The widely held belief is that persons, things, and circumstances external to us largely control our destiny. These outside forces are thought of as being responsible for the nature of our experience. According to this belief, if the forces happen to be benevolent, we can expect harmony to dominate our experience; if they happen to be malevolent, then discord.

The acceptance of such a belief keeps us from exercising dominion over our affairs. It encourages us to look upon chance or luck as major influences in life. The door is open for the entrance of hopelessness and superstition, appearing in such forms as fatalism and astrology.

One may find himself on the defensive, spending much of his time and effort in merely reacting to the actions of others and to forces over which he feels he has little or no control. People are influenced by this point of view more than they often realize. How often we have heard such expressions as "that's the way the ball bounces"!

A great step in the way out of this unhappy mental state is to learn that experience is subjective, that is, our experience is dependent upon our concept of things. We have all had friends tell us of an experience they have shared, each giving such a different account of it that we could scarcely believe the experience was one and the same. Why didn't they give similar accounts of what happened? Wasn't it because their mental states differed? Wasn't it because they viewed the situation from different frames of reference? And in our individual experience we can recall having entirely different reactions to the same persons and the same surroundings, depending upon our state of thought at the time.

The direct and vital relationship of thought to experience has been recognized by great thinkers throughout history. In her book, Christian Healing, Mrs. Eddy quotes this statement attributed to Plato: "What thou seest, that thou beest." ^{Hea., p. 8;} He might just as well have said, "What you perceive mentally, what you think—that you are."

There are many examples of the thought-experience relationship in the Bible. Job said, "The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me." ^{Job 3:25;} The results of Godlike thoughts were abundantly evident in the glorious career of Christ Jesus.

Mrs. Eddy, who followed the Master's example in proving the invariable relationship of right thinking to right activity, writes in Science and Health, "Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true, and you will bring these into your experience proportionably to their occupancy of your thoughts." ^{Science and Health, p. 261;}

Awareness of the subjective nature of experience is, however, only the first step in gaining dominion over our affairs. The next step is to do something about it—learn how to control the thoughts that determine experience.

How is this done? Not by the exercise of human will or by self -mesmerism, but by prayer—by turning wholeheartedly and understanding to God, good, the only creator. It is done by opening consciousness to the angel thoughts that come from divine Mind and by closing thought to the devilish suggestions of mortal mind, erroneous, material consciousness, that would try to rob us of our heritage of dominion and freedom.

Throughout her writings Mrs. Eddy tells us how to control our thinking and therefore our experience. In her book The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany she gives us this counsel: "Beloved Christian Scientists, keep your minds so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease, and death cannot enter them. It is plain that nothing can be added to the mind already full. There is no door through which evil can enter, and no space for evil to fill in a mind filled with goodness." ^{My., p. 210;}

We control our thoughts by letting God govern our thinking. To do this, we must understand clearly the nature of God and our relationship to Him. We need to know Him as Spirit—ever-present Life, Truth, and Love—and to recognize our true selfhood as His perfect, incorporeal reflection. This new concept of God and man causes us to give up false views of God as humanly circumscribed and of man as material and mortal.

This change of thought is not an intellectual process; it is a spiritual experience, a regeneration, a rebirth. It was what Christ Jesus was referring to when he said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again." ^{John 3:7;} Mrs. Eddy describes this new birth in these words: "It begins with moments, and goes on with years; moments of Surrender to God, of childlike trust and joyful adoption of good; moments of self-abnegation, self-consecration, heaven-born hope, and spiritual love." ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 15.}

As we grow spiritually—become more spiritually-minded—we see evidence of this transformation of thought in better morals, higher ideals, improved character, more abundant supply, and consistently better health. Thus we can prove for ourselves that the quality of our thoughts determines the nature of our experience.

Christian Science reveals the source of all right thoughts to be the divine Mind, which is God, and explains that all wrong thoughts come from mortal mind, illusory material consciousness. By being obedient to God, the one real Mind, and by rejecting the suggestion that there is any other mind, we can entertain the pure thoughts that will inevitably result in fruitful, satisfying, and joyous experience.