Tell the Truth

Every day issues come up that distract us from our spiritual focus—church politics, relationships, worries over finances, annoyances with traffic, startling news, and so on.

We can always tell when we get distracted. We get sucked into the drama, caught up on one side or the other, our passions get aroused. If we have been working to become more spiritually focused, we will begin to feel disturbed, uneasy, unsettled, out of sorts.

In the past we were oblivious to this, but as we grow spiritually, we become increasingly aware when distractions happen. We become sensitive to our loss of peace—to the disturbance of our inner harmony.

The solution is always the same—turn back to God.

This will feel awkward because at that point your feelings are not in sync with the spiritual thoughts you are now thinking. This can sometimes make you feel desperate and out of control; but your feelings will follow your spiritualized thought just as they followed your disturbed thought to get where they are.

Bring to mind a statement of Truth, the 23rd Psalm, the Lord’s Prayer, a passage from Science and Health or the Bible that you have memorized and begin to focus on it. Begin to think of your desire for God and for a greater spiritualization of your thought.

If you have a practice of meditation, where you sit down and still the mind, you will recognize what I’m talking about. This is exactly the same situation; and it has the same solution. Turn your attention to where you want it.

Self recriminations are a trap. For years people have thought that feeling remorse about what they have done wrong is the right thing to do; and guilt is often mistaken for true repentance which means turning from your error to doing the right thing. This turning to the right—turning to God, is the only thing required—feeling bad about your distraction isn’t.

Don’t waste a second feeling bad about losing your focus—just turn your attention to where it should be—back to God.

I was raised in a traditional church and picked up some wrong ideas there about belief that I’ve had to correct. One was that religion was all about belief. "If you believe in God you will go to heaven." The idea that when we die a personal God will give us a final exam and judge us on our beliefs is a mistaken idea. Another wrong belief was that heaven is a reward for belief. If you “win”, if you persist in your faith, you get to go to a place of eternal joy, and if you "lose", if you backslide in your belief, you get sent to a place of eternal torment. Those ideas are mistaken human theories.

Religion is not about winning or losing. It is about learning to live in the kingdom of God. The first creation story (Genesis 1-2:3) tells us of a creation fashioned in Love, where all is perfect and reflects God’s beauty and holiness. The true goal of religion is to bring us into that recognition, realization and experience. This dwelling in the harmony of being is the true meaning of heaven, and we can enter into it at any time.

When we move from the spiritual creation presented in the first chapter of Genesis to the story of the material creation which begins in Genesis 2:4 we see the human melodrama coming into being. [Melodrama:  a work (as a movie or play) characterized by extravagant theatricality...] This is the creation of a hell on earth. Man is now material—God’s image only in name, but not in nature. God’s image has fallen. Sin, sickness and death become more powerful than God Himself. Matter now has the power to expel the God-given life from man, who is now a material body. Death has the final word. Evil, cruelty, pride and fear rule the day. This shows us the results of sin— and by sin, I mean the belief that we are separate from God and have to fend for ourselves. The wrong belief that we can be separated from the omnipresent God creates evil of every description. And this faulty basis is the source of all human theories.

What lets us get beyond our wrong beliefs is understanding. A belief has no real foundation. It is only a working supposition. It is the sand that the storm of life’s trials will erode. Without understanding underneath to support them, they will fail for fear or experience will overwhelm them and everything built upon them will collapse.

But our understanding will stand. Do you just believe that 2 + 2 is 4 or do you know it? Could any argument, even of the most persuasive, charismatic person in the world shake your understanding that 2 + 2 = 4? No, because you have the understanding that supports the fact.

That’s why spiritual understanding is so important. When the trials of life come—and they will, for God intends that we be tested—when they come, will we withstand them like we would any argument that 2 + 2 does not equal 4? Can we assert eternal Life and Love when faced with the onset of disease, and stand on that rock until the symptoms disappear? Can we rest secure in God’s provision when we have just lost our job, and hold to that assurance until our need is met? Can we stay on our course when discouraged and confused, knowing that divine Mind holds all the answers, and wait upon the Lord until the light appears? We can if we understand the eternal Truth that will never be shaken.

