(This was written by a longtime and loved friend, John Wellsman)
Have you ever gone to one of those multi-sensory"thrill" shows? The ones with incredible audiovisual effects combined with bumping and jiggling seats to make the effects seem even more realistic? My wife and I went to one some years ago and it has continued to provide me much food for thought regarding the practice of Christian Science.
Here's what happened: We heard the sound effects--an obviously high performance automobile being raced--from a good distance away. The floor and walls were actually shaking from it by the time we arrived! It aroused our interest to attend the show so we waited in the fairly long line. The show promised a "thrilling" ride through the Swiss Alps in a speeding sports car. However almost immediately we began seeing signs announcing that this was a "really realistic" experience and if you suffered from any of the following...insert here a long list of both common and uncommon ailments, you probably shouldn't go any further. Obviously "frightening" was intended to replace "really realistic" experience. As we approached the door the sounds got more thunderous and the warnings more frequent. When we got into the medium-sized theatre room we found not only the gigantic walls of speakers and large screen but a gallery of molded seating mounted independently of the room itself so it could zig and zag as well as bump and thump for the suggestion of added realism. There were even "safety bars" that "held" us into our seats. An attractive young woman even gave us a stern "safety" lecture about remaining in our seats and what to do if we felt ourselves becoming physically overcome by the experience; simply look away from the screen to the plain walls of the room and keep our gaze there until the show was over.
At one point with all this buildup I actually found myself starting to be taken in by all the wanmings with a sudden sense of fear rising. Then the thought came very clearly: Just remember this is ONLY A MOVIE! And I thought, of course, it IS only a movie and isn't real at all! Immediately I relaxed and began to appreciate the mechanical details of the room and to marvel at the obvious extent someone had gone to to make the experience SEEM real.
Then we were off! The roaring motor noises, the movie itself being run at two or three times normal speed to make it appear we were hurtling through the narrow roads and around impossible hairpin turns. When we came to a turn, the seats bumped us sideways and when the movie showed a bump in the road, the seats thrust us up and down in unison with screen image. At each new danger or impossible situation on the screen, the room was filled with shrieks and screams from terrified viewers. Yet I was simply noting the mechanical details and calmly reminding myself, "This is ONLY A MOVIE." When the show was over it was apparent some individuals' idea of "thrilling" was actually "terrifiying." Many individuals exiting the theatre appeared a tad green around the gills or had looks of obvious fright on their faces. But of course all were saying how "wonderful" or "thrilling" it was. In between exclamations of how frightened they had been.
Lest anyone think only wimps were fooled into being frightened, I had the opportunity to attend the same show some months later on a business trip. An associate who had been a combat-trained United States Marine Corps Drill Instructor was with me on that visit. Not too far into the show I felt an iron grip on my forearm and looked over to see my friend the Marine facing the screen in wide-eyed panic. I calmly assured him it was ONLY A MOVIE. Fortunately be quickly released my arm and began to relax.
While I did enjoy the show both times--as a young person I participated in club races, time trials and sports car rallies and have been involved professionally in photography and multimedia productions since--I found myself beginning to contemplate why I had been able to enjoy the show without being terrified. And I began to see the parallels in the practice of Christian Scienc healing. In the face of tremendous pressure to accept the show as "realistic" or something that was actually happening to me I had held steadfastly to the truth: This was ONLY A MOVIE! I clearly understood both who I was and where I was. I simply didn't accept the fearful suggestions being presented. Thus fear and panic couldn't enter my consciousness.
Interestingly this experience has helped me both to enjoy many other movies over the years without becoming fearfully involved and also gain a better sense of Christian Science practice and how healing is accomplished in Christian Science. I contine to plumb the nuances of this experience relating to Christian Science when viewing a movie. It's increasingly helpful to clearly establish the fact that no matter how realistic the movie seems to be, whatever action is appearing on the screen has nothing to do with the actor's true identity. Then to contemplate how that fact applies to any other situation that appears to present itself in my own life. No matter what mortal mind presents through the physical senses, sights, sounds, thumps or bumps, those image are not true and thus not happening to me. They are only suggestive illusions just like the preludes to that thrill show. As Mary Baker Eddy states in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p.418:5) "Stick to the truth of being in contradistinction to the error that life, substance, or intelligence can be in matter."
As that is done, one is freed from involvement in any inharmonious situation be it age, accident, disease or emotional entanglement. And one can say with Paul, "None ofthese things move me." (Acts 20:24)
The works of Martha Wilcox, an early worker for the cause of Christian Science provide much amplification on this subject as well. Particularly her Association Address of 1937 entitled, "The Word Made Flesh."
