Good Morning Beloved!

Once, in the 1820’s, a little boy called Sam was playing in the yard behind his house. During his pretend fighting game, he knocked over the outhouse. Now Sam was upset and worried that he would get into trouble so he ran into the woods and didn’t come out until after it got dark. When he arrived back home, his pappy was waiting for him. He asked suspiciously, “Son, did you knock over the outhouse this afternoon?”

“No, pappy,” Sam lied.

“Well, let me tell you a story,” said the father. “Once, not that long ago, Mr Lincoln received a shiny new axe from his father. Excited, he tried it out on a tree, swiftly cutting it down. But as he looked at the tree, with dismay he realized it was his mother’s favorite cherry tree,” his pappy paused.” just like you, he ran into the woods. When he returned, his pappy asked, ‘Abraham, did you cut down the cherry tree?’ Abraham answered with, ‘Father, I cannot tell a lie. I did indeed chop down the tree.’ Then his father said, ‘Well, since you were honest with me, you are spared from punishment. I hope you have learned your lesson, though.’ So,” then Sam’s father asked again,” did you knock down the outhouse?”

“Pappy, I cannot tell a lie any more.” said the little boy. “I did indeed knock down the outhouse.”

Then his father spanked Sam red, white, and blue. The boy whimpered, “Pappy, I told you the truth! Why did you spank me?”

Pappy answered, “That’s because Abraham Lincoln’s father wasn’t in the tree when he chopped it down!”

July 4^th – Independence Day

Independence…what does that mean to you? Freedom? What is freedom?

It can be many, many things. What do they mean to you?

Many different responses even here in our community.

When I was growing up, to me it meant, getting away from my family…first through college, then my teaching and coaching positions, which were about an hour away from my family’s home. But that job lead to other forms of ‘captivity.’ The responsibilites of those positions and all they involved.

So I traded one set of ‘oughts and shoulds’ for another. And we all do that, don’t we?

Underlying it all the time, tho, was the urge for something more.

James Dillet Freeman, Unity’s Poet laureate wrote in ‘Of Freedom and Fences’ about freedom. He writes:

“Freedom! The word rings like a bell, doesn’t it? It lifts the heart and stirs the passions. But just what is freedom? How free is free?

I have a large, beautiful, extremely active dog. My dog has free access to the yard at all times and in house and yard she lives a very free life, for the most part doing only what she wants to do.

My yard is fenced, but the fence is more of a mental limit than a physical obstacle. Any time she wishes, she could be over it like the wind. Not the fence, but only her own acceptance of the fence keeps her in the yard.

My dog and her fence have made me think about freedom in very different terms than I had ever thought about it before. I have come to realize that the fence does not keep her in bondage; it keeps her free!

Suppose she did jump the fence and go wandering off? Would she be free? How free would she be skittering frightened and bewildered through the unfamiliar maze of the city’s streets?

The fence does not limit her freedom as much as it guarantees it. Freedom is and always must be a relative matter. I may be free to step out of a window, but the moment I do, I lose my freedom. I am made captive and plummeted to earth by forces over which I have no control. I have asserted my freedom beyond my power to maintain it. I have gone beyond my fence.

I built my dog’s fence. In the case of human beings, they themselves may have to build their fences. Not all, of course. Many of our fences have been built by wise and loving people who lived before us, examined the world—as I have for my dog—and realized where fences were needed if they were to preserve, and not lose, their liberty. If we are wise, we accept the fences raised for us by laws … tradition … religious belief … the moral code … good manners and consideration.

For if we go too far beyond the fences of reasonable restraint, we may find we have not extended our freedom, we have lost what freedom we had. To go too far is to come up short.

I wonder if we as a nation are still here after [so many] years because the founding fathers were as aware of fences as they were of freedom when they wrote the Declaration of Independence.

God made us to be free, for we are made in the image and likeness. That is why in the heart of every person stirs the desire freely to express their God-potential. That is why we feel a discontent with anything less than freedom. But we misinterpret it when we feel that it tells us to throw off every restraint, every limitation.

There are two kinds of freedom in the world. We have to be free from and free to. For to be free means to be free from everything that keeps us from achieving our maximum potential, everything that weakens us. And it means to be free to grow, to achieve dominion over our self and all the forces at work in us, to develop and express our creative powers.

We are, all of us, freest when we have the maximum control over ourselves and our lives, when we can say to ourselves, “Go!” and we may go, and when we can say, “Stay!” and we stay.”

We can understand why Mr. Freeman was designated Unity’s Poet Laurate!

We had a vision of freedom last month when the court of the country deemed that ALL people have the right to the freedom of loving who they love. And they can express that love through the benefit of marriage if they so choose.

This is freedom FROM the oppression of others who choose to give up their freedom FROM their fears. The oppressors choose to not accept freedom TO be who they can truly be….fully be.

When I look at freedom, I think it comes with our integrity. It’s part of our integrity. Once we realize what we believe is TRUE for us, we live that truth. And when our integrity is tested or questioned, we are free to say ‘yes’ or ‘no;’ to ‘stay or ‘go’ according to our integrity.

Any action is only free, only in integrity when it does no harm, to myself or to others. This may be where the extremist step out of integrity…step away from freedom for all.

So I’m free to respond within my integrity. My freedom is in the ease of response to what is correct or not, for me. It’s so easy to choose. Because through the journey, what I believe is established. So, each choice is easy to make, based upon the lessons learned and the guidance drawn from those lessons.

It’s easy to choose whether to do good or not; to help another or not; to obey the laws meant to protect us or not.

And if I go against that integrity, I feel in through my body and soul. Hopefully, I feel that ‘ouch’ internally long before I step out of balance. Listening to intuition is very helpful and wise! The choice is easy!

One of the things we learn as we grow is this from Bryant McGill, “You are not responsible for other people’s happiness and they are not responsible for yours.”

It takes a while to learn this. Took me a while to learn I was not responsible for my Mother. I felt as if I took care of her since the day I was born! She was my first experience with counseling!

That counseling was freeing.

Letting go of who I THOUGHT I was supposed to be.

That is freeing.

We’ve mentioned this several times – discovering who we really are, accepting who and what others are, accepting love. This is freedom.

And here is another way to say it; from Meryl Streep:

“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me.

I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonestly and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities.

In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.”

The woman has her integrity right there in a few short paragraphs. These words give her freedom. She knows what she believes and apologizes to no one for it. This gives her freedom and gives freedom to others also.

Notice she doesn’t say what others need to do or be. She speaks about herself. SO, others are free to be themselves as she is. And, she’s not injuring any one or herself with her belief.

It’s like my older brother said once when we were trying to understand each other and family dynamics after our Father died and we all were growing apart, he said, “this is who I am and I’m not changing.” And so, to protect myself from further emotional and spiritual abuse, I no longer visit that brother. I had to follow my integrity and he is following his, as it is right now.

So, maybe we all should write our own manifestos, as Ms. Streep did. Then we can know what we believe; we can know who we are. And others will know what to expect and can choose to ‘stay’ or ‘go’ according to their manifesto.

An interesting idea. Do you think you know yourself well enough to write one? How freeing would THAT be! – Maybe.

ALL MY RELATIONS (A Talk About One-ness)

JOKE:

A Scottish mother visits her 
son in his New York City apartment and asks, “So, how do you find the Americans, Donald?”

“Mother,” says Donald, “they’re such noisy people. One neighbor won’t stop banging his head against the wall, while the other screams and screams all night long.”

“Ach, Donald! How do you manage to put up with them?”

“What can I do? I just lie in bed quietly, playing my bagpipes.”

==========================

Tell me something, have you ever looked around at your family and taken it one step further to feel like you don’t even belong on this planet?

Well, you’re not alone.  So don’t get all comfortable in your misery here. I am here to help you to understand: you ain’t alone, baby. In fact, you are part of every living thing on earth … the world and everything in it is related to you.

I didn’t feel much like I “belonged” to my family. I have one powerful childhood memory that I would sit outside on the corner every chance I got. I would sit and wait for my tribal family to come and get me. They would ride up in feathers and robes, leading a spare pony just for me. I always wore a piece of clothesline tied around my waist, which wasn’t a problem usually. Although on Sunday mornings when Mom spent time ironing the crinolines & I tied a grimy rope on my waist, things got a little Italian around the house.

So many of us feel estranged from our immediate family and it’s popular to say “your friends are your family” or, as I’ve seen it recently: “God gave us friends to make up for our relatives” But time has proved to me that Desmond Tutu put it well when he said, “You don’t choose your family, They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.”

After being on Starship Earth for a while, we begin to see there are common threads that bind us all together. Our foods are different, our languages, our clothing…but that’s all detail. Basically, the same emotions apply: Who doesn’t want material success with a place to live well & in good health? Who turns away from good luck, plenty of money? Who doesn’t complain about their politicians or the rebelliousness of youth?

In my online world, I keep seeing the phrase “Unity Consciousness” to denote this common thread of thought. We want fairness to prevail, we want to be safe in public places, we want our taxes to make a noticeable difference for PEACE in the world.  Little did the Fillmores know what they so beautifully started would go global on the level of conscious awareness; but I’ll lay odds they’re applauding wherever they are now!

The continents may be drifting apart, but the regular people on them are uniting together insofar as their thinking less of war and more of peace.

The original title of Charles Darwin’s 1859 bestseller was On The Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. Its primary topic was the scientific theory that populations evolve over generations through natural selection. This was not acceptable to the Church of England which felt species were unchanging parts of a designed hierarchy and that humans were unique, unrelated to other animals and, unfortunately, many times to other humans. While Darwin says ‘survival of the fittest’ twice in that book he uses the word “love” 95 times. I’d say that’s a terrific basis for a theory of evolution and one which is proving out!

He wrote:  “Let it be borne in mind how infinitely close-fitting are the mutual relations of all organic beings to each other.”

He also spoke of inter-species cooperation. If you think about it, our pets today prove that out. And not too many years ago we all lived with animals; if you kept chickens you got to have an egg hunt daily. If you wanted to go anywhere off the property, you saddled up the horse or hitched up the buggy. Our wake-up call was cattle lowing in the barn to be milked. We looked to our four-legs as co-workers, as guardians, as helpers and even as our mental health professionals as they’d listen to a lot more than we could tell anyone else… One life supported another, just as one life fed another.

Species cooperate in the wild pretty readily: In the southwest, pronghorn antelope regularly grab sage with their teeth to tear off leaves for lunch. When this happens, the sage sends out a chemical signal which triggers the tobacco plant next to it. The tobacco plant then breathes out – and it emits an odor that the antelope don’t like. In protecting itself, the tobacco plant is also protecting the sage. With such a beautiful and complex dance of life, it behooves you not to declare for your limitations by focusing only on the box step. Think your way out of that particular construction, pretty please!

