Are you sure?
This bookmark will be removed from all folders and any saved notes will be permanently removed.
Spiritual thoughts lead to health
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
My kids were quickly recovering from flulike symptoms—and then I started feeling bad, too. One evening, I was nauseated and couldn’t keep my food down. Between trips to the bathroom, I managed to pray.
I felt strongly that I had a choice in how I responded to this situation. By becoming more conscious of God and His presence, I could find the peace I needed, along with an awareness of my real, healthy nature. And this would restore my physical well-being as well.
Mary Baker Eddy’s book Science and Health explains: “Stand porter at the door of thought. Admitting only such conclusions as you wish realized in bodily results, you will control yourself harmoniously. When the condition is present which you say induces disease, whether it be air, exercise, heredity, contagion, or accident, then perform your office as porter and shut out these unhealthy thoughts and fears. Exclude from mortal mind the offending errors; then the body cannot suffer from them” (392:24-32 Stand ).
Here Eddy uses mortal mind to refer to human consciousness—a mixture of those limiting, discouraging thoughts with the empowering ones from God, the divine Mind. By keeping out unhealthy thoughts, one can maintain, or restore, one’s natural health.
So these were the ideas I kept in thought. And after an hour or so, I was better able to focus on the goodness of God that was present in my life—even to the exclusion of thoughts about the strong symptoms that had apparently overcome me. I then realized I was feeling more peaceful and less nauseated. By the next morning, I was practically back to normal.
St. Paul is quoted in the Bible as saying, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (I Cor 6:19 ). He also states, “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection” (I Cor 9:27 ). These concepts take self-control deeper by pointing to our ability to express more of our real nature, our spiritual identity, which is healthy, pure, capable and united with God.
It’s natural to want to express our many good qualities and to maintain control over the body. And we really can control how the body will respond, even to events outside ourselves. What I think controls how my body responds to bacteria, spoiled food, contagion—any circumstance.
We can choose to think of ourselves as spiritual and under God’s care. Health, happiness, real well-being are ours through the thoughts we choose to have. And when we recognize the eternal presence of God, good, and our inseparability from Him, we naturally choose the good thoughts that He is sending us all the time. This conviction of God’s goodness restores health and peace.