Discover the Power Within You
Eric Butterworth
The Great Demonstration (Lesson # 7)

Eric Butterworth was a theologian and well- known Unity minister who authored 16 books on spirituality. One of his most well -read books is “Discover the Power Within You.” In Unity, this book is considered iconic and has been the basis of Sandy’s last 6 lessons in our Sunday services. Butterworth’s central theme and message is that we all are spiritual beings with an innate divinity. This divinity is the power within each of us. Butterworth states that Jesus’ intention was to help his followers understand the spiritual potential of every person. The teachings of Jesus are timeless and as relevant today as was two thousand years ago. In Unity, we see Jesus as our way shower for self -realization and self-unfoldment of our Christ consciousness. Butterworth tells us “The Christ that was in Jesus is the Christ in us.”

Today’s lesson is entitled “The Great Demonstration.” This is the story of the first Easter and how Jesus triumphed over death. In life, Jesus demonstrated an undeniable unity and oneness with God as Spirit and taught that we can have this same relationship with the Divine. Butterworth states that Easter is not a passport to another world. It is a time to take a new look at ourselves and awaken to our God Self here and now. Metaphysically, Easter is the awakening and arising to spiritual consciousness and the Christ within us. When we are “born again” metaphysically, we see a new spiritual dimension. From this spiritual place in our hearts and minds, we know the “Kingdom of God” is within us, as Jesus taught and anything and everything is possible! Through the resurrection, Jesus demonstrated that the life of God is changeless and eternal for each of us because of our divinity. With all the mysteries of life and death, we can trust that our souls are immortal.

Jesus taught that life is for living. His greatest demonstration was teaching us how to live, and he exemplified living a life that impacts the lives of others in loving, powerful ways. Jesus was highly evolved spiritually and demonstrated his gifts with teaching, performing miracles and healing. Butterworth explains that Jesus was not a magician. In his ministry, he fulfilled divine law not only because of his divinity and higher consciousness, but because he believed those he came in contact with were also divine. He healed people of faith who were innately divine, whole and complete. Healing happens this way every day believing we have the power to heal as Myrtle Filmore, our Unity founding mother demonstrated.

Jesus’ examples of living life were ones of expressing unconditional acceptance of others with love and compassion and forgiveness. Jesus condemned the hypocrisy and greed of his day and spoke truth to power. He demonstrated that love and compassion were more important than social status or wealth, and perhaps Jesus’ most profound yet simple teaching was to “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.”

Some examples of other highly evolved spiritual people are Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Unity Co-founders Myrtle and Charles Filmore. There are many others who have lived or are living in our world today. We have many among us who feel a deep oneness with the Divine, are committed to their spiritual growth and to lifting up their sisters and brothers…it could be anyone of us.

Life is for living, for growing, for unfolding and evolving. We are told in “Discover the Power Within” that anything we will ever be, we already are! The Great Demonstration of resurrection is the possibility for all of us to step into a fuller experience of life without self-limitations and as our eternal, ageless, whole and complete Selves. Challenges become opportunities for growth. When we overcome problems, those same problems can be a blessing. The end becomes a new beginning. Thinking of life as unfolding and evolving, here are some questions to contemplate…How do you want to grow? How might you want to live your life in new ways? What are you called to demonstrate in your life? Listen to the still voice within for answers. Perhaps use these questions for meditation and journaling.

In the Easter story, when the stone from the Jesus’ tomb was rolled away, his body was not there. The biblical story tells Jesus had arisen from the dead, and he demonstrated his resurrection of new life to the people who loved and followed him. At the end of the chapter named The Great Demonstration, Butterworth writes that we don’t need to change ourselves. Rather we only need to be resurrected into a new consciousness of our spiritual identity as divine….see the divinity in ourselves and see the divinity in others. The stones of human limitations are rolled away. As I reflected upon this image of rolling away any human limitation as we would a stone, I envisioned what I would roll away for my own spiritual evolution. I would roll away fear that gets in my way of knowing my complete power. I would roll away judgement…judgement of myself and others so I could completely live my life from a place of acceptance and love. Think upon this…What would you roll away for the evolution of your spirit?

The season of Easter is a season of renewal and hope. Butterworth suggests that you allow Easter to happen to you. Look within and embrace your spiritual identity and power. Look toward the light of a new day and possibilities. May you embrace your divinity and unfold and fulfil your divine potential with abundant joy, love, peace. May you celebrate new awakenings of your Spirit and experience new ideas, new faith, new strength and confidence to pursue your greatest purpose as the divine being you are!

Leading to Meditation, end with this beautiful reading from Poet John O’Donohue

May you recognize in your life the presence, power, and light of your soul. May you realize that you are never alone, that your soul in its brightness and belonging connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe. May you have respect for your own individuality and difference. May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique, that you have a special destiny here, that behind the facade of your life there is something beautiful, good, and eternal happening. May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride, and expectation with which God sees you in every moment.

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!

Discover the Power Within You – The Great Abundance

We have been experiencing a wonderful journey as we Discover our power within us.
First, our Great Discovery – that we are both spiritual and human.
Then The Great Decision – to act upon that understanding
Our Great Choice – which thoughts are we most interested in?

And now, this week, The Great Abundance asks us – who and what do we trust?

So, the question is; Do we really believe that we live in an abundant universe? Do we really believe that we are all created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore are inherently good?

If so, do we act that way? Because worry would seem to be the antithesis of that belief.
What do you worry about?

Matthew 6:25-34 tells us about worry: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

And yet, we do worry…so let’s affirm that we need not waste that energy. Let’s affirm that love should replace worry whenever worry comes into our mind regarding anything.

We cannot worry about something and still send love and light toward it. So, when you feel that urge to send worry emotions towards someone or something, send love instead. Send love to family & friends as they travel. Send love to the politicians in our government as they struggle within themselves to find a common ground. Send love to those who you encounter through your day, that they and you may have a pleasant meeting. Send love and light.

Remember, worry depletes our power by lowering our energy. It sucks the joy out of life, and joy is energizing!

Think about it…how do you feel when you are in a good mood…energized, right? Smiling and looking forward to the day.
Compare that to the last time you were worried about something or someone…low energy, not in a good mood.
Remember, this whole series is all about discovering the POWER within you.
That Power is about the control we all have over our thoughts and feelings.

We are told to Judge not lest ye be judged… how we see things (how we judge them) determines how we react, or respond, and therefore how we are judged. Do you see how this ties into the Great Choice? What thoughts are we letting into our consciousness that will color our choices?

If we see a person or situation as the object of worry, we’re going to show up in a certain way, that is probably less than spacious! And that will affect how we are seen and interacted with.

Jesus taught the laws of living, spiritual laws of self-realization & self-fulfillment. He tells us to lay up our treasures in heaven…’for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also’

I love this quote, partly because its in Harry Potter too. But mostly because it reminds us again about where our thoughts should be when in comes to material things…including money.
Charles reminds us to “Watch your thought when you are handling money, because your money is attached through your mind to your one source of all substance and all money. When you think of your money, which is visible, as something directly attached to an invisible source that is giving or withholding according to your thought, you have the key to all riches and the reason for all lack.”

The Bible tells us in I Timothy 6:10: “The LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” Not money. The problem is our attitude about money. SO be grateful when you pay you bills that the source of exchange is available for you.
And we are reminded that evil is just the concealment of good.

Think about that for a second before we move on… evil is just the concealment of good.

Money supports many good and wonderful things…this ministry for example, and all the outreach we do to this community and to the larger Unity community.

And if you think for a minute, I am betting you can think of several, if not many, things that you do for good with your abundance. Just in this community alone, we have people bringing things to share for Fellowship. You all have gifts that you share and that is abundance.

And I am sure you can list many things that you are doing with your abundance outside of Unity too.

