1

Who is Michael Werner?

by Thomas Sto
ckli

Michael Werner, born 1949 in Brunswick, Northern Germany,

now lives in Switzerland, near Basle. With a PhD in chemistry,
he has for the last 19 years been managing director of a
pharmaceutical research institute at Arlesheim. He is married to
a school teacher and has three teenage children. After working
for many years in the chemical industry, also in South Africa, he
taught chemistry and biology at a Waldorf (Steiner) school in
Germany for three years.
Having taken virtually no solid food since January 2001,* he
has also from time to time gone for longer periods completely
without liquids, the longest span so far being ten days.
I have known him for five years and am now in regular contact
with him. I know his family, his home and his colleagues at work;
and over the whole of this period I have been observing him with
growing interest, for the number of my questions has not
decreased. The bewildering thing about him is that apart from
having no need to eat, and practising this with total consistency,
he is an `entirely normal person' indeed he refers to himself as
`Mr Ordinary'. As a scientist for whom life also holds a spiritual
dimension, however, he feels it is important to share in bringing
about the paradigm change which he feels is imminent. As he
never ceases to point out, his concern is the imperative necessity
to hold a question mark over our one-sided view of the world. And
* See also p. 52.

16 j LIFE FROM LIGHT

he endeavours to do this not by working out new theories but by
presenting `hard facts' and demonstrable physical phenomena.
The first article about Michael Werner and his form of `living
on light' appeared in September 2002,* but it had taken a long
time for it to reach publication. The editorial team of the journal
in question initially found it somewhat questionable and did not
want to go ahead without having prior discussions and adding
some kind of disclaimer. Since then, reactions to the article have
been entirely positive, both from those in Werner's immediate
environment and from complete strangers. He has received
many letters and queries including some from a number of
individuals who intended, on the basis of what they had read in
the article, to `convert' their eating habits by applying the `21-day
process'. Some of their reports will be found in this book. The
effect of that article is still ongoing, with the number of invitations to lecture increasing year on year. The dam appears to have
burst, so that the subject which had been entirely taboo is
becoming increasingly acceptable and up for discussion.

Meeting Michael Werner

My first meeting with Michael Werner was in 2001, shortly
before Christmas. After a festive dinner at a teachers' training
course the table laden with a gorgeous selection of specialities
from Africa, Russia and Switzerland I had the opportunity to
have a talk with him. I had heard from a friend that for almost a
year he had not taken any food and also no longer had any need
for it. Following my study of Nicholas von der Flu
e I had
accepted that there had been people and even now there could
be such who could find nourishment other than by physical
food. I had read Jasmuheen's book, and had heard there were, in
* Sto
ckli, 2002.

WHO IS MICHAEL WERNER? j 17

our time, people who were nourished by `light', `prana' or `ether
forces'. I felt somewhat antipathetic towards the book itself on
account of its style and content. I found it to be a dangerous
counsellor, with its esoteric potpourri and its `21-day process'
describing how to abstain totally from food.
My friend, however, had confirmed to me the serious character of Michael Werner for they were colleagues and also of
his many years of intensive involvement with serious spiritual
work. So I had resolved to meet this person.
To take no food for a year and to work in a responsible
position as quite a `normal' and respected colleague, as well as
being a family man and scientist, a chemist actually, sounded
somewhat unbelievable!

To refute a materialistic world-view

I intended to research this matter seriously and furthermore to
suggest that this case should be clinically examined. I was
motivated by the following: If it is true that someone could live
and be fit and healthy without eating or even drinking, then our
conceptions as to what a human being needs to exist are quite
practically refuted and this presents us with fundamental
questions. Through this unusual phenomenon, perhaps deeper
and wider ideas regarding human life in general could be
developed.
When I interviewed Werner for the first time, he responded
quite openly and spontaneously to my questions. Since 1
January 2001 he had no longer taken any solid food. He still
joined in at mealtimes for social reasons, even cooking for his
family at times, but since that time did not feel any hunger or
thirst. He still drank coffee, various teas, fruit-juices and water,
altogether taking between one half and a litre of liquid per day.

