---

12/7/01 - 1/16/02 Fast - 40-Day Fast

My first fast in many years began Friday, December 7, completely unplanned.

Why?

Lou & I returned 12/6 from a 3-week trip to Costa Rica (Nikken just opened there last month ... we're now in 29 countries & opening Switzerland by the time you read this!) & after walking the beaches, rain forests & jungles of CR for many days in shorts & Teva sandals, I began to notice a few marble-sized swollen areas on both my legs between knee & ankle. They were painful to touch & by the time of our return flight home, they turned purple, ulcerated & became ten very painful holes in my legs, making the 12-hr trip home rather uncomfortable.

We returned home to find the results of an unusually heavy snowstorm on our driveway: 18" of very wet, heavy snow compacted & frozen into a huge mass, complete with 30" hi ice berms where the county plows had pushed the snow from the street. It was well after 2 AM by the time Lou & I got chains on our plow truck & managed to clear enough room to get our car off the street.

By that time, I was experiencing a deep penetrating headache, general malaise, achy sore joints & muscles, congested sinuses & swelling & pain in the lymph nodes in my right groin area (somewhat irritated by a laptop that won't back up, a PalmV with all my notes of our last 3 weeks Nikken activity in Costa Rica that won't HotSync to the laptop, a cordless phone headset that's cutting out & six weeks worth of backed up work). I seemed to have an infinite number of options, two of which were:

1--seek the advice of a medical professional, who'd refer me to a specialist in exotic tropical parasites, who'd do tests & determine that a specific named critter had deposited eggs &/or toxins into my body resulting in the 8-12 leg lesions & I must immediately take X toxic drug into my body or face a horribly painful death or perhaps tell me I'm being eaten by a flesh-eating virus for which the only treatment is amputation of both legs at the knee or the virus will eat my body.

2--Lie down on my magnetic mattress & pillow beneath my far-infrared comforter, don my ElastoMag (magnetic + FIR) sleep mask, eat nothing but PiMag Living Water, impose upon Dr. Bernarr with an offer to pay him to consult with me as appropriate thru & beyond this fast & remain horizontal, meditating on the symptoms 'til they disappear.

I chose the second option & became horizontal for as much as seemed possible, given the fact that I was not only unable to plan for this fast & get my affairs in order before starting it, but returned home to all that additional work that must be completed ... sorry, folks; much of it simply won't get done.

Since so many loving & concerned friends took the time to express their love & concern about my health &/or dismay at my stupid way of dealing with it by sending suggestions & questions, I suspect many others would have done likewise but for concern about bothering me while healing or the quite correct thought that I'd likely not heed their suggestions anyhow.

Here are my attempts to answer the questions. Please accept my apology for not providing more complete answers earlier. During the fast I was attempting to keep eyes closed AMAP & avoid any unnecessary physical & mental activity.

However, none of these answers will likely make any sense outside the context of Natural Hygiene. Natural Hygiene is the label currently used to identify a concept that's older than all the remedy mentality, medicine, witchcraft approaches used for the last few thousand of years. It predates those primitive approaches to health by several million years & is the system used by every species on the planet except enlightened homo sapiens, who continues to kill himself trying to discover new toxins with which to poison himself into health.

Natural Hygiene is the idea that living things are self-regenerating, self-repairing, self-sustaining & are designed thru millions of years of infinite wisdom that resides in their every cell to attain & maintain optimum health & all that we need do is avoid the toxins & habits that destroy health & provide the requisites of heath (including pure water, clean air, food of our biological adaptation, sun, rest/sleep, activity, meaningful relationships, productive work, etc. -- & now Nikken's not only provided us with the most pristine water, but put a pair of additional requisites under our control: optimum magnetic & far-infrared energy!). Details on Natural Hygiene (& Nikken) at http://www.wynman.com.

1--The most common question: why fast? why now?

ANS: THE PROBLEM--Due to my decisions to poison myself for 30 years breathing dental toxins, to overeat processed & cooked non-foods for 45 years, eat large quantities of various drugs & megavitamin preparations for 20 years & to accompany Lou & Yvonne to commune with the Nikken prospects & sandflies of Costa Rica in November, I got myself into a condition where I was no use to me, nor to anyone else. My body responded to the protozoa that the infected sandflies injected into me by producing a condition described as mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis, which attracted my attention 12/7 with ten ugly blood & pus-filled holes on my lower legs which rapidly grew to 1/2" x 2" x 1/2" deep, preventing me from standing up without intense pain & dripping fluids on the carpet, then new lesions began appearing on my upper legs, back & arms, so that by Christmas, there were 85 of those itching, oozing painful lesions. This is not a fun condition to experience. When your people open their Nikken businesses in Costa Rica, suggest they wear long pants & boots in the jungle like the Ticos do, rather than prance around in sandals & shorts as a foolish Yankee dentist did. THE SOLUTION--The recommended MEDICAL "solution" is a 20-day series of antimony injections followed by a two to ten-month period of possible healing, followed by about 50 years to get the very toxic antimony out of the body, assuming one survives both the protozoa and the antimony poisoning. I suspect the rest of my life would be dedicated to eliminating all those toxins, repairing my liver & other organs from the toxins ... not the quality of life I'd choose. The REAL solution to this or any other health problem, is get out of the way & let the body heal. The body/mind is the only thing that can do the healing anyway & meaning, give the body a complete physiologic rest; let the it focus its energy on healing. Lie down, drink only water, no food.

