It can be very tempting to ask, “Body, how are you today?” to which the body may seem to reply, “Not very well!” However, I’ve learned in my study of Christian Science never to look to matter for evidence of well-being, because we live in God, Spirit, and are spiritual. In order to find out who and how we are, therefore, we must seek the spiritual evidence of our existence and well-being through Spirit—through prayer and spiritual understanding.
Turning thought to Spirit implies turning away from matter and material difficulties, as we pray to know more of God’s loving care, keeping us safe from disease or discord. Why can this seem hard to do at times?
It may be that we are trying to achieve this with the human mind. Yet, one of the names for God brought out in Christian Science is divine Mind, including all intelligence, volition, and action. Mary Baker Eddy, in her comprehensive book on understanding God and the mental nature of health, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, explains, “The Science of Mind-healing shows it to be impossible for aught but Mind to testify truly or to exhibit the real status of man” (p. 120). Matter, or a material sense of existence, has no intelligence to bear witness to “the real status of man.” Its apparent reports have a tendency, therefore, to be negative.
