The Barefoot Truth Revealed

Myth Busting: The Bare Truth Revealed

Myth #1 - Barefoot Running is hard on our joints.

Myth #2 - The foot is naturally weak and can't be strengthened.

Myth #3 - We were only meant to run barefoot on grass.

Myth #4 - Starting in minimalist footwear is the only way to begin.

Myth #5 - Wearing “Barefoot-like” shoes is synonymous with going fully barefoot.



Myth #1 – Barefoot Running is hard on our joints.

If barefoot running was about having strong knees or joints, Michael Sandler for one, with his titanium parts, wouldn’t be able to run a single step. Instead, as studies from Dr. Lieberman of Harvard have shown, there’s up to 3 times LESS impact to the body out of a shoe, than in a shoe. That’s because out of a shoe you shift from landing on your heel (which even in the “best” of running shoes transmits a shock wave straight up through the body, to your forefoot, where your foot and leg work together as a two to three foot long shock absorber and spring like mechanism.

The shape of the foot is no accident. It has many small bones, not because it’s weak, but because it’s strong, like a suspension bridge. Each of those pieces work together in unison to absorb shock, and spring back. When you land on your forefoot, you use your metatarsals, the bow-shaped bones of the foot as a spring, you use your arch (which, unlike what you’ve been told, can become incredibly strong. The arch is one of the strongest structures in nature, which is why almost all of our bridges are made out of this shape), you use your arch as an incredible spring, along with the Achilles tendon (the only tendon capable of holding 2000 pounds of force) along with the calf, hamstring, quad and glute as a fantastic two to three foot long shock absorber or spring.

When we take shorter strides (a heavily cushioned or heeled running shoe encourages a longer stride) you land on the forefoot, load our springs, and are propelled forward, with almost no impact at all (in fact, Dr. Lieberman demonstrated that the shock wave found in a shoe (the heel strike, or what he calls the “impact transient”, is virtually non-existent when out of a shoe and landing on our forefoot.



Myth #2 – The foot is naturally weak and can’t be strengthened.

First off, the foot is not weak; if it were, then we’d never be here today. Instead our ancestors survived by running, hiking, hunting, farming, and everything else it takes to survive for millions of years without shoes. The foot is incredibly strong (see what I mentioned about the arch before), it’s just been constricted if not mutilated (more on this in a minute) by our shoes. But given half the chance, the foot can be reawakened and grow back strong, just as nature intended.

The challenge is that we need to start slowly and wake things up progressively. After spending a lifetime in a shoe our muscles, ligaments, tendons and even bones are weak. If we jump right into things, either fully barefoot, or especially in minimalist footwear, we’re likely to go too far, too fast, and injure ourselves. That’s why I recommend starting with only 100 yards, fully barefoot, then going back to your tradition shoes for the following day, and then adding 100 yards of barefoot running every other day. In this way you give your feet a chance to rest and recover and grow back stronger.

One last argument I hear about the feet is that they have only “intrinsic muscles” (call them internal muscles of the foot only) and therefore can’t be strengthened. However, skeletal muscles are skeletal muscles, they don’t care where they’re located. If they’re stimulated with work (known as exercise) and fatigue, they grow back stronger. The only the we need to do is give them a chance to rest and recover in between workouts.



Myth #3 – We were only meant to run barefoot on the grass.

This is an argument typically made by people who have never run barefoot except for on the beach.

From gymnasts to runners, studies (let’s cite specific study here) have shown that the more cushioned the surface or cushioning under foot, the harder you land, rather than the lighter. That’s because the human body relies on FEEDBACK to determine how to land. Running barefoot is like playing the piano, how in the world could you hit the keys lightly if you’re in a heavily cushioned glove? When you land on a highly cushioned surface, you land hard because your feet are blindfolded and can’t figure out what’s going on beneath them.

Running barefoot is running awarefoot. We have more nerve endings on the bottom of our feet than anywhere else in the human body. It’s why are feet are sensitive, ticklish, and why reflexology exists. And it helps us determine the lightest way to land.

It turns out, because of the thousands of nerve endings on our feet and the sensory feedback they provide, the harder the surface, the more feedback we get, and the LIGHTER we land. (it’s quite the opposite of dropping a weighting shoe onto a force plate in the lab, because the shoe isn’t alive and can’t control its fall).

When someone starts out barefoot we recommend the HARDEST surface, rather than the softest surface (it’s also why we recommend going barefoot first, rather than starting in a minimalist shoe), because when you’re fully barefoot on a hard surface, you can’t cheat and quickly find the lightest way to stride. For instance, when you’re running on grass or in minimalist footwear, you can hit your heel down first and get away with it. But hit your heel down on cement and you’ll promise never, ever to do that again. Hitting our heels down just isn’t natural…but you can’t feel that in a shoe or on a soft surface.



Myth #4 – Starting in minimalist footwear is the best way to begin.

Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as transition footwear. When you start running with new form you need your body to feel the ground and teach you a new stride. Nearly any footwear (save except for a sock) dampens your sensation with the ground, preventing you from getting the feedback you need to run light.

