On Being Receptive

Have you ever heard of the guidance that those who follow the earth religions say to do when the moon is full, and you wish to increase your blessings? Take an empty bucket or large pot and place it in the rays of the moon. This is indicating you are willing and receptive to receive blessings.
Of course, it’s probably not as easy as that, but the key words are willing and receptive. And we certainly do not need an empty pot to let Spirit know we are willing to receive our blessings, just an open heart. But sometimes we need a visual.
Either way, we’re going to talk about being receptive today, thanks to Greg and the book he lent me by best-selling author and TV host, Iyanla Vanzant. He originally emailed me some copied pages from her book, “Until Today-Daily Devotionals for Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind.” Those pages were part of a month of messages about being receptive in all sorts of situations.
That was the result of my mentioning that I needed ideas for my Messages. And the book is full of them, well at least 12, one basic idea for each month. Might have to purchase the book for myself.
So, back to being receptive. Each day of the month of May, in this case, starts with “I am now receptive to the idea that…” And then what follows is the ‘topic’ for that day, like…doing our best, that what we seek is seeking us, that asking for help is best done before the need is great, and many more.
I like the idea of being receptive. One reason is my ‘word’ from the White Stone Ceremony this past January is ‘willing.’ So, my intention is to be willing to see and acknowledge what I am being blessed by and with. And being willing is certainly along the same lines as being receptive.
What does be receptive mean to you?

According to the dictionary it means “being willing (there’s my word) to consider or accept new suggestions and ideas; being able or willing to receive something, especially a signal.”

If we look back through our lives, we can probably recall times when we failed to be receptive to the signals, ideas, or suggestions that the Divine Universe was placing before us. We weren’t ready, we trusted our ego and our domestication instead of what Spirit was placing before us.
It could have been an idea or suggestion as to how to help a friend in need.
Maybe how to get along better with family members.
Or guidance as to ‘what was ours to do’ find a job or go to school, for example.

There are many possibilities for the guidance that comes forth if we are simply open to it. But too often, we are closed off from that part of our consciousness.
And why is that, do you think?
Most likely, it has to do with fear.

You may ask, what could fear have to do with whether I am receptive or not?
Fear prevents us from letting go… letting go of things, people, situations that no longer serve our spiritual journey, but we cling to them anyway.

I’m not sure why we do that. I have to figure out if I am being willing to receive just as you all do.
But one thing is, we would have no excuse for not doing the things we must because fear can keep us running, hiding, hoping, wishing, trying with little or no success because we are clinging to what was, not moving forward.
Holding on can be mental, emotional and/or physical.

Let’s start easy…look around you. What are you holding onto? Is there a picture of an ex that still haunts you? Have you travelled back and over situations and conversations with them, trying to find where you could have done something differently? Dredged up your regrets?

Look at the mementos in your house. What is there because it reminds you of a good memory and which item brings up a memory with mixed, maybe even negative emotions?
Why hold onto something with negative energy?
And maybe ask, why am I holding onto that period!
Simple can be freeing. Releasing the energy of items and not so pleasant memories can help clear your chakras.
If you are into Feng Shui, you know that our chi needs space to flow properly.

This is a good time to ask look at what needs to be released.
Make a list of all the things you think you need and identify your excuses for holding onto them. We’re not talking about necessities now…but let’s call them extras.
Like why do I have Harry Potter items around my house? And dragons? If the answer is legitimate, I keep them and move to the next item.
For each, ask if those excuses are legitimate?
Do the same, as you can, for the thoughts and memories you have about your past, former friends and lovers, situations that going over and over again and again do absolutely nothing for your souls journey and release them all.

This is not something that you can do in a day, so take your time, but be adamant about doing it. Because we want to release what no longer serves…if not, we block our future possibilities like new adventures, new friends, further abundance and blessings.

If you are afraid to lose what you have, that means your consciousness is based on lack…that there is not enough to go around.

That’s hard to let go of if your domestication is based on it.

Allow yourself to imagine what your life would be like if your hands and heart were to receive something better than what you are holding onto right now. Let that feeling penetrate your being and go with it.

Wonderful, right? No reason why that can’t be so. It’s up to you.
Let’s clear out the thoughts and memories that are holding us back.

I’ll end with this, from May 30th: The affirmation: “I am now receptive to the idea that…some things never grow old. They just get better and go deeper.”

A version of the 10 commandments that may aid you in keeping from closing off from being receptive.

And the text is a Ten Commandments for the New Millennium
1. Thou shalt make it your business to get in touch with God first each day.
2. Thou shalt remember to pray for your mother and your father as soon as you finish praying for yourself.
3. Thou shalt honor thyself enough not to take things that do not belong to you, and this includes people’s people.
4. Thou shalt refrain from telling someone something about somebody until you have told that somebody to their face.
5. Thou shalt refrain from saying anything to anybody that you would be ashamed or afraid to say to God, to God’s face.
6. Thou shalt do no less than two good things for yourself each day.
7. Thou shalt do one good thing for another each day.
8. Thou shalt confine all whining, complaining and criticizing to each other Wednesday, between the hours of 2 AM and 3 AM when the moon is full. When the moon is not full, oh, well, thou shalt wait until it is.
9. Thou shalt live fully, or thou shalt not. This choice is up to you.
10. Thou shalt believe the best about everything and everyone until you have concrete evidence from God to the contrary.

The Lies We Believe About God

Strange title…what do you think? Do you think YOU believe any lies about God?

It’s hard to say because most of us have been raised in a world that was based on the patterns of our ancestors. Whatever Grand Mother and Grand Father, or even Great Grand Mother or Great Grand Father, did was what we did. And the same goes for what we believed.

It’s part of our domestication. You may not wish to admit it, but, yes, we all are domesticated in many ways.

So, back to God, or Divine Universe, Spirit, Goddess, Divine Energy, whatever name you use to reference the Spirit that’s in, around and through all that is. And those names didn’t include the names from other cultures, Buddha, Krishna, Allah, and so on.
We have learned that the many names refer to the One God, no matter the religion or culture. The names mean God, and I believe as many others do, that those names are all referencing the One Energy that is the God of all.

William Paul Young, author of “The Shack” offers some possible ‘lies’ you may have believed, maybe now or maybe at one time? I’ve added my own thoughts too.
1. God is a Christian. Well, even Jesus wasn’t a Christian, he was Jewish. The word “Christian” was developed by the people who despised the followers of Jesus. The Greeks and the Romans thought of this religion of Jesus as a religion of the slaves and the poor. They nicknamed the followers of Jesus “Christ ones” or “Christians.” The name has stuck for about 2,000 years.
God isn’t any ‘religion’. God is God, Spirit, Energy. God belongs to everyone and every religion and culture, by any name.

2. God is in control. How often have we heard the well-intentioned words “It must be part of God’s plan”? What if there is no “plan” for your life but rather a relationship in which God constantly invites us to co-create, respectfully submitting to the choices we bring to the table? We have free will. We are in control of our own lives. While God, or some higher power, maybe our inner Christ, our intuition may guide us in our decisions, we must ultimately carve out our own path. Sometimes a little curvy with out of the way trips and other times straighter as we are focused on a goal or aspiration.

Either way, we use our free will to make choices, but those choices can certainly be guided.

3. God is a prude. Sexuality is a beautiful and creative force (but) only when it is an expression of agape, which means other-centered, self-giving, committed love. Within a committed and loving relationship, anything goes, as long as it causes no harm and is mutually agreed upon by both parties.

The thought that the gift of sexuality is then a sin just doesn’t make sense. We are here to express our selves as an expression of God as us, and that goes for our sexual expression. Gay, straight, Bi, Trans, etc. It doesn’t matter. Divine Spirit loves us all.

