The Mystery of Suffering
Nona L. Brooks
Mysteries,
1924.
Divine Science Federation
Int’l
3rd Printing, 1977.
Copyright Material
Reprinted by Permission
Let us be
sure that we are gaining a clearer
understanding of the term matter as we
consider the pages of this small volume;
for without more light on matter, we
shall not come nearer to a solution of
the problems that confront us in our
daily lives. Of these that of suffering
is one of the most insistent, whether it
takes the form of evil or of pain. What
is suffering? What is evil? In order to
approach a satisfactory answer to these
questions, it is necessary to study
carefully the meaning of form or
matter.
What has
been our concept of form? Something
manifesting in limitation, and subject to
inharmony and decay, is perhaps as clear
an answer as most of us could give. The
visible has been thought of as that which
is separate from the invisible. We have
been dealing with what we conceived to be
two phases in the life process--a visible
and an invisible existence, only one of
which, the invisible, has been thought of
as perfect. Imperfection has always clung
to that which is manifested. Why should
this be? Belief in separation is the
answer. Let us make sure that we see form
as Living Substance in manifestation,
expressing according to the law of unity
in infinite variety. To the one who sees
this truth, the mystery of suffering
begins to clear. What is the conclusion
that thinkers in the realm of natural
science are moving toward? It is a
conclusion that has already been reached
and accepted by Divine Scientists--that
the universe of form is alive--that it is
One Universal Intelligence in expression.
We say that God is Spirit and that the
universe of form is God in action. As
natural science teaches one source or
power, so we teach one Cause in the
Universe of Spirit, which is Love
Universal. We have learned that cause and
effect are one, hence the expression of
perfect cause is by nature, perfect.
Whence the seeming imperfection? What is
suffering? What we believe we experience
in regard to our bodies and to all kinds
of form. Wrong believing gives rise to
untrue seeing; and imperfect seeing is
the cause of that which we call
imperfection. Where, then, shall we look
for an answer to the mystery of why we
suffer and why we sin in a universe of
form which is God in action? You will see
that we must turn to the thought realm
where we have been harbouring
misconceptions as to the nature of form;
through thought training we can learn to
see truth.
What shall
we think about form? The natural
scientist says that all form is
vibration; he accounts for different
forms by speaking of these as varying
rates of vibration; but he deals with a
universal substance which he calls ether.
The discovery that matter is a mode of
motion leads to the truth, that the
universe of form is God-Activity.
Infinite-Activity is form. We are told in
Genesis that God saw His creation and
called it very good. In the knowledge
that time is only a concept in our
thinking shall we change this great truth
into the present tense to meet the views
of the present day? God sees His creation
and calls it very good. God is true to
himself; He sees us and all that He is
expressing, as one with Infinite-Life,
hence, as whole. God is not expressing
that which is unlike himself in nature,
since cause and effect are one. What of
suffering? Why do we suffer? Surely not
because we are by nature intended to
suffer but because we have been as a race
unwilling to consecrate our thinking to
the God-Standard.
Picture a
world filled with God-Love and every one
in it radiating outstreaming goodwill.
Would there be any suffering? Would there
be any evil? There could be neither
suffering nor evil if all men were
thinking true to God-Thought. Wars would
end; greed would go; selfishness would
cease; destruction would give place to
constructiveness. We should see only God
in action if the world were thinking true
thoughts. It is only in the thought realm
that we find suffering and evil, for it
is here that we believe in separation,
while the truth of life is oneness. As we
think, so do we experience. Therefore,
let us watch our thinking, for it is
through the process of true thinking that
we unfold into the consciousness of God
and God in action as all there is. True
thinking is the basis of all development;
it is the key that unlocks the gates of
the kingdom--the gates that our thoughts
have been locking for us through
misconceiving the true meaning of
life.
We shall
begin to solve the mystery of individual
suffering and evils when we believe with
all faith that God is thinking forth His
own Ideas as perfect, complete,
intelligent forms. This is the truth of
creation. As we make this truth the basis
of our thinking about the universe of
form and of all human experiences,
darkness, doubt, fear, and all other
human limitations will vanish. Think of
the universe of form as a living
organism, by nature perfect, and you will
draw the world of form around you, into
the realm of your thought. Natural
science tells us that the universe is a
living organism controlled by mind; we
believe that the Universe is Mind and
Mind in action, and that every expression
is conscious to a degree. Mind is
manifesting everywhere; the flower
evidences this; and so does the tiniest
insect that crawls, as well as the
mightiest solar system. The mind of the
molecule is the God-Mind in
manifestation; there is no other mind.
Every cell thinks because it is Mind in
expression. Mind, universal cause, is
revealed by every expression in the
universe of form. Universal Mind thinks
only truth and wholeness; it is thinking
you and me, as it is thinking the solar
systems and the grains of sand. This
infinite variety of activity shown forth
in myriad forms of manifestation is all
after a pattern in Divine Mind; each form
has its part in God’s mighty design
of his activity--the universe of form.
The Universe is glorified in God.
What of
suffering from the standpoint of
Omnipresence? It is purely mental. Pain
is caused by fear; and there is nothing
in Universal Mind to fear, for all is
perfection. It is when we believe in
another mind and power that our
sufferings begin. Get back to God.
Remember the foundation word--oneness.
God above all, through all, in all!
