewhere fish oils
should be stored in small containers to avoid exposure to the air. Rancid fats and oils destroy
vitamins A and E, (5)  the former in the stomach. (6)
    I am frequently reminded that ancient skulls are often found with extensive dental caries thus
disproving that the primitive groups were more free from dental caries than the modern groups. It
must be kept in mind that the fundamental laws of Nature have been in operation as long as
animals and men have been on the earth. In my investigations among primitive races, I have been
concerned particularly with the study of changes that have taken place both in immunity to dental
caries and in the environment, including the foods used. It has been important that I find large
groups with relatively high immunity to dental caries to be used as controls. There is great need,
accordingly, that additional data be provided. Fortunately, this need is being met. There have just
come to my desk two interesting reports; one, from Dr. Arne Hoygaard (7)  and the other from Dr.
P. O. Pedersen. (8) These two distinguished scientists have spent a year in East Greenland among
the Eskimos in that very barren and isolated region. The percentage of teeth found attacked by
dental caries among the isolated Eskimos of East Greenland is exceedingly low, less than 1 per
cent. Where the Eskimos were in contact with modernized store foods at the port, tooth decay
was active. The conditions which they have found were apparently not quite so favorable as in the
groups I studied in Alaska. The Greenland Eskimos apparently are living in a more difficult
environment. The data provided by these investigations are in accord with the data I have obtained
among isolated Eskimos and other primitive racial stocks. Eastern Greenland, by international
agreement, is administered by the Danish Government and no one is permitted even to visit the
coast of Greenland without special permission. This permission is very difficult to obtain. Even
Danish citizens are not free to travel there. We are, accordingly, very grateful to Dr. Hoygaard and
Dr. Pedersen for their contribution from studies made in that protected field. We shall look
forward with interest to their detailed reports.
   Unfortunately, the public is very much at sea because of the extravagant claims that are made for
many of the products advertised over the radio, in journals


 altogether.
Vatas often have dry nasal passages in winter, which contributes to the
frequency of catching colds. To offset this, place a drop of sesame oil
on the tip of your finger and rub it gently inside one nostril; repeat
with the other nostril. Now pinch your nose and start to inhale, then
rapidly release and pinch again to draw sesame oil into the nasal
cavities—do not strain, however, or try to unblock the sinuses. This
treatment is particularly soothing in dry, cold weather—many Vata
types notice that their resistance to colds and flu is helped considerably
—but it also tones the sinuses in general and can be used by everyone,
not just Vatas. The treatment can be repeated up to twelve times a day.
(If your sinuses are blocked, however, you should not overdo this
treatment; oil aggravates Kapha dosha, which is often behind chronic
sinusitis.)
Balancing PittaThe key to balancing Pitta is moderation, making sure that you do not
push yourself too hard. Of all the body types, Pitta is gifted with the most
innate drive, aggression, and energy. Pittas are people who attack life head-
on and relish challenges, the more difficult the better. But this inner drive is
often the source of their undoing. Pitta gives you a fiery energy; if you
abuse it, it will burn you up. The workaholics of this world are generally
out-of-balance Pittas, especially if their emotional undertone is angry and
compulsive.
Pitta types have to consciousl y pull themselves back when they see
certain danger signs, the most obvious being loss of sweetness in their
emotions and loss of moderatio n in their appetites. There is also a built-in
love of beauty that is important in the Pitta nature. In all the points listed
below, the main theme for Pitta is “the good life is the one that follows a
golden mean.”
If you show signs of Pitta imbalance, the following pointers will help
balance your daily routine and make it more congenial to Pitta dosha:
Take time to wind down from activity—alternating rest and activity is
the basic rhythm of life. Because they have so much capacity for
activity, Pittas tend to ignore the other side of the cycle. You need to
find an island of calm at the end of your workday. Eat a quiet dinner,
turn of f your telephone in the evening, and resolutely avoid the
temptation to bring your work home. For all of us, the island of calm is
really inside ourselves. Out-of-balance Pittas frequently lose sight of
this.
