There are many people of a supercilious nature who are always ready to
crack a joke at the expense of those who practice methods of divine healing
which teach one to cultivate a fearless attitude of mind under all
conditions. But as a matter of actual fact, an enormous percentage of our
sickness is actually due and traceable to feelings of fear upon the part of
the patient.
Travelers who have visited uninhabited islands report that the birds and
beasts found there were unafraid of them at first, but they soon learned the
predatory nature of man and fled before him in fear of their lives. thus
the ruthless nature of man has in ages past, spread fear all over the Earth.
We have conquered, tamed and exploited both bird and beast, and what we
could not conquer we have slain, until every breathing thing hides in fear
of us. That is to say, among the larger animals — none is so large that it
does not fear us and flee from us.
When we turn in the direction of the little things then the case is
different. Man, who thinks he reigns supreme on Earth because he has put
all the larger creation in a state of fear, trembles in turn before the
minute things in the world and the smaller they are, the more he fears them.
The microscope has told us that such a small creature as the housefly
carries about on the fur of its legs thousands of parasites, and therefore
fear prompts us to spend millions of dollars on fly-paper, fly-screens,
flytraps, and other devices to rid ourselves of this pest, but our efforts are
largely in vain. Though vast sums are expended yearly to exterminate the fly,
it is so prolific that is breeds faster than we can slay.
We fear its cousin, the mosquito, even more. The microscope has told us
that this little insect is one of the chief messengers of the Angel of
Death. Therefore we fight it in fear of our lives, but it thrives in spite
of the vast sums yearly expended upon its termination. Then there is the
milk we drink. Under ordinary conditions it is said that there are 100,000
germs to the cubic centimeter, but under the best and most sanitary
conditions this army of destroyers can be brought down to 10,000. So in fear
and trembling we pasteurize this fluid before we dare to give it to the
children of tender age. Every drop of water we drink swarms with germ life,
says the microscope, and even the coin and currency wherewith we purchase the
necessities of life are vehicles of death, for they are infected with germs to
an almost unbelievable extent. Once we started to launder them, but it
was found that the bankers could not so easily detect counterfeits after
they had been washed, so we abandoned the process. We either fear the
counterfeiters more than the germs or we love money more than health.
Is not this whole attitude ridiculous and unworthy of our high and noble
estate, as human beings, as children of God? It is well known to science
that an attitude of fear breaks down the power of resistance of the body,
and thereby lays it liable to diseases which would not otherwise be able to
gain a foothold. From the esoteric point of view it is perfectly plain why
this is so. The dense body which we see with our eyes it interpenetrated by a
vehicle made of ether, and the energy from the Sun, which pervades all
space, is constantly pouring into our body through the spleen which is a
specialized organ for the attraction and assimilation of this universal
ether. In the solar plexus it is converted into a rose colored fluid which
permeates the nervous system. This may be compared to electricity in the
wires of an electric or telegraphic system. By means of this vital fluid
the muscles are moved and the organs perform their vital functions so that
the body may express itself in perfect health. The better the health the
larger the quantity of this solar fluid which we are able to absorb, but we
only utilize a certain part of it and the surplus is radiated from the body
in straight lines.
You have seen the paper ribbons fastened in front of electric fans in
candy stores and fruit stands. When the fan is set going these streamers
float outwards from the fan. The streamers which flow from the whole
periphery of the human body also radiate in straight lines when we are in
perfect health. This condition is therefore aptly described as radiant
health. We speak of such a person as radiating life and vigor. Under such
conditions no disease germs can ever get a foothold in his body. They cannot
enter from without because of these invisible streamers of force, any more
than a fly an enter an opening in a building covered by an exhaust fan. And
those microorganisms which enter the body with the food are also quickly
expelled, for the vital processes in the body are selective as shown by the
kidneys, for instance, which excrete the waste matter while retaining vital
substances necessary for the economy of the body.
