God Gives Us Opportunities to Correct Mistakes and Misunderstandings

 

Do you wish you had an opportunity to correct a mistake or misunderstanding?  Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian writer and healer, assures us that God will give us this opportunity.  She writes in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

“Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil.”

I learned this one summer when I was working on the staff of a camp.  One evening, I was leading a meeting and a camper was being disruptive.  I said something to quiet him and he immediately corrected his behavior.  I had meant my words to be light and funny, but later that night I overheard another camper say to him, “He sure was angry with you when he spoke to you!”

Obviously, the words I’d used to this camper hadn’t come across the way that I had intended.  I wanted to correct this misunderstanding, but how?  Recalling the statement above by Eddy, I examined my motives and feelings about this incident and the camper.  I also took the directive to “know thyself” to a spiritual level and acknowledged that both the camper and I were God’s creation, animated and directed by God’s wisdom.

The next morning, I had a brief, unexpected encounter alone with this camper.  At first, I was inclined not to say anything about our exchange the previous night, thinking that I should just let it go.  But, remembering Eddy’s statement, I recognized that God was now supplying the opportunity to correct any potential misunderstanding.  

“Hey”, I said, “You knew I was kidding you last night, didn’t you?”  “I thought you were”, he replied, with a sheepish smile, “but, I’m glad you confirmed it.”  And with that simple exchange the victory over misunderstanding was won.

You can learn more about the help God gives you in Eddy's book.  Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures can be read online, purchased from any major bookseller, or read, borrowed or purchases at any Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

 

Man's Unbroken Being

 

I played football in college.  During a scrimmage, I apparently broke my ankle.  I couldn’t walk and my foot was at a ninety-degree angle from its normal position.  Instead of having it set by a medical doctor, I called a Christian Science Practitioner to pray with me for healing.  The practitioner pointed out to me this statement from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by MaryBaker Eddy:

“The divine Science of man is woven into one web of consistency without seam or rent.”

Ten or twenty minutes after speaking with the practitioner, as I quietly contemplated this truth about my spiritual identity, I felt movement in my ankle.  I looked and saw that it had returned to its normal position.  I used crutches to get around for about a week and within two weeks I returned to practice with the team.  After about a month, I continued to play football and not only did I not have any further problems with this ankle, but the ankle was actually stronger than it had ever been before.

You can find healing ideas for yourself in Eddy's book.   Read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online, purchase it from any major book seller, or read, borrow or buy a copy at a Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

"All is Infinite Mind and its Infinite Manifestation"

 

After I put my condominium up for sale, an unusually long time passed with little interest shown by buyers.  As a Christian, I was trusting God to direct every aspect of my life, including this sale.  Why wasn’t there any buying activity?  In praying about this, my attention was draw to a statement by Mary Baker Eddy in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  She wrote:

"All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all"

If this is true, I reasoned, then this isn’t a case of a human with a physical structure to sell needing another human to buy it.  Instead, this condominium must be a manifestation or expression of the divine Mind, God.  Because God is perfect good, as an expression of God, the condominium must include qualities of home such as utility, beauty, security.  The divine Mind wouldn’t conceive of an incomplete idea that had no purpose in His creation.  With this new insight, my prayers changed from asking God to send me a seller to confident trust that this condominium was part of a God’s divine plan and that its purpose and ownership would be directed according to God’s design.

Soon, a neighbor called to ask if I would consider renting for a couple of months to his adult son who was starting a new business and needed a place to work from.  I knew this young man and his family and I was delighted to help out.  Due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, including a statewide lockdown in response to the Covid pandemic, his two months of occupancy turned into 10 months.  The family was blessed by having the young man nearby when a crisis occurred.  I was blessed by having someone clean and maintain the unit as well as receiving some income to cover expenses.

Just a few weeks after the young man told me that he was ready to move on, I received an offer to purchase the property.  The sale closed two weeks after the young man left.  I am grateful that the property sold and to have been able to provide a temporary home to this young man, but most of all, I am grateful to have this lesson that “All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation”.

"Realizing" the Truth Brings Healing

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. 

