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Kirkus Review takes a shot at “Medicine: A Daily Dose of Spirituality” by Mamie Smith Ed.D.   

 

Here is the “review.”  Read the book and see if you agree!

 

 

Smith, Mamie

MEDICINE

A Daily Dose of

Spirituality: Improving

Your Health with One                                                                                                         

Mind

Xlibris (107 pp.)

$24.99 Hardcover

$15.99 Paperback

$9.99 e-book

August 16, 2011

ISBN: 978-1465347589

This introduction to the essentials of Christian Science offers solace through simplification of concept of “disease.”  Smith, described on the cover as “an avid social media writer, inspirational speaker, teacher and business woman,” wrote this brief book in order to help alleviate suffering among readers coping with the loss of a loved one.

 Whether or not this book would be in any measure effective in meeting that worthy objective is contingent on what is left unmentioned on the book’s covers–Smith is a devout Christian Scientist and sees health and illness absolutely through that religion’s perspective.  Only a few small portions of the text detour from the overarching theme of Christian Science in order to share memories of her fundamentalist Baptist upbringing that she currently views as error-prone.  There are also a few asides suggesting that the world in general, and the U.S. in particular, are in terrible straits economically and politically, though even those insights are offered with the implication that Christian Science practiced could ameliorate these problems.

Of greatest poignancy—and perhaps the sole reason for a reader uninterested in Christian Science to read this—are the expressions of grief Smith articulates regarding her daughter who died as a consequence of breast cancer.  Smith’s grief assumes form in a moving tribute in poetry and a thoughtful meditation in prose.  It is left to the reader whether to read Smith’s assertions that cancer is a “dream,” and that her daughter had “disastrous medical surgery” that Smith might imply sped her daughter’s loss, as denials or spiritual insights.

In spite of this book being marketed as a spiritual “how too”  book about praying and attaining higher consciousness,  all advice appears culled from Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and health with Key to the Scriptures, the core of Christian Science practice.  Smith simplifies Eddy’s book to an extreme.  And the reader should be aware  that in spite of Smith’s graduate degree, the most often quoted factual sources are Wikipedia and Webster’s (no specific edition of the dictionary cited).

 Interested readers may be better served in their search for spiritual medicine through Mary Baker Eddy’s original writings.

Kirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744

indie@kirkusreviews.com 

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/medicine-mamie-edd-smith/1104995992?ean=9781465347572&format=paperback

 

 

I would like to express my gratitude to Kirkus for this review.  It is offered to readers as a literary review and not as the purpose, focus or recurring theme of “Medicine: A Daily Dose of Spirituality.”    Also, be aware that the most “factual quoted sources” used in the book are the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  One can only arrive at this by reading the book himself.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus said, ” If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8: 31-32).  

Let Truth uncover and destroy error in God’s own way, and let human justice pattern the divine.

Mary Baker Eddy 

What is truth?  I define truth as everything that God knows--divine wisdom, understanding and true knowledge.  It surpasses the wisdom of human knowledge and weighs above understanding perceived by the human senses.   Absolute means “complete, whole, unlimited, definite–that which is not dependent on anything else” (Webster).   Things relative are those things that are related to each other or are dependent upon each other.   Is truth dependent on something other than itself to be true?   Does it need verification of its existence?

Many years ago, a graduate professor of philosophy asked a similar question, “Is truth absolute or is it something that changes?”   As a new student in Christian Science and anxious to prove myself, I answered quickly, “Truth is absolute.”  The professor said, “Ok, how do you know it is absolute?  Defend your position!”   I could not.  The professor found my inability to defend amusing, and used the example to drive home the point that in philosophy, one is free to take a position, but when you do, be able to defend that position, otherwise, keep your mouth shut.  My readiness to answer questions in that class were severely limited for the rest of the course.  I would however today, like to defend my understanding of truth’s absoluteness.

Truth is Absolute

 Such a statement has no room for deviation, changeableness or partiality.  If truth is absolute, what makes it so?  Jesus said,”Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  Free from what? Error, sin, sickness and death.  On what basis did Jesus have for claiming some things true and others false?  From boyhood, he had been taught that God was his Father.  Thus, as children do, he communicated with his father, believed the words his father spoke and proved the understanding of those words in his human experience.  Thus, he learned to “believe.”  As he grew into manhood, his ability to obey the messages he received from God ignited his understanding and gave him unfaltering faith and trust  in what he heard.  He saw the blind re-gain sight, the deaf hear, the lame walk and the dead raised.   Thus, he labeled those messages “truth.”  That truth became the center and circumference of his being, so when the opposite of those messages appeared in his experiences, he simply drew upon the truth he already knew, and saw truth’s process of healing work over and over again.  Similarly, I have proved the words of Jesus, the prophets and Mary Baker Eddy to be true in my own experience.

