STUDENTS 
 GUIDE £•■-.. 
 TO HEALTH 
 
 Vm-i 
 
(lass ^RZ4r> t 
 Book LVi, 
 
 GopigM' 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
STUDENTS 
 
 GUIDE 
 
 TO HEALTH. 
 
 Not a Theory, but a Science, reinforced by a personal 
 
 experience covering a period of over eight years. 
 
 Asserting the debt of Strength to Weakness , 
 
 of Health to Sickness, and addressed 
 
 to all those who seek Redemption 
 
 for the Body. 
 
 by / 
 
 DeWITT talmage van doren, 
 
 Doctor of Psychology. 
 
 Author of "Effective Suggestion" and 
 
 the " Oris-in of a Soul ". 
 
 Study mental hygiene. Take long doses of dolce. far niente, 
 and be in no hurry about anything in the universal world. 
 
 George Eliot. 
 
 NORWALK, CONN.: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 1 901. 
 
THE U8RARY OF 
 0< W3SESS, 
 
 Two Coi-i!i8 HfcCElVEB 
 
 JANc 2 \ 
 
 OOf^RIGHT ENTRY 
 
 / / t fS~ 
 COPY 18. 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in?the year 1901. 
 
 By DeWitt Talmage Van Doren, 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
 
 H. M. Gardner, 
 
 Printer, 
 Norwalk, Conn. 
 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 In the preparation of this book, I have not attempted to 
 follow systematic intellectual methods, but to put both method 
 and self aside, with the hope that I might meet the urgent 
 need of those who suffer, with a simple, practical system of 
 self treatment. To be immediately helpful to men and women 
 who are hopelessly in bondage to some form of physical in- 
 harmony is my excuse, if excuse were needed, for the publi- 
 cation of this work. It is, like all things else, imperfect, but 
 still sufficiently complete to be a safe guide to those who are 
 in any way, or degree, afflicted. I have endeavored so to pre- 
 sent the subject that even the child-mind could not miss the 
 idea involved, nor fail at the point of application. The su- 
 premacy of mind, — its power over matter, — is almost univers- 
 ally conceded, and admitted by the medical profession to be 
 a most potent factor in the recovery of the sick. Every phy- 
 sician knows that if he can thoroughly arouse the mind of his 
 patient to expect certain results, the tendency will be in the 
 direction of such expectancy. This fact points to a certain 
 order in the nature of things — to a law of mind, which, if un- 
 derstood and obeyed, must invariably produce certain effects. 
 It is to this law that I call your attention in the following pages 
 — the law of suggestion. If I have succeeded in showing you 
 how, without hypnotic control, the involuntary mind can be 
 
4 FOREWORD. 
 
 influenced, and so co-ordinated as to insure a proper rebuilding: 
 of the cells which compose the organs of the body, thus prac- 
 tically making you a new creature, and so restoring you to per- 
 fect health, I shall have fulfilled all my desire, and find in your 
 restoration to health a just recompense of reward, for I shall 
 win true gratitude from all who, by this means, find life's great- 
 est blessing — health. 
 
 DeWITT TALMAGE VAN DOREN. 
 
 Every man's progress is through a succession of teachers, 
 each of whom seems at the time to have a superlative influence, 
 but it at last gives place to a new. Frankly let him accept it all. 
 Take thankfully and heartily all they can give. Exhaust them, 
 let them not go until their blessing be won, and after a season 
 the dismay will be overpast, the excess of influence withdrawn, 
 and they will be no longer an alarming meteor, but one more 
 bright star shining serenely in your heaven, and blending its 
 light with all your day. — Emerson. 
 
Table of Contents. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Section <§>ne* P a ge 5 . 
 
 Preliminary. The Law of God. Soul and Spirit. Thought 
 Creates. Changeless Law. Mental Heredity. God's will 
 is Good. Thought Substantial. Unity of Life. Evil a 
 Negation. Besire is Right. Attraction. Sowing and 
 Reaping. The Kingdom of God. Faith in Goodness. 
 Evil Effects of Fear. The Curse of Worry. Dual Men- 
 tality. 
 
 Section TTwo. page 23. 
 
 Planes of Being. Schoberlein's Philosophy. Involuntary 
 Mind. Individuality and Personality. Body Building. 
 Solar Plexus Centre. Function of Objective Mind. Dual 
 Mentality. Control Without Hypnotism. Faith Defined. 
 Power of the Soul. Rebuilding the Cells. Working 
 with Nature. Power of Suggestion. A Practical System. 
 Concentration. Percentage of Cures. 
 
 Section Ubree* P a ge 45 . 
 
 Health Possible to All. The Immutability of Law. Know- 
 ledge of your Case. A Child of God. Thought the Build- 
 er. Thought Finds Expression. Thy Will be Done. The 
 Kingdom of Heaven. Throne of the Soul. Function of 
 Subjective Mind. Importance of Right Thinking. Christ's 
 Teaching. Object Lessons. Change of Environment. 
 Hints to be Considered. Identity with God. Underaction. 
 The Time Element. Sure of Success. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. iii 
 
 Section ffour. P a ge 6 4 . 
 
 Mechanical Exercise. Proper Food. Pure Water. Quan- 
 tity vs. Quality. Correct Breathing. Self Confidence. 
 Harmful Suggestion. Heresy Not a Sin. Desire is Right. 
 Right of Dominion. Avoid Controversy. Persistency a 
 Virtue. Lesion of Cells. Perfect Conditions. A Time 
 Limit. Continue to Do. Education Attained. 
 
 Section five. page 8 4 . 
 
 Oneness with God. The Power of Truth. Law of At- 
 traction. As I Think So It Shall Be. Value of Good 
 Books. Atmosphere of Slumber. Forethought Pruden- 
 tial. Anxiety a Sin. God's Care of All. A Potent Sug- 
 gestion. Sunlight a Blessing. Internal Bathing. Subject 
 of Nutrition. Incurable Cases. Your Own Power. Posi- 
 tive and Direct Suggestion. Environment, What it Means. 
 Faith in Physicians. Shrines of Healing. The Law Works. 
 Justifiable Deception. Consciousness of Ability. Relax- 
 ation and Repose. Proper Time for Suggestion. The 
 Spiritual Self. You Cannot Fail. 
 
 Section Six, page 105. 
 
 A Potential Affirmation. Testimonials. My Call to Paris. 
 Statement in Regard to My Patients. A Prominent Teach- 
 er's Opinion. Saved from Consumption of the Lungs. 
 A Cloud or Witnesses. Conclusions. Time Given to 
 Patients. Seeking Outside of Physical Channels for Re- 
 lief. Attitude of Intelligent Physicians. Mind or Matter, 
 Which ? Man is Not an Organism. Mental States Deter- 
 mined by Secretions of the Body. The Soul's Power to 
 Create. This Power is Yours. How I Can Assist You. 
 Reinforcing Suggestion. A Reasonable Time Given to 
 Each Patient. A Limit to the Patients I Can Treat. Courses 
 of Study for Those who Wish to Become Healers. Instruc- 
 tion for the Development of Your Subjective Mind. What 
 it Means to Bring this Mind into Ascendancy. Results in 
 the Experiences of a Noted Singer and an Able Authoress. 
 
Section Qne. 
 
 PRELIMINARY. 
 
 '"FHE constant importunity of my patients for a 
 work of this character, and a desire to reach 
 and benefit a greater number of people, is my rea- 
 son for the publication of this Manual of Health. I 
 am aware of the difficulties to be encountered by 
 one who attempts to write upon scientific and philo- 
 sophical subjects, in such a way as to meet the ap- 
 proval of the average reader, and yet do justice both 
 to his subject, and to himself. Much has been writ- 
 ten upon the subject of mental therapeutics, still the 
 uninitiated have derived very little benefit from it, 
 because the writers have over-estimated the ability 
 of the untrained mind to follow them amid the laby- 
 rinthine ways of metaphysical discussion. The aver- 
 age reader is not familiar with the technical terms 
 made use of, nor is he in possession of the idea in- 
 volved. My aim, throughout this argument, shall 
 be to avoid as much as possible the use of terms not 
 generally understood, and to make as clear and sim- 
 ple as possible the theory and practice of meta- 
 physical healing as viewed from my standpoint of 
 belief and practice. 
 
 My desire is, to so present the subject that any 
 
6 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 person suffering from chronic sickness, can at once 
 grasp the idea, and go intelligently about the prac- 
 tice, to the end that he or she may successfully con- 
 tend with any form of disease. 
 
 The system of treatment presented in these pages 
 is the practical outcome of years of study and ex- 
 perimentation. It is in no sense speculative. It 
 would be as unwise, as cruel, for me to mock your 
 affliction by inspiring a hope of relief, on the basis 
 of a theory simply. My system of treatment is 
 based on laws as changeless, and certain in action, 
 as the laws of gravity. While it involves laws and 
 powers not generally understood or utilized, never- 
 theless, they are as exact and as capable of adapta- 
 tion, as the laws of chemistry or mathematics. 
 
 The Bible reveals the Divine method to be or- 
 derly ; in accordance with changeless law. God 
 works in man the will and to do of His pleasure, 
 leaving him to work out his own salvation, by a 
 thorough knowledge of Creation's laws. 
 
 This is just as true physically as spiritually ; just 
 as true in all that concerns the body, as of the soul ; 
 just as true in treatment of disease, as in chemistry, 
 or the applied sciences. The law exists for man, 
 who is greater than it, because he is the offspring 
 of Him who created the law ; as man — God's child 
 — comes to a knowledge of the law, he grows more 
 and more into the likeness of his Father, more and 
 more into God-like power. Christ performed many 
 wonderful works because He knew the law of God. 
 
iPRELIMINARY. ; 
 
 We are commanded to follow Him for the sake 
 of manhood, of power. To know all things, and 
 to have power over all things, is the privilege of 
 every man, 
 
 It is a universally conceded fact, that in propor- 
 tion to man's understanding of nature's laws, so is 
 his ability to use the subtile forces of God's universe 
 to ameliorate the conditions of life, both in the seen 
 and the unseen. As the earth itself is transformed, 
 by man's ever-increasing knowledge of nature's 
 forces, so also, man's body, the physical instrument 
 through which the soul finds expression, on the 
 plane of the visible, " is transformed by the renew- 
 ing of the mind ". Thought is the power behind 
 the throne. The body is not the man. The material 
 universe is quite distinct from the energy that acts 
 upon and operates through it. 
 
 I am soul, not body. I am spirit, not matter ; 
 not the person, but the individual is man. Man as 
 an individual is in the image of God ; expresses 
 God ; expresses truth, life, love ; God is truth ; God 
 is life ; God is love. Dogmatic as this statement 
 may seem to many, it is nevertheless true. Body is 
 simply manifested soul ; mind expressed. Thought 
 is atomic, is a substance, like electricity, gravity, etc. 
 
 There is one, and but one primal energy, — infinite 
 mind. All that is cognized by the senses, all visible 
 and invisible substance, is the expression of infinite 
 mind. It is the law of thought, that it must find 
 expression ; not may find, but must, — it is the im- 
 
8 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 perative of God. Thought everywhere precedes ex- 
 pression. You cannot have anything, before hav- 
 ing a thought of it, nor can you have a change in 
 any thing, without first a thought of that change. 
 The machine exists in the mind of the mechanic 
 before it can exist in brass and steel. 
 
 Thought is creative. Your body is the creation 
 of your thought; you or your ancestors, or both, 
 have created your body, and its conditions, by the 
 power of thought. Heredity is of the mind, not of 
 the body; your inheritances are mental, not physi- 
 cal. If your body does not suit you, if it is racked 
 by aches and pains, if it is full of disease, inharmo- 
 nious, unhandsome, and you wish to have it differ- 
 ent, you must change your thinking ; for you can no 
 more effect a change in your body, without first a 
 thought of that change, than you can change the 
 arrangement of the furniture in the house you occu- 
 py, without first a thought about such change. It is 
 self-evident that always, and everywhere, thought 
 must precede expression. When you learn this 
 truth, and persistently think of that which you de- 
 sire to be, and to have, rather than that which you 
 do not wish to be, or to possess, this changeless 
 law of God will work for you, as in the past it has 
 worked against you. 
 
 The law, remember, is inexorable ; it is your pri- 
 vilege, if you so elect, to act against it, and suffer 
 its penalties ; or you may, if you choose, co-operate 
 with it, and reap its rewards. The law is not a res- 
 
PRELIMINARY. 9 
 
 pector of persons ; it knows no favorites ; fire will 
 burn the innocent babe, who, ignorant of its nature, 
 trifles with it, as surely as it will burn the conscience- 
 less villain who is bound to the stake for the crime 
 of ravishment. Water will as surely drown the in- 
 nocent as the guilty ; prayers, and cries, and tears, 
 will avail nothing, unless there be at hand a means 
 of rescue. 
 
 Why ? Simply because it is the law. The law is 
 just as merciless in the realm of the moral and spi- 
 ritual, as in the realm of the physical and organic. 
 " Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap," 
 is the dictum of nature, as well as of revelation. 
 
 " In the beginning " went forth the decree, that 
 everything should bring forth according to its kind, 
 and since the world began, no man has reaped a 
 harvest of plums from a sowing of thistles, nor figs 
 from a thorn- tree. We invariably reap as we sow. 
 "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he." Thought 
 creates conditions on all the planes of being. Ac- 
 cording to the nature of the thought sown, so shall 
 the harvest of expression be. That which is at pre- 
 sent manifest in your physical condition, whether 
 harmonious or otherwise, is but the visible expres- 
 sion of invisible cause — mental states — which ac- 
 cording to the law of God have at last found ex- 
 pression in ease or dis-ea.se of the body. These 
 conditions may be largely the result of your own 
 mental state, or they may be an inheritance from 
 your ancestors, remote or near ; expressions of the 
 
io GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 mental states of your progenitors, even unto the 
 third and fourth generation. 
 
 " Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the 
 children unto the third and fourth generation of 
 them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thous- 
 ands of them that love me, and keep my command- 
 ments." Herein is revealed the mental state — 
 hate, (discord) — love, (concord), which, soon or late, 
 find expression on the plane of the visible. In us 
 all there is much of father and mother or ancestors. 
 You and I are not, strictly speaking, original crea- 
 tures. We are effects, in a series of effects. Man 
 brings down unconsciously and unknown to himself 
 tendencies and forces which are incongruous, ill-ad- 
 justed, as a result of the wrong thinking of those 
 who anteceded him. There is a very great range 
 in which hereditary tendencies move, and they are 
 always and everywhere effects of mental causes. 
 There is much in man that is unaccountable, and all 
 the more so if we attempt to account for it, on the 
 basis of physical heredity. Pre-natal influences, 
 with which you and I had nothing to do, are res- 
 ponsible for much of the mental and physical in- 
 harmony which has hindered us in our efforts to ex- 
 press the soul. Propensities which are favorable 
 give man a constitution which favors balance, ease, 
 harmony, health, endurance ; an organization which 
 is in harmony with itself, and all parts of which act 
 painlessly. Frequently people so organized take a 
 great deal of credit to themselves on this account ; 
 
PRELIMINARY. 1 1 
 
 yet no credit is deserved, as they had no sort of 
 choice in the matter. This condition is simply the 
 expression of antecedent harmonious mental states 
 on the part of their ancestors. They are cheerful ; 
 digestion is good ; they sleep well. They are strong 
 and strenuous. They have endurance. At night 
 they are not worn out by the activities of the day 
 which has gone before. They awake in the morn- 
 ing from sound, refreshing sleep, with no sense of 
 fatigue. 
 
 Now, since all this may be due to ancestral influ- 
 ences, " Wherefore should they glory, as though 
 they had not received it"? Other people, and they 
 are legion, were born with strong tendencies toward 
 restlessness, inharmony, and disease ; they are not 
 to blame for having this temperament ; they inherit 
 it. They have poor stomachs. The blood is thin 
 and circulates poorly ; it has a hard time to get into 
 the lungs to be aerated. The heart acts feebly. The 
 brain is inactive ; with barely sufficient power to 
 stimulate thought. Their whole physical system is 
 deranged. Weakness and disease is stamped on 
 them as a part of their creation. They were ush- 
 ered into the world without their own volition, and 
 therefore are not responsible for their condition. 
 Many people find, after years of effort, that it re- 
 quires all they can do in a life-time, to make up for 
 the inequalities of birth, both in mental and physi- 
 cal respects. 
 
 Now, however, it is no longer necessary for any 
 
12 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 person to remain subject to these health-destroying 
 tendencies; it is within the power of thought, pro- 
 perly directed, to change not only the physical ex- 
 pression, but one's entire environment. 
 
 Since present physical conditions are effects of 
 mental causes, both remote and near, acting through 
 years of conscious or sub-conscious suggestion ; by 
 the same method intelligently pursued, these condi- 
 tions may be completely changed. The sick may 
 become well. The weak may become strong. The 
 poor may become rich. In fact, all things may " be 
 transformed by the renewing of the mind." I have 
 thus briefly called attention to the law of mental in- 
 heritance, for the purpose of disabusing your mind 
 of the erroneous idea that your sicknesses are pen- 
 alties inflicted by God upon you, as a punishment 
 for the transgressions of moral law, whether real or 
 imaginary. Penalties for the transgression of law 
 they are, no doubt, but they come as a natural se- 
 quence, and for the same reason that you suffer pain, 
 if, knowingly or ignorantly, you thrust your hand 
 into the fire. Afflictions are not from God, but by 
 and through the ignorance of man himself. He 
 does not know that fire will burn, until he has 
 learned the nature of fire by experience. Mistaken 
 thought, and consequent suffering, are the stepping- 
 stones by which man mounts upward. 
 
 It is the will of God that all men should be per- 
 fect. It is the will of God that you should be well, 
 that you should be rich, that you should be happy. 
 
PRELIMINARY. 13 
 
 You are a child of God, created in His image, and 
 given dominion over all things; "joint heir with 
 Jesus Christ to an inheritance incorruptible, unde- 
 fined, and that fadeth not away." Your body is the 
 "temple of God," and "the kingdom of Heaven is 
 within you." Put away from you the thought that 
 your afflictions come by divine, arbitrary enactment, 
 as a punishment for your sins. They come in the 
 nature of things, in accordance with the laws of 
 mind, and of matter, so-called. We say " matter, 
 so-called," because matter, that alone which is visi- 
 ble, tangible, perceived by the senses, is simply the 
 expression of the law of universal energy, and there- 
 fore, at the Inst analysis, is essentially one with 
 mind. 
 
 Thought, like electricity, magnetism, gravity, is 
 atomed, is substance, and all are equally expressions 
 of the one universal energy. Thought is substance 
 more refined ; and it is the most powerful substance 
 about which man knows anything ; more powerful than 
 electricity, or the ether, because it controls both. 
 So direct and swift in motion that no obstacle can 
 turn it aside, nor time prevent its immediate arrival 
 at its destination. Thought is a physical energy, 
 and is transferred by nature's methods to every 
 realm of life instantly. The ether is the medium 
 and vehicle for such transference, just as the atmos- 
 phere is the medium for transference of the sun- 
 light, or for the photographic reproduction of your 
 person. When you fully comprehend these facts, 
 
14 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 the transference of a thought by mental telegraphy, 
 will no longer seem to you a fiction, but a sublime 
 truth. It is well for you to keep this fact in mind, 
 as it will greatly strengthen your belief in the pos- 
 sibility and efficacy of the treatments you receive at 
 a distance. 
 
 Much might be said upon this subject, of value 
 to every student, but space will not permit me to 
 say it. Without further elaboration, permit me to 
 say, "thought is a substance; it goes immediately 
 where it is sent; for it matter has no obstruction, 
 space no limit, time no measurement ; it transcends 
 them alir 
 
 If it is your desire to treat yourself, without the 
 assistance which I might render, or if you seek co- 
 operation with me, in order to be well, it is neces- 
 sary that you should understand, and put in oper- 
 ation the forces that are within you, according to 
 the laws of your being. 
 
 You must bring your mind as nearly as may be, 
 into a realization of your oneness with God ; iden- 
 tify yourself with Him who is all, through all, and 
 in all, '• in whom you live, and move, and have a 
 being." There is but one life. Life is a unit. You 
 are a fractional part of that unit. Without the life 
 that you express, that one life woold be less than a 
 whole, would be incomplete. Therefore, the life that 
 you have, is the life of God ; to realize this means 
 more to you than you perhaps think. As there is 
 but one life, so also, there is but one will. God's 
 
PRELIMINARY. 15 
 
 will is infinite, as His life is infinite. As you cannot 
 have two things in the same place at the same time, 
 your will must be a part of that infinite will ; for 
 there can be but one will in an infinite universe, at 
 the same time, if that one will is infinite. There- 
 fore, your will is the will of God. God's will is 
 good will; your will is also good, because it is a 
 part of God's will, for there can be no other will. 
 
