Although I have said that depth of sleep is more important than the duration of sleep, yet it is true that when one sleeps very soundly he usually sleeps longer. In other words, when one reaches great depth of sleep the transition to the period of wakefulness is only gradual, and it requires a longer time to complete the sleep and wake up than it would if one did not sleep so deeply, or, as we would say, so soundly. It will be found that healthy children, who unquestionably sleep very soundly, also sleep for many hours at a time. They may have dreams but these occur in the later hours of sleep, as every mother has observed. The man or woman well advanced in years who can secure the same depth of sleep that a vigorous child en joys will undoubtedly spend the bigger part of the night in sleep and will acquire exceptional vitality as a result.
Bodily rest, even without sleep, is undoubtedly of great value for purposes of recuperation. To a certain extent such rest, especially if associated with a state of very complete relaxation of the muscles, will make it possible to take less sleep without serious devitalizing results. The man or woman who suffers from insomnia should learn that he can recuperate to a considerable extent through simple physical relaxation without the unconsciousness of sleep. Undoubtedly the physical inactivity common among civilized races has much to do with their ability to keep late hours. But of course this involves more or less nerve strain. The brain does not get sufficient rest, and the loss of sleep involves such an expenditure of energy through the brain as to constitute a serious drain upon the nervous system. Even though rest for the body during consciousness is of certain value, it cannot go very far in taking the place of true sleep. To the higher centers of the brain and nervous system an opportunity must be given for the complete relaxation that comes only with the entire loss of consciousness.
As I have already said, those who are lacking in vitality and who are trying to build strength need more sleep than those who are already strong. Especially those who find it difficult to sleep need additional nervous strength and should carefully observes rules that will promote sleep. One will often hear sufferers from insomnia complain that they never sleep! They are convinced that night after night and week after week passes without their being able to close their eyes in slumber. They are deluded in every case, because they could not maintain life for more than five or six days if this were true. The fact is that they drop off to sleep and then awaken without being conscious that they have been asleep. At the same time, in all such conditions, it is necessary to improve the quality of sleep so that it will be truly refreshing. I have already referred to the influence of good healthy muscular fatigue as a means of enabling one to sleep. Walking and out-of-door life will in almost every case make the nervous man or woman sleep like a child. One should not be too fatigued, but sufficiently so to thoroughly enjoy the sensation of lying down. One cannot truly enjoy sleep except when he has reached this condition of bodily fatigue. To induce this, I would recommend a walk in the evening before going to bed, covering several miles. Although walking for health should ordinarily be brisk enough to stimulate breathing and arouse an active circulation, thus strengthening the internal organs, for the purpose of promoting drowsiness the last mile or two of the evening walk should preferably be very slow. Fast movements are stimulating to mind and nerves. Slow movements have a sedative effect. By walking very slowly as if one were tired the desired effect of fatigue is more satisfactorily secured. One imagines the need of rest under such conditions.
The quality of the air is another important factor, though I need not dwell upon that here. The air you breathe during sleep should be especially fresh and pure, particularly so because of the more shallow character of the breathing. If you are in a room, all the windows should be open as wide as possible. If you have a covered balcony or porch, or if you can avail yourself of a flat roof, it is always advisable to sleep out-of-doors. The increased vitality will more than repay you for your trouble. There is something about out-of-door sleeping that vitalizes, energizes, and refreshes one to an unusual extent.
Circulation is another important factor in sound sleep, especially for nervous persons. Many of those who complain of an inability to sleep suffer more or less from congestion of blood in the brain; also they complain of cold feet or cold hands and feet. In such instances, warm feet will often bring a solution of the problem. In some instances drinking a half cup of hot milk or hot water before going to bed will draw the blood from the brain and enable one to sleep. A hot foot bath before going to bed will do the same thing, or one may use a hot-water bag or hot flatiron wrapped up in flannels, or even a hot brick treated in the same way, to keep the feet warm when in bed. In extreme cases it might be advisable to apply cold packs to the head while applying heat to the feet or when taking the hot foot bath.
