 I was healthy.
The fact is no one should have tooth decay, colds, flu, allergies or any other
disease. If you do have any of these problems, you are experiencing substantialamounts of cellular malfunction and you are sick. Living with even that amount of
cellular malfunction shortens your life and makes you susceptible to a host of other
disease problems. Unless you do something different, your health will only get
worse with time, not better.
Health cannot be improved by continuing to do the same
things that made you sick.
Now is the time to make health your responsibility.
How to Read the Warning Signs
We all need to learn how to read the body’s signals so that we can evaluate our
own health and health decline.
Our body tells us when it is having trouble; our
problem is that we don’t listen.
Subtle signals are ignored until the problem becomes
serious enough to demand attention.
How healthy are you? Often the warning signs are evident in your appearance;
simply put, you don’t look well. In addition, you should ask yourself whether you
are experiencing
• Fatigue
• Aches and pains
• Skin problems
• Allergies
• Digestion troubles
• Sleep difficulties
• Susceptibility to infections
• Weight issues
• Mood, thought or behavior problems
These warning signs appear in ways that are usually easily recognized. Consider
individually the signs listed.
Appearance
The body gives off visual signals, and we can learn to recognize them. I remember
once seeing a friend and thinking,
He doesn’t look well.
Not long thereafter, he was
diagnosed with brain cancer. How many times have we looked at others and realized
that they didn’t look well? Before I took sick, my family thought I looked pale. Are
you pale? Are there dark circles under your eyes? Are there wrinkles on your face?
Is your hair graying? How well do you move? Are you well-coordinated? Are your
eyes dull? Appearance matters, it is easy to check, and it should be checked on a
regular basis.
Energy Level
Fatigue is probably the most common complaint made to doctors in our societybecause energy production at the cellular level is one of the first things affected as
our cells malfunction and become diseased. If you do not have the energy you used
to have, aging is not the problem. You are getting sicker.
Remember the boundless energy that healthy people like the Hunzas had? They
performed physical feats such as traveling sixty miles in one day on foot, in
mountainous terrain, and returning looking as though they had gone for a casual
walk. Contrast this to the fatigue so many of us feel during the day, perhaps needing
several cups of coffee just to keep going. Even many of our teenagers struggle with
fatigue.
Skin Problems
Our skin is a barometer of overall health, but we are taught to think of a skin
problem as just that, a skin problem. This is outmoded. Like any disease, skin
problems are the result of systemic cellular malfunction. We may notice it in the
skin, but the problem is likely affecting every cell in the body. The proper solution is
not to use products like a cortisone ointment, but to restore the cells to good health.
If your skin is dry, flaky, irritated, itchy, thin, has lost its elasticity, or if you
develop skin lesions of any kind, you are not healthy.
Allergies
Allergies are not normal, and they do long-lasting damage to the body. Enhancing
the health of your cells can eliminate allergies. Millions of Americans suffer from
runny noses, sneezing, itching of the eyes, sinus problems, headaches, abdominal
pain, diarrhea, skin rashes and numerous other problems as a result of allergies and
sensitivities to foods, pollens, chemicals and other substances in our environment.
We tend to look upon these reactions as “benign” inconveniences rather than the
symptoms of a body out of balance. Allergies should be looked upon as a serious
acquired immune dysfunction syndrome and treated by improving cellular health
and strengthening the immune system.
Do you sneeze, develop a runny nose or have itchy eyes after eating a meal? Are
your fingers sometimes swollen so that it is difficult to take off or put on a ring? Do
you get loose stools after eating certain foods? All of these and more can be
symptoms of allergic reactions. A body with allergies is not crying out for over-the-
counter or prescription antihistamines, but for solving the problems of cellular
malfunction. Like any other “disease,” allergies can be both prevented and reversed
by restoring normal function to the cells in your immune system. By working to
minimize the deficiency and toxicity of my cells, I went from being allergic to
virtually everything— called a “universal reactor”—to living a normal life.
Digestion TroublesDo you have problems such as indigestion, inability to eat a wide variety of foods,
intestinal cramps, abdominal bloating, excess gas, diarrhea, constipation, acid
reflux, low energy, slow wound healing, or difficulty concentrating and thinking
quickly and clearly? Good digestion is a foundation for achieving peak performance
and optimal health. Yet digestive problems are epidemic in our society and they
prevent millions of people from living the healthy, productive lives they would like.
Most of our digestive problems are the direct result of poor diets, toxic exposure,
lack of exercise, unresolved stress, and over-the-counter and prescription drugs.
Digestive problems are more serious than people imagine, for
if you are not properly
digesting your food and assimilating its nutrients, you will get sick, guaranteed.
Poor digestion is a perfect prescription for deficiency and toxicity, the two causes of
disease.
Heartburn, bloating, gas and other digestive problems should not just be treated by
antacids and other medications, and then forgotten. These problems are a wake-up
call that one of our major body systems is not working right. A better solution is to
chew your food well, do proper food combining, stay away from foods you are
allergic to, take probiotics and digestive enzymes, and exercise regularly.
Antibiotics may be the leading cause of digestive problems, and these dangerous
drugs should be avoided for that reason alone.
Sleep Difficulties
Sleep is critical to health, but few of us sleep an adequate amount, and a growing
number of people suffer from various sleep disorders, such as disturbed sleep
patterns and insomnia. Much of the time sleep problems are symptoms that the
hormones and chemicals the body uses to cope with stress are being depleted. The
physical consequences of inadequate sleep have a negative effect on health and
performance.
Healthy people like the Hunzas went to bed when it got dark and woke up with the
sun. Try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time
every morning, even on weekends. Giving the body adequate and regular rest is
important to maintaining good health.
Susceptibility to Infection
Colds and flu are not just inconveniences; they are alarm bells telling us that all is
not well. While seen as a minor illness, each cold does permanent damage to the
body, causing us to age prematurely. Yet millions of Americans suffer four to six
colds per year, sometimes taking weeks to resolve. Healthy people do not get
infections, and, if they do, they recover from them very quickly. You may recall that
the healthy Hunzas never suffered from colds, and that the 133-year-old man in
Vilcabamba had suffered only several colds in 133 years, not several in one year asmany of us do. A cold or flu that lingers is further proof of widespread cellular
malfunction.
If people around you are sick, worry about strengthening your own
immunity, not about hiding from germs.
Building immunity is a long-term project;
reacting in an emergency situation when you feel sickness coming on is something
else. Here are ideas of how to accomplish both:
To prevent colds, take plenty of vitamin C (4,000 to 6,000 mg/day). If you are sick
already, take vitamin C to bowel tolerance, which means taking it up to the point
where you begin getting excessive gas or diarrhea and then backing off. Bowel
tolerance will differ depending on who you are and what your state of health is. If I
feel a cold coming on, I put 3,000 mg of vitamin C in a glass of water and drink it
down every thirty to sixty minutes. In a matter of hours, the cold will be gone. B-
vitamins are important, as are zinc and high-quality cod liver oil. Olive leaf extract
can also be helpful; it is a powerful natural antibiotic. And, of course, avoid
damaging your immunity with sugar, white flour, poor digestion, prescription drugs
or anything that you are allergic to.
Weight Problems
Some people think being overweight is more of a fashion concern than a serious
disease. Many people attribute weight problems to “genetics,” saying that such
problems run in their family. The truth is that being overweight is a sign that cells
are malfunctioning. Often, an addiction to sugar is part of the problem, and this
problem needs to be treated like any other addiction. Proper diet and lifestyle
changes that improve cellular health are virtually guaranteed to solve weight
problems. Overweight patients need to heal their cells, just like cancer patients and
heart disease patients. Worse, weight problems are frequently the prelude to more
serious


  She suffered  from severe constipation,  piles, eczema,
anaemia, insomnia,  tic nerveux, general depression,  sore mouth and
tongue, faceache,  eruptions  at each corner of the lips‐and  above all,
more  cavities had  occurred in the gangrenous  leg. In spite of her
tribulations,  however,  she was a woman, of great spirit, and  I had  no
difficulty in persuading  her to fast on all the urine she passed, and up to
six half pints  a day of cold water,  which she always sipped.
During the first  five days of the penance the eruptions  began to
disappear,  and  the skin in every part of her body began to look
healthier in every respect.  The faceache  vanished  by the second  day,  on
the third night  she slept  soundly after weeks of insomnia,  and by the
end of the first week, the bowels  and kidneys were working " overtime
" and  the piles  were cured. In a fortnight there  was no sign of the
gangrene,  and new  skin had grown in place of the cavities.  The diseased
leg, which previously  had  become twice  the size of the other  one, was
now completely  normal‐ not even a scar remaining  anywhere  to remind
her of what she had  suffered! I subsequently  put my recovered  patient
on an exclusive diet of grapes,  bananas  and raw tomatoes  for a week in
small quantities,  added  fresh unpasteurised  milk for the second  week,
and in the third week finally got her back on a normal  diet.
According  to my experience,  gangrene  is often  much quicker  in
response than many other  major  or "killing diseases, a matter which
may  be seen from a few brief case‐ sheets which  I now will add. I should 32
 mention that nearly all these  cases were treated after the physicians
had urged amputation.
Mrs.  E. Gangrenous  feet and  toes following  upon paralysis  after
vaccines had  been administered,  48 days fast. Urine  healed feet and
toes in the first  20 days.
Mr. D. Diabetic gangrene  of left forearm. Fasted  48 days for the
diabetes. Arm completely  normal  after 18 days. No scar.
Mr. J.W.B.  (60 years old). Gangrene  of first  and second  joints of thumb,
caused by a hammer‐blow in mason work. Treated for 18 weeks as an
out‐patient at Leeds G.I. Bone removed up to first  joint. Discolouration
spread towards wrist.  Fasted  according  to my method, applied urine
compresses  to whole hand, wrist and arm. Cured in one week.
Miss  C.A. (aged 10 in 1930) Anaemia.  Gangrene  of both legs following
suppressive  treatment  for psoriasis.  Large  areas of skinless and  livid
flesh in both calves.  Fasted 18 days. Cure complete.  No more  anaemia,
no more psoriasis,  no scars from gangrenous  legs. Grew 1½ inches
during fast. Is now a member of the A.T.S. in H.M. Forces. Height above
the average.
Mrs.  B. Gangrenous  finger, also severe conjunctivitis  following  a year's
use of atropin. Fasted  12 days for gangrene,  then a week later
undertook  a second  fast  for the conjunctivitis  which cleared up the
23rd day. Age 38 in 1927. Still looks  much the same age.
Mr. J.I. (age 54 at the time.) Thumb cut by fish‐bone.  Gangrene  ensued.
Doctor attended  him the same day. Surgeon's  decision  to amputate
rejected. Fasted  14 days. Body rubbed with urine, finger poulticed  in 33
 very strong old urine. Improvement  after three days of treatment.  Cure
complete  after twelve days.
Mr. N (age about 55 at the time.) Tubercular  gangrene  of both legs.
Surgeons  wanted to amputate  the limbs. His wife refused.  Condition  of
patient very emaciated.  Great depression  after much drugging.  Fasted
42 days according  to my method.  Now  walks as well  as any man, and
enjoys the exercise.
Mrs.  L. (age 48 at the time.) Gangrene  of both legs and feet after
spilling a large  vessel of boiling fat over them. Treated with plasters
during three weeks by the  Result  disastrous.  Fasted  28 days, with
physicians  the usual treatment  I advocate.  Marked improvement  after
ten days. Return to normal  health after a fortnight.
Many other cases could be cited.  But as I do not wish to swell  the bulk
of this book with an unnecessary  number  of case‐ sheets when a few
should be sufficient  to convince any but  the most  prejudiced,  I will
forbear. I think I may  say that what I have here  put forward sh:>uld
explode the dogma that gangrene  is incurable.
We will now provide evidence  which  should explode another medical
dogma‐namely the " incurability  " of cancer.

