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Healing Our Concept of Man

In the definition of Adam in the Glossary of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the author states in part that Adam is a “material belief”.

What is the material belief here? The belief that man (used here as defining all mankind) has ever been separated from God; that man has ever been anything but God’s spiritual, perfect creation, His image and likeness.

So often it is these two concepts that need healing – our concept of who or what God is and what man is.

I’ve helped to see through a couple healings recently by using the definition of man on page 475 of the book previously mentioned. This definition starts out by saying what man is not and proceeds to say what is. The definition proceeds in this denial and affirming method.

We must realize that there never has been an imperfect man. Therefore we can not accept any lie that is whispered into our thought by error or the carnal mind as the Bible calls it about our imperfection, inability, or limitation. We can see ourselves and know ourselves only as God sees and knows us since He created us.

And then we take it another step and see and know everyone around us as that perfect man. My teacher once told me that if we are seeing or accepting something imperfect about someone else we are automatically accepted it for ourselves. Because that person is God’s creation just as we are.

Further in this definition of man it is stated:

Jesus beheld in Science the per‐
fect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal
man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour
saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man
healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom
of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy.
Man is not a material habitation for Soul; he is himself
spiritual. Soul, being Spirit, is seen in nothing imperfect
nor material.

So therefore we have to look up and see that perfect man all around us everywhere and that automatically frees us right up from any limitation. We can’t see ourselves or others in anyway than what God sees us and we don’t have to accept any suggestions coming to us either mentally, verbally, subtly, or aggressively that we are anything but God’s perfect reflection, forever one with God and forever like God.

This can be challenging at times but it is cause for great spiritual growth by which comes our freedom from challenge or limitation.

As a side note, great freedom has also come from reading that definition from the feminine perspective and substituting the word woman for man. Healing has resulted from this true, spiritual, and perfect view of woman.

Can we talk about politics?

I had the first successful conversation with my husband on politics (I felt :) ) last night. Perhaps it was because we were interrupted by our arrival at the Wednesday night testimony meeting at our church (maybe all political conversations should happen on our way in to church :) ).

I was able to see his perspective and that it wasn’t right or wrong, just as my perspective wasn’t right or wrong. They were both ideas and philosophies about government and they both could be successful. In fact they each attempt to repair the problems with the other system. But the problem isn’t the system (whether it’s more government control or less); the problem is with the greed, misuse of control, dishonesty or lack of balance that can occur in both of these systems. And a fear of what will take control if the other system takes place.

I, of course, don’t have the perfect government solution but I was grateful for the breakthrough in having a conversation about government that didn’t have to result in my taking your side or you taking mine. I could simply just let go and appreciate someone else’s perspective rather than trying to find the faults in theirs because they could certainly find the faults in mine.

So I guess the bottom line is, it was nice to share ideas. I’m glad church was there to stop our conversation before it perhaps turned into an unsuccessful conversation, but perhaps we will get better at this as we progress.

It just felt good to humbly think, I don’t know what’s best, and I don’t have all the answers but thanks for sharing your ideas and hearing mine too.

What is a Christian Science Practitioner?

A Christian Science Practitioner has a variety of ways they can support someone. You can call a practitioner about anything! There is always a spiritual approach to problems or ways of thinking that can help us find peace, healing and restoration.

Christian Science Practitioners are always available and always happy and willing to talk to you and tell you more about your unbroken relationship with God – even if you have never known God before or been unsure.

Christian Science refers to God as Life, Truth, Love, Principle, Mind, Soul and Spirit. These are universal terms for God that are usable and acceptable by everyone regardless of religious and previous background.

God is Life itself – our life, your life, my life, which is indestructible and eternal and incapable of discord and decay. God and His or It’s laws are the Truth; God and what She created is the Truth. God is Love itself, the only source of love and cause of love and is unconditional, not judgmental or punishing. God is Principle, the law, and the foundation of the universe, unchanging and scientific. God is Mind, the one and only Mind, always thinking, knowing, seeing, and guiding all ideas. God is Soul, the one and only Soul, which is the source of our identity and individuality as well as our spiritual sense. And God is Spirit, totally spiritual, pure, holy, perfect, everywhere, indestructible and totally unlimited.

