How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Nine, The Explanation Is the Cure

How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Nine, The Explanation Is the Cure

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Dr. Phineas Quimby, who started teaching and healing in Maine in 1847, often used the term, 'The explanation is the cure." By this Dr. Quimby meant that his explanation as to why the patient had the particular disease was a penetrating truth aiding the sick person to change his mind and keep it changed. The cure was wrought by his insight. When the patient grasped his explanation, the cure was immediate insofar as the inner life was concerned.

Last year I said to a girl in a convent which I visited in England, who had suddenly lost her voice: "You feel guilty. You would like to speak out about it, but you feel you should not and your subconscious has responded accordingly." She nodded her head, attesting to the truth of what I had said. She forthwith came to a decision to speak to the Sister Superior of the convent and her voice came back immediately. The explanation was the cure in that instance.

Dr. Quimby very suddenly and convincingly spoke to some of his patients that illuminating word which brought far-reaching results affecting the health, religion and mode of life of his patients. Quimby was clairvoyant. He said the test of clairvoyance is the ability to read a letter in the pocket of another person, which that person had not yet read.

Ulcerated Thoughts

Some time ago, in consultation, a man said to me that he was on a milk diet and was taking medicine for his ulcers. Casually, I mentioned that ulcers are generally due to worry, fear, anxiety, deep-seated resentment, stress and strain. He admitted that this statement was absolutely true.

The next step was to teach him that if these habitual thoughts had created his ulcers, he could reverse his thought life and instead contemplate regularly thoughts of peace, harmony, right action, love, goodwill, wholeness and vitality. All he had to do was to make a habit of constructive spiritual thinking. He had been attributing his ulcers to heredity, diet and other factors.

I gave him the following patterns of prayer to be spoken out loud three times in the morning, three times in the afternoon and three times at night prior to sleep:

 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalms 27:1). I have a new, strong conviction of God's Presence which holds me spellbound, entranced and unmoved, and I feel serene, confident, and unafraid. I know there is nothing to fear—nothing to draw away from, for God is all there is and everywhere present. In Him I live, move and have my being, so I have no fear. God's envelope of love surrounds me and His golden river of peace flows through me; all is well. I am not afraid of people, conditions, events or circumstances, for God is with me. Faith in God fills my soul, and I have no fear. I dwell in the Presence of God now and forevermore, and no fear can touch me. I am not afraid of the future, for God is with me. He is my dwelling place, and I am surrounded with the whole armor of God. God created me and He sustains me. God's wisdom leads and guides me; so I cannot err. I know in my heart the great truth, 'Closer is He than breathing, nearer than hands and feet.' "

He followed this procedure regularly, and after a reasonable period of time his doctor, who was much surprised, pronounced him healed. The explanation was the cure. The clarifying words of truth work wonders when accepted by the mind of the sick or confused person.

He Saw that He Was Foolish

A businessman frankly admitted to me recently that he was wishing failure for a competitor across the street from him. The reason he gave was that the competitor was underselling him. His prices for the same merchandise were much lower.

I explained to him that his attitude was very foolish, because what he was wishing for the other he was at the same time wishing for himself. He was the only thinker in his world, and, because his thoughts are creative, he was attracting lack, loss and limitation and was actually impoverishing himself.

He saw the point immediately. His competitor obviously believed in success, prosperity and expansion and, therefore, could not receive his negative thoughts of failure. He detected his folly and grasped immediately the cause of his slow business. He quickly dropped his negative thinking and prayed for the prosperity and success of his competitor. Then he found that he prospered, also.

To bless the other is to bless yourself. Prayer always prospers. There is an old saying: "The ship that comes home to your brother also comes home to you." The explanation was the cure.

Self-Healing

Self-healing means the awakening in our mind of the truth which sets us free, the dawning in us of the healing power of God, which restores and responds when we call upon it. To unite with that power, declare boldly: "I AM Spirit and have Infinite Life to draw upon now." You will then turn the tide.

Remember also that the vast majority of sick people get well without any help from anybody, and doctors know that. The tendency of life is to heal and restore. Most of our fears are borrowed. They have little basis in fact.

Expectant Attention

It is generally recognized that in order for the therapist's suggestion to take effect in the mind of the percipient, there must be predisposing conditions, such as faith and expectancy. The percipient's favorable and receptive attitude is, in reality, self-suggestion. This auto-suggestion explains many of the wonderful results occurring at sacred shrines where so called miracles of healing have taken place.

