The
Coming
of
Light:
Macrobiotics
is
Truth
Cecile
Tovah
Levin
By
Bill
Neall
Around February
of
this
year,
I
received
a
postcard
from
Cecil
Levin
regarding
MacrobioticTimes.
She
noted
how
it
was
growing
and
expressed
a
desire
to
be
included
by
offering
to
write
an
article.
She
asked
me
to
send
her
copies
of
the
newsletter
that
would
guarantee
that
they
would
arrive
in
one
piece
as
she
was
saving
them
and
would
like
them
as
neat
as
possible.
I sent her a card (she did not
use
or
have
a
computer)
asking
her
to
write
an
article
on
the
heart,
which
she
did,
and
it
was
published
in
April
of
1999.
I thanked her for the article and proposed a follow-up involving
education
of
the
heart.
I
didn’t
hear
from
her.
Later
in
the
summer,
I
again
asked
her
to
write
something,
this
time
on
the
Macrobiotics In America event at the Smithsonian. She replied that
she
was
taking
the
summer
off
to
recuperate
but
would
be
back
in
the
fall.
Then the news began to trickle in. Cecile had had a heart attack
earlier
in
the
year
due
to
overwork.
Things
were
kept
quiet
initially,
but
the
information
kept
coming.
Towards
the
end
of
the
summer
she
wasn’t
doing
well
and
in
decline.
As
many
of
you
already
know,
Cecile
passed
away
Tuesday,
October
5th,
1999
after
a
brief
encounter
with
cancer,
discovered
following
the
heart
attack.
She
was
61.
She
came
to
macrobiotics
with
leukemia
almost
40
years
ago.
According
to
her
family,
“Her
position
was
to
pursue
natural
healing
for
her
recovery,
which
resulted
in
a
more
peaceful
transition
period
than
what
the
western
medicine
doctors
had
to
offer.”
This idea of someone involved in macrobiotics for many years getting
extremely
sick
becomes
subject
to
scrutiny
from
those
both
inside
and
outside
of
the
community.
With
all
respect
to
the
people
involved,
the
majority
of
those
outside
are,
of
course,
going
to
take
the
stand
that
this
means
macrobiotics
doesn’t
work.
Those
inside
are
going
to
take
many
different
stands
depending
on
how
they
see
it
and
where
they
see
it
from.
The ‘doesn’t work’ question will be raised both within and without
the
community,
so
let’s
look
at
it
from
that
standpoint.
This
will
take
us
from
the
negativity
towards
macrobiotics
in
the
outside
world
to
the
misunderstanding
of
macrobiotics
in
the
inside
world.
And,
of
course,
through
the
positives.
This is how I understand it today. The starting point is to make
it
perfectly
clear
that
macrobiotics
never
was,
never
has,
and
never
will
be
a
diet,
a
preventative
medicine,
nor
a
cure
for
disease
and
its
consequences.
Macrobiotics is what it is, day in, day out; year in, year out, lifetime
to
lifetime,
and
making
the
adjustments
that
require
balance
no
matter
what
it
takes.
How
we
understand
it
and
use
it
to
allow
our
bodies
to
heal
themselves
is
what
is
important.
The
results
that
we
get
indicate
the
level
of
our
understanding
and
encourage
us
to
self-reflect
and
make
the
changes
necessary
to
move
ahead.
This
gives
responsibility
to
each
and
every
one
of
us
on
an
individual
basis.
It
doesn’t
necessarily
mean
that
we
will
take
that
responsibility
from
the
beginning
on
out,
but
if
we
don’t,
we
aren’t
going
to
heal
past
a
certain
point,
if
at
all.
The implementation of macrobiotics is a big threat to the way society
works
these
days
as
a
whole.
Practically
every
facet
of
this
mix
does
not
conform
to
macrobiotic
principles
and
ideals.
Government,
modern
science,
modern
religion,
modern
medicine,
modern
media,
modern
education,
modern
agriculture,
modern
farming,
popular
diets,
displaced
priorities,
and
so
forth.
The
reason
for
this
lies
in
the
fact
that
people
become
comfortable
in
wherever
they
are
at.
