If you like to live happy, stay healthy, and be progressive, stay spiritually minded!!
Spiritual mindedness is awareness of God’s infinite good. It’s a consciousness of spiritual truth. It brings inspiration, wisdom, and joy.
Spiritual mindedness is the opposite of material mindedness.
Material mindedness is focus on matter, preoccupation with physicality, immersion in sensuality.
Material mindedness is a dead end. It leaves one feeling empty handed, even deserted, lost and alone.
Stay out of material mindedness. It is not your friend!
Commit to spiritual mindedness and prosper.
Stay spiritually minded and keep moving down the path of progress to ever greater views and experiences of God’s goodness. It’s the happiest healthiest way to live.
“To be spiritually minded is life and peace” Romans 8:6
Thank you Evan! Sometimes when reading CS literature or the Bible, I feel like I’m drowning in jargon. There are so many words that seem to be used interchangeably or new terms with which I sometimes ask myself “do I really understand what is meant by that term?” Lately I’ve been studying to learn more about what is meant by the term “Holy Ghost” or “Holy Spirit”. I’ve always been fascinated by how, after the crucifixion, and even initially after Jesus resurrection, the disciples just went back to their old occupation of fishing. But then something “clicked” with them and they changed to continuing the mission of Jesus to raise humanity out of spiritual dullness. That change is referred to as the “descent of the Holy Ghost” in the Bible.
It’s been wonderful to search JSH Online for articles on that topic and enlarge my understanding of that term. I’ve come to the conclusion that it basically means a spiritually minded consciousness. So Evan’s message today made me think of the Holy Ghost. Mrs. Eddy defines Holy Ghost in the Glossary of S&H as:
Holy Ghost. Divine Science; the development of eternal Life, Truth, and Love.
I’m still thinking about what “the development of eternal Life, Truth, and Love” means. So I’ve got more studying to do to fully understand this definition.
Here’s one article that I found that I found helpful in gaining a better understanding of the Holy Ghost.
THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST
https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/1ebcinfa362?s=e
Sorry for the second posting, but I’d just like to add that my study of “Holy Ghost” has also led me to conclude it means an understanding of Love’s omnipotence and ever presence (in other words, a spiritual mindedness that recognizes God, Love, as caring for and loving everything). It makes me think of this statement from page 275 of S&H:
The starting-point of divine Science is that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other
might nor Mind, — that God is Love, and therefore He is divine Principle.
God so loves his spiritual creation that God established divine laws to keep everything in perfect harmony. As we recognize those laws are always in operation, that harmony of God’s creation is revealed to us.
Dear RH, if you don`t mind I give you my present understanding of what you are praying for to understand, namely “the development of eternal Life, Truth and Love.”
For me it is simply my own development of the demonstration of eternal Life, Truth and Love – in my own life as God`s reflection. And that is a holy demonstration where God is with us, helping us to understand our oneness with our Father-Mather God!
Thank you dear Uta! Your comment made me think to look up the word “development” in the 1828 Webster’s dictionary. The definition is below. So you are right! Thank you again for your comment!!!
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DEVELOPMENT, noun
1. An unfolding; the discovering of something secret or withheld from the knowledge of others; disclosure; full exhibition.
2. The unraveling of a plot.
Thanks so much, RH – have a lovely day!
This was addressed beautifully last week in the Christian Science weekly Bible Lesson, Probation after Death. It was more clear to me than ever what the Holy Ghost means. Mrs Eddy explains it in section 5, citation 22:
Jesus’ unchanged physical condition after what seemed to be death was followed by his exaltation above all material conditions; and this exaltation explained his ascension, and revealed unmistakably a probationary and progressive state beyond the grave. Jesus was “the way;” that is, he marked the way for all men. In his final demonstration, called the ascension, which closed the earthly record of Jesus, he rose above the physical knowledge of his disciples, and the material senses saw him no more.
His students then received the Holy Ghost. By this is meant, that by all they had witnessed and suffered, they were roused to an enlarged understanding of divine Science, even to the spiritual interpretation and discernment of Jesus’ teachings and demonstrations, which gave them a faint conception of the Life which is God. They no longer measured man by material sense. After gaining the true idea of their glorified Master, they became better healers, leaning no longer on matter, but on the divine Principle of their work.
Thank you Trista! That is a great explanation and I do remember this from the lesson last week. The lesson last week was what triggered me to want to get a deeper meaning of Holy Ghost. After that study, this citation has so much meaning to me that I don’t think it had the first time I read it in the lesson. Another thing I learned from my study is a consciousness based on Divine Science (a.k.a. the Holy Ghost) is devoid of a belief in matter or material laws and their experience is not based on material sense testimony. Instead they think out from the perspective of Love creating and governing all spiritually. That aspect of Holy Ghost is also brought out in this citation you shared so thanks again for sharing it!
RH, thank you for your thoughtful comments, sharing insights from your deep study and thinking about the meaning of the terms Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit, and how these can relate to spiritual mindednesses. Thank you for your lovely thoughts. I am also so grateful for Evan’s wonderful blog today. Yes, we are blessed with Spiritual consciousness, the consciousness of Truth, of God’s infinite goodness.