Finding Blessing in What Appears to be a Thorny Situation

Recently, a business situation that I thought had been resolved a couple of years ago, came undone and needed re-working.  The day I learned of this situation, I had been contemplating an arresting statement in the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy:

"Divine Mind is the only cause or Principle of existence"

"Hrrumph!", I thought when I learned of the business problem, "If God [the Divine Mind] is really the only cause, why do these problems come up?"  I was frustrated and almost doubtful that statement was true for me at that moment.  But then I thought, "If that statement is true, I should stop feeling annoyed and be alert to understand and witness what God is working to accomplish." 

This new perspective replaced my frustration with a sense of calm expectancy.  I knew that God, Mind, was only capable of doing good and blessing His creation.  So if God was the only cause, the only result could be a blessing. I mentally put the problem in God's hands and was actually curious to see how God was going to resolve the situation.  Within a day I was led to take some steps in a new direction that unexpectedly and quickly solved everything.  Even better, the new solution left me in a better position than I had been in before the problem came up!  The thorny situation proved to be a blessing!

You can learn more about God's identity as the Divine Mind in Eddy's book.  Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures can be read online or purchased from major book sellers.  The book can also be read, borrowed or purchased at any Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

Responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Pandemic!  These are frightening times and people are struggling to cope.  How can an individual respond to the Coronavirus pandemic?  Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian healer, spiritual thinker and discoverer of Christian Science has a unique explanation for world crises in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  She writes:

“This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace. The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. ...”

Breaking up of material beliefs?  The nothingness of pestilence, want and woe?  These assertions might seem fantastic, except for one thing – Eddy proved them by hundreds of healings (See Mary Baker Eddy: Christian Healer by Yvonne Cache von Fettweis and Robert Warneck) and she was merely following the example of the all-time master-healer Christ Jesus (see The Bible).

So beyond providing practical care for those effected by the virus, what can an individual do in these times of turmoil?  In her book, Eddy advises:

“… those who discern Christian Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in the ejection of error. They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection.”

You can learn more about Christian Science in Eddy’s book.  Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures can be read online, bought at any major bookseller, or read, borrowed or purchased at a Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

Discovering a Basis for Loving Others

I was angry!  The teaching assistant (TA) in my digital electronics lab had refused to pass my project because of what I considered to be an obscure flaw in its operation.  This TA had a reputation for being persnickety and hard-nosed.  Many of the students in the class (including me) avoided her and made it our strategy to take our work for approval to other TAs who seemed to be more lenient and supportive.  However, this TA had been the only one in the lab that day and I had been certain my work was correct.

As I walked home stewing about this, I began to see the situation from a new perspective.  I didn't want to produce imperfect or inferior products in my career, nor did I want to be sloppy or lazy about my work.  This TA was training me to exercise care and strive for perfection.  I realized that rather than being at odds with each other, we shared the same underlying motivation - the divine impulse to do right and good in everything we did.  This benevolent divine influence is present in everyone, even when it seems hidden and we seem to be working in opposite directions.  My anger was extinguished by this insight and I was able to figure out how to modify my project to work correctly.  The next day, I took my work back to the same TA and it was approved.  From then on, I appreciated this TA and did not avoid having her inspect my work.  At the end of the year, when I turned in my final project, she approved it without examining it and explained: "I don't need to check your work, because you wouldn't turn it in unless it was well done."

This turn-around in our relationship is explained by a statement from the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.  Eddy wrote:

"When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded; whereas a belief in many ruling minds hinders man's normal drift towards the one Mind, on God, and leads human thought into opposite channels where selfishness reigns."

You can learn more loving those that seem to oppose you 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 it at a local Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane. 

Consciousness Constructs a Better Body

Recently, I was bicycling in the mountains of Colorado.  The very first part of the ride involved a long downhill and then another steep curvy hill.  I became concerned because I would be riding for several hours and I wasn't looking forward to the return ride back up these two hills at the end of the trip.  As I started to appreciate how absolutely beautiful the scenery was on this ride, my thought turned to a statement by the writer and Christian healer, Mary Baker Eddy.  In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she states:

"Consciousness constructs a better body when faith in matter has been conquered."

I began to challenge myself about what was in my consciousness.  Was I thinking that my body was getting older and thus not able to make this return climb?  Was I already concluding that I would be too tired to finish this ride?  What became clear to me was that my fear was based on my thinking that I had this material body that might not be up to the challenge.

