"One thing I know...."

Spiritual resource to share: miracles

The quote from the title is from an incident recorded in the Bible (in John 9: 25) which continues: "...that, whereas I was blind, now I see."

A man had been born blind and Jesus totally restored his sight.  When the man was pressed with questions about this incident, he held his ground on what he knew to be true and said "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."


Today, people are still being healed by the same Principle that Christ Jesus proved so many years ago.  And they are giving different versions of that same story:  whereas before I was blind, in pain, disfigured, grieved, sick, etc, now I am free.

Today, there are thousands of accounts of healings that came about by praying with the principles Christ Jesus taught:  healings in which eyesight was restored ( click here to read), healings of abdominal pains (click here to read), of severe facial burns (click here to read ) and other healings of physical, financial, and relationship discords (click here to read more stories).

Through the study of Christian Science, I have found that what are normally called miracles aren't a one-of-a-kind phenomenom, but actually repeatable and provable today.  The textbook that explains Christ's healing work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, gives this definition of miracles:

MIRACLE: That which is divinely natural, but must be learned humanly; a phenomenon of Science.

Yes!  This makes sense.  God, who is all good and all powerful, would naturally be expressed in our bodies and our lives as wholeness and as harmonious.  It is natural that health trumps illness and love dissolves hate and intelligent care defeat ignorance.  That is what is normal.

I thought how decades ago, it would have been thought miraculous to be walkng on the moon, to talk to friends in real time on the other side of the world.  But today, these things are not seen as miraculous, but simply as an outgrowth of our understanding of the unlimited possibilities we all have.

Likewise, we are closing in on that day where we see the miracles that were written in the Bible have a certain and provable basis that we can work with on an everyday basis.  This is natural and possible.  More and more, healings like these will simply be a result of our understanding of the unlimited possibilities we all have now.

breathing deeply

Spiritual resource to share: prayer

It’s been a heat wave. It was +20º F ( -7 º C) yesterday, a welcome break from our -20ºF ( -29 º C) we’ve had recently. I went cross county skiing. It was gorgeous: wide blue sky and sunny above with just a little wind waving through the trees. After a mile or two, I stopped. I listened.

There is something tangible about silence in the wilderness. Wordlessly, nature communicates its grandeur, order and beauty. I took a deep breath. I could feel the pure cold air going down, replacing what was there with freshness and life. I breathed deeply again. Same exhilarating freshness. It was right there for me to take in. I acknowledged it all and realized my part in nature’s playgrounds.

I’ve been told that Christian Science healing is not about human accomplishment, but about divine acknowledgement. I don’t personally make God more grand, more omnipotent, more loving that She already is. It doesn't matter how many hours of study I have, or how many degrees I’ve mastered. God is the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, omnipotent Truth.


I can acknowledge and grow to understand God more and more. Study and prayer time help me to acknowledge and recognize God’s handiwork. Wordlessly, God communicates tender loving care, opportunities for growth and a tangible calm.

Prayer is a deep breath, replacing tiredness with joy and restlessness with purpose. God’s love and order and grace are right there for us to take in. We can acknowledge this and take part in God’s holy purpose for us right now.

 

a moment of silence

Spiritual resource to share: calm

A moment of silence was called for during the Arizona memorial service for those fallen during the shooting tragedy last week, a service in which thousands attended.

In such a crowd, in such an emotionally packed service, what happens in a moment of silence?

In a moment, thought is quieted. In a moment, what is sacred is remembered. In a moment, our perspectives can change from one of chaos to calm, confusion to confidence.

A moment of silence can bring to remembrance all that is loved and all that can never be lost. Healing blossoms in the thought that is quiet and receptive.

In Science and Health, a story is related in which Mary Baker Eddy writes "I sat silently by her side a few moments."  After which, the woman with whom she was sitting was healed.

What is it that happens in a moment of silence?  What is it that heals in that moment?

