4. Questions & Answers

It seems to me that holding group meetings and giving lectures would take up a lot of time. Do you think the time spent in such activities is worth all the effort and expense?

Definitely! I say so for several reasons. Practitioners who keep to themselves will soon have no clients, for one thing. For another, they will become stale. They will not be in tune, as we say, with clients' needs as well as when they meet frequently with clients in group meetings and also when they have contact with the public. Group and other public meetings provide a time for the exchange of ideas, to hear other points of view, to learn what is going on in the community, to keep abreast of developments. Additionally, it is interesting how often your words spoken perhaps a year or more ago will remain in the minds of those who heard you speak and cause some persons to seek you out when need arises.

I have a client who is quite elderly, in her late sixties; she is frightened of fasting. What would you suggest as a possible procedure for me to use in handling her case?

Each client is different, of course. However, with such timid and uninformed clients, I would not insist on fasting unless the condition is so far advanced as to require it. But, even then, I think it advisable to take some time, if at all possible, to teach the client about fasting, to provide study materials about fasting, and lay the groundwork which might cause greater willingness to fast.
Sometimes, too, we are called upon to use alternative methods, such as a 24-hour or a 36-hour fast followed by mono or duo meals which place limited stress on the digestive organs and conserve energy resources.
I think we have to remember Alexis Carrel's statement that the mind and body are inextricably one. I believe he said, as if etched in marble, so intertwined are they. A client beset by fear will not progress very well. Sometimes it is necessary to back off, before we can go forward. So, my advice would be to take it easy and make small but important changes before taking a giant leap.

You make it all sound so easy. Is it really as easy as this lesson makes it out to be to influence clients to change?

I'm glad you asked that question. The answer is a resounding "No!" Of course not. Theories and methodology are always comparatively easy to recite but can be extremely difficult to put into practice, unless one is very skilled in handling people. However, these are workable tools to use. Using them day after day, month after month makes us grow in our ability to work with people. Remember that practice makes perfect! We become more skilled as a practitioner the more we practice. It takes time to build a house. It takes time to build disease. It takes time to build health. It also takes times to build one's skill in helping people.