As I became more inspired by the beauty around me, I started to think more deeply about another statement in Eddy's book:

"There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter.  All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all." 

I felt invigorated by the idea that matter was not the substance of my being.  My consciousness became filled with the presence of God, good, not with fear or anxiousness.  What was totally surprising to me was how easily the end of the bicycle ride was.  In fact, I couldn't believe that I was at the top of the last hill because it had just been an enjoyable, easy climb!

You too can construct a better body by conquering faith in matter!  Read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it at major book sellers.  You can also read, borrow or purchase the book at the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado.

Mastery Over Matter

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, a book written by Christian healer, Mary Baker Eddy, contains this remarkable statement:

"In proportion as matter loses to human sense all entity as man, in that proportion does man become its master."

Could this be true?  My experience has convinced me that it is!  To give one example:  One time while camping in the Trinity Alps of California, I was digging a latrine for our campsite and, foolishly, I was wearing only sandals.  In my carelessness, I struck one of my big toes with the spade I was digging with.  As you might think, the pain was extreme and the evidence of injury convincing.  But just previous to this incident, I had been contemplating the above statement by Eddy.  As I turned my thoughts to what Science and Health explains is the real entity of man - spiritual, made in God's image and likeness - the pain and bleeding completely ceased.  I found that I could walk freely and the next day I easily hiked several rugged miles to a beautiful, remote waterfall.

You can find out more about the real entity of man by reading Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  The book can be read online, purchased from major booksellers, or read, borrowed or purchased at a Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

God Knows Our Needs Before We Ask

The red flashing light on the pump controller for my home water well appeared to indicate trouble.  I had no idea what the problem was - a jammed impeller?,  a pump failure?, a dry well?  I read the controller manual and searched for information online, but found no real clues.  It was Sunday, so I would have to conserve water and wait until Monday morning to call a repair man.

Happily, I never had to call!  I start each day by communing with God - praying, acknowledging God's wisdom, and feeling God's presence and love.  As I did this early Monday morning, an explanation for the controller light came spontaneously to my thought.  There was no problem - this was part of the normal operation of the system and I understood the reason for it.  Everything was fine.

Such experiences as this may seem insignificant, but to me they are evidence of a fundamental truth about God and our relationship to God.  Mary Baker Eddy explains in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

"... God knows our need before we tell Him or our fellow-beings about it."

The key is being receptive to and recognizing what God is telling us.  My quiet morning prayer had accomplished this without my specifically asking God for help!

To learn more about God and how to listen for what God is telling you, read or listen to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase the book at any Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

"Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?"

We were backpacking in a wilderness in the Colorado mountains and were miles from a road.  Although it was late May, as it grew late in the day we found ourselves in an area covered by deep snow - and it was snowing!  However, I wasn't worried. The Bible contains many examples of God providing for man's needs and these examples are relevant to us today.  Referring to the Biblical experience of the Children of Israel in the wilderness, Mary Baker Eddy comments in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

"There is today danger of repeating the offense of the Jews by limiting the Holy One of Israel and asking: 'Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?'  What cannot God do?"

Through my study of the Bible and the spiritual insights about it's stories that I've gained from reading Eddy's book, I've come to trust that God can do anything - even furnish a table in the wilderness.  As we looked around for a suitable place to camp, we came across a sign that said "Shelter".  Walking a short distance in the direction the sign pointed, we found, not just a table in the wilderness, but an entire shelter with walls and a roof!  Thank you, God!

Do you want to find out more about how God provides for your needs?  You can read or listen to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from major booksellers.  The book can also be read, borrowed or purchased at any Christian Science Reading Room, including the one in Evergreen, Colorado at 4602 Plettner Lane.

One Mind Knows All

We were collecting oriented samples of coal for a scientific study.  To mark the top of the sample, we sprayed it with paint from a spray can.  I was wrapping samples in the truck when I looked up and saw my two colleagues by the coal bed looking at the ground.  They said the nozzle of the spray can had fallen off into a large pile of coal.  The nozzle was very small and black.  We could not spray the paint without it.  What to do?

I had been reading the book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.  In this book, Eddy explains an important concept about God – that God is the only Mind, the all-knowing intelligence of the universe.  She writes:

“The spiritually unscientific definition of mind is based on the evidence of the physical senses, which makes minds many and calls mind both human and divine.  In Science, Mind is one, including noumenon and phenomena, God and His thoughts.”