Another measure of special value for nervous persons is a bath at the temperature of the body, to be taken for a half-hour before going to sleep. In cases of extreme excitement, anger or nervousness this bath is invaluable. Fill the tub with water at 96 degrees Fahrenheit or 98 degrees Fahrenheit. You can remain in this bath for several hours without harm, for it is neither weakening nor stimulating. It has a soothing effect upon the nerves and is even valuable in preventing attacks of hysteria or other nervous difficulties. This particular bath is so effective in hospitals for the insane that it has frequently obviated the use of padded cells and straight jackets. It is just as effective for the nervous person who wishes to overcome the excitement that is preventing sleep. A half-hour bath should be sufficient for ordinary purposes. Another remedy of great value for soothing the nerves is the air bath. I have referred to this in another part of this volume, but it is extremely valuable for quieting the nerves in cases of insomnia. If the room is comfortably warm, an air bath can be advantageously taken for half an hour before going to bed.
One of the most valuable remedies for those suffering from sleeplessness is to lie in an air bath during the entire night. This idea can be carried out very easily by raising the bed covering in such a way as to remove its weight from the body, thus providing what we might call a chamber of air in which to sleep. With the aid of a large safety-pin or a horse-blanket safety-pin, the bed clothing may be kept thus suspended. The safety-pin is pinned through all the coverings in the centre of the bed and then by means of a string passing through the safety-pin and running from the top of the head of the bed to the top of the foot of
the bed the bed covering can easily be raised to the desired height. The appearance of the bed is then somewhat like that of a small tent. One may not feel warm immediately after entering, if the weather is cold, but if the covering is thick enough and the air is entirely excluded, a perfect air bath, warm and comfortable, can be enjoyed during the entire night. The head, of course, will keep its usual position outside of the covers. No underclothing or night clothing should be worn when attempting to carry out this idea.
The problems associated with covering are of considerable importance. Many people are unable to sleep because of cold feet and many are overheated by an excess of covering. It should not be necessary to bury one's self underneath a heavy load of covers in order to keep the feet warm. Use as little covering as possible and still maintain the bodily warmth. Eider-down bed covers are very valuable because of their light weight and great warmth-retaining qualities. Overheating during sleep produces restlessness and robs one of the sense of refreshment on awakening. The question of cold feet I have already dealt with. The difficulty, in most cases, is one of defective circulation before going to bed. If one will be sure that his feet are warm and his circulation good before retiring to bed he will invariably have no trouble of this kind, even during winter time. I do not mean that one should be chilled by insufficient bedding, but I certainly would advise as little covering as is compatible with a comfortable degree of warmth.
The feather beds, much used in Europe, are undesirable, as they are unsanitary and are too warm for nearly all seasons of the year. It is always best to sleep between clean linen sheets. For purposes of warmth, however, bear in mind that cotton is of very little value, whereas animal-product covers such as wool and down, or feathers, are exceptionally warm. Cotton comforters in cold weather are very heavy, but cold, whereas woolen blankets, wool-filled comforters or down- filled comforters are warm, but light. "A warmth without weight" should be the chief consideration in cold weather. And in using woolen coverings you can get sufficient warmth without much weight and with the very least quantity of covering. In summer use only a single woolen blanket or a light cotton coverlet over the sheet. When the nights are hot and sultry it would be well to use no covering of any kind.
For warmth in winter special attention should be given to warm fabrics underneath the lower sheet as well as the coverings. One may become chilled from underneath if lying upon a thin mattress or an uncovered mattress. A wool-filled comforter, or double woolen blanket, placed over the mattress and under the sheet will contribute greatly to one's warmth. If the mattress is of proper thickness one can be comfortable with less covering and therefore less weight. However, I would suggest as a better plan the one that I have presented of sleeping in a virtual air bath the whole night through.
The use of a pillow is necessary in nearly all cases. When one is sleeping on his back a pillow is certainly an objectionable feature. It tips the head forward and is conducive to round shoulders. A pillow is of value when sleeping on the side or in the partial face-downward position, as indicated in the illustration.
