No more neck or head pain
Before I began studying Christian Science six years ago, neck pains and headaches were very common in my day-to-day life. I had visited several doctors, who called it “cervical pain.” They prescribed medicines that could only make me sleep when I was in acute pain, but didn’t provide lasting relief. None of the doctors told me that the condition could be healed completely.
After I was introduced to Christian Science by a neighborhood friend, I began relying on scientific prayer for healing and experienced freedom from deep depression, relationship problems, instability in my career, injury from an accident, and other difficulties. I was confident that God could heal me of this long-standing neck pain, too. I requested metaphysical treatment from a Christian Science practitioner, and she lovingly agreed.
The practitioner shared with me a passage from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “The divine metaphysics of Christian Science, like the method in mathematics, proves the rule by inversion. For example: There is no pain in Truth, and no truth in pain; no nerve in Mind, and no mind in nerve; no matter in Mind, and no mind in matter; no matter in Life, and no life in matter; no matter in good, and no good in matter” (p. 113 ).
I noticed that the word truth comes twice in this statement, but the first time it is with a capital T, which means it is a synonym for God; the second time it is with a lowercase letter. I understood that to mean there is no pain in God, nor any reality (truth) in pain.
After that I had many small victories over the pain, yet not complete healing. During this period I realized that the pain was a physical manifestation of the mental hurts I was holding on to day in and day out, because of what I saw as my oversensitive nature. I used to react with anger or tears to anyone’s rude or thoughtless behavior.
The practitioner pointed out the following lines from Science and Health: “The body seems to be self-acting, only because mortal mind is ignorant of itself, of its own actions, and of their results,—ignorant that the predisposing, remote, and exciting cause of all bad effects is a law of so-called mortal mind, not of matter. Mind is the master of the corporeal senses, and can conquer sickness, sin, and death. Exercise this God-given authority. Take possession of your body, and govern its feeling and action. Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man” (p. 393 ).
The practitioner suggested I make a list of the people who had hurt my feelings and pray to forgive them and see good in them. Another demand was to stay focused on God and keep myself undisturbed, a target out of reach. As I did this, I gradually became calmer and the pain was not there so frequently.
I noticed that the pain would come back in stressful situations. I tended to overreact to any sort of obstruction or delay, and at times the stress resulted in pain so acute that I could not even move my head easily. But the practitioner encouraged me to see that God is in control in every situation, and our job is to be calm and firm in our understanding of Truth. This lifted from my shoulders the burden of feeling I was responsible for maintaining harmony in my life humanly.
For several weeks after this there was no pain, but whenever I thought of testifying about the healing in church, the pain recurred. Again the practitioner shared lines from Science and Health: “Consciousness constructs a better body when faith in matter has been conquered” (p. 425 ). I learned to be more watchful of what was going on in my thoughts and to know that I am always conscious of infinite Life, Truth, and Love, not of any so-called power in matter.
It’s been many years now since this experience, and there has been no more neck or head pain. I am so grateful to God for Christian Science. It has changed my thoughts and healed me mentally and physically. I am also grateful to the Christian Science practitioner for her steadfast prayerful support. And I am grateful to Mary Baker Eddy for writing Science and Health, which is the textbook of Christian Science.
Jyoti Bajaj
Chandigarh, India
