Great Morning Beloved!

Keep a True Lent

Who do you think you are?   I’ll let you contemplate that for a minute.  Do you have a response?

 

Maybe it was something along the lines of the Reading for Tuesday in Science of Mind Magazine: “You have a name but you are not your name.  You have a body but you are not your body. You have a story but you are not your story.  Who then are you? Take some time now to reflect on this question.  What is most essentially true about you?

 

The truth about you is that you are a center of God-consciousness. You are part of the wholeness of Infinite Life.  You are a spark of the Divine, a radiance of Universal Intelligence, an emanation of the One Mind. You are the incarnation of Spirit. Your life is the Life of God. As a divine expression, you have access within your being to the qualities of God. You are peace. You are wisdom. You are love. These qualities and more are your true nature. Peace, joy, wisdom and love are ever present and available within you. You can choose to express these qualities to be who you truly are.”

 

 

How perfect do you feel now?

 

You are perfect.   We are perfect.

 

We are perfect, until we allow the thoughts and ideals of others to change our thoughts about ourselves   we hold onto a belief of limitation, of illness, of unworthiness.  That belief comes from many sources…much of it our domestication.

 

We have family history telling us a litany of deceptions:

1. You have been deceived into believing that you were born of fleshly parents and that’s all there is;
2. You have been deceived into believing that mind is subject to matter;
3. You have been deceived into believing that there are those among your associates who are your mental, moral or social superiors;
4. You have been deceived into believing that you have certain traits of character to which you are bound by nature and through them are confined or hampered in life;
5. And you have been deceived to believe that your ancestors pre-dispositioned you to certain characteristics or illnesses.

 

Any of these ring true for you?

 

Charles Fillmore reminds us:

“Although potentially perfect and incapable of producing a single condition of PERMANENT consciousness out of harmony with divine Principle, many persons are impregnated with a belief of limitation and they need the dissolving power of denial to set them free.”

 

The working power of our mind is thought & through thought all the conditions that seem to encompass us are formed, we cannot have consciousness without thinking, our every thought causes vibrations in the universe.

 

 

If consciousness can be manifested as disease, and discord, it follows that that same consciousness can undo the faulty work & build new

 

We do that with the aid of denials.

 

Denials can be made in many ways: we could develop a denial about a habit we wish to break (I deny the urge to smoke has any power over me), we could make a conscious acknowledgement that we are incorrect in our conclusion (this is not the road I wish to travel on my Spiritual Journey, this is not who I wish to be at this time); we could refuse to entertain any thoughts of a sensual nature (that donut does not belong in my stomach); we could withdraw thoughts from low ideals (this thought has no power over me, I release it and let it go).

 

There is one mind, when we depart from that one mind, is when sickness and other negative issues appear. The Truth is, Pure Mind cannot be subject to lack in any form and that which so appears must in some way be a DEPARTURE from creative Mind.

 

 

God is the source of our being. By reminding ourselves of the One Mind we find peace.

 

We are reminded of the laws of action and reaction. They are equal.  What we put out comes back to us.  If we are affirming that we are living a limited life, we will live a life of limitation.

 

 

The Law of Righteous Thinking will bring you a consciousness of perfect dominion.  Remember in Genesis we, humankind, were given dominion over the animals on the land, the creatures of the sea and the birds of the sky.

 

They represent our varied thoughts.  Dominion means the power or right of governing and controlling.

 

We are to govern and control our thoughts, they are creative.

 

According to Edison: “atoms are centers of intelligence; the human body being composed of atoms (each of which is an intelligent entity), we could control these atoms through the will and control our lives.”

 

 

So, after we take control of our thoughts and work on denying those beliefs and the domestication we have picked up through our lives that no longer serve us, what next?

 

We use Affirmations to fill the void we have established through the denial. Nature naturally fills a void.  That is what it does.  Like water flowing into a hole in the sand.

 

By filling that void with affirmative statements, we train our consciousness to positive beliefs.

 

It puts us in contact with the Christ Mind, which quickens and releases the light and energy stored in the subconscious mind

 

God created us to express in the manifest world. We have not realized and appropriated our heritage, have not trained our minds away from negative beliefs.