"Become conscious for a single moment," writes Mary Baker Eddy, "that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, — neither in nor of matter, — and the body will then utter no complaints."

This has results.  She goes on to say "If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love."

Sorrow is turned into joy when we realize the power of Life asserts itself, the power of Truth establishes itself, and the power of Love harmonizes our lives.

We can yield to Love's supremacy in a moment.  And in that moment, there is sweet release. There is peace and progress.





*The whole story:


A woman, whom I cured of consumption, always breathed with great difficulty when the wind was from the east. I sat silently by her side a few moments. Her breath came gently. The inspirations were deep and natural. I then requested her to look at the weather-vane. She looked and saw that it pointed due east. The wind had not changed, but her thought of it had and so her difficulty in breathing had gone. The wind had not produced the difficulty. My metaphysical treatment changed the action of her belief on the lungs, and she never suffered again from east winds, but was restored to health.

the far-reaching influence of Love

Spiritual resource to share: interconnection

I just heard two headlining stories in which Christian Science was nestled in the backstory:  Apparently the recovering Rep. Gifford’s mother is a Christian Scientist and Lionel Logue, the effective speech therapist in The King’s Speech, also had ties to Christian Science.

It made me reflect on the influence of Christian Science thought.

Some time ago, I took a friend to a Christian Science lecture. She was deeply moved. She said, “Kim I don’t know if I could ever be a Christian Scientist, but it gives me such hope to know that there are Christian Scientists.”


What is this hope that Christian Science can inspire? Perhaps it is  knowing that there are people operating on the Principle that good is not helpless but is powerful; that the idea of an all-loving God exists, that there are proofs of healing just as in Jesus’ time.

With my friend, it was knowing that God is love and she is the direct expression of that Love. She knows that she always has another way to look at a problem. If all her known methods of healing, of comfort, of supply fail her, she can look into Christian Science. She never need to feel that she is stuck.

This helps me see that my work as a Christian Science practitioner goes much farther than the work and prayer with individual patients. The very act of operating under a law of Love spreads an influence infused with hope.


Love spurs us on to love our neighbor, to persist in healing, to do compassionate works, to help one another. Christian Science operates on the Science of Love (aka the law of Love). Love is that light that “shines before men.”

It also helped me realize that witnessing God as Love and knowing God as omnipotent Love instills a silent hope that impacts thought that is far-reaching -- reaching farther than we may have realized.

The "still, small voice" of scientific thought reaches over continent and ocean to the globe's remotest bound. The inaudible voice of Truth is, to the human mind, "as when a lion roareth." It is heard in the desert and in dark places of fear. It arouses the "seven thunders" of evil, and stirs their latent forces to utter the full diapason of secret tones.  

                                                 - Mary Baker Eddy

Important prayer neutralizing hatred for Tucson and for us all

Spiritual resource to share: other's inspiration and healing

The Christian Science Monitor recently posted an important healing article by Elise Moore that includes this idea:

There is a spiritual power that supersedes the operation of matter or human logic. Jesus taught his disciples how to engage this divine power on earth, when he gave them the prayer now known as the Lord’s Prayer. It begins by acknowledging our direct relation to God: “Our Father which art in heaven.” Then the prayer proceeds to affirm that God’s kingdom governs on earth.

We could certainly use a little more of that divine government to prevent outbursts of fatal violence that shatter the lives of politicians, innocent children, harmless bystanders, and their families. Hatred needs to be disarmed and neutralized. We might begin by addressing the angry rhetoric in our own lives. And our prayers can help stop the trend to demonize opponents in politics, religion, or the community and can help lessen the influence of those who are caught up in this trend. Fear feeds hate. Compassion quiets and comforts.

To read in full, click on here to:  Embracing Tucson after the shootings 

Even the night shall be light around me

Spiritual resource to share: safety and freedom from oppression

Picture a winter scene with a field, a stand of trees and a creek running through those trees. Now sprinkle it all with glittery snow.


