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ROSICRU Cl AN ORDER AMORC TR ADE MARK
Supplementary Monograph PRINTED
IN U . S . A.
T he subject matter of this monograph must be understood by the reader or student of same, not to be the official Rosicrucian teachings. T h ese monographs constitute a series of supplem entary studies provided by the Rosicrucian O rder, A M O R C , both to mem bers and non-members, because they are not the secret, private teachings of the O rder. T h e object of these supplementary m onographs is to broaden the mind of the student by presenting him with the writings, opinions, and dissertations of authorities in various fields of human enterprise and endeavor. Therefore, it is quite probable that the reader will note at times in these supplem entary m onographs statem ents made which are inconsistent with the Rosicrucian teachings or view-point. But with the realization that they are merely supplementary and that the Rosicrucian O rganization is not endorsing or condoning them, one must take them merely for their prima facie value. Throughout the supplementary series the authors or translators of the subject will be given due credit whenever we have knowledge of their identity.
SUPREM E TEM PLE, RO SICRU CIA N PARK, SA N JO SE, CALIFO RNIA
Consecrated to truth and dedicated to every Rosicrucian
LECTURE NUMBER
r7a\
PHYSICAL CAUSES AND CURES Cells respond to causes having their initial impulse in the soul, but we must never forget that the physical causes are there and must be reckoned with. A knife cuts the flesh; swallowed bread undergoes a chemical change. Wien we combine an acid and an alkali in our system, they react; a change takes place, and we have neither an acid nor an alkali but a neutral salt and water. If the stomach is over acid— it should be somewhat acid to digest food properly— a carefully judged amount of a selected alkali, like baking-powder, neutralizes the troublesome agent present. This leaves a harmless neutral salt, and the over acidity ceases to exist for that time. But— and this is the important point— the cause has not been reached; that must be eliminated or the condition will recur. There are medicines— such as baking soda, phenacetin, or castor oil— that exercise a definite action and have a precise effect upon the human organs— such is digitalis used for the heart. There are many medicines of little value without the aid of the psychical effect produced by suggestion. With the medicine must go faith in the re medy. Even though it be one that is inert-even bread pills- the power of the mind is such, that the conviction of its curative power acts as a command to the cells. Medicine is a most powerful agent of psychical suggestion and whenever taken should be accompanied by a belief in its efficacy. 'When I look over the work of the world, I am impressed by the importance of the beneficent role played by an intelligent, able physician consecrated to his calling. Daily he goes his round— from house to house— advising, administering, relieving from pain and trouble, carrying hope and cheer. He renders service second to none) Personally, in serious cases, I believe in working on all three planes, the spiritual, the psychical, and physical, to bring about a cure. Providence has placed us on a material earth and provided us with material bodies that require material food to nourish them. Therefore, God works on the material plane as well as on the spirit ual. Why should we not do the same? Whatever our trust in God, we minister to our own physical needs. We choose food; how could selec ted medicine interfere with the action of Spirit any more than selec ted food? Medicine is given to aid the normal activities of the system. Nevertheless, as years go on, we are working away from medicine. Much less is given than formerly, and more advice as to diet, hygiene, and self-control. It is increasingly recognized that physical ill is usually the outcome of psychical causes, and should be treated from the region of cause. However, mental and spiritual healers, it is claimed, are unsuccess ful in curing the sick who depend upon medicine and spiritual treat ment simultaneously. It has been found that the relation of Spirit to matter is as yet so little recognized that for most people to take medicine during spiritual treatment is an act of fear and not an addi tional act of faith. But certainly there is no question of the rela tive value of the power of Spirit in the soul of man. And we find with Edward Carpenter:
"Loi the healing power descending from within, calming the confused mind, spreading peace among the quivering nerves." And so it should be our purpose to arouse this healing power. It exists, and, if we create the necessary conditions within, we can bring it into activity. In our study of external nature we find within and beyond matter— spiritual causes. The human body, affect ed by spiritual causes, reflects the psychical state of the owner. The cells can be educated to respond to soul forces. Cooperation Includes the Use of the Soul's Forces in Self-Cure Affirmation and suggestion are simply forms of educating the cells to do your bidding. The command given in Joel: "Let the weak say, 'I am strong, 111 is an order given by the Ego by way of the brain to the proper local authorities. They should be informed of what is wanted of them. Vigorous, persistent suggestion that health is a reality is a means of re-educating the cells to normal action. But, of course, if the cause of the disturbance is a sin or a fault, then mere affirmation of health should not and would not cure.' A "Crosspatch" must mend his ways; an habitual worrier must change his habit of thought; a gourmand must eat with greater moderation. Everyone should aim to have a philosophical outlook and to make self-control a part of his natural expression. Some of us are particularly susceptible to what others think and say of our condition and are made ill by their suggestions. A better type is found in Ephesians: "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." Speaking at the moment of waking in the morn ing, or before you have emerged from the inner state of mind to the perception of the objective world, or affirming In the restful atti tude before sleep— these find you in a fruitful psychological mood. It is then easy to focus the attention and concentrate the mind on what you wish to accomplish. Emotion is a soul force to be controlled with as much intelligence and care as the power generated in an automobile. A valuable asset, it should not be wasted. Fortunately, casual thoughts and ordinary psychical impressions do not reach the physical cells with the swift ness and power of those charged with terrific emotion— if they did there would be a continuous state of cellular upheaval. Emotions cause a wide gamut of ills from headaches, rheumatism, spasms, apo plectic strokes, and paralysis to death. The emotion-producing thoughts that create fear influence the physical cells perniciously— that we know. Do we also know from personal experience that the same emotion instantly diverted may be made to produce a salutary effect upon the body? This is a fact: Arrest an emotion— like fear— catch it, transform it, harness it, and it becomes a power for good. By the power of the will the thought that aroused the feeling may be switched to s. line of focused soul work. And that completed the hu man part is done. One must relax into a state of restful confidence — and Nature does the rest. The emotion of sympathy may be trans muted into an effort to cure.
A steam engine is liable to jump the track when deprived of the directing hand of the engineer, A man's cells in illness are an imated with life needing the directing will of the owner; the life forces are subject to his concentrated will and may be controlled. As Dr. Anns. Kingsley said: "Every cell of the human body is polarised in the human will." All life manifested in the human organism is God's life flowing through from the central Spirit into man's domain and is subject to his direction. The time will come in the evolution of the race when we will have learned to use our directed concentrat ed will to renew vitality and to maintain perfect health. But to accomplish it, man must pay the price in effort to bring into subjec tion the eternal life energies resident within the body. Understanding Faith There is a method of spiritual cure wholly different— based on faith and spiritual understanding. Many whose thought-habits do not admit this are benefited through the exercise of their wills, emotions, and the power of their affirmations. All soul effort along these lines increases one's degree of force and prepares for the incoming of the healing power. And In many it has led up to an understanding faith. Understanding faith proceeds from a realization of our oneness with the Divine within— of which we are a part. We must know that our spirit is of God— that there is no barrier between our own inner consciousness and God-Consciousness. We must remember that the form is subservient to Spirit--reflects Spirit, the Source of all Life and Being. The Christian Scientist proceeds more directly and denies matter. In thought one must enter into the realm of the absolute and affirm what we potentially are— what we spiritually are— Perfect in Health. We must attain to the'proper spiritual mood— one of living trust, of active expectancy, of calmly letting go and knowing that the supply of healing forces flows into our being abundantly. "Stand still and see the salvation of God which He will work for you." There are many books on this subject for those who want to learn. "Healing Currents," by Walter DeVoe, is full of helpful suggestion. It is possible to turn on these currents for one's self or for others, but it is the responsibility of the person cured to maintain himself in health. Slipping back into habits of destructive thoughts again sets in motion causes that upset normal functioning. We must keep in mind that we are temples of the living God and that the eternal Being dwells in us. After we have done our part, as Miss Cady says in her "Lessons in Truth," "Rest in peace, saying: 'God is my strength, God is my power, God is my assured victory. I will trust in Him, and He will bring it to pass.'" Minor Ailments Having done your persistent best to create within your thought-life an atmosphere of serene health, then ignore and forget minor ailments — the most speedy method of recovery.