 

 

We wonder why our prayers do not always bring a thing to pass as Jesus did, we have not developed faith equal to Jesus.  Jesus prayed with authority, “All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.”

 

His word was with authority…that means he asserted the affirmation in thought and word.

 

By acquiring the ability consciously to go within and affirm our unity and power in Spirit we can gain control of the life current that flows all around us.

 

“All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

That’s AUTHORITY!

 

We also know that he who uses his mind to curse gets the curse in return, the mind that blesses receives blessings in return- what we send out, comes back to us.

 

Our ‘word’ can be used to build or destroy.

 

When words are spoken with spirit, not only conditions without are changed but the cells of the body are transformed into a state of high positive activity

If thoughts of a destructive character dominate, the body suffers.  Thus, we are judged by our words

 

 

In “Keep a True Lent” Charles states that the greatest need of the human family is thought control.

 

We do that through our consciousness. We have no independent mind; there is only universal Mind; but we have consciousness in that mind and we have control over that consciousness. Our we should have control.  Control over our own thoughts, and thoughts make up consciousness.

 

But we unconsciously separate ourselves; this is where we err in our thinking and beliefs.  We should be more aware of our conscious and unconscious thoughts.

 

We must be mindful of what we are thinking all the time…I know that is difficult, it’s not we have been taught, not how we are as humans living is our created, duel world.  So at least work on it as much as possible.  You’ll get better at it.

 

Let’s look at the idea of abundance for an example.  We often let our thoughts of lack and limitation withhold our Divine inheritance.  We talked earlier of the thinking we are often exposed to in our environment growing up and even in our lives today.

 

And yet, if we would only listen and believe the law of tithing, we would increase our abundance.  The story of Jacob in the Hebrew Bible is an example of the success of tithing 10% to God, in whatever way you choose to do that, time, talent, treasure.

Jacob proved that tithing is one of the foundation principles of financial increase’ in recognition that God is part of all substance.  Prosperity Programs reinforce this all the time.

 

Yet many folks are fearful of tithing.  They tell themselves they cannot do it, and therefore take themselves out of the flow of Spiritual Good. Their consciousness is in lack instead of the knowledge that God is our Source.

 

Give of your substance with the thought that whatever it is, it is God’s that you are sharing.

 

When you make a covenant with the God of your being, that God is always with you.  You are never alone.  If you ever feel alone, that means you moved!

 

Simply, but with authority, know this:

 

Be Still and know that I am God and the work is done.

 

Believe.

Keep A True Lent

 

We have discovered that we can look at the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday as a preparation time for us.  But preparation for what?  That depends on you.

 

As you looked at where you were on your journey at age 40 or there about, what did you find?  Was there anything significant about that age for you?

 

If you look at where you were at age 40 and where you are today, that may give you an idea of what foundation you were building or maybe what you completed at that time in your life.  That’s the metaphysical meaning of the number 40. And that is what we want you to look at during this Lent Season….at least one of the things.

 

We also want to check our consciousness.  Is there any ‘spring cleaning’ that could be done?  We all probably have some of that to do.  A mental housecleaning.

 

We go layer by layer, through all the years of build-up; the domestication we have lived with, the attitudes and ideas we picked up along the way that might not agree with who we are today.

We ask ourselves, “Does this serve my highest good?”

 

And just when you think you have cleared your layers away, you find another!  But all things are resolved with the Divine.  And, together, we find a way to move along our chosen path.

 

Here’s a comment on cleaning our house of consciousness by Tony Jackson LUT I went to class with at Unity Village:

 

 

I’m feeling very satisfied about the thorough cleaning of my house of consciousness, ready to host exciting new opportunities into my life. But alas, hours later I see a layer of dust and grime has settled in and made my house inhospitable. Time and again this inexplicable occurrence has frustrated me until today when I realized that the inlet filters have been clogged with old contaminates that keep me in struggle. Like the unseen particulate matter of dust, each thought is unnoticed until over time its cumulative affect clouds my purpose and true meaning. Like that filter, I must change my belief filters to new filters that allow fresh new meanings to enter my house and allow the joyous fulfillment of my desires to be entertained. Now that I am finally aware of the cause that has been cloaked for so long, I can tell my thoughts, ” I’m watching you.” This is the most powerful tool I have, the mindful awareness of the truth that empowers me to transform my house into a garden of joy. I am particularly effective when I notice the immediate thoughts after an occurrence or idea. Filter out the lies with denial and allow truth with an affirmative and appreciate yes!

