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.
Every Wednesday at 6.15 pm a Testimony Meeting is held at the Christian Science church in Barton (corner of Macquarie and Bligh Streets). At these meetings short readings are followed by time for members of the congregation to share how they have been helped and healed through prayer.
Everyone is welcome. If you are in Canberra on any Wednesday, please join us.
The topic for the readings this week was: To Be Satisfied.
And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (The Bible – Isaiah 58: 11)
This recording is of the readings on this topic of To Be Satisfied.
The Christian Science Church – a part of the Canberra community. Members share testimonies and talk about their lives as Christian Scientists.
This article, ‘Safe in God’s Care’, is by a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. In it the writer tells of protection from injury and a harmonious outcome after her car ran off the road.
God’s love and care are available to all mankind as man is God’s own child, whether that is accepted or not. As a Christian I study the Bible, and as a Christian Scientist I also study the textbook of Christian Science, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, both on a daily basis.
Mankind have daily proofs of God’s care in many ways. Sometimes these proofs come as beautiful angel messages, or perhaps guidance to do or act differently. Other times they can be life-saving experiences.
Some years ago, I had a great need to reach out to God as I lost control of the car I was driving, and found myself spinning across the road with any loose items from my car flying round about me.
The road I was travelling on was very familiar to me – a curving slope in a rural area. Rain had caused a pot hole, which I did not see, to develop in the bitumen, and when the tyre of the car hit the hole the car spun around, rolled over and came to rest on the other side of the road facing in a different direction. The spinning probably only lasted moments, but in that time I remembered turning to God and shouting out, “God is my life”. I am not really sure if I shouted out verbally or in my thinking, but I do know that I was very vehement.
When the vehicle came to rest I was able to open the passengers door and climb out, entirely free from any damage or injury. The next car that came along was driven by some neighbours and they were able to take me home.
I continued to pray by affirming passages from Science and Health. One was about accidents and says, “Under divine Providence there can be no accidents, since there is no room for imperfection in perfection” (p 424: 9); and on page 207: 20 “There is but one primal cause, therefore there can be no effect from any other cause, and there can be no reality in aught which does not proceed from this great and only cause.”
There were no symptoms of shock or any other after effects, even though the car was written off by the insurance company.
How grateful I am to be able to share this experience and to give all glory to God.
To read more testimonies of healing shared by members of the Christian Science Church in Canberra click on the archive headings on the left for May, June and October 2016.
(Photo: Christian Science Church, Canberra from the air)
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 Recovery from Pneumonia, is by a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. It describes a quick healing of pneumonia-like symptoms.
Last year quite suddenly I began to feel ill. Within a day I was laboring to breathe and felt dangerously ill. Some years back I had similarly fallen ill and to comply with work regulations was assessed by a doctor. The diagnosis at this previous time was pneumonia so I was fairly certain that this time, although I did not consult a doctor, I was also presenting with pneumonia symptoms.
I was brought up in Christian Science and have witnessed many healings so I felt confident in relying on prayer again for this.
Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man.
So I held fast to this and the knowledge that I was made in ‘the image and likeness of God’ (Genesis 1: 26, 27) and this settled my thinking. By the next morning I was breathing easily but I still felt extremely unwell. At this point I thought it was wise to contact a friend and ask her to pray with me. This friend expressed such love and tenderness – I just felt enveloped in love. Within a couple of hours the temperature was gone and I was feeling well enough to get up. That night I ate dinner with the family and the next morning I was at my usual post as Superintendent of the Sunday School. This was the end of this condition.
For this, the previous healing of pneumonia, and many other healings through prayer and spiritualisation of thought I am very grateful. Christian Science is teaching me, as I meet such challenges, that we really do have dominion and that God is ‘a very present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46: 1).
To read more testimonies of healing shared by members of the Christian Science Church in Canberra click on the archive headings on the left for May and June 2016.
The Christian Science Church – a part of the Canberra community. Members share testimonies and talk about their lives as Christian Scientists.
This article, Free from Anxiety, is by Jen who is a member of the Christian Science Church in Canberra. She describes how a change of thinking freed her from constant anxiety and gave her a sense of peace and harmony.
I love being a Christian Scientist, and diving deep into health, spirituality and identity, but it can be hard challenging ideas that are accepted as fact by the wider community. Spiritual healing is seen as impractical and ineffective, and it is rare that I tell people that I rely on prayer when I am ill or injured. This is because it is assumed that I pray to a God who would create me capable of being in pain and then sometimes decides to award me a miracle and heal me.
For me, God is a creative, spiritual force that is completely good. As Christian Scientists, we strive to look past sin, suffering and disease, and understand ourselves as primarily spiritual- as the representation of a higher creative power. In asserting our spiritual identities, and understanding a higher creation, we unburden ourselves of thoughts that limit us to be inherently flawed and suffering. As Mary Baker Eddy puts it, ‘Christian Science is the law of Truth, that heals the sick on the basis of the One Mind, Or God’ (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, page 482). Instead of accepting that there is something ‘wrong’ with me, I turn my mind to spiritual truths, namely that I am primarily spiritual and free from ideas of pain or suffering.