Hypertension

In conversing with a man suffering from acute high blood pressure, I pointed out to him the comment of many medical men, who claim that one of the chief personality characteristics of persons with high blood pressure is resentment. This man had not only chronic high blood pressure but experienced cardiac spasms at times.

This man had been cheated and swindled out of at large sum of money and, as he said, he was seeking vengeance. I explained to him that if he desired a complete healing he must follow the Biblical injunction:. . . Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19). The spiritual meaning of the word vengeance in the Bible is to justify, to vindicate. It means victory of truth over error or any negative state. The Truth of Being and the goodness of God are vindicated in our lives when we turn to God and call on Divine love to saturate our whole being.

I suggested that he release completely to God the man who had swindled him, wishing for him harmony and peace and that he claim frequently for himself: "God's peace fills my mind and heart, and God's love saturates my soul."

Through frequent habitation of his mind with these truths, he realized an inner peace and tranquility. Whenever the man who had cheated him came to his mind, he blessed him by affirming, "God's peace fills your soul." As he changed his mind, his physical condition changed and he eventually healed himself.

The Lord is the law of life. If anyone misuses the law, the latter will always even things up, as action and reaction are equal. The tendency of all life is to heal and restore, but we must permit the Life Principle to heal without hindrance.

This man saw the folly of trying to get even with the other man in hiring someone else to do him bodily harm. He realized all of this brooding was the cause of his malady and that he had brought it all upon himself. He was stealing health, vitality, discernment and peace of mind from himself and impoverishing himself along all lines.

The explanation is the cure, as he perceived that nothing happens by chance. The reason anything happens to us is because of our own state of mind. In other words, the equivalent is in our mind. If we are in a mood of loss and despair, we will attract loss along all lines. If we live in fear of being cheated, swindled, robbed, etc., we must realize that we attract what we fear. This is a cardinal and fundamental truth. Therefore, we must accept responsibility for what happens to us. Cease blaming others, for this habit will only compound the misery.

Look Within Always for the Cause

I have talked with girls who have married men of a different race, religion and background for no other reason than to try to irritate and disgrace their parents. The trouble is that they do not know the Real Self—God—within.

When they learn to exalt the Divine Presence, the Living Spirit, the Reality of them, they will automatically respect the Divinity in others. The criminal hates himself and projects that hatred on to others. He has never found his real Self, which is God, within him. Boys and girls who were mistreated, neglected and unloved in their home life, become misfits, trouble makers at school, agitators and prone to fighting, stealing and lying. They are trying to get attention and recognition, but they get it the wrong way. They do not know that it is their state of mind that is playing havoc with them.

In truth, there is no one to change but ourselves. If we have the wrong attitude toward life and people, everything will go wrong. Realize that when you are Divinely guided, all of your ways will be ways of pleasantness and all of your paths will be peaceful and harmonious. Remember, you create your own success, happiness and peace of mind.

You are wise when you realize that your success and prosperity in life do not depend on what other people say or do, or do not say or do not do. Realize also that you were born to win, to succeed and triumph over all obstacles. Your success depends on your attitude of mind and your conviction about God, life and the universe. God is always successful in all of His undertakings, and God indwells you.

As you continue to know, feel and believe that you can do all things through the God-Power which strengtheneth you, you will find yourself going up the ladder of life irrespective of what others say or do, or do not say or do. Knowing that God is the Source of all your blessings, you will find yourself free of all jealousy, hate, resentment and hostility. Decide to look to the Infinite for all your good and you will never be disappointed.

You Can Call on Your Reserves

There is an inexhaustible reservoir of strength, wisdom and energy within your deeper mind. All armies on the march, for example, make sure that reserves are there when needed and can be called upon. This gives the general in charge a certain assurance and confidence.

God indwells you, and all the powers, attributes and qualities of God indwell each one of us. All of us live, move and have our being in that Infinite Being which created all things and is the very life of us. "There is " says Emerson, "guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening we shall hear the right words"

A girl who was attacked by a purse snatcher said, "God watches over me. He cares for me." Her attacker ran off. She called on her reserves and there was a response. This is a reciprocal universe; action and reaction are always and everywhere equal. In her emergency she called on the Almighty One and there was a response which set her free from the mugger.

Begin every day with your thought of God and His love for you. Remember also a simple truth: The beginning of all manifestation or phenomena in this material universe is a thought or a word; and a word is a thought expressed. Your thought is first cause. God is the Creative Power in you, and the only immaterial power you know is your thought. Your thought is creative, and you are what you think all day long.

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 How to use the Laws of Mind, Chapter Nine, The Explanation Is the Cure

Dr. Joseph Murphy