 

That’s what Charles Fillmore has asked us to do, to ‘fast’ from negative thoughts and deeds.  And maybe do some forgiveness work too.  And with true fasting from negative thoughts and actions, we often find that we have made a change for the good in our lives.

 

It’s not as if we can go back to the attitude or belief that we were fasting from…we aren’t going to start lying as if we gave it up for lent like giving up chocolate and then having a bite on Easter Sunday.  No, when we make an effort to release a habit or belief that does not serve our journey, after 40 days, we often have let it go for good.

 

Then last week Charles asked us to be more understanding of the variety we have in this manifestation we are experiencing as humankind.  We all have a different idea of what the various concepts would mean to us.  Variety is abounding and part of our abundance.  We are all loved and sacred in the Divine, One Mind.

 

We were reminded to use our 12 Powers to aid us as we make our choices through this physical life.  Being mindful of those powers, we can discern what is best for each of us.  Those Powers are Will, Understanding, Imagination, Love, Wisdom, Order, Life, Faith, Enthusiasm, Power, Strength and Release.

 

And we once again reminded everyone to watch your words.  I AM.  Powerful words. Creative words.  When used to make a positive affirmation, they possess immense potential to alter our lives for the better.  And those two words can alter lives in the negative too, so think before you speak and watch what you think.

 

So, this week we want to look at our Conscious.  Charles states that we all have a divine goodness; it is the root of all existence.  He says, “no man is so lowly but at the touch of its secret spring this divine goodness may be brought to light within him.”

 

We are all made of Divine Spirit.  We just haven’t accepted that fully yet.

 

Some of us try to stifle this good, but it is in the recesses of every mind and comes forth, sometimes when we least expect.  It is The Law of Universal Balance:  The Equilibrium of Being.

We have often been fooled into believing that we can do things that are not in harmony with goodness and escape the consequences.  I’ve done it.  And paid too.  I remind us all, we are not punished by our errors, but by the consequences of them.

Think on that a moment.

 

 

Charles states, “A man and his conscience are good friends as long as the way is smooth, but when it grows rugged, they fall out.”

 

Those were the times we often went blindly through life, but experience is a very dear, sometimes expensive teacher, is it not?

 

That’s when we often review what we are doing with our life and, hopefully, start to make positive changes.

 

Then, we make our amends, ask for forgiveness, start looking within, change our thinking, change our friends too sometimes.  We look and are open for a better way.

 

And sometimes, we come here, to Unity and find a home and peace, and friendship and love.

 

I would like to think it is us following the guidance of Spirit that dwells within each of us that brings us here, and following Spirit is a much easier path.

 

Remembering that God is everywhere present and all-knowing, so we can take that advice instead of stepping out on our own,

 

And Charles reminds us to let our ‘yeahs be yeahs and our nays be nays.’  In other words, less talk and more action.  Let your work speak for itself.”  We see that in action with our volunteers.

 

We are reminded that God is Principle and the Christ ideal is the idea of principle as it is brought into creation.  We are that creation on its way to the perfect expression of our Highest Self.  Each of us, in our own special way, expressing as the Christ.

 

Charles reminds us that we must act with God, for to act without that Spiritual knowing is our step toward separation.  When we THINK we can do life, without God’s guidance and wisdom, that is our first step in ‘the fall of humankind.’

 

This is our ‘eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.’

 

We have within all the potential of Being, of God.  We forget, maybe get a little cocky, thinking we can do ‘life’ without the Divine.  This is where we sometimes Edge God Out-let ego get in the way.

Think of the Tower of Babel…they thought they could build a Tower to God, but not with God’s guidance and wisdom.  So, they were sent away in many directions throughout the lands with many new languages so they couldn’t conspire again.  They had to work from within.

