I N D E X

A P e rs o n a l

Ch a pt e r I —F a s ti n g f o r
. H ea lth
Ch a pt e r II — F a s ti n g f o r
. E n j o y m ent

Ch apt e r III — F a s ti n g f o r
. Fr e e d o m
Ch a pt e r I V —F a s tin g f o r
. P o we r
C h a pt e r V —F a s ti n g f o r
. B e a u ty
Ch a pt e r V I — F a s ti n g f o r
. F a ith
Ch a pt e r V II —F a s ti n g f o r
. C o ur a ge
Ch a pt e r VI II —F as ti n g f o r P o i se
.

Ch apt e r I X —F a s ti n g f o r V irt u e
.

Ch a pt e r X —F a s ti n g fo r Spirit u a lity
. ,

Ch a pt e r X I —F a s ti ng f o r I n s ti nc t
.

Ch apt e r X II —F a s ti n g f o r I n spir a ti o n
. .

Ch a pt e r XML—F as ti ng f o r
Twe n ty Rul e s f o r S a ne F asti n g .

A n I n divid ua l E pil o gu e .
 T HE PHILOSOPHY OF FA ST l N G

A M E S S A G E F O R S UF F E R E RS A N D S IN N E RS

BY EDWA RD EA R LE P U R I NT O N .

Thi s b ook is th e r ecor d of a soul s emancip ati on ’

.

O n ly su ff erers and sinners w ill underst a n d it .

B ecau se only sinners and su ffer ers are on the highwa y to

Fr eedom .

The sinner a cts witho u t thinking—and i s th e r eb y mad e b ol d

for bett er things
The su ff erer feels w itho u t thinking—and is th e r eby made
.

r eceptive for fin er things .

The reasoner th ink s w ithout eith e r feeling o r acting—and is

thereb y made to o n u m b to su ff er to o fearf u l to b e aught b u t
,

impotently vi rtuou s .

N o t to the brain of the worldly wise that du sty storehou s e

-
,

o f ra c e ru bb ish will my message appeal B u t to the he a rt of

, .

the s u ff erer softened through angu ish to the soul of the sinner,

str engt hened through ab andon and to the spirit of the child
,

qui c kened from its nearness t o fairies and angel s .

Su ch a s are pitied despi se d or c on d emn ed I call my b rothers

,

and si sters B o rne fr o m th e stag nant su rfa c e o f b eing into the

.

wild en gu l fm ent o f its whirlp oo l s ou l th e s e hav e sounded th e

,

mis e ry o f the depth s hav e lain hal f d ead amid the wreckage
,
-

on the sh o re an d a r e now ab l e t o appr e c iat e and determined to

,

att ain th e gl o ry o f the h e ight s ill umed b y Tr u th .

C om e l et u s m ou nt t o g ether
,
I hav e ex pl o r e d b oth th e
.

v alle y and th e su mmit A nd I pr o mi se yo u th e w ay is plain

. .
 Don t be needlessly a pp r ehensi v e a t the start—thi s i sn t a
’ ’

missio na r v t r a c t M ission a r y li t er a t u re i s di stribu t ed by persons

—
.

too go o d t o t ouch t he folks nex t door You see Asi a tic heathen
.

don t need fumiga t ing so lo ng a s we prosely t e t hem by post

'

Now t here a r e t hous a n ds of w o r th v people who honestl y

b elieve t h a t t heir missio n o n ear t h is t o reform con v ert and ,

recons t ruc t t his world be fore sun up t o morrow morning - -

.

N a tu r a l l v th c v mu s t write a book this a f t e rn oo n a ddress at lea st ,

o ne mass mee t i n g t hi s e v e n i ng a n d devote the fe v erishly fugitive

,

mi d nigh t hou rs to perso na l exhor t atio n E v en t hen a n ew dawn .

o v ert a kes t hem And the sun sh amel essl v smiles o n a ra c e still
.

unre d eemed .

T hese sel f appoi nted leaders requ ire de v otees Nothing

-
.

bu t t heir followi n g j u stifies t hei r f a i t h A n d i f their book i s n t

.
’

read or t heir discou rse applauded they b em o an to th emselves

, ,

how signally t hey h a ve failed .

How incomp r ehen sible H a s not Truth all eternity wh e rein

.

to spe a k t o t he soul s o f men ? And i f the message b e true it ,

ma v d ie on t he lips that ga v e it— vet some soul somewhere shall , ,

c a tc h the refr a in and e cho it down the ages .

The success o f thi s boo k will be propo r tion a l to th e numbers

that do not re a d it— now And i t s f a ilu re m a y be measu red b y
.

t he amount of a ppl a u se i t c a ll s forth Gi v e me a hearing— b u t

.

spare me an audience Open your e a rs and you r hearts to m e

.

bu t cl o se your eyes and you r lips Take wh a t little good there

.

may b e here for yo u and leave the rest Do not q uestion me

, . .

D o not prai se me Above all do not detain me Thi s i s but

.
, .

a g limpse of T ru t h A n d I c a nnot pau se whil e still th e hori z on

.

widens a nd t he sun gains in glory .

 A PERS O N A L P RO L O G U E

Wo r d s i n th emselves are as f u tile as stray b ri c k s .

They end u re only when c emented by feeling and aligned by

purpose The fiel d of liter a ture is mostly a dreary brick y a rd
.
-
,

with chipped and broken bits sc a ttered ab ou t to mark what

might h a ve been had the b u ilder known .

Li fe is the only literature that lives And i f I had no t fi rst .

lived this book it woul d never be w o rth the writing T o w r ite

,
.

f or a ny o th er r eas o n th an th a t one ma st i s to insult onesel f and

to m a rtyr one s friends I f you write only when you mu st you
’
.
,

may not alw a ys be consider a te to your friends B ut yo u will at .

least be true to yo u rsel f And the peru s a l of you r writings can

.

never be too hard a price to p a y for knowing some o n e who

is si n cere S in c ere human s are abo u t a s c ommon a s b rav e
.

gaz elles or c ompassionate tigers .

”
T h e P h il oso p h y
f F as ting i s a plea for h u man sin c erit y
o

and a treatise o n hum a n wholeness The fi rst twenty five y ear s .

-

of my li fe I was an ything but whole B eca u se I was anything .

b ut sin c ere I did not dare be tru e to m y sel f o r with my fellows

.
, .

C ivili z ation classicism and orthodoxy h a d combined to m a k e

,

me appear what I was not and cru c i fy what I was Body brain .
,

and so u l I was b u rdened with a mass of external s that weighed

,

heavi e r and sunk deeper d ay b y d ay u ntil the li fe was almost ,

c ru shed out o f me .

Born a weakling I was a sem i i n v al id and c hronic su ff erer

,
-

during most o f my boyhood and yo u th S ome fifteen forms of .

c onstitutional di sease took tu rn s trou b ling me ; u ntil family ,

friends and physicians b egan to despair o f the outcome At .

o ne tim e I was taking six kinds o f medi c ine weighed 1 1 0 pounds ,

instead of 1 50 spent most o f the time b e si de the fi re or o n the

, ,

c o uc h a nd thr eat ened to b e c om e u seless to mysel f and everybody

,

e l se
. The ailments wer e c hiefl y n erv ou s and digestive and ,

wer e c a u sed by in equ alities of make u p Inheriting fro m my -

.

fath er a b rain in c e ssantl y a c tive from my moth er a so u l ,

supersensiti v e and a physique small and trem u lou s fr o m both ,

an i n s a t iable a mbi t ion ; I seemed u n a ble t o bal a nce mysel f at all .

Wearing a m a n s hat a t t welve I h a d t he body of a bo y o f

'

eight wi t h a soul older th a n any I h a d e v er met N atu rall y no

,
.

o ne u n ders t ood me And the greatest pu zz le to me in the

.

U n i v erse was I t o m y sel f .

I could no t ride in a carri a ge sit in a ha mmoc k or c limb a , ,

tree w i t hout growi ng d i zz y sick and f a i nt The slightest physical

,
.

j ar or me ntal irritation brought o n he a dache s that lasted for

days Public g a theri n gs oppressed and stifled me— it was the
.

poisonou s i n si ncerity of social u sage though I di d no t know it ,

then .

The routine of e xisten ce was etern a lly maddening me

every c lock c a lendar an d sch o ol bell in town seemed to shriek
,
-

the c r u elty o f law an d order The cl a im of senseless cu stoms .

,

the grasp o f u seless habits the sway of rule a n d rote the c lutt er
, ,

of supe rfl uou s possessio n s the onu s o f fictitiou s duties the

, ,

miasma of popul a r O pi n ion the rut o f prec edent the chain of , ,

en v iro nment the blind fold of superstition — from all these

,

b a rriers to human progress I was struggling to be free The .

doctors me a nwhile d ec l a red with oracul a r a c cen t they could

find n o physiologi c a l basis for di sease — it mu st be all in my
im a gi n atio n
O f course it was Everything i s th a t c ounts An d
. .

espe c ially a d o c tor s diagn osis— which counts finan c ially

’
.

Le t u s a b ridge this r ec it al of sympt o m s and pa ss o n to the

,

cur e .

As a last recourse I tried Physic a l Culture Studied an d

, .

applied to mysel f variou s s y s t ems of Dietetics Hydrotherapy , ,

D ynamic B reathing Mo v ement M ethod s Acti v e and Passi v e

, ,

S un Air and E a rt h Cu re and ot h e r modes of Natu ropathy

, , .

These a l l helped Fully h a l f of my ailments presen tly

.

d isappea red Bu t t he mi n d a n d soul were no t so e a sily s a t isfied

.
.

S o I t ook up S uggestion M ental S c i en c e N ew Thought Orie ntal

, , ,
P hilosoph y, an d kindred qu asi r e ligio u s faith s But th ey w er e
-
.

a ll more or less man mad e And I had to hav e God

-

fl
. .

Then c ame the Thirt y Day Fast I found G o d throu gh th i s

-
.

Fast Which i s equ ivalent to say ing I found M y sel f F o r We

. .

are O ne an d the Same During this month I ate nothing a t all

.
,

drank nothing but water and oc c asionally acid fru it j uice There -
.

were fou r obj ects to b e achieved by means of thi s rather heroi c

m easure —R eno v a tio n D el ecta tio n D o min a tio n I l l umina tio n
, , , .

Every one was reali z ed Physicall y I w a s healthier than for ten

.
,

years be fore S ensuou sly I enj oyed ever ything as I had done
.
,

wh en a c hil d M entally I g o t a grip on mysel f that nothing h ad

.
,

e ver given and that nothing now c an ever shake Spiritually I .

,

saw the heaven s opened and the ultimate tr u ths of the Infinite

revealed in gloriou s array b ey ond the span o f the sunrise or th e

gleam of the f a rthest star .

Yo u c an do the same Or more All yo u ne e d i s suprem e

. .

f aith in yoursel f exact knowledge o f the method and ste a d fast

, ,

purpose to real i z e the highest prophecy stored for you in th e

,

ar c hives o f the Almighty I will g ive yo u the knowledge .

,

Omnipoten c e will give yo u the faith so all you mu st supply is

Whi c h c omes of its el f—w ith a vi si on o f th e
,

th e purpos e . 5

p o ssi b iliti es
.

Fasting is n o t a pana c e a .

Onl y Nature grants pana c eas And sh e make s h er s fresh .

for each case Nor does she employ human dispensaries

. .

B ut Fasting r ig h tly co nd u cted an d co mp l ete d is neares t a

, ,

pana c ea for all mortal ill s o f an y drugl ess remedy I know ,

w hether physiological metaphysical or i n spirational F a sting

, ,
.
,

r e sting airing bathing breathing exer c ising and hoping—thes e

, , , ,

seven simple meas u r e s i f sanel

y proportioned and administered
, ,

w ill c u r e any c a se of a cu t e dis ease And almost any c a se of .

c hroni c .

It i s not howev e r with th e th erapeutic side w e are chiefl y

co ncerned in thi s boo k The healing phase is u nquestionab ly th e
.
most vital But its import an c e has c a u sed it to b e di s c ussed
.

a l ready in a v a rie t y of co n v i n c ing w a ys by speci a lis t pio n eers ,

”“
p r ecedi n g me in t he field T h e P h il os o p h y o f F as ting
.

co n siders r a t her t he mental psychic and spi r itual c ompone nts ,

which a r e themsel v es based o n the physiologic a l .

T h is w o r k th er ef o r e s h o uld be d eemed s upp le menta r y to th e

followi ng fi v e book s in pa rt icular !
“
I. T H E N O B R EA K F A S T P LAN A N D FA ST I N G C UR E
-
By D r . .

Edward Hooker Dewey P ubli shed by Author at .

M ead v ille P e nnsyl v ania, .

2. FA STI N G H Y DRO P A I H Y A N D E XE R C I S E
,
’ ‘
B y D r Feli x . .

Oswal d and Bernarr M acfadden Publi shed b y Physi c al .

Cultu re Publ ishing C o —Spotswood N ew Jersey .

, .

”
3 T H E A B Z O F O U R
-
O W N N U T R I T I ON B y Hora c e

Fletcher Publi shed by Frederi c A Stokes C o —N ew

. . . . .

. . .

York City .

4. P ER F EC T H EALT H B y C C Haskell . Publish e d b y . . .

Author at No r wich Co nn e c ti c ut , .

”
5. R ET UR N T o N AT UR E B y Adol f Ju st Publ ished by
. .

N a t u rop a thic P ubli shi n g C o — 1 2 4 E a st 59th Street N ew .

,

York City .
I 1 0 th e LH e f
There are se v e ia l re a sons why these other authors should
be read first I n this book o f mi n e I h a ve give n alm o st n o
.

biologic a l facts expe r ime n t a l data o r scie n tifi c proo fs I appeal

, , .

to t he heart the soul and th e c onsciou sness more th a n to th e

, ,

br a i n .

I t i s a patheti c tr u ism however that the o n ly part of m o st

peopl e a n ywhere near alive i s th is s a me br a i n I woul d subordinat e .

Thei r a xiom a tic pe r ceptions are hopelessly dulled And the y .

c an t be co nv i n ced o f the most o v e rw helmi n g truth save by som e

such rou n d about route a s an a ffida v it o r syllogism .

N o w t hese tre a t ises a foreme n tio n ed abo und in substantial

f a c t s— f a cts physic a l l ogical an d h istori c al Doctor D ewey and
, .

M r Fletche r in pa rticul a r h a v e devoted much time thought

.
, ,

e ner g y al t ruism an d persi stence to d e mo ns tr a ting thei r o w n

,

be a u t i ful theories of l ife health and happin e s s , .

 I have proved t o mysel f eve rything I p u t in print B u t I m .
’

n o t desirou s o f con v erti n g anybody el se And I h a ven t time .

’

to retrace the lin e of tr a vel in order to describe it So to s a tisf y .

,

your brain as well as your soul— and it s j ust as ne c ess a ry ’

you will be w ise to tak e fi rst the fa c ts o ffered yo u by more

p atient investig a tors .

Another thi n g Progress i s b est when it s gradual You

.
’
.

’
d on t knock out all the u n derpin n ing of a hou se you re movi n g ’

—you gently abstract o ne prop a fter another O n e drawb a ck to .

t his boo k i s it doe s n t le a ve yo u any props a t a l l— props medicinal

’

m etaphysical social con vention a l moral theological or otherwise

, , , , ,

respectabl e An d it ll be e a sier for you to feel th em fall by

.
’

d egrees with a ni c et y more merci fully ad j u sted

, .

One mor e statement a n d then thi s ver y tediou s prologue

,

i s at an end I t s about the little essays whi c h c ompris e the

’
.

gre a ter p a rt of the book They ha v e two reasons for being

. .

In the first place this m a tter of F a sti n g bears directly o n

,

e v ery o n e of the thirteen themes presented It doesn t take .

’

l o n g to show the connection B ut to define the a uthor s under .

’

standing o f terms i s a lengthier an d more di ffi cult problem .

B e c a u se it i s not the co mmo mg on ce p tio n at all in th e ma j ority

'
’

o f c a ses .

S econdly the man who pu b li she s this b ook is the o nly o ne

,

I have yet found with suffi cient c ourage to print the things I
b elieve. We don t think altogether alike And he i sn t
’
.
’

responsible for a nything I say But we both esteem sincerity .

fi rst of all come what may as a conseq u ence M r Lu st moreover

, . .
, ,

as spo n sor o f th e N a tur o p a th ic I d ea o ff ers the broadest basis ,

yet presented for th e up b uilding o f H u man Wholeness .

Thi s th e re fore seem s a good opportunity to e xpress c ert a in

b eliefs that d eman d to b e expressed for th e sake o f the e x
pressing .

In con c lusi o n I c ommend to yo u ve r y e arn e stl y n o t th e

a u thor—n o t th e the o r y—
,

not the book ; solel y utterly and ever ,

l astingly Tru t h Only when Truth and a mortal c oi n c ide do es
, .
,

th e mortal become immor t a l I would not ha v e it otherw ise i f

.

I could And my o ne hope i s that enough of the spl en dor of

.

immortal ity ma y shine through this message to l ight yo u a little

fart h er up the steeps of attainment .

E DWARD EA R LE PUR I N T ON .

N e wYork City , De c ember first ni n eteen hundred and

, fiv e .
 F A S T IN G F OR HEA LT H

C H A P TE R I .

T o b e health y is to be h a l f animal and hal f god ; to b e

- -

s ickl y i s to b e c ir cu mscr ib e d l y h u man ; b u t to b e s a ne is to be

t r iun e ly g o d ma n—
”
-
animal .

In clarifi c ation whereof is thi s b ook written .

A whole book to explai n a whole senten c e ? And w h y n ot ?

Libraries h a ve been evol v ed upo n a foundation o f three short
“ ”
word s namely Li fe i s protoplasm
, Yet who c an de fi ne Li fe
.
,

or analy z e protoplasm ?
In this open i n g sentence of mine there is blended a ll the
su b tl ety of met a physics with all the simplicit y of childhood .

By a littl e eff ort you may perhaps penetrate the realm o f M ind ;
b u t ah ! who tell me who ca n fathom a c hild ?
, ,

The la st pla c e to look for sanity i s in a sanitariu m ; the

next to the last in a health resort .

To be sanit a ry i s not necessarily to b e sane—S aneness b eing ’

the o ne word that sums thi s b ook I f w e had always l iv e d

.

’
sanel y we shoul d n ever need sanitation
,
In the R e form ers .

S ti ff legged R a ce for Popularity hygienic hobbies are at present

-
,

in th e l ead Their nam e is l egion and e a ch ri dd en mo r e

.
,

re c kl e ssly than all the rest Y o u d think surel y th ey m u st c ollid e

’

—until you remember th a t h o bbies n ev er a d v an ce In thi s

.

respect are hygienic hobbies as doc ile as their l a y brethren wh o

’ “ ”
haven t any mission but j u st to b e w o o d painted red .

Far b e it from m e to ridicul e any man who b elieves he h as

a mi ssion . S uc h are the world s saviors ’
I mysel f hav e a
mission—a pa r t o f it b eing to del iv e r the worl d from health
.

cranks I w as a health c rank on c e S ome of yo u may dou b t

. .

the past tense — b ut yo u sh ould have se en me th en ! I am

haunted yet b y the look of dr ead on the fa c es of my fri en d s as
they saw me approa c hin g from a far Wh e rea s no w yo u can .
,

at least int e rp olat e a wan smil e occ a si o nall y .

 I a ssume at th e ou t set that yo u have re a d the book s
suggested in the Prologu e ; that y ou are more o r less a t home
in v ariou s bra n ches o f N at uri sm — Dietetics Hydrother a p y Lu n g , ,

a n d M uscl e Cult u re Suggestion an d the like ; th a t h a v ing read

, , ,

t h e P r ologue you a r e prep a red to be p a tie n t w ith the a uthor ;

,

a n d that ha v i ng lea rn ed through su ff eri n g to be si n cere y o u

will be a bl e to r eco gni z e sin c erity of motive —
, ,

how ever f a ult y

b e th e method .

Fir st a few in c oherent remarks on Health in gen eral .

Pill time i s only pallor tim e And the pu zz l e i s to remo v e

- -
.

the p a llor yet lea v e the pill in the box The dr u ggi st never
, .

sol v es it—h e m a kes th e patient swallow the pill The N a turist .

almost never solves it—h e summaril y sm a shes the pill b o x but -

forgets to look at the f a ce o f the p a t ien t I did t h a t once .

threw the patient s pill b o x out o f the car —

’
w indow He w a s
-
.

kind o f new to Natu rism j u st c oming to take treatment Whe n

, .

h e saw a ll hi s co n c e n trated hopes of health v a n i shed forever h e ,

ru shed to a telegraph o ffi c e before I coul d stop him ; wired a

frie n d three hu n dred miles off to come quick —h e was dyi n g ;
then coll a psed into a co matose o f despair He did n t die He .
’
.

got completely well we n t home and c u red hi s whol e f a mily

,

connectio n o f wh at e v er ailed th em He cu red m e o f something

too —
.
,

o i throwi n g awa y a patient s pill box That s a l esson ’ ’

-
.

e v ery N a turist mu st l earn in order to succeed M ost of them .

haven t l e a rn ed it—an d most of them don t su c ceed U nderstand

’ ’
.
,

d ru gs c a n t c u r e D r ugs kill — alwa y s But

’
. . .

Drugs a r e u seful so long as the y h el p a man s mind mo r e ’

than the y h a r m hi s bo d y This the best physici a n s reco g ni z e

.
.

be in g N a tu r i st s in belief—b ut wise e n ough to keep still abo ut

it I f t he p atie nt bel ie v es in d rugs and hi s doc t or d o esn t th e
.
’

patien t l ives ; i f th e patient d oe s n t and his d oc tor does th e ’

,

p atie nt d ies T he vi rtu e o f an y medi c in e being directl y

.

pro p ortional t o its faith an d inversel y propo r tional to its

substa n c e .

H ere again is th e et e rn al parad o x of Truth v e ri fi e d sin c e ,

 faith cur e People bel ieve th ey mu st
'

d r ug -cur e is -
. tak e
“ ”
something so lon g as they believ e they c an c a tch somethi n g .

N ature cure requ ires no f a ith—o nly sincerity ; é Kneip p douche

-

o r Kuh n e sit z b a th will clear o ut d iseas e whether the si c k man

b eli eves or not .

A momentary digression .

Y o u m a y have observed I begin c e rtain imp e r sonal word s

with capit a ls I always begin N at u re Truth and Love with
.
,

large letters B ecau se N a ture i s mv mother Truth i s my

.
,

te a cher a n d Lo v e is my G o d
,
.

Disease i s a godsen d N e v er to be dreaded always to b e

.
,

esteemed b en efi cent H o w microbes are maligned to be s u r e

.
, .

A microbe i s a sort of somatic u ndertaker his business being ,

to dispose o f the dead among the cells The troubl e is we all .

a rray ourselves in bl a ck a n d j oin the mourners a t the fu n eral .

Away with funeral s ! Awa y w ith mour n i n g ! Aw a y with the

ea r th iness of superstitio n ! For superstition is a lw a ys e a rthy ,

in ste a d of religiou s as men s u ppose .

T h e d a ng er in a ll d iseas e l ies in th e r em ed y , an d n o t in th e
a il men t . Le ft alone d isease would cure itsel f through the
, ,

i n sti n ct o f the i n v alid But the human race i s a race o f

.

meddlers .C e rt a in highly respe c ted cl asses have a c tually

-

reduced meddling to a science an d make their l i v ing by it , .

S uch as lawyers who inter fere betw e en man an d man ; doctors

, ,

who i nterfere between man and Nat u re ; and preachers who ,

“
interfere between man an d God S o we h a ve ou r bitter .

medi c ine —o f therapeutics an d theology the claim b ein g that ,

the worse a thing t a stes the better it is an d we shoul d swallo w ,

’
it f o r no other conceivabl e reason but that we do n t want to .

We have also o ur S chool o f Hysteric a l Hygiene most health ,

reformers serving e x o ffi cio o n the Fac u lty These b egoggled

-
.

b rethren tell u s many c uriou s and marvelo u s t a le s tales imported ,

from Liliput an d B robdingnag .

Th ey t ell u s f o r instan c e to dri n k j u st two gla sses o f w a ter

o n arising e xa c tly o ne an d a hal f on retiring and o ne to the
- - -

drop ev e ry h ou r b etw een A harml e ss o ccu pati o n that—for a

, , ,

.
,
m an wh o has nothing better to do than wander an xiou sl y a b o ut
all day w ith a clock in o n e hand and a w a ter cool er in the other - .

’
They tell u s n ev er to dri nk when eating N a ture does n t .

“
tell u s that Nat u re says . Drink only and alw a ys wh en,
”
thirsty .

They tell u s to chew e a c h mouth ful thi rty forty or fi ft y ,

’
times by the me t r o n ome ; an d n ot dare sw a llow a morsel till we v e
l ooked U p in the bo ok whether it w ill agree w ith e v ery morsel
gone be fore Graciou s me i f we ha v e to w rite the biography o f
.
,

each bite as it passes when do w e get time to enj oy ou r food ?

,

M i nc e pie served with a smile i s quite as hygie n i c as raw wheat

-

served with a scowl .

They tell u s to take the M ilk C u re i f w e woul d level ou r -

,

c orporeal ravines Well a po rker i s fat And I suppose that

.
, .

b y similar process a man might be fa t tened— though I shoul d

,

hate to thi n k it o f a wom a n You k n ow wh a t p été d e f o ies g r as

.

i s made o f don t you ? I f y o u fan c y that sort o f prov end e r yo u

,
’
,

b etter t a ke the M ilk an d Egg— C ure to the limit

- -
.

“
They tell u s to repeat c e rt a in pres c ribed A ffi rm ations three
times a day an d o n goi n g to bed W ith a metaphysical emergen c y .

c a se h andy put up by somebody of the name of Wil man s o r

, ,

Town e o r Eddy or Atkin son Well a br ea d pill i s e as ier to

, , .
,

remember .

The y tell u s to meas u r e so man v i n ches c r o sswise f o r a

c orrespondi n g number up and down W I se ; an d t o tip th e b eam
- - -

precisel y o n the d o t of a specified ou n ce So ? Y es yes a .

, ,

wom a n may be a w a x fi gu re a man may b e an anatomic a l model , .

But n o t all not a ll A few o f u s a r e individual s An d for such

, . .

t here are no st a nd a rd s an thropo morphic or otherw ise

. N o .

sta n d a rd s dieteti c gymnasti c metaphysic a l so c i a l pol itical

, , , , ,

e t hic a l or religiou s Nothing anywhere but the soul an d th e

, .

I nfin i c a n d the m
‘
h
ean s on eart h t o blend the tw o .

I do n t like sati re o r s a r c a sm
’
.

M y he a r t tells me my br a in h a s n t a n y bu siness to go ’

b umpi ng i nto peopl e l ike that B ut still when they get in the .
,
the food habit B e c ar e ful brother how yo u att empt to remove
-
.
, ,

i t H a v e you a subs t i t ute men ca n use ?

.

I k n ow people who h a v e acqui r ed the Fast h a bit They -

.

st a r v e a bou t a t hird o f t he time Ju st a s foolish a s to eat a ll

.

the t ime A n d a lo t more uncom fo r t a ble

. .

H a v i ng o nce sol v ed the Perso n a l Equ a tion in Wholeness ,

you need not reso r t to the F a st u nless you c a re to But how

, .

m a n y h a v e sol v ed i t ? P e r h a ps a score of humans—si n ce time

be ga n The gre a t est M essi a h th a t has thu s f ar v oiced hi s
.

mess a ge h a d to t a ke t he extreme F a st to get perfec t ly cle a r ,

.

A n d I h a v e yet to fin d the Free t hi n ker w h o is more worthy of

emul a tio n th a n Jesu s t h e M a ster Chri st N o t of imita t ion mi n d
, .
, .

I f a ll of G o d outside of me were to i n c a rn a te suddenly into o n e

coloss a l B ei n g a n d appe a r thu s stupe n dou s in Its might thi n k ,

y o u I should bow th e knee ? The G o d in my o w n soul wo u ld ris e

“ ”
m a j estic an d a n swer c a lml y I a m Your Equ a l , .

F a s t i n g i s n o t merel y de n yi n g o n esel f food — I don t bel ie v e ’

in sel f de n i a l
-
. S el f i s G o d S el f deni a l is therefore blasphemy
.
-
.

The extreme F a st mu st be based upo n an d a dapted to so me , ,

d o mina n t p u r p o se Most peopl e f a st wi t h the sole idea o f clean si n g

.

their bodies I c a ll that st a r v i n g—n o t F a sting A n d to

. .

d istingu ish wh a t I co n sider the re a l F a st th a t t a ken sa nely a n d ,

wi t h a f o u r f o ld m o tiv e I ha v e gi v e n i t throughout thi s book a

-
,

s pecial name I c a ll it
.

“
THE CO N ! U E S T FA ST .

Whene v er there fore you fin d thi s term yo u will re c ogni z e th e .

F a st desi gn a ted b y thi s book a n d no other .

T he first su rpri si n g st a tement to b e made o f the C o nq u est

Fast for he a l t h o f bod y i s thi s ! I d o no t r eco mmend it .

I t en sures he a l t h o f body quicker th a n an y other o n e measure

of N a t u ri sm But n o t to th os e w h o put h ea l th o f b o d y a b o v e
.
.

h e a l th o f mind a nd s o ul F o r pu rel y therapeutic purposes a

.
,

number o f shor t F a sts w oul d be bet t er ranging from two to ,

se v en d a ys e a ch a n d occu r ri n g a t i nt er v a l s of sa y th ree times

.

thei r o w n dur ation M oreo v er thei r effect w ill u sually b e

.

en hanced i f y o u take a cid fruit j u ice u n sweet en ed in a ddition

-
,
to pure water The j u ice o f a hal f do z en oranges a d ay or
.
-
,

three lemon s diluted o r hal f a pi n t o f gr a pe j uice in a pi n t o f

,
-

water ; such gen tle febrifuge stimulant lax a ti v e a n d g e r micick

, ,

will h a sten physic a l recovery perceptibly Indeed a strict fresh .

fruit diet a ry a dhered to f o r a week or two e v ery S pri ng a n d

F a ll would a lmost ob v i a te an y need for a Fast a t a n y time .

Assumi n g howe v er th a t we belie v e in the u n ity i n di v isible

of bo dy mind a n d soul nor would a ttempt to perfect o n e at
, ,

the expe n se o f the others let u s ask wherein the Con qu est Fast
,

direc t ly heighte n s he a l t h of body .

From experien c e I c ull a few o ut of the man y b enefits yo u

al so woul d realize .

I . T h e C on q u es t F as t f or ev er th a t most
s o lv es fina lly a nd

p e r p l exing p r o bl e m — Wh a t s h a ll I ea t ?
“ ”
This i s the first
question a sick m an a sks— a n d t he l a st o n e a well m an a n swers .

You a sk it for you rsel f you must an swer it from yoursel f

, .

A n swers from wi t hout o nl v bewilder yo u The wisest dieti st .

on ea r th— and there is n t an y v e t— coul d do no more th an giv e

’

you d a t a you mu st f o r g e t before you eat s a nely I h a v e studied .