PROGRESS--About day 35, some of the results of the body's healing from within became apparent. Most of the 85 lesions were healing at the surface, no new ones were appearing & the total count was about 60. The fast should have continued 'til the body signaled that it wanted food. Instead, I broke the fast January 16 after 40 days because of Lou's concern that she'd be accused of murder or at least of supervising my suicide. She still refuses to believe her thoughts & feelings & actions had anything to do with my prematurely breaking the fast! My weight dropped from the usual 160 to 112# & as of 2/16 it's about 143# & only about three of the remaining 15 lesions are actively draining & they're less than 1/2" in diameter & the other 70 have healed with bright gray-purple scars that are rather rapidly returning to the appearance of normal healthy epidermis. I'm looking forward to rebuilding with healthy tissue in the next few months with considerable very unaccustomed resistance training along with my usual aerobic activity. Exciting journey.

REASSURANCE--I did not go into this fast completely uninformed. I've been studying this stuff for 20 years, have a few experienced competent advisors in phone & email contact & in those 20 years I've gotten to know many of the top fasting practitioners around the world. I also have the finest support team on the planet, my best friend, wife & now nurse, Lou. Without her active support & help my recovery would not have been possible. I love you, Lou.

2--Many statements emailed to me started with "I don't know much about fasts but ...".

My simple definition: Fast = A complete physiological rest.

That means no digestion & assimilation, no gross physical activity, no visual activity; those things all take huge amounts of the body's energy better used during the fast for eliminating toxins & rebuilding the body's tissues.

So: Lie down on a KenkoPad & pillow (which also provides the ideal magnetic energy while the RubberThane provides ultimate comfort, wicking the moisture away from the body make the constant rolling to a dry place in the bed unnecessary) beneath a KenkoTherm Comforter (which provides precisely the correct amount of far-infrared emery) to meet the body's needs, drink only PiMag Living Water (which is the closest thing on this planet to the pristine water from unpolluted skies, fallen upon unpolluted rocks, running down unpolluted streams absorbing the earth's magnetic energy, the sun's infract-red energy & the trace minerals from the stream beds) and keep eyes close, beneath a magnetic sleep mask. That's it. The fast ends when the symptoms are gone or when real hunger (pleasant salivation for food) occurs.

NOTE: I'd strongly suggest that for any fast over two days that folks have supervision, either by phone, as I did, or by conducting the fast at a facility staffed by knowledgeable people (as far from a hospital or the home of a relative as possible!). DETAILS ON ALL THIS STUFF IN THE HEALTHFUL LIVING SECTION OF http://www.wynman.com.

3--Many friends asked "Why not consult a physician, specialist, parapsychologist, etc, so at least you know what you're dealing with?".

ANS: Exactly the question I'd have asked MY crazy friend if (s)he suggested a fast with an undiagnosed condition .... as recently as 20 years ago. 20 years of study makes it look quite different!

The direct answers are:

--costs a lot of time, money & effort

--involves dealing with several more unsupportive people who don't understand health & disease

--the diagnosis, according even to AMA, will be at least 40% inaccurate

--the diagnosis doesn't matter anyhow. Just as with advising people which Nikken technology to use; the diagnosis just doesn't matter. It's not the fast, the magnetics, the Living Water, etc. that do the healing, it's the body. We just need to quit poisoning the body & provide the requisites of health; clean air, pure water, food of our biological adaptation, etc. (there are 20+ listed at wynman.com).

I felt I was fighting for my life. My body was dealing with extremely powerful toxins, negative energy, whatever. I felt I needed to allow it to focus as much of its energy as possible on healing. Any energy spent communicating with minds that don't understand health to try to explain that additional toxins only prevent healing would be highly counter-productive. The body must eliminate the toxins and proceed with healing, regardless of the name some authority ascribes to the process. The parasites either leave when no longer needed or stay as symbiots.

The more appropriate question might be "Why get a diagnosis?" & I can only think of two reasons:

A--So I can say, "hey, look what my body can heal itself from without drugs, surgery, etc."

B--Possibly better prevent acquiring the condition in the future

Neither of those reasons were sufficient for me to make the effort to get a diagnosis in this case.

4--"Fasting won't kill parasites, why are you doing this?"

ANS: Correct, the fast, like the Nikken technologies, simply frees the body to do what's necessary; if that includes killing parasites, the body will do it ('tho by the 20th day of this fast, Lou & I were really wondering WHEN that would start happening!). The body even has a multitude of pharmaceutical factories quite capable of producing anything it needs, including many illegal drugs (don't tell the FDA, they'll ban humans .... as if they're not trying already).

5--Hi Bob, I woke up in the middle of the night worried about you! I don't know whether or not you are still fasting, but I have to put in my 2 cents here. If you think that fasting is making you healthier, you are WRONG! Yes, I agree that a short fast will cleanse the body but robbing the body of nutrients does NOT make it healthier. I once was told by a very wise doctor that in order to rid oneself of a disease, you must make the body as healthy as possible. Bob, by robbing your body of nutrients, you are not making your body healthier. You are weakening your body and making the healing process more difficult. You, being in the medical field, should know all this. You must have protein to rebuild tissue. You need to rebuild tissue. You need to make some changes and please do it quickly before you damage your body permanently. Please, please do the right thing here. We love you and we want you back in the limelight. So, please take action to build your body stronger and get this over with. It's 3:00 a.m. and I need to get back to bed.

ANS:Yes, I believed all that with all my heart as recently as 20 years ago. Many thanks for your loving support ... & for getting back to sleep.

