THE MENTAL BASIS OF CURE
We have seen that in each cell in the human body is embodied a part of
the Subconscious Mind, sufficient in quantity and quality to enable the
cell to perform its particular work in the physical community of cells.
In the same manner each group of cells, large or small, is possessed of
the quantity and quality of mind adapted to the successful performance
of its particular function. And, rising in the scale, we find that
each of the physical organs is possessed of a "composite cell-soul" or
"organ-mind." As Hudson says: "Each organ of the body is composed of a
group of cells which are differentiated with special reference to the
functions to be performed by that organ. In other words, every function
of life is performed by groups of co-operative cells, so that the body
as a whole is simply a confederation of the various groups."
For instance, as Haeckel says: "This 'tissue soul' is the higher
psychological function which gives physiological individuality to
the compound multicellular organism as a true 'cell commonwealth.'
It controls all the separate 'cell souls' of the social cells--the
mutually dependent 'citizens' which constitute the community.... The
human egg-cell, as soon as it is fertilized, multiplies by division and
forms a community, or colony of many social cells. These differentiate
themselves, and by their specialization, by various modifications of
these cells, the various tissues which compose the various organs are
developed. The developed many-celled organisms of man and of all higher
animals resemble, therefore, a social civil community, the numerous
single individuals of which are, indeed, developed in various ways, but
which were originally only simple cells of one common structure."
Biology shows us that there are unquestionably methods of communication
between cell and cell, although it has not as yet been definitely
determined just how this communication is effected. In the
cell-communities of the micro-organisms there is undoubtedly present
the power to communicate on the part of the several cells composing
the community, and the pain or discomfort of one part is evidently
felt by the whole community. Just as an army, or a congregation, has
a mind common to the whole, in addition to the individual minds of
its units, so has every organ of the body an "organ mind" in addition
to the individual cell minds of its unit cells. The fact of the
existence of "group-mind," or "collective-mind" is recognized by the
best authorities in modern psychology, and the study of its principles
throws light on some hitherto perplexing phenomena.
Prof. Le Bon, in his work "The Crowd," says of the "collective mind" of
men: "The sentiments and ideas of all the persons in the gathering take
one and the same direction, and their conscious personality vanishes.
A collective mind is formed, doubtless transitory, but presenting
very clearly marked characteristics. The gathering has become what,
in the absence of a better expression, I will call an organized
crowd, or, if the term be considered preferable, a psychological
crowd. _It forms a single being_, and is subjected to the law of the
mental unity of crowds.... The most striking peculiarity presented by
a psychological crowd is the following: Whoever be the individuals
that compose it, however like or unlike be their mode of life, their
occupation, their character, or their intelligence, the fact that they
have been transformed into a crowd puts them in possession of _a sort
of collective mind_, which makes them feel, think, and act in a manner
quite different from that in which each individual of them would feel,
think and act, were he in a state of isolation. There are certain
ideas and feelings which do not come into being, or do not transform
themselves into acts, except in the case of the individuals forming
a crowd.... In the collective mind the intellectual aptitudes of the
individuals, and in consequence their individuality, is weakened....
The most careful observations seem to prove that an individual immerged
for some length of time in a crowd in action soon finds itself in a
special state, which most resembles the state of fascination in which
the hypnotized individual finds himself.... The conscious personality
has entirely vanished, will and discernment are lost. All feelings and
thoughts are bent in the direction determined by the hypnotizer.... An
individual in a crowd is a grain of sand amid other grains of sand,
which the wind stirs up at will."
In short, psychology recognizes a _mental fusion_ between the
individual minds of units composing a community of cells, insects,
higher animals and even men. The "spirit of the hive" noted by
all students of bee-life, and the community spirit in an ant-hill
are instances serving to illustrate the general principle of "the
collective mind." As we have seen in the preceding chapter, the entire
human body is a vast community of cells, each unit in the community
having relations with every other unit, and all having sprung from
the same original egg-cell. This great community, or _nation_ of
cells is divided into many smaller communities, chief among which are
the principal organs of the body, as the stomach, the intestines,
the liver, the kidneys, the spleen, the heart, etc. And, following
the general rule, each of these organ-communities possesses its own
"collective mind," subordinate, of course, to the great community mind
known as the Subconscious Mind. Ordinarily these communities live in
peace and harmony, and in obedience to the national government. But
occasionally rebellions and revolutions are started, which cause much
inharmony, pain and disease. Sometimes these rebellions arise from
abuse of the particular organ by its owner, or from sympathy with
another abused organ, or from general abuse of the system. But, at
other times, there seems to be an active discontent springing up in an
organ, to the quelling of which the entire Subconscious Mind bends its
energy and forces. Very often these rebellions are started by adverse
auto-suggestions or fearthoughts emanating from the conscious mind
of the individual, which act according to the law of suggestion and
practically _hypnotize_ the mind of the organ in question.
