RESORTING TO A HIGHER SELF
One
morning …. as I was getting ready for the day, I suddenly began losing
consciousness. Dizzy and unsteady on my feet, I managed to crawl back into bed.
I had a
great need to pray—something I love to do, since prayer involves a lifting of
thought from being matter-bound to the freedom of being the spiritual child of
God. But I was so distracted by the symptoms I was experiencing that my effort
to pray seemed futile. I struggled ...
For a
split second, a notion got hold of me that I was dying. But right then and
there a portion of a familiar Bible passage stood out and spoke to me as a
command: "Choose life ... [because] he [God] is thy life, and the length
of thy days" ( Deut. 30:19, 20).
… At that
split second, I began to pray effortlessly. I recall how my prayer was focused
on Love divine (God) as the only cause present, and on Love's tender, unceasing
care. I felt greatly inspired and reassured, and I knew that my prayer had been
answered. … The symptoms I had been experiencing gradually disappeared, and I
had a complete healing. And I went joyfully and gratefully about my work
throughout the day.
What had
happened? A self-forgetful thought had turned me away from personal concerns to
a prayer of compassion. …The result of losing fear and refocusing thoughts on
divine Love alone was that I was healed.
To me, …
prayer had been in reality … an understanding of [my] genuine selfhood—a
selfhood that is full of the power of divine Love. And that power of Love is
what heals.
In Mary
Baker Eddy's major work, Science and Health, it says, "We
ought to weary of the fleeting and false and to cherish nothing which hinders
our highest selfhood" ( p. 68). My retreat from thoughts of myself as a weak mortal to seeing
my own spiritual selfhood had restored my well-being.
By EVA-MARIA HOGREFE
The impact of spiritual thought on experience
Shakespeare wrote, "There is
nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so" (Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2).
Clearly, the quality of our thought has a great deal—in fact, everything—to do
with the nature of our experience. It's vital, then, that our thoughts be
conducive to harmony, that they be in accord with God, who is the very
Principle of harmony.
A study of
the Bible and its key, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy, reveal
that as we spiritually understand God's true nature and the way He created man,
as His spiritual image and likeness, we have a new model to pattern our thought
and action after—a perfect model. Being faithful to this model has a healing,
regenerative effect in our lives.
When we
watch our thoughts and bring them into conformity with Truth's pattern—perfect
God and perfect man—we begin to experience real progress. In Science and
Health
we read, "Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by
the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and
demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce
harmonious results" ( p. 259).
If we're
honest with ourselves, we find plenty to discard in the way of unproductive
thought patterns, enough to keep us busy for a lifetime. But each facet of
spiritual self-knowledge we gain along the way inspires us anew while it
transforms our character and heals our body.
Scientific,
inspired, original, pure thoughts, derived from God, are seen in tangible
results—a more spiritual concept of ourselves and of our fellow beings, which
leads to deeper love and compassion for others, progress in the healing of a
troubled world, and a higher quality of living. St. Paul apparently found it
inspiring and practical to entertain Godlike thoughts from the divine Mind. He
said, "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise, think on these things" ( Phil. 4:8).
Knowing
that our consciousness truly reflects the one divine Mind, God, and that
everything good is taking place in divine consciousness is enormously helpful. And
it shows us that following Paul's counsel is natural. It enables us to have a
real healing influence with regard to all kinds of things that clamor for our
attention, and to find healing ourselves.
The more we
listen to God to discover our true identity made in His likeness, the more the
true goodness of divine reality becomes concrete to us.
When I was
a Christian Science chaplain, I visited prisons. A young man came to me who
looked utterly miserable and neglected. His appearance suggested he didn't have
an ounce of self-respect. But an issue of the Christian Science Sentinel that he had found and
read made him so curious that he came to a Christian Science meeting in the
prison and asked me if I would show him how to heal. He said that was the one
thing he needed most—to know how to heal himself. I gave him a Bible and a copy
of Science and Health. From those two books he began to learn how to identify
himself as a perfect child of God. He came to see that the source of authentic
thought is God, and that because there is only one God, one Mind, this Mind has
to be man's Mind.