See? God in this way is tangible and understandable to everyone. And this information is found in the Bible and in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. These books can be used to search, understand, and explore your relationship with God more on your own. And you can call a Christian Science Practitioner to pray with you and for you and to give you fresh ideas and insight for your situation.

For more information on Christian Science Practitioners you can visit here.

We are going to heaven tomorrow!

I got an idea. What if there was an announcement that said we were all going to heaven tomorrow, like we were all going to go on an Exodus or something. What would today be like? Well, I reckon, that everyone would feel happy and free. People would probably be rejoicing, cheering, and sharing in joy with their neighbors and friends. There wouldn’t be a thought about material possessions or things. Everyone would truly be seeing substance, divine substance, and the substance of who we all truly are.

This image enabled me to see mankind’s (as in men, women, and children’s) true nature – happy, free, light, worriless, fearless, kind, sharing, unselfish, and joyful.

It was such a lovely and a healing image. I realized this is who man really is and who man wants to be. This is what makes man up and what is natural, normal, and healthy to man. It’s worry and fear that come in and mess things up. But that’s not man’s nature, which has never changed from this original image – pure and perfect.

Well even better we can know that heaven is here and now, as Jesus taught us. The definition of heaven in the glossary of Science and Health defines heaven as “Harmony; the reign of Spirit; government by divine Principle; spirituality; bliss; the atmosphere of Soul.”

Well this is what we can all see and know now. That God, Spirit, is our creator and has created all of us spiritually. We are made in His/Her image and likeness. We are whole, complete, spiritual, perfect and free now. We inherently know this already. And this understanding results in human freedom, health, harmony and happiness. We don’t all disappear nor do we have to, to understand all of this. But this spiritual understanding of Truth and substance results in harmonious, active, and functioning human systems now.

So let’s all rejoice that we are spiritual and perfect know. We can rejoice in our Creator and in God’s spiritual perfect creation now. We can see and know what is true, and as we do that the human symbol of that will be manifested in our experience.

What a joy to know that we are already in heaven here and now :)

Lots of love!

God Is Our Friend

I came across this passage in the book of John yesterday. Jesus says, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

What a wonderful idea that Christ, the divine message from God to man ever-present in the human consciousness, is our friend. The Christ wants us to see and know all of God’s goodness. Therefore the Christ is always helping us, supporting us, and showing which way is right to go. I love the idea that God is not a secret or a mystery. And God does not want to be a secret or a mystery, which is why He revealed himself through Christ Jesus – to show us the way, the right way, and to reveal his true nature to us. God revealed Himself as Love, as our Father, through what Jesus taught us. And Jesus also showed us that it is not God’s will for us to be sick or sinful or to be punished. Jesus removed all of that suffering and even showed us that in following God we will have all of our practical needs taken care of (in the example of withdrawing money for the taxes from the fishes mouth, and in multiplying the loaves and fishes). We never have to worry when we are following God’s way and direction.

God is our friend; God loves us and cares for every need and desire we have. And Christ is our friend, always with us, and always imparting God’s sweet, precious will for us, which is outside of any limitation.

What a reason to rejoice and to feel safe and secure with our friend.

Scarcity vs. Abundance Mentality

This is a very interesting article written by an MD in Bend, Oregon.
You can download the pdf to check it out.
Enjoy!

http://www.healinghealthcareassoc.org/documents/abundance-vs-scarcity.pdf

How do we achieve world peace?

Everyone prays for world peace. But peace isn’t an attainment. Peace is within us and we just have to live it. We don’t have to wait for peace to happen or to come around; it starts with each individual. Every individual can decide to live a peaceful life. We can decide and start to be peaceful with our neighbors, our sisters, our family, our co-workers, our friends. Peace starts with each individual deciding to live a peaceful life. Imagine the ripple effect. You can’t get into a fight with peace; you can’t be at war with peace. Peace doesn’t react; peace stands still and doesn’t get fazed. Peace doesn’t get ruffled feathers or bent out of shape. But peace isn’t passive, or passive aggressive. Peace is active, it is action; it is a conscious decision or choice. And it is the most active thing we can do. It is an activity that blesses the whole world including our brother who we are being peaceful towards. It protects us and keeps us safe. It keeps us from regret, dismay, guilt or fear. And it keeps us from shame.

