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.

 

"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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Prayer Aids in Finding Car Keys

My car keys were missing!  I had looked everywhere for them with no success.  Then I did what I should have done initially- I prayed.  My prayer centered around an idea I had read in the book Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures.  The author, Mary Baker Eddy wrote:

“God is Mind, and God is infinite; hence all is Mind”

"Everything must be known to the Mind that is God", I reasoned.  This seemed logical and certain.  As I contemplated this, I looked at the floor in my closet and saw my keys.   I had looked repeatedly in the closet, but this time my eyes focused on this one specific spot!  The Mind that is God had directed me where to look!

To learn more about God as Mind you can read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from major booksellers.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase the book at the Christian Science Reading Room at 4602 Plettner Lane in Evergreen, Colorado.

The Source of Blessings

The news reminds us daily of bad things going on in the world.  Good is also going on daily, but that good seems to be reported less frequently and with smaller headlines.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving in America this week and give gratitude for the good we have experienced this past year, take a moment to consider where these blessings came from.  People often ask why bad things happen, but why does good happen?  Is it luck or coincidence?  Is it a result of hard work or family heritage?  Can you count on good continuing to happen?

Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian leader, wrote in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

"Spirit blesses man, but man cannot 'tell whence it cometh'.  By it the sick are healed, the sorrowing are comforted, and the sinning are reformed.  These are the effects of one universal God, the invisible good dwelling in eternal Science."

Eddy's assertion - that good is an effect of "one universal God" (Spirit) that blesses man - points to where we can look for answers to these questions about good.  You can learn more about this God, the nature of good, and how to bring God's blessings into your life from Eddy's book.  Read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from major booksellers.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase the book at the Christian Science Reading Room at 4602 Plettner Lane in Evergreen, Colorado.

Finding Common Ground With Those That Support the Other Party

      I recently met a man that was intelligent, principled, compassionate, and moral, but I was surprised to learn that he was an ardent supporter of a politician whom I thought lacked all of these qualities.  “How could he?” I wondered.  But, to be honest, he probably feels the same way about people who share my position.  Was he blind to what was right... or was I?

 

Although I don’t know which one of us is right (I’m pretty sure I am ☺ ), I found some helpful guidance about how to think about people with opposite views in a statement by Mary Baker Eddy.  

In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she writes:

“Evil is sometimes a man’s highest conception of right, until his grasp on good grows stronger.”

Perhaps “evil” is too strong a word in this instance, but the point is that I realized this man and everyone that I differ with, are supporting their highest concept of right.  I am too!  This awareness helps me to respect those that hold different opinions even if I am vehemently opposed to their position.  My prayer going forward is that we all strengthen our grasp on good.  I’m sure we can all agree on that position!

You can learn more about how to pray that we all strengthen our grasp on good in Eddy’s book.  Read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from major booksellers.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase this book at the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

Your Personal Adviser

Did you ever wish that you had an unfailing, personal adviser with you throughout your day telling you what to say, where to go, what to do, how to act?  You do!

In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian writer and healer, speaks of:

"... a divine influence ever present in human consciousness and repeating itself, coming now as was promised aforetime..."

An experience I had illustrates this divine influence.  It was early morning and I was praying to understand that God directs all our actions.  As I prayed, I heard the beep-beep-beep sound that large trucks make when they are backing up.  It was the day for garbage collection and I figured it was the truck picking up in our neighborhood.  For no reason that I was conscious of, I got up and looked out the window.  It was still dark, but I could see the front of the truck in the street by our neighbor's containers.  Again, for no reason that I was conscious of, I stood there watching.

Suddenly, I realized this wasn't the garbage truck.  We were having our roof replaced and the contractor had told me that a large roll-off dumpster would be delivered and placed by our garage.  This was the delivery, but the dumpster was being placed in the wrong location.  I quickly went outside and corrected the situation.

As I returned to the house, I realized that without my asking or seeking it, I had been directed to aid in the correct placement of this dumpster.  This may seem like an insignificant event, but it is an example of the divine influence for good that is ever present in everyone's lives throughout the day.  We often ignore or overlook this influence, but as Eddy says, it is repeating itself and if we are receptive we will allow ourselves to be guided by it.

You can learn more about the divine influence and how to be receptive to it by reading Eddy's book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  The book can be read online or purchased from Amazon.  You can also read, borrow or purchase the book at the Christian Science Reading Room located at 4602 Plettner Lane in Evergreen, Colorado

Sculpting a Society Free of Sexual Abuse

This year has been full of charges of sexual abuse and scandal.  Seemingly every corner of our society has been involved including church officials, educators, corporate executives, celebrities, and government officials.  It is good that light is being shined on this problem and that justice is being pursued. Is there more that we all can do beyond raising our awareness and supporting the resolution of this issue?  How can we play an active role in eliminating this undesirable attitude and behavior from our society?

