It is just as important today as ever for us to capture our thoughts and discipline them until they coincide with the Christly standard of purity and spiritual power. In his second letter to the Corinthians the Apostle Paul describes Christian warfare as necessarily enlisting the power of divinely guided thought to pull down the enemy's strongholds. He writes of "casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." II Cor. 10:5;
Man, in reality, is spiritual, the subjective expression of God, divine Mind. Thus, the real man of God's creating can have only pure, perfect thoughts, as divine Mind's expression. But mortal mind, the false belief in material substance, life, and intelligence, appears to inflict its suggestions on whoever will take them in. In human consciousness both truth and error seem to present their credentials for acceptance. Yet these are opposites, and as we listen and pray diligently for divine direction it becomes consistently easier to choose between the two and make the right choice for truth.
We increase our spiritual understanding by practicing what we learn in Christian Science—by mentally rejecting suggestions of evil and accepting good as the fundamental truth of all existence. Spiritualized human consciousness results in healthier, happier human life. If one is to learn humanly something of the glorious harmony of Mind's creation, he needs to guard his thought well and continually strive to elevate it. Paul exhorted: "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Rom. 12:2;
If we agree with the scriptural passages that tell us God, Mind, is the supreme governing power and total presence, the entire universe, including man, can then be seen as Mind's reflection in and of itself, for there can be nothing external to that which is total—nothing outside of this one consciousness, or divine Ego. We can conclude that all reality is divinely subjective, a word generally descriptive of what originates and remains in consciousness.
"Even the human conception of beauty, grandeur, and utility," writes Mrs. Eddy, "is something that defies a sneer. It is more than imagination. It is next to divine beauty and the grandeur of Spirit. It lives with our earth-life, and is the subjective state of high thoughts." Miscellaneous Writings, p. 86; The beauties of the material universe give us only a hint of the perfection of spiritual reality. Yet every such indication of the real tells us that we can look beyond the symbol and find the actual and ideal. Our need is to recognize clearly our coexistence with God, our absolute inseparability from our creator, in whom "we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:28; Proportionately as this is done, the human consciousness approaches the divine, shedding fear for confidence and joy, lack for abundance, and sickness for health.
Christ Jesus was consistently aware of his oneness with God, and this enabled him through his reflection of divine intelligence to recognize instantly that evil was not God-created, and therefore was without a source, or creator. This also enabled him to nullify the belief in evil as real, in whatever form it seemed to appear—as sin, lack, temptation, fear, disease, or even death. By spiritualizing our thought and humbly following our Saviour's great example, you and I can emulate his mighty works as he said we should.
In 1897 a student of Mrs. Eddy's named James Neal received a letter from her which offered tender guidance for spiritual growth through high thoughts. She wrote to him: "Oh may the Love that looks on you and all guide your every thought and act up to the impersonal, spiritual model that is the only ideal—and constitutes the only scientific Healer. . . . Pray daily, never miss praying, no matter how often: 'Lead me not into temptation,'—scientifically rendered,—Lead me not to lose sight of strict purity, clean pure thoughts; let all my thoughts and aims be high, unselfish, charitable, meek,—spiritually minded." Lyman P. Powell, Mary Baker Eddy: A Life Size Portrait (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society, 1950), p. 316.
He responded faithfully to her instructions and became a Christian Science practitioner, authorized teacher, and a devoted member of The Christian Science Board of Directors of The Mother Church.
There are many areas where current thinking could well be upgraded. Take, for example, one's thoughts about other religious denominations. While being convinced that divine Science is the promised Comforter, we would do well to consider the great good prevalent in other churches and be grateful for it.
One day I pondered this subject and listed what I felt was the outstanding quality of several religious denominations I had worked with over the years. Each one seemed to express its goodness in a unique manner. The qualities showing up on the list were devotion, perseverance, dedication, compassion, thoughtfulness, reverence, and faith. These obviously are God-derived qualities characteristic of the teachings of Christian Science, too; but they certainly are not the exclusive property of the Scientist. Our recognition of the fine qualities of others brings the consciousness of more good into our thought, and may even improve others' opinions of Christian Science.
Humanity needs to understand that no matter how bad the human picture seems to be, its healing involves the necessity for correcting and uplifting the thought that produced the picture. As the thought is purified the body is made whole and healthy. We need to persevere in the affirmation of man as spiritual, reflecting Mind's pure faculties, governed by Principle, cared for by Love, and forever dwelling in Mind, which is Spirit. This is high thinking.
Healing comes with high thought in proportion to our acknowledgment of the reality of the good and spiritual and the consequent unreality of the evil and material. We have the God-given power to purify our human sense of things until we perceive this truth clearly and reap the benefits of so doing. The loftier and purer our thoughts and lives, the easier and speedier our healing will be.
Practical application is the test of one's level of thought. By realizing clearly that every inharmony is but a fabrication of a pseudo, nonexistent mind we can unveil in consciousness the beauty and holiness of the real universe of Mind's creating, which was previously hidden from view. By perceiving and acknowledging that all the real is divinely subjective, governed by God, we become conscious of man's perfection as the totally spiritual idea of infinite Mind, reflecting Mind's goodness, wholeness, and purity. This is the man God created, His manifestation, His idea, His flawless representative.
When we pray for ourselves or another, such high thinking leads to knowing the truth of God's eternal creation. We realize that it isn't the body, the business, or the bank account that needs healing; it is a false picture in mortal mind that needs to be corrected. We can rejoice that we have right now the spiritual understanding to accomplish this correction, for we are the sons and daughters of infinite, ever-present, divine intelligence, God.
This is effective high thought.
