Although raised in a Christian Science home, I did not grasp the teachings of Science sufficiently to find the answers to my deep questions about the ultimate meaning to life. I became convinced that there was indeed no explanation as to how or why I was alive.

In college I became even more confused, as I seemed to be thrown into an atmosphere of psychic and vibrational experiences which led me to an intense study of Eastern religions and spiritualism. During four bewildering years I explored intellectual, philosophical, religious, and mystical teachings. I eventually moved to a Yoga institute, committing my life to meditation, exercise, and the most rigid of vegetarian diets—eating only brown rice, fruit juices, and an occasional vegetable soup.

The more I looked for answers, the more confused I became and the less understanding I actually had. At one such moment of extreme discouragement, the idea came strongly to me to read the weekly Bible Lesson in the Christian Science Quarterly. Although this was somewhat inappropriate for a promising Yogi, and although I was convinced that I had already gained whatever good could be obtained from Christian Science, I decided to read the lesson anyway. Truth's power and effect were immediate. Four days later I left the Yoga institute. I left with a newfound conviction that I had finally glimpsed the only truth existing and was on the way to a fuller understanding.

Hindu philosophy bases its promise of progress and eventual freedom from materiality on a theory of reincarnation. Freedom from the cycle of birth, maturity, decay, and death theoretically would take as much as a few thousand years. It is hard to convey the tremendous feeling of relief, of comfort, joy, and love I felt as I realized the error of this theory and glimpsed the meaning of Mrs. Eddy's liberating words (Science and Health, p. 527), "Man is God's reflection, needing no cultivation, but ever beautiful and complete." I saw for the first time that there was no force apart from God, no force which could create matter, put me in matter and then make me spend lifetime upon lifetime trying to get out! The biggest philosophical hoax was to consider ourselves material to begin with.

The three years since those first glorious insights have proven beyond a doubt that every truly spiritual experience reveals a more accurate view of our innate perfection and all the glory it includes. In learning to expect instantaneous and permanent healing, three words—diligence, promptness, and perseverance—have given me both inspiration and courage. They stand out to me in the passage from the chapter on Genesis in Science and Health where Mrs. Eddy tells us (p. 514): "In the figurative transmission from the divine thought to the human, diligence, promptness, and perseverance are likened to 'the cattle upon a thousand hills.' They carry the baggage of stern resolve, and keep pace with highest purpose."

Many physical healings have come quickly through prompt denial of sickness as real, including instantaneous healings of headache, a painful canker sore, and a violent attack of flu.

On Christmas Day while living in another country, I began to evidence all the symptoms of a flu which was rampant in the city. Alone, in the middle of the night, far from anyone who could speak English, I struggled with fear. I had a commitment to play the piano for a Christian Science church service the following morning, and as it was Christmas night no replacement could have been found. Unable to read, unable to sit up or think clearly, I lay in bed in total darkness groping for the healing thought. I knew I needed to be healed by morning. And then it dawned on me. "Now are we the sons of God" (I John 3:2). Every word held relevance. Now. We. Sons. God. That statement became more real to me than the sickness the body claimed. Around five o'clock in the morning I dozed off but awoke completely healed about an hour later. I was at the piano in church a few hours later, elated with the conviction that God was real and present everywhere. I then realized the potency of this healing passage, so potent that Mrs. Eddy chose it as the correlative Scripture for "the scientific statement of being" (see Science and Health, p. 468). This was my first Christian Science healing which let me feel God's love and convinced me of its immediacy beyond all other healing means.

When mental promptness has not finalized a healing, diligence and perseverance never fail. As an outcome of my Yoga experience I believed in negative mental forces, able to subtly influence and control me, and I was terrified. Freedom from the belief of thought transference—that other people could reach me mentally to do injury—came slowly. I learned to diligently deny the existence of a mind unlike Love and to recognize my relationship with God as inviolable, a relationship God, divine Mind, maintains with each of His ideas.

I slowly grew in confidence that God's care for me included protection from anything harmful, whether it appeared to be solid matter or mental matter. This understanding left me fearless and free to express joy for God's complete control over the entire universe.

When I realized the grand significance of Jesus' teaching "Take no thought for . . what ye shall eat" (Matt. 6:25) I was freed from dietary theories.

A deliberate study of the concept of purity cleansed my thought of any lingering false theories and prepared the way for the honest teaching of truth through class instruction. For the changed sense and awareness, the inspiration and strength this experience gives me daily, I am forever grateful.

I am most thankful for the life and healing works of Christ Jesus, and for the writings of Mrs. Eddy, which have enabled me to face life with a confident sense of purpose and to greet each new day with joy.

(Miss) Susan Dane
Boston, Massachusetts