To decide quickly as to the proper treatment of error-- whether error is manifested in forms of sickness, sin, or death--is the first step towards destroying error. Our Master treated error through Mind. He never enjoined obedience to the laws of nature, if by these are meant laws of matter, nor did he use drugs. There is a law of God applicable to healing, and it is a spiritual law instead of material. The sick are not healed by inanimate matter or drugs, as they believe that they are. Such seeming medical effect or action is that of so-called mortal mind.
Showing posts with label Teaching Christian Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teaching Christian Science. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Day 234: Decide Proper Treatment
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Day 233: Anatomy is mental Self-knowledge
Anatomy, when conceived of spiritually, is mental self-knowledge, and consists in the dissection of thoughts to discover their quality, quantity, and origin. Are thoughts divine or human? That is the important question. This branch of study is indispensable to the excision of error. The anatomy of Christian Science teaches when and how to probe the self-inflicted wounds of selfishness, malice, envy, and hate. It teaches the control of mad ambition. It unfolds the hallowed influences of unselfishness, philanthropy, spiritual love. It urges the government of the body both in health and in sickness. The Christian Scientist, through understanding mental anatomy, discerns and deals with the real cause of disease.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Day 232: Our system of Mind-healing
Our system of Mind-healing rests on the apprehension of the nature and essence of all being,--on the divine Mind and Love's essential qualities. Its pharmacy is moral, and its medicine is intellectual and spiritual, though used for physical healing. Yet this most fundamental part of metaphysics is the one most difficult to understand and demonstrate, for to the material thought all is material, till such thought is rectified by Spirit.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Day 231: Become a law unto Yourself
The Christianly scientific man reflects the divine law, thus becoming a law unto himself. He does violence to no man. Neither is he a false accuser. The Christian Scientist wisely shapes his course, and is honest and consistent in following the leadings of divine Mind. He must prove, through living as well as healing and teaching, that Christ's way is the only one by which mortals are radically saved from sin and sickness.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Day 230: Truth and Healing
One must abide in the morale of truth or he cannot demonstrate the divine Principle. So long as matter is the basis of practice, illness cannot be efficaciously treated by the metaphysical process. Truth does the work, and you must both understand and abide by the divine Principle of your demonstration.
God selects for the highest service [healing others] one who has grown into such a fitness for it as renders any abuse of the mission an impossibility. The All-wise does not bestow His highest trusts upon the unworthy. When He commissions a messenger, it is one who is spiritually near Himself. No person can misuse this mental power, if he is taught of God to discern it.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Day 229: Love is the Incentive
Love for God and man is the true incentive in both healing and teaching. Love inspires, illumines, designates, and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action. Love is priestess at the altar of Truth. Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept. Patience must "have her perfect work."
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Day 228: Mental Malpractice
All mental malpractice arises from ignorance or malice aforethought. It is the injurious action of one mortal mind controlling another from wrong motives, and it is practised either with a mistaken or a wicked purpose.
Show your student that mental malpractice tends to blast moral sense, health, and the human life. Instruct him how to bar the door of his thought against this seeming power,--a task not difficult, when one understands that evil has in reality no power.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Day 227: Christian Scientists must…
The Christian Scientist has enlisted to lessen evil, disease, and death; and he will overcome them by understanding their nothingness and the allness of God, or good. Sickness to him is no less a temptation than is sin, and he heals them both by understanding God's power over them. The Christian Scientist knows that they are errors of belief, which Truth can and will destroy.
Christian Scientists must live under the constant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from the material world and be separate. They must renounce aggression, oppression and the pride of power. Christianity, with the crown of Love upon her brow, must be their queen of life.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Day 226: Strictly adhere to Christian Science
If the student adheres strictly to the teachings of Christian Science and ventures not to break its rules, he cannot fail of success in healing. It is Christian Science to do right, and nothing short of right doing has any claim to the name. To talk the right and live the wrong is foolish deceit, doing one's self the most harm. Fettered by sin yourself, it is difficult to free another from the fetters of disease. With your own wrists manacled, it is hard to break another's chains. A little leaven causes the whole mass to ferment. A grain of Christian Science does wonders for mortals, so omnipotent is Truth, but more of Christian Science must be gained in order to continue in well doing.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Day 225: Individual Right of Self-government
The heavenly law is broken by trespassing upon man's individual right of self-government. We have no authority in Christian Science and no moral right to attempt to influence the thoughts of others, except it be to benefit them. In mental practice you must not forget that erring human opinions, conflicting selfish motives, and ignorant attempts to do good may render you incapable of knowing or judging accurately the need of your fellow-men. Therefore the rule is, heal the sick when called upon for aid, and save the victims of the mental assassins.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Day 224: Teaching Christian Science
The teacher must make clear to students the Science of healing, especially its ethics:
- that all is Mind
- the Scientist must conform to God's requirements
- the teacher must thoroughly fit his students to defend themselves against sin, and to guard against the attacks of the would-be mental assassin, who attempts to kill morally and physically.
- Unfold the latent energies and capacities for good in your pupil
- Teach the great possibilities of man endued with divine Science.
- Teach the dangerous possibility of dwarfing the spiritual understanding and demonstration of Truth by sin, or by recourse to material means for healing.
- Teach the meekness and might of life "hid with Christ in God," and there will be no desire for other healing methods.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Day 66: Belief
Physical science (so-called) is human knowledge,--a law of mortal mind, a blind belief, a Samson shorn of his strength.
