’ but an innate quality of sentient life. Q: That is focusing on ‘what’ rather than on ‘who’ is searching for the
truth? A: Yes. It will lead to the discovery that there is no ‘who’ that is searching
but some innate quality itself. The real Self brings up the false self for
investigation, which eventually leads to the disassembly of the ego
structure itself. In the beginning, a seeker assumes there is a personal
self that is seeking the real Self. Actually, it is the real Self that is
drawing the seeker to it. Q: The pursuit of Enlightenment appears to be a very major decision
with possible major impact on ordinary lifestyles. A: This may seem to be a source of worry or anxiety when it is first heard. In due time, resolution occurs as a consequence of recontextualization
and a shift in values. What may be perceived as disruptive by the ego at
calibrated levels below 600 is not experienced as such at 600 or over
when relinquishment of worldly life is natural and welcomed as a relief. The Self manages the transition. Most questions about adjustments or
seeming sacrifices do not take into consideration the power of decision
itself, which increases in intensity as the barriers are removed. Devotiondissolves fear, doubt, and hesitation and clarifies uncertainty. Intention
also becomes ever stronger as does trust in God. Then arises the inner
decision to totally abandon oneself to God. The evolutionary pathway is self-reinforcing and self-confirming as it
progresses. The ‘you’ that anticipates the future now is not the same
‘you’ that will have to later adjust to very different conditions. Identification shifts from the content of personal self to the contextual
field of transcendent Self. What is seemingly impossible to the self is
easy and simple to the Self. Q: All doubts and questions arise from the ego’s perceptions and
projected values. A: That is true. Therefore, all anticipations and projections into the
hypothetical future are illusory because the Self that emerges becomes
progressively dominant and is free of worldly attachments or projected
values. It has no ‘needs’ to worry about and is autonomous and
sufficient unto itself. It has no ‘wants’ that need to be sacrificed so none
are necessary. A butterfly no longer needs a cocoon. Q: That is reassuring. A: Divinity is Infinite Love. Within its Presence, even relinquishment of
bodily existence is not a ‘problem’ or even a source of resistance. If it
serves Divine Providence, physicality walks on to fulfill its karmic
destiny and commitment. If, on the other hand, it just falls over and
quits breathing, that is just fine also. As the ego dissolves, so do all its
fears and presumptions. The Inner Reality is immune to considerations
or doubts. The Self is Certainty. Q: Despite dedication to the goal of Enlightenment, the mind seems
reluctant, resistant, or even too lazy to go through the necessary
process. How can that be overcome? A: Resistance is to be expected and accepted as an innate quality of the
ego. Part of its function is stabilization in order to facilitate performance
and reliability. It does not like to feel out of control or off balance and is
thus resistant to being questioned or examined, which is perceived as a
potential threat to its sovereignty. The ego has a vested interest in its positionalities, presumptions, andassumptions. There is therefore an ambivalence regarding change—on
the one hand, it is exciting and interesting, but on the other hand, it can
be viewed as an unwelcome challenge and resented. Thus, it tends to
maintain the status quo, even if doing so continues to be unsatisfactory,
for example, repeating the same resistances over and over, hoping for a
different outcome. Q: Is inertia characteristic of the ordinary ego? A: T a m a s is the guna (energy) of resistance that is overcome by rajas, the
energy of activity and effort. R a j a s is the response to motivation and
dedication to actually reach S a t t w a, the state of peace and tranquility. Tamas is reinforced by the resistances of fear or guilt at the prospect of
self-inquiry. Q: How can the underlying fears of guilt or shame be overcome? A: It is necessary to hold in mind during all inner investigation (as well as
in the perception of others) that the ego/mind is in the process of
evolution and is innately innocent by virtue of its evolutionary structure. It cannot discern appearance from essence. Therefore, compassion for
self and others is a requisite for major transformation and spiritual
growth. Dominance by instinctual motivations is diminished by simple
acceptance rather than guilt or condemnation, that is, ‘of course’ the ego
is selfish, greedy, vain, and resentful. That is to be expected. But now,
such attitudes can be seen as no longer serviceable or productive. Compassion for all of life includes one’s own as well. Old habitual
styles of perception and thinking diminish when no longer valued or
seen as essential to survival or success. Many strong habitual
motivations recede merely as a consequence of recontextualization. Q: How does one overcome the apprehension about ‘bad feelings’
arising consequent to looking within oneself? A: Decide that all ‘bad’ feelings are fallacious and faulty habits of the
mind. Respect for self and others then replaces guilt or fear. The ego is
unaware of the gifts of the spirit that more than compensate for the
surrender or ‘loss’ of ego positions. These gifts are often subtle, such as
an increase in self-esteem and reduction in one’s overall anxiety level.Q: Can you provide a concrete example? A: The ego thinks success is due to drive and ambition plus prideful
competition, cutting corners, taking advantage of others, etc. It is not
aware that people who are earnest, honest, integrous, and dedicated are
highly prized and adequately rewarded by society. These are rewards by
invitation and not just zealous acquisition. Excellence itself is self-
rewarding and brings gratification that is not dependent on externals. The reward that is often overlooked is the increase in inner strength,
courage, and fortitude that results in greater inner security and self-
confidence. Q: But in daily life, temptations abound. Are they not to be refused or
resisted? A: Temptation, seduction, desirability, and allure are all projections having
to do with appearance and presumptions. These are associated with
programmed fantasies of gain. Satisfaction of projected values
constitutes the world of illusion. Happiness itself is directly correlated
with the overall level of consciousness rather than with any external
factors. External factors are vulnerable and have to be fearfully guarded;
in contrast, inner values are self-reinforcing and immune to turmoil or
circumstances. This is a common realization among survivors of major
catastrophes. Q: Spiritual work sometimes appears to involve anticipation of loss. A: Loss is a presumption based on the ego’s perceptions and projected
values. In general, the ego’s loss is illusory and instead constitutes a
gain to the Self. All ego positions represent vulnerability. Their
surrender results in greater inner security and pleasure in life. Eventually, one analogously feels ‘bulletproof’ and independent of
external circumstances. Even the survival of the body itself eventually
becomes irrelevant for its transitoriness is accepted. Q: But is not survival itself due to the ego’s motives and mechanisms? A: That is also an illusion. Survival is a consequence of the Self, not the
self. It is only because of the Self that the ego is of service for a
prescribed period of earthly time. When the ego/mind is silenced, life
goes on autonomously, paradoxically even seeing effort as effortless.All comes about as a consequence of potentiality’s emerging as actuality
when conditions permit. Intention is such a condition. Eventually, even
intention subsides as the will is surrendered to God. O c e a n o f P D F. c o mCHAPTER 14
Enlightenment: The Presence of Self
Introduction
Positionalities result in the problematic dualities of the ego experienced
as presumptions. These result in the ego’s projections, which it erroneously
believes to be reality. Collectively, they constitute the illusions of
Descartes’ res interna (cogitans), which means that they are the products of
emotions and mentations. The purpose of spiritual work is the elimination
of this primary barrier in order to discover res externa/extensa (essence) as
Reality revealed as Creation, that is, the world as it is (essence) and not as it
is perceived or appears to be. The transition from illusion (res cogitans) to
Reality requires not a change of content but of context and, therefore, of
paradigm. The Realization of Reality is the consequence of a shift to
identification with experiential context instead of content and is, therefore, a
major shift of paradigm. The emergence of the Real is a spontaneous Effulgence that is
consequent to removing the limitations of perception and its barriers. The
transcendence of limitation is the result of intention and subordination of
the personal will, with its illusory gains and payoffs, to Divine Will. While the state or condition of what has been called Enlightenment is
celebrated, its exact nature has only been alluded to by


 then  CO]  responding  tins
nation  and  inertia,  are  on  the  increase. Extreme  con
ditions,  such  as  obesity,  anorexia,  ami  bulimia,  pie
dominate  as  never  before,  with  their  matching  emo
tions  ol  attachment  and  greed. The  stickiness  of  the   universe   helps   heal   oui
wounds. It  fills  the  open  spaces  oi  earth  with  abun
17
^mtr
THE    PRINCIPLES    OF    AYURVEDA
dant  foliage,  flowers,  fruits,  and  herbs. It  supports
memory  retention. Kapha  directs  moisture  and  im-
munity to  the  nucleus  of  the  universe,  to  buffer  the
natural  forces  of  entropy  that  accompany  her  long
existence. Kapha  alone  lubricates  the  circulatory  and
nervous  systems  of  Earth  and  her  life-forms,  and  so
helps  maintain  a  constant  immunity. When  we  inflict  damage  to  the  food  body,  we  are
breaking  down  a  system  that  has  been  stoic  and  al-
most impenetrable. We  are  undermining  Kapha's  dig-
nity. As  Earth's  magnetism  loosens  and  her  electrical
impulses  weaken,  we  drift  farther  away  from  the  core
of  remembering. Kapha's  patience  is  extensive  and
her  forgiving  expansive;  she  is  the  Mother  Nature
whom  we  applaud. She  is  the  maternal  protector  and
spirit  of  the  universe. If  we  observe  her  even  now,  in
the  dismal  hours,  she  will  respond  with  vital  reso-
nance. For  it  is  her  nature  that  is  deeply  embedded  in
our  Kapha  nature. Water
The  waters  of  the  earth  are  the  primal  birthing  ele-
ment of  all  life. All  elements  are  fathered  by  space  and
resolve  into  water. The  greatest  factor  in  memory  is
taste,  and  only  the  water  element  of  Kapha  can  pro-
vide us  with  this  faculty. Plants,  and  thus  all  food  for
humans,  are  totally  dependent  on  water. The  conch
shell  bears  the  memory  of  billions  of  years  of  ocean
life,  and  through  its  form  and  sound  we  experience
the  primal  circadian  rhythm  of  timeless  existence. The  conch  has  kept  its  spatial  memory  intact  because
the  sea  has  sheltered  it. The  cosmic  sea  and  river
shelter  all  life. They  swallow  the  negative  energies  of
the  living  and  cleanse  us. The  Ganges  has  remained  a
holy  and  healing  source  of  water  despite  the  human
waste,  decay,  and  debris  she  has  carried  for  hundreds
of  years. The  Hudson  River  and  the  rocks  of  New  York
City  also  imbibe  the  pain  of  the  human  spirit  and  yet
miraculously  manage  to  hold  all  together. The  Water  element  is  sweet  and  cool. She  anoints
and  lubricates  the  smooth  functioning  of  the  body. She  contains  the  cosmic  memory  of  all  taste. When
we  taste  wholesome  foods,  we  remember  all  time. Smell  is  created  by  the  Earth. When  we  smell  the
Earth's  natural  fragrance,  we  remember  all  time. The Earth  element  is  the  magnetic  energy  that  is  perceived
in  the  form  of  molecular  configurations  by  the  nose. Because  Water  and  Earth,  the  electrical  and  magnetic
forces  of  the  universe,  are  inseparable,  they  are  sym-
bolized by  the  twin  deities  Ap  and  Prithivi  in  the
Hindu  scriptures. The  Prana  Body:
Air  and  Space  (Vata)
Pranamaya,  the  second  layer  of  material  self,  is  sus-
tained by  the  breath. Wind  and  air  are  to  the  universe
what  the  prana  body  is  to  humans,  and  all  life-forms. The  prana  body  is  more  subtle  than  the  food  body. This  vital  air  is  responsible  for  all  bodily  functions
and  urges. The  ahamkara,  which  stores  memory,  is
fed  by  prana. All  remembrances  expressed  in  human
urges  are  activated  by  breath. All  of  our  past  and  future  is  held  in  the  space  of
ahamkara. Our  urges,  such  as  the  urge  to  write,  paint,
create  music,  sing,  dance,  use  computers,  procreate,
have  a  relationship,  love,  hate,  eat,  or  evacuate  are
rooted  in  the  ahamkara. Through  it,  we  are  uncon-
sciously predisposed  to  certain  likes  and  dislikes,  im-
ages of  ourselves,  quirks,  compensatory  behaviors,
resistances,  insecurities,  emotional  soft  spots,  and
physiological  and  psychological  tendencies  of  all  kinds. When  we  are  able  to  properly  access  the  memory  files
through  specific  sadhanas,  we  no  longer  need  to  be
victim  to  these  tendencies;  we  are  guided  from  mo-
ment to  moment  in  our  action  and  service  to  the
cognitive  self. The  universe  gave  us  sadhanas  as  a
natural  means  of  remembering. Hypnosis,  regression
therapy,  and  other  similar  forced  techniques  are  un-
natural ways  of  remembering  cognitive  details,  the
effects  of  which  may  be  more  harmful  than  helpful  to
our  vital  harmonic  system. Each  layer  of  consciousness  is  interlaced  with  other
layers. The  prana  dosha  of  the  planet  is  the  Vata  dosha
in  the  human. When  the  food  body  of  the  planet  and
its  inhabitants  is  violated  and  plundered,  the  whole
balance  of  prana  is  disrupted,  both  internally  and
externally. Outside,  the  inevitable  harsh  storms  and
killing  winds  begin,  bringing  with  them  the  swift
karmas  of  Vata  diseases  within  our  bodies. The  natu-
18
jqx. COSMIC    ROOTS
ral  shifting  and  decline  of  an  aging  planet  does  not
fully  account  for  the  distortion  of  our  seasons  or  other
unnatural  occurrences  and  diseases. These  are  pro-
pelled by  humankind  tampering  with  its  own  nature. Once  the  food  body  is  diseased,  the  prana  body  suf-
fers. * Memory  function  is  the  first  to  be  vitiated. Forgetfulness,  which  is  rampant  in  our  world,  is  the
direct  symptom  of  prank  impairment. As  a  result,  the
cognitive  self  becomes  less  accessible. Prana  is  the
breath  of  the  universe. When  the  life  force  is  im-
pinged, hunger,  thirst,  and  deprivation  caused  by  in-
dulgence prevail. Evidence  of  this  abounds:
Today  a  greater  percentage  of  the  human  race
is  overweight  than  [at]  any  other  time  in  his-


