Men t a l The r a peu t i cs

%u s t How To He a l One s e l f
An d Ot hers

B y T H E RO N Q . D U MO N T
A u t ho r of
“
Pe rs on al Mag n etis m
“
Pra ctic al Me m o ry
T ra i n i n g ”
;
“
Pow er to C onc te n ra t e
”
; etc. ,etc .

I NC LU DI NG

TH E LA T E ST A ND B E ST M ETH OD S O F PR ES
E NT A ND DI STA NT M E NTA L H E A LI N G

A DVA N C E D TH OU G HT LI SH I N G C O
PU B .

C H I C A G O ,ILL .

11 N F OW LE R . CO. .

e e
7 I m p ri a l Ar ca d ,Lu dga t Ci rcu s ,Lon don ,E n g e .
 o
C pyri ght ,l 9 l 6
By
A D VA N C E D '

I H O U G H T PU B LI SH I N G C0
C H I C A G O,ILL .
 TAB LE O F C O NTE NTS

LE S S O N 1
TH E SC E C E OF M T A H E A
I N EN L LI N G
Men t al T herapeu ti cs a S c i ence ,no t a supers titi on Na t ural ,n o t
s u p e rna t ural N t a t heology or a rel i g i on M i n d i s U nknowable ,
.

o
bu t it s ac ti v iti es are kno w n an d ma y be i n t ell i gen t ly appl i e d
. .

H ow M i n d m y be harnesse d t o d o w ork f or us A ra ti onal sys

.

a
tem o f m en tal hyg ie ne , based u p o n t h e kno w n l aws o f mi nd 7and
.

ma tte r T h e essence o f t he bes t t each i ng

. Pages 1 4— . .

LE S S O N 1 ]
TH E C O R P O R E AL M I N D
T h e body i t he organ o f t he m i n d M i nd o ve mi nd t
s r ; no
M i n d over Ma tt er T he Corporeal M i n d i s t he bod i ly m i nd
.

“ %

cons i s ti ng o f a un it y o f cell -m i n d s ,an d organ -mi nds A p has e o f

. .

t he S ubconsc i ous M i n d T h e Corporeal M i nd i s a m enable t o sug .

ges ti on Wha t S ugg es ti on i s and t h e laws o f it s man i f es t a ti on

.

. .
.

15 22 o o o o o o o o
—

LE S S O N I I I
TH E C E LLS O F TH E B O DY
T h e hu man bo d y i s composed o f m i n ute cells Wha t t h e se
cells are an d o f w ha t t he y are composed T he cells are i nd ivid ual
.

an d separa t e ye t w ork by comb i n i ng an d -opera ti n-g For t y

.
.

co
k i nds o f cells and wha t t he y d o T he bo d y a g r e a t o p era tiv
.
.

co e
commun ity o f cells T he won d er f ul s t or y o f t h cells , and t h e
.
.

e
m an if old ac ti v iti e m an ifes t e d b y t h e m
s
.

P ages 2 3 3 0 -

LE S S O N I V
D TH E C ELLS MI N IN
E ac h c ell i s al iv e , and possesses a mi nd of it s own G r u p o
m i n d o f cell com mu n iti es T elepa t h i c commun i-ca ti on be tw een t h
.

e
c e lls and groups T h e psychology o f t h e cell m i n d s D i sease i s
.

treach
he fa i lur e o f t he cells t o f unc ti on properl y- Cures ar e mad e b y
.

i ng t he m i nd i n t he cells, and c e ll groups, and i ndu 1i—n g .

.

c
t hem t o f unc ti on normall y P ages 3 3 8 . . . .

LE S S O N V
TH E S M P AT H E T C
Y I N E R VO U S S T M
YS E
T h e i n t r i ca t e nervous sys t e m by wh i ch t he Corpor e al M i nd
r e aches all par t o f it s k i ng d om Wha t t he S ympa t he ti c N er v ou
s s
S ys t em i s ,and how it pera t es H w it per forms t h e u ncons i ous
.

O o c
an d i nvolun t ary f unc ti ons an d o ffi ces o f t he bo d y H ow it con
.

d uc t s t he nu t r itiv e and repara tive work T h e G angl i a ; t h P le—x4i

.

e ;
Ab d om i nal B ra i n Pages 3 9 6
.

the . .

LE S S O N VI
M E N TAL C AU S E O F D I S E A S E
H ow i mproper t hough t an d men t al s t a te s cause d i seas e W h y
Fear i s con t ag i ous H ow persons have beco m e i ll and hav e d i ed
.

b y reason o f f r i gh t and f Corporea l M i nd

.

h ht H w h ea rt ou g o t e
exerc i ses con t rol over t h e ner v ous , v aso -mo t or, c i rcula t ory and
.

o t her sys t ems f the body H ow im ag i na ti on h ca u s e d s e r i o u s

o as
d i s e e s H w t o e ach t h o ot f di s e ase Page s 4 7 5 4
.

as . o r e r o .
-

. 8
 LE SS O N VI I
TH E F NC I PLE O F CU R E
UN AM E T A
D N L PR I
A l l fo r m s c u r f d i se as e
of r e lly p has e s o f M e n t al H ea l
e o a re a
i n g T h e Vi Me dic a t r i x N a tu ra e T h e de fe ns i ve an d repara ti v
s e
f orce o f t h e bo d y are men t a l f or e s T h e l if e proce s ac ti g
. .

s c s n
tmhrough t h e c e lls p er f orm t he cure : a n d t h i s process i s purely
en t al -i n n tu r e H o w t h e Corporea l M i nd e n e r gi es t he cell
s
.

s
a z
cell g r ou p s un d e r p ro p e r me n t a l t i mulu s P a g e
.

an d s -
55 62 s

L E SS O N VI I I
TH E H I S T O R Y O F M EN TAL TH E R A P EUT I C S
A n i n teres ti n s t ory o f t he h i s t ory o f M e n tal H eal i n g H ow
g
tMhee n tanc i en t r ie s t s an d mag i c i ans e mplo y ed t he pr i nc i ple H ow
p
al He al i ng was ncorpora t e d wit h r e l i g io ns T he h e al i n g
i
.

vi r tue s o f shr i n e s , r e l i cs , holy places , rel i g i ous cere m on i es, e t c ,

and t he pr i nc i ple beh i n d t h e m T he hi s t or y o f Chr i s ti an S c ie nce
.

and Ne w Pa ge s 6 3 71
.

.
—

LE S S ON I X
D I S G U I S E D M E N TAL H E AL I N G
Ho w th e pr i nc i ple o f Men t al H eal i ng has been employe d u nd e r
man y s t ran e di sgu i ses T he ps y chology o f cures by t he i mag i na
ti on T h e p acebos o f t h e phys i c i ans ,an d why t hey per f orm cures .

Ho w p hy s i c i ans fool t h e mselv e s and o t h e rs T h e H ack T uk e

. .

e xp e r ime n t an d t he i r e xplana ti on Wh y pa t en t m edi c i nes cure

.

s
t he P u le .

Pages 7 2 7 9 . .

Th % y t
e e o zz .
-

LE S S O N X
TH R E E M E TH O DS OF M EN T AL H EALI N G
H eal i ng by Men t al S ugges ti on He al i ng by P resen t T hough t
I nduc t i on H eal i ng b y D i s t an t T hough t I n d uc ti on T he i i l
.

r nc
ibyn v olved i n each , and t h e di s ti nc ti n be t ween t he m A l opera t e p es
. .

o
aro u s i n g i n t o ren e we d an d nor m al ac tivity and f unc ti on i ng
.

t he m i nd i n t h e cel l s , or g ans , and p r t s o f t h e b ody o f t he a

p t i e n t Ho w t h e s e m e tho ds m ay b e c omb i n e d
a . P ag e s 8 0 8 7 .
-

LE S S O N X I
M EN T AL S UGG E ST I ON
Th b as i s
e f M e n t al S ugges ti on
o Wh t S ugges ti on i s , and a a
how it ac t s upon t he subconsc i ous m i nd T he psycholo gy o f
.

S u gg e s ti on T he men t a l fa t ors emp l o y e d i n S ugg e s t i on E arnes t

.

c
Atte n ti on i n S ug ges ti on E xp e c t an t Att en ti on i n S ugges ti on
. .

P leasurable M e n t al Sta t es i n S ugge s tio n T he d y nam i c f orce o f . .

A tt e nti o n T h p o w e o f E xp e c t anc y
. e r Pages 8 8 9 5 . .
—

L E SS ON X I I
C I PLE S O F SUGG E S T I O N
P RIN
T he le ad i ng pr i nc i ples o f S u gg es ti on H ow t he p r i nc i p le o f
Aut hor it y opera te s i n S ugges ti on H ow t he pr i nc i pl e o f A ssoc i a
.

ti on o pera t es i n Su gges ti on H o w t he pr i nc i ple o f E arnes t ness

.

op e ra t es i n S ugges ti on H ow t h e pr i nc i p e o f R epe titi on opera t es

.

S ugges ti on H ow t o m an if es t t h e men t al a ttit ude o f Au t hor it y

.

in
i n givi n g s u g g es ti v e t rea t men t s P ages 9 6 1
.

. .
— 03

LE S S O N XI I I
T H E R A P E UT I C SUGG E ST I ON
H ow t o r e ach t he m i nd o f t h e pa ti en t bhy S ugg es t i n The b es t o
channels o f i n fl u e nc e H ow t o di agnos t men t al an d e mo ti onal
.

e e
charac t er i s ti cs o f pa ti en t s H o w t o apply t he appropr i a t e m et ho d s
.

t oa tifient t each cas e H o w t o sugges t t o t h e rel i i ous t ype o f

.

s , t he m et aphys i cal ty p e t h e y h l g cal ty pe ; t h e

.

“ ” “ %

pn ew t h i ng ty p e ; so as t o get t h e b e s t e sul t s
‘ ”
; p
Pa ge s 1 04 1 1 2 r
s c o o
—

LE S S O N X I V
H AT T O UGG E ST W AT E T S S TO P I N
H w o p i n t t he p i c t ures o f t he d e s i red e s u l t Ho w t o aro u s
to a r e
e p e c t an t tt en ti on o f t he pa tie t ene r l s ugge s tio n of
.

t he x a n . G a s
healf t h-, and sp e c i fi c s ugge s t i o n t fi t the p ar ticu lar cases The s o
r i l e b u lle t t r a tm en t and the s hot -gun t r e a tment how to
.

“ “ ”
e ;
co m b i n e b oth H ow t-o r e a ch the p o t d oi d sca tte ra t i o n
“
s
”
an av
“ ”

H w to e c h t he cell m i n ds Pa g es 1 1 3 1 2 0
. .

o r a . .
-

LE SS O N XV
T H E R AP E U T C AU T SUG G E ST I O N I O-
W h a t A u t o -S ugges ti on i s , an d ho w it resembl e s ord i na y S ug r
g e ti on H o w t o sug g s t t o on e s w bo d y , par
s e t s cells , and
’
o n
or ans The ph i losoph y and psycholog o f A u t o S ugges ti on , or
.
.

y
-
SHe wf -Ht oealreach
i ng your
T h e nmeert hoConsc
d s oi fousness
e m i n e bn yt At eachers and heal e r
.

s
u t o -S u g g e s ti on Ho w
. .

o I n
t o tr e a t t he o gans o f y o u r bo dy ,an d to hea l t hem Pa g es 1 2 1 —1 2 8
r . .
.

L E S S O N X VI
DUCT I O N TH UG HT O IN
Wha t T h o ugh t I nduc ti on really i s H o w t o e mp lo y T ho u h t
I nduc ti on i n heal i ng H o w men tal s t a t es , f eel i ngs , an d t houg t s
.

te nd t o i n d uce s i m i lar ac ti v iti es i n o t her m i n d s , w it hou t di rec t

.

con t ac t T he s t range correspon d ence be t ween T hough t and E l e c

T ho u gh t i s radi o -ac tiv e T h ough t t rans f orma ti on and
.

t i ity
r c
t ra n s m i ss i n,w i th o ut con du c ti ng
.

o 1 2 9- 1 3 6
.

L E S S O N X VI I
TH E P R A C T I C E O F TH OUG HT I N DUC T I O N
H ow t o i n d uce t houghd t vi bra ti ons i n t he m i n d s o f o t h e rs
E x e rc i se f or prac ti ce de velopmen t o f t he po w er H ow
.

an t o,
t rans form w or d i n t o t hough t -vi bra ti ons I H ow t o arou e i t he
.

s s
Corp o re al M i n d o f t he pa ti en t b y T hough t n d uc ti on Full d
.

re c
ti ons f or ac t ual prac ti ce H ow t o pro d uce t h e des i r e d p1s yc-h o
.

lo g ic l co nd iti on d s t a te Pa g es 3 7 1 4 4
.

a an . . .

L E S S O N X VI I I
D I STAN T T H OU G H T I N DUC T I O N
H ow t o t e t pa tie n t s a t a di s t a ce by T hough t I nd ucti on
r a
Absen t He al i ng ex p la i ned,sc ie nlti fi call y M e n tal W i rel e ss an
”
n
“ ”
.

es tabl i sh e d f ac t o f sc i ence T e epa t hy an accep t ed pr i nc i p l

.

e
H ow m i nd a ff e c t s mi nd a t a d i s t ance H ow t he t rans f orma ti on o f
. .

a psych i c a ctio n i n t o an et h e r e al mo v emen t , an d t h e v e— i

.

re e rs s
ac com p li s he d
.,

1 45 152

LE S S O N X I X
TH U HT T A
H OW O D ST A C
G R VE L S T O A I N E
H ow t o es t abl i sh m en t al l i nes o f commun i ca ti on be t w ee n t h e
prac titi oner an d h i s pa t i en t H ow T hough t t ravels along e t hereal
l i nes o f it s own mak i ng un ti l it reaches t he rece i v i ng mi nd
.

a tt un ed t o i t H o w T hough t pro j ec t s f rom it s e l f t he li n e s o v r

.

e
wh i ch it t ra vel s t o a di s t ance H o w you bu i ld t he m en t al t ra c k
.

by t h i nk i n g i t i n to e x i s t ence Pa ges . 1 5 3—1 6 0

XX LE S SON
W TO H A AT A D TA C E
HO E L IS N
i
D rec ti ons f or prepar i ng t he m i n d o f t he pa ti en t f or t he t r e a t
m en t Cau ti ons t o t he pa ti en t to preven t i n ux o f u ndes i rabl fl e
ti ng
hough t w aves E s t abl i sh i ng t he rappor t con diti on T he fee l
.

-
o f clos e ness Vi sual i i n g t h e pa ti en t pr e sence H ow t o
.

'
.

z s
b e g i n t he i s t an t T rea t men t w t o con d uc t it and w to
. .

D ; ho : ho
cl os e i t A ty p ic a l i ll u s t ra ti ve cas e ,and t r e a t m e n t P a g es
. . . 1 6 1 -1 6 8

LE SS O N X X I
TH E PH S G OF M TA H EA G Y I O LO Y EN L LI N
A bas i c kno w l ed g e o f phys i olog y r e u i re d i n or d er t ha t t h e q
normal con diti on m be vi sual i e d an d man if es t e d i n t real it y
s a y z o
A m en t a pa tt ern o f normal heal t h an d f unc ti on mus t be crea t ed
.

l
Al l h e al i ng cons i s t s i n r t or i ng N a t ure s normal rul e and opera
.

’
es
ti ons H o w N t ure a her heal i ng w ork H o w t o call i n t o
e r f or m s
opera t i on Na t r e s or ce s Pa ge s
. .

1 6 9- 1 7 6
’
u . .
 LE S S O N XXI I
NU T R I T I VE PR OC E S S E S TH E
H w N a t ur e n o ur i shes t h
o bod y , and bu ild s - p , repa i rs , and e u
sus t a i ns it by t ak i ng t he nou r i shmen t con t a i ne d i n t h bloo d e
H o w t he our i shmen t ge t s i n t o t he bloo d f rom t he f oo d T he
n
ac tiviti es o f t he s t omach T h e ac ti v iti es o f t he small i n t s t i ne
T he par t play e d b y t he l i v e r pancre a s , t H ow th e nour i shmen t e
.

e c.
i s bsorb ed i n t o t he bloo d A grea t l e sson
a P ag s 1 7 7 1 8 4 .
.

e -

L E S S O N XX I I I
TH E E LI M I N A T I VE PR OC E SS E S
H ow N a tu r e el i m i na t es t h w as te pro d uc t s and de br i s o f t he
s y s t em , and di spos e s o f it s garbage T he el i m i na ti on b y t he
e

brea t h by t he sk i n by t he k id neys an d by t he bo w l H w
.

; ; ; e s o
t he s w ea t an d ur i ne carry ff was te T he work o f t he Colon , o or
large bow e l t he grea t s e wer o f t he sys t em H ow t o r s t ore n t u al
.

; e a r
con diti ons o f t h e se or ga s A valuabl e lesson Pages 1 85 9 2 .

n . .
—1

LE S SO N XX I V
TH E B LOO D I S TH E LI F E
How N a t ure provhid es a canal sys t em fffor carry i ng nour i sh
men t t o al l par t s o f t bo d y ,and carry i ng r f use an d garbage e o e
Wha t t he bloo d i s Wha t t he ar t er i es an d v e i ns are , an d w h t
.

a
they d o T he par t pla y e d b y t he h e ar t H ow t he bloo d i s .

l i ui d flesh d es ti ned t o becom e sol id flesh Why t he bloo d

. .

“ ”
q is
“ ‘
t he life o f t he bod y ”
Pages 1 9 3 2 02 .

LE S S O N X X V
THE R E P R O DU C T I VE S ST EM
Y
H ow N a tu re per forms h e r work o f repro d uc ti on , and pr e s e r v a
tnai ont ureo f otfhee ach
race T he R eproduc ti ve O rgan i sm o f t he Male T he
organ ,an d t he par t it per f orms T he S perma t o o ,
. .

z a
or l ivi ng seed , and ho w t h e y ac t T h e R epro d uc ti ve O rgan i m
.

“ ”
s

t
of
orm B
t he F m a l e The na t ur e o f each orga an d t he par t it per
e .

2 03
.

n
— 212
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Q

LE S S O N XX VI
“
W H E N TH E H A
D O F TH E P O TT E R SLI PS N
W he n N a t ur e f a i ls i n her f ull purpos e : an d how t o he l p h er
tdiorecc o mp l e t e her work ,an d ho w t o r s t ore it w hen d amage d Full
ti ons for G eneral T rea t men t A lso f ull di rec t i ons f or spec i al
e .

t rea t m e n t s o f t h e f ollo wi ng classes o f di seases T roubles o f t h

.

: e
Oandrgans o f N u t r iti on ; o f t he O rgans of E l i m i na ti on ; o f t he H e r t a
C-i rcula ti on : o f t he L u ngs : R h euma ti c t roub l e ; t roubles o f t h s e
S ens e O rgans ; Ne u ralg i c t roubles , an d He ad aches : t roubles o f t he
R eproduc ti ve S ys t em : N ervous t roub l es , e t c T rea t men t o f o t hers ,
and S el f -t r e a tm en t Valuable Adv i ce . P ges 2 1 3 2 2 4 . a -

L E S S O N XX VI I
M A GN E T I C A N D SP I R I T U AL H E AL I N G
T he p r i nc i ples of Magne ti c H eal i ng f ul l y expla i ned H ow t o
m Magne ti c H eal i n g e ff ec ti ve ly T h e e ff ec t o f t he di ff eren t
.

f
fi i n d o f pa ses A common -s e nse , sc i en ti fi c explana ti on o f t he
er or .

s
ub j e c t o f S p i r itu al H eal i ng , w h i ch i nclu d es t he h i ghes t
.

s p c o n ce
ti on s o f t he bes t au t hor itie s Pag s 2 2 5 2 3 2 . . e -
 LE SSO N I

TH E S CI ENCE OF MENT AL H E ALI N G

In these lessons I shall give you the e ssence

and substance of the best scientifi c knowledge
r egarding the prevention and cure of physical

ills by the power of the mi n d .

But in presenting the theory and practice of

Men t al Therapeutics to you I shall careful ly
avoid all reference to myst icism or occ ul tism ,
or strange metaphysical and philosophi cal the
or i e s
. Mental Therapeutics i s a science ,n ot a
superstition ; it i s something based on sound
scientifi c facts ,and not upon vague imaginings .

N ature surely contains enough wonde r s for

us ,without the need of our exploring any s o
called supernatural realms in ou r search for the
relief of the ill s and pains of mankind The.

P ower that has called us in t o be i ng has placed

at our disposal many wonderful means of self
help ,and self cure There is no need f or us to
- .

”
become spooky or uncan ny when we begin
the study of Mental Therapeutics ,nor when we
carry the theory into the realm of actual pr a c
tice There are greater wonders and mysteries
.

wrapped up in the domain of N ature than have

ever been dreamed of b y man in his search f or
the supernatural .

N either is there any need of draggi ng the

religious element into Men t al Therapeutics ,for
it has n o direct connection with the scientifi c
side of the subj ect There is n o on e who has
.
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUT I C S

a gter,de eper,or m ore profound resp e ct ,

r e a
veneration ,and reverence than have I for the
P ower whi ch i s back of all N a ture ,and whi ch is
e t man i fest in every on e of her activi t ies .

or e ov e r ,I fi rmly believe that a fi r m fai th in

that P ower has an u pli fting e fi e ct upon the
mi nds and souls of persons ,and therefore tends
t o keep them in health ,and t o restore health
when it has been lost But ,I believe that
.

theolo gy a n d Mental Therapeutics are t wo dis

tinct fi elds of human thought and activity I .

do n ot be l ieve in making a religion of Mental

Therapeuti cs ,and of mixing theological doc
trines with the scientifi c methods of applying
the latter .

I n fact ,whil e many persons have rece i ved

bene fi t from Mental Therapeutics adm i nistered
un der the guise and fo rm of religious teachi ng ,
I a l so be li eve that many more persons have been
re pe ll ed and kept away from the wonderful
benefi ts of this form of treatment b y reason of
the s t range and queer theologic a l teachin gs of
s ome of the healers . There i s n o reason in the
w orld why any person shoul d fo r s ake hi s or her
chosen religion — the faith that ha s been of such
great comfort and consolation to hi m or her dur
i n g many years of life i n order t o obtain the
—
“ ”
benefi ts of the new healing methods R ather .

do I believe that the best therapeutic methods

of this new system may be applied with the best
results when the patient i s su ppor ted by the
com f or t i n g a s s u r a n ce of hi s or he r own chosen
% a : i-
L
 TH E S C IENCE OF ME NTAL HE ALI N G

U nder the guise of me nt a l healin g many per

s ons have been i n duced t o forsake the faith of
their fathers ,and the fait h of their youth ; t oo
often with the result that they have become l ike
ships without a rudder,drift ing and floa t ing
backward a n d fo r ward with every passing cur
rent These people hav e let go of the ol d,with
.

out getti ng a fi rm hold on the new A t the .

last ,all religion m a y be summed up in thr ee

general principles ,v i z ( 1 ) Belief i n the exist
ence of a Supreme Being or P ower ,from whom
all life proceeds ,( 2 ) faith in ,and dependence
upon ,the goodn e s s of that Being or P ower in
all the a ffairs and circumstances of dai ly life ;
and ( 3 ) l iving the R igh t Life ,in accord with the
highest teachi ngs of the best faiths ,and in
accordance with the di ctates of on e s own con
’

science H avin g these principles ,and living up

.

t o them as cl osely as on e can ,on e is truly

religious ,n o m a tter what hi s faith or profession.

So,my students ,in these lessons you will n ot

be torn away from the safe anchorage of your
religious faith ,nor asked t o accept some strange
and new theology as a precedent to your learn
ing the art and science of healing yourself and
others While ,as I have said ,all thinking men
.

re cognize the presence and being of a Supreme

P ower ,and seek assistance and aid from ,and
depend upon it ac cordingly ; still we shall fi n d
that this Supreme P ower has placed within ou r
grasp the means a n d methods whereby we may
study and practice this sci ence ,a s we would any
other science Mental Therapeutics i s neither
.

9
 MENTAL T HERAPEUT I C S

a religion ,n or a theology ; it i s a scientifi c sys

tem of heal in g by natural means and me thods .

Moreover,although Mind is the great force

and po wer with which cures are made under the
system of Mental Therape u t ics ,we shall not be
asked t o accept any particular me t aphysical
“ ”
theory of What is Mind % We do not i nsis t
upon teachers of physical science telling us
exactly what Matter is % The truth is tha t they
do not know ; neither does any on e else know .

An d,likewise ,no on e knows just what Mind i s ;

n or are they likely to know . Mind ,Matter ,and
E nergy these are the three great manifesta
—

tions of the Supreme P ower ; and it has pleased

that Supreme P ower to render them perhaps
forever un known to us i n their fi nal nature The
.

sanest attitude t o take toward these myste ri es

i s that of H erbert Spencer ,i e ,that Mind ,Mat
. .

ter,and E nergy are the threefold aspects of the

“
m anifes t ation of that I nfi n i te and E ternal
”
P ower from whi ch all thi ngs proceed ; and
whi ch ,like the P ower that has called them into
being ,i s U nknowable at the last .

“
But ,while we do not know just what Mind
we most assure dly do know just how it
works Like electricity ,the nature of which we
.

do not kn ow either,we have harn essed Min d to

do work f or u s. We have in Mind a wonderfu l
and most potent force or natural energy ,and
we have learn ed how to guide ,direct ,and apply
its energies and power in the direction of the
healin g of physical ills We have discovered
.

that Mind works as re gularly,and a s surely,a s

10
 THE S C I ENCE OF ME NTAL HE ALI N G

does electricit y An d we know that we may set

.

it to work i n special direction ,surely and i n

variably ,when we provide the channels for i t s
expressio n .

A s we proceed with these lessons ,we shall

discover also that not only does Mind prevent
and cure diseases ,but that i t also causes diseases .

F ear ha s slain more human beings than the most

malign a nt fever I t s victims are numbered by
.

the millions .An d n ot only does it kill ,but it

cripples and incapaci t ates mill ions ,and renders
them m isera ble and unable to live normal li ves
a n d to perform e ffi cient work f or themselves and
those dependent upon them Like all other
.

grea t forces ,Mind acts negatively as well as

positively i t harms as well as bene fi ts W i s
— .

dom consists i n lear n i ng its laws and principles

of operation ; and thereby learn i ng t o prevent its
undesirable working ,and to encourage ,cultivate
and direct its b e n e fi ce n t activities
.

I n these lessons I shall try to bring order ou t

of chaos i n mental healing . There has been s o
much ill digested teachi ng on the subj ect ,and
-

s o much fanciful and often absur d theorizing ,

that the intelligent student is often perplexed
when he begins the study thereof .

A wri t er upon this subj ect i n a recent maga

zine article ,has well said P ast teaching r e
specting the influence of the mind upon the body
has been clouded and dis t orted by the errors of
superstition ,the inaccuracies of ignorance ,and
the exaggeration of fanatical extremists whose
prejudiced observations and report s were more
11
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTI C S

or less colored by commercial motives or s e e

tarian enthusiasm An d s o it was no little
.

wonder that teachin g mental healing grew into

a mass of religious con tradictions ,unreliable
observations ,and groundless asse r t ions I t ha s
.

required much painstaking labor on the part of

m odern physiologists a n d psychologists t o clear
a way this accumulation of rubbish and i gn or
ance ,a n d to lay a scientifi c foundation for a
rational system of mental hygiene based upon
the known laws of mind and matter .

The student will no t ice that in these les

sons I have not confi ned myself solely t o the
psychology of Men t al Therapeut ics I have.

accepted the facts of modern phy s iology as cor

r ect ; and have directed t he use of the power of
the mind along the lines of these physiological
f acts
. On e of the great mistakes of unscien tifi c
practitioners of mental healing ha s been the fact
that they have refused to accep t physiology a s
existent ; but have used the mi nd in a general
hit or miss fa shion The scienti fi c practitioner,
- — .

on the contrary , acquaints himself with the

physiology of the normal person ,and then bends
the ment a l ener gies toward restoring this norma l
state and condition of functioning By knowing
.

just how the organs of the body function in

health ,the practitioner i s better able to pic t ure
in the mind of the patient ( and in his own mind )
exactly what conditions are desired to be
created A s the mental pictu re is the pattern
.

around wh i ch Mind creates ,it will be seen that

the importance of creatin g the ri ght kind of
12
 TH E S C I ENCE OF MENTAL HE ALI NG

m ental pattern c a nno t be overestima t ed There

.

i s a great tr u th of Men t al Therapeutics stated

h re ; and the student will do well t o make note
0pi t .

But ,while we shall be led into the s tudy of

elementary physiology i n connec t ion with the
p sychology of cure , we shall not be bo t hered
wi t h technical scientifi c term s Wherever pos
.

s ible these techni cal term s shall be discarded .

W hen it is i mpossible t o proceed without them

we shall explain them in simple te rm s ,s o that
any person of average intelligence will be able
to understand them True knowledge does not
.

consist of a parrot like memorizing or repetition

-

of long words ,or foreign terms ; rather does it

consi s t of an understanding of the real meani ng
of the thi ngs described ; particularly a s regards
“ ”
the question of how they work .

I a s k my students , here at the very beginnin g ,

t o lay aside all preconceived ideas and acquired
p rejudices . N ot that they must accept my
theories and methods in preference to their own ,
r egardless of the compara t ive value thereof ;
but ra ther that they should cultivate an open
min d t o what I have to say ,until they are able
to grasp the why and wherefore of it I n some
.

cases they may think that I mean something

quite di fi e r e n t from my real meaning ; this by
reason of their unfamiliarity with my terms .

W e all have ou r own terms ,and we are sus

p i ci ou s of n e w ones
. Therefore , we s hould
always be sure that we reall y un ders t and the
real me a ning of the te r ms used by others .

13
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

F inal l y ,we must once and f or all get rid of

the idea that Truth is the ex clusive possession
of any on e s cho ol of thought or practice . There
i s a little good i n almost all sch ools and methods ;
and the most good i s always obtai ned by a n a l yz
ing the di fi e r e n t theories and methods ,and then
taking the essence of all that i s best ,discardin g
the waste material This i s the true scien tifi c
.

“ ”
m ethod the
— eclectic method ,c ombining the
best of the many for ms and phases ex a mine d ;
selectin g the best in each,and combining this
in on e general system and method An y other
.

plan results in narrowness and bigotry ,both of

which i s quite unscientifi c ,and quite contrary
to common sense .

H aving n ow understood the methods and gen

eral plan of these lessons ,let us now proce e d to
-

investigate ,examine ,and understand the work

ing principles and the basic theori es of this g1 eat
s ystem of the heali ng art — Mental Therapeutics .

-1 4
 LE SSO N I I

TH E C O RP O RE AL MI ND
On e ofthe fi r s t thi ngs that the student of
Mental Therapeutics should learn is this : Tha t
the hum an body is not a mass of mindless mat
ter,but is ,instead ,a s truly an organ of the mind
as is t he brain ,although its mental work is along
di fferent lines This may seem like a startling
.

statement to the person who has not a cquainted

himself with the discoveries of modern p s ychol
ogy and physiology .

N ot only is the body as a whole the outward

a s pect of an inward mentality ,but every part
of it ( even t he cells themselves ) h a s m i nd
im manent within it and acting through it An d,.

more than t his ,every part has i t s own particular

mental nature ; and every cell i t s own mental
being There is no part of the body ,no organ
.

of the body , n o cell of the body , that is without

its own mental being or nature .

When thi s im portant fact is perceived ,the

fundamental explanation of mental healing i s
had The student then no longer speaks of the
.

“
power of mind over matter , for he sees that it
i s really a manifestation of m i n d over m i n d
of on e kind of m i nd over another kind of mind .

Thi s fact being grasped t horoughly ,the whole

system of mental cure is perceived a s a reason
able and logical idea ,i n ste ad of a theory opposed
t o the accepted facts of N ature .

Just a s t he a cti vi ti es of the brai n cel ls i n

-

15
 MENTAL T HERAPEUTI C S

performin g their own allotted work are s o

closely correlated and combin ed that they are
regarded as a unity ,and form ou r t hi nki ng
“ ”
mind as a whole ; s o are the activities of our
cells ,parts ,organs and members of our bodies
s o closely correlated and combin ed in their a c
t ions and i nterac tio n that they form a uni t y ,a n d
may be regarded as one min d worki ng in har
mony and unity F or the want of a b e tter name
.

“
this combined mi nd may be called The Corpo
rea l Mi n d
”
. This term will be used in these l e s
sons to indicate thi s great indwelling mi n d which
i s the active Spirit of our physi cal fun c t ions and
bodily l ife .

The term c o r poreal means : pertaining t o

”
a material body . Therefo r e C orporeal Mind
“ ”
means the bodily mind . A s we proceed we
shall di scover the qualities , propertie s , and
attr ibutes of the Corporeal Min d .

The C orporeal Mind ,however ,must not be

thought of a s dwelling apart and separa t e from
the other fi elds of m e n t a l a ct i vi t y whi ch exist
'

in every person I n fact ,n o part or fi eld of

.

activi t y in the human being ,whether physical

or psychical ,so dwells apart ; everything i s cor
related ,interdependent ,and interactive all co —

ordinated and harmonious pa r t s of one whole .

The C orporeal Mind is really one of the phases

or planes of that great fi eld of human mental ity
known as the Subconscious Mind The Su b .

conscious Min d performs about eighty percen t

of the mental activi t y of the person ; the remain
i n g twenty percent being left for the C onsci ou s
16
 THE S C IENCE OF MENTAL HE ALI N G

does electricit y A n d we know that we m a y set

.

it to work in special direc t ion ,surely and i n

variably ,when we provide the channels for i t s
expression .

A s we proceed with these lessons ,we shall

discover also t hat not only does Mind prevent
and cure diseases ,but that it also causes diseases .

F ear ha s slain more human beings than the most

malignant fever I t s victims are n um bered by
.

the mil lions An d not only does it kill ,but it

.

cripples and incapaci t ates millions ,and re n ders

them miserable and unable to live n or mal lives
and t o perform e fli ci e n t work for themselves and
t hose dependent upon them Like all o ther
.

great forces ,Mind acts negatively as well as

positively i t harms as well as bene fi ts W i s
— .

dom consists in lear ni ng its laws and principles

of operation ; and thereby learning to preven t i t s
undesirable working ,and to encourage ,cultivate
and direct i t s b e n e fi ce n t activities
.

I n these les s ons I shall t r y to bri ng order ou t

of chaos in mental healing . There has been s o
much ill di gested teaching on the subj ect ,and
-

s o much fanciful and often absur d theorizing,

that the int elligent student i s often perplexed
when he begins the study thereof .

A wr i t er upon this subj ect i n a recent maga

z i ne article ,has well said : P ast teaching r e
specting the influence of the mind upon the body
has been cloud ed and distorted by the errors of
superstition ,t he inaccuracies of ignorance ,and
the exaggeration of fanatical extremists whose
prejudiced observations and reports were more
11
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTI C S

or less colored by commercial motives or s e e

tarian enthusiasm An d so it wa s no little
.

wonder that t eachin g ment al healing grew into

a mass of religious con t radic t ions ,unreliable
observations ,and groundless asse r t ions I t ha s.

required much painstaking labor on the part of

modern physiologists a n d psychologists t o clear
away this accumula t ion of rubbish and i gn or
ance ,a n d to lay a scientifi c foundation for a
rational system of mental hygiene based upon
the known laws of mind and matter .

The student will no t ice that in these les

sons I have not confi ned myself solely to the
p sychology of Mental Therapeutics . I have
accepted the facts of modern phy s iology as cor
r ect ; and have directed the use of the power of
the mind along the lines of these physiological
f acts
. On e of t he great mis t akes of unscien t ifi c
p ractit i oners of mental healing ha s been the fact
that they have refused to accep t physiology a s
existent ; but have used the mi nd in a general
hit or miss fa shion The scientifi c practitioner ,
- — .

on the contrary ,acquaints himself with the

physiology of the normal person ,and then bends
the mental energies toward restoring this norma l
state and condition of functioning By knowing
.

just how the or gans of the body function in

health ,the prac t itioner is better able to picture
in the mind of the patient ( and in his own mind )
exactly what conditions are desired to be
created A s the mental pictu re is the pattern
.

around which Mind creates ,i t will be seen that

the importance of creating the right kind of
12
 TH E S C I ENCE OF MENT AL HE ALI NG

m ental pattern c a nnot be overes t ima t ed There

.

is a great tr u th of Mental Therapeutics stated

h c ; and the student will do we ll t o make note
r
ez
0i 1

But ,whi le we shall be led into the study of

elementary physiology i n co n nection with the
psychology of cure ,we shall not be bot hered
wit h te chn ical scientifi c term s Wherever pos
.

sible these techni cal terms shall be discarded .

W hen it i s i mp ossible to proceed without them

we shall explain them in simple te rm s ,s o that
any person of average i ntelligence will be able
to un derstand them True knowledge does not
.

consist of a parrot like memorizing or repetition

-

of long words ,or foreign terms ; rather does it

consi s t of an understandin g of the real meani ng
of the thi ngs described ; particularly as regards
“ ”
the question of how they work .

I a s k my students , here at the very beginning ,

t o lay aside all preconceived ideas and acquired
p reju d i ces
. N ot that they must accept my
theories and methods in preference to t heir own ,
r egardless of the comparative value thereof ;
but rather that they should cultivate an open
min d to what I have to s a y ,until they are able
t o grasp the why and wherefore of it . I n some
cases they may think that I mean some thing
quite di fi e r e n t from my re a l meaning ; this by
reason of their un familiarity with my terms .

W e all have our own terms ,and we are s u s

p i ci ou s of n e w ones
. Therefore , we should
always be sure that we reall y un derstand the
real meaning of the te r ms used by others .

13
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTI C S

F i nally ,we must once and for all get rid o f

the idea that Tr uth is the exclusive possession
of any one school of thought or practice . There
i s a little good i n almost all schools and methods ;
and the most good i s always obt a ined by a n a l y z
ing the di fi e r e n t theories and methods ,and t hen
taking the essence of all that i s best ,discardin g
the waste material This is the true scien t ifi c
.

“ ”
method the eclectic method ,combining the
—

best of the many forms and phases ex a mine d ;

s electing the best in each ,and combining this
in on e general system and method An y other
.

plan results i n narrowness and bigo tr y ,both of

which i s quite unscientifi c ,and quite contrary
t o common sense .

H avi ng now understood the methods and gen

e r a l pl a n of these lessons ,let us now proce e d to
investigate ,examine ,and understand the work
ing principles and the basic theori es of this gre a t
s ystem of the healing art — Mental Therapeutics .

.
14
 LE SSO N I I

TH E C O RP O RE AL MI ND
On e of the fi r s t thi ngs that the student of
Mental Therapeutics should learn i s t his : Tha t
the h um an body is not a mass of mindless mat
ter,but is ,instead ,a s truly an organ of t he mind
as i s the brain ,although i t s mental work is along
di fi e r e n t lines. Thi s may seem like a startling
statement to the person who has not acquainted
M s e l f wit h the discoveries of modern psychol
ogy and physiology .

N ot only i s the body as a whole the outward

a spect of an inward mentality ,but every part
of it ( even the cells themselves ) has mind
im manent withi n i t and acti ng through it An d,
.

more than thi s ,every part has i t s own particular

mental nature ; and every cell i t s own mental
being There is no part of the body ,no organ
.

o f t he body , n o cell of the body , that is without

its own mental being or nature .

When thi s im portant fact is perceived ,the

fundamental explanation of mental heali ng i s
had The student then no longer Speaks of the
.

“ ”
power of mind over ma t ter , for he sees that it
is really a manifestation of m i n d over m i n d
of one kind of mind over another k i nd of mind .

Thi s fact being grasped thoroughly ,the whole

system of mental cure is perceived a s a reason
able and logical idea ,i nste ad of a theory opposed
t o the accepted facts of N ature .

-c l
Just a s t he a cti vities of the brain e ls in
15
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTI C S

performing their own a llotted w ork a r e so

closely cor i e l a t e d and combined tha t they are
i e ga i dcd as a unity ,and form ou r thi n ki ng
“ ”
mind a s a 11 hole s o a m the activitie s of our
cells ,parts ,organs and members of ou r b odi es
s o closely cor r elated and comb i ned in t heir s e
t ions and in t eractio n that t hey form a uni ty,a nd
may be regarded a s one min d w orking in har
mon y and unity F or the want of a b e tte r na me
.

“
this combined mind may be called The Corpo
rea l Mi n d
”
. This term will be used in the s e l e s
sons to indicate t his grea t indwelling mind which
i s the ac t ive spirit of our physical fun ct i on s a n d
bodily l ife .

The term c o r poi ca l means . pert a in i n g t o

”
a material body . Therefore C orp ore a l Mi n d
“ ”
means the bodily mi nd . A s we pro ce e d we
shall discov e r the qualities , properties , a n d
at t rib u tes of the Corporeal Mi nd .

The C or pore a l Mi n d ,however ,must n ot b e

thought of as dwell ing a part and separate fr om
the o ther fi elds of mental activity whi ch e xis t
i n every person . I n fac t ,n o part or fi eld of
activit y in the human being,whether phy s i ca l
or psychical ,so dwells apart ; everyth i ng i s cor
related ,int erdependen t ,and in t eractive all co
—

ordinated and harmonious parts of one wh ole .

The C orporeal Mind is really on e of the phases

or planes of that great fi eld of human menta l ity
known as the Subconscious Mind The Su b .

conscious Min d performs about eighty percen t

of the mental activity of the person ; the remain
i n g twenty percent being left for the Consciou s
16
 TH E C O RP O RE AL MI ND
Min d to perform Just a s the Cons cious Mi nd
.

consists and is composed of the many fa culties

of sensation , perception ,thought ,etc ,s o i s the
.

Subconscious Mind composed of numerous di s

tinct plane s or fi elds of subconscious mental
activity The many excellent works on the Su b
.

conscious Mind have given the world full i n

forma t ion regarding the ac ti vitie s of thi s great
.

fi eld or plane of mentality I t i s n ot ne cessary

.

for us to consider the general subj ect here ; s o we

shall confi ne o u rselves to merely tha t part of the
Great Subconsciousness that relates t o the fun c
tions of the hu man body ,i e ,the Corporeal
. .

Mind .

But ,i n ou r consider a tion of the s ubj ect we

must not omit the considera t i on of the i mportant
fact that the C orporeal Mind ,like all other
phases or as pe cts of the Sub conscious Mind ,
responds to the ideas ,sugges t ions ,and orders
given it by the Con s cious Mind of its own er .

“ ”
An d,also it takes up , or accepts the ideas ,
suggestions ,or comm ands of the minds of others ,
unless its owner orders it not t o do s o This i m
.

portant psychological fact explains the 11n

doubted occurrence of the caus i ng of disease by
the accepted ideas and suggestions of others ,or
of one s own conscious mind ; and ,likewise ,the
’

cure and removal of disease by the same causes .

Before proceeding to the consideration of the

details of the nature of the Corporeal Mind ,i t
wi ll be best for us to consider this fac t o f the
a cceptance of the ideas and sug gestions ,or aut o
su ggesti ons ,by the Corpore a l Mind ,and i t s
17
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

response thereto I t i s always well t o become

.

acquaint e d with the general prin ciples and laws

before pro cee di ng t o the study of their detailed
and particul ar manifestations .

There are several general laws Whi ch govern

the activities of the Subconscious Mi nd ,which
are found t o manifest universal ly ,and whi ch
therefore may always be expected to exert their
influence These laws are a s follows :
.

I . Mind accepts a s true

The Su b s con s ci ou s
any idea suggested to it,or i mpressed upon it ;
un l es s ( a ) there already exists in the Su b con
scious Mind a contrary idea suffi ciently strong to
counteract the new on e ; or ( b ) the Sub conscious
Mind ha s acqu ired a certain mental trend ,or
habit of th ought ,which is opp osed to the intro
duction of the new idea ; or ( c ) the Subconscious
Mind i s comma n de d by i t s owner not t o receive
or accept such suggestions or ideas , or classes
of ideas .

II The Subc onscious Mind proceeds to lo gi

.

cally manifest the conclusion of the suggested

a n d a ccepted idea ; to make i t take form in ac t ion
or physical condition ; t o adopt i t as a habi t of
manifestation and action ,thereafter .

III The Subconscious Mind will continue to

.

mani fest along the lines of the accepted s u g

gested idea until either ( a ) it i s neutralized ,can
celled ,and repla ced by a suffi ciently strong op
posing idea or suggestion ; or ( b ) the accepted
suggested idea i s traced back t o its birth in the
mind of the pe r son ,and i s th ereup on shown t o
18
 TH E C O RP O RE AL MI ND
be errone ous ,based on wrong pre m ises ,and
therefore un true ; in both of which cases it is
wiped from the tablets of the mind ,and cease t o
manifest or ,to be more exact ,it is thus p a i nt e d
—

over by the new and true idea ,and ceases to

appear in the mind ,or to manifest in action or
form .

The student is cautioned against regarding the

“ ”
t erm Sugges t ion to mean any mysterious use
of the mind ; or as being confi ned to certain forms
“ ”
of ideas . The term suggestion means merely
“
a n in di rect or guarded mode of presenting an
”
i dea ,especially an argu ment or piece of advice .

I t i s distinguished from ar gument ,or logical

p roof , by the absence of formal evidence o r di s
cu s s i on
. A suggestion is usually merely a n i dea
whi ch s eems pl a us i bl e ,a n d whi ch i s a dva n ced
wi t h a n a i r or a pp ea ra n ce of t rut h,r ea l i t y,or
“ ”
a ccep t e d fa ct
. An auto suggestion i s a s u g
-

g estion advan ced by the conscious mind of the

“
person him self,usually deriv ed from the work
”
ing over of ideas whi ch he has heard but which
were not accept ed at the time ; although when the
person is acquainted with the psychol ogy of s u g
gestion he may deliber a tely form ideas which he
”
deliberately auto suggests t o hi s Su b con
-

scious Mind as facts .

I deas are suggested and a ccepted by t he Su b

conscious Mind i h a number of ways ,of which
the following are the most im portant classes :

( )
1 Au t hor i t
.
y P ersons are strongly a f
f e ct e d by ideas suggested with an air or appear
19
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTICS

ance of a u t h01 i t y P ersons exercising authori t y ,

.

such as pri ests and preachers ,teachers and m

s t r u ct or s ,physicians ,lawyers ,judges ,pers on s
m cha r ge of and directing other men ,wri ter s ,
public speaker s ,etc ,manifest an appearance of
.

authori ty ,and speak in tones of auth ority,hen ce

their suggestion carr y with them a weight whi ch
i n many cases i s ou t of all prop ortion t o their
truth or real value .

( )
2 A cq u i es ce n ce ,or I m i t a t i on .P ers ons a c
cept i mplicitly , in many cases ,the ideas of thos e
aroun d them They i mitate the men t al states of
.

others ,and a ccept t heir ideas and belief become s

“
of the influen ce of numbers . E veryone think s
”
s o and s o
- — take s the place of proof in the i r
“ ”
m i nds M ore than this they take on the phy s
.

ical c onditi on s of those around them ,for the

same reason The Sub conscious Mind i s q u ite
.

imi tative ,and readily falls int o the habit of a c

ce pt i n g the beliefs , ideas ,and conditions of thos e
around i t s owner .

( )
3 As s oci a t i on P er s ons a ccept eas i ly s u g
.

gested ideas which resemble other ideas which

they have previously accepted They associate .

the n e w idea w ith the ol d one ,although t here

may be little or n o resemblan ce between them .

C onsequently ,shrewd and uns crupulous men

sometimes imp ose upon honest persons in thi s
way ,i e ,they make themselves ,or their prop o
. .

s i t i on ,appear like some other per son or propo

s i t i on which has been sat i sfa ct ory t o the pers on ,

20
 TH E C O RP O RE AL MIND
and thi s a ssociated sameness disarm s the per
s on and causes him to accept the suggested ide a
far more readily than he would h a ve otherwise .

The confi dence man , charlatan , and fakir

operates along these lines of suggestion An d, .

l ikewise ,many persons accept suggestions con

cerning their physical condit ion ,because of t his
fancied resemblance t o somethi ng else ,which
they othe r wise would have refused t o notice .

An important law of suggestion i s t hi s : Sug

ges t i on ga i n s f or ce b y r e pe t i.t i on The fi rst sug
gestion may make but lit tle imp i e s s i on ; but the
same su g gestion repeated frequently makes a
deeper i mpress ion by each repetition ; until
fi nally the idea i s fi rmly impressed upon the
S ubconscious Mind of t he person .

We shall not c onsider the important results of

suggestion in general ; for we are concerned
merely with those whi ch produce physical e f
fe e ts When the S ubconscious M i nd accepts
.

suggested ideas relating to physical condit ions ,

functioning ,health ,etc ,it at once passes the
.

idea over to that phase ,aspect ,or department of

its ac t ivit ies that we have called the C orp oreal
Mi nd The Corporeal Mind then proceeds to
.

mani fest into reality and physical form and func

tion the idea so placed within it ,and which i t
accepts a s truth in absence of opposing ideas .

I n thi s way many persons have developed con

di t i on s of disease from purely ment al causes ,
a n d many have died from the logical develop
ment of such diseases Many pers ons are ma de
.

21
 ME N TAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

ill from fear and suggestions of c ontagion and

inf ection Many persons acquire disease by rea
.

s on of vivid pictures placed in their min ds

through reading newspaper descriptions of dis
ease ,patent medi cine adverti sements ,etc I t .

is a fact kn own t o all o ffi cials of the medical

“
scho ols that students frequently take on all
the symptoms of the diseases they are studying
about in their text books
- .

A n d,likewise ,the law works with equal force

in the opposite direction F or all the cures made
.

by the faith healers ,prayer cu r i s t s ,divine heal

- -

ers ,and other practitioners of the same kind ;

and by the pra ctiti oners of mental therapeutics ,
suggestive therapy,and similar s cientifi c meth
ods of applyi n g the power of the m i nd to cure
physi cal i lls ; are really based up on this funda
mental principle This may seem strange to the
.

s tudent when fi rst stated ; but a careful e xa m i

nation of the facts of the case will bring to him
such an overwhelmin g proof of i t s correctness ,
that it will seem strange to him that anyone can
doubt it .

R emember ,th ough ,that Therapeutic Su gge s

tion means simply t he i n di r e ct pl a ci ng of a n i dea
i n t he Sub cons ci ous Mi n d i n s uch a wa y t ha t i t
i s a ccept e d a s t ru t h,a n d t her eu p on m a n i fes t e d
i n a ct i on , form, a n d fu nct i on i n g b y t ha t phas e of
t he Sub cons ci ou s Mi n d kn own as t he Cor p or e a l
Mi n d,whi ch has cont rol of t he funct i ons a n d
a ct i vi t i es of t he p hys i ca l b ody
.

