A Sound Mind

In the book of II Timothy in the Bible, we read that God hath given us the spirit of a sound mind. A sound mind means calm, well-balanced, disciplined and under God’s control. Brain is not mind. On page 475 in our textbook, Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy gives us the definition of man, which in part reads, “Man is not matter; he is not made up of brain, blood, bones and other material elements…He is the compound idea of God, including all right ideas.” We do not have to be up and down and all around with the whims of material sense. No one has to suffer with depression, bipolar disease, autism, memory loss or any other so-called “brain damaged” problems! It is well to remember the Divine Mind is the one and only Mind! When we feel undisciplined and afraid, we can turn to this Mind, our Father-Mother God — whether you need help to refuse a second piece of pie or, more importantly, help with loving your neighbor as yourself.

The entire verse reads, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” A practitioner gave me this verse years ago when I suffered from chronic fear — an “unclean spirit” that needed to be cast out. She said to work with this statement not just once or twice but many times throughout the day. I had always thought Bible verses were helpful but needed to really understand that they are the very Word of God! I needed to love this verse, to live this verse, and to make it practical in my daily walk. And so — when I would feel fear, I would replace it with knowing God loves me and as His child I have the ability to forget self and to love others. I would think about God being power — the one and only power. There is no other so-called power to be afraid of and I could prove this! And finally to know that I have a sound mind — I can discipline myself to “stand porter at the door of thought” (S&H) and not accept all kinds of unfiltered negative suggestions as my thinking, but to destroy them as imposters and to know I have the mind of Christ!

A helpful reminder from Mrs. Eddy (Unity of Good, page 24) is this: “My Mind is divine good, and cannot drift into evil. To believe in minds many is to depart from the supreme sense of harmony. Your assumptions insist that there is more than the one Mind, more than the one God; but verily I say unto you, God is All-in-all; and you can never be outside of His oneness.”

This consistent process is the “renewing of your mind” the Bible speaks about. It is living God’s Word. It is something wonderful to work at and to strive for every single day — for the results will amaze you!