Meditation is very useful for regaining inner calm and equilibrium. It
also allows you to remember that rest is the source of dynamic activity.The secret of great runners is not after all in their stride; it lies in the
power they gather inside themselves on the starting block, before they
take the first step. When Pittas discover that the greatest personal
power is achieved without aggression, they take a huge step toward
finding out who they really are.
Coolness in any form helps to counteract overactive Pitta. Keep your
bedroom just below 70 degrees when you sleep and don’ t linger in a
hot bath too long; too much moist heat can make you feel dizzy or
nauseated when Pitta is out of balance. If you feel overheated at any
time, put a cool compress on your forehead and the back of your neck
instead of drinking too much cold water. (Ice water, which puts out the
digestive fire, is frowned on in Ayurveda.) Cool, sweet beverages that
are not too sour are also good (apple juice, grape juice, club soda). Be
sure to drink plenty of fluids in hot weather or if you feel sick; Pittas
tend to perspire more and lose a lot of water under these conditions. A
special Pitta-pacifying herb tea can be mail-ordered; you can drink up
to four cups a day.
Eat a Pitta-pacifying diet. It’ s important not to overeat, which Pittas
tend to do if they push their excellent digestion too hard. At the same
time, you don’ t want to feel uncomfortably hungry—Pittas suf fer if
they have to skip meals. Rather than going to extremes, eat moderate
meals at regular hours three times a day. If your digestion is rocky,
warm milk flavored with sugar and cardamom will help bring Pitta
back into balance. If you always find yourself with a roaring appetite
and excessive thirst, you need to moderate your digestion, which a
Pitta-pacifying diet will help do (see page 270).
If you find that you have a runaway appetite, do not try to force
yourself to eat less. Instead, take gradually smaller meals, starting with
about three-quarters of what you normally eat. Consume this amount
for a day or two, then cut back to half of your normal consumption.
Now you should be at a comfortable level of intake. Continue with this
amount unless you feel uncomfortably hungry, in which case you
should go back to the first reduction. If you are eating approximatelytwo handfuls of food at each meal, you have reached the Ayurvedic
ideal. (This regime originally comes from Charaka, the greatest ancient
authority on Ayurveda.) The taste of bitter food curbs the appetite more
than any other, so try drinking tonic water before a meal or eating a
salad of bitter greens, such as chicory, endive, radicchio, and romaine
lettuce.
Avoid artificial stimulants, all of which raise Pitta. Alcohol in any form
is like throwing kerosene on the Pitta fire (even fermented yeast in
bread is not considered good for balancing Pitta). You do not need to
stoke your digestive furnace with the empty calories in alcohol. The
drawback of the caf feine in cof fee and tea is that it puts an edge on
your ener gy, while you need to smooth your edges.
Traditionally, Ayurveda considers laxative treatment (  virechana ) the
best way to reduce excess Pitta. This is because emptying the intestines
for a brief time cools the “digestive fire.” You can try taking one
tablespoon of castor oil before bedtime once every four to six weeks
(but not more often). Typically, the laxative will wake you up to go to
the bathroom two or three times during the night; drink a glass of
warm water after each elimination to avoid dehydration. The next day,
when the body will feel lazy and relaxed, eat very little, taking perhaps
a few glasses of fruit juice. If you eat solid food, avoid anything heavy,
fatty, cold, or oily. Get plenty of rest. However, do not take any
laxatives if you have intestinal pain, bleeding, or a  history of digestive
complaints.
Be attentive to taking in only pure food, water, and air, since Pitta is
especially sensitive to impurities of any kind. Food additives, even if
judged harmless on the lar ge scale, can create metabolic imbalances,
however small, that interfere with your goal of achieving perfect
balance.
Avoid strenuous physical exertion or overheating yourself outdoors.