22
 LE SSO N I I I

TH E CELLS OF TH E B O DY

The student of physiology and of psychology

cannot expect to have a sound base and f ou n da
tion for his structure of knowledge unless he b e
comes thoroughl y familiar with the nature and
character of the cells of which the entire human
b ody is composed .

The corporeal cells are those very m i nute ele

mentary s t ructures of which the organic tissue s
are composed By tissues i s meant the elemen
.

tary materials ,varying in structur e and func

ti on ,whi ch compo se the bodily organs ,members ,
a n d parts An d,consequently ,the cell i s the
.

physical base of the ac tivity of the Corporeal

Mind So,from the position of both physiology
.

and of psychology the cell i s the logic a l subj ect

of the beginning of study and investigation .

The corporeal cells are ve r y m i nute : in fact ,

they are microscop i c F rom them are built up
.

the muscles ,ti ssues ,nerves ,blood ,bones ,hair ,

a n d na i ls.F rom the hardest enamel of the tooth
to the most delicate and soft tissue of the mucous
membrane ,the human body is found to be com
posed of cells An d these cells are ,for all pra e
.

tical purposes of comparison ,identical with the

single cells which exist as indep e ndent entities
or living creatures in the lowes t forms of the life
scale So that ,a t the last ,ev e r y human body is
.

in reality a great community of cells ,grouped

and associated ,co ordinated and combined f or
-

23
 MENTAL T H ERAP E UT I C S

co o perative w ork and fun cti on i ng ,yet e a ch a

s e parate living organism .

E ach of these cells i s nucleated ,that i s to say

it has as it center a nucleus which i s the most
vi t a l po i nt of its being The nucleus of the cell
.

i s its central life spot ; which may be compared

-

t o the yolk of an egg I t is more complex than

.

the general substance of the cell ,and seems t o

contain within i t self the essence of the life and
being of the cell The cells reproduce them
.

selves by growth and divi sion ; they are born ,

perform their tasks ,give b ir th to other cells ,
and then die .

The cells preserve a cert a in degree o f individ

u a l i t y and separateness ,though their work is
performed by reason of their tendency to com
bine with other cells into groups ,and these into
still larger groups ,and so on ; a constant relation
being maintained between the members of each
group ,and s o on until all the cells in the body
are considered as a great group connected in a l l
of i t s parts and divisions .

An d now let us take a glance at the work per

formed by these wonderful little bits of living
su bstance ,in their various groupings a n d asso
ci a t i on with each other . P hysiology recognize s
a bout forty di fi e r e n t kinds of cells , yet a l l belong
to the on e great famil y of cells Their di fi er .

e n ce s are merely such adaptations to function ,

work and purpose as we might expect ; the dif
f e r e n t i a t i on h a vin g r e s ul t ed in the course of or
g ani e evolutio . n
F or instance ,we fi n d t he great family of
24
 THE CELLS OF TH E B O DY

mus cle cells ,which are adapted t o their work

-

of contra cting the muscles whi ch they c omp ose .

Then there are the connective tissue cells which

-

j oin together and form the tough fi brous tissue

whi ch bi nds t ogether and protects the various
parts of the organism Then again ,we fi n d the
.

bone cells which select ,arrange ,and set in place

the li me material of which the bony parts of the
body i s c omposed Then we fi n d the several
.

group of cells whi ch select and pl a ce in position

the S ili cate mineral substances which are needed
t o fo r m the nails ,the hair ,and other Similar
parts of the body Then there are the gland cells
.

which work industriousl y to secrete the fluids

needed i n digestion and simi lar vital processes .

Then we discover the very active fa mily of blood

cells the members of which work to bui ld up and
repair the vari ous parts of the system ,and to do
the scavenger work of carrying ofi the debris
of the system to be burned p by the oxygen in
-u

the lungs An d,passing over many equally i m

.

portant families of cells ,we fi nally come to the

family of brain and nerve cells ,the work of
which renders possible a l l feeling ,thinking and
acting of the human being .

The cell families of the body are like a great co

Operative commun ity ,each cell and each group
of cells pe r forming its own work in the commun
ity ,each acting for its own good ,and t he good
of its particular group , and at the same time for
the good of the ent ire body of cells You mus t
.

here remember that the body exists only as a

body of cells a great cc operative c ommunity of
—

25
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTI C S

cells I t is not suffi cient to s a y and think that

.

“ ” “
the body has cells , but rather that the body
” “
i s a collection of cells , or even the cells are
”
formed int o a body of cells .

S ome of the cells are on the active line ,while

others are held in reserve to be called upon in
case of sudden need Some are stationary ,while
.

others remain stationary until called into motion ,

and a third general class is always m ovin g ab out ;
of this moving about cla ss some make regular
-

trips ,while others are rovers and free a dv e n

t u r e r s ,like tramp Ships saili ng from port t o
p ort without making regul a r trips , betwee n
ports .

Some of the cells carry burdens of material

f rom place t o place building material neede d
—

by certain stationary cells performi ng buil din g

work Other cells perform scavenger w ork ,a n d
.

gather up the garbage of the system Other .

cells perform police work ,and arrest intruder s

in the system ,often actually locking them up by
buil ding a wall around them Other cells for m
.

the army which repels the mi crobes and germs of

di se a se which have invaded the system The .

cells of the ne r vous system form a living tel e

graph wire ,joining hands ( s o to Speak ) a n d
passing a long the message from on e end of t he
line to a nother .

The number of cells in the human body i s

c ountless . A faint idea of the i r almost infi ni t e
number m a y be form ed by considering the fa ct
that i n e a ch cubic inch of blood there are o v e r
7 ( seventy -fi v e th o usand million ) of
26
 T HE CE LLS OF THE B O D Y

the red bl ood cells alone ,n ot taki ng in to con

-
‘

sideration the mi llions of other kinds of cells

‘

The red blood cells travel along in the blood

flowing through the arteries and veins ; fi rst tak
i n g up a supply of oxygen from the lungs ,and
carryi ng it thr ough the arteries to the vari ous
parts of the b ody ,where they de li ver i t to the
cells requirin git for vital processes Then ,start
.

ing on their return j ourney thr ough the veins ,

they gather up the waste products of the s ys
tem,such as the broken down cells which have
been used up i n their work and whi ch have died ;
this debris is fi nally consumed in the crematory
of the lungs , and thrown off as carbonic acid gas
by the breath S ome of these cells force their
.

way through the wall of the arteries and veins ,

and thr ough the various tissues of the body ,
when upon hurried calls for repair work .

I n the blood currents there are also other

kinds of cells than those just mentioned F or .

instance ,there are the police cells and the army

cells which have been previously mentioned .

These very important cells patrol the system

and arrest or combat the germs and bacteria
which are dangerous to the health of the body .

The policeman cell meeting one of these di s

orderly bacterial characters ,enmeshes or e n
tangles it so that it cannot escape H e then pro
.

ce e ds to devour it ,pr oviding that it is not t oo

large and Strong f or him ; in the latter case he
summons other policemen cells to his assistance ,
and between them they carry the intruder to
some part of the body where it may be thrown
27
 ME NTAL T HERAPEUTIC S

out of the system Boils and pimples are man i

.

f e s t a t i on s of this ej ec t in g process on the part o f

these cells .

Other cells are laboratory chemists ,and e x

tract from the food the elements needed t o m a n
u f a ct u r e the important juices of t he sys t em , such
as the gastric juice ,pancreatic j uices ,saliv a ,
bile ,e t c ,and also such o ther secretions as t he
.

milk ,etc Not only do these cells select such

.

elements ,but they also actually combine them i n

the proper proportions f or the required che m
ical work .

But perhaps the busiest classes of cell s ,a n d

the most n u merous ,are those whose work it i s
to continually build up and keep i n repair the
body a s a whole You must remember that t he
.

body is constantly un dergoing change ; con

s t a n t l y breaking down cells ; constantly repair
ing the damaged places with new cells Ou r b od .

ies ,in all of t heir parts ,are being continuously

made over Al l of the work of this kind ,
.

whether it be the growth of new hair or fi nger

nails ,or the slower processes of other parts of
the body,is performed by these minute workers ,
the cells .

P erhaps as typical ,and as interesting an ex

ample of this work of the cell s ,is tha t of the
healing of a wound Le t us consider this ,in
.

order that we may have a clear idea of the char

a cter and wonderful nature of the w ork per
formed by the cells H ere is the process :
.

First ,the body i s discovered t o be wound e d

by s ome outsi de for ce The tissues ,and often.

28
 THE CELLS OF TH E B O DY

t he glands ,mus cles and nerves are severed .

The woun d begi ns t o bleed ,and i t s Sides sepa

rate The nerves carry the rep ort of trouble t o
.

the brain ,and there is sent ou t a hurry u p call -

f or help at once . The cells rush t o the s cene of

the trouble ,like fi r emen called t o a fi r e ; or li ke
the repair wagon called to the scene of a break
down on the trolley car lin e W hi le they are
- .

reachi n g the scene ,the flowing blo od washes

away the di rt which otherwise might cause i n
f e ct i on ; the blo od fi n a ll y coa gu lat i ng and form
ing a protecting substance resemblin g glue ,
which afterward develops into a scab .

The repair cells arriving on the scene at once

start t o work co nn ecting the tissues by bringing
together the side s of the wound ,and knitting
the tissue cells together An d here is man ifested
- .

“ ”
an almost unbelievable degree of mind .The
cells of the t issues ,blood vessels ,e t c ,on b oth
- .

Si des of the woun d begi n to reproduce them

selves with marvellous rapidity ,each ce ll grow
i n g and separa t ing itself into two ,and these in t o
t wo,and s o on ,un til there is suffi cient material
created t o do the repair work These new cells
.

i ncreas i ng in number re a ch forward from each

side of the wound ,until fi nally meeti ng they con
n e ct with their fellows of the other Side But.

here note the wonder of the process The con .

n e ct i v e tissue cells connect with the connective

-

tissue cells on the other side ; the blood vessel -

cells con ne ct with their own kind on the other

s ide ; t he nerve cells do likewise ; until fi nally
ther e i s a complete bridge buil t ,each various
29
 M ENTAL T HERAP E UTICS
parts of each side be i ng conn e cted with the sam e
kind of parts on the o ther Side .

Af ter thi s internal repai r work i s complete d ,

and the conn e ctions properly made ,then t he
Skin cells star t to work and bui ld a new Ski n
'

over the healed wound The whole proce s s

.

show s pu r pos i t i ve action ,cc ordinated e ff or t ,

-

and an undoubted presence of men t al di rec t ion .

I t is useless for ma t erialists to spe a k of mechan

ical and chemical laws as an explanation of s u ch
vital processes as these The mos t skeptic a l
.

observer ,if he is honest with himself,is force d

to admi t that there is mani fested the activitie s
of living ,thinkin g ,minute creatures ,co ordi -

n a t e d and re gulated ; directed and guided ,by

some mental center hi gher than themselves I t .

i s i mpossible to d oubt this ,any more than on e

would doubt that the work of the bees in t he
hive i s a vital ,mental manifestation I t is n ot
.

“ ”—
enou gh to call it instinctive for insti nct
itself is but a name given t o on e phase of vital ,
mental a ctivity .

A clear understan di ng of the mental activitie s

of the cells will go far toward giving u s a key t o
the secret of mental healing .

30
 LE SSO N I V
MIND I N THE CELLS

In the pre ce di ng lesson we have seen t he

wonderful w ork perfo r med by the cells of which
the hum an b ody is composed Ca n there be any
.

doubt that these cells are alive and h a ve m i nd

within them % An y other supp osition would be
ridiculou s The single cells found i n the lowe r
.

stages of a nimal and vegetable lif e ,whi ch per

form even less complica t ed and complex actions
are regarded a s li vi ng ,thi nking creatures ; then
there can be n o reason for denyi ng life and mind
to these cells whi ch compose the human body ,
and which constitute a great co operative com -

mun ity .

Biology tea ches u s that every l i vi ng t hi ng i s

p os s es s ed of s ufi ci ent m i n d t o ena b l e i t t o per
f orm i t s t as ks , an d a dj us t i t s el f t o i t s en vi r on
m en t E ven the tiny cells are possessed of s u ffi
.

cient mi nd t o enable them to preserve thei r lives ,

perform their work ,and reproduce their species .

The cells i n the human body have suffi cient mind

t o enable them to seek ,select ,and absorb their
own food ,and t o move from on e pla ce to another
in search for it when necessary Moreover ,they
.

have min d enough to enable t hem to perform the

complicated work referred to in the preceding
lesson The intelligence shown i n the work of
.

the red blood cells is wonderful ,and i s an u n

doubted proo f of the existence of a high degree
of m i nd in such cells .An d the other work pe r
31
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTICS

formed by the other cells ,su ch a s the se creti on

of fluids ,the sele ction of mineral matter need e d
for building up bone ,hair,and nai ls ,i s scarc e ly
less wonderful .

E m inent biologists have conducted carefu l

investigations of the li fe activities of these cell s ,
-

and have dis covered some very i mportant fa ct s

regar din g them F or instance ,it i s discove re d
.

that the cells mani fest rudimentary mem or y ,

which enables them to pro fi t by experience i n
the direction of avoiding the re currence of som e
unpleasant happening They Show their l ike s
.

and dislikes very plainly ; and they exhi bit t he

tendency to acqui r e habits Some investigator s
.

i nsist that they even show evi dence of pu r pos i

tive prep a ration f or fut ur e action ,and a ct i n
a nticipation of such future necessity .

Binet ,the em inent psych ologist ,in hi s i m

“
portant work entitled The P sychic Li fe of
”
Micro Organisms , says : We Shall not regard
-

it a s strange ,perhaps ,to fi n d so complete a ps y

chol ogy i n the history of the lower orga n ism s ,
when we call to mind that ,agreeably to the idea s
of evolution now accepted ,a higher ani mal i s
nothing more than a colony of protozoans E very .

on e of the cells composing such an animal ha s

retained its primitive properties ,giving them a
higher degree of perfection by divi sion of lab or
and by selection The epithelial cells th a t
.

secrete the nails and hair are organisms per

f e ct e d with referen ce t o t he se creti on of pr ot e c
tive pa rts Si mi l a r ly,the cells of the brain a r e
.

32
 MIND I N THE CELLS
organisms that have been perfected with refer
”
ence to psyc hi cal attributes .

But t he min d i n the cells i s more than merely

the p a rticular mani festation of mind in each
particular cell There i s also found a sympa
.

thetic and co ordi nated mental activity existing

-

between all t he in dividual ce l l S of the body .

“
There i s found what ha s been found a group
”
m ind of certain groups of cells ; and an organ
m i nd of the various groups compos i ng a n organ
of the body ; and these in turn are grouped to
gether in what we have called the C orporeal
Mind ,which i s the great group mind of the cells
of the entire body Just how these cells co ordi
.
-

nate and co operate in this way is unkno wn t o

-

science ,but there seems to exis t a high form of

telepathic communication be t ween them , of
whi ch we get a hint in the psychology of human
“
crowds ,in which there i s fo un d a contagion of
”
thought between the various members thereof .

The cells possess mind not only for their own

ends ,but also mind which combini ng with li ke
mi nd in other cells acts for the ends of the groups
of cells , and then the larger groups ,and fi n ally
the complete group composing the body The .

combination of the cell groups into organ gr oups

-

of cells is so complete and th orough that to all

intents and pur p oses each organ of the body may
be regarded as a living creature ,having a mind
of i t s own This i s no flight of im agin a tion ,but
.

i s a cold scientifi c fact of biologi cal psychology.

E ach organ ha s its own mind and uses it in its

activi ties W hen that m i nd becomes impressed
.

33
 M ENTAL T HERAP E UTI C S
w i th erroneous ideas ( if the t er m m a y be us ed i n
thi s conn e ction ) i t begi ns t o m a ni f est a b n or
mally ; and ,likewise ,when it i s r estored b y
properly di rected mental treatment it resum e s
i t s normal fu nctioning These are proved fa ct s
.

of Mental Therapeutics and experimental ps y

chol ogy a s may be seen by referen ce t o any l a t e
work on these subj ects .

P rofessor H ae ckel ,the em inent scientist ,who

cannot be accused of any leani ng toward meta
physical t heories ,he bein g a lea di ng advo cate of
“
the m a t erialistic s chool of p hi losophy ,say s i n
“
on e of his works : The tissue soul i s t he high e r
‘ ’

psychological function whi ch gives physiologi ca l

in di vidu ality t o the compo u nd m u lti cellul a r
organism a s a true cell comm onwealth I t con .

trols all the separate cell souls of the so ci a l

‘ ’

cells the mutually dependent citizens whi ch

— ‘ ’

constitute the co mm unity The human egg ce l l ,

.

a s soon as it is fertilized , multip li es by division

a n d fo r ms a community , or colony of many social
cells These di fi e r e n t i a t e themselves ,and by
.

their specializa t ion ,by various modi fi cations of

these cells ,the various t issues which compos e
the various organ isms are developed The de .

ve l ope d many celled or ganisms of man a n d of a l l

-

higher ani mals resemble ,therefore ,a social civil

comm un ity,the numerous si ngle i ndividuals of
which ,are ,indeed devel oped i n various ways ,
but which were originally only simple ce l ls of
”
on e common stru ctur e .

To those to whom this collecti ve mentality of

the cells composing an organ of the body,or the
34
 MI ND I N T HE CELLS

greater combin ation composi n g the body itse l f,

may see m unthi n kable ,we would suggest a
study of the a ction of c ollective mentality in the
various for ms of lif e F or instance ,observation
.

re veals the fact that a great school of fi s h seem

t o move by a c ommon i mpulse ,as i f under the
a ction of a colle ctive mind ; the same phe n om e
n on being n oted i n the case of flocks of birds ,
herds of larger animals ,and even in crowds of
men as we Shall see presently The actions of
.

the bees in a hive Show such a close co ordi nation

-

that the animatin g spi rit moving them has been

“ ”
called the Spirit of the hive .

Students of human psychology have noted the

characteristics of the psychology of human
crowds,audi ences ,congregati ons ,mobs ,e t c I t
.

i s a proved fact of psychology th a t the various

individuals composing a crowd of persons think ,
s a y, and do things when in the crowd that would
be foreign t o them as separate individuals .

“ ”
There is a strange contagion of thought
amon g the i ndividuals of a crowd E ach individ
.

u a l i n a cr owd loses a certain degree of individ

u a l i t y,and acqui res a greater degree of collective
m entality ; he becomes a member or part of the
“ ”
c ollective mind of the crowd ; at the same time
the crowd itself takes on a being of i t s own ,
which disappears when the crowd is di ssolved .

Le Bon ,the great psychological authority on

“ ”
this subj ect ,in his work entitled The Crowd ,
“
s a ys : The most careful observations seem to
prove that an i ndividual imm erged for some
length of ti me i n a crowd in a ction so on fi nds
35
 ME NTAL T HERAP E UTICS

hi mself in a speci al state ,whi ch most resembl e s

a state of fascination in which the hypn otiz e d
individual fi n ds himself The c onscious pers on
.

ality ha s entirely v a nished ,and wil l and di scern

m ent are lost A l l feelings and thoughts are ben t
.

in the di rec t ion of the hypnotizer An in di vid

.

ual in a crowd i s a gra in of sand ami d oth e r

grains of sand which the wind stirs up at wil l .

A ll of the above leads us to the in evitable con

“
e lus ion that the same general principle of col
l e ct i ve min d manifests in the case of t he
various organs and parts of the body E very .

fact of physiology seems to sustain this idea ,

a n d the idea itself i s based upon the soundest
foundations of biology and psychology The .

liver has its collective mind ; the heart likewis e ;

the stomach l ikewise ; the kidneys likewise ; t he
nervous system likewise ; and s o un til every
great department of the body is included in t he
list E ach of these collective minds has i t s own
.

pe culiarities ,characterist ics ,and qualities ,a s

we shall s e e as we proceed An d,all combined
.

in collective mental co ordination ,compose t he

-

entire body i tself,with it s Corporeal Mind .

But ,it must be always remembered that t he

individual cells are the un its of which the whole
body i s b ui lt up Al l corporeal mind is ,i n i t s
.

elemental form ,merely cell mi nd An d s o,at

.

the last ,all disease must ori gin ate in the cells ,
and all cures must be directed toward the cells
t he cell minds of course being the soul and
spirit of the activity of the cell .

The best therapeutic theory today holds tha t

36
 MIND I N THE CE LLS

al ldi s ea s e i s a f a il ur e of t he ce l l s t o f un ct i on
p rop erl y,1 e ,to do their ful l work ,t o repair
. .

waste ,and t o eliminate waste ma tter This i m .

p roper functioning may be the fault o f individ

ual cells ,or it may result fre m a failure of cell
groups ( large or small ) to co opera t e properly ,
and t o work in harmony and uni son S ome t imes.

there is manifested an ac t ual rebell ion of t he

cell s or cell groups These failures of the cells
- .

to do their appointed work properly result s i n

either loc a l or else general conditions of disease
or ill health
- N aturally ,it follows that the di s
.

eased condit ion may be cured only by restoring

the cell activities to natura l functioning .

Nature often perform s this curative work b y

bringin g pressure to bear on the mind in the cells
or cell grou ps ,but sometimes the Corporeal
-

Mind itself seems to become obsessed wi th the

delusion of disease ,and in such cases it must be
restored t o normal condit ion b y means of treat
ment from outside H ere i s where Mental
.

Therapeutics performs its great work By .

re a ching the mind in t he cells and in the cell

groups the abnormal condition is neut ralized
and destroyed ,a n d the norm al condition r e
stored E ven in cas e s in which there exists a
.

material or mechanical c a use for the disorder,

proper stimulation of the mind in the cells and
organs sets up an increased resistive and com
b a t i ve power ,a n d the forces are rallied and
directed toward the removal of t he existing
obstacle .

So,you s e e , Mental Therapeutics is not n e ce s

37
 ME NTAL T HERAPEUTIC S

s aril y bound up with metaphysi cal ,phil os ophi

cal,or theological theories I nstead ,it is based
.

up on the comb ined discoveries of biology,phy

s i ol ogy , and comparative psychology There i s a
.

biol ogi cal and physiological basis of cure under

lying the theory and pi a ct i ce of Mental Thera
p e u t i cs w hi ch i s t oo often lost sight of by t he
over insistence ,on the part of some of its a dvo
-

cates ,upon the acceptance of the metaphysic a l

theories ,philosophi cal hypotheses ,and the ologi
cal dogmas which they have attached t o the
general subj ect of mental heali ng .

But the student Should ever remember ,that ,

n o matter how far away he seems t o get fr om t he
cell and i t s mind ,the b a sis of the system is t o
be found in the presence of mind in the cell s
of which the human body is composed . By
holding close to this fundamental i dea ,on e never
can go very far wrong ; n or wander far away
from the path of solid scientifi c fact Other .

wise ,beware the quagmires and swamps which

beset the road .

38
 LE SSO N V
TH E SYM PAT H ET I C NERVO U S SYS TE M
N at ur e ,or the P ower that i s behind N ature ,
has built up an in t ricate sys t em of nerves ,nerve
centers ,and nerve connectives ,by means of
whi ch the Corporeal Mind is able to perform the
manifold and complex activi t ies and functions
of the body which is composed of cells and cell
groups as we have seen The greater part of
.

this work is performed by a part of the ner

vous system of which but comparatively few
persons have ever heard,much less have be come
famil iar with .

We are s o in the habit of thinking of the Cere

bro Spinal N ervous System ,when we speak of
-

t he nervous system , that we ignore t he exist

ence of the great Sympathetic N ervous System
which pe r forms a l l of t he unconscious ,i n vol u n
tary activi ties of the body ,such as the action of
the heart , stomach ,liver,kidneys ,etc ; and .

which also attends t o the important processes of

secretion ,n utrition ,elimination ,excreti on ,r e
production ,etc .

“
The term sympathetic was origi nally a p
plied to this great system of nerves and nerve
centers by reason of the fact that there is a
.

reciprocal action of the diff erent cell groups

-

and parts of the body ,on e with another,i n an

“ ”
apparent sym pathy with each other A dis .

t u r b a n ce in one part of the body sets u p a dis

t u r b a n ce and activity in other parts The whole
.

39
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUT I C S

body s u fi er s i n sympathy with an injured or

diseased part or member Thus ,a woun d will
.

produce f everishness ; stomach trouble or indi

gestion will produce headaches ,etc ,etc The. .

secreti ons of the body respond quickly i n s ym

”
a hy with condi tions in other parts of the
t
po l y.

The Sympathetic N ervous System consists of

a great cable of nerves runnin g from the base
of t he Skull to the coccyx or end of t he spinal
colum n ; but not within the spinal column it self ,
a s is the case w i th the cerebro spin al cable or
-

Spinal cord These cables run on each side of

.

the body by the Side of the vertebrae ; and bunch

out into gan glia or nerve centers along their
co ur se These cables are connected by branch
.

lines with the Spinal nerves ,and with other

nerves of the cerebro sp i nal system ; and are also
-

connected with branches run ning to all of the

organs of the body .

The Cerebro Spinal N ervous System is con

-

cerned with ou r conscious activities ; and all of

ou r conscious motions and work i s pe r formed b y
means of it The Sym pathetic N ervous System ,
.

on the other hand ,performs the uncons ci ous and

involu ntary motions and functions By means
.

of this latter system our hearts beat , our lungs

inspire and expire ,the blood circul a tes ,the
stomach and intestines perform their work of
di gestion and assimilation , the liver and kidneys
their i mportant o ffi ces ,the glands of the body
secrete the import a nt j u ices ,and the entire r e
p a r a t i v e and nutritive work of the body i s

40
THE S YM P ATH ETIC NERVO U S SYS TE M
per formed The Sympathetic N ervous Sys t em ,
.

and the Corporeal Mind that a n i m Me s and

directs i t s activi ties ,never sleep or rest they
—

are al ways at work ; whil e the Conscious Min d

and its Cerebr o Spinal System rest in sleep
-

about on e third of its time

- .

An important feature of the Sympathetic

N ervous System i s its series of ga n gli a , or kno t s
of gray nerve matter, which are scattered
through the body ,particularly along each Side
of the spine E ach ganglion is a complex cen t er ,
.

having branches radiating in several directions .

I n several places these ganglia are grouped t o

ge t her i n still m ore complex arrangement ,called
a plexus ( plural The pri ncipal plexus
”
is the well known Solar P lexus , which some
“ ”
have called The Abdominal Brain by reason
of i t s hi gh p ower ,and complex arrangement .

Thi s im portant plexus is situa t ed in the upper

part of the abdomen ,al most directly back of
“
the pit of the stomach , it is the center from
which emerge nerves extending in all directions .

This great center is regarded as the C entral

Offi ce ,or headquarters of the Corporeal Mind .

The student should be able t o grasp the fac t

that the Co r poreal Mind i s really the a ni m a t i ng
s p i r i t of the sympathetic nervous system and
the organs controlled by it Consequently ,he
.

wil l be able t o see that whatever aff ects the Cor

p o r e a l Mind must reflect through the sympa
thetic nerves upon the ent ire body controlled b y
i t s power The way t o reach the orga n s of the
.

b ody unquestionably is through the Corporeal

41
 MENTAL THER APEUTI CS

Mind ,by me a ns of i t s gre a t cha i n of s ympa the t i c

nerves Thi s 1 s the s cient ifi c explana t ion of t he
.

processes of mental heali n g .

I n the ca se Of the reparative work ( i f t he

cells performed after a wound ha s been ca u s e d
t o the body ,a s related in a precedi ng less on ,it
i s the C orporeal M ind that directs and guide s
the energies of the ce l ls ,the orde r s being tra ns
m i t t e d over the w i res of the sympathetic n e r
vous system A general alarm i s sent ou t ,a n d
.

all hands are cal led into service An d s o it i s i n

.

the case of a l l natural healing ,which i s ofte n

called the vi s m e di ca t r ix na t ur a e or natur e s
heali ng force F O1 the Corporeal Mind i s n ot
.

only the great re gulator and governor of t he

physical activities ,but also t he grea t na t ur a l
phys i ci an of t he b ody .

A S an i nstance of the control of t he Corp ore a l

Mind over the body ,we have an exce l lent exa m
l e in the re gulation of the circ ul ation Of t he
bl ood The blood does not flow through the body
.

i n a regular,invariable manner ,in respons e t o

purely mechanical laws ,as s o many believe On .

the con t 1 a r y ,t he Cor poreal Mind regulates t he

flow in accordance with the c i rc um st a nces of
the moment When necessary millions of tin y
.

capillaries are closed or Opened up , as the c a s e

m a y be ,in order t o increase or decrease t he
b l ood supply to certain parts The blood supply
.

o f each or gan i s regulated by the needs of th a t

o r gan a t that time ,a s det e rmined by the Cor
p o r e a l Mind governing it E ven
. the rate of th e
pulsations of the hea r t are under the control of
42
THE S YMPAT HE TIC NERVO U S SYS TEM
thi s Corporeal Mind ,and varies ac cording to cir
cu m s t a n ce s .

Or again ,t he healing of a wound ; t he knittin g

together of a broken bone ; t he comp l ex arrange
ments made necessary by the processes of ges t a
tion and childbirth ; and thousands of other
wonderful man if es t at ions of unconscious m ind
in physical processes ; all these are the work of
the Corporeal Mind working wit h its s ym
pathetic nervous system When we speak of
.

”
N ature doing this or that in the work of help
i n g along the c ur ative work ,or vital processes ,
of the body ,we are referring to thi s Corporeal
Mind acting through its wonderful sympathetic
nervous system .

The Corp oreal M i nd is animated by two very

potent motives ,namely ( 1 ) the motive of self
preservation ; and ( 2 ) the mo t ive of t he repro
duction of the spe cies Al l of its wonderful work
.

is along these two lines ; these are the only t wo

laws of action that it recognizes This is why it
.

strives ever t o preserve health i n the body ,and

also why it exerts a sometimes overpowering
influence in the matt er of sex attraction
- .

“ ”
Much t hat we call sickness i s really but the
e ffect of the Corporeal Mind to throw out of the
syst em morbi d a n d in jurious materi a l which has
gathered there ; fever is often but the att empt of
the C orporeal Mind to burn up this debris which
it fail s t o get rid of otherwise I f i t is unable
.

t o get rid of the cause of the trouble ,it t ries t o

adj ust itself to the impaired conditions ,and
strives to balan ce the physical func t ions so as t o
43
get the best possi b l e
a b le condi t i o n s. Th
wo r ki n g t o wa rd lif e and
S o m e tim e s i t und e rta kes
p e r a t e m e t h o d s ,in order

a r t i cul a rl y da n
p
The foll o wi n g
t h u r i f ies S ho w t h a t
t he n am e o f vi s m e di
”
or vi t a l f o r ce , o r
b y sci e n ce a s the re a l source
n o m a t t er b v what meth od i t
t
e ff e c .

“
B y t he t e rm e ff orts of 11
‘

c e rt a in cura t iv e or
vi t a ,im pla n t ed i n
bo dy ,cons t a n tl y o p
va ti o n ,or h e a l t h
r e pair t he h u man 0
t he event of a se ve re d
for inst a nc e : f or N a ture ,
fa shion a stum p equa l
o f a n emi n e nt surgeon .

be e quall y po tent in 0
individu a ls ,e ve n wh e n
re st i n bed ,un der fa vora b l e l i y gi '

etc a n d s pe e di l v ge t wel l wi t l i n
u
”
o r m edicin e .

“
The vi s m e di ca t ri x n a t ur a e i s
fa ctor in the a meliora tion of di s .
“
be all o we d fa ir pla y .
”
We a r
a ck n owl e d ge a po wer of n a tur a l
ent in the body a similar s t a i r
44
 MENT AL T H ERAPEUTIC S

get the best possi b le i e s u l t s un der the ui i f a v01

able condit ions The 001 p 01 eal Mind i s e ver
.

working to ward life and health for i t s O 11 ne 1 .

S ometimes it under t a kes heroic and ev e n de s

perate m e th o ds ,in order to combat and defeat
p a rtic u larly da n gero u s condi t ions .

The following quo t a t ions fro m eminent a u

t hor i t i e s Sho w t ha t t his C orporeal Mind ,un der
t he n ame of vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur ae , N at u re ,
‘
or
“ ”
or vital force , o r s imila r terms ,is recognized
by science as the rea l sour ce of cure of disease ,
no matter b v wh a t me thod it may be called into
e ff ect.

‘
By t he t e mp e ff 01 t s of n a t m e , we me a n a
‘ ’

ce i t a i n cu 1 a t i 1 e 01 i e s t or a t i v e principle ,or vi s
vi t a ,implanted i n 01 ery living or organized
bod y ,co n sta n tly ope 1 a t i 1 e f or its repair,preser
1 ation , or h e alth This instinctive endeav or to
.

r e pair the human organism is signally Shown in

t he event of a severed or lost part ,as a fi nger ,
for insta n ce ; for N a ture ,unaided ,will repair and
fashion a stump equal to one from the hands
of an emi n ent surge on N ature ,unaided ,m a y
.

be equally pote n t in ordin a ry ill n ess Many .

in dividuals ,even when sever e ly ill ,remain a t

rest in bed ,under favorable hygi e ne ,regimen ,
etc ,and sp e edil y get well w i thout a physician
.

”
or medicin e .

“
The vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur a e i s a v e r v potent
fa ctor 1 n the amelioration of disease ,i f it only
“
be allowed fair pla v . We are compelled t o
ackn owled ge a power of natural r e cov ery i n he r
ent i n the b ody a simi lar statement has been
—

44
TH E S YM PAT H ET I C NER VO U S SYS TEM
made by writers on the prin ciple of medic i ne in
” “
all ages . Whatever o ther theories we may
hold ,we must recog nize the vi s m e di ca t ri x
” “
n a t ur a e in some shape or o t her . A natural
power of the preven t ion and repair of disorders
and disease has as real and as ac t ive an exis t ence
within us as have t he ordinary functions of the
organs themselves . H ippocra t es ,the founde r
“
of the science of medicine ,said : N ature is the
”
physician of diseases A mbrose P are had i i i
.

scribed over the door of the great medical school ,

the E cole de Medicine of P aris ,these remarkable
“
words : Je l o pons ez e t D i eu l e gu a ri t , which
freely translated means : I dressed the wound ,
”
and God heal e d i t %
A careful investigati on shows that this much
“ ”
vaunted vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur a e ,the Nature
of medical science , is really mental i n its nature ;
a n d is identical wi t h our conception of the C or

p o r e a l M i
. nd Mind is ever at work in the
physical processes of nutrition , assimi lation ,
elimination , reproduction ,and the reparative
processes of cure The basis of all true healing
.

is t o be found in this Corporeal Mind ,under

whatever name it may be called thi s fact mus t
.
—

ever be kept in mind .

The Corporeal Mind ,however ,sometimes lags

in i t s wo1 k ; 01 else it becomes sluggish and
apathetic ,or perhaps discouraged from some
cause or other I n such cases it may be s t i m u
.

la t ed to ac t ion ,and e 1 en guided and set to work

in the proper direction by means of the proper
incentive coming through the Conscious Mind ,
45
 ME N TAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

get the best possible results un der the un fa vor

able condit ions The Corp oreal Mind i s e ver
.

working t o ward life and health f or i t s owner .

S ometimes i t u ndert a kes heroi c and ev e n des

perate m e thods ,in order t o combat and defeat
pa rt icularly dan gerous conditions .

The following quotations from e mi nent a u

t ho r i t i e s Sho w that t his C orporeal Min d ,un der
“ ”
the n ame of vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur ae , or N ature ,
‘
vital f 01 cc, o r s imil s i terms ,i s r ecognized
’ ’

by science as the r ea l sour ce of cure of di sease ,

no matte i b 1 11 hat me t hod it may be ca l led into
e ff ect.

“
By t he t e 1 111 e ff 01 t s of natur e , we mean a
‘ ’

ce i t a i n cu 1 a t i 1 e 01 i e s t or a t i ve prin ciple ,or vi s

vi t a ,implanted i n e 1 ery livin g or organized
bod y ,con s t a n t l v ope i a t i 1 e f or its repair,preser
1 ati on , or heal th This insti nctive endeavor to
.

r e pair the human organism i s signally shown i n

the event of a severed or lost part ,a s a fi nger,
for instance ; for N ature ,unaided ,will repair and
fashion a stump e q ual t o on e from the hands
of a n emi nent surgeon N ature ,unaided ,may
.

be equally pote n t in ordin a ry illness Many .

individuals ,ev e n 11 he 11 s e 1 e i e l y i l l ,rema i n at

rest in bed ,u n de i favora ble hygiene ,regi men ,
etc and Speedil y get 11 e l l wi thout a physician
.

”
or medicine .

“
The vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur a e i s a very potent
factor in the amelioration of disease ,i f it onl y
” “
be allowed fair play . We are compelled t o
ackn owledge a power of natural r e cove i y in ker
ent in the body a sim il ar statement ha s b e en
—

44
TH E S YM P AT H ET I C NER VO U S SYS TEM
made by writers on the principle of me di c i ne in
“
all ages .
”
W ha t e ve i other t he m i e s 11 0 may
hold , we mus t 1 ecog ni z e the vi s m e di ca t ri x
“
na t ur a e in some Shape or ot he i A n a tui a l
’
.

power of the preven t ion and repair of disorders

and disease has as real and a s ac t ive an exis t ence
within us as have the ordi nary fu nctions of the
organs themselves . H ippocra t es ,t he founder
“
of the science of medicin e ,said : N ature is the
”
physician of diseases .A mbrose P are had i i i
scribed Over the door of the great medical school ,
the E cole de Medicine of P aris ,these remarkable
“
words : J e l e pons ez et D i eu l e gua ri t , 11 hich
freely translat ed me a ns I dressed the wound ,
.

”
and God healed it %
A careful investigation shows that this much
“
va u nted vi s m e di ca t ri x n a t ur a e ,the Nat u re
of medical science , i s really mental i n its nature ;
a n d i s identical wi t h our conc e ption of the C or

p o r e a l M i nd
. Mind is e 1 or at work in t he

physical processes of nutrition , assimila t ion ,

e l imination , reproduction ,and the reparative
p rocesses o f cure. T h e basis of a l l t rue healing
is t o be found in this Corporeal M i nd ,under
whatever name it may be called this fact mus t
.
—

ever be kept in mind .

The C orporeal Mind ,however ,sometimes lags

in its work ; or else it becomes sluggish and
apathetic ; or perhaps discouraged from some
cause or other I n such cases it may be s t i m u
.

lated to action ,and e 1 en guided and set to work

in the proper direction by means of the proper
incentive coming through the Conscious Mind ,
45
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

get the best possi ble r esults un der the un favor

ab l e condit ion s The C orporeal Min d i s ever
.

working t oward life and health f or i t s o wner .

S ometimes it undert a kes heroi c and ev e n des

pera t e m e th o ds ,in order t o combat and defeat
p a rt ic u la rly dan gerous condi ti ons .

The foll owing quotations from e m i nent a u

t hor i t i e s Sho w t h a t t his Corporeal Mind ,un der
“ ”
the name of vi s m e di ca t ri x n a t ur ae , or N ature ,
“ ”
or vital for ce , or s imilar te r ms ,i s rec ognized
by science as the rea l source of cure of di se a se ,
n o ma t ter b v what me t hod it may be ca l led i nto
effect .

“
By t he t e mp e ff oi t s of natur e , we me a n a
‘ ’

ce i t a i n cu 1 a t i 1 e 01 l e s t 01 a t i ve prin ciple ,or vi s

vi t a ,implanted i n 01 cr y livi n g or organized
bod y ,co n sta n t l y opera t iv e f or i t s repair ,preser
vation ,or health This instinctive endeav or to
.

1 e pa i r the human organism i s signally Sh own i n

the m ent of a se 1 e i ed 01 lost part ,a s a fi nger ,
for i nstance f 01 Na ture ,unaided ,will repair and
fashion a s tump equal to one f l om the hands
of an eminent surge on N ature ,unaided ,may
.

be equally potent in or di n a r v illn ess M a ny .

individuals ,eve n 11 hen s e 1 e 1 e l y ill ,remain at

rest in bed ,u n de i favora ble hygi ene ,regimen,
etc ,and s pe e di l v ge t 11 ell w i thout a physi cian
.

or medicine ’

“
The vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur a e i s a v cr y poten t
factor 1 n the amelioration of disease ,if it only
” “
be allowed fair play . We are c ompelled t o
acknowledge a power of natural recovery i n he r
ent in the b ody a sim i lar statement ha s been
—

44
TH E S YMP AT H ET I C NER VO U S SYS TEM
made by wr i t e i s on the principle of medicine in
“
all ages .
’
Wha t e 1 er o t he r t heo r ies we may
hold ,we must r ecog nize the vi s m e di ca t ri x
” “
n a t ur a e in some shape or o t her . A na t u r al
po wer of the preven t ion and repair of disorders
and disease has as real and a s ac t ive an exis t ence
within us a s have t he ordinary functions of the
organs themselves H ippocra t es ,the founde r
.

“
of the science of medicine ,said : N ature is t he
”
physician of diseases A mbrose P are had i i i
.

scribed over the door of the great me di cal school ,

the E cole de Medicine of P aris ,these remarkable
“
words : J e l e pons ez et Di eu l o gu a r i t , which
freely translat ed me a ns : I dressed the wound ,
”
a n d God healed it %
A careful inves t iga t ion sho ws that this much
“ ”
v a unted vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur a e ,the N at u re
o f medical science , is really mental in its nature ;
a n d is identical wi t h our conc e ption of the C or

p or e a l Mind . Mi n d is ever at work in t he

physical processes of nutrit ion , assimilation ,
eli mination ,reproduction ,and the repara t ive
p rocesses of cure T. h e basis of all true healing
i s to be foun d in this Corporeal Mind ,un der
whatever n ame i t may be called this fact mus t
.
—

ever be kept in mind .

The Co r poreal Mind ,however ,sometimes lags

in i t s work ; or else it becomes sluggish and
apathe t ic ; or perhaps discouraged from some
cause or other I n such cases it may be s t i m u
.

lat ed to ac t ion ,and even guided and set t o w ork

in the proper directi on by means of the proper
incentive coming through the Conscious Mind ,
45
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

get the best possible r es u lts un der the un f a 1 01 1

able condi t ions The C orpor eal Mi n d i s e 1 er

.

working t oward life and health f or i t s 011 ner .

Sometim e s it under t akes heroi c and even des

p e ra t e m e thods ,in order t o c ombat and defeat
p a r t i cularly dan gero u s condi t ions
.

The following quo t a t ions from e m i nent a u

t hor i t i e s Sho w t h a t t his C orporeal Mind ,u nder
“ ”
t he name of vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur ae ,or N at u re ,
“ ”
or vital force , or s imilar terms ,i s recognized
by science a s the real source of cure of dis e ase ,
no mat t er b y what me t hod it may be ca l led into
e ff ect.

“
By t he te rm e ff or t s of natur e , we mean a
‘ ’

ce r t ain cu r a t i 1 e 01 r esto r ative pri n ciple ,or vi s

vi t a ,implanted in e 1 ery livi n g or organi zed
bod y ,co n stant l y opera t i 1 e for i t s repair ,preser
1 a t i on , or heal th
. T his instinct i ve ende a v or to
r e pair t he human organism i s s i gnally Shown i n

t he event of a se 1 ci ed or lost part ,a s a fi nger ,

f or instance ; f or N a ture ,unaided , will repa ir and
fashion a stump equal to one fi om the hands
of a n emin ent surgeon N ature ,unaided ,may
.

be equally potent in ordinary i l hi e s s Ma ny .

individuals ,ev e n when s e 1 e 1 e l y i l l ,remain at

rest in bed ,under favora ble hyg i ene ,regimen ,
etc ,and s pe e di l v get 11 ell w i t hout a physician
.

”
or medicine .

“
The vi s me di ca t r i x n a t ur ae i s a very p otent
factor in the am elioration of disease ,if it only
” “
be allowed fair play . We are compelled t o
ackn owledge a power of natural reco 1 ery i n he r
ent in the b ody a s i mi lar statement has b e en
—

44
TH E S YMP ATH ET I C NER VO U S SYS TEM
made by writ ers on the principle of me di cine in
“
all ages .
”
W ha t e 1 er o t her t heo r ies we may
h old , we must recog nize the vi s m e di ca t r i x
” “
n a t ur a e in some shape or o t her . A na t ur al
po wer of the preven t ion and repa i r of disorders
and disease has as real and a s ac t ive an existence
withi n us as have t he ordinary fun c t ions of the
organs themselves H ippocra t es ,the founder
.

“
of the science of medicine ,said : N ature is t he
”
physi cian of diseases A mbrose P are had i n
.

scri bed over the door of the great medical school ,

the E cole de Medicine of P aris ,these remarkable
“
words : J e l e pons ez et D i eu l o gu a ri t , which
freely translat ed me a ns : I dressed the wound ,
”
a n d God healed it %
A careful investiga t ion Sho ws that this much
“ ”
vaunted vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur a e ,the N at u re
of medical science , is reall y mental in its nature ;
a n d is identical with our conc e p t ion of the C or

p or e a l Mind. Mind is ever at work in t he

physical processes of nutrition , assimila t ion ,
eliminati on ,reproduction ,and the reparative
p rocesses of cure T. he basis of all true healing
i s t o be found in this Corporeal Mind ,under
whatever n ame i t may be called this fact mus t
.
—

ever be kept in mind .

The C o r poreal Mind ,however ,sometimes la gs

in its work ; 01 else it becomes sluggish and
1

apa t het ic ; or perhaps disco u ra ged from some

cause or other I n such cases it may be s t i m u
.

lated to ac t ion ,and e 1 en guided and se t t o 11 or k

in the proper direction by means of the proper
in centive coming through the Conscious Mind ,
45
 MENTAL T H E RAPEUTIC S

get the best possible res u lts un der the u n fa vor

able condit ions The Corporeal Mind i s ever
.

working t o ward life and health for i t s owner .

S ome t imes it under t a kes heroic and eve n des

pera t e me thods ,i n order t o c ombat and d e feat
part icula rly dangero u s con di t ions .

The follo wing quo t a t ions from emi nent a u

thorit ies S ho11 that t his C orpo r eal Mind ,un der
t he name of vi s m e di ca t ri x n a t ur a e , N at u i e ,
‘
or
“ ”
or vital fo r ce , or similar t erms ,is recognized
by science as the real source of cur e of di sease ,
no ma t ter b v 11 hat me t hod i t may be ca l led into
e ff ect.

“
By t he te r m e ffo r t s of natur e , we me a n a
‘ ’

ce r t ain cur ati1 e or res t orative principle ,or vi s

vi t a ,implanted in e 1 ery livin g or organized
bod y ,constantly opera t i ve for i t s repair ,preser
vation ,or health This instinctive ende a vor to
.

r epa ir t he human org a nism is signally shown i n

t he event of a se 1 ered or lost part ,as a fin g e r ,
for instance ; for Nature ,unaided ,will repa ir a n d
fashion a stump equal to one from the hands
of a n eminent surgeon N ature ,unaided ,may
.

be equall y poten t in ordinar1 il lness M a ny .

individuals ,eve n when s e 1 e r e l y i l l ,rema i n a t

rest in bed ,under favorable hygiene ,regimen ,
e t c ,and speedil y get well without a physici a n
.

”
or m edicine .

“
The vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur a e i s a 1 er y potent
factor in the am elioration of di sease ,i f it only
” “
be allo y1 ed fair play . We are compell ed t o
ackn owledge a power of natural reco 1 cr y i n he r
ent in the bod y — a
s i mi lar statement has be e n
44
TH E S YMP AT HET I C NER VO U S SYS TEM
made by writers on the principle of me di c i ne i n
“
all ages .
’
Whatever o ther theo r ies we may
hold , we must 1 e cogn i z e the vi s m e di ca t ri x
” “
n a t ur a e in some shape or o t her . A na t ur al
po wer of the preven t ion and repair of disorders
and disease has as real and a s ac t ive an exis t ence
withi n us as have t he ordin ary fu nctions of the
organs themselves H ippocra t es ,the founde r
.

“
of t he science of medicine ,said : N a t ure is t he
”
physician of diseases A mbrose P are had i 11
.

scri bed over the door of the great medical school ,

the E cole de Medicine of P aris ,t hese remarkable
“
words : Je l s pons ez et D i eu l e gu a r i t , 11 hich
freely translated means : I dressed the wound ,
”
a n d God heal e d it %
A careful investiga t ion shows that this much
“ ”
vaunted Vi s m e di ca t ri x na t ur a e ,the Nat u re
of medical science , is really mental in its nature ;
a n d is identical wi t h our conc e p t ion of the C or

p o r e a l Mind . Mind is ever a t work i n t he

physical processes of nutrition , assimila t ion ,

elimination ,reproduc t ion ,and t he repara t iv e
p rocesses of cure T h
. e basis of a l l true healing
is to be found in this Corporeal Mind ,under
whatever name it may be called this fac t mus t
.
—

ever be kept in mind .

The C o r poreal Mind ,however , sometimes lags

i n its work ; or else it becomes sluggish and
apathe ti c ; or perhaps discouraged from some
cause or other I n such cases it may be s t i m u
.

la t ed to action ,and even guided and s e t to w ork

in the proper direction by me a ns of the proper
incentive coming through the Conscious Mind ,
45
 MENTAL T H E RAPEUTIC S

or else dir ected i mm e di ately t o i tself This f a ct

.

makes p ossible a l l forms of mental he a li n g,n o

matter u nder what name they may operat e ,or
under what theory the y m a y proce e d the b a si c
—

fact remain s the same .

An d, alas %the rule works b oth w a ys F or we .

fi n d that much di sease i s caused ,maintain ed,

and perpetuated by means of wron gful s u gge s
tions or ideas implanted in the Corp ore a l M in d
by means of in flu ences ,suggestion ,teachin g,a d
vice or other methods of i mplanting an ide a in
the mi n d The Corporeal Mind ,though very s e t
.

in its way as a rule ,is aff ected by suggestion or

wrong ideas if strongly and repeatedly pres e nt e d
t o it . An d when it fi nally i s a fi e ct e d by th e s e
ideas ,it manifests its false belief by mean s of
i t s very e ffi cient system o f sympathetic nerv e s
r each i ng to all part s of the b ody — and di se a s e
and i mproper functioning begin s Next t o fal s e
.

ideas ,perhaps ,F ear is the most potent factor i n

this mental causation of disease F ear paralyz e s
.

the activities of the Co r poreal Mind,and pr e

vents i t from doing its w ork pr operly a n d e ffi
ci e n t l y .

be h oped that the student will not pa s s

I t is to
over these important basic and fundamental e x
“
planations on the ground that they are dr y
”
reading Su ch a course would be very foolish,
.

indeed ; f or it is necessary that these f un da m en

tal and basi c principles o f t he theory of the ca u s e
and cure of disease may be thoroughly grasp e d
and remembered ,i n order that the prin ciple s of
healin g may have an intelli gent fou ndation .

