The Law of Psychic Phenomena
	A New System Of Mental Therapeutics (Continued) <  Previous Contents Next  >

IT is thought that the following propositions have now been, at least provisionally, established:

1. There is, inherent in man, a power which enables him to communicate his thoughts to others, independently of objective means of communication.

2. A state of perfect passivity on the part of the percipient is the most favorable condition for the reception of telepathic impressions or communications.

3. There is nothing to differentiate natural sleep from induced sleep.

4. The subjective mind is amenable to control by suggestion during natural sleep just the same as it is during induced sleep.

5. The condition of natural sleep, being the most perfect passive condition attainable, is the best condition for the reception of telepathic impressions by the subjective mind.

6. The most perfect condition for the conveyance of telepathic impressions is that of natural sleep.

7. The subjective mind of the agent can be compelled to communicate telepathic impressions to a sleeping percipient by strongly willing it to do so just previous to going to sleep.

The chain of reasoning embraced in the foregoing propositions seems to be perfect; and it is thought that sufficient facts have been adduced to sustain each proposition which is not self-evident, or confirmed by the common experience of mankind. The conclusion is irresistible that the best possible condition for the conveyance of therapeutic suggestions from the healer to the patient is attained when both are in a state of natural sleep; and that such suggestions can be so communicated by an effort of will on the part of the healer just before going to sleep.

It is not proposed herein to detail the many experiments which have been made with a view of testing the correctness of this theory, my present object being to advance the hypothesis tentatively, in order to induce others to experiment as I have done. It must suffice for the present to state that over one hundred experiments have been made by the writer and one or two others to whom he has confided his theory, without a single failure. Some very striking cures have been effected,—cures that would take rank with the most marvelous instances of healing recorded in the annals of modern psycho-therapeutics. It is obvious that details of names and dates could not properly be given, for the reason that the cures have been effected without any knowledge on the part of the patients that they were being made the subjects of experiment. I do not feel at liberty, therefore, to drag their names before the public without their consent. Besides, if they were now made acquainted with the facts, their recollection of the circumstances of their recovery would in many instances be indistinct; and, as a matter of course, all of them have attributed their sudden recovery to other causes.

I have taken care, however, in many instances to acquaint third persons with intended experiments, and to request them to watch the results; so that I have the means at hand to verify my statements if necessary.

The first case was that of a relative who had for many years been afflicted with nervous trouble, accompanied by rheumatism of the most terrible character. He was subject to the most excruciating spasms during his nervous attacks of rheumatic trouble, and was frequently brought to the verge of the grave. He had been under the care of many of the ablest physicians of this country and of Europe, finding only occasional temporary relief.

An idea of the suffering which he endured may be imagined from the fact that one of his hips had been drawn out of joint, by which the leg had been shortened about two inches. This, however, had been partially restored by physical appliances before the psychic treatment began. In short, he was a hopeless invalid, with nothing to look to for relief from his sufferings but death.

The treatment began on the 15th of May, 1890. Two persons were informed of the proposed experiment, and were requested to note the time when the treatment began. They were pledged to profound secrecy, and to this day the patient is not aware that he was made the subject of an experiment in psycho-therapeutics. After the lapse of a few months, one of the persons intrusted with the secret met the invalid, and learned, to her surprise and delight, that he was comparatively well. When asked when he began to improve, his reply was, "About the middle of May." Since then he has been able at all times to attend to the duties of his profession, — that of journalist and magazine-writer, — and has had no recurrence of his old trouble.

Of course, this may have been a coincidence; and had it stood as a solitary instance, that would have been the most rational way of accounting for it. But a hundred such coincidences do not happen in succession without a single break; and more than a hundred experiments have been made by this process by myself and two other persons, and not a single failure has thus far been experienced, where the proper conditions have been observed. In two cases the patients have not been perceptibly benefited; but in both of those they were notified of the intended experiments, and were profoundly skeptical. But these failures cannot be charged to the account of this method of treatment, for the simple reason that the fundamental principle of the system was deliberately violated.

