Spiritual understanding is gained through the discernment of divine concepts, of the thoughts of God, which are imparted to His idea, man. Christian Science, discovered and founded by Mary Baker Eddy, leads us to these measureless concepts of divine Mind. On page 259 of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy says, "Immortal ideas, pure, perfect, and enduring, are transmitted by the divine Mind through divine Science, which corrects error with truth and demands spiritual thoughts, divine concepts, to the end that they may produce harmonious results."

Immortal ideas extend far beyond the confines of words. Even the most beautiful, apt, and consequential words can be but symbols of spiritual concepts. While words in themselves are powerless to bestow good, they may be the doorway through which one enters the realm of spiritual understanding.

One who studies thoroughly the Bible and the works of Mrs. Eddy looks beyond the printed word to grasp the immortal ideas destined to effect the harmonious results so deeply desired by mankind. To accomplish such results, one must guard against falling into a merely repetitious pattern of thinking, as well as against reading words without clearly discerning the accompanying thought. One may grasp the deep meaning of the familiar lines of our textbook by replacing limited thinking with a fresh discovery of the vast and limitless spiritual concepts therein indicated.

Each student finds his own way of entering the kingdom of Spirit through the study and demonstration of the truth. In pursuing a line of spiritual thought, one establishes the practice of using a variety of words with similiar connotations. For example, the student might speak to himself of the inexhaustibility of Mind as well as of its infinitude. The phrase "inexhaustibility of Mind" adds to one's understanding and helps to lead him out of the confines of mortal thought into the untrammeled realm of spiritual ideas.

To extend thought to this realm of spiritual ideas, one needs to realize that divine Mind, God, is perfect and all-knowing and that spiritual ideas are ever flowing from this inexhaustible source. Such spiritual ideas are not apart from man, the likeness of God, but constitute man's very nature. Therefore it is unnecessary to go forth to search for inspiration as for a treasure lost or beyond our sight and grasp. Rather, we endeavor to realize that every individual's spiritual consciousness includes by reflection all good and inspirational knowledge.

A clear conception of man's oneness, or unity, with divine Mind always vivifies our recognition of the fact that inspiration and constructive ideas are always available. Any seeming mental depletion is but an untruth of mortal mind. Then, if we have apparently reached an impasse in the grasp of ideas necessary for good results in human existence, the remedy is found, not in worry or frantic struggle with mortal minds, but in availing ourselves of the corrective and inspirational might of the one limitless Mind. When we turn resolutely away from the human problem and maintain that in our true being we are inseparable from God, we find the spiritual ideas that are transmitted from inexhaustible Mind. Human thought is then enriched and enlarged to its greatest effectiveness.

Again, when there is need to correct a situation which indicates a lack of good in our lives, it may be necessary to purify our conception of divine Love; for often that which seems to be a dearth of good is, in reality, a lack of understanding of the qualities of Love and of their ever-availability to man.

Many people feel poor in one respect or another, yet when we study each situation we find that the belief of poverty is based on the supposition that man can be removed from the source of good, from God, who is infinite Love. God does not take good from man, nor does He place limitations upon good. But when men believe themselves separated from God, their human life evidences lack.

Every day we can find opportunities to express faith in the boundlessness of Love, for the true understanding of divine resources gives us the spiritual strength and wisdom to use holy gifts with no fear that they will be expended, or taken from us, or be so divided that our share will be less than adequate. We must not be tempted to give less than generously to the deserving needy, or to resent paying our just share of taxes to our government, or to lack joy in the support of every church activity. In all our thinking, and consequently in our actions, we must endeavor to reflect the perfection and purity of limitless Love.

If one seems to be ill, injured, or weary, he will find healing in the teachings of Christian Science and enlightenment concerning the immortality and the immutability of Life, which is God. As one considers what immortality is, he is helped to realize that spiritual man exists throughout eternity. Because Life is immutable, God's man cannot experience decadent change from moment to moment or year to year.

This great truth was a means of healing for a student of Christian Science, who, when standing on a chair, fell directly upon her back. She seemed to have suffered so severe an injury that she could not stand and was losing consciousness because of pain. Suddenly the thought came to her that consciousness is a quality of Life, God, and cannot be lost. This saving thought banished the danger of fainting and gave the student freedom to work. With clarity came the conviction that because God is unchanging Being, man's life, as the expression of God, is immutable. Therefore she saw that no accidental fall could have power to alter her real self and that she was actually at that moment no different from the individual which she had been ten minutes earlier. This realization of the immortality and immutability of Life had its effect upon the material body, and there was an immediate healing.

If we uninterruptedly maintained in thought the vast spiritual concepts of man's true relationship to God, we should experience complete spiritual joy. Mortal mind attempts to interpose false concepts and to cause us to feel a division between ourselves and Deity. This seeming division brings difficulties into our lives which must be healed by increased spiritual understanding.

No mechanical reading of words, no stereotyped procedure in human thinking will help us, but serious devotion to the study of divine Science will unfold the measureless concepts of Truth until we can say with Paul (Rom. 8:38, 39), "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."