Build an understanding that will stand. If you’re just believing, you’ll get up from your morning prayers and be sucked right back into the drama before you know it, and you’ll wonder, What happened?

Work everyday to strengthen your understanding that God is All; that a universe operating apart from Him was never created; that you and everyone are God’s reflection—His expression. Keep building your foundation. Don’t run from your doubts, because they will direct you to where you need to do more work. Meet each one with the Truth. If you can’t think of the Truth, keep digging, studying and praying until you find it. Keep turning to Truth. Seek understanding. Go beyond belief.

One of the records we have about Jesus is that he taught with authority, not as one of the scribes. He taught from his knowledge and experience, not just quoting other authorities, books and teachers; and he taught, not just in words, but through his miracles (marvelous works).

The spiritual teacher, Joel Goldsmith, wrote that a person with high spiritual consciousness didn’t need to put a shingle on his door or advertise for patients. He could put his office in the midst of a forest and the world would beat a path to his door. It is recorded in the Bible that crowds of people would come to Jesus while he was in the wilderness. His consciousness drew them to him. That’s spiritual authority!

There is no reason why you and I shouldn’t be people of spiritual authority as well. We all should; and when we grow into the fullness of spiritual understanding, we shall be.

When we see great spiritual teachers, don’t we wonder about this question? How did he or she get to where they are? And typically we feel as though this is way beyond our reach. We’re often satisfied at sitting at their feet rather than applying ourselves to rising to their level. Most people never really take the goal seriously because they believe it to be too far above them, so they end up idolizing their leaders rather than following them.

The real question for us is, how do we develop this consciousness for ourselves? Is it just for the chosen few? For Jesus, or Buddha, or Yogananda, or Mary Baker Eddy, or (fill in the blank)? Or can WE have spiritual authority ourselves? Is this thought just "pie in the sky", or is it a real possibility?

It is possible, and here’s how to go about it. Each day put more of yourself on the side of the scale with Spirit, and less of yourself on the side of the scale with matter. That’s the whole secret.

Devote yourself to knowing God’s presence, power and nature; learn that all people are God’s image and likeness; begin to explore and accept for everyone what being God’s reflection implies—perfection, wholeness, holiness; begin to think, not ABOUT the Truth, but from the BASIS of the Truth; lose yourself in your desire to know God more intimately; work to demonstrate, not THINGS or personal desires, but work to demonstrate the divine Principle in all your affairs; work to trust in God’s lovingkindness; work to view the world through your spiritual understanding, not through your eyes; refuse to accept any suggestion of evil in yourself or the world; know that God’s creation is perfect, and determine not to know any other creation but His.

Pray for yourself and the world that they show forth God’s glory; pray for those you love, and for those you dislike; for those you have compassion on, and for those who abuse others; for those who are examples of purity, and for the victims of their appetites; for the priests, the prostitutes, the homeless, and the presidents.

I’ve found that the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and its companion book, the Bible, contain the key to this deep understanding. I don’t speak from an sectarian desire to see everyone become a member of a church. Christian Science is for all of humanity, not just for a few. But I say it from an appreciation of the absolute metaphysics taught in Christian Science. "Half-way measures avail us nothing." Christian Science puts EVERYTHING on the side of the scale of Spirit, and nothing on the scale of matter. From its absolute metaphysics comes its power of demonstration and its healing ability.

When we put our all on the scale of God, we take on the mantle of God’s spiritual authority. Don’t just idolize great spiritual teachers. Follow them.

John 8:31-32
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Continue in the word—continue thinking it, continue sharing it, continue living it, continue demonstrating it. Put your all on the scale of Spirit and nothing on the scale of matter.

One of the most basic and important teachings of Christian Science—that there is no matter, is very difficult to grasp because it flies in the face of what our physical senses tells us. Our eyes tells us that things are material; that the tangible stuff we see and feel is the substance of things; and that this material is the medium of life.

Yet when we look at the miracles (marvels) of Jesus, we see him acting in direct contradiction to our belief in matter. He walked on the water (contradicting the accepted characteristics of matter); fed the multitudes (contradicting the idea of material substance); raised the dead (contradicting the idea of life being dependent upon matter); and healed the sick (contradicting the idea of material processes and health laws).

