The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1894-06-01
Power of Mind Over Matter.

Ut. James n. OOck0 gives III u paper 10
has written for The Arena some amusing
instances Of faith cure and also Of the
power Of faith in producing disease. His
doctrine IL 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 bshsve It is broken, and he will have
The symptoms ofa broken leg.
Dx. Cooke knew rich young man who
Va lure he had cancer of the stomach.
II he had been q poor young man having
10 dig cellars at 81 Q day, he would have
had no cancer. But he went to Europe
and consulted the most eminent physi-
oians. b elavished money on these learned
doctors like water and got no better. He
hvsd ON beef extract and milk at last
and vowed he could swallow nothing
elss. But ct length he found q wise doc
Tor, who discovered that the cancer was
not In the young mans stomach, but
Wa all in his eye, so to speak, and no.
whsre else. He made the young nan
60 to eating b~eefsteak, and a marvellous
cure was wrought.
Il may here be remarked that one grain
Of common sense taken three times a day
works magical healing in many diseases.
DT. Cooke tells us that he once com
plstely routed chronic and obstinate in
somnis by giving his patient simply some
pills made Of starch. Of other cases he
writes:
The effect of 90 called magnetic belts, rings
. other appliances is due solely to the imag-
1nAS1on Of the patient. Is the great majority of
tAsse appliances have no magnetism about
than. A patient told me some years ago that
b wAs cured Of neuralgia by magnetized pa
per which he obtained from . man who adver-
SaDsd Il very extensively. For the sake Of ex-
psriment ! told him ! could prepare some pa
psr which was very strong with magnetism. j
save him two sheets of brand new blotting pa
pr which bad never been handled, and told
him II he would bind them upon his back and
oAsse he woul feel . very strong current from
them.
He did 90 and informed me that the current
was 70 strong that it burned his skin badly and
that he could not bear to leave them on over
IN hour. although there was no redness visible
&UU0 ~ 0Akn XVII III RaUcE Wb6 hRpllCu
Thew arc two rational explanations for thi:
curious mental phenomenon. The first one is
the mere fact OF his faith calling attention tc
the part 70 which the paper was applied. and
again, II ono stops q thinks Of any part OF
tAs body tntently, he will become painfully
aware Of the presence Of this member and
usually experience unpleasant sensations in it
A shrewd professor in a homeopathic med
1cal school wished to ascertain the effect of 9
certain drug upon healthy men and women
Without their knowledge he gave them sugal
of milk TO start with and requested them Il
bring him An account of all the symptoms the,
experienced In n hours. A half dozen healthy
msn and women, supposing they were taking
drug, brought him . ridiculous list of symp
toms. including every system Of the body. ant
received from the professor a lecture upon i'm
astnAtion which they viii never be likely t.
Sorgst
Ny readers can readily understand from
what I have said that there may be perverted
and diseased states OF consciousness wheel
have NO discoversble organic basis, and 1t 4
e~sasonable to treat these diseased states o
CONSEQUENCES by sailing into action the facul
taa Of the mind.
DR.. Cooke has carefully investigated
mind cure or mental therapeutics ant
concludes that it will be found valuabl,
In the following cases:
11rst-It u Of value chiefly as u curativ
agent In caees Of functional n~eurosis.
6~scond-In correcting vicious habits forme'
By the mind Of the individual.
Third-In removing some Of the acute symp
tons Of organAc disease.
Jourth-I consider that its greatest value 1
In tn department Of preventive medicine.
bshsvs thaa moro diseases could be prevents
~ Studying the minds and souls of youth an
b. correcting abnormal tendencies In theI
than oAn b cured In later life by any amour
Ct treatment, no matter Of what kind.