That is to say, the best conditions were not observed, — in that the patient was informed beforehand of what was intended. In such cases the healer is handicapped by probable adverse auto-suggestion, as has been fully explained in former chapters. The principle cannot be too strongly enforced that neither the patient nor any of his immediate family should ever be informed beforehand of the intended experiment. Failure does not necessarily follow the imparting of such information; but when the patient or his immediate friends are aware of the effort being made in his behalf, there is always danger of adverse autosuggestion on the part of the patient, or of adverse suggestion being made orally or telepathically by his skeptical friends.

The conditions are then no better and no worse than the conditions ordinarily encountered by those who employ other methods of mental healing. I have successfully treated patients after informing them of my intentions; but it was because I first succeeded in impressing them favorably, and their mental environment was not antagonistic.

One fact of peculiar significance connected with the case of rheumatism above mentioned must not be omitted; and this is that the patient was a thousand miles distant when the cure was performed. Others have been successfully treated at distances varying from one to three hundred miles. The truth is, as has been before remarked, space does not seem to exist for the subjective mind. Experimental telepathy demonstrates this fact. Cases of thought-transference are recorded where the percipient was at the antipodes. The only thing that operates to prevent successful telepathy between persons at great distances from each other is our habit of thinking.

We are accustomed to regard space as an obstacle which necessarily prevents successful communication between persons. It is difficult to realize that space is merely a mode of objective thought, so to speak, and that it does not exist as an obstacle in the way of subjective transmission of impressions. We are, therefore, handicapped by a want of faith in our ability in that direction. In other words, our faith is in inverse proportion to the distance involved. When we can once realize the fact that distance does not exist for the soul, we shall find that a patient can be treated as successfully by telepathic suggestion in one part of the world as another. The only exception to the rule will be when the patient is at the antipodes; for then the healer and the patient will not ordinarily both be asleep at the same time. But space, or distance between the agent and the percipient, does not enter per se as an adverse element to modify the effects of telepathic suggestion.

The diseases thus far successfully treated by this process have been rheumatism, neuralgia, dyspepsia, bowel complaint, sick headache, torpidity of the liver, chronic bronchitis, partial paralysis, pen paralysis, and strabismus. The last-named case was not treated by myself, and I very seriously doubt whether I could have commanded sufficient confidence to be successful. But a lady, whom I had instructed in the process, asked me if I thought there was any use in her trying to cure a bad case of strabismus, her little niece, about ten years of age, having been thus afflicted from her birth. I unhesitatingly assured her that there was no doubt of her ability to effect a cure.

Full of confidence, she commenced the treatment, and kept it up for about three months, at the end of which time the cure was complete. In this case the best conditions were rigidly adhered to, no one but myself having been informed of the intended experiment. A volume could be filled with the details of the experiments which have been made; but as it is foreign to the purpose of this book to treat exhaustively any one phase of psychological phenomena, but rather to develop a working hypothesis applicable to all branches of the subject, the foregoing must suffice.

Little need be said regarding the mode of operation, as it is apparent from what has been said that the method is as simple as it is effective. All that is required on the part of the operator is that he shall be possessed of an earnest desire to cure the patient; that he shall concentrate his mind, just before going to sleep, upon the work in hand, and direct his subjective mind to occupy itself during the night in conveying therapeutic suggestions to the patient. To that end the operator must accustom himself to the assumption that his subjective mind is a distinct entity; that it must be treated as such, and guided and directed in the work to be done.

The work is possibly more effective if the operator knows the character of the disease with which the patient is afflicted, as he would then be able to give his directions more specifically. But much may be left to instinct, of which the subjective mind is the source. It seems reasonable to suppose, however, that if that instinct is educated by objective training it will be all the better. This is, however, a question which must be left for future experimental solution, not enough being now positively known to warrant a statement as to how far the healing power of the subjective mind is, or may be, modified by the objective knowledge or training of the healer.

Be this as it may, the fact remains that all men possess the power to alleviate human suffering, to a greater or less degree, by the method developed in the foregoing pages. For obvious reasons it is not a method by which money can be made. But it is preeminently a means of laying up treasures where neither moth nor rust can corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal. Each one has it in his power to alleviate the sufferings of his neighbor, his friend, or the stranger within his gates; but his compensation must consist in the consciousness of doing good, and in the hope of that reward promised by the Master to those who do their alms in secret.

