Similar to bamboo, whose roots are actively developing beneath the surface for five years before a shoot breaks through the ground, divine law is a force for good that often operates unseen to the five senses. Hope involves putting the weight of prayer behind the idea that all the good in life has the support of unencumbered, spiritual law behind it.]]> Janet Clements | from the Christian Science Sentinel

With the coming of spring, many of us plant seeds in the expectation that they will grow to fruition. It’s commonly known that seeds take different amounts of time to break through the soil with their first shoots. Some germinate and appear quickly. But did you know that a bamboo seed spends five years underground before shoots emerge? Then, in six weeks, these shoots can grow up to 90 feet!

During those first five years, it might seem as though nothing is happening at all. But underneath in the soil, roots are growing and forming a strong foundation, from which the bamboo plant will flourish. In some ways, hope can be seen in the conviction of the sower. Even though there may be no immediate evidence of development, there is a patience and perseverance of the heart, with the faith there will be a good outcome.

If one looks around the world, though, the landscape often appears barren of peace, economic stability, justice. Even in one’s own personal experience, there may be a lack of self-esteem, good health, assured safety, and meaningful employment.

Hope intervenes as an awareness of present spiritual truth.

Our eyes may see no reason for hope. Events beyond our control may leave no room to believe in something better. Statistics may suggest no possibility for restoration, and troubling situations that have dragged on for a long time may offer no resolution. Here’s where hope intervenes, as an awareness of present spiritual truth. It secures us in the certainty that no matter how bleak the human circumstances, good will inevitably prevail. Hope advances one from a material perspective to the spiritual sense of something divine, the operation of the higher law—the law of God.

Similar to that bamboo seed, whose roots are actively developing beneath the surface, this divine law is a force for good that often operates unseen to the five senses. And hope is a kind of trust in the power of that law. It confidently, joyously leans upon God. It’s natural to hope in God because all the health, prosperity, peace, and productivity we need come from Him. What God initiates as divine Love, God sustains as divine Principle. Hope involves putting the weight of prayer behind the idea that all the good in life has the support of unencumbered, spiritual law behind it.

The good that we express is not naive or helpless. Far from it! We’re connected to the divine law of good. We’re the expression of Love’s pure intent. Hope is recognizing that active, vital force or divine law that nourishes the accomplishment of progress. Maybe even in modest ways we already see the evidence of hope answered in our own lives. And, throughout history, confirmations of the importance of hope can be found in the bold words and fearless actions of leaders. Dale Carnegie, a famous speaker and writer on the subject of personal development, echoed this sentiment when he said, “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”

The good you desire is invariably safe in God.

Knowing that the good you desire is invariably safe in God, and that there is no power able to take away the good in your life, gives you spiritual poise when you’re faced with distressing situations. The Bible expresses this refreshing promise so beautifully: “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jer.17:7, 8).

Many of those ideas were helpful to me when I faced a series of discouraging challenges.

At first it all looked so good! There was a state university in the town where my husband, our small children, and I had just moved. One spring day as I drove by, the thought came very clearly to me to phone the school and inquire about teaching positions open in my field. I’d been praying about employment and was looking for a job that would coordinate with caring for our children. I felt this idea was the answer to my prayers. Before long, I’d secured an interview and was hired to teach classes in the fall.

Then at the beginning of the summer, I was suddenly faced with an internal illness that would make teaching at the university uncomfortable, if not impossible. Despair knocked at the door of thought, along with the fear that the dysfunction of my body could govern my health. But hope answered the door. This Bible promise pointed to my higher destiny and individuality: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (I John 3:2, 3).

I was governed only by the law of good.

Prayerful affirmations of the fact that I was the daughter of God, expressing His likeness, anchored me. They allowed me to see beyond the precarious picture of myself as governed by discordant material law, or made up of organic matter that was abnormal or in flux. As God’s child, I was governed only by the law of good, and the action of that law must invariably result in harmony.

When I prayed some more about the concept of harmonious action, I saw that it wasn’t the action of matter that defined me, but rather my active expression of spiritual qualities. The ordered rhythm of those qualities was cadenced by divine Soul and held in perfect harmony and energy by divine Principle.

Another idea that brought hope was from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Neither organic inaction nor overaction is beyond God’s control; and man will be found normal and natural to changed mortal thought …” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health, p. 125). All these ideas were purifying and changing my thought. And within a week or so, the normal functioning of my body resumed.

But then, in the middle of the summer, I got a call from the university saying the state government had cut their funds. They told me that it was highly unlikely there would be enough resources for the classes I was scheduled to teach. Now I had a sinking feeling that collective factors outside my control were creating a negative domino effect as if to say, “So much for hope!”

Discouragement can’t take hold when a renewed understanding of God’s love courses through life.

Despite this news, I resolved to pray about this latest challenge. And I remembered my intuition to call the university. I felt sure that this whole activity had so far been God-directed—and therefore would be God-protected and God-fulfilled. If the power of divine Spirit was undergirding my desire to teach, then nothing could possibly thwart the mutual good that could come from it. Like a piece of straw trying to go against the flow of a mighty river, it would not be possible for discouragement to take hold when a renewed understanding of God’s love was coursing through my life.

Another affirmation from the Bible winged my expectation: “For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (Isa. 14:27). Soon, my prayers expanded to include all those who could be affected by the university’s lack of funding. I prayed to see more clearly that in God’s government there is abundance and opportunity for all. I saw that Bible statement applying to the students, the faculty, and to those who would be making financial decisions for the university. And since the divine Mind alone supplied everyone involved with wisdom, things would take proper shape under His guidance.

During the summer, much to the surprise of the faculty, state legislators allocated the necessary funds the university had been lacking. All was again on track for me to teach.

Then, as if the previous challenges had not been enough, a week before my classes started, I was told that only a few students had signed up. If more students didn’t express interest, my classes would be canceled. The hopeless uncertainty crept in that my good was dependent on other people and on whether enough students cared about the subject I was offering.

However, my prayers over that summer had buoyed me, and by that time I had the conviction that right where there was a roster barren of students, right there—in the “wilderness,” so to speak—good could “blossom abundantly” (see Isa. 35:1, 2). I held to that conviction. And with two days to go until sign-ups for the semester were closed, the class I’d planned to teach filled completely. There was truly cause for rejoicing as I welcomed my students on the first day. If they’d only known all the hope I’d been cherishing throughout that summer and that they represented its beautiful fruition!

Absolutely nothing is beyond the control of God’s law of harmony.

Teaching that year was a progressive career step. But more than that, it strengthened my understanding of why we should all practice hope. Whether you’re faced with a lingering physical problem, an unfair policy, or aftermath from the seemingly random decisions of others, absolutely nothing is beyond the control of God’s law of harmony. His goodness simply cannot fail. I’ve learned I can rest assured that despite these material pictures, when I pray, something wonderful is happening in consciousness. Just as when the bamboo seed doesn’t appear to be growing, and yet is preparing to take off and shoot triumphantly into the air, our trust in God is not in vain. At first, answers may be unseen, but the activity of His goodness is ongoing, and its manifestation is assured.

