 which the feelings taketheir course. Discretion and a healthy balance between reason,
emotion, and will are necessary to prevent the feelings from going
into an improper channel. QUESTION : Is divorce against spiritual law? ANSWER : Not necessarily. We do not have xed rules like that. There are cases when divorce is an easy way out, a mere escape. There are other cases when divorce is reasonable because the choice
to marry was made in immaturity and both partners lack the desire
to fulll the responsibility of marriage in its true sense. If only one
—or neither—is willing, divorce is better than staying together and
making a farce out of marriage. Unless both are willing to take this
journey together, it is better to break clean than to let one prevent
the growth of the other. That, of course, happens. It is better to
terminate a mistake than to remain indenitely in it without nding
an eective remedy. To generalize that divorce is always wrong is just as incorrect as
to say that it is always right. One should not, however, leave a
marriage lightl y. Even though it was a mistake and does not work,
one should try to nd the reasons and do one’s very best to search
out and perhaps get over the hurdles that are in the way, if both are
in any way willing. One should certainly do one’s best, even if the
marriage is not the ideal experience that I discussed tonight. Few
people are ready and mature  enough for it. You can make yourself
ready by trying to make the best of your past mistakes  and learn
from them. My dearest friends, think carefully about what I have said. There
is much food for thought in what I told you for each of you here,
and for all those who will read my words. There is not a single
person who cannot learn something from them. I want to close this lecture with the assurance to all of you that
we in the spirit world are deeply grateful to God for your good
eorts, for your growth. It is our greatest joy and our greatesthappiness. And so, my dear ones, receive the blessings of the Lord
again; may your hearts be lled by this wonderful strength coming
to you from the world of light and truth. Go in peace and in
happiness, my dear ones, each one of you. Be in God! OceanofPDF.com7
The Spiritual Signicance of Relationship
“Life is relations hip,” says the Guide. Of all relationships, that
between man and woman is the greatest challenge and oppor tunity
for spiritual growth and mutuality. “But how can I relate
harmoniously with another person when I am still split within
myself?” This is the question the Guide wants us to ask of ourselves. He teaches us to establish intimate relationship with our own true
inner being and, through this newly acquired inner honesty, to
handle the various problems that arise in our relationships in a
truthful and constructive way. Greetings, my dearest, dearest friends. Blessings for every one of
you. Blessed be your very life, your every breath, your thoughts and
your feelings. This lecture deals with relationships and their tremendous
signicance from the spiritual point of view—that of individual
growth and unication. First, I would like to point out that on the
human level of manifestation individual units of consciousness do
exist, which sometimes harm onize, but very often conict, with one
another, creating friction and crisis. Yet beyond this level of
manifestation there are no other fragmented units of consciousness. Above the human level there is only one consciousness, through
which every single created entity is expressed dierently. When one
comes into one’s own, one experiences this truth, without, however,
losing a sense of individuality. This can be felt very distinctly whenyou deal with your own inner disharmonies, my friends. For there,
too, exactly the same principle applies. Unequal Development of Parts of Consciousness
In your present state, a part of your innermost being is developed
and governs your thinking, feeling, willing, and acting. There are
other parts, still in a lower state of development, that also govern
and inuence your thinking,  feeling, willing, and acting. Thus you
nd yourself divided, and this always creates tension, pain, anxiety,
as well as inner and outer diculties, Some aspects of your
personality are in truth; others, in error and distortion. The resulting
confusion causes grave disturbances. What you usually do is push
one side out of the way and identify with the other. Yet this denial
of a part of you cannot bring unication. On the contrary, it widens
the split. What must be done is to bring out the deviating,
conicting side and face it—face the entire ambivalence. Only then
do you nd the ultimate reality of your unied self. As you know,
unication and peace emerge to the degree you recogni ze, accept,
and understand the nature of the inner conict. Exactly the same law applie s to the unity or dissension between
outwardly separate and dierent entities. They, too, are one, beyond
the level of appearance.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        The outcome seems to matter more than the issue
itself, for when the intensity of emotions is truly tested, it often has
no relationsh ip to the issue at stake. It would rather be
commensurate with a life-or-death issue. Although you may think
this irrational on a consciou s level, on an unconscious level being
wrong truly means being dead, for being wrong means being denied
by the other. On the dualistic plane, your sense of identity is
associated with the other person, not with your real self. As long as
you experience yourself only as the outer ego-self, you will depend on
others. Hence, a slight quarrel truly becomes a matter of life or
death, which explains the intensity of emotions when it comes to
proving your right and the other’s wrong. Only when you have
realized the center of your being, which embodies unication, does
your life cease to depend on others. On the dualistic plane each issue ends with either life or death. Life becomes terribly impo rtant in order to avoid death. Often
people fear death so much that they run into it head on. Such
individuals do not escape fear of death. Quite the contrary. Their
constant strug gle with life, which results from their fear and
struggle agains t death, renders them so unhappy that they believe
they don’t fear death. This is an illusion as long as life is
experienced on the dualistic plane, as long as one side is viewed as
important and is fought for, and the other side is seen as a threat
and is fought against. As long as you feel that you must win because
your side is true, while the other’s is false, you are deepl y involved
in the world of duality, and therefore in illusion, conict, andconfusion. The more you ght in this way, the greater the confusion
becomes. Human beings are habitually trained by upbringing, and
everything they learn from their surroundings agrees that one must
ght for one and against the other of any number of opposites. This
applies not only to material issues but even more to conce pts. Every
truth can thus be divided into two opposites, one being adhered to
as the “right” and the opposite aspect being declared the “wrong”
idea. In reality, however, the two complement one another. On the
unied plane, neither aspect  is thinkable without the other. There
the complements are not “enemies” or negations of each other; only
on the dualisti c plane of consciousness are they so opposed. There
every conict multiplies into intricate subdivisions of the primary
dualistic split. Since all this is a product of illusion, the longer the
conict continues, the less it can be solved and the more hopelessly
enmeshed you become in it. Let us now return to our exam ple and demonstrate how this is so. The more you prove your friend wrong, the more friction exists and
the less you obtain what you thought you would by provin g yourself
right and your friend wrong. You believe that by proving yourself
right and your friend wrong, your friend will nally accep t and love
you again and all will be well. When you do not succeed, you
misinterpret that and try harder, for you think you have not
suciently proven that you are right and the other is wrong. The
rift widens, your anxiety increases, and the more weapons you use
to win the ght, the deeper your diculties, until you actually
damage yourself and the other and act against your own best
interest. You are then faced with a further conict, which  arises out
of the rst dualistic split. In order to avoid a total rift, with all its
real and imagined threats— for real damage has begun to be
wrought—you are now faced  with the alternatives of having to give
in, in order to appease your friend and avoid further damage to
your


 of countless generations of hea ling
knowledge. As such, they are hugely skilled — and a vital part of any
community. There are numerous examples of such traditional healers, all of
whom fall into a category that can loosely be termed the “bare foot
doctor” or  nattu vaidya. The village midwife :
Each vil lage has  at least one traditional birth attendant known as a
dai. T hese women are skilled in de livering not only healthy babies,
but have  knowledge of breach births, stillborn fetuses and ba bies
with um bilical cords round their necks. Often coming from a family
of m idwives, they are skilled i n ante-natal and post-natal care as
well. A sign by the door of Mysore-based Mohammed Khasim’ s practice. The son of
Abdul Gafar, a renowned bone specialist who treated the Maharajah of Mysore’ s
family, his skills have been handed down from father to son. Even though there are thousands of Unani doctors, more than 100 medical
colleges and a dozen major pharma ceutical companies in India, the roadside
pharmacy overflowi ng with dusty medic ine bottles, dried roots, powders and oils is
a common sight. Here, a father and son (both unqualified) prepare prescriptions in
their small shop. The boy’ s grandfather taught them all they know. Many  nattu vaidya  learned their skills from their families. This physician is no
exception. Although not formally qualified, he has practiced Ayurveda in
Trivandrum for over 50 years and has many regular patients. He makes most of
his prescriptions himself, to recipes that were handed down to him from his father. The bonesetter :
The traditional bonesetter or orthopedic healer is another example. In the countrysi de, such a pers on may look after the needs of the
population of 20 villages or so, walking from one destination to the
next to treat sp rains, fractures,  joint problems or muscle pain. A
group in volved in strengthening traditional systems of medi cine
called th e Lok Swasthya Param para Samvardhan Samithi (LSP SS)
in Coimbatore estimates that there are over 60,000 bone-setters
serving rural populations and, in cities, established practitio ners
may see up to 30 or 40 patients  a day. It is estimated that ove r 50
percent of people with broken bones are treated by bonesetters in
any given year. The poison healer :Snakebite is a common occurr ence in rural India and traditional
visha vaidya  have sp ecialist knowledge. Th ey can dif ferentiate
between dif ferent snakebites, and they know which antidote works
for which type of snake. Their remedies are almost always herbal
and pr escriptions include p ur gation, antidotes and top ical
application of specific plants. The  visha vaidya  is often called on
in the case of rabid dog bites and scorpion bites too. Less cle ar cut, but nonetheless important, are people like oil
producers, small-scale herbal m edicine manufacturers, wandering
monks with herbal knowledge, community elders who have
specialist knowledge of herbal home remedies and nutrition, martial
art masseuses, and  kannu vaidyas  or eye physicians who treat eye
complaints even to the extent o f giving cataract operations. There
are also more general herbal medicine practitioners who specialize
in su ch conditions as jaundice a nd paralysis, children’ s diseases and
dentistry. Such people may have very particular knowledge in
marmanam  (treatment of the vital points),  agni  and  kshara
karma  (cauterization),  sodhana karma  (purification techniques)
and  rasayana  (rejuvenation th erapy) as well. According to the
Foundation for  the Revitalisation of Local Health T radit ions
(FRLHT ) wh ose mission is to revitalize these health practices in four
states in south India, there cou ld be a million such practitio ners
catering to India’ s 4,600-odd ethnic communities. T raditionally, many of these care-givers have a relationship with
their “patients” and don’ t practice specifically for monetary gain. Rather, t hey pla ce value on a code of ethics that includes service to
others, the transference of skill s, prayers for guidance and holistic
health ca re for all. In some cases, practitioners accept a  kanikkae  (a
