IN THE FALL OF my sophomore year in college, I had one of the busiest weeks of my life. I had volunteered to help at a debate tournament for an entire weekend, which would be followed by a full week of projects, papers, and tests. By evening of the first day, my arms and legs began to itch. I thought nothing of it, since it was a dry winter day, and I continued scratching. However, as the day went on, I noticed that my stomach began to itch too and that strange welts or bumps were spreading over my body. So later that night, when the tournament was done for the day, I called a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me.
The main thing the practitioner told me was to not give so much attention to the physical condition. By focusing on scratching, I was giving in to a belief that there is mortal mind apart from God and acknowledging its presence.
I made a whole-hearted effort to keep from scratching, and instead focused on the idea that a material condition could not distract or irritate me in any way. Nevertheless, the itching continued and my efforts to not scratch kept me awake all night until early morning, when I had to return to help at the tournament.