When we lead a peaceful life, we live a righteous life and we can feel confident, good and strong about that. We gain a good reputation; people know you and respect you. And that reputation will assist you. People know what you’re about and can’t accept any lie about you.

Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jesus Christ are people who preached, lived, and led others to live peaceful lives. They showed us the peaceful way. So as we pray and yearn for the world to be at peace; to stop the violence, the war, the killing, the defiance, the resistance; let’s start with our own lives and make peace right where we are. Let’s not accept that we have to live with a lack of peace or unrest forever. Let us not accept that that is just the way the world is. Instead let us accept that right now, today, peace starts with us. Make a choice and an action that firmly establishes peace.

How do we overcome fear in our lives?

In the chapter I’m reading entitled Christian Science Practice in the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, it states that divine Love heals the sick instantaneously.

From my experience I know that nothing feels better than God’s love. And through the understanding of God’s love and in feeling God’s love, all fear is wiped out.

I had an experience like this yesterday when I was having an intense back pain. It was prohibiting me from moving and even from lying down. After a short nap, I woke up but wasn’t feeling much relief. I then began declaring that I am not afraid. There seemed to be a fear of future issues or hypothetical problems (it’s kind of funny to be afraid of problems that don’t even exist yet). But as I started with the simple fact that I am not afraid, the fear began disappearing and I was able to get up and move around.

In fact our natural state of being is to be unafraid. If you’ve felt it before, it is an amazing feeling; you feel completely clear and you know that nothing can stop you or convince of not doing the right thing. I do hope we all get the opportunities on a day-to-day basis of feeling unafraid.

I watched the movie “Inside Man” last night, and it became clear to me that fear was keeping people from seeing what was going on. Fake guns were used in the bank robbery and no one was actually in any danger. If everyone knew that, they could have all waited peacefully for the resolution of the issue at hand and probably seen the solution to the problem more clearly (mainly that the bank robber was simply trying to get back at the owner of the band for past war crimes). The solution was entirely above and beyond what people were able to see, because a mortal sense of things, mainly fear, was blocking their true perception of motive and character.

Such is the same in a case of sickness and disease. And fear is always what needs to be handled first. God’s creation is fearless, so fearlessness is actually our natural state. When we see and know that God is the true substance of our being, that we are and all of God’s creation is actually purely spiritual and intact, and that life is eternal because God is the only Life, than we know we can be afraid.

Mary Baker Eddy, a spiritual healer, teacher, and religious leader states that when fear is gone, the disease vanishes into its native nothingness.

So let’s all try and overcome fear together. And I find we can do this through expresses God’s love to one another. In her spiritual interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer, Mrs. Eddy states “Love is reflected in love”. So we can all reflect God’s love and live a completely fearless life together. The Bible also gives us authority that “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.”

How Does God Interact With Humanity?

God is love and is the only cause and creator. God absolutely governs humanity. Jobs, health, relationships are all completely under God’s control, protection and provision.

This is reality here and now but only as it assimilates the divine. God is the substance of the human experience. That is why we never have to be afraid. Every thing, person or object is safe in God. “Substance is that which is eternal and incapable of discord and decay. Truth, Life, and Love are substance...Spirit, the synonym of Mind, Soul, or God, is the only real substance. The spiritual universe, including individual man, is a compound idea, reflecting the divine substance of Spirit.”

God’s creation is entirely spiritual and perfect. And this is the substance of all that we see here and now. All that we see around us is a manifestation of God’s spiritual ideas – God’s spiritual conception of the universe. Therefore it is already complete, whole, perfect and untouchable.

Supply is already complete. Job and business functions are already harmonious. And God absolutely governs and controls the body – every function, organ, and system of the body is under the harmonious control of God.

So we can just give up the false notion that we have control over anything, and let God do the controlling and governing. Yield to God – divine Love and Good’s – presence in our lives. Then we will see and recognize God’s kingdom – the reign of harmony – on earth.

How Can We Respond to the Earthquake in Haiti?

How can we respond to the earthquake in Haiti?

What comes to mind when praying about this recent event is this idea of devastation. And we can pray to know that our thought and our spiritual nature cannot be devastated. That we can indeed hold on to hope and the light that is always present in our thought. God’s love is always present and is loving, helping and assisting us. Good is not over and it doesn’t end. So even more than the picking up of rubble and the physical recovery of Haiti, we can pray to know that our spirits and no ones spirits can be “devastated”.

