How to Stay Well
	How To Rest And Recuperate <  Previous Contents Next  >

When we know how to rest, we do not have to rest -that is, not in the usual sense of that term. Complete inactivity is never necessary; in fact, it is impossible; and every effort to produce complete inactivity is more or less injurious. Every moment of attempted inactivity is a moment of waste, and therefore leads to weakness and ill health. It is possible for the different parts of the system to be temporarily inactive in an objective manner, but it is not possible for you to be inactive at any time.

You must eternally act and to act, you must act upon something. Therefore, if you wish to give rest to a certain part of the system, you must go and act elsewhere. Make no attempt to become inactive in yourself; it is not possible. Besides, such attempts simply prevent the exhausted parts from receiving the peace and rest that are required for natural recuperation.

In the human entity, absolute stand-still is impossible. If you are not going forward, you are going backward. Regardless of this fact, many people seem to be at a standstill, but they are taking one step backward immediately after having taken a step forward; so, therefore, they are always in action, but never getting anywhere.

It is the current belief that no one can rest without stopping all personal and mental action, but the fact is that to try to stop all action in the human system is much harder than the hardest work, and uses up more energy than the most strenuous kind of work. To proceed to do something else is the one secret in the art of resting. When you want to rest and recuperate one group of muscles, begin to use another group.

When you want to rest one part of the brain, think of something entirely different. When you want to rest the objective mind, use the subjective; and this is easily done, because we use the objective mind while fully awake and objectively active, and we use the subjective while asleep, or when in an attitude of calm and deep serenity.

In this connection, it is well to remember that you will get greater good from your sleep if you give your subjective or subconscious mind something definite to do before you go to sleep. While the outer self is resting in sleep, the inner self should build up the subjective or subconscious side of our talents and faculties, and thus increase constantly the capacity of the mind and the strength of the body.

When you give the subconscious mind nothing definite to do during sleep, it will spend the night creating meaningless pictures and situations, a few of which you remember and call them dreams; but when you give the subconscious something definite to do during sleep, this waste of energy in the subjective field of creation is avoided, and that energy will instead be used for constructive purposes that will prove of advantage to you in the coming days.

Besides, you will in this manner secure perfect rest during sleep. The idea, therefore, is this: if you want to rest the objective, have your consciousness go and do something definite in the subjective. Never fall asleep in the attitude of weariness, because by so doing you will impress the condition of weariness upon the subconscious and that condition will be "reproduced and brought forth into the personality in the morning; and here we have the cause of that tired feeling that so many people have when they wake up.

Go to sleep with the purpose of going into the subconscious and doing something there that is constructive, upbuilding and wholesome; but as you entertain such intentions, place your mind in an attitude that is perfectly serene. We should approach all work in the serene attitude, whether we are to act objectively or subjectively. Perfect rest for any part of the system during the waking state can be secured by learning to withdraw consciousness absolutely from one part and causing it to act wholly upon another part.

Consciousness is the result of the I Am expressing life, thought and being, and therefore consciousness acts on a certain plane, or in a certain part, so long as the I Am gives expression to itself upon that plane, or in that part. Consciousness is always active. An inactive consciousness is as impossible as a dark ray of light. When anything is conscious, it must do something, and it continues to do something, either objectively or subjectively, so long as conscious existence continues.

Since consciousness means action in every instance, it is evident that no part of the system can rest until we become unconscious of that part. So long as we are conscious of that part, we will act upon that part, and the energy in that particular place will continue to be used.

The purpose of rest is to recuperate or regain that energy that has been used up in work; but it is not possible to regain energy in any part of the system so long as we continue to use up energy in that part; and energy will continue to be used up in any part so long as there is conscious action taking place in that part.

To be simply quiet in any part of the system is not necessarily to be unconscious of that part; therefore such rest is not complete. This explains why so many people recuperate so slowly. The reason is that while trying to rest they continue to be conscious of the entire mind and body.

Any person who can become wholly and instantaneously absorbed in some other line of thought or action will recuperate rapidly, and so long as he will practice that art intelligently he will not wear out; neither will he find it necessary to retire from usefulness at four score and ten. He will then be in his prime, both physically and mentally; and on account of his extensive experience his service will be of the highest value.

To turn consciousness into another channel, reposeful or well-poised action is necessary. When we work in the attitude of poise, we concentrate well and naturally without trying to do so. We thereby give our whole attention to the present action, and all other things are given a complete rest, and on account of our perfect control of concentration, we can give our whole attention to something else at any time desired.

When we act or think in a nervous, excited attitude, consciousness moves rapidly through every part of the system, and no part of the system is left free for many seconds at a time. Recuperation, therefore, is impossible under such a condition, and if such a system is in a run-down condition it will continue in that condition until the nervousness is overcome, while if the system is in fairly good condition, it will, through nervous action, finally become so weakened and so confused that natural rest will be difficult to attain -that is, unless perfect poise is first secured.

