THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHIC HEALING

BY YOGI RAMACHARAKA

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CHAPTER XV SELF-SUGGESTION

"As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," is an old saying the truth of which becomes more and more apparent to us each year. In the chapter in which we showed the effect of the mind on the body you will notice that the majority of the physical troubles brought about by thought-influence were brought about by the thought of the person themselves by self-suggestion, so to speak. A man's physical health is largely a matter of his self-suggestion. If he maintains a mental attitude of health, strength and fearlessness, he manifests accordingly. And if he goes about with a mind filled with ideas and thoughts of a depressing nature his body will likewise respond.

Fear is the great cause of disease. Fear acts as a poison upon the physical system, and its effects are manifest in many directions. Remove fear and you have removed the cause of the trouble, and the symptoms will gradually disappear.

But all this we have stated elsewhere and this book must be a book of practice, rather than of theory* The question is how may one treat himself, or herself, by self-suggestion.

The answer is quite simple it is that the person may give himself just the suggestions that he would give a patient, following the advice and instructions given in the last chapter.

The "I" part of you may give suggestions to that part of the mind that runs the physical organism and manages the body from cell to organ. These suggestions will be taken and acted upon if given with sufficient earnestness. Just as people may make themselves sick by improper self-suggestions, so may they restore themselves to health by the proper suggestions given in the same manner.

There is no mystery about this it is in accordance with a well established psychological law.

The best way for you to start in a course of self-suggestion for yourself, presuming that you need the same, is to read carefully our book "Hatha Yoga" which contains practical instruction and information about "Right Living." Then after having acquired the plan of right living start in to practice right thinking.

Right thinking consists in maintaining the proper mental attitude of cheerfulness and fearlessness. These two things are a battery of force.

If you have imperfect health rest assured that it is caused by the violation of some natural law. You may discover what this violated natural law is by reference to "Hatha Yoga," and then it becomes your duty to correct the habit and restore natural functioning by self-suggestions or right thinking.

In nine cases out of ten you will find that the root of the trouble lies in improper nutrition and imperfect elimination. You don't believe this, you say! Well, then, let us tell you your symptoms and see if they do not come out about right to fit your case

First, you have a poor appetite and imperfect digestion dyspepsia or indigestion. Then you are constipated, and if a woman yon have scanty and irregular menstruation. Then your hands and feet are cold, denoting imperfect circulation. Then your eyesight and hearing is affected you have ringing in the ears and cloudy vision. Your taste is affected your smell is also poor and you are liable to have symptoms of catarrh. But your sense of feeling is not poor - it is abnormally sensitive, and you are called "nervous." You do not get a good night's sleep and you feel used up all the time. Your skin is colorless and your cheeks pale. Your lips and finger nails lack the rosy color of health. And so on.

Now does this not fit your case? Isn't it queer how we have diagnosed your complaint without having ever seen you, or known of you? But this is no miracle, we assure you we have merely recited the symptoms arising from what may be called a typical case of malnutrition and imperfect elimination. And the cause of these symptoms lies in the two things named. Then the removal of the cause lies in a correction of bad habits of living and bad habits of thinking. And "Hatha Yoga" will give you the habits of right living, and self-suggestion will aid you in right thinking and the speedy removal of the trouble.

Treat yourself According to the lines of the General Treatment given under the head of Suggestive Treatments in the last chapter. Make the treatments vigorous just as earnest as if you were treating somebody else instead of yourself. And you will get wonderful results.

See yourself in your "mind's eye" as you wish, yourself to be. Then start in to think of yourself as being that, and then live as the healthy man or woman should do. Then talk up to yourself and tell your instinctive mind what you expect it to do for you and insist upon it taking hold of the physical body and building up new cells and tissue and discarding the old worn out and diseased material. And it will obey you like a well trained assistant or helper and you will begin to manifest health and strength.

There is no special mystery about this self-suggestion. It is merely your "I" telling your instinctive mind to get to work and attend to its affairs properly. And by right living you give the instinctive mind the material with which to work and the conditions conducive to success.

We could fill page after page of this book with "Suggestions" and "Affirmations" for you to use in different complaints. But this is useless. You can make up your own suggestions and affirmations, which will answer just as well as would ours. Just speak up to the instinctive mind just as if it were another person who had charge of your body and tell it what you expect it to do. Do not hesitate about being in earnest about it put some life into your commands. Talk to it in earnest. Say to it "Here, you instinctive mind, I want you to get down to work and manage things better for me. I am tired of this old trouble and I intend to get rid of it. I am eating nourishing food, and my stomach is strong enough to digest it properly, and I insist upon your attending to it right away, now. I am drinking sufficient water to carry off the waste matter from the system and I insist seeing that my bowels move regularly every day. I insist upon your seeing that my circulation is equalized and made normal. I am breathing properly and burning up the waste matter and properly oxygenizing the blood and you must do the rest Get to work get to work. Add to this any instructions that you think well and then see how the instinctive mind will "get down to business." See what we have said on this subject in the chapter on "Thought-Force Healing." Then maintain the proper mental attitude, bracing yourself with strong affirmations until you get things going right. Say to yourself "I am getting strong and well I am manifesting health," etc., etc. Now we have told you how to do it then GET TO WORK AND DO IT!

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