This idea of each organ having a mind of its own--being practically an
entity, in fact--may be somewhat startling to those who have never had
the matter presented to them, but the statement is backed up by the
best scientific authorities who, however, do not usually state it in
so plain terms, or popular form. It is likely that the science of the
future will make some great discoveries regarding this matter of the
"collective mind" of the organs, and that the schools of medicine will
adapt the new knowledge to the treatment of disease. In the meantime,
the practitioners of Mental Healing are availing themselves of this
principle, often without realizing the principle itself.
The writer has been interested in this subject of the "organ mind" for
a number of years, and has conducted a number of experiments along this
line, the result being that he feels more firmly convinced each year of
the truth of the theory or idea. He has found that mental treatments
based on this theory have been very successful, much more so in fact
than those conducted in pursuance to other theories. It seems that
by applying the suggestive treatment direct to the affected organ a
quicker response is had. The writer is indebted to Dr. Paul Edwards,
a well known mental healer, who several years ago advanced the idea
that the mind or "intelligence" in the several organs differed greatly
in temperament and quality. He informed us that he had proven to his
own satisfaction that the heart is "_very_ intelligent," and quite
amenable to mild, gentle, coaxing suggestions, advice or orders; while,
on the other hand, the liver is a most mulish, stubborn, obstinate
organ-mind, which requires one to drive it in a sharp positive manner.
Investigation along these lines suggested by Dr. Edwards has convinced
the writer that the theory is warranted by the facts. Experiments have
shown that the heart organ-mind is gentle, mild, and easily influenced
by kindly suggestion, advice and requests, and that it needs but a word
directed to it to attract its attention. Likewise, the liver has been
found to be brutish, stubborn and obstinate, needing the most vigorous
suggestions--in short the liver-mind is a donkey and must be so treated.
The liver-mind is sluggish, torpid and sleepy, and needs much prodding
before it will "sit up and take notice." The stomach has been found
to be quite intelligent, especially when it has not been brutalized
by "stuffing." It will readily respond to suggestive treatment of all
kinds, it being noticed that it may be easily flattered or "jollied"
into good behavior, just as may certain children. The nervous system
has a mind of its own, and will accept suggestions, although it is
usually difficult to attract its attention, owing to its habit of
concentration upon its regular work. The bowel-mind will respond
to firm, kind treatment, as will also the uterus-mind and the mind
controlling the other organs peculiar to women.
In another work, the writer has said regarding this form of treatment
of the organs through their organ-minds: "Remember, always, that you
are mind talking to mind, not to dead matter. There is mind in every
cell, nerve, organ and part of the body, and in the body as a whole,
and this mind will listen to your central mind and obey it, because
your central mind is positive to it--the organ is negative to _you_.
Carry this idea with you in giving these treatments, and endeavor
to visualize the mind in the organs, as clearly as may be, for by
so doing you get them in better _rapport_ with you, and can handle
them to better advantage. And always remember that the virtue lies
not in the mere sound of the words that happen to reach the organ or
cells--they do not understand words as words, but they do understand the
meaning behind the words. But without words it is very hard for you
to think, or clearly express the feeling--and so, by all means use the
words just as if the organ-mind understood the actual meaning thereof,
for by so doing you can drive in the meaning of the word--and induce the
mental state and conditions necessary to work the cure.
