“Treating my own practice”

The Association assignment for this year has been a wonderful mental discipline and learning tool during what might be called a humanly eventful time for me.

I must say I was worried about whether I would “in all honesty” feel differently about Christian Science healing, but I do. Here is what I learned from reading this packet of one clear, physical healing after another:

One fear I have had to face about my own practice has been the claim that I can argue mentally and be completely clear about what is true, but still fail in healing. But the testimonies have shown me that there is no need to fear that a mental healing will not be accompanied by the natural physical change. One testifier quoted a practitioner as saying, “I never treat with a doubt.” Another wrote, “As my thinking changed, so did the action of my body. It could not do otherwise.” Another account highlighted for me that a sense of calm based on a conviction of God’s all-power is an effective form of treatment.

Error’s only hold on us is a cycle of mental slavery that mortals consent to. All the calamities that befall mankind are merely arguments about why we should resign ourselves to this false mental servitude. When we no longer consent to being enslaved, error has no other means of enforcing its hold.

Once it is clear that material means are impotent, it should be clear that there is no power apart from God, the only power. In one testimony involving a child, it was the very direness of the medical outlook that made God’s saving power clear to the parent.

In so many testimonies, doctors could do nothing further, either because they considered the case incurable or because the patient had been healed. In material medicine, a case ends when a patient does not need any more medical help. In Christian Science treatment, mental and physical transformations are only the beginning of the work involved. Each healing shows us that there is more to do.

Recently an angel message came to me to set aside some specific time each day for Christian Science practice. Since I have begun my scheduled “practice time” without any patients, I have been working with the assignment and also treating my own practice. Recently I gave myself a treatment regarding “reasons” not to follow through with the practice. Here is the list of claims I addressed:

1. “It is not imperative that you stick to the time you’ve set aside.” God’s directions are imperative. They are mandatory because it is impossible to disobey them. God’s children are not disobedient and always listen to their Father-Mother’s instructions.

2. “There are more urgent concerns to attend to.” No opportunity can be missed through obedience to God. Nothing can take the place of Mind’s ideas.

3. “Other concerns are reasonable and must be addressed as legitimate points of view.” We must respond to God’s point of view, but not to error’s. Animal magnetism, attempting to distract, does not have rights that must be acknowledged.

I am so glad to be a participant in this Association. There is so much more I could say about what this assignment (and God’s care in general) have meant for me recently, but I think that’s enough for one email.