urt and cheeses. As the gut flora gets estab
lished and the digestive system heals many GAPS patients are able to digest
milk protein without absorbing it in an opiate-like form of casomorphin.
However, all patients are different Some are ready for this step in a few
months, some require much longer. It is critical to proceed very carefully and
slowly, introducing milk protein containing foods one at a time and starting
from tiny amounts watching for any reaction. Any signs of regression in a
child or an adult with GAPS would indicate that he/she is not ready. It may
be an increase in self-stimulation and worsening of eye-contact, sleep dis
turbances and increase in anxiety, mood alterations and hyperactivity,
eczema flare-up or worsening in allergies. Every patient would have symp
toms typical for him or her. Generally from clinical experience I can say that
the younger the patient is the sooner he or she is ready for this step. Adults on average take longer than children. In some cases dairy proteins have to be
avoided indefinitely, particularly in long standing cases of schizophrenia
and cases complicated by epilepsy, asthma and eczema.
The first protein containing milk product that can be introduced is
home-made yoghurt. Why home-made? Because commercially produced
yoghurts are often not completely lactose-free due to short fermentation
time. Yoghurt has to be fermented for 24 hours at least to be completely lac
tose-free. So initially the only yoghurt which the GAPS child or adult can
have has to be home-made (look in the recipe section for instructions on
how to make yoghurt). Apart from consuming lactose the fermenting bac
teria pre-digest milk proteins, making them easier for our digestive sys
tems to handle. That is why fermented milk products in general are much
easier for us humans to digest.
There is a question about what is the best milk to use for making yoghurt
- cow's or goat's. There are some other rare milk products on the market,
like sheep and deer, which are not researched to any degree yet and are not
practical to discuss here. Goat's milk is considered to be more digestible by
humans as it contains less casein and different types of fats and proteins.
However, when it comes to beta-casein, which is supposed to be the prob
lem for autistic and schizophrenic patients, the goat's milk contains more of
it compared to cow's milk. Unfortunately, there is not much scientific data
on this subject for us to rely on. However, in a clinical setting patients do
report that goat's milk is much better tolerated than cow's milk. So, initially
I recommend making your yoghurt from goat's milk rather than cow's milk.
If it is not possible to find goat's milk in your area try to make yoghurt from
cow's milk, as indeed Elaine Gottschall used to treat her child and thou
sands of other patients very effectively. A very important point here is to use
only organic milk, as there is a noticeable difference in the clinical observa
tions of the effects of non-organic and organic yoghurt. People who react to
non-organic yoghurt often tolerate an organic one perfectly well, because
non-organically reared animals have to consume a whole array of chemi
cals from antibiotics to pesticides, most of which finish up in the milk.
It is important to introduce home-made yoghurt gradually, starting from
one tea spoon a day slowly increasing the daily amount to one or two cups
a day. It can be added to home-made soups and stews, served as a desert
with fruit and honey or mixed with fruit smoothies and drinks. You can
drain it through a cheese cloth to produce cottage cheese. It gives a nice
variety to the diet. However, I would repeat that the patient's digestive
system has to be ready for it! So, do not rush with this step! Once the GAPS patient can tolerate home-made yoghurt without any
problem natural organic cheese can be tried. It has to be said that cheese is
one of the more difficult dairy products to introduce as it provides a very
concentrated milk protein. Cheese is also a great breeding ground for
yeasts and moulds, which a lot of GAPS people can not tolerate. Some
GAPS patients find that they can have home-made yoghurt without any
problem but can never have cheese. However, in the majority of cases, pro
viding that their digestive system had a good chance to heal, the GAPS chil
dren and adults can enjoy a good variety of natural cheeses, like cheddar,
dry curd cheese and others (for a full list look at the end of this chapter). As
with yoghurt introduce cheeses one at a time, starting from a very small
amount (no more than one mouthful) and watching the patient's reaction.
In a few months after safely introducing cheese many patients find that
their digestive system is in a good enough state to handle commercially
produced live natural yoghurt (with no additives), soured cream and
cr&me fresh. At the end of the second year on the diet, fresh cream can be
added to the list.
How to introduce dairy products - the summary
Stepi,  Only home-made ghee is allowed. This stage lasts on average six
months. If your GAPS patient can not tolerate ghee, you may find that
this patient will never tolerate any dairy product. However, it is worth
leaving it out for six months and then trying again to introduce it.
Step  2. Organic butter can be added gradually. Watch for any reactions.
Step  3. Home-made yoghurt can be introduced, starting from one tea
spoon a day and gradually increasing the daily amount. If there is any
negative reaction, wait for a month then try again. The majority of GAPS
patients are ready for this step at the end of the first year on the diet.
Step  4. Try a mouthful of organic cheddar cheese with a meal. Watch for
any negative reaction for three to five days, as the reaction may be
delayed. If there is no negative reaction, gradually increase the amount.
Once the cheddar cheese is well tolerated, try to introduce another
natural cheese (for a full list of allowed cheeses look at the end of the
chapter). Introduce this step only after home-made yoghurt is well
tolerated.
Step  5. Try some commercially available live natural yoghurt, soured
cream and creme fraiche. Do not rush with this step. The majority of
GAPS people are ready for this step by the end of two years on the diet. After two years on the diet a lot of GAPS people find that on an occasional
basis  they can have any natural dairy product without any apparent prob
lems, including milk, cream and cheeses off the allowed list. However, I
recommend limiting these products to only occasional use and staying
safe with those milk products which are allowed on the diet.
So, what is for dinner?
In the previous chapter we have talked in detail about the kind of carbohy
drates or sugars allowed on the diet: mono-sugars. They are found in fruit
and non-starch vegetables. All complex carbohydrates, those found in
grains and starchy vegetables have to be rigorously excluded from the diet.
I cannot over-emphasise how important it is to make sure that not even a
speck of anything made from sugar, grains or starchy vegetables sneaks
into the menu. This is the point when I usually see the panic on the parent's
faces, particularly parents who went through all the pain of implementing
the GFCF diet. No rice! No biscuits! No cakes! No pasta! No bread! Even
gluten free! No chips! No crisps! No popcorn! No ice-cream! No sweets! But
that is all my child would eat! My child is going to starve!
Indeed GAPS children and adults usually limit their diets to processed
carbohydrates, which they crave due to their abnormal gut flora. So, the
important thing is to find replacements for all those foods, which are com
patible with the diet The fact that the GAPS people can not have grains and
sugar does not mean that they have to be deprived of breads, cakes, bis
cuits, crackers, pancakes, waffles and muffins. This diet provides you with
excellent and very nourishing recipes, where you will replace wheat flour
with ground nuts or nut flour (the same thing) and instead of sugar you will
use unprocessed natural honey and dried fruit. In the recipe section you
will find a number of different delicious recipes. Elaine GottschalFs book
will provide you with many more wonderful recipes, and if you have access
to the Internet, you will find even more on: www.scdiet.org
www.breakingtheviciouscycle.com
www.geocities.com
www.pecanbread.com
www.uclbs.org
Far from starving, your child will be receiving a most nourishing diet.
Let's just have a look at what our GAPS person is going to eat. Recommended foods
For a full alphabetic list of recommended foods and foods to avoid please
look at the end of this chapter.
Meats and fish
All fresh or frozen meats, game,


no longer want to eat this type of stuff and know that it is not healthy or indeed ‘normal.’ Not
only that, they are unwilling to return to the very foods that caused their disease in the fi rst
place!
The next question is: what exactly is a cured patient? How do we know if the organs are fully
restored, and whether the immune system can function despite the input of toxic artificial food?
Will the defenses be lost or weakened again? How soon?
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 160Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comThere is more and more information showing that meat and all animal products (cheese and
all dairy produce, fish, poultry and eggs), are heat damaged, making proteins largely damaging
to the human body rather than providing it with healthy nutrition. (see T. Colin Campbell’s book,
“The China Study”).
Q: What lifestyle changes should a recovered patient introduce?
A: The patient must bear in mind that household chemicals (cleansers, bleaches, solvents,
polishes and paints) are toxic and must be avoided. Also, many—in fact most—cosmetics
applied to the skin enter the blood stream and are toxic and should be excluded. Especially
harmful are underarm gels, creams or sticks to block perspiration. Healthy perspiration is
odorless. The body attempt to detoxify through perspiration; blocking it forces the toxins back
into the lymphatic system. (see Chapter 5, pg. 41 )
Q: How long will I have to do the therapy? How long until the tumor is gone? How long until
the pain is gone? How long until I can exercise? How long until I can eat (whatever)?
A: Questions beginning with “How long …?” cannot be answered with any certainty. It all
depends on the questioner’s individual circumstances and condition. How large is the tumor,
how far has it spread? How old is the patient, and how much damage has he/she suf fered from
drugs or surgery, or inflicted on him/herself with junk food, smoking and other self-destructive
habits? How faithfully will the patient and family follow the therapy, day in day out for
whatever time is necessary?  Hence no precise answer in terms of weeks or months is possible.
But there is an overall answer that my son Howard learned in the US Navy. When faced with
the possibility of hanging on to the bridge of a submarine that temporarily submer ged due to a
high swell, he asked: “ How long  will I have to hold my breath?” The incredulous senior officer,
after pausing for a few seconds to assess this neophyte, simply said, “As long as it takes!” Can’ t
improve on that.
Q: Carrot juice is high in sugars.  From several sources we hear that carrot juice feeds
tumors.  Is that true?
A: All fruit and many vegetables contain complex carbohydrates, which are not actual sugars,
but form the basis of human nutrition. Contrary to the false claims of some practitioners, carrot
juice does NOT feed tumors.  If it did, the Gerson Therapy would kill every cancer patient!  The
truth is that carrot juice plays a very important part in healing.  Rather than harming patients,
it supplies them with plenty of beta carotene, which is converted in the body to Vitamin. A,
and with many other vitamins.  Moreover, as one of the most complete sources of minerals, it
contains most of the essential ones in an easily absorbed form.  Carrot juice is even high in plant
proteins and as a result represents an excellent provider of total nutrition and healing.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 161Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.com
Q: With all the enemas being used in the course of the two years on the therapy, will I
become dependent on enemas forever?
A: Certainly not! Please bear in mind that the purpose of the enemas is not to clear stools from
the intestines; indeed, they only reach part of the colon and don’ t interfere with evacuation.
This explains why some Gerson patients are able to pass normal stools between enemas. If
constipation was a problem before embarking on the therapy, once the liver and the intestines
are fully restored, the patient develops “regular” bowel movements. The enema routine need
not threaten the recovered “regularity,” and in most cases, when the therapy has come to an end,
normal evacuation takes over without a hitch. In exceptional cases, when this does not happen,
at worst the patient will have to take a half-strength enema daily as a morning routine. To quote
Dr. Gerson’s emphatic rule,
“Never let the sun set on a day when you haven’t moved your bowel!”
Q: Since this therapy bans animal products, where do I get my protein?
A: It is a mistake to believe that all protein is of animal origin. On the contrary. Most vegetables
contain very adequate amounts of protein that is easily absorbed, well digested and assimilated.
Thanks to these qualities it produces healing, rather than feeding tumor tissue, bringing on
arthritic conditions, damaging kidneys, and giving rise to other health problems caused by the
heavy consumption of animal protein. Carrot juice, a mainstay of the Gerson program, is high in
protein; so are potatoes, oatmeal, and most vegetables.
It is no accident that the strongest and largest land animals, i.e., elephants, bulls, orangutans,
bison and others are vegetarians and obtain their protein from grasses, plants, leaves, and fruit.
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 162Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comCHAPTER 23
Life After Gerson
By now it should be clear that recovering from a life-threatening disease on the Gerson Therapy
is a difficult journey: a long and hard process, demanding courage, patience and perseverance—
and certainly worth every ounce of effort. Besides defeating the potential killer, this way of
healing is also a great investment in a long and healthy future. We have many recovered patients
on record who enjoy excellent health and vitality well past the age that is generally assumed to
bring on all manner of illnesses and all-round physical and mental decline. Not many therapies
can claim to be lifesavers and powerful rejuvenators as well!
Coming off the therapy at the right time has to be handled with care. Just when is the right
time is a tricky question. To stop too soon, before all the essential organs are restored is a great
mistake, likely to lead to a recurrence. In Dr.Gerson’s time rebuilding the body’s defenses after
cancer took some 18 months. Today that is no longer enough. The world is infinitely more toxic
and people are more seriously damaged than they were half a century ago; as a result, cancer
patients need two full years to recover on the therapy. Even that may not be enough for those who
have been pre-treated with chemotherapy prior to starting the Gerson protocol—it is difficult to
set a time limit for them.  (see Chapter 18 )
Patients suffering from non-malignant diseases which respond well to the Gerson Therapy
(see Chapter 19 ) can be fully healed in a year or 18 months, on a less demanding protocol than
the one prescribed for cancer patients.
While coming off the treatment too soon is dangerous, staying on it for too long doesn’t
seem to do any harm. Stopping the therapy has to be a gradual process. Provided all is going
well, juices, enemas and medication are slowly and gradually reduced, as set out in the Annual
Schedule, pg. 132. By the end of two years, patients may manage on 8 juices and one enema a
day; or, if the bowel function is regular on its own, one or two enemas a week. If this reduced
program feels comfortable, with no headaches, no constipation and no new symptoms, juices may
be cut down to 5 or 6 a day, and enemas dropped altogether. But as a ‘health insurance’, it is wise
to drink a few freshly made organic juices every day—indefinitely.
Eating Wisely
Changing over from the strict dietary rules to a more permissive regime also needs care.
During the treatment the body has got used to the best possible nutrition—fresh, pure, tasty
Copyright © Charlotte Gerson, 2007.  All rights reserved.
This material may not be reproduced in any medium, print or electronic without prior written permission from the author.Page 163Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comorganic vegetarian food that is easily digested and provides all the necessary nutrients for health
and fitness. It would be a grave mistake to switch from such a wholesome diet to the so-called
normal variety, heavy with meat, poultry, cheese and chemical-rich convenience foods, and risk a
serious upset. Besides, in our experience, recovered patients with their “clean” systems don’t feel


