How to Stay Well
	The Higher Curative Forces <  Previous Contents Next  >

Realizing the great fact that every thought is a power, that every state of mind produces a distinct effect upon the system, and that every mental change is followed invariably by a corresponding physical change, we conclude that we can through the complete control of the process of thinking, secure any effect desired in the human personality; and this includes not simply the body, with all its various functions, but also mentality, character, talents, faculties and every phase of consciousness.

Every thought created in the mind becomes a distinct vibratory action, producing a certain tangible effect in the human system, complying invariably with the law of like causes producing like effects. Metaphysics, therefore, is a science -in fact, an exact science. The laws of mind, thought and consciousness are absolute laws, invariable laws, invariably acting in the same way under the same conditions. Consequently, the person who understands these laws and will take the time to apply them may change his whole life to a remarkable degree. Through the intelligent use of these laws, there is not a single thing in body, mind, character, ability, capacity, conditions, environments or destiny that cannot be changed for the better.

When we deal with the power of thought, we should remember that there are three grades; namely, objective thought, subjective thought, and thought charged more or less with spiritual thought. Objective thought is that thought that is created in the more superficial states of the outer mind. Accordingly it has neither depth nor feeling, and produces no real effect upon the mind or body.

Objective thought, however, should not be ignored, but it should be trained to act along right lines under every circumstance, because every objective thought may, under certain circumstances, become subjective. Subjective thought is what Solomon called "the thought of the heart." It is the thought we create while more or less in subjective consciousness. It is the thought of feeling and depth that is individualized and that produces a distinct effect wherever it may act in the system.

Every subjective thought produces, not only general effects upon the system, but in many instances produce chemical effects in the body. In fact, subjective thought can affect the body chemically just as readily and completely as the most powerful drugs. Subjective thought also affects the mind and the nature and actions of ability. A person, therefore, may gradually decrease his intellectual power and mental brilliancy with wrong subjective thinking, or he may, as many are learning to do at the present time, constantly improve his ability through the practical use of a constructive system of subjective thinking.

Every subjective thought produces a certain tendency in the mind which will not only affect character, but may change a number of creative energies from their present courses. When this change is not desirable, it may lead to abnormal conditions that may prove very detrimental. A fact to remember, however, is that every subjective thought is a power, and that the same subjective thought always produces the same effects in the system of an individual; also, that a subjective thought never fails to produce a certain effect upon body, mind or character.

The two greatest questions, therefore, in this connection, would be how to cause all subjective thinking to be right, and to give all subjective thinking the greatest power possible. The first question may be answered by training the mind in the art of right, constructive and scientific thinking; and the second question may be answered by learning to give more spiritual power to subjective thinking.

How strong the power of subjective thought will be depends upon how much spiritual power the mind contains at the time the thought in question was created. And this leads us to a simple solution of one of the greatest problems in the world today.

We all admit that the living of life in any or all of its phases is almost wholly determined by the way the individual thinks; therefore when we learn exactly how life, conduct, attainment and achievement, are affected by the power of individual thinking, we have the secret through which every condition in human existence may be changed, and changed according to our own desires.

Every problem in life must be brought face to face with the real power of thought before a solution can be secured. Man can do nothing without his thought. To live is to think; and the process of thinking is the channel through which he is to act, no matter what his work or purpose may be. Since man must depend upon the power of thought in one or more of the many forms of that power for everything that he intends to accomplish, it is simple to understand that when he knows the whole power of thought and the real power of thought, he will be in a position to do that which he desires to do.

That man can solve the problems of life and accomplish what he has in view, is impossible so long as he has only a vague idea of the power of thought, because it is only through the use of that power that his purpose can be fulfilled. The moralist attempts to better the life of man by trying to persuade people to change their thoughts along certain lines, knowing that if their thoughts are changed their actions will be changed. But does he know the whole power of thought; is he familiar with the laws of mental change; has he discovered what particular changes in mind produce the desired changes in character? He evidently does not know these things, because though he tries to persuade people to change their modes of thinking and living, he does not tell them how.

