View from a bristlecone forest at the crest of the White Mountains, looking across the Owens Valley to the snow covered Sierra Nevada with the Palisades showing prominently.

Breakfast Like an Emperor

Is Live on Apple Books
Buy Now or Get a Free Sample,
Containing the Intro Video & Chapter 7

Have you ever been graced to sit in the presence of a 5,000 year old bristlecone pine and gaze across the Owens Valley to the majestic east wall of the Range of Light?

An honest mind would have to admit that five thousand years is an inconceivable span of time.  When that tree was a mere sapling, students halfway around the world, embarking on the journey into uncharted realms of their own consciousness were simultaneously being shown the foundations of a medical paradigm destined to far outlast the bristlecone. 

Breakfast Like an Emperor, the first book published by the Ancient Wisdom Series, celebrates a single, yet profound principle of this enduring medicine, still flourishing today in other parts of the world.  In this rich, 300 page multi-media Apple Book, you’ll find what you need to make the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of this single principle your own.  It’s a bit like focusing on one grain of sand on an immense, unified and coherent beach.  Yet that single grain of sand carries a secret completely overlooked by a culture desperately in search of clear understanding of how our bodies work—how they excel, and how they fail.

Breakfast Like an Emperor
Lunch Like a Prince
Dinner Like a Pauper

You might recall having heard this simple adage decades ago—or maybe never before.  But simply hearing it will never be enough.

Each of the three elements of this principle is necessary and equally interdependent on the other two for the principle’s full effect to be appreciated.  The mind tends to latch onto the first and give little attention to the second or third.  This would be an unfortunate mistake—a setup for failure.

There is far more to know about this principle than first glance might assume. In fact, it deserves a book.

Discover the Nuance
& Rationale
of This Sage Advice

As important as the principle itself, Breakfast Like an Emperor brings you the means to enliven this wisdom into your very own experience, making its profundity a personal reality.

Remember, this is not opinion, theory, or this week’s whim of some talk show host—these are unwavering principles which haven’t shifted in five millennia.  If you prefer the vagaries of momentary curiosity or the latest media buzz, great.  There are certainly lessons to be learned from those choices.  But how well are they serving you—right now?  Truly serving you?

Maybe you’ve already tried one or half a dozen of the half-baked modern notions of what everyone’s diet should look like.  Great!  Congratulations to your effort and tenacity.  But, if you’re reading this, chances are these flights haven’t quite been up to expectation.  Breakfast Like an Emperor will elevate your game in ways that will surprise and delight you.

Or, if you’re one who prefers viewing from the end, you’ll look back one day and muse, why didn’t I do this a long time ago? It’s so simple!

If you need a one-liner—a twenty-first century biochemical justification—for making what amounts to an intelligent shift in the deeply engrained dietary habits of Americans today, here it is:

Clear, calm, steady,
reliable and appropriate blood sugar
throughout one’s day—
and restful sleep all night long.

Excerpted Pages from the Book

On a very small device, landscape orientation is the best way to view the following page images of Breakfast Like an Emperor. But do yourself a favor and take a look on at least on a retina iPad.

Following is from an early chapter, viewed on a 9.7″ iPad Pro.

Here we are in the middle of an early chapter.

These are screen shots taken from the book on a 9.7″ iPad Pro.

Slider Page 1
Slider Page 2
Slider Page 3
Slider Page 4
Slider Page 5
Slider Page 6

Interactive Animations, Photographs & Videos
Instill Deeper Understanding of these Principles

The book cover of Breakfast Like an Emperor is pictured against a background of an image from the Horary Cycle animation, which includes twelve translucent globes representing each of the twelve organs and channels in the body. The globes are circling in a precise order, at regular intervals, on a well-defined orbit.

A Taste of Chapter Headings

Chapter1
Chapter2
Chapter3
Chapter4
Chapter5

Hover with the mouse or a fingertip to suspend the carousel.

Consider…

Breakfast is the name of a meal. It’s not a type of food.

Our confusion over this reality limits the potential of our morning meal. And, therefore, our experience of the day. And the next day. And the next.

The foods we eat for breakfast—if we eat one at all—are almost entirely defined by cultural habit. Bacon, eggs, and toast are routine on American menus. Japanese tend toward fish, rice, and vegetables. Brits insist on tomato with their eggs. The lists go on and on, from around the world. Each determined by very old habits.

Breakfast Like an Emperor
Lunch Like a Prince
Dinner Like a Pauper

This is a principle whose objective—and consequence—is plentiful, steady, reliable energy and focus.  All.  Day.  Long.  Without crashes or dips. Without cravings, binges, or emotional rollercoasters.  It’s about having a calm, relaxed, and reflective evening, followed, appropriately, by a pleasant and rejuvenating night’s rest. And a healthy appetite in the morning to encourage repetition of the previous day’s success.