,

practiced— a n d d is p r ov ed fo r me a score of the most popular

,

die t etic theories S o long a s they keep to physiological fa ct they

.

a r e u seful B ut the mome n t t h e v a d d inf e r e n ce a n d e n e r a l is a tio n

.
g
— th a t mome n t they verge on fallacy Most men for i n stan ce .
, ,

a r e u n doubtedly herbi v orou s by n a ture They a r e sheep— they .

shoul d eat gr a ss Still I k n ow men who are lions S uch demand

. .

me a t Whether a lion o r a l a mb be fu rther up in the s c al e of

.

e v olution we will le a ve to the v erdict in th a t f a mou s case N ew ,

Y o r k Veg e ta r ia n S o cie ty v s N ew Y o r k E v en in g ! o ur na l
. E ach .

o f these disputants i s fi n a l authority— a n d each c all s th e o th e r

imbecile .

Back to the F a st—b a ck quick ; I guess I mu st have been

c ut o ut for a preacher a fter all First though l et u s bid fond
.

f a rewell to the g a stro n omi c proselyters In a chu n k o f ad v ice .

“
on how to gi v e a d v ice u n der all c irc u mstan c e s -
G o int o
”
another room and whisper it .
 He a rke n ye to th e Conquest F ast .

Eat a l w a ys a nd o nly w h a t I ns tinc t tells y o u ; b u t be s ur e it

I S I ns ti n c t p ea k ing
s .

L t m e illu s t r a te Whe n I w a s in College I a te mos t ly mu sh

e .
,
.

Thi s was perh a ps excus a ble si n ce a ll the f a cts t he y m a de me

’
swallow were dry a s dus t B ut i t w a s n t wholesome it wasn t .
’

na t u r a l I l iked g r a v ies s a uces cu st a rds a n d pu ddi n gs wi t h an

.
, ,

u n h oly liki ng I u sed t o s n e a k o ff o n my bicycle to the ne a rest

.

b a ke s h op se v e n miles dis t a nt where f a t cream —pu ff s were

-
, ,

t o be h a d che a p S a l v i n g my co n scie nce by sa v i n g o ne —t he

.

smalles t a n d emp t iest— for my li tt le sis t er I did n t c a re for .

’

frui t s a n d v ege t a bles— but I re v eled in fried l i v er a n d hot soda

bi scu i t s Par t icul a rl y w a s s a lt esse nt i a l to me— I woul d entomb
.

i t t ill t he te a rs c a me .

N o t e the re v olu t io n w rought by the F a st I w a sn t h ung r y ’

.

at a l l th r o ug h th e fi r s t t h r ee r t e e k s — w here a s before I n e v er coul d

'

g e t e n o u gh o v ere a ti n g i s t he commo n es t c a u se of s t a r v a tion le t ,

u s r em a rk in passing Whe n I beg a n t o gra v it a te slowl y tow a rd

.

t h e cupbo a rd
. a lo n g a bout the t w e n t y fi f th d a y
,
I found two -
,

t lu r d s o f t he food s the r e w ere actually impossible f o r me to eat .

Y e t a ll were h y gie n ic well prepared pu re They simply would n t

’
-
.
, ,

s at i s fy m in d i v id u a l h u n er — a hu n ge r I h a d n t k n ow n be fore
’

y g ,

smee b a byhood N uts a n d frui t s I cr a v ed most with a few

.
,

v ege t a bles and n a tur a l gr a i n s a close seco n d N o th ing els e . .

F ried food s n a u se a t ed me I ce cre a m sod a w a s so mu ch swill.

-
.

“ ”
D a i nt ies u su a lly thru st o n a n i n v a lid seemed but sicken i n g
”
imit a t io n s of nu t r ime n t T h e v er y t hought o f cre a m pu ff s
.
-

a n d I di d rec a ll t he soggy thi n gs— made me shudder S alt w as .

a s su perfluou s a s s t a r — du s t ; I do n t c a re for it n o w e v en o n egg s

’
.

I n s t i n ct w a s o n ce more a li v e a n d a ctive I n poi n t of hu n ger .

a t le a s t I w a s a pe r fect a n im a l — fi r st N o t e thi s a l so ; I did n t

’
.

w a nt a n y G r a pe N uts M a l t ed M ilk o r P r o to se S te a k such

-
, .
,

co ncoc t io n s bei ng s a n i t a r y but n o t s an e S i n ce th e F a s t I h a v e .

,

n e v e r hesi t a t ed f o r o ne mome n t o v er wh a t to ea t I a l w a ys k n o w . .

Do y o u ?
2 . T h e C o nq ues t F as t s imp l ifi es d iag no s is Do y o u re a lly .
know wh a t ails yo u ? Does the doctor ? Does an ybod y ? I
alw a ys know wh a t a il s me— ii an ythi n g does ; and exa ctly h o w to
remedy it A few months a g o I h a d the measles A se v ere c a se
. .
,

too . R esulti n g from the unnatural n ess o f city l ife which I ,

am at presen t undergoing for a purpose I w a s a bsolutely alone .

during the whol e ten days o f illn ess s a v e f o r a few hours when a ,

friend h a ppen ed in I not on ly k n ew wh a t to do for mysel f— I

.

di d it And deliriou s hal f th e time a t that A do c tor s di a gnosis ?

.
, .
’

Wh a t for ?
’
A doctor s di a gn osi s i s the fi rst rehears a l f o r that tragedy
k nown a s the Post mortem Ex a mi n a tio n I f he doesn t sa y it
-
.
’

right ! an d a doctor st a mmers by professio n ! he c a lls in a ,

surgeo n to prompt him — together t hey e n a ct the fi n a l rehe a rsal

w ith a n operati n g t a bl e for a st a ge Then a ll t hey need for a
-
.

perfect performan ce i s the corpse Which u su a lly arri v es in .

good time .

Duri n g a lo n g Fast y o u learn fo r you rsel f wh a t s the m a tter

,
’

w ith yo u Both physically a n d psychic a lly B ec a u se the F a st

. .

re a ches direct the three v i t a l cen tres when ce a l l disturb a nce ari ses
—D iges t ion Thought a n d S ex The Co n quest F a st r ej uv ena tes
, .
,

whereas common measu res o f N a turop a thy o n ly r en ov a te .

3 .T h e C o n q u es t F a s t c o ns e r v es v ita l f o r ce Oth er .

systems ten d to w a ste it Gymn a stics f o r i n st a n ce o r the Wa ter

.
,

Cure .
“
He a led while yo u w a it — ”
th a t s F a s t i n g More he a led ’
.
-

while you rest ; healed whil e yo u reg a in the insti n cts desires ,

a n d sensibilities o f childh oo d A poi n t no t to be o v erlooked by

.

the Americ a n so pro v erbially spen d t hri ft o f h is energies J u st

,
.

be still an d trust N ature .

4 T h e C o n q ues t F as t d isp els th er ap eu tic er r or s sa v ing

.
,

thereby v a luable time thought a n d fi n a ncial outl a y

, ,
Three .

“
ex a mples ! a ! . T h e r e is n o s u ch th ing as br a in f o o d
. either -

fi sh or phosph a tes The less food the clearer brai n ; the purer
.
,

f o od the stronger br a in ; th a t s al l ! b ! N o th ing ca n cur e d isease

,
’
. .

l
th a t d o es n o t a s o en h a n ce h e a l th M edicine does neither
.
— the
“ ”
C onquest F a st does both In short S pecifics are a bsurd ;
.
,

whether for brain alon e soul alone o r body a lo n e in whole or

, ,
 Y o u n ee d n t tr av e l f o r y o ur h ea l th —that s th e
’
in p a rt ! c !
. .
’

w r o n g directio n he a l t h residi ng equ a lly be n e a t h you a n d a bov e

,

you Where N ature i s t here is he a l t h W here c i v ili z a tion i s

.
,
.
,

t here i s di se a se B e less hum a n more n a t u ral more di v ine ;

.
, ,

t his i s th e clue to sane n ess Take you r mi n d o ff you r s y mptoms

.

a nd put it on you r soul B re a k through hu m a n b a rriers

. .

Tr a n scen d human l imit a t io n s Le a r n o f t he a n im a l s— and live

.

a s t he a n imal s d o Le a rn o f the god s —

. a n d l o ve as the gods do .

Le a r n o f the hum a n immort a l s who h a v e d a red d o both these

thi ngs faci n g simulta n eously the world s presen t condemn a tion
,
’

wi t h its etern a l gr a titude echoing through the futu re .

To be heal t hy is to be h a l f anim al and hal f god ; to be sickly

- -

i s to be c ir cumsc r ibe d ly human ; but to be sane i s to be t r iun el y

”
god man anim a l
- -
.

N a tu ri sm ma y make yo u hal f a nimal -

.

Di v i n e Scie n ce may m a ke you h a l f god -

.

Nothi n g c an m a ke yo u so completely y o ur s e lf g o d man ,

-

a n im a l you were born to be as the Con q uest F a st w ith what

,

should e n su e there from .

’
Do n t believe my word .

’
D on t belie v e an y thi n g y o u ha v en t l i v ed a n d pro v ed B ut
’
.

be w il l ing to bel iev e— for you r o w n s a ke n o t for mi n e , .

M a n s o n e ir r e d e e ma b l e e r r o r i s t o scoff at what he ca n not

’

underst an d an d will not investig a te .

 F A S T IN G FOR EN ! OY M E N T
CHAP T E R I I .

Warning t o d eep thinkers ! y our r isibl es need exer cising as

much as y o ur p la usibl es B esides you d l oo k more a tt r a c t ive
’
.
, .

This applies to health cr a nks also Whenever yo u se e the .

fa c e o f a he a lth cr a nk fall by all means l et it d r O p ! H eaven

,

knows he need s a n ew o n e .

’
You say there s nothing to smil e at ? Oh yes there is , , .

Listen How to have a constant sou rce o f amusement ; l ea r n

.

to l a ug h a t y o u r sel f Every human deserves to be laughed at

.

about so much— if you do it f o r yo u rsel f y o u relie v e yo u r ,

neighbor of the ne c essity A n d it s more com fortable for you

.
’
.

People won t follow a long face— a full moon loo ks more

’

inviting than a h a tchet R ef or m fails be ca us e it fr ow ns It

. .

w orship s Duty instead o f D esire Y ou have a perfect right to

.

“ ”
say, Damn Dut y ! B e c au se t o damn Duty i s to dei fy Desire
at least it shoul d be .

M y duty i s what th e other fellow thi n ks I shoul d do b ec au se

’
he wouldn t i f he were I I d be a chump to do it I do n t like
.
’
.
’

“ ”
that word chump ; it doesn t sound nice B ut while we re ’
.
’

talking of disagree a ble thi n gs we might as well bunch them ,

.

B ack to R eform f o r a mi n ute N ot more th a n a mi n ute .

the atmosphere is too m a l a rial T a mmany win s and the Anti .

V ice Society loses W h y ? Truth never loses Love never

. .

loses G o d ne v er loses I ll tell you why B ec a use th e

. .
’
.

presbyopi c P a r k h u r stian s have forgotten this cardin a l pri n ciple

th a t w h a tev er is n a tur a l is a ls o d elig h tf ul They are a vestige .

o f the au sterities o f the D a rk Ages — something lik e the dodo or

ichthyos a u ru s ; i f only they were as fast a pproa c hing exti n ction !

’
R e form c alls th e p eopl e together with the exhorter s fi r e
bell of ete rnal torment ; then struts vaingloriou sl y in thei r front
for two hours pro c lai ming rau c ou sl y that d i smal doctrine of
,

“ ”
Thou S halt Not . M eanwhile T a mmany has sought o ut the
ten ements that hou se but do not shelter the poor ; has rapped
“ ?
s o ftly on th e doo r ; has a sked gentl y How s you r coal bin to v d
’
a - -
H as the doctor been p a id We re t o ha v e a l it t l e celebra t ion
?

to —morrow w i t h popcorn a n d c a n dy for the childre n ; y o u will

.

come wo n t v o u ?
'

\ Vise T a mm a n y S t upid R e fo r m. .

Woul d you re a ch a m a n s sou l ? Feed his stomach clothe ’

hi s back an d w a r m his he a rt Don t bo t her hi s br a i n—n o t hi n g

, .
’

i s so d an gerou s for mos t me n a s t o begi n t o thi n k B ody an d .

heart are o n e wi t h soul where a s br a i n is mos t ly a n i n t erloper

,
.

T a mma ny a l te r na tes th e w is d o m o f G o d w ith th e f o ll ies o f M a n

—th e A nti Vicer s ma n if es t n eith er S c an t choice i n deed B ut
-
. .
‘

wh a t li tt l e t he r e i s goes to T a mm a ny A ny N a turist will tell .

you eczem a i s e a sier to cure th a n a n aemia .

T he re a son the worl d wo n t be reformed i s bec a u se it ’

should n t be I t shoul d be i n structed— a n d i n spired B ut most

'

. .

o f a l l s mil ed u p o n The w orld wan ts Tru t h The world does

. .

not wa n t the e r r o r s d efi c ie n c ies a nd excesses o f th e p r o fess io n al

,

ex p o ne n ts o f T r uth “l h en ev e r you find a m a n complai n ing th a t

.

people wo n t accep t hi s mess a ge you fi n d a man whose mess a ge

'

i s i n comple t e .

Do you like bu rdy g u r d ie s ? -

I do—th e v c a ll the l i tt le children to dance on the sidew a lk .

I d j oi n t hem m y sel f ; o n ly the s t i ff s a llow W i ze n ed grow n ups

’
-
, ,

preser v i n g t heir dig n ity in th e carbo n ic a cid g a s of a herme t ic a ll y

se aled hou se woul d thi n k I was cr a z y a n d hurry the ch il dren in .

C a r bo n ic a cid gas i s a goo d p eser v a t i v e for dign ity I Vh en r .

’

dign i t y h a s become fixed w e c a ll i t death ,

.

M y wh a t a j ump— from re form to bu rd y gurdy

’

, D oesn t -
.

it feel fi n e t o be out in t he su nlight a g a i n ? The pl a y S pi ri t is -

irrepressible in the v ou ng o f a l l a n im al s “ a t ch a ki tt e n a
l
.
,

l a mb a li tt le squir r el a he a l t hy b a by The n obse rv e a n

, . .

a ggreg a t ion o f t he elite sorted s t a r ched a n d poli shed f o r a

, ,

socie t y fu nctio n N o wo n der the y n eed mon ke y s for gu ests of

.

ho n o r —w e a lw a ys hon or t hose wi ser t h a n ou rsel v es .

I remember h o w i t w a s whe n I w a s a boy— it s a ll righ t to

'

get o v er bei ng a boy pro v ided yo u remain a ch ild I could n t

, .
’
 don t k n ow a n ythi n g a bou t b a by kisses a n d they are the most
’
-
,

n eeded sh e h a s t o supply t hem a l l

,
.

I do n t like t hese person a l i t ies a n y mo r e t h a n y o u do But

’

they pro v e I a m hum a n Whereas most o f t he souls t h a t ha v e

.

di stan ced Hum a n i t y have al so forgo tt en t he w a y b a ck .

Asceticism a n d se n su a lism are equally u n n a tural The .

asce t ic would refine hi s body H e is right The sensu a l ist woul d

. .

e n j oy hi s body Also right B ut e a ch m a kes the mi stake o f

. .

bei n g a nti the other

- -
Don t be a n ti anythi n g be simply n o n
.
’
-
, .

S oo n er o r l a ter every knocker pounds his o w n thumb .

P a i n i s the pen a l t y f o r forci n g ple a sure ; death i s the penalty

for de n yi ng it To enj oy li fe is to u se n a tu r a lly e v ery n a tural
.

fu n c t io n o f li fe ; not to think to o mu ch or to feel too little .

H a ppi n ess i s the unsought crown bestowed on sel f fi d el ity An d

“

-
.

it rests so light we ne v er know it s there ’

.

To eat f o r ple a sure i s to eat for pai n ; but to eat w ith o u t

pl e a su r e i s to eat wi t hout l ife S oul su ff ers most when b o d v
.

seeks enj oyment for itsel f I n deed th e o nly s ens e p l eas u r es th a t

.
-

ca us e r eg r e t a r e th o s e w h ich th e s o u l f ail ed to f ee l fi r s t In .

shor t soul hu n ger can ne v er be su rfeited ; and a ll h ung er s h o ul d

,
-

be s o ul - h ung er .

Here is a sure remedy for indigestion ! eat a very l ittle of

wh a te v er yo u lo v e best an d en j oy it to t he utmost No o n e ever
,
.

! loved too much ; eve n excess o f passion i s lack o f Lo v e .

Work for the j oy o f worki n g play for the j oy of playing , ,

eat for t he j oy o f e a ti n g— and fas t fo r th e j oy of f as ting .

“
I h a ve been a sked How in the n a me of a ll th a t is mystical
, ,

”
c a n y o u f as t for enj oyme n t Well a m a teri a list c an t B ut ’
? .
,

a m a t eri a li s t wo n t e v er u n dert a ke a Conqu est F a st S o such

’
.

are el imi na ted O nl y he w ill enj oy the Fast who ca n e n j oy b o th

.

s o ul a n d s e ns e .

Let me give y o u the secret of enj oyment in six word s

m inim um o f r ea l ma xim u m o f id ea l
,
N othing th a t we h a v e .

subl imized ca n sati a t e u s It sa tisfi e s—but stops there Let

. .

D ei t y i nvest th e mortal and th e mort a l blossoms i n t o immo rt a l ity

, .
To sense the swee tness o f a flower look within its heart—no t ,

upon the dumb cl a y th a t clots its extern a l .

I f you f a il to enj oy li fe it i s becau se you are li v ing on the,

surf a ce A n d e v en the Almighty is often i n competent to smoothe

.

the surf a ce of thi n gs You r blood i s sluggish your org an s are

.
,

clogged your ner v es are deadened you r brai n i s co n fused your

, , ,

heart is chilled your s enses are numb ; your soul is stifling

, .

Duri n g the Conqu est Fast you shoul d be happier every ,

where s a v e in two small p a tches of you r an a tomy—you r palate

and you r brain B ut they don t deserve to be h a ppy— they h a v e
.
’

be en
W
discom fort van ishes here a lso
After the first week or so
.
,

It might be well to state that du ri n g the first week o f the

Fast the enj oyment o f you r frie n ds an d neighbors will n o t be
,

p a rticularly enh a nced They ll m a ke i t worse for you a n d y o u

.
’

for them B y referri n g to the Twenty R ules however yo u will

.
,

see a way a rou n d this omen .

We are tol d b y o ur friends the metaphysici a ns th a t

Happiness i s Harmony I f th a t be so you will find yoursel f.
,
’
growi n g supremely h a ppy toward the close of a tw o weeks -
,

three weeks o r four —

-
week s F a st E v ery fibre o f your b o d v will
’

,
’
.

b e a ttuned to N a ture ever y quiver o f your sou l m a de ser a phic

,

with its melody of Truth That long— lost child sen sibility will
.
-

steal over you once more a child being proverbi a lly h a ppy ,

b eca use its s o ul is fed o n th e fin er f o r ces of earth and a ir a n d

ether ; forces c u t o ff from men by their grosser environs of
c ivili z ation .

I s thi s kind of en j oym ent to o mystic a l ?

’
All right we ll have some that isn t
,
’
Y ou shoul d h a v e .

seen me eat at the close of my Thirty D a y Fast ! Delight -

rapture — ecst a cy —transport — bli ss — all beggarly word s to

describe the sens a tion
Ju st between m e and you —I ll have to whisper it for I
.

’
,

w o uldn t h a ve a nybody el se hear for the worl d —but i f I were a

’

rank materi a list caring nothi n g about soul I sh ou ld fast awhile

, ,
j us t for the fun o f eating whe n hu n gr y I recall how a College .

Professor u sed to do t h a t—h e t a ught in the U n i v ersi t y t h a t

to o —D D
” “
m a de a lumber roo m ou t o f me He w a s a D D
-
. .

“
s t andi n g for D e a t h s D eputy Th a n ksgi v i n g morni ng h e
'

u sed t o s t a y home f r om church so a s t o pl a y t enn is an d get a

wh a li n g a ppe t i t e for Turkey H e h a d boil s to p a y for i t so he
.
,

did I m n o t bl a mi n g t hi s p a r t icul a r P ro fessor— i n deed he wa s

'

bro a der an d s a n er th a n the m a j ori t y I t s somethi n g for a .

’

cl a ssicist to appreci a t e the v a lue of an appetite— if he did go at

it w ro n g .

F a sting— th en F e as ting .

Tha t s my doctri n e
’
.

Cream o n ce a w eek instead of milk and water e v ery day - -

.

S ome folks c a n t digest cre a m But I h a v e a shy suspicio n it s

’ ’
.

bec a u se they wo n t f a st They d r a ther be h a l f w a y comfortabl e

’
.
’
-

in t heir b odies t h a n a ltoge t her san e in t hei r soul s O f cou rse .

the y re a n a emic— e v en a baby sicken s o n w a tered milk D o n t

’ ’
.

t ry to we a n t hem Whe n they re grown enough N a tu re will se n d

.
’
,

them foragi n g for themsel v es .

H a ppi n ess i s like a r a re species of b utte r fl y— sel dom c a ught

an d su re to d ie in c a pti v i t y But i f you a r e v ery v ery still it
.
, ,

ma y a light n e a r you ; where you ca n re v el in the golde n l u stre

of its wi n gs the sub t le poi se of i t s body the matchless grac e o f
, ,

its fl ight .

And then good— b ye Good by e .

-
.
 F A S T IN G F OR F R E E DO M

CHAPT E R I I I .

H a bit i s the Family E n tr an ce

-
to th a t no t oriou s resort
called Hell .

M ost o f the people who go there u se this side d oo r -

.

For t wo reason s First bec a u se i t i s supposed to be mo e

.
, r

respect a ble th a n th a t bro a d fron t pe n dulum por t a l o f A ba nd on

, ,
-
.

S eco n d bec a u se the policem a n i s a lw a y s looki n g the other w a y

, .

Hi s n a me is L a w a n d he i s p a id to w a tch j u st t he fro n t e ntr a n ce

, .

I ha v e this o n ly by he a rs a y n o t bei n g a cqu a i n t ed wi t h him

,

person a lly Y o u see whe n Lo v e a n d I g o t r y sti n g toge t her we

.

a lways t a k e t he opposite directio n— the ro a d th a t le a ds to H e a v e n .

Love s a ys sh e c an t be a r the sight o f L a w — h e m a kes he r tremble

’

all o v er S o I h a v e come to a v oid him mysel f S i n ce Lo v e s

. .
’

femi n i n e i n tu i t ion i s the ne a rest i n f a llible of a nything in this

worl d .

I do not ex a ggerate in thu s defi n ing H abit .

A n alyze a l l the crime dise a se a n d m isfortune amo ng me n

, , ,

and y o u tr a ce it to a h a bit D ri n k —h a bi t drug h a bit food —

. h a bit ,
-
, ,

passion h a bi t worry h a bit gossip h abit fe a r h a bi t greed h a bit

-
,
-
,
-
,
-
,
-
,

c redulity h a bi t hyp o crisy —h a bit —a n d he a lth food h a bi t ; these

-
, ,
- -

w ith a hund red more of their close k in a r e directly to bl a me for

Hum a n ity s bl in d bo n d a ge to the su r f a ce form o f thi n gs
’
.

The hu m a n body shoul d be bou n d by no h a bits s a v e those

decreed by an im a l i n sti n ct The hum a n m i n d shoul d be bou n d
.

by n o habits s a v e those requ ired in i t s qu est for Tru t h The .

hum a n soul should be bou n d b y no h a bits s a v e those th a t i t erate

its own i n spiratio n To thi n k for o n esel f to act for o n esel f most
.
, ,

of a l l to f eel for o n esel f ; this i s to outgrow o v ertop a n d bury in , ,

obli v io n the h a bits o f the r a ce .

T h e o n ly h a r ml ess h a b it is th a t n ew ly c r ea ted by a self -

co nscio us so u l r its o w n in d iv id u a l us e N o other h a bit i s b a sed

f o .

o n absolute si n cerit y n . R a —
I w a s o ce a epublic n bec a u se my
father w a s ; a B a ptist—bec a u se my mother w a s ; a cl a ssicist
be c au se my tea c her w as ; a b eefst eak eat e r— because my coo k -
w a s ; and a S und a y — S choo l schol a r— bec a u se John D R ockefeller . ,

Ju n ior posed a s o ffici a l cl a ss exhort er N eedless to sa y I was

,
-
.

doped a ll t hrough— p a rdo n t he sla n g .

I am n o w a Cosmocrat Which i s a n e w word There was

. .

n one big e n ough be fore It bo t h i n clu des a n d exclu des the

.

petty mi n or di s t i n ctio n s o f party cl a ss a n d creed th a t o n ce made

,

of a cosmic mi n d a mere collectio n o f cubb y holes -

.

’
E v en the freedom habit becomes b a d when you c an t break
-

it You may get you r mess a ge on the mount a in peak but onl y
.
-
,

in the v a lley ca n yo u gi v e it S ince de a f is the worl d to voices

.

from o n high bli n d i s the world to v i sion s celestial

,
.

Man the o n ly bei n g with the uptu rn ed face i s the o n ly being

, ,

with th e downcast eye I s it no t piti ful ?

.

M y conscien ce i s pricki n g me I ll ha v e to c onfess to o n e .

’

bad habit The n ote boo k habit I v e j otted down enough

.
-
.
’

memo r a n d a to m a ke a l ibrary Th a t s where most of the

.
’

epigr a ms in this boo k come from A fter a l l I m n o t the one .

,
’

to suff er o n accou n t o f thi s h a bit am I ? O n l y m y re a ders

,
.

I started to compil e a C a t a logu e of Bad Human H a bits ;

w i t h Cu r es a nd Pre v enti v es therefor .

B u t the j ob soon grew to be hopel ess S o we ll j u st c ite a .

’

few taken from the list at random E v erybo dy d oe s these

, .

thi n gs becau se e v erybody el se does Wh erea s no b ody wants to .

,

nobody shoul d Gener all y spe a king

. .

BA D HU M A N H A BITS

! To be fou n d in y o ur n ext —
door neighbor !
 M i sco n s tru i n g mo tives B o w i n g to a u th o rity
i
O v e r -e a t n g ! c hi e f o f th e m a l l ! P a n d e ri n g t o p ub li c O pi n i on
O v e r fa s ti n g ! n o t e pid e m i c !
-
Le tti n g
“
h o no r o u tr a n k h o n es ty
”
“
C a t c hi n g di s e a se s
”
W e a ri n g a l a b e l
‘
T ki g o m e thi n g f o r th e m
a n s
”
E u l o gi z i n g c o n s i s t e n c y
R unn i n g f o r th e d o c t o r ! i ns t e a d Pityi n g a n y b o dy — o u r s e lv es in
o f fr o m ! p a rti cu l a r
Di s c uss i n g fo o d P e r se cu ti n g pi o n e e rs
S itti n g a r o un d f o r m e a l ti m e
-
De spi s i n g dr e a m e r s
Urgi n g o ur fri e n d s to e a t Fr o wn i n g o n e n th us i as m
“
C u ltiv a ti n g a n a p p e tit e ”
Ch e ri shi n g o u tgr o w n id e a l s
T ryi n g to e a t d ri nk t a lk a n d
, , J u dgi n g G e n i u s
tr u c kl e s i m u lt a n e o us l y S u llyi n g S e x
We a ri n g d a n n e l s D en yi n g D e s ir e
Airi n g o ur a il me n t s O b e yi n g D u ty
C o n s o rti n g w ith h e a lth h o bb yi s t s D e c r e e i n g m a rri a ge mo r a l
Wa t c hi n g th e c l oc k Di c t a ti n g t o th e i n divid ua l
“
H o ldi n g d o wn a j o b
”
M a li g n i n g th e l o we r a n i m a l s
“

Runn i n g t h e g o v e r n m e n t C o n d e m n i n g s in
c
“
P a y in g
”
s o c i a l ca ll s B e i n g p a i n fu lly g o o d
Re a di n g n e w s p a p e r s Pr es s i n g tr a c t s a n d pl ug h a t s o n
G o i n g to c h u r c h th e h e a th e n
“

Att en di n g f une r a l s a n d w e ddi n g s Str ewi n g a gr a ve w ith fl o we r s

N a mi n g th e b a b y S u rfe iti n g wa rri o r s — a n d st a rvi n g
Wilti n g a t th e w e a th e r p oe t s
We a ri n g c u sto m ma d e c l o th es a n d
-
J um pi n g a t c o n c l u s i o n s
O pi n i o ns F o rge tti n g h o w t o l a ugh
P e r s i s ti n g in r e g ul a r c o rr e s p o n d E s t e e m i n g s p e e c h m o r e th a n si
e n ce l en ce
Sl a n d e ri n g riv a l s T a ki n g p rid e in p e r s o n a lity
O w n i n g fri e n d s F e a ri n g t o a ct o n i mp u l s e
H e a pi n g a b us e o n th e ri c h E xa lti n g r e a so n a b o v e i ns ti n c t
H e a pi ng c h a rity o n th e p oo r Thr e a t e n i n g a n d sc o ldi n g c hildr e n
D e pl o ri n g m i s t a k e s R e ma i n i n g s tr a n g e r s to th e hill s ,

V a un ti n g vi c t o ri e s th e se a a nd t h e s t a r s
,

C o un ti n g o ur m e r c i e s
“
W o r s hippi n g m a n g o d o r d e vil
,

S a n d p a p e ri n g o ur i n j u ri es I m a gi n i n g Tr u th c a n l e a d a str a y
Id o li z i n g th e b r a i n Pr e fe rri n g di sh o n e s t o rth o d oxy to
Ridi cu li n g wh a t w e d o n t un d e r
’
h o ne st h e r e s y
st a n d Divo r c i n g G o d a n d N a t u r e
T e a chi n g lit e r a t ur e r a th e r th a n R e lyi n g o n fa ith a l o n e o r fa c t
,

L ife al one
I m p u ti n g w i s d o m to d o c t o r s ,
Pri z i n g fo r m mo r e th a n Spirit
pr e a c h e r s a n d pr o fe ss o r s F o r c i n g o r c r us hi n g L o v e
Be littli n g m a n ua l wo rk S il e n c in th e v o i c e o f th e S o u l

D id yo u sur v i v e ? i
’
Then a fter a lit t le breathi n g spell we ll continu e
,
-
,
.

While you re resting you might sen d to the N a tu r o p ath ic\r

’
,

,
—
Publ ishi n g Comp an y 1 2 4 E a st Fi fty n i nth Street N e w York / ,

Ci t y f o r back numbers O f T h e N a tur op a th D e cembe r 1 9 0 2

,
“
,

i re -
M e l e ? e
to M a r ch i n clu sive E n closing say twe nty ce nts These
,
1 90 3 . .

i ssu es of thi s M a g a z i n e co n t ain a rt icles wri tt en b y m e o n T he

“

Folly o f t he Food H a bi t suggesti n g t here from t he w isdom of

-
,

the F a st I don t e n tirely a gree wi t h the sen t ime n ts of so lo ng

’

a g o —when my pen w a s wo n t to picture everything j e t black

.

w i t h a lu ri d li n i n g B ut i f y o u will refer to them it w i ll s a v e

.
,

a duplic a t e reci t a l here of pess i mi s t ic a n a r chism Ico n oclasm .

ma y demolish the ru i n s of error— o n ly I de a l ism ca n buil d the

struc t u re of T ruth B e very sure e v ery iconoclast sees more .

error th a n Tr u th .

