Article October 9, 1995 Issue

Upward progress—powered by grace

Susan Jackson Cobb

Sometimes we have no doubt what we think, but at other times we may find ourselves vacillating among opinions, unsure of how to progress. Is there a way to lift thought out of tiresome ruts that seem to go round and round? There is. When the impetus of thought changes from human reasoning to divine inspiration, circles are replaced by an upward spiral.

In the Christian Science textbook Mary Baker Eddy writes, "In a world of sin and sensuality hastening to a greater development of power, it is wise earnestly to consider whether it is the human mind or the divine Mind which is influencing one" (Science and Health, pp.82–83). The word influence implies power, movement, and impulsion. Yielding only to the influence of God, divine Mind, inevitably moves us higher.

A helpful illustration might be that of piloting a sailplane or glider. After a sailplane has been towed to a certain altitude and it is free, the pilot looks for a thermal, a rising column of air. The object is not to travel from point A to point B. Progress is measured solely by the altitude gained. Once in the thermal, the pilot circles, but with each revolution he or she goes higher. Still ascending, the pilot has a view from inside the cockpit that constantly changes, and although the plane comes full circle, the view is wider, because it is higher. As we recognize God to be the only valid influence, sustaining all that is real, our thought and life inevitably rise, becoming more expansive, more open to Mind's inspiration—its spiritual ideas, leading and guiding us.

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