“There’s a light about this chapter…because it’s all about reflection.”

(1)    What do you feel the word creation implies?
With a capital ‘C’ creation always makes me think of Genesis and the creation of the universe by God. Having been brought up in Christian Science I have always known that it wasn’t an action in time but is timeless, an ever-unfolding.

But, as a “creative person” in a “creative industry”, if I’m honest, I have always laboured under the belief of myself as a creator…and that has been an actual labour and a burden. Sometimes I have felt that I was doing a rather splendid job, but much of the time I wasn’t. Happily I have managed to turn to Mind, Soul as the creator in more activities than I used to, but I’m still learning to turn and bow and let Mind do what Mind does best for all activities, not just the ones I feel unconfident about.
 
(2)    In your own words describe your impressions of the chapter “Creation” in Science and Health.
This is one of my favorite chapters in Science and Health. I like to listen to the audio version of Science and Health and this is a chapter that I like to listen to regularly, particularly at night (also Prayer and The Apocalypse).

There’s a light about this chapter that is somehow different from the others. There’s an expansive sense, a feeling of no limits to good, no imprisonment in matter. It’s restful and light for me because it’s all about reflection.

There’s a sense throughout the chapter that this is what is happening and it doesn’t matter what I think or say or do about it…it’s happening because that’s the nature of things. Even the first sentence “Eternal Truth is changing the universe” just says it. (p. 255) There is nothing that I or anyone or anything else can do about it…eternal Truth is doing it and all I need to do is accept it, acknowledge it, rejoice in it and be changed by it.

(3)    How can the increased understanding of true creation make a difference in your life?  Better yet, share with us how the truth of creation has been, or is being, demonstrated in your life.
Certainly, as mentioned above, I have been learning to stop, bow and let Mind create, control and govern rather than thinking that a little, separate, personal ability can do it.
I’m not sure if the following is a demonstration of Creation, but it
seems to be the nearest I can think of so far!

I had hair extensions in my hair for about eight years and I loved them because they gave my hair a fullness and shape that it hadn’t had on its own. But they damaged the hair to the extent that about three years ago one hairdresser refused to put them in anymore because there was very little hair left to attach them to. I had to grow the hair again.

I was told that I should keep my hair relatively short as they said my hair doesn’t get very thick and because “as one gets older” (horrible phrase!) one’s hair thins.

One hairdresser suggested I take special supplements that are supposed to help with hair, skin, nails, etc. He extolled their virtues, and I admit I was momentarily tempted. But didn’t go for them.

Instead, every time I thought about it (which was quite a lot) I reminded myself that “there is no growth but spiritual growth” and also the passage in Science and Health.  “The poor suffering heart needs its rightful nutriment, such as peace, patience in tribulation, and a priceless sense of the dear Father’s loving-kindness.” (SH 365:31)

I was forced to change my thinking and behavior. I had to spiritualize it. I became kinder, gentler, more tolerant. I learned to turn to God more, acknowledge God as present and good as real.

I didn’t call on a practitioner for help about the hair, but it grew gradually and after a couple of years hairdressers started to remark on how thick it was getting. They were amazed at how long it was getting too. I went back to the hairdresser who had suggested the supplements and he was amazed. He asked me three times if I had changed my diet or my lifestyle. I said no, but told him I had been praying – he ignored that.

Not long after, a friend gave me a manicure (I rarely do those) and while cutting my nails she exclaimed that they were as strong as horses’ hooves. She said she had never come across nails so strong.

I hadn’t worked about the nails, or thought about them much. I had only partially worked about the hair, but I do feel that the increased spirituality was behind the strengthened hair and nails. That was the “nutriment” that they needed. I was certainly gaining (and still am gaining) more of a priceless sense of the dear Father’s lovingkindness.  I was forced to learn patience in tribulation and to express more of those gentle, “oil” qualities, as Mrs. Eddy speaks about in Science and Health, p. 592.

I’m learning through this, and other experiences, that it’s these qualities that are substance and that creation is the expression and manifestation of these qualities.