"Notice the way Mrs. Eddy looks at intuition. It's either the first step in a move towards reality, or when seen in the form of angels: 'spiritual intuitions pure and perfect.' (Science and Health, pg. 581:5)"

"Intuition by itself isn't necessarily a positive thing. It can be very wicked — I mean, murderous, paranoid."

"Jung said intuition is one of four ways the mind operates.The other three are thinking, feeling and sensing. If you're in balance, all are operating efficiently, but usually one or two predominate and the others work unconsciously, sometimes screwing things up."

"What about introversion and extraversion. Aren't those Jungian concepts?"

"They were initially but today everyone uses them. It's interesting that one can be an introverted intuitive or an extraverted one."

"And the difference is...?"

"An introverted intuitive would be drawn to dreams, fantasies, visions and inner images. An extraverted intuitive would seek out and be turned on by new situations and objects in the outer world."

"How did this topic come up last week?"

"I asked for us to work on it because someone said that when we're praying about a problem in Science, many ideas that we weren't aware of before come through. I wanted to get at how that happens."

"You mean like how do we get those postcards from God — those whispers of intuition."

"That's a good way to put it. Where do they come from?"

"Did anything come through for you?"

"Not really..."

"Well, here's something from my experience. When I first got into Science I'd hear these old time Scientists talk about listening for God's direction or even hearing God. And I never did. So I asked a practitioner about it and she said God was speaking all the time and it showed up in my thoughts and feelings."

"You might encounter God in someone else's voice or actions."

"The thing I try to remember is that desire is prayer and no matter how negative the desire we can always lift it to God for purification. When I heard Falwell was gravely ill my initial reaction was negative. To be blunt, I wished him dead. But then I saw that was total error in Science and allowed the Christ to heal me. My thought was lifted to see him as he is in reality, perfect idea."

"That's wonderful. Everyone seems so literal today, it's amazing there's any room left for intuition or getting beyond the obvious."

"And yet everywhere people are consulting astrology, tarot cards, the I Ching. Psychics do a big business and in a way you could say even psychologists interpreting dreams and transferences are leaning heavily on intuition."

"Let's not forget medical diagnoses."

"Or economic forecasts."

"I guess there are lots of ways people are seeking depth and depending on intuition. But the bottom line in Science is whether we're just getting mortal mind's take on things or interpreting them scientifically."

"From what we read from Mrs. Eddy's writings she didn't appear to shun reading mortal mind, as long as it's done to advance healing."

"Ah, very good. When we're trying to grasp what mortal mind is saying we're seeing through a glass darkly, through dualism. And the need is for scientific angels which 'guide to the divine Principle of all good.' (Science and Health, pg. 299:13)"

"I was talking to a friend about intuition and he brought my attention to the way some Native Americans and other people look at the structure of personalities. Apparently we get stuck in matter through what are called assemblage points. These are basic areas of material belief where other dualistic beliefs can coalesce and proliferate. Assemblage points need to be confronted and worked through for there to be any spiritual growth. The confrontation can be brutal, with a shaman striking the initiate and knocking him out, sometimes for several days, during which the personality re-orients itself spiritually."

"That's kind of what goes on in Christian Science. As we study, practice and grow, ideally we become aware of our sticking points or the areas that cause us trouble over and over. We might enlist the services of one of our shamans, called practitioners, to help us get free."

"Or we could join a church for the crash course..."

"Or just the crash..."

"Don't you suppose a lot of folks are turned off by Christian Science when they look at the mess the movement is in — with all the squabbling and malpractice going on?"

"You think they know intuitively something's rotten there!"

"Yes. And the pity is we do have the tools to heal it. Christian Science could heal its own movement if we'd just do it."

"I think Mrs. Eddy was ambiguous about her own church. She wanted to stay above the fray but was constantly getting dragged into its materializing ways."

"But the structure she evolved is a wonderfully well thought-out educational system really. I mean here she was with this earth-shaking revelation of harmony — in the here and now — and wanted to share it. So she experimented, healed, taught and wrote Science and Health. Then she established churches, associations and periodicals to spread the healing vision."

"I guess she had her hands full, being the chief thinker and pray-er for the movement, yet having to come up with and watch over its outreach."

"Now there's an example of balanced, or at least functioning, introversion and extraversion."

"Let's have any testimonies of healing."

"I had some very good things happen this week. I even used intuition to get my new job. There seemed to be several possibilities but the one I actually applied for was able to take me right away. I'm working at a chic Upper East Side club as a busboy. It's my first paying job since I got out of the hospital. Also today my cell phone ran out of minutes but I found myself directed to one of my spiritual advisors in Brooklyn who helped me prepay some more hours — probably enough to get me through to my first paycheck."

"Hey!, that's excellent! I myself had a major breakthrough in relations with my family this week. There have been some underlying bad feelings over a car which I own but a member of the family claimed was owned by my mother. This situation arose some time ago in another state and had pretty much faded from consciousness, but the other day I was talking to a friend back home and she brought it up. When we hung up I was flooded with rage. It was the kind of thing I could have hung unto for days and might have gotten sick over. I decided to call the family member involved in the incident and blast her with every insult I could think of. Suddenly something in me resisted and I found myself saying almost out loud, 'Look, you're a Christian Scientist. This anger and desire to act out can be handled in Science.' I started praying and within an hour or two the whole thing had completely lifted. I actually had loving feelings towards my family and particularly for the one I was most agitated about. Whew! This represented a really big jump forward in my understanding and practice of Christian Science."

"I had something come up Sunday at the gym that gave me some insights into how Christian Science works. Forgive my crassness, but I was attracted to a cute guy and wanted to talk to him. I even prayed, trying to realize the only intercommunication is from God to man as the Textbook says."

"Wait a sec. Let's get it right. Here: 'The intercommunication is always from God to His idea, man.' (Science and Health, pg. 284:31)"

"Well, anyway the guy packed up and left! The treatment bombed. Isn't Mercury in retrograde or something? I was left alone with my thoughts. Then I realized it's the universal Christ everyone's attracted to. I decided to practice seeing everyone at the gym as divinely attractive and that we're all one in God. Two fully formed statements came through, just as though God had spoken them: 'Stay with the Truth and you'll be fed as appropriate,' and, 'Enjoy being disappointed in Christ.' I saw that human existence is a metaphor for divine being. A romantic interlude or even a full-blown affair would be secondary — the thing added as in: 'But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.' (Luke 12:31) The real point in Christian Science is to live the God idea infinitely and eternally."

"Wow!"

"What you discovered is applicable to business and the arts."

"And to health issues."

"When I told a member of this group about the line, 'You'll be fed,' he said, 'You are being fed right now.' In other words, the realization of universal divinity is your very being right now."

"We're in overtime. We need a topic for next week."

"How about ecstasy and how to integrate it into our everyday life?"

"Will people think we're talking about the drug?"

"Maybe, but we can handle that in the process."

"Do we have agreement on Ecstasy?"

"Sure."

"Fine with me."