God is Truth

Truth is absolute because it is, has been and will continue to be applied in unlimited situations, conditions and experiences that prove its unchangeableness.   If it changes, it loses its ability to be classified as truth, thus becoming error or untruth.   Truth with a capital “T” is another name for God–thus making God, Truth.  Everything God knows about Himself is true.  He has no cognizance of error or sin.  Popular belief believes that God knows error.  They say, “How could He heal it if He does not know it exists?   The presence of God, Truth causes matter, sin, sickness and death to disappear.  They cannot exist in the same space as God who is perfect, good and eternal.   Confusing?  No!  I ask you, “Can you hold hate and love in your heart at the same time?”  The answer is No!  The moment that you are holding on to hate, there is only hate–no love exists and vice versa.  If you want to experience love, you have to let go of hate at any given moment.  The same holds true for God.  His presence dissolves everything unlike Him.  

Is Truth Relative? 

My answer to this question has to be No!   God is Truth and has no need of validation.  However, perceiving truth as human knowledge, one receives a different answer.  This goes back to my philosophy teacher urging me to either support what I believed or keep my beliefs to myself.  Truth is true whether I believe it or not.  It is unchangeable and eternal!  Truth is only relative if it is based on observation and perception of the senses.  Understanding based on human experiences and concepts need validation.  They are temporal and changeable.  What is true for one person may not necessarily be true for another.  Mankind seeks to make God manlike, whereas man is Godlike.  Once understanding bases truth on a higher level of thought, one begins to glimpse the eternality of truth–it power and impartiality.  There is no “god” higher than Truth, for God is Truth and there is only one God.  Human gods have no knowledge of truth.  Their knowledge is based on error, steeped in error and fall with error!

Truth is absolute.  It stands alone–has no support, nor needs support.  It is the still, small voice heard above the thunder of sin, disease and death.  Listen and you will hear!

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 Doctrine of Atonement:  A Hard Problem

“Atonement is the exemplification of man’s unity with God, whereby man reflects Truth, Life and Love“(Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 22).  These are the words of the Discover of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy.  What does she mean by that statement?  How does it affect man’s understanding of his ability to overcome sin, sickness and death?

 

 

These are questions that I have pondered for many years as a student of Christian Science.  Do I have a definitive answer?  No!  But I do have a foundation that allows me to build on each level of understanding continuously.  Let’s begin by examining the meaning of the definition above.  ”Atonement is the exemplification”  .  .  .   what does that mean?

 

“Exemplify” means “to show by example” (Webster).  Paraphrasing, Mary Baker Eddy is saying atonement is demonstrated when one shows his unity with God by expressing in thought, words and deeds Truth, Life and Love.  She capitalizes Truth, Life and Love because she sees these as other names for God.  Consequently, we can assume that she is not talking about human life, love and truth.  She is speaking of the absoluteness of Principle–divine Law–Truth that is unchangeable, Life that is eternal and Love that is unconditional.    Thus, if sin, sickness and death are to be overcome in our lives, we must atone or harmonize with God.  There is no other way.  We can of ourselves do nothing!

 

 

Mortal thinking says atonement means “asking God to forgive you of your sins.”  This concept comes from its use in the Old Testament in verses similar to Leviticus 14: 19 which states: “the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness;  and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering:”  This verse has reference to a priest using the blood of a lamb and oil to cleanse a leper from his sins.  Logic tells us that neither of these can prevent one from sinning–only truth destroys error.  Cleansing or purification of sin comes from a change of thought–giving up evil ways of thinking and doing and replacing them with goodness and love, not by rubbing blood or oil on the body.

 

 

A meaning more in line with the teachings of Jesus can be found in Romans 5: 11.  ”  .   .   .   we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”   What is this atonement that we have received from Jesus?  Mary Baker Eddy sheds light on this by saying:

 

If  Truth is overcoming error in your daily walk and conversation, you can finally say, “I have fought a good fight  .  .  .  I have kept the faith,” because you are a better man.  This is having our part in the at-one-ment with Truth and Love.”