It was no
surprise that one day the young man said everything looked very different to
him—even the camp appeared cleaner. He was thinking differently about himself,
and he had a decidedly cleaner and happier appearance. And his improved sense
of himself spilled over into the way he saw and trusted his fellowman. He
started to apply what he had learned about God and man in his study of
Christian Science. He discovered what effective prayer is and how it heals. He
had realized something of the redeeming power and the tangible spiritual
regeneration that Christ, Truth, brings to thought. He was thinking more
consistently about himself as God's reflection, and because of this he experienced
healing. He eagerly shared with others what he was learning. And a few months
later he was released from prison—much earlier than he had been scheduled for
release.
To me, this
was a wonderful example of the relationship of thought to experience, and of
how spiritualized thought brings tangible blessings. …
God's
thoughts heal. Materialistic thoughts of hatred, envy, impurity, dishonesty,
fear, and so forth seem to hide the good, the joy and happiness, that are
already abundantly present in God and His spiritual creation. But materialistic thoughts have no
actual, God-derived power or influence. We give them the only power they seem
to have.
Spiritual thoughts bless us and all on whom they rest.
Christian
Science provides logical and satisfying answers to our inherent need to find
our true selfhood, our spirituality in Christ. It reveals the goodness of all
that truly is, and establishes in thought our worthiness as God's reflection.
Christ Jesus consistently identified God as his source. He said, for example,
"The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do"
( John 5:19). The Master understood that man's true nature is derived
from God and therefore expresses the perfection of the creator. This spiritual
understanding enabled him to heal those who came to seek his help. And he
expected us to be able to heal others through the understanding of our own
unity with God.
Through
prayer, in which we yield to the one Mind and its pure thoughts, we honor God
and love our fellowman. Christ, the divine influence in human thought, frees us
from egotistical, overly sensitive, unkind, and self-destructive traits, and
anchors our thought in Truth. Fresh, vital, and clear thoughts—spiritually
refreshing thoughts—are winged with inspiration. They reveal what God, divine
Love, knows of us, and reveal that He delights in us as His spiritual idea. And
the more we listen to God to discover our true identity made in His likeness,
the more the true goodness of divine reality becomes concrete to us.
This growing understanding is felt by others;
it helps them discern more of their own inherent goodness. This blessed way of
sharing …—in purified, spiritualized thinking—enriches our experiences and
keeps us on a consistently progressive course of spiritual healing.
Eva-Maria Hogrefe
TRAIN OF THOUGHT
My
Heart Goes Out to the mothers and fathers whose children work or live in
dangerous circumstances. Wars and conflicts such as the one now going on in
Iraq sometimes expose servicemen and women to great peril. I feel for their
families—especially the mothers—because of an empathy that is born out of my
own experience.
I'm a
mother, too. And I've had concerns for the safety of my son. Though he wasn't
fighting in a war, many years ago he, too, lived far away, and in a country
unfamiliar to him.
I recall
one night when I woke up frightened and confused. For some reason I felt
intuitively that my son was in danger. I had no apparent reason for this
overwhelming fear. And although I felt an urgent need to pray for him, I was so
upset that I couldn't. Fear has a tendency to inflame the imagination, and my
imagination was running wild.
So there
I was, struggling in the stillness of the dark, trying to find an inner
composure that would allow me to pray.
Suddenly,
softly, and far off in the distance, I heard a nightingale sing. As I listened,
a message from God came and calmed my anxiety: "God is simultaneously with
you, and your son, and with all of His creation."
I was
aware that the God of love, whom I'd trusted all of my life, was just as
trustworthy as ever at that moment. I also saw just how tyrannical fear is. It
mesmerizes us into thinking that we are at the mercy of some negative force
beyond our control. Deluded, we believe we're trapped. I once read that the
only tyrant anyone should accept in this world is the still, calm voice
within—that is, the divine intelligence that speaks to us wisely, unceasingly.