4. You need to get saved. God has acted decisively and universally for all humankind. Our choice is to grow and participate in that reality or continue to live in the blindness of our own independence. For 99.99% of the people on Earth, there is not a moment where they are “saved.” Rather it is a slow and dawning realization, which may occur over years, that God is with you and a part of you now and always has been.
We do the ‘saving’ for ourselves by recognizing who we are, a child of God, that Divine Spirit that is everywhere. And as we awaken to that reality, we save ourselves…however many times we have to re-member who we truly are.
5. God is not involved with coincidences. There are no chance encounters; detours are usually intended destinations that are simply not on our agenda. In what often appears to be random and exempt from purpose, nothing is apart from the abiding presence and activity of God. Young believes that God speaks in the language of coincidences and it is how he both nudges and steers us. To pick up on these coincidences, we must be fully present in our lives, paying attention to the small signs God gives us, sometimes in our dreams, sometimes in conversations, sometimes in music. Spirit speaks in many ways.
The key is ‘to be fully present.’ If we are not connected, we tend to miss opportunities that are presented, or if we do experience the ‘coincidence,’ we don’t connect it to the possibility of God’s presence.
6. Sin separates us from God. Mistakes are an essential part of being human. That’s what the word ‘sin’ is, a miss, as in archery. Missing the mark, the target.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God. That energy, that Spirit is with us always. There is no separation. There is only that mistaken belief of separation. We are not perfect, and we learn from our mistakes. The goal is to continue in a positive direction, using our unwise choices and/or errors in judgements, as tools to learn and grow by, thereby growing closer to God.
7. God hates you. God is love, so that love is expressed in you and through you. No matter what.
The famous words — “For God so loved the world.” The entire world. Everyone. God does not only love, God is love.
And because God does not change, that love is eternal. Even when we make a mistake, when we refuse to believe, that love is there.
God loves you. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
8. God supports their political party. This lie becomes particularly virulent around election time. But this isn’t true—spiritual concerns are not the same as political concerns, and so no one can claim that God is “with” their particular party. Rather, if you follow the teachings of the Christ and the edicts of God, you are all One, no matter what political party.
We are to love others as we love ourselves. We are to aid the poor. We are to preserve our environment. We are to protect life…all life.
When we believe the lie that God is with a particular party, we begin to blindly follow that party, treating it as God. And that is a mistake.
9. God thinks less of women. This is not true, nor did God place woman lower than man.
This lie begins in Genesis 3:16 with the metaphor about the Garden of Eden and the interactions with God, and Adam and Eve. When God tells Eve, “you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”
Many read these words as a commandment for women to submit to the authority of men, but this isn’t the case. This line, spoken by God, maybe isn’t a curse, but rather a prediction.
This is more a mankind interpretation of the Story in the Hebrew Bible.
The original Hebrew word for “helper” as it is applied to women in Genesis 2: 18 is also applied to God when assisting the Israelites, and to neighboring armies giving aid to those in need. It doesn’t imply subordination—quite the opposite, in fact.
Pulled from Adam’s rib, woman is made of the same stuff as is man and is equal in the eyes of God. Of that, there can be no doubt. She is raised up just as man is, as a child of God.

10. God is not good, but distant and cruel. If we took the Hebrew Bible literally, it would seem that God is cruel and distant. But we fail to consider that the Hebrew Bible is a story, a story of our soul’s journey to acknowledging God’s presence in our lives and in us.

So, of course we see God at times helping the Israelites and at other times almost punishing them for their failure to follow the Commandments.

Those Commandments were set so we would learn the Laws to follow, how to love God, how to get along with others, so as we grew in understanding, we would know that it all boils down to LOVE. Love God, love your neighbor, love yourself.

11. God helps those who help themselves. In a way, this is true. When we help ourselves by working on our connection with the Spirit, that Energy we know as Goddess, Buddha, Divine Universe, that connection itself is helping us be who we are meant to be.

But we also have Grace, that free and seemingly unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the bestowal of blessings.
God’s love does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We cannot and are not required to change ourselves to earn favor. God wants our hearts, not our perfection.
Still, it behooves us to work on our soul connection by learning who we are and that way we do help ourselves and others.

12. God Doesn’t Exist. It seems apropos to conclude with this. We hear it most often when there are tragedies or super storms wreaking havoc on homes, and people’s lives.
“If God existed, then why did such and such happen?”
We in Unity believe, as do many other New Thought and Progressive Churches and Centers, that we are co-creators with that Divine Presence that is all power, all knowing, everywhere present. Therefore, it is the energy of us, creating the hurricanes and blizzards, the floods and ice storms.
How, you say, do we do this? With our thoughts. That energy we send out to the Universe can be positive or negative.
This is why we say to work on being present. Be conscious of what you are thinking. What the words are that you say to yourself, whether silently or out loud.
We mentioned the words of Harry Potter’s Professor Dumbledore and the power they have last week: “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.”
This is a powerful true statement. So, watch your thoughts and words….

So, if you find yourself doubting, caught in the web of lies we tell ourselves about God, just open your eyes. You’ll find that wonderful Spirit soon enough.

“Civility in a Contentious World”

In 2019, Weber Shandwick, a national public relations firm that has conducted polls on civil discourse in America since 2010, found Americans firmly united on one thing: 93% of Americans view the lack of civility in our country as a problem. Among the reasons people cite as contributing to incivility are social media, which allows for anonymous personal attacks on others, and a divided news media that too often creates echo chambers that harden people’s positions.

2019 a Pew Research survey also found a firm public consensus: 68% of respondents wanted elected officials to “maintain a tone of civility and respect in politics.”

We are told in 1st Peter to “show proper respect for everyone” (1 Pet. 2:17), and later to
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” And then he adds immediately: “But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:15).

Yet Politics has become a blood sport governed by tribalism and absolute fealty to a political party. While debate often is needed in a democracy to reach solutions that benefit the public, our shared values compel that those solutions be achieved through a process rooted in respect and civility.

Civility requires, respect, restraint, courtesy and empathy. —– Rudeness, threats, bullying and personal attacks have nothing in common with civility.

There is a prevailing climate of incivility that exists in too many places today. The present mindset is to purposefully and blatantly exploit divisions by what we tweet, and by the names used to call out or belittle someone with whom we disagree.
An effective political strategy, maybe — but not without its consequences.
We should all know by now that words matter, 1st John states: “and the Word was God”… That’s powerful.
Even Harry Potter’s Professor Dumbledore knew the power of words: “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.”

In Unity, we find a life affirming faith, it requires us to see the face of God, not only in the heavens, not only in the mirror, but in the face of our sons and daughters, our neighbor and yes, even in the face of the stranger.

We are to encounter our fellow citizens not with suspicion or hostility; we must encounter them with the realization that created in the Divine image, they are as fully remarkable as we. The stranger we meet on the street or the opponent we hear in a debate is as entitled to our respect – as are the people we love most in the world.
That may not be the way of our human nature –but it is the way of God.
And for us in Unity, a way of life.

Learning to live by extending courtesy to one not because we are familiar them, but because we see them as fellow human beings, seeing them the way we see ourselves, and treating them accordingly.

What happened to the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you? It’s almost identical in all faiths and cultures…

Edmund Burke remines us: Keep in mind, “Whatever disunites man from God, also disunites man from man.”

That night in 1968 when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, Robert Kennedy was to speak in Indianapolis before a largely Black audience. He broke the news to the crowd, scrapped his prepared text and quoted the Greek poet Aeschylus (eskələs) saying, “let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and to make gentler the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”

How sad, how few builders of bridges are in view today. We lost a few great ones recently. We need prayers and more prayers for our country, for all people and for the world.

Joel Rosenthal is the head of the Carnegie Institute for Ethics in International Affairs – and he wrote recently in a critique of the current state of affairs, “For more than two centuries, America has been held together by a sense that ethics matter. These familiar principles include ordered liberty, equality under law, respect for all, and common decency. Even in the most trying times, these self-evident truths have endured to guide the natural struggle for power.”

But as Joel suggests and most of us would agree, those self-evident truths are less visible today. Pundits blame it on cable news, siloed news feeds and gerrymandered districts with no consequences for the most shrill and extreme voices.

Civility is declining, and the willingness to listen too often is dependent on what one wants to hear. Discussion among families and neighbors can become nasty and divisive. Disrespect for differing points of view creates walls between people, and we lose out by not considering other perspectives.

And those voices play so well into our fears. For some it’s the fear of the other, the immigrant who might take our jobs or change the voting pattern of our community.
For others it is the fear of encroachments on our democracy that has led to intolerance and the categorical dismissal of views not shared.
In either case we live in echo chambers of our making and have learned to rationalize our incivility by saying how the other side is worse. It’s just as problematic for a baker to refuse to bake a cake for someone’s wedding as it to refuse to serve a political opponent a meal at one’s restaurant.
But we might also agree that it’s not just in the sphere of politics. Bonds of civility fray in many areas, from Little League fields where the parents can be more problematic than kids to lacrosse games between neighboring schools.
And the way we travel also leads to incivility. Whether it’s alone in our cars or struggling to get on a crowded plane we see others as competitors and obstacles.

