GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!!

The Summer Series – “The Wizard of Oz” We’re not in Kansas anymore

This summer we are taking a trip to Oz! This is the 50th anniversary of the movie, “The Wizard of Oz”! The movie was based on the book written by L. Frank Baum in 1900. It was possibly about a strong and adventurous heroine at a time when women were finding their voices after being repressed for so long. Remember, we finally got the right to vote in 1920.
L. Frank Baum, was a member of the Theosophical Society. Few have recognized that his great American fairy tale is also a Theosophical allegory.

Theosophical Society calls themselves “an unsectarian body of seekers after Truth, who endeavor to promote Brotherhood and strive to serve humanity.”
the Society’s objectives evolved to be:
1. To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or color.
2. To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy, and science.
3. To investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man.

I wonder if Charles studied this group when he was researching Unity?

Some things you might not have known about the movie’s making…the suit for the ‘cowardly lion’ was actually made from real lion skin….yuck…it was very heavy, weighing almost 100 pounds!
The snow in the poppy scene was made of asbestos, a bit dangerous by today’s standards. Toto’s real name was Terry and Judy Garland wanted to adopt him because she fell in love with him, but his owner wouldn’t permit it.
And Terry aka, Toto was paid more than the Munchkins! $50 vs $125.
In the book, the color of the now Ruby slippers was ——- silver!

In the weeks that follow, I invite you to be open to the story and make it yours. The Big Unity theme for this year is One Humanity, Many Stories. This story is our story….yours and mine. And just like the Bible, every character in this story represents an aspect of ourselves.

Yes, this is our story. Yours and mine. The story of our spiritual journey, as we adopt the yellow brick road as the road to our innate divinity, our Christ Consciousness, God.

Most of us have watched this film throughout our childhood. And watching it again in preparing for this series, I have different eyes as I watch the characters go from Kansas to Oz and back to Kansas.
I was keeping the image of Dorothy and Toto in my mind as I traveled to Kansas last week and back. I kept looking over my shoulder for a tornado to strike!

The storyline of The Wizard of Oz is as old as time. It is the story of one on the quest to find a treasure, of sorts. The Wizard of Oz fits into what mythologist Joseph Campbell called a hero’s journey. The hero’s journey begins with divine discontent and ends with the return home. Along the way there are lessons to be learned, challenges to overcome, friends to be made, enemies to be vanquished, and a remembering to be achieved.

Dorothy certainly was experiencing some divine discontent! She was about to lose her precious dog, Toto. Throughout the movie, Dorothy has conversations with Toto, who symbolizes her inner intuitive self.
In this movie, Toto was never wrong. When he barks at the scarecrow, Dorothy ignores the warning. “Don’t be silly, Toto. Scarecrows don’t talk.” But scarecrows do talk in Oz. Toto also barks at the little man behind the curtain and reveals that the Wizard is a fraud. At the Gale Farm and again at the castle, the Witch tries to put Toto into a basket. In both cases, Toto jumps out of the basket and escapes. The lesson here is to listen to the Toto within.

Dorothy is wondering if there is something over the Rainbow. Somewhere over the rainbow is our yearning to move out of where we are to a “perceived” better place. For us the question might be, Is there something more? Can I be something more? How to I attain fulfillment? This is our Divine Discontent.

Rainbows symbolize hope and renewal, and as Dorothy sings, she wants to go way up high above the chimney tops – indicating her unconscious desire to rise up in consciousness to the place where the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.

Dorothy and Toto are whisked away on the winds of a tornado and land in the land of Oz.
The Twister represents those unbidden, sometimes unpleasant, sometimes frightening events in our lives that move us to seek a higher consciousness.

When she returns by the magic of her now Ruby Slippers, Auntie Em and Uncle Henry try to tell her that it was all in her head. She insists that it’s not, “It’s a place!”
Remember Harry asking Professor Dumbledore if his experience of death was all in his head, and Dumbledore responded, “Of course it’s all in your head, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
Is it possible that Oz is much like our idea of Heaven, a state of mind?

I’m using the book, “The Zen of Oz, Spiritual Lessons from Over the Rainbow” by Joey Green for some ideas for these Lessons, but also looking from a metaphysical point of view too.
We start out with Dorothy making some questionable choices as she is reacting instead of responding to the crisis of Miss Gulch threatening to have Toto removed and put down for running in her garden and biting her on the leg.
But Auntie EM and Uncle Henry aren’t interested, they have chicks to save from a broken incubator to worry about. Dorothy is ignored and we see very little love there.
The film starts out, not in bright and clear black and white, but rather a grayscale, making Kansas even more bleak looking.
She dreams of flying over a rainbow to escape her troubles like a little bird. The rainbow can represent that “love she seeks to color her world.”
The only love and companionship she has, is with Toto, who she chats with all the time. And trying to get the love and attention she craves by letting Toto run through the garden belonging to mean-spirited, power-hungry old maid Miss Gulch, who carries her emotional baggage in a basket strapped to the back of her bicycle is a question we all must ask?
Dorothy certainly makes some questionable choices, but how often do we do the very same?
According to Green, these actions affect our karma and “when we choose to take actions that torment others and sow the seeds of unhappiness, the consequences of our karma is our own misery and failure. But, when we choose to take actions that nourish joy and love, then the fruit of our karma is your own fulfillment and happiness.”

He states the only way to rise above karma is to become aware of our unconscious choices. Whenever we impulsively react to something, we are actually choosing to respond that way. “Our decision to react impulsively is simply an unconscious choice.”

Green asks, “If you get caught in a cyclone because you ran away from home to save your dog from being destroyed because you let the dog run through a mean old maid’s garden, you might want to stop and ask yourself, ‘what is the universe trying to tell me?’”
Some questions for Dorothy might be:
• why are you letting your dog, that you love so much, run through a mean old maid’s garden in the first place?
• Are you subconsciously afraid that your own loveless environment will turn you into a bitter old maid?
• Why is she so desperate for Auntie Em’s love?
• Is she setting herself up for rejection to punish herself for her parent’s death? (we do not know how they died)
The cyclone becomes a physical manifestation of Dorothy’s inner struggles for self-awareness. Her last name “Gale” after all!
The famous statement: “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” introduces us to Oz, but also Dorothy is again to experience another angry wicked individual. To break this pattern of trusting “wizards” whether in the guise of a fake carnival Professor Marvel or a fake Wizard of Oz; she must rise above her karma, and understand why she is obsessively seeking Auntie Em’s love and resolve the subconscious conflict that prompted her to risk Toto’s life.
She, like each one of us, need to align ourselves with our true Self. Then we can reach the Zen experience of awakening.
The lesson for us all: you can avoid a nightmarish trip over the rainbow if you are consciously aware of your choices in Kansas. All you have to do is step back and observe the choices you make every moment.
Your choices mirror how deeply you know your true Self. Dorothy’s choices are stemming from her insecurities with her Auntie Em. An abundance of love from Auntie Em will not make her whole. Only an intimate understanding of her true Self will align her with Oneness and the infinite creative power of the universe.

The moral for this week is: when making a choice, consider the consequences: does it nourish happiness, create good karma?
Dorothy has been functioning within the law of mind action – as we all do –
The law of mind action is the third principle in our five basic Unity principles, which says that we create our lives and our world by what we hold in mind. Dorothy is reaping the fruit of her chaotic thoughts and her choices. Up to this point she’s been impulsive and reactive and has now found herself in greater trouble.

So, Dorothy could have made better choices like: not unnecessarily walking past Miss Gulch’s house, not refusing to cope with Kansas, and not running away from her problems.

GREAT Morning Beloved!

Happy Father’s Day!

Honoring the Sacred Masculine.

Happy Father’s Day to all fathers, stepfathers and those who wish they could be fathers. And to those who have stepped up to be a father figure when needed.
We all are aware of the importance of father’s in the lives of children as they grow. It is my hope that you all have had a positive father figure in your lives, and I pray that we all continue to be positive examples for the youth who share time with us.
I know some of us have issues with our Fathers and I pray that we have forgiven ourselves and them, so we all are able to move forward. If we have not reached that level of forgiveness and understanding yet, let us affirm that we are moving forward and that it will come.

“Today on this Father’s Day, we will honor the Sacred Masculine by calling forth twelve ‘holy’ men of the Bible, each with a particular quality that helped them to effectively serve God.”
This presentation was developed by another LUT that I have been working with over these last few months as we design the fall conference for the eastern region. She was kind to share it and I thought it was a great way to honor the intent of Father’s Day, a step away from traditional celebrations.
So, our characters, and I say that with no malice intended (!), will come forth and state who they are representing and read their Sacred Masculine statement.
Let’s see what they have to say:

ADAM:

“I am ADAM and I am the first man of the human race. I represent the first movement of mind in its contact with life and substance. In my original creation I was in spiritual illumination and Spirit breathed into me continually the necessary inspiration and knowledge to give me superior understanding. However, when I began eating or appropriating ideas of two powers – God and not God, or good and evil, the result was that I doubted and fell away from the spiritual life and all it involves. I represent the soul’s struggle to adhere to wisdom faithfully and create harmonious consciousness and the expression of the divine idea out of that wisdom.

“I am ADAM. I light the candle of WISDOM.”

NOAH:

“I am NOAH, the son of Lamech. My journey represents when the faculties of mind have been used in wrong relation to Truth, certain destructive processes set in and the ‘earth’ or man-made realm of thought, is in a state of corruption. Through my obedience to the guidance of God’s direction I built the ark and took into it all the ideas inherent in true Being (two by two). My family and the family of man rested in the ark as the flood or baptism of Spirit, equalized and brought forth fertile ground for spiritual realities. Through my willingness to accept God’s will, I became a vessel for the expression of the cleansing of the earth and the planting of the seeds for a new state of consciousness.