I’ve been contemplating a statement made by Mary Baker Eddy in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  She wrote:

“The sculptor turns from the marble to his model in order to perfect his conception.  We are all sculptors, working at various forms, moulding [sic] and chiseling thought. What is the model before mortal mind?  Is it imperfection, joy, sorrow, sin, suffering?  Have you accepted the mortal model?  Are you reproducing it? … Do you not hear from all mankind of the imperfect model?  The world is holding it before your gaze continually.  The result is that you are liable to follow those lower patterns, limit your lifework, and adopt into your experience the angular outline and deformity of matter models.”

Yikes!  I don’t want to be liable to follow these lower patterns or admit this moral deformity into my experience!  Eddy goes on to explain what we should do to prevent this:

“To remedy this, we must first turn our gaze in the right direction, and then walk that way.  We must form perfect models in thought and look at them continually, or we shall never carve them out in grand and noble lives.  Let unselfishness, goodness, mercy, justice, health, holiness, love – the kingdom of heaven – reign within us, and sin, disease, and death will diminish until they finally disappear.”

You can learn more about being a sculpting thought in Eddy’s book.  Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures can be read online or purchased from major booksellers.  You can also read, borrow, or purchase the book from the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado located at 4602 Plettner Lane.

Receptivity of the Heart

I was a physical scientist in my professional career.  I made observations, collected data, formulated and tested hypotheses, drew conclusions, and defended those conclusions based on my data and observations.  This has also been my lifelong approach to discovering, learning about, and experiencing God.  I am realizing, however, that spiritual investigation involves the heart as much as the head.  In her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes:

"The divine Spirit... is revealed to the receptive heart..."

And, speaking of the birth of Jesus as the human manifestation of the Christ (the power of God entering the human experience), Eddy wrote:

"Angels announced to the Wisemen of old this dual appearing, and angels whisper it, through faith, to the hungering heart in every age."

Recently, I was camping in Yosemite National Park.  The area of the park that I was in most of the time had no cell phone reception or Internet connection.  I was cutoff from the rest of the world.  One day, I was in an area for a short time where there was reception, so I turned on my phone to see if I had any important messages.  I found that my daughter had texted me a question just 20 minutes earlier.  I responded to that and then, before I had turned off my phone, an unexpected, but important business call came in.

To scientific reasoning, there is no proof that these timely events were anything but coincidence.  But I have experienced "coincidences" like this repeatedly throughout my life and my heart tells me that these are evidences of God's care and direction in my life.  Thank you God!

Do you want to open your heart to the world of Spirit?  The book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures has many thought-provoking ideas that will speak to your heart as well as your head.  You can read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from Amazon or any major book retailer.  It is also available for sale or study at the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado at 4602 Plettner Lane.

Protecting Our Security and Freedom in a World of 3-d Printing

The current controversy over an individual’s right to publish blue prints online for producing a gun with a 3-d printer raises important questions about issues everyone cherishes – safety and freedom.  While courts, legislatures, and voters all have a role to play in deciding this issue, it’s worth considering the larger question of what ultimately insures our security and freedom.  Can we find real security if changes in technology give anyone ready access to instructions and capabilities for manufacturing guns, bombs, or other destructive devices?  Can we permanently protect our freedom if laws can swing back and forth with each change in political control?  Can we trust our government and our fellow citizens to know and do what is best for our country?

Mary Baker Eddy, in her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures", points out that we can trust in the forces that will ultimately shape our society.  She writes:

“The history of our country, like all history, illustrates the might of Mind, and shows human power to be proportionate to its embodiment of right thinking.”  

In the statement above, Eddy uses the term “Mind” with a capital “M” to refer to the divine Mind – God.  In her writings she explains that although security and freedom can seem precarious or threatened by the swings and extremes of the human mind, these desirable conditions are protected and promoted by God, the divine Mind.  She writes:

“One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfills the Scripture, "Love thy neighbor as thyself"; annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, - whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.” 

You can learn more about the divine Mind and how it protects your security and freedom.  Read "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" online or purchase it at bookstores such as Amazon.  You can also read, borrow or purchase this book at the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado at 4602 Plettner Lane.