What were once civil norms are not necessarily so civil today. Is it the enhanced pace of our lives, the 24/7 availability expected of us, or is it some aspect of our affluence that gives us a sense of greater entitlement and makes us much less patient?
We call ourselves Christians, yet where is the Good Samaritan? Where the sharing of bread and wine with strangers as they travel?

Yale law professor Stephen Carter wrote a book on civility suggesting that it had three parts: generosity, even when it is costly; trust, even when there is a risk; and sacrifice for strangers, not just for people we happen to know.
If we resist giving in to the cacophony ([kaˈkäfanē) of our time, we can shape the moral discourse that we inhabit by insisting on a rhetoric of courtesy, and the blessing of compromise. These are values worth defending. We are all stakeholders in the outcome, we will reap what we sow, and it may even be through those efforts that we determine whether we get the leaders we deserve.

In “Love Your Enemies,” author and American Enterprise Institute President Arthur Brooks offers a recipe for healing a country divided: “Go find someone with whom you disagree; listen thoughtfully; and treat him or her with respect and love. The rest will flow naturally from there.”

Can we do that? Can we separate our emotions long enough to actually HEAR the other person’s point of view?
Civility means to act as one would in a settled city wherein law and manners, not force and passion, guide the interchanges of the public order as well as the normal affairs of men and women within their homes and voluntary associations. Civility presupposes reason but includes courtesy, compassion, and good taste. It usually involves a written or unwritten constitution that broadly defines the orders of procedure for ordinary human exchanges of opinion
Incivility, by contrast, means the refusal to adhere to commonly accepted standards and customs. It indicates a breakdown, either minor or major, in the public order wherein differing opinions are normally and peacefully worked out among reasonable people who do not always agree with one another.
Almost all incivility justifies itself by appealing to something higher than existing laws and customs. This “something higher” may be God, or one’s own will, a constitution, or a theoretical system we have usually come to designate as an ideology.
An ideology is an idea or system of interrelated ideas that are self-justifying as the explanation of how things ought to be. They indicate a pattern or order that is to be put into effect as the solution to a given polity’s own inherent problems.

The bond of reason that is implied by civility is a delicate thing. It requires a habitual willingness to adhere to the civil law, to work out our differences by known rules, compromises, and concern for a common good that allows and encourages bringing forth many differing goods not possible except with others.

That means it requires DOING…

“Martin Luther King felt it was not enough that we have certain inalienable rights. He felt strongly that we must put action to our beliefs.”
Our Fifth Unity principle says it’s not enough to know the principles. We must take action in whatever way we feel is most in line with our beliefs.
We have choice…free will, so how we act, how we treat others is always up to us. What do you wish to see in our country as we move closer to our election?
You have a place in how things play out.

Let’s finish with these thoughts:
“I get a choice every time I have to open my mouth: that it can be with civility and dignity and grace – or not.” Dana Perino

And:
“Hope has 2 beautiful daughters: Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are. Courage to ensure they don’t stay that way” -St. Augustine

The Wisdom of Rosa Parks

In her autobiography, ‘My Story’, Rosa Parks said:
“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

And so, the legend of Rosa Parks began.

Most of us are not aware, but Mrs. Parks was not the first to refuse to give up her bus seat. Bayard Rustin, did in 1942, Irene Morgan in 1946, Lillie Mae Bradford in 1951, Sarah Louise Keys in 1952 all did the same thing.

What was different? Rosa Parks was more prepared to resist. She was educated and well-respected in her community. She was a member of Montgomery chapter of the NAACP and had training from the Highlander Folk School, an education center for activism in workers’ rights and racial equality. There she was mentored by the veteran organizer Septima Clark.
She was tired of giving in to the constant message that she was less. She knew that she was a woman, and, more than that, a child of God. She was raised in the A.M.E. church, her grandmother read the Bible to her and her grandfather prayed with her. She knew who she was – not a “colored girl” who was to move to the back of the bus but a woman, a child of God, who could sit at the front. Definitely a Unitic!

Her simple act of defiance against racial segregation on city buses that December 1st, inspired the African American community of Montgomery, Alabama, to unite against the segregationists who ran City Hall.
So, on Sunday, December 4, 1955, plans for the Montgomery bus boycott were announced at black churches in the area, and a front-page article in the Montgomery Advertiser helped spread the word. At a church rally that night, those attending agreed unanimously to continue the boycott ‘until they were treated with the level of courtesy they expected, until black drivers were hired, and until seating in the middle of the bus was handled on a first-come basis.’

Have you had that moment in time, when you must have the courage to move forward, even if fear has taken over your being?
I’m sure you have, but we persevere. WE do what is ours to do,

Rosa Parks stated:
“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

Those folks who have been demonstrating since the death of George Floyd, May 25th, must have chosen to follow their hearts desire and stand for what they believed to be a Truth.
I am sure that they face fear every time they stand up to the militia peacefully, never knowing what the response would be. Yet they do what they have deemed what is theirs to do,

I pray when my time comes, when I have choices to make, I might have the courage to act out of the strength and the convictions of my faith.

In Jeremiah 29:11 – it states, “Do not be afraid.” One of over 50 times in the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament, are the words – “Do not be afraid.” Whether they come from God, from angels, or from Jesus, these words are said in love and in encouragement.

In other words, God is calling us to be steadfast, even when we are fearful. Yet, how many times do we stop ourselves from doing what is right because we are afraid? We are afraid of failing, we are afraid of being laughed at, but mostly I think we’re afraid to change. We’re afraid of what will happen in our lives if we take the leap, or more to the point, sit still. Think about that…are you afraid of change?

I recently read a story where the characters were asked to “live a life without hesitation.”

What a wonderful idea…keep that thought in the back of your mind for our meditation….

Live a life without hesitation. This is what Rosa Parks did that day in December. That day, Rosa Parks had had enough of living a life that someone else had decided she should live. She took a seat on a bus and was steadfast in her right as a human being, as God’s beloved child, to stay there, even though she was being told to move. She didn’t hesitate.

What lessons can we learn from Montgomery Alabama in December 1955? From a bus boycott that lasted 381 days.

We can learn the lesson that even the smallest acts count.

We can stop telling ourselves: I can’t do very much. I don’t have lots of time or money; I’m no organizer. What little bit I could do wouldn’t count for much, so what’s the use? Why write a letter? Why go to another meeting?

We do what is ours to do.

We can learn from what happened in Montgomery that all successful movements are made up of countless, unsung individuals who engage in thousands of single, often small, acts of courage and resistance every day.
The boycott was won not by Rosa Parks but by those who walked to work in the December cold, those who drove others to work, the ones who ran the mimeograph machines, who answered the telephones, those who were spat on and called names and did not respond in kind.
Movements are the sum total of numerous individuals, often anonymous acts. We are not in a position to judge whether our smallest action on behalf of a better world counts or does not count. All we can do is act in accordance with our conscience and leave the results to history.

When people look back at these times of the marches for equality, what will they learn from what our choices are presenting to each of us. What actions did we take and why?

In 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, the first four rows of bus seats were reserved for white people. Buses had “colored” sections for black people—who made up more than 75 % of the bus system’s riders—generally in the rear of the bus. These sections were not fixed in size but were determined by the placement of a movable sign. Black people also could sit in the middle rows, until the white section was full. Then they had to move to seats in the rear, stand, or, if there was no room, leave the bus. Black people were not allowed to sit across the aisle from white people. The driver also could move the “colored” section sign or remove it altogether.

The day of Rosa Parks’ trial—Monday, December 5, 1955—the Women’s Political Counsel distributed 35,000 leaflets. The handbill read, “We are…asking every Negro to stay off the buses Monday in protest of the arrest and trial…. You can afford to stay out of school for one day. If you work, take a cab, or walk. But please, children and grown-ups, don’t ride the bus at all on Monday. Please stay off the buses Monday.”

