Supplementary instructions from the Science of Being Well

Forming a notion of health is important because you must think about the way you would live and work if you were healthy and strong. This will help you build a positive mental image of yourself as you strive toward becoming healthy and strong. This should be done mentally and physically. Don’t deviate from this position. When you unite yourself in mind with the thing you want, that thing quickly unites with you in body. Scientifically, you should cut ties with everything you don’t want, and form new bonds with everything you want. Conceive of perfect health, and identify yourself with this ideal.

Guard your words; make every word fit the idea of perfect health. Don’t ever say things like, “I didn’t get enough sleep last night,” “I have an ache in my side,” or “I don’t feel well today.” I can tell that I improve quickly, and I am looking forward to a nice night’s sleep tonight. Concerning illness, your attitude is to ignore it; towards health, your attitude is to unite yourself with it.

That is the whole sum of it all: Use health as your guide; do not affiliate yourself with illness or vice versa.

Do not read books titled “Doctor Books” or medical material; it can destroy your confidence in the Way of Living that you have chosen. This may lead you to once again associate illness with your mind. Nothing important has been missed, and virtually all the extra stuff has been removed. While being well is somewhat like math, in that you cannot create something from nothing, you may subtract something to cause failure. If you follow the advice in this book carefully, you will be healthy; and you CAN follow it in thought and deed.

Reflect on not just yourself, but others to promote optimal health. You should not empathize with individuals who are either complaining or in pain. Do everything you can for their alleviation, but do it with the health idea in your mind. Let others lament and express their problems to you; avoid hearing complaints by diverting the topic or excusing yourself. The illness should not be pushed upon you. If you are among individuals who like to talk about illness and such, ignore them and go to thinking about how thankful you are that you don’t have sickness; and if it does not help, it’s best to leave them behind. No matter what anybody thinks or says, civility does not compel you to accept toxic or degenerate thoughts. When we have a larger population of mentally and physically healthy individuals, the world will move quickly in that direction. To facilitate the spread of illness, allow individuals to speak about sickness.

When will I be in pain? Are one’s ideas of health separate from bodily suffering?

Yes. Stop resisting suffering. Accept it. The struggle of the Principle of Health to overcome an unnatural situation causes pain. Mentally help and co-operate with a process of healing. Consciously identify with the power responsible for the suffering; support it; help it progress. Use heated fomentations and comparable techniques whenever required to further the job that is already underway. Lie down if the pain is severe. Give your attention to co-operating with the power that is acting for your benefit. Now is the moment to be grateful for the health that is generating the pain, and be confident that the discomfort will go once the job is done. Think with certainty about the Principle of Health, and be sure that pain will soon be a thing of the past. After mastering pain, you will be astonished to discover how little it takes to overcome it. Eventually, aches and pains will be foreign concepts to you.

When am I too weak to perform my work? Should I push myself to my limits, hoping God would aid me? Should I keep running, like the marathoner?

Don’t bother. As you begin to live this way, you will probably not be at full strength; and you will gradually rise in physical condition. Physical health is linked to mental health and strength, and when you practice voluntary activities, your strength increases daily. However, on occasion, your strength may be inadequate to carry out your job goals. Do something kind, and give thanks for it. Be grateful for your quickly increasing strength, which comes from the Living One. Express gratitude for the gift of time in thankful acknowledgment, and then get up and move on with one’s day. Don’t dwell on your current weakness, but think about the future power.

Do not allow yourself to believe that you are giving in to weakness. Always think of the Principle of Health, which is helping you develop your full strength.

Constant fears about constipation plague many individuals each year.

Let it go. The complete explanation in Horace Fletcher’s “The A B Z or Our Own Nutrition” shows that under this scientific diet, you need not and indeed cannot have an evacuation of the intestines daily; and that one’s bowels should be emptied only once every three days to two weeks for optimum health. Gross feeders that consume much more than they can use in their systems have a large deal of waste to remove; but as long as you follow our guidelines, you’ll do well.

If you consume food just when you are HUNGRY, chew each bite of food thoroughly, and stop eating as soon as you see your hunger diminishing, you will prepare your food so well that almost all of it will be absorbed into the absorbents. Then, little or nothing will be expelled in the bowels. To be free of everything that you have read in “doctor books” and patent medication ads about constipation, just erase it from your mind. the principle of health will handle it

However, if you have recently filled your head with thoughts of constipation, you may want to periodically flush your colon with warm water. Doing this is needless unless you want to make the experience of getting rid of your anxiety a bit simpler. Once you realize that you are making progress, dismissing constipation from your thoughts is all you have left to do. Be grateful to your Principle of Life, and connect It by being respectful to your Principle of Perfect Health.

Exercise too?

By participating in some kind of play or entertainment, you receive a well-rounded usage of the muscles every day. Have your workout as enjoyment, not as an exercise regimen for your health. Play tennis or tenpins, or throw a ball. There are a thousand ways in which you may remain active enough to maintain your body flexible and your circulation strong while also avoiding the trap of “sticking to a routine only for health benefits.” Because you are too healthy to sit idle, you should exercise for pleasure or profit.

Longer fasts are required.

Almost never. Normally, hunger does not usually take more than twenty, thirty, or forty days to be ready for action. Hunger does not arrive sooner because the patient has chosen to withhold it. He starts the fast with fear, if not with hope, since he has studied on the topic and expects a lengthy fast; he is firmly resolved to make it through, and time is irrelevant. Subconscious mind influenced by strong and favorable suggestion controls appetite.

When nature takes away your hunger, continue working happily, and do not eat until she gives it back. Regardless of how long it is before you eat, you will inevitably feel hungry, and if you maintain your trust in health, you will not suffer from any weakness or pain produced by fasting. You will feel stronger, happier, and more comfortable if you don’t eat than you would if you do, no matter how lengthy the fast. Additionally, if you live by the guidelines outlined in this book, you will seldom feel hungry, and you will enjoy your meals more than you ever have. Earned hungers precede all eating; anytime you earn a hunger, eat.