Money is a medium of exchange for some of the products we need to survive, but also it is used for supplies that we then turn into products that we share with others…whether is cookies for Fellowship or passing along socks and mittens for the homeless.

This is abundance flowing through you via cookies and socks!

“When you really have faith in God, when you really believe that God is your supply, your security, your help in every need then you will do the wise and discerning thing about your job, your possessions, your investments – but you will think of them only as channels through which your good comes…”

Prosperity is an outer expression of our Christ consciousness. Abundance appears in many forms including health, peace, relationships, and financial stability.

We are being asked to build up a prosperity consciousness, understanding that God is our source of all our supply that flows through many means of exchange, through ideas, but from our inner source of awareness. We must be open to receive, and we must ask!

“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” ~ Matthew 7:7-8

We’ve mentioned this before, to be willing to receive, to be open to receive, we must be doing our work. Jesus tells us to “Judge not according to appearances but judge righteous judgment.” This means to see people as they can be, not as they are.

And if we are preparing to be able to continue living a good life, we need to ‘be what we can be.’ Are you? Are you being who you are capable of being?

Here’s a great affirmation that we all can use when meeting a person or doing a transaction: I am established in spiritual unity with God and with all people – I express the divinity in me, and I salute the divinity in everyone I meet.”

And by using this affirmation, we are affirming that we serve one Master…God, by any name.

We cannot have a divided house. If we make a god out of our maternal interests – work, investments, possessions-we become a slave to them. All money, all creative work, all wealth become the objectification of divine ideas. They are all channels through which our good comes, not gods to be worshiped.

Remember; wisdom will dictate an orderly handling of our financial affairs, but faith will keep us free from worry and fear.

Success cannot be measures by what we have amassed; only by the level of consciousness we have achieved.
Can you recall the Lesson on the 10 Commandments and “Thou shall not steal”? The item in question that we may be lusting after cannot belong to us if we have not done our work to bring our energy and consciousness up to that energy. Whatever it is….it’s not ours if it’s not in our hands…we are not ready for it.

The good news is, every day gives us a new experience in growth and potentiality…not as a journey from one point to another, but a life eternal, an ongoing process of growth and enlightenment.

“…Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mat 6:33)

In Divine Mind, we are perfect, whole beyond sickness, intelligent beyond our imperfection, the Kingdom of Heaven within us is health, wealth, harmony and peace are constant and always ‘sufficient unto today’

Our ’Great Abundance’ is here for us, available to any and all as we place the God of our understanding first and let the guidance flow to and through us as we move through our Journey.

And as far as I am concerned, that is a GREAT BLESSING.

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!

Discover the Power Within You -The Great Practice

Have you discovered what Jesus wanted us to know? That we are divine. Did you make your Decision to recognize that Discovery? And have you now made the Choice to follow our Way-Shower?
If you are sitting in these seats, I’m guessing that you are, at least, contemplating that choice.
So, this morning, we are going to talk about the Great Practice. What is it that you will want to put into practice if you wish to follow these teachings?
The first thing just might be to follow the Law of Nonresistance.
Nonresistance is stronger than resistance; its practice requires more mind capacity than is required for resistance; its appeal is to the divine in you. Resistance centers on detail; nonresistance accepts the generalization.
If you agree where you can agree and refrain from consideration of points that you do not accept, you keep unity with the universe. Agreement is feasible when your mind seeks agreement.

Butterworth states, “One of the saddest things in life is our propensity to use force to get our way…to use a battering ram instead of the key to open doors.”
Nonresistance is taking the practice and spiritual approach in life.

If Jesus’ teachings of nonresistance were universally understood and practiced, maybe we would not have wars, factions, classes or races. We would actually – and finally, be all one.
We would be eliminating the root of our ‘evil’ as Matthew tells us to pluck out our eye if it has a problem seeing the divinity in others… save the rest of your body for the loss of one eye.
He is telling us that our one need in life is to get right, in consciousness, with God; that anything in the way must go.

And this starts with our thoughts, of course. If we root out thoughts of lust, covetousness, envy and greed; we stop the problem before we acquire habits that would eventually destroy our whole life. SO why pay the price?
The Law of Nonresistance also includes running away from problems instead of facing them. Jesus uses the example of men who divorce their wives for very little reason. It must have been a big issue in the Near East at his time.
They would let their wives go and this is one of the reasons many of Jesus’ Sermons were about taking care of women and children.
We forget, all of us, that a problem that we are not facing now, will continue to present itself, maybe in different guises, but it will appear, until we face it and resolve it.
In marriage, we have a chance to discover the great possibilities of our partners and to work together to bring forth those possibilities. “True love is spiritual perception, an insight sensitive to our innate divinity.”
When you hear, “I can’t see what he sees in her” its because it is the perception of love that is a personal revelation. A marriage that is built on that perception is ‘built on a rock’….it will lead to an adjustment of differences and a fulfillment of love.’
Love is a divine energy that begins with God and has no end. We tune into this flow and express the love, light and power that comes with it.

The tendency to escape from challenges is putting off our salvation…whether its marriage, work, our what we are doing to our environment.

Let’s talk about vows…this section of Matthew goes on to tell us the we should not swear an oath to anything…for how can you know from one day to the next how you will feel. There is only the NOW.
“But let your speech be Yea, Yea; Nay, Nay…” not a promise that you may not be able to keep.

Butterworth suggests maybe instead for the marriage vow, “Till death due us part,” we should say we will “Behold the divinity in each other as a possibility and to work together to give releasement to the ‘imprisoned splendor’ which love has perceived.” And then renew this consecration at least annually.
Goethe said that marriage is not a goal in itself, but an opportunity to mature. I can see many relationship types doing that…just thinking of the friends I have now and have had in my life and what they have brought to the table that helped me mature and question myself and grow because and sometimes in spite of their relationship to me.
This all reminds me too, of Charles Fillmore when asked about his beliefs, he would say what they were but then add that he reserved the right to change his mind.
And here we all are, almost all of us not raised in Unity teachings, yet we ‘changed our minds’ and at this time, are choosing to at least look at Unity teachings.
And that would be the ‘unforgivable sin’ (not the unforgivable curse from Harry Potter). Having a closed mind… a mind that is made up, that does not wish to change or even look at any possibility other than what is, right now, at this and every moment.
The point Jesus is making is to keep your mind open. To not make a vow that will hold you to something that will close you off or bind you to something that will keep you away from Spirit.”
“Be receptive to the continuous unfoldment of the Truth in and through you. Give thanks that the life is lived one day at a time, and that every day is a glorious opportunity to be strong, to overcome, to achieve and to be happy.”
That goes for our relationships with others too. Holding a grudge against someone is only showing that we are in a wrong state of consciousness. We are placing manacles upon ourselves and thinking we are making the other pay a price for a perceived wrong doing.

We set ourselves free when we forgive them… and ourselves. Our responsibility is to act the part of our divinity through life. We determine the level of consciousness on which to meet others and how we react or respond to them.
There is always ground for agreement. If you do not find that ground, grant its presence; agree or withdraw in peace….

Here’s and example. A restaurant owner had a policy that any waitress who failed to smile at least once to their customer and got caught, was fired. So, most of the waitresses had forced smiles, of course, …all but one.
She smiled and kept on smiling. She seemed to enjoy smiling. While talking with her she said, at first, she resented the order, mechanical smiles were not fun or normal. Then she realized that after her first smile, all the others were hers, not ordered. She felt rewarded for any smile beyond.
This is part of ‘going an extra mile’…when we go beyond what is required. This is abundant living.
It is when we only do that which is required, we are slaves to that ’required work’.

Much is expected of us because we are well endowed. We are a child of God, create in the image and likeness, possessed of the potential of the Christ indwelling. We are a growing, expanding, evolving, dynamic life-idea in God-Mind. There can never be a limit to God, and thus there can never be a limit to you or I if we get into God-consciousness.

