Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
Discover God – Discover Health Leave a comment
![article.271029.large[1]](https://christiansciencecanberra.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/article-271029-large1.jpg?w=238&h=317)
In this hour-long lecture,Gratitude for Healing – Headaches No More Leave a comment
The Christian Science Church – a part of the Canberra community. Members share testimonies and talk about their lives as Christian Scientists.
This article, Gratitude for Healing – Headaches No More, is by Barbara who is a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. She relates how she has found permanent freedom from headaches through prayer and spiritualisation of thought.
Recently I read a beautiful expression of gratitude from a student of Christian Science who related how he had been healed of headaches.
It reminded me that I too had been healed of headaches so many years ago that I had really almost forgotten about it, and that healing has been permanent.
I was a fairly new student of this Divine Science at the time, and had never before experienced an instantaneous healing. My job was such that I was continually dealing with the public, and it was important to be pleasant and attentive at all times. That is not easy with a throbbing head.
I thought about God, the one and only power, and asked myself if I thought that He could have a headache. The answer was no, I did not believe He could. So then I asked myself again if I could possibly have something that God did not have, and certainly could not give me, and remain pure and loving. The answer was still no, and at that moment I was entirely free of any pain. That freedom has been mine for more than fifty years now.
Having said that, I cannot claim that the feeling of a headache coming on has not knocked at the door of my consciousness, but it has gained no admittance. I have confronted it in various ways, such as “get thee hence, Satan”, to use the words of Jesus (Matt 4:10). Satan is a Hebrew word signifying an adversary, an enemy, an accuser; or simply I would say, “I don’t do headaches” which is not very scientific, but I know that I do not have to cover the same ground again, and what God has done is done forever.
In obedience to the teachings of Christian Science I take the advice given in the textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy where Mrs Eddy says, “Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realised in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously” p392: 24-27. Similarly, to quote the Bible again, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7).
Through the study of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook I am assured that ‘with God, all things are possible’.
Healing Like an Awakening Leave a comment
The Christian Science Church – a part of the Canberra community. Members share testimonies and talk about their lives as Christian Scientists.
This article, Healing Like an Awakening, is by Christine who is a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. She shares how a deeper understanding of God as Principle helped to bring about the healing of a restricting physical condition.
Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science has an interesting definition of this Science: “To live so as to keep human consciousness in constant relation with the divine, the spiritual, and the eternal, is to individualize infinite power; and this is Christian Science.”
My study and practice of this Science of Being has resulted in a deep sense of peace, joy and gratitude. I am learning how thought is vital to my everyday experience and keeping my consciousness in relation to the divine, is the key to an awareness of what is real.
Many times I experienced that what was first so real, so frightening, so painful was changed totally by a change of perception, a change of thought, the realization that we are not alien to the divine Principle, or law, but are truly one with the divine Life.
I would like to explain this further with a physical healing that happened some years ago. I grew up with the practice of Christian Science Mind-healing and so it was very natural for me to turn to it in every need. So when I became ill with symptoms that were never diagnosed (listlessness, sleeplessness and no appetite) I turned to God for a greater sense of wholeness and perfection. I worked with a Christian Science healer but my condition did not change until I became quite frail.
My husband gave me an ultimatum one day and asked me to see a medical practitioner. I could see that this was a reasonable request but it also somehow awakened me to expect healing and a change in my thought that I had been working on every day – a kind of transformation. That night when I could not sleep, I got up and walked around our kitchen and thought of 7 synonyms or names for God that Mary Baker Eddy explains in her book Science & Health. These are: Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle, Life, Truth, Love.
I often ponder them when I want to get a clearer idea of what God means to me and I did this aloud at this time of great need. For example, I thought of how my life was an expression of the one big Life, Life that could never get limited, disharmonious. There is Truth that always frees us from limitations and how Love is the one cause of all being. When I came to the concept of a divine Principle, or law, something suddenly cleared in my thinking. I realized that I was connected to the law of Life, the law of being – everyone was. I bathed in that thought and it became like a light and also something of substance I could lean on, something that had indeed great power.
During this prayerful time I became very calm and eventually I returned to bed and for the first time in weeks, slept peacefully. In the morning I was well, ate a big breakfast and although I had been quite weak, there was no need for recuperation. I quickly gained my normal weight and started living an energetic life once more. In fact just two days after the night time turn around, I saddled my horse and went for a long ride through the countryside with such a sense of unbounded freedom. The healing suddenly felt so natural, as if all that had happened was that I had woken up and realized that all was well.
A Quick Healing of a Turned Ankle Leave a comment
The Christian Science Church – a part of the Canberra community. Members share testimonies and talk about their lives as Christian Scientists.
This article, A Quick Healing of a Turned Ankle, is by Julie who is a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. She describes how she prayed when she sprained her ankle at work.