 iodine has
really helped me out. I am thankful for how good I feel.”
IODINE DEFICIENCY AND PROSTATE CANCER
Although the research is not as complete as it is for breast cancer, I believe the cause of prostate cancer in men is similar to
the cause of breast cancer in women. Japanese men have much lower rates of prostate cancer than American men. Japanese men
that move to the United States have a higher rate of prostate cancer than mainland Japanese. This analogy is similar to the
increased incidence of breast cancer in Japanese women who move to the United States. I believe iodine deficiency is the link (or
at least one of the links) and is responsible for the increased risk of prostate cancer. Mainland Japanese men have a much lower
prostate cancer mortality rate than American men because of their higher iodine intake. When iodine levels fall, the rates of
prostate cancer will begin to increase. I believe future research needs to be directed in this area.
ANIMALS IN AN IODINE-DEFICIENT STATE WILL DEVELOP BREAST CANCER
Animal research has shown that in an iodine-deficient state, whether by diet or drug therapy, animal breast tissue will show
signs of developing breast cancer. The longer the animals are maintained in an iodine-deficient state, the more likely their breast
tissue will become cancerous.
46

47
 Researchers have concluded, “It thus appears that maintenance of the optimum structure and
function of the breasts requires the presence of continuous and specific amounts of iodine.”
48
 The use of estrogens causes
worsening changes in the breast tissue, with additional signs of cancer being present upon examination of tissue.
49
 In fact, iodine
deficiency is found to enhance the response of animal breast tissue to estrogen injections.
50
 The
epidemic of breast cancer we are
currently facing could be explained by the combination of iodine deficiency coupled with the increasing exposure to
xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are estrogen-like substances that can disrupt our own estrogen receptors. Examples of
xenoestrogens include environmental toxins such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates from plastics. We are exposed to
increasing amounts of synthetic hormones from estrogen-like hormones (i.e., xenoestrogens) fed to conventionally-raised animals.
These synthetic hormones make their way into our food products. With one in seven women suffering with breast cancer and one
in three men having prostate cancer, things may look bleak.
However, there is hope. Eating an organic diet free of food contaminated with synthetic hormones is a good start. The next
step is to reverse an iodine-deficient condition and maintain iodine sufficiency.
Iodine deficiency disorders can easily be corrected with the addition of iodine to the diet. The correction of iodine deficiency
in animals results in changing their breast tissue to assume a more normal architecture. I have observed similar results in many of
my patients.
Many other tissues in the body utilize iodine besides the thyroid gland and the breasts. The prostate gland, gastrointestinal
tract, salivary glands, bones, connective tissues,
and the fluids of almost the entire body utilize iodine. These different tissues of the
body all have developed iodine-trapping mechanisms to effectively extract iodine from dietary sources. The breasts have anefficient method of acquiring iodine from the diet.
51
 The thyroid gland’s need for iodine will ensure that it has the “first pick” of
iodine which, in a deficient state, may mean that other tissues of the body can show signs of severe deficiencies.
The iodization of salt was introduced solely to decrease the rate of goiter and mental retardation. It has decreased the
prevalence of goiter, but it has not been enough to affect the rate of breast disease. In fact, areas of the world with the lowest
iodine intakes have been found to have very high rates of breast cancer.
In the United States, the area known as the “goiter belt”, which borders the Great Lakes, not only has one of the highest
mortality rates from breast cancer, it also has extremely low iodine levels in the soil. This would point to a direct relationship
between iodine levels and development of and mortality from breast cancer.
When iodine is ingested or injected, there are two major areas of the body that take up iodine: the thyroid gland and the
extra-thyroidal tissue. Researchers have estimated that approximately 8mg of iodine is taken up by the extra-thyroidal tissue
(while 6mg is taken up by the thyroid).
52

53
 The breasts are
one of the largest consumers of extra-thyroidal iodine. Estimates are
that the breasts need approximately 5mg of iodine per day in a 50kg (110lb) woman.
54

55

56
 A larger woman (or a woman with
larger breasts) would have a greater amount of iodine concentrated in the breasts. Since men have smaller breasts than women,
their iodine needs are lower.
In a state of iodine deficiency, the body’s major storage of iodine occurs in the thyroid gland. When the body becomes iodine
sufficient, the thyroid gland will contain 50mg of iodine out of total body iodine of 1,500mg-2,000mg.
57

58
 At iodine sufficiency,
the largest amounts of iodine are found in fat tissue and muscle (striated) tissue. If obesity is present, the body’s need for iodine
increases as the fat cells of the body would require more iodine.
As previously mentioned, women’s breasts are major sites for iodine storage. Maintaining adequate iodine levels are
necessary to ensure an adequately functioning thyroid gland and normal breast architecture. I believe it will also lower the
incidence of breast cancer and help women overcome breast cancer.
It is well known that thyroid illnesses, including goiter and autoimmune thyroid disorders, strike women at much larger
percentages than they strike men. One reason may be that a woman, having more breast tissue than a man, requires a higher
iodine intake than a man. In an iodine-deficient state, a woman will show earlier signs and more severe signs of iodine deficiency
than a man in a similar deficient state.
OTHER TISSUE REQUIREMENTS FOR IODINE
All of the glands of the body depend on adequate iodine levels to function optimally. Animal studies have shown problems
with the adrenal glands
59
, the thymus gland
60
, the ovaries
61
, the hypothalamus and pituitary axis
62
, as well as the entire endocrine
system, when there is an iodine-deficient state. In fact, the ovaries have the second highest concentration of iodine in the body
next to the thyroid gland. An iodine-deficient state will lead to an imbalanced hormonal system. It is impossible to have a
balanced hormonal system without ensuring an adequate iodine intake.
Dr. Guy Abraham, one of the world’s leading researchers on iodine, has shown that the required daily intake of iodine
necessary for maintaining iodine sufficiency for the whole body is at least 13mg per day.
63
At sufficiency, the thyroid gland holds a total of approximately 50mg of iodine. The thyroid gland needs approximately
6mg/day of iodine for sufficiency. The breasts need at least 5mg of iodine; that leaves 2mg (13mg-11mg) of iodine for the rest of
the body. This 2mg is still well above–14x–the RDA of 150μg/day of iodine. Either way, this would explain
why the RDA for
iodine is inadequate. To achieve and maintain your optimal health, it is necessary to get your iodine levels evaluated and to
supplement with the correct amount and form of iodine.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The connection between iodine deficiency and breast cancer as well as fibrocystic breast disease is strong and recent
research is making this connection stronger. Breast cancer (like prostate cancer) is occurring at epidemic rates—currently one in
seven women are afflicted. Prostate cancer affects one in three men. Although there are numerous reasons for the development of
cancer, the research is clear; iodine deficiency is a major piece of the puzzle. Iodine deficiency has also been associated with
other cancers including ovarian, uterine, and thyroid cancer. Perhaps the reason we have made so little progress in our treatment
of nearly all of the hormone-sensitive cancers is that the underlying cause has been overlooked. This underlying cause could very
well be iodine deficiency. It is imperative to have your iodine level checked and supplemented with the correct form of iodine
when there is iodine deficiency identified. I feel iodine status should be investigated in all cancer patients. The best results with
iodine therapy occur when iodine supplementation is given as part of an anti-cancer program.
1
 Bretthauer, E. Milk transfer comparisons of different chemical forms of radioiodine. Health Physics. 1972.22:257
2
 Vitale, M. Iodide excess induces apoptosis in thyroid cells through a p53-independent mechanism involving oxidative stress.
Endocrin. 141. 2000.
3
 Smyth, P. Role of iodine in antioxidant defense in thyroid and breast disease. Biofactors. 19. 2003
4
 Tseng, Y.L. Iodothyronines: Oxidative deiodination by hemoglobin and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Lipds. 19. 1984
5
 Winkler, R. Effects of iodide on