Up in the northern part of the northern hemisphere, our nights are long. Nights are when the glitter goes back up to the sky against the dark clear night. The peace and security are tangible.

Nighttime brings me back to a time when I was attending a rally with a friend called “Take Back the Night” in downtown Minneapolis, a rally supporting and celebrating the victory that many had experienced overcoming situations of abuse.




It was a clear night. And the speakers for the rally gave equally clear and powerful denunciations of the abuses suffered by many, but also resounding victory cheers for so many who overcame these challenges. Many women wore their victories as banners across their chests, poignant reminders of the strength and courage that we all have.


There was beauty, clarity, and an awe-inspiring peace present that night. This comes from a profound place of having overcome the most perverse obstacles and realizing that one’s purity is power, incapable of ever being tainted.


I walked home that night crossing a city park known for its crime. I walked home feeling a freedom and safety not normally expected for that time of night and in that area.


That same feeling of peace and security is with us at all times: at night, and in our own times of night, darkness and despair; in all places: rural or downtown.


King David, of Bible fame, included a song now known as Psalms 139 that includes these lines describing the comforting and protecting presence of God, Love:

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?


If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.


If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;


Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.


If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

__________________________


For more info on Take Back the Night event and organization, go to www.takebackthenight.org/

To read another blog on this topic go to Purity - a Fixed Fact

The inconvenience of scientific discovery

Spiritual resource to share: discovery


Truth is radical. In the full-blown sense of the word. It means revolutionary as well as root.

So religions – that seek to understand Truth – are one of the main vehicles to introduce Truth.

But science also offers that a vehicle through which to determine Truth.


And then you have religion and science together. Combining the two provides a way to glean what has been claimed as Truth and organize its knowledge base, separate the wheat from the chaff, find patterns, and evaluate what Truth claims.

The combination of religion and science helps us explore the true nature of reality. It includes discovery and proof. And this is what I feel we have in Christian Science.


Sometimes the concern has been expressed that it is hard to accept the radical idea in Christian Science that man is not material but is spiritual.


It made me think of the nature of scientific discovery. There are many similarities, certainly, and one of them would have to be that scientific discovery is inconvenient.

Like -- it was inconvenient to introduce the discovery that the planets did not all revolve around the earth but the sun. It was inconvenient to introduce the idea that the world was round. Centuries of agreement were on the side that the world was flat and the earth was the center of the universe. Whole systems of theology, science and education and social structures, etc were challenged until they finally yielded to the higher truth. Quite inconvenient if you are all about maintaining the status quo.

MBEddy’s radical discovery that “there is no life, truth, intelligence nor substance in matter….” led to her conclusion that “Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness; therefore man is not material, he is spiritual.”   This may not fit the existing paradigm of thought that agrees with intelligent matter, chance and personal power.

But each and every healing through scientific prayer, each successful humanitarian endeavor that blesses more than those who initiated it, and each prayer that shows solutions that the current paradigm could not achieve – each of these things ushers in a revolutionary science where all start seeing things through a spiritual, and not material, lens.

What will happen when the radical idea of man as spiritual becomes the new normal paradigm?  I think there is enough evidence that it is going that way now.  How are systems of education, healthcare, psychology and psychiatry, theology and economy changing?  Hmmmm... interesting ideas...I feel another blog coming on.......

Note: I have been appreciating the science part of Christian Science recently and reading the study outline of Thomas Kuhn’s book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions ( an analysis of the history of science and known for popularizing the terms paradigm and paradigm shift.) And I am watching The Ascent of Man (1973) on youtube about the history of human beings through scientific endeavour. Fun stuff. I am not schooled in the physical sciences, and appreciate greatly my conversations with patient friends who are mathematicians and physical scientists! 

Another inspiring read from spirituality.com  The next ninety years : A reflection on humanity’s interest and involvement with spirituality through the centuries, and a prayerful look ahead