The accompanying illustration shows a special position that I can recommend for securing restful sleep and for insuring deeper respiration. In this position you sleep with the body tipped forward partly upon the chest, and on the forearm, with one elbow just back of the body and hand under the waist. The knee of the upper leg will be drawn up somewhat. While this is a very comfortable position its chief advantage lies in the effect upon the respiration. It will be noted that in this position the organs lying below the diaphragm are placed in a suspended position, so to speak. The stomach and other organs by their own weight pull downward from the diaphragm, thus naturally allowing more space in the lungs, and particularly in the lower part of the lungs. Through the simple effect of gravitation, therefore, this position allows one to breathe a larger amount of air through the entire night. One may turn from one side to the other in order to change the position, as it will be equally comfortable on right or left sides. In cases where there is weakness of the heart the left-side position can not be recommended if discomfort of any sort is noticed.
One often hears a reference to beauty sleep and is often asked: "Is it really true that an hour of sleep before midnight is equal to two hours after midnight?" There are many writers who claim that the time when you sleep matters but little if you secure a sufficient amount of sleep. It is doubtful, however, if this view is absolutely correct. I am inclined to lean towards the old-fashioned view as to the good effect of early retiring on beauty development that is based on health building.
In one sense, it is reasonable to conclude that an hour of sleep before midnight is worth more than an hour thereafter. I am satisfied that there is greater exhaustion of the body from late than from normal hours, and it is difficult to get the full benefit from sleep when going to bed after midnight. At least the nerve strain of artificial light tends to produce a certain degree of vital depletion that one would not experience if his waking hours included only the daylight. Then again, there is probably some mysterious influence that we do not fully comprehend which makes sleep at night more restful than sleep during the daylight. Those who go to bed at midnight or thereafter use several hours of daylight in the early morning for sleeping. I realize that there are nocturnal animals and that the human race has developed nocturnal habits to a certain extent, but the human race and the animal life of the world generally have followed the habit through the ages of sleeping at night. Without doubt a revolutionary change in this habit has more or less effect upon the restful character of our sleep. Perhaps the mere question of light has much to do with it. Daylight is stimulating. Light has a chemical action and tends to stimulate animal metabolism. Darkness, or the lack of light, tends to a restful condition. Without doubt this question of light has much to do with the supposed benefits of sleep before midnight. The old saying that "early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" may not hold true in the matter of wisdom and wealth in all cases, but there is no doubt it has much to do with the development of health and vitality.
CHAPTER XX: Mind-The Master-force for Health or Disease
We hear of many miraculous achievements in the building of health and the cure of disease through mental influence. The mind is unquestionably a master-force. I will not go so far as to say it is limitless, for certainly a hungry man cannot imagine he is eating a dinner and secure the same benefits that he would from the meal itself. Nor can a man who is passing away into the other world, through a definite vital defect, bring back life through mental force.
But we should remember that many diseases are to a great extent imaginary. And some of those not actually imaginary may at least be brought about through fears that are the results of abnormal delusions. And where such diseases are combated by mental forces of the right sort, a cure can be effected in many instances. In numerous cases, also, it is well to remember that the mental state is the actual cause of disease. You become blue, hopeless and to a certain extent helpless. You see nothing in the future. Life is dull. Ambition, enthusiasm, have all disappeared. It would not be at all difficult for this state of mind to bring about disease in some form.
Health, strength, vitality of the right sort, should radiate all the elements and forces associated with life's most valuable possessions. Happiness and health are close friends. It is very difficult to be gloomy and miserable if you are healthy. It is perhaps even more difficult to be healthy if you are gloomy and mentally ugly.
Therefore it is a wise precaution to cultivate a hopeful spirit. If the day is gloomy, if the sun is obscured by clouds, then develop the sunshine in your own spirit. Try to radiate good cheer. By seeking to cheer up others you will cheer yourself up, for always when we help others, we inevitably help ourselves, though this should not be our main purpose in the action. When we try to build up the characters, improve the morals and add to the mental and physical stability of others our efforts develop our own powers. Therefore, the best way to help yourself is to help others.
