sharing Christian Science

Spiritual resource to share: opening up and having fun

I am so glad to hear the conversation about sharing Christian Science opening up that is going on online. (Click here to join the discussion.) Many years ago, my Christian Science friends and I felt (for some reason) that we all needed to hide our religion.

But now, I haven’t had a problem with this at all. So I thought about why. And here is what I came up with.

I really get that Christian Science is universal. I really understand that Christian Science operates as freely and unconditionally as the law of gravity.

Just as everyone operates under the laws of gravity, everyone operates under the laws of Christian Science.

I haven’t found a person who doesn’t respond favorably to Truth, purity, and clarity. Our judicial system is based on defending truth, health laws require purity, journalists and other communicators practice and expect clarity in their communications. This is the law of Truth operating and as Mary Baker Eddy says, “Christian Science is the law of Truth (see Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 482: 27)

Who doesn’t strive to be good or to do good things? This makes sense for all children of God love good – loving all that is fulfilling, meaningful, substantial and loving. Artists strive for substance in their work, people are led to find companionship and work that is fulfilling and meaningful, and singers and poets have never exhausted the theme of what it means to be loving. This is the law of good operating. Mary Baker Eddy writes in Rudimental Divine Science p. 1 “Christian Science is the law of God, the law of good.”

Harmony is a desired trait in our lives. We seek it out because we are all spiritual beings who feel most natural when our bodies, our relationships and our actions are harmonious.

We balance our checkbooks, arrange our work schedules, appreciate and recognize the beauty of a river, the symmetry of traffic or even when a glitch in our computer is fixed! This is the law of harmony operating in our lives. In Science and Health p. 134: 21, Mary Baker Eddy refers to Christian Science as “the natural law of harmony.”

Intelligence, order, efficiency, ( do you see where I am going with this?), we all get this; we all have these qualities in our everyday experiences. If we didn’t have these qualities in our lives, the world would probably implode. The intelligence of the rescue and renovation efforts going on in Haiti and the relentless persistence for more efficiency and expediency come from all of us children of God who know that intelligence and order and love and compassion are what make up practical and effective ways to help each other. This is the law of Mind that operates in us and through us. Mary Baker Eddy writes that “Christian Science is the law of divine Mind”. ( Miscellany p. 240:11.)

So if Christian Science is already operating in everyone’s lives, Christian Science is already present in whatever situation we are in.

When introducing myself to others or when being a part of a conversation in which religion or spirituality comes up, I usually share by saying I’m a Christian Scientist or a student of Christian Science who is studying the science or the “how-to” of Christianity. And then I’ll share an interesting idea I found relevant to the conversation, and then ask them what they have learned or what they can share.

The Golden Rule applies of course and I treat others with a natural respect and that’s reciprocated.

There are always times to be alert to misstated facts like the questions about Scientology or faith healing. But it is easy to correct those statements.

Although I have come across some people who simply don’t like Christian Science ( or whatever it has been that they heard about Christian Science), but for every one person who has been negative about it I have found so many more people who are willing to talk about their own spirituality and are open to hearing new ideas about Christian Science.

One of my friends who went to a Christian Science lecture with me said, “Kim, I don’t know if I could ever be a Christian Scientist, but it gives me such hope that there are those who practice in this way.” We don’t need to try to convince anyone of anything here. Just sharing a simple truth like “Good is not helpless” or Love can lead the way” can be so helpful and meaningful to people. We can offer some needed encouragement or direction.

People are already familiar with and operating under the laws of good, of harmony, of intelligence and truth. It is not too hard to share with them other laws of God – in other words, it’s not too hard to share Christian Science.

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.

who am I going to be?

Spiritual resource to share: activity

hiking through Mauricio's farmlands in the jungle near Puerto Viejo on the southeastern coast of Costa Rica

About halfway into our three week trip in Costa Rica, I remember waking up, dreading another hilly walk to our language school, reluctantly starting off the day. As I approached the school, I had a wake up call, or more specifically a wake up question: "Who am I going to be?"

I had been building up a litany of excuses to be tired over the last few days. Really, it had become quite a rut:

Oh - I am doing so much!

Oh - learning a language is so stressful!

Oh - I can't believe how steep, how long, how hot, how cold, how difficult, how high, how low, how complex, and just how tiring things were!

That question - who am I going to be? - helped me see that I was unwittingly setting the stage for fatigue. And ...is that who I wanted to be? Did I actually want to be tired and fatigued?? With whom and with what was I identifying myself?

I am ever so grateful to be practicing Christian Science where establishing our right identification with God is a regular discipline. I have taken to starting my day by broadening my understanding of God, the infinite and eternal Life, Truth and Love. Then I take time to understand just who I am as God's image and likeness.

• As I see God as Love, I see that I am made in the image of Love and I am naturally loving, learning and connecting with others.
• As I see God as Truth, I see that I am made in the image and likeness of all that is pure and true. I have integrity, honesty, clarity and order as my inheritance.
• As I see God as Life, I see that I am made in the image and likeness of Life - of all that is active, energizing, growing.

I could just as easily choose to think tiring and burdensome thoughts as I could choose to think thoughts of peace, order and strength. The difference is that thoughts of peace, order and strength have divine authority - are part of the spiritual substance of Life, God. Tiring and burdensome thoughts are finite beliefs, based on limitations and are ultimately, self-destructive.

So who am I going to be? A child of God made in the image and likeness of God? Or a tired and stressed mortal? When put in those terms, it was pretty easy to choose.

On the walk home from school that day, I was seeing more beauty; I identified more birds; the valley below the school was ribboned with clouds; I bumped into new friends on the way home.

I could easily identify and feel grateful that I am doing so much.

Every day I was gaining more mastery in speaking Spanish.

And every day I was seeing how beautiful, now majestic, how peaceful, how stunning, how articulate, how happy, and how timely my days were.

Who am I being? I had to agree with this: I am being the alert, active and grateful child of an all-loving, omni-active God.

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.