 34
 CHAPTER  VI.
GROWTHS  AND CANCER  (?)

In 1912 the late Dr. F. Forbes‐Ross, of London, a fully qualified physician,
wrote  a book entitled Cancer ‐Its Genesis and Treatment.  He had during
twentyfive  years of practice  come to the conclusion  that malignancy
and  other  growths were due to a diet deficient in natural salts‐
especially  in potash. By putting his patients on a more  balanced  diet
(such  as I advocate),  and  administering  potash‐salts  in an assiminable
form, he cured a large  number


 y vitalize  the glands.  Remember
that these  exercises  can be performed sim ultaneousl y by both
partners.
- 234  -Chapter  VIII
  When the  adrenal  glands’  point  is open,  you will feel energetic,
confident,  filled w ith a sense  of vitality, and the ability  to get things
acco mplished.
Fig. 8.20  Liver  and Spleen Point
D. Liver and Spleen Energy  Point
    The fourth  Upw ard Draw (or Big Draw  for your partne r) energizing
point  is the  liver and  spleen  point,  situated  at the ninth  and tenth
ribs and  on the  muscular  band  just below  the scapulae.  Put y our
fingers  on the scapulae  with the middle of the  palm s immediately
below the lo wer tip of the  scapulae.  (Fig.  8.20)  As y ou cover  this
area,  feel your Chi ener gy activate  your partn er’s ener gy Slightly
contract  the front,  middle, back  and then  the left and  right  sides  of
the anus,  and bring  your own energ y up to  the liver and  spleen,
continuing  up to the  point  between the scapula e. The liver  is the
main storage  house  of energy  and contains  the capacity  for natural
beauty. The liver and spleen  energy  point,  when open,  provides  a
sense  of freed om and  the ability  to take risks  for ourselves  and
others.  Openin g this energy  point  and radiati ng ener gy there  can
also help  to relieve  anger,  panic,  worry and anxiet y, fears  of the
past,  back pain,  release  the tension  of the diaphra gm, generat e
deeper  breaths,  and improve  digestion.  You might release  gas and
begin  to yawn a great  deal  as your digestive  system is clearing
itself. Y ou sense  an opening  to the  present  moment.
    In the begin ning you can practice  draw ing upward to one  or two
points  only. When you are more advanced,  all of  these  upw ard
contractions  will beco me more auto matic,  and eventuall y you will
be able to energize  the whole line of  points  at once.  Do not,  how ever
- 235  -Dual Cultivation
confuse  the points  with the actual  orga ns. These  points  simply
correspo nd to the  organs.
Fig. 8.21  Heart and Lungs’ Point
E. Heart and Lungs’  Point
   The fifth  Upw ard Draw  (or Big Draw ) point  is the heart  and lungs
energizing  point,  located  betw een the fourth  and fifth ribs.  Feel  the
crest  of the  scapulae  and follow  each  scapula  dow n to the  center
point  betw een them at the  spinal  cord,  opposite  the heart  center.
Use y our palm s to cover  the area  between the scapulae  and the
spinal  cord.  (Fig.  8.21)  Feel your energy  pass  to your partner  and
your partner’s  energ y pass to  you. Slightly contract  the front,  middle,
back,  left and  right  parts  of the anus,  and bring  the sexual  energ y to
the lungs  and heart.  Be ver y careful  in pulling  the energ y to the
heart  and lungs  since  excess  energy  at these  points  can cause
pain in the  chest.  The com pletion  of the Micr ocosmic Orbit  is very
helpful  in preve nting  such  congestion.  The Healing  Sounds  of the
heart  and lungs  are also  helpful  in relieving  congestio n, as are
brushing -down with the palm s or stroking  or tapping  the chest.
(See  the book  Taoist Ways to Transf orm Stress into Vitality for an
elaborati on of the Six Healing  Sounds).
   In addition  to chest pains the heart  center,  when closed,  leaves
us with a feeling  of ignorance  of our real relationship  to things.  We
may feel sorr y for ourselves,  unloved,  and incapable  of love.  We
often  feel under  attack. We can feel  over whelmed,  rushed,  cruel,
arroga nt and lonel y. Usuall y the worst feeling  is one  of un worthiness
or lack of deservin g. When that  heart  center  is open,  we feel
sunshine  from the inside. We have  a sense  of joy and love  that is
- 236  -Chapter  VIII
sometimes a floating  sensation.  In all of  our meditations  it is
important  to fill our  hearts  with loving,  smiling energ y, because  when
we feel love, we are truly  related  to all things.  There  is a sense  of
honor  and respect.  When open  this point  will also help  to increase
circulation  and improve  respirati on, which will quickly  ener gize the
entire  body. It can help  to relieve  upper  back  pain,  shoulder:  neck
and arm tensions  and pains,  and provide  a way to recover  from
tiredness.  Allow this energ y to circulate  throu gh your being  to create
the feeling  of gratitu de that will be the cataly st for all  your spiritual
work and enlight enment.
F. C-7 Point
    The sixth energizing  point  is the  C-7 point,  the largest  protrusio n
of the  spinal  colum n located  at the  junction of  the shoulder  and the
base  of the  neck.  This point  controls  all the tendo ns of the body.
The Taoists regar d this as the  great  union  point  of the  Chi flo w
connecting  the hands,  head  and spine.  Opening  and connecting
this point  is ver y important  to the practices  of Healing  Hand  Kung
Fu, Iron Shirt Chi  Kung, and Tai Chi  Chi Kung.  (A description  of
these  practices  can be found  in the last chapter  of this  book  entitled
The Universal Tao System : Courses Given in Various Centers).
Place your left hand  on C-7 and the right hand  on the sacru m. (Fig.
8.22)  Contract  and bring  the sexual  energ y up to  this point.
Fig. 8.22  C-7 Point
    The C- 7 energ y point,  when it is closed,  stirs w ithin us the  feeling
of denial  of our  connecte dness,  as if we stand  as individuals  against
the rest of  the world. It also  creates  the feeling  of being  inappr opria te
- 237  -Dual Cultivation
and ill-fitting,  or not being  in the  right  place.  It is demonstrated  in a
stubborn  view point, while at the  same tim e being  burde ned by our
inappro priateness.  As the point  opens  up and radiates  the ener gy,
the experience  is as though  a mantle is being  drape d from our
necks down onto  our arms, giving  us the  abilit y to em brace  each
other  in our humanit y, opening  our view points and flexibility, our
approp riateness,  manifested  in the  feeling  of connected ness.  As
the feeling  spreads  farther  dow n our arms to our  hands,  we become
mote a ware of the healing  abilit y in our  palm s.
Fig. 8.23  Neck Point
G. Neck  Point
    The seventh  energizing  point  is located  at the  middle of  the back
of the  neck,  between the third  and fourth  cervical  vertebr ae. Use
your left palm  to cover  this point  and the right  palm to cover  the
sacru m as  you slightl y contract  the front,  middle, and  back  parts  of
the anus.  (Fig.  8.23)  (There  is no need  to contract  the left and  right
parts.)  Bring  the energ y to the  neck  and feel the neck  energiz e.
The neck  is the busiest  traffic area in the  body. All the  controls  of
the body  including  all emotions, are  signaled  from  the brain  and
pass through  this “b