 

 

Some people believe it was a good thing, our stepping out and ‘testing the waters’ so to speak.  Because it started us on the journey to know ourselves and that leads us to know our Creator.

 

A Sioux creation story says that long ago the Creator gathered all of Creation and said, “I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realization that they create their own reality.” The eagle said, “Give it to me, I will take it to the moon.” The Creator said, “No. One day they will go there and find it.” The salmon said, “I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean.” “No. They will go there too.” The buffalo said, “I will bury it on the Great Plains.” The Creator said, “They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there.” Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said, “Put it inside of them.” And the Creator said, “It is done.”

 

 

 

Our journey begins within and continues within.

 

 

Charles puts it this way, we are Being in miniature.  We have all the powers available that God does.

 

Again, what you place behind the creative words, I AM is how we make our world.

 

This is our greatest strength, and also our greatest weakness.

 

When we take that I and make it my and mine is where we err.  When we do not include God in all our thoughts and acts, we fail to manifest as we wish, as God would have us succeed.

 

Charles tells us that “Man is just as undefinable as God”

 

The “I” within you is as great a mystery as the infinite “I”. You are just as a great mystery to yourself as you are to others.  You do not conceive of all of your possibilities.

 

Unity tells us that we are children of God and therefore are good and only good.  We are made in the image and likeness of our Creator.

 

Therefore, it is our responsibility to know ourselves and to step forth with the Truth of our Being.  Made in the IMAGE AND LIKENESS….

 

 

We are reminded in “Keep a True Lent:  “The Spirit of Wisdom is right now a part of the consciousness of everyone.  It is in you and about you, and you will come into conscious relations with it when you believe on it and its powers.  If you ignore it, and thereby deny that it exists in you and for you, you remain in the darkness of ignorance.  It is exactly as if a man lived in the basement of a large house and refused to go upstairs, declaring that because the upper rooms did no come down to him, they were not there.”

 

Until we rewire our brain to see things differently than our brain is letting us see now there will be no change.

 

We believe we are spiritual beings, created in God’s image. The spirit of God lives within each person; therefore, all people are inherently good.

 

We are perfect because we are of God and God is perfect.

 

We must ‘detach our “I” from our consciousness and attach it to our Christ consciousness.  We must connect with our Buddha nature and rest there in that peace.  We must gather around the Goddess of Wisdom and learn the ways of the Divine Universe.

 

That is what this Lenten journey is all about.

Great Morning Beloved!

 

Lenten Series – The Throne of Love

 

Last week we talked a bit about Lent and why we observe it.  I asked you to look at the number 40 and where you were on your journey at the age of 40.  I hope the idea brought some insightful and helpful contemplation for you.

This week Charles Fillmore asks us to look at the God we invented.  Voltaire is quoted as saying, “If there were no God, men would invent one.”

And if we would look at our early history, we would realize that we did have Gods and Goddesses for all sorts of reasons.  And even today, some believe that their God has the same emotions and characteristics as humanity does.

We mentioned last week that creation is first have a thought from Divine Mind, then we develop an idea, and create or express that idea …mind, idea, expression.

When we think of people and things, they are all conceived through our own filters.  So, the same idea may become many different manifestations.  For example, think of a dog.  What comes to mind…. for me, the first thought is a bichon.  Did all of you think bichon?  Most likely not.

We all have different takes on what different things mean and sometimes that’s good.  We get a variety of things from the same idea.  Think about one object…. now think of all the ways that object has manifested because someone had the same idea with a different vision: color, size, shape  Variety!

When we attempt to agree on something less concrete we may have a different issue…the idea becomes more complicated when we want to agree on it for safety purposes, for example.  What constitutes freedom, justice or equality?  What’s right and wrong?

God’s gift to us is ideas.  What we do or don’t do with the ideas is our choice…free will.

Have you ever had an idea and didn’t do anything about it only to find someone else took that idea and developed something out of it?  I did….

 

This is where we must use our faculties, our 12 powers to discern what is appropriate for each of us.  And this is where we must connect with our Divinity.

The 12 Powers are: Faith, strength, wisdom, love, power, imagination, understanding, will, order, zeal, renunciation, life.

