The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-03-09
SAVE YOURSELF FROM 1T.

L IL
"A large part of mankind is in bondage
to that state Of mind which is apprehen
sive of some sort of trouble or misfortune
in the future. 1t is found among all
sorts and conditions of men. 1t perme-
ates every station, occupation and pro
fession.
In general, we are prone to treasure
the memories of our past failures and
sorrows which serve as a background on
which are developed the distorted pic
lures of future unhappiness. We do
TINS not only consciously, but unconsci-
ously Every experience in life leaves
an impression in the memory structure
10 TINS subconsciouS condition we keep
adding by our chronic pessimism. We
look for the evil and neglect the good.
Thus is established a powerful subcon-
scicus force that is ever active in shap-
ing the course of our lives.
If we ask the cause of this widespread
disease, We shall find its origin in a
wrong conception of God. The root of
1t all is in the old idea that God is a
Jealous, veangeful personality, sitting in
Judgment over his children and liable at
any time to send visitations of His wrath
upon them, or ready to condemn them
to eternal punishment. Coupled with this
Is the belief that there is a power of
men, and permitted by God to bring con-
fusion and misery upon them. These
two powerful opinions, coming to us from
the infancy and ignorance of the race.
are totally destructive of peace, harmony
ana health. and actively productive of
The opposite conditions.
Dread Of disease and of bad luck" is
stlil common. We stand in awe of death
because we dread the change and uncer.
tatnty of the hereafter. Even the ele-
ments have been endowed with power of
evil; one person breads the winter an
otner the summer, another the night air
or the east wind III there is not a
positive dread. there is negative unbe-
lief, and the disease of apprehensiveness
Is porn or both. We fail to connect
cause anG effect; we do not discriminate
between reality and unreality; We live in
the things of time and sense. The great
over sense OF faith is left out of our
lives; we are apprehensive of what fate
may bring. We limit our God and our
selves.
The specific forms in which this disease
manitestS itself are so numerous and so
varied by the notifications of individual
experience that We will not attempt to
trace them all, says Z. A. Pennock, in
the Higher Life; but it will be helpful
to mention some of the more common.
The destructive forces of apprehensive-
ness frequently begin their wrk in the
unborn child. Sometimes the mothers
apprehensions, when caused by a specific
experience, are marked upon the child in
some frishtful deformity, either of body
or character. Again, if the material
dread is more general the manifestation
may be less marked upon the child at
birth, but the germ cells have been pois-
oned, and the effect will be none the less
sure, resulting in stunted and distorted
embodiment of the child life. Modern
psychology and child study have revealed
the tremendous and terrible inheritance
of fear and dread that parents hand
down to their children
Many parents follow their children
through childhood and youth with anx-
iety and apprehensiveness that are surely
reflected upon the formative mind and
bear fruit after their kind AS we adj
vance in life, we form new apprehensions.
We are afraid of poverty, afraid of acct
dent, afraid of public opinion.
This apprehensiveness takes all the
sunshine out of life, throws a wet blanket
over all our activities, sOurs our whole
nature, paralyZes us Just as surely does
1t react on the physical part Of our being
by depressing the nerve centers and in