As a new student of Christian Science, one of the first false beliefs to fall away was that of contagion. I understood well enough that the source of discordant experiences is actually mental, so I also knew that physical contact with [fill-in-the-blank-unpleasant-condition] didn't make me susceptible to it--even if other people thought it would.
I saw this was true through living with family and roommates, and even through beginning to work as a teacher in a public school system. Each year, as colleagues talked about--and then developed--the "initial cold" you "had to" catch after being introduced to a new bunch of kids, I found myself well.
But, I didn't actually stop having colds. As it turned out, I continued to experience them periodically and without respect to human so-called laws about "cold seasons" and contagion. Going back to what I understood about the mental nature of all disease, I reasoned (albeit imperfectly) that if I was not feeling well, something must be going on mentally that was manifesting itself as a cold. It had to come from somewhere, right? So then began a period in my life where I'd take physical discomfort as a cue to dig around mentally for something that might need to be handled, that is, proven untrue and unreal in thought. Typically, I determined the so-called cause to be stress and handled it. The end. Until the next time.
Fortunately, as I've committed myself to understanding and practicing Christian Science, I've made friends with the same commitment. One of these friends and I were talking one day this past summer, and my method of dealing with colds came up. I mentioned that I only got them when I was "stressed." But my friend stopped me short. I don't remember his exact words, but the idea was, "Erin--first of all, you don't need to expect that a particular situation will always result in certain coordinating physical symptoms. Second, disease doesn't have a cause--God is the only Cause, and disease is no part of Him."
He was right! And now I knew he was right--it was time for deeply-ingrained old beliefs to fall away once again. By concluding (incorrectly) that these colds were the result of stress, I was making a major mistake! Part of it was that I was starting my reasoning about my situation with the cold instead of starting my reasoning with God, who is the only Cause, the only Principle, or Source. He is wholly good, and is Spirit--so reasoning from the basis of a bad, material situation was about as backwards as I could get! The other part of the mistake was that by starting with the cold, I was making it seem real, even though Christian Science works by seeing the unreality of disease. By way of analogy, my former line of reasoning was like believing ghosts were in my house and concentrating my efforts on scaring them away, when what I needed to do was understand that ghosts aren't real, and weren't there in the first place.
At any rate, since the time of that conversation I've checked, i.e, stopped in their tracks, any thoughts that came and suggested that there was cause for a cold, or other form of illness. I've been exposed to so-called contagion. I've experienced my fair share of stress. But I haven't experienced a cold. More than being grateful for experiencing health, I'm grateful to understand to a greater degree the nothingness of disease--and the allness of God's goodness.
God is good
God gives good
God is the only Cause
God is Spirit
Man is spiritual
There is no disease
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Psalm 23 - the Surrender edition
Just like my post from a while back, this is a reworking of the 23rd psalm. Enjoy. :)
The Lord is in charge! I don't want to be!
He plops me down amid plenteous resources: He removes the fear of trusting Him.
He refreshes me! He keeps me on a good path so that I glorify Him; this is all I can do.
Even if it seems like I'm in a tight spot, You won't let me be afraid: You are with me; and Your law governs, upholds, and protects me.
You are nourishing me right in the midst of trying circumstances: You give me more pure thoughts of charity, gentleness, and consecration than I could ever need. Truly heaven is here.
Only good things are in store for me as long as I live: and I live with You, forever.
The Lord is in charge! I don't want to be!
He plops me down amid plenteous resources: He removes the fear of trusting Him.
He refreshes me! He keeps me on a good path so that I glorify Him; this is all I can do.
Even if it seems like I'm in a tight spot, You won't let me be afraid: You are with me; and Your law governs, upholds, and protects me.
You are nourishing me right in the midst of trying circumstances: You give me more pure thoughts of charity, gentleness, and consecration than I could ever need. Truly heaven is here.
Only good things are in store for me as long as I live: and I live with You, forever.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Healed of overeating
Over the course of this past summer, I realized that I'd gained a bit of weight. It probably wasn't even noticeable to anyone, but I finally became aware of it when some of my shorts and pants didn't fit as comfortably as they had the previous summer.
At first, I reasoned that I had just been eating too much; ergo, I would eat less and the weight would go away. I'd done it in the past. Easy peasy. But try as I might, that didn't work. My eating habits just didn't change. As I'd sort of expected all along, my human will-power wasn't effective, wasn't really a power at all. And besides, I didn't want a quick fix, so I knew I needed to pray, and pray scientifically--because it brings permanent healing.
One of the first things I had to do, was to deny that gradually putting on weight was just a part of aging. It's not. God's "mercies are new every morning," and we are God's image, His exact likeness. We are brand new every morning. We are ageless. And that sly suggestion that "This is normal; nothing is wrong," is precisely the suggestion that would keep us from ever working to overcome errors--that would quash our efforts before they begin.
Next, I realized that the problem wasn't really increased body size. It was that food was constantly on my mind. It was like I was hypnotized always to be thinking of food! This became clear to me when I was on a family vacation towards the end of the summer. Any time we went out for our daily adventures, I was worried I'd get hungry before we ate again. Talk about a downer for a vacation!
But the realization that, as with every problem, thought was what needed correcting--not a material body--marked the beginning of the end for this dilemma.
Over the next week or so, I thought about Jesus' counsel to, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" He then goes on to explain that just as God feeds the birds, and arrays the lilies in beautiful blossoms, so he will care for us because we, as His children, are infinitely more precious to Him than birds and flowers.
And that's exactly what I hadn't believed. I had a laundry list of situations I was worried about at the time--over the whole summer, in fact. Relationships. Finances. Projects to complete. You name it. And as I prayed, it came to me that I had been eating bigger meals than necessary, and eating more frequently than necessary, because of the temporary sense of comfort it gave me. But that's just it--it was temporary. I knew God was the only source for any lasting comfort and peace I could feel. And I knew it was my right to feel that peace and comfort.
