 one of
you. Blessed be your very life, your every breath, your thoughts and
your feelings.
This lecture deals with relationships and their tremendous
signicance from the spiritual point of view—that of individual
growth and unication. First, I would like to point out that on the
human level of manifestation individual units of consciousness do
exist, which sometimes harm onize, but very often conict, with one
another, creating friction and crisis. Yet beyond this level of
manifestation there are no other fragmented units of consciousness.
Above the human level there is only one consciousness, through
which every single created entity is expressed dierently.  When one
comes into one’s own, one experiences this truth, without, however,
losing a sense of individuality. This can be felt very distinctly whenyou deal with your own inner disharmonies, my friends. For there,
too, exactly the same principle applies.
Unequal Development of Parts of Consciousness
In your present state, a part of your innermost being is developed
and governs your thinking, feeling, willing, and acting. There are
other parts, still in a lower state of development, that also govern
and inuence your thinking,  feeling, willing, and acting. Thus you
nd yourself divided, and this always creates tension, pain, anxiety,
as well as inner and outer diculties, Some aspects of your
personality are in truth; others, in error and distortion. The resulting
confusion causes grave disturbances. What you usually do is push
one side out of the way and identify with the other. Yet this denial
of a part of you cannot bring unication. On the contrary, it widens
the split. What must be done is to bring out the deviating,
conicting side and face it—face the entire ambivalence.  Only then
do you nd the ultimate reality of your unied self. As you know,
unication and peace emerge to the degree you recogni ze, accept,
and understand the nature of the inner conict.
Exactly the same law applie s to the unity or dissension between
outwardly separate and dierent entities. They, too, are one, beyond
the level of appearance. The dissension is caused not by actual
dierences among units of consciousness, but, just as in the
individual, by dierences in the development of the manifesting
universal consciousness.
Even though the principle of unication is exactly the same
within and among individu als, it cannot be applied to another
human being unless it has rst been applied to one’s inner self. If
the divergent parts of your self are not approached according to this
truth, and your ambivalence is not faced, accepted, and understood,
the process of unication cannot be put into practice with another
person. This is a very important fact, which explains the great
emphasis of this pathwork on rst approaching the self. Only then can
relationship be cultivated in a meaningful and eective way.Elements of Dissension and Unication
Relationship represents the greatest challenge for the individu al, for it
is only in relationship to others that unresolved problems still
existing within the individual psyche are aected and activated.
Many individuals withdraw from interaction with others, so they
can maintain the illusion that the problems arise from the other
person becaus e one feels disturbance only in his or her presence,
and not when by oneself.
However, the less contact is cultivated, the more acute the
longing for contact becomes. This, then, is a dierent kind of pain—
the pain of loneliness and frustration. But contact makes it dicult to
maintain for any length of time the illusion that the inner self is
faultless and harmonious. It requires mental aberration to claim for
too long that one’s problem s in relationship are caused only by
others and not by oneself. This is why relationships are
simultaneously a fulllment, a challenge, and a gauge to one’s inner
state. The friction that arises out of relating with others can be a sharp
instrument of purication and self-recognition  if one is inclined to use
it.
By withdrawing from this challenge and sacricing the fulllment
of intimate contact, many inner problems are never called into play.
The illusion of inner peace and unity that comes from avoidance of
relating has even led to concepts that spiritual growt h is being
furthered by isolation. Nothin g could be farther from the truth. This
statement must not be confused with the notion that intervals of
seclusion are necessary for inner concentration and self-
confrontation. But these periods should always alternate with
contact—and the more intimate such contact is, the more it
expresses spiritual maturity.
Contact and lack of contact with others can be observed in
various stages.  There are many degrees of contact between the crass
extremes of total outer and inner isolation, at one end, and the
deepest, most intimate relate dness at the other. There are those who
have obtained  a certain supercial ability to relate but who stillwithdraw from a more meaningful, open, unmasked mutual
revealing. I might say that the average present-day human being
uctuates somewhere between the two extremes.
Fulllment as a Yardstick for Personal Development
It is also possib le to measure one’s personal sense of fulll ment by
the depth of relatedness and intimate contact, by the strength of the
feelings one permits oneself to experience, and by the willingness to
give and receive. Frustration indicates an absence of contact, which,
in turn, is a precise indicator that the self withdraws from the
challenge of relationship, thereby sacricing personal fulllment,
pleasure, love, and joy. When you want to share only on the basis of
receiving according to your own terms, and you are in fact secretly
unwilling to share, your longings must remain unfullled. People
would be well advised to consider their unfullled longings from
this point of view, rather than indulging in the usual assumption
that one is unlucky and unfairly put upon by life.
One’s contentment and fulllment in relationship is a much
neglected yardstick for one’s  own development. Relatio nship with
others is a mirror of one’s own state and thus a direct help to one’s
self-purication. Conversely, only by thorough self-honesty and self-
facing can relationships be sustained, can feelings expand, and
contact blosso m in long-term relationships. So you can see, my
friends, that relationships represent a tremendously important
aspect of human growth.
The power and signicance of relationship often pose severe
problems for those who are still in the throes of their own inner
conicts. The unfullled longing becomes unbearably painful when
isolation is chosen due to the diculty of contact. This can be
resolved only when you seriously settle down to seek the cause for
this conict within your self, without using the defense of annihilating
guilt and self-blame, which of course eliminates any possibility of
really getting at the core of the conict. This search, together with
the inner willingness to change, must be cultivated in order toescape the painful dilemma in which both available alternatives—
isolation and contact—are unbearable.
It is important  to remember that withdrawal can be very subtle
and may be outwardly unnoticeable, manifesting only in a certain
guardedness and distorted self-protection. Outer good fellowship
does not necessarily imply a capacity and willingness for inner
closeness. For many, closen ess is too taxing. On the surface this
seems related to how dicu lt others are, but actually the diculty
lies in the self, regardless of how imperfect others may also be.
Who Is Responsible for the Relationship?
When people whose spiritual development is on dierent levels
are involved with one anoth er, it is always the more highly developed
person who is responsible for the relationship, Specically, that person
is responsible for searching the depths of the interact ion which
create any friction and disharmony between the parties.
The less developed person is not as capable of such a search,
being still in a state of blam ing the other and depending on the
other’s doing “right” in order to avoid unpleasantness or frustration.
Also, the less developed person is always caught up in the
fundamental error of duality. From this perspective any friction is
seen in terms of “only one of us is right.” When caught up in
dualistic thinking, such a person, when noticing a defect in the
other party, will automatic ally assume innocence, although in
reality his or her own negati ve involvement may be innitely more
weighty than the other person’s.
The spiritually  more developed person is capable of realistic, non-
dualistic perception. That person may see that one of the two may
have a deeper problem, but that does not eliminate the importance
of the possibly  much lesser problem of the other one. The more
developed one will always be willing and able to search for his or
her own involvement whenever he or she is negatively aected, no
matter how blatantly at fault the other may be. A person of spiritual
and emotional immaturity and crud


 on a Sunday! Of course, no one pays the
slightest  attention,  because  the law is not and cannot be enforced,  and
because it only involves the parties concerned.  But it is a very different
matter wirh  laws involving huge commercial  interests A kiss is not a
manufacturable  commodity,  serums and  radium  plants  are ‐and  that is
the trouble.  To the pure in heart, which  means the unselfish,  altruistic
and  uncommercially  minded, it seems doubtless  a curious  irony that
the treatment  of certain said‐to‐be incurable  diseases has become
illegal  except at the hands  of those who cannot cure  them. This is
ostensibly  to "protect the public." Yet the logician  may  ask, to protect
the public from what or from  whom? We presume  from such persons
as fraudulently  profess to cure  what they  know  perfectly  well that they
are unable to cure,  and who merely trade on the innocence  and
ignorance  of the unwary. Well, such a law has its advantages,  but it also
has its, drawbacks.  Besides, it would be more  convincing  if the usual
measures  adopted  by the Medical Profession  wh agitated so that the
law should be passed, were (1) instrumental  in saving the lives of those
it professed  o protect, and (2) if those measures  were not of so highly a
lucrative nature. Operations  for cancer are more  costly to the patient
than a few relatively harmless  herbs sold by quacks (some of which
have been known  to do good) and a radium plant  is a coctly affair for
the purchasers  and very profitable  to its vendors, as also is radium  itself.  118
 Many doctors, as we have seen, of both the allopathic  and
homoeopathic  schools,  have warned their confreres  of the
unsatisfactory  results  obtained  both by surgery ‐aid  radium, but
without  any appreciable  effect, for the a iium or operative  treatment  is
still boosted as the “correct” treatment  for malignancy.
All the same, doctors  sometimes  find themselves  in a quandary,  and
have been known  to turn to the unorthodcx  when it is a question  of
saving a relative. Dr. W H. Roberts (the homoeopath)  wrote that an
allopathic  surgeon in the R.A.M.C. once  called  to see  him about his
sister, aged 47, who was suffering from a breast tumour for which  she
could not be treated (as advised  by a leadi  ng Dublin surgeon) owing to
the fact that she was suffering from heart disease. Dr. Roberts' caller
added: "I know  nothing about homoeopathy...  but you are at liberty to
try your remedies."  The final  upshot  was that Dr. R. cured the lady.
There  was  no recurrence  and  she lived for 17 years and  finally died  of
some illness  of the influenza type. (See  Health Through Homoeopathy,
July, 1944.) Homoeopathic  literature  relates of many cures of cancer,
some more  speedy than others, and  whether one agrees with
homoeopathic  methods  or not, at least the patient  avoids the risk of
having to suffer the after‐effects so often associated  with radium
treatment,  urgery or both.  Fortunately,  however,  some doctors are vow
so discouraged  and depressed  by the transient and  painful results of
these treatments  that they are wi!ling to try other methods  in the
interests of their patients. And it is just to these  doctors that I address
myself as wcdl as to sufferers who I have every  good reasor. to believe,
could greatly benefit by the treatment  described  i n this book. After all,
things  have not come to quite such a pass (though  I shall have 119
 something  to say about medical autocracy  in my final chapter) that a
qualified doctor is forced by law to employ the precise  treatment  the
Medical Powers may  advertise  as the "best,"  Nor can the law compel
the citizen  to be operated upon or be burnt  with radium  against his will.