AMORG - Rosicrucian Order ROSICRUCIAN ANALYTICAL DISCUSSIONS Lecture Forty-Two
-B-
Page Four
Your shoulder aches. Nature left to herself, governed by law, is engaged in correcting the trouble. But you keep your attention focused on the ill] The managing Ego sends the message of ill along the wires to the cells accentuating the condition; the cells instead of getting an impulse to tone up, receive an impulse to remain as they are. Insomnia creates a panic of anxious worry over the miserable day sure to follow a sleepless night. Although desirable, it is not neces sary to sleep the night through to gain enough vitality to tide one over the next day. It is even possible while retaining conscious ness to get abundant rest— if one exerts his will to be calm. It is the restlessness, the anxiety, the thrashing about, exerting influence on the cells that cause the dire effects. And it is well known that one lying quiet— without anxiety— is far more likely to sleep. There is no danger in the loss of an occasional night's sleep; it should not be treated as a calamity, nor talked about enough to imprint it on the mind. The more one talks about being a poor sleeper, the deeper he drills the conviction into himself and impresses upon his brain the very thoughts that invite sleeplessness— he educates him self into the habit of insomnia. A poor sleeper has only to recall the astonishing freshness and accumulation of energy acquired in even five minutes1 slumber. He may have Iain down in the afternoon quite fatigued, slept twenty minutes, and gained renewed vitality that kept him comfortably supplied till the evening bed hour. The concentra tion of the attention upon any ill is an added impulse of the soul’s forces; it aggravates the condition. When I was a girl, we were to rehearse at my home for private theatricals. At the appointed hour the men who came from a distance arrived; the rehearsal could not be postponed although I had had a sick headache all day and was still ill. I staggered down stairs, took a deep breath, entered the room, and greeted my guests. When I be gan my first lines, I clutched my throat to prevent nausea. Of necessity I had to keep my mind focused on the Howells play we were giving. It was two hours later when I suddenly thought of myself; I realized my own existence for the first time since I began— I was perfectly cured.' I could scarcely believe it; it seemed a miracle] In general, light ailments are treated too seriously. The repetition of one's symptoms to friend after friend Impresses the condition upon the brain, nerves, and cells and deters Nature's curative activities. The attention riveted on the pain as pain never alleviates; fixed else where it may do so. Resignation a Deterrent to Recovery The patient herself has a role to play in her recovery more important than that of the doctor. She must hold in mind the inevitable res ponse of bodily cells to thought. She must desire health ardently in an atmosphere of confidence, with positive conviction!
"If a desire to get well could cure me," said a woman saturated with the belief in the inescapable thralldom of physical ill, "I should have been well years ago." You cannot walk upstairs unless you use your muscles. It needs more than a desire to get well; it needs a passion to get well— it is a passion to get well, combined with the exercise of the psychical nature that counts. There must be hope, buoyancy of spirit united in a determined will to be well; a never-giving-up determination to be well. It is a re-education of the thought life. The soul forces are not at the call of weakness, inertia,, or inefficiency. It re quires the making of vivid pictures, the building of air castles— anything constructive— anything except depression and a deadly resig nation in which the soul's powers lie dormant. In this passive state the patient opens himself to influences of any sort from any quarter. Whether the soul exerts conscious effort or not, whether one under stands the psychical laws at work or not— every moment of living one is building for health or ill. The incessant activity of the thought life affects a corresponding response in the life of the cells in cluded in the organs of the physical body. And thus it is that "The tongue of the wise is health.11
