THE MONITOR: BLESSING THE CLIMATE OF THOUGHT

I have read with deep interest the recent articles covering the centenary of The Christian Science Monitor. The core of Mary Baker Eddy's vision for the Monitor—and hence a glimpse also of its enormous future importance—would seem to lie in her extraordinary statement in Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896: "The spiritual monitor understood is coincidence of the divine with the human, the acme of Christian Science" (p. 100).

All serious students of Christian Science have experienced those precious moments when, as a result of sincere and disinterested prayer, they receive an intuition to do something or say something that they would not otherwise have thought of doing or saying. What is more, such "doing or saying" always causes greater harmony and/or clarity for every individual involved or touched. Such is the "coincidence of the divine with the human." And therein lies the huge potential of the Monitor: To the extent that Monitor writers receive such intuition and guidance, their articles touch and affect thousands—and indirectly perhaps millions—of other individuals.

Thus the climate of human thought is blessed. This is of enormous future importance because of the rising tide of clatter, noise, and dissonance in human thought, enabled and driven by electronic communication. And here again, Mrs. Eddy gives us the insight needed: "In a world of sin and sensuality hastening to a greaterdevelopment 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).

Unquestionably, as your articles have pointed out, the Monitor reaches its highest level of effectiveness when it resists the temptation to travel on current tracks of public opinion, but instead seeks out facts and insights that throw genuine light down the often-dark tunnels of human thinking and debate.

RICHARD ELY NEFF
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

GOOD REMINDER

I loved the January 12 issue focusing on "The blessing life." The messages in the articles reminded me of a story that was told as part of a Christian Science lecture given in the 1940s—an illustration that brought out what we daily need to do to be a blessing.

The lecturer told of a visit he'd made to a friend's office. On the friend's desk was a small plaque with the words "Thyself third." The friend told him that it was a reminder to always put "God first, mankind second, thyself third."

MARY ALLYENE MCKINLEY
PRESCOTT, ARIZONA, US

ART ALL AROUND US!

What a joy to discover the palette of inspiring "artful" ideas shared by artists from many backgrounds and venues in the January 19 & 26 issue. As Kari Mashos says, art "is actually at the core of our being." And thanks to Warren Bolon, who notes in his introduction, "Art that heals/Artists as healers," "If art is the individualized outcome of the Infinite's composing, then we have only to find our natural media."

In my work for an arts education organization, I've been grateful many times to find and share pertinent spiritual nuggets from Sentinel articles that complement and give deeper perspective to ideas being expressed by the artists, art teachers, and arts policy advocates with whom I have contact. And it is wonderful to find growing support for a spiritually based (artistic!) viewpoint that sees beyond long-held limiting beliefs or boundaries, and instead allows fresh, diverse, creative solutions to emerge in education, business, government, and so on.

Thank you so much for all the graceful artistic collaborations that go into each and every Sentinel—and especially the focus of this issue, "God-inspired artists," an idea that we can all reach for and identify with as we practice "artful living" of our individual missions.

CLARE HAM GROSGEBAUER
FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, US

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