We can all take comfort and trust in the healing fragrance of hope’s complete fruition. God is on the scene, bringing His blessings into view, uplifting and restoring us. In fact, it’s our individual mission to be witnesses of His power. The good that we hope for is inherent in the fabric of our identity. Mary Baker Eddy wrote that we are each “a living witness to and perpetual idea of inexhaustible good” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 83). Now there’s a reason to hope!

Janet Clements is a Christian Science practitioner and teacher from Chicago, Illinois.

From a spiritual perspective, the environment is not an aggregate of physical entities but a complex expression of spiritual ideas that express the nature of God. These spiritual ideas are not as vulnerable as we might believe, because their might, continuity, and existence come from God. The more we focus on the spiritual reality as the scientific fact, the more we’ll see the spiritual nature of God’s creation manifested.]]> Ron Ballard | from the Christian Science Sentinel

For many people, human impact on the environment is a foregone conclusion, and for some, the degree of that impact is debatable. But it would be absurd to argue that we don’t have a relationship to our environment, and events like Earth Day (observed on April 22) provide opportunities to evaluate the nature of that relationship.

I received an invitation to attend the International Conference on Global Warming and Climate Change to be held in London this summer. What is intriguing to me about this invitation is that it stems from talks I give on the impact of prayer on the environment. To me, the decision to include speakers with different perspectives symbolizes a growing awareness that spirituality, in the best sense of the word, can have a major impact on changes of attitude and action relating to the planet.

Many churches around the globe have taken up the issue of environmental responsibility as a moral imperative.

In fact, many churches around the globe have taken up the issue of environmental responsibility as a moral imperative. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Sentinel, commented on this in her landmark work, Science and Health with Key the Scriptures. Giving her sense of the spiritual interpretation of Genesis 1:29 and 30 (a passage that directly relates to our interaction with the environment) she wrote: “God gives the lesser idea of Himself for a link to the greater, and in return, the higher always protects the lower …. All the varied expressions of God reflect health, holiness, immortality—infinite Life, Truth, and Love” (Science and Health, p. 518).

As I’ve looked over the conference’s focus questions— “What do we know?” and “What can we do?”—I’ve realized that they provide a useful context for shaping my prayers on this topic. For instance, a little different slant on “what do we know” can include how we know the natural world around us. Seen from a spiritual perspective, the environment is not an aggregate of physical entities, but a complex expression of spiritual ideas that, in reality, express the nature of God in “health, holiness, and immortality.” These spiritual ideas, therefore, are not as vulnerable as we might believe, because their might, continuity, and existence come from their divine Source, infinite Life, Truth, and Love. The more that one can appreciate the environment as spiritual expression, the more they’ll find it providing a “link” to a deeper understanding of themselves, and to God.

Often, the divine facts are just the opposite of what we see with our eyes.

The challenge to this kind of knowing is gathering understanding from divine facts instead of from material circumstances. Often, the divine facts are just the opposite of what we see with our eyes. But the more we focus on the spiritual reality as the scientific fact, the more we’ll see the spiritual nature of God’s creation manifested. This fundamental concept is the basis for the larger context of healing.

That all sounds great, we might say. But is it realistic to expect that prayer can effect real environmental change? That brings me to the second focus question from the conference, “What can we do?”

A more prayerful stance does initiate and sustain progress.

It’s possible to move from debate over scientific evidence to bringing healing to the world around us. Engaging with our environment through a more prayerful stance does initiate and sustain progress. If we understand human existence as a relative concept, determined by thought, then what we hold on to as our sense of reality comes to light through prayer. Constructive solutions to the most entrenched problems flourish. And often, healing happens in our own lives.

A small business owner I know was skeptical about concerns of climate change and resisted taking any action to adjust his operating practices. However, as he prayed about his attitude, he saw more clearly that the oneness of all Life, the spiritual sense of the ecosystem, was independent of any societal debate. He began to find ways to run his business in a more environmentally friendly fashion, which not only satisfied his moral concerns, but gained him stature in his community and brought financial improvement.

Seen from a spiritual point of view, all creation teaches us about the integrity of the one divine Source. We can love what a deeper knowledge of the spiritual nature of our environment brings. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than in taking to heart a humbling passage from the Bible’s book of Job: “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?” (Job 12:7–9).

Ron Ballard is a Christian Science practitioner and teacher who lives in Ashland, Oregon. He is a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship.

Food prices are rising around the world, causing concern that some people may not be able to afford what they need. But we’re not pawns in a food-chain chess match. With an enlarged understanding of the truths Christ Jesus taught, society’s perspective will change to one that is solution-oriented, infused with healing rather than filled with worry and concern.]]> from the Christian Science Sentinel

“Everywhere, the cost of food is rising sharply,” reported The New York Times in a recent story. “Whether the world is in for a long period of continued increases has become one of the most urgent issues in economics.” Some say that rising food prices could be more of a problem for the American economy than rising fuel prices, because food accounts for over three times what fuel does in people’s budgets.

But that Times article also mentions signs that can be seen as hopeful: “In recent years, the world’s developing countries have been growing about 7 percent a year, an unusually rapid rate by historical standards.” While it’s true that this is creating higher demands and driving up the price of agricultural commodities, it’s also true that “the high growth rate means hundreds of millions of people are, for the first time, getting access to the basics of life, including a better diet” (“A global need for grain that farms can’t fill,” by David Streitfeld, March 9, 2008).

All this raises some fundamental questions: Must the very advancements that improve some lives result in greater problems for others? Is it all just a case of competition for a limited share of the global food pie?

Prayer brings ideas, and ideas bring solutions.

Questions such as those deserve thoughtful answers. The kinds of answers that inevitably come from increased spiritual understanding. The issue of short food supplies and rising prices may appear so open-ended, so daunting, that prayer can seem almost incidental. But prayer brings ideas, and ideas bring solutions. The best ideas—the ones that heal—come from the divine Mind. Seek the things of God first, said the master Christian in his great Sermon, and the needful things “shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). Jesus was referring specifically to the necessities of life, among them food.

Speaking of higher laws than those of economics, Sentinel founder Mary Baker Eddy made an observation that goes beyond the apparent brick wall of limited resources and “too many mouths to feed.” The Science of Christianity, which she discovered in 1866, holds the promise that humanity can rise above all forms of limitation, through understanding the simple truths Jesus taught and practiced. And the Bible records that on more than one occasion Jesus produced food for everyone, even in times of stark shortage. While we may or may not instantly solve today’s food challenges on the scale that Jesus did, we can expect to contribute practical solutions to the individual and collective need to feed ourselves affordably. Nobody on the face of the planet is left out of God’s promise, and nobody receives at another’s expense. As Mrs. Eddy wrote, “In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and the fishes,—Spirit, not matter, being the source of supply” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 206).