I work in a large, busy primary school. The week before last while rushing around in the morning organising relief staff for the day at school I rolled my ankle. Immediately I held firmly to the idea that God is always in control and that He loves me and protects me; that I was actually safe in His care. I went about my day joyously running between classrooms working with teachers and students.
However, by mid-afternoon I realised that I couldn’t walk. My ankle was swollen and throbbing. I felt that I couldn’t think. My colleagues became very concerned for me and wanted to take me to the hospital. I told them I was fine. I held to what the Bible tells me about man in the first chapter of Genesis: that I was made in the image and likeness of God – even though in the human sense I was in excruciating pain. I had to attend professional learning that afternoon so my colleagues lovingly drove me to and from the workshop. Things were so busy all afternoon I felt overwhelmed and couldn’t find any quiet time just to listen to my beloved Mother-Father God.
I arrived home after 7pm. Friends called and insisted that I elevate my ankle and apply ice. I lovingly told them that I would do so to alleviate their fears. I knew that I just wanted to have time alone. While having a hot shower I was earnestly praying to God and I realised that God’s love was law and it would adjust any inharmonious situation. I knew I had to be joyous. With that instant thought I walked out of the shower knowing all was well. I felt joy just bubbling out of me as I knew I was walking normally.
I arrived at school the next day just after 7am to begin yet another busy day. My colleagues, one by one throughout the day, approached me see how I was. They were amazed that I was about my usual busyness. They couldn’t believe I was running, skipping and walking everywhere across the school. They wanted to know what happened. I told them I just needed to pray. Some looked at me oddly. I said that I hadn’t been to a doctor for over 20 years. I just prayed when any health issues arose in my life. Furthermore, when any challenge ever arises in my human experience I just pray to God. I frequently ring a practitioner and they support me with prayer until there is harmony.
Why I Chose Christian Science Leave a comment
The Christian Science Church – a part of the Canberra community. Members share testimonies and talk about their lives as Christian Scientists.
This article, Why I Chose Christian Science, is by Rod who is a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. He shares what following the teachings of Christian Science has meant to him.
When people ask me why I chose Christian Science and why I stay with it. My response is always: Because it works!
Those already exposed to, or involved with, Christian Science will understand this response. Let me explain.
Over the last seven years I have had just one headache. That is one headache in seven years. Prior to taking up Christian Science I had had a headache every day for more than a decade. After years of consulting with doctors I had no permanent solution to this problem. For more than ten years I consumed more than the recommended dose of pain killers every single day. Try as I might I was unable to break this cycle. I was also on a range of other medications for other medically diagnosed conditions.
When I decided to take up the study of Christian Science I gave up the pills and decided to rely on prayer for a solution. Since taking this stand I haven’t needed to resort to painkillers and I haven’t had a need for any medication at all in seven years. In this time I have only had one minor headache. I am attributing this solely to my greater understanding and acceptance of Christian Science. This is the single factor I can pinpoint in this turn around.
I recommend Mary Baker Eddy’s book, Science and Health with key to the Scriptures, to anyone wishing to make fundamental changes in their life. It is not an ‘easy read’ but is definitely life changing.
Beating the Winter Blues Leave a comment
Here in Canberra winter is now upon us. The yellow and gold trees have given way to bare branches and we have already had our first frosty mornings.
Many of us who have lived in Canberra for a while have come to love this climate and its four distinct seasons. With each there are certain expectations: the regenerating bloom of the spring heralded by the brilliance of the wattle; the long dry heat of the summer and trips to the coast; the vivid colours of the autumn and the swirling brown leaves.
The crispness of winter, the clear blue skies and trips to the snow are often accompanied by calls to be wary of colds and flu. TV commercials remind us of the available remedies and we are sometimes tempted to wonder whether we will ‘go down’ with something this year, or will we be lucky?
Nowadays there is a strong body of evidence that attests to the influence of one’s thought on health. For over 100 years now we have been aware of the placebo effect: the apparent strong positive effect of sugar pills and non-medicated treatments on patients who believed them to be remedial agents. These experiments alone must ask us to question the nature of the effect of thought on the body. To question how the quality of our consciousness and our belief systems can affect our wellbeing? There is also growing evidence to suggest that spirituality, our natural attraction to the good and the true, has a positive impact on physical resilience and recuperation.
About 150 years ago Mary Baker Eddy investigated this link between spirituality and health. Her experiments and study culminated in her textbook: Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. In it she states (p208): Mind, not matter, is causation. A material body only expresses a material and mortal mind. … You embrace your body in your thought, and you should delineate upon it thoughts of health, not of sickness.
