The Science of Being Well By Wallace Delois Wattles --- 17 CHAPTER 17. A SUMMARY OF THE SCIENCE OF BEING WELL

CHAPTER 17. A SUMMARY OF THE SCIENCE OF BEING WELL

Health is perfectly natural functioning, normal living. There is a Principle of
Health in the universe; it is the Living substance, from which all things are
made.
This Living Substance permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the
universe. In its invisible state it is in and through all forms; and yet all forms
are made of it.
To illustrate: Suppose that a very fine and highly diffusible aqueous vapor
should permeate and penetrate a block of ice. The ice is formed from living
water, and is living water in form; while the vapor is also living water,
unformed, permeating a form made from itself. This illustration will explain
how Living Substance permeates all forms made from It; all life comes from
It; it is all the life there is.
This Universal Substance is a thinking substance, and takes the form of its
thought. The thought of a form, held by it, creates the form; and a thought
of a motion causes the motion. It cannot help thinking, and so is forever
creating; and it must move on toward fuller and more complete expression
of itself. This means toward more complete life and more perfect
functioning; and that means toward perfect health.
The power of the living substance must always be exerted toward perfect
health; it is a force in all things making for perfect functioning.
All things are permeated by a power which makes for health.
Man can relate himself to this power, and ally himself with it; he can also
separate himself from it in his thoughts.
Man is a form of this Living Substance, and has within him a Principle of
Health. This Principle of Health, when in full constructive activity, causes all
the involuntary functions of man's body to be perfectly performed.
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Man is a thinking substance, permeating a visible body, and the processes of
his body are controlled by his thought.
When man thinks only thoughts of perfect health, the internal processes of
his body will be those of perfect health. Man's first step toward perfect
health must be to form a conception of himself as perfectly healthy, and as
doing all things in the way and manner of a perfectly healthy person. Having
formed this conception, he must relate himself to it in all his thoughts, and
sever all thought relations with disease and weakness.
If he does this, and thinks his thoughts of health with positive FAITH, man
will cause the Principle of Health within him to become constructively active,
and to heal all his diseases. He can receive additional power from the
Universal Principle of Life by faith, and he can acquire faith by looking to this
Principle of Life with reverent gratitude for the health it gives him. If man
will consciously accept the health which is being continually given to him by
the Living Substance, and if he will be duly grateful, he will develop faith.
Man cannot think only thoughts of perfect health unless he performs the
voluntary functions of life in a perfectly healthy manner. These voluntary
functions are eating, drinking, breathing, and sleeping. If man thinks only
thoughts of health, has faith in health, and eats, drinks, breathes, and sleeps
in a perfectly healthy way, he must have perfect health.
Health is the result of thinking and acting in a Certain Way; and if a sick man
begins to think and act in this Way, the Principle of Health within him will
come into constructive activity and heal all his diseases. This Principle of
Health is the same in all, and is related to the Life Principle of the universe; it
is able to heal every disease, and will come into activity whenever man
thinks and acts in accordance with the Science of Being Well. Therefore,
every man can attain to perfect health.