It was very clear to me that nothing could be lost to the all-knowing and ever-present Mind.  God knew where everything was at every moment and since man (me) was the thought of God, I could know where the nozzle was.  I then looked at the ground where my colleagues stood.  Without even stooping I spotted the black nozzle!

Want to learn more about the one Mind?  You can read or listen to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from major booksellers.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase this book from any Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

The Influence of [Divine] Thought on Actions

We all recognize that thought influences and directs our own and others actions.  Did you know that there is more than human thought at work and that we can turn to for direction?  Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian writer and healer, explained that there is a divine influence on thought which, when recognized and acknowledged, leads to healing and resolution.  In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she describes this phenomenon as:

"...a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself, coming now as was promised aforetime, 'To preach deliverance to the captives [of sense], And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised.'"  

I experienced this divine influence in thought when I was coaching a middle-school soccer team.  At one practice a player accidentally kicked a teammate and a fight broke out between the two players.  I separated them, telling one to go sit on the bench while I tried to calm the other.  This boy was so angry I had to physically restrain him from going after his teammate.  I gave him the usual coaching talk of how it was an accident and that we had to get along with our teammates, etc, etc.  This did not calm the situation at all.  The player kept struggling and saying “I want to fight him!”

Then, I remembered Eddy's statement about the divine influence ever present in human consciousness.  Simply by acknowledging this influence, I found myself saying to the player, “I know you’re brave enough to fight him.  But I think that you are even braver than that.  I think that you are brave enough to walk over to him, shake his hand, and tell him that you are sorry that this incident occurred.”  At this point, the influence of the divine thought on this boy became apparent as well.  He stopped struggling, looked at me in surprise, and then walked over and did just as I suggested.  The incident was over.

You can learn more about this divine influence on thought in Eddy's book.  Read or listen to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it at major booksellers.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase the book at any Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

A Spiritual Basis for Loving Your Neighbor

One of the well-known instructions in The Bible is to "love your neighbor as yourself".  This is often easier said than done, especially if we think of our "neighbor" in broad terms as all of our fellow men.  Many of our neighbors can seem quite unlovable!  How are we to obey this command?

Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian author and healer, shed some light on this topic in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures where she wrote:

"To love one's neighbor as one's self, is a divine idea, but this idea can never be seen, felt, nor understood through the physical senses."

"When we realize that there is one Mind, the divine law of loving our neighbor as ourselves is unfolded;..."

In this second statement, "Mind" is a synonym that Eddy uses for God to convey the intelligence and wisdom inherent in God's creating and governing activity.  As I've studied Eddy's book, I've come to understand that this command is not about how much to love your neighbor (e.g. as much as you love yourself), but how and why to love your neighbor - as yourself because you are closely related through your relationship with God.  To the physical senses, we are all individual beings that are often in conflict, but to spiritual sense we are all ideas of God made, as The Bible says, "in His image and likeness."  Remembering this fact, even if we can't seem to discern it at the moment through the physical senses, enables us to follow The Bible's instruction and genuinely love others.

Recently, I was standing in a crowd at an airport baggage carousel waiting for my luggage.  The lady next to me had a backpack on and was speaking a foreign language to her companion.  She had her back toward me and, oblivious to my presence, kept swinging her backpack into me.  Because of the physical sense evidence - I couldn't understand her words or see her face and I was getting pushed aside - I didn't at first feel much love toward her.  But remembering the spiritual meaning behind this biblical command, my heart embraced her as a fellow idea of God.  Just then her bag came along the carousel, but because of it's size and weight she was unable to lift it off.  I instinctively grabbed it and placed it by her.  She turned, smiled, and thanked me appreciatively.  The mutual love of one neighbor to another was outwardly expressed!

You can learn more about the spiritual basis for loving your neighbor from Eddy's book.  Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures can be read online, purchased at major book sellers, or read, borrowed, or purchased at the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado.

The Evidence of Spiritual Sense

I was recently on a cruise in the Galapagos Islands when my tooth began aching.  The next day it was worse.  This didn't seem to be going well and there was no way to visit a dentist.  What could I do?