As I
meekly listened to wisdom, I recognized the answer to healing my fear was in my
love for God. He is All. He encompasses everyone, everywhere. And He is good. I
knew that my son's link with God, as well as my own, was secure. I could see
how this spiritual connection defined us as strong, alert, and peaceful.
To this
day, specific parts of my prayer that night remain memorable: "O
Father-Mother, I thank You for knowing that I'm in the peace of Your presence.
This peace is embracing all Your children, including my son and me. You are
giving us the strength to know that we are whole because we live in Thee."
I
remember thinking about a passage in Science and Health that says, "All
that God imparts moves in accord with Him, reflecting goodness and power"
( p. 515). And so I
could say with confidence, "I know that You are guiding my son—Your child—and that Your
blessings are always with him. Thank you, God!"
The
weakness I'd felt before was giving way to a calm strength. And to my great
relief, my fear for my son's safety disappeared. This to me was a sure sign
that God was with me—and also with my son, at that very moment, wherever he
was. Infinite intelligence and Love can never be confined by time or distance.
A week or
so later, I received a letter from my son. He wrote that at the very hour when
I had been struggling and praying for him, he had been traveling on a train for
48 hours, and had just reached his destination. Because the train was
overcrowded, he hadn't been able to get to the exit fast enough, especially
since he was carrying some heavy luggage. By the time he reached the door, the
train had begun to move out of the station, and was picking up speed. He didn't
realize how fast the train was moving, and jumped out the door, luggage and
all, landing flat on his back, his bags thrown far away. People nearby were
shocked at what they saw, and came running. But my son said they were surprised
he had no serious injuries. He got up, collected his belongings, and moved on.
As I read
his letter, I was sure that prayer had made a difference that night. And I was
awed at how God's wisdom had involved me—I felt that through my prayer I had
seen His care for my son's safety. Even though fear had confronted me, divine
Love had awakened me to think intelligently about God and His child.
In one of
his moments of great need, Jesus said, "I am not alone, because the Father
is with me" ( John 16:32). He
showed the whole human family how important it is to trust that God is present
and powerful in our lives. Perhaps you and I only have a glimpse of His love
for us; yet it is enough to help us in our need. It is enough to give us the
peace we so urgently are looking for.
God, who in His might and power is also a
tender Father-Mother, and Guardian, is keeping watch over each of His-Her
children. I like to think your prayers and mine are so full of the power of
Love that they are helping to secure the safety of all the children of the
world. The prayers of God-loving people everywhere can bring immeasurable
blessings. That includes comforting those near and far who are in anguish and
grief over the loss of loved ones. In the midst of sorrow, or fear, Love will
come and gently give of Her peace "which passeth all understanding" (
Phil. 4:7).
By Eva-Maria Hogrefé
Do you expect healing when you pray?
What is it that we
expect from our prayers? Do we expect to see the glorious light of God's Christ
revealing man's perfection? The Psalmist said, "My soul, wait thou only
upon God; for my expectation is from him."1 We
might ask ourselves: Am I praying the way Christ Jesus taught his disciples to
pray—with the understanding that God is our Father, and that His power and glory
are forever? Or am I just listening to false expectations based on fear that
progress will be too slow, or that certain kinds of healing aren't possible
through prayer?
God's
power and oneness are no less present today than they were in the past. His all-embracing
love and wisdom are eternal, and absolute law. God's law is the law of His
Christ. Christ, Truth, which Jesus so fully demonstrated, heals by imparting to
human consciousness the reality of God's allness, thus destroying the sense of
evil. Recognizing the power of Christ inspires a kind of expectancy that makes
us eager to acknowledge the varied ways our prayer is answered. And this
opening of our thought to Christ is as powerful as the coming of the dawn after
a pitch-black night. Expectancy of good is a spiritual force that records in
thought every bit of progress, however small.
