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[Illustration:
Very Truly Yours
W D Wattles]
THE
SCIENCE OF
BEING WELL
BY
WALLACE D. WATTLES
Author of "The Science of Getting Rich,"
etc.
PRICE, $1.00
PUBLISHED BY
ELIZABETH TOWNE
HOLYOKE, MASS.
1910
COPYRIGHT, SEPTEMBER, 1910
BY
WALLACE D. WATTLES
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE 5
I. THE PRINCIPLE OF HEALTH 9
II. THE FOUNDATION OF FAITH 17
III. LIFE AND ITS ORGANISMS 27
IV. WHAT TO THINK 35
V. FAITH 46
VI. USE OF THE WILL 56
VII. HEALTH FROM GOD 65
VIII. SUMMARY OF THE MENTAL ACTIONS 74
IX. WHEN TO EAT 80
X. WHAT TO EAT 89
XI. HOW TO EAT 99
XII. HUNGER AND APPETITES 108
XIII. IN A NUTSHELL 116
XIV. BREATHING 125
XV. SLEEP 133
XVI. SUPPLEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONS 139
XVII. A SUMMARY OF THE SCIENCE OF BEING WELL 151
PREFACE.
This volume is the second of a series, the first of which is "THE
SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH." As that book is intended solely for those who
want money, so this is for those who want health, and who want a
practical guide and handbook, not a philosophical treatise. It is an
instructor in the use of the universal Principle of Life, and my effort
has been to explain the way in so plain and simple a fashion that the
reader, though he may have given no previous study to New Thought or
metaphysics, may readily follow it to perfect health. While retaining
all essentials, I have carefully eliminated all non-essentials; I have
used no technical, abstruse, or difficult language, and have kept the
one point in view at all times.
As its title asserts, the book deals with science, not speculation. The
monistic theory of the universe--the theory that matter, mind,
consciousness, and life are all manifestations of one Substance--is now
accepted by most thinkers; and if you accept this theory, you cannot
deny the logical conclusions you will find herein. Best of all, the
methods of thought and action prescribed have been tested by the author
in his own case, and in the case of hundreds of others during twelve
years of practice, with continuous and unfailing success. I can say of
the Science of Being Well that it works; and that wherever its laws are
complied with, it can no more fail to work than the science of geometry
can fail to work. If the tissues of your body have not been so destroyed
that continued life is impossible, you can get well; and if you will
think and act in a Certain Way, you will get well.
If the reader wishes to fully understand the monistic theory of the
cosmos, he is recommended to read Hegel and Emerson; to read also "The
Eternal News," a pamphlet by J. J. Brown, 300 Cathcart Road, Govanhill,
Glasgow, Scotland. Some enlightenment may also be found in a series of
articles by the author, which were published in _The Nautilus_, Holyoke,
Mass., during the year 1909, under the title, "What Is Truth?"
Those who wish more detailed information as to the performance of the
voluntary functions--eating, drinking, breathing, and sleeping--may read
"New Science of Living and Healing," "Letters to a Woman's Husband," and
"The Constructive Use of Foods," booklets by W. D. Wattles, which may be
obtained from the publishers of this book. I would also recommend the
writings of Horace Fletcher, and of Edward Hooker Dewey. Read all these,
if you like, as a sort of buttress to your faith; but let me warn you
against making the mistake of studying many conflicting theories, and
practicing, at the same time, parts of several different "systems"; for
if you get well, it must be by giving your WHOLE MIND to the _right_ way
of thinking and living. Remember that the SCIENCE OF BEING WELL claims
to be a complete and sufficient guide in every particular. Concentrate
upon the way of thinking and acting it prescribes, and follow it in
every detail, and you will get well; or if you are already well, you
will remain so. Trusting that you will go on until the priceless
blessing of perfect health is yours, I remain,
Very truly yours,
WALLACE D. WATTLES.
CHAPTER I.
THE PRINCIPLE OF HEALTH.
In the personal application of the Science of Being Well, as in that of
the Science of Getting Rich, certain fundamental truths must be known in
the beginning, and accepted without question. Some of these truths we
state here:--
The perfectly natural performance of function constitutes health; and
the perfectly natural performance of function results from the natural
action of the Principle of Life. There is a Principle of Life in the
universe; it is the One Living Substance from which all things are made.
This Living Substance permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces
of the universe; it is in and through all things, like a very refined
and diffusible ether. All life comes from it; its life is all the life
there is.
Man is a form of this Living Substance, and has within him a Principle
of Health. (The word Principle is used as meaning source.) The Principle
of Health in man, when in full constructive activity, causes all the
voluntary functions of his life to be perfectly performed.
