M EN TAL CO N TRO L O F THE B OD Y O R

—
HEALTH THR O UGH SELF C O N Q UE S T
M E N TAL C O N TR O L O F THE
B OD Y or HE A LTH THR O UG H
S E LF C O N Q
— UE ST

BY

VILLETTE HUTCHIN S WHITE

N E W Y OR'
E D WA R D J C L O D E
.
BUT W ITH AB O U N D IN G F AITH , TO AL L W HO

P AIN AN D SU RCE ASE

OF SO RRO W

55 9 442 0
 C ON TE N TS
C HA PTE R

FORE W ORD

THE LAR GER HOPE

TH E NE R VO U S C O NTR OL OF TH E B O D Y

TH E TRAININ G OF THE W ILL

THE PLACE OF THE W ILL IN ME NTAL

H E AL ING
THE E D U CATI ON OF THE LO W E R B R AIN

THE PHY S I OLOG ICAL B A S I S OF W ILL CU RE

THE RI S E AND PR OG R E SS OF
H E AL IN G
THE GR OU ND OF O UR HO PE

THE SPIR ITU AL A SPECT .

HE AL TH THR OU GH S ELF C ONTR OL

-

M OD U S O PER AND I Con t in ued

PRACTICAL SU GGE STI ONS
S C OPE OF THE W OR' AN D ITS LIMITATIONS
 FO RE WO R D
HE in d ul gen c e o f the re a der is asked fo r
a brief st atement o f the facts le ading
t o the writing an d p ublic a tion O f this book .

Only the necessity of giving proo f Of my

knowledge from experience Of the practical
v alue of the method O f cur e set forth in this
book forces me to give this personal testimony .

After t en ye ars o f inv alidism during which

,

I had the more or less constant attendance O f

physicians I found this way to he al th
, .

Many years before in desperation from

,

long continued suff ering I had been per

,

su ad ed t o t ry another form Of mind cu re ,

but did n o t find it suite d t o my nee ds so ,

n o w felt n o des ire t o seek help from th a t

However I had alw ays believed that there

,

must be some w ay in which t o av ail ourselves

’
of God s promises for the body if we only
,

knew how .
 M enta l Co ntro l of the Body
'T g a
h e re t : incentive which now g a ve spur
t Omy efforts w as the failing health Of my
rso nl i son mI
‘

y , who wished t o
be able t o help .

A kind fri e nd an earnest member o f the

,

B aptist Church taught me very simffly h ow

,

t o give the self tre atment She h ad been

-
.

gre atly helped by Mr D W Starrett a . . .

,

ment al he aler who h ad taught her a s he

, ,

does all his p atients t o secure health through

,

the use o f the will upon the body .

She c alled the system Scientific Ment al

Ther apeutics but gave me in a single short
,

interview merely the com ands in a simm e

form so that I had no knowledge whatever
,

Of the underlying principles till subsequent

research revealed them As will be seen o n .

reading this system has no connection what

,

ever with an y he al ing cult but is really an ,

approach to the subj ect from an

different angle .

’
Through following my friend s ins tru o
tions and the gener al principles herein o u t
lined a great physic al an d spiritu al up lift
,

resulted Th e vicious circle was broken an d

.
,

I w a s lifted entirely out of the rut in which

 Foreword 11

so many ye ars had been spent Though t he .

re alization o f my new found power c am e sud

-

d enly strengt h returned gradu ally but a

, ,

faithful use o f the mental means alone fin ally

brought est ablished he al th and h as been suf
,

fic ien t for all physic al needs ever since My .

so n also soon learned to use the same method

o f self help and was res tored to his former

-

he alth and vigor and later many others

,

found he alth in the same way .

We h ave learned th at the way t o physic al

as t o spiritu al h ealth is through coworking
with God and so help ing to answer o ur o w n
prayers .

To control t h e bo dy consciously is no t to
detract from the power an d province of Go d
in the life but is allying ou rselv es with his
,

omnipotence and depending upon his co n

“
stant presence knowing th at we have this
,

treasu re in earthen vessels th at the excel ,

len cy o f the power may be o f G od and no t

”
Of u s.

“
To do our bee t an d leave the rest
, is
alw ays the divine plan In an e ffo rt t o under
.

st and the experience which had come t o me

12 Menta l Contro l of the Body
an d mine s erious studies were undertaken
,

and pursued which soon revealed the fact that

we h ad unwittingly obeyed the laws O f ment al
control o f the body .

Th e reader is advised to extend his knowl

edge an d strengthen his faith by reading some
o f the ma y books o n ment al healing from
n
reliable scientific sources that are n o w before
the public Such investigation will throw
.

great light upon his mental and bodily

constitution .

Th e aim o f the author is set forth in

C h apter First but it may be well to state
,

th at it is no t intended t o antagoniz e any

profession o r class .

Th e great value o f scientific investigation

is fully recognized and an appeal made for
further application o f its discoveries t o the
n eed s o f the world N or is it the pu rpose
.

either to comb at o r support Christian

Science New Thought o r any other healing
, ,

cult t o which incidental reference may be

,

made Th e book aims to teach a system o f

M ental Therapeutics in h armony both with
the most advanced Scientific thought and ,
 Foreword 13

with the Word o f God and which would in

,

no way tend to un settle religious faith o r

’
It has long been the author s convicti on
that it is most ungracious o f any chu rch o r
individual t o deride the efforts Of others to
relieve suffering while offering nothing upon
,

their ow n part . A recent letter from a

Methodist frien d s ays I firmly believe God
“
,

doe s not intend o r wish p eople t o struggle

al ong year after ye ar b urdened by ill he al th .

Jesu s woul d never have healed if that were

so. B u t the average minister is afraid to
touch the subj ect ; hence the people are flock
ing t o the Christian Scientists .

I think it time the church shoul d aw aken

t o the fact that God Cares fo r the bod y as
well as the soul .

Th e people are demanding instruction and

help along physical line s as their rightful
herita ge an d this need mu s t be met in some
,

way It is hope d that this may be a sort

.

Of practical handbook which in connection

,
’
with some exh austive tre atise as S adl er s
,
“ ”
Physiolo gy Of Faith and Fear could be ,
14 Menta l Contro l of the Body
used in classes either in priv ate o r in the
,

churches .

Th e writer does not assume to be either a

theologi an o r a scientist B u t the m atter O f
.

the book has just two sources It is drawn.

from the best and most recent authorities

in the scientific an d religious world and from
the undoubted fa cts of personal experience .

Th e great systems O f religious as well as

scientific thought are based upon ascert ained
facts either o f consciousness o r Of research
, .

Th e gre at t est to which everything is be

ing subj ected tod ay is th at of experience .

Through years o f suff ering and fin al victory

the writer has had ample Opportunity to
test all this volume contains ; an d it has
been written in the attempt so to interpret
those experiences in the light o f modern
research into the relations O f mind an d body
as to recommend itself to other sufferers an d ,

especially to the churches of all denomina

tions SO much fo r the Obvious re ason
. .

B u t a deeper and more compelling motive

is in the conviction th at it is a duty which
cannot be ev aded without condem nation .
 Foreword 15

We believe th at God often leads his chil

dren through fiery tri als into the fuller light
,

o f His Will To discern His purpose an d to

.

’“
fulfill it is the Christi an s go al Someone
.

”
must stru ggle that others may win an d to ,
’
have gained from life s experiences how ,

ever bitter somethin g that will help others

,

o n its rugged path is reward enough

, .

’
It is the writer s earnest hope th at m any
m ay here find help fo r thems elves and others ,

an d become member s o f that gre at host who

“
shall publish good tidings Of redemption
”
and release for bod y as well as soul .

Hast t hou h ad a kindn ess shown '

Pass it on '

Twas n ot given for t hee alone ;

’

Pass it o n '
L et it echo d own t h e y ears ,

Let it dry an ot her s t ea rs

’
,

T ill in h eaven t h e deed appears ,

”
Pass it on '
 ME N TAL C O N TR O L
O F THE B O D Y

CHAPTER I
THE AIM

N attempting so ambitious a proj ect a s

Offering to the public another book o n
M ental He aling the only sufficient reason is
,

its p u rpose which is to present the subj ect in

,

such a simple practical manner that it may

,

be un derstood an d gr asped by the masses

Of the people but more especi ally by the
,

members of those great denomin ations which

form the vast bulk o f Christi an believers.

Bodily healing is not the exclusive pos

session O f any sect or c ul t but is for all
,

humanity an d was evidently origin ally in

tended t o be as universal as salvation for

Th e subj ect in the past has been sur

, ,

rounded with SO much o f mystery and super

 20 Menta l Co ntro l of the Body
st it io n ,
that thinking people have hesitated
to approach it for fear o f being led into
fanaticism .

However the extreme advocates Of healing

,

h ave done the world a service by em ph asiz

In g It s possibility and its importance to the
'

race ; but their imperfect views and pr ao

tices have left many mental and physic al
wrecks along the way, an d it is only as sci
en t ific investigation has patiently discovered

and traced its possibility in the body itself

that a really safe an d s ane found ation has
been laid fo r a univer sal application Of the

the v eil b et w een religion and science

At la st
has been rent and what has heretofore been
,

i onl y by the eye o f faith n o w seems

‘
“
d scerned
t o be fully demonstrated by the word o f

It is hoped that the purpose Of this book

will commend its elf to that large and in
creasing number o f people who look with
longing upon the movements outside the
churches which seem to Offer help they do
,

not find in their o w n communions and tend ,

 The A im 21

to stop the drift away from the orthodox

“
churches and the faith once delivered to
,
”
the s aints .

There seems to be a dearth o f lite rature o n

this subj ect aside from the purely scientific
,

treatises many o f which are t o o ext ensive

,

and t o o technic al for the ordinary reader .

This p artly exp lains why the literature Of

the various he aling cults finds such a wide
re ading It is hoped that this book m ay
.

fill this need t o some degree and that the

,

re ader m ay find in it the truth about he aling

fo r which he is searching .

Th e attempt will be made to show that

he alin g through the mind lik e salvation is
, ,

“
re ally a simple thing so plain that the way
faring man though O f simm
, e mind need not
,

err therein .

O n e need not go outside o f his own church

to find it nor t ake up an y extensive study
,

Of Obscure theories All that is necessary is

.

an intelligent underst anding O f a few b asic

facts a vital faith in the possibility Of cu re

, ,

an d a disciplined will to realize upon that

faith.
22 M en ta l Con tro l of the Bo dy
An other obj ect sought is t o free the sick
from either mental o r fin ancial dependence
upon the healer by revealing their o w n
,

powers .

In the infancy o f the race men looked ,

upon the priest a s the one who held the

issues o f life and death but in these later
,

d ays they have been taught to depend upon

Christ alone for Spiritu al help E ven SO the .
,

time is at hand when we shall fin d our physical

needs supplied directly from the gre at foun
t ainh ea d O f life without any intermediary
, .

This form Of mind cur e can be used in o ur

churches without conflicting with any Of o ur
doctrines o r creeds An y earnest seeker o f
.
,

whatever religl o u s faith if he fulfills the

,

conditions m ay find the help he seeks an d

, ,

instead o f interfering with his religion or

his love for the church Of his choice he wil l ,

find both far more satisfying .

To the o n e who seeks and finds this healing

power within himself a new field o f labor
,

will Immediately Open E ach o n e becomes

.

a center o f i n fluence in his church or neigh

bo rh o o d and c an be a source O f help a n d

,
 The A im 23

inspiration t o those in need It is not alw ays

.

easy t o appro ach those in sin as there is ,

a n atural res entment which springs up t o

comb at wh at seems like correction or criti
c ism ; but no o n e obj ects to sugg estions of
physic al help since while all do n o t wish to
,

be good everyone desires t o be well an d

, ,

al most invariably welcomes any proff ered

aid .

Most efficient se rvice can be given by such

a symp athetic friend to another seeking help ,

by instruction and encouragement by sug ,

gestions o f cure by having a strong faith for

,

the seeker by pr ayer that gr ace m ay be given

, ,

just as the Christian worker helps another

“ ”
to get through when seeking salv a tion .

If we need scripture warrant we find it ,

“
in thes e words :
“
If two Of y o u sh all a gree
as touching an yt hing ye sh all ask Of my
”
F ather it sh all be done un to you
, .

Th e care Of the body is a sacred trust We .

cannot despise o r defile this temple without

gre at loss We are individu ally responsible
.

for it s condition As children we are under

.
,

the control of p ar ents and governors but there ,

24 Men ta l Contro l of the Bo dy
must come a time when we a ssume o u r
rightful responsibility in this as in all other
,

m atters an d it is only natural to suppose

,

th at the person who inh abits his own body

c an an d sho ul d do more for its welfare than

Th e m atter of mental healing in its last ,

an alysis is strictly between the individu al

,

and his God an d it will be the earnest effort

,

o f the writer to point the w ay to the pla ce

and Operation o f the divine power upon the

body .

M ent al he aling is not o n e final act but is ,

a process to be wrought out in which the ,

element Of time is ever present It is not .

something to be done for us from without ,

once for all but something to be done within

,

us d aily through the union O f our own efforts

,

with the divine elements ever present in

ourselves .

It is o ur part t o set in motion the God

given forces within to cooperate with nature
,

and S O energize her processes as to secure an d

m aint ainhe al th To le arn to use these forces
.

as a metho d of self help need not necessarily

-
 The A im 25

bar o ne from av ailing him self Of scientific

aid, and in some cases o n e will do better if
every earthly prop is n o t swept away at
once E veryone shoul d be free to u se his
.

o w n best judgment and it need not hurt his

,

conscience to seek medic al help if at the

,

s am e time he is doing all in his power t o help

himself . Th e conscientious physici an will
rejoice to fin d in his p atient a disposition to
comb at dise ase inste ad o f we akly yielding
,

to it an d Often th at attitude of mind will

,

turn the scal es in favor Of recovery Never .

t h eless there are a great m any ailments which

are the despair o f the physici an and m any
,

reput able profession al men are sending such

p atients t o the Christi an Science pra ctitioner .

It is t o meet this need as well as to lay down

the underlying principles Of ment al cure by ,

which the race m ay attain bodily health th at ,

this work is attempted .

While the truth about mental he aling is

re ally SO simple the process o f att ainment is
,

not so e a sy in pr actice .Its t ake cour age ,

p atience an un faltering trust in the Unseen

, ,

an d a persistent fa ithfulness in using the

26 M enta l Co n tro l o f the Body
mental me ans While the only absolut ely
.

necess ary requirement to secure he aling is the

’
faith o f the seeker to maintain one s hold
,

upon this blessing requires a high degree Of

s elf control a mind at rest and fully stayed
-

upon Go d .

M ental s elf mastery is the first essenti al

-

without which mastery Of the body is

M po ssible
L et no o n e deceive himself into thinking
th at there is any m agic process by which
these resul ts can be re ached There is no .

roy al road to he alin g any more th an to

,

le arning Ho w many have turned aw ay on

.

finding that o n e must put forth effort to

“
achieve ' As one lady s aid I woul d so
,
”
much r ather take a pill it is so much easier
, .

It is e asy to im a gine what w as in the he art

o f the C hrist when he s aid to his followers ,

“
An d will ye al so go away ' when they
found the w ay o f life a rugged steep ascent, .

Yet the rewards O f effort to attain are so

gre at and glorious that they are well worth
the highest endeavor To en cour a ge all
.

needy aspiring souls t o seek this highway

,
 The A im 27

of holiness ' wholeness' cast up for the re

deemed o f the Lord to walk upon is the aim ,

an d Obj ect Of this book and in the earnest

,

h O pe that many m ay find health and happi

ness in its p ages it is sent forth .

If I c an c ase o n elife t h e a chin g ,

O r cool o n e p ain ,

I shall n o t liv e in v ain ,

I sh all n o t liv e in v ain .

 II
THE L A R GE R
 CHAP TER II
THE LA R GER HOPE
0 subj ect affecting the welfare O f the
hum an race is o f more vital interest at
the present time than th at o f bo d ily he alth .

Were it possible t o banish disease from the

world a large proportion Of hu man misery
,

woul d dis appear With physical well being

.
-

the su m Of h appiness would be immeasurably

increased and the world which is now t o many
,

“ ”
only a pent u p pri son hou se woul d become
-

almost a P aradise .

Could the enormous exp ens e caused by dis

ease be done away with and the great host O f
inv alids be restored to the possibility Of self
support by becoming producers and workers ,

instead Of helple ss burdens U pon the efficient

and strong what a long step would be taken
,

toward solving the economic questions which

press upon us from all sides ' Ho w many
hearts woul d grow lighter how man y homes
,

would be brightened how many more will ing

,
32 M en ta l Co nt ro l of the Bo dy
’
hands woul d help t o do the world s work ; how
much woul d the cares o f life be ea sed an d ,

the whole course o f e xistence be smoothed an d

sweetened coul d sickness be overcome ' If
, ,

in addition it were possible so to teach the

,

laws Of he alth t o the young of the present

an d future generations that they might be

freed from the bu rden o f wea kness and su f

ferin g woul d not all life be t ransformed and
,

glorified '
This has been the dream o f the race from
its earliest his tory but its realization has been
,

long deferred Science has long sought the

.

go al led on by the hope o f decreasing if not

,

eradicating dise ase Much very much has .

, ,

been ac complished in certain directions ; but

while vaccin ation seru ms and antito xins , ,

h ave helped to lessen the ravages o f some

dise ases others , such as pneumonia an d
,

c ancer have not proved amenable t o treat

,

ment an d are incre a sing in frequency and

virul ence at a terrible rate I t also seems .

as if o n e disease had n o sooner yielded t o the

power o f science than some new ailment comes
in its stead perh aps more Obscure and in
,
 The L arger H0p e 33

tra ctable than the o n e it has displaced

'

During the past with few exceptions h u

, ,

m anity has accepte d disease as an inevitable

p art Of our e arthly lo t Th e fa tal i s t and
.

pessimist have thought it a part of life from

which there was no escape an d have borne
it sometimes with the grim cou rage of the
,

Sp artan but Often when hope has fled h ave

, , ,

succum bed in dull desp air t o mental an d

physic al ban kruptcy and decay .

