 was biopsied and found to be metastasized melanoma. The oncologist at the Borgess
Medical Center of Kalamazoo, Michigan, told N.P., “I’ve treated several cases like yours and lost
them all.” He then proposed an experimental treatment that might possibly extend the patient’s
life from the six-month prognosis to nine months. N.P. refused.
At that stage he received a letter from the widow of an acquaintance, a man of his own age,
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 200Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comwho had received all available conventional treatments for metastatic melanoma and died five
months later. This persuaded N.P. to go to the Gerson hospital in Mexico, where he arrived with
his wife in May 1991. At the time another tumor appeared, but vanished in six weeks. At the end
of the therapy N.P., aged 67, was in perfect health and regularly competed in the Senior Olympic
Games in Michigan and Florida, winning Silver twice and Gold once in the Racewalk.
In time he eased off the Gerson type of food, and abandoned the diet completely while
traveling in South America. In 1994 another lymph node had to be removed from the original
site; it proved to be melanoma. N.P. immediately resumed the strict intensive Gerson Therapy,
and again made a full recovery. At present he remains well and active.
Colo-Rectal Cancer with Liver Metastases
C.T. was 58 years old when he noticed signs of rectal bleeding. The treatment he was given
for suspected hemorrhoids proved useless, so he was sent to Shand Hospital in Gainesville, FL.,
for thorough tests and diagnosis. The resulting surgery report showed that C.T. was suffering
from a colon malignancy, with metastases throughout his body. The hospital doctors told the
patient that because of his widely spread cancer chemotherapy would be of no use, and gave him
a prognosis of three to six months of life. C.T.  embarked on the Gerson Therapy, using no other
treatment, and over a period of two years achieved a complete recovery. Twenty-five years later,
aged 81, he remains well and active.
Y.H. In 1992  the Japanese Professor of Medicine Y.H. found himself unable to have a bowel
movement. Surgery, combined with a liver biopsy, disclosed colon malignancy, which had already
spread to the liver. Prof.Y.H. agreed to four mild chemotherapy treatments, but these resulted
in the growth of the liver metastases. Upon this the patient abandoned the chemotherapy and
embarked on the Gerson Therapy, following the directions in Dr. Gerson’s book. Fourteen years
later he is fully recovered, with a clean liver, and has successfully treated many cancer patients
with the same method. He described his experience in his book (only available in Japanese) and
has trained a few of his colleagues in the Gerson Therapy. At present he is following up some 500
cancer cases, which have shown positive responses to the Gerson protocol he now uses.
Pancreatic Cancer
L.K. went to see his doctor, as he was feeling poorly, and was prescribed a medicine to
reduce his stomach acid. Unfortunately this remedy caused him severe pain and other problems.
In November of 1994 he was given a CT scan, which showed “an abnormal irregular mass at
the head of the pancreas, contiguous ( adjacent)  with the superior mesenteric artery and superior
vein.” L.K.’s doctor stated, “You have pancreatic cancer and surgery is impossible, while neither
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 201Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.comradiation nor chemotherapy would work for you.”  After talking to recovered Gerson patients, and
without any treatment on offer, the patient decided to go to Mexico and start the Gerson treatment.
After 20 months of strictly adhering to the protocol, a second CT scan showed no sign of disease,
everything came up as normal. L.K. points out that the regular severe migraine headaches that had
plagued him for many years disappeared almost at once after he started the Therapy. After more
than 10 years he remains fit and well and active.
P.A. Having lost some 25 pounds, in January of 1986 P.A. was sent to a hospital in Victoria
(B.C., Canada) for a CAT scan, whose results were verified by a needle biopsy. The diagnosis
was pancreatic cancer. The specialist told her to get her affairs in order, because her cancer was
inoperable and added that the malignancy had spread to her liver, gallbladder and spleen. By
then the patient had lost 45 pounds and was vomiting blood. With no other option, she decided
to try the Gerson Therapy, having heard about a local man who claimed to have recovered on it
from pancreatic cancer. In March of 1986, she arrived at the Mexican Gerson clinic and started
the intensive therapy. By December of that year, a mere 11 months later, according to her doctor
the patient had the cancer licked. In February of 1990, her family doctor stated that “As of the
present time, she has no evidence of recurrence and what evidence of malignancy was present
in 1985 has now gone.” P.A. continues in good health and leads an active life, 20 years after
being diagnosed with an apparently incurable and life-threatening disease.
Prostate Cancer
P.S. was 69 years old in 1991, when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had several
needle biopsies, three of which showed the presence of malignant cells, while three others were
negative. His PSA (prostate-specific antigen) stood at 6—not very much elevated, but above
normal.
P.S. started the Gerson Therapy at the Mexican Gerson clinic in 1991 and—as we often
note—at first his PSA rose, reaching 14 at the end of three months. The patient was somewhat
alarmed by this increase, but he persevered with the treatment. And indeed after 18 months his
PSA went down to 0.3.
Now in his eighties, P.S. is perfectly well, as shown by his regular annual check-ups. His
prostate is normal and his present PSA stands at 2.1. (Latest report: October 2006.)
Prostate & Bone Cancer, and a case of Lung Cancer
E.T, of Cairo, IL, presents the most remarkable case history. In 1966, aged 69, he was
advised by his doctors to put his affairs in order, as he was dying of prostate cancer with extensive
spreading into his bones, and a large mass in his groin. He had been treated with hormones, but
his doctors realized that those treatments were no longer effective, and that there was nothing
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 202Healing the Gerson Way—Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases
www.thegersonway.commore they could do.
E.T. had dropped out of school after the sixth grade and had received no further education.
He had spent all his life working in a junkyard, sorting various metals.
When his doctors gave him what amounted to a death sentence, he remembered reading
something about the Gerson Therapy. He contacted Dr. Gerson’s eldest daughter, asking for help.
She pointed him to her father’s book, A Cancer Therapy—Results of 50 Cases, but after a short
while he called her back and stated that he couldn’t understand the book. So she told him simply
to follow the chart on P.235.
E.T. obeyed her instructions, but having lost his wife years before, he found that pursuing the
therapy at home was “the hardest thing he ever did.” One day, leaning over the arm of a chair, he
broke one of his ribs, weakened by metastases. He was in severe pain and felt tempted just to stay
in bed. However, he forced himself to get up and prepare the food and juices, since he knew that
without helping himself he would die. In a short time he was free from pain. After a month his
doctor could no longer feel the large mass that he had found in the patient’s groin. E.T. soon felt
well and had much greater energy.
One day he received a call from a friend in Kentucky, the chiropractor Dr. G.D., who told him
that he was dying of lung cancer that had spread through both his lungs. Could E.T. come and help
him? E.T. traveled to G.D.’s home and set up the Gerson Therapy for him.
Amazingly, both these terminal patients recovered! Fifteen years later, in 1981, both were
alive and well. E.T. was 84 years old. Dr. G.D. was a good deal younger and lived for many more
years. Eventually we heard from his son that he had passed away.
Astrocytoma
N.K. In 1987, just weeks before her tenth birthday, this young girl, living in North Liberty,
Indiana,


becomes
extremely
strong
and
intelligent,
after
eight
one
shines
like
gold,
etc.
Even
in
today's
India,
many
adepts
of
gurus
or
teachers
of
the
East
regularly
drink
urine.
At
the
same
time,
they
walk
almost
naked
and
are
never
sick.
According
to
them,
urine
is
more
nutritious
than
milk.
One
of
the
conquerors
of
Mount
Everest,
Morris
Wilson,
attributed
his
extraordinary
health
and
strength
mainly
to
fasting
associated
with
drinking
urine
and
massaging
his
entire
body
with
his
own
urine.
He
took
these
methods
from
Tibetan
lamas
and
Indian
yogis.
Records
from
the
tsarist
archives
testify
to
the
extraordinary
effects
of
the
combination
of
starvation
and
urinotherapy,
where
it
is
written
about
settlements
in
Siberia,
when
people
ate
practically
nothing,
only
drank
their
own
urine.
They
were
never
sick
and
had
a
healthy
skin
color.
I
too,
after
several
years
of
applying
cleansing
peels
and
urine
therapy,
switched
to
only
one
meal
a
day,
like
in
Babylon
or
ancient
Greece.
My
organism
is
clean
and
therefore
energy
can
flow
freely,
urine
therapy
exceptionally
increases
not
only
my
energy,
but
also
my
defenses,
and
it
also
suppresses
my
appetite.
Only
in
the
morning
I
prepare
a
vitamin
bomb
every
day
from
papaya,
oranges,
raisins,
carrots,
apples,
etc.
I
drink
half
a
liter
of
juice
in
the
morning
and
half
in
the
evening.
Otherwise,
I
usually
treat
myself
to
a
bottle
of
wine
or
a
few
glasses
of
cognac
in
the
evening,
when
with
the
help
of
urine
therapy
I
can
easily
suppress
the
feeling
of
hunger.
Once
a
week,
at
a
social
party,
I
enjoy
a
moderate
amount
of
some
goodies,
e.g.
fish,
crabs,
shrimps,
or
a
piece
of
chicken.
Yemeni
vegetable
specialties
are
also
excellent.
The
next
day,
however,
I
will
do
a
thorough
cleansing
of
the
entire
body.
In
two
months
in
Yemen,
I
lost
6
kilograms,which
is
a
clear
proof
that
urine
therapy
has
a
great
effect
on
weight
loss
and
is
essentially
irreplaceable.
So
if
I've
convinced
you
just
a
little
with
my
introduction,
read
on.
Although
many
will
oppose
your
feelings
and
established
prejudices,
I
believe
that
at
the
end
of
the
book
you
will
agree
with
me,
and
many
of
you
will
at
least
try
urine
therapy,
this
miraculous
treatment
that
is
coming
back
to
us
from
the
depths
of
the
millennium.
How
is
urine
produced?
Urine,
or
urine,
is
a
liquid
product
of
the
excretion
of
a
living
organism,
which
is
formed
in
the
kidneys
and
exits
through
the
urinary
tract
system.
In
24
hours,
a
person
produces
800-1800
milliliters
of
urine,
which
is
on
average
50-80
percent
of
the
fluids
taken.
Normally,
more
urine
is
excreted
during
the
day
than
at
night,
on
average
in
a
ratio
of
4:1.
The
functional
unit
of
the
kidney
that
produces
urine
is
the
nephron.
The
number
of
nephrons
in
both
kidneys
reaches
two
million.
The
total
surface
of
the
inner
layer
of
nephrons,
through
which
urine
is
filtered,
is
5
to
8
square
meters,
which
is
two
to
three
times
the
surface
of
the
body.
In
the
nephrons,
urine
is
formed
as
a
result
of
four
processes:
filtration,
reabsorption,
secretion
and
osmotic
concentration.
F
i
l
t
r
a
c
e
-
takes
place
in
the
initial
part
of
the
nephron,
where
the
blood
flows
under
a
much
higher
pressure
than
in
all
other
capillaries.
This
is
explained
by
the
fact
that
the
inlet
arteriole
is
approximately
30
percent
larger
in
diameter
than
the
outlet
arteriole.
This
excess
pressure
allows
the
glomerulus
to
filter
out
hemoglobin
and
blood
proteins,
or
blood
colloids.
So
primal
urine
enters,
which
contains
the
same
substances
as
blood
plasma.
Sugar,
salts,
urea,
amino
acids
and
everything
that
is
normally
contained
in
the
blood
or
is
artificially
introduced
into
it
are
found
in
the
same
concentration
in
the
original
urine.
R
e
a
b
s
o
r
b
c
e
-
begins
in
the
renal
canal
after
the
exit
of
primary
urine
from
the
glomerulus.
The
canal
is
washed
with
blood,
which,
due
to
saturation
with
hemoglobin
and
proteins,
significantly
changes
its
osmotic
pressure.
The
result
is
a
pressure
difference
between
the
blood
washing
the
canal
and
the
original
urine
inside
it.
Thanks
to
this,
the
diffusion
of
water
from
the
area
of
  lower
osmotic
pressure
to
the
area
of
  higher
pressure
begins
through
the
epithelium
(lining)
of
the
canal,
which
functions
as
a
semi-permeable
membrane.
Together
with
water,
a
number
of
substances
that
were
originally
dissolved
in
the
blood
are
absorbed
into
the
blood.
This
is
how
passive
reabsorption
takes
place.
In
addition
to
it,
there
is
an
active
transfer
of
substances
needed
by
the
organism
from
primary
urine
to
the
blood.
This
process
requires
a
lot
of
energy
and
therefore
kidney
tissue
consumes
more
energy
than
heart
tissue
.
Sodium
chloride,
or
table
salt,
under goes
the
greatest
reabsorption.
In
24
hours,
the
renal
tubules
reabsorb
about
1,200
grams
of
sodium
chloride
from
the
original
urine.
Therefore,
for
example,
reducing
salt
intake
lowers
blood
pressure.
S
e
k
r
e
c
e
-
it
is
carried
out
by
the
cells
of
the
kidney
channels
through
the
active
selective
transfer
of
substances
useful
for
the
organism
(amino
acids,
vitamins,
phosphates,
glucose)
from
primary
urine
back
to
the
blood
and