Life is God and our loved ones are always safe and secure in God. Jesus says that life eternal is the knowledge of himself and the Father. Therefore these dear ones are still living and going on. It is as though they have just taken a trip to another part of existence that we can’t go on right now. But they are well and they are safe and secure in God’s love.

And we can expect to be united in love and life right here and now. Life is still going on, and there is always freshness and newness to life. As the many groups of people and individuals go to Haiti to provide assistance, we see that life is rebuilding itself. There is always hope and newness and freshness and when we feel God’s presence we know this is true.

Paul says that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:38)

This means that the love of God is not in Christ Jesus, per say, but that we know God’s love through Jesus’ life and example. Perhaps he was the master of the newness of life as he showed that even the hatred of the world and the Word of God could never separate him from the life that is eternal, the life that is God. He overcame the hatred and the grave and demonstrated that God is the only life and God’s love never ends.

And nothing can separate us from feeling God’s love. No matter where our thought is – even in the darkest places of grief, devastation, and fear – God’s love is able to access us; is able to reach us and to lift up our thoughts to higher thoughts, immortal thoughts which are God’s thoughts. Nothing can separate us from this light and love because nothing can separate our thought from God’s thought. God is always speaking to us and is always imparting hope, eternity, life, peace, fearlessness, and satisfaction.

As we learn about our true spiritual nature and our inseparability from God, we will learn that we are governed by God’s pure, perfect law of consistent, uninterrupted goodness. We learn that God’s law is the only law that governs us and therefore renders material or natural law null and void. As we become more in tune with the divine, listening and obeying God we will find harmony not only for ourselves but also for everyone.

God isn’t a mystery. God is the unchanging Principle of Good. And things like earthquakes seem to come about because mortals believe in another life and power and existence separate from God. They are dark images of mortal thought which seem to be power. But we can turn our thought to “the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts.” Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures

As we learn about the one reality that God created and made and that it is here and now, we can see that we live there now. Nothing can interrupt us from feeling God’s harmony and goodness. There is just one reality and as we turn our thought there now, we can experience that in our lives today.

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures states,

“Let the perfect model be present in your thoughts instead of its demoralized opposite. This spiritualization of thought lets in the light, and brings the divine Mind, Life not death, into your
consciousness.”

We can be conscious right here and now of God’s perfect reality which is untouched. And as we are, we will carve that out in the human experience. But we never turn back to look at the human picture. We always keep our consciousness on what is good and true and eternal. This alone will manifest in all the help, resources, aid, peace, joy and happiness that we need.

For more spiritual articles on the earthquake in Haiti see these:

http://www.spirituality.com/article.jhtml?ElementId=/repositories/shcomarticle/Jan2010/1263414158.xml&ElementName=Prayers%20from%20Japan%20about%20natural%20disasters

http://www.spirituality.com/article.jhtml?ElementId=/repositories/shcomarticle/Jan2010/1263413320.xml&ElementName=From%20earthquakes%20to%20bomb%20scares%20%E2%80%A6%20prayer%20about%20the%20unexpected

Can We Find Permanent Happiness?

Can we find permanent happiness?


Sometime ago, I went through a rough patch of failing relationships and a deep feeling of unhappiness. I just couldn’t find the right relationship I was looking for, and I was feeling very down.


On a flight home from visiting a friend, I reached out to God in prayer. I asked God what I needed to know to be happy. The answer I got was different from what I expected and it was that I had a purpose. I realized that my unhappiness had come from a feeling that I did not have a purpose at that time. There were career goals I had down the line, that didn’t seem to be a viable thing right now and I had just gotten out of a long term relationship that I had hoped would lead to marriage. I realized that although I wasn’t sure what was going on career-wise, the relationship had made me feel as though I was moving towards something that I wanted in life. But with that ending and still not being sure what I was doing job-wise, I was left without a feeling to purpose.


I prayed and asked God what I was my purpose. I was given the idea to further pursue a career path that had been neglected in my thought. Upon returning home, I started pursuing that work and received several calls for jobs within that week. I became so enthusiastic about my new work and purpose that I completely forgot about the relationship issues.