Another practice that we can and should choose is prayer.
Jesus taught a concept of prayer that had nothing to do with the unpredictable God of the Old Testament, who might just as easily decide to curse you as bless you.

However, when we look at current styles of prayer, we still find people employing prayers that beg, bargain, flatter, or are repeated over and over – as though there is a need to help God decide to look favorably upon them. Jesus did not teach that any of these things were necessary in order to reach God.
“Prayer is not something we do to God but to ourselves. It is not a position but a disposition. It is not flattery but a sense of oneness. It is not asking but knowing. It is not words but feeling. It is not will but willingness.”

In other words, the most important component in our prayers is not the words we say but the consciousness which lies behind them. In order for our prayers to be truly effective, they must be more than words we have memorized. They must come from a spiritually centered awareness that knows the Truth of its being and trusts God completely to know its needs without being told. “Prayer is not a way to turn on the light in God, but to turn on the light in you – and God is that light.”
Mary-Alice and Richard Jafolla remind us: “Since the beginning of time, people of all civilizations have prayed. From prayer beads to prayer wheels, from solemn Gregorian chants to foot-stomping gospel music…to the seeker quietly sitting cross-legged atop a mountain, there are as many ways of praying as there are people who pray.”
Prayer in its simplest form is any conscious attempt to experience the presence of God. Prayer is a deliberate activity – one of seeking to recognize our oneness with God, of opening ourselves to the power of God as it moves through us in new and wonderful ways.
Could be here. Could be in your back yard. Could be walking the beach or walking your dog.
Once this presence happens, however, prayer becomes something even more. As our awareness of the presence of God expands, prayer becomes the experience of being part of God, of centering ourselves directly in the creative flow of the universe, of perceiving things not with human eyes or human ears or human minds but from the divinity within us. We pray not to God or for God, as something separate from us, but from that sacred presence which is our very essence.

While historically we may have prayed to a Higher Power outside ourselves, imploring for things and outer changes in our lives, we are now discovering that this Power is omnipresent and dwells within each of us.

“We pray not to God or for God, as something separate from us, but from that sacred presence which is our very essence.”
And thus, Prayer helps us to remember the truth of who we are, and the truth of who everyone is. And in that remembering, we find healing.

The sages have told us: Know the One in your own heart, and then you will understand the heart of each person.
Know the One in your own mind; then you will recognize that One in each person’s mind.
Know the One in your own life; then you will experience that One in everyone else’s life.
When you recognize the divinity within yourself, then that is what you long to see in others; and due to that longing, that is what you are able to see in everyone else.
MEDITATION
There are handouts for those of you who would like these additional items:
I AM nonresistant toward troubling situations. Problems are solved as I listen to and follow my inner guidance. I rejoice in the activity of God’s love to harmonize, to heal, and to restore good in my life and in the world.
I am nonresistant toward appearances of illness or disease. I agree with the life idea and I am made whole and strong.
I am nonresistant toward appearances of lack. I accept the idea that the riches of the universe flow to me and through me.
I am nonresistant toward others. My eyes are opened with understanding. I see the good in them and I find points of agreement with them.
I am nonresistant toward world conditions. I see the outworking of peace and love among all people. Unity in oneness is being established everywhere.
I give thanks for my ability to be nonresistant, to be a peacemaker, to be a giver and receiver of the joys and blessings of God, our Father.

GREAT Morning Beloved!

Discover the Power Within You -The Great Choice

This weeks’ selection from “Discover the Power Within You” is so full of wonderful information, I could probably make many Lessons from it. But we are working our way toward Palm Sunday, so, maybe another time.

So, let’s start with a question or two…and you know I love a good question…What’s your attitude? What thoughts, things, ideas are you most interested in?
Do you even know?

Well, we ARE discussing Jesus’ ministry and when we want to know what someone believes, we often look at what their philosophy is, and so it’s a good idea to study their speeches.

To understand the philosophy of Jesus, we only need look at his Sermon on the Mount. This is the only sermon that Jesus gave that was written down, and it is possible that it was actually prepared, because it is well detailed & organized.

Why is this 8-verse prose/poem so important? Because it is a general summation of what Jesus is about…what he was trying to present to the people during his ministry.

We’re talking about the religion OF Jesus, not ABOUT Jesus. This version of Christianity is a transforming guide, not telling us what to do & not do, as in the Hebrew Bible, the ‘old’ testament; “Thou shall not…Thou shall” but showing us how to be, how to think.

The Beatitudes are a series of attitudes of being, states of mind…not theology but simple, direct teachings
They begin with blessed—to bless is to confer prosperity upon, to enrich.

You will be Blessed if you “condition your mind to the full acceptance of these attitudes…it is all the good that will come to you if you understand & live by these attitudes of BEING”

Let’s look at the Beatitudes and look at them from a different view:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is asking us to set aside our habits of thought, our views and prejudices, to release anything that can stand in the way of finding God.

Butterworth re-states it this way:
I am open and receptive to the inflow and the outpouring of all there is in God.

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Many people will not bother to learn the Truth until driven to do so by sorrow or failure. Sooner or later we all will discover the Truth about God…some of us must be driven to do so. This speaks of our ‘spiritual 2×4’s….we all have had them to some degree, me included.

Butterworth’s version:
I am grateful for challenges that lead me beyond my extremity to God’s opportunity.
(Sometimes I don’t feel very grateful at the time my ‘growth opportunities’ are presenting themselves!)

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. This is the Key to Life-Jesus’ message reduced to 1 sentence; earth here means manifestation of expression, it is the result of a cause. A cause has to be manifested or expressed before we can know anything about it. This is the Law of Cause & Effect…all causation is mental. So here this means to have dominion over the outer experience, over our conditions of life bringing them into harmony & success.

Butterworth’s version:
I am in tune with God – that which is God-inspired and God-directed shall prevail.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Righteousness – right thinking on all subjects, what you think in your mind you will produce in your experience…as within, so without. And we can only act where we are, so BE present!

Butterworth’s says it this way:
I seek with all my mind and heart, and I shall find.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Be merciful in thought, you will receive the same treatment that you mete out—do onto others; think onto others.

The Butterworth’s version:
I keep my thoughts centered upon only those things that I want to see manifest in my life.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. God is all around us, recognize God as the only Cause, only real Presence, only Power….Our 1st Principle.

Butterworth’s version:
I see the world, not as it is, but as I am, and I am in spiritual unity with God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons and daughters of God. Prayer is the only thing that changes one’s character, peacemakers are those who bring true peace in their own souls. As long as there is fear or resentment or any trouble in your heart, it is not possible to obtain much.

The word ‘Man’ comes from a Sanskrit word meaning ‘to think’….that is what these Beatitudes are all about…what and how we think.

I like this…
I am a child of God and I act like one. I am a radiating center of peace and love.
(peace begins with me)

Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. God’s will for us is harmony, peace & joy…these are obtained via right thoughts=righteousness; we ‘persecute ourselves’ via those same thoughts. We are not punished for our sins, our mistakes; but by them…
Butterworth’s version:
In my quest for truth, I press on past my humanity to a deepening awareness and an increasing releasement of my potential divinity.
What we get out of a situation is a direct result of our thoughts as we go through it.

Epictetus (epic teetus said: “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

Charles Fillmore reminds us: “God’s greatest gift to (hu)man(s) is the power of thought, through which (we) can incorporate into (our) consciousness the mind of God,”

‘Ye are the salt of the earth‘, we determine what our world is like, we flavor it like salt flavors our food. It only takes a handful of dedicated disciples to change the consciousness of the world, the flavor….we have seen this swing the opposite way with the nationalist movements throughout the world

But we can do our part to flavor our world. Jesus tells us to:
“Agree with thine adversary quickly”, remembering that the adversary is not the person or situation that stands before you, but your reaction to or your feeling about it… We can’t always control what happens to us. But we can control what we think about what happens – and what we are thinking is our life at any particular moment.” This is part of our ‘free will…we have a choice…always!
We can ask – “Is this event for us?”

