SUMMARY OF THE MENTAL ACTIONS.
Let me now summarize the mental actions and attitudes necessary to the
practice of the Science of Being Well: first, you believe that 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. This Substance is the Life of All, and is seeking to express
more life in all. It is the Principle of Life of the universe, and the
Principle of Health in man.
Man is a form of this Substance, and draws his vitality from it; he is a
mind-body of original substance, permeating a physical body, and the
thoughts of his mind-body control the functioning of his physical body.
If man thinks no thoughts save those of perfect health, the functions
of his physical body will be performed in a manner of perfect health.
If you would consciously relate yourself to the All-Health, your purpose
must be to live fully on every plane of your being. You must want all
that there is in life for body, mind, and soul; and this will bring you
into harmony with all the life there is. The person who is in conscious
and intelligent harmony with All will receive a continuous inflow of
vital power from the Supreme Life; and this inflow is prevented by
angry, selfish or antagonistic mental attitudes. If you are against any
part, you have severed relations with all; you will receive life, but
only instinctively and automatically; not intelligently and
purposefully. You can see that if you are mentally antagonistic to any
part, you cannot be in complete harmony with the Whole; therefore, as
Jesus directed, be reconciled to everybody and everything before you
offer worship.
_Want for everybody all that you want for yourself._
The reader is recommended to read what we have said in a former work[A]
concerning the Competitive mind and the Creative mind. It is very
doubtful whether one who has lost health can completely regain it so
long as he remains in the competitive mind.
[A] The Science of Getting Rich.
Being on the Creative or Good-Will plane in mind, the next step is to
form a conception of yourself as in perfect health, and to hold no
thoughts which are not in full harmony with this conception. Have FAITH
that if you think only thoughts of health you will establish in your
physical body the functioning of health; and use your will to determine
that you will think only thoughts of health. Never think of yourself as
sick, or as likely to be sick; never think of sickness in connection
with yourself at all. And, as far as may be, shut out of your mind all
thoughts of sickness in connection with others. Surround yourself as
much as possible with the things which suggest the ideas of strength and
health.
Have faith in health, and accept health as an actual present fact in
your life. Claim health as a blessing bestowed upon you by the Supreme
Life, and be deeply grateful at all times. Claim the blessing by faith;
know that it is yours, and never admit a contrary thought to your mind.
Use your will-power to withhold your attention from every appearance of
disease in yourself and others; do not study disease, think about it,
nor speak of it. At all times, when the thought of disease is thrust
upon you, move forward into the mental position of prayerful gratitude
for your perfect health.
The mental actions necessary to being well may now be summed up in a
single sentence: Form a conception of yourself in perfect health, and
think only those thoughts which are in harmony with that conception.
That, with faith and gratitude, and the purpose to really live, covers
all the requirements. It is not necessary to take mental exercises of
any kind, except as described in Chapter VI, or to do wearying "stunts"
in the way of affirmations, and so on. It is not necessary to
concentrate the mind on the affected parts; it is far better not to
think of any part as affected. It is not necessary to "treat" yourself
by auto-suggestion, or to have others treat you in any way whatever. The
power that heals is the Principle of Health within you; and to call this
Principle into Constructive Action it is only necessary, having
harmonized yourself with the All-Mind, to claim by FAITH the All-Health;
and to hold that claim until it is physically manifested in all the
functions of your body.
In order to hold this mental attitude of faith, gratitude, and health,
however, your external acts must be only those of health. You cannot
long hold the internal attitude of a well person if you continue to
perform the external acts of a sick person. It is essential not only
that your every thought should be a thought of health, but that your
every act should be an act of health, performed in a healthy manner. If
you will make every thought a thought of health, and every conscious act
an act of health, it must infallibly follow that every internal and
unconscious function shall come to be healthy; for all the power of life
is being continually exerted toward health. We shall next consider how
you may make every act an act of health.