In the beginning you want to start entirely out of footwear to get maximum sensation.  You also want your weak sensitive skin (it’s soft and sensitive from time in a confined shoe, but not to worry, the skin strengthens quickly) to have direct contact with the ground.  This way, you’re letting your skin be your guide. If you start out barefoot on hard ground with weak skin, it becomes very difficult to go too far, too fast, because if you do you tear up your skin.  By stopping when your skin gets sore (or preferably before, just as it starts getting sensitive) you help protect the muscles, ligaments, tendons and even bones on the inside that need time to adapt. In minimalist footwear or a “transition shoe” you protect the skin and are likely to go too far , too fast (and use bad form such as a heel strike) causing damage to everything on the inside.



Myth #5 – Wearing “Barefoot-like” shoes is synonymous with going fully barefoot.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about barefoot like shoes, and gloves for the feet, and “barefoot technology”. The truth is that anything on the bottom of the foot, save perhaps a loose fitting moccasin, changes our stride. It does so in a few key ways.

First, as we mentioned above, anything on the bottom of the foot prevents us from feeling what’s going on. This is particularly bad when we get started, and the reason we want to go fully barefoot to begin. After we’ve developed a light stride we can start wearing minimalist footwear, but we want to look for the THINNEST footwear we can find. Remember, the more cushioning under your foot the less you can sense what’s going on and the HARDER we’ll strike. Think of it like driving an old American car with loose steering around the race track. You can’t feel what’s going on so it’s easy to get yourself in trouble. Instead, you want responsive steering, or shoes that let you know what’s under your feet so you can make changes in how you land in a moments notice.

Second, nearly any shoe inhibits movement of the foot, either by being too narrow, or holding the toes in a fixed position (spread or otherwise). Dr. Rossi, a podiatrist who wrote 8 books on the human foot said that unfortunately no American child’s foot hasn’t been deformed by their footwear by the age of 6. This is true, and a crime, but more to the point it deforms our foot by holding the toes in a particular position. Now whether that position is narrow footwear that doesn’t allow the toes to spread and act as a spring, or toe-like footwear that holds our toes spread out in a particular position, it all has the same result; it constricts movement of the incredibly dynamic foot. Landing on our forefoot, our toes naturally spread and contract acting as a spring. There are over 30 joints in our foot, a very delicate balance of piano strings designed to act as a perfect spring. Restrict even one of these joints, and like a tight link in a chain, you kink and affect every one of them.

Third, the majority of minimalist footwear curve the toes up the front. This is called “toe spring” and was designed for heel striking shoes to make it easier to roll off of the toes at the end of the stride. In theory it sounds good (minus the heel-strike part) but it ignores or neglects the very design of the foot. If you think of the arch in the foot like a bridge, a bridge has two supports for it. For our foot, we all have a strong heel that supports one end of the bridge. And on the other end we have our toes to support our bridge. It turns out that 18 out of 19 muscles and tendons of the foot attach to the toes. So if you want a strong foot, you need strong toes. If you look at your feet, your toes naturally grab down, which supports your arch or your bridge. But if your in shoes that curl upward at the front, they prevent your toes from grabbing down, or from your body to be able to support your arch, and your foot comes collapsing down. So in minimalist footwear where we’re supporting our own arches, we need the toes to grab down, rather than being forced upward toward the sky.

Fourth, we need to stay away from motion control, which is hiding in the majority of minimalist footwear. In essence, it’s grooves on the bottom of the shoe helping direct or tell your foot where the shoe wants it to go. When your foot wants to go one way, and the shoe wants it to go another, this leads to a big problem, known as shin splints. Look for footwear without any a-symmetrical grooves or patterns on the bottom of the shoe so your foot can land where it wants to land, NOT where you shoe wants it to go.

Build in slowly to barefoot running and you’ll be running light and free in no time. Just start with 100 yards every other day, spend the rest of your time in your traditional shoes or orthotics (we call these “foot recovery devices”) and remember to change slowly, listening to your body.

A new stride or gait, even if it used to be the most natural thing in the world (just watch a little child run before he/she is forced to wear shoes), takes time and requires patience. If not, it’s too easy to go too far too fast and get injured. Instead, baby-step in, listening to your body and focusing on the fun. If you’re smiling, your doing something right and if not, then stop, rest, and recollect.

Have fun out there and remember to Run Bare!!!

BAREFOOT 101

AGEs You Know?

Do You Know Your AGE?

How and Why to
Prevent AGE Damage
Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) may be a
fact of life, but fighting them may extend your life.
By Will Block

f we may be so bold, which would you rather have and hold—GOLD or MOLD? OK, it’s a trick question (please don’t scold), because if truth be told, you wouldn’t want either—they’d leave you cold if you knew they were both about . . . old.

Old people, you see, are the victims of AGE—Advanced Glycation Endproducts, of which GOLD and MOLD are two prominent examples. The acronyms stand for glyoxallysine dimer and methylglyoxallysine dimer, respectively, but don’t worry—there won’t be a quiz on that. It would be wise, however, for you to become better informed about AGE (or AGEs, as they’re often called), because these chemical compounds are a key factor in the aging process.