Pittas are easily heat fatigued. Their pale skins, being intolerant of too
much sun, will usually tell them when to go inside. Ayurvedarecommends taking it very easy in the summer. Start with ten minutes
in the direct sun and gradually work up to a half-hour, making sure to
wear a protective sunscreen lotion. Morning and late afternoon are
better times for you to be outside than high noon.
Enjoy nature’ s beauty as often as possible—traditionally, Ayurveda
recommends that Pitta types look at a sunset, watch the full moon, and
walk beside lakes and running water. These are all appreciated by Pitta
dosha. In general, Pitta people find a beautiful setting very conducive
to winding down; it occupies their attention as sitting on the porch
never could. Avoid reading books or watching shows that are violent,
shocking, or controversial—all three influences strongly aggravate
Pitta. Set aside some time every day for leisure that is uplifting,
humorous, and entertaining—such influences help soften Pitta’ s edge.
They also divert your tendency to become too wrapped up in your
well-defined goals. Pittas already know how to be serious; they need
the tonic of laughter more than any other type. In many ways, it is the
best medicine for aggravated Pitta that nature has devised.
Balancing Kapha
The key to balancing Kapha is stimulation. By nature, Kapha  dosha is
steady and slow; this leads to dependability and strength. But out-of-
balance Kaphas cling to the status quo too tightly; they need the stimulation
of new sights and sounds, new people and events. The same is true
physically. Without activity, Kaphas can become lethar gic and dull. This is
directly linked to their slow digestion. As we’ve seen, when food is not
digested comple tely (or if it is too heavy, oily, or indigestible to begin with),
toxic residues called ama can clog up the system and eventually lead todisease. Kapha types are particularly prone to this problem and need to
make sure they keep their inner fire going through regular exercise and a
varied diet


	for	a	candida	imbalance,	for	example,	that
contributes	to
acne,
bloating,	and
constipation.
The	sugar	you	add	to	your	coffee	or	bake	into	brownies	with	your	kids	isn’t
the	only	simple	carbohydrate	you	may	be	overeating.	That	breakfast	bagel	you
grabbed	during	a	conference	room	meeting,	the	English	muffin	you	toasted	up
for	breakfast,	and	those	saltine	crackers	lurking	in	your	cupboard	are	all
plentiful	sources	of	simple	carbs,	too.	Maybe	you’ve	heard	this	before,	but	white
flour	converts	pretty	much	directly	into	blood	sugar,	so	try	to	think	of	the	two
as	one	and	the	same.	Imagine	a	sugar	cube	dissolving	into	a	cup	of	coffee.	It
almost	immediately	melts	and	becomes	invisible.	It’s	the	same	way	with	white
flour.	It	looks	like	a	different	form,	but	upon	consumption	it	melts	right	down
into	blood	sugar.
These	are	the	type	of	carbs	you	want	to	avoid,	or	at	the	very	least	minimize	in
your	diet:
•
White	sugar
•
Refined	white	flour	and	related	products,	including	cereals,	cakes,	bagels,
cookies,	crackers,	and	so	on	(There	are	countless	products	that	could	fit	into
this	one	category,	if	you	tally	up	all	the	products	in	the	middle	of	the
average	grocery	store.	Just	avoid	those	snack-	and	processed-food	aisles	and
you	can	largely	avoid	most	of	these.)
•
Jam	and	jellies
•
Sodas	and	soft	drinks
•
Straight	fruit	juice	(especially	if	pasteurized,	which	damages	some	nutrients)
2.
Complex	Carbohydrates	(aka	Starches)
These	carbohydrates	are	more	structurally	complex	and	take	longer	to	getbroken	down	and	digested	by	your	body.	As	they	enter	the	bloodstream	more
slowly	and	do	not	trigger	a	dramatic	spike	in	insulin	levels,	they	have	a
stabilizing	effect	on	your	body	and	provide	sustained	energy.	Many	of	the
benefits	found	in	vegetarianism	and	whole	food	diets	come	from	eating
complex	carbohydrates,	because	nature	has	“packaged”	them	in	balance	with
fiber,	vitamins,	and	minerals	in	a	way	that’s	the	most	healthful	for	digestion
and	assimilation.
