Would you like to know how to keep the body healthy?
One way is to watch what you harbor in consciousness. A consciousness of Truth and Love is a healthy consciousness that brings health to the body. Knowing God’s omnipotence and living God’s love keeps thought in a good place and has a good effect on everything it rests upon, including the body.
And to the contrary, any mental images that are not of God need to be promptly cast out. Images and descriptions of disease, fears, fabulous beliefs predicting suffering, and their kin, are all enemies to health, and should be summarily ejected from consciousness and replaced with images of Truth and Love, which in turn, preserve good health.
As Mary Baker Eddy writes about the body, “You embrace your body in your thought, and you should delineate upon it thoughts of health, not of sickness” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 208). This is an instruction we can all practice on a regular basis.
We do not have to accept into thought everything that comes our way. If it’s from God, welcome it in. If it’s from the carnal mind, kick it out.
Keep consciousness filled with truth and love coming from God and delineate health on the body.
I love this reminder Evan. Have been arguing re a horrid challenge for 3 or 4 years but forget to delineate thoughts of health upon the body continually. Will be more vigilant. Thank you. xx
Lovely! Thanks, Evan!
Makes me imagine myself as a “stick” figure. My only substance being:
S Spiritual
T Truth
I Intelligence
C Consciousness
K Knowing
As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:4, 5
“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”
Notice he said but “with a demonstration.” of “Spirit’s power.”
Have a peaceful, blessed day.
❣️
Thank you, that is a beautiful response to Evan’s offering!
Thank you. I need this and appreciate this reminder.
“Consenting to health” By Barbara Vining. From the February 18, 2015 issue of The Christian Science Monitor:
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/A-Christian-Science-Perspective/2015/0218/Consenting-to-health/?src=shared
That is such a lovely article by Barbara Vining , and I have only
just read it. – thank you J. It is very helpful and inspiring..
Thankyou for this Blessed reminder Evan much needed.
When I read, “You embrace your body in your thought,” I know it does not mean to think about body in a physical, material way and then think healthy thoughts about matter. We are taught to understand that we contain no matter, only made of spiritual ideas and qualities. But the way it’s worded is a little confusing.to me. Any thoughts from my SV friends? Thank you!
I’m not sure Rose what you are querying but I did have a moment recently when I was trying to prayerfully help my eldest son. He’s not in the slightest interested in C S and is in what seems an awfully bad way. First I thought that I couldn’t possibly hold him in consciousness as anything other than Gods child..ie not mine. Then I progressed to realising that I was dealing with all this in my consciousness. But then it dawned on me how easy it can be to ‘’think dually ‘’ ..that is a child of God as opposed to a material man. I realised that yes, we do have to kick out the error as Evan says but we must start with God as all there is from the premise. I am that child of God now as is everyone else including my son. living my spiritual Life. Not sure I’ve worded this well enough to explain the complete change of base I felt at that moment. It’s realising that the Mind of man is Gods thought ….all action…all harmony. Hope this helps B x
To me. Rose, it means that we are the embodiment of God’s thoughts,
and so as we embrace all the goodness and Love of God for us in
our thoughts, we manifest all that belongs to God in what appears to us
as a body.
These qualities cannot exist in a material limited body, because there
is no life truth nor substance in matter, as we know..
I am praying and needing to understand this
more clearly, because I see that is it so freeing for us all. God’s thoughts for us
are all good, loving, full of blessings,, and they are forever unfolding in
our God-bestowed consciousness. They are always fresh and new
and unlimited, and that gives us the unlimited ability to reflect Him
and heal ourselves and others by letting God reveal Himself/Herself
to us in all the ways we need. And He knows all our needs, so we
just need to understand that more clearly. and accept it.
Thank you, Rose, for impelling me to think through this directive to embrace body. Here are the ideas coming to me (including paraphrased statements/truths from Science and Health):
Since we begin from the basis that all is Mind and its infinite manifestation, and that Spirit and its formations are the only realities of being, then we know that our body is spiritual, a manifestation of God, good. When we embrace that body, we can only do so in consciousness, in the realm of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. To embrace is a loving gesture, so that as we love our true selves, our spiritual identities, we’re also loving God and all Her creation. Love for God, which goes hand-in-hand with loving ourselves and our neighbors, means only knowing good, which is evidenced/manifested in our entire experience, including our present sense of body, all those upon whom our thoughts rest.
The thought came to me, Rose, to think of ourselves and others in a more
spiritual way, like we do with those who have “passed on” to another
plane of thought. What appeared to be a physical body is no longer with
us, but the qualities that they expressed – the love, thoughtfulness, joy,
kindness, caring – all spiritual qualities DO live on, that they expressed and
these qualities embrace us even though we can not see them physically with
us. We Feel their presence. Their expression of love is God’s Love and this
can never leave us. Their truth is God’s Truth, and so on with the other
definitions/synonyns Mrs. Eddy has given us as expressions of God – Soul,
Spirit, Mind, Principle and Life.
Great question Rose, thank you for asking it. And wonderful replies to ponder too.
Dear Rose , thank you to state your challenging idea.
i believe in a simple way that God made that body to express Himself/ Herself, otherwise how can we recognize ourself or others in this corner of the universe?
We see a beautiful , majestic elephant , dogs we love so much, people and companions, a tree a flower in the courtyard.
All , including myself are made of what we call “ matter”
Because the Spirit needs to be expressed through us all, humans, animals , vegetables etc….
There is nothing in contradiction with our 100% spiritual nature. The important part is not to be impressed by
Matter or body, they are there for a purpose: to realize our total connection, direction and synchronize our eternal presence with the source : God.
Yes we definitely embrace our body and envelope gently like a bouquet in the flower shop.
Yes Barbara
I once was going through an awful situation with a child and was in tears when a knock at my door came. I answered it and there was a local neighbour canvassing for the Catholic School. She immediately asked what was wrong of course and without thinking I declared “ oh my son. I cannot seem to do anything and he needs such help. She , who has two sons of her own, calmly said to me Oh, when I get to that point. I just look up and say “FATHER, you do something, he was yours first, and I find it lifts a great sense of burden.”
I was shocked and went in the house and decided to do just that. It was less than an hour and I received a phone call to say that the situation had been changed and all was well.
What and how we think is everything
Thank you Evan for your wonderful helps as well
Hi Truus … I was well immersed in my thoughts given above .. not just writing the words. Guess what , within 20 minutes of my posting my boy rang , sounding much more like himself, and said he was looking at being back home with his family in about a week! How wonderful it is to joyfully witness the ever present Christ in our lives. Thank you for sharing your experience.B.x
Thank you Barbara, Maggie and Nancy for your insightful replies to my question. Very helpful and I will read and ponder them again. And appreciated other comments and thanks J for the very good article by Barbara Vining on topic of consent. I have been thinking about this idea of consent recently. We do not have to consent to error’s lies and temptations. It knows it has has no life without our agreement.