Small men a r e c r eat u r es o f hab it —gr eat men a r e c r eators

of h a bit This expl a i n s hero worship S ince cre a t ure a lw a ys
.
-
.

worships crea t or Either w e m a ke o u r h a bi t s or ou r habits m a ke

.

us .

D id you e v er know of a ge n iu s whose e a ti n g h a bits for ,

i n st a n ce were not peculiar to himsel f ? I f he be but a fl edgli n g

,

“
geniu s peopl e call him cr a nky o r i f fully winged a n d w idely
,
-

n a med t hey c a ll him

, ecce ntric ”
Wron g all w ro n g Ge n ius h a s
“
.
, .

been d efi n ed a s a n ex cess of n o r ma l it y “
I t is j u st t h a t— t he .

quin t esse n ce o f ou r commo n i n s t i n c t s moti v es a n d desires brought , ,

to the boili n g poi n t M ediocrity would n o t be bou n d i f it k n ew

-
.

how t o bre a k t he fet t ers ; Ge n iu s w ill not be bou n d bec a u se it does

k n ow how A n d most O f u s secre t ly lo n g to do the very t hi n gs
.

we co n dem n in the m a n w h o d a res N ex t to the child ma y th e .

,

ge niu s set copy for the r a ce Hi s sc r ipt m a y no t a lwa y s b e .

stupidly r egul a r— but O h how graceful how lordl y a r e his c a pital s ! ,

D id you e v er obse rv e th a t a we ather v a n e i s the o n ly -

thi n g t he wi n d c a n t bu ff et ? It s rew a r d for dari n g to a ppe a r

’

”
But a w e a t her—v an e c a n t be upset ei t her A n d a
“
fl ig h ty ’
. .
,

gre a t soul need s fi x ity n o l ess t h a n a sm a ll soul n eeds mobilit y .

We c an no t be s an e u ntil w e a r e s y mmet r ic a l .

” “
N o w for a ray o f su n shi n e A b a d h a bi t i s a good thing .

to o u tg r o w R estric t io n i s to th e soul wh a t trelli s is to the mo m

.

in g glory ; a necess a ry su pport whil e cl imbing

-
The o n ly w a y to
esc a pe i t is to trans c end it—not t o fr et o v er it or demand its
.
v antage what people a n d thi n gs bou n d y o u to eart h si n k foreve r
,

in t he a byss o f bondage ; to s t i fl e the so b a n d press back the tear ;

to lea n l ike a child o n the breas t o f N atu re and stretch ou t you r ,

h a n d for t he Hand o f God ; this i s the sile n t meeting o f anguis h

and r a pture this is the v ic a riou s A t one me n t
,
- -
.

Few soul s are s t rong e n ough br a ve en ough s a n e enough , ,

.

But t he o n e soul in a thousan d who is ready for th e Co n ques t

Fast i s wor t h more th a n a ll the rest That con sciou s n ess i s suffi .

cien t recompe n se for the he a rt s blood wherewi t h I write thi s ’

book For the o n ly i n del ible wri ti n g has been traced by th e

.

wri t er in his o w n hear t s blood ’

.

The Co n qu est Fast makes you free in more ways than I

ca n me n tion here I h a ve w itnessed the prosecutio n of se v eral
. .

A n d in e a ch case a complete ch an ge in li fe h a bits was the result

,
-
.

Your thi n ki n g you r feeli n g you r belie v ing you r desiring you r
, , , ,

pl a nn i n g you r h 0 pi n g you r lo v i n g s h o u ld be you r own a fter th e

, , ,

Fast It is safe to sa y t hey w ere no t you r o w n before the Fast

. .

The most vit a l ch a n ge i s u su a lly the en tire rea dj ustme nt

of e a ti n g habits And no more vital chan ge coul d be e ff ected
-
.

for the salv a tion of the race .

N owhere a r e m en more hopelessly human th a n as they herd

miserably together three times a d a y to get th e money s wort h
’

of thei r board bill N a tur a l being s e a t a l o ne They a n swer t he

. .

c all of Hu n ger— but they do n t sit arou n d waiting for it They ’

.

have n o regular meal hou rs regularity bei n g the cruel l a sh plie d

-

by the h an d o f a W
,

iz at io n They don t gossip fi n d fault .

’

, ,

re a d n ewsp a pers o r compl a in o f the food— hen ce a r e str a n gers to

dyspepsia They don t i n v oke the bl essi n g o f an a l l wise D ei ty
.
’
-

o n such stupidly i n iqu itou s f a re as c a l f s brai n s dumpli ng s a n d ’

br a n dy s a uce They do n t gul p down th e fi rst helpi n g for fe a r

'

there wo n t be e n ough o f the same for a seco n d They don t

’
.
’

w a t ch t hei r neighbors whe n t he pie is passed to see who gets t h e ,

biggest piece .

They do n t d o a hu n dred a n d o n e thi n gs th a t make men most

’

ridiculou s o f t he absu rd in th e way m en ea t Ever n otice how .

c ross most hu sb an d s get i f th eir w iv e s don t sit at the t a ble wi t h ’

them ? S he needn t eat—o n ly preside a t her lord s fest a l boa rd
’ ’
.

Heaven on ly k n ows why— u n less to fur n ish addition a l proo f th a t

men a r e more unre a so n a ble th a n wome n .

N o I do not agree with Charlotte P erki n s Gilman in her cl a im

,

that a home an d a pri so n are i den tic a l N o t a t all— for in a . .

prison you re relieved of respon sibility

’
.

The remedy for priso n like homes i s not co mmunis m—b ut -

ind iv id u a lism When e v ery member of the f a mily h a s the same

.

person al fr eedom he would h a v e i f there were no f a mily— then

will home begi n to be home .

V alu a bl e secret for wi v es free How to Keep a Hu sband .

“ ”
Home N ights O p en th e d o o r w id e a nd p r o p it o p en
. The .

re a son for proppi n g it open is th a t he ll be b a ck presen tly Th a t ’

.

is i f he lo v es you I f he does n t you shoul dn t w a n t him b a ck ’ ’

Moreover in case y o u a r e gr a ciou s e n ough—o r wise e n ough— to

. .
, ,

give him a goo d bye kiss a s he p a sses o ut into the night I

-
,

prophes y he ll retur n before the shops are closed— purpose to

’
'

bri n g yo u some flowers o r sweets M en are so con tr a ry so .

transp a ren tly co n tr a ry ! I f o n ly they w ere as child like in th e -

’
w a ys they shoul d be a s they a r e in the w a y they shouldn t !

How w e do w a n der a w a y from the F a st .

We mu stn t philo sophize a bit more— in this ch a pt e r

’

Ea ting s h o ul d b e e ith e r a f es tiva l o r a s acr a m en t —

.

both i f
y o u c a n make it so I think o f all the lesso
. n s t a ught me through

the Co n quest Fast no n e h a s pro v ed so co n ti n uou sly so cumul a ,

t iv el y helpful as th i s We should ea t a s animal s—o r a s gods N a t

. .

a s m en S pe a king met a phys ic a lly ou r a ttitude should be either

.
,

su bconsciou s o r superco n sciou s inste a d o f grossly obj ective as ,

it u su a lly is I n short w e shoul d f eel wi t h both body a n d soul ;

.
,

but not thi n k wi t h the br a i n Here agai n as in so m an y inst a nces

.
, ,

the ja r a n d the whirr o f mere mental machi n ery has di v erted u s

from the j ust en j oymen t o f ou r bodily se n ses whil e deafen i n g ,

u s to the finer appe a l o f o u r soul se n sibili t ies -

.

B ra i n m a y r e en force I n sti n ct in this f a r ! T o gu a r a n tee the

-

whol esomeness of e v ery food set before you B r a in shoul d then .

 re t ire—w ith o u t q u es tio n ing th e d ig es tib il ity of a si n gl e morsel .

Let Hunger e n j oy u n d is t u r bed

, .

”
B y festiv a l I do not me a n soci a bil i t y
“
.

”
By sacr a ment I do not me a n solem n ity .

I c an e a t in a rest a u ra n t—if no n e o f my friends are there .

’
And whe n I v e wo r ked h a rd thu s earning a good dinner that s
’

, ,

where I go i n s t e a d of to my cupbo a rd Peo ple who always pre .

pare thei r o w n food get morbid o n t he subj ect .

B ut to observe me a l time a s a s a cr a men t I must be utterl y

-
,

al o n e
b
f r ee o f a l l perso n a l vibrations W hich ag a i n co n tradi c t s
.

cu stom a l l the chu rch commu n ic an t s g a theri n g to commemorate

,

the Holy S upper A s a cram e nt c an never be a comm emo rat ion ;

.

i deals a r e sa c red— but the ir ashes are e a rthy .

“
No fa mily tabl e any more ?
Yes—if yo u have fou n d who you r f a mily reall y are Ther e .

a r e j ust three in my f a mily circl e — N atu re G o d and I A n d o ur , .

f a mily n a me i s Love We seldom have company at all—so few

.

people know o u r real name and residen c e Wh en mere h um ans .

do come u pon u s by a ccide n t a t meal tim e w e a lways shu dder

-
,

We Three Becau se they disrupt the seren ity o f the atmosphere

.

w ith t heir h a rsh echoes of ci v iliz a tio n .

D o not c a ll this chu rl ish n ess I f all the race woul d let me
.

l o v e it I should never n eed to lea v e it B ut in order to re a l iz e

, .

th a t Lo v e is the o n ly thing worth while o n e mu st first h a ve su ff ere d

,

a thou s an d eo n s S o w e ca n only wait till the w o rl d gr o w s ten d er

. .

Y ea r n and wait , in sil en c e .

 F A S T! N G F OR P OW E R

CHAPT E R I V .

S ucc ess is what the world pays a man fo r dis c o v ering and
d eveloping himsel f .

During the pro c es s of sel f certi fyi n g Pro v iden ce ki n dly with
-
,

holds this fact from him B ecause i f he knew it h e would be .

,

forever tryi n g to sell the gold mi n e u n worked i n ste a d o f e xp lo r -

in g it with his o w n pick axe I n deed he might be tempted to

-
.

s a lt it i nto the b a rg a i n .

I h a ve n o t a s yet de v eloped mysel f— I h a v e disc o v ered my

sel f I know what s there A n d I a m quite willi n g f o r t he world
.
’
.

n o t to k n ow u n til my title be cle a rly est a blished a n d my tre a sures

,

safely stored B ec a u se the world would cert a i n ly fetch its clumsy

.

too ls and attempt to dig The worl d is a lw a ys w a iti n g to work

.

the other fellow s mi n e You see it h a sn t found its own

’
.
’
.

For S el f disco v ery I k n ow nothing to t a ke the pla c e of the

-

C onqu est Fast As a n i n iti a l motive for sel f —

. de v elopme nt a n d
a swi ft means thereto it i s a lso u n equ a lled We ca nn o t k n o w o ur
, .

s el v es u n til w e g e t a w a y f r o m o u r s u r r o u n d ing s B ec a u se most .

o f u s are but bits o f polished wood reflecti n g fai n tly the s a llow

lights about u s ; i n s t e a d of glowi n g fi r eb r a n d s ki n dled direct fro m

the sun gl a ss o f Truth abo v e u s
-
.

O n ly the summit v ision ca n reve a l the sm a ll n ess o f the world

-

a n d the gre a tness o f a hum a n soul .

We are no t a s a noted edi t or would alw a ys remi n d us

, ,

mere a n ts o n the se a shore o r cor a ls in the reef We are p a rt a kers .

of Om n ipotence U ndre a med o f powers a r e withi n u s possibili

.
-
,

ties around u s B ut sloth an d fe a r precedent a n d cu stom

.
, ,

ignorance and inerti a e n vy and interfere n ce crowd a s terri fy

,

ing pha n toms between u s a n d o u r opportu n ities .

Indeed most men fail to se e thei r l a rger possibili t ies while

watchi n g to o a n xiou sly their sm a ller possessio n s T he I n fi n ite .

i s the realm o f the potenti a l A n d yo u mu st look S kyw a rd to .

discern you r o w n gre a t ness .

 To be powerful i s to be in perfect comm a nd o f all you r
f a culties at a given time in a given place under a given co n
, , ,

ditio n f o r a gi v en purpose
, .

Let u s begin with stren gth o f bod y .

We observe in the fi rst place that fat and for c e a r e mutually

e xclusi v e Louis Kuh n e the German N aturi st has shown c o n v in c
.
, ,

in g ly th a t a fat man i s a sick m an H is excessively v ital tempera

.

ment may make him appear stronger th a n the ma n o f n erve and

sinew But h e c an t do the work o f his lithe b rother no r stand
.
’
,

the strain no r combat the disease th a t always threatens a suc

,

ce ss f ul man N o w nothing but a long Fast will pro v e to yo u

.

h ow l ittl e f o o d y o u r eq u ir e for th e actu a l needs of th e body N ot .

more th an a third o f wh a t most men e at With an in c rease d .

e n j oyme n t moreover a n d a cons tant feeling o f buoy anc y a s

delightful as it i s u n u sual .

E v ery ounce o f food taken in ex c ess o f hunger means so

mu ch dissipated energy T a ke that same force from y ou r stom a ch
.

and put it into you r business— both s tomach an d bu si n ess will

improve A br a i n worker i s seldom re a lly hungry unless he takes
.
-

regul a r exerci se a t a gymn a sium He can eat a l o t i f h e exer .

cises a lot But wh a t s th e u se ? To e a t less a n d al so exer c is e

.
’

l ess comes to the s a me en d Wi t h a savi n g of t ime mon ey .

, ,

thought and vit a l ity .

A gymnasium i s almost as unnatural as a chu rch o r a drug

store All three are needless i f the li fe —
. habits be right ; eati n g ,

clothi n g sleeping bathing working resting playing thinking

, , , , , ,

a n d lo v i n g I know promi n ent systems o f Physical Cultu re whose

.

chief excu se f o r violent exercise i s to c re a te an equally violen t

a ppetite . Hunger ca n t be cre a ted— it comes of itsel f All it
’
.

asks of yo u i s to wai t for it— then sati sfy it— then s top Y o u l o s e .

power i f you treat it a ny other w a y .

Fatigue or lack o f enduran c e i s a c ommon besetment o f

, ,

the bu si n ess man W e a ri n ess ne v er i n dic a tes foo d— bu t a lways

.

sleep On the twenty four t h d a y of my long Fast I to ok a tr a mp

.
-

through the West V irgi n ia H ills w ith a p a rty of friends E v ery .

o ne had e a ten at least fi fty me a ls since I had tasted f o od And .

a t the close of the d a

y I w a s a s fresh a s a n y I found repeatedly .

th a t w h a t s eeme d to b e fa tig u e w a s o nly s o me r emnan t of und i

g es te d f o o d still lurki n g in my system A few elimin a tive meas .

u res qu ite refreshed me .

I f every br a i n worker were to spend h a l f the noon hou r

- -

o r all of it in c a se he t a kes breakf a st— in a quie t room a p a rt with ,

eyes closed body in repose men tality suspen ded bre a th rhythmi c
, , ,

and regul a r ; th a t afternoo n e nn u i woul d a ll disappear .

Power i s not ge n erated in the stom a ch Yo u ca n nev er ea t .

t o g e t s tr o ng A man s a bility to do comes through his he a rt

.
’
,

his lu n gs his br a in a n d hi s soul The soul n eeds no materi a l

, .

nourishment the br a in next to none and the he a rt and lu ngs so

, ,

little a s scarcely to be reckon ed Physic a l stren gth lies all in the .

breath mental strength all in the brain spiritu a l stren gth all in
, ,

the soul .

Physiologists ha v e always likened the hum a n m a chine to an

e ngi n e They have told u s we mu st stoke the stom a ch about so
.

of t en with a generou s assortmen t o f fuel— else the boiler would

lose its enthu si a sm The hum a n m a chine is in re a l ity a gi a n t
.

d y n a mo And yo u don t need much o f a woo d pile or co a l yard

’
- -
.

to keep electricity goi n g .

B e fore con si deri n g the br a in phase let u s defi n e power in ,

its human a ppl ic a tion .

P o w e r is th e d y n a mic p er cep tio n o f p ossibilities

He a lo n e i s powerful who ca n first see wh a t to d o —th en do
.

it Alertness o f br a in steadi n ess o f n er v e vigor o f body cour

.
, , ,

age o f soul ; n o t o n e of these elements may be l a cki n g N o w no .

man can think and digest a t th e s a me time ; no twithst a n di n g the

fact th a t m an y busi n ess de a ls are arr a nged over a speci a lly
elaborate lun cheon And every d a y o f a long F a st you will find
.

your bra in growi n g clearer Keenness o f discer n ment depth o f

.
,

insight quickness o f decision brea dth o f vision fi nality o f j udg

, , ,

me n t ; all this yo u possess a s ne v er before .

Personally a single mors el o f food inhibits my cre a tive

,

work for the rest o f the d ay I ca n do executive work in the .

aftern oon B ut only before th e late breakfa st at elev en or twelv e
. ,

c an I focu s o n a point or thi n k to a h a ir line -

.

The Conquest Fast removes from your brain you r o w n

faulty j udgme n ts a n d the still faultier opi n io n s of you r frien d s .

It helps you se e over u n der through a n d beyon d a subj ect wi t h

, , ,

the power o f an X r a y a n d t he a ccu r a cy o f a G o er z len s C o n f u

-
.

sio n o f ideas is a co n dition of th e p a s t You grasp a ll o f o n e id e a .

instead of p ieces o f ma ny And on the b read t h of this b asis yo u

.

can a c t with c onfiden c e .

Progress is a combination o f j udicia l a ttitu d e with in tuitiv e

a ctio n Y o u mu st be able to se e a l l sides o f t he qu estion a t once
.

then act w ith the freedom o f spont a nei t y a n d the cou r a g e o f

con v iction Thi s mean s both brilli a n cy of brai n and illumi n ation
.

of soul Few peopl e ha v e ei t her Almost n obody h a s both

. .

together But i f it s possible for y o u to re a l ize this doubl e boo n

.
’
,

the Conquest Fast w ill give it to you .

The initiation of origi n a lit y i s a basi c element in h u man

power This al so the Fast will e nh an ce— perhaps awaken for the
.

fi rst Great i deas are bo rn in souls no t co n tent to a dopt smal l

.

imitatio n s And a soul stron g e n ough to tak e an extreme Fast

.

in defi a n ce o f race belie f volu n taril y p u ts itsel f in touch w ith

-

C reati v ity .

G o d i s more dreamer than thinker more lover than both , .

And when God sees in o n e i n di v idu a l a sou l th a t d a re dre a m for

itsel f w ith a br a in that dare think for itsel f an d a will th a t d a re
,

a c t for itsel f—God love s that b e ing p ecu liarl y ble ssing it in some ,

sp ecial sens e .

There i s no end u ring pow e r sav e tran sc end en c e o f soul .

M on ey t a r n ishes fame w i t hers frie n dship wa n es beauty fa des

, , , ,

success p a ll s and worlds end in dust But to the soul that can .

le a v e the mo r t a l whe n it chooses su st a i n ing itsel f on air water

l ight f a ith an d lo v e—there are no limi t a t ions no dis a ppoi n t
, , ,

, ,

me nts n o doubts n o fears no disabilities no mis und e rs tan ding s

, , , , ,

no tremor s whatsoever .
 F A S T IN G F OR BE A UTY
C HA P T E R v .

B e a uty i s a lon g story—a sk a n y woman .

B ut this i s a short chapter—short enough for any man .

Experiment writes ess a ys ; Experien ce writes epigram s .

N o t that I am a dept in boudoir legerd e main Onl y a g en eral .

ave rment a n en t authorcraft .

B eauty i s soul de ep -
.

I think e v en a ma n w ill agree to this At least i f he h as e v e r .

had a sw e etheart whose eyes a nswered the light in his own .

’
B ut be auty i s more t han soul ful n ess Y o u can t cu re a mu dd y .

c omplexion with a smile o r fi ll out hollows by means of a tran

,

q uil mind B eauty is too n a tur a l to be o ccul t Wh a t d e sirabl e

. .

’
th ing isn t ? N atur e made beauty p a ramou n t w ith health Y o u .

’
c an t separate them A n d a ny woman c ontent to be other than
.

b eauti ful is other than wholesome .

Tak e for i n stance D ress R e form The garb it wha c ks o u t .

may be a c onsolation to th e lady that wears it—no woman w o uld

wear it— but it s an eyesore to everybody else S a ck c loth and
’
.

’
ashes go together And there s no place o n a sackcloth gown
.

for the rose o f you r admiration You thi n k a t o nce o f the ash .

b a rrel I n deed th a t s where all reformers belong—in the ash

.
’

b a rrel I stopped being a re forme r j u st in time to escape it

. .

I m glad—for the sak e o f the a sh barrel I t hadn t hu rt any b o d y

’
-
.
’
.

’ ’
I don t re c all the artist s definition o f be auty But in g ener al .

I belie v e hum a n bea uty to b e made u p of seven elements ; Form ,

Color Textu re Postu re Proportion Expression Anim a tion

, , , , , .

N o w the secret o f beauty thu s de fi ned i s perfect metabo lism

, , .

I me a n physiologically o f course And wi th the possible e xce p

, .

tion o f Proportion every one o f these seven el emen ts is enhanced

, ,

or restored to its pristine perfe ction by the regener a tive pow e r ,

of the Conquest Fast .

’
Fasting won t work miracles Onl y the pl a sti c su rgeon o r .

the adv e rt i sing d ermat o l o gist can do that F a sti n g w o n t recti fy .

’
 c rooked noses or melt moles from th e cheek or m a ke the wi n dows
, ,

o f th e soul look in v iti n g while the blinds are s t ill down The .

b li n ds go up though during the F a st d on t they ? I forgo t

’
, .

’
But every bit of beauty you re entitl ed to a s the j u st fru i t ion of
y ou r past lives the Conquest, Fast w ill g ive y o u .

T ake Form .

S uppose you w e igh too mu c h When you come to rega in .

th e weight los t through the F a st yo u will stop short o f the excess , .

I was ten pounds overweight before my Fast After it I was .

no rmal O r i f you lack flesh you will p u t it o n By the same

.
, .

r enew a l of the powers of assimilation I n short ine qu ali t i e s w ill .

,

b e leveled a n d sym metry ensue

, .

Take C olor .

The delicac y o f tint that will mantl e you r fa c e c an be

approached by n othi n g save the memory of childhood Skin blem .

i shes will disappear Extreme redness o r whiteness will be

.

’
modified Even enlarged pores will subside I m not talki n g
. .

poetry now B e a uty i s poetic B ut ever y woman kn ows that the

. .

average be a uty stu n t i s prosiest o f the prosy .

T a ke Texture .

D id you ever comp a re the foreheads o f a pri z e fig h ter and -

a poe t ? N ot alone in form and con tou r but equally in the texture ,

of the skin is the di ff erence m a ni fest The prize fi g h te r lives o n .

-

beefsteak an d sin k e r s the poet o n — w e l l mo stly air and O ptimism

“ ”
, .

’
O f course i f he s a maga z ine poet he will sometimes be invited ,
’
out to dine and oc casionall y receive a c heque B ut w e re speak
, .

ing now of r e al poets the kind the worl d is n t ready for t ill the y
,
’

die The fibre of y ou r fl esh w ill refine noticea bly even before
.
,

yo u finish the Fast an d in the en d it w ill b e sm oo th a s th e p etal

,

o f a rose bu d
-
.

Tak e Postur e .

Ever observe h ow many peopl e sag in th e m iddl e ? Thi s

chroni c co lla ptio n may b e tra c ed to two c a u ses ; too much dinner
a n d not enough sel f resp e ct T h e C o n qu est Fa st sub trac t s th e
-
.

d inner an d adds the sel f r e spe c t -

.

Tak e E xpr essi o n .

 Which i n cludes the sp a rkle in the eye the blu sh o n the cheek , ,

the smile a bou t the lips in a word the e n semble o f the co u n te

,

n a nce He a lth bri n gs Hope A n d o n l y Hope can illume the

. .

huma n f a ce with a n a ur a a ngel i c .

T a k e An imatio n .

B y this I me a n se n siti v ity responsi v eness feel ing M ost

, , .

pe opl e a r e u n attracti v e bec a u se moribu n d You c a n t be a u ti fy.

’

the pallor o f a corp se in the m a ki n g Put Li fe into the human

.

body Lo v e into the human hea r t Light i n to the hum an soul !

, ,

a n d lo a bei n g o f be a uty a ri ses in the m a j esty of n ewly aw a kened

,

S el fhoo d Li f e Light and Love— this exactl y sums th e C onqu est

.
,

Fast .

That s all ’
.

I said it woul d be short didn t I ? ,

’

Surely in o n e chapter I should be k ind to yo u .

P S Y o u wo n t be conspicuously beauti ful w h il e you re

. .
’ ’

f a sting— n o t till afterwards So don t be haunti n g the mirror

.
’
.

Les t t he mirror haunt yo u .

 FAS T lN G F OR F A IT H

CHAP T E R V I .

We love only verities ; w e fear o n ly ph a ntoms .

S o i f we coul d e v erywhere see the re a l through t he sh a dow ,

w e should always lo v e and never fe a r .

Faith i s the focu s o f o u r verity vision -

.

An d the nicet y of its adj u stment determi n es our whole

outloo k o n l i fe .

Some souls are far sighted— bu t blind to the thi n gs a dj a cen t

- .

More soul s are near sighted— but bli n d to the things beyo n d
-
.

Whil e the maj ority of soul s a r e a fflicted with mor a l a stigm a t ism .

The only cure for which as you know being to impro v e the, ,

gen eral heal th .

Occasio n a lly some re a ll y sane soul visits this pl a net and ,

pr o ceeds to a pprehend re a lities b o th near and f a r Forthwi t h is .

that soul set u pon by the hordes o f the hal f blind who dem an d -
,

that it renounce eith er its e a rth vision o r its he a v en v ision a n d

- -

become as o n e o f them I f it c a nnot o r will no t they c a ll it fool

,
.
, ,

‘
k n ave o r lun a tic crucify it i f th ey d a r e ostraci z e it in an y e v en t
, , ,

then settle back into thei r stupid d a z e with the con sciou sness
o f duty well do n e This is th e penalty for having a f a ith bo th
.

r el ig io us a n d s cien tifi c But it s worth it With both G o d and

’
. .

Nature back o f yo u men c a n t av a il against yo u to a ny consider

,
’

able degree .

The faith that proves sees equall y well with eyes open o r
eyes closed It m a kes f a ct the fou n d a tio n o f its structure but
.
,

bu ilds its tower o ut o f imagination Needless to sa y it keeps its .

,

supplies in the cell a r while loc a ti n g its study in the obser v atory
,
.

F a ith i s u sually an o w l— it sees best by night .

While R eason i s u suall y a chicke n— it runs to roo st a t dusk .

What th e worl d needs i s a L u ther B urb a n k o f Me t a physics to ,

cross the specie s and produc e a c r eature no t a cripple either b y

day o r by night .
 The tenden c y o f modern thought i s to re j ect faith altogeth er .

I f it does modern m an dies He who robs a soul of its f a ith i s

, .

bo t h marauder a n d mu rderer ; si n ce no soul ca n flourish long

in th a t a rc t ic midnight of Doubt Be tte r a th o usan d times to .

tr us t Er r o r th a n to d o u b t T r u th It is the act o f bel ievi n g not .

,

the obj ect o f belief th a t m a kes man cour a geou s for doi n g
, .

Hum a n s ha v e w o n gre a t victories in the n a me o f Z eu s a n d o f ,

Allah an d o f Jehov a h Yet Z eu s All a h a n d Jeho v ah are n o n e o f

, .
,

them God F a i t h but li fts u s a little w a y o ut o f the d a rk n ess th a t

.

en v elopes u s I f it be but a l i ttle w a y let u s be glad f o r that

.
,

not fretful th a t the light f a ils of being perfect .

Almost i n v a riably those w h o rej ect the letter o f the B ibl e

lose also its spirit B ecau se the Boo k o f boo ks records much
.

that is hum a n superstition the Freethi n ker denies therei n mor e ,

that i s di v i n e Truth Om n iscie n ce re v e a l s to ma n o n ly so muc h

.

as ma n i s re a dy f o r S o our light shoul d be greater r a ther than

.
,

less in comp a rison with the e a rly seers and apostles B ut they
, .

h a d the a ttitu d e o f b elief— w e ha v e the attitu de o f doubt And .

while crede n ce i s not c redulity it i s farth e r remove d fr o m th e ,

habit o f de n ial .

K n owledge i s the father a n d Faith the mother o f Enthu siasm .

Enthu siasm can t be born wi thout Knowledge ; but only F a ith

’

c a n re a r it Y ou try to achie v e some gre a t purpose apart fro m

.

the leadership of E nthu siasm— then se e where yo u end .

Faith like all other re a li t ies i s much misu n derstoo d and

, ,

m a lig n ed F o r inst a n ce F a i t h wi t hout works i s n o t dead

.
, .

’
I t s im a gi n a ry I t never existed Y o u ca n t keep Faith torpi d
. .
’

a n y more t h a n y o u c a n sunl ight I t i s the v ery essence o f energy . .

A n d the piou sly p a l e bre t hre n who n e v er mi n gl e w i th the world

bec a u se they re so bu sy exercisi n g their f a ith— they h a v e a dead
’

f a i t h a n d a r e too n umb to k n ow it A li v e one would n t st a y with .

’

them ten seco n ds F o r fear o f getti ng a f a t a l chill

. .

Faith moreo v er i s not an occult ph an tasm I t s n a tural it s .

’

,
’

’
hum a n i t s whol e souled a nd w a rm he a rted
,
-
I u sed to be a -
.

c hro n ic disputer a n i n v eter a te de n ier

, I doub t ed e v erybo dy an d .
ev er y thing Mysel f parti c ul a rly Was I human ? Far from it
. .
.

I looked like a ghost a c ted like a paralytic a n d felt like a miser

, ,

able m emory Toda y I b elieve in e v erybo dy and everything

.
.

M y s el f particularly An d I m a regul a r d yn a mo of e n ergy

.
’
.

B elieving i s a c hieving And there is nothing so de a dening .

a s to los e the beautiful f a ith o f o u r childhoo d ; f a ith in people ,

faith in th e future faith in foo d f a ith in sleep faith in play

, , , ,

faith in work—yes and faith in f a iries dreams vision s T h e

, , , .

w a y of l i fe is a belt line whos e begin n ing a n d end is c hildhoo d

“

-
.
,

You haven t seen it all till you ve been clear around

’ ’
.

Why and how do we lose o u r faith ? B ecause we do not think ,

feel and act for ourselves That s all In every crisis of life .
’
.
,

c ome s the guiding whisper o f I nsti n ct In tu ition Inspiration o r , , ,

som e other voi c e o f the soul B ut the din o f the world w ithout .

has deafened u s the shadow of appearanc e h a s bli n ded u s the

, ,

advice o f false friends h a s dissuaded us Next time the voice .

sounds weaker Presently it i s still Then has doubt settle d

. .

int o despair We have bartered th e certit u de o f soul G o d g a v e

.

u s for the ma z e o f mind o ff ered b y men .

