Seeing and Hearing

Violet Ker Seymer

Since perfect Mind imparts to man his senses, man has no material sense through which to see anything material or faulty or to hear anything untrue, libelous. In absolute fact, nothing exists to be seen or heard but the verity of the one spiritual universe, including man.

Clear of vision and keen of understanding, Christ Jesus moved in Mind's universe, and through his true sight and hearing brought to humanity manifold tokens of Mind's healing power. Through the mist of material evidence and the mental clamor of lying arguments, he maintained the keenness of spiritual hearing and the penetration of spiritual perception. Thus he brought about the instantaneous destruction of sin, disease, and death in the thought and experience of those who responded to his ministry.

Spiritual sight and hearing are God's irrevocable gifts to man, and by them he is always aware of his sonship. As spiritual sense is cherished and exercised by the Christian Scientist, the new heaven and the new earth appear to him as they did to John during his exile on the island of Patmos. Humanly exiled the beloved disciple might appear to be, but never spiritually exiled. No one can be alienated from God and his true identity save through his own consent to believe in the actuality of matter and evil, which is virtually a denial of the omnipresence of God, good.

Mrs. Eddy writes (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 274), "The senses of Spirit abide in Love, and they demonstrate Truth and Life." One who would rise above the belief in matter and evil must learn to expel and exclude from his consciousness all that is contrary to divine Love. He must conquer every petty fear and sin, so that he may learn to express the beauty and joyousness of the divine nature. In order to understand true sight and hearing one must understand divine Love and abide in its reflection. Since spiritual sense demonstrates Truth and Life, it rules out error and death, and can no more be deceived, mystified, or destroyed than can Truth itself.

In his epistle to the Ephesians Paul wrote, "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened." Since matter never sees or hears, it cannot be said to have become blind or deaf; and for this reason sight and hearing cannot be restored to senseless matter. In order to restore them in human experience mortal thought needs to be awakened. True light or enlightenment constitutes true sight, true hearing, and it is this discernment of spiritual existence which remedies abnormal human conditions and does away with the false sense of separation from intelligent faculties. In the experience of man in God's likeness there has been no occurrence or recurrence of error.

The Christian Scientist is called upon to insist on the ever-presence of the new heaven and the new earth, and of his awareness of their presence through spiritual sense. The nightmare of suffering is not merely to be exchanged for the dream of ease in matter indefinitely prolonged through individual mental assent. One who would progress spiritually cannot be content with improvement of a counterfeit, for health is not material but spiritual. And the same applies to strength, sight, and hearing. Every individual must awake to righteousness and prove himself God's witness at all points.

One who longs for awakening of some kind—and who does not?—should continually ask himself whether in all his thoughts, desires, and motives he is proving himself possessed of that spiritual sense which abides always in Love. Until this is the case he can himself utilize divine Love to heal him of the claim of mental deafness and blindness which lie at the root of every human problem. Before the Christian Scientist lies the task of proving that his consciousness is spiritually pure, alight with love, soulfully calm, and divinely living. If faithful to his mission, this is the heavenly intent of his daily life.

Spiritual sense abides in the unfolding beauty of Mind's universe. True hearing catches the tones of Truth. Man's consciousness is as a ray of light issuing from Spirit and abiding in the perpetual glory of spiritual revelation. In short, true sight and hearing denote spiritual awareness. Our Leader writes (ibid., p. 209), "Spiritual sense is a conscious, constant capacity to understand God." No argument of infidelity, discouragement, or covetousness is heard through the true ear. The spiritual sense of sight and hearing is incapable of cognizing what is called matter. Jesus referred to the eye in mental terms, namely, as a state of thought, when he spoke of the beam and the mote; and also when he said, "If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."

Through spiritual sense man is consciously inspired of God, is obedient, joyous, satisfied. Through persistent rejoicing—the fruit and reward of pure thinking—the Christian Scientist, seeing through and beyond both the beam and the mote, awakes to singleness of vision. The basis of his every demonstration of dominion and harmony is the fact that "the hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them."

Violet Ker Seymer

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