How then can we unravel this conundrum? How can matter seem so real to us and yet not limit the thought or actions of Jesus?

Christian Science explains it as hypnotism (also called the mortal dream). Imagine that you have been hypnotized to believe that you are a chicken. A spiritually conscious being tells you that that is a lie—that you are not a chicken. Your immediate response is, Well, where did these feathers come from then? Where did I get these wings from? How come I scratch for food if I’m not a chicken? You see, your belief tells you that you are a chicken and you therefore see signs of your “chickenhood“ everywhere you look. But if you persist questioning and examining the issue you will begin to have experiences that contradict your belief and make it less certain.

We often begin to see through the illusion of matter by experiencing healing. In my case, I had a deteriorated disk in my neck. When I had a x-ray made, the disk in my neck looked like popcorn—it was all fragmented and broken up. The doctor told me that my problem couldn’t be healed—that once a bone has deteriorated, "All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again."

He sent me to physical therapy, and for six weeks I went for therapy twice a week. They had me do lots of exercises, mostly to strengthen my neck muscles. The therapist said that this would help minimize the discomfort and make it bearable. It didn’t. I was in continual pain. I could only sleep on my back. I finally began sleeping in a chair to keep my head at the right angle. I had to turn my shoulders when I turned my head which made driving difficult. I had to get a different chair at work to allow me to maintain my neck position as much as possible. When I left after a therapy session, my neck seemed to be worse than when I went in. I was just miserable.

Then I began working with a Christian Science practitioner. She told me that I was a spiritual being, not a material man. She told me that I didn’t have a material condition—that there weren’t any material conditions, but that this was a hypnotic suggestion. She said that it never happened in the kingdom of God. Two weeks later, I was completely healed. Now, nothing seems more material in our body than a bone, yet I was shown that even something as solid as a bone could be healed through Christian Science.

When I look at a material condition now—a disease, a substance addiction, a chemical imbalance, a poorly functioning organ, I remember that healing and others that I have had; and when I begin praying, I begin from my experience—not from the appearance.

As you seek to understand the statement that there is no matter, be patient. Keep questioning and examining appearances. Look at the miracles (so-called) in the Bible and begin to observe what they have to say about this being a material creation. Think about healings you have experienced and ask, What does this have to say about this being a material world? Remember that you’re hypnotized—that of course, your "material senses" will show you a material world because they are reporting a material consciousness.

Here’s another image that will help you. We all know the earth goes around the sun, yet to our material senses the picture is just the opposite. We don’t have trouble with this discrepancy though because we have learned to see the movement of the sun through our minds and understanding, not through the testimony of our eyes. This is exactly what we are working toward spiritually—to see, not with physical senses, but with spiritual understanding; and when we do so, then we can begin to seen the kingdom of God as it actually is, and everything is made new.

SH 1:11
Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds.

In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy says repeatedly that desire is prayer. I’ve found that praying the prayer of desire is most helpful in drawing me to feel closer to God; and in motivating me to do more—to pray more, to study more, to practice more, to love more. Let your desire for God, your desire for growth, your desire for realization, your desire for enlightenment, your desire to Love often well up in your heart. Fan its flames.

If you have a practice of meditation, sit down with your eyes closed and wordlessly dwell on your desire for God. When you awaken in bed at night, be drawn to your desire to love as Jesus loved. As you walk through the grocery store, let the desire to see everyone as God’s image arise within you. When you see someone in difficulty, with a disability, an angry parent, someone in stress—let the desire to heal as Jesus did arise within you. Want God more. Want to know the kingdom of God more. Want to Love others more, and to judge less, to see beauty where there is none to the outward eye.

And know this: "Love is reflected in love." God is Love and you are His expression. As His image and likeness you DO express His love. You reflect His Love as the image in a mirror reflects the one in front of it. Know that His Love is being expressed in you, and magnify your desire to experience it.

Our spiritual growth really begins to accelerate when we begin do a little more. Let your desire motivate you. Often let your desire for God arise in your heart. It is said that one of the Catholic saints so loved God that even his bodily heart grew larger. Our yearning to know and love God more needs to grow into a glorious blaze. Welcome your desire for God. Let it lead you to the heart of Love.

