Health is not a condition of matter, but of Mind.

“Health is not a condition of matter, but of Mind.” So declared Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science and a seeker of divine truth in an age of rising materialism. Her words pierce through the veil of the physical and speak to the eternal core of being — that health, true and abiding, is born not from the body’s perfection, but from the mind’s harmony. For what is the flesh but the echo of thought? What is the body but the vessel shaped by the tides of the spirit? When the mind is troubled, the body trembles; when the mind is at peace, even the weakest frame can bear the weight of the world.

The ancients, too, knew this truth. The healers of old — from the philosophers of Greece to the mystics of the East — taught that man is not merely matter, but a union of soul and intellect. The Stoics said that suffering arises not from the world, but from how we perceive it. The yogis of India taught that the mind is the root of all disease and the source of all healing, that balance within gives rise to strength without. So when Eddy proclaimed that health dwells not in the flesh but in the mind, she echoed a wisdom as old as humanity itself — a wisdom that the modern age, in its worship of pills and machines, too often forgets.

Consider the story of Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist who endured the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. Surrounded by death, disease, and despair, he discovered that those who survived were not always the strongest in body, but those who kept a purpose in their mind. While his body weakened, his spirit remained unbroken. He wrote later that “everything can be taken from a man but one thing — the last of the human freedoms: to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” His life became living proof that health of mind transcends the limits of matter.

For when the mind is clear and centered, it can call the body to order, much as the moon calls the tide. Countless souls have felt this truth: the patient who recovers when they believe they can, the weary one who regains strength through love, the sorrowful who find relief in forgiveness. The body obeys the master that rules it — and that master is thought. Fear, anger, and despair poison the waters within; hope, peace, and joy cleanse them. Thus, health is not the absence of disease, but the presence of harmony.

Yet, we must not mistake this for denial of the physical. The wise do not reject matter, but recognize it as a mirror of the mind. If the reflection is clouded, we must clear the source, not curse the image. In every age, those who heal others — physicians of the flesh and spirit alike — know that true restoration begins in the unseen places. A calm heart lowers the fever; a hopeful thought steadies the pulse. The greatest medicine is belief itself, shaped by the hand of reason and faith.

Let us then learn to guard the mind as a sacred sanctuary. Feed it not with worry or resentment, but with gratitude, courage, and truth. In times of weakness, speak gently to yourself, saying: “Peace, be still.” For every thought plants a seed within the body, and from those seeds, the garden of health or of suffering shall grow. To think rightly is to live rightly; to live rightly is to heal.

So, dear listener, remember this eternal teaching: your health is not your body’s possession — it is your mind’s creation. When you awaken each morning, attend first to your thoughts, for they will shape the hours ahead. Breathe deeply, and let peace settle where anxiety once ruled. Seek beauty, speak kindness, and nurture stillness, for these are the remedies that never fade. And when illness comes, do not bow before it in despair, but lift your spirit in understanding: the Mind is the source, the matter but its shadow. Heal the source, and the shadow will follow.

Practical actions for the seeker: Begin each day with reflection — clear the mind before the world stirs. When distress arises, breathe deeply and name it not as your master, but as your visitor. Cultivate thoughts of gratitude, compassion, and strength. Read words that uplift, surround yourself with calm, and remember that the greatest physician dwells within you. For as Mary Baker Eddy taught, health is not a matter of the body, but a reflection of the Mind aligned with truth — and to tend to that inner alignment is to live in radiant harmony with all that is.