The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1908-12-13

the mental treatment OF disease lidl
the importation Of hope and cheer to
a patient" is a means of great beneht
TO him. To this we readily agree. Then,
we would ask. what shall we offer the
patient as a means of generating hope
and cheer? We might place him
in the midst of beautiful sur
roundings and present him with
all the comforts which money can buy
and yet fail to cheer him. for his eNpe-
rience may already have been like that
of Solomon. who said, "All is vanity
We aver that there is nothing so con-
ducive Of hope and cheer as the abid-
ing consciousness of the constant pres
enee Of God. Such a consciousness al
foids lasting and unbounded hope, for it
is based upon that which is known to
be immutable and eternal 1t has been
demonstrated through Christian Sci
ence that hope thus created will do
more for a sick man than anything
else. 1t has been proved that the spir-
itual understanding of God and man
and their relationship is more practical
than anything in this world. Then why
resort to any lesser means? Why de-
pend upon uncertain human suggestion
as a means of destroying sin and sick
ness when divine power is more avail
able, more powerful and more practi-
cal?
AN EFFECT OF SUGGESTION
As he argues. the mental suggestion
ist holds his patient in consciousness
as a corporal person. body Of mat
ter. He thinks Of him as such and this
amounts to a direct suggestion to him
that he is material and mortal and inn
plies that as such he is subject TO dis
cord. disease and unrest. On the other
hand the Christian Scientist thinks of
his patients real individuality as Cod
ina &c and likeness, His. spiritual reflec-
ton: and his denial of sickness is based
upon his understanding that sickness
is only a false sense. Such an argument
is consistent with its prenlises-prem-
Uses which are based upon eternal truth.
The thought Of the medical practi-
toner. as well as the suggestion which
the act Of dealing out drugs gives to
his patient is on the exact basis of
the suggestionist. and hence not in
consistent with the practice of the psy-
biologist If the doctor gives the pa
tient a dose OF medicine, he practically
suggests to his patient You are ma
terial. taking Materially. though he
utters not a word Thus by his sug-
gestion he intensifies the patients be-
lief in materially, especially if there
is any result from his treatment.
Though the patient may take the drug
with a doubt as to its efficacy. IL there
after apparent good results are forth
coming, he is thereby convinced that
he had mistaken and that after all there
is something in it. Under such circum-
stances matter has become more real
to him. He has builded higher in ma
terial belief and thus has drifted far
( Their away from faith in Spirit as the
I only real Life. substance and intelli-
/ gence On the other hand. if the patient
fails to obtain good results through the
use of material remedies his faith in
materially decreases and he is thus
! brought nearer to the truth. for having
lost faith IN matter he is more ready
! to accept that which emphasizes faith
/ in Spirit Similarly, he who is appar-
emily benefited by mental suggestion is
given a stronger faith in mortal mind
and is thus carried away from his faith
! in the one and only Mind. Thus We
may prove that the supposed benefits
derived from the use OF drugs
and mental suggestion are in real
! ity harmful to the spiritual growth
Of the individual. The tendency
Of such benefits is 10 fasten the
individual to erroneous beliefs and thus
1 interdict his seeking and finding the
better way This. however, should no.
be looked upon as a hopeless condition
! for Christian Science offers a way ou
OF the dilemma. after he eventually
fails in his make believe benefits. Here
! it may be well 10 mention that some
I times when an Individual is suffering
too greatly to grasp the spiritua
I thought sufficiently to gain relic
therefrom he may find 1t a lesser evi
I to seek temporary relief by materia
| remedies in order that he may regain
! a position from which he is able I,
effectually demonstrate Christian Sci
/ ence In the case of broken bone, n
7 may. because of his limited understand
ing. find it advisable to resort to sur
gerry and in her text book Mrs. Ed.
advises that surgery be left to the fin
gers Of a surgeon.
1 Tt is advisable and in accord with th'
LeatHlnE OF CHRISTIAN SCIENCE lIldl "
practice absolute Christian Science a
far as possible. Beyond that we choos
the lesser of two evils. and few indee'
are the occasions when IT becomes nee
essary for a Christian Scientist to re
sort to material remedies as an emerg
ency means
A CURATIVE SUGGESTION
DR.. Worcester defines curative sug
Il gestion" as IAN effect obtained through
the conviction that it is about to tax
place A curative argument in Chris
tian Science is one that is based upoi
the everlasting truth that man is al
ways at rest because he lives an
moves and has his being in God. Di
/ Worcester says, II earnestly tell hin
that in a few moments he will b
asleep" adding. IF he knows that hun
dreds Of other persons have undergon
this experience he will be more certai
to accept my assurance and to obey tn
suggestion Thus he bases his assur
ance Of results upon a prospect.
mere speculation. He has no assur
ance that the patient viii be asleer
\