“I obeyed what God directed me to do and was willing to accept God’s will even when all those about me doubted.”

“I NOAH, light the candle of WILLINGNESS.”

ABRAHAM :

“I am ABRAHAM, but I was originally called Abram. When I was told by Jehovah that I was henceforth to be Abraham, I was also told I was to be the father of a multitude. I understood this to mean that my life journey would be one of bringing the expression of faith into the multitude of manifested thoughts and acts. Inspired by the Lord, I went forth into another country, where my progeny, or manifestations, increased tremendously. You do not have to change your residence in order to enter into a new country, however, my faith in the unseen God and in divine guidance may have seemed like blind faith to others. My faith in the unseen and in divine guidance became part of my consciousness and my dependence on that truth worked out beautifully in my life and in the lives of those who are true to it.

“I am ABRAHAM. I light the candle of FAITH.”

ELIJAH, A Great Prophet of Israel:

“I am Elijah, A Great Prophet of Israel. I championed the cause of God with such zeal that at one point I became violent and destructive. This was the Jezebel side of my character. But I was willing to be instructed and I learned from my experiences that I must receive the kingdom of God as a little child. I started out with the roar of the whirlwind and ended with the whisper of the ‘still small voice.’ My journey is one that signifies the changes of consciousness in the individual from unfettered unbalanced power to one of peaceful and harmonious use of power.

“I am Elijah. I light the candle of POWER.”

JOB:

“I am JOB. My life on the level of appearances seemed to be about persecution, affliction and adversity. My journey represents transition from a personal self-righteousness and fear of outer circumstances into the real Christ righteousness and a focus on innermost consciousness. In my self-righteousness my fear of evil came upon me and I obsessed with the details of outer appearances. God sent three friends to both comfort me and challenge my deeply held self-justifications. When I finally truly listened to the Holy Spirit, turned to God and experienced an awakened state of forgiveness, my captivity to outer circumstances was put away and Jehovah gave me twice as much as I had before.

“The message of my life is that the cleansing power of forgiveness creates true peace, joy and abundance.”

“I am JOB. I light the candle of FORGIVENESS.”

DAVID, the beloved, son of Jesse the Bethlehemite:

“I am David, the beloved youngest son of Jesse the Bethlehemite. I was the anointed king of Israel and succeeded Saul as king. My journey was one of the withdrawing of the head or will represented by King Saul and the transference to the heart, or love. I was spiritually anointed long before I assumed the reins of government. When Saul was still king and sick with melancholia and insanity, my skill with poetry and the harp soothed him so effectively that I was called for often. This proved to me the power of love to harmonize the discords of the willful consciousness. God is love and his kingdom is within and I served as King with the heart as the center through which I ruled.”

“I, DAVID light the candle of LOVE.”

JOHN THE BAPTIST:

“I am John the Baptist also called the forerunner of Jesus Christ. When my parents were old, an angel foretold that my mother Elizabeth would bear a child and I was born six months before Jesus. I was raised to serve God and was told from an early age that I was to be a harbinger for Jesus, to make the way ready for him. Jesus was my cousin and we often played together as children. My journey was one of the release or letting go of the initial overzealous enthusiasm for transformation in service to the greater or higher good of the one who comes after.

“I, JOHN THE BAPTIST, light the candle of SERVICE.”

ANDREW:
“I am Andrew, a beloved disciple of Jesus Christ and brother of Simon Peter who represented faith. Although in my life journey I experienced some very adverse experiences, through my strength and the support of my brother Peter’s faith, I found the inexhaustible Source of all in service to Jesus and exclaimed “We have found the Messiah.” When my strength found faith and realized they are brothers consciously in the mind and heart, a bond of unity was established that carries each one along no matter the outer circumstances. This brotherly love was a demonstration of the strength we are capable of when we come together.

“I, Andrew, beloved disciple, light the candle of STRENGTH.”

BARTHLOMEW:

I am Barthlomew, son of Tolmai and a disciple of Jesus Christ. I was originally called Nathaniel. When Jesus saw me under a fig tree, he discerned that my faculty of imagination was present before either I or others perceived it. He told me I would furthermore be called Barthlomew and that my imagination ability is a vision beyond appearances and would give shape and form to unformed mental energy. In my service to the ministry to Jesus, I learned that there are no limitations or boundaries in life except those of our own imagination.

“I, Bartholomew, beloved disciple, light the candle of IMAGINATION.”

 
JUDAS:

“I am JUDAS Iscariot, disciple of Jesus. Many reviled me but Jesus loved and trusted me to assist in the fulfillment of the prophecy of his life. He called me the custodian of life and said I was very loyal and courageous to take on such a difficult task. Although I had caught the higher vision of life, I was often confused and didn’t understand that Jesus would overcome death but not in the traditional physical sense. I did everything I could to help Jesus in his ministry and although I was loyal, my misguided lack of understanding of the bigger picture was my own undoing.”

“I, JUDAS, light the candle of LOYALTY.”

JESUS of Nazareth:

“I am Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary and according to many, the Savior. Through my early studies I came to understand my journey was one of the representation of God’s idea of man in expression. In order to move into the absolute of this idea it was necessary for me put away the old way of lack and limitation and accept the truth of my being. Then through understanding, I began diligently to live this Truth in thought, word and deed. It was necessary to demonstrate that this attainment is possible to all, for it was not my mission to impress my Divinity upon others, but to remind them of their own indwelling divine potential. So my life is about passing through all the trials, temptations and mental variations each of us experience but not falling under the dominion of evil thoughts. It was necessary that my physical body should die during the crucifixion so I might make the demonstration that it was the consciousness of a perishable body that died. The overcoming of the resurrection was not so much a physical experience but a demonstration of the ability to transcend the literal physical experience and lift one’s consciousness to this ideal of God’s idea of man in perfect expression. This demonstration that ‘the Father and I are one,’ was the core of my ministry.

“I, Jesus, light the candle of ONENESS.”
SAUL/PAUL:

“I am Paul, formerly called Saul, originally a Jewish man. In my early life history I was directed solely by the human will. I was intellectually educated in the ways of my forefathers and inherited my religious bias against Christians. As a result, I had no spiritual understanding of the teachings of Jesus and persecuted Christians. My conversion was by means of a great light of spiritual understanding which took my physical sight for a time but provided me with an inner vision. After my discovery that there is a wisdom greater than the personal will, my name is changed to Paul which represents the conversion from the violent and oppressive persecutor to the devout and obedient champion of the Christ Consciousness, the spiritual I AM. Many gave different symbolisms and shades of meaning to my life, but I saw my ministry as a testament to the important work of overcoming in the individual.

“I, Paul, light the candle of OVERCOMING.”

Adam – Leroy; Noah – Cate; Abraham – Matt; Elijah – Greg; Job – Bronwen:
David – Andrea; John the Baptist – Jim W; Andrew – Esther; Bartholomew –
Judas – Dan; Jesus – Celeste; Paul – Jeanne

I hope you noticed that what many would call the traditional characteristics of masculinity were not part of those we just heard.
Standards of masculinity vary across different cultures and historical periods, I’d like to think that our society is becoming more accepting of variations of those standards. In fact, maybe even having less emphasis on standards period. We still have some work to do…
And we know both males and females can exhibit masculine traits and behavior just as both can exhibit feminine traits. It’s what makes them who they are, no matter the make of their character.
So, today we called forth the wisdom of Adam, the willingness of Noah, the faith of Abraham, the balanced power of Elijah, the forgiveness of Job, the love of David , the service of John the Baptist, the strength of Andrew, the imagination of Bartholomew, the loyalty of Judas, the Oneness of Jesus and the overcoming of Paul.

Each one of us has within us the qualities that are represented here this morning in this ceremony of Honoring the Sacred Masculine. Some are reminiscent of our 12 Powers, while others are a large part of the Unity philosophy.
We need only to call them forth, get in touch with them and claim them as our own. Did you feel any of the traits pulling towards you? Did any seem to fit? Did you react to any?
Lets ALL work on our spiritual powers, all of our characteristics that take us closer to the truth of who we are.

GREAT Morning Beloved!!

“How to be the best possible version of our self.”

Psychologist Carl Jung said, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”

And isn’t that what we have been working for all these years? To be who we truly are….to be our authentic self?

We might ask our self; how do I do that? How can I be my authentic self?

Does that mean, we have lived a good life, if we are authentic?

Wayne Dyer said, “You don’t need to be better than anyone else. You just need to be better than you used to be.”
And that is a good life.

That quote by Wayne Dyer points us in the right direction. To have lived a good life has nothing to do with comparing our possessions or our accomplishments with anyone else. It’s all about comparing where we started (as adults) and where we wound up.

Now pay attention to that statement: it’s all about comparing where we started and where we wound up. It has nothing to do with anyone else or where they are or what they have or don’t have.

Think about that a minute because I know most if not ALL of us have done that, compared ourselves to another for what? Most likely, to belittle ourselves as to where we AREN’T instead of looking at where we are.

Instead of comparing all the time, look at our own journey….

Yes, we may stumble along the way, but we want to be able to honestly say we made slow but steady progress from point A to point, to the next point, to the next point. That means continually striving to be better than we were last decade, last year, last month, last week—even a better person than we were yesterday.
We all want to be the best possible version of our self. But how?

Thomas Rapsas wrote a blog summarizing a book by David Brooks, “The Road to Character.” In the book, the author presented several examples of people who lived lives of moral strength and honor, many overcoming difficult challenges to become the best person they could possibly be.

And he offered some life tips, some standards to live by.