It rained that day, but the black community persevered in their peaceful boycott. Some rode in carpools, while others traveled in black-operated cabs that charged the same fare as the bus, 10 cents. Most of the remainder of the 40,000 black commuters walked, some as far as 20 miles. In the end, the boycott lasted 381 days. Dozens of public buses stood idle for months, severely damaging the bus transit company’s finances, until the law requiring segregation on public buses was lifted.

When asked about the bus boycott, a young Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “The cause lay deep in the record of similar injustices…. Actually, no one can understand the action of Mrs. Parks unless he realizes that eventually the cup of endurance runs over, and the human personality cries out, ‘I can take it no longer.'”

What are you willing to remain steadfast about so that you can change your life and the life of this planet?

We will always have choices, and the key is in knowing our oneness.

Self-respect starts with our connection, with knowing our oneness with God. It’s up to us to take a stand for our spiritual growth.

What are you willing to boycott so that your life will be transformed?

Are you willing to boycott resentment, unforgiveness, unworthiness?

Are you willing to boycott fear?

Are you willing to look inside and see where you have been living something that someone else has decreed for you?

This is not just a Black Lives Matter issue. Spirituality knows no skin color.
Your Spirit is asking What matters”?

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we find worthy direction for us in moving forward:
I therefore … beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.—Ephesians 4:1-3

I leave you with this quote by Rosa Parks: You must never be fearful about what you are doing when what you are doing is right.

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

“The Last Week – What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem” by Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan. This week, Friday

Good Friday is the most difficult day of Passion Week. Borg and Crossan state, “The day of Jesus’s crucifixion is the most solemn day of the Christian year. In Greek Christianity, it is called ‘the Holy and Great Friday,’ in Romance languages, ‘Holy Friday,’ and in German, ‘Sorrowful Friday.’

In the English-speaking world, it is ‘Good Friday.’ Good may have been derived from ‘God’s” Friday.

Either way, Jesus’ journey turned treacherous and acutely painful in these final hours leading to his death.

According to some Scripture, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who had betrayed Jesus, was overcome with remorse and hanged himself early Friday morning. Others have him receiving a horrible death. Either way, to some people, Judas did what he was to do…kind of setting Jesus up to fulfill his destiny.

Meanwhile, before the third hour (9 a.m.), Jesus had endured the shame of false accusations, condemnation, mockery, beatings, and abandonment. After multiple unlawful trials, he was sentenced to death by crucifixion, one of the most horrible and disgraceful methods of capital punishment known at the time.

Crucifixion was a Roman form of punishment to discourage dissent.

Before Christ was led away, soldiers spit on him, tormented and mocked him, and pierced his head with a crown of thorns. Then Jesus carried his own crossbar to Calvary where, again, he was mocked and insulted as Roman soldiers nailed him to the wooden post that was a permanent reminder of what could happen if you went against Roman law. That crossbar made the cross as we know it when tied to the post.

How many times have we been humiliated before friends and family…maybe at work or school? What did you do when that happened to you?
Do you think you could have taken it with little or no response as Jesus did?

In the other Gospels, it is stated that Jesus spoke seven final statements from the cross. According to Mark, which if you recall, is the Gospel we are studying, at 3 o’clock, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Then, Jesus breathed his last breath and died.

Many people, some of us even in our earlier years, were distressed upon hearing these words. We thought God did leave him.

Even if Jesus did say these words, and all the others, remember, this is a physical body leaving the mortal plane. Not the SPIRIT.

However, Syrian scholar, George Lamsa translates it this way, “My God, my God, for this was I kept!” This was his purpose. He was to triumph over death to show that our true being was immortal, in the image and likeness of God.
What are your thoughts on that?

At this time, the Temple curtain, which separated the Holy of Holies from the sanctuary, was torn in two. Symbolically, this is a judgment upon the temple authorities who colluded with the Romans against Jesus.

More importantly, it also means now access to God is open. Jesus mediated access to God apart from the Temple. This is our 1st Principle, that God is everywhere, for everyone.

According to Mark, only women attended the crucifixion…. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and another named Salome. Another reminder that the disciples had abandoned Jesus.

Jesus and early Christianity gave women an identity and status they had not experienced since the time of matriarchal societies.

By 6 p.m. Friday evening, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body down from the cross and lay it in a tomb.

Because Unity recognizes that every individual is the Christ in potential expression, fully One with the infinite wisdom of God, we don’t really have official dogma that must be believed. Rather, we affirm universal spiritual principles, and affirm the right and ability of each person to understand scripture—or anything else, for that matter—in terms of how those spiritual principles express.

One of those principles is that the true nature of every person is divine. We are not humans trying to become spiritual. We are spiritual beings engaged in a human experience through which we can bring more of the Nature of God into tangible expression.

If we are divine, then we are eternal; birth and death are mortal illusions allowing us to pass into and out of human experiences. We are expressing God as us, each individually, all the while connected as One.

So, it is not entirely accurate to say that Jesus “died” and was returned to life. He moved through the illusion of death and, by virtue of his ability to fully express his Christ Self, he was able to demonstrate to his followers that death was nothing to fear, because it had no reality.

Metaphysically, the cross represents a point at which our forward spiritual progress (the upright post) is held back by resistance from our attachment to the things of this world (the cross bar)

The crucifixion symbolizes the crossing out of all that belongs to the mortal consciousness in order that the way may be made for the coming forth of the Christ self.

Most of us grew up listening Easter after Easter, the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, all with the color of traditional Christianity. It is up to each of us to personally choose what we wish to believe about the life of Jesus. And that includes the virgin birth to the ‘death and resurrection.’

When we look at the story given to us, remember, until the ’trials’ were ended with Jesus being found guilty and sentenced to death, none of his followers were witness to any proceedings. So how do we know what happened?

Once the trials were concluded and the people were incited to crucifixion, Jesus’ fate was set. And if we believe that this is what Jesus was to do, to show us eternal life, then it is meant to be.

What, according to Unity’s belief tells us, that Traditional Christianity got wrong, probably among many other things, is that of Jesus dying for our sins. There was no redemptive atonement here. We didn’t need a substitute for God to forgive our sins.

There is nothing to forgive as far as God is concerned. We are perfect. We may have ‘missed the mark,’ as in archery, which is what the word sin means. But we are not cursed, we are blessed, from birth on and even before birth.

That forgiveness thing is a human thing on one level and a spiritual thing on another.
Jesus died to bring truth to us…that we are Spiritual beings and that we do not die. We are SPIRIT.

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

The Last Week – What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem”. This week, Wednesday & Thursday.

Great to be back with you all this morning. We are traveling along with our Way-Shower, Jesus as he makes his way through Holy Week. We are through Palm Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

The New Testament doesn’t have any record of what the Jesus did on the Wednesday of Passion Week. Scholars speculate that after two exhausting days in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples spent this day resting in Bethany in anticipation of Passover.

Remember, just a short time previously, Jesus had revealed to the disciples, and the world, that he had power over death by raising Lazarus from the grave. After seeing this incredible miracle, many people in Bethany believed that Jesus was the Son of God and put their faith in him. Also, in Bethany just a few nights earlier, in the house of Simon the leper, an unnamed woman anointed Jesus with expensive oil, to the disbelief of the apostles, especially Judas.

Here, she was expressing her love of Jesus by anointing him with expensive oil while Jesus lives. She understood the teachings of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Mark considers her the first believer, the first Christian.
And, in contrast, Judas was preparing to betray him for 30 pieces of silver.

The day is sometimes called “Spy Wednesday” since some thought of it as the day Judas conspired with local authorities to betray Jesus, and not on Tuesday as others believed.

Holy Week takes a somber turn on Thursday, sometimes referred to as Maundy Thursday. It is full of drama as Jesus eats his final meal, prays for deliverance in Gethsemane, is betrayed by Judas and denied by Peter and abandoned by the rest of his disciples.

Maundy comes from the Latin word for mandate, commandment, reflecting Jesus’ words “I give you a new commandment, that ye love one another.”

Jesus sent two of his disciples into Jerusalem to find a place for them to eat the Passover meal, the pascal meal. Called this because of the lamb that was sacrificed for the blood that was used to smear over the doorways as the ‘destroyer’ killed the first born of Egypt. But if we call this the Passover meal, then the timing is off…Passover doesn’t start until Friday….

Could this be a reference to Jesus being the Pascal Lamb, being sacrificed on Friday in place of the Pascal Lamb?

