Review Of Cleansing And Fasting Literature
One of the books that was greatly helpful in writing this course was Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1988) by Richard Anderson. Richard Anderson, N.D., N.M.D., has dedicated much time and effort toward finding herbs that effectively help the body in detoxifying itself. He has designed an intestinal cleanse based on his research and personal experiences called the Arise And Shine Cleanse. This book addresses the need for general cleanses and specifically why intestinal cleanses are highly important. It outlines the stages of the Arise And Shine Cleanse, cleansing reactions that often occur, and how to best deal with such reactions. Dr. Anderson is a highly motivating author who shares his personal experiences of cleansing. Included in this book are also many testimonials of those who have undergone the Arise And Shine Cleanse and the many benefits that they have experienced from doing so.
A wonderful book that focuses on food as medicine is The Food Pharmacy (1998). Author Jean Carper emphasizes the healing role that food can have and shows how pharmaceutical drugs have taken over as the mainstream source of medicine. Included in this book are many types of food and their medicinal values. It is easy to use as a reference book or for inspiration on using food and herbs instead of pharmaceutical drugs.
The book Conscious Eating (2000) by Gabriel Cousens has information on the raw food diet, including many wonderful recipes that can make raw food much more appetizing for cooked food eaters. Gabriel Cousens received his M.D. degree in 1969 and started teaching meditation in 1973. He studied with Swami Muktananda Paramahansa in India and became a certified Siddha Meditation teacher. Gabriel Cousens felt drawn to spread knowledge of raw food after spending time with Swami Muktananda Paramahansa and began writing books on spiritual eating and raw food. His life work also includes teaching at the Tree of Life center, which is a vegan raw food school and retreat center.
Another book that I used for this course was Gabriel Cousens book Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine (2003). This is also a helpful book for raw food information. It addresses the cycle of chronic disease, foods for optimal health, and outlines phases that one can undergo in switching from a cooked diet to one that is made up of raw foods. The second half of the book gives many raw food recipes, written by the chefs at Gabriel Cousens’ center called the Tree of Life.
Gabriel Cousens also wrote a book called Spiritual Nutrition And The Rainbow Diet (1986). This book explores the chakra system and a way of eating called the rainbow diet, which is designed to enhance the functioning of the chakras. There is a large section of this book on fasting, and Gabriel Cousens shares his experiences with a forty-day spiritual fast. Another part of this book that I found helpful is on spiritual nutrition and its effects on the mind.
Elson M. Hass, M.D. wrote the book The Detox Diet (1996). Dr. Hass has focused on detoxification as a path of healing since 1975. He has helped many clients reach higher levels of health. In his book The Detox Diet, specific addictions are addressed by looking at the symptoms and risks of overuse. This book gives specific cleanses for each type of addiction, which include sugar, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and chemicals. It also talks about ways to decrease one’s need for detoxification by creating a balanced diet that corresponds to the cycles in nature.
Paul Pitchford wrote a book called Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition (2002). This book merges traditional Asian dietary healing methods with modern nutrition. It covers nutritional guidelines and recommendations for ways to transition between diets. This book also explores how one can use the Chinese system of healing in one’s diet and specific combinations of foods to help with diseases. Many recipes are included from cultures around the world. Paul Pitchford encourages people to move toward a vegan diet by learning nutritional information and creating a personalized diet through Chinese and Ayurvedic methods of healing.
Another book, which focuses on environmental toxins, is Detox (1984) by Phyllis Saifer and Merla Zellerbach. Saifer and Zellerbach offer many examples of toxins that can exist in one’s life and outline the general types of toxins to help people become more aware of them. They furthermore give a general detoxification program that can help one’s body to be more resistant towards toxins.
The Essene Gospel Of Peace (1981) is a book of Jesus’ teachings as recorded by John, a disciple of Jesus. This book was translated and edited by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely. It contains approximately one third of the information from manuscripts written in Aramaic, which exist in the Secret Archives of the Vatican and from those written in old Slavonic, kept in the Royal Archives of the Habsburgs. The Essene Gospel of Peace, offers another version of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus calls on humans to cleanse themselves and to eat raw foods in order to stay pure. There are many beautiful metaphors and teachings in this inspirational work.
Edmond Bordeaux Szekely translated and edited the second part of the Aramaic and Slavonic texts as well. Szekely compiled these texts into The Essene Gospel Of Peace, Book Two (1981). Coupled with beautiful pictures, this is another highly interesting text. This book contains the Ten Commandments by Moses, the vision of Enoch, excerpts from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and fragments from the Essene Book of Revelations. The Essene path is one that embraces three paths of truth; these are the paths of consciousness, nature, and the accumulation of wisdom from past generations.
A book containing much knowledge from yoga traditions is The Sivananda Companion To Yoga (1983). Swami Vishnu Devananda, a disciple of Swami Sivananda, was sent to the West in order to spread the knowledge of yoga. During this time, Swami Vishnu Devananda set up yoga centers throughout the United States. Written by one such center, called the Sivananda Yoga Center, this book offers information on the eight limbs of yoga. It furthermore gives several hatha yoga sessions with pictures and directions that make them easy to follow. There are relaxation techniques, breathing techniques, and meditations in this book. Part of the path of yoga is one’s diet, so this is addressed as well. Cleansing routines are given, which can be helpful as complimentary practices to cleansing or fasting programs. In his own words, Swami Vishnu Devananda says in the Foreword, “…I would like to tell you that Yoga is not a theory but a practical way of life. If you have never tasted honey, no matter how often I tell you that honey is good for you, you won’t understand until you try it. Put Yoga into practice and you will see the benefit yourself. This book will help you to get started and serve as a companion and inspiration along the way.” (Foreword)
The final book that I used in writing this course was one written by Michael van Straten called Super Detox (2003). This book gives questions that we can ask ourselves to see whether we are in need of detoxification. Kitchen remedies for the skin, hair, nails, and hands are included. It also shows several detoxification programs of increasing length, which start at a twenty-four hour cleanse. Super Detox encourages readers to think positively, perform exercise, and rest well. This is a book full of information and set up in a way that is pleasing to the eyes, with colors, pictures, and diagrams.