 such a destiny, and I
will make damn sure my son isn’ t a fool.”“Once he dies to you, you will be sure of nothing.” The king’ s smile
vanished. “Y ou’re making a mistake. Ruling the world is child’ s play. To
truly rule your soul is like ruling creation. It is above even the gods.”
The old hermit wasn’ t finished. “Y ou too are in his chart. It says you
will either suf fer over your son as no father ever has or you will bow down
before him.”
Suddhodana’ s disbelief was a roar. “You’re wrong, old monk. I can turn
him into what I want.” Suddhodana’ s face was mottled with rage. “Now get
out! All of you!”
Even for gossip-hungry courtiers, the drama had been too much. Half
the oil lamps had already sputtered out. In the dim light their retreating
figures looked like insubstantial shadows bowing their way out of the king’ s
presence. The jyotishis led the way with profuse apologies and anxious
blessings. Canki wanted to be last in the room, but he found it politic to go
when the king glared daggers at him. After a moment only Asita was left.
With the audience gone, Suddhodana could speak freely. “Is all that you
said true? Is there nothing I can do?”
“No matter what I say, you will do it anyway.” Without reproof, Asita
began to leave, only to be held back once more.
“Tell me just one thing. Why did you weep tears when you saw my
son?” asked Suddhodana.
“Because I will not live long enough to hear the immortal truth that
Buddha will speak,” Asita said.
OceanofPDF.com4
The next morning Suddhodana rode his warhorse up the hillside toward
the imposing Shiva temple his father had built on the crest. The king’ s
melancholy had changed overnight, replaced by determination. A score of
bullock carts were gathered outside the temple gates, the great patient
beasts searching lazily for grass sprouting from the earth packed hard by the
sandals of devotees.
Suddhodana dismounted and let his horse graze with the bullocks. He
strode into the main temple courtyard, which was filled with milling
worshippers and sellers of sandalwood and ghee for ritual of ferings. A wed
eyes followed his progress, but Suddhodana had no time for ceremony. He
had ridden without an entourage because he had a secret purpose in mind;
he didn’ t summon Canki to the palace because he was too impatient to wait
for him.
Now he burst into the inner sanctum, where the air was a heavy, sweet-
smelling pall. A lone priest was performing the ritual Rudravishek. Slowly
he poured ladles of milk over a tall polished stone, the Shiva lingam. The
liquid left a faint blue veil on the ancient river rock. In the darkness
Suddhodana’ s eyes narrowed; they stung from the residue of pitch and
incense hanging in the air.
“Canki!”
The priest stopped the oblation and turned toward the bellowing voice.
The king’ s eyesight had adjusted, and he recognized the high Brahminhimself at the altar. Some rich devotee, probably marrying a third or fourth
wife, had paid handsomely for the ceremony.
After a glance Canki turned back to his task. “I’m not finished yet,” he
said.
The king came up and seized the ladle from his hands. “Y ou are now.”
Canki bowed, then led the king away, padding silently over the stone
floor on bare feet. He was quite capable of defying royalty, protected by his
Brahmin privilege. Canki was solid and imposing, despite the rolls of fat
exposed as he went, bare-chested, across the cobbled courtyard toward the
cloister where the monks lived. The Brahmin lowered his heavy body onto
a leather stool inside his cell, pointedly not waiting for the king to take a
seat first. Suddhodana let the insult pass. “If you talk to God, you already
know why I’m here,” he said.
“I know that God wishes to please you in every way, Your Highness.”
Canki gave a fawning smile meant to win over an angry king.
“I want my son to rule the world.” Suddhodana said the words without
hesitation. “Is this possible?”
“Every father would want—”
Suddhodana stepped closer, magnifying the threat he posed. “No! Either
this is God’ s will or it’ s not. Y ou are to tell me. Much rests on this. More
than your life, in fact.”
The balance between castes was delicate. If the rulers had a political
reason to support religion, they did; if the priests needed to bring the people
under their sway, they exerted influence over the rulers by promises of
divine favor. Canki knew the system very well, and he also knew, despite
his high caste, whose hand rested on the sword.
He said, “Y ou face many obstacles in this endeavor, Your Highness. But
it can be done.”“How?”
“Seek to control the infant prince’ s mind. He must be taught to think
like you. T o believe like you. And to lust as you lust.”
This last was a barb, but Suddhodana waited patiently, hearing truth in
the Brahmin’ s words. If anyone knew how to control others’ minds, Canki
did.
“Train him well, as a complete warrior. Place his whole sense of worth
on fighting, and on you.” Canki paused. “Am I helping?”
Suddhodana realized at that moment why the jyotishis had been so
nervous. They had consulted the high Brahmin as soon as they cast
Siddhartha’ s chart. No doubt they could foretell the king’ s displeasure.
“Is that all I have to do?” Suddhodana’ s tone was cutting; they both
knew his suspicion toward priests.
“No. The most dif ficult part comes last.” Canki went to the window and
pointed outside at a lar ge stone statue of Shiva. “I am reminded of Lord
Shiva’ s story. You know it, of course.” This was another barb; the Brahmin
continued without waiting for a reply.
“Venerable sages had gathered in the forest to meditate, and Lord Shiva
desired to learn from them. But he was mischievous, and he brought a
woman with him to their retreat. This was a test, for the woman was
actually Lord V ishnu in disguise. But the sages were too blinded with rage
to see this. They vowed to kill this sacrilegious intruder, so from the sacred
fire they engendered a monstrous tiger. The beast leaped upon Shiva, but
with one fingernail he stripped the tiger of his skin and wrapped it around
his shoulders. Then he thanked the sages for their courtesy in supplying him
with a meditation cloak.
“The sages’ fury redoubled after this impudence. The sacred fire
absorbed their rage, and a second monster sprang out, this time an
enormous serpent. But Shiva choked it with his hands and wrapped the
carcass around his neck. He thanked the sages for providing him with anecklace. At that point they grew so furious that a third monster sprang
from the fire—”
“Stop!” Suddhodana’ s patience had reached its limit. “If you think what
I must do is too dif ficult, spare me your parables. Just tell me outright.”
“Make your son a total prisoner.”
The starkness of these words hit Suddhodana in his chest like a rock.
Canki read his dismay and hurried on.
“This is a soul whose spiritual tendencies will be almost uncontrollable,
and your only chance is when the boy is young. T o make Siddhartha into a
great king, never let him leave these walls,” the high Brahmin said. “He
must believe this is a paradise. If he once sees suf fering, your son will never
obey you again. Y ou’ll lose him forever.”
Suddhodana was stunned. “For how long must I do this?”
“Thirty-two years.”
“And there’ s no other way?” The king had become extremely
deliberate, as if weighing a death sentence. It revolted him to think that he
had acquired a conspirator. Someone who had power over him from this
day on. He felt smothered by the rage and helplessness whirling inside him.
Involuntarily his sword arm moved, and the next instant he had the
Brahmin pinned to the floor with the edge of his blade. “Y ou think you’ve
achieved something today? Then remember the rest of Shiva’ s story. Out of
the sacred fire leaped a third monster, a hideous dwarf. Shiva pounced upon
it and held its throat under his heels, crushing it. Who was that dwarf?”
“Ignorance.” Canki choked out the word.
“Don’ t prey upon my ignorance, then. I know more than you