The spiritual ideas that will empower prayer and help us tackle this issue come through the influence of the Christ, Truth, which Jesus expressed beyond measure—through God’s message speaking to human consciousness. As the Christ leavens human consciousness, ideas come to light that bring hope and progress, just as they did in Jesus’ time.

Spiritual ideas multiply and spread the blessings.

And today, as in Jesus’ time, contrary mental currents push and pull to advance a matter-based view of life with all its limits and grasping for monopoly power. Christ-borne ideas are recognizable for the universality of their benefits. Spiritual ideas multiply and spread the blessings, while materialistic aims divide and hoard resources; they spread only fear. Which influence will have sway in today’s hearts and minds?

Grains such as corn and wheat are commodities that lie at the heart of rising food costs; simply put, the world can’t seem to grow enough grain for bread, the fundamental food of human existence. This drives prices up and appears to separate the haves from the have-nots. But is the fundamental need really for more seeds to grind into flour and ship around in sacks to those prepared to pay the highest price? Or is it for more of that leavening truth of the Christ? Don’t we most need to understand, day by day, a little more of the truth taught by the one who told his disciples, “I am that bread of life” (John 6:48)?

With an enlarged understanding of the truths Christ Jesus taught, society’s perspective will change to one that is solution-oriented, infused with healing rather than filled with worry and concern. We’re not pawns in a food-chain chess match—not when we accept the “bread of life” as representing the sum and substance of our being. And then go about breaking spiritual bread with our neighbors.

After suffering from migraine headaches for more than a decade and trying all sorts of medical treatments to cure them, a woman is completely healed through Christian Science.]]> Phoebe Lawson | from the Christian Science Sentinel

About 13 years ago, before I knew anything about Christian Science, I’d been diagnosed with debilitating “cluster” migraine headaches. These went on for more than a decade. My life went something like this: I would take about 23 pills a day to manage the constant pain I was in, and was very regimented about what I ate and drank, believing that this could prevent the onset of alarming symptoms. But none of these efforts really seemed to help.

Daily, I tried to avoid the migraines with over-the-counter pills. Then I had to switch to prescribed narcotics for pain relief, and after each episode had passed, there was a period of recovery from the side effects of the medicine. I would lie in bed three days out of a week with the curtains drawn to block out light, unable to care for my young children.

‘Prayer could be used as treatment? Instead of medicine? You must be kidding!’ I thought.

On the weekends, when I felt well enough to leave the house, I went to horse shows where one of my daughters rode. I’d been an avid horsewoman my whole life, participating in many competitions and owning my own horses. So this sport was something I’d never been willing to give up, despite the fact that it involved rigorous physical exercise. I had a friend at these shows who was a Christian Scientist, and I would tell her all my woes. When she told me that I could be permanently healed of the migraines, I thought she was nuts! Prayer could be used as treatment? Instead of medicine? You must be kidding! I thought.

But over time my condition continued to deteriorate, even though I had kind doctors who were doing everything they could to help me. Nothing seemed to work. Desperate for relief from the migraines, I even agreed to undergo a hysterectomy, which the doctors said might bring solutions. Unfortunately, this operation did not solve my problem. And it meant that I was left without the ability to have more children. I was really at a loss as to what to do.

In the meantime I’d been talking to my Christian Scientist friend, who shared some ideas about the all-loving nature of God. These helped me in times of fear or pain. One powerful idea I remember was that “we are all under God’s umbrella.” Now that was the kind of thing I’d never felt before. I’d had a very rocky childhood and struggled with feeling unprotected.

I liked that idea of the umbrella, and found that as I began to express honesty, integrity, and love in everything I did, I could feel God’s care. Daily anxieties began to subside.

Relying on medication indefinitely didn’t feel right.

One day, my doctor wanted to put me on a new drug he said I would have to take for the rest of my life. I balked because I’d always thought of my condition as temporary. Now here I was, faced with relying on medication indefinitely—and it didn’t feel right.

So I called my friend, and she gave me the names of some Christian Science practitioners whom I could talk to.

Over the next few weeks, I was in touch with two practitioners at different times. The first weekend when I sought Christian Science treatment through prayer from the practitioner, I stopped taking all my “meds”—a big step. And over the course of the weekend, I was completely free from pain. This was miraculous to me!

On Monday morning, when I felt the early stages of a migraine beginning to take over, I placed another call. I reached a different practitioner, who asked me if I had a copy of Science and Health. I said a friend had given me the book, but that I hadn’t read it yet (in fact, it had just been collecting dust on my bookshelf). He suggested that I try reading the first and last chapters.

As I hung up I remember thinking, “As if it’s possible to read with a migraine!” But I opened up the book to the first line of the preface: “To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings” (Science and Health, p. vii). Hmmm, I thought. That’s actually really nice. I remember looking at my bed and wondering if I should get into it. But instead I decided to do a bit of housework. The rest of the day just passed. Later that afternoon I was walking down the road leading my pony to a pasture in the blazing Georgia sun. All of a sudden I paused, stunned by the fact that I was not lying in bed with a migraine. And there wasn’t one drop of medicine running through my veins. I just couldn’t believe it—I was floored!

It was clear to me that my answers did not lie in medicine—I’d tried it all.

Later that evening I got rid of all my medications and began a diligent, ongoing study of the Bible and Science and Health. That night marked the end of my migraines, but not of milder headaches. However, after that major healing and awakening in my thought, my gratitude for God and commitment to Christian Science were so big that I felt comfortable sticking exclusively with prayer for treatment. It was clear to me that my answers did not lie in medicine—I’d tried it all—and that God’s plan for me could only be amazing and leave me in awe.

So every time a headache would come on, I would address the challenge immediately through prayer. I’d often call a Christian Science practitioner for support, and soon would be free for that time. But the headaches still recurred periodically for many years. I really held to the idea that each time I had to face the pain, it was just another opportunity to shed fears in my life. Intense fears of storms, fears about my kids’ safety, fears of traveling, all began to dissolve, replaced with a calmness and grace I’d never known before. And as time went by, my trust in God grew. I learned that He really was all-good and the only governing power. Soon, not just the “big” fears, but daily anxieties I’d held close for so long, started to dissolve.

I began to learn that the painful memories in my past had nothing to do with my real life, which was held securely in God. Mary Baker Eddy had seen through divine revelation that matter was illusive—a dream state—and as I studied more and more, this spiritual fact became clearer. This concept had seemed absolutely ludicrous to me when my Christian Scientist friend first told me about it years before. In fact, I’d literally rolled my eyes at the concept that matter was an illusion, because my whole life had been based on the premise that I was subject to a series of material laws. But after my healing of migraines, I just could not turn my back on what Mrs. Eddy was saying in her writings, despite the jarring interruptions of those more “common” milder headaches that would come on from time to time.

Our family experienced many blessings.

