Article July 13, 1974 Issue

SPIRITUALIZING THOUGHT

through right desire

EVELYN STEELE

A friend once referred to someone as "a blessing consciousness." And I couldn't help but think of the revolutionary impact of three other words on my life, words which inspired me suddenly and wonderfully to realize that all the longings and yearnings to be a real blessing I had ever had were prayer. These words are, "Desire is prayer." They appear on page 1 of Science and Health, and Mrs. Eddy goes on to say, "and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds."

Deep down everyone wants to be a blessing consciousness. And can be. We may not always recognize it, or acknowledge it, or respond to it, but inherent in each one of us is the desire to be and do good, to be a blessing. So what a glorious thing to know that our innermost desires for good, our spiritual yearnings and longings are prayer—are the very presence and power of God with us! And experience teaches us that prayer is answered, that the very tiniest reaching out to God is fulfilled—though not always in the way we have expected.

Our desires are at the very core of our being as well as the spearhead of our thought. They are "moulded and exalted" as we seek to uplift and purify their motives—discerning whether they are God-centered or self-centered. How simple then to fulfill that longing to be and do good, to be a blessing—by letting all our right desires well up in us in pure expression. This is where spiritualization of thought comes in. And spiritualizing thought is the only way by which we can really effectively help others.

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