 25 or 30 doctors, I was a little skeptical about seeing Dr.Platt. But I was desperate.
Soon after I went in for my intake interview, I started the
meal plan and I got off caffeine and sugar. A week later I startedtaking DHEA, progesterone, testosterone, and a T3 thyroid37 HORMONAL F ATIGUE AND RHONDA Y.   preparation. Dr. Platt told me about the Synthroid I’d been
taking for years, which previous doctors had prescribed for my lowthyroid. He explained to me that my body was unable to convertSynthroid’s T4 into T3, which is the actual thyroid hormone thatdoes all the metabolic work of the thyroid gland. Apparently I’dbeen taking Synthroid all those years, and it hadn’t been doinganything for me.
My energy level increased drastically. Between the hormones,
the increase in protein, the diet in general, and the removal ofmedications that had been throwing my body off balance, I founda big difference in my ability to function.
Once I had more energy, I wasn’t as grouchy or impatient as I
used to be. I was able to deal with things better both emotionallyand physically. The best part has been my ability to participatewith my family more. Whereas I used to let my husband take thechildren out while I stayed home and rested, now I can participatein family outings. Our church has volleyball twice a month, andnow I enjoy playing that with my family. We go walking andsightseeing. My children are so happy that mom can go places withthem now; I think they feel comfortable that mommy will be therewith them.
Also, before, we had no social life as a family. Now we try to
have guests visit the house twice a month to eat with us. Myhusband and I go out with other couples more often. I also see hisfamily more, which I enjoy.
Being able to socialize again, especially with my family, has
been so wonderful. For something so simple, it’s astonishing.
THE ROOTS OF FATIGUE
Let’s talk about fatigue. It came very close to ruining Rhonda’s
home life. She went to doctor after doctor, and no one could38 THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  help her. Does that sound familiar? If it does, you’re not alone.
In my practice I meet many women who go to bed exhaustedand wake up tired. They’ve lost their zest for life, and they feelinadequate to the demands of a normal life.
Rhonda’s fatigue was caused by multiple factors, all of
them influenced by an imbalance of hormones. The mainsource of her fatigue was fibromyalgia—again, a very commoncondition and mostly ignored by the medical community. Animportant hormone associated with this condition is thyroid.Just getting the thyroid into balance often leads to a reductionin symptoms.
Another cause of her fatigue was recurrent hypoglycemia,
which is a low blood sugar or a rapid drop in blood sugar, acondition caused by the over-production of insulin, often dueto a lack of progesterone. Any time insulin levels go up, bloodsugar goes down. When you take sugar from the brain, thebrain gets severely fatigued (many readers will note this happen-ing between 3 and 4 in the afternoon). Progesterone helps tostabilize blood sugar and often eliminates afternoon fatigue.
Another cause of Rhonda’s fatigue was depression. This too
was caused by a low progesterone level, as well as the internal-ization of anger. She also had asthma, which can lower oxygenlevels in the body, contributing to fatigue.
A low thyroid level by itself can cause fatigue. Furthermore,
Rhonda was on Claritin for allergies and Paxil for depres-sion—and the side effects of both drugs include weaknessand fatigue.
Why couldn’t her doctors help her? As I’ve said before,
doctors are for the most part unaware of the pivotal role ofhormones in sustaining health. They simply don’t know howeasy it is to help people like Rhonda. For me, turning Rhonda’shealth around was simple: we adjusted a couple of little thingshere and there. It’s not hard to take care of patients. You just39 HORMONAL F ATIGUE AND RHONDA Y.   have to listen to them and be aware of how hormones affect
the body.
Rhonda’s brand of fatigue was something I would never
have confused with chronic fatigue syndrome, which is adisease associated with fevers and swollen lymph glands. But Ithink many doctors misdiagnose people like Rhonda, treatingthem for chronic fatigue syndrome when what they actuallyhave is a simple case of unbalanced hormones. You can see howpeople like Rhonda could be labeled as having chronic fatiguesyndrome. The signs and symptoms are there, but theunderlying causes are different.
DRUGS AND MORE DRUGS
This brings up another point I will make again and again in
this book: many members of the medical community tend toover-prescribe drugs as a consequence of misdiagnosing simplehormone imbalances. Besides the anti-depressant Paxil,Rhonda was also taking Claritin, prednisone, Prevacid, andSynthroid. Each drug was causing one or more side effects, andRhonda’s body was spiraling out of control under the influenceof all of these chemicals.
My first step with patients like Rhonda is to get them off
of as many medications as possible while giving them proges-terone to start the healing process. However, with some drugs,such as Paxil, usage should be gradually tapered off, notsimply stopped “cold turkey.”
Progesterone helps take away asthma, so they can soon
start weaning themselves off any asthma medications theymight be taking, too. In fact, progesterone has a significantlypositive influence on asthma in both men and women. I40 THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  suspect it is estrogen that creates asthma in many people. Keep
in mind that men and women have the same hormones.
A male patient, 57 years old, who came to see me because
of weight concerns, was on four medications for asthma.When I told him that in three weeks he would be off all of hisasthma medications, he responded, “Doc, I’ve had asthma for35 years, and the Mayo Clinic prescribes my medications.” Isaid, “Watch.” Three weeks later he came into my office, satdown, and said, “Doc, you won’t believe this … I’m off all ofmy medications for asthma!”
Progesterone treats asthma for two reasons—it blocks
estrogen, a very common cause of asthma, and it breaks downinto cortisone, which relieves asthma. Also, people who are lowin progesterone very commonly have hay fever. Very often,within two weeks of starting progesterone all their hay feverand allergies are gone.
/Kswasheep in mind that men and women
have the same hormones.
The prednisone Rhonda had been prescribed for her
asthma was hurting her more than it was helping her.Prednisone has a lot of side effects. It can cause osteoporosis,cataracts, stomach ulcers, and weight gain.
LOW THYROID
Doctors had prescribed Synthroid for Rhonda’s low metabo-
lism, but it actually had little effect. This is something we sawwith Brenda J., too: she was taking Synthroid but it wasn’thelping her thyroid problem. 41 HORMONAL F ATIGUE AND RHONDA Y.   42
Rhonda’s under-active thyroid condition was missed due
to several factors. Rhonda had a condition called secondaryhypothyroidism, which is caused by an insufficient amount ofTSH being put out by the pituitary. Her free T3 level wasbelow normal. Her pituitary should have been pouring outTSH to elevate this level, but it wasn’t. A doctor looking onlyat Rhonda’s TSH levels would fail to diagnose her condition.Correct thyroid testing would have easily picked this up. Herelevated cholesterol also pointed to a low thyroid.
OTHER BENEFITS OF PROGESTERONE
Rhonda had high blood pressure. About 50 percent of the
people with high blood pressure have it because they over-produce insulin. As I’ve mentioned before, hyperinsulinemia(too much insulin in the bloodstream) is associated with lowprogesterone levels. Sometimes just reducing patients’ insulinlevels with progesterone relieves their high blood pressure.
The depression Rhonda experienced was at least partly due
to low progesterone. Progesterone is a natural anti-depressant,so women with low progesterone are commonly depressed.
Rhonda was a wonderful candidate for progesterone. It
had multiple benefits for her. Just by putting her on proges-terone I was able to lower her insulin levels, eliminate her high-blood pressure, help her to begin losing weight, help relieve herdepression, and get rid of the asthma.
It’s possible that the progesterone helped with her acid
reflux problem, too. Rhonda was on a drug called Prevacid,which reduces acid secretion. By lowering insulin levels andreducing certain carbohydrates, you can relieve acid reflux.THE MIRACLE OF BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES  SUMMING UP
Getting Rhonda’s life turned around was a simple matter of
adding several hormones and eliminating the medications shewas taking, which removed their concomitant side effects.
In her initial interview, Rhonda indicated she was on a
number of medications including thyroid, an antihistamine,an anti


 one retired
Waukegan factory worker. The experiment involved only men whose
natural levels of growth hormone were extremely depleted. Most old people
have adequate, if reduced, levels of growth hormone; those who do not
have sufficient growth hormone age faster and more severely than normal.
When these subjects began the experiment they were exhibiting excessive
biological aging; therefore, restoring their hormone levels made  a dramatic
difference. For the first time in years, many of them could travel, take long
walks, or work in their gardens.
But the improvement was not permanent. After the extremely expensive
treatments (around $14,000 a year) were withdrawn, the ravages of age
gradually return ed. Muscles shriveled again, fat reappeared, strength
waned, and the men were left with no lasting benefits except perhaps a trace
of improved memory. “It was wonderful while it lasted. Maybe someday I
can try it again,” one man said wistfully. Told that the next experiment
would be expanded to include women, he said approvingly, “I think they
should have a chance to feel like we did.”
These words, quoted from a glowing newspaper account, trouble me.
One cannot assume that injecting growth hormone does not have long-term
side effects. This may not prove  true for older people with abnormally low
levels of naturally occurring growth hormone, but for normal people, extra
growth hormone is useless for rejuvenation purposes.Interfering at a gross level with the body’ s function does not really affect
the sourc e of the problem. Givin g a drug, even one the body produces itself,
can effectively push the physiology one way or another, but the body
remembers what it wants to do, and until that memory is changed, there will
always be imbalance. Anyone who has dealt with diabetes know s the many
metabolic imbalances that insulin-dependent diabetics suffer from, and the
careful juggling of dosages necessary to avert insulin shock and coma. The
replacement hormone is the right molecule, but what is missing is the innate
intelligence to use that molecule. Diabetes, hypothyroidism, and aging itself
are due to lost intelligence, not depleted molecules.
Inevitably, any “miracle” of rejuvenation achieved with chemicals will
disrupt the body’ s intelligence. When human growth hormone was given to
stunted children, the experimenters ran into serious side effects and several
fatalities. The argument that aging is caused by abnormal hormone
production is convincing to me, but hormones function to carry messages,
and messages ultimately are controlled in awareness. By increasing your
inner intelligence, by enhancin g your happiness and fulfillment, you can
defeat aging in a lasting, meaningful way, without chemical s and their
potential side effects. The responsibility for changing this awareness lies
with each individual.
The “Aging Gene”
In additi on to hormone treatmen ts, much hope for defeating aging is being
pinned on genetic engineering. Forty years ago, after Watson and Crick
decoded the chemical structure of DNA, the hunt for an aging gene became
inevitable. By finding this gene, scientists could possess the control switch
for immortal cells, even if Nature had failed at the task. In several American
universities, researchers have been announcing breakthroughs in locating
genes that control aging in yeast, fruit flies, and finally humans.
Michael West, a molecular biolo gist at the University of Texas in Dallas,
working with tissue-cultured human cells, isolated two “mortality genes”
whose effect is to speed the aging process in these cells. Labeled M-1 andM-2, the two genes can be chemically switched on or off, drivin g the aging
process backwa rd or forward at will. In normal aging both M-1 and M-2
appear to be switched on. By turning off the M-1 gene, West is able to
restore a cell’s youth and double its overall life span, measured by how
many times it divides. Apparently West has discovered how to override the
Hayflick limit at will.
The results are even more dramatic when the second mortality gene, M-2,
is switched off. The cells continue to divide indefinitely and remain
youthful forever. Turning M-1 back on again, West found, caused the cells
to resume normal aging. This may be the one and only aging gene, although
other contenders are offered by competing researchers. By general
consensus, aging seems to be polygenic, involving the cooperation of
several or perha ps many genes at once. Also, finding these switches doesn’ t
mean that one has found out what operates them. There may be unknown
brain mechanisms that control the genetic switches, and these mechanisms
would almost certainly vary according to each individual ’s life and
experience.
The fact that the body can record the passage of time is beyond  dispute.
Proponents of a biological aging clock have tracked the body’s internal
biorhythms to a tiny cluster of neurons in the hypothalamus known as the
superchiasmatic nucleus. No larger than the end of a pencil, this clump of
tissue regulates the body’ s sense of time. But finding the body’ s biological
clock didn’ t solve the mystery  of aging, because the hypo thalamus is
connected to the rest of the brain, the endocrine system, and the immune
system. Any or all of these could be involved, for they all possess
formidable intelligence of their own.
Our bodies are intelligent everywhere. Brain chemicals aren’ t secreted
just from our heads; our skin, stomachs, intestines, and hearts produce
them. White blood cells floating through the immune system are outfitted
with the same receptors for neurotransmitters—they form a kind of
“floating brain.” The skin secretes more endocrine hormones than does the
endocrine system  itself. M-1 and M-2 are fascinating fragments in this vast
intelligence netw ork. Michael West has formed a company to see if a drug
can be found to manipulate these genes. But just as using interferon to fight
cancer was found to cause horrendous side effects, massive expense, andpoor results, West’s efforts have far to go before achieving any benefit for
cells outside glass dishes. Genet ic engineering to date involves highly risky
procedures such as bone marrow transplants, which are drastic operations.
Presently, the most advanced organisms to have their life extended by
genetic manipulation are fruit flies, yeasts, and roundworms. I think the
application of this technology to humans is unlikely.
Yet optim ism pervades this branch of gerontology and trickles down into
the popular press. “If we develop ways to repair aging tissues with
embryonic cells, we could add thirty years of healthy human life in the next
decade,” said a professor of medicine in Virginia, echoed by a colleague in
Texas: “Possibly in thirty years we will have in hand the major genes that
determine longe vity, and will be in a position to double, triple, even
quadruple our maximum life span.…It’ s possible that some people alive
now will still be alive four hundred years from now.”
A more restrained researcher in Louisiana said, “We may find it possible
to extend life span considerably more, perhaps by 100 percent—which
would give us an extra 100 to 120 years.” Other gerontologis ts shy away
from specific numbers but lack nothing in enthusiasm. “I think we may well
be able to lengthen human life far beyond anything we ever dreamed
possible,” said a researcher in Colorado whose work has been successful
with a nematode, a transparent roundworm the size of a comma.
Something disturbing lies bene ath the surface of the wild predictions
made by geneticists with regard to aging. Americans like to imagine that
technical ingenuity will solve any problem. Like IBM engineers tweaking
computers to make them faster  and more efficient, gerontologists aim to
improve the human machine. The theory is that given a little biochemical
retooling, our bodies can be made more efficient, less prone to breakdowns,
and slow er to wear out. If any field was dedicated to the proposi tion that the
body is mindless and inherently defective, genetics is it.
Like other reduc tionist models, the genetic view of aging ignore s life as a
whole. Unlike the Pacific salmo n, humans are not the pawns of biological
destiny. Populat ions exist right now that have largely overcome high blood
pressure, artery disease, and childhood infections, with low rates of major
cancers, and so on. The problem is that no single culture combines all of
these favorable traits. As we try to reach a longevity that satisfies thedesires of the whole person, we will find that DNA can change to suit our
higher expectations. Adapting to new conditions is what the body’ s
intelligence is all about. If you were a research biologist in the Stone Age,
and you had a perfect map of human DNA, could you have used it to
predict the rise of civilization? Would you have foreseen Mozart, Einstein,
the Parthenon, the New Testame nt? Could you have known that by the year
2000, improved living conditions would add six decades to early man’ s life
expectancy?
The wonder of DNA is not that it runs my life but that it can unfold
previously unknown possibilities as they arise in my heart and mind. In
other words, DNA serves my purposes, not the other way around. There are
societies where longevity is highly valued, and