In a word, human belief is a blind conclusion from material reasoning. This is a mortal, finite sense of things, which immortal Spirit silences forever.
The elements and functions of the physical body and of the physical world will change as mortal mind changes its beliefs.
Thus matter will finally be proved nothing more than a mortal belief, wholly inadequate to affect a man through its supposed organic action or supposed existence.
…mortality will cease when man beholds himself God's reflection, even as man sees his reflection in a glass.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Day 239: Is there no sin?
Two things immediately jumped into my mind with this question, before I read the answer. The first was the Trial where Personal Sense, and his attorney, False Belief, are trying to have Mortal Man committed to death. The second is the third tenet of Christian Science:
3. We acknowledge God’s forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.
Before I started this year, I didn’t have a feel for false belief and personal sense in terms of Christian Science. I never focused on it before. The readings, broken up the way they are, unraveled that for me. So I probably never understood the 3rd tenet as much as I do now.
The last line of this reading stood out as the premise of the formula and the formula itself where sin is concerned:
To infinite Spirit there is no matter, – all is Spirit, divine Principle and its idea.
I also learned a lot about matter this year that I glossed over in years past. I think my teacher, during class instruction, tried to point this out but there was so much to learn that this point was lost on me.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Day 234: A New Idea
Something I thought was settled in my life has reared up again. It’s minor in the scheme of things but upsetting for its bad timing. Its regarding my son, a situation you may remember I’ve been praying about. So here is what I was happy to read today:
A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes property whatever is offensive.
The other thing I thought about was that MBE would enjoy writing a blog. She could continue on her spiritual journey but be more visible.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Day 233: Inductive Reasoning
MBE says you must accept Christian Science by inductive reasoning which she explains as:
We admit the whole, because a part is proved and that part illustrates and proves the entire Principle.
Taken by itself, this statement is misleading. MBE has always started with God as all, so, to me this is the entire Principle and everything else comes from it. If you understand what she is saying, can you add a comment below with your thoughts?
MBE also lists for elements to demonstrate a healing:
- self-denial
- sincerity
- Christianity
- persistence
Monday, August 23, 2010
Day 232: Former Beliefs
Mary Baker Eddy discusses the idea of healing without any knowledge or training versus healing along the spiritual journey. She explains Christian Science:
Its pharmacy is moral, and its medicine is intellectual and spiritual, thought used for physical healing.
She explains her own journey:
As former beliefs were gradually expelled from her thought, the teaching became clearer, until finally the shadow of old errors was no longer cast upon divine Science.
My former beliefs are fading away but not nearly as fast as I would like.
On a side note: I’ve been thinking about time lately. I was glad to see the Sentinel cover this in its latest issue.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Day 231: Mental Quackery
This reading is about dividing yourself between the material solution and the spiritual solution. Yesterday’s quote about guilt and self-condemnation come to mind in this light. Also the idea that my direction in spirituality must progress.
A couple of ideas I obviously need to work on:
It is anything but scientifically Christian to think of aiding the divine Principle of healing or of trying to sustain the human body until the divine Mind is ready to take the case. Divinity is always ready.
The Christianly scientific man reflects the divine law, thus becoming a law unto himself. He does violence to no man. Neither is he a false accuser. The Christian Scientist wisely shapes his course, and is honest and consistent in following the leadings of divine Mind. He must prove, through living as well as healing and teaching, that Christ’s way is the only one by which mortals are radically saved from sin and sickness.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Day 230: Waters in the Fountain
In this section, Mary Baker Eddy uses the imagery of the fountain which can’t send both sweet and bitter water. Her point being you can’t develop a higher spiritual sense and still hold to the lower material thoughts. Another interpretation might be that you can be the empowered but bad Christian Scientist. You can’t have the ability to heal and still be wicked – therefore uses your healing power for evil.
For my own spiritual development, I think her first statement is one I need to work on:
A mental state of self-condemnation and guilt or a faltering and doubting trust in Truth are unsuitable conditions for healing the sick. Such mental states indicate weakness instead of strength. Hence the necessity of being right yourself in order to teach this Science of healing.
Day 229: Misc Instruction
This reading has several disjointed ideas about teaching students, at first glance. I think MBE is trying to cover a lot of details at once. She covers sin, sickness, and moves on to the important, higher aspects of Christian Science.
The last few pages, perhaps even into the last chapter, mention honesty over and over. This reading discusses honesty with yourself – knowing yourself before you expect to know a patient. I think that is what I’ve been working on but I don’t think I’m done with it yet.
Her higher Christian Science aspects include:
That evil or matter has neither intelligence nor power, is the doctrine of absolute Christian Science, and this is the great truth which strips disguise from error.
Love for God and man is the true incentive.
Wait patiently for divine Love to move upon the waters of mortal mind, and form the perfect concept.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Day 228: Human Will & Mental Malpractice
These two ideas are easy to understand and diffuse on their own but in this reading, somewhere, MBE, ties them together. At least that’s the thought that I came away with.
Every Christian Scientist, every conscientious teacher of the Science of Mind-healing, knows that human will is not Christian Science, and he must recognize this in order to defend himself from the influence of human will. He feels morally obligated to open the eyes of his students that they may perceive the nature and methods of error of every sort, especially any subtle degree of evil, deceived and deceiving. All mental malpractice arises from ignorance or malice aforethought. It is the injurious action of one mortal mind controlling another from wrong motives, and it is practised either with a mistaken or a wicked purpose.
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