They may not change your life immediately, but if you incorporate them into your life, they will put you on the right path. They can help you live a life of meaning and character.

7 ways to become the best version of yourself.

1. Nourish your soul daily. At least once each day, we need to break away from our work or home routine and take a little time to feed our soul. This may involve a walk out in nature, reading a spiritual text, taking a yoga class or spending 15 minutes in quiet contemplation.

2. Be grateful. Find something to be thankful for each day, even if it’s just to give thanks for the food in your refrigerator or the roof over your head or the fact you lived to see another day. I like to say a prayer of gratitude each evening, giving thanks for the day and then anything else that needs to be said.

3. Be humble. In Brooks words, “Humility reminds you that you are not the center of the universe, but you serve a larger order.” This also means keeping your ego and pride in check. We talked about the different kinds of pride last week. “Because of pride we try to prove we are better than those around us. It makes us more certain and close-minded than we should be.” Be willing to hear out others. Be open-minded.

4. Don’t be led astray. This may seem obvious, but avoid the big four sins of lust, fear, vanity and gluttony. This means: Stay away from temptation. Be brave when the situation calls for it. Don’t look down on others. Try not to overindulge in food or drink. We Unitics would look at this as not having idols…only God should take that #1 spot in our lives.

5. Trust in a force greater than yourself. The world can be a tough place and we need all the help we can get. Whether you believe in the God of the Bible, a greater life force or a set of moral principles, we all need someone or something to lean on. I had the example of this the past week as my Tuesday Group gathered together to take charge when I needed help.

6. Know how to quiet the inner self. In Brooks words, “Only by quieting the self can you be open to the external sources of strengths you will need. Only by muting the sound of your own ego can you see the world clearly.” That means engaging in a regular practice of meditation, contemplation or centering prayer.
PIC
7. Determine what life is asking of you. We spend much of life focused on what we want—but we also need to discover what the world wants from us. That means finding a need in the world, one you have the skills or passion to address, and serving it. This is a hard one, but a question you should ponder daily—the answer may take weeks or even years to arrive, but it eventually will.

We’ve touched on this several times already…what is your gift? Some of you have discovered it, others are tweaking it and still others are searching. Listen to the silence.

The book goes on to discuss what it means to have character. We have seen examples of character in our news stories like the young people who are standing up for gun control and the environment; and we have seen instances of lack of character too. I won’t mention any examples.

We often see people of character filling the void when leaders don’t lead, when those in positions of power and responsibility seem more interested in their own self-interests than the greater good?

What can you and I do in our everyday lives that would be of character? On our own local level, plenty. You and I are the ones who can lead by example, showing our children, our family, our friends, our peers, our community, what it means to be a woman or man of character.

David Brooks’ defines what makes a person of character and what it means to live your life by a code of what is right and just. These values have nothing to do with your political affiliation or religion. We all know there is good and bad on both sides of the political divide and that just because you attend church does not make you a better person than the non-church goer. We all know this too.

This code I call integrity.

People of character:
• They possess an inner cohesion.
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• They are calm, settled and rooted.
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• They are not blown off course by storms.
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• They don’t crumble in adversity.
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• Their minds are consistent, and their hearts are dependable.
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• They answer softly when challenged. They are silent when unfairly criticized…restrained when others try to provoke them.
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• They get things done. They recognize what needs doing and they do it.
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• They make you feel funnier and smarter when you speak with them.
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• They move through different social classes not even aware they are doing so.
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• You’ve never heard them boast, you never seen them self-righteous or doggedly certain.
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• They aren’t dropping little hints of their own distinctiveness and accomplishments.

The flip side of character, those who lack it “never develop inner constancy, the integrity that can withstand popular disapproval or a serious blow. They find themselves doing things that other people approve of, whether these things are right for you or not. They foolishly judge other people by their abilities, not by their worth.”

The person with character has a different set of priorities. They have surrendered “the climb to success” and instead have decided to “deepen the soul.” (Character over career.) They have learned to suppress the ego, or to “quit the self,” and find it is better to give than receive.

The person with character is humble. They are open to the idea that they don’t know everything—and are open to finding answers from anyone at any time. This is important: When you think you know everything you stop learning, and growing, as a person.

The act of being humble may require some effort on our part, especially in a world where boasting and self-congratulation seem baked into our culture, as evidenced everywhere from the White House to the NFL. That means we need to become “strong in the weak places” by magnifying what is best in ourselves and suppressing what is unpleasant, including any hints of arrogance or pretentiousness.

“No person can achieve self-mastery on his or her own. We all need assistance from the outside—from family, friends, role models, rules, traditions, institutions, and, for believers, from God.”

It is an on-going process, one that starts at home and extends to the relationships at our workplace and in our community. It involves striving to improve ourselves each day by emulating those we respect and strengthening our moral core which for many of us means reading the wise words of others or engaging in a regular spiritual practice, at home or through a religious institution. It means digging deep to be the best possible person we can be, each and every day.

And that leads to acceptance

Lao Tzu said, “When you accept yourself, the whole world accepts you.”

Meditation question:
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?” (Mary Oliver)

GREAT Morning Beloved!

PRIDE – Mine, Yours, Ours
DO you have PRIDE? Not the kind of pride that is part of the 7 Deadly Sins….
Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, & Pride.
No, this PRIDE is the feeling we all have when we feel good, even GREAT about ourselves or something we are associated with.

Like I’m proud to be a Unitic and I’m proud of my Italian heritage.

Pride is defined as: a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

Pride is consciousness of one’s own dignity.

We are talking about self-esteem, dignity, honor, self-respect, self-worth, self-image.
A consciousness of one’s own dignity

Do you have pride in yourself? How do you know? What have you done to establish your pride?

What are you proud of? One of the things I was always proud of is getting to and through college pretty much on my own. In a way it was a good thing that we were poor enough to qualify for some scholarships and grants! And I worked as I was able. I am grateful for the assistance I did receive. And so, I was the first in the family to receive a college degree.

What are you proud of?

June is the month that the LGBT Community celebrates the strides they have made for equality. Some may ask why a month is needed? Or even why any celebration is needed?

And that same question could be asked about Black History Month. Or Native American Month in November. Or Hispanic Heritage Month mid-September to mid-October. Or Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month in May and Irish-American Heritage Month in March. We should probably have a WOMAN’S Rights Month!!!

Why do all these minorities want or need a time in the year to celebrate themselves?

If you consider the history of these United States, they have been, and unfortunately, still are in many ways, dominated by white males….government that dictates what we do and why we do it is and has been determined by a minority of our nation.

If you think about our history, each minority that came to America received some harsh words and actions as they settled in and tried to make a home for themselves. It didn’t matter what country they came from, they had to face discrimination in one way or another.

The Irish were called Micks, the Italians, wops, the Germans, krauts …you get the picture. And each minority served the same discrimination on each other! No kindness there.

So many of these ‘minorities’ have used these celebrations to say, Hey, we’re here and we are proud of who we are, where we came from and what we have become!

Unfortunately, some have had to fight their battle for equality longer than others. Women obtained the right to vote in 1920, but women were still fighting for equality in the 1960’s and 1970’s and still are today.

The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, yet we have seen multiple incidences of inequality for Black and Brown Americans.

Martin Luther King Jr told us, “Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.”

Knowing what we as a nation have done to the Native American people, to women, to Black and Brown Americans, …to anyone not white and male, and, in many cases, protestant! maybe we can understand why we need PRIDE, and all the different Heritage Months, and why we continue to this day to work for equality on ALL levels.

LGBT Pride goes back 50 years to June 28, 1969, as members of the Gay Community and their allies fought back against police brutality after raids at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York.

Gay pride is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, to promote their self-affirmation, dignity, equality rights, increase their visibility as a social group, build community, and celebrate sexual diversity and gender variance.
Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements throughout the world. The organizers took a page of the non-violent book to bring their cause forward.

Growing up gay back in the day…was difficult. There were always threats of harassment and beatings and jail. You had to be careful if you wanted to ‘be you.’

Imagine if you are able, of not be able to express who you were, really, because people told you, you were wrong, bad, dirty….an abomination. This was someone you trusted, who was supposed to love you, telling you that people like you do not belong.

How does that feel?

I could go further but let me just say that my own father considered my lifestyle ‘dirty’ and when I came out, I was kicked out of the home that I knew and loved. And denied access to my sister and youngest brother. You must understand, I considered the two of them ‘my kids,’ I practically raised them for the first 7 and 6 years of their lives before I went to college.
So, I was not happy….

But enough of me, maybe you can get some idea of why it was important to stand up for your life, your beliefs. And this standing proud is what we all must do, if we wish to be who we truly are.

We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, who walked the path to freedom, who stood up and spoke up about what was the right thing to do.

And in some ways, saying you are a Unitic is doing something of the same thing…. depending upon who you are saying it to.

Being gay is not a sin. The Bible never claims that it is. The word homosexuality does not appear in the Bible.

It’s not a choice. When you are born this way, it’s hard to ‘not be gay’. Try it sometime…try not being who you are….

Christians, anyone! should stop saying it’s a sin, because it’s killing people.

The suicide rate amongst the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community is much higher than any other sub-group.
Studies show that LGBT teens are between 30 and 40 percent more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers but a lot of psychologists believe this figure to be higher

So, saying being gay is a sin is really a misuse of religion. We are made in the image of God.

Those who say being gay is a sin use highly selective Biblical text to make a point but leave out a myriad verses that present another whole list of issues that Christians and others choose to ignore…like selling your daughter, mixing fabrics together for clothing, stoning to death a disrespectful teen or someone caught in an extramarital affair. Just spend some time in Leviticus.