Maybe
those
in
control
know
this
and
keep
it
going,
but
it’s
more
likely
that
this
concept
applies
across
the
board.
Why is macrobiotics such a threat? Because it gives responsibility
back
to
the
individual,
eventually
removing
the
fear
and
dependency
which
is
the
backbone
of
societies
today,
and
allows
establishment
of
personal
control
over
one’s
life.
The tendency to protect one’s livelihood is a very strong one, so,
for
example,
a
doctor
who
benefits
lifestyle-wise
from
his
income
would
be
hesitant
to
contradict
that
lifestyle
by
refusing
to
prescribe
pharmaceuticals
or
perform
other
doctoral
duties
involving
fear
and
dependency,
like
unnecessary
surgery,
symptomatic
treatments,
and
other
things
that
go
against
the
macrobiotic
grain.
I’ve seen this first hand more than once, not only in the medical
profession,
but
in
all
segments
of
society.
What
happens
when
we
try
to
bring
macrobiotics
into
the
prisons?
What
happens
when
we
try
to
bring
macrobiotics
into
the
schools?
What
happens
when
we
try
to
bring
macrobiotics
into
politics?
What
happens
when
we
try
to
bring
macrobiotics
into
the
financial
world?
What
happens
when
we
try
to
bring
macrobiotics
into
science?
What
happens
when
we
try
to
bring
macrobiotics
into
religion?
What
happens
when
we
try
to
bring
macrobiotics
into
psychological
and
physical
therapy?
Everything
has
their
level
of
impenetrability,
and
for
the
most
part,
this
level
is
very
low.
Sure, there is some human instinct that lets macrobiotics in the
door
in
some
instances,
but
for
the
most
part,
it
becomes
unwelcome
sooner
or
later.
Kaare tells the story of the powers that be reacting to the idea
of
macrobiotic
transformation
being
presented
to
one
of
the
large
corporations
in
the
late
60’s
or
early
70’s,
with
the
position
that
they
have
been
aware
of
macrobiotics
since
Michio
Kushi
set
foot
in
America
and
there
is
no
way
that
macrobiotics
will
ever
take
hold
if
they
have
any
say
in
it.
The
transformation
presentation
got
swallowed
up
and
never
surfaced.
That’s basically it in a nutshell. The farther the present thing
goes,
the
more
deeply
entrenched
society
becomes.
One
way
out
is
through
the
possibility
of
being
diagnosed
with
a
modern
medical
designated
“uncurable”
disease,
somehow
coming
across
macrobiotics,
and
having
it
make
enough
sense
to
give
it
a
try.
The
proximity
of
being
in
a
family
or
in
relationship
to
someone
in
the
same
situation
is
also
a
possibility.
We go around and around in the world of macrobiotics on how the uninitiated
should
be
approached.
What
it
comes
down
to
is
determined
by
the
condition
of
those
both
sides,
that
of
the
macrobiotic
proponent
and
that
of
the
prospective
receiver,
along
with
their
everyday
environments.
The key here is to allow the person being exposed to macrobiotics
to
get
as
much
clear
information
as
they
need
to
make
an
informed
decision,
and
once
that’s
made,
make
sure
this
information
is
available.
The
amount
of
help
provided
depends
on
the
individual
situation.
In a person that is highly motivated, less help is better. In someone
less
motivated,
more
help
will
be
needed.
In
any
event,
the
more
work
you
can
do
yourself,
the
better,
and
that
includes
both
the
body
and
the
soul.
The resistance in unrelenting. This why we need to build from the
ground
up,
not
the
top
down.
‘Ground
up’
means
individuals
first,
and
then
simultaneously
branching
out
to
others.
For
example,
giving
cooking
classes
or
having
pot
lucks.
I know this has been said over and over, but it needs to be because
it’s
heard
in
a
different
way
by
all
of
us
because
we
bring
something
different
to
it
at
different
times.
The
basics
have
been
pretty
well
laid
out.
Yin
and
yang,
seasonal
applications
and
effects,
cooking,
study,
and
self-reflection.
Within
this
medley
