The price of good health is an ever-developing spirituality. The real universe and man are spiritual, not material. They are the perfect reflection or activity of God, creative Mind, and to obtain and sustain good health one must grow in his understanding of this fact.

The level of spiritual development that healed one several years ago may not be sufficient today. More and still more is required of one as he goes on. One must progressively awaken from the mortal dream of life in matter, and healing is often a by-product of this awakening. Mrs. Eddy writes, "A grain of Christian Science does wonders for mortals, so omnipotent is Truth, but more of Christian Science must be gained in order to continue in well doing."  ^{Science and Health, p. 449;}

Sickness is the result of dark, negative mortal thought expressed on the human body. This darkness, induced by fear, ignorance, or sin, is a latent component of general human consciousness. It is mesmeric in nature, and through suggestion it attacks the individual whose thinking is inert, lazy, apathetic. It strikes at him who is making little effort to feed himself with the spiritual nutriment that could keep him strong and well.

Much disease is the result of spiritual starvation. The multifarious demands of everyday life tend to hold one's attention and thus crowd out the real source of harmony and satisfaction. One puts material interests and pleasures ahead of spiritual development, and thus deprives himself of the inner renewal and depth of peace that stem from a knowledge of Truth. At this period no one can dispense with material food and periods of repose. How much more one needs the health-giving spiritual nourishment and rest that reside in a conscious unity with God, the one Life or Mind!

Christ Jesus lived a life of prayer. He had the wisdom to put first things first. He was always prayerfully at work broadening his understanding of Mind's allness and his individual life in Mind. This ever-expanding consciousness of the Christ kept him well, and it enabled him to heal others. As we strive to follow him, working and praying for growth in grace, this healing presence of the Christ will feed and strengthen us, too. The Master promised, "As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me."  ^{John 6:57;}

Eating, or understanding, the Christ, or Truth, involves reaching out eagerly for a clearer, higher, more satisfying view of God as divine Love. It means communing with Love at every opportunity through a quiet, humble recognition that Love is All, our very Mind or Ego, and that we and all men are embraced in its warm, tender care. This sense of life in Love is the bread of Life, and it becomes more and more substantive as we strive to live the qualities of Love in our daily contacts. Mrs. Eddy was well aware of this, for she tells us, "In love for man, we gain a true sense of Love as God; and in no other way can we reach this spiritual sense, and rise— and still rise—to things most essential and divine." ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 234;}

Why, then, are we sometimes reluctant to rise "to things most essential and divine" and thus suffer the often painful consequences of disobedience to the law of progress? It is because we are not alert to the silent mental influence that is affecting us. The inertia and apathy seem to be our own inclination, but actually they are external suggestions. Christian Science lays them bare, revealing them to be hypnotic in origin, stemming from the worldwide belief in many minds separate from God. This falsity seems to produce a mental atmosphere antagonistic to Truth. Unless we are awake to its claims, and vigorously oppose them with an understanding of pure Mind, our growth Spiritward can be temporarily impeded.

Paul was alert to this stultifying influence, which he called "the carnal mind," and which he described as "enmity against God."  ^{Rom. 8:7;} He successfully opposed its suggestions and became the most persuasive and effective witness in the primitive Church. He said, "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." ^8:2; After his conversion to Christianity, Paul's life was one of constant striving to leave material sense for the reality of life in Christ, Truth. His persistent effort to know God better and to realize man's unity with Him imparted the rugged strength and endurance that made his missionary journeys possible.

Like the apostle, Mrs. Eddy kept her order of priorities clear and distinct. After her discovery of Christian Science she put spiritual progress first and reaped the benefit in better physical health and harmony. Her work as Founder of Christian Science made great demands upon her, but through much study, prayer, and self-immolation she met every challenge. Therefore it is from personal experience that she tells us: "There is but one way to heaven, harmony, and Christ in divine Science shows us this way. It is to know no other reality—to have no other consciousness of life—than good, God and His reflection, and to rise superior to the so-called pain and pleasure of the senses."  ^{Science and Health, p. 242.}

Alan A. Aylwin