kind of of fering  or a gratuity). Theirs is not a vocation; in fact, it is
more than likely that they have another job, such as farmer or
shopkeeper, as well. Even though most of these people do not have legal status (or
only semi-legal status) as medical practitioners, they are considered
legitimate heale rs in their own right. Indeed, such or ganizations as
the  LSSPS  are keen  to tap into their specialist knowledge — some of
which is  invaria bly being lost w ith the passing of time. For a s tart,
none of it is written down: Most barefoot doctors receive their
healing knowled ge orally via p erson-to-person transmission eitherin the form of the guru-  shishya  tradition (maste r/ disciple), or
commonly from  father to son or mother to daughter. Secondly, with
rapid ind ustrialization and loss of rural land, vital herbs, plants and
trees are  being cut down in the name of “development”. Thirdly, as
India develops, a worrying trend has been recently noticed: such
people are quite often over 40 years of age, and are often not
handing down their skills to the next generation as they did in the
past. Dr S B Nithyanandam stands in the grounds of his local Shiva temple. A Siddha
doctor, he learnt his trade from his father, but also trained at a Siddha medical
college. An example of the type of colorful billboards found all over India. This one is for a
type of hair oil that contains  amla  or Indian gooseberry. healing plants
India’ s creativ e healing systems are predominantly pla nt-
based (althoug h minerals have a role) and it is estimated that
most ho useholds rely upon locally available plant mate rial
for their pharmacopeia. Ac cording to the W orld Health
Or ganisation ( who ), between 35,000 and 70,000 plants have
been us ed for medicinal purposes globally at one time or
another — and in India tod ay at least 20,000 species are
found, 2,000 of which are ef ficacious in A yurvedic
formulations. O f these, about 600 are commonly used in oils
(tailam ), powders (choornam ), internal medications, teas
and tonics. W e list some of the most important plants from
the A yurvedic pharmacopeia. Lawsonia inermis  Henna
Henna  (mehndi)  is commonly used as a dye and an anti-fungal. The
leaves p roduce a red-orange dye molecule that has an af finity for
bonding with protein, so has bee n used to dye skin, hair, fingernails,
leather, silk and wool since the Bronze Ages. In India it is
commonly used  as a dye on hands, feet and hair, while henna
essential oil is used as a scalp stimulator. Centella asiatica  Asiatic pennywort
Brahmi  is a small herbaceous annual plant, the leaves of which are
reported to be u seful in abdominal disorders; a tea is made to help
with dysentery in children. Scientific reports have documented itsability to aid wound healing, being particularly helpful with
reduction of scarring, and it is also used in the treatment of leprosy,
epilepsy, cardiac debility and more. Eclipta alba  False daisy
Bhringaraja  is an annual herb that is com monly used in the
treatment of skin diseases and as an anti-inflammatory. It is also
reported to be ef fective in blackening and strengthening the hair and
is co oling on the  head. It may also be taken as a tonic to help with
liver and spleen enlar gements. Ocimum tenuiflorum  Holy basil
Known as holy basil,  tulsi  is an important symbol in many Hindu
religious traditi ons. It is men tioned in the  Rigveda  and the
Charaka Samhita, an d has been  recognized by the  rishis  for
thousands of years as a prime herb in A yurvedic treatment. Tulsi
extracts are used for common colds, headaches, stomach disorders,
inflammation, heart disease, poisoning and malaria. Tulsi  can be
taken as an herbal tea, in dried powder form, fresh or mixed with
ghee. Adhatoda vasica  Malabar nut
Also known as the Malabar nut tree, the  vasaka  shrub has leaves
(see left) that are rich in vitamin C and carotene. Fresh or driedleaves are used to make a te a


,  simply wash it with water after  each
time yo u use it. A w ord of caution  about  using  soap  or deter gent:
some people  are allergic  to certain  chemicals that  are found  in
- 182  -Chapter VII
soap  and deterg ent, especially  when inserted  into the channel  where
the membranes  are very  sensitive. Also,  many wome n are
unkno wingly allergic  to alcohol  (isopr opyl or rubbin g type), theref ore
its use  should  be avoided  for cleansing  purposes. 3. Caution in  Practici ng the Egg Exercises
   a. Before  practicing  the egg exercises,  you must first master
Ovarian  Breathing. b. You must be  fully arouse d before  inserting  the egg. If yo u
produce  very  little fluid  naturally, use a lubricant. c. Ma rried women  should  use a smaller egg. d. Do not  practice  lying dow n.
   e. If a problem arises  and the egg becomes stuck,  do not  panic. Lie do wn and relax  and the egg will come out. 4. Using the  Egg
A. Beginning  the Exercise
    The first  time yo u use the egg,  you will probabl y want to, and
should,  exercise  all precaution  until  you become accustomed to it. Each tim e before  practicing  the egg  exercise,  you must warm
yourself by massaging  the breasts,  making sure the vagina  is
expanded  and som e lubricatin g fluid  is being  emitted. In this  chapter
we provide  you with a sim ple breast  massage  to warm you up. If
you decide  to practice  immediatel y after  the Orgas mic Dra w, there
is no need  to try this sim ple version  of ma ssage  because  you have
already  massaged  the breasts  before  the Orgas mic Dra w. Once
you master the Egg Exercise  you can practice  it in conjunction
with the Orgas mic Dra w or Ovarian  Breathing  by placing  the egg
in the  vagina  while practicing. However it is i mportant  that you,
separate  every  exercise  at first, and  then  join them  at a later  time
when you become mo re proficient. To assist y ou in insertin g the egg easil y if necessary, use a
lubricating  jelly: any sper micidal jelly or cream that  is not  petroleum
based,  any natural  lubricating  oil, such  as a  raw cooking  oil, that
you know  is safe,  or any lubricant  that you have  used  that you do
not have  a chem ical reactio n to. Always insert  the wider end of the
egg first. Once  inserted, assume the standa rd Horse  Stance
posture  (feet  shoulders’  width apart  and firmly ground ed: ankles
and knees  bent:  groin  folded:  spine  and neck  in alignment). Elevate
- 183  -Egg Exercise s
your arms in front  of you to a 45-degree  angle  with your palms
facing  upw ard. Assum e a clenched  fist position. It is from this basic
rooting  stance  that each  of the  Egg Exercises  is Performed. (Fig. 7.1(a)  and (b))
(a) Feet  shoulder’s width  apart
and fir mly ground ed. (b) Side Vi ew
Fig. 7.1 Horse  Stanc e for the Egg Exercise
- 184  -Chapter  VII
   The cervix  represe nts the back  limit of the vagina. Squeezing
the muscles the way you would to have  a bo wel movement will
expel  the egg. In the  beginnin g make sure  not to practice  on a
cement floor  so that if the  egg drops  out, it will not break. You can
also place  a towel unde r your feet. 2Second Sectio n:
Vaginal cana l in front
of the cervix
3Third Section:
The Middl e vagin al
canal
1First Section:
External vaginal
orifice to the front of
the vagina l canal
Fig. 7.2 Three  Sections of  the Vagina
B. Three  Sections of the Vaginal Canal (Fig. 7.2)
  With the practices  of Ovarian  Breathin g and the Orgasm ic Draw,
you began  to gain  control  of your Chi Muscle. To gain  further  control
- 185  -Egg Exercises
through  the Egg Exercise,  we divide  the vaginal  canal  into three
sections. (1)  The external  vaginal  orifice  and front  of the  vaginal  canal
    The first  section  includes  the muscles of the external  vaginal
orifice  and the front  part of the vaginal  canal. When the egg  is
inserted,  you will contract  the uterus,  closing  the orifice  tightly  so
that the egg cannot  drop  out. (2)  The anteri or of the cervix
    The second  section  to be  contracte d consists  of the mu scles
of the  vaginal  canal  immediately  in front  of the cervix. (3)  The mi ddle of the  vaginal  canal
Ovaries
Uterus
Bladder
  Pelvic
Diaphragm
Urogenital
DiaphragmAnal Sphincter
   Muscle
Anus
Vagina
Fig. 7.3 Moving the Egg
- 186  -Chapter  VII
    The third  section  encompasses  the muscles of the  middle of
the vaginal  canal. These are  the mu scles that  will move the  egg up
and dow n, left and  right,  and tilt it in differen t directions. (Fig. 7.3)
You will practice  moving and using  these  muscles until  you master
their movement as  easily  as using  your hand. As y ou play  with the
direction  you will learn  to differentiat e each  movement of these
muscles. If you have  a ma le partner  he w ill soon  notice  the results
of this  practice. Practice  for a few minutes at  a tim e, as often  as
you like. Insert  the egg before  practicing  Tai Chi,  Iron Shirt, or  any
of the  other  physical practices. Graduall y increase  the length  of
time yo u retain  it. Just reme mber that  it is there,  since  laughing,
sneezing,  or coughin g can som etimes cause  the egg to blast  out
of the  vagina  quite  unexpectedl y. 5. Two Eggs Technique
   You can upgra de the practice  by using  two eggs  in the  vagina  at
the same ti me, m oving them  up and down, in different  directio ns,
or banging  them together  to achieve  a vibration  that will stimulate
the inside organs. (Fig. 7.4) Two eggs  are more difficult  to ma nage,
quite  like dra wing a square  and circle sim ultaneousl y using  both
hands. It is important  to kno w how  to manage  one egg well first. Once  you are well trained  and are master of  the Chi Muscle,
you can dispense  with the eggs,  using  your mind and  the
approp riate muscles to mo ve the sexual  energ y as y ou wish. B. Breast Mas sage Techniques  Preliminary  to the Egg
Exercise
    The im portance  of a preli minary  massage  before  practicing  the
Egg Exercise  and Vaginal  Weight Lifting  cannot  be overlook ed. Its
purpose  is to stim ulate  hormone  secretio n from  the breasts  and
ovaries. Once  ejected from their  glandular  source,  these  hormones
beco me available  for transformation  into higher  energy  as they
travel  along  the path way of the Orgas mic Dra w. Perfor ming  the
massage  with a silk or  taffeta  cloth  creates  a certain  friction  which
is more conducive  to hormonal  stimulation,  and is, therefo re, more
efficient  in obtainin g results. Begin  the massage  by gently  but firmly pushing  the fatty tissue
of the  mound of each  breast  against  the rib cage,  moving two or
three  fingers  of each  hand  in sm all circular  movements. Start  at
- 187  -Egg Exercise s
Sque ezing Two Eggs Apart
Ovaries
Uterus
Bladder
  Pelvic
Diaphragm
Urogenital
Diaphragm
Vagina
Fig. 7.4 Squeezing Two Eggs Together
- 188  -Anal Sphincter
   Muscle
Anus


 cooked foods provide addi-
tional variety and enable patients to eat more than they would on an
exclusively raw diet. They also supply soft bulk, which promotes thedigestion of the raw foods and juices. The most popular item on the list of cooked foods is the “Special
Soup or Hippocrates Soup” that helps to detoxify the kiEOFZT
and is highly comforting, especially in cold weather.  All cookedPreparing Food and Juices—The Basic Rules
foods serve as a kind of “blotting paper” in the stomach, helping to deal
with the constant intake of large amounts of juice. Even so, cookedfoods only account for some 3 to 4 pounds of the patient’s daily con-sumption, while raw foods, mostly made into juices, represent some 17pounds. THE ALL-IMPORTANT JUICES
Only four kinds of juice are used in the treatment of all categories ofpatients, except for a few minor exceptions. The basic juices are:
• Apple/carrot juice• Carrot-only juice• Green juice• Orange juiceOccasionally, for special cases, a different juice may have to be substi-
tuted. For example, diabetics receive grapefruit juice instead of orangejuice, since grapefruit contains less sugar; sometimes a fruit juice, suchas apple juice, is given to patients with collagen diseases who should notdrink citrus juice. Apple/Carrot Juice
Use approximately 8 ounces each of carrots and apples. Wash and brush(do not peel), grind to a pulp and place in a cloth supplied with thepress-type juicer to press. Serve and drink immediately. Carrot-Only Juice
Use approximately 10-12 ounces of carrots. Wash and brush (do notpeel), grind to a pulp and place in a cloth supplied with the press-typejuicer to press.<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>
Q: Who wrote the book "Healing the Gerson Way"?,
A: Charlotte Gerson
Q: What are the two most important rules for food preparation in the Gerson Therapy?,
A: All foods must be prepared with great care to preserve nutrients, and food must be tasty, varied, and enjoyable.
