How to Stay Well
	Letting Go Of Your Ailments <  Previous Contents Next  >

To let go of those things that we do not desire to hold in mind, may seem to be difficult; and yet it should be just as easy to drop a thought from the mind as it is to drop a stone from the hand; and we must be able to do this if we would set ourselves free from those conditions of mind or body that are not conducive to health, strength and wholeness. In like manner, it usually seems difficult to prevent undesirable impressions from entering the mind, though any person should be able to refuse undesirable mental impressions just as readily as he refuses undesirable food.

But the reason why these things seem difficult is because we have attempted them in ignorance of the fact that both the act of letting go and the act of holding on are subconscious processes. So long, therefore, as the subconscious mind is holding on to a thought or any particular condition, physical or mental, you may spend eternity in trying to get rid of it with the objective mind and secure no results whatever. Likewise, if the subconscious is attracting a certain thought or condition, you cannot possibly keep it out by fighting against it with the objective mind. The importance, therefore, of knowing how to direct or change the subconscious in this connection, is very evident.

The movement of every muscle in the body is preceded by a subconscious action. The involuntary movements of the body, such as breathing, circulation, digestion and assimilation are subconscious processes that have been established in the subjective nature of man during ages of human evolution; but the voluntary movements of the body are also subconscious, in the sense that the objective acts upon the subconscious, and the subconscious causes the body to move as directed by the objective.

When you move your arm you do not cause the arm to move by willing to do so with objective action. You might try to move your arm by objectively willing to do so, and try for any length of time with no results; in fact, the more intensely you will the arm to move by mere objective action, the more rigid will the muscles become.

When you wish to move your arm, the objective will must act upon the subconscious with a desire to move the arm, and it is the subconscious that will carry out that desire. In like manner, when you wish to drop something from your hand, the objective will must impress upon the subconscious the desire to let go, and the subconscious will cause the hand to let go of its object. The same process must be employed when you wish the hand to hold on to an object. The objective will must impress upon the subconscious the desire to hold on, and the subconscious will cause the hand to do as the objective will desires. The hand will thus hold on until it is subconsciously caused to let go.

The reason for this process is simple when we know that the subconscious governs all the forces in the system. No force in the human personality can act unless the subconscious causes that force to act, and the subconscious will cause any action that the objective will may direct. It is the function of the objective mind to direct the subconscious, and it is the function of the subconscious to carry out whatever the objective may direct.

When the subconscious undertakes to give directions, we have misdirections, or what may be termed abnormal conditions, attitudes or actions of mind; and when the objective undertakes to carry out its own directions, we have simply waste of energy with no action whatever. Therefore, whenever the natural functions of the two phases of the mind become mixed, we either have perverted, unwholesome and abnormal actions, or none at all.

The mixing or misplacing of these two functions may be caused by ignorance, or by continued false thinking along any line, but the proper replacing of these functions may be readily accomplished when we understand what each of the two phases of mind has been designed by nature to do. The objective mind is the conscious, wide-awake mind, therefore it knows what should be done each moment, and for that reason is competent to give directions. The subconscious mind is the creative mind, therefore it has the power to produce anything that may be required, and being in full possession of all the underlying forces of the system, it alone can cause the forces to proceed in action or to cease action.

It is therefore evident that to produce the desired results in any sphere of action, physical or mental, the objective mind must be trained to give the proper directions to the subconscious. In many respects this training has already been perfected, especially those that are called natural physical movements; but in many other respects, such as the removing or producing of any condition desired for mind or body, this training has as yet only begun.

When we wish to move a muscle, the proper directions are given by the objective to the subconscious, because we have been trained to do so in the school of experience. The child learns to walk by training the objective to impress the subconscious with that purpose in view through repeated attempts, and that training is promoted through the acts of attention and interest. When the objective mind is interested in the doing of any act, attention is naturally directed to the subconscious, because interest always causes attention to act upon the subconscious.

This process, however, can be perfected to the very highest degree, and this is done whenever skill, art or proficiency is attained. The child learns to talk through the use of the same process, and it is through this process that the musician, the artist, the artisan or the acrobat gains control over mind and muscle.

