How to Stay Well
	The Curative Power Of Thought <  Previous Contents Next  >

To make practical application of these principles in the cure of human ills, it is the metaphysical process that must be employed, and the reason why will be evident when we consider the true meaning of metaphysics.

When the term metaphysics is employed, however, in connection with modern thought or any feature of this study, we do not refer to those vague speculations about mind that class the elements of mind as parts of the unknowable; nor do we refer solely to certain mental forces or qualities that have no direct connection with practical, every day life. Modern metaphysics, in its largest sense, includes the entire field of mind and consciousness, and deals with the scientific study and practical application of all the forces, elements, powers, states, qualities and attributes that may exist in the great mental domain.

The metaphysical world, broadly speaking, includes the mental world, the moral world, the spiritual world, and all the worlds of consciousness; and metaphysics, as applied in this connection, constitutes the art of applying any force or element embraced in the metaphysical world for the purpose of preventing or removing human ills, be they mental, physical or moral. Metaphysics in its modern interpretation signifies the scientific use of the highest powers of the mind to the needs of practical life, and among these higher powers, the power of thought occupies the most prominent position.

The principle that underlies the power of thought, which is the psychological principle, becomes therefore the fundamental principle in the science and art of healing; and although a number of mental, moral and spiritual forces may be called into action in this mode of healing, still all those forces must express themselves through the power of thought.

The great central action in the metaphysical world is mind in action. How the mind acts determines how other metaphysical forces are to act; and the manner in which the mind is harmonized with those functions, determines how powerful and efficient the action of the mind is to be. The secret, therefore, of the metaphysical process of cure is, first, to place in action such powers of thought as naturally produce health; and second, to increase those powers by combining all other metaphysical forces and elements with the healing power of thought.

Any method of healing that does not give first place to the power of thought is not based upon the fundamental principle of metaphysics, nor is such a method in perfect harmony with the laws of nature, because nature has given the greatest power in human life to the power of thought.

On the other hand, any system of cure that depends directly on the power of thought, but does not combine with that power every other force and element in the human domain, is likewise incomplete and out of harmony with natural law. To formulate a perfect system of prevention and cure, a system that would apply harmoniously, conjunctively and effectively, all the health producing elements in human life, the power of thought should be made the direct channel of application.

Everything from the metaphysical side that could increase the power of thought should be employed in conjunction with that power, and everything from the physical side that would make the body more responsive to the curative power of the finer elements of mind and soul should be employed in perfect harmony with the metaphysical process.

Such a system, therefore, would not only invite but demand hygienic living, wholesome diet, pure air, reasonable physical exercise, temperate habits, natural remedies, good nursing, and even non-poisonous medicines and common sense surgery, when these would tend to place the body in the most receptive state possible for the curative power of thought.

These external methods, however, should not be looked upon as the powers that heal. The power of thought should occupy that position, not only in the mind of the patient and the physician, but also in the minds of all those who are in any way interested in the case. We should always think of the power of thought as the one principal healing power. We should always give this power the best possible conditions, both physical and metaphysical, through which to work.

The power of thought is mighty, but that is no reason why we should place physical obstacles in its way in the form of unhygienic living, impure air, unwholesome food, intemperate habits and the like; nor is there any reason why we should not remove physical obstructions with physical means when this can be done safely and effectively. To depend wholly on external means, however, is to decrease the power of thought, and in consequence to lessen the power of nature to restore normal conditions; but so long as the power of thought is given the first place in every stage of the curative process, it will increase its efficiency, even though many external methods be employed at the same time.

The principle is to depend upon the power of thought, and make that power as strong and effective as possible; but while this power is being applied, any external method that can make the body more responsive to thought, or that can assist the natural healing process, is not only permissible but demanded. There is no warfare between the physical and the metaphysical.

The two are not antagonistic. On the contrary, they are necessary to each other, but the physical is the servant and the metaphysical the master. Therefore, in a complete therapeutic system the metaphysical should be looked upon as the physician, while the physical should be expected to assist in every manner possible.

To place the metaphysical first is to act in perfect harmony with nature, because every action in the body originates in the mind, and every function in the body is governed by the mind.

The voluntary actions of the body are produced by the conscious side of the mind, and the involuntary actions are produced by the subconscious. Even what is called the efforts of nature to restore normal conditions, is a process that is governed completely by the subconscious side of the mind. It is the subconscious that directs the vital force of the system in healing the wound or in replacing healthy tissue where disease has been conquered.

It is the subconscious that restores flesh to the emaciated body when the fever has been removed, and it is the subconscious that gradually restores energy, strength and vigor during the period of convalescence. It is the subconscious that governs all those processes in the human system that we speak of as nature, and as the subconscious can be assisted, modified, changed or governed by the power of conscious thought, we realize what a power there is in the power of thought when intelligently employed.