 event was about how she
gained approval from her parents. We tapped on every aspect we could find,
until when she said the words “Big Belly,” she could laugh. What she
finally realized is that when she did sneak food or eat off her parents’
plates, they thought it was cute and showered her with love and affection.
She was essentially praised for overeating and sneaking food! Is it any
wonder this pattern had been hard to break?
Shelley was able to resolve her issue with being seen just as she was. She
had been the oldest of five kids, and her mom expected her to hold it
together. She had to act perfect to gain approval, but inside she was afraid
that if anyone really saw what a “mess and fraud” she was, she would be
abandoned and die all alone. This was obviously a very old, longstanding
belief. We addressed this through stories she shared about her growing up
with a mother who treated her like a servant and alternately confided in her
inappropriately. Is it any wonder that one of the patterns we broke was her
need to sneak as much junk food as she could into her mouth before Mom
came home?
Exercise: Creating Y our Own W eight
Release and Body-Confidence ListList “Weight Release and Body Confidence” as your heading  in the EFT
journal. Set a timer for five minutes and list specific events where you have
felt uncomfortab le or frustrated about your body image or your weight.
Commit to tapping on these one at a time for your own healing of patterns
that no longer serve you.
Your work will help you uncover more roots and the origins of body
confidence issues, weight challenges, and craving concerns. These often
stretch all the way back through a family line. You might say these are
inherited belief systems and patterns of distress that you can unco ver and
resolve. And you are doing the work for future generations, too.
You Are So Much More Than Y ou Know!
How much of our true nature has to do with how big our boobs or pecs are,
or how skinny we are? Our culture emphasizes a form of beauty that is
neither real nor reflective of who we are as individuals. On our deathbeds,
we’re not going to regret not looking like that supermodel on the cover of
Vogue.  You may as well forgive yourself in advance for being so hard on
yourself—tap on that one—“ Even though I’ve been so hard on myself and
will no doubt continue to be because I am only human, I deeply and
completely accept myself anyway.”
Imagine that, in your glorious life, you don’t have to be anything but
yourself. Imagin e the expansive feeling of relief, of being at peace, of
loving your life, just as you are, in control of your choices, no matter what
happens around you.
In Conclusion
In this chapter, we explored how you can address weight challenges and
trouble with body image as well as how to clear cravings with EFT. Our
next chapter addresses tapping while experiencing loss and grief.
[contents]OceanofPDF.comChapter 11
Loss and Grief—Letting Go with EFT
To sort of parap hrase the poet Kahlil Gibran, the depths of sorrow we feel
in our heart are equally proportionate to the heights of joy we are capable of
feeling, as paradoxical as it seems. It’s not that we seek sorrow, loss, and
grief; it usually finds its way to us. But to know that grief has a
counterpoint can remind us that grief is not all there is in our lives.
We can use EFT to address loss whether of a loved one or a dream or a
way of life or even a favorite bracelet. Tapping will not erase your memory
of the loved one, the dream, or the object in question. It addresses the
excessive grief, the grief of the unresolved earlier losses in life. Past losses
seem to light up each time we experience a new one, and it can result in an
energy disruption. For a child, it can seem quite typical; perhaps it is as
mundane as losing a special toy, a friend moving away, going from being
the one who got all the caregiv ers’ attention to now having to share the
spotlight with a new sibling.
To activate your body’ s energy system, go ahead and tap on the tap-down
points, the collar bone point, or the gamut or fingertip points while you read.
Life Is Change
We human beings are continually changing and evolving, despite our best
efforts to make things stay the same. We like knowing what to expect
because we have a mistaken understanding that the status quo will keep us
safe. W e don’ t like losing stuf f, but life is about change and letting go.
We leave the sanctity of the wom b and are born. We leave our caregiver ’s
arms and begin crawling, walking, and playing independently. We leave the
sweet simplicity of childhood and enter into awkward, ungainly,tumultuous, independent adolescence. We leave home, go to college, have
careers, marry, and have lives of our own. We watch our childr en grow …
and leave. Our bodies change. Finally, we reach the end of life—another
change. Truly, from the moment we are born, “letting go,” “leaving
behind,” and “change” are the operative words. And yet we are often caught
off-guard and unprepared with regard to our losses.
When we meet the changes, life works. But when we’re burdened by
grief, our ability  to experience life’s wonder and joy is affected. When the
feelings get stuck inside, we ourselves get stuck. We displace. We project.
We ignore. W e do all kinds of creative things to avoid feeling the grief.
Exercise: Releasing Intensity
Charge Around the Loss
Here we will gently work with grief you are ready to release.
Step 1. In your EFT journal, create the heading: “Grief and Loss
Release.” Identify a loss you’d like to work with. It could be anything from
loss of a loved one to an experience you believe you have an unreasonable
attachment to or would like to experience peace rather than pain.
Step 2. List your thoug hts, feelings, sensations, self talk, the details you
recall when you think of that loss, or of letting go of grief. Here are
examples from my practice from clients who have lost loved  ones in all
manner of circumstances: “It’s not fair.” “It’s wrong.” “There was no
closure.” “It’s unacceptable.” “I can’t go on now.” “Someone needs to pay
for this. I’m so angry!” “I am guilty.”“I didn’ t do enough. I should have
been there.” “It’s my fault.” “No one understands what it’s like.”  “My life is
over.” “I feel the loss of what I never had.” “The heavy pressure in my
chest.” “I am suddenly exhausted in my body.” “How do I go on after
having cared for him/her (who was sick) all these years?” “I just miss her so
much.” “I feel so alone and unlovable.”Now choose just one aspect from your list—this will be the start of your
manageable tapping. Simultane ously, note how you feel this aspect inside
your body in your journal.
Step 3. Now what’ s the intensity, 0 to 10, about that aspect you chose?
Write it down. You’re already aware of your body sensation, as you noted it
in step 2.
Step 4.  Apply the EFT basic recipe to your tapping target. In this case, we
will simply tap on the “top level” of the grief, with this example: “I don’t
think I can ever get over this.” As alwa ys, tap on your Karate Chop point
one to three times while repeating this setup statem ent:
Even though I’ll never get over this, I deeply and completely accept
myself.
Tap through at least one or more  EFT sequences, starting at the top of the
head through under the arm, with: “I’ll never get over this,”until  you sense
a shift in intensity.
Step 5. Now take a deep breath, allowing the breath to flow up from the
earth, into the soles of your feet, up through your legs, through your torso,
and through the crown of your head. Exhale, letting go, with the exhale
longer than your inhale. Repeat several times.
Step 6. Check your intensity now on “I’ll never get over this.” If it is
higher, go to step 9. If lower, go to step 8. If it’s the same, go to step 7. If
your aspect (for example, “I’ll never get over this”) has subsid ed and now
other aspects of the loss are popping their heads up at sixes and sevens or
higher, just allow for their passing, one at a time, EFT round by EFT round.
When you get to this step again, keep following through  until you
experience relief, meaning that you are able to think of the tapping target
with neutrality. Or, you are able to think of the person or the event and have
more perspective than at the time of loss, for example.Step 7. If intensity is the same.


 s  b u t  r a t h e r  m y  o w n  p r e j u d i c e  t h a t  l e d  m e  t o  l o o k  a t
t h e  f l o w e r s  q u i c k l y,  s a y,  “ T h e y ’ r e  d y i n g, ”  a n d  s i m p l y  t h r o w
t h e m  o u t.  I n  a c t u a l i t y,  t h e y  w e r e  n o t  l e s s  b e a u t i f u l  s o  m u c h
a s  b e a u t i f u l  i n  a  d i f f e r e n t  w a y.  I t  w a s  n o t  t h e  f l o w e r s  b u t  m y
o w n  e y e s  t h a t  n e e d e d  t o  c h a n g e.
I n  t h a t  s i t u a t i o n,  t h e  f l o w e r s  h a d  h a d  a n  a d v o c a t e :  m y
f r i e n d,  a  n o t e d  e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s t,  w h o  s i m p l y  h a d  a  m o r e
s o p h i s t i c a t e d  e y e.  T h e  m o r e  w e  l i v e,  t h e  m o r e  c a p a c i t y  w e
h a v e  t o  s e e  h o w  m u c h  o f  l i f e  i s  b e a u t i f u l.  T h e r e  a r e  t h i n g s
t h a t  t o u c h  m y  h e a r t  n o w — l o v e r s  h o l d i n g  h a n d s,  s m a l l
c h i l d r e n  l a u g h i n g — t h a t  I  b a r e l y  n o t i c e d  i n  d a y s  g o n e  b y.
I  h a v e  a  f r i e n d  w h o  w o r k e d  f o r  a  m i d d l e - a g e d  r o c k  s t a r,
a n d  h e  t o l d  m e  a  s t o r y  a b o u t  a n  e x p e r i e n c e  t h e y  o n c e  h a d
t o g e t h e r.  I  h a d  b e e n  c o m p l a i n i n g  t h a t  a f t e r  a  c e r t a i n  p o i n t  i n
l i f e  i t ’ s  h a r d  t o  g e t  e x c i t e d  a b o u t  a  l o t  o f  t h i n g s  t h a t  u s e d  t o
s e e m  g l a m o r o u s  a n d  f u n.  M y  f r i e n d  s a i d,  “ L e t  m e  t e l l  y o u
a b o u t  a  t r i p  I  t o o k  w i t h  J o h n  t o  M i n n e a p o l i s.
“ W e  w e r e  g o i n g  t h e r e  t o  s e e  a  S p r i n g s t e e n  c o n c e r t,  a n d
J o h n  r e n t e d  a  p r i v a t e  j e t  t o  f l y  u s  f r o m  N e w  Y o r k.  T h r e e  o f
u s  w h o  w o r k  f o r  h i m  p i l e d  i n t o  a  l i m o  a n d  w e r e  d r i v i n g  t o
t h e  a i r p o r t  w h e n  o n e  o f  J o h n ’ s  f r i e n d s  c a l l e d  o n  t h e  p h o n e.
“ J o h n  e x c l a i m e d  t o  h i m,  ‘ O h,  B e n,  y o u  s h o u l d  b e  h e r e!
W e ’ r e  h a v i n g  s o  m u c h  f u n!  W e ’ r e  i n  a  s t r e t c h  l i m o,  a n d
w e ’ r e  g o i n g  o f f  i n  a  j e t  t o  a  S p r i n g s t e e n  c o n c e r t! ’  J o h n  w a s
l i k e  a n  e x c i t e d  l i t t l e  b o y,  s t u d y i n g  t h e  t r a v e l e r ’ s  g u i d e  t of i n d  a  g r e a t  r e s t a u r a n t  i n  M i n n e a p o l i s,  e x c i t e d  a b o u t  t h i s
t r i p  a s  t h o u g h  i t  w e r e  t h e  c o o l e s t  t h i n g  i n  t h e  w o r l d. ”
T h e  p o i n t,  o f  c o u r s e,  i s  t h a t  J o h n  h a s  b e e n  i n  h u n d r e d s  i f
n o t  t h o u s a n d s  o f  p r i v a t e  j e t s ;  h e  h a s  b e e n  t o  h u n d r e d s  i f  n o t
t h o u s a n d s  o f  r o c k  c o n c e r t s,  i n c l u d i n g  h i s  o w n ;  a n d  a  s t r e t c h
l i m o  t o  h i m  i s  l i k e  a  n o r m a l  c a r  t o  t h e  r e s t  o f  u s.  H e  t r a v e l s
t h e  w o r l d  l i k e  i t ’ s  h i s  o w n  b a c k y a r d,  y e t  h e r e  h e  w a s
s t u d y i n g  t h e  t r a v e l  g u i d e  a s  t h o u g h  M i n n e a p o l i s  w e r e  s o m e
e x o t i c  d e s t i n a t i o n.  A p p a r e n t l y,  e v e r y w h e r e  J o h n  g o e s  i s
e x c i t i n g  t o  h i m  b e c a u s e  h e  h a s n ’ t  l o s t  h i s  c a p a c i t y  f o r  j o y.
B o r e d o m  i s  n o t  h i s  f r a m e  o f  m i n d.
S o  t h e n  i t  m a k e s  m o r e


