Goiter is not just a pain which none can see, but is an enlargement of the thyroid gland producing an unsightly swelling in the front of the neck which is visible to all and sundry, thus any improve­ment from treatment can be actually seen without one having to rely solely on the statement of the patient. This makes the case, which I am now about to relate, all the more convincing.

The patient is a woman, somewhat illiterate but most intelli­gent. She knew little or nothing about the functions and powers of the unconscious mind, and I took care not to approach her case on these lines, at least at the outset. All she wanted was that something practical should be done to effect a reduction of the ugly growth, which was so disfiguring to an otherwise very attractive person. She was a down-to-earth kind of individual in some ways, yet hypersensitive in others, but open to learn.

Leaving aside the psychogenic aspect for the nonce, purely physical treatment consisting of osteopathy and nature cure methods were resorted to.

The improvement that was effected was indeed most gratifying, so much so that the patient felt that she was nearly cured and decided to cease coming for treatment, towards the end of which I began instructing her in matters of the mind and the tremendous influence it exercised upon the body and its functions. By this time I knew my lady, and I had therefore reason to know that the fundamental cause of her complaint had not been removed. Not­withstanding this I refrained from persuading her to continue treatment, which would have been bad policy seeing that she had definitely made up her mind to get along on her own.

It therefore occasioned me no surprise to see this patient back in my consulting room about four months later with a goitrous throat worse than ever.

Having previously given her some instruction about the mind and the influence it can have on the matter, I asked her point blank what kind of an emotional upset she had suffered recently? This was her rejoinder: "You know that awful, detestable sister-in-law of mine, of whom I told you when I was with you before, well, we had a hell of a quarrel a week or so ago." Then she used these figures of speech: "Everything that woman utters sticks in my throat." And, "I cannot swallow what she says."

Here I must remark that the primitive is in all of us whether we be civilized or uncivilized. Racial memories from down the ages seem to be impressed in the very depths of our being, some affecting us may be, and some not. Now, at one time it was believed that the entry into the soul of a man was by way of the mouth and throat. Our patient evidently could not accept into her soul the terrible utterances of her sister-in-law, hence they stuck in her throat, and being stuck there she obviously could not swallow them and, added to this, she certainly had no wish to.

Is it any wonder, then, that under such extreme emotional stress, the throat should swell up? Let the reader try this simple experiment: act and feel and say with emotion "It sticks in my throat." He will almost at once be made aware of a sensation of restriction in the throat, as if there were indeed an obstruction in it. This sensation will remain for a few minutes and even longer depending upon the degree of emotion put into words. The feeling in the throat is that experienced by some after swallowing a pill with difficulty. Now think of what a real, intense emotion that puts up a strong obstruction to wicked utterances entering the soul, can do to the throat and to the whole organism for that matter.

My patient, being a most intelligent being, as previously stated, was not slow to grasp the significance of my remarks for she at once recognized the purpose of the primitive defense mechanism her unconscious mind had adopted to stop the evil at the very entrance to her soul. But such emotional reactions sustained over a period of time left their mark in the swelling of the throat. Tense­ness in any part of the body will interfere with proper circulation of the blood to the detriment of the tissues involved.

It is immaterial whether the theories expounded herein are considered by some to be "baloney" or not, the fact remains that the throat enlargement of my patient disappeared, and very quickly at that, after enlightenment came to her through my explanations. Because she offered no more resistance to her sister-in-law's bitter words, they just passed "over" her, and as she bore no resentment as previously, she was no longer all tensed up. Not long after the attitude of the sister-in-law towards my patient changed for the better.

Those who cannot believe what is meant by saying that "mind influences matter" should think again. My own experiences compel me to prefer to say, with Faraday, that "nothing is too wonderful to be true."

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