Finally, one day, the afternoon approached, and I realized that I had actually felt hungry all day, including during and after eating my lunch. "How ABSURD!" I thought. At that point it was so obvious to me that the urge to be eating was just a misguided thought, that I actually laughed about it. And with that, the sense of hunger vanished--as if I'd had a "hungry" switch, and someone turned it off!
So, have I lost the weight? Materially, I don't know. I'm not really checking anymore. But mentally, absolutely! I've lost the real weight--I've been freed of the burden of excessive thought about food and my body.
Amen!! :-)
New every morning
God's image and likeness
Take no thought
At first, I reasoned that I had just been eating too much; ergo, I would eat less and the weight would go away. I'd done it in the past. Easy peasy. But try as I might, that didn't work. My eating habits just didn't change. As I'd sort of expected all along, my human will-power wasn't effective, wasn't really a power at all. And besides, I didn't want a quick fix, so I knew I needed to pray, and pray scientifically--because it brings permanent healing.
One of the first things I had to do, was to deny that gradually putting on weight was just a part of aging. It's not. God's "mercies are new every morning," and we are God's image, His exact likeness. We are brand new every morning. We are ageless. And that sly suggestion that "This is normal; nothing is wrong," is precisely the suggestion that would keep us from ever working to overcome errors--that would quash our efforts before they begin.
Next, I realized that the problem wasn't really increased body size. It was that food was constantly on my mind. It was like I was hypnotized always to be thinking of food! This became clear to me when I was on a family vacation towards the end of the summer. Any time we went out for our daily adventures, I was worried I'd get hungry before we ate again. Talk about a downer for a vacation!
But the realization that, as with every problem, thought was what needed correcting--not a material body--marked the beginning of the end for this dilemma.
Over the next week or so, I thought about Jesus' counsel to, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" He then goes on to explain that just as God feeds the birds, and arrays the lilies in beautiful blossoms, so he will care for us because we, as His children, are infinitely more precious to Him than birds and flowers.
And that's exactly what I hadn't believed. I had a laundry list of situations I was worried about at the time--over the whole summer, in fact. Relationships. Finances. Projects to complete. You name it. And as I prayed, it came to me that I had been eating bigger meals than necessary, and eating more frequently than necessary, because of the temporary sense of comfort it gave me. But that's just it--it was temporary. I knew God was the only source for any lasting comfort and peace I could feel. And I knew it was my right to feel that peace and comfort.
Finally, one day, the afternoon approached, and I realized that I had actually felt hungry all day, including during and after eating my lunch. "How ABSURD!" I thought. At that point it was so obvious to me that the urge to be eating was just a misguided thought, that I actually laughed about it. And with that, the sense of hunger vanished--as if I'd had a "hungry" switch, and someone turned it off!
So, have I lost the weight? Materially, I don't know. I'm not really checking anymore. But mentally, absolutely! I've lost the real weight--I've been freed of the burden of excessive thought about food and my body.
Amen!! :-)
New every morning
God's image and likeness
Take no thought
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
"Your life is your practice."
The following is an email I sent a friend (and posted with his permission) describing how I had a healing demonstration over pain and weakness simply by hearing about the good he was doing one day.
The terms you'll see "animal magnetism" and "mesmerism," as used in Christian Science, both refer to what the apostle Paul calls (in Romans 8:7) "the carnal mind," or a seeming pull away from Godlike thought. But since God is All, this type of "thought" is really just a dream we can snap right out of--just like I did! :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dearest dear _______,
Basically, _______, you just being yourself brought about a healing demonstration for me last Saturday. I had been having a slight challenge with pain/weakness, that seems to be recurring, and I was silently refuting it ... but also taking it easy so as not to make the situation worse.
Then you called.
And just hearing about your day that was so productive--humanly and metaphysically--totally snapped me out of the mesmerism, made me feel all pumped up and full of life, and the pain/weakness just vanished!--along with another side effect I won't go into, but that always seems to accompany this challenge.
So, [at the] Wednesday [evening church meeting], I talked about this as an example of how "your life is your practice"--how living in accord with God, not allowing oneself to be handled by animal magnetism, can just heal others without any effort. Cuz that's what you did! So go you, practitioner _______, transparency for Truth!! :-)
LOTS of love!
Erin
transparency for Truth
the carnal mind
The terms you'll see "animal magnetism" and "mesmerism," as used in Christian Science, both refer to what the apostle Paul calls (in Romans 8:7) "the carnal mind," or a seeming pull away from Godlike thought. But since God is All, this type of "thought" is really just a dream we can snap right out of--just like I did! :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dearest dear _______,
Basically, _______, you just being yourself brought about a healing demonstration for me last Saturday. I had been having a slight challenge with pain/weakness, that seems to be recurring, and I was silently refuting it ... but also taking it easy so as not to make the situation worse.
Then you called.
And just hearing about your day that was so productive--humanly and metaphysically--totally snapped me out of the mesmerism, made me feel all pumped up and full of life, and the pain/weakness just vanished!--along with another side effect I won't go into, but that always seems to accompany this challenge.
So, [at the] Wednesday [evening church meeting], I talked about this as an example of how "your life is your practice"--how living in accord with God, not allowing oneself to be handled by animal magnetism, can just heal others without any effort. Cuz that's what you did! So go you, practitioner _______, transparency for Truth!! :-)
LOTS of love!
Erin
transparency for Truth
the carnal mind
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Answered prayers
I realized just now that a prayer of mine had been answered, and thought it would be a good idea--for myself and others--to mention it and another one--since this made two answered prayers in as many days.