It is the Principle of Health in man which really works all healing, no
matter what "system" or "remedy" is employed; and this Principle of
Health is brought into Constructive Activity by thinking in a Certain
Way.
I proceed now to prove this last statement. We all know that cures are
wrought by all the different, and often opposite, methods employed in
the various branches of the healing art. The allopath, who gives a
strong dose of a counter-poison, cures his patient; and the homeopath,
who gives a diminutive dose of the poison most similar to that of the
disease, also cures it. If allopathy ever cured any given disease, it is
certain that homeopathy never cured that disease; and if homeopathy ever
cured an ailment, allopathy could not possibly cure that ailment. The
two systems are radically opposite in theory and practice; and yet both
"cure" most diseases. And even the remedies used by physicians in any
one school are not the same. Go with a case of indigestion to half a
dozen doctors, and compare their prescriptions; it is more than likely
that none of the ingredients of any one of them will be in the others.
Must we not conclude that their patients are healed by a Principle of
Health within themselves, and not by something in the varying
"remedies"?
Not only this, but we find the same ailments cured by the osteopath with
manipulations of the spine; by the faith healer with prayer, by the food
scientist with bills of fare, by the Christian Scientist with a
formulated creed statement, by the mental scientist with affirmation,
and by the hygienists with differing plans of living. What conclusion
can we come to in the face of all these facts but that there is a
Principle of Health which is the same in all people, and which really
accomplishes all the cures; and that there is something in all the
"systems" which, under favorable conditions, arouses the Principle of
Health to action? That is, medicines, manipulations, prayers, bills of
fare, affirmations, and hygienic practices cure whenever they cause the
Principle of Health to become active; and fail whenever they do not
cause it to become active. Does not all this indicate that the results
depend upon the way the patient thinks about the remedy, rather than
upon the ingredients in the prescription?
There is an old story which furnishes so good an illustration on this
point that I will give it here. It is said that in the middle ages, the
bones of a saint, kept in one of the monasteries, were working miracles
of healing; on certain days a great crowd of the afflicted gathered to
touch the relics, and all who did so were healed. On the eve of one of
these occasions, some sacrilegious rascal gained access to the case in
which the wonder-working relics were kept and stole the bones; and in
the morning, with the usual crowd of sufferers waiting at the gates, the
fathers found themselves shorn of the source of the miracle-working
power. They resolved to keep the matter quiet, hoping that by doing so
they might find the thief and recover their treasures; and hastening to
the cellar of the convent they dug up the bones of a murderer, who had
been buried there many years before. These they placed in the case,
intending to make some plausible excuse for the failure of the saint to
perform his usual miracles on that day; and then they let in the waiting
assemblage of the sick and infirm. To the intense astonishment of those
in the secret, the bones of the malefactor proved as efficacious as
those of the saint; and the healing went on as before. One of the
fathers is said to have left a history of the occurrence, in which he
confessed that, in his judgment, the healing power had been in the
people themselves all the time, and never in the bones at all.
Whether the story is true or not, the conclusion applies to all the
cures wrought by all the systems. The Power that Heals is in the patient
himself; and whether it shall become active or not does not depend upon
the physical or mental means used, but upon the way the patient thinks
about these means. There is a Universal Principle of Life, as Jesus
taught; a great spiritual Healing Power; and there is a Principle of
Health in man which is related to this Healing Power. This is dormant or
active, according to the way a man thinks. He can always quicken it into
activity by thinking in a Certain Way.
Your getting well does not depend upon the adoption of some system, or
the finding of some remedy; people with your identical ailments have
been healed by all systems and all remedies. It does not depend upon
climate; some people are well and others are sick in all climates. It
does not depend upon avocation, unless in case of those who work under
poisonous conditions; people are well in all trades and professions.
Your getting well depends upon your beginning to think--and act--in a
Certain Way.
The way a man thinks about things is determined by what he believes
about them. His thoughts are determined by his faith, and the results
depend upon his making a personal application of his faith. If a man has
faith in the efficacy of a medicine, and is able to apply that faith to
himself, that medicine will certainly cause him to be cured; but though
his faith be great, he will not be cured unless he applies it to
himself. Many sick people have faith for others but none for
themselves. So, if he has faith in a system of diet, and can personally
apply that faith, it will cure him; and if he has faith in prayers and
affirmations and personally applies his faith, prayers and affirmations
will cure him. Faith, personally applied, cures; and no matter how great
the faith or how persistent the thought, it will not cure without
personal application. The Science of Being Well, then, includes the two
fields of thought and action. To be well it is not enough that man
should merely think in a Certain Way; he must apply his thought to
himself, and he must express and externalize it in his outward life by
acting in the same way that he thinks.