But the moment we allow thoughts of fear, of worry, of anger, the body
endeavors, as it were, to close the gates against an outside foe, fancied or
real. Then also the spleen closes up and ceases to specialize the vital
fluid in sufficient quantities for the necessities of the body, and we then
see a phenomenon which is analogous to the effect of lowering the voltage or
cutting in more resistance in the electric fan. In that case the paper
streamers will begin to hang down, they will no longer wave over the candy
or fruit to protect it and keep the flies away. Similarly in the human
body, when the thought of fear forces the partial closure of the spleen, the
solar fluid does not go through the body with the same speed as before. It
does not then radiate from the periphery in straight lines, but these lines
become crumpled and thus they allow easy access to the little deleterious
organisms which may then feed unobstructed upon our tissues and cause
disease.
Whether the consistent mental scientists, or others who believe in divine
healing, know this law or not, they act according to its dictates when they
affirm that they are children of God, that they have no reason to fear, for
God is their Father and will protect them so long as they do not
deliberately disregard the ordinary laws of life.
The actual fact, and the truth in the matter is that contagion comes from
within. So long as we live a common-sense life, feeding our bodies upon the
pure foods which come from the vegetable kingdom, taking a sufficient amount
of exercise, and keeping mentally active, we may rest secure in the promise
that the Lord is our refuge. There shall no evil befall us so long as we
thus show our faith by our works. On the other hand, if we belie our faith
in God by disregard of His laws our expectations of health are vain.
"As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," said the Christ, and this is
an absolutely scientific proposition; something, moreover, which everyone
may demonstrate by looking about him in the everyday conditions of life in
the home, office, or street. Here we see a man with thick lips, with puffed
cheeks, with a veritable pouch under his chin, and at once we know that we
have before us a glutton and a sensualist. Another comes along the street;
his face is furrowed by lines, his lips are thin and set, and we know that
thought and care have been the architects that molded his face.
Each one who passes expresses without exactly what his thoughts are
within. One is muscular and active, because the thoughts which have
governed his activities built an active body. Another has flabby flesh,
a pouch stomach, and a waddling walk, showing that he is averse to all
exercise. In each case the body is an accurate reproduction of the mind;
each class suffers from the ailments peculiar to the trend of its mental
activity. The glutton and sensualist suffer from diseases engendered
when their thoughts have crystallized and weakened the digestive tract and
creative organs. Their diseases are entirely different from the nervous
diseases that attack the thinker, and any system of healing that does not
take into consideration the fact that the body is more a physical expression
of mind than mind is a manifestation of the physical man, makes a very
radical mistake. In our complex nature, mind and matter act and react upon
each other in such a manner that it is absolutely necessary to consider the
man as a whole whenever we attempt to deal with his disability.
It is well known to physiologists that joy will sometimes bring the
patient out of the sick room quicker than any medicine. If something has
happened to give his affairs in the world a sudden upward turn, so that he
becomes optimistic, disease seems to disappear as if by magic; and conversely,
even though he may seem to enjoy good health, the moment a depressing
influence comes into his business affairs he begins to feel ill in body. A
letter containing bad news may sometimes stop direction entirely, and give
the person who receives it a very serious attack of indigestion. Thus the
truth of the Savior's teaching that "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is
he," is amply demonstrated in practical, everyday life.
When we realize this we also see the necessity of cultivating an attitude
of optimism. A hopeful mind is the greatest of all medicine, and a constant
reiteration of a resolution to overcome the present ills, is better than all
the medicine in the world. When one is in constant pain, suffering acutely,
it is perhaps very difficult to maintain an attitude of optimism,
nevertheless, the magic formula of the Savior applied to health, will help
us to overcome in time.
It is a law that if we think health we must of necessity sooner or later
express health. We must live the rational life and cease from excesses,
particularly in diet; that cannot be emphasized too often. Neither, will it
avail to stand before a mirror and reiterate to oneself, "I have Faith," "I
am Health," or similar untrue affirmations. Just stop talking of your
ailments to others; try above all to divert your own thoughts from your
condition; believe in health as our birthright, and as something that can be
attained by us, never wavering.
You may have heard the story of the old lady who had heard her minister
speak about a faith that could remove mountains. She was willing to try her
faith on the ash heap, but next morning when she saw it was still there she
exclaimed, "I thought so." Conditions were what she expected in her heart,
not what she claimed to believe with her tongue, and it will be the same
with everyone. Therefore, believe heartily in health.