The first answered prayer--well, I didn't even realize I'd prayed it until it was answered! On Tuesday, I attended a conference, and by the end of the day felt the weight of some accumulated disappointments and annoyances having to do with the content of some of the sessions and the behavior of some of the attendees. I think we all naturally rebel against this sort of negativity, since it is so contrary to our nature as God's children. And at the heart of that rebellion is the desire to see harmony. So, at the same time I felt the imposition of this weight, I also desired to be free of it. At the time, that's all I was aware of--that I felt annoyed and didn't want to.
I was leaving the building where the conference was held, when I saw a former colleague, whom I hadn't seen in a couple of years. Now, when we worked together, I have to tell you, that I had a pretty low opinion of him. And employees came and went so frequently where we used to work, that I was genuinely surprised that he remembered me. At any rate, the last time we had bumped into one another, he told me he had just gotten engaged, so I asked him about it. He was ready to celebrate his second anniversary with his wife, and they were expecting a son in a few months. He'd bought a house, and for the past couple of years had been working somewhere I knew would be easier than where we'd worked together. From where I was standing, his life was PERFECT! So where was this guy I'd looked down on a few years ago? He certainly wasn't the guy standing in front of me!!
And in that moment, the weight I'd felt just vanished. Here was God, divine Love, at work! Love was providing all this good in this man's life, and Love had lifted the clouds from my view of the world and this man. The realest thing to me was God's presence and love, and the perfection of his children. I was elated!
Driving home, I realized what had happened. First and foremost, my prayer for peace had been answered. "But you didn't actually stop and pray," you say? Well, the way I understand it, prayer is consecrated thought. And a right desire is certainly a consecrated thought. In one of my favorite passages from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes, "Thoughts unspoken are not unknown to the divine Mind [God]. Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in word and in deeds" (p. 1). So, really, I had desire-prayed, and within minutes, my prayer was answered. I'm still floating from this one, I have to say. :)
The other answered prayer I recognized this morning. Over the past few days, it felt like I was being pulled in many directions, especially related to what activities were filling my days. I had the sense of stress that I should wake up each morning and dive into my Bible study and prayer, but it wasn't quite happening to the extent that I wanted before I moved on to other activites, and then I felt guilty...and then I was mad that I was indulging thoughts of guilt because they're as unproductive as the other thoughts. Hmph!
So yesterday, as I was reflecting on the incident with my former colleage, I thought about those prayers that I have consistently seen answered immediately--the prayers for right feelings, and so I prayed to want to get more out of my Bible study and prayer, as well as not to be so hung up on time and my to-do list. Essentially, I was asking God to help me feel my natural desire to be close to Him, and to feel the freedom and joy that are natural to me as His child.
And that's exactly what happened. I woke up this morning feeling peaceful and excited to go learn something from the weekly Bible Lesson. At first, I thanked God for the feeling of freedom and was so happy it came at the time of day I seemed to want it most...then I realized my desire-prayer had really been targeted at that time of day anyway, and I was seeing exactly what I'd prayed for!
Okay, so I think I explained the concept of a desire-prayer. But what do I mean by a prayer for "right feelings"? Well, a right feeling would be something that's yours by right as God's child (and we're ALL God's children), something that comes from the basis that God is perfect and perfectly in charge of all. So things like peace, joy, freedom, comfort, creativity. And then we can also pray for "right thoughts." I usually think of right thoughts as seeing the situation the way God does; like I did with that former colleague--I caught a glimpse of the perfect man God created, not the ugly picture I seemed to have created and carried around all that time.
These prayers are always answered. Period. In the Bible, Jesus says, "Ask, and ye shall receive." But later, James writes, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). To me that means that the only reason a prayer wouldn't be answered is if it's asked from a selfish motive. This passage from Science and Health, really explains this point: asking amiss. And that's why we should never ask for things, or events to occur. God knows what's best for us all and provides it. [Here, I refer you to the title of this blog, and the Bible verse that inspired it. :)] And if we pray to see things like God does, we'll always be in good shape.
The first answered prayer--well, I didn't even realize I'd prayed it until it was answered! On Tuesday, I attended a conference, and by the end of the day felt the weight of some accumulated disappointments and annoyances having to do with the content of some of the sessions and the behavior of some of the attendees. I think we all naturally rebel against this sort of negativity, since it is so contrary to our nature as God's children. And at the heart of that rebellion is the desire to see harmony. So, at the same time I felt the imposition of this weight, I also desired to be free of it. At the time, that's all I was aware of--that I felt annoyed and didn't want to.
I was leaving the building where the conference was held, when I saw a former colleague, whom I hadn't seen in a couple of years. Now, when we worked together, I have to tell you, that I had a pretty low opinion of him. And employees came and went so frequently where we used to work, that I was genuinely surprised that he remembered me. At any rate, the last time we had bumped into one another, he told me he had just gotten engaged, so I asked him about it. He was ready to celebrate his second anniversary with his wife, and they were expecting a son in a few months. He'd bought a house, and for the past couple of years had been working somewhere I knew would be easier than where we'd worked together. From where I was standing, his life was PERFECT! So where was this guy I'd looked down on a few years ago? He certainly wasn't the guy standing in front of me!!
And in that moment, the weight I'd felt just vanished. Here was God, divine Love, at work! Love was providing all this good in this man's life, and Love had lifted the clouds from my view of the world and this man. The realest thing to me was God's presence and love, and the perfection of his children. I was elated!
