Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Do I see the glass half empty or do I see it half full?” The half-empty view might be associated with a pessimistic outlook, which sees lack. The half-full view would be considered optimistic, seeing evidence of supply instead of lack.

I thought of this glass recently as I realized I want to stop dualistic thinking, seeing both good and evil as real. Instead, I am really striving to see my glass, everyone’s glass (or, you might say, “lot in life”), as totally, thoroughly, unalterably, joyfully filled to the brim with good—all good, only good. One passage I love that supports this idea is found in Mary Baker Eddy’s textbook, Science and Health. It describes man as “the compound idea of God, including all right ideas; . . .” (p. 475).

As I have been learning more about the allness of God, good, a familiar Bible story has unfolded in my thought with new meaning. It’s the story of the widow who had two sons and seemed to own little of value, who was given an opportunity to prove God’s goodness (see II Kings 4:1–7). Elisha the prophet knew that the widow already had all she needed and told her to have her sons borrow “empty vessels” from the neighbors and to use the pot of oil she had to fill the vessels. When she poured out the oil, it continued to flow. She could use the proceeds from the sale of it to pay her debt and support herself and her sons.

It occurred to me that “empty vessels” could represent the widow’s own or her neighbors’ beliefs of emptiness—stemming perhaps from ill health, faultfinding, or failed relationships. These kinds of thoughts can be identified as evil suggestions of what Paul called “the carnal mind” (see Romans 8:7) or what Mrs. Eddy referred to as “animal magnetism.” They are not thoughts that originate with God and therefore they don’t have power or reality.

The “oil” in the story could be “consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heavenly inspiration,” as it’s defined on page 592 of Science and Health. In spiritual terms, perhaps the widow gently “poured out” thoughts of prayer and heavenly inspiration with regard to her neighbors, and these spiritual qualities enabled her to perceive that what had at first seemed like empty vessels were vessels already full—already including all good and only good—with perfect health, harmony, supply, satisfaction, and accurate perceptions of man’s true nature.

I reasoned that a lesson in this story for me was not so much about the continual supply of material substance, oil, moving from one place to another, as about discerning that the widow’s willingness to pour forth the oil—earnest prayer—enabled her to see that God’s goodness was already fully occupying those vessels. The ceaseless truth of God’s ever-presence transforms the picture of error, lack, just as the bountiful flow of oil eventually transformed the destitution of the widow and her sons. Inspired, consecrated thought does not accede to the dualistic claims of animal magnetism, but rather insists on the all and only presence of good.

I find that when I see myself and others as filled with every right idea, I am able to see through sadness, distress, and lack. I am more alert not to bear false witness against my neighbor. In striving to overcome dualism, I watch my thinking to identify evil thoughts, discard them, and realize that my identity, and the identity of everyone, is the pure manifestation of God, Soul, having no lurking evil. Jesus counseled, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). Soul, fertile with goodness, produces only wholesome ideas, and God’s expressions uplift and bless one another. Spiritual healing demonstrates this act of blessing, this dominion over dualism.

An experience I had may help to illustrate this point. Several years ago, I faced a serious physical challenge that included pain, a hard lump in my abdomen, and a loss of appetite. During this time I wasn’t able to go to work, but I was aided by the encouragement and prayers of a Christian Science practitioner and by inspiration gained from rereading Science and Health cover to cover. Frequently I declared aloud and pondered the succinct “scientific statement of being” found on page 468 of that book. I was praying to understand better the truth that God, good, is the only reality and that evil, in this case in the form of disease, is unreal.

One night I was confronted with an aggressive assertion of dualistic thought. As I was lying in bed, in pain, a morbid suggestion came sounding something like this: “You are not really necessary.” As a result of what I’d been learning in Christian Science, I knew that was not true. I mentally protested: “Yes! I am necessary!” But the negative suggestion persisted and asked, “Why?” I listened deeply for God’s answer. Then I reasoned that, even though I felt useless at that moment, I loved. So I countered, “I am necessary because I love, and love is good.” I realized to some extent that I was the necessary expression of God, Love, right there and then. The evil suggestion didn’t persist after that, and I felt less afraid. However, I recognized that I was still thinking that evil had some influence in my life, so the practitioner and I continued to pray.

Subsequently, there was another significant breakthrough. One day, after hours of study and deep yearning to know God better, I felt for a moment a quiet, profound sense that God is infinite Love, cherishing all creation, including me. The Christ, the healing influence of God in my consciousness, replaced dualistic belief with the unequivocal conviction that only good was real. As the practitioner and I continued to affirm this spiritual truth, over the next several weeks the pain and other symptoms lessened and disappeared. After missing work for over two weeks, I was able to return, so grateful for this healing.

When a belief in the reality of evil claims that we lack health or harmony, we can use our supply of oil, our “consecration; charity; gentleness; prayer; heavenly inspiration,” to address that challenge. We can demonstrate that as reflections of God, Mind, we have a Christly consciousness that already includes precisely the ideas we need.

We can be convinced of the allness of God. We need be neither pessimistic nor optimistic, but realistic —seeing the spiritual evidence of God’s reality. We can identify with that totally full glass, a God-given life filled with good.