GREAT MORNING!  

So how have you been doing with this conversation, so to speak, with Rev. Mark Anthony Lord? Lots of interesting ideas and suggestions to help us get to know ourselves better and connect with our Higher Self. And THAT is what we truly want. It may come in different forms but deep down we know it’s to be closer to Source.

So, let’s see what Rev. Lord has for us today.

This chapter is titled “Want What You Want.”

And he brings in the verse from Matthew, 7:7-12, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

He suggests this verse holds the key to ending much of our suffering.   A promise of support, abundance, great freedom

Have you asked?  Have you knocked on the door three times as Jesus did?

Better still, do you know what you want?

My Dream

I ask for what my heart desires and prepare to receive God’s good.

What do I truly want for my life? This is an important question. At times I may find myself waiting for God to deliver my good, yet I haven’t even considered what I really want. What is my heart’s greatest desire?

My heart’s longing originates in God. When I reflect on what I want to do, who I want to be, and where I want to go, my heart’s desire is revealed. It may unfold in an instant or slowly over time. The key is to ask, seek, and then patiently wait for clarity.

Today I ask myself, What do I truly want? In the stirring of my heart, God speaks to me and leads me to my right path. I listen for answers with eager anticipation.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.—Psalm 37:4-5

The Universe is a yes machine.  Just ask, with feeling, with determination, with belief and especially, with faith.

The Universe doesn’t ask you to reconsider your thought, it just looks into your heart.

Pg 59

We learn that being selfish, wanting what we want wasn’t good

Now we are mixed with feeling of uncertainty…not knowing when it’s ok to want & when it’s not.

Eventuality our wanting becomes mixed with guilt, shame, fear, should and shouldn’ts, judgments & greed.

“When wanting something for yourself is judged so severely it can forever alter the way you view your needs and desires, causing you to hide and deny them.”

Our society has made it almost a sin to take care of ourselves. The vision of helping others at the expense of ourselves was, & still is to a degree, considered holy, Godlike.

Think about all the “prophets, the masters, those people who devote their lives to helping others—Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Buddha. They were all living off of the earth, off of the goodness of others, not thinking of themselves, only of their calling.

Helping others is good, when we help family & friends, it is truly from our hearts

This is ‘love in action.’  It is not suffering. We do for others because it is the right thing to do.

The word sacrifice means to make sacred.

When we know it is the right thing to do, to look to others instead of ourselves, we don’t feel deprived…we feel fulfilled. We are making it sacred.

God is working through us. And it feels like it too, special. Sacred.

We are all selfish, we all have our own interests. And they are all different. You have yours and I have mine. You might not care for my selfish interests. But they are mine. I may not care for yours, but they are yours.

You are really the only person you can influence. It is your business to think about yourself, care for yourself, and want what you want…..no need to justify or explain.

That does not mean you can harm another or destroy property.

I love Byron Katie’s question: Who’s business is it? Mine? Yours? Gods?

Check yourself first about what is good and true for you

Rev. Mark tells us a percentage of our wanting comes from suffering-subtle and not so subtle beliefs of unworthiness, lack and limitation, doubt and worry. This discomfort is pushing you to want more, to change and grow.

Remember, the universe says yes to your wants, but also to the core, generating ideas and feelings from which wanting comes. A percentage of your wanting comes from beliefs of unworthiness, lack and limitation, doubt and worry.

It’s never a good time to want something when you are feeling fearful. Fear creates more fear. The same with thoughts of lack, feeling unlovable, feelings of regret, anger, worry.

So what can we do?  First and foremost, become aware of your feelings. Take a breath, and place your attention of what is happening to you in this present moment. Remember to be in the NOW. (are you in the Now, now? Listening?)

Now look around….find something good, something beautiful…a flower, the ocean, the tree slowly waving in the breeze.  A child enjoying playing in the sand, lovers walking hand in hand. Sun setting in beautiful colors. The playful kittens in the room or your dog tugging on a toy.

There is wonder and beauty all around us, if we just open our eyes.

You want to shift your energy from the sad or angry mood you were into something better, appreciation, gratitude.

Have compassion for yourself. If you are fearful or angry, get up and move around. Go for a walk, or a run, if you can. Clean the house. Weed the garden. Walk the dogs.

OR, work through those feelings, whatever they are. They are legitimate feelings, and in our work on self-love, it is important to know, understand what these feelings are all about.

Don’t deny yourself or judge the experience…just feel.

There is no right or wrong way to want, only your right relationship to it.

True freedom comes when you can fully embrace all that you want with no justifications, excuses, shame, or denial.

Imagination is one of our 12 powers, some feel the greatest. So it’s natural to have it, to use it.

Of course, we know we all can’t have everything we want,

Some people try to fill a hole inside themselves with ‘things’ in their attempt to provide safety, attention, or even escape. Just because one wants something doesn’t mean they can have it, or even take it.

Do you recall the lessons on the 10 commandments? Thou shall not steal. If something is not yours, it’s not meant to be yours…go get your own! Your own car, house, friend, wife or husband….

Hoarding, over spending, behavior that causes pain & suffering to another is no freedom, it is the misunderstanding and misuse of wanting.

Allowing yourself to want what you want, without causing any harm to yourself or another, will create within you a deep feeling of contentment that has nothing to do with having more….you will love what you have.  Gratitude for what you have opens the possibility for receiving more.

You are able to discern what is really important for you. What is really important for you?

“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13)

Isn’t that wonderful? It says, in essence, “Whatever it is that you want, if you ask for it in Jesus’ name, you’ll get it.” The promise is so straightforward, and there are no qualifiers. No if’s, and’s or but’s. There’s no, “As long as it’s a good idea…or “Just so long as it doesn’t seem greedy…” It doesn’t say any of that. It says, “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that I will do…”

Let me tell you something, our Creator is not glorified by poverty. God is not glorified by illness. The Divine is not glorified when you feel guilty or unworthy. Spirit is not glorified when you run around playing the victim.

God is glorified when you stand up and acknowledge who you are and claim your birthright.

And who are you? You are a divine being, a child of God the Most High, a person who deserves to have every good thing that life has to offer.