Not ‘why is this happening to me, but what can I learn?’

Think of a time when you found yourself in the drama or an adversarial situation and were able to change your perception and experience a state of peace. It’s proof that YOU CAN DO IT!

“Thoughts and feelings held in mind produce after their kind.” This is the Law of Mind Action, or Unity’s Third Principle.

How does this apply to this week’s topic? Do our thoughts “create” our reality, or does how we see our reality create our experience?

The glass isn’t half full or half empty… the glass is refillable.
“Blame is not useful. Polarization is not useful. Bitterness and negativity are not useful. What’s useful in these perilous times is deep thought and dialogue. What’s useful is a willingness to speak from our hearts, to say out loud what we hunger for, what we’re willing to live for, and what it is we can no longer abide.”

— Jan Phillips in No Ordinary Time

Emmet Fox -we “must make each and every day a spiritual Sabbath by knowing and doing all things in a spiritual light.”

This is what we do here…show you to YOUR LIGHT. I am here to call you higher…to ask you to think.
All day long the thoughts that occupy your mind are molding your destiny for good or not; the whole of your life experience is but the outer expression of inner thought.
That choice, our free will, lies in our choice of thought – our lives are the result
I know there are some here who have an issue with the Bible; but we at Unity look at it as a manual for the growth of the soul, especially when we look at it through the eyes of metaphysics.
We are told in Proverbs 4:7 “With all thy getting, get understanding”
That is what Eric Butterworth is attempting to aid us in his ‘breaking down the law’ as Jesus is asking us to do in this Sermon, so we can shine our light
‘We are the light of the world’ so let your light shine…let your spirituality show.
Put feet to your prayers
Mahatma Gandhi tells us: “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.”

We are the activity of God, if we do not do as we claim we believe, then that God activity dies.
So, let your light shine. “What you are speaks so loudly that one cannot hear what you say” … Emerson

GREAT Morning Beloved!!

Discover the Power Within You – The Great Decision

Last week we talked about the great discovery, made by Jesus, that we are both human and divine. Or as the quotes by an unknown author wrote: “Know this, O Man, sole root of sin in thee is not to know thine own divinity!”
Why would our Creator do that…hide our divinity? I’ve wondered about that…have you? Can you think of any reasons that we would have to experience life, ……that we would have to go through the ‘growth opportunities’ that meet us along our path?

What is the reason?

Can you recall that we have ‘free choice’? Yes…we choose what is going to happen in our lives. We are the masters of our fate.

That’s heavy.

And those ‘growth opportunities’ are there to help us grow, sometimes MAKE us grow!

And we need to do that. We are here to experience life, which can be heaven, or it can be hell…. we choose.
But as we grow, awaken, reach into our divinity, we experience more heaven than hell…. right?

And we have help to experience more heaven…we forget that sometimes. We don’t even consider it a true possibility that there is help for us sometimes. And yet, there is. And as we become more open to that, more accepting, we more forward on that path, that journey.

So, with the Discovery that we are divine, this morning we want to discuss the Great Decision.
And what is the Great Decision? Let’s see….

I have mentioned before, one of my mentors use to say the we all have an ‘urge’ to discover our connection to God, no matter where we are on the spiral, moving ever forward towards complete enlightenment.

And scientists have hypothesized that human spirituality is influenced by heredity and that a specific gene, called vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), predisposes us towards spiritual or mystic experience.

That gene, that ‘urge’ is what leads us to at least ponder our Great Decision.

Paul wrote: “Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)

How often do we fall back on the belief, “I’m only human” and then move forward with a questionable act? Businesses that do things because ‘that’s the way things are if you want to be competitive’ or we hear of athletes bending the rules to get faster, stronger?

And you & I, what have we done that maybe we wish we could take back?

These are examples of conforming to the world.

But we know now that they were not ‘sins’ as we have been told, but mistakes, we missed the mark and now know more about our Truth. Now we know we are Divine.

And that Great Discovery brings us to the choice we need make if we wish to follow the Master…our Way-shower.

So, our Great Decision is to do that. To make that choice.

Jesus said, “Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)

And the freedom is the “inward motivation to tame the raw spiritual power that is within us, to harness our divine potential, and to move in the direction of our highest good.”

The way to do this renewing of our mind is the realization and the unfoldment of our own innate divinity. That means; for most, a radical and permanent change for the better in our own consciousness. Only by a change in consciousness can the outer conditions be altered.

Butterworth says this: “But you must still make that great decision to affirm your unity with the Infinite. You must still believe that I AM, and then work tirelessly to act the part. You must claim your freedom, realizing that it does not mean doing what you like, but becoming what you should.”

How do we become what we should? How do we demonstrate our divinity in the world?

Whether you call it “living within the license of a higher order of beings” or “changing the formula to get a different result”, the message is the same. We are called to recognize that we are more than we think, and therefore, we are capable of more than we think we are.

Butterworth explains this well when stating: “When we know the Truth of this great spiritual potential within us which Jesus called the Kingdom of God within, we are free to become our unlimited self, free to do unlimited things. We see things in a different light, we react to a different set of principles, we draw upon a higher potential, a potential that has always been within us, which has always really been us.”

What Jesus was showing us was a way to live a spiritual life every moment of every day. We can make the same decision as Jesus did, to live our lives as spiritual beings. This is Eric Butterworth’s “great decision” and it can radically change our world.

So back to the question of how do we do that? We’re doing it here this morning. Our times together help us to remember who we are, and what we’re capable of.

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame with in us.” – Albert Schweitzer

We try to do that each week as we gather for Service and Fellowship.

And, who we are and what we’re capable of can’t stay here, in this building, if we truly want to make a difference.
“We will never change the world by just going to church. We will only change it by being the church.” – Clergy Coaching Network

What does it mean to “be the church”?

What does our opening statement say…?

We affirm that each person is a beloved child of God. Each person is here for a special reason and purpose. When we do that which is ours to do, we make a positive difference in the world.

When we do that which is ours to do…that is the Great Decision…doing what is ours to do. If we are true Christians, we are following WHAT JESUS TAUGHT.

Have you figured what is yours to do yet? Do you know how to make a difference here, at Unity?

Think about the times I remind us all what we do when we walk out that door. How do we interact with the humanity we encounter? With patience and at the very least caring? Or do we lose it as soon as we encounter an impatient driver? Or an upset spouse or partner?

And how do we interact with the creatures that share this wonderful blue marble whirling around in the cosmos? Are we gentle with them? Do we have compassion where we are able? Do we thank them that provide our sustenance?

We may think we can’t change…but we can. We can do what we truly want.

“You’re not stuck. You’re just committed to certain patterns of behavior because they helped you in the past. Now those behaviors have become more harmful than helpful. The reason why you can’t move forward is because you keep applying an old formula to a new level in your life. Change the formula to get a different result.” – Emily Maroutian

Are you stuck in a pattern? Are you ready to change that pattern? Make the Great Decision.

Great Morning Beloved!!

“Discover the Power Within You – A Guide to the Unexplored Depths Within”
Maya Angelou was a student, and admirer, of Eric Butterworth. If you wish to learn more about the influence Unity had on her, search online for Maya Angelou & Unity. You can read about her discovery of Unity and listen and watch the interview by Oprah regarding it.
Maya wrote the Foreword for the 40th Anniversary edition of this book. In part, she said this: “Butterworth was a 20th century Emerson. His mission was to help others realize their spiritual potential and to empower the world through spiritual growth. His teachings focused on what a human being is and what a human being can do to live abundantly.”