I did not want to worry you & others any more than I had already, so I did not share with you the extent of the problem. It was very serious. About 15 of the larger lesions on my lower legs were up to 3/4" x 2" & up to 1/2" deep, exuding up to two tablespoons of thick blood-pus exudate per day (in addition to producing intense pain & profuse itching). Smaller lesions were appearing on my legs & arms each day & increasing in size each day, eventually numbering over 80. It felt like a life/death matter to me. I felt that my only chance was to focus as close to 100% of my body's energy on dealing with this problem and as close to 0% to any other functions (like maintaining muscle mass, locomotion, digestion, assimilation, metabolism, visual & mental activity, argument, etc. ... & certainly zero energy to fighting off additional toxins in the form of drugs, poultices, etc.). Therefore, the fast.--bob

6--Things I worry about for Bob-that are difficult if not impossible for the body to overcome on it's own is Sepsis, also if Bob's glands are involved-that leads to lots of highly toxic things in the lymphatic system- (not quite sepsis) and I am afraid that without some Western medical interventions he will take too long to pull through and too many residual effects internally that he may never get over.

any how I love you guys take care.

ANS: Many thanks for your thoughts & persistent support. I can sure understand your thinking. 15 years ago it was mine too.

--"Sepsis is really dangerous, don't mess with it. There are times when Western Medicine is essential & this is one of those times."

WOW, hadn't heard about that word since reading the history of Natural Hygiene when it was THE medical practice back in the era of Lincoln's war between the states (the wrong side won that one, too .. just made the government more powerful & the people less powerful)! According to the Internet, "Sepsis is a serious, severe illness caused by infection of the bloodstream. Illness is a result of toxins produced by bacteria, and the body's response to these toxins."

If that definition is correct, I'd agree, "don't mess with it" ... & don't interfere with it,'cause the definition says the body is already responding. Let the body respond rather than suppressing that response with drugs, etc.

7--And regarding your condition- I don't know how others react but to me you are doing this to yourself. It is not fun to read and in fact is sickening.

ANS: Of course. Our level of our health is always the result of what we do to ourselves.

8--Go to a Doctor for god's sake and start eating. Otherwise stop talking about it -- it sounds like a slow death to me and for what purpose?????? Who will you help doing this to yourself?

ANS: I felt the same way as recently as 20 years ago. 20 years of study, observation & practice have changed my paradigm I can only help others with health if I have it myself. One cannot give from empty pockets. If my body is toxic enough that it requires a long fast to eliminate those toxins, then so be it. For what purpose? to create a more healthful foundation to build a healthy body capable of maintaining me so that I can help others as a more effective Wellness Consultant.

9--Yes, Bob - what are the results of this change? Bodies have not changed in many thousands of years- so 20 is not very long. think clear thoughts

ANS:Natural Hygiene has been the way bodies have maintained optimum health for millions of years, since life appeared on earth. 20 years is quite a chunk of MY lifetime & part of it was spent unlearning the BS propagated by government & witchdoctors in the recent 5,000 years or so & learning how those bodies work & the power that the human mind-body has to maintain itself.

10--I will get bold again and suggest that you start eating.

ANS: My body will let me know when it wants food. It does this by producing a sensation called "hunger". One of the things I've come to understand is that most of us in "civilized" countries have never experienced true hunger! We've been taught that hunger is weakness, dizziness, light headedness, headache, tightness or discomfort in the stomach, fuzziness, fatigue, etc. None of those are hunger, they're symptoms of detoxification, of the body's natural eliminative processes & what the body is signaling us is "rest", not "eat". but we dump in food, which is toxic, even if it's real food, when the body doesn't need/want it, so the body must focus it's energy on eliminating this new toxin & takes it's effort off what it was dong & the "symptoms" disappear & we think, ah, I feel better, I must have needed that food ... the body has one more load of toxins to deal with, etc.

We live in a sick society.

Bob - I don't agree

ANS:20 years ago I wouldn't have either.--bob

11--Call the CDC. Any poisons have long since gone and if your immunity was up you should have "repelled" the parasites in a few days.

ANS: Sounds like you're speaking of something entirely different than what the literature calls mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis??

Anyhow, many thanks for your concern.

12--Now the disease is just running its course-if you live it will be miracle in my opinion. Dr. Tom and I are at loss to understand how the weight loss in such a thin person can facilitate healing. My heart is heavy for you Bob-and I know many others worry about you and your fasting so long.

ANS: Actually, a thin person's body does more healing, resorbing of tumors, correcting of defects (including whatever defect caused my body to fail to deal with these parasites the moment they were injected into my body, as Dr. Jim mentions below), etc. in long fasts than does a fat person's. With fat folks, once the metabolism switches over to the protein-sparing ketosis, a fat person's body can comfortably cruise along using all that fat for energy production & not get down to the serious business for months. Most of the fasting experts recommend that fat people dump the fat by eating lots of real food for a few months, THEN fast & if they don't do that & continue to eat processed, cooked, non-food, they'll simply re-acquire all the problems they're fasting to eliminate anyhow.

13--"[Bob's] ... body should have been able to handle the "assault" in the first place...that is, his immune system should have overcome the "invasion" of the bad guys/girls which it obviously did not."

ANS: Sure it did; it eliminated the symptoms & is rebuilding the severely damaged parts & is also taking the opportunity to eliminate lots old toxins.

No immune system will save us from the results of our own stupidity, like continuing to poison ourselves with the stuff mentioned above, or, in my case, insisting on prancing thru the Costa Rican rainforests & jungles in shorts & sandals ... 'tho I still don't understand why there are no lesions on my feet, they were quite exposed & much closer to the ground during our entire 18 days in the Costa Rican paradise.