The training of the objective mind to properly direct the subconscious is generally a slow and gradual process, due to the fact that imperfect methods are usually employed. We make many mistakes before we strike upon the correct methods, and we continue to make more mistakes before we find new and improved methods. The cause of this is found in ignorance concerning the true functions of the two phases of mind, and also in a limited scope of consciousness.

When we begin to employ the principles of the new psychology and a more thorough knowledge of consciousness, both in our daily life and in our educational institutions, we shall find that the process of training along any line, physical or mental, will be perfected to a remarkable degree. In consequence, less time and less effort will be required to secure any particular result, and what results we secure will be far superior to what have been gained before.

The subconscious mind controls all the forces employed in the movement of mind or body. Whatever we wish to have done, therefore, the subconscious holds the necessary power, and by properly directing the subconscious, that power will be given the required action and will do what is desired. In the art of letting go, it is this principle that must be employed. The objective mind must not try to drive things out, but must properly impress the subconscious to let go, and when that is done the undesired thoughts or conditions will be dropped at once.

It is the subconscious that holds, therefore it is the subconscious that must be directed to let go. To cause the subconscious to let go of certain habits, tendencies, tastes or undesirable conditions, sometimes requires months or years, simply because we do not know how to direct properly the subconscious in this respect; but when we understand this process, very little time will be required to accomplish our purpose.

It is therefore not scientific to think that a certain amount of time will be required to produce certain results. We usually require considerable time in finding the way, but after the way has been found, the time required to secure results is usually insignificant. When the individual is in possession of clear mental insight, the proper way is readily found, however, even though the sphere of action be entirely new.

To acquire the art of letting go, the first essential is to understand that it is the subconscious that holds, and that the subconscious will let go only when properly directed to do so by the objective mind. The second essential is, to train the objective mind constantly to act in the closest touch possible with the subconscious at all points of consciousness. In this connection no effort will prove more valuable than that of broadening and enlarging the scope of wide-awake consciousness along all lines.

To enlarge the scope of wide-awakeness, the mind should aim to discern the larger reality and beauty that exists in all tangible things, and should at the same time aim to discern the reality and the beauty that exists in all the finer qualities of life. More attention must be given to the finer elements, the finer feelings and the finer experiences that are met in the world of consciousness, because this will cause the mind to gain possession of new fields of conscious action. It will also cause the objective to touch the subconscious at many new points of contact, and wherever the objective touches the subconscious, at that point the subconscious can be directed properly and instantaneously at will.

The average person disregards practically all thought concerning the subconscious, looking upon the subject as visionary, and yet he cannot take a single step without first directing his subconscious mind to produce the necessary muscular action, nor can he advance mentally until he trains the objective to impress the subconscious with regard to the action of that advancement.

We are absolutely dependent upon the subconscious for everything we do. Instead of ignoring the subject, therefore, we should study every part of it with the greatest of care; and we have everything to gain by so doing. We do a great many things without knowing why we do them, therefore if we can secure certain results through a limited, unconscious action of mental laws, we can certainly secure far greater results through those laws when we employ them intelligently and in the consciousness of perpetual mental expansion.

To use the objective and subconscious phases of mind in their true places, and to aim to bring the two minds into contact, at as many points of consciousness as possible, is to use the entire mind intelligently and progressively; and since the objective can properly direct the subconscious wherever the two minds consciously touch, we understand readily how the possibilities of mind become unlimited, and we also understand how every condition in mind or body can be changed completely in the same way.

The subconscious has the power to make any change in the human system that it is directed to make, and the objective mind has the power to direct the subconscious in any way that may be desired. Whenever there is anything that we wish to eliminate from mind or body, we should direct the subconscious to let go, and the subconscious will be properly directed to let go whenever we express this desire in the attitude of fine feeling and deep interest. Feel deeply that the subconscious is letting go of the condition that you wish to eliminate, and you have given the subconscious the proper direction in that respect.

Through this simple method the human personality can be caused to let go of any disease, any perverted condition, any detrimental desire, or any abnormal state of being. The art of letting go, therefore, is an art that is practically limitless in value.