"Think of the people who've had a spiritual calling: Moses, Jonah, Saul of Tarsus, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and Mary Baker Eddy."

"Good list — but all of us have a calling. God is speaking to everybody every minute — telling us who we are and what we need to do."

"We have to listen..."

"Yes, and follow through."

"Also I'd say we need to be careful we're following our higher self and not just some ego gratification."

"Or paranoid drive. Hitler felt he had a calling."

"It's hard to see what's moving me sometimes. Am I just being pulled around by unresolved childhood issues?"

"Or plain old fear, like Jonah. If I can get a broader view I'll usually see my mistake and at least have some options."

"You mean like I'm looking at a huge panorama through a peep hole and getting only a fraction of what's happening?"

"Yes. That's a good way to put it. But I shouldn't let lack of full information dissuade me from giving help in Science. I was watching on TV when the plane crashed in Toronto. Limited sense intake was being provided through the TV peep hole, but I immediately started undergirding it with absolute Truth."

"Like what?"

"God is in charge. Man is indestructible, eternal. Also lots of blunt reversal of error and wordless reaching out and imploring."

"I still can't believe no one died."

"Oh, something else. I got the assurance that spiritual vision, which is based on absolute reality outside time, has the power to go back in so called time and correct problems."

"You got that before or after you heard everyone survived?"

"I can't swear to it, but I'm pretty sure it came through before I heard it."

"It seems to me Spirit's calling us every moment to translate matter into Spirit."

"You don't hear the term 'calling' much in Christian Science, but certainly the overarching duty of every Scientist is to effect that translation — or demonstration."

"I was reading something in the chat rooms where a guy was saying we need to be still and listen for God."

"I bet he was quoting Psalms (46:10): 'Be still and know I am God.'"

"That's it!"

"I had a healing with that verse several years ago. A key employee suddenly resigned, leaving me in the lurch. I didn't know which way to turn and became increasingly anxious and afraid. Finally I reached for the Bible and opened at random to that verse. It calmed me down and I even became hopeful. A few days later I attended a conference in my field and was able to find a very suitable new employee."

"Just before I left to come here, there was a fire in my building. I prayed for serenity and got it. Then I watched with peaceful detachment as the fire trucks raced up, hoses came out and the thing was put out."

"You were called upon to do your metaphysical duty and bear witness to unfolding Truth."

"Have you all ever thought of the sacrifice Jesus and Mrs. Eddy made to perform their duty as they saw it? They probably could have kept their spiritual gifts for personal use, transcending matter and skipping the struggle and pain. But they intentionally engaged in enough mortality to keep them anchored firmly here with us until they imparted their teaching."

"That raises the question why any of us goes through suffering to accomplish a human calling."

"Mrs. Eddy once said something like, 'Only I know what it means to be the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.' Some may see that as boast. I don't. Rather, I see it as basically saying, 'I've had to hold my own spiritual evolution in check to play this role.'"

"She may have seen her human life as the cross-bearing she recommended to all as a true goad for spiritual growth. There's a fabulous chapter in Unity Of Good titled, 'The Saviour's Mission'. Let me read a couple of quotes: [#cit=3241#] And, [#cit=3242#] I'd say our basic calling is to live our innate quantum infinity. That's what's always moving us forward — upward and outward."

"When you go into the Mapparium in Boston you're at the center of the earth looking outward at the continents floating on the surface of the globe. This to me is a hint of living life and the universe from the inside out. [#cit=3243#] [#cit=3244#]"

"Jesus said I'm in you and you're in me."

"A friend told me he keeps a picture of the tsunami over his desk. It shows the wave just as it reaches landfall, with a group of people desperately trying to outrun it. To him it's a metaphor for how close we always are to extinction."

"That's certainly a call from the Great Mother. Having given us life she's always ready to snatch it back."

"Very good. And the Great Mother is dualistic language for what?"

"God the Mother or infinite being?"

"I'd say so. What's being identified in that heart wrenching scene is eternal Life always calling us."

"What about the calling of all the religious extremists? They believe God is calling them to action but it seems to me more like murderous rage."

"I'm so glad Christians are free from that. We've managed to hold the death count in Iraq to under 100,000."

"As we said earlier, God is always calling but we sometimes short circuit it into destructive acts."

"The jihadis hate our freedom."'

"Yeah, yeah. But look, it takes two to tango. If I get blown up by a fanatic, whose fault is that? I'm responsible for the integrity of my universe. If I believe in fanatics, why would I expect to be safe?"

