Archive for the ‘Values’ Category
Thoughts on Peace Leave a comment
PeaceHow to Achieve a Win-Win Election Leave a comment
There are complaints that the campaigns of the leaders of the two major parties in our upcoming Australian federal election have been downright dull.
But could that be something to be grateful for?
While there have been some negative comments towards other’s policies, let’s hope that every candidate keeps the negativity to a minimum, especially personal criticisms.
Perhaps surprisingly, that’s not only good for the sake of civil discourse, science says it’s also good for the candidates.
A study published in The Journal of Politics notes that “there is no consistent evidence in the research literature that negative political campaigning ‘works.’” The report goes on to say, “While attacks probably do undermine evaluations of the candidates they target…they usually bring evaluations of the attackers down even more.” A lose-lose situation for all concerned.
The mood of the public always dips during negative political campaigns. Normal people with the best of motives can get caught up in the anxiety and anger of opposing sides.
There’s substantial research that suggests political sledging and nastiness can cause emotional extremes and unpleasant physical symptoms. And the worse the negative campaign becomes, the more anxiety and illness may be experienced.
It seems that a more effective political campaign is built on honesty. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science and a leading thinker on the connection between spirituality and experience wrote in her primary work, Science and Health: “Honesty is spiritual power,” a viewpoint that brings health and harmony to all aspects of our lives and the world around us. “Dishonesty is human weakness, which forfeits divine help” (p453) – forfeits success, peace and happiness.
Irrespective of our beliefs, most of us seek morally upright and harmonious government.
Apart from the obvious benefits to the electorate of honest politicians, another research study discovered that honesty is good for the politician too – the less people lie, the better they feel, both mentally and physically.
The constant barrage of human opinions also seems to play an exaggerated role during the lead up to an election. We’d be better off if we rejected the kind of thinking that takes offense at harsh opinions or perspectives, or reacts in fear that they can harm us or our country.
Disciplining our own thought, refusing to dwell on another’s personality or personal opinions and their amplification in the media, is possible and will add to our continued wellbeing.
A spirit of fair play suggests that we give candidates space to have their say, and then it’s our task to discern their motives and look at their record.
For me, as a Christian, that means prayerfully listening for and being guided by universal, divine intelligence and wisdom that discerns the very contents of each heart.
I’d have to say that I’ve found it to be quite a challenge to set aside my past allegiances or political inclinations and to open-mindedly vote, according to the above guidelines, for the individual who I feel will do the most good for the electorate at any particular time.
As a Christian Scientist, specifically, I think we can aim for a win-win result in the 2016 elections, whatever our political stance, by considering this view expounded by Eddy:
“We should remember that the world is wide; that there are a thousand million different human wills, opinions, ambitions, tastes, and loves; that each person has a different history, constitution, culture, character, from all the rest; that human life is the work, the play, the ceaseless action and reaction upon each other of these different atoms. Then, we should go forth into life with the smallest expectations, but with the largest patience; with a keen relish for and appreciation of everything beautiful, great, and good, but with a temper so genial that the friction of the world shall not wear upon our sensibilities; with an equanimity so settled that no passing breath nor accidental disturbance shall agitate or ruffle it; with a charity broad enough to cover the whole world’s evil, and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it…” (Miscellaneous Writings p224, Mary Baker Eddy).
This article was contributed by Kay Stroud, a life-long Christian Scientist, who is a freelance writer focussing on the undeniable connection between our thinking and our experience including 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, and the APN regional network in Northern NSW and Queensland.
You can follow her blog at www.health4thinkers.com
or follow her on twitter: www.twitter.com/KayJStroud
Gratitude for Protection 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 Protection, is shared by Barbara who is a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. In it she describes her introduction to Christian Science and a significant instance of protection during a bush fire.
Recently I read a verse from the Bible which I will quote in part, “Whatsoever things are of good report; … think on these things” (Phil 4:8). This verse reminded me of how much good I have to be grateful for in my life. I have come to recognize that our Creator, God, (ever present good) is the one and only source of all harmony for all of His children.
In my case, this has come about through the teachings of Christian Science as given in the textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
Many years ago I became interested in these teachings through witnessing a remarkable healing which my mother had. At this time, she was suffering from a nervous break-down with strong suicidal tendencies. She herself had heard of Christian Science through her brother who had been healed of a broken neck, and was leading a normal life. She sought the help of a Christian Science practitioner, one who prays, as Jesus did, for the recovery of the sick, or of any inharmony in one’s life.
Gradually literature such as the Christian Science Sentinel and Journal began to appear in the home, as well as the textbook. At first I started to read these, wondering if I could help my mother, and to find out what it was that she was studying. I was so taken by the logic of what I read, that I could not stop reading. This was my introduction to the teachings of Christian Science, and since then I have had daily proof of the omnipotence and omnipresence of God, good.