However, your question about howcum my body didn't immediately wipe out the invaders the moment they were injected by the sandflies, bothers me 'cause I don't know. Perhaps because none of my ancestors going back millions of years likely ever visited Costa Rica nor an area with this particular parasite & therefore did not have the ready ability to create the chemistry or whatever to deal with it. Perhaps my body had to learn, then create the chem labs to do the job? And perhaps because my body is not functioning optimally because it's toxic due to the factors mentioned above ... or because it needs all that cooked, processed food & drugs that I've avoided since '90?

AND--Bob Proctor would say my mind/body was in a very negative vibration & therefore I attracted very negative energy to me. And that was very true. For lots of reasons I was in a very negative state preceding & during most of the Costa Rican trip ... depressed, low self-esteem, etc..

14--I do not know anything about fasting, but I presume by doing this, there will be no nutrients for the bad guys/girls to survive...but on the other hand, Bob's cells are also being deprived of nutrients that they need too...PiMag water alone does not give all the nutrients that his body needs...just the trace minerals.

ANS: The purpose of the fast is not to starve out the pathogens, just to provide body with an opportunity to heal. The purpose of the water is not to provide nutrients but to allow the body complete hydration so it can perform its miracles. Living Water just happens to be finest water available on the planet.

Incidentally, fasting is not a period where the body functions without food; just no food from outside the body. Normally, most of the body's energy comes from ADP directly from glucose. According to Dr. Alec Burton, of London & Sydney, Australia, who's likely conducted more fasts than any other living person (some of over 100 days), when the fast starts & glucose from food is unavailable, the body switches to glycolysis, using the glycogen stored in the liver & muscles to produce the glucose for the body's energy. In a couple days when that's nearly gone, the body switches to gluconeogenesis, breaking down its own protein to provide the glucose. Since eating its own protein is not a good idea, it quickly to switches to ketosis, which is fully in place by the 10-14th day of the fast, breaking down fatty acids & other nutrients in the body into ketones, which provide most of the energy for body functions during the remainder of the fast. When ketones are broken down for energy, the byproducts are CO2 & water, which is why people fasting usually need very little water. The brain & a few other organs need a small amount of glucose to function, so the gluconeogenesis process continues to use some protein during the fast.

He says at the point when the body has successfully converted from burning glucose to burning ketones, then the rebuilding, regeneration can proceed & minimal protein will be lost & that most of the benefit of the fast occurs after the 7th to 14th day. If that's true, it seems to make little sense to switch on & of the fast, forcing the body to go thru that 7-10 day process over & over.

15--"Why not use colloidal silver, Epsom salts, Watkin's Salve, homeopathic, herbal preparations, etc.? Have you tried any of the natural remedies--Lou recommended the Natural Walnut Oil sounded like a good idea to mme."

ANS: The remedy mentality is the same concept that's prevailed for thousands of years & that is poisoning us into degenerative disease. Just a variation of "medicine". The remedies suppress the symptoms & cause the body to focus on eliminating THEM rather than eliminating the cause of the problem & therefore drive the problem deeper into the body. By my definition, they're all drugs.

However, I did consent to the use of Tea Tree Oil 1/5/02. It's the remedy of choice amongst the Ticos for this condition. I was (& am) concerned about the "muco-" part of this disease process & the two large lesions on either side of my nasal septum. If they perforate the septum & extend to the skin, the process will leave permanent facial deformity, ending my dental & probably my Wellness Consultant careers & making life with other people rather difficult, which is why the condition is known as White Leprosy in endemic areas. I figured it would be OK to stop the local process in my nose even if it did drive the toxins to some other site. Lou also applied the oil to a large irritating lesion on my right elbow. My body did not enjoy the experience. It took two days to eliminate the gastric pain & evil taste/smell from my body ... & it seemed to have no effect on either of the lesions that were soaked with the oil for several hours, in fact the one on my arm was much slower healing than others nearby are.--bob

16--You know by now that Dr. Tom and I are convinced you have Leishmaniasis

ANS: I sure appreciate your concern & no, I did not know that you & Dr. Tom nor anyone else are convinced I have Leishmaniasis, so many thanks for letting me know. My very brief studies on the InterNet (there are over 3,000 references produced for Leishmaniasis on Yahoo) plus phone consultations with a parasitologist & others, conform your suspicion; our working diagnosis is mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis & there's an article from the Baylor U on the subject with gruesome pictures showing lesions similar to mine at http://www.wynman.com/fast.html.

Searching thru Yahoo for mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis, only 162 references appear, stating that the condition results from female Phlebotomus sandfly bites delivering Leishmania Brazilensis protozoa into the body. While Leishmaniasis is common in the tropical areas (there's presently an epidemic in Afghanistan) the mucocutaneous variety is rather rare & much more deadly. My chief concern thru most of the fast was that of permanent facial deformity which does not allow people to function in society without often-unsuccessful plastic surgery. It's called "white leprosy" & would permanently end my careers as dentist, Wellness Consultant & subject Lou to a life with a rather useless recluse; those are not possibilities I'd chose to live with. Thru most of the fast it looked like a race between my body's ability to stop the growth of the nasal lesions and the loss of nasal/facial tissue. After my unfortunate decision to break the fast prematurely, it was not until several days post-fast that it began to appear that the nasal lesions would heal.

17--and you need the miracles of Western medicine -- your body - as Lake Tahoe healthy that it is -- cannot do it alone-not without being destroyed itself.

ANS: Yes, that's the sort of confidence that Western Medicine inspires in the power of our bodies. THAT philosophy is destroying our society & our health. I sure understand your feelings, they were mine, just 20 years ago ... very sad. We've been taught that our bodies are all-stupid & all-powerless to take care of themselves without Western Medicine (ie, drugs [= poisons]), just as our minds are all-stupid & all-powerless to take care of ourselves without our benevolent government mandating & regulating our private lives ... now with a glorious police state ... and most of us believe that crap!!!.