This was put to the test a couple weeks later when a issue from a past relationship came up. I started to think more about happiness. The concept of the “pursuit of happiness” came to mind. I realized that this was a human belief that was so engrained in us, it was even written in our Declaration of Independence! The human belief was that we are trying to chase something that we don’t have. I pictured someone in hot-pursuit of happiness which was always just out their grasp. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures it states “Happiness is spiritual; born of Truth and Love”. I knew from my study of Christian Science that if happiness was spiritual that meant it was a quality already including in me, since God created me (and all of his creation) spiritually, in His own image and likeness.


I rejoiced in knowing happiness was already included in me and that I didn’t have to try and find it. And since it is “born of Truth and Love” (synonyms from God) that means it comes from God. It didn’t come from a relationship or a job. I finally had learned the truth about happiness, which has sustained from through the years.


In Miscellaneous Writings, Mrs. Eddy writes in essence that a false sense of what constitutes man’s happiness is detrimental to human progress. I am so grateful that I learned where happiness comes from and that all of us can know that our happiness comes from God and we can, therefore, be forever happy, grateful, content and at peace.

Where can I find permanent security?

In today’s tough economic times, security seems to be a big question. Job security and financial security are terms we think about and, lately, worry about. People want to know that their homes and their families are secure, well cared for.

I was pondering the idea of insecurity this evening. Sometimes you hear someone described as insecure, meaning they aren’t very stable, may get offended easily, and feel vulnerable. This can lead to problems in our personal relationships, especially when we look to someone else to make us happy or feel secure.

I was asking myself if there is a spiritual solution to the notion of feeling insecure or insecurity. The opposite, of course, is security defined as “free from or not exposed to danger or harm; safe”. Wouldn’t we all love to feel this way all the time? When we can through our understanding of God and our relationship to Him. Psalm 91 tells us “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” That has always made me feel very safe whenever I think of that Psalm. The Psalm continues to tell us we are safe; that God is protecting us no matter what situation we are in.

As I began to think about this idea further, I realized that we feel insecure because of the false belief that we are material and therefore dependant on matter for life. From the mortal perspective, we are solely dependent on matter for the food we eat, the air we breathe, shelter, clothing, health, etc.

In the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures it states:

The description of man as purely physical, or as both material and spiritual,--but in either case dependent upon his physical organization,--is the Pandora box, from which all ills have gone forth, especially despair. Matter, which takes divine power into its own hands and claims to be a creator, is a fiction, in which paganism and lust are so sanctioned by society that mankind has caught their moral contagion. Through discernment of the spiritual opposite of materiality, even the way through Christ, Truth, man will reopen with the key of divine Science the gates of Paradise which human beliefs have closed, and will find himself unfallen, upright, pure and free, not needing to consult almanacs for the probabilities either of his life or the weather; not needing to study brainology to learn how much of a man he is. Mind’s control over the universe, including man, is no longer and open question, but is demonstrable Science.

When we understand God’s creation to be entirely spiritual and therefore man to be spiritual, immortal and eternal we discover that we are secure. I am amazed at how all the discordant conditions of the human experience come from a false sense of our Creator and how we were created. God did not create man through matter. Matter is a false concept of mortal thinking or belief. But when we exchange our thoughts for God’s immortal ideas, we are then governed harmoniously. And the outward manifestation in our human experience is security – health, supply, completeness, freedom from worry or of a future time when things may run out.

So where does our happiness come from? Again in Science and Health it states:

Soul has infinite resources with which to bless mankind, and happiness would be more readily attained and would be more secure in our keeping, if sought in Soul.

And in another part of the book:

If living in disobedience to Him, we ought to feel no security, although God is good.

Therefore, our security does not come from how much many we make. You can see how that falsity drives people to be greedy and dishonest in the business decisions thinking “if only I had that much money, I would have nothing to worry about”.

Jesus tells a story in the book of Luke:

15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

He then follows with this famous passage in the Sermon on the Mount:

22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Therefore, if we are living in obedience to God, we can feel completely secure, knowing that the Father cares for all of his children. Jesus didn’t own anything or having a steady job, but I imagine that he probably didn’t feel insecure.

