UNFOLDMENT should be a subject of universal interest, because unfoldment is inherent in all ideas. We see unfoldment illustrated in such fields of activity as illumination, transportation, communication, and in business and social services. Observing the unfolding processes in nature, the student is aware that these reflect law and order.
What is it that true, spiritual unfoldment reveals or brings to light? It is God's creation, the unfolding of His pure and perfect ideas. Mary Baker Eddy says in the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (pp. 502, 503:) "There is but one creator and one creation. This creation consists of the unfolding of spiritual ideas and their identities, which are embraced in the infinite Mind and forever reflected."
God's ideas of necessity partake of the nature of their source or cause, for like produces like. Ideas are not embraced in matter, nor are they subject to matter's blight, stagnation, uselessness, decay. Spiritual ideas emanate from God, divine Mind, and are forever reflected in His creation. They are embraced in Soul, God, and are obedient to the omniactive laws of Spirit, which express only perfection, continuity, usefulness, fulfillment. Any appearance to the contrary is an illusion of material sense, not the reality of being.
The Master, Christ Jesus, constantly drew object lessons from nature to illustrate spiritual truths. On one occasion he said to his disciples (Matt. 6:28, 29), "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
A student of Christian Science was able to consummate a satisfactory sale of a piece of property, said to be difficult to sell, by the spiritual inspiration gained while watching the miracle of the unfoldment of a magnolia blossom. For weeks she had observed the buds in various stages of development and had gathered the blossoms as they appeared. But she had never witnessed the actual unfolding process, and this she longed to see.
Sitting on the balcony of her home one day, studying, she was impelled to lift her gaze to the young magnolia tree a few yards away. To her great joy she saw that a bud, ripe for the process, was just beginning to unfold. The first petal to move out from the bud lay in the sunlight, and it opened fully in a few minutes; whereas the second one, on the opposite side, lay in the shade and unfolded more slowly.
In stately rhythm, one petal after the other opened out until the blossom in all its perfection and beauty was revealed. The process was effortless but not lawless; spontaneous but not abrupt. The real symmetry of form, delicacy of color, and exquisite texture transcended the mere sensuous beauty of the material flower; they pointed to the divine Principle that shapes all reality.
When the light of Truth shines on one who has been in darkness regarding a problem of supply or sickness, or who has experienced inharmony of any sort, then the true idea of man and the universe unfolds in consciousness and demonstration follows. This unfoldment is not gained by one's struggling to overcome obstacles; rather is it gained by lifting thought to receive the ever-present light of Truth, which dispels all suggestions of obstruction.
In gratitude for the privilege granted her of sharing in the unfoldment of the magnolia blossom, the student paused to draw some lessons from the experience. She reflected that all that now lay revealed in the blossom had been there in the tiny bud. The unfoldment came when the time was ripe for it. In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy says (p. 506), "Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear."
Unformed thoughts are unfolded to us as we study the Bible and the writings of Mrs. Eddy with the help of the Concordances to these inspired works. The unfoldment that comes from such consecrated study reveals God's purpose for His children and for His lesser ideas to be wholly good. As we listen for divine guidance when human footsteps must be taken, unformed thoughts take form naturally and are expressed intelligently and lovingly.
On page 135 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says, "The miracle introduces no disorder, but unfolds the primal order, establishing the Science of God's unchangeable law." Perhaps one is striving to progress out of some inharmonious condition. Perhaps, according to so-called material law, stagnation and obstruction seem real to him because nothing else is apparent to the physical senses. Such a one can lift up his eyes to behold God's law of unchanging good in operation and experience the "miracle" of scientific demonstration.
Examining the buds and blossoms more closely in their various stages of development, the Christian Scientist was interested to note that the sepals constituting the calyx of the flower served to enclose and protect the petals until they were ready to open. Then the sepals opened with the blossom. Human thought must be protected as spiritual ideas unfold.
True unfoldment reflects law, not anarchy; continuity, not capriciousness; rhythm, not want of balance. Unfoldment cannot be forced by the use of human will or ignorant means. If such methods be attempted, the results will be temporary at best, and often there will be a whole train of unlovely consequences.
Each part of the magnolia blossom gives evidence of Soul's infinite purpose and protective power. The petals securely anchored to the stalk are designed to withstand the force of the wind. When we have learned to anchor ourselves securely in Principle, no so-called mortal mind force can destroy or even delay God's purpose for us. Had the buds failed to open, they would have acted in conflict with the natural law of unfoldment, the law of spiritual integrity, which demands fulfillment.
Applying the lessons learned from observing the law of unfoldment as nature reveals it to us, we may prove their value in human experience. The mortal mind suggestion that there is a law that certain problems take a long time to solve or the suggestion that progress in the solution of them can be interrupted because of material conditions can be proved to be false.
Acknowledging the truth that divine Principle, Love, is ever present and always in operation removes obstacles from the path of progress. In Mind, where all of God's ideas dwell, there are no obstacles, no cessation of harmonious unfoldment, no break in the rhythm of Spirit. Similarly, there is no obstacle to the free, unfettered operation of the law of supply and demand when this law is viewed in the light of unfolding good.
When we awaken to the fact that divine law governs every situation, then the problem, whatever its nature, can be solved, and we witness demonstration. This is what took place in the experience of the student who had her property for sale. The family who bought the property felt it was exactly what they wanted. The human unfoldment came shortly after the light of Truth burst upon her waiting thought, and it expressed order and beauty such as she also saw evidenced in the unfolding of the magnolia blossom.
To thus witness the law of unfoldment in operation and to ponder the lessons it holds for us is a priceless experience that assures growth in spiritual understanding and progress in human undertakings.
