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Wallace D. Wattles Ultimate Collection — Chapter-99: Lesson 3 The Mental Side of Health-Culture
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- Note: Work: The Personal Power Course, section 3 of 10.
Lesson 3 The Mental Side of Health-Culture Table of Contents The processes of construction and destruction are continuously going on within your body; if the destructive process exceeds that of construction in any part or organ, that part or organ will soon disintegrate and die. The constructive power is the subconscious mind; when this mind flags or relaxes in its constructive attitude, sickness and low states of health result. Sickness and low states of health can only be cured by arousing the subconscious mind to constructive activity. When a man is sick, in pain and a physician is called to give him a dose of medicine, the effect is often instantaneous, coming before the remedy has had time to be assimilated by the system; this shows that the effect is produced by arousing the subconscious mind of the patient to activity. All medicine cures are really mind-cures; the cure is wrought by the patient's own constructive force. The constructive force is aroused to action by one or another of the many forms of suggestion, intentional and unintentional, which are employed in the practice of medicine. The student must thoroughly understand this point. A neighbor of mine was in a decline; weak, run down, hardly able to walk, and going down hill all the time. He became possessed of the idea that a dinner of fried chicken and cabbage would help him, and his mother prepared it for him. He ate a hearty meal, and immediately felt better, within an hour he went out into the yard and began working, doing things which would have seemed like impossible feats of strength on the previous day. The cabbage and fried chicken had “strengthened” him! And yet it was merely an undigested mass in his stomach from which he could not possibly derive any nourishment for several hours to come; probably not before the next day. But from the hour of the meal his progress toward complete recovery was continuous. Is it not plain that it was not the chicken and
cabbage, but the subconscious mind which wrought the cure? Fat pork and mince pie, or quinine, or calomel, taken with the same faith and feeling, would have produced the same result. It was the faith and feeling with which the meal was eaten which aroused the subconscious mind into activity. Memorize this as the great central fact taught in this lesson: GOOD HEALTH MUST BE ATTAINED AND RETAINED BY KEEPING THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND IN CONSTRUCTIVE ACTIVITY. The preceding lesson taught you how to supply the subconscious mind with the right elements for body-building; you have now to learn how to cause the subconscious mind to make constructive use of those elements. First, you must know that the subconscious mind certainly HAS the power to build you into perfect health, and to keep you in perfect health. It is the very power of God, the vital energy of the universe; it is sufficient for all your needs. It positively CAN cure you and keep you cured, and it certainly WILL cure you and keep you cured, if it is directed into constructive channels. There is positively no doubt or uncertainty about this matter; IF YOUR SUBCONSIOUS MIND IS AROUSED INTO CONSTRUCTIVE ACTIVITY, IT WILL CURE YOU, AND KEEP YOU CURED. The whole matter, then, turns on the question whether you can arouse the mind into constructive activity; and this you can certainly do. For all practical purposes, it does not matter what the subconscious mind is; it does not matter whether it is an inward extension of the objective, or conscious mind, or whether the objective is an outward projection of the subconscious mind. It is enough for us to know that it can be reached through the outer or conscious mind; and we do know this to be a certainty. IF THE INNER MIND IS TO BE AROUSED INTO CONSTRUCTIVE ACTIVITY, THE ACTIVITIES OF THE OUTER MIND MUST BECOME CONSTRUCTIVE. That is all there is to it; it is the whole secret. A certain attitude of the conscious mind, persistently held until it produces FAITH, CONVICTION, FEELING, will cause the same attitude to be assumed by the subconscious mind. Objective states and attitudes, under favorable conditions, induce corresponding states and attitudes in the subconscious. The constructive attitude, persistently held in the objective, will induce the constructive attitude in the subconscious. The states and attitudes of the objective are determined by the thoughts you think; therefore, you must begin to think constructive thoughts. But it is not, primarily, the thoughts you think which affect the subconscious; it
is the mental state and attitude resulting from your thoughts. In other words, the subconscious is not impressed by thought, but by FAITH and FEELING. It is of no use for you to think superficially that you are well, or to affirm orally that you are well, if you believe that you are sick, and feel that you are sick. You will not be well if you think you are well; but you will be well if you FEEL that you are well. It is a great point gained in the study of mental science when we understand that only those thoughts count which are accompanied by feeling. You may superficially THINK that you are well, and SAY that you are well, without making any change in the attitude of the subconscious; but if you objectively FEEL that you are well, and if your actions are dictated by FAITH that you are well, the subconscious must respond immediately with constructive action. How, then, can you gain the objective faith and feeling that you are well? FEELING is the result of thought; as you persistently think about anything, so you inevitably come to feel about it. FAITH is the result of thought; as you habitually think about anything, so is your faith concerning it. Feeling and faith can be produced or changed by thought. If you can think, you can in time come to feel as you want to feel, and to believe what you want to believe. Can you think what you want to think? You can, within certain limits. It is not my purpose to define these limits in this lesson, but it is certain that you can think about disease as you choose. If you have a fixed habit of thinking about disease, it may be a little difficult for you to break that habit, but it is certain that you can do it; thousands