And now to the actual work of mental healing by mentative currents. In this work I must again repeat my injunctions given in the preceding chapter regarding the holding of the proper mental image in the mind of the healer. In the degree that the proper mental image is held, will be the degree of success in the treatment. “Visualization†is the key-note of this form of mental healing, and the healer should devote himself earnestly to acquiring the art of visualizing. You must be able to see the patient as healed, and the organs, parts, and cells as functioning normally and properly. Cast aside all negative thought, and doubts, and throw yourself earnestly into the work before you. You will find that as the ability to visualize is acquired, there will come to you a feeling of strength and power, and a sense of certainty about your work.
The process of transmitting the mentative currents is not especially difficult or strenuous. In fact, this part of the work seems almost “automatic.†All that you will have to do is to concentrate your full attention upon the mental image that you have visualized, and earnestly desire that the picture materializes, and do not bother at all about the currents, for the latter will begin to flow freely without any voluntary effort on your part.
Occasionally you may throw a little Will-Power into the work, in order to stimulate the healing process, but ordinarily the unconscious use of the Desire Force will accomplish the result.
It is not necessary to use the strenuous effort that so many mental healers employ in giving treatments—this is all waste energy, and tires one out without any corresponding advantage to the patient. The clear-cut mental image produced by the practice of visualization performs the work for you, as I have said, almost “automatically.†The more realistic your picture is made to appear to you, the greater the force sent forth, and the greater the degree of success will you have in your healing.
Some excellent healers have found that they gained additional force if they would add to their mental picture or image, the picture of the mentative currents actually leaving their minds and travelling toward the patient, and then enveloping and surrounding the latter. One very good healer has told me that she always can see, mentally, the patient being “bathed in a perfect stream of her Mind-Power.†I feel that this lady is right, and that by adding this feature to the mental image very good results may be obtained. The student of these lessons will find this last image easy to produce if he will remember what we have said about thought-forms. I do not advise too long treatments, for I believe that the best results are obtained in a treatment extending over say not more than fifteen minutes.
Yon should then leave the patient with a few earnest words of encouragement and hope, bidding him aid in your work by keeping the proper mental images of health before him, and especially avoiding all fear and worry.
The above process of giving a mental treatment may seem very simple to those who have not practiced it. But you will find that it contains the real essence of the healing process, without the “fringe†and “trimming.†And more than that you will find it wonderfully efficacious—it will “do the work.†You will never begin to even faintly realize the virtue of such a treatment, until you begin to practice it. You will then find yourself so filled with such a sense of power, strength and healing force, that you will seem like another person. And your patient will likewise feel an immediate benefit. I might write page after page, giving you directions about the treatment, but, after I was through, it could all be boiled down into the plain, simple directions already given you. I have given you the basis of the practical treatment—you may add the “trimmings†yourself, if you feel that you need them. This same basis you will find to underlie all of the treatments of the various sects and cults, after you have trimmed off the “fancy additions,†high-sounding words, and metaphysical terms. I have studied all these forms of treatment, and know just what I am talking about when I say this to you.
And now for the “absent treatments†along the lines of general treatment. There is practically no difference in the methods. The principal additional process is that of the healer endeavoring to form a mental image of the patient, as if he were right before him in person. If you have ever seen the patient you may easily reproduce his mental image. But if you have not seen him personally, you can form a mental image of “a man,†or “a woman,†without filling in the details of personal appearance, and the result will be similar. You will find the following method will help you in the treatment. Sit down in your chair, after drawing up another chair right before you, but about two or three yards distant. Then picture your patient as sitting in this other chair, and use your imagination to the fullest in this respect. Many practitioners of successful mental healing actually feel that the patient is sitting before them in this form of treatment. Then with your patient sitting before you (as a mental image) talk to him just as if he were present in person, using the same words, tones, and manner. Throw yourself earnestly into the idea of a personal treatment, and endeavor to forget that miles are between you. By so doing you will be able to start the mentative currents flowing freely in his direction, and he will be affected by them, and will obtain the best results. I have been told frequently by persons who have taken this form of healing from some of the world’s best mental healers, that they could almost see the healer before them—they could certainly feel his presence very distinctly. This “talk†to the distant patient should consist of the same calming, quieting, soothing suggestions at first, followed by the positive, stimulating, forceful suggestions given afterward. Follow the precise instructions given for use in personal treatments, and you cannot go astray. There is no difference, in reality, between personal treatments and absent treatments—if you will remember this, and act upon it, you will have the key to the matter. And, then, after the suggestive talks, you should then give the same silent mentative treatment as indicated in my instructions regarding personal treatments. You should form the same kind of mental image, and proceed just the same, in every particular. Even bid him “good-bye†as you would in a personal treatment. If you have set a time for the absent treatment, your patient should place himself in a comfortable relaxed position. But this is not necessary—it is not necessary for the patient to even know the hour of treatment. All that he needs to do is to open his mind, receptively, to the treatment that you are to give him some time during the day—that is, he should express his mental “willingness,†and thus take off the resistance of his will which otherwise would have to be overcome.
