Thinking our own thoughts

The TV commercial was suggesting that it had a cure for my cold. I had simply to take a trip down to the sun and surf for a week and I would come back healthy and happy. For a moment I actually did contemplate how nice it would be to be lying on a beach or playing tennis in the sun. Then suddenly I stopped and asked myself, ''Whose thoughts am I thinking?'' First of all, I didn't even have a cold, and secondly, I was very happy already.

Obviously, I had nearly accepted one of the many opportunities we have each day to think someone else's thoughts rather than our own. The invitations come from all directions - many of them not as obvious as advertising. How many times do we casually support the actions or words of a friend, co-worker, or our boss, even though his viewpoint is not in line with what we believe? How many times do we say or do something only because everyone else is doing it? Of course, we realize the need to be ourselves, and yet conformity is often so much easier.

Each one of us can do a better job of thinking and acting in accord with what we really believe by realizing that we are actually the image, the reflection, of God. Therefore, God, the one infinite Mind, is the only true source of our thoughts. Armed with this understanding, we'll more readily detect thoughts that aren't our own. Certainly, any thought that denies God's goodness can't really be a part of our consciousness, and we can reject it as illegitimate.

Because Christ Jesus was unwavering in his expression of the one Mind, he encountered continual opposition from the common way of thinking. At one point he was asked by Jairus, ruler of a synagogue, to heal his daughter. But by the time Jesus arrived at Jairus's house she had died--or so everyone thought. However, Jesus, understanding man's eternal unity with God, said that the child was not dead, just asleep. He was laughed at, but this did not deter him. He healed Jairus's daughter to the amazement of the onlookers.n1

n1 See Mark 5:22-43.

In as much as there is only one infinite Mind, we each have the right and the ability to overcome erroneous thoughts and thereby bring healing to ourselves and others. Since God's creation includes thoughts of peace, wisdom, harmony, and intelligence, we can claim these as ours to express. They are the true qualities inherent in our consciousness as the reflection of divine Mind.

Thoughts of sensuality, disease, and irritation have no place in the kingdom of God--they're no part of infinite, perfect Mind; therefore they have no basis for existence. As we diligently claim our unity with God and strive to express the divine Mind, we will be able to decide whether to accept or reject a given thought. Furthermore, we will be able to remove every trace of the rejected thought from our consciousness.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, states, ''The way to extract error from mortal mind is to pour in truth through flood-tides of Love.''n2 Divine Love, God, is our true Mind. So, when we feel Love's presence in prayer and actively love our fellowman, evil, all error, loses its place in our consciousness. And with thoughts full of truth and love we will be expressing our real selfhood - that individuality which is the perfect reflection of God.

n2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 201.