18 j LIFE FROM LIGHT

He said that he could also go without drinking and had done so
for a whole week on three occasions. He was feeling much better
than ever before. In the year of `conversion' he had come to a
crisis point physically: a fractured leg, a spine operation and
bladder and kidney problems giving him the feeling that his
body, at 51 years of age, was disintegrating. And yet now he was
feeling in tip-top condition physically, emotionally, mentally and
also with regard to his memory and ability to concentrate. He
needed noticeably less sleep, engaged in sports and did his work
with enjoyment and engagement.
At our second meeting, at his home on a cool day in May, we
sat outside in his garden. I felt chilled by the cool breeze whereas
he was in good form, full of activity, using his short midday
break for a further talk with me and with his wife before
returning on foot, as usual, to his place of work. At the age of 52
he certainly did not give the impression of a starving person,
with his sun-tanned complexion and determined gait.
The whole story still seemed so incomprehensible, and it
was important to me to get to know his personal environment
in order to arrive at a more comprehensive picture. His wife
willingly agreed to a meeting and told me that naturally she
had followed everything from close quarters. She spoke of
how her husband had fared since the `conversion'. Strangely,
she was confident that it would work out well, but in the
beginning she had had great doubts as to whether their family
life would change radically. Her husband was formerly very
fond of food and they had often cooked together for the
family. At first it had been a strange thing for the three children to have their father sitting at the table without a plate.
But now everything was running without any problems, their
private and family life much as it was before. She did mention
that neighbours and acquaintances who knew of this change

WHO IS MICHAEL WERNER? j 19

in her husband could not cope with the subject one simply
didn't speak about it . . .

`Living on light' a free decision and an offer by the

spiritual world
In our very first conversation Werner told me how he had met
with the idea of undergoing this `conversion':
`I had heard of this possibility from a good acquaintance. I
then read Jasmuheen's book Living on Light, but was not particularly impressed by it. Yet, because of this person I was
acquainted with, I recognized that somehow such a phenomenon was a reality and this reality had something to do with
myself. This was early in the summer of 2000. After some
months of pondering and examining myself, I decided to
undertake the so-called ``21-day process''. To be frank, curiosity
was also part of my motivation. Does it work? And if so how? I
decided to follow the practical advice given in the book. I never
had a bad feeling about it. I also knew I would be able to call it
off at any time. I was utterly free, it was my own decision, and
that was of central importance to me.'
In answer to my question as to how his experience differed from
fasting, he replied: `This is something totally different! With
fasting the body mobilizes reserves of substances and forces; you
cannot fast for an unlimited time, neither can you go without
drinking. But this process I was undertaking was and remains a
mental-spiritual phenomenon and requires a special inner tuning.
There is actually only one condition: that I can open myself to the
thought that I can be nourished by light, by the etheric, by prana or
whatever it may be called. This is the bridge that is needed. Then it
will happen. I experienced it as an offer by the spiritual world.
`In the first seven days I did not drink even a drop of liquid.

20 j LIFE FROM LIGHT

The general view is that you cannot live for more than five days
without liquid. But you experience in your own body that this is
wrong! Suddenly, you experience that these generally held views
do not tally with reality. If someone dies of thirst or hunger, it is
because of his or her environment. There is the conviction that
without drinking and eating one has to die. This has been the
case hitherto, but for the last 1520 years we have been living in
another field of energy with new possibilities. Of course, history
shows that there have been exceptional personalities, such as
Nicholas von der Flu
e or Therese of Konnersreuth also yogis
who could do this, but for quite normal people, such as myself,
this was beyond reach. This is now a new and apparently special
dispensation from the spiritual world.'
I could somehow imagine that this was possible Nicholas
von der Flu
e's total renunciation of food had not overturned my
view of the world. But I asked myself: What good will this serve?
Eating is not only enjoyable, but is also a social activity, closely
uniting us with the earth. Werner agreed that this actual point
poses the greatest problem. Yet, for him it was not just a question
of eating and drinking. It was his evident experience that the
generally accepted view of a material-physical world is incorrect:
`The materialistic world-view can be refuted theoretically, but
today this is no longer sufficient. It requires practical, quite
concrete proof. Yet all of a sudden my close acquaintances also
have a problem with me!' Even some scientists associated with
the work of the Austrian-born `spiritual scientist' Rudolf Steiner*
with which Michael Werner is connected are not more open.
* 18611924. Rudolf Steiner founded the art and science of anthroposophy, a
discipline that incorporates methods of personal development and philosophical and spiritual investigation, as well as fresh approaches to practical
activities in fields such as medicine, agriculture, education, architecture, and so
on. See also Appendix.

