I Can Heal Myself and I Will

By Cushing Smith

This book analyzes hundreds of diseases according to mental etiology -- and a specific metaphysical treatment is recommended for each ailment

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frederick Fell Publishers, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9780883915714

Cushing Smith

Not Available

Book preview

S.

Chapter I

WHAT IS METAPHYSICS?

The purpose of this book is to present the results of over forty years of practice in metaphysics, both in mental etiology, the study of the causes of disease, and in divine ontology, the understanding of God and His relation to His creation, including man, to the end that disease and other difficulties common to mankind may be mastered completely.

A dictionary definition of metaphysics is That division of philosophy which includes ontology, the science of being, and cosmology, the science of fundamental causes and processes, and it is strictly in that sense that this book deals with the subject. The Science of Being must include a knowledge of God and mans relation to Him; and Divine Cosmology must deal with the fundamental mental causes of disease and the processes by which it may be healed.

Metaphysics deals with anything beyond the realm of the strictly physical testimony of the five senses. De Quincey said that mathematics has not a foot to stand on that is not purely metaphysical. In that sense, then, we are all metaphysicians whenever we apply mathematics. Also, slang is metaphysical in nature, for it presents an application of, say, a condition of the body to convey a mental picture of something of an entirely different nature. Slang terms oftentimes provide the key to a physical condition. The user of slang does not intend to physicalize his use of such phrases upon himself or others but the nature of the carnal mind is such that it stores up such a union of mental and physical pictures, willy-nilly.

Poetry also is metaphysical, investing what are ordinarily considered physical phenomena with higher ideals designed to uplift thought to a more inspirational significance. So is music of the cultural type, which requires for its enjoyment some conception of the ideas expressed by the composer. And one of the most potent applications of metaphysics is the parable, many of which appear throughout the Bible, some unfortunately not understood as such, as in the case of the fantasy of the Garden of Eden.

One of the clever aspects of metaphysics is the way it conceals from the uninitiated its true significance. The poet writes of Sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, but the materialist can comprehend only sermons in books, stones in the running brooks. Likewise, parables present only their deeper meaning.

The metaphysics of the body was better understood anciently than presently, when diagnosis by physically minded medical authorities has tended to lose sight of the mental significance of disease. However, the trend toward the investigation of mental etiology through psychosomatics, psychiatry and psychology is heartening. The limitations these investigators place upon their studies through confining their research mainly to the mind of the individual, instead of considering outside thoughts as often causative, does however preclude their contemplation of the broader fields covered in this book.

For example, there is a trend toward repudiation of prenatalism as a factor in anything but the most obvious congenital conditions. This conclusion has been arrived at through certain psychological experiments which prove to the minds of the researchers that prenatal influences play only a small part, if any, in causing physical ailments. One such experiment was made by keeping a pregnant cow agitated and angry throughout its period of gestation, the assumption being that, if there were anything to prenatalism, the resulting offspring would have similar emotional tendencies. When the calf was thrown, it proved to be unusually mild and affectionate. Ergo, reasoned the psychologists, the mother’s prenatal nature was definitely not transmitted. But a little deeper penetration would have proved exactly the opposite, since everyone knows that in almost all species the mother or mother-to-be is concerned more with the protection of the offspring than with herself. So, this cow, being afraid that it was injury to her calf that was intended, protected the fetus by resenting forcefully all thrusts designed to upset her. Thus the experiment did prove prenatalism, even though the experimenters rejected the theory. Now, had they selected a cow that was naturally surly and vicious, they might have found that the calf took on this nature, although then they would probably have ascribed it to heredity. One suspects that the willingness to eschew prenatalism may be because there is little that can be done about it through psychosomatic medicine or psychiatry. Only an understanding of God as the only Cause can obliterate other causes, whether hereditary, prenatal, chronic or acute. Merely to cut down a weed to the place where it is no longer visible is merely to encourage the roots to spring into action again, this time with many stalks instead of one.

