Education as feeling

I was in a difficult situation. I'd signed up for a summer course at college without having taken the prerequisites. The professor was willing to let me try , yet as days went by I felt frustrated by the many allusions to books I'd never read and didn't have time to read.

But there was time for one thing: prayer. Each day I drove an eighty-mile round trip to the university, and as I did I reached out to god for help. I had badly wanted to take this course. It was a subject that keenly interested me, and I had hoped my enthusiasm would carry me through. But it soon became clear that more than enthusiasm would be necessary. I began considering, in the light of prayer, what education was all about.

Was it really nothing more than the accumulation of knowledge? Was it a case of one well-educated human mind enlightening other minds? That was the generally held concept, of course. But I'd been learning in Christian Science -- and proving -- that God is Mind and that man simply reflects this Mind. So the thought of many ninds of various calibers and at different stages of development didn't sit well with me.

Also, I thought I ought to be able to do more than just accrete facts. I recalled a statement in the Christian Science textbook by Mary Baker eddy. n1 "Christian Science presents unfoldment, not accretion; it manifests no material growth from molecule to mind, but an impartation of the divine Mind to man and the universe." n2

n1 Mrs. Eddy is the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science;

n2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,m p. 68.

Wasn't it possible for concepts to unfold even if there wasn't much time? I thought of Jesus who, at the age of twelve, was able to carry on intelligent conversation with learned doctors. He hadn't had the time or opportunity to prepare in the way the world would have deemed necessary for such an undertaking , yet he went ahead. "And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers." n3

n3 Luke 2:47.

Man is God's reflection. God is his Mind, a Mind that includes spiritual ideas, spritual identities (yours and mine), and a spiritual universe. This supreme intelligence informs man, giving him truth and power.

As human beings think and live under these facts, as they feelm them, they begin to break the hypnotic belief of a mind apart from God. They discover they can know whatever they need to know in any circumstance. They find the self-discipline to study, the ability to retain and communicate worthwhile concepts. They're able to rise above personality conflicts with professors or others. In my case, I found I could understand the underlying concepts brought out in the class, even though I hadn't read all the books mentioned. My final grade of Am proved I had understood the course.

The answer was in reflection. The feeling that one is the reflection of the divine Mind is humbling yet rewarding. It's feeling that many of Jesus' disciples must have had as they grasped truths of God and man that they'd never heard of before. It's a feeling each of us can have. As John said, "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." n4

n4 I John 2:20.

DAILY BIBLE VERSE Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:28,29