A。Nothingwhatever。Iamamanwithoutareligion。Thesewordsmeansomuchmythicbosh。
Q。Haveyouhadanyexperienceswhichappearedprovidential？
A。Nonewhatever。Thereisnoagencyofthesuperintendingkind。Alittlejudiciousobservationaswellasknowledgeofscientificlawwillconvinceanyoneofthisfact。
Q。Whatthingsworkmoststronglyonyouremotions？
A。Livelysongsandmusic；PinaforeinsteadofanOratorio。I
likeScott，Burns，Byron，Longfellow，especiallyShakespeare，etc。，etc。Ofsongs，theStar-SpangledBanner，America，Marseillaise，andallmoralandsoul-stirringsongs，butwishy-washyhymnsaremydetestation。Igreatlyenjoynature，especiallyfineweather，anduntilwithinafewyearsusedtowalkSundaysintothecountry，twelvemilesoften，withnofatigue，andbicyclefortyorfifty。Ihavedroppedthebicycle。
Inevergotochurch，butattendlectureswhenthereareanygoodones。Allofmythoughtsandcogitationshavebeenofahealthyandcheerfulkind，forinsteadofdoubtsandfearsIseethingsastheyare，forIendeavortoadjustmyselftomyenvironment。
ThisIregardasthedeepestlaw。Mankindisaprogressiveanimal。Iamsatisfiedhewillhavemadeagreatadvanceoverhispresentstatusathousandyearshence。
Q。Whatisyournotionofsin？
A。Itseemstomethatsinisacondition，adisease，incidentaltoman’sdevelopmentnotbeingyetadvancedenough。Morbidnessoveritincreasesthedisease。Weshouldthinkthatamillionofyearshenceequity，justice，andmentalandphysicalgoodorderwillbesofixedandorganizedthatnoonewillhaveanyideaofevilorsin。
Q。Whatisyourtemperament？
A。Nervous，active，wide-awake，mentallyandphysically。SorrythatNaturecompelsustosleepatall。
Ifweareinsearchofabrokenandacontriteheart，clearlyweneednotlooktothisbrother。Hiscontentmentwiththefiniteincaseshimlikealobster-shellandshieldshimfromallmorbidrepiningathisdistancefromtheinfinite。Wehaveinhimanexcellentexampleoftheoptimismwhichmaybeencouragedbypopularscience。
Tomymindacurrentfarmoreimportantandinterestingreligiouslythanthatwhichsetsinfromnaturalsciencetowardshealthy-mindednessisthatwhichhasrecentlypouredoverAmericaandseemstobegatheringforceeveryday——IamignorantwhatfootholditmayyethaveacquiredinGreatBritain——andtowhich，forthesakeofhavingabriefdesignation，Iwillgivethetitleofthe“Mind-curemovement。”Therearevarioussectsofthis“NewThought。”touseanotherofthenamesbywhichitcallsitself；buttheiragreementsaresoprofoundthattheirdifferencesmaybeneglectedformypresentpurpose，andIwilltreatthemovement，withoutapology，asifitwereasimplething。
Itisadeliberatelyoptimisticschemeoflife，withbothaspeculativeandapracticalside。Initsgradualdevelopmentduringthelastquarterofacentury，ithastakenupintoitselfanumberofcontributoryelements，anditmustnowbereckonedwithasagenuinereligiouspower。Ithasreachedthestage，forexample，whenthedemandforitsliteratureisgreatenoughforinsincerestuff，mechanicallyproducedforthemarket，tobetoacertainextentsuppliedbypublishers——aphenomenonneverobserved，Iimagine，untilareligionhasgotwellpastitsearliestinsecurebeginnings。
OneofthedoctrinalsourcesofMind-cureisthefourGospels；
anotherisEmersonianismorNewEnglandtranscendentalism；
anotherisBerkeleyanidealism；anotherisspiritism，withitsmessagesof“law“and“progress“and“development“；anothertheoptimisticpopularscienceevolutionismofwhichIhaverecentlyspoken；and，finally，Hinduismhascontributedastrain。Butthemostcharacteristicfeatureofthemind-curemovementisaninspirationmuchmoredirect。Theleadersinthisfaithhavehadanintuitivebeliefintheall-savingpowerofhealthy-mindedattitudesassuch，intheconqueringefficacyofcourage，hope，andtrust，andacorrelativecontemptfordoubt，fear，worry，andallnervouslyprecautionarystatesofmind。[44]Theirbeliefhasinageneralwaybeencorroboratedbythepracticalexperienceoftheirdisciples；andthisexperienceformsto-dayamassimposinginamount。
