Ever since I can remember, my eyes were extremely sensitive to bright sunlight. Sunglasses were of little help, and I just plain avoided such things as being on a lake or driving a car on bright days. But after taking class instruction in Christian Science I began to understand that the sun symbolizes Soul, God, who controls and governs man and the universe. Also, I understood more clearly that man is not a material being subject to possibly too much or too little light. Instead, man is spiritual, and he reflects the light or intelligence of divine Mind, which gives him power over all the earth. As a result of this spiritualization of thought, I no longer suffer from bright light, and I have been able to enjoy the activities I mentioned above, in comfort.
I was painfully shy as a child. When I took up the study of Christian Science, I found that divine Love's idea, man, is always satisfied. I gradually stopped feeling I was expressing a finite personal self, and I began to express more of the love of God, which embraces all mankind. This has helped me to develop greater self-confidence and an ability to discern the needs of others.
At one point, my jaw would slip out of joint when I chewed or spoke, and also one of my knees became difficult to bend. Both of these conditions were entirely healed as my conviction grew that the divine Mind is the substance of man—I could see that my true being was fixed in perfection. God, good, is unchanging Principle. An understanding of this gave me the specific spiritual ideas needed in order to be normally flexible and to meet changing human conditions and circumstances.