WHO IS MICHAEL WERNER? j 21

In other words, everyone reacts individually. He is experiencing
the whole scale of responses: from interest and openness right
through to denial and defensiveness. Nevertheless, he was greatly
astonished that hardly anyone had shown any serious interest in
this phenomenon. `Somehow I have the feeling: it is simply too
much for most people. They repress it; for every scientist it causes
anxiety that they will have to revise their world-view.'
I sensed Werner's disappointment. Yet he could also
appreciate those people who meet the phenomenon with an
open mind. I felt I was one such person. A modern spiritual
world view presents ways of thinking that allow the unusual to
be admitted in principle and all phenomena to be taken
seriously. Only after a careful assessment should a judgement be
made. And yet I found that Jasmuheen's book still brought up a
number of problems for me. For this reason I probed again:
`What is your position with regard to some of the highly problematical aspects of the so-called ``New Age?'' ' He replied: `I
cannot say anything regarding the person of Jasmuheen. I know
too little about her. Concerning her book, readers have to use
their own discrimination in judging it. The centre of the book
some thirty pages describing the ``conversion'' is not written
by Jasmuheen but by Charmaine Harley and is, in my opinion,
fine. One can easily have questions about the rest of the book. I
can only repeat that personally I have not experienced the process of ``conversion'' as life-threatening. I always knew that I
could stop at any time. After all, every dogmatic and radical
attitude can present a danger to life.'

Matter as `condensed light'

For me there were still points of conflict. I continued to question
Werner's spiritual path, and whether, since his `conversion', he

22 j LIFE FROM LIGHT

had had any specific spiritual experiences. `For the last 25 years
I have lived intensively with anthroposophy and have worked
out my own spiritual path of inner exercises. I was able to
deepen my meditation and my spiritual endeavours. My deeper
connection with the spiritual world did not happen automatically by renouncing physical food, but because I strive for it.
One does not slip effortlessly into the spiritual. I could never be
party to such a path. I am left entirely free. Neither is there any
organization posing any expectations or obligations on me. I
myself know of no other person practising this, except the
acquaintance I have mentioned.'
I kept on probing: As a scientist, how could he explain to
himself the phenomenon of `living on light'? Werner's answer
was: `I have read everything by Rudolf Steiner concerning the
process of nutrition and have found nothing that I have
experienced as problematic with regard to this phenomenon,
but neither have I found any direct explanation. The closest
bridge I found was in a lecture in which Steiner said that matter
is ``condensed light''.* Matter, therefore, is light and there are
different ways to turn light into matter. The concept ``light''
would not apply in too narrow a sense. It is the whole ``etheric''
[life] environment, which we can ``inhale'' with our whole sensory organization, as Steiner repeatedly explained. This could be
called ``living on light''. After eating and drinking, our body
breaks down the material aspect completely and it is then partly
restructured and enlivened anew in order to build us up and
maintain us. This helps the body to maintain its structural
principles. ``Living on light'' would in some senses be a simplification of this process, in that the body does not require solid
matter but receives its building substances and structuring
* R. Steiner, 1995 (see lecture of 27 May 1910).

WHO IS MICHAEL WERNER? j 23

forces directly from other sources. I can only say that through
this phenomenon I have found an entirely new relationship to
my body and to earthly substances. I experience it in a very
inward way, yet without turning away from matter and the earth.
Connected with this, however, is also an act of consciousness in
that, by devotion and turning towards physical substances
around me, I cultivate a conscious relationship. Otherwise, it
might perhaps go astray and become a lower egotism. Even
when we talk about ``living on light'' we are not concerned with
the effects of physical light. Light, as such, is in any case invisible. What matters is the whole energy-environment, which we
may call ``ether-forces''.'

To become an `icebreaker' to overcome scepticism

Scepticism, and usually also disbelief of this extraordinary
phenomenon, can surely only be cleared away by strict scientific testing.* I therefore asked Werner how he would respond
to a scientific project in which he would be isolated for 34
weeks, observed minutely and medically tested. Werner stressed that he would willingly cooperate fully with such an
experiment. He added that physiological tests had already
been done on him. A thorough examination at a university
clinic had produced medical results that his blood plasma, as
well as its chemical composition, his urine and basic metabolism and respiratory system revealed no exceptional data
there were no deviations from accepted normal standards. All
of this is, of course, not yet convincing to the sceptics could
he be eating secretly? Only a scientifically designed and monitored experiment could establish the phenomenon as concrete fact. For Werner this would mean a positive challenge to
* See more about this on pages 130158 and 215219.

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science `in the classical sense'. Science has always made progress through such challenges. People are needed in our scientific establishments who can muster the courage to become
`icebreakers'.