The healer who wishes to give absent treatments should study carefully the portions of this work relating to telementative induction, the currents, thought-forms, etc. Remember, please, that all the work of mental healing is done along the lines of mentative induction, just as is the work of all forms of mentative influence. There is but one great law underlying all of these forms of manifestation, and if you understand the fundamental principle you will be able to reproduce any or all of the manifestations of it. The instruction regarding mental healing is not confined to this chapter alone—it must be gained from a study of all these chapters, for the reasons just stated. Strive always to acquire a clear knowledge of the underlying principles, and you need not worry about the details of operation or manifestation. And, now, just a word about self-healing, along these lines.
There is no difference between self-healing, and the healing of others. Here is a good method—simple and efficacious. All that is necessary for you to do is to imagine yourself as a patient coming to yourself for treatment. Suppose your name is “John Smith,†and you wish to treat yourself along the lines of the general treatment. All you have to do is to let the central mind part of you (or the “Iâ€) proceed to treat the body of “John Smith.†Talk to “John Smith†just as if he were an entirely separate individual. Tell him what he should do, and what he should know, and what you expect to do for him. Give him the same suggestions that you would give another patient. Talk up to him, and tell him just what you mean to do for him, and what he has got to do himself. Then give him the Silent Treatment just as you would another patient. Even give him the parting words, just as you would a patient. In short, treat him first, last, and all the time as you would another patient. You will be surprised to note how efficacious this plan is. This method is original with myself, so far as I know. There is a good, strong psychological and occult reason for this plan of self-treatment, which is not necessary to go into here—the principal thing is that it “will do the work.†Try it. The ordinary method of self-treatment is to say, “I am well†and so on, giving the suggestions in the first person. I consider that my own plan gives better results, but you may try both, and decide for yourself.
And now for the “local treatment†methods of mental healing. These are very simple also—so simple that I fear some of you will undervalue them. But do not deceive yourselves, good friends, the “simplicity†represents years of hard work along experimental lines, and is really the “boiling down†of many methods far more complicated and technical. It is the “essence†of the thing, again. I wish that I could have obtained this information as easily as you are doing—but I couldn’t, for I had to work it out for myself, in connection with other experimenters and investigators. The underlying theory of this local treatment in mental healing is (1) that there is mind in every cell; cell-group; organ; and part, of the body; and (2) that the mentative energy in such mind is negative to that in the central mind of the individual, and consequently, yields to its positivity when properly applied. That is the whole story in a nut-shell. Now see if you can grasp its importance.
The above principle of the “local treatment†is really also employed in the general treatment, because the central mind of the patient is stirred into induced activity and positivity by the suggestion, or mentative currents of the healer, or both.
The central mind of the patient, so stirred up by induction, then acts upon the mind in the cells, organs, etc., unconsciously, and the cure results. Do you see just what I mean? Well, then in the local treatment, instead of going about it in this way, the healer brings his mentative energy to bear right directly upon the mind in cells, and organs themselves. So you see the process is really the same at the last, that is, it is the application of the positive central mind upon the negative mind of the cells, organs and parts.
