Assault of the mosquitoes

Christian Science is about discovering spiritual reality in the here and now of everyday experience. As Jesus Christ taught, heaven is not a far off place attained after death. It is an ever-present consciousness of divine Mind that we reflect as spiritually minded children of God. And humans attain this consciousness by putting on the mind of Christ and putting off sin.

The actual demonstration of spiritual mindedness is not always easy. The world assaults human consciousness with arguments that build up evil, fear of disease, and submission to sin. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, became keenly aware of the need to daily defend one’s mental home from aggressive suggestions at large that take away peace of mind and health if not destroyed first. Jesus taught the same when he preached, “Watch!” meaning, be so keenly aware of the omnipresence of good, that no evil suggestion can sneak into your mental home undetected and cause physical or mental havoc.

Last week, I had what at the time, seemed the weirdest thing happen to me. Let me start by saying I rarely get mosquito bites where we live, if ever, and we’ve lived here several years now.

One evening, after reading a bit on the outside patio, I noticed some mosquito bites on my legs. Oh, that’s odd, I thought, and I didn’t think much of it. Then I went for a walk with my wife, which we commonly do, and got bit several times while strolling around the neighborhood. Now, I was really getting puzzled. I had shorts on, and my legs were covered in mosquito bites, so many I didn’t even try to count them. This is so weird! I protested. It was completely out of the ordinary.

I prayed the obvious prayer, knowing that I was in harmony with all of God’s creatures, and God didn’t create a bug that could harm me or would want to harm me. That I was in no danger in my own neighborhood and that the bites should rapidly disappear because there was no reason for them, nor any reason for them to stay on my body. I was innocent. I was spiritual, and in spiritual fact, could not get bitten in the first place. Christ was there to confirm this truth on my behalf, and thus the wounds would heal up quickly.

I found peace with this prayer, and was able to go through the night without touching the red spots begging for attention. But they did not go away quickly like they always had in the past. They hung around, and later the next day, became very noisy, if you know what I mean. The urge to itch intensified, and the picture was uglier than ever. By now, I knew the issue was much larger than dealing with mosquito bites.

As I’ve learned in the past, if a physical problem doesn’t go away quickly with the first one or two Christian Science treatments, then the issue is much deeper than just a physical claim. There are other mental things going on that need to be dealt with to clear the way for the physical healing. And my suspicion was some form of malpractice targeted against me that I was not getting a handle on.

No sooner did I get going down this line of reasoning, but an emotional flare-up on a particular issue erupted in our home. It was not a super big deal, but it was discord, which is out of the norm for our home, generally, a very peaceful place. And when I saw it, I exclaimed, “Aha! That’s it! It’s an assault on the harmony and peace of our home. It didn’t get to me, so it’s trying another way, through other family members.“ I impersonalized the conflict and treated it as malpractice against the health and harmony of my family, my home, and me too.

I prayed to know that we lived in a home of divine Love. That divine Love kept us all safe from any malpractice at large or specifically focused. That we all could feel only the influence of divine Love in our thinking, in our relations with each other, and in the body. That we were safe, protected, immune, out of the reach of any enemy and in no danger, ever. God is all. God is Love, and we lived in the omnipresence of that Love.

No sooner did I specifically treat the suggestion of malpractice, as just described, but a profound peace flowed over my thinking and my body. All the itchiness, burning sensation and angst over my legs vanished in a few minutes. It was an incredibly tangible experience of Love taking over my thought and the evil being shoved out rapidly. I knew I had finally put my mental finger on the error that needed to be eradicated. The peace remained, and the physical evidence of damage to my legs rapidly disappeared. The discord in our home was peacefully and quickly resolved, and heavenly order took over once again.

Oh, I am so grateful for Christian Science. It gives us the metaphysical tools we need to effectively and appropriately deal with evil. If I had viewed the mosquito bites strictly as a physical condition, and treated them with lotions and medicines, I would have totally missed out on the greater benefit of increasing the safety and peace of our home and protection of family members from outside mental influence. And the lesson would have to be learned later another way, and perhaps a harder way.