Where does life come from? Is it just conception and procreation that brings in new living beings? In the early 1900’s, many experiments were done in Russia which proved out that life can arise from nonlife, and the cooperation of life with life is a ever ongoing. Gurvisch was one scientist who was intrigued by plants growing upward no matter what. He theorized that there is a “life force” which was  undeniable, and enormously powerful. He saw plants growing even through concrete so he decided this life force came out of the TOP of the plant. He experimented with onions. He pointed the top of one onion top at the side of another, while running a low electrical current through them both. He was amazed and gratified to have his theory proved out when the onion being pointed at started to grow a big bump in response to the pointing onion. This gives me hope we can get to the life-level of onions. That we can point to one another, send the electrical current of our thoughts and the higher-voltage current of our prayers, at each other and create new life.

In the 70’s, I read a book called The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins and Chris Bird. You may have heard of it? Some of the book is based on the research of a man named Cleve Backster who was an interrogation specialist for the CIA. On a day at the lab when he didn’t have enough to do, he hooked up the polygraph to a dracaena plant. Amazingly, the plant registered on the polygraph with a spike on the readout tape. So he started talking to the plant. He began a kind of whole earth movement toward “biocommunication” – play music for the plants, tell your plants you love them and then stand back & watch ‘em grow!

Tompkins & Bird took Backster’s data a little farther and hooked up houseplants to an oscilloscope. Later, they proved that if you gave a plant a way to generate an electrical current, it would open your garage door for you when you got home.  You’ve probably heard about the researchers who set up cameras to find out what pets do at home all day. What they discovered was that when the owner THOUGHT about heading home, their dog went to sit at the door to wait. (Cats, however, headed for their food dishes.)

In 2000, Professor Pacheco (a neurobiologist) heated beach sand to luminescence, killing all lifeforms that might have existed in it. He poured this sand into a test tube partially filled with distilled water. He sealed the tube & autoclaved the test tube as a double measure of killing off anything alive in it. He placed this sterile test tube next to one with DNA in it, ran a low, 7 Hz current through them both. That same 7.3 Hz current Gurvisch ran on the onions. After 24 hours, a thin layer had appeared on top of the so-called “sterile” beach sand water – and the scum was filled with DNA! There are other experiments on the books as well, primarily out of Russia, which have also shown a case for this. It’s called “spontaneous generation.”  And Pacheco was replicating prior experiments. He wasn’t the first to do stuff like this.

I have firsthand experience with spontaneous generation when the last banana in the basket births an entire cloud of flying dots which seem eager to be inhaled, for some reason. There are a number of experiments which proved life generates from non-life, they just didn’t agree with the mainstream belief system – remember the Church of England blinders? Power structures don’t like challenges.

Nature’s SO not stupid. The bacteria that form spontaneously in nuclear reactors eat radiation. Microbes form where they are needed. There are microbes in 99.9% of all space dust. What does that mean? It means what we have supposed is cold, empty, dead space is alive with potential.

Unity co-founders called on life source when they healed themselves, Myrtle of TB & Charles his stunted leg. They reached into the invisible with just their belief and brought back tangible results. Which results they then shared with a world hungry for some hope that there might be such a thing as spontaneous generation. It put everything on an equal footing, really.

We stand on one rung of the evolutionary ladder. We like to think it’s the top rung. I’m not sure it is. When I see the poetry of a horse running through a field, or the fabulous understanding of a service dog in the pediatric ward of a hospital, or even a flock of starlings wheeling in some grand ballet of a sunset – I have to pray we can achieve this kind of Unity Consciousness. If you think world peace is a challenge, try getting people to agree on the channel to have on at the Laundromat!

Kinesiology (muscle testing) can show us that thinking a negative thought about someone weakens them. Even something as simple as, “I don’t like those shoes!”  Even when that person doesn’t know about the thought. If negative thoughts disperse energy, guess what the positive thoughts do? There’s a reason the Pope does this. And the Dalai Loma, this.

Has anyone here called Silent Unity for support? How did you feel about their message? Didn’t you immediately feel the support of their loving words couched in prayer? This group maintains such a high level of energy among themselves that their words become an organic source of support even as they speak them to you. These words shine a light in a very dark space sometimes. They can show us a doorway we were sure did not exist as we dialed them up.

I don’t think Mother/Father God made us and then wandered off. I think when we found out just how powerful we were, we shooed them off, saying “We wanna do this ourselves now! You can go.” But it’s now time to invite the divine back into our lives and recognize each other’s divinity. Recapture that unqualified recognition that a loving parent has for even the most stubborn child. In order to do that, we need to acknowledge ourselves, each other, our beautiful world, from the vast ocean whispering a lovesong with every wave, to the smallest junco whistling a little song before grabbing up a seed on our patio. We need to start hearing the beauty of the world, tasting the glowing colors our eyes see, speaking to others the words we would ourselves love to hear someone say to us.

It is up to us Unitics to start. Somebody has to be the first to beat their sword into a ploughshare, after all. There’s a reason we are called to speak living words.

I have every faith we can shift the entire world once we acknowledge our relationship with its every aspect.

Look around the circle today when we do our Peace Song. Know these are your community, that each and every one in touch with each and every other one has more unspoken wishes in common that only need to be spoken together to be made manifest. Wishes like good health, world peace, true love. Thinking a bad thought? Send out a quick “Cancel, cancel, cancel!” We need to make the space we all occupy life-size.

Feel free to test the world’s relationship with you. I took a two-mile hike once in a forest. About the time I ran out of energy I also ran out of trail markers. I stopped to figure things out. And because I trust the world is looking out for me, I looked up and told God “I need a sign here.” Two seconds later the tiniest yellow moth wobbled by, going left. I said, “Thanks!” and turned left. The parking lot was fifty feet away. Let the world show you, let it be your active ally, not just scenery out there. Trust your perceptions!

The world is here to heal you. Won’t you return the favor? If you think about your relationships with your family and feel they may not be either friends or well-wishers…don’t give in or give up; simply reach for a good thought, even if the best you can muster wouldn’t win any Nobel Peace Prizes.

The beautiful name for an intelligent cosmos which constantly adapts to life is “Auto poetic.” The truth we have been taught about life only being available through evolution-based reproduction, or some random mutation effect is only a small part of the information available now.  Be vigilant for your world. Pay attention so that your ears are the first to hear God’s message through the world directed to you, and your heart be the first to perceive its wholeness.

Repeat these after me: I AM a giver of life. My success brings success to everyone I know and then to everyone in the world. My love speaks through the vibration of my heart.

Thank you.

Good Morning Beloved

A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door.

The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the

pouring rain, is asking for a push.

“Not a chance,” says the husband, “it is 3:00 in the morning!”

He slams the door and returns to bed.

“Who was that?” asked his wife….

“Just some drunk guy asking for a push,” he answers.

“Did you help him?” she asks.

“No, I did not, it’s 3 am in the morning and it’s pouring rain out there!”

“Well, you have a short memory,” says his wife. “Can’t you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? It was raining then,

too!  I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself!  God loves drunks too, you know.”

The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain.

He calls out into the dark, “Hello, are you still there?”

“Yes,” comes back the answer.

“Do you still need a push?” calls out the husband.

“Yes, please!” comes the reply from the dark.

“Where are you?” asks the husband.

“Over here on the swing set” replied the drunk.

June gold  imagination

Topic: Discover True Self

Affirmation: Centered in the Divine, I discover more of who I am and all that I am capable of being.

This month of June, the theme is Discover your true self.

Do you know your true self?   What does it even mean to know your true self?

St. Teresa of Avilla said, “For the most part, all our trials and disturbances come from our NOT understanding ourselves.”

Do you think that is so?

It was Job who said, “Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.”  Job 3:25

I agree with those assessments.  We all are becoming aware that our thoughts create our world.

I saw this quote, don’t know who’s it is, there was no acknowledgment –“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Definitely a YES!

Why do you think we have the ‘urge’ to learn about ourselves?  We go to classes, read books, we attend seminars.  We spend millions of dollars in all kinds of therapy; and for what?  Many would say to figure out why whatever is happening to us is happening.

We’ve heard it many times, in many different ways:  Know thyself; the Kingdom is within; live within out.  All this I knew but it didn’t register deeply until I read Eric Butterworth’s “In the Flow of Life”.  There I read the words Eric Butterworth said fully and completely: “We must know ourselves because it’s God who we are getting to know.”

Our ‘traditions have told us that we are separate from our Creator.  It’s that belief of  separation that leads to our feeling of being alone, lost sometimes, afraid.

We are not separate from Spirit.  We ARE Spirit.

We just need to find that connection again.  To re-connect.

My mentor from my early years with Unity says, “God is in the yearning.”

That’s why I think we do all the searching.

We are attempting to connect with the Power within us, that central core that is Divine.  That part of us that is of the WHOLE.  That whole is you and me and everyone and everything.

This month’s Power is Imagination.  (The word imagination always reminds me of the movie, Miracle on 34^th Street, Santa and little Suzy…she learned to BELIEVE with the Power of her imagination!  And through that belief and the use of her imagination she was a part of a miracle.).

When we put the power of our imagination to work for us, much may be accomplished…and THAT is our prosperity!

And that is our Prosperity message for this month…using your imagination…and using that imagination to get to know and understand yourself.

Your imagination is among your most creative mind powers. You are always creating through your imaging faculty. By deliberately directing your imagination towards what you want, you can begin to transform your life. Through your thinking, you accumulate a mass of ideas and with your imagination you make them come into a form of prosperity.

Divine Ideas are our gift from God, from the Divine.  It’s what we do with those ideas, if we choose to do anything with them that is our prosperity.

As we imagine different scenarios, we figure out what we want in life, who we wish to be, how we wish to act or respond.  All this happens first in our imagination.

In our Tuesday class this week we have been learning, or re-membering, the power of the heart and its purpose in directing our choices.  So, we shouldn’t think of the brain first when it comes to learning about ourselves, we should be connecting with our heart, become conscious of our Divinity and learn from that space.

From that place we choose those gifts, ideas, ways of thinking and believing that we wish to add to our tool box, which we wish to be a part of our integrity, which will guide us in our beliefs.

We imagine it first to see if it fits for the moment.  And we always can re-evaluate, as Charles Fillmore says, and choose to change our minds if it doesn’t fit for us at any time.

Think for a minute about the things you used to imagine…what where they? (A Unity in Rehoboth Beach!)

Charles Fillmore tells us, “With our imagination we lay hold of ideas and clothe them in substance.” Through our imagination we behold things in spiritual essence, in true perfection. The imagination is the universal language as it pertains to a language of pictures. A picture of a cup of water is understood by people of every language.

We picture it into substance, into being.

There are two basic uses of imagination-conditioned and open-ended.

Conditioned imagination kind of defines itself – it concentrates on what you want. Seeing it, speaking it, imagine yourself with it. This can work in quick and spectacular ways but it can be limiting. Getting an abundance of what other people have is not proof of a “prosperity consciousness.” It’s almost like copying someone idea.  And that’s fine if THAT is what you are wanting.

It is important, however, to stay open and receptive to what Spirit has in mind for you.

In the open-ended imagination, you do not just ask for those things you already know exist but for those ideas that are not yet manifested into the material. This is the realm in which all new things are created. This is the realm of prosperity.

Some say, when working a manifestation, “This or something better.”

How are you clothing your prosperity: with lack or abundance? Conditioned or open-ended?

Think about it….