While cleanliness itself is a virtue, it becomes, like many another good
thing, a vice by being overdone. Water is the universal solvent and taken
internally in small doses it is good, but taken at the wrong time, with
meals for instance, and in excess, it becomes a poison. It dilutes the
digestive fluids and cools the stomach so that the condition necessary for the
proper treatment of the food is disarranged and in time, if the habit is
persisted in, it impairs the digestion permanently. So also when water is
taken in excess outside and under improper conditions, it may affect the
health very seriously.
This has been demonstrated many times in our experiences on Mt. Ecclesia. A
number of people who came here have been in the habit, prior to their
arrival, of bathing every day and sometimes twice or three times a day. They
were, without exception, in a very serious run-down condition, because the
excess of water applied with a towel or a sponge, had depleted the skin of
its fatty substance, and the vasomotor system was unable to operate
properly, to close or open the pores as required.
But there was another effect of this excessive bathing, not seen or
understood unless by one who has the requisite esoteric knowledge, and the
spiritual sight to investigate the matter properly. Others may know the
truth of the following explanation because of their own experience along the
lines of healing and magnetism.
We all know that when we take a physician's galvanic battery and place
one electrode in a basin of water, holding the other electrode in the hand,
the flow of electricity through the body is much stronger than when we put
our other hand in the water or if we hold both electrodes without contact
with water. When water is evaporated its molecules are broken up and each
fragment is then enclosed in an envelope of ether which will act as a cushion
and is the basis of elasticity in steam. When condensation takes place the
surplus of ether disappears, and water becomes incompressible as the solid
rock.
But water has great yearning for ether; it cannot take it from the air,
however, any more than we can absorb nitrogen though we breathe it
continually. Fluid is volatile in proportion to the amount of ether it
contains, and we have an example of the intense greed of water for ether in
the avidity wherewith it absorbs anhydrous ammonia, a fluid so volatile that
it boils at 26 degrees below zero. This shows why water causes so voluminous
a flow between a battery electrode and the body, and explains many phenomena,
among others, why moisture aids so materially in transmitting good
magnetism, the vital fluid of the healer to his patient, and withdrawing bad
magnetism from the body of the latter. Also how necessary and helpful it is
to wash in running water, so that the poisonous ether taken out of
the patient's vital body will not hamper the healer. When we take a bath
under ordinary normal circumstances, we remove a great deal of effete
poisonous ether from our vital bodies provided we stay in a reasonable length
of time. After a bath the vital body becomes somewhat attenuated and
consequently gives us a feeling of weakness, but if we are in ordinary good
health and have not stayed in the bath too long, the deficiency is soon
made good by the stream of force which flows into the human body through
the spleen. When this recuperation has taken place we feel renewed
vitality and attribute it to the bath without realizing the full facts as
above stated.
But when a person who is not in perfect health commences to bathe every
day, perhaps twice or three times a day, an excess of ether is taken from
the vital body. The new supply entering by way of the spleen is also
diminished on account of the attenuated condition of the vital body; thus it
is impossible for such persons to recuperate after repeated depletions and as
a consequence the health of the dense body suffers; they lose almost every
ounce of strength and gradually become confirmed invalids. Being in this
delicate state they are unable to eat and assimilate truly nourishing foods
and in time their condition may become very, very serious.
Cases of this description are exceedingly difficult to handle, because
they usually occur with people with common signs on the angles, with many
planets in these signs, or with the Sun or Ascendant there. This class of
people resent any interference with their diet and habit of bathing, because
they think they are paragons of cleanliness, which is in their eyes a chief
virtue. They believe they cannot live without so many baths daily and as
their appetite is so slight and delicate they believe that they know better
than anyone else how to look after that part of their requirements, but they
are wrong in both cases as shown in the foregoing.
Their first step to health involves that they cease bathing entirely.
The dry bath is the proper restorative, and for this purpose a pair of
coarse gloves made of linen tape loosely woven are best. With these the
body may be rubbed morning and evening until the skin shows a health glow.
By this process the superfluous cuticle is removed but the oil and ether
remain. Thus the patient will build up very rapidly, for when the chemical
ether increases, the power of assimilation also revives and there is an
immediate gain of both strength and flesh. If necessary the patient may be
given a very light warm sponge bath once a week, but no tub baths should be
attempted until he or she is fully recovered.