As you will see, AGEs are formed inside your body through normal metabolism and aging, and outside your body during the preparation of some foods you eat. They’re implicated in the development or exacerbation of numerous degenerative diseases associated with aging, notably type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and other dementias, cataracts, retinal dysfunction, kidney failure, nerve damage, arthritis, and cancer.

Supplements Can Slow AGEing

It’s impossible, alas, to avoid AGEs altogether—their formation begins during early embryonic development and continues steadily for the rest of our lives. The body’s mechanisms for removing unwanted substances cannot keep up, because the AGEs are resistant to this process. Therefore, even if every other factor in the aging process could be magically eliminated, it would still be impossible to avoid aging. The good news, however, is that the “AGEing” process can be slowed down—and so, therefore, can the aging process. There are two ways to do this. Ideally, we should do both.

One way to slow AGEing involves the use of certain supplements that have been shown—in laboratory experiments, animal studies, or human clinical trials—to inhibit the formation of AGEs. Notable in this regard are: benfotiamine, a fat-soluble form of thiamine (vitamin B1); the amino acid histidine; the dipeptidecarnosine, which consists of linked histidine and beta-alanine; alpha-lipoic acid, a saturated fatty acid renowned for its potent and versatile antioxidant actions; and rutin, a flavonoid found in many plants, notably buckwheat, black tea, and apple skins.*

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*Some of the evidence for these compounds was discussed in “Reducing Glycation Reactions for Better Health and Longer Life” in the February 2008 issue.

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No! Nooo!

The other way to slow AGEing is to (are you sitting down?) avoid, as much as possible, browning the foods that you cook. Just as the colors red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple are usually signs of exceptional healthfulness in fruits and vegetables (these colors come mostly from flavonoids), the color brown should be considered a “red flag” warning ofunhealthfulness in the crusts of bakery products and in meats or vegetables that have been baked, roasted, broiled, grilled, fried, sautéed, etc. It’s better for your health to steam, boil, or stew the meats and veggies.1

I can hear you now: “No! Nooo!” I know, I knooow. Forgoing the most delicious preparation methods seems almost insane—like giving up sweets.† But it does have its rewards: better health and longer life.

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†For some good news on the sweets front, see the article on page 11 of this issue. That article and this one share an emphasis on the importance of glycemic control for maintaining good health.

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A Prediction Ignored, Then Verified

Louis Camille Maillard (1878–1936)

To understand AGEs (about which there is much confusion in the popular literature), we need to go back a century, to prewar Paris. In 1912, a young French physician and chemist named Louis Camille Maillard (Mah·YAHR) began investigating the chemical reactions between nutrient sugars (such as glucose and fructose) and amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

When Maillard heated aqueous solutions of sugars and amino acids for a few hours, they turned a yellow-brown color, the result of a series of reactions that yielded a witches’ brew of products. Significantly, the same phenomenon occurred, albeit much more slowly, when he simply allowed the solutions to sit for a few weeks under physiological conditions (37ºC, pH 7.4).

Maillard had discovered a series of complex and important chemical reactions that now bear his name:Maillard reactions. He predicted that they would occur in the human body, especially in diabetic patients because of their chronically high glucose (blood sugar) levels. This prophetic insight went unnoticed for half a century, however, and he did not live to see it realized.

In 1971, scientists investigating the blood of diabetic patients discovered that some of the hemoglobin wasglycated. Glycation—the first step in the Maillard reactions—is the chemical attachment of a sugar molecule (either free or bound in a polysaccharide, such as starch) to an amino acid (either free or bound in a protein, such as hemoglobin). As the ensuing reactions advance through numerous complex stages, they can lead to a great variety of endproducts, most of which are harmful to us. These are the “advanced glycation endproducts” we now call AGEs.

AGEs Make Diabetes a Kind of Accelerated Aging

The sugar of greatest importance to us is glucose, because it’s the principal product of carbohydrate digestion, and it’s our principal fuel for energy metabolism. Glucose is among the least reactive of the nutrient sugars in the Maillard reactions. This may have led, through natural selection, to its being the evolutionarily favored sugar in mammalian species.2,3

The glycation reactivity of fructose (fruit sugar), on the other hand, is about ten times higher than that of glucose. Fructose is found in honey and many fruits, and it’s also one-half of the sucrose (table sugar) molecule, the other half being glucose. The exceptional propensity of fructose to produce AGEs is another reason why we (diabetics especially) should minimize our intake of sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup.

Because diabetics tend to have higher glucose levels than nondiabetics, they also have higher AGE levels at any given age, compared with nondiabetic individuals. And because AGEs form earlier in life and more rapidly in these patients, diabetes can be thought of as an accelerated form of aging. Much evidence suggests that AGEs are involved in almost all the complications of diabetes, which arise from damage to blood vessels throughout the body.4

AGEs—A Haphazard Process

Unlike most biologically important reactions, which are catalyzed by enzymes, glycation is not catalyzed. It’s a nonenzymatic version of a common and necessary biochemical process calledglycosylation, which is tightly controlled as to the time, place, and extent of its occurrence. The lack of enzymatic control over the glycation process means that this reaction can occur haphazardly—anytime, anywhere, to an extent limited only by the availability of the reactants—and it does, with generally harmful results that tend to accumulate over time.

