Dr. Sniadach interview part 2

Dr. Sniadach: Strategies for True Health

.. many of today's fasters lack the constitutional wherewithal to deal with fasting as well as people could in earlier days.

He attributes that to degradation of the food supply and the increasing toxicity of today's drugs and today's therapies.

..it may take several generations to recover from the genetic destruction that we have created in ourselves.

Hygiene should be growing by leaps and bounds, and yet it's still relatively obscure, and I don't think that needs to be.

I'm all for being inclusive about the whole thing while, at the same time, holding out an ideal Hygiene as being the ultimate goal to achieve.

All of us in Hygiene feel that we want to really push, push, push. We have the missionary zeal.

Well, one's alive and one isn't. The difference is this life force we call nerve energy.

Sleep's something we chronically abuse in our culture.

Sleep does tremendous work of repair and revitalization of all of our systems, all of our organs and tissues and cells.

We can short-circuit our batteries very quickly with emotional ups and downs.

..meditation or prayer and similar practice .. has an enormous bearing on how our physical bodies function.

So, not only for health reasons but probably for a lot of psycho-social reasons as well, sexual activity should be intelligently limited.

I think there's certainly nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it from people who have been down that same road before.

And many times we pleasantly surprise ourselves with just what we are capable of doing.

Once you're able to practice it for 21 days, a behavior seems much easier to stick with.

Please share with us your favorite story or anecdote about Dr. Esser.: Dr. Esser was just wonderful about sharing his experience and his knowledge and wisdom about what he's seen over the years. He told me lots of stories and discussed lots of case histories about different folks over the years and what he has observed. He did make some intriguing comments about present-day fasting versus what he'd seen in the past, in the late 40s and early 50s. He thinks many of today's fasters lack the constitutional wherewithal to deal with fasting as well as people could in earlier days. He attributes that to degradation of the food supply and the increasing toxicity of today's drugs and today's therapies. Since people tend not to respond as well or cannot fast as long as they used to in the old days, Dr. Esser views that as a real insidious process going on, basically a genetic weakening of much of humanity.

And he feels very strongly about that. He feels as Shelton did and Vetrano does, that we have to get some of these essentials back on track, that we have to really get farming back up to speed in an organic, biodynamic way such that we're getting minerals back in our soils so the foods have what our bodies need. He believes strongly that people must sunbathe, must catch up on their rest and sleep. Those basic aspects. He feels very strongly about pure and straight Hygiene and that it really needs to be adhered to in order to reap the best benefits. He fears that it may take several generations to recover from the genetic destruction that we have created in ourselves. The increasing incidence of rare and bizarre symptoms and diseases bear him witness, I believe.
What about your job as Health Director at Shangri-La?: Regarding my job at Shangri-La in 94, well, it lasted about three months. The new owners gave lip service to Natural Hygiene and fasting essentially just to keep the business going; there was really no understanding or appreciation for what Hygiene was about and what it can do for people. So Shangri-La is going to be a somewhat-health-oriented resort and spa, with no reference to Natural Hygiene in the future. At least, finally, a definite direction has been set, though it is a direction that I don't want to be a part of. Doing it halfway was a huge disservice to the guests and their health, in my opinion. Enough of that, let's move on.
Judging from Health Science and recent conventions, the leadership of the ANHS has obviously decided to align itself with the high profile medical doctors like Ornish, McDougall, Klaper, and Bernard who preach a watered-down form of Natural Hygiene. In Dr. Shelton's last interview for the ANHS he stated as his final words for the readership, "I urge the necessity of maintaining Hygienic purity." Your comments, please.:         It's two sides of the same coin. Dr. Keki Sidhwa from England mentioned something to me at the 1992 ANHS convention in Washington D.C. He said, "Robert, you know, the fact of the matter is that every single human on this planet practices Natural Hygiene. It's just a matter of degree." I've been pondering that insight for the last couple of years and realizing the truth of it. I'm going to keep Dr. Sidhwa's point in mind in order to get across to as many people as possible, no matter where their beliefs are, that this thing we've come to know and love called Natural Hygiene is something that all of us do. All of us breathe air, all of us drink water, all of us get sun, all of us bathe, all these basics of Hygiene–all humans do them.

