t into play, and the
first difficulty is to persuade the head and heart to work together. In
the visitor from Mars, of course, the heart would be working with the
head, and so the whole man would be centred on getting creditably
through his experience and home again. If our hearts and heads were
together equally concentrated on getting through our experience for the
sake of the greater power of use it would bring,--and, if we could
trustfully believe in getting home again, that is, in getting
established in the current of ordinary spiritual and natural action,
then life would be really alive for us, then we should actually get the
scent of our true freedom, and, having once had a taste of it, we
should have a fresh incentive in achieving it entirely.

There is one important thing to remember in an effort to be free from
the bondage of circumstances which will save us from much unnecessary
suffering. This has to do with the painful associations which arise
from circumstances which are past and over.

A woman, for example, suffered for a year from nervous exhaustion in
her head, which was brought on, among other things, by over-excitement
in private theatricals. She apparently recovered her health, and,
because she was fond of acting, her first activities were turned in
that direction. She accepted a part in a play; but as soon as she began
to study all her old head symptoms returned, and she was thoroughly
frightened, thinking that she might never be able to use her head
again. Upon being convinced, however, that all her discomfort came from
her own imagination, through the painful associations connected with
the study of her part, she returned to her work resolved to ignore
them, and the consequence was that the symptoms rapidly disappeared.

Not uncommonly we hear that a person of our acquaintance cannot go to
some particular place because of the painful events which occurred
there. If the sufferer could only be persuaded that, when such
associations are once bravely faced, it takes a very short time for the
painful effects to disappear entirely, much unnecessary and prolonged
discomfort would be saved.

People have been kept ill for weeks, months and years, through holding
on to the brain impression of some painful event.

Whether the painful circumstances are little or great, the law of
association is the same and, in any case, the brain impression can be
dropped entirely, although it may take time and patience