Now, to get back to enjoying our patio in the evening and neighborhood walks…

The best protection from enemies

Thanks to a reader...

When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”

~ African Proverb

The eagle eye

While traveling through Switzerland, I have been impressed with how much time and resources that have gone into protecting the land from invading enemies over the centuries. There are castles everywhere!

Yesterday, we stopped at a viewpoint while going over a pass, and there was a commemorative statue of an eagle overlooking the valley below. The eagle was built and placed there to remember a handful of soldiers who stood guard over the pass during WWII. It was a strategic location to protect the country from invasion.

As I looked around at the surrounding territory, the location was obviously the right one to protect. On each side were high Alp peaks that made traveling impossible except through the valley pass. The only route through was right where that eagle was stationed. The squeeze point was the point of vulnerability that needed to be protected for the safety of all behind that point.

In seeking a spiritual lesson, I thought about the passageways of the human mind that need to be protected—points of vulnerability, if you will.

To progress in life, we have to defend ourselves from the invading armies of fear and error that would steal our joy, health and well being.

There are places in everyone’s thought that are super strong, like those Alp peaks on either side of the pass. They don’t need protecting, so much, for the pertinent truth is clear. But there may be other aspects to life we feel unsure about that need shoring up. These channels of vulnerability need extra guard until our demonstration of immunity to harm is made.

For example, if we’re inclined to gluttony, the temptation to overeat would be a point of vulnerability that needs extra defense work. Or, if we overspend, the temptation to buy things we don’t need is a point of vulnerability that needs extra defense work to keep the invading army of debt from overwhelming our home front.

The eagle statue is engraved in my mind, for now, as a firm reminder that I must stand guard and watch over any valleys of vulnerability I feel in my life until I have demonstrated them out of my life. I must not be naïve and ignore any passageways the enemy of fear might pursue to try and invade my thought and throw me off guard.

“Watch,” as Jesus instructed. With an eagle eye…

Our angel

Unbelievable!! Is the best word I can think of to tell this story!

I’m in the Blue Mountains with my family for Christmas break. I stay active with my practice, but break occasionally to be out and about with family and friends.

Yesterday, my son and I took a good friend out snowmobiling who had little experience on a sled, but enough that I didn’t worry about his judgments.

We zipped up to the top of a mountain with a gorgeous view and wide open meadows to spin around on. Within five minutes, I noticed my friend venturing over into what we call “no man’s land” on a long side slope of the canyon edge. It was “no man’s land” for our trail sleds because once you go a bit over the edge, you never get back up. It’s down, down, down all the way to the bottom of the canyon, and no one in our family wants to find out what happens if you ever slide that far!

Well, my friend was oblivious, and I hadn’t forewarned him. It was too late for me to reach him. I helplessly watched as he frantically tried to steer back up the hill, but to no avail. Down, down, down, he went zigzagging most of the way until he stopped dead still in a huge snowdrift just above the tree line.

I got off my sled, walked over the edge of the hill to find him, and there he was standing waist deep in snow looking miserably at his snow-sunken sled.

My son and I made our way down the hill to help. We huffed and dug and huffed and sweated and yanked and pulled for 90 minutes, and moved the sled 6 feet. No way were we going to get that sled back up the mountain side.

I stopped. I listened. I prayed.

Seeing no other option, I decided to point the sled downhill, and go all the way to the bottom, hoping for a turnaround opportunity, and the possibility of gaining enough speed to zip up the canyon wall to the top.

I paced a path downhill to leave markings to follow, because split-second decisions would be required. I got on the sled, took a huge breath, sent another prayer to heaven, started the engine, and down I went through the snowdrifts and trees. Through the grace of God I made it safely to the bottom and found a place to circle back. But right when I almost made my complete loop, I slid past a crucial turn, and wham-o, into a deep snowdrift I sunk. The sled was locked into the depths, and would not budge even slightly.

I was bummed, but not despondent.

I listened for answers. None came.

I yelled to the top of the canyon. No response.

No one knew what had happened to me. I was alone. It would be dark in an hour. I was miles from home.

There was nothing I could physically do, so I headed toward the top of the canyon, hoping to get the boys, bring them down and help me out.