There is a parable which is perhaps as little understood as any in the Bible. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, it reads, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest and finding none. Then he saith ‘I will return into my house from whence I came out.’ And when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he and taketh with himself seven other spirits, more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. In other words, merely to drive out of the body by physical means an offending error, without destroying the mental roots from which it springs, only subjects the patient to a return of the ailment in more alarming form. Operations, drugs, injections are properly designed to drive the unclean spirit from the body, but this only puts the patient on probation until he destroys completely the errors which threw his bodily books out of balance in the first place.

This interpretation of the parable is borne out by the fact that its author, on a number of occasions when he produced physical healing, warned: Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. It is unfortunate that the word sin has come to mean only moral offenses, whereas sin means primarily the separation of anything from God, its Source. To look upon oneself as the progeny of Adam and to act accordingly, allowing almost any impulse, reaction or attitude, to govern what one says and does, is to separate oneself from the primary fact that is written: Beloved, now are we the sons of God. This violation, albeit usually from ignorance rather than intention, subjects one to adverse results, as does violation of the rules of mathematics. The error must be found and rectified in consciousness; else one suffers from the violation itself, not from any retribution of mathematics or the curse of God. Until an error is corrected, one’s books will remain out of balance, with consequent suffering.

The process of adding a drug or an injection to the body or of subtracting an offending part is as futile, except for the physical probation thus afforded, as a similar procedure in mathematics. Suppose in a schoolroom for beginners in the multiplication table the teacher asked each pupil to write on the blackboard the product of nine times seven. At once a chorus of protest goes up, Teacher, we haven’t had the table of nines. I know that, replies the teacher, but, each of you, write down what you think it is. So each child writes a product; one says it is seventy-five, another writes that it is fifty, and so on throughout the class, none of whom hits the proper answer. Then the teacher goes to the boy who has written seventy-five and under that number she places a twelve, draws a horizontal line and under it the figure sixty-three. At the little girl’s place she writes a thirteen, draws a line and writes sixty-three. And so on throughout the class. Then she says, You see, children, regardless of what you thought nine times seven was, I showed that by subtracting or adding I could bring out the correct answer.

Now, because the teacher has come out with what appears like the right solution does not alter the fact that she has given to the children the impression that addition and subtraction have a place in multiplication. So it is with addition by injection or subtraction by operation, with respect to the body, when the healing should always be in consciousness.

However, lest this be considered a broadside against medication or surgery, let it be emphasized that its only purport is in extenuation of the parable regarding the driving out of evil spirits only to have them return sevenfold. The hope is that those under treatment by any form of physical therapy will realize that this does not constitute the last word in healing. Recognition of this fact, if accepted, will enable the patient to work with the doctor to aid him in his ministrations and at the same time attack the real cause of the difficulty. Through such co-operation the shots will be double-barreled and the removal complete. Few doctors will resent anything which occupies the patient’s mind remedially, for the necessity of maintaining a hopeful and cheerful outlook is recognized in all forms of therapeutics. Let the doctor cure the body, while the patient heals the mind — that is the intent of this writing.

Here let a sincere tribute be paid to doctors and nurses everywhere. Almost without exception they are dedicated to the purpose of freeing their patients from whatever condition has robbed them of their health; they are loving in their attitude and ministrations; they are self-sacrificing and dedicated to their profession. They are fine men and women, many of them suficiently broad-minded to appreciate the metaphysical presentations attempted in this book. May God increase their understanding, efficiency and skill in driving out from the body the offending errors which it is the purpose of this writing to exterminate so completely that there cannot be a return.

So, may physical therapy and metaphysics both come under the blessing of what is written: Let there be no strife—between me and thee—for we be brethren; Let both grow together until the harvest

Chapter II

AS A MAN THINKETH

That disease can be worsened or improved by the mental attitude of the patient is recognized by every healer, psychiatrist, psychologist or practitioner of psychosomatic methods. The influence of a cheerful nurse, member of the family or optimistic friend is generally considered at least beneficial in expediting a healing. The healer who can assure his patient that he is not going to die can sometimes stave off the last enemy. All of this is so well recognized as to convince the casual observer that thinking has a lot to do with the recovery of the sick. But that thinking may have caused the sickness in the first place is far more rarely recognized, and it is my province to show that thought alone originates disease.