And they’ll throw around the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as supposed proof of God’s wrath against the gay community—when in fact, in the book of Ezekiel 16:49 declares the former was destroyed because of its greed and disregard for the poor.

“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”

And there is nothing in the words of Jesus that opposes the LGBT community, he never once corrects, cautions, or condemns anyone based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Rev. John Pavlovitz has this view of Genesis: the creation story quotes God as saying, “let us make mankind in our image”, and this God then ultimately creates both men and women. If we are to take these words at face value, we need to ask the question:
Which ones were created in God’s image, the males or the females?

If our answer is both (which it must be), then God is decidedly non-binary, God transcends a single gender identity, God is by nature trans-gender. We cannot have God be a He and also make women in His image—and we can’t have a God capable of creating men and women, unless God is equally made of both.

Interesting thought….

Here’s another Biblical argument laid to rest: People like to say the Bible declares that marriage is strictly between one man and one women, while the Old Testament, as early as Genesis’ fourth chapter is teeming with bigamy, polygamy, and extra-martial sex practiced by the lauded pillars and Patriarchs of the faith (Abraham, Gideon, Solomon, David)—not as cautionary tale, and not with rebuke, but simply as the story of God’s people.

The claim that the term homosexual refers simply to people who have sex with same gender partners yet will also admit that their own heterosexuality refers to far more than just their sexual activity, but to their inclinations to love, where they seek affection, intimacy, relationship. They can’t have these words work both ways.

People who are gay are just like every other person. They eat, sleep, work, play and love…

At the end of the day, the Bible is not clear on these matters. It is cloudy and even contradictory at times. There is no consistent sexual ethic in the Scriptures, no one image of marriage—and no specific condemnation from Jesus or Paul of those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender simply because of their identity and orientation. If we can admit that LGBT people have the same capacity for love, commitment, and monogamy in a mutually beneficial relationship that heterosexuals do—then all the Biblical text becomes impossible to weaponize as it has been.

Ultimately it is the fear, the prejudice, the lack of knowledge that causes anyone to lash out in hurtful words, violent rhetoric, and abject cruelty.

More and more we are beginning to understand that our faith tradition has gotten it wrong regarding sexuality, the same way it has regarding the worth of women, the plague of slavery, interracial marriage, the violence against non-Christians, and on and on. We are seeing that being LGBT and being Christian are not mutually exclusive. We’re seeing that a Church that honors God will welcome
all people.

We’ve wasted so much time, so many resources, and so many beautiful, God-reflecting lives, because we’ve made our fear our idol and tried to retrofit God into that image. The sooner we can let go of this misplaced fervor and this fruitless fight, the sooner we can live out Jesus’ clear and unmistakable commands, that we love God and all those who share this space with us.

No, being gay is not a sin.

The sin is the hatred that refuses to let go of that notion when evidence requires it is released

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

Memorial Day Sunday

Today is the middle of Memorial Day Weekend. Many of us look to it as the opening of summer, even thought that officially starts weeks away. Many others of us think of tourists and all the inconveniences they bring to our towns, roads and beaches.

How many of us think about the true reason for the special weekend and day? If you have been at this Unity for a few years, you know that this holiday has a deep history, beginning back during Our Civil War.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.

By the late 1860s, Americans in various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to those countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

Did you know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.
It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous different communities may have independently initiated the memorial gatherings. Nevertheless, in 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day.

Waterloo—which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed.

The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.

Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years; by 1890 each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand, continued to honor their dead on separate days until after World War I.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

I’m not sure if there are any Gold Star Families….those who have lost a family member through service to our Country.

Memorial Day is all about honoring those who lost their lives through Service.
Veterans Day, Nov. 11th, is for honoring all who Serve.

In Unity, it is a time to pause and remember those men and women who paid the ultimate price while serving our great nation. But we do not want to romanticize war.
We are not against war but for peace. It is always better to be FOR something instead of against something. This is what we teach…

To honor Memorial Day,

James Dillet Freeman’s ‘The Traveler’

He has put on invisibility.
Dear Lord, I cannot see—
But this I know, although the road ascends
And passes from my sight,
That there will be no night;
That You will take him gently by the hand
And lead him on
Along the road of life that never ends,
And he will find it is not death but dawn.
I do not doubt that You are there as here,
And You will hold him dear.
——————————————–
Our life did not begin with birth,
It is not of the earth;
And this that we call death, it is no more
Than the opening and closing of a door—
And in Your house how many rooms must be
Beyond this one where we rest momently.

Dear Lord, I thank You for the faith that frees,
The love that knows it cannot lose its own;
The love that, looking through the shadows, sees
That You and he and I are ever one!

I mentioned another part of this weekend that is celebrated throughout the USA. And that is the unofficial start of summer. Though I must say, if you have been paying attention to the amount of traffic on our roads already, summer started weeks if not months ago!

So, my question to you is, ‘what are you going to do to take care of YOU this summer?’

I had a wonderful Sunday last week. I got to actually do some things that I truly wanted to do, even though they were physical to a degree, but working in my yard is something I do not get to do often, and something I can no longer do a lot of. So, I did do some gardening. And I did sit on my deck and read and relax and just listen to the birds.

Your summer is right around the corner, what is your intention for it?

I had a friend suggest, when I asked her for some idea of how to bring my idea to action, that I have you write down 3 things that you wish to release or surrender for the summer and maybe three things that you want to bring into your life over the summer.

They might be something you wish to do with family or friends that maybe you haven’t done before or for a long time. It might be something that you wish to learn, like a new language. It might be making a dent in that stack of books sitting there waiting to be the next one you pull out to read. It might be kayaking or hiking or traveling to a special place.

Whatever you choose to do, do it with love for yourself. Taking care of ourselves is so very important.

Parker Palmer said, “Self-care is never a selfish act- it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.”

Whatever you do, consider surrendering something also. Again, maybe it something that you have been attempting to release but its sticking like glue or maybe keeps returning. We ALL have something that we are holding onto for whatever reason…and it could be we aren’t even aware we have something that we are using as a crutch, a reason for unforgiveness, a memory that continues to hurt.

It’s a good time to let it go.

You will be receiving your letter to God soon, I’m just waiting for more stamps! And maybe that letter will help you put some intention into your summer.

I hope part of your intention is to have FUN!

Happy Mother’s Day!

We are going to share this Mother’s Day celebration with those of you who have wished to share a memory of something that they have learned from their Mother.
Before we start. I found some universal Mother’s Wisdom that might sound familiar:

Subject: What My Mother Taught Me
1. My mother taught me RELIGION. “You’d better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
2. My mother taught me TIME TRAVEL. “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”
3. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. “Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”
4. My mother taught me IRONY. “Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”
5. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. “Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”
6. My mother taught me about WEATHER. “This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”
7. My mother taught me about ENVY. “There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.”
8. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. “Just wait until we get home.”
9. My mother taught me about RECEIVING. “You are going to get it when you get home!”
10. My mother taught me HUMOUR. “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
11. My mother taught me WISDOM. “When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
12. My mother taught me about JUSTICE. “One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you”.

Five people have offered to share some wisdom from their Mothers, so…here goes:

Celeste, Carole, Joel, Karen, Bronwen

I have learned many things from Mom…from how an Italian measures spices…just a little (showing the fingers moving over a pinch) to how strong she really was even when it didn’t seem so. My Mom was 5 ft tall and mostly hovering around 100 lbs. give or take 5 lbs. Yet she survived many, many things no one should have to face.
As a teen and young adult, I didn’t see that. And it took me awhile to realize how strong she really was, how it was her who held the family together until later, when Dad finally became responsible and became a father to the younger kids. But even then, it was Mom who always did what needed to be done.
And so, I spent most of my adult life, trying to get to really know her, to understand her, to learn from her and to help her realize how strong, how intelligent, how wonderful she really was.

Paulo Coelho wrote, “Tears are words that need to be written.”
I have many tears yet to be shed for my Mother; but they won’t all be sad tears, there will be many happy ones too. Tears of the joy and love and laughter we shared.
So, Happy Mother’s Day to all who have Mothered us on our journey. No matter who you are or who or what you have Mothered, THANK YOU.

“I give thanks for the motherly love of God in all its human expressions!”

Inhale and silently affirm “I am the inlet to [exhale] and the outlet for the Divine, the Infinite.”

The Spiritual Journey of Aging

I will be talking this morning about the spiritual aspects of aging, and also how we can live our lives healthier and happier as we age….our mind-body-spirit connection. Today is my grandson’s 5th birthday and in a few months, I will be 75. My grandson and his younger sister are energetic, engaging, curious, full of zest…a wonderful example of who we are as human beings.

At their developmental stages, life is magical. At any age, we can have that same vibrancy and magic. In my spirit, I don’t feel that I am an aging person. Our bodies age, but the spiritual self does not… In truth, our Spirits are ageless.

The purpose of our soul journeys is to awaken to the call of what and who we truly are…eternal spiritual beings with divine potential. Aging is inevitable, but how we age is up to us. As human beings, we tend to want quantity of years and as spiritual beings we long for quality of life.

As we age, in the natural flow of life, our energy shifts from the outer realm to the inner realm … the place where we can deepen spiritually. Our energy becomes more contemplative and the sense of our eternal self can grow into the fullness of our True Selves and more of who we are.

Our nature at any stage of our lives is to be joyful, smart, loving, good and powerful. At any age, we can allow our true nature to shine through. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, “We are constantly invited to be what we are.’’

My major in college was child development. I became acquainted with the work of psychologist, Erik Erikson. According to his psychosocial theory of human development, we experience eight stages of development over our lifespan. I was fascinated and still am that from birth to end of life, we have the capacity to grow and develop. A
t each stage in Ericson’s theory, there is a task that we need to complete to move forward with competence and with a healthy personality to the next stage. Understanding developmental stages of life has spiritual relevance because in essence, we are Spirit.

