Back to Breatharianism

I was once involved in the Breatharian cult and ended up being made into one of its leading figures. I had toured a country doing seminars on the topic and had several other invitations to appear. I had written what would perhaps have been the most extensive and instructional book on the topic. And I was personally practicing Breatharian ideals.

The remaining lectures remained not done. The book never became published. I retracted from the Breatharian community and eventually started eating foods like everybody else again. (Well, almost. I am now happily a vegan.)

So what is Breatharianism? It is perhaps one of the most provocative of all pseudoscientific ideas and practices. I might be able to explain it both from a skeptical point of view, and from an insider's perspective.

What is Breatharianism?
There are exactly as many Breatharian descriptions as there are people teaching it. Overlap between different teachings is slim. The most outrageous version comes from Wiley Brooks, who says that ascension into Breatharianism occurs through eating hamburgers and diet coke and requires a person to pay him one billion dollars so that he can personally bring one up to the 5th dimension, a sort of other world free of this one. Don't worry, even most of us Breatharians laugh at Wiley Brooks' ideas. I still don't know if this is a joke or if he is serious. No offense, Wiley, I just don't understand.

By far the most popular and prolific of Breatharian contributors is Australian lady Jasmuheen, formerly Ellen Greve from Norway. Her methods are best aligned with mine and emphasize spiritual ascension whose consequence would be spiritual nourishment for the human body. She is occasionally found eating or in possession of foods which she then denies having anything to do with, trying to maintain an image of being mostly non-eating. Jasmuheen works on several of her projects with which she tries to expand spirituality and its gifts on Earth.

Portuguese lady Evelyn Levy and Steve Torrence, American, were a couple that had personal interest in Breatharianism and became active in informing about the subject through their website, lecture tours, and other activities. These two are definitely not out for personal gain from others and their ideas come from personal convictions. They do not seek out to convert anyone nor to make money off their interest. They are two warm individuals who like to share and give to others.

There also is or was a Swedish couple who do lectures on the subject. The man is the one who translated Jasmuheen's book into Swedish. There are also many others in the Western world, each with their very own idea of what Breatharianism is, and how to achieve it. To some it is purely a mechanical process involving nothing spiritual. There are also many teachers and practitioners in Asia and other parts of the world that we know not very much of since they do not engage with the Western media or internet. The interest in Breatharianism is great in many countries, including Brazil, Germany, India, Australia, even China with its censorship and rules to conform has its fair share of Breatharianism.

Not everyone can climb Mt. Everest
Breatharianism is criticized as being a dangerous and lethal practice, many wish it could be removed altogether and feel that no one has the right to practice it. But in many respects, Breatharian practice is just like the endeavour to climb Mount Everest. There are many descriptive and instructional books on how to climb Mt. Everest. On how to prepare one's body, what to expect, and what the dangers are. A book about Breatharianism is similarly a description and sometimes instruction on how to approach a similarly physically and mentally challenging task.

Most people who hear about climbing Mt. Everest are going to say no way, they are not physically or mentally fit for such as ridiculously demanding task, nor are they interested nor does it speak to them or inspire them to do so. It is the same with Breatharianism. Most people will simply not think that they could ever do such a task, nor are they interested.

And the dangers of climbing Mt. Everest are very real. Everybody who goes there knows that no matter what they do they might die up there. They could get injured or die if they make a mistake, or if their body is incapable of ascending beyond a certain level and they are ignoring the signs that tell them that they simply can not proceed any further. Then they die. And Breatharianism is just the same way. The dangers of aspiring to it are very real. Everybody who tries it knows that there are dangers when you are not physically and spiritually prepared or ready. They could get injured or die if they make a mistake, if they push themselves to proceed beyond a point that their body and mind can not exceed.

