Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures Archives

“Risen”: its promise for all of us

March 23, 2016 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

wp-BRI-HealthSpiritualityConnection-761-image — http://www.risen-movie.com/

In her take on the new movie, “Risen”, my New Jersey colleague, Valerie Minard, shows how the film helps us ask and answer the questions we’re meant to think about at Easter time. Here’s Val….

The Easter story, “Risen,” is a powerful and unusual movie portraying the last days of Jesus after his resurrection. Although the script attempts to stay true to the Biblical account, the story is told from the perspective of a fictional character, Clavius, a Roman tribune, responsible for finding Jesus’ missing body….

In his search for Jesus’ body, we see a transition from a curious observer to one that has become intrigued by, if not converted to, Jesus’ teachings….

Even though the concept of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension may seem beyond material comprehension, there are basic questions that it generates for all of us. For instance, is there life after death? Is life eternal? If life continues on a spiritual plain, is man essentially spiritual, or does he need death to become spiritual? If man is essentially spiritual here and now, what are we here for?…

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Our declining belief in death

October 28, 2015 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

@Glowimages: Cemetary Cross — © GLOW IMAGES

The recent Oprah Winfrey (OWN) series, “Belief”, stirred up an international conversation starting with the question: “What do you believe?” It’s important to be able to answer that. What do we trust in? What do we have unshakeable faith in? My California colleague, Eric Nelson, says that even such a universally held belief as death is being challenged. Here’s Eric…

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain,” wrote Ben Franklin to his friend Jean-Baptiste LeRoy in 1789, “except death and taxes.” Had he written this today, however, it’s not at all certain that death would have made the cut.

Of course, no one knows for sure what happens when we die (well, no one who’s still with us), but there are quite a number of folks who feel they’ve perhaps gotten a glimpse, calling into question the very notion of death.

After falling into a weeklong coma, Eben Alexander, author of the New York Times best-selling book “Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife,” found himself keenly aware of the fact that, as he puts it, he was loved, that he had nothing to fear and that he could do no wrong. This was pretty heady stuff, especially for someone who had always assumed that the brain – an organ that, in Alexander’s case, had completely shut down due to a rare infection – was the source of consciousness.

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Ready to Give

September 25, 2015 By christianscienceminnesota 1 Comment

My Arizona colleague, Rich Evans, explains the spiritual underpinnings of giving unselfishly. From personal experience, he describes how practicing the Golden Rule can be an effective response to the current refugee crisis. Here’s Rich…

Budapest. Munich. Bodrum. These beautiful, historic places have become symbols of unanswered global questions about our moral obligations to mankind.

This question is just as important here in the Southwestern US, as anywhere.

Seeing reports of masses of refugees fending for themselves at Keleti railway station in Hungary, having just escaped the chaos of warfare, begs many questions and demands serious thought.

“There, but for the grace of God, go I”, could be a natural response. But what is the grace of God? To me, it’s the inspired effect on human behavior of understanding God’s universal love. Such boundless grace must hold answers for each individual, oppressed or free, in conflict or at peace, in Syria or Arizona.

We could, of course, simply view these challenges as someone else’s problem. But we have a track record of doing better than that….

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Celebrate religious freedom on the Fourth of July

July 3, 2015 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

@Glowimages: The Statue of Liberty, New York City, United States of America with the Stars and Stripes flag in the foreground — © GLOW IMAGES

My Southern California colleague, Don Ingwerson, reminds us that a big part of why we celebrate our independence this weekend, is freedom to practice the religion of our choice. That idea often gets drowned out by fun and fireworks. And the prayer that’s at the center of religion can bring freedom from sickness. Here’s Don…

Is July 4 just a day for barbecues, friends and family?

It seemed that way to a friend of mine a few years ago at an Independence Day neighborhood gathering. He was surprised to learn that most of the children attending didn’t know why they were celebrating….

One of the bedrocks of our country, which many other nations tragically lack, is the commitment to religious freedom we have maintained through the years. Yet I have learned such commitment requires fresh renewal with each generation. We can’t take for granted that all our citizens will understand and appreciate this crucial component of our history, nor recognize how vital it is that it should continue.

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Empathy: crucial for effective healthcare

May 28, 2015 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)

Can the caring at the heart of healthcare sometimes seem to get lost?

Many think it does, as classic family physicians have been increasingly replaced by time-constrained, clinical specialists.

Among doctors, such caring used to be called a “good bedside manner”. And after more than a generation of specialized training focused on medical knowledge and technical acumen, the value of empathy is being re-discovered and taught as an essential skill.

It improves the experience of both patients and doctors when medical professionals express clinical empathy, according to the Kaiser Health news service. The patient feels understood and cared about, has a better outcome and is more satisfied. The doctor in turn gets a better rating, faces less risk of malpractice suits and experiences decreased burnout. The whole system is benefited. (See “Efforts to Instill Empathy Among Doctors are Paying Dividends.”)

I too have learned how powerful empathy can be, in my journey as a practitioner of Christian Science healing. But I view it from a slightly different angle. To me, empathy for patients is not just a technique to show you understand another person’s emotions and share their feelings. Rather, it’s at the core of our desire to help one another. As children of a loving Creator, the capacity to care for each other is innate in all of us.