"What
cannot God do?" Mary Baker Eddy asks in Science and Health with Key
to the Scriptures.2 The Science of Christianity affirms that
all good is possible to God. So the question may be directing our thought to
the importance of knowing God better and our relation to Him. It might be, when
our prayers seem to be unanswered, that we need to examine what our priority
is. Are we primarily seeking to understand God and to progress in our inner
spiritual journey? Or are we preoccupied with outward evidence? We might even
ask ourselves after a healing: What is my priority now? Do I return to
satisfaction with matter-based thinking, or do I move with the spiritual
regeneration that brought the healing toward further illumination of thought?
One of
Mrs. Eddy's students said that Mrs. Eddy "left it very clear that no one
is to be judged by his or her physical condition, but by character and
spiritual attainments."3 Of
course, spiritual attainments can only come from God, Spirit. Christian
Science, the law of God, reveals how we go forward by leaning on God. By loving
God supremely and feeling loved by Him, we grow spiritually—and healing
follows. Christ Jesus spent all his hours with God. And the love he felt for
his divine Father and His children is movingly expressed in the four Gospels,
especially, I find, in his prayer before the betrayal as recorded in John,
chapter 17.
A
surface view of Jesus' experience might lead to the false conclusion that
Jesus' prayer didn't work—he was betrayed, arrested, and crucified. But
these events were essential to the completion of his mission. Moreover, his
absolute consecration of thought and his unconditional love and reliance on God
brought him through indescribable agony and apparent death. Out of this great
trial came his greatest victories—resurrection and ascension —the proof that
life is not in matter but is wholly spiritual. Jesus yielded entirely to the
will of God, whom he understood to be infinite Life, and thus the eternal
Christ was revealed. This shows us that there is only one, glorious God, and
that man is His radiant, full expression. It shows us that awakening to the
reality of being is the only true option, or path, to healing. Even when a
problem seems most aggressive and unyielding, healing is going on in a deep and
thorough way when our thought is yielding to Christ, Truth. Healing comes
through the purification and resurrection of our own thoughts. We learn to be
less critical, wiser, purer, kinder, more loving, selfless, and patient.
We've
heard of people who in very demanding situations do not give up—and they
succeed. They see a continuing challenge as an opportunity to gain new ground.
I once read that experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens
to you. I'm reminded of a Bible account that tells how the Israelites were
moving to the Promised Land when they found their path blocked by the mighty
city of Jericho.4 God
had promised the conquest of Jericho to Joshua, the leader of the Israelites.
So, if God Almighty had made this promise, wouldn't you think that it would
have been a piece of cake to overcome the obstacle? Not so. It demanded
persistent obedience to God on the part of the people. According to the Bible,
Joshua was told by God how to proceed—they should go around the city once each day
for six days, and except for the blowing of the horns by the priests, the
people should walk in absolute silence. They were instructed by Joshua not to
utter a sound until he told them to shout. Though they didn't realize it at the
time, God's promise and its fulfillment were there right from the start. It
seems to me that the people apparently had something of great value to gain via
their inner journey. One of the insights they perhaps gained was
that however formidable a difficulty appeared to be, an unwavering conviction
in God and His omnipotence would enable them to realize the results of God's
power.
Just
think what could have happened if the Israelites had been overwhelmed by the
human picture of the fortified city with double walls and houses built upon
them. What would have happened if they had said: "We've been marching
around these walls for six days now and nothing has happened. Why should we
continue?" But, putting their trust entirely in God, they were willing to
persevere no matter how long it would take. They knew God would not bring them
only so far and then leave them. And because of their steadfast trust and
obedience, the walls came down on the seventh day, and the city was conquered.
If you
feel grief over the loss of a loved one or the loss of health, or frustration
over the loss of a job and financial security, and you pray and see no change
in your state of mind, body, or affairs, isn't it wise not to give up on God or
yourself, since the next step could be your freedom from a seemingly hopeless
situation?
What is
most needed, especially at times when our progress seems slow, is a healthy
dose of uncontaminated trust in God, who is Love. Even if this trust sometimes
appears rather small in comparison with a difficulty, nevertheless we can
afford to be steadfast, accepting God, good, as primary in our hearts and not
secondary. It's the carnal mind, which the Apostle Paul speaks of, that makes a
difficulty seem a reality. But we have good reason to love and trust in what
we've seen and learned through the demonstration of God's power.