46
 LE SS O N VI

ME NTAL CAU S E S OF D IS E AS E

Before proceeding t o the consideration of the

s ubj ect of the healing of disease by the power of
mi n d , it will be well for u s t o pause for a moment
that we may realize the poten cy of the min d in
the direction of causing disease F or ,let us not
.

try to escape this tru th,mind turned in the

wrong direction will as surely cause disease a s
mi n d turned in the r ight direction will cure
di sease. The mental motive p ower r uns when
r eversed as well as when turn ed forward .

Medical s cien ce ,in its hist ory ,ha s taken note

of many instances of gr eat mental epide m i cs , ao
companied by physical ills ,disease ,and death .

,
F ear i s contagi ous a s all physicians kn ow ,a n d
when it 1 S based on a strong belief in a suggested
ide a of di sease ,the disease Spreads wit h mar
ve l l ou s ra idity The pages of the records of
p .

m e di cal sc i ence are fi lled with the testi mony of

eminent physicians regardin g this evil potency
of mind i n the direction of causing disease The.

f oll owing a r e typi cal instances of thi s testi mony

D iabetes fr om sudden mental shock 1 s a true ,

p ur e type of a physical malady of mental or i
—
Si r Sa mu el B a ker .

I n many cases ,I have seen reasons f or be

li evin g that cancer had its origin in prolon ged
a nxi ety .
—Si r Ge or ge Pa get .

47
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

I have been surprised how often p a ti e nts

with primary cancer of the liver lay the c a use
of this ill health to protracted grief or anxi e ty .

The cases ha xe been far t oo numerous t o be

account ed for as mere coinciden ces D r M ur .

chi s on .

E rup t ionson the Skin will foll ow exc es s ive

m ental strain I n all these ,and in cancer a n d
.

epilepsy ,there is a predisposition I t is remark

.

able how little the ques t ion of physical dise a s e

”
fro m men t al influen ce has been studied
. Dr . .

Ri cha r ds on .

My experiments show tha t i rasci ble ,m a le v o

len t and depressing emotions generate in t he
s ys t em injurious compounds , some of which a r e
extremely po i sonous : also that agreeable ,h a ppy
emotions generate chemical compounds of n u
t r i t i ou s value ,which s t imulates the cells t o m a n
”—
u f a ct u r e energy Pr of E l m er Ga t es
. . .

D r H ack Tuke ,in

. his important w ork on t he
influence of the min d over the body ,gives num er
ous cases of the causing of seri ous disease s b y
ideas held l n the mind ,01 by simple mental sta t e s
induced by fear H e gives many cases in which
.

p aralysis , j a undice , premature greyness a n d

baldness ,dec a y of the tee t h ,uterine trouble s ,
e rysipe l as , e czem a , and impetigo , have bee n

c a u s ed 1n this way .

The r e cord s of physiol o gi cal psychology con

tain m an y references to cases in which s eri ou s
48
 MENTAL CAU SE S or D I SEASE

illness ,and even death ,have been caused by the

“ ”
e fi or t s of practical jokers to scare their vic
t ims The usual plan i s to have several persons ,
.

du rin g the course of a few hours ,tell t he victi m

that he i s lookin g very il l ,and tha t his a ppe a i
ance resembles that of another friend who grew
suddenly ill and then di ed The us u al resul t i s
.

that the vic t i m will become frightened ,and in

some cases be actually pros t rated with weakness
and compelled t o take t o his bed .

Medical students frequently cont ra ct the dis

eases whose s ym ptoms they have been studying
in their text books Moreover ,it is an estab
- .

l i s he d fact that specialists in medical prac t ice

frequently contract the very disease that they
have been studying s o closely ,and treating so
continuously in their practice The strong men
.

tal image tends t o in fluence the Corporeal Mind ,

and that mani fests in physical disorder Many .

persons have contracted diseases described in

detail l n the patent m e dicine alma nacs and other
fear producing printed mat ter describin g the
-

disease for Whi ch the medicine 1 s intended .

Medical annals also cont ain numerous refer

e n ce s to cases in which persons have died from
the belief and fright arisin g from havin g take n
what th ey have supposed t o be poison ,but which
in reality wa s som e h a rm le s s dru g Cases are
.

known in which such patients died aft er having

manifested all the sympt oms of poisonin g by
t he drug that they had suppos e d they ha d t a ke n ,
but of which an autopsy failed to reveal even
a trace .

49
 MENTAL T H E RAPEUTIC S

The well authenticated instances of the pr o

-

duction of s t igma t a ,or the marks of the nails on

the hands and feet of the crucifi ed S a vi or ,on t he
bodies of religious devotees who have t oo lon g
contempla t ed the crucifi x ,is an instance of t he
p ower of the Corporeal Mind over the body
which it controls Suggestionists have pr o
.

ducted blist ers and even s cars on the arms of

patients ,by suggestin g that the harmless court
plaster placed on the arm was a strongly irri t ant
chemical Strong sympa t hy ,accompanied by
.

a vivid imagination ,has caused person s t o suffer

the pain being undergone by others ; in ma n y
cases even faint pink marks corr esponding t o t he
scars on the injured person have appeared on
the body of the sympathe tic relative or friend .

I t is a fact of common experience that many m e n

suff er from sympathetic na u sea during the preg
nancy of their wives ,and as many more e xpe
r i e n ce s oreness and pain around the lower part
of the spine ,accompanying the labor pains of
-

their wives during the birth of their children .

H air has turned grey from emo t ion ; milk ha s

been rendered poisonous in the breasts of
nursing mothers ,from similar causes ; it i s f r e
quent that nausea is produ ced by some story
relating disgusting details ,or even from t he
memory of a similar occasion ; the thought of
certain acid fruits ,a lemon for instance ,will
cause the water to flow from the mouth ; t he
bowels are frequently moved after on e ha s
thought of some unpleasant cathartic medicin e
on e ha s taken at s ome ti me in the past ; phys i

50
 MENTAL CAU S E S OF DIS E AS E

ci a n s know th a t menstruation in on e woman fr e

quently resu lts in a si milar happening in the
case of other women around the fi rst one who
become aware of the fact ,even though their r e g
ular monthl y periods have not as ye t arrived .

C arter quotes a case in which a lady s a w t hree

fi ngers cut from the hand of a child ,in an acci
dent She was s o a fi e ct e d that her hand began
.

t o pain her ,and swelling resulted .The three

fi ngers of her hand ,c orrespon di ng to t hose cut
from the hand of the chi ld ,became badly in
flamed ; a n incision becomin g necessary t o e va cu
ate the pu s that had formed P rof James says
. .

“
The unconscious mind as revealed by hypn o
t i s m can exercise marvelous control over the
nervous ,vas e motor,circulatory and other s y s
-

tems There seems to be no reasonab l e grounds

.

for doubting that ,in certain chosen subj ects ,

congestion ,burns ,blister ,raised papules ,bleed
ing from the nose or skin can be produced by
”
suggestion The signifi cance of this lies in the
.

fact that the hypnotic state i s now recognized as

one in which suggestion has an exaggera t ed e f
fe e t ; suggestion in the waking state ,or even the
auto suggestion of the person himself,operates
-

along the same lines ,and sometimes in quite as

marked a de gree .

Dr Schofi e l d tells his students that the e ff ect

.

of a purgative pill has been rendered n i l , and ha s

been made t o produce sleep under the belief
that it was an opiate pill ; and that ,on the other
hand ,an Opium pill given for sleep has failed to
produce it ,but a cted as a stron gpurgati ve under
51
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

the be li ef tha t it really was t his ; that great gri e f

a fi e ct s the entire body ; and that he ha s kno wn
the breaki ng off of a marriage en gagement t o
produce profound anaemi a ,or t o wh1 t e n the hair
wit hin twen t y fo u r hours
-
.

“
A s for the e ffect of pure im agination on
the body,under the sugges t ion and belief i n
“ ”
placebos ,or other make believe remedie s ,
such as bread pills ,e t c ,every physician ca n
- .

supply numerous evidences ,i f he feels s o di s

posed ,and thinks you are to be trus t ed Brea d
.

pills have cured many diseases ,and have al s o

produced strong pu rgative action when take n
u nder the belief that they are ex t ra stron g
purgative pills Some physicians with a greate r
.

scientifi c curiosit y than a regard for the i r

patients have prod u ced almost at will the entir e
range of physical conditions by presc ri bin g
harmless and inac t ive chemical substan c e s
accompani ed with the strong sugges t ion of their
e ff ect An d,a s every physician knows only t oo
.

well ,a hysterical pa t ient will manage t o co u n

t erfei t , and thus eventually to actually induc e ,a
great range of physical disorders .

There is n o need for extending thi s rec i tal ,

for an entire book might be fi lled wi t h instance s
of this kind The one principle which i s illus
.

t r a t e d in all of these cases ,and all like them ,i s

this : That the Corporeal Mind which ha s co n trol
of the func t ions of the physical body ,from gre a t
to small ,simple to complex ,is amen a ble t o
suggestion or insinuated ideas either thos e of
—
“ ”
other persons ,or those wh i ch are picked u p
52
 MENTAL CAU S E S OF DIS E AS E

by the consci ous m i n d of the person hi mself .

The suggesti ons or insinua t e d ideas , once

a ccepted , tend t o manifest it in action and out
ward expression ,and thus cause t o a ppear m
physical form and condition s that which ori gi
nally existed in the mind alone .

F rom this it is seen t hat the real cause of

many cases and forms of physical disorders and
disease is t o be found in these suggested or
acquired ideas or thought s which have been
accepted by the Corporeal Mind ,and s u b s e
quently mani fested int o obj ect ive forms ,States
and condi t ions.

Consequently, the practitioner of Mental

Therape u t ics must always seek for these mental
caus es of the diseases which he is called upon
to trea t and heal While ,of course ,he must
.

direct his treatment t o the physical conditions

a s they exist at the time of the treatment ,he
must also at the same time strive to reach and
remove the original erroneous idea or thought
which has really caused t he whole trouble I n
.

this way he di scovers and removes t he roots of

the trouble ,and does not content himself wi th
merely treating and removing the consequences ,
e ff ects ,and results thereof the symptoms ,in
—

short.

I n Less on 11 we have seen that the Su b con

s cious Mind ( of which the Corporeal Mind is a
phase or aspect ) wil l continue t o harbor and
manifest these erroneous ide a s and thou ghts
unt il the following things happen ,viz ( a ) The
idea i s neutralized ,cancelled,and replaced by
63
 ME NTAL T HERAP E UTIC S

a s u ffi ciently strong opp osi n g i dea or suggesti on ;

or ( b ) the accepted suggested idea i s traced ba c k
t o i t s birth in the mind of the person ,and i s
thereupon shown t o be erroneous ,based on
wrong premises ,and therefore unt rue ; in bot h
of which methods the erroneous and harmfu l
idea is wiped from t he tablets of the mi nd ,a n d
ceases t o exis t or t o express it otherwise ,the
—

erroneous idea is painted over by the new a n d

true idea ,and ceases to appear i n the mind,or
to manifes t in form and action .

This point of practice is worthy of speci a l

emphasis ,and of careful thought and remem
bran ce ,f or it goes right to the root of t he troubl e
and eradicates the seed of the foul ment a l
growth that i s causing the trouble Too ofte n ,
.

the mental healer ,like hi s brother,the me di ca l

doctor,contents himself with treating and r e
moving the o u tw a rd symptoms of the inte rn a l
trouble Tr y to discover the root of the trouble ,
.

and manage to kill it out at the same time y o u

are remedying the manifestations arising from
its presence in the mind of t he patient This ,.

and this alone ,i s true and complete ment a l he a l

i n g of disease.
 LE SSO N VI I
THE F UNDAMENT AL PRIN CI PLE OF
CURE
It is a fundamental prin ciple of Ment a l
Therapeutics that all forms of cures of diseases
are really but different phases of mental cure .

That is to s a y that in all healing processes t he

ac t ive principle 1 s always found to be the mind
in the cells ,cell groups ,organs ,or in the body
-

a s a whole . The vi s m e di ca t r i x n a t ur a e ,the

healing powers of N a ture ,whi ch performs all
the curative work of the body ,is mental in its
elemental nature ; therefore ,all cures are mind
cures ,at the last .

The heal ing processes of the body are not blind

forces ,or mechan i cal energies ,but ,on the con
t r a r y , are characteristically ment al in their
activities There is an intelligence at work i n
.

these pr ocesses ; instinctive and subconscious

though it may be ,it still manifests all t he char
a ct e r i s t i cs of intelligence There is always
.

mani fest the existence of a working pla n and

purpose ,and an endeavor of the Corporeal Mind
t o accomplish the results in di cated in such plan
and purpose .

Thi s may b e seen more clearly when we stop

—

t o consider that each cell ,and each group of

cells ,is a li vi ng ,mental some t hing ,and n ot a
mechani cal ,inert ,lifeless t hing moved only b y
external forces The energies of the cell a bide
.

withi n the cell ,a n d manifest in acc ordance with

55
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTICS

i n telligent processes The curative proces s

.

always consis ts of the repairing of waste tissu es ,

and in a harmonious readjustment of mutual
relations and conditions by the a ctivities of the
cells themselves .

E ven when external remedies and methods

are used they are seen to be merely the supply
ing of the cells with proper stimuli ,nourishment ,
and aid ; or,perhaps ,of removi ng mechanical
or other obstacles from their way The mind
.

in the body ,orga ns ,a n d cells performs all t he

real curative work ; all else is but an aid or help
to the mental force latent within the body ,
organ ,or cells .

The physician may administer a purgative ,

and this by removing un desirable and harmful
substances from the system makes easier the
task of the mind wit hi n the body Or the .

surgeon may clean and dra i n the wound ,thu s

taking a portion of the work from the cells ,a n d
rendering easier their other work Or , th e .

surgeon may place in juxtaposit ion the brok e n

bones ,and hold them into place by bandage s ,
and then the m i nd in t he cells does the healin g
work and knits them together Man a ids ,b u t
.

N ature cures and N ature is mental in i t s fi n a l

—

analysis .

More than this ,medical sci ence a t least the

—

adv a nced and more intelligent teachers of i t

recognize the fac t that disease i s not ,a s wa s
formerly supposed ,a foreign something that
”
attacks the sys t em What is called disease
.

i s i n very many cases but the s ympt oms of t he

56
 F U ND AMENT AL PR INC IPLE OF CURE
e ff orts of N ature t o elim inate objectionable and
harmful con di tions ,and to res um e normal sta t es
of functioning and activity The theory of
.

many thoughtful physicians i s that disease is

frequently really a self pr e s e i vative ac t ion on
-

the part of N ature a n ac t ion by which s he

—

seeks t o preserve the body by set t ing up condi

tions designed t o combat abnormal conditions
whi ch have arisen I f N ature is unable to thro w
.

off the abnormal condi t ions ,it at least a e com

m oda t e s itself to the new state of a ff airs ,and
strives t o make the best of i t t o manage to ge t
—

the best possible results ,or the least possible

measure of harm .

This bein g recognized and it cannot be

—

denied i t follows that anything that will aid

—

the mental action of t he cells ,organs ,and body

in this reparative work must aid the cure An d .

here is where Mental Thera p e utics comes in .

Nothi ng can aid and s t rengt hen ,direct and sus

tain ,the mind in the cells ,organs ,and body
better than Mind itself Whatever strengt hens
.

the Corporeal Mind ,and directs its ene 1 gi e s

e ffectively,must mat erially a i d in the work of
cure An d this 1 s just what 1 s accomplished by
.

Mental Therapeutics The Corporeal Mind ,

.

under the proper s timulus of Mind ,will not only

manifest latent powers and energies here t ofore
unma ni f ested,but will also obey the direc t ion
and guidance of a phase of mind more posit ive
than itself ,and thus act more e ffi ciently U pon
.

this fundamental pri nciple of practice all s ci e n

t i fi c mental healin g i s based.

57
 MENTAL TH ERAPEUTI C S

Sidney Murphy , M D ,a n American authorit y ,

. .

says of the repara t ive forces of N ature inhere n t

“
in the organi sm : I t is a remedial e fi or t ,n o t
necessarily successful ,and an attempt t o change ,
or have changed ,exis ti ng conditions An y i m .

proper rela t ion of the living organism to exter

nal agents necessarily results in an inj u ry t o
that organism ,which by virtue of i t s bein g
self preservative im mediately sets up defensiv e
-

action ,and begins a s soon a s possible t o repai r

the damages that have accrued This defensiv e .

or reparative action ,of course ,corresponds t o

t he conditions to be corrected ,and i t s persis t
ence will depend upon the d a mages t o be r e
paired ,and the int ensity and persistence of t he
causes that produced it S erious injur y present
.

or impending will demand serious vital action ;

desperate conditions ,desperate action But i n .

all cases the ac t ion is vital ,an attempt at r e s t or a

tion ,and the energy displayed will exactly
corr e spon d to the int erests involved a n d the
”
vitality that is available .

An other American authority ,S F Meach a m , . .

“
M D ,says :
. . D isease is a failure of the cell s
to make good their waste ,or to do their full
duty This may be an individual matter with
.

the ce l l ,or may result from imperfect co opera

-

t ion ; there m a y be a mutiny in the co operative

-

commonwealth constituting the body .

An y failu re of this kind is disease either lo ca l

01 general ,according to the importance of t he
1

mutinous or weakened cell A cure results whe n.

the cells again do the i r work ; or when oth e r

58
 F UNDAMENTAL PRI NC IPLE OF CURE
cells learn t o do that particular work ,which is
sometimes the case A remedy is a n y substance ,
.

or force ,or pro cedure tha t wi ll s timula t e ,or

help ,or remove obstacles that prevent these cells
from doing their work % eep in m ind that t he
.

life process acting through or in the cell does

the work ,whether aided or alone . The
process going On i n each cell is an intelligen t
on e ,and all intrin sic methods are r e ally but sug
gestions ofi e r e d to the cell ,the real worker ; and
the fact is that any one of these helps may be
chosen ,and all may be rej ec t ed .

“
The repair of a cell is as equally an intel
lectual a process as any other can be .

The cell i s not a mere machine , bu t a living entit y ,

doi ng e ve r yt hl n g that t he body does I t eats , .

drinks ,moves ,reprodu ces it s kind ,selects its

foods ,repairs its waste e t c These are i n t e l l e c
.

tual processes ,but may not be conscio u s .

Cure consists i n the repairing of wasted tissues ,

and in the cells restoring a n d repairing them
selves into a de fi nite pattern necessary t o mu t ual
work ,s o that the commonwealth may p1 OSpe 1 1 1
.

The cells mus t build up the wast e ,a n d

this they do by their internal forces ; all disease
is really cured by interna l force ,viz force 1 esi .

dent 1n t he cell itself H ere we all s t and around

.

the suffering cell ,on e with drug power in his

-

hand ,another with electricity ,or water ,or heat ,

or directed attention ,thought force ,or more
-

nourishment which necessitates a better circula

tion to that area ,or some other of the thou s and
therapeutic measures ,and we are close enough
59
 MENTAL T HERAP E UTICS

together at last to s e e that we are simply usin g

di fi e r e n t stim ul i t o try to aid the real w o rk e r
withi n the cell t o do his work ,by furni shing n ot
only mat erial when that is ne cessary ,but forc e
as well ,that ou t of the abundance his work m a y
be easy and rapid .

D r Thomson J H udson ,the emi nent Am eri

. .

can authority upon the s u bconscious processe s

“
of mind , says : Granted that there i s an i n t e l l i
gence that controls the fu nctions of the body
in health ,it follows that it is the same power or
energy that fails in case of disease F ailin g ,it.

requires a ssistance ; and that is what all thera

peuti e agencies aim t o accomplish No i n t e l li
.

gent physician of any school clai ms t o be a bl e

t o do more than t o assist nature t o restore t he
‘ ’

no r mal conditions of the body That it is a

.

men t al energy that thus requires assistance ,n o

on e denies ; for science teaches us that the whole

body is made up of a confederation of in telligent

ent i ties ,each of which performs its fu nction s
with an intelligence exactly adapted t o the per
f or m a n ce of its special duties as a member of
the confederacy There is ,in deed ,no life wi t h
.

o u t mind , from the lowest unicellular organism

up t o man I t is therefore a mental ener gy th a t
.

actuates every fi bre of the body under all its

conditions That there is a central intellige n ce
.

that controls each of these mind organisms ,i s

self evident
- . I t is su ffi cient f or u s t o
know that such an intelligence exists ,and tha t ,
for the time being ,it is the controlling energy
that norm a ll y regulat es the action of the myr ia d
60
 F UNDAMENTAL PRI NC IPLE OF CURE
cells of whi ch the body i s composed I t is ,then ,
.

a mental organ ism t hat all therapeut ic agencies

are designed t o energize ,when ,for any cause ,it
fails t o perform its func tions with reference to
”
any par t of the physical structure .

When this great principle of therapeutics

the principle that all cures are really performed
thr ough and by means of cell activi ty ; and that
-

cell activity i s mental ,and u nder the con t rol of

the conf ederated minds of the to t ality of the
cell li fe of the body i s clearly perceived ,then
- —

the great mystery of Mental Therapeutics van

ishes F or when this principle is grasped ,it is
.

perceived that all cures are really mental cures ,

no matter by what methods or means t he mental
forces are called into operation This be i ng
.

granted ,it is seen that Mental Th e rapeut ics is

simply the calling into opera t ion of the mental
forces resident in the cells ,organs ,and entire
physical system,but not by means of physical
remedies or appliances ,but rather by a direct
appeal to the Corporeal Mind itself,a n d thus t o
the cell minds and organ minds
- -
.

Mental healing ,in a n y of its forms a n d phases ,

is the most direct and immediate fo r m of h e a ling
there i s I nstead of proceeding in a roundabou t
.

way t o get at the mind in t he cells ,organs ,and

parts ,and thus t o rouse it in t o activit y ,it make s
a direct appeal to headquart ers the Corporeal
—

Mind and energies it into activity The Cor

— .

p or e a l Min d ,which i s very amenable t o s u gge s

tion or instructions properl y given it ,falls in
with the methods of cure s t a t e d to i t b y the
61
 ME NTAL TH E RAP E UTI C S

healer ,or the person hi mse l f I t sends di re cti n g

.

messages to the diseased or gans and cell s ,a n d

s t imulates them t o greater a ctivity ,if thi s i s
needed ; or ,again ,it may re create har mony
where dis cord has been mani fested I t pro ceeds
.

t o exercise its supreme co or di n ating power ,

- and
regulates and adjusts ,directs and guides ,the
activities of the cells and or gans .

A s we pro ceed with ou r lessons we Shall s e e

that although mental healing has been practiced
from ti me i mm emorial ,under various name s ,
forms ,disgui ses ,and based upon many the orie s
of varying degrees of rationality , still the un der
lying principle has ever been on e ,and on e onl y ,
i e ,that briefly outlin ed i n this lesson and th os e
. .

which have preceded it The e ffect of all of

.

these vary ing methods and forms of me n ta l

treatment plainly stated or else disgui se d
—

under some fanciful theological or metaphys ic a l

theory is identicall y the same ,viz ,the rous in g
— .

into activi ty and operation of the mind in t he

cells and organs of the b ody ,under the co
ordinati ng influence of the C or por e a l Mi n d The
. .

student who understands this principle will eve r

fi n d it present under and ba ck of each and ev e ry
instance of ment a l healing The cures are n ot
.

made by reason of the fanciful theories b u t i n

—

Spite of them R emember thi s always %

.

62
 LE SSO N VI II
TH E HIS T O R Y OF MENTAL
THERAPEUT I C S
The history of Mental Therapeutics is a s ol d
a s the history of heali ng of any kind ; for from
the very beginning of the practice of healing
there i s found to have been practiced some of
the manifold forms of mental healing I t is .

interesting t o glance in passing at the history

of the many phases and forms of mental healing
of which the race has taken a dvantage .

P erhaps the earliest forms of mental healing

were those conne cted with the magicians ,medi
cine men , or pri mi tive p ri ests of the savage
-

tribes from the ve r y dawn of history mankin d

—

has taken unto itself priests ,magicians ,a n d

medicine men An d,just as naturally as the
- .

proverbial duck takes to water ,so have these

priests ,magicians ,and medicine men taken to
-

the healing of disease This ,perhaps ,because

.

the savage usually regards disease as s omething

caused by the influence of devils ,and evil i n flu
e n ce s ,which must be chased away by the power
of the magician or priest .

We ,who can a ff ord to smile at the superstition

of these savages ,must not make the mistake of
supposing that these priests and magician s per
formed no cures On the contrary ,they did
.

perform cures ; and their prototy pes among the

savage tribes of this day are still performing
cures , in the same way and for the same reason .

63
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTI C S

Trav e lers relate instances of wonderful cures

performed by these medicine men ,priests ,or -

magicians in Africa ,South America ,and othe r

portions of the world i n which savages still dwell
in r e mote regions .

The magic performances of these medicine

m e n or magici a ns are directed toward the chas
ing away of the demons of disease They .

believe in t he po wer of the demons ; and t hey

believe in t he p ow e r of the magicians else they —

woul d not employ t h e ir services . The expectant

att e ntion a n d the im a gination of the sick per
s ons is called into operation by the magic
ceremoni e s . A l l student s of modern Mental
Th e rapeu t ic s u n d e rs t and the potency of the
a r ou s e d ima gi n ation a n d expectant attenti on of

a pa t ient—
t hi s m e n t al a ttitude results in a ve ry
decided cura t ive and repara t ive activity on the
p art of t he mi n d in t he cells and the organs
.

The sav a ge ha s a gr e at a mount of vita l powe r , or

vit al mind ,in his body ,owing to his natural
m e thods of li ving ; and this once directed tow a rd
t he pro c e s s of cu r e b e gi n s to Show marked
improveme n t The patie n t ,noting the i mprove
.

m ent ,i s e n coura ged i n hi s fait h a n d belief ,a n d

t he rep a ra t ive force thus ga ins additional power ;
a n d so on u ntil the c u re is made .

The n ext s t e p i s t hat of he a ling b y reli gious

1

c e r e moni e s ,which is performed by the priests

of the primi t ive pe e pl e s of history The priests
.

cl a imin g t o be ch o s e n i n s truments of the D eit y ,

naturally claimed the divine power of healing

amon g other gifts Their fav orite method wa s
.

64
 THE HIS T O RY
to l a y on h a n ds ,a ccompan ied by certain c e re
monies of their p a rticular reli gion The litera
.

tui e and monum ental remai ns of ancient E gypt ,

Greece ,R ome ,P ersia ,I n dia ,and China shows
that the laying on of h a nds was a favorite and
- - -

common method cure in those days and lands .

There are evidences of it having been practiced

nearly thirty fi ve h u ndred years ago in E gypt ; i t
-

was also practiced extensively in ancien t Chal

dea and P ersia several thousand years ago .

But this custom ,so well established in t he

mind of the race ,did not perish with the ancient
religions On the con trary ,it has always been
.

a feature of the Chri stian religion i n fact it

—

formed one of the strong foundation s t ones of

that religion ,a s of every other religion in its
early days H ea ling the sick and c a sting ou t
.

devils were t wo of the special offi ces of the early

di sciples ; a n d the pries t hood n aturally took over
the privilege and practice when they replaced
the early dis ciples .

I n the Middle A ges healin g by means of relig

ious ceremonies ,charms ,and blessings was very
common Sacred relics ,alt ars ,shri nes ,and ho l y
.

places were visited by great multitudes of per

sons ,many of whom experienced cures of their
phys i cal ailm ents This practice ,in fa ct ,has
.

endured unto this day in ma ny part s of E urope .

Al l over certain countries of E urope are t o be

found the holy wells ,and holy shrines ,where
mira cles of healing are performed The many .

crutches ,and other tokens of former illness ,

which have been left at these holy places a s a
65
 MENTAL T HERAPEUTIC S

token of cure ,establish the fact that the power

has not depart ed from them or ,rather ,that t he
—

power of the mi nd aroused by faith and expect

ant attention still operates i n the direction of
cure.

Later on ,some of the kings and queens took

over the gi ft of healing ,probably much t o the
disgust of the pries t s whose revenues were thus
“
a ff ected We fi n d many records of the % in g s
.
’

“ ”
Touch , or the R oyal Touch , in the Middle
A ges ,or aft erward . There arose a belief that
the touch of the hand of the monarch was a sure
cure for scrofula and kindred disorders of the
blood and skin S o at cert a i n times of the year
.

great multitudes woul d present themselves t o

the ruling monarch in order that they m i ght be
made whole by hi s healing touch .

Those who may be incli ned to s m i le at the idea

of the monarch havin g any special power t o heal
should study the records of the ti mes Thou .

sands were healed i n this way ,if we are t o

believe the testi mony of emi nent persons then
living ,including many distinguished physicians
of those times F or instance ,D r Wiseman ,a n
. .

eminent surgeon of old time London ,says tha t

-

he ,personally ,witnessed thousands of actu a l

“
cures of this kind without the assistance of
medicine or surger y,and those ,many of the m ,
such as had tired ou t the endeavors of a ble
surgeons before they came hither . I
must needs profess that whi ch I write wi ll l i t tl e
more than Show the weakn ess of our abi li ty
when compared with hi s Maj es ty s ,who cur e t h
’

66
 THE HIS T O RY

m ore i n on eye a r than a l l the surgeons of London

ha ve done in an age .
’

The great s u ccesse s of F ranz Anton Mesmer

in the latter part of the eighteenth century are
n ow per ceived to have arisen by reason of t he
power of faith and expectant atten t ion ,and not
by any virtues of hi s theories of methods H e .

wa s followed by many who im proved on his

methods ,a n d b ui l t upon his theori es Braid ,an
.

E nglish physician , in 1 84 1 ,dispelled the mys t ery

of Mesmer s cures ,by advancing a new theory
’

that of H ypnotism F or a ti me after this many

.

physicians foll owed Bra i d s methods ,and ob

’

t a i n e d great results . Then after a t i me came

the school of the F ren ch hypnotists ,who evolved
“ ”
the th e ory of Suggestion , which asserted that
the healing power arose not from the hypnotic
“ ”
m ethods ,but rather from the suggestion or
m ental comm ands given in the hypnotic state .

Then came others who discovered that Su gge s

tion wa s equally e fi ca ci ou s when administered
without any resort to hypnotism This was the .

dawn of the modern scientifi c s t udy of Mental

Therapeutics for it revealed the important fact
—

that i n mental states particularly those of faith

—

and expectant attention there was to be f e i m d

—

a great heal i ng power .

The great modern i nterest i n ,and i mprove

ment i n ,the methods of Mental Therapeutics
have arisen from the work of the practitioners
“
of s ome of the many forms of psychological
” “
heali ng, or biological healin g , so popular
duri n g the last half of the nineteenth centur y ,
67
 MENTAL T HERAP EU TICS

all of whi ch were off sho ot s of Mesmerism or

Braidism Gradual ly there s prun g from t hi s
.

main trunk the several for ms of Metaphysic a l

H ea l in g which became s o pop ul ar t he l a st quar
ter of the century last past ,and whi ch h a ve
grown so remarkably during the years of the
present century .

The connecting l i nk between the older scho ols

of psycholo gic a l healing ,and the newer scho ols
of metaphy s i cal healing , is foun d in D r P hineas .

P arkhurst Quimby , a poor clockmaker of l i mi ted

e ducation ,but of a quick mind and a strong

p ersonality ,w ho lived in Maine ,o n e of the N e w

E ngland States of Am erica Q uimby
. w a s
attracted to the teachings of Mesmerism about
1 83 8 ,and soon developed into a suc cessful m e s
meric healer H e followed along the lines of
.

“
John Bovee D od s E lectro Biology f or a time ,
’
- ’

b u t soon evolved a more metaphysical theory of

his own H i s new concepti on was that diseas e
.

arose from erroneous thinki ng,and that cure s

may be performed by getting the patient t o
think rightly Among hi s pupils were D r
. .

Warr en F E vans and Julius A D resser,both

. .

of whom a fterward established what they called

The Mind Cure , which was the direct an cestor
“ ”

“ ”
of the great N e w Thought m ovement n ow s o
popular in America and E urope Another .

patient and pupil of D r Qui mby s wa s Mary

.
’

Baker E ddy ,who afte r ward founded the great

Christian S cien ce movement ,which n ow n um
bers i t s followers at a million or more Chris ti a n
—

68
 TH E HIS T O RY

S cien ce ,h owever ,n ow re p udi ates all descent

from Quimby .

Springing up a s a result of the success of t he

Mental Science ,Christian S cien ce ,and N e w
Thought move m ents ,durin g the past twenty
fi ve years ,we fi n d many ins t ances of the desire
of the people f or religious and similar phases of
m e ntal healing . D ivine healers by the score
have appeared , flourished ,and then disappeared .

Francis Schlatter,the German shoemaker of

D enver,C olorado , U S A ,healed thousands of
. . .

persons who flocked t o hi s cottage ,believing him

to be a prophet of God John A lexander D owie ,
.

a n E nglish preacher , created grea t interest ,fi r st

in A ustralia and then in Chicago ,I llinois ,U S . .

A,. by hi s many cur es H e established a chur ch

.

in Chi cago ,the walls of which were lined with

cru t ches ,trusses ,e t c ,of persons who had been
.

healed by hi s prayers and laying on of hands

- - - .

Both Schlatter and D owie h a ve had many imita

t ors ,many of whom have met with more or less
suc cess.

The great N e w Thought movement ,with its

many divisions ,and subdivisions ,has a large
followi ng,and also has a great multitude of
healers ,all of whom make cures by the general
m ethods of mental healing ,though under many
di fi e r e n t theories and conceptions ,and by many
methods of a plication Christian Science sup
.

p ort s many e churches and many healers and

teachers ,some of whom have grown wealthy as
“
the result of their practice The E mm anuel .

”
Movement , started by som e of the ort hod o x
69
 MENTAL T H ERA PEUTI C S

chur ches several years a go,is another il l ustr a

t ion of the pop ul arity of mental methods of
heal ing and also of the comm on d e sire of the
—

public to have such healing given un der the

cover ,and i n the form of religious teachi ngs .

The student must not ,however ,i magine f or a

moment that all of these modern schools and
phases of mental heal ing admit that the basis
and foun dation of their cures are such a s we
hav e seen to exist ,in the preceding lessons On
.

the contrary,they generally vigorously insist

that their cur es are made by reason of the truth
of their particular theo ri es and beliefs , or
methods of treatment They scout the idea
.

of the si mple ,natural ,scientifi c basis of mental

cures ,as taught in these lessons They prefer
.

the mystery and the possible monopoly of

— —

their own teachi ngs .

But the cold blooded scientifi c observer insists

-

upon the fact of the Simple ,natural scientifi c

basis and foundation ,whi ch always exists under
the fanciful guises and forms H e sees that
.

while each of the cults or schools ha s its own

particular theory and teachin g each clai mi ng
—

that the other are lacking in truth ; st ill each

and every one of the m are making cur es ,and in
about the same proportion and percenta ge .

Therefore ,he claims that the truth lies n ot in

any of their part icular conceptions ,but rather
in a fundamental principle underlyi ng them all ,
and common to all of their methods Thi s .

fundamental principle is that whi ch form s the

basis of these lessons ; it i s over and above a n y
7C
‘
 TH E HI S T O RY

cult or school i t is based upon scientifi c ob s e r

—

vation and logical thought ,and not upon r evela

tion ,inspiration ,or religious dogma ,or upon
metaphysical subtleties a n d hair splitting
- .

71
 LESS O N I X

DISGUISE D M ENTAL H E ALING

As the student ha s doubtless already surmised ,

there are many cur es wrought by the underlying
prin ciple of Mental Therapeuti cs which,how
ever ,are n ot attributed thereto,but which are
placed t o the credit of some other he a li n g agenc y
or power , method or principle .

Thi s must be s o from the very nat u re of the

fundamental principle of mental cur es I t bei n g
.

seen that all healin g really i s performed b y the

mind in the cells ,organs ,and pa rts of the b ody ;
and that this mind i s under the control of the
Corporeal Mi nd ; and that the latter takes up ,
accepts ,and a cts upon the suggestions rea chi ng
it from the mi nds Of others ; then it follows that
mental cures m a y be made by agencie s and
method s whi ch are a ccepted a s e ffi cacious by t he
C orporeal M in d ,or rather by the great s u b
c ons cious mentali ty of whi ch t he Cor pore a l Mi nd
i s a phase or part .

I n acc ordan ce wi th thi s p r i n ci ple Of Operation ,

wonderful cures have been wrou ght by the most
ridi culous and absurd meth ods and agencies ,
provi di ng always that the method Of a gen cy wa s
accepted as e ffi cacious by the sub cons cious men
tali ty of the pers on The beli ef i n ,a n d faith i n ,
.

almost a nythi ng un der the s un ( or over t he s un )

will act a s a curati ve force a l on g t he li n es ab ove
indi cated Thi s being s o,we n a t ur a l ly look f or
.

stri kin g i nstances a n d e x a m pl e s of thi s na t u r a l

72
 DIS GUISED MEN TAL H EALIN G
'

—
l a w a n d we fi n d them des The hi st or y
on a l l s i .

of me dici n e i s fi lled with i nst an ces and e xamples

of t his ki nd ,many of whi ch are very amusin g
when on e views them in the li ght of the scientifi c
principle i nvolved .

I t ha s been known to physicians for many

“ ”
centuri es that the imagination of the patient ,
if suffi ciently aroused ,was capable of working
many i mportant c u res of serious ailments ,not
t o speak of the less i mportan t ones Physicians
.

f or centuries have laughed over this well known -

fact ,but wi thout understanding the prin ciple

i nv olved and called into e fl e ct . I t is only durin g
the past twenty y ear s or so that the medi cal
’

profe s sion has rec ognized the underlying ps y

“ ”
chol ogy of cu re s by imagination ; and even
s o, but a small n u mber of physicians have had
the keennes s of per ception ,and soundness of
judgment ,t o pu t i nto practice the principle
whi ch ha s been r evealed t o them by the great
m i nds i n the profession who have discovered the
effi ca cy of s uch methods from actual practice .

I t ha s long been the practice of physicians to

” “ ”
admin ister placebos ( i e , make believe
. .

medicine ) in the practice ,when in doubt regard

i n g the proper th i ng t o prescribe C olored
.

water,strong tasted drops ,sugar of milk pow

- - -

ders,bread pills ,and similar placebos have had

-

their place in the list of remedies of most

physicians Ori ginally i ntended to quiet the
.

mind of t he patient ,and to satisfy the demands

of the friends and family o f the si ck pe r son for
“
s ome me di c i n e , these pla cebos have justifi ed

73
 MENTAL T H ERAPEU TIC S

their existence and employment But it is a

.

dull physician who does not soon di s cover that

these placebos actually cause i m provement a n d
cures in many cases The experience of any Old
.

physician ( if he is foolish enough to relate it t o

a layman ) will more than j u stify a ll that we
have said of the virtue of placebos .

So true is it that the pla cebo has a de cided

therapeutic action ,depending of course upon the
particular belief aroused i n the mind Of the
patient when it is prescribed ,that many careful
practitioners have not hesitated to say that many
of the drugs on their list have no other vir tue
than that acquired in this way Moreover,this
.

p rinciple is held t o explain the fa ct that s ome

ractitioners have obtain ed wonderful results
p rom certain remedies ,or combinations O f reme
dies ,which their brethren failed t o Obtai n after
their attention had been called t o them The .

discoverer of a new remedy is fi lled with an

earnest belief in it ,which be li ef he commun i
cates to his patient can you doubt the result
— .

The other physicians ,lackin g this faith ,fail t o

impress it upon their patients hence the less
—

satisfactory result An understanding of thi s

.

principle has solved many a mystery Of thi s

kind physicians are just be ginni n g t o u n de r
—

stand the cause of the trouble .

D r H ack Tuke ,an E nglish phys i ci an Of t he

.

l a st century ,made a careful study Of thi s int er

esting phase of mental healing ; hi s book on t he
subj ect is still well worth reading and st udy,i n
spite Of the recent discoveries of the unde r l yi n g
74
 DI SGUI SE D MENTAL H E ALIN G
principle whi ch the good do ct or failed t o di s
c over Hi s b ook i s fi l led with very in teresting
.

“ ”
cases of cures by i magination ( s o he called
it ) ,but which we n ow recognize as genuine
mental healin g in di sguise .

Tuke relates that he cured many cases of

chroni c rheumatism by rubbing them with a
certain su bsta n ce ,without virtue in i t self but
for w hi ch he asserted magi cal and miraculous
powers To assure hi m self that this substance
.

was without any real virtue in itself the good

do ctor changed it from time to time ,some t imes
using metal ,then again wood ,and sometimes
wax or si mil ar substances the result was pre
—

ci s e l y the same i n each case ,the virtue being

solely i n the faith and belief inspired in the
patient by hi s assertions H e relates that he
.

cur ed warts in the same way ; this result is

“ ”
acc omplished by man y persons who pow wow
warts away from the bodies of their fri e nds .

Tuke also menti ons the interesting case of an

ar my offi cer who was subj ect t o severe cramps
in the stoma ch ,which powerful remedies failed
“
to cure Tuke fi nally gave him a powder con
.

”
tain i ng fo ur grai ns of ground biscuit , which
was t o be administered every seven m inutes ,the
greatest anxiety being expressed ( within the
hearing Of the patient ,of course ) lest too much
Should be given i t being spoken of as a rare
—

dru g Of great power Tuke cured his man in a

.

short time ,the powerful drug manifesting ,

i t s wonderful virtues .Tuke also relate s a c a s e

i n which the h ouse surgeon in a F rench hospital
75
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTICS

experi mented with one hundred persons ,pre

scrib i ng sugared water f or them ; he then ,with
a great Show of anxie t y and con cern ,anno u nced
that he had given them a powe r ful emetic instead
“
of the intended remedy Tuke adds :
. The
result may easily be anticipated by those who
can estimate the power of the imagination ; n o
fewer than eigh t y four fi f t hs of the entire num
— -
”
ber were un mistakably sick
— .

An eminent physician recorded an instance in

which a pa t ient reported tha t he fel t a decided
improvement immediately after a clinical ther
m om e t e r had been placed in his mouth he —

thought that it wa s some new kind of therapeut i c

instrument The physician ,being wise bey ond
.

his ti mes ,continued the treatment and heale d

the man speedily Similar experiences are fur
.

n i s he d by the resident physi cian s in many

hospitals where a large number of patients are
adm i tted .

Schofi el d,in hi s i nteresti n g w ork upon t he

U nconscious Mind ,relates a number of case s i n
which cures were performed by disguised menta l
heali n g H e also rela t es a number of case s in
.

which the same principle ha s been incidentally

called into operat ion without any i ntent t o do
so on the part of the physician F or instance ,
.

he relates that in the early days of % och s tuber

’

c u l in many patients rushed t o Berlin t o be

treated I t wa s Observed by the physi ci a n s
.

administering the remedy that a certain s e t Of

symptoms ( among others a r ise of temp e rature
after s o man y hours ) usual ly fol l owe d t he i n j e c
76
 DI SGUI SED MENTAL H E ALIN G
t i on ; these symptoms were ac cepted at fi rst a s
being diagnos t ic of the existence of t uberculosis .

But some of the physicians who knew something

of the power of suggestion ,made some tests
and Ob t ained start ling res ul ts I t wa s found
.

that the patients usually anxiously a wai t ed the

occurren ce of these par t icular symptoms ,of
which they had been i nf ormed by their fellow
patients An d,the tests proved that these same
.

s ymptoms were manifes t ed by many of the

patients after they had been inj ected wi th pure
water,without a trace of tuberculin .

F e r a s s i relates that he c u red many cases Of

a gue by i vi n g the pa t ien t a charm consisting
“ ”
merely O the word F ebrifuge written on it .

F ever and ague ,chills and fever ,and sim ilar

complaints have been successfully t rea t ed by
certain old women and Ol d men i n the neighbor
hoods a ffected,the method consisting merely of
“ ” “ ”
some sort of pow wow, or mock magic
treatment in which bo t h the healer and the
patient fi rmly believed S easickness ,and car
.

si ckness ,ha s yielded to some remedies of t he

nature of the placebo Ste wa r ds on ocean liners
.

fur nish in t erestin g testimony a long these lines

— though they are careful to whom they give

their confi dence ,f or obvious reasons .

Schofi e l d relates many in t erestin g cases Of this

kind I n one case he cured a woman brou ht
.

t o a London hospital as s u fi e r i n g from i n cu r a l e

paralysis of the Spine for two years ; she had
spent all her money in trea tmen t s ,wi t hout r e
s ul t s ,and wa s brought t o t he hospit al pending
77
 ME NTAL T HERAPEUTI C S

he r admi ssion t o a char i ta ble home f or i n cur

a bles . Schofi e l d cu red her i n t wo h ours he —

does n ot s t ate hi s meth od,but s ays p ositively

“
that there were agencie s whi ch owed all their
”
vir tue t o their in fluence on the mind . H e also
relate s another case in whi ch a paral yzed gir l
11 a s cur ed when s he learned that s he had won

the a ff ections of the curate who us ed t o visit her

bedside Anot her case Of t he sam e ki nd was
.

cured at the H otel D ieu,in P aris ,solely by being

impressed by the wonderful place ,i t s n oted
doctors ,and its wonderful reputation S cho .

“
fi e l d says of thi s last case : The g ood doctor
just passed around,but had n ot time t o treat
her till the third day ; by whi ch ti me when he
came around she wa s out of bed ,w a lking a r ou nd
the room,quite restored by the gl impses s he had
got of hi s maj estic presence .
’

The undoubted cures wrought by p atent

medicines comp osed of simple herbs a n d
diluted alcohol ,or even still more Simple ma
teri a l s ,are to be acc ou nted f or m t he same way .

“
The same is true of the wonderful appli a n ces ,
” “ ”
elect r i c garments , rheumatic rin gs , a n d
similar a rticles which are advertised s o e xten
s i ve l y from tim e to time — they a l l w ork cures ,
and obtain testimonials from grateful patien t s .

“
The tractors of E l ij ah P erki ns ,the N e w
”

E ngland blacksmith , in the early part of the last

cen t ury is another instance of the s a me prin
ci pl e. P erkins built metalli c tongs whi ch he
“
called tractors , with whi ch he str oked t he
bodies of patients H e made great cur e s ,a n d
.

78
 DI SGUISED MENTAL H E ALIN G
hi s fame extended all over the c ountry ,and even
to E urope Hi s followe r s were num bered by
.

the thousands F inally the bubble wa s pricked

.

b y a physi cian who made a counterfeit pair of

tractors Of wood painted t o resemble the metal
of the genuin e tongs they worked just a s well ,
—

and thereb y p rove d the mental nature of t he

cures .

The student a n d practitioner Of Mental Thera

pe u t i cs should become familiar with this class
Of mental cures cases in which the cur e i s
—

attri buted t o some material remedy ,appliance ,

or method ,although really resulting from the
mental principle called into Operation When .

the prin ciple is once thoroughly u nderstood ,then

one ha s the key to the whole class of strange
cures This knowledge prevents one from bein g
.

“
led i nto error,and being persuaded to follow
after strange gods in healin g ; it also enables
on e t o avail himself of fanciful methods and
forms ,when he sees that the patient expects and
demands the same Such a course i s n ot to be
.

rec ommended a s a regul ar thing but ther e

—

arise cases in which the healer must take t he

material a s he fi nds it ,and then work it into the
proper shape by methods along the lines of the
least mental resistance But he must never lose
.

s ight O f the t r ue pri nciple i nvolved in the cure

.

79
 LE SSON X
THREE METHO D S OF MENTAL H E ALIN G

While there are coun tless methods a n d proc

esses Of manifesting Mental H ealin g under the
general principles of Mental Therapeuti cs ,stil l
these me th ods may be grouped i nto three general
cl a sses or prin ciples of application The stu
.

dent who will t horoughly acqua i nt himself with

the underlying principle of each of these thre e
general classes will be master of the enti r e s y s
tem ,for all me t hods or forms of a pli cation are
foun d to be but some variation 0 on e of thes e
general classes ,or else a combin ati on of on e or
more of them .

These three general classes of the meth ods of

applying Mental H ealing ar e as follows : ( 1 )
H ealing by Mental Suggestion ; ( 2 ) H eali ng by
P resent Thought I nduction ; and ( 3 ) H eali ng by
D is t ant Thought I nduc t ion .

The stud e nt should always remember ,how

e ver , that it is a very rare occurren ce in deed f or
any on e of t he above stated general methods t o
be employed exclusively I n most cases the re
.

is always a gr eat er or less degree of combination

or blending of two or more me t hods .

This last statement may be verifi ed by a n a l y z

ing t he c a ses in which some one of the above
stated methods is apparen t ly exclusively em
ployed I t will be found that ( sometimes a hn os t
.

unconsciously ) the pri nciples of on e or more of

the other methods is blended with that whi ch
80
THREE ME THO D S OF MENTAL HE ALIN G

i s Sp e ci a lly em ploye d . F or inst a n ce , t he pr a cti

t i on e r usin g t he meth od of Mental Suggesti on
almost alw a ys a lso uses P er s onal Thou ght
I ndu ction in t he presence of the patient ,and
Often also D is tant Thought I nduction when
“ ”
thi nki n g of the case between trea t ments .

I n the s ame way ,the practitioner employing

the methods of D irect Thought I n duction
always i n vari ably uses more or less Mental
Suggestion ( though he m a y do s o u n con
Sci ou s l y ) when he i s talking t o the patient ; and
he also uses D istant Thought I nducti on when
“ ”
thinking of t he case between treatments .

An d,in the s am e way ,the practiti oner employ

ing the method s of D istant Thought I n duction
almost invari ably uses Mental Sugges t ion when
conversin g wi th the pati ent regarding the
arrangements f or treatments ,or in the corre
s pon de n ce con cerni ng the same , and at the same
time employs P ers on al Thought I nduction when
in the presence of the patient .

But ,inasmuch a s all of these methods proceed

t o e fi e ct cur e s by means of the same fundamental
principle ,1 e ,t ha t of ar ou s i ngi nt o re newe d a nd
. .

n orma l a ct i vi t y a n d f u n ct i on i ng t he mi n d i n t he
cel l s , or gan s a n d p a rt Of t he b ody of t he p a t i en t ,
the question of just what particular method ,or
combination of methods i s used ,i s on e of merely
academic interest t o the practitioner,and i s to
“ ”
be subordinated t o the question of just how
t o rea ch the mi nd of the a ff e cted parts .

