Some people believe that the machines touching our days—television, home appliances, factory installations, computers, and cars, to mention a few—have an almost self-contained, objective existence. That they are governed by their own laws and may be subject to capricious behavior. If we look at machines in this way, then they may be troublesome.
On the other hand, if we look into the true, spiritual nature of reality and apply what we see, our useful machines will become more useful and reliable. We will employ them more intelligently. Repair procedures will be simplified, and preventive maintenance will become more effective. In a word, we will prove that scientific prayer can heal even mechanical problems.
To take the first step in this direction we have to recognize that a machine is a mental construct. As a human invention, it is an offshoot of mortal mind—a distorted and severely limited phenomenon evolved within mortal consciousness. It can never become an independent entity. Mrs. Eddy gives insight into this when she writes, "A mill at work or the action of a water-wheel is but a derivative from, and continuation of, the primitive mortal mind." Science and Health, p. 399;
