On pages 14 and 15 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, are statements which serve as sure guides, enabling one who seeks, to find a blessed sense of communion with God. Obedience to these counsels will establish that confident sense of oneness with God which enabled Jesus to say, "I and my Father are one," and to prove its power. One sentence in particular points the right way to the attainment of perfect being, as ordained of God, namely(p. 15), "In the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings, we must deny sin and plead God's allness." Inspired by a heartfelt desire and a sincere willingness to leave all for Christ, we find the first "sin" to be denied is belief that matter is real, and that man is material. Belief in materiality alone seems to separate us from God. The belief that the image of Spirit, God, appears in material form is a very evident falsity. Man is like God, and between God and man there is neither separation nor division.
One who was striving to work out a perplexing problem received a message that certainly emanated from divine Mind, bringing immediate enlightenment and help. It was this: "Stop trying to live with a mortal or as a mortal." That must needs be done. In truth we live only with God's ideas, and as God's ideas. As we realize this eternal truth, even partially, it removes mountains of bewilderment and criticism.
It is needful for all to find and become acquainted with their true selfhood, with what man really is, instead of what mortals think he is; and only in "the quiet sanctuary" can this be accomplished. It is in the silence of true thinking, when the intrusiveness of mortal belief is stilled, that one gains peace, control, and firm confidence in one's higher and better self. To gain this is worth persistent effort and consecration.