Driving home, I realized what had happened. First and foremost, my prayer for peace had been answered. "But you didn't actually stop and pray," you say? Well, the way I understand it, prayer is consecrated thought. And a right desire is certainly a consecrated thought. In one of my favorite passages from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes, "Thoughts unspoken are not unknown to the divine Mind [God]. Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in word and in deeds" (p. 1). So, really, I had desire-prayed, and within minutes, my prayer was answered. I'm still floating from this one, I have to say. :)
The other answered prayer I recognized this morning. Over the past few days, it felt like I was being pulled in many directions, especially related to what activities were filling my days. I had the sense of stress that I should wake up each morning and dive into my Bible study and prayer, but it wasn't quite happening to the extent that I wanted before I moved on to other activites, and then I felt guilty...and then I was mad that I was indulging thoughts of guilt because they're as unproductive as the other thoughts. Hmph!
So yesterday, as I was reflecting on the incident with my former colleage, I thought about those prayers that I have consistently seen answered immediately--the prayers for right feelings, and so I prayed to want to get more out of my Bible study and prayer, as well as not to be so hung up on time and my to-do list. Essentially, I was asking God to help me feel my natural desire to be close to Him, and to feel the freedom and joy that are natural to me as His child.
And that's exactly what happened. I woke up this morning feeling peaceful and excited to go learn something from the weekly Bible Lesson. At first, I thanked God for the feeling of freedom and was so happy it came at the time of day I seemed to want it most...then I realized my desire-prayer had really been targeted at that time of day anyway, and I was seeing exactly what I'd prayed for!
Okay, so I think I explained the concept of a desire-prayer. But what do I mean by a prayer for "right feelings"? Well, a right feeling would be something that's yours by right as God's child (and we're ALL God's children), something that comes from the basis that God is perfect and perfectly in charge of all. So things like peace, joy, freedom, comfort, creativity. And then we can also pray for "right thoughts." I usually think of right thoughts as seeing the situation the way God does; like I did with that former colleague--I caught a glimpse of the perfect man God created, not the ugly picture I seemed to have created and carried around all that time.
These prayers are always answered. Period. In the Bible, Jesus says, "Ask, and ye shall receive." But later, James writes, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). To me that means that the only reason a prayer wouldn't be answered is if it's asked from a selfish motive. This passage from Science and Health, really explains this point: asking amiss. And that's why we should never ask for things, or events to occur. God knows what's best for us all and provides it. [Here, I refer you to the title of this blog, and the Bible verse that inspired it. :)] And if we pray to see things like God does, we'll always be in good shape.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Some dog blog love...
Here is a blog from time4thinkers about a healing of a pet dog; my response is the seventh one down... Unleashed by Love
Friday, July 30, 2010
23rd Psalm, reworked
Sometimes I like to use familiar Bible passages as inspiration for addressing whatever seems to need addressing in prayer at that moment. I tend to go for the uber-comforting ones, like The Lord's Prayer (see Matthew 6:9-13), Psalm 91, 1 Corinthians 13, Psalm 46, and, of course, Psalm 23. Most times, I just apply the ideas to what's in thought, but sometimes I actually rewrite the passage to fit the situation. Psalm 23 lends itself particularly well to that, and it becomes especially easy to make it work both literally and figuratively.
So here's my summer vacation edition of the 23rd Psalm:
The Lord is my home; I shall not be out of place.
He provideth me with comfy and beautiful furniture: he leadeth me through my chores peacefully.
He remindeth me who and where I am: he directeth me to mine and everyone's inherent goodness, the foundation of my home.
Yea, though the kitchen be a mess or the laundry drying everywhere, I will keep my joy: for Thou art the "house"-keeper; thy Dawn and thy Downy they do the work.
Thou givest me my daily bread no matter what: thou baptisest me with purity, consecration, gentleness, heavenly inspiration; I am having a house-party with the angels!
Surely this shall be so each day I live: for I dwell in my Father-Mother's house, alway.
Passages that inspired me:
Psalm 23
Psalm 23 in Science and Health
Oil
So here's my summer vacation edition of the 23rd Psalm:
The Lord is my home; I shall not be out of place.
He provideth me with comfy and beautiful furniture: he leadeth me through my chores peacefully.
He remindeth me who and where I am: he directeth me to mine and everyone's inherent goodness, the foundation of my home.
Yea, though the kitchen be a mess or the laundry drying everywhere, I will keep my joy: for Thou art the "house"-keeper; thy Dawn and thy Downy they do the work.
Thou givest me my daily bread no matter what: thou baptisest me with purity, consecration, gentleness, heavenly inspiration; I am having a house-party with the angels!
Surely this shall be so each day I live: for I dwell in my Father-Mother's house, alway.
Passages that inspired me:
Psalm 23
Psalm 23 in Science and Health
Oil
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Poem I Found
I just came across this poem by Mary Baker Eddy when I was giving some thought to God's unchangeable law, how He is divine Love, divine Principle. I like it because it shows we all can and must turn to God, and that we only find good--security, peace, love--there! Enjoy! :)
Whither?
Father, did'st not Thou the dark wave treading
Lift from despair the struggler with the sea?
And heed'st Thou not the scalding tear man's shedding,
And know'st Thou not the pathway glad and free?
The weight of anguish which they blindly bind
On earth, this bitter searing to the core of love;
This crushing out of health and peace, mankind--
Thou all, Thou infinite -- dost doom from above.
Oft mortal sense is darkened unto death
(The Stygian shadow of a world of glee);
the old foundations of an early faith
Sunk from beneath man, whither shall he flee?
To Love divine, whose kindling mighty rays
Brighten the horoscope of crumbling creeds,
Dawn Truth delightful, crowned with endless days,
And Science ripe in prayer, in word, and deeds.
Whither?
Father, did'st not Thou the dark wave treading
Lift from despair the struggler with the sea?
And heed'st Thou not the scalding tear man's shedding,
And know'st Thou not the pathway glad and free?
