The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
One of my roles in the years just before I retired was to organise the annual regional conference for the large state government department I worked for. These events were attended by over 300 participants and included one main keynote speaker and approximately 48 breakout sessions. Planning took many months. In order to secure an exceptional keynote speaker, it was necessary to book at least twelve months in advance.
This particular year I managed to secure a booking with someone I knew to be not only at the forefront of his specialist area, but an excellent and engaging speaker. He was pleased to be asked and at the initial interview we discussed a timeline for when he would give me details of his talk and materials for hand outs etc. During the year we touched base a couple of times and all seemed to be going to plan. However, when we were about a month out from the event he still hadn’t given me the material I was expecting and wasn’t answering my calls or emails.
Eventually I managed to make contact with his support staff. They said that he had been in hospital with a very severe case of pneumonia and even after a couple of months he was not well enough to be back at work. I said I would make contact again in a week or so to see how he was progressing. This time I managed to talk to the speaker himself. He said that although he was still very ill and weak he felt sure he would improve enough to be able to do the talk. We touched base several times over the next couple of weeks but his health was not improving. He seemed keen not to let me down and said that he would bring his wife to support him and possibly do the talk sitting down. He thought then he might possibly manage. This was still the situation, the day before the conference and it was extremely tempting to be very worried. I did not want this dear man to jeopardise his health but I also knew that the opening address was a very important part of the conference.
I have been raised in Christian Science and I’ve learnt over many years that there are spiritual laws that can be relied upon when challenges arise. So I prayed to see things from a spiritual, rather than a human perspective. I knew that this conference was a right idea. Among other things it was an opportunity for participants and presenters to share ideas that worked and to collectively rise to higher levels of performance. I knew that all right ideas are God’s because I have come to know God as infinite Mind and the source of all good. I have also come to know God as Love and that Love is not just a feeling but a divine law. This law ensured the safety of all; this law held everyone in their right place and maintained harmony. I thought on these and similar ideas until I felt a sense of calm – a strong sense that all was well. The night before the conference I slept peacefully expectant of good unfolding.
The following evening was the meet and greet and the conference opening dinner. When I arrived the hall was already abuzz with excited participants. Quickly I noticed that there was quite a gathering of people over near the bar. In the centre of this someone was holding the floor and entertaining a small crowd. As I moved closer I realised that was my keynote speaker. He greeted me with a huge grin. ‘You wouldn’t believe what happened’, he said. ‘You know how I’ve been so sick for the last few months. Well last night, it was like a switch flicked and instantly I was completely well. I haven’t felt this well in years. Look at me now!’ His excitement and enthusiasm spilled over into the group and he continued to entertain them. Needless to say his talk was a great success, as was the rest of the conference.
Every day I am grateful for what I am learning in Christian Science. It teaches me to be calm in the face of challenges; it teaches me to turn away from the human scenario and to acknowledge the spiritual truths; it teaches me that there are spiritual laws that apply to all life and if understood and trusted these laws will adjust any discordant situation.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
Prior to these current COVID restrictions I travelled often with my sister. In 2019 she was invited to do a series of Christian Science lectures across the US. I was her support person. It was my job to take charge of the everyday organisational issues such as getting through airports and finding meals in strange cities. More importantly it was my job to prayerfully protect and support her lecturing work.
My prayers were prayers of affirmation, not petition. I acknowledged God as divine Love and as infinite all-knowing Mind. I acknowledged that these lectures were right ideas and as such they were God’s ideas, as all right activity is God’s. I knew that God protected and brought to fruition all His ideas harmoniously. I also knew that all those involved in bringing these lectures to the public were protected in this work and that only good could come of these activities.
On this particular day the lecture went off very harmoniously. The venue was perfect, the audience large and focussed and my sister spoke with such sincerity and inspiration that all were moved by the words. Afterwards we were taken back to our accommodation by one of the organisers. When we arrived the driver pulled up in the driveway and my sister jumped out. For a moment I sat half in and half out of the back seat while I passed bags and coats out to my sister. Without checking whether we were fully out the driver suddenly started forward. My sister immediately called for her to stop which she did. The quick movement of the car jerked me out onto the driveway. I didn’t fall but I landed awkwardly and the car came to a stop completely on my right foot. This wasn’t a small car and the pressure on my foot was immense. I was wearing only my little ‘going out’ shoes and these offered no protection. Because of the prayerful work I had been doing during the day I felt no fear. I also felt no pain. My sister called out to the driver to back up but she became confused about what had happened and asked a series of questions that didn’t quickly result in her taking the necessary action.
