Under the marginal heading "Spiritualized consciousness" on page 14 of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy declares: "Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,— neither in nor of matter,—and the body will then utter no complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love."
We see, then, that in order to demonstrate the healing power of Christian Science it is necessary to rid oneself of material thinking and spiritualize one's consciousness. This requires claiming individual at-one-ment with God and awakening to one's spiritual existence as the perfect child of perfect Deity, without blemish, without lack of any nature, without discord of any kind.
To spiritualize our consciousness, we must admit into our thinking only the spiritual sense of existence. We must rise above the material, or earthy, to the spiritual, or heavenly, sense of being. In times of distress we may find ourselves crying out with the Psalmist, "O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles" (Ps. 43:3). But the prayer that heals in Christian Science is more than longing or yearning or petitioning for the good and perfect gifts that God is continually pouring forth. It consists of strong and vigorous affirmations of the truths that we have learned from the Bible and from Science and Health of God and of man in His likeness. Realization of the presence of Christ, Truth, and the power of Spirit constitutes true prayer.
