Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-10-25
THE MENTAL REMEDY FOR PAIN.

Dr. W. +. BudnJ IN The Mind Cure and Science Of LVt
That state of consciousness which we
denominate pain, is not in the material
body. Its location there is an illusion and
false belief. Pain, like everything in
nature and in the human bady, has men
tai side to it. 1t corresponds to something
in the mind, which is the cause Of it. II
we can find this mental or spiritual root Of
it, from which it arises, and without which
it cannot exist, and can remove it we cure
it. To aid us in doing this, we would OBJ
serve, that there are three classes OF sen.
sations which include all our possible sen.
sationsl experiences.
In the first place is that large class Of
sensations which may with propriety be
denominated Indifferent sensations, because
our mental attitude toward them is one OF
indifference. We do not care whether they
90 or stay. We have neither desire for
them nor aversion toward them. They are
consequently neither pleasursble nor pain
ful. For this cause they are out Of con
seriousness most Of the time.
We become conscious Of them only by
special act Of attention 10 them. Such
is the feeling Of the air on the surface Of
the body when it is neither too warm nor
too cold. Such also is the sensation &C.
casioned by the contact Of our clothing
with the skin. The larger portion Of our
sensations belong to this class. Our men
tai state in relation to them is one Of in
diference--an equilibrium OF desire and
aversion which we call contentment.
There is another class Of sensations
which we denominsts plessurable. The
pleasure may exist in q thousand different
degrees Of intensity, all depending upon
our varying mental states in reference to
them. Our mental attitude toward this
class Of sensible experiences is not one Of
indifference or neutrality, but OF desire
We like them and cherish them. Ii is to
be observed that the more Of is desire we
have, the more intense is the sensation Of
pleasure, for the pleasure, when We get
round to the spiritual side of it, is nothing
but that deHlre; and the pleasure cannot
exist without the desire As familiar
illustration Of this general principal in the
philosophy Of human nature, We know that
the more thirsty we are, that is, the more
we desire water. the more pleasure we ex-
perience in drinking it. Without the thirst
in some degree, there is no pleasure ID
drinking the purest water on earth The
more hungry o man is, that is, the more
intense his desire for food, the better his
food tastes to him. Without appetite, which
is only a name for desire, the richest viand'
afford no pleasure in the eating. Desire is
the ground of all pleasurable sensations
This is the reason Why the same thing may
be plessurable to one person, and painful
or unpleasant to another. Il 10 owing to
the difference in the feelings or mental At
titude Of the two persons toward it. The
one likes il; the other dislikes it. which are
only other names for desire and aversion
What is plessurable to rs at one time may
be unpleasant or painful to "a at another
time, from the law Of sympathy and
antipathy, or desire and aversion.
There is another class Of sensations
which We designate pain. The pain may
exist in thousand degrees Of viyidness or
intensity. The too great sourness Of an
orange or an apple is pain. Anything
we dislike Is painful to rs, and in exact
proportion to the degree in which We dis
like It. Our mental attitude, toward this
Class Of sensstions il not 9neof ipdiEerence
Is in the Fret elass. nor OF desire 80 in the
second, but Of aversion, and oftentimes an
impatient haste to be nd Of them. We
consider It liked principle, 90 imnutsbis