Below	are	some	good	sources	of	complex	carbs	to	incorporate	into	your	diet.
Do	not	be	scared	to	eat	from	this	group	of
foods!	They	will	help	you	feel	good
and	digest	your	food	well,	and	they	are	energizing	and	filling.	They	also	contain
a	lot	of	minerals	and	other	beauty	nutrients.	You	can	balance	complex	carb
portion	sizes	by	loading	up	on	salads	and	nonstarch	veggies	alongside	them,
but	the	following	are	important	energy	and	beauty	foods	with	many	different
beautifying	and	health	benefits:
•
Starchy	vegetables:	tubers	such	as	sweet	potatoes,	yams,	winter	squashes	of	all
kinds,	pumpkins
•
Beans	and	legumes	(soaked	overnight)
•
Whole,	unrefined,	and
gluten-free	grains	such	as	brown	rice,	millet,
buckwheat	(handled	in	a	gluten-free	facility),	oats	and	quinoa	(As	discussed
previously,	gluten	can	be	difficult	to	digest	for	many.)
WHAT	ABOUT
FRUIT?
Whole	fruits	contain	a	mixture	of	complex	and
simple	carbohydrates.	Fruit	is	one	of
the	most	beautifying	foods	of	all,	a	crowning	glory	of	nature.	Clearly	not	refined	or
processed	but	grown	on	trees,	fruit	comes	to	us	in	a	complete	nutritional	package
of	vitamins,	antioxidants,	minerals,	fiber,	and	so	much	more.	If	you	eat	fruit	in	its
whole	form,	the	natural	fiber	in	the	fruit	helps	to	slow	down	the	digestion	of	the
sugar.
It	would	be	a	huge	beauty	mistake	to	completely	avoid	fruit	for	fear	of	its	sugar.
It’s	grown	in	nature,	and	a	fundamental	Radical	Beauty	belief	is	that	if	you	align
yourself	with	and	eat	closer	to	nature,	you	will	experience	more	of	your	natural
beauty.	Information	on	the
Harvard	Health	Publications	site	references	the	work	by
Robert	H.	Lustig,	an	obesity	specialist	at	the	University	of
California,	San	Francisco.
Lustig	asserts	that	the	fructose	that	occurs	in	smaller	quantities	naturally	in	fruits
is	not	harmful,	because	one	also	gets	the	fiber	from	the	fruit,	which	“affects	the
biochemical	outcome.”
26
As	you	work	on	balancing	your	diet,	you	will	find	that	you	crave	fewer	junky	and
refined	sugars	and	foods.	The	fruit	you	eat	will	largely	replace	those	foods	and
satisfy	your	natural	cravings	for	sweets.	The	high	amounts	of	vitamin	C,
antioxidants,	and	countless	other	phytonutrients	in	the	fruit	(many	of	which	haven’t
even	been	identified	yet)	outweigh	its	sugar.Some	say	that	all	sugar	is	the	same	in	the	body,	but	that	is	not	true	if	you	look	at
it	from	the	holistic	perspective	of	the	overall	impact	of	a	given	food	you	eat.	Fruit
has	so	many	fantastic	beauty	benefits;	you	can’t	just	take	the	reductionist
approach	and	compare	it	to	table	sugar.	It’s	best	to	eat	fruit	alone	and	on	an
empty	stomach	to	help	it	digest	completely	and	easily.	This	also	tends	to	reduce
bloating.