chance	for	redemption	after	this	lifetime.	Reincarnation	is
more
	forgiving.
Mistakes	can	be	corrected;	whole	lifetimes	can	be	redeemed,	not	in	heaven
but	by	trying	on	a	new	body	and	repeating	the	same	events	that	produced
failure,	sin,	or	lack	of	fulfillment	the	first	time	around.
Without	reincarnation	we	might	have	the	mistaken	idea	that	the	universe
is	ruled	by	death.	Within	a	few	milliseconds	of	the	Big	Bang	96%	of	the
matter	and	energy	that	emerged	from	the	void	collapsed	back	into	it.	The
remaining	fraction	still	winks	in	and	out	of	existence,	but	so	rapidly	that
matter	looks	solid	and	permanent.	In	fact	everything	solid	is	transitory;	every
particle	in	existence	is	oscillating	in	and	out	of	the	void,	giving	the	illusion	of
solidity	because	our	senses	aren’t	quick	enough	to	catch	the	vibration.	The
new	particle	that	emerges	is	never	exactly	the	same	as	the	one	that	vanished,
which	is	how	nature	manages	time,	location,	electrical	charge,	spin,	and	other
basic	properties	that	require	stability	and	change	simultaneously.
The	same	is	true	for	you	and	me.	We	exist	as	a	fluid	product	of	change
and	stability.	Our	brains	look	the	same	from	moment	to	moment,	but	the
activity	of	neurons	is	never	exactly	the	same—a	brain	is	like	a	river	where
one	cannot	step	into	the	same	place	twice.	DNA	reincarnates	when	the	genes
of	one	parent	split	in	half	in	an	act	of	creative	suicide	to	join	with	the	genes	of
the	other	parent.	The	very	fact	that	DNA	can	replicate	itself	doesn’t	involve
the	death	of	the	mother	cell,	but	produces	new	genetic	material	that	leads	to
new	flesh,	and	the	root	word	of	incarnation	means	flesh,	from	the	Latin
carneus
.
Humans	have	ambiguous	feelings	about	the	fact	that	we	are	made	of	flesh.
It	befits	us	as	mammals	but	becomes	more	complicated	when	we	consider	the
dimension	of	spirit.	Seeing	how	the	flesh	ages	and	decays,	how	it	betrays	us
with	illness,	one	may	not	be	happy	to	get	a	new	body	after	death—for	some
of	us	one	body	may	have	been	enough.	Certainly	Christianity	takes	that
position,	its	rationale	being
that
	the	flesh	is	innately	corrupted	by	sin,	and
therefore	it	is	far	better	to	be	clothed	in	the	soul	after	death	than	to	go	through
recycling.
The	East	has	managed	to	live	comfortably	with	reincarnation	for	several
reasons.	If	the	universe	is	constantly	re-creating	itself,	we	would	be	the	only
aspect	that	isn’t	involved,	which	doesn’t	make	sense.	And	psychologically,	if
I	can	come	back	again	into	a	new	body,	I	may	be	able	to	fulfill	desires	and
ambitions	that	were	thwarted	in	this	lifetime,	which	is	consoling.	Even	more
consoling	is	the	possibility	of	meeting	loved	ones	I’ve	lost	(or	never	gained,	if
my	love	wasn’t	returned).	Reincarnation	offers	hope	for	social	advancement:
a	slave	in	this	lifetime	might	come	back	as	a	noble	in	the	next.	Finally,	the
cosmic	system	of	birth	and	rebirth	has	an	evolutionary	impulse	behind	it:step-by-step,	each	soul	rises	higher	in	the	soul’s	progress	to	God.
Perhaps	it	is	not	a	question	of	belief,	East	versus	West.	Reincarnation	may
be	a	question	of	choice.	Consciousness	is	useful.	We	shape	it	according	to	our
desires.	Rather	than	being	the	final	word,	the	denial	of	reincarnation	by
Christianity	could	be	simply	a	collective	choice.	Having	considered	all	the
relevant	factors,	a	large	sector	of	humanity	says,	“I	don’t	want	to	come	back
to	this	place,”	while	another	says,	“I	do.”	All	we	can	say	for	certain	is	that
Nature	depends	on	the	mechanism	of	rebirth.
Choosing	to	Come	Back
The	rishis	made	every	aspect	of	the	afterlife	a	choice.	What	you	choose
becomes	real,	what	you	don’t	choose	becomes	unreal.	But	this	sounds
baffling.	Does	reincarnation	take	place,	or	doesn’t	it?	Child	psychologists	are
aware	that	there’s	a	critical	period,	usually	between	infancy	and	eight	to	ten
years	old,	when	some	children	seem	to	remember	prior	lives.
In	a	recent,
highly	publicized	example,	a	boy	became	obsessed	with	fighter	planes	from
World	War	II.	He	wanted
to
	visit	airfields	to	see	them,	he	cut	out	pictures	of
them,	and	when	he	ran	across	a	book	about	the	fierce	air	battle	off	Iwo	Jima
in	the	waning	days	of	the	war	in	the	Pacific,	he	announced	to	his	parents	that
he	had	died	then.
Startled	as	his	parents	were	by	the	boy’s	absolute	conviction,	they
assumed	that	he	was	exercising	his	imagination,	until	their	son	crossed	a
shadowy	line	and	began	to	name	people	and	dates.	He	remembered	his	former
name	and	the	moment	when	a	Japanese	machine	gun	shot	his	plane	down.
The	parents	tracked	down	the	incident	and	discovered	that	indeed	an
American	pilot	by	that	name	had	been	shot	down	in	the	manner	described;
survivors	in	the	Air	Force	attested	to	the	details	recalled	by	their	son.
Such	recollections	are	more	common	in	India,	where	a	general	belief	in
reincarnation	removes	the	initial	shock	and	disbelief	that	might	lead	people	to
keep	such	stories	to	themselves.	One	reads	in	the	news	of	children	who
demand	to	be	taken	to	a	nearby	village,	which	they	recall	vividly	as	their	last
home.	Once	they	return,	it’s	not	unknown	for	the	child	to	be	reunited	with
relatives	or	even	former	parents.	Psychologists	inform	us	that	this	intense
interest	in	former	incarnations	is	temporary;	beyond	age	ten	the	old	memories
fade	and	lose	their	obsessive	quality.	It’s	as	if	some	souls	take	a	while	to	get
adjusted	to	their	new	place	in	time	and	space.
The	most	detailed	study	of	such	children	comes	from	the	psychiatrist	Ian
Stevenson	at	the	University	of	Virginia.	Working	from	more	than	220	case
studies	of	children	who	vividly	remember	past	lives—the	number	is
increasing	all	the	time—Stevenson	discovered	that	the	most	startling	are	those
who	carry	physical	characteristics	from	one	lifetime	to	another.	There	are	14examples	of	children	who	remember	being	shot	to	death	in	a	previous	life	and
whose	bodies	show	a	scar	as	if	a	bullet	had	entered	the	body,	with	an
opposing	exit	scar.	One	child	born	in	Turkey	had	vivid	recollections,	almost
from	the	moment	of	being	able	to	speak,	of	a	notorious	criminal	who	had
been
	cornered	by	the	police	and	committed	suicide	rather	than	be	captured.
The	criminal	had	shot	himself	under	the	chin,	and	this	child	had	a	round	red
scar	in	exactly	the	same	place.	Stevenson	was	curious	about	an	exit	scar,	and
when	he	parted	the	child’s	hair	he	found	a	round,	hairless	scar	on	the	scalp	at
the	top	of	the