You and I
must decide as to whether we shall suffer
and be sick. The choice is ours. Our
attitude will determine what the effect
of that which comes to us shall be. After
our decision to stand true to Basis is
made, we begin to grow in understanding,
and the Universe becomes illumined for us
with the light of God. We see that the
Infinite Being is all and includes all.
What God is, is wherever you and I are.
Why should we suffer when God is through
us and in us? Our own thinking must be at
fault! Man, the spoken word of God, is in
reality always divine and whole;
consequently, in the real of him he does
not suffer. It is through belief in
separation that he suffers. There is only
one God-Expression, and that is good, for
God brings forth only that which is like
unto himself. Each form of the infinite
variety of God-Expression is inherently
good. Each of us is always being brought
forth by the power of His own
consciousness. Expression is eternal; it
is always good. We are alive in God. Can
God suffer and be sick? Since the good is
eternal, what about evil? Has it any
place in the plan of existence? Could it
really exist? Like suffering, evil is in
the thought realm.
Tolstoi
says, "God is That All, That Infinite
All, of which I am conscious of being a
part." Another has said, "God is the
totalized consciousness of the
whole."
Natural
science is fast working out of the
concept of a dead material universe
tossed about by various forces, to a
universe all force, life, soul, thought.
God is not half dead, but wholly alive;
hence the Universe is wholly good. In
form, God the Infinite, is called finite,
because infinity is centered and located
in the visible expression of
invisibility. The man who is conscious of
this intimate relationship between
himself and God is blessed indeed. There
is no material universe in the sense of a
universe apart from God.
Our
suffering is purely mental; it is induced
by belief in another power than the power
of good. As soon as we separate ourselves
in the thought realm from the realization
of the eternal and ever present goodness
of Life, we suffer. As long as men
believe in two powers, they will suffer.
Suffering and sin are the results of
wrong thinking. Are these experiences
mysterious? They are only the result of
our unwillingness to face the full import
of the law of cause and effect.
The mystery
of evil is allied with the mystery of
suffering. How can there be evil in a
universe of form that is wholly good?
Again I say, evil, like suffering, is in
our thinking. There is no principle of
evil, for principle is eternal, and evil
is temporal. Where, then, does it
originate? Whither does it go? That which
has its inception in a wrong mental
attitude really comes from ignorance and
returns to nothing. Evil is a temporary
condition of the mentality which can be
banished when we choose to live aright,
for since the power of good is at the
foundation of all expression, evil has no
real hold upon the individual. The power
of good is the power inherent in the
development of the world; it is
all-powerful in civilization. Evil is
being overcome by the setting of a higher
thought standard for the race. Jesus
overcame evil with good; this he did by
his thinking. His love, deep, true, and
steadfast, has touched humanity in a way
that no other love ever has. We do not
overcome evil by denying it with the
lips; we must overcome it as Jesus did,
with good.
Nine-tenths
of the wrongs and sufferings of the world
come from man’s inhumanity to man.
All conditions of evil, such as the sweat
shop, unjust labor conditions, all
immoral conditions, could be banished
from the face of the earth, if men would
turn their thought to universal love, for
the evils of the world would fade away in
the light of good.
There is no
evil to the one who lives with the vision
of God before him. Evil is the outer
result of a mental condition of fear,
ignorance, doubt, unbelief. As fear is
the cause of suffering, so is it the
cause of evil. We fix our attention on
the dark places because we fear these; we
emphasize darkness instead of light. Our
world becomes peopled with fears, doubts,
misgivings, and our birthright of health,
peace, power, and joy seems to desert us.
But does it really leave us? No, that
cannot be. Since power, love, health,
wisdom, and joy are the truth of us,
these cannot really desert us, except
when we turn our thought away from these
to false images of sin and suffering;
then we seem to lose our heritage of good
for a time. True thinking brings us back
to the good. We are by nature children of
righteousness and truth. That evil is not
one of the eternal realities is evidenced
by the instability of its nature. Even
though there are numerous world
conditions which are obviously evil, such
as war, jealousy, dishonesty, injustice,
suspicion, it is also evident that these
conditions have no place in the universal
plan. God does not know these. Since God
is all, evil must be a temporary
condition without power. Evil always
vanishes when you and I take a strong
enough stand in God-Consciousness.
How is it,
then, that we continue to believe in the
power of evil and suffering in a Universe
which is God and God in action? I believe
that men are brought forth, children in
consciousness in order that they may have
the opportunity of working out their own
salvation. The intent of the Father for
his children is that they shall attain;
hence they are brought forth perfect,
divinely capable of unfolding. Great is
the privilege of development! Men are
left to make their own decisions, and to
exercise their own free-will as to how
and when to attain. God must desire the
companionship of His children, or He
would not have created them capable of
Divine understanding. God knows about
each one and shares in the development of
the individual; every true thought you
and I think is approved of God. Upon our
decision to choose God as our comrade in
every experience of life depends our well
being. It is the Spirit which preserves
us from all evil.
Ignorance
keeps before us pictures of unrealities
called evil and suffering, and fear keeps
us bound to these. Knowledge of truth
frees us from bondage, and right thinking
makes us free from evil and suffering.
These are mysteries only in so far as we
give them power to shape the lives of
individuals. Why do we suffer? Why do we
sin? The same answer suffices for both
questions. Our thinking is not true to
the foundation principle of Life; the
Universe of form is God in action. God is
infinite Love, and in Love there is only
light; there is no mystery.
* * * * *
Mysteries
Table of
Contents
(Formerly at
Northwoods Divine Science Resource
Center)
