Fifteen years ago when I went into renew my driver’s license I couldn’t see the letters in the eye machine. They were all a blur! I flunked the test.
I knew I had a vision issue and was praying diligently about it. Words on menus at fast food restaurants were difficult if not impossible for me to read. When I missed an important turn because I couldn’t read a large sign while driving a rental car through New York City, I knew something need to change soon!
It was not a quick turnaround. I had spiritual lessons to learn.
One of the lessons I learned was to not check my vision by looking at material objects to see how my sight was doing.
Vision is spiritual. It’s a capacity of Mind, and is found in Mind, not in matter.
Whenever I was tempted to measure the clarity of my vision by trying to read signs at a distance, I would remember that vision wasn’t in matter to be tested. It was in Mind, and was already perfect, sound, clear and eternal.
I learned to cling to the right idea of vision and claim it as part of my identity, rather than test it by looking around materially to see whether I had it or not. There is a big difference!
If one thinks he needs to test his vision to see if it works, he already doubts he has good vision. He objectifies his doubts and fears into the test. The conclusion is determined before he looks around. He has failed before trying.
And this is what I had to quit doing!
We don’t see because we have eyes. We have eyes because we see.
I made a transition from worrying about my eyes, to seeing the right idea about eyes. Seeing is a metaphysical activity. It happens in Mind, not in matter.
What we see on the outside reflects what we understand on the inside.
So, I concentrated my prayer efforts on understanding the truth about vision, to get my mental view accurate, rather than trying to verify it physically.
And I made progress.
I didn’t put a time-frame on when improvement needed to happen. That would have denied the immediate presence of strong vision. I strove to see perfect vision here and now, in me as a perfect child of God, in Spirit, where I lived moved and saw everything. Vision is eternal. It doesn’t get any better tomorrow. It’s perfect today!
Through the grace of God, I was allowed to retake the eye-test fifteen years ago, and the gap in between gave me time to put my prayers into practice. And I passed, barely. But I continued to make progress over coming months until I could read menus again, read the road signs with ease, and feel like I was in a good place with my vision.
And I’m happy to report that when I went into renew my driver’s license a couple of months ago, I stuck my forehead into that eye-machine, saw all the letters except for two on the left with crystal clarity, zipped through the test and was out of there in minutes with a new license. And very happy, rejoicing every step of the way thanking God for all the lessons learned about vision, and more to come, I’m sure.
Thanks Evan – very timely – I have just started this same journey – and now some God given guidance on how to proceed – thanks very much 🙂
Thanks, Evan. A few years ago I failed that same test and had to get glasses to pass and I’ve caught myself checking matter like you did. Such a timely post with wonderful reminders about the spiritual nature of eyes and vision. And vision goes deeper for me to how are we seeing ourselves, our neighbors, our fellow church members, etc. As we begin to spiritualize how we see people and the world around us and become clear about their spiritual natures, our own human eyesight has to become clearer too because it is manifesting what we hold in thought. Clear thought = clear vision!
Thank you Evan, I needed to read this! And realize that I never have to except anything that’s not true about God! Thank you so much!
What an excellent treatment as well as healing demonstration! Thank you Evan. I love the concept that “We don’t see because we have eyes, but rather we have eyes because we see.” Always declaring and beholding perfection.
Amazing, Evan !
“What we see on the outside reflects what we understand on the inside.” This part is the core.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful experience. I´ve been thinking about this subject in the past years and this article is teaching me a very good approachto deal with it !
Thank you so much Evan – a great way to start meeting this challenge . Sometimes a problem seems so difficult I don’t know where to start but now I do !
Thanks so much for this reminder – it not only applies to eyesight, but to anything one is
working out – I have caught myself several times checking to see if there is any improvement in the mobility of my knees, so subtle…. I will also put away my scale 🙂
Very timely topic for me. I just got new glasses a few months ago and it seems my vision has changed already. I have found myself checking to see which eye has changed. Now I can see the error of my ways and stop doing that. Spiritual vision is perfect, clear, and eternal. Now to accept that truth and see it demonstrated!
Evan, you knew exactly what I needed to read and understand. This is a keeper!!! Thank you!!!! Great gratitude for this!
I understand better the way C/S prayer works since my son bought me this I-PAD which opens up thought to the proper way of looking at the world. Demonstration couldn’t be further.