Now you get the picture: there’s nothing to restrain glucose from reacting with amino acids and proteins, which are everywhere in the body. Since we can’t live without glucose, we can’t avoid AGEs—but we can slow down their formation. Another bit of good news is that not all glucose will react similarly with all proteins (of which there are about 25,000 different kinds in humans)—the extent of the reaction depends on a myriad of factors that can vary greatly throughout the body. But, as we saw above, the list of “hot spots” is large, and the long-term consequences are horrendous.

Most AGEs Are Incredibly Yummy

So much for the AGEs that form in our bodies as a result of normal metabolism. What about the ones we ingest with our food? Isn’t it adding insult to injury to eat the very kinds of compounds we’re trying to minimize the formation of in our bodies? Of course it is, but if you’re the kind of person who likes food, you probably love dietary AGEs (which should be called DAGEs), because they happen to be among the tastiest compounds known. (This is another of Ma Nature’s cruel jokes at our expense.)

It’s no accident that many AGEs are found in commercial food flavorings designed to make all kinds of foods taste even better, as though they’d been browned. (The Maillard reactions are, in fact, the basis of the flavoring industry.) Nor is it an accident that the bits of browned stuff left over in the frying or roasting pan, which celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse calls “yum-yums,” are yummy because of the Maillard browning, which is the principal source of DAGEs.

Oh, What a Tangled Web Maillard Wove

Over 1000 DAGEs are currently known, and there are probably many more. They’re the products of Maillard reactions occurring under dry conditions at temperatures above about 120ºC (248ºF). The tangled web of chemical reactions is so complex that many chemists have spent their whole lives trying to unravel it. The caramelization (browning) of sugar, by the way, may appear to be a Maillard-type process, but it’s not—the chemistry is entirely different.

In books on the chemistry of cooking, the Maillard reactions are portrayed in a good light because of the gustatory wonders they produce. Chefs love them, naturally, and they’re not about to commit professional suicide by shunning them just because some scientists recommend it. In any case, the books claim that the Maillard reactions occur only with high, dry heat, not at the lower temperatures involved in cooking with water, where the maximum is 100ºC (212ºF). That may be true in the kitchen, where time scales are usually very short, but in real life, as Maillard himself showed, the process does occur—very slowly—even under cool, wet conditions.

You Are So Cool (and Wet)

Not to get too personal, but your body, compared with an oven or barbeque, is rather cool and wet, and the Maillard reactions will proceed, slowly but surely, for all the days of your life. You could, however, resist this slow tide by taking antiglycating supplements every day.

And given a choice between eating browned foods that are high in Maillard products, or water-cooked foods that have virtually none . . . well, that too is a choice that only you can make. (Let’s hope the federal health police don’t someday try to make it for you.)

AGEs Large and Small There are hundreds of known, naturally occurring AGEs produced by the Maillard reactions in our bodies. Some of these are very large molecules produced by the chemical cross-linking—induced by sugars—of proteins that were never intended to be linked. This produces a kind of cellular “gunk,” which in principle is not unlike the crud that builds up in your car’s engine over time. In both cases, performance is impaired, and the system can be brought to a premature halt if suitable measures are not taken. One example of the slow damage due to cross-linking is the gradual stiffening of the protein collagen, which is the principal component of our connective tissue and cartilage. The resulting loss of tissue elasticity can occur in the heart, blood vessels, skin, eyes, kidneys, joints, etc., with results that older people know all too well. Many other AGEs are relatively small degradation products of the Maillard reactions, and some of these contain a reactive chemical group called the carbonyl group, R2C=O. [The carbonyl is the C=O part; the two Rs can be almost anything but hydrogen atoms, as, e.g., in acetone, (CH3)2C=O, which contains two methyl groups.] Carbonyl compounds are common in organic chemistry, and many of them instigate harmful chemical reactions in living organisms. In fact, the glycation reaction that begins the Maillard process involves a carbonyl group on the sugar molecule reacting with the amino group of an amino acid. The spectrum of damage caused by carbonyl compounds is calledcarbonyl stress. It’s analogous to the oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species, including free radicals. AGEs of a sort can also be formed, by the way, by the reactions of sugars or other reactive carbonyl compounds with two other important types of biological molecules: lipids (fats) and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). These AGEs too are deleterious to our health.

References

1. Harding A. How food is prepared important to health: study. Reuters Health, May 7, 2007.
2. Ahmed N. Advanced glycation endproducts—role in pathology of diabetic complications. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2005;67:3-21.
3. Ulrich P, Cerami A. Protein glycation, diabetes, and aging. Recent Prog Horm Res 2001;56:1-21.
4. Peppa M, Uribarri J, Vlassara H. Glucose, advanced glycation end products, and diabetes complications: what is new and what works. Clin Diabetes 2003;21(4):186-7.

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Will Block is the publisher and editorial director of Life Enhancement magazine.

