The Science of Being Well

In the personal application of the Science of Being Well, as in that of
the Science of Getting Rich, certain fundamental truths must be known in
the beginning, and accepted without question. Some of these truths we
state here:--

The perfectly natural performance of function constitutes health; and
the perfectly natural performance of function results from the natural
action of the Principle of Life. There is a Principle of Life in the
universe; it is the One Living Substance from which all things are made.
This Living Substance permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces
of the universe; it is in and through all things, like a very refined
and diffusible ether. All life comes from it; its life is all the life
there is.

Man is a form of this Living Substance, and has within him a Principle
of Health. (The word Principle is used as meaning source.) The Principle
of Health in man, when in full constructive activity, causes all the
voluntary functions of his life to be perfectly performed.

It is the Principle of Health in man which really works all healing, no
matter what "system" or "remedy" is employed; and this Principle of
Health is brought into Constructive Activity by thinking in a Certain
Way.

I proceed now to prove this last statement. We all know that cures are
wrought by all the different, and often opposite, methods employed in
the various branches of the healing art. The allopath, who gives a
strong dose of a counter-poison, cures his patient; and the homeopath,
who gives a diminutive dose of the poison most similar to that of the
disease, also cures it. If allopathy ever cured any given disease, it is
certain that homeopathy never cured that disease; and if homeopathy ever
cured an ailment, allopathy could not possibly cure that ailment. The
two systems are radically opposite in theory and practice; and yet both
"cure" most diseases. And even the remedies used by physicians in any
one school are not the same. Go with a case of indigestion to half a
dozen doctors, and compare their prescriptions; it is more than likely
that none of the ingredients of any one of them will be in the others.
Must we not conclude that their patients are healed by a Principle of
Health within themselves, and not by something in the varying
"remedies"?

Not only this, but we find the same ailments cured by the osteopath with
manipulations of the spine; by the faith healer with prayer, by the food
scientist with bills of fare, by the Christian Scientist with a
formulated creed statement, by the mental scientist with affirmation,
and by the hygienists with differing plans of living. What conclusion
can we come to in the face of all these facts but that there is a
Principle of Health which is the same in all people, and which really
accomplishes all the cures; and that there is something in all the
"systems" which, under favorable conditions, arouses the Principle of
Health to action? That is, medicines, manipulations, prayers, bills of
fare, affirmations, and hygienic practices cure whenever they cause the
Principle of Health to become active; and fail whenever they do not
cause it to become active. Does not all this indicate that the results
depend upon the way the patient thinks about the remedy, rather than
upon the ingredients in the prescription?

There is an old story which furnishes so good an illustration on this
point that I will give it here. It is said that in the middle ages, the
bones of a saint, kept in one of the monasteries, were working miracles
of healing; on certain days a great crowd of the afflicted gathered to
touch the relics, and all who did so were healed. On the eve of one of
these occasions, some sacrilegious rascal gained access to the case in
which the wonder-working relics were kept and stole the bones; and in
the morning, with the usual crowd of sufferers waiting at the gates, the
fathers found themselves shorn of the source of the miracle-working
power. They resolved to keep the matter quiet, hoping that by doing so
they might find the thief and recover their treasures; and hastening to
the cellar of the convent they dug up the bones of a murderer, who had
been buried there many years before. These they placed in the case,
intending to make some plausible excuse for the failure of the saint to
perform his usual miracles on that day; and then they let in the waiting
assemblage of the sick and infirm. To the intense astonishment of those
in the secret, the bones of the malefactor proved as efficacious as
those of the saint; and the healing went on as before. One of the
fathers is said to have left a history of the occurrence, in which he
confessed that, in his judgment, the healing power had been in the
people themselves all the time, and never in the bones at all.

Whether the story is true or not, the conclusion applies to all the
cures wrought by all the systems. The Power that Heals is in the patient
himself; and whether it shall become active or not does not depend upon
the physical or mental means used, but upon the way the patient thinks
about these means. There is a Universal Principle of Life, as Jesus
taught; a great spiritual Healing Power; and there is a Principle of
Health in man which is related to this Healing Power. This is dormant or
active, according to the way a man thinks. He can always quicken it into
activity by thinking in a Certain Way.

Your getting well does not depend upon the adoption of some system, or
the finding of some remedy; people with your identical ailments have
been healed by all systems and all remedies. It does not depend upon
climate; some people are well and others are sick in all climates. It
does not depend upon avocation, unless in case of those who work under
poisonous conditions; people are well in all trades and professions.
Your getting well depends upon your beginning to think--and act--in a
Certain Way.

The way a man thinks about things is determined by what he believes
about them. His thoughts are determined by his faith, and the results
depend upon his making a personal application of his faith. If a man has
faith in the efficacy of a medicine, and is able to apply that faith to
himself, that medicine will certainly cause him to be cured; but though
his faith be great, he will not be cured unless he applies it to
himself. Many sick people have faith for others but none for
themselves. So, if he has faith in a system of diet, and can personally
apply that faith, it will cure him; and if he has faith in prayers and
affirmations and personally applies his faith, prayers and affirmations
will cure him. Faith, personally applied, cures; and no matter how great
the faith or how persistent the thought, it will not cure without
personal application. The Science of Being Well, then, includes the two
fields of thought and action. To be well it is not enough that man
should merely think in a Certain Way; he must apply his thought to
himself, and he must express and externalize it in his outward life by
acting in the same way that he thinks.