The Washington herald., 1911-02-26

psychopathic sanitorium, where I lay in
hammock in the sun day after day
waiting for whatever might come.
Now comes the real point of the story.
You see, I have a long line OF profess
sional religionists behind me, and pre-
sumo this ancestry has made me temper
amentally interested in psychic matters
Many of the possibilities Of suggestion
had studied during my years as
medical student in a Bombay college. and
later had used auto-suggestion more or
less successfully in my daily life and
work Now, as 1 lay in that hammock
day after day my thoughts turned nat
urally to the ideal. the spiritual. as
a relief from the troubles of my worn
out body. And finally out of this mental
attitude an idea grew. I knew some
thing about the psychic possibilities OF
fasting as practiced in the Orient, and
determined to test the power OF the
psychic, subconscious slde of me definite
ly once for all.
$50. despite my wretched physical con-
dition, I tasted absolutely for fourteen
days, and during the fast kept my
thoughts as mich as possible away from
all material things and set my mind
quietly but firmly in the desire for right
guidance in my immediate present and
IL there were to be one-my future. AS I
lay there I gradually began to realize
great neace and quietness. my body
seemed to lose its power of troubling me
till / tried to walk, when IL objected
strenuously. After the first two days I
had no desire whatever for food and
practically no pain In fact. after the
past unpleasant years l seemed to have
drifted with surprising ease into a sense
of general well being. Above all I no
ticed a steady cessation of worry-fear.
Il had come to a place where / was
practically without desire of any kind.
Neither life nor death concerned me
much so long as might just continue to
lie still in the sun. But gradually quiet
confidence grew in me that a way would
be shown TO me by and bye.
1T was while / was in some such con-
dition. drifting quietly in a sort of mental
twilight. that DIR. Robins, on a visit TO
some patients whom he had sent to the
sanatorium, discovered and interested
himself in me and my case. Then gradu-
ally he walked me up: berated me Sc
verely for the egregious folly of the fast
in my already weakened condition.
Finally. after l had left the sanatorium
and returned to New York. l consulted
him during some friendly correspondence
about my health. This resulted III an in
vitation to spend the winter in Washing
ton, to put my health and work in his
hands, he promising. to build up the one
and inspire the other.
so l came here as soon as I could
crawl. though I was still so weak
thought would collapse during the jour
ney. Now, as you may observe for your
self. DR.. Robins has kept his promise,
not only regarding the building up of my
health but regarding the inspiration of
my work, for l started and finished
novel, The Cup of Trembling during
the first two months I was here"
Two months!-that was quick work, |
wasn't it?''
Medical Man HIMSELF
IT took over eight months on The |
Mark my longest novel, but think my |
average time before has been between |
five and six months. You see. I was
simply unable to loaf while writing this |
last one; it kept demanding expression |
night and day, and l couldn't rest till I'd |
got it out of my system
Mr.. Kempster. who is himself a medi- |
cal man. having Leen in the medical de- |
partment Of the Indian army, was asked |
about his fast and whether such a radi-
cal course would be advised by him.
Certainly not he broke in hastily.
4 realize now that it was a most fool
hardy thing to do-that is, from a ply
Sical standpoint
You mean that from what you call
4 psychic point of view it wouldn't be
Yes. that's an entirely different mat
er. From the standpoint l consider il
VAS fine success, for / got what l
asked for-inspiration regarding my fu-
lure course. Personally 1 should never
lesitate about fasting again, but would
not advise it for any one else except under
xpert advice and guidance. Under those
onditions / consider it to be one of the
inest discipliles in the world. There
vas a rather interesting point about
hat fast of mine. After il was over 1
ound that my tasts in many ways. and