IN NOTHING BE ANXIOUS

All through the Bible we are told not to be anxious, not to be fearful, not to hoard or save, because an invincible, invisible power is at man's command to supply every need. But we were told that it would not work unless we believed in it. "If thou canst believe in this God Power, all things are then possible." It is difficult for man to believe in this power, because he has had a right training in unbelief. "I'll believe only what I can see," was supposed to be the height of wisdom. We lived in a world of externals, where we thought everything "just happened." We did not know that back of every happening was a cause, that we, ourselves, started in motion the machinery which produced good or evil in our pathway.

We did not know that words and thoughts are a form of dynamite, and should be handled carefully, with wisdom and understanding. We hurled out into the ethers, words of anger, resentment or self-pity, then wondered why life was so hard.

Why not experiment with faith; trust this invisible God-Power and "In nothing be anxious," but "In everything by prayer and thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." Could anything be more simple or direct? Anxiety and habit have become habits. The old thought- forms you have built up in the subconscious, hang on like barnacles on an ocean liner. But the ocean liner is put in drydock once in a while to have the barnacles scraped off, so, your mental barnacles will have to go through the same process. The drydock is a big situation.

I know of a woman who had been a coward all her life, particulary about finances. She worried all the time about money. She came into this Truth, realized how she had limited herself, and suddenly made the giant swing into faith. She commenced to trust God and not the external for her supply. She followed her intuitive leads about spending. If any of her clothes made her feel poor, she would discard them at once, getting something new to make her feel rich. She had very little money, but gave one-tenth (a tithe) to good works. She was winding herself up into a new vibration. Very soon, things commenced to change on the external. A woman, on whom she had no claim, who was merely an old friend of her family, left her a thousand dollars. A few months later, another thousand came in. Then a big door opened for her supply and many thousands came in. She had tapped her invisible supply from the Bank of the Universal. She had looked to God only for her supply, then the channels opened. The point I am bringing out is, that she had lost all anxiety about money matters. She had established in her subconscious, the firm conviction, that her supply came from God, and it never failed.

Man is an instrument for Infinite Intelligence to work through. It will express through him as success, happiness, abundance, health and perfect self-expression, unless fear and anxiety make a short circuit.

If we want examples of fearless faith, go to the circus! The circus people perform seemingly impossible feats because they think they can, and see themselves doing it. Faith means that you can see yourself receiving all these things that you desire. "I will give to thee the land that thou seest."

You can never do a thing you cannot see yourself doing, or fill a place you cannot see yourself filling—not visualizing, making a mental picture (this is a mental process and often brings wrong and limited results); it must be a spiritual realization, a feeling that you are already there; be in its vibration.

I was very much impressed with the story of a great football player who was the greatest all- round athlete in the world, who trained in a hammock. One day he was lying there drowsing in the sun and the trainer came up to him with tears streaming down his face and said; "Jim, for the love of Mike and your country, won't you get up and out of that hammock and do something?" Jim opened one eye and said; "I was just thinking about that. I was going to send for you." "Good," said the trainer. "What do you want me to do?" "First," said Jim, "I want you to mark off twenty- five feet there on the ground." The trainer did so. "Then what?" said the trainer. "That's all," said Jim, and he closed his eyes and swung happily. After at least five minutes he opened them and looked at the marks for a few seconds and then closed his eyes again. "What's the idea?" yelled the trainer. "What are you doing?" Jim looked at him reproachfully and replied: "I'm practicing the broad jump." He did all his training in a hammock: seeing himself doing the broad jump.

Without the vision my people perish, in lack and limitation. You may work very hard on the external and accomplish nothing, if you are without vision. Vision means to see clearly where you are going. To keep your eye on the goal. All men who have accomplished big things have done this.

James J. Hill, who built the Great Northern Railroad, said before a rail was laid, he heard with his inner ear the rumble of the trains and whistle of the engines. He had many obstacles to overcome, but his vision was so clear, it possessed him. One thing in his favor was that his wife believed in him. It is said that it takes two to make a dream come true.

Henry Ford, speaking of his mother-in-law said she was a fine woman, "She believed in me."

"When two of you agree, it shall be done." If you believe in yourself, others will believe in you. As you believe in yourself and the God-power within, fear and anxiety drop away. You establish the vibration of assurance. This is true of an intuitive person. Every move is made under Divine guidance and he never violates a "hunch," therefore, he is always in his right place at the right time. However, it often takes great courage to follow intuition. It takes a Viking, who is unafraid, to sail in unknown seas. Claude Bragdon says: "To live intuitively is to live fourth-dimensionally." The magic path leads you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. It is invaluable in business.

Never submit a hunch to someone on the reasoning plane. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear their intuitive leads, and give instant obedience.

"Whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." This is true of each one. But if we have not received all the blessings of life, we have neglected to ask, or have not "asked aright." The Bible is teaching spiritual law and we must study and use it from every angle in order to set the great machinery of asking and receiving in motion. Every machine must be greased and oiled to be kept in good working order. Active faith and expectancy keep the machine of asking and receiving in perfect order. The following are some of the lubricants which keep it working. "When ye pray, believe ye have it." "In nothing be anxious." "Stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord." "Do not limit the Holy One of Israel." Realization is manifestation.

