The desire for happiness is universal, and in order to obtain complete happiness, one must enjoy good health. It is not surprising, then, that the search for health and for methods of curing disease receives so much attention.

Although vast numbers of people are seeking healing and health through drugs or hypnotism, such efforts afford at best only a temporary relief. On the other hand, Christian Science offers the spiritual method of healing and the true idea of health as taught by the Master, Christ Jesus. He did not use medicine or psychiatry for healing, but relied completely on God for the cure of disease and for maintaining the spiritual sense of health.

Mary Baker Eddy tells in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" how healing is accomplished scientifically. She says (Pref., p. xi), "The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus' time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation."

True health is a divine state of Mind, not a condition of matter; it is not a temporal quality, here today and gone tomorrow. It is permanent, stable, unchanging.

One commonly thinks of health as being in one's body, a feeling of strength and vigor. However, in her presentation of the scientific translation of mortal mind, which appears on pages 115 and 116 of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy shows that, by the transforming of human consciousness, mortal qualities finally disappear, and man appears, expressing God's own qualities.

Among the qualities of God and of man in His likeness pointed out in this passage are wisdom, purity, spiritual understanding, and health. The inclusion of health among the spiritual qualities emphasizes the truth that health is not in matter or mortal mind, but that it is a quality of God and man.

Indeed, we cannot really escape from health, since God is omnipresent, and His quality of health is ever with us. We may be deceived or we may deceive ourselves into believing for a time that we have lost health or that we have been separated from it; but we can never really escape from all-encompassing well-being any more than we can be separated from God or the benign manifestation of His love.

While at work one afternoon, a Christian Scientist became aware that all the symptoms of influenza seemed to be developing in his body. He was not able to continue his work and could think of nothing except that he felt ill.

Suddenly he remembered the passage in Science and Health dealing with the translation of mortal mind, and he said to himself: "Why, I am being deceived. Health is a quality of God, which I reflect as His image and likeness, and I can know nothing of sickness." This idea came to him with such simple clarity as to be irresistible. The belief of disease faded completely from his thought, and the symptoms vanished instantaneously.

The next day, near the close of business, one of the workers under his supervision came to him and told him that she was very ill and did not think she would be able to come to work on the next day. This worker was responsible for a large volume of work which had to be done at this particular time of the month, and no one else was available who was qualified to do it. Other functions of the department were dependent on her work, and it seemed vital that she be there on the next day.

The woman had no interest in Christian Science and had not asked for help, but the Scientist began to clear his own thought regarding the situation, because he was the department head and responsible for her work. He denied the beliefs of epidemic, contagion, contamination, and disease. He knew that health is real and that sickness is unreal and without foundation in fact. He acknowledged the ever-present operation of divine Principle and its manifestation of perfect health.

At the end of the day he went home with mind at ease and feeling completely free and happy. The next morning the worker came to the office on time and was completely well. She said that in some unaccountable way the disease had disappeared during the night, although for some reason she had not used the material remedies she ordinarily employed.

In seeking health, we should lift our thought above corporeal sense and reach out for the spiritual quality of God, called health. Each individual, as the true image and likeness of God, expresses and manifests spiritual health just as surely and as completely as God does. So health is not something to be sought in matter or in material forms, but is to be found through spiritual seeking.

The elevation of thought into reality breaks the dream of disease, frees the human mind from the fear of and belief in disease, and establishes in the body the right human sense of vigor, strength, and vitality. This good result is inevitable.

In the words of Isaiah (58:8), "Thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward."