XXXI. The Mental Attitude
Those who have familiarized
themselves with the Yogi teachings regarding the Instinctive Mind and its
control of the physical body-and also of the effect of the Will upon the
Instinctive Mind-will readily see that the mental attitude of the person will have
much to do with his or her health. Bright, cheerful and happy mental attitudes
reflect themselves in the shape of normal
functioning of the physical body, while depressed mental states, gloom,
worry, fear, hate, jealousy, and anger all
react upon the body and produce physical inharmony and, eventually
disease.
We are all familiar with the fact
that good news and cheerful surroundings
promotes a normal appetite, while bad news, depressing surroundings,
etc., will cause the loss of the appetite. The mention of some favorite dish will make the mouth water, and the
recollection of some unpleasant experience or sight may produce nausea.
Our mental
attitudes are mirrored in our Instinctive Mind, and as that principle of mind has direct
control of the physical body, it may
readily be understood just how the mental state takes form in the
physical action of functioning.
Depressing thought affects the
circulation, which in turn affects every part of the body, by depriving it of
its proper nourishment. Inharmonious though' destroys the appetite, and the
consequence is that the body does not receive the proper nourishment, and the blood becomes impoverished. On the other hand,
cheerful, optimistic thought promotes the digestion, increases the appetite, helps
the circulation, and, in fact, acts as a
general tonic upon the system.
Many persons suppose that this idea of the affect of the
mind upon the body iz but the idle theory of occultists,
and persons interested along the line of mental therapeutics, but one has but
to go to the records of scientific
investigators to realize that this theory is based upon well established facts. Experiments have
been tried, many times, tending to prove that the body is most receptive to the mental attitude or belief,
and persons have been made sick, and
others cured by simple auto-suggestion
or the suggestion of others, which in effect are but strong mental
attitudes.
The saliva is rendered a poison under the influence of anger;
mother's milk becomes poisonous to the babe if the mother manifests excessive
anger or fear. The gastric juice ceases to
flow freely if the person becomes depressed or fearful. A thousand
instances of this kind could be given.
Do you doubt the fact that disease may be primarily caused by negative
thinking ? Then listen to the testimony of a few authorities
of the Western world.
"Any severe anger or grief is almost certain to be succeeded by
fever in certain parts of Africa."-Sir Samuel
Baker, in the British and Foreign Medico Chirurgical Review.
"Diabetes from sudden mental shock is a true, pure type of a physical malady of mental origin."-Sir B. W. Richardson, in "Discourses."
"In many
cases, I have seen reasons for believing that cancer bad its origin in
prolonged anxiety."- Sir George Paget in "Lectures."
"I have been surprised how
often patients with primary cancer of the liver
lay the cause of this ill health to protracted grief or anxiety. The cases have
been far too numerous to be accounted for
as mere coincidences."-Murchison.
"The vast majority of cases of cancer, especially of breast or uterine cancer, arc probably due to mental anxiety."-Dr.
Snow, in The Lancet.
Dr. Wilks reports cases of jaundice resulting from mental conditions.
Dr. Churton, in the British Medical Journal, reports
a case of jaundice arising from anxiety. Dr. Makenzie reports several
cases of pernicious anaemia caused by mental
shock. Hunter reports "an exciting cause of angina pectoris has long been
known to be emotional excitement."
"Eruptions
on the skin will follow excessive mental strain.
In all these, and in cancer, epilepsy, and mania from mental causes, there is a
predisposition. It is remarkable how little the question of physical disease from mental influences has been studied."-Richardson.
"My
experiments show that irascible, malevolent and
depressing emotions generate in the system injurious compounds, some of
which are extremely poisonous; also that
agreeable happy emotions generate chemical compounds of nutritious value, which
stimulates the cells to manufacture
energy."-Elmer Gates.
Dr.
Hack Tuke, in his well known work on mental diseases,
etc., written long before the "Mind-cure" interest
was manifested in the Western world, gives numerous
cases of diseases produced by fear, among them
being, Insanity, idiocy, paralysis, jaundice, premature greyness and baldness,
decay of the teeth, uterine troubles,
erysipelas, egzema and impetigo.
During
times when contagions diseasesare prevalent in communities, it
is a well attested fact that fear causes a great number of the cases, and also
causes many deaths in cases in which the
attack is but light. This is readily understood when wo consider the fact that
contagions diseases arc more apt to attack the person manifesting impaired vitality, and the further fact that
fear and kindred emotions impair the vitality.
There have been a
number of good books written upon this
matter, so there is no occasion for us to dwell at length upon this part
of the general subject. But before leaving
it, we must impress upon our atudents the truth of the oft repeated
statement as "Thought takes form in
action," and that mental conditions are reproduced in physical
manifestations.
The Yogi Philosophy, in its entirety, tends to produce a mental
attitude of calmness, peace, strength and
absolute fearlessness among its students, which, of course, is reflected
in their physical condition. To such persons
mental calmness and fearlessness comes as a matter of course, and no
special effort is necessary to produce it.
But to those who have not as yet acquired
this mental calm, a great improvement may he obtained by the carrying of the thought of the proper mental attitude,
and the repetition of mantrams calculated
to produce the mental image. We suggest the frequent repetition of the words "BRIGHT, CHEERFUL AND
HAPPY," and the frequent contemplation of the meaning of the words.
Endeavor to manifest these words into physical action, and you will be greatly
benefited both mentally and physically, and will
also be preparing your mind to receive high spiritual truths.
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