n which this bondage and
sensitiveness have become so intense that even a breath of God's pure
air alarms them. In this way a great mass of secondary causation has
been invested with power for evil, and mistaken for that which is
primary. Noting the tremendous power of grown-up accumulations of
false belief, we may glance at the modus operandi of mental healing.

There are two distinct lines of treatment which may effect a cure; one
by intelligent and persistent self-discipline and culture, and the
other through the efforts of another person called a healer. Often
there is a combination of both. The power does not lie in the
personality of the healer, nor in the exercise of his will-power.
Neither hypnotism nor mesmeric control are elements in true
mind-healing. The healer, in reality, is but an interpreter and
teacher. The divine recuperative forces which exist, but are latent,
are awakened and called into action. The patient is like a discordant
instrument containing great capabilities, only waiting to respond in
unison to active harmony. His distorted thought must be elevated and
harmonized, so that he will see things in their true perspective. The
healer gently guides him up into the "mount of transfiguration," where
he feels the glow of the divine image within, and sees that wholeness
is already his, and will be made manifest as he recognizes it. A
successful healer must be an overflowing fountain of love and
good-will. He is but a conduit through which flows the divine
repletion. He makes ideal conditions present. He steadily holds a
mental image of his patient as already whole, and silently appeals to
the unconscious mind of the invalid, to induce him to accept the same
view. The patient's mental background is like a sensitive plate, upon
which will gradually appear outlines of health as they are positively
presented. Improved views of his own condition spring up from within,
and seem to him to be original. As they grow into expression in the
outer man, his cure is complete.

Do failures occur? Undoubtedly, and often. Even infallible principles
can have but imperfect application because of local limitations. The
failure of a particular field of grain does not disprove the universal
principle of vegetable growth. The imperfection of the healer, and the
lack of receptivity in the patient, are local limitations. There are
sudden cures, but as a rule recovery will be in the nature of a
progressive growth. Lack of i