Eventually the driver did back up and I was able to pull my foot away. Throughout this I continued to feel calm. Despite the feeling of great pressure, at no point was there any pain or discomfort. As the driver pulled away we picked up our things and headed inside. I can honestly say I did not have a single twinge or any indication that anything untoward had happened. There were absolutely no after effects. I put this down totally to the fact that I had been keeping my thought fixed on the omnipotence of God, good, during that day and all the previous touring days. Christian Science teaches me that what I think is very important in determining the events of my life and my wellbeing. I am hugely grateful for all that I am learning as a student of Christian Science.
Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.
A number of Christian Science lectures, including the ones given by my sister on this tour are available on this site. Click on the Christian Science Lectures tab in the menu at the top.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
I grew up in Zimbabwe, and when I was 10 years old started boarding school. I found moving between the boarding hostel and home unsettling, and for many years struggled with the concept of home. Wherever I lived, I wanted to (or thought I should) be living somewhere else. I lived in Zimbabwe, South Africa, England and Australia and spent time travelling in other countries, but never felt settled and this really bothered me.
In 1985 I moved to Australia and in 1992 was posted by the Australian Government to Zimbabwe. At the end of my posting, I was strongly drawn to living in South Africa where I had strong family ties and had studied and worked for a few years.
When I moved to South Africa, I thought I had found my place. But, after about ten years when things weren’t working out because it was difficult to find employment, the restless feelings that I should be living somewhere else returned. I started praying to know that home is not a material location or physical structure, but a state of mind in which we are at one with God – at home and in our right place all the time wherever we are. As Paul says, “For in him, we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17: 28).
Browsing in my local Christian Science Reading Room one day, I came across a pamphlet called PLACE. It has four lovely articles from past Christian Science Sentinels and Journals around being in our right place, home and employment – drawing from the Bible, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, and her other writings. They were all really helpful.
Then one evening while out walking my dogs, the idea came clearly that I should apply for jobs outside South Africa. Over the next few weeks I applied for jobs in Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand and Australia. I was offered three interviews, and then positions in the Middle East and Australia. I prayed to know which to accept, and it came to me clearly to accept the job in Australia. As with all these kinds of decisions – when it is right, there is an incredible and indescribable feeling of peace.
A few months later when I landed back in Australia, I felt I had returned home. That feeling of being at HOME and in my right place has never left me since then. I have had no feelings of restlessness or that I should be living somewhere else.
I am very grateful for being led through Christian Science to an improved understanding of HOME and for the lovely way this has been manifested in my experience.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
Just before the lockdown began, I came down with a chest infection. If I walked upstairs or tried to talk, I coughed uncontrollably making it very difficult to hold a conversation, talk on the phone or take part in online meetings. It was also difficult to sleep at night. To allay the fears of family members who were concerned that I might be infectious and so should not be babysitting, I agreed to take a Covid test.
Throughout this time, I had been at home praying asking God to show me what I needed to know and not mixing with others. Eventually I remembered the statement in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, (p 420)
“If students do not readily heal themselves, they should early call an experienced Christian Scientist to aid them. If they are unwilling to do this for themselves, they need only to know that error cannot produce this unnatural reluctance.”
I decided to contact a Christian Science practitioner who was unimpressed by the symptoms and likened the coughing to a “performance wanting to get my attention”. She assured me that “Spirit (my true substance) can’t irritate or distress itself” and agreed to pray for me.
That night I slept peacefully and in the morning I found a text on my phone saying that my Covid test was negative. Over the next two days, the coughing disappeared and I was able to fulfill care commitments for my family with no problem.
I am deeply grateful for this healing and for the lessons that I continue to learn from the experience.
A cherry on the cake came a few days later. I realised that my ribs were sore on one side – and found myself thinking that this was due to the violent coughing that I had been doing. I realised that as the cough had never actually been part of me, there was no reason for there to be any after-effects. I rejected the suggestion and concentrated on the reading that I was doing. When I had finished reading, I realised that all feeling of aching had disappeared.
This whole experience was really a ‘wake-up call’ – a nudge to draw closer to God and to feel his love not only for myself but everyone around me.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
Recently I experienced all the symptoms of a heavy head cold. It just seemed to sneak up on me as the day progressed.
I was fairly determined to not give in to this feeling and I accomplished all I needed to during the day but by the evening I felt physically overwhelmed by the symptoms and the unwell feeling. However, during the day I had been reminding myself that my true nature was spiritual – the image and likeness of God, as the Bible tell us (Genesis 1: 26, 27) and if God didn’t have a cold then really nor could I. Although I didn’t feel well I didn’t feel beaten by this situation. My mental well-being still felt very intact.