 The same may be said of love, of truth, of power, 
 It is in this way, by self-evident truths or axioms, 
 that you will be able to identify yourself with the 
 great First Cause of all things. Whatever may have 
 been your religious training, you are not to allow 
 any prejudices or prepossessions to stand between 
 your soul and a realization of these self-evident 
 truths. 
 
 Since the divine Being is infinite — being infinite 
 in all His attributes — in and through the entire uni- 
 verse, — it stands to reason, that there can be no 
 other infinite being in the universe, since you can 
 not have two things in the same place at the same 
 time. 
 
 We are taught that God is everywhere present at 
 all times, — that He is omnipresent as He is omnis- 
 cient and omnipotent. If you insist that there is a 
 principle of evil, omnipresent in space, and ubiqui- 
 tous in time, logically you must cease to believe in 
 the omnipresence of God. All is good, because all 
 is God. 
 
 There is no such a thing as evil, as a positive 
 
i6 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 principle. Evil is a negation ; not a something, but 
 a lack of something, viz. : lack of right will. That 
 which you call evil, inharmony, pain, poverty, error, 
 disease, hate, jealousy, crime, etc. originated through 
 a bad free choice, the result of ignorance, of un- 
 knowing. In the evolution of the race, mankind 
 has ever sought happiness, but being ignorant of the 
 law, has in his search found instead, unrest and pe- 
 nalty. Desire was right, but the thought was 
 wrong. Having the desire for happiness, man 
 thought that this, that or the other thing would 
 make him happy, but the result proved that he was 
 mistaken in his thinking. Had he thought true, his 
 desire would have come true. It is the law of 
 thought that it must find expression. Your mental 
 states determine your condition. Hold thoughts of 
 sickness, poverty, sorrow, and by the changeless 
 law of God, sickness, poverty and sorrow will be 
 expressed in your physical and social environment. 
 Mind is a powerful magnet, and attracts that with 
 which it has affinity. Think good, and you attract 
 good ; think evil, and you attract evil. There is 
 nothing arbitrary about it; it is the law. You in- 
 vite afo-ease, pain, poverty, by holding thoughts of 
 fear, of envy, of jealousy, of hatred. In the nature 
 of things, How can you expect to reap from such a 
 sowing, anything other than a harvest of evil ? 
 
 "Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." 
 Not something else, but that. 
 
 The greatest Teacher that the world has ever 
 
PRELIMINARY. 17 
 
 known, said ; " Fear not " ; " Think no evil" ; "Nei- 
 ther give place to the devil " ; " No man can serve 
 two masters " ; " Seek first the kingdom of Heaven 
 (harmony), and all needed things shall be added 
 unto you " ; The Kingdom of Heaven is within 
 you!' 
 
 There is a deep esoteric meaning in these familiar 
 sayings. Jesus knew the law and understood its 
 workings, for He was the author of it. He knew 
 the paralyzing power of fear; He knew the curse 
 of believing in evil as a positive principle ; He knew 
 the inestimable value to man of " Seeking the king- 
 dom of harmony." He knew that heaven is a con- 
 dition, a principle within man, and that by recog- 
 nition of this fact, sickness and poverty and all in- 
 harmonious conditions would become things of the 
 past, and that man would be rich, not alone in spi- 
 ritual things, but in all things needful to bodily 
 comfort and peace of mind. 
 
 It is the law of God, that they who understand 
 the law, and cling to it, and refuse to believe in any 
 power but that of good, shall receive only good. 
 This law is perfect, therefore its workings are per- 
 fect, and there is no possibility that evil of any kind 
 can come to him who believes in the law and con- 
 forms to its requirements. You can trust this law ; 
 it never fails ; it would be less than perfect if it did. 
 I shall again call your attention to the importance 
 of the spiritual, in the effort you are putting forth 
 to build up a perfectly harmonious body. Let me 
 
18 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 call your attention to the subject of fear. "Fear 
 hath torment." Fear in any degree of its almost 
 endless sensations, is not an agreeable mental emo- 
 tion. However, it was not for this reason that Christ 
 said unto His disciples over and over again, " fear 
 not." He saw in this mental state the cause of 
 nearly all the ills to which human flesh is heir. 
 Fear is the negative of which confidence is the pos- 
 itive. Lack of confidence ; being afraid of some- 
 thing — that is to fear. 
 
 Fright, terror, shock, hatred, anger, horror, hope- 
 lessness, discontent, solicitude, anxiety,worry, doubt, 
 apprehension, etc., are all varying degrees of fear. 
 
 The effects of sudden fright upon the physical 
 system are well known to everybody. You have 
 doubtless seen the blood forsake the surface of the 
 body, and the body itself reel to fall, in the presence 
 of some real or imagined danger. Many cases are 
 on record where the hair of a man has turned sud- 
 denly white at realization of imminent peril. Only 
 an instant, perhaps, did the fear sway him, but that 
 instant revealed the marvelous power of mind over 
 matter. These occurrences demonstrate the fact 
 that the. mind has power to instantly change the 
 physical expression ; and if this may be done in- 
 stantly, Who is ready to dispute the fact that the 
 mind has power to gradually, — through years it may 
 be— produce radical changes in the body ? "As a 
 man thinketh in his heart, so is he." That which 
 
PRELIMINARY. 19 
 
 you hold constantly in mind, will express itself in 
 the body. There is no escape from this law. 
 
 Worry, which is a form of fear, is responsible for 
 much of the physical pain and suffering, and sick- 
 ness, which makes the world a place of groaning 
 and anguish. 
 
 The Master understood this perfectly, and warn- 
 ed the world against it. " Let not your heart be 
 troubled ; ye believe in God, believe also in me." 
 Read the sixth chapter of Matthew, from verse 
 twenty-six to the end, where this great Teacher con- 
 cludes with, " Take, therefore, no thought for the 
 morrow : for the morrow shall take thought for the 
 things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil 
 thereof." 
 
 Pause a moment, and think. What has worry 
 done for you ? Has it changed anything for the 
 better ? Has it added anything to the sum total of 
 happiness ? Has it augmented your wealth ? Has 
 it created an atmosphere round about you of peace 
 and contentment ? What good, even in the minut- 
 est degree, have you gained from worrying ? You 
 admit that worry has destroyed the joy of life, has 
 broken you down physically and mentally, and in- 
 stead of a blessing, has been in every way a curse. 
 Well, Why do you not stop it ? You declare that 
 it has so become the habit of your life, that you are 
 now helpless to prevent it. You underestimate your 
 ability. You can keep yourself from worry. Sim- 
 ply say, " I can and I will" Say it over and over 
 
20 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 again. Proclaim yourself master. Say, " I rule, 
 I am not ruled ; I can think what I will to think. 
 I will think no evil ; I will think only good ; good 
 is God." 'My life is hid with Christ in God.' I 
 am free. 
 
 Before attempting to set forth the law of sugges- 
 tion, I will, as briefly and plainly as possible, speak 
 of the double consciousness, or dual mentality of 
 man, and the relation that each sustains to the 
 other. 
 
Planes of Being. 
 
And what is the essence of good ? 
 
 Mind. — Intelligence. — Right reason ? 
 
 Even so. Here, then, once for all, seek the essence 
 of the good. 
 
 But thou art a supreme object, thou art a piece of 
 God ; thou hast in thee something that is a portion of 
 Him. Why then art thou ignorant of thy high an- 
 cestry ? Nay, but in thyself thou dost bear Him, and 
 seest thou not that thou defilest Him with thine im- 
 pure thoughts, and unrighteous deeds ? 
 
 Nay, for not only did He make thee, but to thee 
 alone did He trust and commit thyself. 
 
 For thou art not flesh and hair, but a will. If thou 
 keep this beautiful, then wilt thou be beautiful. 
 
 — Epictetus. 
 
Section XTwo, 
 
 PLANES OF BEING. 
 
 CT. PAUL declares man a trinity; — body, soul, 
 spirit. He says, also, that there is a material 
 body, and a spiritual body. Science declares the 
 same thing-. Man represents three planes of being. 
 The conscious, which corresponds to the physical ; 
 the sub-eonscious, which corresponds to the psy- 
 chic ; the super-conscious, or subliminal, which cor- 
 responds to the spiritual. The three planes of men- 
 tality or consciousness have their corresponding 
 physiological planes, or centres of physical rela- 
 tionship. 
 
 The activities of the triune man are centered in 
 the cerebrum, or greatest nerve centre, and impres- 
 sions from the external, or world of matter, are per- 
 ceived and experienced. 
 
 In sleep, or in hypnotic trance, these activities 
 are centered in the cerebellum, or smaller brain, 
 whieh controls the involuntary powers and organic 
 functions of the body, whose normal activities are 
 without sensation, on the plane of the physical, and 
 which is the nervous centre of the psychic activities 
 of the soul. In complete trance, so-called, these 
 
24 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 forces centre in the medulla oblongata, the smallest 
 and primitive brain, or that which is first formed in 
 the fetus. When this occurs we have what is called 
 an ecstatic state, or condition of rapture, expressed 
 in the transfiguration of Christ, and the radiance of 
 the face of St. Stephen, and of Moses, the great 
 hebrew legislator. 
 
 This condition of rapture is, undoubtedly, the 
 most favorable possible for the highest expression 
 in the body of health and harmony. And because 
 of this fact, I have elsewhere urged the importance 
 of that serene, trustful, confident state of mind, 
 which, acting through this most sensitive organ, 
 makes so impressive the mind's suggestion to the 
 subjective self, as to produce immediately marked 
 transformations in the body. 
 
 That you may know the mind of Germany's great- 
 est theologian and metaphysician, I venture here to 
 quote briefly from Professor Schoberlein, upon this 
 subject : 
 
 " The body is rooted with all the fibres of its 
 being in the soul. Nay, the soul, on its nature- 
 side, bears already within itself the essence, the po- 
 tentiality, of a body ; and it needs only to draw to 
 itself the proper elements from the outer world, in 
 order that the germinally extant inner body actu- 
 tually posit itself as a crude outer body, even as the 
 actually extant tree, in the ungerminated seed, needs 
 only to unfold its potency in order to become a real 
 tree. 
 
PLANES OF BEING. 25 
 
 "The body appears, therefore, as an integral ele- 
 ment of human nature, both in this state of proba- 
 tion, and in the future state of eternal perfection." 
 
 " Jesus spiritualized his inner man, his soul, in its 
 unity of spirit and of nature. Thus also He laid 
 the foundation for the transfiguration, the ideal spi- 
 ritualization, of His body, inasmuch as the essence 
 of the visible body is grounded in the soul. This 
 process was an inner hidden one. The hidden 
 reality shone forth only in occasional gleams, — in 
 those miracles of mastery over the body, and over 
 nature, with which the gospels abound. * * * 
 The essence of His body remained the same : 
 simply the mode of its existence was changed. A 
 fleshly body has become a spiritual body, in which 
 not only the free harmony of the soul with the in- 
 born spirit stamps its harmony on the outer features, 
 but, also, in which the material elements themselves 
 are thoroughly permeated and exalted by the spi- 
 rituality of the person." 
 
 " The peculiar traits of spiritual beauty which oc- 
 casionally beam out from the persons of ripened 
 believers, are actual reflexes of the transfigured cor- 
 poriety which lies potentially within them" 
 
 " The soul appropriates from the outer world the 
 materials suitable for its body. The formation of 
 the body is not a result of mere chemical affinities 
 between different elements of matter, but it is a vital 
 process ; it proceeds from the animate principle. 
 The soul assumes to itself such elements as ade- 
 
26 
 
 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 quately express its life and wants. It itself, and not 
 chemical affinities, is the organizing principle." 
 
 Thus speaks the great teacher of Systematic The- 
 ology, of Gottingen University. I have given you 
 exactly his language (the italics are my own), out of 
 a volume he published at Heidelberg in 1872, called 
 " Die Geheimisse des Glaubens", a work of world- 
 wide reputation among Christian scholars. 
 
 Science has demonstrated that the activities of the 
 soul of man are transferred from one to the other of 
 that plane of conscious, sub-conscious and super- 
 conscious action, according to circumstances, and 
 the will of the individual. Thus we have three 
 states of consciousness : — objective, subjective, and 
 supra-consciousness. You may not be aware of the 
 action of your subjective mind ; nevertheless, it acts, 
 and is absolutely potential in determining your phy- 
 sical condition. 
 
 For the sake of simplicity, we will consider the 
 body as a thinking and feeling organism possessed 
 of a double consciousness. Every act is preceded 
 by a thought of that act, and from which it has its 
 motive for action, whether consciously or uncon- 
 sciously. As the objective mind-functions through 
 that great nerve centre, the cerebrum, so the sub- 
 jective mind-functions in particular through the so- 
 lar-plexus. It is believed by many scientists and 
 physicians who have made the subject a study, that 
 the entire sympathetic nervous system is a giant 
 
PLANES OF BEING. 27 
 
 brain, through which the subjective or involuntary 
 mind acts. 
 
 There is both an individual and a person. Per- 
 sonality is a growth, by accretion ; it is that which 
 is gained through knowledge and experience. The 
 objective mind, or acquired intelligence, is the result 
 of the sum total of sense experience, and has its 
 seat in the cerebrum, or large brain. Individuality 
 is an inheritance. It is the subjective, or soul self; 
 it is the true entity. Subjective mind, or mind of 
 the spirit, functions through the entire sympathetic 
 nervous system, and controls the involuntary move- 
 ments of the body. 
 
 Nutrition, digestion, assimilation, elimination, ap- 
 petite, circulation of the blood, secretion, excretion, 
 etc., are all controlled by the subjective, or involun- 
 tary mind. In the process of cell building, the 
 movements of the bioplasts are co-ordinated by this 
 sleepless, tireless mind of the spirit. It keeps you 
 breathing while you sleep. It ceaselessly selects 
 from the nutrient matter taken into the stomach, the 
 chemical elements adapted to the separate needs of 
 the body, and in exact proportional quantities. This 
 mind is ever active, but you are not conscious of its 
 operation, for these processes are carried forward 
 below what is called the " threshold of conscious- 
 ness ". It is asserted, and doubtless with truth, that 
 the entire body is rebuilded every three months, and 
 that many of the organs are renewed within six 
 weeks, or two months time. Whether this is true 
 
28 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 or not, all physicians concede that the body is com- 
 pletely rebuilded every twelve months. The human 
 body, like all other substances, is multi-cellular in 
 structure. 
 
 With the exception of the most primitive organ- 
 isms, this is true of all forms of life. The effete or 
 worn-out cells of the body are being constantly 
 eliminated from the system, and as constantly re- 
 placed by the action of the bioplasts under the co- 
 ordination of the subjective, or involuntary mind. 
 I have said that this inner mind, or mind of the 
 spirit, functions in particular through the solar- 
 plexus. You will be able to treat yourself more 
 successfully if you concentrate upon this centre, ra- 
 ther than upon the entire sympathetic nervous sys- 
 tem. The solar-plexus is an assemblage of ganglia, 
 or network of nerves connected with the great sym- 
 pathetic ganglia, in the vertebral column, between 
 the stomach and liver, or about the pit of the stom- 
 ach, which is, as its name implies, a centre of nerv- 
 ous force. The question is, how to reach and 
 influence this inner mind. For this sphere, and 
 during the soul's incarnation in a physical body, 
 this mind is, as its name implies, subject to the ob- 
 jective, or mind of the body. In other words, the 
 objective mind rules the subjective. While the ob- 
 jective mind is powerless to control immediately and 
 directly the involuntary processes of the body, still 
 mediately and indirectly, through the subjective 
 mind, by the law of suggestion, it does certainly de- 
 
PLANES OF BEING. 29 
 
 termine these involuntary processes. " As a man 
 thinketh in his heart so is he", is literally true. 
 
 This mind may be reached, by hypnotic sugges- 
 tion, in cases where the patient is naturally a som- 
 nambulist. But hypnotism in any case is not desir- 
 able, even if it is not absolutely dangerous. It was 
 never meant that any person, should yield up his 
 divine right of self-control to the will of another. 
 Nor, indeed, is it in any case necessary, since the 
 inner mind can be reached, and made to act, wholly 
 apart from any degree of hypnotic influence. 
 
 It is absolutely true that you possess the power 
 to change the vibratory motion of each and all or- 
 gans of the body, at will, by direct and persistent 
 suggestion ; thus producing in each particular mem- 
 ber, or in the entire structure, a condition of har- 
 mony and ease, where hitherto has reigned inhar- 
 mony and afo-ease. 
 
 It is proven beyond any question that every man 
 has two minds, objective and subjective, or volun- 
 tary and involuntary; and that the entire secondary 
 or sympathetic nervous system, is a brain through 
 which this involuntary mind functions. The science 
 of hypnotism has demonstrated this to be a fact 
 beyond dispute. 
 
 After following my argument for the subjective 
 through a series of five lectures, delivered in my 
 church in Albany, Dr. G., a leading physician of 
 the Homeopathic school, of that city, conceded the 
 logic of my argument, but disputed the premises. 
 
30 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 Six months afterward he said to me, " I know very 
 little of metaphysics, but I began an investigation 
 of this subject, from a physiological and anatomical 
 standpoint, and I found by experimentation a second 
 mind acting in the involuntary or sub-conscious 
 movements of the body. I found the sympathetic 
 nervous system to be practically a brain through 
 which this mind expressed itself. I have reached 
 the conclusion that you were correct in your state- 
 ments regarding this mind, and its activities ; and 
 I am satisfied, from actual experimentation, that if 
 I but knew how to reach and influence this mind, I 
 could cure any case of sickness, no matter what its 
 nature might be." Dr. G. has since been practicing 
 along this line, and with marked success. He has 
 also recently lectured in Albany on the subject of 
 "Mental Control in the Cure of Disease." 
 
 Hundreds of physicians, all over the United 
 States, are making the subject a study, and not a 
 few have openly advocated the value of suggestion 
 as a therapeutic agent. The great difficulty (as Dr. 
 G. found) in the way of successful practice, is to 
 reach this involuntary mind with the proper sug- 
 gestion, and to keep it there for the length of time 
 required to rebuild the cells of the organ, or parts 
 affected. Evidently hypnotism is not safe; nor is 
 it desirable for other reasons, principal among which 
 is the natural shrinking man feels at thought of sur- 
 rendering up his will to control of another. 
 
 Much good, no doubt, has been accomplished by 
 
PLANES OF BEING. 31 
 
 hypnotic suggestion ; yet, evidently, the method is 
 wrong. Now if a thing can be done in a wrong 
 way, it can be better done in a right way. If there 
 is a wrong way, there must certainly be a right way. 
 There is a right and perfectly normal way to reach 
 this mind ; a way which leaves the objective mind 
 undisturbed, and which strengthens rather than 
 weakens the will of the patient. To treat another 
 person by this method is not an easy thing to do ; 
 but to treat one 's self, and successfully, is within the 
 possibility of all. It simply requires a knowledge 
 of the law, and a persistent doing. It is such a 
 knowledge that I aim to impart, in this volume, to 
 my students ; and if the knowledge received is put 
 into practice, there can be no question as to the re- 
 sult ; it is as Certain as cause and effect. 
 
 Certain effects always follow certain causes ; or, 
 they exist together. Cause and effect are insepar- 
 able, and they exist simultaneously. The one be- 
 gins where the other begins, and ends where the 
 other ends. The value of this system of self treat- 
 ment lies in the fact that there is in it no element of 
 speculation. The student is never in doubt as to 
 how and wherefore ; but absolutely knows that cer- 
 tain results will follow certain methods. He is all 
 the time dealing with fixed and changeless law, and 
 he all the time knows why he does so and so, and 
 what the result of such doing must be. The ele- 
 ment of uncertainty which enters so largely into 
 almost all systems of mental treatment, is eliminat- 
 
32 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 ed from this method, and the student has no doubts 
 or fears to contend with ; and so is left free to give 
 his whole attention and energy to following the law- 
 This is a great advantage, as no time and strength 
 are wasted in attaining a sufficient degree of faith. 
 " Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the 
 evidence of things not seen ". This is Paul's defi- 
 nition, and is not difficult to understand. 
 
 This system of treatment is substantial, in that it 
 is demonstrable. One has no trouble in believing 
 that two and two make four, because it is evident, 
 if not i-^-evident. It is substantial. Faith is the 
 substance of things hoped for ; and until one is in 
 possession of that substance, it can not be truthfully 
 said of him, that he has faith. In this case, under- 
 standing is faith. Having a knowledge of the law, 
 faith follows, without an effort on the part of the 
 student. He has faith when he has knowledge. I 
 speak of this because so many people have an idea 
 that metaphysical treatment is a kind of " faith cure ", 
 and that one must believe, or have faith, in order 
 to be healed. It is, of course, every way better 
 that the patient should be hopeful and confident, 
 but the cure does not depend upon these. You 
 need simply to obey, to do ; no matter what you may 
 think, the doing will produce such radical changes 
 in your condition, that very soon you will find your- 
 self in perfect sympathy with the teaching. You 
 will have the evidence of things not seen. 
 