Rev. Butterworth is considered one of Unity’s great authors and leaders. This book, “Discover the Power Within You – A Guide to the Unexplored Depths Within” is considered a classic.

Butterworth starts his book with this statement: “The hope of mankind today lies in the great undiscovered depths within.”
What are your thoughts on that statement?

Within…. Some of us, actually, most of us are just discovering that WITHIN.
You recall the Hindu legend about our hidden divinity being placed in the one place we wouldn’t look…within us. This insinuation is we will go to great lengths searching for that one thing that drives us…but to look within, well…there’s work to do there.

Even two thousand years ago, the philosopher Epictetus (epic tee tus) knew: “You are a distinct portion of the essence of God; and contain part of Him in yourself. Why then, are you ignorant of your noble birth? Why do you not consider whence you came? Why do you not remember, when you are eating, who you are who eat; and whom you feed? Do you not know that it is the Divine you feed; the Divine you exercise? You carry God about with you… and know nothing of it.”

We are beginning a seven-week series on discovering our divinity…or maybe we should say remembering or re-discovering …because it’s been there, within us all this time, just waiting for our Great Discovery.
We’ll be looking at how Jesus demonstrated this understanding of his own divinity and encouraged us to understand and demonstrate ours. We’ll ask the question: “What did Jesus really teach?”

The power of God, that essential spirit, is within each of us. We have a choice…we can ignore it, or we can draw upon it and choose to grow…grow into our awareness of who and what we truly are.

This book, Discover the Power Within You, and others like it, invites us to know our divinity. That’s the first step in discovering our power, our greatness. That’s the Great Discovery.

Butterworth posits that Jesus is our greatest example of the great discovery. And we have said that many times over through the years….thus we call Him our Way-shower.

Imagine Jesus as a young boy, pondering the wonders of the world, when his consciousness brings an idea to him so great, He probably didn’t catch its full implications at first. It was the concept leading to the full realization of His unity with God.
Up to this point, we humans existed in the consciousness of separation from God. We could pray to God, talk to God and receive help and guidance from God. God was always up there, and we were down here.
Fichte (fish ta) said, “an insight into the absolute unity of man with the divine is the profoundest knowledge that man can attain.”

Embracing our divinity, our Christ within, is not a one-shot deal. We have probably figured that out by now!
We need to be reminded over and over again that, as Dr. Roger Walsh, professor of Psychiatry, Philosophy and Anthropology observes, we are more than we think…
1. There are two realms of reality – the everyday realm which we are all familiar with, and another realm, another world that cannot be known through the physical senses. Call it Spirit, Mind, the Tao or Consciousness, this realm is unbounded by space, or time or physical laws.
2. Human beings partake of both realms. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. We have bodies, but at the core of our being, we have a center of transcendent awareness. This is the Divine spark. We are not divorced from the sacred but eternally and intimately linked to it.
3. Human beings can recognize this divine spark and the sacred ground that is its source. In other words, we don’t have to believe this philosophy on faith. We can experience this other realm for ourselves, by careful introspection, or what the Hindus call self-inquiry. This knowledge of the divine does not come from book learning, but rather through direct experience. (Or what Father Rohr called “learning to think like Jesus.”)
4. And finally, the perennial philosophy’s fourth claim is that realizing our spiritual nature is the highest goal and greatest good of human existence. Besides this, all other goals pale.

This then is the goal of “Discover the Power Within You” – This is not power about exerting our will over others, it is about being in complete truth with yourself.
It’s to help us to realize this truth about ourselves – that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. So, this work isn’t to deny our humanity, but to embrace it within the context of our innate spirituality.
Butterworth’s premise of the Great Discovery is that Jesus was not the exception to humanity, but the example for all humanity. Jesus was a teacher who made this wonderful discovery and then attempted not only to tell us all that we had this same potential; He gave us simple steps to take to realize it and be transformed by that power—-the power of our own divinity.
When Jesus said, “follow me” He is referring to our acceptance of the high level of consciousness that He achieved. He is not the moon, so to speak, but is asking us to look as He is pointing to the moon. Maybe saying… “this is the way”.
When He becomes the object of worship, He ceases to be the way-shower. This is a major difference between Unity and other Christian based religions or practices. We do not worship Him, we follow him.

This splendid spiritual discovery can be unfolded through self-realization and self-discipline. There is no short cut to the Kingdom. Growth is an unfoldment.
Meister Eckhart reminds us that there was never an ‘only begotten’ but there is the eternal begetting…
The only begotten is spiritual human, the Christ principle. We all, always have within us the infinite Christ potential.

What does all this mean? Quoting Dr. Walsh, “The words differ from one tradition to another, but their central message is the same -you are more than you!” We have underestimated ourselves, and each other. All the traditions agree that this discovery of our selves is the supreme joy and greatest goal of human life.
Jesus stressed a spiritual philosophy that is ‘you-centered’. We can’t just believe things about Jesus, we must come to believe about ourselves what He believed about himself.

You all have an opportunity to participate in this series.
I’m encouraging you to embrace a couple of practices.
First have a practice of regular meditation, be willing to create one. Even if it’s just sitting in the silence for 15 minutes a day.
Second, this series might bring up some old “stuff” around Jesus and religion and sin and who knows what! So, keeping a journal might be helpful. I’m available if you need to talk.
Use the weekly study guides, available on the Information Table, to deepen your exploration of this work.
I am here on Wednesdays and Fridays if you wish to chat about anything and appointments can be arranged. If anyone wishes to start a discussion group around this series, let me know.

GREAT Morning Beloved!
What’s Love Got to do with it?

A college professor had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. They were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’s future. In every case the students wrote, “He hasn’t got a chance.”

Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He had his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to those boys.

With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors, and businessmen.

The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further.

Fortunately, all the men were in the area, and he was able to ask each one, “How do you account for your success?”
In each case the reply came with feeling, “There was a teacher.”

The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the elderly but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement.

The teacher’s eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. “It’s really very simple,” she said. “I loved those boys.” (Chicken Soup for the Soul)

We often poo-poo the power of love, yet many more stories like this prove the power it has. And we are aware that love & connection are one of the basic needs of humans.

We in Unity talk about the power of Love. We affirm that we are love because we come from love…God is only LOVE and we are of God.

Everyone has their own idea of what Love is. In the 21st century, many seem to have their own definition of the word “love”—from popular talk show hosts to your garden variety psychologists and self-styled pop icons, everyone wants to weigh in. Even you and me!

Our English language is lacking in having only one word, LOVE, that really expands over many ideas and definitions. The Greeks have 6 words for the different types of love and in Spanish there are 11words just nouns for love, that doesn’t include verbs and all the side meaning of affection.

Think for a moment what LOVE means to you….

In an age when words speak much louder than actions, it’s high time we return to the only one who can truly define “love”—the One who created it:

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–8)

Now place that definition before the meaning you had a moment ago….how do you compare?
I’m guessing closer that we think.

In our human form, love often takes on our needs…and rightly so, to a point. On a human level we do have certain needs to be successful humans.

But I believe part of that ‘need’ is also to give….to give love.

Most of you know that my belief about love is in the verb…loving. I believe many of societies issues can be lessened by giving love.

1 John 3:18: “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue. but in deed and in truth.”

And that giving can be simple…for example; many of you here give in many ways, from participating in the Service as Greeters, Platform Assistants, to Fellowship helpers bringing food to share and cleaning up after, providing flowers, leading groups, sharing food and clothing and pet food and backpack items and items for our Service people, and playing games during Game Night…oh yes! That is sharing love too.
All that is happening here.

But you do much more…think now….where do you share your love?

Unity believes that Jesus had the right idea about LOVE. He asked us to love God and love each other.

Jesus did not send us into the world to make believers but to make disciples. We can worship Jesus without doing the things he says. We can believe in him and still not follow him.

