Mental Arrows

[Original article in German]

DORA CLEVE

An arrow that misses its mark is harmless; but how often we, having been mentally wounded, have carried with us a mental arrow, perhaps for days, weeks, or even months!

We think we see an enemy before us who has made, or intends to make, a personal attack on us, and a sharp word-arrow may be received. A student of Christian Science was once wounded by such an arrow. It burned in the mental wound. and she could not rid herself of it until at last she asked God for right thoughts. After she had sent forth her petition, she opened "Miscellaneous Writings," and her eyes fell on these words (p. 8): "Can you see an enemy, except you first formulate this enemy and then look upon the object of your own conception?"

It was about such an imaginary enemy that she had been disturbed! There fell from her eyes "as it had been scales," and she saw so-called mortal mind as the aggressor. She declared that she could not be deceived and defrauded, disturbed and annoyed, by error, and that she would not submit to it. The struggle, consisting of a constant declaration of the truth through which to silence the voice of error, lasted a week. Again and again the serpent tried to creep into her consciousness, and again and again it was driven out. The erroneous thoughts were eventually exterminated, and peace remained.

On a later occasion the former so-called enemies met each other with such joyful composure and complete freedom that it was not necessary to make even the slightest reference to an incident which had occurred at their previous meeting. It was literally blotted out. The Psalmist declares, "Thou shalt not be afraid . . . for the arrow that flieth by day."

Such experiences as these teach us lessons of great value. We not only learn through them to have better control over our thoughts, but we also prove that Truth and Love have all power over error.

When one has struggled for a week with a supposititious enemy and its supposititious mental arrow, one becomes more alert and takes care not to give one's self so much unnecessary work again. Control of one's own thinking is found to be always possible as one asks, What is speaking—the voice of Truth or the voice of error?

The seeming mental wound serves to make the alert student look within his own thinking for the cause of his suffering. It is not necessary to suffer for mistakes others have made, since we have the comforting assurance that the kingdom of heaven is within us. We have always the opportunity to reflect upon the truth concerning God's perfect creation, including man, that he is ever protected by divine Love.

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