Q: What is the purpose of the "Special Soup or Hippocrates Soup" in the Gerson Therapy?,
A: The purpose of the soup is to help detoxify the body and is highly comforting, especially in cold weather.
Q: What type of sweetener is not permitted in the Gerson diet?,
A: None are explicitly listed as not permitted, but it is implied that all sweeteners must be organic and unsulphured.
Q: What is the daily ration of juice recommended in the Gerson Therapy?,
A: 13 glasses of freshly made juice<|eot_id|><|begin_of_text|>Drag a fork over thetop to decorate and bake for about 45 to 60 minutes at 350° F (180° C).Place pie plate on baking sheet in case of leakage. Serve with green vege-tables and salad. Variations:  Change the contents of the pie by adding green beans,
peas and/or corn when in season. Jerusalem artichokes would be alsogood. You could leave the leeks out of the pie and purée them (with$PPLCPPL5IF(FSTPO8BZ
electric blender or food mill) to add to the topping instead of the sweet
potato, onion or celery root. Gerson Roast Potatoes
Preparation time: 5 minutesCooking time: 1 hour
1 baking potatoCut a baking potato in half (or, if very large, into quarters). Score across
the cut surface with a knife. Put into a casserole dish with a little waterto just cover the bottom. Put lid on and bake in a hot oven at 400-425° F(204-218° C) for 1 hour. Before serving, remove the lid and leave toslightly brown. Glazed Beets
Preparation time: 25 minutesCooking time: 1-1/2 hoursServes 6 to 8
9 large beetsScrub beets and boil in 2 to 3 inches of water until tender for 1 to 1-1/2
hours. Add more water if needed. Peel in cold water. Slice or cut intobite-sized pieces. Glaze:
2/3 cup fresh orange juice 1 tsp. cornstarch 1-1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar1 tsp. honey (or sugar)
Combine ingredients for glaze. Cook over low flame until thick. Add
beets and mix well. Variation:  Use 1/2 cup apple juice and 3 tsp. lemon juice in place of
orange Juice. Recipes
Glazed Carrots and Turnips with Garlic
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutesServes 2
8 oz. carrots
8 oz. turnips
Dressing :
1 tbsp. lemon juice1 clove garlic, crushedflaxseed oil
Gently cook the carrots and turnips. Cut into thin slices and put into a
serving dish. Pour on the dressing and garnish with cilantro or dill. Glazed Carrots with Herbs and Lemon
Preparation time: 5 minutesCooking time: 30 minutesServes 2
1 lb. carrots
1 tsp. sugara little water1 tbsp. lemon juicemintrosemaryparsleyflaxseed oil
Gently cook the carrots whole. When beginning to soften, remove from
pan and cut into 2-inch sticks. Return to the saucepan with the sugarand a little water. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, the water has beenabsorbed and the carrots are cooked. Add the lemon juice and herbs andheat for an additional 2 minutes. Place on a warm serving dish, add flax-seed oil and serve immediately. $PPLCPPL5IF(FSTPO8BZ
Glazed Carrots with Orange
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutesServes 2
1 lb. carrots
1 tbsp. sugarjuice of 1/2  orangeflaxseed oil
Gently cook the carrots whole. When beginning to soften, remove from
the pan and cut into 2-inch sticks. Return to the saucepan with the sugarand orange juice. Heat until the sugar has been dissolved and the orangejuice absorbed. Turn onto platter, add flaxseed oil and serve. Green Beans in Honey and Tomato Sauce
Preparation time: 15 minutesCooking time: 20 minutesServes 2
1 lb. fine green beansSauce:
1 medium onion2 cloves garlic1 lb. tomatoes, roughly chopped1 tsp. honeyherbs
Cut ends off the beans, cook until just tender and drain. To make the
sauce, chop the onion and crush the garlic. Cook them both in a littlewater until just tender. When the onion is soft, add the roughly choppedtomatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer gently until sauce becomes fairlythick. Stir in the honey and herbs. Add the beans and allow to cool.Serve at room temperature. Recipes
Green Chard Rolls
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
4 leaves of green chard
2 carrots
1/4 head broccoli
1/4 head cauliflower
2 small zucchini squash
1 ear of corn (cut kernels off)
1/2 cup uncooked rice
Sauce:
1-1/2 tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
Put the chard leaves in hot water long enough to wilt them so they will
bend. Cut the broccoli, cauliflower, squash and corn into small pieces
and put them in a pan with a little water to simmer. When cooked,
drain the water off. Make a sauce in the blender with the tomatoes and
garlic, and pour this sauce on top of the vegetables and uncooked rice. Place some of the vegetables/rice mixture in the center of each leaf and
roll them up. Put these in a baking dish with a lid and bake in the oven
at 250° F (121° C) for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Green Peppers
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 2-3
2-4 green peppers, sliced
2-4 onions, sliced
Stew in tightly covered pot for approximately 30 minutes. Do not add
water. $PPLCPPL5IF(FSTPO8BZ
Grilled Eggplant
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutesServes 1
1 eggplant
garlicparsley, choppedlemon (or lime) juice
Slice the eggplant lengthwise. Heat a griddle pan (preferably a “ridged”
pan). When the pan is hot, turn down the heat, place the slices of egg-plant on the griddle and allow them to cook slowly. Turn over the slicesand repeat. Before serving, squeeze garlic over the slices, sprinkle withchopped parsley and drizzle lemon (or lime) juice over them. This is agood main course for lunch served with new potatoes. Variations:  You can do the same thing with large slices of peppers,
halves of onions or zucchini halved lengthwise. Leek and Potato Bake
Preparation time: 15 minutesCooking time:


, and that the
present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, nor the shadow
of the future. ”
“That is it,” said Siddhartha, “and when I learned that, I review ed
my life and it was also a river, and Siddhartha the boy, Siddhartha the
mature man and Siddhartha the old man, were only separated by
shadows, not through reality. ”
He spok e with delight, but Vasudeva just smiled radiantly at him
and nodded his agreement. The delusion fostered by centuries of materialism is that we can conquer
the river and control its flow; if we did, our only achievement would be to
die. The truth about each of us is that our life spreads out in larger and
larger fields of experience. Ther e is no limit to the energy, infor mation, and
intelligence concentrated in one person’ s existence. In physica l form this
infinite creativity has been embodied in your cells; in unmanife st form it is
expressed in the mind’ s silence, the void that is actually a fullness of untold
possible meanings, possible truths, possible creations. The emptiness at the
core of every atom is the wom b of the universe; in the flicker of thought
when two neuro ns interact there is an opportunity for a new world to be
born. This book is about exploring that silence where time’ s breath does not
wither but only renews. Look to the land where no one is old; it is nowhere
but in yourself. OceanofPDF. comIN PRACTICE:
How to Reinterpret Your Body
The first step toward experiencing your body in a different way is to change
your interpretation of it. No two people experience their bodies in exactly
the same way, because each of us interprets experience—including the
experience of inhabiting a body—according to his own personal beliefs,
values, assumptions, and memo ries. An aging body involves one style of
interpretation; an ageless body involves an opposite style. Try to let go of the assumption that your body is aging because things
just are that way. If you feel certain that growing old is natural, inevitable,
and normal, I don’t want you to erase those assumptions instantly. You
couldn’ t do that if you tried, for the old paradigm has taught all of us to
accept these assumptions without question. However, while still honoring
your deep belief  in aging, sickn ess, and death, allow yourself to set aside
the old paradigm for a moment. The quantum worldview, or the new paradigm, teaches us that we are
constantly making and unmaki ng our bodies. Behind the illusion of its
being a solid, stable object, the body is a process, and as long as that
process is directed toward renewal, the cells of the body remain new, no
matter how much time passes or how much entropy we are exposed to. The great enemy of renewal is habit; when frozen interpretations from
the past are applied to the prese nt, there will always be a gap, a mismatch
between the need of the momen t and the solution from the past. To have a
renewed body, you must be willing to have new perceptions that give rise to
new solutions. The exercises below are designed to help you open up new
perceptions. Some are exercises in absorbing the new knowledge of the
quantum worldv iew as it applie s to your body. Others are exercises in newexperience, gaining an inner feeling for that level inside your body that is
ageless. Ideally, as we move on to later exercises, knowledge and
experience will begin to fuse—that is the sign that you are fully
assimilating this new worldview in place of the old. Exercise 1: Seeing Thr ough the Mask of Matter
The most impor tant step in gaining the experience of ageless body is to
unfreeze the perceptions that have locked you into feelings of isolation,
fragmentation, and separatenes s. These frozen perceptions reinforce the
idea that only the reality of the five senses can be believed. So let us see if
we can go beyond the senses to find a level of transcendental experience,
which is in fact more real than the world of the senses. Look at your hand and examine it closely. Trace its familiar lines and
furrows, feel the texture of the skin, the supple flesh cushioning the
submer ged hardness of bone. This is the hand your senses report to you, a
material object composed of flesh and blood. In this first exercise we will
attempt to “thaw out” your hand and give you a different experience of it
beyond the reach of your senses. Holding the image of your hand in your mind’ s eye, imagine that you are
examining it through a high-pow ered microscope whose lens can penetrate
the fines t fabrics  of matter and energy. At the lowest power, you no longer
see smooth flesh but a collection of individual cells loosely  bound by
connective tissue. Each cell is a watery bag of proteins that appear as long
chains of smaller molecules held together by invisible bonds. Moving
closer, you can see separate atoms of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and so on,