To the believers in a Divine Providence ,

sickness h as been accepted as a mysteriou s

dispensation intended to discipline and
,

chasten hu manity and so aid in the develop

,

ment Of character T0 those who have so

.

beh aved and have always been ab le to loo k

,

behind a frowning Providence and see a

smiling face there is no doubt th at sickne ss
,

h as had a bless ed ministry Some Of the

.

most perfect moral ch ar acters h ave been

developed during the orde al o f lengthened
illness and according to their o wn testimony
, ,

they learned much of truth and the me aning

Of lif e which h ad never come to them in the
ye ars O f he alth an d strength SO we cannot
.
34 M en ta l Co ntro l of the Bo dy

say that sickness has no place in the present

world since through pain and we akness some
, ,

perhaps m any have found a purer and a

,

higher plane Of living Yet when we look

.
,

at the other side Of the question and see the

unnumbered millions who have found in
sickness a leaden weight constantly depress
ing and destroying their higher aspira tions ,

thwarting their worthy ambitions making ,

success in life impo ssible filling their d ays

,

and nights with torment we do not wonder

,

that to these unfortunates life seems an

unequal battle and they go down to defe at .

It raise s the qu estion whether the few who

conquer do so becaus e o f physic al suffering
o r in spite Of it An d the query follows :
.

Woul d not the acceptance Of divine truth ,

and its incorporation into their lives have ,

the same effect an d thus m any be saved to

,

usefulness in the world '

There is a deep instinctive feeling in the
ra ce that sickness is undesir able an d all are,

trying to avoid o r overcome it Th e thought.

is r apidly growing in the minds Of m en th at

instead of blindly submitting to the rav a ges
 Th e L arger Hop e 35

of dise a se a s a dispensation Of Providence ,

it is something t o be fought and overcome

just as much a s sin o r poverty o r any other
,

ill which affl icts humanity A large hope is

.

growing in the minds o f many that disease

m ay be conquered .

O ur Christi an forces are in the contest with

evil in all its forms O ur te a chers and mis
,
.

sio n aries are girdling the globe with the

knowledge Of the truth which shall purify
and elevate the race Th e s entiment Of a
.

comm on brotherhood is touching all hearts ,

and a mighty effort is n o w being made to do

away with the poverty which crushes an d
degrades so large a proportion o f mankind .

Wh y sh all we not look forward to the time

when the lovers o f hum anity shall also join
in a m ighty struggle against this dre ad foe
o f pe ace, h appiness and progre ss
,
— bodily
sickness '
With the growth of altruism and a concerted
effort for the common uplift why is not this
,

the fit hour t o help usher in the time when

there shall be no more p ain ' Wh y sho ul d
“ ”

we refer all these promised blessings t o the

36 M enta l Con tro l of the Body
futu re life ' If we c an enjoy the spiritu al
blessings Of Heaven in the present time t o ,

which many lay claim why is it unre ason

,

able O r ext rav a gant to expect th at as the

warfare ag ainst moral evil goes on to su c
c essfu l culmin ation so will the warfare a g ainst
,

disease terminate in bodily as well as spiritu al

perfection ' Wh y is it any more unre ason able
t o hope for the r edemp t ion o f the body th an
for th at o f the soul ' We find a most wonder
ful and signific ant sta tement as a ground for
this h O pe in the eighth ch apter o f R om ans ,

where the Apostle Paul m akes the following

prophetic utterance : Fo r I reckon th at the
sufferings Of this present time are n o t worthy
t o be compared with the glory which shall
”
be reve al ed in us .

“
For the earnest expect ation o f the
creature w aiteth fo r the m anifestation of
the sons O f God .

“
Bec ause the creature itself shall also be
delivered from the bond age of corruption into
the glorious liberty Of the children o f Go d .

For we know th at the whole creation

gro aneth an d t rav aillet h in pain together
 The La rger Hope 37

until now and not only they but ourselves

, ,

alsO which have the first fruits o f the Spirit

, ,

even we ourselves groan within ourselves

w aiting for the a doption t o wit : the redemp
,
”
t ion of the bo dy .

Those who have felt the h ealing touch an d

h ave found the w ay t o health an d happiness
realize the fulfillment of th is prophecy in
themselves an d understan d fully what the
sweet singer of Israel meant when he broke
“
o u t into praise to Him who forgiveth all
o ur iniquities an d he al eth all o ur dise a ses.

We also believe that the same R edeemer

“ ”
who taketh away the sins o f t h e w o rld also
“ ”
bare o u r sicknesses and that through u n
,

d erst an din g h o w we may co Operat e with the

“
Power which worketh in u s t o will an d to
”
do O f His good plea sure we may step o u t
-

into the gloriou s liberty O f the children Of

G od .

We believe that Christ is still t h e Great

Physician but th at n o w as ever He works in
, , ,

an d through the hum an mind an d through

the mind re a ch es the body As we learn more

.

o f the mental and physical c o n stitution o f

38 M en ta l Contro l o f th e Bo dy

m an , we sh all be better able to avail o ur

selves o f this ment al and spiritu al power with
which we are endowed and which may be
,

wonderft increased by const ant use till, ,

’
like the people O f Christ s time we shall,

glorify God who has given such power to

men .
THE B OD Y
 CHAPTER I II
THE NER VO US CON TR OL OF THE B OD Y

is n o t necess ary to rehearse facts co n

T
cern ing the h armful influence o f depressing
mental states since they are becoming familiar
,

to all .

No r does it seem necessary to claim that

mental conditions are the c ause O f all ill ness .

O n e o f the gentlest O f ladies h appened to

mention to a friend an enthusi a stic ad
herent o f a he alin g cult that sh e had a
bunion ; t o which her friend replied Oh
, ,

y o u must hate somebody I A little co m

mon s ense would have suggested th at an ill
fit t in g shoe and not a state O f mind w a s
, ,

r esponsible for the trouble So there m ay be

.

m any immediate causes fo r dise a se aside from

ment al states .

Wh at the world desires and needs to know

is how to overcome illness through the power
o f the mind and so buil d up the he al th O f the
,
42 M en ta l Contro l o f the Body
body as to give it an inw ard resistance and
thus render it immune to disease .

Science te aches that the body is run an d

controlled by forces within itself th at the ,

motive power consists in mental energy ,

generated in the centr al nervous system ,

wh ence it is transmitted through conducting

ch annels to every tissue cell and org an Of the
, ,

body vit aliz ing their every action

, .

It is only a fair conclusion that anything

which affects the br ain adversely will limit
its output O f nervous energy entailing suf
,

ferin g upon the rest o f the body Th e most

.

familiar illustration of this fact is to be seen

in the student who burns the midnight O il ,

thus consuming all his nerve force only t o ,

find himself physic ally impoverished .

In these d ays Of high pressu re many ,

unfortunates come into the world la cking

sufficient power t o run the bodily machin e
effi ciently and are practically invalids from
,

the first through no fault of their own

,
.

B u t the Creator has not left us without

h O pe o r help , since within us he has placed
all the elements necess ary t o secure an d
 Th e N ervo us Contro l of the Body 43

maint ain health if we but knew how to use

In the blood are all the materials for build

ing up the physic al structure ; in the various
glands subst ances are formed to meet special
,
’
needs which act as stimulants t o n ature s
,

processes .

It is even claimed by Dr Abd erh alden an .

,

eminent German physiologist th at the body ,

has the power o f natural di a gnosis an d th at ,

when diseas e impends special antidotal fer,

ments are formed and thrown into the

circulation to counteract the threatening
conditions .

Dr C W Saleeby an E nglish medical

. . .
,

writer says that the onl y cur ative drugs are

,

those O f t h e body s o w n m aking Th e ex

’
.

tracts and serums prepared from the organs

o f he althy anim al s and administered to su p

l lack in the corresponding organ f the

“

py a O

human being show how this idea is growing

,

in medical circles E xtracts from the thyroid

.

gland o f a sheep pepsin pancreatin and

, , ,

adrenalin from other a nimals an d even white ,

corpuscles developed from the blood o f a

44 M en ta l Co n tro l o f the Bo dy
horse are a dministered as being O f physic al
, ,

origin an d hence c apable o f meeting a physical

need in man .

While this m ay be the most advance d

i

'

method of m edication tod ay the fact re ,

m ains th at it is not c onsidered good practice

t o d o anything fo r the b o dy which it is able
t o do fo r itself This evil is seen in the use
.

Of pepsin an d predigested foods which after ,

“
a time cause the stomach t o lie down on
”
its job .

Th e body should be forced if possible to , ,

t ake c are o f itself an d upon the nervous

system fall s the ta sk Of regul ating and su s
t aining all the vit al processes .

Th e force which is al ways at work is call

by Dr Sadler n euric l t y by others electro
.
,

It resembles electricity in its manifest a

tions but fo r the sake o f simplicity will be
,

spoken o f as nerve force or energy Since it, .

flows from the brain it can never be dis

,

t in gu ish ed from ment al energy an d whil e ,

much Of its action is automatic o r unconscious ,

yet a wonderful intelligence is shown in its

 The N ervo us Co ntro l of th e Bo dy 45

Operations Th e bodily org ans are constantly

.

stimul ated t o perform their functions by

nervous impul ses passing over the sympat hetic
nervous system .

This fact is the foundation upon w hich are

built the schools o f o steop athy chiropra ctic , ,

and mechanotherapy An y interference with

.

the nervous fl o w me an s an enf eebled organ .

SO the spine from which proce ed the vaso

,

motor nerves is manipul ated its vertebrae

, ,

and adj acent ribs are adjusted the spinal ,

nerv es are stimulated by deep pressure the ,

nerve impul ses set in motion thus in creas ,

ing circul ation and nutrition .

An osteopath was asked while giving a ,

treatment what he was trying t o ac co m

,

p lis,h to w hich he rep lied I am re leasing the

,

life f orces
.

’
In the words o f Dr Sch o fi eld E ngland s
.
,

most eminent authority o n nervous diseases ,

“ ” “
in N erves in O rder : Nerve power is the
very force o f lif e an d if it fail life fails
, , .

However perfect the machinery it is useless ,

if there be no steam for after all it is the

,

nerve force th a t drives the body Nervous .

46 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Body
breakdowns are responsible for all functional
diseases as well as Often being a contributing
,
”
c ause in organic disease .

A typical treatment by a well known prac -

t it io n er o f hypnotism may illustrate this

point :
After putting his patient into a p as sive ,

relaxed condition he talks to him as follows

,
“
Y o u probably do n o t re al ize th at your
brain o r mind controls the muscles nerves , ,

an d blood vessels Of your entire body but it ,

does Just as your br ain o r mind u n co n

.

’
scio u sly controls your heart s action your ,

breathing an d your circul ation S O does it

, ,

control all other parts o f your body There .

are running t o and from the brain innumerable

nerves o r wires t o all the different p arts o f
the body just like telephone o r telegr aph
,

wires Th e brain or mind sends messages

.
, ,

to and receives mess ages from all these dif

”
feren t parts consciously or unconsciously .

When the p atient s will is completely yielded

’

to the hypnotist he proceed s to send sug

,

gestions t o the mind an d through his stronger

,

will t o supplement an d strengthen the force

 The N ervo us Contro l of the Body 47

of the messages al ready p assing Th e n u .

doubted fact is that these orders are received

by the br ain ; an d finding no hindr ance in
,

the relaxed body o r the p a ssive mind they ,

are carrie d over the nervous system and

serve as stimuli t o the nerve centers which
control the body .

Wh at is this but an outflow Of energy ,

stimulating the lethargic organ s t o greater

activity '
Let o n e receive an injury as a bruise the , ,

s ensory nerve instantly sends a mess a ge to the

brain which in turn immedi ately stimul ates
,

the center Of circulation which sends o u t a

,

mess age t o the blood supply Th e response .

follows in the congested area around the

’
bruise which is nature s method of cure by
, ,

building u p inj u red tissues through the

restorative power o f the blood .

Mental physiology has am m

'

y demonstrated
that these mess ages orders or commands are
, ,

const antly flashing throughout the body ,

and it is by means of this in t erco mm un i

cation th at the automatic processes are
48 M enta l Con tro l of the Bo dy
Th evital question for the reader is t o
know whether he can dr aw U pon his o w n
ment al resources an d using his o w n mind and
, ,

will instead o f depending upon the hypnotist

,

o r healer infl uence his body for good

, Can he .

consciously st art nerve currents flowing from

the brain that will either directly o r indirectly
re ach nerve centers and wake them into
renewed life '
All great authoriti es say that every fu nction
o f the body can be affected by the emotions ,

but at the same time say the emotion s

shoul d be controlled Something more th a n
.

a mere ment al state is needed t o energize

There must be a mental power sufficient

to overcome nerve inertia t o stimul ate in
,

hibit ed nerve action to increase circul ation

,

an d give tone and vigor t o all the vital

process es .

Dr S adl er s ays : Any power gaining control

.

o f the br ain and nerve centers will be able

eventually t o gain control Of the entire body .

N o t only are the brain an d its as sociated nerve

centers the recipients o f all the imp uls e s
 The N ervo us Co ntro l of the Body 49

comin g in over the nervous system but they ,

are also the seats Of authority from which

the mind s ends o u t all mental messages to
”
the remotes t cells of the body .

Physiologists dispute the power t o influence

directly through the will the functions which
are u nder the automatic control o f the sym
pathetic system and we n eed not question
,

On e cannot say , I will circulate my blood ,

”
I will digest my food and accomplish any
,

thing but nevertheless it is possible to af

,

fec t all thes e fu nctions in directly through ,

stimul ating by the will the nerve centers

controll ing them We can consciously send
.

imperative messages by way of thes e gre at

nerve centers which will be obeyed an d in
, ,

time the whole bo dy can be m ade sub servient

t o the will .

In learning to exercise this power over

ourselves we prove o ur kinship with God o f
, ,

Whom it has bee n said Law is the mani

“
,

fest at io n o f His mind force the movement O f

,
”
His will .
50 M en ta l Co ntro l of the Bo dy
Great thinkers hold tod ay that the only
ul tim ate force is in the energy of the divine

Will so th at in striving to use o ur o w n will s

,

in h armony with the laws of o u r being we ,

are truly partakers o f the divine nature .

 IV
THE TRA I N I N G OF THE W I LL
 CHAP TER IV
THE TRA INING OF THE WILL

If you t hink y ou ll lo se y ou re lost

’
,
’

For o u t in t h e world w e find

S ucc ess b egin s wit h a fellow s W Ill
’ ’

It s all in t h e st at e of t h e min d
’
.

HE need o f tr aining the will is not

alw ays fully realized but its education
,

is re ally o f far greater importance to the

individu al th an that of his intellect .

R eligion alone adequately inculcates this

necessity Th e gospel w as proclaimed at the
.

“ ”
first as being for men o f good will .

“
Christ s aid He th at will eth to d o the w ill
,

”
o f my Father shall know O f the doctrine .

All genuine Ob edience to authority is

through the will Th e great Teacher s aid
.
,
“
Ye will not come un to me that ye might
”
h ave life.

We are urged to strive to enter in ,

”
,

which implies strenuous exertion o f the w ill .

54 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Body

We are told to ask that it m ay be given

unto us ; to seek that we may fin d ; to kn ock
,

th a t it may be Opened unto us Th e p ar able .

o f the m an coming at night t o ask fo r bre ad

plainly states th at it was because o f his im

p o rt u n it y that his request was gr a nted ; in
other words he woul d not be denied Wh at .

is this but an encouragement to put forth

the will in the strongest possible w ay ; in
other words t o come boldly t o a throne o f
gr ace '
This note is struck constantly from the
fir st t o the last Of the Christi an revelation ,

till in its closing pages the gr acious words

ring o u t : Whosoever will m ay come an d
“
,

take Of the water o f life freely which life ,

is as efficient for o ur physic al as for o u r

Spiritual needs .

m M
M

IO
'
to it s resou rces to Open up to it
'
ad d ,

the way of inner reinforcement should be ,

the one supreme obj ect o f spiri tu al educa

 The Tra in ing of the Will 55

tion For it is here in this secret place m an

.
, ,

touches his godhood .

“ ’
It is here in the soul s innermost holiest ,

ground when with this single invisible force

, ,

he meets the ons et of passion the craven ,

voice Of his fe ars the solicitations Of the

,

world the threat o f foes with his invincib le

, ,
’
‘
I will that m an shows his kinship with the
,
”
God who m ade him .

“
A g a in Th e will feels its elf mo st divinely
,

free when it mysteriously realiz es its un ity

with the univers al Will o u t o f which itself ,

h as come It is by t his reinf orcement and

.

spiritu al direction o f the individual will that

man will eventually fight down all his foe s
”
and come into his ' in gdom Further .
,
“
Wh at is wan ted in the individual is not less
will but more an d ever more Of it There is
, .

no chara cter in subj ection It is in voli t ion .

,

the subtlest mightiest most wonderful thing

, ,

in the un iverse in the fullest freest most

, , ,
’
reasoned exercise Of it that man s value really ,
”
consists .

Brierly insists that through this power it is

’
possible t o rec re ate one s tempe rament and ,
56 Menta l Contro l of the Body
appeals especially to those who naturally
“
tend t o melancholy T0 such he says But
.
,

the melancholy man has h is remedy It lies .

in the daily energy Of his will When the .

black thoughts come a strong volition like a

, ,

breeze from the north will sweep away the ,

clouds We can will the thoughts which are

.

to come t o us the memories o n which to

,

feed and the prospects for the mind to gaze

,

u pon Our world will change fo r us by the

.

constant repetition o f this process .

“
If we w ill t o be ch eerful to banish the ,

u nwholesome fancies the brooding resent ,

ments the sense o f slights and injuries and

, ,

instead to summon to o u r thought the causes

Of gratitude the s ense o f the g o od in life the
, ,

re ason for aspiration and hope we can d o it , .

“
It is in this w ay that men create their
world and make a good o n e o r a bad o n e Of
,

it apart from all consideration o f ext ernal

,

fortune They have made it by m aking

.

themselves .

Dr Powell o f Hobart College writes

.

There is only o n e way to character and ,

that is through the will Bu t we fail to use .

 The Tra in ing of the Will 57

the will From disuse it becomes we ak and

.
,

when the great occasion comes we are not ,

”
equ al t o our rOle .

Ibs en express e s the same thought in these

It is will alo n e t ha t m at t ers,

Will alon e t hat ma rs or m akes
Will t hat n o dist ra ct ion sc at t ers ,

Were it not fo r the possess ion O f the will ,

personal responsibility woul d be a hideous

and di gnified m an by making him master O f

A re cent writer puts it in th es e strong wor ds

Y o u have t o ed ucate yourself Your mind .

is you rs an d c an be used only by you Y o u .

must make your o wn decisions and abid e by

”
t h e cons equences Of yo ur o w n acts .

An eminent physician recently told a

“
p atient : I cannot make y o u well unl ess
y o u make yourse lf we ll .