18--Don't you dare die-we all count on you-and not just monetarily -- who would I have to argue with and get mad at if you go away!!!

ANS: I only know a few Natural Hygienist/Libertarians ... & none of 'em are interested in Nikken, so you'll have to find some other disagreeable bastard. I have faith you can do it.

19--And I guess I just am missing something-how does fasting more than 21 days help the body? Doesn't it need nourishment to use it's many defenses against these cellular invaders?

ANS: Some of the most beneficial healing occurs on longer fasts; resorption of tumors, cysts, growths, regeneration of tissue, replacement of scar tissue with healthy tissue, resolution of chronic problems, improvement in vision, hearing, etc., etc.. fasting is not living without nutrients; it's living without new nutrients from outside the body; it's relying on the body's stores of nutrients.

20--And how can one opinion be sufficient. Have you tried calling the CDC in Atlanta for their data base of physicians etc?

ANS: No. Fasting with eyes closed & minimal stress is incompatible with trying to educate medics about fasting. And it's not a matter of opinions, my decision to fast is based on what my body requests; we're not voting on it.

21--Finally I must say I am in awe of your single-mindedness and determination I just worry about your downline and all those folks who depend on you-being a martyr sounds very catholic to me -- have you converted?

ANS: I can't be useful to anyone without my health. My understanding of martyrs is that they become so by being injured by themselves or others, not by seeking & achieving optimum health & my understanding of catholocism is that it's death-oriented rather than health-oriented if what they teach is illustrated by what their people practice.

22--Why did you break the fast at 40 days, just because Christ & Moses fasted 40 days?

ANS: I didn't know they did that. My body's response to the "mucocutaneous Leishman protozoa" completely fooled me & all my fasting consultants. We figured it might take 21-28 days of fasting for the body to heal from the parasites AND be well on the way to eliminating all the stored toxins from decades of my abusive, toxic lifestyle (30 years of dental toxins, 50 years of "Standard American diet & Drugs, etc.) & to improving vision, energy level, skin health, etc., etc. In 40 days my body hadn't even completely healed from the protozoa (the literature says it takes 2-10 months for healing with their medical "care" -- as of 2/18/02, only 4 of the 85 -- 1/4" to 2" dripping holes in my body still remain & they're healing fairly rapidly, & my strength & the circumference measurements of arms, legs, etc. are about 3/4 of normal (up from 1/2 at end of fast) so I guess that's 95% healing so far).

Breaking the fast on the 40th day was probably premature & due mainly to the effects of Lou's concern about appearing to be supervising my death & her need to summon medical "help" if I became comatose. Since medics would not understand the fasting process nor the ketotic state which occurs after the first week or so ... medical intervention at that point usually causes death.

23--So BOBALOU what (other than losing 50 pounds that you couldn't afford to lose and 40 days of inactivity) did you "discover?" "accomplish?" "reveal?" from you 40 days of bed and water???

ANS: I didn't do the fast to "discover?" "accomplish?" "reveal?" anything; just to get out of the way & let my body heal.

However, I did learn at least one thing in this experience: I can withstand considerably more pain & discomfort than I thought possible, largely thru the affirmation: "I willingly, lovingly & and enduringly accept the pain as God's love." (an interesting affirmation coming from one whose friends perceive as an atheist!).

And, I did clarify, reaffirm & integrate several facts I was already aware of:

--Lou's support & love

--the body's ability to heal, regenerate, repair

--validity of Natural Hygiene, Instinctive Living (more details than you'd ever want at http://www.wynman.com/links7.html)

--ignorance of 99.99% of humans of health concepts

--I'm not much needed on this planet; everything carried on just fine for those 40 days without me

--I must act on my thoughts/feelings (eg, stick with my decisions to NOT go to Costa Rica or to continue my fast rather than breaking it prematurely on the 40th day for the sake of my relationship with Lou ... relationships & organizations amongst humans are usually created to serve the humans involved & almost always become entities requiring the humans to serve them)

--fasting is not difficult (the intense pain I experienced was unrelated to the fasting process), just very boring.

I also learned lots of stuff unrelated to the fast that I'd have learned anyway on the Net, etc.

24--What has been the financial impact of laying around with eyes closed while your weight dropped to 112#, then doing very limited activity for another 30-40 days?

ANS: We're grateful for our Nikken Opportunity. No, we've not replaced our $20K/month dental income yet, but if we were still trading time for money, consider this: in order to earn that $20K/mo, we needed to produce & collect $50K in order to pay $30K in expenses. If we were to spend 18 days in Costa Rica, then 40 days fasting, then 40 days rebuilding my body, not only would our $20K/mo income have stopped, but also our $50K/mo production. But our $30K/mo expenses would have marched merrily onward .... & not being available for emergencies, etc. would have cost us part of our client base. So returning from three months absence, we'd be faced with the loss of those three month's production ($150K) meaning we'd be not three months of income behind, but over seven months. So, even if we received zero income from our Nikken business, we're $150K ahead of our trading-time-for-money business ... & actually, our Nikken income increased a bit while we were away from it!

The Fast 12/15/02 - 1/24/03

Because I broke the previous winter fast prematurely before the detox process was complete, I decided it was necessary to let my body complete the process, so 12/15/02, I began a similar fast, the only differences being that now Optimized Living Water was available & after day 16, I decided to let one of our PalmMags run near my head & near any body part that experienced any symptom for the duration of the fast on the theory that an energy frequency resonating near the Schumann 7.8 hertz frequency would provide energy my body needed to heal & rebuild.