Among the latest discoveries of science is hemolysis — the fact that
inoculation of blood from the veins of a higher animal into one of a lower
species, destroys the blood of the lower animal and causes its death. Thus
the blood of man injected into the veins of any animal is fatal. But from
man to man it is found that transfusion may take place, although at times
there are deleterious effects.
In olden days people married in the family; it was then looked upon with
horror if one should "seek after strange flesh." When the sons of God
married the daughters of men, that is to say, when the subjects of one
leader married outside the tribe, there was great trouble, they were cast
off by their leader and destroyed, for at that time certain qualities that
we now possess were to be developed in humanity and were thus implanted in
the common blood which ran pure in the family or small tribe. Later on when
man was to be brought down into material conditions, international
marriages were commanded, and, from that time on, it has been looked upon as
equally horrible if persons within the same family united in marriage.
The old vikings would not allow anyone to marry into their family unless
they had first gone through the ceremony of mixing blood to see if the
transfusion of the blood of the stranger into their family was detrimental
or otherwise. All this was because in earlier times humanity was not as
individualized as it is today. They were more under the domination of the
Race or Family Spirit, which dwelt in their blood, as the Group Spirit of
animals does in the blood of animals. Later the international marriages
were given to free humanity from that yoke and make every separate Ego sole
master of its own body without outside interference.
Science has lately found that the blood of different people has different
blood types, but there will come a day when they will know a still
greater difference, for there is also a difference in the crystals formed
by each individual man. The thumb-marks of no two people are alike, and it
will be found in time that the blood of each human being is different from
the blood of every other individual. This difference is already evident to
the esoteric investigator, and it is only a question of time when science will
make the discovery, for the distinguishing features are becoming more marked
as the human being grows less and less dependent, more and more
self-sufficient.
This change in the blood is most important and in time, when it has
become more marked, it will be productive of most far-reaching consequences.
It is said that "Nature geometrizes," and Nature is but the visible symbol
of the invisible God whose offspring and images we are. Being made in His
likeness, we are also beginning to geometrize, and naturally we are starting
on the substance where we, the human spirits, the Egos, have the greatest
power, namely, in our blood.
When the blood comes through the arteries, which are deep in the body, it
is a gas; but loss of heat nearer the surface of the body causes it to
partially condense, and in that substance the Ego is learning to form
mineral crystals. In the Jupiter Period we shall learn to invest them with
a low form of vitality and set them out from ourselves as plant-like
structures. In the Venus Period we shall be able to infuse desire into them
and make them like animals. Finally, in the Vulcan Period, we shall give
them a mind and rule over them as race spirits.
At the present time we are at the very beginning of this
individualization of our blood. Therefore it is possible at present to
transfuse blood from one human being to another, but the day is near at hand
when that will be impossible. The blood of a white man will kill all who
stand lower, and the blood of an advanced person will poison the less
cultured. The child at present receives its supply of blood from the parents,
stored in the thymus gland, for the years of childhood. But the time will
come when the Ego will be too far individualized to function in blood not
generated by itself. Then the present mode of generation will have to be
superseded by another whereby the Ego may create its own vehicle without the
help of parents.
Generally speaking, when an arm, a limb, or an organ has been removed
from the physical body by means of a surgical operation, the dense part of
the organ permeated by the planetary ether is taken away. The four ethers
which constitute the vital body of the man or woman thus operated upon
remain; but there is a certain magnetic connection between the part decaying
in the grave and that etheric counterpart which remains with the person.
Therefore, he or she feels the pain and suffering in the part removed for
some time after an operation, until decay has taken place and the etheric
counterpart has disintegrated.
However, there are some exceptions to this general rule which it is well
to note. We have observed that the physical body accommodates itself so far
as possible to altered conditions. If a wound in a certain part of the body
makes it impossible for the blood to flow in the normal channels it finds
another set of veins by which it may make its circuit, but an organ never
atrophies so long as it can serve any useful purpose. It is similar with
the vital body composed of ethers. When an arm or limb has been amputated,
the etheric counterpart of that member is no longer required in the economy
of the body; therefore, it gradually wastes away. But in the case of an
organ like the spleen where the etheric counterpart has an important
function as gateway for the solar energy, naturally no such disintegration
will take place.
