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.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
My heart is full of gratitude to God for His constant care and the teachings of the Holy Bible together with a greater awareness of who I am really as taught through the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. Mrs Eddy shared her ideas with the world through the teachings of Christian Science which she discovered through a personal healing in the year 1866.
She explains that through a better understanding of God we can have healing experiences as promised by our Wayshower, Jesus Christ. He reminded us that with God all things are possible and that the wonderful works which he did were available to all and not restricted to any time in human history.
I would like to share how I was healed of headaches early in my study of Christian Science. At this time of my life I was working in a job which put me constantly attending to the public and expected to be always bright, smiling and attentive to the needs of others.
Sometimes this was a challenge as I was bothered by headaches. One particular day as I went about my business I asked myself if I thought that God could have a headache. I already knew a bit about God, His goodness and purity, His all-power and presence, and His constant love for His children, His ideas, totally inseparable from the Creator. God, the author of man, could not have a headache.
Next question – well, could I, as one of those children, possibly have a headache? Answer, totally impossible! I could have only what God gave me and that was all good, so no headache in that goodness. The throbbing vanished immediately, and for all time. The healing was immediate and remained permanent.
Over the intervening years, which are many, I have not had another headache. I cannot say that the temptation has not tapped on the door of my consciousness, but it is briskly dismissed because I know that this suggestion has been dealt with and I do not need to cover that old ground again. To use the words of Jesus, “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Matt 4:10). Satan is a Hebrew word signifying an adversary, an enemy, an accuser. Sometimes I would simply declare: I don’t do headaches.
As I write about this experience I also recall another proof of the completeness of the healing many years later. I was working in an office at the time, and as people went home from work they walked past my desk as they stepped into the lift. On this particular day as one of the ladies left she said she couldn’t wait to go home as she had such a terrible headache. I mentally cried out, “There is no such thing as a headache” God does not have them or give them, so they cannot exist.
A very short time later the lift returned and this same lady stepped out of the lift and asked, “Did you pray for me? By the time I got to ground level the headache had gone” The office was four floors above ground level. This person knew that I prayed about things, but as I recall I just smiled and said “no such thing as a headache”.
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.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. (The Bible -Psalm 119: 117)
Today in casual conversation with a friend the subject of cars came up. We were exchanging stories about how we came to have our present vehicles, and what previous cars we had. We discovered that we had in the past the same make of car which we really enjoyed because it was a road hugging car in which we felt very safe. I related that my car previous to this one had been written off with me driving and how I had been protected through this experience.
I would like to share my story with a heart full of gratitude to God, good, that I was not hurt, but walked away from the scene totally unscathed. The country road that I was travelling on was very well known to me as I used it daily travelling to work and home again and at weekends when I went out.
I was living rurally at the time in a hilly area and the road was winding down towards the township. There had been a lot of rain overnight which had caused a pothole to form in the road and I did not see the hole as I came around the bend. One wheel of the car hit the edge of the pothole which caused the car to spin. I found myself unable to right the car as it spun to the other side of the road facing the opposite direction and over on its side.
As the car was flying through the air, with anything loose in the car flying about as well, I heard myself shouting out, “God is my life, God is my life, I cannot be separated from God, my life.” When all the spinning was over I was able to climb out of a door and proceeded to walk home which was probably about a couple of miles away. Even this was taken care of, as at that time a neighbouring farmer and his wife came driving up the road and took me home.
My husband and I had then to do the calling of the police and arrange to get the car back on the road. I had been on my way to church at the time where I had a duty to perform. After ringing to make my apologies I decided that I may as well bake a cake which I had intended to do when I got home from church anyway.
There were no after-effects from this experience. In fact it did not occur to me that there could be until the next day at my place of work someone commented that at least I should have had a headache as the result of the incident. The protection was complete as I turned to the presence of my Father-Mother God as the source of my life. My subsequent car was the road hugger which I enjoyed driving for a good number of years.
All power unto our God is given, on Him we place reliance. (Hymn 10 – Christian Science Hymnal)
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
Early last year I needed to have my reading glasses replaced and this meant having an eye examination for a new script. At the end of the examination the optometrist informed me that I had a cataract forming on my left eye. He said that he wouldn’t recommend any treatment at that point but in a year I should look at having it removed.
At first I was tempted to feel concerned about this situation. I had quite a few friends who had had cataracts surgically removed and although they had all said it was a fairly straight forward procedure, it was not something that I had ever contemplated doing. I have always handled problems, both physical and otherwise, through prayer.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures is my textbook for life. In it, Mary Baker Eddy writes: Mind, not matter, is causation. … You embrace your body in your thought, and you should delineate upon it thoughts of health, not of sickness (p208: 25). She goes on to say: 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 (p392: 11). I thought on these ideas and every time my eye situation came into thought I claimed my spiritual perfection and denied the necessity for giving in to this verdict. This brought me a sense of peace and within a short time my eye stopped bothering me and I forgot to think about it anymore.
