Gabriel Cousens is an extraordinary man for whom healing is more than a one dimensional concept. Yes, he is a Holistic MD, a Rabbi, a Yogi and life- long mystic which easily explains the reason he is called the Physician of the Soul, but that is only the barest essence of who he is.
He has been educating, healing and ministering to individuals, social sectors, and the planet in a myriad of ways that have been life- and world-transforming over a career that has spanned 50 years—and at 77, he is on the launch pad for much more!
Here are just a few of his achievements:
- In mental and physical healthcare, he is a Holistic Orthomolecular Physician (MD from Columbia Medical School); holds a doctorate in Homeopathy and diplomas in Ayurveda. In practice, he is a holistic physician, psychiatrist, family therapist, Ayurvedic practitioner, homeopathic doctor, Chinese herbalist, medical researcher, and served as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Public Health Service. He has held a board position on the American Board of Holistic Integrative Medicine. While in medical school, living in Central Harlem, Dr. Cousens actively worked with community groups. Moving to the West Coast, he served as Director for the Petaluma CA People’s Services Center and was a consultant to the state of California on Mental Health. While in Northern CA, he conducted and taught family and individual therapy at the Community Center and was the Chief Medical Health Consultant for Sonoma County Operation Headstart. Most recently, he operated the Tree of Life Center US in Patagonia, AZ, prior to moving this clinic and spiritual center to Israel from which he still ministers worldwide through his Tree of Life Online Community. He has been sought after by the media to address reversing depression naturally as outlined in his book: Depression Free for Life.
- Considered one of the world’s leading experts and proponent of raw, live, plant-sourced nutrition, Dr. Cousens pioneered a way to cure diabetes in just 21 days. His center conducted a study on 120 patients and reported a 61% cure rate for non-insulin-dependent Type 2 Diabetics and 97% non-insulin and insulin-dependent clients came off all medications in those three weeks. His research is chronicled in his international bestselling book There is a Cure for Diabetes, and he has lectured at medical schools, clinics, scientific meetings and to the public on six continents. Just as importantly, he’s put his method into practice with his patients, with the aging populace, with people seeking a cure for their health challenges, in African-American and Latino communities in the U.S., and in villages around the world. He has been featured in the New York Times, which calls him “the fasting and detoxification expert,” and local TV and radio stations across the country. One of the world’s leading advocates for the live-food vegan lifestyle, he has become a focal point of the movement, offering online courses and frequently lecturing globally on the health benefits of raw, live, plant-sourced nutrition. He founded the world’s first live food master’s degree program with the University of Integrated Science.
- Although a rabbi early in his life urged him to take on the life of a spiritual leader, it wasn’t until the age of 44 that Dr. Cousens was Bar Mitzvahed, after taking up the study of the Torah and Kabbala. At 53, he officially began rabbinical studies and 12 years later he assumed his role as rabbi of the Etz Haim congregation in Arizona. But this was simply a home base for a man who leads Shabbat services on Friday night at various temples and Jewish gathering places in the U.S., Canada, and around the world. The mystic Torah Kabbalistic Jewish Liberation teachings are very much a part of the spiritual infusion he integrates as he inspires his followers, which are explained in his book Torah as a Guide to Enlightenment.
- In 1975, Dr. Cousens was first drawn to Yogic traditions and began studying under the tutelage of Swami Muktananda Paramahansa and then with Swami Prakashandda Saraswati in India. Acknowledged by these liberated spiritual leaders as “liberated” in 1982, Dr. Cousens is a master of kundalini and meditation, and a teacher of jnana, bakti, and mantra yogas. In 1982, he was empowered by Swami Muktananda Paramahansa to give shakitpat (energy to awaken the kundalini) to those seeking awakening. Today, he does this in person and--to his surprise--over the internet daily. His teachings of his Six Foundations and Seven-Fold Peace are the basis of a natural way of living which he calls the Holistic Liberation Way, which has already helped people attain spiritual liberation.
- To add to his many physical and soul healing modalities, Dr. Cousens is a 4-year Native American Sun Dancer and Eagle Dancer and an 11-year Spirit Dancer. Adopted by the Lakota Sioux Horn Chip Clan, he was appointed head of the Yellow Horse Clan.
- Beginning in 2008, Dr. Cousens began developing diabetes prevention and organic farms programs supported with micro-business loans in 26 different countries. These humanitarian efforts under his Tree of Life Foundation have been foundational in these communities, including the sponsorship of an orphanage that feeds and supports 300 children in Mexico. In alliance with several other organizations, programs are being developed to train local para-professional to provide medical screening and advice on the ground in villages and small towns. Work has also been unfolding on Native American lands, thanks to the success of Dr. Cousens healing of diabetes for Lakota leader and Native American activist Dennis Banks.
- For Dr. Cousens, the cornerstone of spiritual living and liberation are Sacred Relationships—Sacred Friendships, Sacred Partnerships and Sacred Marriages. Happily married to Shanti Golds Cousens, M.A., a TriYoga® instructor, he has crafted powerful programs to strengthen and deepen spiritually enriched relationships.
- Achieving world peace is never far from Dr. Cousens’ mind. He has lead prayer ceremonies for peace since 1965 around the US. Canada, Australia, the Middle East or at the U.N. and activated the Peace 21 peace meditation worldwide since 1985 on each solstice and equinox.
- Dr. Cousens is the author of now 13 books including Spiritual Nutrition, Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini, Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine, Conscious Eating, Depression-Free for Life, Tachyon Energy, Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet, Creating Peace by Being Peace - An Essene Sevenfold Path, There Is a Cure for Diabetes, Torah as a Guide to Enlightenment, and Conscious Parenting. He’s sold more than 235,000 books.
- As a former captain of the Amherst College undefeated 1964 football team and an inductee of the National College Football Hall of Fame, Dr. Cousens was a picture of fitness, doing 70 push-ups and 7 pull-ups. But today, he routinely does 1000 push-ups and 80 pull-ups, transcending the commonly held belief of the abilities of someone 77 years old. To see Dr. Cousens joyously dance on his Thursday webcasts is to see the power, strength and flexibility that is possible for anyone who refuses to embrace the existing societal resignation about the inevitability of aging. Dr. Cousens has taken on the mission of showing the aging populace around the world, that with proper nutrition, peace of mind and purpose, a healthy life can be extended years. He embodies his mission of spreading the word that you can be Vital at Any Age.
But these specific facts only tell a small a part of his unique transit on the planet, imbued with mystery, spiritual awakening and focused purpose. In his newest book, Into the Nothing: A Spiritual Autobiography (Infinite Life Publishing Media), he brings the reader on his wild, adventurous journey to spiritual liberation. He reveals his teachings of spiritual nutrition and his pathway to the Holistic Liberation Way.
Today, Dr. Cousens combines all of his education, vast accumulated wisdom, nutritional guidance, spiritual teachings and practices, and his engaging charm to help others heal, grow and find peace through his weekly webcasts, online programs, in-person workshops and speaking engagements. With his unending energy, he continues to transform lives and inspire others to attain a life of meaning and freedom …and has set his sights on doing it for another 30 years!
