Daily Bread
03/20/2012
But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him.
1 Corinthians 2:9
A life Transformed
Courtenay Rule
Reprinted from the November 2010 issue of The Christian Science Journal.
I was twenty years old at the time, living away from home for the first time, and struggling, as I had for some years, with increasingly frequent bouts of depression and anxiety. I felt like I didn’t really have a handle on life—a sense of purpose and meaning—and often I feared I might be headed for a mental breakdown. I found it hard to feel at ease among other people, and I didn’t know anyone I could really confide in. Still, even though I hadn’t been raised in any religion, I sensed that the real answers, if there were any, must be spiritual. I’d been somewhat of a “seeker” for a few years, but had never found any spiritual teachings I truly felt I could trust, until an acquaintance sent me a copy of Science and Health. Somehow, intuitively, I got the feeling that there was something special about this book. But at a glance, a good deal of its content seemed a little hard to swallow.
Materialism, sensualism, and addiction are based on the concept that we live in a physical body that craves material substances, yet never finds real satisfaction in them. And then of course there’s the flip side: A material body is inevitably subject to pain, disease, deterioration, and finally death.
It’s no wonder, then, that Mrs. Eddy wrote: “Spirit never created matter. There is nothing in Spirit out of which matter could be made . . .” (Science and Health, p. 335). I saw that there was simply no way that this infinitely powerful and good God—this wonderful Father-Mother whom I was beginning to discover for myself—could create something so limiting, discordant, and self-destructive as matter for the basis of His universe.
As I read, studied, and prayed, I realized that Science and Health makes it clear that each one of us—everything in God’s creation—actually exists in the one Mind, God, as an eternal spiritual idea, more real and substantial and awesomely beautiful than the false material concept of ourselves could ever be. Gradually, I was learning that I wasn’t a frail, material mortal controlled by genetic inheritance, hormones, physical cravings, or the vagaries of a human personality. I was discovering my true identity as made up of spiritual qualities—such as joy, confidence, gentleness, courage, and love—and learning to see and treasure those same qualities in others. My whole life was transformed! The feelings of depression faded away, and new opportunities for growth, friendship, and service appeared.
To read more click on the link below:
www.spirituality.com