ciou sness, you are relaxing away from the part of you that’s
complaining. There is definitely complaining going on in the mind, no
reason to deny that. But if you relax and lean away from where the noise is
coming from, you will be leaning back into the seat of Self.
Two things happen when you relax and release. One, you stop fighting
with the causes of your disturbe d mind, and that gives them room to release.
Two, you are actually relaxing back into the seat of Self, and you will grow
spiritually. If you will do that with the weather, if you will do that with the
car in front of you, if you will do that with all these low-hanging fruit
situations, you’l l grow every single day. The way to know that you are
working with low-hanging fruit is that the situation is resolved simply by
letting go inside. There is nothing else to do about it. You were the only
problem, and once you let go of creating the problem, the problem is solved.
If you accept the weather, there’ s nothing else to do about it. If you accept
the myri ad meaningless things you have decided to bother yourself about,
there’ s nothing else to do about them. That’ s how you identify the low-
hanging fruit.In contrast, if you let go of your reactions to a situation and there is still
something in front of you to deal with, then you have some work to do
outside. If you lose your job and work with letting go of your negative
reaction, that’s good, but you still need to go out and look for a new job.
Letting go does not absolve you of your responsibilities in life. You are not
letting go of life, you are letting  go of your personal reactions to life. Your
personal reactio ns do not help you deal with situations in a constructive
manner—they actually cloud your ability to make good decisions.
When all is said and done, you’re going to find the majority of your
inner disturbance falls into the category of low-hanging fruit. The only
reason there’ s a problem is because you defined it that way. You are the
problem, and that can’ t be solved outside. It can only be solved inside.Chapter 32.
The Past
You’re driving down the street and a billboard reminds you of something
that troubled you in the past. Perhaps it was an event that happened eight
years ago. What is the benefit of getting disturbed by that? You just ruined
your day for no good reason. Just because something bothered  you in the
past doesn’ t mean it should still be bothering you. After all, it’s no longer
happening. You think that since you don’t want to go through it again, you
need to remember how bad it was. That’ s like saying you need a doggy bag
for the food that made you sick so you can take it home, taste it each
morning, and remember how sick it made you. You would never do that
with bad food, so why do you do it with bad experiences?
We are now ready to pay attenti on to another area that is very ripe for
spiritual growth, your past. You probably won’ t agree at first, but it also
falls under one-hundred-percent cost and zero benefit. Of what possible
benefit could it be to still be bothered by something that happened before
that isn’t happen ing now? It’s already over. There is zero benefit to being
bothered by something that is not even happening. On the other hand, there
is certai nly an amazing cost: your entire mental, emotional, and even
physical health.
Instead, if you let experiences pass completely through you when they
are actually happening, they will touch you to the core of your being and
become part of you without leaving any scars. You will simply be able to
learn from the experience and grow. Once you fully digest an experience,
you will natural ly know how to deal with it should it happen again. If you
touched a hot stove when you were a child, you don’t have to keep the
painful experience in the forefront of your mind. You don’t need to always
remind yourself that stoves are hot and can hurt you. If you do that, you willhave made a samskara out of the experience instead of simply learning from
it. Don’ t worry, you will know darn well not to touch a hot stove again.
Similarly, once you have learne d a sport or a musical instrument, you
don’t have to keep thinking about how to play—it becomes second nature.
That means it has integrated into your whole being. It becomes totally
natural, and you never need to think about it again as you do it. That is how
all your past learning experiences should be, effortlessly there when you
actually need them, never bothering you when you don’t. If you process
your experiences properly, they will always be there to serve you, never to
haunt you.
Perhaps this exercise will help you understand what it means to fully
process somethi ng instead of having to pass it through your thinking mind.
Just for a moment, glance at the scene in front of you. How hard was it for
you to see it? Obviously, it took no effort at all; you just instantly saw it.
What if the finest artist in the world called you on the phone  wanting to
paint what you saw, right then. How long would it take you to describe
everything to them? We’re talking about every color shade, reflection of
light, grain variation in the wood, every single detail. That would be a very
long phone call. Yet you saw it all in a billionth of a second. That is the
difference betw een consciousn ess just seeing versus the mind trying to
process what is seen.
This difference holds true for all life’s experiences. When you have an
experience, it can simply come in and touch consciousness directly. It
doesn’ t need the mind to judge it as desirable or undesirable and then store
it accordingly. Just as you were able to see the scene in front of you in full
detail without “thinking” about it, so you can integrate the fullness of your
experiences into your being without having to block them in your mind.
There’s nothing richer than a fully processed experience integrated into
your whole being.
How many incid ences from your past would you like to truly be done
with rather than having to deal with them mentally and emotionally, long
after they are ancient history? In fact, to achieve deep spirituality, your
unfinished past cannot be inside of you. It must be gone—not suppressed,
but gone. You will see over time that when those blocked patter ns are gone,
all that is left is the flow of spirit. What is left is the most beautiful thing
that could ever exist.How do you let go of the past? It’s very straightforward. The past
blockages will come up on their own on a daily basis, and when they do—
let them go. There is no game here. It’s quite simple. Outside events cause
stored patterns to come up. Good, let them come up. Things are going to
happen in your life that hit your samskaras. If samskaras are in there, they
are going to get hit. The world is perfect for each person’ s growth, but not
for the reason you think. The world is a perfect fit for everyone’ s growth
because everyon e is looking at the world through their own blockages. It’s
the same as with the Rorschach inkblot test. It’s not that the inkblot is
perfectly tailored to bring up your issues. It’s that you are looking at the
inkblot through the veil of your issues and projecting your issues onto it.
That’ s why the same inkblot works fine for diagnosing all patients, just as
the same  world works perfectly  for everyone’ s growth. If you want to see
what is really out there, you need to get rid of your inner issues.
Our scientists tell us there’ s really nothing out there—just a bunch of
atoms made up of electrons, neutrons, and protons. Our quantum physicists
go even further. They tell us that there’ s really just a quantum field of pure
energy that has both wave and particle characteristics. The subatomic
particles emanating from this energy field (quarks, leptons, and bosons) are
what make up our entire universe. Though you couldn’ t care less about
these particles, the structures they create come in through your senses, hit
your stored blockages, and it gets uncomfortable in there. You are doing
this; the subatomic particles can’t be doing this. To free yourself, the
moment you notice disturban ce, let go. Don’ t wait until that initial
disturbance takes over your mind. You are perfectly aware that you’re
beginning to get upset before you actually get upset. You feel it. You feel
when something starts to bother you. If you want to grow spiritually, that’s
the moment when you do the work.
This is the essence of spiritual growth. If you work on yourself,  you’re
going to create a beautiful place  inside to live. This is more important than
your marriage or your family. It’s more important than your job or your
career. You’re working on yourself directly instead of indirectly. If you
create a beautifu l inner environment, you can have a wonderful  marriage, a
wonderful family


 other people. These parts
were se t up so that life can be  managed one piece at a time. You go
to colle ge for your mind, to the gym for your body, on a  date to
establish a relationship, to work to bring home money.
From a metahuman standpoint, any  d ivisio n of life into bits
and pieces only supports the illusion. Wholeness is wholeness, not
a co llection of parts. To put it another way, life happens all at
once, h ere and  now. The rea son we cling to virtual realit y is that
the prospect of “all at once, here and now” is too overwhelming.After ponderin g how to bring this truth home in a way that’s
practical and relatable, I co ncluded that the direct path should
start with the b ody, not the m ind. My reasoning is that the body is
what holds most people back. They experience themselves encased
in a  body. The y accept the reality of birth, sickness, ag ing, and
death. They seek physical pleasure and shrink from physical pain.
As l ong as thes e are the prec onditions of your daily life, y ou can’t
be meta human. Your body won’t accept it. A liver, heart, or skin
cell can’t scream, “Are you crazy?” But it does seem crazy to
abandon the body as a physic al object—this act of craziness makes
your bo dy the perfect place to  start. If you can get past the  body as
a package of flesh and bone, transforming it into a m ode of
consciousness, everything else naturally falls into place.
T h e  A n a t o m y  o f  A w a r e n e s s
If we have trap ped ourselves  inside an illusion, the body must
be part and pa rcel of that—and it is. Your body is your story in
physical form.  As your story  grew over the years, the things you
thought, said, and did requ ired a huge array of brain activity.
Learning to walk was a trium ph of balance, eyesight, and motor
coordination, but once you  as a little child put together this
complex puzzle, your brain remembered everything you learned
and sto red it for life, so you c an move on to something new. Your
brain has stored a host of skills, from speaking and wr iting to
riding a bike, doing arithmetic, and dancing the waltz. These
mental attainments are embodied in you physically.
But as soon a s this is point ed out, we risk falling back  into
dividing “mental” from “physical,” which sends us straight back
into the illusion. As babies learn to walk, they are under no such
illusion. As they totter, fall, get up again, and keep on try ing, the
experience fits the holistic description given above: the whole
thing h appens all at once, here and now. The same is true of any
skill yo u can name—learning it wasn’t mental and/or physical. It
was happening in only one dimension: awareness.There are so many ways t hat we put mind and body in
opposition tha t going into all of them would be impossi ble. The
direct path doesn’t even req uire the small amount of discussion
we’ve just passed through. Instead, it experiences the body in
awareness. O nce you do  that, the division between mental and
physical return s to the authen ticity of a baby learning to walk. You
return to the self as the ag ent of the whole experience, fusing
thought and action. In this case, any action is returned to
wholeness, which is where it occurs.
To begin, just b e open to the idea that your body isn’t a physical
object in which you reside. Such a viewpoint is just a habit of
thinking, even though a stubb orn one. I will guide you through an
exercise that will give you the direct experience of living, not in a
physical body, but in awaren ess. (This exercise and the o nes that
follow are much easier to do if someone reads them aloud to you.
If yo u c an find a partner who will join you, switching the  roles of
reader and participant, all the better.)
E x e r c i s e :  T h e  B o d y  i n  A w a r e n e s s
This first exercise involves the following steps:
STEP 1:  Being aware of your body.
STEP 2:  Being aware of some bodily processes.
STEP 3:  Being aware of the body as inner space.
STEP 4:  Expanding inner space beyond the skin.
STEP 5:  Resting in wholeness.
Each step is a  natural progression from the one before, and
each st ep is a simple, dir ect experience. You don’t have to
memorize the instructions, just go through the exercise as an
experience.STEP 1: BEING A WARE OF YOUR BODY.
Sit quie tly with your eyes clo sed. Let bodily sensations be your
focus of  attenti on, so that you  can feel your body. There’s no need
to tr y to stop your thoughts; they are irrelevant. It doesn’ t matter
what sensations you happen to feel. Just be with your body.
STEP 2: BEING A WARE OF SOME BODIL Y
PROCESSES.
Be aware of yo ur breath as it goes in and out. Slow your breath
down a bit, the n make it go a bit faster. Move your attentio n to the
center of your chest and be aware of your heartbeat. Ta ke some
easy, de ep breaths and sense your heartbeat slowing down as you
relax. See if yo u can feel your pulse elsewhere—many people can
feel it in their fingertips or forehead or inside their ears, for
example.
STEP 3: BEING A WARE OF THE BODY AS INNER
SPACE.
Now m ove you r attention to the inside of your body. Feel your
head as  empty space, and start going down your body to th e chest,
stomach, abdo men, legs, and feet, pausing at each place to
experience your internal organs as a space in which your
awareness freely moves. If you want, you can also experience your
breath as the e xpansion and relaxation of the space in you r chest,
your heartbeat as a constant pulsation in the space of the chest.
STEP 4: EXP ANDING INNER SP ACE BEYOND THE
SKIN.
Once you have felt the inside of your body as empty space in
which b odily processes are taking place, run your attention across
your skin. Roam over the sensations in your head, feeling the
outlines of face, scalp, and ears. Move downward, letting yourawareness go to every other place—throat, arms, hands, feet—as
sensations reach you.
Now lif t your awareness slightly above your skin and gently let
it expand beyond the contou rs of your body. Some people  can do
this easily, but others need t o conjure up an image—you can see
your inner space suffused with light and watch the light expand
until it fills the room. Or you can visualize inner space around
your heart as a sphere, a round balloon that expands a bit more
every time you inhale, watch ing it get bigger and bigger  until it
takes up the entire room.
STEP 5: RESTING IN WHOLENESS.
Once you have gone through the previous steps, rest quietly for
a minute or two. Let the experience of the body be here now.
What this exercise has done is multifold. You have freed
yourself from being trapped inside a thing, substituting the
experience of your body as p rocesses and sensations. Since your
experience was  conscious, these processes and sensations  moved
to w here they a ctually occur, in your awareness. Then you opened
yourself to experience your b ody as inner space—in Sanskrit this
space is  called Chit Akash, o r mind spac e. Since everything in life
happens in mind space, you e xpanded the space until there was no
boundary between “in here” and “out there.”
You may be surprised that you’ve accomplished all these things,
and sin ce the experience was likely to be unusual, you will easily
pop back into the habit of feeling that your body is a physical
object you reside in, like a mo use hiding in the walls of a house or
a ra bbit in its burrow. Yet, at the very least, you now can see that
there is  an alternative to the old habit. To free yourself fr om your
body, the old habit won’t serve you.
To break down the old hab it—a process I call “thawing,” as
discussed befo re—take time once or twice a day to rep eat this
exercise. Once you become  used to it, the whole thing runs
naturally and smoothly. We’re all practical-minded, so what good
is the exercise in daily life?You can do it when you feel stressed.
You can  do it to relieve tightness in your body or other
unpleasant and painful sensations.
It also works to help relieve worried, anxious thoughts.
You can center yourself with this exercise whenever you
feel distracted and scattered.
Various practices in yoga and


