One of the most well-known phenomena in the world is that which is covered by the concept of "illness"; it is, however, known only at the stage of its development where it causes the physical organism inconvenience and pain. But an illness may well have stages that the individual does not notice or perceive as illness. It is these stages that are very dangerous for the being in question since the being does not feel particularly prompted to fight this illness, which can then gradually develop at a leisurely pace to bloom and bear ripe fruit, which means, it can develop to the stage where it is experienced as pain and suffering in order finally to undermine the physical organism, which means the unnatural death of the being. The fact that illness exists shows us that the normal experience of life, which means, complete and total well-being, can exist only as the fulfilment of a particular law. Any infringement, however minor, will ultimately in one way or another eventually weaken the experience of life to a corresponding extent. Since most people die of illness and not of old age it is a fact that the law for experiencing life is broken to a corresponding extent.

We have seen that enormous forces have been set in motion to combat illnesses. Thanks to science huge hospitals have been built with many large building complexes such that they are almost whole towns within towns. Thousands of doctors and nurses are trained all over the world and do an enormous amount of admirable work to remedy ill-health, the greatest of mankind's troubles. But nonetheless the hospitals have to be extended continually, and there is often a very long waiting time for those seeking hospital attention who are not absolutely terminally ill or in great danger of losing their lives. Why then do the illnesses not disappear? Why is building hospitals not increasingly unnecessary? Why is it not increasingly common that people radiate with excellent health and well-being? If one wants a complete answer to this one must of course acquire an understanding of what illness really is.

Illness exists in a larger area than that in which the pains and the inconveniences connected with the illness exist. But since it is painless in this larger area it is not always discovered here, and even if it is discovered it is not, however, as a rule combatted, precisely because it is painless. One continues quite calmly violating the law of life, thereby making the illness progress to the stage of pain and inconvenience, in other words to the stage where one begins to acknowledge it as "illness". But by this stage the illness has overcome the organism's own natural resistance, and the being in question must then resort to artificial means and forces with which to combat the illness. But these means are unnatural and can often give rise to illness in other parts. And it is very often too late. The illness has already become so firmly rooted that it cannot be combatted at all, the organism succumbs and the being dies. But nonetheless it is not until this stage that one begins to combat the illness, just as it is also not until here that the doctors try to find the cause of the illness. But the true cause of the illness is not to be found here. There is a previous stage, namely the painless stage. An illness has thus two primary stages. First it has a stage that we can call "the causal stage". From this stage it progresses to "the effect stage", which means the stage of pain and inconvenience. The causal stage is not on the physical plane, existing as it does only in the psychic or mental sphere of the individual. Here all illnesses have their original or very first fountainhead, just as all forms of absolute well-being also have their innermost source here.

The entire organism, its many organs, cells and molecules are held together by something mental. This mental something is the individual's conscious and subconscious sphere, which make up its mentality. In this mentality the being's experiencing and creating I exists. This I has a will. But the being can be in a situation where this will becomes guided almost exclusively by uncontrolled desires. The being ends up with all sorts of disorders or diseases. This then in turn gradually leads to the being becoming intellectual and thereby getting into a situation where its will controls its desires, and the being grows towards perfection, grows towards becoming "the human being in God's image". And we are here at the area of the being's innermost self where its entire fate is decided. These two adjustments of the will decide the being's daily life and thereby its relationship to its fellow beings and matter.

The egoistic world of thoughts gradually becomes pure poison for the human being too, since the law of life for this being is the opposite of the animal's law of life - everyone for his neighbour - which in turn is the same as loving one's neighbour as oneself. To the degree that one does not do this, one does not meet the requirements for giving one's neighbour health and well-being. To the same degree one must then come to be in surroundings where one's neighbour cannot love one as he loves himself. How could it be otherwise? Among loving and unselfish people one would be like a dog at a game of skittles. But here one cannot enter. These beings are protected by their loving aura. One must thus in the main be among beings who, like oneself, are egoistic and brutal, and one comes thereby to lack peace and well-being. One must be at war all the time. One must all the time fight the antipathy and anger that one makes the surroundings feel towards oneself. But this is also an illness that ultimately leads to a friendless existence. A friendless existence leads to depression, which in turn leads to mental darkness and often to suicide. The being thus dies from being unloving towards its neighbour. Being unloving towards one's neighbour is thus a serious cause of illness.

Anger and hate are the desire to take revenge. Letting such a desire guide one's will is one of the most dangerous things one can do. It is the same as creating a mental fatal disease in oneself. But the vital force of people who are thus full of deadly desires and bitterness, annoyances and so on becomes poor, since their thoughts vibrate in their blood and organism as the vital force. Poor vital force gives poor blood, and poor blood is poor nourishment for the micro-individuals and micro-life of the organism. The micro-life is our cells, molecules, organs, glands and so on. Getting sick organs or organs that do not work as they should means in turn that the functioning of the organism is reduced. The organism is weakened and become sick and miserable. And within such a miserable organism there are all possible conditions for the micro-life to make wrong connections; short-circuits can arise in their cooperation. They cannot accomplish their mission in the organism. And here such correspondingly abnormal areas arise, areas that become so serious that tumours and stones are formed, and excess calcification occurs. Terrible pains and sufferings arise. And not until this stage is the suffering or complaint combatted. The fact that it is here very often too late is, according to what I have just said, very easy to understand.

All unhappy fate is illness, and stems from our own all-dominating desires that cause illness and unhappiness, which have guided our will to fulfil these desires. This fulfilment must then ultimately find vent in the disharmony with life that we call illness or an unhappy fate. One must try to get rid of such desires today, even though we have no suffering or noticeable problem from them yet. Failing this, one can thus expect illness later in this life and in the next. Life has time to let things grow. The being is bound to learn what is a healthy and normal way of being, and what is unnatural and deadly for themselves and their fellow being.