orseforheatofbed,warmfood/drinks.
Toothache
SymptomsPains:gnawing;pulling;stitching.
Bettertorcoldwater;forfreshair.
Worseinastuffyroom;forheat;forwarmthofbed.
Causesteething.
Holdingcoldwaterinthemouthgreatlyrelievesthe
pains.Thenervesfeelstretched.Varicoseveins
SymptomsVaricoseveinspainful.
Worseduringpregnancy.
Limbslainonbecomenumbandcold;thisisan
indicationofpoorcirculation.
Pyrogen(Pyr.)
Othernames:pyrexin;sepsin;pyrogenium
ThehomeopathicremedyPyrogenisaproductofde-
composedbeef.Itisdefinedas'achemicalnon-living
substanceformedbylivingbacteria,butalsobyliving
pus-corpuscles, orthelivingblood-ortissue-
protoplasmsfromwhichthesecorpusclesspring.'
Thoughusedinitiallyfortreatingtyphoidfeverand
diphtheria, itbecameanindispensabletreatmentfor
bloodpoisoning,especiallypoisoningfrombacterial
products.Itwaslaterfoundtobeeffectiveinvarious
differentconditionssuchasulcersandflus.
Theremedyispreparedbymixingchoppedlean
beefwithwaterandleavingitinthesuntodecompose
fortwoweeks.Itisthenpotentisedbysuccussion.
GENERALSYMPTOMS
Discharges(breath,pus,sweat)smellyPains:in
partslainon;sore,bruised.Pulse:rapid.Thirsty.
Betterformovement.
Worseforcold;forcold,wetweather.
Pyrogenismainlyforchroniccomplaintsorforvery
severeacutecomplaintssuchasbloodpoisoning,both
ofwhichneedthecareofaprofessionalhomeopath. It
is,however,usefulforaparticulartypeoffluandI
havethereforeincluded ithere.Ihavealsogiventhe
indicationsforbloodpoisoninginthe(Ihopeunlikely)
eventthatyouneedthisemergencytreatment. If
indicated itwillworkquicklyandmaketheneedof
antibiotictreatmentunnecessary.
EMOTIONAL/MENTALSYMPTOMS
Thisisasmallremedywithfewstrongemotional/men-
talsvmptoms,althoughintheacutefeveryoumay
seeanxietyandanunusualdegreeoftalkativeness.
PHYSICALCOMPLAINTS
Bloodpoisoning
SymptomsWithfever(seebelow);extremechilli-
ness.
Worseforcold.
INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA Rheum(Rhe.)•139
Causesafterchildbirth;aftersurgery;frominfected
wounds.
GivePyrogeneveryfiveminutesandseekemergency
help.AkeynotefortheuseofPyrogenistherotten-
smellingdischargesofthebody(Pyrogenitselfisof
courseaproductofrottenmeat).Theurinemaybe
clear.
Fever
SymptomsHeat.Withchilliness:internal;extreme;
sweating;shaking.
Worseforbeinguncovered.
Duringafeverpartslainonfeelsoreandbruised(like
Arnica)andthebedmaythereforefeelhard.Alow
feverisusuallyaccompaniedbyafastpulseandisnot
acauseforimmediateconcern.Ifhoweverthefeveris
highandthepulseslowthismayindicateacuteblood
poisoning. IfPyrogeniscalledforthepulseisfastout
ofallproportiontothefever,orthereverse-unusu-
allyslow.Thepatientwillbeextremelychilly,andwill
beunabletogetwarm.
Flu
SymptomsPains:aching;inbonesoflegs.Withfever
(seeabove);extremethirst;chillsinback/smvER-
ING.
Betterformovement;forwalking;forwarmthofbed.
Worseduringchillystage;forsitting.Greekrheomeaning'toflow',alluding,apparently,to
thepurgativepropertiesoftheroot!
Thehomeopathic tinctureispreparedfromthe
driedroot.
Rheum(Rhe.)
Familyname:Polygonaceae
Othernames:rhubarbarum;Chinarhubarb;EastIndia
rhubarb;Turkeyrhubarb;palmatedrhubarb;rheum
palmatum
Thisisaperennialherbaceousplantthatflowersfrom
JunetoJulyandisindigenoustonorth-westChinaand
north-eastTibet.IthasbeencultivatedinEuropean
gardensasanornamentalplantsincethemid-
eighteenthcentury,andisdistinguishablefromour
familiargardenrhubarbbyitsmuchlargersize,its
heightofupto11feet,anditsdistinctivelyshaped
leaves.Itsdifferentnamesreflectitsoriginsandthe
routesithastakentoreachtheEuropeanmarket.
ItwasusedmedicinallybytheArabianphysicians
fordropsy,obstructionsofthespleen,andforjaun-
dice.Ithasalwaysbeenrecognisedforitspurgative
qualities;inhumanssmalldosesactasanastringent
tonictothedigestiveorgansandlargerdosesactasa
mildlaxative.ThenameissaidtohavecomefromtheGENERALSYMPTOMS
Discharges(stools,sweat,etc.)sour.
Thesearepalechildrenwhohaveahardtimeassimi-
latingtheirfoodwhentheyareproducing(ortrying
toproduce)teeth.Sournessisthekeynoteofthis
remedy.Thewholechildmaysmellsour,despite
frequentwashing.Eventhescalpsmellsofsoursweat.
EMOTIONAL/MENTALSYMPTOMS
Capricious.Indifferentinchildrentoplaying.
Irritable.
Rheumisforteethingchildrenwhoarecolicky.They
willbeirritable,difficultchildrenwhoarepeevishand
restlessandwhodon'twanttoplay.
PHYSICALCOMPLAINTS
Diarrhoea
SymptomsInteethingchildren.Stools:sour;
pasty.
Causesteething.
140•Rhododendron (Rhod.) INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA
Thechildmayeatalot,withoutappearingtoenjoyit.
Foodisnotassimilatedwellandthecolickypains
causethechildtocryandtossaboutatnight.
Teething
SymptomsPainfulinchildren.Withdiarrhoea
(seeabove).
Thegeneralandemotional/mentalsymptomsshould
alsobepresent.
Rhododendron (Rhod.)
Familyname:Ericaceae
Othernames:yellowsnowrose;rosebay;rosage
alpenrose;rhododendronchrysanthum; Siberian
rhododendrongatheredwhentheseedcapsuleshaveripened,anda
tinctureismadefromthem.
GENERALSYMPTOMS
Complaintsfromchangeofweathertostormy.
Betterformovement.
Worseforcold;forcold,wetweather;forstormy
weather;beforethunderstorms; forwind.
Rhododendrontypesareextremelysensitivetothe
changeinpressurethatprecedesastorm;theirsymp-
tomscomeonthenoraregenerallyworse.Theyare
alsosensitivetochangesintheweather,particularlyto
cold,wetandwindyweather,andareworseduring
theseasonsofchange-springandautumn.Their
symptomsmayabateeitherduringorafterthestorm
hasbroken.
Thisspeciesofrhododendron isindigenoustothe
mountainsofSiberia,andisnowcultivatedworld-
wide.Itisasmallbushthatgrowstoaheightof
1-1V2feet,andhasgoldenflowers.
Thoughnotwidelyknowningeneralmedicine, it
wasmuchusedinitsnativeSiberiaasaremedyfor
rheumatism,goutandsyphilis.Thegrowingcon-
ditionsoftheplant-itsurvivesthestovms,windsand
rainoftheSiberianmountains-indicateitskeynoteas
ahomeopathicremedy;thatis,asensitivitytostormy
andchangeableweather.
Forthehomeopathicpreparation,theleavesareEMOTIONAL/MENTAL SYMPTOMS
Fearfulofthunderstorm.
Thisisasmallremedywithveryfewstrongemotional
symptomsbuttheaggravationthatoccursbeforea
thunderstorm isemotionalaswellasphysical.These
peoplemayfeelapprehensive, fearfulorjust'unwell'
beforeand,toacertainextent,duringastorm.They
mayalsobeparticularlyafraidofthunder.
PHYSICALCOMPLAINTS
Backache
SymptomsPains:inlowerback;inneck;rheumatic;
sore,bruised.
Befferformovement.
Worseforwetweather.
Headache
SymptomsPainstearing.
Betterforgettingup;forwalking;forwalkinginfresh
air;forwrappingupthehead.
Worsebefore/during astorm;fordampweather.
Thepainsare