 that
identical and entirely reproducible,
exposition of the development of the
the beneficial or adverse ef fects of a great
the brain acts as a receiving set (38) for
fulfilling the fundamental requirement of
field was detailed by David W alther in
variety of psychological stimuli such as
ener gy patterns residing in the mind
the scientific method: perfect
his extensive volume on Applied art forms, music, facial expression,
voice itself, which exist as consciousness experimental replicability.1
Kinesiology, also published in 1976.5
modulation, and emotional stress. He was
expressed in the form of thought." It is
Subjects were selected at random and
The most striking finding of kinesiology,
an excellent teacher, and his seminars
the vanity of the ego that claims thoughts
tested in a wide array of physical andinitially, was a clear demonstration that
attracted thousands of professionals who
as "mine." Genius, on the other hand,
behavioral settings: on top of mountains
muscles instantly become weak when the
returned to their own practices with re-
commonly attributes the source of
(42)
and at the seashore, at holiday parties and
body is exposed to harmful stimuli. For
newed interest and curiosity as they
creative leaps of awareness to that basis
during the course of everyday work, in
instance, if a patient with hypoglycemia
explored applications of the technique.
of all consciousness which has moments of joy and moments of sorrow.
put sugar on his tongue, on muscle-
In addition to its inclusive applicability,
traditionally been called Divinity.
None of these circumstances had any
testing the deltoid muscle (the one the test was quick, simple, easy to 2.
HIST OR Y ACEDef fect on test results, which were found
usually used as an indicator) instantly
perform and highly decisive; all
METHODOLOGY
to be universally consistent irrespective
went weak. Accordingly, it was researchers confirmed the absolute
of any extraneous factor, with the
discovered that substances which were
replicability of test results. For example,
THE BASIS OF THIS WORK is singular exception of the methodology
of
therapeutic to the body made the muscles
an artificial sweetener made every
research done over a twenty-year period,
the testing procedure itself. Because of
instantly become strong.
subject test weak, whether placed on the
involving millions of calibrations on
the significance of this factor, the testing
Because the weakness of any particular
tongue, held in its package adjacent to
thousands of test subjects of all ages andmethod will be described in detail below.
muscle indicated the presence of a the solar plexus or hidden in a plain
personality types, from all walks of life.
pathologic process in its corresponding
envelope the contents of which neither
By design, the study is clinical in method
Historical Background
or gan (corroborated by diagnosis through
the tester nor the subject knew.
and thus has widespread pragmatic In 1971, three physiotherapists
published acupuncture and physical or laboratory
That the body responded even when the
implications. Because the testing method
a definitive study on muscle testing.2 Dr.
examination), it was a highly useful
mind was naive was most impressive.
is valid in application to all forms of
Geor ge Goodheart of Detroit, Michigan,
clinical tool to detect disease. Thousands
Most practitioners did their own
human expression, calibrations have had studied muscle testing
techniques of practitioners began to use the method
verification research, placing varioussuccessfully been taken for literature,
extensively in his clinical practice and
and data rapidly accumulated showing
substances in plain, numbered envelopes
architecture, art, science, world events,
made the breakthrough discovery that the
kinesiology to be an important and and having a naive second person test
a and the complexities of human strength or weakness of every muscle
reliable diagnostic technique which could
third. The overwhelming conclusion was
relationships. The test space for the
was connected to the health or pathology
accurately monitor a patient's response to
that the body would indeed respond
determination of the data is the totality of
of a specific corresponding body or gan.3
treatment.
accurately, even when the conscious
the human experience throughout all
He further determined that each
The technique found widespread mind was unaware.
time.individual muscle was associated with an
acceptance among professionals from The reliability of the testing
experience Mentally, test subjects ranged from what
acupuncture meridian and correlated his
many disciplines, and although it never
never ceased to amaze the public and
the world calls normal to severely ill
work with that of the physician Felix
caught on in mainstream medicine, it was
patients and, for that matter, the
psychiatric patients. Subjects were tested
Mann on the medical significance of the
used extensively by holistically oriented
practitioners themselves. When this
in Canada, the United States, Mexico and
acupuncture meridians.
physicians. One of these was Dr. John
author was on the lecture circuit, for
throughout South America and Northern
By 1976, Goodheart's book on applied
Diamond, a psychiatrist who began to use
instance, in audiences of one thousandEurope. They were of all nationalities,
kinesiology had reached its twelfth
kinesiology in diagnosing and treating
people, five hundred envelopes
ethnic backgrounds, and religions, edition; he began to teach the
technique psychiatric patients. He labeled this containing artificial
sweetener would be ranging in age from children to elders in
to his colleagues and also published
extended use of kinesiology "Behavioral
passed out to the audience along with
their nineties, and covered a wide monthly research tapes. His work was
Kinesiology."6
five hundred identical envelopes
spectrum (40) of physical and emotional
rapidly picked up by others, which led to
While other investigators were containing or ganic vitamin C. The
health. Subjects were tested individually
the formation of the International College
researching the usefulness of the method
audience would be divided up and would
and in groups by many dif ferent testers
of Kinesiology, many members of whichin detecting aller gies, nutritional alternate testing each other. When the
and groups of testers. But in all cases,
also belonged to the Academy of
disorders and response to medication, Dr.
envelopes were opened, the audience
19
20
also correlates with the conclusions without exception, the results were
Preventive (41) Medicine. A thorough Diamond used the technique to
research reached by Nobelist Sir John Eccles that
identical and entirely reproducible,
exposition of the development of the
the beneficial or adverse ef fects of a great
the brain acts as a receiving set (38) for
fulfilling the fundamental requirement of
field was detailed by David W alther in
variety of psychological stimuli such as
ener gy patterns residing in the mind
the scientific method: perfect
his extensive volume on Applied art forms, music, facial expression,
voice itself, which exist as consciousness experimental replicability.1
Kinesiology, also published in 1976.5
modulation, and emotional stress. He wasexpressed in the form of thought." It is
Subjects were selected at random and
The most striking finding of kinesiology,
an excellent teacher, and his seminars
the vanity of the ego that claims thoughts
tested in a wide array of physical and
initially, was a clear demonstration that
attracted thousands of professionals who
as "mine." Genius, on the other hand,
behavioral settings: on top of mountains
muscles instantly become weak when the
returned to their own practices with re-
commonly attributes the source of
(42)
and at the seashore, at holiday parties and
body is exposed to harmful stimuli. For
newed interest and curiosity as they
creative leaps of awareness to that basis
during the course of everyday work, in
instance, if a patient with hypoglycemia
explored applications of the technique.
of all consciousness which has moments of joy and moments of sorrow.put sugar on his tongue, on muscle-
In addition to its inclusive applicability,
traditionally been called Divinity.
None of these circumstances had any
testing the deltoid muscle (the one the test was quick, simple, easy to 2.
HIST OR Y ACED
ef fect on test results, which were found
usually used as an indicator) instantly
perform and highly decisive; all
METHODOLOGY
to be universally consistent irrespective
went weak. Accordingly, it was researchers confirmed the absolute
of any extraneous factor, with the
discovered that substances which were
replicability of test results. For example,
THE BASIS OF THIS WORK is singular exception of the methodology
of
therapeutic to the body made the muscles
an artificial sweetener made every
research done over a twenty-year period,
the testing procedure itself. Because of
instantly become strong.
subject test weak, whether placed on theinvolving millions of calibrations on
the significance of this factor, the testing
Because the weakness of any particular
tongue, held in its package adjacent to
thousands of test subjects of all ages and
method will be described in detail below.
muscle indicated the presence of a the solar plexus or hidden in a plain
personality types, from all walks of life.
pathologic process in its corresponding
envelope the contents of which neither
By design, the study


ins (ky-nin) as
the intermediary agents. Since the body doe s not have a reserve of water to dr aw on, it operates a priority
distribution system for the amount of water that is already available or has been supplied by its intake.In the amphibian species, it has been shown that histamine reserves and their rate of generation are at minimal
levels. In the sam e species, histamine generation becomes established and gets pronounced whenever the animal
is dehydrated.
A proportionate increase in the production rate and storage of the neurotransmitter histamine for rationing regulation
of the available water in dehydrated animals—d rought management—becomes established. Hista mine and its
subordinate water intake and distribution regulators, prostaglandins, kin ins, and PAF (another histamine associated
agent) also cause pain when they come across pain-sensing nerves in the body.
The above "view shift" in medicine establishes two major points that have been disregarded until now. One, the
body can become dehydrated as we progress in age. At the same time, it disregards "dry mouth" as the only
indicator of body thirst. Two, when t he neurot ransmitter h istamine generation and  its subordinate water regulators
become excessively active, to the point of cau sing allergies, asthma, and chronic pains in different parts of the body,
these pains sho uld be translated as a thirst signal—one variety of the crisis sig nals of water shortage in the body.
This "paradigm shift" will now make it possib le to recognize many different associated signals of general or local
body dehydration.
The adoption of the "view shift" (new paradigm) dictates that chronic pains of the body th at cannot be easily
explained as injury or infection should first and foremost be inter preted as sig nals of chronic water shorta ge in the
area where pain is registered—a local thirst These pain signals should be first considered and excluded as primary
indicators for dehydration of the body before any other complicated procedures are forced on the patient. Non-
infectious "recurring" or chronic pains should be viewed as indicators of body thirst.
Not recognizing the thirst signals of the body will undoubtedly produce complicated problems in the present way of
treatment of these conditions. It is all too easy to assume these signals as co mplications of a serious disease
process and begin to treat signal-producing dehydration with complicated procedures. Although water by itself will
alleviate the condition, medications or invasive diagnostic procedures m ay be forced on the person. It is the
responsibility of both patients and their doctors to be aware of the damag e chronic dehydration can cause in the
human body.
These chronic pains include dyspeptic pain, rheumatoid arth ritis pain, a nginal pain (heart pain on walking, or even at
rest), low back pain, intermittent daudication pain (leg pain on walking), migraine and hangover headaches, colitis
pain and its associated constipation (See figure 4 on page 23).
The "view shift" dictates that all these pains sh ould be treated with a regular adjustment to daily water intake. No
less than two and a half quarts (two and one half liters) in 24 hours should be taken for a few days prior to the
routine and regular use of analgesics or other pain-relieving medications such as antihistamine or antacids—well
before permanent local or general damage can establish and reach an irreversible disease status. // the problem
has persiste d for many years, those who wish to test the pain relieving property of water should make sure their
kidneys can make sufficient urine so that they do not retain too much water in the body. Urine output should be
measured against water intake. With increase in water intake, the urine output should also increase.
This new understanding of the physiology of pain production in dehydration will shed light on cause of disease in
future medical research. It exposes as detrimental to the well-being of the body the long-term use of pain
medications for "killing" a cardinal signal of chronic and local dehydration of the body.In their own right, these pain-killers (analgesics) can ca use fat al side effects, apart fro m the dam age th at is caused
by the ongoing dehydration that is temporarily sile nced without removing the root cause of these pains—
dehydration. Very often, these analgesics cause gastrointestinal bleeding. A few thou sand people die every year
from this complication of frequent analgesic intake. It is now (1994) clear that over-the-counter pain-killers can in
some people cause liver and kidney damage and act as people killers.
The scientific background for the above views is already available to scientists in pain research. This brief is
intended to brush aside the professional resistance of the AMA and the NIH which are aware of my findings and
have, contrary to their oath and obligations to the society, refused to propagate it to the ultimate benefit of the public.
This "view shi ft" on the role of water in the body can work won ders in the future practice of clinical medicine—which
is why these professional bodies, who gain by the perpetuation of their past ignorance, have not engaged in the
dissemination of information about the problems associated with lack of suff icient water in the human body.
The moment medical professionals adopt this paradigm shift, the present form of "ignorance of the human body
based medical practice" w ill transform to a thoughtful, preventive approach to health care. More importantly, simple
physiology-based cures to early disease eme rgence will  become available w ell before irreversible damage can
establish.
DYSPEPTIC PAIN
A newly recognized emergency thirst signal of the human body.
Dyspe ptic pain is the most important signal for the human body. It  denotes dehydratio n. It is a thirst signal of the
body. It can occur  in the very young, as well as in older people. Chronic and persiste ntly increasing dehydration is
the root cause of almost all currently encountered major diseases of the human body.
Of th e dyspeptic pains, that of gastritis, duodenitis, and heartburn should be treated with an increase in water intake
alone. When there is associated ulceration, attention to the daily diet to enhance the rate of repair of the ulcer site
becomes necessary.
Accor ding to Professor Howar d Spiro of Yale University, i t is generally understood that 12 percent of those with
dyspepsia develop ulceration in their duodenum after six yea rs, 30 percent after 10 years and 40 percent after 27
years. It is the dyspeptic pain that is of significance, although the condition develops importance once the ulceration
is viewed through the endoscopic examination. It seems that medical practice is becoming more and more a visually
oriented discipline rather than the perceptive and thought-based art that it was at one time.
It is the pain associa ted with these differently classified conditions that forces the person to consult a medical
practitioner. It is this pain that is now g etting much attention even though many different jargons are attached to the
local conditions seen through the endoscope. The common factor is the dyspeptic pain. The local tissue  change is
the descrip tive explanation for the changes brought about by the basic common f actor, name ly the initiating
dehydration.
How am I able to make such claims? I have treated with only water well over 3000 persons with dyspeptic pain who
had other distinguishing characteristics to  classify them according to those jargons. They all r esponded t o an
increase in their water intake, and their clinical problems associated with the pain disappeared. The report of my
new way of treating dyspeptic pain with water was published as the editorial article in the Journal of Clinical
Gastroenterology in June of 1983.
At a certain threshold of dehydration, whe n the body urgently calls for water, nothing else can substitute. No
medication other than water is effective. One of the many patients I treated with water stands out and proves this
fact. He was a  young man in his middle twenties. He had suffered from peptic ulcer disease for a number of years
before the crisis t ime, when I met him. He had the usual diagnostic procedures performed on him and received the
label of "duodenal ulcer." He  had been given antacids and brand name cimetidine medications.
Cimetidine is a form of very strong medication that blocks the action of histamine on its "2nd" type receiver points,
generally known as "re ceptors" in the body, and, in this case, known as histamine 2 or Hz receptor. It just happens
that some cells in the stomach that produce the acid are sensitive to this medication. Howev er, many, many other
cells in the body that do not produce acid are also sensitive to this blocking action of the medication. That is why this
medication has many other side effects, (including impotence in the young) and has proven extremely dangerous in
the chronically dehydrated older age group.
The first time I set eyes on the young man was at eleven one evening in the summer of 1980. He was in such pain
that he was almost se miconscious. He was lyin g folded in the fetal position on the floor of his room. He was
groaning steadily, unaware of his environment and the worried people around him. When I talked to him, he did not
respond. He was n ot communicating with those around him. I had to shake him to get a