 Did it ever occur to you as strange, that an infi- 
 
PLANES OF BEING. 33 
 
 nitely good God should create man, as the crown- 
 ing glory of His creative power, giving unto him 
 by reason of his high creation, dominion over all 
 things, and yet leave him powerless to contend suc- 
 cessfully with the ten thousand enemies that assail 
 the body ? If this thought has been in your mind, 
 How have you reconciled it, with the goodness and 
 mercy of God ? The truth is, that every soul is 
 possessed of power to change physical conditions 
 at will. Not simply that I may be well, because I 
 will to be well, and thus immediately pass from a 
 state of disease, to a condition of health ; or that I 
 am well, because I declare myself to be, well. The 
 willing must be continuous, and in harmony with 
 the law of God, whereby the physical is brought 
 into subjection to the soul, or to the spiritual man. 
 
 The great First Cause of all things, endued the 
 soul with power to express itself in the body, ac- 
 cording to its desire, whether for good or for evil. 
 It has taken humanity six thousand years, or more 
 correctly speaking, one hundred thousand years, to 
 find this out ; but, thanks to the revelation of sci- 
 ence, which is the revelation of God, it is at last 
 known, and demonstrated beyond any question, that 
 every physical condition is preceded by a corres- 
 ponding mental state ; or, in other words, that all 
 physical conditions are effects of mental causes ; 
 are expressions of mind. So that it is literally true, 
 " that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he ". Your 
 body is simply mind made visible. It is created by 
 
34 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 the soul, and is daily and hourly re-created by the 
 same transcendent power. 
 
 The physical organism is in the main constituted 
 of four elements, three of which are separately 
 known only in a gaseous state, and one in a solid 
 form. These elements enter into a fluid substance, 
 called protoplasm, which in most organisms assumes 
 a nucleated condition. These cells are being con- 
 stantly renewed or rebuilded, under the direction or 
 co-ordination of mind ; and in accordance with the 
 plan that is in the soul, or subjective self. The ob- 
 jective mind is only indirectly involved in the in- 
 voluntary processes of body building. The objec- 
 tive mind is wholly unconscious of these processes 
 and largely ignorant of the fact that it is unconsci- 
 ously furnishing the plan, according to which the 
 cells of the body are being daily reconstructed. 
 What you think, whether you are aware of it or not, 
 finds expression in your body, because it is a con- 
 stant suggestion to the subjective mind, which ac- 
 cording to the law, must build the body, in harmony 
 with the plan that is in the soul. This being true, 
 it is evident enough that you can not have a change 
 in the body until you have changed the plan. Your 
 thinking in regard to your physical condition is the 
 same to-day as yesterday, and the day before, and 
 last week, and last year ; with only this difference, 
 that it becomes more and more pessimistic and pos- 
 itive ; and the result is, that as often as the cells 
 are rebuilded, they are but duplicates of the old, 
 
PLANES OF BEING. 35 
 
 only each time a little more abnormal, to corres- 
 pond with your continuing thought of physical dis- 
 ability. 
 
 This downward tendency may be retarded at 
 times, if your faith in your physician is strong, and 
 you believe in the remedies which he prescribes ; 
 but in nearly all cases the patient loses faith, or 
 grows discouraged, and the involuntary mind reverts 
 to the old plan, and you are as badly off as ever. 
 Since you have produced these inharmonious physi- 
 cal conditions by your unconscious thought, indi- 
 rectly, because you did not know the law, and 
 against nature, which all the time labors to preserve 
 the body, can you not see how potential for the re- 
 versal of these conditions, direct, conscious thought, 
 in harmony with the law, must be, when working 
 with nature ? So much greater is the power of 
 mind working with nature, and with an understand- 
 ing of the law of suggestion, that that which has 
 required years to accomplish, may be undone in a 
 few months, and the body be restored to perfect 
 health. I am convinced that the value of medicine 
 lies principally, as I have before hinted, in the fact 
 that it is expected to produce certain results, and the 
 expectation impresses in a certain degree the invol- 
 untary mind of the patient, and thus acts as a sug- 
 gestion. It becomes a kind of object-lesson to the 
 sub-conscious mind. It would be untrue to say 
 that medicine has no value except as a suggestion. 
 Almost all medicines possess chemical properties 
 
36 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 which act upon the cells and are potent to change 
 the vibrations of tissue. In many cases it is neces- 
 sary that a change of vibration be brought about 
 quickly; and in such cases the remedy that is com- 
 petent to produce the desired change, has virtue in 
 itself, and is invaluable. However, in many cases, 
 where medicine has proved powerless to relieve 
 the patient, relief has been instantly given by sug- 
 gestion, properly directed. A case in point occur- 
 red quite recently in the city of Stamford. A strong, 
 healthy young man was taken suddenly sick. The 
 family physician was immediately summoned. Day 
 after day the patient grew worse ; the bowels refused 
 to act, and nothing that the physicians could do, (a 
 second physician was called in consultation) brought 
 any relief. A week passed, and the doctors decided 
 that an operation must be performed to save the 
 man's life. 
 
 Under such circumstances, I was hastily called to 
 the case. After a thorough examination, I began 
 to treat him. Relief was almost instant, and in a 
 very short time the bowels were evacuated ; the pa- 
 tient thus relieved, began to recover, and within two 
 weeks was a well man. What medicines and injec- 
 tions were powerless to do, the subjective mind did 
 easily, under powerful suggestion. I do not object 
 to my patients taking medicine, if they insist upon 
 so doing. I can prevent any harm that might other- 
 wise come through its use, and cure my patient in 
 spite of the drugs. My experience in dealing with 
 
PLANES OF BEING. 37 
 
 chronic cases of sickness, has made me skeptical of 
 the virtue of medicines, in all such cases. After 
 years of trial under the care of thoroughly trained 
 physicians, these people invariably say to me, " I 
 grew worse and worse." 
 
 The fact that these people recover health under 
 my treatment speaks for itself, and with a mute elo- 
 quence beyond the force of words. I do not mean 
 by this statement to in anywise belittle the regular 
 profession of medicine. The world has been, and 
 for generations to come will be, greatly indebted to 
 the class of men who have given themselves fear- 
 lessly and unselfishly to scientific research for the 
 sake of suffering humanity. Let us be generous 
 enough to give credit where credit is due, and ac- 
 knowledge virtue wherever we find it. It is only 
 reasonable to suppose, that the trained physician 
 should know more about the physical system, than 
 the untrained, average man, and that he should be 
 more competent to determine the nature of disease, 
 and to advise the sick. Therefore, I can see no 
 logic in the attitude of Christian Science toward 
 physicians. The Christian Science method of ig- 
 noring physicians and physical remedies altogether, 
 has been severely criticised, and the action of the 
 Christian Science healers condemned by press, pul- 
 pit and pew, for refusing to report to the proper au- 
 thorities contagious cases. 
 
 In view of all the facts, it seems to me that the 
 criticism is merited, and the condemnation just. I 
 
38 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 believe in the supremacy of mind over matter, and 
 have proved in a hundred cases, that suggestion is 
 more potential than drugs, in the cure of disease, 
 yet I would not think of excluding a physician from 
 the bedside of my patient, if his presence there 
 would in any measure minister to his cure. 
 
 The system of treatment which I recommend you 
 to follow, is the result of years of investigation and 
 experimentation. 
 
 During the initial years of my practice I made a 
 critical study of each case, seeking earnestly to 
 know the way of health. My efforts were not with- 
 out reward, for one after another I saw my patients 
 recover, under the subtile power of suggestion, ac- 
 companied by rational diet, exercise, breathing, ba- 
 thing, etc. When you know that these cases were 
 pronounced incurable by physicians in regular prac- 
 tice, and that these people are now living, and you 
 read their statements in regard to the means where- 
 by they were restored to health, it seems to me that 
 you must be convinced of the value of this treat- 
 ment in your own case ; at least, it seems more than 
 probable, that you should so far believe, as to give 
 the system a fair and honest trial. 
 
 Thought is a substance, a force ; an invisible sub- 
 stance it is true, but, nevertheless, as substantial as 
 any object that is cognized by the physical eye. Do 
 not think that because it is invisible, it is therefore 
 unreal. All forces are invisible. " The things that 
 are seen are temporal, the things that are not seen 
 
PLANES OF BEING. 39 
 
 are eternal." The invisible is the only real. The 
 more attenuated a substance, the more potential it 
 becomes. Water, as water, unless precipitated, is 
 powerless. Water, converted into steam, which is 
 invisible, has power to drive the most ponderous 
 machinery. No sane person disputes the power of 
 electricity, yet it is invisible. Thought is more 
 powerful than either steam or electricity, because it 
 is intelligent, and controls and utilizes both to ad- 
 vantage. Thought goes instantly and directly to 
 the point of concentration. No distance, no obsta- 
 cle, is competent to deter it. It traverses the infi- 
 nite spaces of Vega and the North Star, as the dis- 
 tance of a mile. It pierces the solid earth, and 
 passes unscathed the elements of flood and fire. 
 All that the eye of man or angel looks upon, how- 
 ever minute or ponderable may be the object, is the 
 result of thought. " Thought creates." Ponder 
 these facts in your mind until you become convinced 
 of their truth. Belief in the absolute power of 
 thought, is the first great step in the direction of 
 health, if you would be free from dis-ea.se. Having 
 settled in your mind the evident truth, that you can 
 not have any thing without first a thought of that 
 thing, and that you cannot have a change in any 
 thing, anywhere, without first a thought of that 
 change, proceed to change, and rightly direct your 
 thinking ; and as certain as night follows the day, 
 conditions will change. Commit the invisible 
 thought-seed to the soil of desire, and verily you 
 
40 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 shall r -eap as you have sown. That "shall" is the 
 imperative of law. Do not say " I cannot concen- 
 trate my mind." Say " / can." The fact is, you are 
 doing it, all the time, and why do you say " I can- 
 not" ? Your mind is now concentrated, upon the 
 thought of these lines. Every time you listen to 
 conversation, or a sermon, or give yourself to the 
 routine tasks of every day life, you are practicing 
 concentration. It is not necessary, for self-treat- 
 ment, that you should have the same degree of con- 
 centration that a successful metaphysician possesses. 
 You can accomplish much, if you only think so, 
 with no greater degree of concentration than you 
 can now command. Since to cure disease, means 
 simply to change the vibration and polarity of the 
 cells, and since this change can be effected only by 
 rebuilding the cells, and the cells are rebuilded ac- 
 cording to the plan in the subjective mind, it is just 
 as easy to effect a cure in one case, as another, pro- 
 vided there be a sufficient sub-structure upon which 
 to build. Of course some cases are incurable. But 
 not one case in one hundred pronounced incurable 
 by physicians, is really beyond the possibility of 
 cure, by the law of suggestion. I speak from cer- 
 tain knowledge. Out of hundreds of cases given up 
 by the regular physicians, I have succeeded in res- 
 toring to health ninety-five per cent, of them. In 
 many cases I have simply given instruction to the 
 patient, and he has succeeded in recovering health 
 and strength, without other assistance from me, and 
 
PLANES OF BEING. 41 
 
 by the same method I am presenting to you in this 
 treatise. 
 
 If necessary, to strengthen your faith, I will be 
 glad to furnish you the names, and places of resi- 
 dence of my patients, on application. I was re- 
 cently called to Europe, to take charge of a case 
 which for two years had baffled the skill of the best 
 physicians in Paris and London, and after four 
 months the patient was completely recovered, great- 
 ly to the surprise of the learned doctors, who had 
 pronounced the case a hopeless one. 
 
Vital Forces. 
 
The origin of the majority of internal diseases can 
 be traced to some emotion of the will, or to some in- 
 harmonious thought, to some irregular desire, or some 
 state of the mind, conceived either by the patient him- 
 self, or impressed upon him by another. All things 
 and all states are expressions of will and thought. * * 
 * * The true life-giving power rests in the Source of 
 all Good. " In Him is life, and the life is the light of 
 men ". It is an element in which and through which 
 we all live, and if it were withdrawn from us for a 
 single moment we would be immediately annihilated. 
 
 — Hartmann. 
 
 Creation is the super-added life of the intellect ; — 
 sympathy, all-embracing love, the super-added moral 
 life. — George Mliot. 
 
Section XTbree, 
 
 VITAL FORCES. 
 
 A FTER five year's experience with almost every 
 form of disease, I am prepared to say that 
 ninety out of every one hundred, so called incura- 
 bly sick, can regain health, if they will follow strict- 
 ly the directions herein given. 
 
 Do not say, as so many foolishly do, " But my 
 case is different ". No matter what your case may 
 be, you can get well, if you want to; you are no 
 worse than hundreds of others have been, who to- 
 day are rejoicing in freedom from disease. The 
 God-given power is within yourself, whereby you 
 may be restored to health, if you will conform to 
 the law. The law of God is the will of God, and 
 it is folly to think that you can reap advantage in 
 any other way than by understanding of, and con- 
 forming to, the changeless law of God. Conform 
 to the law, and day and night the law will work out 
 your redemption from every form of evil. Fight 
 against the law, and it will as inevitably bring dis- 
 aster and overthrow ; no degree of saintliness can 
 protect you from the down stroke of law ; your 
 
46 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 only hope is in a knowledge of, and submission to, 
 the law of God. 
 
 Denials will not help you ; it is useless to say, "I 
 am not sick, I have no pain ", when the truth is, you 
 are sick ; you do suffer pain. You confront a con- 
 dition, not a sentiment ; the only logical thing to 
 do, is to admit the facts. If you do not understand 
 the nature of your trouble or its extent, consult a 
 physician, or better, a metaphysician, who is versed 
 in physiology and anatomy, and let him make a 
 thorough diagnosis of your case. It is just as ne- 
 cessary that you should know as much as possible 
 about your case, as it is necessary for a physician to 
 know, before he prescribes for his patient. If your 
 religious teaching stands in the way of your recov- 
 ery, put it away from you. It is much more import- 
 ant that you should regain your health, than that 
 you should remain loyal to a creed, which is noth- 
 ing, after all, but a man-made institution, having no 
 warrant whatever from Jesus Christ, or from His 
 immediate disciples. Identify yourself with God. 
 You are soul, not body. You are spirit, not mat- 
 ter ; you are the offspring of God, His child, created 
 in His image, and given dominion over all things. 
 Being a part of the Infinite, the power that you 
 possess is divine power ; your life is a part of the 
 Infinite Life. The body is but the instrument of the 
 soul ; created by the soul, and daily and hourly re- 
 newed by the same power. You have in yourself 
 an illustration of the fact, that mental states find 
 
VITAL FORCES. 47 
 
 expression in the body. In other words, the cellu- 
 lar structure called body, is being constantly re- 
 builded according to the plan held in the objective 
 mind ; thus proving beyond any doubt, the law, that 
 continuous, concentrated thought, must find expres- 
 sion. Thought is the body builder. I quote briefly 
 from the words of Dr. Holcombe, a physician of the 
 old school, and a man preeminent in his profession. 
 He says, " When one has grasped the idea that by 
 creative laws, mind is dominant in all things of the 
 body, the minutest changes of which are in reality 
 organic manifestations, or showings forth of mental 
 conditions, many things before incomprehensible 
 become clear. From the standpoint of this grand 
 truth we see how emotions determine the most rapid 
 changes in the secretions of the body ; how fright 
 turns the hair gray; how terror or worry poisons 
 the mother's milk ; how great mental excitements, 
 or the slow torture of mental anxiety write their 
 baneful effects upon the tissues of the brain ; how 
 the images made upon the mother's brain are trans- 
 ferred and photographed upon the body of the un- 
 born child ; how epidemics spread by the contagion 
 of fear, and the transference of thought ; the thing 
 feared in the mind, being reproduced in the physi- 
 cal system. Of the idealistic theory, which is the 
 basis of mind cure, physical appearances are only 
 the external forms, or natural embodiments of spi- 
 ritual causes which are the real motor powers. Ef- 
 fects are produced not by the external means, but 
 
48 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 internal, and corresponding spiritual means. When 
 these internal and spiritual forces can be evoked 
 and set in action from within, the external means 
 may be dispensed with. It is, therefore, the maxim 
 of the metaphysician that the cause and cure of dis- 
 ease is always mental. The part which the mind 
 has always played in the cure has been ignored, or 
 not recognized, because of the prevalent and domi- 
 nant spirit of materialism. The mind has all the 
 time been counted out, while in reality it may have 
 been the chief and perhaps the only factor in the 
 case. When we are confronted with cures of the 
 most remarkable character, cures entirely beyond 
 the reach of our best medication, we attribute them 
 to imagination, faith, hope, expectation. And we 
 do rightly ; for imagination, faith, hope, expectation 
 are states of mind, are the mind itself in substantial 
 activity, and creative energy, and when these vital 
 forces can be evoked and directed, there is no limit 
 to the possibilities that lie in store for us. Thoughts 
 are things ; ideas are forces ; and the spiritual life 
 is a transcendent, organized sphere. Nothing stands 
 alone ; no thought, no mind, no faintest trace of an 
 idea. All are associated, and linked together by 
 innumerable laws. Every thought we think is a ray 
 of mind which radiates from us, and is reflected 
 from all other minds associated with us. The trans- 
 ference of thought is as simple a thing in the mental 
 sphere, as the radiation and reflection of light are 
 in the physical sphere. The mental solidarity of the 
 
VITAL FORCES. 49 
 
 race is perfect. All the states of mind represented 
 by faith, hope, imagination, fixed opinion, expect- 
 ation, etc., may be exercised by the physician, or by 
 friends, and projected with more or less force and 
 power upon the interior and unconscious minds of 
 all who are supposed to be incapable of exercising 
 mental powers of their own. This is the keynote 
 to the sickness of children, and also to the secret of 
 their cure." 
 
 Possibly, you have lived in a constant state of 
 worry; you have entertained thoughts of poverty, 
 sickness, disaster. When you had no trouble of 
 your own, you borrowed trouble from imaginary 
 sources ; you have lived in fear of innumerable 
 things, which like the ghost of Banquo, " would 
 never down." You have referred your troubles to 
 the decrees of an infinite God, whom you imagined 
 to be angry with you, because of some real or sup- 
 posed transgression of law ; you consoled yourself 
 by saying, " it is the will of God, therefore, I must 
 submit not only, but welcome the event as a provi- 
 dence of God ". You have upbraided yourself, be- 
 cause you could not feel that pain was pleasure, or 
 bring yourself to look upon sickness and poverty as 
 blessings in disguise ; you have supposed that some- 
 how you have deserved all this, and in an attitude 
 of humility and resignation you have tried honestly 
 to say, and mean it, " Thy will be done." The re- 
 sult of this morbid state of mind is now expressed in 
 your body, and in your business and social surround- 
 
50 
 
 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 ings, and simply because it is the law of God, that 
 fixed mental states must find expression. Your in- 
 visible thought has gradually been brought into 
 visibility in your person, and environment. Not 
 because God is angry, and would punish you ; but 
 because, being ignorant of the law of thought, you 
 have, yourself, created these conditions. " Thy will 
 be done", does not mean that you are to sit calmly 
 down, and bear with christian fortitude the inevit- 
 able, because there is nothing else to do ; it means 
 that there is something to be done ; something for 
 you to do, — to do the will of God. 
 
 Find out the law (will) of God, and do it, not bear 
 it The will of God is that you should be perfect, 
 " even as He is perfect ". Perfectly well ; perfectly 
 rich ; perfectly honored ; perfectly happy — in all 
 things perfect. He tells you how to accomplish all 
 this, — " Seek first the kingdom of God and His 
 righteousness, {Tightness) and all these things shall 
 be added unto you ". The kingdom of God, is the 
 kingdom of harmony. Seek harmony, — hold your- 
 self in the thought of good, of health, of prosperity, 
 of happiness, of " peace on earth, good will toward 
 men ", and the creative power of thought will bring 
 these things into expression, — actualize them in 
 your life. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is 
 he". 
 
 That upon which the mind of man dwells, deter- 
 mines the issues of life. 
 
 "As a man thinketh in his heart". 
 
VITAL FORCES. 51 
 
 " Out of the heart are the issues of life ". Every 
 cell of the body, every corpuscle, tissue and organ 
 is endowed with the attribute of mind. Through 
 the complex and marvelous structure of the nerv- 
 ous system, power is transmitted from the great 
 centres to every part of the body. I have desig- 
 nated the solar-plexus ganglia as the throne of the 
 soul, not because I would seek to limit it to this 
 particular centre, but because of my own sensations 
 at this point when treating a patient, — sensations 
 that I do not experience in any other part of the 
 body, — and for the sake of directness, in auto-sug- 
 gestion. Over the afferent portion of the intricate 
 net-work of infinitessimal and minute nerves are 
 sent the messages of need to be recorded in the 
 brain ; and back over the efferent portion of these 
 fibres passes the energy requisite to supply that 
 need. In health each organ performs its proper 
 function, with such nicety and precision of adjust- 
 ment, that one is not conscious of its action. 
 