It should also be remembered that wherever disease manifests in the
physical vehicle that part of the vital body has first become thin,
attenuated, and diseased, and it was its failure to supply the necessary vital
energy that caused the manifestation of physical symptoms of ill health.
Conversely, when health returns, the vital body is the first to pick up, and
this convalescence is then manifested in the dense body. Therefore, if the
physical spleen is diseased, it is a foregone conclusion that the etheric
counterpart is also in subnormal health, and the wisdom of removing the organ
is doubtful. However, if it is done, the body will seek to accommodate
itself to the new condition and the etheric counterpart of the spleen will
continue to function as before.
Another interesting angle to this question is revealed in the after-death
state. When a person who is injured passes into the invisible realm, he
thinks with the same mind, pictures himself there as he was in the world.
Consequently a scar on the forehead or the loss of an arm or limb is
reproduced by his thought in the matter of the Desire World, and he appears
there disfigured as he was here. In the World War this was very noticeable,
for all the soldiers who passed out with wounds which they could see and
which they knew how to determine the effect of, reproduced these wounds in
their desire bodies. They felt pain similar to what they would have felt if
they had still been in the physical body, because they fancied that there must
be pain connected with it. However, they were quickly assisted by one
another and by those who had been helped by the Elder Brothers to see the
matter right: that there was no actual pain. As soon as they were convinced
that their wounds were but illusions and taught that they could shape their
bodies in the normal and healthy state, they could quickly remedy the
condition.
Removal of the tonsils is a subject on which our opinion is frequently
asked, and we have always discouraged the removal of these necessary organs,
for it has been found that serious throat and lung diseases are often
experienced in later life as a consequence of removing the tonsils, and an
increasing number of physicians today denounce this operation as wholly
unnecessary.
The tonsils are ruled by Taurus, one of the signs of Venus. There is
great sympathy between signs ruled by the same planet. Libra, the other Venus
sign, rules the kidneys. Removal of tonsils from the Taurus region affects
secretion of urine in the Libra region. Therefore, when we remove the tonsils
from a child we increase the tendency to gout and rheumatism in later
years.
As a matter of fact, enlarged tonsils are due to conditions connected
with the arrival at puberty and adolescence, perhaps accentuated by a wrong
diet, and this is a factor in most of the other throat diseases, for the
larynx is the opposite of the generative organs, as proved by the fact that
the voice changes at the time of puberty; and in many other ways. When the
period of adolescence is past it will be found that these organs will return
to their normal condition and will give no further trouble.
In acute conditions we have always recommended the citrus fruits as the
finest antiseptics known. This applies also and particularly to pineapple.
Lemonade made of lemons and honey will be found to give great relief in this
condition. Oranges, grapefruit, and pineapple should also be used freely
when the child complains of throat trouble. A cold compress on the throat
at night when the child goes to bed, supplemented by massage of the throat,
will be found an effective treatment in all throat troubles. It goes without
saying that the bowels should be kept open and clear. By the use of these
simple treatments the trouble will probably be over in a few days, perhaps
even without the necessity of putting the child to bed. Do not be afraid if
white matter is expectorated during the process of this treatment. That is
just what the child needs to get rid of, in order to be well.
The form of healing to advise depends upon the nature of the sickness and
the temperament of the patient. If it is a case of a broken leg, a surgeon
is obviously the one to call. If there is an internal disorder and it is
possible to get a broad-minded physician, then in certain cases he is the
one to get. If, on the other hand, a mental healer, Christian Science
healer, or anyone else who is spiritually minded can be brought in, he may help a person who is himself strong in faith, for, as a tuning fork which is
of a certain pitch will respond when another tuning fork of the same pitch
is struck, so will the person filled with faith respond to the ministrations
of these last named ones. But where faith in their methods is lacking in
the patient, it is far better to send for a regular physician in whom the
patient has confidence, for health or sickness depends almost altogether
upon the state of mind, and in the conditions of sickness where a person is
enfeebled, he becomes hypersensitive and should not be thwarted in his
preferences. Besides, whatever good there is in any system of healing, the
effects upon a certain person will be beneficial or the reverse in exact
proportion to his faith in its healing power.