provided me a place of repos e. When I came back from
meditation, tur moil and pain was what I returned to. So
my dail y experience was now either heaven or hell. There
was nothing in between anymore. My “normal” way of
being was gone. In one fell sw oop, who I had been—was
no more.
More and more I chose med itation. It was not just a
way of escaping the pain; meditation gave meaning to my
life. I was committed to going beyond—permanently—
and the  change s in my life were helping me get rid of an
entire part of my being that was holding me back. The
personality exp ressing itself through that mental voice
was no longer so sure of him self. In fact, he no longer
knew which way was up. These outer changes had
humbled him. He had thought he had it all figured out—
well, he  was wrong. It was definitely easier to let go of
him when he was in pieces.
During that stage of my growth, I watched very closely
as the self-concept attempted to redefine itself. In place
of a married man with a defined career path, my
thoughts started to envision myself as a meditator who
was see king a deeper truth. But even in those early days I
didn’t want to regain strength based on another mental
concept of myself. Wheneve r I noticed thoughts being
stitched together to create a new “me,” I knocked the
chair out from under them. It  was very painful, but I was
willing to let it all go if it freed me to explore beyond.
My friend came back to his house, so I moved out. I
didn’t care where I lived; I just needed to be alone. My
life was pretty simple. I was meditating, doing some
yoga, and periodically I wo uld go to class. I had nopossessions ex cept my schoolbooks, some clothes, and
my VW van. I used to take lo ng drives in the countryside
surrounding Gainesville. I had once found a beautiful
spot in the wo ods near a neighboring town where there
was a small, ab andoned lime  pit. The pit was filled with
crystal-clear, b lue water and was surrounded by nothing
but a vast area of scrub oaks and pines. I drove out there,
and that is where I lived.
I w as becoming more and more of a hermit. It was not
so m uch that I was running away from something—I was
running into myself. My inte ntion was very clear at all
times: I wanted to go bac k deep inside myself. My
problem was that I had no  idea what to do with my
personal self—a.k.a. “Mickey.” His very existence was
holding me back from where I yearned to go. If I didn’t
work at it, the focus of my attention would keep getting
drawn into his personal melodrama. That was clearly the
opposite direction from where I wanted to go. “Mickey”
was down and out; I  wanted to go in and up. In those
days I was cert ain of one thing: he was the problem, and
he had to go. I had become dead serious about getting rid
of him. But I had no idea how.6.
S o u t h  o f  t h e  B o r d e r
T he sum mer of 1971 was approaching, and I would soon
be free from classes. I was in my second year of graduate
school, and though my attendance had not been that
regular, I still managed to maintain my high grades. I
was stu dying just enough to do really well on my final
exams and written papers. There was no question about
what I was going to do with my summer—more
meditation and yoga. The only question was, where
would I do it?
That w as probably the first time in my life that I
consciously began to notice a distinct, recurring theme in
the events unfolding outside of me. It began when, out of
the blue, a classmate asked me if I had ever been down to
Mexico. He said it was an interesting place to spend
some time. Shortly thereafte r, I was in a bookstore and
practically tripped over a book about touring Mexico that
someone had left on the floor. This started me thinking
that ma ybe I should get aw ay for a while, and maybe
Mexico would be a good idea.  The final straw was when I
went to  a gas station to fill up, and someone had left a
map of  Mexico on top of the pump I was using. Those
were enough signs for me. I decided to go off to Mexico.
I d idn’t  know where I was g oing—Mexico is a pretty
big plac e. But in my state of mind, it really made no
difference. I would just go an d let it unfold. My friends
and family were not all that e xcited about me going off to
Mexico alone with no agend a. I got a lot of warnings
about b anditos and cautions about avoiding strangers. I
spoke some classroom Spanish, just enough to get introuble. With little more th an that, I headed off to
Mexico.
My trip  took me along the Gulf Coast states and down
through Texas. While driving, I would focus on my
breath and utter Mu  in my belly. The last thing in the
world I wanted to do was listen to that voice in my head
chatter all day. Each night I  would find a place to pull
over in  the woods, meditate, and go to sleep. At that
pace, it took a few days to drive down to north-central
Mexico, which was where I ended up.
One eve ning, deep in rural Mexico, I couldn’t find any
woods to pull i nto for the night. I didn’t feel comfortable
just pul ling ove r on the side of the road, so I didn’t know
what to do. I ended up driving off-road and climbing one
of the more gr adual foothills until I reached a glorious
vista on the crest of a grassy pasture. There were no
fences or houses in sight, so  that is where I spent the
night.
The next morning was brea thtaking. A mist floated
above the fields, and I could see all the colors of the
sunrise. It was so beautifu l that I did my morning
meditation and yoga postures outside. I went very deep,
and an echo o f the peace I was seeking overcame my
being. I stayed on that grassy hill for many weeks
without ever leaving. Each day I increased my periods of
meditation and yoga. My mind was quieting down, and
my heart was starting to breathe again.
One morning I was startled by a tapping on the side
door of my van. I became very scared. Had the banditos
finally found me, or was the owner of the land going to
throw me off at gunpoint? Upon opening the door, I
found a young boy about eigh t years old standing outside
with a container in his hands.
“Esta leche es de mi mama para el Americano
en la colina.”I str uggled to translate, “This milk is from my mother
for the American on the hill.” I was so moved, and I
thanked him so much. Here I had thought the worst, as
usual, a nd it turned out to b e an act of kindness in the
middle of nowhere in Mexico.
I wa s gradually learning that  life was not as fragile as
that voice in m y head would have me believe. There were
experiences to be had, but only if you were willing to
have th em. Most important, that was the first time I can
remember crediting life for the flow of events that had
unfolded. After all, I hadn’t arranged for the perfect place
to pull over an d spend a few  weeks in meditation and
solitude, not to mention to h ave that kind visit from the
boy. Life had provided those things to me; I had just
followed the flow. I was beginning to see all these
experiences as a gift from life.7.
D i s c o n n e c t i n g  t h e  P a n i c  B u t t o n
M exico had been good for me, but it was now time to
start my journey home. I head ed back to the north and at
day’s end found a small lake off a dirt road where I could
spend the night. It was so p eaceful that I stayed there
after my morning practices enjoying the water. Time
came for my afternoon meditation session, so I hiked up
a hill and found a secluded spot to start my yoga
postures.
About halfway through my routine, I began to hear
some voices in the distance. I started to get
uncomfortable, but I was not about to give in to that
scared p erson inside. I just r elaxed more deeply into my
yoga posture, and the anxiety subsided.
The next sound that startled me was that of a snorting
horse a  lot closer than th e voices had been. I was
convinced that these were the banditos. I soon


 joy,
which, at least until it fades, it will bestow on everything and everyone with
whom it comes in contact. It is the experience to which writer W. B. Yeats
referred when he said, ‘I felt that I was blessèd and could bless’. ‡

Many people enjoy walking in the countryside because, in the absence of
any sense of separation in nature, they access their shared being, which is
prior to the arising of ego. For the same reason, many people love to live
with animals because they model the quality of just being, wordlessly
awakening the same being in us through sympathetic resonance.
     For others food may be a portal into their true nature, although it is
usually not recognised as such, not least because it is more often appropriated
by the ego to satiate its voracious sense of lack. Little do we realise that, when
eating a delicious meal or savouring a fine wine, we are literally tasting our
self. Stephen Mitchell’s rendition of Rainer Maria Rilke’s  Sonnets to Orpheus
illustrates how just the taste of an apple has the power to divest reality of the
limitations that the mind confers upon it, revealing its nature of beauty.

What miracle is happening in your mouth?
Instead of words, discoveries flow out
from the ripe flesh, astonished to be free.