That inactivity, or, rather, attempts at inactivity, will waste energy and thereby produce weakness and disease, is readily understood when we examine the process involved. So long as you try to make a certain part inactive, you continue to act upon that part. That part, therefore, is just as active as it ever was, and it continues to use up its energy. Before long there is not sufficient energy remaining to even carry on the work of repair in that part, and then we have decay, or that clogged-up condition that is always a forerunner of disease.

It is therefore clearly understood that a great deal of premature senility comes simply because we do not know how to rest. There is no reason whatever why brain workers should lose their mental brilliancy after they pass their sixtieth year, or any other year; nor is there any reason why the physical strength should diminish in any one at that age. The physical organs are constantly being rebuilt, so that we wear out simply because we do not give them the proper rest; and our mental activities become dull for the same reason.

To master the art of resting, the first essential is never to attempt to become perfectly quiet in the entire mind or body while you are awake. The second essential is to withdraw consciousness absolutely from those parts of mind or body that need recuperation, and become vitally interested in something else. In other words, give your thought and your attention to something that does not require the activity of those organs or faculties that need recuperation. The third essential is to take physical exercise whenever the whole brain needs rest.

Such exercise will rest the brain completely in a very short time, and this method, therefore, is infinitely superior to the old habit of lying down and continuing to think about how tired you are. The fourth essential is to give your attention to something that is delightfully interesting to the mind whenever the body needs rest, though at such times we should remember not to give the mind anything to do that may demand heavy or profound thought. At such times light reading of a harmonious nature, or light music, will prove perfect in restoring the body to normal strength and vitality.

To enter the loftiness, the beauty and the life of spiritual thought, is the best method of all for recuperating mind or body, provided you are sufficiently conscious of the sublime to touch those lofty realms whenever you desire. But if you have not attained to that consciousness, you will find it most profitable to begin at once and gradually develop that power in yourself by which you may rise to the calmness, the splendor and the beauty of the sublime whenever you may wish to get above the usual physical or mental action.

When you wish to rest any part of the system, do not try to take your consciousness away from that part. To make this attempt would simply be to concentrate your attention on that part, and thereby continue to be conscious of that part just the same as before. The proper course is to direct your attention elsewhere and become so completely interested in the new object of your attention that you forget completely the part that is to receive rest.

When your whole attention goes elsewhere, consciousness will soon follow, and all action will be removed from that part, which for the time being is to rest in a state of inactivity.

Wherever consciousness acts, there energy will be used up, but when consciousness is withdrawn, nature will be given an opportunity to restore to that particular part the full and natural supply. That is the reason why we must become unconscious of muscles, organs or faculties before they can completely regain their strength.

When we remain conscious of a certain part too long, that part is not only deprived of all its energy, but the elements of that part are also used up, just as a starving man lives for a while on the elements of his own body.

But the converse is also true. When we remain unconscious of a certain part too long, the energies that have been accumulated there will begin to disappear, and that part of the system will decrease in capacity. That is the reason why unused muscles gradually decrease both in size and capacity, and also why unused faculties gradually become more and more deficient in mental power until they are practically useless.

Whenever any part of the system has renewed its strength, we should proceed at once to use this new energy for constructive purposes; but as soon as that energy is used up, we should turn our attention elsewhere and do something else, so that renewal may again take place. In this way we use constructively all the energies we accumulate, and as every part of the body is exercised fully and properly, and for the proper time, the general capacity and power of the system will steadily increase.

During those moments when we have nothing in particular to do, we should turn our attention upon the development of mind or body, or upon the building of finer mental structures for the future. At such times the constructive use of the imagination can be carried on to great advantage. There is no need of waste of time, nor is it well for the health and well-being of mind or body to ever waste a single moment of time.

When your physical or mental labor is over for the day, turn your thought upon something else. Direct your imagination into some other field where you may find new and valuable ideas for future use, or give attention to the further development of mind or body. In this way the tired parts of mind or body -that is, those parts that have used up their available supply of energy -will receive perfect rest, while your time during this period of rest will be profitably employed along other lines.

The average person throws away several hours every day by simply being partly alive. He thinks he is resting because he is not actively at work, but the truth is, he is working still. He is using up energy by being consciously active in every part of his system. He is not working at something; but is working upon his own energies, and thereby using them up to no account. This is a mistake that everybody should eliminate at once, because we need all the energy that we receive if we wish to retain perfect health and continue to -advance in our own work and development.

When you are not working at your particular business, turn your attention upon the building of yourself, or upon some interesting pleasure. When you are not busy at work, be busy at pleasure. Those activities that are called forth during pleasure are produced by entirely new activities in consciousness, so that two desirable objects will be promoted: First, you will call forth new energy and thereby build yourself up along new lines; and second, those parts of mind or body that were active during the working hours will have a perfect opportunity to recuperate themselves. In this manner no time or energy will ever be wasted, and work, rest, development and pleasure will constantly and harmoniously blend throughout the entire system.