The purposes of this writing are:

To enable the patient, under any form of therapeutic practice, whether physical, mental, spiritual or psychological, to co-operate with the healer.

To work out his own salvation independently, in many cases; or at least to remove from himself the need of complete dependence upon the efforts of another.

To enable the reader to preserve his health by right thinking—health thinking—in regard to himself and others.

Let me add, in regard to (2), that if fear could be completely removed, miracles of healing might result.

Faith, in the alleviation of disease, is sometimes decried by persons who maintain that the effectiveness of a healing method is solely the product of the understanding of the practitioner as to what course to pursue, and the use of the proper drug, injection, operation or other medical procedure. Yet few will deny that faith enters into the selection of the best practitioner to handle a case. Therefore, to decry faith healing is to close one’s eyes to the fact that faith in some form enters into every healing. If the public practice of faith healing as shown on television does nothing more than demonstrate that disease is largely mental, it justifies its existence. No one can watch such programs without realizing that As a man thinketh, so is he. He may go further. He may examine the idea that if thinking can influence healing, wrong thinking may have had something to do with originating disease.

The reader will probably remember cases in his own experience where a doctor has admitted that the indomitable will to live on the part of his patient actually saved his life. So, if the reader can feel sincerely that by practicing the treatments recommended herein he can co-operate usefully with the professional friend who has undertaken to heal him, he will have the keen satisfaction of doing something in his own behalf, and not merely obeying the orders of the doctor.

In cases where, for any reason, the patient is unable to read, an understanding relative or friend will be of great assistance by reading the treatments aloud. If this relative or friend is convinced of the great benefits to be derived from elevating the patient’s consciousness, he may find that the visit to the sickbed or wheelchair has brought to himself a reward far greater than that resident in a merely sympathetic call.

THE BODY TELLS THE STORY

The casual observer of all the gadgets, gauges, instruments and indicators on the panel of an airplane would find himself merely bewildered; but to the pilot every one of these devices is of vital importance in flying the plane. And this casual observer would not feel himself in very safe hands if the pilot were to ignore the message transmitted by the jiggling of an instrument, and was interested only in not being disturbed by its agitation. Unless he knows what the instrument is saying to him, and knows what to do to correct the error being reported, he is a menace to every passenger who has placed faith in his ability to handle the plane.

So it is with the body. Every organ, every function, every formation tells its story to the understanding professional whose aim is to bring his patient to a safe landing on the runway of health. The removal, by incision, of any part of the body, without fully understanding that part’s function, disease and chances of recovery, would be like the stupidity of the poor whites in Tobacco Road, who discovered with glee that a car did not have to have certain equipment to run satisfactorily.

The condition of a part or function of the body tells the doctor what sort of ailment or maladjustment is present, and the probable remedy, be it injection, prescription, diet, manipulation or removal. Unless he has a working knowledge of psychology he is unlikely to be deeply concerned with the patient’s mental background, since he is convinced that it is the body that needs his attention. He may try to allay the patient’s fear, but he may add to it by describing the disease, its symptoms and probable physical cause, be it germs, improper metabolism or bodily abuse.

Therefore it remains for the patient himelf to control his thinking so that fear, doubt and worry, plus the accentuation of adverse mental pictures previously lodged in his consciousness, shall not make the healer’s work more difficult and make recovery slower. It may not be easy to acquire such control, and the will to get well must be based on something more reliable than mere determination not to succumb to the sickness. Nonetheless, an indomitable will has often proved to be the main factor in recovery. Not all people have sufficiently strong willpower, and it is for their sakes that this treatise is written, with an appeal to use their reason, common sense and faith in God rather than blind determination.

So let us consider the body from the point of view of its mental significance and not merely as a thing of flesh and blood. This is a branch of metaphysics, because it transcends the obvious physical interpretation.

In this connection it is interseting to note that anciently the organs and other parts of the body were supposed to originate certain mental traits or tendencies. The heart was said to be the source of the affections; the liver and gallbladder, supposed to produce different kinds of bile, were thought to be the seat of various emotional manifestations; the kidneys were said to be the origin of various unlovely characteristics of disposition, et cetera. Those who have not consulted unabridged dictionaries may not be aware that most of them, under the headings of the various organs and secretions, give the gist of these ancient theories.