Now, then, how may one treat the cells and organs of another person, in this way? The process is very simple, when you once learn it. All that is necessary is for you to “treat†the organ, or part, just as you did the patient, in several forms of general treatment, as stated a little while ago. You must learn to “talk to†the organ or part affected, and to give it suggestions and mental treatment just as you did your personal patient. In short, the nearer you can come to considering, and treating the cells or organs as if they actually were “personalities†or “entities,†the better will be your success in this form of treatment. This is no mere trick, or bit of superstition—it is based upon good psychological principles, and has its reason in well defined occult laws. There is mind in the organ and cell, and you are reaching out to it. The way to reach the mind in the cells; cell-groups; ganglia; organs; nerves; parts, etc., of the body, is to address yourself directly to it, just as you would to a person. You must think of the mind in the affected parts, as a “person†who is misbehaving. You must remonstrate with, argue with, coax, order or drive the “person†residing in the organ, just as you would different individuals. Sometimes coaxing is much better than driving, and sometimes the forceful method is necessary, as we shall see. You may either talk aloud to the mind in the organ, or else (and this is the better way in treating others) you may do your talking mentally. Tell it just what you expect of it—just what you intend it shall do—just what is right for it to do, etc. And it will obey. I know a lady, who is an excellent healer along these lines, and who obtained the principles of this particular form of healing from myself. She tells me that she followed my plan, as above stated, with the exception that to her the organs, nerves, and parts, always seem like disobedient children, who must be managed one way or another. And so she proceeds just as she did when she was a successful schoolteacher, And I am inclined to think that she is right, and has made an improvement on my original idea. For these “cell-minds,†or “organ-minds†closely resemble the minds of undeveloped children, and are often unreasonably stubborn, although if they are reached the right way, by a firm though kindly tone, in most cases they will obey orders, and mend their ways.
It is well to use the hands at the beginning of this form of treatment, in the direction of tapping or patting the part of the body directly over the organ. This seems to have the effect of awakening the attention of the organ-mind, so that it becomes more receptive. It is akin to tapping the shoulder of a man on the street, to whom you wish to speak. In such cases, it is well to send the mental command: “Here! Listen to me!†The hands of the healer may also be passed over the body as the mental commands are given, and they serve to give an additional and strengthened suggestion when properly used.
A plain, simple way of giving this treatment is to awaken the attention of the mind in the organ or part, as above stated, and then proceed to mentally lecture it calling it by name, as for instance. “Here, stomach!†or “Now, you liver,†etc. Don’t smile at this advice—just try it on yourself and you will stop smiling.
Then go on and tell the organ-mind just what you would tell it if it were an actual personality—a childish mind, for instance. You will soon find how quick the organ-mind is to awaken to your words, and to act upon your suggestions or orders. Follow the laws of suggestion in giving these treatments to the organ-minds—that is, remember the suggestive phases of repetition, authoritative demand or command, etc. Don’t be afraid, but start in to give the organ-mind “a piece of your mind,†and it will obey you. Dr. Paul Edwards, one of the world’s most famous mental-healers, whom I met quite often a number of years ago when he was living in Chicago, informed me that the result of his practice has taught him that there was a great difference in the “intelligence†of the mind in the several organs. For instance, he believed that the heart was very “intelligent,†and quite amenable to mild, gentle, coaxing suggestions and advice or orders; while on the other hand, the liver was a most mulish, stubborn, obstinate organ-mind, which had to be driven along by the sharpest and most positive suggestions. I have since investigated along this line, and I am now fully convinced of the correctness of Dr. Edwards’ theory in this respect. I have found the heart to be very gentle, and obedient, as he said, and I have moreover found it needed but the slightest word to attract its attention. I have found the liver to be brutish, stubborn, and obstinate, and needing the most forceful, insistent methods— something like driving a stubborn donkey along the road. I have also found the liver to be lazy and sleepy, and needing much effort to rouse it into a receptive condition. The stomach I have found quite intelligent, particularly if it has not been brutalized by “stuffing,†and it will readily respond to the treatment. A peculiar thing about the stomach is that it seems to like “jollying,†or “flatteryâ€â€”tell it how good a stomach it is, and how well it can do its work; and how much you trust it to run things right for you; and lo! it proceeds to “make good,†and justify your praise and commendations. The nerves respond readily to this form of treatment, along gentle coaxing lines. The circulation of the blood may be increased to certain parts, or restrained, in this way. In this way the blood can be swept all over the body, creating a pleasant glow; or it may be drawn away from an aching head, or a feverish brow. The bowels respond readily to a firm, kind treatment, in which they are to be told to move regularly—it being well to name a certain time at which you expect them to establish a regular habit, in which case be sure to keep your appointment with them and give them a chance. The organs peculiar to women will respond quite readily to this form of treatment. Regular menstruation has often been established by treating the proper parts in this way a month ahead, and keeping it up every day until the regular period—in this case it is also well to “fix a date.†Suggestions of “firm, now—be firm and strong†have relieved many cases of womb weaknesses. Profuse menstruation has yielded to commands of “slow, now; easy, easy; not so free a flow,†etc.