In fact, there’s a passage in Corinthians that says, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

SO how did we get to “what’s love got to do with it?” That kind of minimalizes love, doesn’t it?
Haven’t we minimalized the ‘real love’ that is our Principle? Are we really following what our Way-shower has asked us to do?

The important becomes trivial, and then the trivial becomes important.

We got where we are when loving people and loving God and really knowing what that means becomes minimized. Then possessions and power and prestige and what people think and what you wear and what schools your kids go to and how you’re doing, produces these demands where we start living lives that are a shadow of who we really are.
What we want to do is flip that…to minimalize ‘things’ and maximize love. –

When we talk about purposely, specifically loving other people in authentic ways – some of the trivial things all of a sudden lose their luster. Who cares about this or that, when love is really happening?

How do we then maximize love, so love becomes what’s important and some of those trivial, less important things, diminish in their priority and demand on your life.

I believe the key is learning to love…to Be loving

The way love works is, love celebrates our differences. Love looks at different people and realizes that every one of them is important and they’re different colors and they’re different shapes, but love celebrates differences and love refuses to compare

Jesus demonstrated love’s power to bless and heal ourselves and all those around us. He said one of the greatest commandments is to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Jesus further commanded his disciples to “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

Ancient and modern-day prophets alike have spoken about this concept of unconditional love for others. St. Francis of Assisi prayed: “Where there is hatred, let me sow love.” In his book, Strength to Love, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spelled out a formula for loving your enemies: “Hatred cannot drive away hatred; only love can do that.”

We can all do our part in sharing love. There are as many ways as there are people in this room. And if you think you can’t get past something and change it to love, consider this:

Anthony Ray Hinton in his book, The Sun Does Shine. After spending 28 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit, Hinton was exonerated in 2015. When he was initially sentenced, he asked to speak to the court and proceeded to forgive each one of those who held his life and his fate in their hands. He told them he didn’t hate them, and, in fact, he said he loved them. During nearly three decades behind bars, he taught his fellow death row inmates the power of unconditional love through Bible and book studies.

A white supremacist who was about to be executed was asked whether he had any final words. He was one of the men Hinton had befriended, and he observed that the very people he had been taught to hate were the ones who, in prison, taught him how to love.

As Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore wrote: “Love is the great harmonizer and healer … love will bring your own to you, adjust all misunderstandings, and make your life and your affairs healthy, happy, harmonious, and free”.

If we choose to be happy, we must help others find happiness. If we desire to be loved, we must spread that love around.
The story is told of a farmer whose corn each year earned the winning prize at the state fair. One year, a reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew his corn. The farmer told the reporter that he shared his prize-winning seed corn with his neighbors.

When asked why, the farmer explained: “The wind picks up the pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If the neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”

The same is true for the way we live our lives. If we wish to live in peace and harmony, we must help our neighbors, families and friends do the same.

See it as opportunity in every situation.

GREAT Morning Beloved!

The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity – A Simple Guide to Unlimited Abundance

Here we are, the final Law of Prosperity – Finding Your Divine Purpose.

This has been an interesting venture through Rev. Gaines’ book. Lots of wisdom so far, and I do not believe it has ended.

This final Law is about Passion and reminds us of the need for Commitment.

At one time or another you’ve probably asked yourself, What is the purpose of my life? What is its meaning? Why am I here on Earth, and what am I supposed to be doing?”

Chances are, you work hard, whether you take care of a household or have a job outside of the home. Your days are filled with seemingly endless chores and tasks like getting the oil changed in your car and going to the grocery store. Perhaps sometimes, when you get tired or stressed out, life can seem like just one long and meaningless “to do” list with a bland retirement and a gold-plated watch at the end of it.

You may have a sense that given the right circumstances, you could do much more than you are doing now. Perhaps you long to make a real difference in the world, to assign meaning to your life, and to listen to the yearnings of your very soul.

All of the great and wise people who ever made a difference on planet Earth heard their souls’ yearnings and chose a purpose for their lives. People such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela seem to have been driven by a self-defined purpose that they chose for themselves. Now, we often think of such people with a sense of awe and respect as if they were somehow different from us — better, smarter, saintly, or more courageous. Sometimes they hardly seem human. But the truth is that the only real difference between you and those people is that they all seemed to have a clearly defined life purpose that they selected for themselves and then embraced with steadiest dedication and unshakeable determination.

You have that very same opportunity as well. Every single one of us has some special gift, some special interest, some special talent, some special way of impacting this world, so that it becomes a better place for everyone. You have the potential to live at the level of Gandhi or Mother Teresa. The question you must ask yourself is, “Am I willing to define, embrace, and hold fast to my divine purpose, prayerfully, persistently, and patiently?” If the answer is yes, then the seemingly impossible truly can become possible in your life.

Now, finding and following your divine purpose is different from setting your goals. A goal is a tangible desire with an end result, but your divine purpose is really a way of living.

For example, a goal might be to learn to paint with watercolors, but your divine purpose might be to bring joy to peoples’ lives through your art. Another goal might be to get a PhD, but the divine purpose would be to live in the world of the intellect, the world of ideas. Your goals have finite deadlines, but your divine purpose is something that you will be working with and growing with for the rest of your life.

Rev. Gaines relates, “Years ago, a teacher explained to me that if I wanted to fully realize my potential in this lifetime, the first thing I had to do was look out upon my world (understanding that we all look out through our own consciousness to see different worlds) and notice all the things that need healing, or fixing, or transforming.”

“Very frankly, I see that a multitude of areas where we as a human family need to direct our attention, change our priorities, get rid of the systems and concepts that are not working, and begin anew.”

“The task, then, my teacher instructed, is that after looking carefully at the world, we must pick out one thing that we feel needs transforming, something that would be fun for us to get involved in repairing, shifting, restructuring, fixing, and perfecting. Please note the use of the word fun. This is not about martyrdom or great personal sacrifice. It is about focus, joy, and a sense of purposeful possible achievement.”

Next, we must take a bold step and make a 100 percent commitment to “fixing” the problem we have identified, followed by devoting our energies, time, talents, skills, and money to transforming that one piece of the earthly puzzle. Even as you’re working toward solving the problem, keep in mind that what is really important is not whether the problem ever gets solved; it’s that you are working toward the solution with dedication and persistence.

An example would be to help clean the world for future generations…by recycling as much as possible and watching what you purchase and how it is packaged!
Keep in mind, it is YOUR solution. It may seem small, but it is a step in the right direction. We at Unity suggest helping with Fellowship or being a Greeter as a step toward getting involved as a Volunteer. Then step into what calls to you on a deeper level.

When you choose your divine purpose, you are framing your life with meaning. You are also taking an important step in your spiritual development: to demonstrate to yourself that you are a divine being and to prove to yourself that you have the power to affect change — that you are bigger, stronger, more powerful, and more creative than you thought.

It was Emerson who said, “Oh Man! There is no planet, sun or star could hold you, if you but knew what you are.” There is nothing in the universe that could hold us, if only we knew our true power and stepped into it.

Passion is involved with this commitment…it must be. If you are not passionate about the activity, you will not commit. Charles called it Zeal, one of our 12 Powers.

So, it’s whatever we feel strongly about, a direction we feel compelled to take, or an activity we find fascinating and absorbing, step forward toward it. That focus + enthusiasm is the strongest possible force for creating what we desire in our lives – including money.

Ever heard the expression “do what you love, and the money will follow”? Well, there is a lot of truth in that. Your passion creates a channel in your energy fields, and the more you focus, the stronger and deeper the channel. This makes it easier to do what you are passionate about.