 Essential oils have many uses. Tea tree oil (Melaleuca alternifolia, p. 112) is strongly antiseptic, while sweet gale oil (Myrica gale, p. 238) is an effective insect repellent. On distillation, some essential oils contain compounds not found in the volatile oil—chamazulene, found in German chamomile (Chamomilla recutita, p. 77) essential oil, is anti-inflammatory and antiallergenic.
Resins—sticky oily substances that seep from plants, for example from the bark of Scots
pine (Pinus sylvestris, p. 249)—are often
linked with essential oils (oleoresins) and
gums (see Polysaccharides), though they
are nonvolatile. Active Constituents
The medicinal effects of certain plants are well known. German chamomile, for example, has been
taken to soothe digestive problems for thousands of years, and aloe vera was known to Cleopatra as  a healing skin remedy. It is only relatively recently, however, that active constituents responsible for the medicinal actions of plants have been isolated and observed. Knowing a little about the chemicals contained in plants helps you to understand how they work within the body.
Flavonoids
Found widely throughout
the plant world, flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that act  as pigments, imparting color, often yellow or white, to flowers and fruits. They have a wide range of actions and many medicinal uses. They are antioxidant and especially useful in maintaining healthy circulation. Some flavonoids also have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and liver-protective activity. Flavonoids such as hesperidin and rutin, found in many plants, notably buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum,  p. 210) and lemon ( Citrus limon, p. 82), strengthen capillaries
and prevent leakage into surrounding tissues. Isoflavones,  found for example in red clover ( Trifolium pratense,
p. 277), are estrogenic and valuable in treating
menopausal symptoms.
Tannins
T annins are produced to a greater or lesser degree by all plants. The harsh, astringent taste of tannin-laden bark and leaves makes them unpalatable to insects and grazing animals. T annins are polyphenolic compounds that contract and astringe tissues of the body by binding with and precipitating proteins—hence their use to “tan” leather. They also help to stop bleeding and to check infection. T annin-containing herbs are used to tighten up over-relaxed tissues—as in varicose veins—to dry up excessive watery secretions—as in diarrhea—and to protect damaged tissue—such as skin problems resulting from eczema or a burn. Oak bark (Quercus robur, p. 260) and black catechu (Acacia catechu, p. 158) are both high in tannins.Black Catechu
(Acacia catechu)Thyme
(Thymus vulgaris)Lemon
(Citrus limon)
German Chamomile
(Chamomilla recutita)
US_014-017_Active_Constituents.indd   14 26/02/16   4:42 pm15 Active constituentsProanthocyanins
Closely related to tannins and flavonoids,
these polyphenolic compounds are
pigments that give flowers and
fruits a blue, purple, or red hue.
They are powerfully antioxidant
and free-radical scavengers. They
protect the circulation from damage,
especially the circulation in the
heart, hands, feet, and eyes.
Blackberry ( Rubus fruticosus,
p. 264), red grapes ( Vitis
vinifera, p. 283), and
hawthorn ( Crataegus
oxycantha, p. 87) all contain
appreciable quantities of
these proanthocyanins.
Coumarins
Coumarins of different kinds are found
in many plant species and have widely
divergent actions. The coumarins in melilot
(Melilotus officinalis, p. 234) and horse
chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum, p. 58)
help to keep the blood thin, while
furanocoumarins such as bergapten,
found in celery ( Apium graveolens, p. 64),
stimulate skin tanning, and khellin, found
in visnaga ( Ammi visnaga, p. 62), is a
powerful smooth-muscle relaxant.
Saponins
The main active
constituents in many
key medicinal plants,
saponins gained their
name because, like soap,
they make a lather when
placed in water. Saponins occur in two
different forms—steroidal and triterpenoid.
The chemical structure of steroidal saponins
is similar to that of many of the body’s hormones, for example
estrogen and cortisol, and many plants containing them have a
marked hormonal activity. Wild yam ( Dioscorea villosa, p. 91), from
which the contraceptive pill was first developed, contains steroidal
saponins. Triterpenoid saponins occur more commonly—for example
in licorice ( Glycyrrhiza glabra, p. 101) and cowslip root ( Primula veris,
p. 256)—but have less hormonal activity. They are often expectorant
and aid absorption of nutrients.Anthraquinones
Anthraquinones are the main active
constituents in herbs such as senna
(Cassia senna, p. 75) and Chinese rhubarb
(Rheum palmatum, p. 126), both of which
are taken to relieve constipation.
Anthraquinones have an irritant laxative
effect on the large intestine, causing
contractions of the intestinal walls
and stimulating a bowel
movement approximately 10
hours after being taken. They
also make the stool more liquid,
easing bowel movements.
Cyanogenic glycosides
Though these glycosides are
based on cyanide, a very
potent poison, in small
doses they have a
helpful sedative and
relaxant effect
on the heart and
muscles. The bark
of wild cherry ( Prunus
serotina, p. 257) and the
leaves of elder ( Sambucus nigra,
p. 132) both contain cyanogenic
glycosides, which contribute to the plant’s
ability to suppress and soothe irritant dry
coughs. Many fruit kernels contain high
levels of cyanogenic glycosides, for example
those of apricot ( Prunus armeniaca, p. 257).Cardiac Glycosides
Found in various medicinal plants, notably
in foxgloves (see common foxglove, Digitalis
purpurea, p. 202) and in lily of the valley
(Convallaria majalis, p. 194), cardiac glycosides
such as digitoxin, digoxin, and convallotoxin
have a strong, direct action on the heart,
supporting its strength and rate of
contraction when it is failing. Cardiac
glycosides are also significantly diuretic.
They help to stimulate urine production,
thus increasing the removal of fluid from
the tissues and circulatory system.
Celery
(Apium graveolens)Chinese Rhubarb
(Rheum palmatum)
Blackberry
(Rubus fruticosus)
Licorice
(Glycyrrhiza
glabra)Common Foxglove
(Digitalis purpurea)
Elderflower
(Sambucus nigra)
US_014-017_Active_Constituents.indd   15 26/02/16   4:42 pm
16
The developmen T of herbal medicinePolysaccharides
Found in all plants, polysaccharides
are multiple units of sugar molecules linked together. From
an herbal point of view, the most important polysaccharides are the “sticky” mucilages and gums, which are commonly found in roots, bark, leaves, and seeds. Both mucilage and gum soak up large quantities of water, producing a sticky, jelly-like mass that can be used to soothe and protect irritated tissue, for example, dry irritated skin and sore or inflamed mucous membranes
in the gut. Mucilaginous herbs, such as slippery elm (Ulmus rubra, p. 145) and linseed or flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum, p. 109), are best prepared  by soaking (macerating) in plenty of cold water. Some polysaccharides stimulate the immune system, for example acemannan, which is found
in the leaves of aloe vera (Aloe vera, p. 60).Alkaloids
A very mixed group, alkaloids mostly contain a nitrogen-bearing molecule  (-NH
2) that makes them particularly
pharmacologically active. Some are well-known drugs and have a recognized medical use. Vincristine, for example, derived from Madagascar periwinkle (Vinca rosea, p. 282), is used to treat some types of cancer. Other alkaloids, such as atropine, found in deadly nightshade (Atropa bell