broken	down	into	energy	waves	that	have	their	source	in	an	invisible	field.
Taking	these	steps	one	at	a	time,	we	get
further	away
	from	consciousness
rather	than	closer.	The	brain	is	aware,	but	we	cannot	say	that	energy	waves
are	aware,	even	though	the	brain	is	ultimately	nothing	but	energy.	To	solve
this	enigma,	materialists	argue	that	consciousness	has	no	reality	in	itself;	it	is
just	a	trick	of	the	brain.	Does	this	mean	that	if	we	could	download	a	person’s
complete	memory	into	a	supercomputer,	we	would	achieve	life	after	death?
Would	the	living	self	continue	to	feel	intact,	experiencing	the	world	just	as
before	but	from	inside	a	machine?
This	is	a	perfect	example	of	how	we	can	be	victimized	by	our	own
explanations.	Awareness	can’t	be	found	in	information.	The	fact	that	a	billion
zeros	and	ones	are	loaded	into	a	computer	won’t	make	it	conscious	unless
each	zero	and	one	is	conscious	already,	which	leads	to	the	absurd	conclusion
that	the	numbers	printed	in	a	math	textbook	are	thinking	about	themselves.You	cannot	explain	consciousness	at	any	level	of	nature	without	running	into
the	same	contradiction.	So	do	we	have	to	give	up	on	scientific	explanations	or
is	science	ready	for	insights	that	will	force	it	to	explain	Nature	differently?
Creative	Leaps
One	property	we	cherish	in	ourselves	is	the	ability	to	create	something	new.
We	come	by	this	honestly.	The	appearance	of	life	on	Earth	depended	on	the
sudden	ability	of	a	molecule,	DNA,	to	replicate	itself.	No	molecule	before	it
had	ever	done	that.	We	can	explain	the	evolution	of	the	universe	entirely	in
terms	of	such	creative	leaps,	or	“emergent	properties.”	Before	oxygen	and
hydrogen	could	discover	how	to	become	water,	the	cosmos	had	to	create
atoms,	which
weren’t
	present	at	the	Big	Bang,	and	atoms	had	to	turn	into
gases,	solids,	metals,	organic	molecules,	and	so	on.	None	of	these	events	were
simple	combinations	like	pouring	sugar	into	water.	The	sugar	may	disappear,
but	if	you	evaporate	the	water	you	find	that	the	sugar	has	remained	intact.
There’s	no	new	property	in	sugar	water	that	wasn’t	already	present	in	the	two
components	when	they	were	separate.
An	emergent	property,	on	the	other	hand,	is	a	creative	leap	that	produces
something	out	of	nothing.	In	spiritual	terms	the	cycle	of	birth	and	rebirth	is	a
workshop	for	making	creative	leaps	of	the	soul.	The	natural	and	the
supernatural	are	not	doing	different	things	but	are	involved	in	transformation
on	separate	levels.	At	the	moment	of	death	the	ingredients	of	your	old	body
and	old	identity	disappear.	Your	DNA	and	everything	it	created	devolve	back
to	their	simple	component	parts.	Your	memories	dissolve	back	into	raw
information.	None	of	this	raw	material	is	simply	recombined	to	produce	a
slightly	altered	person.	To	produce	a	new	body	capable	of	making	new
memories,	the	person	who	emerges	must	be	new.	You	do	not	acquire	a	new
soul,	because	the	soul	doesn’t	have	content.	It’s	not	“you”	but	the	center
around	which	“you”	coalesces,	time	after	time.	It’s	your	zero	point.
I	was	recently	reminded	of	just	how	uncanny	this	transformation	is.	I
know	a	couple	from	Italy	who	suffered	a	terrible	family	tragedy	two	years	ago
when	their	teenage	son,	Enrico,	killed	himself.	He	had	gotten	drunk	with
some	friends,	one	of	whom	started	playing	with	his	father’s	handgun.	It	went
off	and	Enrico	was	killed.	His	family	was	devastated,	all	the	more	when	it
was	suggested	but	never	proved	that	their	son	had	shot	himself	playing
Russian	roulette.
A	week	after	he	died	his	mother	went	into	his	bedroom.	She	had	the
impulse	to	pray	for	her	son,	and	as	she	knelt	by	his	bed	she	heard	a	noise.	A
remote-control	toy	car	of	Enrico’s	had	fallen	off	the	shelf	for
no
	apparent
reason.	It	began	to	run	around	the	floor,	and	the	mother	removed	its	batteries.
Still	it	continued	to	run.	This	strange	phenomenon	lasted	three	days,	she	toldme.	It	was	witnessed	by	the	entire	family,	and	Enrico’s	older	sister,	the	one	he
was	closest	to,	insisted	that	her	brother	was	operating	the	car.	She	asked	it
questions,	as	one	would	a	Ouija	board,	and	the	car	would	go	left	or	right	to
signal	yes	or	no.
Months	later	Enrico’s	father	happened	to	be	in	India,	and	he	went	to	a
jyotishi
,	or	astrologer.	Certain	jyotishis	do	not	cast	your	chart	but	consult
already	written	charts,	many	dating	back	centuries,	that	apply	to	the	person
who	comes	for	a	reading.	(This	decision	is	made	according	to	the	time	a
person	appears	and	by	matching	certain	personal	data	with	charts	that	the
astrologer	has	on	hand.)	This	was	true	of	my	friend,	who	was	told	the
following	story:	In	his	previous	lifetime	he	had	lived	on	the	west	coast	of
India.	He	was	desperate	to	have	a	son,	but	unfortunately	his	wife	was	barren.
The	couple	adopted	a	baby	boy	when	suddenly	she	became	pregnant	and	in
time	delivered	a	boy	of	their	own.
After	the	biological	son’s	birth,	the	father	began	to	ignore	the	adopted	boy
and	abuse	him.	Tormented	by	this,	the	boy	committed	suicide	at	exactly	the
same	age	as	Enrico.	The	astrologer	told	my	friend	that	there	was	a	connection
here.	The	former	son	was	reborn	as	Enrico,	and	he	committed	suicide	again	to
show	his	father	what	it	was	like	to	lose	a	real	son.	Naturally,	my	friend	was
quite	shaken	to	hear	this,	but	when	he	met	me	some	months	later,	he	said	that
the	final	result	was	a	sense	of	peace.	He	had	come	to	terms	with	Enrico’s
tragic	death	and	understood	the	karma	behind	it.
I	have	no	idea	how	many	readers	will	scoff	at	this	tale	and	how	many	will
consider	it	uncanny	but	possibly	true.	To	me,	it	says	a	great	deal	about	how
mysteriously	life	and	death	are	woven	together.	They	are	two	aspects	of	the
same	creative	act.	Our	brains	are	set	up
to
	operate	in	time	and	space.	We	do
not	witness	the	mechanics	of	creation	outside	that	framework.	But	the	life	you
are	experiencing	now,	the	one	that	preceded	it,	and	the	one	that	will	follow
didn’t	appear	out	of	nowhere.	They	appeared	through	a	continuous,	evolving
consciousness—the	real	you.	There	is	a	gap	between	lifetimes	that	we	cannot
observe,	yet	your	soul	keeps	track	of	you	as	you	enter	the	gap	and	reemerge.
Consciousness	doesn’t	lose	track	of	itself;	the	zero	point	of	the	soul