Certainly, it is our duty to take medicine administered by a properly
qualified person, or attempt to cure the ills from which we suffer in any
other way possible that appeals to us. We should be doing decidedly wrong
if we allowed our physical instrument to deteriorate for lack of proper care
and attention. It is the most valuable tool we possess, and unless we use
it circumspectly and care for it, we are amenable to the Law of Cause and
Effect for that neglect.
There are two very common difficulties in the practice of osteopathy and
kindred methods of treatment by the laying on of hands. In this process
there are two distinct operations. One is a taking away from the patient of
something that is poisonous and injurious, provocative of disease; and there
is also a giving out of vital force by the doctor himself, or herself.
Everybody who had done any work of this kind knows this because it has been
felt and is felt by every one who is successful. Now, unless the doctor or
healer is bubbling over with radiant health, two things are liable to
happen; either the human miasma taken away from the patient may so
overwhelm him or her that to use a common expression "he takes on the
condition" of the patient, or he may give too much of his own vital force,
and thus become entirely depleted. Both of these conditions may combine,
and then there comes a day when the physician or healer finds himself or
herself run down and forced to rest.
Magnetic healers who are frankly unscientific often escape the
first-mentioned condition by "throwing off the magnetism," as they say, but
all are liable to be run down. That is something that nobody can escape,
save on who can see the etheric effluvia he takes and the vital fluid he
gives. Most people are vampires when they are sick, and the stronger and
more robust they are ordinarily, the worse they are usually when sickness
has thrown them upon a bed or sickness.
The following hint is of value in keeping away undesirable conditions:
First, fix your thoughts firmly in such a manner that you will not allow
this miasmatic effluvia which leaves the patient's body to enter your body
further than the elbow; second, when you are giving treatment leave the
patient once in a while and wash your hands in running water if possible; but
at any rate wash in water, and change the water as frequently as possible.
The water has a twofold effect. In the first place, the effluvia leaving
the patient's body has an affinity for water. In the second place, the
moisture which stays upon your hands enables you to get the miasma from the
patient in a larger measure than you otherwise would. This is on the very
same principle that if you take the electrodes of an electrical battery and
put them into water, you will find the effect of electricity is many times
intensified if you try to touch the water.
So also with yourself; you are the electric battery in the case, and your
hands being moistened will draw to yourself the miasma in a much greater
measure than otherwise. If conditions are such that you cannot get water
you may try to throw the magnetism off, but then it is necessary to be
careful, because when the magnetism is thrown away from you it is attracted
to the Earth, because it is subject to gravity; and to the spiritual vision
it is a dark or rather a black jelly-like fluid. It lies shimmering and
shivering on the floor. If now the patients gets up relieved from the
couch where treatment has been given, and goes over the place where this
magnetism has been thrown away, then the miasma will re-enter the body and he
or she will be in a worse condition than before you started the treatment.
Therefore it is the best policy always to throw such miasma our of the window,
or better still, put them into a fireplace and then set fire to them.
From the foregoing it is evident that this laying on of hands is
something that should not be done indiscriminately by any one who has not
been trained in one of the many properly equipped schools of
Osteopathy, Chiropractic, etc. Probationers who live worthy lives are trained
under the special guidance of the Elder Brothers.
Bacteriologists have discovered that many diseases are caused by
microorganisms which invade our body, and also that when this invading army
begins to create a disturbance the body commences to manufacture germs of an
opposing nature or a substance which will poison the invaders. It is them a
question of which are the strongest, the invaders or the defenders. If the
defending microbes are more numerous than the invaders or if the poison
which is noxious to the invaders is manufactured in sufficient quantities,
the patient recovers. If the defenders are vanquished on the body is unable
to manufacture a sufficient quantity of the serum necessary to poison the
invaders, the patient succumbs to the disease. It was further discovered
than when a certain person has once successfully recovered from a specific
malady, he is immune from renewed attacks of that disease for the reason
that he has in his body the serum which is death to the germs that cause the
disease he has once weathered.
From the above facts certain conclusions were drawn:
(1) If a healthy person is inoculated with a few of the germs of a
certain disease he will contract that disease in a mild form. He will then
be able to develop the saving serum and thus he will become immune to that
disease in the future.
That is the philosophy of vaccination as a means of preventing disease.