If	you	have	blood	sugar	issues	(such	as	diabetes)	or	a	candida	imbalance	issue,
then	you	need	to	lay	off	fruit,	with	the	possible	exception	(if	permitted	by	your
doctor)	of	non-sweet	fruits,	such	as	lemons	and	cucumbers,	and	sour	fruits,	such	as
cranberries	and	green	apples	(which	are	low	in	sugar),	until	you	work	toward	a
healthier	balance.	But	a	healthy	body	will	be	better	able	to	handle	natural	foods,
which	very	much	include	the	peak	of	nature’s	beauty,	the	fruit.
3.
Fiber
These	indigestible	carbohydrates	are	not	broken	down	finely	enough	for	your
body	to	absorb	them,	and	therefore	are	not	a	source	of	energy	or	calories.	But
fiber,	as	we	discussed	on
this	page
–
this	page
,	is	still	important	to	your	daily	diet,
as	it	lets	you	feel	full	and	satisfied,	helps	you	to	sustain	energy,	and	has
stabilizing	effects.	Besides,	fiber	from	veggies	and	fruit,	green	smoothies	and
oatmeal,	for	example,	is	extremely	important	for	beauty	because	of	its	ability	to
help	sweep	out	toxins.	It’s	an	amazing	natural	cleanser	that	forces	wastes	and
toxins	to	keep	moving	along	so	that	your	true	beauty	can	shine	through.
Finding	the	Balance
So	how	many	carbohydrates	should	you	eat?	Balance	it	out.	As	a	general	ratio,
50	to	70	percent	of	your	diet	can	be	made	up	from	beauty	carbohydrates,	which
include	complex	carbohydrates,	vegetables,	legumes	(including	beans,	chickpeas,
and	lentils),	and	fruits.	As	with	fat,	customize	this	percentage


ent experienced hands. When, however, derangements that are purely functional are in question, a self -piloted case may
progress to the end of the period of abstine nce with success, but may not be able to solve the problem of breaking his fast assured
of conserving all of its benefits.

An experienced director of the method is well aware that there are subjects, in number sufficient to be distinguished as a cl ass,
who, through physial defect in organs, store within the system food -poison in amount greatly in excess of that which is discovered
in ordinary cases of functional disease. These subjects are to be grouped under Class 2 in the division of general disease fo rms
tabulated previously. In them, constant stimulation, which is directly due to cumulative poisoning in progress, prevents reco gnition
of the presence of the toxins themselves until some more serious indiscretion completes the overturn of physical balance. If now a
fast is begun without preparation, difficulties are immediately encountered, for elimination commences with a rush of impurit ies
seeking escape from the system, and, for a time, the tide is irresistible. Food cannot be taken, even though the wil l to eat exists, and
abstinence must continue until systemic purification is accomplished. In these circumstances, during the first days of fastin g
distressing symptoms may develop, and dread of the outcome may lead to an attempt to supply food. If this is  done, the trouble
will be aggravated, for the whole organism is saturated with toxic material, and nourishment added then is just so much poiso n the
more. Fear now takes full possession of family and friends, and perhaps of the patient as well, and the de adliest foe to the means
that nature employs in dealing with disease is called to offset the work already accomplished. Medicine and neglect of the en ema
will then no doubt complete what food occasioned, and the chances are that death will ensue. In an ins tance such as this no defense
of the method is accepted, and it is visited with wide -spread and emphatic condemnation; whereas, were the conditions observed
received at their real worth, they would be recognized as natural and salutary in origin and action, and as evidences that extreme
and successful organic effort towards cure was at work.

To break a fast in the manner described is a much more serious matter than to do so upon an incorrect dietary at the logical end of
abstinence. But the point of great est import here to be given attention is that of the confidence that should be engendered and the
care that should be taken lest, when distressing symptoms occur, fear step in and with it food and drugs. Relief for localize d pain
and distress lies in the a dministration of copious enemata, duplicated and reduplicated, for only in this manner may prompt
removal of their toxic causation be effected.