We will talk more about the 12 Powers later this year.

 

We know that God is only Love.  Plain and simple.  God is all good, all knowing and everywhere present.

 

Where then, does the so-called evil come from?  Is there a devil?   We may wish sometimes we could blame our actions on the devil, but there is none…we must take responsibility for our choices.

 

We all know that sin is really missing the mark.  Making a mistake.  And that we can always start again.  Sometimes our ego lets us believe that we are doing what is right when we know deep down inside that we are not.  That is missing the mark…letting our thoughts go against what and who we truly are.

 

And hell is what we do with our life while we are living…if we are not actively connected with Source, we feel separation, and THAT is hell.

 

 

Divine Love is the force that dissolves all opposers of true thought and thus smooths out every obstacle that presents itself.  When love ascends our consciousness and thoughts, and takes complete control of our lives, its rule is just and righteous.

Even destructive faculties, such as resistance, opposition, anger, jealousy, are harmonized through love.  Our outer affairs are put in order …cooperation and trust prevail.

When we know Truth, we know that we are all one, that there is no separation…

Unselfish love brings us to the presence of God.

Divine love and human love are all from the same source, we must direct our love with wisdom and discernment, to avoid downfall caused by following our human impulses blindly

Wisdom shows us when we fall short of the law   we know it in our consciousness, if and when we are honest with ourselves.

There is no anger from God when we error; missing the mark brings its own punishment, we are not punished for our sins but by them, by the consequences of our actions.

 

We are all Children of God.  Divine Love sees no distinction among people.

When we let the Truth of our Being into our hearts and pull down all walls of separation we shall feel the flow of infinite love that Jesus felt.

 

Love is the greatest worker in the universe, it forgives a ‘multitude of our errors   Divine love is the balm for every ill.

 

1 Peter 4:8 says. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

 

Part of our forgiveness work is unselfish love for it is fearless because of its forgetfulness of self.

 

 

The world belongs to us and we are responsible for it…for the poverty or the prosperity…we determine whether we shall have or have not by our thoughts.

 

Our prosperity is the result of work – mental, spiritual as well as physical.  That means prayer work, soul searching, contemplation, good choices for your associations; it means putting feet to your prayers too.

 

We are not content with the present – we are ever seeking to be better: to progress as individuals, as a country, as a “religion.”  That mean work…and when we don’t follow that urging, we often get a little, or not so little, push.

 

The very fact that you are sitting in these chairs shows me that you are ready and willing to take these steps.  We need the courage to develop our positive potentials.

–         Need more initiative, & to be more awareness of our spiritual nature,

–         We need more involvement in our journey,

–         this is how we grow and make life easier for ourselves and our children

 

Spiral Dynamics?

 

All things are possible for those who believe, through spiritual unfoldment.

Believe what?  Believe in ourselves, believe that we are innately spiritual beings.  We are encouraged with affirmations, with positive thoughts, with fellowship with others of like mind.

 

What is our part in this evolution?  KNOW THYSELF

We must become acquainted with our own minds, our own hearts.

I remind you that any and all the progress you make affects each of us and works toward a better future.

 

Every thought has an active movement…cause and effect…with our consciousness, with our bodies, with our world—the cells go through changes.

 

Charles says, “Every time we speak we cause the atoms and cells of our body to tremble and go through certain changes.”

Every action causes a reaction…in us and in the Universe.

 

This is the consequence of our actions.

 

The destiny of the world & its people is in the minds of those who seek to know God as Spirit & must seek God in Spirit—Jesus points the way with his teachings.  But it is not the religion OF Jesus, it’s the spiritual following ABOUT Jesus and what he taught.

 

All of his teachings are constructive, not destructive.  Therefore, we ask that you watch your words and thoughts and only send positive, constructive energy into the universe…not matter the issue or situation.

 

I realize this may be a challenge for some of us in today’s climate, but this can be a learning opportunity for all of us.  This is where courage come into our lives…do we live them as we wish or as others dictate?

 

And what is Jesus’ formula?  Simple — “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”

 

This is the fulfillment of all the commandments   someone asked me last week about the Old Testament and an angry & vengeful God.

