OUR WORLD has been going through a period of great disunity. We see it between nations and within nations, as well as within business, family relationships, educational and other institutions, and even within church. In short, the world belief of disunity or a division of thought is clamoring for acceptance.
Why are we confronted with this challenge of disunity in so many aspects of our lives and in virtually all parts of the globe? One answer might be: the failure to handle what is called animal magnetism. That is, the failure to recognize that what appears as disunity or imperfection is not a real condition but merely a false concept, a lie acting mesmerically in human consciousness. So to meet the problem, we must deal with animal magnetism.
What is animal magnetism?
To understand just what animal magnetism is, it can be helpful to first define the words: error, animal magnetism, aggressive mental suggestion, and mental malpractice. Error is a term used to indicate the suppositional absence of truth or reality. Obviously it is suppositional because it is impossible to have real unreality or unreal reality. Animal magnetism is not something real. It is only a term used to indicate that error, the supposed absence of truth, has the power to act, to do something. But how could that which is not do anything? It cannot. It only seems to do so. How? By presenting a false suggestion. Aggressive mental suggestion is the means through which animal magnetism seems to act. But this too is only a term. Mental malpractice is the seeming effect or result of accepting aggressive mental suggestions. Because animal magnetism's suggestions come to us in the guise of our own thinking, we must be alert to detect them when they are presented to us. Mary Baker Eddy instructed us, "Stand porter at the door of thought." Science and Health, 392.
Jesus refused to accept false suggestions. He said, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." John 14:30. If we refuse to admit a suggestion into our consciousness, then animal magnetism cannot touch us.
Psychiatrists who have made a study of hypnosis appear to agree with Mrs. Eddy's assertion that being hypnotized is the result of accepting a false suggestion into one's consciousness. If we entertain the false suggestion, then we have been hypnotized into seeing, feeling, or hearing the false state as reality. No wonder Mrs. Eddy admonished, "It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion ..." Manual of the Mother Church, p.42. However, if we open the door to a false suggestion and admit it into our consciousness, the false suggestion becomes what we classify as a "false belief." But even if we allow it to become a false belief, the truth can destroy it.
A sure defense
So how do we deal with animal magnetism? By recognizing its nothingness. Remember, it is not a real entity. It is only a term. Handling animal magnetism is not defending oneself against a real, spooky, evil power. Rather, it means defending our thinking from accepting a false suggestion that such a power is real.
What does handling animal magnetism have to do with disunity? Machiavelli cited the ancient political maxim, "divide and rule." This has been rendered in various forms, including Jesus' statement, "If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." Mark 3:25.
We need to be alert to refute the suggestions of animal magnetism that follow the familiar tactic of "divide and conquer." We reject the false suggestion of disunity as we hold to the basic teaching of Christian Science that there is only one Being, comprised of God and His creation. Christian Scientists understand God to be divine Mind. Man is not a little piece or quantity of God. God and man are one in quality, one in being, but distinct as cause and effect, Mind and idea.
There can be no separation between Mind and its idea. An idea is never separated from the Mind that thinks it. Hence, there is no time or space division between God and man. The basis for unity is the great truth of man's oneness with God.
Animal magnetism is powerless to put asunder what God has joined together. The healing practice of Christian Science can be stated in terms of the unity, yet distinctness, of Mind and idea, God and man. As you and I recognize our unity with God we find our unity with one another.
The truth is that we reflect the one, perfect Mind as our Mind. We think as God causes us to think. Thus, there are not two minds in conflict, or even two minds that are in agreement. There is only one Mind, God, being reflected individually by each person.
The power of oneness
What are some of the false suggestions of animal magnetism that would attempt to divide and destroy? Perhaps one of the most obvious is the suggestion that the one divine Mind can be divided into many separate minds, each having its own degree of intelligence. To accept this false suggestion is to open the door to disunity.
Science and Health states, "The exterminator of error is the great truth that God, good, is the only Mind." Science and Health, p.469. Why does the one Mind exterminate error? Because animal magnetism would try to gain access to our consciousness by acting in the guise of our mind. But the one divine Mind exterminates the belief that there is another mind apart from God to think erroneously, to hypnotize or be hypnotized.
