Healing can result through obedience to the Manual of The Mother Church.
In the Manual Mrs. Eddy gives the members of her Church this By-Law, entitled "Alertness to Duty": "It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind. By his works he shall be judged,—and justified or condemned." Man., Art. VIII, Sect. 6;
As one reasons from the basis of the allness and goodness of the one, universal, divine Mind and recognizes his true, spiritual selfhood as the likeness of this Mind, he can behold himself, not as a limited mortal, struggling to cope with problems, but as the spiritually enlightened reflection, or idea, of this one Mind, divine Love. Through spiritual alertness he can detect and cast off aggressive mental suggestions that would delay healing or attempt to slow his spiritual progress. His diligent study and practice of God's spiritual laws, as revealed in Christian Science, together with his obedience to the wise By-Laws of the Manual, enable him to develop an impenetrable spiritual defense. With the Psalmist he can say of God, "He is my defence; I shall not be moved." Ps. 62:6;
Sometimes we may unwittingly open our thought to aggressive mortal suggestions because of our concern for someone dear to us. Not long ago I learned that a close relative, not a Christian Scientist, was mentally ill. Her condition was considered incurable. Momentarily, my sympathy for this relative caused me to forget to be alert. But in the past I had received such great spiritual support from being obedient to the Manual, and had been so much helped, especially in times of stress, by "Alertness to Duty" that I immediately began to pray for myself—that is, to affirm God's omnipotence, and His ever-present love governing me and all. Since there is only one Mind, God, one can know he does not have a mind apart from this Mind, and that he cannot "be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind."
Blessings and healings can come abundantly to the student of this beautiful and practical Science, but at the same time he is required to be mentally vigilant. The obtrusive, material claims of disaster, disease, and suffering, which pour out via the mass media, are illusions of human belief, entirely outside the realm of the divine Mind, the only true consciousness. We need not fear these suggestions of error, nor fear that we can be influenced to attribute to them activity or power. Identifying ourselves as reflections of divine Mind, we cannot be fooled into believing that discord is the product of our own thinking, nor can we be "made to forget" our duty to be spiritually aware of man's total freedom, as God's idea, from evil of every sort.
Evil mental suggestions are spoken of in the Bible as Satan, red dragon, and liar—a term used by Christ Jesus. Referring to the devil he declared, "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." John 8:44;
But because Jesus was so secure in the knowledge of his oneness with God, he could say, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." 14:30; Suggestions of evil did come to Jesus, but there was nothing in his pure, spiritual selfhood to respond to them. He disclaimed a mind apart from God, the one Mind or Ego. Jesus didn't affirm the oneness, or unity, of God and man for himself alone, but for all mankind for all time.
As I continued in prayerful contemplation of the Bible and Mrs. Eddy's writings, I felt God's loving presence. As if it was a benediction to my prayers, the words of a hymn from the Christian Science Hymnal came to thought: "Then, brother man, fold to thy heart thy brother, For where love dwells, the peace of God is there." Hymnal, No. 217; I heard the clock strike five, but I had found peace and went quietly to sleep. I arose at my usual hour, feeling refreshed and free from anxiety concerning my relative.
Not long thereafter I had occasion to return home and went to visit this relative, who resides in a retirement home. When I entered her room, she greeted me in a joyous, normal manner. She said, "I really feel as if I've awakened from a bad dream. There were days when I couldn't remember what went on, but I am feeling like myself now." And indeed she was, and is, for her thinking has remained clear, and she is able to take care of herself in a very dependable way.
Our impenetrable spiritual defense is God, divine Mind. And our alertness to duty, as set forth in the Manual, helps us to demonstrate this fact. "Of this I am sure," writes Mrs. Eddy, "that each Rule and By-law in this Manual will increase the spirituality of him who obeys it, invigorate his capacity to heal the sick, to comfort such as mourn, and to awaken the sinner." The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 230.