reek
for  a  few  minutes. Add  millet  flour,  lemon  juice,  wa-
ter, salt,  and  parsley. Mix,  cover,  and  simmer  over  low
heat  for  10  minutes. Remove  mixture  from  skillet  and
allow  to  cool. Knead  into  a  dough  and  with  lightly  oiled  hands,
roll  into  12  small  balls. Steam  as  in  South  Indian
Steamed  Rice  Balls,  page  218. Cool  and  serve  with
dhal  and  vegetables. 21V
^®Jr
BREAKFAST    GRAINS
Cream  of  Wheat  Porridge Soft  Breakfast  Rice
v,  VP,  P,  PV,  PK
Serves  1
'A  c  water
'/2  c  certified  raw  cow's  milk
XU  c  cream  of  wheat
2  tbs  raisins
xh  tsp  ghee
xh  tsp  unrefined  brown  sugar
In  a  small  saucepan,  bring  water  and  milk  to  boil. Add
cream  of  wheat,  raisins,  ghee,  and  brown  sugar  and
stir. Simmer  uncovered  over  low  heat  for  10  minutes. Serve  hot. ALL  TYPES
Serves  2
3  c  water
Kh  c  short-grain  brown  rice
72  tsp  ghee
lA  tsp  sea  salt
Gomasio
In  a  medium  saucepan,  bring  water  to  boil. Add  rice,
ghee,  and  salt. Cover  and  allow  to  simmer  over  me-
dium-low heat  for  1 V2  hours. Serve  warm  with
gomasio. 220
jmtr
BREAKFAST   GRAINS
Eggless  French  Toast Millet  Croquettes
v,  VP,  VK,  P,  PV,  PK
Serves  2
4  slices  of  fresh  whole  wheat  bread
Batter:
1  tsp  kudzu  (or  arrowroot)
'A  c  cold  water
'A  c  soy,  almond,  or  cow's  milk
'A  tsp  turmeric
2  tbs  maple  syrup  or  unrefined  brown  sugar
'A  tsp  cinnamon
1  tsp  rose  water
'A  tsp  rock  salt
PK:  use  soy  milk. Dilute  kudzu  in  'A  cup  of  cold  water  and  set  aside. Mix  remaining  ingredients  together  in  a  saucepan
and  bring  to  boil  over  medium  heat;  add  kudzu. When
batter  begins  to  gel,  remove  from  heat. Toast  bread  in  well-seasoned  cast-iron  skillet  over
low  heat. Pour  batter  over  toast  and  continue  to  cook
over  medium  heat  about  3  minutes  on  each  side. Serve  warm. Couscous  and  Carrots
v,  VP,  P,  PV,  PK
Serves  2
2'/2  c  water
1  c  couscous
'A  c  finely  diced  carrots
Garnish:
Fresh  cilantro  or  roasted  cumin  seeds
Bring  water  to  boil;  add  couscous  and  carrots. Cover
and  simmer  over  medium  heat  for  5  to  8  minutes. Garnish  with  fresh  cilantro  or  roasted  cumin  seeds. Serve  warn. &  V/v K,  KV,  KP
Serves  2
'A  tsp  sunflower  oil
'A  c  diced  carrots
'A  c  diced  onions
lh  c  millet,  cooked  (see  page  170)
Pinch  of  salt
Pinch  of  coarse  black  pepper
Heat  oil  in  a  preheated  skillet  and  saute  carrots  and
onions  over  medium  heat  for  3  minutes. Add  millet,
salt,  and  pepper. Stir  together  and  allow  to  cool. Dampen
hands  and  shape  mixture  into  6  palm-sized  patties. Clean  skillet  and  dry-roast  patties  over  low  heat  to
desired  crispness. Soft  Millet  and  Carrots
P,  PK,  K,  KV,  KP
Serves  2
1  c  millet
4  c  water
'A  c  diced  carrots
'A  tsp  sea  salt
Wash  millet  until  water  runs  dear;  drain. Parch  over
medium  heat  until  dry  in  a  large  >.ast  iron  skillet
Bring  water  to  boil  in  a  saucepan. Add  millet,  ^.u  rots,
and  salt. Cover  and  simmei  over  medium  heat  foi  10
minutes. Add  water  to  soften  further,  it  necessar)
Serve  hot. 221
«. UNIVERSAL    RECIPES    FOR    EACH    BODY   TYPE
Roasted  Breakfast  Grain White  Basmati  and  Millet
S\JN|
B
P,  PK,  K.  KV,  KP
Serves  2
Add  water  to  moisten  any  leftover  grain. Knead  into
a  bulky  dough. Heat  skillet. Using  a  rolling  pin,  roll
out  the  grain  dough  on  a  clean  surface  and  parch  in
skillet  over  medium-low  heat  for  15  minutes  until
crisp. Serve  with  dry  or  wet  chutneys. Crisp  Cooked  Millet ALL  TYPES
Serves  2
'A  c  white  basmati  rice 'A  c  millet
3  c  water
6  curry  leaves,  preferably  fresh
Pinch  of  sea  salt
Wash  grains  until  water  runs  clear. Bring  water  to  boil
in  a  saucepan;  add  grains,  curry  leaves,  and  salt. Cover
and  simmer  for  20  minutes,  until  grains  swell. Re-
move from  heat  and  serve. K,  KV,  KP
Serves  4
2  c  soft  cooked  millet  (see  page  170)
lA  c  minced  onions
'A  tsp  sea  salt
Mix  all  ingredients  together. Heat  a  flat  cast-iron  skil-
let or  a  thin  chapati  skillet. Spread  a  72"  layer  of  millet
mixture  onto  skillet. Allow  to  parch  over  low  heat  for
about  35  minutes. Remove  from  skillet  and  serve  warm
with  chutney  and  vegetables. Cooked  Wheat  Berries
v,  VP,  P,  PV,  PK
Serves  2
6  c  water
1  c  wheat  berries
'A  tsp  salt
In  a  medium  saucepan,  bring  water  to  boil. Add  wheat
berries  and  salt. Cover  and  simmer  over  medium-low
heat  for  3  hours. Drain  and  serve  warm. Coconut  Oatmeal  Porridge
v,  VP,  P,  PV,  PK
Serves  2
'A  c  shredded  coconut  (fresh  or  dried)
1  c  soy  milk
1  c  water
'A  c  rolled  oats
Pinch  of  cinnamon
Pinch  of  rock  salt
Maple  syrup  to  taste  (optional)
Roast  coconut  in  a  skillet  over  medium  heat  until
edges  brown. In  a  saucepan,  bring  milk  and  water  to
boil;  add  oats  and  roasted  coconut. Simmer  for  5
minutes;  add  cinnamon  and  salt. Sweeten  with  maple
syrup,  if  desired. 222
^
UNIVERSAL
VEGETABLE    DISHES
Spinach  Masala Spicy  Home  Fries
?^»*^fs
V,  VK,  K,  KV
Serves  2
1  large  bunch