Now, it may be that some of the things are hard for you to accept. They might be the opposite of what you’ve been told all your life, and you might feel that you can’t just transform your thinking instantly, as if by magic. Learning a brand new way of thinking can take some time and concerted effort, so I’d like to introduce a practice that many people find helpful in changing a long-held mindset: affirmations.

And here is a great one: “It brings my Divine great joy to fulfill my every dream and desire.”

Try writing some affirmations for yourself. Make it personal in present tense. And then believe, have faith in your God and in yourself.

Here’s an exercise for you to help you to understand why you didn’t receive what you thought you wanted. Make 2 columns on a piece of paper. AT the top left side write “What I didn’t get that I wanted” and at the top right hand side write “why”.

Be honest with yourself and see what you come up with, you may be surprised what you discover.

After you have discovered and understood the whys of not getting what you thought you wanted, make another list, this time listing “What I did get that I wanted” and “Why.”

In each instance, can you see the Universe at work? Did you discover self-sabotaging patterns? Could you see how some things were not meant to be & be ok with that?

An interesting exercise….let me know how you make out.

“It doesn’t matter how much you want. What really matters is how much you want it. The extent and complexity of the problem does not matter was much as does the willingness to solve it.”

GREAT MORNING!  

When did you start loving yourself?

Or maybe I should ask, have you started to love yourself?

We have been taught from our birth to look outside ourselves for love and acceptance.  And that has been ingrained generation after generation after generation. Look to your parents and grandparents. Did they love themselves? Did they take care of themselves? Maybe a little.

Or maybe as they grew older and realized that it was past time to look to themselves for love and acceptance, because unconditional love and acceptance was so very hard to find from others.

We were always taught to be good, do whatever was asked to receive a bit of love. We tried so hard to be perfect in this physical world.

I don’t know of any person who is perfect.

Yes, we are perfect as spiritual beings, but when we have this physical cloak we call a body and live in this dualistic world, there is no perfect human.

SO, today, Rev. Mark Anthony Lord is asking us to “Love Yourself Madly.”

Think about how you were growing up. Didn’t you try to do what was asked of you, even if it wasn’t what you wanted? Now I’m not talking about being nasty or a trouble maker, breaking the law.

What I’m asking is, did you follow what was expected of you? Let’s say you grew up in the 50’s & 60’s like I did. Were you encouraged to be whom you wanted to be or was it expected that you follow the traditions of your sex and class?

I was told, “Girls don’t do that.”

That was sports, or hang out or go into town alone. And our town was small.

To this day, I don’t know how I got my parents to agree that I could go to college, even tho I had to pay my way.

Eventually, many of us realize that our needs are important too, and it is up to us to see to them. We realize that we too, are worthy.

Instead of abandoning bits of ourselves to satisfy others, we come to realize that it’s our turn to be whom we were meant to be.

How long has it taken you to realize that you have been downplaying your wisdom and accomplishments in order to make others feel comfortable?

It is past time for us to be ourselves.

Our society is outmoded; self-respect is considered selfish. It’s not. If you don’t honor yourself, who will?

We don’t have to be someone else to be loved and appreciated. “Imagine what the world would be like if everyone truly loved themselves and sourced their own affirmation, recognition, and respect from within.”

“Every time you look outside yourself for love, recognition, or approval, you are abandoning yourself.”

Think about that…how does that feel to you?

We’ve heard this many times already, you must love yourself to be able to love others. And I would think many of us would refute that. “How could you say I don’t love my friends, family…?

It made me wonder if I was loving with conditions?

“A Course in Miracles” talks about ‘special love’ and ‘holy love.’ Special love is what we would normally think of when we talk about loving a friend, or spouse, or even a pet.

Holy Love is in all of us. It’s always available and has no contingencies…any person, place or thing. Holy Love can be shared without possessing and it includes everyone.

Our healing comes in casting a net of holy love over our entire self that allows every single, separated part to come home into the light of acceptance.

Here’s the reading I choose for today:

Bless Yourself

 I bless others and I bless myself.

Do you bless others but never think of blessing yourself? Do you forgive others, but do not think of forgiving yourself? Do you obey the commandment to love your neighbor, but do not think of loving yourself? It is time to remember to bless yourself.

Bless yourself today. Bless your body; it is Gods holy temple. Bless your mind, heart, and soul. You are a child of God and your capabilities are unlimited.

Sometimes memories come back of happenings wherein you wish you had acted or spoken differently. You cannot change what is past but you can know that God has turned it into a blessing and forgiven you. Bless yourself with the balm of forgiveness.

Bless yourself and love yourself. You have done some fine things in your life. The Father has many important things for you to do. He can do so much more through you if you love, forgive, and bless yourself.

Carl Jung: “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.”

Are you fearful of your true self?  Ask yourself WHY?

Our minds have pounded us with enormous amounts of self-recrimination and judgment. We must begin to listen to what we are thinking and saying to ourselves in a nonreactive way.

We can’t change the past but we can realize that it has no real power of its own.

Byron Katie would ask, “Is it true?”

If you are present, in the NOW, it is not true….it’s in the past, in the story you are telling yourself.

When we love ourselves, we have an appreciation for our own worth or value. We don’t need affirmation from others and we don’t need them to tell us that we are good enough, smart enough, attractive enough—we simply know. As a result, we have positive views about ourselves and feel good about who we are most of the time. We also tend to have higher levels of self-worth, self-esteem, and self-confidence. 

“Finding yourself is not really how it works. You aren’t a ten-dollar bill in last winters coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under cultural conditioning, other people’s opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. “Finding yourself” is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you.  Emily McDowell

What does loving yourself actually mean? Deepak Chopra

Loving yourself means loving all of yourself (your quirks, flaws, imperfections) and accepting every single part of you that you cannot change. It means finding peace within your body and soul.

Step 1: Make Contact with Your Inner Self

This implies paying more attention to self-care. Through meditation, self-reflection, or contemplation, and the experience of quiet at least a few minutes every day, you make contact with your inner world. You learn to appreciate and enjoy it.

Step 2: Honestly Face Your Inner Obstacles and Resistance

Most people don’t like to face their weaknesses and flaws because they judge against them. But you are human, and you will find that your sense of insecurity and anxiety represents feelings from the past that can be healed. In fact, they want to be released if you will give them a chance.

