In the early fifties, my life took a complete turn.I began working for the Aetna Insurance Company as a Workman's Compensation claims examiner reviewing work-related accidents. I was still recovering from World War II, which had left me seriously handicapped both physically and mentally. Nine years after receiving a service-connected medical discharge, I was a foxhole agnostic struggling desperately to understand the purpose to life. The religious concept of God as omnipresent and omnipotent eluded me and clashed head-on with my war experience. The question of, "Is God in the likeness of man or is man in the likeness of God?" Belief battled disbelief. Then in 1956 I became interested in a metaphysical approach to health and a new way of life, the open door to the greater works promised by men of the Bible. My agnosticism, my multiple war disabilities, the medical aspects of myinsurance work, and my new-found understanding warred within me, compelling me to spend almost every lunch hour in a near-by Christian Science Reading Room, studying the Bible and inspirational literature. I felt a great need to find answers to life. Are we mortal or immortal? I began to lose my sense of agnosticism and became a theist, and finally a faith believer. The following personal experience is the reason why the substance of my belief went far beyond the evidence of things not seen.
In the second or third year of my new-found understanding, my company's supervisor, in recognition of my work, presented me with a large new corporate account. A heavy-machinery equipment company that was recquired to have their own nursing staff in case of emergent accidents, The head nurse, Lillian, telephoned me daily to report all work-related accidents for immediate adjudication and timely Workman's Compensation payments. It so happened, that Lillian would call me right after my lunch study hour in the reading room, and I would advise her of the proper procedure for filing each accident claim. We always talked longer because I had just come fresh from my inspirational Bible reading, and my consciousness was temporarily free from my own self-absorbed problems; and she felt a kindred-sense of my comfort and peace of mind. Soon we became "spiritual buddies" via the telephone, even though I was a Christian Scientist and she was of the Jewish faith. We both began to look forward to these daily calls, for after she gave her report, we would continue our metaphysical discourse on our relationship to God. Her responsiveness and receptivity to this transformed and transcendentant state of thinking was so great, that our discussions became mutually inspiring and uplifting daily occurrences for both of us. This went on for six or seven years.
One late evening while at home, I received an urgent telephone call from a doctor affiliated with a hospital in the Bronx, New York City, A patient in the hospital wished to see me immediately, It was my telephone friend Lillian, whom I had never met. The doctor informed me that she was in the intensive-care unit, was dying, and had requested my immediate presence. At first, I was overwhelmed and felt totally inadequate; the demand seemed, at the moment, too great for my present level of understanding. The mere thought of attempting to help another in such a dire state seemed premature. But a voice within said: "The root of the tree of life is eternal life. Practice what you have preached and be consciously, not piously, one with Me. You are my image and likeness through which I perform that which is given you to do and I perfecteth that which I give you to do."
In a few moments I was in my car. When I arrived at my destination, I was in such deep meditation that I did not realize how I even got there. This was an area of New York City that I knew very little about. At first, the hospital personnel did not want to let me in because I was not related to the patient, not even a family member, merely an acquaintance. Besides, they reminded me, visiting hours were long over. Something again said to tell the receptionist to tell Lillian that I had come and was downstairs. The next moment I found myself by her bedside. As a new student of metaphysics, I found the setting I encountered totally alien to every comfortable spiritual God-like concept which I had aligned myself. Tubes, intravenous devices, doctors, and nurses were everywhere, and on top of it, my friend was heavily sedated. I leaned over and closely whispered into her ear that God's message and messenger was here. She nodded slightly; her eyes were closed. Then the following message came THROUGH me as I listened spellbound: "NOTHING can prevent the sun from rising in the East and setting in the West. NOTHING can prevent the moon and the stars from appearing at night, and NOTHING can prevent the earth from rotating on its axis." At that moment, Lillian, gave out a horrifying death-defying scream that scared the living hell out of me, I was request to leave the hospital at once. Two weeks later she was discharged from the hospital. She wrote me the following letter:
Jess, my doctor told me that my appendix had burst and peritonitis was rampant throughout my body, and I was slowly dying of bodily poisoning. My pores had closed and for some time I was not eliminating or excreting the proper waste material from my body, so they had me on a bedpan. Whatever you said to me opened all the eliminating channels and filled the bedpan, and that is what made me scream. How can I ever thank you for coming to this medical nurse, a stranger dying in a hospital, who is not of your faith-and bringing me yours.
Testifier: Jess E. Weiss, (author of Overcoming the Fear of Death and Dying) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
I was diagnosed with mental illnesses and alcoholism. I struggled many years with this. Through reading Science and Health with Key to The Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy and The Bible, I was completely cured. I learned that there is nothing but Immortal, Infinite, Unchanging Mind--God, in which there can be no imperfection, and that I am a part of that Infinite perfection. I have also been relieved of other less serious misperceptions of reality many times and have been the instrument of Mind in healing others. Anonymous
Testimony One: While flying high over the Pacific as passengers in a military C147 cargo plane my friend Al and I were lounging on the web-type seating. I was sitting upright and strapped in. Al was prone, stretched-out, totally relaxed and unbuckled!
Suddenly Al found himself prone and now stretched-out on the plane's ceiling! Instant prayer was ours! We both turned to GOD immediately and both of our prayers were brief and answered!
When praying for healing I always begin my treatment with GOD. It is important to know that "GOD is all in all" as the Bible states. Infinite GOD governs our every thought and action! We are HIS image and likeness, therefore we can only express HIM.
Perfect weather was our call for help. The turbulence we experienced suddenly stopped and the balance of our trip to Tokyo was smooth and peaceful.
After the smooth landing, the pilot to us (his only passengers) while in flight that this was his first experience that ended so dramatically and peacefully! He thanked us for our prayers!
Testimony Two: Back in 1951 while I was stationed on Okinawa, my buddy and I were fortunate enough to have a week's leave in Hong Kong. Getting there and back is where we needed to practice GOD's law of safety. The trip to Hong Kong on the military C147 was uneventful, but slow and arduous.
On our return trip the plane was fully loaded with soldiers, heavy equipment, even bicycles and many gifts purchased for loved ones. A little over half way back to Okinawa, one of the two engines failed and the pilot could not get the engine restarted.
To further complicate things the weather turned extremely rough. In order to maintain altitude, the pilot ordered all loose and heavy equipment overboard. He said this would better our chances for a safe return to land.
My buddy and I were the only enlisted men on board. Therefore we knew it was important that everything possible be thrown overboard quickly! We were the expendable humans on board (lower ranks go first)!
Just as the last bicycle was thrown out, the plane began to gain altitude, and the winds became calm. Prayer was certainly answered, and needless to say my pal, Al and I didn't have to swim back to Okinawa.
Owen Laughlin This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.