In the ordinary instance a successfully completed fast should be broken by the ingestion of the juices of ripe  fruit or of broths
prepared from vegetables. The juices of fruits that are fully ripened are most easily changed in mouth and stomach for subseq uent
digestive processes, and there is but small effort in handling them. The same reasoning is applicable to t he use of vegetable broths,
strained through a coarse kitchen sieve so as to remove fibrous material and hard solid particles. There are many vegetables that
lend themselves readily to the preparation of these broths, and, when the latter are made as indic ated so as to exclude all but finely
comminuted solid matter, they are easily digested and their products are assimilated promptly and without difficulty. When us ing
the juices of fruit to break a fast, it is suggested that those of sweet fruit be not mixe d with those of acid. One fruit at a time is the
rule. At first the broths should be confined in preparation to one vegetable, such as the tomato or the onion. Later they may  be
varied in ingredients, and combinations may be made of two or three kinds. The  tomato is perhaps the one vegetable that lends
itself most satisfactorily to the breaking of a fast, and it is in constant use for this purpose by the author.

As gradual approach to abstinence has been shown to be conducive to success in outcome, so, af ter systemic cleansing has been
wholly or in part accomplished, return to solid food should be brought about by degrees. The digestive organs have been depri ved
for a time of the exercise of their tasks, and, if at first overloaded and hence over -stimulate d by surfeit, they are apt to refuse
function, and toxication will perhaps recur with results that may prove troublesome. Hence it is recommended that, for severa l
days after a fast is broken, not more than two pints of the broths described daily ingested,  increasing this amount to three pints
when digestion is fully reestablished. Vegetables in solid form may then be substituted, with, as a variant, salads of lettuc e,
tomatoes, and other like food -stuffs, alone or in combination. It is further recommended that a daily two -meal plan be thereafter
adopted and adhered to, for, in most instances, with proper selection, two meals each day are ample for constructive demand.
When return has been made to solid food after a fast, the morning meal may be confined sol ely to fruit, while the second repast
should include a salad in some form or other.
Page 39 of  72 In resuming feeding after fasting very young children it is found that the strained juice of ripe tomatoes, heated to about 2 00
degrees, or that of carrots boiled to tende rness, gives satisfactory results. Malted milk or orange juice and honey may also be used.

In some of the treatises upon fasting for the relief of disease patients are advised, upon the return of hunger, to resume fe eding
upon a dietary composed exclusiv ely of the milk of the cow, gradually increasing the amount ingested until as many as eight quarts
daily are consumed. The author differs widely from this recommendation, and reasons in support of this difference of opinion are
here presented.

With sligh t variations referable to man the milk of the cow contains all of the nutritive compounds required by a growing animal,
and it contains them in the proportions of a correct scientific dietary. Popularly milk is regarded as a beverage rather than, as in
truth it is a nutrient vehicle most concentrated in the combination of its elements. In order to present a comprehensive idea of  its
composition, it is well to study the solid products of milk as they are obtained by various processes in the dairy, the kitch en, and
the laboratory. It may also prove helpful to enumerate and describe the classes into which the solids of milk are divided. Th ese are:
(1) proteid; (2) fat; (3) sugar; and (4) mineral matter.

Fat constitutes about four per cent of the weight of mil k. In the common process of making butter the greater portion of the fat is
separated from the other ingredients. The liquid which remains, called buttermilk, contains the rest of the nutrients of the milk
excepting those small portions that cling to the f at. On examining buttermilk after it has become a little sour, it will be seen that it
contains a white solid which in the process of churning has been divided into very small particles. This solid is casein, the  chief
proteid of milk. It constitutes 3.3 p er cent, or about one -thirtieth, of the weight of the milk

The souring of whole milk also helps to an understanding of its composition. When this takes place the casein and most of the  fat
separate from the still liquid portion (the whey), and form what is known as the curd. When, however, the attempt is made to
separate the curd completely for the purpose of making what is known as cottage cheese, much of the fat is usually carried of f with
the whey. And again in the processes of manufacture of butter an d cheese one becomes familiar with the solid, casein, and with the
fat of milk. But even the whey, the liquid portion, has important solids in it that are less apparent and consequently not as  well
known. By heating whey it is discovered that it is filled with small particles of white matter that soon sink to the bottom of the
liquid. This is albumen, a substance always present in cow's milk, though in much smaller amount than is the casein. It resem bles
the albumen of the white of egg, and it differs from casein by not curding when milk sours, and by remaining in solution in the
whey. Furthermore it does not form curd in the stomach, which the casein does. This proteid which by the process of heating i s
shown to be present in the whey is the chief proteid i n mother's milk, but in cow's milk it is, as has been said, in very much smaller
amount than the curding proteid. Therefore, cow's milk, even if diluted and modified, can never be a perfect equivalent for h uman
milk, and it is easy to understand that a pro teid that remains dissolved in the whey is more readily digested than one which curds
soon after reaching the stomach.