We have a remarkable exemplification of the value of mental influence in what is known as Christian Science. Even the most prejudiced enemy of this cult will admit that many remarkable cures have been accomplished through the principles it advocates. These cures alone indicate clearly that the mind is a dominating force that works for good or for evil. They prove that your thoughts are building up or tearing down your vital forces; that to a certain extent "Thoughts are things," that good thoughts are a real tangible influence for developing mental or physical force, and-that bad thoughts have an opposite influence. It is well for each one of us to determine clearly whether the thoughts that fill our minds each day are constructive or destructive in nature.
Your thoughts can actually destroy you. They can kill you as unerringly as a bullet fired from a rifle. Keep this fact very definitely before you, and try to make your thoughts each day the means of adding to your life forces. There are many emotions that are harbored on occasions, which are devitalizing and destructive.
We are all, to a certain extent, slaves of habit, whether good or bad. For instance, there is the worrying habit, for worry is really a habit. Therefore, it is a splendid plan to become slaves of good habits. One who has acquired the chronic habit of worrying needs a mental antiseptic. Worry never benefited anyone; it has brought thousands to an untimely grave. To give prolonged and grave thought to a problem that may come into your life, with the view of forming an intelligent conclusion, should not be called worry, but anxiety. There is a very great difference between worry and concentrated study of a vexing problem. The characteristic of worry is a tendency to brood anxiously over fancied troubles. The typical worrying mind will take mere trifles and magnify them until they become monumental difficulties. Many acquire the habit of going over and over again, and still again, the various unpleasant experiences which they have passed through during life. This inclination is baneful in its influence, To such persons I would say, eliminate the past. Try the forgetting habit, cultivate health and along with it good cheer. Make your mind a blank so far as the past is concerned, and fill it with uplifting thoughts for the present and the future. Worry is a mental poison, the toxic element produced in the mind by retention of waste matter, thoughts of the dead past that should have been eliminated with the passing of out-worn periods of existence.
Self-pity is another evil. It is closely allied to worry. There are many who cultivate a mental attitude of this sort because of the sorrows through which they have passed. Such individuals find their chief delight in portraying, in vivid details, the terrific sufferings which they have had to endure. No one has suffered quite so much as they have. They harrow their friends by going over frequently and persistently the long, gruesome details of their "awful" past. This habit is destructive to an extreme degree. Why harbor past experiences that only bring sorrows to mind? Why add to the bitterness of your daily life by dragging up the lamentable past? Why pass along to your friends and acquaintances pain, sorrow and gloom? Each human entity is a radiating power. You have the capacity of passing around pain or happiness. As a rule, when you ask a friend to "have something with you" your offer is supposed to bring good cheer. You surely would not ask a friend to have pain with you, or share with you the gall of bitter, experiences through which you have lived. Therefore, if you are the victim of self-pity and if your own past sufferings discolor your every pleasant thought, at least do not taint the minds of your friends. At least keep your direful broodings to yourself if you are determined to retain them. It is, however, far wiser and manlier to avoid such thoughts, in which case your memory of these torturing experiences will gradually fade away. Live in the future and forget the past. The man or woman who lives in the future, and for the future, will invariably be optimistic and cheerful. It is a good habit to cultivate.
Then there is a mental poison called anger. Avoid it as you would a venomous snake. It has indeed been said by scientists that the venom of the snake is developed through anger, induced by impure circulation, for in reptiles the pure arterial blood mixes in the imperfectly formed heart with the impure venous blood. Scientists have also stated that anger produces a poison in the perspiration that emanates from the human body. This may or may not be true, but there is no question, however, about anger being a mental poison. It represents a tremendous waste of nervous energy. To be sure, there may be occasions when anger is justified, when it is actually desirable, but such occasions are rare. Learn to master such emotions. Get control of your feelings and mental states. Avoid useless anger definitely and finally. It usually indicates a lack of mental control, and should be recognized as a destructive force to be carefully avoided.