I've learned from reading the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, that the evidence presented to us by the material senses (in this case my tooth) can yield to a spiritual sense of God's goodness that is ever at hand.  Eddy writes:

"When the evidence before the material sense yielded to spiritual sense, the apostle declared that nothing could alienate him from God, from the sweet sense and presence of Life and Truth."

I made it a point every time my attention was drawn to my toothache, to counter this evidence of material sense with a spiritual fact that I had learned about God and man from Eddy's book.  Soon the toothache ceased and I had no further problems the rest of the trip.

God's goodness can be discerned and experienced by anyone.  You can develop your spiritual sense of this goodness by reading Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  The book can be read online or purchased from major booksellers.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase the book at the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado.

Responding with Prayer When Help is Needed

I was sitting in an aisle seat on a cross-country plane flight, when the flight attendant knelt beside me and said “We need your help with a medical emergency”.  I almost jumped out of my seat, but then realized the attendant was talking to the person behind me, who apparently was a physician.  The two of them went forward in the plane.  I had no idea of what was happening, but I felt called upon to respond in my own way – with prayer.

How can one pray effectively for others?  Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian healer, wrote in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

“... be thoroughly persuaded in your own mind concerning the truth which you think or speak, and you will be the victor.”

The thoughts that were coming to me at that moment to pray about were 1) that help was very far away and 2) that life was threatened.  The truths I countered these fears with were 1) that God is a very present help in trouble and 2) that, as the Bible says, God is Life.  God and God’s creation certainly couldn’t be threatened.  I contemplated these ideas until I felt “thoroughly persuaded in my own mind” of their truth and was at peace about the situation.

In the meantime, while I was praying in this way, the plane was making an emergency landing.  When we got to the terminal, I saw the physician and a woman get up from seats about 8 rows in front of me and leave the plane.  Shortly thereafter, the physician returned to his original seat behind me and we took off.

After we were in the air again, the flight attendant returned and asked the physician, “What was the problem?”  “I don’t know”, he replied.  He then explained that when he got to her, the woman was unconscious, not breathing, and had no pulse or blood pressure.  “But then”, he said, “it was like a switch was flipped – she regained consciousness and all her signs were normal!  She will be fine!”

Do you want to add your prayerful support to situations?  Learn and be thoroughly persuaded of spiritual truths from Eddy’s book, Science and Health with key to the Scriptures.  You can read this book online or read, borrow, or purchase this book at any Christian Science Reading Room, including the one in Evergreen, Colorado.

Prayerful Protection from Contagious Disease

There is a lot in the news right now about various contagious diseases and the need to take steps to protect ourselves and our families.  While many choose to protect themselves through vaccinations, eating certain foods, or simply avoiding contact with others, I have found prayer to be an effective defense against contagious disease.  Through prayer alone, I and my family have experienced quick healings of scarlet fever, measles, influenza and instantaneous healings of colds and sore throats, as well as numerous occasions of exposure to contagion with no ill effects whatsoever.

Is prayer a dependable form of protection?  It is if you pray correctly!  Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian healer and author, wrote in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

“The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God — a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love."

“But”, you say, “How do I develop an absolute faith in God?”  Is it simply blind faith?  No! - look carefully at Eddy’s statement.  The long dash (also called an Em dash) after “God”, indicates that an amplification or explanation follows.  So an absolute faith in God isn’t a blind faith, it’s a faith based on two things: a spiritual understanding of God and an unselfed love.

You can learn more about a spiritual understanding God and unselfed love in Eddy’s book.  Read or listen to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from any major bookseller.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase the book at any Christian Science Reading Room.  The Reading Room in Evergreen Colorado is located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

Practicing Self-Forgetfulness Leads to a Harmonious Relationship

Recently, I had to spend three days with a relative that I had had a thorny relationship with. I was concerned about how this time together would come off.  I wanted us all to have a harmonious and happy time.  In preparing for this event, I found guidance and peace in a statement by Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian writer and healer.  In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures she wrote:

"Self-forgetfulness, purity, and affection are constant prayers.  Practice not profession, understanding not belief, gain the ear and right hand of omnipotence and they assuredly call down infinite blessings."

