The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1894-06-21
Power or Mind Over Matter.

Power or Mind Over Matter.
Dr.. James r. Cooke gives IN q paper he
has written for The Arena some amusing
instances Of faith cure and also Of the
power Of faith in producing disease. His
doctrine is that the influence Of the
Imagination over the human body is
boundless. Imagination will not really
break mans leg, but it will cause him
to believe it is broken, and he will have
the symptoms of a broken leg.
DR.. Cooke knew a rich young man who
was sure he had cancer of the stomach,
If he had been poor young man having
to dig cellars at 81 a day, he would have
had no cancer. But he went to Europe
and consulted the most eminent physi-
clans. He lavished money on these learned
doctors like water and got no better. He
lived on beef extract and milk at last
and vowed he could swallow nothing
else. But at length he found a wise doc
tor, who discovered that the cancer was
not in the young mans stomach, but
was all in his eye, so to speak, and no
where else. He made the young man
go to eating beefsteak, and marvellous
cure was wrought.
1t may here beremarked that one grain
of common sense taken three times day
works magical healing in many diseases.
DR.. Cooke tells us that he once COM
pletely routed chronic and obstinate in
somnia by giving his patient simply some
pills made Of starch. Of other cases he
writes:
The effect Of so called magnetic belts, rings
and other appliances is due solely to the mag
nation of the patient, as the great majority of
these appliances have no magnetism about
them. A patient told me some years ago that
he was cured of neuralgia by magnetized pa
per which he obtained from a man who adver-
tised it very extensively. For the sake of ex
pertinent told him could prepare some pa
per which was very strong with magnetism. I
gave him two sheets of brand new blotting pa
per which had never been handled, and told
him II he would bind them upon his back and
chest he would feel very strong current from
them. ....'
He did SO and informed me that the current
was SO strong that it burned his skin badly and
that he could not bear to leave them on over
an hour, although there was no redness visible
upon the skin after the paper was applied.
There are two rational explanations for this
curious mental phenomenon. The first one ia
the mere fact of his faith calling attention to
the part to which the paper was applied, and
again, II one stops and thinks of any part of
the body intently, he will become painfully
aware OF the presence of this member and
usually experience unpleasant sensations in it.
IN how T.
ical school wished to ascertain the effect of a
certain drug upon healthy men and women,
without their knowledge he gave them sugar
OF milk to start with and requested them to
bring him an account of all the symptoms they
experienced In "a hours. Ahalf dozen healthy
men and women, supposing they were taking q
drug. brought him a ridiculous list of symp-
coms, including every system of the body, and
received from the professor a lecture upon i'm
agination which they will never be likely to
forget.
My readers can readily understand from
what have said that there may be perverted
and diseased states of consciousness which
have no discoverable organic basis, and it is
reasonable to treat these diseased states of
consciousness by calling into action the facul-
ties of the mind.
DR.. Cooke has carefully investigated
mind cure or mental therapeutics and
concludes that it will be found valuable
in the following cases:
First-It is Of value chiefly as 8. curative
agent In cases Of functional neurosis. .~
Second-1n correcting vicious habits formed
by the mind of the individual
Third-1n removing some of the acute symp-
toms of organic disease. i.
FOURTH consider that its greatest value is
In the department Of preventive medicine. !
believe that more diseases could be prevented
by studying the minds and souls of youth and
by correcting abnormal tendencies in them
than can be cured in later life by any amount
of treatment, no matter of what kind.