        There's just a much better way to approach each element if examined logically and carefully. Then it becomes clear what's the best, or at least a better way, to approach these areas of our lives. Hygiene shouldn't be this exclusive little family where there's a feeling that you can only be admitted if you're able to pass some theoretical line that says you're an 80% Hygienist and now you're allowed in the club. I don't know quite how to say it, but that seems to be the case now.

        Hygiene should be growing by leaps and bounds, and yet it's still relatively obscure, and I don't think that needs to be. Turning people on to the idea that they all practice this thing called Hygiene–that may open the door so people can wonder, "Well, what is it? And how does it relate to health? What are you talking about? What is this whole philosophy? What is this whole concept?" When people realize that everybody's a part of it, then they will probably be much more open to looking into it more deeply rather than it being an exclusive kind of thing where people are continually bickering over details. The key is to keep thinking and speaking about Natural Hygiene inclusively, always opening the door wider for more people to come in and join the party.

        So as far as what the ANHS is doing, again I think it's a good thing to be as inclusive as possible. We must always hold out, however, the desire to live and the favorable results of being as purely Hygienic as possible.

        That's how life is, we're continuously engaged in self-improvement or self-destruction. Heck, I'm not perfect, so I can't expect it from anyone else. But the point is that Hygiene in its purity will always be available and will always be held up as the highest standard to shoot for. At the same time, I need to be flexible enough to meet people at their own level and gradually bring them along to whatever level they wish to achieve.

        I think this inclusive attitude of bringing in any and all people, professional or otherwise who are interested, is a good thing. The tricky part is keep the professional ranks all in tune with basic tenets and philosophy so that we don't cause confusion. We definitely don't want to stifle inquiry and new thinking about hygienic principles. Still, we don't want to get embroiled in bickering about relatively trivial details. That's a quirky aspect of the human mind–we get hung up and point fingers over tiny details and differences–forgetting that we agree on 99.9% of the subject at hand. Some say that God is in the details; I think that God will take care of the details.

        If we work toward this goal of inclusiveness, the name Hygiene, representing a whole lifestyle philosophy, will become much more widely known for all the benefits it can achieve for humanity. Once people realize they're already practicing Hygiene, they can examine any particular part of their lifestyle more carefully. Then they can find a little better way to practice various elements of that Hygienic lifestyle. Using this model, everyone can feel a part; nobody needs to feel excluded; nobody needs to feel less than perfect. We thus drop all the negative connotations that come with that exclusive attitude.

        I see where Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, each on their own, are doing some projects that seem to be reaching out to many, many more people in a transitional way. The fact is, this is a wonderful, exciting time to be alive right now, especially to be involved in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health issues because millions and millions of people in this country are waking up to better ways of achieving health, of taking responsibility for their own health and getting on with it. Not relying so much on the experts but instead relying on their own intuition and their own body's signals–these sorts of things.

        So now's the time for Hygiene to reach out boldly to include as many people as possible in a program that gradually leads one along to get better and better at it all the time. Doesn't this make more sense than offering an exclusive club whose membership requirements include a radical and difficult change your life? So I'm all for being inclusive about the whole thing while, at the same time, holding out an ideal Hygiene as being the ultimate goal to achieve. I think there's room for both there.
How do you feel about the ANHS today? Is it meeting the needs of its members? Is it meeting the needs of Natural Hygiene?:         For the size of the ANHS and its present capabilities, I think they're doing a wonderful job. All of us in Hygiene feel that we want to really push, push, push. We have the missionary zeal, and we want to push hard to see about making it bigger and faster and louder, and everything else. I think Jim Lennon's doing a very good job right now at ANHS, although personally I would like to see the magazine about three times larger, including longer interviews, articles, discussions of principles, etc. Part of that has to do with the number of employees, advertising policy and all kinds of details.

        I don't have any input on the board or on any decision-making at this point so as a general member I'm happy to see a real high quality, professional magazine being put out, and hopefully as more and more people get involved–especially if we can get across this idea of being inclusive, of being part of Hygiene no matter where you are–we can then increase the membership tremendously. That'll allow the ANHS to put out a much bigger magazine, publish a lot more books, produce some top quality videos and audios, everything that goes with an outstanding educational outreach effort.