The weight of anguish which they blindly bind
On earth, this bitter searing to the core of love;
This crushing out of health and peace, mankind--
Thou all, Thou infinite -- dost doom from above.
Oft mortal sense is darkened unto death
(The Stygian shadow of a world of glee);
the old foundations of an early faith
Sunk from beneath man, whither shall he flee?
To Love divine, whose kindling mighty rays
Brighten the horoscope of crumbling creeds,
Dawn Truth delightful, crowned with endless days,
And Science ripe in prayer, in word, and deeds.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Elijah: Prophet, or Christian Science Practitioner?
In looking at the story of Elijah's prophecy of drought, and in his interactions with a widow woman afterwards, I noticed some correlations to a Christian Science practitioner...
First of all, when Elijah received the intuition about the drought, he just told it like it was to king Ahab--pretty bold! To me, this is similar to a Christian Science practitioner speaking an absolute truth, when impelled by God to do so. It can take a certain boldness to declare something that may not make sense to the material senses.
Then, Elijah received another intuition of where to go during the drought, and that God had commanded a widow woman to feed him. When Elijah saw her, he first requested a drink of water. Now in a drought, that request might have been met with some hesitation, but the woman didn't hesitate. After all, the water likely came from a public well, and wasn't something the woman would have felt a sense of personal responsibility for or ownership of. And this might be seen as Elijah gently approaching, gently preparing to introduce a new thought. So, unlike earlier with the king, this situation called for gentleness, not boldness. Elijah was always listening to know not only what to say, but how to say it, just like a practitioner.
Then, once Elijah sees that she is receptive, once she's already going to fetch him some water, then he asks the tougher question--he asks her for a morsel--just a little bite--of bread. Now that was something she'd feel personal responsibility for, but even so, she's ready to give Elijah some--only she doesn't have any. She barely has any ingredients to make any. In fact, she was ready to use the last of what she had, and then eat it and die. This is like the work of a practitioner identifying a false belief to be corrected. Here, perhaps, Elijah identified the woman's false sense that supply is material and therefore limited, and beyond God's control. He also saw that the false belief was at its extremity, and therefore ripe for destruction.
Then Elijah tells her to do as he asked, and that her supply of meal and oil would not run out. And as she is obedient, she finds that what Elijah said was true. The healing was the change in the woman's thought, and the natural fruit of that deeper, clearer understanding of supply was that she had enough food for herself and her household.
This is my favorite part, though. See, Elijah knew from the very outset that God had commanded the widow woman to take care of him. So he never had any doubts that the situation would work out harmoniously; God was speaking both to him and to the woman. That's kind of like a practitioner knowing from the outset that the patient is receptive and is, essentially, already well--just based on the fact that the patient was willing to contact him/her for help. And what exactly did Elijah do? He just shared something he already knew--that supply is of God, Spirit, and not subject to material limitation. Elijah understood that really well; the widow woman was ready to understand it...Bada bing, bada boom: healing! Elijah didn't do anything to the woman, but simply responded to her receptivity as he was led by God to do.
...And his needs were met, too. But Elijah never had any doubt that that would be the case, because he knew God was in charge of the whooooole thing. :)
So, was Elijah a prophet or a Christian Science practitioner? I'm not sure I see the difference. :)
"PROPHET. A spiritual seer; disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth." --Mary Baker Eddy, from the glossary of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.
First of all, when Elijah received the intuition about the drought, he just told it like it was to king Ahab--pretty bold! To me, this is similar to a Christian Science practitioner speaking an absolute truth, when impelled by God to do so. It can take a certain boldness to declare something that may not make sense to the material senses.
Then, Elijah received another intuition of where to go during the drought, and that God had commanded a widow woman to feed him. When Elijah saw her, he first requested a drink of water. Now in a drought, that request might have been met with some hesitation, but the woman didn't hesitate. After all, the water likely came from a public well, and wasn't something the woman would have felt a sense of personal responsibility for or ownership of. And this might be seen as Elijah gently approaching, gently preparing to introduce a new thought. So, unlike earlier with the king, this situation called for gentleness, not boldness. Elijah was always listening to know not only what to say, but how to say it, just like a practitioner.
Then, once Elijah sees that she is receptive, once she's already going to fetch him some water, then he asks the tougher question--he asks her for a morsel--just a little bite--of bread. Now that was something she'd feel personal responsibility for, but even so, she's ready to give Elijah some--only she doesn't have any. She barely has any ingredients to make any. In fact, she was ready to use the last of what she had, and then eat it and die. This is like the work of a practitioner identifying a false belief to be corrected. Here, perhaps, Elijah identified the woman's false sense that supply is material and therefore limited, and beyond God's control. He also saw that the false belief was at its extremity, and therefore ripe for destruction.
Then Elijah tells her to do as he asked, and that her supply of meal and oil would not run out. And as she is obedient, she finds that what Elijah said was true. The healing was the change in the woman's thought, and the natural fruit of that deeper, clearer understanding of supply was that she had enough food for herself and her household.
This is my favorite part, though. See, Elijah knew from the very outset that God had commanded the widow woman to take care of him. So he never had any doubts that the situation would work out harmoniously; God was speaking both to him and to the woman. That's kind of like a practitioner knowing from the outset that the patient is receptive and is, essentially, already well--just based on the fact that the patient was willing to contact him/her for help. And what exactly did Elijah do? He just shared something he already knew--that supply is of God, Spirit, and not subject to material limitation. Elijah understood that really well; the widow woman was ready to understand it...Bada bing, bada boom: healing! Elijah didn't do anything to the woman, but simply responded to her receptivity as he was led by God to do.
...And his needs were met, too. But Elijah never had any doubt that that would be the case, because he knew God was in charge of the whooooole thing. :)
So, was Elijah a prophet or a Christian Science practitioner? I'm not sure I see the difference. :)
"PROPHET. A spiritual seer; disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth." --Mary Baker Eddy, from the glossary of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
An Illustration of How Christian Science Healing Works...
