Dear Blog Readers, You are so kind to support, read and share the posts from this blog. I frequently update you with the latest recordings of my lectures because they remain on the web such a short time (three months each.) Also, the lectures evolve over time and adapt to the needs of the audience. Web lectures have the added element of recording the QA sessions that are not otherwise recording for in-person events. This allows the viewer to have a different experience with each web lecture. In this lecture, or example, I answered a question about how to avoid or get off of sleeping pills. That was a new one! I hope you enjoy getting these updates. Feel free to share the lecture with others you think may be benefitted. This lecture, sponsored by First Church of Christ, Scientist, Geneva, Illinois, USA, will be available online until December 22, 2018. 8/27/2018 Taking God's leadIt’s safe to say that people generally want to be happy and successful in what they do. So, whether we're making small decisions in our day-to-day lives, or a large decision that will impact us in a big way, why might it be beneficial to one’s happiness and success to seek divine guidance and let God “take the lead”? Christ Jesus taught that God is good. I have learned through the study of Christian Science that good isn’t merely a descriptor for God; but the essence, nature and being of God is actual, concrete good. Taking God’s lead really means to yield to that good - to the divine Good that is God. Turning to infinite unlimited Good to guide can lead to better opportunities than a limited human mind is capable of producing. Why? Because even the best-intentioned human concept has inherent limitations. Trusting God as divine Good, and listening and following God’s guidance can circumvent the fear, doubt, rigidness or personal will that can put an otherwise good idea at risk of failure. It’s not like God is waiting for us to ask before producing good for us. God’s goodness is ever present – always accessible and available to us. But do we always see the good or feel it? Maybe not. And yet it is there, already in place and waiting for us. Sometimes what is needed is a shift from fear to trust - from a rigid or narrow focus on a question to yielding to the infinite possibilities or answers that are right at hand. God’s guidance isn’t always a “the writing is on the wall” experience, though it sometimes is. Many times guidance is found as we listen for thoughts of good that come to us from God - what Christian Science teaches to be angel messages – that are discoverable in our own thought. Monitor founder Mary Baker Eddy explained that we can recognize God’s angels or inspired thoughts coming to us by the love they create in our hearts. She wrote, “Oh may you feel this touch – it is not the clasping of hands, nor a loved person present; it is more than this: it is a spiritual idea that lights your path!” It is love that sifts out any limited personal agenda or mere human will. The Bible offers a simple prayer for guidance: “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (Psalms 61) The divine Love that is God is a rock to turn to and lean on, a solid foundation on which to base inspired action. Divine Love is the only Ego, and God’s children reflect this divine Ego, Love, as the image and likeness of God. (See Gen. 1) Divine Love compels us to yield to unlimited good and break free of any limits of a personal mind or ego which misunderstands and misrepresents who we are and what we can do as children of God. I can’t speak for everyone, but when I have felt pushed and pulled with the wants and wishes of a personal ego, I haven’t felt loved or loving. Making human plans and setting personal goals has rarely worked out well for me in the long term and often left me disappointed when things didn’t go the way I would have liked. It’s not that the angels haven’t been there. But I have found it hard to hear them when a personal ego has been shouting. It has only been through turning from ego to God to quietly listen for spiritual direction, that I have found a way forward. I once applied for a position I wanted and wasn’t taken. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t listening for God’s guidance. I was. It was a good job that would be a blessing to many. It was a good idea to apply, but I wasn’t taken. I didn’t see at the time how much I had yet to learn about not pushing my own will to go faster or further than God was leading me. I applied several more times for the same job over the course of many years. And each time the answer was no. Each no, while disappointing, compelled me to appreciate the present good and to develop other opportunities. I learned that I could bloom wherever I was planted. The last time I applied – after fifteen years - I asked God if I should even try again. And the intuition was that, yes, I should. But with this direction came the realization that I should also trust God’s leading of others whose job it was to decide if I would get to do it or not. I hadn’t thought of that before. My focus had always been on God guiding me – and my wanting to do it. But my role was simply to apply. Others were charged with the final decision. And suddenly that was enough for me. I felt a surge of love for everyone in the decision-making process. I trusted them because I trusted God to guide them, just as I was being guided. I applied and that time I got the job. In hindsight, I can see how different my circumstances were, how much better prepared I was, and how I wouldn’t have had the same rich experience in that work had I been taken any of those other times. God’s guidance is a precious thing to seek, and an invaluable thing to find. Divine Good really is our best advocate. God is Love, and divine Love demands the best for us and the best of us. Letting Love take the lead is key to living a life of blessing, and a life of being blessed. 7/23/2018 Need an exterminator?One summer our house was completely overrun with fleas. I struggled for months trying different approaches to eliminate the problem, only to have the situation worsen. Then it occurred to me that I had tried everything except prayer to solve this problem. So I turned to the Bible to guide my prayer and came across a curious story of snake infestation. After fleeing Egypt, Moses and the children of Israel were confronted with an invasion of poisonous snakes in their camp. Many people were bitten and died as a result. Moses prayed and received instruction from God, "Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." Moses followed that instruction by making a brass serpent and putting it on a pole in the middle of the camp. Those who were bitten, when they looked at the brass serpent, were healed of the poison. (See Numbers 21:4-9) I wondered what to make of this story. What was it teaching us? My experience has shown that Monitor founder Mary Baker Eddy’s writings in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures often clarify mystifying Bible stories. So I did a little research in Science and Health and found this: "All of God's creatures, moving in the harmony of Science, are harmless, useful, indestructible. A realization of this grand verity was a source of strength to the ancient worthies.” And further along, “The serpent of God's creating is neither subtle nor poisonous, but is a wise idea, charming in its adroitness, for Love's ideas are subject to the Mind which forms them, — the power which changeth the serpent into a staff." (pps.514,515) Love and Mind are other names for God as explained by Christian Science. The brass serpent on the pole served to remind me that God, the universal divine Mind, is not the cause or creator of pain, sickness or death. But divine Love is the perfect Creator of a perfect and good creation, including all the "creeping things" referred to in Genesis 1 that are deemed to be very good also. Not one idea of Mind can stray from the original design of the creator. I knew that if I turned consistently to the true creation under God’s control, we would find our way free of the infestation problem. As I prayed, I considered the flea, reasoning that any real flea must be God-caused, permanent and indestructible. So my desire of extermination a flea would be misguided and ineffective. However, to meet the criteria as an idea of Love, God, real fleas would also have to be harmless, useful, and sustained by Love - their true source. Spiritual reasoning through prayer caused me to look closer at the possibility of a flea having a divine purpose. I didn’t have to know what that purpose was specifically, but I did know that all God’s ideas are good and worthy and welcome in my home. I wasn’t ignoring the general belief that fleas are parasitic pests, but rather I was allowing Mind to give me a better view of real creation under the loving control of Mind. My prayer helped me understand better what God is and does. I thought of the fun house at a fair with its distorted hall of mirrors. A child enters and suddenly has a twisted view of himself. He may be frightened if he isn’t fully aware that what he sees is only a distorted view of what is real. By looking in a true and correct mirror, he sees a better image and knows all is well. For me, Moses brass serpent teaches that we can seek a clearer image and can reject the suffering that results from a mistaken view of God and God’s creation. This leads to healing. So that is what I did. All that day I welcomed the divine idea – and