As I began to see the indissoluble link between my Maker and myself, as well as between Him and my loved ones, our family experienced many blessings. Although there were times when I wavered in my trust that God was in control, my children and I were healed of countless conditions, including asthma, strep throat, chronic earaches, learning disabilities, a herniated disc, and more.

So each time I was confronted with another headache, I reached out to God in prayer, as He revealed to me my true spiritual being. I loved the idea that He was all-good, all-powerful, and that I was bathed in the light of these truths. The concept of persistence was especially relevant, as mentioned in this passage from Science and Health: “By lifting thought above error, or disease, and contending persistently for truth, you destroy error” (Science and Health, p. 400).

After my many years of experiencing headaches, they just stopped for good, in all their forms. I was left with a transformed character, a fearless outlook on many aspects of my life, and a new view of my spiritual innocence. My complete healing of recurring pain has been permanent for several years now.

The lessons I learned throughout this time of spiritual regeneration have been invaluable in my current work as a Christian Science practitioner. I’m learning each day that every single disease is an error, no matter how big or small it may seem, no matter how long it tries to linger in our lives.

And as one healing naturally follows another, the proof that God is supreme is strengthened. This idea gives hope to anyone who knows in their heart that it’s always their divine right to be healthy and free.

Phoebe Lawson is a Christian Science practitioner from Alpharetta, Georgia. She rides, shows, and trains her own horse.

Major failures such as the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis and the fall of a concrete ceiling slab in a tunnel in Boston tend to send out shock waves of fear about the safety of such structures. Prayer is a way not only to remove fear but also to support those who are responsible for the care and upkeep of such structures.]]> John Daniels | from the Christian Science Sentinel

Major failures such as last year’s collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis and the fall of a concrete ceiling slab in a tunnel in Boston tend to send out shock waves of fear about the safety of such structures. They led a number of states to examine the condition of road and rail bridges, which didn’t always result in satisfactory findings. More recently, Amtrak announced the need to spend tens of millions of dollars to replace defective railroad ties in the Northeast Corridor, which links major cities on the US East Coast.

For the millions of people who travel on highways or railways around the world, these kinds of reports are anything but theoretical, especially if “their” bridge or tunnel happens to be the one that’s labeled dangerous. Some people deal with the threat of danger fatalistically: “If my time is up, it will collapse, and if it isn’t, I’ll get across (or through) it safely.” Others may grit their teeth until habit wears down the fear. I’d like to propose prayer as a way not only to remove fear but also to support those who are responsible for the care and upkeep of these structures.

Bridges and tunnels specifically represent a concept: the freedom to cross a barrier.

One approach I’ve found helpful is to recognize that beyond their material makeup, bridges and tunnels specifically represent a concept: the freedom to cross a barrier—a river or other divide—that would otherwise severely constrain our movement. Highways and railways also enable us to connect with others more readily. In essence, a nation’s infrastructure has a “uniting” function, providing ready access to the widespread good in our communities.

To see all these facets of transportation in this more spiritual light keeps us from focusing on structural conditions and helps us understand something of God. As Spirit, God’s intelligent presence can guide those who maintain and inspect those structures to be more alert and active in their care for them.

In the design stage, a bridge or tunnel is a purely mental construct, an idea waiting to be realized. As its design takes shape, both it and its intended environment are rigorously evaluated against the best available technical knowledge and experience, to ensure that the final product provides the highest possible level of public safety. In support of this design phase, our prayers can affirm the presence of divine wisdom, the one Mind, guiding every phase of a project. It’s also important to reject the belief that anyone’s personal interests or agendas can manipulate the decisions that are made about public roads and bridges; in the presence of God, selfish motivations are powerless.

Our prayers can look to God as divine Principle, the source of all law, to protect the integrity of the design and its execution.

Once a bridge or tunnel begins to take shape as a material structure, use of substandard materials, or other changes that degrade the structure’s integrity, may cloud the mental purity of the design through unwise efforts to cut costs. This adverse influence amounts to something that St. Paul long ago called “the carnal mind,” which involves thoughts that run counter to God’s law of order (see Rom. 8:5–7). Here, our prayers can look to God as divine Principle, the source of all law, to protect the integrity of the design and its execution. Under the direction of Principle, dishonesty, greed, or laziness can’t tempt someone to cut corners. Our prayer can ask that the love of God motivate all actions that affect the people who will use the road, bridge, or tunnel, and promote the alertness and wisdom to bring any hidden flaws to light.

Divine Love’s spiritual creation is perfect, useful, and good. Everything we need for our mobility and commerce naturally expresses these qualities. In prayer, we can gain confidence that Love eliminates fears that might be associated with a given project, whether it be fear that it will go over budget (a possible source of temptation to cut corners), that it will be a dangerous endeavor (fear of accidents), or that after a time it will become unsafe (fear of hidden deterioration). Love antidotes fear. As the Bible says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear” (I John 4:18). It’s always reassuring to know God is a constant, ever-present help.

To view a road or bridge, a tunnel or railway, spiritually—as a symbol of God-given freedom, supported by the laws that emanate from Him—separates it from the carnal mind’s suggestions that God’s upholding power can be undermined or polluted and that the structure can deteriorate or collapse, causing harm to the very ones it is intended to serve.

Does this mean that the world’s bridges and tunnels will always remain as perfect as their designs have specified? No. But prayer in support of those who design, build, and maintain them will reveal ways to extend their useful lives, as well as protect us from harm as we use them.

John Daniels lives in Bellingham, Washington.

Hopelessness, depression, economic frustration—all these are cited as causes of suicide. But good is always possible with God, so no circumstance makes suicide inevitable. And the more we value everyone as the child of an all-loving God, the more our prayer can help people move away from suicide to the hope and goodness that belong to us all.]]> Elise Moore | from the Christian Science Sentinel

Hopelessness and depression are reportedly major causes of suicide around the world. Sadly, more than a million people commit suicide annually.

The statistics are chilling. The worldwide rate is 16 suicides per 100,000 people. In the last 45 years, suicide rates have increased 60 percent, according to the World Health Organization. A study published in The Lancet, a British medical journal, reported that the average rate of suicide for women in southern India was a shocking 148 per 100,000, with 58 per 100,000 for men. China, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka also have disclosed alarmingly high rates of suicide among women.

In Russia and Eastern Europe, the rate for men is significantly higher than for women. In Lithuania, more than 80 men per 100,000 committed suicide. The Russian Federation reported 70 men and 12 women per 100,000 in 2000. While alcohol is considered a contributing factor in these regions, general hopelessness and economic frustration have played a part.

In the United States, suicide is the third leading cause of death of young people between the ages of 10 and 24. Males are four to six times more at risk than young women.

There is nothing inevitable about suicide.

