A while ago, I had a severe itching problem. I would wake up in the middle of the night and start uncontrollably scratching my hands, arms, and feet. I had sought help from several Christian Science practitioners, but I was also taking the material step of putting my hands in ice water, which brought only brief relief. At times I walked the house declaring out loud all the truths in Christian Science I could think of. One time my dear wife sang hymns from the Christian Science Hymnal to me, and I was able to get back to sleep.
I realized that this was a case of animal magnetism, the aggressive belief of intelligence in matter, claiming to be my own thinking, and it had to be handled in my thought, not through material remedies. One night, after plunging my hands into ice water, I had this passage from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy come to thought: “By trusting matter to destroy its own discord, health and harmony have been sacrificed” (p. 146).
I decided to stop turning to the ice water for relief and turn fully to God instead. Because the difficulty was so distracting, I didn’t feel I could pray for myself, and I again called a Christian Science practitioner for help. After a while, the irritation lessened. Finally I felt able to pray on my own again.