(2) When a person has contracted a disease and is unable to manufacture a
sufficient quantity of the serum which will destroy the invading
microorganisms, his life may be saved by inoculation with the serum obtained
from another who has become immune.
As it is not easy to get such antitoxins or cultures from human beings,
these germ-cultures and poisons have been obtained from animals, and much
has been written both for and against the use of such methods of fighting
disease. With these we are not here concerned; the esoteric viewpoint goes
deeper than the question at issue, as seen from the material side of life.
There are undoubtedly cases where disease has been prevented by the use of
antitoxin; there are also cases where vaccination and antitoxin have caused
the fatality they were designed to prevent, but that is beside the question.
From the esoteric viewpoint vaccination and the use of antitoxin obtained by the processes in use in bacteriological institutes is to be deplored. These
methods work a wrong on the helpless animals and poison the human body, making
it difficult for the Ego to use its instrument.
If we study the chemistry of our food we shall find that nature has
provided all necessary medicine, and if we eat right we shall be immune
from disease without vaccination.
When in normal health the body specializes a far greater quantity of the
solar energy than it can use. The surplus is radiated form the whole
surface of the body with great force and prevents the entrance of
microorganisms which lack the strength to battle against the outwelling
current; nay, more! on the same principle that an exhaust fan will gather up
particles of dust in a room and hurl them outward does this vital fluid
cleanse the body of inimical matter, dangerous germs included., It must not
surprise us that this force is intelligent and capable of selecting the
materials which should be eliminated, leaving the beneficial and useful.
Scientist recognize this fact of selective osmosis. They know that while a
sieve will allow any particle of matter to pass through which is smaller than
the mesh of the sieve, the kidneys for instance, will keep fluids of use to
the body, while allowing waste products to pass. In as similar manner the
vital fluid makes a distinction, it rids the body of the poisons and
impurities generated inside and repels similar products from without.
This emanation has been called N-rays, or Odie fluid, by scientist who
have discovered it by means of chemical reagents which render it luminous.
During the process of digestion it is weakest, for then an extra quantity of
the solar energy is required for use inside the body in the metabolism of
the food; it is the cementing factor in assimilation. The heartier we have
eaten, the greater is the quantity of vital fluid expended within the body
and the weaker the eliminative and protecting outrushing current.
Consequently we are in the greatest danger from an invasion by an army of
inimical microorganisms when we have gorged ourselves.
On the other hand, if we eat sparingly and choose the foods which are the
most easily digestible, the diminution of the protective vital current will
be correspondingly minimized and our immunity from disease will be much
enhanced without the necessity of poisoning our body with vaccine.
A large and increasing number of medical men are now convinced that the
Law of Destiny is an important factor in producing disease and retarding
recovery, though they are not believers in the fallacy of an inexorable fate.
They recognize that God does not willingly afflict us nor aim to get even with the transgressor; they understand that all sorrow and suffering are
designed to teach us lessons which we would not or could not learn in any
other way. The stars show the period estimated as requisite to teach us the
lesson; but even God cannot determine the exact time nor the amount of
suffering necessary; we, ourselves, have a prerogative, for we are divine.
If we awake to our transgression and commence to obey the law ere the
stellar affliction ceases, we are cured of our mental, moral, or physical
distemper; if we persist to the end of one stellar affliction without having
learned our lesson, a more inimical configuration will enforce obedience at a
later time.
Cancer and consumption are seemingly incurable, yet there is always a
possibility that they may yield, and they certainly will yield, if the force
directed against them is sufficient. Like all other physical manifestation,
they are the result of a spiritual cause, and if we can get at that, offset
it with something of an opposite nature, there is a chance, whereas the
attitude of resignation and non-assistance will certainly never bring the
patient out of his or her condition. Given life in a salubrious climate — a
strong desire for health, a hope that neither knows or permits of
discouragement — and a simple, nutritious, healthful diet will cure even the
worst case of consumption. As for cancer, it is difficult to tell when the
debt of destiny which has caused the trouble has passed, and there are many
cases on record where cancer has been cured; that is to say, of course, in
its milder forms; but even in its advanced forms there is no reason for giving
up hope as long as there is life.