Decision time:

1--Let the body heal (complete physiological rest--fast)

2--Continue to use the body in its half-functional state (probable course 'til spring when better fasting weather happens -- more sun for body, less snow to move)

3--Trade in the body for whatever is the next step

Well ... I decided on #1 & started 12/16/02.

EXPECTED BENEFITS FOR THE 12/16/02 FAST:

1--Elimination of need of dermal drainage, especially right subscapular lesion
2--Return of full-time energy that will allow me to commit to Nikken activity & honor those commitments. The energy level my body has been experiencing since early 2001 is
roughly half what it should be & I feel the other half of the energy is being used for detox tasks. This leaves me rather unfit for life as husband, provider, business-builder,
home finisher, creator, writer, etc..
3--Appearance of radiant health that will cause others to inquire about & pursue the 5 Pillars of Health LifeStyle
4--Resolution of skin problems that have plagued me for 40 years
5--Improved vision so that reading glasses are not necessary
6--Improved hearing so that Lou does not have to repeat things for me
7--Decreased tinnitus
8--Improved memory, clarity of thought & speech
9--Pink toenails

This one's a bit different from the 40-day fast last winter:

1--No pain, no drainage, so:

A--Rest/sleep is comfortable & healthful rather than the worst experience of my life last year.

B--I'm not restricted by intense pain to remaining horizontal 24-7, so this is more of an "instinctive fast" with regards to activity. When it becomes what I consider intolerable to lie there with eyes closed while my mind races over all the stuff I feel I should be doing to be a responsible human, I get up, stand in front of the computer & work pleasantly 'til my body is again comfortable to be horizontal with eyes closed. The energy levels & feelings vary, so I'm averaging about 11 hours of horizontal sleep/rest/day & on the sunny days (so far 7 out of 31 & it looks like several more coming up, I spend from 11:30 to 2:30 (when the sun streams thru open double doors onto our living room floor) in full-body sunlight, horizontal with eyes closed. Those hours are the most pleasant in memory!

2--In consideration of Dr. Batmangheldij, author of "Your Body's Many Cries for Water", & a few others who've convinced me that salt (real sea salt, not the chemical crap sold as "Table Salt" in grocery stores) is perhaps the second greatest need of the human body after quality water ... plus the fact that I broke my 40-day fast prematurely because of the body's uncontrollable need of salt. Therefore this time, just before going to sleep, I place a few grains of coarse Celtic Sea Salt on my tongue (tastes great, by the way, 'til I continue to add more & I get a definite stop, so it seems to meet Instincto quality). This might be part of the reason that I've not lost as much weight & I feel & look much better on this fast & am far more comfortable. I'm even thinking that this one might account for part of the reason so many natural Hygienists are sunken, thin, weak, sick & weird-looking. We may be simply dehydrated due to salt deficiency even 'tho we're eating 10-12# of water a day from our hi-water-content foods!

3--I'm ingesting deep sea minerals (Coral Calcium--Health Thru Nutrition (HTN) at (800) 765-0140.) You may use our ID #68713 to order. Yes, it's a network distribution company & I'm no longer surprised to find that the best products are being marketed that way. it is the most equitable, moral, ethical & effective way to get stuff from producer to user & over 70% of goods & services in Japan are distributed that way & ion this country we're heading in the same direction, now lead by companies like Sprint, Coca Cola, etc.) this time in an effort to emulate the "glacial milk" that is the water used by those who dwell near glaciers. I don't think my body needs to piss away minerals while repairing.

4--I suck on a few disks of cassia every 3-4 days due to the extremely unpleasant post-fast problems with blocked intestinal tract resulting in prolapsed rectum that took several weeks to recover from last winter. My body seems to maintain just enough motility in response to the cassia to prevent that problem this time.

5--OPTIMIZED PiMag Living Water this time, since the Optimizer was introduced after last year's fast. It is truly the smoothest most energy-giving water I've ever experienced ... http://www.5pillars.com/imagination/#water!

PROGRESS OF FAST--I didn't make lots of notes about pulse, blood pressure, weight, etc.. Just these brief notes:

12/16-18--My body did not want to make the switch from glucose to protein metabolism--very strong signals for fruit

12/19-24--very low energy, lots of sleep--difficult to move

12/23--persistent assymptomatic hoarseness of voice that I'd had since inhaling two weeks worth of cedar sawdust in August spontaneously disappeared & has not returned as of 1/31/03--weight 154# (down 10# in 9 days)

12/25 (Christmas)--lots of energy--x-c skied an hour, sat with family most of day talking & socializing, lots of computer activity (up 16 hrs without fatigue!?!)

12/26--6 hr trip to visit Mon on her Birthday ... good thing we went, since she died at age 93 before my fast was completed

12/27-30--energy lasts 1.5-2 hrs, then body wants rest for about two hours, etc.--cycle continues 24 hr/day ... strange way to live--weight 142#

1/2--first day it's comfortable to lie in bed full time

1/4--Another trip to Mom's place--moved her furniture into storage, not exactly approved fasting activity--142#

1/9--Mom died--137#

1/17--Phone consultation with Dr. Goldhamer who expressed doubts that I was accomplishing anything with the extended fast ... no visible results (I'm assuming that means the healing/detox work was simply progressing on internal problems without visible change on the exterior)--133#


BREAKING THE FAST: 1/24/03--got bored & decided to break the fast because two of our local business builders are going like crazy & none of 'em drive at night & I want to take them a Wellness Preview 70 miles away via RV. Broke fast with six ugly, black way-past-ripe bananas (nearly immediate instinctive stops on all other foods I sampled?!)--very normal bowel movement (first since a small normal movement at mid-fast)--138# (immediate 5# weight gain after putting in 5# of food to a rather empty GI tract)

1/26--Deep depression, frustration with my mental weakness & regrets that I should have continued the fast & allowed the body to continue its detox--I forgive myself for all that stuff & commit to get on with life.