        Maybe I'll try to get an article or two in there on these concepts I'm talking about–the fact that all of us are practicing Hygiene to some degree or another, and maybe we can start something along those lines to really have an outreach push.
The concept of nerve energy I find fascinating, but I still don't really understand it. Please share your thoughts on the life force and what it is and how we can increase our stores of it in our bodies.:         This whole business of nerve energy can be a difficult one to grasp. Let's imagine someone who's just recently died. You have this body lying there that's no longer alive and right next to it let's say you or I are standing. What's the difference between the body that's on the table and you or I standing there? We both have the same parts and pieces. We have the same cells, the same organs and tissues, the same features. What's the difference? Well, one's alive and one isn't. The difference is this life force we call nerve energy. It's the animating life force within us that coordinates everything, directs everything, keeps all the living processes functioning, in harmony–trillions of cells working together.
        Some argue that it's based in the brain; others argue that it's based in higher consciousness in the universal mind–that it's living energy that permeates everything; some argue that it's just a cellular thing down to the mitochrondrial level. I think everybody's right. Nerve energy has aspects of each of these. That's what keeps the whole subject fun and interesting. We'll probably never figure it out. But it's something we all seem to want to have plenty of and want to learn how to have more of it.

        Dr. Ron Cridland at the 1993 ANHS convention did a real good job with his lectures on sleep and rest and how they are so vitally important for our bodies to regenerate and revitalize our stores of this stuff called nerve energy. Sleep does tremendous work of repair and revitalization of all of our systems, all of our organs and tissues and cells.

        Sleep's something we chronically abuse in our culture. I remember Dr. Stanley Bass's interview in H&B where he said that something to the tune of nine, ten, twelve hours of sleep per day is probably ideal. Give yourself plenty of good deep sleep in order to regenerate to your fullest capacity. If that becomes a regular part of your lifestyle, you'll find your own amount of nerve energy constantly regenerated and renewed to its peak levels. Sort of like filling up the gas tank to full every single night.

        Of course if you maintain good physical and mental and emotional poise throughout the day and keep track of what Dr. Tilden called nerve leaks–basically saying not to waste nerve energy, to always be somewhat aware of how you're using your mind, your thoughts, how you're using your physical body so as not to be wasting this vital thing called nerve energy–you'll find that your stores of it are always adequate to meet your needs for real action and desires in your life.

        Dr. Cinque talks a lot about that. I found one of his articles really well done where he said, "So you want more nerve energy? Well then, quit wasting it." He basically says, first of all, get the sleep you need to regenerate as much as possible; then be careful about how you waste your nerve energy during the day, especially in mental and emotional realms because we can short-circuit our batteries very quickly with emotional ups and downs. We must make sure we have plenty of reserves, and I think a Hygienic lifestyle is the best way to do that.

        Also, things we can use to help, such as meditation or prayer and similar practice in spiritual, mental, and emotional realms has an enormous bearing on how our physical bodies function. As you know, everything is utterly related. There is no separate mind, body, spirit thing. It's all one. We developed the words mind, body, and spirit to be able to talk about these aspects of our lives easier, but these words tend to confuse the whole issue because when we affect any of the above we affect all of them profoundly. So we need to think in terms of Unity as much as possible.
Speaking of nerve energy, please tell us more about Natural Hygiene and sex. How often should a serious Natural Hygienist engage in intercourse/ejaculation?:         Wow, that's a loaded question. [Laughs] No pun intended. [Long pause] Well, one's tempted to say, whenever the urge comes on then that's the time to do it, just like when the urge to sleep comes on that's the time to go to sleep; the urge comes that you're hungry, time to eat. Though every time the urge comes to have sex it's rarely easy to pull it off [laughs]... Wow, I have to watch my words here, huh?

        I don't really have much of an opinion on this. I know lower animals have definite periods of time every year or even every season when they are most reproductively responsive and receptive. The female's receptive, the male's responsive. We know how dogs go into heat, and each animal in nature seems to have a certain period of time when its reproductive instincts are really heightened. As you move up in complexity in the animal kingdom, into monkeys and primates and humans, that particular season of being sexually receptive seems to broaden. It's not so set in stone. It seems to spread out to such a degree that by the time we talk about humanity both males and females seem to be receptive and open to the idea just about any time they desire, any time they put their mind to it.