You alone can regulate your habits and

make o r u nm ak e your he al th .

Said a Brooklyn preacher Offering his ,

58 M en ta l Co ntro l of the Body
parishioners commun ion : I cannot give you
the blessings and benefits o f this holy fe a st .

You must appropriate them for you rself Th e .

b anqu et is spread help yourself freely Y o u

, .

may be taught by a teacher but y o u have ,

to imbibe the knowledge He cannot trans .

fuse it into you r br ain cells Y o u have to

.

m aster your o wn facul ties and solve your own

”
problems .

B y what other power can personality be

created and developed except through the
intelligent in dividual will '
,

Nowhere is an absolutely inflexible will Of

more value than when endeavoring t o recover
“
lost he al th Dr Sch o field s ays
. . A strong ,

”
will is a good therapeutic agent and when ,

disciplined and directed it gives one a sense

Of power and self reliance that can never be
-

felt so long as o n e depends upon any sort Of

a he aler
.

Hypnotism i s said t o par alyze the will by

inhibiting the action Of the brain and su bst i
tuting the will Of the hypnotist .

Th e Imm an u elist Christi an Scientist and

, ,

mental healers o f every school attempt to do

 The Tra in ing of the Will 59

for the p atient what he shoul d be taught to

do for him self Th e vast majority Of people
.

are in complete ignorance o f their powers ,

and must look to the conscientious students

Of the mind to be t aught the use o f the will
an d through it mastery Of both min d and

body .

It would seem that the great bo dy of physi

c ian s woul d welcome this arm o f power an d
,

would teach their p atients to help themselves

through mental h ygiene as well as by any
,

other means A few h ave become pioneers

.
,

and are adding to their success by te aching

their patients to control their bodies through
autosuggestion and by using the methods
,

herein outlined .

Dr Sch o field strongly indorses t his method

.

“
as follows : Autosuggestion is available to
a large extent in the early stages o f nerve
an d mind troubles an d may be most su ccess
fully carried o u t if conducted system atic ally .

. Suggestions vigorously an d d et erm in

a tely given even when there Is little faith In
,
”
the process h ave Often a marked effect
, .

Suffering humanity lifts imploring h an ds to

60 M en ta l Con tro l of the Body
the medical profession saying Te ach us , , ,

lead us to where we may re alize the abund ant

life ' Teach us the necessity Of self m astery -

h o w to emancipate ourselve s from fe ar how ,

to u se o ur God given powers to keep the

-

t e m p le Of the body who le and a fit p lace for ,

”
the abode Of the Holy Spirit '
Hoffman says in Psychology and Com
,
” “
m o n Life In d ays gone by dise ase w as
tre ated by external applications as plasters , ,

poultices cupping etc

, Later medicines
, .
,

were administered through the stomach then ,

by hypodermic inj ections ; but in the time

t o come the wise ph ysician will apply treat
,

ment t o the brain the central power house of

,
”
the bo dy .

I f the brain be ind eed the power house of

”
the body the man to whom it belongs shoul d
,

know h o w to run its machinery how t o turn ,

the po wer o ff or o n how to direct it s energy

,

throughout the body and it should be subj ect ,

to his will alone .

O n e need not fear to use h is w ill to regain

health since e verything goes to prove th at he
,

woul d be acting in harmony with the Divine

 The Tra in in g of the Will 61

Will O u r Heavenly Father just as surely

.

wants us t o be well as to be good and He has ,

set His se al t o that fact in the tendency

toward recovery upon which we can always

cou nt since remedy is a fun d amental law O f
,

This should be the s ettled conviction of

every seeker after health .

“
So long as we weakly pray if it be Th y
,

Will we shall not make much progress

, .

Wh o would think o f praying Save my soul

“
, ,
”
if it be Th y will ' R ather o ne should come
,

with confi dence t o the th rone from wh ich

flows the healing stream and s ay at all times ,
”
Th y will be d one in me '
To believe that God affl icts u s with sick
ne ss is t o dishonor Him and doubt His love
and mercy Health and n o t sickn ess is
.
, ,

norm al an d will follow when knowledge o f

all the physical and mental law s o f health

leads t o Obedience to them .

SO since the state of our bo dies becomes a

,

matter o f o ur o w n volition we have a fresh

,

incentive to cultivate this power .

It is an appeal t o the self interest o f every

-
62 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
on e . It is as if God s aid to each o f us Wh y ,
” “
will ye die ' C ome now prove me here
, ,

with if I will not pour y o u o u t a blessing

,

that there shall not be room enough t o con

”
tain it .He invites us t o test his Offers by
an experimental o r experienti al process in
w hich each may fin d he alth o f body through ,

confidence in the law written in our mental

and bodily constitution an d a d etermin ed
, ,

purpose t o Obey them .

B u t let him remember that He that w av

ereth is like a wave o f the sea driven with the ,

w ind and to ssed ; let not that m an think that

”
h e shall receive anything o f the Lord Em .

phasis has been laid u pon the necessity of a

well trained will b ecause it is only through
-

th is power that the inner discipline which

results in self control can be c arried o n Let
-
.

no man who fl ies into a ra ge at the least prov

o c at io n o r who leads a lif e o f self indul gence
,
-

expect to attain self control at t his point Nor

-
.

can the selfish fretful woman who lacks p a

,

t ien c e and consideration for others get very

far along on the road to health by this route .

To assu me and maint ain ment al control

 The Tra in ing of the Will 63

Of the body is no chil d s play but calls for

’
,

the very bes t in o n e to achieve

success.

Yet every step toward the needful

m astery is a reward in itself since it is right
,

in line with o ur upward progress in the

religious lif e and brings us th at much nearer
 CHAPTER V

THE PLA CE OF THE WILL IN

MEN TAL HEAL ING
HE basis o f all mental cures is the es
’
t ablis h m en t Of one s self control or
-

securing the mastery o f both mind an d body

either by the help of a tea cher o r he aler or ,

’
through one s o wn efforts This is m ade pos
.

sible through the Operation o f the law th at

mind is superior t o and can control matter
to an ext ent n o t yet fully understoo d but ,

cert ainly the matter of the body .

In trying to understand the scientific b asis

Of mental healing we are greatly helped by
the researches o f the modern psychologists ,

w h o in their study o f the mind have m ade

m an y great discoveri es .

Dr Boris Sidis Of Ha rvard University is

.
, ,

o n e Of the greatest authorities in o u r land ,

an d speaks from experience as he has been

,

w o n d erq y successful in restoring people to

he alth through his scientific appeal to the
68 M en ta l Co ntro l of the Bod y
mind As a result O f his o w n experience an d
.

Observ atio n he announced his do ctrine o f

,

“
reserve ener gy as fo llows : A ccordin g to this

fun f ner Of which

m ake u se but which w
,

”
use h abit u all t o o ur c at ad v ant a e .

Dr S idi s contends that it i s by arousin g

.

this potential energy th at the p atients whom

he tre ats are cured an d be further insists
,

that it is actu ally po ssible t o tra in people to

draw readily an d helpfully o n their hidden
energies .

We must acknowledge the truth o f this

doctrine when we consider how a frail mother
will endur e long vigils in the c are o f a sick
child o r how su dden disaster will Often c all
,

forth powers hitherto unsuspected .

There are well authentic a ted c ases Of bed ;

ridden in valids being cured by a sudden a ccess

Of strength which enabled them to get o u t
Of bed and to a place Of s afety in case Of a fire .

Th e writer knows definitely Of a wom an

b adl y afflicted with a form o f hypochondri a ,

imagining herself to be very sick and help

 P lace f
o the Will in Men ta l Hea ling 69

less . morning her long suffering husb and

On e -

picked her up o u t o f her bed ran with her in ,

his arms t o the edge o f a lake near which

sh e lived and threw her into the water
, .

Th e shock and her indignation so roused her

late nt energy that she scrambled o u t o f the
water ran back to the house and as the
, ,

story goes w as well ever after

, .

the fact th at whil e the un aided will c an do

much tow ard recovery especi ally in main ,

t aining a cheerful and hopeful attitude o f

mind much more c an be a ccomplished by
,

setting to work the agencies o f he al th placed

within o ur bodies by a w ise Creator thus be ,

“
coming workers together with Go d Some .

writer h as c all ed this indirect procedure a

“
flank movement .
70 Men ta l Co n tro l of the Body
Th e most adv anced thought Of to d ay is -

that it is pos sible for us to control o ur bo dies

through the will an d so secure and maint ain
health It is believed th at o ur bo dies were
.

intended to serve us not to tyr annize over us ;

,

th at we should have dominion over the flesh

“
an d not be its victim Paul said : I keep
.

my body under that I may bring it into su b ~

”
j ec t io n '
me a ning subj ection t o his will ' in
order that he might m ake it the instrument
o f the so ul Th e principle that we sho ul d
.

control the bodily appetites and passions is

well nigh universally recognized Wh y is it
-
.

not just as true th a t we shoul d be able to

set o ur physic al houses in order and bring

about that harmony within which me ans

health '
Sickness is re ally mutiny in the life boat -

and shoul d be quelled with a firm strong will , .

We know that o ur eyes and tongue o u r ,

limbs o ur h ands an d feet are the servants of

, ,

the mind and absolutely under the control

o f the will but it is eq u ally true th at the heart
, ,

the lungs and all o f o ur internal organ s h ave

,

just as definite functions to perform In a .

 P lace f
o the Will in Menta l Hea ling 71

st ate of he alth these functions are performed

autom atic ally but if sickness occurs the body
, ,

m ay be restored to its normal conditions ,

an d all its organs forced through the exercis e

o f the will to d o their S h ar e O f the work Of

m aint aining the he alth an d strength Of the

body .

Heretofore the problem h as been t o know

how to bring the will t o bear upon the body ,

an d it has taken much rese arch and exp eri

ment t o find a solution yet when found it is

,

so simple that it seems strange indeed th at

it so long eluded the earnest seeker after
truth It has at last been definitely proved
.

th at the body is so constituted th at it can be

brought entirely under the control o f the will
through the brain an d nervous system and ,

it is e vident t o those who h ave looked deeply

into the subj ect th at this w as from the first
the design of the Creator dimly understood
fo r ages but n o w fully reve al ed
, This form
.

O f mind cu re into which we are in qu iring is

‘

based upon well known physiological princi

-

ples an d is capable O f scientific proof .

In the common school physiology ' C ali

72 Men ta l Con tro l of the Bo dy
fo rn iaState Series 'under a section concern
in g the part the will plays in bodily acts it ,

says : When we wi sh to move any part o f

“

the bod y the first thing to do is t o w ill to do

,

it Th e act o f willing to do anything sends

.

nerve currents o r impulses along nerve fibers

, ,

” “
t o the p art to be set to work Also : Th e
.

nerv ous system may be comp ared to a tele

graph system Nerve impulses '
. starting
through the will acting upon an d stimulating
the brain'pass along the nerve fibers as elec
tric currents travel a long the wires Th e .

ganglions which receive and send impulses

are simil ar to the O ffices which receive and
”
send o u t electric currents .

Th e fu nction Of every organ in the body is

controlled by ment al impulses o r nerve cur
rents flowing from the brain and transmitted
over the nervous system .

We are not consciou s o f thes e nerve cu rrents

which are const antly p assing through the
body but we have just learne d th at it is
,

possible t o consciously start a new nerve

current o r impul se toward any part o f the
body through willing t o do so If we can will.
 P lace f
o th e Will in M enta l Hea ling 73

the h ands t o work o r the feet t o w alk is it

, ,

n o t reasonab le t o suppose th a t we can will

the stomach t o perform its function o f diges

tion an d by so doing send a nerve current
, ,

which shall give it power to Obey ' These

resul ts in former times have been brought
about by hypnotism an d by suggestion to

the supposed subj ective mind but now it is ,

known that the br ain and the whole nervous

system are con stituted so as to c arry o u t the
dictates Of the will .

In the skull are the three divisions o f brain

matter : the cerebrum where origin al thought
,

is born and the higher mental processes car

ried o n ; t h e cerebellum the reservoir o f the ,

speci al s ens es and the source Of the planning ,

driving power o f life ; an d at the b ase O f the

br ain are the nerve centers controlling circu
’
lation r espiration the heart s action also
, , ,

the centers controlling vomiting dig esting , ,

persp iring masticating and sw allowing as

, , ,

well as the emotions o f depression joy so r , ,

row and weeping All Of this nerve matter

, .

is closely conn ected in the spin al b ulb which ,

is usu ally called the medulla Oblongata .

74 Men ta l Con tro l of the Body
It will be seen th at in this small portion Of
brain matter lies the control O f the body .

I n a state Of he alth this control is autom a tic ,

but where the medull a abdicates the throne ,

anarchy a s in some form o f illness results

, , .

Such ailments as shaking p alsy or St Vitus

'

d ance are familiar illustrations Of this lack

o f control On e writer compares the medulla
.

and the sympathetic nervous system to a

horse an d rider : the horse does all the going ,

but the rider guides the horse If the rider .

drops the reins the horse runs away Just

, .

so, the nerves do the work but the nerve

centers in the medulla hold the reins an d
keep the nerves steadily at their tasks .

Sometimes the upper brain is called the

Superintendent of the body which gives ,

commands to the medulla as to a foreman ,

which p asses o n the orders to the nerves ,

which as faithful workmen execute the higher

will Here then we have in a few words the
.
, ,

physiologic al basis for the application o f the

will to the body Th e ex act w ay in which it
.

acts is clearly stated by William Hann a

Thompson M D
“
, in h is great work
. .
, Brain,
 P lace o f the Will in M en ta l Hea ling 75

an d Person ality as follows : , Th e human

will is a specific brain stimulu s more potent
th an an y other It excites the higher nerve
.

centers in the gray m atter Of the brain ; an d

they in turn control the working o f all t h e
lower nerve centers in the spin al nervous sy S
tem Th e medulla takes the orders an d exe
.

cutes them through the g an glia al ong the spine

an d the solar p lexus Whole tracts o f nerv e
.

fibers descend from the brain coursing along ,

the nerv ous str an ds Of the cord till e ach fiber

ends at but not in a spin al nerve cell Forth .

with th at nerve fiber rul es the spinal nerve

absolutely by directing how it is to a c t and ,

do this or that according to comm an d s coming

”
from above Th at is if we wish to move o r
.
,

to affect an y p art o f the body w e must will

th at the special effect be produced Th e .

comm and will then be carried as a m essage

by the faithful servitors an d obeyed by the
lower br ain an d nerves It is in this w ay .

every habit in life is formed .

Thus by the training of the nervous sys

,

tem the child le arns to walk and to talk

, .

Thus we tr ain the h an ds to knit to play ,

76 Menta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
the piano to write and do all kinds o f useful
, ,

work At first so difficul t these processes

.
,

soon become autom atic o r as we say they , ,

become second n ature and being carried on ,

by the bas al g angli a we do not have t o con

,

scio u sly direct them by the w ill .

B y just the same process we c an tr ain the

nerve centers controlling the internal org ans
Of o u r bodies and so form h abits o f he alth
, .

Th e gre at difficulty is that in ignor ance of

o ur powers most Of us sooner o r la ter form
, ,

the very bad habit o f being sick an d as in , ,

everything else in life it is much harder to

,

break a bad habit than to form a go o d o n e .

B u t the young c an be taught to form good

h abits o f health through self control and the -

m ature c an bre ak the bondage o f illness when

they re alize th at the re medy is within them
selves if they are willing t o m ake the effort
, .

B u t here as elsewhere we must pay the

price N O gre at boon is a ttained without
.

a dequ ate search an d concentration upon the

,

desired obj ect is necessary God says Of .

Himself In the d ay that thou seekest me

“
,

with thine whole heart I will be found Of ,

 P lace o f th e Will in M en ta l Hea ling 77

thee and in this se arch for health the s ame

conditions prevail as in s eeking for spiritual
blessings .

Hear what a College President says about

mental concentration : M ental concentra
tion is thinkin g to a point Its supports are .

enthusi asm interest desire for achievement

, , ,

he al th strength of will M ental concentra

, .

tion needs all natur al buttresses for the mind ,

at every stage likes to wander Th e will .

,

however is to n ail the mind down c lose and

,

hard to its thought Th e heart is to prompt

.

the mind to rej oice in d efinit en ess and fixed

ness even if it be hard for a time Th e con
, .

science is to be convinced that only by close

devotion can worthy resul ts be secured .

Health is to be amply su fiicient t o fill up all

the exhaustions m ade by long continued in
t ellect u al processes In such a concentra
.

tion the mind finds forces O f which it h ad not

been conscious ' Here we fin d a g ain the doc
.

trine O f reserve energy ' It seems Often to .

cre ate new forces It r aises itself t o the nt h

.

degree O f power ; it gets its second wind ; its

slow moving feet become wings ; it runs with
78 Men ta l Con tro l of the Body
the chariots not with the footmen ; and it
,

does not become weary Th e spirit O f the

.

very gods seems t o fill its being ; its sight be

comes insight ; it calls o u t the intellectual
reserves ; it discovers the truth Of the re
m ark O f William Jame s that each O f us has
”
resources Of which he does not dre am .

When such powers c an be c alled o u t by the

will shoul d we not cultivate and strengthen
,

it and le arn to use it for o ur ment al an d

physical benefit ' When through this power
o n e is ab le to bre ak the bond age of disease

and steps out once more into the glad free

dom O f health he is better able to understand
’
the fu ll m eam n g O f Christ s questions to the
sick O f His day : Wilt thou be made whole ' ”

What wilt thou that I Should do unto thee '

“
and also His blessed assurance B e it unto
,
”
thee even as thou wilt .
 VI
THE E D UCA TI ON OF THE
L O WE R B RA I N
 CHAPTER VI

THE ED UCA TI ON OF THE L O WER B RA IN

RO M the st andpoint O f the physiologist

the matter o f ment al control O f the body
is really dependent upon t h e education o f the
lower br ain .

During the past history Of the race atten ,

tion h as been given almost exclu sively t o the

development Of the intellectual and mor al
pow ers of the upper br ain It is said that the
.

surfa ce O f the brain O f a child at birth is per

fect ly smooth but that a s he learns to think
,

and study the org an Of thought becomes

,

creased and wrin kled and that later in life

deep c onvolutions are form ed as a result of
his ment al Operations in forming and deepen
ing b r ain paths along which the thought
h abitu ally p a sses .

We are told th at brain cells are tr ained by

use ; th at thin king c aus es a flow O f blo o d to
t h e special br ain are a employed ; th a t the
educ ation O f the mind is registered in the
82 M en ta l Cont ro l of th e Bo dy
brain tissue and it is in this way th at knowl
,

edge becomes a permanent acquisition .