There is no promise of Breatharianism for everyone. Breatharianism is a description of something that only very few could be capable of ever experiencing. Just like you can not ban any and all books and videos about climbing Mt. Everest just because someone naive and incapable of realizing their own limits might give it a try and might perish. Plenty of people have died and continue to die trying to climb the mountain, yet the topic itself can not be banned and people have the right as human beings to try even this ridiculously dangerous task. Similarly, Breatharianism describes something which is only appropriate to a small elite which may be able to achieve some of it, and anybody else who reads about it and perishes at their own incapability of realizing and adhering to their own limits, should be regarded as nothing but another perished climber who refused to turn back when they reached their limits.

Breatharianism is an achieved physical and spiritual/mental state in which one is able to sustain life comfortably and safely without the appearance of a need to eat or drink. It is an esoteric practice. It is a very advanced topic and there is no simple formula that can enable it for all. While it is working, the body is in a state in which it develops symptoms directly opposite of the symptoms that would otherwise by that time appear as signs of starvation and dehydration. Breatharianism achieves a physical state which is entirely different from the state of starvation and dehydration, and the Breatharian state is even superior to the eating drinking state, with excess amounts of energy, a clearer mind, enhanced senses of perception, and other benefits.

Another appropriate comparison between climbing Mt. Everest and aspiring to Breatharianism, is that climbing Mt. Everest attracts a lot of people who wish to achieve it in order to think more highly of themselves. Physical over-achievers who like to push their own limits and try to win over everybody else. For them, Mt. Everest is the ultimate physical challenge to overcome. Similarly, Breatharianism may attract a lot of spiritual over-achievers, people who simply want to achieve the Breatharian state in order to have the right to think that they are better than everybody else. But such people will always fail. The Breatharian state is only maintainable during a particular state of mind, which does not allow selfishness or greed. Any successful Breatharian instead is humble. In fact a successful Breatharian does not tell others about being in a Breatharian state. It is something personal to them, nothing special, and just a consequence of their mind's state.

As a note, the way I teach Breatharianism - although I no longer teach it - emphasizes on safety and on knowing and respecting the signs that tell you to go back. I would expect that anybody who follows my method would always be safe and simply come to learn what their stage and level is and come to appreciate that level, not aspiring to go beyond to somewhere higher. My method is not available however.

Breatharianism has got nothing to do with breathing
I do not know why it is called Breatharianism, since breathing has got nothing to do with it. I identify two major brands of Breatharianism: one which I call "white light breatharianism" the other I call "pranic breatharianism". Most practitioners and teachers of Breatharianism deal with the pranic version. Prana is a golden colored energetic substance which a pranic breatharian attracts to themselves. Prana directly interacts with the body's electrons, empowering the body and to some extent nourishing it. Note that this is esoterical pseudoscience, based entirely on personal ideas, more poetry and art than science. Pranic methods emphasize on breathing techniques, physical yoga exercises, and other mechanical means of achieving this pranic state. Most people who engage in breatharianism deal with the pranic method.

The white light method is entirely different and probably superior to the pranic. It involves no physical practices and even leads to the breathless state in which the body naturally and on its own ceases to breathe, since glucose (blood sugar) is no longer used for energy. A true breatharian who can achieve and sustain the higher states will also be in a breathless state and breathe less or not at all. Breatharianism can also be called living on light.

I do not try to convert others into Breatharianism. I do however defend it since when done properly it seems perfectly safe and comfortable and is a natural consequence of a state of mind. The fact that there are those who try to achieve it and end up injured or hurt does not take away my right and the right of others who can do it successfully to have this be a part of our life. Just like they still let people try to climb Mt. Everest, it is actually quite easy for some and they have the right to enjoy that experience since they can do it safely.

Successful Breatharianism involves no sensation of hunger or thirst, no emotional discomforts such as being discontent, no cold hands or feet, the mouth and eyes and body does not become dry, energy levels are endless not low. It is not the same as starving. Instead there seems to be an alternative source of nutrition that really seems to work. It is not about suppressing hunger. My method emphasizes that a person eats anything their heart desires, and that there are no bad foods. Rather, people are drawn to the foods that match who they are spiritually and how they are feeling emotionally, and the physical body becomes a consequence and a manifestation of our non-physical selves.

More added later...