 staunches bleeding and
is taken for nosebleeds, and urinary and rectal
bleeding. The essential oil is an antiseptic and has
a reputation for being an aphrodisiac.
Related Species The fruit of the northern
Indian G. campanulata  is cathartic and used to
expel worms. G. gummifera, from eastern India,
is antiseptic and digestive. The Pacific region
G. taitensis  relieves headaches. The African
G. thunbergia  is used to relieve constipation.
Cautions Avoid in diarrhea. Do not take if taking
prescribed medication for high blood pressure.nor applied (even well diluted) to the skin of
children under the age of 12 unless with
professional supervision.
Gardenia plays a
significant role in
Chinese herbalism. Wintergreen makes an
effective liniment for
sore muscles and joints.Medicinal Actions & Uses A slightly bitter-
tasting remedy, lady’s bedstraw is used mainly as a
diuretic and for skin problems. Like its close relative,
cleavers ( G. aparine, preceding entry ), the herb is
given for kidney stones, bladder stones, and other
urinary conditions, including cystitis. It is occasionally
used as a means to relieve chronic skin problems
such as psoriasis, but, in general, cleavers is preferred
as a treatment for this condition. Lady’s bedstraw
has had a longstanding reputation, especially in
France, of being a valuable remedy for epilepsy,
though it is rarely used for this purpose today.
Related Species G. elatum  has also been
considered a remedy for epilepsy in France.
(See also G. aparine, preceding entry.)
Gardenia jasminoides syn.
G. augusta, G. florida (Rubiaceae)
Gardenia,
Zhi Zi (Chinese)
Description Evergreen shrub growing to 61⁄2 ft
(2 m). Has green leaves, scented double flowers,
and orange-red fruit.Gelidium amansii (Rhodophyceae)
Agar
Description Seaweed with red-brown,
translucent, multi-branched ribbons and fronds
growing to about 3 ft (1 m) in length. It has spherical
fruit that appears in late autumn and winter.
Habitat & Cultivation Agar is native to the
Pacific coasts of China and Japan and the coast of
South Africa. It grows to a depth of 100 ft (30 m)
below sea level. Commercial harvesters rake plants
off banks and rocks. The cleaned seaweed, after
being boiled with sulphuric acid for 6 hours, yields
agar, which sets to form a jelly. Around 6,500 tons
of processed agar are produced each year.
Part Used Seaweed extract (agar).
Constituents Agar contains polysaccharides,
mainly agarose and agaropectin (up to 90%), which
are very mucilaginous.
History & Folklore Agar is commonly used
as a thickening agent in food preparation, but its
most widespread application is in scientific research,
where it is used as a culture medium for growing
micro-organisms in petri dishes.
Medicinal Actions & Uses Like most
seaweeds and their derivatives, agar is nutritious
and contains large amounts of mucilage. Its chief
medicinal use is as a bulk laxative. In the intestines,
agar absorbs water and swells, stimulating bowel
activity and the subsequent elimination of feces.
Related Species While G. amansii  is the main
agar-producing species, G. cartilagineum  (found
on the Pacific coast of North America) and other
closely related species around the world are being
used as alternative sources.Habitat & Cultivation Native to
southeastern provinces of China, gardenia prefers
humid, tropical climates. The fruit is gathered
when it turns reddish-yellow.
Part Used Fruit.
Constituents Gardenia fruit contains iridoid
glycosides. The flowers are the source of the
essential oil.
History & Folklore Gardenia has been used in
Chinese medicine for at least 2,000 years. It provides
an important essential oil used to flavor teas. The oil
is also used to make perfumes. Gardenia perfumes
often blend gardenia, jasmine, and tuberose.
Medicinal Actions & Uses In the Chinese
herbal tradition (pp. 40–43), gardenia is a “bitter, Gaultheria procumbens
(Ericaceae)
Wintergreen
Description Aromatic low-lying shrub growing to
6 in (15 cm). Has leathery, oval leaves, small white or
pale pink bell-shaped flowers, and brilliant red fruit.
Habitat & Cultivation Native to North
America, wintergreen is found in woodland and
exposed mountainous areas. The leaves and fruit
are gathered in summer.
Parts Used Leaves, fruit, essential oil.
Constituents Wintergreen contains phenols
(including gaultherin and salicylic acid), 0.8% volatile
oil (up to 98% methyl salicylate), mucilage, resin,
and tannins.
History & Folklore Wintergreen was popular
with Native Americans, who used it for treating back
pain, rheumatism, fever, headaches, sore throats, and
many other conditions. Samuel Thomson, founder
of the 19th-century Physiomedicalist movement,
combined it with hemlock ( Conium maculatum, p.
193) to treat severe fluid retention. The leaves have
been used as a substitute for tea ( Camellia sinensis, p.
181), for example during the American
Revolutionary War (1776–1784).
Medicinal Actions & Uses Wintergreen is
strongly anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and soothing to
the digestive system. It is an effective remedy for
rheumatic and arthritic problems, and, taken as a tea,
it relieves flatulence and colic. The essential oil, in the
form of a liniment or ointment, brings relief to
inflamed, swollen, or sore muscles, ligaments, and
joints, and can also prove valuable in treating
neurological conditions such as sciatica (pain resulting
from pressure on a nerve in the lower spine) and
trigeminal neuralgia (pain affecting a facial nerve).
The oil is sometimes used to treat cellulitis, a bacterial
infection causing the skin to become inflamed.
Cautions People who are sensitive to aspirin
should not take wintergreen internally. Oil of
wintergreen should never be taken internally,
US_202-223_Digitalis_lutea_Iris_versicolor.indd   215 26/02/16   12:47 pm
216Gelsemium sempervirens  other medicinal plantsGelsemium sempervirens
(Loganiaceae)
Y ellow Jasmine,
Gelsemium
Description Evergreen woody climber growing
to 20 ft (6 m). Has shiny, dark green leaves and
clusters of fragrant, trumpet-shaped yellow flowers.
Habitat & Cultivation Native to the
southern U.S. and Central America, yellow jasmine prefers damp sites. The rootstock is unearthed in autumn.
Part Used Rootstock.
Constituents Y ellow
jasmine contains indole alkaloids (including gelsemine and gelsedine), iridoids, coumarins, and tannins. The alkaloids are toxic and act as a depressant to the central nervous system.
History & Folklore It is unclear whether
yellow jasmine was used in Native American medicine. The plant came into regular use only  in the middle of the 19th century. It was first employed by followers of the Eclectic herbal movement, and then later became an official medicine, listed in the Pharmacopoeia of the  United States from 1863 to 1926.
Medicinal Actions & Uses A potent medicinal
herb, yellow jasmine is prescribed in small doses  as a sedative and antispasmodic, most commonly for neuralgia (pain caused by nerve irritation or damage). Y ellow jasmine is often given for nerve pain affecting the face. The herb is also applied externally to treat intercostal neuralgia (nerve pain between the ribs) and sciatica (pain resulting from pressure on a nerve in the lower spine). Y ellow jasmine’s antispasmodic property is used in treating whooping cough and asthma. The herb is occasionally taken for migraine, insomnia, and bowel problems, and also to reduce blood pressure. Y ellow jasmine is also used in homeopathic medicine.
 RQ Cautions Y ellow jasmine is an extremely
toxic plant that should be used only under professional supervision. The plant is subject to legal restrictions in some countries.Parts Used Root, aerial parts.
Constituents Wild geranium contains up to
30% tannins.
History & Folklore Native American peoples
used wild geranium for sore throats, mouth ulcers, infected gums, and oral thrush. The herb was later used by European settlers for diarrhea, internal bleeding, cholera, and venereal diseases.
Medicinal Actions & Uses An astringent and
clotting agent, wild geranium is used today much as in earlier times. The herb is often prescribed for irritable bowel syndrome and hemorrhoids, and it is used to staunch wounds. It may also be used to


 friendly gut bacteria, which then allow
Candida and mycoplasmas to invade the body and cause numerous health problems. This can be prevented by also taking
fungicides in the form of natural remedies when using antibiotics.
Broad-based remedies are cheap and effective and ideally suited for self-healing. But this does not mean that they are harmless.
While damaging side-ef fects are much less common than with drug medicine, problems can occur. This means, you need to use
common sense, observe how your body reacts, and cut back or use another remedy if indicated. This is an experimental approach in
which you need to be ﬂexible and take responsibility for your health and your actions instead of just following the orders of a doctor.
Furthermore, most chronic diseases can be overcome and the body rejuvenated with a three-pronged approach based on:
1. Eliminating microbial problems and strengthening the immune system
2. Eliminating metabolic wastes with periodic raw-food cleansing
3. Emotional healing, mind therapies, energy work and guided imagery.
The Ultimate Cleanse is a ﬁrst step in this system of holistic healing.
Disclaimer: The aim of this web site is to provide information on using natural healing methods to aid in the treatment of illness and health improvement.
The author cannot accept any legal responsibility for any problem arising from experimenting with these methods. For any serious disease,
or if you are unsure about a particular course of action, seek the help of a competent health professional.
© Copyright W alter Last & Austpac Productions. All Rights Reserved. | W eb Design by Austpac.10/30/24, 3:30 PM Health-Science-Spirit - The Ultimate Cleanse
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This document is a reproduction of the book or other copyrighted material you
requested.  It was prepared on for the exclusive use of Oriana, whose email address is
orianaoriana@gmail.com.
This reproduction was made by the Soil and Health Library only for the purpose of
research and study.  Any further reproduction or distribution of this copy in any form
whatsoever constitutes a violation of copyrights.WILL POWER

THE CREATOR
OF HAPPINESS

EDMOND    BORDEAUX    SZEKELY

ESSENE SCHOOL OF LIFE

1.  We believe that, in the present state of society, it is possible for
every one, by judicious use of the best available methods of hygiene and
individual improvement, to achieve considerable betterment of the quality
of his life.
2.  We  believe that it is the  worth  of individuals which makes the
worth of societies and which conditions the effectiveness of public
institutions.
3.  We believe, consequently, that every man owes a bounden duty to
himself, to the community and to the future of Humanity  to make his own
improvement the essential task of his life.
4.  We believe that this work of improvement has the sure effect of
introducing into the life of the individual a quota of happiness proportional
to the value of his efforts.
5.  We believe that it is the study of  the laws in Nature and in faithful
adherence to what they prescribe, that man finds the surest guides in his
effort to improve himself.
6.  We believe that human thought  and will have considerable power
and that they should be used conscientiously in the service of good, that is
to say, in the service of the force that leads Nature towards ever higher
forms of manifestation.
7.  We believe in the irresistibility of progress and in the certain
triumph of beauty over ugliness, of truth over error, of good over egotism
and hatred.
8.  We believe  that  expansive love,  fraternity and co-operation are
the only effective means of collective progress, and that nothing true,
beautiful or good can be built upon hatred, the spirit of party, cliques,
rivalry, revenge and oppression.
9.  We believe that there cannot fail to be universal sympathy for
every sincere  effort to  do  good,  even when it seems to  be  in  opposition,
as the ways  of realizing a better future are as numerous as are human
temperaments.
10.  We firmly believe that we shall overcome evil, not by attacking
it, but by maintaining an d strengthening the good.

Evil exists not;
    Only the past.
    The past is past.
    The present is a moment.
The FUTURE is all!
ESSENE SCHOOL OF LIFE

DEDICATED TO THE ESSENE RENAISSANCE
OF HEALTH, HAPPINESS,
ABUNDANCE AND WISDOM
UPHOLDS THE ESSENE IDEALS OF
THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD
THE MOTHERHOOD OF NATURE
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
AN INDEPENDENT—NON SECTARIAN—NON POLITICAL — NON
PROFIT — EDUCATIONAL.
WORLD ORGANIZATION
SPECIALIZED IN ALLSIDED EDUCATION FOR
LIFE LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT
OF HAPPINESS

The First Essene Organization in Europe and America
Founded in Nice, France, 1928.
Transferred to Elsinore, California—1935.

FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT:
Edmond Bordeaux Szekely

MAIL ADDRESS
Tecate, California, U.S.A.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Esperanto

BRANCHES AND REPRESENTATIVES
Australia, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Mexico,
New Zealand, Oceania, Palestine, South Africa,
United States, West Africa, West Indies.

SERVICES FOR STUDENTS AND MEMBERS
International Quarterly of the Essene and
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Periodicals—Yearbooks—Books
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
send 25c for our 48 page Digest and Guide-book, 8½ x 7", profusely
illustrated with 50 pictures, containing concise condensations of all above
books with detailed introductions to the Essene Teaching and
Cosmotherapy. Address THE ESSENE SCHOOL OF LIFE, TECATE,
CALIFORNIA.

 First  Edition 1939
Second  Edition 1941
Third  Edition 1942
Fourth  Edition 1945

Copyright 1945 by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely.
Printed in United States of America—All Rights reserved.  WILL POWER, THE CREATOR OF HAPPINESS