As I was considering my public healing practice, I realized that a confidence in what I was doing--really in God's control of what goes on--was something I needed to give some thought to. And a cute little incident in the grocery store yielded a helpful insight.
It was almost the Fourth of July, and I needed (or thought I needed) a container to use to take some food over to my parents' house for their annual celebration. As I was taking in all the options available, I heard a voice behind me ask, "Are those BPA free?" The most loving thing to do seemed to be to look at the packaging and find an answer for my fellow shopper, although it hadn't been anything I'd been considering. So I turned and told the lady who asked that, in fact, the container I was looking at was BPA free. Then she gruffly muttered something to the effect of, "I feel like you get cancer just walking into a store."
Now, that thought disarmed me. It needed correcting. So while I turned back to face the plastic containers, in my mind I was scrambling for some helpful truth to share, something to lift thought above a sense of matter and material law to divine Spirit, God, and the spiritual facts of the universe. That was my job as a Christian healer, right?
As it turned out, this lady, with her cart stuffed to the brim in apparently haphazard fashion (her egg carton was at an impossible angle up against the cart's side), also thought more needed to be said. She gave me instructions to buy that sort of item at Wal-Mart because it was cheaper, but that she lived nearby, so that's why it would make sense for her to buy those at the grocery store, but not me. (Obviously, she didn't know that I lived right near the grocery store, too.) I thanked her for the advice, since I know she was just trying to be helpful, and quickly ducked into another aisle...without a plastic container.
As the day went on, I kept thinking about the incident, and realized I needed to deal with it, not just roll it over and over in my mind. Finally, as I was driving somewhere, I just asked God, "Okay, so what can I learn from this?" And like lightning, an answer came:
"You're not fixing people or things; you're always just correcting your own thought."
Right away, I was grateful for that instant response--almost like God had been doing the Jeopardy song the whole time waiting for me to be ready and ask! And then I thought about what it meant.
First, it meant that there was nothing wrong with the lady in the grocery store, despite some judgments I had made about her. I didn't need to set her straight, so to speak, because God had already made her perfect like Him. (See Genesis 1:26, 31). My job is just to see that, not to make it so.
Second, it meant that no matter what "problem" I came into contact with, the only place I was dealing with it, was in my thought. I could know and understand truths about God and His creation, and that would always correct the false picture the material senses were advocating. Kind of like understanding that the earth is spherical would prevent a sailor from believing he was about to sail off the edge of the world.
Third, it meant that every problem was healable! Because I've turned to God countless times for the right thought or feeling to correct a wrong one...and every time God has supplied that thought or idea! My thought has been uplifted like this so many times, and so reliably, that I just knew that I would be able to heal when asked to.
Because that's really what Christian Science healing is--it's understanding the truth, which naturally displaces the lie, and then enables us to see the harmony that's been there all along. Just like with the sailor.
Finally, this incident helped me see something of the nature of error, or mistakes about God's creation. One way to look at them is as temptation, a temptation to believe in something God didn't make. Just like the serpent in Genesis, these temptations look for their way in, then try to do some damage parading as our own thought if we let them in. And that was how the conversation with the lady in the grocery store went. Once I engaged with her, she had a LOT to say--and absolutely zero inhibition about saying it!
I could've stuck around to listen, but thankfully, I "agreed with my adversary quickly" (see Matthew 5:25) and scooted on out of her way, symbolizing my choice not to entertain thoughts I knew weren't true. Because, like the lady not knowing that I lived close to the grocery store, error just doesn't make any sense either. Of course, because I had engaged just that little bit, there was a mistaken thought to correct. It was corrected as I realized what my responsibility is in healing, not to fix anything or anyone, but to be quiet and listen--because God is already sending every thought I need.
So that was the healing here: a wrong sense of my job as a healer being corrected by the true sense. Entirely in thought. Immediately effective. Amen! :-)
"But He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? and what His soul desireth, even that He doeth. For He performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with Him." Job 23:13,14
It was almost the Fourth of July, and I needed (or thought I needed) a container to use to take some food over to my parents' house for their annual celebration. As I was taking in all the options available, I heard a voice behind me ask, "Are those BPA free?" The most loving thing to do seemed to be to look at the packaging and find an answer for my fellow shopper, although it hadn't been anything I'd been considering. So I turned and told the lady who asked that, in fact, the container I was looking at was BPA free. Then she gruffly muttered something to the effect of, "I feel like you get cancer just walking into a store."
Now, that thought disarmed me. It needed correcting. So while I turned back to face the plastic containers, in my mind I was scrambling for some helpful truth to share, something to lift thought above a sense of matter and material law to divine Spirit, God, and the spiritual facts of the universe. That was my job as a Christian healer, right?
As it turned out, this lady, with her cart stuffed to the brim in apparently haphazard fashion (her egg carton was at an impossible angle up against the cart's side), also thought more needed to be said. She gave me instructions to buy that sort of item at Wal-Mart because it was cheaper, but that she lived nearby, so that's why it would make sense for her to buy those at the grocery store, but not me. (Obviously, she didn't know that I lived right near the grocery store, too.) I thanked her for the advice, since I know she was just trying to be helpful, and quickly ducked into another aisle...without a plastic container.
As the day went on, I kept thinking about the incident, and realized I needed to deal with it, not just roll it over and over in my mind. Finally, as I was driving somewhere, I just asked God, "Okay, so what can I learn from this?" And like lightning, an answer came:
"You're not fixing people or things; you're always just correcting your own thought."