Apart from daily blessings there have been potentially life threatening experiences where the acknowledgement of God’s law of harmony has saved me and others from grim situations.
One such situation which I would like to share with you is being protected in a bush fire. My husband and I were living rurally at the time, and there were out breaks of fire in the district in a number of places. On this particular day the fire was roaring up from the gully towards several properties and fanned by a wind that seems to drive the fire forward.
The usual precautions had been taken to protect the house, like the grass being cut short around the home, gutters filled with water and buckets of water in place. The only water available was precious tank water. The rural fire brigade must have been elsewhere attending to other fires, and the fire fighters on our property had only wet bags on the ends of long handles to beat the flames as they engulfed the bush and the grass.
The picture was so overwhelming that I did not seem to be able to get a thought that would calm me, and I well knew that it had to be a message from God. I felt like a little child, and the prayer for little children written by Mary Baker Eddy, which I had taught to my children rescued me. It says “Father, Mother, God, loving me, Guard me when I sleep, Guide my little feet up to Thee.” What I got from that was a trust in God that He would guard and guide and all would be well.
Almost immediately we had people as it seemed, just come from everywhere, to assist. Our house and the fire were a goodly distance from the main road, but people just came down the house road with all manner of helpful things. One man came in a small utility truck with a tank on the back full of liquid which he sprayed from a pump. We later found that it was an insecticide, but it helped douse the flames. Others came just as they saw the smoke from the main road. Another man who lived further along the road eventually left us to go and check out his own property, and there were others, and more stories.
Both properties closest to the fire were saved, and of course those further up the hill were also out of danger. There was no loss of life in the vicinity, praise be to God. To me, this is indeed “good report”, and I love to “think on these things”.
Choosing Life Leave a comment
For some of us it’s a big jump to conceptualize that changes we want to make don’t start “out there” but in our own thought. This is clear to me as I listen to my diverse range of friends, many of them of retiree age, over catch-up coffees and lunches.
All of my friends are beautiful people but there are marked differences in their attitudes towards ageing, and in particular how they talk about themselves. For some the state of their body is front and centre of their thinking and their conversation is peppered with comments such as: “Oh well, what can you expect at our age.”
While other friends never mention health or age. They are full of the adventure of life – of the joys of retirement or the fulfilment and challenges of a long working career. Listening to these friends it’s clear they are less impressed with how their body is doing and more engaged with expressing the continuity of activity, progress, growth, energy, renewal, vigour, buoyancy.
These qualities start in our thought, and could be described as coming from a universal Mind. Mary Baker Eddy, one of my favourite authors on ageing, wrote in her primary text, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: You embrace your body in your thought, and you should delineate upon it thoughts of health, not of sickness (p208).
She goes on to say: Man is more than a material form with a mind inside, which must escape from its environments in order to be immortal. Man reflects infinity, and this reflection is the true idea of God.
God expresses in man the infinite idea forever developing itself, broadening and rising higher and higher from a boundless basis (p258).
Her premise is that our life reflects our thinking. In Science and Health again she writes: Your decisions will master you, whichever direction they take. … Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously (p392).
Choices are important in shaping our experience and so my personal challenge moment by moment is to choose these qualities of life, and then look for them in experience. It certainly makes for livelier catch-up coffees with friends!
This article was submitted by Deborah Packer of Canberra.
Love Thy Neighbour 1 comment
Love Thy Neighbour – Readings from the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? … he who loves God must love his brother also. (John 4: 20, 21)
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: Love Thy Neighbour.
Feed the Hungry Leave a comment
Feed the Hungry – Readings from the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
He that gives to the poor shall not lack (Proverbs 28: 27)
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: Feed the Hungry
A Timeless Beauty 1 comment
I was looking at an old black and white photo of my mum the other day. I guess she would have been in her early twenties so it was probably taken about 70 years ago. My mum was quite a beautiful lady and as a young woman she was very lovely. She had a special grace about her that made you want to look longer.
I began to think, if she was around today looking like that you would still have to say she was beautiful, but she wouldn’t fit today’s standards of beauty. Her skin was whiter, her body fleshier, her hair contrived into curls and she wore a pretty frock. This set me to thinking about what beauty really is. In each era fashion seems to give us strict dictates as to what the ideal look is – how tanned our skin should be, how lean our body, even the shape of our eye-brows. If we are not careful this can lead to a sense of striving for the impossible – not many of us fit that ideal model. So does this mean that we are not beautiful?