But, as Dr. Beddow Bayly and  other  physicians  of varied schools  have
pointed  out, how can members  of the public demand  a different form
'of treatment  unless they  know  that such treatments  exist? When the
Medical Profession  advocates  and  boosts certain measures  as at one
time it advocated  bleeding, for every imaginable  disease, little mention
is made of the many failures and often fatal  results, and it is only when
the public finally gets to hear of these  through the bitter  experiences  of
the victims, that a demand  is made for something  better. Sometimes  a
doctor will admit  the superiority  of a treatment  but abstain from  using
it, as witness the confession  of a certain doctor relative to Biochemistry,
of which  in a coroner's  court  he said:  "Biochemistry  is the most  logical
and  up‐to‐date method of treating disease...  But we doctors  are
exceedingly  conservative,  and  we shall stick to the old  way until
compelled  by circumstances  "(obviously  meaning the demands  of the
public)" to adopt the newer and better system of medication."  (Quoted
by J. T. Heselton,  in Heal  Thyself, July, 1937.)
In view of all this, we are constrained  to ask the questions  mooted by


 world was
created—billions of years of stellar activity resulting in what appears around
you. You saw how it was create d; now you see how conscious ness, which
does not belong to the world  of form, can experience it—through the
miracle of mind.
In truth, consciousness is the most profound miracle. An essence that
knows that it knows that it knows. Everything else is something you’reconscious of—th e true magic is consciousness itself. When consciousness is
simply experiencing reality as imaged in the mind, that is what we call
being in the present moment.  At this point in our discussion, there is
nowhere else to be. The real world is outside, it is being reflected in your
mind, and you are aware of the image right in front of you. In this very
simple state, you are experiencing what you were meant to experience: the
gift of the moment that’s being  given to you. It comes in, and you learn
from it simply because you experienced it. There are no distractions; there is
just total oneness with the moment in front of you.
Everyone has had some rare moments like this. Perhaps it took a
beautiful sunset to bring you to such a state of one-pointed consciousness.
You were driving around a corner and, all of a sudden, the sun was setting
with beautiful purple, orange, and magenta. It was the most beautiful thing
you had ever seen, and it compl etely blew your mind. What does that mean,
“It blew your mind”? It means there was nothing left in your mind but that
image of the sunset. Not the mortgage, not the problem with the boyfriend,
not the worries from the past. The only experience you were having was this
beautiful sunset coming in throu gh your eyes, rendering in your mind, and
merging with your entire being. Your entire consciousness was centered and
focused on the experience you were having, instead of being scattered all
over the place. It was truly a spiritual experience.
That is what The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali describes as the experiencer
and the experience becoming one. You have allowed a merger between
subject and object. There’ s nothing distracting your consciousness from
what is happening right in front of you. This is the yogic state of dharana—
one-pointed concentration.
You’ve had other experiences that approach this state of one-pointed
absorption. Sometimes in intimate moments with someone you love, when
everything is just right, you lose yourself in the moment. All of a sudden,
total beauty and peace come over you. When consciousness merges with the
object of consciousness, you can feel the presence of God. In yogic
philosophy, the Self is called sat-chit-ananda,  eternal-conscious-bliss. When
Self focuses one-pointedly on a single object, one experiences the nature of
Self—total peace, contentment, and overwhelming bliss. This is available to
us at any time if we can just learn to enter the undistracted state of one-
pointed consciousness.Chapter 12.
Birth of the Personal Mind
Why don’t we live in an ecstatic state of one-pointed consciousness all the
time? What went wrong? What caused the fall from this proverbial garden?
It’s very simple: The world comes in and it’s beautiful. The very act of
experiencing it is tremendously moving when it comes all the way back into
you. However, that does not mean it all feels the same. Heat feels different
from cold—because it is different. That doesn’ t mean one is better than the
other. They just feel different. Somebody gently touches you, and that feels
very different than if they bump into you. Different things are experienced
in different ways. The Buddhis ts say everything has its natur e. A coiled
rattlesnake comes into the mind as a very different experience than a
butterfly landing on your arm. That rattlesnake is giving off its nature—
emanating its particular vibration. That vibration is awesome in its own way,
but it certainly doesn’ t create the same inner experience as the butterfly.
There’ s nothing wrong with this. It’s very real. What’ s wrong with having a
variety of experi ences? If a butterfly landed on you every mome nt, it would
become so normal that it would be nothing. God knew how to create a
world that would always be exciting.
Your consciousness actually expands because of the knowledge that
flows into it. You are learning and growing through the experiences you are
having. This learning through life is true spiritual growth. It is the evolution
of the soul. Just like everyth ing you learn makes you smarter, every
experience you have makes you wiser. When the presence of a rattlesnake
comes into your mind, true, it’s not a comfortable inner experience. It
doesn’ t feel the same as a butterfly, but it is just as rich. It is just as
important. If you’re willing to be open at this level, you’re still in the idyllic
garden. There are no problems; there are just learning experiences. No
matter what happens, you are becoming greater.Unfortunately, that is not how we live. Something went very wrong.
Let’s take this fall from the garden in slow motion. First, some thing comes
in; let’s start with the rattlesnake. It’s not a particularly comfortable
experience. In fact, a hissing rattlesnake is meant to be an uncomfortable
experience—it may even generate discomfort at a survival level. That would
be a strong inner reaction to the outer experience.
But this uncomfortable inner reaction isn’t bad, per se—it’ s just a
different vibration. Just like some colors are soothing and others are harsh.
Colors aren’ t bad or good; they are just different vibration rates of the
electromagnetic spectrum. You can learn how to be comfortable with these
different vibrations. A rattlesna ke is not going to stay there rattling your
whole life. It’s going to come, and it’s going to go—and its uncomfortable
vibrations are going to go with it. Then something else will happen. You
live in a happening place filled with growthful experiences. You are simply
in there experiencing creation as it comes in and passes through you.
You don’t practi ce that level of acceptance, however. You in there who
is experiencing what’ s renderin g in your mind—you have the ability to
resist what is not comfortable to you. You were given free will. You can use
that will like inner hands to push away thoughts and emotions if they don’t
feel right. Surely you have done that. That resistance is an act of will. W ill is
an innate power you have—it is actually a power that emanates from
consciousness. Just as the Sun stays where it is in space, but it emanates
rays that have great power, so consciousness remains at its source, but its
awareness emanates out onto whatever it focuses on. There is great power
when consciousness focuses on something, just as there is great power when
the Sun’s rays are focused through a magnifying glass. You can feel the
power of one-pointed concentration. It is, indeed, concentrated
consciousness. That is the source of the power of will.
The power of will plays a very important role in understanding how the
mind developed from a place of clarity to one of confusion. You have surely
noticed that your awareness does not fall evenly on all objects that render in
your mind. You pay attention to some objects more than others. If the
vibration of the object was more comfortable or uncomfortable, you either
“liked” it or “didn’ t like” it. This is the foundation of how the personal mind
got built: like and dislike. It happens at a very primal level. Basically, it
depends on whether you in there have the ability to experience somethingthat comes in without doing anything about it—other than fully
experiencing it. This is the ability to allow objects to simply pass through.
If an inner experience is not neutral to you, it draws your
consciousness to focus on it. The moment that happens, the things passing
through your mind are no longer  even; one has stood out from the rest. All it
took was for you to focus your consciousness on it. Your consciousness is a
force, and you are focusing that force on a particular mental object. When
the force of consciousness is focused on a mental object, that object cannot
pass through the mind like the other objects. Just as the solar winds interfere
with objects passing through space, so focused consciousness is a force that
affects objects passing through the mind.
When you focus consciousness on a particular mental form, you
impede that form’ s ability to pass through the mind. The very act of
concentrating on it makes it stay in your mind. You know this. When you
want to do math  in your mind, you concentrate on the numbers so they stay
long enough for you to manipul ate them. In fact, anytime you want to hold
something in your mind, you must focus your consciousness on it so it does
not just fade away. Concentrat ion of consciousness freezes forms in the
mind so that they don’t just pass through. Thus, when you saw a rattlesnake,
it might as well have been a standalone item in your mind. The truth is there
were trees, grass, sky, and other items rendered in your mind aside from the
snake. But you focused your consciousness on the rattlesnake and let the
rest


Bringers Step 1
Get clear about the
purpose of your life.
Neale Donald Walsch 5Purpose.  That is, you cannot decide how to get where
you are going until you decide  where  you are going.
One day a man stopped his car at the corner of a
friendly street in a friendly town and motioned to a
friendly person standing nearby.
“Excuse me,” the driver said, “but I seem to be
lost.  Could you kindly give me directions?”
“Certainly, sir,” said the person on the street.
“Where are you trying to go?”
“I don’t know,” the driver answered.
“Well, sir,” said the person who was trying to help him,
“You must first tell me where you want to go before I cantell you how to get there.”
If your life is directionless, it is because you have
not set a direction.  If your life is without accom-
plishment, it is because you do not know what you
are seeking to accomplish.  If your life has seemedpointless, it is because you have not sought to use it
as a tool with which to make  a point.
Which brings us to Principle #1: Life is pointless.6Bringers of the LightNeale Donald Walsch 7
Principle  #1
Life
is pointless...
and that is
God’s Greatest Gift.8Bringers of the Light
This may come as a shock to many of you who
think that there is a point to life, and that it
is our job to find it, to uncover it, to learn it, to un-
ravel it, to somehow, someday, somewhere discover
it — and then live up to it.
It may come as a shock also to many others of you
who think that you have already  discovered the Point
of Life, and are living up to it.  (Most people who fall
into this category haven’t really “discovered” the
Point of Life, they’ve been told what the Point of Life
is, and they’ve accepted that.)
Yet there is no Point to it all.  Life has no point.  If
Life had a Point, who would assign it one?  And if
you say God, why would God create the Point, thenmake us all search for it for 50 years?  (And, as a
society, for 50 thousand  years.)   And if you say God
does not make us search, but has given us the an-swer, why did God not give us the answer in a way in
which we could easily understand it, and with a for-
mula upon which we could all agree?  And if you saythat God has done that, then you have not looked atNeale Donald Walsch 9
the world lately.
No, God has not done that.  And the reason God
has not told us what the Point of Life is, is that thereis no Point to Life.  Life is pointless.
And that is God’s greatest gift.
Think about it.It is precisely because God has not emblazoned
His purpose across the pages of Life that Life itself is
an Open Book.  A book that we get to write. We get
to decide what purpose we choose.
If God had chosen a purpose — if God had a pur-
pose designed into the plan — would God not tell uswhat that purpose was?  Would God allow us to spend
years, decades, centuries, searching, searching, search-
ing for the point of it all?
Again, it must be said to those of you who are
now thinking, “But God did announce the purpose
of life!”: if that is so, God did a pretty bad job of it,because if you look around you, you will see that no
one got it.
Okay, a few.  A few think they have gotten it.  They10Bringers of the Light
know the purpose of life, and it’s just all the rest of
the people who don’t understand.
Well, that, of course, is the stance taken by many
of the Earth’s major religions!  These religions teach
that they know the purpose of life. There is even a
religion or two which says it is the purpose of life,
and that all we have to do is follow the dictates of
that particular religion and we will have pleased God
mightily — and be saved.
