The Stomach in The Science of Mind

The whole of Chapter 15 in The Science of Mind ("Physical Perfection, Concluded") is devoted to specific complaints and illnesses and how they might be cured through the power of thought. As in the rest of the book, these instructions are addressed to the Religious Science "Practitioner", though one imagines any general reader might also be able to put these instructions to work.
The basic treatement seems to be complete denial of the illness, which is exactly what Christian Science dictates. Any ailment is merely a false beliefe, and it is the duty of the practicioner to heal the patient of her false thoughts, thereby restoring her body to the absolute physical perfection that God intended, and that we are all worthy of.
On p. 256 Holmes tells us that the stomach in particular is inclined to be affected by mental causes, though many of these stomach upsets can be alleviated through the simple expedient of saying grace before meals (and I will have to try that out).
This chapter includes specific instructions and affirmations for any number of ailments, including headache and obesity. Interestingly, this kind of thing was revived (and with great success) by Louise Hay, herself a Religious Science practitioner, and more recently in Australia by people like Annette Noontil and Inna Segal. Which goes to show that you can't keep a good idea down.

The Science of Mind on Love

"Love is at the center of man's being, and the calm, continuous, pulsations of life are governed by Love."

p. 238

Jesus in The Science of Mind

As with most New Thought, The Science of Mind relies heavily on Christian imagery, and is filled with biblical quotations. It also uses regularly teh person of Jesus to illustrate its own metaphysical concepts. For example, in the chapter on "Physical Perfection." Holmes writes: "It is probable that when Jesus forgave the man his sins, he realized that the man had a complex of condemnation within himself. The sense of condemnation which the race holds about itself weights it down, and it must be removed. This explains why Jesus said: "Thy sins be forgiven thee.""
Similar to the Fillmores, who were fellow students of Emma Curtis Hopkins, Holmes sees the Christ as a Divine archetype, as a Godly quality that we all possess, a goal we can all aim toward. And while he remains "the Master Teacher," he is not the only paragon of Good that the world has seen. This New Thought reading of Jesus is much closer to Hindu and Buddhist understandings of Great Teachers and Realised Ones. It is also this refusal to recognise the unique and exclusive divinity of Jesus that puts Religious Science outside the parameters of conventional Christianity.
Science of Mind teaches that Jesus is "the great example, not the great exception," who points us toward the Universal Oneness to which we all belong, and in which we are all Divine. But Holmes' great love for the Bible, and his heartfelt adoration of Jesus, is palpable throughout The Science of Mind, and to this end I see it as one of the really monumental works of Christian devotion.

The Science of Mind on self-talk

"Let a person say to himself, "I am overworked," and at once there will come up through his consciousness a belief in weariness."

p. 226

The Universe in The Science of Mind

Holmes uses many different words for God in The Science of Mind. I kind of like this. In this post-post-modern age where the mention of God can send thousands running, it is quite helpful to have a range of words and concepts in one's repertoire that are far less scary. The Universe is one such word. Who could take exception to that?
Also, this multitude of words can explain a number of very subtle and different ideas that are otherwise lumped together under the word "God." I think Holmes is engaged in this kind of careful distinction between different notions of God, kind of like the Eskimos and their myriad words for snow (and don't write in - I know the word is "Inuit" - I'm deliberately employing a cliche, people!).
Holmes' use of the word "Universe" (note the capital U) comes closest to teh standard ideas of a creator God. The force of the Universe is powerful in The Science of Mind, and flows constatly through us. But Holmes points out that this powerful force is thoroughly objective, that its shape can only be formed by us. And so the same Universal Energy that makes us ill can also be used to heal us and to make us rich and successful. The exercise of spirituality represents an effort to more cleverly channel the forces of this Universe.
I think this represents a departure from Christian Science, which refuses to believe that God can create anything that is bad, even if it is through our own delusion and misunderstanding. Holmes seems more ready to acknowledge that the Universe sometimes expresses itself in uncomfortable ways through our bodies. But in Holmes' conception, any such discomfort is our own fault. The Universe itself is simply power, neither good nor ill. There is only One Law - we need to learn to comply with it.

The Science of Mind on Prayer: 2

We find that prayer is essential to happiness, for righteous prayer sets the law of the Spirit of life in motion for our good.

p. 178

God in Humanity in The Science of Mind

Chapter 11 of The Science of Mind goes into great detail about the spiritual treatments that practitioners of Religious Science are meant to administer. Such treatments have always been an important part of the church structure of Religious Science, and some Practitioners in the church have gone on to great fame - most notably Louise Hay and Marianne Williamson. I have never had such a treatement, though I really would like to experience it. I know of only one practitioner at work in Sydney, however .
According to Holmes the purpose of a treatment is to help the subject once more become a properly functioning channel of God's perfect energy. The Practitioner never actually cures anything - she merely reminds the subject of their own innate perfection. With Holmes (as with most of the schools of New Thought), God lives in us, and we live in God. Perfection, abundance and perfect health are our natural states of being, and spirituality is merely re-aligning ourselves with that perfection.
No-one can possibly be separate from the Divine, according to The Science of Mind. People may be confused, they may have forgotten their real being, but the spark remains in us always, no matter how separated we may feel.
My knowledge of conventional theology is really not sufficient to know whether or not this is all heretical, but I suspect it might be. I'd love one of my readers to enlighten me. But as a personal theology it seems deeply comforting and spiritually satisfying - and, as usual, it doesn't seem to be too far removed from Christian Science.
Cure is effected by the practitioner refusing to see bad in their subject. Holmes seems to be saying that the God that is within us can be brought back to the fore merely by being recognised and affirmed. Any other state of being is illusory.