FAITH.
The Principle of Health is moved by Faith; nothing else can call it into
action, and only faith can enable you to relate yourself to health, and
sever your relation with disease, in your thoughts.
You will continue to think of disease unless you have faith in health.
If you do not have faith you will doubt; if you doubt, you will fear;
and if you fear, you will relate yourself in mind to that which you
fear.
If you fear disease, you will think of yourself in connection with
disease; and that will produce within yourself the form and motions of
disease. Just as Original Substance creates from itself the forms of its
thoughts, so your mind-body, which is original substance, takes the
form and motion of whatever you think about. If you fear disease, dread
disease, have doubts about your safety from disease, or if you even
contemplate disease, you will connect yourself with it and create its
forms and motions within you.
Let me enlarge somewhat upon this point. The potency, or creative power,
of a thought is given to it _by the faith that is in it_.
Thoughts which contain no faith create no forms.
The Formless Substance, which knows all truth and therefore thinks only
truth, has perfect faith in every thought, because it thinks only truth;
and so all its thoughts create.
But if you will imagine a thought in Formless Substance in which there
was no faith, you will see that such a thought could not cause the
Substance to move or take form.
Keep in mind the fact that only those thoughts which are conceived in
faith have creative energy. Only those thoughts which have faith with
them are able to change function, or to quicken the Principle of Health
into activity.
If you do not have faith in health, you will certainly have faith in
disease. If you do not have faith in health, it will do you no good to
think about health, for your thoughts will have no potency, and will
cause no change for the better in your conditions. If you do not have
faith in health, I repeat, you will have faith in disease; and if, under
such conditions, you think about health for ten hours a day, and think
about disease for only a few minutes, the disease thought will control
your condition because it will have the potency of faith, while the
health thought will not. Your mind-body will take on the form and
motions of disease and retain them, because your health thought will not
have sufficient dynamic force to change form or motion.
In order to practice the Science of Being Well, you must have complete
faith in health.
Faith begins in belief; and we now come to the question: _What must you
believe in order to have faith in health?_
You must believe that there is more health-power than disease-power in
both yourself and your environment; and you cannot help believing this
if you consider the facts. These are the facts:--
_There is a Thinking Substance from which all things are made,
and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and
fills the interspaces of the universe._
_The thought of a form, in this Substance, produces the form;
the thought of a motion institutes the motion. In relation to
man, the thoughts of Original Substance are always of perfect
health and perfect functioning. This Substance, within and
without man, always exerts its power toward health._
_Man is a thinking center, capable of original thought. He has
a mind-body of Original Substance permeating a physical body;
and the functioning of his physical body is determined by the
FAITH of his mind-body. If man thinks with faith of the
functioning of health, he will cause his internal functions to
be performed in a healthy manner, provided that he performs the
external functions in a corresponding manner. But if man
thinks, with faith, of disease, or of the power of disease, he
will cause his internal functioning to be the functioning of
disease._
_The Original Intelligent Substance is in man, moving toward
health; and it is pressing upon him from every side. Man lives,
moves, and has his being in a limitless ocean of health-power;
and he uses this power according to his faith. If he
appropriates it and applies it to himself it is all his; and if
he unifies himself with it by unquestioning faith, he cannot
fail to attain health, for the power of this Substance is all
the power there is._
A belief in the above statements is a foundation for faith in health. If
you believe them, you believe that health is the natural state of man,
and that man lives in the midst of Universal Health; that all the power
of nature makes for health, and that health is possible to all, and can
surely be attained by all. You will believe that the power of health in
the universe is ten thousand times greater than that of disease; in
fact, that disease has no power whatever, being only the result of
perverted thought and faith. And if you believe that health is possible
to you, and that it may surely be attained by you, and that you know
exactly what to do in order to attain it, you will have faith in health.
You will have this faith and knowledge if you read this book through
with care and determine to believe in and practice its teachings.
It is not merely the possession of faith, but the personal application
of faith which works healing. You must claim health in the beginning,
and form a conception of health, and, as far as may be, of yourself as a
perfectly healthy person; and then, by faith, you must claim that you
ARE REALIZING this conception.
Do not assert with faith that you are going to get well; assert with
faith that you ARE well.
Having faith in health, and applying it to yourself, means having faith
that you are healthy; _and the first step in this is to claim that it is
the truth_.
Mentally take the attitude of being well, and do not say anything or do
anything which contradicts this attitude. Never speak a word or assume a
physical attitude which does not harmonize with the claim: "I am
perfectly well." When you walk, go with a brisk step, and with your
chest thrown out and your head held up; watch that at all times your
physical actions and attitudes are those of a healthy person. When you
find that you have relapsed into the attitude of weakness or disease,
change instantly; straighten up; think of health and power. Refuse to
consider yourself as other than a perfectly healthy person.
One great aid--perhaps the greatest aid--in applying your faith you will
find in the exercise of gratitude.
Whenever you think of yourself, or of your advancing condition, give
thanks to the Great Intelligent Substance for the perfect health you are
enjoying.
Remember that, as Swedenborg taught, there is a continual inflow of life
from the Supreme, which is received by all created things according to
their forms; and by man according to his faith. Health from God is
continually being urged upon you; and when you think of this, lift up
your mind reverently to Him, and give thanks that you have been led to
the Truth and into perfect health of mind and body. Be, all the time, in
a grateful frame of mind, and let gratitude be evident in your speech.
Gratitude will help you to own and control your own field of thought.
Whenever the thought of disease is presented to you, instantly claim
health, and thank God for the perfect health you have. Do this so that
there shall be no room in your mind for a thought of ill. Every thought
connected in any way with ill health is unwelcome, and you can close the
door of your mind in its face by asserting that you are well, and by
reverently thanking God that it is so. Soon the old thoughts will return
no more.
Gratitude has a twofold effect; it strengthens your own faith, and it
brings you into close and harmonious relations with the Supreme. You
believe that there is one Intelligent Substance from which all life and
all power come; you believe that you receive your own life from this
substance; and you relate yourself closely to It by feeling continuous
gratitude. It is easy to see that the more closely you relate yourself
to the Source of Life the more readily you may receive life from it; and
it is easy also to see that your relation to It is a matter of mental
attitude. We cannot come into physical relationship with God, for God is
mind-stuff and we also are mind-stuff; our relation with Him must
therefore be a mind relation. It is plain, then, that the man who feels
deep and hearty gratitude will live in closer touch with God than the
man who never looks up to Him in thankfulness. The ungrateful or
unthankful mind really denies that it receives at all, and so cuts its
connection with the Supreme. The grateful mind is always looking toward
the Supreme, and is always open to receive from it; and it will receive
continually.
_The Principle of Health in man receives its vital power from the
Principle of Life in the universe; and man relates himself to the
Principle of Life by faith in health, and by gratitude for the health he
receives._
_Man may cultivate both faith and gratitude by the proper use of his
will._