Right Motives Give Pinions to Thought

One day, a manager in my organization called me into his office.  He explained that he had promised that some software would be developed to perform a particular task.  This was a new application and no such software had ever been written for this work.  Unfortunately, he explained, the software was due shortly, but the experts in our organization assigned to the task had been unable to write it.  This manager knew that I had some experience in this work and he asked if I would take over the assignment.  I had no immediate idea of how to solve his problem and my common sense told me to not get involved.  I could easily say "No" and walk away, but to my surprise I said "Yes".

Why did I say "Yes" to this request?  I wasn't trying to impress anyone or score points.  I could see that my manager had the right intentions when he promised the work would be done - he was a forward thinker, saw the need for the software, and had great confidence in the people he originally assigned to the task.  For him to report failure would be a missed opportunity to advance our capabilities and potentially embarrassing - not only for him, but for our organization.  I wanted to help.

As I pondered how to solve this problem, I took comfort in a statement from the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.  She wrote:

"Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action."

Pinions are the long feathers on a bird's wings that give it the power to fly.  So this statement is saying that right motives give us the power, inspiration and freedom to think, speak and act.

I didn't feel any sense of panic or pressure and I didn't rush into the work.  At first, I simply sat quietly in my office and waited for ideas to come.  Very shortly the ideas came!  I completed the work in just a couple of weeks - well before the deadline - and everyone was pleased with the results.  My right motives for being involved gave me the wisdom and freedom to think, speak, and act!

You can read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from Amazon or any major book retailer.  It is also available for sale or study at the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado at 4602 Plettner Lane.

The Christ - An Answer for Opiod Drug Addiction?

The drug crisis in our country has been the topic of much discussion in the news.  Rehabilitation and treatment programs, caring and supportive families, medical experts, and law enforcement are all working to free people from the enslaving and often fatal scourge of drug addition.  In many cases these efforts don't seem to be enough.  My experience suggests that something else that can be effective is the Christ.

What is the Christ?  Jesus demonstrated the Christ-power to us in his brief ministry long ago.  He healed physical and mental sicknesses, freed people from their involvement in sinful activities, and even raised the dead.  Although Jesus is no longer with us in the flesh, many Christians believe that the Christ-power he represented is still with us today and appeal to it for help in their prayers.  Can these prayers help?

Mary Baker Eddy, a Christian teacher and healer, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures describes the Christ 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], ... to set at liberty them that are bruised."  In my experience coaching youth soccer, handling business dealings and personal relationships, and even driving in traffic, I have found that understanding the Christ and silently acknowledging that the Christ is present, powerful, and speaking to my consciousness as well as the consciousness of all others, brings the power of this divine influence into the immediate human experience.  Not only does this divine influence come to me and give me the strength and wisdom to speak and do the right things, I find that those around me are also touched and respond outwardly in positive ways.

But does the Christ influence entering and altering the mundane experiences of my life mean that it can also alter serious issues like drug addiction, and on a nationwide scale?  In her book, Eddy says that because of the scientific nature of God's laws the lesser demonstration proves the greater "as the product of three multiplied by three, equalling nine, proves conclusively that three times three duodecillians must be nine duodecillions, - not a fraction more, not a unit less."  In fact, over the years, more than 30 testimonies have been published in the Christian Science Journal and Christian Science Sentinel of people healed of drug addiction through the power of the Christ!

So I am praying about the drug crisis in our country by turning my thought to the Christ and acknowledging that this divine influence is ever present in everyone's consciousness.  I am certain that this has a healing effect!

You can read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures online or purchase it from Amazon or any major book retailer.  It is also available for sale or study at the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado at 4602 Plettner Lane.

The Time for Thinkers Has Come

There are a lot of topics competing for our thought and attention these days - family, careers, politics, the economy, the Oscars... to name a few.  This blog is about a book that people in and around Evergreen, Colorado - and throughout the world - are finding worthy of their thought and attention.  The book is Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  It was written by a New England woman, Mary Baker Eddy, and first published in 1875.

Can a book written over 150 years ago still be relevant today?  Although, along with the Bible, this book is used in services of the Christian Science Church, it is not merely a denominational textbook, but speaks to all humanity.  In the Preface of the book, Eddy writes, "The time for thinkers has come.  Truth, independent of doctrines and time-honored systems, knocks at the portal of humanity."

This blog will share how people in the Evergreen community are finding this book to be relevant to their health, careers, relationships, and overall well-being.  You can read this book online or purchase it from Amazon or any major book retailer.  It is also available for sale or study at the Christian Science Reading Room in Evergreen, Colorado at 4602 Plettner Lane.