Perfect and infinite Mind enthroned is heaven.
The evil beliefs which originate in mortals are hell.
On my recent trip to the Bible Belt of America, we discussed beliefs of Heaven and Hell. I wasn’t as eloquent as Mary Baker Eddy in the above quote – wish I had been.
I’m more focused on the trail today. I read it and thought how literal it was in that diseased Mortal Man is treated as a criminal – as though the disease is the natural reaction to fit the (usually) unknown crime.
I also stopped to consider the jury of Mortal Minds. While this is an allegory in the book, it is a very real phenomenon in the material world. It is very hard to silence our own thoughts at times, so I could only imagine the dire circumstances someone would feel if the jury of public opinion termed on him. Or worse, a situation leading to mental malpractice.
A side note: I’ve had 216+ days so far to think about how I want to continue this journal next year. Mainly, I’m focusing on making the tasks less time consuming so that I can spend more time on reading and thinking about each day’s reading instead of the mechanics of how to blog about it. One step is to move off of blogger. Another step is to get all the days’ readings mapped out and linked up before the next year. I’m a little concerned this might be some sort of copyright issue if I do that. While I’m not ‘copying’ the content, you could say I’m breaking the spirit of the copyright. I do burn a lot of time with that process and if it were available, other’s might join in the blog-journal year with me. So, copyright violation? Moral violation? Or seems practical and helpful? Thoughts?
Today’s reading covers death as “another phase of the dream that existence can be material.” Some little idea popped in the back of my mind; its sitting there waiting for me to know it. I don’t know when I dropped the fear of death. Maybe I never had it. I just didn’t seem relevant. And I wasn’t worried about anyone I left behind until I had kids. But that too is not a huge nagging issue for me. But the whole death as another phase implies that there is the ability to side-step the dream altogether. That’s the new idea.
I don’t mean in the Jesus didn’t die way but something even larger than that -- something completely outside of life as we believe we know it.
This misnamed mind is not an entity. It is only a false sense of matter, since matter is not sensible. The one Mind, God, contains no mortal opinions. All that is real is included in this immortal Mind.
Mortal mind is "the strong man," which must be held in subjection before its influence upon health and morals can be removed. This error conquered, we can despoil "the strong man" of his good, -- namely, of sin and disease.
Mortals obtain the harmony of health, only as they [1] forsake discord, [2] acknowledge the supremacy of divine Mind, and [3] abandon their material beliefs.
By lifting thought above error, or disease, and contending persistently for truth, you destroy error.