The qualities people saw in my mother – intelligence, calmness and strength in the face of trouble, joy at the little things, devotion to family and friends, innocence, resilience, energy – these qualities shone out of her right to the last. They were the qualities that people mentioned when they commented on how lovely my mother was. They didn’t mention her physical appearance. They mentioned qualities they saw. Mary Baker Eddy, one of the first women to investigate thoroughly the connection between consciousness and experience, writes in her textbook, Science and Health: Beauty, as well as truth, is eternal; but the beauty of material things passes away, fading and fleeting as mortal belief. … Comeliness and grace are independent of matter (p247).
She goes on to say:
All beauty and goodness are in and of Mind, emanating from God; but when we change the nature of beauty and goodness from Mind to matter, the beauty is marred, through a false conception, and, to the material senses, evil takes the place of good (Rudimental Divine Science p6).
Perhaps if we put as much thought and effort into developing these beautiful qualities of Mind as we do our outward appearance our beauty would be less ephemeral and grow and blossom with the passing years.
This post was submitted by Deborah Packer of Canberra.
Love – The Fulfilling of the Law Leave a comment
Love – the Fulfilling of the Law – Readings from the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p454)
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: Love – the Fulfilling of the Law.
Help to heal our world; conquer fanaticism 1 comment
What I most love about my country is our general lack of fanaticism – a startling contrast to recent high-profile instances of it here and elsewhere. I started thinking about this subject before the terrorism events in Paris, but those events have made dealing with fanatical thinking seem even more imperative.
A fanatic expresses excessive, irrational zeal. Far from taking an intelligent and well-informed stance on an issue, their passion and manic obsession with a cause or way of doing things colour their decision-making ability negatively.
Fanaticism about a political or religious philosophy that makes us feel superior; holding obsessively to a non-proven hypothesis; belief that there is only one way to play football and there’s a single worthy team; prejudice about what foods we should eat and the best way to cultivate them; or uncompromising belief that we only need to attend to the physical body to be healthy, are all too common habits that lead us down a slippery slope of intolerance. Fanatical beliefs are nearly always built on fear.
A red flag should go up if we find ourselves extremely sensitive about our viewpoint or hating anyone who opposes it.
Alternatively, common sense based on a positive stance, sure of a solution becoming apparent that will be good for everyone, is a better viewpoint. This demeanour is not just a good-old Aussie “she’ll be right” attitude, but grows out of a well-informed and caring approach to the world.
This is a spiritual approach that begins with ourselves – that is, feeling and accepting the love that comes from our divine source. It’s so much easier to love, when we’re feeling loved.
What will help the world through this current fermentation is our individual commitment to choosing love and understanding over hate and apathy.
I find it’s useful to ask myself: could I be a little more thoughtful and kinder with my comments? I’d have to confess that the answer is usually, “well, maybe.”
Try this scenario. If you could go back in time, would you choose to continually belittle our ancestors’ beliefs about a flat earth? Wouldn’t you instead gently nurture and point out bridges of understanding to help them comprehend the reality?
American Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, president of the Minaret of Freedom Institute was interviewed about possible motives for the killings at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Married to a Christian, Mr Ahmad holds a unique perspective on cross-cultural understanding (or misunderstandings) between Muslims and non-Muslims. He pointed out, “…it is one thing to make a joke about a rich man or a powerful man who slips and falls. It is something entirely different and not funny to make a joke about your poor old grandmother slipping and falling. To the Muslim people, jokes and cartoons about the faith of an oppressed people are not funny. They hurt.”
We all know how humiliation hurts, and most of us at some time have been down the road of wanting to lash out at a perceived enemy.
So, if we can empathise, we can forgive and work towards healing our world.
Academics and experienced change-managers in the field of terrorism psychology are stepping forward this week to share with the world some common patterns for success in de-radicalising regimes and terrorists. (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0525/Are-terrorists-beyond-redemption)
Surprisingly, these don’t include retribution but active, solution-based change-management, such as recognizing the needs of jihadists; finding them vocational education, jobs and even wives; and, recognizing the importance of their social network (http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/11/05/the-3-step-guide-to-de-radicalizing-jihadists/)
Whether or not you have a direct hand in these compassionate measures, you can begin to make a difference in the health of our wonderfully promising world by de-radicalising your own thinking.
Utilise this good advice to start the healing movement within your own circle:
• “Hate no one; for hatred is a plague-spot that spreads its virus and kills at last…
• If you have been badly wronged, forgive and forget…
• Never return evil for evil;
• and, above all, do not fancy that you have been wronged when you have not been.” (Mary Baker Eddy)
None of us have all the answers to the world’s problems right now, but today you can at least be a law to yourself to give up any fanatical beliefs you may be harbouring. This self-regulating action is also good for your stress levels, heart, immune system and much more.
This article is by Kay Stroud. Her articles on the link between consciousness, spirituality and health appear regularly in APN print and online publications. For more information on these trends or answers to questions about Christian Science visit www.health4thinkers.com
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.
Christian Science Canberra 