On the other hand, if we do not follow the dic-
tates of that particular religion, we will be sent to
the everlasting fires of hell.
None of this would be such a problem if it weren’t
for the fact that there are hundreds of organized re-
ligions making essentially the same claim.
Could God have really botched the job this badly?
If God really established a purpose for Life, and re-
ally wanted us to know what that was, do you sup-pose this is the best God could do when it comes to
communicating that to us in a way we could all un-
derstand?Neale Donald Walsch 11
Or is it possible that the reason we can’t seem to
agree on the point of it all is that there simply is no
point?
In fact, that is exactly the case.  Yet this may be
difficult to accept for many people until it becomes
clear why there is no point.
There is no point because God wants us to create  a
purpose for our life.  And if God had already cre-
ated that purpose, He would have robbed us of the
greatest opportunity, and the greatest tool, that wehave as we seek to perform the function  of life.
Because, you see, while Life does not have a pur-
pose, it does have a function.
Purpose  and function  are not at all the same thing.
A clock functions  by ticking, for the purpose  of telling
time.  A car functions  by internal combustion, for the
purpose  of moving people from place to place.  A
microwave oven functions by causing food molecules
to vibrate very fast, for the purpose of heating food.
Life functions in a particular way, but for no prede-
termined purpose.  That’s because God created as the12Bringers of the Light
function of Life the determining  of a purpose.  Put
another way:
God, you see, is in the constant process of creat-
ing and recreating Itself anew. God is in each mo-ment deciding what God is going to be next. This is
God’s most exciting function.  (In fact, it is God’s
only function.)  This is pure creation.
(For a better, and complete, understanding of this
Truth, see Conversations with God - Book One (Putnam
Publishing Company, New York City, NY).Your function
is to create the
point of your life.
In so doing, you create Your Self.
You decide
who and what you really are —
and who you are going to be.
Neale Donald Walsch 13
This principle is presented here so that you may
understand that God has not assigned  a purpose or a
point to your life.  God is waiting for you to do that.
It is you who must create a raison d’etre.  And that is
what you have not yet done.  You have not created a
reason for being.14Bringers of the Light
So Step 1  here is to decide and to declare  what life
is all about — for you.  What is the purpose of
your life?  If you can’t answer that question,  go to a
larger one: What is the Purpose of Life in general?
Now... and here’s the tricky part...  do not look any-
where else for an answer.  Just sit down and decide this
for yourself.   Don’t ask yourself...  tell yourself!
Tell yourself the purpose of Life in General, and
then tell yourself what your purpose in life is going
to be.
Now your first reaction to this suggestion may very
likely be a feeling of “overwhelm”...   as in “I’m on
overwhelm. ”
You may think that the subject is just too big; that
the topic is outside the sphere of your understand-
ing.  It is not.  And you will see that it is not themoment you give yourself permission to truly start
thinking about this.
Truly start thinking about the real purpose of life
and all sorts of ideas will begin to come to you.  They
will crowd in on you so fast, you won’t know whatNeale Donald Walsch 15
hit you. Soon, if you stay with the process, you’ll start
discriminating.  That is, your mind will start throw-
ing out the absurd ideas and will quickly find itselfleft with only a few good ones.  And just as soon as it
reduces the list to those few, it will reduce the list
even further.  Left to your own devices, you will comeup with what you think the purpose of life might be
before you know it.
That is to say, you will know it before you know it.
In truth, there is a great deal that you know that
you do not know that you know.  You are carrying
around knowledge you do not know that you have.Or, to put this another way, you don’t know the half of
what you know.
The only way to find out what you know is to  call
upon yourself to know it.
That is a mouthful right there, and you may want
to go over that statement again.
‘


 whether high, medium or low potency depends on the
condition, and you may need to experiment. Also with weak adrenal glands and during stressful  periods  pantothenate/vitamin B5 may
be temporarily increased up to 3x500mg with meals. Niacinamide is mainly useful to increase energy, e.g. with schizophrenia,
depression, Alzheimer's disease, chronic fatigue and advanced cancer; try up to 1 gram with each meal.
Other important supplements are up to 10 grams of ascorbate and up to 20 grams of MSM (well spaced out during the day
(see  www.health-science-spirit.com/morenergy.htm), magnesium chloride (orally and  transdermally), manganese, biotin,
alpha  lipoic  acid, vitamins A, D and E (orally take opened and emulsiﬁed with lecithin, additionally also rubbed onto sensitive skin
areas),  Lugol's  solution (1-2 drops/day - iodine is needed, not just iodide), selenium, borax/boron, copper salicylate, especially with
inﬂammations, aging skin or grey hair, and also serrapeptase up to 4 x 250,000 Units and nattokinase up to 8 x 2,000 FU.
As with any health improvement, cleansing reactions may occur, temporarily causing skin problems or aggravating other existing
conditions. In this case make a special effort to use sufﬁcient bicarbonat e to keep the urine alkaline, greatly reduce the dosage of all
remedies, keep the bowels clean, drink a lot of healthy ﬂuids, and when the problem has subsided gradually increase
supplementation again.
Afterthoughts
In addition to providing missing nutrients also focus on intestinal sanitation with psyllium therapy, anti-Candida therapy, cleansing and
activating the liver. All problems are much worse if there is in addition mercury toxicity, but attempt mercury removal only after
pyroluria and Candida are under control. See  www.the-heal-yourself-series.com/T owardsRadiantHealth.html  for details.
Even without pyroluria body builders prefer P5P because of its superior qualities in building muscles and connective tissue. This may
also indicate that most elderly individuals or anyone with liver problems would beneﬁt from P5P  and zinc.
The FDA has been petitioned by a drug company to ban the general sale of P5P so that it can be sold as a drug. The FDA has done
this before with another natural form of vitamin B6, pyridoxamine, which is no longer available in the US (10).  Pyridoxamine was
mainly used as an anti-aging reme dy, to reduce diabetic neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, and it can block the formation of
advanced glycation end-products, but P5P  can do the same.
Individuals with advanced pyroluria may need P5P for the rest of their lives, although I am hopeful that the program outlined in this
article, in addition to energy meditation and guided imagery, will eventually overcome also the serious inherited form of pyroluria.
Pyroluria is an important health indicator because it shows that the liver does not have enough energy to work efﬁciently, especially in
stressful situations, and that means the whole body is in danger. For aware young couples it is preferable to get any pyroluria and
Candida under control before trying to conceive children to break the chain of transmitting pyroluria in the family tree. For further
information see  Managing the Immune System.
End Notes
(1) Pyroluria - A Hidden Disorder ; http://naturalinsight.hubpages.com/hub/Pyroluria-A-Hidden-Disorder.
(2) Porphyria  - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyria
(3) Caryn T alty & Matthew Dahlitz:  Pyrrole Disorder For Therapists. http://www.neuropsychotherapist.com/pyrrole-disorder-for-
therapists/
(4) W oody R. McGinnis, MD, et al:  Discerning the Mauve Factor, Part 1 ; Altern Ther Health Med. 2008;14(2):40-50;
 http://www.biobalance.org.au/_downloads/discerning-mauve-factor-part-1-galley-feb-2008.pdf
(5) W oody R. McGinnis, MD, et al:  Discerning the Mauve Factor, Part 2 ; Altern Ther Health Med.  2008;14(3):50-56;10/30/24, 4:15 PM Health-Science-Spirit- Pyroluria & Candida
https://health-science-spirit.com/Diseases/Pyroluria-and-Candida.html 9/10http://www.biobalance.org.au/_downloads/discerning-the-mauve-factor-part-ii-galley.pdf
(6) William Shaw et al:  Assessment of Antifungal Drug Therapy in Autism by Measurement of Suspected
Microbial Metabolites in Urine with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry;  Clinical Practice of Alternative Medicine  1(1): 15-26,
2000.  http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/newevidence/antifungal.pdf
(7) Archie Kalokerinos:  Every Second Child;  Keats Publishing (1981), free download
from  http://www.soilandhealth.org/copyform.aspx?bookcode=020341
(8) Archie Kalokerinos:  Shaken Baby Syndrome:  An Abusive Diagnosis  (2008); free download
from  http://www.beyondconformity.org.nz/hilarys-desk/archie_kalokerinos_-_this_is_your_life
(9) John Gever:  Antibiotics Top Cause of Drug-Induced Liver Failure ; Nov 4,
2009;  http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AASLD/16791
(10)  Alliance for Natural Health (USA); Breaking News:  FDA’s Sneak Attempt to Ban Another B V itamin
March 1 1, 2014;  http://www.anh-usa.org/fdas-sneak-attempt-to-ban-another-b-vitamin/
Disclaimer: The aim of this web site is to provide information on using natural healing methods to aid in the treatment of illness and health improvement.
The author cannot accept any legal responsibility for any problem arising from experimenting with these methods. For any serious disease,
or if you are unsure about a particular course of action, seek the help of a competent health professional.
© Copyright W alter Last & Austpac Productions. All Rights Reserved. | W eb Design by Austpac.10/30/24, 4:15 PM Health-Science-Spirit- Pyroluria & Candida
https://health-science-spirit.com/Diseases/Pyroluria-and-Candida.html 10/10<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>THE HOLISTIC CANCER SOLUTION
by W alter Last
The cause and cure of cancer is basically unknown, not only in conventional medicine but also in natural medicine. For decades,
while working as a natural therapist and health writer, I continually tried to improve my understanding of what was really going on,
and I am conﬁdent that the relevant pieces of the puzzle have now fallen into place.
Blocked Energy Production
The conventional view is that cancer originates in the cell nucleus due to random mutations or damage to the genetic material from
radiation or toxic chemicals. This orthodox model sees the development of a tumor as a purely local event in an otherwise healthy
body. Therefore the aim is to catch it as early as possible, remove or destroy the tumor, and all should be well.
But reality is different. Unbiased investigations show that there is no real difference in conventionally treated and untreated cases (1).
I suspect that honest statistics would even show chemotherapy to shorten lives. Why then do some patients survive conventional
treatment?
The answer is that some tumors just have a tendency to spread and others remain harmless whether treated or untreated. Presently
the focus is on detecting very small tumors many of which would never develop into cancer and form metastases but in statistics they
are counted as cured cancers. When cancer does spread then there is generally no conventional treatment that really works.
Recognizing this, statistics are commonly expressed as ﬁve-year survival rates. All this shows that the medical model of cancer is
either incomplete or wrong.
