Experiments in the Science of Mind
In any science experiment, you take a situation, change
something about it, and measure the effect of your action on the
situation. When you're a kid, you might start with a still cup
of vinegar, add baking soda, and be delighted when the vinegar
bubbles over. In the science of mind, you can experiment with
adding new thoughts to your situation, and you can see
measurable results.
We are slightly more balanced today, but in the early 20th
century, it would be fair to say that people worshipped science.
It seemed to offer predictability and reliability to a chaotic
world. It offered new technologies that seemed to give us
conveniences and greater control over our lives. Science was the
new religion, and has remained the religion of choice for some
people.
So in the 1920s and 30s, if you wanted to get your message
across effectively, you delivered that message in terms of its
scientific aspects. Many Christians and other spiritual folk
discovered spiritual tools that worked predictably and reliably,
but they lived in a world that was skeptical of spiritual
healing, even among religious people. So they spoke of their
discoveries in terms of science. They called their philosophies
Scientific Christianity, Divine Science, and Science of Mind.
Even the church called Unity spoke of "scientific Christian
practice."
The phrase "science of mind" came into use on a broad scale
after Ernest Holmes wrote a book by that title in 1926. He
revised it completely in 1938, and the book became a classic. It
is still the basic text for the United Churches of Religious
Science. For over 75 years, this church has also published a
magazine called "Science of Mind." Its purpose, like that of all
such literature, is to help you change your life by changing
your thinking.
The basic premise of the science of mind - of the whole New
Thought movement - is a deep belief that there is a Spirit in
all humans and that Spirit is God. As we learn to think, speak,
and act as if this were true, our lives show measurable results
of our changed attitudes and beliefs. Our physical and mental
health improves. We enjoy peaceful sleep and joyful awakenings.
Our relationships are happier. We have the wisdom to handle
challenging situations with grace and ease. We consistently have
everything we need, when we need it.
Fast-forward almost a century, and you see that the science of
mind has undergone something of a revival. While it has always
remained strong in business and success literature (with the
religious language taken out), the science of religion had come
to seem cultist, or at least quaint, in the minds of people in
mainstream religious life. For people who were not religious, to
know that something works was not enough; they wanted to know
why it worked.
Now, people in the mainstream have begun to learn about quantum
mechanics. The work being done in quantum physics literally
shows us the "mechanics" of how the mind works. Suddenly, the
people who were once written off as quaint or as cult figures
enjoy a new respect. Their writings have become timely again,
whether you are of a religious or a scientific bent. As the
mainstream become more educated about these discoveries, it will
make more sense to them to speak of a science of mind.