You may feel you are ready to enter the public practice of Christian Science, and desire to do this above all else. You may wish to help mankind find a better way of life, to show people how to have a practical and healing understanding of God, and above all, to free individuals of the ills and discords that seem to beset them.
If so, you can know that you reflect the wisdom and strength of God to overcome any negative suggestions that may present themselves as obstructions to this right desire. And when they are overcome, you will be able to move forward under God's guidance to find a very satisfying and successful career in the healing work.
Negative fears and suggestions that may try to beset one entering the public practice of Christian Science are impersonal. They are mortal mind's, evil's, attempt to hold back the further appearing of the healing Christ on the human scene. The spiritual understanding of the powerlessness of mortal mind removes these suggestions from one's consciousness. Then with the conviction that one is God-authorized to heal, he can go forward.
To one contemplating the public practice acquiring patients may seem a challenging thing. How does one work in Science to attract patients? One must have it very clear that he's not in the practice primarily to get patients. His practice is what he is knowing of God and man. His main job is to keep developing his own understanding of being, to keep refining his expression of the divine qualities, to become more and more conscious that God, Spirit, is All and that matter is nonexistent. And as his consciousness is elevated spiritually, he will attract people to him who are in need of the understanding he is acquiring. The practitioner's prayer should not be to get patients but to get more understanding.
The practitioner needs to see that in his real being he's dwelling in spiritual reality and not in a material universe of suffering mortals. In reality, he is existing as a perfect spiritual idea, possessing the Mind that is God, knowing no evil, no sin, ill health, or death. He is confronted only by spiritual ideas of God, all perfect, all controlled by God, all free, untouched by any form of materiality—therefore lacking nothing. The clear view of God's spiritual universe acts as a beacon light to inspire individuals to call upon the practitioner for help.
He also needs to see that as the reflection of the one Mind, he is constantly as active as Mind is active. Every quality of God is expressed in man. God never stops expressing Himself in man. In reality, the expression of these qualities constitutes man's only activity. As the practitioner sees this, opportunities will abound for him to help others. The expression of God's qualities is continuous and it's inexhaustible; it never stops. The opportunities to use these qualities in helping others are abundant.
It is important that the practitioner be obedient to Mrs. Eddy's statement, "You have simply to preserve a scientific, positive sense of unity with your divine source, and daily demonstrate this." Pulpit and Press, p. 4; If one is preserving a sense of unity with his source, he is conscious of God, His universe, and the activity of His being. He's not thinking about sick mortals, and he's not expecting to hear from sick mortals. His thought is focused on the allness of God and he delights in knowing the spiritual universe to be the all and only universe.
The practitioner should watch never to lower his thought from this altitude to wondering where the patients are or why the phone isn't ringing. The clearer he sees his oneness, his inseparable relationship, with God the more he will find a demand being placed upon him to help others. But he must never look to persons for his employment.
The practitioner needs to be alert to handle—see as powerless and unreal—the suggestions of animal magnetism, or evil, which would try to keep his thought earth-bound As he sees that there is only one Mind, which fills all space, that this is the only presence and the only source of thought that exists, and that man is purely a spiritual reflection of this Mind, possessing only the thoughts that come from God, he will defend his consciousness from the belief that there are many minds that can transmit evil thoughts to deter him from the activity of expressing God. Animal magnetism must be seen as nonexistent. Because there is only one Mind everywhere, there is no source for evil mortal thinking anywhere. The practitioner needs to constantly stay alert to reject suggestions that might try to argue otherwise. This is a very definite part of his daily practice. His success in doing this determines to a large extent his success as a public practitioner.
Another suggestion of fear that might whisper to one desiring to enter the public practice of Christian Science is, "What if I get a case I can't heal?" This suggestion would try to reach the thought of those that are the most conscientious and who have the greatest love for mankind. One needs to see that the activity of the practice is going on primarily within his consciousness, not outside.
If the practitioner knows he's under the government of God, it would be impossible for a case to come to him that he didn't have the understanding to heal, because it's his understanding and spirituality, his reflection of Spirit, Mind, that attracts the case. No case comes by chance if one sees what the practice really is. Christ Jesus affirmed this when he spoke of the spiritual source and power of his teaching, which all could not receive, and added, "Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father." John 6:65;
Mortal mind might present the suggestion to a practitioner that the physical evidence of a difficulty is alarming and more than he can take care of. Jesus said something that can be a great help at a time like this. When the sisters of Lazarus sent word to him that Lazarus was ill, he said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." 11: 4; The practitioner, reassured by Jesus' words, can take the wind out of error's sails. His fear will subside, and he can stand easy—see and acknowledge the activity and glory of God. This results in healing.
The material evidence of illness or discord is merely mortal mind saying, "I'm tempting you to believe that God is not All." The job of the practitioner is to refute the argument of mortal mind, to stay with what he knows is true of God and man. Then he won't be tempted to try to heal matter, but will instead abide confidently in his understanding of man's perfection. He will be so convinced of what God and man are that he will be able to nullify the arguments being presented to him and not be tempted to believe that they are real.
A practitioner should never accept error as true. He can be so convinced of what is true in reality that he will not allow himself to be affected by evidence of discord. If one keeps his thought on the truth of being there is no room in consciousness to accept the suggestions of evil.
Another fear that might suggest itself to those thinking of entering the public practice is, "How will I make a living?" One needs to see that his supply has always been in spiritual qualities and ideas. These constitute his true substance. They have always sustained him and always will. Man could never lack this substance for an instant and still be man. God, who is infinite substance, can never lack; neither can man, His reflection. God, Love, is always sustaining His idea.
Recognizing this truth, the practitioner does not look to patients for his supply. He looks to God. The more that he comprehends and accepts the true facts and isn't tempted to look to some material source, the more evidence he will see of Love's overflowing provision for man.
Fear stems from the belief that there are opposing powers to God. As one maintains a deep awareness of his inseparability from his divine source and dismisses as unreal the concept of opposite powers or forces, he will not look outside of his own consciousness for anything. As he sees that because God is omnipresent he reflects infinite good continuously, he will not be afraid that by doing God's work he can lose the wherewithal to live satisfactorily.
As the fear of evil's suggestions diminishes, one desiring to be a public practitioner of Christian Science will hear God's direction clearly. We read in Isaiah, "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." Isa. 30:21. Then with courage and love he will go forward into a most satisfying activity.