N ow b riefly what i s the o ffi ce of the C onquest Fast ? Just

, ,

thi s T o es ta bl ish b ey o nd p er a d ventur e th e three kinds of faith

.

I deem most vital ; fa ith in N a tur e faith in S el f f aith in G od , ,

.

Faith in N at u re ensures health .

Faith in S elf en su res success .

Faith in God en sures a bidi n g peace .

What more c an we ask ? Wh a t more do we ne ed ? Ju st h o w

th e Fast oper a tes to thi s end I ha v e not space to describe here .

But how it oper a ted on a t least o n e hum a n bei n g you will find
reco rded at the close o f this book under the he a di n g— “
A D ecl a ra ,

”
tion o f Faith Most o f these beliefs o f mi n e de v eloped directly
.

’
or indirectly as a result o f the lon g Fast I would n t h a v e the .

same set come to you for anything— if ou r minds were j ust alike ,

I m su re w e d both be un c om fortable L et u s say better beliefs

’ ’

—
.

w il l be you rs I shan t f eel the l ea st bit envious

’
.
 May you r f a ith also grow till it spans earth an d sea and sky ,

comprehe n di n g a ll th a t in them i s The n ma y it emerge from the

.

cons t rictio n o f the t a n gibl e to lay hol d e v erl a stingl y o n the

,

lime potentials in th e keeping o f the U nseen .

 N o th ing is s o co nd uciv e to co ur ag e as to co n tr o v er t a nd s e t

a t n o ug h t a f Do you know anything the ra c e

fix e d r a ce- b el ie .

believes in more than in eating ?

Study the lives o f the world s great men ’
.

S ee how uni formly they w ere dominated b y so m e o ne bo l d

i dea that the worl d then called u nreaso n abl e and u nattain a ble
S cience inve n tio n mu sic a rt li ter a ture therapeutics—
.

, , ,
e v e n reli
, ,

gion ; these have all been e n riched most l a rgely by men c onsid ered
mad during their l i fetim e .

He a ling for e x a mpl e has been most promoted b y pioneers

, ,

outside the regular school I h a ve but to mention th ese names .

H a hnemann Ling Kn eipp K u hne Lahman n S chroth R ik li

, , , , , , ,

Ju st Weltmer B a bbitt M acfadden Still Wilman s Edd y —th e

, , , , , ,

l ist i s endless These benef a ctors of the race had th e c ou rage

.

th a t comes from a n in d iv id ua l cu mul a tiv e a nd p r a ctica bl e id ea l ,

.

T h e greates t o f them bei n g Jesu s th e N a z a rene .

They never saw the impotent p an ic o f the world that wit

n essed their heresy ; they s aw Truth and Truth was enough .

D ei fy the worl d an d it d a m n s you ; d a mn it a n d it d e ifie s you T h e .

“
sel f co n sciou s soul n e v er a sk s C a n I me a su re u p to men s e xp ec
-
’

“ ”
tatio n s R a ther M ust I me a su r e down to them
,
? An d all
compromise i s d efeat .

E v ery soul th a t dares to be tru e to itsel f has p a s sed through

Gethsemane a n d faces Golgoth a I f the world does n o t tear its .

fl e sh with spikes that spill its blood o n the cros s it i s becau se the ,

sp ew ing s o f anathem a a n d the thorn s o f persecution are more

subtly cruel Think you then th a t cour a ge is a posse ssi o n t o b e

.

u n derestimated
To retu rn to my F a st a midst th e a c a demici a ns .

For the purpose o f heighteni n g its e ffect I made th e condi ,

tions as hard as possible ; the subseque n t j oy o f conques t being

proportion a lly vi v id .

I walked the stree ts whil e the town gossiped I worked .

i n stead o f rested gi v i n g l ectures a t a Summer S chool then in

,

prog r ess I proj ected mysel f i nto a l l sor t s o f hostile vibrations

.

f r om people who d id n o t u n ders t a n d an d d id n o t want to By .

the time the thirty days were o v er I had c o u rage enough to ,

defy a thous a n d worlds i f n eed be in the a tt a i n i n g o f my ideal

, .

N o t th a t the a ttitu de o f defi a nce is a desirable o n e B ut some .

times yo u have to t a ke it to a void being demolished A v ery .

sensitive soul has to protect itsel f from assaults O ften by per .

sonal peculi a rities th a t tend to repel peopl e better by triumphs o f ,

successful activity that tend to awe th em I f you be su c h a so u l .

,

c u ltivat e po stiv ity at an y cost Forget yo u r vision s f o r a while

.
,

an d get down to business .

C o u rage i s chiefl y sub j ec tive in mo tiv e S o is th e C o n q ues t .

Courage i s chiefly ob j e c tive in m e th o d . So is th e C on q uest

In the fa c e o f mis fortune a strong man weeps whil e a we a k

,

’
woman smiles Why ? Becau se the woman s c ourage lies in her
.
‘

soul the man s in hi s brain and body At the desertion o f th e

,
’
.

tangible naturall y the woman rises to meet the emergency

,
.

M oreover then an d then only i s sh e thoro u ghly pra c tical —when

, ,

her soul takes comman d T h a t h uma n is co ur ag eo us w h o nev er

.

s e es th e l imita tio ns o f th e mor ta l b u t a l w ays th e p o te ntia ls o f th e

,

e ter na l .

E xamples ; The somnam bu le safel y skirting a six inch -

l edge three stories abo v e th e ground ! I know personally of such

c ases ! th e inebriate f a lling i n to fire water and a v ariety o f perils
, ,

y et comi n g forth unscathed ; the cripple a rou sed by the call o f

“ ”
F ire ! to spont aneou s e ff ort th a t se n ds his crutches fl ying a n d
h is sti ffened body now straight and strong to a place o f secu rity ; ,

th e fragile mother bravi n g ominou s dangers a n d su rmou n ting

impassable obst a cles in order to prote c t or advance her o ff spring .

All these deri v e their c our a ge from momentary bl in d ness to

th e o bj ectiv e .God has tol d them they c an ! S o for th e tim e
’
th ey forget how the world says the y c an t .

“ ”
God will tell y o u Yo u can !
,

No m a tter what Yo u can-

.

I f you want to know how and w h y and wh ere l et you r ,

s en se s b e re fi ned for re c eptivi ty through the C on qu est Fas t .

 F A S TIN G F OR P O IS E

CHAP T E R V I I I .

T h e mo st ma gn i fic ent sp ec tacl e I ev e r saw w as a st o rm in the

We h a d climbed above the clou d l ine Above th e verdure -

.

line als o —si n ce clou ds gather a lw a ys and only in the region o f

mortality The storm brok e suddenly a w a y s torms h a v e in the
‘

.
,

higher a l t itu des O n the lowlands o n e has time to seek shelter

.
,
.

But every step u pward is a step away from suret y .

Through the darke n ing mist w e coul d j u st dis c ern th e ,

thatched Swiss vill age far below ; and the peopl e hurrying to hou se
their fragile possessions Little ch iid r e n r a n cr ying to their
.

mothers ; child ren o f a larger growth followed not a long w ay

behi n d Eve n the S wi ss ki n e those models of mute enduran c e
.
, ,

p aused i n their gr a z ing and stood as i f awestruck in the face of

t h e heavens uphea v al
’
.

Here a n d there a mou n tai n pe a k was still l it w ith cel estial -

splendor B ut its neighbor opposite and below was plunged in

.
, ,

the gloom of mid n ight N othi n g can be so impressive as the

.

con trast between earth an d sky when you r van tage v ision p en e -

trates both All at once a bli n ding fl ash burst from the arse n al
.

of the gods ; swi ft o n its tr a il of fire rolled their he a v y artillery ;

completi ng the charge c a me shower after shower o f mel ted mi s
siles ; a n d the fusillade w a s on .

O f a l l pl a ces o v er this e a rth G o d a n d N atu re make th e ir ,

tryst a mi d the Alpi n e f a stnesses There sky i s clearer sun i s .

,

brighter w ind s a r e fresher w a ters are cool er stars a r e closer

, , ,

and storms when they come are w ilder Everythi n g i s eleme n tal ;
, , .

now tender as a do v e no w sa v age a s a tiger but a lw ay s s in cer e

, , .

Just a s tru e lovers when alo n e b a re thei r he a rt s and bodies to ea ch

, ,

e a ch other e n du ri n g n o t th e l eas t v estige o f an ything ma n made

,
-

between them ; so here in the su mm it solitu de blend G o d an d

N ature ut t erly be a uti fully— terribly
, .

I t i s said th a t light n ing strikes onl y de cayi n g trees an d d is

eas ed men Whether or no t this be so it i s cert a in th a t one mu st
.
,
be very whole to smil e in the face o f an Alpin e storm An d we .

pitied th e vill a gers below .

But where we stood a l l w a s sun shine— not the faintest stre a k

,

o f gr a y to tinge the transp a rent blu e a bo v e u s The clouds .

might spend thei r impotent rage bene a th u s—w e rem a ined un

s cathed untouched u n moved mere lookers o n
, , Me a nwhil e ,
-
.

I was m a ki n g an import a n t discovery ; that a cl o ud a lw a y s k eep s

its s ilv er l ining o n th esis kyw a r d sid e I think o n e has to st a n d .

himsel f a bove before h e e v er observes thi s fact

, .

On the peak o f the Cosmic Co n sciou s n ess storms ne v er be a t , ,

misfortu n es n e v er set t le vicissitu des ne v er ventu re disas t ers n e v er

, ,

f a ll To the soul th a t h a s yearned for solitu de ascen ded i n to

.
,

silen ce d a red isolation— an d triumphed there appe a r n o longer

, ,

a n y mists o f mortality F o r that soul has c limb e d above the

.

clou d li n e
-
.

Nothi n g m a tters .

I repe a t ; nothi n g m a tters .

B ut the only ma n who can sa fely sa y this i s the man who

brings things to p a ss The yo gi u sually a ffirms it a n d the
.
-

’
avera ge yogi better hadn t The c a pt a i n o f i n dustry a lmost nev er .

does— a n d he o f a l l mort a ls n eeds to I n short the phlegm a tic .

,

temperame n t shoul d le a rn how to hustle the nervou s tempera ,

ment should le a rn how to res t N o t the pro cli v ity we are born .

w it h promotes ou r growth tow a rd symm etry ; but the procli v ity

we create f o r ou rsel v es I a m n a tur a lly keyed to the highest
.

— “ ”
pitch o f nervou s a cti v ity a lmost hyperki n etic the doctor would ,

ca ll it Yet I ca n si n k i n to a deeper repose th a n the most stolid

‘

indi v idu a l I k n ow B ec a u se I am master first o f mysel f then of

.
,

a ll the elements in the U n i v erse I need to supplement mysel f .

B e a bu si n ess ma n f o r the s ak e o f you r brain be a N aturist ,

for the s a ke o f you r body be a mystic for the s a ke of you r soul ,

.

I f yo u are you ll be the first whole huma n that ever lived

,
’
.

Patience Poi se Perspective ; these are three conspicuou s l a cks

, ,

of the a v e r a ge Americ an .
 We are n o t patient with ou rselve s o r with others We u ndul y .

lengthen o u r shor t comi ngs We m a gn i fy tr ifl e s an d m i n i fy pri n

.

c ip l e s. We grasp at the shadow a n d lose the real i t y We get rich .

by sundown an d di e by mid n ight to pay f o r it W e exalt the .

r e sult o f o ur action i n stead o f exalting the action itsel f .

Impatien c e i s the penalty f o r d oing p o or work .

Tho roughness is the o ne cu r e .

Poise i s the bal a nce wheel o f power And God turns it

-
. .

The most successful men a r e the o n es who can smile a t themsel v es

for w anti ng to b e success ful They g et o n in business becau se
.

they know how to t a ke a day o ff from bu si n ess I t is the pr a ctice .

o f a well known fi n a ncier to close hi s desk and r un away when

-
,

ever the desk gets full o f matters to o imp o r ta nt to p os tp o ne To .

focu s every f a culty and fi bre o n on e s work— then to forget it ’

ever existed ; this i s the sane li fe M ost peopl e a r e h a l f asleep b y

.
-

d a y a n d h a l f a w a ke by n ight ; they do n t do a n ything all over

’
-
.

M obili t y of soul is a rare and priceless accomplishment .

I f we withdrew often er from o ur treadmill round w e shoul d -

,
'

o b se r v e w e r e n o t getti n g a n ywhere I n order f o r o u r work

’
.
,

o u r creed our aspiration to expa n d we mu st be larger than them

, ,

all mu st see beyond them must live above them

, , .

Take the V egetarians for i n sta n ce— poor w o e begone crea

, ,
-

t u res They could be rendering u s a two fol d service i f they

.
-
,

woul d occupy themsel v es con v erting the mosquitoes I m s u re .

’

both the hygie n ic a n d ethic a l a rguments o f V egetarian ism woul d

particularly appeal to a mosqu ito And w e should get a momen .

tary rest I know an ho n o r ed V e g et a ri an w hose o ne j oy in me et

.

“
ing s trangers seems to b e to air hi s b oast I h aven t tasted m eat ’
,

” ’
for twenty ye a rs S o ? I can go you o ne better I h a ven t
. .

tasted angle worm s si n c e I w a s a robi n redbreast ten million

- -
,

years a g o B ut I hav e something better to d o than parade

.

B roadway wi th my b a ck pla c arded to that e ff ect .

Le t me r em a rk in passi n g that I b eli e ve in a n o n me at d i et -

.

But I w ea r neither tag nor bl i nders .

 B e cau se my belief m a rks the limits o f my bra in shall I
—
,

”
sa y to my soul Thus far an d no fu rther ?
,

Patienc e poise perspective —

, , an d what o f the Conquest
Fast ?
I c an t tell yo u There are no word s
’
. .

Words may paint shadows—o n ly feeling s can sense realities .

B u t i f yo u will g a ze stead fastly into th e heavens for days

an d nights without interruption yo u shall reali z e f o r yoursel f
, .

In th e oth e r b ooks o n F a sti n g I h a ve asked you to read you find ,

no mention o f this phase I f you s tu dy howe v er the li v es o f

.
, ,

B u ddha Jesu s and a few other unimpe a ch a ble M essiahs th e

, , ,

vision o f the hill top will expl a i n itsel f These all f a sted fi rs t
-
.
,

for th e s ake o f the soul S o did I S o ma y yo u

. . .

T he s impl e a c t o f omitting break fast regu larly and taking a ,

long walk instead will conduce to p a tience poise an d perspe c tive

, , , .

Esp ecially i f y o u rise with the sun Some subtle magn etism some
.
,

ether eal elixir seems to ch a rge the early morning air ; b e fore th e
world i s astir and the j arring vibrations fro m multitu des o f un
att u ned mortals have once more resumed thei r d a ily j angle D ay .

dr eams that c om e tru e aw a ke wi th the dawn .

B u t i f yo u want to see th e world from a n ew angl e alto

gether ; to feel Truth w ith a sense o f finality ; to apportion things
large and small thei r real e v a lu a tion ; to disti nguish between the
immort al soul of you an d its earthly f a cilities o f mind and body
to reali z e the nothin g ness o f time and the allness o f Eternity ;
to abide u nperturbed while n a tio n s war empi res f a ll and worlds
, ,

pass away —then go o n the mo u ntain o r beside th e sea an d ,

a c hi e v e y our C on qu e st Fa st .
 F A S T IN G FOR V IRT U E

CHAP T E R I X .

This chapter i s sp ecially recommended to cl er gymen high ,

”
l ivers and o t her erring ones addic t ed to chicken dinner on S un
,

day .

There s nothing i n heren tly viciou s about the chi c ken—N a

’

tu re made it B ut ther e i s in the trimmi n gs— a French c hef made

.

them .

Paris vice is the post p r an d ium to Pari s vi and s-

.

London vice to London v ia n ds B erl in vice to B erlin viands , ,

N ew Y ork vi c e to N ew Y ork viands S in c e it is no more nu .

righteous to be a volatile Frenchman th a n to be a beefy English

man a dens e German o r a n euroti c American
, , .

I ask not i f a man be holy— I ask if he be whol e And .

these o ne sided raci a lists are none of them whol e

-
.

Wholeness presupposes a n d ensures holiness S i nc e vi c e .

i s a matter not o f moral depravity but of physi c al an d men

, ,

tal excess o r deficiency The Conquest Fast reduces thi s

.

exc es s and reveals thi s deficien c y H erein i s it a d v i s a ble for

.

those also who pride themsel v es o n bei n g exempl a ry — they la c k

“ ”

goo d red blood an d rio t in b a d blue thought Incidentally I may

observe y o u can t set a good exampl e—it i sn t stationary
.

” ’ ’
.

S peaking of good red blood I t has been a time honor e d .

-

fallacy of both Physiology and Theology that whit e corpu scles

made pu re blood R edundant perhaps to say time honored fal
.
-

lacy — since f a llacies a r e about the o n l y thi n gs time honor s an y

”

way In m a tters o i moral s especi a lly has the an a emic been mis
.

taken for the v i rtuou s an d the ru dd y for the viciou s

, We n o w .

k ow a t least a few o f u s d o —
n — that the more red corpu scles the
better the blood ; and the redder they a r e the purer it i s O uality .

counts—not color F o r white corpu scles a r e but dise a se clots

.
-
.

T h e w h ites t p a r t o f th e l ily is n o t th e mo th e r p a r t Wholl y

'

-
.

encircled by white a s p a ssio n a lw a vs should be it enters on a

,

deeper hu e when o n ce it fi n ds its heart Prudery wears lil ie s—to

,

appear pure ; Love bein g p u re may w ear the roses that symboli z e
, ,
 S alv at ion i s th e s o f its
s o ul
’

as s u mp tio n r ig h t to r ul e —no
m ore in less , , H e therefore is a savior who can hel p th e s o ul
.

b est qu i c kest a n d fullest to e xpress i t sel f

,
.

I recogn i z e that what the church calls sin doe s thwart the
soul B ut only t emporarily And it is l ess o f a n ev il to b e
. .

th w a r ted th a n to b e th r o ttl ed Any expression is better than all .

repression Indeed the greatest mi st a ke proves to be the greatest

.

l esson in disgu ise I f the soul k new itsel f it w o uld no t sin ; i f it

.

tr us ted itsel f it c o u ld no t sin .

Theology a c tually cau ses much o f the sin it would remed y

b y t e a c hing the soul to fear itsel f instead of to k n ow and tru st .

I g norant o f real ities an d terrified by symptoms bo th M edicine and ,

Th eology hav e dosed the su ff erer w ith germicides and an tip y r e

ti c s R e sult to b ody and sou l ; congestion st a gnation de a th Thi s
.
, , .

b e c au s e w e take the temperatu re a n d look at th e tong u e rath e r ,

than l e a rn wherein N atu re has been violated I f soul s w ere .

a s apprehensive o f enteri c fever as the y are o f e cz ema th e d e ath ,

rat e o f souls would be c ut in two .

It i s almo st never j u stifiable to r ema in a sinner it is al

most always j u stifiable to b eco me a sinner B etter love the wrong
thing than not to love at all —b ut next time love the right thing
.

, .

Y o u see there s hardly anybody to tell u s what the right thing

’

i s S o we seldom k n ow until alone and for saken we hav e some

.
, ,

h o w st u mbled o n it for ou rselves

N o —not alo n e and no t forsaken
.

God was w ith u s through

, .

th e sin that men condemned I n deed that i s why they c ond emn ed
.
,

— b ec au se God had lef t their hearts to comfort ou r s .

A ny th ing is sin th a t s o und s

f y o ur l o ud er th a n th e v o ice o

o w n s o ul I t may be sin ful for yo u to he a r a sermo n o r j oin in

.
,

p rayer —if the se rmon and the prayer represent some childish
notion o f D eity that y o u ha v e outgrown .

N ow th e soul has fou r pri n cip a l mediums o f c omm u ni c ation ;

instinc t in tuitio n insp ir a tio n a n d r ev ela tio n To viol a te any one
Instinct is wh a t m a kes u s good animals —o r
, , , .

o f these i s to sin .

would i f we would let it But the insti nct in most o f u s is de a d

.

“ ’ ”
it isn t ni c e to be like a n imal s I o ften wish the beasts o f th e .
 fi eld and the birds o f the air coul d laugh— how they woul d ridicule
’
men ! N o they wouldn t ei ther ; it t a kes a man to be uncharitabl e
—anim a ls don t know how ’
.

’
No wonder men a ren t in possession o f themselves They .

attribute to the animals a ll their b a d qu a lities a n d to the gods all

their goo d ones I thi n k both an imal s and gods would be im
.

proved by a j udi c iou s i n terch a nge I n deed the o l d he a then gods.

,

with th eir hal f human grotesqueness were often nearer Tr u th

-
,

than o u r modern Deities of glossy raiment and wooden hearts .

I have treated somewhat o n this m a tter o f i n sti n ct in another

chapter Let me merely sa y in passi ng that th e v io l a tio n of ih
.

s tinct is th e b eg inning o f a l l v ic e I t i s j ust as truly a crime to

.

we a r a tight shoe or to eat when no t hungry as to murder

a fellow man N o t so much of a crime o f course
-
. M a ny , .

a temperance reformer i s a worse drunk a rd th a n the rum vic tim

h e c ondemns He i s a f o o d —
ine br ia te H e habitually stu fl s him
'

. .

sel f o n viands that vitiate every a tom o f his being Equally with .

t h e drunkard i s he a slave to the senses —and on to p of that a

hyp oc rite Any mini ster who mus t h av e h is c igar knows l ess
.

real religion th a n the weed he smokes .

B ef o r e pr oc ee d ing f u rt h e r ,
let me giv e y u
o my id e a o f
virtu e .

Vir tue consists in th e ut most ex r ession o

p f th e d iv ine th r oug h
th e na tur al .

N thro u gh the human—S ince the human i s seldom the

ot

n atu ral S el dom therefore the divi n e th e re being no distinction

. , .

I am not moral Neither a m I immoral I am i mmor a l— l ike

. .

both animal s and angels I do not defend o r condon e wanton

.

wickedness The man who e n tices a virgin to corruption should

.

pay th e severest penalty But the ma n who l ov es a virgi n and is

.

loved o f her—no law need they to authori z e what God has im

planted .

In sh o rt th e a band on of unmor al ity is as d esir a ble as th e

,

w an to nness of immo r a l ity is d ep l o r a bl e .

 ’
Her e again I am qu ite willing to stand al one I t s rather .

exhilarating wh en yo u get u sed to it—nothing human to shu t o ff

the hill s the sun an d the star s
, , .

To b e famo u s o ne m u st d o what oth e r s c annot

, .

To b e in famou s o ne must do what other s dare no t C ount

, .

me w ith th e few great soul s that must d o b o th .

W e r e a long tim e g etting to th e C on qu e st Fast

’
.

’
B ut we coul dn t come cross l ots because th ere were so me -
,

things o f inter e st I wanted to point o ut along the path w e took .

Dr Edward H oo ker D ewe y to whom I hav e already ref err e d

.
, ,

has written a no th e r book a sequel to hi s fi rst In thi s he shows

, .

h o w Fasting may b e mad e an a lmost in fallible cure for Chroni c

Alcoholism I f yo u c are to study further the rel a tion o f fo od
.

to virtu e and to vice yo u shoul d b y all m eans get this book

, .

The poin t is simply thi s .

Du ring the C onqu est Fast o ne s taste f or ev er y th ing u n ,

’

n a tur a l w h o ll y d is a pp e a r s Liquors tobacco spiced foods tight

.
, , ,

clothing perfervid l iteratu re chu rch worship lovel es s passion

, , ,
-
,

civili z ed habits —these all go gl immering Ev en so pi q uant a .

thing a s a problem play c eases to a ppeal .

A pro b lem play i s an interrogation point lost in the mu d -

.

A n d the problem is why the autho r forgot th e soap Whi c h i s .

irrelevant b ut interesti n g
, .

T h e c lu e to ra c e r eg en e ration l ie s right h e r e .

For ages o ur mor a lists theologians and re form e r s hav e mi s

, ,

t ak en h u man encr us tment for h u man in teg umen t .

“ ”
S pirit i s willing but flesh is weak ? N o Fl esh i s no t
, .

w eak S oul i s impeded not by very fl esh but by th e exte r na ls

.
,

th a t c umber fl es h Clear you r blood o f wrong foo d you r l ungs of

.
,

w rong ai r you r brain o f wrong thought you r ner v es o f wrong

, ,

tremors you r h ea rt o f wrong fear and you r soul of wron g resi

due from all these other wro n g things —then se e how absolutel y
, ,

right the whol e worl d be c omes .

 T h e C onqu est Fast won t tr ansform a sinn e r into a god
’

t hr o ugh the space o f tw enty thir ty or forty days

, It takes eons
.

of evolution to do that And on this pl an et the process is but

.

be gu n
.

But it will hasten the end desired— perhaps help yo u skip

’
an inc a rnation or two There s no hu rry though time being p u rely
.
,

”
ima gi n a ry S o i f you d r a ther ea t drink and be merry all
.
’

th e while I haven t the le a st obj e c tion

’
, O nce in a while I lik e
.

a su mptuo u s dinner too—and l ike it migh ty well We wouldn t ’

”—
.

“
b e natu ral i f we di dn t
’
B e a good ani mal
.
’
that s Nat u r e s’

fi r st commandment , w ith p romi se .

 F A S T IN G F OR S P I RIT U A L ITY

CHAPT E R X .

I used to get the headache whenever I went t o prayer meet -

A p rayer meeting i s a place where yo u can sub stitute words

-

for feelings without fear o f detection .

’
N a tu rally I got the headache R eligion doesn t b elong in .

the b rain— it belong s in the heart Starve you r heart and stu ff .

y ou r brain — a n d y o u may expect moral vertigo Even a doc tor .

could prognosti c ate that much .

A sermon is mostly a dissection o f Deit y And yo u c an t .

’

’
dis sect a th i n g till it s dead Theology as a whole i s a post
.
,

mortem examination on G o d The form i s all there b ut somehow

.
,

t h e soul i s gone A c hu r c h is too mu sty f o r God to l ive in

.

’
God s very breath i s freedom God s life i s sunlight God i s more
’

,
.

a nimal than man Whereas theolo g ians are skimped a s animal s

.
,

and skewed even a s men G o d never taught in a th eologi cal

seminary—G o d w as a lw ays to o h eter o d ox The only place G o d
.

tea ches i s in the S chool o f N ature It is a boarding school and .

-
,

N atu re provides most liberally for her wards B ut the chil dren .

p refer that hokey pokey vendor named O rthodoxy That s why

-
.
’

’
they aren t hungry for their m eal s I t s why the y re sallow t oo
’
.
’
,
’
you can t mak e red bl oo d out of a ny sort o f so p .

I do not co n demn a chu rch service unq ual ifie d ly I have .

only three obj ectio n s to it—the prayers the hym n s and the sermon ,
.

I believe in the kind o f pr a yer th a t sa ys nothing f eels everything

—th en a cts I bel ieve in the song th a t thrill s o f itsel f from the
,

thro a t o f the l ark o r the lo v er o r the wom a n j ust glorified by

, ,

motherhood a s sh e w a tches with the angels over her fi rst babe .

I believe in the sermon th a t a sil ent l ife makes most el oqu en t .

I do n o t b eli eve in formal pray ers .

I do n o t believe in pai d choirs .

I do n o t believe in professional serm oni z ers Th e world at .

large though needs these thi ngs—e lse it woul d n t tolerate them ’
.
It n eeds S u nday observance—I need it mysel f It needs the c a lm .
,

the music th e fl owers the holy a w e the reflection a n d a spir at ion

, , ,

that distingu ish the Day of R est from the d a y s an d nights o f tur ‘

moil Sund a y should b e a sy n onym for s a n eness Ph y sic a lly

. .

an d psychologi c ally we need j ust the cha n ge we get Spirit .

u all y we need a change w e d o n o t get I f a m a n mu st se r

.

mo n iz e let him put o n the o v er a lls du ri n g th e week

,
Let .

him t oil and pl an an d fail a n d st a rve and sin a n d su ff er

, ,

and weep—w ith H uma nity T h en let him tell h o w hi s faith has
.

del ivered him ; and the people w ill thron g the outer doors to hear
him—h e is now o n e o f them He h a s cer tified his message
. .

I t is th e C h r is tl essness of th e ch ur ch th a t ma k es men
ir r elig io us .

Jesus th e Na z arene was th e sweetest sanest de a rest soul , ,

that has yet come and gon e o n this pl an et Jesu s the Christ was .
,

and is t h e fullest embo diment of Deity yet revealed to men

, .

But should h e appe a r in the fl esh to u s the church o f to day ,

-

would brand Jesus the Na z aren e a sinner and s c out Jesu s the
C hrist for an an a rchist .

We none o f u s mean to cruci fy Truth—w e are only beside

ourselves with the fever o f externalism The s a me thi ngs that .

make u s unnatural m a ke u s undi v i n e In the beginning God .

,

r e sided h a ppily in every hum a n he a rt B ut while Hum anity was

.

passing through th e blind tra n ce o f Civiliz a tion God grew we a ry ,

waiting for something to do S o G o d stol e away When H u

. .

manity awoke there w a s only God s outer garmen t l ef t A n d

,
’
.

they call that religion—a form an d a n a me N o man who ca l ls .

himsel f theologi a n o r m et a physici a n ca n truly heal the hum a n

soul O nly S il en ce h ea ls— silent symp a thy a n d silent knowledge
. .

Now we come to S piritual ity— a possession a lmost a s little

u nd erstood and a s much misunderstood a s Love Which is a s .

strong as words can m a ke it S pirituality i s sel d o m f o un d ire

.

sid e th e c h ur ch a n d n ever r e c o g n iz e d o u tsid e Pseudo spi rit .

-

ual ity i s the c urse o f a l l org a nized religion Let me ment i on

a few bran d s —
.

imitations var y widely a n d successfully as s “

p ,

o ff as genuine .
 S piri tu ality i s no t P iety .

They ne v er go together ev en S pirit i s In fi nite En ergy

, . .

“
Wher e as the piou s are co n fessedl y impotent M any a pious .

man i s good— in spite o f his religion Good b u t not spirit u al A .

, .

co rpse i s always goo d .

S pirituali t y i s n o t S o l emnity .

Li fe i s too serious to be solemn over Ev e n in a graveyard .

y o u may smell the flowers instead o f reading the tombston e s .

Those o n whom God smiles n ever frown ba c k at God A ny g od .

y o u ca n frown at i s an i dol And idol s a r e alwa y s sorr ow f u l

.

th ings .

S piritual ity i s n o t Cr ed ulity .

Wh en y o u k now how ca n yo u c heri sh a b lind bel i e f ? S pirit

,

u a l ity is an all — per v ading cons c iou sness tha t penetrates the nu ,

seen and assures the uncertain A man may b e reli g io u s—and .

ignorant H e cannot be spiritu al—an d i gnorant

. .

S pirituality i s n o t R eg ular ity .

To p ray regularl y i s to pray n ever T h e secu rity of small .

sou ls lies in regularity th a t o f great soul s in spontaneity

,
Onl y .

a great soul can be spiritual— o r spont a neou s M any a man wh o .