M emory is n o t a matter of the mind alone ,

but in this existence at least is dependent

upon the integrity o f the br ain cells .

This tendency O f all mental st a tes first to

excite the brain and then to leave a lasting
,

impression upon its sensitive structure ex ,

plains why as lif e proceeds o ne ten ds to become

a ccustomed t o think along habitu al lines .

Th e mind at fir st sensitive an d plastic

, ,

gradu ally falls into t h e grooves which the

thinking has made in the brain Th e brain .

becomes set ; it grows increasingly difficult to

take up new subj ects o f thought or study ,

until fin ally there comes a time when the man

thinks as he must an d not as he will because ,

his brain is no longer responsive to new

This theory O f brain building throw s

scientific light upon the scriptural state
“
ment As a m an thinketh in his heart so
, ,

”
is he and it is at the same time a source Of
,

encour a gement and a wholesome warning .

It points o u t the physic al foundation Of

 Th e E d uc at io n f
o th e Lo wer Bra in 83

perm anence in character showin g the gre at

,

danger Of wrong thinking and living in early

lif e lest there come a time when it will be
,

difficult if not impossible to modify br ain

structure and so change the current Of the
thinking At the s ame time it gives gre at
.

hope to everyone with higher aspir a tions to

know th at he is adding daily to his ment al
an d spiritual resources ; that these are an

enduring possession because wrought into his

,

brain structure and ready at any moment to

,

answer his need In other words we b u ild

.
,

not only o ur characters but also o u r brains ,

and are respons ible for both .

B u t the cerebrum is not the only portion

o f brain matter cap ab le Of being educ ated .

Th e whole nervous system is simm y an ex

tension O f the brain su bstance inclos ed within
the skull and is under the control o f the
,

superior cells o f the cerebrum .

It is known that but one h al f o f the brain

has to do with consciou s mental proc esses ,

while the other h alf seems to be concerned

al one with motor control o f the body This .

plainly suggests th at the functions of one half

84 Menta l Con tro l of th e Bo dy
of the brain are similar t o those of the motor
nervous system throughout t h e bo dy and of
like substance an d power .

It is now held that intelligence pervade s

the whole nervous system and th at it is this
,

mind o f the bo dy which responds to the stimu li

from the higher nerve centers obeys the higher
,

will as the servant obeys the master and so

brings the body into subj ection .

It seems more intelligible to think o f this

diffused mental force as being an exhibition
o f br ain activity in the nerves th an to c all

it the subjective unconscious o r su bconsciou s

, ,

Indeed recent psychology teaches that

,

man h as but one mind having m any latent

,

possibilities Th e most neglected portion is

.

the lower brain o r medulla Oblong at a some

, ,

times called the primitive brain in which are ,

found the centers controlling the automatic

process es o f the body and also the seat of the
emotions and instincts It i s the seat of pro
.

creation and the intuitions and other instincts

and emotions an d in some ways links us wit h
,

the divine more closely th an any other part of

 The E d u ca t ion o f th e Lo wer Bra in 85

o ur physic al being Th e control o f these

.

propensiti es is one o f the highest duties of

lif e and when attained most clearly dis
,

t in guish es man from the bru te cre ation .

For ages the Operation o f this port ion o f

brain m atter h as been considered in v olu n
t ary and the thinking o f t h e upper brain has
,

more often been a hindrance than a help to

its humbler subordinate But it is now be .

liev ed that this br ain t o o can be ed ucated

, , ,

and by the same teacher the will On e can , .

not read Dr W B C arpenter s book o n

’
. . .

”
“
Mental Physiology an d Dr Thompson s
, .
’

Brain and Personality without realizing

that the will isthe man an d upon its attitude,

and exerci s e d epends his pr es ent and future

d estiny .

As the w ill Spurs t h e stu d ent to intellectual

effort and stimul ates and builds the upper
,

brain till it becomes the responsive in st ru

ment of his thought so the same power can
,

be used to stimulate an d educate the nerve

centers in the lower brain till they t o o can be
train ed t o perform their functions with per
fec t regularity an d efficiency .
86 M enta l Co ntro l of the Bo dy
Dr S aleeby says : To educ ate the bowel
.

is really to educate t h e lower brain which is ,

the only educational route to the upper

”
brain.

This is equally tru e o f every other organ

and function under the control o f the lower
brain In stimulating the a ction o f the stom
.

ach through the will we are really educating

,

the center of digestion in the medull a In .

’
quieting and c al ming the heart s action by
controlling o ur agitation an d in opening the
,

arteries by relax ation and vigorou s com

m ands we are certainly training the centers
,

Of circul ation in the same portion o f brain

m atter Thus c an one cultivate the power
.

of deep bre athing an d can also control

perspiration by forcing the pores to Open o r
close at will To put it Simply this form o f
.
,

mental ther apy is simply stimul ating nerve

a ction by the will instea d of by tonics
, ,

manu al or mechanical m eans or by electricity

,
.

It seems cle ar that the road to health by

mental means is through teaching the brain
centers whose duty it is to control the body
, ,

t o respond to the stimulus from the cerebrum ,

 Th e E d u ca t io n f
o th e Lo wer Bra in 87

to t ake its orders an d to transmit them to

,

their destination .

Th e power which al one can initiate and

carry forth this work is the will acting upon
the appropriate brain cells So to u s e the
.

will is to develop a new faculty but why ,

need we doubt its possibility when psy ch o lo

gists tell us that man is as yet an imperfectly
evolved creature '
Professor Halleck predicts that the m an
o f the future m ay make full er u se of all his

powers an d be a s superior to his present self

a s the locomotive is t o the s tage coach .
 VII
THE PH Y S I OL OGI CA L B A S I S OF
C URE
 CHAPTER VII

THE PH Y SI OL OGICAL B A SIS OF WILL C URE

RE C E NT
p aper published a statement
from Professor E dg ar Lucien L arkin th at
there are now people in the United
States d epending upon mental me ans for
health I t is also true th at there is a con
.

st an t ly growing number of physici ans entirely ,

a side from the practitioners o f Christi an

Science the Imman uel Movement an d simi
, ,

lar bodies who find in the use o f mental

,

treatment a most effic aciou s aid in curing

ment al an d nervou s ailments Some o f them .

take the position that mental treatment can

be comb ined with material remedies o r other
a gencies Others as Professor Paul Dubois
.
, ,

M D began by using a variety of physic al

. .
,

means but finally bec am e so convinc ed of

,

the superior v alue of his method o f treat

ing by persuasion or re educ ation that one
'

by one he dropped all medic ation mas

, ,

s age water cure even hygienic me asures as

, , ,
92 M en ta l Contro l of the Body

t oo slow in their action He then abandoned

.

electricity as worse than useles s and fin ally

u sed nothing but quiet the rest cure and a
, ,

generou s diet with the mental mean s thus

, ,

re ally simm y letting natu re do the work ,

with the aid o f the mind He rej ects hyp .

n o t ism and suggestion an d instead appeals , ,

to the reason and the higher nature .

He encourages the patient to believe that

he can be cured He thus induces a hopeful
.
,

restful state o f mind and by rousing the will

,

power in the patient to stay by the treat

ment he performs wonderful cures
, Some .

are cured by a sin gle conversation m an y in a ,

few d ays ; some requ ire weeks according to ,

the degree o f impres sionability B u t it is a .

very bad case really su ch as should be treated

,

in an insane hospital which will not yield

, .

He class es among psychic or nervous dise ases

dyspepsia in all its forms constip ation , ,

diarrhoea enteritis enteroptosis neur al gia

, , , ,

p alpitation of the h eart pelvic troubles , ,

insomni a melancholia neurasthenia with all

, ,

it s variations all hysterias and find s them

, ,

all amenable to his treatment .

 Phy s io logica l B as is f
o Will C a re 93

Professor John Q u ackenbo s for twenty ,

years Professor o f Psychology in Columbia

University an d afterwards practicing physi
,
“
ci an in New York C ity in his book Hypnotic
,
”
Therapeutics says he h as treated seven thou
,

s and c ases by hypnotic suggestion with almost

un iform success Th e range and v ariety of
.

the ailments is very extensive Am ong them .

are crimin al tendencies and moral perver

sions epilepsy sciatica neuritis lo comotor
, , , ,

a taxia , diabetes tu berculosis cancer and

, , ,

others t oo numerou s to mention While he .

does not claim t o be able to cure organic

diseases in an advanced stage W here a grea t ,

de al o f tissue has been destroyed he says ,

th at the number o f diseases known to be

amenab le to this form of mental treatment

is constantly growing and that he sees no,

reason why organ ic diseases cannot be aborted

if taken in time In all these varied modes
.

o f ment al treatment the effort is to en

,

courage the p atient to believe in the possi

bilit y o f cure to call forth his la tent powers
, ,

by tapping the lower levels of reserve energy .

In other words to r eestablish the man in

,
 Men ta l Con tro l of
'

the Bo dy
self
-
control by b anishing anxiety thus bring
, ,

ing about harmoniou s action o f the organic

function s
.

Since it is a mental power which controls

the body it is a prime essenti al that the mind
,

shoul d be able to control itself We dispute .

the claim made by some te achers th at all

disease is caused by the mind since body and
,

mind are so intimately related that it is

often impossible to tell which is caus e an d
which effect . the mind
is the seat of an d if one

expects to be cur ed by mental means the ,

mind itself must be cur ed first at least it ,

must u se its latent power .

a s ic

W shou
116ld look well to the
state o f his mind before expecting results
along th is line Up t o the present time the
.

appeal o f the ment al ther apeutist has been

m ade to the m ind alone without knowing

ex actly wh at was the point o f applic ation of
the mental stimulus nor how the mind
,

a cted upon the body t o bring about a bar

m o nio u s a djustment .
 P hy s io logica l Bas is of Will C a re 95

Dr Morton Prince professor of nervous

.
,

diseas es in Tuft s M edical C oll ege writes on

’
,

this point : Psychotherapy simply makes

u se o f the normal mech anism o f the mind

and body o f the physiological machinery to

, ,

bring about a restitution o f the disordered

functions and restore the individu al t o health .

Thus suggestion can only make use o f ma

,

chinery already provided ; it cannot create

anythin g anew o r do anything that is not in
accord with the laws of the nervous system .

As a method p sychotherapy is comparable

,

in every way to what is now known as physi

ological therapeutics which has taken such

A g ain he adds : All this therapeutic pro

c ed u re o f cours e
, means the education o r
, ,

perh aps better the re education o f the p a

’

,
”
tient. Th e effort o f the au thor is t o teach
the patient how t o reéd u cat e himself .

In the introdu ction t o his last book Th e ,

L aw of Ment al M edicine
”
Dr Thomson Jay , .

Hud son wrote as follows o f the healin g power

within the mind as energized an d used
, ,

“
through faith : Our aim should be to learn
96 M en ta l Con tro l of the Body
something o f the m achinery through which
this potent energy performs its work It is .

obvious that if we had this knowledge we ,

m ay proxim ately know something of the

modus Oper andi by which the mind acts upon
the body in health and in the cure of disease .

It follows that such knowledge will enab le us

t o direct the healing energy more in t elli
”
gently and presum ably more effectively He
.

“
says further : If I can succeed in discovering
the fund am ent al psychologic al law pertaining
to the control of the healing power r esident in
’
every man s mental organism and in pointing
o u t the phy sic al mechanism through w hich

th at power is exerted I may hope to be able

,

to indicate the most effective methods o f

practicing the healing art withou t the us e o f
”
m ateri al rem edies .

Mr Henry Wood o n e o f the ablest o f the

.
,

New Thought writers has long studied o n

,

these lines In one o f the e arly editions o f his

.

book Studies in the Thought World pub ”

,

lish ed in 1 896 he made a prophecy which

,

now seems almost startling when he s aid :

,

“
In the early years o f the 20t h Century this
 P hy sio logica l Bas is of Will C a re 97

problem will be worked o u t an d we sh all ,

have a formul a which will ex actly st ate the

method of procedure by w hich we sh all be
We fully
”
ab le to heal ourselves an d others .

believe that this problem has indeed been

worked o u t and that the underlying psycho
,

logical principle for which the scientists have

been searching so long is t o be found in forcing
the bodily condition t o conform to the will ,

through controlling and directing the life

forces within Th e first mental requisite is
.

hope for in this as in the Spiritual lif e we

, , ,
”
are saved by h O pe Next what Dr S adler
.
, .

c alls a psychological faith o r a belief in the ,

possibility of cur e ; last an d most important

,

o f all the use o f the will w hich is faith in

, ,

action t o accomplish the desired end We

, .

believe these elements are present in every

genuine case o f heal ing even though the ,

person healed m ay not have fully realized it

Th e will, as emphasized in a previous

ch apter is the re al energiz ing principle which
, ,

acting upon the br ain is commu nicated t o

,

the nervous system through the nerve centers

98 M enta l Co ntro l of the Bo dy
at the base o f the brain and restore s health
by bringing about harmonious and vigorous
action of the functions of the bodily organs .

Professor Olst o n in Mind Power and its

,

”
Privileges says : “
We know that we can
,

instruct the subj ective mind to act upon an

organ and inh ibit o r incre ase its function
, .

We can cause it to supply blood to a p art

and thereby nourish it an d eliminate waste
”
products Skeptical physici ans agree if this
.
,

be true but little more is needed to cure

,
“
diseas e A gain he says :
. It is the function
o f the med ulla and spin al cord to attend to

the needs of the cells and the v arious organs

o f the body Though this is done au t o m at i
.

c ally it does not signi that the will has no

,

power over those functions We have al .

ready learned through the investig ations and

conclusions o f m edic al science th at the will
is a great brain stimul us and h as power when ,

exerted over the bodily functions an d th at

,

the nervous system will respond an d carry

out the comm ands coming from the br ain .

Let us see what our great authority William ,

Hann a Thompson says in discussing the evo

,
 Phy s io logica l Bas is f
o Will C u re 99

lu t io n
of the nervous system At the top .

o f the Spinal cord as it enters the skull is

, ,

developed the final supreme center of the en

tire system that fit and responsible ruler
o f the whole wonderful and beautifully regu

lated Spin al mechanism that center in which

a small injury would thr eaten life more than
it would in the brain as it m ay c ause instan t
,

death for the med u lla holds the reins of the

,

pul se and of the breath in its hands while at ,

the same time it a cts as the intermedi ary

between the various regions of the br ain
”
above and those o f the spinal cord beneath ,

that is receiving and transmitting comm ands

, ,

as pointed o u t in the ch apter on the place of

the will in Mental He aling .

“
Again he s ays : Th e me d ulla Oblongata
sends a bundl e o f nerve fibers to the he art
c alled the heart a ccelerators which make it ,

beat faster while it al so supplies an import ant

,

strand of nerves which bridle the he art an d

m ak e it be at Slowly an d deliberately In the .

med ulla there is the center governing the

en tire an d most extensive system o f sp eci al
nerves which ramify on the co ats of the
1 00 M enta l Co n tro l of the Body
arteries and whose busin ess it is to regulate
the c aliber O f the arteries so th at their di
am et er becomes large o r sm all a ccording to

whether the p art which the arteries supply

n eeds more or less blood In this st atem ent
.

o f nervous control O f the body we h ave in a

nutshell the physic al mech anism o f mental

cures for w hich Dr Hudson sought so ear
.

n est ly He p a ssed aw ay with the go al just

.

in sight in 1 902 for Dr Willi am Hann a

, , .

’ ”
Thompson s book Brain and Personality
, ,

w as published the sam e year .

Dr Thomp son demonstr a ted th eoretic ally

.
,

an d we are proving pr a ctic ally that cures are ,

indeed brought about through underst andin g

the relations o f the br ain and the nerv ous
system to the rest of the body an d controlling ,

its functions either through suggestions or

,

positive comm ands transmitted by w ay o f

t h e med ulla an d the sym pathetic nervous
system to every org an and cell of the body .

Professor Hoffman writin g in his book

, ,

Psycholo gy an d Common Life confirms ,

“
o ur theory He s ays :
. Th e br ain is com
posed o f the cerebrum cereb ellum an d the
, ,
 P hy s io logica l Bas is of Will C a re 1 01

medulla Oblongat a If the cerebru m be re .

moved the functions e ss ential t o the main

,

t en an c e of life such as breathing , eating , ,

digestion an d the like m ay all go on u n in t er

, ,

ru pt ed for they are a ttended to by the medulla

,

Oblongat a B u t there will be no intellectu al

.

guid ance o r volition al contro

All this testimony is to the effect that the
fore brain is the org an through which the will
stimulates the nervou s system t o do its work ,

either in voluntar y actions or in communi

c ating impulses to the bodily organ s to per
form their work .

Dr A T Sch o field another high authority

. . .
,

o n mental ther apeutics concurs in this view ,

as follows : Th e h alf involuntary org an s are

go od servants but very bad masters and
, ,

shoul d early be trained to s ubserviency If .

fairly heal thy anyone with a resolute will

,
”
may easily teach them .

R eferring ag ain to o ur California State Series

physiolo gy we learn that the he art is made
,

to be a t faster and stronger by the nerve cur

ren t s th a t it receives through the sympa
thetic nerves Since on another p age it says
.
 M en ta l Co ntro l of the Bo dy
that we may consciously s end an impulse or
nerve current by willing to do so does it ,

not follow that we can m ake the will felt

in every organ every nerve and tissue even
, ,

to the minutest cell every o n e o f which

,

is supplied with its tiny portion o f nerve

matter '
Ag ain with regard to the control o f the
,

circulation the same author says :

,
“
Wh en
the muscle fibers o f the arteries relax they
lengthen ; the artery becomes W ider and more ,

blood flows through it Now these muscle .

,

fibers are under the control of the sym

p athetic nerves which therefore regulate
,

the amou nt o f blood that goes t o every

”
org an .

Here then we have not only the ph ysical

, ,

mechanism through which to work but we ,

have the healin g stream itself in the life

blood which cours es co nstantly through the

diers t h e white corpuscles whose duty it is

, ,

t o fight for us in destroying disease germs

, ,

be aring also the red corpuscles laden with

oxygen taken in through the lungs Th e .
 P hy s io logica l B as is of Will Cu re 1 03

plasm a o r liquid p art o f the blood contains

, ,

the nou rishing materials for the tissues o h

t ain ed from the food by digestion Th e .

plas ma in the veins also takes up the waste

m atter from the tissues o n their way o u t O f

Thous ands of year s ago Moses said : Th e

”
blood is the life while a modern scientist
,

“
states the s ame fact in these words : C ircu
lation is the most important agency in the
cure of all bodily ills It is the b asis of cure
.

