Everything turned bright when I changed my ski goggles. As I rode the chair lift, I thought about this. Because of the less opaque lenses, everything looked so sunny and beautiful; the glow made me feel safe and warm.

I was reminded of how we look at things in Christian Science.

In Christian Science what lens do we look through? Although the mountain and weather conditions had been the same all day, changing my lenses made the whole picture appear different. Isn't this analogous to praying our way in Christian Science out of a difficulty of illness? When we change our thoughts, the whole material picture appears different. We don't pray for a condition of matter to be altered, but we do pray for our false concept to change. When we change our concept from the material to the spiritual, we get a correct view, and a healing takes place. What we are actually doing is raising our thought above the material sense of things and seeing our unchanging perfect selfhood. Mrs. Eddy explains, "The lens of Science magnifies the divine power to human sight; and we then see the supremacy of Spirit and the nothingness of matter."^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 194;}

When we begin to recognize that it is consciousness that actually forms the material picture or condition, we become more alert to what is going on in our thinking. If our thought is filled with the health and unlimited good of Spirit, we will find ourselves experiencing these. On the other hand, if we are filled with limited, frightened, sickly thoughts, we will find the seeming effects of these thoughts to be part of our experience.

If the lens is out of focus, we do not try to correct the picture; we simply change the lens. The removal of discordant conditions must first take place in consciousness. We must change our view from dim, unilluminated thoughts to the enlightened vision of Spirit. When this has been accomplished, as Paul says, "In the twinkling of an eye, . . . we shall be changed."^{I Cor. 15:52;}

Let me illustrate: Today many people in the world believe themselves to be grappling with a sluggish economy. This outlook causes much fear. Occasionally, my husband would mention a business associate or company that had failed because of economic pressures. One day he found himself faced with inadequate funds. Although much money was owed to his business, reimbursement was so irregular that he had to inform his men not to return to work until further notice. My husband felt overwhelmed by this situation.

Without realizing it, we had accepted the aggressive mental suggestion of a poor economy. What were we to do? I humbly turned to God in prayer for guidance. The answer came in these words: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."^{Ps. 46:1;} That message kept filling my thought over and over again, and it brought peace and joy. I shared the message with my husband, and it enabled us to change our concept from one of human limitation to some glimpse of ever-present divine abundance. We realized that to believe there is lack anywhere is to believe in the absence of God's omnipresent care. Knowing God is everywhere, we had to claim abundance for all—no matter what the material picture seemed to be.

We became receptive to divine direction and recognized God's law of abundance as having power over any other law. Acknowledging God and His idea, man, as complete and including all good right now was a clear basis for healing. The suggestion that individuals, business, or countries were in trouble or financial distress had to be silenced with the affirmation that God is continuously supplying every human need for everyone.

Supply is evidence of right thought. Although it may appear to be money that is meeting the need, the sufficiency of right ideas really does the work. And there is an unlimited supply of right ideas. In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy writes: "The term Science, properly understood, refers only to the laws of God and to His government of the universe, inclusive of man. From this it follows that business men and cultured scholars have found that Christian Science enhances their endurance and mental powers, enlarges their perception of character, gives them acuteness and comprehensiveness and an ability to exceed their ordinary capacity."^{Science and Health, p. 128.}

We knew we did not have to go out and try to change a world, but we did have to change our thought about it. As in the skiing incident, I did not have to change the mountain or the skies to get a sunnier view; all I had to do was change to the more transparent glasses.

We learned we had to fill consciousness with joy, abundance, and expectation of good from God. The Christ-spirit, dawning on our thought, enabled us to make right decisions. With this change of consciousness every material obstacle in our business situation began to disappear, and constructive avenues opened up. To human sense this seemed miraculous, but to spiritual understanding it was divinely natural.

The Christ brings healings of every sort. When an unpleasant situation arises, we do not have to accept it or be dismayed by it; right then we can deny its validity and let the Christ, Truth, have dominion. A genuine understanding of Truth is more powerful than any erroneous situation. But we have to know this and be alert to use this spiritual knowledge. With this knowing we can express love, kindness, and patience to family, business, community, and the world. The Christ presence is irresistible.

When one is struggling with a problem, what a comfort it is to trust God! This trust leads and directs one with inspiration and joy; it is a stepping-stone to true abundance, which is the recognition of unlimited, spiritual being. To understand these truths shows us the real man, made in God's image, and enables us to express dominion.