Every dormant force found in the body responds to the subconscious mind; and the subconscious mind responds to the power of thought. Therefore, the power of thought is necessarily the great central power, both in the physical and the metaphysical domains of man; and for this reason it becomes the most important factor in that system of healing that aims to be true to nature, true to the laws of life and true to the entire being of man.

To exercise the power of thought in the cure of any disease, physical, mental or moral, the first essential is to train the entire system to depend absolutely upon the power of thought for health, wholeness and strength. This step will not only increase the health producing powers of thought, but will also make every part of the body more responsive to the curative forces of mind and soul.

When the body responds readily to those finer forces, any threatening ill can be nipped in the bud almost instantaneously by simply using the power of thought according to the laws of applied metaphysics.

To train the physical system to depend upon higher power for perfect health and respond to that power whenever there is a desire to produce health or increase the life of health, constant attention should be given to that interior or higher relationship that exists between the physical and the metaphysical. We should think a great deal about how the mind affects the body and how mental action both originates and governs physical action.

We should realize the fact that mental states have a tendency to work themselves out into physical conditions, and that any positive mental state can remove a corresponding opposite physical condition. We should also realize that all the vital forces of the human system, even the chemical forces, not only can be affected, but constantly are being affected, modified and changed by the force of thought, mind and soul.

The first step in the regaining of health through the metaphysical process, is not to learn how to exercise some new mental power, but to learn how to make common, everyday thinking wholesome. In fact, so closely is the mind related to the body that if everyday thinking was wholesome, and always wholesome, the body would enjoy perfect health all through life.

The power of thought may be employed either for or against the welfare of the human system, and which it is to be, depends upon whether the thinking is wholesome or not. To discriminate between thinking that is wholesome and that which is not, a clear understanding of general metaphysics becomes necessary, though the line that separates the two modes of thought may be readily found by anyone.

Wholesome thinking is the result of any mental action that is constructive in its tendency, and that has the ideal in view, while any mental action that is not naturally constructive and that moves away from the ideal is always unwholesome and detrimental.

When the actions of the mind move towards the ideal, everything in the human system has a tendency to move out of present conditions, and the natural way to freedom is out of the lesser and the adverse out into the larger, the better and the ideal. To train the action of the mind to move towards the ideal, the first essential is to impress the ideal upon every mental state and every element of consciousness.

The ideal of anything is that something that contains the very thing that is wanted. Therefore, to move towards the ideal is to enter into that which is wanted. To move towards the ideal is to make real the ideal; to move towards the light is to gain more and more light, and the mind does move towards, and into, that which is constantly being impressed upon thought and consciousness.

To impress the ideal upon the mind the existence of the ideal should be constantly in the mind; that is, think and affirm that you have in the ideal what you want in the real. You thus incorporate the ideal in every form. You make all your thinking ideal; and ideal thinking is wholesome thinking. Such thinking will produce perfect mental health, and when the mind is perfectly well the body will also be perfectly well.

Think with depth and feeling that you are well, and you give your thought the power to make you well. Every thought you think has an interior power. This interior power is exactly like the thought itself as to nature and quality, and it will express that nature and quality in the body. This is one of the supreme facts in metaphysics. What you give to your thought you give to your body, and what you think into your thought you work into your body.

When you always think that you are well, you think health into every thought, and the interior power of every thought will express health in the body. There can, therefore, be no disease in your body while all your thinking is giving health to your body, because the entire system will be so thoroughly filled with the life and the power of health that no adverse condition can possibly gain a foothold.

The average mind, however, is not in the habit of thinking health, and a large portion of the thought produced in the average mind is not wholesome, the reason being that no systematic effort has been made to apply the mind directly in promoting the welfare of the human system; but through the affirmation of the ideal, wholesome thinking will become a habit, and the power of every thought will promote the realization of the ideal.

The statement "I am well" should be used constantly in the deepest and most sincere attitude of realization in order to secure a basis for healthful thinking. To this statement should be added as many constructive statements as may be necessary to express the true, the perfect and the ideal in every part of human life. The principle is, to think constantly that you are well and never permit yourself to think anything to the contrary.

You will thus give the power of thought the power to produce health, and such thought will permeate every part of your body with the very life of health. By giving expression to the idea of health in every mental state, and in every action of consciousness and feeling, you add health producing power to the power of thought.

Your wholesome thinking is strengthened from every source, and everything you do will tend to make your system more and more wholesome. To add health producing power to the power of thought, such mental states as anger, worry, depression and doubt, should be removed, and such states as faith, love, peace, joy and harmony established in their places.

Eliminate all negative thinking; that is, never think of that which is adverse, or that which you do not wish to become a part of your life. Think of only those greater and better things that, you want, and continue in the positive faith that you will get them. Live on the sunny side; count everything joy; believe most thoroughly that all things are working for greater and greater good for you, and be determined to prove it in greater and greater measure.