Hate is, to a certain extent, synonymous with anger. One may call it anger in a chronic form. Hate and the personal enmities associated with it develop emotions and characteristics that unquestionably have a destructive influence. Why hate anybody? Why waste your nervous energies by trying to "get even" with a fancied enemy? A tremendous amount of human energy is wasted in this manner. You may be impressed with the idea that someone has wronged you. You lie awake at night forming plans for "getting even." Every mental effort spent in this direction is not only destructive to body, mind and character, but it represents a waste of nervous energy. One's life should be so filled with useful activities that no time will be left for a waste of this sort. Show me a man who spends his time and efforts trying to "get even" with his supposed enemies, and I will show you a shining example of failure. No man can succeed who wastes his nervous forces in this manner.
Then there is the poison of avarice. Financial gain seems to be the one end and aim of many ambitious men. They struggle day after day and year after year in the whirlpool of perverted enthusiasm, looking continuously for wealth and still more wealth. But there is something more in life than money. Health, for instance, is worth a thousand times, and self-respect should be rated a million times, more than money. Do not allow a struggle of this sort to enslave you. Do not allow pursuits of any sort to interfere with the development and maintenance of those powers that indicate superior manhood and womanhood. It is also well to avoid the complaining and critical spirit. You will find frequent references in the Good Book to what might be termed the thankful spirit. It commands us to be thankful for what we have received. And whether or not the tenets of theology appeal to you, the thought presented is of the greatest value. If you can be thrilled each day with gladness because of the remembrance of pleasures that you have enjoyed the previous day the mental influence will be invaluable. Being thankful for what you have received does not necessarily indicate that you should not strive for more and better things. Dissatisfaction or discontent is not always necessary to spur one on to added powers and responsibilities. Avoid the complaining spirit, which will add gloom and despair to your life, no matter what may be your environment. Be thankful for the favors and opportunities that may have come to you, be they large or small, and your mental attitude in this respect will represent a potent health-building influence.
Envy is another evil it will be well to avoid, largely because it is inspired by selfish attributes. Do not envy others the joy of possessions that may be theirs. Happiness, after all, is worth but little if it comes unearned. Life's greatest pleasures are secured only through intelligent and diligent efforts. They come as the results of hard work. A man who inherits great wealth secures little or no benefit from it. It adds but little to his pleasure in life, for the greatest possible happiness comes from the pursuit rather than the attainment of an object. More happiness comes from the pursuit of wealth or pleasure than from its actual attainment. Let the attainment of truth be your aim. Truth is magnificent. It is tremendously weighted with power. Whatever your ambitions or hopes in life may be, seek for the truth. In some cases the road that leads to this goal may be devious and hard to follow. Dangers of all sorts may beset you, as you struggle along the rugged pathway that leads to truth, but the rewards will amply repay you for every effort.
Don't be a leaner. Try to stand alone. Be yourself. Bring out your own personal characteristics, do not be a stereotype, a parrot, a copy. Let others live their own lives, but you see to it that you live yours. Many of our public schools are turning out factory-made human beings; each pupil, as far as possible, a duplicate of every other. They are educational brick factories tuning out their products stamped exactly alike. Individuality is crushed out. Now the child is not so much like clay to be molded into any form, as it is like a precious crystal, that must be shaped with regard to its original nature. Each human soul is an uncut diamond. It often has within it capacities and powers which, if developed, might achieve results which we now expect only from exceptional human beings. Therefore; be yourself. Hold up your head, throw back your shoulders; remember that the earth and all that is thereon belongs to you. Anyway, it is well to be inspired by such a thought. It is the proper mental attitude. Life is a hard battle, and the rewards are to the strong and courageous. Be inspired by the dominating determination to get all there is in your life. Develop all your capacities and powers to their utmost limit, and then you can rest assured, that every thought that stirs your soul will be upbuilding rather than destructive in nature.
CHAPTER XXI: The Laugh Cure
The physiological effects of the mechanical and mental processes involved in laughing are not generally understood and appreciated. The "laugh cure" is a reality, for it is a remedy of very great value. Many a man, placed in a trying situation, would have been saved from tragical consequences if he could have found some means of arousing the emotions expressed in a good hearty laugh.