,
disasters, and looming threats.
Realize that worry isn’t productive.
Reject anxious thoughts that are habitual and recurring.
The key ingredient in self-reflection is detachment, a concept that grows
deeper and deeper with each limb of Yoga. Here detachment doesn’ t imply
indifference, passivity, or apathy. Instead, you distance yourse lf from the
pull of emotion.
Let’s say that you get word that someone you trust, such as a close
friend, uttered a harsh criticism about you that has gotten back to you. A
flush of anger rises in you. You may feel sad or angry and wond er why you
ever thought this person was a real friend. Perhaps the temptat ion to exact
revenge or to say damaging things about your friend enters the picture.
You have several opportunities to practice detachment here. First, at the
instant anger starts to rise, you can pause, take a deep breath, and hold up
your hand for time-out. Second, you can sit quietly until your immediate
reaction dies down and reason can prevail. Perhaps your friend didn’ t
actually say what was reported to you, or perhaps a slight has been blown
out of all proportion. Third, you can close your eyes, center yourself, and do
a simple  breathing meditation until your anger dissipates. Finally, you can
reflect on the fact that you have survived worse criticism and will seek a
way to understand and for give your friend.
What these four possibilities have in common is that you move closer to
your true self, which is never wounded, cares nothing about criticism, sees
everyone in the light of lovin g acceptance, and brings compassion and
forgiveness to any situation. The opposite of self-reflection is to nurse your
grievance against your friend, indulging in a combination of self-pity and
fantasies of getting even. Learning a better way to respond emotionally isthe whole purpose of the niyamas, and detachment is an important skill to
be learned.
Exercise
Consider the example of an angry response given above. Reflect on
how it applies to your own store of resentments, grudges, and old hurts
from other people. Go inside and reflect on moving these emotional
residues so that you bring a sense of light and lightness to your feelings. To
make your ability to self-reflect even more powerful, be on the lookout the
next time you have a strong impulse to be angry, envious, anxious, or
discouraged. In the moment of your reaction, pause and follow the four
opportunities mentioned in the anger example above. Genuinely try to adopt
detachment as your response, looking upon it as a skill based on emotional
intelligence. You can journal about how the experience allowed you to see
how self-reflection and detachment work, and how much you can benefit
from simply taking a step back and expanding your vision of who you
really are.
FRIDAY
Surrender to the Unknown
Begin by silently repeating today’ s theme:
I give myself over to the great mystery.
I give myself over to the great mystery.
The fifth and final niyama  asks you to recognize your higher reality and
surrender to it. In daily life there is a constant push-pull between getting
what you want and giving in to what someone else wants. Giving in is a
form of surrende r, which is why most people do not like the connotation of
that word. It seems foreign to human nature when this niyama  calls for
complete surrender.The issue hasn’ t been cleared up by Yoga commentaries that use a mix-
and-match vocabulary, some calling for surrender to God, others making it
surrender to the Absolute, the divine mystery of existence or Brahman (the
Sanskrit word for “big” that implies the whole of creation, the One, the
All).
To gain clarity, first we must sweep away all this loaded vocabu lary. As
a famous Yogic saying affirms, “Those who speak of It know It not. Those
who know It speak of It not.” Here It refers to God/th e Absolute/the divine
mystery/Brahman, according to the terminology you favor. Names don’t
matter, because the “real” reality is beyond language.
With this understanding in mind, the fifth niyama  isn’t about ordinary
surrender, which involves givin g in to someone else and thus sacrificing
what you want. In Royal Y oga, surrender is simply the recognition of higher
reality. Once accepted, there is an end to seeking, frustration, and endless
speculation. Religious history is full of all three, so this isn’t religious
surrender, either. You acknowledge your place in the mystery of existence.
Then what? Once you accept that water is wet, there’ s not much more to
say. The fifth niyama  teaches that the contemplation of higher reality brings
endless rewards. The practices of contemplation will make this clearer.
THE PRACTICES OF CONTEMPLATION
Welcome the end of seeking.
Turn your attention to what life means.
Expose yourself to inspirational poetry and scripture.
Attune yourself to the beauty of Nature.
Follow your creative impulses.
Act from your ﬁnest feelings whenever you can.
Take time to offer gratitude.
Dwell on your version of a higher being or consciousness.
Nurture awe and wonder in the contemplation of creation.
See yourself as having a unique place in the divine or cosmic
plan.These practices are meant to have a direct personal effect. The effect is
to get you out of linear thinking—this isn’t a journey from A to B, but a
journey to show you who you have always been.
In that light, the practices of contemplation constantly expand our self-
awareness. We are all used to expanding our awareness, even if we don’t
label it as such. As an example, consider when we learned to read. The state
of literacy opens an entirely new way of being. When your contemplation
practice opens up even a moment of insight, joy, or inspiration, this signals
how total transformation will be. The process begins by surrend ering to the
reality that the source of creatio n exists and is identical to your source, the
true self.
Exercise
In detective fiction, a mystery is something that needs solving, and,
until it is solved, things haven’ t been set right. The guilty need to be
unmasked; right must prevail. But the mystery of the source is different.
The human mind exists in the relative world. But this doesn’ t present an
impenetrable barrier to the Absolute—quite the opposite. To use a
traditional image from Yoga, imagine that the Absolute is sending arrows of
light into the created world.
Consider that the highest values in life, including love, compassion,
creativity, empathy, beauty, truth, and spiritual inspiration, are what the
arrows carry to our world. This is a good start for practicing contemplation.
Sit quietly and let your mind go to an experience of one of those  values just
listed. Feel the lightness, vibrancy, joy, and fulfillment your experience
contained. Let these subtle feelings expand and settle in your awareness.
You are learning  the truth of the Yogic saying “This isn’t knowledge you
learn. This is knowledge you become.”
ADVANCED EXPLORATIONIf you want to go more deeply into classic Yoga, there are many  sources
of information about the niyamas, beginn ing with all the free information
online. Look under the Sanskrit names for the niyamas, which are given
below with their traditional translations.
Saucha: Clean body, mind, and spirit
Santosha: Contentment
Tapas: Austerities, self-discipline
Svadhyaya: Self-reﬂection
Ishvara pranidhana: Surrender to or contemplation of a
Supreme Being
OceanofPDF.comWEEK 3
BRINGING THE LIGHT TO YOUR BODY
(Limb of Yoga: Asana)THIS PART OF THE JOURNEY
The third limb of Yoga, known as asana, is about makin g a conscious
connection with your body. From there a union of equals—a spiritual
marriage—can be experienced. Without this connection, there is no true
knowledge of who you really are.
The term asana  has been adopte d for the postur es that Sarah deals with
in Part II of the book. Each posture is specifically aimed at changes in
biology and physiology that affect your mood and mental state. A precise
science underlie s this branch of Yoga. It is an inner science, despite the
physical image of a yogi sitting in lotus position that most peop le see when
they think of Y oga.
In Week 3, I will focus on the inner science, presenting the pure view of
Patanjali, which holds that the body is a disguised form of consciousness.
Remove the disguise—cells, tissues, organs, and systems—and you will
discover how to bring your body into the light. Perhaps it is fairer to say
that your body is going to bring you into the light.
MONDAY
The Conscious Body
Begin by silently repeating today’ s theme:
I experience my body as a ﬂow of awareness.
I experience my body as a ﬂow of awareness.
Your body isn’ t a machine, even a miraculous machine, but a storehouse
of infini te know ledge. If we look at any process in the body, from a cell
dividing to reproduce itself to the immune system repelling an invader or


 up in itself is a totally  relaxed,
spontaneous state, open to whatever happens here and now.
YOUR EXPERIENCE:

 DAY 7

The stringing together of perceptual snapshots creates a
sense of continuity, the same way a movie is created from
the rapid sequence of still frames.
When the invention of motion pictures revealed that our eyes
can be fooled b y stringing together a series of snapshots at  twenty-
four frames per second, a d eeper truth about reality was also
revealed. The human brain w orks by the firing of neuron s. Each
firing is  a burst of energy, followed by a pause, then the ne xt burst.
The bursts slice reality into bits of information from the five
senses. When a train races past you, you are not seeing it in
motion. You are seeing bursts of information in your brain that
give the illusion of motion. Likewise, you don’t hear con tinuous
sounds.
The con tinuity of your life is  a necessary illusion. We have to
see the world in motion so that we can live in motion, no t frozen
bits of sensation. Right now you are experiencing pictures and
stories created in your mind through the same piecing-together
process. When you wake up, these pictures and stories will  be seen
for wha t they are: artificial constructs of the mind. You will live
from th e “real” reality that is beyond pictures and s tories—
consciousness itself.
For Today
Sit in front of a moving image on your TV or computer—this
can be anythin g, from people walking around to a news or sports
event. Focus on something m oving across the screen from left to
right. In reality there is no person moving across the screen; not a
single p hoton of light is movi ng across the screen. Instead, burstsof color are ha ppening, each one totally stationary. By s tringing
these bursts in a sequence, th e illusion of motion is creat ed. Now
notice how hard it is to see the actual process taking place before
your very eyes. Your mind m ust see motion because, since you
were bo rn, the world has been a series of pictures in moti on—this
is how conditioned you are to accept an illusion as reality.
YOUR EXPERIENCE:

 DAY 8

The physical body and the appearance of the physical
world are created in the mind as constructs from
sensations that are intermittent and ephemeral.
In daily life we do not investigate how the mind creates a three-
dimensional world out of random, meaningless bits of sensation.
Starting with the simple world a baby experiences, everything gets
more an d more complicated. A newborn cannot focus on its hand,
which l ooks like a pink blob floating in the air. In time the blob
becomes a hand attached to the body; it acquires a name; it
develops many  skills. Medicine studies it down to every tis sue and
cell.
This buildup of knowledge occurs in the mind and is created by
the min d. A naked hand has  no story to tell; it has no developed
skills. E verything a hand can become when it belongs to a skilled
painter, sculptor, circus performer, chef, or welder is mind-made.
The same goes for the whol e body and the physical world. We
construct virtual reality so that we can have the pictures and
stories that are necessary for being human.
For Today
Take a  sheet of ordinary 8 ½ × 11-inch paper and poke a
pinhole in the center. If you hold the paper close to your eye, you
can see the wh ole room through the pinhole—this is your mental
picture of the room. Now hold the paper one or two inch es from
your eye, until you see only p arts of familiar objects—just pieces of
lamps, chairs, windows, and so on. Try to walk around the room
seeing only these bits and pi eces. It is quite difficult. Deprived of
the picture your mind makes, the room is a disconnected  jumbleof fragmented images. Reflect on how you have used the mind to
construct the familiar three-dimensional world you accept at face
value.
YOUR EXPERIENCE:

 DAY 9

The appearance of the body and the world are activities in
consciousness—verbs, not nouns—constantly and rapidly
changing.
When you enter a room, go to work, or take a stroll outdoors,
the objects you see appear to be fixed and stable—but they aren’t.
Your b rain is constantly firing to keep the illusion of stability
going. Your five senses cooperate by turning photons into pictures
and air  vibrati ons into recognizable sounds. In other words, you
are constantly  making the world. An ever-changing, endless
process is taking place in your awareness. Therefore, the outer
world is an ever-changing, endless process wearing the disguise of
fixed, stable objects. By waking up, you see past the mask of
matter, reconnecting with the creative process that makes the
world.
For Today
Look at  a photo of a friend, family member, or celebrity. Now
turn it upside down. Notice  that you cannot recognize the face
anymore. A hitch has occurred in your brain, which is conditioned
to r ecognize faces only righ t side up. There was a process to
recognizing a face; the face itself is meaningless. Or imagine
placing a photo on a turntable and setting it spinning (you can try
this on a lazy Susan or a record player). Notice that you cannot
make sense of the photo wh ile it is revolving. The movin g world
has no reality until the min d constructs it into a human  world.
Constant change acquires the illusion of stability and nonchange.YOUR EXPERIENCE:

 DAY 10

The mental construct of the body and the world is the
product of centuries of conditioning.
In daily life we accept the world as a given. Trees, mountains,
clouds, and sky are simply th ere. But these are merely the scenery
of v irtual reality. Everything i n the world beyond raw sens ory data
is r ooted in mythology, history, religion, philosophy, culture,
economics, and language. Raw sensation is overlaid with this
complex conditioning. As a result, the body and the world we
perceive have been interpreted in advance. They exist as
extensions of the human drama. By waking up, you step out of the
drama to be who you really are. You see that virtual reality is a
kind of hand-me-down, which you no longer have to settle for.
For Today
Here is a simple exercise in perception. Contemplate the letter
A. When you set eyes on it, you saw a simple sign made with three
short strokes of a pen. Bu t those strokes have no i nherent
meaning, as you can instantly determine by turning A  on its side
or u pside down. The meani ng of A  is emb edded in it. It is an
ancient meanin g, going back to the Phoenician alphabet. M ixed in
is the Hebrew letter aleph, which stands for the beginning,
creation, and God. A  is syno nymous with one, which connotes
individuality a nd the start of  arithmetic. A  is  a de sirable grade in
school, and if you earn enough A s, y ou are like ly to be well -
educated and end up prosperous.
If a sing le lette r of the alphab et carries so much history a nd so
many implications, imagine how complex the fabric of the human
world i s. We inherit a weal th of meanings that hold the worldtogether but also become a burden. (Think of all the trouble
caused by another letter of the alphabet, I.)
YOUR EXPERIENCE:

 DAY 11

The mind itself is nothing other than conditioned
awareness.
Each of us was born into an interpreted world. Pre vious
generations spent their lives giving everything a human
meaning.  Every newbo rn grows up by learning the ropes, and
once you can navigate the world—walking, talking, making life
choices, forming relationships—you find your place in virtual
reality. At some point you w ould like to have your own unique
experiences. “I want to be me” is a powerful incentive.
But the  only way to have an e xperience is to use the mind, and
everyone’s mind is totally conditioned. It had no choice. By
learning the ropes, each of u s sacrificed “I want to be me” in the
name o f “I want to fit in.” Mo re than social pressure was at work.
The rules of v irtual reality require us to accept a shared set of
pictures, stories, beliefs, and  habits. By waking up, you get to be
yourself beyond the rules. The “real” reality is always new and
original.
For Today
Today the challenge is to ha ve a thought that is totally your
own. Su ch a thought cannot echo anything you’ve heard s omeone
else say  or anything you’ve re ad in a book. It can’t be couc hed in a
familiar phras e. It must not grow out of memory, becau se then
you would only be repeatin g the past. Faced with this  simple
challenge, you can see how ti ghtly the conditioned mind holds you
in its grip. The re are well-tried


	eyeball	itself.	Thus,	vision	deteriorates.
To	maintain	or	improve	your	natural	vision,	corrective	lenses	are	not	the
answer.	Corrective	lenses	cause	damage	to	eye	tissues,	forcing	them	to	work	in
unnatural	ways.	This	“fix”	creates	a	vicious	cycle;	as	vision	deteriorates,
stronger	prescriptions	are	needed.	Corrective	lenses	address	the	symptoms	of
vision	loss,	doing	nothing	to	solve	the	underlying	problems.
By	contrast,	vision	improvement	techniques	address	the	causes	of	vision
problems.	Losing	your	vision	and	wearing	corrective	lenses	can	often	be
avoided.	You	can	learn	eye	exercises	that	prevent	vision	loss,	and	improving
vision	after	it	is	impaired	also	is	possible.	Vision	maintenance	techniques
enhance	the	strength	and	flexibility	of	the	muscles	and	tissues	of	the	eye,
improving	focus	and	clarity	of	vision	at	any	distance:
•	When	reading	or	working	at	a	computer,	occasionally	take	a	minute	to
look	out	the	window	at	a	distant	object,	studying	the	details	of	that	object.
This	activity	allows	the	eye	muscles	to	relax.	(Blankly	gazing	out	the
window	does	not	make	eye	tissues	return	to	their	natural	shape,	whereas
focusing	on	distant	details	does.)	Do	this	once	every	thirty	minutes	or	so	for
about	a	minute	at	a	time.	The	exercise	takes	very	little	effort	and	helps	to
preserve	your	vision.
•	If	you	wear	corrective	lenses,	be	sure	to	take	them	off	whenever	they	are
not	needed,	thus	giving	your	eyes	an	opportunity	to	work	naturally,
especially	when	you	are	outdoors	where	the	eyes	can	also	receive	full-
spectrum	light.•	For	more	tips	on	eyesight,	see	appendix	E.
Reading,	writing	or	sitting	at	a	computer	all	day	damages	your	eyesight,
unless	you	take	the	time	to	rest	and	exercise	your	eyes—another	important
aspect	of	damage	control	on	the	physical	pathway.
Heat	Treatments	Get	Rid	of	Toxins
Not	only	do	saunas	feel	good,	they	are	good!	Saunas	get	your	heart	beating
and	your	blood	circulating,	helping	the	body	to	detoxify	in	unique	and	important
ways.	Toxins	do	the	damage,	and	saunas	help	with	damage	control.	Saunas	or
other	heat	treatments	help	to	accomplish	detoxification	in	the	following	manner:
A	layer	of	fat	and	oil	exists	just	below	the	surface	of	the	skin.	Heat	from	the
sauna	increases	skin	temperature,	causing	those	fats	and	oils	to	“melt”	and	ooze
out	of	the	skin’s	oil	glands.	As	sweat	and	oil	are	secreted,	the	toxins	dissolved	in
them	are	secreted	as	well.	By	excreting	these	toxins	and	then	washing	them	off
your	body,	your	toxic	load	is	lowered	and	cellular	health	improves.
Anything	that	raises	the	temperature	of	your	skin	for	an	extended	period	of
time	is	helpful,	including	sweat	wraps,	steam	rooms,	hot	baths	and	spas.	Choose
a	temperature	that	can	be	tolerated	for	an	extended	period	of	time—thirty
minutes	to	an	hour	or	more.	The	point	is	not	to	sweat	out	a	lot	of	water,	but	to	rid
your	body	of	oil-soluble	toxins.	Our	skin	contains	sweat	glands	and	oil	glands,
both	of	which	help	us	detoxify.	Sweat	gets	rid	of	water-soluble	toxins,	and	even
helps	to	eliminate	toxic	heavy	metals	such	as	mercury	and	cadmium.
Oil	glands	help	remove	oil-soluble	toxins	that	the	body	would	otherwise	have
a	difficult	time	eliminating.	We	have	created	a	world	filled	with	oil-soluble
toxins	such	as	gasoline,	solvents,	pesticides	and	ingredients	in	toothpaste	and
personal	care	products,	and	the	body	is	not	able	to	dispose	of	them	efficiently.
The	longer	the	skin	is	heated,	the	more	oil-soluble	toxins	are	eliminated.
Be	careful	not	to	overheat!	The	challenge	is	finding	an	environment	where
you	can	keep	your	skin	temperature	up	for	an	extended	period	of	time	without
overheating	or	dehydrating.	Overheating	and	perhaps	feeling	dizzy	can	happen
easily	if	you	stay	in	a	steam	room,	a	hot	tub	or	the	top	bench	of	a	hot	sauna	too
long.	Choose	a	“low	temperature”	sauna	(110–120	degrees),	and	use	it	for	an
extended	period	of	time—an	hour	or	more	is	best—though	you	may	have	to
work	up	to	this	duration	gradually.	In	a	commercial	sauna	(which	is	usually	too
hot),	try	lying	flat	on	the	lowest	bench.	Remember:	Drinking	adequate	amounts
of	water	before,	during	and	after	your	sauna	is	essential	in	order	to	prevent
dehydration.
Every	time	I	go	to	the	gym	to	exercise,	I	spend	an	hour	or	more	in	the	sauna,lying	prone	on	the	lowest	bench	to	keep	the	temperature	moderate.	Sitting	on	the
top	bench	in	a	high	temperature	for	a	short	period	of	time	does	not	aid	in	the
elimination	of	oil-soluble	toxins;	effective	elimination	of	these	toxins	takes	time.
A	good	supplement	program,	containing	fat-mobilizing	vitamins	and	essential
fatty	acids	makes	the	sauna	even	more	effective	(see	appendix	B	and	C).	Be	sure
to	shower	afterwards;	prevent	those	toxins	from	reabsorbing	back	into	your	body
by	washing	with	a	nontoxic	Castile	soap	(see	appendix	C).	Taking	saunas	or
other	“heat	treatments”	is	not	a	luxury,	but	like	exercise,	is	a	physical
responsibility	and	an	important	element	of	the	physical	pathway.	Incorporating
saunas	after	exercise	is	even	better.	Exercise	begins	to	mobilize	toxins	and
saunas	continue	the	process.	You	may	need	to	make	a	few	sauna	visits	before
you	can	tolerate	extended	periods	of	time,	but	the	benefits	of	these	heat
treatments	are	incredible.	These	treatments	feel	good	for	very	good	reasons;	they
provide	beneficial	physical	stimulation—including	increased	lymphatic	and
cardiovascular	circulation,	as	well	as	the	removal	of	toxins—	all	of	which	are
good	for	the	health	and	function	of	your	cells.
EMFs:	Environmental	Assault	and	Battery
Some	forms	of	physical	damage	are	obvious;	others	are	invisible	to	the	naked
eye,	such	as	electromagnetic	radiation	from	sources	such	as	medical	X	rays,
microwaves,	cell	phones,	TVs,	power	lines,	broadcast	antennae	and	other
electrical	items.	Electromagnetic	radiation	can	affect	and	damage	our	cells,
leading	to	a	variety	of	diseases	including	cancer.
The	two	kinds	of	electromagnetic	radiation	are	ionizing	and	non-ionizing.
Ionizing	radiation	(atom	bombs,	medical	radiation,	X	rays)	is	the	horrifying	kind
of	radiation	that	we	already	know	can	injure	and	kill.	Non-ionizing	radiation
(microwaves	and	electromagnetic	fields)	is	easily	overlooked	and	often	labeled
“benign.”	Non-ionizing	radiation	has	measurable	effects	on	cells	and	is	therefore
important	to	consider.	Some	scientists	have	made	ominous	statements	about	the
effects	on	human	health.	The	introduction	of	man-made	e


