Phineas Parkhurst Quimby

HOW DOES THE MIND PRODUCE DISEASE? - II

I will give the symptoms of a person who called on me to be examined. The upper part of his body above his hips felt so large that his legs were not strong enough to carry the weight; therefore he complained of weakness in his knees.

This idea of weakness was his mind, for there never was any strength or knowledge in his knees, of themselves, any more then there is power in a lever, of itself. If the lever (or legs) had to create its own power - his body would never move.

Therefore, if his body ever moved - it must be by some power independent of his knees or legs.

There is such a thing as pressure, but pressure is not power, for it contains motion; and motion is another element independent of pressure.

These two elements together we call “mechanical power.” So mind (or matter) agitated is called “spiritual power.”

Neither matter nor mind contains any knowledge.

Now as this man's mind (or matter) was in a state that it contained motion (or error) - for error is motion, not knowledge - it was not all pressure.

As health is the enjoyment of all our faculties, any foreign substance “trigs the wheels” so as to retard the motion. So error “trigs the mind” - or retards the motion.

This was the state of this man's body. To put this man in full possession of his faculties is to remove the burden that binds him down.

These burdens are the effect of error having control of the mind (or matter). These errors are made of mind (or matter) first formed into an opinion; then comes reason; then comes disease (or death) accompanied by all the misery the idea contains.