Naturally there may be times in life when a laugh is utterly impossible, or may seem so. Nevertheless the inclination to stimulate the emotions associated with laughter and good humor should be encouraged at every opportunity. There is no question that laughter has valuable vitalizing qualities. It undoubtedly adds to one's stamina. It gives one a hopeful spirit. It leads one to look upon the bright side of life. When you can laugh, the sun is shining regardless of how many clouds obscure the sky. No matter what other efforts you may be making to build strength and vitality, do not allow the serious aide of life to occupy you continuously.
Each day should have its laughing time, or its many laughing times. It is barely possible, of course, that laughing, like any other emotional expression, would become tiresome if overdone, but I am inclined to doubt the possibility of harmful effect under any circumstances. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," and the relaxation and recuperation that go with laughing should be sought with a certain amount of regularity. If you cannot find recreation of this kind through any other source, then attend a "funny show." Go to a theatre where merriment is supreme. On such occasions at least I would avoid tragedies or dramas that are inclined too much toward the sorrowful side of life. Personally, I have never had much use for plays of this sort. There are slough serious experiences in life without searching for recreation in the sorrows of others, which are, after all, only the expression of the imagination of some brooding dramatist. Some abnormal characters find pleasure in misery. I have heard some women say that "they enjoyed a good cry so much," and that "crying dramas were just grand." But I have been unable to discover anything rational in such sentiments.
I may say, however, that in a sense there is a certain basis for this sentiment under certain circumstances. For crying, like laughter, has the physiological effect of producing a relaxation of tense nerves.
There is a fundamental basis for crying, but this applies only to exceptional instances in which there is too much nervous tension. When nerves are strained to the "breaking point," crying will bring about a state of relaxation, and one will feel better. If there are times of strain when laughter is utterly impossible, then crying might even be beneficial. The effect on the breathing is very much the same in both cases, and there is a curious similarity in the action of the diaphragm and the mechanical character of the expulsion of the breath. Looking tat a person from behind, one cannot tell whether he is laughing or crying. Both produce relaxation of the nerves, both increase the activity of the lungs, and both involve a form of gymnastics for the diaphragm and entire breathing apparatus.
But, while crying offers relief from extreme tension or grief, it does not justify crying for the so-called pleasure derived from it. Laughter is a pleasure, in itself, as well as a symptom of merriment. It is the expression of keen, bounding joy. It is an emotive manifestation that stirs one's whole nature and vitalizes every part of the body. There is a sound, physiological basis for amusements that make us laugh. Taking the world over, incalculable sums of money are spent for amusements that make us laugh, and it is money well spent. It is a sound and healthy instinct that leads the tired business man or the tired laborer to seek for mirth-provoking recreations. Professional "funny men" like John Bunny and Charles Chaplin undoubtedly add to the health of the human race, and they add to the vitality of those in whom they stimulate laughter. I feel sorry for anyone who has lost the power to laugh freely and heartily. When a man has brooded so much over the sorrows and miseries of life that he can no longer laugh, his condition is indeed serious.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone," is one of the truest things that Ella Wheeler Wilcox ever said. For a laugh that is spontaneous and heartfelt is truly contagious, and in your little world, the circle of your friends, laughing brings a rich reward in increasing your own happiness as well as theirs.
The bodily expression and mechanical efforts that go with happiness will often induce the feelings and emotions associated therewith. To prove the accuracy of this statement, some morning when you are feeling especially gloomy and unpleasant, look into your mirror and go through the process of trying to make yourself smile. Screw up your features in such a manner as to force the required contractions of the facial muscles. If you continue your efforts long enough you will surely be rewarded by a real smile, and with the sense of good cheer that a smile will bring. You will make the surprising discovery at it is no longer an effort, for you will smile spontaneously.
To go even further try the laugh cure in the following manner. First of all assume a laughing position, in order to laugh properly and to secure the best results. Stand with feet far apart, and with the knees slightly bent. Now bring the palms of both hands down and "slap" them vigorously on the legs just above the knees, and then swing your bent arms overhead, making a noise as nearly as possible like laughing. Yes, you are quite right, it will sound very much like a cold stage laugh at first, and you will have to force it, but as you go on with the experiment it will gradually become more natural. Continue this long enough and I defy anyone to differentiate the emotions aroused from those associated with a real, spontaneous laugh.