 for the development of a
type, or species, so do we here find much human wastage apparently for a similar purpose. One
may think of the insane and the defectives as so many individuals wasted in order that a few
geniuses may be developed. It would seem' that in order to produce one genius there must be
battalions of criminals, weaklings and lunatics. Nietzsche must have had biologic implications of
this sort in mind when he spoke of the masses as merely "fertilizers" for the genius. This is why
the genius has been compared to the lily on the dunghill. He absorbs all the energy of his family
group, leaving the fertilizing mass depleted.
    Our recent data on the primitive races indicate that this theory is not true, since in a single
generation various types and degrees of physical, mental or moral crippling may occur in spite of
their purity of blood and all that inheritance could accomplish as a reinforcement through the ages.
    The extent to which the general public has taken for granted that there is a direct relationship
between mental excellence and mental deficiency is illustrated by the commonly heard expression
"great wits and fools are near akin" which expresses tersely the attitude of a modern school of
psychiatry. This doctrine is not supported by controlled data from scientifically organized
investigations. One of the principal exponents quoted is Maudsley who stated "it is not
exaggeration to say that there is hardly ever a man of genius who has not insanity or nervous
disorder of some form in his family." Many reviews of the lives of great men have been published in
support of this doctrine. Havelock Ellis, however, one of the leading psychologists and
psychiatrists of our day, has shown that the percentage of cases substantiating this doctrine is less
than 2 per cent and less than half that proportion found in the population at large, which in a tested
group he found to be 4.2 per cent. East of Harvard in discussing this problem states, after
reviewing the evidence pro and con: "Thus it is seen that where one collates the work of the most
competent investigators on the possibility of relation between insanity and genius the conclusion is
unavoidable that none exists."
   Those who still believe in the old fatalistic doctrines may answer the questions why the last child
is affected seriously much more often than would be expected through chance; or why the most
severe defectives are born after mothers have exceeded forty years of age; and still further why
our defectives are found chiefly among the later members of large families. These facts are not
explainable by Mendel's laws of heredity.
    Professor J. C. Brash, of the University of Birmingham, in his monograph (2) discusses the
current theories in detail. He emphasizes the role of heredity as the controlling factor in the origin of
divergencies. However, all of the distortions of the face and jaws which he presents as being
related to heredity can be duplicated, as I have shown, in the disturbances appearing in the first
and second generation after primitive racial stocks have adopted the foods of our modern
civilizations in displacement of their native foods. He emphasizes the importance of an adequate7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 237/250diet during the growth period of the child, and also the fact that malocclusion is not a direct
manifestation of rickets. Hellman has emphasized the importance of childhood diseases. The
disturbances which we are studying here, however, are not related to these influences.
    Two of the outstanding advances in laboratory and clinical approach to this problem of the
relation of the structure of the brain to its function as expressed in mentality and behavior have
been the work of Tredgold in England, referred to in Chapter 19, and the "Waverly Researches in
the Pathology of the Feeble-Minded," in Massachusetts. Tredgold recognizes two sources of brain
injury, "germinal blight" and ''arrest'' and puts particular stress on the former as being pathological
and not spontaneous, and related to the germ of either or both parents due to poisoning of the
germ cell. The "arrest" problems have to do with intra-uterine environmental disturbances.
    The Waverly group have made very detailed anatomical studies, both gross and microscopic, of
brains of mental defectives and related these data to the clinical characteristics of the individuals
both mental and physical when living. They have reported in detail two groups of studies of ten
individuals each. In their summary of the second group they state: (3)
  The provisional conclusions drawn from the second series and the combined first and second
series are much in agreement with the original conclusions drawn from the first series which
were as follows: First that measurable brain can be correlated with testable mind in the low and
high orders with fairly positive results. That is the small simple brains represented the low
intellects or idiots and the most complex brain patterns corresponded to the high grade, moronic
and subnormal types of feeble-mindedness.
    The lessons from the primitive races demonstrate certain procedures that should be adopted for
checking the progressive degeneration of our modernized cultures. If, as now seems indicated,
mal-development with its production of physical, mental and moral cripples is the result of forces
that could have been reduced or prevented, by what program shall we proceed to accomplish this
reduction or prevention?
   I have presumed in this discussion that the primitive races are able to provide us with valuable
information. In the first place, the primitive peoples have carried out programs that will produce
physically excellent babies. This they have achieved by a system of carefully planned nutritional
programs for mothers-to-be. It is important to note that they begin this process of special feeding
long before conception takes place, not leaving it, as is so generally done until after the mother-to-
be knows she is pregnant. In some instances special foods are given the fathers-to-be, as well as
the mothers-to-be. Those groups of primitive racial stocks who live by the sea and have access to
animal life from the sea, have depended largely upon certain types of animal life and animal
products. Specifically, the Eskimos, the people of the South Sea Islands, the residents of the
islands north of Australia, the Gaelics in the Outer Hebrides, and the coastal Peruvian Indians have
depended upon these products for their reinforcement. Fish eggs have been used as part of this
program in all of these groups. The cattle tribes of Africa, the Swiss in isolated high Alpine valleys,
and the tribes living in the higher altitudes of Asia, including northern India, have depended upon a
very high quality of dairy products. Among the primitive Masai in certain districts of Africa, the
girls were required to wait for marriage until the time of the year when the cows were on the
rapidly growing young grass and to use the milk from these cows for a certain number of months
before they could be married. In several agricultural tribes in Africa the girls were fed on special
foods for six months before marriage. The need for this type of program is abundantly borne out
by recent experimental work on animals, such as I have reported in Chapters 17, 18 and 19.
    Another important feature of the control of excellence of child life among the primitive races has
been the systematic spacing of children by control of pregnancies. The interval between children
ranged from two and a half to four years. For most of the tribes in Africa this was accomplished by
the plural-wife system. The wife with the youngest child was protected.
    The original Maori culture of New Zealand accomplished the same end by birth control and
definite planning. In one of the Fiji Island tribes the minimum spacing was four years.7/29/13 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#toc 238/250    These practices are in strong contrast with either the haphazard, entirely unorganized programs
of individuals in much of our modern civilization, or the organized over-crowding of pregnancies
also current. The question arises immediately: what can be done in the light of the data that I have
presented in this volume to improve the condition of our modern civilization? A first requisite and
perhaps by far the most important is that of providing information indicating why our present
haphazard or over-crowded programs of pregnancies are entirely inadequate. This should include,
particularly, the education of the highschool-age groups, both girls and boys.
    In the matter of instruction of boys and girls it is of interest that several of the primitive races
have very definite programs. In some, childbirth clinics supervised by the midwife are held for the
growing girls. With several of these tribes, however, the ease with which childbirth is accomplished
is so great that it is looked upon as quite an insignificant experience. Among the ancient Peruvians,
particularly the Chimu culture, definite programs were carried out for teaching the various
procedures in industry, home-building and home management. This was accomplished by
reproducing in pottery form, as on practical water jugs, the various incidents to be demonstrated.
The matter of childbirth was reproduced in detail in pottery form so that it was common
knowledge for all young people from earliest observation to the time the practical problems arose.
Many of the problems related directly were similarly illustrated in pottery forms.
    It is not sufficient that information shall be available through maternal health clinics to young
married couples. If pigs need several months of special feeding in order that the mothers-to-be
may be prepared for adequate


 along the top of the right arm all the way to
the shoulder and across the chest. Repeat by pressing and releasing
along the underside of the right arm, from the hand up to the forearm,
shoulder, and chest. Your pressure should be firm and the massage
should be gradual and continuous. Repeat on the left side, making sure
to massage both the top and underside of the arm.
Figure 2. Toning-up exer cise, hands.
Bring the tips of the fingers to your navel and with both hands on the
belly, begin to press and release around the abdomen, gradually
moving the pressure up to the heart.
Massage by pressing and releasing your lower back, kidney area, and
ribs, moving up toward the heart.Start with the right foot, grasping and massaging the toes, soles, and
tops of the feet, moving up the calves, thighs, hips, and stomach,
continuing the motion up toward the heart. Repeat on the left leg,
moving up to the hips and continuing all the way to the heart.
Figure 3. Toning-up exer cise, feet.
Lie on your back and lengthen the spine, keeping the head and neck
long and free. Bring the knees up to your chest, clasp your hands over
the knees, and begin to roll slowly and easily from side to side. Always
allow your neck to be relaxed and free. Breathe normally.
Roll 5 times to each side and then release the arms and slowly extend
your legs out from the hips. Let the body be completely relaxed.
Figure 4. Toning-up exer cise, side r oll.
Figure 5. Toning-up exer cise, side r oll.
II. SEA T FIRMING POSE— Vajrasana (30 seconds to 1 minute)
Begin by kneeling and sitting with the buttocks on the heels. The feet
should be slightly apart and the big toes crossed. Lengthen the spine,
widen the rib cage, and slightly lift the chest. The head and neck
should be long and free. Look straight ahead and breathe easily. Place
your hands in your lap with the right hand on top of the left, palms up.
As you inhale, lift the buttocks of f the heels and come up to a kneeling
position. Keep the spine lengthened and the chest open and lifted.
Relax the shoulders. On the exhalation, slowly lower the body and sit
back down on the heels. Repeat again smoothly, with even breaths.
Move slowly. Breathe deeply and easily, keeping the front and back of
your body lively, long, and free.
Benefits : This asana strengthens the pelvic region, removes tension from the
knees and ankles, and builds a strong foundation for the back.
III. HEAD TO KNEE POSE— Janu Sirsasana  (About 1 minute)Sit down and extend your legs straight out in front of you. Stretch
through the backs of the legs and heels, toes pointing up toward the
head.
Figure 6. Seat-firming pose, starting position.
Bend your left knee and place the sole of your left foot against the
inside of the right thigh.
Inhale and lift your arms straight up from the upper back, stretching
them over your head. On the exhalation, bend your body forward and
down, elongating the spine. Keep lengthening the spine, arms, and
neck as you come forward. Avoid collapsing your chest or
overrounding your upper back. You may soften the front knee slightly
to further release your lower back.
Hold the pose for a few breaths. Then inhale and release your arms
from the upper back, opening the chest forward and up as you bring
your arms over the head. Repeat again on the same side, moving
slowly and comfortably. Inhale as you raise your body and exhale as
you lower your arms down to your sides.Figure 7. Seat-firming pose, er ect position.
Figure 8. Head to knee pose.
Perform this posture on the other side. Fully extend your left leg in
front of you. Bend your right knee and place the sole of your right foot
against the inside of your left thigh.Breathe and move into the posture slowly. Exhale as you bend your
body forward and down and inhale as you come up. Then repeat the
pose again on the same side. Breathe normally and hold for a few
breaths without strain. After you come up, exhale and lower your arms
down to the sides.
Benefits: This pose strengthens and relax es the spine, tones the abdome n,
liver, and spleen, and aids in digestion.
IV. SHOULDER ST AND—Sarvangasana (Start by holding for 30
seconds; gradually increase to 2 minutes if you are comfortable in
the Pose.)
Note of Caution: If you are a beginner or have stiffness or problems in the
upper back and neck, practice this posture with one or two blankets placed
under the shoulders to protect the neck, or do a half shoulder stand rather
than completely  straightening the body in the full pose. Perform this posture
slowly. If you have a chronic back problem or high blood pressure, be sure
to check with your doctor before performing this pose. (Ayurveda advises
against standing on the head, as it can injure the brain, neck, and spine if
practiced improperly.)
Lie on your back and press your arms and hands flat against the floor.
Relax your shoulders and lengthen the spine.
As you exhale, bend your knees and slowly raise your legs over the
waist. Push your palms against the floor and swing your knees up and
over your head. Bend the elbows, keeping them in toward the body
and in line with your shoulders. Support your back with your hands
above the hips. The elbows and the shoulders should create a stable
platform to support your body.Figure 9. Shoulder  stand.
Straighten your legs by lengthening through both heels and the balls of
your feet. Allow your spine to stretch up toward the ceiling. Fully
stretch your legs out from the hips to keep your body in a straight line
from the ankles to the shoulders. Extend the spine upward.
If you choose to do the half shoulder stand, don’ t straighten your body
all the way. Support the weight of your body with your hands, while
making an angle with your legs. The feet point in the direction of the
head. ( Note : This is a shoulder stand, not a neck stand, so there should
be no strain in the neck or throat. This is very important.) Keep the
breath smooth and let your face relax. Hold the posture for a few
breaths, increasing the time you stay in this pose as is comfortable.
Benefits : This asana enlivens the entire endocrine system, increases
circulation to the thyroid gland, relieves mental fatigue, brings flexibility tothe spine, and has a soothing ef fect on the body.
V. PLOW  POSE—Halasana (15 seconds to 1 minute)
Continue into this next posture as you exhale and bend from the pelvis
to bring both legs down over the head. Keep the legs stretching straight
out through the heels so that the legs are at a right angle to the torso.
Let the spine lengthen to avoid overcurving the upper back. Keep your
breath smooth and continuous.
Allow your legs to go back only as far as you feel comfortable,
without collapsing the spine or chest. Be careful not to put too much
strain on the neck. (If you feel pain, slowly release and come out of the
pose.)
Now extend the arms straight out behind you in the opposite direction,
away from your legs and head. The torso should rest on the tops of the
shoulders, the hips maintaining a vertical line with the shoulder joints.
Lengthen your spine.
Figure 10. Plow pose, arms extended.Figure 1 1. Plow pose, arms behind head.
Fold the arms over your head and hold for a few breaths.
To come down, exhale, bend your knees, and support the lower back
with your hands. Slowly and easily uncurl the spine with the knees
bent until you are lying flat. Rest comfortably for a few moments.
Be sure to let your breathing be smooth, especially in the Shoulder
Stand and Plow. The quality of your breath will be an indication of
whether you are straining or pushing too far.
Benefits : The Plow pose strengthens and relaxes the back, neck, and
shoulders. It improves perform ance of the liver and spleen and removes
fatigue. Both the Shoulder Stand and the Plow stimulate and normalize
functioning of the thyroid gland.
VI. COBRA  POSE— Bhujangasana (30 seconds to 1 minute)
Lie facedown on your stomach, bring the feet together and the hands
directly under your shoulders, fingers pointing forward. Slightly
elongate the spine to protect your lower back.On the inhalation, lift and expand the chest forward and up as you
press down with the hands. Keep your elbows close in to the body and
continue to extend the spine upward. Open and widen the chest and
move the shoulders down and away from your ears to free the neck
and head. Let the upper back widen and lengthen.
Hold for a few breaths, then exhale and come down slowly.
Repeat the pose 1 to 3 times, beginning with the inhalation and lifting
from the chest. Be careful not to initiate this movement


