How to Stay Well
	How The Mind Can Produce Health <  Previous Contents Next  >

Every force and element in mind has a tendency to act in a certain way, to move in a certain direction, and to produce certain results. Therefore, when we learn to control the tendencies of the mind we may determine what actions and results are to be. We may also determine whether we are to go forward or backward, towards health or disease, towards weakness or strength, towards bondage or emancipation, towards inferiority or superiority.

When we begin to move in a certain direction, it is not always an easy matter to stop that action; therefore we should direct our movements in the right direction before we begin; and to determine in what direction we desire to move, we must train the mind to produce such tendencies as will, tend to cause all actions to move in the direction we desire to go.

When any mental tendency is fully established, the actions of the mind will move naturally and unconsciously in that direction, and will carry out those desires that may be realized through that particular movement. The creative forces of mind obey and follow those tendencies, and always go with those tendencies that have the greatest intensity and the most perfect concentration. Therefore when the tendencies you desire are made strong, and are properly concentrated upon the object you have in view, all the forces of your system will work with those tendencies, thereby making it almost certain that the object in view will be realized.

Whenever you begin to think that you should desire a certain thing, you proceed to form a tendency to create, not only a strong desire in that direction, but also a movement of the mind that will tend to produce the thing desired. At first, this desire can be controlled, but if the tendency continues, the desire may become so strong that it cannot be controlled. We realize, therefore, how important it is to place in action only such desires as we may want, because when a desire gets beyond our control we may be compelled to follow that desire and do many things that we did not in the first place intend.

All mental tendencies are born of desires; and it is possible to create any line of desire that we may wish to develop and realize. This being true, we can form any mental tendency that we may think favorable to the purpose we have in view. Every impression that is formed in the mind has a tendency to multiply itself, because every impression is energy centralized, and creative desire always appears with such centralizations. When the tendency of the impression to reproduce itself is permitted, that impression, however tiny or insignificant at first, may eventually become a powerful mental state so strong that all other states of mind must obey; and as this state of mind is, so will be the man himself.

Some people are exact externalizations of a single predominating mental state, while others have formed their personalities and characteristics from a group of mental states; but since every mental state originated in some tiny impression, and every impression may be multiplied and developed by desire, we understand what may become of us when we permit every impression to increase and follow its inherent tendency.

Every large object, physical or metaphysical, has a tendency to draw all smaller objects into its own path, and also to make all things in its atmosphere like itself. This, however, may be more or less modified by counteracting tendencies, which are usually at hand in considerable numbers. In the metaphysical world, the understanding of this law is very important, both in the building of character and in the development of talents. If you have a good character, it means that the strongest tendencies of mind are wholesome, elevating and righteous in nature; while if your character is weak, it means that you have no one elevating tendency strong enough to predominate in the world of conduct.

A perverted character is always the result of the ascending tendencies either being absent or too insignificant to exercise any influence; and ascending tendencies are always the results of thoughts, ideas or impressions that are wholesome and constructive; while descending tendencies come from opposite causes.

The weakest as well as the most perverted character may at times perform some noble act, and the finest character may at times do something that is beneath his true worth; but the explanation is simple. In the first case, the weak ascending tendencies were permitted to act without being interfered with by the predominating descending tendencies; while in the second case, the predominating ascending tendencies were suspended for the time being, and descending tendencies were temporarily created, due possibly to impressions formed upon the mind through some strong or overpowering temptation.

Such temptations, however, can never exercise their power over the conduct of any individual who naturally has a strong character, provided the ascending tendencies of his mind are always in positive action. The strongest tendencies, however, may at times become negative, and it is at such times that the good man falls and the weak man responds favorably to wholesome influences from without.

In this connection we realize the great importance of having such full control over mind and thought that we can always desire what we want to desire, and always cause our wholesome and ascending tendencies to continue in a constant and positive action. When you think more of the external things of life than of that which is within, you create in consciousness a tendency to dwell on the surface.

