In the movement of Mind
I recently took a motorcycle safety class, at the completion of which I earned my motorcycle license. One of the first points made was how riding a motorcycle is inherently dangerous. I learned how widely this claim is accepted when well-meaning individuals, on learning of my new interest, cautioned me to be careful.
My wife has occasionally reminded me to pray before going out on a ride—not out of fear for any danger “out there,” but out of love for God and His unending protection of all creation. Sometimes she shares a passage from the Bible with me. A favorite is Psalms 121:8 : “The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”
At first glance it would appear that my “going out” and “coming in” occur on a motorcycle. A more inspired view of travel, however, is helping to broaden and deepen my thinking about movement. Although we seem to be navigating our way each day through a physical realm, all real and inspired movement is produced, known, and regulated by God, infinite Mind. Everything in God’s creation is designed to be tributary to Spirit, so we can see movement as taking place perpetually and harmoniously within Mind’s allness.
A verse from a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal supports an enlightened sense of movement. It reads, in part: “From glory unto glory, / From strength to strength we go” (Frances R. Havergal, No. 65 , adapted). Moving from one inspired thought to another, we experience the uplifting and strengthening force of God, infinite Mind. Traveling “from glory unto glory” is taking the spiritual high road—and because we go within God’s harmony, our mental “travels” are forever protected, progressive, and fruitful. Mary Baker Eddy explains in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Mind’s infinite ideas run and disport themselves. In humility they climb the heights of holiness” (p. 514 ). This undiminished movement isn’t from point A to point B: God is divine Spirit, and as His reflection we are purely spiritual—so our travels take place in a mental rather than a physical realm.
Recently I threw two stones into the water and noticed the different results: one, dropped from just above the surface, immediately sank to the bottom. The other, skipped across the surface, advanced farther out before sinking. It made me think about my “mental movement” as a Christian Scientist. Am I, like the skipped stone, moving forward in my study and understanding of Truth? Or am I more like the dropped stone, which sinks quickly to the bottom? The pull of worldly thinking would bring thought down, slowing or stopping one’s spiritual momentum and encouraging a stagnant, redundant perspective. Continual forward movement inspired by prayer, however, ensures freshness, advancement, and spiritual growth. It makes me think of something Mary Baker Eddy said after healing the daughter of a woman whose thought was apparently difficult to reach: “I speak sharply sometimes, but the thought must move” (Lida W. Fitzpatrick reminiscence, We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, Expanded Edition, Volume II, p. 110). Instead of allowing our thought to sink into materialism, we have the opportunity each moment to recognize that we’re moving harmoniously with Spirit.
About a year ago, I had an opportunity to put into practice the truth that God maintains “collision-free” movement. I was attempting to park a heavy motorcycle on the incline of our driveway when I dropped it on my foot. I lay down on the grass, gripping my foot in quiet agony. My son, who heard the crash, came quickly out of the garage to assist and, moments later, my wife calmly appeared, voicing words of truth that brought initial comfort.
When we’re scanning the “mental landscape,” we’re alert to any attempts of error to enter into consciousness.
After a while, I was able to get up and gingerly walk around. My foot felt different, however, and a sense of light-headedness overcame me as I hobbled into the house. I rested for a while on the couch, praying. It was hard to blot out the recurring image of what had happened, but a directive from Science and Health came repeatedly and encouragingly to thought: “We must look where we would walk, and we must act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being” (p. 264 ). To me this meant that I needed to be mentally alert, making sure my thought was “looking” toward the truth about God and about myself as His reflection. These prayers enabled me to take a stand against being victimized by a belief that an accident had occurred.
Later that afternoon, my granddaughter asked me to go on a walk. My first impulse was to decline, believing I wasn’t ready for this activity. Again, my prayers inspired my thinking to move—from concern to a sense of spiritual empowerment. I recall starting our walk slowly and somewhat awkwardly, but I held on to the idea of “acting as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being.” With each step came a growing and cheerful sense of dominion. Although some discomfort persisted, my initial concern subsided as I finished our short journey with a lighter step.
Two days later, I found myself needing to hurriedly meet a person before he left the marina in a boat—a situation that would require more than walking! Doubt momentarily attempted to thwart the idea that I could run. I decisively dismissed this notion, recognizing that no claim of lingering limitation could move into my thinking. Truth had been shepherding my thought toward confidence in Spirit, the uninterrupted source and flow of all real movement. So I ran, freely and joyously.
Over the next few weeks, a mild soreness—a stubborn suggestion of an accident—presented itself whenever I assumed a favorite position on the couch. I realized that further growth in understanding my inseparability from God, infinite good, was needed. I reaffirmed that erroneous suggestions couldn’t create or sustain a sense of discomfort or immobility, since there is no source from which they can be produced and propelled. Science and Health reminds us: “Mind is the source of all movement, and there is no inertia to retard or check its perpetual and harmonious action” (p. 283 ). The claim of lingering discomfort soon yielded and normal use of my foot was completely restored.
In the motorcycle class, we were taught to “scan aggressively” for potential traffic problems in order to prevent them from occurring. Isn’t this similar to a metaphysician’s approach when dealing with error? When we’re scanning the “mental landscape,” we’re alert to any attempts of error to enter into consciousness. Along these lines, we’re instructed in Science and Health to “Stand porter at the door of thought” (p. 392 ) and to “Allow nothing but His [God’s] likeness to abide in your thought” (p. 495 ).
Whether moving from room to room, road to road, or country to country, we remain in the presence of infinite Mind. One cannot exit it or exist outside of it. All God’s children are traveling in Truth—in the safety of the kingdom of heaven within us (see Luke 17:21 )—where enlightened spiritual being is both the journey and the destination.