ens	into	your	diet,	since	raw	greens	are	considered
cooling.
•
Eat	sweet,	watery	fruits	such	as	pineapples	and	mangoes	to	help	balance	the
internal	“fire.”•
Avoid	full	body	saunas	and	spa	treatments	that	saturate	your	face	in	heat.
The	half	infrared	sauna	is	a	great	option	(see	Kimberly’s	website	for
recommendations	at
kimberlysnyder.
com
).
•
Avoid	fragrances,	dyes,	and	acids,	which	can	all	be	irritating	to	the	skin.
Here	are	a	few	great	skin-care	ingredients	to	incorporate	for	red,	patchy	skin:
•
Chamomile	and	aloe	are	soothing	ingredients	for	your	skin.
•
Green	tea	acts	as	a	natural	anti-inflammatory	and	helps	neutralize	aging	and
irritating	free	radicals.
RADICAL	SOOTHER	MASK
Cucumber,	green	tea,	and	chamomile	are	all	cooling,	anti-inflammatory	ingredients	that	are	fantastic
for	soothing	inflamed	skin.	You	do	not	necessarily	have	to	peel	an	organic	cuke,	as	there	is	lots	of
zinc
and	other	minerals	in	the	skin.	As	with	all	recipes	in	this	book	and	in	general,	use	organic	products	as
much	as	possible.
2	tablespoons	cucumber,	peeled	and	seeded
1	teaspoon	brewed	and	cooled	green	tea	(preferably
loose	leaf)
1	teaspoon	brewed	and	cooled	chamomile	tea
(preferably	loose	leaf)
1	tablespoon	aloe	vera	gel
1	tablespoon	arrowroot	flour	(also	known	as	starch)
Blend	the	cucumber,	green	tea,	and	chamomile	tea	together	(if	you	have	trouble	blending	such	a	small
amount,	just	mash	the	cucumber	in	a	mortar	and	pestle	with	the	teas).	Mix	in	the	aloe	vera	gel	and
arrowroot	flour	until	the	mixture	starts	to	thicken.	Place	in	the	refrigerator	for	about	30	minutes	to
cool.	Spread	over	face	and	neck	in	an	even	layer	and	relax	for	about	20	minutes	before	rinsing	it	off.
Spider	Veins
You	can	blame	your	grandmother	for	these	beauties.	Poor	Granny	is	sweet	and
innocent,	and	you	sure	do	love	that	great	lady,	but	the	fact	is	that	vein	issues	are
largely	linked	to	heredity.	Most	of	us	never	think	about	our	veins	and	take
them	completely	for	granted.	That	is,	until	they	start	rearing	their	bluish,
unwanted	heads	up	to	the	surface!	There	are	two	main	types	of	cosmetically
unfortunate	vein	issues.	The	first	is	varicose	veins,	which	can	be	a	more	serious
form	of	venous	insufficiency.	These	can	lead	to	pain	and	soreness,	as	well	as
restless	legs.	If	these	issues	have	become	a	problem	for	you,	get	them	checked
out	by	your	doctor.On	the	other	hand,	telangiectasia,	commonly	known	as	spider	veins,	can
indicate	a	much	more	mild	form	of	venous	insufficiency.	They	are	cosmetically
a	doozy,	but	are	not	health-	or	life-threatening.	So	what	causes	these
unfortunate	blue	malfunctions?	Broken-down	valves	in	the	veins	cause	venous
insufficiency.
These	malfunctioning	valves	prevent	blood	flow	back	to	the
arteries,	which	can	cause	blood	to	accumulate	and	pool	up.	Such	vein	issues	can
become	more	pronounced	if	one	is	sedentary	or	has	reduced	circulation,	and
they	can	even	be	aggravated	by	hormonal	issues	like	hormone	replacement
therapy,	pregnancy,	or	birth	control.
4
	Here	are	some	things	you	can	do	about
them:
•
Walk	around	often	to	keep	circulation	flowing.
•
If	you	stand	still	often,	look	into	compression	hose	to	help	with	support.
Some	are	more	visually	appealing	than	others,	and	you	might	not	want	to
wear	some	of	them	on	your	bare	legs	(at	least	out	in	public),	but	you	can
certainly	wear	them	under	a	long	skirt	or	pants.
•
When	showering,	massage	the	area	around	the	broken	veins	first	in	a	gentle
circular	motion	and	then	in	an	upward	motion	to	help	improve	circulation.
(Avoid	this	with	painful	varicose	veins.)
•
Dry	brush	your	skin,	as	discussed	earlier	on
this	page
,	which	helps	stimulate
the	growth	and	repair	of	the	tissues	and	underlying	veins	by	increasing
blood	flow	to	the	area.	It	also	helps	remove	the	blood	that	has	leaked	out	of
the	capillaries	by	diffusing	it	into	the	interstitial	fluids	for	removal.
Brushing	the	spider	veins	very	gently	in	a	circular	motion	then	upward
toward	the	heart	several	times	per	day	can	improve	their	appearance.
•
Vitamins	A,	B	complex,	C,	D,	and	E	are	all	great	nutrients	to	help	with
tissue	repair,	optimal	circulation,	and	strong	veins.	Great	sources	include
carrots,	nutritional	yeast,	mushrooms,	almonds,	lemons,	and	bell	peppers.
•
Avoid	inflammatory	vegetable	oils,	especially	when	cooked,	which	can
become	rancid	in	your	body	and	increase	free	radicals	and	cellular	damage.
•
Make	sure	you	eat	the	right	beauty
fats,	such	as	avocados,	coconut	oil,	and
olive	oil	(best	taken	raw	and	lightly	on	certain	dishes	such	as	salads).	This
can	help	you	build	nice	strong	cell	walls.
•
Eat
pineapple!	It	contains	a	dietary	enzyme	called	bromelain,	which	can
improve	overall	circulation	by	reducing	the	buildup	of	fibrin	along	the	walls
of	the	blood	vessels.
•
Spider	veins	are	often	associated	with	the	use	of	hormone	replacementtherapy	(HRT)	and	birth	control	pills.	High	levels	of	estrogen	from	these
medications	seem	to	aggravate	venous	insufficiency.	If	you	are	using	birth
control	pills,	you	may	want	to	ask	your	doctor	for	a	lower-estrogen-dose
formula.	If	you	are	on	HRT,	you	may	want	to	consider	switching	to	a	lower
dose,	adding	progesterone,	or	using	a	weaker	formula,	such	as	an	estrone
cream.
•
Try	to	elevate	your	legs	to	hip	level	for	a	few	minutes	several	times	a	day.
Frequency	is	more	important	than	the	amount	of	time	in	this	case.	Get	out
of	the	habit	of	crossing	your	legs,	knees,	and	ankles	when	seated.	If	you	have
a	desk	job,	try	to	spend	a	few	minutes	walking	around	every	hour.	If	you
have	a	job	that	requires	standing	for	hours	on	end,	try	to	sit	and	elevate	your
feet	to	hip	level	once	every	hour.
CIRCULATION	AND	REJUVENATION	MASK
Chickpea	flour	has	been	used	in	some
Ayurvedic	recipe	preparations	for	the	skin	and	is	believed	to
help	exfoliate	and	soften	it	as	well	as	stimulate	circulation	and	rejuvenate	tissues.	Bananas	are	a	rich,
incredible	beauty	food	high	in	B	vitamins,	vitamin	A,	and	minerals	such	as	potassium.	Try	this	simple
mask	on	your	face—or	even	on	the	spider-vein	areas	of	your


 portion were intussuscepted so that two yards of their length were telescoped into but five inches, and here the diameter
of lumen was only one -quarter of an inch; all of the small intestines were below normal in size; the transverse colon lay in front of
the descending part of the bowel, an abnormality which largely increased the labor of disposing of body waste ; the ascending and
descending portions of the colon were lacking in development and were cirrhosed or hardened in structure; the sigmoid bend an d
the rectum were of diameter not to exceed that of an adult thumb, and were in an advanced state of cirrhosis;  the liver, the
pancreas, and the spleen all exhibited partial atrophy; brain and nerve centers showed no signs of deterioration.