”
and he alth. In possessing this exact knowl
edge o f the w ay in which we m ay secure
he alth through knowing how to control the
nervous system and through that the circu
, ,

lation o f the blood we are debto rs to those

,

who have sought so earnestly for it an d are ,

“ ”
truly the heirs Of all the ages .

Th e Spirit of Tru th has been us ing both

sc ience an d hum an suffering t o guide hum anity
into all truth and we are highly favored in
,

receiving this rich heritage o f physic al he al

ing From this van tage ground of he al th an d
.

re alized power we m ay look forward to still

gre ater conquests when by the power of the
,
1 04 M enta l Co n tro l of the Body
der the leadership o f the
un

Mind the whole world may be brought to a

,

knowled ge o f the truth divin e origin

an d our destiny as the of the
 VIII
A ND PR OGRE S S OF
 CHAPTER VII I

THE R ISE AND PR OGRESS OF

M EN TAL HEAL ING

T may not be unprofitable to sketch

briefly the rise and progress o f mental
he aling in mo dern times .

Th e first to make use o f the power o f the

mind over the body was Mesmer who about , ,

two hundre d years ago cur ed many by making

,

pass es over them with his hands He believed .

that an invisible fluid passed from him to

the patient His knowledge o f psychology
.

was limited an d be neither understood nor

,

explained the part the mind of the p atient

played in the cu re .

B eginning with mesmerism t h e knowled g e

,

o f the relation o f the mind t o the body in

curing disease and the methods o f treatment

h ave pas sed by successive gr ad ations through
hypnotism suggestion in the hypnoidal st ate
, ,

th at is just preceding a sta te of genius hyp

,

n o sis as pra cticed by Morton Prince an d Boris

1 08 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
Sidis to suggestion in a fully conscious st ate
,

an d fin ally persuasion o r re educ ation a s used

’

most successft by Prof Paul Dubo i s

. .

A s these steps in the u nderstan ding of the

hum an mind have been made the mystery ,

connected with the subj ect h as been gradu ally

eliminated B u t we o f the favored present
.

d ay have come into a still fuller light Thes e .

e arly explorers into the realm o f mind have

builded better than they knew and we are ,

All modern writers o n this subj ect have

posited the healing power in the subj ective
o r un conscious mind which they describe as

an intelligence which directs all the lower

an d which controls all t h e organs and directs

their functioning even down t o the minute
,

c ell s w hich make up their stru cture All .

mental healers make their appeal t o that

inner mind which some writers believe to be
separ a te from an d others think to be only a
,

diff erent function o f the one mind o f m an

, .

Th e latest science declares that there is this

central intelligence which presides over the
,
 P rogress of M enta l Hea ling
'

R ise a nd 1 09

body which is sleepless ever al ert for its

, ,

welfare which automatic ally controls the

,

vital process es not only keeping the org an s

,

at their appointed tasks but superintending ,

the work o f repair through directing the life

,

forces in the body even down to the minutest

detail .

Dr Sch o field in h is book o n Unconscious

.
,
”
Therapeutics identifi es this intelligence with
,

the vis medicatrix natures o r the healing ,

power o f natu re This power he s ays is the

.
, ,

m anifes tation of the action O f the unconsciou s

mind in the tissues and organs o f the body .

This power which some call S imm

, y Nature is ,

active constantly in all cu res It is shown in .

the healing of cuts and sores the knitting Of ,

a broken bone and in numerous processe s

,

w hich go on in the body Without an y outside

help or interference We c all this natur al .
,
“
but as Au gustine s aid centuries ago : Nature
”
is the will o f God an d another ancient ,
“
worthy truly s aid : Nature is the he al er o f
”
o ur diseases .

It is bec ause this unconsciou s mind is so

hidden and elusive th at it is difficul t for the
 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Body
comm on man to realize and m ake u s e o f its
powers .

Psychotherapy or soul cu re as practiced

, ,

by the I mm an uel he al ers recognizes this ,

te aching of science and in their tre atment the

,

suggestion of cure is alw ays m ade to this

unconscious mind They in common with
.
,

Hudson teach that the peculiar character

,

ist ic of this mind is to believe whatever thou ght

is impressed upon it They suggest to the
.

u nconscious mind that it can cure the body ,

an d by repeating the st atement until it is

fully accepted the work o f restoration fo l

low s. All schools o f suggestive ther apeutics
proceed on this hypothesis that the power ,

which he als is mental and belongs to and is

,

resident within the person he aled Hence the .

appeal is directed toward that mind or th at

part o f the mind who s e Sphere it is to ru le the

body .

B u t still another upward step has been

t aken because of the fact that the so c alled -

unconscious mind is found to be the subor

d in at e an d servant of the consciou s mind Its .

wonderful powers are being discovered and

 R ise a nd P rogress of M en ta l Hea ling 1 11

are being consciously u s ed at t h e beh e st o f

the sovereign will .

In the A merican M agazine o f March 1 914 , ,

is an article by William Hanna Thomp son ,

Th e So ul s Winning Battle with

’
called
Science . He identifies this inner mind with
the soul o f m an which after long Obscurity
,

among scientists and literati is once more

coming into fashion R eferring t o remarkab le
.

recoverie s through mental means which had

'

come under his observation he expresses

,

this most suggestive and pregnant thought :

“
Pointing directly t o previously unsuspecte d
powers in the human org anism facts such a s
,

these point no less surely t o the existence in

the organism o f an entity that can ma n ip u la te
an d ben d that organism to it s desire In .

other words that mind o r spirit are not only

,

superior to m atter but that the ego or per

,

so n alit y i s supreme within the man an d can ,

”
force the body t o obey its will .

Doe s not all this growth in thought lead us

to the very position we hold t o d ay —th at
-

the conscious mind can control everything

below itself '
1 12 M en ta l Con tro l of the Bo dy
Th e di scoveries O f physiologic al psychology
supply the last li nk necess ary to prove the
true found ation for what in the past has been
largely theoretical .

Dr Hudson more th an fifteen years ago

.
, ,
“ ”
in his book Th e E volution of the Soul
, ,

expressed the belief that the org ans through

which this subj ective mind carried on its
Operations in the body were the med ull a
Oblongata an d the sympathetic nervous sys
tem but he did not intim ate that they were
,

themselves subj ect to the direct control of the

conscious mind .

Th e laboratory has since revealed the nature

o f the brain and its intimate connection
through the nervous system with every p art
o f the bod y To illustrate this it is necessary
.

to repeat some extra cts in a previou s ch apter .

O f this wonderful mechanism Will iam Hanna

Thompson writes :
“
Wh ole tr acts of nerve
fibers d escend from the brain coursing along
,

the nervous str ands o f the cord till each fiber

ends at but n o t in a Sp inal nerve cell Forth
, , .

with that nerve fiber rule s the spinal nerve

a bsolutely by directing how it is to act an d
,
 R ise a nd Pro gress f
o M en ta l Hea ling 1 13

do this or th at according to comm ands coming

,

” “
from above A gain he says :. Th e human
will is a specific br ain stimulus more p otent
th an any other It excites the higher nerve
.

centers in the gr ay m atter o f the br ain an d ,

they in turn control the working of all the

lower nerve centers in the Spin al nervous
system Th e medulla t akes the orders and
.

executes them through t h e g anglia along the

”
spine an d the solar plexus Th e gre ater .

signific ance attaches to these statements

because he is writing only o f the ordin ary
a cts and motions of the body which he says

are entirely subj ect to the behest of the

brain fiber This cle ar st atement from such
.

a high authority o f the relation o f the will to

the br ain an d the explan ation O f how com

,

mands are carried o u t by the nervous sys

tem seems the most convincing proof of the
,

possibility of ment al cures and the best pos ,

sible explan ation of how they are brought

about This however is but an ex a ct
.
, ,

scientific statement o f what has been in the

minds o f oth er men .

Dr W B C arpenter s view is that the cere

. . .
’
1 14 Men ta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
brum does not act directly on the motor
nerves but that it plays downw ard on the
,

motor centers cont ained within the axi al

cord from which the motor nerves arise He
, .

“
s ays , E xperiments seem to prove th at the
office o f the cerebrum is not immedi ately to
evoke but t o co Ord in at e an d direct the
,

action o f the lower centers just as it controls ,

the respiratory movements whose center is

”
in the medulla Oblong ata .

Just so we believe the cerebrum can control

every other vital process through st im ul at ,

ing the medulla by a comm and given by the

willing ego an d transmitted and obeyed by
the nervous system .

I t seems conclusive that it is in this way

th at all cu res through mental processes are
wrought o u t upon the body Th e intense .

desire growing into a belief which becomes

,

active in the will to be well acts as a powerful ,

brain stimulus and fin ally energizes the whole

,

“ ”
body . No psychosis without n eurosis ,

that is no thin king without its effect upon the

,

nervous system is a proverb among psy

,

c h o lo gist s Ho w much more true when the

.
 R ise a nd P rogress of M en ta l Hea ling 1 15

thinking is o f the intensity o f seeking for

he al th '
Does not all this seem to indic ate th at the
thinking and willn pro cess is the divinely
appointed w ay in w hich man is to g ain do

minion over the flesh '

Dr C aleb Willi am S al eeby in his book
.
, ,

Worry the Dise ase of the Age s ays : We

” “
, ,

may o r we m ay not possess a theory which

serves to explain how it is that the min d of
the patient is able t o influence his recovery
from disease Fo r myself I think th at a per
.

fect ly re a son able theory can be constructed .

Th e more we study the processes o f recovery ,

the more we are convinced that they depend ,

not upon the introduction o f drugs from

without but upon the a ctivity of forces within
,

the body In modern times we have come to

.

discover that this power o f the body to he al

itself depends upon the ability o f v arious
org ans in the body to pro duce protective an d
antidot al sub st ances which destroy the poisons

produced by microbes o r even kill the mi

,

cro bes outright ; such a subst ance m ay be

produced in the liver o r in the p ancre as in
, ,
1 16 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
the bon marrow
e
-

, in the thyroid gland or

,

But thes e tissues like all others are subj ect

, ,

to the control of the nervous system Their .

nutrition u pon which their a ctivity de

pends is absolutely at the mercy o f the
nutritive influence which the nervous system
S heds upon them by me ans o f the speci al
nutritive nerves that are distributed to every
part of the body .

If we cle arly bear this mechanism in mind

we can readily discern a rational explanation
perhaps here completely stated for the .

firs t time o f the manner in w hich the mind

is able to control the processes o f disease .

Here ag ain we have a strong statement th at

the health o f the body is under the control
o f the mind acting through the nervous
system and as we know stimulating the cir
, , ,

cul ation an d through the blo od supply giv m g

tone and vigor to every p art o f the body .

Thu s scientific investig ation h as given us

the u ndoubted proof o f the physic al fo u n d a
tion o f all mental cures Through this
.

kn owl edge we p a ss from the re alm of superst i

 R ise and P rogress of M en ta l Hea ling 1 17

tion an d ignor ance t o a full understanding of

o u r bodily constitution an d o ur o w n God

given powers t o control its condition Is it .

n o t the strong est possible prop to o u r con

fi d en ce in the power o f the mind over the

b o dy to find th at the physical structure is
perfectly ad apted t o carry out the dictates of
the will an d to know how the cure is effected '
Is it not al so true as Dr Sch o field says
, .
,

th at ment al therapeutics cons ciously u se d

are better ad apted t o trul y educated people '
While suggestion and au tosuggestion an d
all forms o f unconsciou s therapeutics will

continue to be used we are j ustified in be

,

lieving that we have reached a higher roun d

’
upon the ladder in understanding that one s
o w n mind is the seat o f power and that its

energy may be released and directe d by the

noblest faculty of m an the will When .

we fully re alize this tru th and act u pon it we

c an at once correct any aberration from a

norm al condition of he alth and the control

,

of the body by the appointed forces and organs

will become as automatic as any other well
est ablished h abit Is it ext reme t o believe
.
1 18 Men ta l Co ntro l of th e Body
th at this principle rul ed in the healing work
o f the Great Physici an Jesus the Christ '
, ,

Wh en the leper sought help he s aid : Lord

, ,

if tho u w ilt thou canst m ake me cle an An d .

Jesus put forth his hand and touched him an d

“ ”
s aid : I w ill be thou clean
, He com .

m an d ed the evil spirits to come o u t o f the

a ffl icted ones .He rebu ked by his word the
fever which imm ediately left the mother of
Simon an d when he quieted the r aging storm
, ,
“
His disciples s aid He comm andeth even
'

”
the winds and the waves and they o bey Him .

Did not these and many other incidents of

His earthly ministry indicate that the mo
tive power of His work was His will reinforced ,

by the will o f O mnipotence in fulfilling the

highest kn own law that mind can control
,

and manipulate all forms of matter for the

benefit of m an an d the glory of God '
Th e Son o f Man came not only to reve al
God to man but to reve al man to him self
, ,

by showing him his powers his privileges , ,

an d his destiny ; an d we honor him most

when we aspire most t o fulfill his purposes

concerning us We h ave reason to believe
.
 R ise and P rogress of M enta l Hea ling 1 19

th at Christ was never ill in Spite O f all his

,

burdens and sorrows an d exhausting labors ,

an d we can only conclude that this was true

because He had perfect control over the flesh .

He moved through life with a mind at perfect

poise His will in absolute harmony with the
,

divine will conscious not only of His power

,

over others who came to Him in faith but , ,

first o f all master o f Himself in every p art

,

o f His physic al an d spiritu al nature IS it .

presum ption for us who are Sons and heirs of

God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ to
, ,

a spire to att ain a like power over o ur selves ,

thr ough obedience to the divine law o f self

“
control ' John s aid : As he is s o are we in ,
” ’
this world and we have Christ s constant
,

pres ence to help us t o realize our desires to

appro ach his likeness .

If you ask how is this t o be wrought o u t ,

an d how we are t o realiz e what we fully be

’
lieve t o be God s will for us an d in us I ,

can only refer you once more to Holy Writ .

I beseech you therefore brethren by the

, , ,

mercies o f God th at ye present your bodies

,

a living sacrifice holy a cceptable unto God

, ,
1 20 M en ta l Con tro l of the Body
which is your reasonable service An d be.

not conf ormed world but be y e tra ns

,

fo rmed by th e renew in g f y
o o u r m in d th
, a t ye
m ay prove what is th at good and a cc eptable
”
an d will o f God concerning you .
 IX
THE GR O UN D OF O UR HOPE
 CHAPTER IX

THE GR O UND OF O UR HOPE

S we glance back over the history o f
the he aling art from its e arliest begin
nin gs we see not only gre a t change but in
, , ,

recent ye ars great progress

, .

All th at hum an S kill c an accomplish h a s

been applied to the cure o f disease Th e .

sp an o f life has been lengthened an d a vast ,

amount o f suff ering relieved Th e patient .

research o f the scientist has reve aled the

constitution of the human body an d its func
tions and h as laid the found ation of every
form o f cure Me dicine surgery m ech an o
.
, ,

t h eraph y an d various forms of hygiene vie

,

with e ach other in their efforts to he al and ,

all have their a dherents .

B u t when all forms of human treatment

sh all h ave been tried and found un availing ,

what shall the sufferer do ' Sh all be to be ,

consistent with his former ideas pass quietly ,

o u t of life r a ther than look a bout him and

1 24 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
seize upon something else which seems to
promise relief ' This is the qu estion which
thous ands are asking to d ay Th e world is
-
.

longing for a cure for disease not simply for ,

p alli ation O f symptoms but for some knowledge

o r power which shall comp letely eradic ate it

at its source .

There are many indic ations th at this boon

so ardently sought for ages is being gra dually
reve al ed to a W aiting suffering world Th e
, .

ground for o ur hope is in the growing belief

“
th at an All wise Cre ator has placed the
-

remedy within the m ateri al house where the

”
spirit of life dwells ' Dr Still' an d that we
.
,

m ay learn to use it Healing without m ateri al

.

remedies has be en in the world as long as

we h ave written history and it is probably
,

as o ld as the r ace In fact this form of

.
,

he aling anted ated medicine many thous ands

o f ye ar s
, and everything indicates that this
’
was m ade possible by m an s very constitution ,

an d w as a divine provision for primitive m an .

We know th at the Israelites were without

physici ans an d from the beginning of their
,

w anderings were t aught by Moses to seek

,
 The Gro u n d f
o Our Hop e 1 25

for healing from God Himself All through .

their history we find this custom reve aled ,

and it is prob able th at it was common b elief

an d pr a ctice to a very late d a te Certainly .

Christ foun d m any who believed in divine

he aling or He could not at the very begin ,

ning of His ministry h ave succeeded in curing

,

the many who came to Him Very early in .

His public work as recorded in the fourth

,

Ch apter of M atthew the Word s ays : Jesus

,

went about all G alilee tea ching in their ,

syn agogues an d preaching the gospel of the

,

' ingdom an d healing all manner of Sickness

,

and all m anner of disease among the people .

An d His fame went throughout all Syri a ,

and they brought unto Him all Sick people

th at were taken with divers diseases and tor
ments an d those which were possess ed with
devils an d those which were luna tick and ,

those th at h ad the palsy ; and He he aled

them .

Since in another pla ce it is said that He

, ,

did no mighty works bec ause o f the un belief

,

of the people it is conclusive that in m any

,

parts o f P alestine and among m any of the

,
1 26 M en ta l Con tro l of the Body
people he al ing without physic al me ans w a s
,

’
gener ally accepted even before Christ s time
,

an d before His ch ar a cter o r His mission were

understood For three hundred ye ars after

.

w ard the early church practiced the he aling

art as t aught by the disciples For m an y .

centuries it was lost sight of except in r are

instances but in modern times it is coming
,

forth ag ain in many forms .

In E urope the development has been along

,

pur ely scientific lines without emph a sis upon

it s relation to religion E minent men in gre at
.

hospitals in Holland and France have per

formed marvelous cure s by means o f hyp
n o t ic and suggestive ther apeutics and h ave ,

fully demonstrated the amen ability Of a

large class of diseases to ment al tre atment .

In Americ a strangely enough physici ans

, ,

have largely avoided this method of tre at

men t confining themselves to m ateri al reme
,

dies . B u t in m any different minds the belief

in something higher an d diviner has be en
cherished Th e Mormon Church ta ught an d
.

pr acticed he aling by the laying on of h ands ,

a s did John Al exander Dowie an d his fo l

 Th e Gro u n d f
o Ou r Hop e 1 27

lowers . Catholic C hurch has taught its

Th e
people to offer a Novena t o St Anne with .
,

fervent faith and by looking upon a bone or

, ,

other relic many hav e been able to throw

,

away their crutches o r their medicine s and

go o n their w ay rej oicing .