uija boards, psychic
readings, throwing runes are all forms of magic. The child in us is entranced
by the magic. I tell people not to try to calibrate low energies. You’ll get attracted to
that which is evil and demonic, and start trying to calibrate it, because your
pendulum is going to get hit by that energy. And one of your energy fields
and chakras can get reversed, by the way. Don’ t play around with it. The
pendulum is not a game, and as with any kind of divination, it shouldn’ t be
done for the sport. Many people play with divination and we never hear
from them again. I don’t recom mend it to people because it means they
have to have some curiosity that is so hypothetical, it has nothing to do with
their own spiritu al destination. In other words, you’re just askin g out of idle
curiosity. And often you’re playing with very negative energies when
you’re doing that. You’re trying to flirt with the negative and think you
won’ t get burned. That’ s not going to happen. I know a lot of people who
dealt with pendulums, started checking out other dimension s, and they
really blew up and even became psychotic. Many of these psychics over time turn out to be false. There’ s one locally
that does all the things that are so typical of a cult. He tells people how to
live, gets them bonded to him, tells them about their sex life. He makes
them turn all of their money over to him. And one thing about these cult
leaders you’ll notice is that sex is forbidden to all the follower s, but not to
the cult leader. Well, of course, he’s entitled to go to bed with anybody he
wishes to, and then cite some entity on the other side. The fallacy of the
whole thing is so transparent to a sophisticated person, but the person who
gets entrapped into it, their inner child gets brainwashed by all this mumbo
jumbo. And of course, we look at Jonestown as an example and wonder,
how could a thousand sane adult s commit suicide all at the same time? How
could that be? Cults, you see, are dangerou s because they have the capacity to
brainwash peopl e. A teacher should free you, not bind you. You should not
be boun d by the teacher. On the contrary, you should be freed by the
teacher. You owe nothing to a teacher whatsoever, except to be polite and
listen if you wish. You’re not in bondage, you don’t owe, you’re not
obligated. A true teacher doesn’ t try to control you or get you to turn overyour financial assets to them. The other thing false teachers do is theatrics,
by which I mean  putting on great displays with fancy robes and entourages
and great wonders, buildings and all, to impress you with their importance. The other thing  they try to impress you with is the number of followers. They have 10 million followers in India or something like that. I calibrate the guy with 10 million followers, and he comes out at 140. So, we’re a bit like lemmings being led over the cliff. Adolf Hitler had 40
million adoring followers too, and he calibrated at 90 and almost destroyed
Germany and most of Europe!<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        You can let go of wanting to change it,
because all you’re changing is your own projections that you’ve projected
out there. Y ou’re not changing anything in the world at all. Unless a man has a choice between good and evil, how’ s he going to
transcend. If you don’t have any enemies, who do you have left to forgive. You know what I mean. I’m a failur e. I haven’ t got anybody I’d love to
forgive. Now, what ar e we going to do in the Course in Miracles. Spiritual work is primarily yin. It’s yang by its intention, but it’s yin by
its operation. For example, I ask God what is the answer to a thing, and then
I step back and allow the space for revelation. So, progress is achieved
often without even thinking—you just have a feeling of knowing or anintuition. And then if you know muscle testing, you can just check it out for
affirmation. It has been very, very useful. The enlightened  and divined states, the supreme God and all these things,
calibrate at 1,000 or above. As we know, the majority of the world’ s
population calibrates below 200. Why doesn’ t the world go to pieces and
just destroy itself. It gets close  to that periodically. Mankind has been at
war 93 percent of recorded time. The other 7 percent, we were too sick or
too poor, probably. The plague was on. Couldn’ t get our act together to get
out there and kill each other. Why doesn’ t the world just self-destruct. It’s because it’s a logarithmic
scale. So logarithmically, the advance of a few points is enormously
powerful. In fact, in the United States, even just a couple of people calibrate
so high and logarithmically, the power is so great that it totally
counterbalances the negativity of mankind, which would self-destruct. So,
those who are 200 and up—readers like you—are keeping the world from
going down the tubes. The relative power, because it’s logarithmic, is so
enormous that it counterbalances the negativity. LOWER LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Now, I just want to show the source of the evil of the ego. Because you
see, consciousne ss began at a very primitive level, the consciou sness level. Over many billions of years, the consciousness level slowly rose. The
consciousness level of life itself, the total consciousness of life on the
planet, has evolved over billions of years, very, very slowly. Sometimes the consciousness level of the animals has kept it up. Even
though man has been lower than 200 many times, there are many animals
on the planet that are over 200. Somebody says, “Well, the consciousness
level of man is at about 204. How come you’ve got life at 212. ” It’s
because we got kitties and doggies. A dog’ s wagging a tail is at 500. I didn’ t want to say anything that might hurt people’ s feelings. But cats
and dogs do better than people. Chimpanzees and gorillas, too. You’re safer
with Koko the gorilla than you are with most of the people on the subway. Koko won’ t steal your purse and run. Monkeys, dogs, cats. Of course, the
more cats you have, the higher your level of consciousness. I’m a cat
supporter. Our level of consciousness at home, without the cats, would
probably collapse. Let’s not forget horses, elepha nts, and cows. These are all primarily
herbivores. When you see how life starts out, at the lowest level, and that
we come up through fish, octopus, the Komodo dragon, and other predatory
mammals, you see that life is voracious. Below consciousness level 200, it
only can survive  by eating other s. And then, as the consciousnes s level goes
higher, you get to the herbivores. At consciousness level 200, we have wolves and foxes. Then, all of a
sudden, at the level 200, we shift to zebras, giraffes, deer, bison, domestic
pigs, elk, cows, and sheep. Do you see the shift. You eat grass  and you’re
not harm ing anybody; whereas the dinosaur has to kill. He has to kill in
order to eat. His nature is to kill. The dinosaur is not being bad or evil,
that’s just his nature. He’s reflecting the level of consciousness. So the
people on the planet who seem to be focused on killing do so because their
level of conscio usness is attuned to be less than 200. Therefore, the left
brain, the instinctual left brain  physiology, takes over, in which killing
becomes exciting, fun, and rewarding. We talked about the 400s being, you might say, when humans reach their
greatest intellectual excellence, probably around 350 BC. In ancient Greece,
philosophically, there really hasn’ t been any improvement since that time. And here we calibrate the great books of the W estern world, and we find it’ s
very interesting. Overall, collectively it calibrates around 460. So
intellectual excellence, intellectual truth, and reason are in the 400s. In the
old days, a liberal education meant to study all of these writers. And there is
still a foundation for the study of the Great Books. They advise you to take
10 years. So you spend 10 years studying, and you will then share a
common understanding with all the greatest minds that’ve ever lived—at
least within the intellectual and philosophic realms. So, the difficulty of something of a very low calibration is that this then
starts off a trend that becomes self-propagating, in the form of memes. An


 other things related to medical treatment, I had not blown my mind. I still had my sanity. I awoke early in the evening with the bowel spasms present and an uncontrollable
urge to have a B.M. I rang for the nurse; but before she could get to me I jumped out of bed in a wild dash for the lavatory. I didn't make it because the sudden drop in
blood pressure caused fainting and I hit the floor! I was picked up and carried to the
lavatory where, because of fear, I tried to hold myself back. Finally there was no
controlling it and in a few seconds the packing was blown out, accompanied by
extreme pain. From here on it was all downhill. The worst was over, but the immense enervation added another emotional scar to my psyche, not to mention the harm to my
debilitated physical condition. Discharge from the hospital came on December 9, 1963. I remember the date well
because I no sooner hobbled home and into bed for a well-earned recuperative period,
when my wife kissed me goodbye and entered the hospital for the birth of our second son. There I was, left to fend for myself and care for our three-year-old son, when I
could barely get around. But my main concern was whether or not the new baby
would be born with any mental or physical defects as a result of my system being
flooded with poisonous drugs over the last five and one-half years. In fact, Corinne
and I debated on whether to have a second ch ild for just this reason. We both thank
God that he was born normal in every respect; a little noisy, but normal. A week later, Corinne returned from the hospital with our new son. We slipped back
into the routine of things. I went back to my office and tried desperately to put in as
much time as possible, which wasn't much. I found no joy in getting up in the
morning to face the day. I had no desire or enthusiasm for my work--or anything else
for that matter. The new year had arrived. It was 1964. I wondered what this year had in store and if
it would be as bad as last year. What more could happen to me? I wondered! But the
next four or five months brought progressively worse changes in my physical condition. I celebrated a birthday in February--34 years of age, but an old man. It was
tough watching others my age enjoying themselves, taking trips and loving life while I vegetated in my small world. It seemed there were no lulls or quiescent periods during these trying years. There
was always something to prevent an even pattern in our lives. It was very difficult for
Corinne to teach school, raise the children, take care of the house, and to try to adjust
to my problem. It matured the both of us and that was to our benefit since we were soon to make some major decisions 'that were to affect the rest of our lives. These
years bring to mind Frank Ward O'Malley, the famous journalist, who was asked for his definition of life. His answer was classic. He said simply, "Life is just one damned
thing after another." How true! I saw my doctor regularly every week or two for dietary changes, decreases and
increases of my drug dosages, and regular sigmoidoscopic examinations. Nothing seemed to help anymore. The spasms and diarrhea were increasing again and there
was more bleeding. I was running to the lavatory 20 to 30 times a day. I was already
anemic. Now I was becoming dehydrated and losing weight, having dropped a total of
25 pounds. That put me at about 145 pounds. Low back pain was almost constant and
annoying, as were the ever-increasing cramping and spasms in my feet and legs. This was preventing me from obtaining proper and much-needed sleep, since it would
awaken me several times during the night and I would find my legs contracted right up against my thighs. Migrating arthritic pains were becoming prevalent. The aching would travel from
one joint to another, affecting several joints  at one time. Because of all the drugs I was
ingesting, it was all but impossible to take painkillers. If any contained aspirin or even
if it was just plain aspirin, the pain and damaging effects on my stomach made it prohibitive. If the drug had no aspirin, and I tried many, then the potentiating effects
of the other drugs caused many untoward reactions, not the least of which were
confused thinking and a state of stupor. So there was not much I could do except
"tough it out." These previously mentioned symptoms are common in colitis and particularly advanced ulcerative colitis. C'est la guerre! It was late spring, 1964, and I seemed to be heading for what I sensed as some
horrible ending. Our family life had dwindled. Social life was virtually over. It took
all the physical and emotional strength I could muster just to go to my office and try
to do some work. There were more unhealth y changes in my personality. We weren't
getting along. There were quarrels. The family  relationship was straining at the seams,
but Corinne had a bountiful supply of inne r strength. Although the body can and does
take a lot of abuse, it is astounding how much physical, mental, emotional and even
spiritual degeneration can occur in an individual as a result of illness. This disease, which Dr. Kale called one  of remissions and exacerbations, was now
just one continuous exacerbation. There were no let-ups; just debility. I loyally
continued, for a short while, with the treatment plan until I could see it not only had
no value, but was complicating my problem. I shall never forget my last official visit to Dr. Kale's office. It was probably the most dramatic, indeed one of the most
profound moments in my life. I waited for the doctor in an examining room. I felt
terrible, but I sat there with hope that Dr. Kale would bring me news of some new
drug to cure my problem. (I didn't realize it then, but drugs do not cure. They don't get
at causes. Healing is a biological process that takes place from within the body, and drugs only interfere with the healing process since the body must direct its energies
toward neutralizing and eliminating these poisons.) Soon, Dr. Kale entered the
examining room, sat down with all my records in hand, asked me a few questions
concerning the course of treatment and then, after several minutes of thumbing
through my records and weighing many things in his mind, he paused and looked up
at me. He wore a look of impending doom. Having always been perceptive, I sensed
vibrations that what he was about to tell me I had subconsciously dreaded for a long time. "Jack," he said, "I've done all I can for you. There is nothing more." Dr. Kale did
consider a course of treatment, the rational e of which I've never figured out, using a
drug called nitrogen mustard, a bone marrow depressant. This was used at that time (I
don't know if it is now) for leukemia to drastically reduce the white blood cell count. My white blood cell count was dangerously low from the years of drugging and it was
for this reason Dr. Kale decided not to try this method. He did not want to lower my
white count any further because of the potential hazard that I could succumb to an
infection. (White blood cells are needed to fight infection.) Now came the moment of truth. This was the culmination of six years under
medical care. I turned cold and my stomach knotted-up at what Dr. Kale told me. He
said I had two choices: The first was to do nothing, and I would die from the disease. The second was a recommendation to undergo a total colectomy, which is a drastic
surgical procedure wherein the entire large intestine and rectum are cut out and the
end of the small intestine is sewn to an opening in the abdominal wall. The body wastes would then continually empty into a bag attached outside the body. Having
this surgery would not guarantee my survival, but one thing was certain and that was
the fact I would be a physiologic cripple the rest of my life--however long or short it
would be. (According to statistics from the National Foundation for Ileitis and Colitis,
about 25 to 35 percent of patients operated upon require subsequent drastic surgery to remove more of the bowel higher up as th e disease progresses.) Neither of these
choices appealed to me. Choices? It was more of an ultimatum. Like the old saying goes, "You're damned if you do a nd you're damned if you don't." It hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn' t utter a word for a minute or so. It was too
overwhelming. I did not want to believe this was happening to me, but deep down in
me I knew the score. How would Corinne react? Many fleeting, morbid thoughts
raced through my mind. I could not make any decision at this point. The shock of this distorted any rational thinking. I wanted only to be at home with my family now. As I
was leaving the office, I told Dr. Kale I needed time to think. He told me not to wait
too long. Subconsciously, I wouldn't accept this entire plan. I was disench


