help your color. Tell your wife to sit down and give her attention and I will affect her in the same way. Please take a little water when you are sitting, say about 9 o'clock in the evening. . . .[1]
P. P. Q.
Portland, Feb. 9th, 1860.
To Miss K., Kennebunk, Me.
Your letter of the 5th is received. I am surprised that you do not remember that all my patients have “a cold” as they call it, when the belief is [of this character]. For instance, if you are told you have “consumption,” this belief is matter under the direction of error, and as it is put into practice it changes the mind, so that the idea of consumption is thrown off from the belief. If you are excited by any other belief, you throw off all the misery that follows your belief. For instance, you are made to believe you are not so good as you ought to be: your belief puts restrictions on your life, and as it is a burden to you, it makes you throw off a shadow that contains the punishment of your disobedience. This makes you another character, and you are not the happy child of Wisdom.
This was your belief when you called on me. As I struck at the roots of your belief with the axe of Truth, everything having a tendency to make you unhappy I tried to destroy. So in the destruction there must be a change. This change must be like its father. So if you had grief, it would produce grief for the present. Finally the Truth would dry up your tears and you would rejoice in that Truth that sets you free.
So in regard to the “cold”: if you had the idea of “consumption” when I drove that enemy of man out of your belief, this must produce a like cough, but it is all for the best. Remember that every error has its reaction, but an unravelling of error leads to life and happiness, while the winding it up leads to disease and misery.
All that is taking place in your case is just what I antic-
- ↑ Although the absent treatment given in such a case included much more than this letter indicates, Quimby, realizing the importance of expectant attention, mentioned specific results that might be looked for. He tried to make a patient self-helpful as soon as possible.
