LIKE MANY OF HIS FELLOW STUDENTS AT THE University of California, Berkeley, in the mid-1960s, Brian Talcott experienced an awakening. He realized that, rather than simply accept the status quo, he and his peers could use their speech and actions to help transform the world. But unlike many of his fellow students, Brian experienced an awakening that was more than merely political. The real revolution in his thought, he says, was spiritual.
"I saw that there was a deeper level on which you had to reach humanity to really make a difference," Brian explains. "And that deeper level was prayer. It was Christian Science. That's why I got so involved."
Involved meant, for example, joining with other Christian Scientists on campus to staff a table on Sproul Plaza, the hub of student activity and site of many a rally. Wedged between the young Socialists and the young Republicans, Brian and his cohorts shared Christian Science literature and answered questions about their beliefs—part of an effort to make a difference on that deeper level.