The s tudent and practitioner ,h owev e r ,will

s oon di s cover th a t some particular for m of

81
 MENTAL T HERAPEU TICS

treatm ent i s best adapted t o t he r e quirements

of certain patients , while another form will best
suit those of other patients ,a n d so on By .

un derstan di n gthe fundamental sameness under

lyi ng the superfi ci al di fi e r en ce s i n the three
methods ( and the variation thereof ) ,a n d by
acquai nting hi mself with the best ways of apply
ing each and all of these methods ,the pr a ct i
t i on e r will be equipped t o handle e ffe ctively any
kind Of case th a t presents itself f or treatment ,
and t o adapt hi s treatment t o meet the personal
i diosyncrasies or peculiarities Of each patient .

The practiti oner who allows hi mself t o fall into

the error of believing that some on e particular
method or principle of Mental H ealing is the
“ ”
whole thin g, and the only thin g,is placed at
a disadvantage for obvious reasons The broad
.

gauge pra ctitioner is a ble t o apply the principles

of Mental H ealing in a scient ifi c manner,rather
than in the spirit of partisanship,or narrow
loyalty t o some particular teacher or school The.

best practitioner of Ment al Therapeutics i s he

”
who takes his own wherever he fi nds it , a n d
presses it int o service in hi s work the tru e
—
”
eclectic who takes what is best in many s y s
tems ; who wisely selects a n d boldly employs .

There i s no place for narrowness and on e sided -

ness in Mental Therapeutics ,if on e wishes t o

become and remai n a suc cessful p ractitioner
thereof .

While we s hall ,of c ours e ,e xpl ai n t he pri n

ci pl e s un derl ying each one of th e se three gene r al
classes of the method s of applyi n g Mental H e a l

82
THR E E ME T HO D S OF ME NTAL HE ALI N G

ing when we come t o consi der each i n i t s proper

place i n the s e le s sons ,it will be a s well for us
t o consider at this pla ce the fundamental
features and characteristics of each in turn ,that
we may for m a clear mental conception of each ,
and perceive i t s place in the general system or
principle of Mental Therapeutics .

( )
1 M e n t a l S ugge s t i on . By Mental S u gge s
tion i s n ot meant hypnoti c suggestion ,although
i n the public mind the t wo usually are regarded
as the same H ypnotic Suggestion is merely
.

Mental Suggestion a dminis t ered when the

patient or subj ect is in the hypnotic state A s .

em i nent authori ties have well stated it , the

hypn oti c condi tion i s a state in which Mental
”
Suggesti on has an exaggerated e fi e ct ; but it
should be thoroughl y understood that Mental
Suggesti on does n ot depend upon the presence
of the hypnotic state . The best practitioners
of M ental Suggestion today do no t seek to induce
the hypn otic condi tion in their patients ,and ,i n
fact ,in most cases they frown upon the practice
of doing s o .

The pri nciple of Mental Suggestion is simply

tha t Of placin g in the subconscious mind of the
patient a fi r m ,strong ,positive idea of the physi
cal c ondition sought to be induced in hi m .

Suggestion di fl e r s from logical ar gument or

reasoning inasmuch as it does not seek to con
vince by logical proof,but rather depends upon
its a cceptance by reason of i t s s t r on g i ns i s t en ce ,
an d a ut hori t a t i ve form of pr e s e nt a t i on
. The
83
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

pr i n ci ple un derlyin g Suggesti on 1 S i ndicated b y

the original meani ng of the Latin terms from
“ ”
whi ch it wa s derived ,i e . .suggero, meaning ,
“ ”
li terally , t o car r y or pla ce un der . The t e chn i
“ ”
cal meani ng of t o suggest i s t o indire ct l y
”
introduce into the mind .

H ollander clev e rly de fi nes Suggestion a s a

process of comm unication of an idea t o t he
subc ons cious mind in an unobtrusive man ner ,
carryi ng conviction ,when consciously there i s
n o i nclination f or i t s accept a nce ,and l ogi call
y
there are n o adequate grounds f or i t s accept
“
ance . Bechterew ,equally cleverly says : Su g
gestion enters into the un derstanding by the
back stairs ,while logi cal persuasi on knocks at
the front door .

Mental Suggestion i n Mental H eali n g conveys

t o the mind of the patient the idea or mental
p icture of the physical con di tion sough t t o be
induced a n d i t con veys t hi s b y wor ds ,Sp oken ,
—

wri tt en ,or p ri nt ed The sub conscious mind

.

accepting the idea or pi cture s o i ntroduced

passes it on t o that phase of i tself kno wn t O us
as the Corporeal Mind ,a n d thi s in turn p a s se s
it on t o the organ and cell mi nds concerned with
that port ion of the body i n which the physical
c ondition i s sought to be i nduced or created .

This is the on e poin t to be reme mbered regard

ing Mental Suggestion ,at least at thi s stag e of
ou r lessons , vi z : M e nt a l Sugges t i on cr e a t es t he
.

de s i r e d i dea i n t he C orp orea l Mi nd by m eans of

wor ds s p oken,wri t t en ,or pri nt ed
— .

84
THREE ME THO D S OF ME NTAL HEALIN G

( )
2 P e rs on a l Thou ght I n du ct i.on B y Pe r
s on a l Th ou ght I nduction the i dea Of t he physi ca l
condi ti on sought t o be induced i s introdu ced int o
the sub conscious mind ,and thus t o the Corporeal
Mind,and t o the ce l ls and organs governed b y
the latter but n ot by wor ds ,s p oken ,wr i t t e n ,or
—

pri nt e d,as in the case of Mental Suggestion .

There i s a broad di stinction here whi ch t he s t u

dent s houl d n ote a n d remember .

P er s on a l Thought I nduction , how e ver , i s

always ma n if ested when the pra ctitioner is in
the imm e di ate pers onal presenc e of t he patient
— just a s in the case of Mental Suggestion b
y
words spoken The principle involved i s on e
.

of whi ch we shall Of course speak in detail , and

in full,at the a ppropriate ti me in these lessons .

F or t he present , however ,it is suffi cient t o state

that i t i s a fa c t known t o students of advanced
ps ychol o gy that Thought ,like magnetism or
electri ci ty ,ra di ates f rom the thinker ,and ,com
ing i n contact with the mental aura of the
pati en t ,tends t o i nduce there a corresponding
ide a ,thought ,or mental picture of the physical
con di ti on whi ch i s s ought t o b e i nduce d in the
patient .

Thes e t hought vibrati on s ,how e ve r ,a r e n ot

-

con s ci ousl y perceived by the patient ; i nstead ,

they a r e taken up only by hi s sub cons cious mi nd ,
and then p a s s ed on t o t he Corporeal Mind ,and
then t o the cell a n d organ minds of his body .

Once r e a chi n g t he s ub conscious mind , the

re ces s i s i den ti ca l wi th the process mani
e s te d i n ca s e s of Men t a l Suggestion a s a b ove

85
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTIC S

de scribed SO you s e e the practical disti ncti on

.

between the t wo meth ods of Mental H ea l ing s o

far considered ,viz ,Mental Suggestion and
.

P ersonal Thought I n ducti on ,respectively , i s

simply that of t he di ff er e n ce i n r ea chi n gt he s ub
cons ci ous m i n d Of t he p a t i e n t
. F rom t hat poin t
and stage ,the t wo processes are practica l ly
identical .

( )
3 D i s t a n t Thou g h t I n du ct
. i on I n D istant
Th ought I nduction we have the principle Of
Thought I n ducti on ,jus t described , pl us t he
m a n i f es t a t i on Of cert a i n m e nt a l p owers whi ch
s erve t o ca rr y t he t hought vi b r a t i ons b eyon d t he
-

or di n a ry l i mi t s a n d r a nge Of Thought I n du ct i on.

I n this for m of Thought I n duction the principle

Of Thought R adiation is extended s o as to b e
co me available even th ough many miles separate
the practitioner from t he patient I t a e com .

p l i s he s f or T houg ht R adiati on that which the

t elescope accomplishes for the faculty of sight ;
or the telephone for the faculties of heari ng and
speech .

I n D istant Tho u gh t I nduction the practi t ioner

a
( ) fi rst crea t es in h i mself the mental idea and
picture of the physical condition s ought t o be
induced i n the patient ,just as in the cas e of
P ers onal Th ought I nduction ; then ( b ) he puts
i nto operation certain p owers of the mi nd a n d
wi ll ( hereafter t o be des cribed and explained t o
the student ) which serve t o carry hi s thought
—
vibrations t o a distan ce t o proj ect them into
space ,s o a s t o rea ch t he di stant patie nt ; then
86
THREE METHO D S OF ME NTAL HE ALIN G

c
( ) the vibrati ons rea chi ng the subc ons ci ous
mind of the patient a re taken up ,translated i nto
ideas a n d pictures corresp ondi n g t othose in t he
mi n d of t he practi tioner ,and then passed on the
C or pore a l Mi nd, a n d t hus t o the cell minds and
-

or ga n m i n ds
- .

Summ a ry . SO, t he s t udent p er cei ve s ,t he

underlyi ng principle of each and every on e of
these me t h ods of manif esting Mental H ealing i s
the s a me , namely tha t of reachi ng the cell minds ,
-

a n d or gan min ds ,
- of t he pat i ent ,via the s u b con
s ci ou s mi n d and the Corp oreal M in d of the
p a ti ent ; a n d by producing or i nducing in these
mental planes of the patient the idea and mental
picture Of t he physi cal conditi ons sou ght t o be
created,p rodu ced ,or i nduced i n hi m . This i s
t he great ,b road ,general ,u nderlying principle
of Mental H ealin g — the rest i s but the matter
of applicati on , te chn i que ,a n d good jud gment in
s e l e cting the particular methods best adapted
t o t he parti cular case . As we proceed ,the stu
de nt s h oul d frequent ly refer t o the prese n t
l e ss on ,s o a s t o keep f resh and clear in his mind
this i mp ortant fundamental and basic fac t of
hi s treatment s .
 LE SSO N XI

M NTAL S U GGES TIO N

The pri n ci ple of Mental Suggestion i s b a sed

upon the fun damental fact that the mi nd of a l l
human be i ngs mani fests a far greater ran ge of
a ct i viti e s on the subconsci ous plane than on the
cons ci ous plane , that nearly e ighty fi ve per ce nt
-

of i t s a ctivi ties are on the s ub cons ci ous plane ;

a n d th a t t he s ub cons ci ous p l a n e of t he hum a n
mi n d i s hi ghl y r ecept i ve an d a mena bl e t o Sug
ges t i on .

As e xplained i n the pre cedin g le ss on ,Mental

Sugge s tion d oe s n ot depend up on logica l proc
e s se s or a rgu menti ve pr oof f or i t s effi ca cy ; but
rath e r b ases i t s force and effi cacy up on i t s p osi
ti ve a ppe a l t o the s ubc ons ci ous mi nd The .

s ub consc i ou s m in d i s b y i t s ver n ature very

y
r e ce pti ve t o s uggesti on ; i n fa ct , i t may be sai d
t o i nstinctively accept any su ggesti on gi ve n i t ,
unl ess the suggestion run s counter t o s ome
s uggestion a lread a ccepted b y i t ; or unles s t he
con s ci ou s m i nd y a s p ositively f orb i dden t he
a cce ptan ce of t he suggest i on .

The consci ous guardian of t he thresh old of

the mi n d once relaxin g hi s watchf ulness ,th e re
i s n othi n g t O i n terf ere wi th the a ccept an ce of a
s uggesti on b y the s ub consc i ou s mind , provi di n g
that the suggestions alr e a dy a cce pted b y it do
n ot prevent the intr oducti on of n e w a n d opp os
ing ones An d,even in the last menti oned e vent
.

the ol d ac cepted su ggesti ons m a y be ne u tra li zed

88
 ME NTAL SU GGE S TIO N

by a con s tan t flow of n e w s uggesti on s Of a n

op p os ite n a t u re — the process ha vin g been ap tly
com ared t o t he flowing of clear water int o a
b ow of dirt y w a ter,in whi ch case the overflow
g r a dually car r i es off the di luted dirty water ,
u n til fi nall y the b owl is fi lled with perf ectly clear
wa ter Thi s ,in fact ,is precisely what happens
.

i n most cases of Mental H ea l ing by Mental Su g

g e s ti on — the o l d , negative suggesti ons are fi rst
dilut e d a n d then carried off ,bein g replaced by
the n e w and p ositive ones .

I t mu st be always remembered , h owever ,that

t he wor ds of a Mental Suggesti on have n o magic
p ower in themselves ; their only virtue consists
in t he fact that t hey r e pr es ent i deas ,which ideas
a r e cal l ed int o being in the mi nd by the hearin g
or readi ng o f the words . Another p oint t o be
re membered i s that Mental Suggestion i s e fi e ct
tive i n prop orti on t o the degree of f e el i n g it
a r ouses in the person t o whom it is addressed .

The re a s on of this last menti oned fact is that

fe e li ng a lways energies an idea in the mind,and
makes it active and operative The suggested
.

ide a or mental picture of a physical conditi on

greatly desired by the patient is many times
more active and e ff ective than a suggested idea
or mental picture of a condition which fails to
arouse such feeling or desire .

H ollander well says regar di ng thi s poi nt

Suggesti ons convey i dea s ,and i deas are s ym
bols of something thought or fel t The maj ority
.

Of ideas held i n the mind of the race arise from

f e el i n g P e opl e m a y n ot understand things ,
. but
89
 MENTAL T H ERAPEUTI C S

they have experi en ced feelings or em otions r e

gardin g them ,and have consequently fo r med
many ideas therefrom They do n ot always
.

know the reason why an idea i s held by them ,

they know only that they feel it that way A n d .

the maj ority of people are swayed and m oved ,

and act by reasons Of induced feelings ,rather
than by the result of reasoning When s u gge s
.

tion acts through the association Of ideas ,i t i s

based upon the acquired i mpressions of the race ,
by which certain words ,actions ,manners ,t on e s ,
and appearances are associated with ce r tain
previously experienced feelings I t i s true tha t
.

suggestions may accompany an appeal to the

reason or judgment of the person influenced ,
and ,indeed ,are generally s o used ,but ,strictly
speaking ,they constitute an appeal to a part of
the mind entirely removed from reasonin g and
j udgment They are emotional ,fi rst ,last ,a n d
.

all the time Many personal appeals which are

.

apparently made t o reason are really made to

the emotional side On e may subtly i n s i n i I a t e
.

into an argum ent or conversati on an appeal t o

the feelings or emotions of the hearer by an ideal
indirectly conveyed Such an i dea will be
.

‘
felt by the l istener ,who wil l accept it into his
’

mind ,and b efore long he will regard it as on e

of his own thoughts — h
e will make i t hi s own .

H e will think that he th ought it ,whereas ,

‘ ’

really ,he simply feels it ,and the feelin g is

‘ ’

induced .

The principle of many i nstan ces of e fi e ct i ve

Mental Su ggesti on i s cleverly expressed in the
90
 ME N TAL S U GGE S TIO N

epi gr a m attri buted t o Aaron Burr ,that e ccentri c

and meteoric American statesman and political
a dventurer of genius ,which runs as follows
“
Truth i s that which is boldly assert ed ,and
plausibly mai ntained . The experienced pra e
t i t i on e r of Mental Suggestion will a t once recog
nize the aptness of t his epigram as applied t o
t he prin ciple O f suggestion F or ,in t he fi rst
.

pla ce ,he wi ll recognize the fac t that the power

of a suggestion depends greatly upon the bo l d
n ess ,positiveness ,and air of authority with
which it is expressed H e will likewise re cog
.

ni z e the fact that its e ff ect will be grea t ly

heightened by the introduction of some p la us ib l e
s t a t e m e nt — ha vi ngt he col or Of l ogi ca l a r gu m e nt
or p roof , whi ch serves to back up and sustain
t he statement boldly expressed in the s u gge s
ti on.

But the experienced suggestionist has also

learned the danger of attemp t ing to logically
prove by elaborate argumen t the sta t ements Of
hi s suggesti on . H e knows that wh en he has
been foolish enough to follow this course ,the
attention of the patient has been taken Off the
statement of the suggestion ,and that therefore
t he suggestion loses i t s e ff ect H e r e alizes the
.

tru t h o f the principle previously enunciated ,i .

e ,
. that suggestion enters the back door of the
mi nd ,whi le reason and logic enters the front
d oor suggestion is not based upon logic or rea
—

s on ,t hough i t may well be colored a lit t le by

plausible reasoning along general lines When .

a suggestion awakens desirable feelin gs ,emo

91
 ME NTAL T H ERAPEUTIC S
ti ons ,or pictu r e s i n t he mi n d of the patient ,
then the patien t requires but a color of proof or
reas oni n g t o satisfy his mind ; a s ha s we l l been
“
said pers ons generally want excus e s f or thei r
”
feelings ,n ot reasons or logica l proof . They
wa nt t o b eli eve t h ch a pp e a l s t o t he i r de
s i r es a n d f e el i n gs ,and therefore a mere color of
“ ”
general plausible reason satisfi es them fully,
whi le an elab orate attempt at logical proof di s
tra cts their a ttention and causes the statement
Of the suggestion t o lose its e fi e ct .

I t i s f or this reas on that Mental Suggesti on i s

S O powe r q y operati ve in cases of Mental H eal
i n g The mi nd of the patient i s fi lled with the
.

desi re t o be cured t o have health restored

— .

This bein g the case , the enti re e motional nature

i s strongly aliv e t o suggesti on s Of cure there i s —

n o opposi t ion t o s u ggesti ons of cure and health ,

but rather i s ther e a n ea gern e s s t o a ccept any
plausible rea s on or explanation of the way in
which the cure i s t o b e e ff e ct e d The em oti onal
.

nature i s willin gand eager t o co operate with the

-

statement of health and cure ,ra ther than t o op

pose i t W hen t o thi s i s adde d the strong mental
.

c omma n d,b old s tatement , a n d a uthoritative

utteran ce of t he s ug gesti on properly made ,we
have a m ost e ff e cti ve a n d e ffi cient pie ce of ment a l
ma chi n ery s e t i n t o operation a n d m oti on .

There are t hr ee s trong mental fa cto r s opera t

i n g i n t he case of Mental Su gestion prope rly
a ppl i e d,whi ch the s t ude nt O Me ntal H ealing
s h ou l d ca re fu lly n ot e a n d r ememb er . The se
t hr ee mental fa ct or s a r e a s follows : ( 1 ) E a rn e s t
92
 ME NTAL SU GGE S TIO N

A ttention ; ( )
2 E xpectant A ttention , a n d ( )
3
P leasurable Mental States Le t us then consi der
.

ea ch of these ,briefly ,i n turn ; f or their import

a n ce must n ot be overl ooked .

( )
1 E a rn es t At t ent i on I t i s a f a ct conceded
.

b y all students of the psychology of sugges t ion ,

that the e ff e ct of any suggestion depends
materially up on the de g ree of attention given to
it Thi s ,Of cou rse ,a ri ses from the well known
.
-

p ys ch o l O gi ca l principle that the degree of per

ce pt i ve impressi on of a sensati on , the degree Of
i t s retention in the subconscious memory ,and
t he degree of ease of i t s subsequent re col lection ,
depend upon the degree Of attention given it .

Attention ha s been c ompared to the focus of a

telesc ope or m i cros cope The strength Of a l l
.

mental impressi ons depend upon the degree of

attenti on given a t the tim e of their reception .

The reas on of the strength of certain impres

sions up on our minds i s that earn est and con
ce n t r a t e d attention wa s manifested at the time
the i mpressions were received I f we give n o
.

attention at all t o a n Obj ect or happening in the

world outside of ou r mind ,then we receive no
i mpression at all regarding it . Thi s is on e of
the fundamental facts of psychology ,remember .

W ell ,then ,the patient coming to the Mental

H ealer f or treatment i s fi lled with i nterest and
curi osity regardi n g t he healer and his methods
t he patient i s like a child visiting a new scene
of interest ,a m ovi ng picture perform an ce ,for
i nstance ; hi s mi n d i s open t o even the slightest
93
 MENTAL T HERAPEUTIC S

i mpre ssion ,and he i s really i n a mental stat e

m ost favorable to suggesti on I n fact ,he is in a
.

c ondition in which suggesti on ha s an e xa g

gerated cfi e ct H ence the im p ortance of the
.

ractitioner creating a strong initial i mpression ,

p y his manner,demeanor,and words before , —

during,and after the suggestive treatment The .

ideal suggestive condition is here ,remember .

( )
2 E xp e ct a nt At t e n t i on P.racti cal psychol
ogi s t s recognize the value of the mental sta t e
known a s E xpectant Attention ; it i s an estab
l i s he d fact that the expectancy ,or earnest hope ,
of an i mpr ovement in the physical c ondition
will act powerfully i n the di r e ction of inducing
the des i red condition Thi s is the secret Of the
.

p ower of F aith and H ope in all Mental H ealing

— the secret of t he cures of the F aith H ealers

a n d religi ous healing cults But ,it may be

.

argued ,the average patient has not much faith

and hope when he visits a Mental H ealer for the
fi rst t i me
. This i s a mis t ake ,for unless there
had existed a certain amount Of fai t h and hope
in the mind of the patient ,he w ould n ot have
visited the practitioner at all Though he may .

say that he has no hope or faith in the treat

m ent ,the ve r y fact that he considers su ch treat
ment ,vi sits the practitioner,a nd p a ys hi s f ee
f or t rea t m en t ,is a proof that faith and h ope
abide within his mind The Spark i s there ,and
.

it i s for the pra ctition er to blow it int o a flame ;

f or it is a mental state whi ch a ct s p owerful ly
t he di re ction of a cu re .

94
 ME NTAL S U GGE S TIO N

( )
3 Pl eas ura bl e Ment a l St a t es
. I t is an a x
i om Of psych ol ogical healing t hat a pleasurable
mental state i s c onductive t o the cure of disease ,
whil e the reverse c ondition tends to induce i m
perfect and abn ormal physiological action .

Worry and F ear are potent causes Of di sease ;

F earless ness and Cheerfulness are pote n t causes
of cur e and rest ored health . Therefore the pra e
”
t i t i on e r Sh ould always cheer up , encourage ,
“
and brace up the patient s feelings ,as an i m
’ ’ ’

p ortant part of the treatment . The very

e n couragement O f F aith and H ope in itself tends
t o pr oduce pleasurable feelings and emotions in
the patient ,and thus helps along the cfi e ct of
the suggestive treatment A skilful practitioner
.

“ ”
o f Mental Suggestion manages t o work in
m any little suggestions of cheerfulness and hap
p i n e s s along w ith hi s healing suggestions. A
promin ent American suggestioni st was wont to
dismiss hi s patients with a strong suggestion of
“
You are Bright ,Cheerful ,and H appy St r ong
—

and Well % I know of nothing better to ofi e r as

a general pattern along this line than these
w ords The very repe t ition of them to oneself
.

tends to induce an uplifting emotion and feel

ing then what must be their e ff ect upon a
—

patient whose mi nd i s peculiarly receptive t o

suggestion %

95
 LESSON XI I

PRINCIPLE S OF SU GGE ST I ON

There are certain leading principles conn ected

with the e fi e ct i ve use Of Mental Suggestion,
which Should be carefully stu di ed by the pra e
t i t i on e r of Mental H ealin g ,or the person who
wishes to fi t hi mself for such practi ce These
.

principles are n ot concerned with the nature of

Mental Suggestion itself,but r a ther with the
a ppl i ca t i on t her e of,particularly i n the work of
Mental H eali ng I shall di rect your attention
.

t o each of these principles in turn ,and I a s k

that y ou care fully make n ote of the spi ri t under
lying each .

Aut hori t y The pri ncipl e Of Authority is an

.

important one in the application of Mental Su g

gestion I t is based upon t he well established
.
-

psychological law that the mi nd of the average

person i s s trongly i mpressed by statemen t s ,
spoken or written ,whi ch are expressed with t he
air of stron g authority I t makes little or n o
.

di fi e r e n ce whether the authori ty i s real , or

whether it is assu med ,just s o l ong as the air ca r
ri es with it the assu mption and i mpli cit a s s
tion of authori ty Thi s fact is well kn own t o
.

many students of human n ature ,espe cially t o

those whose su ccess depends up on the a ccept
ance of their statements or suggestions t o the
public .

I t seems that the ta cit asserti on of auth ori t y

96
 PRIN CIP LE S OF SU GGES TI ON
on the part Of s ome on e p osing as a leader of
thought ,or practitioner of law,medicine ,or
theology ,robs the average l istener of hi s desi re
to analyze ,weigh,consider ,and demand proof
of the asse r tions made to him I n the same way ,
.

there a r e found many persons who will question

statements made t o them i n conversation ,
whereas they a ccept without question the same
kind of statements made from the p ul pit ,or
printed in the pages of a book There seems to
.

be some power in the printed word ,or word

sp oken from the pulpit or j udge s bench ,t o ren
’

der unnecessary the produc t ion of proof Of the

truth o f the word The proof i s taken for
.

granted in such cases ,it seems .

S ome psychologists have compared t hi s a c

ce pt a n ce of suggestions and statements made
with a n a i r of authority to the bolting of food
instead Of masticating it as usual Or ,again ,it .

ha s been compared t o t he t akin g of medicine in a

capsule ,the taste being hidden by the covering .

N o matter how i t may be looked at ,the fac t r e

mains that a suggestion given with the air and i i i
the manner of one having authority has a much
greater e ff ect than the same suggestion given
“ ”
wi th an air of everydayness , or doub t The .

“
principle Of Burr s axiom that Truth is that
’

which i s boldly asserted ,etc , depends upon

.

thi s Stran ge fa ct of human psychology The .

“
Thus saith the Lord manner ,air ,and tone of
voice ,has carried home many a sugges tion and
statement whi ch has had but little strength in
itself The p owerful su ggestor is he whose atti
.

97
 MEN TAL T HE RAPE U TI CS

tu de ,mann er,demean or,t one of voi ce ,and

general expressi on of counten a nce stron gly pr o
“
claims that Ther e i s n o doubt here %
'

H ollander we l l s a ys regardi ng this principle

of suggestion : Some people will obey any
a uthoritative tone and ma nn er .They are most
e ff ecti ve on those who have never used their
own wits and resour ces in lif e ,but who have
depended upon others f or orders and instru o
ti ons The degree of suggestibility al ong these
.

lines de creases a s we ascend among people who

have had t o do things f or themselves,and who
‘ ’

”
h a ve n ot depended upon others s o much .

The pra ctitioner of Mental Suggestion will

do we ll t o preserve a gravity of demeanor and
manner,a n d to employ positive tones of author
ity i n giving hi s suggestions H i s tones must
.

carry with them t he i mpressi on that he believes

thoroughly i n the truth of what he i s saying ;
and that there exists n ot even a s had ow of
doubt of the desirable result t o a r is e therefrom .

H e will do well t o carefully s tud y the pr of e s

s i on a l a i r of a su ccessful physi cian when diag
nosing a case ,and prescribin g f or the patient .

There must always be the air Of certain ty ,la ck

of doubt or indecision ,and the t one of convi e
tion The patient i s very re cepti ve to such sug
.

g e s t i ve i nfluen ces ,and l i kewise t o th os e of a n

Opp osite or negative char a cter .

As s oci a t i on The pri n ci ple of A ss oci ati on i s

.

also a very i mp ortant on e i n Menta l Su ggesti on ,

a s well a s in every other for m of m e n t a l i m

98
 PRIN CIPLE S OF SU GGE STI ON
pre s s ion or me n ta l pr oce s s The La w of Ass o
.

e l ati on m a k es i t much e as i er f or pers ons t o think

of thi n gs i n con n e cti on with other thin gs ,than
t o thi nk Of thin gs by themselves I n fac t ,
. a lit t le
self analy sis will Sh ow on e that he i s in the habit
-

of judgin g thi n gs largely by reason of their ass o

ci a t i on with cert a in other thi ngs . An d,likewise ,
if these certain other thi ngs be present in con
n e ct i on with a third thing , then that third thing
i s identifi ed with the fi rst thing even th ough
there be but li ttle real sameness between them .

“
H ollander says of this principle : A s u gge s
tion i s more l i kely t o be successful if the idea i s
introduced by a person who i s trusted ,loved,or
feared ,or un der circumstances that inspire thes e
s ent i ments ; or in a tone of voice or wi th a man
ner that on e ha s a lway s associated with ideas
that are t o be a cted on or believed On e or the
.

other of these qualities ,or more Often a com

bination of them ,i s an invaria ble chara cteristic
of the person who i s suggestive
”
.

Therefore ,the practitioner of Mental Su gge s

ti on sh ould take care t o assume t he general a p
p e a r a n ce ,ma nn er ,and surroun di ngs which are
a s s o ciated i n the mi nd of the pa t ient with a
successful physici an The patient associ a t es
.

healin g of di sease with certain mann erisms of

the successful physician ; and if the practitioner
gives hi m the same impression he will feel more
certain of the result ,and of the virtue of the
methods t o b e used TO understand this ,we
.

have but t o contrast the manner of a dancing

ma s t e r with tha t of a successful sur ge on ; a n d
99
 MEN TAL THE RAP E U TI CS

then contrast the impression made upon t he

patient by each on e of these two in t urn ; which
on e w ould have the grea t er associa t ive value t o
the patient by the laws of suggestion % W hich
on e would t he patient have the most co n fi den ce
in ,and therefore ga i n the best res ul t s from %
The student and practitioner of Mental Su gge s
tion will do well to carefully no t e this point ,and
t o e rn pl oy i t t o his a dvan tage in his suggestive
wor l i

E a rnes t nes s E arn estness has a great s u gge s

.

tive value The public speaker ,preacher ,or

.

lawyer who ma ni fests earnestness and be l ief i n

what he i s sayin g ,has a decided advantage over
those who fail to manif est t he same sugges t ive
principle . E arnestness and belief are more
or less contagious ; we are a fi e ct e d by these
notes in the v oices Of those to whom we lis t en .

The patient coming for suggestive treatment is

qu ite sensitive t o these vibrations , and is
strongly responsive t o the same A few words
.

uttered in an earnest ,con fi dent manner wil l

accomplish far more than a long speech delivered
in a manner which does not carr y with it earnest
ness and the tone of confi dence and belief .

“
H ollander says of this : The quality of voice
counts for more than we suspect in the rel ations
of daily l ife The speaker s power t o move us
.
’

depends upon his being able t o create in us the

feeling by which he is or pretends to be moved,
and thus cause similar vibrations i n ou r own
nervous system I n this respe ct we are like s o
.
 PRI N CI PLES OF SU GGE ST I ON

m any musical glasses We ri ng when we are i n

.

unison with the exci ting Obj ect ,but no t other

wise Onl y words t hat come from t he heart can
.

reach the hear t F or this reason a speaker who

.

speaks out of the fulness of his heart will be

more suggest ive ,will crea t e more ner1 e vibra
tions amongst hi s hearers than any o t her man
who has the same amount of feeling,but canno t
convey what he feels in the same manner The .

more one thinks of it ,t he more plai nl y it appears

that in all regions of t hough t t he pivo t on whi ch
everyt hin g turn s is that of personality Wha t .

we mean by it ,what i mport ance we a tt ach to

it ,colors our every idea on every subj ect The .

”
personal i s t he one thing that int eres t s .

The student or prac t i t ioner of Men t al Su gge s

tion should never lose sight of the fact that
earnestness i n giving Sugges t ion makes up for
many de fi ciencies therein ; and when added t o
o t her strong qualities it becomes e b n e s t i r r e s i s t i
ble Cultivate the a ir ,tones ,a n d vibrations of
.

earnestness ,and half your batt le has been won .

“ ”
The earnes t sugges t or will g e t over even a
poorly worded suggestion ,wh e r e as a suggestor
lacki ng earnestness 11 ill be un able to impart
power and dynamic force to ev e n the most car e
full y expressed sugges t ion H e re ,as in many
.

other t hings in life ,earnes t ness will oft e n carry

one t hr ough when all else fa ils hi m I t is t he one
.

quality which may be said t o be a bs olut e ly essen

tial in all Men t al Sugges t ion i n the t rea tmen t of
physical ills E arnestness covers up a n d cures
.

a mult itude of defi ciencies and shortcomin gs in

1 01
 ME NTAL T HE RAPE UTI CS
suggestion a s in man y other ph a s e s Of men t a l
a ctivity Cultivat e e a r ne s tn e s s %
.

Rep et i t i onThe prin ciple of R epetiti on i s an

.

imp ortant on e i n Mental Suggestion I ndeed , .

“
it i s an axiom of Mental Suggestion that Sug
g es t i on ga i ns for ce b y r e p e t i t i on
. I t is a
psychological anal ogy to the well known physi -

ca l examples Of the repeated taps of the hammer

dr iving the nail i nto the hardest wood ; or of the
co nstant dripping of the water dr ops wea r ing
-

away the hardest stone E ach repetition of a

.

positive suggestion will tend t o make a deeper

impression upon the subc onscious mind The .

same suggestion repeated i n di ff erent words ,

and with diff erent illustrati ons ,will serve t o
g reatly strengthen the origi n al indu ced idea .

W e have examples and illustrations of this in

ou r everyday li ves We Often refuse t o a ccept
.

certain ideas when fi rst presented t o u s , but after

a whi le the c onsta n t repetition of them over
comes ou r resi stance ,and we end by ac cepting
the once neglected idea ; in fact ,aft er a time we
actually come t o thi nk that we have a l wa ys b e
li e ve d it ,if indeed we have n ot ori gi n ated it
“
ourselves The constant repeti t ion of they
.

”
s ay has ruined many a good character ; or ,on
the other hand ,has b u ilt up man y a fi ctitious
reputation A dvertisers thorou ghly understand
.

this p r inci ple of psychology ,a n d make go od use

of it . The co n stantly repeated su ggest i on of
“ ”
U s e C ellulo i d Soap i t s 1 01 % Pure % has
— ’

brou ght us around t o it eventually Or the .

1 02
 PRI N CI PLES OF SU GGE STI ON

re pe a te d s uggesti on that You w i ll eventual ly

use this ki n d ; why n ot n ow% ha s done the w ork
”

f or m a ny of u s .

H oll a nder well s ays There i s weakened

resistance through repetition of the atta ck ,the
force of habit We have heard cert ain things
.

affi r med over a n d over again ,u ntil we have come

t o ac cept them as veritable facts ,n ot wi t hs t a n d
i n g that we e s s e s s n ot the slight est personal
kn owledge 0 or any logical proof regardi ng
”
them Thus publi c op i nion is moulded
. .

A p oli tician of national reputation on ce sai d

P roof % W e don t need proof % Tell the public
’

a thi n g s olemn ly ,and authoritatively ,and re

p ea t i t s ufi ci en t l y oft en,and you will never need
”
t o prove an yt hi ng%
The practitioner of Mental Suggestion should
r eali ze the value of repetition i n admi nistering
therapeuti c suggestion ; and Should c ar efully
study ou t plans of statin g the same thing over
a n d over agai n i n many ways , forms ,and style
of e xpressi on . Le t him l earn t o drive the s u g
g e s t i ve n a il home by many taps — t o wear away
the adverse mental auto sugges t i ons of beliefs ,
-

by the repeated drippi ng of the drops of posi tive

i de a s a n d suggestions .

1 03
 LE SS ON XIII

TH ER APE U TI C SU GGE S TI ON

I t is a common occurrence for students to ask

“ ”
me for a formula for Mental S uggestion
adapted to the requi rement s of Mental H ealing .

They seem to imagine t hat there is some parti e n

lar groupi ng of words ,which ,when suggested
into the mind of the pa t ient ,will act with a
magic e ffect and remove all diseased conditions .

I n this Opinion they share t he blind fanaticism

of some of the religious healing cult s , t he leaders
“
of which give them certain st atements of
”
tru th which ,when repeated ,will drive away
diseased conditions and bring about normal con
di t i on s of health .

But thi s idea is erroneous ,and clearly Shows

that those making such a request have not fully
grasped the fundamen t al pri n ciple u nderlying
the therapeutic appli cation of Mental Su gge s
tion On e of the fi rst thi ngs that the studen t
.

of Therapeutic Suggestion must learn i s that

he m us t rea ch t he m i n d of t he p a t i e nt a l ong
t he a ccus t om e d cha n n el s of t hought commun i
ca t i on H e must not insist upon creating and
.

establishing new channels thr ough which his

suggestions may flow into the m i n d of the
pat ient To foll ow this last mentioned course
.

i s but t o expend unnecessary time and energy .

The sane and sensible plan is t o fi rst ascertain

just what channels are open t o hi m for u s e in
this connection ,and then t o use them as the
1 04
 T HE RA PE UTI C SU GGE STI ON

means of getting hi s p ositive suggestions in t o

the m i nd of the patient .

Thi s ,I know ,will be vigorously di sputed by

those who have been taught t o believe in the
absolute truth of some part ic u lar me t aphysic a l
or theological theory of cure ; such persons will
insist that the fi rst thing necessary is to ins t ill
the Truth into the m in d of the patient ,and then
base the subsequent treatment upon t his f ou n da
tion of Truth This is all very well for t hose
.

“ ”
who see Truth crystalli zed into the particular
teachings and doctrines of t heir own particular
“ ” “ ”
s chool , cul t ,or science 1

but the matter

takes on a di fl e r e n t si gnifi cance and meaning
to those of us wh ose vis ion i s suffi cien t ly broad
t o grasp the fact that all of these schools ,cults ,
“ ”
and scien ces , through their respec tive pr a ct i
t i on e r s ,are maki ng cures in about t he same
percent age of results t his no t withs t anding tha t
—

each of them ha s its own particular theory or

“
doctrine whi ch it asse r ts as Truth , and as t he
basis of cure Those who have grasped this fac t
.

fi n d it logical t o assume that all of t hese t heories ,

doctri nes ,and principles a r e but form s of a pp ly
i ng s om e gen era l p ri n ci p l e Of hea l i n g which i s
higher than any of the part icular concep t ions ,
yet common t o all of them .

The scienti fi c student of Mental Therapeutics

soon discover s that all of the formulas ,me thods ,
and wording of t he various treatments of these
“ ”
schools ,c ul ts ,and sciences , are but the cap
sules i n which are contained the real healing
agency H e sees undoubted proof of this idea
.

1 05
 ME NTAL T HE RA PEU TI CS

i n t he fa ct a b ove s tate d,i e ,that cu res a r e ma de

. .

un de r a l l thes e theori e s a n d methods i n a b out

the same percentage This p oint on ce grasped ,
.

the practitioner proceeds t o adapt hi s methods

and suggestions t o the part i cular requirements
of ea ch partic u lar patient H e fi rst dis covers
.

the men t al and emotional chara cteristics O f the

patient ,and then proceeds t o u s e these charac
t e r i s t i cs as channels throu gh which hi s s u ge s
tive treatment may flow t o the mind 0 the
“ ”
pati ent H e b ecomes all thi n gs t o all men ,
.

in the best meani n g of thi s term H e ta kes men

.

a s he fi n ds them , a n d turns t o the best account

all of the personal peculia rities ,characteri stics ,
and i di osyn crasies of e a ch of them H e takes .

the material be fore hi m ,just a s i t presents i tself

t o hi m ,and then proceeds t o w ork it over i nto
what he desir es i t t o be H e e ffe ctively a pplies
.

t he well kn own pri n ciple of t he law of the lin e

-
”
of l e ast re s i st a n ce
.

Some may con s i der thi s an unw orthy i deal a n d

practi ce ,but t he s ci entifi c mi n d d oes n ot s o r e
gard it Sci en ce has n o part icul a r theolo gi cal
.

or metaphysi cal conception of Absolute Truth

t o whi ch i t s eeks t o convert all comers f or help ,
heali n g,and h e a lth I t ha s n o P roc r ustean bed
.

i nto whi ch i t must make all pati e nts fi t stret ch

—

i n g ou t t he Short on e s and ch op pi n g off t he l e gs

Of t he long ones ,SO a s t o mak e a l l conform a n d
fi t i n to the fi x e d di m ensi on s Of the bed of Tr uth .

I t s only i deal of Tr u th i s Perf ect Hea l t h; a n d i t

endeavors t o de velop a pract i ca l a n d a ctu a l
m a ni fe stati on Of tha t Tr u th i n the mi n ds a n d
106
 THE RA PEUT I C SU GGE STI ON

b odie s of t he
p a ti en ts a pplyi n g t o i t f or help a n d
cur e , i nstead of a tt e mptin g t o convert t hem t o
s om e p a rticular metaphysical or the ological
theory .

But ,here ,a word of c a ut ion t o studen t s and

pra ct itioners of Mental H ealing : D O n ot a t tempt
t o preach this d octrine of A l l Truth to your
-

patients particularly when they fi rst presen t

—

themselves t o you F irst get them cured and

.

well ,and then y ou may give them su ch prac t ical

i nstructions regarding the La w of Cure as may
s eem fi t f or them D O n ot become a zealous dis
.

peller of illusion s regarding t he theory and pri n

ci pl e s u nderlyi n g Sugges t ive Therapeutics ,for
this is as great a folly as that committ ed by those
who wish t o convert their patients t o their own
part icular metaphysical or theological t heories .

Your busines s i s t o m a ke cures ,n ot to make

—
converts t o tea ch H ealth, not doctrines or
theories Moreover ,
. it i s a fact of hum an nature
that most pers ons in sist upon having their Truth
well dressed up on in fanciful gar ments ,or dis
guised with fanciful trimmings and masks The .

pure undiluted Truth ha s f or them the alarming

clearness of distilled wat er they miss the—

familiar taste ,and complain that it does not

a gre e with them . Wise i s the practitioner who
“ ”
fi guratively asks the pa t ient : What flavor %
and then proceeds t o give him his mental medi
cine disguised with the pre ferred flavorin g and
coloring .

I s this hypocri sy % N ot at a ll ; it i s common

sense based on experi ence with the race ,and
1 07
 ME NTAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

designed to produce t he best results H ere the

.

“ ”
Ol d aphorism , t he end jus t ifi es the means , ha s
a s t riking applicat ion ,i n the best sense of i t s
m e aning and cont en t This plan is not t he
.

furthering of error,but ra t her the transmut a

t ion of erro r in t o ac t u a l Tru t h t he Tru th of
—

P e r fect H ea l t h
. I t is the P ragma t ic Me t hod ,as
opposed to the Theore tical and D ogmatic Meth
“
od . I t s test is , D oes i t work out in good
” ”
results % N ot , I s it t he A bsolut e Truth %
A n d,a t t he las t ,may we not ask wit h P ila t e the
”
time Old ques t ion , What is Tru t h % U nt il
-

Absolute Truth is discovered ,let us proceed

along the lines of a Working Truth a Trut h —

that works out in good results %

The prac t itioner of Mental Therapeu t ics will
fi n d that the patients who come t o him for trea t
ment may be grouped in t o the fol lowi n g general
classes ,viz : ( 1 ) Those who incline to the belief
.

that D ivine P ower is the u nderlying principle

of the cure ; ( 2 ) those who have dabbled some
what i n metaphysics ,and who favor some meta
physical e xplana t ion Of the cure ; ( 3 ) those who
are more or less fami l iar with the psychological
principles re a lly underlying the cure ; and ( 4 )
those who are not much concerned with the
underlying principle ,but who ra t her seek the
cure just as they would seek elec t rical treat
ment ,massa ge ,or even drug treatment .

The practi tioner will do well t o mo di fy his

treatment t o fi t the re q uir ements of these di ffer
ent classe s ,which requir ements he may easily
ascertain by a skilful questioning of the patient
1 1 08
 T HERA PE U TI C SU GGE S TI ON

at t he fi r st in tervi e w A few leadin g questions

.

will usually bri n g ou t t he bel iefs a n d opin ions ,

the preferences and the prejudi ces of the pa t ient .

By following thi s rule the practit ioner will no t

only make u s e Of the deepest and widest channe l

,
of su ggestion b u t w il l also av oid antagonizin
g
the patient by running contrary t o his favorite
theory and bel iefs and thus setting up an u n
necessary and undesirable friction or resi s tance .

B y thi s I do n ot mean that the prac t itioner

sh ould wilfully deceive the patient ,or that he
shoul d play the hypocrite thi s is not necessary
—

or a dvisable , n ot t o speak of the moral obj e ction

.

% no wi n g the real principle employed ,he may

by a car eful u s e of words in giving hi s s u gge s
tion practi cally surr ound his active principl e
with a pleasan t caps ul e ,and thus accomplish t he
be s t possible results for the patient .

”
The Rel i gi ous Typ e

The fi r st lass , the

c religiou s type of
patients ,m a y b e reminded that D ivine P ower
is back of all rational treatments ; and that the
treatment t o be given i s but on e of the many
mean s whi ch the D ivine P ower ha s placed at the
di sposal of s u fi e r i n g hu manity The terms
.

“ ” “ ”
D ivi ne Love , P ower of the Sp ir it , and other
phrases famil iar to this class of pa t ien t s will
create the ve r y best kind of mental atmosphere
f or them ,and will render them receptive to the
heali ng suggestions R eligious emot ion is a
.

very p owerful adjun ct t o suggestive treatme nt ,

H9
 MEN TAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

as i s proved by the success of th os e b asin g their

he al ing up on t he a ppeal t o t he r e li gi ous feelin g,
fai th ,and b e li e f The stateme nt ab ove r e com
.

m end e d i s b ased upon Truth,a s all but an

a v owed S kepti c or unbeliever wil l adm i t ; s o that
t he pra cti tioner i s n ot deceivi n g the patient ,n or
is he playi n g t he hyp ocri te ,i n wording his sug
g estions alon g these l i n e s .

“
The Met a phys i ca l ”
Type

The se cond class ,t he metaphy sical patients ,

will resp ond more readil y t o su ggestion s in
whi ch the idea that the di seased con di tion r e
“ ”
s ul t s fr om erroneous thought , or from a lack
“
of p er cepti on of the fact that Al l i s Mind
.

The ma i n idea t o be brought ou t i n such cases

i s th a t the phys i cal condition i s merely the r e fle c
ti on of the i deas a n d beliefs held i n the mind ;
a n d tha t , ther efore ,the restorati on Of the true
a n d re al m e ntal state will res ul t i n the mani
f e s t a t i on of a perf ect physi cal conditi on . Thi s ,
of c our s e , i s essentially tru e ,although there i s
a lso a physi cal basis f or the di sease and the cure ,
a s we h a ve s een . P atients of this class are n ot
i nterested i n descripti ons of the cells and organs
of t he b ody , f or th e y prefer t o re ga rd thes e a
m ore or l e s s u nreal ,whil e M i nd i s the sole
r e ali t y. Thes e pe ople seem t o have a gre a t di s
l i ke f or an ythi n g suggesti n g p hys i ol ogical facts ,
a n d prefe r t o dw e ll i n t he thou ght of Mind .

Accordin gly,the y m u s t b e r e a che d in that way

i n or der t o be b en efi te d .

110
 THE RA PE U TI C SU GGE STI ON
“ ”
T he Ps ychol ogi ca l Type
The thi rd clas s ,the psycholo gical patients ,a r e
Open t o sc i entifi c explanations of the cause and
cure of disease ,su ch a s we have considered and
studied i n the pre ce di ng less ons They will .

grasp the explanation of the cell minds ,and the

-

organ mi nds ,and will absorb ,assimilate ,and

-

respond t o suggestions given along those lines ;

whi le they will be repelled by the introduction
“ ” “
of religious talk , or away u p i n the air
- - - -
”
metaphysics .Le t t hem know just what y ou
are seekin g t o a ccomplish ,and then proceed
ac cordi ngly .

“
The New Thi n g Type
”

“
The fourth class ,the new thing s eek e rs ,
requir e more or less mystery and illusion in t he
treatment They li ke to believe that the healer
.

ha s some wonderful power Of mind ,or other

wise ,which he i s goin g to u s e for their benefi t .

An y plausible explanat ion will suffi ce in their

case ,providing it is given in an authoritative
mann er,an d i n the tones of co n fi dent assurance
“
of success . They seek the strange ,wonderful
”
power of the healer ; and the healer who carries
out thi s idea i s the on e who will Ob t ain the best
result s i n such cases These people lik e t he
.

“ ” “ ” “
words psychic p ower , vital force , mag
”
netic power, e t c ,and are i mpressed by strange
.

terms and methods of administering t he

t reatment A s cientifi c explana t ion will go over
.

their heads ,and the y will lose in t erest and a c

 ME NTAL THE RAPE U TI CS

cor di n gl y will not get the best results These

.

people mus t be accepted as they are ,not a s they

should be ; the practitioner must take the raw
material as he fi nds it ,and then work it over int o
better things F irs t ,last ,and always ,hi s busi
.

ness i s t o ma ke cure s ,rather than to t each and

preach to these people This advice is based
.

“
upon sound scientifi c psychology ,and the end
” “
jus t ifi es the means in such cases the end
—

being the cure of the patient ,and the removal

of his mental and physical disorders .
 LE SS ON XI V

W H AT TO SU GGE ST TO PATI E NTS

The fi rst thi n g that t he practit ioner Should

suggest t o the pa t ient is ,of course ,the fact that
he i s going t o get bett er ,and then still be t ter ,
and even t uall y get well H e should be told t hat
.

the healin g power is now under wa y ,and that

the process will gain force as it proceeds ,each
treatment addi ng a lit tle fur ther power t o that
which has gone before .

I n a dozen di fl e r e n t ways and forms the

pa tient Should have induced in his mind the idea
and mental picture of himself as res t ored to
perfect health An i mport a nt axiom of thera
.

peutie suggestion i s t hat t he s ugge s t i on s hou l d

pa i nt t he p i ct ur e Of t he de s i r e d r es ult B ri gh t
.

pictures should be pain ted of the happiness ,j oy

and general well being which will be his when
-

he fi nally acquires the desired result An d,in .

the same way ,he should be led to look forward

t o each step of the wa y H i s mind Should be
.

directed to t he improvement which is sure t o

come a s the result of the treatment s This .

“ ”
rouses the expectant att ention , and ,accord
ing to the well established psychologi cal law of
healing,will t end to manifest in an actua l physi
cal condition .

I t will be found especially helpful to paint

the picture of a perfec t ly healthy person ,stress
being laid upon each of the leading charac t er
i s t i cs of such a person ,s o that the patient may
11 3
 ME NTAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

gr adually and u nconsciously come t o h old i n hi s

mi n d the pictu re of hi mself a s bein g just thi s
kin d of pers on . I t i s a w onder ful fact of ps y
chol ogi ca l hea l in g that the physical body of the
patient tends t o gradually grow to be just li ke
the ideal of himself a s held in his mi nd I n fact ,.

the patient has probably actually pulled hi mself

down physically by holding t houghts and mental
pictures of hi mself a s diseased ,weakened ,and
looking wretchedly Sick person s a r e fond of
.

looking in their mi rrors and then brooding over

“ ”
the fact that they have fallen Off, or in the
idea of how wretchedly they look ,physically .

