Essene Health Guidelines
The following has been excerpted from the book The Essene Science of Fasting. Though it is highly doubtful that this is indeed from any Essene teachings, the author, Edmond Szekely, did lecture on natural healing techniques, most of all having to do with diet. I have begun my own research on the recommendations shared here. Though not yet complete, what I have found corroborates much of these guidelines.
Initial Thoughts
Szekely advocated a vegetarian diet that may or may not have included eggs. A vegetarian diet excludes any foods as the by-products of animal slaughter. For me, personally, as I get older I find my personal constitution no longer tolerates certain meats, especially that of mammals. So, using discretion and “bio-feedback” of my own self observation and understanding of my own body’s (current) needs for health, I continue to include fish in my diet. The point of sharing this is to emphasize that, in reality, and especially in our “day and age”, there is no “one size fits all” for what each individual’s body requires for good health. If one desires health, whether of mind, body or soul, one MUST be willing to put forth the work necessary to achieve such a goal.
Some also accuse Szekely of worship of the (Mother) Earth. To that I respond: Who is our Mother but she who provides all that we need to live, move, and have our being in Him, the Father (God)? One of the greatest saints to have lived is St. Francis of Assisi (I should write a post on him!), who referred to the Sun as our brother and the Moon as our sister. In short, let’s not get tangled in the web of opinion but rather take note of the poetic language in which the following is shared.
From the Book
So eat always from the table of God: the fruits of the trees, the grain and grasses of the field, the milk of beasts, and the honey of bees. For everything beyond these is of Satan, and leads by the way of sins and of diseases unto death. But the foods which you eat from the abundant table of God give strength and youth to your body, and you will never see disease. For the table of God fed Methuselah of old, and I tell you truly, if you live even as he lived, then will the God of the living give you also long life upon the earth as was his.
For I tell you truly, the God of the living is richer than all the rich of the earth, and his abundant table is richer than the richest table of feasting of all the rich upon the earth. Eat, therefore, all your life at the table of our Earthly Mother, and you will never see want. And when you eat at her table, eat all things even as they are found on the table of the Earthly Mother.
Take heed, therefore, and defile not with all kinds of abominations the temple of your bodies. Be content with two or three sorts of food, which you will find always upon the table of our Earthly Mother. And desire not to devour all things which you see round about you. For I tell you truly, if you mix together all sorts of food in your body, then the peace of your body will cease, and endless war will rage in you.
And when you eat, never eat unto fullness. Flee the temptations of Satan, and listen to the voice of God’s angels. For Satan and his power tempt you always to eat more and more. But live by the spirit, and resist the desires of the body. And your fasting is always pleasing in the eyes of the angels of God. So give heed to how much you have eaten when you are sated, and eat always less by a third.
Let the weight of your daily food be not less than a mina (17 ounces), but mark that it go not beyond two (34 ounces). Then will the angels of God serve you always, and you will never fall into the bondage of Satan and of his diseases. Trouble not the work of the angels in your body by eating often. For I tell you truly, he who eats more than twice in the day does in him the work of Satan. And the angels of God leave his body, and soon Satan will take possession of it. Eat only when the sun is highest in the heavens, and again when it is set. And you will never see disease, for such finds favor in the eyes of the Lord.
From the coming of the month of Ijar, eat barley; from the month of Sivan, eat wheat, the most perfect among all seed-bearing herbs. And let your daily bread be made of wheat, that the Lord may take care of your bodies. From Tammuz, eat the sour grape, that your body may diminish, and that Satan may depart from it. In the month of Elul, gather the grape that the juice may serve you as drink. In the month of Marchesvan, gather the sweet grape, sweetened and dried by the angel of sunshine, that it may increase your bodies, for the angels of the Lord dwell in them. You should eat figs rich in juice in the months of Ab and Shebat, and what remain, let the angel of sunshine keep them for you. Eat them with the meat of almonds in all the months when the trees bear no fruits. And the herbs which come after rain, these eat in the month of Thebet, that your blood may be cleansed of all your sins. And in the same month begin to eat also the milk of your beasts, because for th is did the Lord give the herbs of the fields to all the beasts which render milk, that they might with their milk feed man. For I tell you truly, happy are they that eat only at the table of God, and eschew all the abominations of Satan. Eat not unclean foods brought from far countries, but eat always that which your trees bear. For your God knows well what is needful for you, and where and when. And he gives to all peoples of all kingdoms for food that which is best for each. Eat not as the heathen do, who stuff themselves in haste, defiling their bodies with all manner of abominations.
For I tell you truly, happy are they that eat only at the table of God, and eschew all the abominations of Satan. Eat not unclean foods brought from far countries, but eat always that which your trees bear. For your God knows well what is needful for you, and where and when. And he gives to all peoples of all kingdoms for food that which is best for each. Eat not as the heathen do, who stuff themselves in haste, defiling their bodies with all manner of abominations.
For the power of God’s angels enters into you with the living food which the Lord gives you from his royal table.
And chew well your food with your teeth, that it become water, and that the angel of water turn it into blood in your body. And eat slowly, as it were a prayer you make to the Lord. For I tell you truly, the power of God enters into you, if you eat after this manner at his table. For the table of the Lord is as an altar, and he who eats at the table of God, is in a temple. For I tell you truly, the body of the Sons of Man is turned into a temple, and their inwards into an altar, if they do the commandments of God. Wherefore, put naught upon the altar of the Lord when your spirit is vexed, neither think upon any one with anger in the temple of God. And enter only into the Lord’s sanctuary when you feel in yourselves the call of his angels, for all that you eat in sorrow, or in anger, or without desire, becomes a poison in your body. For the breath of Satan defiles all these. Place with joy your offerings upon the altar of your body, and let all evil thoughts depart from you when you receive into your body the power of God from his table.