1/31--report to M2M friends--wt 143#

Weight 12/15/02--165# (at 5' 10"); weight 1/24/03 (end of fast)--132#; weight 1/31/03--143#; goal--175# with increased muscle tissue via the Total Gym program (bought one on eBay during the fast & have started with the Beginners' Program, now phasing into the Intermediate Program ... we bought the videos & Flip Chart that the Total Gym company sells)

I've sure noticed one cool thing in eating today: My body really recovered some instinct. EVERY food gives an Instinctive stop today within a reasonable time, convincing me that humans really can live that way & perhaps all our food ain't fude as I thought. Fascinating! I know EXACTLY when the body wants & doesn't want any specific real food, what to eat & when to quit eating!

1/26/03--I think that so far that's the greatest benefit of the fast I've noticed. So clear are Instinctive stops, that I'm actually paying attention to them. I'll eat 3/4 of an orange or 1/3 of an avocado & actually STOP eating & wrap the rest &put it away & within a few hours or whatever, it's again delicious! I've NEVER done that; always eaten a few bites ... or a few oranges beyond the stop. I believe I'm actually conquering my life-time gluttony this time. Exciting possibilities.

Lou & I are both following the LifeStyle Program now. After conferring with a few Natural Hygiene friends, I've adjusted the point system to reflect my body's needs & it will work well (details below).

THOUGHTS ON BREAKING THE FAST--MUCH easier than last year:

1--Absolutely NO uncontrollable hunger (body evidenced very little hunger for first few days post-fast ... full huger returned by 1/27 ... but easily mediated by instinct)

2--NO GI blockages; when I resumed eating, intestinal activity simply resumed normally. Last year was a many-day project to get the dehydrated remains of intestinal contents that had remained in place for the entire 40-day fast. This time, there was no such problem.

I attribute the ease of this fast compared to last winter to

1--Full hydration of all cells for the entire fast due to the Optimized PiMag Living Water. This stuff is truly remarkable & now, after living on nothing else for 40 days, it seems to get smoother & every day, further contributing to my ability to overcome the gluttony because it's so inviting to drink rather than assuming my thirst feeling is hunger instead.

2--The addition of a few grains of coarse ground Celtic Sea Salt on my tongue before going to sleep each time.

3--addition of a daily bag of Coral Calcium sand to simulate , with the Living Water, the "glacial milk" that fasting folks drink when available. I think that it's not necessary to become mineral-depleted during a fast.

4--Addition of sucking on a few cassia disks every 3-4 days. I believe the body used this exposure to maintain enough GI motility to prevent all the elimination problems at fast-end.

(feel free to label this period a salt, coral calcium, cassia diet rather than a fast ... I don't)

FUTURE: I intend NEVER to need another long fast. I intensely do NOT enjoy laying around doing nothing for long periods while pissing away muscle mass. Life is way too full of beautiful things to do. I resolve to end the gluttony which I now believe to be my worst former health habit, along with over-work/under-sleep, which I'm also committed to eliminating now.

---------------
B--Questions/Answers

Oh my goodness -- and just why did you decide to do this Dr Bob? --Jan

Jan--For me, it's just BS (Belief System, of course). As I just wrote to a concerned friend, "the "why" is that my belief system, thru a 20-year process of un-mis-education & re-education, is now based on the concept that the body is self-generating, self-regenerating, self-healing, self-repairing & all we need do is 1--quit poisoning it & 2--provide the requisites of health.

To allow the body to devote as much as possible of it's energy to healing & re-generation, give it a complete physiologic rest, free of
as much activity as possible, including the processes of digestion, assimilation, etc., which consume huge amounts of energy. I SHOULD be horizontal in our sleep system with eyes close 24/7, which I was during the 40-day fast last winter, but this time, not being in any pain when I stand up, I end up being overcome with boredom & do this about 10-12 hr a day instead.

If you "really" need to know, there's probably more info than you likely want by clicking the "Healthful Living" sections. Enjoy."

Are you taking Nikken Nutritionals? --Jan

Jan--During the 40-day fast last winter, I took nothing but PiMag Living Water. this time, we have Optimized Living water & I put a few
grains of Celtic sea salt on my tongue a couple times of day on the advice of Dr. Batmanghelidj & I'm enriching the Living Water this time with coral calcium to simulate the glacial milk" that seems so beneficial to the mountain-dwellers near glaciers. As I just wrote to that same friend: " I use the coral calcium 'cause it's the same principal as our deep sea minerals, all processed thru living organisms so they're ionic, organic rather than the inorganic elemental minerals dug from the earth. I suspect the coral calcium, basically from the same source as Nikken's, also contains all those trace minerals.--bob

Do you have lots of weight to release? --Jan

Jan--No, I'm comfortable at 165#, my weight 12/15. My weight is now 137# & I look forward to building it back with healthy bone, muscle & connective tissue + a healthy amount of fat when the body dictates the fast be stopped.--bob

Is Lou doing it too? --Jan

Jan--No. Lou's normal & leads a normal life.--bob

Me and my prayers are with you!--Jan

Jan--Many thanks!--bob

How do you get anybody to fast for 40 days? I can't even get my clients to fast for 5 days! -- Dr. Denise

Dr. Denise--With normal people, they've gotta be on the edge of death, having tried poisoning themselves into health by every known "therapy" before they'll considering letting their bodies heal.