of others have done it, and so can you. So I repeat that you can think about health if you want to think about health; and you MUST think about health, and cease entirely from thinking about disease, if you are to arouse the subconscious mind into constructive activity. If you steadily think about health, you will certainly come, in due time, to FEEL that you have health, and to have FAITH that health is yours; and whatever you think with faith and feeling, the subconscious mind proceeds at once to externalize. This is wherein Christian Science is scientific. Its converts are required to claim health by faith. They begin at the outset to claim health, and reject every thought of disease. They do not argue, read conflicting literature, or listen to the criticisms of their faith. They think health all the time; they do not allow themselves to think disease any of the time. As a result from this continuous health-thought, they soon develop the FAITH that they are well, and constructive
activity of the subconscious follows. Then, if they continue in the faith and feeling, they gradually rebuild diseased organs by the natural process of cell- construction. That is the way, and the only way, to get well. If you eat your food in the manner directed in the preceding lesson, you may be absolutely certain that you are furnishing the subconscious with perfect materials for cell building, perfectly prepared; and you may also be absolutely certain that the subconscious is able to do the work perfectly, if it is aroused into constructive activity. So, you have a solid basis for your thought, and for your faith; and you can begin to claim health by faith. Understand, you are not required to deny disease but to ignore disease. You are not to recognize disease in any way, or to think about it at all; you are to think about health. There is health within you; you may be sure of that, for if there was NO health in you at all, you would be quite dead and putrefied. Yes, there is HEALTH within you, and when you mentally look into your interior, you are to LOOK AT HEALTH, and ignore everything else; you are not to think that there is anything else there. Look at the health within you, and watch it grow; it will certainly grow if you recognize it and give it your attention. Keep your eye single on health; if your eye is single your whole body will soon be full of light, but if your eye be closed by doubt, fear, or anxiety, the light within you will turn to darkness. Never allow yourself to speculate, mentally, as to what is the condition in your kidneys, liver, stomach, or bowels; as to how far disease has progressed, and so on; it does not make the least difference. Think of the HEALTHFORCE that is steadily building new cells in the affected organs, out of the perfect food materials you are furnishing it, and rejoice in the process of construction. Think CONSTRUCTION; talk CONSTRUCTION; believe in CONSTRUCTION; FEEL construction. Do not argue about it; do not discuss theories as to HOW and WHY you are getting well, for that will most likely involve you in controversy; just say that you ARE getting well. Do not listen to people who talk disease, weakness, or death. This is where you may meet a point of difficulty. When you find yourself in a company where the conversation runs along destructive lines, try to swing into constructive channels if you can; and if you cannot, better take your hat and go home. If you MUST stay, shut your ears to what is said (it might be well to carry a little cotton in your pocket for each ear, like George Eliot's painter) and fix your mind on health. By a little practice you will find that you can acquire the ability to think what you please, while those around you are talking what THEY
please. THINK HEALTH, ANYWHERE, EVERYWHERE AND AT ALL TIMES; IGNORE DISEASE. Never permit yourself to complain, or speak of yourself as being sick. When you mention your condition at all, let it be to speak of yourself as growing better. Talk, and think, construction. You will find this like fletcherizing, a habit that will require some perseverance in acquiring; but it can be acquired. WHEN YOU HAVE ACQUIRED THE HABIT OF THINKING AND SPEAKING CONSTRUCTION, AND NOTHING BUT CONSTRUCTION, YOU HAVE MASTERED MENTAL SCIENCE, IN SO FAR AS HEALTH IS CONCERNED. Remember, however, that it is not mere superficial thought and speech, but FEELING and FAITH that count. When you make affirmations of truth, proceed in a manner something like this: Say that it is bedtime, and you are composing yourself to sleep; lie quietly in a relaxed and comfortable position, and fix your mind on the subconscious mind, which permeates your entire body as water permeates a sponge. Fix your attention on this mental or spiritual body as if it were a person, and think about it until you seem to feel it. Then address it after this wise, being careful to FEEL deeply what you say: “I will eat my food perfectly tomorrow, and it will be perfectly digested and assimilated; it will be used to build me a new and perfect body.” Hold for a moment as clear a mental picture of this body as you can, (be careful to keep in the state of deep feeling) and think that it is YOUR body. With a little practice, you will find that you are becoming able to impress the subconscious most powerfully, and you will see the results the following day. Just before going to sleep is the best time to impress the subconscious, for it digests and assimilates during sleep the impressions it has during the day. And after you have so impressed it, be sure that on the following day whenever you think of your physical self you think of the IDEAL BODY WHICH YOU ARE BUILDING, and not of the body which now is. To put constructive thought in a nutshell, it consists in always thinking of the perfect thing you are building, and not of the imperfect and unfinished thing as it is at present. Adopt the light breakfast or no- breakfast plan; fletcherize; and by steady and persistent effort; form the habit of constructive thought. Whenever you find yourself slipping back into old habits of thinking, call a halt instantly, and turn your attention to the building process which is going on within, and think of the perfect temple which is sure to be the result. Recognize the building process, think and meditate upon the building process, talk about the building process, have faith in the building process, and you will soon be delighted to FEEL and
SEE the building process.