Look inside and let the process of releasing begin. Healing can proceed along many avenues—from therapy and support groups, to energy work, massage, mind-body programs, and various Eastern medical approaches.

Step 3: Deal with Old Wounds

One could also call this advanced healing. As old residues of negative emotions are released, you find that you are stuck with resentments, hurts, and scars that must be dealt with. Beneath the scar such wounds feel very fresh. It takes help from someone else who understands the situation to go into these dark places—it could be a close friend, mentor, confidante, priest, or therapist. The work can be done safely, without anxiety, and once you start, there’s a tremendous sense of exhilaration, even triumph in the process. Just find someone who has walked the path successfully and sympathizes with you fully.

Step 4: Forgive Your Past

You shouldn’t jump too quickly into forgiveness. It’s all too easy to pretend to yourself that you forgive old hurts and abusive treatment, when in fact what you are eager for is to escape the pain. The absence of pain, achieved through healing, gives you the right foundation for deep, lasting forgiveness. Self-acceptance is required first, and the realization that you—and everyone around you—has been doing the best they can from their own level of awareness. This can be quite a challenge when someone has hurt you deeply, but you can’t fully separate from wrongdoing until you accept that others are trapped inside a reality they can’t escape.

Step 5: Accept where You Are Right Now

This, too, is a stage you shouldn’t jump into too quickly. The present moment isn’t free of the burdens, memories, and wounds of the past. They must be attended to before you can look around, breathe easily, and love the moment you are in right now. A good beginning is to catch yourself when you have a bad memory and say, “I am not that person anymore.” For the truth is that you aren’t.

Step 6: Form Relationships where You Feel Loved and Appreciated

The path to unconditional love isn’t meant to be lonely. You should walk it with people who reflect the love you see in yourself. You are likely to look around at some point and realize that not everyone among your family and friends are in sync with your aspirations. Without rejecting them, you have the right to find people who understand the path you’re walking and sympathize with it. They are more likely to appreciate you for who you are now and who you want to become.

Step 7: Practice the Kind of Love You Aspire to Receive

We all wish to be loved.  But the only way to realistically find “the one” is to be “the one” yourself. Like attracts like, and the more you live your own ideal of love, the more your light will draw another light to you. This single point, I am told, has helped most people find their love.

Here are some steps to loving yourself:

1. Use daily affirmations. Affirmations work to help boost your self-esteem, which in turn, contributes to your goal of fearless self-love.
2. Stop your negative self-talk. Adding fuel to the fire of unhealthy thinking patterns is the habit of negative self-talk.
3. Challenge social expectations. While working towards fearless self-love, we need to be mindful of social influences.
4. Build your strengths.  If social influence plays a role in how we shape our motivations, we run the risk of focusing our attention in areas not honoring our unique gifts.
5. Focus on your success. We each have a tendency to focus on the negative events in our lives before remembering the positive.
6. Practice self-compassion. One of the most vital ways to grow self-love is through the act of self-compassion.
7. Live gratefully.  A grateful heart brings a joyful spirit. Gratitude is more than affirmations and positive self-talk.
8. Find the humor in life. Life is hard and if we spend too much time thinking about all those hardships, we are bound to suffer.
9. Don’t forget to smile. Seeking a fearless self-love should include smiling. Loving yourself is striving to reach your fullest potential.
10. Ask for help. Allow others to lighten your load so you can focus on the most important tasks.
11. Set boundaries. If we don’t set the standard for how others treat us, then other are allowed to treat us however they feel.
12. Stay home when needed. If you struggle with holding boundaries with yourself and others, maybe your self-care is lacking.
13. Share your true feelings. Self-love asks us to be raw and honest with ourselves. Honest with your true values, morals, wants, and needs.
14. Surround yourself with goodness. Seeking a fearless self-love is a full-time job. All aspects of your life need to stay focused on your ultimate goal – self-love and happiness.
15. Remember that you are loved. Affirmations, boundaries and positivity can help to increase your self-love.

None of these two lists, however, remind us to take care of our bodies. We have heard it many times, our bodies are the temple housing our Christ Spirit.

“Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live.”

Self-awareness begins with you here and now in this moment, in every moment of your life.   Kriyananda Swami

Meditation:    guided

Acording to Mr. Activated, these need to be eliminated:

Envy prevents you from focusing on yourself

Ego prevents you from learning from others

Anger prevents you from seeing clearly

Ignorance prevents you from making good choices

Fear prevents you from seeking opportunities

GREAT MORNING!  

Last week we started our Lenten Series, using Rev. Mark Anthony Lord’s book, “Thou Shall Not Suffer – 7 Steps to a Life of Joy.”

We talked a bit about the very word SUFFER. It’s not a word widely used in Unity Circles, for sure. But as a spiritual being living in a human form, that physical world can present as suffering, if we allow it. Remember, our Principles, one of which is we create our world by our very thoughts.

We are made in the very image and likeness of our creator.  And our first task was to fire our old God and hire a new one! Remember, Rev. Lord’s first chapter was, “Get a New God.”

How did you do with your firing and hiring?  If we wish a personal relationship with the God of our understanding, we must put the time and energy into that relationship. After all, any relationship takes two.

And when you did your firing and hiring, did you use a different name for your God? Some people have a hard time with certain words that we grew up with in traditional Christian churches. It might be the word God, or church or even Father.

We in Unity traditionally use God, Divine Mind, Spirit, Universe, Creator, or Divine Energy.

It’s what we are feeling in our hearts when we use whatever word or even feeling when referring to our Creator. You choose, because in reality, no word fits all that that Divine Principle is…we just use a word so we can express what we are referring to as we communicate with each other.

It’s just easier to say God, Spirit, Divine Energy…

Now, let’s look at this week’s step toward more Joy; Chapter 2, “Forgive Yourself and Others.”

Forgiveness again you might think or even say!

Didn’t Jesus tell us, 70 times 7?

Here’s the Reading I selected for this week: Forgiveness

I let go of the past. I let God fill me with newness of life.

