Absent-minded? Impossible!

Barbara L. Kelly

Have you ever forgotten where you put your keys, or entered a room and wondered what you came there for? If so, perhaps you accused yourself of being absent-minded. But where is mind absent from? The brain? The brain is obviously a form of matter. If the mind is there, where does it go when it is absent? Has anyone ever seen a mind in the brain?

In her writings Mary Baker Eddy uses the term mortal mind to refer to a false concept of mind. It describes a mistaken view of life in which man is mortal, living in a material body, which is vulnerable to illness or loss of faculties. This is surely a world that God, Mind, would not and could not create. The only mind that can be absent, and in fact is absent, is this mortal mind, the carnal mind that Paul tells us is "enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7).

In answer to the question "What is man?" Mrs. Eddy states in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health: "Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones, and other material elements. The Scriptures inform us that man is made in the image and likeness of God" (p. 475). What, then, is God? Science and Health describes God this way: "The great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence" (p. 587).

Thus man is the image of Mind, all-knowing, all-wise, intelligent—Mind which is eternal, never absent or absent-minded. It is impossible for the intelligence that is our very being as the reflection of divine Mind ever to be absent. So it is impossible for us to be subject to any belief of loss of memory, clarity, or perfect function due to age, accident, or disease. This is made clear in the Bible's statement "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Tim. 1:7). One dictionary definition of sound is in part "free from flaw, defect, or decay"; another is "showing good judgment or sense."

Sometimes absent-mindedness is attributed to being preoccupied with too much to do or with doing other things that keep us mentally engaged. At those times, it is helpful to affirm that God's man is always expressing thoughts from God. Thoughts from the all-knowing, all-wise Mind can only be intelligent, healing, joyous ones.

The familiar phrase "presence of mind" is usually employed to express the ability to think and act rightly in a trying situation. Certainly, Jesus was the perfect example of right thinking and acting. Under every circumstances he was divinely led to do exactly what was needed at that moment. His obedience to divine Mind enabled him to heal cases of blindness and leprosy; to restore the sanity of the Gadarene; to avoid the entanglements of the Pharisees when they tried to trick him; even to overcome death.

It was the presence of Mind, God, that gave Jesus that ability and that also gives us the ability to do the right thing under all circumstances. The Bible enjoins us, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). As the reflection of Mind, each of us is always alert—awake to what God is revealing to us of His goodness and power. We can never be cut off from ever-present, infinite Mind.

How reassuring it is to know that as we affirm our unity with divine intelligence, we are enabled to know all we ever need to know, including—but not only—the location of our keys and the reason for entering any room!

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A QUESTIONS & ANSWERS EXCHANGE

August 19, 1996

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