We are created in the image of the Divine and we have the power to create mental images that then can be brought into the physical plane. This does take focus plus the support of the power of faith, wisdom and understanding. Together these powers can create prosperity in the form of peace, joy, health, love, the new heaven on earth.

Unfortunately, we learn to function in our dis-function.  We fall into the thoughts of others, the Collective Consciousness we discussed last week.

Most people become their thoughts – they do not HAVE thoughts and feelings; the thoughts and feelings have them.

Check yourself…where have your thoughts been?  Where are they now?

Probably where is Sandy taking this???

Some say we have NO imagination!  No, that’s not it.  We are not using our imagination, 96% of our lives are ruled by the subconscious.

Dr. Phineas P. Quimby, one of the earliest proponents of New Thought said, “When people say, ‘It’s all your imagination.’ They seem to mean it is nothing. On the contrary, imagination is probably the most powerful faculty of the human mind and thousands of practical men today know that what the mind images becomes experience and fact.”

How often have you heard that statement; It’s all your imagination?

And even Professor Dumbledore answered Harry, when he asked, “Is this real or is it all in my head,” by saying, “Of course it’s in your head, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

We never out grow our imagination.  But we do stifle it.  We think we need to conform.  And maybe, in some ways and places, we do.

But Henry David Thoreau reminds us, “We are constantly invited to be who we are.”

So, BE that person.  As long as you are not hurting yourself or another being, BE.

“Just be yourself.  Let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful, magical person that you are here to be.”

James Dillet Freeman reminds us, “It is our imagination that gives us the hope of being more than what we seem to be. Imagination is the creative faculty of mind, and many of the most useful, productive, and extraordinary works in the world of us human beings begin as works of imagination.”

1. Buckminster Fuller said, “Never forget that you are one of a kind. Never forget that if there weren’t any need for you in all your uniqueness to be on this earth, you wouldn’t be here in the first place. And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life’s challenges and problems seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter in the world come about. So be that one person. ”

So, try to pray with images and not just words. Even in our prayers, sometimes words just do not convey what it is we want to convey. Try praying in images and leave the words out. Pray thanksgiving.  Pray peace. Do these in images.

When in a challenging situation, visualize it in peace, resolved for the best of all concerned.

Remember imagination is a universal language. A picture is worth a thousand words. Show God you desire true prosperity through your imagination.

Meditation –

Would you like to develop your power of imagination more? Try these steps and affirmations:

Cleanse-clear away the picture on your mind’s screen that you no longer want. Replace it with something you really want. Affirm: I erase all false images from the screen of my mind.

Consideration-reflect on images that show you the way you want to look and be. Affirm: I reflect on pictures in keeping with my spiritual goals.

Discriminate-old thought and pictures may return. Be discriminate about what you give “free rent” in your head. Affirm: with God’s power, I can sort out the good and discard the false images from my mind.

Observation-the more good you see and incorporate into your life the more that will come. Take time to give thanks for what is and to savor the good around you. Affirm: I observe God’s good everywhere.

Behold-what we persistently behold we manifest. Affirm: I behold the Christ in myself and in others.

Discernment-prayerful time on what is mine to do or have. Affirm: I am open and receptive to spiritual insights from God.

Vision-see through the eyes of spirit. Affirm: My eye is single to the good.

Good Morning Beloved!

What did the Buddha say to the hotdog vendor? “Make me one with everything.”

Then the vendor gave the Buddha a hotdog with everything on it — mustard, onion and relish.

The Buddha gave him a twenty dollar bill, although monks are not supposed to handle cash. The Buddha waited for his change but the vendor didn’t give to the Buddha.

Finally, the Buddha said softly, “Sir, aren’t you going to give me my change?”

The vendor said, “The change must come from within!”

Ask the Rev

1.  What is the origination of the book of Genesis?  Book of Beginning, thought to be written by Moses, but we believe otherwise, most likely written by at least 4 different people or influences. Mostly by the Yahwist; who where considered to be the ‘Priestly sect’, and drew on four separate blocks of traditional stories about Abraham, Jacob, Judah and Joseph, combining them with genealogies, itineraries and the “promise” theme to create a unified whole.  When composing the “primeval history” he drew on Greek and Mesopotamian sources, editing and adding to them to create a unified work that fit his theological agenda.  The Yahwistic work was then revised and expanded into the final edition by the authors of the Priestly source.With that in mind, we must remember who the Bible was written for…not necessarily you & I, but for the Israelites.  It was a ‘story’ of how they came into being.

We, in Unity, look at the Bible as not only a history of a nation but as a journey that we all take when it is looked at from a metaphysical point of view.  And when we look at the gospel stories, they were handed down by the social, political & theological forces of the Judeo-Hellenistic world, not just to record what Jesus supposedly said and did.Consider how you would write today’s history from your point of view and you get the picture.  It’s what we do with the history that is important, whether it’s a world history, a national history or a personal history.

2.  How do we know what Gods will is for us? God’s will is always the highest good for all in every circumstance.  So our “free choice’ comes into play.  Without it, life would be safe, but boring.  We would ALL be wearing the same clothes, the same hair style and drive the same car (Henry Ford might have been onto something – all black, same style car!)  Sameness isn’t what works…this is a creative multiverse….so sameness is not an option.  We are ALL creators and so, we all must participate in the creation of our lives.What do YOU think God’s will is for you?  Only you can figure that out in the long run.  Others are here to listen and prod and suggest ideas, but the choice is yours.

Bryant McGill said, “The purpose of your life is the purpose you bring to it, choice by choice; and recognition by recognition.”

I am reminded of a song, “Love Wins” and THAT can be your guide.  It’s ALL about love

3.  What does it mean “Jesus is our Savior?”– John 14:6 is often quoted by those passionate about Jesus being the ‘only way.’ “… no one comes to the Father but by me,” means we must find God individually; discover the Father-Mother God the way Jesus did, and how many of us have done, go within.  We must follow the example of our Way-Shower, Jesus.  Only we, ourselves can ‘save’ ourselves by how we live our lives.

There is no secret moral behavior required for knowing or pleasing God, or what some call “salvation,” beyond becoming a loving person in mind, heart, body, and soul.Unity’s founders studied many of the world religions and philosophies and choose Jesus as their way-shower.  Many of the Unity philosophies are similar to some Eastern Religious beliefs, such as Silence and meditation, we are all one.I have chosen to follow the Fillmore’s guidance at this time.

And as Charles has been known to say, “I reserve the right to change my mind.

4.  What is the meaning of life? Education, learn how to be fully human and divine, our destiny to oneness with God.  Everything in life teaches us something.  And to do this, we must learn who and what we are.  Go within, Know thyself…, we hear that all the time; what do you think that means?

5  Does Unity believe in Hell/Heaven? New Thought, an overall description of the philosophy that Unity believes, does not believe in an actual, physical Heaven or Hell.  We believe that Heaven or Hell are states of thought, the stress and worry we place upon ourselves as we go through our day can be ‘hellish’ or if we learn to keep our perspective and look at situations through the heart, they can be ‘Heaven.’  It is all on how we ‘see’ things that are happening around us and how we react, or not, to them.  Perspective!

6.  Predestination – If we believed in predestination, then where is our free will?  Then everything would be happening ‘to us’ and not ‘through us.’  That is not free will.

I believe that there is a touch of predestination for all of us…in that we all will be returning in realization to the energy that we are all a part of.  And that there are many paths but all leading to the same Source.

7.  Do animals have a soul? According to Pope Francis, YES!  And from Ecclesiastes 3:19 “For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so does the other.  They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals…Who knows whether the human spirit goes upward and the spirit of animals goes downward to the earth?”

Personally, YES!  I have looked into the eyes of my companion animals, as well as, the eyes of many others.  I believe animals are here to teach us many things, that they may even be more ‘evolved’ than we are, that they are here to help us on our journey and I am Blessed for them!

8.  Were we born with Original sin?  Unity does not believe in sin, much less ‘original sin.’  We believe that humanity is essentially good, because we are ‘made in the image and likeness of God/Goddess.’  And if God/Goddess is ALL GOOD, then we are also.  We Unitics believe we are born in divine blessing.

Yes we are not perfect on earth, we make ‘errors,’ we ‘miss the mark’ which is what ‘sin’ means.  But we are not ‘marked’ to be sinful. That, again, is choice.

9.   What does Jesus say about homosexuality? – Nothing. He never mentioned it, so it was obviously not a pressing or important matter to him. JESUS ACCEPTED PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY WERE.  So it seems to me He would affirm the right of people to be whatever God created them to be, including in matters of sexual orientation.Look at what Jesus did stand for, then you will know that this would not have been an issue for Him.

If you look at some of the Hebrew verses that are thrown at people saying that homosexuality is an abomination, you must consider the culture of the time, the people it was written for and he context that the verses are taken from.  To label one part of society an abomination based on a culture over 2000 years old is not necessarily a good thing.  If we did that we would be able to sell our daughters, never cut our hair and have to change our complete diet, among other various things.

We can get into the meaning behind the HEBREW Bible in lessons through the coming year, if you like, or study it metaphysically in a class.

10.   Does God get angry?  No, God is all good.  The men who wrote the stories in the Bible, however, DID get angry.  And they portrayed their God the same way they are; angry, changing their minds, making errors and repenting.Keep in mind what the Hebrew Bible is; a history of a people who made their God in their image, just as their God made them in His image.  So, if they got angry, so did their God.If we look at the New Testament, with the influence of Jesus, we see a different God, one that is an example of the Love we are and can be in all our endeavors.

11.  What is Unity’s view of reincarnation?  I looked at Rev. Ed’s response to this question to make sure I kept my feelings about it out of the response.  He said, “I think Unity’s understanding of spiritual truth cannot possibly make sense unless we accept the idea of reincarnation. If our purpose as spiritual beings engaged in a human experience is to bring more of our spiritual energy into tangible expression, to achieve that new dimension of consciousness that Jesus calls ‘the kingdom of heaven,’ then it must follow that the process requires more than the limits of a single lifetime. I believe this understanding is implicit in the entire ministry of Jesus—indeed, in the entire Bible. And there are brief passages in which the implicit seems to become increasingly explicit. But it’s difficult to point to any specific teaching or passage that directly speaks to the question. Apparently we just weren’t ready, in collective consciousness, to grasp it at the time the scriptures were written.”

Charles Fillmore not only believed in reincarnation, but he believed we could live a much longer life because we can heal our own bodies.  This was proved by himself and his wife.

12.  Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God make us suffer? God is all good, so does not cause us to suffer.  The cosmos operates on scientific and spiritual laws.  When a law is not adhered to, a consequence occurs. We are to discover these laws and principles and use them.  Thus we have gravity as well as the law of cause and effect.Keep in mind we ALL have free will…choices we make cause effects.  To have that choice of ‘good, we must have the choice of ‘not good,’ again, it’s our choice.This question also takes into account reincarnation, if we have ‘lessons’ to learn in our incarnations, then who are we to know if what is happening to someone is not for their or someone else’s lesson?

But this question leads into the next….

