Welcome back to Unity Spiritual Center!

And Great Independence Day to you all!

Did you know that July 4^th has only been a Federal holiday since 1941? Officially, anyway, as a paid Federal Holiday. It was declared a Federal Holiday in 1870. Of course, it has been celebrated since the American Revolution.

Back then, some colonists celebrated the day by holding mock funerals for England’s King George III, as a way of reinforcing America’s victory over the British monarchy.

Some folks think it should be celebrated on July 2^nd, since independence from England was voted on then, but the delegates didn’t adopt the Declaration of Independence until the 4^th.

Now, of course, it is celebrated on the Monday closest to the 4^th…longer weekends and more sufficient work weeks!

From a political or social point of view, all people are ‘supposed’ to be free. Our Bill of Rights state that. We know, in reality, that that does not exactly present itself as true. Unfortunately, many are challenged too often by inequality, prejudice, and threats on person and property by those who see themselves as superior, better than.

And this is one of the reasons we ask each week, “What is mine to do?” Because only each of us individually can answer that.

But let’s chat about another type of freedom.

The freedom we have with Spirit.

We lay hold of our freedom when we grasp the truth of freedom and give up all belief in bondage. Bondage, that favorite word of Emilie Cady, famous New Thought Author of “Lessons in Truth.” We are free when we realize that Christ within us has set us free from every enslaving belief or habit. Our freedom becomes a reality when we accept it as true for us. Our belief in bondage disappears when the truth of freedom is established in mind.

“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.“

We set ourselves free from any belief that would bind us. Our freedom becomes clearer to us as we meditate upon the spirit of freedom within us. In order to be free, we set others free too.

“I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me.”

― Nelson Mandela

BECAUSE FREEDOM is the right of every human, it is natural for us to rebel to first realize the true source of freedom, that source of freedom is the triumphant Spirit of God dwelling in us all. A realization of our inherent power over everything in our life is necessary to the attainment of a consciousness of freedom. Even as our heart cries out for freedom, so can we assert our freedom through unifying ourselves with omnipotence. Then can we rise up in faith and claim our birthright of freedom. By knowing ourselves to be a child of God we become the master of habit, circumstance, condition, & environment. Then is freedom ours in manifestation as well as in Spirit and in Truth.

I HAVE freedom of spirit. We all do. Nothing can hinder or obstruct our spiritual growth and unfoldment. Let us now let go any thought of ourselves as separated from source, God. Centered in Divine Spirit, we are poised, free, and happy.

I have freedom of thought. AFFIRM We are free to think the thoughts of our own choosing. This is what Genesis tells us, we have dominion over all the Life on earth that represents our thoughts, on every level. What a challenge this can be, and what a privilege! Because God has blessed all of us with divine intelligence so we can sort out, evaluate, accept, or refuse the thoughts that come into our mind.

I have freedom of self-expression. AFFIRM We are free from past mistakes or shortcomings, free to make a new beginning, free to press forward into the satisfying, fulfilling life that we have been created to experience. I am free to be the kind of individual that I want to be, and so are you. I am free to express the self that God created—wise, loving, productive, & capable, and so are you.

As we prepare to celebrate July 4th, let us celebrate our freedom! We give thanks for our individual freedom, for freedom wherever it is expressed in the world, and for all freedom -loving people everywhere.

We give thanks for the freedom to express our true nature as children of God, inheritors of health and wholeness. We are not bound by past mistakes, imperfect images, or another’s’ negative opinions.

We are free to express and experience all the good that God has created for us. We are free to govern our own thoughts and activities. We are free to live up to the best that is in us.

We abolish attitudes that would bind us to unwanted habits. We are capable of making right decisions. We are free to live by the divine principles of freedom.

IT HAS been said that true freedom is not freedom from something but freedom for something, freedom to do or to be something. Turn yourself in the direction you wish to go.

In your divine self, your Christ self, you are not bound or limited. You are free to grow and unfold; you are free to express the talents and abilities within you. You are free to live healthily and happily, free to go forward day by day in peace and joy.

We acknowledge the individual freedom of people to be the best that they can be.

Freedom, true freedom, is of the spirit and is not limited by circumstances or conditions. Freedom can never be taken from us by other persons nor given to us by anyone else. The source of true freedom is found in the Spirit of God, which is within us. We are meant for freedom.

When we know that we are free because we have the source of true freedom within us, we have a sense of freedom, no matter what we are doing, no matter in what place we find ourselves.

Freedom is gained through prayer and meditation. It is gained through spiritual development experienced in communion with God in the silence.

Affirm: From my times of prayer and meditation I attain a spiritual power that enables me to rise above every limitation or restriction in my life.

Whatever your beliefs on personal freedoms, pray that our country can come to a place of equality, compassion, and freedom for all.