Right away, I was grateful for that instant response--almost like God had been doing the Jeopardy song the whole time waiting for me to be ready and ask! And then I thought about what it meant.
First, it meant that there was nothing wrong with the lady in the grocery store, despite some judgments I had made about her. I didn't need to set her straight, so to speak, because God had already made her perfect like Him. (See Genesis 1:26, 31). My job is just to see that, not to make it so.
Second, it meant that no matter what "problem" I came into contact with, the only place I was dealing with it, was in my thought. I could know and understand truths about God and His creation, and that would always correct the false picture the material senses were advocating. Kind of like understanding that the earth is spherical would prevent a sailor from believing he was about to sail off the edge of the world.
Third, it meant that every problem was healable! Because I've turned to God countless times for the right thought or feeling to correct a wrong one...and every time God has supplied that thought or idea! My thought has been uplifted like this so many times, and so reliably, that I just knew that I would be able to heal when asked to.
Because that's really what Christian Science healing is--it's understanding the truth, which naturally displaces the lie, and then enables us to see the harmony that's been there all along. Just like with the sailor.
Finally, this incident helped me see something of the nature of error, or mistakes about God's creation. One way to look at them is as temptation, a temptation to believe in something God didn't make. Just like the serpent in Genesis, these temptations look for their way in, then try to do some damage parading as our own thought if we let them in. And that was how the conversation with the lady in the grocery store went. Once I engaged with her, she had a LOT to say--and absolutely zero inhibition about saying it!
I could've stuck around to listen, but thankfully, I "agreed with my adversary quickly" (see Matthew 5:25) and scooted on out of her way, symbolizing my choice not to entertain thoughts I knew weren't true. Because, like the lady not knowing that I lived close to the grocery store, error just doesn't make any sense either. Of course, because I had engaged just that little bit, there was a mistaken thought to correct. It was corrected as I realized what my responsibility is in healing, not to fix anything or anyone, but to be quiet and listen--because God is already sending every thought I need.
So that was the healing here: a wrong sense of my job as a healer being corrected by the true sense. Entirely in thought. Immediately effective. Amen! :-)
"But He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? and what His soul desireth, even that He doeth. For He performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with Him." Job 23:13,14
Friday, July 2, 2010
Traffic and Travel Turmoil Evaporated!
Just a couple days ago, I was returning home after visiting my grandma, who lives about six hours from where I do. I had hoped to get an early start because afternoon traffic where I live can be a bit hectic, and I really didn't want to be mixed up in it. However, as I approached the final leg of the trip, it appeared I would be arriving right smack dab in the middle of rush hour.
I called my dad to let him know, since he would be helping me unload something when I got home, and he recommended an alternate route, the one he normally took. I thanked him and told him I would think about that option. What I meant was that I would pray, listen for God's guidance, to see whether that was indeed the best option.
However, despite my best intentions, I never actually made the effort to quiet my thought. And I certainly didn't feel the calm I knew came along with listening for and hearing God's inspiration. Instead, after filling up with gas, I somewhat willfully decided to take my dad's advice and charged ahead into unfamiliar territory, with the GPS as my back-up guide.
At first I wasn't too happy about all the traffic lights--since there would have been basically none on the route I usually took--but the GPS said I'd be getting home a half an hour earlier than I had planned, so I stuck with it. Then, at probably the sixth or seventh red light, as I looked at the GPS, I realized that it wasn't set for daylight savings time...so I would actually be getting home half an hour later than if I had taken the other route.
That's when things got unpleasant. I felt so trapped! I was too far from my normal route for it to make any sense to backtrack. And I had no idea how many more traffic lights I was going to be in for! I blamed myself. I blamed my dad. I blamed my sweet grandma who I just couldn't stand to leave any earlier than I had.
Then I saw a sign for a landmark I normally passed and abruptly decided to head that way. Now, this road was gorgeous--rural and curvy, with all kinds of pretty scenery. Exactly the type I like to drive on. But I was so concerned about making good time, that instead of enjoying it, all I could think about was the guy in front of me driving below the speed limit, and how irritating it was that I never had the opportunity to pass him.
So, because I've made it a practice to recognize these negative types of thought as mistaken views of what's really going on, during this whole time, underneath the loud, irritated thoughts, my heart was quietly reaching out to God, knowing that I didn't have to indulge the negative thoughts. Not only did they make no sense (like blaming my dad because he suggested the route), but, in fact, they actually weren't my thoughts at all, because they were not how God was viewing the situation, and all my thoughts had to come from Him. I recognized this, but I wasn't yet seeing it in my experience.
And that's when Paul Simon started singing.
You know how couples sometimes have a song? Or friends have special songs to commemorate special events? Well, God and I have a song, and it's "Father and Daughter" by Paul Simon. The first words essentially say, if you wake up in the middle of a bad dream, and for a second can't remember where you are. My thought became very quiet. I was humbled. I said aloud, "This is exactly like a bad dream." And I realized that I had forgotten where I was--I was right in God's care, in His presence, because He, Spirit, was everywhere. And for the first time in the experience, I was ready to hear what God had to say, to see the harmony He was seeing. No sooner had my thought changed that way, than I came upon the road I normally took, just from the opposite direction. So from then on, I followed my normal route, and didn't even encounter any back-ups where I had anticipated them--AND I actually arrived home at the same time I'd originally predicted!
It was almost as if the whole unpleasant incident had been erased. In fact, it had--the unpleasant part--but I definitely gained some deeper insights into the way God and man relate to one another:
One was that we always need to follow our spiritual gut, i.e., our spiritual intuition about what's best to do, even in a seemingly non-life-changing event. As I looked back, I realized it had felt right all along to go the normal way. So all along, God was telling me what to do--I just wasn't listening!