In the first stage from birth to 12 months of age, infants need their world to be safe and predictable. With loving care, babies learn trust which is a primary task for healthy future development.

Toddlers, ages 1-3 years, explore their world and learn to have some control over their environment. This is the task of autonomy.

Children ages 3-6, through social interactions and play, learn to achieve goals through choices and this builds self-confidence and self-initiative, which is the task of pre-schoolers.

During ages 6-12, the task is to develop industry, which is described as accomplishment, self-pride and self- responsibility learned through schoolwork, social activities and relationships with peers, teachers and family.

The task of adolescence, ages 12-18 is to develop a strong and positive sense of self. If a young person can enter adulthood with these tasks accomplished, he or she can be more successful in their adult lives. If not, there needs to be acknowledgement of hurts and challenges and some healing to be done.

We are created as perfect expressions of God, but I don’t know anyone who had a perfect childhood or adolescence, and many of us need to do some healing work into our adulthood to maintain our innate wholeness, become our best selves and reach our highest potential, which is our divine purpose.

Erickson names the stage of adulthood from 20 to 40 years as the stage of intimacy for relationships. Erikson maintains that psychosocially, successful relationships with others in our personal and work lives is essential for our security and well-being. Of course, young adults are still working on identity issues of “Who am I? and What do I do with my life, which is a lifetime process.

Ages 40 and into the 60’s is, of course, the stage of middle adulthood. Erickson names the developmental task for middle age, generativity. This involves deeper connection with others, productivity, continuing self-improvement and making contributions for a better world. Mid-life is often a second chance to re-create our lives with new energy and with self- awareness that we didn’t have at earlier stages of our lives.

The last stage in our life span is from the mid-60’s to the end of life. This stage’s developmental task is named integrity. In terms of aging, integrity can be defined as a state of wholeness. This is the journey of integrating all of who we are to have a life of meaning and a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction with who we are and what we have done with our lives. We can still make choices to have the life we want and leave a legacy of purpose and meaning.

Our task at any age as human beings is continue to grow.. and as spiritual beings, we have unlimited potential. This belief in our unlimited potential is a Unity teaching that I love. I do believe we can pursue our soul’s yearning and manifest dreams at any age. As we age in our middle age years and in our elderhood years, we gain self-knowledge, knowing more of who we are, what our gifts are and what makes us happy. Self-acceptance also comes with aging. We often feel we don’t have to prove as much and don’t need to please others as much so aging can be liberating.

Aging gives us the gift of freedom and a deeper wisdom of life which are spiritual gifts. We can let go of our ego, let our spirits fly and welcome our true self. How glorious is that? Happiness research shows that over all, most adults seem to become happier as they age.

In one of the studies that I found, people’s satisfaction with life was described as a U-shaped pattern with happiness dipping down in the early 30’s and trending upward in the 50’s. As we approach our elder years, we have more time to pursue hobbies/dreams and meaning of life, more time to spend with friends and family with leisure time and travel. We often feel more connected to our spirit and are open to new and different avenues of self- expression and following where our passion leads us. As I approach 75, I am setting an intention to live up to my divine potential and highest purpose, and mindfully do it with ease and joy.

I certainly want my life to still have meaning and purpose, while consciously letting go when I need to and to prepare for the ultimate letting go with equanimity and peace. I trust the knowing of my heart, and I commit to see my life as an expression of God making our world a place with more love, peace and equality…these are the values that I hold most dearly and motivate me in my endeavors.

I retired from a profession of working with children and families when I was 60 and at age 62, my soul’s calling led me to attend an interfaith seminary in NY city named One Spirit. I felt very attuned to my spirit during seminary and very alive as I became an ordained interfaith minister. It was a real contradiction to aging because I felt I had a new purpose which gave me energy.

When I was preparing my talk, I found this anonymous quote which I really like. “The one who learns and grows will ripen with age. The one who doesn’t will just grow old.”

Life is for living, and I hope you are finding inspiration in your life to ripen with age. The author of “the Gift of Years,” Joan Chittister, states that “our spiritual obligation is to age well so that we can be a role model for others to have courage and spiritual depth to do the same.” I am thankful that I had grandmothers who were spiritual mentors. They both lived into their 80’s. Though they were very different people, they both had qualities of aging that inspired me. Dan and I are fortunate that we have close friends in their middle 80’s who live their lives with vitality and creativity and are wonderful role models for us.

The gift of aging is to live our lives with vitality and longevity and serve our highest good and purpose living our lives with joy, fulfillment and gratitude, as much as possible. So, how do we do this?

This is where the body-mind-connection comes in and where science and spirituality meet. Our spirit, mind and body are one. Ancient spiritual traditions of the east have known this connection for centuries and Unity co-founders, Myrtle and Charles Fillmore lived and taught this spiritual principle 100 years ago. What nourishes the body and mind empowers the spirit and what nourishes the spirit is healthy for the mind and body….this truth is how we are divinely created.

In Unity, we believe our thoughts create much of our reality. New thought spirituality and science know that the cells of our body respond to our thoughts and emotions …the positive ones and the negative ones. Wherever attention goes, energy flows. Taking care of the mind, body and spirit means first, to use mindfulness to stay in the present moment as much as possible.

A well- known Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, suggests the way we stay awake in the present moment is to simply and consciously breathe and smile….I love this. Keeping our thoughts in a positive place is essential to mental health and a calm, joyful spirit. On the average, we have over 50,000 thoughts a day and many unfortunately, are negative ones. We have the power of choosing our perspective in any circumstance, and as we age we have more wisdom to choose our perspective. We need to consciously frame our thoughts with positive affirmations of who we are and our possibilities and use denials so we do not give power to negative thoughts.

These are fundamental teachings of Unity, described on our posters and reinforced by the Unity literature, such as the Daily Word and the many pamphlets published by Unity. There are Unity pamphlets here for your taking and you can subscribe to the Unity Daily Word for $15 a year. I read my Daily Word every morning wherever I am. It is my most consistent spiritual practice. The uplifting messages always start my day with positive energy.

Of course, Unity also encourages prayer and meditation to bring us to a place of faith and stillness and open our minds and spirits to peace and wellness and possibility.

Our body is the house where our soul lives and therefore is sacred. We need the consciousness to treat our bodies with love and appreciation and the miracle it is. The reality is if we don’t treat our bodies well, our quality and quantity of life can be diminished. The realization of my mortality with my parents dying in their 60’s and my cancer in my early 50’s caused me not to take life for granted and has motivated me to place caring for my body a top priority.

Healthy aging needs to be a wholistic, balanced approach to healthy living. Exercise of many kinds strengthens our body in various ways, builds neurons and those connecting synapses in our brains, and exercise increases natural chemicals in our brains such as endorphins which helps create happiness, an important mind- body -spirit connection. A healthy diet with lots of vegetables and fruits for antioxidants, light proteins, whole grains, and a diet low in salt, sugar and low in unhealthy fats build a strong immune system and help prevent disease. Educate yourself on the types of sugars and fats. There are healthy fats which we need and unhealthy fats which damage us. There are different kinds of sugar, some more harmful than others. Get in the habit of reading labels so you really know what you are putting into your body. Get the amount of rest and recreation you need for daily renewal of your body, mind and spirit.

Practice stress management to prevent an overload of stress hormones. Too much adrenaline and cortisol in our bodies, due to stress, damage our bodies and contribute to aging in unhealthy ways. Now, here is something positive to consider. Gerontologists have found that elderly people who agree to adopt better lifestyle habits can improve their life expectancy by 10 years. We can start to take better care of our bodies at any time.

Loving relationships, time in nature and having spiritual practices increase our well-being and longevity. Research indicates that people with strong spiritual beliefs are less anxious and depressed, have lower blood pressure and less cardiovascular disease, stronger immune systems and cope better with illnesses and surgery. According to various studies, people who belong to a spiritual community can add an average of 7 years to their lives. Social engagement, emotional and spiritual support and service to others is thought to benefit the health of people who attend a faith-based community.

And, we cannot forget the benefits of prayer and meditation which can calm our minds, relax our bodies and nurture our spirits. This mind-body-spirit connection benefits our sense of well-being in so many ways. I want to mention one more thing that I have learned in my research about aging. People who have the best chance of living to be 100 show a high degree of adaptability. The essence of life is that life has changes. Those who are adaptable meet life’s journeys with resilience rather than brittleness. They tend to respond creatively to change, with a capacity to integrate new things into one’s life… which takes us back to the developmental stage of elderhood where the task is to find meaning in our lives with purpose. Studies show that having a sense of purpose, however big or small, gives meaning and joy to our lives and prolong our lives.

I know I have given you a lot to take in with this topic of aging…it is a big topic. Before we go into a meditation, I want to finish with these thoughts from the book “Ageless Body and Timeless Mind” by Deepak Chopra who is a medical doctor and spiritual teacher…He has written numerous books on spirituality and alternative medicine. He tells us to trust the divine intelligence of our body and its innate ability to regenerate. Deepak describes the atoms in our bodies as bundles of vibrating energy which carry information. He tells us in one year, 98 percent of the atoms in our bodies will be exchanged for new ones.

Also, he teaches that time is not absolute. He writes that our awareness creates the time we experience. Someone who experiences time as scarce that is constantly slipping away creates a completely different personal reality from someone who perceives that there is all the time in the world. When our attention is on the past or future, we create aging. Deepak encourages us to believe we can create a new experience of ageless body and timeless mind in every minute. This is such a hopeful message for our spiritual journey, and I invite you to take this message into your soul. We are ageless and timeless Spiritual Beings with unlimited possibilities.