Dr. S. F. Meacham, in a magazine article published several years ago,
said: "Let me once more call your attention to that one great principle
of disease and cure. It is the only medical creed I hold to-day and
will bear repeating, lest we neglect it. _Disease is a failure of the
cells to make good their waste, or to do their full duty._ This may
be an individual matter with the cell, or may result from imperfect
co-operation; there may be a mutiny in the co-operative commonwealth
constituting the body. Apart from all mutual help, or co-operation of
cells, each individual cell must either do its full duty, or suffer,
and perchance die, as the result. Remember that each individual cell
lives, and has an office that no other cell can fill to save it. If the
other cell does the work, it will live, but the failing cell will not
profit thereby. By co-operating they may lighten each other's labors,
but _no cell is or can be exempt from doing its part_. Any failure of
this kind is disease either local or general, according to the degree
and nature of the failure, or according to the importance of the
mutinous or weakened cell. A cure results when the cells again do their
work. Or, if a certain number die, a cure is established when other
cells learn to do that particular work, which is sometimes the case. A
remedy is any substance, or force, or procedure that will stimulate,
or help, or remove obstacles that prevent these cells from doing their
work. _Keep in mind, that the life process acting through or in the
cell does the work either aided, or alone._ The lesson then is that
all these methods do good, and that owing to the view point, mental
status, or expectancy of the individual, now one and now another method
will appeal to him and be accepted. No matter what we do, we aid, we
assist only--we do not cure.... _The process going on in each cell is an
intelligent one_, and all extrinsic methods are really but suggestions
offered to the cell, the real worker; and the fact is that any one of
these helps may be chosen, and all may be rejected...."
"The repair of a cell is as equally as intellectual a process as any
other can be. If, for instance, blind force can repair one cell, it
can many; if it can build one, it can all, and mind and intellect are
then without causal efficacy, without spontaneity, and blind force,
fatality and purposeless action reign supreme.... According to this
theory the building and repairing of cells would not be intellectual,
as there would be no working plan or purpose. I am aware that a purely
extrinsic study of the cells and of the body will force this conclusion
upon any candid, unprejudiced mind; but _a study from the inside_
is a different matter. A cell, looked at from without, moves only
when stimulated; but is this really true? The body is but a compound
of cells when viewed from the outside; then if one cell moves when
stimulated, why not twenty, a hundred, a thousand, a billion, the
entire body? But is it true of the body? You come to me and propose
some scheme, or act, which I carry out. Now is your proposition the
real cause of my act, or only a condition? Do I not choose, and either
do the thing or not, as determined from within? If this is true of
the body, why not of the cell? May not the stimulation we see be a
condition only, and the real cause of the act be within the cell
itself?... The cell is not a mere machine, _but a living entity_, doing
everything that the body does. It eats, drinks, moves, reproduces its
kind, selects its food, repairs its waste, etc. These are intellectual
processes, but may not be conscious....
"The cure consists in the repairing of the wasted tissue, and in the
cells restoring and repairing themselves into a definite pattern,
necessary to mutual work, so that the commonwealth may prosper. Air,
water, sunshine, food, etc., are necessary to the performance of
this work of repair. When these are furnished, even under the best
conditions possible, the cells must use them to build up the waste,
and this they do by their internal forces. But this process is what is
called repair on the one hand, and cure on the other. External means
may be essential, but that will not make them really curative.... It
is well, also, to keep in mind that external in the true sense of the
term as we are using it here. _Any force outside of the diseased cell
is an external force to that cell even if it be thought-force._ Disease
is always treated by external force, external as defined above, and
all disease is just as surely cured by internal force--viz.: _force
resident in the cell itself_. Here we all stand around the suffering
cell, one with drug-power in his hand, another with electricity, or
water, or heat, or directed attention--thought-force or more nourishment
which necessitates a better circulation to that area, or some other of
the thousand therapeutic measures, and we are close enough together
at last to see that we are simply using different stimuli to try to
aid the real worker within the cell to do his work by furnishing, not
only material that is necessary, but force as well, that out of the
abundance his work may be easy and rapid."
The reader who will consider the numerous instances of cure by
Suggestion or Faith-Cure, as noted in the following chapters, will
be better able to understand the principle underlying these cures if
he will realize the fact brought out so forcibly by Dr. Meacham, as
above quoted. The attention of the patient being directed to the organ
affected, in connection with the stimulating and vitalizing effect
of Faith and Belief, starts into renewed activity the cell-mind of
the organ in question, and arouses its reparative and recuperative
energies. Each organ, and its component cells and cell-groups, is of
course under the control of the Subconscious Mind, and forms a part
of the material embodiment thereof. The Subconscious Mind, being
stimulated by the Suggestion and Faith, and having its Expectant
Attention aroused, concentrates its energies upon the reparative and
recuperative processes in the organ, and the work of cure proceeds.
The cure, in every case, is simply either repair work, or else the
restoration of normal functioning--in either case the cells themselves
doing the work.
