Mind & Body – Mental States & Physical Conditions is William Walker Atkinson’s clear, compelling exploration of the profound and often misunderstood relationship between mental life and physical health. Long before modern science recognized psychosomatic influence, Atkinson argued that the mind is not merely a companion to the body—but a decisive force shaping vitality, illness, resilience, and overall well-being.

In this classic study, Atkinson examines how thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and attitudes act upon the physical organism. He explains how worry, fear, anxiety, resentment, and long-continued negative mental states exert harmful pressure upon the nerves, circulation, digestion, and immune strength, often expressing themselves as tangible ailments. Likewise, he demonstrates how hope, confidence, calmness, constructive thinking, and balanced emotion foster recovery, strengthen the body, and restore the natural harmony of the system.

With characteristic clarity, Atkinson bridges psychology, metaphysics, and practical self-development, showing listeners how to cultivate mental habits that support physical robustness. He offers guidance on stress management, emotional hygiene, self-control, and the redirection of harmful thought patterns—providing tools that remain as relevant today as when first written.

Rather than promoting vague optimism, Atkinson presents a disciplined approach to mental mastery: understanding the internal states that weaken the body, strengthening those that heal, and learning to cooperate with the deeper laws of mind and nature.

Mind & Body is both a philosophical treatise and a practical manual, empowering listeners to transform their inner world in order to improve their outer condition. For students of wellness, psychology, metaphysics, or self-culture, this work remains a foundational text on the unity of mental and physical life.