Article August 10, 2015 Issue

What thoughts are we entertaining?

Katherine Stephen

Many of us enjoy being hospitable. But to be a good host or hostess, first of all, requires an effort to carefully consider whom we are inviting into our home.

Do we exercise the same care, scrutiny, and discernment over determining what thoughts—or “guests”—we entertain in consciousness? Are we willing to eject from our mental household thoughts and false beliefs that cause discord, and instead host thoughts that inspire and heal?

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word entertain, in part, as “to keep, hold, or maintain in the mind.” The study of Christian Science shows that it is important to remain vigilant over what we entertain in thought. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, taught that what we mentally entertain determines our experience. Her book Unity of Good says: “Everything is as real as you make it, and no more so. What you see, hear, feel, is a mode of consciousness, and can have no other reality than the sense you entertain of it” (p. 8).