	poison	that	fundamentally	damages	cell
function,	thereby	causing	disease	and	death.	Mortality	rates	are	higher	in
fluoridated	communities.	A	1978	study	in	the
New	England	Journal	of	Medicine
found	that:	“This	pattern	of	a	higher	crude	death	rate	in	the	cities	with
fluoridated	water	supplies	was	apparent	for	all	categories	of	death	except	for
those	by	accidental	means	and	suicide.”	According	to	Dr.	William	Marcus,	a
senior	scientist	at	the	EPA,	fluoride	is	the	only	substance	known	to	cause	bone
cancer,	and	bone	cancer	rates	are	80	to	600	percent	higher	in	communities	with
fluoridated	water.	Similarly,	new	research	connects	fluoride	intake	to
Alzheimer’s	disease	by	implicating	a	reaction	that	happens	between	aluminum
and	low-dose	fluoride.	Most	home	water	filters	do	not	remove	this	toxin.	You
need	to	use	reverse	osmosis	or	buy	bottled	water	that	does	not	contain	fluoride.
Another	toxin	in	our	drinking	water	is	arsenic.	Arsenic,	a	contaminant	in	the
chemicals	used	to	fluoridate	water,	is	known	to	cause	cancer	and	to	damage	the
digestive,	cardiovascular,	neurological,	reproductive	and	immune	systems.
Aluminum	salt	(alum)	is	added	to	water	to	“purify”	it	by	helping	to	settle	and
remove	particulate	and	organic	matter.	A	study	in	the
Journal	of	Epidemiology
found	that	the	risk	of	developing	Alzheimer’s	is	increased	in	individuals	who
drink	water	with	high	aluminum	concentrations.
Foods	That	Tamper	with	Destiny
No	discussion	of	food	toxins	would	be	complete	without	mention	of	the
potential	for	poisoning	the	entire	population	with	genetically	modified	foods.
Genetic	engineering	is	the	process	of	disrupting	the	genetic	blueprints	of	living
organisms	by	inserting	genetic	information	from	other	organisms	to	obtain	some
“desirable	characteristic,”	such	as	resistance	to	herbicides	or	insects.	These	foods
are	novel	and	totally	unnatural,	and	we	have	no	idea	what	the	future	health
consequences	may	be,	yet	avoiding	genetically	modified	foods	is	difficult.Insertion	of	genes	into	genetic	material	is	not	a	precise	process.	It	is	all	too
easy	to	obtain	unintended	results	that	lower	nutritional	content,	create	harmful
allergens	or	lead	to	the	creation	of	unique	toxins.	The	effects	of	these	toxins	may
not	become	known	for	years,	while	irreparable	harm	is	being	done.	The	best	way
to	avoid	these	foods	is	to	eat	organically	produced	foods.	(More	on	this	subject
in	chapter	9,	on	the	genetic	pathway.)
Beware	of	the	Air	in	Your	Home
We	have	already	discussed	how	toxic	your	food	pantry	and	cupboards	may	be,
but	your	home—while	it	may	be	your	castle—may	be	more	like	a	toxic	waste
dump.	In	fact,	our	greatest	exposure	to	volatile	organic	compounds	occurs	in	the
home.	Toxicity	from	indoor	air	pollution	affects	most	Americans’	health	to	some
degree	and	produces	a	wide	variety	of	symptoms,	including	anxiety,	depression,
fatigue,	headaches,	poor	concentration	and	mental	acuity,	and	bodily	aches	and
pains.	When	people	complain	of	these	symptoms	to	their	doctor,	however,
indoor	pollutants	are	almost	never	suggested	as	a	probable	(or	even	possible)
cause.
Learn	to	recognize	toxins	in	your	home.
Seemingly	benign	items	can	produce
dangerous	toxins	that	pollute	your	indoor	air,
such	as	the	off-gasses	of
mattresses,	pillows,	televisions,	clothes,	furniture,	carpets	and	tap	water.	Toxins
from	these	sources	expose	us	to	even	higher	concentrations	than	outdoor	air
pollution.	In	fact,	the	level	of	indoor	pollutants	in	your	home	may	be	hundreds	of
times	greater	than	outside	air.	Because	most	Americans	spend	about	90	percent
of	their	time	indoors,	this	toxic	load	can	substantially	contribute	to	toxic
overload,	resulting	in	disease.
As	mentioned	earlier,	I	used	to	suffer	from	an	extreme	case	of	multiple
chemical	sensitivities,	and	I	was	easily	incapacitated	by	exposure	to	even	minute
quantities	of	toxins	in	my	own	home.	I	was	able	to	restore	my	health	only	after
years	of	minimizing	toxins	and	improving	my	nutrition.	One	of	the	most
profound	things	I	learned	from	my	illness	is	that	all	of	us	are	chemically
sensitive	in	varying	degrees.	This	experience	led	me	to	research	how	the	fumes
from	cleansing	agents,	air	fresheners,	fragrances	and	body	care	products	injure
our	delicate	detoxification	mechanisms	and	use	up	the	body’s	nutrient	reserves
that	are	required	to	operate	these	systems	and	prevent	toxic	damage.
There	are	multiple	sources	of	indoor	pollutants:	new	carpets,	new	paint,
household	cleansers,	furniture,	mattresses,	copy	machines,	printers,	electronic
equipment,	dry	cleaning,	newspapers	and	magazines.	Anything	you	can	smellthat	is	not	a	natural	smell	is	probably	toxic.	The	longer	you	breathe	it,	and	the
more	concentrated	it	is,	the	more	damage	it	inflicts.	Indoor	air	is	a	health	risk
because	of	the	combined	effects	of	multiple	toxic	sources	concentrated	in	a
confined	space.
Few	people	know	better	the	incredible	amount	of	damage	that	can	be	done	by
indoor	air	pollution	than	Sally,	a	young	newlywed.	Sally	was	truly	“brought”	to
my	office.	Her	husband	had	to	carry	her	from	their	car.	She	did	not	have	enough
energy	to	walk	or	even	to	hold	her	head	up	straight	while	seated.	Sally	was
suffering	from	acute	chronic	fatigue,	a	condition	that	physicians	are	not	trained
to	recognize	or	understand.	She	and	her	husband	had	already	spent	many
thousands	of	dollars	on	consultations	with	physicians	and	diagnostic	tests.
Unable	to	find	anything	“physically	wrong,”	Sally’s	doctors	referred	her	to	a
psychiatrist.
Of	course,	Sally	was	not	crazy,	but	she	was	very	sick.	Her	cells	were
malfunctioning	so	badly	that	she	had	become	totally	disabled.	The	couple’s
responses	to	my	questions,	in	addition	to	my	own	experience	with	chemical
sensitivity,	allowed	me	to	understand	what	was	wrong.	First	(like	most	of	us),
Sally	had	frequently	been	given	antibiotics	throughout	her	life.	(Antibiotics
cause	fundamental	and	damaging	changes	to	human	physiology.)	This	intake
resulted	in	a	heightened	susceptibility	to	environmental	toxins.	I	asked	many
questions	about	Sally’s	medical	history,	diet,	lifestyle	and	environment	before
focusing	on	the	toxin	pathway	as	the	most	important	factor.
Sally	was	a	writer,	and	her	husband	had	converted	their	oversize	laundry	room
into	an	office	for	her.	Also	in	that	room	was	a	gas-fired	water	heater.	Natural	gas
appliances	release	toxic	gases,	including	nitrogen	dioxide,	c


2)
He concludes: "Many if not most of the congenital malformations met with in this study resulted
from defects in the germ plasm, which were present before fertilization."
   Among the important questions that arise is the relative responsibility of the two parents. As an
approach to this phase Murphy (2) has made a study which deals with a consecutive series of 884
families in each of which there appeared at least one congenitally malformed child. In forty of these
families, there were two or more malformed brothers and sisters. He presents extensive data in
tabular form from which he takes examples to illustrate his interpretation. He states under the
"Clinical Value of Study" the following:
    It is evident from the above data (tables) that there is a strong tendency for congenital
malformations to duplicate in siblings that belong to a consecutive series of families. And also
that such defects tend to appear rather frequently among their more distant relatives. This
duplication of malformations is to be observed in the case of the more serious types of defects,
just as it is noticed in the less serious ones. These findings lend support to the theory that
congenital malformations are primarily the result of influences which affect the germ cells prior
to, rather than after, fertilization. The validity of this theory is emphasized by three examples
taken from Tables I and II. Family 17 in Table I contained 3 children with pyloric stenosis, two of
which were twins. Family 6 in Table II possessed 2 siblings with cleft palate, conceived by the
same father, but born to different mothers. Family 8 in Table II contained 2 children both
exhibiting an absence of the right half of the diaphragm. It does not seem likely that such
sequences of events as these could be the result of any forces that did not operate until after
fertilization had taken place....
    Since, as has been shown in a previous report, congenital malformations are 24 times more
common in siblings of defective children than in the population at large, the present
observations should be of added clinical interest.
Summary and Conclusions
1. A consecutive series of 40 families having 2 or more congenitally malformed children has
been studied with respect to the duplication of defects in siblings.
2. The defect observed in the first malformed child reappeared in a subsequent malformed
sibling in about 50 per cent of all cases; the 50 per cent remaining including all other
possible defects.
3. In a second group of 39 consecutive families, in which a malformed child possessed a
malformed relative, the malformation in the child and in the relative were identical in
about 41 per cent of cases.
4. In 19 non-consecutive families with 2 or more malformed children, the defect of the first
child repeated in a subsequent child in over half of the families.
    It is significant that while these important factors are just coming to light in our modernized
civilization, the evidence clearly indicates that several so-called primitive races have been
conscious of the need for safeguarding motherhood from reproductive overloads which would
reduce the capacity for efficient reproduction. For example, G. T. Baden (3) in his book "Among
the Ibos of Nigeria" states:
    It is not only a matter of disgrace but an actual abomination, for an Ibo woman to bear
children at shorter intervals than about three years.... The idea of a fixed minimum period
between births is based on several sound principles. The belief prevails strongly that it is
necessary for this interval to elapse in order to ensure the mother being able to recuperate her
strength completely, and thus be in a thoroughly fit condition to bear another child. Should a
second child be born within the prescribed period the theory is held that it must inevitably be
weak and sickly, and its chances jeopardized.
    Similarly, the Indians of Peru, Ecuador and Columbia have been familiar with the necessity of
preventing pregnancy overloads of the mother. Whiffen (4) in his book "North-West Amazons"
states:
    The numbers (of pregnant women) are remarkable in view of the fact that husbands abstain
from any intercourse with their wives, not only during pregnancy but also throughout the
period of lactation--far more prolonged with them than with Europeans. The result is that two7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 195/250and a half years between each child is the minimum difference of age, and in the majority of
cases it is even greater.
    It may also be important to note that the Amazon Indians have been conscious of the fact that
these matters are related to the nutrition of both parents. Whiffen states that:
    These Indians share the belief of many peoples of the lower cultures that the food eaten by
the parents--to some degree of both parents--will have a definite influence upon the birth,
appearance, or character of the child.
    This problem of the consciousness among primitives of the need for spacing children has been
emphasized by George Brown (5) in his studies among Melanesians and Polynesians in which he
reports relative to the natives on one of the Solomon Islands as follows:
   After the birth of a child the husband was not supposed to cohabit with his wife until the child
could walk. If a child was weak or sickly, the people would say, speaking of the parents, "Ah,
well, they have only themselves to blame."
   These new data have a very important bearing on the problems of degeneration in our modern
civilization. Since it is true that a racial pattern can be changed in a single generation our modern
concept and teaching with regard to the role of heredity must be modified, in its relationship to
cause and effect. A deformity arising from intercepted heredity is just as truly biologic as a
deformity arising from accumulated impacts as expressed in heredity. Instead of blaming the past
generations for the distortions or frailties of our modern generation and thus relieving our own
generation of responsibility these new data indicate that the social organization that is creating these
divergencies from normal must alone accept the responsibility.
    This completely changes some aspects of the theories and practice of modern social education.
Instead of planning the care and management of distorted personality as though the lesion were the
result of environmental influences upon a normally organized individual, it should be looked upon
as a distortion affecting one link in the chain of heredity which is neither the result of the distortions
of previous links nor a controlling factor for future links in the chain. The prognosis, in other words,
while being bad for the individual is not necessarily bad for his or her descendants.
    While many of the individuals who have suffered physical distortions have apparently practically
normal brain development we shall see in the following chapter that a certain percentage have so
great a disturbance in brain organization that they cannot and should not be considered as
individually responsible for their behavior.
    It is urgent therefore that the data presented in this chapter be looked upon as an important key
to the progressive degeneration that is taking place in many parts of the world under the influence
of our so-called modern civilization. It is a matter of profound significance that the most primitive
races were originally able to avoid the physical degeneration so general in many communities
today. It is also a matter of importance that the primitives recognized not only these dangers but
were conscious of and practiced adequate means for preventing them. They had sufficient
character to achieve the ends which they deemed essential. Weakness in character may constitute
the greatest barrier in the reorganization and conservation of our modern civilization.
    Two serious defects from which many individuals in our modernized civilization suffer are
impacted teeth and the absence of teeth due to their failure to develop. It is significant that in the
arches of the primitive races practically all teeth form and erupt normally, including the third molars.
In the modernized primitives and among our modern whites with deformed dental arches many
teeth are impacted and often several of the permanent teeth have never formed. The evidence
indicates that this, like the facial and dental arch deformities is due to an absence of vitamin A in
the diet of the mother during the gestation period or of one or both of the parents prior to
conception. The cause is discussed in the next chapter.
REFERENCES
1. MURPHY, D. P. Reproductive efficiency and malformed children. Surg. Gynec. and7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 196/250Obst., 62:585, 1936.
2. MURPHY, D. P. The duplication of congenital malformations in brothers and sisters and
among other relatives. Surg. Gynec. and Obst., 63:443, 1936.
3. BADEN, G. T. Among the Ibos of Nigeria. Phila., Lippincott, 1921.
4. WIFFEN, T. North-West Amazons. N. Y., Duffield, 1915.
5. BROWN, G. Melanesians and Polynesians. London, Macmillan, 1910.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 18
PRENATAL NUTRITIONAL DEFORMITIES AND
DISEASE TYPES
A RELATIONSHIP between physical types and certain disease susceptibilities has been
recognized by diagnosticians for centuries. The skill of many physicians in reading intuitively and
from external signs the nature of their