 

At-one-ment means “oneness with God.”  Thus, if one is “at one” with God, how can there be sin, for there is no sin in God? Forgiveness of sin means destroying sin–ridding oneself of sin.  Ridding oneself of sin is the process, atonement is the effects of that process.  Simply asking God to forgive one of sins is not a process, it is a petition, a request or a desire for something.  Having a desire for something is only the first stage–one-eighth of seven-eighths.

 

 

Example:  At fifteen, I desired a college education, but did not receive it until I was twenty-three.  Eight years of trials and tribulations kept me from receiving it, but as each one was overcome, I learned the difference between a desire and actually doing the work to get one.  The “eight years” were the process, the degree placed in my hand was the effect.  This was a three-step process:   a  petition(which was my application to the first college), course work and the myriad challenges along the way (process) and graduation (effect).  Similarly, atonement is the effect of one’s desire to serve God and doing everything He directs him to do to get there.  One of the main reasons we do not receive the atonement is because we are not willing to complete the process–giving up greed, lust, false gods and evil thinking.  This is why atonement is a “hard problem.”

 

 

Learning Doctrine of Atonement 

Students of Christian Science study a lesson based on the “Doctrine of Atonement”  twice each year from the Christian Science Quarterly.   These lessons are filled with ideas and concepts from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures  that help jog thinking and promote deep concentration of the meaning of that phrase.

 My study has revealed to me that atonement does not fit with the commonly held views of the word doctrine.   According to Webster, doctrine is “a theory based on carefully worked out principles and taught or advocated by its adherents.”   As we have discussed  in previous paragraphs, atonement is the effects of a step-by-step process that an individual goes through as he seeks to listen and obey directions from God.  These directions are not pre-determined or carefully outlined by the individual, but by God, because He is all-knowing–divine Principle.  Since God is Principle and Principle is the only Knowledge, God always know all.  So, to the extend that we hear divine messages, understand them and obey them we become purified–at one with God.  This precludes one from having a doctrine of his own, but seeks to understand what the doctrine of atonement really means.

Learning this doctrine of atonement starts with recognizing that God is the sole Creator and all He creates is perfect and good.  Man and the universe are His creations, therefore, are perfect and eternal.   God already knows this, the man He created knows this.  It is mortal man who is ignorant of this fact.   The process of reaching this at-one-ment with God forces man to give up his belief that he is separated from God and can experience the myriad forms of evil.  He learns through the process that not only is he is perfect, whole, complete and sinless, so is everyone else.  Humans learn from studying the life of Jesus that to overcome the evils of the world is a “hard” process.  We also know the difficulty we have in trying to love the guy who stole our car out of the driveway, how difficult the process is.  It forces us to overcome the human and reach the divine.  

Redemption comes only by giving up the things of the world and holding fast to the things of God.  It is through faith, hope and demonstration that we do this.  These are unattainable through the senses.    Atonement means letting go of all wrong thinking, saying and doing, and holding on to the right, pure and just.  To the extend that you do this, you are demonstrating the “doctrine of atonement.”

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“Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them:  but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matt. 13: 30).

Jesus used this parable over 2000 years ago to emphasize to his disciples the separation of good and evil.  He knew there was a distinct difference between the two.   He also understood that in the realm of human thinking, the lines that mark the separation can become blurred.    Since this statement was based on spiritual understanding and the eternal nature of man, it is just as true today as it was then.  What is the parallel between tares and wheat and good and evil?

 

What point was he making?   Each time I read this parable, I gain a deeper understanding of its meaning.  What is a tare?  How does it damage the wheat?

 

A tare is a climbing plant.  Because of the nature of its growth, it is easy to see how it can wrap around the wheat–a grass-like plant with spikes filled with seeds, and choke its ability to produce the intended grain.  But at some point in their growth, they appear to grow together harmoniously.

This post will examine the relationship between the “tares and wheat” in the story of Jesus and the “good and evil” that pervades thinking today.

 

Separation of Good and Evil

 

Using the the human mind as the “field,” evil thoughts as “tares,”  good thoughts as “wheat” and spiritual understanding as the “harvest,”  let’s recall a scenario that relates to the separation of good and evil. 

 

One night as I drove home from work, the signs along the highway became blurred–almost to the point that my car had to be very close to them before I was able to read what was written on them.   I became alarmed!   “What if I am going blind?  Why can’t I see?  Well, you haven’t had your eyes checked in a while, maybe you  have waited too long.  Do I have cataracts?  I’m wearing my contact lenses, but I still can’t see well!”  Over and over, fearful thoughts poured into my mind (tares).