The only mistake made by these old diagnosticians was in regarding the body as the cause of mental conditions rather than the reverse. They were right in recognizing the relationship between the physical and the mental, but they put the cart before the horse. In spite of this, a glance at the dictionary definitions, which give their ancient usage, may enlighten many a sufferer with the mental key to his physical difficulty. Those who are steeped in medical theories may regard these definitions in a good natured way and place them in the same category as fairy tales; but such definitions should not be so lightly dismissed when it is understood that they must be taken, so to speak, in reverse.

Let us reason a little over this. Do you say that a man has a pleasant disposition because he has a good face, or is the facial expression the result of his disposition? Many people pride themselves on their ability to tell character from the face, posture, handwriting, etc. They accept the fact that the body, at least in some respects, tells the story of the mind. There is a well-known saying that puts it rather neatly: Don’t tell me who you are. What you are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you say.

Isn’t it a little inconsistent to maintain that, while the face evidences mental cause, if we go a few inches farther down the situation is changed, so that the glands of the neck control a person’s mental reactions? If we were interested in changing a child’s facial expression, would we start with his disposition or would we employ a face lifter? Are not most parents familiar with the fact that if John’s mouth turns down he must be told to get a more joyful outlook on life?

So we find that when the ancients associated mental traits with organs and secretions of the body they were wrong only in respect to which was cause and which was effect.

One of the most common and interesting applications of mental etiology lies in the use of slang expressions. This most refreshing use of language is often one of the finest clues to the mental causation of bodily manifestations. We are all familiar with such expressions as getting it in the neck; bellyaching; elbowing somebody out of the way; going on behind my back; the girl is turning his head; shouldering too much responsibility; dragging the feet; having no guts; getting under my skin; blind as a bat; stiff-necked; getting back up; kick this one around; handle with care; sticking the nose into others’ affairs; hitting below the belt; keeping the chin up; watch your step — and dozens of other similar expressions, all of which metaphysicalize the body instead of accepting it as merely a rag and a bone and a hank of hair.

Many of the above expressions are direct clues to the mental cause of a physical condition. In conversation with the writer a patient continually used the word stomach as a verb — I just can’t stomach a fellow like that. Is it surprising that his complaint was stomach ulcers? Another often bemoaned the fact that there were too many fingers in his pie. Can you guess what was happening to his hand? Another stoutly mantained, without much prodding, I think I’ve got a kick coming. Is it incongruous that his trouble was with his feet and legs?

But the skeptic will say, Isn’t that a little farfetched? Aren’t you allowing your imagination to overshadow your common sense? If mental diagnosis were confined exclusively to slang expressions, the skeptic’s doubts would be well founded. Slang is mentioned only to show the reader how diversified the mental causes of disease may be, and these few illustrations are not supposed to substantiate the case. They do, however, enable the reader to draw on something he knows about, and which may lead him to many things very few people do know about mental etiology. These will be elaborated in the succeeding pages. Meanwhile, it will be an interesting pursuit to try to associate familiar slang phrases with the physical symptoms of friends whose ailments and mental characteristics are both well known.

Chapter III

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE BODY

The previous references to slang in connection with parts or functions of the body illustrate the potency of symbolic presentations, for they make pictures which are quickly grasped by the human mind. The beauty of symbolism is that it rolls into a small pellet many aspects of a situation that otherwise might require lengthy explanation. So long as slang performs this function of focusing multum in parvo it will remain a part of language, gradually losing the taint of undesirability until it receives the acclaim it really deserves.

Interpretation of a symbol depends strictly upon the mentality by which it is considered. Hence it protects the more precious import against the impact of destructiveness. Music, or instance, is largely symbolic, since its deeper treasures are discoverable only to developed musical understanding. A beautiful symphony might drive back into the jungle many of the wild animals on the African veldt; it would be an object of derision to the devotee of jazz; it would be an enigma to one who, while desiring to know its message, had not the basic comprehension to penetrate its inner significance; and it would elevate into a measure of heaven the music lover who through much training had gained the ability to interpret what fell on his ears in terms of the intent and inspiration of the composer.