    As has been stated, surgical intervention is at times essential in order to correct accidental or congenital structural defect in
tissue, and here was a case in which such intervention might have been successfully invoked at the time of the accident noted  in its
history. Neglected then, life was nevertheless prolonged despite the handicap of the abnormalities described, but  at cost constant
suffering.

    Case 7, that of a man fifty -six years of age, presents a history of continuous disease in youth, but includes at least twenty years
of adult life devoted to corrective dieting, judicious fasting, and to constant hygienic care of the body. At the time that the case was
brought to the attention and placed under the direction of the writer, the patient was aware that his condition was such that  recourse
must be had to every agency promising relief or he must succumb. After ex amination, the symptoms showing marked organic
irregularities, it was agreed that but one hope of prolonging life remained, and that this lay in an absolute fast. By it wou ld be
determined either the ability of the organism to continue functioning, or assu rance that the human machine had reached the point
where life could be no longer maintained.

    The fast began, and there was no marked disturbance until the twenty -first day, while relief was such that the patient and all
about him hoped and believed t hat the improvement noted was permanent in character; but on this day and thereafter unfavorable
symptoms progressively developed, and on the thirty -second day of the fast, the case lapsed into coma, which continued until an
abscess which had formed in the  nasal cavity was with difficulty discharged. Great ease in all respects resulted, and the patient
became conscious, assisting with interest in the efforts being made to promote his recovery. Death, however, occurred on the
thirty -eighth day of fasting.

    At all times during this fast large amounts of mucus were discharged in the enemas, and at intervals pain, sometimes
excruciating in kind, was felt in the bladder. In the latter stages pus in abundance appeared in the urine, and during the la st few
days of life the bladder ceased functioning, its contents being removed by catheterization. In this case muscular strength was
shown in remarkable degree, during the fast and until the day of death. The patient was able at all times during conciousness  to
move himself in bed, to rise at intervals, and to assist himself in ways that seemed marvelous when his condition is considered.

    The following are the results of the autopsy. The brain, weighing forty -eight and one -half ounces, was perfect in structure. Here
again is corroborative evidence of the truth advanced by Dr. E. H. Dewey, and developed by all who have scientifically
investigated and practically applied the fast as a therapeutic measure, viz., that nerve tissue is never depleted during abstine nce,
since its supply of sustenance is gained directly from body reserve, not from material freshly assimilated and appropriated b y cells
other than those of nerve substance. The lungs of this man were in excellent condition; the heart, organically considered, wa s
perfect, but was filled with a gelatinous mass of serum affected by post mortem change; from the cardiac opening of the st omach
to within two inches of the pylorus there was not a particle of healthy membrane, and the appearance of the walls of this org an was
Page 66 of  72 that of smooth, wet chamois skin; the duodenum was below normal in size, the upper portion of the jejunum being, howev er,
somewhat dilated; about midway in the tube of the small intestine a downward intussusception had taken place, in length about
two and one -half inches; this was of long -standing, since the walls of the bowel had become hardened and thickened, and thus t he
opening through the gut had been considerably reduced; the only section of the colon that was in normal state was the cecum, and
thence to the rectum the organ was infantile in size; in fact, there was not an inch of this part of the intestinal tract in to which the
tip of the index finger could have been introduced; the sigmoid flexure was less developed than any other portion of the gut;  in
reality it was not a flexure or bend, being merely a straight vertical canal continuing the descending colon to th e rectum and anus;
the liver was much congested, its left lobe, however, being partly cirrhosed; the gall bladder was distended with bilious flu id; the
pancreas was much undersize, and the spleen was that of an infant; the kidneys were in a state of degene ration and were pocketed
with pus, which discharged through the ureters into an inflamed bladder, which was itself undersize and capable of containing
within its thickened walls barely three ounces of urine.

    In connection with this undeveloped and fu nctionally inadequate digestive tract, it is interesting to record that the sex organs of
this man were those of a boy of twelve or thirteen. He was underweight and boyish in appearance as well. The condition met wa s
of course the result of disease in earl y life with consequent arrest of organic development.

    Case 9, a civil engineer, twenty -seven years of age, had suffered since childhood with intermittent acute digestive disease, which
was treated as is usual in orthodox practice. Malnutrition finall y became so pronounced that the subject decided that medicine
could no longer suggest anything to alleviate his condition, and he entered a fast of his own volition, coming for consultati on some
days after its beginning. Examination at this time showed the  uselessness of attempting to cope with the organic symptoms that
were most plainly apparent, and it was deemed best to inform the patient that recovery was out of the question. To allay as m uch as
was possible the fears of his family, food was given, but the stomach persistently rejected it, and the fast was perforce continued.
The patient died at the end of twenty -one days of abstinence.

    Post mortem examination revealed an organism with heart, lungs, and digestive organs so extremely arrested in dev elopment
that, had it not been for the adult body in which they had been functioning, they would have been considered as the organs of  a
child four years of age.

    Case 10, a man of thirty -four, whose physical history had been one of constant illness a fter his twentieth year, is next presented.
The patient had been treated medically for indigestion, constipation, and for various fevers. All his life he had been a heav y meat
eater and an inveterate user of strong tea. In later years fermentation, difficu lty in breathing, and abdominal pain invariably
succeeded the ingestion of a meal. For the relief of these symptoms medical correctives and tonics were taken, but the condit ion
gradually grew worse. The patient finally decided to try a fast, but, because o f interference by his family, a liquid diet was
substituted and continued for thirty -five days when death occurred. In this case pulse and temperature before the dietetic regimen
began had been constantly below normal, and during the period given they show ed but little change, the pulse standing at fifty -four
or thereabouts, with temperature as low at times as ninety -three.

    The autopsy disclosed the lungs completely filled with an exudation of serous fluid, a condition that was the immediate cause  of
death. The surface of the body for several weeks had been discolored in spots, these blotches, or cyanosed areas, indicating an
obstructed circulation. This symptom is sometimes present in cases of cirrhosis of the liver, and the latter organ was found in an
advanced stage of atrophic hardening. The stomach held but eight fluid ounces, and it could hold no more, for its outside mus cular
coat was in a permanent state of contraction, while its mucus membrane was very much thickened, making the walls of the or gan
at least one inch in depth or thickness. As a result of the contraction of the outside coating of the stomach, it had become elongated
into a tube, and its normal capacity was much diminished. The duodenum and the upper three feet of the small intestin e were
dilated so that their lumen was three inches in diameter, a structural change which suggests the thought that nature had atte mpted
to remedy in this portion of the alimentary canal the deficiency in size and function existing in the stomach. It is s aid that cirrhosis
of the stomach is a symptom very rarely observed


 of
control, but I was surrendering to it. My morning and
evening meditations were my refuge. Throughout the day
I took every opportunity to quiet myself and center
within. Every time I got into or out of my car, I would
slow down my breath and visualize Earth spinning
through outer space. Before opening a door, any door, I
would r emember that I was walking through a door on
this tiny planet in the vast emptiness of space.
Fortunately, the energy flowing up to the point between
my eyebrows helped me keep the focus of my attention
there. I  slowly began to reali ze that this life of constantservice was the “other way” referred to in the dream I
had. On my ne w path to awakening, life was no longer an
obstacle to my growth. Life was now the battlefield on
which I was to remain conscious enough to willingly
permit my old self to be stripped away. But let it be clear,
I s till had plenty of resistance left in me that had to be
overcome.
I ke pt getting pushed in th e direction of hosting a
retreat for Mataji. I had neve r heard of her, and I really
didn’t w ant to do it. But I su rrendered, and once again
life had something unexpect ed in store for me. A few
days prior to th e retreat, Mataji and I were taking a walk
on my land wh en she suddenly stopped and looked into
the woods. She stood there motionless for a few
moments and then said in a quiet voice, “Mickey, this is a
very ho ly piece of land. Som eday there will be a great
temple here, and many people will come.” I clearly
remember the  voice in my head saying, Over my dead
body!  Yet, within six  months, a temple would be sitting
in that exact spot in the woods.
It w as as thou gh Mataji had been sent here to begin
the process of turning my place of solitude into a
spiritual center. More than once at the retreat she
mentioned tha t there was going to be a great temple on
Mickey’s land.  I cringed ev ery time she said it. The
following Sunday after serv ices, someone announced
that if we wanted to build a temple, we needed to start
raising some money. A few people made small donations,
and others offered me their labor and some materials. I
really d idn’t want another building on my land, but it
seemed everyone else did. Fortunately, by now I had
become pretty  experienced at ignoring what “I” wanted
and, instead, following the flow of life.
That same Sunday, I walked down to my house, took
out a piece o f paper, and began designing the new
temple. In just a few hours, I had a floor plan and a
rough e levation of the building. I wanted to make theroof of the tem ple the main design feature, so I met with
my frien d Bob Gould, and we  decided to give the temple
a bu tterfly roof. A butterfly r oof challenges conventional
roof design because it’s low i n the middle and slopes up
on both sides. From the inside, the temple’s exposed-
beam ceiling would be a unique and dynamic structure
that looked like giant wings opening up toward the sky.
I designed the temple to allow about three times the
sitting a rea afforded by my h ouse. The very next day, I
found the best spot on the lan d to locate the building and
began clearing the site. It wa s, of course, exactly where
Mataji had been staring when she pronounced that a
“great temple will be built.” I had estimated that
materials for the temple would cost about eight thousand
dollars. Labor was not a pro blem; we would just do all
the work ourselves. But the p eople who came out to my
place on Sundays didn’t exac tly have deep pockets. I had
no idea where the money would come from.
The money just kept showing up the moment we
needed it. Sometimes I didn’t even know where it came
from. The closest we came to  being stopped was on a day
when only one or two board s were left in the materials
pile. M y cowo rkers were ribbing me that it had finally
happened—we were out of materials, and I would have to
send th em hom e. I told them  that as long as there was a
single b oard left, we were no t done. We broke for lunch,
and I went out to check the mail. Sitting in my mailbox
was an envelope with two thousand dollars in cash.
There w as no name, and to t his day I have no idea who
put that money there. Things like that just kept
happening, again and again. The amazing part was not
just that the money kept showing up exactly when we
needed it—it kept showing up in exactly the amounts we
needed to go to the next step.
That is how the temple got built. It took about three
months, then suddenly one day it was done. In
September 1975, we held our first Sunday service in thenew temple. People brought gifts of spiritual items that
had meaning to them. A pro fessor of religion brought a
beautiful wood statuette of the Buddha. Another person
brought a picture of Jesus for  the altar, and I went down
to m y house and got my favorite picture of Yogananda,
which h ad bee n sitting in m y meditation space since I
moved in.
Little by little, the items in the temple began to
represent all religions, all sa ints, and all masters. As its
roof raf ters str etched up toward the sky, the temple also
belonged to those whose religion was the reality of the
Infinite. This temple sat on t he planet Earth, a tiny ball
spinning through the vast darkness of empty space. It
spun around one star, of which there were billions in our
galaxy alone. This temple was universal in its embrace of
all the religion s, and it was universal in its embrace of
the universe itself. Thus it ca me to be called—Temple of
the Universe.The T emple of the Universe, with its dynamic butterfly roof, under
construction, 1975.2 5.
O p e n i n g  t h e  H e a r t  C h a k r a
T here was no putting the genie back in the bottle.
Between the retreats, my books, my classes, and the
Temple, we were on the map for people into yoga and the
New A ge mo vement. Run ning retreats for visiting
spiritual teachers must have been what we were
supposed to be doing because I kept getting requests,
one after the other. Before the Temple was even
complete, I had accepted responsibility for sponsoring
another retrea t for a spiritual teacher I had never heard
of. As fate wou ld have it, this teacher would end up being
an important part of my life for years to come.
Amrit Desai was different from our other Indian
visitors. He had lived in America for many years and had
a large spiritual community up north. When he arrived at
the Temple, I was surprised by how many people he
attracted. The first night’s gathering completely filled the
Temple. After the program, which was very powerful, I
found myself intrigued by Amrit’s energy. I wanted to
understand how so much energy could emanate from a
person, espec ially since Amrit never even touched
anyone. I then got pretty braz en. I figured he was a guest
in our house, a nd a proper ho st would make sure that his
guest was taken care of. I too k a deep breath and walked
into the guest r oom where Amrit had gone. He seemed to
be m editating,  so I quietly walked over and sat down
next to him.
The mo ment I sat down, it wa s as though I could feel a
semblance of what he was feeling. The energy flow inside
me increased significantly, a nd I felt as though I hadbeen dropped into an ocean  of love. It was a deeply
spiritual experience. We sat quietly for a while, and then
he turned toward me and said, “I never do this
anymore.” He placed his right hand over my forehead,
and I immediately felt a ge ntle flow of warm energy
passing into my body. The flow was overwhelmingly
powerful, and I became completely transfixed by the
beauty of the e xperience. I could feel the energy building
up with in me and rising tow ard my heart. It filled my
heart fuller and fuller until it burst open. I have never felt
so much love in my enti re life. I was completely
overcome by the flow of ene rgy starting from his hand,
coursing through me, and then pouring out of the burst-
open heart area. By the time Amrit removed his hand
from my forehead, I was so filled with energy that I
couldn’t move. When I finally tried to stand up, it felt like
a po werful magnetic field was attached to my body. I
couldn’t speak, so I didn’t say a word to Amrit as I left
the room.
Over the next few hours, t he force