I decided to focus on self-forgetfulness - to understand what this meant and to put it into practice.  The human ego can have a hard time "forgetting" itself and putting others first, but from reading Eddy's book I had a higher sense of what it meant to be self-forgetful.  It wasn't about my human ego struggling to be meek in the presence of another human ego.  Self-forgetfulness meant putting aside the whole notion that we are separate mortal individuals with competing egos and goals for the concept that we are spiritual ideas created by the one divine Mind, a.k.a. God and flowing harmoniously together through life like water in a river.

There were a few occasions during the three days that I had to remind myself to be self-forgetful, but each time I did the task became easier and the entire event went smoothly and happily for everyone involved.

Want to learn more about forgetting the mortal self and your real spiritual self?  You can read or listen to Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from major book sellers.  If you live near Evergreen, Colorado, you can read, borrow, or purchase this book at the Christian Science Reading Room at 4602 Plettner Lane.

Ending Political Deadlock by Acknowledging the One Mind

As the government shutdown over funding for a border wall continues, we might wonder, "Is there is anything that I can do to bring the two sides together?"  Some might suggest calling our political representatives, writing letters to the editor, or joining in protests.  Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian writer and healer, suggested a radical idea in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

"The exterminator of error is the great truth that God, good, is the only Mind, and that the supposititious opposite of infinite Mind - called devil or evil - is not Mind, is not Truth, but error, without intelligence or reality."

Although this spiritual truth may seem nice, but unrelatable to our human situation, in my experience I found that it is a basis for prayer that yields practical results.  To give one example, I was once on a committee to select a contractor to do some work for several government agencies.  The members of the committee had diverse opinions of who and what was needed.  Just prior to our final meeting to select a contractor, I took some time to pray for our work.  Considering Eddy's statement, I affirmed that all members of the committee were governed by this one divine Mind.  This gave me a sense of peace about our meeting.  As we gathered to make our decision, there seemed to be tension and committee members were joking about needing baseball bats.  However, one person suggested that before we have any discussion, we take a secret vote and list our top choice.  To everyone's surprise, we voted unanimously for the same contractor.  The meeting was over in record time!

Let's join in our prayers and affirm this great truth that God, good is the only Mind.  It can have a healing effect!

You can read more healing ideas in Eddy's book.  You can read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it at major book sellers.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase the book at the Christian Science Reading Room at 4602 Plettner Lane in Evergreen, Colorado.

Recognizing the Harmony of Life

It was past nine on a Friday evening and things weren’t going well.  My colleague and I were tasked with getting a large computer system set up and operational on a network in time for business Monday morning.  My colleague had done this work many times before with other systems, but tonight we hadn’t gotten very far in the process and we were stuck.  The computer was not communicating with most of the devices on the network.  The support offices we needed to call for technical assistance were not open over the weekend.

I walked to the other side of the room to clear my thought and listen for inspiration.  We had been working on various aspects of this project for almost a year and had overcome many obstacles.  I was in the habit of turning to prayer for guidance and each time there had been a challenge it had been overcome.  As I thought about these experiences and the good this computer system was intended to accomplish, I felt a calm trust that God, Good wouldn’t bring the project this far and then abandon it.  My recognition that harmonious progress was a natural part of life, assured me that somehow, someway, we would be led to overcome this challenge.

At that point, I looked down at the printer I was standing by.  The printer, one of the only devices the computer would communicate with, had been spewing out paper for several minutes.  As I looked down I saw that the page emerging from the printer had a large heading: “Important – Read This”.  Following the heading was a single sentence that explained that due to an engineering change, we needed to issue a specific command to activate the circuit board in the computer that would communicate with the network.  This page was quickly buried by additional sheets of paper coming out of the printer, but we had our answer!  We were able to move forward and the system was operational on time!

Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian healer and writer pointed out the power in having a calm recognition of the naturalness of good.   In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she writes:

“Let neither fear nor doubt overshadow your clear sense and calm trust, that the recognition of life harmonious- as Life eternally is- can destroy any painful sense of, or belief in, that which Life is not.”

In this sentence, “Life” with a capital “L” is a name Eddy uses for God.  You can learn more about recognizing harmonious life and developing a calm trust in Life from Eddy’s book.  It can be read online, purchased through Amazon, or read, borrowed or purchased from the Christian Science Reading Room at 4602 Plettner Lane in Evergreen, Colorado.