By Anna Bowness-Park
Anna is a Christian Science practitioner of spiritual healing and spokesperson for Christian Science in British Columbia.
The time for thinkers has come,” Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, wrote on the first page of her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which explains her discoveries about the nature of God and man, and the connection to our health. What does she mean when she calls this age the “time for thinkers”?
Christianity is often viewed as a “doing” and “talking” religion rather than a thoughtful one, but this is a misconception that would put an entire religion into one tidy box. Actually there are many different contemplative practices within Christianity and Christian Science is one of them. However, unlike some meditation practices, Christian Science does not require emptying the mind of thought, but instead looks to gaining a sense of closeness with God, our divine source. There are many forms of prayer, but in Christian Science it is a contemplative action, where a sense of peace is not centered in oneself, nor a pleading with God to change something. Rather this practice of prayer is a willingness to let go of how the problem looks, and be willing to see the problem from a spiritual perspective – in other words, “to think.”
Contemplative prayer is a discipline, which has afforded me and countless others many insightful and healing moments. Old hurts and memories have slipped away, fears overcome, and new perspectives have been gained. Health has often been restored. It is the moment when the restless turning of the hamster wheel of thought ceases…….read more