Article September 30, 1939 Issue

A Lesson from Nature

NOEL M. RUST

A student of Christian Science, who was wrestling with problems which involved various disturbing beliefs about human personalities, was for a few days frequently interrupted in his studies by a little bird which repeatedly flew against the windowpanes of his study. Apparently it saw its reflection in the glass, and imagining the reflection to be another bird, attacked it furiously.

Obviously, to the bird, the reflection was an enemy, since every time it moved towards the glass the reflection would seem to move towards it; and the more violently it flew against the glass, the more violent would be the peck from the other bird.

This incident proved very helpful to the student, by directing his attention to a paragraph on page 220 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," under the marginal heading, "The reflex phenomena," where Mary Baker Eddy writes, "Mortal mind produces its own phenomena, and then charges them to something else,—like a kitten glancing into the mirror at itself and thinking it sees another kitten." As he realized that the "phenomena" which he was encountering were but his own wrong concepts of man, an improvement took place in the business problems. He looked away from the mirror of mortal mind, in which the spurious images appeared to be manifested, to the mirror of divine Science (see Science and Health, p. 515), in which man is revealed as the image and likeness of God, pure and perfect. It was this view of true being which brought about the healing.

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