[44]“CautionaryVersesforChildren“：thistitleofamuchusedwork，publishedearlyinthenineteenthcentury，showshowfarthemuseofevangelicalprotestantisminEngland，withhermindfixedontheideaofdanger，hadatlastdriftedawayfromtheoriginalgospelfreedom。Mind-curemightbebrieflycalledareactionagainstallthatreligionofchronicanxietywhichmarkedtheearlierpartofourcenturyintheevangelicalcirclesofEnglandandAmerica。
Theblindhavebeenmadetosee，thehalttowalk；life-longinvalidshavehadtheirhealthrestored。Themoralfruitshavebeennolessremarkable。Thedeliberateadoptionofahealthy-mindedattitudehasprovedpossibletomanywhoneversupposedtheyhaditinthem；regenerationofcharacterhasgoneononanextensivescale；andcheerfulnesshasbeenrestoredtocountlesshomes。Theindirectinfluenceofthishasbeengreat。
Themind-cureprinciplesarebeginningsotopervadetheairthatonecatchestheirspiritatsecond-hand。Onehearsofthe“GospelofRelaxation。”ofthe“Don’tWorryMovement。”ofpeoplewhorepeattothemselves，“Youth，health，vigor！”whendressinginthemorning，astheirmottofortheday。
Complaintsoftheweatheraregettingtobeforbiddeninmanyhouseholds；andmoreandmorepeoplearerecognizingittobebadformtospeakofdisagreeablesensations，ortomakemuchoftheordinaryinconveniencesandailmentsoflife。Thesegeneraltoniceffectsonpublicopinionwouldbegoodevenifthemorestrikingresultswerenon-existent。Butthelatteraboundsothatwecanaffordtooverlooktheinnumerablefailuresandself-deceptionsthataremixedinwiththem(forineverythinghumanfailureisamatterofcourse)，andwecanalsooverlooktheverbiageofagooddealofthemind-cureliterature，someofwhichissomoonstruckwithoptimismandsovaguelyexpressedthatanacademicallytrainedintellectfindsitalmostimpossibletoreaditatall。
Theplainfactremainsthatthespreadofthemovementhasbeenduetopracticalfruits，andtheextremelypracticalturnofcharacteroftheAmericanpeoplehasneverbeenbettershownthanbythefactthatthis，theironlydecidedlyoriginalcontributiontothesystematicphilosophyoflife，shouldbesointimatelyknitupwithconcretetherapeutics。Totheimportanceofmind-curethemedicalandclericalprofessionsintheUnitedStatesarebeginning，thoughwithmuchrecalcitrancyandprotesting，toopentheireyes。Itisevidentlyboundtodevelopstillfarther，bothspeculativelyandpractically，anditslatestwritersarefarandawaytheablestofthegroup。[45]Itmattersnothingthat，justastherearehostsofpersonswhocannotpray，sotherearegreaterhostswhocannotbyanypossibilitybeinfluencedbythemind-curers’ideas。Forourimmediatepurpose，theimportantpointisthatsolargeanumbershouldexistwhoCANbesoinfluenced。Theyformapsychictypetobestudiedwithrespect。[46]
[45]IrefertoMr。HoratioW。DresserandMr。HenryWood，especiallytheformer。Mr。Dresser’sworksarepublishedbyG。
P。Putnam’sSons，NewYorkandLondon；Mr。Wood’sbyLee&
ShepardBoston。
[46]Lestmyowntestimonybesuspected，Iwillquoteanotherreporter，Dr。H。H。Goddard，ofClarkUniversity，whosethesison“theEffectsofMindonBodyasevidencedbyFaithCures“ispublishedintheAmericanJournalofPsychologyfor1899(vol。
x。)。Thiscritic，afterawidestudyofthefacts，concludesthatthecuresbymind-cureexist，butareinnorespectdifferentfromthosenowofficiallyrecognizedinmedicineascuresbysuggestion；andtheendofhisessaycontainsaninterestingphysiologicalspeculationastothewayinwhichthesuggestiveideasmaywork(p。67ofthereprint)。Asregardsthegeneralphenomenonofmentalcureitself，Dr。Goddardwrites：