Charles Fillmore has written: all growth takes place through these two attitudes, a letting go and a taking hold, or a denial and affirmation. First we let go of old material concepts; we cannot get into a new consciousness until we let go the old…

Then there come into our mind ideas direct from the Fountainhead, and we see everything in a new light.

I let go the past. I let go outdated thinking and circumscribes beliefs. I let go any thought that I must continue in some endeavor simply because it has always been done this way. I use the power of denial to break any bond of negativity. I am free to enjoy the newness of life that is all around me.

I let God fill my mind with new and novel ideas. I am encouraged to adopt new activities, to step out in faith and meet new people and new experiences. I see my world in a new light, and I marvel at what I see!

“He put a new song in my mouth.” Psalms 40:3

“Forgive anyone who caused you pain or harm. Keep in mind forgiveness is not for others. It is for you. Forgiving is not forgetting. It is remembering without anger. It frees up your power, heals your body, mind and spirit. Forgiveness opens up a pathway to a new place of peace, where you can persist despite what happened to you.”

Are we ever not needing to forgive? Mostly ourselves, right?  Often I don’t have to work on forgiving others…it’s just second nature, thankfully. And I would venture you are the same for the most part.

But forgiving ourselves? If we could just be more God-like! God doesn’t need to forgive. God doesn’t see an error. God sees and knows only love.

Catherine Ponder reminds us: “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.”

What is forgiveness? Rev. Lord defines it as a spiritual practice that frees us from the prison of regret; it clears away blame, removes judgment and heals a broken heart. It restores unconditional love and acceptance.

Forgiveness is for the giver.

So how do we forgive, especially in trying times?

We must be willing to forgive, to go through that process of surrendering and letting go. And it might just take 70 times 7 or 490 times!

Seven is a mystical number…it represents completion. So 70 times 7 is the infinite forgiveness, its forgiving until forgiveness is no more required. Your spirit has comprehended what our human minds cannot, that our true spirit has not been harmed.

Forgiveness is not something you do once and done, obviously, or we wouldn’t be guided by Jesus to do it 490 times! It’s a practice, a tool that helps to awaken us to our wholeness.

Deepak Chopra gives us 7 steps to forgiveness: (There’s that number 7 again!)

1. Feel your emotions and face them directly.

Resistance to forgiveness is fueled by emotions. You can rationalize why somebody else did something unforgivable, because deep down you feel angry, resentful, victimized, and hurt. Be honest with your grievance and go to the emotional level where it is rooted. Let the feeling be what it is. The purpose of this step is twofold, because if you confront your feelings, you also have the choice to release them.

Take responsibility for your own emotions. If you can, let go of at least a small portion of your story of how things were supposed to go. Letting go is almost as hard as forgiving, I know. At least say to yourself, “Maybe if I let go of my interpretation of events and what is unfair, I don’t have to be stuck with this feeling.”

• Write down your reasons for not forgiving someone.

This is best done in the form of a letter addressed to the person you feel wronged you. List all your resentments and reasons in detail. Set the letter aside for a day and return to it to add anything else you forgot to say. When you are completely satisfied, put the letter away to consult later. Don’t mail it. Its purpose was to get everything off your chest.

• Ask yourself how motivated you are to offer forgiveness.

Before you started this process, you may have had little motivation to forgive the other person. There can be various reasons for this stubbornness, usually including righteous indignation. Now check to see if your resistance to forgiveness is ready to move. But don’t set any expectation on yourself. If you are still mad as hell, if you feel devastated by hurt, or simply consider what was done to you unforgivable, it’s better to know the truth than to pretend. No matter how weak or strong your motivation is, say to yourself, “All right, this is where I really am.” Sometimes simply being honest with yourself begins to thaw the log jam.

• Let go of as much resentment and anger as you can, here and now.

You can only change what you are aware of, and by now you have gained self-awareness about the situation. Return to the letter that outlines all your grievances and reflect on each point one at a time. As you do, ask yourself, “Can I begin to let go of this resistance?” Don’t force yourself to be magnanimous but stay with how you really feel.

Some items on your list will have begun to soften, and when you encounter this, say, “Maybe there is another interpretation of this event than the painful one I am holding on to.” Release what you can and no more. At the same time, feel the burden of anger and resentment begin to lift. That’s a positive feeling which will increase your motivation to keep with the forgiving process.

• Envision what the future would be like if you do forgive the other person.

Any place you feel your grievance beginning to melt away, pause and envision what it would feel like to be at peace with the other person. Sense the warmth in your heart. If it leads to tears or sobbing, that’s okay—catharsis is a powerful emotion. If you can, feel the possibility of loving the other person, wishing them well, and setting them free—all of which is in your power.

• Reconnect at a sincere positive level.

When you can’t forgive someone, you usually isolate yourself from them, either physically or emotionally. Make an effort to repair this isolation and decide the appropriate level of reconnection. The safest course may be to write a note or send a card expressing your desire to reconnect and then leaving the next step to the other person. Be risk-averse here. You are treading on sensitive ground for both of you.

• Find the place of forgiveness in your own awareness.

The final step of the forgiveness process is to shift your state of awareness. Forgiveness is a state of consciousness, not an action. Emotions get you closer to forgiveness yet they also block the way. If you remove the obstacles, it turns out that forgiveness is completely natural and generally far easier than you may have supposed.

More importantly, once you shift your awareness into forgiveness, there is a much smaller chance that you will relapse. The experience of being a forgiving person becomes part of your spiritual journey, something you deeply need and desire.

I think those steps could help ready us for the exercise Mark Anthony Lord gives us in this chapter.

And can you see that the suggestions by Deepak are easily used to work on ourselves?

Rev. Lord has an exercise for us in this chapter too. It’s called the 70 x 7 Forgiveness Circle. You would make 7 concentric circles, each with a different layer of relationships to you.

The Center would be labeled Your God, next Yourself, Your Family, Your intimate relationships – spouse, partner, friends, followed by Your acquaintances, then The establishment and finally, Your Beliefs.

pic

For 7 days, you would write a prayer of forgiveness, beginning with Your God and working out to the edge with Your beliefs. You would read each prayer 10 times every day for the week, giving you 70 x 7 by the end of the 7 days.