"One of the beliefs about addictions is that they're actually a deep calling from God."

"You're saying alcoholism and drug addiction are from God?"

"And eating too much?"

"In a way of speaking. We've dualized or materialized the call — but it's still a call and that's being proved every day in 12 step rooms. Once the offending substance is put down, Spirit is allowed to take control."

"I'm addicted to romance..."

"Go to Sexual Compulsives Anonymous. It's not just about sex anymore. Lots of romantic obsessives attend and recover."

"What about Christian Science? Couldn't it help?"

"I think Mrs. Eddy suffered from romantic obsessions but she put the energy to good use. Here's an interesting quote: [#cit=3245#]"

"She refers to a dreamy state. I've been there! But dreams are a contorted take on reality and we can break a dream into its Science."

"Talk about dreamy — the other night at one of my gigs they celebrated my birthday and Michael Feinstein serenaded me with 'My Romance'."

"That's pretty dreamy! I'd have become totally lethargic."

"My massage therapist caught me on something. I told him I was re-injuring a glute by exercising in spite of the pain."

"Isn't that a bad idea?"

"Yes — his point exactly. So he asked what was driving me and I realized it was all the abusive remarks when I was a teenage fatty — a homo teenage fatty."

"How are you getting out of that?"

"The therapist pointed out I'm in very good shape now — there's no need for crazed exercise routines. Then he said, 'Look — the whole reason for going to the gym or anywhere is love.'"

"Love alone is Life."( Hymn 30:5)

"Also I've got to be Love as my teenage chubette incarnation as well as the abusers. As I learned last week from the church testimony quoted here, the Love is God and is all powerful. It will not fail."

"I was thinking about what causes attractions between people."

"It's pheromones."

"Why, thank you. I'd left that off my list. I was ascribing power to astrology, age — you know, like May/September...."

"Don't you mean January/December?"

"Anything's possible. I was also thinking of hidden unprocessed infantile issues."

"Oral, anal, urethral."

"Ja, Herr Dr. Freud. That kind of stuff. Plus the family romantic triangle with the parents."

"Did you come up with any Science?"

"I did almost forget — this psychology is so seductive. Actually I put all the so called causes at zero and am living, as best I can, being, attraction, action, coalescence out from God."

"I'm getting a lot of help from the Lesson on Soul. It's almost entirely about marriage. Ten years ago I'd have felt excluded but now I think it's actually supportive of Gay people."

"I certainly didn't feel excluded. Sure there are a few 19th century clinkers about males and females but the great unitive quotes about the oneness of being are all there."

"The Lesson felt like a treatment for the problems facing marriage, including Gay marriage."

"Did the Board intend it to be taken that way?"

"Frankly, I could care less. They have nothing to say about the spiritual intent of the Lesson which transcends human will."

"I've got a question. I'd like to know what everyone's basic stance in Christian Science is — how you approach your day."

"Like how I handle things that come up — problems and so on?"

"Yes, but broader — your whole approach to life."

"Well, I understand everything is just the way it's supposed to be — in belief and in fact. The fact is the Science, but to handle the look of things, it's no good trying to manipulate it. I just stick with the fact and the look will change."

"As in fact, so in look — God is omnipotent, supreme."

"As for me, I find Christian Science a great comfort — the Comforter if you will. I can retreat to it in the midst of negativity and be soothed and healed."

"I just find other ways of looking at things illogical and filled with flaws. Science hangs together and draws me to it when I'm engaging in my usual run of mortal thinking and become edgy and dissatisfied."

"I like what others are saying and agree with most of it. My approach increasingly merges with what I understand of quantum physics. I make extensive use of Mrs. Eddy's synonyms for God, with a John Doorly spin. So. I'm an infinite idea including all right ideas. And everyone else is too. We're all Mind's idea, perfect in Spirit, all-inclusive as Soul, governed by Principle and so on."

"I really liked Laura Matthews' blog on Christian Science Treatment."

"She makes Christian Science come to life."

"I liked her point about uncovering fresh ideas in the treatment and these bring the healing."

"We need a topic for the next two meetings — is there something here?"

"Healing?"

"We've done it a lot."

"How about something like Fresh Approaches?"

"We could ratchet that up a bit to Making It Our Own and really look at our own deep understanding of where we stand and how we work in Science."

"I think it's too broad."

"You could trim it to suit."

"Okay — I'll go along."

"How do others feel."

"It's fine."

"Okay."