It was two minutes before I was to go on stage and lecture before a very lively audience ready to hear a message of hope and healing. As I mentally double checked that I was ready to go, I felt an odd sensation in my nose and discovered my nose had started to bleed.
“Now that is really odd and unnecessary!” I protested.
I panicked a bit thinking this could take a long time to get under control.
My prayer wheels started to spin as I quietly slipped away to a backroom to deal with the physical demands. As I collected myself and wondered what had brought this on, I noticed a disturbing uneasiness within. I realized it had been there for maybe 10 minutes or more, but I hadn’t paid attention to it. I saw it as outside interference that I needed to defend myself from. It was an unsettling feeling, a mental commotion at work that I decided was trying to trip me up and disrupt the event. And now I was feeling it physically.
Frightful scenes started to stage in my thought. Pictures like standing in front of a 100 people and having this occur without warning and then having to deal with it. Fears were starting to reel out of control. I needed to get them squelched promptly, I knew.
As I prayed, I was reminded of Mary Baker Eddy’s instruction, “Take possession of your body, and govern its feeling and action” Science and Health, p. 393.
To me, this was a command to take possession of my thought about the body. It was a promise that I could take control of those wild fears and be rid of them along with their bad physical effect. Not in any tentative, hopefully I can do it sense, but with absolute certainty.
I had God-given dominion to be free and well, I knew, and I could exercise my dominion over the state I was facing.
I was feeling mega-pressure because of the time, but gave myself space by saying, “No matter how long this takes, the audience will be happy to wait. They support you and want you to come out strong and ready.” That was a great help.
Then I got super serious about taking possession of my thought.
I pounced on the suggestion of outside interference. I knew the event was God’s event, and God’s protection was all around to ensure its success, and this care included me.
I declared that there was no physical, mental, emotional or spiritual reason for the nose bleed.
I knew that I hadn’t done anything wrong. There was no penalty to pay. No sentence to serve. The criminal was mortal mind, not me, and mortal mind could be banished with spiritual truth.
I knew that I was 100% spiritual manifesting absolute health and harmony right there right then. I was not a vulnerable mortal. I was in invincible immortal. And that meant no nose bleed.
I knew that it didn’t take time to reflect the spiritual truth. I was a reflection of the spiritual truth already, and that meant no nose bleed.
I quickly got to a high place in thought with Spirit and began to feel the peace of knowing God was in control. I even felt like I was okay. But then I worried it would catch me by surprise as soon as I went back out. But I had no time to be wishy-washy, I knew, so I gave it one last final treatment of, “You are well now. You know it. God made you that way. And that’s the way you’ll remain.”
I walked to the entrance to the auditorium, looked at my watch and saw that it was 2 minutes after the hour. “No problem,” as I expressed gratitude to God for quick help. I knew the enemy had been defeated and I felt a spiritual reassurance within that all would be well.
I put it all out of my mind and went out to lecture. The event was a success with no unpleasant surprises and I didn’t think about the episode again until the next day when I remembered to be grateful for God’s quick help. At the time it happened, it felt pretty scary, I have to admit. But once I let Truth take possession of my thought, needed dominion was quickly found.
I decided to check my email one last time before going to bed … now after 1 am. This blog is exactly what I needed. A few weeks ago, I fell, and when I got up off of the concrete patio floor, my arm was hanging. I worked diligently, and could feel my shoulder going back into place in a few minutes. Some soreness remained the next day, but I kept working. Yesterday, I pruned a tree, and reminded myself that I had done a lot of repetitive motion with that arm. Last nigh I kept awakening with pain in my arm. As I read your blog, I found myself substituting shoulder/arm for nosebleed. Now, as I am ready to go to bed, I realize the pain is gone.
Thank you for your step-by-step praying and treating your body.
What a great way for me to start the day! I woke up feeling really downcast this morning and my thoughts were becoming rather morbid.
Then I read this morning’s blog and this gave me motivation to stop with what I was doing and turn back in the right direction.
Thank you, Evan. This will be yet another blog I will print and put it up to use as a reminder.
I become more grateful every day of God’s ever present help, right there with me.What else do you need, now many times have we read this and been told this. thank you for showing the way to go.