ONLY the divine idea - of good in my home. I was willing to house any flea that God made. I rejected parasitic behavior and infestation as a part of a flea or my home. And I rejoiced in my prayer. It gave me a really cool new view of God's creation and expanded the borders of my affection to embrace all that is good and beautiful in a flea. I was treading on new and holy mental ground. The next morning, the house was clean. No more infestation. Was the divine idea flea still somewhere in the house? All I can say for sure is that the biting, pestering illusion of fleas disappeared as soon as the true idea was held up before my thought in prayer. Science and Health tells us, "Spirit blesses the multiplication of its own pure and perfect ideas... Their spiritual nature is discerned only through the spiritual senses. Mortal mind inverts the true likeness, and confers animal names and natures upon its own misconceptions." I have learned that a spiritual sense of reality, revealed through prayer, can correct the mistake of a mortal mind or limited, distorted view of God and His ideas. We don’t have to put up with pests. Prayer that holds up the true idea of Love’s creating - - in which every creature and element fulfills its holy purpose and is very good – can bring the needed healing. This cat had a decided preference for my husband. One morning I was giving some important instructions to my dear spouse (Read: I was bossing him around). He didn't seem to mind. But suddenly the cat stood up, walked over to me, put her face in mine - nose to nose - and with a wide-eyed glare, let out one sharp "Meeeow!" Then she returned to her spot, curled up and looked admiringly, worshipfully, at my husband. I said, "Did you see that?" He said, "Yup. She just told you to shut up." The Bible has a few conversation stoppers, too. I will list just seven. They're designed to arrest all whining, fussing, nagging, griping, frothing, suffering, sinning, sickness and death. You might like to click on the hyperlinks for each word to go to a post on each subject - after you finish reading this post, of course!
Others are less direct. I once served on a committee with someone who was contentious and difficult to work with. Every discussion and decision was a struggle. At the end of his term, he sent a note to the committee. It simply said: II Corinthians 13:11 (to 1st .) And then he signed his name. We scrambled to open the Bible, and read, "Finally brethren, Farewell." We were speechless... and then we cracked up with laughter! I think my cat agreed with Marcel Marceau, the world famous French mime, who said: "It's good to shut up sometimes." Impelled to respond to a recent spate of high profile suicides in the press, I wrote this piece published yesterday on csmonitor.com : Everyone longs to feel loved and embraced by good. But sometimes this sense of peace can seem out of reach. When someone we love feels that way, it can be hard to know what to do or say to help. How can we help others find hope and healing, even at overwhelming times? In wrestling with this question, I’ve been inspired by an experience a friend shared with me that took place some time ago, when a student in her Sunday School class, whose mother had recently died, sadly and firmly said that he wanted to go be with his mom. The depth of his yearning for her company was understandable, but the way it was surfacing was clearly troubling. My friend wanted to give her student an answer that would go beyond simply trying to console him about the loss of his mother, as needed as that was. To learn what she did and how it helped, you may go to the original article. 6/27/2018 Righting wrongsMany years ago I was wrongly accused of mistreating someone at work. I was horrified because the accusation was the exact opposite of my character. I didn’t know the accuser personally, but she overheard an abusive conversation and believed I was involved. At first I felt helpless to correct a he said/she said scenario. Then I remembered that if one wants to resolve problems quickly, the Bible can offer helpful insight. So I turned to the book of Matthew, chapter 18, which discusses conflict resolution that can apply to work as well as personal relationships. For example, I read verse 15 which says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” ESV That phrase “between you and him alone” caught my eye. I wanted to scream my innocence from the rooftop, not keep it between me and the one involved! The accusation had spread quickly through the organization, and I wanted the world to know it was false. But I considered why Jesus might have put that initial condition of confidentiality in this step towards healing. I recognized that keeping the issue between the accuser and me would require great self-discipline, especially because my feelings were hurt, and self-justification and injustice were pricking at me. But I didn’t want a false sense of ego to cloud my judgment of the situation. So I prayed with a listening heart to hear what the one divine Ego or God reflects in all of His children. I trusted God to show me the natural innate innocence and goodness of the children of God, universal Good. I sought the Christ perspective – that is the true idea of God and His creation – that would uncover and correct the lie. As I continued to study chapter 18 of Matthew, I found that Jesus taught another lesson on the importance humility and childlikeness in healing. Matthew wrote, “At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’” (18:1) I saw that the Kingdom of heaven could be read as the kingdom of Truth, of righteousness, of good. For me the question became, “Who will ultimately be seen as right?” Jesus called a little child to him. And he said to the disciples: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:2-5) I understood this to be a call to know myself as God’s child, as strong and pure and innocent and good, the way God makes me and makes all His children. And Jesus compels us to extend this healing perspective to include every person in our path, including the “one such child” we may have a problem with. Until we see ourselves and others as God's good children we will never be completely right. But when we see the good and innocence in others and ourselves as the image and reflection of God, divine Good, the only Ego, suddenly everyone is on the same team! This better perspective smoothes the path for conversation and other human footsteps that can lead to righting wrongs directly, privately, quickly, lovingly, with forgiveness and without a big fuss. In my case, as I quietly spoke with the accuser one-on-one, the misidentification was uncovered, the actual culprit was found and duly corrected, and the case was kindly and harmoniously resolved for everyone involved. Jesus said, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20) ESV Prayer that gathers “two or three together” in the correct spiritual view of man as God’s child, opens all parties to the healing Christ. I have found it often only takes one person’s prayer to accomplish this. One individual prayer can gather together the healing perspective necessary to redress a wrong. Available online until August 31, 2018.
This is a nice one on a Pirate radio oldies station in Fort Collins. Gives a brief overview of Christian Science and the point of lectures. Have fun!
I was recently interviewed by Philip Kliger and Kathleen Cavalaro on New Hampshire Public Radio out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We had a ball, covering lots of questions about Christian Science (and other stuff that makes talk radio interesting) during the thirty minutes on the air.
Find the recording below: Find the link to Connie Berry's interview of Michelle Nanouche, What is Christian Science Anyway? which appeared in the Martha's Vineyard Times on May 24, 2018. A pdf version appears below:
Find the link to the May 5th article Christian Science figure to speak in Fort Collins by Terry Frei, which appeared in the Greeley Tribune in Greeley, Colorado. As you read it, please note that there are some factual errors, and I am not always quoted accurately. And an exceptional and unusual case of a child passing under Christian Science treatment was referenced in an inaccurate light. However, this was a healing interview for the reporter who had serious concerns about prayer and healing because of cases in his region of children lost under faith-healing practices unrelated to Christian Science. In the print version, he made sure that the statement that we take responsibility for providing the necessary care to keep our children healthy and safe was in bold relief and stood out. While I might have preferred that he allow my explanations to go further in print, considering the depth of his concern, I am pleased that the article went as far as it did. For a fuller explanation of Christian Science and care for children, see the article What is Christian Science Anyway? which appeared in the Martha's Vineyard times. A pdf version of the internet version of the Greeley Tribune article appears below:
Newsprint view below:
Beyond 50 Radio, is a weekly and educational talk show for Baby Boomers for the Pacific Northwest. Based in Portland, Oregon, it has been on-the-air since 2004. Hosted by Daniel Davis, he interviews best-selling authors, celebrities, experts and visionary leaders from all over the Pacific Northwest. And since I will be lecturing in Portland in a couple of weeks, today he interviewed me.
4/25/2018 The harmony God givesWhile travelling with a friend, I drove on a single-lane mountain road that had a sheer drop-off to nowhere on one side and a wall of stone on the other – no shoulder for pulling over on either side of the car. Rounding a blind curve, we confronted both a flock of sheep crossing the road and a large truck barreling toward us. With no space to veer out of the way, a collision seemed inevitable. Through my practice of Christian Science, I had already experienced prayer as a quick aid in emergencies. So my prayer was fast and simple, "God!" as I held tight to the wheel and squeezed my eyes shut in a prolonged blink. When I reopened my eyes, the flock of sheep and truck were both clearly visible and safe in my rear-view mirror. That single-worded prayer wasn't a curse or fear reaction. It instantly and vigorously affirmed the presence and power of the all-knowing divine Good that is God. Christian Science discoverer Mary Baker Eddy brings together the Bible’s multifaceted understanding of what God really is in one simple definition: "GOD. The great I AM; The all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence." (Glossary of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 587) This comprehensive definition shows the infinite oneness and allness of God. My prayer turned me to the fullness of the great I AM – the divine Principle or law of divine Love. God is the all-seeing, all knowing Mind that never loses track of a single one of His ideas or children. As the offspring of Soul, we move in harmony with earth and each other. God’s children are always cared for by the divine Spirit that produces and maintains health and safety. Turning to God – to Mind, Principle, Love, Soul, Spirit – instantly lifted me above limits of time/space into the infinite reality of what God is and does for His creation. One could say that my prayer transcended simply thinking human thoughts about God and became a deep and sudden spiritual awareness of God, and of His creation as made to reflect, express, and experience God’s harmony at every moment. The prayer broke through the fear of accident and awakened me to a heavenly awareness of nothing but God and His harmony expressed. Mary Baker Eddy affirmed, “Harmonious action proceeds from Spirit, God… Man is tributary to God, Spirit, and to nothing else. God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Like the archpriests of yore, man is free “to enter into the holiest,” — the realm of God.” SH 480-481 “The holiest” is what Christ Jesus referred to sometimes as the kingdom of heaven and other times as the kingdom of God with us, within us all. He explained, “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 3rd The As God’s precious children, we all have the capacity here and now within us to experience the kingdom of God – of God’s goodness, power, presence and harmony - in any situation. No emergency is required to jettison one into the kingdom of harmony. We can turn to God at anytime to experience a better, broader sense of health and harmony. But should we find ourselves in an urgent situations where time for a lengthy prayer seems lacking, turning instantly to God can be enough, especially when that prayer leads to the Christ-understanding of divine harmony that God gives us all. 3/26/2018 Healing degenerationA friend and spiritual mentor once told me, "You are never too young to start handling the problem of aging." I had just graduated high school, and while many might have thought she was recommending I take good care of my skin or exercise regularly, I knew that as one who practices Christian Science my friend was suggesting I should come to know myself more and more as an ageless, timeless reflection of God - a limitless, spiritual idea of the eternal Mind. At the time I thought, “What a good idea.” But honestly, I soon forgot her counsel. As the years passed, preoccupied with my education, then a new career and young family, little by little I began to measure myself according to more materialistic standards of success, beauty and goodness. My weight and physical appearance, and the things that made daily life materially comfortable took up more and more space in my thought. Then when my daughter was still very young, joint problems developed in one of my hands. With the appearance of this problem, I became suddenly aware of a spiritual hunger in me that I had long neglected. I questioned whether that neglect had possibly led to this problem. As the condition worsened and my knuckles became disfigured, I feared that perhaps it was too late to stop the degenerating process that seemed to have taken root. As a student of Christian Science, I knew the Bible to be a source of healing. I turned to the prophet Isaiah and found a comforting message of God’s power to meet our human need even when a situation seems beyond hope. Isaiah wrote, "He will not break off a damaged cattail. He will not even put out a smoking wick." (42:3) I thought of a flower blowing in the breeze until its stem is so weakened that the blossom head droops. And I considered a candlewick burnt until only a single plume of smoke remains to indicate the flame that once had been. These metaphors illustrate what would seem to be past saving. And a human tendency may be to hasten the seemingly inevitable – to snap off the head of the flower and quench the last ember that smokes on the wick. But Isaiah shows that renewal and healing are reasonable expectations when we understand the healing and saving nature of the divine Mind. To Mind, God, no condition is past the hope of healing. Christian Science discoverer Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “Except for the error of measuring and limiting all that is good and beautiful, man would enjoy more than threescore years and ten and still maintain his vigor, freshness, and promise. Man, governed by immortal Mind, is always beautiful and grand. Each succeeding year unfolds wisdom, beauty, and holiness.” Science and Health with key to the Scriptures, 246:20 I realized that while indulging in materialism may have led me to measure the good in my life by a limited standard, it could never change or erase the vigor, freshness and promise of my actual spiritual life, which is ever-discoverable by turning to God. This sparked in me an expectancy of healing. I prayed, asking Mind to show me how I am beautifully and spiritually made. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures explains, "The measurement of life by solar years robs youth and gives ugliness to age. The radiant sun of virtue and truth coexists with being. Manhood is its eternal noon, undimmed by a declining sun." (ibid. 246) The sun, as a metaphor for God and His creation, is immovably fixed at its highest point, never advancing or declining. I understood that just as the sun only appears to rise and set, the appearance of growth and degeneration in man is a mistaken perspective of life. As God’s idea or creation, I am neither growing up to a perfect and eternal state, nor declining from my highest and best expression of God’s beauty and goodness. This is what it means to be the image and likeness of God, as explained in Genesis 1. Now I could see that the physical problem was nothing more than a mental projection of a mistaken perspective of who and what I am. Science and Health puts it this way: “The procuring cause and foundation of all sickness is fear, ignorance, or sin. Disease is always induced by a false sense mentally entertained, not destroyed. Disease is an image of thought externalized. The mental state is called a material state. Whatever is cherished in mortal mind as the physical condition is imaged forth on the body.” SH 411:20 But I knew my perspective of myself was changing, so I was less afraid. I now understood better that spirituality is my God-given unchanging substance and permanent state, not just an aspect, phase, or product of human development. I could see how my true being was actually exempt from the possibility of decay. As I prayed about what it meant to be fully spiritual now, equipped to be and to do anything God prepared for me in life, the fear and ignorance simply fell away. At one point I looked down at the disfigurement and said aloud to myself, "That has nothing to do with me." Nothing had changed physically, but that was irrelevant. My perspective of myself had shifted from a material to a spiritual base. When I looked at my hand it was as if I looked at a dark shadow made by the setting sun. Unafraid, I knew the shadow was without substance or power to harm, and would pass off me. Upon awakening the next day, my knuckles were perfectly normal, smooth, supple, and painless, - restored to normal color and function - in a word, perfect. And in the many decades since, no such symptoms have ever recurred. We are never too young to handle the problems of aging. Or too old either. Understanding God as the immortal Mind, the source and maintainer of us all, reveals what it means to be truly and fully spiritual as God's creation – including the beauty, grandeur, health and fullness of life that we have every right to enjoy. What a joy it was to lecture to Boca Raton and the surrounding communities in Florida. Here you will find a recording of the event. It will be available online until the end of April, and is currently the only recording of this lecture available online. This lecture was sponsored by First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boca Raton. Enjoy! Something quite special happens during live web lecture events. I cannot "see" the audience, which includes people from around the globe. Yet the conversation feels very intimate and direct - a heart to heart sharing of what it means to be spiritual, to be of Spirit, God, and the impact that ones spirituality has on health and well-being. A feeling of deep connection with each viewer resonates with me from last night's event. Whether you watched live, or are seeing it for the first time, I hope you find your own connection with the subject. There is something in this lecture for us all. This live web even was sponsored by First Church of Christ, Scientist, Bellingham, WA, USA.