“Inspiteoftheseverecriticismwehavemadeofreportsofcure，therestillremainsavastamountofmaterial，showingapowerfulinfluenceofthemindindisease。Manycasesareofdiseasesthathavebeendiagnosedandtreatedbythebestphysiciansofthecountry，orwhichprominenthospitalshavetriedtheirhandatcuring，butwithoutsuccess。Peopleofcultureandeducationhavebeentreatedbythismethodwithsatisfactoryresults。Diseasesoflongstandinghavebeenameliorated，andevencured……Wehavetracedthementalelementthroughprimitivemedicineandfolk-medicineofto-day，patentmedicine，andwitchcraft。Weareconvincedthatitisimpossibletoaccountfortheexistenceofthesepractices，iftheydidnotcuredisease，andthatiftheycureddisease，itmusthavebeenthementalelementthatwaseffective。Thesameargumentappliestothosemodernschoolsofmentaltherapeutics——
DivineHealingandChristianScience。ItishardlyconceivablethatthelargebodyofintelligentpeoplewhocomprisethebodyknowndistinctivelyasMentalScientistsshouldcontinuetoexistifthewholethingwereadelusion。Itisnotathingofaday；
itisnotconfinedtoafew；itisnotlocal。Itistruethatmanyfailuresarerecorded，butthatonlyaddstotheargument。
Theremustbemanyandstrikingsuccessestocounterbalancethefailures，otherwisethefailureswouldhaveendedthedelusion……ChristianScience，DivineHealing，orMentalSciencedonot，andnevercanintheverynatureofthings，curealldiseases；
nevertheless，thepracticalapplicationsofthegeneralprinciplesofthebroadestmentalsciencewilltendtopreventdisease……Wedofindsufficientevidencetoconvinceusthattheproperreforminmentalattitudewouldrelievemanyasuffererofillsthattheordinaryphysiciancannottouch；wouldevendelaytheapproachofdeathtomanyavictimbeyondthepowerofabsolutecure，andthefaithfuladherencetoatruerphilosophyoflifewillkeepmanyamanwell，andgivethedoctortimetodevotetoalleviatingillsthatareunpreventable“(pp。
33，34ofreprint)。
Tocomenowtoalittlecloserquarterswiththeircreed。Thefundamentalpillaronwhichitrestsisnothingmorethanthegeneralbasisofallreligiousexperience，thefactthatmanhasadualnature，andisconnectedwithtwospheresofthought，ashallowerandaprofoundersphere，ineitherofwhichhemaylearntolivemorehabitually。Theshallowerandlowersphereisthatofthefleshlysensations，instincts，anddesires，ofegotism，doubt，andthelowerpersonalinterests。ButwhereasChristiantheologyhasalwaysconsideredFROWARDNESStobetheessentialviceofthispartofhumannature，themind-curerssaythatthemarkofthebeastinitisFEAR；andthisiswhatgivessuchanentirelynewreligiousturntotheirpersuasion。
“Fear。”toquoteawriteroftheschool，“hashaditsusesintheevolutionaryprocess，andseemstoconstitutethewholeofforethoughtinmostanimals；butthatitshouldremainanypartofthementalequipmentofhumancivilizedlifeisanabsurdity。
Ifindthatthefearclementofforethoughtisnotstimulatingtothosemorecivilizedpersonstowhomdutyandattractionarethenaturalmotives，butisweakeninganddeterrent。Assoonasitbecomesunnecessary，fearbecomesapositivedeterrent，andshouldbeentirelyremoved，asdeadfleshisremovedfromlivingtissue。Toassistintheanalysisoffearandinthedenunciationofitsexpressions，Ihavecoinedthewordfearthoughttostandfortheunprofitableelementofforethought，andhavedefinedtheword’worry’asfearthoughtincontradistinctiontoforethought。Ihavealsodefinedfearthoughtastheself-imposedorself-permittedsuggestionofinferiority，inordertoplaceitwhereitreallybelongs，inthecategoryofharmful，unnecessary，andthereforenotrespectablethings。”[47]
[47]HoraceFletcher：HappinessasfoundinForethoughtMinusFearthought，MenticultureSeries，ii。ChicagoandNewYork，Stone。1897，pp。21-25，abridged。
The“misery-habit。”the“martyr-habit。”engenderedbytheprevalent“fearthought。”getpungentcriticismfromthemind-curewriters：——
“Considerforamomentthehabitsoflifeintowhichweareborn。
Therearecertainsocialconventionsorcustomsandallegedrequirements，thereisatheologicalbias，ageneralviewoftheworld。Thereareconservativeideasinregardtoourearlytraining，oureducation，marriage，andoccupationinlife。