Dr C ullis o f Boston more th an a quarter

.
, ,

o f a century ago h ad a s anitarium where he

took patients and tre at ed them only by

offering the pr ayer o f faith an d m any were ,

restored F aith healing has m any a dherents

.
-

an d is practiced by several bodies of believers ,

the best known o f which is the Christi an

Alli ance whose membe rs as they say t ake
, , ,

Christ as their physici an and find in Him

bodily as well as spiritu al health .

However the most aggressive advoc ates of

,

ment al he aling are to be foun d in the move

ments known as Christi an Science New ,

Thought and kindr ed bodies

, They are .

attracting many inv alids and other inquirers ,

and even Dr Thomson Jay Hudson the

.
,

eminent writer who h as done so much to

,

make the new psychology re adable adm i t s ,

that they have made thou s ands o f genuine

1 28 Menta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
cures While scouting their theolo gy as ,

well as their psychology and metaphysics ,

a s utterly inconsistent an d absurd to a de

gree he says it is useless longer to deny the

,

fact th at m any have found great help from

these sourc es .

Dr Hudson in his first book Th e L aw

.
, ,
”
of Psychic Phenomen a an d in his last Th e , ,

L aw of Ment al M edicine
”
very clearly sets ,

forth the explan ation why cures are m ade in

all these diff erent w ays He says it is be .

cause o f an instinctive intuitive faith o f ,

the subj ective mind whic h if appeal ed to , ,

strongly enough r esponds by an outflow o f

,

reserve power which revitalizes an d re

,

energizes the body For this reason it does

.

not matter whether there is any curative

power in the method or o bj ect employed or
not if only the confidence of the p atient c an
,

be sufficiently aroused He inst ances the .

work of the medicine m an among the Indi ans

who puts on his bravest arr ay an d beats his
tom t o m before the tent o f the sick until in
-

m any cases t h e tide of disease turns and

, ,

health is restored .
 Th e Gro u n d f
o Our Hop e 1 29

M emory serves to rec all the e ag erness with

which buck eyes were sought in e arly d ays
-

and c arried in m any a pocket to w ard o ff

rheum atism . Often a child w a s rendered
m alodorous by the bag of as afoetida hun g
a bout the neck to secure
in fectious diseases Wh at different is this
.

from the fetish of the sav a ge or the r abbit

foot of the African negro ' An d yet who c an
,

s ay th at the repose o f mind secured by a

belief in these prophylactic prec autions does

not have its eff ect upon the body in render
ing it less li able to disease ' A striking in
st ance o f the same character is told in the
fifth Ch apter of Matthew s Gospel ’
Th e.

writer spe aks of a cert ain m an who had been

—
helpless for thirty eight years who lay wait
,

ing at the pool of Bethesda for the moving of

“
the w aters in these words :
, For an angel
went down at a cert ain se ason into the pool ,

an d troubled the w ater ; whosoever then

after the troubling of the w ater stepped in

w as m ade whole of wh atsoever disease he

Wh at is this but an illustration o f
”
bad.

the fa ct th at it w as the belief in the minds

1 30 M enta l Co ntro l of the Body
of the people which cured them an d not
b ecau se o f any virtue in the bubbling of an
intermittent Spring ' Seeing the man s expec
’

t at io n O f cure in case he could be placed in

,

the spring Jesus did not even ask him if he

,

believed it possible but simply said : Wil t

,
“

”
thou be m ade whole ' On receiving an
affirmative reply Jesus saith unto him : Rise
, ,
”
take up thy bed an d walk This same .

naive childlike faith was exhibited in the

,

work o f the apostles as recorded in A cts fifth ,

ch apter and fifteenth verse where we are told ,

th at mul titudes o f men and women brought

the ir sick into the streets an d laid them on
beds an d couches that the shadow of Peter
,

might fall upon them Judging from the .

context we are led to believe th at all such

,

were he aled Are we not fully justified in be

.

lieving th at their mental condition was the

source of their he aling and not bec ause o f any
’
mysterious virtue in Peter s sh adow '
E ven to d ay h andkerchi efs are sent to be
-

blessed by those claiming healing power and ,

o n their return to their owners cures are ,

s aid to follow IS not this a modern illustra

.
 The Gro u nd f
o Our Hop e 131

tion o f the fact that the belief in the mind

o f the person is the determining fa ctor in all

these cases '

In the p ast our thought has been centered
upon the w ork o f the a gent o r he al er and ,

little attention has been given to the p art

played by the o n e upon whom the healing
was wrought .

A c areful study O f the healing mir a cles of

the Bible will show th at even Christ Himself
seemed never to he al ag ainst the will or
without the coOperat io n of the Sick ones or
some of the near friends To one He s aid :
.

“
Stretch forth thine arm to an other ,
”
Take up thy bed and w alk ; t o the lepers
“
He said : Go thy w ay an d Show thyself to
,

the priest .A n d as they were go ing they were

hea ted .

Perhaps the most remarkable illustr ation

o f this truth w a s given by the poor wom a n

who had an infirmity for twelve ye ar s yet ,

who had such wonderful faith that she w as

m ade whole simm y by touching the hem of
His g arment in a crowd a n d even without the
,

knowledge of the Lord till after the cure was

1 32 M en ta l Co ntro l of th e Bo dy
wrought Turning to her He s aid D aughter
.
, ,

be o f good comfort ; thy faith hath made thee

”
whole .

Th e acc ounts o f mental cures both in ,

s a cred and secul ar history point un m ist ak

,

ably to the fa ct that the necess ary condition

o f mind i s o n e o f hope and expectancy o f

help — in other words of fa ith It m ay be

.

so very we ak as to be scarcely recognized but ,

it is there or o n e woul d not seek relief through

mental means Granting this to be true the
.
,

ques tion imm ediately arises :

a false faith have the same resul ts as a true
”
one' Th e answer t o this question is th at
such resul ts follow only when the faith is
believed to be based upon the truth ; when
proven t o be false an d unreason able it loses ,

As the mind s o f men rise above the super

st it io n s of the p as t they dr op their primitive
,

and childish beliefs in charms and amul ets ,

in the incant ations O f the s av age an d the

'

power o f hideous music to expel sickness or

drive o u t the devil Inste ad they look for
.
,

the deep underlying principle which m ani

 Th e Gro u n d o f Ou r Hop e 133

fests itself in the human mind as faith an d

a ccomplishes such mighty results What is .

the explanation ' wh at the power ' It is to

this question we must apply our selves and ,

in the answer is bound up the truth about

mental he aling for which the world is seeking
,

as for hidden treasure At last we know that

.

the power is t o be found in an intelligent u n

derstan ding and application of the divine law
o f self control o r self mastery through the
- -

supremacy o f mind over matter o f the spirit ,

over the body and through the develop

,

ment o f the latent powers o f the br ain in its

control over the nervous system It is still .

o f faith but no longer blind

, Wide eyed and .
-

expectant we look and wait for the still

greater things which shall be revealed t o us
and in us Through this consciou s evolution
.

of our faculties we catch a new meaning in

the words of the beloved disciple when he ,

“
s aid : Now are we the sons o f God an d it ,

doth not yet appear wh at we shall be ; but

we know th a t when He sh all appear we shall
”
be lik e Him for we shall see Him as He is
,
.
 X
THE S P I R I TUA L
 CHAPTER X

THE SPIRI T UAL A SPECT

HE subj ect o f healing shoul d be viewed
in three aspects : physic al mental and , ,

Th e first 1 8 set forth in physiology ; the

second in psychology ; the third an d highest
ph ase in its religious interpretation
, .

Th e new psychology has made discoveries

in the study o f the mind which throw won
,

d erful light upon the Bible and upon the ,

work o f C hrist Th e words o f Jes u s which

.
,

have been accepted by faith modern science ,

is now proving t o be absolutely tru e Th e .

w all which has so long separated science an d

re ligion is being rapidly broken dow n an d ,

the conviction is growing th at true scienc e

and real religion instea d o f being co n t radic
,

tory are in p erfect harmony

, .

It is believed th at reve aled truth will

n o t be discredited by research but will be ,

more fully confirmed the more thoroughly

,
1 38 M en ta l Co ntro l of the Body
it is und erstoo d Nowhere is this more fully
.

shown th an in the developments of ment al

healing .

Now as in olden times the o n e essenti al

, ,

condition is that o f faith Of this state of .

mind Hudson s ays “ Fa ith is the princi,

ple

An d when Jesus dec lar ed to His patients as ,

He constantly did Th y faith h ath made thee

‘

,
’
whole it was a clear positive and em
, , ,

ph atic declara tion o r st atement o f the one

b asic principle o f mental ther apeutics It .

w as e quiv alent to s aying nineteen hun dred

years in adv ance j u st wh at modern experi
mental science h a s demonstrated t o be
true n am ely that the ment al energy that
, ,

heals the sick resid es within the patient

bims e
Dr Sidis agrees with Professor Jamas that
.

there is in everyone potenti al energy sto red

away as a reserve to be drawn upon in emer

ge n c y H e says
. th a t there is far less energy
utilized by the individu al th an is ac tu ally at
his dispos al In the tre atment of his patients
.
 Th e S p iritua l A sp ect 1 39

he is able to tap these fresh levels o f reserve

energy an d c all forth hitherto unsuspected
powers . In his o wn words he writes , ,

We are confronted with the im portan t phe

n o m en o n of liberation o f dormant reserve

energy .

“
Th e patient feels the flood of fresh ener
‘ ’
gies as a marvelous tr ansform ation as a ,

’ ’
‘
new light as a new life as something worth
,
‘

,
”
far more th an life itself .

This then is the scientific statement of

, ,

the ment al and Spiritual uplift which so

often accompanies a c a se of genuine he al ing ,

especi ally if it be brought about quickly ,

so that the contrast between the earlier and

latter con dition is very strong I t is the .

resul t o f the faith of the patient energized

by his will to realize health and with many ,

is just as m arked and definite as conversion

o r any other Spiritu al experience .

This gift of bodily health is not mad e alone

t o the religious but s eems to be one of the
,

universal blessings proffered t o all alike ,

an d to be received and enjoyed by all who

obey ther apeutic law Christ he aled the

.
1 40 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Body
nine thankless lepers as freely as the o n e who
returned to give glory t o God Just as re al.

cures are effec t ed in the great hospit als fo r

mental treatment in E urope as are wrought
by the most sincere faith healers and with
much better scientific attestation .

Just recently a committee consisting of

,

ten representatives o f the Church of E ng

land an d ten distinguished medical men ,

with the Dean o f Westminster as Ch airm an ,

m ade public the resul ts of their careful in

v est igat io ns into the subj ect and power of

prayer .

Th e foll owing is a brief extract from

“
their report : This comm ittee desire t o ex
press th eir belief in the effic acy of prayer .

They reverently believe however that the

, ,

divine power is exerci sed in co nformity

with and through the Operation of natur al
laws .

Spiritu al ministration shoul d be recog

nized equ ally with medic al ministration as ,

c arrying God s blessing t o the sick Health

’
.
,

bodily an d mental is c apable of being infl u

,

en c ed for good by spiritu al means Th e .

 The S p iritu a l A sp ect 1 41

physic al results o f wh at is c alled faith or

spiritu al healing do not prove on investiga
tion to be different from thos e o f mental
he alin g o r suggestion .

“ ”
Th e un co guid m ay question this but ,

the fact rem ains and suggests th at this m ay

’
be one of God s w ays O f winning the world
t o Himself Christ knew wh a t w as in man
. .

He set up no arbitrary stand ard of fitness ,

but His appe al was only t o the faith and

However He reproved the nine lepers for

,

their ingratitude and said to one m an whom

,

“
He healed Go thy way and sin no more
'

,
”
lest a worse thing come upon thee .

There can be no question th at the man

whose mind is stayed on God will be best
ab le to gr a sp this blessin g Only Christ .
,

within the so ul can give the pe a ce an d pois e

,

necessary t o an en abling an d en during faith .

N one els e can heal all our soul s diseases

“ ’
,
”
N o n o t o n e ; no no t o ne
, , .

Or , as Rev .J M Cu . .
pbell in his recent
“ ”
book , Th e Presence , h as beautifully ex
1 42 M en ta l Co n tro l of the B ody
‘

pressed this truth He is the abid ing presence

, ,

flooding the soul with strength healin g the ,

body o f its dise ases reducin g to harmony ,

’
life s discords soothing frayed nerves calm
, ,

mg troubled hearts an d bringing the entire

m an into perfect oneness with the divine will
an d with the divine order T0 come into .

touch with Him is to come into touch with the ‘

Infinite I t is to tap the hidden fountain of

.

divine energy which flowing into the soul

,
‘
m akes its possessor every whit
TO the spiritu ally minded such a blessing
affords a dded re a sons for gr atitude and love

to his Heavenly F ather an d his heart must ,

“
continually Sing Bless the Lord 0 my
, ,

soul an d forget not all His benefits who re

, ,

d eem et h thy life from destruction ; who

crowneth th ee with loving kindness and tender
mercies .

In trying to define the nature of prev ailing

faith R L M arsh the author of a little book
. .
,
”
on F aith He ali n g a Defense st ates the , ,

m atter very cle arly an d free quot ations fo l

lo w. He s ays
“
Wh at then is faith ' C o n
,

sid ered a ctively it is t h e a ction of the will in

,
 Th e S p iritu a l A sp ect 1 43

appropriating what God has Offered or placed

within o ur reach .

It is the cooperation O f the human will

with the will of God in re alizing the purposes
,

o f God . Considered p assively faith is the ,

submissive a ttitude o r state of the will in

consenting to receive the offered blessings o f

F aith i s not an arbitrary condition but ,

a necess ary condition to the receiving of sal

vation or healing just as the stretching out
,

of the hand is necessary to the receiving of an

a pple pro ffered by a friend .

’
Faith is the so ul s appropri ating act .

’
God s blessings are not bestowed ea ch by
an in dividu al act o f His gr a ce an d power .

They are constantly within re ach h avin g ,

alre ady been giv e n in Christ and faith is the ,

a ct of appropriating them .

Th e divine the spiritual the so c alled

, ,
-

supernatural is all about us just as electricity

, ,

h as alw ays been within re ach B u t just as .

man must reach o u t his h and appropri ate the ,

electric power an d turn its curr ent in to the

,

necess ary ch annels before it works his will

, ,
1 44 M en ta l Co n tro l of th e Bo dy

so he must re ach out take appropriate an d , , ,

turn into the necessary chann els the spiritu al

’
currents Of God s life giving forces before -

they can avail for his blessing Such is the .

faith that saves the soul and heals the body .

In either cas e the power is divine F aith .

,

therefore brings the power o f God n ec es

, ,

sarily into action

, Th e power of God c annot
.

be withheld from it An d this is not simply .

because G o d h as promise d t o d o this or

th a t but because He has S O cre ated men
,

th at they may use His power when they will .

An d the w illing to use this power is fa ith

“
.

I t is the province t h e nature the end of faith

, ,

to c all the divine power into a ction .

“
F aith then is t h e c al ling into effective
, ,
”
a ction for a desired end of the divine energy
, ,
.

Ho w this energy which can be nothing less

,

th an the Holy Spirit cleansing the temple of

his abode works in response to faith we m ay
, ,

not be able to understand It is as if by .

turning that pole of the mind we call faith

to the S ource of lif e the vital connection is
made through which new strength flows in
“ ”
and we are whole again .
 The Sp iritu a l A sp ect 145

But we c annot deny that in every other

realm o f life natur al processes are used to
accomplish Spiritu al results an d it m ay well ,

be that His power flows through its natur al

channels in the norm al oper ation s of the
human mind when seeking health through,

the appointed w ay o f faith .

Af ter Penteco st What '

“
In his book , ,
“
Dr Campbell says on this point : From
.

the Spiri t the body is reached ; Christ

,

quickens the spiri t the Spirit quickens the ,

body ; C hrist masters the spirit the spirit ,

masters the body ; C hrist governs the spirit ,

the spirit governs the body From the

throne of the Spirit He holds sway over the ,
”
entire man .

Here then in the entire surrender of the

, ,

life t o Chris t is the secret o f that perfect

~

wholeness which He came to create in his

followers .

If in our quest for health we mus t Spiritu al

, ,

ize o ur lives let us not hesita te no m at t er ,

, ,

W hat the cost but press o n with cour a ge ,

high and faith strong until our struggles

, , ,

ended we enter an d po ss ess the promised

,
1 46 M enta l Co nta l of the Body
land of
j oyous he art and buoyant health ,

divine inheritance .

“
Thou O C hrist art all I w ant
, ,

Mor e t han all in Thee I fin d

Rais e t h e fallen cheer t h e faint
, ,

Heal t h e sick an d lead t h e blin d

, .

Thou of lif e t h e foun t ain art

,

Freely let me t ake of Thee ;

Sprin g Thou up Wit hin m y heart ,
 XI
—
THR O UGH S E LF CON TR OL
HO W TO S E C URE I T
 CHAP TER XI

HEAL TH THR O UGH SELF CON TR OL -

HOW TO SEC URE I T

Shas been fully set forth in the prece ding

pages the form of mind cure into which
,

we are inquiring is base d upon the belief th at

all the bodil y forces and functions can be
’
brought under one s control through the
will To rec apitul ate briefly : Th e will when
.
,

exerted is a brain stimul us which s ets nerve

,

currents or impulses flowing from the cere

brum through the lower brain an d spinal
nervous sy stem to every part o f the body
, .

Thes e nerve impuls es give life an d vigor all

along their course and w aken weak an d
,

leth argic org ans to greater activity .

I n this m anner nerve inhibition is over

come and wh at seems quit e mir a culous often
results There is ground for this in a state
.

ment of Halleck s when he says No constant

’
,

state but only a ch ange effected with a

,

cert ain suddenness calls to life a nerve

,
15 0 Menta l Co ntro l of the Bo dy
process . Since the circul ation o f the blood ,

as well as every other fu nction o f the body is ,

under the control of the nervous system it ,

follows that this t oo can be stimul ated or

, ,

retarded by these cu rrents passing over the

nerves which accompany all the circul atory
system and by means o f which the arteri al
,

walls can be relaxed o r contracted a ccording ,

to whether more o r less b lood is needed This .

is of first importance as the bloo d is the life

,

stream and is the b a si s Of all cures .