So it is with that magnificent creation we call the human body. To the mortician it is merely a cadaver; to the physiologist it is an intricate mechanism in which the sciences of biochemistry, physics, dietetics, metabolism and replacement operate to produce an amazing series of phenomena which make for health or disease; to the warmonger it is merely cannon-fodder; to the metaphysician it is the manifestation of mental cause and effect; to the spiritual-minded it is the temple of God.

For purposes of mental diagnosis, then, let us consider the body from the point of view of its basic structure, muscular development, brain and nervous system, organic function, respiratory and generative properties, alimentary canal and circulatory system. As indicated before, the principal purpose of these discussions is to turn the interest of the reader from a purely physical contemplation of the body, such as that of the ordinary medical doctor or surgeon, to the consideration of the way in which the body tells the story of human thinking. It is hoped that attention will be shifted from the ordinary viewpoint of the body as doing something to the mind to the realization of what the individual has done to his body when it manifests disease and other physical disharmony.

METAPHYSICS OF ANATOMY

Bones constitute the fundamental framework of the body, without which none of its other parts would have a permanent location in which to exist. Therefore it suggests metaphysically those basic aspects of consciousness associated with recognition of God, flawless moral sense, philosophic convictions, integrity, obedience to fundamental law. Hence decay, ossifiication, abnormal bony development, even breakage, must be regarded in the light of fundamentals, as recognized either by society in general or in the mental background of the individual.

The skull, as bony structure of the head, suggests basic views of the Godhead, head of a family or organization, leadership. Decapitation, therefore, has a deeper significance than the mere beheading of a John the Baptist to satisfy the cupidity of a dancing girl and her designing mother. What is it that causes the prize fighter to aim his blows at the jaw of his opponent, or a dissatisfied employee to talk of knocking the block off his employer? Primitive impulses such as these are unconsciously aimed at basic relationships far more significant than the mere desire to inflict bodily suffering.

The backbone has been used as a symbol perhaps as much as any part of the body except the heart. Since it supports the upper part of the body it is interpretable as the support of consciousness through courage, determination not to be imposed upon, and moral steadfastness. However, it is made relatively flexible, suggesting the pliable nature which while standing for principle is willing to employ give-and-take in dealing with others. The familiar reference to things going on behind the back has deeper significance than mere descriptive phraseology, for often a condition of the spine is the signal of some phase of hidden skulduggery. Ankylosis of the spine will be discussed under arthritis.

Ribs are essentially for the protection of the internal organs and signify metaphysically the application of mental methods designed to protect against rapier thrusts of animosity and other threatening mental onslaughts. Their arrangement suggests a cleverer allowance for movability than a solid breastplate would afford. Hence the inference that protection is not always one of mental armorplate, but diplomacy and finesse. Broken ribs therefore may point to the possibility that the individual is far too blunt in his methods of protecting those things close to his heart. In metaphysics there is really no such thing as an accident. It is certainly not accidental when a misplaced number throws out of balance a set of financial books. The accountant must discover where the laws of mathematics or bookkeeping have been violated. Broken ribs seem so obviously the result of heavy impact as apparently to preclude any necessity for analysis of the mental vulnerability revealed to the metaphysician. It is said that an American Indian so improved his physical invulnerability by mental means that he was able to withstand the impact of bullets shot at close range from a rifle.

Shoulder and arm bones are significant mainly for their ability to carry various burdens, although of course they have other properties. Mentally then, the shouldering of mental burdens, the way responsibilities are carried, protective arms placed about others, are some of the indices to physical difficulties devolving on those parts. As the arms are an evidence of strength in the performance of physical tasks, so they may symbolize mental or moral strength applied in the carrying out of various projects or requirements. Sometimes, then, a disabled arm may be traced mentally to the desire of an enemy to curb such activities.

Fingers are composed of phalanges which permit great freedom in the use of the hand. These small bones and joints are very susceptible to antagonism against the way some activity is being manipulated by the owner of the hand. One of the oldest forms of punishment of children who get into mischief is the rapping of the knuckles with a ruler or other instrument of discipline. Is it a farfetched assumption, then, that the mental urge to punish, because of the way something is being handled, might manifest itself without the physical slap across the knuckles? In most cases of arthritic fingers, such explanations are not difficult to discover.