 in front like a
spear. It should have taken only a few seconds to reach his prey, but Buddha
remained a step ahead. Angulimala sped up, panting as he ran. His bare feet
stirred up a cloud of dust, but he couldn’ t close the gap between himself andBuddha. This kept up for ten minutes, until the wild man fell to the ground,
clutching at his cramped legs. Buddha turned around and regarded him. “There’ s a small distance between you and me,” he said mildly. “Shall I
close it. I can. ”
He reached down and touched the killer ’s matted hair, and Angulimala
began to weep. “Please tell me your real name,” Buddha ur ged. There was a
pause, and Angulimala shivered from head to toe. “Why. ” he moaned. By
this he meant, Why should anyone help me. I am damned. “I will tell you, but I can’ t explain to an animal,” said Buddha. Angulimala clutched at himself, writhing on the ground. Buddha stood
quietly, letting the demonic ener gy drain away. It would take more than a
single seizure to purify the wild man, but this was a beginning. After he had
thrashed in the dust for some minutes, a name came out. “Anigha,” he said. “Look at me, Anigha,” Buddha said. “W e are brothers. ”
The wild man was pacified from exhaustion, his body spent. He raised
his head as Buddha bent over to bless him. “Y ou were once a great saint,”
said Buddha. “Now you have become a great sinner. This was not a curse. The cycle of birth and rebirth has brought you full circle. The same thing
happens to everyone. It has happened to me. ”
Each word he spoke caused a change in Anigha. His eyes looked far
away; he seemed to remember something deep and profound. T ears rolled
down his cheeks. “I am damned,” he said aloud, his voice becoming more
human. “No, you share the same fate as everyone,” said Buddha. “Y ou wanted
to find a way out of suf fering. The only dif ference is that you asked for the
life of a monster. You imagined that if you caused enormous suf fering, you
would be immune to it. ”
The weight of Anigha’ s crimes was crushing him—he groaned. “It’s horrible to bring hell on earth,” said Budddha. “There was another
purpose, though, that no one sees. ” Anigha stared in baf flement. “Y ou
hungered for the supreme truth many lifetimes ago. The gods failed you;
your vows as a monk led to nothing but deeper disappointment. So you
swore that you would not be redeemed unless the greatest sinner received
the same treatment. ”
Now Anigha grasped Buddha’ s feet and was sobbing loudly as his pain
poured out. Buddha took his hands away and lifted him up. “If you are part
of me, you need nothing else to be saved,” he said. Anigha said, “But I have killed. ”
“You fell into evil so that you could prove to yourself that there is a
reality that evil cannot touch. W ill you let me show it to you. ”
Anigha listened quietly, then he looked down at his filthy body clothed
in bloodied hides. They were unrecognizable now as part of him. He led
Buddha to a stream and washed the dirt away. When he had washed of f as
much as he could, he came out of the water. “I will follow you anywhere,”
he said. “Angulimala is dead. ”
“You will always be with me. But for the moment you need to stay
here,” said Buddha. “Devote yourself to atonement. Leave food for the
poor. Offer flowers and water at the temple gate for those who want to
make sacrifice. Help lost travelers whom you once terrified. Whatever you
do, don’ t show yourself. I will return for you very soon. ”
Anigha didn’ t find it easy to let Buddha go; he still half-believed that he
was in a dream devised by a mischievous demon. After a while, though, his
exhaustion made him nod of f as the two sat under a tree talking. Buddha
arose and left quietly. He gave no thought to where he was going next. But
something had happened that he alone knew. He had altered the course of
evil with a touch and a word. He was still a new Buddha, four days out of the womb, but every
moment was bringing him greater power and more wisdom to use it well. OceanofPDF. com18
The five monks had retreated to a forest glade near Benares after they
parted from Gautama. Months passed. Now the glade was beautiful with
overhanging trees in the riotous bloom of spring. They knew Gautama must
be dead, although the subject was never raised. The five monks lived a
secluded life, but their time of extreme austerity was over and done with. Returning to a moderate life seemed sensible, but a faint gloom settled
over their existence because every forest monk wanted to reach
enlightenment. Gautama’ s failure spelled failure for them too. Therefore,
when he walked into their camp one morning, the five monks were relieved
for themselves as much as for him. After they greeted him with exclamations and expressed their joy, the
monks sat and waited for their brother to describe what had happened. It
was as if someone had returned from the dead. They expected a miracle
story. At the very least, he would describe the wonders of enlightenment. But Buddha only wanted to be with them quietly, his glance occasionally
moving from one to the other. “We mourned for you, Gautama,” Kondana, the youngest, said. “Because you knew that Gautama was no more,” said Buddha. “And
you were right. ”
This was something they understood since it’ s a matter of course that
someone who reaches enlightenment has severed all connections to hisformer personality. But none of the five monks had actually met anyone
who had gotten there. “If you aren’ t Gautama, who are you. ” Assaji asked. “I keep Gautama’ s body, and you can call me by his name if you like,”
said Buddha, smiling. “Y ou need some way to find me in the dark. But I am
not this body or this name. I am not a person any longer as you know it. ”
“That tells me what you are not, but I still don’ t know what you are,”
said Assaji, pressing the point. Instead of replying, Buddha closed his eyes and went into samadhi,
something they had seen Gautama do a thousand times. Assaji was about to
signal that they should follow suit when Gautama unexpectedly opened his
eyes again. The monks were used to him being lost in silence for days. “Do you want to meditate alone.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: Why did Buddha smile at the farmer?,
A: The passage does not mention Buddha smiling at a farmer. It only mentions Buddha smiling at the husband.
Q: What did the old priest say about Anigha's past?,
A: The old priest told the story of Anigha's past, explaining that he was once a Brahmin's son who was accused of sleeping with the wife of the schoolmaster and was then disowned by his family. He was left to fend for himself and eventually became the killer Angulimala.
Q: What did Buddha say to Vappa, who was struggling with the concept of his own identity?,
A: Buddha told Vappa that he should not be ashamed of having wept and that he should not give up hope. He also explained that he would never be able to escape the cycle of karma, but that he could find peace by accepting and letting go of his ego.
Q: What did Buddha do to stop the war in the battle?,
A: The passage does not mention Buddha directly stopping the war. Instead, he walked away, and the soldiers seemed to calm down, eventually laying down their weapons.
Q: What was the core message of Buddha's teaching, as stated in the passage?,
A: The core message of Buddha's teaching was that life contains suffering, and that people must accept and let go of their ego to find peace. He also emphasized the importance of mindfulness, concentration, and self-reflection to achieve enlightenment.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>That, I think, is
the crucial question. There’ s not much challenge in accepting that one’ s life
contains suf fering, and only a small challenge in accepting that flux and
change create dissatisfaction. Both facts seem psychologically self-evident. But to accept that the entire world, and everyone in it, is an illusion? That’ s
an enormous challenge, and it requires a complete shift in consciousness to
meet it. The word illusion  has a host of meanings, and some are very enticing. The illusion, for example, that when you fall in love it will last forever. The
illusion that you will never die. The illusion that ignorance is bliss. Buddha
saw the danger hidden in these enticements. He rarely spoke harshly, but I
can imagine him bursting all these bubbles: love ends, everyone dies,
ignorance is folly. But if he


 t  w e  a r e  s u b c o n s c i o u s l y  p r o g r a m m e d
t o  d o  s o. A n d  w h e n  a l l  o t h e r  e f f o r t s  f a i l,  w e  a r e  l i k e l y,  i f
o n l y  i n  t h e  s e c r e t  c h a m b e r  o f  o u r  h e a r t,  t o  a s k  G o d  i f  H e
w o u l d  p l e a s e  h e l p  u s. A n d  H e  w i l l. H e  w i l l  r e p r o g r a m  u s  a t
t h e  d e e p e s t  l e v e l s. A n d  t h e n,  t h r o u g h  t h e  a l c h e m y  o f  t h e
d i v i n e  c u r r i c u l u m,  w e ’ l l  m e e t  t h e  p e o p l e  w e ’ r e  s u p p o s e d  t om e e t,  i n  o r d e r  t o  g o  t h r o u g h  t h e  s i t u a t i o n s  w e  n e e d  t o  g o
t h r o u g h,  i n  o r d e r  t o  l e a r n  t h e  l e s s o n s  t h a t  w i l l  t r a n s f o r m  u s
f r o m  b e i n g s  o f  f e a r  t o  b e i n g s  o f  l o v e. W e  w i l l  b e  g i v e n
e v e r y  o p p o r t u n i t y  t o  l e a r n  t h r o u g h  j o y,  a n d  w h e n  w e  d e n y
o u r s e l v e s  t h a t,  w e  w i l l  l e a r n  t h r o u g h  p a i n. B u t  w e  w i l l
l e a r n. I t  i s n ’ t  e a s y,  g i v i n g  b i r t h  t o  o u r  s p i r i t u a l  p o t e n t i a l. S p i r i t u a l  l a b o r  c a n  b e  v e r y  a r d u o u s — o n e  h o l y  i n s t a n t  a t  a
t i m e  w h e n  w e  g i v e  i t  u p,  s u r r e n d e r,  s o f t e n,  d o n ’ t  c a r e  i f
w e ’ r e  r i g h t,  f o r e g o  o u r  i m p a t i e n c e,  d e t a c h  f r o m  t h e
o p i n i o n s  a n d  p r i z e s  o f  t h e  w o r l d,  a n d  r e s t  i n  t h e  a r m s  o f
G o d. B u t  t h e  e n d  r e s u l t  i s  t h e  l o v e  o f  o u r  l i v e s. W e  b e g i n  t o
f e e l  m o r e  c o m f o r t a b l e  w i t h i n  o u r s e l v e s,  l e s s  l a d e n  b y  t h e
c h r o n i c  a n g s t  t h a t  m a r k s  t h e  t i m e s  i n  w h i c h  w e  l i v e. W e
b e g i n  t o  f e e l  f r e e  a t  l a s t  o f  p a s t  h u r t s,  a b l e  t o  f e a r l e s s l y  l o v e
a g a i n. W e  b e g i n  t o  e x h i b i t  t h e  m a t u r i t y  a n d  s t r e n g t h  t h a t
w e r e  l a c k i n g  i n  o u r  p e r s o n a l i t i e s  b e f o r e. A  n e w  e n e r g y
e m a n a t e s  f r o m  w h o  w e  a r e,  a n d  o t h e r s  c a n  s e e  i t  t o o. A l l  o f  t h i s  i s  v e r y  s i m p l e,  w h i c h  i s  n o t  t o  s a y  i t ’ s  e a s y. T h e  s p i r i t u a l  p a t h  i s  n o t  a  m a t t e r  o f  g r o w i n g  m o r e
m e t a p h y s i c a l l y  c o m p l i c a t e d ;  i t ’ s  a  p r o c e s s  w h e r e  w e
a c t u a l l y  g r o w  s i m p l e r  a n d  s i m p l e r,  a s  w e  a p p l y  c e r t a i n  b a s i c
p r i n c i p l e s  t o  e v e r y t h i n g  w e  g o  t h r o u g h. W e  d o n ’ t  l e a r n
l o v e,  w h i c h  i s  a l r e a d y  e t c h e d  o n  o u r  h e a r t s ;  w e  d o,
h o w e v e r,  b e g i n  t o  u n l e a r n  f e a r. *  A n d  w i t h  e v e r y  c h a n g e  w e
m a k e  f r o m  b l a m e  t o  b l e s s i n g,  w e  p i e r c e  t h e  v e i l  o f  i l l u s i o n
t h a t  s e p a r a t e s  u s  f r o m  t h e  w o r l d  w e  w a n t.N o t  e v e r y  l e s s o n  w i l l  f e e l  l i k e  f u n  w h i l e  i t ’ s  h a p p e n i n g,
a n d  a t  t i m e s  w e  w i l l  r e s i s t  g r o w t h  f i e r c e l y. B u t  a s  l o n g  a s
w e  r e m a i n  o p e n  t o  m i r a c l e s — t h e n  w e  w i l l  f o r g e  a h e a d  i n t o
a  n e w  r e a l m  o f  b e i n g,  w h e r e  l o v e  h a s  e r a s e d  t h e  p a t t e r n s  o f
f e a r  t h a t  h a v e  s a b o t a g e d  u s  i n