 Through this delicate and complicated machinery 
 of the body, the soul has access to every part. It 
 is the mind of the soul, or subjective mind, that con- 
 trols the heart's action without the intermission of a 
 beat, propelling the vital forces to the utmost boun- 
 daries of the system. With sleepless vigilance this 
 ego performs the labor of respiration, else you 
 would die when overtaken by sleep. The whole 
 process of nutrition, distribution, assimilation, and 
 elimination is ceaselessly carried on under the di- 
 
52 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 rection of this matchless mind. The same may be 
 said of every fibre, tendon and muscle of the body. 
 
 Since this inner mind, which directly controls the 
 involuntary movements of the body, is subject to 
 suggestion from the objective mind, can you not see 
 why it is, and how it is, "that as a man thinks so is 
 he " ? Since what you think, is expressed in the 
 body, can you not understand that to think rightly is 
 to be right, and that to think wrongly is to be 
 wrong ? So many people say, " I don't see how my 
 thinking has anything to do with it ; what possible 
 connection has my thinking, with what I am suffer- 
 ing in my body, and have suffered these many years ? 
 In fact, I can scarcely remember the time when I 
 did not suffer ; so, certainly, my thinking had noth- 
 ing to do with it, for I did not think about it at all, 
 until first I began to suffer". If you take this view 
 of the subject, tell me why it is that fright, which is 
 a mental state, so frequently turns the hair white, 
 destroying instantly the pigment, or coloring sub- 
 stance of the follicle ? Why is it, that distressing 
 news, where your interests are involved, instantly 
 drives the blood back on the centres, producing ex- 
 treme pallor, and sometimes stopping the heart's 
 action, inviting death ? Why is it, that when in- 
 sulted, or greatly wronged, the blood rushes with 
 terrific force to the surface of the body and causes 
 the nerves to overact, thus producing violent tremb- 
 ling and loss of speech ? 
 
 Why is it, if mind has nothing to do with physi- 
 
VITAL FORCES. 53 
 
 cal conditions, that anger or fear poisons the moth- 
 er's milk in her breasts, to the extent that her nurs- 
 ing child is made sick by it ? Why is it, that good 
 news, freedom from anxiety, cheery companionship, 
 invariably act beneficially upon the sick and suffer- 
 ing ? These phenomena, which occur daily, are 
 worthy of your consideration, for they are indicative 
 of a power possessed by the soul to change the phy- 
 sical expression ; a power which, intelligently di- 
 rected, and for a supreme and beneficent end, will 
 do for you that which all other things are impotent 
 to accomplish. 
 
 It is not an easy matter to control one's thinking, 
 and especially is it difficult to correct an evil habit 
 of thought. Still, much can be accomplished, and 
 in a short time, if you set to work about it with de- 
 termination to succeed. 
 
 To assist you in this accomplishment, read good 
 books. Keep yourself informed of the best and 
 truest thought of the day on psychological subjects. 
 Many books and magazines are now published 
 which will help and comfort you, if you will care- 
 fully read them. I will be glad to recommend such 
 works as I think will benefit you if you will write 
 me your condition and need. 
 
 Avoid all sensational and dramatic news, such 
 as make up the principal part of the daily and 
 weekly newspapers. Seek for truth in all legitimate 
 ways, and when found, accept it; incorporate it as 
 a part of yourself, regardless of the source from 
 
54 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 which it comes. " Ye shall know the truth, and the 
 truth shall make you free ". 
 
 Its divine influence will dispel your darkness, re- 
 veal you to yourself, restore your health, lead you 
 into permanent happiness. " Cleave to that which 
 is good ". Search for the good everywhere, and in 
 everybody. Affirm that all is good, since God, who 
 is all, and in all, is good. There is something good, 
 and, therefore admirable, in every person. Seek for 
 the virtues of men, and refuse to see their vices. 
 The same blessings that you seek for yourself, de- 
 sire for all mankind. Wish humanity well, and send 
 forth only thoughts of love and harmony. 
 
 " You never can tell what a thought may do, 
 In bringing you hate or love ; 
 For thoughts are things, and their airy wings 
 Are swifter than carrier dove. 
 They follow the law of the universe, 
 Each thing creates its kind ; — 
 And they speed o'er the track, to bring you back, 
 Whatever went out of your mind ". 
 
 In accord with the sentiment of this verse, is the 
 teaching of Christ. " With what judgment ye judge, 
 ye shall be judged " ; and " with what measure ye 
 mete, it shall be measured to you again ". Refuse 
 to indulge in, or to entertain gossip of any kind. 
 " Think no evil". Therefore speak no evil, nor per- 
 mit another to speak of evil to you. To entertain kind 
 
VITAL FORCES. 55 
 
 and loving thoughts, is to " entertain angels una- 
 wares " ; they, all unconsciously to yourself it may 
 be, are ministering spirits of God to you, for good. 
 To think and to speak evily, is to create discord 
 and dis-ea.se in the body. 
 
 Do not speak of your mental worries or physical 
 infirmities to others, and do not yourself dwell upon 
 them. The subjective mind is peculiarly sensitive 
 to object-lessons, and a constant rehearsal of your 
 troubles, has much the same effect upon this inner 
 mind, that a picture has upon the objective mind of 
 a little child. The picture is remembered, when 
 the lessons drawn from it are forgotten. 
 
 Create an ideal picture of yourself as you wish to 
 be, leaving nothing out of it that you desire to ac- 
 tualize of success in business, of social relationships, 
 or of health. Take time to consider what will tend 
 to augment your life, and life's interests. Do this 
 deliberately, of purpose, and with an eye single to 
 the law by which these conditions may be realized. 
 I would emphasize the importance of deliberation 
 in this matter, because to continually add to or take 
 from this ideal, means to confuse the inner mind, 
 making the realization impossible, or subjecting the 
 issue to indefinite postponement. 
 
 Having completed your picture, hang it up on the 
 walls of heart and brain ; always see it ; make of it 
 a kind of background for all other scenes ; by so 
 doing you cannot fail to keep this potent suggestion 
 before the subjective mind. Put out of your mind 
 
56 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 all incongruous and discordant thoughts, and enter- 
 tain only thoughts and scenes of health, strength, 
 purity, and beauty. Receive into the mind, and de- 
 tain there, as honored guests, ennobling, life-giving 
 thoughts. Live in imagination amid scenes of har- 
 mony and beauty. Your world is a thought-world. 
 You can make it what you choose. It is your pri- 
 vilege to change your environment at will ; not by 
 going away as the traveler goes who hopes by 
 change of scene and associates to repair the wastes 
 of the body, but by bringing mountain, and river, 
 and forest, and ocean, to yourself. He is a poor 
 traveler who must needs take his body with him. 
 Select for your companions the choice spirits of the 
 world, — of all worlds, — and hold sweet and blessed 
 converse with them. 
 
 Do you say, " beautiful in theory but impossible 
 in practice ". I reply, no, you are wrong ; it is pos- 
 sible and practicable for all ; no power in earth or 
 heaven can withhold from you these blessings if 
 you choose to possess them. 
 
 From the view-point of a christian, it seems to 
 me that right views of God, and of man's higher 
 nature, are essential to that peace, and balance of 
 mind, which are necessary, to the highest and most* 
 successful application of the principle involved in 
 metaphysical treatment. I do not mean by this 
 that one may not recover health under this system 
 who is not a christian, but that it is a great advan- 
 tage every way, to believe in a God who is both 
 
VITAL FORCES. 57 
 
 father and nursing mother to the children of men. 
 Consciousness of the fact of oneness with the Di- 
 vine, of the unity of life, has in it great healing 
 power. 
 
 " The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath 
 of the Almighty hath given me life ", are words of 
 comfort and healing, if believed in, and under- 
 stood. 
 
 To organically identify your life with the life of 
 God is tonic in the mind, and is transmitted through 
 the sympathetic nervous system to every part of 
 the body. It supplies to every organ and tissue 
 that vital force, lacking which, the body languishes. 
 It is a force distinctively and peculiarly derived from 
 God. It is a force which results from the union of 
 man's mind with the divine mind. It is not an oc- 
 casional excitement and orgasm ; it is not the ac- 
 cess of a divine spirit once in a while, but the in- 
 dwelling of the divine influence in the human soul 
 in such a way, as that man has an incitement and 
 an inspiration higher and more potential, than that 
 which can come from any other cause. 
 
 It is a fact of common experience, that there is a 
 divine power which lapses into the human soul, and 
 that by that divine power all the faculties of a man 
 become competent to do, or to be what they cannot 
 do or be, when the soul lacks consciousness of its 
 identity and oneness with God. This is not miracle, 
 it is law. It is the introduction and development of 
 a higher element in nature. It is not supernatural ; 
 
58 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 it is as much in the course of nature as the construc- 
 tion of the soul itself. The conscious power of God 
 working in the soul, develops it into purity, love, 
 and activity, thus manifesting health, harmony, and 
 continuity of life, throughout the entire physical or- 
 ganism, by the constant action of the soul, seeking, 
 in accordance with divine law, to produce a corres- 
 ponding condition of the body, — its residence and 
 temple. 
 
 As a student of health, seeking a more perfect 
 physical expression, I would urge upon you the im- 
 portance of gaining a deeper, truer consciousness 
 of your union with that great " oversoul " of which 
 Emerson speaks, and to whom he credits the har- 
 monies of the universe. 
 
 The directions given in this presentation of the 
 subject of self-treatment, apply equally to all cases, 
 and if faithfully followed, must result in a decided 
 change for the better. If it were possible for you 
 to conform strictly to the teaching, the length of 
 time required for complete recovery of health, would 
 be sensibly shortened. As it is more than probable 
 that you will underact in this effort, you will be 
 at least three or four months getting well. You 
 will need to exercise patience, and continuity of 
 effort, observing as closely as possible the directions 
 given, until you are well, even if it takes a longer 
 time. 
 
 Your objective point is health, and you should 
 not willingly consent to stop short of that. You 
 
VITAL FORCES. 59 
 
 are certain to reach the desired goal if you continue 
 to do the things demanded by the law. At the end 
 of a month or six weeks you will have such evi- 
 dence in your changed condition, of the virtue of 
 the treatment, that to continue to do the things re- 
 quired will be comparatively easy. 
 
 Many patients under my treatment recover from 
 chronic and serious sicknesses in from two to three 
 months. These same cases, wholly dependent upon 
 their own efforts, would probably be six months or 
 longer getting well. Other patients have been un- 
 der treatment for five or six months, and in a few 
 cases it has taken a whole year to effect a cure. 
 
 Much depends upon the temperament and dispo- 
 sition of the patient, as well as the nature of the 
 disease. 
 
 Many cases yield instantly to the treatment, as if 
 by miracle ; but these are exceptional, and not the 
 rule. Mr. Moss, of Albany, was cured of chronic 
 rheumatism, of forty years standing, by a single 
 treatment. A patient in this city (Norwalk), was 
 cured of indigestion, which had troubled him for 
 years, by a single suggestion. This has occurred 
 in a number of instances ; in cases of heart trouble, 
 blindness, bilious colic, etc. However, it is reason- 
 able to presume that chronic cases will require 
 treatment from three to six months. If it should 
 take you a longer time to cure yourself, it ought not 
 to be a reason for discouragement ; you are certain 
 to succeed if you continue on. If your case is con- 
 
60 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 sumption of the lungs, cancer, diabetes, or appendi- 
 citis, you will need special instruction ; otherwise, 
 the instruction herein given will meet the need of 
 every case. 
 
 Your success in treating yourself will depend, in 
 great measure, upon your ability to concentrate 
 your mind. It is presumed, of course, that you will 
 follow instructions to the best of your ability, but 
 even so, cultivate the power of concentration. Scat- 
 tered and intermittent thought will accomplish very 
 little, in regard to subjective control. To obtain 
 concentration easily and successfully, set apart a 
 time each day for quiet and relaxation. Select a 
 spot as remote as possible from the noise and con- 
 fusion of the household, still, a place where you feel 
 at ease and love most to be. Assume a posture 
 either sitting or reclining, favorable to rest and re- 
 laxation. Fix your mind upon some scene at a 
 distance with which you are familiar. Now give 
 your undivided thought to a detailed description of 
 each object and person therewith connected. Strive 
 to reproduce in imagination the entire scene, not 
 omitting even the colors and pattern of a carpet, 
 or the number and nature of the pictures on the 
 wall. 
 
 Continue this effort for ten or twenty minutes, or 
 until you have accomplished your object. After a 
 month's daily practice of this mental exercise, you 
 will have attained a fair degree of concentration. 
 Do not, however, at the end of a month, forego 
 
VITAL FORCES. 61 
 
 the exercise ; the more you gain in this direction, 
 the more effective will be your suggestions to the 
 sub-conscious mind. 
 
 Remember, that to impress this inner mind, and 
 to control it to work out your plan, is the object 
 and aim of the efforts you are now putting forth. 
 
Nature of Things. 
 
If then, indeed, we too incline to this, that when 
 we are afflicted we accuse ourselves, and recollect that 
 nothing else than opinion can cause us any trouble, 
 nervousness or unsettlement, I swear by all the Gods 
 we have advanced. ***** None, therefore, who 
 fears or grieves, or worries, or who is anxious, is free ; 
 but whoever is released from griefs and fears and anx- 
 ieties, is by that very thing released from slavery. 
 
 — Epictetus. 
 
Section jfour. 
 
 NATURE OF THINGS. 
 
 T^HE importance of proper exercise in any method 
 which aims to restore vitality to the physical 
 system, must be apparent to all. If you are so sit- 
 uated that you are obliged to be more or less active 
 during the day, it will not be necessary for you to 
 give attention to voluntary mechanical exercise ; on 
 the other hand, favor yourself as much as possible 
 in the discharge of everyday duties. This method 
 of treatment will make extra demands upon your 
 strength, for the reason that a greater amount of 
 energy is required to reverse the action of the bi- 
 plasts in the work of rebuilding the cells, than would 
 be required in reproducing the cells on the old plan. 
 In any case, if you are faithful in following the di- 
 rections given, you will experience a sense of weari- 
 ness and weakness ; not in an inordinate degree, 
 but in excess of that to which you have been ac- 
 customed, and this will continue to be your experi- 
 ence for perhaps a month or six weeks. However, 
 this is a very encouraging symptom, as it is posi- 
 tive evidence that you have succeeded in changing 
 the activities of the involuntary forces. 
 
 If you are so situated that you can do as you 
 
NATURE OF THINGS. 65 
 
 choose, go away from the place and people associ- 
 ated with your suffering ; you will, by so doing, es- 
 cape the constant reminder of your infirmity. It is 
 for this reason, more than anything else, that phy- 
 sicians advise a change of scene and associations 
 for their patients. Under such circumstances, be 
 careful to take a proper amount of exercise daily, 
 but not to the extent of straining or tiring the body. 
 Walking, riding, boating, swimming, all are invig- 
 orating and healthful. You, yourself, are more com- 
 petent to judge in this matter, than is another to 
 judge for you, as there can be no cast-iron rules 
 laid down which will apply to all cases. You are 
 safely within the limit of reason and right, when 
 you have taken sufficient exercise to stir up the 
 blood, and yet feel no sense of fatigue. 
 
 Without a knowledge of your actual physical 
 condition, it would be unwise to prescribe for you a 
 diet. Advice which will apply generally is, eat only 
 plain and nourishing foods. Whatever your sick- 
 ness may be, it is very important that you should 
 nourish the body with substantial food. There is 
 in all cases a daily waste of tissue, which demands 
 a new growth, and you can no more build a cell 
 without food, than you can build a house without 
 bricks and timber, or other material substance. 
 The human body as much depends upon the ele- 
 ments of earth, and air, and water, for life and 
 growth, as does the tree which sends its roots into 
 the soil, and its branches into the air. . However, 
 
66 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 the tree seems to have an advantage over man, in- 
 asmuch as it knows exactly what elements it needs, 
 and in what proportion. Of the fourteen elements 
 necessary to the proper nourishment of the body, 
 there are many combinations, and comparatively 
 few people know how to so combine these elements 
 as to provide for the particular needs of every part 
 of the physical structure. Certain foods carry cer- 
 tain chemical elements that are adapted to the vari- 
 ous parts of the body. If the blood is impover- 
 ished, you should eat blood-making foods. If the 
 nervous system under-vibrates, you should eat such 
 foods as carry, in excess, the proper elements to feed 
 and nourish the nerves. 
 
 The athlete who is training for the contest, is 
 careful to eat only such foods as will strengthen the 
 muscles, and he depends as much upon diet as upon 
 skill, to win his laurels. If you are in doubt as to 
 a proper diet, consult your family physician, or write 
 me in detail your symptoms, giving as complete a 
 history of your case as possible, and I will advise 
 you in the matter. Generally speaking, I would 
 say, eat no pastry; season your food with plenty 
 of salt and red pepper. Dispense with condiments. 
 Do not drink coffee. Tea, moderately strong, and 
 used in moderation, may be indulged in, but it is 
 only an indulgence. You would do better not to 
 drink it. 
 
 Here is a list of foods that will meet all demands 
 of the body, and which you would do well to con- 
 
NATURE OF THINGS. 67 
 
 fine yourself to, unless your case should demand a 
 strictly defined diet : 
 
 Entire wheat bread, wheaten grits, oatmeal por- 
 ridge, rye bread, white corn meal, breakfast foods, 
 rice ; fresh eggs (soft,) milk, cream, butter, cheese. 
 Beefsteak, roast beef, lamb chops, game of all kinds, 
 dark meat of fowls, perfectly fresh fish, boiled po- 
 tatoes, beets, turnips, cauliflower, celery, tomatoes, 
 asparagus, peas, beans, baked or boiled sweet po- 
 tatoes ; all fruits in their season ; all nuts, but do 
 not eat them after eating a hearty meal ; eaten be- 
 tween meals, and not in excess, they are strength- 
 ening, and they create flesh. Sour oranges, figs, 
 and prunes, assist greatly the process of elimin- 
 ation. 
 
 All kinds of soups and broths are nourishing, and 
 healthful, and occasionally plain cake, and plain 
 puddings, as a change will be beneficial. 
 
 You should drink at least two quarts of water 
 daily ; if you do not care for it, or have no sensa- 
 tion of thirst, force yourself to drink it, just as you 
 would oblige yourself to do any disagreeable thing, 
 if sure of benefit from so doing. A person in health 
 ought to drink at least two quarts of liquids in twen- 
 ty-four hours, to keep up the secretions of the sys- 
 tem, and it is only reasonable to suppose that a dis- 
 eased body would require a still greater quantity to 
 assist the process of nutrition and elimination. 
 Three quarts or even a gallon of water every twen- 
 ty-four hours, is not an excessive amount for an in- 
 
6S GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 valid to drink. But then, do not drink it, sip it; 
 Why ? because you will thus derive greater benefit 
 from it. Always remember that you are not doing 
 these things simply, and only, because the laws of 
 nature demand it, but also for the sake of sugges- 
 tion to the subjective mind, every time you take a 
 swallow or two of water. You are not only sup- 
 plying the demands of nature, but you are giving, 
 by and through the act itself, a most powerful and 
 effective object - lesson to this controlling, inner 
 mind. Therefore, if you take a little water ten 
 times an hour, ten times an hour you reinforce the 
 suggestion for health. Since everything depends 
 upon your being able to keep this involuntary mind 
 under control, can you not realize how potential 
 must be, this apparently simple and otherwise in- 
 significant act of sipping water ? Did space permit, 
 it would be very easy to show why it is that water 
 is such an important element in the restoration to 
 health of a diseased body. Do not, for any reason, 
 omit to do, as I have directed, in regard to this 
 matter of drinking, as it is especially important, and 
 for the reasons above given. I take it for granted 
 that you repose sufficient confidence in my know- 
 ledge and experience to do as I advise you, without 
 further explanation. Not a single direction herein 
 given is unimportant, or to be half-heartedly fol- 
 lowed, if you desire to be made well. Do not ques- 
 tion in your mind — simply do it. 
 