Don’t know….

They found an ‘upper room’ and that is where Jesus and the 12 met. Remember, metaphysically, whenever upper, going up the mountain, look up is mentioned, it means to connect with our higher consciousness. Maybe this is why we often look up to the sky when we think of ‘heaven’. And this higher consciousness is what was happening with Jesus and the 12.

This is where Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Much to their chagrin. Generally, when one entered a house, they removed their sandals to prevent bringing dust in from their travels. Then a servant washed their feet.
So, to have Jesus wash the feet of his disciples would be unheard of. Peter protested, but Jesus replied to Peter that if he would not allow his feet to be washed by him, then Peter would have ‘no part of me’. Peter’s response to that was, ‘not only my feet, but also my hands and my head’.

Think about that…when I do something for you, I am giving you a part of me. Even more reason to accept that gift from others!

Then Jesus speaks of equality saying, “I, the Teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

What are your thoughts on this? Can you see that he is telling them that they are all equal and can all be the giver and the receiver?

The symbolic meaning of washing another’s feet is that, as Jesus’ followers, it is our duty to serve others by helping them to cleanse their consciousness of false beliefs and bring them to the light of true understanding.

Of course, this upper room is the place where Jesus tells Judas to do what he must do quickly.
It is also where Peter questions why he cannot follow where Jesus is going, saying “I would lay down my life for you”.
Even though Peter represents faith in our 12 powers, but until it is completely steadfast, it is changeable. So, Jesus tells him, “the cock shall not crow twice, till you have denied me three times.”

We often find ourselves questioning our faith or finding it not as strong as we would like. These are times when we need to look within, to pray and meditate. To talk with trusted friends. To remember, we are not alone.

And it was is also the time Jesus and the 12 shared the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine.
Metaphysically, the bread represents divine substance and the wine represents divine life. Unity does not believe that communion is something only done in church on Sunday, and we do not use the symbols of bread and wine. Unity believes that true communion may be entered into when we turn our attention to the Christ and that that divine activity is active in us now.

Jesus tells us there are ‘many mansions,’ meaning many places to abide. Could that mean he was preparing a permanent place in each of us…our Christ consciousness?

And when he tells us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me,” it means through his teachings.

Then Jesus and the disciples left the Upper Room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed “not my will but thine be done.” How many of us have said that, can say that? Can you put your ego aside and step into what is yours to do?

This was a time when Jesus was being tried, he is wondering if he can follow through with what he knows he must do…yet he says, ‘Thy will be done’.

We all have trying times, not like this, but times when we are at our wits end, for whatever reason. Here is a great example of what we can and probably should do…go to God, Spirit, Divine Energy…whatever you call it and find your peace of mind.

The answer came to Jesus as he prayed and that is what we can do every day for our needs.

Late that evening in Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by Judas Iscariot and arrested by the Sanhedrin.
Why did the arrest have to be in the darkness of night? Why not in daylight? Why did they need a traitor?
Jesus asked, “Day after day I was with you in the temple, teaching, and you did not arrest me.”

The Jewish Leaders had to go behind his back to get him out of the way. You ever been treated like that? Someone went behind your back, maybe said something to another to mess things up for you or to get what they wanted…attention or something more maybe?

The arrest of Jesus had to be away from the crowds, stealthy and he quickly tried before the people found out. The Priests and leaders were trying to avoid riots that would make them look bad to the Romans.

Amazingly, when the 6 hundred Imperial soldiers came and asked for Jesus, and he replied, ‘I am he’, the soldiers fell to their knees acknowledging his sacredness in the use of the I AM….but then arrested him anyway.

He was taken to the home of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the whole council had gathered to begin making their case against Jesus. Keep in mind that any account of this ‘so-called trial’ would come from someone inside where the council was held. None of Jesus’ disciples followed him once he was arrested. They abandoned him.

So, we had to hear what happened from someone inside, not necessarily a friend of Jesus.

Also, remember, those holding the high positions were collaborators with the Romans. These leaders didn’t represent the Jewish people, their loyalty was compromised.

Politics hasn’t changed much….

We know what the story was that later was presented by the early Christians. We hear it every Easter. But whether it is accurate, we can only guess.

This work by the Jewish leaders is why, for many years, people blamed the Jews for the death of Jesus. We all know that is not true. Everything was building up to these moments. Could it be fate? Divine Order? Sacred Contracts even? We all have our thoughts about these days leading to the crucifixion and resurrection.

Meanwhile, in the early morning hours, as Jesus’ trial was getting underway, Peter denied knowing his Master three times before the rooster crowed.

Imagine yourself as a disciple of Jesus through these 5 days of Holy Week…what are your thoughts?

“GREAT MORNING BELOVED!”

The Last Week – Monday

We started our Lenten Series last week discussing what we now call Palm Sunday. We are using Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossen’s book, “The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem” as well as a few other Unity references for this Lenten Series.

We learned that there was and had been political and religious turmoil for much of the history of Israel and the Jewish people, not only from the many conquers of Israel but from the Jewish hierarchy themselves.

So, each day throughout this last week of Jesus’ physical life, that tension grew. Jesus knew and understood what his expectations were. His followers didn’t understand the type of ‘king’ Jesus was to be. And the people of Jerusalem were fickle to say the least…easily led to change from adoring him to asking for his death.

You have any time in your life when you were easily swayed? When you went with the crowd?

This week we will look at Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week, both days busy with interactions with followers and the Jewish leaders.

Monday has been called Great Monday or Holy Monday. What happened on Monday? As Jesus and his followers walked the four miles back to Jerusalem, on the way, they encounter the fig tree.

It was the custom with the Near Eastern people to not eat what we call breakfast. So, as Jesus and his followers approached the city, a fig tree was by the road. In those times and even today, fruit trees along the roads were there for travelers to enjoy on their journey.

But remember, as people traveled in Jesus’ time, there was no way to ensure food would be able to be carried with the travelers.

So, fruit trees were planted along the way for them to enjoy. And this also refers to the hospitality laws of the time. If a traveler asked for sustenance, the people were expected to provide bread and water at the very least.
So, Jesus came upon the fig tree expecting to still his hunger only to find it bare. Probably other travelers had taken their share leaving the branches bare. Or maybe it was out of season, as some scripture insinuates. Jesus cursed the fig tree, in essence saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

Some scholars believe this cursing of the fig tree represented God’s judgment on the spiritually dead religious leaders of Israel. Others believe the symbolism extended to all believers, demonstrating that genuine faith is more than just outward religiosity; true, living faith must bear spiritual fruit in a person’s life.

This reminded me of the principle, “once you know these truths, you can’t go back.” We keep feeling the nudge, that inner push that makes us keep going on, even if it’s 1 step up 2 back for a while. Eventually, it’s 2 & 3 steps up and now and again, 1 back. That is the spiritual fruits in our lives coming forth.

Keep at it and be patient with yourself.

What else happened on Monday of significance?

When Jesus arrived at the Temple, he found the courts full of corrupt money changers. He began overturning their tables and clearing the Temple, saying, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (Luke 19:46).

This ‘temper tantrum’ at the temple was not necessarily about the money changers and sellers of sacrificial animals. It was maybe more so, about the high priestly families, who worked all too well with the governing Romans. One could say they were under the thumb of whoever was the Roman governor. And it was that governor who could fire the high priest if they didn’t agree with what the Romans wanted. So, they more often than not, did what the Romans wanted and certainly tried to keep the peace.

Of course, this action by Jesus angered the chief priests & scribes. It brought attention to them that they certainly didn’t want & they looked more for a way to kill him. However, the crowds in the temple were supportive of Jesus, which angered the priests even further.

On Monday evening Jesus stayed in Bethany again, probably in the home of his friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

On Tuesday morning, Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. They passed the withered fig tree on their way, and Jesus spoke to his companions about the importance of faith. “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

This is part of Unity’s Prayer practice; we believe it is so and have gratitude for it. We see it as we believe…not believe it when we see it.

Can you say you believe it to be so and then see it?

Back at the Temple, religious leaders were upset at Jesus for establishing himself as a spiritual authority. They organized an ambush with questions, trying to trap him with the intent to place him under arrest. Here is where Jesus is asked about giving to Caesar. His response was ‘to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’

What does this mean? How do you give to Caesar and give to God?