For me, it's just BS (Belief System, of course)--bob.

Bob W, how much water do you drink each day during your fast?--Joy

Joy--Whatever the body wants. During the 40-day fast it varied from a half cup to a gallon & probably averaged about a pint. With this one, with a few grains of Celtic Sea Salt on my tongue just before going to sleep each time ... & Optimized Living Water, which is an amazing improvement over even the PiMag Living water available last year I'm drinking between a pint & a gallon & probably averaging about a quart & a half. I believe I was seriously dehydrated the first time. By this time last fast, my weight had dropped from 165 to about 115 & this time it's dropped from 165 to about 133!--bob

I water fasted today and am thinking about adding the salt at some point. I'm not sure how long I'll fast, since I just fasted last month.

What is a prolapsed rectum and how did you know that's what you had?--bob

Joy--That's when the part of the rectum that connects to the anus inverts itself & emerges thru the anus, so it's rather easy to know about & not something I care to experience again.--bob

I very much admire your being able to repeat that fasting experiencing again! Has anyone else in the world ever done this by accident or design and survived? Will this be an annual event or do you have some other future fasting schedule?--Walt

Walt--People have successfully fasted repeatedly well beyond 90 days. The longest I know of was a rather corpulent fellow who fasted on water only for 366 days. As far as I know every animal on the planet fasts to heal, except of course, animals under human control, where we continue to poison them, blocking the healing process.

No, it will definitely NOT be an annual event with me. I do not enjoy it. Last year, due to the dripping, itching, intensely painful multiple large holes in my body, it was the most excruciatingly painful experience of my life. This time it's just very boring. I do not like doing nothing (like now I'm supposed to be horizontal with eyes closed & I'm preferring to do this)--bob

Have you ever thought of sharing this experience by Book, Internet, Network or Mass media? I really never ask you for your why in Nikken and assumed it was to help people rather than the current activity as a "Business Activity."

If for some reason it was remotely Business then I do believe that you are sitting on a Gold Mine! My very best regards--Walt.

Walt--Many thanks. My fasting experiences are posted in the Healthful Living section of www.wynman.com free for anyone interested. There are plenty of books about fasting far more interesting than my soggy tale ... & I thank you for your kind words. My purpose, mission, goals are also on that site somewhere. My purpose is to facilitate the perpetuation of what I think is the most noble, interesting experiment in the known universe: humanity ... thru rejuvenation & migration. My mission is to use the Nikken Opportunity to achieve the growth I'll need in all five of the pillars of health in order to help achieve my purpose.--bob

C. Celtic Sea Salt, Water, etc.--

Interesting, this just arrived by email this morn, stating exactly what a few of us had been discussing concerning my decision to put a few coarse grains of Celtic Sea Salt on my tongue before going to sleep each time & the difference it's made with this fast compared to last winter's fast (egg, wt loss 32 pounds as of today, the 38th day, compared with of 52 pounds last winter after 38 days). That extra 20# is not all water & I can climb stairs a lot quicker than last year after 38 days. Could have nothing to do with the salt; perhaps my body just had a 20# heavier burden of toxic tissue to dump. But I think I was dehydrated during last year's fast & I think it was due to deficiency of salt to balance the intracellular water content. (MY BS -- Belief System -- a year ago, before listening to Dr. Batman, was that salt was a toxic drug.)

Anyhow, here's this morning's email ... & I do strongly recommend the two CD's or audio tapes Joan (our friend who created & operates Global-Wellness for us) mentions. Enjoy! [my two comments in brackets--rw]:

"This email is about the importance of drinking at least 8 glasses of water WITH sea salt - every day !!!!!

I urge you to check out http://www.water.com/ and order the tapes or CD's by Dr. IF. Batmanghelidj ("YOUR BODY'S MANY CRIES FOR WATER") [I still prefer audio tapes, available at http://www.water.com/audios.htm--rw] He is brilliant as he discusses each ailment or disease and how they have been completely cured - asthma, allergies, lupus, back pain, arthritis, fatigue, even CANCER -- ANY pain in your body.!!!

Order his CD or tapes and listen to them over and over. I play the CD every day in my car. There is hardly a disease or an ache or pain that water and sea salt does not cure - most almost immediately.!!! I learn something new every time I listen. It has changed my life. I went skiing this week for the first time since I broke my legs in my car accident. I skied great, but when I got out of my car in Amherst I could barely walk. I immediately drank 3 or 4 glasses of water with sea salt and within minutes ALL the pain was gone!!!!!

You will find it hard to believe that just water and sea salt could change your life so quickly for the better. I feel like a completely new person. And that is pretty good at 72 years old. ;-)) It all makes sense when you think that we originally came from the sea.

You will love the tapes, but you can also simply buy some Sea Salt at a health food store, fill 8 glasses with water - I use PiMag water - and sea salt every day, and make sure you drink them!!! Here is the info:

[Lou & I use OPTIMIZED PiMag Living Water & it truly makes a huge difference as far as hydrating cells ... as well as taste. I don't put the salt in the water, just put a few grains ... by sticking my tongue to the surface of the salt ... & often repeat as long as it tastes great -- I soon get an instinctive stop, letting me know that it's real food & that my body's had enough of it -- I'm told that most health food store "Sea Salt" is just as toxic for us as the junk sold as "table salt" in grocery stores & it is necessary to buy "Celtic Sea Salt". We got ours at Nature's First Law,]