Regardless of demographics, hope can rise at any moment in the human heart. Because of this, there is nothing inevitable about suicide. Hope is an expectancy of good. It’s a feeling that one has the means to fulfill a treasured desire. Young people might feel that their destiny has been decided by others—for example, school authorities, parents, employers. It might seem that chance has clipped the wings of their dreams. Life might look predetermined, with hopes and dreams for happiness forever lost.

But “with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). Regardless of circumstances, good is possible with God. In the midst of darkness, the divine light is shining hope into the human heart. It’s the light of the Christ that gently leads one out of despair and into renewed hope that good can and will happen.

In Mary Baker Eddy’s words, Christ is “the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness” (Science and Health, p. 332). Christ is God’s gift to humanity. It’s not limited to one race or culture, age or denomination. The divine message brings safety, salvation, and hope to each individual.

The daily presence of God makes an impression and transforms thought.

There are stories in the Bible of this Christ-light coming to people even before the advent of Jesus. For example, the children of Israel were led through the wilderness by a pillar of fire at night. Wasn’t this the divine light leading an entire race from hopelessness and slavery into hope and freedom? That doesn’t mean there were no challenges in their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land and afterward. But the spiritual demands they faced in the wilderness, while onerous at first, became empowering later. The spiritual strengthening that went on in the wilderness gradually took away their intense focus on themselves, their actions, their comforts, and so on. The daily presence of God—as illustrated by the provision of manna and quail for them to eat and Moses’ daily communion with Deity—began to make an impression, to transform thought and instill a sense of belonging to God.

In the Western world, men might feel burdened by failure, but there’s also evidence that feelings of isolation, of not belonging—especially if they are reinforced by cliques that make a point of mocking “outsiders”—can be harmful. Believing that they don’t measure up to their own or others’ expectations, they jump to wrong conclusions. Persistent love from family and friends, and alertness to changes in behavior, are invaluable. Steady prayer for inspiration in knowing how to help an individual contemplating suicide is essential.

Patience and gratitude can restore hope. One approach that has helped many people who are tempted by suicide is to think of one good experience in their lives, however small, and then another and then another—and to affirm with each one that this is evidence of omnipotent goodness, present right now. This will turn their thoughts in the right direction. Friends can encourage this approach at times when an individual is struggling. Being grateful for little things will prepare a person to see bigger blessings—and “to-day is big with blessings” (Science and Health, p. vii).

Affirming our spirituality and relation to God isn’t ‘doing nothing.’

Gratitude strengthens and supports patience. To patiently wait for good to happen isn’t “doing nothing,” if one is affirming his or her spirituality and inseparable relation to God—even in the face of discouragement. Patience as expressed in this passage from one of the Apostle Paul’s letters can save an individual from bolting just before a blessing arrives: “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

In the Eastern world, women are sometimes forced to submit to inhumane and harsh lives. Some apparent suicides may actually be murders. Either way, the more we value each individual and recognize her place as the child of an all-loving God, the more our prayer can help break women’s bondage.

Even when hardship is grinding a person into submission, the fact remains that there is a law of good operating in everyone’s life. God knows the good that you are doing. God sees all the good that is in you, and God sees all the good that you are capable of doing. Prayerful affirmation of God’s law of good gives wings to the struggling heart.

In some parts of the world, women are thought of as meant to do manual labor while men do all the thinking. This attitude doesn’t bless either gender, because it rejects the spiritual origin of all people. Women are valuable but not merely as sexual partners or workers. Women are creative, intelligent ideas. Praying for women to express wisdom and courage can help sustain them under severe trials.

Wisdom is practical spirituality.

Wisdom is practical spirituality. Women reflect the divine wisdom that comes from the divine Mind. Spiritual intuitions have the power to keep them safe. Our simple affirming that courage is a God-given quality can help women discover and feel the inner strength that is already theirs.

In our prayers for people, whether male or female, Eastern or Western, this passage from Science and Health can be helpful: “The metaphysician, making Mind his basis of operation irrespective of matter and regarding the truth and harmony of being as superior to error and discord, has rendered himself strong, instead of weak, to cope with the case; and he proportionately strengthens his patient with the stimulus of courage and conscious power. Both Science and consciousness are now at work in the economy of being according to the law of Mind, which ultimately asserts its absolute supremacy” (Science and Health, p. 423).

Gratitude, patience, wisdom, courage—they can spark the hope that is needed to stop suicide. Life is spontaneous and full of unexpected blessings. The next thought can be the saving one. The next person can be the helpful one. Never underestimate the power of good operating in your life and in others’ lives.

Elise Moore is a teacher and practitioner Christian Science, who divides her time between Nashville, Tennessee, and Tucson, Arizona. She is also a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship.

In this day of such strident partisan politics and emotional “hot button issues,” it’s beneficial to step back from the preoccupation over candidates and issues long enough to get a higher view of basic values and government. Such a view can help voters at decision time, too.]]> Elizabeth Schaefer | from the Christian Science Sentinel

It was a sight to behold—a liberal US senator from up North and a Southern conservative congressman sitting down together around the parlor piano. Neither one could sing particularly well, but they were giving it their best. A scene from days gone by? No, it was one my husband and I witnessed this past summer when friends invited us to join them for dinner.

Although the two men had faced each other on opposite sides of negotiations in Congress, they’d developed a friendship over what seemed like the smallest of common threads—boyhood summers in the same area. What they discovered was more than a shared history. They found they held values in common that transcended politics, and this discovery brought a healing balm to the political landscape.

It’s beneficial to get a higher view of basic values and government.

While neither man’s political viewpoint has changed as a result of their friendship, they do bring a respect for each other to the table when doing business. In this day of such strident partisan politics and emotional “hot button issues,” it’s beneficial to step back from the preoccupation over candidates and issues long enough to get a higher view of basic values and government. Such a view can help voters at decision time, too.

What bound these men together were the spiritual qualities that had touched their hearts—the joy, freedom, fullness of life, and love that they both associated with a special place. But because those qualities are spiritual, they are never limited to that one spot. Anyone can experience them at any time because they have their origin in God and are written in every heart. As the book of Jeremiah records it: “After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (31:33).

Christian Science explains the nature of divine law as wholly good and all-powerful. It doesn’t vary from person to person, but is consistent and governs each of us equally.

Mary Baker Eddy explained how God’s law overturns injustice in human affairs: “The vox populi, through the providence of God, promotes and impels all true reform; and, at the best time, will redress wrongs and rectify injustice. Tyranny can thrive but feebly under our Government. God reigns, and will ‘turn and overturn’ until right is found supreme” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 80).

The Latin phrase vox populi or “voice of the people” is used by those in public office to remember to stay true to the voice of the people when considering legislation. But Mrs. Eddy’s use of the term apparently wasn’t limited to popular opinion or simply to the will of the people. Instead, she was using vox populi more in the sense of a spiritual citizenship that causes individuals to seek higher ideals in every detail of life, including government and the election process. You might say it’s that which gives voice to what is written on everyone’s heart—the universal law of God.