The principle has a long history, and the book spells out its details and subtleties—how it works in real time, modern day settings. It brings to life genuine opportunities for entirely different realities than the ones experienced by most readers. Why do we need a book? Well, let me respond with my own question: Does the preceding paragraph describe your day? Your week? Your life?

Congratulations, if it does. Keep up the good work! If not, there may be something here for you.

Okay, so if this book is about our first meal of the day, why begin with a short discourse on its contents?  Simply because these habits—these dead images—are the most formidable obstacle to making the move to an advantageous sequence of eating throughout the day. The mind is so unreasonably habituated to croissant and coffee—or maybe just coffee—that there is no room at the table for bargaining. Subject closed.

The mind hates change—unless, of course, it’s relief from our drudgery. If it has started on the wrong foot, it would rather keep limping than stop and start over in a more focused and logical manner. I know we all think highly of our minds, and such a suggestion is repugnant, but the reality of its behavior is at the tip of our nose—if we dare look.

Having spent a short two decades sharing the wealth of knowledge surrounding the energetics of food and eating that Chinese medicine embodies, has shown me the depth of our attachment to habit—clearly and undeniably.  Let me assure you, the wisdom of Chinese medicine is firmly grounded in principles of how our bodies, living in this world, succeed or fail—and why.  It is not the result of adherence to habit, opinion, desires, scientific minutiae, or a politicized effort to prevail over other opinions or habits. It is a repeatably proven paradigm of the universe, which has for millennia, and continues today, to be accurate and precise.

Inconveniently, the habits and expectations that rule our lives often don’t have in mind our best interests for good health, a predominance of success, or even logical choices.

To assist someone in understanding and transcending this condition is the intent of this book. Not to mention providing an easy and richly satisfying alternative to current reality.

What to Expect

“Okay, but please tell me once again, what can I really expect if I follow this advice?”

In alignment with other principles of Oriental medicine, it will look and feel unique to you—something none of the well-intentioned modern dietary recommendations seem to recognize. We are each individuals carrying our own, self-created baggage—in our heads and in our bodies. But here are general benefits to be expected—all other conditions being equal.

  • Lasting Energy: adequate and sustained blood sugar is bio-speak for energy.  Smooth, steady energy.  Energy that doesn’t suddenly abandon us in a dark alley, or leave us throttled at the end of the day.  Energy that facilitates our endeavors,  all day—day in, day out.
  • Improved and more effective sleep: As Jason Bourne’s mentor in Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Trilogy advised, “Sleep is a weapon—use it!”  Sleep is a required ally, sorely undervalued in our crazy world.  Sleep is for the rest and repair of our tired and assaulted bodies.  It’s an amazingly effective tool for rejuvenation of so many systems—muscles, neurons, immune system.  Our digestive system!
  • Clear and focused attention, less likely to be influenced by emotional swings of passion and attachment.  Productive and inspired thought.
  • And the one which may be the strongest attraction for some—weight loss!  I have repeatedly seen individuals lose remarkable amounts of weight by doing nothing more than abandoning a large meal in the evening, and replacing it with breakfast like an emperor.  Same food, different times—nothing more.

Technical Notes

Enjoy this book on your tablet, laptop, and/or desktop computer.  Phones, however, are simply too small to access the format, the animations, or the experience of absorbing what’s offered.  The essence of this book is a gift I want readers to ‘get’.  In six years of preparation, I’ve spared little effort toward this end.

The initial published form of this book is an Apple Book, to be available for purchase on Apple Books. It’s filled with photos, videos, and interactive animations to convey its message. Some recipes are included, but this is not a cookbook. This is a thorough immersion into a foundational principle of Oriental medicine and how it can be integrated into a powerful and delightful way of structuring our days, our lifes, into predictable and repeatably joyous outcomes. Other published forms may be forthcoming.

I’ve made effort to make this material as accessible as possible.  The most valuable asset a reader can bring to this experience is a sincere desire and willingness to make this principle a rewarding reality in their life.  In concert with this knowledge, that’s all that’s really required.

Disclaimer

Morning has begun.
Had breakfast?

Breakfast Like an Emperor

Experience the Book on Your Own Device


Disclaimer

 

The entire content of this website, unless otherwise noted, is based upon the experience of Dr. Horton and the five thousand year old paradigm of Chinese medicine as understood by Dr. Horton. In accordance with the principles of this medicine, a true, meaningful diagnosis—not just a name—of an individual's constitution and current condition must be accurately assessed before treatment may be recommended. 

Consequently, the information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a health care professional so qualified, and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and principles of a medical paradigm already mature before Europeans arrived on what is now the American continent. As always, you are encouraged to make your own health care choices based upon your own investigation and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.