She goes on to say (p392): The physical affirmation of disease should always be met with the mental negation. Whatever benefit is produced on the body, must be expressed mentally, and thought should be held fast to this ideal. If you believe in inflamed and weak nerves, you are liable to an attack from that source. … If you decide that climate or atmosphere is unhealthy, it will be so to you. Your decisions will master you, whichever direction they take.
Reverse the case. Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously. When the condition is present which you say induces disease, whether it be air, exercise, heredity, contagion, or accident, then perform your office as porter and shut out these unhealthy thoughts and fears. Exclude from mortal mind the offending errors; then the body cannot suffer from them. The issues of pain or pleasure must come through mind, and like a watchman forsaking his post, we admit the intruding belief, forgetting that through divine help we can forbid this entrance.
Let’s determine this winter to hold thought to the higher qualities of Truth and Love, of wholeness and harmony and turn away from contemplation of disease, and so build our spiritual immunity.
This article was contributed by Deborah Packer of Canberra.
To purchase a copy of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy click here.
Is there a daily diet that curbs perfectionism, eating disorders? Leave a comment
Four ‘trick or treaters’ knocked on our door on Halloween evening. Somewhat unprepared and surprised to experience this novelty in Australia I managed to locate a few sweet treats for each of them, and they left happily bubbling with excitement.
Was I frightened of their costumes or weird masks? Of course not. And I’m sure they didn’t believe for a moment that they’d suddenly morphed into ugly, wicked or ghoulish creatures, either.
Sometimes, though, people do put on an emotionally draining mask as they strive to feel accepted and loved. Over time they may come to accept the charade as part of themselves.
For instance, they may act out the role where they have to be the best … at everything. They can’t abide mistakes and feel it’s a badge of honour to say they’re a perfectionist. Ever in fear of failing, they may be chronic procrastinators. They don’t like themselves very much either, because they rarely live up to their own expectations.
They may be caught up in a warped view of the world that is commonly known as perfectionism.
Like many psychologists, Thomas Greenspon believes that perfectionism is more than pushing yourself to do your best to achieve a goal; it’s a reflection of an inner self mired in anxiety, where you constantly feel like an imposter. “Perfectionist people typically believe that they can never be good enough, that mistakes are signs of personal flaws, and that the only route to acceptability as a person is to be perfect,” he said.
Whatever the reason may be for that belief, at the heart of the often life-long anxiety to appear perfect is our adoption of the general belief that the human mind is full of good and bad emotions and beliefs, some of which are detrimental to mental and physical health.
However, what’s gaining wider acceptance in health research today is the degree to which the body is the servant of the mind.
Sometimes a simple shift in thought enables us to take off the imposter’s mask we may have been wearing and lift the mental weight.
Accepting a less human mind for a diviner nature that is more attuned to understanding, compassion and humility, brings with it greater confidence, better relationships and a selfless desire to contribute to the greater good.
It’s the daily diet of serene, spiritual thoughts that transforms our experience, gives us grace for each day and best feeds our famished affections, Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, explains in a very practical elucidation of the Lord’s Prayer.
It’s interesting that current treatments for perfectionism are also moving to thought-based approaches such as acceptance and commitment therapy, meditation and mindfulness, even in the treatment of serious eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa that develop alongside the obsessive quest for the perfect body.
Reports estimate that 15% of Australian women between 12 and 30 years of age suffer from eating disorders at some stage in their lives. These young women (and men) who are crying out for love, acceptance and a better view of themselves, often cause untold anguish for themselves and their families, and sometimes even end their lives in the quest for the perfect body.
Julie Bell reached the point where hospitalisation for malnutrition seemed the only answer when the application of a distinctive thought-based, prayer-based approach, founded on recognition of her flawless, spiritual nature, proved “a glorious turning point”.
She experienced a shift in thought. She realised that she could take control of her own thinking, that her body was the servant and that “food did not have power to govern (her) life or (her) sense of a physical body”.
Not only healed of the eating disorder, she found that other obsessive habits that she hadn’t realised were abnormal completely fell away, as did her fear of going forward in the world.
If you’re tiring of the relentless obsessive or perfectionistic thinking about your body or successes, you may also be more than ready to focus less attention on what you eat or on your limited achievements and more on thinking outside the sensory box. Instead, pondering ideas that tenderly reassure you of your intrinsic value.
The mask of a limited, biophysical viewpoint can be frightening, but its removal will enable you to replace a daily diet of fear and anxiety with a moment-by-moment health-giving intake of love and respect for your perfect, beautiful, spiritual self. The difference will be remarkable.
This post was written by Kay Stroud who is a freelance writer focussing on the undeniable connection between our thinking and our health. She writes for metropolitan and regional news media throughout Australia and beyond, and is a regular contributor to Australia’s national forum, Online Opinion.
