GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

Welcome to week three of the David Owen Ritz series, “The Keys to the Kingdom – an advanced course in prosperity consciousness building” We have discussed Key #1 – Make the Commitment. How have you been dealing with the big “C”? Some of us do have an issue with commitment. I hope that it has been resolved, at least to some degree, by now.

The second Key is Hold the Vision. One of the best quotes from David’s text is “…none of us will rise higher than the vision we hold for ourselves.”

Think about that….how does that make you feel?

The questions from last week…anyone have something they wish to share?

1. How do you sense the Divine urge to grow within your own life?
2. What fears or doubts come to the surface when you seek your new vision?
3. What new feelings and beliefs would you like to have in place of those doubts and fears?
4. Do you really feel deserving of true abundance in every area of your life? If not, explore the part of you that does not feel worthy.
5. Which area of your life is presently the most abundant? Least abundant? Why do you think this is?

What might be standing in the way of that vision you imagined last week?

The next Key is “Build a New Awareness.” How do we do that?

One way is to ask questions. Some like to think of it as ‘comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable.’ In other words, we keep asking you to step further into your authentic personage…who you truly are and sometimes THAT is uncomfortable, at least for a little while.

Think about this scenario…

You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere.

Why did you spill the coffee?

“Well because someone bumped into me, of course!”

Wrong answer.

You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup.

Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea.

Whatever is inside the cup, is what will spill out.

Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled.

So, we have to ask ourselves… “what’s in my cup?”

When life gets tough, what spills over?

Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility?

Or anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions?

You choose!

Hopefully, the first list, Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility, are a huge part of your core beliefs.

So, today, let’s work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation, and kindness, gentleness and love for others.

After all, the best way to show love to others is to start by loving yourself and today, LOVE is on the menu.

Have you questioned your core beliefs lately? I am sure you have done so during your lifetime, or I doubt you would be attending Unity or following Unity Principles.

Your core beliefs color your perceptions of life and can actually create our experiences.

As I was doing my research for this lesson, I came across a post by someone, Victoria was her name, and she likened this coloring of our perceptions by our core beliefs to wearing colored glasses.

Consider this…suppose you always wore glasses tinted a specific color. Say I’m wearing yellow tinted glasses and you are wearing green tinted glasses, and another is wearing rose tinted glasses. And finally, we have a person who wears clear glass in their glasses.

Now if we all looked at the sky on a clear sunny day, we would all say that the sky was a different color – yellow, green, etc.

This is an example of how our core beliefs ‘color’ our perceptions. These ‘unconscious’ beliefs feel real to us. Our fears, frustrations, self-esteem, etc. could all be stemming from these colored perceptions.

Feelings, especially strong feelings, are an indication that it’s time to check where does that thought come from? Where does that feeling come from?

The Don Miguel Ruiz book, “The Fifth Agreement” goes into this process deeply. He says to question everything but to be open, as to new ideas and possible changes in your beliefs.

And Byron Katie asks, “Is what I’m believing true?” Especially, is it true NOW?

Some of us may have spent time over the years consciously constructing a personal belief system through study and research. Others have simply accepted our parents’ or family’s views of life, usually unconsciously. We must make sure our beliefs are actually our own and not a story that’s put on us by somebody else.

These beliefs will determine how much prosperity and abundance you allow in your life.  Yes, allow.

How do we know if we have limiting beliefs?

By our thoughts, like “nothing ever seems to work out for me’, there’s never enough’.

Our thoughts constantly reinforce and confirm our limiting beliefs.

By our feelings and emotions, energizing those thoughts with fear, worry, unworthiness.

By our behavior. Behavior follows thoughts and feelings and emotions. Things like performing below our true ability at work, withholding giving and sharing,

Sometimes the degree to which we are willing to challenge our belief systems determines the success of our inner economy.

As you can see, a simple idea, accepted by your mind as true, has the ability to become your own personal reality by dictating your thoughts, feelings, speech, and behavior. Your mind is a powerful cocreator.

Deeply held beliefs are hard to identify and to change.

Our personal vision is actually an inner awareness of our true spiritual self and highest human and spiritual potential.

Something within you knows the truth of who and what you are. This Higher Self knows the power of your unlimited potential. This is your vision.

Know that your emerging new vision of true abundance is more powerful than your old beliefs because your new vision is an inner revelation of truth.

Every circumstance or condition in your life that has been created by a false belief can be healed and transformed by an awareness of the truth.

So how do we get to our core beliefs? The suggested ways are –

1. Journaling, of course. Nothing like writing your thoughts, especially if you just let them flow from you, even through you.
2. Be a witness to the belief as it shows up in your speech, feelings, behaviors. One of the class members on Tuesdays asks herself, “Is this who I want to be in this situation?”
3. My metaphysics instructor would always say, “Watch your language.” Examples: “Some people have all the luck.” “I can’t afford that.” “I’m not worthy of success.” These are all affirming limited thinking. Can you think of more? Are you saying or thinking them? Check yourself.
4. Rituals like the Burning Bowl. You can make your own ritual if there is something you wish to release that no longer serves your highest good. No need to wait until the New Year to do it.
5. Affirm your relationship with the God of your understanding, by whichever name or word you use to identify that essence that we all are.