 A cup of hot water, not after, or before, but with 
 
NATURE OF THINGS. 69 
 
 your meals, and on retiring at night, should be the 
 rule for every day. If you cannot get pure spring 
 water, use filtered hydrant, or well water. There are 
 many spring waters on the market, widely adver- 
 tised as possessing peculiar virtues ; experience has 
 taught me, that it is the quantity rather than the 
 qicality of water, that is medicinal ; if the water is 
 pure it does not much matter what chemical ele- 
 ments it carries. I visited the Saratoga Springs 
 some years ago, and during my stay, drank freely 
 of the waters, but principally of the " Congress 
 Spring", and was very much benefitted. On my 
 return home, I neglected to drink water because of 
 the difficulty in procuring a certain brand. I then 
 believed that the great improvement in my health 
 was due to the chemical properties of the water. 
 After a time it occurred to me, that possibly it was 
 the quantity, as well as the quality, to which I owed 
 my improved health. I began drinking, or sipping 
 rather, a gallon of pure spring water daily, and very 
 soon experienced a decided change in my condition 
 for the better. I am convinced from my own expe- 
 rience, and from the experience of many patients, 
 that invalids who seek health, at various springs 
 throughout the country, would receive the same 
 benefit at home, if they would drink the same quan- 
 tity of water from the hydrant, or near-by spring, 
 and with equal regularity. At the springs, because 
 everybody does so, a sufficient quantity is taken 
 into the system to supply its' need, and also it is 
 
70 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 taken for a reason, — with the expectation of benefit, 
 and so becomes medicinal in the way of sugges- 
 tion. 
 
 No system of therapeutics can afford to under- 
 estimate the importance of oxygen in the economy 
 of being. 
 
 The great majority of scientific men ascribe first 
 place to oxygen, as a principle of life. Nothing can 
 exist apart from this vital element. In itself con- 
 sidered, it is purely a chemical element. It becomes 
 vital by association with life ; so vital, that to sep- 
 arate the body from it, but for a few minutes, would 
 mean death. This element is constantly supplied 
 to the body through the instrument of the lungs. 
 The lungs are the organ by which the blood is 
 aerated, and poisonous gases removed from it by 
 respiration. The ultimate object of breathing, is to 
 supply the red blood-globules with oxygen, for 
 transmission throughout the system. Respiration 
 includes the voluntary and involuntary acts of in- 
 spiration and expiration, but physiologically, con- 
 sists in cleansing the blood, by the oxygen of at- 
 mospheric air. The act of breathing is largely in- 
 voluntary, but may be voluntarily modified. It is 
 to the importance of voluntary breathing that I 
 wish to call your attention. 
 
 At each inspiration and expiration, about twenty- 
 six cubic inches of air passes in and out of the 
 lungs ; this occurs from sixteen to twenty times per 
 minute. This air which constantly flows to and fro 
 
NATURE OF THINGS. 71 
 
 is called tidal air, to distinguish it from residual air, 
 one hundred cubic inches of which, remains in the 
 smaller air-sacs. The tidal air at each inspiration 
 mingles with the relatively impure residual air, and 
 adds to it the essential element of oxygen, while 
 each expiration removes from the system the poi- 
 sonous carbonic acid gas. The air constantly in- 
 breathed, by the law of the diffusion of gases, per- 
 meates the residual air in the lungs, and thus puri- 
 fied by the excess of oxygen reaches the air-sacs. 
 
 The blood circulating through the lungs is re- 
 lieved of carbonic acid gas, and, oxygenated by con- 
 tact with the air-sacs, is returned purified to the en- 
 tire physical organism, giving out on its way, the 
 needed oxygen to the cells and tissues which con- 
 stitute the body. The substance of the lungs is 
 exceedingly delicate ; is many hundred square feet 
 in area, and is said to contain six hundred million 
 air cells. It is more than probable that as you or- 
 dinarily breathe, you do not develop, or utilize, 
 more than three hundred millions, or one-half of 
 these cells. Since these are the source of supply 
 of oxygen to the blood, and since oxygen is vital 
 life to the nervous system, and to all parts of the 
 body, can you not see, how important to health, is 
 a proper supply of tidal air to the lungs ? Oxygen 
 is a pure nerve tonic, and is the only agent that can 
 reach and tone the exquisitely minute and compli- 
 cated nervous fabric. 
 
 It is an old saying and a true one, " too lazy to 
 
72 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 breathe ". Where it originated I do not know, but 
 this much I do know, that if the ehildren for two or 
 three generations backward, had been taught to 
 breathe properly, there would be very little sickness 
 in the world to-day. Two-thirds of the physical 
 suffering, which makes this world a place of groan- 
 ing, would soon become a thing of the past and for- 
 gotten, if all who suffer would learn to breathe as 
 they ought to. 
 
 The method of breathing which I recommend to 
 you, has been thoroughly tested, in my practice, in 
 hundreds of cases, and with thoroughly satisfactory 
 results. Any method of breathing which strains 
 the exceedingly delicate fabric of the lungs, is dan- 
 gerous, and should be avoided. 
 
 For at least thirty minutes every twenty-four 
 hours, breathe as I direct you. It is better to breathe 
 air which is permeated by the sunlight. Yet if the 
 air in your rooms is pure, it does not so much mat- 
 ter, whether or not you are in the open air. Breathe 
 always through the nostrils, unless for any reason, 
 you are obliged to breathe through the mouth. Fill 
 the lungs completely, but be careful not to strain 
 them. Hold the breath an instant, or long enough 
 to stop all motion of the lungs ; now, exhale the 
 breath as slowly as possible, until the lungs are 
 emptied of tidal air. By so doing you maintain an 
 equilibrium in breathing, which imparts a rythmic 
 motion to the whole system, for as the lungs move, 
 so are all other organs forced to move in corres- 
 
NATURE OF THINGS. 73 
 
 pondence. This is important, as it breaks up a 
 habit of motion, and at once attracts the attention 
 of the subjective mind, and is indicative to it, of the 
 purpose had in view. 
 
 By this full, deep breathing, you receive into the 
 lungs, and so into the air sacs, where the residual 
 air slumbers, a double amount of oxygen ; at the 
 same time, by slowly and completely emptying the 
 lungs, an excess of carbonic acid gas is carried out 
 of the system, which otherwise would be retained, 
 to deteriorate the entire body. Excess of oxy- 
 gen, means excess of life, as it is a direct and im- 
 mediate, nerve tonic. The more time you devote to 
 this practice, the greater benefit you will receive. 
 To comply with the law of health, it is absolutely 
 necessary that you practice, as above directed, for 
 thirty minutes each day. Do not attempt to do this 
 for a half-hour consecutively, as it is tiresome, and 
 too long continued, will produce dizziness, which 
 should be avoided. Breathe in this way for two or 
 three minutes at a time, and whenever you think of 
 it, in doors, or out, sitting, riding, or walking. 
 
 This method of voluntary breathing will require 
 an effort on your part, and will become irksome, and 
 you will, no doubt, be tempted to put it off until to- 
 morrow. Do not listen to this siren temptation, for 
 if you persevere, you will reap a rich reward, in 
 greatly augmented vitality, in more tone, in enriched 
 blood, in strengthened muscles, and in increased 
 
74 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 weight. Every moment of this practice, will be a 
 potent suggestion, to the subjective mind. 
 
 Cultivate confidence in yourself. Respect your 
 own powers and talents ; do not think that you are 
 incompetent to do that which you desire to do. Say 
 " I can" ; keep on saying it, until you begin to feel 
 that you are able to do the things, about which you 
 have been skeptical of your ability. You can do 
 what you think you can do, other things being equal. 
 If you say to yourself and to others, "I cannot", 
 believing what you say, it stands to reason that you 
 will not. Every such statement weakens you, and 
 makes it more and more probable, that you will fail 
 in whatever you undertake to do. In my class- 
 work, both in my own and other cities, I have known 
 a few people, who followed closely the argument 
 of the lectures, and who admitted the logic of the 
 theory, yet doubted their ability to put it into prac- 
 tice. Of course these people could not help them- 
 selves, as long as they believed themselves helpless. 
 Others, who had confidence in their own powers, 
 said, "/ can". " I see plainly the law, and I be- 
 lieve in its potency. I purpose, henceforth, to think 
 and do in harmony with it. I can bring into expres- 
 sion that which I choose. I realize that the power 
 to change my physical condition, resides within me, 
 in the soul, which is my true self, and I am deter- 
 mined to be well ". These people have come to me, 
 or written to me after a few months, thanking me 
 
NATURE OF THINGS. 75 
 
 over and over again, for the instruction ; and de- 
 claring themselves completely cured. 
 
 Avoid, as much as possible, giving yourself, or 
 receiving from others, a harmful suggestion. It is 
 not always an easy matter, to hold the mind in per- 
 fect balance. You thoroughly believe in this sys- 
 tem of self-treatment ; it appeals to reason ; it is 
 logical, rational, and yet you will find yourself fall- 
 ing into doubt and surmise. Especially will this be 
 true in your experience, concerning the ideas, which 
 seem to contradict your former views of religious 
 doctrine. It is a difficult thing to part company 
 with beliefs that have grown with your growth, and 
 strengthened with your strength. You have strong 
 prepossessions in favor of certain doctrinal tenets, 
 and equally strong prejudices against what you have 
 been taught to believe is rank heresy. That which 
 is held for conscience sake, is tenaciously held, 
 therefore guard yourself against unbelief. 
 
 The statements made elsewhere, concerning the 
 soul's relation to God, and His moral government ; 
 the subject of good and evil ; the spirit's power 
 over all things beneath itself; the rights of a soul, 
 and the place and dignity of desire, are not fictions 
 of the imagination ; but exact truth, as viewed both 
 from a biblical, and a scientific standpoint. You are 
 not a depraved and fallen creature, but an individual 
 sent on its way towards a grander and more perfect 
 expression. You are not an orphaned soul, aban- 
 doned to the chances of life. You are a child of 
 
76 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 God, brought nigh by the Christ principle, made 
 heir to an incorruptible inheritance. To you, belongs 
 dominion. "All things are yours ". But until you 
 arrive at a consciousness of these truths, they are 
 of no practical value to you. You may be the 
 possessor of a fortune, but it is not available until 
 you have knowledge of the fact. Meet the tempt- 
 ation to doubt or fear, with statements of truth, 
 " and the truth shall make you free ". Demand 
 your rights, the rights of every soul. The right to 
 perfect health, perfect happiness, perfect honor. It 
 is the will of God, that every creature should be 
 perfect in all things. 
 
 To protect yourself from the suggestions of other 
 people, refrain from all conversation upon the sub- 
 ject of mental therapeutics, unless, indeed, your 
 friend be in full accord with your views. Nothing 
 can be gained by argument with a person holding 
 opposite views. On the other hand, you have much 
 to lose, as every statement made, that is not in har- 
 mony with the system, acts as a suggestion in the 
 subjective mind, and may do you incalculable harm. 
 It is not now your duty to make converts to the 
 new thought. It is your duty to get well, and to 
 avoid anything that will postpone the event. When 
 you are well and strong, you can safely discuss with 
 all whom you meet, the comparative merits of the 
 system. Having then the evidence in yourself, of 
 the wonderful power of mind over matter, it will 
 not be difficult to convince the most skeptical 
 
NATURE OF THINGS. 77 
 
 among your friends, of the value of metaphysical 
 treatment. 
 
 As time passes, and you continue to follow the 
 directions herein given, and experience no great 
 change in your physical condition, you will be tempt- 
 ed to question the wisdom of the course you are 
 pursuing, and to omit the practice. This is just the 
 thing that you should not do. This is the time for 
 you to gather up all your resources, and go forth 
 anew to the attack. Napoleon won his battles by 
 watching closely the movements of his adversary, 
 and always meeting him at the point where his 
 strength was massed, by a display of still greater 
 strength. His opportunity came when his foe showed 
 signs of fatigue, and though himself wearied by un- 
 remitting effort, he roused up the latent energy of 
 his army, and snatched a victory from defeat. You 
 have entered the conflict against the aggressions of 
 a most subtile and dangerous enemy. It will re- 
 quire your constant best, to win a victory from so 
 adroit and masterful a foe. Take advantage of 
 your strength, and when tempted to relax your ef- 
 forts, remember that this is just the point of strat- 
 egy, of which, if you are alert to take advantage, 
 you will surely win a victory. To become discour- 
 aged, to take counsel of your doubts or fears, is to 
 consent to defeat ; a defeat which you cannot afford, 
 as it means continued suffering, the loss of the joy, 
 and the light of life. " Be not weary in well doing, 
 for in due season you shall reap, if you faint not ". 
 
78 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 All the promises of the Bible are to those who 
 "overcome". 
 
 You will need to persevere, in this effort to over- 
 come disease. Everything depends upon your per- 
 sistency. The great trouble with many patients is, 
 that they want results immediately, and become dis- 
 couraged if they do not immediately materialize. 
 Certainly, that would be very desirable ; but in the 
 nature of things, it is an impossibility, and you ought 
 not to expect impossibilities. 
 
 You ask, " how is it then, that in some cases, peo- 
 ple are cured instantly " ? 
 
 In all such cases, there is no lesion of the cells, 
 or breaking down of the cellular structure of the 
 body. These are cases where the polarity and vi- 
 bration of the cells are the sole cause of the dis- 
 ease. No time element is required for the rebuild- 
 ing of cells, as in the case of lesion. All that is re- 
 quired is to change the polarity, and motion, of the 
 cells composing the organ. This may be done in- 
 stantly, if the subjective mind can be reached with 
 a sufficiently powerful suggestion ; for, as demon- 
 strated by hypnotic suggestion, the involuntary 
 mind has power to instantly paralyze the whole, or 
 any part of the body; to stop the flow of blood 
 from a wound, or make the nerve centres insensitive 
 to contact. In a great majority of cases, such is 
 the nature of the disease that the process of recov- 
 ery involves a re-creation or rebuilding of tissue, 
 and this can only be done after a time, even under 
 
NATURE OF THINGS. 79 
 
 the most perfect conditions. If you could conform 
 strictly to the law ; if you could obtain absolutely 
 perfect conditions, there would be no question of 
 your recovery within the limits of the life of a cell, 
 or within three months. 
 
 Since, however, it is not at all likely that you will 
 be able to command these conditions, you will be a 
 longer time accomplishing the end in view. 
 
 When you consider that you have been ten or 
 twenty or more years, growing into this condition, 
 you ought not to think it a strange thing, if you 
 are five or six months, or even a year, getting well. 
 You were a long time reaching your present state 
 of physical inharmony, because the involuntary mind 
 was all the time working against nature ; now that, 
 under proper suggestion it works with nature, or in 
 harmony with the laws of life, and health,*the work 
 is comparatively rapid ; although to the sufferer, 
 who is, of course, anxious to be well, it may seem 
 a long time. 
 
 It is no doubt true that the process of recovery 
 would be greatly accelerated in every case, by the 
 assistance of one familiar with the law, and having 
 large experience in dealing with disease, but still 
 you are not shut up to such assistance, for you can, 
 if you will, " work out your own salvation ", but you 
 must exercise patience and be willing to wait for 
 results. I attribute my success in curing disease, 
 largely to the fact that I never deceive my patients 
 into the belief that I can bring about results con- 
 
80 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 trary to law. I tell them plainly that there is a 
 limit to what any man can do, no matter how gifted 
 he may be. I say to them just as I have said to 
 you, that they must not expect impossibilities. To 
 create a false hope in the breast of a suffering mor- 
 tal is, to say the least of it, unwise. I must, of ne- 
 cessity, give so much time each day, to my patients, 
 so that to treat beyond a given number is a physi- 
 cal impossibility. I must have time, in which to do 
 the work ; and therefore I say to my patients, you 
 will probably need to continue the treatment for 
 months. I explain the reason why, and then if 
 they deem the process too tedious, I refuse to take 
 the case. Now, if it is necessary for me to devote 
 so much time to a case of chronic sickness, under- 
 standing as I must, and do the law ; having attain- 
 ed, by constant practice, the ability to concentrate 
 perfectly the objective mind ; how can you expect, 
 at once to do, that which requires months to accom- 
 plish, when the conditions are much more favor- 
 able ? Again I say, you can regain health if you 
 will, but you must not allow yourself to become 
 discouraged, and give up hope, simply because your 
 efforts do not immediately bear fruit. 
 
 It is no more possible to grow a cell instantly, 
 than it would be to grow a tree instantly ; all growth 
 is by the law of gradualism. Is it reasonable to sup- 
 pose that the re-creation of the body is an excep- 
 tion to the law of nature, and of God ? You recog- 
 nize the importance of the time element, in the 
 
NATURE OF THINGS. 81 
 
 growth of a child from infancy to mature years; 
 in the building - up of a fortune ; in the accomplish- 
 ment of music; of literature; of art; and you are 
 content to do that which the law demands, and to 
 wait patiently for the result. Be consistent with your 
 knowledge of the operation of law in the realms of 
 the physical and organic, and work out, day by day, 
 the redemption of your body, as you would work 
 out the problem of an education, or the develop- 
 ment of a vineyard. 
 
 It is not, in any sense, a matter of speculation. 
 It is the law of God. You have simply to honor 
 that law, and the result is as certain, as that a stone 
 projected upward, will return again to the earth, 
 under the compelling force of the law of attrac- 
 tion. 
 
Mental States. 
 
" Look upon the bright side of all things. Believe 
 that the very best offering you can make to God is to 
 enjoy to the full what He sends of good, and bear 
 what He allows of evil, like a child who believes in 
 all its father's dealings with it, whether it understands 
 them or not ". 
 
 41 It animates me to create my own world through 
 the purification of my soul. As a plant upon the 
 earth, so a man rests upon the bosom of God; he is 
 nourished by unfailing fountains, and drains at his 
 need inexhaustible power. As fast as you conform 
 your life to the pure idea in your mind, that will en- 
 fold its great proportions ". — Emerson. 
 
Section five. 
 
 MENTAL STATES. 
 
 /CULTIVATE a serene and reposeful state of 
 ^^ mind. Develop a consciousness of your one- 
 ness with God, — with all life, all love, all beauty, 
 all harmony. 
 
 Carry the soul up to the highest possible degree, 
 until it becomes practiced, trained, habituated, in 
 the highest forms of moral attainment ; until it has, 
 as a part of its daily experience, a transcendent per- 
 ception of divine being ; until it not only sees 
 God by voluntary thought, but sees Him every- 
 where involuntarily ; until the world itself changes 
 as it were, its aspect, and everything bears the im- 
 press of divinity ; as the poet sees all natural ob- 
 jects in the light of beauty ; as the artist sees all 
 things in nature in the line of art ; as the mechanic 
 sees the forces and principles in the material world 
 in the light of mechanical laws ; as the scientist 
 looks upon nature in relation to his science ; so let 
 everything that exists in nature and society, suggest 
 to you the sense of God. All things reflect Him. 
 They are symbols of Him. Every voice has some- 
 thing of the divine voice. EAery form of glory 
 
MENTAL STATES. 85 
 
 brings something of the divine to the mind. Every 
 thing that is great or little draws the soul toward, 
 and not away from, the Divine Being, till one can 
 say, "He fills the heavens; He fills the earth; He 
 fills the body ; He fills the soul ; I am filled with all 
 the fulness of God, My life is hid in his life ; I am 
 made every whit whole ". 
 
 Out of this higher realm of experience, you may 
 speak truths, which shall take away the coarseness 
 of lower forms of truth; — in fact, shall banish from 
 the body every expression of error, for no form of 
 disease can resist the argument of holiness (or whole- 
 ness) brought in a personified form before the soul. 
 
 You are seeking now the greatest blessing within 
 the gift of nature, and by sources divine, for all law 
 is of God, and nothing can be accomplished con- 
 trary to orderly methods. You attract to you that 
 which you hold in your mind. The prophet says, 
 "it shall be even as I think". Job says, "the evil 
 that I feared has come upon me ". Hold in your 
 mind that which you desire, and you attract it to 
 you. Think health, wealth, honor, happiness. 
 
 Create an ideal, and then put forth your best ef- 
 forts to actualize it in your life. Hold, all mankind 
 in your thought, for good ; speak evil of no one, 
 and refuse to listen to acrimonious conversation. 
 See only the good in everything, and everybody, 
 and wish for all who are afflicted the same great 
 blessing, that you are seeking for yourself. 
 
 Thus you attract to you all beneficent forces ; 
 
86 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 you create an atmosphere of harmony, which is 
 tonic to the body, and at the same time inimical 
 to the condition you are seeking to change. Not 
 only is this mental state to be desired, because in 
 accord with the teaching and principle of Jesus 
 Christ, but, also, it becomes a constant reminder, 
 or object-lesson, to the involuntary mind, and thus 
 strengthens greatly the direct suggestion given daily 
 in self-treatment. The supreme object in this sys- 
 tem of cure, is by any and every means, to keep in 
 the subjective mind of the patient, the proper sug- 
 gestion ; and whatever works to that end is inval- 
 uable, no matter how unimportant it may seem to 
 be, in itself considered. It is for this reason that 
 you should devote as much time as may be consis- 
 tent with your strength and various duties, to read- 
 ing such books and magazines as are abreast of this 
 new, and higher thought. 
 
 This is why I have said, you should not read the 
 sensational articles published in the daily and week- 
 ly papers, 
 
 You receive from these sources, whether you are 
 aware of it or not, suggestions which are good or 
 bad, according to the nature of that which is ab- 
 sorbed and assimilated by the objective mind. 
 
