I have often thought of Soul as the synonym for God that relates to the artistic and the beautiful. As Soul’s expression, we shine forth in originality, creativity, and artistry. And in my practice of Christian Science, it has become clear that Soul also gives us a feeling of the fullness and wholeness of life, since God is the source of our complete, spiritual identity—our full, individual expression. Through a special healing that came in the course of an artistic endeavor, I realized that Soul maintains our perfect individuality.

I’d been cherishing the idea of my true, spiritual identity being held “safe in the substance of Soul” as Mary Baker Eddy writes of the Christ, Jesus’ “unseen individuality” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 104). Then, in preparation for a Renaissance dance performance, I was joyously practicing a very lively dance when I suddenly twisted my foot very painfully. 

To heal this injury, I prayed to better understand my oneness with God and the presence of Soul’s permanent perfection. I held firmly to this statement in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy: “Soul is the substance, Life, and intelligence of man, which is individualized, but not in matter” (p. 477).