Leg bones are perhaps the greatest contributing factor to the strength of the human skeleton, especially when reinforced by massive thigh muscles. They uphold the entire weight of the body. Hence their metaphysical significance as support, financial, moral, civic, institutional or ethical. When the weight of such support becomes burdensome, the femur may tell the tale. Therefore a broken leg is not really healed, even through the most impeccable surgery, unless some attention is paid to its mental significance, and the appropriate metaphysical remedy administered. What mental influence brought about the downfall? What adverse motives tried to snap the support downfall that precipitated the break? What adverse motives tried being given to a certain project or undertaking? The greatest healer that ever practiced metaphysics indicated on a number of occasions that to remove an effect from the body was only a means of putting one on probation until the mental cause was eliminated. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee is the way he put it.

Bones of the feet, like those of the hands, are composed of a series of phalanges, making for flexibility and maneuverability. Flat-footedly, a descriptive term used to signify absence of any sense of discretion, supplies a mental picture of the lack of such resiliency. The trudging gait of some very elderly people tells the story of their lack of joyousness in meeting the issues of life. Children, on the other hand, love to trip gaily along because to them life is a stimulating adventure into which they can hardly wait to dance. The word footsteps has so often been applied to one’s progress through this vale of tears as to require no comment as to its metaphysical significance. Walking with God along the way and similar metaphors point the direction in which the reader may find his own metaphysical explanation of the significance of many pedal difficulties. Such interpretation, of course, does not rule out the possibility of ill-fitting shoes, since metaphysics is essentialy common sense.

WHAT DO MUSCLES REPRESENT?

The Skeleton

It is difficult to consider muscular function independently of nerves and brain, since their interrelationship is known to every grade school student of physiology. But in this discussion it is impossible not to interpret that interrelationship from a point of view far higher than that of the writers of textbooks on this subject. Movement of parts of the body by means of the muscles is described as the result of nerve messages flashed to the brain and there transmuted into other messages via a different set of nerves telling the muscles how to bring about the desired movement. We are told, for instance, that the mere act of walking involves the utilization of scores upon scores of muscles, and that it may be practically automatic through the employment of the subconscious mind, which continues to operate during conversation or deep thought, of which the act of perambulation is independent. And there is no desire here to minimize the magnificence of this complicated performance; in fact, in view of its metaphysical significance, recognition transcends ordinary appreciation, and approaches the act of walking from the majesty of God. However, muscles must be regarded symbolically as thought forces, the brain as representative of Divine Intelligence, and the nerves as the nearest the human mind may ever come to the significance of ascending and descending angels. The desire for bodily movement on the part of an individual is a form of prayer to God, instantly recognized and instantly granted. Comprehension of this fact enables one to understand a little more clearly Biblical references to the body as the temple of God.

Impairment of muscular freedom, deterioration of nerves, abnormal conditions of the brain involve a large phase of therapeutic practice too extensive for anything but cursory attention here, but it is hoped that enough may be revealed in later chapters to give a clear picture of the metaphysical approach to such conditions, and to enable the reader to recognize and employ specific means of self-help. At this point the purpose is only to give a brief resume of this study to indicate its direction and destination.

However, let it be emphasized that the brain is not creative in any sense. Like any other portion of the body it is purely objective, revealing the more abstract type of human thinking; whereas, the internal organs of the body tell the story of the lower propensities such as emotionalism, anger, lust, fear, hatred and various other phases of the disposition. A man is not a deep thinker because he has a big brain, but a large brain records his breadth of vision philosophically, scientifically and sociologically.

THE ALIMENTARY SYSTEM

The hidden meaning of the body is nowhere better illustrated than in connection with the processes by which food is masticated, digested, assimilated and eliminated. Food represents daily experience, whereby may be gained nutriment and consequent strength of thought. To grasp the mental significance of the various organs involved and their functions let us assume an occurence which might happen to anyone.

You are living, let us say, on the ground floor of a dwelling having a front door which opens upon the street. You are in the back part of the house when you hear the ringing doorbell.