 t e r a l l y  “ l i g h t e n  u p. ”  E v e r y  t i m e  w e  t h i n k,  “ O h,  m y
G o d,  I  h a v e  s o  m u c h  t o  d o  a n d  I  d o n ’ t  k n o w  h o w  I  c a n  d o
i t, ”  w e  c a n  c h a n g e  o u r  t h i n k i n g. W e  c a n  p l a c e  a l l  o u r
b u r d e n s  i n  t h e  h a n d s  o f  G o d,  a s k  f o r  a  m i r a c l e,  a n d  t h a n k
H i m  i n  a d v a n c e  f o r  p r o v i d i n g  i t. W e  w i l l  s t o p  b e i n g  s o
t e n s e ;  w e  w i l l  s t o p  b e i n g  s o  w o r r i e d ;  w e  w i l l  s t o p  l i v i n g  a
l i f e  s o  d e v o i d  o f  j o y. T h e  l y i n g  e g o  w i l l  s a y  t h i n g s  l i k e,  “ I
c a n ’ t  d o  t h a t. I  h a v e  r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s. ”  Y e t  t h a t ’ s  e x a c t l y  t h e
p o i n t :  o n c e  w e ’ v e  l i g h t e n e d  u p,  w e  a t t r a c t  t h e  p e o p l e  a n d
c i r c u m s t a n c e s  t h a t  p r o v i d e  u s  t h e  m e a n s  t o  e f f o r t l e s s
a c c o m p l i s h  a  t a s k. I t ’ s  n o t  l i k e  w o r k i n g  m i r a c l e s  i s n ’ t  d o i n g
a n y t h i n g. W h y  a r e  w e  s o  w o r r i e d,  a f t e r  a l l,  i f  m i r a c l e s  l i e  a t  o u r
f i n g e r - t i p s. O u r  v e r y  b e i n g  i s  a  s p a c e  f o r  m i r a c l e s,  a n d
w h a t e v e r  o u r  p r o b l e m  i s,  w e  c a n  r e l e a s e  i t  i n t o  t h e  h a n d s  o f
G o d. T o  p r a y  “ G o d,  p l e a s e  t a k e  t h i s ”  i s  a n  a c t  o f
e m p o w e r m e n t,  n o t  w e a k n e s s. W h o  i n  t h e i r  r i g h t  m i n d
w o u l d n ’ t  c h o o s e  m i r a c l e s  o v e r  s t r e s s  i f  t h e y  t r u l y  k n e w  t h e y
h a d  a  c h o i c e. S o m e t i m e s  p e o p l e  t a l k  a b o u t  t h e  “ c o m m i t t e e ”  i n  t h e i r
h e a d,  t h e  e n d l e s s  c h a t t e r i n g  o f  t h e  e g o  n a y s a y i n g  t h e m
t h r o u g h o u t  t h e i r  d a y. I ’ v e  l e a r n e d  s o m e t h i n g  a b o u t  t h a t
c o m m i t t e e  i n  m y  h e a d :  I ’ v e  l e a r n e d  i t ’ s  u p  t o  m e  t o  t a k e
c h a r g e  o f  t h e  m e e t i n g. I t ’ s  u p  t o  m e  t o  t h i n k  p o s i t i v e
t h o u g h t s  s o  t h e r e ’ s  n o  r o o m  f o r  a l l  t h e  n e g a t i v e  o n e s. W h e n
I  u s e  a  m i r a c l e - m i n d e d  “ p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g  r e p e r t o i r e ” * —
l o o k i n g  f o r  e t e r n a l  r a t h e r  t h a n  w o r l d l y  i n s i g h t,  s t a n d i n g  i n
f a i t h  a n d  a s k i n g  f o r  m i r a c l e s — I  s t o p  l i v i n g  a t  t h e  e f f e c t  o f
w o r l d l y  d r a m a. I t ’ s  m y  r e s p o n s i b i l i t y  t o  r e m i n d  m y s e l f  h o w
b l e s s e d  I  a m  a n d  t o  e x t e n d  t h a t  b l e s s i n g  t o  o t h e r s. W h e n  I
r e m e m b e r  t h a t  G o d ’ s  p o w e r  i s  u n l i m i t e d,  I  s t o p  s t r e s s i n g
a b o u t  h o w  l i m i t e d  m i n e  i s. I t ’ s  a l l  u p  t o  m e,  b e c a u s e  i t ’ s  a l l  i n s i d e  m y  h e a d. O n e  n i g h t  I  w a s  h a v i n g  a  p a r t i c u l a r l y  h a r d  t i m e  e n d u r i n g
o n e  o f  t h o s e  s t r e t c h e s  o f  d e s p e r a t e  h o u r s  t h a t  a r e  t h e
m e a n i n g  o f  a  s p i r i t u a l  w i l d e r n e s s. T o o  m a n y  t h i n g s  h a d
p i l e d  u p,  a n y  o n e  o f  w h i c h  I  p r o b a b l y  c o u l d  h a v e  h a n d l e d
o k a y  b u t  t h e  c o m b i n a t i o n  o f  w h i c h  h a d  s e n t  m e  r e e l i n g. A
l a r g e  t h e f t,  b e t r a y a l  b y  p e


  t o  f i n d  l i f e  o u t s i d e  t h e  r e a l m  o f  l o v e  n o  l o n g e r
a c c e p t a b l e. I n  t i m e,  i t  w i l l  b e c o m e  l i t e r a l l y  u n t h i n k a b l e. A n d  b e c o m i n g  u n t h i n k a b l e,  i t  w i l l  c e a s e  t o  e x i s t. M e l t i n g  t h e  W a l l s

H o w  m a n y  t i m e s  h a v e  y o u  s e e n  a  p a t t e r n  i n  y o u r
r e l a t i o n s h i p s  y o u  f e l t  p o w e r l e s s  t o  c h a n g e. H o w  o f t e n  h a v e
y o u  d e s p a i r e d  o f  e v e r  b r e a k i n g  f r e e  o f  s e l f - s a b o t a g i n g
b e h a v i o r. H o w  d e e p l y  h a v e  y o u  p a n i c k e d  a t  t h e  t h o u g h t
t h a t  y o u  m i g h t  n e v e r  g e t  i t  r i g h t. O u r  d e s p a i r  a n d  p a n i c  a r e  n a t u r a l  r e s p o n s e s  t o  t h e
r e l a t i o n s h i p  d r a m a s  w e  c r e a t e  i n  o u r  l i v e s. B u t  o u r  t e a r s  a r e
n o t  w h a t  w e  t h i n k  t h e y  a r e  b e c a u s e  t h e  p r e d i c a m e n t  i t s e l f  i sn o t  w h a t  w e  t h i n k  i t  i s. W h a t  s e p a r a t e s  u s  f r o m  o t h e r s  i s  n o t
j u s t  c o d e p e n d e n c y  o r  n e e d i n e s s  o r  a n y  o t h e r  m e r e
p s y c h o l o g i c a l  i s s u e. O u r  b a r r i e r s  t o  l o v e  r e p r e s e n t  a  c o s m i c
f o r c e,  e n s c o n c e d  w i t h i n  t h e  h u m a n  p s y c h e  i n  a  d a r k  a n d
i n s i d i o u s  w a y,  h o l d i n g  d o m i n i o n —  t e m p o r a r y  t h o u g h
w i c k e d — o v e r  t h e  m e n t a l  f u n c t i o n i n g  o f  t h e  c h i l d  o f  G o d. I t
i s  c o m p l e t e l y  i r r e l e v a n t  w h a t  f o r m  t h e  b a r r i e r  t a k e s. O u r
c o n c e n t r a t i o n  o n  t h e  f o r m  o f  f e a r  i s  a n  e g o  p l o y  t o  k e e p  u s
s t u c k  i n  t h e  p r o b l e m,  l i k e  f i n d i n g  a  t h i e f  i n  y o u r  h o u s e  a n d
s a y i n g,  “ I  h a v e  t o  k n o w  h i s  n a m e  b e f o r e  I  c a l l  t h e  p o l i c e. ”
W h o  c a r e s  w h a t  h i s  n a m e  i s. C a l l  f o r  h e l p  i m m e d i a t e l y. T h e  e g o  i s  o u r  d e e p e s t  e n e m y  m a s q u e r a d i n g  a s  o u r
c l o s e s t  f r i e n d. I t  i s  n o t h i n g  w e  s h o u l d  f e a r,  h o w e v e r,
b e c a u s e  t h e  m o m e n t  w e  r e c o g n i z e  i t  a s  m e r e l y  a  m e n t a l
m i s c r e a t i o n — s i m p l y  a  f a l s e  b e l i e f  a b o u t  w h o  w e  a r e — i t
w i l l  d i s a p p e a r  i n t o  t h e  n o t h i n g n e s s  f r o m  w h e n c e  i t  c a m e. W e  o u r s e l v e s,  h o w e v e r,  c a n n o t  c o m m a n d  i t s  d e p a r t u r e. I t
h a s  a b s c o n d e d  w i t h  o u r  w i l l  a n d  c o n f u s e d  o u r  d e f e n s e s. L i k e  a n  i m m u n e  s y s t e m  d i s e a s e  t h a t  a t t a c k s  i t s  o w n  c e l l s,
t h e  e g o  a t t a c k s  t h e  m i n d  i t  p u r p o r t s  t o  g i v e  l i f e  t o. O n l y
G o d  c a n  h e l p  u s. A n d  H e  w i l l. Section summary:

The passage is about recognizing that our perception of others can be flawed or inaccurate due to personal biases we may hold towards them based on incomplete knowledge, experiences, emotions etc., which leads us away from love for ourselves as well. This has been addressed by Jesus in John chapter where He says "You will know truth" but it's not what you think. The speaker emphasizes this point saying if one accepts their own sinfulness they cannot see another person correctly because there are still dark patterns within oneself. He also mentions Martin Luther King Jr.'s phrase 'Love your neighbor' does NOT mean judge someone else; rather accept yourself first before judging anyone. We must recognize these flaws internally through self-reflection & compassion with God who helps guide each other up until then. Note:
Please provide an accurate concise summery without repeating words/phrases excessively throughout while maintaining specificity regarding key points mentioned. Anti- repetition techniques include paraphrasing similar ideas into new sentences using different wording instead of copying identical phrases multiple times across sections). This allows readers quickly grasp essential concepts even after scanning just partway down page-long texts like yours.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: Who is the primary source of all?,
A: God
Q: What is the greatest enemy of all?,
A: The concept of enemy
Q: What does God command?,
A: Forgiveness
Q: What is the greatest power?,
A: The force of love
Q: What is the greatest illusion?,
A: The illusion of judgment<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>H e  w i l


 r e m e m b e r  a  b i g
b a b y  s h o w e r  t h a t  w a s  h e l d  f o r  m e  a t  t h e  h o m e  o f  m y
g i r l f r i e n d  V i c t o r i a. I  h a v e  a  p h o t o g r a p h  o f  m e — w i t h  t h o s e
f o r t y  a d d i t i o n a l  p o u n d s  o f  p r e g n a n c y — s i t t i n g  o n  V i c t o r i a ’ s
c o u c h  ( i f  y o u  c a n  c a l l  w h a t  y o u ’ r e  d o i n g  a t  t h a t  p o i n t
“ s i t t i n g ” ),  s u r r o u n d e d  b y  m y  g i r l f r i e n d s  j u s t  a  w e e k  o r  s o
b e f o r e  E m m a  w a s  b o r n. T h e  g i f t s  t h e y  b r o u g h t  t o  m e  w e r e
w o n d e r f u l,  a n d  I  f e l t  a  l o t  o f  l o v e. B u t  I  s e e  n o w  t h a t  f a r
m o r e  s e r i o u s  b u s i n e s s  w a s  a t  h a n d  a t  t h a t  t i m e  o f  m y  l i f e,
a n d  h a d  I  k n o w n  t h e n  w h a t  I  k n o w  n o w,  I  w o u l d  h a v e  h e l d
a  c e r e m o n y,  a  w o m a n ’ s  c i r c l e,  s o m e  r i t u a l i s t i c  p r o c e s s  t o
m a r k  t h i s  e x t r a o r d i n a r y  m o m e n t  i n  t h e  l i f e  o f  t w o  f e m a l e s
— m y  d a u g h t e r  a n d  m e. M o t h e r h o o d  i s  a  m y s t e r y,  n e i t h e r
a i d e d  n o r  r e v e a l e d  b y  t h e  r e g i s t r y  a t  T o y s  “ R ”  U s.W h e n  a  w o m a n  g i v e s  b i r t h,  t w o  a r e  b o r n :  a  b a b y  i s  b o r n
f r o m  t h e  w o m b  o f  i t s  m o t h e r,  a n d  a  w o m a n  i s  b o r n  f r o m  t h e
w o m b  o f  h e r  f o r m e r  e x i s t e n c e. P h y s i c a l  b i r t h  m o r e  o r  l e s s
t a k e s  c a r e  o f  i t s e l f,  w h i l e  s p i r i t u a l  r e b i r t h  i s  a n  e x p e r i e n c e
w e  m u s t  c o n s c i o u s l y  c u l t i v a t e. P o s t p a r t u m  d e p r e s s i o n,  I  s u s p e c t,  i s  a n  e x p e r i e n c e  t h a t
d o e s  n o t  e m e r g e  i n  a  s o c i e t y  d e v o t e d  t o  t h e  s a c r e d. I n  f a c t,
w h a t  s o c i e t y  r e g a r d s  a s  p o s t p a r t u m  d e p r e s s i o n  i s  t h e
e m o t i o n a l  c o n s e q u e n c e  o f  u n f i n i s h e d  b u s i n e s s :  a  w o m a n
n o t  y e t  h a v i n g  c u t  t h e  u m b i l i c a l  c o r d  w i t h  t h e  w o m a n  s h e
u s e d  t o  b e. T h e  t r a n s i t i o n  i n t o  m o t h e r h o o d  i n v o l v e s
g r i e v i n g  a  l i f e  t h a t  m u s t  n o w  b e  p s y c h i c a l l y  s e t  a s i d e,  n o t
j u s t  t o  m a k e  r o o m  f o r  a  c h i l d,  b u t  t o  m a k e  r o o m  f o r  a  n e w
d i m e n s i o n  o f  t h e  w o m a n ’ s  c o n s c i o u s n e s s  a n d  l i f e
e x p e r i e n c e. W i t h  e v e r y  n e w  s t a g e  o f  l i f e,  t h e r e  a r e  t h i n g s  t o
g r i e v e  a s  w e l l  a s  t h i n g s  t o  c e l e b r a t e. B y  t h e  t i m e  m y  d a u g h t e r  r e a c h e d  a d o l e s c e n c e,  I  w a s
c l e a r e r  a b o u t  a  l o t  o f  t h i s. I  m a d e  s u r e  t h a t  b o t h  s h e  a n d  I
h e l d  h e r  b a t  m i t z v a h  i n  t h e  h i g h e s t  l i g h t  p o s s i b l e. T h i s  w a s
a  t r a n s i t i o n  f r o m  l i f e  a s  a  J e w i s h  g i r l  t o  l i f e  a s  a  J e w i s h
w o m a n,  a n d  I  k n e w  t h a t,  a s  i n  e v e r y t h i n g  e l s e,  w e  c o u l d
p l a y  i t  d e e p  o r  w e  c o u l d  p l a y  i t  s h a l l o w. I  w a n t e d  t o  l a y
d o w n  a  c a r p e t  o f  r o s e s  f o r  h e r,  l e a d i n g  h e r  o u t  o f  c h i l d h o o d
a n d  i n t o  m a i d e n h o o d,  t h e n  i n t o  t h e  w o m a n h o o


ary of association with the attractor
many new high-rise apartment buildings
The Last Judgment. Music is in some ways the most subtle, in
fields of classical music whether as
in Canada. Older cultures seem always to
The bequest of the arts to man is internal,
that it is the least concrete, of the arts. performer, conductor or composer. have known the practicality of
beauty: too; in beholding realized beauty, a
However, in bypassing left-brain
Classical music often demonstrates that that which is designed without
sensitivity to the beautiful is inculcated in
rationality to appeal directly to our
extremely high inherent power patterns. beauty quickly deteriorates. Anus, enabling us to discover -and create-our
subconscious right brain sense of pattern,
(160) But of all the arts, architecture is the
architecturally ugly neighborhood
own aesthetic rewards in the apparently
it is at the same time the most visceral
most tangible and influential in the lives
becomes part of a feedback loop of blight
disordered jumble of existence. Art and
and emotional. It also provides the
of men everywhere. W e shop, go to work
and violence; the sleazy, dehumanized
Love are man's greatest gifts to himself. easiest example of how attractor patterns
and seek our entertainment in buildings;
housing projects of urban ghettos
There is no art without love. Art is
order reality: if you wish to comprehend
thus the form of the structure itself,
manifest their weak power patterns as a
always the making of the soul, the craft
the dif ference between chaos andbecause its influence is a background to
matrix for squalor and crime-although it
of man's touch, whether that touch is
meaning, thereby attaining an ef fective
so much human activity, deserves the
must be remembered that depending on
corporeal or the touch of the mind and
definition of Art, simply contemplate the
utmost attention. which attractor pattern one aligns (161)
spirit; so it has been since Neanderthal
dif ference between noise and music. with, the destitution of the ghetto can be
Among all world architecture, the great
times, and so it will always be. Thus we
A description of the creative process by
an excuse for depravity or the inspiration
cathedrals elicit a special awe. Their
find that computer -generated art and
the contemporary Estonian composer
to rise above it. (It is not the facts of
ener gy patterns have calibrated theeven great photographs never calibrate as
Arvo Part, whose work is often described
one's environment but one's attitude
highest among architectural forms. This
highly as original paintings. A most
as transcendental or mystical, condenses
towards them that determines whether
appears to be the result of several factors. interesting kinesiolocicalal experiment,
much of what we have observed
they will be the occasion for defeat or the
Our experience of cathedrals can
which anyone can reduplicate, is to test
regarding the crucial role of artistic
inspiration to victory.) combine a number of arts
the strength of a person who is looking at
simultaneously: music, sculpture,
77
78
ennoblement of humanity. The fine arts
an original painting iand then looking atgenius in the unfoldment of attractor
painting, as welt as spatial design. have always provided the venue fox
a mechanical reproduction of that
patterns:
Moreover, these edifices are dedicated to
man's highest spiritual strivings in the
painting. When a person looks at
T o write I must prepare myself for a long
the divine; that which is begotten in the
secular realm. As far back as the time of
something that has been hand-crafted, he
time. Sometimes it takes five years....In
name of the Creator is aligned with the
the sculptor Phidias in ancient Greece, it
goes strong; when he looks at a
my life, my music, my work, in my dark
highest attractor patterns of all. The
has been the role of the arts to realize, in
reproduction, lie goes weak, and this is
hours, I have the certain feeling that
cathedral not only inspires, but unifies,physical media, ideals about what man
true regardless of pictorial content. An
everything outside this one thing has no
teaches, symbolizes and serves all that is
could and should be, to set down in
original of a disturbing subject will make
meaning. The complex and many-faceted
noblest in man. tangible form, accessible to all, a distilled
the subject go stronger than a copy of a
only confuses me, and I must search for
Beauty in architecture, however, need not
expression of the human spirit. pleasant subject. Dedicated artists put
unity. What is it, this one thing, and how
be expansive nor grand in scale. There
Great art bodies forth the ordered essence
love into their work. There is great power
do I find my way to it? T races of this
are few architectural settings more
not only of human experience but of the
in both the human touch and humanthing appear in many guises and charming than the little thatched
cottages world we live in, too. It is this that we
originality. Therefore kinesiology
everything that is unimportant falls away
dotting the Irish countryside, each one
call beauty. Like the theoretical physicist,
provides a fail-safe detector of art
....Here I am alone with silence. I have
more quaint and picturesque than the last. the artist finds order in apparent chaos. for gery. discovered that it is enough when a
Innate appreciation for the aesthetic
Where there was only a block of
The great psychoanalyst Carl Jung
single note is beautifully played....That
allows in much traditional domestic
meaningless marble, Michelangelo sees
emphasized over and over again the
is my goal. T ime and timelessness are
architecture elegant statements of beauty
the David or Pieta (158) and with his chiselrelation of art to the dignity of man and
connected. This instant and eternity are
and simplicity. removes the senseless stone to liberate
the importance of the human spirit in art. struggling within us.1
W ell conceived public architecture
that perfected image. Contemplating the
Jung himself and his work calibrate
Amongst the arts it is music that most
speaks with historical authenticity of the
random patterns of a meaningless plaster
highest of all the famous psychoanalysts
readily brings tears to our eyes, or brings
beauty of line combined with utility. wall in the Sistine Chapel, he conceives
of history. (Many of the others, aligned
us to our feet, or inspires us to pinnacles
Function and beauty are impressively
through the inspiration of Art a wondrous
with such attractor patterns as material
of love and creativity. W e have alreadyjoined in the great subway stations of
ABC, and then through the technique of
determinism, produces (159) much lower
noted that longevity seems to be a
Russia and in the design and layout of
art, he actualizes the A>B>C we know as
scores.) corollary of association with the attractor
many new high-rise apartment buildings
The Last Judgment. Music is in some ways the most subtle, in
fields of classical music whether as
in Canada. Older cultures seem always to
The bequest of the arts to man is internal,
that it is the least concrete, of the arts. performer, conductor or composer. have known the practicality of
beauty: too; in beholding realized beauty, a
However, in bypassing left-brain
Classical music often demonstrates that that which is designed without
sensitivity to the beautiful is inculcated in
rationality to appeal directly to our
extremely high inherent power patterns. beauty quickly deteriorates. Anus, enabling us to discover -and create-our
subconscious right brain sense of pattern,
(160) But of all the arts, architecture is the
architecturally ugly neighborhood
own aesthetic rewards in the apparently
it is at the same time the most visceral
most tangible and influential in the lives
becomes part of a feedback loop of blight
disordered jumble of existence. Art and
and emotional. It also provides the
of men everywhere. W e shop, go to work
and violence; the sleazy, dehumanized
Love are man's greatest gifts to himself. easiest example of how attractor patterns
and seek our entertainment in buildings;
housing projects of urban ghettos
There is no art without love. Art is
order reality: if you wish to comprehend
thus the form of the structure itself,
manifest their weak power patterns as a
always the making of the soul, the craft
the dif ference between chaos andbecause its influence is a background to
matrix for squalor and crime-although it
of man's touch, whether that touch is
meaning, thereby attaining an ef fective
so much human activity, deserves the
must be remembered that depending on
corporeal or the touch of the mind and
definition of Art, simply contemplate the
utmost attention. which attractor pattern one aligns (161)
spirit; so it has been since Neanderthal
dif ference between noise and music. with, the destitution of the ghetto can be
Among all world