The will plays a more important part in human life than
any other quality. Lack of will power is the cause of
unhappiness in ninety per cent of human beings. If it is
overcome, our other enemies vanish with rapidity. Will
power can be developed by training. There is a technique for
its acquisition.
If we analyse the will, we find it consists of three
factors: thought, feeling, and action. All pyschological
activity is the product of these three components. The most
vital and important factor is action. When we do a thing, there
is always a feeling behind the act. Action is the result of a
sentiment, not of thought. In order to produce right actions, we must therefore cultivate right feelings. But unfortunately
we are not the masters of our feelings; we are only the
masters of our thoughts. While we may think what we wish,
we cannot feel what we wish.
There is, however, the possibility of establishing a
dynamic relation between thoughts and feelings. The key to
the problem of the will is how to connect our thoughts with
our feelings in such a way that the latter will create the action
which we wish to perform.
Let us examine the question more concretely. On the
one hand we have the "powerlessness of thoughts" and on the
other the '' power of feelings.'' If we observe our neighbours,
we shall see that many are people with knowledge and good
thoughts but that they do not use these rightly. Thoughts of
themselves do not suffice. We know that sober living will
give us health, yet many of us are gluttons. We know that
through work we can achieve, yet we remain lazy.
Knowledge of the truth is not the carrying out of the truth.
But whereas thoughts are incapa ble of leading to action,
feelings always bring it about. Where knowledge of the rules
of healthy living is unable to e ffect reform, pain or fear of
death will make us change our ways. A feeling of jealousy or
sense of rivalry can produce a tremendous activity, which
knowledge of the result of sustained effort is powerless to
evoke.
What, then, is the psychological mechanism which
enables us to dominate our feelings by our thoughts and so
perform the desired action? We must examine the process of
the will in its component parts. If we may compare man to an
automobile, thought is the steering-wheel, feeling the motor,
and action the wheels. In order to arrive at one's destination,
all three parts must work in collaboration.
Of the three forces—thought, feeling, action, it is
thought which is the youngest, and, in consequence, the
weakest in influence. Yet


ouch of hing
O i l / G h e e
2 tablespoons ghee *
K i t c h e n  G e a r
Medium pot
Small frying pan
* recipe in Chapter 16
D i r e c t i o n s
1. Soak len tils in warm water in m edium pot for 10 minutes. Rins e with
fresh water until the water runs c lear. Add 6 cups of water and cook on
medium heat for 10 minutes.
2. Skim away the white foam that rises to the top. Y ou may have to do
this 3-4 times or more, until lentils stop foaming.
3. T urn the  heat to low and add ce lery and bay leaves. Cover pot and let
mixture cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Add another ½ c up of water if the soup is too thick. Add salt wh en the
lentils are finished cooking. (Ad ding salt to uncooked lentils te nds to
make them hard.)
5. Heat ghee in a small frying pan. Sauté onion until brown, then add all
of the spices.
6. Garnish with lemon juice, cilantro and a touch of ghee. Serve hot.
Enjoy!H E A R T Y  S P I C E D  C H I C K  P E A S  ( K A B U L I
C H O L L E Y )
Serve w ith rice,  bread, or chapati. Good as a soup. Y ou can also add some
bitter greens to the dish to make it lighter.
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus overnight soak, and minimum 4
hour cooking time for the chick peas
Serves 6-8
M a i n  I n g r e d i e n t s
2 cups dried chickpeas
W ater
1 small onion, finely chopped1 tomato, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger
Salt
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1-2 green chili peppers chopped (optional)
H e r b s / S p i c e s
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons spice mix *
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
⅛ teaspoon hing (asafetida)
1½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
O i l / G h e e
4-6 teaspoons ghee *  (or oil, if preferred) (chick peas tend to be a little
drying, so it is good to add extra ghee)
K i t c h e n  G e a r
Slow cooker
Small frying pan
Serving spoon
*  recipe in Chapter 16
D i r e c t i o n s :
1. Soak chickpeas in 8 times their volume of warm water overnight in the
slow cooker.
2. Rinse well with fresh water. Dra in all water out of the slow cooker and
add 8 cups fresh water plus the bay leaves.
3. Plug the slow co oker in and place on high heat. Set timer for at least 4
hours and up to 8 hours. (For so me slow cookers 4 hours is suf ficient
time.)4. When timer sounds, check the chickpeas to see if they are soft. T urn
the slow cooker to warm.
5. W ith a serving spoon, mash some of the chick peas by pressin g them
to the side of the cooker to thicken the soup a little.
6. Heat ghee/oil in a small pan f or 15 seconds, and then add onions,
browning slightly.
7. Add tomatoes and ginger once the onions are light brown. Add a touch
of salt. Let this cook for 3-5 minutes on medium heat.
8. Push the mixture to the side and allow ghee to pool in the bottom of
the pan.  Add cumin and coriander seeds first, and then add th e spice
mix, turmeric powder, hing powder. Mix and cook for another minute.
9. Add this mixture to the slow cooker. Add salt and mix.
10. Garnish with cilantro and a drizzle of ghee.
1 1. Serve hot.
Enjoy!H O M E M A D E  C H E E S E  A N D  P E A  C U R R Y
( M U T T E R  P A N E E R )
This is bit on the rich and hea vy side. This dish is hearty, satisfying and
simply delicious. It is a treat! Paneer is homemade cheese, which is highly
nutritious. Serve  with rice or chapati. The homemade cheese is fresher and
easier to digest than commercially available cheeses.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves 4-5
M a i n  I n g r e d i e n t s
½ gallon whole milk
2 lemons
1 small onion, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
4 cups water
1 cup frozen sweet peas2 teaspoons plain yogurt
H e r b s / S p i c e s
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons basic spice mix *
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup chopped cilantro
O i l / G h e e
3-4 tablespoons of ghee *, saf flower oil, or coconut oil
K i t c h e n  G e a r
Lar ge pot
Cheesecloth
Medium bowl
Flat plate
Baking sheet
Food processor
Medium pot
* recipe in Chapter 16
D i r e c t i o n s  f o r  P a n e e r
1. Pour milk into the lar ge pot, bring it to a boil, then turn of f the heat.
2. Juice one lemon and stir it into  the milk. If solids begin to form, you
don’ t need more lemon. If this d oes not happen, turn the heat back on
to medium and add the juice from half of another lemon. This may
take 2-3 minutes. Keep stirring.
3. Strain the liquid through a piece of cheesecloth draped across the top
of a  bowl. Allo w excess liquid to fully drain into the bowl and then
fold che esecloth into a little po uch. Place the pouch on a flat plate,flatten i t with your hands, and  put a heavy pot on top of it so the
cheese can settle. Set aside for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 175-200F degre es. Cut cheese into small squar es and
place them on a greased baking sheet; bake in the oven for 7-10
minutes.
D i r e c t i o n s  f o r  C u r r i e d  P e a s
1. Put chopped onions in the food processor and pulse until finely
minced.
2. Add ghe e/oil to  the medium p ot and heat for 15 seconds, then add
onions and cook for 2-4 minutes until they brown.
3. In th e meantime, put tomatoes in the food processor and puls e until
finely minced. And add them to the pot once the onions are browned.
4. Add ginger and cook the whole mixture for another 5 minutes on low
heat.
5. Move th is mixture to the side of the pot and allow the remainin g oil to
pool in the bo ttom of the pot. Add cumin, coriander, spice mix,
turmeric and salt to the oil, and let them cook for 1 minute.
6. Add yogurt and mix all ingredients.
7. Add 4 cups of water, cover the p ot and let mixture cook for 10 minutes
on medium heat.
8. Remove paneer from oven, add to pot and cook on low heat for
another 5 minutes.
9. Rinse the frozen peas in tap wat er and add to the pot. Cook for another
5 minutes on low heat.
10. T urn the heat of f and serve hot.
1 1. Garnish with cilantro
Enjoy!I N D I A N  F L A T  B R E A D  ( C H A P A T I )
Chapati is a stap le in Indian kit chens and is prepared fresh at each meal. It
is very versatile, and can be eat en with meals or plain as a snack with just
butter and salt, like toast. The only ingredients are water and flour. The
dough can be made right when you need it. But it is better to make it ahead
of time and cover it with a w et dish cloth for at least half hour before
cooking so it does not dry out.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Makes 3 chapatis
M a i n  I n g r e d i e n t s
1 cup chapati flour *
½ cup water
H e r b s / S p i c e s
–O i l / G h e e
–
K i t c h e n  G e a r
Lar ge bowl
T awa **
Rolling pin
Paper towel
Dish towel
* A vailable at Indian grocery stores.
** T awa is a flat disc shape frying pan to make chapati.
Y ou can improvise by just using a non-stick frying pan
D


still shaped by stories invented by human imagination. The other
road, w hich led to the true self, gained a reputation for being
mystical (i.e., detached from real life), and once this happened,
only a motley crew of saints, sages, poets, artists, and seers
followed that path.
Finding metareality is an impossible task until you question
your ow n story. You must ta ke the challenge personally, because
becoming metahuman is rea l only if it is real for you. I f you are
fully aware of what is happening to you here and now, you have
gone beyond all stories. The  habit of constantly adding to your
story is just that, a habit. By itself, the present moment has no
story—it just is. Why do we embellish it with our story? Because
the present moment isn’t fulfilling by itself until it gets enriched
by t he true se lf. A computer is useless until you plug it in, and
although we use our minds f or everything already, much  time islost in fantasy, distractions, avoidance, denial, procras tination,
self-judgment, and on and on. Every story contains these
undesirable elements. Staying connected to the true self at every
moment brings the fullness of life into our awareness.
Metahuman could be called a new story, another fiction added
to th e s helf, but I think that would be a misnomer. The element of
fiction is taken out when you wake up. As part of the
spell/dream/illusion, our personal stories can’t do with out the
fictional element. Virtual r eality is a fiction to begin with.
Anything based on it participates in unreality. We might pity our
ancestors for their attachm ent to myths, superstitio n, and
unproven religious beliefs. But if we are immersed in a better
story, it’s still a story. Future generations won’t buy int o it any
more than we buy into Zeus, witches, and the heart as the seat of
intelligence rather than the brain (a persistent belief in ancient
Greek and Roman medicine).
This ch apter is about a turn ing point where we stop t elling
ourselves stories, no longer needing them to defend us against
harsh reality or to make sense out of a chaotic world. In
metareality you  go beyond danger and disorder. The true s elf gives
you an unshakable stance in reality, at which point your life finds
purpose and meaning from t he source instead of from a cobbled-
together fiction.
C l i n g i n g  t o  S t o r i e s
Humans are proud to be storytellers, and our story has a gaping
hole because no record was  left from the oldest times, before
writing emerged. Can we imagine so many lost stories? Around
45,000 years ago, people we’d recognize as modern Homo sapiens
started to migrate northward from Africa. All were hunter-
gatherers. Many generations before farming, mining for metals,
and fix ed dwe llings heralded  the rise of civilization, life  45,000
years ago was already too co mplex to do without stories. In the
human mind, fire had to come from somewhere, rain ha d to beunpredictable for a reason, and things we now take for granted,
like a chick hatching out of an egg, posed a deep mystery.
Mythology arose not as fantasy but as the best way to explain
Nature, given the life people were leading. Ascribing meaning to
anything and everything is the thread that binds us to earliest
humans. Stories explain how life works and thus fulfill a need that
is woven into the fabric of being human.
We stil l live by stories, and whatever disrupts our per sonal
story is  usually rejected out o f hand or fought against vigorously.
(Witness the guiltiest sexual abusers coming to light thro ugh the
#MeToo movement, abusers who flatly deny any wron gdoing.)
We’ve a lready discussed how  the ego creates the illusion of being
separate and alone. “I” needs  a good story to feel safe, important,
socially acceptable, and worthy. Seeking to feel secure, people
want to  belong to something larger than themselves—a tribe, a
religion, a race, a nation—but to be accepted by any of these
groups, you first must accept their story. Without thinking about
the freedom they are surrendering, people adopt a secondhand,
sealed-off stor y. You know instantly who is “us” and who is
“them.” Yet no matter how convincing the story, you will always be
“them” to people embedded in another story. The security to be
found in  something larger than yourself breaks down when “they”
turn into a threat, even an enemy of your very survival.
Stories grow out of such ba sic needs that going beyond any
story fe els impossible. A story consists of anything the human
mind c an imagine, which leads to infinite choices. But we can
simplify the matter. Stories are about attachment. We think to
ourselves, “I am X,” and then we cling to X as part of our identity.
X can be the larger group (tribe, race, nation, reli gion)
mentioned above. “I am American” has enormous power over
people, as does “I am French ” or “I am Jewish” or “I am white.”
But in seeing t his, which most people do, we are only sc ratching
the surface. Any version of “I am X” can lead to cling ing and
attachment. “I  am a Patriots  fan” or “I am upper middle class”
creates passionate attachments. At the same time, stories become
more potent by what they exclude. For every “I am X,” there are
many possibilities of “I am not Y.” If you are American, you arenot ever y other nationality, of which there are hundreds. If  you are
Catholic, you exclude all other faiths, and so on.
What’s wrong with this? If stories were held lightly, the way we
experience The Hobbit  or The Great Gatsby, being diverted for a
while before moving on, vexing problems wouldn’t arise. It’s not
the story that i s responsible; it’s our attachment to it. Atta chment
falsifies experience by freezing it in place. The weight of the past
becomes a burden. The pres ent moment is lost in the clutter of
memory, belief, and old conditioning. How many older people
crave to  be young again? How many regrets do we harbor that we
refuse to let g o of? These attachments exist in everyone’s life,
leaving aside the misery and violence created by an us-versus-
them mentality.
Prying someon e loose from a  cherished story lies at the heart of
one of the most popular best sellers in the 1980s, M. Scott Peck’s
The Ro ad Le ss Traveled. The book begins with a gripping
sentence: “Life is difficult.” Immediately, Peck expands on  what he
means: “This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a
great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it…
[and] the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”
In o ther words, we are hearing the call to go beyond. But Peck,
who wa s a psychiatrist, knew that just because a truth is great
doesn’t mean people can face it—quite the opposite. In his view,
after ye ars of treating patients in therapy, the biggest obstacle to
getting better his patients  faced was their refusal to take
responsibility. Why? “We cannot solve life’s problems except by
solving them,”  Peck writes. Yet this fact “is seemingly bey ond the
comprehension of much of the human race….Many, so many, seek
to a void the pain of their problems by saying to themselv es: ‘This
problem was caused by other people, or by social circumstances
beyond my control, and therefore it is up to other people to solve
this problem for me.’ ”
Peck gi ves vivid examples to illustrate his point, such as the
case of a woma n who had jus t tried to slash her wrists. She was an
army w ife on the Pacific isla nd of Okinawa, where the younger
Peck was an army psychiatrist.In the emergency room he asked the woman, who had managed
to i nflict only superficial cu ts on herself, why she wa nted to
commit suicide. She said it all came down to living “on th is dumb
island.” Not satisfied with her answer, Peck began a dialogue that
would b e comical if the woma n weren’t so miserable and unhappy.
The back-and-forth between him and his patient can be
summarized as follows:
P ECK:  Why do you find being on Okinawa so painful?
P ATIENT:  I have no friends, and I’m alone all the time.
P ECK:  Why don’t you have any friends?
P ATIENT:  I  live off bas e in the villag e, and nobody speaks
English.
P ECK:  Wh y don’t yo u drive to the American base to find
some friends?
P ATIENT:  My husband needs the car to drive to work.
P ECK:  You could drive him