I knew God’s power was there. I had nothing to fear. And I did not fear. I was expectant of getting out, totally, one way or the other. I just didn’t know how or what way!

With confidence that all was well and would be well I tromped up the hill through waist deep snow. No sooner did I exit the trees and begin my ascent, but a whiz-bang, state-of-the-art, high-tech, mighty powered machine, with the noise to match, raced out of the woods to my left zipping up the hill at an astronomical speed. I jump over a bit to avoid getting hit. The sled was a blur whipping past me, but shortly makes a sudden turn back down the hill, swooshing over from the right and stopping right smack in front of me. The rider, in his high-tech colorful garb, stands up, lifts the shield on his helmet, and I am astounded. It’s my brother!!

You have to understand that my brother is like one of the most capable and advanced snowmobile drivers in the country. He has tackled the most difficult of difficult terrains from the Pacific Northwest to the Rockies in Canada. Out of the hundreds of different places he could have been sledding this weekend, and the thousands and thousands of acres he could have been traversing in the Blue Mountains, he crosses my path exactly when I need him most. He had no previous idea I was there. None.

With a smile on his face, and not another word to add, he says to me, “Are you stuck?”

I spare him the details and point back into the woods.

He cheerfully responds, “No problem. We’ll get you out.”

He tags down his partner, and comes back a few minutes later. He builds a trail in front of my sled with his, and within 3-4 minutes, I am unstuck and sailing up the mountain side to freedom, pumping my fist in the air as I get to the top letting the other boys know we finally got the sled out of the canyon!

My brother is gone in a dash continuing his adventure. I said to my friend and my son, “That was my angel!”

And he truly was.

Unbelievable! To the human mind, I suppose, but looking back, totally believable from a spiritual point of view. God is always with us and sends us the aid we need in the form that is most helpful when we need it.

Later, I asked myself, “How could that possibly have happened? What was going on in thought that allowed that seemingly miraculous turn of events to occur?”

The best answer I have is that I never allowed my thinking to turn negative. When I first saw my friend jammed in the drift, I made a conscious decision to not allow one negative or critical thought to enter my consciousness about the incident. I was going to see only goodness, and make sure my buddy didn’t feel any kind of condemnation or burden about the accident. I was committed to loving my way through it, and accept solutions as they appeared. We all kept a very positive attitude the whole time, and were fully expectant of finding a solution somehow, someway. And we did. God sent an angel.

Thank you God!

Never alone

Here’s a touching story sent in be a reader that reminds us of our constant companion:


Indian Fatherhood

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of passage?

His dad takes him into the forest - blindfolded - and leaves him.

He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not take off the blindfold until the rays of the sun shine through it. He is all by himself. He cannot cry out for help to anyone.

Once he survives the night he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience. Each lad must come into his own manhood.

During the night, the boy was terrified. He could hear all kinds of noise. Beasts were all around him. Maybe even some human would hurt him. The wind blew the grass and it shook his stump.

But he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It was the only way he could become a man.

Finally, after a horrific night, the sound of the night disappeared. He could feel the warmth of the sun. He removed his blindfold.

It was then that he saw his father, sitting on the stump next to him, on watch the entire night.

We are never alone. Even when we don’t know it, our Father is protecting us. He is sitting on the stump beside us.

All we have to do is take off our blindfolds.

Protect yourself from malpractice

Christian Scientists, be a law to yourselves that mental malpractice cannot harm you either when asleep or when awake. Mary Baker Eddy

I awoke early yesterday to read my Bible Lesson and metaphysically prepare for an active day. Part way through my study I suddenly started to feel very ill. My stomach began churning, my head ached and within two minutes a wave of sickness swept over me and tried to lock on. Mentally working to prevent further suffering, I turned to God in prayer and acknowledged one Mind governing my health and well being. In the one Mind, there is no sickness, no potential for sickness and no feeling of sickness, I affirmed.

