In my early years of the study of Christian Science, I had many fine healings. But there was one major problem that had not been healed. I asked a good friend to help me. What she said made a tremendous impression on me. It changed completely the way I was praying. She said, "Let's get to the core of this case."
This startled me. I began to see that I should not scatter my fire—that is, simply pray in such general terms. I saw I had to get to the root of whatever it was that claimed to be the so-called cause of the ailment. It was what was in thought that mattered. As I prayed, I began to zero in on a sense of void, a feeling of emptiness, in my thinking. I could see that the problem was really nothing more than that. Within a month, what I had been praying to accomplish for several years came about. I understood spiritually that the sense of void was a lie about the spiritual completeness that had always been mine, as God's cherished child—as God's idea. The admission that nothing could ever happen to the completeness and well-being that I reflected from God brought about the quick healing.
The "core" of every case involves some phase of material-mindedness, perhaps fear, resentment, tension, and so forth—something that claims to interrupt the true harmony of being. It's important to be alert to the kind of thoughts we identify with, especially in our relationship with others or to our circumstances. The false belief that we've been born into matter and that we're dominated by it should not be overlooked. If there is a belief in heredity or sensualism, or a belief that discordant symptoms are the cause of the trouble (instead of the effect of wrong thinking) this, too, needs to be taken into account. In short, anything that promotes the erroneous belief that there is a mind or power separate from God has a bearing on the case. We need to understand spiritually, and demonstrate in sufficient degree, that God alone is power and He alone is the Mind that each one of us reflects as distinct individuality.