163* Kathleen Raine, Collected Poems, Counterpoint Press ( 2001 ).
†  William Wordsworth, ‘Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood’, Poems, in
Two Volumes  (1801).
‡ W. B. Yeats, ‘Vacillation’, Verse iv.
 you are the happiness you seek
Dare to say what ‘apple’ truly is.
This sweetness that feels thick, dark, dense at first;
then, exquisitely lifted in your taste,

grows clarified, awake and luminous,
double-meaninged, sunny, earthy, real –
Oh knowledge, pleasure – inexhaustible. *

     In many ancient cultures, aesthetic experience was considered sacred.
In these cultures, the making and drinking of tea, walking in the landscape,
the playing of a musical instrument, sharing a meal, the raising of children,
the making of a home, in fact every moment of embodied experience, was
considered an opportunity, even an invitation, to merge with the divine.
     We may place flowers in our home, a painting on the wall, a jar on a shelf
or a bowl on the table. In doing so, we intuitively recognise the power of
certain objects to solicit the mind, to invite it away from its habitual discur -
sive patterns and introduce a pause in which its background may be revealed.
In a glance at a photo of a loved one on the mantelpiece, we are taken first
to the person and then to the love we share. Our shared being shines.

*     *     *

Sensory experience is, for many people, the primary portal through which
they briefly taste their innate joy. As William Blake observed, the five senses
are ‘the chief inlets of Soul in this age’. † That is, sense perception is the
means by which the mind briefly returns from its adventure in time to the
immediacy of the now. Without the filter of thought and feeling that char -
acterises our normal experience, the distance between our self and our cur -
rent experience subsides, and the joy that is the very nature of our being
shines forth.
     In the experience of enjoyment, we, awareness, are tasting the innate joy
of our own being. This understanding is concealed in common parlance in
a phrase such as, ‘I enjoyed myself at the party last night’. The object, event
164* Rainer Maria Rilke, The Sonnets to Orpheus  1, 13, translated by Stephen Mitchell (Vintage, 2009 ).
†  William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell  (c. 1790).  the all-pervasive spirit
or person was simply the context in which this enjoyment was invited,
courted and revealed. It was not the party we enjoyed; it was our self that
we enjoyed, that is, our self was enjoying itself. Awareness was tasting or
knowing its own being. The party was a gathering of the senses on the thresh -
old of the divine.

Art is a formalisation of this process. The ultimate purpose of art is to provide
access to the sacred dimension of life, without the need for renunciation
or asceticism, but through the very energies of life itself. As the writer
D. H. Lawrence observed, ‘Art is a form of supremely delicate awareness…
meaning at-oneness, the state of being at one with the object’.*
     Nowhere, to my knowledge, is this understanding stated more clearly
than by the painter Paul Cézanne: ‘Everything vanishes, falls apart, doesn’t it?
Nature is always the same but nothing in her that appears to us lasts. Our art
must render the thrill of her permanence, along with her elements, the ap -
pearance of all her changes. It must give us a taste of nature’s Eternity.’ †
     All we know of the world are perceptions, and perceptions are intermit -
tent. They fall apart, vanish. And yet in spite of the fact that everything we
know about the universe is constantly changing, we recognise that there is
something that persists through it all that is greater than our self as a person
and beyond the limits of the finite mind through which we perceive it.
At the same time, we realise that we too emanate from the universe and that
whatever limitations our finite mind superimposes on it, its essence is the
same as our own.
     This intuition of the unlimited nature of our being and its interconnec -
tion with all things is always accompanied by joy, ‘the thrill of her perma -
nence’. It restores our original innocence and freedom. The purpose of art,
according to Cézanne, is to use the changing elements of experience – sights
in his case, sounds in the case of musicians, tastes for cooks, textures for
sculptors, words for writers and poets, and so on – and bring them together
in such a way that they take us, not intellectually but experientially, to this
ever-present reality. They give us a taste of nature’s eternity.

165* D. H. Lawrence, ‘Making Pictures’, The Creative Process: A Symposium, Brewster Ghiselin Ed. (Uni -
versity of California Press, 1985).
†  J. Gasquet, Cézanne  (1926 ), as translated in: John Rewald, ‘Catalogue’, Cézanne: The Late Work  (1977 ).you are the happiness you seek
restoring the sacred

There are many other occasions when, in the natural course of our everyday
life, a window opens up in the flow of experience, allowing the qualities that
are inherent in our true nature to flow into the situation, informing it with
its innate intelligence. Many people report that the experience of bereave -
ment is often accompanied by a quiet joy. In this case, the immensity of the
loss brings their life, as they know it, to an end. The normal filter of thoughts
and feelings through which experience is filtered collapses, and in that mo -
ment their true nature shines.
     In other cases, a person’s first glimpse of their true nature is sometimes
preceded by a period of great sorrow or despair. In the hopelessness that en -
sues, all future possibilities are removed and, with nowhere to go, one is
brought back to the sanctity of the now. Such experiences bring the activity
of the ego, which is always invested in future happiness, to an end and thus
provide an opportunity to sink into the vertical dimension of our being.
However, through lack of guidance, such invitations are often missed and,
as a result, simply compound our suffering.
     For others it may be an illness, a failed relationship, the loss of financial
security, the onset of old age or the imminence of death. Unlike normal cir -
cumstances, in which a person usually feels that they can intervene in order
to effect the change that they believe is required for their happiness, experi -
ences such as these, where the intensity of feeling is such that we find ourself
powerless in the face of it, overshadow any such attempt to negotiate.
     In the spontaneous surrender that ensues, we find ourself open without
resistance to our current experience. The layer of personal psychology, built
almost entirely of resisting, holding on and seeking, which constitutes the
activity of the separate self or ego, has dissolved. No longer able to muster
the strength to resist, we find ourself at one with the experience and, as a result,
our innate peace emerges from the background.
     The peace was, of course, present in us all along but was veiled, not by
the sorrow, the despair or the loss but by the activity of resisting, holding on
and seeking. This is the quiet joy that can emerge even in the depths of suffer -
ing. It is referred to as ananda  in the Vedantic tradition and as ‘the peace
that passeth understanding’ in the Christian tradition. It is the peace that is
prior to and independent of the content of the experience.
166the all-pervasive spirit
In an


	position	in	a	very	large	food	company—a	company	that	will
salivate	over	these	new	recommendations.A	SUGARCOATED	REPORT
The	recommendation	on	added	sugar	is	as	outrageous	as	the	one	for	protein.
At	about	the	time	this	FNB	report	was	being	released,	an	expert	panel	put
together	by	the	WHO	(World	Health	Organization)	and	the	FAO	(Food	and
Agriculture	Organization)	was	completing	a	new	report	on	diet,	nutrition	and
the	prevention	of	chronic	diseases.	Professor	Phillip	James,	another	friend	of
mine,	was	a	member	of	this	panel	and	a	panel	spokesperson	on	the	added
sugar	recommendation.	Early	rumors	of	the	report’s	findings	indicated	that
the	WHO/FAO	was	on	the	verge	of	recommending	an	upper	safe	limit	of	10%
for	added	sugar,	far	lower	than	the	25%	established	by	the	American	FNB
group.
Politics,	however,	had	early	entered	the	discussion,	as	it	had	done	in
earlier	reports	on	added	sugars.
7
	According	to	a	news	release	from	the
director-general’s	office	at	the	WHO,
8
	the	U.S.-based	Sugar	Association	and
the	World	Sugar	Research	Organization,	who	“represent	the	interests	of	the
sugar	growers	and	refiners,	had	mounted	a	strong	lobbying	campaign	in	an
attempt	to	discredit	the	[WHO]	report	and	suppress	its	release.”	They	did	not
like	setting	the	upper	safe	limit	so	low.	According	to	the
Guardian
	newspaper
of	London,
7
	the	U.S.	sugar	industry	was	threatening	“to	bring	the	World
Health	Organization	to	its	knees”	unless	it	abandoned	these	guidelines	on
added	sugar.	WHO	people	were	describing	the	threat	“as	tantamount	to
blackmail	and	worse	than	any	pressure	exerted	by	the	tobacco	industry.”
7
	The
U.S.-based	group	even	publicly	threatened	to	lobby	the	U.S.	Congress	to
reduce	the	$406	million	U.S.	funding	of	the	WHO	if	it	persisted	in	keeping
the	upper	limit	so	low	at	10%!	There	were	reports,	after	a	letter	was	sent	by
the	industry	to	Secretary	of	Health	and	Human	Services	Tommy	Thompson,
that	the	Bush	administration	was	inclined	to	side	with	the	sugar	industry.	I,
and	many	other	scientists,	were	being	encouraged	at	that	time	to	contact	our
congressional	representatives	to	stop	this	outrageous	strong-armed	tactic	by
the	U.S.	sugar	companies.
So,	for	added	sugars,	we	now	have	two	different	upper	“safe”	limits:	a
10%	limit	for	the	international	community	and	a	25%	limit	for	the	U.S.	Why
such	a	huge	difference?	Did	the	sugar	industry	succeed	in	controlling	the
U.S.-based	FNB	report	but	fail	with	the	WHO/FAO	report?	What	does	this
say	about	the	FNB	scientists	who	also	devised	the	new	protein
recommendation?	These	wildly	different	estimates	are	not	a	matter	of
scientific	interpretation.	This	is	nothing	more	than	naked	political	muscle.
Professor	James	and	his	colleagues	at	the	WHO	stood	up	to	the	pressure;	theFNB	group	appears	to	have	caved	in.	The	U.S.	panel	received	funding	from
the	M&M	Mars	candy	company	and	a	consortium	of	soft	drink	companies.	Is
it	possible	that	the	U.S.	group	felt	an	obligation	to	these	sugar	companies?
Incidentally,	the	sugar	industry,	in	their	fight	against	the	WHO	conclusion,
has	relied	heavily
7
	on	the	FNB	report	with	its	25%	limit.	In	other	words,	the
FNB	committee	produces	a	friendly	recommendation	for	the	sugar	industry
which	then	turns	around	and	uses	this	finding	to	support	its	claim	against	the
WHO	report.THE	INFLUENCE	OF	INDUSTRY
This	discussion	still	leaves	unanswered	the	question	of	how	industry	develops
such	extraordinary	influence.	Mostly	industry	develops	consultancies	with	a
few	publicly	visible	figures	in	academia,	who	then	take	leadership	in	policy
positions	outside	of	academia.	However,	these	industry	consultants	continue
to	wear	their	academic	hats.	They	organize	symposia	and	workshops,	write
commissioned	reviews,	chair	expert	policy	groups	and/or	become	officers	of
key	professional	societies.	They	gravitate	toward	the	leadership	positions	in
science-based	organizations	that	develop	significant	policy	and	publicity.
Once	in	these	positions,	these	people	then	have	the	opportunity	to
assemble	teams	to	their	liking,	by	choosing	committee	members,	symposia
speakers,	management	staff,	etc.	The	kinds	of	people	most	helpful	to	the	team
are	either	colleagues	with	similar	prejudices	and/or	colleagues	who	are
oblivious	to	who	is	“calling	the	shots.”	It’s	called	“stacking	the	deck,”	and	it
really	works.
In	the	case	of	the	FNB,	its	panel	was	organized	while	under	the
chairmanship	of	an	academic	who	had	strong	personal	ties	with	the	dairy
industry.	He	helped	in	selecting	the	“right”	people	and	helped	in	setting	the
agenda	for	the	report,	the	most	significant	roles	that	anyone	could	have
played.	Is	it	surprising	that	the	dairy	industry,	which	must	be	ecstatic	with	the
panel’s	findings,	also	helped	to	finance	the	report?
You	might	be	surprised	to	learn	that	academic	scientists	can	receive
personal	compensation	from	industry	while	simultaneously	undertaking
government-sponsored	activities	of	considerable	public	importance.
Ironically,	they	can	even	help	set	the	agenda	for	the	same	government
authorities	who	have	long	been	restricted	from	such	corporate	associations.	It
is	a	huge	“conflict-of-interest”	loophole	allowing	industries	to	exercise	their
influence	through	the	side	door	of	academia.	In	effect,	the	entire	system	is
essentially	under	the	control	of	industry.	The	government	and	academic
communities,	playing	their	respective	roles,	mostly	do	as	they	are	expected	to
do.
In	addition	to	M&M	Mars	company,	the	corporate	sponsors	of	the	FNB
report	also	included	major	food	and	drug	companies	that	would	benefit	from
higher	protein	and	sugar	allowances.
2
	The	Dannon	Institute,	a	leading	dairy-
based	consortium	promoting	its	own	brand	of	nutrition	information,	and	the
International	Life	Sciences	Institute	(ILSI),	which	is	a	front	group	for	about
fifty	food,	supplement	and	drug	companies,
both	contributed	funding	for	the
FNB	report.	Corporate	members	include	Coca-Cola,	Taco	Bell,	Burger	King,
Nestle,	Pfizer	and	Roche	Vitamins.
9
	Some	drug	companies	sponsored	thereport	directly,	in	addition	to	their	support	through	the	International	Life
Sciences	Institute.	I	don’t	recall	private	corporations	providing	financial
support	for	the	NAS	expert	panels	that	I	served	on.
It	seems	as	if	there	is	no	end	to	this	story.	The	chair	of	the	FNB	has	been
an	important	consultant	to	several	major	dairy-related	companies	(e.g.,
National	Dairy	Council,	Mead	Johnson	Nutritionals,	which	is	a	major	seller	of
dairy-based	products,	Nestle	Company	and	a	Dannon	yogurt	affiliate).
10
Simultaneously,	he	was	chair	of	the	Dietary	Guidelines	Commit