As Poet Emily Dickerson wrote…” I dwell in possibility” and this is true for each one of us. We dwell in possibility in all the stages of our lives!! Amen

Meditation
Take some deep, slow breaths and be with your body-mind-spirit connection. Feel your body and mind relaxing and connecting with your sacred spirit, which is the True you…your sacred spirit… beautiful and eternal. Divine life is flowing through your entire being, renewing your body, mind and soul. Take a deep slow breath and feel that divine life flowing throughout your being. You are wise, you are healthy and innately whole. You are the Spirit of divine life welcoming new possibilities. Every day, you are co-creating your life with Spirit. You dwell in possibility. Take those thoughts and vibrations into silence.

Great Morning Beloved!

THE SPIRITUALITY OF EARTH

Last Monday was Earth Day…50 years ago, on April 22, 1970, CBS News marked the first ever Earth Day with a special report anchored by Walter Cronkite. Cronkite said at the time, “The gravity of the message of Earth Day came through: act or die.”

Things haven’t changed much, in fact, many would say they have gotten worse.

It’s simple, we need to take care of the Earth. This planet is a macrocosm of our microcosm. What is happening to the Earth we could say, is happening to humanity…And vice versa.

Some of us are having issues with soul awareness. By that I mean, what direction are we going? What kind of a person do we wish to present to the world? What is my purpose?

We’ve all had those ‘choice points’ in our lives. And we will continue to have them, they are all part of our growth opportunities.

And some of these choice points take us in directions that we are not necessarily meant to go…think for a minute…go on…. those times when you made a choice and later discovered it wasn’t the best for ANY concerned! Much less yourself.

But we have all, also, made wonderful choices too. We have done a lot of self-discovery work. We’ve been working on forgiveness. We are trying to be the best expression of God as we possibly can, and we continue to improve that too.

So, what does all this have to do with the Earth? That’s obvious, in one way and maybe not so in another.

Remember that any self-growth, self-awareness that we do also improves the whole of humanity. So, all your work is helping to pull the energy of others up also. As you grow and become an even better YOU, others feel that energy and just maybe, say, I’m going there too!

But what else happens? As we get more aware of the connectiveness of everyone and everything, we want to do more to help everyone and everything.

That is where Earth Day and Arbor Day and any other day where you direct your energy, your thoughts, your forward thinking to improving our Mother Earth, because if we don’t have our Mother, where will be we. Probably underground trying to live life without real food, real dogs and cats and any other animal that we have now…but are losing at the alarming rate of about 27,000 species a year according to the National Wildlife Federation. “Every day, an estimated 100 plant and animal species are lost to deforestation.”

Within the next 30 years as many as half of the species on the earth could die in one of the fastest mass extinctions in the planet’s 4.5 billion year history. That also includes the loss of the genetic diversity within species, as well as the loss of diversity of different types of ecosystems, which can contribute to or hasten whole species extinction.

Kind of reminds you of the canary in the coal mines….

Can you think of why this is important to us as a species?

Well, one thing that is on my mind is, cures for diseases. I am a believer. I believe everything we need is here for us to find. And to use, not exploit!

Many believe that there are around 1,400 forest plants that can cure many cancers, and some forest plants can even cure the deadliest of diseases.

Yet the Rain Forest where these plants are growing is being deforested for agriculture, mostly animal farming. So, every day, we may be losing our chance at a cure for many of the cancers that plague our people for a steak or some ribs.

I know, I know, I like a good steak now and then too, but what is ours to do regarding the care of the Earth? We all must ask ourselves that question.

For many years we have neglected the care of the Earth. We have come a long way in our view of her. There are some cultures, like Native Americans who have always seen the Earth as spiritual and deserving reverence. The rest of us are slowly catching up.

There are religions that are called Pantheistic … that believe that God is found in nature. Unity is Panenthistic…. which means that we believe that God is in nature …. and God is also greater than and outside of nature as well.

God is everywhere.

“There is a wonderful story about the child of a rabbi who used to wander in the woods. At first his father let him wander, but over time he became concerned. The woods were dangerous. The father did not know what lurked there.

He decided to discuss the matter with his child. One day he took him aside and said, ‘You know, I have noticed that each day you walk into the woods. I wonder, why do you go there?’ The boy said to his father, ‘I go there to find God.’ ‘That is a very good thing,’ the father replied gently., ‘I am glad you are searching for God. But, my child, don’t you know that God is the same everywhere?’ ‘Yes,’ the boy answered, ‘but I’m not.’

God is not any more present in any one place … God is the same everywhere. But sometimes we are not…. and so, we seek out places…. away from it all where we can feel and experience God’s presence more fully.

According to the psalmist … places affect us. God’s green pastures and still waters restore the soul. The Chinese have long observed that an individual’s well-being is influenced by location and have devised a system called Fung Shui of reading energy or chi of places to find beneficial positions for buildings and rooms.

Even as far back as biblical times certain kinds of earthly places have had spiritual meanings attached to them. Metaphysically places in the Bible represent states of consciousness. Jesus went into the desert to pray, the Desert Fathers lived in seclusion in the desert… Muhammad received his commission in a desert cave. Metaphysically the DESERT represents a place of emptiness… or a consciousness of emptiness.

Emptiness = enlightenment

Terry Tempest Williams writes: “It’s strange how deserts turn us into believers. I believe in walking in a landscape of mirages, because you learn humility. I believe in living in a land of little water because life is drawn together. And I believe in the gathering of bones as a testament to spirits that have moved on. If the desert is holy, it is because it is a forgotten place that allows us to remember the sacred. Perhaps that is why every pilgrimage to the desert is a pilgrimage to the self. There is no place to hide, and so we are found.”

MOUNTAINS have been seen as holy because they represent a rising up of consciousness. Moses went up to the top of the mountain and was presented with the Ten Commandments. Jesus took two of his disciples up to the top of a mountain and they appeared transfigured ….as a light body.

Mountains instill in us a sense of awe and wonder. I remember seeing the Rockies the first time, how I needed to bend my head back and look up, and just being struck by how awesome it was …. I just stood there, could only say WOW, it was a profound feeling.

Oceans are still the most profound for me, thus my move here instead of Maryland. The ocean just brings with it a sense of calm…no matter how wicked the water looks.

Deserts, mountains, oceans …. they all give us a feeling of spirituality. It is easy to see and to feel the spiritual in them.

More and more we are seeing how we are linked and connected together. How something as small and simple as a butterfly flapping its wings in China can influence the weather in New York. We are interconnected and what happens in one place affects all places. And in fact, we cannot separate ourselves from the whole… because we contain it all.

Carl Jung said: “When you look inside yourself, you see the universe and all its stars in infinity … an infinite mystery within yourself as great as the one without.”

The mountain is within you …… that majesty that you feel when you look at the mountain ………the strength and power and awesomeness …. that isn’t just in the outer world … that is inside of you.

The expansiveness you feel when you look out on the ocean …… is within you ………infinity is within you. We are more than this person in this lifetime…we go on, as Dumbledore told Harry….

The beauty of the flowers and the trees are inside of us as well …. the music of the birds……. the aroma of the earth…. all are inside us. We are connected with that beauty and that melody ……

Any place can be a holy place … the place on which you stand right now …. your home …. your place of work …. any place on which you stand ……can be a profound and holy place and it all deserves respect and reverence.

We are evolving in consciousness, humankind is evolving, and the earth is evolving right along with us, because we are connected. As we evolve individually it affects the whole.

Some people think, “What can I do to change the world?” Well you can start by changing yourself, because when you change it affects everything around you.

Danaan Perry, who started Earthstewards, dedicated his life to raising the consciousness of healing the Earth. Here are his seven-fold path for peace.

1) When we are peace within our own heart, we shall be at peace with everyone and with our Mother Earth.
2) When we recognize that our planet itself is a living organism co-evolving with humankind, we shall become worthy of stewardship.
3) When we see ourselves as stewards of our planet and not as owners and masters of it, there shall be lasting satisfaction from our labors.
4) When we accept the concept of Right Livelihood as the basic right of all we shall have respect for one another.
5) When we respect the sacredness of all life, we shall be truly free.
6) When we free ourselves from our attachment to our ego-personalities we shall be able to experience our Oneness.
7) When we experience our Oneness—our total connectedness with all being, we shall be at peace within our hearts.

Creation calls to us to love it, to honor it and to protect our planet.

Most of us here, I would venture to guess, believe that climate change is real, and it will take much effort, great and small, to reverse course on our ever-warming planet. We all have a carbon footprint, and it’s nearly impossible to avoid plastic and waste. But making changes is possible and, in the long run, will help.

Here are some more ideas:

Avoid Takeout Containers
Say “no” to takeout food and bring your own containers for restaurant leftovers. Sure, no more takeout is starting big, and you might never eat pizza again. If you can’t say “no” to takeout, how about not having so much? Try only one takeout meal a week and find restaurants that pack up dinner in non-plastic, non-Styrofoam, eco-friendly containers. (Skip the plastic bag, too!)
Stop Using Plastic Bags
One easy way to go a little greener is to refuse bags. Have your reusable bags handy. If your city doesn’t have a plastic bag ban, talk to your local representative and see if you can get the city or county council to implement one.

Stop Using Paper Towels
Yes, they’re convenient. Yes, your family’s messy. But it’s easy to live without paper towels. Instead of these perforated one-use paper sheets, start using your dish towels (sure, even the nice ones) to wipe up messes. You can even use them to pat meat dry and clean mirrors and windows (just not at the same time). Toss them in the wash and reuse next week. Cut up old bath towels for extra-absorbent needs. If you want to get really crafty, add snaps onto a dozen or more washcloths and roll them up onto your old paper towel holder. (Also works with Velcro.)

