Odors
July
1860
You
know I have spoken of odor. It is like the odor of any flower or
vegetable and is what arises from an idea. Thought is a chemical
change in the fluid, caused by a sensation produced on the mind. The
mind is under the direction of a power independent of itself, and
when the mind (or thought) is formed into an idea, the idea throws
off an odor that contains the cause and effect.
For
instance, a person is affected; the effect is called “nervousness.”
This contains no knowledge to science; only an effect. Error (or the
natural man) thinks knowledge is contained in it and tries to
convince the patient of the truth of this science; which to the true
science is false. The patient is more disturbed by this theory, and
by the direction of this blind guide, an idea is formed which is held
up to the patient's mind to receive a name. The mind (or error) of
the doctor gives it the name of “consumption.” This disturbs the
mind of the patient, which, like a galvanic battery, throws off
sparks (or ideas). And these ideas, being under a false direction,
are formed into any disease that ignorance and superstition can
invent.
Now
the idea is formed, and as it grows it has a sort of intelligence
which is not recognized by error; but admitted and called instinct.
This odor (or instinct) contains the cause of the trouble - and the
answer. But to error, this is a mystery. So it calls it a power (or
instinct) and never looks upon it as anything that can be reduced to
a science. This odor is the trouble called disease, but the doctors
know nothing about that odor and think that what can be seen by their
eyes is the disease (or trouble).
This
odor is what I come in contact with. It is the spiritual life of the
idea; and by the doctors it is called “mind.” This embraces all
they can comprehend; and this they make independent of the disease
and never treat it as having anything to do with disease. In this
way, they keep the soul in bondage, for fear of death. This odor is
the soul's trouble, imprisoned in error. As the soul tries to escape,
it becomes subject to error; and as long as error holds it in
bondage, it is in death. Truth sets it free by destroying the error.
All we see of this is in the prison, and that is not visible to the
natural eye.
Not
one-hundredth part of the misery of the human species is in what is
called disease. Ninety-nine hundredths of human misery is in prisons
not seen by the natural eyes. This misery is confined to the popular
opinions of the day. The common opinion is the prison of the soul.
Its destruction is the liberation of the soul from its earthly prison
(or error). From these prisons the smoke of their tormenting belief
ascends; and when I come in contact with their grief (or odor), I
know the cause of the trouble. The trouble is a sort of intelligence
and belongs to this world. It is a sort of instinct to the natural
man, and has nothing to do with science.