The more t hat they do t hi s the worse do they

grow ; and the worse they grow the worse they
lo ok in the glass ; and t he worse they look in the
glass ,t he worse mental image are they creating ;
and t he wors e mental image t hat they create ,the
“ ”
worse do they get there i s a vicious circle
—

of mental and phys i cal ,physi cal and mental ,

cause and e ff ect manifested here By creati ng.

in the mi n d of the patient a new and better

mental i mage and i dea of hi mself,the pr a ct i
“
t i on e r really starts into operation a con s t r u c
”
tive c i rcle which works with a s powerful an
e ffect a s the opposite kind just mentioned .

But this i s only the be gi nning of the suggestive

treatment ,though i t must be conti n ued through
all the treatments ,and blended with t he more
specifi c and spec i al suggestion s whi ch we shall
presently consider I t i s n ot en ough th a t the
.

p at i e nt be gi ven g en era l s ugg es t i ons of health

( a l th ou gh thes e a lon e a r e wo n d e r f u ny e ffi ca

11 4
 W HAT TO SU GGE ST TO PATI E NTS

ci ou s ,an d O fte n w ork marvelous c ures ); the

practitioner mus t a lso get down t o the de t ails
of the sp e cial case before hi m — he must go
“ ”
right t o the sp ot of the trouble ,and di rect
hi s treatment s r ight t o the point where the
trouble exists .

H ere is where the scienti fi c practitioner has

a great advant age over the ordi nary mental
healer,metaphysical healer ,or re li go m e t a phy s i
-

ca l healer . These healers are like a man fi ring

a Shot gu n at a mark he may hit it wit h some
- —

of the scattering shot ,but he does no t get the

powerful e ffe ct secured by the man using a rifle

wit h a big b ul let backed by a strong explosive
charge The scienti fi c practitioner i s the man
.

with t he p owerful r i fle when he hi t s the mark

—

the e ff ect i s clearly perceptible ; and by prepara

tion and practice he lea r ns t o hit the mark nearly
every time The general treatment ( and this
.

he should also u s e ,a s we have said ) is like a

shell fi lled with scatte r ing shot ; when t o this i s
added the rifle ball of a special scientifi c treat
ment ,it is hard t o con ceive Of a successful result
n ot being Obtained .

I t i s f or thi s reason that in la t er lessons Of this

course we s hall in di cate the pri nc i pal cla s s e s of
physical disorders and diseases ,giv i ng the phy
s i ol ogi ca l a n d p s y ch ologic a l characterist i cs of
each By an a cquai nt a nce with these principal
.

classes of di seases , the student of Mental

Therap y is enabled t o di agn ose the root of the
trouble ,and then t o di re ct his suggesti on directly
“
t o t he mi n d i n t he a ff e cted par t s ,without se a t
1 15
 ME NTAL TH ER APE U TI CS

t e r a t i on of force ,or waste of energy This

.

does not mean that he should ,like drug doc t ors ,

keep his thought fi xed on the diseased c ondi t io n
( for t h i s is contrary to all t he principle of ment a l
hea li ng ) ; but on the other hand he Shoul d direc t
hi s attention t o t he a ffe cted part SO t ha t he may
begin building up in his own mind ,and that of
the pa t ien t ,a pic t ure and ide a l Of t he n ormal
and healthy condition of the organ and part ,and
to play upon that organ or part all of the ment al
power a t his com mand ,t o the end that normal
and na t ural conditions and func t ioning m a y be
restored a n d fi rm ly established ,t he result b e i ng
H ealth and Cure .

I n studying the later lessons just referred to ,

the student will discover that imperfec t func
t i on i n g of t he main organs of nutrition , and those
of elimina t ion ,is t he real cause of a mul t itud e
of physical ills ,many of which are seated a t
points in the body far removed from the seat of
the real cause and trouble The scientifi c pr a c
.

t i t i on e r by a knowledge of this fact is enabled

to remove the real root of the trouble ,whereupon
the entire trouble withe r s and passes a 11 a y .

Such a practitioner does not was t e tim e and

energy in treati ng symptoms ,but ra ther seek s
to destroy the root of the evil con di tions The .

average practiti oner knows nothing a t all abo u t

these things ,and i s unable to produce the desired
result in a Short tim e ; in reality ,considerin g
these facts ,it is a wonderful proof of the e ffi cac y
of Mental Therapeutic principles that such pr a c
t i t i on e r s and healers make the cur es t he v do

1 16
 W HA T TO SU GGE ST TO PA TI E NTS

they make them in spite of their ignorance ; what

wonderful results are possible of accomplish
ment by t he t rained ,scien t ifi c prac titioner %
SO true i s the ab ov e statement regarding the
e ffect of improper fun ctioning on the part of the
main organs of nutri t ion ,and t hose of elimina
tion ,that I strongly advise all practitioners of
m ental healing to al ways give the treatment i n
di ca t e d f or troubles of this kind ,even when there
does n ot seem t o be any evidence of such trouble .

I t wi ll be fo un d that such t reatmen t will spee di ly

improve the general condition of the patien t ,
and will build up his general physic a l health t o
such an exten t that the o ther troubles may be
easily removed The building U p of the main
.
-

organs of nutrition ,and those of elimination ,

gives a tone to the whole system ; it inc i eases the
natural resistive powers of t he Corporeal Mind ,
and thus makes i t much e a s i e i to t hrow Off the
other abnormal conditions More than this ,by
.

re l ieving N ature Of her work in combatin g t he

im perfect conditions exis t ing in t he main orga ns
Of nutrition ,and t hose of elim i na t ion ,11 e gi 1 e
N ature a chance to t hrow more of her recupera
tive power i nto the other a ff ected parts The .

importance of this is seen when we remember

“ ”
that when we say N ature in t his connec t ion
we are really speaking of the Corporeal Mind
whi ch has all the physical functions under its
direct control and managemen t .

I n giving therapeutic suggestions ,the pr a ct i

t i on e r will always fi n d it of bene fi t t o hold i n his
mi n d the idea that he i s t a l ki ng di r e ct ly t o t he
1 17
Corporea l Min d of t he pa t i en t . He ne ed n ot t el l
t he pa t ien t t hi s ,f or i t w oul d involve hi m in a
l on g a n d te chni ca l e xpla na tio n a n d di scus si on .

Le t t he p a ti e n t thin k t h a t t he p r a cti tio n er me a ns

“ ”
hi s ordi n a ry everyda y s elf when he s a ys Y ou
i n givin g the su gge s tions , but let t he pr a c t iti on er
hold in hi s own mi nd t he ide a a n d though t t ha t
“ ”
whe n he s a ys Y ou ( in the suggesti v e t reat
m e n t ) he i s really a ddressin g the Co r pore a l
Mi n d An d,a ls o let him pic t ure that Cor pore a l
.

Min d a s havin g a menta lit y somet hin g like that

of a n i nt ell i gent , b right , an d du t i f ul youn g chi l d,
with whom he i s qui t e frien dl y Stran ge a s i t
.

m a y a ppea r t o those who kn ow n othin g about

t he i nn e r e xpl a nation of the matter,it i s a fac t
“
tha t t he Corporeal Mind wi ll m ake up t o the ”

p ra ctiti oner who wil l thus ope n up fri en dl y com

m u ni ca t i on with it . At fi r s t a li ttle Shy,like
t he young child ,it will bec ome friendly a n d
de s i rous of helping the practitioner i n hi s work
of he a ling . This is a ve r y strange fact of
thera peutic psychology ; but it i s on e tha t every
pra ctitioner may ascertain for hi mself a n d —

fortun a te ,i ndeed ,is that practitioner who i s able

t o grasp the truth of this pri nciple a n d who will
a pply i t i n a ctua l pr a ctice .

More than this ,it i s a fact that each and every

org a n of the b ody ha s its own di stinct person
a li ty ( if thi s t e r m may be used in thi s connec
ti on ) An d,a ls o,the suggesti onist m a y actually
.

a d dr e s s hi s suggest i on s t o t he di ff erent or ga n s ,
b y con cen tra ting hi s a tte nti on u p on them a n d
“
i n th a t s e nse when
”
u s i n g t he w ord You
1 18
 W HA T TO SU GGE ST TO PA TI E NTS

d
a d r es si n ghi s s uggestions t o the patient H e re ,
.

a ga i n , i t i s n ot we l l t o s a y any thin g a b out t hi s

t o the patient , f or the reas ons previously stated .

The healer who holds in mind this idea that he

i s di rectly addr essing the particular organ or
part of the body,i s Often able t o reach into the
very s oul of that organ ( if we are allowed t o u s e
this te r m in this connection ) ,and thus persuade
it to put forth its best energies in the work of
cur e .

C areful students and practi t i oners of Mental

Therapeutics have discovered that no t only is
there a personality in each organ mi nd ,but that
-

also this personal ity varies accordi ng t o the

character Of the w ork performed by the organ
in questi on F or instance , it has b een dis
.

covered that the Liver is more or less s t upid ,

as compared with the other organs ; it i s heavy
and dense mentally,and needs to be spoken to
shar ply ,and s ometimes even harshly ,in order
to get it t o work properly ; it is more like a pig
than i s a n y other organ of the b odv and it must
—

be treated accordingly .

The personality of the H eart ,on t he contrary ,

is like that of a high spirited ,intelligen t horse ;
-

and the me t hods used in the case of the Liver

would be e ntirely out Of lace in t rea t ing the
H eart . The pe r sonality 0 the St omach is some
thi ng like that Of a good natured ,faithful dog :
-

it ha s confi dence in those i t likes ,and when

patiently taught t o do a thin g i t will be glad t o
obey orders t o the be s t of its abilit y These .

di s t in ctions ,and others will be brought out in

.

1 19
 ME NTAL TH E R APE U TI CS

the latter lessons I am merely di re cti ng them

—

t o your attention in thi s place , in order that y ou

may fi l e them away in yo ur memory in connec
tion with the subj ect now bein g considered .

A leadi ng A merican writer on the subj ect has

“
said 1
The way t o reach the mi nd in the cell s ,
cell groups ,ganglia ,organs ,nerves ,parts ,e t c ,
-
.

of the body is to a ddr es s your s e l f di r e ct ly t o i t ,

j us t a s you w oul d t o a pers on You must thin k
.

of the mind in the a fi e ct e d part as a person

‘ ’

who i s mi sbehaving You must remonstra t e

.

with it ,argue with it ,coax ,order or drive the

‘
person residin g in the organ ,just as you would
’

with di ff erent individuals Someti mes coaxin g

.

i s much better than driving ,but s ometimes

forceful methods are necessary . Tell
the cell mind j ust what you expect Of i t just
- —

what you intend it shall do just what it is right

—
”
for it to do a n d i t wi ll ob ey % I trust that
—

every practitioner will make thi s knowledge his

own ,and apply it in his actual healing work ,
using many form s of disgui sing it if necessary ;
f or it i s on e of the great est of the recent dis
cov e r i e s of Mental Therapeuti cs ,and produces
w onderful e fi e ct s when properl y and i n t e l l i
gently appli ed .
 LE SSON XV

TH E R APE U TI C AU TO SU GGES TI ON
-

AS these lessons are designed to t each self

healing by the principles of Mental Therapeutics
as well as the healin g of o thers by the employ
ment of the same principle ,I have t hought it
advisable t o insert at this particular place in
the course a lesson devoted to A uto Sugge s tion
-

a s applied t o self healing

-
I shall follow the
.

same c ourse when we come to the proper point

in the study of the succeeding phases of Ment al
H ealin g
.

By A uto Suggestion in general is meant the

-

employment of Mental Suggestion directed t o

on e S own subconscious m i nd ; or ,in the present
’

case , the employment of Mental Suggestion

directed to on e s own Corporeal Mind I n this
’
.

form of Mental Sugges t ion ,the person enacts

the dual role of sugges t or and s u gge s t e e the
—

one making the suggest i ons ,and the one r e ce i v

ing the suggestions ,both at the same time SO .

true is this in fact that in Therapeut ic Aut o

Suggestion each and every one Of the principl e s
of Mental Suggestion ,as applied to o ther per
sons ,which we have considered in the preceding
lessons ,are applicable to the requirement s of
the person hi mself when he is treating himself
by Auto Suggestion To all intents and pur
- .

poses the person being treated ( who is also the

pers on givin g the treatment,of course ) is t o be
1 21
 MENTAL T HERAPE U TI CS
con s i d er e d a s a di s ti n ct en ti ty, or di fi er en t
p ers on .

Thi s may s e em s omewhat c on fusin g t o the

student ,at least at fi rst ,but when the ps y
chol ogy of the process is analyzed it will be seen
a s being a s strictly natural and scienti fi c a s i s
any o ther form of Men t al Suggestion The .

secret of the whole process i s found in the fac t

“ ”
that i n A uto Suggestion t he cons ci ous I s ug
-

g es t s t o t h e s u b co ns c i ou s
‘
M .e When you have
g rasped t h i s principle y ou have gained the
secre t of all true Therapeutic Auto Suggestion - .

An d,until y ou have fully grasped this fact ,y ou

will n ot be able to apply the principles of Thera
peutie Auto Suggestion e fi e ct i ve l y
- .

I n order to get the best e ffects of Therapeut i c

Auto Suggestion , you should make a clear
-

mental distinction between the conscious self

whi ch i s giving the sug gestions and the s u b con
sci ous self which i s rece iving them You Should .

“ ”
a ctually visualize the I suggesting and gi vin g
“ ”
orders t o the Me . Y ou should visualize the
sub cons ciou s Me as a distin ct entity ,s u b
“
ordi n a te t o the I , and sh ould give your s u g
gesti ons i n that Spirit So tru e is this that t he
.

best aut hori ties now advise that in givin g

Therapeutic Aut o Suggestion the person s h ould
-
“ ”
actual ly address the subconscious Me by
“ ”
name ,inste a d of sayi n g I in gi vi ng the Auto
Su ggesti on .

This i dea of address i ng t he sub consc i ous mind

a s a s e p a rate entit y, a n d u si n g
g a n a me in doin g
s o,wa s fi rst su ggested b y W i ll i a m W al ke r
1 22
 THERAPEUTI C -
AUT O SU GGE STI ON
Atkin s on ,a n Am er i can wr i ter on the subj e ct ,
ab out ten ye a rs a go ; the i dea being devel oped in
greater de ta il i n hi s later writings I t has bee n
.

ta ken u p a n d adopted by many subsequent

wri ters on the s ubj e ct ,a n d i s n ow employed b y
m a n Ameri can and E ur opean t eachers Of vari
ou s orms of The rapeutic A ut o Sugges t ion under
-

s ome name or guise I n on e Of hi s works thi s

.

authority says of this principle previously

ann ounced by hi mself :
“
I have a lways contended that t here i s a much
bette r wa y of making the a ffi rmation or auto
s u ggesti on ,than the familiar I a m this ,or
‘

that .
’
I h a ve found that the nearer one comes
t o the perf ect playin g ou t of the dual role of
-

suggestor a n d s u gge s t e e ,the better will be the

re s ult ,and the cle a rer t he impress i on made
upon the subc onsc i ous mi nd A ccordingly ,one
.

should endeavor t o talk t o himself just as i f he

‘ ’

were speaking t o some other pers on H e sh ould .

give hi s suggestions t o himself precisely as if

he were suggesti ng t o another pers on What .

e ver may be the explanati on of this psychological

process ,the fa ct remains that by following thi s

c ours e the per s on will be able to register a much
clearer,deeper,and more lasting impression
than by u sing the I am this or that form of
‘ ’

affi rma tion or auto sug gestion I n fact ,I thi nk

- .

t hat t he i dea of affi rmation may a s well be

‘ ’

di s ca rded ,fi rs t and last ,in the practi ca l work

of Aut o Su gge st i on ,
- and that the I of the pe r
‘ ’

son S hould a ctually sug gest t o the s u bcon s ciou s

1 23
 ME NTAL TH E R APE U TI CS
‘
Me of him self Le t it be Suggestion ,instead
’
.
‘ ’

of a ffi rrn a t i on
‘
.

I n making t hese suggestions to yourself ,you

should a lways addr e s s yourself as if you were
speaking to a third person I nstead of saying .

I am courageous and fearless ,you should sug

‘ ’

gest to yourself as follows : JOhn Smi th ( here ‘

u s e your own name , of course ) ,you are coura

geon s and fearless ; you fear not hing ; every da y
you are gain i ng in courage and fearlessness ,and
are ge t ting stron er ,s t ronger ,stronger ,e v9 1 )
day you live ,etc g D O you get t he idea % Tr y
.
’

bo th methods now interrupti ng your reading

—

for the purpose Make as s t rong an I a ffi r m a

.
‘ ’

tion as you can ,and then try the e ff ec t of t he

strongest suggestion of the John Smith ,you ‘

are , kind ,addressed t o your subconscious

‘
Me .I magine t hat you are address i ng and
’

suggesting t o another person whom you are very

desirous of building up and s t rengthening You .

will fi n d a new fi eld of A uto Suggestion opening

-

up before you A little knack is required ,but

.

a few t rials will Show you the value of this

improved method Talk to John Smith as i f
.
‘ ’

he were an entirely di fi e r e n t individual Tell .

him what you wish hi m to do and become ,and

how you expect him to act You will be s u r .

prised to s e e how obedient this subconscious

mentality will become You will fi n d th a t by
.

this plan you will be able t o fairly pour the

positive suggestions into the receptive s u b con
scious mind and that the John Smit h part of
— ‘ ’

you will accept the impressions just as if there

1 24
 THE RAPE U TI C AU TO SU GGE STI ON
-

were actually t wo persons taking part i n t he

process ,instead of merely one This is not .

mere childish play or make believe i t is a

- —

process based upon the soun dest psychological

principles .

I n a pub li c address Of the authority j ust

quoted ,in which this subject wa s int roduced ,
“
the speaker sai d C ontinued experience has
convinced me that I was on the righ t track when
I enunciated this principle of Au t o Suggestion ,
-

and I am n ot surprised a t the populari t y it has

since attained I have very lit tle t o add t o the
.

principle and method as originally sta t ed I .

may add ,however ,that from t he reports of many

per sons who have experim ented wit h this method
i n their own cases I have come to the conviction
that the best e ffects are secur e d when the auto
suggestor addr esses hi mself by some familiar
nickname ,or abbreviation Of his name ,which
has been used in hi s childhood days I t would .

seem that by the u s e of the name familiar t o the

mind in the days of its early developmen t ,one
is able to penetrate to deeper levels of s u b con
s ci ou s n e s s than even by the use of the formal
name used in later years I n such cases th e n ,
.

instead of John Smith ,l e t us s a y ,H er e ,you ,

‘ ’ ‘

Ja ck Smi th ,or H ere you ,R e ddy Smith or ,in

‘ ’
—

short ,wha t ever n a me s e ems t o Si nk i n t he

”
de epes t
.

The principl e addressing the organ minds

of -

in suggestion has also been extended to A ut o

Suggesti on by the same authority ,and those who
have adopted hi s methods and principles of t reat
1 25
 ME NTAL THERAPEUTI CS

ment I t wi ll be found e ffe cti ve t o a ddr e ss t he

.

m ind in the troubled organ just a s if it were

really an enti t y ,and t o dire ct the suggestion s
directly t o it I t may be found well t o gen t ly
.

tap t he body directly over the locati on of the

organ in question ,using the tips of the fi ngers
f or the pur pos e somethi n g l ike giving a gent le
—

tap at the door before ventu ring t o ent er the

room Thi s seems t o have a pe culiar ps y
.

chol ogi ca l e ffect in the di rection of arousing

and attracting the at t ention Of the organ mi nd ; -
“ ”
and thereafter the t alk t o the organ mi nd will -

have a much greater e ffect .

F or instance ,if you are troubled with an

i nactive Liver ,you should tap a little over the
place where the Liver is located ,a little more in
the case of the Liver t han in the case of some
other organs — for the Liver i s slow ,stubborn ,
and hard to arouse ; remember,we have com
pared i t t o a pig ,and it must be treated l ike a
pig mind Ta p,tap ,tap ,un til the sleepy,lazy
- .

Liver i s aroused and cocks i t s ears in your dir ce

“
ti on Then s a y t o it
. H ere ,Liver ,y ou wake
up and listen t o me ; wake up and listen ,I tell
y o u ; wake up right n o w and listen t o me %
Y ou haven t been doin g your work properly ;
’

y o u have bee n t o o sluggish and lazy ab o ut

it ; y ou have got t o do better , I tell you ,
g o t t o do better ; do you hear me % I am
feeding y ou well ,and keeping you comfortable ,
and not giving you any m ore work t o do tha n
y o u should do ; and I expect y ou to pe r f orm y our
natural work prop e rly Ge t busy n ow,a n d do
.

1 26
 T HE RAP E UTI C AU TO SU GGE STI ON -

y ou r work properly ; I i nsist up on you doin g

y ou r w o rk pr operl y,a n d I intend ke e i n g after
ou un til ou do C o me n ow,ge t usy , and
y y .

do y our w ork , f or I i ntend pr oddi n g y ou up until

y ou d o i t. Y o u o ught t o be ashamed o f yourse l f
f or actin g that way % Bu t you r e goi n g t o do
’

better from n ow on ; bet t er from n ow on ,I tell

”
y ou % T hi s m a y s eem fo olish ; b u t j u s t t r y i t
on a s lu ggish Liver and s e e how well it w orks .

Of cours e , y ou Sh o ul d treat y our L iver right , and

n ot i mp ose un n atur al tasks up on i t b y eating
i mpr operly ; treat i t ri ght ,and insist that i t
t re ats you right . You ca n often actually feel
”
the Liver mi nd gett in gbusy after a trea t ment
- ‘

of thi s ki nd .

The S t oma ch m a y be addr essed in a s i m il ar

wa y ; b u t you mus t r emember that the St omach
i s n ot a piggi s h a ni mal lik e the Liver . On the
c ontra ry,a s I have s aid elsewhere ,it is more
li ke a good natured Old fashi oned N e wf ou n d
- -

land dog,whi ch i s desirous of pleasing its

m aster , a n d who w il l respond rea di l y t o kindness
and con fi den ce Tre a t the Stomach right ,and
.

let it kn ow that you have confi dence in it and

faith that i t will per form i t s work of digesting
y our food properly and then no tice the i m
—

provement i n thi s respect The trouble with .

m any pers ons i s that the y have s o abused their

stoma chs that i t has grown discour aged its —

spi ri t i s broken ,li ke that Of an ab u sed dog I t .

“
feels that nobody l oves me , and t hat i t s owner
is always ready t o beat and abuse it Chan ge .

y our m e nt al attitude t oward yo u r S tomach ,and

1 27
 ME NTAL THE R APE UTI CS

l e t it kn ow that you have d one s o,

and then notice
how qui ckly it responds , and how glad it i s t o do
what you want ,s o long as you do n ot i mpose
unnatural task s upon it .

I n the same way the Bowels wil l respond to

coaxing mi xed with fi rm ness . You have prob
ably di scouraged them by refusing t o heed their
“ ”
calls ,and they have laid down on the j ob .

R eform yourself,and you will reform them ; but

you will have to let them know the new condi
tion of a ffairs before they wil l take up new
habits Tell them that you expect them t o
.

operate at a certain ti me Of the day ,and that y ou

will faithfully attend to yo ur part of the bar
gain ; keep this u p until the new habit i s fi rmly
estab l ished .

A S we proceed , y ou will learn about t he treat

ment of other ills by Mental Therapeutics ; a n d
y o u may apply to you r o wn case , b y A uto -S u g
gestion and o t herwise ,all the me th ods described
as e ffi cacious when app l ied t o other persons by
means Of Suggestion and other ways The rin .

ci pl e is one — the onl y di fference is that o the

means of application Any pri n ci pl e t ha t ma y
.

b e a ppli e d t o t he t re a t ment of a pa t i en t m a y a l s o
b e a ppli e d b y you i n your own cas e , by m ea ns of
Au t o Sugge s t i on ,along the li nes in di cated i n
-

thi s le s son D O not forget this fact %

.

1 28
 LE SSON XVI

T H OU GH T I ND U CTI ON

The se cond and third general classes of t he

me t hods Of applying Mental H ealing are ( a )
P ersonal Thought I nduction ,and ( b ) D istant
Thought I nduction ,respectively . These t wo
methods are based on the same general principle ,
1 e ,
. . that of the induction of the healing thoughts
of the prac t itioner into the subco n scious mind of
the pa t ient ,but there are certain dis tinc t ions
between the t wo methods whi ch justify their
classi fi cation a s separate meth ods and pro cesses
of appl ication .

I n t he present lesson we shall consider the fi rst

of these t wo methods of Thought I nduction ,
namely,that of P ersonal Thought I nduc tion .

H ere we have t o do with cases of Thought I nduc

tion in which the practitioner is in the actual
physical presence of the patient ,just as when
Mental Suggesti on is given I n fact ,P ersonal
.

Thought I nducti on may be spoken of here as

practically Ment a l Su gges t i on wi t hout t he us e
of wor ds wri t t en , p ri nt e d,or s poken H ere the
.

thoughts ,or ideas ,of the practitioner are radi

ated from hi s mind,and then ,coming in contact
with the mi n d of the patient ,the y are trans
formed into c orr esponding ideas or mental
pictures in that mi nd .

The thoughts ,ideas ,or mental pictures held

i n the mind of the practitioner , and then radiated
or tran smi tt e d t o the mind Of the patient , Sho ul d
129
 ME NTAL TH E R APE U TI CS

be practically the same as th ose expressed i n

words by the suggestionist in Mental Su gge s
tion That i s t o s a y ,the pra ctiti oner sho ul d
.

create in hi s own m i nd the thought ,idea ,or

mental picture Of the same nor mal ,healthy con
di t i on s whi ch he seeks to suggest into the mind
of the patient . H e should s e e not only t he
patient a s in good nor mal health ,but also as
having perfect healthy organs functioning
natur ally and e ffi ciently I n t he degree that he
.

is able t o form such clear ,stron g,positive

thoughts ,ideas ,or mental pictures ,SO will be
the degree of the success of his mental treat
ments along these lines .

An d, now ,a few words regardi ng the scientifi c

explana t ion O f this radia tion of thought ,ideas ,
and mental pictures from the mind of one person
t o that of another . I t is ,of course ,im possible
t o give the ult imate explanation of this wonder %

ful phenomenon or any other for that matte r

—
.

“
U ntil we are able to state the just what of
anything the absolute and ulti mate nature of
—

that thing we must content our s elves with the

—
“ ”
statement of just how the thi ng works and
acts An d,s o,here I shall n ot attempt to ex
.

plain just what Mind or Thought really is ,in i t s

absolute and ultimate nature ( who ,indeed ,is
able to do this but shall ,instead,try t o explain
just how Mi nd or Thought works and manifests
in this process of Thought I n du ction .

But ,notwithstanding the i mp ossibili ty of ex

“ ”
plaining the thing i n i t s el fn e s s behi nd the
- -

process and mani festati on,we a r e cl e ar ly wi thi n

1 30
 T HOU GH T I NDU CTI ON

ou r powers and r i ghts when we venture to com

pare this class of phenomena with certain o t her
phenomena w ith which we are more fam i liar .

”
The very w ord induction gives us the key to
thi s .

The de fi nition of the term I n duction ,

used in P hysics ,i s as follows : The p r op er t y or
pr oces s b y whi ch on e b ody ha vi n g ele ct ri ca l or
ma gn et i c pol a r i t y p r odu ces i t i n a n ot her b ody
”
wi t hout di r e ct cont a ct . A text book on the
subj ect in form s us that E lectric induction is
the action which electrifi ed bodies exert a t a
di s t a nce on bo di es in a natural state ; Magnetic
I nduction is the action which ma gne t ized bodies
”
e xert a t a di s t a n ce on bodies in a natural state .

The same authority i nform s us t hat the t e chn i

“
cal mean ing of the term I nduce is : To cause
by proxi mity wi t hout cont a ct or t ra n s m i s s i on ;
for example ,the production of a part icular elec
tric or magnetic condition in a body ,by placing
another body in an opposite electric s t a te ,in
”
proxi m i ty t o it b ut wi t hout a ct ua l cont a ct . An
” “
I nduced Cur rent is : A n electrical current
developed in a conductor i n p r oxi mi t y t o, b ut n ot
i n cont a ct wi t h,other conductors traversed by
inte r mittent or fluctuating currents ; also ,elec
tric current s developed in conductors m oving i n
t he fi el d of a magnet ,or in conductors wi t hi n
” “
t he fi el d of a moving ma gnet . I nductive
P ower is the name given by F araday to the prop
e r t y which bodies possess of transmitting t he
”
electric influence .

SO, y ou see , that in the case of electrici t y and

131
 MENTAL THE RAPEU TI CS
ma gnetism we have a stri k i n g analogy to the
pro cess by which positive Thought induces in
another min d si milar Thought ,providing that
“
the se cond mind comes withi n the fi eld of i n
” “ ”
duction , or fi eld of influence of the fi rst
mind You will note that i n the case of pure
.

in duction ,i n electricity or magne t ism ,there is

no passage of an actual current such as travels
along the ele ctri c wire or other conductors ; but
rather a strange and unaccountable stirring ‘ ‘

”
up of power in the second obj ect whi ch comes
within the fi eld of induction of the fi rst one I n .

fact ,in such induction the electrical current is

s e t up in a second conductor which is in pro x
i m i t y to ,but not in contact with ,a fi rst conductor
— t he p ow er i s i n du ce d i n con du ct ors wi t hou t t he

n e ces s i t y Of a con n e ct i n g con du ct or .

But,it may be urged ,there is no proof that

Thought radiates power i n this way I sn t .
’

there % Outside of the enormous mass of proof

gathered by the various scientifi c s ocieties m ve s
t i ga t i n g this class of phenomena ,and that of
private individuals workin g along the same line ,
there is the testimony of recent advan ced science
that a ll s ub s t a nces a r e r a di o a ct i ve ,and the
-

proofs of the scientifi c laborato ri es that the brain

is n ot only radio active ,but that its activities
-

register on delicate ph otographic plates specia lly

prepared There is noth i ng more wonderful in
.

thought radiation than there is in the ra di ation

-

of elect ri city ,magn etism ,light or heat — on e is

a s wonderful as the other ,th ou h fami li a rity
g
1 32
 THOU GHT I ND U C TI ON

has made certain forms of ra di ation seem m ore

commonplace than the others .

Above the scale of li ght vibrations visible t o

the human eye there are vast fi elds Of light vibra
tion s which science recogni zes by the report of
deli cate scienti fi c instruments I n the fi eld of.

the ultra violet light rays lie many strange fo r ms

-

of chemical rays ,and rays which cannot be

classifi ed ,though they are regis t ered by delicate
instruments A n American writer says of
.

“
these I n this ultra violet region lie the
-
‘
X r a y s ,and the other recently discovered hi gh
u
’

degree rays ; also the ac t inic rays ,which ,while

i nvisible to the e y e ,register on the photographic
place ,sunburn on e s face ,blister one s nose ,and
’ ’

even cause violent explosions in chem ical sub

stances exposed to them ,as well a s acting on
the green leaves of plants ,causing the chemical
change Of transforming carbonic acid and water
into sugar and starches These forms of dark
.
‘

light , that i s ,li ght too fi n e to be perceived by

’

the human eye ,are but faint indications of the

existence of still higher and fi ner vibrat ions
the fi ner forces of nature
‘
.
’

P rofessor Ochor owi cz , one of the world s great ’

s cientists ,comes out with a positive statement

Of belief in Thought I nduction ,and in one of his
works he advances a genera l working theory of
the action of Thought F orce in this way H e
-
.

“
says E very living being i s a dynamic focus .

A dynamic focus tends ever to propagate the

motion that i s r ope r to it P ropaga t ed m ot ion
b ec omes transp
.

or m e d according to the medium

1 33
 MENTAL T HE RAPE U TI CS

it traverses Motion tends always t o propagate

. .

itself Therefore ,when we s e e work of any

.

kind mechanical ,electrical ,n e r vi c,or psychi c

-

— di sappear without visible e ffect then Of two

, ,
thi ngs ,on e happens ,either a transmission or a
transformation W here does t he fi rst end,and
.

where does the second be gin % I n an identical

medium there is only t ra n s mi s s i on I n a di ff er
.

ent me di um there i s t r a ns f orm a t i on Y ou send

.

an electrical current through a thick wire You .

have the current ,but you do not perceive any

other force But cut that thick wire and con
.

ne e t the ends by means of a fi n e wire ; the fi n e

wire will grow hot ; there will be a transfo r ma
tion Of a part of the c u rrent in to heat Take a .

pretty strong cur rent and interpose a wire still

more resistant ,or a very thin carbon rod ,and
the carbon will emit light A par t Of the cur
.

rent ,then ,is transformed into heat and li ght .

This light acts i n every direction a r orm d ab out ,

fi rst visibly as light ,then in visibly as heat and
ele ctric c u rrent H old a magnet near it I f the
. .

magnet is weak and movable ,in the form of a

magnetic needle ,the beam of light will cause it
to deviate ; i f it is strong and im movable ,it will
i n turn cause the beam of light to deviate An d
.

a l l t hi s f r om a di s t a n ce ,
wi t hout cont a ct ,wi t hout
Sp e ci a l con du ct ors
.

“
A proces s that is once chemical , physical and
psychical ,goes on in the brain A comple x .

a ction of this kind is propagated through t he

g ray matter , as waves are propagated in water .

R e garded on i t s physiological side , an idea is only

134
 TH OU GH T I N DU CTI ON

a vibration ,a vibration that is propagated ,yet

which does not pass out Of a me di um in whi ch
it can exist a s such I t is propagated as far as
.

other vibrations allow I t is propagated more

.

widely ,if it ass um es the character which sub

j e c t i ve l y we call emotive . B u t i t ca n not go b e

y on d w i t hou t b e i n g t r a n s f or m e d . N evertheless ,
like force in general ,it cannot remain in isola
tion ,it escapes in disguise Thought sta ys a t
.

home ,as the chemi cal ac t ion of a ba t tery remains

in the battery ; it is represented by its dynamic
correlate ,called in the case of the battery a
curr en t ; and in t he case of the brain , I know not
what But whatever its name may be ,it is t he
.

dyna m i c cor re l a t e of t hought .

“
A force that is transmitted mee t s other
forces ,and i f it is transformed only lit t le by lit
tle it usually li mits itself to modif ying ano t her
force at its own cost ,t hough wit hou t su ffering
perceptibly thereby This i s t he case p a rti e n
.

l a r l y with forces that are pe r sisten t ,con ce n

t r a t e d, well seconded by their medium . Thi s i s
t he ca s e wi t h t he hys i ol ogi ca l eq ui l i b ri u m ,
p
n er vi c f or ce ,p s ychi c f or ce ,i de a s , e m ot i on s ,
t en den ci es . The s e m odi f y en vi r on i n g f or ces ,
wi t hout t hems el ves di s a pp ea ri n g They a r e i m .

p er cep t i b ly t ra n s f orm e d,a n d,i f t he n e xt ma n i s

of a n a t ure e xce p t i ona lly wel l a da p t e d t o t hem ,
”
t hey ga i n i n i n duct i ve a ct i on .

P rofessor Bain ,the eminent authority upon

Mind and Body , calls Ou r at t ention to the
followin g very si gnifi can t fact : The s t ructure
of the nervous substances ,and the experim ents
1 35
 ME NTAL TH E R APE U TI CS

made upon t he nerves and nerve centers ,estab

-

lish beyond doubt certain peculiarities as b e

longing to the force that is exercised by the
bra i n This force i s of a current nature ; that
.

is to say ,a power genera t ed at one part of t he

structure is conveyed along an intervening sub
stance and discharged at some other part The .

different forms of electricity and magnetism

have made us fam iliar with this kind of action
.
.

But ,mo s t of us who are studying Mental

Therapeutics have satisfi ed ourselves with t he
fact of the phenomenon of Thought I n duction .

The above scien t ifi c stat ements are o ffered n ot

a s proof , but merely to give a practical working
hypothesis to those whose minds require the
same in order to reason deductively from prin
ci pl e to manifestation
. Le t us pass on from t his
“ ”
stage of the subj ect to that of the just how to
practice Thought I nduction in our work of
Mental H ealing A litt le theory is a good thi ng
.

to se r ve as a base and a foundation ,but we must

not spend all of ou r time on foundations rather
—

should we proceed to erect a structure of

practical results upon the fi r m foundation of
hypothesis a n d scientifi c principles .

1 36
 LES SON XVII

TH E PRACTI CE OF TH OU GH T
I ND U CTI ON

I n giving treatments alon g the lines of P e r

sonal Thought I n duction ,the prac t itioner should
always bear in mind thi s on e fundamental
principle of practice ,viz ,Thought I n duct i on i s
.

Sil e n t Men t a l S ugges t i on .With this fu nda

ment al principle Once fi rmly fi xed in his mi nd ,
the practitioner will not likely go very far wrong
in givi ng the treatments .

There i s ,of c our se ,a l ittle practice required

in order that the practitioner may acquire con
fi de n ce and e ase ,and get rid of the awkwardness
which usually attends the practice of i m f a m i l i a r
processes H e wi ll do well t o practice and
.

rehearse before a mi rror,or when alone by hi m

self,i n order t o a cquir e a confi dent bearin g and
eas of man ner when giving treatments of this
e
kin l
Many practitioners who have received per
sonal instruction from me have gai ned great
be nefi t from practici ng the trea tment before a
mirror along the general lines indica t ed below .

Pr a ct i ce E xerci s e : Stand before your mi rror ,

and treat your reflected i mage therein just as if
it were another person Begin by treating it
.

f or any compla int which may occur to you . You

run n o risk whats oever in doing this no danger
—
“ ”
Of taking on a complaint for your treat
—

ments are always cons t ruct i ve and upbuildin g,

13 7
 ME NTAL THERAP EU TI CS
and n e ver al on g the li n e s of di s e a s e d condi t i on s
.

I n pra ctice , and i n a ctual treatm e nt s , on s hould

a l wa s hol d t he m ent a l p i ct ur e of e des i r e d
y —
con di t i on n ot t hat Of the di se a sed con di tion ;

and always make y o ur silent s ugge s tions a lon g

the lin es Of p ositive upbuil di n g,s t a t i ng t he con
di t i ons you wi s h t o p rodu ce ,a n d n e ve r thos e
whi ch you wish t o r emove Al wa ys p oi nt out
.

h m en t a l r oa d you wi s h t he Cor p or ea l Mi n d t o
f ll
O OW .

In pra ct icing b efore the mir ror ,you s h ou ld

throw yourself into the exercise i n full e a rn est
ness D O not indulge in fli ppa n t a n d fri v olous
.

play regarding treatments throw earn e s tness

—

into your thoughts and mental i ct u r e s D O n ot

merely thi n k the i dea of w a t -
.

y ou w i
u sh t o
silently suggest to the imaginary pati ent ; but
actually thi nk the wor ds i n whi ch you would
express the idea if you were speaki ng t o the
patient This fo r mation of wor ds i n t he mind ,
.

and the proj ection of them i n Th ought I n duc

tion is very important There i s ,of c ourse ,n o
.

magic in the words themselves ,but n e vertheless

the action of the m i nd in crystall izing t he idea
into words gives concentrated force t o them,a n d
they are proj ected with greatly increased power
i n to the mind Of the patient I n giving Thou ght
.

I n duction treatments then ,remember t o t hi nk

i n a ct u a l wor ds F orm the actual words i n y our
.

mind .

I n these practice exercises ,and i n gi vi n g

a ctual treatments to patients while in thei r pre s
en ce ,you sh ould follow the same general r ul e s
1 38
 PR ACT I CE OF T H OU GH T I ND U CT I ON

which a r e followed in gi vi n g au di ble Mental

Suggestion . That i s to s a y ,you should throw
the sa m e degree of ear nes tness into t he silent
wo r ds t hat you would i n the spoken words Y ou .

should encourage the same fee l ing of force and

power wi thi n yourself the same rais i ng of your
—

own vibrations so that they may become po s itive

t o those of the patient You should remember
.

t he princ i ple of R epe tition ,as mentioned in con

n e ct i on with Mental Suggestion ; and mana e
g
to repeat the same silent ment al commands or
suggestions a number of ti mes .

R emember ,always ,that you a r e a ct u a ll y a nd

rea ll y a ddre s s i n g t he Corpor e a l Mi n d of t he
p a t i en t i n t hes e s il ent t re a t m ent s ,j ust as truly
a s when you address the cons ci ous mind Of the
person i n an ordi nary spoken course Of i n s t r u c
tio n s ,commands or advi ce The more that y ou
.

are able to realize this actual pro cess the more

force and power will you manifest The sub .

conscious min d ,in all of i t s phases ,i s very qui ck

t o sense the degree of earnestness and belie f ,or
t he degree Of lightness and unbelief,in the mind
of the practitioner ; and it responds in the sam e
degree I t is like a child or an intelligent a n ima l
.

very keen to perceive Shades of feeling or b e

lief,t ruth Or untruth .

I n givi n g actu a l treatments by P ersonal

Thought I nductio n , you should instruct the
patient to sit quietly in a comfort able position
have a cozy ,comfortable chair i n your treating
room for this purpose I t is 11 ell t o have your
.

tre a tin g room a s quiet as possible ,and as free

-

139
 ME NTAL T HE RAP E U TI CS

and n ever a lon g the li n e s of di s eased condi t i on s .

I n practice , and i n actual treatments , on sh ould

a l wa ys hol d t he m ent a l p i ct ur e of e des i r e d
con di t i on— n ot t hat of the diseased c on di tion ;

and always make y ou r silent suggestions a long

the lines Of positive upbuil di n g,s t a t i ng t he con
di t i on s you wi s h t o p r odu ce ,and nev e r those
w hi ch you wi sh t o remove Al wa ys p oi nt out
.

he m ent a l r oa d you wi s h t he Cor p or ea l Mi n d t o

fll
o o w .

In practicing b efore the mir ror ,you Sho ul d

throw yourself into the exercise in full earn est
ness D O not indulge in fi i ppa n t and fri v olous
.

play regarding treatments thr ow e arnestness

—

into your thoughts and mental i ct u r e s D O not

merely thi n k the i dea o f w a t -
.

y ou w iush t o
Silently suggest to the imaginary patient ; but
actually think the wor ds i n whi ch you would
express the idea if you were speakin g to the
patient This formation of wor ds i n the mi nd ,
.

and the proj ection of them i n Th ought I n duc

tion is very important There is ,of course ,no
.

magic in the words themselves ,but nevertheless

the a ction of the mind in crystallizing the idea
into words gives concentrated force to them,a n d
they are proj ected with greatly increased power
into the mind of the patient I n giving Thou ght
.

I n duction treatments then ,re m ember to t hi nk

i n a ct u a l w or ds F orm the actual words in y our
.

mind .

I n these practi ce exercises , and i n gi vi n g

a ctual treatments to patients while in the ir pres
en ce ,you should follow the same general rul e s
1 38
 P R A CTI CE OF T H OU GH T I ND U CTI ON

whi ch a r e followed in giving au di ble Mental

Sugges t ion . That i s to say ,you should throw
the same degre e of earnes t ness into t he silent
wo r ds t hat you would in the spoken words You .

should encourage t he same fee l ing Of force and

power withi n yourself the same rais i ng of your
—

own vibrations so that they may become po s itive

t o those of t he patient You should remember
.

t he princ i ple of R epe tition ,as mentioned in con

n e ct i on with Mental Suggestion ; and manage

to repeat the same Silent men t al co mm ands or

suggestions a number of ti mes .

R emember ,always ,that you a r e a ct u a l l y a nd

r ea ll y a ddr es s i n g t he C orpor e a l Mi n d of t he
p a t i ent i n t he s e s i l e nt t r ea t m en t s ,just as truly
a s when you address the conscious mind Of the
person i n an ordinary spoken course of i n s t r u c
t ions ,co m mands or advice The more that you
.

are able to real ize this actual pro cess the more
force and power will you manifest The s u b .

conscious m in d ,i n all Of its phases ,is very quick

t o sense the degree of earnestness and belie f,or
t he degree Of lightness and unbelief,in the mind
of the practitioner ; and it responds in the sam e
degree I t is like a child or an intelligent an ima l
.

— very keen to perceive shades of feeling or b e

lief,truth or untruth .

I n givi n g actual treatments by P ersonal

Thought I nduction , you Sho ul d instruct the
p a tient to sit quietly in a comfortable position
have a cozy ,comfortable chair in your treating
room for this purpose I t is well to have your
.

treating room as quiet a s possible ,and a s free

-

1 39
 ME NTAL T HE RAP E U TI CS

and n e ver al on g t he li n e s of di s e a s e d condi t i on s

.

I n practice , and i n actual treatments , on Sh oul d

a l wa s hol d t he m ent a l pi ct ur e of e des i r e d
y —
con di t i on n ot t hat Of the di seased c on di ti on ;
and always make your silent s uggestions a l ong
the lines of p ositive upbuil di n g,s t a t i ng t he con
di t i on s you wi s h t o p roduce ,and ne ve r th ose
whi ch you wish t o r emove Al wa ys p oi nt out
.

h m en t a l roa d you wi s h t he Cor p orea l Mi nd t o

f ll W
O O .

In practicing b efore the mi r ror ,you s hould

thr ow yourself into the exercise i n full e a rn est
ness D o not indulge in fli ppa n t and fri volous
.

play regarding trea tments thr ow e arn e stness

—

into your thoughts and mental i ct ur e s D O n ot .

merely think the i dea of w a t you wi sh t o

. u

Silently suggest to the i maginary pati e nt ; but

actually think the wor ds i n which you wo ul d
express the idea if you were speaki ng t o the
patient This fo r mation of wor ds i n t he mind ,
.

and the proj ection Of them in Th ought I n duc

tion is very important There is ,Of c ours e ,no
.

magic in the words themselves ,but nevertheless

the action of the mind in crystallizing t he idea
into words gives concentrated force to them,a n d
they are proj ected with greatly increased p ower
i n to the mind of the patient I n giving Thou ght
.

I n duction treatments then ,remember t o t hi n k

i n a ct u a l wor ds F orm the actual words in your
.

mind .

I n these practice exercises , and i n gi vi n g

a ctual treatments to patients while in the i r pr e s
en ce ,you sh ould follow the same general rul e s
1 38
 PRA CTI CE OF TH OU GH T I ND U CTI ON

whi ch a r e followed in gi vi n g audi ble M ental

Suggesti on . That i s to s a y ,you sh ould throw
the same degree of earnes tness into the silent
wo r ds t hat you would in the spoken words You .

should encourage the same fee l ing of force and

power withi n yourself the same raising of your
—

own vibrations so that they may beco me po s itive

to those of the patient You Should remember
.

the principle of R epetition ,a s mentioned in con

n e ct i on with Mental S uggestion ; and manage

t o repeat the same Silent mental com mands or

suggestions a number of times .

R emember ,always ,that you a r e a ct u a l l y a nd

r ea ll y a ddr es s i n g t he C orpore a l Mi n d of t he
p a t i en t i n t hes e s il e nt t re a t m ent s ,just as truly
a s when y ou address the cons ci ous mind of the
person i n an ordi nary spoken course of instru o
tions ,command s or advice The more that you
.

are able t o reali ze this actual pro cess the more

force and power will you manifest The s u b .

conscious mind ,i n all of its phases ,1 8 very quick

to sense the degree of earnestness a n d belie f,or
t he degree of lightness and unbelief, i n the mind
of the practitioner ; and it resp onds in the same
degree I t is like a child or an intelligent anima l
.

very keen t o perceive Shades of feeling or b e

lief,truth Or untruth .

I n givin g actual treatments by P ersonal

Thought I nductio n , you should instruct the
patient t o s i t quietly in a comfortable position
have a cozy ,comfortable chair in your treating
room for this purpose I t is well t o have your
.

treatin g room a s quiet a s pos si ble ,and as free

-

1 39
 MENTAL T HERAP E UTI CS

and never alon g the li n e s of di s ea s ed con di t i on s

.

I n practice , and in actual treatments ,you S h oul d

a l wa s hol d t he m ent a l p i ct ur e of t he des i r e d
y —
con di t i on n ot that of the di s ea s ed condition ;
and always make your silent s u gge s tion s along
the lines of positive upb u il din g,s t a t i ng t he con
di t i ons you wi s h t o p rodu ce ,and never those
which you wish t o remove Al wa ys p oi n t out
.

h m ent a l roa d you wi s h t he C or p or ea l Mi n d t o

tfi W
O O .

In practicin g before the mi r ror ,you s h oul d

throw yourself into the exercise i n full e a rn e st
ness D o not indulge in fli ppa n t and friv olous
.

pla y regarding treatments thr ow earn estn e ss

—

int o your thoughts and mental i ct u r e s D o n ot

merely think the i dea of w a t -
.

y ou wi
a s h t o
silently suggest to the i maginary patient ; but
actually think the wor ds in which you woul d
express t he idea if you were speaking t o the
patient This formation of wor ds i n the mi nd ,
.

and the proj ection of them i n Thought I n duc

tion is very important There i s ,of cour se ,n o
.

magic in the words themselves ,but nevertheles s

the action of the mind in crystallizing the idea
into words gives concentrated force to them,a n d
they are proj ected with greatly increased p ower
in to the mi nd of the patient I n giving Thou ght
.

I nduction treatments then ,re m ember to t hi nk

i n a ct u a l wor ds F orm the actual words in y our
.

mind .

I n these practi ce exer ci ses , and i n gi vi n g

a ctual treatments to patients while in the i r pres
ence ,you sh ould follow the same general rul e s
1 38
 PRA CTI CE OF TH OU GH T I ND U CTI ON

w hich a r e followed in gi v i n g audible Mental

Suggesti on . That is to s a y ,y ou should throw
the same degree of ear nes t ness into the silent
words t ha t you would in the spoken words You .

should encourage t he same fee l ing of force and

powe r wi thin yourself the same raising of your
—

011 n vibrations S O that they may beco me po s itive

to those of the pa t ient You should remember
.

t he principle of R epe tition ,a s mentioned in con

n e ct i on with Mental S uggestion ; and mana ge

to repeat the same silent mental commands or

sugges t ions a number of times .