We can all take a page out of his notebook and understand that we are God’s spiritual creation, His offspring, and all that we want and need and desire comes from God. God is the only source and He wouldn’t have us looking to other things as though they are the source, since there is only one God.

So we can bid insecurity goodbye and be grateful that God didn’t create it and therefore we can not experience it.

What happens when we die?

I’m realizing today that we aren’t meant to live here on earth forever. But we are meant to see, know and demonstrate the kingdom of God here and now. All of the things pertaining to heaven can be experienced here and now – abundance, vitality, health, harmony, love, affection, home, companionship.

Mary Baker Eddy writes in her book Miscellaneous Writings (which can be purchased here) “Pure humanity, friendship, home, the interchange of love, bring to earth a foretaste of heaven. They unite terrestrial and celestial joys, and crown them with blessings infinite.”

The kingdom of heaven is here and now and when we are governed by God, by our spiritual sense, we will experience this heaven here and now (spiritual sense counteracts the material senses). But that doesn’t mean we stay on earth forever. Jesus, Elijah, Enoch are all recorded to have ascended. Others move on to another phase of existence through what mortals term death. But “to the real man the and the real universe there is no death-process.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures) Eddy also states “Death is not a stepping-stone to Life, immortality and bliss”.

Jesus said “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom that has sent”. (John 17:2-3) And “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life”. (John 6:47)

Therefore we can be free from the belief in death here and now by knowing that life is eternal for us and everyone. And that death is not a gateway to eternal harmony, but that heaven and harmony can be demonstrated here and now since “In him we live and move and have our being”.

God sees and knows life as seamless, continuous since God is the only Life and is never interrupted. It is only to mortal apprehension that we seem to live where good and evil both reside and when we die we then experience immortal bliss. This is an incorrect theological concept and is not in accord with Scripture. Death (which does not proceed from God) is not the gateway to harmony. Harmony must be demonstrated here and now for the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.

“And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation; Neither shall they say Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21)

So let us experience and demonstrate the allness of Spirit, God, and the kingdom of heaven here and now. We don’t have to wait. And we must annihilate the belief that death will bring us into more spiritual being. This prevents us from doing our work right now and being loyal and faithful today. This truth “will master either a desire to die or a dread of the grave”.

For more reading on eternal life:

Unity of Good by Mary Baker Eddy p.37

Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p. 289-292

Christian Healing

Why is Christian healing so rarely thought of as a possibility? People usually turn to God when there is nowhere else to turn to. Why don’t we turn to God first?

It seems as though healing was an essential part of Jesus’ mission and preaching and teaching “salvation”. Salvation was not only the saving from sinful thoughts and activities, which cause us to feel separate from God, but also from physical illness and disease.

It seems as though half of Jesus’ mission has been lost. Christianity isn’t following exactly what Jesus taught or what the early disciples established as the Church.

The Church was full of activity and life, self-forgetfulness and love, and the healing of physical ailments as well as the putting off of the “old man” and putting on the “new man”.

So entrenched are we in materiality that we are unwilling to rely on Spirit, which is our creator, for life, health and happiness.

The biggest difference in what seems to be going on is the belief that God created matter. God never created matter and could never create it because it is limited, imperfect, subject to failure and destruction. How could the infinite, all perfect God ever create matter? It is impossible; it is the opposite of God’s very being, existence, and nature. Spirit created all in it’s own likeness (see the first chapter of Genesis). Therefore all has been created spiritually, including mankind. We are already whole and complete and inseparable from God. And in Christian or spiritual healing we are simply realizing that fact. And realizing that God, divine Mind, absolutely governs and controls every function of the body because all life, activity and being is actually in Spirit and is spiritual. Therefore there isn’t a faculty of life that doesn’t have its substance in Spirit and can therefore never be disrupted, obstructed, or destroyed.

We must awake from the belief that we live in a material world. As we do this, as we realize that we “live, move, and have our being” in God/Spirit, limitations will just fall away; peace and happiness will be calmly felt; and health will be stable and secure.

Christian/spiritual healing must be realized and recognized in health-care. Insurance companies and government must allow the fulfillment of Christ’s mission and activities. We must realize there is something bigger and greater at work than ourselves. God is the creator, not man. The fulfillment is not another savior, but man in the image and likeness of God/Spirit; and reflecting God’s divine and spiritual nature; reflecting God as the spiritual creator.