which have no solidity at all—th ey are vibrating, ghostly shadows revealed
through the microscope as patches of light and dark. You have arrived at the bound ary between matter and energy, for the
subatomic particles making up each atom—whirling electro ns dancing
around a nuclea r core of proton s and neutrons—are not spots and dots of
matter. They are more like traces of light left by a Fourth of July sparklerwaved in the dark. At this level you see that all things you once took to be
solid are just energy trails; the instant you see one trail, the energy has
moved elsewhere, leaving nothing substantial to be touched or seen. Each
trail is a quantum event, fleeting, dying out as soon as it is noticed. Now you start sinking even deeper into quantum space. All light
disappears, repla ced by yawning chasms of black emptiness. Far away on
the horizon of your vision, you see a last flash, like the farthest, faintest star
visible in the night sky. Hold that flash in your mind, for it is the last
remnant of matter or energy detectable by any scientific instrument. The
blackness closes in, and you are in a place where not just matter  and energy
are gone, but space and time as well. You have left behind your hand as a space-time event. Like all space-time
events, your body has to have an origin beyond the fourth dimension. There
is no such thing as “before” or “after” in this region, no concept of “big” or
“small. ” Here your hand exists before the Big Bang and after the universe’ s
end in the “heat death” of absolute zero. In reality these terms are
meaningless, for you have arrived at the womb of the universe, the pre-
quantum region that has no dimensions and all dimensions. You are
everywhere and nowhere. Has your hand ceased to exist. No, for in crossing the boundary of the
fourth dimensio n, you didn’ t go anywhere; the whole notion of place and
time simply doesn’t apply anymore. All the grosser levels of perception are
still available to you; your hand still exists at all these levels you have
traversed—quantum, subatomic, atomic, molecular, cellular—connected by
invisible intelligence to the place where you now find yourself. Each level
is a layer of transformation, completely different from the one above or
below it, but only here, where there is nothing but pure inform ation, idea,
creative potential, are all levels reduced to their common origin. Ponder this exercise for a moment to absorb its lessons:
•  The three-dimensional body reported by the five senses is a mirage. •  Every solid particle of matter is composed of more than 99. 99 9 percent
empty space. •  The void between two electrons is proportionately as empty as the
space between two galaxies. •  If you go deep  enough into the fabric of matter and energy, you arrive
at the origin of the universe. All events in space-time have a common
source outside the reality we perceive. •  Beyond the quantum, your body exists as pure creative potential, a
multilayered process controlled by intelligence. Now examine your hand with a new understanding—it is the stepping-of f
point for a dizzying descent into the dance of life, where the dancers
disappear if you approach too near and the music fades away into the
silence of eternity. The dance is forever, and the dance is you. Exercise 2: Closing the Gap
Now that we have touched that level of quantum space unde rlying all
physical existen ce, I want you to become more comfortable there. Ordinarily we think of space as cold and empty, but quantum space is full—
it is the continuity that connects everything in the universe. When the
quantum field is active, it gives rise to a space-time event; when it is quiet,
there is just quantum space. But this doesn’ t signify that the field has gaps
in it—im agine the Earth surrounded by lines of magnetic force radiating out
of the north and south magnetic poles. All the separate magnets on the
planet participate in this field. They are small, separate outcroppings of
magnetism, yet even when a magnet is not


,hotand
botheredandextremelythirsty.YoufindthatSulphur
comesupstronglyforallyoursymptomsbutisn't
listedunderFluintheRepertory.Theclosestremedy
isBryoniabutBryoniaisn'trestless.Readthroughboth
remedypicturestoseewhichonefitsbest;itwill
probablybeSulphur-theonethatdoesnothavefluin
itspicture-inwhichcaseSulphurwillworkmore
effectivelybecauseitcoversthewholepicture.Ifthestronggeneralandemotional/mentalsymptomspoint
tooneremedythengiveitevenifitdoesn'thaveyour
physicalcomplaintlistedinitspicture. Conversely,certainremediesworkwellwhenpre-
scribedonthephysicalsymptomsalone,forexample
Natrummuriattcumforcoldsores.However, itwill
workmuchbetterifthereareotherNatrummunaticum
symptomsfromthegeneraland/ortheemotional/
mentalsections. PRESCRIBING
WhentoPrescribe
Neverrushintoprescribing,anddon'tthinkthatyou
havetogivearemedyjustbecauseyouhavethebook
andsomeonewantsyouto.Ifyoudon'tfeelright
aboutprescribingoraboutgivingaremedytosome-
one(forexample,ifyoudon'tknowthepersonvery
well),thendon'tdoit.Letthemgotoaprofessional
homeopath iftheyhaveone,ortotheirownGP.If,
whenyouhavetakenthecase,youareatallunsure
aboutyourchoiceofremedy-ifnoremedyisstrongly
indicatedforyourpatient-thendon'tprescribe. Thereareonlyninety-sixinternalremediesinthis
MateriaMedicaand,althoughtheycoveraverylarge
numberofacuteconditions,theywon'tcoverthemall. Ifyouareprescribingforanacuteillnessandyour
patientisalreadyunderthecareofaprofessional
homeopath, itisessentialthatthehomeopath iscon-
sultedbeforeyouprescribe. Itisbettertogivenothing
thantointerferewithwhatmaybeanaggravationof
somesortandthereforenotfullyunderstoodbyyou. Inanaccidentoranemergencyyoushouldgivethe
indicatedremedy(Arnica,AconiteorHypericum,for
example)immediately,butmakesurethatyouwrite
downtheremedyandtheresponsessothatyoucan
passontheinformation totheprofessional
homeopath. whomtoPrescribefor
Babiesandchildrenrespondverywelltohomeopathic
treatment. Ifforsomereasontheydonotrespondto
yourfirst-aidprescriptions,seektheadviceofapro-
fessionalhomeopathratherthanstruggleonwiththe
possibilityofmakingamessoftheircase.Aschildrengrowupitisalwaysusefultoaskthemiftheyneeda
remedy,iftheyneedhelptogetbetter.Weallhavethe
abilitytohealourselves;thehomeopathicremedytaps
thisresourceandputsusintouchwithit.Many
childrenhaveandcandeveloptheabilitytoheal
themselves iftheyareencouragedtodoso.Myown
childwillnowalwaystellmeifheneedsaremedyafter
anaccidentorinanacuteillness.Mostlyhesaystome,
'It'sOK,Mum,Idon'tneedanything. Icangetbetter
bymyself. 'Ifyouintroducethisconcepttoachildit
willbepickedupquitequickly.Adultstakealittle
longer! Whenprescribingforadults,howeverclosethey
maybetoyou,youshouldrememberthisrule:pre-
scribeonlyifthepatientasksyouforhelp.Over-
zealousnesscanbeveryoff-puttingandifyouforcea
remedyontosomeonethechancesofitsbeingsabo-
tagedbyantidoting(seepage27)areveryhigh.Ifthere
isanimprovement, itwillbeattributedtoacoinci-
denceanyway.Itisalwayspossibletoofferhelpand
leaveitatthat,butdon'tgetintothewayofthinking
thatyoucancureanybodyandeverybodyoftheir
complaints. Ifsomeonecomestoyou,thenfine.Byall
meanstakethecaseandseewhatyoucando,butdo
notimpingeonotherpeople'srightstolookaftertheir
ownhealthintheirownway. Ifyouareself-prescribing, itisalwaysadvisableto
discussyourremedywithafriendtomakesurethat
youarenotdeludingyourselfaboutyourtruestateof
bodyandmind. THEREMEDIES
Theformsavailable
Homeopathicremediesaremostcommonlyavailable
intabletform.Thetabletsaremadeofsugarofcow's
PRESCRIBING TheRemedies•25
milk,orsaccharumlactose,commonlyknownassac
lac;thishasbeenfoundtobetheidealmediumforthe
potentisedremedy.Saclaccomesinseveralforms-
hardorsofttablets,globulesorpowders.Most
homeopathicpharmacieswillautomaticallymakeup
remediesintheformofhardsaclactabletsunlessthey
arespecificallyaskedotherwise. Listedbelowarethedifferentformsahomeopathic
remedycantake.Ineachcaseafewdropsofthe
potentisedremedyinalcoholisusedtomedicate(or
moisten)thebasesubstance. Softtablets(saclac).NewEraTissueSaltsusethese
tabletswhichdissolvequicklyandeasilyunderthe
tongueandarealsoeasilycrushedforadministering to
babies. Hardtablets(saclac).TabletsmadebyWeledaand
Nelson'sfallintothiscategoryanddonotdissolveas
easilyasthesofttablets.Theyshouldbechewedand
heldinthemouthforafewsecondsbeforebeing
swallowed. Globules(saclac)aretinyroundpills,likepoppy
seeds.Itisusuallysuggestedthatalidfulbegivenasa
singledose,thoughtheoreticallyonegrainshould
suffice. Sucroseissometimesusedasthemedium.Sceptics
arealwaystakenabackwhenacoupleofgrainsof
sugar'areseentocureaseverelybruisedhead.Ifind
thatafewgrainstippedontothepalmofthehandand
dissolvedonthetongueareenough. Alcohol.Childrenoradultsknowntobeallergicto
cow'smilkmayaskfortheirhomeopathicremediesto
bemadeupinliquidform.Theseremediescomein
dropperbottlesandthepotentisedsubstancehasbeen
addedtoanalcoholbase.Thedoseiseitheradminis-
teredneat(althoughchildrendonotusuallylikethis)
ordilutedinwater.Adoseof6-10dropsisadequate. Powders(saclac).Mosthomeopathicpharmaciescan
makeupremediesinpowders.Thesearewrapped
individuallyinsmallsquaresofpaperandarecon-
venientifyouneedonlyafewdosesofanunusual
remedythatyouareunlikelytowantagain,orifyou
needtosendsmallquantitiesbymail-especially
abroad.Theyshouldbedissolvedunderthetongue
likesofttabletsoraddedtoasmallamountofwater
andsippedasfrequentlyasneeded. Wafers.Selectedpharmaciescanmakeupremediesin
wafers,which,likepowders,arewrappedindividu-
ally.Thewafersaremadeoutofricepaper,whichis
usefulforpeoplesensitivetomilkandsugar. Storingremedies
Homeopathic tabletswillkeeptheirstrengthforyears
withoutdeteriorating.Remediesmadeoverahun-
dredyearsagostillworkwell.Theymustbestoredinacool,dark,dryplacewiththeirtopsscrewedon
tightly,wellawayfromstrong-smelling substances,
becausestrongsmellsdomakethepillslosetheir
potency. Itisnotagoodideatokeepthemina
bathroomcabinetalongsideperfumes,coughmix-
tures,etc.,orinaspare-roomcupboardwiththe
mothballs.Asealedplasticcontainerlikeanice-cream
tubisgoodforstoringloosebottles.Oryoumay
choosetopurchaseoneoftheready-madekitsthatare
availablefrommanypharmacies,toyourownspeci-
ficationsifyouwish.Theappendixonbuildingupa
first-aidkitwillhelpyouwiththis(seepage249). Itiswisetokeepalltabletsoutofreachofchildrenas
amatterofcourse.Ifyourchildgetsherhandsona
bottleofpillsandeatstheentirefirst-aidkitinone
glorioussecretfeast,donotpanic.Yourbankbalance
istheonlythingthatwillsuffer.Asingledoseatone
timeisasingledose,whether ititisonepillorone
bottleofpills-forexample,eatingafullbottle


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SAMPLECASES Teething •237
convalescentstageifherenergydoesn'tstarttoreturn
oncetheacutesymptomsofthefluhavedisappeared. Case6b
