Some ten years ago, out of the fullness of a grateful heart, I sent to our periodicals a testimony of the instantaneous healing of an infectious disease which included many so-called material laws of a discouraging character. This purification was as permanent as it was prompt, and is still bearing the fruits of righteousness. In that testimony I remember quoting Mrs. Eddy's statement from "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 263), "Carnal beliefs defraud us." During these intervening years I have been seeing more clearly the unreality of carnal beliefs, and in the measure in which I have been willing to correct them I have been blessed with signs following—physical and mental healing.
One carnal belief was hereditary headache. As I studied Christian Science and applied what I understood, the headaches lessened in frequency and intensity, and when I discovered that they only came after I had indulged in self-pity and resentment it was quite clear that these two beliefs were indeed defrauders not to be entertained or credited for one instant; then the headaches ceased altogether. Thus I can honestly say that I have not only been healed, but that the healing is permanent, for I know now that no circumstance can provide a reason for self-pity, since God's child inherits all of good, of love, of joy, and this knowledge has forever eradicated such falsehoods as the evils named.
It was after a couple of years of honest effort to abide by the rules of Christian Science that I realized that foot trouble of many years' standing had disappeared, and that the healing of a false sense of self-reliance which had preceded the physical betterment was my real cause for rejoicing. To know that I could discern even this seemingly good human quality as a carnal belief and to be grateful that I had some knowledge of how to rely on divine Mind only, since I had no selfhood apart from His infinite wisdom and intelligence, was indeed a foretaste of heaven, which Mrs. Eddy defines in the Glossary of Science and Health (p. 587) thus: "Heaven. Harmony; the reign of Spirit; government by divine Principle; spirituality; bliss; the atmosphere of Soul."
