Spirituality is not living in dreams, or living in the clouds, or
having a pale face and languid air, as if the things of this earth were beneath
one's consideration, and were rather endured than enjoyed.
Spirituality means
the greatest acuteness of intellect, the greatest foresight, the greatest
amount of spirit or power gathered in a person, and the wisest expenditure of
that power. It means the greatest governmental ability, be that ability exercise
in the small empire of a household, or the larger empire of a nation.
Spiritual gifts mean all talents, all powers, and all methods of using those
powers.
That
is a spiritual gift which finds out healing properties in plants, roots, and
herbs. All nature expressed in substance, seen of the physical eye, is an
expression also of mind or force; and every plant has its peculiar kind or
quality of that force, and this, when applied, can help the individual spirit
to drive out disease.
But
all seen things are expressions of the lower or relatively cruder from of mind
or spirit, and therefore have a limited power; and, when any material remedy
is applied, the main dependence should not be on that remedy, but on the power
of mind, and above all things, one's own mind or force, to put the body above
the reach of disease.
I
apply clothing to my body, as an external application of wool or cotton to
protect that body from cold. But I believe in the power to mind to resist
cold, and be comfortable, with much less clothing than the average wear. Your
spirit can by degrees attain such power. That is no reason why I should lesson
the amount of clothing in cold weather, before I have grown to or gathered
that amount of force which shall so resist cold.
If
I think a medicine will aid what force I have to cure the body, or, in other
words, to add its peculiar spiritual strength to my own spiritual strength, to
act on the body, I think it better to take it. But for that reason, I should
not fly to a pill or a stimulant at the first sign of pain or weakness, but
turn on first my spiritual and mental, and in any case rely first and last on
that.
The
gift of thought healing is a spiritual gift. it belongs to all in proportion
as their permanent flow of thought is pure, cheerful, determined, vigorous,
decided and abounding in good-will to others. that order of thought sent to a
sick person is a real element or force, and has power to give that person
strength.
If
you give strength from so healthy a source as healthy thought, you drive out
disease, or lack of ease to the body.