Fluwithtreatment
Yourpatient,athirty-five-year-old singleparentof
twochildren,agedthreeandone,goesdownsud-
denlywithasevereboutofflu.Shehasnoonetohelp
herwiththechildren,althoughafriendofferstoshop
forher.Shefeelssoexhaustedthatshecanhardlysit
up.Everyboneinherbodyaches,shehasafeverand
isdepressedandweepy.Shefeelsgenerallyworsefor
gettingcold. Homeopathictreatmentinthiscaseisappropriate,
becauseoftheseverityofthesymptoms,andalso
becauseofthepatient'ssituation.Sheisnotableto
taketwoweeksoff. Youchoosethefollowingsymptoms:
1Flu(Physicalcomplaint)
2painsinbones(Relatedsymptom)
3Exhaustion(Physicalcomplaint)
4worseforexertion(Relatedsymptom)
5Fever(Physicalcomplaint)
6Depressed(Emotional/mental)
7Tearful(Emotionalmental)
8Worseforcold(General)
Onrepertorising,youfindthatRhustoxicodendron is
theonlyremedythathaseachofthesymptomsyou
havechosen,butwhenyoureadthroughthepicture
intheMateriaMedicaitdoesn'tquitefit.Thepatient
isn'trestless. Yougobackandquestionhersomemore,andfind
thatsheisalsoverythirstyforcolddrinks,inspiteof
feelingworseforgettingcold.Sheisalsolyinginbed
shiveringandshakingandmoaningwiththepains. Youaddthefollowingsymptoms:
9Thirsty(General)
10Likescolddrinks(General)
11Fluwithshivering(Physicalcomplaint)
Eupatoriumperfoliatumhasatotalofsevenoutoftenof
thesymptomsandonreading itthroughyouare
struckbythesimilarity.Youaskherthenifshehasa
headache(shehas)andwhethersheissweating(she
isn'tmuch)andthisconfirmsyourprescription. Case7
Insomnia
Afriendasksforhelpwithhisinsomnia.Hesaysit
hasn'tbeengoingonforverylongandthathethinksit
isaresultofthelifestylehehasbeenleading,andhe
doesn'tnormallysufferfromit;he'sbeenoverdoing it,workinghard,eatingtoomuchrichfood,drinking
coffeeandalcoholinlargequantitiesbecauseofbusi-
nesslunchesanddinners,andnotgettingenough
sleep.Hisworkcommitmentshavebeenputtinghim
underincreasedmentalstrainandhe'snoticedhim-
selfbecomingmoreirritable,snappingathissecretary
andevenatfriends.Whenhegoestobedhefalls
asleepwithoutmuchdifficulty,butwakesintheearly
hours(around2or3a.m. )feelinganxious,especially
aboutabigcontracthe'sworkingon,andhedoesn't
getbacktosleepuntilshortlybeforethealarmgoes
off.Hefeelsdreadfulonwakingandhastodrinklots
ofcoffeetogetgoing. Youchoosethefollowingsymptoms:
1Insomnia(Physicalcomplaint)
2after3a.m. (Relatedsymptom)
3causedbymentalstrain(Relatedsymptom)
4causedbyoverwork(Relatedsymptom)
5Irritable(Emotional/mental)
Inthiscaseyouhaveafewstrongsymptomsandyou
won'tneedtousethecharttorepertorise;bysimply
lookingupeachsymptomyouwillseeataglancethat
Nuxvomicaislistedineachsymptom.Onreadingthe
pictureyouwillrecogniseimmediatelythesimilarity
ofboththementalpictureandthephysicalcomplaint. Youknowthatheissensitivetothecold,andthat
clinches it. Yougivehimtheremedyandstrictinstructionsto
haveafewearlynights,andtostopdrinkingalcohol
andcoffeeforafewdaystogivehisliverandhis
nervoussystemarest. Case8
Teething
Yourbabyiseightmonthsoldandisteething.Afriend
ofyourshasrecommended thehomeopathic'teething
granules',butyouknowbetterthantomakearoutine
hit-or-missprescription (! )andwhenyoutriedthem
onceinthemiddleofthenightindesperationtheyhad
noeffectwhatsoever. Heisusuallyacontented,easy-goingbabybuthe
hasbeenmorefractiousoflateandhasbeenwakingat
night,whenbeforehehadbeensleepingstraight
through.Unlikehisfriendsofthesameage,hedoesn't
yethaveanyteeth. (Hisfatherwasthesameasababy,
withnoteethuntilhewasnearlyayearold. )Youfeel
desperateatthethoughtofendlessbrokennights
ahead.Whenyougotohimatnightallhewantsisa
drinkandacuddleandhegoesdownquiteeasily. However,younoticethathisheadisunusuallysweaty
andthathesmellssour. Hisbowelshavebeenupsetforthepastthree
weeks,withdiarrhoeathatsmellssourandcontains
undigestedfood.Hehasalsobeenmoreproneto
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impeded,
into your life. See your day going well in your own inner chamber of energy
and know that the right people will appear to assist you in your
manifestation. Be open to your energy and see yourself evolving
happily and easily through each experience of the day. This affirmation, when used in the morning, allows you to go to
your center and acknowledge your infinite beauty and your perfect
place in all things that are a part of this day. This affirmation will
shield you from the negativity that you will be exposed to from the
146
Manifest Your Destiny
collective unconscious and the beliefs that are no longer a part of
your inner world. © © ©
This concludes the eighth principle for spiritual manifestation. It
revolves around transcending your mind and the collective mind that
has been with you since your conception. It asks you to be patient
when your mind will demand results, and it asks you to let go of your
mind’s preoccupation with those results and to trust in something
your mind cannot see and your body cannot fathom with its limited
perceptual means known as the senses. It asks you to let your inner-
most feelings become the guides in your life, and to trust those
guides. It asks, most significantly, that you allow yourself to know and
see the infinite white light of the living spirit surrounding and pro-
tecting you, and providing for you all that your own inner spirit, as a
piece of that infinite universal spirit, can imagine. Once you perfect that infinite patience you will demonstrate your
trust in something other than your own limited body/mind, and you
will peacefully allow your desires to manifest in their own good way,
in their own good time. The ninth and final principle of spiritual manifestation involves
the need to be eternally grateful, generous and in the service of
others. 147
REACTING TO YOUR MANIFESTATIONS WITH
GRATITUDE AND GENEROSITY
The Ninth Principle
he conscious expression of gratitude and generosity is the
final principle in this miraculous process of spiritual manifestation. Experiencing an inner sense of gratitude and generosity is the result
of being in harmony with all of the other eight principles discussed in
this book. Gratitude is your expression of acknowledging the oneness of the
universal energy working in cooperation with your desires. THE NATURE OF GRATITUDE
The nature of gratitude is the complete and full response of the
human heart to everything in the universe. It is an absence of feeling
148
Manifest Your Destiny
alienated or separate. It represents our full acknowledgment and
appreciation of the energy flowing through all things, and brings gifts
to us in the form of the fulfillment of our desires. It recognizes that nothing is to be taken for granted, and, most impor-
tant, it is an expression of complete, unconditional love in the form of a
thank you to the God force that is in all things. It is a way of being one
with the God force in full inner serenity. It recognizes that the spirit
within ourselves is the same as that which sustains all life on the planet. Gratitude, then, represents the whole of ourselves. When we feel
grateful and give thanks, sending out this kind of loving energy to the
world in the same fashion that we did when we were asking for our
heart’s desire to be manifested, we feel complete. Gratitude allows us to
feel more together and more connected to that for which we are grate-
ful. It disallows any feeling of being separate and alienated from God. The nature of gratitude helps dispel the idea that we do not have enough,
that we will never have enough, and that we ourselves are not enough. When your heart is filled with gratitude, it is grateful for everything
and cannot focus on what is missing. When your attention is on your
scarcity, you are telling the universal spirit that you need more and are
not grateful for all that you have. The nature of gratitude is supportive
of our fullness and abundance, and acknowledges that we are the
recipients of the generosity of others, of life and of the universal spirit. Gratitude contributes a loving response to the whole of creation
and to your relationship with creation. That relationship illustrates
for us how interconnected and interdependent everything is, includ-
ing the manifestations in our lives. When we understand the nature
of gratitude, we can more clearly identify those things within our-
selves that are obstacles to practicing gratitude. OBSTACLES TO GRATITUDE
Gratitude is an inner process. It is an attitude of thankfulness even
when things do not appear as we would prefer. Rumi wrote, “Don’t
149
WAYNE W. DYER
grieve for what doesn’t come. Some things that don’t happen keep
disasters from happening. ” Gratitude is a way of experiencing the
world with love rather than judgment. The three most common
obstacles to an attitude of gratitude originate in your mental
processes. They represent a way of thinking that impedes gratitude. 1:  Faultfinding. No doubt you have heard the phrase “finding fault. ”
But rarely in the same context do you-hear the phrase “finding
love. ” The emphasis for the majority of us is on faultfinding
rather than on love finding. You always have the choice to be love finding or faultfinding. The faultfinder focuses on what is wrong and what is missing. That focus shows up as criticism, judgment and anger. The feel-
ing is of being against the manifestations that appear in the world
rather than being for what one receives. The earlier principles of manifestation explained that it is
essential to remember that what we think about is what expands,
as is expressed by “As we think, so shall we be. ” If you are using
your mind to think about what is wrong and what is lacking, this
is precisely what will manifest for you. Your inner world is the
source of what you manifest. Finding fault rather than being
grateful and being a love finder guarantees that you will not be
able to participate in the co-creation of your life and the fulfill-
ment of your desires. Faultfinding does not happen because of what you observe in
your world. It is the observer located within you that chooses a
critical or angry point of view. 2: Complaining. | have a motto that I have used for many years that is
quite simple but is very effective in overcoming this obstacle to
an attitude of gratitude: “Don’t complain, don’t explain. ”
150
Manifest Your Destiny
The complainer always feels shortchanged and deprived, and
consequently becomes envious and bitter toward those who
seem to have been blessed with what is missing in his or her own
life. The complainer feels isolated and separate from goodness
and joyfulness. Because the fullness of life seems to be occurring
elsewhere, the complainer is full of ingratitude. To become adept at manifesting one’s desires, it is crucial
to have an attitude of unconditional love, allowing you to feel