Worseonwakinginthemorning.
Fever
SymptomsHeat:alternatingwithchills;dry;one-
sided.Withbackache;extremechilliness;shiver-
ing;sweating(seeGeneralSymptoms).
Worseforfreshair;fordraughts;formovement;for
beinguncovered;fortheslightestmovementofthe
bedclothes.
Thepatientwantstobecompletelycoveredwith
warmbedding;hewillbecomechilledifheturnsover
inbedorputsahandoutofbed.Thefevermaybeon
onesideofthebodyonlyandthepatientwillfeeldry
heatexternally,andchillyinternally.Limbsfeelheavy
andtired.Isusuallythirstv.
bloated;intolerantofFlatulence
SymptomsBellystomach:
tightclothing;rumbling.
Betterforpassingwind.
Worseforeating.
Flu
SymptomsPainsinbones;injoints;sore,bruised.
Withsymptomsofcommoncold(seeabove);
chilliness;fever(seeabove).
Betterforwarmcompresses;forwarmthofbed.
Worseinbed;forcold;duringthemorning.
NBSEEALSOPAGES203-26FORGENERALADVICE,DOSANDDON'TS.
126•Opium(Op.) INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA
TheNuxvomicafluissimilartothecommoncold.The
personwillbeextremelychillyandunabletoget
warm.ThetypicalNuxvomicageneralsymptoms
shouldbepresent.
Gastricflu
Symptomsofflu(seeabove).
Hayfever
SymptomsWithcommoncoldsymptoms(see
above).
Nuxvomicatypessufferingfromhayfeverwithcom-
moncoldsymptomswillbenefitfromthisremedy.
Thishayfevermaylasttheentireyear,withnoreliefin
winter.
Headache
SymptomsHeadfeelsheavy;pains:inbackofhead;
inforehead;pressing;sore,bruised;stupefying;tear-
ing.Withbiliousness;dizziness.
Bettertorexcitement;ongettingupinthemorning;for
pressure;forwrappinguphead;duringtheeveningin
bed.
Worseaftereating;forcold;formovingeyes;for
shakinghead.
Causesalcohol;coldwind;commoncold;damp
weather;lossofsleep;mentalstrain;over-eating.
Thisisthetypical'hangover'headachethat.cofneson
themorningafteranightofexcessiveeatingand
drinking.Theeyesoftenfeelsore.
Indigestion
SymptomsBelches:bitter;sour.Belly/stomach:
bloated;empty.Pains:instomach;cramping;
pressing;sore,bruised.Withheartburn.
Betterforhotdrinks;forwarmthofbed.
Worseaftereating;forwearingtightclothing.
Causesalcohol;coffee;mentalstrain;over-eating;rich
food.
Foodlieslikeaknotinthestomachfor1-2hoursafter
eating,andthestomachfeelsfull,heavyandtender.
SeealsoColic.
Insomnia
SymptomsWaking:early;late;around3a.m.
Causesalcohol;excitement;mentalstrain;overwork;
over-activemind.
Thepersonissleepyongoingtobedbutcannotsleep,
orgetstosleepbutwakesintheearlyhoursofthe
morning,whenanxiousthoughtspreventherfrom
gettingbacktosleep.Mayfallintoadeepsleepjust
beforethealarmgoesoff,andsowaketiredandworn
out.Nausea
SymptomsNauseaconstant.
Worseaftereating;morninginbed;forsweating;for
tobacco.
Causespregnancy;travelling.
Thenauseamaymakethepersonfeelfaint.Itmay
occurwithapainfulperiod.
Periodproblems
SymptomsPeriods:heavy;painful.Pains:aching;
cramping;inlowerback.
Betterfordoublingup.
Worseduringtheperiod.
Piles
Causespregnancy.
Sorethroat
SymptomsPains:spreadinguptoears,raw;stitching.
Withlumpsensationinthroat.
Worseforcoldair;forswallowing;foruncovering
throat.
Swallowing isdifficult;thethroatfeelsroughandthe
painsradiatetotheearsonswallowing.Therawness
mayhavebeencausedbycoughingandtheair
passagesmayfeelirritated.
Toothache
Betterforexternalwarmth;forwrappinguphead;for
heat;winter.
Causesafterafilling/extraction.
Thetoothacheisbetterforlyingonahotwaterbottle
wrappedinatowel.
Travelsickness
SymptomsWithfaint-likefeeling;nausea.
Betterforlyingdown.
Worsefortobacco.
Vomiting
SymptomsVomit:bile;mucus;bitter;sour;smelly.
Worseforexpectorating(hawkingupmucus).
Causesalcohol;anger;pregnancy.
Thisbiliousness(withorwithoutvomiting)occurs
afterover-eatingorindulginginrichorunusualfoods.
Itcanfeellikefoodpoisoningandiscommonwhen
travelling.
OPIUM(Op.)
Familyname:Papaveraceae
Othernames:whitepoppy;Papaversomniferum;maw-
seed
INTERNALMATERIAMEDICA Opium(Op.)•127
Theopiumpoppyisaherbaceousannualnativeto
AsiaMinor.Itsdelicateflowersvaryincolourfrom
whitetoreddishpurple,andinthewildtheyarepale
lilac.Theyareeasilybentandbrokenbywindand
rain,andquicktodroptheirpetals.
TheplantisextensivelycultivatedintheEast-in
Turkey,IranandIndia-foritsnarcoticproperties(the
redpoppymorefamiliarintheWestdoesnotpossess
theseproperties).Opiumisinfactthedriedjuice
extractedfromthegreenunripeseedcapsules,hence
theword'opium'whichderivesfromtheGreekoposor
'juice'.Thejuicecontainstwoacidsandtwenty-one
differentalkaloids,ofwhichmorphine,opium's'ac-
tiveingredient', isthemostimportant.Morphine is
namedafterMorpheus,thegodofsleep,whoissaid
tohavediscoveredthesleep-bringingandpain-
reducingpowerofthepoppy.
ThepoppywassacredtoCeres,thegoddessof
harvestandfertility,becauseoftheabundanceof
seedscontainedinthecapsules.Theseedscontainno
morphia,onlypaleyellowoilwhichartistsuseasa
dryingoil.Theyarealsousedinthekitcheninpastry
andbreadmaking.
Theplantandpreparationsfromitwereemployed
inmedicineasearlyasthedaysofHippocrates,
thoughitwasrecognisedaspoisonousandgreatcare
wastakeninitsadministration. Itwasusedasa
sedativeandapainreliever,externallyforgoutand
earacheandheadaches,internallyfordysenteryand
certaintypesofcough.Insmalldosesopiumactsasastimulant;ideasflow,exhilaration isexperienced,as
wellasacapabilityofgreaterexertionandagreat
abilitytoendure,butthisisfollowedbyalossof
mentalandphysicalpower,anirresistibledesireto
sleep,anddependency.
Thehomeopathicpreparation ismadebydissolving
opiuminalcoholandsuccussing.
GENERALSYMPTOMS
Eyesglassy.Facedarkredorblue.Faintness:after
excitement;afterfright.Painsabsent.Pupils
contracted.Shockfrominjury.Sweat:profuse;hot;
onsinglepartofthebody;fromfright.
Worseforalcohol;duringsleep;ongettingup;for
warmthofbed.
Opiumischaracterisedbyanabnormallackofpain,as
ifthesenseshavebeenblunted.Afterashock,people
needingOpiumappearglassyeyedandstupefied,and
sufferfromgreatinertia.Theyfeelfaint,numband/
ortrembly.Theirfacesgoredandbecomedrawn,
sunkenandoldlooking,possiblywithabluishtinge.
Childrenwhohavejustexperiencedafrightorshock
willbeunabletourinate.
Generally,thereisprofusesweatingwithscanty
urinationandinafeverOpiumtypeswillbecome
heatedinbedandfeelworsefortheheatandthe
sweatingandwillkickoffthecovers.
Theshockthatfollowsalcoholpoisoningwiththese
symptomsmaywellcallforOpium-thisisonlyuseful
inanunusual,mistakenaccidentandnotforhabitual
drinkers.
EMOTIONAL/MENTALSYMPTOMS
Apatheticduringfever.Complaintsfrom:anger;
reprimands;shock.Confused.Dreamy.Drowsy.
Exhilar