Timeline with No Time

The Bible spans millenniums. Taking the event of divine healing, a timeline can be drawn that includes Hannah, Elisha, Peter and John. Hannah was barren for years. After being prayed for, she bore children (I Samuel 1). Elisha heals polluted waters (II Kings 2). Peter and John healed a lame man (Acts 3:1)

Hannah                                                             Elisha                     Peter and John

________I____________________________________I__________________I____

Collapse the timeline and the idea of healing is found alive and well throughout all time.

Now, I can be a skeptic. Biblical people have an upper-hand, right? No, not really. I can easily collect more information and add to the timelessness of divine healing.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist faith, prayed for, and received, divine healing. Wesley was also acutely aware of the mid-18th century social conditions and encouraged a practical ministry that advocated healthy lifestyles and cleanliness.

Mary Baker Eddy, a 19th century spiritual leader left behind documented evidence of successful healing through the power of spiritual understanding.

As the 20th century opened up, Smith Wigglesworth was found traveling the world, giving many proofs of divine healing.

Mid-20th century, Charles and Frances Hunter ministered to thousands of people, healing many who needed it.

I’ve experienced divine healing, and continue to feel encouraged as time collapses and God’s power is seen as effective today as it was yesterday.

John Wesley                Mary Baker Eddy   Smith Wigglesworth    Hunters           me

­­___I______________________I________________I___________________________I___

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by Cheryl Petersen on April 29, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Healing
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on April 29, 2013

http://healingsciencetoday.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/timelines-with-no-time/

Who is Your Leader?

Wow, if you want to read a mind-boggling book, pick up Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, by Barbara Demick. The tome speaks of extraterrestrial courage and stamina in the midst of dark ages thinking. Barbara Demick offers a stark view of North Korea,  a country and society largely unknown to the rest of the world.

The Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea has been a Communist regime since 1945, and is a sheer clear example of totalitarianism in a modern world. The well-researched story line follows a hand full of people who escaped North Korea.

The book shows the power of propaganda, and the subtly of human reasoning assuming it is divine. It is a case of falsehood claiming to be truth. Ironically, I can see traces of this oppressive framework within countries that vend freedom of expression.

Freedom of expression isn’t generally associated with the freedom to express restriction, starvation, conformity, or pain. Freedom of expression means we want freely to express life, creativity, joy, and wellbeing.

power-control-wheel4-480In North Korea, past leaders, Kim II-sun and Kim Jong-il, and present day leader, Kim Jong-un, hold to ideals that cause isolation, disconnect, and fear. Is this any different from a disease invading our body? Do we accept the command of a disease, in the same way the people of North Korea accept the demands of their leader?

North Koreans are told they have it better than everyone else in the world. The way of communism is superior. They are superior.

I ponder, have I heard this “superior” crack before, from within the fields of science or religion?

Escaping North Korea was not an easy task. Moreover, the escapees had to learn to adapt to a fast-paced society full of modern inventions and novel ideas. Many loved it and would never return to their homeland. Others felt the new world was so dramatically different, that they held a preference to return to North Korea.

The human psyche is indeed an enigma, an alien of sorts. Therefore, it is no wonder I feel a draw to study spirituality.

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by Cheryl Petersen on April 25, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Environment, Science and/or religion
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on April 25, 2013

http://healingsciencetoday.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/who-is-your-leader/

Mental Terrain and Climate

earth terrainThe earth’s terrain and climates vary tremendously. When driving my motorcycle across the United States five years ago, I watched the unfoldment of a contiguous wasteland, mountains, high desert, and woods. Driving Highway 2 in a rain suit, I was protected somewhat from the high winds, cold, and rain. When the sunshine came out, the rain suit came off. Needless to say, the adventure left an impression on me, mixed with amazement and humility.

