With our topic Travel, it came as no great surprise that two travelers attended our meeting. They're students of Christian Science and thinking of moving here.

After introductions and informal chit-chat we got down to business with some quantum physics as it relates to travel. Every atom is already everywhere in the universe, so travel is merely an appearance. Doesn't this sound like Science? We felt that as more and more of what really exists is discovered the word metaphysics should become obsolete. It'll all be called — or better, experienced as — physics or the presence of God, a.k.a., man.

On the concept or human belief level of awareness, travel, movement, time and space prevail; they cause mood fluctuations in mortals who must deal with them. Our facilitator for the evening told us that "travel" comes from "travail". Some laughed but others who had traveled this summer groaned that the derivation was apt.

A member showed us a copy of an article from the September 5th edition of the New York Times taking an in depth look at the air traffic system in the U.S. It's severely strained because of old technology, increases in the number of travelers and unpredictable weather patterns. We wanted to do some work in Science on this situation and some very interesting testimonies came forth.

One of our new friends said that on his daily rounds he carries the thought, "The only reason I exist is to glorify God and see His child." In spite of difficult tasks and bad weather, he finds himself relaxed and joyous. He extends his prayerful thought to more elaborate trips such as the one he is now on.

Another said he had had no trouble traveling this summer by maintaining the thought that he was always in his right place.

Another described two demonstrations on plane trips. Once while flying on what was normally a four hour trip, he had a spiritual insight that the two cities he was flying between were in reality nothing more than states of thought; time and space also were thought; the trip he was taking was therefore merely a change of his thought, which could be effected instantly. Soon after seeing this, he heard the pilot announce on the squawk box they'd be landing two hours ahead of schedule (because of something to do with tailwinds).

His other demonstration consisted of seven hours of prayerful work while in flight to negate scary pictures of troops entering his plane on landing and flipping through passengers' documents with he tip of a pistol and otherwise threatening them. Upon landing disembarkation went smoothly and he found himself in a company car 15 minutes later, bound for the hotel — a huge improvement over difficulties clearing customs in the past when a European power held the reins of government.

Drawing on these demonstrations and our earlier insights from physics, our facilitator offered the idea that the travel system could be improved if Scientists held to the fact that God's reflection, man. is now omnipresent. The only value and meaning of travel is as an unfoldment of this fact. Beliefs about time and space should be challenged to break open and reveal ever more infinite ways of experiencing reality. Perhaps trips could be rescued from being mere sight seeing forays and deepened into pilgrimages or searches for evidences of Heaven on earth.

One member wondered why, in this age of the internet, people bother with travel. He might grant the benefit of a pleasure trip to some beautiful site or a cultural tour. But why business trips? And why an Emergence conference? He answered his own question by holding up an article describing how companies promoting the internet and its possibilities for telecommuting are at the forefront of establishing giant head offices and campuses. They apparently derive considerable benefit from assembling humans physically in a place where intellectual cross fertilization tends to happen. Oracle and Cisco are examples. Our own meetings on Thursday evenings confirm this point.

Those attending went on to report on more symbolic trips. Our new folks described how they found each other and moved forward to relationship. Another member told of being fired from a position at a branch church and finding it just the goad he needed to move him into more appropriate and better paying employment with another branch. Still another described his process of letting go of much of the pain of a branch church excommunication in light of the strides made in understanding Christian Science after that event.

Two members had unplanned visits to the dentist this week. One initially saw it as a crushing blow to his ego, but soon experienced it as an opportunity to acknowledge the one Ego as his only being and substance. A friend was also able to care or him in his need — thereby blessing them both. The other member saw his emergency as an inconvenient disruption of his cherished routines. He calmed himself and reached out to God; a revelation came to the effect that disruption of mortal mind's schedule can be an angel entertained unawares. After some listening he got a good hold on an angel guiding him to see dentist, nurses, other patients and people he encountered as he went to and from the appointment as divine ideas. Not a bad thing to see on a day when New York was crammed with foreign dignitaries here for the UN Millennium 2000 Summit.

As we came to a close our new members alerted us to do some work in Science for the upcoming elections. We decided to do a series of meetings over the coming weeks looking at aspects of this event. We'll start with Democracy next week.