Rejoice, therefore, always with God’s angels at their royal table, for this is pleasing to the heart of the Lord; and your life will be long upon the earth, for the most precious of the servants of God will serve you all your days: the Angel of joy.
Summary of the Above
General Guidelines
Eat only at noon and at sunset (only twice a day).
Give heed to how much you have eaten when you are sated, and eat always less by a third (do not eat to fullness). Control of the stomach is the key to control of the (lower) self and its desires.
Eat only that which the Earth provides: Fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, grasses, milk, honey and fish.
Fully chew your food until it becomes liquid in your mouth.
Fast one day a week, taking in only 4 glasses of water. Whether or not to have water during the fast depends on common sense and the particular individual. Some individuals are naturally “dry” and therefore should drink water to help cleanse. Others might have a need to shed excess water they carry and, therefore, should attempt a “dry” fast. Avoid prolonged fasting until the method of fasting is mastered to avoid doing harm. This book provides the knowledge required for fasting.
Eat with joy and thankfulness – let all evil thoughts depart from you when you eat from God’s table upon the altar of your body, which is God’s temple.
In General:
Let your daily bread be made of wheat, that the Lord may take care of your bodies.
Broken Down by Months
- Month of Shebat (January-February): eat figs rich in juice, and what remain, let the angel of sunshine keep them for you (dried). Eat them with the meat of almonds in all the months when the trees bear no fruits.
- -Month of Adar (February-March): (being researched)
- -Month of Nisan (March-April): (being researched)
- Month of Ijar (April-May): eat barley. (https://www.wholeheartedeats.com/how-to-cook-barley/)
- Month of Sivan (May-June): eat wheat, the most perfect among all seed-bearing herbs.
- (From the) Month of Tammuz (June-July): eat the sour grape, that your body may diminish, and that Satan may depart from it.
- Month of Ab (July-August): eat figs rich in juice, and what remain, let the angel of sunshine keep them for you (dried). Eat them with the meat of almonds in all the months when the trees bear no fruits.
- Month of Elul (August-September): gather the grape that the juice may serve you as drink.
- -Month of Tishrei (September-October): (being researched)
- Month of Marchesvan (October-November): gather the sweet grape, sweetened and dried by the angel of sunshine (raisins), that it may increase your bodies, for the angels of the Lord dwell in them.
- -Month of Kislev (November-December): (being researched)
- Month of Thebet (December-January): eat the herbs which come after rain, that your blood may be cleansed of all your sins. And in the same month begin to eat also the milk of your beasts, because for this did the Lord give the herbs of the fields to all the beasts which render milk, that they might with their milk feed man.
Embrace what seems applicable to your own life from the above. Seek health of mind, body and spirit. Health of one leads to health in another. Health in all three completes one as a full Human Being.
Comments on the Book
These are comments I gleaned from reviews of the book on Amazon. They are only two of many positive views.
I have worked with this information since about 1975. I have used it to totally transform my body, reducing my physiological age by more than half, and changing my system so much that I no longer get sick, have any concern about disease and do not experience “normal aging.” There are a few alterations and adjustments to make what is in this book practical for today’s environment, which I have had to learn in order to apply. My feeling and experience is that this text is completely authentic and incredibly valuable. No wonder religions would not include it in any official scriptures, as it does not promote religion, and cannot be used to control people by fear as religions generally do. It is simply information on health and how to understand nature, that has long been forgotten, and replaced by today’s medical drug dealers, who have become the number one cause of death in America. This is a valuable book if one really pays attention and then learns how to apply what it says.
I first read this book in my early twenties and have lived by its principles ever since. I even moved to Hawaii to be closer to “the angels” of sun water air etc mentioned in the book. I’m 64 now and have absolutely no health problems. Science has proven that humans are inextricably a part of the natural world, just as Jesus said. It’s amazing how the Essene Sect began out of decent against the Roman Empire. They just went off into the desert to eek out their survival. And didn’t Jesus fast in the desert for forty days? I think both John the Baptist and Jesus studied with the Essene as young people. This book should become a classic. It is one of the most meaningful books ever written. Most people know God intellectually, this book teaches you how to know God actually. Knowing God requires a physiological transformation; words, verse and chapter are not the answer. This book provides the information on how to become truly spiritual.
Many in those same reviews state that these books teach one to worship “Mother Earth”. The word “worship” is not in Book One. In Book Two the word is used twelve times. Once in the quote,
Thou shalt worship thy Heavenly Father on the evening of the Sabbath.
Several times in reference to the Israelites worshiping idols. Another time in reference to the “green leaves of the trees” worshiping the (angel of) the sun.
Let’s look at the etymology of the word “worship”. Used as a transitive verb, the word means “to honor or show reverence.” As a noun it means “reverence offered a divine being.” If I give thanks to the Sun for the light it gives which brings life – as created and intended by God – then I am not worshiping the sun. If I bow myself before an Icon of the Christ I do not worship the icon, I reverence the One the Icon represents. Idols are of the mind and heart. God looks to the heart. He knows whom or what you worship as your god. Do you really know whom or what you worship? What is so utterly important to you that you feel you cannot live without it? Your house? Your car? Your phone? Your creature comforts? Your sports? Think it through.
In this day and age we have lost the reverence humanity once had for the Earth and its creatures. We need to regain our relationship to Mother Earth, the sun, the moon, all of creation. We were not given dominion to destroy but to reverence and nurture.