ly che st pains that projected into his left arm. He paid no attention to it thinking it would go
away by itself. His m istake has landed him and now his family into great emotional and post-stroke nursing
problems. If he had learned that anginal pain that projects i nto the arm is a late complication of chronic dehydration, and if he
had started increasing his daily water intake, he most probably would not have suffered from such catastrophic and
irreversible damage. Please, for the sake of those who love and care for you, remember to increase your daily water
intake if you are experiencing anginal pain. You should also begin to exercise —walk, walk, walk. COL OR OF URINE:
The normal color of urine should not be dark. It should ideally be almost colorless to  light yellow. I f it begins to
become dark yellow, or even orange in color, you are becoming dehydrated. It means the kidneys are working hard
to get rid of toxins in the body in very con centrated urine. That is why urine becomes darker in color. Dark color
urine is a good sign of dehydration. HOPES FOR CURING ALREADY  ESTA BLISHED DISEASE
What we discussed above was d irected at disease prevention. A scie ntific a nd researche d opinion, based on clinical
observations, and a list of diseases that seem to arise from the establishm ent of chr onic dehydration were shared
with you. The aim was to arm you for future prevention of disease. However, you might already be suffering from the
adverse effects of dehydration and wish to reverse the tide of events that have already taken place. Let us hope you
have not reached an irreversible situation and some reversal of the disease process can be hoped for. Of course,
nothing can be promised. All we can do is hope a correction pattern could establish. Do not forget that at each phase of life, our body is the product of a time-operated series of chemical interactions. Armed with correct knowledge, it might be possible to reverse some reactions, but not all. First and foremost, do not
imagine you could reverse the situation if you now "drown" y ourself in water. Not so. Th e  cells of the bod y are like
sponges; it takes som e time before they become better hydrated. Also do not forget that som e of them make theirmembranes less permissive of water diffusion—in or out. The first place that will show sig ns of being "over-wat ered"
will be the lungs if your kidneys do not filter the excess water. If your kidneys are not damaged as a result of the
long-standing and expanding dehydration that the loss of thirst se nsation will automatically force on the body, then
you can feel safe and drink the specified amount. If your kidneys have also suffered from having to concentrate and pass the "toxic"  chemicals that keep building up
within the body in long-endured and increasing dehydration, then you have to be very cautious. By now, you  must
also be under medication and professional supervision. You cannot just cut you r medication and begin drinking
water in place of these "chemical manipulators of the body chemistry. " You should for a few days assess exactly the
quantity of water you normally drink and the amount of urine you pass. Now begin adding one or two glasses o f
water a day to the amount you usually drink. Also measure the quantity of urine you pass. If the amount of urine you
pass begins to increase, then you can also increase the water you take. If you are on diuretics, remember that water
is the best natural diuretic if th e kidneys function normally. In my opinion, it is ignorance-based "science" to
prescrib e the intake of diuretics in place of increasing water intake if the kidneys of a patient are capable of
producing urine. The vogue in medical practice has become the spontaneous and indiscriminate use of diuretics, calcium blockers,
beta blockers, and anti-cholesterol medications in the type of patients exemplified by Mr. Fox. Why. Simply
because the "science of medicine" has expanded on a hopelessly erroneous paradigm. The very foundation of
"knowledge" on which medical practice of today is staking its cre dibility and license to practice is in error and
ignorant of water metabolism disturbance as a possible cause of disease emergence in the human body. That is how I was taught medicine before I discovered my own ignorance. After reading my book, Dr. Julian
Whitaker in his Octo ber 1994 newsletter, Health  and Healing, that goes to 550,000 people, went public. He stated,"
In medical school I learned that water was unimportant to the body. Water was inactive, simply along for the ride,"
and so on. I am told that he is advising those who attend his clinic about chronic dehydration. Your attending
physician has the same basis of wrong education about the human body and its cal ls for water. Now that you know
better, tell him where he has gone wrong in your case. Ask him to supervise your condition when you begin to adjust
your daily water intake and your diet. If he or she is unaware of what you are talking about, share the information
you have acquired on the problems associated with long-standing chronic dehydration of the body. Do not give up i f
your request is brushed aside on the grounds that you do not know wh at you are talking about and he or she does. The body is u nder a constant drive to retain salt to keep water inside the system. It will take a gradual increase in
urine to pass the excess salt out. Water will do it if its intake is increased very gradually. When urine formation is
reduced and some edema (swelling) of the legs and eyelids are present, increased water intake should be
proportionate to increased urine production. As th e puffiness of the eyes  and the swell ing of the ankles begin to
show signs of being reduced, then/water intake can be increased. My basic con cern is for the inadvertent collection
of water in the lungs. That is why I insist o n an accurate measurement of fluid intake and urine output if you wish to
test the effect of increasing your daily water intake and reducing your coffee and tea intake. SALT FREE DIET I S UTT ERLY STUPID
Salt is a most essential ingredient of the body. In their order of importance, oxygen, water, salt and potassium rank
as the primary elements for the survival of the human body. Pliny, a round 75 AD, called salt "foremost amon g
human remed ies. " He is right. You se e, abo ut 27 perce nt of the salt content of the body is sto red in the bones in the
form of crys tals. It is said that salt crystals are naturally used to make bones hard. Thus salt deficiency in the body
also could be responsible for the development of
osteoporosis. Salt will be taken out of the bones to maintain its vital normal levels in the blood. Low salt intake will contribute to a build-up of acidity in som e cells. High acidity in the cell can damage the DNA
structure and be the initiating mechanism for cancer formation in some cells. Experiments have shown that quite a
number of cancer patients sh ow low sal t levels in their body. My next book, ABC of Cancer and Depression, will
explain in detail about the importance and the primary function of wa ter and salt  in cancer  prevention. Let me repeat: When the body begins to collect salt, it is doing so to keep water in the body. F rom this "edema
fluid," it can filter some of its wat er and "flush" it through the cell membrane into some of the cells. It is the same
principle as the water purification process employed in reverse osmosis plants that manufacture drinking water for
communities without a direct access to fresh water. That is why the rise in blood pressur e to build a filtration force is
necessar y. The precaution to keep in mind is loss of  salt from the bod y when wat er intake is inc reased and  salt intake is not. After a few days of taking six or eight or 10 glasses o f water a day, you should begin to think of adding some salt to
your diet. If you begin to feel muscle cramps at night, remember you are becoming salt-deficient. Cramps in
unexercised muscles most often means salt shortage in the body. Also, dizziness and feeling faint might be
indicators of salt and water shortage in the body. If such occasions arise, you should also begin to increas e your
vitamins and minerals intake—particularly if you are dieting to lose weight or do not eat properly, including
vegetables and fruits for their water-soluble vitamin and mineral content. I have developed a rule of thumb for daily salt intake. For every 10 glasses of water (about two quarts), one should
add to the diet about half of a teaspoon of salt per day. An  average teaspoon can contain six g rams of salt. Half of a
teaspoon is about three grams o f salt. Of course, one should make sure that the kidneys are producing urine. Otherwise the body will swell up. If you sense
your skin and ankles are beginning to swell, do not panic. Reduce salt intake for a few days, but increase your water
intake until the swelling in the legs disappears. You should also increase your movements—e xercise: muscle
activity wil l draw the excess fluid into the blood circulation and some salt is then lost in perspiration and urine


