Chapter 24
Be Made Whole
1. There is often a profound philosophy concealed in the root meaning of words. Words are the outward expression of spiritual ideas, and their roots are as the petrified remains of an early spiritual science.
2. What is the spiritual meaning of the words health and to heal? The words are from the same root as the word whole. Heal comes from the Saxon helian: to cover, to conceal, and to be made whole. The Danish verb heelen, to heal, is equivalent to being whole, entire, and holy.
3. A state of health is a condition of wholeness, completeness, entireness. The word holy is from the same root as the word heal. Holiness and health in their root significance are the same and are a state of wholeness. In the New Testament, to be healed is to be made whole, as in the passages, “Wouldest thou be made whole?” and “Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.” To be in health, to be holy, is to be made “every whit whole.” Jesus said to one of the subjects of his cure, “Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee.”
4. In the system of Christ, holiness and health are joined. The one is the internal spiritual state; the other is the corresponding bodily condition. True health is a result, the outpicturing of the Christ ideas in thought, word, and act.
5. I consider this the secret of my success in healing: the spiritual revelation that God is in actuality our Father, the source of our life and the substance of our bodies. As soon as I saw this truth I realized that He who created us and who continues to sustain us is also patterning us after His own perfect ideas—and that whatever He has created, He can restore!
6. It is up to you to accept your God-given perfection for yourself, put aside the past mistakes and the untrue suggestions, and fix your undivided attention upon the Creator of your inner pattern of perfection. This is the secret of success in all spiritual treatments. You must bring all of your mental attitudes, the centers of your consciousness, and even your physical structures, to this high place in divine mind where you see as God sees. In this spiritual viewpoint you are able to name all that is within you according to the patterns of Spirit; thus you are able to use these soul qualities to outpicture rightly their true creative possibilities.
7. It is well to consider prayerfully all of your living habits, to get a better understanding of their purposes and to know whether or not they are really chording with the divine law of health. You should consider whether or not you are worrying or fearing anything. Look back of the conscious mind into the realm of the subconscious, your memory, and determine whether there is anything that took place in the past that is continuing its disturbing influence through the unconscious expressions of your mind. (Much of the habit side of life is made up of these past experiences and trainings. Many things we do daily are not consciously thought out, but are the continuation of something impressed upon us long ago.)
