Here’s an interesting quote from William Walker Atkinson:
“In these days of toxin and anti‑toxin—of poison in sausages, oysters, canned beef, ice cream—of anti‑toxin serums (that often are more deadly than the original toxin) for the prevention and cure of tuberculosis, leprosy, pneumonia, typhoid fever, tetanus, bubonic plague, diphtheria, and the rest of the list, it requires courage to call the attention of the public to a new “toxin,” even if at the same time we furnish an anti‑toxin that “anti‑toxicates.”
We shudder at the thought of microbes and bacilli—and thereby attract them to us; we filter our drinking water, after boiling all the life out of it; we develop into microbe hunters, and see poison in everything we wear, eat, drink or breathe. But we overlook the microbes in the thoughts we think. We encourage the enterprising doctor in his giddy chase after the nimble dollar, as he produces anti‑toxin serums to order. The poor, broken‑down cart horse is worked overtime in producing filthy pus and serum for the serum‑maniac to inject into our circulation. But we overlook the pure, harmless, powerful anti‑toxin obtained fresh from the cells of the brain—Right Thinking.
That Thoughts may poison, is a well‑proven fact. Depressing thoughts interfere with the cerebral circulation, impairing the nutrition of the cells and nerve centers. The result is that the organs and tissues manifest lost or impaired function—loss of general nutrition follows—and a break‑down is inevitable. Fear, worry, anger, envy, jealousy, and other negative thoughts, reflect themselves most disastrously in the human system. Fear has paralyzed nerve centers, and turned the hair white over night. A mother’s milk has been poisoned by a fit of anger. Fear and Hate—father and son—have produced insanity, idiocy, paralysis, cholerina, jaundice, sudden decay of teeth, fatal anaemia, skin diseases, erysipelas, and eczema. Epidemics owe their rapid spread and heavy death rate to Fear and Ignorance. Epidemics may kill their dozens—Fear kills its thousands. All the brood of negative, fearful, selfish, hateful thoughts manifest themselves in physical conditions. Stigmata or marks upon the body, caused by fear or desire, are quite common in the annals of medical science and psychology.
Now I have said enough about the toxin and some little about the anti‑toxin of the Mind. I might go on for hours, stating example after example; illustration after illustration, but the tale would be just the same. Now what are you going to do about it? Are you going to keep on poisoning yourself and those around you with vile, malignant thoughts reeking with the miasmatic effluvia of Hate—emitting the noxious exhalation of Fear and Worry? Or will you cease being a psychic pest‑house, and begin to fumigate and disinfect your Mind? And after getting rid of all the microbes of Fear and Worry and the bacilli of Hate, Jealousy and Envy, open wide the windows of the Mind and admit the bright Sunshine of Love, and the bracing air of Confidence and Fearlessness.
Come, friends, let us get out of this habit of poisoning the air with Fear, Worry and Hate Thought. Let us join the ranks of the Don’t Worry company—the Fearless brigade—the invincible, conquering army of Love. Let us be bright, cheerful and happy—the other things are not worth while. Let us be Confident, Expectant, Hopeful and Fearless—these things are winners. Let us be filled with Love for all men—and we will find that Life is one sweet song. Love, Faith and Fearlessness, are the ingredients of Life’s great Anti‑Toxin. Try it and be blessed”