In the evening as I didn’t feel capable of doing anything physical, I curled up in my favourite chair and decided to listen to the Wednesday Testimony Meeting readings on the phone. They were perfect for me! The topic was spiritual healing and I became engrossed in the words and the message – a message that reminded me that I could mentally stand up to claims of ill-health. The readings assured me that matter couldn’t make conditions for me because Mind was the only cause. At the end of the readings I felt calm and forgot to think much about the cold situation.
That night I slept through peacefully and woke in the morning 100% well. There was not a single trace of the condition. Later that next day my husband and I took the dog on a long walk and we jogged much of the way. I kept up easily and pulled up after each jog without any puffing. I felt more energised than I had in a long time.
For this and all the other healings I have experienced through relying on the truths taught in Christian Science I am truly grateful. Armed with this understanding I approach each day with confidence and joy.
A recording of the readings mentioned above are posted on this blog below under the heading, Spiritual Healing – Past and Present.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
A few months ago, I found I was struggling with a painful strained wrist. I believed it to be RSI or Repetitive Strain Injury. This seemed so bad that I was having great difficulty fulfilling everyday essential tasks.
I asked help from my sister who is a Christian Science practitioner in England. A Christian Science practitioner is someone who devotes their life to helping others through prayer – a spiritual healer.
When my sister later looked up RSI on the internet, she was amused by one definition that came up as ‘Relative Strength Indicator’ relating to the stock market. …a rather less intimidating definition!
She referred me to hymn 350 from the Christian Science Hymnal, which tells me in part:
Through the love of God our Saviour All will be well; … … While His truth we are applying, And upon His love relying, God is every need supplying, All, all is well.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy is the textbook of Christian Science. It was written to teach readers how to heal spiritually. I keep a little notebook of citations from it that I find helpful. On this occasion these were some of the ideas that helped me:
Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy (p249).
Consciousness, as well as action, is governed by Mind, – is in God, … (p480).
All that God imparts moves in accord with Him, reflecting goodness and power (p515).
Constant toil, deprivations, exposures, and all untoward conditions, if without sin, can be experienced without suffering. Whatever it is your duty to do, you can do without harm to yourself. If you sprain the muscles or wound the flesh, your remedy is at hand. Mind decides whether or not the flesh shall be discolored, painful, swollen, and inflamed (385).
I was grateful to have the extra time staying at home to study and grow.
In a month or so there was much improvement – so much so that it was no longer uppermost in my thought and then it disappeared without further notice!
I am so grateful for all that Christian Science has given me, and for my sister’s patient care.
This recording is of readings on the topic: Spiritual Healing
(Apology: Nature in the form of a wild white sulphur-crested cockatoo has made his presence felt a little raucously on this audio.)
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Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, – neither in nor of matter, – and the body will then utter no complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p14)
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Every Wednesday at 6.15pm a Testimony Meeting is held at the Christian Science church in Canberra (corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets, Barton). At these meetings short readings on a particular topic are followed by time for members of the congregation to share how they have been helped and healed through prayer.
Everyone is welcome. If you are in Canberra on any Wednesday, please join us.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
A few years ago my husband wanted to give me a surprise for our anniversary. He knew I loved horses and that in my youth I had gone on a few short trail rides which I loved. This year he had the romantic idea that escaping our city life for a weekend of riding horses through the bushland in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney would be a good plan. My husband has never been a horse rider and knows very little about horses.
When he presented me with the gift vouchers I was filled with some very mixed emotions. I could see that he was trying hard to please me – that was nice. But, an eight-hour ride through very rugged territory, when I hadn’t been on a horse for about twenty years, seemed daunting in ways he couldn’t imagine. I prayed about this. I reasoned that all good ideas come from God and God’s ideas don’t have a downside. I also know that the beliefs I hold about life determine the nature of this material experience. I tried to stay focused on a conviction that my true nature is spiritual, not material. Only matter feels pain, not spirit.
My husband, as a novice rider, was given Fred, an elderly plodder. However, he had told the stables that I could ride well and I was given Jeda, a young thoroughbred-cross who really wanted to turn everything into a race. I’d been on the horse for about fifteen minutes when I realised that the saddle was horribly uncomfortable; it had two hard ridges that dug into the bones in my bottom.
During the eight-hour outing we spent nearly seven hours in the saddle. The countryside was amazing. We rode across green paddocks with cows, through mountain streams, up and down steep hillsides and along winding forest trails. It was truly beautiful. At every point in the day my Jeda wanted to race ahead and I spent the whole day calming her and reining her in. Even when we were waiting for slow Fred to catch up she pulled and pranced. She was exhausting!
It was late afternoon when we arrived back at our accommodation. I was so sore I felt physically sick. I fell on the bed and thought I would never be able to move again. Every muscle in my body screamed and protested. I thought I had mentally protected myself before the ride but I realised that I hadn’t really given up the idea that this activity could be punishing. In Christian Science, we are taught that what we let into consciousness, is what we experience. So while I lay there on the bed I had a mental reassessment.