        As far as how often, I don't have a real concrete opinion there, though I do know that the sex act itself certainly uses a tremendous amount of nerve energy and if practiced indiscriminately can definitely sap one's vitality very quickly. So, not only for health reasons but probably for a lot of psycho-social reasons as well, sexual activity should be intelligently limited. Probably as much as possible so as it's not indiscriminately abused and our nerve energies thereby wasted to a tremendous degree. You know, save it for when you really have the time and opportunity to enjoy it the most.
I read an interesting albeit all-too-brief article by Dr. Bernarr Zovluck where he argues that essential minerals are lost in seminal emissions and that the body must therefore draw on its stores to produce more fluid. Excessive ejaculation therefore deletes necessary bodily reserves. He encourages injaculation and I hope to interview him in the near future to learn more about this fascinating subject. I've checked my limited medical sources here at home but haven't found anything that even tells me precisely what seminal fluid contains other than sperm and water. Comments?: Seminal fluid contains a lot of fructose as well as calcium, water, and some other alkaline minerals. I know prostatic fluid contains quite a bit of alkaline minerals. I believe the seminal vessel fluid is somewhat acidic and then the prostatic fluid makes that much more alkaline so the sperm can overcome the somewhat acidic environment of the vagina in order for the sperm to have a fighting chance to get to an egg. There're some pH matters that are going on, there're some minerals in the fluid. I think there's also a fair amount of zinc in ejaculate fluids.

So there might be something to the idea that we're losing essential minerals, especially zinc in seminal fluids. If one were to indulge in ejaculation a lot, then you probably would be losing a fair amount of these essential minerals and they would have to be made up in the diet. I don't know too much about it otherwise, but, again, it ties into the idea that if not indulged in indiscriminately I don't think it's much of a problem.
In his 1992 Health Science interview, Dr. Esser remarked that people have trouble with Natural Hygiene because they lack discipline. What techniques or methods do you recommend for building self-discipline?:         That's a big subject, so I'll just look at a couple of points. As you know, many things in our culture seems to be working bass-ackwards, with emphasis towards immediate sensory gratification rather than any sort of long-term training or discipline in order to reach higher goals. People seem satisfied with not improving themselves just so long as they have their senses immediately gratified. Many people fear facing their problems so they distract themselves and can easily become addicted to stimulating but destructive actions.

        I suspect that these fears of facing one's problems stem from how we were taught to deal with problems as children. So discipline obviously has a lot to do with how children are brought up. If the value of persisting toward a higher, nobler goal is instilled in children, especially through the actions and examples of the parents, kids will at least have an idea of the benefits that can be obtained by sticking true to a goal and seeing it through. A parent must also teach that making intelligent modifications or changes in reaching for a goal as circumstances dictate are important. But the fact that still sticking with a goal for the long-term will reap definite, great rewards rather than the incidental and minor rewards that come with quick fixes, that's a big start right there. If kids see that sort of thing regularly in their own families, that's a big step toward living sane lives as adults.

        And certainly as adults we can look into things like prayer and meditation and other ways to center and calm the mind and body. By centering, I mean to turn inwards and really touch inside yourself, to look at areas that you know where you're lacking, where you know that you could do better. In other words, to simply be honest with yourself. To tune in with yourself and not kid yourself. Be clear with yourself. "Okay, I'm slipping in this area, but I'm doing very well in this other area. Why do my relationships seem to always go down the tube? Or why do I keep eating ice cream?" Whatever the case is, first we have to identify the problem and then we can hopefully look inward a bit and start to see some of the core reasons why we're having trouble dealing with these problems. Don't kid yourself. Don't lie to yourself. It's like cheating at solitaire. What's the point?

        In solving any problem, first we have to figure out what the problem is and then we have to ask the right questions. Only then can we possibly get on with formulating some good answers and approaches toward getting to our higher goals. Though Hygiene certainly and correctly demands self-discipline and personal responsibility, we also need to know when to look to others who have been through similar situations or have knowledge we don't have. We need to know when to go asking for help. There's nothing wrong with that. Heck, we all need help with Hygiene as we improve our practice of it so I think there's certainly nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it from people who have been down that same road before. Sometimes we get caught up in feeling that we have to do everything ourselves.

        In building self-discipline, make your goals–maybe set a nice big goal to reach eventually–but for the near term, have short, small, easy-to-reach goals so that you can have some successes, can definitely hit some milestones. You can set your mind to something, make it relatively easy, and go ahead and achieve it and see what that feels like and realize it wasn't so hard after all. Then move on to another higher step and go for that one.

        My colleague–Dr. Carol Cole–she and I each spoke once a week at Dr. Esser's for six months, talking about Hygiene and various aspects of it. Carol dealt with mental, emotional and spiritual matters; I dealt mainly with the physical aspects.

