The Science of Being Well
Wallace D. Wattles 1910
This short self-help guide argues that thought and daily habits can shape physical health. Its advice includes eating only when genuinely hungry, rather than simply following a meal schedule.
84 pages 1h 37m reading time
- A classic health guide of the early 1900s New Thought movement (a belief that the mind shapes the body and life), written as a companion to Wattles's better-known The Science of Getting Rich.
- Argues that a natural "Principle of Health" lives inside every person, and that thinking of yourself as healthy, never sick, lets it do its work.
- Claims that chewing food slowly and fully, breathing deeply, and sleeping well matter more for health than medicine or special diets.
Author died a year later
Wattles died in 1911, only about a year after this health guide first appeared.
Built on popular health fads
Wattles drew on Horace Fletcher's slow chewing plan and Dr. Edward Dewey's advice to skip breakfast.
Published by a magazine founder
Elizabeth Towne, who ran the New Thought magazine The Nautilus, published it from Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Revived by The Secret
The 2006 film The Secret renewed interest in Wattles, and his health book returned to print.
Uses the language of its time, including words for races and peoples that are now dated or offensive. Why