 

I remind you that the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible is a history of the Hebrew people.  It was written for them to explain how they came to be on the earth.  It then goes on to record their history.

 

We use that history, if you will, as a metaphor of the soul’s journey.  As the Israelites went, so our young souls went.  We learned God’s laws and then tested them, just as children test their parents as they grow.

 

We drift away and then fall to our knees when things go astray.  The God of our understanding comes to us and uncovers our inner light and we can stand again, until we test the Laws again.

 

And this is how we learned God’s laws.  Once we got it…once we understood what it was like to live with other human beings by following the Commandments, we graduated to the New Testament where Jesus showed us that it really all boils down to LOVE.  Love God and love people.

 

Sounds simple and it should be, but we all understand what happens when our egos Edge God Out.  It is up to us to use our courage, and our 12 Powers to find the correct footing for ourselves, and work to move forward.

 

We all here at Unity hope you depend on us, your Unity family to be with you on this journey, we are honored with your presence.

 

Namaste

 

The Way to Perfection

Why do we see Lenten observations during the 40 days before Easter?  Do we see anything in the Bible that tells us to have a Lenten observation prior to Easter?

NO, Lent is actually an institution devised by ‘the church’.  So, all those times when you ‘gave up’ chocolate, or coffee, or fighting with your siblings, it was really just ‘the church’ trying one more way to ‘suggest’ that you be good.

We know a different way now.  We could still ‘give up’ chocolate or potato chips, because it might be a good idea for our health, but not to make us look better in God’s eyes.  We ALWAYS look good in God’s eyes.

And besides, it’s not a sandwich without chips!

So, where did the 40 days come into play.  The number 40 is prominent in many of the stories in the Bible.  Moses and the Israelites wandered for 40 years.  Elijah did too on his way the mountain of God, Mt. Horab.  And of course, Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days before beginning his ministry.

Well the number 40 metaphysically means completeness, or a foundation for something to follow.  So, it’s the amount of time or whatever, to complete what needs to be done; to build a foundation for something to follow.

This made me think back to when I was 40 and where I was on my journey at that time…made for some interesting contemplation.  Maybe you would like to think back to where you were at age 40…when we look at anything metaphysically, or looking at something differently and then we relate that information to ourselves, this is what we do as metaphysicians.

Let me know what you come up with.

We can also look at Lent as a tie in to spring, to clean our consciousness.  Lent means spring, so that makes sense.  By being more conscious of what we are thinking and saying and doing, we can bring our consciousness awake.  The distractions of our human experience are many and can be very tempting.  A spring cleaning of our thoughts can do wonders for our consciousness, and I’d bet, our lives too.

We are going to look at the season of Lent through the words of Unity co-founder, Charles Fillmore and his book, “Keep a True Lent”.

Charles says, “When we consider Lent as a well-rounded or completed season of retreat from the things of the world for the cleansing of the mind and the recollection of things of the Spirit, it becomes a true season of preparation…for Easter; for the resurrection of the mind from …doubts and false beliefs into the light of understanding.”

“To observe Lent according to the spirit rather than the letter we must fast from criticism and condemnation and feast on brotherly love;     fast from false beliefs…and feast on the truth of God’s omnipresence;    fast from false beliefs in lack and limitation and feast on the truth of God’s bounty and good will.”

Interestingly and amazingly, Charles states “One of the most valuable ways of observing the Lenten season is to fast from (meaning loose and let go) the belief that people or nations can stand in the way of God’s good will for humanity.”

Appropriate for today’s world, wouldn’t you say?

As we mentioned last week in our discussion of “The Velveteen Rabbit” and the lessons it provides and I shared with my Tuesday class as we began discussing “A Course in Miracles,” we have Lessons presented to us in many, many ways and often, many, many times.

So, we see some of the same themes or topics presented to us in Charles’ book. The title of the first chapter is “The Way to Perfection.”  As we learned last week, perfection on a human scale is not something we can attain.  We can work on doing our best, always.  But we must agree that only God is perfect. God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent—everywhere, all knowing, all powerful.