The German cancer researcher Dr Paul Gerhard Seeger (2) demonstrated already in 1938 that in most cases cancer starts in the
cytoplasm, the jelly-like outer part of the cell, and especially in the energy-producing mitochondria. Here food fragments are normally
oxidized in a series of enzymatic steps called the'respiratory chain'. Seeger showed that in cancer cells this respiratory chain was
more or less blocked, especially at the site of the important enzymes cytochrome oxidase. Without it the cell can produce energy only
anaerobically like a fungal cell. This is very inefﬁcient and the resulting overproduction of lactic acid makes the cell and the whole
body overacid.
Seeger and others found that cancer cells utilize only between 5 and 50% of the oxygen of normal cells. Furthermore, the virulence of
c


pro-
fessionalhelp.Someofthemalsoappearinthe
remedypictures,forexamplethelabouredbreathing
ofAntimoniumtartaricumandthedeliriumofa
Belladonnafever.Ifyouareveryworriedaboutthe
generalstateofyourpatientIsuggestyoucallforhelp
andthengivetheindicatedhomeopathicremedy.In
someinstances,wherethepictureisveryclearand/or
youknowfrompastexperiencethatyourpatientisnot
seriously ill,youwillbeabletogivetheremedyand
waitforimprovement. Ifheorshedoesnotshowsigns
ofimprovingquicklyyoucanthencallforhelp.
Seeoverleaffordiseaseconditionsnotcoveredby
thisbook.
SEEKHELPIFTHEREIS:
Bleeding,unexplained,fromanypartofthebody,
includingtheskin
Breathing,rapid-overfiftybreathsperminuteatrest
inchildrenundertwo-overfortybreathsper
minuteinchildrenagedtwototen-overthirty
breathsperminuteinanyoneoverthirty
Breathing,shalloworlaboured(difficult)
Chestpain,severe
Convulsions
Delirium
Feverabove105°F,40°C
Fever,high,withaslowpulse(normaladultpulseis
about90beatsaminuteand120inachild)
Fever,persistent-lastingforlongerthan24hoursin
aninfant
Headache,severe-especially ifaccompaniedbyone
ormoreoftheothersymptomsinthissection
204 DISEASESYOUCANTREATUSINGTHISBOOK
Mentalconfusion,uncharacteristic
Neckstiff
Stools,pale-greyoralmostwhite
Urinationprofuse,accompaniedbyagreatthirst
Urinedarkandscanty/bloody (certainfoodswhen
eateninquantitycanchangethecolourofurine;
beetrootforexample,canturnurinered.Thisis
nothingtoworryabout)
Vomiting,unexpected,repeated-comesonsome
timeaftertheonsetofaviralinfection(i.e.achild-
hoodillness)
Weakness,extreme
Wheezing,severe
Yellowingoftheskinorwhitesoftheeyes
IFSOMEONESEEMSVERYILL,EVENIFTHEYDO
NOTHAVEANYEASILYIDENTIFIABLESYMP-
TOMS,ALWAYSTRUSTYOURINSTINCTSAND
GETHELP.
ALWAYSSEEKPROFESSIONALHELPIFYOUR
SYMPTOMSRECURORDONOTIMPROVE.
diseasesandconditionsnot
Coveredbythisbook
Withtheexceptionoftreatingtheacutepainofarthri-
tisandrheumatism, thisbookdoesnotcoverchrome
diseases;thesearecomplexconditionsandneedcareful
diagnosisandtreatmentatallstages.The
homeopathictreatmentofchronicdiseaseoften
requiresalong-termcommitmentsothatthehomeo-
pathcantreattheseunderlyingweaknessesinthe
constitution.
Thefollowingsymptomsarenotdealtwithinthis
bookforthereasonsgivenineachcase:
Seriousdegenerativediseasessuchascancer,hepati-
tis,heartdisease,AIDS,andsoon,arenotwithin
thescopeofthefirst-aidprescriber.Thesecon-
ditionsrequiretimeandskilltotreatandshouldnot
beregardedlightly.
Frequentlyrecurringsymptomsfromflu,headaches,
diarrhoeaandcoughs,todepressions, etc.Symp-
tomsoccurringasoftenaseveryweek,whichcanbe
sobadthatworkhastobecancelled.Theyarenot
symptomsthatoccurtwoorthreerimesayearand
thathaveobviouscauses,forexampleheadaches
afterthestressofexams.
Skinsymptomsincludingeczema,psoriasis,dermati-
tis,etc.,shouldneverbeattemptedbythefirst-aid
prescriber.ReadtheLawsofCure(page15)to
understandthedangersofsuppressingaskindis-Asthmaisadeep-seatedchronicdiseaseandneeds
carefulmanagement tocureit.Theacuteattacksof
asthmacanbealleviated,buttheseshouldalways
beprescribedbyahomeopathwhoisinchargeof
thewholecaseandwhoisprescribingconstitutional
remediesbetweenattackssothattheirseverityand
frequencyislessened.
Hayfeverforthesamereasonsasasthma.Itis,how-
ever,possibletoalleviatesymptoms,andforthis
reasonafew.remediesareincludedinthisbook.
However, Istronglyadvisethatvoutakeupconsti-
tutionaltreatmentforthemonthswhenyouarefree
ofhayfeverinordertohelpclearthediseasefrom
thesystem.Itcantakeseveralyearsforthisto
happen,withthesymptomslesseninginseverity
eachyear.
Persistentconstipationcanmaskamoreserious,
underlyingcomplaintthatneedsprofessional treat-
ment,butitmaysimplybearesultofpoordiet(lots
oflow-fibrejunkfood),inwhichcasethefirststepis
tomakethenecessarydietarychanges.Remedies
areincludedforoccasionalconstipationcausedbya
changeinenvironment(althoughtheoccasional
doseofalaxativewilldonoharm).
Persistentabdominalpainshouldalwaysbechecked
byaprofessional.Neverself-prescribe,exceptinthe
fewinstancesoutlinedinthisbook.Alwaysseeyour
GPtomakesurethereisnoneedforurgentsurgery
(suchasappendicitis).
Ulcers,oftheskin,stomach,etc.Theseareevidence
ofadeep-seatedchronicconditionthatneedsexpert
attention.Youmaytreatoccasionalmouthulcers
yourself.Iftheyrecur,especiallyfrequently,then
theyneeddeeper,constitutionaltreatment.
Lumpsandbumps-cysts,growths,warts,etc.any-
whereonorinthebody(exceptforstyes,bruises
andwarts,asoutlinedinthebook)mustalwaysbe
takentoaprofessionalhomeopathsothatheorshe
canprescribeontheunderlyingweaknessandpre-
venttheirrecurrence.
COMPLAINTSYOUCANTREAT
Abscesses
Youcantreatasimpletooth(gum)abscessyourself
whilewaitingforyourdentalappointment. Ifthepain
isgreatlyrelievedasaresultand/ortheabscessdis-
chargesitspusthenwaitalittlewhilebeforestarting
onantibioticsastheymaynotbenecessary. Ifthepain
returns,ordoesn'tclearcompletelyandquickly,take
themedicinesprescribedbyyourdentist,orvisit
aprofessionalhomeopathwhocantreatthese
abscesses.
DISEASESYOUCANTREATUSINGTHISBOOK Bites/stings •205
DO
•restandeatwelltobuildupyourdefences.
•applyhotcompressestotheabscess.
Anaemia
Theanaemiacoveredbythisbookisiron-deficiency
anaemia,whichiscausedbyinfection,poordiet,
duringpregnancywhentheironcountdrops,andby
lossofbloodafteranaccident,toothextraction,heavy
period,nosebleedorchildbirth.
Othertypesofanaemianeedtobetreatedbya
professionalhomeopath.
DO
•eathealthy,iron-richfoodssuchasliver,greens
(notspinachastheacidinitmakestheiron
difficulttoabsorb),cabbageanddriedapricots.
•rest.
•drinkplentyoffluidsbutcutouttea(which
preventstheabsorptionofiron).
•takeaherbalirontonicifitsuitsyou.
DON'T
•takeironpillsavailablefromhighstreetchemists
astheyoftencauseconstipationandcanmakethe
conditionworsebyblockingtheabsorptionofiron.
ArthritisseeJointpain
Athlete'sfoot
Thisisbesttreatedwithinternalremedies. Ifitis
apersistent(chronic)problem, itwillrequirepro-
fessionalhomeopathictreatment.
DO
•keepyourfeetcleananddrymeticulouslyafter
bathing.
•useCalendulatalcumpowder(availablefromsome
homeopathicpharmacies)orusethecreamifthe
skiniscrackedandpainful.
•gobarefootasmuchaspossible,andwearsandals
inthesummer.
DON'T
•wearrunningshoes,whichcanexacerbatethe
problem.
•useanri-perspirantsonyourfeet.Thisformof
suppressioncanleadtomoreseriouscomplaints.
SEEKHELPIF
•thereisswellingorpain,especially ifitspreadsto
theankle.
Backacheandbackinjuries
Homeopathicremedieswillprovidereliefforanacute
problem,butseekhelpfromanosteopathoraphysio-
therapist.Chronic(long-term)backproblemsneed
long-termtreatment.Thereisanincreasedtendencytobackproblemsin
peoplewhoareoverweight.Themusclesinaweak
backcanbestrengthenedandfurtherproblems
avertedbygentleexercise.


 be taken to strengthen blood vessels, e.g. varicose veins. Many people swear by gotu kola’s ability to prevent and relieve arthritis and rheumatic problems.
■ T onic The herb has a longstanding
reputation in India and southern  Asia as a “rejuvenator,” aiding concentration and memory, particularly in the elderly. In Western herbal medicine, it is understood to be an adaptogen and can be taken long-term to help support healthy brain function, slow aging, and calm anxiety. It is also thought to have a tonic effect on digestion.
Self-help Uses
■ Eczema, p. 300.
■ Maintaining vitality, p. 319.
Dried aerial partsFresh
aerial partsGotu kola is an ancient Ayurvedic remedy that is now used
extensively in the West. It is a useful tonic and cleansing herb for skin problems and digestive disorders. In India,
it is used to treat a variety of conditions, including leprosy, but it is valued chiefly as a revitalizing herb that strengthens nervous function and memory. It has a bittersweet, acrid taste, and in India it is sometimes used in salads and as
a vegetable.
 QCautions Can occasionally cause sensitivity to sunlight. Restricted
herb in some countries. May cause allergic reactions in rare cases.
Infusion (to make, p. 291). For
rheumatism, take 7 tsp twice a day.seed in spring. The aerial parts are
harvested throughout the year.
Related Species
Marsh pennywort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris) is a related European species, but, unlike gotu kola, has no known therapeutic uses.
Key Constituents
■ Triterpenoid saponins (asiaticoside,
 brahmoside, thankuniside)
■ Alkaloids (hydrocotyline)
■ Bitter principles (vellarin)
Key Actions
■ Wound healer
■ Tonic
■ Anti-inflammatory
■ Sedative
■ Peripheral vasodilator
Tincture (to make, p. 292). For poor memory and concentration,
take 40 drops with water 3 times a day.