“ ”
hasn t mi ssed chu rch a si n gle S unday fo r tw enty y ear s h as
’

missed God every S unday for twenty years .

S pirituality i s n o t L o q ua city .

All the inspiration o f He a v en you can put into three littl e

words— I lov e you
“ ”
.Y o u don t even need words — j u st radiate
’

“
it When I meet peopl e I d o not mu rmur Pleased to know
.
,

yo u . B ut I give them a smile and a handcl a sp that speak

vol u mes— if they have learned the l a n guage o f the heart ; i f
’
they haven t we mu st remain str angers anyway Talk i s the
, .

d issipation o f the id l e w o r k i s th e c onservation of the spiritual

h
.

And they seldom u n ite .

S piri tual ity i s n o t L oy a l ty .

How man y a complaisant mortal has tried to e xcu se his .

in ertness with some such sentiment as this I never bother with

these n ew fa n gled religions—my father s God is goo d e nough for
-
’

me . Was you r f a ther s lif e good e nough f o r yo u ? F o r his li fe

’
l ivered himsel f somewhat in thi s w ise Do y o u not fear yo u w il l
be haunted fore v er by ten thou sand evil spirits each l eeri n g to ,

”
s ee how you have glorified passion ? There was no an swer
I only smiled And yet my heart sank—how c oul d h e so mis
.

understand ?
S pirituality i s n o t F ixity .

The spiritu a l man i s an c hored to nothing save hi s own so u l .

Which makes h im seem a t times like a lea f tossed b y the wind .

“ ”
Then the worl d decides he has unsafe religiou s views T o .

be ev er y th ing religiou sl y i s to s eem n o th ing to you r friend s in

the chu r c h They have j ust so ma n y label s stowed away b y
.

Cu stom in the pigeon — hol es o f their brain And their only hope .

o f understanding you i s to make o n e o f these price tags fi t B u t -

.

Tr u th c an t be ticketed— it grows more valuabl e ev ery min u te

’
.

S o by the time the worl d has arrived at the symbol whi c h a p

praises y o u—o nly your memory su r v iv e s to be iden ti fi ed T h e .

h er etics o f to — d ay a r e th e ma r ty r s o f to mo r r o w a nd s aints -

of th e d ay a f ter Know then that to b e termed h e r eti c b y th e

.

w o rld i s to be foretold ben efactor to the worl d

, .

S pirituality i s n o t A u th or ity .

’
I t resides in n o book i s limited b y no c reed asks n o c h u r c h s
, ,

support a n d cares for no man s opinion S pirit u al ity i s its o w n

’
.
,

san c tion Y o u cannot add to it by any revel a tion giv en an other

.
,

yo u c annot take from it by any revel a tion denied anoth e r It .

in itsel f i s fin al—nothing without c an make it more so .

S piritu a lity is n o t M or a lity .

Peopl e who don t dare be spiritual cal l thems elves moral

’
.

Morality i s the hum a n criterion o f character spiritu a lity i s th e ,

divine They may coincide— they often er confl ict Th a t is mora l

. .
,

ity does the co nfl icting — God c a n t co nfl ict with anybody or any ’

thi n g To obey the moral law may be more immora l than to

.

transgress it— if we obey it a s most peopl e do under protest

, ,

or exter n a l pressu re Electri c ity kills a good many people but

.
,

yo u do n t bl a me the c urre n t S piritual ity n ul lifies a g oo d man y

’
.

laws—when they get where they don t b elong ’

.

S pirituality i s n o t P a ucity .
 To be poor in spirit i s not necessar ny to be poor in pocket
b ook or in human tendencies T o be any w h er e sca n t is to be .

s o mew h er e s o ul l ess The pauper and the ascetic have for age s
.

been taken as the types o f spiritual men S piritual—o r j u st l a zy .

a n d anaemic ? N o pauper can be spiritu a l who did not fi r s t h a ve

wealth to relinquish ; no ascetic who did no t fir s t have
passion to s u blimiz e T h e Oriental doctrine o f R enun c iation is
.

respon sible for mu ch pseudo — spiritu a lity R en o unce a n d r e .

'

l inq uish are tw o di ff erent words The tru e mystic often r elin
.

q uish e s n ev er renounces
, N o a uthenti c M essiah ever renou n c ed
.

the world—h e only reli n quished it o n V isioning the Infinit e But .

his devotees seei n g the b a re act and blind to the in c entive have
, ,

re n ounced for the mer e sa k e o f r eno uncing A very crude illu s .

tr atio n here Suppose two little bro thers have a N a Ark ’

.

o hs ‘
between them with a fi ne men a gerie of wooden animal s c a refully
,

painted an d varnished One l ittle brother gets ma d some d ay

.

and sm a shes his c ollection o f a nimals ; h e r en o unces The other .

little brother is presented the same d ay with a live d o g o r pon y ;

Y o u see it s all in the motiv e don t y o u ? Be
’ ’
h e r elinq uis h es .
,

sides the second little bro ther has l eft his wooden animals f o r
,

some other l ittl e boy to pla y with for awhile—a little boy that

hasn t a n y live dog o r pony S o man y lit tle boys there are like
’
.

that— little boy s and big boys — and l ittle b oys who c all thems elves
,

big b oys .

All these thi n gs S piritual ity is no t ; what then i s it ?

S piritu a lity i s a m a n s p er me a bility w ith th e in flo w a nd o ut
’

fl o w o f th e D eific It i s the capacity o f an incarn a te soul to do two

.

thi n gs ; fi rst to isolate itsel f from se n se — elements a n d become

stored with the primal p u lse o f Omnipoten c e ; then to i n fuse itsel f
thus charged into whatever o r whomever it touches Not theologi
c al at all you see—not necessarily hum a n A n y being i s spiritu a l
.

.
,

whose p er cep tio ns are a ll open h eav enw a r d and whose fa cu l ties
are eq u ally open ear th w a r d B rain an d body must be still while
.

soul recei v es its en duement ; then must bra in and body rouse
e v ery a tom for the m a teriali z ing o f the message A dormant .
f a culty in the brain ; a dead fi bre in the body ; a thought of fail
u re in the mind ; a feel i n g of constr a i n t in the he a rt ; a stoppage
an y where howe v er slight w ill m a ke a man less spiri tual by
, ,

so much It i s a mo r a l imp oss ib il ity f o r a l a zy man to b e sp ir itual

. .

Perh a ps thi s explain s why so few clergymen are spirit u al .

O n e point in particular wou ld I dwell o n .

I t i s this ! s e ns e a nd so ul a r e ins ep a r a bl e .

R ead the stu dies o f Havelock Ellis in S ex ; truth s gl e aned

the world ove r by a man absolutely unprej u diced a n d stri c tl y
scien tific Learn how r el ig io us exal ta tio n i s but a fi ner form o f
.

s ex tr a ns p o r t
-
The trances of adepts a r e attained through the
.

sublimiz i n g o f sex power The v i sions o f se ers pas s down th e

-
.

same way that v isions o f sex imagin ation p ass u p T h e r h ap so

-
.

dies of poets quiver wi t h Tru th the Eternal Femi n i n e like a s

their bodies thrill w ith the touch o f the W om a n the y love Spirit .

u ality is su rch a rged with s ex An d the sexless are in v ariably the

.

soulless .

Y o u qu ote the ad v ice of great religiou s teachers who h a d

ren ounced the delight s o f sense ? Y e s— but their s o u ls never tol d
t hem to O n ly a n o t her c a se o f b r ain in te r f e r ing between soul and
.

body The b r a in o f a man u n duly o bj e ctifi es the sex o f a man ;

.

the b r a in of a woman u n duly s u bjectifies the sex o f a wom a n

Indeed all sen su a l excess i n culp a tes the br a in—not the body
.

S ince it arises from the m en ta l h a bit o f coaxing sense instead of

h eedi n g soul .

N ext to t he hum a n tongue i s the huma n brain the greatest ,

mischief maker o n earth We can t aboli sh it j u st at present— w e

-
.
’

need it in ou r bu siness B ut we ve y e t t o learn to keep it in its

.
’

pla c e ; with so ul ov er s ee ing and b o d y w o r k ing r ig h t a l o ng sid e .

to become spiritual
How ?”
has been the pere nn i a l problem
o f th e church authorities .

“
A n d thei r u su a l a nswer ? B y Fasti n g a n d Prayer .

Let me echo th a t a nswer a ffirmi ng it a bsolutely c orre c t , .

Only they didn t know how to f a s t— n o r h o w to pr a y God ga v e

’
.

them the idea so it was good B ut t hey a sked m en i n ste a d o f

, .
 Nature t o help them work it o ut ; a n d that was b ad Here is a .

typi c al c ase The Church o f S c otl a nd appoi n ted July 2 3 1 8 3 5

.
,
“
as a D ay of Humiliation to be obser v ed as a General Fast D a y
e v erywhere B ut they were s car ed into it—they d be en raisi n g
,

’
.

troubl e with their neighbors and were get ting the worst o f the
scu ffle S o i t appeared about time to purloin some of the pan oply
.

o f God . The y evidently thought God would be so tickl e d to see

them st a rvi n g themselv e s H e would forget to watch the c leric a l
v a ssal s deputed to ste a l Hi s armor We obser v e this attitude o f .

expectation in a certain fa mou s sermon deli v ered apropos to the

“
Day ; the preacher recu rri n g con st a n tly to the v engeance of
” “
H e aven and th e forgiv eness o f s ins Also h e decl a res they
.

“ ”
u ndertook th e Fast from a sense o f duty an d to ho n or the
”
spirit of the fore f a thers I hope the foref a thers felt better after
.

the Fast— the record forgot to sa y .

N o w o f cours e we don t believe in the mo r tificatio n and

’

”
s el f denial
-
theor y or its consequent sa c k cloth and ashes prae - - -

tice Yet the General Fast D ay has its advantages—as those sec t s
,

that still observe it will bear w itness I t o bvia tes a d v er se sug .

g es tio n —nobody is c onst a ntly u rging you to eat a n d prophesying

starvation i f you don t It also ensures p h ysiol og ical b enefit in th e

’
.

i i Which w ill be needed so long as men

g u ise o f r e l ig o us b l ess ng .

depend o n a blind faith being ignorant eq u a ll y o f body and soul

,
.

Moreover it gives yo u some th ing better th a n y o ur symp to ms to

th in k a b o u t A p o int overlooked by som e o f o u r professional
Fasters Nev e r mind i f your worship be s u p e rstition—a man
.

made God is better than a Devil made man -

.

“ ”
What is the Conquest Fast ?
It i s a co mbina tion of th e ear ly C h ur ch F ast w ith th e mo d er n
T h er a p eu tic F a st . It a ttempts to avoid the error s o f each vet
r e tain the b enefi ts o f both However more or less it a v a ils thu s
.

for yo u th e Conqu est Fast h a s done thi s for me ; it h a s sp ir itua l

,

iz ed S p ir itual ity . I never knew be fore what the word meant I .

’
c ould a cc ept neith e r the au sterities o f the chur c h s theory nor the
c arnalities o f the worl d s practice I am now assured through
’
. ,

the v ision s o f the C onq u est Fast that th e ch ur ch must find its o w n
,
b o dy w h il e th e w o r l d must find its S eparated neither o w n s o ul .
,

th e worl d nor the church c an be truly spiritual U nit ed they .

,

express D eity sublimely and inau gu rate H e av en on e arth .

A spiritual man is all of this—and a good d eal m o r e .

1 He i s n a tur a l
. .

He i s o r ig in a l .

He i s en er g e tic .

He i s mag ne tic .

H e i s en th usias tic .

m i s fo r ceful
D
‘
! .

N He is tend er .

W H e i s liber a l
S .

P‘
H e is w o r l d ly w is e -
.

HP He is s el f co n tained
-
.

HH m is l o v ing
b
! .

1 2 He is w oma nly
. .

I am no t y et w or ld ly w ise eno ug h to be sp ir itual That s

-
.
’

why I m le a ving Naturism and going into business

’
.

this de fi ciency is supplied I shall t ake u p th e ne xt that ne e ds

,

looking after Perhaps in fi fty o r a hundred years I shall be

.

somewhere near S piritual Even i f not — .it s a c om fort to kno w ’

what the word me an s ; and t o be sati sfi e d with nothing les s than

th e gen u in e .
 F A S T IN G F OR IN S T IN C T

C HAP T E R XI .

Most p eo pl e know so littl e because th ey think s o muc h .

They s tu d y scien c e instead o f l ea rn ing from Omni scien c e -

.

The c hief obj ect o f a c olleg e c u rriculum seems to be so t o

“ ”
b l oc k th e threshold o f cons c iou s n ess th a t the soul c a nnot pass
in an d ou t fr eel y Y et the sill itsel f is left unpl a ned and th e door
unhinge d—I su pp o se th ey think the fac t that we get what we don t
.

n ee d is o ff set b y th e mo r e glaring fa c t that w e n ee d W hat w e don t

’

g et .

The l e ss o n s that last l o ng e st a r e th e o n es that i mpre ss th em

se lv es silently carr y ing w ith them no cons c i ou s me mori e s
, We .

r emem b er b est what w e nev e r n e ed re c all .

T h e onl y in fallibl e memor y i s the memory o f In stin c t—th e

o nl y infallible j u dgment is the j u dgmen t o f Instin c t What w e
hav e fel t w e r em ember by instin c t—merel y what w e have th o ug h t
.

mu st w e re c olle c t by reason And a s yo u may have gathered al

.
,

r eady I am assured that feeling i s a much fi ner truer p u rer

, , , ,

su r e r high e r mode of per c eption than thought

, Life i s meas u red .

l east by what we ha v e done more by what we have tho u ght more

, ,

yet b y what we have lo v ed most o f all by what w e ha v e f el t L ov e

f eels—an d know s L aw r eas ons—and is for ev e r d o ubting q u ib
, .

.
,

b ling denying
, .

Go to some meeting wher e reason runs riot—say the Man

hattan Liberal C lu b o f N ew Y ork C ity Wh a t do you hear ?
, .

A j argon o f p r o fitl ess soun d ; a clashing o f brain s o n edge ; a

p itting o f wild hypothesis ag a inst savage den u n c iation ; a fusillade
,

o f fa c ts athwa r t a blank wall o f doubt ; a c harg e o f mental mus

k etr y ; a sight o f bleeding s o uls and an e c ho o f thei r moaning

’

then o ut aga in into the night B u t th e gloom yo u h a v e left i s

.

d arker than the nigh t —nor dawns yet the d a y in the distan c e .

What a contrast when you an d you r sweetheart meet at th e

spo t o f yo u r fi rst trysting place ! How th e very path i s hallowed
-

that you trod together How the tree where y o u leaned stan d s
.

straighter How th e moss i s softer for the memory o f her tou c h

. .
Ho w br oo k sings more j oyou sly since it fi lled th e cu p that
th e

y o u and sh e fi rst sh a red —y o u k n ow that was the day yo u d is

covered you r sweethe a rt mu st a lw a ys take a sip befor e you drank .

S ince the dew o f her lips w ould pu rify and sweeten th e flow from
Arcadi a s crystal fount
’
.

’
I f we on ly loved enough the vi v idness of Lo v e s remembr a nce
,

woul d halo all th e worl d ! Then should w e see with the ey e of the
C reator .

T he average h u man i s a nondescript c reat u re combining the ,

dim memory o f an animal with the dimmer prophecy o f a g o d .

A t present he i s neither animal ma n nor god H e h a s lost hi s

, .

animal instinct he h a s n o t attai n ed his god consciou sness he i s

-
,
-
,

j u st in the process o f developi n g hi s ma n reaso n So w e observe -

.

him bumpi n g about into all sorts of obst a cles— inclu ding his neigh
bors— w i t h the d eftness o f a June bu g a n d the farsightedness o f -

a bat H e does n t know he s a hybrid B ut that s what s the

.
’ ’
.
’ ’

’
matter And he wo n t b e acqu a i n ted with himsel f till h e su cc eed s
.

in traci n g h is a n cestr a l li n es more a ccu r a tely .

Mo st of u s witnes s in ou r o w n person a li fe long str u ggl e -

b etwee n re a son a n d i n sti n ct B ut there shoul d be no co n fl ict

.

there is n o ne betwee n my i n sti n ct and my re a son O nly between .

my instinct an d the w o r ld s re a son And i f I woul d but stop the

’
.

’
world s mouth o r my o w n e a rs lo n g enough to hear mysel f I ,

should fi nd how perfectly my insti n c t and my reason work to

gether .

To put it succi n ctly ; f o r the j ou rney o f L i r e we may say that ,

R eas o n d r a w s th e ma p ma k es th e time ta bl e a nd r uns th e tr a in;

,
-
,

while I ns tinct p o in ts th e d ir ection fix es th e d es tina tio n s ets th e

, ,

c l o c k a nd p r ep a r es th e l unch Now there are ri v al road s in the

.

realm of R e a son — scores o f them And the troubl e w ith u s is we .

a r e fore v er aski n g t h e ticket age n t where we want to go -

He .

does n t know — h a s n t the least idea B ut natur a ll y he sell s u s a

’ ’

ticket to the end o f his li n e—th a t s hi s b u si n ess Then we dis c o v er

.

’
.

th a t w a s n t th e place afte r all S o w e co m e b a c k and mak e a n

’
.

other foolish t ry .
worl d c all it e motional sentimental or sinful Instinct and feel
, , .

ing are as inseparable as soul and body But we h a ve dw elt in

.

o u r b r a ins so long as to forget the oneness o f soul and body .

I n stinct therefore is condemned as bestial and feeling i s ridi c ul ed ,

a s irratio n al P u rblind hum a ns ! T o o sickl y to b e animals

.

a n d too s a nctimo n iou s to be gods !

A recent illu stration o f t he obtuseness o f mental ity —in c on

“ ”
D e P r o fu nd is
’
n e ctio n with Os c ar Wilde s book N ever hav e I .

heard so sincere a cr y from a soul in the depth s o f angu ished

f eeling Y et his own publ ishers in announci n g th e book laid
.
,
”
stress o n wh a t they termed th e p ec ul i a rly artifi c ial nature of th e
author Trul y o u r friends are o u r worst en emie s Ther e is some
. .

hope when our foes misunderstand u s ; b u t not wh en ou r fri end s

do—for they think they know u s To the few that und er stand
.
,

I am more than undes c rib a ble I Am N ameless Just an All

. .

embraci n g C onsciou sness wherein they r cst and fall asleep .

’
Impuls es grow best in Dreamland And that s wher e c hil .

d ren l ive Aren t y o u sorry you mov e d aw a y ?

.
’

D o you enj o y you r pile of wood or stone a s on c e y o u did

y ou r air castle
-
? Are y o u altogether at home — w ithin fou r walls
a n d a roo f ? I s there no part o f yo u that mounts b ey ond th e
c upola fleeing earth co n straint ?
,
-

Most o f the troubles that haunt men are ghos ts o f truth s lo st

from childhood .

The purpose o f o u r teaching c hil dren i s that th ey may t ea c h

u s without o u r knowi n g it It i s the mother who will not l earn
.

o f her child that punishes him—for her o w n delinquenc y .

T h e cr u cia l test o f w isd o m is th e r en un cia tio n o f k n ow l ed g e .

N o t eve n a sage can sta n d thi s test— it takes a se e r No wonder .

a poor l ittle mother i s heavily weighed with foo lish fears super
fl uo us advic e deadly warni ngs and dismal pre c edent s —when the
,

, ,

w isest o f men dare not tru st their o w n souls And the babe h a s .

to su ff er How man y thi n gs a child instin c tively rebels at—things

.

the mother th in ks sh e know s but the c hil d k no w s sh e doesn t ’

know Forced feedi n g ; close confi n ement ; bed pins ; sa fety pins
.
- -
and re sponsibility pin s ; bitter m edi c in e ; scrat c hy fla mmel s ; sho e s
-

and stockings tight underw ear and sti ff ou terwe a r ; book learni n g ; -

chu rch attendance ; perf u nctory pra ye r ; so c i a l distinctions ; here

‘

d ita r y v oc ation ; reg u l a r duties ; mute obedience ; cat e ring to a u

th o r ity ; any sort o f ology or I sm ; I n short th e fett ers the blinders , ,

the thr eateners of the race all o f whi c h tak e shape wh en we know
,

t oo m u ch and feel too littl e .

How anomalou s to c all a man a grown up —him bu t a rem -

nant of the largeness of c hil dhood The time will c ome wh en ed u .

c at ion will r u n like this z—I N STI N CT FI R ST I N S P I RAT I ON ,

S EC OND I nstr u ction th ir d

, S in c e the bo dy i s mo st vital sou l next
.
, ,

b ra in lea st .

L et me qu ot e right h e re extra c t s fr om a r ec ent u t teran c e

of Professor Edgar L Larkin whose reputation as a p u r e s c ientist
.
,

“
c an but ec ho my cons c io u sness as a p u re mysti c Thr ee fo u rths .
-

o f the e n t ir e l iterature of the world is now obsolete The dis .

co v er ies being made ho u rl y must hav e world w id e e ff e c t s oo n -

.

M an y of o u r habits and c u stoms mu st b e greatly modi fi e d and ,

others wip e d out T h e fut u re school will b e so u nlike th o se we

.

n o w have that one c an sc ar c el y reali z e th e trans forma tion The .

s ensitive mind of a po et c an b e ruin e d b y three or f o u r y ear s o f

for c ed drill in geometry and anal yt i c s And no teacher will b e .

allowed u nder heavy penalty to attempt to tea c h any c hil d o r

, ,
”
y o u th u ntil its mind i s e x amin e d b y e x p e rt ment a lists .

All of whi c h t ends t o ward the position o u tlined in thi s boo k.

To b e c alled c hildl ik e is the greatest co mpliment payable to
an y man It means h e i s simple nat u ral S i n c ere spontaneo u s
. , , , ,

cheerful c haritab le sympathetic t r u stful l o ving idealisti c A nd

, , , , , .

instinctiv e .

Therefore i s the promi se o f childliken e ss by no m eans th e

l east con ferment tendered by the Conquest Fast .

Let me cite a few details .

I T h e C o n q u es t F a st s ev er s fa lse r el a tio ns h ip s Either the

. .

thralldom o f thi n gs o r the pi n ch o f perso n a li t y pre v en t s o u r li v ing

natu rally B ut h o w can we se e the yok e w e bear whil e s till w e
.

be a r it ? There a r e j ust tw o w a ys to tre a t an uncongeni a l a t mos

p h e r e ; ch a nge it o r leave it T o change it means
. u su a ll y to m a tch

o n e ag a inst the mul t i t ude — a terrific str a i n a n d u seless waste o f

energy By l i fting us bodily from o u r enviro n o f doubt an d hesi

.

t a n cy the Co n qu est F a st puts u s where we ca n create o u r o w n

,

a tmosphere by the natu ral o utw o r k in g s o f i n stinct .

2 . T h e C o nq ues t F as t f th e br a in
r e v e a ls th e insig nifican c e o .

An d thi s we mu st se n se v ery strongly before we dare trust to ou r

souls We might l iken th e br a in to a tel egraphic ins t rument an d
.
,

the soul to a Marconi tran smitter On e needs a network of men .

ta l machi n ery—the other a S i n gl e fl a sh o f sunligh t We shall .

p rob a bly ne v er be able to dispen se wholly w ith tele g raph in str u

ments B ut no t hi n g s a ve the wirel e ss can reach th e ships at sea
. .

M a n y a b a rqu e that h a s s et s a il o n the se a of Truth dri fts to

‘

day void o f destination R e a ch it with you r br a in yo u cannot

.

illumi n e it with your soul you ma y .

B e fore you light a l a mp you turn the wick low B efore G o d

, .

lights a soul i s the soul prep a red for the dim glow o f insti n ct .

A turn higher as the fl a me brightens a n d we have intu i t ion T h e

, ,
.

next i s i n spira tio n A n d a t l a st with the full brilli a nce o f th e

.
,

’
soul s luminosi t y shi n es the S plen did be a co n o f revel a tion
, .

T h e C o n q u es t F a s t f a cul ties A
r efi nes th e r ea s o ning
'

3 . .

mystic needs reason as much a s a m a t eri a list need s soul And .

the N aturist o ften need s both To attune you r perceptio n s without

.

de v elopi n g you r faculties i s to put a g a g between you r lips an d

the n a sk y o u to re a d to u s It i s n o t natur a l for a h uma n being
.

to li v e forever in the backwoods H e must mingl e w ith men .

,

must feel the spur o f busi n ess activity mu st whet hi s wits on ,

fi n a nci a l problems mu st learn to decide quickl y a c t fi rml y an d

, , ,

pl a n persi stently .

Feeli n g mu st be f ur th e r ed by thought D eep emotion a l na .

tures a r e of t e n repressed o r expre ssed wron gly through lack o f

, ,

reaso n i ng p o wer Adolph Ju st for instan c e in his wo n derfully

.
, ,
helpful book R etur n to N a tur e loses through l ack of l og ic much,

o f the groun d g a ined through the leadi n g of insti n c t H is mes .

sage i s tru e in the m a in—but o ften it f a ils to convince because it ,

i s not cog ent .

Now the C onques t Fast by the same process o f clarific a tion

fi rst frees the soul then quickens the br a in to fulfil the soul s
,
’

behest I t shoul d raise you to the a c me of a ll yo u r powers—o r at

.

least S h o w yo u how to g et there .

T h e C o n q u es t F ast
p er p e tua tes th e j oy of living I m ’
4 . .

getting tired o f being solemn— there s been a smile aski n g to come ’

out for e v er so long W hen I go to Ad v a nced Thought meet

.
“ ”

in gs—o r u sed to I know better now— I would feel mysel f f r e ez

,

in g sti ff from outside in I t s j u st a s col d in the cloud s a s in th e

’
.

c ellar And when y o u h av e to be loving you can t philosophi z e

.
,
’

very long at a t ime .

’
I f we a ren t h a ppy we aren t whole A n d to h a v e the secret
’

, .

of wholeness is to h a v e the secret o f h a ppiness Whene v er a .

doubt crosses my vision or a chill threatens my he a rt or the, ,

slightest discom fort irrit a tes my body I know a t on ce where ,

th e stress o f extern a l s h a s clo s ed in o n my soul I h a v e repressed .

na tur a l i n sti n ct a n d yielded before u n n a tu r a l i n tellect ; I h a v e let

the br a gg a docio of brute ment a lity p a rry the thril l o f gen tl e D eity ;
I ha v e somehow bee n less th a n mysel f To reg a in my diminished .

stature an d exult a gain in my suspended h a ppiness I have but to ,

loo se n the cumbr a nce with a mighty pulse of truer pu rpose Then .

th e next time be utterly mysel f Whence this soul cert inty a ? -

.

From the Co n qu est F a st .

The bird was born to S i n g and to soar Just this the bird does .

-
and is h a ppy .

The flower w a s born to be swe et a n d be b eauti ful Ju st .

thi s the flower i s—a n d h a s happiness to sh a re .

What I was born to do an d to be only that in its f u lness ,

sufii ces Always happ y I if I m easur e u p t o mys el f

. .

Let u s smil e .
 F A S T IN G F OR IN S P I R A T IO N

CHAPT E R X I I .

God remembers Man when M an forge ts th e worl d .

Which is but a briefer way o f sayi n g that wh en S el f has

been ascended i n t o all th a t i s not S el f f a lls behi n d F o r th e ih
,
.

spir a tio na l l if e is th e n a tur a l lif e a n d o u r souls su ff o c a te in a ny

,

other .

Men who call themselves sensible — how strange since they ,

possess least se n sibility—ma y doubt o r deny Inspir a tion B ut st ill

their S ouls su ff ocate—you ca n see it in their eyes
.

While many a man who dispute s any premise o f the super

”
natur a l himsel f works u n der inspir a tion At r a re in ter v a ls Lov e
, .

does m a nage to shine through the thick black S hutter o f Lo gi c

’ ’
perhaps a flower a strain o f mu sic a baby s voi c e or a woman s
, , ,

kiss h a s found a way p a st the lattice

. .

B y i n spiration I do not mean i rrati o nality .

Most people m a ke the two identical There f o re d o th ey drea d

.

the vaguest hi n t o f seizu re by the Subliminal They dre a d be ca u se .

they do n o t underst a nd Which i s tautology in th e extrem e ;

.

since the o n e obj ect o f h u m a n dread is that gruesom e S hrou d o f

Ignoran ce .

By inspirati o n I may mean i rrespo nsi b ilit y .

People deplore thi s al s o—from equal lac k o f u nderstanding .

B ut as this appe a rs harmless to them the voices o f G o d that c om e

,

t o its po ssessor they graciou sly stifle u n der the mantl e of charity
while whi speri n g that open sesame to pity -
He s irresponsible ’

There a r e compen sations however—you r friends leave yo u severely

.

alo n e They would c a ll it s ev erely —

.
“ ”
y o u c a ll it m er c i f u ll y .

’
When peopl e c a n t pin to yo u the y c an t sti c k yo u
,
’
.

I n spiratio n i s su pposed to accompany religious fren z y hen c e ,

co n duce t o i n sa n ity R el igiou s fre n z y howe v er i s the ina bil ity to

.

use Inspir a tion rather th a n the c a pacit

y to recei v e it It s the ’
.
whirring o f t h e engine when a c og has slipped and the powe r ,

spends itsel f in vain .

Hal f he a rted o r hypocritic a l lovers make p u blic protestatio n s

-

o f a ff ection ; real lovers let S ilence speak for them— silen ce and
servi c e .

S o here God do e s no t authenticate monomaniacs

. .

And yet ; I h a v e had a howling dervish wi t h hi s outlandish

,

dance give me more genu ine soul thrills than a polished theo
,
-

lo g ian ever felt all his l ife I n spira t ion goes when Educ a tio n
.

c omes I me a n o f cou rse orthodox educ a tion—an yt hing ortho

“
.

”
d o x being mostly spu riou s .

I a ffirm without hesit a tion th a t the naked savage in hi s ig no r

ant st a te lives a more inspired l i fe than the average ch u r ch memb er .

Inspiration is commonly co n fu sed with occul t ism o r c r e ed ism .

A psychic thi n ks hersel f inspired becau se she is gifted with powers

not yet expl a ined by scien ce She errs wofully The truly in
. .

“ “ ”
spired soul ne v er c a ll s itsel f cl a i rvoy a nt or cl a irau dient The .

possession o f such f a culties puts o n e in t ouch no t with the In fi nite

, ,

but o n ly wi t h higher entities o n the mort a l plane T 0 be extremely

.

psychic is to be extremely uni nspired a nd uninspiring It takes .

more th a n t elepathy to hol d eo mmun e with God .

N either i s Inspiratio n co n fined to creed It i s o ften limited

.

b y creed— as in most o f the c a ses the B ible records You belie v e .

,

’
for i n stance in a person al D eity ; you ll get no universal truth
,
.

Even Infinite Light cannot pen etrate a stone w a ll Its area i s e m .

closed by the bounds o f you r soul w indow its splendor can but
-
,

mark the clearness of you r m i n d glass -

.