Little Children

I was getting out of my car and realized I didn’t have one of my mittens. Immediately I got the sense not to worry, that All is well. I knew that all is Spirit and spirit’s ideas (including my warm, fuzzy mittens) and that everything was taken care of. Well it was hard to fight off the feelings of panic and worry – scrounging around my car looking for it; wondering if I’d drop it at the last stop I was at. But I stood firm and knew that I was getting the sense of peace that all really is well and I didn’t need to worry about it but could go on joyfully, confidently.

When I walked into the library (the stop I was making), I thought “how am I going to work when I keep thinking about my mitten?” I knew I felt the mitten and I were safe and secure so that safest and securest place I could think that it could be was still at home! I sent my husband and message and asked if it was in the garage where the car would be. And he responded it was!

I felt so happy that my little mitten was safe. And I felt such a sense of God’s dear, tender Love. I knew that Love was taking care of me and that I was her childe and even my little mitten (which represented such comfort, coziness, and joy to me) was taken care of.

I looked out the library window and saw a mom and dad holding hands with their little girl as she crossed the street. And I could just see how wonderful and tender that little girl was – so full of joy and innocence. And how God was taking care of her every need – even the comfiness of her mittens.

I could see so clearly how much God loves and adores little children – their incredible innocence and purity – and new it was God’s delight to take care of them and meet their every need. “Fear not little flock for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”.

I then realized that we are each the little child of God’s. And that God loves, adores, and cares for each one of us – every human need. And the only thing that would make us seem older is worry, fear, doubt, and false responsibility.

I knew that God is the Father and Mother of each one of us and none of us have to worry or be bogged down by fear. If it is true about a mitten than it is certainly true about a house or job or our own children.

God is the dear ever-present Love, which is loving each one of us. And we are so safe and secure and taken care of right now. God takes care of every need we have, including physical health. God is Love and that Love permeates and radiates all this moment – tenderly wrapping up and embracing each one of us. God is Love therefore we don’t need to be sick, worried or afraid. God’s kingdom is perfect because it is spiritual and it is right here and now. There isn’t another power which can oppose us or destroy our being. God is all power here and now – “God is all and there is none else”.

So let’s forsake our “grown-up” nature and let our loving Father-Mother God take care of us. And follow Jesus’ advice that the world needs us now more as children than as men (Miscellaneous Writings pg. 110).

Luke 10:21

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

Luke 18:16

But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Holy Spirit

I love this Bible Study I’m doing with a group from church. Our assignment has started off with the book of Acts (and Luke) and learning about the nature of the early Christians and Church. And it has been so inspiring to learn about!

What a wonderful time it was full of sharing of everything, no possessing anything of themselves, love expressed by everyone, physical healings happening naturally and easily, not discriminating anyone but openly accepting anyone into the Christ spirit.

And I love how after healing the lame man, Peter and John deny that it is themselves that are doing anything. Anytime they spoke or addressed people, it says they were “filled with the Holy Ghost”. And when the people in the temple attempted to worship or marvel at them, Peter corrects them saying, “Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?”. He goes on to attribute all power to God, which he learned through Christ Jesus’ teaching and example.

It is an incredible selflessness that they exerted and not accepting or attributing any power to themselves. They knew that by a sense of personal power they were denying Christ and therefore God and forsaking real spiritual power. And it talks about the terrible results of the 2 Christians who attempted to hold back some of there belongings and not to give fully to the group as everyone else was doing. This is a time of true selflessness. That is the biggest quality I see everyone expressing and facing. And look at the result – everyone’s needs were met, no one was suffering from physical disease, and everyone was so full of love and joy.

What a comparison to our churches today! Are churches really doing this same thing? And shouldn’t this constantly be the model we are striving for? It was evident that these early Christians were carrying on the works of Christ Jesus. When and how did this stop? Well there are a few significant events in history, which attribute to this change, but can’t we get back to this model? I think we can. When I read about this, it was such a craving to be part of an environment that was like this and doing these same things. So I am inspired to move forward and onward in continuing to follow and live in the Christ spirit here and now. It isn’t dead but it is alive! And we can feel it and be possessed of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost ourselves right now, everyday!