Mind and Body; or, Mental States and Physical Conditions. Atkinson William Walker
cause, may be permanently suppressed by the will. I believe we might possess a far greater voluntary power over our bodily functions if we were only accustomed from childhood to institute experiments and to practice ourselves therein… We have arrived at the conclusion that every action of the mind on the body, without exception, is only possible by means of an unconscious will; that such an unconscious will can be called forth partly by means of a conscious will, partly also through the conscious idea of the effect, without conscions will, and even in opposition to the conscious will.”
Henry Wood says of the Subconscious Mind: “It acts automatically upon the physical organism. It cognizes external facts, conditions, limitations, and even contagions, quite independent of its active counterpart. One may, therefore, ‘take’ a disease and be unaware of any exposure. The subconsciousness has been unwittingly trained to fear, and accept it; and it is this quality, rather than the mere inert matter of the body, that succumbs. Matter is never the actor, but is always acted upon. This silent, mental partner, in operation, seems to be a living, thinking personality, conducting affairs on its own account. It is a compound of almost unimaginable variety, including wisdom and foolishness, logic and nonsense, and yet having a working unitary economy. It is a hidden force to be dealt with and educated, for it is often found insubordinate and unruly. It refuses co-operation with its lesser but more active and wiser counterpart. It is very ‘set’ in its views, and only changes its qualities and opinions by slow degrees. But, like a pair of horses, not until these two mental factors can be trained together can there be harmony and efficiency.”
In order to understand the important part played in the physical economy by the Subconscious Mind, it is only necessary to understand the various processes of the human system which are out of the ordinary field of the voluntary or conscious mind. We then realize that the entire process of nutrition, including digestion, assimilation, etc., the processes of elimination, the processes of circulation, the processes of growth, in fact the entire processes manifested in the work of the cells, cell-groups, ganglia, physical organs, etc., are in charge of and controlled by the Subconscious Mind. Our food is digested and transformed into the nourishing substances of the blood; then carried through the arteries to all parts of the body, where it is absorbed by the cells and used to replace the worn-out material, the latter then being carried back through the veins to the lungs where the waste matter is burned up, and the balance again sent on its journey through the arteries re-charged with the life-giving oxygen. All of these processes, and many others of almost equal importance, are out of the field of the conscious or voluntary mind, and are governed by the Subconscious Mind. As we shall see when we consider the Sympathetic Nervous System, the greater part of the body is dominated by the Subconscious Mind, and that the welfare of the major physical functions depends entirely, or almost so, upon this great area or field of the mind.
The best authorities now generally agree that there is no part of the body which may be considered as devoid of mind. The Subconscious Mind is not confined to the brain, or even the greater plexuses of the nervous system, but extends to all parts of the body, to every nerve, muscle, and even to every cell and cell-group of the body. The functions and processes of the body are no longer considered as purely mechanical, or chemical, but are now seen to be the result of mental action of some kind or degree. Therefore, in considering the Subconscious Mind, one must not think of it as resident in the brain alone, but rather as being distributed over the entire physical body. There is mind in every cell, every organ, every muscle, every nerve – in every part of the body.
The importance of the above statements regarding the power and importance of the Subconscious Mind may be realized when one remembers the dictum of the New Psychology, to wit: The Subconscious Mind is amenable to Suggestion. When it is realized that this great controller of the physical organism is so constituted that it accepts as truth the suggestions from the conscious mind of its owner, as well as those emanating from the conscious minds of other people, it may be understood why Faith, Belief, and Expectant Attention manifest such marked effects upon the physical body and the general health, for good or for evil, as indicated in the preceding chapters. All of the many instances and examples recited in the preceding chapters may be understood when it is realized that the Subconscious Mind, which is in control of the physical functions and vital processes, will accept the suggestions from the conscious mind of its owner, and also suggestions from outside which the conscious mind of its owner allows to pass down to it. If, as Henry Wood has said in the paragraph previously quoted, it “acts automatically upon the physical organism,” and “seems to be a living, thinking personality, conducting affairs on its own account,” and at the same time, accepts and ‘takes on’ suggested conditions, it may be readily understood how the wonderful and almost incredible statements of the authorities mentioned in the preceding chapters have had real and substantial basis in truth.
This understanding of the part played by the Subjective Mind in controlling and affecting physical conditions and activities, together with its suggestible qualities and nature, gives us a key to the whole question of the “Why?” of Mental Healing. Suggestion is the connecting link between Mind and Body, and an understanding of its laws and principles enables one to see the moving cause of the strange phenomena of the Faith Cures, under whatever name they may pass, and under whatever guise they may present themselves. “Suggestion” is the explanation offered by the New Psychology for the almost miraculous phenomena which other schools seek to explain upon some hypothesis based either upon religious beliefs, or upon some metaphysical or philosophical doctrine. The New Psychology holds that it is not necessary to go outside of the realms of psychology and physiology in studying Mental Healing or Psycho-Therapy; and that the theories of the semi-religious and metaphysical cults are merely strange guises or masks which serve to conceal the real operative principle of cure.
The following quotation from Dr. Schofield will serve to call the attention to the important part played by the Subconscious Mind in the physical activities, a fact which is not generally recognized: “It has often been a mystery how the body thrives so well with so little oversight or care on the part of its owner. No machine could be constructed, nor could any combination of solids or liquids in organic compounds, regulate, control, counteract, help, hinder or arrange for the continual succession of differing events, foods, surroundings and conditions which are constantly affecting the body. And yet, in the midst of this ever-changing and varying succession of influences, the body holds on its course of growth, health, nutrition and self-maintenance with the most marvelous constancy. We perceive, of course, clearly, that the best of qualities – regulation, control, etc., etc. – are all mental qualities, and at the same time we are equally clear that by no self-examination can we say we consciously exercise any of these mental powers over the organic processes of our bodies. One would think, then, that the conclusion is sufficiently simple and obvious – that they must be used unconsciously; in other words, it is, and can be nothing else than unconscious mental powers that control, guide and govern the functions and organs of the body.
“Our ordinary text-books on physiology give but little idea of what I may call the intelligence that presides over the various systems of the body, showing itself in the bones, as we have seen, in distributing the available but insufficient amount of lime salts in disease; not equally, but for the protection of the most vital parts, leaving those of lesser value disproportionally deficient. In the muscular system nearly all contractions are involuntary. Even in the voluntary (so-called) muscles, the most we can do is to will results. We do not will the contractions that carry out these results. Muscles, striped and unstriped, are ceaselessly acting without the slightest consciousness in maintaining the balance of the body, the expression of the face, the general attributes corresponding to mental states, the carrying on of digestion and other processes with a purposiveness, and adaptation of means to new ends and new conditions, ceaselessly arising, that are beyond all material mechanism. Consider, for instance, the marvelous increase of smooth muscle in the uterus at term, and also its no less marvelous subsequent involution; observe, too, the compensating muscular increase of a damaged heart until the balance is restored and the necessity for it ceases, as does growth at a fixed period; consider in detail the repair of a broken bone. These actions are not mere properties of matter; they demand, and are the result of, a controlling mind.
“The circulation does not go round as most text-books would lead us to believe, as the result merely of the action of a system of elastic tubes, connected