 Pray with praise and thanksgiving. Some people pray filled with anger and resentment. A woman wrote to me the other day saying: "I have just had a good talk with God and I told Him just what He ought to do about it." She was in the habit of ordering people around and looked upon God as someone she could bully into doing something for her. God is the Supreme Intelligence within each one of us and we are the channels for It to express Itself. We must be non-resistant, poised and peaceful, expecting our good to come to pass. We are the receivers, God is the Giver, and He must create His own channels. We find there is quite an art in praying aright. God must have right of way, His way, not your way. The moment you make your demand Infinite Intelligence knows the way of fulfillment. If you decide how your prayer shall be answered, you have blocked the divinely designed channel. Then you are apt to say: "I never have my prayers answered." We must acquire a technique and send out a sincere desire, which is a prayer. We are free from all clutch or anxiety when we say: "If this is according to the divine plan, we will receive it, if not, give us its equivalent." Be careful not to force anything not divinely planned.

We must know, that linked with God-power, nothing can defeat us. "God's ways are ingenious, His methods are sure."

Two of the most beautiful Psalms are the twenty-third and the one hundred and twenty-first. Both give one a feeling of absolute security and were written by a man who had experienced the working of spiritual law.

The God within protects, guides and provides when fully trusted. Most people lose what they love most through fear of loss; they take every precaution on the external, not trusting the protection to the "Eye which watches over Israel." Put whatever you love under the law of divine protection.

The most important part of demonstrating is showing fearless faith. "I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight! I will break in pieces the gates of brass and cut in sunder the bars of iron." The Bible is talking about states of consciousness. "The gates of brass" and "bars of iron," are your doubts, fears, resentments and anxieties. The gates of brass and bars of iron are of our own making and come from our own vain imaginings, a belief in evil. There is a story of a herd of wild elephants: they were corralled in an enclosure but the men had no way of keeping them in, so they dug stakes and put a rope all around the enclosure. The elephants thought they could not get out. They could have just walked over the rope and stepped out but they had the illusion that the rope kept them in. This is the way with people: doubt and fear is a rope stretched around their consciousness. It makes it impossible for them to walk out into clear thinking.

Clear vision is like a man with a compass; he knows where he is going. Let intuition be your compass and it will always get you out of the woods. Even a man without a compass, led by intuition, would find his way out of the jungle, or be able to steer a ship at sea. Intuition will tell you to walk over the rope. It is amazing how people have overlooked their most important faculty—intuition. Always on man's pathway is his message or lead. Often our leads seem trivial and silly. A person purely on the intellectual plane would dismiss them at once but the Truth student always has his spiritual ear to the spiritual ground, knowing he is receiving orders from the Infinite. The Bible speaks often of "the still small voice." It is a voice which is not an actual voice, though sometimes actual words are registered on the inner ear.

When we ask for guidance and lay aside the reasoning mind we are tapping the Universal supply of all knowledge; anything necessary for you to know will be revealed to you. Some people are naturally intuitive and are always in contact with Universal Intelligence, but by taking an affirmation we make a conscious contact. Prayer is telephoning to God, and intuition is God telephoning to you. Many people have a "busy wire" when God telephones and they don't get the message. Your wire is "busy" when you are discouraged, angry or resentful. You've heard the expression "I was so mad I couldn't see straight." We might add, "I was so mad I couldn't hear straight." Your negative emotions drown out the voice of intuition.

When you are discouraged, angry, or resentful, is the time to make a statement of Truth, in order to get out of the woods of despair and limitation, for "Whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord shall be delivered!" There is a way out — "Reveal to me the way."

We must stop planning, plotting and scheming and let Infinite Intelligence solve the problem in Its own way. God-power is subtle, silent and irresistible. It levels mountains and fills in valleys and knows no defeat! Our part is to prepare for our blessings and follow our intuitive leads.

We now give Infinite Intelligence right-of-way.

YOUR BIG OPPORTUNITY

You have only one judge—your word. Jesus Christ said; "I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment, for by thy word thou shalt be justified, and by thy word thou shalt be condemned."

Every day is a day of Judgment. We used to be taught that it would be at the end of the world. Look back in your life and see how you have attracted either happiness or disaster through your words. The subconscious has no sense of humor. People joke destructively about themselves and the subconscious takes it seriously. It is because the mental picture you make while speaking impresses the subconscious and works out on the external. A person who knows the power of the word becomes very careful of his conversation. He has only to watch the reaction of his words to know they do not return void. People make their worst mistakes by speaking while they are angry or resentful, because there is so much ill-feeling back of their words. Owing to the vibratory power of words, what you voice, you begin to attract. People who continually speak of disease, invariably attract disease.

Invisible forces are ever working for man, who is always pulling the strings himself, though he does not know it. We read in the Bible "life and death are in the power of the tongue." Yet most people are speaking destructively from morning until night. It is because they have formed a habit of criticism, condemnation and complaint and are eager to tell you of their misfortunes and how mean all their relatives are. They wear their friends out and people avoid them. They are talking themselves into a flock of troubles. Now that we know the power of the word why not take advantage of it? We take advantage of the radio, the telephone and aeroplanes but live with the Mound-builders in conversation.

