Heal disease by changing thought?

DOES this sound strange, impossible, even ridiculous to you? If so, read on. People tend to think that disease is in the body, and thoughts are in the mind, and that there isn't much connection between the two. But a change of thought to a more spiritual basis, to a perception that man is actually God's image, therefore totally spiritual, can bring healing to the body. For instance, a few years ago a skin disease developed on one of my legs. As I'm a Christian Scientist and rely on the power of God for healing, I did not put any medication on the condition but strove to heal it through prayer. However, it spread, and the other leg was affected too. The skin became abnormal, and at times the itching was severe. One day when the irritation was intense, I found myself thinking, ``If only I could put some cool balm on it!'' Yet I did not want to put something material on the skin, preferring rather to rely on divine power for healing. I just felt the need for coolness and balm. Well, I had no sooner felt this longing than into my thought came these words from a hymn: ``Thy coolness and Thy balm.'' 1 I suddenly saw that, in the highest sense, these healing elements could be seen as coming from God, Spirit, rather than from unintelligent matter. The presence of Spirit, with its peace and harmony, stilled the discomfort. The itching and heat left. In about two days my skin regained a smooth, normal condition, and the difficulty never returned. I was healed when I mentally turned away from matter to Spirit for the answer to my need; when I was, as St. Paul says, ``willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.'' 2 Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in the Christian Science textbook, ``Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,--neither in nor of matter,--and the body will then utter no complaints.'' 3 It may not seem easy to turn our thought from the very insistent--and to most people self-evident--belief that everything is material, to the truth that substance is actually Spirit. But the rewards of doing so encourage us to keep working at this change. Once, when faced with another difficulty, I found it hard to turn my thoughts away from the situation. Then one day I decided to make a much greater effort, a total effort, to turn my thoughts away from the material condition and to be ``present with the Lord.'' In a very short time I was completely healed. The need had been to let go of fears regarding the situation and to rely wholeheartedly on God to care for my need. How can we gain the confidence to rely on God when faced with a physical difficulty? The Bible tells us that He is Love, that He is our Father, that He is ever-present good and the only power. Understanding God, realizing that He is Love and that His power is supreme, we naturally trust Him and expect healing results from our prayers. We can ask Him to show us more of His nature and of our own true selfhood as His spiritual likeness. We can ask Him to help us feel in our heart this truth. Then we need to listen for His healing thoughts. And they will come, because He loves us. 1 Christian Science Hymnal, No. 49. 2 II Corinthians 5:8. 3 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 14.