Milk also contains five per cent of sugar. This sugar is not like that which is used on the table, but is much less sweet,


exam in public finance, a field I was completely
unprepared for, I would fail miserably. That prospect of
failure d isturbed me and set t he inner voice on a nonstop
dialogue about how to avoid the exam. What an
opportunity to get rid of that part of me. I no longer saw
the adm inistration’s mistake as a problem. I saw it as a
challenge to further let go of myself. So I decided to take
all three exams and willingly accept the experience of
failing the third one.
The first two exams went very smoothly. I had done a
lot of work w ith Alan in these areas, so I knew the
material reasonably well. As the day for the third exam
approached, I strengthened my heart for the inevitable. I
would march into that exam and willingly let a part of my
ego die a painful death.
What ended up happening ch anged me for the rest of
my life. The da y before the ex am, I allowed myself to pull
down the public finance textbook for the first time. I tookthe larg e book  outside and s at it beside me as I did my
yoga. W hen I finished my postures, I felt quiet, peaceful,
and tota lly pre pared to face th e next day’s ordeal. As if to
examine the sword I was abo ut to fall upon, I opened the
book to  an arbitrary place. I read both pages that
appeared before me. I performed this ritu al thre e times
before h olding the book up to  the heavens as a sign of my
willingness to surrender.
The nex t day, I watched clos ely to see what that voice
would have to say. I was su rprised to be feeling very
peaceful about the upcoming event. After my morning
meditation, I pulled down the book one more time and
opened to an a rbitrary page.  It turned out to be one of
the three places I had opened to the day before. I
reviewed the complex chart on that page and put the
book back on the shelf for the last time.
Later t hat morning, I parked outside the business
school and meditated for a while before going in. I still
felt very quiet inside. There w as just a sense of peaceful
resignation. I remember feeli ng I had passed the real test
—I had proven that I was cap able of deeply surrendering
if life presented me with something I really did not want
to do.
I went upstairs to the economics department, and the
administrative assistant handed me the exam. As I took
it from her han ds, I glanced over the six essay questions
of whic h I had to answer three. I immediately froze, and
tears began to well up in my eyes. Three of the questions
were exactly about the three places where I had
arbitrarily opened the book the day before. I was
stunned. I stood there for a lo ng time unable to even take
a breath.
How could this be? It had happened again. In the
name of transcending myself, I had surrendered and
willingly faced my personal fears. Then at the last
moment, instead of certain hell, I was lifted up to
heaven.I w ent into the  designated room and wrote and wrote.
The seeds of inspiration were very fresh in my mind. I
was eve n able to reproduce and embellish upon the chart
I had opened to twice. I tu rned in the notebooks and
headed home in a very different state of mind than I had
expected. Driving to the exam, I had felt as though life
was ask ing me  to willingly le t a part of me die that day.
But now  I realized that life w as asking me to get out of
the way and let  her do her thing. I was so glad I had been
willing to take that risk.
Days later I was called in  by Dr. Goffman and
complimented on the excell ence of my public finance
exam. This recognition from the chairman of the
department should have p leased me, but instead it
actually made me feel guilty. I recounted the whole story
and asked if I had somehow done something wrong. Dr.
