The Master Cleanse - Day Five
Shortly after posting last night’s blog, or perhaps during it (I just re-read it, but can’t detect any shift in mood), I got really irritable for no apparent reason. I was down on the cleanse, questioning why I’m using this wacko method to kick-start things when I already intend to shift to a low-fat vegan diet right after this, etc. Just an unexplained foul mood, which was easily detectable as I’m rarely in a bad mood.
I just went to bed, hoping I’d wake up in a better place. In the middle of the night, I had to wake up for an elimination, and it was one of the things I’d read about in the books. Yes, it was the hot, burning acidic elimination! Which, I’d also read, is often preceded by a foul mood. Talk about irritable bowel syndrome…
So, good to have something to shake things up, as this thing was getting pretty yawnsville.
Today was pretty basic. Woke up fine and contented. No gym, as I am trying to not go seven days a week. Just phone calls back home, watched the first half of a DVD I’ll likely review for Vegocentric tomorrow, and then off to see the Sex Workers Art Show a few blocks from my house. I took two doses of lemonade to the show, as per yesterday’s photo, and all worked out fine.
While I was in my foul mood last night, I stumbled upon a random comment on a web site discussing the Master Cleanse, and it was certainly shocking. It turns out that Stanley Burroughs, the guy who started this cleanse, was found guilty of second-degree felony murder, felony practicing medicine without a license, and and unlawful sale of cancer treatments.
It seems Burroughs wanted to use the Master Cleanse to cure a man of his cancer. He instructed the guy to not see his physician for 30 days, during which time he would drink lemonade, laxative tea, and the salt water flush. He would also get Burrough’s massage and color therapy treatments during this time.
In two weeks, the patient’s health deteriorated and he had a fever, which Burroughs said was according to plan. His pain in his abdomen and vomiting were treated with deep abdominal massages and Burroughs told the man he would recuperate. It continued until the patient died of a hemorrhage in his abdominal region, which the prosecution said at trial was the result of Burrough’s massages.
The murder offense was overturned, as felony practicing medicine without a license was found to not be a severe enough offense upon which to then base a murder charge. The court upheld the other convictions, and indicated he could face charges for involuntary manslaughter.
Burroughs was also convicted of practicing medicine without a license in 1960.
I do find it strange that these things are not mentioned in either of the two books I read on the Master Cleanse. It seems that not mentioning them indicates something to hide, whereas no sound-minded person could read Burroughs’s book and think he is basing any of this on medicine. I don’t know how he presented himself to actual clients, of course, but the 50-page document I read is certainly not the work of a medical professional.
Plus, the guy with cancer decided to this of his own free will and, let’s face it, if the guy was having this bad a reaction to The Master Cleanse, I doubt modern medicine’s aggressive approach to treating severe cancers would have led to a different result. I don’t think this casts Burroughs in a bad light at all, only its omission by people who discuss his life and work that seem to be glossing over it intentionally irk me in this matter. If you believe in Burroughs’s treatment, and think the medical community and the criminal justice system overreacted, then paint that picture of how Burroughs was misunderstood for his methods, which have been used now for more than 50 years, etc., etc.
Nothing else major happened today. Well, I did finally drink the mint tea for the first time, but that’s not any major deal. Just figure I bought it, it’s sitting here, may as well…
And, oh yeah, the cleanse is half over!