While listening for further spiritual insight, I glanced at the clock and noticed it was 5 a.m. With no investigative effort of my own, I recognized that it was opening time for a business on the East coast that I had sent a letter to three days ago with a message that was written in a generous and supportive spirit, but could have been received in a negative light by the recipient. I wasn’t sure whether they were sympathetic to my message or not.

On the heels of this awareness, an angel thought told me to protect myself from mental malpractice. I remembered the quote printed above by Mary Baker Eddy, “…be a law to yourselves that mental malpractice cannot harm you….”

Whether the recepient of my letter was malpracticing me or not, I could not say. But I knew my health was going downhill fast, the momentum needed to be halted, and this divine admonition to protect myself vigorously was clamoring for attention. I've learned not to ignore such warnings.

Not knowing what harmful thought I may be protecting myself from, I prayed to know that no evil thought could penetrate my consciousness. There is only one Mind, I affirmed again, and the one Mind was my Mind. Malice has no power and no influence over the activity of the one Mind, and therefore had no power or influence over my thinking. I was safe in the omnipresence of divine Love.

As long as it took to pray the above truth, the sickness lifted and vanished like it never existed.

I’ve had these types of experiences before, and each time I learn again the value and importance of defending myself from mental malpractice from abroad. I often do not know what the source of the evil intent is, but it doesn't matter. Evil has no power whatever form it pretends to take, and the need of prayer is to know this spiritual truth clearly. God is the only power.

Jesus told us to “Watch!” He meant watch for good, for spiritual mindedness lest evil overwhelm our sense of things.

Mary Baker Eddy was adamant in her teachings that her students should actively and daily defend themselves from mental malpractice. She was so convinced of this necessity she included a by-law titled “Alertness to Duty” in the governing document of her Church that states

It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind.

Our duty to God is to remain spiritually minded, bearing witness to the omnipresence of divine Love and the omnipotence of the one Mind wherever we go and in whatever we do.

When we faithfully know one God, one power of good, we become a law unto ourselves that protects our mental sanctuary from outside malicious influence.

Stay alert! Be on guard—for the Truth! And you will be protected too.

Put on your spiritual Teflon

Did you put on your metaphysical Teflon today?

Teflon is a non-stick coating used to protect frying pans from burning food to their metal surface and creating stubborn messes to scour and scrub later. It’s a brand name trademarked by DuPont after a researcher named Dr. Plunkett discovered the stick-resistant material back in 1938.

Millions of cooks are grateful for Teflon in the kitchen, but there’s a metaphysical kind of Teflon you can put on to keep your thinking clean of insults and jabs sent your way by other people. It’s called a consciousness of Love!

In a consciousness of Love, other people’s mean remarks, rude gestures or indifferences will not offend you. Your focus is not on judging or condemning what they do, but on loving them the way God loves them.

You’ve probably heard the old ditty:

“Sticks and stones may injure my bones, but what you say cannot hurt me. “ Or something like that….

When we get mad and angry, we’re usually letting pride and self-righteousness rear their ugly heads in our thinking. The person who thinks they are better than another, smarter, or more intelligent is the one inclined to be offended. Their ego feels threatened. But the thought governed by Love responds with humility, wisdom, understanding, patience and temperance.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health, “Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you.” A panoply is a full suit of armor for a warrior. It’s impenetrable protection from the spears and arrows of the enemy.

Metaphysically speaking, insults, anger, unfair comments and their kin are the spears and arrows of those who might offend. When you have your armor on, though, they cannot reach you. They bounce off and fall harmlessly to the ground.

Our spiritual Teflon is a consciousness of Love that stays calm, composed, balanced, and stable regardless of what comments come our way. Evil does not stick to it.

Love is not afraid of other people’s ignorance. Love does not take an eye for an eye. Love does not condemn harshly, react unkindly or anger easily. Love is not impressed by arrogance or pride.

Love sees God in control, not humans. Love knows truth prevails. Love sees beyond the short term error to the long term truth. Love responds with love.

So, if any untoward remarks come ripping your direction today, fear not. You’re safe behind your spiritual Teflon. Maintain a pure consciousness of Love’s omnipotence and omnipresence, and any verbal or mental mess thrown at your awareness of Love will hit and simply slip off with no residue left behind.