Editorial September 16, 1967 Issue

The Control of Environment

Helen Wood Bauman

The current century has seen great progress in the bringing of material environment under the control of mankind. Matter and physical forces are rapidly being made to serve the world. This change is possible because matter and material forces are subjective—in the mind rather than external to it. Physicists recognize that matter is difficult to evaluate because it is influenced by its observers.

Christian Science explains the mental nature of existence and makes clear that all we experience is embraced in human thought and governed by it. The universe, the stars, our planet, our church, our home, our neighbor, our supply, our body—all represent our present understanding of the concepts that make up our environment. Instead of it surrounding us, we find in Science that we embrace our environment in consciousness. This fact, once we grasp it, makes a great difference in our approach to life.

In her Miscellaneous Writings Mary Baker Eddy discusses the human conception of beauty, and she says: "The atmosphere of mortal mind constitutes our mortal environment. What mortals hear, see, feel, taste, smell, constitutes their present earth and heaven: but we must grow out of even this pleasing thraldom, and find wings to reach the glory of supersensible Life; then we shall soar above, as the bird in the clear ether of the blue temporal sky.''^{Mis., pp. 86,87;}