When I went through Christian Science Primary class instruction, a course designed to teach students how to heal spiritually, the teacher used an animal analogy one day that stuck with me. She pointed out that we don’t need to fear a chained lion, because no matter how frightening it seems, it cannot hurt us. Symbolically, the chained lion stands for animal magnetism (a term used to indicate something opposed to good, attempting to pull down thought). The calming love of God graciously enables us to conquer it. Last year, I had an experience that forced me to deal with animals of whose nature I was not familiar, and it reminded me of this lesson from my class experience.

One evening late at night I ventured out to my SUV, which was parked on the street in front of our home. I needed to retrieve some things from inside the vehicle, so I sat in the driver’s seat as I loaded my arms full of everything I had to bring into the house. Upon getting out of the vehicle into the dark, I turned around to shut the door, and I heard a panting sound that startled me.

As I looked down, I saw an unleashed Rottweiler and another large brown dog looking up at me. There was no time to panic, so I simply listened for the thoughts God was giving me.

I had never noticed these dogs before in our neighborhood, and there was no owner around. I proceeded slowly toward the house as the dogs followed me. Then, the most loving and natural way of communicating to these animals came to me. Out loud, I told them they were good, happy, loved ideas of God, and I continued speaking to them in this way until I arrived at the front door. They were receptive and didn’t make any aggressive moves toward me. But once I got to the door to open it, I realized that they were ready to follow me right into the house, where my dogs were, unless I did something.

It was like time stood still, and I was ready to do whatever the Father wanted me to do to help keep everyone safe. The one Mind was an instant presence, and I knew immediately what to do. I turned around quickly, put my hand out and down in front of the Rottweiler's face, looked into his eyes, and authoritatively commanded, “Stay.” Startled, he jumped back, but did exactly as I said. I shut the door behind me, and that was the end of our visit. I thanked God for His tender protection. It was clear that He was giving me every thought and action, since I had not had time to lean on my estimation of what would have been the best thing to do under the circumstances.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures that the manifestation of Mind is instantaneous. She defined time this way: “Mortal measurements; limits, in which are summed up all human acts, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, knowledge; matter; error; that which begins before, and continues after, what is termed death, until the mortal disappears and spiritual perfection appears” (p. 595). That doesn’t mean that we have to wait until spiritual perfection appears later. It appears in every moment when we are listening for God’s thoughts. As we do this, they guide us in perfect harmony.

To me, this brief experience was grand in its proof that God governs His whole creation and maintains it harmoniously, just as the Bible speaks of different animals coexisting in peace. In one place Isaiah makes this prophecy: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (11:6). To me this says that God gave us dominion over all His creation, no matter what their temperament seems to be. All we have to do is recognize this peaceful, God-bestowed authority and exercise it.

This experience reminded me of the account in Science and Health of a man looking a large animal in the eye and sending it cowering into the jungle (see p. 378). Mrs. Eddy scientifically explained it this way: “A man's gaze, fastened fearlessly on a ferocious beast, often causes the beast to retreat in terror. This latter occurrence represents the power of Truth over error,--the might of intelligence exercised over mortal beliefs to destroy them . . . .” Any situation, physical or mental, that seems to bring initial fear can be conquered in such a way—by persistently going after the mistaken belief that we can be separated from God’s dear love.

Interestingly, a few days later I saw the Rottweiler behind a house on our street. A sign on the gate read, “Beware of Dog.” Somehow he had made his way home where he belonged. I felt such gratitude for the Father of us all, who kept everyone safe that night.