The vox populi can also be suffocated when public thought is controlled, manipulated, or misled, and as a result “individual rights are trodden underfoot” (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 274). Then the recognition of good is drowned out by voices that seek to gain from a false basis—when sensationalism and fear turn thought away from God’s law.

There are not two governments, the spiritual and the human, but only one—God’s rule.

What can lead to good decisions at the polling booth, so that the vox populi reflects God’s law, rather than suffocates that law? Perhaps the starting point is in discerning that there are not two governments, the spiritual and the human, but only one—God’s rule. Good decision-making requires our being free from dualism.

The supremacy of God’s government becomes clearer with the recognition that human existence is actually entirely a mental experience. What we see as material events are not external happenings but mental pictures that reflect what we are accepting as true about life. As one recognizes and yields to what God is revealing as true and real in any situation, then thought changes. And as thoughts change, what we call the human experience adjusts to better reflect the spiritual reality.

Consequently, I see voting decisions as not about trying to affect some external event, but rather about mentally yielding to divine Truth. It’s less about endorsing a candidate’s stands or personality, and more about sorting out your own thoughts and desires. Feeling decisive can then be the aftereffect rather than the goal of prayer. Effective prayer involves communing with God so that His government is what we actually feel and know in our hearts. Then, the ideas God is continuously supplying show the right steps to take, down to the minutest detail—including which candidate to support.

If at such moments I don’t feel definite, I know I need to keep praying and take those steps that seem most in line with my prayer. “Wisdom in human action begins,” said Mary Baker Eddy, “with what is nearest right under the circumstances, and thence achieves the absolute” (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 288).

I pray to be aware that divine law is present and governing.

Difficulty in making decisions can arise from unwittingly accepting that dualistic concept of life—that the human experience is separate from the divine. When faced with difficult decisions, I ask myself, What is this situation declaring about the nature of God? Is it in line with reality, with divine Truth, or is it expressing a flawed sense of life? What is the spiritual law or quality that’s needed here? Then I pray to be aware that God’s presence has always supplied and continues to supply that quality—to be aware that divine law is present and governing. Once the certainty of divine law corrects my focus on the human dilemma, I find specific ways to express the certainty of that law through my actions, in voting and all the details of daily living.

A congressman I know was able to overcome an impasse on a piece of legislation by praying to gain a greater awareness of the unifying nature of God’s law. The bill that he’d been working on faced opposition from another legislator, who had up to that point refused to discuss their differences about the bill. Productive negotiations on the subject seemed to be out of the question. My friend prayed to see the situation in a new light. He said that he wasn’t praying to further his own agenda but to be open to understanding God’s government.

As he prayed, an idea from a Bible verse caught his attention: “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (Phil. 2:2). The phrase “being of one accord, of one mind” really stood out to him. He felt at peace and released all desire to try to steer the outcome in a certain direction. If he needed to step away from his position on the bill, he felt he’d be able to do so. He became willing to let the spiritual qualities of unity and harmony take precedence, even if that meant losing on the issue at hand.

God’s law is written on everyone’s heart and brings views that heal.

As he prayed with this Bible verse, he felt inspired to visit the other lawmaker in his office and talk. During that heart-to-heart talk, my friend was able to share openly the ideas that had come to him in prayer. As they talked, the other legislator grew receptive, his position changed, and he agreed to support the legislation. My friend said that he was grateful for the support; but what meant more to him was what he himself gained spiritually—the evidence that God’s law is written on everyone’s heart and brings views that heal.

In this election year, we, too, can challenge a dualistic approach to life and witness the unifying nature of God’s law. We can gain clear direction on what steps to take in the voting booth and the halls of government.

Politics need not be all about points of contention. With purified motives and aims, politics can serve to bring out higher ideals and lead to more harmonious outcomes. Societies will approach this ideal as citizens get beyond the stereotyped sense of politics as a contest of wills, and realize there is something bigger than any one human viewpoint can encompass. That something bigger is the goodwill—or will of divine good—that is universal, impersonal, and unconditional. It is actually God’s love written in each heart.

As the senator from the North said goodbye to his conservative colleague at that summer gathering, he got down on one knee and serenaded all of us with a rendition of the Broadway tune “Love Changes Everything.” From what we felt in our hearts that moment, I’d say his declaration got everyone’s vote!

Beth Schaefer is a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in San Antonio, Texas. She’s currently serving as Second Reader of The Mother Church in Boston.

Feeling overweight or overloaded isn’t a function of pounds, gravity, or physical mass, but of mentality saddled with the heavy baggage of matter-based reasoning. The antidote for this heaviness is spiritual mindedness and understanding identity in the image and likeness of God.]]> Evan Mehlenbacher | from the Christian Science Sentinel

Whether or not Disneyland’s attraction “It’s a small world” is actually being rebuilt to accommodate today’s larger patrons—a suggestion Disney reps deny—statistics claim obesity prevails globally. Among children as well as adults.

Yet obesity stats don’t tell the entire story. Considered along with the market glut of “get thin quick” remedies, promotion of foods without sugar or trans fats—and the focus on celebrities as the model to conform to—these statistics suggest a population identifying itself predominantly with physicality and body weight.

It’s helpful to begin to see how the encumbrance is not primarily physical but mental—the effect of an inner burden.

Many people struggle, even obsess, over their weight. Admittedly, most view it simply as excess physical pounds. But there’s another kind of heaviness that’s worth considering in the effort to address this issue. What about the drag of stress at work, personal crises, or health and financial worries? Even if the heaviness is external, it’s helpful to begin to see how the encumbrance is not primarily physical but mental—the effect of an inner burden.

This fact was strikingly illustrated to me last year during the second half of a tennis match. It was in a local tournament, and my opponent and I were about equal in skill, so our games went on with long rallies. Exhausted, I didn’t know how I was going to survive to the end, nor was I sure I wanted to. When I had a minute to sit down, I prayed for relief, seeking a spiritual perspective. I thought about myself as being God’s image. Then this question grabbed my attention: “Does God’s likeness feel heavy and tired?”

The query was prompted by a statement in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. “Man is not matter;” wrote Mary Baker Eddy, “he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God” (Science and Health, p. 475). I reasoned that as my own image in a mirror possesses no physical weight, so I, as God’s image, didn’t possess burdensome weight, either. I thought, too, about a hologram and how it could reproduce, in 3-D, the features and outlines of a person, but carry no poundage.

I decided to quit thinking of myself as a muscle-and-flesh-bound mortal with depleted strength, and dwell instead on what I was seeing as my weightless being in Spirit, forever energized as God’s image.

Inspired, I lit off the bench with renewed hope. As I played and prayed, the heaviness and physical strain lifted. I was filled with gratitude for the chance to play my opponent, and finished the match with vigor, strength, and a spring in my step—the leadenness gone. It was such a welcome turnaround!

A burdened thought—angry, disappointed, self-oriented—manifests itself as a burdened body.