US_076-077_Centella_Camomilla.indd   76 07/04/16   4:37 pm77 key medicinal plantsChamomilla re Cutita
Making infusion  with flower heads
(see p. 291). For a good night’s sleep,
drink 3⁄4 cup (150 ml) before bed.Flower heads  may be used fresh
or dried. They should be picked on
the day they open, when the active
constituents are at their strongest.
Essential oil  For diaper rash,
combine 5 drops with 1 tbsp
carrier oil and apply.Cream  (to make,
p. 296). Rub on to
sore or itchy skin.Flower heads
contain volatile
oil, which has
antiallergenic
compoundsChamomilla recutita syn. matricaria recutita  (Asteraceae)
German Chamomile
Habitat & Cultivation
German chamomile grows in much
of Europe and other temperate
regions. The seeds are sown in spring
or autumn and the flower heads are
picked in full bloom, in summer.
Key Constituents
■ Volatile oil (proazulenes, farnesine,
 alpha-bisabolol, spiroether)
■ Flavonoids
■ Bitter glycosides (anthemic acid)
■ Coumarins
Key Actions
■ Anti-inflammatory
■ Antiallergenic
■ Antispasmodic
■ Relaxant
■ Carminative
Research
■ Trials in Germany  A cream
made from German chamomile
was tested in 1987 for its ability to
heal wounds. The results produced
were very positive. In 1993, another
trial using German chamomile and
four other herbs showed them
to be most effective at easing
infantile colic. ■ Premenstrual syndrome
An Iranian clinical trial compared
chamomile with mefenamic acid for
relief of premenstrual syndrome
symptoms. Both were found effective
in relieving the physical symptoms
of premenstrual syndrome, but
chamomile proved better in
relieving emotional symptoms.
Traditional &
Current Uses
■ Digestive problems German
chamomile has been taken for
digestive problems since at least
the 1st century ce. Gentle and
efficacious, it is very suitable for
children. The herb is valuable for
pain, indigestion, acidity, gastritis, gas,
bloating, and colic. It is also
used for hiatal hernia, peptic ulcer,
Crohn’s disease, and irritable
bowel syndrome.
■ Relaxation  German chamomile,
which contains spiroether, a strong
antispasmodic, eases tense muscles
and period pain. It is known that
women in ancient Rome commonly
took chamomile to relieve menstrual
cramps. Chamomile flowers also
reduce irritability and promote
sleep—especially helpful for children.
■ Irritation  The herb is useful
for hay fever and asthma. On steam
distillation, the pro azulenes produce
chamazulene, which is markedly
antiallergenic. Externally, it can be
applied to sore, itchy skin, sore
nipples, and eczema. It also relieves
eyestrain. A poultice can be applied
to sore breasts.
Self-help Uses
■ Bites & stings, p. 303.German chamomile
A sweetly aromatic
annual growing to
2 ft (60 cm), with finely
cut leaves and white
flower heads.
■ Congestion & hay fever, p. 312.
■ Colic, p. 318.
■ Eczema, p. 300.
■ Indigestion, p. 307.
■ Insomnia, p. 309.German chamomile  is a useful herb to
cultivate for home use.Parts Used
Key Preparations & Their UsesDried
 flower headsFresh flower
headsGerman chamomile’s aromatic, slightly bitter taste,
reminiscent of apples, is familiar to herbal tea drinkers.
The herb’s varied medicinal uses, however, are not as
well known. It is an excellent herb for many digestive
disorders and for nervous tension and irritability.
Externally, it is used for sore skin and eczema. Roman
chamomile ( Chamaemelum nobile, p. 187) is a close
relation, used in a similar way.
 QCautions  The fresh plant can cause dermatitis. Do not take the essential oil
internally except under professional supervision.T ake only on professional advice if
using blood-thinning medication. Do not use the oil externally during pregnancy.
Infusion To relax irritable and overtired children, infuse 4 tsp dried herb
in 2 cups (500 ml) water ( see p. 291) and strain into a bath.
Ointment (to make, p. 295). Rub onto sore or inflamed skin.
Tincture (to make, p. 292). For irritable bowel syndrome, take 1 tsp diluted
with 1⁄2 cup (100 ml) water 3 times a day.
■ Mild asthma, p. 301.
■ Morning sickness, p. 317.
■ Sore & tired eyes, p. 310.
■ Sore nipples, p. 315.
■ Stomach spasm, p. 305.
US_076-077_Centella_Camomilla.indd   77 26/02/16   3:58 pm
78
key medicinal plantsChrysanthemum x morifolium
Poultice (to make, p. 295). For eyestrain,
steep flower heads in hot water for 10
minutes and place them on closed eyes.Infusion of flower heads (p. 291).
For tension headaches, drink
3⁄4 cup (150 ml) at hourly intervals.Chrysanthemum x morifolium (Asteraceae)
Ju Hua (Chinese), Florists’ ChrysanthemumJu hua
A perennial growing to about 5 ft (1.5 m), with flower heads composed of yellow ray florets.
Ju hua flowers are colorful and have
been used medicinally in China since  the 1st century ce.
Habitat & Cultivation
Ju hua is native to China. Today, it is
mostly cultivated, and is propagated from cuttings in spring or early summer. The flower heads are gathered in autumn when fully open. They are usually dried in the sun, which can take a long time.
Related Species
Wild chrysanthemum, ye hu hua  (C. indicum), has a similar use in
Chinese herbal medicine.
Many other closely related species have an established therapeutic value, for example tansy (Tanacetum vulgare, p. 274) and feverfew  (T. parthenium, p. 140).
Key Constituents
■ Alkaloids, including stachydrine
■ Volatile oil
■ Sesquiterpene lactones
■ Flavonoids, including apigenin
■ Betaine & choline
■ Vitamin B1
Parts Used Key Preparations & Their Uses
Flower heads are gathered in


izome is unearthed in autumn.
Part Used Rhizome.
Constituents Solomon’s seal contains steroidal
saponins (similar to diosgenin), flavonoids, and
vitamin A.
History & Folklore Solomon’s seal has been
used in Western herbal medicine since classical
times. In China, the herb’s first recorded use
stretches back to the Divine Husbandman’s Classic
(Shen’nong Bencaojing ) of the 1st century ce.
In North America, the species P. biflorum  was
known to various native tribes. The Penobscot
used Solomon’s seal as part of a formula for
treating gonorrhea.
Medicinal Actions & Uses Like arnica
(Arnica montana,  p. 172), Solomon’s seal is believed
to prevent excessive bruising and to stimulate
tissue repair. The rhizome, which is mainly used
in the form of a poultice, has astringent and
demulcent actions that undoubtedly contribute
to its ability to accelerate healing. Solomon’s seal
has also been recommended for tuberculosis, as
a remedy for menstrual problems, and as a tonic.
In Chinese herbal medicine, it is considered a yin
tonic, and is thought to be particularly applicable
to respiratory system problems—sore throats,
dry and irritable coughs, bronchial congestion, and
chest pain.
Related Species Angular or scented Solomon’s
seal ( P. odoratum ) is used in much the same way as
P. multiflorum.
 QCaution Do not take internally except under
professional advice. The aerial parts, especially
the berries, are harmful if eaten. Polygonum bistorta
Polygonum bistorta
(Polygonaceae)
Bistort
Description Perennial growing to 12 in (30 cm).
Has long basal leaves, dense spikes of small pink
flowers, and dark nutlets.
Habitat & Cultivation Native to Europe,
Asia, and North America, bistort prefers damp
conditions. The leaves are gathered in spring, the
rhizome in autumn.
Parts Used Leaves, rhizome.
Constituents Bistort contains polyphenols
(including ellagic acid), tannins (15–20%),
phlobaphenes, flavonoids, and a trace of the
anthraquinone emodin.
History & Folklore Bistort rhizomes have
long been employed for their astringency. As the
rhizomes also contain large amounts of starch, they
have been steeped in water, roasted, and eaten as
a vegetable in Russia and North
America. In addition, the young,
tender leaves of bistort may
be used in salads or,
alternatively, cooked
in the same way as
spinach ( Spinacia oleracea ).
Medicinal Actions
& Uses One of the most
strongly astringent of all
herbs, bistort is used to
contract tissues and staunch
blood flow. It makes a valuable
mouthwash and gargle for
treating spongy gums, mouth
ulcers, and sore throats, and is also
useful as a wash for small burns and
wounds, a douche for excessive
Rhizome
Bistort is one of the most
astringent of all medicinal plants.Polygonum aviculare
(Polygonaceae)
Knotgrass,
Bian Xu (Chinese)
Description Annual creeper growing to 20 in
(50 cm). Has lance-shaped leaves and clusters of
small pink or white flowers.
Habitat & Cultivation Knotgrass is found in
temperate regions throughout the world. It thrives
on wasteground and along shorelines. The plant is
gathered throughout the summer.
Parts Used Aerial parts.
Constituents Knotgrass contains tannins,
flavonoids, polyphenols, silicic acid (about 1%),
and mucilage.
History & Folklore Knotgrass has been
used as a diuretic in Chinese herbal medicine
for over 2,000 years. In the Western tradition,
the 1st-century ce physician Dioscorides
likewise considered knotgrass to be a diuretic,
as well as a remedy for heavy menstrual bleeding
and snake bite.
Medicinal Actions & Uses An herb with
astringent and diuretic properties, knotgrass is
used in European herbal medicine to treat many
conditions—diarrhea and hemorroids, to expel
worms, to staunch bleeding wounds, to reduce
heavy menstrual flow, and to stop nosebleeds.
Knotgrass is also taken for pulmonary complaints,
since its silicic acid content strengthens connective
tissue within the lungs. In Chinese medicine, it is
given to expel tapeworm and hookworm, to treat
diarrhea and dysentery, and as a diuretic,
particularly when urination is painful.
Research Chinese research indicates that the
plant is a useful medicine for bacillary dysentery.
Of 108 people with this disease treated with a
paste of knotgrass (taken internally), 104
recovered within 5 days. Results from Iranian
laboratory studies indicate that knotgrass
stimulates apoptosis (programmed cell death) and
might be of use in treating breast cancer.
Related Species See also bistort ( P. bistorta,
following entry ), and he shou wu
(P. multiflorum, p. 124).Solomon’s seal is
mostly used for throat
and chest problems.
US_246-265_Pergularia_Extensa_Salvia_Sclarea.indd   253 26/02/16   12:47 pm
254
other medicinal plantsPolymnia uvedalia
vaginal discharge, and an ointment for hemorroids
and anal fissures. Internally, bistort may be taken to treat peptic ulcers, ulcerative colitis, and conditions such as dysentery and irritable bowel that give rise to diarrhea.
