- Photo by Tatiana
When life’s storms roar, sometimes it can seem the only certainty is uncertainty. But turning to God, the unchangingly loving Principle of the universe, opens the door to progress and healing.
This article by Susan Booth Mack Snipes appeared in The Christian Science Monitor.
I’ve heard it said that the one thing you can count on is that you can’t count on anything. The changing uncertainties of human existence would tend to support such a sentiment. But are chaos and variableness really the foundation of existence, or is there another, more reliable Principle we can base our lives on?
I grew up singing a hymn from the 1932 “Christian Science Hymnal” that has pointed my thought to the divine Principle that is God. The hymn begins:
In heavenly Love abiding,
No change my heart shall fear;
And safe is such confiding,
For nothing changes here.
The storm may roar without me,
My heart may low be laid;
But God is round about me,
And can I be dismayed?
(No. 148, Anna L. Waring)
At first glance this may just seem comforting, but I’ve found the message is so much more than that – it’s affirmative and powerful. What a startling concept: “no change my heart shall fear … for nothing changes here.” Where is this “here” where nothing changes? The hymn states it right up front: “In heavenly Love,” which is another name for God.
Christian Science explains that God isn’t a person who sits on a throne in the clouds picking and choosing who to listen to and what to fix. God is the Principle of the universe – fixed, stable, perfect, and constant. The Bible assures us of the allness and onlyness of God. The whole of existence is one infinite Principle, divine Mind, and its manifestation: man and the universe, not based in matter, but entirely spiritual and flawless. Mary Baker Eddy writes in the textbook of Christian Science, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” “The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea, – perfect God and perfect man, – as the basis of thought and demonstration” (p. 259).
But what about life’s storms that roar around us? We can’t be simplistic about this. And it’s not appropriate to pretend nothing needs to be solved when humanity is crying out for healing. But dealing with problems, no matter how huge they might seem, does not require us to ignore divine Principle. Actually, an even greater reliance on this unchanging Principle opens the door to progress and healing.
What I am learning is that such situations don’t actually present another version of truth or reality, but are distortions or misinterpretations of the one and only Truth, or God. All the while, the spiritual reality is what is seen from the standpoint of divine Mind, God, rather than from the limited viewpoint of our physical senses: life as entirely spiritual, and God’s care for His spiritual sons and daughters as unlimited and eternal.
Applying these truths in our daily lives takes a willingness to give up our own view of things and to let God be the interpreter of God’s own universe. Science and Health explains: “The divine Principle of the universe must interpret the universe. God is the divine Principle of all that represents Him and of all that really exists. Christian Science, as demonstrated by Jesus, alone reveals the natural, divine Principle of Science” (p. 272).
I have had countless examples of the healing effects of prayerful yielding to God’s viewpoint. One such occasion was years ago when I was experiencing pain in my chest. As I prayed over several days, affirming that God is the immortal Life of all and each of us is the spiritual expression of that Life, the pain lessened.
But one afternoon the pain suddenly became intense. At that moment I felt a great mental shift, a clearer recognition of God as Life. I was filled with a certainty that God alone causes and takes care of life. The pain stopped instantly and never returned.
What certainty and comfort there is in realizing that what we see through physical sense is not the fixed fact about God and God’s children! Yes, we may have to practice yielding to God’s view of the universe in order to more consistently see evidence of divine harmony, but we always have a God-given capability to do this. Our lives and our livelihoods are immovably fixed in Principle, divine Love, whose goodness is unshakable. With this knowledge (even in small degree), we can be up and running to meet life’s challenges with grace and healing humility.
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“Finding your immunity from disease” by Michelle Nanouche, CSB
Listen to this talk by Michelle Nanouche about how to overcome the fear of contagion and be a healing influence to others. Click here
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Around the world, public gatherings have been restricted as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus. But as one man found when he fell ill in a remote area some years ago, even when we’re all alone, there’s another kind of “gathering” we can participate in – one that brings safety and healing.