The God of your understanding does the work, you just need to be willing and open to receive.

For example, pg. 28

Does it seem like a lot of work? Maybe. Do you want to be free of suffering? Then one week isn’t a lot of time in the scheme of things.

So, there are two ways to aid your work on forgiveness. Let me know how things are working for you.

Let’s complete this message by introducing you to the Ho’oponopono Technique.

Ho – oh – Po-no – Po-no

Step 1: Repentance – I’M SORRY

As I mention above, you are responsible for everything in your mind, even if it seems to be “out there.” Once you realize that, it’s very natural to feel sorry. I know I sure do. If I hear of a tornado, I am so full of remorse that something in my consciousness has created that idea. I’m so very sorry that someone I know has a broken bone that I realize I have caused.

This realization can be painful, and you will likely resist accepting responsibility for the “out there” kind of problems until you start to practice this method on your more obvious “in here” problems and see results.

So choose something that you already know you’ve caused for yourself? Over-weight? Addicted to nicotine, alcohol or some other substance? Do you have anger issues? Health problems? Start there and say you’re sorry. That’s the whole step: I’M SORRY. Although I think it is more powerful if you say it more clearly: “I realize that I am responsible for the (issue) in my life and I feel terrible remorse that something in my consciousness has caused this.”

Step 2: Ask Forgiveness – PLEASE FORGIVE ME

Don’t worry about who you’re asking. Just ask! PLEASE FORGIVE ME. Say it over and over. Mean it. Remember your remorse from step 1 as you ask to be forgiven.

Step 3: Gratitude – THANK YOU

Say “THANK YOU” – again it doesn’t really matter who or what you’re thanking. Thank your body for all it does for you. Thank yourself for being the best you can be. Thank God. Thank the Universe. Thank whatever it was that just forgave you. Just keep saying THANK YOU.

Step 4: Love – I LOVE YOU

This can also be step 1. Say I LOVE YOU. Say it to your body, say it to God. Say I LOVE YOU to the air you breathe, to the house that shelters you. Say I LOVE YOU to your challenges. Say it over and over. Mean it. Feel it. There is nothing as powerful as Love.

GREAT MORNING!

Lent began on Wednesday. And we have a prosperity program going through the Lenten season, instead of giving something up as was the usual practice, back in the good ole days, in place of a cup of Starbucks or a candy bar or ice cream cone or maybe just for the heck of it, place that money aside and have an extra donation for the time between now and Easter. You choose the amount and help Unity build its prosperity. Make sure to mark the check for the prosperity program.

Also, today we are starting our Lenten Series based upon the book by Rev. Mark Anthony Lord, “Thou Shall Not Suffer – 7 Steps to a Life of Joy.”

Each week we will discuss a chapter with a suggestion on how we can increase our joy, and who wouldn’t want that?!?!?

Did you have a little pushback when you read the title of Mark’s book? Suffering…not a Unity thing, is it?

True, but let’s not forget, even though we are divine, we are human also, so, even if we have our suffering under control now, I’m betting there were times, unfortunately, when we actually had ourselves believing we were suffering, or even that we needed to suffer!

Mark Anthony Lord reminds us that we are “here, on this earth, to be happy, prosperous and free.” We aren’t here to waste our time worrying.

Many times we have been told that “suffering is inevitable,” and “a part of being human.”

We are not here to suffer!!

He tells us…“What if it were possible to experience all the trials life may bring from a place of acceptance, curiosity, strength, and a spiritual perspective that allows you to remain connected to your joy and appreciation throughout it all?

This is the Kingdom of Heaven, a state of mind, an inner reality and point of focus that remains calm and connected to the Spirit of love and Oneness. Like the Eye of a Storm.

This Kingdom is always right here, right now; perfectly located within you.

Once again, we see this verse from Romans: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.”

How are we taught, asked to conform?

Freedom from suffering does not mean there will never be any pain or sorrow…feelings are a natural part of us.

Being authentic is more important than being happy all the time. Our feelings like sadness, grief, fear, anger, etc are messengers telling us we are off course, not connected to our higher good.

It would behoove us to pay attention to them. Being authentic is where we choose to be.

Our first chapter in the book is titled, “Get a new God.” Let your mind wander a bit, and where does it go?

I can recall vividly, as I attended the United Methodist Church back home. My brothers and I attended with my Uncle & Aunt on my Father’s side. And even though we heard about Jesus loving the little children in Sunday School and how he died to save us in church, I always wondered “Where was God?”

What was the God of your childhood like? How did that picture change as you grew?

And where is that image of the God of your understanding now?

That question got me, eventually, to Unity. Maybe that was a key for you too.

Look at our first Principle – “There is only one Presence and one Power, God the Good.”

There is only God. God in us and we in God. We are One with the divine because we ARE divine.

Here’s the Reading I selected for this Message

God

I DWELL IN GOD; GOD DWELLS IN ME.

IF I HAVE thought of God as remote, unconcerned with my welfare, I supplant this concept of God with the knowledge that God is not separated from me by time and space. I actually dwell in God; God dwells in me. For God is Spirit, God is Mind, God is Principle.

God as Spirit is forever accessible. God as Mind is everywhere present. God as Principle is unchangeable. God is Father, Creator, cause and source of all that is.

Knowing this, the true character of God, I realize that God is not guilty of the vagaries of human conduct. God is love. God is light. God is substance. God is the only real presence and power in the universe. This knowledge brings me a serene peace and confidence in the final supremacy of goodness and righteousness in me and in my world.

I affirm for myself: “I dwell in God; God dwells in me.” I affirm for my loved ones: “You dwell in God; God dwells in you.” I affirm for all men everywhere: “We dwell in God; God dwells in us.”

Abide in me, and I in you. JOHN 15:4.

So the first chapter in Rev. Lord’s book tells us to get a new GOD.

And have you? Is your God of today an unconditional loving God or one from the past, a punishing, strict God?

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take the unconditional love, thank you very much!

According to the Gods of Genesis, humans were made in the image and likeness of.