#GratitudeChallenge: From the Trivial to the Transformational

November 26, 2014 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

My Massachusetts colleague, Ingrid Peschke, examines current gratitude fads. She drills down to the profound, healing impact that true thanksgiving can have on our health and happiness.

She observes, “I’ve found that gratitude can be most beneficial when it feels as though there’s nothing to be grateful for. In those dark moments, I’ve gotten better at detecting a deceptive view of my circumstances and focusing on the good instead.” Here’s Ingrid…

My Facebook feed this summer included a steady stream of lists from friends who accepted one of the numerous gratitude challenges circulating social media spheres. I read their posts with curious interest, but I secretly hoped I wouldn’t be asked to take on the challenge, too!

Sharing gratitude in an open forum can sometimes come off as trite. Besides, people seem to be popping gratitude like it’s the latest wonder drug. A recent Salon.com article addresses the current Western trend toward gratitude and mindfulness as a kind of “spiritual meritocracy,” or spirituality lite. The author writes:

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Moving beyond drugs to find health

September 18, 2014 By christianscienceminnesota 15 Comments

As summer slips away again, I’m reminded of how walking along the seashore listening to the continuous sound of crashing surf can clear our head and allow fresh perspectives.

In the local Walgreens parking lot, I had a beach-like moment and found an answer. A CVS store had opened up on the other end of the same block and I puzzled over how these stores were both thriving while selling identical merchandise.

As I stood listening to waves of traffic, the answer hit me: drugs. They are drug stores. There’s an insatiable demand for prescription and non-prescription medication. People’s search for health is relentless. Everyone needs to be healthy.

But are drugs the only way?

Reports say a lot of us don’t think so. In addition to mega-dollars spent on drug-based health care, Americans also spend almost $34 billion each year out of their own pockets on alternative treatments. Even 3 out of 4 U.S. health care workers use some form of complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) to stay healthy.

Prayer is no longer listed as part of CAM but the statistics still show an increasing percentage of people pray about their health.

I’m part of those statistics….Continue Reading

Our ‘inalienable right’ to better health

July 3, 2014 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

@Glowimages 220102GC0026. — © GLOW IMAGES

We have the right to be free of ill-health. In that spirit, my California colleague, Eric Nelson, shared this. I actually saw the play he refers to when it had its world premiere in Minneapolis at the Guthrie Theater. I’m glad to hear these comments from the playwright. Here’s Eric…

Tony Kushner can write. In fact he writes so well, he has received a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards and, just last year, an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay (“Lincoln”).

Tony Kushner also recognizes good writing.

During a recent radio interview to promote the west coast premier of his latest play, “The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures,” he made a point of praising the prose of someone whose work features prominently in the play’s title: Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science Church and author of “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.”

“Mary Baker Eddy was a really wonderful writer,” said Kushner. “And she writes gorgeously. [Science and Health is] endlessly quotable. And I sorta fell in love with it. I didn’t become a Christian Scientist, but I found it tremendously moving.”

To commemorate the upcoming celebration of our nation’s independence, here’s a timely sample from “Science and Health” that relates both to humanity’s continued quest for freedom and, as Eddy puts it, our “inalienable right” to less suffering and better health:

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Genetic choice – our thinking can change our genes?

May 29, 2014 By christianscienceminnesota 12 Comments

I write about how our thinking affects our health. A previous post, Expectation: the ultimate placebo effect shows how thinking can be effective medicine – even when patients are told beforehand about a placebo, yet still expect and experience good results.

But what if a problem is genetic? Is that conclusion that last word? NO.

Can our thinking still have an effect? YES.

A book that has something relevant to offer here is the Bible. It gives examples of people who were “born” with certain conditions and then cured through an entirely new spiritual perspective of their well being.

A newer book, written over a hundred years ago, (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy), states: “Heredity is not a law.” It explains how changing our mental response to that subject – changing how we think about theories associated with our genetic inheritance – can help heal and even prevent disease.Continue Reading

I Was Addicted To Gambling — Here’s How I Overcame It

April 30, 2014 By christianscienceminnesota 1 Comment

My London colleague, Tony Lobl, gives a heartfelt account of how spiritual growth enabled him to gain control over his thoughts and actions. He was permanently cured of the disease called, addiction. Here’s Tony…

When did I cross the line and become “an addict”? Perhaps during my final year at high school. Day after day, I’d play hooky from class to join a covert clan of gamblers playing card games in the seniors’ common room.

It didn’t seem like an addiction at the time — as a good bluffer, I’d regularly turn a healthy profit. But it wasn’t the money that drew me; it was the buzz of pitting my wits against my peers’. However, the fact remained that the writing was on the wall. On days when luck ran out, I’d still carry on until I lost everything, including my bus fare home. Thankfully my father never asked why he had to pick me up.

Despite my lax approach to classes, I got into University. For a few years, an array of extracurricular activities kept the gambler at bay, hidden within. So did a couple of cash-light years following graduation, as I pursued a vain dream to be Britain’s answer to Bob Dylan.

But the desire to gamble remained and quickly resurfaced when I finally got a job at a video production company. Instead of saving my money, I immediately began feeding it to voracious slot machines in London.

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