I like this because I think Christian Scientists need to be a lot more diligent on this subject. There is too much widespread acceptance of wearing eyeglasses in the CS community. There needs to be stronger rebellion and harder work about it. In CS testimonies of 100 years ago, healings of the need for eyeglasses were totally common, not the rare exception.
I think about this from time to time. I have reading glasses. My distance is fine. My eye doctor tells me I have amazing eyes for my age! I am almost 62 years old. Whoo hoo! I do appreciate my glasses when at night I do needlework and need to see close up. I know where sight comes from but I appreciate my glasses. I do not automatically reach for them except for needlework at night.
something to think about.
Hi Evan, Thank you very much for your message today!
I recently accepted a pair of bi-focals and now see the use of them is perpetuating an increasing need to continue using them! Not so long ago I had great vision.
I will immediately apply the principles you discuss above. One question.
I remember reading an article in the Sentinel or Journal about vision. The author said he used his reading glasses to continue reading Science & Health and the Lessons as he worked out his healing. And over time he was healed and now has clear vision once again.
Given the idea that a person who asks a practitioner to work with them must move away from materia medica’s methods. What do you recommend to those who currently wear glasses? Would continuing for a time to use the glasses impede healing?
I always receive so much from each of your posts!
Many thanks, Susan
Hi Susan,
Per your question about the use of glasses while striving to demonstrate improved vision, as you know, glasses do not heal poor eyesight. There is no medicine in them, or healing power in their lens. The key to remember, if wearing glasses, is to not develop a false reliance on them, to use them as an excuse for delayed, prolonged, or maybe no healing at all. They can be useful for temporary help, and there is no condemnation to fear for that. But the real help is going to come from spiritualization of thought. And glasses neither aid or detract from that. It’s all a matter of where one’s faith is put. Glasses don’t impede healing. It’s faith in matter that impedes healing.
Hi Evan,
Sure appreciate your answer to my question about wearing glasses for a time! Just right, and just what I needed to hear!
Thanks!
Thanks for this timely message! I’ve been through wearing, then not wearing, then wearing glasses again – a demonstration in progress! But I had a recent healing of an eye problem, so this was timely for me for that. I woke up during the night, with my left eye burning and gushing tears. I went to the bathroom, and forced my eyes open to look in the mirror, and it was very red. I put my hand over my eye and thought, “No! The senses are spiritual. Nothing can interfere with that!” When I took my hand down, my eye was much clearer. Immediate results! Then I went back to bed and looked at the definition of eyes you quote above, and felt even better. Yay God!
If you are working on a healing of eyes, please at least wear your glasses when driving so you are not a danger to anyone else. There is no condemnation if you do need to wear them.
It is hard for me to comment. I don’t feel any stigma to wearing glasses. I don’t feel Christian Scientists should feel diminished for wearing them. Too many friends that I have known have suffered for years with a problem sought medical solutions and been relieved of their problem instantly. I hope none of you reading Evan’s wonderful treatment would feel any guilt to give up your glasses. Each person has individual problems to handle and I would hope they would not deprive themselves of health and happiness while struggling
to know the Truth! I read this treatment and felt how wonderful and I was genuinely interested in what he shared. I’m grateful for his insights. Hopefully it will become clearer to me how to treat myself. Thank you.
Yes, of course, no one would feel diminished for wearing glasses if that was the wise temporary step to take. But I’d guess many would still want to keep praying for a clearer understanding of true vision to reverse the belief of decline that seems to be part of wearing glasses, then getting stronger prescriptions, etc. Mary Baker Eddy wore glasses to read fine print at one point in her later years, but then was able to put aside later, I believe. So, she had some praying to do about it too. The idea is to just keep growing spiritually from wherever we are and judge not along the way. Grow, love, and grow more…step by step…
Thanks for sharing this testimony of the return of your vision to crystal clarity through Christian Science prayer. It was wonderfully inspiring for me to read. I presume your wife was agreeing with you in praying at this time, however I’m curious to know if you asked another CS Practitioner to work with you too?
It was me and God working this one out!
Thank you for your comments Evan. I never have attached things like aging etc. to my wearing glasses. That was a new thing for me to ponder. Always love to entertain new ways of looking at things.
A keeper for me, too. Comments by Patty and Susan Z. and your clarifying responses were very helpful, Always appreciate your words that help us speed along on our spiritual path.