The truth is that we reflect the one, perfect Mind as our Mind. We think as God causes us to think. Thus, there are not two minds in conflict, or even two minds that are in agreement. There is only one Mind, God, being reflected individually by each person. Since there is only one Mind, we must be reflecting the same all-knowing Mind that Jesus reflected. There isn't any other mind to reflect. That is thrilling!
To have no other mind than God, the universal intelligence, annihilates all claims that evil is mind, a person, place, or thing, and destroys the work of animal magnetism that suggests a disunity of minds. The one divine Mind precludes fragmentation and provides the basis for unification of men and nations. This hastens the time when all men will be of "one accord in one place," Acts 2:1. a time when all will have yielded to the perfect government of God and will have learned to walk in perfect obedience to the one, divine Mind.
Animal magnetism would also attempt to divide and conquer by diverting our thought from the error that needs to be handled. It uses a decoy, and if we are not alert, we devote our attention to the decoy rather than to error's claim to exist and act. Time and again animal magnetism would use person as the decoy. It suggests that man is imperfect. If we accept the suggestion, we are tempted to utilize Christian Science to correct the imperfect man. We are playing into the hands of animal magnetism when we focus on person rather than the error appearing as person.
Christian Science does not correct an imperfect man. Instead, it rejects the lies about the perfect man God created. Our goal is not to improve a real, imperfect man, but to disprove the lie that an imperfect man is real. The problem is not person, but animal magnetism claiming to gain witness as a person. We must impersonalize the error and see it for what it is—only a lie. We impersonalize evil to destroy it.
Impersonalizing evil
How do we impersonalize evil? We must separate any ungodlike trait from man and refuse to give it witness. For instance, God never made willfulness. Therefore self-will cannot be an expression of God. Willfulness seems to exist only as it is given objectivity as man. Without man to give it witness, willfulness couldn't exist.
Once we have separated evil from man, we have destroyed it. But impersonalizing error doesn't mean that we ignore it. The Science of Christianity never advocates ignoring the belief of evil, being oblivious to its claims and looking the other way. Ignoring the belief of evil doesn't destroy it. Nor do we agree with error for the purpose of maintaining a unity of thought and action. We expose it and handle it by seeing it as nothing.
Christian Scientists need to be especially alert to reject animal magnetism's claims of disunity and to affirm that Christian Scientists are united. We are united in our great love and gratitude for God and His unspeakable love and care for each one of us. We are united in our love and gratitude for Christ Jesus, our Way-shower. We are united in our love and gratitude for our Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, and for Christian Science. We are united in our deep gratitude for the healing efficacy of Christian Science, for every healing that has ever taken place. Why? Because each and every healing is a proof of a divine law, a law operating for you and me, here and now.
"Christ in you"
God reveals His perfect law to us through the Christ. Christ is the presence of divine Truth, which destroys error. Animal magnetism is the suppositional absence of the Christ, Truth. Hence, it is handled and destroyed with "Christ in you." Col. 1:27. "Christ in you" is your consciousness of truth, which precludes all lies about reality. The truth always destroys the lie. It is not a question of how big the lie, but always how big is the Christ.
Animal magnetism is like the darkness. It isn't the presence of something; it is the absence of something. It doesn't destroy the perfect man. It simply hides the perfect man. Christ is like the light. It dispels the darkness and reveals the perfect man. Paul wrote, "Christ shall give thee light." Eph. 5:14. The Christ is the light of truth that dispels the darkness, thereby revealing God's perfect creation already present. Healing is not correcting an imperfect man. It is revealing the perfect man. We need not wait for the coming of the Christ. The Christ is here now!
As we see animal magnetism to be nothing but a term, without law, power, mind, or reality, we too can refute the suggestion of disunity and say it "hath nothing in me." That's why handling animal magnetism is primarily in how we live, maintaining a Christlike standard of thought moment by moment. Furthermore, there is no power that can prevent us from so living. Jesus not only understood the Science of being; he lived it!
Divine Principle governs man and this must be recognized in the individual and thereby seen in the family, community, church, and in national and world affairs. Let us replace the false belief of disunity with the true, divine idea of unity. James said, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16. Let us pray for peace, harmony, and unity in the world and in our Church! The Christ in you annihilates animal magnetism and reveals unity.