Science and religion are now coming together. Science is discovering the power within the atom; metaphysics teaches the power within thoughts and words. We are dealing with dynamite when we deal with words. Think of the power of the word in healing! A word is spoken and a chemical change takes place in the body.


One of my friends was seriously ill. The doctor said she had chronic bronchitis and was on the verge of pneumonia. Her daughters and the doctor rushed her to bed and she had a nurse, but weeks passed and there was no improvement. She was a Truth student but for over a year had attended no meetings nor had she kept up her reading. One morning she telephoned me and said, "Please speak the word and get me out of this! I can't stand it any more; I'm not sick, I'm just disgusted. So much negative talk and thought have almost floored me." Through the spoken word and her affirmation of Truth immediately there was a change for the better. She had a strong hunch to go out and was told it would be dangerous, but by this time she was following Divine Guidance. She went out and called on me and said she was going to attend a luncheon the next day. What had happened? The words of Truth were making a change in her mind and a chemical change was taking place in her body. We are told that if we believe, never doubting, we can say to that mountain, "Be thou removed," and it would disappear into the sea.

The inexhaustible energy in man is released by good-will. A man free from fear, undisturbed by appearances, sending good-will to men and nations, could say to these mountains of hate and war; "Be thou removed" and they would return to their native nothingness.

Resentment and intolerance rob man of his power. We should have signs in the subways and shops "Watch your thoughts!" "Watch your words!"

Let us now be careful in directing this dynamic force within us. Let us direct it to heal, bless and prosper and direct it in waves of good to the whole world. It goes out a mighty force, but noiseless! Thought, the strongest power in the Universe is without sound. Your good-will sweeps all obstacles from your pathway and your heart's desire is released for you.

What is really yours? The answer is: "All that the kingdom affords is yours." Every righteous desire of the heart is promised you. There are three thousand promises in the Bible, but these gifts can come to us only if we can believe them possible, for everything comes through you—not to you. All life is vibration. Feel rich, and you attract riches. Feel successful and you become successful.

I knew of a small boy who was born in a little country town with no advantages, but he always felt successful; he had the conviction that when he grew up he would be a big artist. No one could discourage him because he was success; he had only success thoughts; he radiated success. At an early age he left the small town and went to a big city and to support himself he got a position as a newspaper artist on a daily paper, all this without previous preparation. It never occurred to him that it could not be done. He went to an art school and immediately became a shining light. He never studied in an academic way. Whatever he once saw he remembered. In a few years he went to a still larger city and became a well-known artist. This success came to him because he was always seeing success. "I will give to you the land that thou seeth."

The children of Israel were told that they could have all the land that they could see. The Bible is a metaphysical book and it is speaking to the individual. This minute, it says to each one of us, "I will give to you the land that thou seeth." So, what are you seeing with your inner eye? What pictures are you inviting into your life? The imaging faculty has been called the scissors of the mind. If you have failure thoughts, reverse the thought with a success thought. This sounds easy enough to do, but when a failure thought has become a habit, it takes eternal vigilance to dislodge it. That is when a powerful affirmation is needed. You cannot always control your thought but you can control your word, and eventually the word impresses the subconscious and wins out.

If you are in a negative state of mind just take the statement: "I look with wonder at that which is before me!" It creates an expectancy of something wonderful and something wonderful will come to you. Cultivate the feeling that miracles and wonders are coming to pass. Cultivate a success expectancy.

Very few people bring into life what is rightfully theirs. They live on the outskirts of their heart's desire. It always seems too good to be true. To the person spiritually awake nothing is too good to be true.

If you want to hear people talking who are still asleep in the Adamic dream, go to a hairdresser's establishment. The Adamic dream is the illusion of opposites. Adam fell into a deep sleep having eaten of the tree of illusion. Of course, Adam stands for generic man— the race-man. The race- man vainly imagined loss, lack, failure, sin, sickness and death. The awakened man knows only one power, God, and one condition, good. But now we will return to the beauty parlor. The following is an exact quotation and a good example of what one hears: A woman sat down near me and said in a loud voice, "This place is too warm! Turn something on or open something." The attendant said to her, "How are you feeling today, Mrs. S?" She replied with a heavy sigh, "Oh, I'm pretty well, but I have a hard time keeping well." To the manicurist she said, "Why don't you wear glasses?" The girl replied, "I don't need glasses, why should I wear them?" The woman replied, "Because everybody wears them. You'll find there is something wrong with your eyes if you have them examined." When she finally leaves they all feel limp and wonder if they are really well or only seem to be well. She leaves a trail of apprehension and gloom. This is a sample of what one hears from nearly every booth; the way most people talk. It is appalling when one knows the power of the word and what they are attracting, for they are nearly all describing illnesses or operations.