supported and given a gift by life. The inner experience of
complaining and feeling deprived leads to being angry at the
universal source that seems to have denied you the benefit of
its infinite supply. The very attitude of wanting to complain is
enough to guarantee that you will continue to feel short-
changed in life. Complaining is an expression of the absence
of love in your inner world. When you feel love, there is no
room for being upset with God for not delivering your ego’s
demands. The ego constantly instructs you to need and want more,
and tells you that complaining helps. The problem with this is
that the ego is never satisfied. No matter how much you feed
the ego, it will give you a new list of demands almost immedi-
ately after being satisfied. If you give it alcohol until it buzzes,
and sex until it collapses in ecstasy, and drugs until it is flying
high, and money and cars and anything else that you can think
of, the next morning it will have an even longer list of
demands. The ego is never satisfied, and lives with the slogan
that more is always better, and if more does not arrive precisely
when the ego is feeling the need, then you have every right to
complain. This is a huge obstacle to an attitude of gratitude,
and an even larger impediment to manifesting the essence of
the desires of your heart. 151
WAYNE W. DYER
Taking what you have for granted. Taking things and people in your
life for granted drains you of the joy that you could be experi-
encing if you were feeling grateful. Taking things for granted
means going through life unaware of the multitude of gifts that
are here in each and every moment. Think of the activities and experiences that would be missed
if they suddenly disappeared, and cultivate an awareness that
does not take life for granted. Strive to be alert to being a love
finder. Remind yourself that there are no ordinary moments. Kicking a ball around with a child, watching the shape of the
clouds in the early morning, hearing the sounds of the seasons,
saying good night to a loved one—every single experience of life
is an opportunity to experience gratitude or its opposite, a feel-
ing of ennui. It is always a choice. Sleepwalking through life is a choice to impede the gratitude
that is necessary for you to become a manifester. If you take
everything for granted with an absence of joy and appreciation,
you will never be able to see the clues that are surfacing that will


throughout the world. Parts Used  Fruit, latex, leaves, flowers, seeds. Constituents  The fruit contains proteolytic
enzymes (papain and chymopapain), and traces
of an alkaloid, carpaine. Papain, which is found in
the milky white latex that flows from incisions
in the unripe fruit, is a protein-dissolving enzyme
that aids digestion. History & Folklore  Papaya juice, shoots,
and latex were used in Mayan herbal medicine. In
tropical Latin America, the leaves are used as a
meat tenderizer. Medicinal Actions & Uses  Papaya’s main
medicinal use is as a digestive agent. The leaves
and the fruit can both be used (the unripe fruit is
especially effective). The latex from the trunk of
the tree is applied externally to speed the healing
of wounds, ulcers, boils, warts, and cancerous
tumors. The seeds are used as a gentle purgative
for worms. The latex has a similar but more violent
effect. The flowers may be taken in an infusion to
induce menstruation, and a decoction of
the ripe fruit is helpful for
treating persistent
diarrhea and
dysentery in
children. The ripe
fruit is mildly
laxative and the
leaves are used
to dress wounds.Caper’s  buds pickled
with vinegar have been
used as a condiment
since ancient times. Balloon vine  leaves are
applied to relieve aching joints. Fruit
US_180-201_Brassica_dictamnus.indd   183 07/04/16   4:37 pm
184Carthamus tinC torius  other medicinal plantsCarthamus tinctorius (Asteraceae)
Safflower,
Hong Hua (Chinese)
Description  Annual herb growing to 3 ft (90
cm). Has long spiny leaves with 6 oblong-oval
leaflets, and groups of yellow flowers arising from the leaf axils. Habitat & Cultivation  Thought to be native
to Iran and northwestern India, this herb is also
found in North America and the Far East. It grows in open areas and is gathered in summer. Parts Used  Flowers, seeds, seed oil. Constituents  Safflower contains lignans,
polysaccharides and a volatile oil. The seeds
contain a fixed oil, up to 80% linoleic acid. History & Folklore  In 19th century North
American herbal medicine, safflower was used
to induce sweating, to promote the onset of a menstrual period and as a treatment for measles. Safflower flowers are falsely sold as saffron
(Crocus sativus, p. 89). Medicinal Actions & Uses  In Chinese
herbal medicine, the flowers are given to stimulate menstruation and to relieve abdominal pain. The flowers are also used to cleanse and heal wounds and sores and to treat measles. In the Anglo-American herbal tradition, the flowers are given  as a treatment for fever and skin rashes. The unpurified seed oil is purgative. Research  Chinese research indicates that
safflower flowers can reduce coronary artery disease, and lower cholesterol levels. Safflower contains a polysaccharide that has been shown to stimulate immune function in mice. Safflower oil also lowers cholesterol levels. Caution  Do not take the flowers or seeds during
pregnancy (seed oil is safe). Carum carvi (Apiaceae)
Caraway
Description  Aromatic annual growing to 2 ft
(60 cm). Has ridged stem, feathery leaves, and umbels of white flowers in midsummer. Exploding capsules each contain 2 small narrow seeds. Habitat & Cultivation  Caraway grows wild
in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. It prefers sunny sites up to 6,600 ft (2,000 m) above sea level. It  is cultivated in Europe, Russia, North Africa, and the US, and the seeds are harvested ripe in
late summer. Parts Used  Seeds, essential oil. Constituents  Caraway contains a volatile oil
high in carvone (about 50%) and limonene. It also contains a fixed oil, flavonoids, polysaccharides, proteins, and furanocoumarins.History & Folklore  Caraway seed is
“conducive to all the cold griefs of the head and stomach… and has a moderate quality whereby
it breaketh wind, and provoketh urine” (Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physitian, 1652). The seeds
are commonly used in cooking. Medicinal Actions & Uses  Caraway is similar
in action to anise (Pimpinella anisum, p. 248)
and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare, p. 212). Being antispasmodic, the seeds soothe the digestive tract, acting directly on the intestinal muscles to relieve colic and cramps as well as bloating and flatulence. They sweeten the breath, improve appetite, counter heart irregularity caused by excess digestive gas, and ease cramping period pain. In addition, the seeds are expectorant and tonic and are frequently used in bronchitis and cough remedies, especially those for children. Caraway has a reputation for increasing breast-milk production. The diluted essential oil is useful for scabies. Research  In a German clinical trial (1999),
patients with dyspepsia were given a combination of peppermint and caraway essential oils. Overall, patients experienced a significant reduction
in symptoms. Caution  Do not use the essential oil internally
except under professional supervision.Castanea sativa (Fagaceae)
Sweet Chestnut
Description  Deciduous tree growing to a height
of 100 ft (30 m). Has smooth silver-grey bark, lance-shaped dark green leaves, male and female catkins, and spiny yellow-green seed cases containing 2–3 glossy brown nuts. Caraway is
antispasmodic,
diuretic, and
expectorant. It is
a mild remedy,
suitable for children.Sweet chestnut nuts are a nutritious food and the leaves are
useful for treating coughs. Habitat & Cultivation  Native to the
Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus,
sweet chestnut grows freely across Europe, including Britain. It is cultivated for its timber and for its nuts, which are collected in the autumn. Parts Used  Leaves, bark. Constituents  Sweet chestnut contains tannins,
plastoquinones, and mucilage. History & Folklore  Tradition has it that the
sweet chestnut tree was carried from Turkey to Sardinia and from there it subsequently spread through Europe, arriving in Britain with the Romans. The nuts are a nutritious foodstuff that can be roasted, candied, or made into a flour. The flowers are sometimes added to blends of aromatic tobaccos. Medicinal Actions & Uses  An infusion of
sweet chestnut leaves is taken to treat whooping cough, bronchitis and bronchial congestion. The preparation tightens the mucous membranes and inhibits racking coughs. A decoction of leaves or bark is also valuable as a gargle for sore throats, and may be taken for diarrhea. The leaves are used in the treatment of rheumatic conditions, to ease lower back pain and also to relieve stiff joints or muscles. Related Species  The Mohicans in North
America used an infusion obtained from American chestnut leaves (C. dentata) to treat whooping cough. In his Natural History of North Carolina (1737), John Brickell reports that the “leaves or bark of the tree boiled in wine are good against the bloody flux [excessive bleeding].”
US_180-201_Brassica_dictamnus.indd   184 26/02/16   12:47 pm185Centaurea Cyanusother medicinal plantsCatha edulis  (Celastraceae)
Khat,
Catha
Description  Tree growing to 49 ft (15 m). Has
reddish twigs, oval leathery leaves, and small yellow
or white flowers. Habitat & Cultivation  Native to the Middle
East and the Horn of Africa, khat prefers grassland
and arid conditions. It is cultivated in Ethiopia,
Somalia, East Africa, and the Arabian peninsula. Parts Used  Leaves, twigs. Constituents  Khat contains alkaloids similar to
those in Ephedra  species—norpseudoephedrine
(up to 1%) and ephedrine, tannins, and a volatile
oil. Ephedrine-type alkaloids strongly stimulate
the central nervous system, are antiallergenic,
and suppress the appetite. History & Folklore  Khat is taken in some
African and Middle Eastern countries as a stimulant,
tonic, and appetite suppressant. Infused, smoked,
or chewed, khat produces an effect somewhat
similar to that of coca leaves ( Erythroxylum coca,
p. 206). Whether khat is addictive is unclear, but
withdrawal can produce lethargy. Medicinal Actions & Uses  Mainly used as a
social drug, khat is also chewed fresh or taken in an
infusion to treat ailments such as malaria. In Africa, it
is taken in old age, stimulating and improving mental
function. Khat is used in Germany to counter obesity. QCautions  Khat may


 1977)Schultes, R. & Raffauf, R.
