Few subjects are of greater interest to the Christian Scientist than that of consciousness. Indeed, it is one to which every thoughtful person turns with the desire to arrive at a correct understanding of its origin and significance. Consciousness is a fact. Every one is aware of it. Take away that which is called consciousness, and existence to human sense would be annihilated. Consciousness is therefore fundamental.
Many hold that consciousness is a function of the so-called human mind. Thus, they believe themselves, or what they call their minds, to be conscious of the presence of matter or material objects, conscious of the form, weight, color, or other property of these objects. They also believe themselves to be conscious of moral and spiritual qualities. Not only so, they furthermore believe themselves to be conscious of mental qualities which they classify as immoral, evil, or unspiritual. That is to say, the so-called human mind claims to be conscious of material objects external to itself, as well as to be cognizant of right and wrong thoughts. Thus it is seen that mortals believe themselves to be in possession of a mind which can know both material things and spiritual ideas, which is conscious of both good and evil. That precisely is the point at which Christian Science finds mankind.
Now, Christian Science reveals the truth about real consciousness, and that in the simplest possible manner. Christian Science declares that there is only one divine Mind, and that this Mind is conscious of itself. This means that Mind, or God, is conscious of all that exists. But Mind's expression of itself is the spiritual universe or creation. Therefore, Mind is conscious of its entire creation of spiritual ideas. It follows that Mind and consciousness can never be separated. To epitomize the argument: God knows all; God is conscious of all: the spiritual creation of ideas is that of which God, divine Mind, is conscious.
But what of man? What of consciousness as it pertains to man? Here, again, Christian Science affords complete enlightenment. Man is tributary to God, divine Mind, as idea is tributary to Mind. To state it in terms of consciousness: Mind is conscious of man, His spiritual idea. There is, therefore, indissoluble unity between Mind and man; Mind and man are forever correlated through Mind's consciousness of man, His spiritual idea or creation.
The question may next arise, What about "man's consciousness"? From what has been said, it should be clear that there is only one real consciousness, that of divine Mind. And here comes in one of the most interesting truths of divine Science; namely, that the real or spiritual man reflects all the qualities of divine Mind, including real consciousness. On page 336 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy writes: "The spiritual man's consciousness and individuality are reflections of God. They are the emanations of Him who is Life, Truth, and Love." Whenever we consider real consciousness, then, we must do so in terms of God, divine Mind, if we would reach true conclusions. And the moment we begin to understand man as he really is, as the image and likeness of God, as the reflection of divine Mind, we begin to comprehend the fact that individual man expresses or reflects divine consciousness and no other.
As men learn the truth about real or true consciousness, they become aware that its nature is perfect. Since it is of God, it is always good; there is not the slightest taint of evil about it. Or. since God is conscious of all that really is, there cannot in reality be any consciousness of evil. The so-called consciousness of evil is, therefore, a lie of mortal mind, a lie of the "carnal mind," which, Paul said, "is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
Was ever more wonderful revelation given to mankind than this, that there is only one real consciousness, the consciousness which is spiritual, not material, the consciousness which knows good but not evil? This revelation has come to men to save them; for as soon as they gain some understanding of true spiritual consciousness and of the entirely fictitious nature of so-called material consciousness, they begin to see the way out of the false belief that matter or evil is real, gaining freedom from sin and disease by adhering to the true or real consciousness and rejecting false consciousness. "When we fully understand our relation to the Divine," writes Mrs. Eddy in Scienceand Health (pp. 205, 206), "we can have no other Mind but His,—no other Love, wisdom, or Truth, no other sense of Life, and no consciousness of the existence of matter or error." Then shall the prophecy of Jeremiah be fulfilled, "They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them."
Does the problem seem to human sense a formidable one? It may; but that does not make it really so. It is always the way of error to magnify itself. This is clearly seen when what mortal mind calls malignant disease is healed through the understanding of real consciousness. The trouble may have seemed very great, very persistent, very obvious to human sense; but let the erstwhile sufferer become conscious of real being, rejecting through his enlightened understanding the false beliefs of the supposititious or unreal consciousness, and healing must follow as surely as darkness vanishes before light.
"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." And Christian Science endows all who are humble enough and pure enough and willing enough to receive its message with a great measure of "the spirit which is of God;" or, to use the words of our revered Leader on page 276 of Science and Health, they learn to apprehend through it that "man and his Maker are correlated in divine Science, and real consciousness is cognizant only of the things of God."