In fact, if you have company while you are going through this process, I will guarantee that they will soon be "guffawing" loudly and violently. This experiment is an excellent one to thy on a company that is especially dull and in need of something unusual to awaken the spirit of good cheer.
CHAPTER XXII: Singing-The Great Tonic
Singing was designed by the Creator as a means of giving vent to joyous emotions. When one is overflowing with happiness it is entirely natural for him to break forth into song. Therefore when you sing the bodily mechanical efforts associated therewith are naturally inclined to arouse the mental attitude of joy, delight and allied emotions. I have already explained the tremendous value of certain bodily positions and mechanical efforts as a means of influencing the mental attitude. If singing is naturally the expression of joy, then by forcing oneself to sing when mentally downcast one encourages, and at times actually produces, happiness and good cheer.
But it is not only for its influence upon the mind that singing is valuable. It is a physical exercise requiring considerable effort. It wakes up the diaphragm. It promotes active circulation. It improves digestion. Therefore it has a double value for stimulating the physical as well as the mental functions. I would by all means encourage every inclination towards physical efforts of this sort.
Remember that the cultivation of the singing voice especially requires the expansion of the lungs. It means that breathing exercises of unusual value will be practiced diligently and persistently on every occasion that you exercise your vocal powers. It not only affects the lungs but the action of the diaphragm involved, and serves to massage, stimulate and invigorate the internal organs lying underneath. There is no need to dilate upon the value of exercise of this sort, for I have referred to this aspect of the question in a previous chapter.
If you have no special knowledge or training in the use of the singing voice, then simply do your best. Sing at every opportunity. If there is no music in your voice do not allow this to discourage you. Follow out the idea that singing is an exercise pure and simple. Let your friends understand that you are not impressed with your vocal ability, but that it is simply a form of exercise you take with religious regularity. Naturally if you can secure the opportunities associated with a musical education you are to be congratulated, and musical training largely devoted to vocal culture is far more valuable in its influence upon physical and mental powers than when limited to instrumental work.
Even apart from singing a good voice represents capital of great value. Any efforts that you make with a view to developing the singing voice will improve the speaking voice to a similar degree. Effective speakers do not always have musical voices, but all good singers possess good speaking voices. Therefore the work that you may do with a view to improving your singing voice will surely add to your vocal capital.
Furthermore, all the time spent in the development of your voice should be looked upon as a recreation. If you can make voice culture a hobby, so much the better. There is really no better means of taking one "away from oneself." You will find no more effective means of diversion from exhausting mental responsibilities, since you cannot think of something else while devoting your entire attention to singing.
Your mental attitude makes considerable difference in the results. Singing, as I have previously explained, is an expression of joy. To sing properly you should really be influenced by joyous emotions, and, though your musical efforts may be forced and mechanical in the beginning, you will usually find that the delight ordinarily associated with vocal expression will soon appear as a result of the physical and mechanical efforts involved in the training of the voice.
Naturally it is advisable to use the singing voice in the most advantageous manner, if possible, and it would therefore be well to secure the advice of competent instructors if you can, or at least to gain what helpful information there is in books on the subject. It is, of course, impossible to give any detailed advice in this short chapter, but I may say that I am engaged in the preparation of a book on vocal culture which will deal with the subject in an unusually practical manner. Voice culture, in many instances, is a mysterious and intricate study that even many of its teachers do not seem to understand in every detail. It is a notorious fact that many so-called vocal instructors, including some of the highest-priced members of the profession, frequently ruin magnificent voices by wrong methods of instruction. It is a simple matter to build up a good voice, but it is also a simple matter to ruin one by unnatural methods of training.
It is therefore well to learn to use the voice in a strictly natural manner, and without any straining or forcing of the tone. For instance, it is advisable to avoid any constriction of the muscles of the throat; that is to say, there should be no tension in the throat when singing. One should learn how to "place" the voice. Resonance is all-important.
