In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy, describing man's birthright, says (p. 518), "His birthright is dominion, not subjection." With deep gratitude and in the hope my experience may help assure others it is never too late to take the steps necessary to claim this birthright, I offer this testimony.
My mother became interested in Christian Science when I was quite young, and in my teens I became deeply interested myself. I was finding mathematics and the natural sciences very appealing, and now I discovered that Christian Science was even more appealing because of its logic and its application to human problems. I found my understanding very valuable in my school and college work, and later in my career as a musician.
It was easy for me to think of God, Mind, as Principle and as a help in achieving my personal goals, but I overlooked the fact that Principle is Love, the source of all good, and that this Principle must be demonstrated in loving living. Eventually personal relationship situations developed that called for an understanding I did not seem to have. I did not turn to material medicine for physical healings, but I did yield to the temptation to smoke cigarettes for comfort and easing of tension. I had been an obedient child and young woman, so this indulgence was accompanied by a deep sense of guilt. I tried many times to overcome the habit, and stopped smoking twice; but in each case, after a year or so, a repetition of the emotional circumstances associated with the original turning to tobacco for satisfaction caused me to slip back into the habit. The sense of guilt was later compounded by social drinking.