Use Non-Plastic Reusable Water Bottles
If you’re one of those people with cabinets full of water bottles, make a commitment to stop accepting plastic. Just say “thank you,” and hand it back to the person working the registration table. Start using the reusable water bottles you have, recycling or passing along any that you know you won’t use or ones that leak.

Give Up the Straw
Yes, you have the right to drink from a straw. And yet, if you don’t need one in order to sip from a glass, stop using them. Just like that. Make sure when you order drinks at a restaurant to request no straw, then remind them when they arrive at the table. (It’s habit; they’re not being huffy by offering them.) Encourage your eating mates to do the same. It’s small. It saves our water families too. Or carry you own steel straw. Its reusable.

Use Green Cleaning Products
We Americans really go after our homes when we clean with products that strip grime, kill bacteria and leave everything smelling like bottled meadow. Cleaning products can be made of some toxic stuff and often yield the same results as quick cleaners you make yourself (minus the toxicity). Look into orange oil, castille soaps and all the things you can do with lemon and baking soda. Commit to not replacing your cleaning products with more bottle and sprays of stuff, and instead shifting to more earth-friendly strategies.

Eliminate Food Waste
The production of food is the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the U.S. So, when you’re throwing out food, you’ve warmed the planet for nothing. Make a choice that you’re no longer going to throw out food and, instead, shop smarter, offer and take smaller portions at meals (allowing for seconds, of course), and find ways to incorporate leftovers into lunches or other meals. Shopping more often and organizing the refrigerator can help cut back on waste as well. This takes practice but can become habit.
Start Composting
Another way to take the guilt from (and reduce the environmental damage of) food waste is to start a compost. If you find that you often have wilting lettuce and rotting kale in the fridge, tossing it in a compost bucket or worm farm is a great way to return it to the Earth rather than putting it in a landfill.
Buy Local Produce or Start a Garden

Even if you don’t have a lot of space, you can start a garden on a windowsill, deck or sunny corner in the living room. Gardening reduces, one tomato at a time, the carbon emissions on your daily salads. While you’re waiting for your Earth Day garden to produce, you could also commit to shopping from local farmers, either at a farmer’s market or a grocery store that carries locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Repair Things

Small appliances, houseware, furniture, and clothes and shoes are cheap enough that there’s little financial incentive to repair them when they break. Instead, most of us just replace them with new ones. But fixing is possible, even if you’re not an electrician or super great with a needle and thread. Shoe- and leather-repair places still exist in most cities, and YouTube has videos on how to fix almost anything. You’ll not only keep things out of the landfill, you also won’t be purchasing something that’s made from tons of plastic, has been shipped halfway across the world, then trucked all the way across the country. Plus, it’s fun.

Go Electronic

Stop most of the unsolicited mail that shows up in your mailbox. Even if you recycle all your junk mail, not having it created on your behalf in the first place has the better environmental impact.

Turn Things Off

Being vigilant about turning the lights off in an empty room is great. But what about all the appliances and electronic goods that, even when not in use, drain electricity. Phantom power use is a big waste of electricity, money and natural resources.

Eat Less Meat

This year go vegetarian or vegan, even for just the day. Even if you’re a meat-and-two-sides kind of family, there are ways to abstain from meat and animal products, if only for one day a week (think: Meatless Mondays). There are plenty of ideas for weeknight vegan and vegetarian meals. The way meat is produced in most of the world — no longer on small farms — has taken a toll on the Earth’s health and climate. In fact, meat production is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases on the planet.
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Recycle (and Stop Buying So Many) Electronics

We live in an age where even our $1,000 phones are basically disposable. We expect them to be out of date in fewer than five or 10 years. Lower-cost ones are even easier (and more common) to get rid of, rather than resell, refurbish or live without new and better features. Recycling electronic goods, called e-waste, is important. Precious metals are stripped and reused, and plastic casings are melted and converted into something else. Even better is to commit to not succumbing to the siren song of upgrades and new gear. Sure, we’re in a home computer and smartphone world. But do you really need a tablet? Or would a single tablet cover your needs and mean you don’t also need a smartphone and computer. Isn’t one videogame console enough? And what about all those handheld toys going unplayed in your kids’ closets?

Shop Used

Clothes and fast fashion are also destroying the planet. Fabrics contain petroleum products. The carbon cost to make and ship them is steep, even if the price tags are low. Retail therapy can still be a guilty pleasure, but shopping used means you’re not making the planet pay the steep price. Secondhand stores are filled with barely worn clothing, brand-new home goods and other things you’re tempted to get at big box stores. Make Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul your first stop when you think you need something. Save the big box stores for times when you can’t find gently used items.

Refuse (Then Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)

We are given so many things throughout a single day that we haven’t even asked for. Straws with our drinks, napkins in a bag, packages surrounding one serving of a fruit or vegetable, packets, tote bags, flyers, stickers, free keychains, armbands and more. It seems rude to refuse and, when you do, you’re often met with confused looks and “Are you sure? It’s free!” But not taking something, no matter how small, is the first step in turning around modern lives of excess and planet destruction. Next is finding ways to reduce packaging on necessities, which might mean shopping in bulk food stores, especially ones that let you bring your own container. Recycling is great, of course, and we’re lucky to have the option (though it’s unclear how long that is going to last). But refusing: That gets down to the root of it.

Tell Grandparents: ‘No More Toys’

It seems rude and unthinkable, but we might be at a point where we need to tell grandparents (and other well-wishers), “No more toys.” Before kids are even born, they have a carbon footprint, with all the gifts and equipment and supposedly necessary things you need to raise a baby. By the time they’re toddlers, they’re surrounded in chaos by so many plastic toys, or even cloth and wooden things, that they don’t ever really play with them

Speak Out
Sure, individual actions are important, but policy changes could go a long way to support (and incentivize others) to go green, reach out to your city council about cleaner air, a plastic bag ban or how to create a more walkable neighborhood or downtown in your area. Tell your representative in your state legislature that you want your state to commit to reducing carbon emissions as agreed upon in international agreements, such as the Paris Accord. And nationally, pressure your senators to approve executive cabinet appointments of only those whose interests truly benefit the environment. Elect leaders who understand that climate change is real. And if there are none of them to vote for, run for office yourself.
You know all this. We all, just need to put it, at least some of it, into practice. Let’s start with implementing a new program from Big Unity…UnityVeg.
We can take a small step and work our way into healthier eating and help the Earth in that small way. You all know we at Unity are doing many things to reduce our Carbon Footprint…recycling, using cleaning products that are environmentally friendly, buying recycled paper products and copy paper, recycling our ink cartridges…and now let’s give a try to healthier food options for our Fellowship time. Fruits, veggies, baked goods with a healthy twist. We can do this. Starting next week, lets all try to do our part here at Unity.

And with that, let’s meditate on all we have learned today.

GREAT Morning Beloved!!!

Easter Sunday – The Twelve Who Knew Him

Easter Day, of course, commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus. AS you most likely know, the word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Eastre, the name of the Goddess of spring, in whose honor a festival was celebrated each April.
Fun Fact: Easter Day always comes on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after March 21. If the full moon falls on a Sunday, Easter is the next Sunday. Easter can never fall earlier than March 22 nor later than April 25.
All in the interest of the so-called Pagans that the Romans were trying to win over to Christianity in order to control them from a governmental point of view.
For us in Unity, we see Easter as a way to re-affirm our knowing that we are eternal. Death is not the final word.

The Easter story demonstrates that there is something within us that was here before we incarnated and remains after seeming death. Death is not the end of life, rather the continuation of the life process. Jesus proved this in the great demonstrations known as the resurrection and the ascension

Resurrection follows crucifixion. No life escapes this process. The Easter story is about an old way being crucified so something new can be born. This is not a once-in-a-lifetime event. When someone experiences a divorce, the death of a partner, loses a job, or experiences a shift in external circumstances, an old identity dies so a new one can be born.

Keep a True Lent, Charles Fillmore explained, “The resurrection takes place in us every time we rise to Jesus’s realization of the perpetual indwelling life that is connecting us to the Father. A new flood of life comes to all who open their minds and their bodies to the living word of God.”

We look to Jesus as a model for how to resurrect from our own crucifixion experiences. The Easter story is a reminder that no matter what seems to happen to us, it does not have the final word. We can look beyond appearances and recognize that there is a divine plan unfolding. Our task is to hold on to that vision until our life bears witness to truth that liberates us and sets us free.

Living in an awareness of the Christ potential should not be limited to one day. The transformational power that is inside all of us is cause for a lifetime of celebrations. Easter is not simply a play to be acted out; it is, in essence, an experience that must be lived every day.

“Metaphysically, the resurrection is our power to overcome, to restore, to renew with health, peace, love, prosperity, and joy, whatever it is that we are trying to revive,” said Rev. Gaylon McDowell, senior assistant minister at Christ Universal Temple in Chicago and host of Truth Transforms on Unity Online Radio®.

“For those in poor health, regaining health is resurrection. People experience resurrection when their relationship or financial problems are resolved through the realization that God is the source of their supply. Anytime we explore new ideas or new possibilities, we are experiencing a resurrection.”

We become overcomers when we lift our minds out of the tomb of doubt, despair, and resignation and allow our spiritual nature room to express and transform our experiences. “You are an overcomer when you move beyond that which only your five senses can detect and are aware of your oneness with God. You are not separate from God. The Kingdom of God is inside you. You are the self-expression of God, and as the individualized expression of God, you are already whole and complete,” said McDowell.