Listen here to Chat Manchester’s Daily Lift or
Read this article by Chat Manchester from The Christian Science Monitor
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by Vitor Almeida
The author of this article was on a plane when her traveling companion was struggling with flu symptoms. She realised that “rather than succumbing to fear, there was something more constructive and health-promoting that I could do while sitting there in my seat. It is an idea I read in a book written by Mary Baker Eddy,.. It says: “… keep your minds so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease, and death cannot enter them. … Good thoughts are an impervious armor; clad therewith you are completely shielded from the attacks of error of every sort” (“The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany,” p. 210).
“God communicates directly to each of us purposeful, powerful, and wise thoughts that help us recognize this spiritual reality. These thoughts are an antidote to fear of illness, shedding light on what is right and true about us all. They protect, help, and heal. The Bible tells us, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11, New King James Version).”
She found that herself and her friend were healthy at the end of the day.
Read this article from The Christian Science Monitor, by Susan Tish here
Find A Daily Lift on this subject: listen to it here
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In this article the writer tells of her search for a meaningful understanding of what “Christ” means. She found that “the name Christ Jesus signifies Jesus’ Godlike nature”.
She came to see that “Christ is a title that represents the healing power of divine Love” and that this healing power is present for all to experience. It’s like God’s way speaking to us.
“Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health, p. 332).
The author tells of an experience when she suddenly became very ill with no help at hand. In her words: “I remember turning my thought to God as I had done in the past, knowing He was my “very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1). I remember very little else because after this I began drifting in and out of consciousness.
At one point I felt as though I were floating below the surface in deep, dark water, with a dim light above. Then a clear thought came to me: “It is the Christ that awakens me from the dream.” It sounded like an internal voice. The thought was so strong that I felt I must repeat these words. Initially, I did so mentally. Then, I felt a divine impetus to say them out loud. It felt impossible to speak, and the resistance to voicing the truth was strong. I just wanted to drift back to sleep. But I was able to open my mouth and whisper the words. And then again, and then once more—this time in a booming voice! The third time I spoke the words, I became fully conscious. I was healed! …
Although I didn’t fully understand at the time what had happened, I did realize that the Christ was not an entity outside of me but an ever-present divine influence speaking within human consciousness.”
The full article by Karen Neff from the Christian Science Sentinel can be read here
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“Predicting danger does not dignify life, whereas forecasting liberty and joy does; for these are strong promoters of health and happiness.”
Mary Baker Eddy, MiscellaneousWritings p 240
Listen to this uplifting message by Chet Manchester here
He shares how the keynote to healing is the message from the Bible “Be not afraid”. and how the environment of divine Love is here and is disease free.
“Stop the spread of fear, and you stop the spread of disease.”
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- Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
“Here in Australia, we’ve been experiencing severe drought, heat, and bushfires. Many are worried that this confirms their fears of human-caused climate change. As the BBC put it recently, ‘The science around climate change is complex – it’s not the cause of bushfires but scientists have long warned that a hotter, drier climate would contribute to Australia’s fires becoming more frequent and more intense.’
So I’ve been doing something I’ve found helpful time and again in alarming or overwhelming situations: praying. I’m praying with the future safety not just of my country, but of this planet, in mind.”
As Christian Science explains that God, Spirit, is Mind, the infinite intelligence that sustains God’s entire creation – including each of us, the author of this article, Beverly Goldsmith shows how when we tune in to this divine Mind through prayer, we receive direction, pay attention and are receptive.
She goes on to share two biblical accounts of dealing with severe drought conditions followed by an insight from “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science,: “The ancient prophets gained their foresight from a spiritual, incorporeal standpoint, not by foreshadowing evil and mistaking fact for fiction, – predicting the future from a groundwork of corporeality and human belief.” and ” Acquaintance with the Science of being enables us to commune more largely with the divine Mind, to foresee and foretell events which concern the universal welfare, to be divinely inspired, – yea, to reach the range of fetterless Mind” (p. 84).
Goldsmith is positive that actions to help keep our planet and its inhabitants safe can be discerned. As she concludes: ” There is an urgent need for solutions. God is always present to guide each and every one’s thoughts and actions for the benefit of all, and as we listen for that guidance, practical answers will come.”
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