The scientist aims to better the life of man by increasing the general fund of exact knowledge, which is an indirect attempt to change the minds of the world; but does he understand what effects will follow each particular change that may thus be made? He certainly does not, or he would change his methods in many ways. All the institutions of learning are dealing with thought, changing thought and attempting to improve upon thought; but do they understand the real power of thought?

In the light of modern metaphysical research, many of them are groping more or less in the dark. Sometimes they make a lucky strike, but too frequently they are throwing time and energy away. All these attempts, therefore, to change the thought of the world and thereby promote the welfare of the race, must consider the real power of thought, and to understand that power we must investigate the metaphysical and the spiritual realms of thought.

We are all dealing with thought; we are all trying to accomplish things through the use of the power of thought; but most of us have no idea what the real power of thought may be. We therefore miss the mark in too many of our attempts. The discovery of the fact that thoughts have real individual power, and that the mind does produce chemical changes in the body, constitutes the basis of the science of modern metaphysics, both in its application to everyday living, and in its application to the prevention and cure of disease; and as metaphysics is an exact science, it is a system that does possess rare virtue; but it can be made far more effective than it ever has been before.

Those who employ metaphysical methods, however, do not always succeed, nor do all those who employ metaphysics understand what mental laws are called into action when results are secured. The metaphysical scientist is, therefore, in many instances, in the same position as the physical scientist; he misses the mark too often because he is dealing with something that he understands but vaguely.

The average metaphysician knows that thought is power, and that the power of thought will cure disease; but what kind of thought is required; and how is that particular kind of thought to be created? These are important questions. We know that different kinds of thought are created during different states of mind. It is necessary, therefore, to enter the right state of mind before certain mental actions can be produced; but it is also necessary to know what mental actions to apply for the various forms of human ills.

The science of metaphysics as applied to the cure of disease, therefore, is an immense study, but as a science it is not confined to the cure of disease. It is also the very foundation both of mind building and character building. A number of metaphysicians think themselves channels of some higher spiritual power, and believe that it is this power that produces the cure; and though they are not always right in this conclusion, still that particular idea gives us the key to the situation. Every physical change is preceded by some mental change, but how great the mental change may be depends upon the power that was in the mind at the time.

All cures secured through the metaphysical process are produced by the change of mind. To this there are no exceptions. Those who succeed in producing cures through metaphysical or psychological methods do so through the use of some mental law. If they understand that law, they will always have results when that law is employed, but if they do not understand that law, only occasional results will be secured. Those who grope in the dark will once in a while find something, but, as a rule, they do not find anything.

The principle is this, that all healing through metaphysical, psychological or spiritual means is produced by subjective thought; and the results depend upon how much spiritual power or soul there is in that thought. The first secret of such healing is, therefore, to enter subjective consciousness so as to create subjective thought; and the second is to enter as high a spiritual state as possible, so as to give that subjective thought the largest measure of spiritual power.

It is subjective thought that produces the change of mind; and it is the change of mind that heals; but whether the subjective thought is strong enough to produce the necessary change in mind, depends upon how much spiritual power the mind contains at the time. This is the great secret, not only in the use of mind for restoring health, but also in the use of mind along all other lines of activity.

Every thought produces its own effect. If the thought is weak, the effect will be slight; if the thought is strong, the effect will be greater in proportion. Since every thought produces its own effect, to secure a certain definite result we must create that thought that always does produce that effect; and the thought must be subjective; that is, it must be produced by our acting in the subconscious mind. In addition, that thought must he charged with spiritual power if we desire the largest and best results possible.

To secure more power for mind and thought, spiritual consciousness must be developed; but this is something that nearly everybody has ignored, and for this reason the power of the average mind is not very strong nor effective. Power comes from within and from above, therefore we must gain a larger consciousness of the interior and the higher states of our being if we wish to secure more power; and we must enter into as perfect harmony as possible with the real source of power, whenever we desire to accomplish something that is above the ordinary.