R emem be r ,always ,tha t you a r e a ct u a l l y a n d

r ea l l y a ddr es s i n g t he Corp ore a l Mi n d of t he
p a t i ent i n t hes e Sil e nt t r ea t m ent s ,just as truly
a s when you address the conscious mind of the
pers on in an ordinary spoken course of instru o
t ions ,commands or advice The more that y ou
.

are able t o reali ze this actual process the more

force and power will you manifest The s u b .

conscious mind ,in all Of its phases ,i s very quick

t o sense the degree of ea r nestness a n d belie f ,or
t he degree of ligh t ness and unbelief,in the mind
of the practitioner ; and it responds in the same
degree I t is like a child or an intellige n t anim a l
.

— very keen to perceive shades of feeling or b e

lief,truth or untruth .

I n givi n g a ctual treatments by P ersonal

Thought I nduction , you should instruct the
patient to sit quietly in a comfortable posi t ion
have a cozy ,comfortable chair i n your t reating
room for this purpose I t is well t o have your
.

treatin g room a s quiet a s p ossible ,and as free

-

1 39
 ME NTAL T HERAPE U TI CS

and never a lon g the li n e s of di s eased condi t i on s .

I n practice , a n d in actual treatment s , y o u Sh ou l d

a l wa s hol d t he m ent a l p i ct ur e of t he des i r e d
y —
con di t i on n ot that of the di s eased con di tion ;
and always make your silent s ugge s tions al ong
the lin es of positive upb u il ding,s t a t i ng t he con
di t i ons you wi s h t o p rodu ce ,a n d never those
w hich you wi sh to remove Al wa ys poi nt out
.

t he m ent a l roa d you wi s h t he Cor p or e a l Mi n d t o

f ol l ow .

I n prac t icin g before the mi r ror ,you Sh oul d

throw yourself in to the exercise i n full e arnest
ness D o not in dulge in fli ppa n t and fri volous
.

pla y regarding treatments throw earn estn ess

—

into your thought s and mental pictur es D O n ot

merely thi nk the i dea of what -
.

y ou w i sh to
silently suggest to the i ma gin ary patient ; but
actuall y think the wor ds in which you wo ul d
express the idea i f you were speaking t o the
patient This formation of wor ds in the mi nd ,
.

and the proj ection of them i n Th ought I n duc

tion is very important There is ,of cour s e ,no
.

magic i n the words themselves ,but nevertheless

the a ction of the mi nd in cr ystall izing the idea
into words gives concentrated force to them,a n d
they are proj ected with greatly increased power
in to the mi nd of the patient I n giving Thou ght
.

I nducti on treatments then ,re m ember t o t hi nk

i n a ct u a l wor ds F orm the actual words in your
.

mind .

I n these practi ce exercises , and i n gi vi n g

a ctual treatm ents to patients while i n the i r pres
ence ,you should foll ow the same general rul e s
138
 PRA C TI CE OF TH OU GH T I ND U CTI ON

which are followed i n givi n g audi ble M ental

Suggesti on . That i s to s a y ,y ou should throw
the same degree of earnes tness into the s i lent
words that you w ould in the sp oken words You .

Should en courage the same fee l ing of force and

power withi n yourself the same raising of your
—

own vi brati ons SO that they may become po s itive

to those of the patient You Should remember
.

the principle of R epe t ition ,a s mentioned in con

n e ct i on with Mental S uggestion ; and manage

t o repeat the same silent mental comm ands or

suggestions a num ber of ti mes .

R emembe r ,always ,that you a r e a ct u a l l y a n d

r ea l l y a ddr es s i n g t he Corp ore a l Mi n d of t he
p a t i ent i n t hes e Sil e nt t r ea t m ent s ,just as truly
as when y ou address the consc i ous mind of the
person i n an ordinary spoken course of instru o
t ions ,c om mands or advice The more that you
.

are able t o reali ze this actual process the more

force a n d p ower will you manifest The s u b .

consci ous mind ,i n all of i t s phases ,is very quick

t o sense the degree Of earnestness a n d belie f ,or
the degree of lightness and unbelief,i n the mind
of the pra ctiti oner ,and it responds 1 11 the same
degree I t i s like a child or an intelligent an im a l
°

— very keen to perceive shades of feeling or b e

li ef,truth or untruth .

I n gi vin g actual treatments by P ersonal

Th u ght I nduction , you shoul d i nstruct the
O
pati ent t o s i t quietly in a comfortable posi tion
have a cozy,comfortable chair in your t reating
room f or this purpose I t is well to have your
.

treati ng r oom a s quiet a s p ossible ,and as free

-

1 39
 ME NTAL T H E R A PE U TI CS

as possible from disturbing influences I t is we l l

.

to have the light somewhat dim or Shaded ,for

bright lights tend to distract the attention The
.

main idea in fi tti ng up t he room and furnish in g

it should be that Of inducing the idea of Quiet ,
P oise ,Calm ,and P eace .

Bid t he patient to Sit quie t ly and easily ; and

t o relax himself completely ,t aking the tension
Off every muscle , and every stra i n off t he mind .

You will be able t o help him in this ma t ter by

sitting quietly some little dis t ance from him ,and
placing yourself in t he proper ment al attitude .

Si t quietly yourself,stilling your own feeli ngs

and thoughts ,a n d you will gradually raise up
your vibrations from the lower plane to that of
P eace ,H armon y ,and H ealth .The patient wi l l
then sense these vibrations and will experience
a feeling of Calmness and P eace ; this stage is
Often marked by the patient givin g utterance to
a gentle sigh of relief,and a further relaxing of
mind and body .

The desi red mental con di tion havi ng been

produced in the pat ient ,t he practitioner should
form a strong mental i mage or picture of the
patient before him and presenting all the out
ward appearances Of perfect health ; he Should
see t he patient as a strong,heal thy ,vigorous ,
happy man or woman The practitioner should
.

keep this idea or mental picture before him as

much as possible during the entire treatment .

H e should refuse to think of or pic t ure the

p atient in a con di tion of dis ease or we a kn e s s ;
1 40
 P R A CTI CE OF TH OU GH T I ND U CTI ON

but should always insist upon his mind picturin g

the desired con dition of health .

Then he Sho u ld begin making t he silent s u g

ges t ions of the desired conditions the con di
—

tions whi ch he wishes t o have manifested in

actual physical substance and for m in t he body
of the pa t ient
. H e Should address t he C orporeal
Mind of the patient j ust as he would an ac t ual
“ ”
entity H e may even address it a s Mind ,
.

“
just as he would a person : and then tell Mind
what he wishes it to do for the patie n t H e may
.

furthe r likewise address the organ m in ds ,or-

cell mi nds of the body of the pa t ient ,

- just as he
would do in Mental Suggestion ,or in A uto Su g -

gestion The principles of healing are always

.

the same ,remember,notwithstanding the di fi e r

e n ce s in the forms of adminis t ering it .

I n my own experi ments and ac t ual practice

conducted f or the purpose of developing and
perfecting the methods which I teach to my
students ,a s well as in the work that I have had
my students perform under my direction ,I have
found the fo l lowing general method or idea to
work ou t very e fi e ct i ve l y in t his class of treat
ments You will note that this general method
.

is not s o much a matter of saying or doing a

certain thing as it is a cas e of hol di ng a cert ai n
ment a l a t t i t u de
. Thi s fac t may prej udice some
a ga i n st it ,by causing them t o regard the idea as
fanci ful or even fantas t ic But those who have
.

pondered these things deeply ,and who have

grasped certain little known underlying prin
-

ci pl e s of the acti on of the sub c onscious mind ,

1 41
 ME N TAL T H E RAPEU TI CS
have n o such illusi ons or mi s con ceptions i n —

stead ,they realize that this general meth od has

a s i t s foundation a very basic f act of the Opera
tion of t he subconscious mentality Of man ,
particularly of that phase whi ch i s kn own a s the
Corporeal Mind .

The meth od ,or general idea ,above referred

to is simply this ,viz 1
The p r a ct i t i oner mus t
t a ke t he m ent a l p os i t i on ,a n d a s s u me t he m en t a l
a t t i t u de ,t ha t t he p hys i ca l b ody of t he pa t i ent ,
i n i t s e nt i r et y a n d i n i t s pa rt s ,down e ve n t o t he
cell s com p os i ng i t ,i s PLAS TI C S U B S TANCE
whi ch ma y b e mol ded by t he t hought i nflu en ce
a n d power of hi m s el f ( t he p r a ct i t i on er ) , j us t a s
t he p l as t i c cl a y i s mol de d b y t he ha n ds of t he
p ot t er or t he s cul p t or The mental i mages and
.

ideas proj ected from the mind of the pr a ct i

t i on e r ,and the silent suggestions made b y him
in this form of treatment ,are t o be regarded as
the t ools of the potter or sculptor ; and are t o be
used t o Shape up this part ,mold this one ,reduce
that on e ,and energize and vitaliz e the other
on e . U nder the Silent force of the creative
min d of the practitioner,the physical body of
the patient must be thought of as bein g b u i lt
u p,strengthened , and restored to norm al fun c
ti on i n g; the parts thought of a s be i ng b u il t up
and ener gi zed ; the cells thought of a s doing t hei r
work wi th renewed energy and activit y ; and the
whole sys tem flooded wi th vital force a n d
energy,vi tality and life U nder t he strong
.

sti mulus of this thought ,i ma ge ,and i deal h e ld

i n the mi nd of the practi t i oner ,the body of t he
1 42
 PRA CTI CE OF T H OU GH T I ND U CTI ON

patient Shoul d r esp ond to the i deals Of the

practitioner,and should de velop in strength ,
v i go r and general health .

Thi s s am e principle ,or rather a ll of the prin

ci pl e s described i n t hi s lesson ,may be used by
the person wishing to heal hi mself by means of
S elf Treatment
- . W hat the mi nd of a healer ca n
do f or a patient ,the min d of the patient can do
for himse l f,p r ovi di ng he has t he p ers e vera n ce
an d p ers i s t en ce t o carry out the principles of
cure a s set forth in these lessons The principle
.

of Self H ealin g by t his method i s precisely the

-

same a s that of the treatment of the patient by

the practitioner .

I n S elf Trea t ment the person Should follow the

-

methods and forms of tre atment set fort h in the

°

lesson on Aut o Suggestion ,and also those recited

-

i n the present lesson . That is to say ,he should

n ot only a ctually suggest to hi mself in the way
described in the lesson on Auto Suggestion ,but
°

he Shou ld also cultivate the art of visualizing

or pi cturi ng hi mself as possessing a perfect ,
healthy ,strong body ,functioni ng perfectly in
every organ ,and perfect i n every part TO this.

he s hould add the habit Of refusing to thi nk of

hi s body a s weak ,diseased ,or i mperfect in any
°

way He Shoul d a cq u i r e t he ha b i t of t hi nki ng

.

dy a s a l r e a dy b ei ngt ha t whi chhe wi s hes

b
of hi s
it t o e
TO those who may obj ect that this seems li ke a
case of wilfully trying to deceive oneself,and to
delud e oneself a s to real facts concerning the
b ody,I woul d s a y that such i s but a narrow view
°

1 43
 ME N TAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

to take of the matter Self deception does n o

.
-

one any good we do no t escape evils by refusing

—

to see t hem when they are present t here is n o

—

question abou t this But when we come to deal

.

wit h the Corporeal Mind we have another sta t e

O f a ffairs t o deal wi t h The C or poreal Mind has
.

t he tendency t o man i f e s t i n t o phys i ca l f or m t he

m en t a l i m a ges concer ni ngi t whi ch a re ha b i t ua l l y
hel d i n t he m i n d of a p ers on Thi s i s no i dl e
.

fantasy i t is a scientifi c fact Therefore ,if t he

— .

C orporeal Mind has followed after bad patterns ,

i t i s n e ces s a ry f or u S t o he l d b ef ore i t t he p a t t ern
of t he con di t i ons whi ch we wi s h i t t o m a n i f es t , if
we wish to regain the normal natural condition .

An d,at the last ,the normal ,natural condition

of the body i s TR U TH , and we are fully justifi ed
in in sisting that the Corporeal Min d cast off the
result of its imperfect and erroneou s patterns ,
and instead a de pt t he perfect patte rn of that
which nature intended us to be ,of that whi ch is
Tru t h . We have a right to hold fast t o the idea
that the P o wer that I s wishes t o manifest in
- -

the Good ,the Beautiful ,and the True and t hat —

all else is a perversion of the in t ent of nature ;

a n d to insist that the pattern of Tru th be fol
lo wed as a design ,not t hat of E r ror and U ntruth .

This may soun d somewhat m etaphysical ,but it

is based upon the report of the great minds of
the race ,and we may demonstrate it b v actual
practice .

1 44
 . LE SSON XV I I I

D I S TANT TH OU GH T- I ND U CTI ON

The thi r d general class of the methods of pr a c

ticing Ment al H eali n g is that known as D istant
Thought I nduction .I n this form of trea tment
t he thought vibrati ons of the prac t itioner are
-

carried t o great distances in space to the patient .

I n fact ,so far as has been discovered ,Space i s

practically wiped ou t in this class of thought
i nduc t ion ; it has been found that it i s just as
easy to treat a patient ten thousand miles away
as one a hundred yards distant ,by t his method
of treatment .

I n D istant Thought I nduction t he principle

employed is precisely the same as that employed
in P ersonal Thought I nduction ,plus t he mani
f e s t a t i on of certa i n mental activi t ies which serve
to carry t he thought vibrations beyond the usual
-

limi ts of Thought I nduct ion A S I have said.

elsewhere in these lessons ,D is t ant Thought I n

duction i s akin to the telescope or the telephone
inasm uch as it enables a nat ural faculty to mani
fest a t a distance otherwise impossible for it .

I t will be seen a t fi rst glance tha t t he possibil i

ties Of Mental H ealing a r e enormously increase d
by the discovery t ha t Thou ght m asters and
ann i hil ates s pace SO true is t his tha t t he
.

greater part of the Mental H ealing of this da y

is performed by this me t hod S ome healers wi l l
.

n ot receive personal pa t ients , but give a l l of t he i r

treatments in this way ; they claim that they ca n
1 45
 ME NTAL TH E RAP E U TI CS

o btain far better results ,by rea s on of the con

centra t ion possible only in thi s form of treatment ,
a n d the obviating of the disturbing influences of
the personal presence of the patient So i m .

portant is thi s phase of Mental H eali ng t hat the

student and prac t it ioner should pay special a t
tention to i t s theory ,principles ,and methods of
application and manifes t ation I Shall go into
.

this subj ect deeply and thoroughly in thi s and

the followi ng lessons .

There are t hose who while ful ly accepting the

fact that Thought is radio ac t ive ,and that our
-

mental vibra t ions surround u s wi th a mental

atmosphere ,and that this mental atmosphere
constitutes our fi eld of mental induction which
awakens Similar vibration s in the m inds of
others coming within its influence ,nevertheless
fi n d it di fi i cu l t to a ccept the teachings that assert
‘

that Thought may be sent t o a distance far from

t he sender,and t here be received by the mind
of another person .

I cannot understand why anyone should feel

any doubt on this s core ,for the last ment ione d
phenomenon is n ot a whit more wonderful or
mysterious th a n is the simplest case of me ntal
induction when the two persons are in pers onal
conta ct ,or in near proximity to each other .

We have the very closest kind of analogy i n the

case of electri city I n electricity we ha ve the
.

transmi ssion of the current over the telegraph or

telephone wires ; in Thought we have a similar
transmission over the wires of the nervous
system reachin g to all parts of the b ody I n .

1 46
 D I S TANT TH OU GH TI ND U CTI ON
-

electri ci ty we have the induction of a current

without di rect transmi ssion ,as described in a
preceding lesson ; in Thought we have a Similar
i nduc tion of Thought without di re ct transmis
sion ,as also described in t he said lesson F inally ,
.

in electri city we have the transmission of a cur

rent ,without the pres e nce of wires ,as we see
in the case of the wireless telegraph process ;
in Thought we have D istant Thought I nduction ,
or Telepathy at a di stance . Al l of these phases
of electricity are but forms of manifesta t ion of
one general principle ; and all these phases of
Thought I nduction are but forms of manifes t a
tion of on e general prin ciple The analogy i s
.

one of those very str iking instances of t he

operation of the La w of Correspondence i n the
phenomenal world .

To those who may c onsider the above analogy

as lackin g in scientifi c validity ,I would refer the
fol lowing statement made in the presidential
address of Si r William Crookes before the R oyal
Society , at Bristol ,E ngland ,nearly twenty years
ago far in advance of the t imes ,of course
— .

“
Crookes said : I f telepathy t akes place ,we have
t wo physical facts the physical change in the
—

brain of A ,the sugges t or ,and the analogous

physical change in the brain of B ,the recipient
of the sugges t ion. Between these two physi cal
events there must exist a train of physical
causes . Al l the phenomena of the
universe are presumably in some way continu
ou s ,and it i s unscientifi c to call in the aid of
mysteri ous a genc i es when with every fresh
14 7
 ME NTAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

advan ce in knowledge it is shown that ether

vibrations have po wers and attributes abun
dau tly equal to a n y demand even the transmis
—

sion of thought .

“
I t is supposed by some physiologists that the
essential cells of nerves do n ot ac tually touch ,
but are separated by a narrow gap which widens
in Sleep while it narrows alm ost to extinction
during mental activity This condition i s s o
.

singularly like that of a B r a n l y or Lodge coherer

% a device which led t o the discovery of w i r eless
telegraphy ] a s t o suggest a further analogy .

The structure Of b rain and nerv e bein g si m ila r ,

it i s conceivable that t here m a y b e p res ent
m as s es of s u ch n er ve coherers i n t he b ra i n whos e
s p e ci a l fu n ct i on i t m a y b e t o re ce i ve impulses
.

from without through the connec t ing sequence

of ether waves of appropri ate rder
o of mag
n i t u de .

“
R oentgen
has fami liarized u s with an order
of vibrations Of extreme mi n i i t e n e s s compared
with the smallest waves wi t h which we have
hitherto been acquain ted , and of dimensions
comparable with the di stan ces between the
centers of the at oms of which the ma t erial u n i
verse i s built u p; and there is no reas on t o
suppose that we have here reached the limi t of
frequency I t i s known that the acti on of
.

t hought is accompanied by certain molecular

movements in the brain ,and here we have phys
ical vi brations capable from their extreme
minuteness of a cting direct on i ndividual mole
cules ,whi le their rap idity app roa ches that of
1 48
 D I STANT TH OU GH T I ND U C TI ON-

the i nternal and external movements of the

atoms themselves A formidable ran ge Of
.

phenomena mus t be scientifi cally sifted before

we e fi e ct u a l l y grasp a faculty so Strange ,s o
bewilderin g,a n d for ages s o ins crutable a s the
”
direct action of mi nd upon mind .

So,we s e e that there i s the very best ki nd of

scien t ifi c basis for asserting the analogy b e
tween the wireless telegraph on the on e hand ,
and t he phenomenon of D istant Thought
I nduction on the other . N a t ure i s fond of
est ablishing these correspondences on di ff erent
planes of her ac t ivities ,that we may understand
on e by studying the other The more that we
.

learn about wir eless telegraphy the more readily

may we understand distant thought transference
and induction .

Si r William Crookes has given us many other

reasons why distant thought transmi ssion is
“
possible F or instance ,he has said :
. I f we
accept the theory that t he brain is composed of
separate elements nerve cells then we must
— —

presume that each of these components ,like

every other bit of mat ter ,has i t s movements of
vibration and will under suitable conditions be
a fi e ct e d ; a s ,for instance ,the nerve cells of the
retina by vibration in the ether I f another .

neur on Situated n ot far away should ac q uire the

same movement of vibration ,t here seems to be
n o good reason why t hey shou l d not a ffect each
”
other through the ether .

E dward T Bennett ,t he E nglish psychologist ,

.

“
ha s said : The conclusion seems to be i r r e s i s t
1 49
 MENT AL THE RAP E UTI CS

ible that the fi ve senses do not exhaust the mean s

by whi ch knowledge may en t er the mi n d I n .

other words ,t he investiga t or seems t o be driven

t o the conclusi on that t hought transference or
-

telepa thy must n ow be i ncluded am ong s e ien

”
t ifi ca l l y proven facts
.

P rofessor Qu a cke n b os , the Am erican ps y

“
chol ogi s t , says : The t ime ha s indeed come ,as
Maeterl inck predi cted it would ,when souls may
kn ow each other without the interme di ary of
”
the senses .

“
Clark Bell says : Telepathy ,a s i t is regarded
by scientists who accept it a s a fact ,i s some
unkn own sense of power in the human body,by
whi ch a s a physical process c ommunication is
held between brain and brain Of the hum an
organism — some means by whi ch the per ceptions
are reached i n some manner anal ogous to the
known and well de fi n e d transmission Of the
-

electric current ,or the action of gravitation ,

which we know exists But we are as yet unable
.

t o comprehend how it acts ,or t o know its

”
methods .

D r Sheld on Leav i tt ,an American authority

.

on t he subconscious min d ,has said : “There is

no di sputing the fact that those who have given
the subje ct of telepathy attenti ve thought and
patient in vestigation have been convinced of i t s
tr uth and practicability My own experience
.

has gi ven me unwaverin g convi ctions I know

.

that in some wa y thought can be transmi tted

from one consc i ous mind t o another ; and I have
good reas on t o believe that it ca n be transmi tted
1 50
 D I S TAN T TH OU GH T I ND U CTI
- ON

still more forcibly and fully t o the u nconscious

mind of the recipient .

Cam i lle F lamm arion , t he eminent F rench

“
astronomer and s cientist ,says : On e mind can
act upon another at a di stance wit hout the habit
ua l me di um of words , or any other visible means
of communication . I t appears alt ogether u n r e a
sonable t o rej ect thi s conclusion if we accept t he
facts There is nothing un scientifi c ,nothin g
.

romantic ,in admi ttin g that an idea ca n influence

.

a brain from a dis t ance The action of one

.

hum an being upon another ,from a distance ,is

a scientifi c fact ; it i s as cert ain a s t he existence
of P aris ,of N apoleon ,of Oxygen ,or of Sirius .

There can be no doubt t hat our psychi

cal force crea t es a movement of the ether ,which
transmi ts itself afar like a l l movements of ether,
and becomes perceptible to brains in harmony
with our own The transforma t ion of a psychic
.

action into an ethereal movement , and the

reverse ,may be analogous to what takes place
in a telephone ,where the recep tive plate ,which
is identical with the pla t e at t he other end ,
reconstruc t s the sonorous movemen t trans
n ot by means of s ound ,
m i t t e d, but by electricity.

”
But these are only comparisons .

The student will notice tha t in the above

quotations the scientifi c authorities dwell a l most
altogether upon t he action of the b r a in a s a
receiving ins t rument They have overlooked
.

the equally important ,and equa lly true fact tha t

t he organ minds ,the part minds ,t he cell minds ,
- - -

all the phases of the Corporeal Mi nd in fact ,a r e

1 51
 ME NTAL TH E RAPEUTI CS

capable of re ceivin g the vibra tion s of t he i n

du ce d thought cu rrent ,and of understan di ng
them and of acting upon them W ere this n ot
.

true ,the phen omena of di stant mental healin g

co ul d not exist as it does at p .

We have here a wondert uresentl ly interestin g and

important phase of the general subj e ct of Mental
H ealin g ,and we should carefully acquaint ou r
selves with every phase of its activities and
processes I shall go into every phase i n detail
.

in t he succeeding several lessons ,and I ask every

student to carefully consider what I have t o s a y
in t he s e lesson s I shall deal n ot with theory
.

“
alone ,but shall go into the just how Side of”

the subj ect .

1 52
 LE SSON XI X

H OW TH OU GH T TR AVE LS TO A
D I STAN CE

In practicing D istant Thought I nduct ion ,the

practit ioner should proceed along the same gen
eral lines that I have laid do wn in the i n s t r u c
tions regarding P ersonal Thou ght I nduct ion ;
t hat is ,a t least ,SO far as i s conce r ned the men t al
attit ude to be preserved ,the charact er of the
thoughts and mental pictures to be held in his
mind ,and the charac t er of s ilent mental s u g
gestions ,commands and instruc t ions t o be sent
by him t o the Corporeal Mind of the patient ,01 1

to his cell minds ,organ minds ,or part m i nds

- - - .

The only additional process necessary is t he

es t a b l i s hi n g O f m en t a l l i n e s of com m u n i ca t i on
between the practitioner and the mind of his
pa t ient Le t us then carefully study the na t ure
.

and details of this process of mental line

building .

The fi rs t im pression of students when they

arrive at this s t age of our ins t ruc t ion is that
they are to be instructed how to build up some
strange kin d of telegraph sys t em or lines ,over
which the mental current s shall t ravel N ow, .

this is a mistake ,although a perfectly natural

one let u s see in what t he mistake lies ,for by
—

S O doing we Shall perceive the true state of

aff airs Le t us take our familiar analogy of
.

electricity ,f or it will work out very well i n this

case as in the others we have already considered .

1 53
 ME NTAL TH E RAP E U TI CS

W hi l e i t i s tr ue that in the case of the passage

° °

of the electric cur rent over the ordinary tele

g raph lines wires are employed ,it is li k ewise
true that i n the case of electric i nduct i on the
cur rent does not pass over the conduction wir es
but rather leaps out Of them and sets up a cor
respondin g current in the neighb oring con
ductor ; likewise ,i n wireless telegraphy the
current does not require wires t o conduct it t o
i t s desti nation , but rather t ravels along et her e al
l i n es of i t s own m a ki n g until it reaches the
receiving instrument which i s attuned t o it ,
and which has attracted it I n pre cisely the
.

same ways Thought proceeds t o i t s destination

— its three ways of proceeding almost perfe ctly

corresponding t o those of ele ctricity F or i n .

stance ,Thought travels over the telegraph wires

of the nervous system,and thus reaches e a ch and
every part Of the body of its mani fest e r,setting
them into activity ,and regulatin g their pro c
esses A gain ,it leaps beyond the li mits of the
.

nervous system ,and by induction sets up S i mi lar

vibrations in the minds of those within i t s fi eld
of induction . An d, i t ma kes m ent a l l i ne s
fi nally ,
of i t s own over which it proceeds to a di stan ce ,
where it sets up similar vibrations i n the mind
of the pers on to whom i t i s directed ,and who ha s
°

attrac t ed it SO you see ,as I have said ,the

.

analogy to electricity i s practically perfect

°

I n D istant Thought I nduction the thought of

the practi tioner a ct ua l l y b uil ds up i t s own l i n es
of com m un i ca t i on to t he mind of the patient , and
then travels over it This m a y seem strange at
.

1 54
 H OW TH OU GH T TRAVE LS

fi rs t ,f or it i s a natur al question of the average

“
student , But how does it proceed at all when
there are n o li n es or channels to carry i t ; how
does it proceed t o b ui ld its own lines and then
travel over them ; how does it get ahead of itself
in order t o build the lines over which it will
”
travel later on % These are legitimate and
logical questions ,and the student is perfectly
justifi ed in asking them But the answer is
.

equally logical and nat ural i t must be all of

—

this ,f or it expresses an actual natural fact

known t o all advan ced students of the subj ect .

H ere i s the answer : Thought p r oj e ct s f r om i t

s e l f t he l i n e s over whi ch i t t r a ve l s t o a di s t a n ce
.

Le t u s see how this i s .

“
You have heard of t he s e wonderful motor
”
tra ctors i nvented by the American manu
f a ct ur e r s of agricultural machin ery ,a n d which
are used t o travel ( and pull along after them
certain things li ke plows,e t c ) over fi elds too
.

muddy and soft t o bear the weight of ordi nary

wheels These same wonderful instruments
.

have been convert ed into t hose terrible gigantic

armored machines ,those traveling fort resses ,
which were i nvented by the British and used by
them in the Great War in the year 1 9 1 6 ,and
“ ”
whi ch the soldiers called t he tanks . The dis
t i n ct i ve principle of these machin es is th a t of a
great revol ving track which the ma chin e con
s t a n t l y unwinds and lays down in front of i t self,
and over which i t s real wheels then t ravel .

While t o read the description of t his process

sou nds somethi ng like the recital of the e fforts
1 55
 ME NTAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

of a man t o raise hi m self up i nto the air by hi s

own bootstraps ,nevertheless the pro cess i s in
strict accordan ce wi t h established mechanical
la ws ,and it w orks out unfa ilingly Well ,this i s
.

a crude illustration of how both electricity and

Thought lay their own lines before them ,
and then travel over them in wireless telegraphy
and distant thought induction ,respectively .

There is a point to be noted here ,however , in

the cases of both electricity and thought currents
— the fact that both of these currents travel in

a ll di r e ct i on s from the senders . But j ust a s

science has perfected methods by which the
wire l ess current may be con centrated upon on e
focal point to a great extent ,S O has practical
psychology perfe cted plans whereby thought
current s may be concentrated upon on e fo cal
point ,and directed to t his p oint with in creased
force An d,we must note here also ,in passing,
.

that just a s the receiving in strum ent of the wire

“ ”
less system picks up only those vibrations t o
which i t ha s been att uned ,s o may the patient
attun e himself to the thought vibrations of t he
“ ”
practitioner,and thus more readily pi ck up
his own special message .

Then ,the students a s k,how do we proceed t o

st a rt into activity this process whereby the men
tal track is laid over which our thought currents
are t o flow to the patient % The answer is simple
You b u il d t he t ra ck, or m e n t a l p a t h,b y t hi n ki ng
of i t. The simple pro cess of C reative Thought
itself performs the work of building the track ,
or l a yi n g down the line over whi ch your thought

1 56
 H OW TH OU GH T TRAV E LS

vi brations Shall tra vel We perform thi s work

.

un consciously every day of our lives ,when we

t hi nk in t ently of a person ,thou gh in such cases
°

there i s seldom the de gr ee of strength ma n i

f e s t e d which a ccompanies conscious deliberate
e fforts in thi s di rection there is usually l a cking
—

that concent ration whi ch produces forceful and

e ffe ctive res ul ts i n the work of thought trans
mi ssion .

The practitioner ,i n order to get the best

results ,Should fi rst estab l ish a strong,clear,
un obstructed line of mental commu nica t ion with
t he patient ; this will remain a fter the treatment ,
and will render easier the subsequent treatments
— thou h it will be found well to keep the li ne
g
i n order ,the tra ck clear ,by a li t tle attenti on
each day or SO This direct mental line 01 track
.
1

is built by the pra ctitioner simply t hi nki ng i t

i nt o exi s t e n ce by visualizing it as in existence ,
—

by creating a mental picture of it as actually in

°

existence There is n o need of goin g into the

.

metaphysical or oc cult explanation of t his won

de r f u l phenomenon for such would take us far
—

away from ou r present subj ect ,and 11 ould i n

volve u s in a mass Of technical in struction which
is entirely foreign t o the purposes of the present
work ; it is enough to know that this process
“ ”
works ou t , and is scientifi cally correct .

The more vivid the practitioner can make this

me ntal track or path between himself and the
patient the clearer he can visualize it in his
—
”
mind s eye , the m ore e ff ective will be the cur
’

“
rents that travel Ove r i t and the closer the err
.

1 57
 ME NTAL TH E RAPEUTI CS

ra pport con di ti on between the pati ent and

himself I f he ca n instruct t he p a t i ent t o a i d i n
.

this work Of path bu ildi ng there will ,of cour se ,

-
“ ”
be a much greater degree of en rapport con
dition existing between them a ment a l a gre e
—

ment naturally always produ ces better results

in these cases .

The pra ctitioner will fi n d that it wil l help hi m

materiall y i n this work of b ui l ding up a mental
path f or the purpose of D istant H ealing ,if he
will form a clear mental picture of the p a tient
at a distan ce ,and will direct hi s thought of
tra ck b u il di ng toward hi m or her when he is
-
“ ”
establishing the en rapport condition I t i s .

n ot ne cessary t o visua li ze the actual appearance

Of the patient ,for that i s o ften impossible in
cases where the patient is n ot personally known
t o the healer ; it i s suffi cient that a general mental
image of a p ers on n a m e d SO a n d SO is seen in the
- -

distance ,and the ment al t rack be b ui lt toward

that pers on SO we healers deny the necessity
.

Of thi s preli minary work ,but a little close ques

t i on i n g will usually bring to light the fact that
they actually do this work more or less u n con
s ci ou s l y ; they have trained themselves t o quick
work alon g these lines ,and SO they actua l ly
b uil d the tra ck whi le they are thi nking of the
pati ent I t i s an invariable rule of thought
.

tra nsmissi on ,that the vibrations always travel

over a path or track and that this track ha s t o
—

b e bui lt ,cons ciously or unconsciously .

Occultists have f or thousands of years been

a wa r e of the e ffi cacy of that whi ch ha s been

1 58
 H OW TH OU GH T TR AV E LS
“
cal led The A stral Tube i n the process of di s
tant thought transmission and the principle
—

ha s been employed t o advantage by many of t he

world s best di stant healers ,although others
’

have preferre d their own me t hods which in the

end bring into e ffect the same general principles .

The A stral Tube is created and used in the f ol

lowing manner :
The As t ra l Tub e What occultists call the
.

A stral Tube consists of the buil di ng up on the

astral plane ( the plane next above the physical
plane of being ) ,of a t ube or t u nnel which acts
as a most e ff e ctive channel f or the transmission
of thought cu rrents or thought vibra tions I t is
.

created entirely by the creative power of the

m in d ,a n d depends f or i t s strength and per
m a n e n cy upon the clearness and power of the
visualization ,or ment al pic t uring ,of the m i nd
of the person creating it .

The A stral Tube is created by the person fi rst

Shut ting from his mind all dis t urbin g influences ,
and then concentrating upon the task of creating
the i mage i n the astral substance H e begins
.

by gazing in the general direction of the person

between whom and himself he wishes to build
the tube Then he pic t ur es in his mind a great
.

cloud of smoke like substance fi lli ng the space

-

between them Then he mentally p i e r ces that

.

volum e of as t ral vapor ,by sett ing up a whi rl i n g

m ot i on i n i t s cen t er
. Then he pictures this
whirling mo t ion proceeding like a min iature
cy clone ,bori ng its way rapidly throu gh the

1 59
 ME NTAL TH ERAPEU TI CS

vol ume of smoke li ke substan ce ,and t hus crea t

-

ing a tun nel like bore ,tube ,or circular openin g

-

through its entire extent ,until fi nall y appearin g

at the other end is perceive d the fi gur e of the
person t hought of The subsequent Ope n ing up
.

of this psyc hi c channel i s comparatively easy

much easier than the fi rst work Of course .

R emember that ,in the words of the average

person ,this work is a ll i n t he i ma gi na t i on the
—

Creative I magin ation ,however ,as all occultists

know ,is not a t hing of mere fancy,but is rather
a mos t powerful creative agency on the astral
plane An d astral plane phenomena are ,in
.

their own fi eld ,as real and actual as are the

phenomena of the ma t erial plane i n their own
fi eld.

An d n ow,havi ng mastered the theor y of D i s

tant I nduction ,and the fundamental pri nciples
of its practice ,let us proceed to the consideration
of the details of i t s practice in the work Of actual
healing We are de a ling with a fascinating s u b
.

j ce t ,and are n aturally impatient at t oo m uch

delay in ge t ting t o the point of manifestation .

1
4 10
 LE SS ON XX

H OW TO H EAL AT A D I S TANCE

In preparing the pa t ient for your dis t ant heal

ing currents ,he s hould be ins t ructed to place
h i mself in a recep t ive ment al att itude towa r d
such treatments H e should be taught to men
.

tally open himself to the inflow of your healing

thought currents ,and to assume the mental
a t titude of perfect willingness t o receive such
inflow This removes the friction which the
.

subconscious mi nd some times sets up to thought

currents from outside ( a very wise provis i on of
natur e ,b y the way ) ,and renders your work
much eas i er and much more e ff ec t ive Y ou .

should ,of course ,caution the patient against

makin g hi mself receptive to a l l thought currents
from outside ,he s hou l d b e t a ught t o ma ke t he
1

m ent a l s t a t emen t t ha t he i s p a s s ive t o you r

t hou ght s on ly ,a n d r e s i s t i ve t o a l l ot her s whi ch
he does n ot wi s h t o r ecei ve .

Some patients like to be treated at a certain

hour,and in such case it is well to fall in wi th
their wishes ,if the hour i s convenient to you .

But ,inasmuch as this i s not at all necessary f or

the success of the treatment ,many of the best
practitioners refuse to set or observe hours Of
treatment ,and i nstead give the treatment a t
such times a s a r e most convenient t o them The .

Corporeal Mi nd of the patient is always wide

“ ”
awake always at home
— — even when hi s con
sci ous mi nd i s wrapped in sleep ; so that it may
1 61
be re a che d a t an y ti m e wi t h e q u a l e ff ect The .

pa t ie nt m a y b e i nf or m e d of t hi s ,a n d t old t ha t
a l l t ha t i ne ce s s a r y i s t o t a ke t he ge n e r a l me n t al
°

a t t i t ud e t ha t y our hea l i ng t hought cur re n t s a re

Wh e n t he t ime f or t he t r e a t m e n t ha s a r rive d ,
y ou sho ul d s t reng t h e n a n d m a ke cl e a r t he men
t a l p a t h or l ine whi ch 1 on ha ve erec t e d, a n d t hus
1

fi r ml y es t a bli sh t he en ra ppo r t co n di t ion This

.

y ou do b y sit t i ng quie t ly a n d t hi n ki ng t he li n e
cl ea r ,in t he wa v I ha ve a lre a dy des cri bed t o
v ou . A li tt le pra c t ice wil l soon i nf o r m y ou j us t
when t he des i red condit ion i s re a ched ,a t such
t im es there comes t o t he prac t iti oner a peculiar
feel i ng of cl os e n es s t o t he pa t ient a s t ra nge
—

sense of t he t 11 o pe r sons being in t he ac t ual pres

°

ence of each ot her W hen y ou exper ience thi s

.

feeling full y,then y ou will know that t he con

di t i on s are favorable for the trea t ment I f y ou .

experience diffi culty i n secur i ng these condi

t ions ,do n ot become worried ,impat ient ,or dis
cou r a ge d, for a little pa t ient ,cal m concentration
will soon bring about t he desired result .

When you are satisfi ed that the best possible

conditions have b e en secure d ,and the best pos
sible de gree of e n rapport es t ablished ,then you
should p r oc e ed to vi s ua l i ze or m e nt a ll y p i ct ur e
t he p a t i en t a s p r es e nt i n t he s a m e r oom wi t h
o u F orget a l l abou t the mental wires , paths ,
y .

o r tracks ,or as t ral tubes ( for the time bein g ) ,

f or you have alre a dy estab l ished the co n nec ti on ,

a n d y our t hought process wil l subconsciously
keep the line open until the tre at ment i s com
1 62
 H OW TO H EAL AT A DI S TANCE

p l e t e
. d I n i m a g i n a t i on ,s ee your p a t i en t a s
s t a n di n g or s ea t e d b e f or e you ( whichever you
prefer ) Thr ow yourself as thoroughly as pos
.

sible into the idea of this di rect presence ,for it

is a most potent factor in these distant trea t
ments D o not waste time in trying to picture the
.

features of the person ,for indeed you may not

know these i t is suffi cient that you i magine a
—

Somebody present before you ,that S omebody

bein g your patient of course F rom this point
.

proceed precisely as if you were giving the treat

ment of Mental Sugges t ion ,or P ersonal Thought
I nduction ,or a combina t ion of both .Speak ,
aloud ,or in a whisper,to the patient before you ,
if you wish ; or i f you prefer you may direct t o
hi m your silent mental suggestions ,i nstruction ,
or commands I n every wa y a ct exa ct ly a s i f
.

he we r e a ct u al ly b e f or e you i n p er s on for f 1 om
—

the occult viewpoint he i s actually so ,y our en

rapport condition bringing you actually in men
tal contact with him .

F rom this point ,you are to proceed simp l y as

you would in the e ase of a patient who had ca l led
upon you i n person for treatment . H old the
same mental picture of the pa t ient man ifesting
perfect health ; give the same mental i n s t r u c
t ions t o the Corporeal Mind ,and to the cell
minds or organ min ds ,as you would i n personal
-

t reatment by any method we have studied and

considered So true is this that many of the
.

best distant healers actually address t he distant

patient with the greetin g of Good Morning, or
H ow do you do,Mr Smith ; sit down and rest
.

1 63
 ME NTAL T HE R APEU TI CS

yours elf a few m oments before we begin ou r

“
t reatment ; and actually bid them Goo d bye , -
“ ”
or Good Morning after the treatm e nt i s over .

This may seem like fantasti c nonsense— but

when you have tried it a few ti mes you will see
how na t ural it comes to you , and how e ff e ctive i t
is. D o not dismiss any t hing conta i ned in these
lessons , u ntil y ou have given it a fair a n d
unprejudiced trial ; all of the things regardin g
whic h you a r e bein g in structed in t hese lessons
a r e t he res u l t of the actual experien ce of many of
t he world s best heale r s ,and as such demand a t
’

least respectful consideration and a fair tria l

fr om you 01 any other s t udent who wishes t o
1

a tt ain scienti fi c knowledge of this great subj ec t .

I shall n o w give y ou a practical example of

D i s t a nt H e a l ing ,along the general li n es just s e t
do wn for you . I have taken a s an example a
case which is quite common in the practice of all

p r a c t ition e rs —
y ou will recogni ze it often when
y o u get into actual practice , so you will do well to
fi x its general principl e s in your memory I t i s a
.

“ ”
case of genera l run down health, arising from
imperfect nutrition and poor elimi nation ,whi ch
has resulted in w e akness ,poor blood supply ,
cold h a nds and fe et ,i mpa i red sense of sme ll,
hearing,and taste ,poor m emory ,and di zziness
in the h e ad ,etc When you meet t hese cases in
.

person , you easily recognize them by their

pal lor ,thinness ,cold hands ,and general appear
ance ; likewise you recognize the general s ym p
toms when they write t o you telling their
troubles D rug treatment does little or nothi n g
.

1 64
 H OW TO H E AL A T A DI STANCE

f or these patients ,and they s oon develop into

chronic cases but the right kind of Mental
—

H eali ng treatment soon works an improvement

upon them ,and if kept up nearly alway s results
in a cure You will notice that the treatmen t
.

goes right to the spot ,and i s directed along the

lin es of s cientifi c physiology plus scien t ifi c
psycholo gy .

Typ i ca l Cas e . H aving

established the en
rapport c ondition between the patient and your
self,y ou cr ea t e t he ment a l p i ct ur e or vi s ua l i za
t i on of t he pa t i ent a s b ei n g a ct u a ll y p r es en t i n
t he r oom wi t h you This be i ng secured ,
. you pro
oe cd t o address the patient just a s you wou l d in

the case of ordi nary personal presence ,viz

“
Good morn ing,M r s Smith ,I am glad to see
.

you You are l ooki ng better this morn ing you

.
—

know that y ou are goi ng to get better ,going to

be perfectly well pretty soon ,don t you % Of ’

course you do ; and that is just what is going t o

happen t o you you are going to ge t bet t e r a t
—

on ce ,and then still better ,and then better still ;

and s o on better and bett er each day ,until in a
short ti me we wil l have you all right agai n ,
enj oying better health than you ever did in your
life ; all your troubl es gone a n d forgotten ,and
y o u s o happ y and well and strong that you will
seem like another woman That is 11 hat this
treat ment i s goi ng t o do for you ,Mr s Smith
.

and a wa y down in your heart y ou realize it ,do

y o u n o t % O f c ourse y ou do —
y ou know it intu

1 65
 ME NTAL T HE R APE U TI CS

i t i ve l y ,and t hat s just why you are here thi s

’

m orning ; here to be cured and made well %

“
Mrs Smith ,I now s e e you as a strong ,
.

healthy woman I see you before me as natu r e

.

intended you to be ,a n d a s you really are i n

Truth You have plump e d out ,your che cks a r e
.

rosy and your lips red ,your eyes are bright and
your skin soft and pleasan t to the touch I ca n
.

s e e into your body ,and there I perceive all of

your organs functioning properly,and busily
engaged in their work of building up a strong
and well body ,and ke e ping it in that condition .

E very part of your body is doing its work prop

erly ; every organ is functioning properly ;
every cell is doing i t s work splendidly ,just a s
nature intende d it to do You have a stron g ,
.

healthy body,doing its work properly ,and tha t

is why I s e e you before me as an i deal H ealthy
Woman An d,oh ,how happy you seem to be
.

well and strong onc e more .

“
I s e e that your diges t ive organs are working
splendidly ,and are digesting and assimilating
every bit of nourishment in the food you eat .

Consequently ,you have a good natural appe t i t e

for n o r m al healthy food even a crust of dry
—

bread tastes good to you ,for when you chew it

you realize that you are extracting n ourishmen t
from it which is going to strengthen you and
keep you stron g Your food is bein g tra ns
.

muted into rich red blood which is coursing

through your veins and buildin g up every part
of your body and stren gthening it Your brain
.

is well nourishe d,and this keeps your s enses in

1 66
 H OW TO HE AL AT A D I S TANCE

g ood w orki n g o rd er Y o u he a r 11 ell ,

. t a ste 11 ell ,

smell we l l ,s e e well ,and feel we ll y our sense

—

organs a r e a ll worki n g properly ,because t hey

are well nouris hed Your ha n ds a n d fee t a 1 o
.

warm ,f or t here i s plenty of blood going t o them

and nouris hi ng them Yo u r head i s clear and
.

yo u r memory i s go od,bec a us e yo ur brain i s n ow

well no ur is hed .

“
Your organs of elim i nat ion are worki ng
beautif u l ly ,a n d are thr o wi ng ou t of t he system
all the waste ma tt er and imp u rit ies that nat u re
wishes t o di scard Yo u r bowels a r e working
.

fi nely ; y ou have a na t u ral movement of the

bowels once a day,at the t i me you s e t for i t
a n d y ou always keep yo u r engagement wi t h your
bowels ,for y ou have pro mi sed t o ac t well by
them if they act well by you ,and you are both
keeping your contract Your reproduc t ive
.

organs are in perfect con di t ion ,and you have

no trouble whatever from t hem Your m e n s t r u .

ation i s regular and normal ,and free from pain ,

f or you have established a new 01 de 1 of things
in yo u r general care of the body ,and all of the
various parts and organs are respon di ng prop
erly there t o .

“
Y ou are bright ,cheerful and happy all t he
ti me ,all the day ,and everywhere You take an .

interest in life ,and see every thing as a n e w and

happy world You take a n in t erest in 11 hat is
.

going on about you ,and are thus keeping yo u n g

and active You feel the S pirit of Youth bub
.

bli ng in you,and you are enj oying Life anew .

H ere y ou Should give specifi c su ggestions t o

1 67
 ME NTAL T HE RAPE U TI CS

the vari ous organs of the body above referred

to ,or which may be reported a s in trouble ; you
speak t o them j ust a s i f they were separate en t i
ties ,accordi ng to the principles explain ed t o y ou
in precedi ng lessons of thi s course I t makes n o .

di ff erence t hat the patient is distant i n space

from you the principle is precisely the same as
—

I have explained to you I n some cases you will

.

“
get better results from the general treatment
as above described ; in others ,you will get much
be t ter results from the organ mind or cell m ind
- -

treatment ; therefore ,it is always better t o try

both in order to gain the bene fi t of both methods .

You should terminate the treatment with b i d

ding the patient good bye ,and giving her a
-

strong,hopeful suggestion or stat ement that

She wi ll fi n d herself feeling better each hour ,
and that s he will feel like another woman by
the time of the next treatment R em emb er , t ha t
.

al l y ou r s t a t e m e n t s an d s ugges t i on s rea ch t he
Corp or ea l Mi n d of t he p a t i ent ; an d t he or ga n
m i n ds an d cell m i n ds a s well Like a little child
- .

listenin g quietly in a room ,the Corporeal Min d

of the patient is eagerly listening to eve r y wo r d
of your treatment — t herefore be sure to get in
the right kind of suggest i ons and statements ,
that they m a y take form in physical states a n d
conditions .

168
 LE SSON XXI

TH E PHYSI OLOGY OF ME NTAL HE ALI N G

In the earlier lessons of this course , I

explained t o you that all Mental H ealin g is
really the e ffect of Mi nd over mi nds of the
—

higher Min d over the minds i n the or gans ,parts ,

and cells of the body When this fact and pri n
.

ci pl e i s once grasped by the s tudent ,he begins to

realize that the work of healing must be di rected
t o the ce ll minds and organ minds , either
- -

dir ectly or else through the C orporeal Mind

which is but the s u m total of these subordin ate
-

ce l l m i nds and organ min ds

- -
.An d he likewise
realizes that the most e ffective mental treat
ment must be along the lines of inducing normal
activities in the organs and cells While a gen
.

eral appeal and course of energizing s u gge s

tions di rected t o the C orporeal Mind generally
a cts i n the direction of cure ,and often i s all
that i s needed ; nevertheless scien tifi c practice
should include Specifi c and special direction of
the treatment to the part icular organ ,part ,or
cells whi c h are manifesting imperfectly .

The student also grasps the idea that hi s

treatment must not be along negative l ines that
—

it must n ot consist of thoughts and words about

the diseased conditions ; but rather it should
be expressly and invariably along positive and
constructive lines ; that is ,it must consis t of
thought s and words about the normal ,natural ,
healthy condition of the organ or part a ff ected .

16 9
 ME NTAL T HE RAPE U TI CS

The thought of the practitioner ,and hi s every

word and suggestion ,must be along the li n es
of t he con di t i on he wi s hes t o p r odu ce i n t he
p a t i ent H e mus t a l wa ys s e e a n d t hi nk of t he
.

des i r e d con di t i on a s a l r e a dy e xi s t i ng
.

But ( and here we come to a most import a nt

q uestion ) how i s the practi t ioner t o pict u re and
h e a t for the normal ,natural ,healthy con di tion
un l es s he kn ows j u s t wha t t hes e hea lt hy, n or
ma l ,n a t ur a l con di t i on s r ea lly a r e % The an swer
is obvious there is no need of further argu
—
“
m e n t about it The answer is s i mply H e can
.

n ot % This being s o, I have deemed it advisable

to i n clude in these lessons ,j ust as I do in my
p e r s on al class lessons ,a simple ,plain ,non tech -

n i ca l , clear presentation of the basic and funda

me n tal facts of physiology the facts of the
—

n a t u ral and normal processes of the physical

o r ga n s of a man or woman in the state of heal t h .

Tho s e 11 ho ha 1 e an acqua i ntance with this s u b

j e c t a l ready will be none the worse for refresh
i n g t heir memo r y ; and those who have n ot an
a c q u a i n tan c e t herewith will be greatly bene
fi t e d by a careful study of the fo l lowing less ons
i n which these things are pointed ou t .