 

 

Out of nowhere, another thought said, “You see through the eyes of Soul.  All vision is spiritual” (wheat).  ”Girl, you’d better call that doctor tomorrow (it’s too late tonight) and let him tell you what’s wrong with your eyes” (tares).  ”What did you read this morning”  Wasn’t it that you are made in the image and likeness of God?  You know God is not going blind,  so if you are the likeness of Him, you are not going blind either” (wheat).   Throughout the night, my thinking went from evil thoughts to good thoughts, tares to wheat.  It was a constant battle between them.  I read biblical verses, citations from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and prayed.  The battle continued until I fell asleep (tares and wheat growing side by side).

 

In the morning, I gave myself a metaphysical treatment.  What is that?

 

Working the Field–Separating Good and Evil 

 

A treatment is an intense and constant use of spiritual ideas to counteract every material thought or belief–a belief or thought that enters consciousness and does not express the likeness of God.  I worked with the seven synonyms of God–Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth and Love and refuted anything that entered my thought that God did not make or does not do according to divine Law.

 

 

It may follow something as simple as this, “God is Mind, and Mind is the sole Creator.  All that He makes has perfect vision, incapable of discord or decay.  I am God’s perfect offspring.  He made me to reflect all that He is.  Therefore, it is impossible for me to experience blurred vision, blindness or imperfection of any kind.”    Each synonym is used somewhat in the same way.  I do this at one sitting or several sittings until I gain complete peace of mind.   This “peace of mind” always gives me a greater understanding of God and my relationship to Him.  The understanding is the “harvest.”  The grain of truth has reached fruition in thought.  Afterwards, I listen for a directive from God and follow it.  My directive was to have my lenses checked because  I knew metaphysically my vision was perfect.  This proved to be the case.  My vision had improved since the last examination, and all I needed was to have my lenses (permeable contacts) cleaned.  There was a substance built-up on them that my regular cleanings had missed.

 

 

Healing occurs when the spiritual ideas cause evil thoughts to yield to divine understanding.  At that point, the tares and wheat–good and and evil, are no longer “side by side” in consciousness.  Spirituality has destroyed materiality.  Jesus referred to this destruction as “the harvest.”  Ridding consciousness of evil thoughts is called “unceasing prayer.”  Prayer unites the mind of man with the One Mind–God through the presence of the Christ.  One cannot be “one with God” and still hold in thought that which is evil because God knows not evil.   Reaching that unity of thought is called “working the field”  or separating good from evil.

 

The separation of good and evil is not an easy process.  It takes patience, persistence and perseverance.  The results you receive parallel the efforts you make.  Sitting in a church service one day a week and allowing evil to pervade thinking six days, will yield minimal results.  God is powerful, but we must consciously be alert to that power on a daily basis.

 

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Meta was a very thoughtful child and adult.  She loved to see joy expressed by people.  Therefore, she did things to make them happy.  The poem below was written, framed and given to us by her around 1993.

 

 

 

TO MY PARENTS

Back when I was younger,

Sometimes I could not see,

The reasons for the “do’s” and “don’ts”

You always gave to me.

Because I was so stubborn, and insisted on My way,

I really did goof-up some things

That I regret today.

I’m sad for the times I hurt you,

Yet, thankful through it all

That you were there to pick me up

Each time that I would fall.

And as I raise my children

With help from God above,

I try to give what I received

Discipline and love.

Meta Fluker-Yett

 

 

 

 

 

This poem was written one day when my heart was very heavy.  I remember crying out to God, “Father, if I could only hear my daughter’s voice again I would know everything is alright!”  I knew she had passed away, but I needed to feel her presence.  All I was feeling was her loss, and the mental anguish was stifling!  These words came to me as her words, and I gained comfort.

 

 

 

 

 

A Daughter to Her Mother

I did not leave you behind,

Together we walk hand in hand

With a Father, both yours and mine

Who travels with us throughout the land.

 

 

 

Do not cry, do not weep.

I am not dead, I do not sleep,

My smile is just as fresh today

As it was the day I went away.

 

 

 

My days are filled with the thoughts of God,

He is ever with me wherever I trod,

The walk is not lonely, it is not sad,

I hold the hand of my only Dad.

 

 

 

So let your day be filled with joy,

For every girl and every boy,

Do not cry, do not weep,

I am not dead, I do not sleep.

 

 

 

I gained a sense of peace that day.  Today, I can smile when I read this poem.  The truth has made me free !