In the consideration of the reasons underlying the cure of disease
by Psycho-Therapeutics, we must first consider the question of
what disease really is. And in this phase of the consideration, it
will be well for us to first dispel the erroneous ideas concerning
disease which we have been entertaining. Perhaps the following
striking statement from Sidney Murphy, M. D., printed in the magazine
"Suggestion" several years ago, may help you to form a correct idea
of the nature of disease, or rather a correct idea of what disease
_is not_. Dr. Murphy says, in the said article, among other things:
"Prof. S. D. Gross, formerly of the New York University Medical School,
says: 'Of the essence of disease very little is known--indeed nothing
at all.' Nevertheless it is evident that medical men have an idea on
the subject. The theory generally held, I believe, is that disease
is destructive action; but just what this means, whether destructive
action on the part of vitality itself, or by something acting upon
the vitality, is not so clear; but we are enabled to gain some light
by reference to the expression used in medical books concerning it.
Thus we find that disease 'attacks us,' that it 'seats itself in an
organ,' that 'it works through us, runs its course,' etc. It is also
said to be 'very malignant,' or 'quite mild,' 'persistently resisting
all treatment,' or 'yielding readily' to it. In fact, it is considered
an entity, possessing character and disposition and general vital
qualities--a something which domiciles itself in the vital domain,
and exercises its forces to the destruction of the vital powers. It
is indeed spoken of as one would speak of a rat in his granary, or a
mouse in his cupboard, and efforts are made to dislodge it, or kill
it, as one would dislodge or kill any other living thing. This theory
of disease is beginning to be looked upon even by the medical world
as untenable. Living things are always possessed of organizations
having form or shape; and hence if disease were such, its form would
be discerned and described; a thing which never has been done. Disease
by our ancestors was considered a subtile and mysterious thing which
pounced down upon us, and runs its course without any reference to
causes; and language being formed to convey this idea, it has been
transmitted almost unchanged from generation to generation down to
the present time. And the medical profession of to-day is simply an
embodiment of that idea. It is probable that the term 'destructive
action' is generally held to mean destructive action on the part of the
vitality itself.... Life in organic form is developed according to law.
Slowly rising into power, organization at length reaches its zenith,
and then goes down the gentle declivity, until the soul steps off into
the great beyond, without pain or struggle, provided always that the
conditions of life are natural and therefore favorable; but if these
be unfavorable, unfavorable results must of course follow; vitality,
nevertheless, doing the best it can under the circumstances to
preserve the normal state of the body. Disease, we propose to show, is
not antagonistic to vital action, but the opposite, a remedial effort,
_or vital action on the defensive_. It is not a downward tendency, nor
the result of a downward tendency on the part of a living organism,
but is itself an upward or self-preservative tendency, the result of
disobedience to natural laws. _It is simply abnormal action, because of
abnormal conditions._"
In considering the above revolutionary statement of Dr. Murphy, we
must remember that "vitality" or "vital force" is simply the action
of the Subconscious Mind operating through the sympathetic system,
the organ-minds, and the cell-minds. _All vital energy, at the last
is mental energy._ And, we must also remember that the "abnormal
conditions" which Dr. Murphy speaks of as being the cause of
"abnormal action" or disease, are not confined alone to physical or
material conditions, but also to abnormal mental conditions, such as
fear-thought, adverse suggestions, improper use of the imagination,
etc. As we have seen in the preceding chapters, the causes of disease
may be mental as well as material or physical.
The Subconscious Mind in its vital activities is constantly at work
building up, repairing, growing, nourishing, supporting and regulating
the body, doing its best to throw off abnormal conditions, and seeking
to do the best it can when these conditions cannot be removed. With its
source pure and unpolluted the stream of vitality flows on unhindered,
but when the poison of fear-thought, adverse suggestion and false
belief is poured into the source or spring from which the stream rises,
it follows that the waters of life will no longer be pure and clear.
Let us notice the general direction of the vital activities of the
Subconscious Mind.
In the first place we find that the vital activities are primarily
concerned with _self-preservation_, that is with the preservation of
the individual and the race. One has but to notice the ever-present
manifestation of the "race instinct" which draws the males and females
of the several species together, that they may mate and bring forth
the young needed to keep alive the species. The parental devotions,
with its many sacrifices of personal pleasure for the young, are
instances ever before us. And no less striking is the companion
activities which make for the preservation of the individual. The
instinctive tendency toward self-preservation is so strong that it
overpowers the reason in the majority of cases. Men may decry the
value of life, but let their life be threatened and the instinctive
protective feeling causes them to fight for life against all odds.
"All that a man hath will he give for his life." And this instinctive
activity is manifest not only in the individual as a whole, but in
every cell of his body. Every cell is striving hard for the welfare of
the community of which it forms a part. Even in disease it strives to
throw off the abnormal conditions which afflict the body, and failing
to do so it hobbles along doing the best it can under the circumstances.