And one of my favorites stories is about the widows’ mite. A mite was a very small coin, worth about a penny. And it was all she had to give at the temple, two mites. Jesus reminded everyone how she was giving more than those who gave a small portion of their treasure saying the amount she gave was a larger amount than their portion from their wealth.

What are your thoughts on the widow’s mite?

Jesus evaded all the traps the Priests had laid out for him, in an effort to arrest him. Jesus pronounced harsh judgment on them, saying:

“Blind guides! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness…Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?” (Matthew 23:24-33)

This is about the fact that the high priests put on a front, making a big deal about praying in public and giving donations to the temple, acting as if they are following the Torah. They are saying the words but not living them. The words are not coming from their hearts.

Is this how you are living your life?

We can help our spiritual journey as we attempt to follow our Way-Showers path by asking; ‘what would Jesus do?’ when confronted with a growth opportunity. Can you think of anything confronting you now that those words would help you with?

Later that afternoon, Jesus left the city and went with his disciples to the Mount of Olives, which sits due east of the Temple and overlooks Jerusalem. Here Jesus gave the Olivet Discourse, an elaborate prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age. He speaks, as usual, in parables, using symbolic language about the end times events, including His Second Coming and the final judgment.

He used The Parable of the Two Sons, The Parable of the Tenants, and The Parable of the Wedding Banquet to talk about his coming death and how we should be preparing for it. It is here, during this discourse that he tells of God’s greatest commandment, ‘to love one another’.

Scripture indicates that this Tuesday was also the day Judas Iscariot negotiated with the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court of ancient Israel, to betray Jesus. According to Matthew 26:14-16, ‘Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So, they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.’

What is your 30 pieces of silver?

After a tiring day of confrontation and warnings about the future, once again, Jesus and the disciples returned to Bethany to stay the night.

Many people have had a hard time with Judas and his actions. And others understand that he did a duty, a job that was necessary to fulfill the prophecy that Jesus was to die so he could resurrect.

What are your thoughts on this?

Who did you relate to today?

Many questions today for your meditation and thoughts throughout the week.

You have any time in your life when you were easily swayed? You went with the crowd?

Can you say you believe it to be so and then see it?

What are your thoughts on the widow’s mite?
They are saying the words but not living them – Is this how you are living your life?

Can you think of anything confronting you now that those words, WWJD, would help you with?

What is your 30 pieces of silver?

GREAT MORNING BELOVED
The Last Week – Palm Sunday

This week and for the next weeks, as we go through the Lenten Season, we will use the book, “The Last Week – What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Final Days in Jerusalem” by Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan to discuss this last week of our Way-Shower, what it could possibly have meant to Him and what it means to us.

Many, including Charles Fillmore, have called the last week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday the most important week in history. This, because of the profound impact the life of Jesus has made on the world.
I hope you will listen and ponder the thoughts that the message may bring to you.

So, we will look at the days leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus and what they may have meant in that time and what they could mean to us today.

The word lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, which means “sprint. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is also a time of self-examination and reflection.

Many of us come from traditional churches and the season of Lent was filled with guilt as we choose SOMETHING to ‘give up,’ to sacrifice for the 40 days. What we were ‘supposed to be doing is removing what interferes with our connection to God.

That goes back to what we idolize…coffee, money, sex, chocolate! These idols are representing what we are placing before our God. We may not be idolizing chocolate, but it can make us ponder that thought to see what we ARE placing before Divine Spirit.

And are you aware why the 40 days? Forty days is how long Jesus spent in the desert being tempted by Satan.
What tempts you? Money? Sugar filled treats? Skipping exercise? Maybe skipping Sunday Service?

We start with what we call Palm Sunday. Called so because of the entrance into Jerusalem that Sunday morning by Jesus and the reception he received by the crowds.

They used palms because they were plentiful in the Near East.

Others used materials plentiful in their lands. We, here in Delaware, could very easily use pine tree limbs, or oak, or maple, because they are plentiful here. In fact, in some areas this was called Yew Sunday or Branch Sunday because of the branches available for use.

In many lands in the ancient Near East, it was customary to cover in some way the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honor.

In the Greco-Roman culture of the Roman Empire, which strongly influenced Christian tradition, the palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory.

But, to understand the importance of this, we need to look at what brought us to that Sunday morning.

Jesus’ very presence agitated the established Roman authorities as well as the Jewish leaders. Here was a man who could cast out evil spirits from the afflicted, who dined with a Pharisee without conforming to custom of washing before the meal, Jesus set aside Jewish restrictions on what they could eat, he healed a sick woman on the sabbath and, the final straw, he raised Lazarus from the dead.

Some call that Saturday before Palm Sunday, Lazarus Saturday and look at it as a foreshadow of Jesus’ Resurrection.

Quite the feat for a humble carpenter.

The chief priests and Pharisees were afraid what the actions of Jesus would bring upon them all by the Romans. Here was a man who was claiming that the Kingdom of God was at hand. He defied tradition almost at every turn. He certainly didn’t let the Jewish leaders intimidate him. If anything, they were intimidated by him.
And so, to save their necks, they conspired to aid his demise.

Yet Jesus knew he had to continue, otherwise the three years of his ministry would all be for naught. As Ernest Wilson states in, “The Week That Was,” “it would mean oblivion of the revelation which was his own particular gift to the world. It would imply a defeat of the principle of love and nonresistance which had characterized his message.”
As I’m reading over this, I am reminded of other leaders promoting love and nonresistance…can you think of any?

So, the course was set.

So, let’s look at the day. Jesus and his followers had traveled to Bethphage from Bethany. They had just come from Mary & Martha’s home where he raised Lazarus from death. Quite the setting.
He sent two of his disciples into Bethany to return with a donkey colt, one that had never been ridden.

Why do you think that is important? If no one had ridden the colt before, it still needed to be trained, donkeys, after all, are known for their stubbornness. So, this, metaphysically shows us that our I AM, Jesus the Christ will over-come the physical senses, the donkey.

Let that sink in…our I AM, our Christ consciousness is here to help us overcome the 5 senses, so we use our Christ consciousness, our Higher Self to lead our every moment.

Also, a donkey may refer to the Eastern tradition that it is an animal of peace, unlike the horse which is the animal of war.

Another thought. Jesus followed the prophecy of Zechariah “…lo… your king comes riding on a colt…” Remember, this was a man from the peasant village of Nazareth. His followers were mostly peasants. This was his way of telling the people that he was their king and was still just a lowly man. His message was about the kingdom of God.

At the other side of the city, a different procession entered with all the pomp and circumstance of a royal parade. Pontius Pilate, Roman governor on a white horse, lead a column of imperial cavalry and soldiers from the west proclaiming the power of the Roman empire.
This procession also displayed Roman imperial theology…that is, the emperor was not only the Roman ruler, but also the Son of God. This did not sit well with the Jewish people.

According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem was planned to counter that of Pilate’s display of armored forces. It was a deliberate political statement: Pilate’s procession was all about power and glory, and the violence associated with world rule.
In contrast, Jesus’ procession embodied the alternative – the Kingdom of God.

While Pontius Pilate rode to his palace, Jesus rode to the Temple. A vast difference between the two, ….one material and the other spiritual.

All the difference between the two and as the tension rises through the week, aid in the end, to the death of Jesus and two others.

But we get ahead of ourselves.

Jerusalem became the capital of ancient Israel at the time of David and his son, Solomon. This time was revered to the Jews for its glory and that all 12 tribes were under one king. It was the time that the Jews had always hoped and prayed for. And, of course, the temple was the center of their lives.

Unfortunately, the same behavior from the oppressors of the Jewish people was found in the rulers of Jerusalem. There was political, economic and religious oppression and exploitation. So, the city, the hope of the Jewish people became “the center of injustice and of betrayal of God’s covenant.”

Eventually, the dream of a Jewish city was not to be when, again, they were defeated, this time by the Roman army. Their struggle to be freed from their oppressors, whether Roman or Jewish, continued.

So, we have the contrasting processions that Sunday morning. From the west, the symbol of the Roman empire. Of violence and conquers and domination.

And from the east, Jesus on a donkey, entering amongst the crowds who were shouting praises and waving Palms. This, the symbol of peace & humility, and continuing his message of transformation through the Kingdom of God.
Now we ask ourselves, which procession are we in? Which do we want to be in?