Goffman got up, placed his hand on my shoulder, and
told me  to stop trying to be so humble. He then directed
me out of his office.1 6.
F o l l o w i n g  t h e  I n v i s i b l e  i n t o  t h e
U n k n o w n
B y th e spring of  1972, through no intention of my own, I
had completed both the course work and the qualifying
exams f or my doctorate. All that was left was writing a
dissertation. I knew that wou ld never happen, so I didn’t
give it a secon d thought. My meditations and yoga were
my entire life.
Though I had advanced considerably in my practices, I
still fel t something was holding me back. I began to
believe that the answer was t he practice of Kriya yoga, a
special meditation technique taught by Yogananda. The
problem was that you had to receive the lessons for a
year before becoming eligible. I decided to ask Self-
Realization Fe llowship for early initiation into the
practice of Kriya yoga.
In those days, I hardly ev er got mail. So I was
surprised some weeks later when I received two letters
on the same d ay: one from S elf-Realization Fellowship,
and the other from some orga nization I’d never heard of.
I w as very exci ted to learn th e fellowship’s response, so I
opened that letter first. My h eart dropped to my feet. I’d
have to wait a nother six months to receive the Kriya
technique. There was not much I could do about it but let
go of my react ion. I took a deep breath and opened the
other letter. With one glan ce, all my disappointment
faded into emptiness. Inside was a flyer that said in big,
bold letters:Receive Kriya This Summer from a
Direct Disciple of Paramahansa
Yogananda
I w as stunned once again. I had never heard of these
people. They appeared to  be an established yoga
community in California, but there was no way that they
could k now me or have go tten my address. I was a
hermit living in the woods of Florida. How could these
two perfectly intertwined lett ers end up in my mailbox at
the same time?
Regardless of the answer to that intriguing question, I
knew where I was supposed  to go that summer—to a
spiritual community in North ern California. It’s not hard
to f ollow the g uidance when  it’s that obvious. But my
commitment to letting life be in charge from now on
would f ace a few more chal lenges before I left for my
adventure out west.
A sh ort time after the incident with the letters, Dr.
Goffman contacted me to let me know that Alan
Robertson was  trying to reach me. I hadn’t talked to Alan
since we had b oth passed our exams. I got in touch with
him and learned that they had completed construction of
the new Santa Fe Community College campus. Alan was
staffing up for the opening classes and wanted me to
teach there, even if only on a part-time basis. I became
very quiet. I h ad absolutely  no interest in teaching at
Santa Fe Community College or any other institution. My
only intention was to just keep increasing my spiritual
practices until I could remain merged in the beautiful
places I had d iscovered within. I tried to tell Alan this,
but he didn’t w ant to listen. Finally, he said, “I am not
asking you, I’m telling you.” My mouth became dry as I
uttered the words my heart did not want to say: “Yes, sir.
I wi ll te ach the re on a part-tim e basis. What do I need to
do?”Surrender —what an amazingly powerful word. It often
engenders the thought of weakness and cowardice. In my
case, it required all the streng th I had to be brave enough
to follow the invisible into the unknown. And that is
exactly what I was doing. It’s  not that surrender gave me
clarity a bout where I was go ing—I had no idea where it
would lead me. But surrende r did give me clarity in one
essential area : my personal preferences of like and
dislike were not going to guide my life. By surrendering
the hold those powerful forces had on me, I was allowing
my life to be guided by a mu ch more powerful force, life
itself.
By that  stage of my growt h, I could see that the
practice of surrender was actually done in two, very
distinct steps: first, you let go  of the personal reactions of
like and  dislik e that form in side your mind and heart;
and second, with the resultant sense of clarity, you
simply look to see what is being asked of you by the
situation unfol ding in front of you. What would you be
doing if  you weren’t being influenced by the reactions of
like or dislike