Related Species P. hydropiper, which is
native to Europe, may be used to relieve heavy menstrual bleeding. See also knotgrass (P. aviculare, preceding entry).
Caution Use bistort internally for no more than
3–4 weeks at a time.
Self-help Use Diarrhea, p. 307. Kumarhou is considered to be a detoxifier and “blood cleansing” plant, and is used to treat skin rashes and sores, including lesions produced by  skin cancer.
Populus x candicans syn.
P. x gileadensis (Salicaceae)
Balm of Gilead
Description Deciduous tree growing to 80 ft
(25 m). Has heart-shaped leaves, buds producing
a sticky resin, and female catkins.
Habitat & Cultivation Naturalized in northern
temperate regions, balm of Gilead is also cultivated as an ornamental tree. The buds and bark from young branches are collected in spring.
Parts Used Buds, stem bark.
Constituents Balm of Gilead buds contain
flavonoids, phenolic glycosides (including salicin), and fatty acids. Salicin’s analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and fever-reducing actions resemble those of aspirin. Many poplars have a similar chemical profile and are often used interchangeably as medicines.
History & Folklore Balm of Gilead has been
used for several thousand years to soothe inflamed or irritated skin. The 17th-century herbalist Nicholas Culpeper recorded that “The oyntment called populeon, which is much of this poplar, is singular for all heat and inflammation in any part of the body and tempereth the heat of wounds: It is much used to dry up the milk in women’s breasts.”
Medicinal Actions & Uses Balm of Gilead
is a common ingredient of cough mixtures. Its expectorant, antiseptic, and analgesic properties make it an excellent remedy for sore throats, dry irritable coughs, bronchitis, and other respiratory ailments. In France and Germany, balm of Gilead  is applied as a salve to scrapes, small wounds, chapped and itchy skin, sunburn, chilblains, and hemorroids. A preparation of balm of Gilead, applied externally, may also help relieve the pain  of rheumatic joints and strained muscles. As Culpeper noted, the plant is also thought to reduce breast-milk production.
Research Studies
have demonstrated that balm of Gilead  buds have significant expectorant, antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. Research undertaken into  the bud resin of this and  other poplar species has been prompted largely by the resin’s chemical similarity to propolis,  a natural antibiotic resin that  is gathered by bees.History & Folklore Polypody has been
used medicinally in Europe since ancient times.
Like mistletoe (Viscum album, p. 283), polypody  often grows on host trees, for example oak
(Quercus robur, p. 260). This was thought to impart great medicinal value to the plant. The Greek physician Dioscorides, writing in the 1st century ce, noted that polypody was used to purge phlegm and was an ingredient of a plaster applied to dislocated fingers and to sores that occur between the fingers.
Medicinal Actions & Uses Polypody
stimulates bile


 a faith in a power greater than yourself and know that with His help you can
regain health and harmony.
3.  Make the decision to turn your will and your life o ver to the care of God.
4.  Conduct a complete self-analysis to better understa nd your own emotions.
5.  Admit to God, to yourself, and to others the exact nature of what you find to be your
shortcomings.
6.  Be willing to give up what you are doing wrong.
7.  Seek through prayer to improve your conscious conta ct with God. Pray only for
knowledge of His will for you and the strength to c arry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of thi s action, practice these principles in your every
thought.
Just as the body must be purged and cleansed, so mu st the emotions and spirit be purified. This is
a comparatively simple task to accomplish, but do n ot lull yourself into believing that it is an
easy task. Rigorous self-discipline and the ability  to grasp and develop a manner of living with
complete honesty in all of your actions and thought  are necessary. You must become strong
willed to be a winner in accomplishing that which y ou set out to do for yourself. You will look
for all the good in everything and refuse to accept  any negation.
STOP! LISTEN!
Listen with your heart
He’s been knocking softly
Just ask Him to come in
He made you
He loves you
He’s always been there
He is the truth
He not only has
The answers He is the
Answer for you
The Lord is the Light
Through Him you’ll
see the Father
He’s knocking
He’s knocking
Just let Him come in
and His gift to you
Will be Heaven
Mrs. John Mark Kelley (Dei)  *Chapter VIII*
Metabolic Typing —
Discovering Your Personal Nutritional Needs
Without knowing your metabolic type, you are guessi ng as to what foods and supplements you
should take. This chapter explains how you can deve lop a personalized nutritional program that
gives you the results you want.
A person may be following a program of the best foo ds, the best supplements, and plenty of
exercise — but how does he or she know  that those really are the best  foods for them? Each of us
is different and has a different metabolism.
Many of the world’s leading scientists including, f or instance, biochemist Dr. Roger Williams,
author of many excellent and well-known books such as You Are Extraordinary, and Nobel Prize
Winning Physicist, Dr. Linus Pauling, have proven t his through their own research.
Basic Metabolic Considerations
Individuals are classified into ten basic types, wh ich are named "Metabolic Types One through
Ten." By classifying each person into their own pro per type, it is possible to determine
accurately what vitamins, minerals, foods, and othe r supplements would best support his or her
own body chemistry. Equally important, it is possib le to know what supplements and foods they
should not  have. With the knowledge of these factors, it is p ossible to design a program that has
the fullest potential. All people fall into one of the metabolic types, that is to say they fall into
one of the basic ways the body functions. Each pers on’s body takes in food, water and air. How a
person uses these raw materials to maintain life di ffers from one person to another. This function
of maintaining life is called metabolism and is nor mally defined as the sum total of all the
chemical reactions occurring in the body.
The Nervous System
The body has two nervous systems — the voluntary ne rvous system and the autonomic nervous
system.
The Voluntary Nervous System
The voluntary nervous system is that part of the br ain and nerves that are under the control of the
conscious mind. Activities that you have definite c ontrol over, like making decisions, walking,
speaking and the like are controlled by the volunta ry nervous system.
The Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system is that part of the br ain and nervous system that carries on the
functions of the body that we have very little or n o conscious control over. The autonomic nervous system controls such activities as our hear tbeat, respiration and reflexes (like what
happens when a person sits on a tack).
The autonomic nervous system regulates the basic li fe-sustaining functions of the body such as
the turning on and off of glands and organs, mainta ining the acid/alkaline balance of the blood,
saliva, and urine, digestion of food, balancing gla ndular functions, turning the cells on and off,
and stimulating and retarding the body and its part s.
The autonomic nervous system is the master regulato r of metabolism. It determines how
efficiently and effectively the body uses food, wat er and air.
The Autonomic Nervous System Consists of Two Divisi ons
The autonomic nervous system consists of two divisi ons. One division is called the sympathetic
nervous system and the other division is called the  parasympathetic nervous system. Each of
these two divisions sends messages in the form of e lectric current to the different parts of the
body. There is a nerve from each of the divisions t o each part of the body.
The Sympathetic Nervous System
The sympathetic nervous system sends messages that in general accelerate or speed up our
activities.
The Parasympathetic Nervous System
The parasympathetic nervous system sends messages t hat in general retard or slow down our
activities.
Three Groups — Ten Types
The autonomic nervous system plays a major role in the classification of the metabolic types.
The ten metabolic types have been arranged into thr ee groups:
1.  Group A, which includes the Sympathetic Dominant Metabolic Types: One, Four, and
Six.
2.  Group B, which includes the Parasympathetic Dominant Metabolic Types: Two, Five,
and Seven.
3.  Group C, which includes the Balanced Sympathetic/Parasympathetic  Metabolic Types:
Three, Eight, Nine and Ten.
Group A — Sympathetic — Vegetarian Types
Group A metabolizers are classed as Types One, Four  and Six. These types have very strong or
dominant sympathetic nervous systems. These types h ave very strong functions of the brain,
pineal, anterior pituitary, parathyroid, thyroid, a nd adrenal medulla glands; heart, bone, muscle
and connective tissue, kidneys, gonads (ovaries or testes), and uterus or prostate. Their muscles are usually quite well developed and show good musc le tone. Their hearts normally beat a little
fast. Constipation is an ever-present plague. Frequ ently insomnia is a problem. Tension,
hyperactivity and drive are their plight.
Sympathetic Metabolizers Are More Prone To:
Achlorhydria
Acidosis
Acne
Alcoholism (to slow down)
Anemia
Angina pectoris
Anxiety
Appetite, diminished
Arteriosclerosis (hardening of arteries)
Arthritis, rheumatoid
Bleeding (slow to stop)
Blood pressure, high
Bowel movement every 2-3 days
Boils
Bones, pain in
Breathing, rapid & irregular
Buerger’s Disease
Bursitis
Cancer
Canker sores
Carbohydrate metabolism, slow
Caries (cavities)
Cataracts
Chorea
Circulation, poor from muscle tension
Colitis, ulcerative
Conjunctivitis
Constipation
Cystitis
Dehydration
Diabetes
Digestion, slow
Dizziness
Earache
Emotional instability, easily upset
Endurance, lack of
Energy reserve, low
Epilepsy
Extremities, cold from tension
Eyes, dry Fat metabolism, slow
Febrile diseases
Food, feels like rock in stomach
Function well in hot climate
Gag easily
Gas, sweet odor
Glossitis
Goiter
Gout
Halitosis
Heart attacks, several
Heartburn
Heart rhythm, regular & fast
Headaches; migraine, tension
Healing; bones, fast
Healing; tissues, slow
Hemorrhoids
High temperatures
Hyperirritability
Hypertension
Hypochlorhydria
Indigestion
Infections, bacterial
Insomnia
Ketosis
Kidney, infections
Kidney stones
Legs, restless at night
Mastitis
Moods, frequent severe changes
Mouth, dry
Myocarditis
Nephritis
Nervous strain
Numbness
Oxygen metabolism, poor
Pain, unusual sensitivity
Pellagra
Peyronie’s Disease
Photophobia
Pneumonia
Protein metabolism, poor
Pulse, fast
Purpura
Rheumatic fever
Sensitivity to light Sensitivity to shots, vaccinations
Skin, dry & thick
Sour stomach
Stools; dry, light in color, ribbon-like
Sweating, little
Teeth, pearly white
Tinnitus aurium
Tonsillitis
Tremors, muscle
Ulcers, gastric
Uremia


  approaching an important time in our conversation. We’ve looked closely —
perhaps more closely than ever before —at the Mechanics of the Mind. Now that we
understand how everything works, we’v e arrived at the moment when you have an
opportunity to make a decision about the second, third, and fourth of the Nine Changes that
you are being called to consider.
I see that you have already decided to make the First Change, to change your decision to
“go it alone,” otherwise you wouldn’t still be with me.
The next three are...
