I am a college teacher of drama who also writes, directs, and performs professionally. Christian Science has become fundamental in my life.

My work, which once seemed strictly a form of personal expression, has become for me a special kind of self-discovery. It is the discovery, in ways Christian Science has made possible, of my real nature as God's complete and perfect emanation. This self-discovery becomes progressively more thrilling to me as I learn to let God's will displace human will and competitiveness in my daily affairs. Over the years, all manner of interesting personal and professional opportunities have opened up naturally for me.

My increasing willingness to yield a mortal sense of self to an understanding of my true spiritual selfhood has also brought me physical healing.

A few years ago I was offered the role of a featured speaker in an American premiere of a new work to be performed by a major United States symphony orchestra. This part was a great plum, especially for a college teacher! But after our first rehearsal, my voice began to fade. And by the end of our final rehearsal I could barely make myself heard. The role called for me to perform at full voice against a background of a ninety-piece orchestra, a choir of one hundred and ten, and a Metropolitan Opera diva—a formidable challenge by any standard!

Up till then, when a vocal problem had arisen for me, it had taken some time for the trouble to subside. I was tempted to panic, and for a while I did. But then I telephoned a Christian Science practitioner. She calmly advised me to stop thinking of my vocal abilities as dependent upon a voice box or anything else material. I was encouraged to think of the voice of Truth expressing itself.

To my surprise and pleasure, as we continued to discuss spiritual truths together, my voice began to return to normal. The telephone call ended with our chatting and laughing about other things. My voice was by then free. The truths shared by the practitioner continued to develop in my thought, bringing me peace and release from fear, which had been at the bottom of my difficulty. And my whole being responded. By performance time next evening, I was in marvelous fettle, and I had no trouble with my voice.

Interestingly, ever since that time I have had a freedom and resonance in the lower vocal register that I had never enjoyed before, something that my training at a well-known British academy and years of subsequent experience had not enabled me to gain.

I rejoice that I am learning more fully to trust my entire life to God's directing. It is a daily joy to study the Bible together with Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy. My goal is to ponder the spiritual truths the books offer until these truths transform my thought and govern my experience.

When I first came into Christian Science, fame and wealth seemed a lot more desirable to me than the pursuit of spiritual growth. But I liked and wanted a great deal of what Christian Science offered, so I took up its study. Since that time I have stopped desiring fame, and I am grateful and pleased over opportunities to be useful—in or out of the limelight. I find all my work (though I never planned to become a college teacher!) satisfying and progressive as I learn more and more to love others spiritually, unconditionally. As our remarkable Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says (Science and Health, p. 1): "Desire is prayer; 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."

Certainly I have lost nothing over the years since finding Christian Science except such things as fear, resentment, strife, stress, and strain. And I continue to gain peace, freedom from competitiveness, and the joyful quiet of genuine accomplishment. I am truly grateful for lessons learned.

DONALD MAINWARING
Elsah, Illinois