Starting
in prayer with God—turning away from a matter-based sense of things—we learn
that healing is the product of spiritual awakening. When Jesus asked two blind
men seeking healing "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" they
confidently said, "Yea, Lord." 5 When
God's Christ asks of us, "Do you believe that I am able to heal you of all
that is troubling you?" are we echoing their response? Or are we mumbling
to ourselves, "I can't continue anymore; it's just gone on too long"?
Discord, loneliness, fear—all the beliefs of lack— cannot endure, because
they're actually not at all real and therefore not permanent.
A
continuing challenge may be an opportunity to gain new ground.
Can you
imagine a musician spending hours with musical mistakes to learn how to play a
composition? Of course not. Diligently he learns the composition correctly—playing
the notes the way they were written—in order to bring out more of what the
composer intended. This approach enables him to detect immediately a false note
and to correct it right then and there—his full attention being on the right notes. Similarly,
we demonstrate God's law by keeping our attention on the truths of being.
A
difficulty might seem to us to loom as big on the sixth day, or the sixth week,
or the sixth month, or even the sixth year as it did on the first day, but
we're able to see that we are not as we were before. If we've been addressing
the difficulty through reliance on God, we have been moving forward spiritually
in so many ways. We have been advancing out of false interests and
preoccupation with matter-based thinking into the brilliant light of Truth,
eagerly learning that divine Love only demands of us to accept the highest
good.
As a
young student living away from home, I learned to a degree what it means to put
God first. I came down with the symptoms of what I thought was just a bad cold.
Although the symptoms persisted, I didn't seek a medical diagnosis or medical
treatment. I just prayed with all my heart, knowing intuitively that there
couldn't be permanence in something that I could not have received from God. There
were times when the symptoms appeared rather alarming, but after a year of
persistent prayer and spiritual growth they disappeared. When I first came to
the United States several years later, a physical examination was required. It
was then that I found out I had been healed of tuberculosis. The doctor who
examined me called it a miracle. During that difficult year while the healing
was in progress, I had learned so many things about myself as God's loved
child. It was especially helpful to learn that only in God do we find
continuity of good, and that His daughters and sons are made in His image,
whole and harmonious. The Psalmist says: "Many there be which say of my
soul, There is no help for him in God. . . . But thou, O Lord, art a shield for
me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head." 6 I
certainly found this to be true.
Mrs.
Eddy asked the students in one of her classes, "What is the best way to do
instantaneous healing?" The account of this occasion by Sue Harper Mims
continues: "Some said, 'Realize the ever-presence of good'; others, 'Deny
the claims of evil.' There were many answers, but when they had finished, she
said, as I remember: 'I will tell you the way to do it. It is to love! Just
live love—be it— love, love, love. Do not know anything but Love. Be all love.
There is nothing else. That will do the work. It will heal everything; it will
raise the dead. Be nothing but love.' " 7 Obviously
this kind of love isn't naiveté or sentimentality, but it expresses the pure
love of divine Love itself, and also determination and fortitude in putting all
our trust in God.
The
practice of Christian Science doesn't just bring about what is humanly needed;
it regenerates and transforms thought, and this touches and blesses all aspects
of our lives. With this practice we gain a deep love and immeasurable gratitude
for God and His goodness, and a clearer understanding of our relation to Him.
The
Bible says, "Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall
reap, if we faint not." 8 We can expect to rise from
a limiting, human sense and doubt about ourselves to spiritual dominion and
lasting healing. It is inevitable, for Life is eternal, and we can never be
separated from that Life—as Jesus proved.
3 We Knew Mary Baker Eddy (Boston: The Christian Science
Publishing Society, 1979), p. 86.↑
7 We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, p. 134.↑
Eva-Maria Hogrefe
For of him, and through him, and to him,
are all things:
to whom be glory for ever.
--The Bible, Romans 11:36--
With joy you will
drink deeply
from the fountain of salvation.
--Isaiah 12:3