The result is, you become more or less superficial, and may finally become inferior to what you were in all respects. On the other hand, by thinking a great deal of those things that are lofty and profound, you create in consciousness a tendency to penetrate the deep things of life. The result is that you become conscious of a larger world of thought. You increase your mental capacity, improve decidedly the quality of your mind, and may at times make valuable discoveries.

When questionable pictures and suggestions are placed before minds that are not well established in purity, a strong tendency to produce uncontrollable desires may be created in those minds; and if those tendencies are continued and nourished, such desires may become too strong to be controlled; the victims may thus be carried away by them, even at the risk of name and reputation, or life. The mind that thinks a great deal about spotless virtue, and keeps the idea of virtue constantly before it, will soon create such a strong tendency, to virtue that all desires and feelings will actually become virtuous. For such a person it will be simplicity itself to continue in virtue and in perfect self-control.

When all the elements of your being are actually producing purity, virtue and self-control, you do not have to produce those things, and you do not have to resist or fight desires that may lead in opposite directions, because all your desires have begun to act in harmony with that tendency that is producing spotless virtue in your system. Your energies, therefore, do not create abnormal desires any more, but have instead been trained to create physical force, vital force, energy, personal power and mental brilliancy. When the tendency of the mind is towards real virtue, all the creative energies of the system will become constructive, and will accordingly build up mind, body and personality.

The man who is ambitious is daily training all the tendencies of his mind to act upon those faculties that are required to carry out his plans; and as it is the nature of the building forces of the mind to follow the strongest tendencies, those faculties will naturally be developed and perfected to a degree where they can readily carry out the desired ambition.

Whenever you positively resolve to accomplish certain things, you will succeed in proportion to your ability, a fact which is easily understood when we know how the tendencies of the mind always act in this connection; but a positive resolution is not a mere spurt. A resolve, to be genuine, must be constant and strong, and must never waver in the strength of its power. The reason why such a resolve must always win, is found in the fact that such a resolve leads to a powerful mental tendency; and a tendency of this kind will draw all the powers and talents of the mind into the line of its action, so that everything that is in use will work for the one thing we are resolved to accomplish or achieve.

When we think a great deal about the refined side of life, we create tendencies that will cause all the forces within us to recreate everything in our systems according to a more refined pattern. Accordingly, it will soon be second nature for us to become more refined, and all those things that have been crude or undeveloped in our nature will gradually disappear.

In the average mind we find the belief that the body naturally decays and grows old, and as this belief is subconscious in nearly everybody, there is in such minds a tendency to produce that very condition of decay. For this reason, that tendency is actually producing decay and old age contrary to the laws of nature, where there would be no such conditions of decay were that tendency absent. Nature renews the physical body every few months, and there is no natural process of decay in the system of anybody. If the physical system decays, that process of decay has been created through the violation of mental or physical laws, and therefore can be removed when that violation is corrected.

If there is a process in your system that is making you look older every year, that process is a false one. It was not placed there by nature. You have produced it yourself by perpetuating that tendency towards old age that we have inherited from mistaken race belief. The tendency to become weaker in body and mind as the years go by is also a false one which we have inherited and perpetuated through our own belief in the reality of such inheritance; but it is just as easy to create a tendency to become stronger and more intelligent the longer we live. We are therefore not in bondage to what we have inherited, because we can change everything and bring everything in ourselves into harmony with natural law.

We can also create the tendency to improve personal appearance and personality the longer we remain upon earth, because the tendency to lose the elements and vigor of youth is unnatural; it is a false tendency with which we have been born, and to which we have added life and power. We are born with all these false tendencies, and then we make them stronger through our own tendency to follow the grooves in which we have been placed by unnatural heredity; but as previously stated, every undesirable inheritance can be removed. Every impression formed in the mind is a seed that will produce some tendency; therefore we should not only remove those impressions that we do not wish to cultivate, but should also prevent inferior and undesired impressions from forming in the mind in the first place.