Many really good teachers differ as to the proper methods of using the voice. Although there may be a reasonable excuse for a difference on some of the minor details of voice culture, yet there are certain fundamental principles upon which there should be a definite agreement, and it is these basic principles which will be presented in the book to which I have just referred.
At all events, whether or not you desire to take up vocal culture in a serious way, at least you should make it a point to sing at every opportunity. Break forth into song whenever the slightest excuse appears. If your voice is harsh, unpleasant and reminds your friends of a carpenter filing a saw, do not be discouraged. Every vocal artist had to make a beginning. No matter how bad your efforts may be you can probably recall voices that are still worse. Remember also that all voices improve with training. It is a matter of common agreement among instructors that anyone who possesses a speaking voice can also learn to sing. Anyway, at the worst, your hours of practice can be so arranged as to avoid annoying other people, or you can adopt a method that I have often used. For instance, when you are on a train, or in a busy centre of the city in which there is a combination of noises which will drown your own voice, you can then sing or hum to your heart's content without annoying others. Remember that humming, if you carry it out with sufficient breath to produce real resonance, is practically as good as singing for the training of the voice.
There is one particular point of special value, and that is the advantage of singing when the stomach is empty. Vocal artists commonly refuse to sing immediately after eating. Your voice is free and full and clear when the stomach is empty. A few minutes of singing before each meal would enable one to digest his food far more satisfactorily. It would also establish the mental attitude best suited to perfect digestion.
Whenever you find responsibilities crowding upon you beyond your power to bear them, or when you realize that your mental attitude is sour, crabbed and pessimistic, then is the time to break forth into song. Nothing will bring about a pleasing change more quickly. Hum a tune. Sing some popular song. Put your soul into your efforts as much as possible, and you will literally be amazed at the value of this suggestion.
CHAPTER XXIII: The Daily Regimen
Following is a brief summary of the suggestions in this volume which may be incorporated in the daily regimen:
Rise from six to eight o'clock. Drink a cup of hot or cold water immediately upon arising.
Take the thyroid-stimulating exercises. Follow by spine-strengthening movements in combination with the hot-water-drinking.
Following these exercises a dry friction bath may be taken, if desired; also a cold bath. The latter is not necessary to the same extent while following the hot-water-drinking regimen as under ordinary circumstances. The bath may be varied from time to time by taking a cold sitz bath instead of a complete bath.
Before breakfast indulge in a good laugh or a little singing.
Eat a light breakfast-preferably consisting chiefly of acid fruits, such as oranges, apples, pears, grapefruit, grapes, etc.
Throughout the day while following your daily duties remember the suggestions in reference to proper position. Make a continuous and never-ending fight to keep a straight spine. Hold the chin in, down and backward, with spine erect as nearly as possible, whether sitting or standing.
Be hopeful, be cheerful, but cultivate the fighting spirit. You cannot have too much will power, determination.
Eat your first hearty meal between twelve and two o'clock, depending upon the time at which you had breakfast. From five to six hours should elapse between meals to insure perfect digestion. Masticate thoroughly. Enjoy your food as much as possible. Do not eat without a keen appetite.
Try to take a walk some time during the day. Remember during this walk to practice the thyroid-stimulating exercise-chin inward, downward and backward while holding a deep full breath, with the abdomen expanded.
Do not forget the necessity of using liquids freely. Have water close at hand so that your thirst can easily be satisfied.
Some time during the day, if possible, take some form of outdoor exercise which will compel deep full breathing similar to that induced by running.
Try to get a good laugh or do a little singing before your evening meal.
Your evening meal should be taken between six and eight o'clock, depending upon the time of breakfast and lunch. Do not forget my suggestion for closing the meal with a little acid fruit. A few spinal exercises, a walk or a short run before retiring can be highly recommended.
During the evening, if convenient, take an air bath.
Take a combination sun bath and air bath in the morning or at any time during the day that is convenient. If you cannot take a regular sun bath wear light-colored clothing and walk on the sunny side of the street when outdoors to get the sun's rays through your clothing.
Take a hot soap-and-water bath once or twice a week.
Retire early enough to awake thoroughly refreshed at proper rising time without the warning of an alarm clock.
THE END