Tag: Christian Science

Praying for Our Representatives and World

Published on by lindseybiggs2 Comments

 

 

On the evening when I read about Gabrielle Giffords being shot, I felt compelled to pray.  At first I wasn’t sure how to pray.  I knew I didn’t want to pray about specific human circumstances, so I started to think about God as Love.  And I instantly got a sense and a vision in my mind of Love being all – filling all space, the only Creator and manifested as Creation.  In this image all is happy, healthy and peaceful because all there is is Love.

 

Why is this image important?  If Love is all there is, then there is no hate.  If Love is all, then there is no cause of anything that is unlike Love.  Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of the universal science — Christian Science, teaches that sin and the sinner are both unreal.  (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures p. 472)  God’s creation is entirely good, spiritual, loving, happy and eternal.  Where, then, is the sinner?  Where then is the source and cause for the incident?  No where.  And as this healing takes place in our thought, there is also healing and transformation in the physical.

 

In his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Yancey illustrates how necessary grace and forgiveness are in our personal and nation-wide experience.  When a situation is redeemed or healed in our heart and thought, we can go on with new views, unity, and work for progress and blessings for everyone.  He depicted many nations who are in conflict today based on challenges centuries ago.  Many people today don’t even know why their nation is fighting, it’s simply because they always have.  He labels this as “ungrace”.  I love this term “ungrace” because it makes things so clear to me — if it’s not grace we are thinking and expressing, then it’s ungrace.  What a help this is in being proactive about healing our world and individual thoughts and hearts.

 

Eddy states, in her compilation of Miscellaneous Writings, “A little more grace, a motive made pure, a few truths tenderly told, a heart softened, a character subdued, a life consecrated, would restore the right action of the mental mechanism, and make manifest the movement of body and soul in accord with God.” (p. 354)

 

A few months ago, I wrote a blog about the Stanford University studies on the correlation between health and forgiveness.  I see it this way: we are a window for God’s light and love; if the window is filled with dirt – resentment, hate, revenge, fear – then we experience as much of this substantial, healing light which is the source of all health, happiness, and peace.

 

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22 NIV)  This healing spirit of Truth and Love has profound physical effects and certainly leads to transformation of mind, body, soul and the world.

 

 

For an additional article on this incident check out: “She does not have that permission from me” by John D. Clague.

 

“Emerge gently” in our spiritual journey

Published on by lindseybiggs2 Comments

 

I have been cherishing an idea from the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures lately.

 

“Emerge gently from matter into Spirit.  Think not to thwart the spiritual ultimate of all things, but come naturally into Spirit through better health and morals and as the result of spiritual growth.” (p. 485)

 

To me this really illustrates and describes the journey I am partaking of.

 

In the past, I have tended to be a bit extreme.  I discover something new and I go for it all the way.  The same was when I re-discovered Christian Science.  I dove deeply into my study, spending several hours a day in prayer, meditation, and reading.  It strengthened me and changed my life.  But I realize I had more of a “destination” view of my spiritual journey and understanding.  The goal was to get there, to get somewhere.

 

What I cherish so much about the statement above is that we come into the spiritual sense of life naturally.   There can’t be any human will involved.  It is really a divine unfoldment each moment.  And our job is to be receptive, clear and willing to appreciate each spiritual opportunity throughout our day.  This might be in seeing someone’s spiritual identity in the face of conflicting or pushy personality; or seeing our true value and worth as a child or reflection of God; or knowing your and everyone’s God given exemption from a cold/flu, or any disease for that matter.

 

Any effort to attract does not come from God.  God is supplying us with all we need each moment.  When we try to attract something into our experience, we are thinking there is another source in addition to God.  But God is the only Source.  And because of this we can expect that we will have everything we need each moment, through our reflection of Him/Her.

 

God’s being is the only being and is full and complete.  God is the only doer and we reflect and express Him/Her.  The only one doing anything is God and therefore activity is perfect, good and right, and it blesses everyone.  We simply reflect the action of the divine.

 

Throughout our day we can feel inspired to begin an activity, to write someone or send a “thank you”, and we can also be guided in the right moment to stop or pause an activity.  Each moment of our day is orchestrated by the divine; we are part of the divine symphony, each component playing and holding at just the right moment.

 

We lose all sense of time when we think this way.  Time no longer outlines, defines or limits us.  God is conscious of being as a circle, not a linear timeline; of eternity and not mortal measurements.  We can live in eternity here and now.  Time doesn’t have to be anything more than a method in society to help us see order.  It does not have to govern or determine our lives.

 

Step out of time, and step into the eternal, infinite direction of divine Mind.  Soul/Life/Love is leading and guiding us each moment in absolute harmony and usefulness.

 

Happy New Year!

 

A healing I had renews confidence

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

 

I’m rejoicing because of a healing I just had.

 

I was feeling quite down and blue.  I kept hearing thoughts like, what are you doing? Are you really valuable and useful?  Why don’t you have any confidence?

 

I wrote a list about why I am valuable and useful.  Although I learned more about myself, I still couldn’t quite shake the blues.

 

I reached out to some folks for answers.  One of those people is my husband.  He boiled it down to one question.  To which the response was “because God is calling you to”.  That’s it.  No human reason, justification, personality or any other such thing.  Simply you are doing what you are doing because God is calling you to.

 

I went to the Christian Science church service this evening, still not feeling quite right.

 

I was serving as an usher so I decided I would pray for others and the church service while I waited for people to arrive.

 

Taking my mind off these challenges, and myself, helped and made me feel a lot lighter.

 

There were many good ideas shared during the service, and I enjoyed listening to them.  Occasionally an “angel message” would come to my thought “God is calling you to” as a response to my inner longing.  There were wonderful testimonies given (folks stand up and give gratitude for spiritual growth and healings), and by the conclusion of the service I was feeling happy, light and free.  I was able to chat freely with fellow church attendees.

 

So, in conclusion, the helpful ideas that came to me were these:

 

  • God is calling me to do what I am doing.
  • Therefore, it is not me doing it, I am just expressing and glorifying God.
  • I have to be good at things I do because I am expressing Him.  I have to be a good cook, good wife, good practitioner, etc because He is good and I am expressing/reflecting Him (not myself).

 

This gave me a lot more confidence and clarity, and I am going forth rejoicing!!