The average metaphysician secures results in healing simply by bringing about a mental change in the patient. The average physician secures results in the majority of his cases through the same law; but in neither instance has any higher power been called into action. Accordingly, the results gained in such instances are never above the average.

Occasionally, however, a metaphysician who is inclined towards higher consciousness may temporarily and in a measure touch the enormous power within, and thereby secure almost miraculous results; but such experiences are not numerous, simply because we have ignored the attainment of spiritual consciousness. When this consciousness is highly developed, however, such experiences will happen regularly, and there will be practically no failures in metaphysical healing.

If you are in spiritual consciousness when giving a metaphysical treatment to yourself or to some one else, you are in touch with limitless power, and will consequently charge your thought with so much power that any physical condition can be changed completely. Any physical disease can be absolutely removed by the right thought, provided there is enough power in that thought.

This is a great truth we all should remember and fully understand. Another truth equally great is that unlimited power will be given to your thought if you are in spiritual consciousness while your thought is being created. The power of every thought increases as consciousness is expanded, elevated and refined; and to refine consciousness is to gain a more and more perfect consciousness of the soul or spirit of all power.

It is not only the thought that we employ in healing that may be increased in power through development of spiritual consciousness, but all thought will increase in power in the same way, thereby adding immensely to the power of mind and intellect. By developing spiritual consciousness you add quality, worth and power to every talent and faculty you may possess. Your physical and mental capacity will increase, and your genius will become greater than it ever has been before.

You may think that your reasoning power is perfect, but spiritual consciousness will add remarkably to the brilliancy of that reasoning power and enable you to clearly understand problems, principles and laws that you heretofore could never comprehend. You may have special talents along certain lines that are considered exceptional, but spiritual consciousness will steadily improve those talents until you will be able to accomplish far more than you ever could in the past.

We must remember, however, in this connection that to secure these greater results we must create the right kind of subjective thought in each instance, through which the greater power from within may be expressed, and no form of thinking that tends to interfere with the constructive process must be permitted.

From these facts it is evident that whatever one may be trying to do, he must first create subjective thought, because it is subjective thought alone that produces effects in the system. Second, he must create the thought that produces the exact results desired; and third, he must develop spiritual consciousness so as to give his thought as much power as possible.

The process of thinking must be carried on according to exact metaphysical laws, so that the proper mental cause may be formed for every effect desired, and to give each mental cause as much power as possible, consciousness must dwell in perfect touch and in perfect harmony with the inner realms of limitless power.

The secret is this: Think scientifically and give soul to your thinking. Through scientific thinking you will secure the exact results desired, and by giving soul to your thinking those results will be large, even extraordinary at times. When we attempt to develop that inner state of mind called soul, we must remember that the term "soul" signifies the real, the perfect, the absolute and the limitless that exists within all things.

It is the source of everything, and is the foundation of existence itself. Through the development of the conscious realization of soul, we gain possession of that power that contains unbounded possibilities, because we enter into that larger state of life, where everything is complete, perfect and limitless. However, whether or not we can at the present time realize the absoluteness of the real, and the reality of the limitless, we can begin where we are and apply the three essentials just presented.

We can learn what the exact effect of each thought actually is and think accordingly. We can learn to think subjectively by giving depth of feeling to every thought created, and we can increase the power of every thought by living constantly in that faith that feels the unbounded life within us and all about us. Whatever our field of action may be, we shall find that results from our efforts will constantly increase if these three essentials are applied as thoroughly as possible.

A great many people have tried to practice right thinking according to the laws of metaphysical science, but they have failed to give more power to their thinking. Results, therefore, have been limited. The next step is the development of spiritual consciousness, through which greater quality, greater worth and greater power may be given to every thought. We shall then, not only receive what we desire, but we shall receive the best in abundance.