But we humans, thinking we are so smart, make God in our own image. That’s where the vengeful, prejudice God of the Hebrew Bible came from and what most of us started out believing in…the old man in the sky with a long white beard with a huge book of life next to HIM to keep track of all the wrongs we have committed in our life. The God with all the human personality aspects, whether good or not.

This is why we need a new God.

In his book, Mark Anthony Lord includes some exercises to help us through the process. Here’s one; write a letter to your old God and fire them!

Tell this old God why things didn’t work out. Go deep into your psyche so you can detox, be specific. This is like spring cleaning…getting the old out to make way for the new.

What do you think?

After you have cleaned out all the cobwebs, it’s time to hire your new God.

Your relationship with God will develop according to the time and commitment you put into it.

So now you want to write an ad for a God for hire. You get to create the perfect God for yourself, it will be different than mine or your spouses or your best friends.

I hope you give these exercises a chance and see what you come up with…it could be quite interesting.

The Indian guru Ramana Maharshi: “Each one thinks of God according to his own degree of advancement. Worship God with or without form until you know who you are.”

What does that mean? To me it means that, just like the Bible, our soul journeys through life, learning as we grow. When we start out, our God may be the God of our childhood. But as we journey and question and learn, our God becomes much more personal.

Before I would ask God why…now I ask myself what is mine to do.

The God of your being is the voice that celebrates you, adores you, and gives you clear guidance and direction. This is what I want my God to be for me.

“When you feel good, you are feeling God.”

GREAT MORNING!  

And welcome back to the Spiritual Center. It’s great to be with you again. And hello to those of you viewing the Service at home. Please let us know you are there.

So, if you recall, this topic was scheduled for January 30^th, but we had a lot of snow that day and so we rescheduled it for today.  Our topic, “Reinvent and Renew in 2022.”

It’s got a little rhythm to it, don’t you think.

Reinvent & Renew in 2022 came about during one of the Thursday morning zoom calls with ministers & spiritual leaders in the Eastern Region. Actually, these calls are widely known and so we have ministers and spiritual leaders from other parts of the country as well…Florida, California, Chicago to mention a few.

And Rev. Dr. Paul Hasselback, who I have mentioned often, has been joining in from Missouri. It was his idea to use “Reinvent and Renew in 2022” as a theme for the year.

Later, Big Unity’s Lenten Booklet titled “Release and Renew 2022,” was announced. Not quite the same. Release certainly seems to fit for Lent.

Whereas, reinvent has a whole ‘coming out of the pandemic and looking forward vibe to it.

Reinvent means to change (something) so much that it appears to be entirely new; take up a very different job or way of life.

Isn’t that what we have been doing these past years, all through the pandemic? We had to learn how to live with this threat hanging over us, trying to keep ourselves safe as well as those in our family & friends circle.

Thinking over the past 2 plus years, what have we done to keep safe? To keep others safe? Much actually.

Other than the masks and social distancing, We had to actually reinvented how to ‘do’ Sunday Services!  We started out small but have gotten better as time went on, though we still have technical issues from time to time, from sound to pictures and even printers!

The point is, we keep moving forward. And that is what most of us would want, to move forward, reinventing ourselves as we go along. Improving who we are and how we reach out to our immediate community as well as the greater community.

We have tried several ways to keep in touch with our Unity Community.

And I would guess that maybe you are thinking, when you received one of those calls, or emails, or letters, that you may have thought you didn’t need to do anything to respond to it. After all, it’s not your job to say hi back to the person writing or calling you.

But what if, that person was struggling, maybe more than you. Maybe they needed someone to say ‘hi’ back, but you never thought to do that. After all, you are not the Minister, or Prayer Chaplain or Board Member.

But, hey, they are, we are all people too. So, maybe next time, respond back, just a simple “I’m doing ok, how are you?”

You may just make their day.

So, see, it’s not that hard to reinvent ourselves!

As we reinvent ourselves, we also renew ourselves. We renew who we are and what we stand for. This is UNITY. Look at our Principles…

If Unity is not new to you, then you may recall when it was that you walked into your first Unity Center and felt at home. It was a renewing of your mind and heart. You may have been searching for your place with likeminded spiritual seekers.

“There is only one Presence and one Power, God the Good.”

“God is present in all people as our divine essence, our Christ nature.”

 

“We create our life experiences through our way of thinking.”

 

“Through affirmative prayer and meditation, we connect with God
and bring out the good in our world.”

 “Knowledge of these spiritual principles is not enough. We must live them.”

If you are new to Unity, then this may be an awakening, your epiphany. The teachings of New Thought may fit right in with your heart. You are ready to step out into a new way of being.

We are reinventing ourselves, renewing our hearts. Awakening to the teachings of the Masters who have come into this physical realm to show us the way to connecting to our inner Christ, our Buddha nature, our True Authentic Self.

This is the renewing of your mind as stated in Romans 12:2

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”

Maybe during the Burning Bowl and Letters to God, you established a new goal, a new view, maybe a new skill that you wanted to begin for this year. You were reinventing yourself, putting the idea of a new and dedicated person to work on during these months.

Maybe you even started doing that back when we were safe, inside, with extra time on our hands.

What did you do with that time? If you didn’t take that opportunity to reinvent yourself or to renew what your goals were, this is the time.

I’m shortening this Message today so we can start our H.U.G. meeting at a reasonable time. Those of you at home can link in via ZOOM, just let Dan know you are interested.

So, let’s take our thoughts about our reinventing ourselves into Meditation, asking ourselves what we want to renew or how do we wish to reinvent ourselves. Let that sink in and allow those questions to take hold. Let your heart wander. Who do you wish to be? How do you wish to present yourself to the world, both big and small worlds.

These are great questions as we start our Lenten Series next week.

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

It’s great to see you again this morning.

I wanted to revisit a topic we discussed several years ago. Don’t worry, I’ve updated it some.

It’s about Leadership.

What is a leader? Do you know?

Think on this…

When Benjamin Franklin wanted to introduce street lighting to the people of colonial Philadelphia, he did not lobby politicians, he did not publish editorials, he did not argue with those who disagreed with him.

Instead, …he simply hung a brilliant lantern on a long bracket in front of his own house.
Every evening, as dusk approached, …. he faithfully lit the wick.
People out in the dark night could see Franklin’s streetlight from blocks away and were grateful to walk in its friendly glow.

