Realizing the value of a spiritual approach to life may begin meekly. It can start with having a sneaking suspicion that there is something fraudulent in the explanation of our existence as purely material. It certainly happened that way for me and many of the people I know. For me, this suspicion started as merely an intuition, but it was quite persistent and soon turned into a readiness to listen to new ideas. As I did so, I often found myself willing to question conventional material viewpoints and began reasoning from a spiritual basis.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of Christian Science, spoke of the need for thinkers to be willing to venture beyond the systems of the day, and affirmed that spiritually directed reasoning, starting from a higher premise, is an avenue for right thinking. She wrote in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Reason is the most active human faculty” and “For right reasoning there should be but one fact before the thought, namely, spiritual existence” (pp. 327, 492). I was learning that reasoning on the basis of the reality and supremacy of spiritual Life, Truth, and Love naturally frees thought, making one more courageous, joyous, and at peace.
I came to love this sense of “right reasoning” during my high school years, including a pivotal moment in a biology class.
