4 Where There Is No Doctor 2011
BELIEFS THAT CAN MAKE PEOPLE SICK
The power of belief can help heal people. But it can also harm them. If a person
believes strongly enough that something will hurt him, his own fear can make him sick.
For example:
Once I was called to see a woman
who had just had a miscarriage and
was still bleeding a little. There was
an orange tree near her house. So I
suggested she drink a glass of orange
juice. (Oranges have vitamin C which
helps strengthen blood vessels.) She
drank it—even though she was afraid
it would harm her.
Her fear was so great that soon she
became very ill. I examined her, but
could find nothing physically wrong.
I tried to comfort her, telling her she
was not in danger. But she said she
was going to die. At last I gave her an
injection of distilled (completely pure)
water. Distilled water has no medical
effect. But since she had great faith in
injections, she quickly got better.
Actually, the juice did not harm her. What harmed her was her belief that it would
make her sick. And what made her well was her faith in injections!
In this same way, many persons go on believing false ideas about witchcraft,
injections, diet, and many other things. Much needless suffering is the result.
Perhaps, in a way, I had helped this woman. But the more I thought about it, the more
I realized I had also wronged her; I had led her to believe things that were not true.
I wanted to set this right. So a few days later, when she was completely well, I went
to her home and apologized for what I had done. I tried to help her understand that not
the orange juice, but her fear had made her so sick. And that not the injection of water,
but her freedom from fear had helped her get well.
By understanding the truth about the orange, the injection, and the tricks of her own
mind, perhaps this woman and her family will become freer from fear and better able
to care for their health in the future. For health is closely related to understanding and
freedom from fear.