The recording will be available for web viewing for three months from the recording date. 2/15/2018 Redeeming "thoughts and prayers"People engaged with social media may have noticed a groundswell of tweets and posts denouncing “thoughts and prayers” following the recent shootings in a Parkland, Florida school. A commonly used condolence, the phrase is condemned for its repeated use in the context of gun violence and terrorism. Critics claim “thoughts and prayers” are inadequate substitutes for corrective actions like gun control or counterterrorism. Some see this criticism as a confrontation between secular humanism and religious faith. But for me, the condemnation uncovers a need to deepen my understanding of what constitutes productive, constructive thought and healing prayer. I have been learning from my study of Christian Science that every thought I think, if it represents my desire, is actually a prayer. Monitor Founder Mary Baker Eddy explained, “Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 1:11) Every desire for progress, change, healing, comfort, peace, safety, and the end of violence is a noble, generous and loving prayer. But if the truth be told, some desires are better than others. Consequently, some prayers are more helpful and productive than others. Certain desires can be misguided, -undermined by fear, self-interest, anger, greed, political bias, grief – all self-limiting mental influences that impede progressive thought and action. Unredeemed, such thoughts and prayers can be harmful to us and others. But the good news is that every human thought, every human desire, can be lifted up improved – reformed and exalted – to produce the highest quality of good in both speech and action. Christ Jesus recognized that our desires at any given moment act on us and others as either a conscious or an unconscious influence. He said, “the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart” (See Matthew 15 God’s Word translation). When we lift up our thoughts to the influence of God, Good, we invite the redeeming and transforming Christ – God’s guiding message of divine light - to penetrate and destroy any darkness in our thought or experience. God is the universal Principle of good. The holy influence of divine good gives stability to our thoughts which in turn steadies speech and forwards action in ways that lead to progress. Less than two hours after the shooting in Florida, the senior Senator from that state, Senator Bill Nelson appeared in an interview, stating, “They are grieving. I have already said my prayers to give them comfort. But this is a tough time… It’s a tough, tough day.” I value deeply that Senator Nelson prayed for himself and for his community before stepping up to the podium. His demeanor reflected his prayer, and his words were a call to action. His prayers, our prayers, will influence the next active steps to be taken to stop such occurrences in the future. Jesus didn’t offer hollow prayers when confronted with human needs. His prayers were a substantial and effective catalyst for corrective action - notably reformation and healing. His prayers comforted, consoled, lifted and healed the suffering mind and body. Jesus’ prayers were a practical response to the human condition. Science and Health describes healing prayer as “the human understanding of the divine healing Principle as manifested in Jesus, whose humble prayers were deep and conscientious protests of Truth, — of man’s likeness to God and of man’s unity with Truth and Love.” (Science and Health, 12) The world cries for Christ Jesus’ depth of thought and humility of prayer that heals. We need thoughts and prayers based on an understanding that God’s intention is good, and for good for all mankind. We need thoughts and prayers that bring out positive change by changing us - and prayer that supports the intelligence and integrity of those in the community who are in positions of influence. We need the devotion of clear, inspired thought fueled by the unselfish desire (prayer) to improve and uplift humanity. Redeeming our thoughts and prayers, so that they take form in powerful words and healthy deeds, is a great gift we can all give to our community, and indeed, to our world. 1/8/2018 After an accident, healingTraversing a beautiful Parisian park on an errand, I heard the screech of car wheels on macadam and a mother’s scream. Her scooter-riding preschooler had been struck by a taxi in the crosswalk, knocking off his shoe and throwing him several feet. To find out what happened, read or listen to the full account on csmonitor.com. 12/1/2017 Note to blog readersDue to an update to make the full website more secure, Facebook "likes" on several of my posts have been wiped out. If you shared, the links are still active. But this may be the one time that you may "like" a post for a second time, and it will register again. Usually only the first time will take. Thank you for visiting and reading the blog!