        Carol and I talk about making twenty-one day commitments. Evidently some research suggests that 21 days is a good round figure for how long one needs to indulge in particular practices until they become sort of etched in to our brains such that they suddenly become much easier for our whole body and system, physiology and neurology, to deal with, to accept as a more positive action. Almost like a habit, I guess. So we suggest a lot of time that people make 21 day commitments for whatever goals they have in mind.

        Once you're able to practice it for 21 days, a behavior seems much easier to stick with. And 21 days isn't so long. Three weeks. Look at how many weeks you've been alive. Fifty-two weeks per year times however many years you've been alive so when you just make a new commitment for three weeks it's not that big of a deal. Try your own little experiment and see how you do.

        This 21 day commitment seems to work pretty well for a lot of people. When we work with people individually, we sit down and whip out a piece of pre-printed paper which we call a 21-day contract, and we actually have our clients write down what it is they want to achieve and basically how they want to go about it, what steps they're going to take. We make sure it's an achievable goal without too much difficulty, and then we both sign it to the effect that it's now a contract in force that says that for the next 21 days so and so will do such and such to reach a specific goal, and that we'll stay in contact every few days or so by phone or in person to make sure people are staying with their goal.

        Part of the deal is that they have to do this every day for 21 days. Susan Smith Jones talks about this a lot too, and she's had real good success with it. If people are able to stick with a behavior for those 21 days, many times it works out really well. If they don't stick with it for 21 days, if they slip up say on Day 9, then they have to start over again and go for 21 consecutive days. That seems to be the key. So any slip up along the way means you have to start over–even if it's Day 20, you have to start over. Little patterns like this, little actions like this, help to build self-discipline and help to teach people just what they're capable of. And many times we pleasantly surprise ourselves with just what we are capable of doing.

INDEX INTERVIEW
[Baltimore] [Health search] [Meeting Dr. Esser] [Internship with Dr. Esser in Florida]
Part 2 [Dr. Esser's views] [Shangri-la] [ANHS and Hygienic purity] [ANHS and member needs] [Nerve energy and sleep] [Nerve energy and sex] [Sex and body fluids] [Methods to build self-discipline]
Part 3 [Hygienic retreats and emotional support] [Fruit or vegetables] [Cheating and eating] [B12 deficiencies] [Dr. Esser's diet] [Eggs and cheese] [Food cravings] Recommended exercises] [Jogging or walking] [Sunshine or sunscreen] [Soaps and schampoos] [Dental hygiene] [Can fruit sugars damage the enamel] [Is chicken pox contagious]
Part 4 [AIDS and Chronic Fatigue Syndrom] [Immune system problems and fasting] [Spiritual visions while fasting] [Fasting and exercise] [Are short fasts enervating?] [Norman Walker and juices for healing] [Water fasting versus juice diets] [Enemas while fasting?] [How can the overstressed American slow down?] [Top ten book recommendations] [Alternative health confusion] [Keki Sidhwas detoxification routine] [Barley green supplements] [What supplements are best] [Usefulness of chiropractic, acupuncture and other therapies; muscle tension] [Hygiene, Christianity and wholistic thinking]

TRUE HEALTH FREEDOM
[Shelton and the Principles of Natural Hygiene] [Hanna and Somatics body awareness]
Part 2 [What is the science of Natural Hygiene?] [Natural Laws of Life] [Disastrous results of therapeutic intervention] [Is sickness inevitable? - No!] [Natural Hygiene Philosophy] [Basics - what are the ideal conditions for human life?] [Nutrition in a nutshell] [The perfect food for humans] [Elimination] [Drugs are toxic] [Is there a place for therapies?] [Pain is a warning alarm] [The remedy mentality]
Part 3 [Fasting - basic facts] [Appropriate intervention] [When is medical or surgical care necessary?] [Living wisdom] [Internal somatic awareness] [The Alexander method] [Somatics] [Somatics philosophy and theory] [Putting it all together] [Turning helpless frightened patients into happy non-patients]

SCHOOL OF NATURAL HYGIENE Dr. Sniadach is editor-in-chief for the new NATURAL HYGIENE COURSE, an updated, expanded edition of the original course by T.C. Fry. Click here for more info or contact Dr. Sniadach rwsniadach@transformationinst.com.

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