Change #2 : Change your choice of emotions
Change #3 : Change your choice of thoughts
Change #4 : Change your choice of truths
You can do this right now. You can use the Mechanics of the Mind to change  your mind
about the change that is taking place in your life right now.
Look right now at the emotion you’ve been feeling these past few days. Is it anger? It is
fear? Is it grief? Is it frustration? Is it worry? Is it sadness? Is it disappointment,
disillusionment?
Write down on a sheet of paper the emotions you have been feeling as a result of the
change in your life circumstance. Finish the followin g sentence...
In the aftermath of what has happened....
No, really, do this. This can help you. So go grab a piece of paper and do this. Describe in
a few words the emotions you’ve been feeling and are feeling now. You might write, I have
been feelin g... fearful. Or you might write, I have been feeling... sad. Or you might write, I
have been feeling... angry. Or all of the above.
Good.
Now write down the thoughts that you’ve had that have sponsored those emotions.
Finish the following sentenc e...
When I contemplate all that has occurred and is occurring, I think that I...
... now complete the sentence. You might write, I think that I... will never be happy
again. Or you might write, I think that I... have been treated unfairly. Or you might write, I
think that I... am in trouble here and am not going to be able to easily get out. Or whatever
you think when you contemplate the change in your life.
Good.
Now, write down the truth that you hold that sponsored those thoughts. Finish the
following sentence...
My truth about this situation is that... ... now complete the sentence. You might write, My truth about this situation is that... it
is hurtful...  or... it is dangerous...  or... it cannot be  solved...  or... it....
Now, look at the Judged Past Data from which this truth emerges. See now if you can
look past that Judged Past Data for just a moment, to the Factual Past Data. What is factual,
without making a judgment one way or the othe r, about situations such as the present
situation? What has your past told you, factually, about these situations?
Pretend that you are Mr. Spock on the starship Enterprise. Look at it logically. Looking at
Past Data logically, and utterly without judgment, what do you see is true about the last two
or three times this sort of thing has happened to you? Has it inflicted any kind of life -
damaging injury, from which you have not been able to recover? Have you, in fact,
recovered from a lot worse than this? Ha ve, in some instances, things even turned out for
the better when all was said and done? What is the Factual  Past Data about all of this?
Now look to see... does this impact your truth about the Present Moment experience in
any way? Can you cause it  to impact your truth in any way? If you could, how would you
cause it to affect your truth? Could you go so far as to create a brand new truth about what
just happened?
Can you see yourself elevating from the Imagined Truth to the Apparent Truth?
This stuff w orks, my wonderful friend. This stuff works. But right now, listen to what
your mind is telling you. Is it saying, “Yeah, yeah, for you it works. But for me, life is a
constant struggle” —? Is that what your mind is saying right now? If not, great. But if i t is,
then start where Mary O’Malley, in her deep wisdom, would advise: curiosity and
compassion. Just allow yourself to be curious about what your mind is saying, and have
compassion for what you learn. Mary softly suggests asking these questions of yours elf:
What is the way through this? What am I really? What is asking to be seen? What do I need
to say, do, or be that is for the highest good? What is needing my loving attention? What is
the next step in my life?
“Bear witness.” Watch gently where your mi nd is going, what your mind is doing. Do not
make yourself “wrong” for it. Do not scold yourself or berate yourself, and above all, do not
abandon yourself. Just be with yourself and be curious about yourself and ask yourself
questions about yourself. And most of all, love yourself through all of it.
Stay with yourself, bring yourself to the present moment, maybe by just listening to your
breath, maybe by looking at something in the room. Then quietly, softly, give yourself
permission to make a new choice i f you wish. Embrace a new truth.
We will conclude part 1  of this extraordinary exploration of how you can change
everything... with a final insight about the Mechanics of the Mind:
TRUTH IS CREATED, IT IS NOT DISCOVERED.
God  says, “Lay the Hammer down.”
Which is really my own voice, make no mistake.
And it is your own voice, too.
So “Lay the Hammer down”
and bring your hand to your lips,  or lay it against your heart, whispering
“Sweet forgiveness,”
though there is nothing to forgive.
All we do is try to Love.
It appears as everything: anger, fear, and hurt of every kind.
But all we do is try to Love.
There is nothing to forgive
save, lifting the Hammer again...
—‘Lay the Hammer Down’  © 2007 Em Claire  PART TWO
The  System of the Soul
And how knowing about that can help you create the changes in your life, rather than endure
them  16.
THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING
NOW WE LAUNCH INTO  what I consider to be the most exciting portion of this or any other
book.
Did I just say, “Or any other book?” Yes, I did. Because I don’t think there’s any book ever
written  that contains information more vital, more crucial, more critical, more important,
more empowering, and more directly connected to your ability to experience life as you
have always wished and hoped and aspired to experience it, than the information you are
going to be given right now.
I hope you will make notes in the margins everywhere. I hope that the pages become
ragged and dog -eared and thin from wear. If you’re readin g this electronically, I hope you
will highlight every line and paragraph that shouts to you in your soul’s own voice: This is
what you came here to hear.
I want to tell you now about the System of the Soul.
The Mechanics of the Mind were just that: the me chanics, the interlocking, interacting
devices in what I like to call “the engine of your experience.” What we’ll be examining now
is the fuel. This is where the engine gets its power. And when we finish with the
explorations in the second part of this boo k, you’ll have everything you need to change
everything when everything changes.
In a world that is constantly changing and a personal life that seems buffeted by major
changes every time you turn around, it is important to understand how and why you
exper ience change the way that you do, so that you can change  your experience of change if
you wish.
It is not easy to observe collapse, calamity, and catastrophe and remain at peace. Yet it
can be done —and here, you and I are going to look at how.
We’ll begin our exploration of the System of the Soul by announcing that you have  a soul.
This is not a “given” for all people. There are those who believe that humans are simply
particular forms of life, that there is no “spirit” that lives inside of them. The discus sion that
follows presumes that the previous statement is mistaken. It further presumes the
existence of what we might call an Oversoul —or what some people refer to as God.
These presumptions are based on more than blind faith. They are based on observation,
logic, and the extrapolation of both.
We know from just a casual look at the Universe that energy exists. This energy appears
to be at the core of every living thing —and, indeed, of everything, whether we normally
refer to it as “living” or no t.
For instance, to use our previous example, a rock


 of thanks to Ra chel Berkowitz, in the foreign rights
department, w ho has been in strumental in helping to spread my
work ar ound th e world. The p ublic has little idea of how dedicated
the team  at a publishing house needs to be and how mu ch they
love books and serve writers. Many thanks.
A special thanks to Poonacha Machaiah, an inspired innovator,
good friend, and wise guide.
Finally, there is everyone clo ser to home. I would like to t hank
the teams in California and in New York: Paulette Cole, MarcNadeau, Teana David, Sara McDonald, Aaron Marion, Angie Lile,
Attila Ambrus, and Kendall Mar-Horstman.
The newest collaborators in my life are the Infinite Potential
podcast team: Jan Cohen, David Shadrack Smith, Julie Magruder,
and friends at Cadence 13— thank you for allowing me to be
connected to the digital world along such a productive new path.
While Metahuman  was being written, a year of new challenges
faced the Chopra Foundation board of directors, who adapted with
fantastic suppo rt and guidance, so deepest thanks to Alice Walton,
Matthew Harris, Ray Chambers, Francois Ferre, Fred Matser, Paul
Johnson, and Ajay Gupta, along with the “explorers” who are on
the journey of a wareness. I’d also like to welcome Tonia O’ Connor,
CEO of Chopra Global.
My family has grown over the years, gone through many
changes, and yet continues t o be a source of loving warmth and
joy: Rita, Mallika, Sumant, Gotham, Candice, Krishan, Tara, Leela,
and Geeta, I hold you in my heart forever.A B O U T  T H E  A U T H O R
DEEPAK CHO PRA, M.D., FACP, founder of the Ch opra
Foundation and cofounder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing and
Jiyo, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and
personal transformation, and he is board certified in internal
medicine, endocrinology, and metabolism. He is a Fellow  of the
American College of Physicians; a clinical professor in the
Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the
University of California, San Diego; a researcher of neurology and
psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital; and a member of
the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. The
WorldPost  and The Huffington Post  global Internet survey ranked
Dr. Cho pra as #17 of the most  influential thinkers in the w orld and
#1 in medicine. Chopra is the author of more than 8 5 books
translated into over 43 languages, including numerous New York
Times  bestsellers. Time  magazine has described Dr. Chopra as
“one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.”Wat’s next on
your reading list?
Discover your next
great read!
Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.
Sign up now.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>THERAPEUTIC
FASTING
BY ARNOLD DEVRIES
COPYRIGHT © 1963 BY ARNOLD DE VRIES

All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof,
must not be reproduced in any form
without permission.
FOURTH EDITION
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Published by Chandler Book Co., Box 75923, Los Angeles 5, California   2  TABLE OF CONTENTS
I Forms of Fasting______________________________________________3
II A Short History of Fasting_____________________________________4
IlI Physiological Reactions to Fasting_____________________________7
IV Efficiency of Fasting________________________________________15
V The Complete Fast___________________________________________34
VI Safely of the Fast___________________________________________40
VII Symptoms of the Fast________________________________________45
VIII Supervising the Fast_______________________________________53
IX Breaking the Fast___________________________________________60
X Living after the Fast__________________________________________66
Bibliography__________________________________________________74   3 I Forms of Fasting
THE TERM, fasting, implies total or partial abstinence from food or water for
any of a number of reasons. Thus one may refer to fruit fasts, vegetable fasts, milk
fasts, water fasts and many other types. As the different reasons for fasting are
considered, other divisions may be given — religious fasting, professional fasting,
physiological fasting, pathological fasting and accidental or experimental fasting.
A fruit fast is abstinence from fruit; a vegetable fast is abstinence from vegeta-
bles; a milk fast is abstinence from milk; a water fast is abstinence from water, and
similar fasts may be defined accordingly. Religious fasting is abstinence to de-
velop spiritual thought or fulfill a religious rite. Professional fasting is abstinence
for purposes of notoriety and publicity. Physiological fasting is normal inanition in
nature, such as the hibernation and seasonal abstinence of certain animals.
Pathological fasting is associated with organic derangements which make one un-
able to take or retain food. Accidental or experimental fasting is forced inanition
among man or animals for purposes of scientific investigation.
These are the recognized forms of fasting. Yet, there is another, and perhaps
much more important, classification which is seldom given mention or even known
about. This is therapeutic fasting — total abstinence from all food, but not water.
The purpose of therapeutic fasting is the promotion and restoration of health. It is
associated with experimental and physiological fasting in the sense that studies of
the latter provide the knowledge and information which make therapeutic fasting
possible.
