In speaking of the vision of a new heaven and a new earth which John beheld on the Isle of Patmos, Mrs. Eddy writes on page 573 of Science and Health: "This testimony of Holy Writ sustains the fact in Science, that the heavens and earth to one human consciousness, that consciousness which God bestows, are spiritual, while to another, the unillumined human mind, the vision is material." Here "that consciousness which God bestows" is contrasted with "the unillumined human mind," to which the heavens and earth are material.
It is an elementary teaching of Christian Science that every individual possesses a spiritual consciousness, or spiritual sense, derived from God, Soul, which he can express here and now. This spiritual consciousness which the individual expresses in his present experience is his true human consciousness, "that consciousness which God bestows." This illumined consciousness, or spiritual sense, remains forever the same, because God is its source. It reflects the Mind of which St. Paul spoke when he said (Phil. 2:5), "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
The spiritualized human consciousness is a priceless possession. Everyone desires it. How, then, does one manifest it? By expressing the things that really constitute it. Since spiritual sense is a manifestation of Spirit, we express this sense as we express the things of Spirit, namely the graces of Spirit, or Christly qualities, such as meekness, purity, integrity, understanding, intelligence, and unselfed love. In other words, these qualities manifested in one's human experience constitute the human "consciousness which God bestows." They indicate one's true character and being, the sinless humanhood, which all must attain. We are receptive to these qualities and express them here and now in proportion to our purity and freedom from sin and materiality.
