V I My dear Wormwood, am delighted to hear that your patient’s age and profession make it possible, but by no means certain, that he will be called up for military service. We want him tobe in the maximum uncertainty, so that his mind will be filled with contradictory pictures of the future, every one of which arouses hope or fear. there is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against the enemy. hewants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them. Your patient will, of course, have picked up the notion that he must submit with patience to the enemy’s will. What the enemy means bythis is primarily that he should accept with patience the tribulation which has actually been dealt out to him the pre- sent anxiety and — suspense. it is about that he is to say will be done”, and for this “thy the daily task of bearing that the daily bread will be provided. it this is your business to see that the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross, but only of the things he is afraid of. let him regard them as his crosses: let him forget that, since they are incompatible, they cannot all happen to him, and let him try to practise fortitude and patience to them all in advance. for real resignation, at the same moment, to a dozen different and hypothetical fates, is almost impossible, and the enemy does not greatly assist those who are trying to attain it: resignation to present and actual suffering, even where that suffering consists of fear, is far easier and is usually helped by this direct action. an important spiritual law is here involved. i have explained that you can weaken his prayers by diverting his attention from the enemy himself to his own states of mind about the enemy. on the other hand fear becomes easier to master when the patient’s mind is diverted from the thing feared to the fear itself, considered as a present and undesirable state of his own mind; and when he regards the fear as his appointed cross he will inevitably think of it as a state of mind. one can therefore formulate the gen- eral rule; in all
V I My dear Wormwood, am delighted to hear that your patient’s age and profession make it possible, but by no means certain, that he will be called up for military service. We want him tobe in the maximum uncertainty, so that his mind will be filled with contradictory pictures of the future, every one of which arouses hope or fear. there is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against the enemy. hewants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them. Your patient will, of course, have picked up the notion that he must submit with patience to the enemy’s will. What the enemy means bythis is primarily that he should accept with patience the tribulation which has actually been dealt out to him — the pre- sent anxiety and suspense. it is about this that he is to say “thy will be done”, and for the daily task of bearing this that the daily bread will be provided. it is your business to see that the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross, but only of the things he is afraid of. let him regard them as his crosses: let him forget that, since they are incompatible, they cannot all happen to him, and let him try to practise fortitude and patience to them all in advance. for real resignation, at the same moment, to a dozen different and hypothetical fates, is almost impossible, and the enemy does not greatly assist those who are trying to attain it: resignation to present and actual suffering, even where that suffering consists of fear, is far easier and is usually helped by this direct action. an important spiritual law is here involved. i have explained that you can weaken his prayers by diverting his attention from the enemy himself to his own states of mind about the enemy. on the other hand fear becomes easier to master when the patient’s mind is diverted from the thing feared to the fear itself, considered as a present and undesirable state of his own mind; and when he regards the fear as his appointed cross he will inevitably think of it as a state of mind. one can therefore formulate the gen- eral rule; in all
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