11/29/2017 Armageddon and unstoppable goodGoogle the word Armageddon and the top news searches cover serious world threats. One might presume that it’s only a matter of time before something takes us out. But Monitor Founder and Christian Science discoverer Mary Baker Eddy introduced a startlingly different view of what constitutes a true “apocalypse”. While “annihilation” may be a contemporary definition, the word comes from the Greek apokaluptein, meaning “uncovering, revealing”. Mrs. Eddy observed that the Bible gives us a roadmap for the ultimate destruction of evil through the power of Love, the unstoppable good that is God. The Hebrew word Armageddon is only used once in Scripture and while its original meaning is unclear, scholars’ best efforts indicate that it refers to Mount Megiddo. In the Bible, mountains are often scenes of revelation, inspiration and transformation. We see this in the story of Elijah in the mountain cave (see I Kings 19), in Christ Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5-7), as well as in his later experience on the Mount of Transfiguration (see Matthew 7, Mark 9 and Luke 9). Megiddo is a Bible location where many decisive battles were fought. We might look at Mount Megiddo as a figurative reference to a mount - or inspired view - of God’s allness that Scripture reveals, and the inevitability of divine Love to definitively dispose of any, and ultimately all, evil. Mrs. Eddy explains, “This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace. The breaking up of material beliefs may seem to be famine and pestilence, want and woe, sin, sickness, and death, which assume new phases until their nothingness appears. These disturbances will continue until the end of error, when all discord will be swallowed up in spiritual Truth.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 96:4) Perhaps there is a lesson to be found in the changing concept of the term apocalypse from its original meaning of “revealing”, to its current use as “destruction”. It shows what happens when a fascination with signs and symptoms of evil distract from the spiritual facts of the superiority of God, good, under every circumstance. God is divine and universal Love, the infinite All - the source and maintainer of all life, and the fount of unstoppable good. Life and good are permanent and indestructible in God and His creation because nothing is more powerful or more real than the love of God. With this understanding, the book of Revelation can be seen as a love story rather than a horror, unfolding the fact that good must, does, ultimately triumph over evil. Armageddon isn’t really a battle between so-called equal forces called good and evil; it indicates the conflict between good – the only reality - and that which is unreal. Evil having no basis in God, has no basis in reality. I proved this when a breast tumor threatened my life. Through prayer and dedicated Bible study, I understood more of the indestructibility of God’s love for us all, and of good as the substance of my life. I saw that God doesn’t destroy evil as if it is something, but that evil has no place or reality in God, and thus no presence or control over me or anyone else. I knew that divine good is the permanent substance of my being. Though compelling, I turned from disease symptoms, and clung instead to God’s revelation of supreme good that I found in my study of Christian Science. I was at peace. Then the unreal condition – the symptoms of disease that are unknown to God, hence not to be found in me - disappeared decisively and permanently. This healing taught me that Armageddon battles aren’t “out there.” They involve inner struggles with fear and a false, limited sense of God and of real life. We each have work to do, work we can do, to overcome the belief in the reality of evil with good in our own present experience, thought by thought and with every act. Each proof we give of evil’s powerlessness, however small, is a powerful light waking the world to the present unstoppable power of good. In a brief Christmas message, Mary Baker Eddy wrote: “Metaphysics, not physics, enables us to stand erect on sublime heights, surveying the immeasurable universe of Mind, peering into the cause which governs all effects, while we are strong in the unity of God and man.” (Miscellaneous Writings 369:7-10) From this mount of the revelation, we see God and His creation as perfect and intact. This is the mount of true Armageddon, where the unstoppable good of Mind decisively destroys the claims of evil and conclusively protects us all. "Two periods of sexual molestation left me dealing with chronic depression in early adulthood. My coping method had been to try to forget the abuse, but this didn’t bring freedom from the depression..." "... I could no longer be silently complicit with evil by claiming or accepting that victimhood was truly part of me. This was a revolutionary thought, because it also changed how I considered the abusers..." "... Sometime afterward I saw one of the men..." "... Not one person is out of the reach of God’s love..." Interested in reading between the lines? Find my full story on csmonitor.com. |
Find me on YouTube I have practiced Christian Science professionally in some form since 1979. But my journey with Christian Science started in a Sunday school where as a young child I was taught the Scriptures and some simple basics of Jesus' method of scientific Christian healing. A significant experience at the age of twelve opened my eyes to the great potential of this practice. After impaling my foot on a nail, I prayed the way I had learned in Sunday school. Within moments the pain stopped and healing began. By the next morning the wound had disappeared completely. Having experienced the great potential of Christian Science, there would be no turning back. |
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