This lesson of keeping my thinking on a higher elevation stayed with me. Most of us have experienced days where we find ourselves dragging around, weighted by worries. Then there are the days when we feel especially light, filled with cheer and joy. During my tennis game I realized that the difference was not in my physique, but in my attitude and outlook, which govern the body. A burdened thought—angry, disappointed, self-oriented—manifests itself as a burdened body. An enlightened thought—expressing joy, expectancy of good, and love—feels buoyant and inspired.

Once I heard a man complain about feeling heavy and despondent because of a business crisis he faced. But through prayer he found a solution to the crisis and later exulted, “I feel 20 years younger and 50 pounds lighter!” His body hadn’t changed, but his thinking had. The discouragement and fear were gone, and so was the sensation of heaviness.

Another time, I listened to a young woman fret about being hugely overweight. I frankly was stunned by her comment for she didn’t appear to me to be overweight at all. It wasn’t actual pounds that oppressed her, but the conviction that if she was not super-model fit, then she was obese. The weight she felt and feared was not in her body, but in her belief-system.

The antidote for this heaviness is spiritual mindedness.

Experiences such as the above reveal that feeling overloaded is not a function of pounds, gravity, or physical mass, but of mentality saddled with the heavy baggage of matter-based reasoning. The antidote for this heaviness is spiritual mindedness—and understanding identity in the image and likeness of God as the Bible states in Genesis (see Gen. 1:26).

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ act of walking on the water—followed by Peter’s failed attempt to do the same—provides a lesson in weight-free thinking (14:25–33). When Jesus stood on the lake, he demonstrated weightless being. In the past, when I’d tried to figure out how Jesus did that, I’d wonder: “What happened to the weight of his body? Did he neutralize gravity? Was he increasing the surface tension of the water itself?” Then I saw that I was asking the wrong questions. My queries started from the premise that the universe is physical—that matter was real, heavy, and possessed weight.

But to Jesus, Spirit, not matter, was the substance of the universe. He taught his followers to worship God as Spirit, to see their all in Spirit, not in a matter context. To Jesus, the substance of Spirit was the weight of reality, not flesh and bones. Spirit’s weight was measured in terms of the truth and love of God expressed, not by pounds and tons registered.

Jesus could stand on water in a material form because he understood himself to be an idea, which is weightless.

In thinking about this lighter-than-air-demonstration, it’s occurred to me that Jesus couldn’t think of himself as a weighty mortal atop an unsupportive surface. Rather, he must have known himself as God’s divine likeness, held in position (wherever he was) by spiritual power and might. Jesus could stand on water in a material form because he understood himself to be an idea, which is weightless even in the realm of physics. The gravitational pull of the earth (and mortal belief) had no effect on Jesus’ Spirit-based thinking.

Peter, on the other hand, was not as successful as Jesus. When he first ventured on the water, he stayed afloat, but soon lost his faith and spiritual focus. Peter saw the waves and evaluated his situation materially. His thinking rapidly descended from a glimpse of spiritual possibility to the constraints of physical belief, which dictated the impossibility of walking on water. Overcome by fear, he felt heavy and started to sink.

If not mentally guarded against, the weight of entertaining such emotions as despair, discouragement, hatred, anger, resentment, overindulgence, jealousy, envy, laziness, or discontentment can create sensations of heaviness, and cause one to sink into hopelessness. But like Jesus, we too can strive to maintain a spiritual outlook that sees God in control, not the conditions of sensuality and mortality.

Over 20 years ago, I felt heavy from extra weight and wanted to shed it. After months of prayer, I decided that the pounds I thought were weighing me down were actually unchallenged, false beliefs about my true identity. For example, the conviction that I was programmed by DNA to be big, that eating more than I needed was unavoidable, and that I was helpless to do anything about my chubby condition. I kept praying, however, assiduously pursuing a spiritual solution.

God would not project an image that looked overweight or out of shape.

Then one night I looked in a mirror and saw the overweight body I’d grown to detest, and with an unforgettable flash of inspiration proclaimed, “That is not me! I am a healthy, fit, and under-control image and likeness of God.” Right then I saw that God would not project an image that looked overweight or out of shape. The distorted outline I saw in the mirror was not me, and I needed to quit identifying with it. The false, adipose view was weighing me down. I’d glimpsed my weightless and properly adjusted being in Spirit.

The effect was profound and life transforming. I stopped thinking of myself as a hungry, unfulfilled, genetically misshapen mortal. I found contentment in knowing God made me perfect and kept me perfect—in the divine image where there is no excess, no lack, and no unsatisfied craving. I lost track of my body shape, didn’t focus on diet, and started sailing through my days feeling closer to God. Amazingly to me at the time, the heaviness and extra pounds melted away, and I’ve maintained a normal weight since then.

Every one of us has weightless being in Spirit.

The truth is, every one of us has weightless being in Spirit, and each of us can prove that fact in our experience. Mary Baker Eddy asked: “Have you never been so preoccupied in thought when moving your body, that you did this without consciousness of its weight? If never in your waking hours, you have been in your night-dreams; and these tend to elucidate your day-dream, or the mythical nature of matter, and the possibilities of mind when let loose from its own beliefs”(Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 47).

Today’s media are filled with studies and opinions about the obesity epidemic sweeping the globe. Many accounts blame food, diet, and genes for the extra heft. From a spiritual perspective, however, there is a deeper weight that needs to be lifted off. Burden felt in the body is the effect of heaviness carried in one’s thinking. But that sense of burden has no more place or power to affect us than the physical weight we think we carry around each day. As I learned from my tennis match and my own weight loss, our identity as God’s image is independent of matter and free of troubled belief. Exercising this truth lightens the load we may feel and makes for a more buoyant everyday experience.

Contributing editor Evan Mehlenbacher is a Christian Science practitioner and teacher. He lives in Richland, Washington.

Uncertainty and dullness may be apathy’s friends, but both fall before divine Love’s awakening and corrective power. This divine power more than anything else provides real security.]]> from the Christian Science Sentinel

As life becomes more complex, individual responsibility for decisions in one’s community, regional government, or nation seems to grow more abstract. To skip voting or participating in other activities such as church work, events at school, and candidates’ nights can become the norm.

The demand on individuals for an alert spirituality is very great.

But apathy has never been recommended as the way to humanity’s progress. And these days, the demand on individuals for an alert spirituality is very great. The uncovering of the terrorist plots in Germany and Denmark in the last few weeks calls for ongoing prayer. So do changes in the Prime Ministers of Russia and Japan, along with debate about the role of the United States in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.

“Ignorance of self is the most stubborn belief to overcome, for apathy, dishonesty, sin, follow in its train,” wrote Mary Baker Eddy. This statement, from an article called “Watching versus Watching Out,” pinpoints the source of apathy (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 233). Ignorance of who we are—the children of God—keeps us from realizing the power for good each of us wields. It may also fool us into thinking that we are primarily material beings whose sole purpose is to achieve personal comfort and happiness. These material pursuits have led people into some dark corners—for example, the continuing turmoil in the US housing market. And that same matter-based apathy can dull the alertness of those responsible for the security of nations.