When we see people growing old -or, rather, making themselves older -every year, we are impressed by the aging process. We think that process is natural, and therefore permit it to be impressed upon our minds. That impression contains the tendency to produce the same process in us, and as it usually receives our permission to have its way, we also begin to grow older every year, regardless of the fact that nature gives us a new body every few months.

In this manner we cause the aging process to become stronger and stronger in us the more we see it in others, until we soon discover that we also are creating for ourselves older bodies. The new bodies that nature gives us this year we change through this false process, so that those bodies look a year older than the bodies we received from nature a year ago.

Thus the habit continues, and we consider the whole thing natural, when it is nothing else but the most ignorant violation of natural law. We think certain things natural and inevitable because we see them everywhere about us, but when we understand nature we discover that we make all the undesirable things in life ourselves, simply because we do not understand the real purpose and the greater possibilities of nature. To change all these things, we must begin to transform all the tendencies of the mind so that every tendency will move the way we want it to move, and produce those conditions in mind and body that we desire.

In the attainment of health and strength, this same law can be applied with decided success. When we think a great deal about health, desire persistently to realize perfect health, and positively expect to gain and maintain perfect health, we create strong mental tendencies that have the power to produce such health; and as all the forces of the system always work with the strongest tendencies, we shall thereby cause all the forces within us, physical and mental, to produce better health, and to build up every part of mind, body and personality.

By creating strong mental tendencies towards health, and by increasing the force and determination of those tendencies every day, you train the mind to produce health, and you cause the health-producing tendencies in your system to become so strong that they will completely govern the condition of your system; that is, they have the power to maintain healthful and wholesome conditions under all sorts of circumstances, and accordingly your physical system will become practically immune from all disease. You can in the same way increase your physical strength and endurance so that whatever you may wish to overcome, develop or increase further, you may do so by creating the necessary tendencies in those directions.

In the training of the mind to produce the tendencies we desire, the first thing to do is to find in what direction we are moving mentally; and to discover this we must not simply examine our objective aims or intentions, but try to find where the real self is going; is it moving towards sin, sickness and decay, or towards character, health, youth, freedom and power; is it moving towards weakness and inferiority, or towards strength, wisdom, attainment, and abundance? Look at yourself closely and examine every mental tendency so that you may find in what direction the majority of them, and the strongest of them, are moving. Thus you will realize your present position, and may proceed intelligently to change your life and yourself according to your highest ideals.

When we discover the tendencies of our minds, we shall know what our future is to be, provided those tendencies are permitted to continue their present lines of action. We shall at the same time realize that our present physical conditions, our present strength, our present ability, our present character, our present attainment and our present achievements, are all the results of the way our mental tendencies have been moving up to the present moment. The way we have lived, thought and acted during the past, we shall find, has been determined by those same tendencies; and when we know these things, we shall know with a certainty how we may gain freedom and reach the goal we have in view.

When we understand exactly the law that has produced everything in us thus far, we can, by using that law more intelligently proceed to create better and greater things for the future. What we are creating, what we are building, what we are developing -these things depend upon how the tendencies of the mind are directed; and if we wish to create our own destiny, we must take positive hold of all those tendencies and cause them to move in a manner that will result in these better conditions that we have in view.

The first thing to do is to determine where you wish to go, mentally speaking, and what you wish to accomplish and realize. Know what you want, and what you want to be. Then examine the tendencies of your mind with a view of finding how many of those tendencies are at present moving in the right direction. Those that are not moving towards the goal you have in view must be changed; and those that are already moving towards that goal should be given added power.

Then proceed to carry out your new purpose under the full control of your own consciousness of self-mastery. Do not waver for a moment; never look back; let nothing disturb your plans; and keep your aspirations too sacred to be mentioned. You will find that you will steadily and surely move directly where you wish to go. You will achieve more and more what you have planned, and your destiny will gradually take shape and form as you have desired.