There is, nevertheless, a practical and immediate reward accompanying every effort to heal the sick by the method herein indicated. In consists in this, — that every earnest effort to convey therapeutic impressions to a patient during sleep is inevitably followed by a dreamless sleep on the part of the healer. It would seem that the subjective mind, following the command or suggestions of the healer, occupies itself with the work it is directed to do, to the exclusion of all else; and hence the physical environment of the sleeper fails to produce peripheral impressions strong enough to cause the dreams which ordinarily result from such impressions. Following the universal law, it obeys the suggestions of the objective mind, and persists in following the line indicated until it is recalled by the awakening of the bodily senses.

Moreover, therapeutic suggestions imparted during sleep inevitably react favorably upon the healer; and thus his own health is promoted by the act which conduces to the health of the patient. And thus it is that therapeutic suggestion may be likened to the "quality of mercy" which "is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath; it is twice blessed: it blesseth him that gives, and him that takes."

It is easy to foresee that when the world once understands and appreciates the wonderful therapeutic powers inherent in the human soul, a great change will be the result. When it is once understood that the power exists in every human organism to alleviate physical suffering by a method at once so simple, so effective, and so mutually beneficial, it cannot be doubted that a large proportion of the ills to which flesh is heir will exist only in history.

The most important branch of psycho-therapeutics is, however, yet to be discussed. It has been shown in this and former chapters that auto-suggestion plays its subtle role in every psychological experiment. It has been shown that the subjective mind of an individual is constantly controlled by the suggestion of his own objective mind. This is the normal relation of the two minds; and when that control ceases, the person is insane just in proportion to the degree in which the objective mind has abdicated its functions. This control is ordinarily exercised unconsciously to the individual. That is to say, we do not ordinarily recognize the operations of the two minds, for the simple reason that we do not stop to philosophize upon the subject of their mutual relations. But when we once recognize the fact, we have not only arrived at the principle which lies at the foundation of all true psychological science, but we are prepared to accept the subsidiary proposition which underlies the science of mental self-healing.

That proposition is, that man can control by suggestion the operations of his own subjective mind, even though the suggestion be in direct contravention to his own objective belief. This is unqualifiedly true, even though the suggestion may be contrary to reason, experience, or the evidence of the senses. A moment's reflection will convince anyone of the truth of this proposition. It is auto-suggestion that fills our asylums with monomaniacs. That long-continued and persistent dwelling upon a single idea often results in chronic hallucination, is a fact within the knowledge of every student of mental science. That it often happens that a monomaniac identifies himself with some great personage, even with the Deity, is a fact within common knowledge.

What gives rise to such hallucinations is not so well known; but every student of the pathology of insanity will verify the statement that auto-suggestion is the primary factor in every case. The patient, who is usually a monumental egotist to start with, begins by imagining himself to be a great man; and by long-continued dwelling upon the one thought he ends by identifying himself with some great historical character whom he specially admires. If he is afflicted with some nervous disorder which causes him to pass easily and habitually into the subjective condition, the process of fastening the hallucination upon his mind is easy and rapid, and he is soon a fit subject for a lunatic asylum. But, whatever physical condition may be a necessary factor in producing such hallucinations, the fact remains that autosuggestion is the primary cause.

The subject is introduced here merely to illustrate the power and potency of autosuggestion, even when the suggestion is against the evidence of reason and sense. It must not be forgotten that an auto-suggestion which produces a hallucination such as has been described, operates on the lines of strongest resistance in nature. If, therefore, such results can be produced when opposed by the strongest instincts of our nature, how much easier must it be to produce equally wonderful results when operating in harmony with those instincts, and, hence, on the lines of least resistance.