 If you have inherited, or acquired, a habit of wor- 
 ry ; if it has been your nightly practice, before go- 
 ing to sleep, to think of those things which have 
 been subjects of worry during the day, and you 
 have fallen asleep in a disturbed and anxious frame 
 
MENTAL STATES. 87 
 
 of mind, — by so doing, you have unconsciously 
 forced the soul, or true self, into an atmosphere and 
 conditions, corresponding to that which you have 
 consciously lived during your waking hours. You 
 have hoped, in sleep, to lose all consciousness of 
 those things which have been a burden and a sor- 
 row to you, amid the associations of life, t and so find 
 rest and surcease of sorrow. And in a sense it is 
 true, that for a time you have found rest, in sweet 
 unconsciousness. But, at the same time, your think- 
 ing has determined the plane of the soul's activities, 
 and through the hours of sleep it abides amid the 
 scenes and worries of your waking thoughts ; there- 
 fore you keep the subjective mind, day and night, 
 under a depressing and body-destroying suggestion, 
 for all night long, even as you sleep, the involun- 
 tary activities of the body are co-ordinated, to pro- 
 duce inharmonious physical conditions. You awake 
 in the morning from dream-disturbed slumber, with 
 a feeling of lassitude and fatigue, as pronounced as 
 that which you felt on retiring. Evidently some- 
 thing is wrong. This is not as it should be. You 
 should sleep so soundly as not to dream, or rather, 
 retain the impressions of sub-conscious mental ac- 
 tion, and awake refreshed and invigorated, with a 
 feeling of renewed and quickened life. It is wholly 
 in your power to correct this abnormal condition, 
 and to establish a habit of mind which will be a 
 permanent suggestion for physical strength and 
 visor. 
 
88 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 A life without forethought or plan must be weak 
 and fruitless, and it is. not against the forecast of 
 wise and enterprising economy that I speak, but 
 against an outlook into the future which wears and 
 frets the soul, and destroys the body. 
 
 Too great stress of thought, and too anxious a 
 foresight, is the fault, if not the sin, of multitudes of 
 people. Thinking ahead, and planning forward, is 
 not wrong ; but a painful, morbid forelooking, is not 
 only wrong, but destructive of every interest held 
 dear. You have no right to convert the outlying 
 future into a battle-ground, and attract to yourself 
 its dangerous fire. It is insane action. It is acting 
 from illusions, not from realities. It is putting your- 
 self under the influence of a disordered imagination. 
 It is a libel upon your faith in God. The future 
 belongs to hope, and not to fear. The great Teach- 
 er of humanity, when He would rebuke the need- 
 lessly fretted and worried disciples, pointed them 
 to the birds and to the flowers, saying, " God feeds 
 one and royally robes the other". How? out of 
 natural law, without care, without worry. What 
 is the use of all the difference between a bird and 
 a man, if it only leads to fear, and fret, and worry ? 
 Every one is better for thinking hopefully, joyously, 
 trustfully ; but there is a morbid pessimistic think- 
 ing which is hot, and dries up the very fountains of 
 life, leaving the body, " the temple of God ", an 
 unsightly ruin, because day and night, this morbid 
 mind is, by nature's law, expressed in the body. 
 
MENTAL STATES. 89 
 
 Looking forward to every least thing with fear 
 and apprehension, with grinding anxiety, with gloom 
 and suffering, is not right, nor is it profitable from 
 any view-point. The whole success of life, as well 
 as health, depends upon the wholesomeness of one's 
 mind. 
 
 Banish all thoughts of worry. Dwell in thought 
 upon all beautiful and desirable things. See your- 
 self as you are, — a soul, a spirit, in God's likeness, — 
 perfect, well, happy, rich, honored. Create, — 
 " thought creates" — an atmosphere of sunshine, of 
 gladness, of love, of joy. Feel God's nearness to 
 you, in tropic winds, in blooming flowers, in song of 
 bird, in hum of bee, in laughing brook, in star, and 
 sea. Cherish the beautiful. Regard with reverence 
 the profuse and princely gifts, which flow perpet- 
 ually from the great soul of God. Bring into ex- 
 pression out of the invisible universe of thought, 
 that which constitutes your thought of heaven. All 
 beauteous forms, all unalloyed delights. This ob- 
 jective mental state, as you *' fall on sleep", will 
 hold a power so potent over the soul, that all the 
 night through, the wonder-working inner mind, 
 will labor to produce a corresponding harmony and 
 beauty in the sick and worn-out body. 
 
 The value of this nightly suggestion may not be 
 apparent in a week, but thirty nights of reverie 
 amid such scenes, will convince you that there is 
 power in thought to change the physical expression, 
 
go GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 and all outward conditions also, until it shall be 
 true to you, — " Behold, I make all things new ". 
 
 Before giving instruction in the method of direct 
 and positive suggestion, there are other important 
 subjects to which I desire to call your attention. 
 You will at once agree with me that sunlight is a 
 vastly important factor in the economy of life. Ex- 
 pose the affected parts of the body to strong sun- 
 light for from twenty to thirty minutes each day, or 
 every other day if more convenient. You can do 
 this without extra expense, and with little incon- 
 venience to yourself, or to others. This daily sun- 
 bath will be of great benefit to you, no matter what 
 may be the nature of the disease. Many people 
 seem to be at cross purposes with the sunlight. 
 They seek, by every means, to resist the aggres- 
 sions of what seems to them to be an enemy. They 
 seek shelter from the direct rays of the sun, under 
 parasols and in the shade of trees ; they exclude 
 him from the home, through the medium of drawn 
 shades, closed shutters, and tightly shut windows 
 and doors, as if he were a pestilence to be dreaded, 
 rather than the benefactor that he is, dispensing life 
 and health on every hand. 
 
 It would seem that they prefer a delicate skin 
 and feebleness, to a bronzed face and robustness ; 
 unfaded carpets and tapestry, with dampness and 
 death, rather than sun-drawn colors, with light and 
 life. 
 
 Open your house to the sunlight, and so drive 
 
MENTAL STATES. 91 
 
 out the enemies, damp and darkness, that threaten 
 your life. 
 
 You can better afford to renew carpets, and cur- 
 tains, and furniture, each year, than you can afford 
 the risk of disease which you inevitably incur, ex- 
 cluded from the beneficent influence of the sun. If 
 you need to be convinced of the value of sunlight, 
 study shaded vegetation ; behold the flowers that 
 strive in vain to unfold their beauty in darkened 
 rooms. Visit the homes on shaded sides of your 
 city streets, and note the baneful effects of shadow 
 upon those who dwell therein ; or go into the mines 
 where men toil excluded from the glorious orb of 
 heaven, and see the wasted, emaciated bodies, afflict- 
 ed with a thousand ills. According to Pliny, Rome 
 had no physicians for six hundred years, because of 
 the universal habit of sun-baths and proper exer- 
 cise. Dr. Winslow says, " The absence of light 
 deteriorates by materially altering the physical com- 
 position of the blood, thus seriously prostrating the 
 vital strength, enfeebling the nervous energy, and 
 ultimately inducing organic changes in the struc- 
 ture of the heart, brain, and muscular tissue ". 
 
 Unless your affliction is of the eyes or head, ex- 
 pose the part affected to the direct rays of the sun, 
 for a brief time each day. Florence Nightingale 
 says, in her notes on nursing, " Put the pale, with- 
 ering plant and human being into the sun, and if 
 not too far gone, each will recover health and spirit ". 
 
 While exposing the body to the sunlight, a pro- 
 
92 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 fitable mental exercise, would be to consider the 
 relation that the sun sustains to every form of life 
 in the earth. Contrast the face of nature in the 
 spring - time and summer, with the earth when 
 locked in the cold and sunless embrace of winter. 
 This mental attitude in correspondence with*that of 
 the body, constitutes a dual suggestion, and com- 
 pels the attention of the subjective mind. 
 
 Another practical and valuable adjunct to the 
 treatment by suggestion, — is, properly flushing the 
 colon. 
 
 The colon is the great intestine extending up- 
 ward from the appendieula vermiformis towards the 
 liver, thence passing across the abdomen, to the left 
 side, where it is contorted like the letter S, and de- 
 scends to the pelvis ; hence it is divided in this 
 course into the ascending portion, the transverse 
 arch, and the sigmoid flexure. When it has reached 
 the pelvis, it is called the rectum, from whence it 
 proceeds in a straight line to the anus. 
 
 The colon is provided with numerous glands, 
 which assist in removing the waste matter from 
 the blood. Also, it is believed to have the power, 
 to some extent, of digesting food, as persons unable 
 to swallow have been kept alive for some time, by 
 nourishing liquids thrown into the colon by enema. 
 This canal is about four-and-a-half feet long, and 
 will easily hold a gallon of water. It is important 
 that this organ, which is practically the sewer of 
 the body, should be kept clean, and especially so, if 
 
MENTAL STATES. 93 
 
 one is afflicted with any chronic disease. As a mat- 
 ter of cleanliness, simply, the colon should be tho- 
 roughly flushed with hot water, as often as once a 
 fortnight. I have not omitted this internal bath 
 once a week for twenty years, and I speak from ac- 
 tual knowledge of its value. I believe that Dr. Hall, 
 of New York, was the first physician in this coun- 
 try to put it into practice, and to advocate its merits. 
 Its merit is to-day recognized by all physicians, and 
 it is utilized in hospitals and sanitariums generally. 
 However, it is with this as with everything else, 
 there is a right and a wrong way to use it. Unless 
 properly used, it may do more harm than good. I 
 have taken great pains to find out how properly to 
 use it, and find that so used, it is an invaluable aid, 
 in almost all cases of disease. 
 
 From the beginning of the treatment, and for the 
 first month, flush the colon thoroughly twice a week. 
 After that time once a week until you are well. 
 Realizing, by the time' you are fully recovered, the 
 comfort derived from this internal bath, I am per- 
 suaded that you will elect to continue the practice 
 as a luxury you cannot afford to forego. I will give 
 here minute directions as to the method, so that you 
 can be in no doubt whatever as to how to take this 
 bath. 
 
 Purchase a fountain syringe that will hold three 
 or four quarts of water. Hang it six or seven feet 
 above the floor, to insure a free flow. Heat your 
 bath-room to about seventy-two degrees, to prevent 
 
 ___^__ 
 
94 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 chill, as it will be necessary to expose some part of 
 the body. 
 
 Use water as hot as you can bear the hand in, 
 without discomfort. Be sure, before inserting the 
 tube into the rectum, to run the cold water out of 
 the pipe. Spread a comforter on the floor, with a 
 pillow for the head. Lie on your back, with knees 
 slightly drawn up. Insert the tube, turn off the 
 brake, and lie perfectly quiet. The flow of water 
 into the colon will, of course, distend it, and so you 
 may experience pain at different points of this canal, 
 not unlike colic pains ; do not let this alarm you, as 
 there is no danger in it. At first you may not be 
 able to inject more than a quart of water, without 
 the feeling that you must evacuate it. If you can- 
 not longer retain it, shut off the brake, and evacu- 
 ate the water. Try it again, and even a third time, 
 that is, if you are each time compelled to immedi- 
 ately evacuate the water. If you can inject two 
 quarts, and retain it ten minutes to begin with, do 
 not repeat the injection, as you have done fairly 
 well, and have succeeded in reducing to quite a de- 
 gree the inflammation, and relieving the colon also 
 of all fecal matter. When you can inject and re- 
 tain three quarts of water for twenty minutes, you 
 will have reached very nearly the ideal perform- 
 ance. The better time to take this bath is at night, 
 when the house is quiet, and you are free from in- 
 trusion. Do not be in a hurry ; take time to do it 
 well; a little extra nervousness, from whatever 
 
MENTAL STATES. 95 
 
 cause, will interfere with the muscular and nervous 
 action of the colon, and so prevent a natural and 
 easy evacuation. 
 
 This treatment is especially beneficial in all cases 
 of throat, lung, or liver troubles, and in cases of 
 costiveness and diarrhoea. All medicines given to 
 correct the bowels, have a tendency to increase, 
 rather than lessen the evil. 
 
 Whether the bowels underact or overact, this 
 treatment is alike efficacious in restoring a normal 
 condition. 
 
 There is no danger in this practice of creating a 
 habit of the bowels, as in taking cathartic medi- 
 cines ; after a time the bowels will move, as nature 
 intended they should do, without the aid of injec- 
 tions. It relieves the system of all poisonous mat- 
 ter, softens the skin, creates hunger, and is tonic to 
 the entire physical system. It has not only intrin- 
 sic value, but also is a powerful suggestion, as an 
 object-lesson, to the involuntary mind. If now this 
 matter is not entirely plain to you, write me what 
 there is about it that you do not understand, and I 
 will gladly explain to you more fully. 
 
 Plain and nourishing food, air, sunlight, exercise, 
 pure water, cleanliness, inspiring literature, sleep, 
 relaxation, cheerfulness, concentration, agreeable 
 companionship, internal baths, are each and all, an 
 important part of the treatment by suggestion, and 
 not simply because they are rational, and in accord- 
 ance with the nature of man, but because when 
 
96 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 observed in an orderly way, and of purpose, they 
 become daily instructors of the subjective mind. 
 The purpose constitutes the suggestion, and the 
 thing itself becomes an object-lesson to this mind 
 which has all to do with the involuntary activities 
 of the body. 
 
 Therapeutic as they are, in themselves consi- 
 dered, they become all the more so, as suggestions 
 to this spirit-mind. I have thoroughly tested the 
 value of these things, in hundreds of cases, — cases 
 pronounced incurable, by supposedly competent au- 
 thority, and with results little less than wonderful, 
 as you may know by the testimonials herein given. 
 These should be sufficient to convince the most 
 skeptical, that there is help for all who suffer, if 
 they will but accept of the proffered assistance. 
 The power to do, all that you desire should be done, 
 is within yourself, if you will believe in it, and con- 
 sciously identify yourself with it. 
 
 I have tried to make the method so plain, that no 
 one could mistake it. Here my responsibility ends. 
 I have no power to compel you to make trial of the 
 system, and would not use it, if I had. I can only 
 say, that if you are suffering from chronic sickness, 
 and you allow your unbelief to turn you away from 
 this certain remedy, you are making the greatest 
 mistake of your life. 
 
 I wish now to call your attention to that which is 
 of most importance in metaphysical treatment, viz. : 
 
 Direct and positive suggestion. 
 
MENTAL STATES. 97 
 
 You may not recognize this fact, but nevertheless 
 it is true, that the mind governs physical life. Every 
 cell that enters into the composition of your body 
 is enlarged, contracted, moved by the impulses of 
 thought that originate from the convolutions of the 
 cerebrum, created by suggestions received from 
 your associations and surroundings. All functions 
 of the body are influenced by what you think. As 
 cause of disease, in ninety-nine cases out of one 
 hundred, no matter what name may be given to 
 them by physicians, we find the " burden of a troub- 
 led spirit ", or an " outraged conscience ". When the 
 mind is tranquil, and in harmony with the laws of 
 God, the functions of the body are perfectly per- 
 formed. When disturbed, worried, full of fear, and 
 remorse, and anxiety, we have afo-ease, or a dimin- 
 ished resistance to disease. Why ? Because the 
 chronic action of the objective mind becomes a po- 
 tential suggestion to the subjective mind, which un- 
 der this constant suggestion rebuilds the cells to 
 produce a corresponding inharmony in the body. 
 The creation of cells is largely influenced by the 
 mental attitude of the person. Mental depression 
 diminishes them, while buoyancy of spirit, light- 
 headedness, promotes their growth. 
 
 When the system is run down and weakened by 
 long-continued sickness, the mind is much more 
 susceptible to suggestion. Every movement, every 
 look, every sight or sound, is cognized by the or- 
 gans of sense, and pronounced upon by the judicial 
 
98 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 faculty of the brain, thus setting up throughout the 
 sympathetic nervous system, vibrations for good or 
 evil in every tissue, and organ of the body. Every 
 one knows how easily the mind may be led into 
 healthy habits of thought, or the opposite. This is 
 accomplished by external suggestion in a degree, 
 but much more by the individual himself, through 
 auto-suggestion. Your faith in a physician, and in 
 his knowledge of materia medica, has much to do 
 with the effect of the remedy prescribed. We con- 
 cede the power of certain drugs to change the vi- 
 brations of tissue, or to produce chemical changes 
 in the system, and to that extent, wisely adminis- 
 tered, they possess intrinsic value. Still it remains 
 true that the greater value of the remedy lies in 
 what you believe about it, as your belief is a very 
 powerful suggestion to the involuntary mind for 
 cure. An old fisherman, living on the shores of 
 Lake George, for many years afflicted with rheuma- 
 tism, spoke to me of an infallible remedy for that 
 painful disease. It was simply to carry in one's 
 trousers pocket a small potato. Now it is not only 
 true that in this case the remedy was effective, but 
 in other cases also, to whom this simple corrective 
 had been recommended. Many persons have car- 
 ried about them horse-chestnuts, and other equally 
 harmless amulets, for a similar reason, and in many 
 instances with beneficial results. Why ? not surely 
 because of any virtue in the object itself, but be- 
 cause there was a vital and potential relation be- 
 
MENTAL STATES. 99 
 
 tween the object carried and the mind of him who 
 carried it. What he believed about it, — in that, and 
 not in the thing itself, was the power to heal. 
 
 It was a constant object-lesson to the involuntary 
 mind, — a constant suggestion for a specific purpose, 
 and the law of suggestion, ignorantly obeyed, 
 wrought out the expected result. 
 
 You have known of similar cases, no doubt. Stop 
 and ask yourself the question. Why ? You can 
 find but one logical solution to the problem, namely : 
 the action of subjective mind through the law of 
 suggestion. Granted that this is the true solution, 
 can you not realize what it must mean to you and 
 to others, to intelligently follow this great law, and 
 constantly give direction to the forces that are con- 
 tinually rebuilding the body ? 
 
 It is a common occurrence for physicians to pre- 
 scribe for a patient who does not need medicines, 
 bread pills, or sweetened water, and the therapeutic 
 effect upon the system is the same, as that which 
 the physician indicated to the patient, would be. 
 Recently a prominent and cultured lady of New 
 York was brought to me by her husband for treat- 
 ment. She had been for months under the care of 
 a specialist, in women's diseases. She could not 
 sleep without taking opiates, and was in a feverish 
 and restless condition; her constant cry was for 
 rest, and escape from insanity. I gave her direc- 
 tions regarding the treatment, and agreed to attend 
 her until she was well, which I assured her would 
 
 MM 
 
ioo GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 be soon. For several nights I consented to her 
 taking- the accustomed dose of whiskey, without 
 which, as she believed, she could not sleep. Real- 
 izing that I could accomplish nothing if this prac- 
 tice was kept up, I felt myself justified in practicing 
 deception. I recommended to her a sleeping potion 
 of my own mixing as a substitute for other opiates. 
 Described to her minutely just the effect the medi- 
 cine would have, putting emphasis, of course, upon 
 the fact of sleep. I gave strict orders to both the 
 nurse and maid, to be careful about giving the po- 
 tion, thus emphasizing as much as possible the sug- 
 gestion. I found the next morning that my patient 
 had slept soundly for six hours, after taking the 
 medicine. This I continued to do night after night 
 for about a month, my patient sleeping from eight 
 to ten hours. Her improvement was so rapid in 
 every way, that at the end of a month she no longer 
 felt the need of anything to quiet her nerves, and I 
 discontinued the medicine. Now it is a fact that 
 this patient did not take a particle of medicine of 
 any kind. She thought she did, and the perfectly 
 harmless pills had the effect suggested, because 
 when she took them, she gave herself an auto-sug- 
 gestion for rest and sleep, and that suggestion in 
 the form of an object-lesson to the involuntary 
 mind, together with the direct suggestion which I 
 myself gave, produced through the action of that 
 mind, the physical condition of quiet and repose. 
 After three months, I dismissed the case, perfect- 
 
 
MENTAL STATES. 101 
 
 \y cured, and there has been no recurrence of the 
 trouble. 
 
 If you will closely follow the directions herein 
 given, you will, without doubt, succeed in keeping 
 the proper suggestion in the involuntary mind, whe- 
 ther you are aware of the fact or not. So far as 
 sensation is concerned, you will have reason to 
 think that you do not reach this mind, as you will 
 have no consciousness that you do. Yet you can- 
 not help reaching it, — if you continue to do the 
 things which the law demands. 
 
 After a time you will reach this consciousness 
 through the changed condition of the body, and 
 from that time on, it will be less difficult and irk- 
 some for you to go on to health. You should dress 
 loosely at all times, even to the feet. Put as little 
 strain upon the system as possible, and take as 
 much time as you can afford for relaxation and re- 
 pose. The proper time to give yourself positive and 
 direct suggestion, is when you retire, and are ready 
 to sleep. Lie on your back, relax the muscles, 
 breathe full and deep for a moment or two, or until 
 you have somewhat concentrated the mind. Now 
 think of yourself, as a spiritual, instead of a physi- 
 cal being. 
 
