The desire to enter the public practice of Christian Science is truly a right desire, motivated by a deep love for God. It is rooted in compassion for mankind, and flows forth in true prayer from gratitude for good received.
When this desire begins to unfold in the consciousness of the individual, it should be cherished, cultivated, and protected. To cherish and cultivate this new idea, this higher unfoldment, is always a joy. To protect it from the claims of animal magnetism is vital.
Animal magnetism is the supposititious claim that good can be opposed, delayed, or resisted. It would attempt to obstruct or thwart every right activity. The student of Christian Science contemplating the public practice needs to recognize the necessity to guard his thinking against the lying, mesmeric suggestions the carnal mind puts forth in an effort to deter him from his healing mission. He does this through his radical reliance on the divine Mind. He accepts this Mind as the only Mind, the inexhaustible source of infinite good.