There are no fixed forms of treatment along these lines. You must acquire the “knack†by practice. The proper words will suggest themselves to you. The thing to do is to know what you want done, and then command the organ-mind to do that thing; using the same words that you would use in talking to a real person in the place of the organ. You will soon acquire the art, by a little practice. Those who have treated a large number of persons in this way have told me that the mind in the organs and parts seems to instinctively recognize the healer’s power over them. Just as a horse or dog will recognize men who are accustomed to managing animals of their kind, so will these organ-minds instinctively recognize their master in one who has studied this art of mental-healing, along these lines. Remember always that you are mind talking to mind, not to dead matter. There is mind in every cell, nerve, organ and part of the body, and in the body as a whole; and this mind will listen to your central mind and obey it, because your central mind is positive to it—the organ is negative to you. Carry this idea always with you in giving these treatments, and endeavor to visualize the mind in the organs etc., as clearly as may be, for by so doing you get them in better rapport with you, and can handle them to better advantage. And, also remember, that the virtue lies not in the mere sound of the words that happen to reach the organ or cells—they do not understand words as words, but they do understand the meaning behind the words—they recognize the mental state of which the word is the outward symbol. But without words it is very hard for you—to think, or clearly express the feeling— and so by all means use the words just as if the organ-minds understood their actual meaning, for by so doing, you can drive in the meaning of the word—and induce the mental state conditions necessary to work the cure.
While this local treatment is adapted especially to personal healing, still it may be also used to great advantage in absent healing, by combining it with the regular general form of absent healing. That is, after giving the general absent treatment, proceed to place yourself en rapport with the organ-mind in the patient, and then talk to it just as you would if the patient were actually present. Visualization will enable you to do this effectively. I have heard of some wonderful cures having been effected by the use of this form of local treatment in absent healing, in connection with the general treatment.
And in case of self-healing this local treatment acts with wonderful force. One can, of course, “talk up†to his own cells and organs just as he can to those of another and with equal effect if he goes about it right. This opens up a wonderful field for self-healing. The methods and practice of local treatment in self-healing are precisely similar to those used in treating others. I am personally acquainted with a lady who has learned to make her body obey her perfectly. If the body looks tired or droopy or lacks freshness and beauty, she just “talks up†to it and tells it how much she thinks of it and how much she appreciates all that it is doing for her, etc., and at the same time encourages it to manifest activity and interest, etc. The result is that the next morning after the treatment she will find that all of her suggestions have been accepted and acted upon by the body, and that the latter looks fresh, active and beautiful, manifesting all the appearance of youth and perfect health. I have heard of women managing to retain their youthful appearance in a similar manner. I have known men to “coax up†their bodies, when under the strain of unusual work, with the best of results. In fact, I believe that in this form of treatment of one’s own body there are possibilities as yet undreamt of by the race. Perhaps this hint may start some investigator to exploring the field to the limit—I have not found time to carry my investigations along this line quite as far as I would have liked. There is a great unexplored field here. Here is a chance for some fine work for the students of this book.
And now I seem to have reached the end of this chapter. Remember, please, that within its pages I have condensed information sufficient to have filled a good sized volume or two. Read it carefully and do not let the simplicity of my methods lead you to ignore the wonderful possibilities open to those who will practice them. I have not cared to dress up my “treatments†and methods in fancy garb for the purpose of bewildering the eye and creating an impression upon the foolish and childish minds of those who run after these things. I do not want a “following†of this sort—I want, rather, the earnest sympathetic co-operation of my students who appreciate the virtue in these apparently simple methods. As I have said before, these “simple†methods and forms of treatment represent the work and experience of myself and others extending over a number of years. They are the “boiling-down†of many systems, and the result of my own experiments. They embody the simplest, plainest, and yet the most effective methods known to the world of mental healing today. Take my word for this—I base this statement upon eight active years of earnest, patient, careful investigation, experiment and study along these lines under circumstances with which few are fortunate enough to be favored. I say these things not in the spirit of boasting or booming my own wares, but merely that you may understand just what is behind and under these “simple†forms, methods and treatments.
You will notice, I hope, that in order to practice these methods of mental healing you are not required to - join - anything - nor asked to connect yourself with any new religion or semi-religion. You may adhere to your favorite beliefs, and still make as many cures as the best of those who believe and claim that the healing is done because of some fantastic theory, dogma or belief! There is no more sense in building up a religion around mental healing than there is in building one up around Homeopathy, Allopathy, or Osteopathy, or Hydropathy, or any other “pathy.†There is but one healing power of the mind and that is free and open to all. It is the gift of the Infinite to its finite reflections. It is a natural force, working under certain laws—and free to all. Take it and use it toward Gœthe healing of the nations, beginning with yourself.
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