We are all that as a part of God, but in human form, we are not expressing that as us, as hard as we try.  Humanly we cannot be everywhere, we are not all-knowing or all-powerful, contrary to our egos belief sometimes. When we connect with Source, we get a taste, a glimpse of what Divine Spirit truly is.

And so, that is our quest…to connect as much as possible.

Divine Mind is the meeting ground for us with God.  We use prayer and meditation to connect with that meeting ground…with Divine Mind.

We follow the teachings of Jesus, the example of Divine being.  When we follow these teachings, we work closer to the Divine connection.  And as we walk in the way of Jesus’ teachings, we recognize the I AM of ourselves and, of each other.

Remember, when you use I AM, you are stating the Christ of you is whatever follows those two words.  So, watch your words, watch your thoughts.  Our words and thoughts are creative. If you say, I Am happy, that’s good, we want a life of ‘happy.’  If you say I AM sorry…do you want a life of ‘sorry’?  You are stating that your Christ self is sorry.

Do not claim that! Watch your words.

We have often reminded ourselves that we are the cruelest towards ourselves.  Love yourself as you watch your thoughts and words.

Charles takes the first chapters of this journey through the book to review a few of the basic Unity beliefs.  One is the Trinity, spoken as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Metaphysically, we see that as Mind, Idea, Expression.  Or Thinker, Thought, Action. We are the image and likeness of God.  We have an idea  when we Conceive it,  the idea becomes a belief  when we Believe, we put the belief into action and Achieve the desired effect of the original idea.

This is the manifestation process, simply stated. Then the question comes forth, why does it not always manifest?

Can you think of some reasons why we cannot manifest as Jesus did?

Maybe we still have some forgiveness work to do…that is often the case…not 7 times 7, but 70 times 7…forgive ourselves as well. Just take a moment to think about what work you are doing yourself.

You all know the answer to that question…even if it is only deep inside.  Search yourself for the answer to that question…why aren’t you manifesting what you want?

Charles suggests, maybe ‘we aren’t seeing the whole of it.’  What does that mean? It means we aren’t seeing the truth of the situation.  We may be looking at it through ‘human’ eyes.  Or through our egos instead of through our Christ consciousness.

We cannot look at a situation with the same eyes that started the situation or problem.  If we have a situation or problem that we wish to be resolved, we must step away from it and look at it through eyes of love.

Ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?”  Really.  Wouldn’t that give you a clearer mind?  Wouldn’t that push ego away and give you a chance to listen to your heart?  And we all now know that the heart is smarter than our brains.

So, we want to follow our heart wisdom.  Because that is where our Christ within dwells.  So, we want to connect with our heart wisdom, with our inner Divine Spirit, that Christ, that Buddha that is a part of all of us, and is our connection to all that is.

So how big is your God?  How connected are you to the God of your understanding?  Are you still believing in the God of the Old Testament?  The angry, vengeful God who would condemn you to eternal fire if you do not ask for forgiveness for your ‘sins.’ That describes a God made in the image of humanity; not a humanity made in the image and likeness of God.

Our limited understanding of what a great God we have, our belief in a God in our image has greatly distorted what a wise and good Creator we have.

Charles says, “Those who get the right conception of the creative source and adjust their mind to its wisdom, purity, power, love, and completeness as the ideal source of perfect man are rewarded by a serene peace and confidence in the final supremacy of justice and righteousness.”

So, one of the answers to the earlier question regarding manifestation of our goals is not being open to the Light of The Christ within.  God is the only power in the Universe and our source for all things.  If we are closed to the divine ideas that are available to all, we cannot move forward.  We may continue to struggle on our journey.

But we also know that Jesus taught that ‘race evolution’ would carry forth.  And only God knew the duration of our “Spiritual Evolution.”  But as we follow the teachings of Jesus, the “Christ in you —your hope of glory’ — we work toward a better understanding and closeness with what God’s ‘Kingdom” is all about. Everyone must travel through that ‘Spiritual Evolution.’  Knowing this helps us to have a better understanding of those on the various paths to enlightenment.  We can be more tolerant and loving knowing that we all are on the same journey and we all will meet again, in the end, as ONE.

Namaste