Editorial July 29, 1967 Issue

The Kingdom Within

Alan A. Aylwin

It is normal that everyone should desire a harmonious human experience, but there is a wide divergence of opinion as to how this good may be attained.

The world in general believes that good is basically material and governed largely by material factors. Health, it says, is dependent on obedience to physical health laws. Abundant supply, it believes, is the result of concentrated human effort based on intense self-interest or is merely the outcome of chance. Many people try to find inner satisfaction through some form of sensual indulgence. But in every case genuine well-being is missing because the all-important spiritual factor is ignored.

We often describe a state of happiness by using the word "heaven." contemplating some happy condition or event, we sometimes say, "Wouldn't that be heavenly!" In the Bible the kingdom of heaven is sometimes spoken of as the kingdom of God, meaning a state of supreme spiritual satisfaction and happiness. Mary Baker Eddy lifts the meaning of the word "heaven" to sublime heights when she defines it in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as "harmony; the reign of Spirit; government by divine Principle; spirituality; bliss; the atmosphere of Soul."^{Science and Health, p. 587;}