​When faced with a problem - be it illness, a relationship challenge, a financial crisis, or any other adverse circumstance - an obsessive focus on the symptoms tends to enlarge fear. Fear is the mental element of discord that confuses and leads to errors in reasoning and mistakes in action. To clear out the offending fear, an important step is to upgrade the focus to discerning God, the divine Mind of all, as caring for every condition truly requisite for our needs.

Christian Science teaches that no one can forever escape the good ideas that come to us constantly  from Mind. Christian Science discoverer Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "Mortals may climb the smooth glaciers, leap the dark fissures, scale the treacherous ice, and stand on the summit of Mont Blanc; but they can never turn back what Deity knoweth, nor escape from identification with what dwelleth in the eternal Mind." (Unity of Good, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 64:15)

One way of reading that is to see that the right answer to any case is present, discoverable, and ultimately inescapable - whatever the particular circumstances may be.

​The Bible often illustrates the quick and transformative effect of turning to the divine Mind that is God to work out the solution to problems. For example, when Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, chained and thrown in prison, they prayed and sang hymns of praise to God, not just for themselves, but for everyone in the prison to hear. (See Acts 16:22-36) An earthquake struck that night, and suddenly everyone was unbound and free. 

Interestingly though, no one left the prison lest the sleeping guard get in trouble for allowing everyone to escape. The guard became a Christian on the spot because of such unselfed love. And isn't it true that sometimes the footsteps we take out of a difficulty provides opportunities for others to learn and grow?  ​

Peter's prison experience in Acts 12, illustrates that no matter how cornered we may be by what feel like unjust circumstances, the intelligent angels of Mind are right here, guiding every progressive step. In this case, too, prayer and praise played a significant part. The church gathered to pray without ceasing for Peter's liberation. Then in the night, an angel woke him and removed his chains. The angel guided him step by step - first to dress, then to put on his shoes, then to remember his coat (see the detail of the care?), then to go down the hall past one ward, then to proceed forward through another ward - eventually leading him to the exit which "opened of its own accord." Peter was free. 

Christian Science teaches that angels take many forms in our lives, but they are always Mind's inspired thoughts coming to our aide as intuitions, good ideas, that guide us forward removing whatever would restrict and providing whatever we most need. Peter just had to keep obeying the Mind's angel as it guided him safely out of trouble.   

Both cases show the importance of watching and waking to the solution. Mind sends us each exactly what we need for every moment.  We can trust that. We can PROVE that. Whatever the circumstance, Mind's perfect solution is ours, and we will discover it by yielding full attention to the everpresence and care of God, our divine Mind. ​

Sponsored by Christian Science Society, Devon, UK.  Lively QA session at the end!

Sponsored by First Church of Christ, Scientist, Decatur, AL. Available online until July 2, 2020.

Published March 12, 2020 in the Christian Science Monitor.

The following is a lecture follow up interview on the BBC Radio London "InSpirit" program with Jumoke Fashola. 

June 20, 2019

By Michelle Boccanfuso Nanouche

You might think that after months of anticipating our family trip to the beach we would be thrilled to be there together. But no. Just a couple of days of fun in the sun had left my husband, our 8-year-old daughter, and me pretty exhausted and irritable.

When I had had about enough of the situation, I announced – much to my husband’s and daughter’s dismay – that we would be going to church that evening. It was Wednesday, so there was a service at the local branch Church of Christ, Scientist.

You should have seen their faces. You would have thought I was dishing out a terrible punishment as they changed from swimsuits into street clothes. And honestly, maybe I had been thinking “So there! This will straighten everyone up!” Little did I realize just how much good we were all going to get out of the visit.

For both my husband and my daughter, it was their first time attending one of these Wednesday evening meetings. Each service includes passages from the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, on a topical theme. There is also singing, time for quiet prayer, and sharing of personal testimonies of inspiration and healings stemming from the study and practice of Christian Science.

I will never forget what happened to us during that service. I began to feel peaceful and relaxed. Our restless daughter quieted. The frown wrinkles on my husband’s face ironed out smoothly.

After the service, our girl skipped happily to the car, and my husband said, “Thanks. I feel better.” And what followed was one of our happiest family trips ever.

What had happened? I don’t suppose that the physical act of going into a church caused this shift. But taking a break to engage with God’s law of harmony certainly did produce a healing change.
Science and Health gives a simple definition of Christian Science as “the natural law of harmony which overcomes discord” (p. 134). So simple and direct. The complete sentence reads, “The true Logos is demonstrably Christian Science, the natural law of harmony which overcomes discord, – not because this Science is supernatural or preternatural, nor because it is an infraction of divine law, but because it is the immutable law of God, good.”

“Logos,” as a Bible concept, refers to the Word of God, which is seen in God’s law of good, of harmony, always in operation. This divine power isn’t a supernatural presence that comes and goes. It enables us to understand the pure, natural good in everyone as God’s creation – an understanding of true, spiritual identity that is present, accessible, and intrinsic to all life.

Any glimpse of the fundamental truth of God’s all-goodness is an encounter with the healing Christ, the divine nature Jesus expressed, showing us what we are – the spiritual good that we are made of. Christ brings the law of harmony to bear in the minutiae of our lives. This transformative coming of the Christ is what Jesus spoke of when he said, “Ye, therefore, now, indeed, have sorrow; and again I will see you, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one doth take from you” (John 16:22, Young’s Literal Translation). Yielding time and attention to the Christ, we welcome a joy that doesn’t fade in our experience; it illumines it.

Science and Health explains, “Whatever inspires with wisdom, Truth, or Love – be it song, sermon, or Science – blesses the human family with crumbs of comfort from Christ’s table, feeding the hungry and giving living waters to the thirsty” (p. 234). For our family that night, much-needed spiritual refreshment – the opportunity to engage with the unalterable, ageless, healing law of God, or divine good – was found at church.

Each of us, whether we’re at church or elsewhere, can let Christ lift clouds of irritation, frustration, and whatever else would hide our God-given sense of joy. This helps not just us but those around us too. And who wouldn’t want that on a family beach trip – or anywhere?

The article was published on csmonitor.com. Click here to find an Audio Version.

Recorded on May 3, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. Available online until August 3, 2019.

Nineteenth-century Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle observed, “Of all acts, is not, for a man, repentance the most divine?” The Greek word “metanoia,” often translated as “repentance” in the New Testament, suggests “a transformative change of heart” (merriam-webster.com). To me, this takes repentance out of a narrow context of simply feeling regret or guilt and implies making a fresh start from a better basis.

A few years back I learned a great lesson in repentance when, in an act of stubborn will, I damaged our brand-new car. Although my husband had been certain that the car wouldn’t fit in our garage, I was quite sure I could make it fit. So I waited until he went to work and tried it – eventually bashing in the back end of the car. I felt awful.

Willfulness, including impulsive action, was nothing new to me. I’d been trying for years to stop my tendency toward it. I felt so upset about this latest incident that I became ill with a high fever. I was truly ready and willing to be healed of this character fault once and for all. But how?

Replay available online through June 10, 2019
Lecture sponsored by First Church of Christ, Scientist, Jenkintown, PA.

Here is a Daily Lift based on a Christian Science perspective article that I wrote for the Christian Science Monitor:

Overcoming the Monday morning blues 
csmonitor.com October 12, 2018
By Michelle Boccanfuso Nanouche

​Recently I came across a joke online that said, “It’s Monday. I am refreshed and ready to hate my job.” This reminded me of the 1993 film “Groundhog Day,” which tells the story of a guy stuck repeating the same rotten scenario every time his alarm goes off in the morning. Perpetually waking to the same day, Feb. 2 (observed as Groundhog Day in the United States and Canada), the lead character goes with the miserable flow, trapped in a cycle: His job is a mess. His relationships are a mess. As a result he sinks into despair.

But my favorite part of the film is when this lead character changes his approach. It starts with a mental shift: He decides to take each moment to master something good. Among other things, he tries to be helpful to others and to live more generously. There is progress, with occasional setbacks, but he begins to see in each day new opportunities to express more grace.

I could relate to this situation. I remember when Mondays were dreaded days for me as I prepared to go to what felt like a dead-end job. I changed employers three times, but found that my experience remained miserable. I was so unhappy that my weekends were full of fear of the impending workweek. Something needed to change, and moving to another job clearly hadn’t been the answer.

Trying to think more positively was certainly a possibility, but I’ve found that isn’t enough to effect a radical change and produce stable joy in one’s experience. What had helped me in numerous ways was Christian Science, discovered by Mary Baker Eddy, which has given me a different view of what really brings progress. It teaches that God, as divine Life, is the only true source, maintainer, and motivator of creation, including each one of us as God’s spiritual offspring, and it reveals that this infinite Life is solely good.

Acknowledging Life as the divine Principle of good can open one’s eyes to see God’s blessings all around us, breaking us free from negative thought patterns. Even more, prayer that explores the true nature of creation as the spiritual manifestation, or expression, of Life, God, can uplift our expectations and inspire steady, graceful forward momentum in daily life.

So I began devoting my early mornings before work to searching the Scriptures for insights into the nature of God as Life, to understand more of what God had in store for me. I found this study empowering and strengthening as I learned that God’s will for me (and everyone) includes a truly substantial joy. For instance, after explaining the permanent, nurturing relation of God to His creation, Christ Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). And I began to carry a Bible verse or hymn to work in my pocket, which I could pull out during the day to remind me that God created and maintained me as joyful.

Not long after I incorporated such prayer into my morning routine, I began to wake up on Mondays eager to get up, because I was looking forward to expressing more of God’s goodness during the day, including at my job. As a result, the days felt more meaningful no matter what tasks I was doing, and the recurring dread did not return. It was a transformative experience and one I will always cherish.
​
Each of us can break out of a negative cycle in which days seem to replicate themselves as joyless, void of inspiration or the promise of progress. Divine Life provides us with daily opportunities to experience and express good. And seeking clearer views of this Life allows us to expect and experience a more abundant joy and progress.