Readings dispersed throughout the discussion.

"Okay — so we're working on the second chapter of Arthur Corey's book. Who wants to start?"

"I will. I'll read from the opening paragraph of chapter 2. 'The central fact of our Science is that God is literally All-in-all. If this claim is sustained to the final analysis, then revelation must be Mind speaking and Mind hearing.'

"Here's an arresting statement he quotes from Mrs. Eddy: 'I do not find my authority for Christian Science in history, but in revelation. If there had never existed such a person as the Galilean Prophet, it would make no difference to me. I should still know that God's spiritual ideal is the only real man in His image and likeness' (My 318:31-4). I'd heard of that statement but never actually seen it. I suppose I should see my own life that way. My entry into Christian Science wasn't as dramatic as hers, but I had an acute confluence of problems 30 years ago that drove me to it. Maybe it's better to hold to the absolute fact that my divine reality's what got me here."

"I agree with that! In fact Corey says we experience reality right where we're thinking. There's no need for — as he calls them — 'inbetweenness, channels, windows, transparencies, intercessories, vehicles or agents.'

"He says there's one thing we're sure of — our consciousness. We can doubt everything and everyone but consciousness remains, whatever the beliefs that flit in and out of it.

"He remarks about how many physical scientists in the early part of the 20th Century came to see what Mrs. Eddy had already seen — that what's popularly called matter is really consciousness. He quotes J. S. Haldane: 'Materialism, once a scientific theory, is now the fatalistic creed of thousands, but materialism is nothing better than a superstition on the same level as a belief in witches and devils.' ('The Sciences and Philosophy').

"I think with this chapter Corey's encouraging us to see that our whole approach to reality is through what he calls 'mentation,' which includes all the senses, intuitions, feelings and thinking. The job in Science is to bring these mental functions under the control of the one Mind, God.

"He points out that Mrs. Eddy's primary discovery was not the unreality of matter. Many systems had proclaimed that for centuries. No, her major discovery was that Mind is infinite and therefore One and All."

"Thanks for highlighting that. The thing that worries me about there being only one Mind is how do we experience our uniqueness and individuality, which are also major aspects of Christian Science? There's a clue to our underlying uniqueness in Miscellaneous Writings where Mrs. Eddy seems to endorse astrology: 'Astrology is well in its place, but this place is secondary' (Mis 334: 5-6). Fine — our human identity — which astrology brings out — is secondary — but it does hint the existence of our divine identity — which would be everlasting and perfect.

"So even if I love Mrs. Eddy and Jesus, I wouldn't pattern myself on them or their demonstrations. I might gather inspiration from them and others. but I've got to work out my own demonstration, with God as my teacher."

"I remember when I was a kid I had Superman underwear; I'd hang a towel down my back and swoop around the neighborhood like I was him. As I got older and went through my teenage years, the superhero energies seemed to migrate towards religious thought."

"I've seen my daughter's imagery change as she grew up. Kids don't think in the finite, they live in infinity. As we mature, various human limitations are taken on, I guess so we can operate in so-called polite society, but we lose a lot in the process."

"Well, I'm sorry to say I prepared my share based on reading chapter 3."

"We'll do that for the next two weeks."

"But go ahead! Corey basically says the same things over and over in different language. Just like Mrs. Eddy."

"Okay. The chapter is titled 'The Supreme Being.' Here are a few quotes. 'Principle is Mind governing itself from the basis of its own perfect nature, guiding, directing and controlling all that is going on. But to consider God exclusively as Mind, as that which thinks, is to have a cold, intellectual, mechanical (if not sterile) sense of God. You need all the synonyms to round out your definition.'

"He goes on to say we should be able to use all the synonyms with equal facility because man is the effect of them all. We're God in action.

"I love his playful sense of Christian Science, but he's also deep. After you read something you think, 'Yes of course!' It's all so obvious the way he presents it."

"I'll talk. The other day in yoga my teacher said for us not to be attached to the outcome of the posture we were about to get into. Just do it.

"Attachment is a big no-no in eastern religions, but it underlies a lot of Christian thought, too. After class I was wondering how a Christian Scientist might practice non-attachment. I guess we'd have to know the reason why we were doing it. We couldn't just follow mesmeric orders, the blind leading the blind. We'd have to get to the bottom of it.

"What came to me was that as infinite eternal ideas, we can't be attached to anyone or anything. It's not possible! But on the other hand, if we're engaging in the fictional role of a mortal, we'd need lots of attachments. It comes with the territory. A mortal who's not attached would probably be seen as mentally ill.

"So what to do? I suppose we need to keep our human attachments in line with divine reality and work to move them along channels evolving into infinity."

"Thanks. I look in on the Youth Forums from time to time. Everything comes up — including homosexuality — and there are a variety of answers with few priestly tantrums. One recent question went on for three pages [5-25-07 Truthseeker] basically asking the same question that comes up here about where mortal mind comes from.

"There are some very good responses. To me it's a matter of aiming our questions towards harmonious outcomes. Otherwise we're just going around in circles.

"We can ask any number of crazy questions and spin our wheels for hours trying to figure out the answer. I mean, why does two plus two equal eight? Think of the time we could spend on that! Why am I sick? Why does homophobia exist?"

"Why can't I get a lover?"

"Exactly! Love's your lover whether you have a lover or don't have a lover."

"Okay. Now let's hear from our Annual Meeting attendee."

"It was my first time and I got a lot of inspiration from it. Frankly the Sunday Service was the highpoint. There were innovations like not reading the hymns before we sang them. All the music was phenomenal. The singer sang part of her solo in Zulu, accompanied by bongo drums and one of those gourds with seeds..."

"You mean a cocktail shaker?"

"Right. Everyone up there was undulating and swaying gently, and the readers read like they were making it up as they went along. It was really natural.

"The Annual Meeting itself was short on info and long on metaphysics. I felt like I got something from that approach. The Board were mercifully brief in their comments."

"Okay, folks. Our time's up. We'll work on chapter 3 for the next two weeks. It's about The Supreme Being."