The student will notice ,

, however,that i n such
i n s t r u ctio n I shall not dwell upon the diseased
c o n diti on s of the parts or organs ,excepting
p e r h a p s h e re and t here a pass i ng reference
t he r e t o M plan is entirely di fferent from that
.

o l t he t e a c er of drug healin g ,who keeps the

'
-

m i n ds a n d thoughts of hi s students always on

the di s eased condition and never on the healthy
1 70
 PHYSI OLOGY OF ME NTAL HE ALI N G

c on di tion I s it any wonder that so ma n y physi

.

e iau s grow morbid on the subj ec t of di sea s e

particularly the subj ect of the special cl a ss of
diseases u pon which they speci a lize % I s it any
11 onder that they are al ways looki ng f o1 s m
y p
toms of their favo ri t e disease ,and a l 11 ays i m a g
i ning that they fi n d i t % I n view of what we
know of the e ff ect of ment al i ma g es upon t he
physical states and conditions ,it i s n o 11 on de r
that s o ma ny of these disease speciali s t s fi nally
fall victims t o their o11 n favori t e di seases i t
—

would in deed be wonderful if such were not the

case ,in vi ew of the known facts of p s ycholo gi ca l
in fluence over the organ minds a n d cell m i n ds
- .

An d,alas %it is also to be f e a 1 e d that in m a ny

cases the mental attitudes and mental im a ge s
of these specialists actually induce co r r e s pond
ing di seased condi tio n s in the bodi e s of t he
pa tients under their care A simple und e r s tand
.

ing of the laws of mental sugges t ion Should be

suffi cient t o Show the reasonablene s s of t his
suspicion .

So I have pursued an entirely oppo s ite policy

in these lessons I n stead of following the
.

method of the orthodox teachers of medicine

“
who ,as an aut hority has well s aid , sti ck to the
old ma t erialistic ideas and cult ivat e the thoughts
E
D

engendered by close association wi th ca da 1 e 1 s ,

morbid specimens , bacterial cult ur e s micro
scopic slides ,and pathology i n general , I have
adop t ed the plan of pointing ou t t o my s t ude n t s
the H ealthy ,N atural ,N ormal H uman B ody ;
bidding them a lwa ys t o hol d t hi s i n t hei r mi n ds
1 71
 MENTAL THE RAPE U TI CS

as a p a t t ern t o be used i n buil di ng up a l ike con

di tion in the bo di es of their patients This may .

seem like a sma ll thing t o those who do n ot look

beneath the s urfa ce of things but t o those who
—

look beneath the superfi cial a ppearance of thi ngs

the fact is a most signi fi c a nt on e ,and on e of the
greatest importance in the practice of Mental
H e a l ing
.

I have found that very many students at fi rs t

have failed to recogn i ze the great i mportanc e
o f the no r mal processes of that which we call
“ ”
N ature , as manifested i n the h uman body .

Many have i n a general way thought of N at u re

as merely a totality of mechanical forces ,which
operated by action and reaction ,relation and
i n terre l ation ,and general co ordination ,w hi ch
-
”
have caused the happening of the processes
of the physical body This i s a grave e r ror of
.

judgment ,and important results may depend

upon its correction I f it were merely a ques
.

t ion of philosophy or general belief,I should

not stop to speak of it here But inasmuch a s
.

t he success of the practitioner of Ment a l

Therapeu t ics depends materially upon hi s con
c e pt i on of the ac t ivities underlyin g the processes

of N ature ,I deem it of the highest importance

t hat students of the subj ect be correctly
informed regardi ng this ques t ion .

N a t ure is not a tot a lity of blind ,lifeless forces .

On the contrary ,all Na t ur e i s a l i ve ,and i s per

meated with Mind in every par t There i s noth
.

i n g l ifeless or m indless in all of N ature Without .

attemptin g to explain the alm os t i n conceiva ble

1 72
 PHYSI OLOGY OF ME NTAL HE ALI N G

mystery of Nature s Operations ,I wish to be

’

understood as positively asserting that the proc

esses manifes t ed in the physic a l body of every
hu man being in a state of heal th Show the pres
ence of ins t i n ct i ve mi n d worki ngt owa r d t he en d
of efi ci en t wor k . More than this ,the h u man
body as it exists today is the result of long ages
of evolution, of e ff orts on the part of this
instinctive min d t o manifest better and still be t
ter res u lt s D isease results from some i n t e r f e r
.

ence with Nature s laws I f N ature in the body

’
.

can have her own way ,unhindered by external

forces ,s he will build u p a n d maintain a pe r fec t ly
healthy physical system for her aim and ideal
—

al ways i s P erfect H ealth .

On e thin g that the prac t itioner may always

coun t upo n i n his treatments ,a n d that is tha t
N ature is always on hi s side in his healing work .

N ature ha s a s her twofold purpose ( a ) t he pr e s

e r va t i on and well being of the life of the indi
-

vi dual ,and ( b ) the reproduction a n d survival

of the species She is constantly working toward
.

those ends W hen she is thwarted in her ends

.

s he makes the best of i t , and does the best She

can in view of the imperfect material wit h whi ch
She has t o work and the obstacles interfering
with her full expression and manifesta t io n .

Away down i n the depths of the Corporeal Mind

will be fou nd this primit ive a n d elementary urge
of Natu re toward P erfect H ealth .

I t m a y be urged that N ature kills a man as

well as bringing hi m i nto life This is true in
.

a way , but it remain s true that while man i s in

1 73
t he lim i ts of atural y ea rs of li fe ,N atur e i s
hi s n
always strivin g to keep hi m i n hea l th a n d
.

s trengt h .S he in t e nds that every m a n shall li ve

ou t his no r m a l pe riod of t ime , a n d s he in t ends
t ha t he sha ll live i t in he a lth a n d s t rength I f
.

N a t ure s laws we re n ot i nte r fered wi t h ,di s

’
.

e a se a n d short fi f e w ould b e but as a ccidents

- .

So truly does N ature work always m t he in t er

e sts of health and life , tha t even man conditions
“
call ed di s ease a r e but N ature s remedi al y ’

—
p r ocesses processes desi gned t o ca s t from the
s y stem that whi ch i s harm ful t o i t . N early a ll
a cute di s ease i s re a l ly a remedi al p r o cess , when
r i gh t ly un de rs t ood But when N a t ure i s un abl e
.

t o accompli sh her work ,she a pparently resigns

herself t o the t a sk of makin g t he best of it ,a n d
 MENTAL T HERAPE U TI CS

the l i mits of his natural years of life ,N ature i s

always striving to keep hi m in health and
strength She intends that every man shall live
.

ou t his norm al period of time , and s he intends

that he shall live it in health and strength I f .

N ature s laws were not inte r fered wi t h ,di s

’

ease and short lif e would be but as accidents

-
.

So truly does N ature work always in the inter

ests of health and l ife ,that even many con di tions
“
called disease are but N ature s remedi a l ’

processes processes designed to cast from the

—

system that which is harmful to it Nearly a l l .

a cute disease is really a remedial process , when

ri ghtly understood But when N ature is unable
.

to accomplish her work ,She apparently resigns

herself to the task of making the best of it ,and
s truggles along 1 11 a halting and limping fashion
—thi s allo ws the diseased condition to become
”
chronic I n our treatments we really help
.

N ature by imparting energy and activity t o the

cell mi nds and organ minds ,and thus throwin g
- -

off the ab n orm a l conditions All he a l i ng cons i s t s

.

i n res t or i ng Na t ur e s n orm a l ru l e an d op era

’

t i ons .

Al l this leads up to what I shall have t o s a y

t o you in the succeeding lessons of this course ,
i n which I shall Show you N ature in normal
action her processes performed in the n a tural ,
—

normal way which m a in t ain physical health and

well being An y deviat ion from this normal
- .

st andard of operations means ill health or dis

-

ease The closer you study the conditions main

.

t a i n e d by N ature when the body i s in a state of

1 74
 PHYSI OLOGY OF ME NTAL HE ALI N G

P e r fect H ealth ,the

better able will you be t o
direct your thou ght ,suggestions ,and o ther sug
gestions ,and other treatment to the best e ff ect .

Gen er a l D i r ect i ons : I wish here to give you

certain general direc t ions regarding the study
of the following lessons , and the application Of
the principles therein contained :
( )
1 Take up each lesson in turn , and care
fully study the principles Of N ature s Operations
’

as manifested in the particular department

treated upon in the lesson D O not leave the les
.

s on u ntil you have forme d a clear ,general idea

of the operations of N ature in that particular
Omoe and function ,or class Of the same GO back .

to the subj ect over and over again until you have
mastered it comple t ely I t may help you in
.

your study if you will write down a short synop

s i s Of each lesson , without reference to the book
duri ng the writing use your own words and
—

ways of stating the principle Then compare

.

what you have written with the lesson it self,

and note your mistakes and omissions Stick .

t o it until you have a very clear idea of the

subj ect in your mind ; s o clear tha t you may
e asily describe it to a friend in conversation .

( )
2 When you have gained a clear idea Of the
s ubj ect Of the lesson , in fac t even while you are
gainin g it ,you should practice Vi s ua li zing or
forming a clear mental picture in your imagina
tion of the process you have been studying Tr y .

t o picture it just as you would if you were

a ctually v i ewi n g the process in a human bod y,

1 75
 ME NTAL T HE RAP E U TI CS

if this were possible I want you t o be a ble to

.

pict ure these leadi n g physiological processes

just as clearly as y ou would picture the work
ings of a piece of fam i liar ma chinery the —

running of a train ,a typewriter,or a sewing

machi ne ,for instance .

( )
3 When you come t o actual pra ctice ,I want
you to reproduce the idea and mental picture of
this normal ,natural ,functioning Of t he organs
in question ,s o that you may actually picture t he
corresponding organs of the patient as a cting in
the same way By doing this you actua l ly set
.

u p processes in the body Of the patient w hi ch

will bring about just thi s kind Of a ctivity and
normal functioning D O you get the po i nt % By
.

creating the correct mental patter n i n your

mind ,and then reproduc i ng it i n connectio n with
your thought Of the patient s b ody,you tend t o
’

make the ideal pattern take on Obj e ctive form

and activity in the patient s system D O y ou
’
.

s e e now why I dwell so s t rongly upon t he n e ce s

s i t y Of your creatin g the ri ght kind of mental
pattern % TO this end the instruction give n i n
the followin g lessons ha s been written .

176
 LE SS ON XXI I

THE NU TR I TI VE PROCE SSE S

F ir st of all of the i mportant processes of

N ature in her work of b ui lding u p, - repairing and
sustainin g the h u man body ,are the processes
of N utriti on The processes of Nut rition are
.

those b y which the normal condition of life and

growth of t he li vi ng organism is maintained ,and
which operate in the direction Of the living tis
sues Of the body t a ki ng up from t he b l ood the
nourishin g materials or substances required for
their repair and the per formance Of their healthy
functions .

You will n ote the following two facts : ( 1 )

That the tissues take up nourishing material or
substance i n order that they may keep in repair
and perform their healthy functions t his
1 —

n our i s hm ent i s food, a n d t he p r odu ct s of food ;

and ( 2 ) that t hi s n our i s hm ent i s t a ken u p fr om
t he b l ood . We have here two great facts Of
physical life ,viz ( a ) That the tissues re q uire
and t ake up F OOD ; and ( b ) that this food is
Obtained from the B LOOD ,and the blood only .

“ ”
( By the tissues physiologists mean the ma
t er i a l and substan ce of t he organs ,muscles ,e t c , .

composing the physical body ) Now then ,the

.

next thing t o ascertain ( 1 ) how t hi s n ouri s hm ent

g et s i n t o t he b l ood ; and ( )
2 how it is extracted
and taken up from the blood by the tissues .

Le t u s begin at the beginning . The food Of

the human bein g,composed Of ani mal or ve ge
1 77
 ME NTAL T HE RAPE UTI CS

table substance ,i s taken i nto the mouth ,wher e

it is broken up in to bits s o a s to be more easily
digested a l it tle later on But i n the mouth we
.

also fi n d the fi rst steps or processes Of di gestion

performed There are located i n the mouth s i x
.

important glands known as the s a l i va r y gl a n ds ;

four Of these are located under the tongue and
j aw ,and two in the cheeks in front Of the ears .

These glands manufacture and give forth

through numerous ducts a fluid substance ca l led
“ ” “
saliva , more commonly known as Spittle .

Mixing with the food,while the latter is being

chewed ,the saliva performs the chem ical proces s
of converting the starchy portion of the foo d
.

into sugar or glucose ,and thus pe r forming the

fi rst stage of i t s assimilation into the sys t em .

This chemical process is continued as the food

passes down the gullet ,but practicall y ceases
when the stomach is re a ched ( I n cases Of i n
.

di gestion ,i t is well to gi ve some little attention

to the cells composing these glands ,in your
general treatment ,for it Often happens that they
are more or less inactive ) .

The stomach is the great chemical laboratory

Of the body , a n d in it are performed many i m
portant chemical processes in the direction Of
convertin g the food mass in to the ultimate form
-

O f n ou ri shment in which i t is taken u p by the

blood I n the stomach is manufactured , by
.

coun tless minut e glands ,that stron g di gestive

“ ”
fluid known as t he gastric juice .This juice
i s a very powerful chemical substance which
acts a s a solvent upon the n itrogenous portions
1 78
 TH E NU TR I TI VE P R OCE SSE S

of the food ,and also upon the sugar O1 glucose 1

into which the starches of the food ha ve been

converted by the saliva On e Of i t s mo s t a c t ive
.

ingredients is that known as peps in ,which is a

powerful diges tive agent A bout one gallon of
.

gas tric juice is manufac t ured by the hea l thy

stomach each twenty four hours I t is mixed
- .

up wi th t he food very t horoughly by a peculiar

churnin gmot ion of t he stomach which t osses and
kneads t he food mass so tha t t he gas t ric j uice
-

is well mixed up with every particle of i t ,a n d

thus able to perform i t s chemi cal processes .

I f thi s work of i i i ge s t i on in the s t omach is not

p erformed for any reason as
, , for i n s t ance ,t he
stomach having been we a k e ned by abuse and
over work ,or by t he placing in t o it of t oo much
indigestible stu ff ,then f erm en t a t i on is apt t o
resul t , and the food mass , in st e a d of being
-

di gested properly ,is converted i n to a putrefy

ing, rotting , yeasty ma ss , which ins t ead of
nourishing the blood prac t ically poisons i t I n .

such cases we have dyspepsia and o t h e r diseases

resulting from imperfec t digest ion a n d assimila
tion I n such cases t he s t omach and it s glands
.

sho ul d be specifi cally trea t ed by t he prac t it ioner ,

and encouraged t o perform their work properly .

The s t omach ,as I have s a id elsewhere in t hese

lessons ,is a very obedien t orga n some thing —

like a big ,gentle ,intelligent N ewfoun dland dog

so far as its mentality is concerned By proper .

t reatment i t may be encouraged t o resume n or

mal and natural func tioning ; but the pa t ien t
s ho ul d be told t o treat it properly in return . In
1 79
 ME NTAL TH E R APE U TI CS

treating the stomach ,addr ess yourse l f not only

to it in it self,but also t o t he glands m a n uf a ct u r
ing the gastric juice i t is astonishi n g how these
—

glands will respond to an earnest a ppeal ,and

will manufacture a suffi cient amount of gastric
j ui ce wi th a suffi cient amo un t of pepsin in i t to
do t he work properly Trea tm ent of this ki nd
.

just before a meal will Oft en give the patient a

keen appe tite ,and will result in perfec t digestion
of tha t meal The experiment is most interest
.

ing and ins t ructive .

A ft er t he food mass has been treated by a n d

-

in the stomach as I have j ust described ,it is

passed on and out of the s t omach on the right
hand side ,and enters in t o wha t is known as the
Small I ntes t ine . The Small I ntestine is a long
t ube ,en t ra il or gut ,which is from twenty to
thirt y fee t in l e n gth ,but which is so ingeniously
coiled upon itself as t o occupy but a compara
t i v e l y small space in the body this intestine
—

must no t be confused with the Colon or large

in t es tine which carries away the refuse 01 1

garbage of the system t o be discharged from t he

body The Small I ntestine is an important part
.

of t he main organs of nutrition I t s surface is

.

lined wi t h a velvety substance which brushes

a gain s t t he food ma ss which passes along it ,and
-

acts to absorb the fluid food subs t ance whe n

-

properly digested .

When the food mass enters the Small I ntes

-

tine i t is me t wit h a stron g ,peculiar fluid called

Bile ,which becomes thoroughly mixed up with
it and work ed int o it The Bile i s manuf a ctured
.

1 80
 TH E NU TR I TI VE P R OCE SSE S

by the Liver to the extent of about two quarts

a day,and is stored up for future use in what
is called the Gall -B l a
dde r The 1 e i s also poured
.

i nto the food in this s t age another st rong fluid ,

called t he P ancreatic Juice ,whic h is m a n u f a c
t u r e d to the extent of about one and one ha l f -
“
pin t s daily by the P ancreas ,or sweetbread ,
an organ situated just behind the s t omach The .

work of t he Bile and the P ancreatic Juice is to

act upon the fatty portions of the food mass s o -

as to render i t capable of being absorbed i n t o

the blood ; the Bile also ac t s t o preven t de com
position and putrefact ion of t he food as it passes
thr ough the in t es t ine ,and also to neut ralize the
gas t ric juice which has already perfor med its
work and is no lon ger n eeded by the system .

I n cases of di ges t ive tro u ble ,the practitioner

sho ul d alw a ys t rea t t he Small I n t estine ,the
P ancreas ,and t he Liver . The fi rst two organs
a r e, like the stomach ,q uite receptive and r e s pon
sive t o mental t reatment i h fact , they are
—

rat her more gentle than even that organ ,and

rather resemble the int elligen t well bred hunt-

ing dog in their m e n tal charact e r The Liver ,

- .

on the contrary ,a s I have said before ,is stub

“
born ,rather s t upid ,and heavy in its men t ality
’

— i t is like the pig or the mule and mus t be

,
treated vi gorously ,fi rmly ,and posi t ively ,and
emphatic a lly told tha t i t mus t get t o work
properly and e ffi ciently .

The food mass in the Sm a l l I n t es t ine is a soft ,

-

semi liquid subs t ance produc e d by the process

-

of digestion of the food origin ally t aken into the

1 81
 ME NTAL T HERAPE U TI CS
mouth I t reaches the Smal l I ntesti ne from the
.

s t omach in the form Of a pas ty substan ce called

C hyme . This Chyme i s transformed by the
intes t inal j uices and Bile into three derivative
s ubs t ances , namely : ( 1 ) P eptone ,derived from
t he diges t ion Of albuminous substan ces ; ( 2 )
C hyl c,derived from the emulsion of the fatty
s ubs t ances ; and ( 3 ) Glucose ,derived from the

t r ansfo r ma tion of the starchy substances I t

.

s hould be noted , however ,that the fluids taken

in t o the stomach as drink ,a s well as the fluids
libera t ed from the solids in the process of diges
t ion in the stomach ,do not reach the Small
I n t estine at all instead ,they are rapidly taken
—

up by the absorbent apparatus of the stomach

a n d carried in t o t he blood ,and thence t o t he
kidneys and b l adder, and fi nally voided from the
sys t em in the urin e Some o f the fluids ,of
.

course ,are retain ed in the body to perform

necessary work therein .

The work of absorption of the diges t ed food

substances ,or nourishment ,from the Smal l I n
t e s t ine into the blood i s performed by the
”
millions of plush like hairs of the velvety
-

inner surface of the Small I ntestine ,which

maintain a c onst a nt wavin g motion t hrou gh the
semi liquid d i ges t ed food con t ained therein ,and
-

“ ”
lick up and abs orb the nouri shment now fi tted
for the system I n this way the P eptone a n d
.

Glucose are carr i ed in t o the blood to the Liver,

and then pa s s ed through the heart a s you shall
le a rn in a l a ter lesson The Chyle i s absorbed
.

“
by the l ymphati c vessels called the la cteals ,
1 82
 TH E NU TR I T I VE P R OC E SSE S

an d thence to the thoracic duct ,and then grad

u a ll y conveyed to the blood .

I n a subsequent lesson I shall ta ke up the

s tory of the assimilation Of the food from this
poi nt ,and show you the processes whereby the
blood carries this nourishment to all part s of
the body ,nourishing cells and tissue ,organs and
part s ,buil ding u p and repairing each To many
- .

i t seems a strange ide a that t he blood is the

carrier and distributor of this nouri shm ent de
rived from the food b u t it i s a scientifi c fact
—

nevertheless .

I n another subsequent lesson I shall take up

the subj ect of the elimination of the was t e
products which remain aft er the nourishmen t
is extracted from t he food by the processes of
digestion .

Before passing on ,however ,I wish to impress

upon the mi nds of students and practitioners
the fact that in most cases of chro n ic ail m en t s
the original cause of the trouble is to be found
in these main Organs Of nutritio n I f the body
.

i s n ot su ffi ciently nou ri shed ,or if i t be f urnished

with improper material ,i t is bound to r e bel and
manifest in the form Of abnorm al function or
disease N O matter what m a y be t he super
.

fi ci a l symp t oms ,i t will a lw a y s be well t o t ake

these organs i n t o account ,and to give them the
proper trea tment I n fa ct , m an y of t he best
.

prac t itioners ,before pro ce e din g t o more loc a l

treatmen t ,give a strong ,thorou gh ,prelim i n a ry
treatment bo th to the m a in or ga n s of n u triti on
and the organs of elimina t ion I f the body is
.

1 83
 ME NTAL TH E R APE U TI CS

properly nourished ,and its waste products a r e

properly carried Ofi ,the liab ili ty of di sease i s
ma t erially lessened ,and the work of cure ren
dered materially easier and simpler .

The body has Often been com pared t o a pie ce

Of intricate machinery , which i s run by the ste a m
Of the vital force .This s t ea m i s generated by
the fi res of the furnace of the organs of nutri
tion ; and these fi res must be kep t well suppli ed
with the nourishment of the proper kind of food ,
and fanned by the draft of perfect fun cti oni n g .

Also ,the ashes and clinkers must not be allowed

to accumulate the work of the organs of e li m
—

i n a t i on must be kept normal ,and up t o the

mark .

H ence ,student and practitioners ,keep these

two main poin t s a l 11 ays before you a t t en d wel l
—

t o t he or ga ns of n u t r i t i on ,a n d t hos e of el i mi n a
t i on ,a n d n i n e t en t hs O f your w or k i s a e com

p l i s he.d F o r , from imperfect di gestion a n d

assimilation ,a n d impe r fe ct elimination ,arise a
veritable swa rm of diseases ,symptom s , a n d
physical troubles .

1 84
 LE SSON XXI I I
TH E E LI MI NATI V E P R OCE S SE S

S econd in im portance only t o t he nu tritive

pro cesses of the body are its elimina t ive proc
esses An d some would deny even this relega
.

t ion of the lat ter to second place ,for they

plausibly maint ain tha t no ma tt er how well the
body m a y be nourished it will not remain in a
state of health if it is unable to elimina t e
properly its waste produc t s , its debris , it s
garbage .

“
The word eli minate means to pu t out ,to
”
expel ,to discharge . The body elimina t es i t s
waste mat t er and products in four ways ,v i z 1

( )
1 Through the brea t h ; ( )
2 t hrough the skin ,
in the perspiration ,( 3 ) throu gh the kidneys ,in
the urine ; and ( 4 ) through the bowels ,in the
fa ces or ex crement .

I n a later lesson I shall describe t he process

of elim i nation through the brea th ,i n which the
was t e products of the system ,carried in the
blood t o t he lungs ,are there consumed by t he
oxygen in the air bre athed into t he lungs ,and
expelled in the form Of carbonic acid gas .

E lim ina t ion through the skin , by means of the

perspiration ,is a far more important process
than 1 s reali zed by the average person There.

are over three million sweat gl a nds in the

human body ,the combined le n gth of t he secre t
ing tubes bein g about two or three miles The .

normal adul t human bei ng excretes about one

1 85
 M E NTAL TH E RAP E U TI CS

a nd one half p i nt t o t wo pints of perspira tion

-

e very t wen t y four hours ,that amount of cour se

-

bei ng grea t ly exceeded by men doing manual

work in ho t places ,such as roll ing mills ,engine
rooms ,e t c Sweat or perspiration i s seen by
.

chemic a l analysis to be loaded with the refuse

matter of the system ,it being in fact but li t tle
di ff erent from the urine in its chemical com
posit ion The excre t ory glands of the ski n are
.

really suppl emen t ary organs to the kidneys ,and

i n case of kidn e y troubles they perform a great
deal of the work t ha t ordin arily falls t o the l ot
of the kidneys .

The kidneys are t wo organs loc a ted in the

loins ,behind the in testin es ,one on each side of
the spinal column They are shaped like a bean ,
.

a n d are a bout four inc hes lo n g , t wo inches wide ,

a n d one in ch thick . Their O ffi ce is to purify the
blood by extracting from it a poisonous s u b
stance call e d urea , and cert ain o t her w a st e
products of the sys t em ,which would cause blood
p oiso n i n g if n ot elimi n ated from the syste m .

The wa t e r y fluid secre t e d by the kidn e ys is cal l ed

u ri n e ,a n d is carried from the kidneys t o the
b la dder ,in whi ch org a n it is stored up t o be
a ft e r wards voided from the body in the proce s s
of u r i nation .

“
The b o wels is a t e rm commonl y empl oyed
to i n di ca t e t he La rge I nt e stine ,or Colon ,in to
whi ch t he u n di ge s t e d food ,a n d dis car ded m a
t e r i a l of foo d, i s pa s sed from t he Sm a l l I n tes ti n e ;
a n d t hr ou gh whi ch it p a sses i n t he proc e s s of
e limination or excretion which ends i n i ts
1 86
 TH E E LI MI NA TI VE P R OCE SSE S

di scharge from the body in the act of evacuation ,

“ ” “ ”
stool , or movement . The Colon ( large
“
intestine ,or large bowel is a large tubular
gut or intestine nearly fi ve feet in length ,which
passes up from the lower righ t hand si de Of t he
-

abdomen ,then across the abdomen t o the upper

left hand side ,then down along t he l eft hand
- -

side t o i t s lower portion ; at the last ment i oned

point it makes a twis t or curve ,and then gro ws
smaller,and fi nally ends in t he rec t um or e xi t
from the system ,its termina t ion being the a n u s
or poste r ior openin g t hrough which t he e xcr e
“
ment i s expelled in the movemen t or s t ool .

The Small I n t es t ine empties its discarded

matt er in t o the Colon by a curious lit t le trap
door arrangemen t on the lo wer right hand side
-

of the abdomen the Vermiform A ppendix being

—

situated j ust below this entrance The was t e

.

matt er or faeces then rises slowly up the right

hand side of the Colon ; t hen along its horizontal
length ,which ex t ends across the abdomen ; the n
down the left hand Side of the Colon ,into the
-

curv e or twist called the Sigmoid F lexure ,and

then in t o the rectum ,and fi nally ou t throu gh
the anus I t s movement along the length of t he
.

C olon is caused by certain muscular moveme n t s

provided for tha t purpose .

The C olon is t he gr e a t s ewe r of t he s ys t e m ,

which N ature has provided for the carrying Off
of the waste products resulting from undi gested
or undiges t ible portions of food ,and o ther w a s te
produc t s of the system N a t ure in t ended th a t
.

thi s sewerage should be removed speedily ,and

1 87
 ME NTAL TH E RAPEU TI CS

in the case of animals and youn g chi ldre n i t i s

s o removed . But the a rtifi cial habits and cu s
toms of a dult human beings ha s sa dl y inte r fe red
with thi s natural and normal custom ,a n d bad
result s have ensued f or the ra ce But N at u re
.

accommodates herse l f t o circumstan ces ,as we

have seen else where i n the lessons ; and i f man
would only ca rry out a settled lan of preparing
for a movement of the bowe s each day ,and
adhering t o his resolve to give N ature a cha nce
to do this work for hi m ,he wo ul d manage t o get
along wi t h pra c t ically no trouble on this s core .

But he will not even do t hi s H e refuses t o heed

.

N ature s calls ,until at last N ature ( and by

’

N at u re here is meant the Bowel Mind ) be comes

-

discouraged a n d does a s little a s s he can help

and the result is chronic c onstipation wi th all
Of i t s a t t e ndant evils
.

Le t me point out t o y ou the res ul ts of thi s

unnatural state of a fi a i r s I n the fi r st place the
.

inner walls of the Colon become incrusted with

impacted f ae cal matter,some of it remain ing
there for many days ,its fluids becomin g a h
sorbed unt il the rema i ning mass becomes qui te
hard and tigh t ly packed t oge t her A small h ole
.

is worked through this hardened mass ,thr ough

which a sma ll quantit y of excrement is passed .

The Colon so imp a ct e d and in crus t ed becomes a

source of d a ng e r to t he general sys t em i t i s
—

like a choked up sewer flo wing through a city .

The fluid portion is absorbed into t he blood

through the wa lls of the intestine ,and thus tends
to poison the blood and all the parts of the b ody .

1 88
 TH E E LI MI NA TI VE PR OCE SSE S

This state of a fl a i r s i s manifested by fo u l breath ,

strong perspiration ,and stron g urine these —

resulting from N a t ure s e ff orts t o ge t rid of the

’

fo ul m a t ter by some other rout e D yspepsi a ,

.

b i l l i ou s n e s s , li ver troubles , kidne y troubles ,

rhe u matism,nervousness and many other ail
ments arise from t his s t ate of a ffairs Many .

cases of female trouble are caused by the pres

sure Of the impacted Colon upon the genera t ive
organs ,and by the poisoning of the latter by
reason of their nearness t o the foul sewer of
the Colon .

The practitioner will discover that when he

removes the causes of cons t ipation ,and thus
takes away the origi n al cause of the troubles
above alluded t o ,the symp t oms of many Of the s e
diseases wil l disappear I n fac t ,many of the
.

best practitioners now proceed t o fi rs t treat all

their patients for i mperfect elimina t ion ,a n d by
s o do i ng they re m ove the original causes of t he
particular di seases for which they have sough t
t reatment The pa tient m a y easily determine
.

whe ther or not his or her Colon is in this a b u or

mal condition by an examin ation of the color of
the stool or movemen t The was t e ma tt er O1
.
1

faeces when fi rst passed in t o the Colon from t he

small in t estine is of a pasty consis t en cy ,and a
light color ; if the bowels operate na t urally the
fae ces is discharged from the rec t um in a soft
state and of a light y e llow color The lo n g e r i t
.

remains in the C olon the darker it gets in co l or ,

and the harder in consistency F ae ces in a Colon
.

which i s very m uch incrus t ed Often appears a s a

189
 ME NTAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

hard lump of a dark green c olor Thes e fa cts

.

make t he diagnosis easy .

The prac ti t ioner will fi n d that the C ol on ,as

well as the % idneys ,are quite receptive and
amenable t o suggestion ,either given verbally or
mentally ,either in present treatment or distant
treatment The %i dneys may be instructed t o
.

work more freely,or else t o re frain from ex e cs

sive work as the case may be The norma l con
.

di t i on should al wa ys be the pattern held in mi nd ,

and upon which the treatment is modelled The .

Colon will respond qui t e readily to mental treat

ment having for its purpose the removal of
C onstipation . I t will be found that the Colon
actually seems t o be fully aware of the e xisting
state of a ffairs ,and is anxious to have normal
activity restored But it has been s o long
.

neglec t ed ,and its calls and requests so persis t

ently refused and denied ,that it has lost interest ,
courage and activity ,and has relapsed into a
sta te of apathy I t has acquired bad habits ,and
.

its cells and muscles have been weakened by

disuse .

I n treating for C ons t ipation ,there are t wo

things to be remembered ,as follows : ( 1 ) The
tr eatment of the Colon i t self,in the direction of
“ ”
b i ddin g it brace up and regain its normal
n a tural energy ; and a lso to at once s t art in to
a cqui re the habit of ma n ifesting on e m ovem ent
8 da y,regularly a n d invariably
. . I t must be
thoroughly dri lled and impressed with this idea ,
ove r and over again ,until y ou have awakened
i n i t its original activities ,and have set i nt o
1 90
 TH E E LI MI NA TI VE P R OCE SSE S

motion in it the vibrations whi ch will raise i t

up t o norm al fu nctioning An d ( 2 ) you must
.

impress upon your pa t ient ( by word or by let

ter ) the importance of thi s condition being
removed the common sense Of most pa tients
—

will gra s p the un derlying theory Of this matter

if i t is presented to them properly The patient
.

should be i ns t ructed to fi x in mind a certain hour

of the day when it will be most convenient to
go to the closet ,and then to keep in m i n d that
hour ,and to regard it as a pos i t i ve e nga gem e nt .

When the hour arrives t he patient should retire

to the closet ,in order to keep the engagement .

even though he have not the sligh t est call of

.

N a ture in that direction . This should be faith

fully carried out each day ,unt il the new habit
has been fi xed Thi s course will result in estab
.

l i s hi n g the normal and natural habit of bowel

evacuation Your trea tments should ,of course ,
.

be along the s ame lines that of normal ,n a tural ,

regul ar habits of bowel evacua tion I f you
-
.

Observe the above sta t ed general principles and

practice you should be able to cure c a ses Of
chronic cons tipation which have de fi ed the
e ff orts of the best dr ug prac ti t ioners.

I n addition to the a bove me t hods of trea t ing

constipation ,it will be well for you to encourage
the patient to drink more water each day The .

norma l amoun t of water called for b y t he system

is about two q uart s in t11 e n t y four h ours on an
-

average B u t 1 ery few person s ev e r keep up

.

to this standard some fall far b e low it N ow,

—
.

this i s not advisin g your patien t t o t ake water

1 91
 ME NTAL TH E RAPEU TI CS

as a r em e dy or me di cine ,any more than the u s e

Of food ca n be considered a remedy f or m a l n u t r i
tion The facts of the case are that unl ess the
.

system is given suffi cient fluids t o work wi th ,it

cannot carry on its processes naturally and
normally ,n o matter how e ffi cient its organs may
be Wa t er i s needed t o absorb and carry Off
.

the waste products Of the system in the b l ood,

in the breath ,in the perspiration ,in the u rine ,
and in the f a ces carried Off by the bowels The
.

mental healer sh ould not attempt t o ign ore the

plain facts of physiology i n hi s enthusiasm
regarding the P ower Of the Mind ; instead he
should adapt his treat m ent t o existing fa ct s Of
physiology H e should fall i n with N ature s
.
’

w a ys ,ins t ead of trying t o run contrary t o them .

For in the end N ature performs the c u res and —

Na ture i s the Corporeal Mi nd and i t s s u b

ordinate phases and forms .

1 92
 LE SSON XXI V

TH E B LOOD I S TH E LI F E

A lthough the discovery of the circ u lation of

the blood is of c omparatively recent date ,yet
from the earliest ti mes t houghtful men have
recognized the all i mportant o ffi ces of the blood
-

in the vi tal processes They have realized that

.

in some mysterious wa y physical life a n d health

i s closely b ound up with the blood supply and
the purity thereof This thought is expressed
.

in coun tless aphorisms ,of which the one q uoted

“
at the head Of this lesson ( The Blood is the
”
Life ) is a typical example .

I n view Of the facts of the case ,it is a mazing

that the average person has but the slightes t
concepti on Of the O ffi ces Of the b lood ,and the
processes o f the circulation of the blood The .

average man does n ot grasp the idea that the

blo od i s fi lled wi th the nourishment extracted
fr om the fo od ,and that the circulation of the
blood is largely concerned with the distribution
of this nouri shment I n stead ,he has a genera l
.

“ ”
hazy idea that the nourishment is soaked up
by the system from the stomach in some u n
known a n d mysterious way H e realizes that
.

hi s blood i s an important item o f hi s physic a l

well being ,and that if it is weak ,or if he loses
-

it ,he weakens or dies but this is about as far

—

as hi s th ought of the subj ect extends .

I have found it advisable to inform patient s

on this p oi n t ,b ecause when they gr asp the i de a
19 3
 ME NTAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

the i r minds seem t o t a ke u p t he s u ggestion m ore

clearly,and they uncons ci ously co operate with -

the e ff orts of the practiti oner t o bring about

i mproved nutrition Of all arts Of the b ody .

“
The suggestion of ri ch r e d l ood, flowi n t o a l l
a rt s of t he b ody, b u il di n g up a n d s t r e n gt e ni ng
p ”
it, r ep a i r i n g a n d cr e a t i n g i t an e w, i s on e of the
great e st value in many cases The pati ent .

easily,a n d in volun tarily ,makes a mental p i ctur e

of the desired condition , whi ch ,Of course ,i s then
Obj e ct i fi e d in his physical c onditi on ac cording
“
t o the rule that mental idea s take form i n phys
i cal conditions .

Le t us then careful ly study the processes of

the circul ation of the blood ,a n d the Offi ces and
functions of the blood ,that we may hold the
right kind Of mental pictures ourselves ,and thus
be able t o convey the same t o the mi nd of the
patient in ou r work of treatment .

The Blood is the red fluid which ci rc ul ates

through the arteries and ve i n s Of man and t he
higher animals I t is formed from the Chyle
.

and Lymph when these substances are subj e cted

t o the action Of the oxygen taken into the lun gs
by the process Of inspiration I t i s the general
.

mate ri al from which all of the secretions of t he

body a r e derived I n the bl ood curr ent i s al s o
.

carried away from the diff erent parts of the

body various noxious deb r is a n d waste produ ct s
of the syste m , wh i ch are thus carried t o the
cre m atory of the lungs ,there t o b e burn e d u p
b y the oxygen there i n ,and then eli mi nat e d fr om
the sys tem in the for m Of carb on i c a ci d ga s - .

1 94
 TH E B LOOD I S T HE LI FE

Blood ha s a salty taste ,and when fresh it ha s

a peculi a r Odor I t i s c omposed of ab out
.

s eventy ei ght per cent Of water ; about s i x 01

- 1

seven per cent Of albumen ; about thirteen per

cent of coloring matter ; and a small percentage
ea ch Of fi b ri n e ,crysta ll izable fat ,fluid fat ,and
vari ous mineral chemi cals such a s sodium and
potassium chlorides , carbonates , phosphates ,
and sulphates , and calcium and magnesium
carbonates ,phosphates of calcium magnesiu
and iron ,ferri c oxide ,e t c U nder m i cr os cOpi c
.
m
examination it i s seen a s a colorless liquid with
many m inute ro u n d red blood corpuscles floating
in it ,and a smaller number of larger discs called
“ ”
white corpuscles movin g in its substance .

The idea of the real nature of the blood may be

grasped from the foll owing statement Of a n
“
autho ri ty on physiology who says : The blood
i s t he i m m ediate pabulum ,or nourishment and
sustenance ,Of the t issues I t s composition i s
.

practically identical with that Of the tissues ; in

fact ,i t i s r e a l l y l i q ui d fles h
.

The vessels which conduct the blood outward

from the heart are known as A rt eries ; and those
which co n duct it back t o the heart are known as
Veins The blood in the arteries ( called
.

“ ”
arteri al blood ) is of a bright red color ,while
”
that in the veins ( call ed venous blood ) is of
a dark , dull ,blackish purpl e col or A rteri a l
-
.

blood is highly charged with oxygen ; venous

bl ood is deoxidized ,or lacking in oxyge n We .

shall see the reason for this difference in the

t wo kinds Of blood ,or rather the t wo c onditions
1 95
 ME NTAL TH E RA PE U TI CS

of the b l ood ( for it i s reall y all the same blood

appearing in two condi tions or states ) when we
n ow study the O ffi ce Of the bl ood , and the pro c
esses of the circulation there of .

The nouris hment of the fo od i s taken into the

blood by absorp tion from the organs Of digestion ,
a s we have seen i n the lesson on these processes .

I t reaches t he heart and is then sent forwa r d to

all parts of the body in the current of rich ,red
arterial blood which has just been freshly
oxygenated by the lungs ,as we shall s e e pres
ently I t is carried to all parts of the body ,where
.

it is eagerly taken up by the various cla ss and

tissues ,a n d b y them is converted into new cell
substance ,and tissue substa nce ,a n d built into
-

flesh ,muscle ,and tissue in general The body

.

needs this new material in order to replace that

which has broken down and been discarded ; and
al so to rep a ir the remainin g tissue substance
-
.

The b l ood re t urning t o the heart in the condi

t i on of dark ,dirty venous blood carries with it
the garbage and debris of the s y stem , the
particles of broken do wn cel l s and tissue ,and
other impurities Of the sys t em ,which ,if left
in the system ,would poison it This debris is
.

bound for t he crematory of the lungs ,where it is

burned up by the oxygen inspired in the act of
breathing ,and is then cast forth in the form Of
carbonic acid gas
- .

Before proceeding to a consideration Of the

process of the l un gs ,however ,let us stop for a
moment to view that wonderful instrument ,the
H eart . The H eart is a hollow ,pear shaped -

196
 TH E B LOOD I S THE LI FE

organ ,about the size of an avera ge clenched

fi st. I t i s si t ua t ed on the left hand side Of the
body,between t he t wo lungs I t i s divided into
.

f ou r compartments , of which the two upper are

call ed a ur i cl es ,and t he two low e r called ve n
t ri cl es . The auri cles have vei ns opening into
them ; the ventricles have arteries a r i s ing from
them .

The returning v e nous blood reaches the right

auricle ; when t he la t ter is fi lled t o its capacity
its wall s contract and expel the blood through
an Opening into the right ventricle ,this in turn
cont racts and forces the blood through the pul
monary artery into t he lungs ( there to undergo
a process which we shall consider presently ) .

After the processes of the lungs have been per

formed ,the blood is forced back in t o the left
auricl e of the heart ,which in turn forces it into
the left ventricle . The left ventricle then forces
the blood ou t in t o the arteries through the aort a ,
which la t ter is the largest artery of the system .

The arterial sys t em carries forward the blood

current ,fi rst through the main art eries a n d the n
through the divisions and subdivisions thereof,
en ding in the tiny hair l ike capillaries which
-

reach to every cell a n d cell group in the body .

The blood having given up such part of its

nourishment as is needed at t he moment ,and
havin g tra nsferred a t in y part icle of oxygen to
such points where it is needed ,then start s on
i t s return j ourney to the lungs ,this time t aking
the r oute of t he vei ns , for it i s now venous bl ood ,
dark ,dull ,la cking in oxygen ,and fi lled with
1 97
 ME NTAL THE RAPE U TI CS

i mpurities . I t starts ba ck fi rs t thr ough the

capi l laries of the ven ous system ,then passing
on t o the smaller veins ,and then t o the larger,
a n d then t o the main veins whi ch po u r it i nto
the right au ricle ( a s previously stated ) ,from
whi ch it i s passed via the right ventricle and the
pul m onary artery into the lungs ,the r e t o be
p u rifi ed a n d oxygenated .

TO many it seems strange t o include the lungs

when considering the subj ec t Of the cir culation
of the blood ; but in a moment we shall s e e that
the sole Offi ces of the lungs are the performance
Of the work Of cleansing and oxygenating the
blood without this there would be n o need Of
—

lungs at all Yet s o ignorant i s the general per

.

s on of t he principles of physiology that the lungs

seem utterly devoid of any connection with the
blood ,and from any fu nctions t o be perform ed
in the direction indicated There i s great need
.

f or public in struction on this po i nt f or kn owl

—

e dge here certainly spe ll s H e a l t h t o man

- - - - -

kind .

The Lungs are t wo in number , and are located

in the upper part of the trunk ,in that part Of
“
the body commonly called the chest . They
are separated from each other by the Heart ,and
i t s great b l ood vesse l s ,and the larger air tubes
- .

The trachea ,or windpipe ,conveys the inspir ed

air t o the lungs ; at i t s lower end it divides into
t he bronchial tubes which enter the lungs . The
bronchial tubes then divide and subdivide into
smaller tubes ,l ike the branches and t wigs Of a
tree ,until they terminate into ti ny lobule s ,or
1 98
 TH E B LOOD I S TH E LI F E

oval sacs or bags These l obules or air space s

.
-

in the lu n gs are ve r y small and very numerous ;

it i s esti mated that there are many mi ll ions Of
them in each lung I t has been esti mated that
.

if these air cells of the lungs were spread ou t on

a plane surface they would extend over an area
of n early fi fteen thousand square feet .

These tiny air cells are enmeshed in an i n t r i

-

ca t e network Of tiny capill aries of the circulatory

system ,which a r e fi lled with venous blood just
returned from the various parts of the system t o
the lungs ,there t o be purifi ed and oxygenated .

I t i s esti mated that about pints Of blood

traverse or pass throu these capillaries each
twenty four hours t he g
- h
l ood cor p us cl e s p a s s i n g
i n s i ngl e fi l e t hr ough t hes e t i ny ca p i l l a ry ca na l s ,
ea ch b e i n g e xp os e d t o a t i ny p a r t i cl e of a i r on
ea ch s i de of t he ca n a l s .

When the blood corpuscle comes in contact

with the air in the lungs ,a s j ust stated ,the
Oxygen in the a i r pen e trates the coating of the
coverings ,and ,com ing i nto di rect contact with
the blood,oxygenation and a process Of che m ical
combustion takes place I n this process the.

“
oxygen burn s up the fi lthy waste matt er in
the venous blood and converts i t int o carbonic
acid ga s whi ch i s then thrown out of the lungs
i n the expirin g breath An d,at the same t i me
.

the blood takes up tiny particle s of oxygen which

it carries t o a ll parts of the system ,where it i s
us ed in certai n i mportan t processe s in connec
tion with the cells and tissues i t serving t o
—

s tren gthen a n d i n vi gorate ,renovate and rep a i r,

1 99
 ME NTAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

every cell and tissue Arte ri al blood carri e s

.

with it about twenty fi ve per cent of pur e

-

oxygen .

N ot onl y does the oxygen in the blood perfo r m

the O ffi ce a bove m e nt ioned ,but i t al so materially
aids in certain processes of digestion whi ch de
pends U pon a proper ox y gena t ion The com
.

b u s t i on ari sing from the contact of the oxygen

with the waste substances also generates heat ,
a n d equalizes the tempera t ure of t he body .

I n ad di t ion t o the system of blood circulatio n ,

-

there is another very important system existing

and Operating i n co operation wi th the former
- .

This secondary system is called the Lym phatic

System . Lymph closely resembles Blood in its
composition I t is composed Of some Of the
.

in gredients of the blood which have exuded from

the walls Of the bl ood vessels ,and al so Of some
-

of the w a ste materials of the system whi ch

“
requi re making over . The lym phatic s y s
tem attends t o thi s repair work ,and also several
o t her functions of the system The renovated
.

waste ma t erial is passed once more i nt o the

-

b l ood, there t o be used by the system The .

lymph circulates in t hi n ,very delicate tu bes ,

whi ch are in visible t o the un aided h u man eye
they may be in j ected with qu icksilver ,however ,
and thus made visible These lym phatic tubes
.

empty in t o several of the large veins ,the lym ph

mi ngling with the returni n g venous bl ood ,and
thus reaching the lungs and heart in due co u rse .

C ertain portions of the food nourishm ent reach

-

the lym phatic system from the i ntestin es ,a n d

2 00
 TH E B LOOD I S TH E LI FE

there undergo certain transformi ng processes

before ent ering the blood supply proper
- .

So,we s e e the importance of the blood i n t he

work of body buildi ng and body maintainin g
- - .

The b l ood i n one s b ody cons t i t ut e s o

’
t e nt h of
ne -

hi s ent i r e we i ght Of t hi s amount about one

.

quarter i s distributed in the heart ,lungs ,large

arteries and veins ; about one quarter in the
-

liver ; ab out on e quarter in the muscles ; the

-

remaining one quarter bein g distributed among

-

the o ther orga ns and tissues ; the brain utilizing

about one fi f t h of the entire qua ntity of blo od
-

in the system .

I t is seen with out argument that the genera l

health Of a person depends materially upon hi s
supply of blood be i ng adequa t e ,rich ,and s u ffi
ci e n t l y well oxygenated .The richness Of the
blood depends ,Of course ,upon the work of the
organs of nutri tion ; its oxy gena t ion depends
up on the work Of the lungs ; and its normal action
upon the work of the heart and t he arterial and
venous system Al l of these organs are amen
.

able to ment al treatment along the general lines

laid down in these lessons .

The lungs are quite receptive t o mental

treatment ,and respond by displayi ng grea t er
stren gth a n d activity,particul arl y when aided
by the cultivation Of the habit Of proper breath
i n g,which habit most persons have lost The .

heart and the , art erial and venous systems r e

s pon d readily to ment a l treatment SO true is
.

thi s tha t stron g positive mental sugges tion will

i ncrease the circulation t o a n y one part to whi ch
201
 ME NTAL TH E RAP E U TI CS

the attention and tre atment i s directed thi s—

may be proved by actual experiment The .

action of the heart ha s been found t o respond

t o properly directed suggestion this also i s
—

capable of bei n g proved by experiment ,though

‘

one should not experiment i dl y with thi s organ .

The heart i s the most i ntelligent and sensitive

of a l l the organs of the body . I t resp onds t o
loving , careful suggesti ons and advi ce but—

must never be driven or abus ed .

 LE SSON XXV

TH E RE PROD U CTI V E SYSTE M

As we have seen in previous less ons ,N at ur e

ha s a s her t wo prin cipal ends ( 1 ) the p i e s e r va
1

tion and mai nten a nce of the b ody of t he in di

vidua l being, in health , vigor , and normal
functioning ; and ( 2 ) the perpe t uation and
re servation of the race The fi rst end i s served
.

y m e a n s of the pr ocesses Of vital activity ,such

a s we have j ust c onsidered ; the second end i s
served by the processes of generation and repro
duction ,the system of which we shall now
c on si der S elf preserv ati on and the instinc t of
.
-

sex and parenth ood these t wo co n stitute

—

Nature s pri mal and elementary instin cts ; and

’

She ha s built up a n d maintained an intricate and

elab orate me chan ism t o serve her purposes in
b oth of these instinctive series of processes .

The reproductive organ ism Of the male human

being i s a s follows : 1 ) The P enis ,( 2 ) the
Testes ; ( 3 ) the P rostate Gland ; ( 4 ) the Cowper s
’

Glands ; ( 5 ) the Vesiculae Seminal es The fol

.

lowi ng brief somewhat technical description

g ives a general i dea Of the characteristics and
f unctions of each of these .

The P enis i s the intromittent reproductive

organ Of the male ; that is to s a y ,the organ by
and through which the seminal fluid i s conveyed
from the male t o the femal e reproductive organ
i sm. This Orga n consists Of erectil e t i ssue ar
ran ged in three cylindrical compart m ents ,each
203
 ME NTAL TH E RA PE U TI CS

of which i s surrounded by a fi brous she a th I t

.

consists Of several parts ,which a r e ca ll e d th e

roots ,the body,and t he extremity or glans penis ,
respectively I t is a l so surrounded by vessels ,
.

n erves , and Skin

.

The Testes ,or testicles ,are two glan ds which

s ecrete the s e mina l fluid of the male
. They a r e
e gg shaped ,a n d are suspended in the scrotum
-

or pouch by means Of t he sperma t ic cords . A

short ,closely contracted scrotum is gen erally
regarded a s a Sign of the health of the r e pr odu c
tive orga n ism ,and of the general system ; whil e
an elongated ,flabby scrotum is regarded as a
Sign of physical depression a n d lack of vigor .

N ature protects the t estes by s i x separa t e cover

i n gs ,the two outer ones of which are the muscles
and skin of the scrotum The spermatic cord
.

is composed of arteries , vei ns , lymphatics ,

n e rves ,and the excretory ducts Of the testes ,and
extend from t he int ernal abdomin al ring to the
back part of the testicles which it supports in
t he scrotum .

The P rostate Gland is a muscul ar gl a nd

located in front of the neck of t he bladder,and
a t the beginnin g of the ure t hra or can a l which

carries the urine from the bladder ,and which in

the mal e also carries the seminal fl u id This
.

gl an d resembles a horse chestnut in shape and

-

Size I t secretes a milky fluid which passes

.

through the prostatic ducts into the prosta t ic

portion of the urethra I n middle aged men thi s
.
-

organ sometimes becomes enlarged and tr ouble

204
 TH E RE PRODU CTI VE SYSTE M

some ,but this condition may be removed by the

proper treatment .

The Cowper s Glands are two small glands ,

’

about the Size Of peas ,situated on e on each side

of the membraneous portion Of the urethra , close
above the bulb ,each gland having an excretory
openin g into the bulbous port ion of the ure thra .

The Vesiculae S eminales ,or semi nal vesicles ,

are t wo small pouches lying be t ween the rectum
and the base of the bl adder ; they serve a s res e r
v oi r s for the semen ,and al so for another fluid
which acc omp a nies the semen in its disch a rge .

I t has two ej aculatory ducts ,one on each side .

The Semen or Seminal fluid ( containing the

”
reproductive seed ) i s secreted by the testes .

and stored in the reservoirs of the vesicul a e

seminales above described I t consists of a
.

colorless transparent fluid ,in which is contained

solid particles of protoplasm ,n a mel y t he s e min a l
granules and the spermatozoa U nder sexual
.

excitement the semen is forced from the vesi

cu l a e seminales by muscular contraction ,and ,
passing into the ure thra is met by the secretio n s
Of the Cowper s Gl ands ,and those of cert ain
’

muco u s follicl e s opening int o the ur e thra l

p a ssages ; peri s t altic action fi n all y ej aculating
t he semin al fluid from the male or ganism The .

Sperm atozoa are the essential element of t he

seminal fluid ,the other fluids and secretions b e
ing merely accessory and secondary in function
and Offi ces .

The Sperm a tozoa ,or male elements of repr o

duction ,are microscopic l iving cre a tures ,each
205
 i
re s e m b l n g a m i n u t e t a dpol e , wit h h e a d , l
r od i ke
-

body ,a n d a ha i r li ke t a i l whi ch i s i n con s t a nt

-

m ot i on f rom side t o s ide ,t he t a il s e r vi n g t o

ro
p p e l t he cr e a t u r e t o i t s d e s t i n a t.i on I n t he
m a l e hu m a n be in g t he s pe r m a t ozoa each m ea s ure
a b o u t on e s i x h un dr e dt h of a n i n ch i n len th ,
-
g
a n d a r e pr e s e n t i n coun t l e s s nu mb e r s i n the
s e me n . Th e dwe ll i n t he ge l a ti n ous m a s s w hi ch
y
com pos e s a pa r t Of t he s e m i n a l flu i d Of the mal e .

“ ”
The s pe r m a t ozoa cons tit u t e t he s o c a lled s eed
-

Of t he m a l e ,which i m p r e gn a te s t he ovum of
t he f em a l e ,a s we shal l s e e p re sently .

The re pr oductive or g a nis m of the fem a le

hu m a n be in g i s gr ouped i n to t wo classe s ,vi z , .

t he exte r na l orga ns ,and the i ntern a l organs ,

respect ivel y .

The ex t e rnal reproductiv e orga n ism Of the

fema le human bein g is a s foll ows ( 1 ) The
Mons Veneris ,or fatt y em inence i n front of the
pubis ,above the other exte r nal or ga ns ; ( 2 ) t he
Labia Majora and the Labia Minora ,bein g
respectively the large a n d small l i p li ke cov er
-

in gs enclosing and prot ectin g the va gi nal ori fi ce ;

( )
3 the C litoris , a sma ll organ hi dden by the
l abia m i nora ,having at its extremity a sma l l s e n
s i t i ve tubercle ; ( 4 ) t he Meatus U rina r ius ,or ori
fi ce of the urethra of the female ,w hi ch l ies n e ar
t o the vagina and about an in ch below the cli toris
— this strictly speaking however i s n ot a repro
, ,
du ct i ve organ althou gh ass ociated with su ch , as
its purpose is that of serving as a passage f or
the urine ; ( 5 ) the Vaginal Orifi ce i s the outer
e ntrance t o the vagina , and is located just bel ow
206
 THE RE PROD U CTI V E SYSTE M

t he meatus ur i n a ri us. I t i s s u rrounded by the

s phi ncter vagin ae mus cle .

The internal reproductive organism Of the

human female i s composed of the following
organs : ( )
1 Th e Vagina , a canal or ch a n n el
leading from the vaginal orifi ce t o the uterus or
womb ,whi ch i s si tuated in front of the rectum
and behind the bladder I t extends in an u p
.

ward and ba ckward cur ve Of about Six inches i n

length ,and reaches and encloses the lower p a rt
of the neck of the uterus or womb . On ei ther
side of the vagina ,near the o r i fi ce ,are the t wo
glands Of B a r t hol i n e ,whi ch correspond cl osely
t o the C o wper s glands of the male , with
’

excretory ducts Opening upon the Side Of the

labia mi nora The vagina i s lined wi th a mus
.
‘

cu l a r c oat ,a layer of erectile tissue ,and an

internal mucous li n i ng I t i s capable Of great
.

di stens i on in chi ldbirth ,after which i t res um es

i t s n ormal dimensi ons .The O ffi ce of the va gin a
i s t o serve a s a channel f or the introduction
of the fert i l i zing male semi nal flui d ; t o sustai n
the weight of the uterus ; t o serve a s a passage
f or the menstrual fluid ; and t o a ff ord a passage
f or the de l ivery of the i nfant a t chi ldbi rth .

( )
2 T he U terus ,o r womb , i s a hollow p e ar
shaped muscular organ ,about three i n ches long,
t wo i nches broad ,and on e inch thick I t i s the
.

organ Of gestation whi ch recei ve s t he f e cu n

dated ovum in i t s cavity,and supports and
r etai ns the foetus durin g i t s development . The
upper a n d broader par t i s cal led the fundus ; the
lower contr a cted p orti on be i ng ca ll ed t he cervi x ,
2 07
 ME NTAL TH E RA PE U TI CS

or neck ,whi ch proj ects into the vagi na The .

uterus is composed of a muscular coat ,which

co n tracts as do the walls of the stomach a n d
bladder ; thi s coa t extends very greatly du rin g
the period of pregnancy The uterus is loca t ed
.

j ust behind and Slight ly above the bladder ,and

i s supported by eight ligaments which ,when in
a healthy condition ,hold it fi rmly and easily in
place D isplacement of the uterus is caused by
.

the weake ni ng or relaxing of s ome of these

ligaments this condition may be relieved and
—

cure d by proper treatment in the direction of

stren gthening the ligaments by suggestions
di rected to that end .

( )
3 Th e F allopian T ubes a r e the ducts of the
ov a ries which serve to convey the ova fr om the
ov a ries t o t he cavi ty in the ut erus ; they are two
in number,on e on each side ,each tube being
about fo u r i nches in length They extend from
.

either Side of the fundus of the w omb until they

communi cate with the ovaries .

( )
4 T h e O var i es a r e t wo oval -Shaped organs
l ying one on each side of the uterus ; t he ov a are
formed i n them ,and they correspond t o the
testes i n the male They are about on e and on e
.

half inches long ,on e inch wide ,and on e half i n ch

-

in thi ckness They are covered with a dense ,

.

fi r m coating which encloses a soft fi brous tissue ,

abun dantly supp l ied with blood vessels ,which-

is called the stroma I mbedded i n the mesh

.

l ike tissue of t he stroma are numerous small ,

r ound tran sp a re nt ves i cles , i n various s ta ges of
d e velopment ,known as the Gr aa fi a n follicles ,
2 08
 1 111: nnp n onu cr rvn SYSTE M
1 1

whi ch are li ned with a layer of pe culiar granular

c ells These follicles are the receptacles or sacs
.

whi ch contain the ova or eggs which constitute

the female reproductive germ ; each vesi cle con
tain in g a si ngle ovum ,or egg .

( )
5 Th e O vum , or egg ,o f the h u man female
i s a very small round body measuring from one
t wo hundred and fi f t i e t h of an in ch t o on e on e
- - -

hundred and twentieth of an inch in diameter

- - .

I t is sur ro un ded with a transparent colorless

envelope in whi ch is contained the yolk c onsist
ing of globules of various Sizes ; the center of the
yolk consisting of a thin transparent vesicle
which in turn contains a tiny granular ,opaque ,
“ ”
yellow structure known as the germin al spot .

Thi s ovum ,or egg ,is discharged and enters the

uteru s at the menstrual peri od When this
. .

peri od arrives the Gr a a fi a n follicle becomes

enlarged by re a son of the a ccumulation of the
flu ids in its in terior ,and exerts such a steady
and increasing pressure from within ,outward ,
that the surroundin g tissue yields with it ,and
it fi nally protrudes from the ovary and is then
expelled from it with a gush F ollowing this
.

rupture there occurs a hemorrhage from the

vesicles of the follicle ,the cavity being fi lled
with blood which then coa gulates and is retained
in the Gr a a fi a n follicle The formation and
.

devel opment of the Gr a a fi a n follicles begin at

puberty and c ontinues until the menopause or
change of life 1 n the woman The ripening and
.

dis charge of the eggs produce a peculiar condi

ti on of congestion of the entire female generative
2 09
 ME NTAL TH E RAPE U TI CS

o rga n ism,i n cludin g the F allopi a n tubes ,uterus ,

vagina ,etc .

“ ”
Menstruation i s the monthly flow of bloody
fluid from the uterus which occ u rs in all healthy
( but non -preg n ant )“ women from puber t y u ntil
”
the menopause or change of life . P uberty
i s the age at w hi ch a woman b e gins her period
of possible child bearing I n temperate cli mates
- .

the average age is about fourteen years ,while

in tropical climes puberty o ccurs a year or two
earlier,and in arctic zones a year or t wo later .

“ ”
The menopause or change of life in woman
i s the beginnin g of her period of n on r e pr odu c
-

t i ve n e s s ; thi s time i s rea ched when the woman

i s about forty fi ve years of age ,on the average ,
-

although i n s ome cases it i s reached several years

later,and in a few cases a little earlier The .

general rule i s that a woman s child beari ng pos

’
-

s i b i l i t y extends over a period of thirty years , on

the average A t the time of the menopause ,
.

and after ,the ovaries diminish in Size ,the

Gr a a fi a n follicles cease to for m and develop ,the
'

F allopian tubes atrophy , and other physical

changes manifest themselves .

Menstruation ,when once fully established,

o ccurs at in terv als of every twenty eight days
-

on the average in the case of healthy women ; i n

some cases ,however ,it occurs as often a s every
twenty on e days ,while in others it occurs as
-

seldom a s every Si x weeks ,without e ff ecting the

general health or n ormal fun ctio ni n g Men .

s t r u a t i on ceases temporarily durin g pregnan cy ,

and also usually is inhibited duri ng the peri od
2 10
 T HE REPRODU C TI VE SYSTE M

of nu rs i n g The menstru a l flow conti nues f or

.

a b out four or fi ve days , on the average ; al t hou gh

here t oo there i s a wide range of vari a t i on fr om
t he aver a ge The flow in creases during the fi r s t
.

part of the p e riod ,and de creases during the la s t

p a rt Menstruat i on i s acc ompanied by t he
.

c ongesti on previ ously noted ,and a sen s e of phys

ical di sc omfort and irritable em ot i onal feelin g .

M e n struation i s a ccomp anied by a hypertrophy

of t he muc ous membrane of the uterus , and l a te r
by a s heddi ng of this hypertrophied membr a ne ,
which le a ves the underlying vessels exposed a n d
bleeding After the peri od new mucous m em
.

bra n e i s formed AS before stated ,the ovum

.

i s dis char ged a n d enters the uterus a t t h i s

period .

The ovum ,unless i mpre gnated b y a sperm a

t a zoon of t he male ,gradually l oses i t s vi t a lit y
and i s thrown ou t of the system ; if impre gnated ,
however,it remain s attached t o the walls of the
ute rus a n d in ti me develops into the foetus The.

ovum contains all the rudi ments of the y oung

creature , but unless it i s i mpre gnated and fer
t i l i ze d by the Spe r m a t a zoon it never devel ops .

The impregnated ovum begins to form a seg

mentation nucl e us ,and then the se gmentation
-
“ ”
Or Spitting up process begins ,and new cells
rapidly form There ap p ears an opa q ue streak
.

“ ”
known a s the pri mitive trace of the embryo ,
a n d the y oun g l iving creature begins i t s life
hi story . The period of gestation con t inues f or
about nine solar months ,or ab out two hundred
a n d eighty d a ys ,although in exceptional cases

21 1
 MENTAL TH E R APE U TI CS

it continues f or but seven months ,a n d in others

even as long as ten months .

The reproductive organism of both man and

woman is very responsive to suggestion and
mental treatment along the lines indicated in
these lesson s Weakened parts m a y be ma
.

t e r i a l l y strengthened by the proper suggestions

int elligently directed I n the case of weakness
.

of the uterus ,falling of the womb ,etc ,a li n e of .

suggestions directed toward the strengthening

and contraction of the supporting ligaments and
muscles will b e found very e ff ective The u t erus .

is very sensitive t o mental treatment ,a n d is

“
much like the heart in i t s de gree of i n t e l l i
g ence and responsiveness T here i s
. a great
1

fi eld for scienti fi c mental treatment here ,and

on e in which medical science has f a i led t o a fi or d

the best results t oo Often the surgeon s kni fe

— ’

has been used needlessly The sk i lled pr a ct i

.

t i on e r of mental healing who spec i alizes u pon

this class O f c a ses should obtain wonderful
results ,thereby performin g a w orthy work a n d
at the same ti me estab li shi n g hi mself or hers e lf
in a paying pra cti ce .

21 2
 LESSON XX VI

W HE N TH E H AN D OF TH E P OTTE R
”
SLI PS

I n man y o riental poems , such as the

”
R ubaiyat of Omar % hayyam ,there i s foun d
a reference to the favorite oriental analogy of
the P otter and the P ots the Creative P ower
—

being the P otter ,and the hum an creature being

the P ot which has been molded by the hand of t he
P otter. When a diseased or deformed b ody is
“
seen ,then i t i s said that the hand of the P otter
”
slipped . An d,indeed ,this fi gurative picture
i s in close r esemblance to the truth ; for the hand
“
of N ature at times does seem to slip in it s
work ,alth ough in many ca s e s the slip i s caused
by an interference of t he human creature with
N ature s own well laid plans and established
’

machi nery of operation N ature being in this

.

case merely the Corporeal Mind ,it i s seen that

the slip i s one of that 11 on de r f u l mental organi
z a t i on ,and one which may at least ,t o a great
extent ,be f e m e di e d by appealin g direct to it ,as
in the case of scientifi c Mental H ealing as s e t
forth in these lessons .

‘
Vhi l e have said that I did n ot purpose hold
i n gbefore t he m i nds of my students any pictures
of diseased conditions ,y et for the pu r pose of
ai di ng them in their work Of practi cing Mental
H ealing I have thought it well to present in this
lesson a ge n era l classifi cati on of the ways in
“
whi ch t he ha n d of the P otter Slips , in order
21 3
 MENTAL TH E RAPEU TI CS

tha t t he practi ti on er may s e e cl e arly and p l ai n ly

t he nature of the task of reparati ve w ork whi ch
he must impose upon the Corporeal Mind ( in
s ome of i t s phases ) to p erfo rm , s o that the
a t i e n t may re gain health , strength and normal
a u cti onin g I t will ,of course ,be unde r stood
.

tha t the followin g i s not a complete list of phys

i cal ai lm ents , n or is it a lesson on patholo gy It .

i s me rely a general classifi cati on ,with general

“ ”
su gge s tions a s t o treatment of the Shps in
s u ch cl a s s
.

General Trea t ment I n most ca ses i t w il l b e

.

found well f or t he practitioner t o give t he new

p a tient a G eneral T reatment ,1 . e .
, a treatment
f or genera l hys i ca l health and strength . This
i s a cc ompli s ed by treat i ng ea ch general f l m c
ti on or a cti vity of the body i n turn ,beginni n g
w i th the ma i n organs of nutri ti on ,then proceed
i n g t o the or gans of eli mination ,and then t he
orga ns of ci rculati on , the heart and the arteries
a n d veins ,e t c ,not forgetting the l u ngs i n thi s
.

connection Then follow with the reprodu ctive

.

system ,and then the muscles ,j oin ts ,e t c I n .

this way a general improvement of the whole

s ystem is started under way , and a fi r m f oun da
tion thus la i d f or subsequen t spe cial or loca l
treatments for specifi c compla int s I n very .

many cases ,as I have said elsewhere in the s e

lessons ,such a General Treatment,part i cularly
the tre a tm ent of t he main organs of nutriti on
a n d e l im i n at i on ,will cure the p a ti e nt of hi s loca l
and spe ci fi c compl a i nt ,t he latter be in g re a l l y
21 4
 TH E HAND OF TH E P OTTER SLI PS

but a s ymptom of the main trouble which ha s

been removed A patient in whom perfect
.

nutrition and perfect eli mination is e ff ected

generall y mana ges t o throw Off the special com
plaint without much more trouble The pr a ct i .

t i on e r will do well to always bear this fact in

mi nd , f or i t wi ll explain many strange and ra pid
“ ”
cures ,and will also give him a line on the
course of treatment in m a ny puzzling cases
whi ch have defi ed other kinds of treatment .

Tr oubl es of t he Organs of Nut ri t i on . The

chief troubles in this class are mal nutrition -

( imperfe ct no u ris hm ent ), and dyspepsia , indi

gestion ,e t c ; these several troubles usually being
.

associated and e xi stin g at the same time The .

course of treatment here is Obvi ous ,i e ,treat . .

ment sho u ld be d i rected toward energizing the

stomach and i n testines into a cti vity and norm a l
functionin g The stomach Should be ur ged t o
.

perform its w ork properly ,and the patient should

be instructed t o furnish it with wholesome fo od
only ; the small intestine should be urged to r e
sum e n ormal functioning ,and to aid i n the work
of digestion and assimilation ,i n order that there
may be created rich nourishi ng blood which will
build up the e ntire system The stomach of a
.

dyspept i c i s generally found to be in a s t a t e of

p a ni c thi s must be relieved by proper s u gge s
—

tions ,a n d confi den ce rest ored The stomach .

and intestine s are quite intelli gent ,and will r e

s pon d q ui ckl y t o the ri ght kind of sugg e s tion .

The Liver ,a s I have said ,is a stupi d ,Sl ow ,

21 5
 ME NTAL T H E R APEU TI CS

stubborn organ ,and requires the most vi gorou s

and positive kind of suggestion s ,orders ,com
”
mands and general scoldi ng i n order t o b e
ma de to res u me normal functioni ng I t must b e .

approached i n a positive mental attitude ,much

the same in which one would approach a pig ,
mule ,or goat mastery must be asserted a n d
—

maintained A little actual practice will Show

.

the practitioner the best line of suggestions and

commands t o use i n such cases but the general
—

rule is to b e fi rm a nd p os i t i ve i n dea l i ng wi t h
t he l i ver .

Tr oubl es of t he Orga ns of E l i mi n a t i on . The

bowels ,kidneys ,and bladder are quite receptive
to suggestion ,and will respond t o and co operate
-

with the efforts of the practitioner who a p

p r oa ch e s them in the right spirit and mann er .

There is but one general rule ,and that is to tell

the organ plainly and kindly just what i s r e
q ui r ed of it ,a n d how it must beh a ve itself .

Train it just a s you would an intelligent dog .

You will be surprised at fi rst to see how rapidly

and intelligently the organ will respond I n the .

case of constipation ,the pat ient should be i n

structed to make and keep his or her en gage
ment with the bowels e ach day ,i e t o go t o . .

stool at a set ti me whe t h e r or not an incli nation

is felt The bowels will quickly respond t o this
.

con fi dence ,and will be felt to be actu a lly a n d

earn e stly endeavoring t o keep its part of the
agreement Where purga t ive medicines have
.

been employed ,and the pill habit established ,

21 6
 TH E H AND OF TH E P OTT E R SLI PS

i t wil l take a longer tim e than otherwise t o n e u

t r a l i z e thisol d habit and to estab l ish the new
and normal one Tendency to urinate t oo O f t en
.

may be checked by the proper suggestions ,and

the muscles controlli ng the bladder may be
t a ught to contract tighter and to maintain the
contraction better and lon ger The words .

“ ” “ ”
t i ght en or l oos en , respectively convey a
strong suggestion t o this class of muscles the —

Sphincter muscles which surround,and by their

contraction tend t o close ,the various openings
of the organs of eli mination I n treating diar
.

“ ”
rhea and loos e bowels , Simply reverse the
sugge s tions given in the case of constip a tion ,
of course .

Tr oubl es of t he H ea rt a nd Ci r cul a t i on . The

heart ,and the arteries and veins ,are very amen
a ble to suggestion ,and will respond very i n t e l l i
gently t o i t when properly given As I have .

stated elsewhere in these lessons ,the heart is

very gentle and intelligent the very reverse of
—

the liver and should be treated accordingly

— .

I t is like a gentle , high spirited ,well bred horse ,

- -

or like an intelligent gentl e child ,in its mental

character and make u p R ough methods or
-
.

t reatment should be avoided in treating the

heart or the circulatory sys t em in general ;
g entle , kindly ,sooth i ng words and tones , and
clear , plain , intellige nt directions should be
g iven it
. You may even ( a n d often very e ff e c
t i ve l y ) explain t o the heart the trouble that is
be in g c a u sed by i mperfect action ,a ccompanyin g
217
 ME NTAL T HE RAPEUTI C S

the explanation with sugge sti on s a s t o how t he

trouble may be overcome ,and new a n d better
habits of actions a cqu ired I n case of cold hand s
.

or feet ,y ou may direct an increased ci r cul a tion

to those parts by calling the attention of the
cir culatory system mind to the matter Ana c .

mia ,or defi cient blood supply ,is of course t o be

treated by improving the nutrition ; for the heart
cannot furnish n ourishment t o the blood , n or the
blood t o the parts of the body ,unless it ha s been
assimilated and absorbed from the food eaten by
the patient D ropsy ,or an abnormal a ccumu la
.

tion of serum ,which causes swelling,e t c ,may .

be treated by sti mulating the kidn eys and the

Skin t o carry off the excess fluids ,and t o there
after perform their functions normally .

Tr oubl es of t he Lungs lun gs respond

. The
very well t o suggestions properly directed The .

suggestion should be along the lines of increased

activity and re sistance The cells should be
urged to gr eater e fi or t s ,and taught t o resist
invading organisms I n cases of this kind ,it
.

will be found well to pay attention t o t he orga ns

of nutrition also ,for it is a fa ct that a well
nourished body is better able t o fi ght off a n d
defeat attacki ng organisms The pati e nt Should
.

be taught the value of corr e ct breathing ,f or the

exercise of the lungs i s often suffi cient t o pr e
v e n t or t o overcome weakness thereof .

R heum a t i c Tr oub l es R he u matism i s a

. con
dition arisin g from i mperfect circul a tio n an d

218
 TH E H AND OF TH E P OTTE R SLI PS

i mperf e ct eli m inati on ; therefore ,by treati ng

b oth of these con di t i ons the spe cia l trouble
tends t o disappear .

Tr oub l es of t he Sens e Orga ns

- .Weakness of
sight ,heari ng,or smell may be trea t ed by build
ing up the general system ,by provi di ng proper
nutrition and e li m i nation ; and also by special
energiz i ng treatment directed t o the seat of the
trouble The cells may be energized into more
.

normal functionin g,by an appeal di rected i m

m ediately t o them The patient may aid mate
.

r i a ll y in such treatment , by directing his or her

a t t ent i on t o the organ in question , and maint ain
i n g a mental attitude of exp e ct a nt a t t en t i on .

This use of the mi nd of the patient ,encour aged

a n d supplemented by that of your own mind , will
often bring marked and rapid results S ense
.

organs are very responsive to increased demands

made upon them by their owner,particularly if
the owner manifes t s a mental state of confi den t
exp e ct a t i on —
the organ seems to realize that bet
“
ter work i s expe cted of it ,and it tries t o make
”
g o od ; revers i ng the rule ,the organ seems to
realize distrust and lack of confi dence in it ,and
r esp onds in like measure .

Ne ur a l gi c Tr oubl es ,H ea da ches ,et c . N eural

g i c troubles ,headaches ,etc usually
. ar i se from
i mperfe ct n u triti on ,or imperfec t e hm i n a t i on ,or
both ,although in some cases there is found a
con di tion of imperfect circulation The treat
.

m en t i s obvi ous ,when the cause is perceived .

2 19
 ME NTAL TH E R APE U TI CS

The di rection of the min d and the suggestio n s

to the local parts howe v er Often relieve the i rn - 1

me di ate distress ; but the healer Should n ever

be satis fi ed until he has removed the root of the
trouble as well as t he local symptoms .

R ep r odu ct i ve Com p l a i nt s troubles of

. The
the male and female reproductive organ ism may
be e ff ectively treated by suggestion and mental
treatment scienti fi cally and intelli gently a p
plied I n the case of weakness of the male r e
.

productive organ i sm ,me n tal treatment may be

applied i n the direction of a general energizing
of the whole system ,which is far more S i mple
than in t he cases of women I n cases of weak
.

ness of the male ,treatment may also be e ff e c

t i v e l y directed to the lower part of the sp i nal
column ,just where t he bony parts Spread ou t

into a broad flat bone ; for certain nerves in this

region are closel y con nected with the male r e
productive organism .

I n the case of weakness Of the female repro

du ct i ve system ,suggestion and mental treat
ment is usually found very e ff ective ; in fact ,t his
is a great fi eld for the scientifi c practitioner of
mental h e aling ,for here he or she obt ains some
wonderful results D is p l a ce ment s of t he ut er us ,
.

f a l l i ng of t he womb ,et c ,a r e t rea t e d b y s ugges

.

t i ons t o t he s upp ort i ng l i ga m ent s a nd m us cl es ,

a n d or der s t o t hem t o cont r a ct a n d do b et t e r
work i n t he di r ect i on of s upp ort i ng t he ut erus
p rop erl y These ligaments respond very readily
.

in most cases ,a n d a marked i mprovement is

220
 TH E H AND OF TH E P OTTE R SLI PS

speedi ly manifested The general suggestion in

.

such cases should be based on the mental pat

“ “
t ern conveyed by the ideas up and fi rml y i n
”
p l a ce , respectively Mens t rual troubles may
.

be effectively treated by suggestions directed to

the ovaries and uterus ,and to t he reproductive
system in general ,the general thought being
“ ”
n orm a l a n d n a t ur a l a ct i on Too profuse .

menses are to be treated by checking the ten

den e y to flow in the same way as diarrhea is
“ ” “
checked ,1 c by suggestion of s l ow, and not
. .

”
s o f r e e , etc .I n all cases of female trou bles it
i s well to build up the general system ,pa r t i cu
l a r l y the organs of nutrition and el i mination .

Many cases of uteri ne troubles originally arise

from the presence of a distended ,impacted colon
—t hi s con di t ion resultin g from cons t ipation etc
, .

When the cause is removed ,it is a comparatively

simple matter to remedy the lo cal trouble .

Nervous are generally

Tr oub l es . W hat
“ ”
known as nervous troubles may be treated by
fi rst at t ending to the organs of nutrition and
elimination ,and then by a special treatm ent of
t he Spinal colu mn I n the latter the thought
.

must be swept up and down the spinal column ,

with the idea held in mind that t he s p i na l col
umu i s b ei ng en er gi ze d,f r ee d f r om obs t ru ct i ng
i nfluen ces ,con di t i on s a n d t enden ci es I n fact ,
.

it i s a good plan t o fi nish any kind of treatment

in this way the sweeping of the spine acting as
—

a general s t i m 111a t i n g influence which is very

gratifying an d pleasant t o the patient .

22 1
 MENTAL T HERAPEUTI CS

Another genera l tr e a tment e fi e ct i ve i n a l l

“
ca ses i s that kn own a s equa li zi n g t he ci r cula
ti on , in which the thought s weeps down and
then u p over the whol e body,severa l tim es in
success i on ,thi s tends t o energi z e and equ a liz e
the circulation over the en t ire system ,bri ngin g
a pleas a nt t ingling t o the body of the patien t ,
and resul t ing in a refre shi ng sensation a n d feel
i n g a ft erw a rd
.

Sel f Tr ea t ment
- .The student who w i she s t o
heal him self or herself by means Of Mental Ther
a pe u t i cs ha s but t o remember that each and
every form ,method ,principle ,and rul e of treat
ment given in these lessons f or the treatment of
the patient i s equally valid and applicable in
the treatment of oneself Apply the same t i eat
.
1

ment ,i n t he same way,and you Obtai n the sam e

resul t i n S el f H eali ng I f I were writi ng a
- .

seri es o f less ons on the subj ect of S elf H ealing,

-

I could merely repeat what I have said in t hes e

lesson s regardi ng the treatment of other pa
t i en t s
. The pri nciple i s identical ,and the m e th
ods of a ppli cati on are practi cally the same .

“ ”
I n Self Treatment the
- I p art of yourself
should act a s the practitioner,whi le the Corp o
real Mind of yourself Should be the patient .

P ro ceed in su ch case as if y ou were reall y treat

i n g a n other person ,the b ody of an other Thi s.

i s t he wh ole secret in a few w ord s .

C on cl udi ng Advi ce . all for m s of m en t a l

In
treatment ,n o matter wha t parti cular methods
222
 THE HAND OF TH E P OTTE R SLI P S

y ou m a y e mp loy, or what p a rti cular t r ouble y ou

m a y b e tre atin g,y ou Sh oul d alwa ys c ar ry i n
m in d t he fa ct that TH OU GH T i s the a ctive
p r i n c iple inv olved in the cure .A n d y ou Sh ould
l e a rn t o think of Thought n ot as an i ntan gible ,
u nsubstantial thi ng , but rather a s a gr ea t na t u
r a l en er gy an d for ce , something as real a s i s ele c
t r i ci t y or ma gnetism I t will help y ou t o men
.

t a lly pi cture it a s sweepi ng from you i nto the

b ody of the patient , there energi zi ng a n d
s tren gthening the mi n ds in the cells a n d parts
of that body . The more clearly that y ou can
vi suali z e or mentally picture it a s actually trav
elli n g and movin g like a great current of elec
t r i ci t y ,the greater will be i t s p otency .

D o n ot all ow yourself to become wrapped up

i n te chni cal the ories or speculations regarding
the R id dl e of t he U ni verse ,or of the inner na
ture of Mind Leave these subj ects to t he meta
.

physician s who delight in them t o such an ex

tent that they usu ally have no time or inclina
ti on t o do anyt hi ng practical in life D o not be
.

a dreamer,b u t be a do e r Culti vate the char

- .

a ct e r i s t i cs of the C onstructive Thinker — build

up ,construct ,create ,with the P ower of Mind .

Y ou will fi n d that your P ower t o H eal will i n

creas e with practice and hab i t .Y ou w i ll de
“
v el op what s ome have called the sanative con
t a gi on , t o such an extent that th ose com i ng
i nto your presence will receive healing thought
e ven th ough y ou do not v oluntarily send the
s a me forth ; then y ou w i ll r a di a t e healin g power
— thi s is the mark of the true healer Think of
.

22 3
 ME NTAL T H E RA P E UTI CS

y ourself a s a SU N of H E A L I N G P OW E R ,and
let your radiance flow fort h in all directions .

Y ou wil l learn new details Of practice ever y

y ear o f yo u r life ; but y ou w i ll always be i m
pressed with the trut h Of the stateme nt that t he
P ri nciple of Mental H eal ing i s very sim ple and
plain ,when once grasped and understood H ere .

i s a simple statement of this Sim ple fact , to carry

with y ou as my parting gift
“
M ent a l P a t t ern s a r e r epr oduced i n Phys i ca l
”
St a t es , F orms , a n d Con di t i ons
.

22 4
 LE SSON XXVI I

M AGNE TI C AND SPI RI TU AL HE ALI N G

Although I h a ve fi n i shed thi s course of lessons
a s ori gi n a lly planned ,I ha ve thought it a dvi s
able t o add to it a brief consideration of t wo
forms of healin g which whi le scientifi cally i n
clu ded in the broad classifi cation of Mental Ther
a pe u t i cs ,nevert heless have some points of di f
ference from the general methods of thi s system .

I refer to ( 1 ) Magnetic H ealing ; and ( 2 ) Sp i r

it u a l H ealing ,respec t ively I n these two forms
.

of heali ng I fi n d the s ame fundamental principle

operative ,although called forth and manifested
in a di fi e r e n t manner I n the follo wing pages I
.

Shall endeavor t o explain thi s apparent differ

en ce ,and at the same time t o explain the par
t i cu l a r methods empl oyed i n each of these gen
eral methods ; t o the end that such of my stu
dents who m a y wish to include these method s
in their own practic e m a y be enabl e d t o do s o
i
‘

intelli gently a n d e fi e ct i ve l y .

Ma et i c H ea l i ng
. W hat is kn own as Ma g “
”
netic ealing h a s g ai ned q uite a large follow%
ing in E urope and Am e rica ,and m any wonderfu l
cures have be en made by pra ctitioners foll owi ng
this m e tho d I n Am erica it i s usually applied
.

in connecti on with the more regular f oM s of

‘

m en tal healing ,while i n F rance i t is Often pr a c

ti ce d a s a disti nct b ranch of therapeutics .

Those who have c a refull y i nvest i gated t he

22 5
 ME NTAL THERAPE U TI CS
su bj e ct of Ma gn e t i c H e a li n g ha ve ge n e ra l ly
re a ched the conclus i on tha t i t s e fi e ct s a ris e from
a du a l ca u s e , a s fol lows : ( a ) t he e n e r gi zi n g e fi ect
of a tra nsference of vi t al energy fr om t he body
of t he h e a l e r t o tha t of t he pa ti e n t ; a n d,( b )
a ccom p a n yi n g t he e fi e ct j u s t m e n t i on e d,t he

p ow er of T h o u gh t a lo n g t he l i n e s s e t f or th i n
the s e le s s ons .

I Sha ll n ot go i n to t he s u b j e ct of t he vi t a l
force e m ploye d i n M a gn etic H e a li n g,f or t he
s u b j e ct i s n ot a t a l l w e ll u n de rs t ood e v e n b y
thos e pra ctici n g a n d t e a chi n g i t s pr i n ci pl e s .

En ou gh f or t he p u rpo s e of thi s con s i de ra ti on i s

t he fa ct th a t there u ndou bt e dl y e xi s t s tha t
whi ch m a y b e ca lle d vita l force m t he hu m a n
body ,a n d whi ch m a y be tra n s fe rr e d t o a n ot he r
p e rs on un de r ce rt a in con di ti on s ; a n d whi ch
whe n s o tr a n s fe rre d ten ds t o e n e r gi ze i n t o re
n e we d a cti vi ty the body of th a t ot her pe r s on , or
a n y of hi s phys i c a l or ga ns to wa rd whi ch t he for ce
m a y b e dir ecte d b y t he he a l e r I t i s i m port a n t
.

“ ”
n thi s con n e cti on t o n ot e tha t t hi s vi t a l force
i
i s be s t di re cted by t he h e a l e r whe n he fi xe s hi s
a ttent i on u p on the part of t he body of t he pa
—
ti en t t o be tr e a t e d thi s Shows tha t t he vi t a l
for ce i s s u b ordi n a t e t o Mi nd,a n d rs con t r ol l ed
.

t he r e b y. Tho s e who m a y wi s h t o i n q ui r e i n t o
“
t he e s s en ti a l n a t u r e of t hi s vi t a l force may
obt ai n i n t e re s tin g i n for m a ti on b y s t u dyi n g t he
or i e n t a l t e a c i n gs con ce rn in wha t i s ca ll ed
h
r a n a , whi ch i s p r a ct i ca y i den t i ca l wi t h
’%’

“
w a t we of t he we s t e rn wor l d ca vi t al for ce .

Nea r ly a l l na t i on s i n t he hi s t or y of t he r a ce
22 6
 MAGNE TI C AND SP I RI TU AL HEALI N G
ha ve em pl oyed som e ha s e of t hi s f orm of he a l
p
i n g with e ff e ct a n d i n m os t ca s e s we m a y s e e
—
tha t they a l s o,con s ci ou sl y or un con s ci ous l y,e m
pl oye d m e n t a l s u ges t i on or t hou ght for ce i n -
“ ”
s u ch t r e a t m e n t s . he la yi n g on of h a n ds ha s
a l wa y s b e e n a popu la r for m of t r e a t m e n t , and
m a n y good re s u l t s ha v e a r i s e n ther e fr om . B ut
wa m u s t ne ve r los e Si ht of t he fa ct t ha t i n s u ch
pr oce s s e s t he mi nds t h of t he p a t i ent and of
t he hea l er ha ve been di rect e d t o t he a ff ect ed p a rt
-t he e fi e ct of whi ch m a b e e a s ily nd r t oo d
y u e s
b y t hos e who ha ve ca r efu ll y s tu die d t he le s s on s
of t hi s cours e . The he a l e r, a n d t he pa tie n t , b ot h
u n de r s t ood t ha t t he tr e a tm e nt wa s e xpe ct e d t o

p r od u ce c e r t a i n e fi e ct s ; a n d b o t h n a tur a ll y a n d
i n s ti nct i v e ly pi ct ur e d t he e xpe ct e d re s u l t and —
s o obt a i n ed i t .

“
Ou ts id e of t he e fi e ct of t he vi t a l force upon
t he p a ti en t ( wha t e ver t he de gre e of tha t e ff e ct
m a y r e a l ly b e when di v or ce d from t he m e n t a l
e fi e ct of t he thou ght of pr a ct iti on er a n d pa ti e n t )
t he re i s u n d ou b t e dl y a s tr ong s u gge s t i ve cfi e ct
i n t he a ppli ca ti on of t he h a nds t o t he a f e ct ed
p a rt ,or t he pla ci n g of them ne a r t he r e gi on a f
f
f e ct e d The eye s ees t he mot i on ,
. a n d t he body
feel s t he cont a ct , a n d bot h of the s e e l em e n t s a dd
m a t e r i a ll y t o t he s u gge s t i v e va l u e of t he t r e a t
m e nt . The m e re t a pi n g of t he r e gi on of t he
l i ve r b y t he fi n ge r s o t he he a l e r , s e r ve s t o a r ou s e
t he m i nd m t he l i ver a n d t o ma ke i t a tt e n t i v e t o
—
t he s u gge s t i on s gi ve n i t m en t a lly i t i s a ki n t o
ta i n g on t he s houl de r of a m a n t o whom y ou
p
p
m e t o s pe a k; or t o r a ppi n g on t he doo r of a
22 7
 MENTAL T H E RAPE U TI CS .

m an
’
s room, when you wi sh t o arouse hi s
a t te ntion .

Longitu di nal p a s ses made dow n w a rd over t he

bo dy of a reclining patient wil l tend t o increas e
hi s circulation ,and t o equa l ize it D ownward
.

passes have a soothing e fl e ct as a r ul e ; whi le

l

upward passes have an a wakening,arousing

e fi e ct Transversal passe s made side wise a cms s
.

“ ”
the body of the patient will tend t o l oosen up
the action of t he organs i n that l ocation A .

”
twisting or b orin g motion of the exten ded
fi nger will O ften rouse i nto a c t ivity s lu ggish
orga ns ; a feeling of warmth often a cc omp a nyin g
this res u lt P ain may be r emove d by a n a ppl i
.

cation of the palms of t he ha n ds t o the a ff e cte d

part Stroking the body,or a p a rt thereof ,with
.

the tips of the fi ngers often ha s a s oothi n g e ff ect .

R u bbing a s ore Spot ,such a s a r heumatic j oint ,

u sually bene fi ts it . Some pra ct i tioner s employ
“ ”
a vibrational motion , or Shaki ng motion t o
the b ody of the p a tient ,clai mi ng go od results
therefrom H ot I ns u ffla t ion ,or b r ea t hi ng u pon
.

the a ff ected part through a handke r chi e f or

napkin often bri ngs reli ef from pai n .

I f you Should s e e fi t to c ombine thi s form of

tr eatment with your Mental H ealing prope r,I
advise you t o alway s keep in mi nd t he e fi e ct of
the Mind even in such treatm ents ,a n d t o a dd
all of your re gula r Mental H ealing methods t o
“ ”
that of t he Magnetic H ealin g . F or i n thi s
wa y on Obtain whatever benefi t or vi rt u e the r e
m a y e i n the Ma gneti c Treatmen t ,while a t t he
s a me time n ot los i ng the e ff ect Of y ou r Menta l

22 8
 MAGNE TI C Ann ,SPI RI TU AL nnm n e

H e al i ng meth ods . F i n ally,I

freely adm i t th a t
i h t he case of cert a in p a ti ents who h a ve
been strongly i mpressed with t he theory of
Ma gnetis m , t he us e of t he hands in the .

t r e a tment gr e atly ad ds t o the effi ca cy of the

mental treat ment .

Govern yours el f a ccordi n g t o c i rcum stances ,

and be prepare d t o give t o t he patient that whi ch
i s most readi ly acce pt ed by hi m ; the r easo n f or ,

thi s I have made pla i n in the earlie r l es s ons Of

thi s cours e .

Sp i ri t ua l H eali n g W hi l e i n m y j udgm e nt
.

“
t he essenc e of what i s called .

s piri tu a l tre a t
”
ment i s t o b e , f ou n d in the ideas in the mi nd of
t he patient , or of the heale r , r athe r than i n s ome
s uper men t al for ce , nevert heless I f e el t ha t t he
-

student Sh ould be come a cqu ai nte d with

‘

eral theory a n d form of practi ce

‘

of he a hn g,S O th a t he may comb i ne t he same

with hi s other m ethods ,or else pra cti ce it s olely,
if,he s hould s e e fi t Wha tever e ls e t her e i s or
.

i s n ot i n Spi ri tual H ealin g,the re certai nly i s a

powerful suggesti ve force in i t ,parti cul arly
when the mind of the patient i s i n clin ed t o r un
al ong those arti cular lines P erson a ll y,I do
.

not claim t o e a Spi ri tual H ealer ,or a teacher

thereof ; but I have a s uffi c i ently extended
knowle dge of t he subj ect t o be able t o sel ec t the
best methods Of applying t he same An d,whi le .

I cannot attempt to go into the matter deeply

i n this l ess on ,yet I below pres e nt t o you a brief
c omprehensive syno psis of t he g i st of t he best

22 9
t ea chi n g on t he s u bj ect ,a n d a l s o g i ve y ou on e
or t wo ve ry good for ms of a dmi n i s t e r i n g thi s
f or m of t r e a tm e nt .

The e s s en ce of t he t he ory of Spi ri t u a l H ea l i n g

of t he hi ghe s t or de r i s thi s : Tha t m a n i s ca p a bl e
of ra i s i n g t he vi bra ti on s of hi s con s ci o u sn e s s u p
a b ove t ha t of hi s or di n a r y p l an e of con s c i ou s
“
n es s , a n d t o t he r e b y a tta i n Spi r i tu a l con s ci ous
n es s .
”
W he n t he he a le r r e a che s thi s pl an e of
cons ci ou s n e s s , a n d pr on o u n ce s hi s B e a l i n W or d
f rom tha t p l a n e , he re ach e s t he Si m i la r p a n e of
“ ”
s p i r i tu a l con s c i ou s n es s i n t he p a t i e nt ,a n d
ca u se s i t t o m a ni fe s t i t s he a l i n g pow e r . Thi s
s p i r i t u a l con s ci ou s n e s s of t he p a t i en t i s he l d t o
b e domi n a n t ov e r t he l o wer pl a n e s of hi s m i n d ;
a n d, t he re for e,whe n i t i s a r ou s e d,t he cu r a ti ve
work i s pe r f orm e d wi thi n hi s b ody b t he a ct i on
of hi s m e n t a l a n d s p i r i tu a l for ce s . e pl a n e of
“ ”
s p i r i tu a l con s ci ou s n e s s , i t i s he l d , clos e l y a

p ro a c h e s t h e p l a n e o f t h e I n fi n i t e P o we r w hi c

g o v e rn s a l l cr e a t e d l i f e ; a n d b y t hus b r i n i
g gn
t he a t i e n t i n t o n e a r e r co n t a ct wi th thi s t r a n
s ce n e n t pr i n ci pl e of b e i n g,i t en a b l e s hi m t o
r e ce i ve i t s b e n e fi ce n t pow e r i n t he di re cti on of
r e s t or i n g H e a lt h .

The f ol l owi n g t wo form s of tre a tm e n t a l ol l

t he l i n e s of S i ri t ua l H e a li n g a re t hos e a dvi s e
”

d
by a hi gh a u t or i t y on t r a n s ce n den ta l s u bj ect s ,
a n d,a s wi ll b e s e en ,con t a i n ve r y hi gh s t a t e
m e n t s a n d r i n ci pl e s ; i n fa ct ,on e m u s t be ve
m a te r i a l i n ccd who doe s n ot e xpe r i e n ce a f e e
in g m t he m e re s e ri ou s r e t i t i on of
t he of. I he re wi t h s u b m i t he
 MAGNE TI C AND SPI RI TUAL HEALI N G
t o y our a t t e n t i on ,wi t hou t fur t he r comm e n t .

The y a r e bot h i n t e n de d f or t he u s e of t he he a l e r
i n r a i s i n g hi m u p t o t he pl a n e of s p i r i t ua l con
”
s ci ou s n e s s , from w hi ch he m a y s pe a k t he He a l
i n Wor d bi ddin g t he pa ti e n t b e whol e a n d we l l .

he fi r s t St a t e men t of Sp i ri t u a l Con s ci ou s
n e s s i s a s f oll ows
O Spi r i t t he On e ,
—
,
B i r t hl e s s D e a t hl e s s t he
—

Om n i s ci e nt ,Om n ipr e s e n t ,Om n i pot e nt B e i n

i n who s e Oce a n of Li fe I a m a dr op l e t m e ee l — g
t hy Pr e s e n ce a n d Powe r . Le t m e r e a l i ze e ve n
m ore fu lly wha t Thou a r t ,a n d wha t I a m i n
The e Le t t he cons ci ou s n e s s of t hy R e a l i t y ,
. a nd
m y R e a lity i n The e ,pe rm e a t e m y b ei n g,a n d
de s c en d u pon a l l t he pl a ces of m y mi n d Le t .

t he P owe r of Spi r i t m a n i fe s t t hr ou gh m y m i n d,
p e r me a t i n g the body of thi s pe r s on t ha t I a m
de sirou s of he a l i ng ( or thi s b ody t ha t I ca ll
m i n e own ,i f you a r e he a l i n g y ours el f ) b r i n gi n g
’

t o i t H e a l th an d St r e n gt h a n d Li fe ,tha t i t b e
r e n de r e d a m or e fi t ti n g Te m l e of t he S i ri t
a m or e %
r f e ct i n s t r um e n t of xpr e ss i on or t he
On e L e tha t flows thr ou gh i t R a i s e u t hi s
'

body fr om t he gr os s vi br a ti on s of t he owe r
l a n es ,t o t he h pe r vi br a t i ons of t he S i ri t ua l
ig
n s ci ou s n e s s , ou gh whi ch an d b w ch we
'

kn ow The e . Gi v e t hi s body,t hr on g
i t u nl Con s ci ou s n e ss whi ch i s i m m in e
it , tha t Pe a ce ,a n d St r e n gt h,a n d Li fe ,t ha t i s i t s
by vi r t u e of t hy i m m a n e nce wi t hi n i t DO Thou ,
.

t he Al l Li fe ,flow i n t hy e s s en ce thr ou gh thi s

-

thy r e fle cti on a n d expr e s s i on ,re vi vi fyi n g a n d

en l i v e n i n g i t
. Thi s do I cl a i m,0 Al l Spi r i t ,by
-

381
 ME NTAL THE RAP E UTI CS
virtue of my etern al Bir thri ght from Thee An d, .

by reason of thy promi se and t he inner knowl

edge of the s a m e given t o me ,I n ow demand t hi s
”
of Thee %
The se cond St a tement of Sp i ri tu al C onsc i ous
ness i s a s follows
- 1

“
O tho u Great I nfi nit e P ower thou Great
—

F lame of Life of which I am but a S ark I open

—
‘

myself t o t hy H eali ng P o wer ,tha it may flow

through me t o strengthen ,build u p,and make
-

whol e thi s brother ( or Sister ) i n Life Le t t hy .

P ower flow t hro u gh me t o the end that he ( or

s he ) may re ceive thy vivifyi ng energy and
Strength and Life ,and be able t o man ifest the
Same a s H ealth , Strength ,and Vigor Make me .

a worthy channel of thy P ower,a n d use me f or

’

GOod .

And,s o,my students ,I pass on these lessons

,

t o y ou Ma y y ou s tudy them care fu ll y ,

. an d apply
t he prin c i pl es th ereof t o the be s t advantage in
“
healin g of those in whom the hand of the
'

”
ped B e true t o t he best within
.

the high est p ower withi n you

‘

s e e Health ,pre a ch H ealth ,and

'

yourself an d those
cur e .D o n ot pr os
.

fi s h m oti ve s ,or n u
Sci en ce ,and yo u
wi ll b e t rue t o your s elf an t o your patients
'

1 32
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STA N FO RD U N IVERS ITY LI BRA RI ES

C EC I L H G REEN l I B RA RY
.

STA N FO RD, C A LI FO RN IA 9 4 3 05 -6 004

( 4 1 5 ) 7 2 3 -1 4 9 3

Al l b o o ks m a y b e r e ca e
ll d o tt e r 7 da y s

DA TE DU E