Today, we are going to experience Jesus through the eyes of several folks who knew him in some way, according to Biblical stories. Listen to the words and emotion that each person presents to us as they speak. Let yourself go, imagining that you are there, over 2000 years ago, walking the dusty roads of the Near East.
Maybe YOU walked the same paths, shared the same air….maybe you were there….

1. Mary Mother of Jesus – Andrea
2. Anna, the Prophetess – Carole
3. The Woman at the Well – Karen
4. Joseph, the Brother of Jesus – Dan
5. The Woman taken in adultery – Kathleen
6. The Publican – Laurie
7. The boy who gave his lunch – Diane
8. Simon Peter – Leroy
9. Mary of Bethany – Jeanne
10. Nicodemus – Greg
11. Woman in the Crowd – Bronwen
12. Mary Magdalene – Nancy

Great Morning Beloved!!!

Palm Sunday the Unity Way

You know we at Unity could look at Palm Sunday in a more traditional way, but that’s not like us, is it? So, we will look at the myth, because it is not noted in any history, only in religious texts.

What Palm Sunday does is provide a day for spiritual contemplation that shouldn’t be missed. Just as the Easter story symbolizes the deaths and resurrections of our lives, Palm Sunday reflects the human story too. It presents a few Lessons for us. One is about facing fear.

Let’s set the stage leading to Palm Sunday. The Passover Observance is coming, there is tension in the city because the Political and Spiritual leaders were fearful of Jesus. They didn’t understand what his purpose was and so they looked at how he was testing their laws and customs.

They chased him out of the city prior to Sunday.

Just an example of what fear can do to people.

And He had been warned not to go back, his disciples were worried. Anyone could guess there would be trouble.

As the Gospel of Luke says, “His face was set toward Jerusalem” (Luke 9:53). Jesus wouldn’t be dissuaded. He knew his purpose.

Have you ever felt called to move boldly forward knowing the odds were against you? Even if your heart was pounding, you took a step in the direction you knew would fulfill your purpose?

I believe taking the steps to move to Delaware and see if we could start a Unity presence here was a major step. I don’t know if I would call it fear, but probably an emotion related to fear for sure…insecurity, my introvert personality certainly had some things to say.

But we faced our fears and questions and here we are!

How about you? Are you facing such fears now?

Think about that for a moment…. what happened when you moved forward? Did you accomplish or at least start what your vision told you?

Did you look to someone outside yourself for approval? Sure, we do that.

Whose approval is important to you? Family, friends, coworkers?

Can disapproval throw you off balance? What about your own approval?
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Whose approval did Jesus have. His own, and God’s, I would think.

Jesus was true to himself and his mission on planet Earth. He kept on being Jesus, teaching what he taught, attracting crowds, performing miracles, letting the chips fall where they may.

And that is our job, to stay on purpose, to be true to our TRUE self, to face the fear, and carry forth the mission whatever it is, to keep doing what we’re here to do regardless of others’ approval. One day, you will notice you have emerged into a new life. I sure have!!!

And you will find yourself surrounded by like-minded people supporting you.

So, let’s look at some metaphysics and see where they might fit in our life. Imagine these ideas…

Jerusalem symbolizes a vision of peace within us.
For us, Jerusalem is the abiding consciousness of spiritual peace.

Jesus symbolizes our I AM identity. His going up to Jerusalem means our taking the last step in unfoldment in preparation to the final step, when the personality is entirely crucified and the Christ triumphs.

Notice, it’s UP TO JERUSALEM…going up means what? Going to higher consciousness…

Jesus riding the colt into Jerusalem means the spiritual I AM within us takes control and lifts all the animal forces up to the spiritual plane of mastery, purity, and peace. Those animal forces or thoughts are to be mastered and controlled and made to serve.

Think about what its been like for you as you have let negative thoughts and words go from your mind and how freeing that is?

The hosannas of the rejoicing multitude and the spreading of their garments and branches of trees before Jesus, represent joyful obedience and homage that all the thoughts in one’s consciousness give when an error state of mind is overcome.

At some time, most of us have been part of a crowd that welcomed a great hero, paid tribute to a notable public figure, or cheered a championship team. Go Eagles!

Remembering the eager acclaim and enthusiasm that marked such an occasion, we have a vague idea of the spirit in which Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday.

Certainly, Jesus’ life and teachings do show the way to freedom and happiness and prosperity. But Jesus had no intention of becoming an earthly king; and most of the people were not yet capable of understanding the spiritual kingdom in which the Christ is ruler.

So, he enters the Temple. And gets mad! And smashes the tables and sends money and sacrificial animals flying. Making more trouble for himself…almost like he did things on purpose.

What does the “temple of God” represent, and what is indicated by Jesus’ casting out “them that sold and bought in the temple”? The temple is our body and the desires, fears, and other negative emotions that act as destructive forces in the body or that put it to unworthy uses are, they that sell and buy. With His word Jesus cast out these negations. The Power of our words….

“My house shall be called a house of prayer.” Why do you think the pronoun “my” is used here? Through the right use of our I AM we take conscious possession of the body and cast out all that is unworthy of a son of God.
Have YOU taken possession of your thoughts and body?

A prayerful attitude saves the body from becoming a “den of robbers by awaking it to the Christ consciousness.
“The washing of the disciples’ feet by Jesus typifies a cleansing process, or a denial of personality and materiality. ”

By the simple act of washing the apostles’ feet, Jesus made it clear that he who is greatest is the one who serves best.

“In this humble way Jesus taught and exemplified the willingness of divine love to serve….”

Jesus explained the lesson he wanted to convey: If he could disregard worldly rank and offer them a menial service, surely, they too should be willing to give themselves in loving service to one another and to mankind.

How many times have we promised our higher self: “I won’t criticize again? I’ll try to be understanding … I’m through with bigotry and prejudice. I’ll show brotherly love … I won’t give way to panic next time. I’ll keep calm and strong by keeping faith … I won’t be depressed by thoughts of fear and pessimism. I’ll keep a positive mental attitude and depend on God’s love and power.”

Have these been empty promises? We can do better! We can keep these promises and more.

Whenever possible, Jesus taught by example.

He did not merely tell people about God’s power. He performed miracles of healing.

He not only talked about humility and service. He washed the apostles’ feet.

He did not boast about eternal life. He proved it through His own resurrection.

Jesus was a practical idealist who understood Truth principles and applied them to change people’s lives.

He followed up His promises with action; and we can follow Him by keeping our promises to our higher self.

All the Truth we can ever hear about or read about or know intellectually will help us only to the extent that we use it. Every single Truth idea that we put into practice in any area of living will strengthen and help us for further application.

When we apply Truth in a practical way, we make it our own, and benefits accrue.

So, he faces Pilate who represents the will, the executive power of the mind. Pilate has no spiritual understanding; therefore, his will cannot act wisely.

When Pilate delivered Jesus to be crucified, he washed his hands and said, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it. We cannot escape responsibility for our errors merely by attempting to avoid accepting and acknowledging the authority of Truth.

Reminds me of ‘we are not punished for our sins but by them….’

The “chief priests and the elders symbolize the religious thoughts that follow strictly the forms and ceremonies of religion, but do not recognize that the authority of Spirit that underlies them is greater than the outward forms and ceremonies.

This is like going through the motions without any work or thought behind them.

Where do we see this in our life? Someone following the rules but not the spirit of the situation.

Our self -discovery, our self-knowledge helps everyone move forward.

What happens when the will endeavors to assert its authority over Truth? It may and sometimes does succeed in postponing for a time the full unfoldment of Truth in the consciousness (deliver Jesus to be crucified), but Truth is omnipotent and the I AM eventually realizing full power and dominion over our being.

Why did the multitude choose to have Barabbas released instead of Jesus? The multitude here represents those who are wedded to external forms of religion. They resent new presentations of Truth that revolutionize their creeds and dogmas.

That’s interesting…many traditional religions stick to the dogmas whether they make any sense any more or not. And sometimes it’s “because we’ve always done it this way….”

So, from a metaphysical interpretation, the Palm Sunday experience represents our conscious surrender to our innate divinity. It reawakens our childlike faith. It is a stirring of our entire consciousness, the “city in turmoil” with the suspicion that something amazing is at work, even when we do not yet understand what is occurring.

This ‘deep work in consciousness intensifies throughout the experience and culminates in a process of crossing out of old ideas and great transformation. Unity calls this purification process “chemicalization”

Our old tapes, worn out beliefs, and negative programming are sacrificed so that we may rise into a higher expression of Christ consciousness.

SO, Today let’s honor of the Christ Spirit that ruled in Jesus and should rule now in all our minds and hearts.
How do we honor the Christ?

When we remember that we are spiritual beings, children of God, capable of developing and expressing all the qualities of the Father.

When we control our thoughts, desires, words, and emotions, keeping them always constructive.

When we strive toward any high goal, confident that God works through us for attainment.

When we see the Christ potential in others, and praise and encourage their commendable traits and efforts.

When we refuse to accept disease or affliction and know that God manifests through us as life and health.

When we think in terms of “you” and “we,” more often than in terms of “I, me, and mine.”

When we overcome fear with faith, hatred with love, ignorance with God-directed wisdom.

When we master unworthy desires and lowly impulses and discipline ourselves to think and act wisely.

When we live each day in a spirit of love, forgiveness, and generosity.

When we pray regularly for the light of understanding, and let that light radiate through all our affairs to bless our world.

When we have faith in the goodness of God, faith in ourselves, and faith in our fellow men.

You have a chance to make it a holy week in your life. Let us open our hearts and minds to the Spirit of Christ during the coming week. Let us go about the affairs of our lives in a quiet spirit, let us give more time than usual to prayer during this week. Let us practice being still; let us practice the presence of God.