13.  What is Race or Collective Consciousness? – outside events have an effect on us, if we allow that energy to overcome our defenses and change our outlook on life and our own situations, we have allowed what Charles Fillmore called “Race Consciousness” to affect our lives.This has nothing to do with the different races of our Earthly nations.  It is just a term meaning all of humanity.  It means the energy from other people and situations have influenced us and our thoughts and behaviors.  Like a MOB mentality.  Or ‘it’s always been this way’ mentality.

We see the results of Collective Consciousness often in the news; when people react violently to a situation or have a peaceful demonstration to press an issue.  We also see it when people react to a call for help, whether physically or monetarily or for prayer.Will you allow Race or Collective Consciousness dictate your actions and reactions?  That, my friends, is the question. 

14.  What does it mean to “Own Unity of Rehoboth Beach?”   Ownership, to belong here and be a part of it.  To help it grow and not falter.  We are a baby in this world of Spiritual entities.  The only way we can continue to be a part of this community and our lives is if and when we all take ownership.  Help where you are able.  Spread the word.  Bring a friend or two.Soon we will celebrate one year.  I envision this growing and prospering.  Please, if this community is important to you…help us keep it growing and going strong.There are many examples of what one person can accomplish when they choose to do what is theirs to do.  What is yours to do, my friends?

Good Morning Beloved!

A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.

The engineer fumed, “What’s with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!”

The doctor chimed in, “I don’t know, but I’ve never seen such inept golf!”

The priest said, “Here comes the green-keeper. Let’s have a word with him.”

He said, “Hello George, what’s wrong with that group ahead of us? They’re rather slow, aren’t they?”

The green-keeper replied, “Oh, yes. That’s a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime.”

The group fell silent for a moment.

The priest said, “That’s so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight.”

The doctor said, “Good idea. I’m going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there’s anything he can do for them.”

The engineer said, “Why can’t they play at night?”

Memorial Day

Did you know there is a World War II connection to Unity’s Prayer for Protection?

Here’s the story about how Eric Butterworth wrote it.

When World War II was raging in Europe, Unity received many letters and phone calls from people caught in the conflict, but for a long time they did not have a prayer for protection that they were all satisfied with.

Silent Unity came to Eric and asked him to write a protection pamphlet that Unity could send to people. … They told him they wanted affirmative prayers for protection on the back page. Among these was the verse from the 23rd Psalm: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me”.

One of the young women who worked in Silent Unity was reading Eric‘s manuscript draft, and as she finished it, she said to him: “Jim, if I were a woman in England and they were dropping bombs on my roof, or if I were a soldier and someone was pointing a loaded gun at me, I wouldn’t want to feel like I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Can’t you do better than that?”

He says he thought, ‘You want me to do better than the 23rd Psalm? You have to be out of your mind.’ But rolling around in the back of his mind was the little verse he had written as a prayer for protection at Christmas. He had written it just for Silent Unity, but now, he said, ‘it came rolling up to the front of my mind and demanded that I pay attention to it. It enticed me to see what I could make of it.’

So that little Christmas prayer became:

“The light of God surrounds me,

The love of God enfolds me,

The power of God protects me,

The presence of God watches over me.”

That is the way it was first printed. Then, he says, a line came to me that I felt would make the prayer even more powerful. The line was:

“Wherever I am, God is.”

And after that, many Unity’s added “And wherever God is, all is well.”

And that little prayer has been all over the world and to the moon! It comes in handy in many circumstances. And whether it is said silently or out loud; whether for yourself or another; it is powerful. I suggest it often to others and say it even more often, I think!

We spoke of the power of our words last week. Think about that power when we say this little prayer each Sunday at the conclusion of our Service. When we place feeling behind our thoughts, it helps in the manifestation.

I think it is very appropriate that we remember the Prayer for Protection this holiday weekend. After all, we are remembering those men and women who protect our freedoms this weekend.

Isn’t it wonderful that Unity has a Prayer to protect these men and women as they protect us? And that protects ourselves!

Every Memorial Day weekend, we honor those who dedicate their lives to the service and the protection of our country and the people in it. And they do this in so many ways.

From the service men and women in the distant and not so distant lands to those who serve right around the corners of our little towns, we are so very Blessed to have the men and women who protect and take care of us.

In Ezekiel 22:30; the profit Ezekiel writes that God is looking for someone who will stand up for what is right and be the hero that is needed.

It says: “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land….”

Would those of you who stood in the gap please stand so we can proudly acknowledge your service?

And we thank you!

We have many examples of those who have stood ‘in the gap.’ One was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning to the Lexington, he saw a squadron of Japanese aircraft speeding their way toward the American fleet.

With the American fighters gone on a mission the fleet was defenseless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. The wing-mounted guns blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter plane limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival he reported in and related the event surrounding his return.

The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch’s daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had in fact destroyed five enemy aircraft.

This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. A year later he was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this wonderful man.

Just like for Mother’s Day we again have the history of one of our holidays starting during the Civil War era. The custom of placing flowers on the graves of the war veteran’s began on May 5, 1866, in Waterloo, NY, and Waterloo has been recognized by Congress as the official birthplace of Memorial Day, though then it was ‘Declaration Day.’ In 1868, Gen. John A. Logan, then president of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared that May 30 would be a day to decorate with “flowers the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.”

After World War I the day was set aside to honor the service men and women of all American wars, and the custom was extended to pay homage to deceased relatives and friends, both military and civilian. The most solemn ceremony conducted on Memorial Day is the placing of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns located in Arlington National Cemetery.

Did you know that the American Flag is to fly at half-staff the first half of the day to honor the war dead and then full staff for the second part of the day to honor the living? And, on Memorial Day, at 3:00 we are to pause for a moment of silence, as declared by President Clinton in 2000.

We all have people we remember on this and many other days. It is a time to remember them, not forget them and not forget the reasons why they are not here.

It is important to remember the past so we can take the steps of responsibility to prevent more of the very deaths we honor today. We must remember. For it is in remembering that we learn. And it is in learning that we work to prevent the errors of our ways.

So let us remember what Memorial Day is for….not the start of summer, tho that is a very fine thing. Not for picnics and barbecues, tho they are fine too.

No, Memorial Day is for remembering the lives we have lost and remembering the cause for the lost lives. It’s for remembering what the costs are for the freedoms we have and the freedoms we still fight for in many ways.

So we thank everyone who has stood up for those freedoms, in whatever way they have. We thank those who sacrificed their time, health, physical bodies and their lives. For, because of them, we are a free country.

And we must not take those freedoms for granted. We must honor the rights we have and the rights we all deserve. Do not become complacent…that is how many tragedies occurred.

These rights come with responsibilities, do not forget that. For if we forget the responsibilities that all who we honor this weekend fought for and fight for, we have wasted those lives.

We ALL fight for a better country and a better world.

And here’s another true story I’d like to share with you.

It is told that in 1862 during the Civil War, Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison’s Landing, Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of a narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who was severely wounded on the field.

Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, Captain Ellicombe decided to risk being captured to bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach to avoid being noticed, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward the encampment.

When the Captain finally reached his own line, he discovered the soldier was actually a Confederate soldier, but that he was dead.

The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light he saw the face of the soldier, and it was the face of his own son! It seems the boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out and, without telling his father, he enlisted in the Confederate Army.

The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission to give his son a full military burial despite his enemy status and asked if he could have a group of Army band members play at the service.

The request was denied since the soldier was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say he could have a small funeral with one musician. The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper stuffed in the pocket of the dead youth’s uniform.

Those notes became the song known as “Taps.” We are all familiar with the melody, but do we know the words? Listen to them now.

Day is done… Gone the sun… From the lakes…From the hills…From the sky…

All is well… Safely rest…. God is nigh.

Fading light… Dims the sight… And a star… Gems the sky… gleaming bright…

From afar…Drawing nigh… Falls the night.

Thanks and praise…For our days…Neath the sun…Neath the stars…Neath the sky…

As we go…This we know…God is nigh.

Let’s take that into meditation….

Good Morning Beloved!

During a visit to the mental asylum, the director was asked how he determines whether or not a patient should be institutionaltized.

“Well,” said the director, “ we fill up a bathtub with water, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.”

“Oh, I understand,” said the visitor. “A normal person would use the bucket becaue it’s bigger than a spoon or the teacup.”

“No.” said the director, “A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?”

Prosperity and POWER

Did you know that you are powerful beyond measure? That’s what Marianne Williamson has said. At least she is given credit for this quote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.”

― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”

When Charles Fillmore developed the 12 Powers of Humankind, I wonder if he was thinking along those lines. Here we are, human beings filled with these 12 powers! Wonderous!

We’re talking about the Power of Power this week and we are relating it to Prosperity.

So, prosperity and power….what can we do with that?

What IS prosperity? We’ve asked that question several times, as we travel through the year and discuss it with our monthly theme or one of the12 Powers for the month.

Have you come up with YOUR own idea of what prosperity is? TRUTH students, of which we are all a part, have an understanding that prosperity is VERY many things, most of which have nothing to do with money.

Take a moment and list in your mind the ideas that you consider a part of prosperity.

Now let’s share some….I consider my ‘girls,’ my dogs as a big part of my prosperity. Good discussions with people is a part of my prosperity. My friends!

Right! Many and varied. Some on our lists are the same, some are different. It has to do with what is important in our lives.

Now, how do you define Power? It’s not just strength, as many think of right away.

Standing in my integrity. Control over my thoughts…

SHARE what power means…

Charles Fillmore defines power as our innate control over our thoughts and feelings. The mind, body, and especially the spoken word have power to transform energy from one plane of consciousness to another. This is the power and dominion implanted in humanity from the beginning.

I’ve mentioned this before, in Genesis 1: 26 “And God said, Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

Metaphysically, all the animals, fish, birds, etc. represent our thoughts, so, God said we are to have dominion over our thoughts.

All the power in the universe is God-power and humanity is the power of God in action.

SO think about how you are putting the power of God into action.

Myrtle Fillmore said in How to Let God Help You, “As we realize we are God’s children, that we have power and authority to think and speak the good and true and to have it manifest in harmonious relations and pleasant surroundings, we no longer invite or submit to in-harmony, misunderstandings or limitations.”

That’s having dominion over our thoughts.

I recently read this in the book I am reading for my winding down time, before sleep. It’s amazing sometimes the metaphysics that are written into the books we read for pleasure. “To say words are not powerful is foolish indeed. Words may send nations to war, or soothe broken hearts; words are the most valuable currency in the world…”

What do you think of that?

Charles Fillmore tells us that our “power center” is based in our throat. (Your throat chakra has the attribute of communication.) This means the words we speak are charged with power. Words are the open door between the formless and the formed worlds. Jesus said the words he spoke were Spirit (formless) and Life (formed) and they went forth to do what they were sent to do.

Jesus knew the power of our words!

God spoke the universe into existence. First was the thought, then the words resulting in manifestation.   In the first chapter of Genesis, every act of creation begins with “God said.” Let there be light, let there be firmament, let there be water; let there be earth.”

Amazing, right there in the first book of the Bible, we are told about how important our thoughts and words are and how we are responsible for what we think and say.

That is one of the things I so love about Unity’s philosophy– we are responsible for our thoughts, words and actions. Self-responsibility.