Therapeutic fasting is not the result of any particular new scientific discovery,   4 but rather has proceeded to its present development as the result of centuries of
experimentation, observation and study. It is today the culmination of a large
number of scientific investigations and discoveries which have reached their cli-
max during the past century. Fasting for therapeutic purposes is thus an impor-
tant, though in popular conception, almost unknown, phase of the modern science
of medicine, and as such it is the subject of our present inquiry and analysis.

II A Short History of Fasting
THE ORIGIN OF FASTING for illness perhaps dates back the development of
the present forms of animal life.
Among undomesticated animals it is a common practice to fast when ill, though
this is of course an instinctive procedure rather than a planned therapeutic meas-
ure. The first records of human fasting for the remedy of disease go back to the
ancient civilizations of Greece and the Near East. Both Plato and Socrates are
said to have fasted for 10 days at a time to "attain mental and physical efficiency."
Pythagoras fasted for 40 days before taking his examination at the University of
Alexandria, and then he also required his pupils to fast before they could enter his
class. The ancient Egyptians were said to treat syphilis with their fasting cures,
and the great Greek physician, Hippocrates, prescribed fasting during the critical
periods of disease. Asclepiades and Thessalus employed fasting; Celsus is said
to have used it in the treatment of jaundice and epilepsy, and the Arab physician,
Avicenna, prescribed fasting for three to five weeks at a time. Later Tertullian
wrote of fasting, and Plutarch said: "Instead of using medicine better fast a day."   5 During the sixteenth century, the renowned Swiss physician, Paracelsus
claimed that, "Fasting is the greatest remedy." In the seventeenth century, Dr.
Hoffman wrote a book entitled, Description of the Magnificent Results Obtained
Through Fasting in All Diseases. Dr. Anton Nikolai followed in the next century
with recommendations of fasting instead of food for those who were ill. Later Dr.
Von Seeland, of Russia, wrote: "As a result of experiments I have come to the
conclusion that fasting is not only a therapeutic of the highest degree possible but
also deserves consideration educationally." In Germany, Dr. Adolph Mayer as-
serted that "fasting is the most efficient means of correcting any disease," and Dr.
Moeller wrote that "fasting is the only natural evolutionary method whereby
through a systemic cleansing you can restore yourself by degrees to physiologic
normality." It has been during the past century that the greater portion of scientific
data has been gathered. Both Europe (in particular, Germany) and America have
contributed heavily to the research on experimental and physiological fasting.
Hundreds of publications have been the result of this work and they provide thor-
ough and exact knowledge regarding many phases of fasting. Among the best
known research scientists who studied fasting were: Sergius Morgulis, Professor
of Biochemistry at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine; Professor
Child, of the University of Chicago; Herbert Sidney Langfield, of Harvard Univer-
sity; Dr. Frederick M. Allen, of the Rockefeller Institute; Francis Gano Benedict and
Ernest G. Ritzman, of the Carnegie Institute; Luigi Luciani, Professor of Physiol-
ogy at the University of Rome; and Victor Pashutin, Director of the Imperial Mili-
tary Medical Academy of pre-revolutionary Russia. Other scientific studies of fast-
ing have been made by N. Pyaskovski, W Skorczewski,, N. J. Sands, A. Cleghorn,
N. Morozov, P B. Hawk,


	have	its	special	challenges,	because	it
certainly	does.	The	point	is	that	adding	to	those	challenges	with	stressful
pressures	at	home	is	just	as	damaging	as	if	the	pressure	was	applied	at	work.It	is	generally	futile	to	approach	someone	else	and	say,	“I’m	sorry,	but	your
behavior	is	stressing	me	out.”	All	you’ll	get	is	a	defensive	response	that	pushes
you	away.	The	focus	must	be	on	you	instead.
By	reversing	your	own	stressful	behavior,	you	become	a	healer	of	stress,
breaking	the	circle	once	and	for	all.	This	is	actually	a	powerful	approach	that
can	cause	other	people	who	have	caused	you	stress	to	change	before	your	eyes.
We’ve	seen	it	work	with	all	kinds	of	difficult	people,	both	at	home	and	in	the
office.
TWELVE	WAYS	YOU	CAN	HEAL	STRESS
Behaviors	that	reduce	pressure	on	yourself	and	others:
1.
Back	away	from	being	demanding,	critical,	and	a	perfectionist.
2.
Be	more	consistent	and	less	changeable	in	what	you	ask	of	others.
3.
Never	show	disrespect	for	other	people.
4.
Maintain	a	dignified	environment	(e.g.,	a	place	where	bad	language,
gossip,	and	sexual	remarks	are	not	condoned).
5.
Give	other	people	their	own	space.
6.
Deal	with	your	own	stress	instead	of	passing	it	down	the	line.
7.
Don’t	create	pets	and	favorites	at	the	expense	of	someone	who	gets
excluded	or	demeaned.
8.
Never	offer	criticism	in	public	or	at	the	dinner	table.
9.
Take	a	personal	interest	in	others,	offering	appreciation	and	praise
generously.
10.
Be	loyal;	show	that	you	can	be	trusted.
11.
When	someone	else	is	talking,	pay	attention	and	then	follow	through	if
they	need	something.
12.
Ask	for	more	input	from	others,	showing	that	you	value	their	experience
and	knowledge.
Think	of	these	things	in	terms	of	letting	inner	beauty	go	viral.	With	small
changes	of	behavior,	along	with	self-awareness,	you	will	be	surprised	to	find	that
you	are	becoming	a	beacon	of	light.	This	is	testimony	to	your	new	reality:	you
have	truly	dedicated	yourself	to	the	path.	The	gap	between	your	social	self	and
your	true	self	is	closing	more	and	more,	and	the	beauty	of	your	true	self	is
becoming	a	reality.S
TAGE	4:
RESTING	INTO	EXISTENCE
Every	woman	knows	the	feeling	of	not	being	enough.	So	much	is	asked	of
today’s	woman—and	she	asks	even	more	of	herself—that	insecurity	is	just	the
beginning.	There	is	a	constant	struggle	against	feeling	anxious	or	depressed.
There	is	doubt	about	how	one	set	of	values—being	successful	and	highly
competent—can	really	be	compatible	with	another	set	of	values—being	loved,
cherished,	and	honored.	The	nagging	question	“Can	I	have	it	all?”	hangs	over
the	minds	of	millions	of	women	every	day.
The	answer	to	“Can	I	have	it	all?”	isn’t	easy	to	find	in	our	society,	but	we	feel
that	there	is	an	answer	that	gets	overlooked.	You	can	have	it	all	when	you
realize	that
you	are	all
.	There’s	nothing	you	can	buy	in	any	store	that	will	fill	any
empty	feeling	of	lack.	But	when	you	find	inner	fulfillment,	having	it	all	is
replaced	by	inner	contentment	with	yourself,	here	and	now,	lacking	nothing.
Let’s	say	this	is	the	right	answer.	How	do	you	arrive	at	this	state	of	total	inner
fulfillment?	By	realizing	your	spiritual	beauty.	And	how	do	you	do	that?	By
following	the	most	powerful	instructions	on	the	spiritual	path:
Surrender
Let	go
Accept
Be
These	instructions	aren’t	easy	to	follow.	We	all	feel	a	powerful	desire
to	do
something
.	We	hate	putting	up	with	the	bad	things	in	our	lives.	Society	promotes
the	image	of	the	go-getting,	competitive	person	who	is	constantly	on	the	move.
It’s	no	surprise,	then,	that	we’ve	lost	the	skill—and	the	wisdom—of	just	letting
go.	We	equate	hanging	loose	with	doing	nothing.	Yet	at	a	deeper	level,	each	of
those	words	implies	a	hidden	action	that	goes	on	beneath	the	surface:
Surrendering
	means	you	aren’t	struggling	anymore.
Letting

go
	means	that	you	aren’t	so	attached	and	frustrated.
Accepting
	means	that	you	can	appreciate	and	be	grateful	for	your
life.
Being
	means	that	you	trust	a	power	beyond	your	own	ego	and
limited	understanding.When	you	grasp	what	the	words	mean	in	spiritual	terms,	it	dawns	on	you
that	a	much	better	life	can	be	yours	once	you	surrender,	let	go,	accept,	and
simply	be.	We’ve	put	this	in	a	single	phrase:
Resting	into	existence
.	In	every
spiritual	tradition,	importance	is	placed	on	surrendering	to	God,	but	it’s	an
idea	that	doesn’t	seem	applicable	in	modern	times.	In	the	past,	when	our
distant	ancestors	were	preoccupied	every	day	with	getting	enough	to	eat,	disaster
struck	if	crops	failed	or	game	was	scarce.	Trusting	in	God	to	provide	was	the
only	way	anyone	had	of	connecting	with	nature’s	external	forces.	But	today	the
vast	majority	of	work	is	done	in	offices	and	corporations;	these	are	settings
where	people	feel	they	have	much	more	control	over	what	happens.	There	is
little	or	no	need	to	trust	in	a	higher	power	except	in	unforeseen	emergencies
and	crises.	Even	then,	many	people	place	their	trust	only	on	human	agencies
like	law	enforcement.
So	asking	you	to	place	your	trust	in	your	own	existence	is	asking	a	lot.	As	a
strategy	for	living,	this	might	sound	quite	strange,	in	fact.	But	consider	the
following	possibilities:
What	if	life	is	meant	to	flow,	bringing	fulfillment	as	a	natural
unfoldment?
What	if	you	are	connected	to	a	deep	source	of	intelligence	that
knows	how	to	take	care	of	you	and	your	needs?
What	if	there’s	a	higher	plan	that	is	guiding	your	life?
None	of	these	ideas	is	completely	foreign.	We’ve	all	been	exposed	to	sayings
like	“Everything	happens	for	a	reason”	and	“God	has	a	plan.”	The	problem	is
that	the	divine	plan,	if	it	exists,	is	invisible	and	unpredictable.	Not	to	mention
that	putting	the	argument	in	religious	terms	runs	against	the	grain	of	modern
life,	where	the	secular	world	is	based	on	real-life	events	and	things	we	can	see,
hear,	and	touch.
In	other	words,	there’s	a	gap	between	a	beautiful	idea—that	every	life	has	a
meaning	that	unfolds	in	the	best	possible	way—and	our	daily	experience.	You
may	have	read	of	a	life	strategy	that	consists	of	always	saying	yes	and	never
saying	no.	This	is	a	form	of	complete	surrender,	because	saying	yes	to	literally
everything	implies	enormous	trust	that	something	won’t	go	terribly	wrong.
(Would	you	say	yes	to	every	stranger	who	offers	you	a	ride,	every	unsolicited
phone	caller	who	asks	for	money