Which leads into the next insight--God is always guiding us. The ideas we need--the right thoughts and right feelings, the practical guidance--are always knocking at the door of our thought, so to speak. But if we let the volume of a mental complaint stereo get cranked up too high, we can't hear the knock at the door. I had certainly proven that.
Now, those were both things I'd essentially already known. But the third insight was new to me. As it turned out, I had been thinking that I was responsible for my thought. That it was up to me to make the situation better by listening to God. But God is always in charge. Not only is He our divine Parent, our Father who shelters and cares for us like the dad in the Paul Simon song, but He is divine Love itself. Because Love is perfect, He has already seen to every need we have, meeting it perfectly.
And here's where I'll mention something I didn't earlier. That Paul Simon song was one of 383 songs in a playlist on my iPod, and I had it on shuffle. I had no way of knowing when that song would come up. But it did come up, not just at the moment that I needed it, but at the moment that I was ready to benefit from its message. I didn't do that. God did. So He not only sent me the thought and feeling I needed, but did it in such a way that it broke through the hypnotism of the negative thoughts. They simply evaporated when the sense of God's deep and special love for me came to consciousness. It's something so precious that my words don't really do it justice. But it's something that you and I always have the opportunity to prove.
God, Love, is always in the details of our lives. We are always with Him.
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. --Jeremiah 23:24
I called my dad to let him know, since he would be helping me unload something when I got home, and he recommended an alternate route, the one he normally took. I thanked him and told him I would think about that option. What I meant was that I would pray, listen for God's guidance, to see whether that was indeed the best option.
However, despite my best intentions, I never actually made the effort to quiet my thought. And I certainly didn't feel the calm I knew came along with listening for and hearing God's inspiration. Instead, after filling up with gas, I somewhat willfully decided to take my dad's advice and charged ahead into unfamiliar territory, with the GPS as my back-up guide.
At first I wasn't too happy about all the traffic lights--since there would have been basically none on the route I usually took--but the GPS said I'd be getting home a half an hour earlier than I had planned, so I stuck with it. Then, at probably the sixth or seventh red light, as I looked at the GPS, I realized that it wasn't set for daylight savings time...so I would actually be getting home half an hour later than if I had taken the other route.
That's when things got unpleasant. I felt so trapped! I was too far from my normal route for it to make any sense to backtrack. And I had no idea how many more traffic lights I was going to be in for! I blamed myself. I blamed my dad. I blamed my sweet grandma who I just couldn't stand to leave any earlier than I had.
Then I saw a sign for a landmark I normally passed and abruptly decided to head that way. Now, this road was gorgeous--rural and curvy, with all kinds of pretty scenery. Exactly the type I like to drive on. But I was so concerned about making good time, that instead of enjoying it, all I could think about was the guy in front of me driving below the speed limit, and how irritating it was that I never had the opportunity to pass him.
So, because I've made it a practice to recognize these negative types of thought as mistaken views of what's really going on, during this whole time, underneath the loud, irritated thoughts, my heart was quietly reaching out to God, knowing that I didn't have to indulge the negative thoughts. Not only did they make no sense (like blaming my dad because he suggested the route), but, in fact, they actually weren't my thoughts at all, because they were not how God was viewing the situation, and all my thoughts had to come from Him. I recognized this, but I wasn't yet seeing it in my experience.
And that's when Paul Simon started singing.
You know how couples sometimes have a song? Or friends have special songs to commemorate special events? Well, God and I have a song, and it's "Father and Daughter" by Paul Simon. The first words essentially say, if you wake up in the middle of a bad dream, and for a second can't remember where you are. My thought became very quiet. I was humbled. I said aloud, "This is exactly like a bad dream." And I realized that I had forgotten where I was--I was right in God's care, in His presence, because He, Spirit, was everywhere. And for the first time in the experience, I was ready to hear what God had to say, to see the harmony He was seeing. No sooner had my thought changed that way, than I came upon the road I normally took, just from the opposite direction. So from then on, I followed my normal route, and didn't even encounter any back-ups where I had anticipated them--AND I actually arrived home at the same time I'd originally predicted!
It was almost as if the whole unpleasant incident had been erased. In fact, it had--the unpleasant part--but I definitely gained some deeper insights into the way God and man relate to one another:
One was that we always need to follow our spiritual gut, i.e., our spiritual intuition about what's best to do, even in a seemingly non-life-changing event. As I looked back, I realized it had felt right all along to go the normal way. So all along, God was telling me what to do--I just wasn't listening!
Which leads into the next insight--God is always guiding us. The ideas we need--the right thoughts and right feelings, the practical guidance--are always knocking at the door of our thought, so to speak. But if we let the volume of a mental complaint stereo get cranked up too high, we can't hear the knock at the door. I had certainly proven that.
Now, those were both things I'd essentially already known. But the third insight was new to me. As it turned out, I had been thinking that I was responsible for my thought. That it was up to me to make the situation better by listening to God. But God is always in charge. Not only is He our divine Parent, our Father who shelters and cares for us like the dad in the Paul Simon song, but He is divine Love itself. Because Love is perfect, He has already seen to every need we have, meeting it perfectly.
And here's where I'll mention something I didn't earlier. That Paul Simon song was one of 383 songs in a playlist on my iPod, and I had it on shuffle. I had no way of knowing when that song would come up. But it did come up, not just at the moment that I needed it, but at the moment that I was ready to benefit from its message. I didn't do that. God did. So He not only sent me the thought and feeling I needed, but did it in such a way that it broke through the hypnotism of the negative thoughts. They simply evaporated when the sense of God's deep and special love for me came to consciousness. It's something so precious that my words don't really do it justice. But it's something that you and I always have the opportunity to prove.
God, Love, is always in the details of our lives. We are always with Him.
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord. --Jeremiah 23:24
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)