 They are so
universal that seemingly unrelated things, such as a Sanskrit word and a bay
leaf, can be considered kindred, if you know how to look deep enough.
Because there is likeness everywhere in nature, an Ayurvedic doctor looks
upon herbs, primordial sounds, gemstones, colors, aromas, and foods as
equally fit to act as medicine. As used in Ayurveda, herbs do not have the
same effect on the body that Western medicines do. Our drugs kill pain,
relax muscles, replace deficien t insulin or thyroid hormone, and so on;
rasayanas introduce a subtle signal into the physiology— they “talk” to the
doshas and directly influence the flow of inner intelligence.
Rasayanas are closely associate d with Indian food and therefor e are sold
in the United States as herbal food supplements, not medicine.  Some sweet
fruits, such as Indian gooseberry (called amla or amalaki ), are considered
extremely good rasayanas. (In fact, this particular fruit forms the basis of
most of the health tonics that have been taken since ancestral times in India
as ginse ng is taken in China.) To anyone interested in medicinal herbs, the
lore of rasayana  is fascinating, but also extremely complex. Dozens of plants
are said to be capable of rejuvenating the body. Among those that have
common names in Western herbalism:
Gotu kola and garlic are specifics for Vata
Aloe vera and saf fron are specifics for Pitta
Elecampane and honey are specifics for Kapha (although not an herb,
honey is considered the shukra, or purest essence, of the plant world).
But this list does not include the most powerful rasayanas, which only
have Indian names, among them amla, guggul, shatavari, and ashwaghanda.
What makes rasayanas comple x is not just their reliance on fruits and
herbs. To extract the desired effect from an ingredient, one must know when
to pick it, how long to cook it and by what method, and in what proportion toblend it with other herbs. The recipe for a single rasayana may call for fifty
ingredients, each of which must be carefully blended.
HERBAL  REJUVENA TIVES
After several years of investigation and trial, we feel that rasayana is a
valuable field. It has yielded a few authentic formulas that have been re-
created from the ancient recipe s. Although rasayanas have been used for
thousands of years by Ayurvedic physicians to enhance energy and
immunity, we are only beginn ing to scientifically research the purported
health benefits of these herbal compounds. Regulations governing herbs in
this coun try permit the distribution of rasayanas as an adjunct to diet only; as
such we recomm end them for general use. No health claims are made for
them nor are they to be used as medicine. (If you have been diagnosed with a
specific illness, please do not take these or any other herbs without first
consulting a physician trained in Ayurveda.)
Among the best known rasayanas is Chavanprash, based upon the fruit
Indian gooseberry. This fruit, which is one of the highest natural sources of
vitamin C, is known as Amla or Dhatri in Sansk rit, whic h means having the
healing qualitie s of a nurse or mother. It has been classically used as a
rejuvenative for the blood, heart, lungs, and reproductive tissues. We have
formulated a modern version of Chavanprash known as Biochavan.
Another important classical Ayurvedic rasayana is Brahmi  Rasayana,
based upon the herb gotu kola. It is traditionally used as a revitalizer for the
brain and nervo us system. It is said to both calm restlessness and enhance
awareness.
Intrigued by the vast classical Ayurvedic literature on rasayanas,
researchers have undertaken studies in this country and Europe to determine
what pharmacological actions these preparations have. The ingredients in
these rasayanas seem to have potent antioxidant effects and may also inhibit
the blood clotting cascade that is associated with the release of stress
hormones.Although it is clearly too early to extrapolate these studies on animals to
humans, it is encouraging that these ancient natural herbal compounds are
now receiving serious scientific  attention. Ongoing research should help to
clarify the role that these form ulas can play in maintaining health and
reversing disease.
The explanations offered for the potential benefits suggested by
preliminary studies point to the possible role of free radical chemicals in a
wide range of diseases. Free radicals are undesirable peroxides that have
long been implic ated in hastening the aging process; one of the main reasons
for the popula rity of vitamins E, C, and beta-carotene as anti-aging
supplements is their ability to attach to free radicals and scavenge them
before they can do harm to living tissues. Hopefully further understanding
the mechanism and action of rasayanas will help substantiate  the ancient
claims of the benefits of these natural tonics to enhance vitality throughout
one’s life span.
At the Chopra Center for Well Being in La Jolla, California, we have been
using rasayana preparations to enhance energy and vitality in our patients.
We have separate formulations for men and women and are encouraged by
the subjective reports of our patients. Further information on how to access
these formulations is provided in Appendix A.
QUIZ: HOW  WELL  AM I AGING?
There is no separate “life extension” program in Ayurveda, for the simple
reason that all of its approaches—diet, exercise, daily and seasonal routines,
meditation, and the various healing techniques—are meant to enhance
longevity. Considering the superior health of our patients today, we have
every hope that a breakthrough in aging has been made. The classic
Ayurvedic texts define one hundred years as a normal life span without
infirmity or disease. We are aiming for at least that.
Can you prove to yourself that you are getting younger by following this
program? Simple as it sounds, feeling happy and healthy is one good
yardstick; being young at heart is recognized as a marker of long life. On amore objective basis, researcher s at Duke University have compiled a short
list of health factors correlated with longevity. Statistically speaking, people
who rate well on each of these points have the best chance of living longer
than average.
The following quiz is based on the Duke inventory. The most precise way
to use it is in conjunction with a complete physical examination, but an
informal person al rating will still tell you a lot. Being as honest and
objective as you can, answer every question, giving yourself:
10 points for Excellent
5 points for Average
0 points for Below Average

Having arrived at a final score, follow Ayurveda for six months, then rate
yourself again. The chances are very good that you will notice a surprisingly
large improvement, and it is likely to occur well before the six months are
up.
The following factors are listed in order of relative importance:To rate yourself: A perfec t score (90 points) indicates that you are very
likely to live longer, perhaps much longer, than the national average (roughly
age 78 for women and 72 for men). An above-average score (between 65 and
90) sugg ests that your life expectancy will be at least three years higher than
the natio nal norm, more if you are already past middle age. An average score
(45–65) indicates an average life expectancy. A below-average score (below
40) indicates that you need to pay more attention to your health. It is not a
cause for panic, because following the programs of Ayurveda should lead to
noticeable improvements very quickly.
To gain a more  accurate idea of where you stand, you can refine your
score by considering a few other factors:
Age: High scores mean more as you get older. If you are over 50, a score
in the 75–90 range indicates an enhanced likelihood of long life; the same
score would not be as significant if you are only 30.Lifestyle habits: All thing s being equal, regular habits are correlated with
long life; these include eating three meals a day, getting eight hours of sleep
each night, going to bed on time, and so on. Also, being married is indicative
of a longer life expectancy than being single. Alcohol consumption should
be minimal or none; alcoholism is known to reduce life expectancy.
Weight: Maintaining an ideal weight is best, although there is no harm in
being ten to fifteen pounds overweight. Life span is shortene d if you are
obese (15 percent or more over your ideal weight) or if your weight has
fluctuated drastically over a period of years.
HOW  TO IMPROVE YOUR SCORE
As a result of the extensive research done on meditation, we can validate
that our Ayurvedic program may improve each of the Duke University
longevity factor s. If we place the results in the context of Ayurveda as a
whole, they become even stronger.
Research with rasayanas suggests that they may of fset several
deleterious aspects of the aging process, including a beneficial ef fect on
blood clotting, and a reduced susceptibility to carcinogens. Preliminary
studies suggest that rasayanas may be ef fective as free radical
scavengers that would positively impact the aging process.
A pilot


ancer,
35
	to	name	only	a	few	major	health	conditions.	Eating	a	largely	(or
all)	plant-based	diet	that	is	lower	in	animal	protein	has	been	shown	to	prevent	and
even	reverse	such	serious	illnesses	as	certain	cancers,
36
,
37
	heart	disease,
38
	and
diabetes.
39
	And	that	is	truly	a	beautiful	thing.
So	far,	protein	is	the	one	macronutrient	that	has	never	been	demonized	in
mainstream	diets,	though	you	will	find	evidence	against	overconsumption	of
protein	in	movements	instigated	by	the
China	Study	and	other	research.	The
China	Study	was	headed	by	Dr.
T.	Colin	Campbell,	professor	emeritus	in	the
Division	of	Nutritional	Sciences	at	Cornell	University,	and	was	funded	by	such
prestigious	organizations	as	the
National	Institutes	of	Health,	the
American
Cancer	Society,	and	the
American	Institute	for	Cancer	Research.	It	found
strong	evidence	of	the	diet’s	role	in	cancer	growth	and	a	correlation	between
high	protein	intake	and	cancer	growth.
40
Unfortunately,	what	we	see	today,	especially	in	modern	Westernized	societiesand	in	big	cities	in	many	parts	of	the	world,	is	a	huge	overconsumption	of
protein.	This	is	the	result	of	both	larger	portion	sizes	and	more	frequent
consumption	of	animal	proteins,	which	is	a	dangerous	shift.	Studies	in
Tunisia,
41