Usually we depend entirely upon the auto

matic a ction of the body which after an injury
,

imm ediately rushes a large supply o f blood

to the p art affected .

Th e heat and swelling about a bruised area ,

the inflamm ation about a fractur e in the

process o f callou s formation and the impervi
,

o u s fibrous membrane formed by the union

o f myriads O f white blood corpuscles about an

infected area to ward O ff a general body in

’
fec t io n are all n ature s efforts to cure through
the he aling and reconstructive power o f the
blood So if the circul ation c an always be
.

controlled and can be accelerated by the will ,

 Hea lth Thro ug h S elf -
Co n tro l 15 1

he aling will alw ays be perfect an d presumab ly

more rapid To heal through mental me an s
.

is never t o d o anything contrary t o natu re ,

but simply to ass ist or S peed up her proc

e sses by con s cious effort instead o f simm y
“ ”
letting n ature take her course .

To send fresh energy consciously to the

point at need is simply a reinforcement of
the natur al elements which may turn the ,

tide and bring victory o u t o f defe at To s ecure .

this power over yourself re aliz e you r privi ,

lege to be master of yourself and bring the

body into subj ection through comm ands ,

willing ment ally any effect in harmony with ,

’
nature s Oper ations which you desire to
,

produce As heretofore explaine d these com

.
,

mands are transmitted as nerve impulses o r

currents by the brain an d nervous system to
all parts o f the bo d y .

In explaining how t o s ecure this mastery

o f the body emphasi s must be laid upon the
,

absolute necessity of giving the proce ss ade

qu ate time an d attention This is the crux .

o f the whole matter If one is t o be his own

.

physician or he al er he must be both vigi lant

, ,
152 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
and diligent . I nstea d f
o deny ing d isease a nd

the evid en ce f
o the sen ses , affi m ther grea ter

p o wer w ith in to overcome it . I nstea d o f igno r

ing s ickn ess, recogn i ze it and dea l w ith it
accord ingly . S ickness is o ne f
o the most
p a ten t facts of life , a nd be w ip ed o u t
can no t =

of existen ce by a mere men ta l n ega tion But .

fa ce it without fear an d bravely make use of

,

the weapons which an aroused will an d the

physic al forces supply to master it .

Th e disciples of New Thought go into the

Sil ence and give the body comm ands though
, ,

not in the simple w ay herein outlin ed .

Th e followers of Christi an Yog a m ake wh at

“ ”
they c all the silent demand the Christian ,
”
Scientist realizes his being In all c ases .

the obj ect is the sam e th at is to place them , ,

selves in such an attitude of body an d mind

as sh all en able them t o re alize their desire or
prayer for he alth .

Wh at we must also do is to take time to

”
get hold of ourselves in such a way th at
we may through divine help s ecure p erfect
, ,

control of both mind an d body .

When first trying to bring the body under

 Hea lth Th ro ugh S elf Co n tro l -
15 3

control it is necessary t o give the commands

Often at least twice a d ay and the last thing
,

before going to sleep and immediately after

w aking are r ecommended Then o n e is better .

ab le to shut out the world and its cares and ,

c an look within an d there come into closer

connection with the Life Giver the source o f ,

all he alth An other rule as to time is to begin

.

the effort t o overcome illness j u st as soon as

it is realized Do not wait till any condition
.

“
becomes serious but try at once to nip it
,
”
in the bud .

In a cute conditions repeat the commands ,

frequently as Often as the mind is c ap able

,

o f the nece ss ary labor AS o n e lady formerly

.
,

the wife o f a physici an s aid Take as Often

“
, ,

”
as indicated until relieved ,
.

Th e fir st essential is to secure as perfect

relaxation as possible consciously letting go
,

every limb and muscle until the body is ,

limp. This o f itself relieves tension and

, ,

pressure smooths o u t the taut nerves and

,

tired muscles permits freer circulation and

, ,

allows n ature to do her work without inter

ference When teachers o f physic al cul ture

.
15 4 M enta l Co n tro l of th e Body
can restore nervous pupils to health Simply
by te achin g them how t o relax it is well ,
’
worth anyone s while to cul tivate the habit .

A proper ment al condition is al so essenti al .

When you look within desiring t o set your

,

physic al house in order you should rememb er

,

th at you are dwelling in the temple of the

Most High and shoul d reverence the body
which God honors by His presence Under .

such circum stances once must exclaim I am ,

”
fe arfully and wonderfully m ade B u t when .

we re alize that this m arvelously intric ate an d

delicate mechanism is given into our keepin g
and that we can m ake o f it pra ctically wh at
we will o ur minds must surely be filled with
,

gr atitude t o the Giver o f all good E arnest .

prayer for cour age fortitude patience per

, , ,

sistence and every mental an d spiritu al gift

,

necess ary to success prepares the mind for its

t ask Let the mind h e at e ase with the same
.
,

simple implicit trust in which you would ask

,

in prayer for any other good thing without

questioning or anxiety as to the outcome .

In seeking physic al as well as spiritual

blessings we must become as little children .
 Hea lth Thro ugh S elf Co ntro l-
15 5

These gre at blessings are not re ached

through the intellect but through the in
,

st in c t iv e
, intuitive faith of the soul A side .

from the assurance you may h ave O f divine

help in your eff orts you should h ave entire
,

confidence in the well established principle

that the mind shoul d control the body also ,

th at it is your privilege to gain he alth by

controlling the mind and through its power
,

rule the body You shoul d also have the co n

.

’
v ic t io n that it is God s will that you sho ul d

be well an d that health may be yours by

obeying His laws an d co Operat in g with him
in casting out and overcoming diseas e just
as you woul d overcome an d cast out Sin So .

long a s o n e thinks th at his sickn ess is a pun

'

ishm en t o r for discipline he will m ake no,

progress . On the other hand when we ,

remember th at Christ he aled all who came to

Him in the right spirit we must re alize that
,

He w as doing the will of the F ather an d ,

may rest assur ed that it is just as much

God s purpose and desire for His children
’

that they shoul d be sound in body as to be

pure in heart .
15 6 M en ta l Contro l of the Body
Concentration upon the obj ect to be at
t ain ed is most important ; so in giving the
commands hold the mind as firmly as po s
sible to it s task Give the comm and in
.

faith that it will be obeyed and do not ,

neutralize it by a subsequ ent dou bt or fear .

Th e nerve wire c an carry but o n e message

at a time and the last one over will be the
o n e which will expr ess the re al state of the

mind and will be obeyed E xpect response .

in conformity to your will but be brave and

,

p atient till you secure results .

To const antly examine you rself or your

symptoms is not consistent with a trustful
faith Avoid introspection except just at the
.

time and for the p urpose of the self treat -

ment In case recovery is delayed study to

.
,

se e if y o u are fulfilling the con ditions Never .

get discouraged but remember that in the

,
“
divine order it is first the blade then the ,

ear and then the full corn in the ear

, .

Often these cures are matter s o f Slow

growth but they m ay be all the surer for
,

th at .

An o ak does not reach maturi ty in less

 Hea lth Thro ugh S elf Con tro l-
15 7

than a century but it is the most enduring

,

Of trees .

Probably o ur noble sequoi as were growing

when Solomon was building the temple but ,

they still rear their lofty colu mns in the

’
groves which were God s first temples SO .

it is true in life as in nature that the best

, ,

things are Of gradu al development even ,

though in their cul mination o r blo ssoming

they seem very sudden or mir a cul ous .

L et your mind h e at rest in hope Join the .

Don t Worry Club Trust in the Lord

’ ”
.

and w ait patiently fo r Him and when you ,

have given the commands fait h q y an d ,

earnes tly dismiss the matter from your

,

mind till the regul ar time comes around

again and meantime live a s ane normal
, , ,

happy life .

Since the foundation stone o f thi s m atter

is self control or control o f the body by the
-

mind it is self evident that the mind itself

,
-

must be entirely under the control of the will .

So one shoul d preserve his self control in -

every other respect not allowing himself to

,

be d isturbed by anything which may happen .

15 8 M enta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy

When seeking such a wonderful boon as

freedom from pain and weakness surely it ,

is worth the price we must pay even though ,

it does take an effort always to be calm and

sweet tempered .

It is hardly n ecessary to add th at one

shoul d be bright and cheerful at all times .

Th e path to physic al well being as well a s

-

t o Spiritu al power is not through theology

, ,

psychology o r metaphy sics bu t through

, ,

Obedience .

When we bring every thou ght into cap

t iv it y t o the law O f C hrist success is ass u red
, .

R emember alway s that you have the remedy

within yours elf and that if y o u fu fill the
’

conditions and pers evere it is only a ques

,

tion o f time till y o u will be master of your

self in body as well as spirit Af ter all the
.
,

only absolutely essenti al thing is to believe

that this blessing is for y o u as well as for
others and t o act upon that belief leaving
, ,

the results with a higher power .

If we Obey the law of the power the power ,

will Obey us ; and if we do our part in trying

t o bring o u r bodie s back t o a state o f health ,
 Hea lth Thro ugh S elf Co n tro l -
15 9

we may rest assured that the Power which

“
worketh in us to will an d to do o f His good
ple asure will reinforce o ur puny efforts with
His Al mighty will .

So m ay we safely commit o ur way unto

the Lord and trusting in Him know that He
, , ,

will bring it t o pass .

I cann ot do it al on e ,

Th e wav es ru n fas t an d high ,

An d t h e fogs clo se chill aroun d ,

An d t h e light go es o u t in t h e sky
B u t I kn ow t h at w e t w o
Shall win in t h e end ,

Jes us and I .

C owar d waywar d and weak

and ,

I ch an g e wit h t h e chan gin g sky

To d ay so ea g er and brav e
-

To morrow n o t ca rin g t o t ry ;
-

B u t He n ev er giv es in ,

So w e t w o sh all win ,
”
Jesus and I .
 XII
OPE RA N D I Co nt inu ed
 M OD US OPERA ND I Cont inued

SU GGE STIVE general s elf treatment

-

as follows :
is
Commencing with the brain go through ,

its different portions in thought slowly an d ,

continue throughout the entire body one

organ at a time firmly comm anding or willing
,

each p art t o do what by natur e it Should do .

m
For exam e : I comm and the arteries an d
blood vessels in the brain to Open to allow
free entrance of blood I comman d the life
.

forces in the blood to overcome all dise ase

there I command the brain t o do it s work in
,

clear thinking I comm and every artery and

-

cell in the lu ngs to Open to allow free circula

tion and perfect breathing I command the .

lif e forces to overcome all disease there .

Continue u ntil you have given the co m

mands or s ent nerve currents of power t o
every org an Of the b o dy To command the
.

establishment o f the normal circulation in

1 64 M enta l Co ntro l of the Body
every part of t h e body will equ alize the amount
’
I t is Often a great help t o place one s hand
over the organ treated as it helps to focu s
,

the attention and brings the will to h ear more

directly upon the point at need .

An other meth o d o f procedure is t o treat

the nervou s system commencing with its
,

center the brain pass ing in thought down

, ,

through the medulla and spinal colum n o r

through the trunk an d o u t through the
limbs o n e at a time to the ext remities opening
,

the arteries and blood ve ss els which every

where accompan y the nerves Hold yourself
.

in what Dr C arpenter calls the attitude of

.

“ ”
expectant attention and as you pro ceed
,

imagine you see the work a ctually going on .

It is the nutrient oxygenated blood which

energizes and rebuilds nerve tissue and the ,

relaxed body an d the expectant state o f mind

furnish the favorable conditions for its ready

On e understanding the m atter fully can

give more gener al commands and can control
“
the nerves by s aying Be quiet ' be c alm ' be
 Mod us Op era nd i Co nt in ued 1 65

strong ' do your work of

controlling circul a
”
tion an d stimulating the vital processes and ,

so o n Th e same results will foll ow as though

.

all the physiological a ction was kept in mind .

“
To a cramping muscle you can say R elax '
, ,
”
let go ' t o a we ak mu scle and a sagging
org an Contract ' dr aw up into you r proper
,

position ' and in either case the messa ge will

be carried and obeyed if insisted upon If
, .

fever thr eaten s comm and the Opening o f the

,

pores ; if in a dr aft o r overheated close them , .

I f a cold st arts give a general treatment to

,

energize the whole body relieve congestion

, ,

“
wherever pres ent and take a mental ph y sio
,

by commanding the liver bowels and other , ,

organs concerned to become active an d carry

”
o ff the cold .

I n all this effort to mentally master the

body there is nothing to hold the will to its
task like an emotion al interest SO put into .

it all the feeling which your need warrants

and it will multiply the motive power o f the
comman d .

M any pra ctic al questions will arise one o f ,

“
which will be Ho w can I know what com
,
1 66 Menta l Contro l of the Body
mands to give in cas e I do not know wh at
”
ails me ' A general tre atment o f the nervous
system an d the circul ation will directly af
fect every part o f the body but in case o f ,

doubt in the present state o f our knowledge

,

o n e sho ul d secur e the best possible diagnosis .

If a physician is employed le arn from him ,

wh at effect he is ende avoring to produce an d ,

work in h armony with his efforts A physician .

w as recently heard to give directions for se lf

treatment to a patient suffering from a
severe cold to c ause bowel a ction through
,

commanding the action O f all the org an s

concerned just as we would do
, .

Th e healing cults secure results with no

knowledge o f the body indeed while denying
,

its exi stence so it is possible for one to help

,

himself with only a very general knowledge ;

but an intelligent understan ding o f the body
and its Operations will be helpful and will no ,

doubt bring better r esul ts .

An other question is C an harm be done

,
”
by giving the wrong command ' It seems
most unlikely Dr S adl er states th at the
. .

autom atic processes c annot be perceptibly

 Mod us Operand i Con t in ued 1 67

interrupted by the mind and th at all the ,

natural orders passing over the nerves are

cen sored by the great g an glia or relay st a
tions A n aughty child can hold his bre ath
.

till he is black in the face and ,

woman h as been known to hold her breath

till sh e suffocated but these are conditions
,

where reason has abdicated her throne and ,

do not apply to san e beings who are using

the will only in harmony with the regul ar
action o f the bodily organs .

Mothers will ask Can I treat my ch ildren

,

whil e they are t oo young to tre at them

selves ' Spe aking without experience the ,

”
answer woul d be , I woul d certainly try ,

without neglecting any other wise means of

relief Suggestion is univers ally recognized
.

as a most powerful force in the tr aining and

education o f children and in matters O f heal th
,

it may well be efficacious ; however the m ain ,

purpose o f this treatise is to teach the under

lying principles by wh ich health is to be
secur ed through s elf help In treating another
-
.

exert the will through comm ands just as for

1 68 Menta l Contro l of the Bo dy
C an Itreat anyone at a distance '
We may not be able to explain how this
woul d be possible but since so many healers
,

claim to d o so it may be well enough to give

,

the Opinion o f o n e o f our wisest mentalists .

“
Dr C arpenter wri tes : Looking at nerve
.

force as a speci al form o f physic al energy it ,

may not be d eemed altogether incredible

that it should exert itself from a distance so
as to bring the brain O f o n e person into
direct d yn amic al communic ation with that of
another without the intermediation either o f
”
verb al langu age o r movements of expression .

Some believe this process is akin to what t akes

place between the transmitter an d receiver
in wireless telegr aphy which was once thought
,

incredible .

He adds th at to deny this po ssibility woul d

be u n scien t ifi c O thers must answer thes e
.
.

q u estions from their wider know ledge an d

experience .

Another w ill ask Mu st I give u p all other

,

mean s '
Th e writer would not be willing to assume
t h e responsibility o f a dvising anyone on this
 Mo d us Op era n d i Continued 1 69

point but can see no conflict between a hot

,

water bag applied externally t o incre as e cir

cul ation and a mental force exerted from
,

within for the same pu rpo s e I t m ay be true

.

that o n e will natur ally put more energy into

h is mental efforts if he realizes that they are
his so le d ependence On the other hand a
.
,

more fe arful mind might at first be thrown

, ,

into a panic an d be unable t o accomplish

an ything if he felt ob liged at once to depend
“
entirely upon powers as yet u ntried Let .

everyone be fully persuad ed in his o w n

If one d esires it is possible to leave o ff

,

medicines gr adually by reducing the fre

qu en cy an d siz e o f the d ose and in time,he
can so build up the health that he can dis
pense with everything except the mental
means Bu t it must be acknowledged th a t
.

m any of the greatest trium phs o f p sycho

ther apy have been won where physicians and
m ateri al remedies have been found un av ailing ,

and both have been given up at once .

It is hardl y necessary to say that every

other means by which health is upbuilt is
170 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
still av ailable Deep bre athing fresh air
.
, ,

exercise go od food s anitation an d obedience

, , ,

to all the known laws of health are wise an d

It is the height of folly to rej ect or despise

the certain results o f scientific investigation ,

but experience proves that one c an soon

emancip ate hims elf from dietary fads A .

well energized stomach c an soon dispose of a

wide v ariety of foo ds and improved digestion
,

become the best possible source o f renewed

he al th
.

Perh aps someone is even now asking Does ,

”
this me an the conquering o f the last enemy '
In the first flush of enthusiasm over her
wonderful experience in regaining health
through control of the life forces the writer
'

h appened to spea k of it to a lady who said

“ ’
imp ul sively ,Oh I don t believe it ' If you
,

could do that you co ul d live forever '

To be sure science is now teaching th at
,

there is no inherent reason why lif e Should

not be indefinitely prolonged if the cells
coul d be const antly rebuilt and everyt hing
,

points t o the fa ct that the man of the future

 Mo d us Op era nd i Co n t in ued 171

will live longer th an the present generation .

As it is the vast majority of deaths are pre

,

mature an d few can be called natural .

Old a ge is not a dise ase an d who would

,

not prefer to come t o his time of departure

“
like Moses with eye undimmed and his
”
n atur al strength not abated th an to p a ss
,

through the physic al an d mental decrepitude

which attends so many in their declining
years '
All have known some instan ces o f such a
”
green O ld age where at the last only a sigh
,

has marked the translation o f the passing

saint.

Dr Q
. u ackenbo s teaches that the ment al

facul ties can be preserved by suggestions caus

ing an un diminished supply o f blood t o the
brain an d predicts the return o f the age of
,

“
euthanasia o r sweet an d happy dying
, .

He who has lost all fear has conqu ered

“
death a nd to him indeed
, There is no
,
”
death what seems so is tran sition
, Th ere .

is every reason to believe that natur al de ath

is as p ainless as birth .