It is self-evident, therefore, that auto-suggestion can be employed to great advantage for therapeutic purposes. Indeed, the power of self-help is the most important part of mental therapeutics. Without it the science is of comparatively little value or benefit to mankind. With it goes the power to resist disease, — to prevent sickness, as well as to cure it. The old axiom, that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," holds good in psycho-therapeutics as well as in material remedies, and he who obtains the power to hold himself in the mental attitude which enables him to resist the encroachments of disease has mastered the great secret of mental medicine. That it can be done by anyone of ordinary intelligence, is a fact which has been demonstrated beyond question.

The best workers in the field of Christian science give more attention to teaching their pupils and patients how to help themselves than they do to instructing them how to help others. And this is the secret of the permanence of their cures, as has been fully explained in other chapters of this book. The process by which it can be done is as simple as are the laws which govern the subject-matter.

The patient should bear in mind the fundamental principles which lie at the foundation of mental therapeutics, —

1. The subjective mind exercises complete control over the functions and sensations of the body.

2. The subjective mind is constantly amenable to control by the suggestions of the objective mind.

3. These two propositions being true, the conclusion is obvious, that the functions and sensations of the body can be controlled by suggestions of the objective mind.

The whole science of psycho-therapeutics is embraced in the foregoing propositions. They contain all that a patient, who undertakes to heal himself or to ward off the encroachments of disease, needs to know. The process of making a particular application of these principles is equally simple, and must be obvious to the intelligent reader. At the risk of repetition, a few general directions will be given.

We will take, for illustration, a simple case of nervous headache, and suppose that the patient resolves to cure himself. He must, first of all, remember that the subjective mind is to be treated precisely as though it were a separate and distinct entity. The suggestion must first be made that the headache is about to cease; then, that it is already ceasing; and, finally, that it has ceased. These suggestion's should be made in the form of spoken words, and they should be steadily persisted in until the desired effect is produced.

A constant reiteration of the declaration that the head is better will inevitably produce the desired result; and, when the effect is distinctly felt, the declaration should be boldly made that the pain has entirely ceased. If any remnants of the pain are felt, the fact should be ignored, and the suggestion persisted in that it has ceased. This should be followed by the declaration that there will be no return of the symptoms; and this should be made with an air, tone, and feeling of perfect confidence.

The only practical difficulty and obstacle in the way of success with a beginner lies in the fact that at first he lacks confidence. The education of his whole life has been such as to cause him to look with distrust upon any but material remedies, and there is a disinclination to persist in his efforts. But he should remember that it is the suggestions conveyed by this very education that he is now called upon to combat, neutralize, and overcome by a stronger and more emphatic counter-suggestion. If he has the strength of will to persist until he is cured, he will find that the next time he tries it there will be much less resistance to overcome.

Having once triumphed, the reasoning of his objective mind no longer interposes itself as an obstruction but concurs in the truth of his suggestions. He then possesses both objective and subjective faith in his powers and he finds himself operating on a line of no resistance whatever. When he has attained this point, the rest is easy; and he will eventually be able to effect an instantaneous cure of his headache, or any other pain, the moment he finds himself threatened with one. These remarks apply, of course, to every disease amenable to control by mental processes.

It will be observed that in the process of applying the principles of auto-suggestion to the cure of disease the patient is not called upon to tax his own credulity by any assertion that is not a demonstrable scientific truth. He is not called upon to deny the existence of matter, nor does he find it necessary to deny the reality of the disease which affects him. In short, he is not called upon to deny the evidence of his senses, to assert a manifest impossibility, nor to maintain an exasperating absurdity as a condition precedent to his recovery. The fact that cures can be made and are constantly being made by those who instruct their patients that a denial of the existence of matter and of the reality of disease is a necessary condition to their recovery, is the strongest possible evidence of the truth of the proposition that the subjective mind is constantly amenable to control by the power of suggestion.

For it is a fundamental truth in psycho-therapeutics that no cure ever was, or ever can be, effected by mental processes until the subjective mind of the patient is impressed with a belief in the efficacy of the means employed. It is obvious, however, that it is more difficult to impress a manifest absurdity upon the subjective mind of a man of common-sense than it is to impress him with a belief in a demonstrable scientific truth. Hence it is that, by methods now in vogue, both healer and patient are handicapped just in proportion to the tax laid upon their credulity. The point is, that in impressing a patient with a new scientific truth we should seek to make it as simple as possible, and avoid anything which will shock his common-sense.