Wonderfully true.
D.
I echo Cherie’s words as they exactly reflect my sentiments about Evan’s post and RH’s comment (and wonderful article.) And to RH, please don’t ever be sorry for a follow up posting, as long as Love guides. Your sharing and the article are very helpful. I am ever infinitely gratelful for all that is blessingly shared by Evan and the SV family, that Evan so lovingly hosts.
Thank you Evan. Thank you RH. All has been most helpful.
Today’s Daily Lift goes so well with the beautiful picture and everyone’s comments. thank you!
Seismic lessons from small children
https://www.christianscience.com/christian-healing-today/daily-lift/seismic-lessons-from-small-children
There is an article on the Holy Ghost by Barbara Cook Spencer entitled : »The Holy Ghost: antidoting the poison of willpower » published in The Christian Science Journal, November 2012. Such a powerful concept of « Holy Ghost »
Barbara
Thank you Barbara. Here’s a link to the article:
The Holy Ghost: antidoting the poison of willpower
https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/28u7hqvx5em?s=e
Thank you RH and all who have shared ideas today, especially those on the Holy Ghost. I, too, have been giving thought to deepening my understanding of the Holy Ghost. Thank you, Evan, for today’s thought to stay spiritually minded.
RH, I think you are ready to write one more Follow Up, your own arricle for the CS Journal or Sentinel!!! It will be a great source of inspiration and healing for so many!!!
Thank you Soaring Dove. I just wanted to add for everyone’s benefit that I wasn’t doing the study of the meaning of Holy Ghost just as an intellectual exercise. On page 46 of S&H (see below), and as I mentioned above in my comment, I feel like having a “Holy Ghost mentality” changes you (i.e. reveals the truth in a way that causes you to live the truth and be spiritually minded more fully every moment…making your heart burn within you so you think from no other perspective than God, Love). And from the first article I shared, and the quote shared by Trista, I guess that mentality comes little by little via study and demonstration versus in one short moment. But I guess I’m wanting my heart to “burn within me” more and to be able to share that joy with other people so they also experience that same thing. So that was my purpose of studying to understand the term Holy Ghost better, and I still have more work to do in that regard, but once I feel I truly “get it”, I’ll definitely consider writing an article for the periodicals (assuming I feel I have something new to share)! Or if somebody else is already at that point, I would encourage them to write an article too!!!
Below again is the quote from page 46 of S&H.
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In the walk to Emmaus, Jesus was known to his friends by the words, which made their hearts burn within them, and by the breaking of bread. The divine Spirit, which identified Jesus thus centuries ago, has spoken through the inspired Word and will speak through it in every age and clime. It is revealed to the receptive heart, and is again seen casting out evil and healing the sick.
(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 46:5)
Dear Evan, thank you for your admonition to stay spiritually minded instead of materially minded! This admonition of you is very needed and important, And the weekly Lesson Sermon, studied quite thoroughly, and praying helps to cultivate and develope our spiritual sense.
Wow how lively is the commenting today, specially by RH about the “Holy Ghost”.
Perhaps one can dive deeper, but I also do understand that the “Holy Ghost” is the divine Science, or the Christ, the true idea of God – to define it very simple for newer Scientists, it is Christian Science!
A lovely day and blessing testimony meetings to all. Some hours ago I listened to the life online testimony meeting from The Motherchurch, which was about “God`s perfect supply for his idea man” it was wonderful! Here in Germany it is late evening, in an hour it`s midnight. 🙂
Thanks Evan, RH, and all – have enjoyed the comments about the Holy Ghost. A year or so ago I wrote down some comments from articles that helped me better understand the Holy Ghost. Sorry, I didn’t note the authors:
– We need to empty our thought to receive the Holy Ghost. Love our enemies. The Holy Ghost acts; it moves thought. Still small voice of God – coming as our own intuition.
– Holy Ghost: the Holy Spirit, inspiring and guiding and animating us; the Comforter, fulfilling the law of divine Love, demonstrating the power of Christ, impelling and enforcing divine Truth; Divine Science, confirming the law of cause & effect, with God as cause & Son as effect.
– The absoluteness of divine Science & its total intactness – with man & the universe included in this completeness, reflecting absolute laws, without restrictions, without “ifs” & “buts”. Law is law! This is the Holy Ghost.
Thanks J , that’s a wonderful metaphysical explanation of the “Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit”, very helpful!♡
You’re welcome Uta! 🙂
THERE is a hymn that says where your children are ,I love to be. I love this phrase .Working on it.Thanks Evan for sharing.
Thank you Evan!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS WONDERFUL DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MATERIAL MINDEDNESS AND SPIRITUAL MINDEDNESS. IT IS SO HELPFUL AND REMOVES THE DOUBT THAT WOULD SAY THAT STUDYING CHRISTIAN SCIENCE IS TOO MUCH TROUBLE OR WHATEVER THE NEGATIVE….