You combine with what you notice so do not describe anything destructive for you begin to combine with it. What is really yours? The blessings you bring to yourself, through your spoken or silent word; the things you see with your inner eye. Only your doubts, fears and resentments keep your good from you. If you hate or resent a situation, you have fastened it to you, for you attract what you fear or dislike. For example: someone has been unjust to you and you are filled with wrath and resentment. You cannot forgive that person. Time rolls on and another person does the same thing. It is because you have a picture of injustice engraved in your subconscious. History will repeat itself until you think you are cursed with misfortune and injustice. There is only one way to neutralize it. Be absolutely undisturbed by injustice and send good-will to all concerned. "My good-will is a strong tower round about me. I now transmute all enemies into friends, all inharmony into harmony, all injustice into justice." You will be amazed at the working of the law. One student brought harmony out of chaos in her business affairs by that statement.

Do not look back and hash over hard times, or you will be drawn back into these conditions. Give thanks for the dawn of a new day. You must be immune to all discouragement and adverse appearances.

All that you desire or require is already on your pathway, but you must be wide awake to your good to bring it into manifestation. After making statements of Truth you suddenly have a flash of realization. You suddenly feel yourself in a new environment. You feel old negative conditions falling away. I once said to a woman "The walls of lack and delay now crumble away, and you enter your promised land, under grace." She said she had a sudden flash of a wall crumbling away and that she stepped over it. Soon after that, the change came, and she really did enter her Promised Land of Plenty.

I knew a woman whose daughter's desire was a home and husband. In her early youth she had had a broken engagement. Whenever a possible marriage appeared on the horizon, she became frantic with fear and apprehension, picturing vividly another disappointment, and she had several. Her mother came to me to speak the word for her right marriage, Divinely designed, which could not be interfered with. During the interview the mother said continually: "Poor Nellie! Poor Nellie!" I said: "Do not call your daughter 'poor Nellie' again. You are helping her to be demagnetized. Call her 'Lucky Nellie,' `Fortunate Nellie, for you must have faith that God now gives to her the desires of her heart." The mother and daughter persisted in making their affirmations. She has now fulfilled her destiny for she is Mrs. Nellie, the demon of fear dissolved forever.

There are wonderful statements in the Bible referring to the breaking down of negative thought forms. "The power of the Spirit is mighty even unto the pulling down of strongholds." The human mind is helpless to cope with these negative thoughts. The victory is won by the God within, the superconscious mind.

"Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and there be any praise, think on these things." Phil. 4 : 8.

If people obeyed this, general conversation would come to a standstill for a while, until people learned to talk about constructive things.

Stupendous Results #5

Subject : My story : how many times do we need to hear the "stuff" before we get it.  At the same time I am comforted knowing my Creator never gives up on me and the truth keeps returning ! 

June 13, our car was rear-ended and both Jack and I were injured.  because I was turned (twisted so to speak) watching for oncoming traffic I received a whiplash to my hip. Did not feel hurt immediately, however 3 days later I felt like I had been beaten! Went to the chiropractor and massage therapists and acupuncturist . . . and with their treatments got periodic relief from the pain.  Interestingly enough they would say, "drink water" ; however, I made no connection with pain and dehydration! I have never taken so much Arnica even resorted to Advil some days, ice pack / heating pads . . .  trochanteris belt , lumbar support belt . . .major depression.

What is going to happen! Then an article appeared 10 days ago in a local paper about Dr. Batmanghelidj' s work written by a local massage therapist and the connection of pain and dehydration . . . I thought I have nothing to lose. next morning upon arising I immediately drank about 32 fluid-ounces of water and then continued throughout the day to get in about 80 fluid-ounces. About 3 days later I began to sense the pain diminishing. All this time I have been having treatments with some improvement but still the lingering pain. 

After 5 days on the water I had an almost pain-free day!  Then on the 6th day pain-free and have been since; truly it was the water , also lost a couple of pounds with no change to exercise or diet and my energy returned. 

My depression lifted and I am back to my energetic loving self.  So, yes, I am on a mission to spread the word and so glad you are doing such a fine job. 

Love, 
Jeanne
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Stupendous Results #1 click here .

Stupendous Results #2 Click Here.

Stupendous Results #3  CLICK HERE

Stupendous Results #4 click here.
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Real Doctor Tells Real Truth

A good doctor?

I love this guy and his philosophy
Smart Doctor!

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Heart only good for so many beats, and that it... Don't waste on exercise. Everything wear out eventually. Speeding up heart not make you live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster. Want to live longer? Take nap.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: Oh no. Wine made from fruit. Brandy distilled wine, that mean they take water out of fruity bit so you get even more of goodness that way. Beer also made of grain. Bottom up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have body and you have fat, your ratio one to one. If you have two body, your ratio two to one.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of single one, sorry. My philosophy: No pain...good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU NOT LISTENING! Food fried in vegetable oil. How getting more vegetable be bad?

Q : Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Oh no! When you exercise muscle, it get bigger. You should only be doing sit-up if you want bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: You crazy?!? HEL-LO-O!! Cocoa bean! Another vegetable! It best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming good for figure, explain whale to me.

Q: Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is shape!

Well... I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what a ride!!"

AND.....

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans...

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.