Watching Point 477

477 — WATCH lest you deny the existence of animal magnetism as a belief, before you have done the work to uncover it. Mrs. Eddy said, “The rule to ensure victory for Science is this: Bear faithful testimony to the existence of animal magnetism as an evil belief, which must be met and mastered. A denial of the existence of this error prevents your victory over it.”

Does this statement by our Leader contradict the one in Science and Health, “You conquer error by denying its verity”? (Page 339). How does one destroy a serpent? It must first be uncovered. Animal magnetism must be acknowledged as the mesmerism of belief that would claim to becloud man’s consciousness of God. One must awaken to the existence of animal magnetism as an evil belief, before he can apply the rule which makes it unreal. If you take the stand that it does not exist before you have uncovered its , you may receive the impression that you can ignore it.

Error has to be uncovered from the standpoint of material sense, since it is as real as material sense. It can be seen as unreal only by spiritual sense. It is self-evident that animal magnetism is a false belief. Yet you must acknowledge that you entertain it and learn why you entertain it, in order to get rid of it. A blanket denial that there is such a thing as a false belief called animal magnetism, is like cutting off the top of a weed and leaving the roots.