The tiny seed sprouting in the ground, and lifting weights a thousand
times that of itself, shows the self-preservative energies and
activities of the mind principle within it. The healing work of
the cells in the case of a wound, or of a broken bone, as described
elsewhere in this book, gives us another example. The healing efforts
of the organism striving to throw off the morbid substances within the
body, purging them away in a flux, or burning them up with a fever,
show the operations of the same principle. This, we have seen, is
called the _vis medicatrix naturae_, or "healing power of nature,"
which operates in man as well as in the case of the lower animals--but
it is really but the operations of the great Subconscious Mind of the
individual. As Dr. Murphy, previously quoted, says: "Certainly all
experience declares and all physicians will admit that where vital
power is abundant in a man he will get well from almost any injuries
short of complete destruction of vital organs; but where vitality is
low, recovery is much more difficult, if not impossible, which can only
be explained on the principle that vitality always works upward toward
life and health to the extent of its ability under the circumstances,
because, if it worked downward, the less vitality, the more surely and
speedily would death result."
Following the law of self-preservation, we find that of _accommodation_
manifesting itself in the vital activities of the Subconscious Mind.
This principle or law works in the direction of _adjusting the organism
to conditions which it cannot remedy_. Thus a sapling bent out of
shape, will bend its branches upward until once more they will reach
toward the sky notwithstanding the deformed trunk. Seed sprouting from
a narrow crevice in a rock, and unable to split the rock, will assume a
deformed shape but will hold tenaciously to life, and will thrive under
these abnormal conditions. This principle of accommodation acts upon
the idea of "life at any price," and of "making the best of things."
Man and the lower animals accommodate themselves to their environment,
when they are unable to overcome the unsatisfactory conditions of the
latter. The study of anthropology, natural history, and botany will
convince anyone that the principle of accommodation is everywhere
present in connection with that of self-preservation. And the diseased
conditions, and abnormal functioning, which we find in cases of
chronic diseases is simply the principle of accommodation in the vital
activities of the Subconscious Mind, but which it is "trying to make
the best of it," and holding on to "life at any price."
Dr. Murphy, previously quoted, says: "Disease, in its essential nature,
has a deeper significance than simply abnormal manifestations. It is
really a remedial effort, not necessarily successful, but an attempt
to change, or have changed existing conditions. And for this reason
any improper relation of the living organism to external agents
necessarily results in an injury to that organism, which by virtue of
its being self-preservative, immediately sets up defensive action, and
begins as soon as possible to repair the damages that have accrued.
This defensive or reparative action, of course, corresponds to the
conditions to be corrected, and hence is abnormal and diseased; and its
severity and persistence will depend upon the damages to be repaired,
and the intensity and persistence of the causes that produced it.
Serious injury present or impending will demand serious vital action;
desperate conditions, desperate action. But in all cases the action
is vital, an attempt at restoration, and the energy displayed will
exactly correspond to the interests involved and the vitality that is
available."
From the above, and from what has been shown in previous chapters,
it will be seen that just as is health the result of the normal
functioning of the Subconscious Mind, so is disease the result of its
abnormal functioning. And it may also be seen that the true healing
power must come alone from and through the Subconscious Mind itself,
although the same may be aroused, awakened and directed by various
outside agencies. As Dr. Thomson J. Hudson says: "Granted that there
is an intelligence that controls the functions of the body in health,
it follows that it is the same power or energy that fails in case
of disease. Failing, it requires assistance; and that is what all
therapeutic agencies aim to accomplish. No intelligent physician of
any school claims to be able to do more than to 'assist nature' to
restore normal conditions of the body. That it is a mental energy
that thus requires assistance, no one denies; for science teaches
us that the whole body is made up of a confederation of intelligent
entities, each of which performs its functions with an intelligence
exactly adapted to the performance of its special duties as a member
of the confederacy. There is, indeed, no life without mind, from the
lowest unicellular organism up to man. _It is therefore a mental
energy that actuates every fiber of the body under all its conditions.
That there is a central intelligence that controls each of these mind
organisms, is self-evident...._ It is sufficient for us to know that
such an intelligence exists, and that, for the time being, it is the
controlling energy that normally regulates the action of the myriad
cells of which the body is composed. _It is, then, a mental organism
that all therapeutic agencies are designed to energize, when, for any
cause, it fails to perform its functions with reference to any part of
the physical structure._"