Of the hundreds of readers who regularly browse this blog, many of you send me pictures, links, articles, videos, and what-not that perk my attention and get my metaphysical gears going faster and faster. Today was one of those days!
I was so excited when I clicked on the link below because the mural you’re about to see is a valuable teaching tool for explaining how God’s infinite individuality is expressed in an infinite number of ways.
One huge point of difference between Christian Science and Eastern philosophies, along with New Age thinking, is the position on individuality.
My understanding of New Age thought, Buddhism, and similar ways of thinking, is that individuality is absorbed into Universal Consciousness. And there are many different names used for Universal Consciousness, such as Presence, Being, Infinite, etc. According to these teachings, there is one individuality, Consciousness, and we ARE that Consciousness. We do not have an individuality of our own, unless you’re thinking in terms of Consciousness being that individuality.
Christian Science teaches there is one Mind also, one consciousness, God. But it also explains that God is expressed in an infinite number of ways. Each of us, as an offspring of the Divine, reflect the infinitude of God but are not absorbed into it.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science wrote:
“Man is not absorbed in Deity, and man cannot lose his individuality, for he reflects eternal Life; nor is he an isolated, solitary idea, for he represents infinite Mind, the sum of all substance.”
In Christian Science, one actually gains in individuality as spiritual understanding grows. Identity is not lost in a vast ether of Consciousness, but is appreciated, understood and reflected in greater detail, beauty and form. You can see this in people who are growing spiritually. They gain in poise, intellect, authority, calm, control, and health. Their uniqueness comes out in more vivid detail, and their individual contribution to the universal scheme of things becomes increasingly apparent. Individuality is not lost, but gained, in divine Science.
Read the below, then go to the mural and click on the individual tiles. It’s fascinating.
If the whole mural was a metaphor for God, each tile is a metaphor for God’s children as individuals. Each tile is unique and special, yet an essential part of a greater whole.
One mural…one God.
Countless tiles…countless expressions of individuality within the one mural.
LOOK CLOSELY BY CLICKING ON ANY PART OF THE MURAL. It is called the Cochrane Mural..
For those not living in the west, Cochrane is NW of Calgary and east of Banff, in the foothills of the Rockies. This mural was unveiled last week at the Cochrane Ranch House. Each tile is 1 foot square and has its own individual picture. Each tile is by a different artist. All of them placed together form this huge mural.
You can click on each of the tiles to see them in detail.
Thanks for this, Evan. Just the perfect subject for me today. One of the (many!) things I value so highly about CS is the way individuality and identity are so clearly defined, and held to be so important. I find it such a crucial concept.
Thanks for your marvellous blog!
Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
Yours gratefully,
Amanda
Hi Evan, I’m one of those ‘hundreds’ who follow your blog.
I’m not sure your understanding of New Age, Buddhism etc is 100% accurate. At least my reading of them, perhaps filtered through my highly individualised Western consciousness, is that indeed there is room for my individuality within those paths as well.
And then there are the likes of people such as Joel Goldsmith, who was a CS but left, and who was later influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism I think. He definitely teaches individuality.
Its an interesting topic though. We are all individual, and yet so often I think we’re all the same too – in many ways.
Hi DrDee,
I’m so glad you commented. I by no means am an expert on New Age beliefs. I’ve read several books written by New Age thinkers, and have gained many valuable insights. But this issue of individuality has been an issue to grapple with.
I find it fascinating that you mention that Goldsmith “definitely teaches individuality,” because I just finisehd reading his core work, “The Infinite Way,” and got exactly the opposite impression.
He wrote on p. 80, “We must identify ourselves as Spirit, as Principle…” He does talk about individuality, but only in terms of us being the individuality of God. Consciousness, or It, as the only individuality, and if we are to think of ourselves as having individuality, it has to be in terms of being God. This is common New Age teaching.
He wrote on p. 81, “Never forget that you cannot live scientifically as man or idea but that you must realize yourself to be Life, Truth, and Love.” Well, Mary Baker Eddy uses this triad of synonyms for God, “Life, Truth, and Love,” many times throughout her writings. I easily relate to the wordage, but Goldsmith declares we ARE Life, Truth and Love. To me, this is absorbtion of individuality. In this teaching the individuality of man seems to disappear.
On p. 82 he wrote, “We exist as individual Consciousness…”
And there are more quotes…
Many of his ideas, I easily resonate with, but when it comes to the individuality of man, it seems there is none.
Hmmm….
Thanks for responding, Evan, I’ve been away so have only just read this. Its interesting the different takes we take on the same thing isn’t it, because I never read those same passages from Goldsmith and think of it meaning an absorbtion into deity and a loss of individuality. Perhaps that is because I never think of myself as other than an individual, all the while being amazed at how similar we can be as well.