Make a Game-Changing New Year’s Resolution Leave a comment
While some of us are still dealing with the influx of visitors, festivities and sun-soaked holidays, in the back of our minds is the niggling thought that 2015 has already begun and now is the time to make our New Year’s resolutions, before it’s too late.
Some are choosing to eat healthier and exercise more. That certainly can make us feel better.
Two other resolutions that go hand-in-hand will not only increase your health but be game-changers in your life: always opt for the positive viewpoint over the negative and choose to be kinder to others.
A friend related how his acquaintance was in hospital recently, suffering from a life-threatening illness.
Things were looking pretty grim and it seemed that he was hanging on by a thread. Then his heart stopped and he ceased breathing.
At that moment, the medical staff on duty in that area of the hospital noticed that he was passing on and began to congregate around his bed …. not rushing to him with defibrillator or drip, but unexpectedly telling jokes, laughing and talking loudly and animatedly about everyday things.
They continued by his bedside including everyone in the ward in the jovial conversation until he began to regain consciousness. The man made a full recovery.
What happened? Did the nurses and doctors know that their confident and caring presence was more effective than apparatus or medication? Yes.
Something similar is at play when a teacher disregards the negative ‘label’ attached to the child and responds with love and recognition of that child’s higher nature and abilities, bringing a turnaround in attitude at school.
Or when a brick wall tumbles down between two people who haven’t spoken to each other for years as one reaches out with forgiveness.
The reasons for such changes for the better spring from (1) choosing a positive, solution-based approach, and (2) trusting our instinct to be warm and caring, despite a temptation to take an impersonal, defeatist or hard-line approach.
Lissa Rankin MD, sought-after TEDx presenter and one of the keynote speakers at the Byron Bay Uplift Festival a few weeks ago, urges us to strip back everything that isn’t really us that we’ve learned in the world of hard knocks, to find that inner pilot light or divine spark of love within.
Research results from studies on cancer recovery and remission support her claim to the beneficial effects of this practice.
Rankin also cites conclusive evidence that an essential part of any successful treatment is engaging a health practitioner who is reassuring, gentle and kind, and treats patients with compassion.
Did Jesus mean in his well-known parable, that the warmth and care that the Good Samaritan showed had as much to do with the traveller’s recovery (who was robbed and beaten by thieves) as the bandages, oil and wine provided?
Mary Baker Eddy believed so and based her scientific, healing method on this premise. An important researcher into how consciousness affects health, she discovered in her investigations and successful treatments through prayer that…
“Whatever holds human thought in line with unselfed love, receives directly the divine power” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures)
Forgetting ourselves and putting others first really FEELS divine and invariably makes us glow with happiness.
I hope your 2015 takes wings. Seems it’s sure to do so if you choose to take this two-pronged approach to a happier, healthier year ahead – adopting a positive, solution-based viewpoint, and actively and warmly caring for yourself and others.
This article by Kay Stroud was published on 32 APN news sites, including these dailies: Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, Sunshine Coast Daily, Bundaberg News Mail, Tweed Daily News, Toowoomba Chronicle, Mackay Daily Mercury, Fraser Coast Chronicle, Coffs Coast Advocate, Clarence Valley Examiner, Lismore Northern Star, Gladstone Observer, Gympie Times, Ipswich Queensland Times, Warwick Daily News.
Kay is a freelance writer focussing on the undeniable connection between our thinking and our health. She writes for metropolitan and regional news media throughout Australia and beyond, and is a regular contributor to Australia’s national forum, Online Opinion.
The Psalm of Love … Psalm 23 1 comment
The Psalm of Love … Psalm 23 – Readings from the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy that were inspired by the 23rd Psalm.
Every Wednesday at 6.15 pm a Testimony Meeting is held at the Christian Science Church in Canberra. Each meeting begins with readings selected from the two books designated as the Pastor of Christian Science: The Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy A new topic for the readings is selected each week.
At the conclusion of the short readings the congregation is invited to share thoughts on this topic and relate how they have used the principles of Christian Science to solve life’s problems and bring physical healing.
If you are in Canberra on any Wednesday please join us. Everyone is welcome.
This recording represents the readings on the topic: The Psalm of Love … Psalm 23.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Click here to read the full text of the readings: The Psalm of Love – Ps 23 full text citations
The Prayer That Heals 1 comment
The Prayer That Heals – Readings from the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
Every Wednesday at 6.15 pm a Testimony Meeting is held at the Christian Science Church in Canberra. Each meeting begins with readings selected from the two books designated as the Pastor of Christian Science: The Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. A new topic for the readings is selected each week.
At the conclusion of the short readings the congregation is invited to share thoughts on this topic and relate how they have used the principles of Christian Science to solve life’s problems and bring physical healing.
If you are in Canberra on any Wednesday please join us. Everyone is welcome.
This recording represents the readings on the topic: The Prayer that Heals.
Christian Science Canberra 