BACK IN THE 1990s while living in Dubai—and before discovering Christian Science and the joys of Truth—I heard that hypertension was hereditary. With both my parents suffering from this ailment, I was not too surprised when I was diagnosed with the same illness. I had frequent headaches and sleepless nights, and after numerous visits to our family doctor, he prescribed medication that finally seemed to suit me. I was warned that I had to take these pills every day or the repercussions would be grim.
I had been skimming through Science and Health ever since a copy was presented to me by an uncle and aunt in Bombay, but I never really understood or accepted the idea that I was complete and perfect—because I was God's idea. It was only during a visit with them that I witnessed the freedom of understanding the truth of my identity. In what was supposed to be an enjoyable family evening, I suddenly came down with severe stomach pain. As I was frantically trying to contact our doctor, my uncle quietly asked me to relax—while he prayed. The healing was almost instantaneous. And so was my "awakening." If a short prayer could get rid of the stomach pain, surely wasn't it time to end my servitude to the medication I had been taking for years to control my blood pressure?
I called up my uncle, who was by then a Journal-listed Christian Science practitioner, and told him I wanted to undergo prayer treatment for the hypertension. Sensing my apprehension to immediately forgo my daily dose of pills, he simply asked me to pray—and said that he would, too—explaining that God, one Mind, would let me know my complete readiness and receptivity, for "ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