A passage from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy helped me to gain some peace. She asks: Without mind, could the muscles be tired? Do the muscles talk, or do you talk for them? Matter is non‐intelligent. Mortal mind does the false talking, and that which affirms weariness, made that weariness (p217:31). I realized that I had given myself permission to be affected by this ride, so mentally I took back that permission.
Within a very short time I was up and getting cleaned up to go out to dinner. There was not a single twinge anywhere – I walked straight and tall and pain free. We had a happy night and the rest of the weekend was active and harmonious. There were absolutely no after-effects.
I am continually grateful to Christian Science which teaches me that I don’t have to give in to material laws. All right activity can be undertaken without penalty.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
When my son was growing up we had a friend who often went on camping and hiking holidays with a group of long-time friends. Once or twice a year he would invite my son and me to join the group. I’ve never been a sporty person and being really physically fit has never been a priority for me but I do love the outdoors and these trips offered a welcome break. I had a very busy job working 50-60 hours a week in a largely sedentary occupation. When I wasn’t working, my life was filled with chores. In fact the only regular exercise I had was doing the vacuuming.
On one occasion, when my son was eleven, our trip took us to a beautiful gorge in Queensland. The first day out walking was to be a warm-up day of about 10 kilometres. The track was rough in some places and there was a lot of climbing over rocks and obstacles. My little ‘girly’ walking boots lasted about half an hour before the sole detached from the body of one shoe and this made the rest of the walk that day somewhat difficult. However, I was determined to enjoy the day and I did. I hadn’t brought a spare pair of walking shoes with me, but my son had and he was happy for me to borrow them. Even at that age his foot was huge and his boots were about three sizes too big. Still I was determined to make the most of things and I developed a new style of walking that accommodated the oversized shoes.
The next day the group had planned a 22 kilometre round trip up the gorge to some Aboriginal caves. This route, they told me, was rougher than the first day – it involved much climbing over huge boulders and up inclines. These other people were experienced walkers and they set a very brisk pace. At first I was concerned about how I would go. Would I be able to keep up with my oversized shoes and my lack of fitness? I quickly stopped these negative thoughts. I may not be physically fit in the usual way but I was spiritually fit. Despite my busy life, I did always find time for prayer, for drawing close to God. I knew that my true identity was spiritual and a spiritual being doesn’t suffer from muscle fatigue. The Bible tells me that I am the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1: 26, 27) and as God is never worn out, nor could I be. I trusted these thoughts and felt buoyed by them. The day flew by and I kept up without any difficulty.
When we got back to camp that day my son and another boy, who was a few years older, asked if they could go down and cool off in the little creek nearby. We agreed so long as they stayed together. The rest of the group talked about how exhausted they were and sat with their feet in buckets of cool water saying they didn’t think they could walk another step. I didn’t feel the need for a bucket of water but I was happy to sit and chat. Shortly the older boy came back without my son. Apparently the little creek wasn’t very exciting but some other children had told them about a place down river where there was a high rock that you could jump off into a deep pool. My son had gone to investigate. The older boy didn’t go because the pool was another two kilometres away and he didn’t want to go that far. I set off to find my son. I found him at the pool and he was happy to return with me. We walked the two kilometres back chatting happily about the day. When we returned the others were still recovering. They decided that the next day would be a very short walk.
I can honestly say I felt no ill-effects at all from any of our walks that week. I enjoyed every minute of it. I proved to be as fit as the others who led much more active lives than me. I totally put this down to my spiritual approach to activity. Whatever it is right for me to do I can do when I claim my spiritual identity.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy is the textbook of Christian Science. In it Eddy states: A mortal man possesses this body, and he makes it harmonious or discordant according to the images of thought impressed upon it (p208). Holding in thought only images of health – images of myself as a perfect child of God – allowed me to experience the full enjoyment of this wonderful opportunity.
This recording is of readings on the topic of Spiritual Healing.
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Suffer no claim of sin or of sickness to grow upon the thought. Dismiss it with an abiding conviction that it is illegitimate, because you know that God is no more the author of sickness than He is of sin. You have no law of His to support the necessity either of sin or sickness, but you have divine authority for denying that necessity and healing the sick (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p390: 20).
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Every Wednesday at 6.15pm a Testimony Meeting is held at the Christian Science church in Canberra (corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets, Barton). At these meetings short readings on a particular topic are followed by time for members of the congregation to share how they have been helped and healed through prayer.
Everyone is welcome. If you are in Canberra on any Wednesday, please join us.
Christian Science Canberra 