The terrain of the earth’s landscape depicts the terrain of human minds. Due to our varied backgrounds and experiences, we each have very different needs. When searching for what we need, we can find exactly what we need, not what someone else needs. If I live in the desert, I don’t need to acquire a rain suit. There are other things more needful.

When searching for spirituality, we can be assured that spirituality is fitted for our particular situation. We can discover the spirit that best fits our need.

Our spiritual practices will be unique to our mental terrain and climate. I believe, that as I pursue love and truth, the Holy Spirit will meet my human need.

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by Cheryl Petersen on April 22, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Environment, Spiritual journey
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on April 22, 2013

http://healingsciencetoday.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/mental-terrain-and-climate/

Springtime Cleaning

Many of you have already entered the spring season. Here in upstate New York, the snow finally melted last week. Needless to say, we all are pretty antsy about the slowly emerging flowers and leaves.

To be able to put a shovel in unfrozen ground, and to open the windows, and to clean the house is always a favorite springtime activity. It also becomes a time to wash the heavy blankets and put away the winter clothes.

courtesy of fanpop.com

courtesy of fanpop.com

While packing or unpacking seasonal clothing, I separate out the clothes that received little attention. The clothes are then donated to a local cause, or taken to a consignment shop.

When in that thought frame, I go through the house and select kitchenware, toys, and knick-knacks that I’ve outgrown and add them to the donation box. Some people have a garage sale.

It makes for lighter work when I contemplate a Bible verse such as, “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness form the God of his salvation.” (Ps. 24, ESV)

I honestly ask myself when going through my stuff, do I really need this? Or, will it be better used by someone else?

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by Cheryl Petersen on April 18, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Environment
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on April 18, 2013

http://healingsciencetoday.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/springtime-cleaning/

Discarding the Bible and Science and Health

If we are to be defined by our religion, then I suppose I have am in line with Christian Science. But, if you were to tell me the religion Christian Science was going to be renamed to Christian Research, or to Humane Science, my reaction would be on the level of a comfortable, “Ah.”

There are a couple of reasons for this casual response, the first and most obvious being that a title is only a title. Words are only words. I won’t truly know what Christian Science means until I read the ideas in the books meant to teach it, The Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy.

courtesy of jonsibal.deviantart.com

courtesy of jonsibal.deviantart.com

In Sunday School, I was taught Christian Science etiquette, how to properly mark, read, and quote from the Bible and Science and Health. Certain authorized words were to be revered. I was given a smaller set of books, the travel edition, to take with me when I went on a trip. Undeniably, I could see Christian Science offered some distinguishing elements, but I’d ask, “Is it the words that make Christian Science?” Answers I received were not satisfying.

Even if I had felt any warm feelings toward certain words, I still don’t know if I ever would have caught on to that elusive thing called, “the spirit of Christian Science” by reading words or books. When others were somberly repeating words from the King James Version of the Bible, or Mrs. Eddy’s words, images of robots would come to mind. Try as I might, I couldn’t seem to feel the sacredness of words written centuries ago.

But I did experience Christian Science. When praying or being prayed for, I was healed of sicknesses. I remember a broken shoulder bone healing quickly. I’d practice talking with God as Love and Truth, a concept learned through the Bible and Science and Health, with a childlike simplicity that genuinely revealed the presence of a higher power, truly able and willing to guide me to wellbeing and purpose. But the constant referral to hand-picked words would sometimes grate on my nerves.

After leaving for college, I did what any college student would do, and conducted a little scientific experiment. I threw the Bible and Science and Health in the garbage. Nothing happened. I did not lose my ability to think humanely or logically. God did not disappear. I even still felt something invigorating and inclusive. I eventually pulled the books out of the garbage, but it was after I discovered for myself that I could experience inspiration and healing without the explicit use of certain words.

Of course, as I got older, I understood that there is no magic about the words in the Bible and Science and Health, but that the rules governing the reverence and repetition of its words are intended to convey respect and devotion. After college, I started reading modern versions of the Bible and revised Science and Health to make its ideas practical in the 21st Century.