Christ enjoined upon his followers the simple scientific fact that faith on their part was a condition precedent to their reception of the benefits of his healing power; and he compelled them to believe, by publicly demonstrating that power. He would have had little success among the people with whom he had to deal if he had begun his treatment by telling them that they had no disease; that leprosy is a figment of the imagination, and has no existence except in the mind; or that blindness is merely blindness of the mind, and not of the body; and that the body itself has no existence except as a form of belief. He even resorted to material remedies, as in the case of the blind man, when "He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing."

The Christian scientist would doubtless say that the clay and the subsequent washing in the Pool of Siloam did no good, except as they acted through the mind. This may be true; but in either case it teaches a valuable lesson, which it would be well for all classes of mental healers to remember. If the clay had a curative effect, it shows that the Master did not disdain to employ material remedies as an auxiliary to his healing power. If, on the other hand, it possessed no curative power, it shows that the Great Healer did not hesitate to employ any legitimate means at hand to confirm and increase the faith of the patient.

But this is a digression which pertains rather to the general subject of mental healing than to that of self-healing, which we are discussing. It is believed that the few simple rules herein laid down will enable anyone of ordinary intelligence to become proficient, by a little practice, in the science of self-healing. It is not a mere theory, without practice, which has been here developed. It has been demonstrated over and over again to be eminently practical, not only as a means of healing disease, but as a means of warding off its encroachments. Indeed, its chief value will eventually be found to consist in the almost unlimited power which it gives one to protect himself from contracting disease. To do that it is only necessary to hold one's self in the mental attitude of denying the power of disease to obtain the mastery over him.

When the patient recognizes the first symptoms of approaching illness, he should at once commence a vigorous course of therapeutic auto-suggestion. He will find prevention much easier than cure; and by persistently following such a course he will soon discover that he possesses a perfect mastery over his own health. In this connection it must not be forgotten that the method of healing during sleep is as applicable to self-healing as it is to healing others. Indeed, perfect rest and recuperative slumber can be obtained under almost any circumstances at the word of command. Dreams can be controlled in this way. If one is troubled by distressing or harassing dreams, from whatever cause, he can change their current, or prevent them altogether, by energetically commanding his subjective mind to do so. It is especially efficacious for this purpose to direct his subjective mind to employ itself in healing some sick friend.

If one habitually does this at the time of going to sleep, he will not only be certain to obtain recuperative sleep for himself, but he will procure that contentment and peace of mind which always result from a consciousness of doing good to his fellow-creatures. The exercise of the power to heal in this way is never a tax upon the vital energies of the healer, but always redounds to his own benefit as well as to that of the patient. The reason of this is obvious. The normal condition of the subjective mind during the sleep of the body and the quiescence of the objective faculties is that of constant activity. This activity, under ordinary conditions, entails no loss of vital power on the part of the sleeper. On the contrary, that is the period of his rest and the means of his recuperation. If the activities of his subjective mind are directed into pleasant channels, his bodily rest is perfect, and his recuperation complete.

It is for this reason that the method of healing during sleep is better for all concerned than any other system of mental healing yet discovered. It follows the lines of nature, in that it employs the subjective powers at a time when they are normally active; and it employs them in such a way that the ordinary peripheral impressions, which often disturb the sleeper and produce unpleasant dreams, are overcome by a more potent suggestion. Any other method of mental healing, where the subjective powers of the healer are called into action, entails a certain loss of vital power on his part, for the simple reason that subjective activity during waking moments is abnormal. It is true that when the work is not carried to excess the physical exhaustion may not be perceptible; but any Christian scientist will testify that any great amount of effort in the line of his work produces great physical exhaustion. And it is noticeable that this exhaustion ensues in exact proportion to the success of his treatment. This success being in proportion to the subjective power exerted, it is reasonable to infer that subjective activity during waking hours and physical exhaustion bear to each other the relation of cause and effect.