This f a ct is generally forgotten by those who have outgrow n

c hur c hes Freed perhaps from the prison w a lls and wi n dows o f
.

race belief they ha v e blindly plu n ged into the g l oo mier maz e o f
-
,

th eir o w n men ta lity Where there is n o belief a t all B e tter to

.
.

catch an occasion a l gleam through a window thick with grime

th a n to grope forlorn in outer d a rkness .
 Inspi ration i s u sually satu rated with superstition Arti st s .
,

poets p r ophets priests ha v e cl a imed to be i n spired by speci a l

, ,

dispe n s a tion A n d when common mortal s presumed to qu estion

.

such a superhum a n being he has promptly and eloquently in ,

v o k e d the w rath o f th e Almighty to protect the chose n one from

ass a ults o f the u n clean On th e o n e ha n d thi s travesty .

, .

On the other equal excess o f modesty M any an everyday

, .

hu man th a t works with the hands for the daily bread i s daily
, ,

“
i n spired The worl d probably c a ll s such a one emo t ional child
.
,

ish simple minded

,
B ecau se as I have already said the worl d
-
.
, ,

does n o t u n derstan d .

Inspiration moreov e r seldom works itsel f o ut th r o ug h th e

, ,

sa me so ul th a t r eceived it This bec a u se o f the soul s l a c k o f ’

.

symmetry S plendid bo dy a n d superb brain being requ ired to g iv e

,

i n spir a tion n o les s than receptive spirit to g et it M ost o f the .

world s seers ha v e been physically i n ert Their besetting sin has

’
.

been to contempl a te their soul s Not a common sin to be sure ; .

,

but a poig n an t o n e wherever found Whoever indulges it can .

be bu t parti a lly i n spired .

S i n ce I have att a ined the Cosmi c Consciou s n ess I have o ften

been tempted t o re t ire finally from human acti v ity There i s so .

l ittle o n e a rth to hol d me it seems a waste o f time to stay .

Then I m a ke straight f o r Lower B roadway And it doesn t .

’

take lo n g f o r the m a n s ambitio n to rise supplementi n g the god s

’

,
’

aspir a tion thu s le a vi n g me an all rou n d human

,
-
.

N a t th e p r es en ce o f P o esy m a kes a b a rd u n bal a n ced — bu t th e

a bse n ce o f P h il o s o p h y D on t blame Poesy— bl a me Philosoph y
’
.

th a t it has n t got arou n d yet ’

.

I n this co nn ection l et m e tell you s omethi n g Put you r ear

very close—it s a secret betwee n me and you
.
,

’
To a rea l poet .
,

the a v er a ge bu si n ess man or soc iety woman loo ks even more un

”
b al a n ced th a n a mystic looks to dowager o r finan c ier More .

o v er I v e sort of a dim ide a that God would agree with the mysti c
,
’
.

N o t every mystic u n derstand S ome o f th em hav e malaria an d

,
.
,

don t kn ow th e di ff er en c e
’
.
fied routes and choosi n g Its Own Inspiration pass es down as
.

many a v e n u es as i n di v i dual s p a ss u p For a sur v ey o f the various

.

m e a n s of a cces s to t he S ublimi n a l I suggest very ear n estly a study

,

of t he V ed anta Philosophy It l a cks he a r t ; it h a mpers itsel f w ith

.

no m e n cl a t ure ; it fails to de v elop the individual Nonetheles s .

,

V ed ant a is the broadest and best system o f scientifi c faith yet

formulated ; for such as a r e s t ill subj ect to sys t em .

I am enti rely c onvinced howe v er that an ind e ter mina te Fas t

i s the o n e and o n ly su re m edium for utter absorption in the U n i
versal Y o u mu st not o nly st0 p eati n g— y o u mu st absolutely for
.

get food Forget everythi n g a n d e v erybody else of cou rse ; I

.

e mphasiz e foo d bec a u se w e are in deepest bondag e to it The .

thing most dea r is the thing most dangerou s .

Y o u ma y hav e a thing until you mu st T h en y o u mus tn t

’
. .

But there i s alway s re c ompen se The gods let m a ny a man .

remain poor that they themsel v es may su st a in him This i s the .

“ ”
psychology of that pro v erbially piti ful cru st in a g a rret If .

ge n iu ses a lways knew why when a n d h o w to forego their cake

, ,

Pro v ide n ce wou ld never restric t them to a crust B ut geniuses .

are peculiarly fond o f c a k e — for some o f them it has to be extra

sug a red a n d spiced Then nu rse N ature prescribes bread an d
.

w a ter Good for the gen iu s perh a ps good for posterity Hard
.
, .

’
though very hard on the gen iu s s n ear n eighbors
, .

The spiritual a n d t he sensuou s a r e so sub tly i n terb lend e d that

f ew souls can disti n guish earth appe a l from heaven appeal- -
.

Fewer still ca n respond to o n e wi t hout ren ouncing the other The .

fi n est lesso n o f li fe i s to a dj u st the b a la n ce be twee n soul and se n se .

I n ge n eral t his m a xim i s e ff ecti v e ; to ma k e s o ul l ess el us iv e ,

ma k e bo d y l ess o b tr usive I f a n y thi n g can reduce both brain a n d

.

body to their proper pl a ce it i s assu redly the Co n qu est F a st

, .

N o t sel f— co n trol sel f de n i a l sel f subordination ; rather sel f equa

,
-
,
- -

tion sel f expression sel f e xaltation

,
-
,
-
.

In reading thi s b o ok some folks will say I have drawn l a rgely

,

o n my im a gi n a t io n to picture wh a t the Conquest Fast will do .

I want to n ail th a t f a ll a cy right here .

 And I have the spikes to do it with .

Among many servi c es the Fast rend ered me , l et me mention

three o f the most vit a l .

I . I t ma r k ed a co mp l e te ch a ng e in my p r ose s ty l e .

Thr ee ye a rs ago I was mou rnful in my writi ngs I w as .

p essimistic I w a s didactic I w a s rhetoric a l I was attenu a te d

. . .

in phr a seology as in physiognomy It took me a do z en s a llies .

in v erbosity before I d be a t a bout the bu sh long enough to reach

’

the poin t Then it w a s n t the one I w a nted A n d Heaven knows ~

.
’
.

nobody else wa n ted it .

Shortly a fter the F a st I n oticed that punctuation points b e,

g a n to get less sc a rce N o w a n d then too a smile would creep in

.
, , .

V ery shyly a t first a little u n cert a in about feeli n g at home

, .

Lately the smiles h a v e grown so bold they actu a lly fl i rt wi th me .

More wo n derful still I pat them o n the cheek tell them how
, ,

pret t y they look a n d not t o hurry aw a y R e a ll y smiles a ren t

, .
’ ‘

d a ngerou s when you know how to treat them They r es emble . .

women in that respect .

2 . T h e F as t d ev el o p ed my p o etic g f ts
i .

Prior to the summer when I fasted I had n ever written a ,

single poem The nearest to it bei n g th a t c oncatenation of fright

.

“ ”
ful utter an ces termed college yell .

In the ten mon ths immedi a tely followi n g the Fast o v er tw o ,

h und r ed p oems wer e transcribed Tw en ty se v en came in a single .

-

week eight in a S i ngle d a y This u np a r a lleled volume of verse I

,
.

attribute directly to the Thirty — D ay F a st .

’
Don t co n clude that Fasting w ill m a ke e v erybody a poet .

At least let u s hope not—so long as barbers a nd m a g a z i n e editors

have to make a living .

B ut wh a tever you r speci a l t a lents may be these should be ,

revealed through the Fast I t may h e remarked in passing th at if

.

y o u do happe n to be a poet then a successful experience in F a st ,

ing ma y prove other than or n a mental It s so much e a sier to do .

’
.

with o ut thing s when yo u want t o than wh en yo u have to .

 3 . T h e F as t d isclos ed my l if e -
w or k .

The o n e lesson that stuck to m e whil e in c olleg e w as that I

should likely go to the poor house when I got out -
.

Thi s lesso n i s n t in the cu rriculum bei n g reserved for the

’

fi rst year in the worl d s post graduate school B ut I was pre

’
-
.

c o c io u s a n d got mi n e a s a Freshma n I t lodged to st a y to o —not

.

even a fr a terni t y i n it i a tion coul d blot it o ut a ltogether I f I .

wished to dishe a rten th e most incorrigible optimist I should pro ,

— “
pose this te st z Let u s hope for the d ay when colleges teach a
”
ma n to be of som e use to the world o r himsel f
,
.

The only thing u n iqu e a bout a successful man is th a t he h a s

found his plac e M ost misfits are made so by their edu cati o n o r
s u rroundings—ii l eft to themsel v es they woul d gra v itate t o their
.

work H er e again br a in co nfl icts w ith s o ul An d soul i s le ft

. .

wounded an d weeping f o r a lifetim e R egre t i s mostly inspira .

tion den ied till its opportu n ity p a ss ed ; i f only w e coul d reali z e
this o n the e v e of den i a l ins t e a d o f the day after .

B ut to come to th e point — i s it possible I am still addicted

t o circumlocution ?
The Co n quest Fast re v eal ed to m e ; first my oneness w ith ,

Omnipote n ce ; seco n d my work in the world ; thi rd my best

, ,

and qu ickes t me a n s o f identi fying the two E v er si n ce the Fast .

,

the goal h a s grown cle a rer a n d the avenu es to it broader At

, .

no si n gle t im e h a v e t here bee n l ess th an six possibili t ies awaiting

me ; any o n e o f which woul d ha v e led ul t im a tely to the obj ec t o f
“
desire Comp a re t h i s with th e a v er a ge m a n s a n xiety in getti n g
.
’

a j ob hi s trepidation in holdi n g it hi s desp a i r a t losi ng it I

, , .

ow n any
“
j ob I want anywhere B ut I do n t w an t it— u n l ess
”
.
’

through i t I m a y ser v e the end s o f Truth Then it comes to me .

I need never beg f o r it .

To be i n spi r e d i s to k n ow mysel f and be mysel f A ny soul .

thu s i n spired comm a nds wh a te v er situ a tion it chooses S i n c e all .

the world i s w a iting for it .

T o day a s I write thi s ch a pter I am begi n ning another Fast

-
, , .

I m ay ca t a gain n ext week— perh a p s not till the week a fter— cer
f ai n ly not while th e cry of my soul for Truth c an still the call o f
my body for food .

M y br a in i s clou ded my body irritated ; these c onditions

,

u su a lly marking the first days of a Fast .

But my hear t is light my soul radi a ntly h a ppy Already

, .

an gel s v oices w o o me from a dist a n ce Sympho n ies no e a r can

’
.

sense vi sions no eye ca n bea r eternities o f glory no mort a l can

, ,

attain ; a r a pturou s blen di n g with the S pirit Source of worlds

and st a rs and sol a r systems ; i s no t thi s wor th more than a morsel
o f foo d o n the tip o f th e t o ng u e ?
 F A S T IN G FOR LO VE

C H AP T E R XI I I .

Love i s th e su pr eme and u ltimate My ste r y o f th e Univers e .

N o t hing in thi s world is so l ittle u nder stoo d o r so mu c h

misunders t ood .

O f all things most beauti ful y et terrible powerf u l yet fra ,

gile b en efice nt yet selfish tender v e t savage tr an qu il yet tumul

, , ,

tuo u s eloquent yet mute br a ve yet fearful e t er n al y et fi ckle

, , , ,

s in c ere yet ev a si v e ideal yet practical universal yet p ersonal

, , ,

reverent yet i n timate divine yet hum a n

—
.
,

U nd e rstand Love and y o u h a ve solv e d the riddl e o f exi st

en c e
Exalt Lo v e —and yo u have r eached the very heart of religion
.

Wel c ome Love—and you have opened your arms to th e

a ngels

Li v e Love—and yo u have won th e hearts o f men

.

Deser v e Lov e— and yo u have felt the caress o f the In finite

C omforter .

Embody Lov e —and yo u hav e known th e utmost jo y o f the

C reator o f worlds .

Trust Lo v e a nd y o u hav e pla c ed you r li fe in th e k eeping of

h

Omniscien c e .

A ll th e w o es f o f r o m
th is w
e ith er th e r ep r essi
o r ld a r ise
o n o r

th e p e r v e r s io n o f L o v e About three fou rths from too lit t l e o f the

.
-

right kind and o ne fourth from too much o f the wrong kind
,
-
.

The S o called virtuou s appor t ion the three fou r t hs the so —

-
called -
,

v icious the o n e fou rth A n d it s a qu estion which el ement is more

’
-
.

effecti v e as a w o e produ c er -
.

A paup er i s a man who doesn t lo v e hi s work no t having ’

,

found i t .

A criminal is a man who d o e sn t lov e hi s fi nest i deal having

’

allowed some grosser to u su rp it s pl a ce .

A reformer is a man who doesn t love Humanit y ’

.

A lawyer is a man who doesn t lov e Ju stice ’

.
 A do ct or i s a man w h o doesn t love Nature ’
.

A theologian i s a ma n w h o doesn t lo v e God ’

.

Y ou observe I put the reformers l a wyers do c tor s and th eo , ,

lo g ia n s in the s a me c a tegory w ith the p a uper an d the crimin al .

I t hink th ey belong about h a l f— way between They a r e n o t so .

poor as the pauper nor so ho n es t a s the c r imi n al They non e

, .

o f them know the jo y o f living Y o u wo n t love to live until yo u

’
.

li v e to lov e .

Now the reason Lov e i s so generall y misunderstood and

mis a ppl ied i s bec a u se Love i s limitless while e v ery lover i s ci r
cum scr ib e d by limitatio n s And w e unco n sciously co n fu se o ur
.

j ud g ment o f Love w ith our opi n ion o f the lo v er We ca n feel .

,

recogni z e and answer o n ly so much o f Love as we ou r sel v es

have experien ced Which i s oh so little with most o f u s We
. .

a r e like children trying to guess the oce a n depths by the a mount -

o f spr a y tha t moistens the shore where we build o u r sand houses -

.

I a sk no surer j udgme n t o f a ma n th a n his o w n j udgment

o f Love .O r a woman ei t her Becau se the a v er a ge wom an is.

as hard as narrow as unresponsi v e as the aver a ge man is gross

, , ,

an d clumsy and disench a nti n g The ma n i s mute o f soul the

, .
,

ro ma n o f brain an d body
’
E a ch is a cripple Y o u can t love
. .

ei t her w ithout a shu dder A shudder for you an d a tremor for

.

them The pity o f it i s th a t in the depths of every human soul

.

ri ses feebly an unutterabl e lo n gi n g to lo v e a n d be lo v ed S o .

that he who fears degr a des o r scorn s Lo v e fe a rs degr a des or

, ,

scorns himsel f N o wonder he is u n com fortable— letti n g his br a i n

.

crowd hi s soul i nto some d a rk u n wholesome recess o f his bei n g

,
.

As a m a tter o f fact those who ridicule lo v ers are bu t t rying to

,

hide their e n v y o f lo v ers And i f yo u w a tch closely you can a l ,

—
.

ways see the smil e o f scorn droop at the c orn ers as i f weepi ng
for the kiss th a t never c a me .

“ ”
Some o n e a sks ! What i s Lo v e ?

But there i s n o a nswer—f o r s u ch as n eed a sk

’
Love s o nl y .

interpreters are Lo v e s exempl a rs A n d to these wo r ds a r e no t

’
.
,

ne c essary Y o u c an feel Love you can sen se L o v e you ca n look

. , ,
Lo v e y o u can smil e Love yo u ca n touch Lo v e yo u ca n breath e
, , ,

Love you can live Lo v e but you c a n n e v er tell Love

,
- .

Love i s God And God i s u n d efin ab le

. .

M en h a v e printed cut a n d pasted thou sa n ds of label s to

,

designat e G o d B ut whene v er they thought t o a ff i x o n e God

. ,

wasn t t here So they had to t a k e w h a tever was h a ndy th a t

’
.

looked most l ike God .

I t s the s a me w a y with Lo v e Indeed a religiou s de n omi n a

’
.

tion i s a de v ice for measuri n g h o w f a r m en ha v e shut Lo v e ou t o f

thei r li v es Did you ever he a r o f a Protestan t rose a Jewi sh
. ,

c an a ry o r a C a tholic su n be a m ? N o more ca n y o u c a ll sectarian

,

a n y h u ma n li fe whose soul is sweet whose mess a ge cle a r whose , ,

he a rt r a di a n t Such a being o f e ffl u en ce yo u ca n ne v er l imit

.
,

never define never regulate never st a n dardiz e ne v er reduce t o

, , ,

t an gibl e terms All the worl d i s too sm a ll to co nt a i n the love o f a

.

Godlike soul Thi n k yo u to constrict the fl o w o f a mountai n

.

freshet in S pringtime by a few lega l conve n tio n a l o r mor a l tim ,

bers bu ilt i n to the bank Whe n the surge comes from U p Yon d er
.
,

sn a p go the barriers dyke d a m a n d all ; whil e the land i s whelmed

, ,

in a turbulent sea o f billowy might .

How m a ny ge n iu ses ha v e lo v ed this w a y ! To be pitifully

m isu n de r stood and cruelly co n dem n ed Gre a t eleme n t a l n atures .
,

filled w i t h a mother longing too big to be cr a mped by custom

-

or cowed by opi n io n h o w gloriou sly they have loved And h o w

, .

fiendishly been throt tled .

I f the few sple n di d soul s that d a re love always knew how the ,

many scant soul s that do n o t dare would awaken to thei r need .

B ut mist a kes are so of t en c o n fu sed with moti v es And w e fear .

to t ru st the moti v es lest w e repeat the mi s t a kes .

Lo v e i s infinitely more than a n v o n e hum a n s conception o f ’

Lo v e And w e mu st fix this fact In m ind before assumi ng to dis

.

cuss Love .

Love i s mor e than a ff ec tion A ff ection c a lls f o r some specifi c .

obj ect o f ende a rm ent a n d v a n ish es wi t h th e obj ect ; Lo ve l a v i shes

,

itsel f imp a r ti ally o n the whole world Aff ec t ion is perso n al .

,
wise enough to be themselves The world there fore b eing ver y
.
,

young i n deed w ill lau d the blind loyalty o f the i n fant soul whil e
, ,

disparaging the far sighted sincerity of the experie n ced so u l

-
.

In the fi v e years I ha v e bee n unfol ding I have en tered and ,

outgrown th a t ma n y circles o f friends The few friends I hav e .

now I was not re a dy f o r then ; the m a ny friends I had then a r e

n o t re a dy for me n o w And so we p a rt— I a t le a st w ith a smil e
.
, ,

a n d a Godspeed The mission of friendship is to te a ch u s how

.

dearly we may cherish something w ithout wa n ti n g to own it .

H o w many of u s are l e a rni n g that w e cannot mu st not o w n o ur ,

f riends ? It i s easy to smile when Lo v e comes — easy and beauti

ful B ut w hen Lo v e goes— nev er from the soul only from th e
.
,

b rain o r th e body tl 1 en it i s not so e a sy Yet more beauti ful

-
. .

The Love that lets is the rarest and most preciou s Nor i s thi s .

s a crifice Love is Love th a t as ks neither recognition nor retu r n

.

b u t that g ets both We can never re a ll y lose what or whom w e

.

have really loved .

Love is mor e than p a ssion Love between sweethearts c annot

.

live without passion This e v ery wom a n n eeds to feel B ut Lo v e

. .

between sweethe a r ts c a n n o t li v e on passion alone And this e v ery .

man n eeds to feel Passion bor n in the soul i s divine P a ssion

b orn in the br a in o r the body i s a bortive—humanly a bortive
. .

Na
—
.

“ ”
ture says B e utterly p a ssion a te b ut be pure fi rst Humanity .

“
says Y o u S houl d not be pass i o n ate For i f yo u are vo u cannot
.
,
”
b e pu re .

It i s perhaps tru e th a t w omen are not p a ssion ate becau se men

a r e n o t pure I t i s n o less tru e th a t m en a r e n o t p ur e be ca us e
.

w o m en a r e n o t p ass io n a te T o be natu r a l i s to be both M en

force Love— an d a r e impu re W omen repres s Lo v e—a n d are im
. .

'

pure There is n o choice

. .

And yet bei n g a ma n I c an n ot help seei n g more vividly the

, ,
’
gross n ess o f me n s mistakes in the rel a tion o f soul to se x How .

few men can se n d thei r souls through th e thrill o f their touch !

How m a n y wome n lo n g for lo v ers who ca n N o ma n e v er re a l i z es
.

that te n derness i s power till he learns how to c aress hi s sw eeth ea rt .

 T h e r eason men s bodies fail to attr a ct wom e n i s that men s
’ ’

b odies fail to expres s me n s souls

’
And you r sweethea rt must .

ha v e you r soul first Y o u s a tisfy the soul o f a woman— a n d a l l

.

o f her i s yours N eglect o r i n sult her soul— an d no n e o f her i s

.

y o u rs . Y o u compl a i n sh e i s cold artificial un interesti n g ? N o , , ,

n o t th a t Y o u a r e coarse
. You a r e stupid Y o u a r e u n feeli n g
. . .

You are too much m a n A n d no t e n ough baby n o t en ough w o .

,

man not enough god

, .

I belie v e in the a bsolute abandon o f Lo v e But I al so belie v e .

that r ev er en ce w itho u t f r ee d o m is l ess o f an ev il th a n f r eed o m

w ith o u t r ev er en ce Freedom i s a lw a ys a possibility to be a chie v ed ;
.

“ ”
while reverence on ce lost ca n n e v er be recovered A F r e el o v e r
, , .

i s a perso n so heterogeneou s he h a s n t a n y o t her h a l f S o he goes ’

.

a bout searching f o r a n a ssortmen t of fr a ction s wherewith to co m

p l e t e hi s own deficie n cies Every pu re wom a n S hould

. shri n k from
him as from a v iper .

Truth l ies hal f w a y between the asceti c a n d the F r e e lo v er

-
.

H e who frow n s a t sex ne v er felt its ecst a cy ; he who j ests at

sex ne v er felt its s a n ctity S ex c a nnot be en j oyed a n d used to the
.

full u n til y o u h av e s u bl imized it to th e fin en ess o f th e r a p tur e of

r e l ig io n . S uch a weddi n g needs no trou sse a u or brid a l p a rt y .

The R ecording Angel i ssues no m a rriage certific a tes B etro t h a ls .

in He a ven a r e a uthorized by Insti n ct san ctified by Lo v e co n , ,

summated by Ab a ndo n a n d witnessed by S ilen ce S uch a c ere ,

.

mony i s l a wless wordless thoughtless

, ,
.

B ut before a m a rriage ca n be made in Heaven both the lo v ers ,

mu st ha v e l ived there lo n g enough to become na t ur a lized This .

’
makes the cases so r a re we really don t n eed to consider them .

B esides mere earth dwellers wouldn t under st and them an yway

,
-
’
.

Lo v e i s more than wi sdom O n ly those wise e n ough to be .

loving are lo v ing en ough to be wise The wisest people in this .

world are children poets i dealists a n d virgin mothers Their

, , ,
.

w isdom i s n t th e college
’
kind to be sure — it s the kind God g a v e ’

them Y ou n e v er found G o d studyi n g a t college o r compiling facts

.

from a library God s e nlightenme n t shines str a i g ht through t he

'

.
heart and soul ; it ha sn t time to fi l ter thr ou gh that rniasmic mas s
’

o f j u d ici a l j elly w e c a ll a br a i n .

Love a n d light begin with the same let ter And end with .

the s a me thrill You r complexion will be whiter i f y o u alway s

.

st a y in a d a r ke n ed roo m B ut t he child o f N a t ure risks e v e n a

.

lit t le su nbu r n in order to be o ut o f — doors Wisdom cou n selled -

Lo v e— S ee these sc a rs an d be cautiou s
.

“ ”
Lo v e replied— Y o u .
“

S how the sc a rs—a n d regret them ? You ne v er loved l ”

Lo v e may w ou n d Bu t Lo v e always le a ves a soo thing bal m

.

that m a kes you feel better th a n before the hu rt The de a rest .

meme n to in my possession i s a l it t le scar once impresse d o n my ‘

flesh by Some O n e I lo v e .

Lo v e though i s not all transce n dental o r sen t imental Love .

i s pre emine n tly practic a l It does thi n gs B ei n g I n fin ite E n ergy

-
. .
,

it mu st Ev e r y g r ea t s u ccess is b u t th e g r o w th o f a g r e a t l o v e
. .

Love for a n i n di v idu a l o r for an ide a l o r for the Infi n ite A n d

, , .

the siz e o f you r su ccess a lways me a sures th e siz e of the thing y o u

lo v e Lo v e you r family— an d you r success will b e to supply its
.

w a n ts Lo v e you r cou n try— an d you r success w ill be to a dmi n ister

.

public o f fice Lo v e you r r a ce— and your success w ill be to im

.

mortaliz e you r n a me in bu si n ess art or i n v en tion Lo v e you r , .

Spirit S ou rce— a n d you r success will be to incarnate Its S plendor

for the emul a tion of m a nk ind .

Hum a n k n owledge m a y i n struct Human prestige may sup .

po r t Bu t Lo v e alon e both illumines a n d empowers A n d the

. .

orig in o f Lo ve i s superhuma n— whether you like the word o r

no t .

H a v i ng t a ken this b a re glimpse o f the province of Love let ,

u s i n quire h o w its expressio n i s e nhanced by means of the Con

quest F a s t .

I . T h e C o n q u es t F as t
p l ex us to its na tur al
r es to r es th e s ol a r

s ta te A hum a n c a n t love norm a lly with a n a bnorma l solar

.
’

plexu s this bei n g the emot ion a l b r a i n N o w y ou wo n t find a

, .
’

perfect sol a r plexu s sa v e in about two indi v idu a ls ; a li t tle child

u ncivili z ed by wrong c lothing food and tho u ght and a man j ust
, ,

completing a protr a cted F a st E v erybody else is stu ffed i n side.

an d choked outside And the deli c ate n erve centre y o u need to

.
-

lo v e w ith is disabled poisoned ben u mbed , , .

“
Y ou ma y have tried to wake the solar plexu s by bre a thi n g
“
exercises affi rm a tions a n d so forth Good All good B u t
, , . . .

y ou ll’
have t o heal that dil a ted stomach reduce that e n l a rged ,

liver quiet that i n flamed digesti v e tr a ct before your a ffection

, ,

d yn amo ca n put itsel f in worki n g order .

The very process of digestion is quickened b y the act of l o v

ing It i s the soul th a t a ssimil a tes food—n o t the body And th e
. .

mo r e y o u l ove th e l ess f o o d d o es th e so ul n ee d to re t a i n its mort a l

,

habiliment Thu s a wee lu n ch o f bre a d cheese an d kisses is

.
,

physiologic a lly more wholesome more stre n gt hen i n g more s atis , ,

f y ing than a n y t a ble d h ote di n ner in a table d h ot e a t mosphere

’ ’
- -
.

Particularly i f you and you r sweethe a rt prepare the l ittle me a l

to gether then eat it in a n upper room o f a cottag e built o n a
,

mount a i n pe a k o r f a cing the pl a cid stretch o f the sea

-
,
.

Indeed the onl y tim e a sel f conscious soul c ares no t to eat -

alone i s when his really truly sweethe a rt i s by hi s side She is n o t .

company—she i s his own h ear t and fl esh .

2 . T h e C onq u est F ast el imina tes a l ien el e ments

Lo ve fi nds .

two chi ef hi n dra n ces to its natu ral expression ; f o o d p o is o n in the -

body and fa ct p o is o n in the br a in We sw a llow wh a t cu s t om

-
.

feeds u s we belie v e wh a t supers tition tells u s As a resul t we are

,
.

either to o po l e to l o v e p assio na tely—as o n a wom a n s diet o f te a ’

and charlotte ru sse ; o r to o d ense to l ove p u r ely— a s o n a m a n s

’

diet of S irloin a n d French fry ; o r a t le a st too co n fused to lo v e

spont a n eously— a s o n a n ybody s diet either o f roma n tic o r o f ’

“ ”
scientific liter a tu re both being mi sle a ding ,
.

Nothing but a long Fast will clear o u t all this ru bb ish a n d ,

enable a human to lo v e l ike t he g o d —a n im a l th a t a hum an is I t .

clarifies bo th br a in and bod y I n so doing it lib era tes the soul

.
,

for fr e sh activit y .
 3 T h e C o n q u es t F a st b r ig h tens th e ind ivid u al a ur a a nd cer
.

“ ”
tifi es th e ind iv id ua l v ib r a tio n S o c a lled mismati n g in m arriage
.
-

i s bu t the const a nt a t t ri t io n o f u n de v eloped o r i n si n cere i n dividu a l s .

The soul th a t h a s fou n d itsel f ri n gs true The soul th a t answers .

th e v ibration mu st a lso ri ng true When these two mate we h a v e

.
,

a n a ffi n ity— a marri a ge made in Heaven whether on e a r t h o r n o t , .

I n short i f you r soul i s a blu e a white or a yellow yet to o

, , , ,

w e a k a n d dim t o be itsel f you m a y t a ke on the mu ddy brown o f

,

the perso n a lities about y o u Then when you come to love you.
,

a n d t he brown w ill be hopelessly mixed A n d whil e you are work.

ing o u t the d a rker ti n ge that i s re a lly no t yo u your sweetheart will ,

become disen chanted .

N o w a n extreme Fast separ a tes y o u from all that i s not you .

I t puts y o u o n a ne w b a sis with the world It does in re a l ity wh a t .

the orthodox chu rchma n cl a ims con v ersio n will do I t al ienate s .

you from u n real friendship and attr a cts to you the genui n e I t
,
.

“
i den tifies t he desi r es of you r heart with the dict a tes of you r con
”
science wh a tever and where v er th a t hyp ot hesis m a y be I t
- .

makes Lo v e sy n onymou s w ith li f e B ecause the fuller the li fe .

,

t he fuller the love .

4 . T h e C o n q u es t F ast inv ests th e No r eal w ith th e id eal .

ch a sm in l i fe i s so h a rd to bridge a s Lo v e s hi a tu s between the ’

ide a l a n d t he real We lo v e the ide a l symbolized in a friend but

. ,

we t hi n k w e lo v e the mere person a lity Then when th e hum a n .

side dis a ppoi nts we lose f a i t h in t he di v i n e I think there i s noth

,
.

ing sadder th a n to see the c a p a ci t y f o r bel ief in a lo v ely wom a n

crushed to a toms becau se the trust in her girlish ideal has been
sh a ttered A n i deal i s o n ly a trelli s whereo n o u r a ffections may
.

flower To s e r v e its purpose i t m us t be outgrown S hould o ur

. .

?
love n a tu re be less aspiri g than th t
- n a o f the morning glory -

N ow a mystic i s never c a st down by the destruction o r d e se r

tion o f the ta n gible The bre a th o f hi s l i fe i s th e i n spiration o f
.

the U n seen The Conquest F a st S houl d m a ke you at le a s t some

.

wh a t o f a mystic E nough so as to preve n t you r subs t i t uting th e

.

re a l for the ide a l o r e v er expe c ting u lti ma te satisf a ction from

,
se nse delights You can n ot divorce ide a l from real any more than
-
.
,

y o u c an cle a v e sun from sh a dow B ut you can lear n this ! th at .

whil e co mf o r t seeks the sh a de g r o w th demands the su n light , .

Yet in Lo v e a s in N a ture the sh a de can n ot lesse n a fl o w e r s

, ,
’

chlorophyll N o r the sun bestow those dewy sweets o f d a w n or

.