Beijing,
42
	and
Sweden
43
	have	shown	that	as	traditional	diets	rich	in
plant	foods	started	shifting	to	incorporate	more	animal	foods,	there	has	been	a
rise	in	heart	attacks	and	cardiovascular-related	deaths.	Remember	that	our
cardiovascular	system	is	one	of	our	circulatory	systems,	and	optimal	circulation
is	a	key	contributor	to	health	as	well	as	your	highest	beauty.	A	recent	study
found	that	those	who	ate	high	protein	diets	were	75	percent	more	likely	to	die
from
any
	cause,
44
	and	the	recommendations	arising	from	the	study,	namely	to
reduce	animal	proteins	and	consume	more	plant	foods,	were	in	keeping	with
the	protein	consumption	recommendations	from	the
World	Health
Organization	and	the
Institute	of	Medicine.
Excessive	protein	puts	a	heavy	burden	on	digestion,	as	digesting	protein	is
energy	exhaustive	and	requires	a	great	deal	of	enzymes.	It	is	especially	taxing	on
your	liver	and	kidneys,	which	have	a	limited	capacity	to	expel	uric	acid.	This
leads	to	an	increased	possibility	of	an	accumulation	of	uric	acid	in	the	body.
High	protein	foods	are	also	high	in	purines,	which	are	broken	down	into	uric
acid.
Elevated	levels	of	uric	acid	in	the	bloodstream	may	lead	to	needlelike	uric
acid	crystals	in	joints,	with	gout	as	the	painful	outcome.	In	addition,	kidney
stones	are	more	likely	to	form	in	someone	on	a	high	protein	diet.	Because	diets
that	are	excessively	high	in	protein	are	acid	forming	after	the	protein	is
metabolized,	they	can	lead	to	loss	of	calcium,	as	it	is	leached	out	of	your	bones
and	excreted	through	your	body	by	urinary	calcium	excretion.	Eating	such	high
levels	of	protein,	which	is	dense	in	various
fats	and	cholesterol	and	takes	a	lot
of	energy	to	break	down,	also	increases	the	risk	of	circulatory	issues,	which	can
hamper	beauty.	The	percentage	of	protein	in	your	diet	should	range	from	10	to
20	percent.	Again,	you	may	have	been	trained	to	believe	that	you	need	more,
but	experiment	with	your	own	body	and	try	staying	within	this	range,	noticing
how	your	energy	and	beauty	blossom.	And	later	on,	in
Pillar	5
,	Beautiful
Movement	(
this	page
),	we	will	discuss	in	much	more	detail	the	specific	protein
needs	to	optimize	your	workouts	and	develop	muscle	tone.
Your	body	recycles	proteins,	meaning	that	you	don’t	have	to	ingest	complete
proteins	at	every	meal.
45
	By	virtue	of	getting	enough	calories	and	eating	a	wide
variety	of	nutrient-dense	whole	foods,	you
will
	get	enough	protein.	Remember,
the	goal	here	is	balance.	You	can	enjoy	some	animal	protein	if	you	choose,	but
try	to	have	more	plant-based	meals,	which	will	provide	you	with	plenty	of
protein	but	with	less	of	a	digestive	burden	and	fewer	by-products.	Make	it	yourgoal	to	limit	animal	protein	to	a	few	times	a	week	or,	at	the	most,	once	a	day	to
achieve	Radical	Beauty.	Let	your	beauty	shine	forth	with	lots	of	nourishing,
beautifying	plant-based	meals	and	foods.	Here	are	some	great	plant-based
sources	of	protein:
•
Spirulina
•
Hemp	seeds	and	hemp	protein	powders
•
Chia,	sunflower,	and	other	seeds
•
Almonds	and	other	nuts
•
Green	veggies	(These	have	a	surprising	amount	of	protein,	so	keep	having
your	Glowing	Green	Smoothie;	see	recipe	on
this	page
.)
•
Lentils	and	beans,	soaked	overnight	for	better	digestion
•
Quinoa,	millet,	teff,	and	other	gluten-free	grains
•
Tempeh	(a	fermented,	easier-to-digest	form	of	tofu,	which	can	be	sourced
organic	and	plain,	and	is	relatively	free	from	additives,	unlike	fake
meat
products	that	mock	a	type	of	animal	food)
•
Mushrooms,	Brussels	sprouts,	and	other	whole	veggies
•
Vegan	protein	powders
STEAK	VS.	CIGARETTES
We	are	well	aware	that	millions	of	people	are	attracted	to	popular	high	protein	/
high-
fat	diets,	especially	the
Atkins	diet,	which	advocates	weight	loss	through	the
total	elimination	of	all	sugar	and	carbohydrate	foods	and	a	reliance	on	butter,
cheese,	eggs,	poultry,	meat,	and	fish.
Paleo	is	a	newer	high	protein	iteration,	albeit
without	dairy.	While	the	human	body	can	adapt	to	the	special	process	(known	as
ketosis)	that	turns	protein	and	fat	into	blood	sugar,	the	bald	fact	is	that	our
ancestors	didn’t
evolve	on	such	an	extreme	diet.	Compared	with	us,	they	actually
ate	more	nuts,	fruits,	berries,	and	vegetables	than	we	do,	and	always	in	a	whole,
ripe	form.	It’s	remarkable	that	the	human	body	can	get	its	needed	blood	sugar
(glucose)	the	fast,	normal	way,	by	eating	natural	sugars	and	carbohydrates,	which
quickly	break	down	into	glucose,	or	the	roundabout	way,	by	using	extra	calories	to
break	down	fats	and	proteins,	the	macronutrients	that	normally	are	stored	and
employed	for	cell	building.
The	roundabout	way,	or	ketosis,	leads	to	weight	loss	thanks	to	the	extra	calories
it	burns,	but	there	are	no	holistic	studies	that	tell	us	the	overall	health	effect	of	such
a	diet	when	practiced	for	years	at	a	time	by	adults	who	might	have	all	kinds	of
potential


 an d it acts
differently from ordinary sugar in the processes of digestion.

The mineral matter in milk constitutes about seven -tenths of one per cent of its weight, and it is more abundant in comparison with
other nutrients than in any other common food. This is as i t should be, for this material is in greater part intended for bone -building
in the body of the calf. When taken into the human system, the amount of mineral matter present in cow's milk is much in exce ss
of that needed for growth and repair, and, entering  the circulation and not being available for constructive metabolism, it, like any
other foreign matter, acts harmfully upon the organism.

Milk as secreted by the cow, and consumed as intended by the calf from its teats, is a food that is anti -acid in di gestive reaction,
but, delivered for human domestic use hours old, it is placed by fermentative changes in the acid -forming class. At the end of a
short fast, almost without exception, the animal organism is in a condition of high acidity. It does not need  a mind professionally
trained to conceive of the result of pouring into a system in this state large amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, es pecially in
the concentrated form in which these elements occur in cow's milk. Nor is much mental effort req uired to comprehend the
difficulties that are encountered by the eliminative organs in the attempt to rid the organism of its surfeit of waste, while  both
assimilative organs and circulation are forced to function with putrefaction at work at the source of  supply.

Now there are cases which, after a fast, seemingly improve upon a diet of milk, but observation leads to the conviction that the
benefits noted, if any, are due first, to the fast with its purifying effects, partial though they may be; second, t o the one -food
regimen imposed; and third, to the physical rest insisted upon. But whatever benefits accrue are in most instances temporary,  and it
is but natural that this should be so, for, even when the milk is handled without immediate distress, all of  the organs involved in
body metabolism are called upon to work to a degree that their labors are most inefficiently performed, and the possibility e xists
that they may break with the effort. It will be discovered that within a short time after the regimen  described has been imposed
upon a patient, the latter will have developed extreme congestion of the liver, high -colored, waste -laden urine, and systemic bilious
saturation. And these cases always prove most difficult to bring to a purified state because o f the toxic impregnation that follows
milk-flooding.
Page 40 of  72 In the present discussion the digestive capability under contemplation is that of a subject who has just succeeded in ridding  his
system in whole or in part of the toxic products of ingestion in excess of the needs of his body. In a partial fast it is deemed best to
resume feeding, while in a completed fast hunger has returned and food must be supplied. If the milk of the cow is the form i n
which nourishment is offered, and if, in addition, not a small q uantity, but, as advised, from four to eight quarts daily are imbibed,
for each quart consumed, an equivalent in flesh food of about one pound is presented for digestion. The purpose of the fast i s at
once defeated, since the most vigorous of bodies is una ble to transform and to assimilate this mass of material, however digestible
it may in essence be. The excess, and it is virtually all excess, fills the alimentary tract with decomposing waste, and the system is
again in the developing process of disease. And after all, the milk of the cow is intended only as food for the calf.

There are instances upon breaking a fast when some form of milk will be accepted by the digestive processes of certain indivi duals
when those foods already indicated as suitable fo r the resumption of feeding are merely tolerated. In circumstances like these the
milk of the goat is recommended for consumption, but in small amounts. Goat's milk in composition carries with it lesser
quantities of mineral salts than does cow's milk it c urds, not in masses, but in more or less separated particles when it meets the
gastric juices while its fats are held in suspension, thus making them more easy of digestion. And there is this added advant age that
the goat is not susceptible to tubercular i nfection.