The procession Jesus led ended at the Temple where he heals the blind and lame. The chief priests and scribes reprimanded him, and he answered them, in essence, saying that youth know more about faith than you scribes and priests do.
Jesus was openly declaring to the people that He was their King and the Messiah they had been waiting for.
They welcomed Him out of their desire for a messianic deliverer, someone who would lead them in a revolt against Rome. There were many who, though they did not believe in Christ as Savior, nevertheless hoped that perhaps He would be to them a great temporal deliverer.

These are the ones who hailed Him as King with their many hosannas, recognizing Him as the Son of David who came in the name of the Lord. But when He failed in their expectations, when He refused to lead them in a massive revolt against the Roman occupiers, the crowds quickly turned on Him. Within just a few days, their hosannas would change to cries of “Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:20-21).

And every evening, Jesus and his followers walked the four miles back the Bethany only to travel again in the morning.

This is how the last week started. Jesus continuing to move forward to his destiny, aggravating the Jewish leaders, increasing their fear of losing their position.

What has fear caused you to do? Take that question into meditation….
What person mentioned today do you relate to the most? Jesus, Pilate, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, his disciples, the crowd waving palms and shouting Hosanna?
What tempts you? which procession are you in? Which do we want to be in? What has fear caused you to do?

Great Morning Beloved!

Taking sides—-Being Authentic

Do you sit on the fence when in discussion with others about an important topic or do you choose for or against?
Sometimes, fence-sitting is acceptable. When, for instance, your children come to you in the midst of a heated disagreement between the two and ask for you to determine who is right.

Proverbs 18:17 states: “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him”.
You, as the parent, must be undecided until both sides are heard. Only then can a determination as to the right and proper course of action be taken.

If the topic of discussion is an important one regarding the next president or congress person, for example, then one cannot be a fence-sitter…they will have to choose before entering the voting booth.

There are many times when one must not sit undecided on the fence. If we look back in history, the Holocaust, is a perfect example. Many of the nations, it has been proven, turned a blind eye as thousands of innocent people, men, women and children, were killed by the German guards who were their task-makers.

That is fence-sitting.

A quote from Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and writer states: “We must take sides; neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”

Does that make sense to you? Think about it.

It’s the same as not voting. If one holds their vote, then they have no right to complain about the results of the casting.

Over the years, many of us have seen things and wondered why? How could that possibly happen? What is the purpose of war, starvation, destruction of the earth, and so many other things that have happened through my 70 years!

And this is where one of my favorite statements would be recited. “What is mine to do?”

My class has heard this many, many, times. Usually as a challenge to them while we are discussing some of the things that are happening in our world.

I believe all this leads us to question our authenticity. Who are we, as we travel through each day?

Every day we encounter ‘choice-points’. These choice-points come along and prompt us to ask which direction we are going to go.

Sometimes it’s a simple thing. But, as we are developing and fine tuning our integrity, many times it’s not so easy to make a choice.

Those people in Germany during World War II often had to choose between keeping their families safe, or fed or warm and turning their backs on neighbors and friends. Thankfully, there were many who took a chance and aided many Jews especially, and especially children.

People like Oskar Schindler, a businessman, Carl Lutz, a diplomat, and Johan van Hulst, a teacher. These three man alone saved hundreds, maybe thousands combined, of Jews from the Germans. They each had a choice-point and determined to do what was theirs to do.

Justin Tanis, from the Pacific School of Religion tells us, “God seeks our authenticity.”

Authenticity, or knowing one’s thoughts and feelings and acting in accordance with them, is virtually synonymous with “being yourself.”

Currently, in mainstream counseling psychology, authenticity is viewed as the most fundamental aspect of well-being in that it is not just a component or prerequisite to achieve well-being but that it is the very essence of well-being.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, is attributed with saying, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

Consider that statement a moment….says something yet how many of us have strived through our years to be someone else than our true self?

Individuals considered authentic are those who generally strive to align their actions with their core values and beliefs with the hope of discovering, and then acting in sync with, their “true selves.”

There is debate over whether people actually possess an innate self and need to uncover it, or whether one’s true self is flexible and determined by the choices they make throughout their lives. Authenticity was long thought to be too difficult to define and measure.

Then in 2000, Michael Kernis and Brian Goldman developed their Authenticity Inventory, comprised of four key factors: awareness, unbiased processing, behavior, and relational orientation. Using this tool, they found that being authentic can provide a host of benefits, including a strong sense of self-worth and self-competence, a greater ability to follow through on goals, and more effective coping skills.

Being authentic involves the ability to be introspective and understand what motivates oneself. Such accurate self-knowledge can be a double-edged sword, though, if it reveals uncomfortable truths or weaknesses that one would rather not admit. However, advocates of authenticity argue that in the long run, it’s better to be accurate than biased in the long run.

Being authentic can also put a person at odds with their larger peer group if their emerging perspective is an unpopular one. However, authentic people wouldn’t look to others for approval or surrender to the social pressures of what they should or shouldn’t do. The validation they derive from within

Is authenticity a good value? Yes authenticity/honesty is good. It keeps you from misleading yourself into misbegotten ethics and allows you to answer to yourself at ease. It’s not easy to do but the hard work makes life easier

Do you know who you truly are? If someone were to ask you who is your authentic self, could you respond honestly?

I think most of us could touch the surface, at least, of who our authentic self was. But when we got past the first layers, what would we say?

Here is something I found while researching this topic, see if it helps:
Get comfortable. Take a few cleansing breaths.

Now; begin by reflecting upon your values. What is the most important to you in life? What do you value? Where does your sense of right and wrong come from? Spend the next few moments thinking about your values.

(Pause)

The values you have been thinking of make-up part of the core of who you are. If you are being true to your values, these core beliefs will drive your behavior.

It feels good to behave in ways that are consistent with your values. For example, if honesty is something you value, this could be reflected in your life by being truthful. If you value your family, perhaps your life reflects this in the time you spend with family members.

Think about how your values can be a part of your day-to-day life.

(Pause)

Now consider what else makes you who you are. Finding your authentic self involves learning who you truly are. Your authentic self is the real you, the person you are truly meant to be. Your authentic self is the person you are at the core, the person you can be if nothing holds you back.

Imagine the person you believe yourself to be right now. It’s okay if you aren’t quite sure who you are…just picture yourself going about the things you usually do in a typical day. Imagine that you are watching yourself…observing yourself going about your usual activities.

See yourself getting up in the morning…going about your day…imagine the things that you do in a typical day. See yourself doing these activities.

Picture this person…you…standing in an empty room. Imagine watching this person…observe…now imagine you could strip away all the things that hold you back from your full potential. Imagine self-doubt dissolving…being replaced with confidence and self-assurance. Picture this person before you, and imagine all the things that get in the way of success…such as circumstances, lack of resources, lack of forgiveness, illness, baggage from the past…anything that is holding this person back in any way at all…

See these problems dissolving…disappearing…going away…

Now imagine this person, standing in the empty room. What is left? Who is this person when all those barriers are stripped away?

This person is you. Imagine who you are at the core…the pure character that is left when there is nothing to get in the way of complete self-expression.

You may only have a vague picture in your mind right now…let’s allow that picture to come into focus…becoming more clear…

Think of your motivations…what motivates you? What drives your behavior? What catches your interest…or has caught your interest in the past? What propels you to action?

Think about your personality and character traits…the characteristics that are left when all barriers are removed, and all fears have gone away. At your fullest potential, your simplest form…with no fears…what traits do you have? Think about your energy…are you laid back and calm, or are you energetic? Think about your other characteristics…

Are you introverted or extroverted?

Quiet or talkative?

Are you creative?

Are you practical?

What sorts of things do you appreciate?

What do you admire?

What do you like?

Imagine something that makes you feel happy…what is it?

Think of some things you enjoy…things that you like to do…

Think about all the characteristics of the person who is left when all barriers and fears are removed.

(Pause)

Now let’s create a different picture. Imagine yourself as a young child, in a happy moment. See the potential in this child. Who is this young person? What makes this child who he or she is?

(Pause)

Think about the characteristics that you share with this child. In what ways are you similar? In what ways does the current you differ from this child? Think about how you have learned and grown since the time you were a small child.