The Healing Forest
(USA, Dioscorides Press, 1990)
de Sloover, J. & Goossens, M.
Wild Herbs, a Field Guide(UK, David & Charles, 1981)
Stargrove, M., Treasure, J. & McKee, D. L.
Herb, Nutrient, and Drug Interactions: Clinical
Implications and Therapeutic Strategies
(UK, Mosby Elsevier, 2008)
Svoboda, R.
Ayurveda: Life, Health and Longevity
(UK, Arkana, 1992)
T alalaj, S. & Czechowicz, A.
Herbal Remedies, Harmful and
Beneficial Effects
(Australia, Hill of Content, 1989)
Trease, C. & Evans, W.
Pharmacognosy (13th ed.) (UK, Ballière Tindall, 1989)
Uphof, J. Dictionary of Economic Plants
(UK, Wheldon & Wesley, 1970)
Valnet, J. The Practice of Aromatherapy
(UK, C. W. Daniel, 1980)
Vogel, H.
The Nature Doctor
(UK, Mainstream, 1990)
Wagner, H. et al. (ed.) Economic and Medicinal Plant Research
(vols. 1–5)
(UK, Sangam, 1993)
Warrier, P. et al. (ed.) Indian Medicinal Plants (vols. 1–5)
(UK, Sangam, 1993)
Weiss, W.
Herbal Medicine
(UK, Arcanum, 1988)
White, A. Herbs of Ecuador
(Ecuador, Imprenta Mariscal, 1976)
Williamson, E.
Potters Herbal Cyclopaedia(UK, C. W. Daniel, 2003)
History of Herbal Medicine
Bruton-Seal, J. & Seal, M.Herbalist’s Bible: John Parkinson’s Lost Classic
Rediscovered, The
(UK, Merlin Unwin Books, 2014)
Culpeper, N.
The English Physitian Enlarged
(UK, George Sawbridge, 1653)
Gerard, J. The Herball or General History of Plants
(UK, John North, 1597)
Griggs, B. New Green Pharmacy
(UK, Vermilion, 1997)
Gunther, R.
The Greek Herbal of Dioscorides
(UK, Oxford University Press, 1934)
Hoizey, D. & Hoizey, M. J. A History of Chinese Herbal Medicine
(UK, Edinburgh University Press, 1993)
K’Eogh, J. (ed. Scott, M.)
An Irish Herbal
(UK, Aquarian Press, 1986)
Larre, C.
The Way of Heaven (Neijing suwen)
(UK, Monkey Press, 1994)Lloyd, G. (ed.) Hippocratic Writings
(UK, Penguin, 1978)
Manniche, L.
An Ancient Egyptian Herbal
(UK, British Museum Publications, 1989)
Pliny the Elder (ed. Healey, J.) Natural History: A Selection
(UK, Penguin, 1991)
Porter, R.
The Greatest Benefit to Mankind
(UK, Harper Collins, 1997)
Swinburne Clymer, R.
Nature’s Healing Agents
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Journals
Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism
British Medical JournalCanadian Journal of HerbalismHerbalgramJournal of Alternative and Complementary
Medicine
Journal of EthnopharmacologyJournal of Herbal MedicineLancetNew ScientistPhytomedicinesPlanta MedicaReview of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants
Useful Websites
American Botanical CouncilMagazine and articles
www.herbalgram.org
Herbmed
An online herbal database
www.herbmed.org
Health World Online
An online herbal materia medica
www.healthy.net/clinic/therapy/herbal/herbic/
herbs/index.asp
Henriette’s Herbal Homepage
Culinary and medicinal herb site
www.henriettes-herb.com
Natural Medicines Database
www.naturaldatabase.com
North American Institute of Medical Herbalism
www.medherb.com
Raintree’s Tropical Plant Database
www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
U.S. National Library of Medicine
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/
MEDLINEPLUS
Provides health and herb information
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
PUBMED
Database of research articles
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
US_322_Bibliography.indd   322 26/02/16   4:43 pm323 general index General Index
Bold page numbers refer to main plant entries in Key Medicinal Plants
and Other Medicinal Plants. Ailments for which there is a self-help
treatment are in bold. A
abdominal pain  307
Abies balsamea  158
Aboriginal medicine 46
Abrus precatorius  38, 158
absinthe 66
Abutilon, A. indicum  158
A. trisulcatum  158
Acacia  spp., A. catechu  syn. Senegalia
catechu  14, 158–59
A. decurrens  46, 159
A. nilotica syn. A arabica  159
acai 210
Acanthopanacis gracilistylus  94
acanthus 159
Acanthus mollis  159
Achillea millefolium  33, 56, 291
Achyranthes, A. aspera  159
A. bidentata  159
acidity, stomach  307
acne 305
aconite 22, 160
Aconitum, A. carmichaelii 160
A. napellus  22, 160
Acorus, A. calamus  13, 39, 57, 298
A. calamus var. americanus  57
A. gramineus  57
adaptogenic herbs 12, 13, 118, 127
Adhatoda vasica 160
Adiantum, A. capillus-veneris  160
A. caudatum  160
Adonis vernalis  160
adulteration of herbal products 17
Aegle marmelos  18, 19, 161
Aesculus hippocastanum  15, 58
Aframomum melegueta  45
African cedar 185
African medicine 44–45
African rue 245
agar 215
Agastache rugosa  42, 161
agave 161
Agave, A. americana  161
A. sisalana  161
agnus castus 151
Agrimonia, A. eupatoria  162
A. pilosa  162
agrimony 162
Agropyron repens syn. Elymus repens  162
Ailanthus, A. altissima syn. A. glandulosa  162
A. malabrica  163
Ajuga, A. chamaepitys  163
A. decumbens 163
A. reptans 163
albizzia 163
Albizzia lebbeck  163
Alchemilla vulgaris  163–64,  286
alchemy 24
alder 164–65
alder buckthorn 261–62
alehoof 216
Aletris farinosa  164
Alexandrian senna 75
alfalfa 233–34
alkaloids 16, 26
“all-heal” (valerian) 148allergic rhinitis 300
allergies  300–301, 312
Allium, A. cepa  11, 59, 164
A. fistulosum  164
A. sativum 13, 19, 28, 36, 49, 51, 59,
164, 287
 A. sibiricum 164
 A. ursinum  59, 164
allspice 248
Alnus glutinosa syn. A. rotundifolia  164–65
Aloe, A. ferox  60
A. vera syn. A. barbadensis  45, 60,
286, 289
aloe vera 45, 60, 161, 286, 289
Aloysia triphylla see Lippia citriodora
Alpinia, A. officinarum  61
A. katsumad


The natu re of this element is irregular, mobile, expansive, dry, light, rough,
cold and  subtle. This is the next level in the expression of Con sciousness,and this is the point where Consciousness takes a particular direction. This
element is formless but it’ s less subtle than the Ether element. The most
important functi on of this eleme nt is movement. It combines with Space for
its b est expression. Spreading of pollen and a soft breeze are desirable
functions of this element but in excess they give rise to tornadoes that create
destruction. When in excess, this element can be fierce and destructive. Air elem ent is responsible for all the movements in our body. The
movement of our breath, our blood circulation, the movement o f food, and
all c ommunicati ons are a functio n of this element. Air is responsible for the
electric ener gy in our nervous system, the movement of all tissues, the
functioning of our hearing, and speaking and our sense of touch. Having too
much A ir can make us feel bloat ed and gassy and having too little can make
us feel stuf fy and stuck. But we need just the right amount to feel balanced. Popcorn, crackers and leafy greens are of predominantly Air element. Having too much of these foods, for a person who is predominantly made
up o f th is eleme nt (V ata dosha) and especially in the winter mo nths (which
is V ata season, as discussed below) can cause depletion, as Air is
destructive when present in excess. F I R E
This ele ment is hot, sharp, light, dry and dynamic. The most important
function of this element is to tra nsform and it is needed for Consciousness
to e xpress itself into form. Th is element provides dynamism, heat and
power. I t combin es with the nex t element, W ater, for its best expression and
is th e or ganizing power of Crea tion. T oo little sun can dampen everything
and too much can burn. W ithout the sun, most plants can’ t grow and
produce. Again,  we need just the right amount for its balanced f unction. For
example, we need just the right amount of heat to cook our food. This ele ment is responsible for t he digestive fire in the body. It is needed to
transform and metabolize our food into the ener gy we need. W eakened
digestion leads to many illnesse s, so balancing this element in our body can
be t he single m ost important and health-promoting action w e can take. A yurveda alway s looks at the whole picture; just as enough Fire is neededto tr ansform our food; it is al so needed to transform our em otions into
intelligence, and to transform our experiences into wisdom. It is responsible
for maintaining optimal body temperature, and the absorption and
assimilation of food, as well as for the transformative power of the liver. W e need  some Fire in the foods  we eat to transform them into ener gy and
we add that by spices, not just hot, pungent spices, but also many other
spices and herbs that can add a little heat to the food to make it easier to
digest. Hot, spicy food has a predominance of Fire element in it, and so
does a fiery tem perament. The same heat that can keep us warm  during the
winter m onths c an, in excess, in flame our body. Our body is always trying
to achiev e home ostasis, a point of balance. When we eat, we w ant to eat in
a balanced way. Someone with a fiery personality (Pitta dosha) will become
more fiery by eating hot and spicy foods (Pitta foods), especially in the
summer months (Pitta season), so eating cooling foods is neede d to balance
the emotions. Chili pe ppers, ginger, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper are some examples of
foods with Fire predominance. W A T E R
The nat ure of this element is fluid, cold, dull, soft, slimy or oily, and
mobile. Fire transforms Consciousness into this next level of its expression,
the first express ion with form. The most important function of this element
is nurtu rance an d cohesion, to hold things together and in that sense its
function can be compared to a m other that nurtures the family and holds it
together. No processes in the body can take place without W ater. Its most
important function is transportation. It is the carrier or the medium through
which a ll proce sses take place. W ater takes on the qualities of the other
elements that it combines with. As it combines with Fire, it works to
balance the Fire so it does not get too hot. When combined w ith Earth, it
becomes mud that holds thing s together. T oo much of this element can
cause floods and too little can c reate drought. Again, we need j ust the right
amount for its balanced function. Balance is not a static point; it is a
dynamic process where these elements are always working to move toward
that state over time.W ater m anifests as the plasma and lymph systems in our body that bring
nutrients to our cells and carry toxins away from the cells. It governs our
sense of taste and our reproductive function. Our body is estimated to be
60-70% water. This element nu rtures the cells, detoxifies our or gans and
connects the whole body together. Celery, cucumber, and melon s are good examples of foods with a
predominance o f this element. Carbohydrates also fit this category due to
their abi lity to glue things toge ther, hence the need for carbohydrates and
fats. T oo much can cause gluten sensitivity, which is actually a way for us
to reduce the am ount of carbs w e consume. This is how balance is built into
the body, and is attained. E A R T H
The natu re of this element is heavy, dull, constant, dense and gross. This is
where Consciousness fully takes form and becomes substance. It is this
element that holds and cradles everything together, providing support,
ener gy, and structure. T oo much of this element can result in stagnation and
rigidity and too little results in instability. Creation is always  working to
find bala nce so just the right amount of this element needs to be  present for
the other elements to express themselves fully as well. The Earth element in our body c reates immunity, strength, and stability, and
manifests as bones, muscles, cartilage, nails, hair, teeth a nd skin. It
combines with the element W at er for its best expression. T oo much of this
element can manifest as “couch  potato syndrome,” lethar gy, a tendency to
being overweight, obese and, on the psychological side, hoarding and
holding on to things, old grudges and emotions. Foods with Earth element predo minance are meats, root vegetables, cheeses
and swe ets, prot ein and minerals. W e need a suf ficient amount  of these to
sustain our muscles, strength and our immunity. Now let’ s discuss how
these five elements are expressed in our body, our mind, in seasons, in
cycles of the day and night, in dif ferent tastes, and in foods. E L E M E N T S  I N  O U R  B O D Y  A N D  O U R  M I N DAs ment ioned earlier, each element combines with another element to give
rise to the three forces that can be seen and experienced everywhere in our
world. E ther and Air combine to  give rise to V ata. W ater and F ire combine
to give rise to Pitta. W ater and Earth combine to give rise to Kapha. V ata, Pit ta and Kapha are the Generating, Or ganizing and Destro ying forces
in o ur b ody and our being and they are always working to bring balance
within u s. (W e can abbreviate th em as GOD). And, while we each have all
of th ese forces within us, one tends to predominate. When we re fer to these
forces a t work in the body the y are called Constitutions, or “Dosha” in
Sanskrit. (Although “Dosha” is used to describe an imbalance, the word is
used interchangeably with “constitution.”)