I was healed from anxiety this year, and have felt a lightness and freedom. I had accepted a very limited view of myself – I focused on the negatives in my life, and tried to physically control the environment around me to feel safe and secure in myself. This started with my tendency to hide parts of myself that I feared other people would reject, and did everything I could to meet the expectations of those around me in school, during my gap year and later at university. This obsession with control intensified when I lived in Indonesia, where I was constantly harassed by men in the streets and was actually assaulted at one point during my time there. I learned to prepare for the worst case scenario, and was uptight and fearful. This affected my personal life – I was scared that people would find out things about me that they might disapprove of, and I was very distrustful of new people, especially men.
I had a healing when I realised that the opposite of anxiety is to expect good. This did not mean putting my head in the sand and pretending that nothing was wrong, but rather turning away from a limited understanding of myself and the world and focusing on spiritual facts. A God that is all good could not create me fearful and vulnerable, and has not assigned me a future of fear and negativity in order to ‘test’ me. Slowly, I concentrated on correcting fearful thoughts with an expectation of good, and gauging whether ideas coming to me were affirming my identity as a spiritual being or sending me into a negative spiral. The strength I gained by trusting God has led me to be more open with friends and family, to forgive the men in Indonesia who seemed to threaten my safety, and to be relaxed in accepting opportunities that have opened up a whole new world for me. I am so grateful for my background in Christian Science, and have used it as a practical tool in gaining peace and harmony in my everyday life.
To read more testimonies of healing shared by members of the Christian Science Church in Canberra click on the archive headings on the left for May and June 2016.
The four-hourly doses of morphine were such a welcome relief to the intense pain I was experiencing following major surgery. What could possibly make me give them up?
I found there was something that could persuade me to do so. And that’s why, I want to share my experience with sufferers of chronic pain.
In Australia, one in five people live with chronic pain, including adolescents and children. This prevalence rises to one in three people over the age of 65. Chronic pain is linked to depression and suicide and is Australia’s third most costly health condition.
To manage it, a range of treatments such physio and physical therapy, medical acupuncture, thinking strategies, lifestyle changes, nutrition and traditional prescription opioids, are employed.
Despite this, pain is often long-lasting and continues for years with no foreseeable end.
However, I’ve joined a groundswell of people that believe it’s time to do more than simply manage pain. We are convinced it can be reduced, and even healed.
According to a 2011 report, “one reason pain is so hard to treat is that it isn’t just physical.” Our thinking can actually have an impact on the amount of pain we feel.
The power of our expectations is illustrated in a series of trials into the relationship between pain and the placebo effect. Hundreds of patients treating irritable bowel syndrome, migraine and back pain experienced similar or better results from placebos than from strong pain killers.
While it’s agreed that placebos are not a universal panacea, placebo research leads us to think about how much influence thought actually has on our health.
Reasoning from a more spiritual perspective, author Mary Baker Eddy, reached a similar conclusion, explaining that pain is always a mental image or state.
But can pain really be relieved just by thinking differently?
Yes, but in my experience I have found that it needs more than just positive thinking to free us from pain.
So, back to my stay in hospital. In my late-teens I was “on fire” with enthusiasm about a couple of unique books which I had recently revisited. They answered so many of the questions I had about why we are here and whether what our senses perceive is all there is to existence.
The Bible, so comforting to so many people, didn’t seem all that relevant to me until I started reading Science and Health, which brings out its spiritual meaning and explains how and why not only Jesus, but also his early disciples and many of the Old Testament prophets, were able to heal all kinds of physical needs.
I learned that there was a spiritual science in place based on a divine consciousness of being.
My studies had shown the importance of addressing the spiritual need as an aid to recovery, a standpoint now supported by medical research.
I started reading the thought-changing book again right there in hospital, and called a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me by helping me to understand more consistently my real, spiritual nature.
I can still remember the feeling of love and wholeness that engulfed me soon after. No more drugs were needed, and worrying digestive difficulties painlessly dissipated that day.
On this basis, many have been healed of acute and chronic pain, and demonstrated that such pain need not last forever. Peace and health are a present possibility for those willing to dig deeper into the understanding of their spiritual identity.
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.
The Christian Science Church – a part of the Canberra community. Members share testimonies and talk about their lives as Christian Scientists. 
The Christian Science Church – a part of the Canberra community. Members share testimonies and talk about their lives as Christian Scientists. 
The Christian Science Church – a part of the Canberra community. Members share testimonies and talk about their lives as Christian Scientists. 
The four-hourly doses of morphine were such a welcome relief to the intense pain I was experiencing following major surgery. What could possibly make me give them up?
Christian Science Canberra 