Recently when I again visited the optometrist for new glasses I was told that my eyes were perfectly healthy and there was no sign of a cataract. Christian Science is teaching me that the body is the representation of my thinking – what I believe about it is what I will experience. By learning to see myself as spiritual, not material, I can overcome beliefs of limitation or ill-health
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
A few months ago I was attempting to pump some oil from a bottle that had a plunger top. The plunger was jammed and I gave it a hard bop to unstop it. This caused a very large glob of oil to shoot straight into my left eye. The pain was instantly intense. I immediately tried to wash it out but the oil was made not to wash off easily in water. For a few moments I struggled with the extreme sensation.
As a student of Christian Science I have studied the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy all my life. There are many passages from these texts I turn to in order to bring me calm in times of challenge. Although I didn’t remember the exact words of this passage from Science and Health, I did remember the substance of it. It states:
When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, “I am hurt!” Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real.
Now reverse the process. Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuing good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All, which the Scriptures declare Him to be(p397).
I turned my full attention to this idea and straight away I felt calm and the pain quickly stopped. As the day wore on though, my face began to swell, I lost vision in that eye and it closed over. The next day my face was in an even worse state but there continued to be no pain. I held to the view of myself as a spiritual idea and not simply a mortal body. I continued to pray. It felt as though this situation was some kind of bad dream from which I was waiting to wake up. The following morning I was no better and if I pulled my eye open I could see nothing.
I spent this morning studying the weekly Christian Science Bible Lesson (passages from the Bible and Science and Health). There was one sentence from Science and Health that stood out to me: … the dreamer and dream are one, for neither is true nor real (p530: 27-29). When I read this I realised I had been thinking of myself as a dreamer – someone who was dreaming this bad dream. This passage was telling me there was no dreamer. If there is no dreamer there can be no dream. I loved this idea. I understood it in a way I hadn’t done before. Suddenly I felt joyous and happy, and I forgot to think about my face anymore. I had planned to meet a friend for coffee that afternoon so I kept the appointment and I met up with her. We talked for over an hour. Not once did she mention my face. I looked in the mirror when I got home and I realised that all was normal – even my vision was normal. That night I attended a big family dinner – no one could even tell which eye had been at issue.
I continue to be immensely grateful for what Christian Science is teaching me about my true spiritual nature and of my dominion over the claims of this material world.
The members of the Christian Science community in Canberra share their experiences and thoughts on Christian Science:
Wake up. Bound out of bed. Feet on the ground. Up and running. Seize the day!
Some advocate such a start to the day. Others are advocates for an “Oh no! Not another day” approach and pull the covers up and almost refuse to face the day.
To begin my day, I start with a more reflective approach. It is not a reaction to the day. It is a contemplative period beginning with a daily prayer. I begin my day with the Daily Prayer from the Manualof the Mother Church:
“Thy kingdom come;” let the reign of divine Truth, Life and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them! (Manual of the Mother Church p41, Mary Baker Eddy)
This apparently simple prayer holds so much. But why start the day with such an invocation?
From my experience, beginning with such an approach has a calming effect on my entire day. It allows me to be less reactive to events that occur during the day. There is a certain degree of ‘stillness’ within me, and this allows me to call this prayer to mind so much more easily throughout the day. It reminds me of who I am and what I am capable of. This prayer allows me to feel more at ease with the world and engenders a degree of ‘spirituality’ within me.
Those days when I do not start the day with the Daily Prayer, I tend to encounter ‘problems’ – disharmony, reactions to situations, greater disagreement – thoughts tend to ‘race’, and it is much more difficult to rein in my thoughts. I still refer to the Daily Prayer on such days, but getting back to such a more considered, reasoned and thoughtful mindset can be time consuming.
In Christian Science there are seven synonyms for God: Life, Love, Mind, Principle, Soul, Spirit and Truth. If I start the day with such a thought – let God (Truth, Life, Love) be established in me – how can I not have anything but a great day? This prayer goes further and asks that God’s reign rules out of me all sin. All sin, not just some, but ALL sin. This is to start the day! What a positive way to greet the day: clear my thoughts; start the day seeking and finding all good within myself. Building on this, the prayer then looks at God’s word to “enrich the affections of all mankind”. Already at the beginning of the day, I go beyond looking at and thinking about myself and adjust my thoughts to include all mankind.
This is not a prayer without substance. This is an applied prayer, with application for all my interactions and thoughts throughout the day. Without the application of this prayer my day can be somewhat ‘pear-shaped’; by applying this prayer even before getting out of bed my day is so much better.
There is immense wisdom in the old proverb, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.” …
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, — determined not to be offended when no wrong is meant, nor even when it is, unless the offense be against God.
These words are taken from an article titled, Taking Offense, by Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. They were published in her book, Miscellaneous Writings 1883-18896 pp223-224.
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