 forms of chronic wantingness are well
known i n society as an endless drive for relationships, sex, mat erialism,
hoarding, addictions, and more. Constant desire for approval  leads to
‘people pleasing ’ behaviors, subservience, and obsequiousness. Social
craving is often compensatory to self-doubt, low self-esteem,  and the
need to constantly provide external sources of pleasure.
Social expressions of needing and wanting may attach to external
concepts, political positions, and the need to control others for the
sought-for feelings of importance and public attention. Thus, wanting
and nee diness are inordinately narcissistic, albeit seemingly altruisticsocial expressio ns and positionalities. Social neediness also e xpresses
personality traits of manipulation, competition, and status seeking.

Desir e and the Ego.
Due to its evolu tionary origin, the ego develops the acquisitive function
of ‘getti ng’, which is biologically necessary for survival. The source of
satisfaction is therefore located as being ‘out there’, whereas the actual
source o f pleasure itself is an internal brain mechanism that is merely
triggered by the acquisition of a  ‘want’. In its more benign exp ressions,
its want ingness and neediness are for social and emotional nu rturance,
such as that provided by the family, tribe, or pack.
Socialization results in motivations to achieve dominance, control, and
capacity for attraction. In the human, elaborations become socially
expressed in pursuit of rank, status, possessions, and a competitive
lifestyle that leads to jealousy and envy.
The basi c proble m with this leve l of consciousness is the inner feeling of
lack tha t results  in chronic dissa tisfaction, feelings of incomple tion, and
constant seeking  behaviors. The vulnerability of the ego’ s wanti ngness is
its presumption that fulfillment depends on acquisition from external
sources. The exaggerated need results in an overestimation of externals
and their unrealistic inflation as to importance. Thus, wantingness leads
to insatiability, frustration, and anxiety, as well as greed, avarice, and
chronic acquisitiveness.
The problem of Desire is lin ked to the ego’ s proclivity to  project
specialness onto perceived objects, persons, or qualities. Thus, the
desired person, attribute, or possession is inflated, romanticized, and
glamorized with exaggerated magical attributes (as described in the
classic book, Glamour: A W orld Pr oblem [Bailey, 1950]). Thus, the ego
becomes infatuated with its own projections, facilitated by the specific
ener gy of glamour itself. This gi ves the desired object, person, o r quality
a m agical allure and seductive attraction that most people ruefully
discover is an illusion (e.g., adolescent romantic crushes).
The amplified hypertrophic d esire then becomes a craving and a
drivenness that defies rationality. When the illusory magical promise
dissolves into reality, there is a feeling of bitterness or loss andmourning. The media specialize  in glamorization of products a s well as
personalities in which ‘presen tation’ is far more important than the
underlying reali ty. Thus, media hype is a major and influential industry.
(“Any publicity  is better than none at all.”) The result is an  endless
craving and desire to stay in the  limelight, as ‘getting attention’ is one of
the ego’ s allures. The ego is the  main hero/heroine in the inner movie of
one’ s life.
The ego’ s inner anxiety about f ulfillment of its projected needs leads to
an in satiable greed for power and control over others that emer ges in its
most ex panded form as dictatorships, narcissistic megalomania, and
grandiosity, all seeking to dom inate the entire world. Frustration of
egoistic desires has led to rage, revenge, and the killing of m illions of
innocent people throughout history. This is a consequence of the
insatiability of egocentricity that results in barbarism and totalitarian
militant extremism. The cond ition is called ‘malignant messianic
narcissism’ beca use the core of the nonevolved ego secretly en vies and
hates Go d and sees Divinity as a rival. The clever ego expresses  its inner
grandiosity by seeking to replac e Divinity by declaring itself to be God
(Nero, Caesar, etc.),or claiming special Divine authority by declaration
as being Divinely ordained and therefore authorized.
The usu rping of  Divinity is seen  in the despotic public figure displays of
the ‘grea t leader ’, etc., who fran kly expect to be worshipped. Potentates
required bowing and kneeling in their presence and assumed th e title of
‘lord’. Kings ruled by ‘Divine right’ and from a throne that was always
higher than the seats of everyone else. The throne itself symbolized the
claim to sovereignty, unlimited power, and the ‘Divine Right of Kings’.
The para dox of the messianic claims of world leaders over time is that
few of them maintain a calibra ted level high enough to indica te actual
intrinsic power. Instead, they rely on force (munitions, secret police,
army, and terrorism).
The Downside of Desir e: Frustration, Envy, and Jealousy.
The feel ing of inner lack and the drive to compensate for it by externals
in its social expression leads to compulsion and the desire for symbols of
importance, prestige, rank, ‘being noticed’, popularity, and others. These
drives lead to rivalry, status seeking, social climbing, and endless desires
for possessions by which money becomes an end in itself. The desire to‘be somebody’ is contextualized as specialness and implied superiority
that lends attraction to anything  so symbolized. Other avenues may be
sought t hrough e xtreme behavio rs to gain headlines and media attention.
An o bvious source of desire for status originates from sibling ri valry and
the scho ol years  in which com petition and achievement are rewarded.
The motivation to ‘be somebody’ at any cost is the basic, admitted
motivation of celebrity murders (e.g., John Lennon’ s killer).
The disorder of unfulfilled wantingness can reach extreme and
pathological proportions, such a s seen in the chronic criminal or militant
political extremists who cannot wait to ‘claim credit’ for acts of violent
extremism and horrific, grotesque acts of conduct for which they want
public acknowledgement and seek attention via the media. Another
expression is the serial killer who leaves a signature and taunts the
authorities by achieving fame and simultaneously frustrating
apprehension. T he obsessive need for approval extends to bo th public
and self-images  and may express itself as perfectionism or excessive
ambition.

Desir e as Bondage.
Happiness and satisfaction ensue from fulfillment of choices, whereas
wantingness brings anxiety and tension. The attachment is to the pursuit
of inner sensatio n of the reward system by the brain itself, which early in
evolution was linked to the senses. Addiction and compulsory
wantingness are the human elaborations of the means (activities,
thoughts, etc.) of triggering the hoped-for brain response. Thus, the
Buddha said that the basic primary bondage is to the senses.
Gluttony was included in the list of the Seven Deadly Sins because of its
bondage to the body and its pleasures by which food or sex became the
most common addictions. Later on in civilization, these included alcohol
and drugs to artificially trigger the brain’ s reward system.