Most of us have a pretty clear idea of what we are passionate about, because it’s what we naturally enjoy and/or feel happy doing. We each have an affinity or talent for certain interests or activities: music, dancing, writing, physics, toy trains. When you engage in your passions, your inner being is saying “yes!”, guiding you in the direction of your divine blueprint.

So, what are you passionate about? What fills you with focus, joy and excitement? That is a great indicator of what you are here to do on this planet. We each have a specific assignment; there is something only you can do within the overall assignment of the human race to recreate heaven on earth.

Obviously, you are going to have the best and most excellent life if you follow your divine blueprint. The way to figure that out is by following your passions. You don’t have to explain them, justify them: your passions are sufficient in themselves.

What you are passionate about indicates your desires, and your desire nature is a direct connection between your human self and your divine self.

The only way you can get direct guidance is through your emotions – through what you want and don’t want, through what you are passionate about. Passion not only shows you where to go, it keeps you on track towards getting there.
Passion has seven components: love, knowledge, desire, excellence, focus, vision and integration. So, if your passions are not sufficiently clear to you, if you are not aware of what you are here to do, then ask yourself:

1. What do I LOVE more than anything else?

2. What do I KNOW better than anyone else?

3. What do I DESIRE, want, crave, feel attracted to?

4. What do I EXCEL AT? What do I learn or do with natural ease?

5. What do I FOCUS ON whether I consciously intend to or not?

6. What do I SEE that others don’t? What is my vision for my perfect world? What problems am I aware of for which I may be part of the solution?

7. What do I need to INTEGRATE? Integration means getting your system lined up with what you want, on all levels.
All great questions that can guide us to our passion.

So, what does this have to do with money and prosperity? Well, if our passions indicate what we are here to do, then it’s not possible we are sent to do something without the resources to do it. Money, prosperity and abundance enable us fulfill our assignments and bring our passions into manifestation.

So, it makes sense that focusing on your passions will open the conduit through which money and abundance can flow into your life to support those assignments.

God doesn’t limit our abundance – we do. God doesn’t say to a tree “if you lose any of those leaves, I’m not giving you more!”

We are here to learn how to co-create, and we cannot do that unless and until we put some conscious effort into our creations. Spiritual progress is just like anything else: you have to start small and build up your willingness, ability, talent and experience so that you can take larger and larger steps into manifestation.

Commitment plays a crucial role in each aspect of our journey – to tithe every time money comes into your life; to set goals & then move outside your comfort zone to achieve them; to forgive those who have hurt you in the past & to work to forgive yourself

So, add living according to your divine purpose. Step with integrity, the universe will open a way.
You are moving from a commitment to survive to a commitment to prosper

A commitment verbalized automatically creates its own support team. Said with faith & conviction, it draws people, ideas, coincidences & synchronicity to you

God is ready when you are & verbalizing is the signal.

“Courage is the commitment to begin, without any guarantee of success.” Goethe

‘Listen’ to the signals spirit is giving you to be a beneficial presence on earth. There are “go’ signals, ‘stop’ signals and ‘wait’ signals. Listen carefully to your guidance.

“Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit.” Mary Lou Retton

So, there you have the four spiritual laws of prosperity. Try these spiritual laws for just three months and see how quickly your income goes up – and your spiritual fulfillment, too!

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!
The Spiritual Laws of Prosperity

It’s time we look at the Law that many people have an issue with.
We’ve discussed Spiritual Laws of Prosperity #1 & 2, tithing & giving and setting clear-cut goals. Now it’s time for the 3rd Law, Forgiveness and Worthiness.

Could having to do forgiveness work of feelings of unworthiness be what is blocking you around money and abundance – many of us still have some questions of worthiness? Maybe have some forgiveness work to do too.

Worthiness means having value or merit. We often question our worthiness and lack of self-esteem. And that lack can often come when our lives seem to be less than fulfilled. Maybe things just aren’t going our way. Maybe we have money issues or relationship issues, or both!

Often this will tie into the fact that we have blocked our flow of good because we have not forgiven others …or ourselves for perceived or real slights.

Time to do that forgiveness work.

What is forgiveness? By definition, to forgive is to overlook, pardon or excuse a slight, offense, hurt, mistake, crime, or transgression. In the Christian tradition, we are told to forgive others, even unto seventy times seven. Notice that there is no requirement for the supposedly offending party to repent or express remorse. It’s OUR job to forgive, no matter what the other person does or doesn’t do.

Forgiving is actually a highly-evolved position.

When we look at the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament and many similar religious traditions, vengeance is more highly valued than reconciliation. Jesus came to complete the old Law and introduced a new commandment: to love one another. Forgiveness is an integral part of this. After all, almost the last thing Jesus is reported to have said was, “Forgive them; they know not what they do.”

Studies have shown that negative thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors affect our mental and physical health, our success and our self-worth.

Richard Smoley, author and philosopher, suggests: “Think of forgiveness like housecleaning. When clutter builds up in your house, you throw or give away things you no longer need. Forgiveness is essentially the same process. When you carry grievances and grudges, you have a lot of things going on inside that are not doing you any good. In fact, they are poisoning you. Make a point to release grievances and grudges. Getting rid of the mind’s clutter and filth will lead you to greater happiness.”

Now, what does this have to do with prosperity? Well, unforgiveness means you are dwelling on your hurts and offences, instead of being thankful for your blessings and all the parts of your life that make you feel good.
Whatever you focus on expands in your life, (thoughts held in mind produce after their kind) so if you are focused on feeling hurt or worried, the universe assumes you want more of that.

Eric Butterworth reminds us, “It is not the incident but the memory of it that causes the effects of it today. The moment it is dropped from your consciousness, it is gone from the only place it ever existed.”

Divine Spirit is forgiving, so if you stick with unforgiveness, then you are not in alignment with your divine nature. You cannot be at your brightest and best if you are operating at the low frequency of unforgiveness.
Now, forgiveness doesn’t mean that you condone what someone has done. It doesn’t let the other person off the hook of their own conscience. It DOES mean that you no longer intend to carry that grudge or unforgiveness around with you, poisoning your life.

It means you care enough about yourself to smooth out your energy fields and focus on what you want to experience in your life NOW, rather than the hurts and offences of the past.

In fact, forgiveness is more about you than the person you are hurt by or annoyed at. Holding onto unforgiveness is like poking yourself in the eye and wondering why it doesn’t hurt the person you’re not forgiving. There you are, fuming, and the other person doesn’t even notice! How annoying is that?!

And speaking of eyes, remember this? “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

We look at others doing what we are judging instead of minding our own business. Who’s business is it? Byron Katie asks that question…it’s either yours, theirs or God’s. And there are way more things that are not your than are….

Refusing your forgiveness doesn’t actually solve the problem or situation that needs it. It just keeps you stuck in resentment and pain. Meanwhile, that stuckness blocks the flow of prosperity and blessing in your life.
Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that you give them permission to hurt or abuse you; it just means that you aren’t spending any more of your precious time and energy focused on feeling hurt, indignant or wronged. You’re lightening your load by dumping that luggage overboard!

Start by forgiving everyone you have ever put outside your heart, no matter what the reason or how justified the grudge. Imagine that each piece of unforgiveness is like a potato that you are carrying around in a plastic bag. After a week or so, those potatoes are pretty slimy and vile, right? So throw them out! Chuck them through the nearest window right now – with sound effects! (You need actions to engage your right brain and sounds to engage your left brain; actions and sounds together integrate both sides of your brain.)

Make a start by forgiving everyone in your past, in your family, and at work. Forgive God (or your concept of God) for hurting, ignoring, or abandoning you when you didn’t understand any better; forgive yourself for any hurts you have caused to another, or any self-sabotage in your own life. Throw out those rotten potatoes every day and see how much lighter you feel!

And start from where you are. Rev. Gaines suggests, If there is someone you really can’t seem to forgive, try saying, “I forgive you, you sorry SOB!” If you do this every day for a week, the next week it may be easier to simply say, “I forgive you”, the following week you might start to believe it.