Divine power more than anything else provides real security.

Uncertainty and dullness may be apathy’s friends, but both fall before divine Love’s awakening and corrective power. This divine power more than anything else provides real security. Human wisdom can produce data and make recommendations on intelligent courses of action in relation to one’s job, family life, or even international issues such as war and peace, and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. But to understand Love’s power frees us from self-ignorance and fear of the future.

No one understood Love and its liberating power better than Christ Jesus. During his ministry, Jesus directly challenged ignorance of self. He was able to lead people such as the dishonest tax collector Zacchæus into the light of Truth that revealed their actual spiritual nature. One moment with the master Christian put an end to Zacchæus’ assumption that “bribery as usual” was an OK thing. Instead, he accepted the spiritual conviction that his relation to God was more important than personal gain, and vowed to mend his ways.

Jesus taught that our identity isn’t defined by the number of things we have, how connected we are politically, or how much education we’ve got. Rather, he understood that we are defined by Spirit, in spiritual terms. And because Spirit is infinite, this means that we actually live in Spirit and draw our identity from what Spirit is and does. The result is an identity that sparkles, that uplifts and strengthens. That energizes.

God’s kingdom, the harmony of all life, is right at hand.

As we grasp this fact, the reality of Spirit’s presence becomes clearer, and we realize that we don’t have to wait for some better time or place, or to search for one. Right now God is caring for us, and this care is evidence of Love’s ultimate dominion over evil. It is proof that His kingdom, the harmony of all life, is right at hand. Luke’s Gospel explains, “When he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, [Jesus] 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).

To recognize God’s continuing presence as a reality in one’s life is to let the power of Love remove the ignorance of self that allows apathy, dishonesty, and deception to fester. It does this not through condemnation but through the revelation of the pure spiritual nature God has given us.

Living in the kingdom of God means being anything but apathetic.

Living in the kingdom of God means caring beyond oneself; it means being anything but apathetic. Love looks outward, embracing all in its wake, and those who know themselves as God’s beloved feel compassion for the sufferings of others. Mary Baker Eddy lived this love, working diligently to provide humanity with the Christ Science, which truly can save the world. This Science explains how Jesus taught and tested the fundamental laws of spiritual existence in response to people’s great physical and mental needs. For well over 100 years, students of Christian Science have put it to the test and not found it wanting.

As the light of divine Love reveals our spiritual identity, pure and perfect, any attraction to dishonesty and sin begins to lose its appeal. We turn from focus on self and ask, as the Apostle Paul did, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). That selfless love bursts the bonds of apathy and unleashes the spiritual power for good that lies within each of us. It inspires new ideas, provides courage, flexibility, wisdom, and strength. It can even change the course of the world.

When it comes to debt, both personal and system-wide challenges call for systematic spiritual aid—for a thorough-going restorative healing method. And that’s exactly what Christian Science brings to the table.]]> from the Christian Science Sentinel

Who among us ordinary folk really wants to carry more debt? Most of us would rather steer our personal financial ship somewhere closer to calmer debt-free waters.

But some hedge fund managers, banks, and other financial market players have been doing just the opposite every business day. Or, they were doing so before the recent credit crunch. In the years following the dot.com boom (and bust in 2001), financial institutions took on increasingly risky debt, in the form of securities backed by loans made to high-risk home-buying borrowers. This debt-based strategy initially delivered financial gains, as investors in the United States and around the world profited from Americans’ propensity to borrow, buy, and consume.

Hearts go out to those who’ve taken on more debt than they can manage. But what more can be done?

OK, let’s say you’ve never been into speculative debt-based investing. Instead, you’re just glad to be able to pay the rent or make your mortgage payments. Despite your own challenges with debt, your heart goes out, as does ours, to those individuals and families who’ve taken on larger mortgages than they can manage—for reasons ranging from intentional lender deception, to failure to understand loan terms, to a misguided desire to have a more impressive house. Many families now face foreclosure. And there are others who are still held back from buying a new home by high property prices and tightened credit qualifications.

What more can be done, beyond adding our individual protests to the chorus of those already seeking a way out of debt, or looking for a better home? Moreover, what would help global financial systems and institutional investors move toward a more balanced and less volatile credit marketplace?

Both personal and system-wide challenges call for systematic spiritual aid.

Both personal and system-wide challenges call for systematic spiritual aid—for a thorough-going restorative healing method. And that’s exactly what Christian Science brings to the table. Prayer logically begins at our own kitchen tables, by addressing our own financial concerns—not by asking God for more money or things but rather for more insight into His always-giving nature. And into the sometimes hidden spiritual wealth that each of us possesses. Such asking can, in the prophet Malachi’s words, “open [to] you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing” in the form of fresh ideas, improved motives, inspired solutions. But prayer’s beneficial effects also can ripple outward to include the whole human family, when our asking and seeking are based on universal laws, and specifically on God’s laws of circulation and purification.

Financial systems are at base mental systems. They’re bodies of collective thought that reflect the aims, desires, and hopes, as well as the cravings and fears, of all participants within an economy, local or global. Just as the human body actually mirrors an individual’s mental state, the body financial expresses the public’s mental chemistry. And prayerful reasoning that’s based on understanding God’s beneficent control of creation—on a wholly good and divine Principle that produces only good effects and overrules base motives and fears—has a purifying and harmonizing effect throughout the system.

Effective prayer addresses systemic malfunctions, whether they take the form of personal debt tangles or major disruptions in credit and capital markets. Toward that end, there were helpful insights in a recent article in The Christian Science Monitor, which cites one economist as saying that the short-term capital market operates like the human body’s circulation system, and another economist who observes that “there is still a lack of normal function” in the credit market (“Encouraging signs in a credit crunch,” August 27, 2007). Conventional curative approaches usually focus on ways to “alter the physics” of the situation. But because individual or collective human thought is the actual patient at every level of existence, prayer-based treatment holds the better answer.

Because God is universal Love, divine giving never favors one at another’s expense.

In the spiritual universe, the movement of worthy and worth-bestowing ideas constitutes circulation. The divine Mind that supplies inspired ideas also maintains the pure and incorruptible flow of good, useful thoughts. And because God is universal Love, divine giving never favors one at another’s expense. As Mary Baker Eddy wrote in her definitive textbook on metaphysical healing: “The Christian Scientist, understanding scientifically that all is Mind, commences with mental causation, the truth of being, to destroy the error. This corrective is an alterative, reaching to every part of the human system. According to Scripture, it searches ‘the joints and marrow,’ and it restores the harmony of man” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 423).

For the family facing debt stress, and for financial systems suffering a credit crunch, there’s a way to healthy footing. God’s harmony—the truth of your being, of our shared well-being—is intact, discoverable, provable.