If there is one thing I’ve learned after being married 30 years it is that my husband and I think alike, but not really. It appears as though we can read one another’s mind which is nice because we do little extra things for one another every day that make life much easier and more fun. The snag though is that I can out-think my husband. This is not to mean I am smarter, but that I think way more often and specific than him. His thought processing powers can slip into neutral at the sight of brownies.

This ability to think has been strengthened by my study of divine Science, a spiritual quest that involves reasoning and revelation but more so it involves developing thoughts from divine Mind rather than the human mind. Well, that is the intent, to respond to divine Mind full of health, strength, and wisdom.

The problem is I sometimes don’t know the difference between a divine thought and a human thought.

Of course, if I’m going to respond to human thoughts, I hope to respond to the better ones, like forgiveness, patience, and practicality. But divine thoughts are even greater and they are extremely powerful.

Divine thoughts are not abstract but definitely metaphysical and they permeate the human consciousness to bring about spiritual development and healing. Many times, I’ve been healed or guided wisely by means of divine Mind but to be honest, I get snarky or pious, take your pick they are both unwelcoming characteristics, and worse yet, I start assuming everyone else should think like me. I expect things to be a certain way.

This is where my husband comes in handy. He helps me break my addiction to assumptions because he isn’t all caught up in my smartness. How do I know it’s an addiction?

Addictions have been exposed and broken down. The signs are obvious:

• I defend my thoughts to the point that I get on the defense too easily.
• I blame others for the problems going on. The red flag here is that when the others are out of the picture, the problems still persist.
• Secrets are kept secrets. Anything that might give my assumptions away is ignored or covered up with fluff.
• I indulge in my assumptions. I justify my outgrown repetitive thoughts and behavior because they make me feel good.
• I excuse the guilt and shame that are always hanging around. I stiffen my assumptions, and spend all my hours working hard to show my beliefs are valid and God willing, yet guilt and shame are still niggling in the background.
• I become isolated from forward thinking people and only hang around those who think like me—a diminishing number.

Fortunately, taking on the task of revising Mary Baker Eddy’s Science and Health, has really exposed assumptions. I laugh now, but it was a shock to learn that words in a book are not truth. Truth is metaphysical. Also, the human language is not a resource for knowledge, only divine Mind is the source of knowledge. I continue my journey and lessen my assumption that those really nice human thoughts are divine and focus on God.

From the 4^th edition of 21^st Century Science and Health:

SCIENTIFIC TRANSLATION OF SPIRITUAL DIVINE MIND

GOD: Divine Principle, Mind, Soul, Life, Love, Truth, Spirit.

PERSON (man and woman): God’s spiritual idea, individual, perfect, eternal.

IDEA: An image in Mind; “Synonyms IDEA, CONCEPT, CONCEPTION, THOUGHT, NOTION, IMPRESSION mean what exists in the mind as a representation (as of something comprehended) or as a formulation (as of a plan).”[1]

SCIENTIFIC TRANSLATION OF HUMAN MIND

First Degree: Spiritual unawareness.

PHYSICAL. Evil thinking, obsessions and negative appetites, fear, corrupt will, self-justification, arrogance, envy, deceit, hatred, revenge, sin, sickness, disease, death.

Second Degree: Disappearance of self-destructive thinking.

MORAL. Humanity, honesty, constructive inclinations, compassion, hope, faith, humility, moderation.

Third Degree: Understanding.

SPIRITUAL. Wisdom, purity, spiritual understanding, spiritual power, love, health, holiness.

Spiritual universe

In the third degree, human mind disappears and man and woman as God’s image appear.