V A T A  C O N S T I T U T I O N
Ether and Air combine to create a V ata constitution and those blessed with
this dosha may be unusually short or unusually tall but they will have a
small frame, and are always very thin. They tend to be vivacious, talkative,
creative and enthusiastic but ma y have hard time staying on task and being
focused; they may fidget. Pleas e note that the most desirable and the most
undesirable qual ities of any dosh a can be found within the same person, and
most of us are trying to get to a “balanced” state where the undesirable
qualities of V ata—such as too much talking, a tenden cy towards
hyperactivity, an d an inability to focus—are minimized. T oo much of the
undesirable qua lities of this dosha can result in


 can make you sluggish and du ll if you
have a thyroid  deficiency; they can make you run away or fight
when confront ed by a threat. A burst of adrenaline is responsible
for a common reaction to a street magician levitating before our
very eyes as onlookers jump back or run away. We are so used  to accepting t hat these behaviors are chemically
induced that almost everyon e connects adolescent behav ior with
“raging hormones.” Even whe n sexual drive is tamed somewhat, it
is never truly tamed, just as  falling in love is never rational. If I
had been satisfied to accept this commonsense con nection
between horm ones and the effects they cause, there would be no
more story. But there is a fly in the ointment, and it disrupts things far
beyond hormones—it potentially overturns reality itself. There is a
brain hormone called oxytocin that has gained the popular name
of the “love hormone,” because the presence of higher levels of this
hormone in the brain makes a person more affectionate and
trusting. But this one molecu le secreted by the pituitary gland is
much more complex than th at. Higher levels are secreted in the
mother during birth and breastfeeding, promoting a close bond
with the baby. If you pet your dog for a while, oxytocin goes up in
both you and y our dog. Oxytocin makes people love their national
flag more, while being indifferent to the flags of other countries. During sexual activity, oxytocin rises in women, making them
bond w ith thei r sexual partners emotionally, but the effect doesn’t
seem to happen in men. Something str ange must be going on, and yet these complex
findings don’t  shake the faith of most endocrinologists. I was
different. What bothered me was that oxytocin doesn’t actually do
anything it is c redited with doing unless the mind goes alo ng with
it. A woman won’t have more affection for a sexual partner if she iscoerced, fright ened, angry, or simply distracted by so mething
more important. Your oxytocin won’t go up if you pet a dog you
dislike. You won’t love your country’s flag if you are forced to
salute it by an authoritarian regime. I ca me to see the explosive effect of the mind-body connec tion. It w as as if we are two creatures, one a robot that can be
programmed b y chemicals, the other a free agent who  thinks,
considers, and  decides. These two creatures are se emingly
incompatible. They have no right to exist together, and yet they
do, as reflecte d in the setu p of our nervous system. One part
operates automatically, enabling life to go on without your
thinking about  it. You don’t  have to think to keep breathing or
have yo ur heart beat. But yo u can consciously take control, and
the voluntary nervous system allows you to alter your breathing
and even, with a little practice, slow down your heart rate. Suddenly, we are on the verg e of a mystery, because something
must decide whether to take a ction, or not. That something cannot
be the brain, because the brain is indifferent about whether it
employs eithe r side of the central nervous system. On the
involuntary side, the brain increases your heart rate if you run a
marathon, but it was you  who decided to run the marathon in the
first place. So who is this “you”? That ni ggling question is what disrupts reality. At any given
moment you—that is, the self—decide which nervous system to
call upon; therefore, you ca nnot be the creation of eith er one. When you see this simple fact, you are on the road to self-
awareness. You  can be happy and watch yourself being h appy at
the same time; you start to ex perience yourself completely without
anger, even as you are displaying anger. The rea son for this shift is simple: you have gone beyon d the
mechanical sid e of life. You have awakened to who you really are,
the user of the  brain but not  the brain, the traveler in a body but
not the body, t he thinker of thoughts who is far, far more than any
thought. As I will show in the following pages, your true self is
beyond time and space. When you identify with your true self, you
have fulfilled the dictum to be in the world but not of it. The Greekword meta  means “beyon d,” so I’m usin g it to describe the reality
that lies beyond “What you see is what you get.” When you occupy
metareality, you are metahuman. In fits and star ts, everyone is already there. Metareality is the
source o f all creativity, because without going beyond the old and
conventional, there would be no new thoughts, artworks, books, or
scientific discoveries. No mat ter how many thoughts you’ve had in
your life, there are infinitely more you can think; no matter how
many sentences writers have written, there are infinitely more to
write. Words and thoughts are not stored in the brain like
information in a computer, to be juggled around mechanically
when another thought is needed. Shakespeare wasn’t simply
juggling his Elizabethan vocabulary—he employed wor ds in a
creative way. Van Gogh didn’t simply combine the standard colors
in the spectrum; he used col or as a new way of seeing the world
around him. Going b eyond is how a per son decides if life is meani ngful
enough. When  you want mor e than your life is giving you, it’s not
your br ain that craves more meaning, nor is it the everyday person
going a bout the routine business of life. The self, viewing things
from a higher perspective, is deciding the matter. The self also
decides whom to love, what is  truth, whether to trust, and so on. If
a m other judges that a cranky  three-year-old needs a nap, she has
gone beyond a simple assessment of what the child is doing and
saying. Cranky children say all kinds of things, and if mothers
bought into them, they’d be no better than children. If g oing beyond has proven  so indispensable, why aren’t we
metahuman al ready? There is no reason to keep repeating the
same trite, tired opinions, follow the same outworn social
conventions, and surrender to conformist thinking. All pose traps
that we fall int o, and the res ult is more of the same strife, wars,
domestic violence, racial prejudice, and gender inequality that we
have been prey to throughou t history. We choose to be our own
prisoners. This paradox, playing the part of inmate and jailer at
the same time, has caused untold suffering for humanity. To brin g the whole sorry me ss to an end involves one thing:
shifting from human to met ahuman. Both states exist here and
now. There is nowhere to go  to reach metareality. Like the twobirds in  the tree, you are feasting on life while also looking  on. But
the looking-on part is being ignored, suppressed, overlooked, and
undervalued. T he transforma tion that makes you metahuman is
known in the world’s spiritual traditions as “waking up.” Once
someone rises to the state of metahuman, it seems as if the old
everyday self was a sleepwalker, barely conscious of life’s infinite
possibilities. To b e awake i s to embrace full self-awareness. Lots of other
metaphors com e to mind. Metahuman is like tuning in to the
whole radio band instead of one narrow channel. It’s like  a string
vibrating to a higher note. It’s like seeing a world in a grain of
sand. But like  is a limiting word. The real thing is indescribable
and must be ex perienced firsthand, just as sight is indescribable to
someone born blind and yet revelatory if that person gains sight. Editors encourage writers to coax readers, using a big promise
of some thing, new, fresh, and different. Waking up is as old as
being human. It’s impossible to promise something like waking
up, whi ch is indescribable in the first place. Looking bac k on my
previous works, I feel that I  was inhibited by how peculiar and
mysterious it is to wake up. T his time, however, I’ve taken a deep
breath and gone for broke. I’m trusting that the reader isn’t
someone born blind to whom sight is completely unknowable. With a modicum of trust, we can all be shown that we are already
metahuman and that metareality is here and now. I don’t know who will be persuaded and who won’t. In the end,
the mys tery of  being human obeys only itself. But one thing I do
have faith in. If in reading this book you connect with what it
means to wake up, you will realize the truth in much le ss time
than th e thirty years I look back on. The faster that met ahuman
dawns in our lives, the better.TOVER VIEW

M E T A H U M A N