To the m an who has lived as God ordains ,

1 72 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Body
there comes a time when his thoughts natu
“
r ally turn away from earth to the better
land an d he sings :

There t h e s un beams are ever shin in g ,

O h my lon gin g he art my lon gin g hea rt i s t h ere

, , .

His soul is ripe for the garner his will to ,

live is no longer domin ant an d his only ,

“
desire is to depart an d be with Christ which ,

is far bette r .

W ell m ay we all pr ay Let me live the life

,

of the righteous an d let my last end be like

,

” “ ”
his , for the end of th at man is pe a ce .

SUMMAR Y
HE AL TH T O G
HR U H S EL F -
C ONTROL
This form of cur e is based upon t h e belief t hat all
t h e bodily forc e s an d fun ct ion s ca n be brought un de r
on e s con t rol t hrough t h e will O f first import ance
’
.

is t h e cont rol of t h e circul at ion of t h e blood which is ,

t h e life st r e am an d is t h e ba si s of all cur es

, .

To s ecure t his power a ss ert your s elf m ast ery an d

,
-

brin g t h e body in t o subj ect ion by enforcin g t h e des ire

t hrough t h e comm an ds .

Thes e comman ds are t ransmit t ed by t h e brain an d

n e rv ou s sy st em t o ev ery p a rt of t h e bod y an d will be ,

a ut om a t i cally ob ey ed un de r t h e out lin ed co n dit ion s .

 M od us Op era n d i Co n t in ued 1 73

T ime .
—Last t hin g
a t night an d fir st t hin g in t h e ,

mornin g j ust aft er pray er an d in t h e middl e of t h e

, ,

d ay when r est in g if co n v en ient givin g from t en t o

, ,

t w en t y min ut es ea ch t im e .

Rela xa t io n Se cur e as p erfec t r elaxat ion as po s

.

sible before givin g t h e comm an ds as t hi s r eliev es all ,

st rain and allows n at ure t o do h er work wit hout

M en ta l cond it io n First : t h e sam e implicit s imple

.
,

t ru st wit h which you woul d ask an y ot her good

wit hout ques t ionin g or an xiet y as t o t h e out com e .

Secon d : con fiden c e in t h e prin ciple t h at t h e min d s ho ul d

co nt rol t h e body an d t hat it i s your privilege t o gain
,

h ealt h by cont rollin g your min d Als o t h at it is Go d s .

’

will for y o u an d healt h m ay be yours by obeyin g His

,

law 8 an d c oOpe rat in g wit h Him in ca st in g o u t and

’
,

ov ercomin g diseas e j u st as y o u w oul d ca st o u t an d

overcome sin .

C oncen tra t ion In givin g t h e comm an ds hold your

.
,

min d as firmly a s po ssible t o t h e s ubj ect D i scipline .

bo t h min d an d bo dy un t il you can en forc e O b edien ce .

Exp ect resp o nse bu t be brav e an d pa t ien t unt il you

’

secur e res ult s .

S elf contro l
-
Preserv e your s elf co n t rol in ev ery
.
-

ot h er respect an d do n o t all ow your self t o be dis

,

t urbed by a ny th ing which m ay h app en .

Rem embe r alw ay s t hat y o u ha ve the remedy w ith in

y o u rse l
f a n d t
, h a t if you fu lfill t h e co n dit io n an d
pe rsev ere it is only a qu est ion of a lit t le t im e unt il
,

y o u will s ucc eed .

M ethod of p roced ure C omm en cin g wit h t h e brain

.
,
1 74 M enta l Con tro l of the Body
go t hrough t h e body in t hought o n e organ at a t ime
, ,

slowly firmly commandin g t h e organ t o do what by

,

n at ur e it S hould d o as follow s :
,

I comm an d t h e art eries in t h e brain t o O p en t o allow

free ent ran ce of blood I comman d t h e life forces in
.

t h e bloo d t o ov ercom e all disea s e I comm an d t h e

.

brain t o d o its w ork in clea r t hinkin g I comm an d

\

ev ery a rt ery and c ell in t h e lun gs t o open t o allow

free circulat ion O f bloo d and pe rfect breat hin g I .

comm an d t h e life forces t o ov ercome all dis ease t h ere .

C on t in ue unt il you hav e giv en t h e comm an d t o every

organ an d all p art s of t h e body wit h special st ress o n
,

t h e p art s e sp ecially affect e d in cluding t h e n ervous

,

sy st em .

Y o u can st imulat e dig est ion by comm an ds t o t h e

st omach glan ds t o prod uc e more digest iv e fl uids ;
reli ev e in diges t ion by forcin g t h e pyloru s t o op en an d
allow t h e foo d t o p a ss o u t Y o u can ca us e t h e bow els
.

t o a ct by willin g t h e org ans co n c ern ed in elimin a t ion

t o fun ct ion prop erly In ev ery c as e m ent ally W ill t h e
.

effect you d esir e t o prod uce accor din g t o your sp ecial

n eed .
 XIII
PRA C TI CA L S UGGE S TI ON S
 CHAPTER XIII

PRA CTICAL S UGGES TI ONS

E ALTH is a relative matter and all ,

may not expect t o attain the same

standard o f vigor .

Hence in you r seeking d o not look for a

, ,

miracle that will transform a weakling into

an athlete but be thankful to m ake as much
,

a s possible o u t of your n atural constitution .

Temporary relapses into former conditions

sometim es occur but this is equ ally true in
,

convales cence through any other means .

It seem s t o be a law o f the nervou s system

“
to fin d its equilibrium by a seri es of up s an d
”
downs . Progress in an ything in life is sel
dom steady but if the general trend is toward
,

recovery there is no reason for discourage

,

ment but rather for getting a little stronger

,
’
grip on one s self Improvement may be
rapid at first but Slower later Th e reason
, .

m ay be found in this statement from Hoffm an :

“
Nervou s energy for any kind o f response
178 M en ta l Co n tro l of th e Bo dy
is limited If the stimulation is continuous
.

the response must become gradu ally less

”
energetic . Th is would indic ate th at in the
u se of the will the nerv ous r e serve is first

dr awn upon an d afterw ards the improvement

,

is to be made by buildin g up imp aired tissue ,

which is a much slower process .

However we must continue to use the

,

“
stimulus of the will as long continued
,

stimuli tend to m ake new reflex paths in the

”
nervous matter .

We are told that a certain amount o f

stimul us is expend ed in rousing nervous

If no more is added the inerti a will not be

,

overcome Does not this Show the need of

.

perseverance in sending not we ak suggestions

, ,

but imperative commands over the nerve ,

E very intens e form of mental activity tends

spont aneously to work itself o u t for good or
ill upon the body o r to , generate its ac
”
t u alit y
, so in willing to be well one is pro

c eedin g not only according to the law o f faith ,

bu t o f fact .
 P ract ica l S uggest io ns 1 79

Some will succeed so oner than others for

v arious reasons A stronger faith a more
.
,

responsive nervous system a more plastic ,

brain and body may all be contributing causes

,

t o success but the possibility is open to all

, ,

and will be grasped by many as soon as

presented to them .

Of this matter Dr Sch o fi eld writes : Ment al

.

therapeutics m ay be directed by the patient

himself in calming the mind in excitement ,

and arousing feelings o f j oy h O pe faith an d

, ,

love.
”
Al so
“
, We are inclined t o believe th at
the forces a patient can set in action to cur e
hims elf are far greater than mo st imagine and ,
”
will u ndoubtedly be used more and more .

Th e nerv ou s system is the fir st t o feel the

effect o f the mental treatment but some physi ,

ologists believe that the energy of the mind is

impa rted to all the life forces that in time o f ,

need the will can act in union with the

n atu ral tendency o f the body t o summon the
white corpuscles to the rescu e an d stimulate
them to greater activity .

Dr Sadl er and Professor Olst o n both sug

.

gest this po ss ibility which if true open s

,
180 M enta l Con tro l of th e Body

the w ay for the healing o f a great variety

Of ailm ents .

Dr Sch o field says Believing as we d o that

.
,

the o ld division into function al and organic

dis ea se s is merely the expression o f o ur ig
n oran c e and th a t all diseas es even hysteric al
, , ,

prob ably involve org anic disturbance some

where we m ay believe th at mental cures are
,

not limited to so c alled functional diseases

-

”
at all .

While realiz ing that all things are possible

”
with God yet this o r an y other form o f
, ,

mental he aling cannot be a u niversal panacea

,

because o f the human element in it .

I f diseas e has adv anced to the point where

there is a great de al o f cell destruction in vital
organs o r where the reserve strength has been
,

exhausted by prolonged struggle perhaps the ,

best that can be hoped for i s partial rest o ra

tion but at any rate the full power o f the
,

latent capacities o f min d an d bo d y will have

been drawn u pon .

Th e only way to build u p the moral ‘

ch aracter o f the child is to bring him up in

”
the nurture and adm onition o f the Lord .
 P ractica l S uggestio ns 181

Just as true is it that to e arly learn an d Obey

the ment al laws through which o n e can
build up a strong resistance to the first inroads
o f disease is t h e o nl y s ure way to constant

health.

Th e great endeavor o f o ur leaders in this

line of thought must be to bring these truths
to the attention and comprehension o f the
masses till all shall know an d enj oy wh at is
,

now the possession o f the few .

 XIV
THE S COPE OF THE A ND
I TS
 CHA PTE R XI V

THE SCOPE OF THE WOR ' AN D I TS

L IM I TA TI ONS
N writing o f the S cope o f this form of
mind cure it must be und erstood th at
,

the writer is speaking from observation ex

tending over 'a perio d o f but thr ee years .

B u t enough has been s een and done to

demonstrate that it is as efficaciou s as any
other form o f mental treatment Th e s ame .

kind of ailments as are su ccessfufl y treated

by the Christian Science Immanuel an d , ,

other practitioners yield t o this self treat

,
-

ment Through private instruction in parlor

.
,

classes an d in large meetings held in o ur

,

church these principles o f healing through

,

self mastery have been taught an d the hearers

-

h ave applied them to their own needs .

Am ong those in attend ance m any h ave been

,

able to grasp the truth and apply it to their

gre at a dv ant age Only ladies have been in

.

the classes but all earnest intelligent women

, ,
1 86 M en ta l Con tro l of the Body

from prob ably a dozen different denomina

tions N O bar o f any kind to attendance
.

w as set up except th at o f curiosity and no

, ,

charge was ever made .

Am ong the ailments overcome either re ,

ported priv ately o r spoken o f in the meetings ,

are insomnia v arious forms o f indigestion

, ,
’
in o n e case of seventeen years stan ding ,

chronic vomiting sick and nervous head ,

aches constip ation in its most severe forms of

,
’
from twenty to twenty fiv e years duration -

muscul ar cramps neuritis nervous chills , , ,

prolapsus u teri mental depression and irrita ,

bilit y p alpitation o f the heart dilation o f

, ,

the heart nervous breakdown with severe

,

p ain in spine ac companied by melancholia ,

an d tears such poor circulation th at no

,

amou nt of clothing woul d give warmth or

comfort los s o f memory mental confusion
, , ,

backache au tointoxication a variety o f colds

, ,

and catarrhs severe neurasthenia nervous

, ,

debility deranged womanly functions falling

, ,

hair and m any other conditions More seri

, .

o u s troubles as chronic appendicitis

, heart ,

weakness high blood pressure hemorrhages

, ,
 S cop e f
o the Work a nd I ts L im ita tio ns 1 87

from different source s have be en greatly ,

helpe d.

In cons equence many minds have been

,

cleare d and cheered health and h appiness

,

h ave been twin gu ests and gratitude has ,

incre ased the spiritual life As one dear young .

lady said after recovery from a condition

which her physician s aid demanded a sur
“
gic al Operation I never
, before appreci a ted
my mind o r knew h ow mu ch I owed to Go d
” “
for giving it to me Another said
. E very ,

cure has p asse d me by till now Another ,

It is a perfect revelation to me to learn that

”
we have such a power within ou rselves .

Many o f these persons had studied Christian

Science and been under its healers for long
periods without avail but were able to grasp
,

this Simple teaching an d receive d help at

once through their o wn efforts .

O n e lady after reporting the physic al

,
“
benefit received said I have tried Christian
, ,

Science an d New Thought have dipped into ,

spiritu alism an d the occult but now I have ,

found just wh at I want and the best of it ,

was th at she h ad found it within herself .

1 88 M enta l Co ntro l of the Body
Ho w often do we seek the wide world over ,

only to come back to find our treasure right

“
at home Th e wor d is nigh thee even in
.
,

thy heart .

These at fir st blu sh d o not s eem very

, ,

s erious ailments and yet they affect h appi

,

ness as much or more than more dangerous

diseases TO cure nervous we akness of any
.

kind is to w ard o ff the gr ave consequences

which follow in its train To keep the body .

up to norm al is to give it power to resist

infection contagion an d every other threaten
, ,

ing invasion .

Wh o can estimate the valu e to nutrition

and body building of good digestion ' Or the
advant age to he alth o f a clean alimentary
c an al especially the colon
, the so c alled ,
-

sewer o f the system the most fruitful

,

source o f disease in the whole body '

Only time an d experience will prove how
wide is the range o f applic ation o f the min d
as a s an ative a gent Th e o nly wise pro
.

c ed u re is to begin early and not w ait till ,

S O c alled incur able conditions have develop ed

-
.

Th e O ld w ay was to try every possible

 S cop e f
o the Work a nd I ts L im ita tio ns 189

earthly expedient and then when hope was

,

all but fled expect Go d to perform a miracle .

Th e s af er course is to learn to Obey the ment al

laws o f he alth from the first just as the chil d ,

learns to obey hu man an d divine law s Th e .

O ld hymn ru ns

“
While t h e lamp holds o ut to burn ,

Th e vilest sinn er may ret urn .

”

Yes he may return but h ow few in reality

, ,

do return after a life spent in sin .

Just so the confirmed invali d h as a tre

,

mendon s handicap to overcome and pain , ,

we akness o f faith an d will real ment al in ,

ability for the effort are often insu perable

,

Obstacles t o his succe ss .

Our authorities say that the range o f dis

eas es which can be reached by the mind is
constantly widening They also say that
.

mind h as its limitations but they have never

,
’
been re ached Nowhere is Christ s saying
.

“
more applicab le than here : According to
”
your faith be it u nto you .

We cert ainly cann ot limit Go d s power ’

,

which is ever const ant ; but realizing the part

1 90 M enta l Co ntro l of th e Bo dy

the hum an mind plays it is easy to see how

,

each can lim it his o wn possibilities Th e .

present generation is seeing but the first

faint gleam o f this wonderful truth but in ,

futur e years ment al hygiene will be taught

from e arly life bodily he alth will be as much
,

the herit age of the race as any other promised

“
blessing an d it will be without money and
,

”
without price .
 C O N C LUS I O N

0 re alize more fully th an the

o n e c an

writer the in adequ a cy o f this effort to

bridge the chasm exis ting between the ex
treme positions occupi ed by the m ateri al
scientist w h o sees in ment al c ures only the
,

drawing out o f the hidden powers of the

mind through suggestion an d the advoc ate
,

o f faith cure who attributes everything to

,

a direct act of God in mir a cle working .

B etween these extremes are many different

theories le aning to one or the other of these
views but usu ally but one side of the shield
,

is seen and presented .

Perhaps it is to be exp ected that the

scientist will recognize only the hu m an side ,

an d the religious m an o nl y the divine ele

ments involved B u t in the mind o f the

.

writer the gap is fully closed and the recon

, ,

ciliation is complete We may safely say

.

th a t both h ave a measure o f truth and since,

1 94 M en ta l Co n tro l of the Bo dy
two truths never conflict there must be some,

way of h armonizin g them .

Th e Cre ator h as eviden tly endowed man

with gre ater powers th an he has hitherto
re alized but these powers are av ail able only
,

under certain conditions an d c an be used only

a ccording to laws of w hich we have been

ignorant .

W e are now learning the laws controlling

these human powers through scientific study
,

of the mind through p sychologic al ex

,

p er im en t s in the la boratory and through ,

the pra ctice of various forms of mental

ther apeutics .

B u t when the br ain has been studi ed an d

mapped o u t the m ind an al yzed an d its
,

a ction Observed there is still something

,

beyond which comes in to supplement

,

the personal endeavor which c ann ot be ,

re alized except by those who have felt its

O n e last person al word will be permitted

o n this point This method o f he al ing w as
.

presented t o me as a scientific m atter purely ,

and was u sed in that spirit but in t h e ,

 Co nc lus io n 1 95

subsequent experience its Spiritual qualiti es

were fully re aliz ed .

Th e results were so far beyond anything

e xpected merely in response t o t h e will that ,

the only possible conclu sion was th at the

work wrought was not only in accord ance
with divine law but through the mighty
,

energy of divine power .

Nor does this view tend in an y degree t o

discredit science but r ather t o ex al t it through
, ,

an experience showing how ne arly scien ce

has demonstr ated the ul tim ate truth of re
ligio n th at in the m atter of he alin g as in all
else concerning o ur welfare We are workers
“
,

”
together with God .

Wh atever the scientist may think the re

'

s
,

ligio u s mind shoul d be fair an d bro a d enough

t o welcome an interpretation which fu lly
acknowledg es the presence an d power of the
'

’
divine energy and yet shows th at m an s
,

initi ative effort is in a ccordance with the

known fa cts of scientific di scovery .

Thus the two phases of the subj ect inste ad ,

of being contradictor y become complement ary

,

truths an d a w ay is thus Opened up for man

, ,
1 96 M enta l Co n tro l of th e Bo dy
through divine assistance to work out his ,

physical salv ation .

A sincere effort has been m ade to treat

this subj ect with gre at moderation while ,

fully re aliz ing its far re a ching possibilities

-
.

To make extrav a gant claim s is only to court

humiliation since ide al an d universal resul ts
,

can be reached only after the truth h as been

fully incorporated into the mind of the world .

We know we are but her al ds of th at time

“
o f w hich the Lord s aid In th at d ay I will
,

put my laws into their mind and write them ,

” “
in their hearts an d when the prophesy All
, ,

”
sh all know me from the le ast to the gre atest ,

is fulfilled obedience to these law s will mean

,

the s alvation o f the whole man .

May God speed the day '

“
Hear t h e foot st ep s of Jesus l
He is n o w p assin g by ;
B earin g b alm for t h e woun ded ,
Healin g all who apply ;
As He sp ake t o t h e suff rer
’
,

Wh o lay at t h e pool ,

He is saying t his moment ,

‘
Wilt t hou be m ade w hole '