Even if we do not consciously recognize it, we are creating just as the CREATOR, every day of our lives. We are ever co-creating our own world with our thoughts and words.

According to Head Master of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardy, Professor Albus Dumbledore, “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Science would agree- it has now been proven that every word we utter makes an imprint in the astral ethers, and when there is consciousness of God-life in the mind of the speaker, (in other words, when there is belief, feeling behind it), all her words become living identities and are perpetuated.

Therefore, when facing the appearance of any type of lack, speak words of prosperity whether for finances, health, joy or love in our lives. Take on the feelings and emotions that you would have if it were already done, because it is just a word away from being so.

This is where Power aids in prosperity.

The relation between the world without and our thoughts held within parallel. Whatever you see in the external, you may be assured has its parallel in mind – whether yours or someone else’s!

Catherine Ponder, in The Healing Secrets of the Ages said, “Power is released by merely stating words of life, health, vitality. The body can be renewed, even transformed through the spoken word. Owing to the vibratory power of words, whatever man decrees, that he releases within himself and within his world.”

Remember, our own Myrtle and Charles Fillmore were proof that thoughts and words are powerful enough to heal. Myrtle healed Tuberculous and Charles grew his shortened leg.

And there have been many other reports of healing through prayer…the spoken word.

So, what do you do when faced with a ‘challenge?’ Do you label it a challenge? Or do you take your POWER and look at it as an opportunity?

(Story about O’Neal asking for a challenging work opportunity?)

Do you affirm your power or do you actually ASK for a challenge? Watch your words (bumper sticker).

The Dalai Lama says, “When you think everything is someone else’s fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.”

What does that say about our power? Look at your thoughts about your ‘suffering,’ where do they come from?

It’s time to realize that suffering is a choice.

Have you ever felt powerless? Was it a time when you felt less than prosperous?

Think of a time when this has happened to you, observe where it shows up in your body. When we allow the feelings to be there as pure feelings without thoughts, and without resisting them, we often remove the energy from them. Catherine Ponder reminds us that when we feel powerless it is just a feeling and to remind yourself that strong, firmly held thoughts in your mind actually change your body’s chemistry.

Power comes into action in stages: Silence; Thought; Word; Manifestation

Imagine being in total and absolute silence. What prosperity thoughts come forth? What words would give prosperity power to these thoughts? How will this manifest? Can you hear, smell, taste, touch and see the prosperity manifesting clearly?

What is going on in your life right now? Are there areas of your life where you feel powerless? In these moments speak out loud positive and strong affirmations of power. The word “utter” and “outer” have the same root meaning. So remember: What you “utter” becomes your “outer” in your body and affairs.

There is an excellent affirmation that Charles Fillmore said several times daily on the insert for you. I have it on my phone and comes up to remind me twice a day. Try it!

Continuing with Catherine Ponders thoughts; ‘There is a mighty power stored up in the atoms and cells of the body awaiting liberation. Concentrating upon the word “power’ helps to liberate this mighty force, so that it may do its perfect work in the mind and body. Speaking it out loud to yourself can help you feel how powerful you are. Try using, “Prosperity is now mine.” Can you feel the power? Say it with meaning, feeling. Soon your life will be more prosperous by using powerful affirmations.’

If you’re really ready to see how powerful you are, you need to stop thinking about all the things out side of your control and focus on all the things that are in your control. And “Go With The Flow!”

Trust Divine Order.

In Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Good Morning Beloved!

A preacher, who shall we say was “humor dis-advantaged”, attended a conference to help encourage and better equip pastors for their ministry. Among the speakers were many well-known and dynamic speakers.

One such speaker, boldly approached the pulpit, gathered the entire crowd’s attention, and said, “The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn’t my wife!” The crowd was shocked! He followed up by saying, “And that woman was my mother!” The crowd burst into laughter and he delivered the rest of his speech, which went quite well.

The next week, the pastor decided he’d give this humor thing a try, and use that joke in his sermon. As he approached the pulpit that sunny Sunday morning, he tried to rehearse this joke in his head. It suddenly seemed a bit foggy to him.

Getting to the microphone, he said loudly, “The greatest years of my life were spend in the arms of another woman that was not my wife!” The congregation inhaled half the air in the room! After standing there for almost 10 seconds in stunned silence, trying to recall the second half of the joke, the pastor finally blurred out, “…and I can’t remember who she was!”

Mother’s Day

I must say, I’ve had a difficult time writing this weeks’ lesson. Some of the problem, I suspect, is “Florida lag”…coming back from a week away is tuff! I’m still wandering around with harry Potter and the gang!

The other reason I’ll get to in a moment.

First I wondered if you know some of the history to Mother’s Day?

It goes all the way back to the years before the Civil War (1861-65), Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children. These clubs later “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

Another precursor to Mother’s Day came from the abolitionist and suffragette Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” a call to action that asked mothers to unite in promoting world peace. In 1873 Howe campaigned for a “Mother’s Peace Day” to be celebrated every June 2. Look up the proclamation, it is relevant for today!

The official Mother’s Day holiday, however, arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. After gaining financial backing from Philadelphia department store owner, John Wanamaker, in May 1908 she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia, of course.

Following that success, Jarvis resolved to see her holiday added to the national calendar. Arguing that American holidays were biased toward male achievements, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood. By 1914, her persistence paid off when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Anna Jarvis had originally conceived of Mother’s Day as a day of personal celebration between mothers and families. Her version of the day involved wearing a white carnation and visiting one’s mother or attending church services. But once Mother’s Day became a national holiday, it was not long before florists, card companies and other merchants capitalized on its popularity.

By 1920 she had become disgusted with how the holiday had been commercialized. She outwardly denounced the transformation and urged people to stop buying Mother’s Day flowers, cards and candies. By the time of her death in 1948 Jarvis had disowned the holiday altogether, and even actively lobbied the government to see it removed from the American calendar.

Even though the holiday turned into something other than what Ms. Jarvis wished, I believe it still has a purpose in our lives.

To me, personally, it’s a reminder of how far I’ve come.

I’d like to tell you a little about my Mother’s Day Story. You see, for years, I found it very difficult to even shop for a Mother’s Day card. The cards available were never what I wanted to say, never what I felt. The same problem happened on Father’s Day.

No, it’s not that they didn’t convey my love for my Mother…you see, I had a difficult relationship with my Mother. So the cards that expressed love for the Mother, for all the wonderful things that Mothers do for their children, I just couldn’t relate.

You may be surprised. For many of you know that I call my Mother nearly every day just to touch base and make sure she is ok. And I have been doing this for years, not just since I moved here.

I have been my Mother’s caretaker more than she’s been mine.

So, what changed? My grandmother, my Mother’s Mother, died. And at that funeral, I heard my Mother say how she hated her Mother. And from that day on, I worked on changing the relationship I had with my Mother.

I didn’t want to hate her.

You may wonder why she would hate her Mother…that’s easy. The history of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse travels through a family until someone stops it.

So, it took much effort to overcome the feelings of abuse, neglect and not receiving much nurturing to get to the place where I am with Mom today. Lots of counseling and soul searching.

So, I understand how some of you may feel about Mother’s Day or Father’s Day…it can be very difficult. But it says in Exodus 20:12   Honor thy father and thy mother:

You might say, “Yeah, but my mother wasn’t honorable!” Well, the Bible says nothing about that qualification…it only asks, is she your mother!

And in 1 Peter 4:8 – ‘Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins – errors.’ So, to get past the idea of what a Mother SHOULD be, in my mind, I love her, unconditionally. And I understand that she did the best she could do at the time with what she knew.

It took a while. But it can be done.

Most of us probably do not need a reminder to love and honor our caretakers, whether they were Mothers or Fathers or Aunts or Uncles or even Grandparents. And we must not forget those Foster Parents and those who are not blood relatives but ‘relatives’ just the same.

My point, we are all male & female; made in the image of Mother/Father God. So, whoever raised you to who you are today, let’s honor them. Let’s honor the mother energy in all of us.

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you;

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you;

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you;

To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you;

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you;

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you;

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you;

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you;

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you;

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience;

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst;

To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be;

To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths;

To those who placed children up for adoption — we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart;

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you This Mother’s Day, we walk with you.

Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

So we honor all, not just the care taker of a child, but wherever the feminine principle resides there is a requirement for the caring, loving roles of mothers.

There is the mother energy in every human. It’s in you and it’s in me. And it’s in every human and I would say, every animal too.

So, let’s ask ourselves, who are our mothers? Was it your birth mother, a step-mother, your mother in law, maybe some other relative or friends? Where there teachers in your life that helped to fill a void that may have been there? There were for me, fortunately.

How about yourself?

Have you’ Mothered’ yourself through the years? How about recently? We all need that energy from time to time.

Remember, wherever the feminine principle resides, the “Mother” in us resides.

I ask you to really look at this question today and this week. Where do you see, and better, “feel” the feminine energy?

If you are looking for ways to show your love, here are some thoughts:

Many of us can probably replace the term Mother for another, like father, our aunt. But let’s look at it, there is a great message here, and it reminds me of the lesson I gave a bit ago about Love being a VERB. Here are 7 ways we can love our Mother:

1. Love her verbally. Sometimes we have the philosophy—I don’t have to say the words, I love you, that somehow you already know it. Maybe we have the philosophy, “I have told you before; if I change my mind I’ll let you know!” Or, “I SHOW you love, I don’t just say it”…and that may be true, but we all need to hear those words, “I Love You!”
2. Love her physically. When’s the last time you gave her a big hug w/ out her asking for it…or a kiss on the cheek, or a neck rub, or just sat on the couch and held her for a change? She deserves your touch and should never have to give that up completely! It would mean more to her than flowers or candy, or eating out.
3. Love her patiently. Mothers have an incredible job w/ no pay. No position in the business world compares to the physical, emotional, and spiritual commitment she has in motherhood. It even says on the census form, No Occupation

Here’s the point, in spite of all she does for us, we often become impatient with her…we get so used to her taking care of things we come to expect it and are outraged that “those clothes are still dirty?”/that’s not ironed? /you’re out of my favorite cookies? /you know I like that over rice, where is it?

She’s picking you up at school because you don’t like to ride the bus, but you’re scolding her for being 5 minutes late!

Love her patiently. Because she’s tender to your needs is no reason to take advantage of her, its reason to be patient and to love her all the more!

It is unfair for you to be more kind, considerate, and patient with your friends than your own mother! In some cases, if you treated your friends like you treat your mom you wouldn’t have friends.

4. Love her attentively. Mothers listen as you pour out your heart…she has a sympathetic ear, and always has…and even as an adult you’ve gone to her when you want someone who will really listen and understand…and she’ll always be on your side. It’s no wonder we like to talk to mom…she listens…but now she has issues, and now it’s your turn to be her “rock”…and take time to listen…it’s payback time!
5. Love her gratefully. She needs a sincere thank you, and not just today, but from a genuinely thankful heart when least expected!

An elementary science class had been studying magnets, and how metal objects are attracted to them. At the end of the semester the teacher put on exam this question: 6 letters, starts w/ “M”, picks up things, what am I? Over half the children wrote “Mother”!

