“We shall obey and adore in proportion as we apprehend the divine nature and love Him understandingly, warring no more over the corporeality, but rejoicing in the affluence of our God.”
~ Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health, p. 140
Which do you spend most of your time in prayer doing? “Warring over corporeality,” or “rejoicing in the affluence of God?”
The affluence of God is all the goodness of God. It is abundance, supply, peace, harmony, love, solutions and health.
Corporeality is the opposite of Spirit. It is material things, money, status, prestige, physicality, the body, mortality, time, opinion and human ego.
One way of “warring over corporeality,” is to be primarily concerned about material conditions and circumstances. It’s the prayer that struggles with the world, trying to change it, improve it, to have more of it, or to manage other people and get them to follow your will. It is in a constant struggle with mortal mind, as if in a competition to see who will win.
To rejoice in the affluence of God is to put on the Mind of Christ that sees unending good. It is a consciousness of Truth and Love, a spiritual view of reality that sees all the good things God is doing that makes Life a joy to live. It doesn’t see an enemy to struggle with, but blessings to accept and enjoy.
It’s like a dreamer wrestling with a bear in a dream. The dreamer thinks the wrestling is necessary. But it isn’t. There is no bear. The easier way to win against the bear is to wake up from the dream and accept safety. Wrestling with the bear is not necessary.
The same rule applies to demonstrating health and abundance. We don’t have to wrestle with “the bears” of mortal mind that argue for disease and lack. The easier path to success is to wake up from corporeality, and accept spirituality. In God, there is no lack, no disease, and no suffering.
Rejoice in God’s affluence today and live free! Skip any warring part mortal mind wants you to engage, and get right to the victory.
This morning’s SpiritView is a blessing to me. I seem to have been ‘warring over corporeality’ for some time now, and – of course – it has got me nowhere, so long as I am believing in corporeality.
This week, delving into the Bible lesson, I have found great help in all the statements about Truth, and they, too, have pointed me in the right direction. So – onward and upward!
Thank you for this new view Evan!
I have been bear wrestling in among glimpses of Spirit light . . .
There is no bear, no wrestling required,
“I’m going on a prayer hunt,
It’s feeling like a good one,
I’m inspired”
Love that Shelagh! The bear hunt book was our grandson’s favourite book for quite a while and we read it many times! But going on a prayer hunt sounds much more rewarding. Thanks for that lovely idea! I will stick with that idea today.
Oh, how freeing! Thinking about how Jesus said we are to go into the closet and shut the door. Surely in that closet there is nothing but the radiant affluence of God! Mrs. Eddy on page 14 of Science and Health reminds us that means we are to shut out sinful sense,– illusive bears and bear-wrestling –and let in Truth, Life and Love.
So if I’m feeling, or hearing or seeing anything but Truth, God’s Love and God’s iLife, I’m not praying.
If I’m identifying myself or anyone else with any other presence, power, Life, Mind, Love, substance or Soul but God’s, I’m not praying.
But if I faithfully do, such blessings of healing!
Thank you, Evan and the responders – this is such a helpful message.
God is good, and Good is God – so if we look for and rejoice in all the good we see, we are actually seeing God and can enjoy all the affluence that He is sharing with every one of us. How lovely that we don’t need to fight with a fictitious bear.
“Rejoice for ever in that which I create, for I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy”.
Isa 65:18
This reminds me of what Mrs. Eddy says, “BELOVED Christian Scientists let your minds be so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease, and death cannot enter them. It is plain that nothing can be added to the mind already full…” We’re all “full of the fullness of the Lord!” Thank God! This is so, so good to know and keep knowing. Thank you Evan for this glorious reminder.
Thanks so much, Evan! Prayer will be much easier now that I see God as a stuffed bear in a blue hat.
I learned from playing basketball that you can’t engage defenders. Once you acknowledge them, it’s over. You have to look past. I remember hearing my coach yell, “Look Past!” and thinking, “this is really good advice for life in general!”
Thank you for this great collection of ideas Evan and blog responders. I have been wrestling that bear and so appreciate being woken up to instead letting the affluence of God dominate. Shelagh, your idea of a “prayer hunt” is lovely.
Like a breath of fresh air. I really needed this. God woke me up to read this. Thank you Evan.
This is exactly what I needed! Right now, and to remember always. Thank you!
Oh! Of course! No bears here!
(No Dragons either!)
Thanks for the post and the thread. One of the few places online where it’s inspiring to read the comments These ideas really resonate this morning and remind me of this great poem: BELIEVE ME—IT WASN’T EASY
https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/2020k6pau4g?s=e
What is beneath
What is behind
What is above
One thing
One Spirit
One Mind
All existing
In Love…
When in doubt
Step back
one step
and remind
yourself
no matter
what’s going
on around
you …
No matter
how things
‘Appear’ to be
It’s all happening
now… in an
atmosphere
of Love
This resurrects
peace and happiness
Thanks for the reminder that the battle IS NOT MINE.
Thanks to all. Healing is revealing. No matter how big the bear appears–see it only as a bear and wake up
Thanks, Evan, and All Commenters! I’m seeing things more today as “There is nothing hidden that will not be uncovered.” And, “Let Truth uncover and destroy error in God’s own way…..” I’ve heard it said that, “You can’t heal anything that is not acknowledged.” With today’s crazy world and politics, I believe we are seeing error finally being uncovered and acknowledged and this is SO Needed for Healing! Much Love to All, Bevi
Thank you Bevi. I love your statement that “we are seeing error finally being uncovered” – and this week’s Lesson on Truth points us in that direction, which is so needed and so reassuring, at this point in (material) history.
Thank you Evan and Commentirs! Love the poem and other ideas too! One reminded me of keeping your eyes on the ball when playing tennis. Keep our focus on the Truth and experience FREEDOM!
So many healing angel thoughts on all these messages
Thank you Evan, thank you all
Loved the Journal poem referenced. And love this blog post, finding it helpful in so many areas! It would make a great “Spiritual Short” article in the Journal.
Thank you Evan for today`s helpful, healing and uplifting SpiritView!
After I got up today I put all seeming worries away and looked joyfully at all the Good God already has given me so abundantly and freely and I was grateful for divine Love`s caring for me.
Thank you Maximo for your inspiring poem, very beautiful!
Regarding the interesting comparison with the bear with whom we are wrestling in a dream, and when you wake up no bear (error) is there. I find it a very good example! In this weeks lesson for example it reads (marker 24 in SH) “The illusion (the bear) of material sense, not divine law, has bound you …” very suitable.
Am grateful for all your interesting comments, dear SpiritView friends! 🙂
Awfully sweet that above foto – I give her a hug! 🙂
And I love that wonderful sentence by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health – thank you for it!
Thank you, Evan, and dear Spiritview friends, for all your enlightening comments. I love the poem, Ang, from CSJ and your poem, too, Maximo. Wake up from the dream and the “bears” vanish!
Thanks.
Wonderful to awake to your inspiring & healing blog Evan. Thank you to all commenters for your many angel messages. Am grateful for all of you.
Thank You Evans for introducing the “No Bears Principle”, I love it, so simple and childlike innocence is to accept and understand Truth. Grateful to know the difference between God’s thoughts and bear/burdensome thinking false thoughts. God’s thoughts are whole, come complete as a manifestation while mortal mind thoughts are thinking or perplexing paradoxical thoughts that lead to the beliefs of another mind influencing and disrupting our peace. God does not have bears for us to wrestle with so we are always living in the Presence of God every moment enjoying Her grandeur of Love.