I’d like to think that we could change the words Christian Science to something Christian Research or Humane Science without putting the things we value at any great risk. Granted the King James Version and Mrs. Eddy’s version of Science and Health still entertain my eyes and mind, along with newer versions, but I remind myself if, as meaningful and as important as these symbols are, I don’t’ want to let them get in the way of the things that really matter.

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by Cheryl Petersen on April 13, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Christian Science, Science and/or religion
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on April 13, 2013

http://healingsciencetoday.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/discarding-the-bible-and-science-and-health/

Letting God Invade our Minds

An invasion is usually associated with armed forces, or the infiltration of a large number of people or things.

When we hear the word, “invasion,” our brains are quick to picture armed forces, or an infiltration of a large number of people or things.

We read in the news, or remember typical headlines such as:

January, 2013, France deploys thousands of ground troops to Mali, a former colony in Africa, to reinforce aerial strikes, in an attempt to quell a coalition of disparate extremist groups.

Ten years ago, President Bush announced military operations to disarm Iraq.

In 1935, venomous cane toads were released into the Australian ecology with the hope they’d control the destructive can beetle population. A total failure. There are now millions of poisonous toads hopping around northeastern Australia. When visiting Australia in year 2007, I remember walking at night on the sidewalk, trying not to step on the pests.

Then of course, there are stories galore in the Bible relating to invasions. A few examples are, grasshoppers, bands of Moabites, or the Israelites invading the land of Canaan.

Invasions generally assume there is an outside force, however, do we ever self-invade?

Do we ever self-assault our humility with pride?

Does hate raid and occupy our love?

Does revenge infect our forgiveness?

Do we ever self-attack our divine purpose in life?

Invasions are real to the human mind. The determination to let go of the human mind’s reality and take on a new spiritual reality, causes us to think along new lines. Here is a statement from 21st Century Science and Health worth contemplating, “Computer software can’t inform the programmer. The stomach, heart, colon, and lymph nodes don’t inform us that they are nauseous, diseased, cancerous, or invaded by malignant tumors. If this information is conveyed, human mind conveys it. Negative information certainly doesn’t come from immortal Mind and it can’t come from inanimate matter/energy. God’s “eyes are too pure to look on evil,”[1] and physicality has neither intelligence nor sensation.”

[1] Hab. 1:13

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by Cheryl Petersen on April 8, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible, Environment
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on April 8, 2013

http://healingsciencetoday.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/letting-god-invade-our-minds/

A Christian Scientist versus Christian Science

Are you a Christian Scientist?

When I am asked that question, more often than not, I answer, “I study Christian Science.” A Christian Scientist is not the same as Christian Science. They are as different as a computer programmer and programming. One is a title while the other is an activity. A Christian Scientist is a person who may or may not digress into a conventional lifestyle or culture. Classic Christian Science is a system of divine Mind-healing that can be applied to everyday life.

Rather than observe detached traditions, I study Christian Science as defined by Mary Baker Eddy in the 19th century in her book Rudimental Divine Science, “The law of God, the law of good, interpreting and demonstrating the divine Principle and rule of universal harmony.” There is no mystery to Christian or divine Science. It circulates quietly in consciousness in every corner of the world, interpreting itself in languages and forms understood by people in all walks of life.

Back in the day, while taking a scientific approach, Mary Baker Eddy studied the power of mind and its ability to heal. Her research was quick to reveal an inconsistency within human minds. Eddy then pushed the boundaries of research past the human mind and discovered an active healing force, greater than any human mind. She dubbed it divine Mind.

frameWorking within the framework of her Christian upbringing, Eddy theorized this healing divine Mind was God. Moreover, the prophets and Christ Jesus healed through the power of God, Mind. Eddy developed the theory and discovered spiritual rules, that when followed, would result in spiritual healing. She wrote a book, outlining Christian Science, titled Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Although years later, Eddy established a religious organization, Christian Science is still autonomous. The healing power of God is unaffected by human beings and/or religious organizations.