	the	local	farmer’s	markets	at
this	time	of	year.	These	vegetables	are	particularly	high	in	beta-carotene,
which	converts	into	vitamin	A	in	the	body	and	is	an	excellent	nutrient	to
keep	your	skin	healthy	and	bright	in	these	dimmer	months.
•
Add	warming	spices	such	as	ginger,	cloves,	and	cinnamon	to	your	teas	and
recipes.
•
Switch	to	organic,	cold-pressed	sesame	oil	to	moisturize	your	skin	for	your
abhyanga
	practice.	Sesame	oil	is	said	to	have	warming	properties.
•
Due	to	the	dryness	of	winter,	you	might	need	a	heavier	facial	moisturizer.
Switch	accordingly	and	look	for	one	that	is	oil	based	rather	than	water
based,	as	the	oil	will	provide	a	protective	layer	on	your	skin	and	hold	in
moisture	longer.	Products	containing	pure	plant	oils	like	coconut,	almond,
avocado,	and	primrose	oil	should	not	make	your	skin	break	out.	On	theother	hand,	shea	butter	may	clog	your	pores;	especially	if	you	are	acne-
prone,	avoid	products	on	the	face	that	contain	shea	butter	(though	it’s	great
to	use	on	your	body).	Avoid	products	that	contain	synthetic,	petroleum-
based	oils,	such	as	mineral	oil.
•
Your	skin	will	likely	be	dry	and	dehydrated	not	only	from	the	wind	and	cold
elements,	but	also	from	indoor	heat,	so	make	sure	your	moisturizer	contains
hyaluronic	acid	and	other	humectants	to	attract	more	moisture	to	your	face
and	keep	it	supple.
•
Increase	your
fat	intake	slightly—but	not	dramatically—with	whole	plant
foods	such	as	chia	seeds,	walnuts,	and	avocados.	These	essential	fats	will
nourish	supple	skin.	Just	an	extra	few	tablespoons	of	chia	seed	pudding	(see
kimberlysnyder.
com
	for	the	easy	recipe)	or	another	half	of	an	avocado	will
keep	your	skin	moisturized	from	the	inside	out.	Extra	fat	in	the	winter	may
also	feel	grounding	during	this	dark	period.
•
Use	a	creamy	cleanser	rather	than	a	gel	one.	The	cream	will	have	fewer
stripping	surfactants	and	help	keep	the	natural	oils	on	your	skin	intact
during	these	times	when	you	want	to	hold	on	to	all	of	the	moisture	you	can.
•
Do	a	weekly	at-home	oil	treatment	to	keep	your	hair	protected	from	the
drying	weather.	At	least	once	a	week,	massage	coconut	oil	into	the	tips	of
your	hair	and	throughout	the	strands,	pile	it	into	a	bun	or	tuck	it	into	a
shower	cap,	leave	it	in	for	at	least	30	minutes	to	1	hour,	and	then	rinse	out
and	shampoo	as	usual.
•
Slough	off	dry	skin	cells	with	an	at-home	sugar	scrub.	Combine	equal	parts
coconut	oil	and	organic	sugar	and	then	add	15	to	20	drops	or	so	of	your
favorite	essential	oil.	Keep	the	mixture	in	a	glass	or	BPA-free	container.	In
the	shower,	gently	rub	off	dead	skin	cells	from	your	entire
body,	including
your	elbows	and	heels.	Shaving	is	also	a	great	exfoliator	for	the	large	surface
area	of	your	legs.
•
Stay	active.	It’s	tempting	to	just	curl	up	during	winter,	but	the	diminished
light	and	the	cold	weather	can	contribute	to	depression,	stagnation,	a
weakened
immune	system,	and	sluggish	feelings.	It’s	a	great	time	of	year	to
begin	or	deepen	a	home	yoga	practice,	whether	on	your	own	or	with	a	yoga
DVD.	You	don’t	have	to	expose	yourself	to	the	elements	to	stay	active	and
move	every	part	of	your	body.
•
Honor	the	natural	tendency	for	more	“darkness”	and	allow	yourself	to
rejuvenate	and	rest	by	staying	at	home	more.	Don’t	push	yourself	to	go	out
more	than	you	naturally	like	out	of	obligation.	You	might	feel	that	eveningsat	home	with	herbal	tea,	a	warm	bath,	and	a	good	book	simply	serve	you
more.
•
If	you	live	in	a	place	that	has	limited	sunlight	for	extended	periods	of	time
throughout	the	winter	months,	you	might	want	to	consider	supplementing
with
vitamin	D
3
,	or	getting	a	special	light	designed	to	help	stimulate	vitamin
D	in	your	body.	Vitamin	D	plays	a	vital	role	in	maintaining	healthy,
beautiful	bones,	strong	immunity,	balanced	moods,	and	all-around	health
and	wellness.
•
With	the	very	slowly	burgeoning	light	of	the	winter	solstice	near	the	end	of
the	year,	complete	an	honest	and	deep	assessment	of	where	you	would	like
to	put	your	energy	in	the	upcoming	year	and	what	is	nurturing	and
authentic	for	your	beautiful	spirit	at	this	time.	In	nature,	new	seeds	are
growing	at	the	root	level	now,	and	a	lot	is	taking	place	beneath	the	surface.
This	is	a	great	time	for	you,	too,	to	evaluate	where	you	want	to	plant	your
“seeds,”	which	projects	you	want	to	pursue,	and	where	you	want	to	put	your
energy,	which	will	bloom	later	in	the	year.	You	can	determine	this	only	by
being	honest	and	listening	to	your	heart.
Spring	Lifestyle	Beauty	Practices
In	spring,	life	emerges	again.	No	matter	how	long	the	cold	winter	months	may
seem	some	years,	spring	always	follows.	You	can	see	the	burgeoning	beauty	of
fresh	flower	buds,	leaves,	and	shoots	and	feel	the	urge	to	express	your	natural
beauty	outwardly	with	sundresses,	skirts,	and	perhaps	brighter	makeup	colors.
As	the	light	increases,	you	naturally	feel	like	shedding	the	stagnation	and
heaviness	of	winter.	This	includes	a	tendency	to	start	eating	lighter	and	perhaps
lightening	up	on	your	skin-care	products,	too.	You	may	also	feel	a	natural	rise
in	energy,	a	newfound	spark	of	powerful	inspiration	that	can	now	be	directed
toward	whatever	goals	you	decided	to	pursue	when	taking	stock	in	the	darkness
of	winter.	Here	are	the	best	ways	to	harness	the	beauty	of	spring:
•
Spring	is	the	very	best	time	of	the	year	to	complete	a	cleanse	or	engage	in
some	detoxing.	If	you’re	interested	in	a	liquid	cleanse,	check	out	the	organic,
strategically	designed	ones	offered	from
Glow	Bio	(
myglowbio.
com
)	or	do
your	own	version	by	making	fresh	green	smoothies	or	juices	and	abstaining
from	heavier	foods	for	a	few	days.
•
Lighten	up	your	diet.	This	is	a	great	time	of	year	to	shift	into	eating	more
raw	foods	(though	you	don’t	have	to	eat	100	percent	raw,	by	any	means).Reduce	your	ratio	of
fats	so	you	feel	less	weighed	down.	You	might	want	to
eat	lighter,	broth-based	soups	and	favor	smaller	amounts	of	avocado	and
nuts.	Use	all	oils	sparingly.
•
If	you	indulged	over	the	winter,	it’s	a	great	time	to	reset	bad	h