136 the rice diet renewal
hearts by letting go of unnecessary negative emotions, and heal
our minds by choosing to think positively, all of these acts give us a
greater sense of self - knowledge and ultimately truth, which comes
by way of the spirit.
What Ricers come to know and what I hope you are begin-
ning to feel and discover in the pages of this book is that the pri-
mary, essential, and supreme way that we understand ourselves
and thereby reach true healing is through our spiritual source.
Spirituality is the seeking of the sacred, the divine essence of who
we are. So whether or not you believe in God and are devoted to
a particular religion, all of us possess within ourselves a spirit, an
essence that connects us to one another, to the planet, and to the
Creative energy that exists throughout the Universe.
From my decades of facilitating and participating in soul - baring
groups, it is my experience that if we do not receive a big healthy
dose of this love, appreciation, and encouragement to truly be
ourselves at a young age, our sense of feeling wounded can run
deep. It seems that our health and our ability to fl ourish and actu-
alize our purpose largely depend on our desire to be healed and
our willingness to seek and be open to the loving Creative Force
within, the revelation or knowledge of our true identity. By desiring
to be healed and being open to this source of love within, we can
increasingly walk in our true purpose and consciously and habitu-
ally choose to love ourselves and others.
From the latest quantum physics fi ndings to the greatest and
most ancient spiritual truths and religious traditions, we are repeat-
edly given the same answers: that love and unity, the connection
with God, ourselves, and others — in fact, with everything — give
our lives value and a true sense of purpose and meaning. This con-
nection with love and God also literally heals beyond measure.
Dr. Larry Dossey, in his wonderful books Healing Words,
Reinventing Medicine , and Healing beyond the Body , has beauti-
fully described how we have viewed and practiced healing and has
identifi ed three eras of medicine. Era I, which began in the middle
of the nineteenth century, is based on concepts drawn from the
classical, mechanical, Newtonian concept of the Universe and is