6. Love her generously. There’s nothing too good for her, we could never repay her, but we ought to die trying before she does! She didn’t spend on herself unless all your needs were met…she could easily do without, and now it’s time for her to have something she wants!
7. Love her honorably. As we said, “Honor thy Father and thy Mother…

Let’s end with the reading of “I’ll love you forever.”

The Lord’s Prayer seems to cross all Christian religious borders. Most churches use it in their liturgy. The “official story” is that it came directly from Jesus. Seems one day when He & the disciples were on the shore of the Sea of Galilee – you know, they probably hung out there a lot, being fishermen. So they’re all doing what fishermen do – probably mending nets, fixing up the boats, maybe eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. Well, maybe more like fresh cheese, olives and home-made bread.

One of them turned to the Teacher and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray?” I’d like to think all conversation hushed. All eyes turned to Jesus to see what He’d say. And since He was never one to miss a ‘teaching moment’, I picture Him standing up, putting his hands together with a smile and saying, “when you pray, pray this way.” The phrase “this way” in Aramaic actually means “something like this” for that’s how the phrase translates.

Our Father who is everywhere

Let your name be set apart

Come your kingdom (counsel)

Let your desire be, as in the universe, also on the earth.

Provide us our needful bread from day to day

And free us from our offenses, as also we have freed our offenders.

And do not let us enter into temptation,

But separate us from error.

For belongs to You the kingdom, the power, and the song and praise

From all ages throughout all ages.

That’s a literal translation made by Rocco Errico, a man who has studied Aramaic and Hebrew interpretations of the Bible & ancient Semitic culture. He has four doctorates & has published eight books, including two grammar books on Aramaic. I saw him speak once at First Church Unity in Nashville. He is on YouTube. His books are on Amazon.com. Here’s the one I’ve based today’s talk on. [hold up SETTING A TRAP] Much of what I will tell you today comes directly from this book although I haven’t put quote marks around everything.

It’s an interesting title for a book about the Lord’s Prayer, no? When we pray in the right way, God can’t help but hear us. We are holding up a hand to be noticed. We set a scenario up that God cannot overlook, thus we capture a bit of God’s personal attention with our prayer.

So let me set the background a little. If you’ve heard me talk before, you know how much tracing the history back means for me.

Aramaic is the language of Jesus. It was the lingua franca of the area; it predates Hebrew. Now if you want to bring perspective into this, remember that the Gospels weren’t written until years after Jesus was no longer around for editorial review. There is much speculation that they were not even written by the apostles or His direct followers, but by those who had heard stories of what He said many years later & thought, I’d better write these down! Kind of like when you say to Grandma, “That’s a great story…you should write a book!”

Aramaic was translated into Hebrew and Greek and then on from there. You may have seen the glyphs of near Eastern languages like Hebrew and Aramaic written. They have dots all over the place above & below the letters. These indicate meanings. A meaning changes completely if you miss the dots or change one letter. Like writing “trip” when the word is “trap”. One letter totally alters what is being said. How many times were these words copied before they got to us? Monks spent years in cloister rooms or scriptoria doing this and they didn’t have overhead lighting…or corrective lenses. What they DID have was iron gall ink made from oak tree galls & pens made of turkey or swan feathers, oh, plus a penknife to sharpen the quill.

Then the whole Bible went to print on the first printing press & I’m not even going to comment on how many of Guttenberg’s copywriters can dance on the head of a pin.

Errico speculates that there are 1,000 idioms that lost their meanings in translation by being taken literally. I looked up “idiom”, and an idiom is a phrase that one culture uses commonly and thus understands, but a phrase which doesn’t make sense when translated literally into another. For example, we might say someone was drowning in red tape. Imagine someone reading that in a culture where they don’t have that expression. They’d be thinking, “red tape? Can someone drown in tape? Another is “hot under the collar,” or she was “chained to the stove.” If a German-speaker came to you to say, “Oh, he doesn’t have all his cups in the cupboard” she’d be saying what equals to us as, he’s “lost his marbles.”

Let’s examine the Lord’s Prayer with some of Errico’s information & understandings from his knowledge of the idiomatic Aramaic in which Jesus spoke.

Prayer is intended to be a form of listening for God, not necessarily speaking out to the Deity. In this one, we are talking to God as our father. Now any observant parent knows what a child needs before the child asks. Do you think God knows what you need? So this prayer isn’t “telling God” what to do – God knows how to run the universe. The purpose of prayer is to CHANGE US! Could a prayer make God more loving, do you think? A prayer can help you to understand yourself. Prayer is nourishing, it clarifies the atmosphere in our minds to give us a refreshed perspective on what’s going on all around our world.

In Unity, we say there is only one Power in the universe, God the Good. Our fear can create blockages to interfere with this knowledge & the beautiful faith this statement should bring forward in us. So much of contemporary praying is a move of desperation, of hunger, of begging relief from a perceived threat. While prayer, in the ideal, is really a form of listening. First we set the trap, then we see what we’ve caught.

Have you ever heard the phrase, pray in Jesus’ name? It’s in the Gospel of John, right? He says in there “Truly, truly, I say to you that anything you may ask my father in my name he will give it to you.” Our Jesus wasn’t the only Jesus in Palestine, you can be sure. It was a pretty common name at the time. When He said “pray in my name”, He meant pray with the same kind of understanding of God & the human family that He had. He meant for them to pray in the manner he was about to teach them.

Dr. Errico writes that the Lord’s Prayer is the essence of Jesus’ entire teachings.” It is a short summary of his beliefs about God, humanity and the world. It blends His understanding of the seen & unseen realms.

When Jesus, who was, after all, a spiritual genius, prayed, He had some basic understandings going for Him:

• God is a loving parent;
• God is the source of all good;
• God is for us & never against us;
• We are God’s children;
• As God’s children, we can receive all the good things a loving parent has to give us.
• The kingdom of God is inside of each of us. We must act to lay hold of it.

When they were all together by the water, Jesus composed and recited a simple, succinct prayer. It has a universal appeal. It is brief. Every line of it is an attunement (which is an alignment to our best selves, our divine nature). It wasn’t a random grouping of holy words or even an original one by any means.

The phrases He used appear in other places in Hebrew Scriptures & rabbinic prayer. The phrase, “Our Father who are in heaven” is found in many Jewish prayers. “Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth” appears in the Tanna (which is the study guide for Rabbis of the first two centuries.)

Jesus wasn’t the typical young Jewish man of the day. Even if the phrases were familiar ones of the times, He put them all together for us in one place.

Let’s break it down:

Our Father who is in Heaven

I’ve spoken before about the meaning of the word “father” in Aramaic. If you were here that day, you might recall that I said one Aramaic word might have up to 42 meanings. 42! So when Jesus referred to Abba, He meant it as an endearment. Abba can be translated as “beloved.” The word He used wasn’t even what we would equate to “father”, but more a familiar expression, like saying “Dad”. He was trying to wake the disciples up starting in this way. How different is it to say “Our loving Dad” instead of “Our Father.” It creates the idea of a compassionate, loving deity, one who knows our wishes simply by virtue of being a parent. Remember, in some of the Jewish tradition, the name of God is never even spoken or spelled out. For Jesus to skip over all the omniscient, omnipresent, etc. aspects of the Creator & go right for the affectionate papa aspect was a startling attention-getter, to say the least.

It is because we are God’s children that we can call God that!

If the kingdom (which also means “counsel” and which I understand to mean wisdom) of Heaven is within us, then so is God. So in effect, we are saying something as simple as, “Dad, you’re right here with me. Let’s talk.”

Hallowed be thy name

In the Near East, when merchants sold goods, they would call upon God to witness their words. They might say something like, “In the most precious name of God, this shirt is worth $20, but you, dear friend, may have it for $14.” To which ‘dear friend’ might reply, “Blessed be God, but this shirt isn’t even worth $10; I’ll give you $8 for it. The sellers & buyers dragged God’s name into everything. Rather like today, right? Some people wouldn’t think of praying in a hundred years, but they use the name of God all the time. “God knows”, “In the name of God”, “Oh my God!” “For the love of God” – But these are exclamation points in a conversation. They don’t have too much to do with the Holy Name of God after all. It’s a form of invoking God’s name in vain.

So Jesus calls our attention here to remembering to use the name of God in a more proper way – as an invocation. We want to keep the name of God out of false applications – for example, waging war in the name of God. (Of all things God is NOT, I would think political tops the list.)

Let your Kingdom come

Jesus saw a world in which God’s rule as a parent reigned over all politics, all divisions, mended all hearts, reconciled everyone to one truthful path, under the loving guidance of a devoted parent. This means no more boundaries, not racial, not religious, not national, not nothin’! All would be joined under one banner –a kind of Unity Consciousness with love being supreme.

The kingdom of God is a genuinely spiritual, social kingdom that rules from within the hearts of humans. For where is the kingdom of God? Right! It’s within! All races & nations are God’s children.

The word “kingdom” in Aramaic comes from the same root as “counsel”. God is our wisest counselor – if we live from our hearts, we live in a wise counsel state of being. So “let your kingdom come” actually says “Let divine, spiritual forces guide our lives & direct us in all our ways.”

Remember, the Jews lived in occupied territory. The Romans ruled. They left the people to mostly govern themselves, but they made all the big decisions. Kind of like Washington today – they let the states do their thing until April 15^th, and then they bring out the list of names. Same with the Romans. And the Romans wanted to impose their imperial society, their oligarchic society of merchants ruling – the ones with the money make the laws – on everyone. Their best way to do this was to eliminate individuality. Little by little they interfered with the locals, colonizing them from the top down, imposing their will. So the disciples & everyone expecting a messiah who expected a rescuer, a political warrior, someone who could summon up an army and not just any army, but one which could defeat imperial Rome! Jesus disappointed a lot of political locals when He declared, your ruler is within & it is the aspect of you which rules from the heart like a loving parent.

At the same time, He was re-stating powerfully that we are each a sovereign individual. We are each a co-creative, procreative I AM presence! Your sovereign self does not need to be ruled; it needs to rule itself in the most right & just manner possible, which means ruling from the heart.

Thy will be done

Literally translates as saying to God, let your wish or desire be throughout the universe, and also on earth. Wish means will, desire, delight & pleasure. People often understand God’s will as something to hinder theirs, something forced upon them. We don’t have to beg our father to find out what is His will: it’s a caring parent’s desire for us – what parent wants their children to suffer, to be sick, to be lonely, or to live in poverty – you know when your children are hurting in some way, you’d move heaven & earth to make things better for them.

Allowing your genuine inner self to come forward in a loving manner means not colliding with others, but associating with them in desiring the best for everyone.

Give us this day our daily bread

In the Near East, people provide for themselves each day. Which means they don’t go to Harris Teeter for two weeks’ worth of groceries twice a month. Like the Lord’s Prayer, bread is the one foodstuff all cultures have some form of. Eastern women bake a supply of bread for one day alone, for their families & for any guests who might come by. They believe the stranger today may host them tomorrow. Thus they treat each other well & share, even with enemies. This courtesy lasts for as much as three days, but then possibly no longer. Best be on your way after that third day.