Desir e as Addiction.
Repetitive satisfaction of the desire-satiation cycle leads to habituation,
which may escalate in vulnerable individuals to craving and addiction.
The escalation is to the same level as instinctual drives and may evenbecome prioritized above normal survival instincts. When satisfaction of
cravings becomes dominant, inhibition by reason becomes futile and
inoperative, as is seen in the pur suit of dangerous high-risk ventures that
have a history of high fatality ra tes (e.g., climbing Mt. Everest; riding in
a ba rrel over Niagara Falls; go ing for a deep-sea diving reco rd, etc.).
Even th e likelihood of death from volcanic lava or suf focati on in an
avalanche is insuf ficient to control the drivenness of insatiable craving
and the thrill of flirting with death as is also seen in the desperate
extremes of criminality (Bonnie and Clyde).
Addictions supersede rationality and self-preservation despite even
severe conseque nces. Compulsi ons quickly return when the opportunity
for satisfaction returns as is se en in compulsive gambling, pedophilia,
drug an d alcohol addiction, criminality, kleptomania, sexuality, arson,
psychopathic behaviors, eating disorders, compulsive shopping, and
bullying, as well as in irrational extravagance, hoarding, and more.
Research in brain neurochemistry has revealed genetic neurotransmitter
mechanisms in addictions that r espond to pharmaceutical inter ventions.
In g eneral, the addictions are all  operationally similar in that the y trigger
the brain’ s release of the neurotransmitters associated with pleasure.
Ess


body's version of reality, a realitycompletely distorted by fear, hostility, anger, and a desire to inflict and
receive more pain.
At this point you may wonder whether this is your partner's real face that
you had never seen before and whether you made a dreadful mistake in
choosing this person. It is, of course, not the real face, just the pain?body
that temporarily has taken possession. It would be hard to find a partner
who doesn't carry a pain?body; but it would perhaps be wise to choose
someone whose pain?body is not excessively dense.A New Earth
D E N S E  P A I N? B O D I E S
Some people carry dense pain?bodies that are never completely dormant.
They may be smiling and making polite conversation, but you do not
need to be psychic to sense that seething ball of unhappy emotion in
them just underneath the surface, waiting for the next event to react to,
the next person to blame or confront, the next thing to be unhappy
about.. Their pain?bodies can never get enough, are always hungry. They
magnify the ego's need for enemies.
Through their reactivity, relatively insignificant matters are blown up out
of all proportion as they try to pull other people into their drama by
getting them to react. Some get involved in protracted and ultimately
pointless battles or court cases with or ganizations or individuals. Others
are consumed by obsessive hatred toward an ex?spouse or partner.
Unaware of the pain they carry inside, by their reaction, they project the
pain into events and situations. Due to a complete lack of self?
awareness, they cannot tell the dif ference between an event and their
reaction to the event. T o them, the unhappiness and even the pain itself is
out there in the event or situation.
Being unconscious of their inner state, they don't even know that they are
deeply unhappy, that they are suf fering.
Sometimes people with such dense pain?bodies become activists fighting
for a cause. The cause may indeed be worthy, and they are sometimes
successful at first in getting things done; however the negative ener gy
that flows into what they say and do and their unconscious need for
enemies and conflict tend to generate increasing opposition to their
cause. Usually they also end up creating enemies within their own
or ganization, because wherever they go, they find reasons for feeling
bad, and so their pain?body continues to find exactly what it is looking
for.A New Earth
E N T E R T A I N M E N T,  T H E  M E D I A,  A N D  T H E
P A I N? B O D Y
If you were not familiar with our contemporary civilization, if you had
come here from another age or another planet, one of the things that
would amaze you is that millions of people love and pay money to watch
humans kill and inflict pain on each other and call it entertainment.
Why do violent films attract such lar ge audiences? There is an entire
industry, a lar ge part of which fuels the human addiction to unhappiness.
People obviously watch those films because they want to feel bad. What
is it in humans that loves to feel bad and calls it good? The pain?body, of
course. A lar ge part of the entertainment industry caters to it. So, in
addition to reactivity, negative thinking, and personal drama, the pain?
body also renews itself vicariously through the cinema and television
screen. Pain?bodies write and produce these films, and pain?bodies pay
to watch them.
Is it always wrong to show and watch violence on television and the
cinema screen? Does all such violence cater to the pain?body? At the
current evolutionary stage of humanity, violence is still not only all?
pervasive but even on the increase, as the old egoic consciousness,
amplified by the collective pain?body, intensifies prior to its inevitable
demise. If films show violence in its wider context, if they show its
origin and its consequences, show what it does to the victim as well as
the perpetrator, show the collective unconsciousness that lies behind it
and is passed on from generation to generation (the anger and hatred that
lives in humans as the pain?body), then those films can fulfill a vital
function in the awakening of humanity. They can act as a mirror in which
humanity sees its own insanity. That in you
which recognizes madness as madness (even if it is your own) is sanity,
is the arising awareness, is the end of insanity.Such films do exist and they do not fuel the pain?body. Some of the best
antiwar films are films that show the reality of war rather than a
glamorized version of it. The pain?body can only feed on films in which
violence is portrayed as normal or even desirable human behavior, or
that glorify violence with the sole purpose of generating negative
emotion in the viewer and so become a fix for the pain?addicted pain?
body.
The popular tabloid press does not primarily sell news but negative
emotion food for the pain?body. Outrage screams the three?inch
headline, or Bastards. The British tabloid press excels at this. They know
that negative emotion sells far more papers than news does.
There is a tendency in the news media in general, including television, to
thrive on negative news. The worse things get, the more excited the
presenters become, and often the negative excitement is generated by the
media itself. Pain?bodies just love it.A New Earth
T H E  C O L L E C T I V E  F E M A L E  P A I N? B O D Y
The collective dimension of the pain?body has dif ferent strands in it.
T ribes, nations, races, all have their own collective painbody, some
heavier than others, and most members of that tribe, nation or race have
a share in it to a greater or lesser degree.
Almost every woman has her share in the collective female pain?body,
which tends to become activated particularly just prior to the time of
menstruation. At that time many women become overwhelmed by
intense negative emotion.
The suppression of the feminine principle especially over the past two
thousand years has enabled the ego to gain absolute supremacy in the
collective human psyche. Although women have egos, of course, the ego
can take root and grow more easily in the male form than in the female.
this is because women are less mind?identified than men. They are more
in touch with the inner body and the intelligence of the or ganism where
the intuitive faculties originate. The female form is less rigidly
encapsulated than the
male, has greater openness and sensitivity toward other life?forms, and is
more attuned to the natural world.
If the balance between male and female ener gies had not been destroyed
on our plant, the ego's growth would have been greatly curtailed. W e
would not have declared war on nature, and we would not be so
completely alienated from our Being.
Nobody knows the exact figure because records were not kept, but it sees
certain that during a three?hundred?year period between three and five
million women were tortured and killed by the Holy Inquisition, an
institution founded by the Roman Catholic Church to suppress heresy.
This sure ranks together with the Holocaust as one of the darkest
chapters in human history. It was enough for a woman to show a love for
animals, walk alone in the fields or woods, or gather medicinal plants tobe branded a witch, then tortured and burned at the stake. The sacred
feminine was declared demonic, and an entire dimension lar gely
disappeared form human experience. Other cultures and religions, such
as Judaism, Islam, and even Buddhism, also suppressed the female
dimension, although in a less violent way. W omen's status was reduced
to being child bearers and men's property. Males who denied the
feminine even within themselves where now running the world, a world
that was totally out of balance. The rest is history or rather a case history
of insanity.
Who was responsible for this fear of the feminine that could only be
described as acute collective paranoia? W e could say: Of course, men
were responsible. But then why in many ancient pre?Christian
civilizations such as the Sumerian, Egyptian, and Celtic were women
respected and the feminine principle not feared but revered? What is it
that suddenly made men feel threatened by the female? The evolving ego
in them. It knew it could gain full control of our planet only through the
male form, and to do so, it had to render the female powerless.
In time, the ego also took over most women, although it could never
become as deeply entrenched in them as in men.
W e now have a situation in which the suppression of the feminine has
become internalized, even in most women. The sacred feminine, because
it is suppressed, is felt by many women as emotional pain. In fact, it has
become
part of their pain?body, together with the accumulated pain suf fered by
women over millennia through childbirth, rape, slavery, torture and
violent death.
But things are changing rapidly now. W ith many people becoming more
conscious, the ego is losing its hold on the human mind. Because the ego
was never as deeply rooted in woman, it is losing its hold on women


, and
you will summon it to you.
• It takes no time for the Universe to manifest what you want. It is as
easy to manifest one dollar as it is to manifest one million dollars. • Starting with something small, like a cup of coffee or parking
spaces, is an easy way to experience the law of attraction in action.
Powerfully intend to attract something small As you experience the
power you have to attract, you will move on to creating much big-
ger things.
• Create your day in advance by thinking the way you want it to go,
and you will create your life intentionally. DR. JOE VITALE
A lot of people feel stuck or imprisoned or confined by their
current circumstances. Whatever your circumstances right
now, that is only your current reality, and current reality will
begin to change as a result of beginning to use The Secret
Your current reality or your current life is a result of the thoughts
you have been thinking. All of that will totally change as you begin
to change your thoughts and your feelings.
"That a man can change himself... and master his
own destiny is the conclusion of every mind who
is wide-awake to the power of right thought."
(1866-1954)
71 72 The Secret
LISA NICHOLS
When you want to change your circumstances, you must
first change your thinking. Every time you look inside
your mail expecting to see a bill, guess what — it'll be
there. Each day you go out dreading the bill! You're never
expecting anything great. You're thinking debt, you're
expecting debt. So debt must show up so you won't think
you're crazy. And every day you confirm your thought: Is
debt going to be there? Yes, debt's there. Is debt going to
be there? Yes, debt's there. Is debt going to be there? Yes,
debt's there. Wiry? Because you expected debt to be there.
So it showed up, because the law of attraction is always
being obedient to your thoughts. Do yourself a favor—
expect a check!
Expectation is a powerful attractive force, because it draws things
to you. As Bob Proctor says, "Desire connects you with the thing
desired and expectation draws it into your life." Expect the things
you want and don't expect the things you don't want. What do
you expect now?
JAMES RAY
Most people look at their current state of affairs and they
say, "This is who I am." That's not who you are. That's
who you were. Let's say for instance that you don't
have enough money in your bank account, or you don't
have the relationship that you want, or your health and
fitness aren't up to par. That's not who you are; that's the
residual outcome of your past thoughts and actions. So Powerful Processes 73
we're constantly living in this residual, if you will, of the
thoughts and actions we've taken in the past. When you
look at your current state of affairs and define yourself by
that, then you doom yourself to have nothing more than
the same in future.
'"All that we are is a result of what we have
thought."
I would like to share a process with you that came from the great
teacher Neville Goddard in a lecture he delivered in 1954, entitled
"The Pruning Shears of Revision." This process has had a pro-
found effect on my life. Neville recommends at the end of every
day, before you go to sleep, to think through the events of the
day. If any events or moments did not go the way you wanted,
replay them in your mind in a way that thrills you. As you re-
create those events in your mind exactly as you want, you are
cleaning up your frequency from the day and you are emitting a
new signal and frequency for tomorrow. You have intentionally
created new pictures for your future. It is never too late to change
the pictures. DR. JOE VITALE
What can you do right now to begin to turn your life
around? The very first thing is to start making a list of
things to be grateful for. This shifts your energy and starts to
shift your thinking. Whereas before this exercise you might
be focusing on what you don't have, your complaints, and
your problems, you go in a different direction when you do
this exercise. You start to be grateful for all the things that
you feel good about.
"If it is a new thought to you that gratitude
brings your whole mind into closer harmony
with the creative energies of the Universe,
consider it well, and you will see that it is true.'
MARCI SHIMOFF
Gratitude is absolutely the way to bring more into
your life. 74 The Secret Powerful Processes 75
DR- JOHN GRAY
PSYCHOLOGIST, AUTHOR, AND
INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER
Every man knows that when his wife is
appreciating him for the little things that he does, what
does he want to do? He wants to do more. It's always about
appreciation. It pulls things in. It attracts support.
DR. JOHN DEMARTINI
Whatever we think about and thank about we bring about.
JAMES RAY
Gratitude has been such a powerful exercise for me. Every
morning I get up and say "Thank you." Every morning,
when my feet hit the floor, "Thank you." And then I start
running through what I'm grateful for, as I'm brushing
my teeth and doing the things I do in the morning. And I'm
not just thinking about them and doing some rote routine.
I'm putting it out there and I'm feeling the feelings of
gratitude.
The day we filmed James Ray sharing his powerful exercise of
gratitude is one I will never forget. From that day on, I made
James's process my life. Every morning, I do not get out bed until
I have felt the feelings of gratitude for this brand new day and all I
am grateful for in my life. Then as I get out of bed, when one foot
touches the ground I say, "Thank," and "you" as my second foot
touches the ground. With each step I take on my way to the bath-76 The Secret
room, I say "Thank you." I continue to say and feel "Thank you" as
I am showering and getting ready. By the time I am ready for the
day, I have said "Thank you" hundreds of times.
As I do this, I am powerfully creating my day and all that it will
contain. I am setting my frequency for the day and intentionally
declaring the way I want my day to go, rather than stumbling out
of bed and letting the day take control of me. There is no more
powerful way to begin your day than this. You are the creator of
your life, and so begin by intentionally creating your day!
Gratitude was a fundamental part of the teachings of all the great
avatars throughout history. In the book that changed my life, The
Science of Getting Rich, written by Wallace Wattles in 1910, gratitude
is its longest chapter. Every teacher featured in The Secret uses grat-
itude as part of his or her day. Most of them begin their day with
thoughts and feelings of gratitude.
Joe Sugarman, a wonderful man and successful entrepreneur,
watched the film The Secret and contacted me. He told me his fa
vorite part was the gratitude process, and that his use of gratitude
had contributed to all he had achieved in his life. With all the success
Joe has attracted to himself, he continues to use gratitude every day,
even for the smallest things. When he gets a parking space he always
says and feels, "Thank you." Joe knows the power of gratitude and
all it has brought to him, and so gratitude is his way of life.
With all that I have read and with all that I have experienced in my
own life using The Secret, the power of gratitude stands above eve-Powerful Processes 77
rything else. If you only do one thing with the knowledge of The
Secret use gratitude until it becomes your way of life.
DR. JOE VITALE
As soon as you start to feel different about what you already
have, you will start to attract more of the good things. More
of the things you can he grateful for. You could look around
and say, "Well, I don't have the car I want. I don't have the
house I want. I don't have the spouse I want. I don't have the
health I want" Whoah! Back up, back up! Those are all the
things you don't want. Focus on what you already have that
you're grateful for. And it might be that you have the eyes
to read this. It might be the clothes that you have. Yes, you
might prefer something else and you might get something
else pretty soon, if you start feeling grateful for what you
have.
"Many people who order their lives rightly in all
other ways are kept in poverty by their lack of
gratitude."
It is impossible to bring more into your life if you are feeling un-
grateful about what you have. Why? Because the thoughts and
feelings you emit as you feel ungrateful are all negative emotions.
Whether it is jealousy, resentment, dissatisfaction, or feelings


