Archive for the ‘Wellbeing’ Category
How I Came to Christian Science Leave a comment
This article, How I Came to Christian Science, is by Fran who is a member of the 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.
Peace of Mind Restored 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, Peace of Mind Restored, is shared anonymously by a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. In it the writer tells of his triumph over a debilitating medically diagnosed mental health condition.
As with many others it has been a journey for me to find, accept and gain an understanding of Christian Science.
For almost ten years I have relied entirely on Christian Science to overcome all medical problems. No pills, medicines or drugs of any kind – purely and only Christian Science.
All my life prior to this period I had relied on traditional medicines and doctors. I had been diagnosed with manic depression and mild schizophrenia with associated suicidal thoughts and tendencies. General practitioners, psychiatrists and psychologists had been consulted. I had close to two decades of changing medications and altering dosages, and yet nothing really changed. Homeopathy and hypnosis had even been tried. I just thought this was the way it was and would continue to be.
After an attempted suicide (obviously unsuccessful) I had a stint in hospital and it was there that an event occurred that changed my life: The psychiatrist at the hospital told my wife, ‘there is nothing we can do to stop the suicide attempts; he will do it again; one day he will succeed’. This was the turning point in my life. I knew I had few options so I turned to Christian Science and found a firm fundamental premise upon which to expand my life.
Since turning to Christian Science and studying the text Science and Health with key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy I have been healthier both physically and mentally. My family report that I am calmer, happier and kinder. I can truly agree with Timothy in the Bible when he says: God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1: 7).
As I said previously: no medicines, formulas or pills for almost ten years. The constant in this time has been Christian Science and the text, Science and Health with key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. It was a journey to get to that point and the time was right for me.
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.
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.
Let All Within Me Sing Leave a comment
Let All Within Me Sing – Readings from the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
Title for these reading was taken from hymn 462 in the Christian Science Hymnal:
When my days are much too busy to find where prayer fits in, / There’s a timeless prayer I can always pray: / Simply praising Him. / Praise the creator. Let all within me sing! / For that’s what I am made to do, and stillness it will bring.
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: Let All Within Me Sing.
Gratitude for Lessons from Nature Leave a comment
On Thursday 19 November a Thanksgiving Service was held by the members of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. Many in the congregation gave thanks for the good in their lives:
Gratitude always comes to mind when moving in nature and having close contact with the animal kingdom as there is a certain sense of a universal language of good.
At the moment we are enjoying two horses grazing our paddocks. Last autumn one of them hobbled around on three legs and seemed to be in pain. I spoke to the owner, someone who informed me that she could not afford a vet and could not do anything for the horse. The condition worsened and the leg became very swollen and the horse lost all ability to move around.
When I became aware of this situation early one morning, I felt very alarmed, then went into the house to pray until I saw the right idea of horse. By this I mean that I cleared my consciousness of all that my physical senses were telling me about the situation and instead affirmed the true nature of a horse being foremost a spiritual idea held in a state of perfection within the thought of infinite Mind or God. I spent the next few hours in study of the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy and regained a clearer conviction of the eternal Truth that: God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good (Gen 1: 31).
I also felt the need to pray about home and harmony and became totally absorbed in this Truth of an infinite Love caring for the whole of the universe. The sense that every idea was cared for replaced the dismay I had felt about the sight of this innocent creature.
In the evening both horses were grazing next to each other, the leg soon took on a normal appearance and there was no further difficulty. Several people commented about this surprising change.
This testimony was submitted by CN of Canberra.
The Essential Ingredient for Youth Mental Health Leave a comment
The years between 15-25 are frequently a time of questioning and great discovery, but like many others I found them difficult. I had to deal with chronic disease, failure in my chosen career, a persistent lack of self-worth along with indecision about an alternative career path, and loneliness.
Although never diagnosed, a psychologist would probably have called me depressed.
However, along the rugged path to recovering my childhood inner contentment I found that spiritual activities like prayer, research into some of the world’s most meaningful spiritual writings and participating in church were keeping me sane, mentally motivated, and connected to others in a nurturing environment.
The refocus on unselfish activities gave me a feeling of self-worth again and also contributed to a hopefulness that things would get better. In time, it opened up previously unknown pathways to fulfillment.
Rather than restricting me or quashing my critical thinking, my adolescent research into the spiritual nature of mental and physical health made me realise that what I needed all along was to put into daily practice a growing understanding of my radically awesome relationship to the Divine Being.
To the degree that I acknowledged it, I found that I could actually experience divine Love expressing kindness and unselfishness in me; the divine Mind reflecting intelligence and wisdom in me; the divine Life demonstrating health and wellbeing in me; and so on (ideas from Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy).
Things started to go right for me again. You could say that I saw “the wilderness and desert begin to blossom as the rose”, an image so beautifully depicted in the Bible.
Perhaps not surprisingly, I ended up more consistently in the right head space with a much better view of myself – and was probably a lot more likeable, as well!
A 2008 study published in Australian Family Physician and written by Dr Craig Hassed, Faculty of Medicine at Monash University in Melbourne, reported that “Spirituality is an important determinant of physical, emotional and social health…”
When commenting on escalating trends in youth mental illness his study suggests that “there may be too little attention being given to the ‘protective factors’ against mental illness, of which, particularly for adolescents, are connectedness and having a spiritual or religious dimension to one’s life” (Hassed, The role of spirituality in medicine, 2008).
It’s heartening to learn that spirituality is acknowledged as central to youth mental health by a growing number of psychologists.
It seems to me that clinicians need to speak to the community more about the benefits of spirituality in the treatment of anxiety and depression, and not just in young people, but for everyone.
A spiritual dimension to life will undoubtedly assist you, whether you’re young or old, as you seek (and find) a better, healthier and happier you. That would be the real you!
This article, by Kay Stroud, has been published in the Sunshine Coast Daily, Lismore Northern Star and Bundaberg News Mail. Kay is a freelance writer focussing on the undeniable connection between our thinking and our health.
Never Alone Leave a comment
Never Alone – Readings from the Bible and the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
(Psalms 139: 7-10)
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: Never Alone.
Christian Science Canberra 