Bread is so sacred; an Easterner will not tell a lie when bread is present on the table. When baking bread, they do not rise to greet a guest, but will urge any newcomer to partake.

Bread represents “ideas” & “Prosperity”. God provides us with ideas that we may prosper. It also refers to “truth,” “teaching,” and “understanding.” Daily Bread from heaven is insight & understanding every day, kind of like reading your Daily Word to set the tone of your day.

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive others

The literal meaning of the word translated as “trespass” is ‘debts’. It also means error (which is sin, right? Remember “missing the mark?”) A trespass is a fault, offense, mistake. Just like if I mispronounced your name & said, “I’m sorry”… mispronouncing your name was a sin, I got it wrong, but I hope that my apology makes it right. My apology cancels the debt and unties the difficulty. It loosens and frees any situation developing from your being offended at how I didn’t pronounce your name correctly.

Even more than truth, forgiveness sets us free. Past errors are erased, debts canceled, we begin on a new path in our life. Imagine if you had no debt in your life whatsoever – imagine if a Jubilee were declared wherein all debt was canceled & you owned all the things you’ve been making payments on for years. (This was something they actually did in those days, declaring a year of jubilee every so many years. All debts were canceled. It gave everyone a chance at a new life, cleared family debts, freed up tons of creativity & generated a lot of gratitude to whoever declared it. The Master Teacher gave us elbow room when he tried to put across the idea that blame does nothing while forgiveness and pardon can change the world entire.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be free of the idea we have offended God with some behavior of ours? So the other half of the phrase – as we forgive others – becomes the balance we dare not overlook. For if we want to be free, we need to free others. I can tell you if you do not forgive someone, they OWN you! While you harbor resentment or anger, that person or situation is in charge of your life.

Furthermore, forgiveness is downright healthy! When we allow love to heal us with forgiveness, it doesn’t matter how others feel, or even if they don’t care about being forgiven. They don’t have to react. The action takes place inside of us in a beautiful restoration of inner harmony.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

When I would go canoeing with my second husband, I sat in the front, which means I steered. I remember to this day when he hollered at me: “Carol, don’t steer into danger!” That’s kind of what they’re talking about here. The translation is roughly equal to “keep us out of trouble.” What loving parent takes his child to the curb & says, it’s okay to cross the street without looking, go ahead. God is light; light will not lead you into darkness. Light dispels darkness!

The Aramaic word “temptation” also connotes materialism. So what we are really saying here is don’t let us enter into materialism – don’t let us be deceived by the materialistic way of life. Because we lose sight of spirituality when we get into bigger, better, faster, more.

The word “deliver” also means “parted” or “separated”. So the idea now has moved into “keep us alert, keep us from wrong thinking & actions that’ll lead us into more problems.” In Aramaic, the word for evil also means “to err, to displease, to harm, to mistake, to be unripe…to be unripe?! Says to me to not be at our fullest, or in our most healthful aspect. As a noun, the word used means “bad” “ugly” “cruel”, “immature (unripe)” “incorrect” and others. God didn’t create our problems, no matter how much we like to lay blame. We have the ability to look to the truth within to make our own ways straight.

So this phrase, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil becomes instead: keep us awake to straying from the right road, deliver us from doing a wrong thing.”

I invite you to take another look at this simple, profound, loving prayer with these new thoughts shining from it. We lose meaning with allowing it to be just a formula…we’re then following along instead of leading our own way into the world. Jesus was giving His peeps a way to take charge of their lives. In effect, he was giving them God’s best contact information … friending them on Divine Facebook. He was showing them how to capture the best of divinity in the personal trap of each individual heart raising itself up to speak to a beloved parent.

And after redefining this prayer for ourselves, we wait with eager anticipation for God to recognize us with the divine and simply beautiful love of a parent.

Let’s take the Aramaic Lord’s Prayer into meditation.

First I want to share with you how I came up with this topic. When I figured out that I had two talks to give in a row here, I came up with one immediate topic, but that’s the one for next week. The talk today came about because I was stumped. And when I’m stumped, I go to the bowl where I keep my angel cards, I take a deep breath, reach in & choose a card. When the card read “purpose,” I thought aha! Perfect! Then came the time to write the talk & I was stumped once again. I couldn’t say for certain I’ve lived my life “on purpose” for about ¾ of it. But here I am & here we are, so here we go…

Let me ask the $64,000 question first: just what is your purpose for being alive on this planet today? Do you have an idea? Any ideas? If you had to finish the sentence: “The purpose of MY life is…” what would your next words be? It’s an easy question with a difficult answer.

The next source I checked for help was the dictionary. Purpose is both a noun & a verb. This doesn’t amaze me, my NAME is also a noun & a verb, after all.

The Noun:
“the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. (As in the purpose of a hammer is to nail.)

The verb Purpose tells me:
“To have as one’s intention or objective.”

(As in “I purpose to tell you about this word this morning.”) Boy, that sounds awkward, doesn’t it? I think we use this word as a noun because of that. But what if you turned it into a verb? What would you purpose to do with the rest of your day? Take it out a little farther: what would you purpose to do with your very life?

Let’s look at what this means to you. When you woke this morning, what was your first purpose? I mean after the usual routine of putting yourself together to enjoy the day. I’m glad you purposed to come to Unity of Rehoboth Beach! But what else?

We all need an “overall purpose” for living. Hopefully, we get to take that beyond making enough money to care for our basic needs. Hopefully we can extend our purpose to include God. And since we all have that God-spark within us, it will become important at one moment to search for that spark, interview (inner-view) its PURPOSE and express that outwardly with & in our lives.

Living “on purpose” isn’t easy. It means not being reactive to a lot of what is going on out there and in here. It means not deceiving yourself about your motives & this kind of honesty might be like taking an emery board to file you’re your conscience.

Having a purpose would seem to make it a lot easier to live. We have probably all been rootless at times in life, sitting on our hands, driven neither to improvement OR failure in the same moment! At these times I say to myself, “I really want to do this, but I don’t feel like doing anything.” There was a time when, if the question came up of what to do when I didn’t feel like doing, I just turned on the TV to avoid it. Things got strange for me when my ex took the TV we had & I figured that was the last thing I wanted to spend money on. I will say that was when I started really paying attention to my life. Up until then I hadn’t realized how much the programs were programming ME.

I’ve sat more than once & asked God to take these hands & put them in service, Without sounding holier-than-thou, what worked for me was to ask how I could best serve God. I figured it was safe to do that. Who’d know better what I was to do with them?

When we make a conscious decision to serve, Life can go many ways. We serve ourselves with lively consumerism, filling in time with various pursuits and hobbies. We serve our families and friends with good cheer in very many ways, directly with support and advice, or indirectly through just being in their energy field. If you’re like me, you have many people you’ve touched or who have touched you with whom you no longer are in touch. But the experience of sharing time & laughter has not been forgotten. It can rise in the mind like a smell of the beach thru an open window, evocative and holy. We experience again the richness of those moments with friends & family.
Whether you ask or not, God gives us a purpose. God gives us the curiosity to go looking for it. God also gives us the will, heart and mind to discover it, pursue it, make a success of it, reveal it to the many, practice it, and exist in joy while accomplishing it. When we listen to our soul (which is that God-spark I mentioned earlier), we can find out how to accomplish all of the above with grace. Rick Warren, in The Purpose-Driven Life, reminds us that “Even if your parents didn’t plan on you, God did.”

My former minister, Cherie, at First Church Unity in Nashville opened many a talk with this quote from Jeremiah:
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.”

I really like that verse: I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. While I was sometimes lost, this implied a meta-knowingness; God knew my name before I got here. It implies I was spoken into being, like the logos of the world, the light, the planets, the creatures and all the materials of this universe. I presume the same knowingness back, except for me, it’s in the possessive tense: I use the name of God to cover a lot of situations. So what does God want of me? And which me? The massage therapist, the mother, the friend? In Isaiah 44:2, we find more or less the same phrasing: “I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.”

I think God wants me to live in divinity. I think God wants me to live out divinity. I think God wants me to express that beautiful sparkle of my soul for all to see. God has spent time tuning me in, like a radio dial by directing me from a job to a career to a calling. My purpose for living changed with each relationship, each job, each growth opportunity, if I lingered long enough in the moment to recognize it.

Living in divinity is not hard work, it’s heart work. If time is the illusion Einstein & some others say it is, then I’m living in a no-time scenario and it’s taking me one long time to live it out!

Step aside from time for a moment. Step into that place where time ceases to exist. If you do it right, you’ll find you’re standing in your heart-space. What’s in there? When I studied Chinese medicine, I learned the heart is the place of long-term memory storage. Once in a guided meditation, I was asked to take a walk to my heart. When I arrived, I was looking at a small building with a Dutch door. Only the top half was open. When I peered in, there was a window facing east overlooking the ocean. And there was a cardboard cutout of my mother sitting in a rocker. In my life, she never sat in a rocking chair. It was in that moment I understood how much work I needed to do to heal my relationships. And since Mom was passed, the only way I could do that was to go into my heart to find her, bring her back into life, forgive her, and, most significantly, ask her to forgive me. It always works both ways.

How will you discover your purpose? In an inspired moment, I once wrote, “My ship may not have come in, but there’s a whole lotta rowboats bobbing at the pier.”

How many chances for change have you been offered in your life? What have you accomplished with them? What will you accomplish with the next offering? This is a good time to think about being on purpose, when so much of the world seems to be random, haphazard and frenetic as it unfolds. Again, I urge you to take some moments to look into your heart. What is it telling you to do?

You may have to dial down some other organs to hear it – like a hungry stomach, or a restless brain wanting to check for new text message…I’m here to tell you it will be worth it.

Discovering your purpose serves all you do. Trusting the power you find in following that uplevels your life enormously. That “do what you love, the money will follow” really works. What is it you love? What gives you energy instead of taking it?

Start where you are. Really, where else is there? There’s always going to be something speaking up in a whine that simply translates down to you can’t get there from here. Yes, you can. You can’t fail if you’re moving forward. You can get lost in discovering what you want most to find, and live there happily ever after. Real life is where the learning is. When you infuse your life with what you believe to be God’s purpose for you, you’ve blended all the right ingredients for satisfaction.
Tama Kieves, author of This Time I Dance and Inspired And Unstoppable says: “We are not ridiculous or fragile for believing in love, strength and exhilarating possibilities. It’s not crazy to dedicate ourselves to a life that feels true, empowering, and exciting. It’s just plain crazy not to.”

Look deep within for your purpose. Search out the places where it might be hiding. Maybe leave some food near where it lives to coax it into the light. Ask for God’s help. Ask for God’s plan to be made plain to you. And then stay open to the thought that this is just how easy it can be accomplished. Sometimes the tried and true holds nothing new. What you need is that which lights the God-spark up and makes you glow with anticipation, what moves you from the inside, even in a small way because, think about it, just one match can light the fireworks display.
When you ask the questions, life will give you the answers. I want to leave now you with a poem by Mark Nepo called “The Appointment”

What if, on the first sunny day, / On your way to work, a colorful bird / Sweeps in front of you down a / Street you’ve never heard of.
You might pause and smile, / A sweet beginning to your day.
Or you might step into that street / And realize there are many ways to work.
You might sense the bird knows some / Thing you don’t and wander after.
You might hesitate when the bird turns down an alley. / For now there is a tension: is what the bird knows worth being late?
You might go another block or two / thinking you can have it both ways. / But soon you arrive at the edge/ of all your plans.
The bird circles back for you / and you must decide which / appointment you were / born to keep.