 include
such expressions as mental deficiencies caused by brain defects in the formative period, which
result in mental disturbances ranging from moderate backwardness to character abnormalities.
    The data presented show the level of susceptibility to dental caries (tooth decay) in each
isolated primitive group and, contrasted with that, the level of susceptibility in the modernized
natives of the same stock. A résumé of the changes in the environment that are associated with the
changes in immunity and susceptibility will be presented. These data reveal an average increase in
susceptibility of thirty-five fold. Similar contrasts are shown in relation to the relative incidence of
facial and dental arch deformities among primitive natives and modernized natives.
    It will be easy for the reader to be prejudiced since many of the applications suggested are not
orthodox. I suggest that conclusions be deferred until the new approach has been used to survey
the physical and mental status of the reader's own family, of his brothers and sisters, of associated
families, and finally, of the mass of people met in business and on the street. Almost everyone who
studies the matter will be surprised that such clear-cut evidence of a decline in modern
reproductive efficiency could be all about us and not have been previously noted and reviewed.
    It is important to preface the observations by constructing a mental pattern of physical
excellence from the pictures of the various primitive groups and, with this yardstick or standard of
normalcy, observe our modern patterns. Certain preconceived ideas may have to be modified, as
for example, that based on the belief that what we see is due to heredity or that deformity is due to
mixing of races. If so, why should the last child in a large family generally suffer most, and often be
different in facial form; or why should there be these changes in the later children, even in pure
racial stocks, after the parents have adopted our modern types of nutrition? Although the causes of
physical degeneration that can be seen easily have been hard to trace, the defects in the
development of the brain, which affect the mind and character, are much more obscure, and the
causes of mental degeneration are exceedingly difficult to trace. Much that formerly has been left to
the psychiatrist to explain is now rapidly shifting to the realm of the anatomist and physiologist.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 11/250    Those contributions of the past cultures which have blended agreeably into our modern
experience have been accepted with too little questioning. Much ancient wisdom, however, has
been rejected because of prejudice against the wisdom of so-called savages. Some readers may
experience this reaction to the primitive wisdom recorded in these chapters.
    The writer is fully aware that his message is not orthodox; but since our orthodox theories have
not saved us we may have to readjust them to bring them into harmony with Nature's laws. Nature
must be obeyed, not orthodoxy. Apparently many primitive races have understood her language
better than have our modernized groups. Even the primitive races share our blights when they
adopt our conception of nutrition. The supporting evidence for this statement is voluminous and as
much of it as space permits is included in this volume. The illustrative material used is taken from
the many thousands of my negatives which are available. Photographs alone can tell much of the
story, and one illustration is said to be worth as much as one thousand words.
    Since the problem of applying the wisdom of the primitives to our modern needs concerns not
only health workers and nutritionists, but also educators and social workers, the data are
presented without technical details.
    While many of the primitive races studied have continued to thrive on the same soil through
thousands of years, our American human stock has declined rapidly within a few centuries, and in
some localities within a few decades. In the regions in which degeneration has taken place the
animal stock has also declined. A decadent individual cannot regenerate himself, although he can
reduce the progressive decadence in the next generation, or can vastly improve that generation, by
using the demonstrated wisdom of the primitive races. No era in the long journey of mankind
reveals in the skeletal remains such a terrible degeneration of teeth and bones as this brief modern
period records. Must Nature reject our vaunted culture and call back the more obedient
primitives? The alternative seems to be a complete readjustment in accordance with the controlling
forces of Nature.
    Thinking is as biologic as is digestion, and brain embryonic defects are as biologic as are club
feet. Since both are readily produced by lowered parental reproductive capacity, and since Nature
in her large-scale human demonstration reveals that this is chiefly the result of inadequate nutrition
of the parents and too frequent or too prolonged child bearing, the way back is indicated. Like the
successful primitive racial stocks, we, too, can make, as a first requisite, provision for adequate
nutrition both for generation and growth, and can make provision for the regulation of the
overloads. We, like the successful primitives, can establish programs of instruction for growing
youth and acquaint it with Nature s requirements long before the emergencies and stresses arise.
This may require a large-scale program of home and classroom instruction, particularly for the high
school girls and boys. This would be in accordance with the practice of many of the primitive races
reported upon in the following chapters.
    If the individuals in our modern society who are sufficiently defective to require some
supervision are in part or largely the product of an injured parentage, who should be held
responsible? Is it just for society to consign these unsocial individuals which it has made to a life of
hard labor or confinement in depressing environments? Is it just for society to permit production of
physical and mental cripples? Many primitive races apparently have prevented the distortions
which find expressions in unsocial acts. If so, cannot modern society do this by studying and
adopting the programs developed through centuries of experience by the primitives? Nature uses a
written language which, without the keys, is made up of meaningless hieroglyphics, but which, with
the proper keys, becomes a clear story of racial and individual history. The hieroglyphics indicate
racial and individual disaster for modernized groups who heed not the warning story. The primitive
races have some of these keys and have used them successfully in avoiding many of the disasters
of our modern society. The following chapters record many of the excellent practices of the
primitives and they are presented here with the hope that they will be helpful in a program designed
to relieve mankind of some of the misfortunes common in the present social order and to prevent
disorders for future generations of civilized peoples.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 12/250

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 2
THE PROGRESSIVE DECLINE OF MODERN CIVILIZATION
THAT modern man is declining in physical fitness has been emphasized by many eminent
sociologists and other scientists. That the rate of degeneration is progressively accelerating
constitutes a cause for great alarm, particularly since this is taking place in spite of the advance that
is being made in modern science along many lines of investigation.
   Dr. Alexis Carrel in his treatise "Man, the Unknown" states:
    Medicine is far from having decreased human sufferings as much as it endeavors to make us
believe. Indeed, the number of deaths from infectious diseases has greatly diminished. But we
still must die in a much larger proportion from degenerative diseases.
After reviewing the reduction in the epidemic infectious diseases he continues as follows:
    All diseases of bacterial origin have decreased in a striking manner.... Nevertheless, in spite
of the triumphs of medical science, the problem of disease is far from solved. Modern man is
delicate. Eleven hundred thousand persons have to attend the medical needs of 120,000,000
other persons. Every year, among this population of the United States, there are about
100,000,000 illnesses, serious or slight. In the hospitals, 700,000 beds are occupied every day of
the year.... Medical care, under all its forms, costs about $3,500,000,000 yearly.... The
organism seems to have become more susceptible to degenerative diseases.
   The present health condition in the United States is reported from time to time by several
agencies representing special phases of the health program. The general health problem has been
thoroughly surveyed and interpreted by the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health
Service, Dr. Parran. Probably no one is so well informed in all of the phases of health as is the
head of this important department of the government. In his recent preliminary report (1) to state
and local officers for their information and guidance, he presented data that have been gathered by
a large group of government workers. The report includes a census of the health conditions of all
the groups constituting the population of the United States--records of the health status and of the
economic status of 2,660,000 individuals living in various sections, in various types of communities,
on various economic levels. The data include records on every age-group. He makes the following
interpretations based upon the assumption that the 2,660,000 offer a fair sampling of the
population, and he indicates the conclusions which may be drawn regarding conditions of status for
the total population of some 130,000,000 people.
    Every day one out of twenty people is too sick to go