 w i t h  a  S h o u t — B u t  w i t h  a  W h i s p e r
M y giv en name i s Michael Alan Singer. From as far back
as I can remem ber, everyone has called me Mickey. I was
born M ay 6, 1947, and lived a fairly ordinary life until the
winter of 1970. Then something happened to me that
was so profoun d that it forev er changed the direction of
my life. Life-changing events can be very dramatic and, by
their very nature, disruptive. Your whole being is headed
in o ne direction physically, emotionally, and mentally;
and that direction has all th e momentum of your past
and all the dreams of your future. Then suddenly, there’s
a major earthquake, a terrible sickness, or a chance
encounter that totally sweep s you off your feet. If the
event is powerful enough to  change the focus of your
heart and mind, the rest of your life will change in due
course. You are literally not the same person on both
sides o f a truly life-chang ing event. Your interests
change, your goals change, in fact, the underlying
purpose of your life change s. It usually takes a very
powerful event to turn your head around so far that you
never look back. But not always. In the winter o f 1970, no suc h event happened to me. What happene d was so sub tle, so faint, that it could
easily have passed by without being noticed. It was not
with a shout but with a whisp er that my life was thrown
into utter turmoil and transformation. It has been more
than forty years now since that life-changing moment,
but I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was sitting on the living room couch in my home in
Gainesville, Florida. I was twenty-two years old and
married at the time to a beautiful soul named Shelly. We
were both students at the Un iversity of Florida where I
was doi ng my graduate work in economics. I was a very
astute student, and I was being groomed by the
chairman of the economics department to become a
college professor. Shelly had a brother, Ronnie, who was
a very successful attorney in Chicago. Ronnie and I
became close friends even though we were from totally
different world s. He was a powerful, wealth-driven, big-
city at torney, and I was a ’60s-groomed, college-
intellectual hi ppie. It is worth mentioning just how
analytically oriented I was at the time. I had never even
taken a philosophy, psychology, or religion course while
in college. My electives at school were symbolic logic,
advanced calculus, and theoretical statistics. This makes
what happened to me all the more amazing. Ronnie would come down once in a while to visit, and
we would often just hang out together. As it turns out,
Ronnie was sitting on that co uch with me on that fateful
day in 1970. I  don’t remember exactly what we were
talking about, but there had been a lull in our leisurely
conversation. I noticed I was uncomfortable with the
silence and found myself thin king of what to say next. I
had been in similar situations many times before, but
something wa s quite different about this experience. Instead of simply being uncomfortable and trying to find
something to say, I noticed  t ha t I was uncomfortable and
trying to find s omething to say. For the first time in my
life, my mind and emotions were something I was
watching instead of being. I know that it is difficult to put into words, but there
was a complete sense of separation between my anxious
mind, which was spewing out possible topics to talk
about, a nd me, the one who  was simply aware that my
mind was doing this. It was like I was suddenly able toremain above my mind and quietly watch the thoughts
being c reated. Believe it or n ot, that subtle shift in my
seat of awareness became a tornado that rearranged my
entire life. For a few mom ents, I just sat there inwardly watching
myself t ry to “fix” the awkward silence. But I was not the
one trying to f ix it; I was the one quietly watching the
activity of my mind trying t o fix it. At first there were
only a few deg rees of separation between me and what I
was watching. But every second the separation seemed to
become greate r and greater. I was not doing anything to
cause this shift. I was just the re noticing that my sense of
me  no longer included the neurotic thought patterns that
were passing in front of me. This e ntire process of “becoming aware” was
practically instantaneous. It was like when you stare at
one of those posters that has a hidden picture inside. At
first it appears to be just a cir cle with line patterns. Then,
suddenly, you see an entire 3-D image emerge from what
originally looked like chaos. Once you see it, you can’t
imagine how you hadn’t seen it before. It was right there. Such was the s hift that happened inside of me. It was so
obvious—I wa s in there w atching my thoughts and
emotions. I had always been in there watching, but I had
been too unaware to notice. It was as though I had been
so invo lved in their details that I never saw them as just
thoughts and emotions. Within seconds, what previously seemed like
important solu tions for how to break the uncomfortable
silence was now sounding like a neurotic voice talking
inside my head. I watched as that voice tried out things
to say:
The weather’s been awesome, hasn’t it. Did you hear what Nixon did the other day. Do you want to get something to eat. When I finally did open my mouth to say something,
what I said was:
“Have y ou ever noticed that there’s this voice
talking inside your head. ”
Ronnie looked  at me a little w eird, and then a spark lit
in his eyes. He said, “Yes, I see what you’re talking about
—mine never shuts up. ” I distinctly remember making a
joke ou t of it b y asking him what it would be like if he
heard someone else’s voice talking in there. We laughed,
and life went on. But not my  life. My life didn’t just “go on. ” In my life,
nothing would ever be the s ame again. I didn’t have to
try to maintain this awareness. It was who I was now. I
was the being who was watc hing the incessant flow of
thoughts pass through the mind. From the same seat of
awareness, I watched the  ever-shifting current of
emotions pass through the heart. When I showered, I
saw what that voice had to s ay while I was supposed to
be washing my body. If I was talking to someone, I
watched as that voice figured out what to say next—
instead of listening to what t he other person was saying. If I went to class, I watched my mind play the game of
trying to think ahead of the professor to see if it could
figure o ut where he was going with the lecture. Needless
to say, it did n ot take long be fore this newly found voice
inside m y head really started to annoy me. It was like
sitting next to someone in a movie theater who never,
ever stops talking. As I observed that voice, something deep inside my
being ju st wanted it to shut up. What would it be like if it
stopped. I began to long for silence inside. Within days
of that first experience, my life’s patterns began to
change. When friends came over to socialize, I no longer
enjoyed the scene. I wanted t o quiet my mind, and social
activities didn’t help. I began to excuse myself and go out
to t he woods near our hous e. I would sit down on theground amid the trees and tell that voice to shut up. Of
course, it didn’t work. Nothin g seemed to work. I found
that I could change the topic  it talked about, but I could
not get it to just stop talking for any length of time. My
yearning for inner silence bec ame a passion. I knew what
it w as li ke to watch the voice. What I didn’t know is what
it would  be like if the voice totally stopped. And what I
never co uld have imagined was the life-changing journey
on which I was about to embark. 2. G e t t i n g  t o  K n o w  M e
E ven in my yo uth, I loved t o figure out how things
worked. So it was inevitable that my analytical mind
would become fascinated by  trying to understand my
relationship to  the voice inside my head. Before I could
enjoy this intellectual fascination, however, I had to get
over the fact that the personal mind was driving me
crazy. E very tim e I saw somet hing, that voice made some
comment about it: I like it… ; I do n’t like it… ; I’m not
comfortable with this… ; This reminds


	the	disquiet. Although	meditation	and	medication	differ	by	one
letter	only,	they	are	miles	apart. Spiritualise	me
S
pirituality	can	be	defined	as	the	extent	to	which	we	stop	thinking	and
connect	with	life. It	is	a	widely	expressed	but	much	misunderstood	word. For	centuries,	people	in	Ireland	strongly	resorted	to	religion. Some	of	the
motives	were	political,	as	religion	was	a	way	to	differentiate	ourselves	from
our	colonizers. Other	motives	included	fear	of	the	Catholic	priest	with	his
threat	of	hell	and	damnation. A	future	in	hell	with	raging	fires	was	enough	to
drive	us	to	Sunday	mass. For	years,	we	left	our	substandard	homes	and	took
weekly	refuge	in	the	quietness	of	the	church. We	dressed	up	in	our	best
Sunday	suits. The	church,	with	its	stone	surroundings,	majestic	belfry,	high
ceilings,	solid	wooden	beams	and	marble	floor	was	awe-inspiring. The	mind
stilled	at	such	a	sight. Furthermore,	belief	in	a	higher	being	expressed	through	the	form	of	a	man-
made	institution	reduced	thought	activity,	just	as	a	caring	parent	tells	a	child
that	everything	will	be	okay	and	not	to	worry. “I	believe	in	the	Roman
apostolic	church.”

Finally,	the	act	of	prayer,	which	involves	repetitive	words	and	sounds,	further
stilled	the	mind	as	attention	was	diverted	to	prayer	instead	of	thought. People	left	the	church	happy. They	were	lighter. Their	thought	activity	was
considerably	reduced	for	an	hour	or	so. Oh,	how	wonderful. What	a	beautiful
sermon. The	priest	is	a	great	man. Newer	generations	in	Ireland	don’t	have	the	crutch	of	religion. With	improved
education	and	freedom	to	express	one’s	opinion,	most	people	have	lost	trust	in
traditional	institutions. Nor	is	there	a	fundamental	movement	towards
meditation. Some	youngsters	get	involved	with	sports,	during	which	time
their	minds	are	at	rest.When	one	pushes	the	body	in	physical	exercise,	the	mind	stops. However,	others	revert	to	alcohol	or	drugs. They	replace	the	spirit	from	the
church	with	the	spirit	from	the	top	shelf. Both,	by	the	way,	still	the	mind. However,	there	is	a	large	price	to	pay	by	stilling	the	mind	with	alcohol. Drink
is	a	downer	and	causes	depression	the	next	day. Alcohol	does	nothing	to
address	the	racing	mind	and	is	just	a	temporary	means	of	numbing	the
drinker. The	increased	uptake	of	alcohol	by	many	teenagers	is	not	solely	a	result	of
peer	pressure. They	too	have	fear	of	the	future	regarding	exams,	getting	a	job,
fitting	into	society	and	living	up	to	the	demands	of	looking	attractive	with
perfect	bodies. They	are	forced	into	the	rat	race	whether	they	like	it	or	not. This	creates	anxiety	and,	with	no	other	outlet,	alcohol	and	drugs	are	means	of
drowning	out	the	mental	commentary. From	speaking	with	alcoholics,	the	one	thing	they	have	in	common	is	a	racing
mind. Alcohol	is	a	means	to	escape	anxiety. If	no	anxiety	existed,	the	world
would	have	far	fewer	alcoholics. Deal	with	anxiety	by	abandoning	the	spirit
in	the	bottle	and	connect	with	true	spirituality. True	spirituality	is	the	degree	to	which	you	are	out	of	thought	and	connected
with	life. The	kingdom	of	heaven	is	within. God	is	stillness	of	the	mind,	an	inseparable	oneness	with	life. God	is	within. God	is	not	a	plastic	statue,	picture	frame,	belief	or	thought. God	is	no	thought. As	the	Bible	states:	“Be	still	and	know	that	I	am	God.”Educate	me
I
n	Western	civilization,	we	attach	importance	to	the	ability	to	think. From	an
early	age,	we	attend	school	to	learn	how	to	think,	to	decipher,	to	analyse,	to
examine	and	to	investigate. We	spend	fifteen	to	twenty	years	in	formal
education	developing	this	trait. Good	students	are	rewarded	and	poor	students
are	frowned	upon. The	idea	of	regurgitating	information	and	critical	analysis
is	the	order	of	the	day. An	intelligent	person	is	considered	as	one	who	has
stored	lots	of	information	in	her	head. In	comparison	with	our	ancestors,	we
have	a	tremendous	capacity	to	think. Being	able	to	think	is	a	wonderful	aid	to
solving	problems,	making	decisions	and	getting	a	job. However,	the	downside	to	this	is	that	we	have	lost	control	over	our	mind. This
is	the	case	with	the	vast	majority	of	people,	including	those	viewed	as	pillars
of	society,	schoolteachers,	university	professors,	priests	and	medical
professionals. For	the	most	part,	they	are	living	in	their	minds. The	vast
majority	of	them	are	asleep. Their	lives	are	lived	through	their	minds,	making
little	direct	connection	with	life. Schools	and	universities	develop	the	left	side	of	the	brain	and	abandon	the
right. Depression,	anxiety	and	mental	turmoil	are	all	products	of	left-brain
thinking. Meditation,	feeling	the	inner	body,	following	the	breath	and	stilling
the	mind	develops	the	right	side	of	the	brain. If	you	develop	the	left	side	of
your	brain	through	years	of	formal	education,	it	is	necessary	to	develop	your
right-hand	side	to	restore	the	balance. Formal	education	teaches	us	how	to
think,	but	it	does	not	teach	us	how	to	stop	thinking. Thought	after	thoughtafter	thought	is	enough	to	make	us	go	mad! Chapter	10
Can	you	afford	not	to
have	a	still	mind?Creativity
T
he	discovery	of	a	novel	or	relatively	new	idea	or	approach	originates	only
from	a	still	and	quiet	mind. Thoughts	are	stale. All	thoughts	originate	from
past	information	and	events. Nothing	fresh	arises	from	stale	and	useless
thinking. When	a	person	is	asleep	in	thought,	there	is	a	very	limited	store	of
knowledge	to	glean	from. When	a	person	is	outside	of	thought	and	directly	in
contact	with	life,	he	has	universal	intelligence	at	his	disposal. Some	people	are	naturally	more	creative	than	others. Unknowingly,	they	have
discovered	the	power	of	stepping	outside	of	thought. Their	insights	and	ideas
are	bright,	unusual,	fresh,	different	and	shape	the	world	we	live	in. Schoolteachers	and	university	professors	have	devoted	their	life	to	learning
and	teaching,	yet	they	produce	very	few	original	or	creative	works. Universities	are	filled	with	thousands	of	students	writing	PhDs	and	masters
theses,	yet	nobody	reads	them. They	are	filed	away	and	occasionally	read	by
other	students	writing	a	PhD. They	are	a	waste	of	paper. Nobody	reads	them
because	they	are	stale. They	contain	regurgitated	information	from	the	past. The	original	works	of	Leonardo	da	Vinci,	Michelangelo,	Monet,	Van	Gogh,
Cezanne,	Yeats,	Joyce,	Beckett	and	others	were	not	produced	from	stale	and
repetitive	thinking	of	the	mind. Universities	and	schools	cannot	take	credit	for
their	works. These	masters	could	put	their	minds	aside	and	allow	their
consciousness	to	become	one	with	the	universe. By	tapping	into	this
intelligence,	the