Use of the Will from the Science of Being Well

In the Science of Being Well, you do not make yourself go when you are unable to do so, or do tasks when you are not physically capable. You have no intention of controlling your physical body or compelling appropriate bodily function by willpower.

Your will directs your mind and dictates what you believe, what you think, and how you focus your attention.

Never employ your will on something external to yourself or on your own body. There is just one proper function of the will: to determine what you pay attention to, and what you consider.

Willingness to believe starts belief.

You cannot always believe what you want to; but you can always will to believe what you desire. Truth about health is what you desire. These things you are reading in this book are true regarding health; this is your first step in making a recovery.

You must believe the following statements:

When man eats Thinking Substance, he gets the Principle of Health, which is his life.

As that man’s thoughts are, so will his physical body be.

In order to believe solely ideas of perfect health, you must cause your internal and involuntary functioning to be health, as long as your outward and voluntary functioning and attitude are consistent with those beliefs.

To believe the statements is to act on them as well. To keep a believe, you must act on it; to grow a belief, you must act on it; and you cannot expect to get any kind of advantage from an established belief unless you behave as if the contrary were true. You can no longer have confidence in health if you keep acting ill. If you keep acting sick, you will continue to think of yourself as sick; and if you think of yourself as sick, you will stay unwell.

The first step to behaving more independently is to start acting more independently inside. Form your idea of perfect health, and continuously think about it until it becomes a distinct notion to you. Visualize yourself performing the things a strong and healthy person would do. Continue to do this until you have a clear image of what healthy looks like, and what it means to you. When I use the term “concept of health,” I’m referring to how a healthy individual appears and acts. See yourself as healthy until you think about how you will behave, look, and live as a healthy person. Until you think of yourself as constantly acting in the manner of a healthy person, take time to consider your overall health. Although you may be unable to create a clear mental image of yourself while being in perfect health, you may conceptually see yourself behaving in a healthy manner.

form this idea, and then, as far as possible, think solely about perfect health in regard to yourself and others Don’t contemplate or ponder thoughts of sickness or disease; when thoughts of illness or sickness show themselves, reject them. meet it by thinking health; by believing that you are healthy, and by expressing gratitude genuinely When illness ideas come at you in torrents, and you are in a “tough spot,” return to practicing appreciation. Give gratitude to God for excellent health, and you will soon have the ability to regulate your thoughts, and to think the ideas you want to think. When there is uncertainty, hardship, or temptation, practicing thankfulness is a sure-fire method to help keep you steady. Remember to sever any mental connections with disease, and engage fully in mental relationship with health. The entire solution to mental recovery is what this is. Here we see the secret of the tremendous popularity of Christian Science—it asks that followers break ties with illness and instead link themselves with health. Christian Science has the therapeutic power not because of its theological formulæ, but because it causes patients to disregard illness as an unreal concept and embrace health by faith as a true concept. its failings are due to the fact that practitioners, when thinking in the specified manner, don’t get enough rest

While reciting a string of words will not cure you, reciting key ideas in such a way that you may use them as affirmations anytime you’re surrounded by aversive environments is a highly practical tool. whenever people begin to speak about illness and death, mentally affirm:—

I am That One Substance.

I am that substance, and I am everlasting life.

No disease: I’m Substance, and I’m Health.

Use your willpower in selecting only ideas that are thoughts of health, and organize your surroundings to prompt healthy thoughts. Only surround yourself with images of health, beauty, strength, and youth. When you come across anything that indicates illness, avoid all exposure to it. Picture health in your mind and appreciate it, and with willpower, direct your focus to positive ideas about health. What I want to make clear here is that you must be healthy, recognize only healthy, and devote your attention only to health; and that you must exercise your will over your thoughts, recognition, and attention.

Don’t attempt to coerce the execution of healthy functions from inside you. Your mind will handle it if you focus solely on ideas of good health.

Do not attempt to force the Formless to give you more life or strength; it is already providing all the power you will ever need.

You don’t have to use your willpower to overpower or tame hazardous circumstances or opposing forces; just one force exists; it is a force which promotes health.

Everything in the world desires that you be healthy; you have nothing to overcome except your own habitual thought patterns and, in this case, simply by thinking in a different manner about health.

Man may make his internal bodily processes to work flawlessly while thinking in a certain way, as well as executing bodily functions in a particular way.

This particular way of thinking may be accomplished by using attention and will.

He decides what to think about.