After the readings our facilitator got the juices flowing by paraphrasing Deepak Chopra to the effect that happiness consists of a fully integrated spiritual, mental and physical sexual union. There were some gasps; were we perhaps speaking of "happiness in matter"? Thus we were back at the Spirit vs. matter loggerheads that have troubled us for some time.

One member asked whether happiness could still be experienced if the body were destroyed. Some said yes, others no — "didn't Jesus still have a body in the Resurrection and Ascension, his happiest moments?" Positions hardened on the two sides of the argument until a solution appeared.

One member decided to read what our Textbook, Science and Health says of matter in the "Glossary", page 591. Mrs. Eddy defines it, among other things as, "Mythology; mortality, illusion; life resulting in death and death in life..." There is no mention of bodies here, nor of substance. Matter is the stuff of nightmares.

Then another member read from page 573 of Science and Health lines 3 through 12 which include this "...what the human mind terms matter and spirit indicates states and stages of consciousness." A member pointed to his arm and asked "Is this Spirit?" to which another replied, "Yes and no. From the standpoint of dualistic mortal mind it is matter; from the standpoint of God, what else could it be than Spirit? Body is the temple of God." That seemed to satisfy those present and we were able to move on to other things.

We discussed whether problems (and resulting unhappiness) point to Truth and ultimate happiness. Mrs. Eddy covers this point many times in her writings, but never more poetically than in her quotation from Shakespeare: "Sweet are the uses of adversity; Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head," (Science and Health, p. 66: 3-5).

A member went on to show how every problem contains the absolute Truth embedded in it, no matter the appearances. He had been called by a friend during the week after a fire had wiped out his business. The friend is a student of Christian Science. They were able to get off the mortal basis of belief by seeing that event as a parody of "legitimate Christian Science, aflame with divine Love," (Science and Health, p. 367: 3-9). Our member had been saved from a fire years ago when he suddenly saw the fire as nothing more than a powerless material belief about the flames of divine Love.

Two members worked during the week on envy. They had been feeling it about the good fortunes of others and knew it was a sure demonstration-stopper, destructive of relationships and happiness. First they saw envy as a form of desire, which is another word for prayer (see Science and Health, p. 1: 11). Then they saw that prayer is a human activity and therefore dualistic. It is good in that it points us in the right direction but it is evil in that it inculcates the belief that we are lacking. The solution is to see how God views the mortal pray-er. Well, of course we have it all right from the inexhaustible source of good. Our members felt something of what the woman at the well with Jesus must have felt (see John, 4th chapter). Both members reported breakthroughs in the areas where they had been stuck.

Two members reported working with the idea of just letting Spirit flow in and as their lives. Of course all the minutiae of their days moved along beautifully. One said that the people and objects seemed numinous. The other was amazed at how well rehearsals and involvement with his accompanist went; he was able to find two rare video tapes at good prices and even to secure a seat for "Star Wars".

We next addressed a subtle point about demonstration. Happiness depends on letting Spirit be both the cause and the effect. There are no matter demonstrations, although perhaps mortal mind will style them such. Our job as students of Christian Science is to maintain the facts of Science, whatever the appearances. "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all," (Science and Health, p. 468: 10-11). Here is some of what our Leader has to say in Miscellany, p. 151: 23-28: "...the Baalites...failed to look through nature up to nature's God....They were content to look no higher than the symbol. This departure from Spirit, this worshipping of matter in the name of nature, was idolatry then and is idolatry now."

Finally we were able to come up with the idea of what one member called "Tantric Christian Science". The word Tantra is Sanskrit for "to weave" and describes the integration of the divine and human energies accomplished by certain Hindu and Buddhist practitioners. For us it would be the full living of the divine/human event exemplified by Christ Jesus. One member heard the actor Gary Oldman quote the great teacher Lee Meisner as saying "Acting is living truth in imaginary situations." Could we say that happiness is living divine Science in human situations?

We left the meeting without a clear-cut topic for next week but were joined at the restaurant by a member who is struggling with an important decision. Our tendency as usual was to jump at the problem with a plethora of platitudes but finally we drew back a bit and aha!, there was our topic: Decisions. What are they, how do we make them, where do they come from?