When, after a fast, digestive power asserts itself, and the bowels begin naturally to respond, the enemata are gradually
discontinued. Suggestions as to their use in health are given in the chapter devoted to a discussion of the internal bath, but it may
here be said that natural movements of the bowels are dependent upon normal digestion; and this truth is but slightly qualifi ed by
saying that for normal function muscular tone is also a necessary condition in intestinal walls. For the attainmen t of the latter and
for the rebuilding of general muscular quality, a system of exercise is recommended and insisted upon from the time that the fast is
broken. This, like the dietetic regimen, should be entered upon in gradual manner, and should be increa sed and extended in
proportion as the body shows progressive capability.

The procedure to be followed in breaking a fast demands both caution and care. At the end of a successfully completed period of
abstinence, with hunger in evidence, weak -willed pati ents are almost certain to overstep the salutary limit of ingestion. In cases
like these acute crises may develop because of congestion of the circulatory system. All of the organs of the body will be in cluded
in the revolt and the brain itself may suffer.  When a gradual process of return to normal supply of sustenance is not pursued, the
benefits of a fast are largely annulled; hence, if will power be lacking in the subject, its equivalent in supervision must b e furnished
by the director of treatment, and,  if needful, personal watch should be established.

When there are structural organic defects in the colon, they may or may not prove shortening to life; but, when, at the end o f a fast,
feeding is resumed, even slight displacement in this organ may retar d elimination to such degree that absorption of toxins will
cause severe physical and even mental distress. This is especially liable to occur in those cases that are without guidance, in whom
ignorance of the consequences of succumbing to desire exists, a nd will control is feeble. And, even under supervision, oftentimes,
when desire impels and opportunity occurs, the patient will overeat. This tendency must be controlled, for serious results wa it upon
premature excessive demand upon the functions. Defectiv e or normal in vital parts, man here learns to live within the limitations of
his organs. Preparation for a fast, and the fast itself, are seen to be comparatively easy in accomplishment, but resumption of
feeding after abstinence is a more difficult proce dure.

PART FOUR
THE HYGIENE OF THE FAST

CHAPTER XII
HYGIENIC ACCESSORIES OF THE FAST

BREATHING:
BATHING:
SLEEP:
EXERCISE

BREATHING. --Nature has provided in the air that surrounds the earth a plentiful supply of oxygen, a gas that is essential to the
maintenance of human life. Its function within the human body lies in replacing carbonic acid, a poisonous gas developed by t he
breaking down of tissue, and delivered to the lungs in venous blood. The interchange of carbonic acid and oxygen occurs in th e
lungs, since in the process of breathing, as carbonic acid is exhaled, oxygen is inhaled. The act of respiration exposes the blood,
held within the thin walls of the pulmonary capillaries, to the air, and by mutual diffusion the two operations of oxygenatio n and of
decarbonization are accomplished at one and the same time. The muscular movements made in breathing are not dependent upon
the will, as this process goes in in sleep and in other unconscious states. The rate of respiration in health varies from fou rteen to
eighteen breaths per minute, and, besides carbonic acid, watery vapor and a small amount of organic matter are exhale d.

In order to furnish oxygen to the system, from three hundred to four hundred cubic feet of air are drawn into the lungs in tw enty-
Page 41 of  72 four hours. Each hour an adult inhales about five hundred grains of oxygen and emits about six hundred grains of carbonic  acid,
with a much larger amount of watery vapor. Deprived of air, the body quickly perishes from asphyxiation.

Not only is a continued supply of pure air essential to life, but constant care is necessary to insure its purity at the mome nt of
intake. The  natural passages that carry air to the lungs begin at the nostrils, and these are furnished with short, fine hairs and with
mucus secretion, preventives of the inhalation of dust and light material. If obstruction of the nasal tract occurs, it is po ssible  for
breathing to take place through the mouth, but so harmful is the latter method to general health that attention is here direc ted to its
results.

A child that is overfed invariably develops a cold with accompanying nasal discharge and consequent obst ruction of the natural air


 me yearned to go deeper. So I took
a br eath in, then deeply pu shed myself into the out-
breath, and I was gone.
When my sense of self-awareness began to coagulate
again, my experience of being was very different from
anything I had ever experien ced before. I felt pain in my
legs, bu t they were very far  away and the pain had a
warmth and beauty to it. As I regained some awareness
of my body, I tried to lean my head a tiny bit forward.
Nothing moved. It was as though my forehead was
pressed again st a wall. Something very solid was
resisting even the slightest movement of my head
forward. I immediately realized that the sheer intensity
of my concentration had created a well-defined force that
flowed outward from my forehead and curved back to the
point in my lower abdomen where I had been
concentrating. I know this must sound strange, but it felt
like a magneti c field that wa s so strong I simply could
not move against it.
This was not the only powerful energy I was
experiencing. I had been sitting in a full-lotus posture
with my hands resting on my crossed feet. In that
position the whole of my hands, arms, and shoulders
formed a closed circle. Now that complete circle had
become another one of these force fields. I could neither
move forward nor sideways—I was locked in what I can
only describe as perpendicular energy flows. Whenever I
breathed out, the flows be came more tangible and
intense. The entire exper ience was so completely
enthralling that I did not actually regain awareness of my
surroundings. I only came down far enough to see that
my body was overcome by these energy flows. Then, onceagain, I heard: “DO YOU OR  DO YOU NOT WANT TO
KNOW WHAT IS BEYOND YOU?”
I im mediately took a deep breath in and with great
intention slowly exhaled through my nostrils. It was as
though the outgoing breath pushing against the magnetic
force fields created upward lift. That upward and inward
propulsion beg an to drive m e to an even deeper place,
beyond any sense of self-awareness. One more breath in
and out, and I was completely gone.
Perhaps you would like to ask where I went. That’s
reasonable, but I’m unable to answer that question. I
only kn ow tha t each time I came back, I was in a more
elevated state than when I left. When I came back from
nowhere the next time, everything was very different.
There was no subtle resistance to having returned. There
was no sense o f urgency to hold on to the elevated state.
There was only peace—deep, deep peace. And there was
absolute silence, a silence that nothing could possibly
disturb. It was so still that pe rhaps there had never ever
been any sound here for all eternity. It was like outer
space where there is no atmosphere, so there can be no
sound. Sound requires a me dium in which to travel. In
the place I returned to, there was no such medium. I was
truly experiencing the sound of silence.
Most important, there was no voice. There was not
even the memory of what it would be like to have chatter
in th at sacred place. It was gone. All gone. All that was
left was awareness of being. I simply existed, nothing
more. This time no stern bec koning entreated me to go
beyond. It was time to come back.
The first thing I noticed as I became aware of my
surroundings was that the external energy flows I
experienced earlier had drawn inward. I now felt a very
beautiful flow of energy up my spine to the middle of my
forehead. I had never experienced this before, and
almost all my awareness was drawn to that point.
Meanwhile, there was still great pain in my legs, but thatwasn’t a problem. It was ju st the quiet experience of
pain. No complaints, no mental dialogue about what to
do about it. There was simply awareness, completely at
peace with what it was aware of.
I manag ed to move my arms enough to unfold my legs
from th e lotus position. They were like dead weight, so I
lay on my side for a while until they came back to life. It
was so peacefu l, so comfortable lying there. In time, I
opened my eyes. What eased in through those openings
was like  nothing I had ever seen or dreamed of before.
The wetland area before me appeared like a Japanese
rice paper painting. It exude d gentleness and stillness.
The tall grasses swayed in the gentle breeze, but their
movement had a stillness about it. Everything was so
quiet, so serene. The trees w ere quiet, the clouds were
quiet, the water was quiet. There was absolute stillness in
the mid st of the movement of  nature. My body was quiet,
and there were no thoughts at all. I could have lain there
forever melting into the peace that surrounded my sense
of presence.
When I finally got up, the movement of my body was
unfamiliar to me. I had never been a graceful person. I
was definitely not the dancing type. But now every
movement of my body was like a ballet. There was a
graceful flow when my arms moved, and I really saw the
difference when I began to w alk. With each step I could
feel eve ry tiny movement of the muscles in my feet. I
flowed from one step to the next, and the movement
itself was intoxicating.
The amazing part is that th is state lasted for weeks.
When I rejoined my friends  that day, the state didn’t
change. I felt no need to explain or describe what had
happened to me during the  two to three hours I was
gone. I could hardly talk. Everything was so beautiful
and tranquil. The silence, the absolute silence, even
sounds outside did not disturb that stillness. The sounds
were out there, but they seemed so far away from where Iwas seated inside. A moat of thick peace allowed nothing
to reach the citadel of my elevated state.5.
F r o m  A b s o l u t e  P e a c e  t o  A b s o l u t e
T u r m o i l
S helly and I retu rned home from the weekend trip, but I
could not relate to the life I was coming back to. I had
changed completely in a matter of hours. My normal
inner state had been transfor med into a state of absolute
clarity. Neither desire nor fear could touch me in those
early days. Even thoughts faded away before reaching my
seat of awareness. All I remember experiencing at that
time was a powerful, unwavering sense of one pointed
intention— I will never leave this state. No matter what,
I will never allow anything to take me from this place.
No voice of my  mind had to say that to me; it was who I
was. I was no longer Mickey  Singer. I was the one who
would never betray that peace or allow anything to
disturb that transcendent stillness.
I w as like a ch ild having to learn everything all over
again. I  had to learn to eat in a way that was consistent
with th at pea ce. I used t o smoke pot; I stopped
completely. My  state was cry stal clear, and I didn’t want
to dull it one io ta. I had to learn to go to classes and take
tests while remaining perfectly centered. I was in a
doctoral program, on full fellowship. I had to learn to use
my intellectual mind without disturbing the peace that I
now loved more than life itself.
During those next few week s, I felt like I had been
born anew. I found myself y earning to go back beyond.
In f act, every t ime I sat down to meditate I was drawn
back into an elevated state.  Some veil had been torn
aside inside of me, and it was  now totally natural to passback through it. I started w aking up at three in the
morning to be able to d o prolonged meditations.
Throughout the day, I would sit whenever and wherever
I had the opportunity. Only a small part of my life was
about my outer existence. What I was really about was
learning to stay deep inside while my outer life passed
before me, leaving me at peace.
I wa sn’t able to stay that detached for long, however.
After two to three weeks, the unassailable inner peace
began to develop cracks. These cracks allowed the voice
of my persona l mind to leak  back into my sanctuary of
silence. I struggled to get it b ack. Oh, did I struggle. But
the stru ggling itself was inconsistent with the absolute
stillness. There  was nothing I  could do. I had to just sit in
here helplessly watching as the Land Beyond My Dreams
gave wa y to my noisy inner st ate. It never dawned on me
that I could tr y leaving my outer existence in order to
maintain the inner stillness. That effort would come a
little bit later.
Though my deep inner peace had begun to fade, I
never fully returned to my normal state. Even when the
personal mind and emotions