Soon Franklin’s neighbors started putting lanterns on brackets in front of their own homes, and it wasn’t long before the entire city was illuminated each night with streetlamps.

Of course, we all know Ben Franklin was and is considered a leader, agreed?

A minister was standing at the back of the Church greeting people as they were leaving one morning.

“Good morning” she said to a little boy who was waiting in line to see her.

“I’ve been waiting to tell you something that happened to me,” he said.

“Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be a bunny rabbit. I always wished I were furry and free to hop and run all over. I wished and I wished but I finally gave up
because I saw that I was never going to get my wish and become a rabbit.
Then, last week a miracle happened.”

“Really,” she chuckled imagining that he had received a special pet rabbit.

“Yes,” he said with his eyes wide in wonder. “After all this time of wishing, ….one night I had a dream, and in my dream, ……I was a bunny rabbit and I felt what it was like to be furry and free …… and run and hop and play.
I had a wonderful time, and I got my wish.”

“That’s wonderful,” she agreed.

“But that’s not all,” he said excitedly. “During my dream, …. God showed me how wonderful it is to be a bunny rabbit and when I woke up I realized that the feelings that I wanted to feel in being a bunny rabbit are already inside me.
SO, I’VE BEEN CARRYING WHAT I WANTED WITH ME ALL ALONG.”

His eyes were wide with recognition and hers were filled with tears of appreciation at his newly found inner splendor.

“Thank you for sharing your wonderful story with me,” she managed to get out.

“I just thought you’d like to know,” he said as he smiled and walked off with his mom into the crowd.

Is this little boy a leader?

A man and his son were taking a walk in the forest.
Suddenly his son triped and feeling a sharp pain he screams, “Ahhhh!”
Surprised, he hears a voice coming from the mountain, “Ahhhhh!”

Filled with curiosity, he screams, “Who are you?
But the only answer he receives is “Who are you?”
This makes him angry, so he screamed, “You are a coward!” and the voice answers, “You are a coward!”

He looks at his father, asking, “Dad, what is going on?”

“Son”, ……. the man replied, ……. “Pay attention!”

Then he screams, …… “I admire you!
The voice answers… “I admire you!”

The father shouts…. “You are wonderful!”
And the voice answers…. “You are wonderful!”

The boy is surprised, but still can’t understand what is going on.

Then the father explains,
“People call this an ‘echo’ but truly it is ‘life!’
It gives you back that which you CHOOSE to put in it.
It is simply a reflection of who we are.”

Is this father a leader?

 Are you a leader?

Sure, you are…… You’ve probably taken on leadership roles in your life that you didn’t realize at the time. We all are at one time or another, a leader.

Everyone can be a leader. There is no single answer to “What is leadership?” because it isn’t something you’re either born with or without, but a powerful skill that can be developed over time.

Don’t you know that if you have seen leadership qualities in another, then those qualities are in you also.

Leadership is the ability to inspire a team to achieve a certain goal.

A general definition of leadership is to influence, inspire and help others become their best selves, building their skills and achieving goals along the way.

It’s a skill and a tool you can continually cultivate and use to create lasting change. Leadership is also not something you’re born with or without – it’s a creative muscle you can strengthen and develop over time.

What have you done with that leadership ability?
That is the question.

The word “leadership” can bring to mind a variety of images as we just have shown.

 Here are a few more:
A political leader…. pursuing a passionate, personal cause.
An explorer…cutting a path through the jungle for the rest of his group to follow.

An executive …developing her company’s strategy to beat the competition.

Our own Leroy & Dan who started the Men’s group.

LaLa, Michael & Jeanne stepping into the role of Prayer Chaplains.

Dan, Sharon, Laurie, Carolyn & Kevin stepping into our Board and leading our way into the future.

These are just a few examples of leaders.

Leaders help themselves………. and others………. to do the right things.

They set direction, build an inspiring vision, and create something new. Leadership is about mapping out where you need to go to achieve your goals as a team or an organization.

When one person harnesses their powers to lead, it strengthens the leadership opportunities of others, rather than diminishing them. That’s because the ultimate definition of leadership is empowering others to become effective leaders as well. As one person begins to embrace their role as a leader, they inevitably connect with others who have already mastered the art of leadership.

We are using our leadership abilities to grow ourselves and aid each other on our Spiritual Journey.

Great leadership – quality leadership – is servant leadership. Servant leadership refers to someone who wants to influence others to serve the greater good. They don’t just want to get from Point A to Point B, and they’re not searching for an outcome that only benefits themselves; a great leader always has the big picture in mind. They’re searching for ways to not just help themselves, but to help other people and the community at large. They’re figuring out ways to influence their community and culture in such a way that everyone who’s part of it benefits. Serving the greater good is their driving force, also known as their purpose.

The purpose of spiritual leadership is to tap into the fundamental needs of both leaders and followers for spiritual well-being through conveying that life has meaning and makes a difference and through membership (belonging); to create vision and value across the congregation; ultimately, to foster higher levels of well-being, commitment, and social responsibility.

This is why we have reached out in many ways to support this community as we travel through the pandemic. We’ve tried several ways to stay connected with you, our immediate community.

This is why we have put in place our safeguards to keep everyone safe who enters the Center. We wanted our space to be welcoming to others, and to help our community spread the word about Unity.

While spiritual leadership involves many of the same principles as general leadership, spiritual leadership has certain distinctive qualities that must be understood and practiced if spiritual leaders are to be successful.

Leaders share their gift of leadership by sharing courageous ideas in compelling and inspiring ways.

They demonstrate integrity…. intelligence…… creativity……enthusiasm…… and humility, among other characteristics.

That is why I ask what are you doing when you walk out the door each Sunday? What are you thinking and saying and doing? Are you putting the Unity Principles into practice?

This is why I ask, are you sharing your gifts? Everyone has gifts but if they are not shared, they are wasted.

Sharing your gifts, being the light why you leave here each Sunday helps to promote your leadership ability.

So, you can see that your participation in the leadership of this Community, in whatever way………is important.

Everyone has the responsibility of leadership.