As for sclerosis, there are several methods whereby the deposits may be
eliminated, and these removed, the patient may become as well as ever.
Particularly is this so if he or she can be brought to recognize the breach
of the laws of Nature which has caused the disease in the specific case, and
it is to this end that we should labor. Whether the disease be cured or
not, if the person can be taught now what laws have been transgressed, if he
or she can be led to see what is the spiritual cause of the disease, and
learn to walk in the ways of virtue, which are according to the laws of God,
then in the future there will be no disease for them. It is that for which
we are laboring, that we may hasten the day of liberation; that we may
bring all mankind towards a realization of health.
As to whether or not we should interfere with destiny, let us first realize
who made the destiny! We did! We set the force going which has now
ripened into destiny, and having made it, we certainly have the right to
change it in so far as we are able. In fact, this is the hall mark of
divinity, to rule ourselves. The very greatest majority of mankind is ruled
by the heavenly orbs which may be called "the clock of destiny." The twelve
signs of the zodiac mark the twelve hours of day and night, the planets may
be likened to the hour hand and show the year when a certain debt of destiny
is ripe for expression in our life. The Moon indicates the month, and
attracts certain influences felt by us without our knowing that they are being
exerted, or without our realizing what they are for, but these influences
will tend to bring our actions in line with the destiny which we have made
in previous lives, and invariably the thing which is foreshown will come to
pass unless — yes, there is an unless, thank God, for if it were not so, if
there were no possibility of changing destiny, then let us sit down, "Let us
eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." We should then be in the
hands of inexorable fate and unable to help ourselves. But, thank God there
is one chance which is not shown in the horoscope, namely, that the human
will may assert itself and frustrate fate.
As Ella Wheeler Wilcox has expressed in poetic form:
"One ship sails east and another sails west,
With the selfsame winds that blow.
'Tis the set of the sail, and not the gale
Which determines the way they go."
It is of utmost importance that we set the sails of the barque of life as we want and never scruple about interfering with fate.
This disposes also of the idea of "affirmation" as a factor in life.
This in itself is folly. It is work and action that we need in life, as you
will readily see by this illustration. Suppose a little seed of those
beautiful carnations were endowed with speech, and it came to you saying: "I
am a carnation." Would you not answer: "No, you are not a carnation,
you foolish little thing. You have the potentiality in you, but you will
have to go out in the garden and bury yourself for awhile and grow. By that
process alone you can become a carnation, never by affirmation."
Similarly with ourselves. All the "affirmations" of divinity are vain unless
accompanies by actions of a divine character, and they will prove our
divinity as words never can.
The rupture of physically robust health is necessary before it is
possible to attain poise in the spiritual world, and the stronger and more
vigorous the instrument, the more drastic must be the method of breaking
it down. Then come years when there is an unbalanced fluctuating condition
of health, until finally we are able to adjust ourselves so as to
maintain health in the Physical World while we retain the ability to function
also in the higher realms.
When we understand the higher philosophies, when we live the life that is
taught by them, our body becomes extremely sensitive and must be given more
care. Those who are interested along the lines of spiritual development are
particularly high-strung, therefore, as we progress it becomes necessary to
take more and more care of this instrument. But we also learn the laws of
its nature and how to conform to them. If we apply our knowledge it is
possible for us to have a sensitive instrument and keep it in
comparative health.
There are cases, however, when a sickness is necessary to bring about
certain changes in the body which are the precursors of a higher step in
spiritual unfoldment, and under such conditions, of course, sickness is a
blessing and not a curse. In general, however, it may be said that the
study of the higher philosophy will always tend to better one's health,
because "knowledge is power" and the more we know the better we are able to
cope with all conditions, provided, of course, we bring our knowledge into
practice and live the Life — that we are not merely hearers of the word, but
doers also, for no teaching is of benefit to us unless it is carried into
our lives and lived from day to day.
If a person of a nervous temperament will endeavor to perform calmly and
quietly the exercises of Retrospection and Concentration, he will experience a
very beneficial effect, particularly if he will strive to relax every muscle of the body during the exercises.
If the patient will completely relax his muscles, calmly and quietly
review the day's happenings in the evening exercise and concentrate upon a
high ideal in the morning exercise, the nervousness will gradually
disappear.
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