When applying the spiritual rules as outlined in the Bible and Science and Health, I’ve experienced profound physical and emotional healing. But, I’m careful not to mechanically connect Christian Science to a church, a dogma, or a human way of life. The propaganda surrounding Christian Science, or any religion for that matter, needs to be dismissed, in order to embrace the inspiration that correctly interprets its spiritual rules.

The study of Christian Science has been interesting and effective. Revisions of the Bible and Science and Health allow the study of Mind-healing to express their full voice.  However, the spirit of Mind-healing  is detected in places where people are unfamiliar with the Bible and Science and Health, because the law of God is not locked into words, churches, Christian Scientists, or time and space.

 

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by Cheryl Petersen on April 2, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Christian Science, Science and/or religion
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on April 2, 2013

http://healingsciencetoday.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/a-christian-scientist-versus-christian-science/

Easter Reflection

So, the method of determining Easter Day has been modified over the millennium. In the third century, the Council of Nicea directed the celebration to occur the Sunday immediately following the first full moon after the spring (vernal) equinox. But, times and thoughts have changed, and Easter now occurs the fourteenth day of a lunar month occurring on or next after March 21, without regard to the real moon. Basically, Easter is determined according to a fixed set of ecclesiastical calendar rules.

moon and snowBut, I’ve been watching the moon at night. It is very full right now. It lights up the night. And, because we still have snow on the ground here in upstate New York, the night is not dark. Curiously, all the light is reflected light, since there is no sun to be seen.

The moon reflects the sun light to earth. The snow reflects the light upward.

We are the reflection of God, Love, Life.

Christ Jesus proved eternal life is ours by means of reflection. It isn’t something we own or need “to get.” God is Life and we reflect life.

 

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by Cheryl Petersen on March 30, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Environment
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on March 30, 2013

http://healingsciencetoday.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/easter-reflection/

New Assignment

Action advice from Peter Drucker, original business thinker: Do not continue to do in your new assignment what made you successful in the old one. When you enter a new assignment, as “What new things should I be doing in my new assignment to be effective?” The Daily Drucker

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by Cheryl Petersen on March 27, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Economy
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on March 27, 2013

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When Words Become Powerless

For all the effort human beings put into “finding the right words,” there comes a point when words lose their power.

Ever try talking to a drunk? Or, a leader bent on a myopic agenda? Or, a scared mom? Or, a scared kid?

letters to wordsAt this moment, words mean nothing to T.J. Lane, the 18-year old gunman who shot three people at Chardon High School in Ohio. Last week, T.J. Lane came to his sentencing hearing wearing a t-shirt with the word “killer” written crudely on the front. Victims and family of the victims watched and listened to words hang in the courtroom air, leaving behind a feeling of emptiness. T.J. Lane was sentenced to life in prison with no parole. Did Lane hear these words? Does he know what they mean?

Sometimes, finding the “right words” is not the point. It’s action. Society breathed easier when T.J. Lane was sentenced to imprisonment. But we still wonder, will Lane ever know love is better than hate? Will we learn how love replaces fear?

Imprisonment sure doesn’t replace fear. It might lessen the fear for a while, but we want more. We want a spiritual word, unheard and unseen to the physical ear and eye.

From 21st Century Science and Health, “The calm voice of Truth sounds like a lion’s roar to the human mind. The voice of Love is heard in the desert and in dark places of fear. The “still small voice” of scientific thought reaches over continents and oceans. Truth triggers the seven thunders of evil to be self-exposed. With evil out in the open, the power of Truth is then made manifest in the destruction of error.”

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by Cheryl Petersen on March 24, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Review
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Posted by Cheryl Petersen on March 24, 2013

http://healingsciencetoday.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/when-words-become-powerless/

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