I was stacking rocks into a pile when I accidently set a rock down hard on my finger. The sensation of pain was immediate, but so was my response. I stated to myself emphatically that there was no pain in matter.
Why did I make such an incredible statement and what did I expect to gain from it? In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian writer and healer, states that we can heal physical conditions if we:
"Realize the presence of health and the fact of harmonious being, until the body corresponds to the normal conditions of health and harmony."
Eddy explains in her book that God creates man as spiritual, not material, and that health and harmony, not pain and injury, are the normal conditions of God's creation. Jesus demonstrated this in his healing ministry and he said that those that believed in his teachings could heal as well. By "realizing" the truth of man's harmonious condition, I was not merely repeating empty words. I was consciously understanding and being clearly aware in my thought of man's true God-created condition. The result was that the pain quickly ceased and my finger was not scarred or dis-colored.
You can find a detailed explanation of Christian healing in Eddy's book. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures can be read online, purchased from major booksellers, or read, borrowed or purchased at any Christian Science Reading Room. The Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.