 Address this spiritual being, or your subjective 
 self. Imagine that the subjective or involuntary 
 mind functions in particular in the solar plexus 
 ganglia or centre, and address this mind as there 
 located. Give a sharp, positive, mental or oral 
 
102 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 command to this mind, to create whatever condi- 
 tion you desire produced in the body. Repeat the 
 command for the sake of emphasis, and then dis- 
 miss the whole subject from your mind ; that is, do 
 not question whether or not you have succeeded in 
 properly impressing this mind, or feel any anxiety 
 about it. Believe that you have, and that it is not 
 optional with this mind whether it shall obey or 
 not, but that it must obey. When you have fallen 
 asleep, and the objective mind is no longer active, 
 the subjective mind will act upon your suggestion, 
 and begin the process of rebuilding the cells accord- 
 ing to the plan held in your thought. 
 
 Repeat this suggestion every night. 
 
 If you faithfully follow out the directions be- 
 fore given, you will not fail to keep constantly 
 in this mind the suggestion for perfect health, and 
 sooner or later perfect health will be your reward. 
 
 Whether it will be one month, or six months, 
 will depend greatly upon your thoroughness, and 
 the nature of your trouble, but in every case, if 
 persevered in, the result must be as you desire, be- 
 cause it is the law of God. 
 
Physical Redemption. 
 
" Look to it first and only, that, fashion, custom, 
 authority, pleasure, and money are nothing to you, — 
 are not bandages over your eyes, that you cannot see, 
 — but live with the privilege of the immeasurable 
 mind. * * * " * 
 
 " Real action is in silent moments. The epochs of 
 our life are not in the visible facts of our choice of a 
 calling, our marriage, our acquisition of an office, and 
 the like, but in a silent thought by the wayside as we 
 walk ; in a thought which revises our entire manner 
 of life, and says, — " Thus hast thou done, but it were 
 better thus ". — Emerson. 
 
 
Section Six- 
 
 physical REDEMPTION. 
 
 HHHE following- affirmation, written years ago for 
 my patients, has been tested by hundreds of 
 invalids, and I am daily receiving letters from all 
 parts of the country, bearing testimony to its value 
 as an aid to those who find it difficult to express 
 just what they desire to express to the subjective 
 mind. This affirmation is at once an address to, 
 and an expression of this inner, or real self. Every 
 word of it is true, both from a biblical, and a scien- 
 tific viewpoint, and it is, therefore, a very powerful 
 treatment. 
 
 At such time during the day as you may elect, 
 for thirty minutes rest and relaxation, fix your mind 
 with all the power of concentration you can com- 
 mand, upon the affirmation, and by careful and re- 
 peated reading, absorb its truth ; let it permeate 
 your whole being. 
 
 AFFIRMATION. 
 
 God is, therefore I am. God is all, therefore I 
 am a part of God ; as the lesser is always included 
 in the greater, I am included in God. The life that 
 7" express is a part of the Infinite life. I live, move, 
 
 
 
io6 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 and have being in God. God is life. God is love. 
 God is good. God is infinite. As there can be but 
 one Infinite life, — love, good, in an infinite universe, 
 my life, my love, my good, must be a part of that 
 infinite life, infinite love, infinite good. God's will 
 is infinite, and infinitely perfect. My will is a part 
 of that infinitely perfect will, — has organic relation 
 to it, as a fraction has to a whole. As the integrity 
 of a unit depends upon every fractional part of it, 
 so the divine life without my life is incomplete. I 
 am one with God ; a child of God ; created in His 
 image ; a brother to the Christ, and heir with Him 
 to the incorruptible inheritance of God. I will to 
 be perfectly zuell, perfectly rich, perfectly honored. 
 My will is right, because it is one with the will of 
 God. God is spirit. If God be spirit, His offspri?ig 
 must be spirit also. I am a child of God, therefore, 
 / am spirit. I am not body, but spirit, here and 
 now. I am linked to the unchangeable. I am liv- 
 ing in an eternal fountain of strength, for the law of 
 the spirit of life in God, hath made me free from the 
 law of sin and death. / am soul. It is the right 
 of the higher to rule the lower. As soul, I am the 
 ruling factor in my system of activities. I refuse 
 to yield my sovereign right of rule. I deny the 
 rule of the body, of all things less than spirit. I 
 am filled with the vivific life of God. I am well. I 
 rule the body and objective mind. Within myself 
 is the power to govern all lower things, — -atmos- 
 pheric changes, physical condition, mental status, 
 
PHYSICAL REDEMPTION. 107 
 
 disease, — all are subject to me, for I am above these 
 things, and the higher can in every case rule the 
 lower. I assert my superiority as soul. I affirm vic- 
 tory over disease, pain, sickness, poverty, unrest, 
 sorrow, and every inharmonious condition of my 
 life. I assert' my supremacy over outward circum- 
 stances. I deny the power of both physical pain 
 and disease. I deny the power of all that has hi- 
 therto, produced inharmony in my life ; — passion, 
 appetite, creed, vanity, have no longer dominion 
 over me. I am spirit. I deny the tyranny of mat- 
 ter. I am free. Matter serves, I rule. I assert au- 
 thority and power. I am, and within the / am are 
 the potencies which control the body, and which 
 have power to change, at will, all bodily conditions. 
 My will is God's will, for His will is imiversal. His 
 will is declared to be good toward all men. My will 
 is good, toward myself, and toward all mankind. 
 That which I desire for myself, I desire for the en- 
 tire human family. / will to be well, I am that I 
 will to be. / am well. I am the supreme fact in 
 this body. Every organ and organic function, is 
 under my control. I will to be peifect in all the 
 organs and functions of my body. / am perfect, 
 because the spiritual is the real, though not out- 
 wardly manifest. I am spirit and not matter. I 
 am whole, despite outward appearances. My spirit, 
 my real self being perfect, I am essentially sound 
 in miud and body. Wholeness and health is in 
 every fibre and tissue of my organism. / am well, 
 
108 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 and strong, and beautiful. I am divinely complete. 
 I shut the door of imagination against every thought 
 of imperfection and disorder. I will " think no evil ". 
 I will forget evil; I will remember only good, I 
 am whole, mentally and physically. All the activi- 
 ties of my life are in harmony with God, subject to 
 no other power, for there is but one source of power. 
 " The powers that be are ordained of God ". I will 
 fear no evil, for God is with me. " His rod and His 
 staff they comfort me". In Him I live. From Him 
 I draw my nourishment. His life is my life. " He 
 is the health of my countenance ". / am complete 
 in Him. — Perfect, whole, complete in Him. I can- 
 not know sickness, or sorrow, or suffering, or death. 
 My very being is in God, and from Him, as the vine 
 from the root, I draw nourishment and strength for 
 soul and body. It heals me. It invigorates me. In 
 its strength I am restored. I am every whit whole. 
 I am filled with the divine energy. I open my soul 
 to it. "J am filled with all the fullness of God". 
 
 The divine exuberance fills every cell of my being, 
 even as the mighty tides of ocean fill the indentures 
 of the continents. I am healed at the fountain of 
 exhaustless health. "All my springs are in Thee ". 
 "I live as seeing Him who is invisible". My life 
 flows with the divine life. / am well. 
 
 Fear is banished, doubts are gone ; love, hope, 
 and confidence reign supreme. 
 
 i am well, — healed by the consciousness 
 of God. 
 
Testimonials 
 
He who knows that power is in the soul ; that lie 
 is weak only because he has looked for good out of 
 him and elsewhere, and, so perceiving, throws himself 
 unhesitatingly on his thought, instantly rights himself, 
 stands in the erect position, commands his limbs, works 
 miracles ; just as a man who stands on his feet, is 
 stronger than a man who stands on his head. 
 
 — Emerson. 
 
 Within man is the soul of the whole ; the wise 
 silence ; the universal beauty, to which every part and 
 particle is equally related ; the eternal one. And this 
 deep power in which we exist, and whose beatitude 
 is all-accessible to us, is not only self-sufficing, and 
 perfect in every hour, but the act of seeing, and the 
 thing seen, the seer and the spectacle, the subject and 
 the object, are one. — Emerson. 
 
fteetimomate. 
 
 OINCE^I began treating people for all kinds of 
 maladies, by the law of suggestion, I have had 
 most pronounced success, and with a class of pa- 
 tients who most thoroughly appreciate what I have 
 done for them, and who are willing to testify to the 
 value of my system, and to my own personal integ- 
 rity, and fairness in all my dealings with them. 
 
 Yet, at the same time, many people dislike great- 
 ly to have their sicknesses advertised to the world, 
 and justly so. I respect this feeling, and have re- 
 fused positively to give the names of any patients 
 to the public, and whenever they have appeared in 
 the New York papers, as in some instances they 
 have, it has been through the inquiry of reporters 
 in cities where I have practiced, and never with my 
 knowledge or consent. My call to Paris to consult 
 with eminent specialists, in a prominent case, which 
 I afterward accepted and cured, and which resulted 
 in quite a degree of notoriety for my patient, was 
 through no fault of mine ; on the contrary, I did all 
 in my power to shield the lady from the newspa- 
 pers, but without avail. Other patients in Paris, 
 equally prominent in social and business circles, 
 were spared a like experience, simply because the 
 
ii2 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 reporters did not get a clew to them. The names 
 here given for reference, are given with the consent 
 of the patients, and you are at liberty to address 
 them if you desire to do so. Many of the testi- 
 monials are without signature, for the reason above 
 given. However, if you desire to know more about 
 any particular testimonial, and will write me, inclos- 
 ing stamp for reply, I will send you the address of 
 the parties testifying, if I can gain their consent. 
 
 These testimonials, which represent hundreds of 
 like character, which space will not permit me to 
 present here, are all fac-similes of the original let- 
 ters which are now in my possession. They are, 
 also, mostly taken from patients in my own cities, 
 that is, the cities where, for the past nine years, I 
 have lived, and preached the gospel of Christ. For 
 six years, before coming to Norwalk, Conn., I was 
 pastor of the First Baptist Church of Albany,- N.Y. 
 
 It was during my pastorate at Albany, that I 
 delivered my first series of lectures on the subject 
 of metaphysical therapeutics, to an audience of a 
 thousand people, thus calling attention to my min- 
 istry of healing the sick. Three years ago I came 
 to this city, (Norwalk) accepting a call to the pas- 
 torate of the First Baptist Church, over which I 
 still preside, and whose members can testify to the 
 extent, and success, of my labors among them. A 
 score, at least, of my church people have been 
 cured, of supposed incurable sicknesses. 
 
 Excuse any seeming egotism in this personal 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 113 
 
 reference, as I speak of it simply to strengthen your 
 faith in a system which, if faithfully followed, will 
 do for you what it has done for so many. 
 
 For the sake of brevity, I will omit all irrelevant 
 matter from the testimonials : 
 
 National Park Seminary,, 
 
 Forest Glen, Md. 
 
 Feb. 19, 1900. 
 Rev. Dr. Van Doren, Norwalk, Conn. 
 
 Dear Sir : — It is with sincere pleasure that I ex- 
 press my thankfulness for all that you have done for 
 me ; for I know that you have performed a most won- 
 derful cure. In less than two months after I received 
 the first treatment, I was convinced that I was entirely 
 cured of a trouble peculiar to women, so severe in its 
 nature, as to compel me to remain in bed, suffering 
 great pain. Not one of the many eminent physicians 
 whom I have consulted has been able to afford me 
 even relief. I am now able to attend to my duties, 
 and am perfectly free from pain. In fact, in all my 
 life, I was never so well and so happy as I am now, 
 and I give you all the praise. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Mary E. Allen. 
 
 Norwalk, Conn,, Mch. 12, 1900. 
 To whom it may concern: — 
 
 Having had facial neuralgia severely for many years, 
 suffering to such extreme that my head turned to one 
 side, and having tried numerous physicians, as well 
 as the climates of Europe and Asia without receiving 
 
ii4 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 any benefit whatever, I placed myself under the treat- 
 ment of Dr. Van Doren, who in less than six months 
 entirely removed the hard lump from my neck, and 
 completely relieved me from all aches and pains, from 
 which, since last May, I have been perfectly free. 
 The very reasonable, logical and scientific rules of 
 health which I implicitly obeyed, have produced a 
 marvelous change in my health, as well as my think- 
 ing and mode of living. Words fail me to express 
 my appreciation of Dr. Van Doren's system of treat- 
 ment. The world would, indeed, be healthier and 
 happier if there were more such earnest and scientific 
 teachers. 
 
 Gladly will I reply to any questions which the inter- 
 ested sick may desire to ask concerning my cure, 
 hoping thus to assist the suffering. 
 Sincerely, 
 
 Julia Snowdon Hotchkiss, 
 4 Arch Street, Norwalk, Conn. 
 
 44 Hawthorne Ave., March 15, 1900. 
 
 E. Orange, N. J. 
 Dear Mr. Van Doren : — It is simply remarkable 
 how much better I feel than I did two months ago. 
 Accept my thanks, for the degree of strength, and 
 happiness I now enjoy. 
 
 Believe me always gratefully, 
 
 Bertha M. Hobbs. 
 
 97 College St., March 30, 1900. 
 
 Asheville, N, C. 
 Dear Dr. Van Doren :— * * * Mi 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 115 
 
 Dunkley is entirely cured of his trouble, thanks to 
 you, and he says he is going to write to you himself 
 soon. * * * 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Maud Dunkley. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Dunkley were students of mine 
 when Mr. Dunkley was professor of music in Bishop 
 Doane's College, Albany, N.Y. Since that time I 
 have cured them both of troubles which medi- 
 cines failed to reach. 
 
 Following is the reply of one of my patients 
 to a letter of inquiry, addressed to him by a lady of 
 this city : 
 
 Albany, N.Y. Sept. 10, 1900. 
 
 My dear Madam : — Replying to yours of the 6th 
 inst., let me say that you have been correctly informed 
 in regard to my condition of health. For several 
 years I was the victim of tuberculosis of the lungs, 
 and so far as appears, I am well to-day. A leading 
 factor in my recovery I count to be the treatment of 
 Dr. Van Doren. Out of door exercise, wholesome 
 food, etc., doubtless did their part; but usually these 
 things do not cure consumption. In my opinion the 
 doctor is well within the fact, when he says that he 
 can and does cure this dread disease. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 J. W. S. 
 
 This man is one of the most brilliant and influ- 
 ential ministers in Albany. 
 
u6 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 Montague, Fla. Sept. 3d, 1899. 
 
 Dear Madam : — Yours of July 23d has just reached 
 me, and I hasten to reply. I spent a month in Albany 
 last year. At that time Mr, Van Doren was pastor of 
 the First Baptist Church of that city, and I was the 
 guest of my sister, Mrs. Oscar Leonard. I was eight 
 years pastor of the church prior to Dr. Van Doren's 
 incumbency. My host was under treatment by Dr. 
 Van Doren. He was beloved by his church. As to 
 healing powers, I met several of my old church mem- 
 bers, whose word I could not doubt, who assured me 
 he had treated them successfully. In my pleasant per- 
 sonal intercourse with him, I became assured of his 
 earnestness, his honesty, and his strong faith in the 
 gift of healing God had given him. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 D. M. Reeves, D. D. 
 
 Mrs. Oscar Leonard's address is 91 Delaware 
 Ave., Albany, N. Y. 
 
 Albany, N. Y., Sept. 23d, ii 
 
 My Dear Mrs. In regard to your inquiry, I 
 
 cannot say enough in favor of metaphysical treatment. 
 Should I tell you all I would like to, and all I know 
 to be true concerning it, it would take volumes to ex- 
 press it. There are a great many cases, and most 
 were considered hopeless, that were cured by Dr. Van 
 Doren, and a great deal of his good work was among 
 the poor, and of course it would be impossible to hear 
 from them. The Dr. is so very modest that of his 
 great work in healing, I presume the half will never 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 117 
 
 be known ; but if you were to visit our city, and see 
 the many that have been cured, you would be assured 
 of the truth — it would convince the most skeptical. 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Mrs. Anna H. Saxton, 
 
 191 Madison Ave. 
 
 East Orange, N. J. Mar. 29, 1900. 
 
 My dear Dr. Van Doren : — Thank you for your 
 encouraging letter. Yours certainly is the ideal sys- 
 tem, and I am deeply thankful to have found you. I 
 am so much improved in every way that M almost 
 wonder if I can be the same person who was such a 
 wreck only eleven weeks ago. My one regret is, that 
 it is not in my power adequately to repay your kind 
 services. Indeed they cannot be reckoned in the gold 
 of this earth. 
 
 Believe me always gratefully yours, 
 
 B. M. H. 
 
 I will give the address of this lady, if you write 
 me, requesting it. 
 
 314 State Street, 
 
 Albany, N 4 Y. Aug. 25, 1899. 
 
 Both myself and wife were materially helped in 
 many ways by Dr. Van Doren, I have faith in meta- 
 physics, and believe the Dr. a man remarkably well 
 posted in the science. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Edward Wendell Crosby. 
 
u8 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 This is the testimony of a gentleman, whose 
 unlimited means, and high social standing, has given 
 leisure to investigate the science. 
 
 Stamford, May 6, 1901. 
 
 Dear Dr. Van Doren : — I wish to express my 
 thanks to you for the syeedy relief you gave me, in 
 my trouble from inflammation of the bowels ; I had 
 suffered severely for ten days, was terribly bloated, 
 and in intense pain, unable to keep anything on my 
 stomach. The doctors were unable to give me any 
 relief, and thought an operation was necessary. In 
 less than two hours after you treated me I got the re- 
 lief I had been hoping for so long, and immediately 
 began to gain, and continued to do so, until I am now 
 perfectly well. I am in perfect sympathy with your 
 method of treatment, and believe you were the means 
 of saving my life. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 H. I. Dann. 
 
 Mr. Dann is a well known business man of Stam- 
 ford, Conn., respected and honored for his ability 
 and integrity of character. 
 
 Norwalk, March 12, 1900. 
 
 To whom it may concern .-—Nervous headache and 
 dyspepsia, from which I suffered for twenty-five years, 
 caused me to try different physicians, also various re- 
 medies which promised relief. Receiving from them 
 only temporary benefit, I grew discouraged. About 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 1 19 
 
 one year ago, after listening to the teaching of the 
 philosophy of life, as preached by Dr. Van Doren, I 
 placed myself under his care, and in less than three 
 months was completely cured. To him I owe a true 
 debt of gratitude, which I feel can never be repaid, 
 not simply for the positive cure effected, but also for 
 the knowledge received while attending his scientific 
 lectures, on mental therapeutics. The cause and the 
 doctor are worthy the utmost confidence, of all lovers 
 of truth, of all who are in any way afflicted. 
 
 Gratefully yours, 
 
 E. H. Hotchkiss, 
 
 4 Arch Street. 
 
 This gentleman is a representative business man, 
 well known in business circles, both in America and 
 Europe, and whose social standing is unquestioned. 
 
 The following is from Mrs. Geo. R. Howell, (Na- 
 tional Lecturer W. C. T. U.) who for years was as- 
 sociated with Frances Willard, and who is known 
 in every State of the union, as a most versatile, able, 
 and eloquent advocate of temperance and the rights 
 of women. When called to the case, I found Mrs. 
 Howell in a very serious condition. The loss of her 
 son when just ready to graduate from Yale Univer- 
 sity, together with her ceaseless platform and liter- 
 ary work, had broken her health completely, and 
 left her unable to leave her room. 
 
120 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 October, 1900. 
 My dear Doctor : — No words can convey to you 
 the sense of gratitude I feel for what you have done 
 for me, not only in restoring physical health, but also 
 in bringing me to see that I have much left to live for, 
 and to do. I owe my life to you, and I assure you of 
 my sincere gratitude, and heartfelt wishes for your 
 every good and blessing. If my dear husband were 
 alive, he would express, in stronger terms than I can 
 command, his great regard for you, and his appreci- 
 ation of your unselfish efforts on my behalf. Again 
 thanking you for your help and sympathy in the great 
 crisis of my life, I remain, 
 
 Yours most gratefully, 
 
 Mrs. George R. Howell, 
 
 30 Lancaster St., Albany, N. Y. 
 
 Albany, N. Y. Sept, 1899. 
 
 Dear Sir : — A single treatment from you gave me 
 instant relief from rheumatism of forty years stand- 
 ing. That was five months ago. I have not had a 
 rheumatic pain since. Your instructions are beyond 
 the value of money. I have been a hundred times 
 better Christian since attempting to live by the 
 booklet. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 J. F. Moss, 
 
 158 Hudson Ave. 
 
 Albany, June, 1899. 
 
 Dear Dr. Van Doren : — Can you not imagine 
 my gratitude ? To be well, after four years of suffer- 
 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 121 
 
 ing, and no symptom of a return of that most to be 
 dreaded of all diseases, consumption of the lungs, is 
 simply inexpressible. My faith in your ability is per- 
 fect. I am looking so well that my friends scarcely 
 know me. I do not cough, have no pain, and have 
 gained much in weight. I feel like sending you a let- 
 ter of thanks daily, I am so happy in my deliverance. 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 Mrs. E. M. Woodard. 
 