’
twilight Love s repose fore v er a ltern a tes wi t h Lo v e s fe v er ’

Thu s also the leaning o n the re a l with the strai n ing toward the
id eaL

5 . T h e C o nq u es t F as t eq u a tes p er s o na l
To be a n d univ er s a l .

able to lo v e Some O n e lo v e with a l l your

he a r t mi n d soul a n d
, , ,

body— then to say good bye i f need be a t t he foot o f the mou n t a i n

-
,

and go up alone to mee t G o d ; this is the i de a l .

The all round lo v er forgets the worl d in lo v i n g his sweet

-

heart ; then forgets his swee t heart in lovi n g the world ; then for
gets both in lo v i n g the I n fi n ite .

S he may c a ll him u n rea son a ble in the third forgetti n g She .

will surely c a ll him cruel in the seco n d B ut he must n t mi n d .

’

if she weren t l imited some way S h e wouldn t do for h is sweet

’ ’
,

heart .

Nothing teaches n o n a tta ch men t so v i v idly as the Co n ques t

-
.

Fast It re v eal s the twin —

. n ecessity o f utter a bsorp t io n a n d u tt er

separation A ll man o n e mo men t a ll g o d th e nex t; this i s the p e n

.
,

dulum throug h which symmetry swi n gs The piou s folk w on t .

’

u nderst a nd the first extreme n o r the worldly folk the seco nd , .

B ut symmetry is ne v er u n derstood .

To be understoo d is to be defi n ed To be defined is to be .

limited I am Limitless
. .

6 T h e C o n q ue s t F a s t
. p a n d s th e l o v e na tu r e I a lw a ys ex -
.

loved the hill s the sea and the st a rs Lo v ed them more t h a n I

, ,
.

lo v ed mortal s But before my lon g F a st the hill s c a me fi r st th e

. , ,

se a next a n d the st a rs las t

,
.

The order i s re v ersed now M y lo v e has l a rgely outgrown .

the earthly ambitio n o f the hill s and has merged i n to the he a v enly ,

c a lm of t he eter n a l a ltitudes .
 That is no t all Every tiny thing that gr o ws has b e c om e my
.

n e xt of kin The a n imal s o f the forest are mor e my friends than

.

the humans of the city I do not need the companionship o f men

.
.

I n deed only he understands fellowship who i s never lonely when

alo n e I am my own inspiration—if yo u but let me be mysel f
,

. .

It i s the lesser lo v es that f a il to s a tis fy And the sooner w e .

express the l a rgest lo v e o f whi c h w e a r e capable the sooner will ,

we reali z e he a lth h a ppiness and th e d a un tl essn ess o f sincer ity

,
.

7 . T h e C o nq u es t F as t f L ov e I u sed
r evea ls th e d ivinity o .

to be v ery intoler a nt toward the si n ner B ut I had not su ff ered .

enough then We ne v er do u n derst a nd the si n ner until we o u r

, .

selves have felt we mu st love yet do not know what o r h o w ,

.

Then we d iscover what s a l v a tion mean s—not a moral repentan c e ,

but a physical and men tal regeneration .

He who loves w rongly becau se he must love i s more Godlik e

than he who a ppears righteou s bec a u se he c a n not lo v e A n d when .
,

through thi s lo n g Fast you h a ve come close enough to the Heart

,

o f God y o u will, feel how every L ove —

impul se th a t a nimates us
thrilled first from that Infi n ite H eart Henceforth there i s j u st .

o n e work for y o u— to re v e a l me n to themselves that they may ,

lo v e always a n d utterly a s their soul s impel N o stoppage in .

brain o r body no restrai n t from outside no error from ig no r

, ,

a nce n o hesi t a tion from fe a r

, .

O nly Lo v e pu re powerful a n d perfect a s it shines in the s u n

, , , ,

blossom s in the fl ow er laughs in the brook sings in the bird

, , ,

dre a ms in the st a r soothes in the silence a nd b ec k o ns in the

, ,

blu sh immortal of a l o ving w o man s c h eek ’

.
has to run in a rut B ut unless yo u have eno ug h r uts to tu rn
.

i t in you re su re to wear the o n e so deep y o u can t se e o ut

’ '

.
,

Do yo u believe in bei n g all g o d o r all man o r a l l animal as , , ,

the impulse mo v es ? A n d do yo u know how to be ? Do y o u d a re

to be ? Then a n d then only a r e y o u prepared to appreciate and
, ,

experien ce S a ne F a sti n g When br a in he a rt body a n d soul each

.
, ,

knows its pl a ce a n d is w ise enough to keep to it I f irrespecti v e .

,

of a nythi n g I ha v e said you r own Higher S el f tell s you to tak e

,

the extreme F a st then do it And triumph everlastingly B ut

, . .

never su ff er you r l esser sel f to be persuaded by any species o f

plau sible diction o r V i c a r iou s enthu siasm .

We might apply the simile of a relay j ou rney to the destina

tion re a ched b y the Co n quest Fast There are three st a tions .
,

5 elf H ea ling 5 elf E mpo w er ing S elf I ll u min ing W ith the boule
-
,
-
,
-
.

vard of S el f Enj oyi n g connecting them The first station S elf

-
.
,

H ea l ing i s b u t a little way o ff

,
You c an reach it by v a riou s .

me a n s You may d o n the swe a ter o f P hysical Culture—a n d spri n t

.

f o r it Y o u m a y hire the hose cart o f Hydropathy— an d j oggle to

.
-

it Y o u may mount the fl esh l e ss o l d gray mule of O steopath y

.

and c reep toward it You may recli n e o n the stu ff ed stretcher o f

.

Chri stian S cience— and be c arried thither Any way to get there . .

All depen ds o n how y ou re bu ilt what s th e matter with yo u ’

,
’

a nd h o w much you ll spend o n drayage Al l thes e vehicles w ill

’

get you there—sometime Then l e av e y o u th er e—e v ery time

.

. .

Can t any o f them take y o u to the secon d statio n S elf Emp ow er

’

,
-

ih g . And the third stage S el f— I l l u mining is out o f thei r reckon

, ,

in g altogether .

What sort o f tran sfer then is the C onqu est Fast ? It s th e ’

mightiest motor c ar e v er oc c upied by man N o other v ehi c le i s .

comp a r a ble to it ; in adj u stment re a di n ess responsi v eness celerity ; , , ,

cos t a n d d a ng e r A g o cart i s not conspi c uou sly speedy but it is

.
-
,

reassuri n gly safe The automobile record has been lowered to

.

somethi n g less th a n forty seconds —b ut a f o r ty s eco nd r eco r d -

mea ns a f o r ty — s e co nd r is k Y o u mu st be you r own chau ff eu r . .

And the best in the bu si ness a t that You must know j u st where .

’
you re goi n g wh a t road to follow when vo u r e likely to arriv e
, ,
’
and how to tu rn o ut for p a ssers b y You must k now both the -
.

powers a n d limit a tio n s o f your hum a n m a chi n e You must feel .

consciou s co n trol o v er it measureless superiority to it You

, .

mu st keep your h a nd o n the le v er your eye o n the ro a d an d your , ,

heart o n the j ou rney s e n d I f you re a ble for it v a r iou sly a ble

’
.
’

, ,

then b y all mea n s choose thi s a u t o motor carri a ge the Conquest -

,

Fast But —
. cou n t the cost firs t A n d don t say I promised you .
’

anything for less th a n the pri c e N o o n e k n ows the price of .

Truth better th a n I
no o n e h a s p a id such a price ; no o ne would
b e less w illi n g to urge the pu rchase on a si ngle huma n soul .

R ULE —A n a lyz e b ef o r eh a n d th e er r o r s of P o p ul a r F os ter s

2 .

This i s a ssumi n g you dare blithesomely disrega rd R ule O ne .

The which I de v outly hope .

The persistent clou d o n the horizo n o f Truth i s the con fusion

o f principle with person a lit y S omebody o f the n a me of D ewey
.
,

o r Macfa dden or j ust or Eddy o r Puri nto n propou n ds a be a n

, , , ,

tiful theory concerni n g li fe th at ma y or ma y n o t be pr a ctic a ble .

Instea d of studying the th eo r y f o r o ur se lv es we study the a pp lica ,

tio n of th e th eo r iz er Which of cou rse n e v er fi t s o u r case Th a t s

. .
’

where a ll the bewilderme n t comes in—bewilderment dietetic gym ,

nastic philo sophi c ther a peutic and religious Wh a t helps me

may help you —but n o t in the same w a y it helped me A n d the
.
, , ,

thi n g f o r you to do i s t a ke the truth of my pri n ciple a p a rt f r om ,

the ine v i t a ble error o f my personality Bec a u se the a utomobile .

i s a S plendi d vehicle i s no re a so n for entru sti n g it to a r a w

chau ff eu r .

To cite details .

Not u n derst a n d in any belit t li ng spirit but generou sly a s

, , ,

we c an To di scrimi n a t e yet not i n crimi n a te i s a tes t f o r bo t h

.

Lo v e an d W isdom I f sobeit possible l e t u s be bo t h lo v i ng a n d

.
,

wise I f n o t—let u s be only lovi ng R a t her ex alt Truth bec a use

. .

we lo v e i t than d isp a r a ge error bec a u se we fe a r it N o t bl a me for

others—o nly balance f o r ou rsel v es ; this should be the a im of o ur
.

analysis .

The fi rst error o f the Fas ting Specialist i s in assumi ng h is

remed y a pan a ce a o f u n ive r s a l p r opor t ions Let me sa y right .

here t h a t t he o n ly p a na ce a for hum a n ill s is Und er s ta nd ing ; a n d

the few r a re soul s th a t can a dmi n ister t hi s do n o t c a ll themsel v es
physici a ns or a ppr a ise t hei r ser v ice in t erms o f mo n ey — rew a rd .

I n a n y r a tio n al di a g n osis te mp er a men t is t he cle a rest i n dicatio n of

,

bo t h c a u se and cu re P h r e n o l og y should p r ecede i f not supersede

.
,

P h a r ma c y . I would n ever a d v ise a n ex t reme men ta l tempera

me n t to t a ke the Co n qu est F a st— t here mu s t be e n ough of t he v ital
t o s t o r e en ergy wi t h e n ough of the mo tiv e to spe n d it B a l an ce
, .

i s i n dispen sable equ ilib r ium mu st be mai n t a i n ed Hall Cai n e for

, .
,

i n s t a n ce woul d prob a bly lose by the prolo n ged Fast ; Al fred

,

He n r y Lewis o n t he o t her h a n d w oul d prob a bly g a in John D

, , . .

R ockefeller i s not a d a pted f o r it— he s to o piou s to be either vi t al

’

o r spiritual .Theodore R oose v el t shoul d be a sple n did subj ect

it would t a ke an e n fo r ced recess to m a ke h is stre n uosity subside
to a com for t i n g st a te o f calm .

L a ck of f a ith precludes or postpones the Conqu est F a st ;

l a ck o f flesh i f ve r y p r o n ou n ced ; l a ck o f v i t ality in c a se the
, ,

i n di v idu a l reco v ers it w i t h di fficul t y ; l a ck of the proper i nner

p r ep a r a t ions o r outer co n di t io n s ; all deficien c y in short mu st b , ,

co n sidered b ef o r e t he Co n qu es t F a st is begun A f ter let limita .

,

tio n s be fo r got in t he l a r ger light of daw n i ng possibili t ies

, .

A n o t her commo n e r ror ; a n d thi s i s wholly physiological .

F a sti n g is a t best but a w e ak l v neg a t i v e process of cure Its .

compleme n t i s E l imina tio n The w a ste ch a nn els of the body

.

bowels k id n e y s lu n gs a n d po r es should be kept peculi a rly ac t ive

. , .

t ill t he l a t e n t impurities rele a sed through the F a st a r e brought to

t he su rf a ce a n d swept a wa y Th e mere s t oppi n g of the mecha n
.

i sm o f digestion cau ses st a n a tio n a lon g the e n tire tr a ct S o th a t

g
.

’
ex t r a p r ec a u t io n i s re q u i r ed to o ffset this i n er t i a H ere s a ca se .

in poi n t . A cert a i n h y gien ic he a ler o f n a t io n al repu t a tion ad v ised

a p a t ie n t to try a t w o week s F a st The p ati e n t a cquiesced a n d
’
-
.
,

s t opped e ti g Th t s — j u st stopped e a ting Then

’

Mfl h w ith a n a a
. ll .

“ n in e d a s the bowel s f a iled t o mo v e M e a n while t he ma n

f y .

wfié in a g o n y t h e eff ect o f the F a st w a s mostly lost a n d t he right

, , ,

o r wro n g n ess of t he r emedy could n o t be established in th e

Deep And until yo u exert co n sciou s guidan c e o f you r o w n soul
.
,

d o not expect the I n fi n ite S pirit to buoy you I t ma y b u r y y o u .

i n ste a d—the S ea does both The psychic surge does both ; wit n ess
.

the u n s a nen ess of S piritist medium s a n d hypnotic subj ects N o t

the fault o f the S ea—only th e de fi ci en c y of the sailor or th e de
.

feet of the vessel .

R U LE 3—G et a ll a v a il a bl e fa cts
f o und a tion; th en fo r g et th em
as a .

Th a t s all a f a ct i s e v er goo d for— to serve as a stone in the

’

wall o f your sub cellar -

Plant it fi r ml y— then remember th e
.

c lim a t e i s ple a s a n ter upst a irs Y o u should k n o w all that m an

.

h a s discovered or proved anent Fasti n g— provided y o u don t

'

th in k a bou t it whe n y o u shoul d be in the tower wat c hing the ,

sunrise R ead Doctor Dewey read M r H a skell re a d M r M ac

.
, .
, .

f a dden read M r Hanish read M r Shaw read M r Pu ri nton ;

, .
, .
,
.

then smil e most beni gnly on them all m a ke a cheerful bon fire o f
“

their books a n d obser v e compl a isantly how the smoke re tu rns

,

to the nothingn ess whence it c a me They re a lly don t k n o w ’

anythi n g about F a sting—the y re j u st experimenti n g for thei r

.

o w n be n efit .

Let m e caution you moreo v er as to y o ur chronolo g y Don t .

’

in the n ame o f al l th a t s merci ful lapse into the pages o f a ny

’

b o ok o n Fas t i ng w h il e you a r e undergoing the process That .

would be to o much like e n tert a i n i n g an inva l id with a pictu re

bo ok o f skeleto n s gra v e — y a rds and scare c rows
, I n deed some .

people are so enamored of themselves th a t they h a v e thei r phot o

gr a ph s t a ken at the en d o f a Fast— to show how beauti ful e v en
.

’
thei r bones are Let u s pass on ; children c an t play in a bon e
.

yard Y e t such gruesome obj ect lessons are more or l ess sa lu

.
-

tary—if anybody looked like that and l ived there s su rely hope ,
’

for m e The e xperie n ce o f others helps u s o nl v in getti n g ou r

.

cou rage to the sticki n g poi nt They ! lid it—w e can d o it They
-
. .

impro v ed —w e will impro v e T h e v d a red be tru e to t heir b e e

.

li efs desires a nd i ntu ition s—w e d a re be true to ours

, .
R U LE 4 S p ecify —p ur p ose a nd a d a p t r eg ime .

I s you r chief obj ect R e nova tio n D o mina tio n D electa tion o r, , ,

I ll umina tio n ? Which do you most wa n t to cl a r i fy a n d forti fy

bo d y br a in sense or soul ? You r a n swer will dete r mi n e the
, , ,

time the duratio n the me t hod an d conditions o f you r Fast D is

, , .

c rimi n a tio n of this ki n d h a s hi ther t o n o t been m a de N a turall y .

con fu sion hesitation mist a ke a n d dis a ppoi ntme n t ensued F o r

, , .

inst ance suppose y o u w ish to stren gt hen you r will —

, power and
establish y ou r courage beyo n d ass a ult Then decide o n a cert a in .

du ration— ten twen ty o r th irty d a ys a n d keep to it i f the hea v e n s

, , ,

fall Suppose howe v er yo u seek i n spiratio n primarily Then f a st

. .

a day at a time ; yo u can n ot set periods a n d se a sons for the A ‘

mighty I f your obj ect be merely ther a peutic then a series o f

.
,

short F a sts w ill u sually bring better results th a n a si ngl e lo n g

o ne. O W will av a il more to cu r e
disease th a n a ny F a st a t all Especially as few people are free .

to leave their home o r their bu siness for any length of time I f .

y o u work yo u must eat — an d some o f us feel r a ther obliged t o

work—in order that w e ma y e at ! S uch a n endles s ch a i n of folly .

I ha v e bee n asked this ques t io n

H o w can the ave ra ge wi fe a n d mothe r man a ge a Conquest
Fas t with her husb a nd her children her hou sehold a n d her
, , ,

”
social duties to con side r ?
” ’
M y answer i s prompt a n d co n cise S h e c an t .

She ll be doi n g well i f sh e gets her husban d educ a te d u p to

’

the Two M e a l P l a n wi t h n o comp an y for di nn er In the m a tt er

-
,
.

o f ea t ing t here i s o n ly o n e cre a tu r e o n e a rth more a bsurd th a n

,

the society wom a n That cre a t u re is the bu si n ess ma n H e

.
.

doe s n t k now it—h e doesn t know much of a n ythi n g re a lly wort h

’ ’

knowi n g An d i f yo u tol d him he would proceed to d isprove it

.
,

w ith a new lo t o f glib fa llacies fresh f a shio n ed for the occ a sion - .

’
I hope some d a y to w rite a boo k o n M a n I rration al He s u n .

ques t ion a bly the queerest anim a l ex t an t —a s a species a n d as a -

se x Cert a i nly n o orn ithologis t h a s yet done him j us t ice

But in the home where Lo v e rules —a n d there i s no home
.
.

el sewher e —every member o f the f a mily may do as that member

pleases Comings and goi ng s a r e un restricted tho u ghts an d a c ts
.
,

p a ss u n ch a lle n ged Moreo v er when o n e i s quite re a dy in one s

.
,
’

o w n soul f o r th e Conqu es t Fast the w a y will a lways O pen , It is .

ou r fear that limi t s u s—n o t o u r faith F a i t h leads u s o n an d out .

a n d u p so far a n d so f a st as w e dare follow

,
.

A good deal depen ds on the char a cter o f o u r work whether ,

at home o r in the office I f it be very exacting for br a in or body

.
,

w e had best omit or postpone or modi fy th e extreme F a st

, , .

Though I h a ve known acti v e bu sines s men to l a bor i n cessantl y

through twenty thi rt y even forty d a ys absten tion from food
, ,
’
.

Here ag a in the temper a me n t a n d attitude o f mind must direct .

In a word ; read these R ules in the l ight o f you r o w n desir e .

Apply them so f a r a s you deem them s a n e a n d oppo r tu n e — break

them refute them tr a n sce n d them in whate v er respect Love and
, ,

Truth s a nction .

R U LE 5— C li o os e S ummer or S p r ing f o r th e C o nq u es t F a st .

There are at leas t fou r reasons .

F irst ! fresh frui t s an d vegetables may be h a d before and

af t er the F a st N othi n g t a ke s the place o f the salts and j u ices
.

obt a ined fresh in ou r g a rden produc ts ; both in preparing the

body for a c t i v e elimi n a tion a n d in helpi ng it reco v er to n e Ei t her .

c a nn i n g o r dryi n g v i t i a tes the n ou rishi n g eleme n ts S o the se a son .

whe n gree n things grow is by f a r the bes t f o r a n y chan ge in

diete t ic regime .

S eco n d ! t he temper a ture a n d atmospheric co n dition s f a vor

pu rific a t io n You can perspi re f r eely wi t hou t speci a l e ffort—a
.

vital poi n t in the physiology o f F a s t i n g In coo l we a ther recou rse .

mus t be h a d to Turki sh v a por or hot a ir b a th s ; me a su res more o r

,
-

less un n a tu r a l a n d u n qu estion a bly ener v ati ng S u n b a t hs more .

-
,

over are as i n dispen s a bl e to restore v it a lity a s to qu icken elimina

,

t io n ; su n b a ths in wi nter bei n g a lmost nil

-
.

Third ! the a ccu stomed i n erti a o f the season makes i dli n g

e a sier Spring fe v er i s so much the f a shion summer e n nui so
.
,

a ltogether proper th a t the F a st wo n t v iol ate ou r conve n tio n al

’

code o f mor a ls a n d m anners in the e ff ect it produces on o u r activi

R U LE 7 —P l an p
w o r k co ng enia l bu t n o t co m ulso r y .

Thi s o n the supposition tha t yo u c a n n ot a fford to b e

wholly idle o r that you have not learned to rel a x u tterly D u r
,
.

ing the Fast nothing shoul d drive you save t he impulse of

,

you r o w n soul nothing dire c t you save the V oice o f the In

,

fi n ite Work as y o u want to pl a y as you want to read

.
,
!

a s you w a n t to rest a s y o u wan t to drea m as you want

,
‘

to At the st a rt yo u are likely to have severe headaches ; o ff

.

and o n yo u ma y be sub j ect to attacks of weak n ess or f a intn ess ;

n othi n g seriou s still incon v e n ient You ma y fi n d it harder to
,
.

sleep through the night but easier to n a p by d a y The n there is

, .

the pestile n ce o f perso n a lity to be con sidered Li v i n g as common

hum an s do you ma y have esc a ped—o n the homeopathic principl e
.

“ ”
of Like cu re like B ut when y o u have cl a rified your immort a l
.

S e l f from you r earthy ten de n cies y o u notice a ll at o n ce how ,

insu fferably gross the peopl e arou n d you are become And i f .

you r work compel s you t o mi ngle w ith them y o u c a n t fast long ,

’

without su ff oc a ting Keep o c cupied i f you will—but let it b e

.

h a ppily so U n der no ci r cumst a n ces attempt a Conquest F a st

.

while subj ect to the rules orders a n d su spicions o f th e av erag e

,

employer Y o u will lose mo r e th an you gain

.
'

R U L E 8 —Be a l o n e, o r a mo ng s tr a ng er s .

The surest wa y to make a m a n your en e mv i s to give him

“ ”
ple nty of frien dly advice On this assumption e v ery friend of
.
,

the ma n o n a Fast becomes hi s direst foe I f they don t worr y .

’

themselves i n to hysterics for fear you ll st a r ve to death they ’

will at least comment o n you r looks diagnose you r symptoms , ,

ask you to describe your feeli n gs in short plagu e cle a n out of ,

you the v ery li fe they a r e so solicitou s to preser v e N o O ptician

'
.

ever f o un d sp ectacl e s to relie v e the short sightednes s o f S oli c itude ; -

’
it s conge n i t a l and c a n t be cu red ’
.

’
Don t e v en tell you r f r iend s and rel a ti v es yo u expect to fast .

U n l ess perchance you be bl essed with th a t r a re gi ft o f the gods

a comr a de or a sweetheart w h o u n derst a n ds The comfo r t to be .

had from the cou n sel and symp a thy o f t his One woul d be quite
 l egitimate and u n spe a k a bly re a ssu r i ng Go o ut c a mpi ng ; hire a .

hou se bo a t get lodgi n gs a t some dis t a n t f a r mer s comi n g in o n l v

-
’

at night ; best of a ll roll u p a few a ccessories in a st a u nch sleep

,

in g b a g a n d hi e y o u to some solit a ry spot a mid the mount a i n s

-

or by the sea sh or e -
.

Another re a so n besides the interference o f frien ds If .

you are daily a ssoci a ti ng with people a ddicted to t he three me a l -

mon o t on y you ca n t help seei n g smelli n g a n d remembe r i ng food

,
’

, , .

N o t a s a lut a ry situ a tion f o r o n e tryi n g so desper a tely to forge t

food Keep away from the t a ble the cupboard the cook book
.
, ,
-

” “
and the di n ner bell N o t bec a u se you might be tempted t o e at
-
.

— in th a t c a se stick right there till yo u v e co n quered the er r a n t

,
'

te n de n cy But bec a u se yo u are livi n g o n a higher pl a n e an d mus t

.

not be irri t a t ed by such co a rse vibr a tio n s as e a ti n g se t s in mo t io n .

Still a third consider a tion Complete ch an ge o f scene i s essen .

t io n to t he v a n t a ge of a new perspecti v e N o tr a ce o f old rel a tion .

ships no iter a tion o f memory s biddi n g n o diverting i n fluen ce

,
’

shoul d be su ff ered to interpose between yo u and the horizon .

A n y psychometrist will tell you how completely i n a nimate obj ects

are i n vested with the au r a o f their owners o r u sers B ooks .
,

pictu res furniture what n o t—a ll bear a mess a ge of good o r ill

, ,

that we mu st recei v e whether w e will or n o t The very a ir of a .

leprou s hou se i s a cu rse the v ery atmosphere of a pl a ce o f wo r ship,

i s a be n edic t ion All o f which ser v es to emphasi z e th e necessit y

.

for bei n g alo n e whil e achie v ing th e Fast .

R U L E 9 —K eep n ear N a tu r e .

A smile a n d a p a ir o f s a nd a l s i s qu ite sufficien t clothi n g

you do n t re a lly need the s a n d a l s Take a ll the sun b a ths c o n
’
.
-

si sten t with com fort an d a n o cc a sion a l cl a y compress ! for d ir ec

,

“
tio n s see Adolph Ju st s R etu rn to N a ture
,
Lie fl a t o n the
’

e a rth a s much a s yo u ca n D a bbl e in th e b r ook or pl a y in t he .

,

wa v es o f the se a Get u sed to sleepin g o n t he grass ; i n deed some

.

folks a r e such strenuou s N aturis t s they dig u p the so d a n d bu r y

th emsel v es o v er night in t he b a re soil Sou n ds ki n d o f cl a mm y . ,

d oesn t it ? T isn t n eces s a ry— excep t to try Fi n d how much

’ " ’
.
nourishment N ature pro v ides t h a t i s n t c a lled food The frag
’

r a n ce o f t he forest a n d a rom a o f t he w ild i s su st a i n ing ; the breath

o f the bree z e exhil a r a tes ; t he th r ill of the earth co n t a ct v iv ifi es ;
-

the gl a nce o f the sun bo t h soo t hes an d empowers Pro v ender .

for the s t om a ch t a kes a mi n or place in the eco n omy of hum a n

li fe when o n ce pro v ision for th e soul has bee n m a de i n dependently
,
.

R U LE Io —A v o id co m bina tio ns w ith o th er sy s tems o f N a tu r o pa th y .

The Con quest F a s t does n t h a rmo n iz e wi t h the Kn eipp Wa ter

’

Cure o r the M ac fadde n S chool of Physical Culture or a n y other

, ,

regime t h a t dema n ds l a r ge expe n ditu re of e n ergy a n d vitality .

These methods ma y be e v er so good— they are n o t timely .

I knew o f a man th a t h a d chro n ic rheumatism H e consulted

specialist ;—a n d stopped e a ti n g B ega n to feel better
.

a Fasti n g — .
,

wondered i f he couldn t be impro v ing fa ster Co n sulted a Turk

’
.

ish B a th speci a li st — an d began bathing

-
Presen tly he died . .

Then each speci a list decl a red the o th er k ill e d the p a tient The y ‘

were both doctors too w ith a n a t ion a l reputation and a big sani
, ,

ta r iu m to back it F a sti n g al o n e might ha v e he a led the su ff erer

.

or B aths alo n e Toget her they took o ut more v it a l ity th a n v iru s

.
,

lea v i n g him cle a n n o doubt— a cle an corpse Doubtless a T h eo so .

p h ist would g a i n some co n solation fr om t he thought o f h o w pu re

hi s body w a s when he lef t i t Bu t to t hose o f u s not of the elect
.

it loo ks like a plai n c a se o f m a lpractice .

Don t tu r n your a mbition toward a n y stu n ts o f ph v sical

'

prowess after t he first week of a lo n g F a s t I t s the time to store

, .
’

en ergy— n o t t o spe n d it I f y o u n e v er le a r n ed h o w to let t hi n gs

.

slide thi s i s you r opportun ity supreme Bo t h m a terially an d

, .

spi r itu a lly repose mu st be reckoned a chie f component in the

,

Conquest F a st .

R U LE I I —T he w eek p r eced ing th e F ast l e t y o ur d ie t be

, w h o lly
l a x a tiv e .

This to correct th e in v a ri a bl e te n de ncy to stopp a ge noticed

t he first few d a ys o f a F a st N o t o nly shoul d t he r e b e n o residu e
.

o f w a ste m a tter to be elimi n ated when the mecha n ism o f d igest io n

be attu n ed to the celesti a l symphony o f sea an d hills sun an d ,

stars a l l reso n a n t wi t h t he cho r a l chime of N a t ure s host

,
’
.

T he n t here a r e books o f speci a l impor t Works o f Poet r y .

,

Inven t io n Disco v ery a n d Philosophy he a d the li st Emerson

, ,
.
,

Whitm a n B row n i ng Thoreau Goethe Wordswo rth ; t a ke some

, , , ,

o f these with y o u i n to retireme n t Elbert Hubbard s Li t tl e ’

.

Journ eys would be n o t i n opportu n e ; perh a ps also li t er a tu re o f

“
direct to n ic v a lu e might appe a l ; say Thomson J Hu dson s L a w .
’

” ” “
o f M e n t a l M edici n e or Herber t A P a r k yn s Auto Suggestion ’
-
.
, ,

“
o r A n n ie P a yson Call s P ower through R epose or R alph Waldo
’

“ ”
Trine s In Tu n e with the Infi n i t e Wh a te v er book can enlarg e
’
.

you r horizon refi n e you r symp a thies stre n gthen you r faith and
, ,

inspire you r soul— this is the book to read while you fast .

R U LE I 3
—D ev o te th e p ecia l elimina tion
fir s t th r ee d ays to s .

Th a t is stimulate bowels kidneys lu n gs an d pores to d o

, , ,

double service F ully hal f the be n efit of the extreme Fast i s lost
.

i f impu rities be a llowed to rem a i n in the body in excess o f th e

body s capacity to expel them V apor baths are therefore in o rder
’
.
-

! y o u ca n buy a good cabi n et for e n em a s ; deep bre a thi n g

exercises ; a bdomi n a l massage ; copiou s water dri n king—hot um
swee t en ed lemo n a de is most e ffi c a ciou s ; friction baths ; perh a ps a
si n gle stomach lavage ; even a dose of l iver pills in c a se the colon
fl u shi ng falls sho rt of t he s toppage .

I should sa y in general a vapor — b a th woul d be advi sab le the

fi rst a n d third d a y ; a n e n ema d a ily f o r a week ; a thorough fri c
t ion bath e v ery mo r ni n g ; a n abdominal or gener a l massage each
a fter n oon ; a long walk in the eve n i n g wi t h a l l the exhilaration

you can get out o f deep slow rhythmic pe a ceful bre a thing , , , .

D ri n k a t le a st two quarts o f w a ter du ring the d a y preferably a ,

h a l f glass at a time Acid fruit —

-
j u ice cannot be su rp a ssed a s an
.

aid to elimi n ation— a bout a h a l f a gl a ss for th e t wenty fou r hours -

,

well diluted with perhaps three times its bulk o f water O r ange .

j u ice i s best with lemon j u ice an d gr a pe j uice close seco n ds

,
- -
.