Good Morning Beloved!
Back in PA, fishing season started, so here’s a joke for you….
A man was stopped by a game warden recently leaving a river well known for its fishing with two ice chests of fish.
The game warden asked the man, “Do you have a license to catch those fish? You are going to have to pay a huge fine if you do not have a license.”
“No, my friend, I do not have a license. These are my pet fish.”
“Pet fish?”
“Yep. Every night I take these fish down to the river and let ’em swim’ round for a while. Then I whistle and they jump right back into this ice chest and I take ’em home.”
“That’s a bunch of stuff! Fish can’t do that!”
The man looked at the game warden for a moment and then said, “It’s the truth. I’ll show you. It really works.”
“Okay, I’ve GOT to see this!”
The man poured the fish into the river and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to him and said, “Well?”
“Well, what?” said the man.
“When are you going to call them back?”
“Call who back?”
“The FISH!”
“What fish?”

April: the power is Judgment/Wisdom
The topic or theme for April is Discover A Positive Attitude
Affirmation: I am an open channel through which the healing, prospering currents of God’s life, power and joy are now flowing

We are combining a few ideas this week, as I wish to honor my plan to discuss some aspect of prosperity anwith one of the 12 powers each month.
And, it happens that Earth day is upon us this week also, so, I’ll throw that in for good measure.
You may ask, why am I doing them all in one day when there is another Sunday this month? The response is, I will not be here. You may all bless me as I journey to The Magical World of Harry Potter next Sunday for a week of fun with two of my dear friends from PA. We are all Harry Potter fans and have dreamed of this trip since the beginning of the plans for the park. I am very sure I will be discovering a positive attitude as I visit the world of fantasy with two of my best friends!
And you will be blessed with the musings of Carol Borsello next week. I thank her profoundly. I know you will be blessed by her insight and wisdom.
So, Prosperity, wisdom and Earth Day. What can we do with this?
Actually, I think a lot. There is much wisdom in taking care of Mother Earth. And in doing so, we certainly help to keep our positive attitude! Just recall the attitude change you experience just stepping out into nature.

“One of the most exciting and beneficial things,” according to Elisabet Sahtouris, an internationally known evolution biologist, that happened to humanity in the past century were physicists’ recognition that “the universe is more like a great thought than like a great machine” and astronauts lifting far enough from Earth to see, feel and show us how very much alive our planet is. Those events led to a wonderful sea of change from the older – and rather depressing – scientific story of a non-living material universe accidentally giving rise to all within it, devoid of meaning or purpose.
The new view, revealing a conscious universe and a living Earth in which we are co-creators, takes us out of fatalistic victimhood to becoming consciously active agents of our destiny! It lifts the fog of our self-image as consumers of stuff, giving us awesome rights and responsibilities to live out our full co-creative humanity.”
Interesting stuff…she sounds like a Unitic!

When I think of wisdom and Mother Earth together, I think of our Native American brothers and sisters. They seem to have an innate knowing when it comes to caring for the Earth, for nature. And the idea that we live as a part of a conscious universe and a living Earth, I believe, is what the Native Americans believed and lived.
Just listen to the 10 Indian Commandments:
1. The Earth is our Mother, care for her.
2. Honor all your relations,
3. Open your heart and soul to the Great Spirit.
4. All life is sacred, treat all beings with respect.
5. Take from the earth what is needed, nothing more.
6. Do what needs to be done for the good of all.
7. Give constant thanks to the Great Spirit for each and every day.
8. Speak the truth, but only for the good in others.
9. Follow the rhythms of nature.
10. Enjoy life’s journey, but leave not tracks.
Almost every one of these commandments in one way or another have reference to taking care of and respect for, nature. One need not think deeply to find a connection.
Let’s look at wisdom for a minute…
Webster defines wisdom as the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, a wise attitude or course of action. Wisdom is not to be confused with knowledge for “Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers” according to Lord Alfred Tennyson
Webster defines judgment as the process of forming an opinion by discerning and comparing.
Charles Fillmore used these two words, wisdom & judgment, interchangeably when describing this deep inner power, one of our 12 powers. But we, in our human mind often do more comparing than discerning which can lead to condemnation. When we attach a condemnation thought to this power, we must remember that we experience the results of those judgments.
The keyword in both definitions is discernment. This power is how we discern good from bad, but only for ourselves. When we try to discern what is right or wrong for someone else, or when we condemn someone else, we are not using “right judgment.” Right judgment is only what is right for us personally.
Applying judgment/wisdom to the idea of prosperity is also a discernment process. When life is not showing up the way we would like we must ask ourselves, “Am I using ‘right judgment,’ and am I accessing divine wisdom within me to meet this prosperity challenge?”
Sometimes we think prosperity is only about finances or money. This is very limited wisdom. Prosperity shows up in many different forms: health, love, joy and peace. And if we judge money as the only form of prosperity, we shut off the flow to these other forms.
So, let’s apply wisdom and prosperity to the Mother EARTH.
We already are aware that prosperity, abundance is more, much more than financial security. Applying wisdom and prosperity to the Earth is easy then.
We thank the Earth for her bounty. Without it, we would not be fed, or clothed. No water to replenish our bodies of the moisture it needs.
Without the Earth we would not have the shelter we need from cold and wind, and rain and snow and heat.
Humans alone, as co-creators with God, can think consciously, make choices, and determine the direction their lives will take. All other forms of life simply follow instinct. Only we can think for ourselves and say “I will” or “I won’t.”
We are charged to use this ability to think, reason and choose wisely to establish an orderly growth for ourselves as God’s highest creations.
And, as we are told in Genesis, to have dominion over the earth and its inhabitants, that means we are to take care of all of it. Having dominion does not mean destroying the air we breathe or contaminating the rivers and oceans. And it certainly doesn’t mean to use and abuse the other life on, in and through the planet.
Where would we be without the earth, sustained to its fullest? How is it wise to destroy the very things that sustain us?
We need the earth to live. We need the air. We need the water. We need the diversity. We need nature to save us from ourselves!
David Suzuki said in The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature;
“Every breath is a sacrament, an affirmation of our connection with all other living things, a renewal of our link with our ancestors and a contribution to generations yet to come. Our breath is a part of life’s breath, the ocean of air that envelopes the earth.”
One of the reasons I love the song, “Breathe,” we have been listening to at the beginning of Service.
I truly believe everything we need to live, to cure disease, to survive is right here for us to find. Kind of like finding our inner Divinity.
As a Star Trek fan, I always remember one of the original episodes with Captain Kirk being transported to this isolated planet by some “higher” beings along with another life form, kind of lizard like. They were to ‘entertain’ these ‘higher beings’ by fighting to the death.
What I always remembered about it, though, was the instructions they were given; “Everything you need is right here, you just have to find it, figure it out.”
Of course Captain Kirk did figure out a way to overcome, without killing I might add, the adversary he was given and in turn, taught the ‘higher beings’ a lesson in compassion and the need to NOT have to kill.
“Intelligence without wisdom is fruitless and wisdom without compassion is simply not wise.” A quote from and unknown writer.
A few lessons we can all learn.

Emily Cady, a major author in Unity, wrote in Lessons in Truth: “All the wisdom and intelligence that we see in the universe is God. Wisdom is projected through the visible form. God as infinite wisdom lies within every human being, waiting to be lead forth into manifestation. This is true education.”
There is a natural flow within our lives, and as soon as we can tune into that frequency that is both around us in nature and within us spiritually, the closer we will be to peace. Our world is filled with clutter, noise, and distraction—things that contribute to feelings of disharmony.
Sometimes we have to learn to pull away and get back to what is simple, basic, and easy. There are times we have to pick up the pace, but turning to Spirit within keeps us balanced psychologically, emotionally, socially, and physically.
Nature helps us do that.
Richard Mabey said, “To be without trees would, in the most literal way, to be without our roots.” Those roots help us to stay connected to Spirit. Nature helps to GROUND us!

Here’s a story about wisdom, compassion and abundance: By Stephanie Pifer-Stone
The other day, while waiting in line at the grocery store, I began reflecting on the nice lunch I had earlier with a new friend. During our conversation, we talked about how good it feels to help other people, especially when you are feeling down about yourself. How uplifting it is to do something for someone else and how it takes you out of your own drama!
A woman about my age was behind me in line. She had one can of cake frosting and was counting a handful of change to pay for it. She asked, “Have you ever been unemployed? I am counting this ahead of time so I won’t be embarrassed at the checkout stand.” I told her, “Yes, I have been there.” She asked what I did for a living now. I told her my husband and I were self-employed, and that even though money was still a bit tight, it does get better. I looked more closely at her. She was clean, but her clothes were old. Her eyes were red and her face was drawn, from worry, I assumed.
I very much remember counting the items in my cart and mentally calculating the total so I wouldn’t be embarrassed at the checkout by not having enough money. I often had to put some items back on the shelf.
All this lady wanted was a can of frosting. I could do that for her, but I wondered, how do I do it and not embarrass her? I quietly picked up the can and placed it on my side of the separator on the belt. When she objected, I told her that someone nice just bought me lunch, and now it was my turn, so please don’t deny me that. She was stunned, and tears welled up in her already red eyes.
The cashier saw what was happening. She was very subtle about the transaction and slid the frosting into a bag, giving it to the other customer and putting my items in my bag. It was all so sweet; it made my heart swell to be a part of it. All for the bargain price of $1.35. It made that lady’s day that someone cared. It didn’t matter if she was frosting cupcakes for her granddaughter or going to eat it with a spoon. It did me good to do it!
It made me think, wouldn’t it be a nice world if, when we go to the grocery store and don’t have enough money that those who do would help out? Then when things were better for us, we could do that for others. What if everything worked that way?
I remembered my favorite neighbor and what she did for us during our rough times. My husband and I have three critters that depend on us—two beautiful dogs, Izzy and Dharma, and Larry the parakeet. We opened the front door one day to find a huge bag of dog food and a big canister of parakeet food courtesy of our neighbor Becky. She knew we were struggling and wanted to help. When I went to thank her, she reminded me of a time when she lost her job, and we brought her groceries. I had forgotten about that, but she hadn’t.
Maybe this tough economy is forming a bond of support throughout the community … neighbor helping neighbor and stranger helping another stranger. Maybe it is already a wonderful world, and we just have to open our eyes to it.

My eyes are open. Are yours?

The common question we need to ask is, “Where did I meet God today? And where did I miss God?”
These questions can be applied to Mother Nature as surely as the person behind you in the grocery store! And many other places.
Let me end with an Apache Blessing for your day:
May the sun bring you new energy by day.
May the moon softly restore you by night.
May the rain wash away your worries.
May the breeze blow new strength into your being.
May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.

Let’s take those words into meditation…