 146 Elm Street. 
 
 Norwalk, May 13, 1901. 
 
 Rev. and dear Sir : — If my testimony can be of 
 any value to the sick and suffering, I am only too hap- 
 py to add my name to the list. To be as well a wo- 
 man as I am to-day, is simply marvelous to me. A 
 year ago life was a burden, for I was mentally and 
 physically diseased. I was out of harmony altogether. 
 I had had medical aid for years, but with little satis- 
 faction. I can heartily say metaphysical treatment 
 has saved my life. Doctor Van Doren is a most won- 
 derful healer and teacher, and no one after being 
 under his personal care, can help but live a better 
 Christian life. Evidently he is divinely called to this 
 noble work; to my daily prayers I always add, God 
 bless Dr. Van Doren. 
 
 Ella Josephine Byxbee. 
 
 Mrs. Denny S. Hull, 
 
 12 Academy Street, Norwalk. 
 This lady was cured by my treatment after the 
 regular physicians had failed to help her. I am 
 
122 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 sure she will gladly reply to your inquiry, if you 
 write to her. 
 
 Stamford, Conn. May i, 1901. 
 
 Dear Doctor Van Doren : — I will write you just 
 my condition, and if you wish to use my letter as a 
 testimonial, you are at liberty to do so. I sincerely 
 thank you for the great change in my condition. 
 
 Your teaching in the science of health without 
 medicine, has done much for me. I am now realizing 
 what mental control means. I have had better health 
 the past winter, than I have had before in twelve 
 years. I am now entirely free from malaria and in- 
 digestion. I suffered for thirty-two years with milk- 
 leg, my limb swelling to immense size ; twice during 
 this period it broke, causing me untold inconvenience ; 
 I w r as obliged always to wear a bandage. I have now, 
 thanks to your skillful treatment, no trouble from it 
 whatever; it is perfectly well. My right knee is get- 
 ting along finely, and I am sure, if I follow your in- 
 structions, in regard to that, as I did in regard to my 
 left limb, it, too, will get perfectly well. I think your 
 treatment something wonderful ; also the teaching. 
 I want also to thank you for what you did for my son. 
 We all feel that through you his life was saved. 
 
 With kindest regards, I am, 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 Mrs. E. J. Dann. 
 
 19 Riverside Avenue, 
 
 East Norwalk. Oct. 15, 1901. 
 
 Dr. Van Doren : — Words cannot express the gra- 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 123 
 
 titude I feel. I am a changed woman both physically 
 and spiritually. Your treatments have wrought the 
 first, and your teachings the latter change. I owe so 
 much to your skill, that I shall not attempt to ex- 
 press it. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 Mrs. J. R. L'Hommedieu. 
 
 Following are addresses of people who have been 
 treated by me, and who will take pleasure in writing 
 to you, if you desire to hear from them : 
 
 Rev. Dr. J. W. Sylvester, 
 
 Minister of 2d Presbyterian Church, Albany. 
 
 Lewis A. Stremple, 
 
 Professor of Music, 9 Bradford Street, Albany. 
 
 Mrs. W. B. Nichols, 
 
 16 East 74th Street, New York City. 
 
 Mrs, J. Bainbridge Smith, 
 
 67th Street and Boulevard, New York City. 
 
 Miss Ettie L. Taylor, 
 
 1260 Pacific Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 Mrs. Mira E. Bradley, 
 
 20 Vernon Street, New Haven, Conn. 
 
 Mrs. Mark Stevens, 
 
 269 Main Street, Norwalk, Conn. 
 
 A very difficult case, and yet most wonderfully 
 cured. 
 
 Miss Gertrude Lyon, 
 
 46 Knight Street, Norwalk, Conn. 
 
124 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 Miss Olmstead, 
 
 15 West Main Street, Norwalk, Conn. 
 
 Mr. Charles Fitch, 
 
 15 Myrtle Avenue, East Norwalk, Conn. 
 
 Mr. A. B. Byington, 
 
 16 Westport Avenue, Norwalk, Conn. 
 
 Miss Elizabeth Taylor, 
 
 7 Mott Avenue, Norwalk, Conn. 
 
 This young- lady was greatly afflicted, and en- 
 tirely beyond the skill of physicians. In three 
 months she was perfectly well, and is to-day the 
 picture of health. 
 
 Miss Belle J. Doane, 
 
 7 Mott Avenue, Norwalk, Conn. 
 
 Mrs. D. A. Gould, 
 
 123 Main Street, Norwalk, Conu. 
 
 Extract from a letter of a prominent clergyman 
 of Albany, written in answer to an inquiry, concern- 
 ing Rev. Van Doren's power to cure consumption 
 of the lungs ; 
 
 4 ' I have been for four years fighting the same diffi- 
 culty, now I am well and strong, and the 
 
 means to this end, is what will interest you most. Last 
 autumn I became acquainted with Dr. Van Doren, of 
 the First Baptist Church, and soon became warmly 
 attached to him, .... his idea being the simple, and 
 well conceded one, that the mind has unlimited power 
 over the body. The cures he performs are very won- 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 125 
 
 derful. . . . My ability to live in this climate is due 
 to him, I could cite you many persons, right here in 
 Albany, who have been cured by him, of seemingly 
 
 incurable diseases It is my sincere belief that 
 
 Dr. Van Doren can treat your son's case and effect a 
 eure. . . . My sympathies are enlisted for one who is 
 battling tuberculosis, for I have been through it, as 
 through a war ". 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 ' ' I most gladly testify to your wonderful ability to 
 
 master disease. My physicians, Drs. M and 
 
 S , devoted their best knowledge and attention 
 
 to my case, for more than a year; with what result 
 you well know, for I was almost dead, when a friend 
 asked you to come and see me. I bless God for that 
 friend, and for you. Your treatment saved me from 
 the grave ". 
 
 The above case was the most desperate of any 
 that has come under my treatment. He was so dis- 
 eased, and so emaciated, that I had very little, if 
 any hope of saving him. He is a well man to-day. 
 
 84 . . . Your treatment deserves a trial of all who 
 are in any way afflicted. While my eyes are greatly 
 improved, by the treatment, and that of itself is a 
 great gain, I can but feel that I have gained an infin- 
 ite advantage from your teaching ; as a student it is 
 invaluable to me. I can now concentrate my mind, 
 and compel my objective mind to do the tasks set for 
 
126 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 its performance. This great advantage I owe to your 
 instruction, and I am most sincerely grateful ". 
 
 C . 
 
 Miss A : " ... I am happy to say that I 
 
 am well, and since I was never able to do much for 
 myself (seeming to lack power of concentration), the 
 marked change in me, must be wholly due to your 
 treatments. I can only add, God bless you, and make 
 you helpful to others, as you have been to me ". 
 
 A . 
 
 "... The effect of your teaching on my mind, 
 and body, is to me a daily surprise. I seem to have 
 entered another world, so changed am I ; life, is to me 
 now, a joyous thing. I wish every woman in the city 
 who is made miserable, by that weakness so common 
 among women, could know of your marvelous power 
 to heal, and avail themselves of your gift. What phy- 
 sicians could not do, and what I had no hope ever 
 could be done, has been brought about by your won- 
 derful treatments. I simply cannot express to you my 
 gratitude ; I can only pray that Heaven's grace may 
 abide with you continually. Surely, God has called 
 you to this work, for no man could do the things that 
 you do, unless God helped him. With a mind free 
 from fear, and a body at ease, after years of suffering, 
 I turn to the duties of life with a happy heart, and all 
 this I owe to you. ' God bless you ' is my daily 
 prayer". A . 
 
 From S : " God speed you in your noble call- 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 127 
 
 ing as a minister unto the bodies, as well as unto the 
 souls of men. Through your blessed gift I am cured 
 of liver trouble and indigestion of over six years 
 standing, and from which I could get no relief from 
 the first physicians of the city ..." 
 
 S . 
 
 From T , New York : " . . .So mightily did 
 
 your lecture take hold upon me, that my sight was per- 
 fectly restored, after being totally blind in one eye, 
 for over eight years. You say, that it is simply the 
 operation of law; to me, it seems a miraclo . . ." 
 
 T . 
 
 This woman came to me at the close of one of 
 my lectures, and told me that she came into the 
 room blind, and that, during the lecture, her sight 
 was restored. 
 
 From R : " . . . Your diagnosis of my case 
 
 was exactly correct. I have had no trouble with my 
 heart since you treated me. I am working every day, 
 and am free from pain. It is a great mystery to me 
 how you do it, but by whatever means, I rejoice in 
 being well, and that, to me, is the important thing. 
 . . . You have been a very Saviour to me . . .'' 
 
 R . 
 
 From K : "I want to express to you my gra- 
 titude for your matchless teaching. So wonderful, 
 and yet so easily comprehended. I am so convinced 
 of the logic of your philosophy, that I wonder why I 
 
128 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 did not always know it, and why the whole world 
 does not seek it. It makes me a better Christian and 
 a happier. Life to me now seems worth living, since 
 I can control myself, and get deliverance from the 
 hundred and one ills to which I have all my life been 
 subject . . ." K . 
 
 Mrs. L : " Since you began treating me, I am 
 
 sleeping better, and suffer less from painful afflictions. 
 Your Booklet is the most inspiring and elevating pro- 
 duction that I have ever read. It lifts me up, into an 
 atmosphere of repose, and peace. Your teaching in 
 the science of healing without medicine, is doing much 
 for me, and I no longer look forward to an operation 
 in order to get well, for I am so much better, that I 
 am sure the treatment will entirely cure me ". 
 
 Yours, etc., L . 
 
 From H , Gloversville, N. Y. : "I received 
 
 your letter from Saratoga, and am glad to say that I 
 am better in every way, I can go to sleep now, soon 
 after I retire, and my old and serious trouble, is a great 
 deal better. I am very, very grateful to you that I am 
 so much better ". 
 
 Your sincere friend, L, E. H. 
 
 This case baffled all the physicians, and was in- 
 deed a very serious one ; so much so, that it was 
 thought that an operation was absolutely necessary. 
 
 From S . * ' Your teaching is very wonderful. 
 
 I am an entirely different person, since putting into 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 129 
 
 practice your theory. To a professional man it is in- 
 valuable. I would not hesitate to pay a thousand dol- 
 lars for the knowledge I now possess, if it could not 
 be had without. I am beginning to know what I am, 
 and how to develop mv God-given forces. I am real- 
 izing the marvelous action of my subjective mind. 
 What the bringing of that mind under control means 
 to me, as a singer and teacher, cannot be expressed in 
 
 words You have done more for me, than all 
 
 other persons, and all other influences combined. You 
 have been to me a guide and a benefactor, both in 
 spiritual things, and in things physical, and from my 
 heart I say daily, ' God bless Dr. Van Doren, in his 
 noble and unselfish ministry to mankind ' ". 
 
 S . 
 
 From V . "My son has been completely 
 
 cured of the drink habit, under your wonderful, and 
 powerful treatment ". 
 
 With inexpressible gratitude, V . 
 
 From G . " My nervousness is a thing of the 
 
 past, thanks to your great gift of healing. I sleep 
 soundly ; indeed I feel as one passed from winter into 
 summer". G . 
 
 These are a few testimonials gathered from many, 
 equally as convincing and reliable. All of these 
 people are influential in the business, social, and re- 
 ligious circles of society, and many of them repre- 
 sent a degree of culture and refinement, far beyond 
 the average. 
 
130 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 My time is wholly given to this class of patients. 
 In fact, only the intelligent and cultured portion of 
 the community appreciate the value of mental treat- 
 ment. As I can give but a limited portion of my 
 time to this work, I prefer to give it where there is 
 promise of greatest good, through the hearty and 
 intelligent co-operation of my patients. I aim to 
 to do for humanity, what the physician is powerless 
 to do ; and therefore I get no cases, but such as 
 despair of assistance through the ordinary channels 
 of cure. My work is wholly with the — so-called — 
 incurably sick. People do not come to me, until 
 other resources are exhausted ; therefore my system 
 of treatment, has been put to the severest test pos- 
 sible to any system of practice ; and these many wit- 
 nesses, are in evidence to the whole world that it has 
 stood the test. 
 
 I stated before that I would give the addresses 
 of my patients, who do not care for various reasons 
 to have their names in print, to any person honestly 
 seeking information, as to the efficiency of the treat- 
 ment. 
 
 I have just received the consent of some of my 
 patients, who are very prominent and well known 
 people, in the social circles of New York, so to do. 
 I speak of this, not because these people are any 
 more entitled to credence than others, but to call 
 the attention of those who are inclined to be skep- 
 tical to the fact, that people of unlimited means, 
 who have been attended by the most skillful phy- 
 
 
CONCLUSIONS. 131 
 
 sicians in Europe, as well as in America; who have 
 traveled, visited the most famous springs of the 
 world, and exhausted every known resource, seek 
 the help which this system of treatment alone can 
 give, and find in it, that succor, and redemption 
 from disease, which all others have found who have 
 faithfully submitted themselves to it. 
 
 It is evident that humanity is seeking in other 
 than purely physical channels, for that relief from 
 pain and invalidism, which the various schools of 
 medicine have failed to procure. Physicians them- 
 selves are aware of this movement on the part, not 
 only of advanced thinkers, but of the mass of the 
 people, and becoming alarmed at the grave outlook 
 for medical practitioners, and their system of medi- 
 cine, have, in numerous instances, appealed to the 
 courts for protection, on the plea that mental the- 
 rapeutics is a menace to the well being of humanity, 
 a dangerous and an unmitigated evil. 
 
 It is only natural that these medicos should de- 
 fend their profession against the aggressions of any 
 and every system which imperils their logic, and 
 tends to reduce their practice. 
 
 Yet it is true that the more intelligent physicians 
 are dispensing with drugs, and insisting upon a con- 
 sistent diet, proper exercise, cleanliness, sunlight, 
 and a cheerful disposition. Physicians are not, as a 
 
132 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 class, materialists. They believe in invisible forces, 
 in invisible substance, but they seem to overlook the 
 fact that thoughts are forces, and that they are sub- 
 stantial. They admit the power of mind, within 
 certain prescribed limits ; that it does under certain 
 conditions, produce sudden and radical changes in 
 the physical organism. This action they call ab- 
 normal, exceptional. Their claim is, that the body 
 reacts on the mind, thus producing morbid mental 
 states characteristic of invalidism, and not that the 
 mind constantly acts upon the body, thus creating 
 abnormal physical conditions. 
 
 One of two things must be true — either mind is 
 the dominant and determining factor in the body, 
 or it is subordinate to, and dominated by, the phy- 
 sical organism. If mind is the regnant faculty of 
 the soul, — if mind is supreme, as everything around 
 and within us, teaches that it is, then the body is 
 simply the product of mind, — was brought into ex* 
 pression in material form by this invisible force, and 
 is constantly renewed, or remanifested by the same 
 power. Man is not an organism, but an intelligence 
 served by organs. Man is soul, spirit, the creator, 
 and not the creature of the body. It must be true, 
 that the life, the vitality of the body, is mental. If 
 not, what is it ? It is mind in matter, that causes 
 differentiation in form and substance. It is a very 
 thoroughly demonstrated fact that every cell of the 
 body is intelligent, — informed by mind. The force 
 at work in, and through every cell, is thought force. 
 
CONCLUSIONS. 133 
 
 If you are skeptical upon this point, it is quite with- 
 in the power of every person to demonstrate the 
 fact. Concentrate your mind upon any part, or 
 organ of the body, with the intention of stimu- 
 lating, or exciting, that organ or part, and you 
 will perceive a decided change take place, in the 
 vibration or motion. By this means, I have 
 succeeded in creating an inflammation at a given 
 point — where before, the flesh was at a nor- 
 mal temperature. Surely, if thought can /reduce 
 an inflammation, it can also reduce an inflammation. 
 It is beyond dispute that the physical status can be 
 accurately determined by the secretions of the body, 
 and also, beyond question, that these secretions, are 
 the product of certain mental states, as anger, jea- 
 lousy, fear, grief, worry, etc. 
 
 In view of the fact that mind is supreme — that it 
 is expressed in the body — what more logical, or ra- 
 tional course could one pursue than that which I 
 have prescribed in this volume ? I have labored 
 to make the application of this philosophy apparent 
 to all. Your physical condition is wholly depend- 
 ent upon the development and training, of your men- 
 tal and spiritual powers ; therefore seek that harmo- 
 ny of mind — soul, of which the Great Teacher and 
 Physician speaks, who sought, in His address to 
 His disciples, to quiet their fears, to turn their 
 thoughts from the outer to the inner — to the soul — 
 which had power to create the conditions they so 
 much desired, to bring into objective expression, 
 
134 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 abundant supply for every need. Seek this king- 
 dom, and all other things — health, wealth, and hon- 
 or, shall be added unto you. It has been my aim 
 in the presentation of this philosophy, to impress 
 upon your mind the possibility of doing this work 
 for yourself, wholly independent of the treatments 
 which I give my patients. I believe that this power 
 to gain and to maintain physical health, is given to 
 all, and that it ought to be cultivated by every per- 
 son. I have sought, in all my ministry, to serve in 
 the physical, as in the spiritual realm ; to give such 
 instruction, as to enable each student to help him- 
 self, and to give instruction unto others. In cases 
 of chronic, or severe sickness, it would be advisable 
 to put yourself for a month, at least, under my per- 
 sonal treatments, as the difficult point of all cases 
 is at the beginning, where it is necessary to change 
 the action of the sub-conscious mind. Usually I have 
 succeeded in accomplishing this within a month, 
 even in the most difficult and discouraging cases. 
 
 Having succeeded in eradicating from the inner 
 mind, the suggestions which produce <3fo-ease, and 
 establishing therein the suggestions for ease, and 
 harmony, the effort of reinfoixing this suggestion is 
 comparatively easy, and the patient may then safely 
 trust to his own unaided efforts, if he will follow the 
 directions given in the preceding pages. 
 
 I do not receive any case for treatment, unless I 
 am satisfied, by a careful diagnosis, that the case is 
 within the possibility of cure. Having accepted a 
 
CONCLUSIONS. 135 
 
 case, I give closest personal attention to it until the 
 patient recovers, or feels confident of his own ability 
 to carry the work to completion. As I am obliged 
 to give a certain period of time to each patient, it is 
 a physical impossibility for me to attend to more 
 than twelve or fifteen cases at the same time. With 
 that number of cases on my hands, I cannot accept 
 new patients, only as others are discharged. Any 
 person desiring to qualify himself to heal others, 
 may receive instruction from me, and on terms most 
 reasonable. 
 
 If you are interested in the study and develop- 
 ment of subjective mind ; if you desire to cultivate 
 this mind for the sake of greater proficiency in your 
 profession, or business, you may do so by applying 
 to me personally, or by letter, for the course of in- 
 struction, which, if conscientiously followed, will 
 enable you to control, this most marvelous of God- 
 given faculties. 
 
 What the bringing of this inner mind into as- 
 cendancy means, is fully understood but by few. 
 A young man of musical ability, a resident of Al- 
 bany, whose musical talent is appreciated, and is at 
 a premium, applied to me for instruction in the cul- 
 tivation of involuntary mind. I found him to be an 
 apt pupil, and at the expiration of four months, able 
 to utilize this great subjective gift in his profession 
 of music. As a consequence, he came rapidly into 
 prominence as a singer, and the people, who of 
 course knew nothing of the cause of his rapid de- 
 
136 GUIDE TO HEALTH. 
 
 velopment, wondered at his remarkable, and unac- 
 countable progress, in the art of singing - , The fact 
 was, he savg subjectively, and was rewarded by ap- 
 pointment to the position of soloist in the choir of 
 one of the largest and wealthiest churches in Alba- 
 ny, which position he still holds. Another instance 
 of what may be gained, by the development of the 
 subjective mind, is illustrated by the case of a lady 
 (the wife of a college professor) who was ambitious 
 to write acceptable stories for the magazines. She 
 had tried many times, and had as often failed, her 
 manuscript being invariably returned, unaccepted. 
 She concluded to take a course of study for the de- 
 velopment of her subjective mind. She was under 
 my instruction for four months, and improved ra- 
 pidly, being conscientious and thorough in her work. 
 After receiving this training, she wrote with ease, 
 and evidently to some purpose, for her stories have 
 been eagerly accepted by various leading magazines 
 since the time of her subjective development. 
 
 I could give you the experience of a professor in 
 one of our leading colleges, who, since taking the 
 course of instruction, has only words of praise to 
 offer, but I would spare you the weariness of a too 
 lengthy recital. If you desire information in regard 
 to treatment, or either of the above mentioned cour- 
 ses of study, address me, enclosing stamp for reply, 
 and I will gladly answer your questions. 
 
 THE END. 
 
&