N o r i s pi n eapple cherry or l ime forbidden

, ,I f you a r e fasti ng .

princip a lly for I l l umina tio n you c an t be h a u n ted w ith the memory
,
’
or irritated by the taste of e v en fruit j u ice But for cl a ri fyi n g -
.

o f brain an d body a li tt le O f this ma y be t a ken through mos t o f

,

the F a st—o n e ki n d on ly in order n o t t o i n dulge the p a l a t e There

, .

i s a trifle nou rishme n t in gr a pe j uice hen ce t he o r a nge seems be t -

,

ter suited to the needs o f the Fas ter Lemon is too s t ri n gen t f o r .

steady u se .

After I had recei v ed the vi sio n I sought through t he F a st ,

I b ega n t a ki n g fru it j u ice in sm a ll qu a ntities I t quie t ed t he

-
.

stom a ch soothed the n er v es cle a r ed the to n gue a n d t he br a i n

, , ,

especi a lly a cted a s a l a x a ti v e F o r with me a most u n u su a l ex .

er ie n ce e n sued — the bowel s mo v ed f r eely o n ce duri n g the thi r d

p ,

week of the F a st o n ce duri ng th e fou rth Due u n questio n ably to

, .

the i n fluen ce o f t he fru it j uice -

.

I n deed f o r a short Fast a n y u n der t en d a ys I would sug

-
, ,

gest the mode r ate u se o f t he or an ge lemon or gr a pe—c a r efully r e ,

j e ct in g all the pulp S uch recourse

. allays ferme n t a t io n dispels ,

noxiou s gases a ssists elimin a tio n has t en s purificatio n a n d lessen s

, , ,

the mental strai n O f ruptu ri n g su dden ly the e a ti n g h abi t f a s t e n ed -

o n the rac e T h e j uice of three or a nges a day shoul d be suffi

.

c ient.

R U LE I4 —Use p l en tif u lly bu t g ently

w a ter

Y o u m a y w a lk in t he dew w i t h F a ther Kn e ipp—

.

you may n o t
“ ”
follow him to the extremes of the Bl itzg u ss A P riess nitz .

Compress daily a Ju st or Kuh e B ath n a —

tepid showe r some ,
,

such measu re as this in prefere n ce to t he col d plu n ge or douche

,
.

N O shock should be permitted n o v i t a lity w a s t ed ,

.

As to the a mount o f w a ter t a ke n i nter n a lly O pi n io n s di ff er ,

.

Insti n ct here a s a lw a ys ma y be a ssumed the o n ly s a fe guide I n

, ,
.

gener a l we ma y sa y howe v er th a t the o ne occ a sio n whe n i n sti nct

,

might be forced i s in the m a tt er o f w a ter dri nki n g du ri n g a F a st - .

Culti v a te a desire for it D ri n k n o t less th a n a gl a ss a n hou r

.

o n the a v er a ge u nless you feel d iscom fort o r repulsio n the r e

,

from O f course i f yo u h a v e su ff ered from dil a ted stom a ch or

.

imp a ired kid n eys the a mou nt ma y well be l esse ned M ou nt a i n

,
.

spring water is the best But it must be p u re a n d it mu s t be sof t

- .
.
Othe r wise let the variety be d is t illed a n d a er a ted B ottl e d spring .

w a t er m a y be substituted i f you are su re o f its an a lysis .

R ULE — L et tr ea tmen t b e
p a ssiv e r a th er th an a ctiv e
1 5 .

“
Thi s o n the a ssump t ion that you re still in the treatment ’

st a ge o r th a t th e ther a peutic pu rpose is uppermost During the

,
.

ex t reme F a st is the only time I would suggest a ny such depe n d

e n ce o n people o r thi n gs outsi de onesel f B ut then it i s en tirel y .

to be comme n ded I f yo u k n ow a goo d me n ta l o r magnetic he a ler

.
,

le t him exerci se h is gi fts w ithout let o r hindr a nce— e v e n though

he employ such cru de me a sures a s p a sses man ipul a tion s sug g es , ,

“ ”
tio n s v ibration s or a ffi rm a tio n s
, ,
M a ss age is cl early indicated .
,

especially spinal a n d abdomin a l Get all the sleep you can by .

,

night an d day both A specialist in he a lth hypnotics or post

.
-

hyp n otic suggestio n might be employe d to a d v a ntage in assuring ,

slumber a n d a lso qu ietu de f o r t he w a ki n g hours E v en so un .

sci en t ific a pr a ctitio n er a s a Chri sti a n S ci e n ce de v otee coul d be

called in to help es t a blish f a i t h a n d prep a re the way for soul c erti
t u d e Bu t do n t tell the Chri sti a n S cie n ce si ster you re fasting
’ ’
.

s h e does n t belie v e in t hat

’
Jesu s fasted Jesu s u sed h y drotherapy
.
, ,
“ ”
p sychology m a liciou s a n im a l magnet ism
, and other natural ,

in fl u e n ce s in his m a r v el s of heali n g Jesu s w a s a N atu rist no .

less th a n a mysti c Yet the vit a l side o f the N az a re n e h a s been

.

repu di a t ed by the Chri sti a n S cientists ; th a t s why they c a ll t hem ’

sel v es Chri sti a n — the y w a nt to be but can t

" ‘ ” ’
.

V igorou s action requ ired by g a mes gymn a stics and the like ,

shoul d be limited to the first few d a ys of the Co n quest Fast .

Aft er t hat l eisurely w a lki n g i s in o r der together w ith gentle

, ,

s tr e tch ing mo v eme n t s a n d b r e a th in

g exercises A F a st o f only a .

week or so woul d n o t be su fficiently devital izi ng to preclu de mu s

c u l a r e ffort throughout I n gene r a l n othing th a t t a kes initiative
. . ,

whe t her o f bo d y br a in o r soul should be p l anned for th e period

of t he F a st Omnipote n ce is worki n g—let the mortal retir e
, ,

. .

R U LE 1 6 —F o cu s on l ocal tr o u bl es .

We call t hem “
troubles — u n til
”
we make them triumph s .
v u lgar so in su ff era b ly plebeian to h a v e to eat ; yo u b el o ng t o a
,

—
s u pe rior race o f being s that e at only when they choose to Just
now you don t choo se and it s such fun to lord it ov er th e
’ ’
.

m inion Kn ights O f the Kni fe and fork - -

.

'

But we started to say something abo ut sympto ms That t e .

minds u s o f do c tors — dim pallid memory A d o ctor thi n ks it h is .

duty to give so many drugs be c au s e he takes so many s ymptom s

— O n the principle I suppose that fair e xchange o f foul deed s
, ,

is no robbery A doctor s a bsu rdit y i s eq u alled only b y his sole mn

’
.

ity—an d his whiskers these bei n g the l imit of both There is

, .

nothing in the long c a talogu e of dru g— school fall a cies so un scienti

fi c as an isolated symptom It tell s nothing a n d foretells l ess
. .

It s the single fl icker o f a moving pict u re ma c hine that started a

’
-

genera tion back a n d mu st r u n till a gener a tion hence I f you .

wan t Truth don t both er w ith symptoms Watch pri n ciples and
,
’
.

exam ine c a u ses—ac t ions and res ults ca n look out for themselve s .

Here s a c ase in point Lo ts o f p eopl e say that fresh fru it

’
.

” “ ” ’
d isagrees with them It doesn t I t can t They di sagree . .
’
.

with themselves Their stomach s are so full o f undigested f ood

.

that the a ci d of the fruit stirs u p a ferment from the mi dst o f th e

decay Th e morbid matter must be g ot o u t somehow—the fru it
.

‘ “
says anyhow B ut the stupi d eater a n swers N O let the stu ff
.
,

”
’ ’
stay so long a s I don t know it s there Then the doctor tak es .

—
his hush mo n ey to keep the ferme n t silenced and it s cut o ut
-
“ ’

”
f r u it
. Dope the symptom to cu re the dise a se ; that s the highl y ’

ration a l theory of the highly scie n ti fi c drug dispenser -

.

N O w du ri n g the long F a st you ll lose a lot O f weight—pro b

’

ab ly an average of a pou n d a day N e v er mind— it s a good rid .

’

dance o f bad r u bbi sh

’
You ll g et it all back at the close of th e
.

Fast with an increase o f perh a ps a pound a n d a h a l f a day ; an d

,

this time it will be pure blood fi rm fl esh sound si n ew Yo u , , .

may feel unaccou n tably we a k strangely i n secure N o need to ,

worr y—i t s mostly imagination Physiologic a lly there should b e

.

’
.

no real los s o f strengt h till br a in n er ve a nd muscl e a ctu a lly wast e ,

away ; which never occ u rs whil e a n ou n ce o f fl esh rem a ins to be

o xygeni z ed O ften a sens a tion ak i n to weakness ac c omp a nies the
.
pa ssag e o f i mp u riti es from the bod y— brain bl o o d bo w el s l u ngs , , , ,

kidn eys pores all are serving as speci a l sewer function s a t the
, ,
-

beginning of a F a st A n d since the waste m a tter in proc ess o f

.

decay always lea v es first the initial p a r t of the F a st i s n atur a lly

,

th e most un c omfo rtabl e As a m a tter O f fac t th e w o r se y o u feel

R a ther the better becomi n g—you wouldn t
.
, ,

th e b ette r y o u a r e
’
.
,

feel h a d now i f yo u had n t b een bad for a long time before Thi s ’
.

“
i s what N atu ropath s call the crisis the expulsion to the surface ,

and appear a nce thereon o f al l the foul n ess lurking deep in th e

s y stem perh a ps for hal f a li fetime S o th at the more miserable .

yo u feel th e more c ertain is you r need f o r a Fast

, The quickest .

way to make a Freethinker bel ieve in Hell is to p ut him on a lo n g

’
Fast ; he ll be there the first week But the third o r fou rth week .

he ll arri v e at He a ven— so he won t hol d a grudge against you

’ ’
.

There s no place in H e a ven to hide a grudge—too much su n shine

’

“ ”
everyw here S uggestion to theologues the bo ttomless p it
.

i s the pit o f th e stomach— sp a n th a t an d you re sa v ed ’

.

Flabby and anaemi c women in particular will fi nd themselves

”
all gon e perh a ps hau n ted by a choi c e array O f fears dre a ds
, ,

an d phantoms Don t be alarmed— it s only the ghosts o f those

.
’ ’

si c kl y Charlotte R u sses m a king their departure Maybe some .

Sally Lunns are bu ried there to o M ight a s well dig up the whol e .

cemetery while y ou re about it—so fl owers can grow there next

’

spri n g R emember all the while that the F a st i s not to blame ;

.

r a ther th e folly th a t preceded an d ne c essitated th e Fast And b e .

glad you re gettin g some sense at last even i f it d oe s c ost a

’
,

pai n o r two .

You r pul se may drop twenty degrees—o ne I knew went from

86 to 68 in fou r d a ys Su dden a ttacks o f dizzi n ess vertigo and
.
, ,

the l ike ma y annoy you especi a lly on ri si n g qu ickly Headaches o f

,
.

a v arieg a ted a ssortme n t may follo w themselves in motley c aravan .

A hundred and o ne unsuspe cted c onditions may d evelop soone r

or l a ter. Again I say — “
L a ugh at symptoms — pooh pooh them -

”
out o f bu siness Y o u are more mome n tou s than you r feels i fs
.
-
.

And so long a s yo u know yo u are right—to H a li fa x with th e

“ ”
bogie mo b I d say to Hell but I m v ery c are f u l a bo u t o ff ending
.
’
,
’
 members o f the c loth . How that des c ribes them—tailor s ’
d um
mies o f Theology .

R U LE 1 8 -
Wa it
f a nd tr us t or r es ul ts .

The finest thi n gs are always th e most impal pable A man .

feels pain a chil d feel s pleasu re but only a mother f eels th e

, ,

ecstacy O f ang u i sh For only a mother i s attuned to both ear t h

.

a n d heave n .

I t takes eons o f evolution to un fol d a mother soul A nd -

.

y o u can t e xpect to feel all the glories of bei n g after a few days
’

o r week s o f soul stirring N o t d u r ing th e F ast do y o u notice

-

great improvement—rather when the F a st is o v er and forgotten

.

B ut I a ssu re yo u there will ensu e such a degree O f rej uvenation

a s w ill a to n e for e v ery momen t o f su f fe ri n g e v ery p a rticl e of dis ,

comfort Espe c ially o u the higher planes o f perception

. .

I spen t a few weeks in the countr y last summer pro fi ti n g b y ,

t h e lessons lear n ed through Fasti n g While li v i n g i n th e O pen

.
,

s c arce a singl e dire c t inspiration came to me B ut in the month .

f oll owi n g my return to t own I w rote a h und r ed a nd tw enty five

,
-

n ew p o e ms Co n sciou s n ess g a thers somewh a t a s a cloud— slowl y

.
,

sile ntly imperceptibly

, B ut whe n it breaks then the world
.
,

k n ow s you h a ve been o n the summit O f aspiration breathi n g in the ,

mi sts .

R U LE Ig —Br ea k t h e F as t w ith p r ay er
a m o r s el a nd a .

The c r ux of a long F a s t i s the bre a ki n g o f it R etu rning to .

th e wo r ld seems even h a rder than leavi n g it F o r a week o r so .

in t r a n si t io n y o u mu st be hal f a n im a l w ith th e a n imal s u n erring

’

’
i n s t i n ct h a l f mystic with the mystic s unwavering ideal n o t a t all
, ,

m a n wi t h the m a n s hesit an cy tempt a t io n a n d defeat You wil l

’
.
,

be very empty i n deed when you begin to eat ag a i n— but by tha t

time you should h a v e l e a rn ed to enj oy being empty The stomach .

wo n t all for a third the food the rest o f y o u seems to d emand

’
c .

Bec a u se the stomach h a s grown weak from e n forced i n action the ,

digesti v e j uices have lent themselve s in o ther directions the e u ,

Eat with th e jo y o f an anim a l love w ith the c on sc iousn ess
, of

a g od .

R U LE ao —Exp e ct e ns uin
g ch a ng e in l ife .

Even a week s Fast has O pened a new persp ec tiv e t o th e in

’

d ividu a l who took it Y o u observe a disti n ct vantage in realm s

.
,

o f body mi n d he a rt and soul

’

, , Things do n t loo k as they u sed to

. .

The real s eems re a l where before it appeared vagu e T he fal se .

,

the u nnatur a l the superfl uou s and the u n lovely all re tire into the
,

shadow o f obli v ion where they belong H en c efor th you are your .

sel f and the worl d is nothing Y o u k n ow n a ught but that Truth

.
~

beckons and Love empo wers Y o u have severed the o l d bonds

.
,

formed be fore yo u knew you rs el f or d a red be tru e Y o u have .

p assed through a new b irth you are l i v ing in the Heaven of

,

S in c erity Y ou may find the world doe s not recogn iz e y o u but

.

treats yo u as an alien Ol d friends may desert you — new friends

.

sh a l l che ri sh yo u Habits customs desires ambitions though t s

.
, , , , ,

f eeli ngs lovings—all are sub j ect to chan ge u nder th e tr ans form
,

ing power o f the Co nquest Fast .

B ut the Eternal d oes not waver nor the Infinit e di mini sh , .

You c an well afford to emerge from the ha z e of humanit y wherein ,

men saw y ou dimly an d grasp ed for y o u f ee bly ;—o u t—o n—up

int o th e splendor of D ivinit y when c e men fl ee y ou r glory and
,

l eav e yo u al o n e w ith G o d .
 AN IN DI VIDUA L E P IL OGU E

As an improvement over a Perso na l Prologue .

The Prologu e w a s a recital o f symptoms o f surroundings , ,

o f limit a tion s and de fi ciencies o f imperfections an d unattai n ed

,

longi n gs
.

The Epilogu e i s an assertion of S el f .

I t took what w a sn t I some twenty two years t o get thro u gh

’
-

w ith the Prologu e It has t a ken M e fi v e ye a rs to arri v e at so

.

much o f the Epilogu e as i s here recorded I h a v en t got very

.
’

far yet en route for Truth B ut y o u ma y observe the di ff erence

.

in speed when a person a lity follows th e crowd and when an i n di

vidu a l st a rts forth for itsel f
Personality i s the envy of small so u ls—and the bane of
.

great on es
Individualit y is the terr o r o f small soul s—and th e glory of
.

great ones .

I have c alled the Epilogu e A D ec laration of Faith .

”
“
N OT a Confession I do not apologi z e for my belief
.
I .

exul t in it And I y e a rn over any soul th a t has no t o ne o f equal

.

proportions .

I t i s fitting th a t Faith shoul d su pply the l a st word B ecause .

in the end o f a ll things matter melts to mystery ; Science h a lts

,

dumb in the presence of R eligion ; Logic steps aside to make way

for Love ; M ind tu rn s back to i t s earth environ and only Spirit
-
,

s o ars on untrammeled to explore and a c c redit the unlogi ca l un ,

d emonstrab l e und eb ata b l e c e rtit u d es o f th e Al mighty

,
.
 A DEC L A R A T IO N OF F A IT H

I b eh ev e .

I believe in believing .

I belie v e that next to loving bel ie v ing i s wi s e st and most

, ,

Go dlike .

I belie v e that the good o f belie v ing lies in the believing— not
in the belie f .

I belie v e that yo u r belief is none o f my bu si n ess .

I belie v e that the belie f o f to d a y may be unbelievable to -

morrow a n d n eedn t feel a sh a med either

,
’
.

I belie v e th a t depth of belief witho u t breadth i s more desi r

able th a n bre a dth without depth .

I believe that the a bsolute belief o f the chil d may and shoul d
a c compan y the absolute k nowl edge o f the man .

I believe th a t Faith an d Fac t are not foes but friends— when

each recogn i z es a n d respects the province o f the other .

I b elie v e howe v er that a blind belie f i s better th a n no bel ief

, ,
.

I believe that so lo n g as a m a n s bel ief s a tisfies him it i s an ’

unkind n ess to shake it whether by reform pessimism or prosely

, , ,

t ism .

I believe that the o n ly way to j u sti fy a bel ief i s to ke ep

s ilent concerning it ; a n d the only w a y to prove it i s to l i v e it .

I belie v e that belief in S el f i s the high est form of belief

and the rar est .

I believ e in my sel f .

I belie v e in you .

I belie v e in e v erybody and e v er ything .

I believe in the u ndiminishable pu rity sweetness an d , ,

stre n gth o f the human soul .

I believe in th e Fatherhood Motherhood a n d B a byhood of , ,

I bel ieve in the gentlenes s of J u sti c e and the far sight edness -

o f Fate .
 I beli e ve in a C onsciou sness that tra n s c ends the mo r tal ;
emergi ng from the mists of time place person and ci rcumstan c e
, , ,

t ill it melts clear and pu re into the e ff u lgence o f the Most High .

I bel ieve th a t the world n eeds me .

I belie v e th a t the worl d will reward me richly—when I d e

serve recompe n se .

I believe that my povert y is nobo dy s fault but my own ;’

there fore am I n o t a S oc i a lis t

I believe that my neighbor treats me as I treat him—o r a
.

l ittle better ; so I hold no grudge against anybody .

I bel ie v e that my expression o f belief helps me most ; I a m

not co n cer n ed i f nobody l istens .

I belie v e th a t the only way I c an be f a ithful to yo u i s to

be f a ith ful to mysel f .

I believe that my o n ly duty is to know and follow my de

I believe that the In fi nite i s none too large for me to aspire to .

I believe that countless eo n s have heaped themselves that I

m a y lord them all ; and I do .

I beli ev e that reform is as unwi se as it is unavailing .

I believe th a t polemics a r e futile i f n o t fatal .

I bel ieve that c riticism is a con fession o f impote n ce ; sin c e th e

critic i s never the cre a tor .

I believe that codes o f con d uct are f o r c owards only .

I believe that law breakers are nearer right th a n law m a k e rs

- -
.

I believ e that th e c ri me s agains t c riminals a r e the cru elest

o f all
.

’
I beli eve that th e only sin i s sh u tting one s eyes to the light
’
in on e s own s o ul .

—
I believe that consist ency i s e ither lethargy or h yp oc ri sy
I believe that Instin c t i s infallibl e so far as not y et p a ra
.

l yz ed by civili z ation.

I bel i ev e that every m an is part animal and pa r t angel ; i f

h e be a man h e i s n ei th e r ashamed o f the one nor a frai d of th e
,

oth e r
.
 I beli e v e that li fe is m o r e val u able than learning ; and the
d ay laborer a truer c ouns ellor than the college professor
-
.

I be lieve that there i s no arr o gan c e so ha u ght y and so c r uel

as the prid e o f mentality .

I beli e ve that in gen e ral th e mo r e one k n o w s th e m o re one

mi su nderstands .

I believe that Truth i s indivisi b le and illimitab le b eing neith e r

,

sc i enti fi c religiou s philosophi c al c ommer c ial or sentim ental

, , , .

I b eliev e that S cience and R eligion were bo rn sister s b ut ,

that Supers tition has parted them f o r the tim e being .

I believe that in s c ienti fic parenthood li es th e salvation of

t h e ra c e ; but S cien c e mu st not dictate to Lo ve .

I b eli eve that Humani ty i s c onstan tly improving ; pe rhaps in

a million ages it may be pres entable .

I believe that th e onl y devil is th e drea d of ou r w eaker mo r

t ality ; and the onl y hell that sen se of s u ff oc ation att ending an
e arth a u ra
-
.

I b elieve that Heaven i s here and now in th e hearts o f the

h eav enly minded but that greater splendors trans cending human
-

imagi n ation await u s o n th e oth er sid e .

I b eliev e that D e ath i s an angel o f light u sheri ng the s ou l

,

into a brighter palace o f Possibility ; and i f ou r vision were fi ne

e nough we c oul d alway s c at c h a glimps e of gl o ry as th e portal
,

swings open .

I b elieve that th e M ill ennium co m es t o ea c h sou l individually ,

marking the c los e of thi s e arth s c h o ol of e xp e ri en c e an d th e

-

C o mm en c e ment D ay i n a larg e r sph e r e .

I b eli ev e that th es e b eliefs and what ev e r t ru e r may en su e

w ill f o r ev e r pal e int o n oth ingn ess b esi d e th e o ne t h in g

I KNOW

T ha t L o ve A lo ne S ufiices
-
.
 IF Y O U S T IL L EA T

—h w y n ot mak e th e p e r a tion as pl easan t a nd sa fe a s p o ssi b l e ?

M o s t hyg i en i c e a ti ng is h a r ml e s s e no ugh—it o n ly it we r e p a i n l e ss !
o

N o thi n g can b e b e tt e r th an it ta s t es —w h e th e r it s fo o d m e di c i ne ’
, ,

r e fo rm e thi c s l a w o r th eo l o gy A n d if y o u d o n t lik e a thi n g it c a n t

’ ’
, , , .

b e g oo d f o r y o u T hi s i sn t s a yi n g y o u w il l lik e a l l a t o n ce wh a t eve r
’

is b e s t f o r y o u—p e o pl e s lik es a n d di s lik e s u su a lly h av e t o b e s tr a ight

.

e n e d o ut b e fo r e th e y c a n t e ll j us t w h a t th e y d o wa n t
N a t u ro p a th s d o n t b e li ev e in p e pt o n i z e d s a wd us t—e xce p t f o r
.

c hi c k e ns . N o r in pr e dig e s t e d n e a r fo o d — e xc e p t f o r b a b e s in th e ir fi rs t
-

o r se c o n d c hildh oo d N u tri men t th a t is na t u r a l is b o t h w h o l e s o me a nd

—
.

l l a n d y o u d o n t o f t e n fi n d it
’

p a a t a b e .

Do y o u e n j o y a G oo d Di n n e r ? O r a r e y o u c o n s id e ri n g a L o n g
F a s t ? T h e n in e ith e r c as e y o u n ee d to kn o w a b o u t t h e N a t ur o p a thi c
H ea lth St o r e 1 24 E a s t 5 9th S tr e e t C ity o f N e w Y o rk T h e b e s t foo d s t
, , .
{ “

in tr o d u c e th e F a st a s we ll a s t o b r e a k i t a r e th e r e w a iti n g f o r y o u .

A n d t h e ma n in c h a rg e c a n t e ll y o u mo r e a b o u t N a t u r a l Di e t in t en
“
“

mi nu t es th a n y o u c o u ld l e a rn fr o m b o o ks in a m o n th . R
H e r e a r e so me o f th e sp e c i a lti e s y o u ll di s co ve r at thi s S to r e !
”F
’

Wh o l e Wh e a t B r e a d Cr a ck e rs a n d Z wi e b a ck ! fr e sh swe e t a n d c ri s py ! ;
, , 0
N ut B u tt e r ! su it s s o me fo lk s b e tt e r th a n d a iry b u tt e r c o s t s l e ss an d
f /l
,

k e e p s fo r e v e r ! ; K n e ip p M a l t C o ff ee ! k n o w n t h e w o rld o v e r a s th e o n ly ‘

r ea l e q u iv a l e n t of o rdi n a ry c o ff e e w ith t h e c a ff e i n in ! ; Pl a s mo n ,

T r o p on S tr e n gth e n i n g S o u p a n d o th e r i nv a lid s fo o d s ; I mp o rt e d G e r
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ma n Ch o co l a t e s B e v e r a g e s a n d v a ri o us pr o d uc t s y o u h a ve t o t as t e to
,

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,

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o ut ; a n d l o t s m o r e g oo d thi ng s f o r t h e s i c k a n d w e ll y o un g a n d o l d , .

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, .

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,

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c l a r e d to b e a s m il e an d a p a ir o f s a n d a l s B o th to b e h a d a t t h e ”

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.

y o u g e t t h e s m il e a n yw a y .

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.

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. .

l e tt e r P e r s o na l t o M r L us t a n d g e t a r e ply dir e c t t o a ll y o u r q ues ”

ti o n s—if y o u h a v e a n y
.

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.

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wo rk o v e r th e ir sum s wh e n it is ti m e t o g o o ut a n d pl a y ma y e xp e c t
t o h a ve a h e a d a ch e If th a t s y o u—why t a k e a r ec es s L a u g h a n d f o r ’

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. .

g e t y o u ll se e c l e a r e r wh en y o u c o me b a c k t o y o ur s t udy o f L ife
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T H IN KIN G IS N T A L W A Y S F A TA L
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—th ou gh y o u migh t i nfe r s o fr o m th e t r en d o f c e rt a i n p a ss a g es in

thi s B o o k .

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’

pli e d with pi n e s ti c ks t o h a c k a t T h e h uma n b r a i n is lik e a s h a rp

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.

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di sco v e r s wh a t it s f o r T h e b e s t y o u c a n d o is to a sk h im pl e a s e m a k e
’

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We c a n t thi n k t o o muc h—w e c a n fe e l t o o littl e ; w e c a n t p h il o s o
.

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p h ize t oo m u c h — w e c a n l o v e t o o littl e ; w e c a n t l e a r n t o o m u c h — we
’

c a n liv e t o o littl e T o liv e a s f a s t a s w e l e a r n—thi s is t h e c rit e ri o n

.

f o r th e v a l u e o f o u r l e a r n i n g S u c c e s s is b ut k n o w i n g a n d d o i n g s o me.

o n e thi n g b e tt e r th a n a n y b o dy e l s e k n o w s it o r d o es it

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.

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.

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n es s . R a th e r th e m as t e ry o f a f e w I n d e e d th e e n tir e th e o ry a n d p r a c .

ti c e o f R e t u r n t o N a t u r e is pr e s e n t e d q u it e a d e q u a t e ly in th r e e wo rks
”

—th o s e o f B il z K n e ip p a nd J u s t T h o u sa n d s o f s u ff e r e r s fr o m a l l
, .

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t h e s e s y s t e ms S o th a t a w o rd o f d e s c ri p ti o n s e e ms n o t o ut o f p l a ce
. .

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’

,
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h i ms e lf a t h o m e b y th e s a me me t h o d s E xp l a in s a n d exe mp li fi e s S un . ,

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.
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, .

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A m illi o n c 0 p ie s a l r e a d y s o l d in E u r o p e
.

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’

o f s o ca ll e d c ivili z a ti o n—it i s n t p r o p e r t o g o w ith o u t c l o th e s e xce pt

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a t th e se a s h o r e a n d o n t h e s t a g e
-
.

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h as p l e n ty o f woo dl a n d a n d hill s ; t h e c l e a r e s t b r o o k y o u e v e r dr a n k
fr o m o r d a bb l e d in ; pl a c e s f o r Air B a th s ! p a rk s s e p a r a t e f o r me n a n d
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-

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-

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B ut s upp o se y o u d r a th e r e a t—so m e fo lk s w o u l d ; q uit e s e n s i b l e
.

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.
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o u t fr o m N e w Y o rk e v e ry S u n d a y j u s t t o r e v e l in t h e c o u n try n es s o f -

i t a l l —an d t o r es t f o r a fr es h w e e k s w o rk M a s sa g e B a th s a n d o th e r ’
.
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a ti o n .

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’

y o u r s umme r th a n a t th e N a t ur o p a t hi c H e a l t h H o m e B u tl e r N e w J e rs e y
Y e s th a t s t h e s p o t—y o u wo n t e v e r fo rg e t it o n ce y o u v e b e e n th e r e
, , .

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.
,

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a b l e in t h e h e a rt o f th e f o r e s t T e n t s f o r h os e w h o lik e c a m pi ng o ut
.

h o us e a c c o mmo d a ti o n s f o r th o s e w h o d o n D a ily i ns tr uc ti o n a n d ill u s ’

t r a t io n o f N a t u r a l H e a li n g in its v a ri o u s ph a ses— e s p e c i a lly th e J u s t

Sy s t e m o f S e lf H e a li n g Fi n e o pp o rt un ity f o r l o n g wa lks a n d N a t u r e
-
.

s t u dy O nly 4 0 m il e s fr o m N e w Y o rk a n d y e t a l l t h e w ild n e s s o f th e
.

d ee p r ece s s e s o f th e mo un t a i n n o o k P e o pl e w h o c o me s t a y Th os e
-
. .

w h o g o c o me a g a i n A s i ngl e vi s it w ill d o a ny b o dy go o d T h a t me a n s
. .

y ou .

Cir cu l a r s e n t fr e e ly Writ e th e N ew Y o rk o fii c e d u ri n g i t r
w n e
mth s—a ddr e s s B L us t
.

.
, 1 24 E as t 5 9th Str e e t N , ew Y o rk .

I mp o rt a nt N o t i c e — T h e fo r e g o i n g i n f o r m a ti o n s h o u ld n o t b e mis
.

t ak e n f o r a dvi c e N o b o dy a s ks y o u t o s t u dy N a t u r o p a thy t o b e li e v e
.
,

in it t o i n v e s tig a t e it s c l a i ms
, If y o u r e w i s e y o u w ill ; th a t s a l l
.
’ ’
.

Th o s e o f u s w h o h a v e c o me c l o s e to N a tu r e a r e b igg e r a n d b e tt e r ,

h e a lth i e r a n d h a ppi e r tr u e r a n d s a ne r a n d s u r e r o f t h e e t e r n a l v e riti e s

, ,
.

M a y y o u a l s o tri u mph ; a id e d e q u a lly b y t h e s o l ace o f N a t ur e t h e .

,

p o w e r o f T r uth an d th e i nspira ti on o f L ove

, .