Ritz says, “The personal vision that you are building is for more than just a new belief or about abundance. It is actually an inner awareness of your true spiritual self and highest human and spiritual potential, it is a set of wonderful new possibilities that the Universe wants to express through and as you.”

Our higher self knows what to do. Work with your vision.

As for your vision – work on it. Envision it. Write it out. Meditate on it. Affirm it daily. DREAM!

Dream it, hold the vision ceaselessly, in great detail. Forget about the how! That is God’s business. You choose the ‘what’ and focus your energy on the feelings you would feel if you were living that dream.

Do not limit the Universe. How BIG is your GOD? Then believe that! God is unlimited!

Hear your inner Christ saying Isiah 43:19 “I will make a way.”

Stephen Kosmyna, Unity minister: “I hold my very own key to the kingdom of good to my very own field of dreams. I look only to God as my source and the ceaseless activity of Divine Mind as my supply. I am blessed beyond measure and profoundly grateful for this rain of good and plenty I am now experiencing.”

THAT is a pretty good affirmation!

David lists 7 Truths that build that awareness and acceptance of the good we are all claiming in our vision. They are:

1. God is the one and only source of our good. We do have channels for that good like jobs, investments, etc., but the SOURCE is all God. To live this truth, we must continually remind ourselves to look to and depend upon the God Source above all else. Place your highest faith in God alone.

• Abundance is a here-and-now reality. Don’t confuse a temporary event with TRUTH. You are surrounded by and immersed in abundance. Lack and limitation are temporary human experiences we create. We sometimes create a temporary experience that can block our abundance…temporarily. To live this truth, we must affirm the presence of God’s abundance-even in the face of appearances to the contrary-until we train our mind to look beyond appearances.

• Abundance is inexhaustible. The Universe is constantly expanding. God’s creative process is an endless dance between form and formless. Everything visible originates in the invisible side of life. True abundance is found in the movement of Spirit from the unformed to the formed, from invisible to the visible. Abundance is inexhaustible because the flow of Spirit is ceaseless. Whatever you may spend, lose, or give away today can be replaced tomorrow…perhaps with something better. To live this truth, you must embrace and rejoice in the inexhaustible flow of good through your life. 

Practice nonattachment to temporary physical things.

• God is meeting your every need at every moment according to your own acceptance. “Our level of acceptance depends upon what you give to life and how you give it. What – time, talent, treasure, energy, attention, love. How – attitude, intention, awareness that accompanies what you give. Give to life with joy, integrity and love.

You always determine how abundantly God meets your needs through your own level of acceptance.

To live this truth, you must practice giving yourself fully to life. Don’t look around for the payoff to your giving. Live and give with joy, generosity, and abandon. Learn to trust in the inexhaustible resources of Spirit. The void you create by giving will be filled.

• Everyone deserves abundance. We need to see ourselves and others as God does. Love unconditionally and forgive self and others. Lack and limitation are still a part of our human condition, though one day they will disappear in the exact proportion to our understanding that all people deserve abundance.

You can help this along by healing your own consciousness of that belief in limitation. You deserve unlimited abundance.

To live this truth, you must learn to love yourself completely and unconditionally.

• Your vision is your inner awareness of your naturally abundant self. You were not created to live in lack and limitation; to struggle against adversity all your life. You were created to discover who you are; to grow, love and live in unlimited abundance. As you identify with and activate your vision, you will find yourself growing and changing in many, many wonderful ways. And your potential goes beyond this present vision, you are infinite in your ability to expand and grow.

To live this truth, you must be willing to risk personal greatness. Continue to hold and expand your vision. It is the truth that can lead you away from false beliefs.

• Your inner guidance will lead you toward the fulfillment of your vision. Every idea contains all the power and intelligence necessary to bring it to fruition. This ‘seed idea’ knows how to grow with the sunshine and rain of your prayers and visioning.

To live this truth, you must recognize that the fulfillment of your vision is a natural process that is under Divine direction.

Everything necessary is contained within the vision and when we nurture ourselves via spiritual practices, we affirm the Truth of our vision, and we build a new awareness. We need to listen and follow inner guidance.

We can learn to trust our heart’s desires and our instincts to guide us, questioning any beliefs that stand in the way of our ability to fully invest in ourselves. As we withdraw energy from limiting ideas about what is possible, we free up the resources that have the power to make our inner economy thrive.  

This weeks’ questions for contemplation:

1. What evidence of your own limiting beliefs do you find in your thoughts and feelings?
2. What evidence of your own limiting beliefs do you hear in your speech?
3. What evidence of your own limiting beliefs do you observe in your behavior?
4. Can you pinpoint some of your limiting beliefs? If so, can you see why they are not really true?
5. Which of the Seven Spiritual Truths of Abundance seems most important for you to grasps? Why?

Here’s your closing thought for today:

“Stay as you are, and you will stay as you are.” (Science of Mind”, January 2016)