The French philosopher Descartes once wrote, "I think, therefore I am." This simple but profound statement touches the fringes of a tremendous fact—that not a physical body, but consciousness, is the real identity of man. But what is consciousness? What is the individual identity that is aware of itself and of the universe around it?
Christian Science solves the riddle of conscious existence by revealing that spiritual man is the reflection, or individualization, of the I AM that is God. This Science reveals the divine Mind to be All, total, and therefore the life, substance, and intelligence of its entire creation.
On page 30 of "Retrospection and Introspection," Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes: "It is often asked why Christian Science was revealed to me as one intelligence, analyzing, uncovering, and annihilating the false testimony of the physical senses. Why was this conviction necessary to the right apprehension of the invincible and infinite energies of Truth and Love, as contrasted with the foibles and fables of finite mind and material existence."