The best time to meet and to destroy disease or sin is before it has a chance to take root in our thinking. Dismiss it with the conviction that it is illegitimate. This is a Rule of Christian Science song, as well as a Song of Remembrance (Learn the song and learn the passage).

You can download the music at this link, or go to the MP3s tab on the menu to download the song.

Here is the text:

390:20
Suffer no claim of sin or of sickness
to grow upon the thought.
Dismiss it with an abiding conviction
that it is illegitimate,
because you know
that God is no
more the author of sickness
than He is of sin.

You have no law of His
to support the necessity
either of sin or sickness,
but you have divine authority
for denying that necessity
and healing the sick.

In Christian Science, we learn that God is Principle. Some people when they hear this believe that God is just an idea that man has thought of—a idea that we can use to help make our life what we want it to be—kind of like positive thinking, or what goes around comes around, or other commonly accepted statements and principles that we all live by. But, God is more—He is a living presence. In the Bible, John says that God is Love. How could a mere theory be Love itself? "God is Love" means far more than that God is the idea that we should be loving. Likewise, God is omniscient. The word omni means all. God is all knowing, and intelligence. How can intelligence be a mere concept? How can an idea know anything?

We say God is Principle because God is not personal. He is not an all-powerful man in the sky who thinks and reasons as we do, who has his own preferences, likes and dislikes, who listens to our prayers and decides whether or not to answer them, who has human emotions and concerns, or play favorites. He does not love Joseph better than Mary or Suzie. He loves each of us equally, infinitely.

God is omnipresence as well. He is the only presence. He is all presence, and the Bible tells us that we live, move and have our being in Him. IN Him. There is not God AND us. There is the infinite God (and infinite means only), and His infinite (the only) presence. We are a part of that presence. God does not live IN us. We live IN Him. God is the All-in-all. He is not a thing, an idea, or a person. He is infinite the Principle of Life, Truth and Love. He is all presence, all power, all Science (knowledge).

He is our shepherd, our savior, our source. He works with us as we work to unfold our spiritual nature, our salvation (which He has assured us of). He corrects us, blesses us, heals us, enlightens us, comforts us, teaches us. He is All. He is our Life, our Truth, and our Love. He is our Mind, our animating and sustaining Spirit, our Soul (our identity, our individuality); but He is never just an idea.

As you read Science and Health, look for the word Principle. Mrs. Eddy always capitalizes the words, the seven synonyms, she uses for God, and Principle is one. Read these passages carefully and seek to learn about the nature and being of God. It is important to know about God as Principle for Principle has the qualities of universality, order, and harmony. Those qualities are our inheritance from divine Principle, and we only know as much about ourselves as we know about God, and it’s critical we know ourselves as God’s children.

SH 571:16-18
Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil.

Oh, to Walk As Children of Light! Turning from the darkness of the past to the light of the Lord. This is our calling. This is our joy! This passage from Ephesians appears in the Christian Science Bible Lesson for February 5, 2012 on the topic of Spirit.

This is a Song of Remembrance—learn the song, learn the passage. (Except for the repetition of the refrain, “Walk as children of light”, the song is faithful to the scripture.)  Click here to download the music. The song is available for downloading on the MP3s tab of the menu.

Here is the text:

Ephesians 5:8–11
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:  9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.  11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

Where can we go from God, Spirit? We are his reflection, the image of His Love. We live and move and have our being in Him—in the omnipresent God. Lovely!

Download the song from the MP3s page. Click here for the music.

Here is the text from the book of Psalms (139:7-10):

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.

The Christian Science Bible Lesson for February 5, 2012 contains this exhortation—get yourself prepared, the reign and rule of universal harmony cannot forever remain unseen.  This is a Song of Remembrance—if you learn the song, you’ll learn the passage.

You can download the mp3 file from the MP3s tab on the menu. Click here to see the music.

Here is the text from Science and Health:

SH 208:20
Let us learn of the real and eternal,
and prepare for the reign of Spirit,
the kingdom of heaven, —
the reign and rule of universal harmony,
which cannot be lost nor remain forever unseen.