Try saying this before bedtime….
For whatever harm I have caused others, may they forgive me.
For whatever harm others have caused me, may I forgive them.
For whatever harm I have caused myself, I forgive myself.

When people hurt you, there are only two reasons: either there is a misunderstanding, or the person is a sociopath. As the latter is relatively rare, chances are good that there is some kind of misunderstanding… and once you stop thinking people set out to hurt you deliberately, those misunderstandings are easier to forgive.

We must realize that no one can hurt us unless we allow them to hurt us.
We must realize that no one can hurt us unless we allow them to hurt us.
Feel betrayed? How are you betraying yourself?

She says:
No one can steal from you unless you are a thief
No one can cheat you unless you are a cheat
No one can gossip about you unless you are a gossip
Think about it…..she uses the time we steal from others complaining or gossiping as example.

The people who do us wrong are our teachers…we can learn valuable spiritual lessons about compassion and understanding from them.

To Clean your inner psyches ask:
1. Whom am I blaming?

2. What am I blaming this person for?

3. Why am I blaming this person?

4. Who hurt me?

5. Why did I allow this person to hurt me?

6. What do I need to forgive, in myself, in my parents, in the government, and in my world?

7. Whom have I hurt?

8. Why did I hurt this person?

9. In what ways do I punish myself and others?

If you have any kind of debt, look for the unforgiveness that is keeping it in place. In her book, Rev. Gaines tells the story of finding out she was liable for her ex-husband’s debts to the tune of $60, 000. After getting over her rage and disbelief, she decided to forgive her way out of debt – and she did. Forgiveness is key to clearing debts.

Try it yourself! Instead of holding onto your grudges, see how quickly you can clear them! Give yourself the challenge of finding out how fast you can free yourself from debt by releasing the chains of unforgiveness. At the very least, you will feel better, lighter, and more able to move forward into your divine abundance.

This is freedom from the bondage of the past. What you have been is not important. All that counts in your life is what you are reaching for, what you are becoming. With forgiveness, we can let go of the past and turn to other, more important issues

Keep in mind, forgiveness is something you do for yourself

Here are her 5 forgiveness techniques:
1. Writing, speaking & listening to forgiveness affirmations help to begin the forgiveness process
2. Every night ask, Have I put anyone outside my heart today? Forgive yourself for the judgment, release the need to control others’ behavior-none of your business
3. At least once a year, do a complete forgiveness inventory of your entire life; go through your entire life checking feelings and memories to see if someone was overlooked to be forgiven.
4. Forgive yourself…share with at least one other person, someone trustworthy and chosen with care, and share with them for your peace of mind. They are only an impartial listener. Just the telling can release it
5. Ask God for help

Forgiveness is about shifting out of our human tendency to wallow in a victim state so that our minds are clear enough to come to realize that we can have what we want…the Universe is asking us what do you want every day.
In the Bible, Solomon asked for an understanding heart…what does that mean? An understanding heart is that you cannot blame anyone for anything….especially yourself! Live in a constant state of forgiveness.

I’ve included an insert with your Bulletin today with affirmations and a Forgiveness Journal. The Journal helps clear what we need to forgive … in ourselves and with others.

Forgiveness Journal:
I am through feeling guilty about:
I am over feeling sorry for myself:
I am no longer going to blame _____________ for:
I am finished with all sadness about:
I forgive my parents for:
I release all suffering about:
Above all, I forgive myself once and for all for:___________________________
It is done!

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!

The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity – A Simple Guide to Unlimited Abundance

Law 2: Setting Clear-cut Goals

Welcome back to our discussion on Rev. Edwene Gaines’ Spiritual Laws of Prosperity.

Last week we reviewed her thoughts on tithing and giving. We were reminded that prosperity is a spiritual law and that everyone is subject to these same spiritual laws.
And according to Rev. Gaines those Spiritual Laws are:
1. Tithing and giving
2. Setting clear goals
3. Forgiveness & worthiness
4. Finding your divine purpose

So, this week, we look at the 2nd Law, Setting Clear Goals.

Rev. Gaines has much to say about setting goals. Once the flow of good is flowing through tithing and giving, setting goals creates a vessel with which to catch that goodness!

Setting goals will require some work on our part. Time set a sided to get to know YOU & what you really want. This can be fun — you get to daydream & let you mind wander, childlike. You get to be creative, to dream big & experience your own divine nature.

As an expression of our Creator, anything is possible, yet we too often stop ourselves short of our dreams with thoughts of: to old, no money, too many mistakes in our past, married, not married, no education….the list goes on & on.

But anything is possible.

Goethe – “Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.”
So, do not limit yourself in your imagination of what you are dreaming of in your life.

Ask yourself:
“If money were no object, if time or responsibility or age or education were no concern, what would my life look like? What would the life of my dreams be?”

Be specific. No concerns regarding should or shouldn’t. I like her statement: “When you’re hungry for chocolate cake, you don’t have to give a reason. You just want chocolate cake!”

So here are her guidelines for goal setting:
1. Write down all your desires. Have a notebook & keep it with you. Writing down your ideas will send a powerful message to your subconscious mind that the world is an abundant place & all things are truly possible.

2. Choose your most important desires & list them in order of importance to you, being very specific & clear. (maybe 10 or 12 to start) Then ask “what action could I take that would show I mean business? Then take
it!…sending a clear message to your subconscious & the Universe that you mean business.

3. Consider what changes you might need to make in order to achieve your goals. Ask prayerfully what must change. Be honest & answer with authenticity

4. Choose a date to achieve the goal-one that you genuinely believe can work- this sends a strong statement to you & God. If you set a date that makes sense to you & the goal does not show by the date, you must do another self-apprasal, asking God for guidance as to what needs to be done & then listen carefully.

5. Read your list of goals at least 3 times every AM & PM, giving them the power of affirmations. This keeps them in the forefront of your mind & draws power to it (Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind)

6. Imagine yourself achieving each goal. Visioning works, just look at our athletes…and Kathleen just held a visioning board workshop…perfect timing.

7. Act as if you have already achieved your goals. Believe that you receive. Act as if.

8. Don’t tell others. This is between you & your God. Goal-setting requires a leap of faith that might be criticized by others who would not understand this process.

9. Cross off the goals as they are achieved and add news ones. This is not a one-time activity, but an ongoing process. The Universe is constantly moving – in circulation and congestion…keep the movement going in a positive direction.

10. Remember God’s highest Law is LOVE. God wants what is best for us.

This is not about being materialistic…it’s about being open to the blessings that are ours to claim. So even though you might want to ask for inner peace, that’s something you already have…just be it. Do what needs to be done to be aware of the peace you have. Peace of mind or being more loving is a choice….just do it.

We already have all the wisdom, intelligence, faith, peace and love there is. Just be it.

Rev. Gaines advises going on a 21-day fast from anger, gossip, cheating, and hostility. This will prepare us by cleansing our mind of thoughts that could hinder our success. Only when we have cleared our thoughts can we have only good intentions in our heart and on our mind, can we specify what it is we truly want—and figure out how we can go about accomplishing and achieving those things.

The success of setting clear-cut goals is evident in the experiences shared in her book. Here’s one:
Pg. 85-91

Rev. Gaines shares several other stories about her experiences of goal setting and that of others. It simply is following Jesus’ teaching: “Ask and you shall receive.”

She reminds us of Jesus who could have healed everyone but only healed those who asked…..and they asked with a heart filled with love.

So, remember, you always get what you pray for, maybe not how you expected.
And do your part by tithing on all money,
do your inner work, being self-responsible…
be specific in what you want,
be childlike in your dreaming,
and never lose sight that Love is God’s ultimate Law.
Now, lets dream for a bit…