(Pause)

Now picture yourself as the child…see the world through your younger self’s eyes.

What did you want to be when you grew up? What hopes did you have for your future self? What dreams did you have as a child?

The hopes and dreams you had as a child were probably related in some way to your authentic self. Something about your dreams was connected to a part of your true self. What do these aspirations say about who you are? What personal characteristics of yours are related to your childhood dreams?

For example, if as a child you dreamed about becoming an astronaut, you probably have some personality traits that relate to this dream…such as being adventurous, curious, analytical…

Think about your own childhood dreams and see what these dreams say about who you are.

(Pause)

Now create one final picture in your mind. Imagine, in as much detail as you can, the person you want to be. Imagine your ideal self…

How would this person behave? What does this person, your authentic self, value? What motivates this ideal self? What personal characteristics are present in this ideal version of you? Imagine all the details of the person you most want to be.

(Pause)

The image in your mind right now, of this ideal person, is you. This is your authentic self. This is who you are. At the core, beneath all of life’s getting in the way…this is you.

Spend a few moments with this image of your authentic self.

Now allow yourself to step inside this image, and fully become this person. Become who you are. For this moment, just be…simply be your authentic self.

Feel a sense of calm and serenity…secure in who you are…knowing who you are. This is you. Your authentic self.
You can take this authentic self with you…allowing this true essence of you to shine through in everyday life. Allow your values, personality, and motivations to shine though…to guide your behavior…to make up who you are.
You have always been this person…you always will be your authentic self…a positive, confident person. A person you like and appreciate. Underneath the challenges, the baggage, the demands of living life…this is the real you that will always be with you.

(Pause)

It’s time to reawaken now…to conclude this exercise…

Keep the image of your authentic self with you as you go about the rest of your day. Express this true self…and allow you to simply be you.

Wiggle your fingers, waking up your hands and arms…

Move your toes, allowing your feet and legs to wake up…

Feel your muscles reawakening…and your whole-body filling with energy.

Open your eyes and sit quietly for a moment while you reorient to your surroundings…

Welcome back….let that settle with you and share with someone if you wish to go deeper.

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love – Part 3 In Life

Welcome back to our third and final part in Agreeing & Disagreeing in Love. From some of your comments these last two weeks, many of you have experienced a moment where what was being presented resonated with you.
That’s good…in fact, that’s GREAT! The whole point of coming to Unity is to hear the message for the day & to put it into practice. This IS Practical Christianity after all.

That was the point when Charles & Myrtle Fillmore started their study sessions on Sunday afternoons and during the week. It was to put into practice what they were discussing in churches all over their area.
And that is what I pray for you…to have something touch some place inside you, to resonate with you and for you to go on your way throughout your week and see how it can be put into practice.

So, we talked about Agreeing & Disagreeing in Love through our thoughts and our actions so far. Keep in mind, if you wish to review any of the talks, they are posted online at my webpage: Metaphysical Food for Thought. I always post them on FB too.

This last piece of the series is Agreeing and Disagreeing in love as in our life. And the 1st commitment is:
1. Be steadfast in Love – Be firm in our commitment to seek a mutual solution; be steadfast in acting out of Principle (do the right thing); be hard on issues, soft on people. Be on your card. That’s your integrity.
If you recall from last week, we mentioned that we be willing to negotiate a solution that works for all. If we are ‘on our card’, coming from our authentic self, we have left ego behind and are willing to see another way, a third option.
Here are those steps again:
Be willing to negotiate – Work through the disagreement constructively.
• Identify issues, interests, and needs of both (rather than take positions.)
• Generate a variety of options for meeting both parties’ needs. (rather than defending one’s own way).
• Evaluate options by how they meet the needs and satisfy the interests of all sides (not just one side’s values).
• Collaborate in working out a joint solution (so both sides gain, both sides grow and win).
• Cooperate with the emerging agreement (accept the possible, not demand your ideal).
• Reward each other for each step forward, toward agreement (celebrate mutuality).

The second commitment is:
2. Be open to accept skilled help. If we cannot reach agreement among ourselves, we will use those with gifts and training in peacemaking.

Yes, there is training in peacemaking and if it is needed to resolve an issue, then that is way better than letting things continue to simmer inside each of those involved.

We even have a couple of possible classes we could present to everyone on peacemaking and getting along with others. Maybe we will look into one of these classes to present. One of those classes is based on the book, “The I of the Storm”.

This is a suggestion from that book; a 4-step process that will take you from victim to victor. Feeling like a victim is often a part of the conflict.

 1st step-Look into the mirror and love. When a situation arises that looks as though it is against you, be willing to see it as a mirror showing you the pieces you believe are missing in you. Ask yourself, “What resource do I believe is missing in me?” If we knew our connectiveness to Spirit, we would not feel defensive or attacked.

 2nd step-Bless the situation or person. To bless means to endow a person or situation with the capacity to be a source of good in your life. When we bless something, we dismantle the belief that anything can come between our good and us.

We’ve heard that to Bless the situation or person is vital to conflict resolution.

 3rd step-Do the right thing. Do good. This means letting go of our need to be right and to focus on demonstrating wholeness and worth. Our purpose in our relationship is to find a greater sense of worth and to be an avenue for God’s love. This also means we must be willing to take ownership and claim our part in the-disharmony in the relationship.

 4th step-Set you and your enemy free by praying. Jesus tells us to pray for those who persecute us. We can do this by trusting that the relationship is there to gift us. “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” True forgiveness is embracing the other person and recognizing that any sense of hurt is from a place of separateness and isolation. Prayer allows us to shift our attention to our center. When we pray, we lift ourselves and the situation into the peace and serenity of God.

What the Big Unity folks are telling us here is that when we have done the processes of discussing, and listening, and resolution suggesting and we have failed to come to a place where everyone involved is accepting the resolution, then a trained peacemaker can be brought into the discussion to help to come to a conclusion.

Once again, our main purpose here is to come to a mutual agreement. No one wishes to carry a disagreement with them through life….and yet, that is exactly what some of us have done.
Well, it’s time to have it resolved for all those who are involved with the issue.

The third commitment is:
3. Trust the community – Trust the wisdom of community and if we cannot reach agreement or experience reconciliation, we will turn the decision over to the congregation or seek assistance from the Ministry for Peacemaking.
• In one-to-one or small group disputes, this may mean allowing others to arbitrate.
• In congregational disputes, this may mean implementing constitutional decision- making processes (membership vote) when peacemaking assistance is unable to facilitate reconciliation.
Jesus tells us to trust community in Matthew 18:15-17, saying if you have gone to the other and cannot find a resolution, go again with one or two others to aid in the discussion.

Our 4th and final commitment is:
4. Be committed to peace making and the demonstration of Principle rather than resort to courts of law.

In the time of Jesus, there were ‘judges’ at the gates of the cities where the locals could bring their grievances to be resolved. These ‘judges’ were way less expensive and most villagers and commoners would use them as opposed to going to the courts, where it could cost much more to resolve an issue and could last days, week and even more.
A peacemaker helps us make peace with the others. According to the Enneagram, a peacemaker is: Type 9. Calm; collected demeanor; Ability to diffuse conflict with ease; Zen-like presence; Mellow and soothing voice; Wide circle of acquaintances; Generally liked by most people.
Anyone you know?

Once you see your duty as a peacemaker in the world, you’ll be looking for ways to build bridges between people and God and then to build them between persons.

By definition, a bridge can’t be one-sided. It must extend between two sides or it can never function. And once built, it continues to need support on both sides, or it will collapse. In any relationship our first

responsibility is to see that our own side has a solid base. But we also have the responsibility to help the one on the other side build his base. Both must be built on righteousness and truth or the bridge will not stand.

“Finally, a peacemaker finds a point of agreement. God’s truth and righteousness must never be compromised or weakened. But we are to contend without being contentious, to disagree without being disagreeable, and to confront without being abusive. The peacemaker should speak the truth in love.” (Eph. 4:15).

So, we’ve learned to:
Accept Conflict – Acknowledge that conflict is a normal part of our life in the Center.
Go to the other
To listen with all senses, Be quick to listen, Be slow to judge
Be willing to negotiate
Remember to pray
And today we add, Be steadfast in Love
Be open to accept skilled help
Trust the community
Be committed to peace making

And James 1:19 tells us easily and clearly – My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
.