What a wonderful demonstration of the Truth! God Is our Life and comfort in all times and under all circumstances. Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful blessing with us, Evan and thank you, too, to all the commenters that share these Truths. They are always so helpful in keeping thought where it should be. Each of our unique ideas, when shared, are symbiotic to the reality which is harmony expressed. It makes it so endearing to be a part of God’s universal family.
Like an earlier commenter, I also took your testimony into my experience. One statement in particular, is of great helpfulness to me this morning. You wrote:
“To me, this was a command to take possession of my thought about the body. It was a promise that I could take control of those wild fears and be rid of them along with their bad physical effect. Not in any tentative, hopefully I can do it sense, but with absolute certainty.”
I’ve looked at Mrs. Eddy’s command, and tried hard to obey it, but for some reason, I was taking the material definition of body and trying to put “will power” to work for myself. Thanks for the great lesson and reminder to look for the spiritual meaning!
Lyn’s comments coincide with my take away from this blog. That statement about taking possession of body has always tripped me up. But taking possession of the thought about my body. Well, that is clear as can be. Your words “absolute certainty” stand out also. Mary Baker Eddy uses the phrase “scientific certainty” when describing Christian healing. Amen! Thanks Evan!
Guiding thought in the right direction is well illustrated. Our theme from The Mother Church, healing, may lead to the question, how. Articles from the Publishing House provide soluions , too. Your comments give us a place to hang thought on each day. Thanks
What a wonderful, strong message to take our stand against any aggressive attack from error—error (usually fear) loves to go after the high profile prayers we pray, standing with God’s ever presence. Evan, each sentence you wrote is so powerful and like some Spiritview members, those powerful thoughts are going to be hung onto today. I can go forth feeling strong today. Thank you.
Thanks so much Evan, for reminding us of the need to take possession of our thought about the body, and to all who have commented.
you are so helpful to us Evan when you work out your healings in writing to us this way, thank you!
For a little over 5 years I was wearing a Foley which had to be changed every month as a out patient in a Hospital. In order to get to the Hospital & back, I needed pick up by an Ambulence.
Both the Ambulence people and Doctors and Nurses would ask me these same questions; “What is your name?, where are you going?, do you know what day it is?, and what is today’s date?” This was the only way that they would know if I had any mental difficulties.
Thinking about this, I came to the conclusion that these questions were dangerous to my health as well as theirs since it involved testing INTELLIGENCE, and it had to stop. Testing intelligence is testing God, making him mortal subject to Alzeimer Disease. There is oodles of ways to find out if a person is intelligent or not. This was definitely not the correct way. I would quietly protest by taking the 1st Amendment (Freedom of Religion) and the 5th Amendment which protects me from incriminating myself and opening a Pandora’s box to mental diseases.
One doesn’t have to be a criminal to take the 5th as most crime dramas bring out.
Even, thank you for sharing this testimony.
Allow me to confirm that sin has no reality and no power to interfere with God’s ordained work. On several occasions, a few minutes prior to entering to entering the auditorium to deliver a message of hope and healing, a discordant feeling would torment me. My treatment was markedly similar to the one outlined in this post and peace was always restored prior to my entrance. I came to understand that these episodes were not my thought but some error tearing at the peaceful fabric of the audience waiting in anticipation. After many of these meetings, an usher would report to me that someone had been healed but the blessed individual was never revealed to me by name. One woman reported that she had the most significant healing of her life. I truly love the divine way.
Thank you for posting this testimony. I also had a physical problem with a tooth ache that suddenly seemed to come on. I remembered reading your testimony this morning. So i went back to it this evening. I re-read what you talked about. The fact that God gave us dominion to take possession of my thought about the body. That made very clear sense to me. I just held onto that in my thought. The pain went away. I went and brushed my teeth and there was absolutely no pain at all.
Thank you for all of your blogs! They are so helpful!
What a wonderful blog this is!
I’ve never thought that lecturers have scary problems to work out too! This was a great wake-up call to me to support Christian Scientists who are in the public eye.
And I loved how you walked us through that experience, step by step, with a victorious result.
Thanks so much for all you do for Christian Science!
Thank you very much Even!
I need to grasp these thoughts carefully and be able to demonstrate God’s Law.