Our Members and Congregants are asked to further the work of Unity Spiritual Center of Coastal Delaware through active interest, love and support, including but not limited to regular attendance at services and programs, financial support and ongoing volunteer services.

Jesus is our example of spiritual leadership. He led the 12, teaching them through lessons and parables, and his example. And gave us a perfect guide for our lives. He showed us that we journey better when we journey with others.

It’s much more difficult to achieve connection to God if we try to do it alone. When we come together—as we in Unity do each Sunday, as well as other times in meditation, classes and fun times—we find it easier to see the Christ expressing as each other than it is to see it in ourselves. And seeing it in each other becomes an easier path to recognizing it in ourselves.

We help ourselves and each other by sharing our gifts and experiences, by service to Unity and the larger community.

It was Jane Goodell who reminded us,

“You cannot get through a single day …. without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

We develop our leadership by letting our inner light shine and letting it ripple out into the world.

This is our first step in leading a change……. a change in ourselves as leaders.

Use your God-given gifts ……. and lead where they take you.

I hope to see even more of you stepping into your leadership places inside this Center and out.

God has something wonderful to say through you, which God can only say as you. The cosmos can never be quite complete without you.” — Eric Butterworth

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

And Happy New Year. May it be blessed with all that you require for a wonderous year of love, peace, and compassion for all.

We begin the new year with the White Stone Ceremony. It logically follows the Burning Bowl Ceremony. These two Ceremonies are meant to open, to clear out all that is holding us back, to let go of anything that we are prepared to release, and then to be open to receive a name or word for our intention for the new year.

Last week we participated in a sacred fire ceremony of clearing…clearing out those thoughts, habits, situations and even people that no longer serve us.

We affirm “I release the past and bless this past year with love. I am grateful for all I have experienced and learned. Now begins a new adventure and I look forward to it eagerly!”

We look to set an intention for this new year that we have begun. Intentions are a favorite of mine. They help us set the tone for each day and year as well as for our lives. Try it each morning, set an intention and see how it guides your day.

“Our words have the power to shape and mold the invisible substance of the Universe.” From non-form to form, our thoughts create our world and our experience. The law is always at work whether we acknowledge it or not. Change your mind, change your words, change your world. It all starts with the words that follow “I Am….”

Jesus spoke often and taught the importance of hearing in a new way. And in the quote, it is clear that we are listening for Spirit. It is a voice of Spirit arising from within us, not coming to us from outside us.

Learning to discern between the chatter of monkey mind or ego mind and the truth of our divine self is part of our journey. We must practice getting the clutter out of the way so this divine self could inform our subconscious and conscious mind with new patterns of thought which we had EARS TO HEAR. This new hearing invites us into the silence to hear more clearly. And it requires us to trust what we hear.

And that brings us to this week’s White Stone Ceremony.

This time of year, where one ends and another begins, is a special time. It’s a time of endings and beginnings.

Why would this be something important for us? These last two years have been an interesting learning experience, wouldn’t you say, filled with growth opportunities for us all. It is important that we release those people, places, things, thoughts, the energy that no longer serves our higher being.

And after that, we look to the Universe to fill that void where those things and ideas, those feelings and that energy are held in our consciousness and subconsciousness.

Let’s begin….

If you haven’t done so, choose your White Stone from the basket being passed. Please go through the ceremony with me before writing anything down. Give the energy surrounding us, and each of you individually, time and respect for the process. We want to give that word or name time to come to you from the ethers.

Those of you at home, please honor this also. And if you do not have a white stone, just jot down what comes to you, and you can pick up a stone next time you are at the Center.

What is the history of the White Stone Ceremony? It comes from the writing in the book of Revelation, which was written around 95 CE.

In Revelation 2:17: “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers (who overcomes) I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

This Biblical verse is stating many things…. first: “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying…”

In other words, we must have our outer and inner ear willing and open to the

messages coming to us. If we are not willing, we will not hear the word or words, the new name that our Higher Self, our Christ Presence is giving us.

The great theologian Paul Tillich said that listening is the first law of love. So, if that is true, look what happens when we apply the word “listen” to the great commandments … the greatest thing we can do is to listen to God with all our hearts, minds, soul and strength, and to listen to others as we listen to ourselves.

Interesting take on those words from scripture.

We develop this inner listening quality by getting out of our intellect and into our hearts, through meditation.  In meditation, we stop our daily busy-ness and listen to the Divine Voice of Love.  We open our minds and hearts to a deep intuitive “knowing.”

Then the verse from Revelations states, ‘To everyone who conquers’ (who overcomes)

What are we overcoming…? What do you think?

What are your thoughts and responses? If you are watching at home, write your thoughts in the comment sections.

The conquering is not an outer war, but an inner one. To everyone who takes the time to listen to the still, small voice; to everyone who practices release and affirms inner spiritual qualities…. We realize it requires surrendering personal will to Divine Will, and the paradox is that in that surrender of the egoic self is Victory. It is a birthing of the Essential Self just as Jesus taught and demonstrated.

We are overcoming – unnecessary fears, anxieties, the strains, and stresses of the physical plane.

And that is everyone, maybe not all day, every day, but we ALL overcome the trials of living a spiritual life in a physical body. And the more we listen, the more we are willing, the more we will overcome.

To everyone who takes the time to listen to the still, small voice; to everyone who makes the effort to deny outer appearance and affirm inner spirituality; you will realize it requires surrendering personal will to Divine Will, and the paradox is that in that surrender of the egoic self is victory. It is a birthing of the Essential Self, just as Jesus taught and demonstrated.

In this passage there are also 3 Promises:

“To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” 

The first promise is “Hidden Manna.”

When we are in “the wilderness” of our spiritual searching, and if we surrender to the I AM, we receive “hidden manna,” not visible to the world.  We are given an entirely new source of energy and nourishment.  We are given peace that passes all understanding. 

This hidden manna is derived from the higher level of being within us.  It nourishes the soul first and then, the body.  It benefits the whole being.  Jesus alludes to this when he says to his disciples in John 4:32, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”  

In the Revealing Word, Charles Fillmore says manna is“The bread of life, the Word of God. [Manna] represents the realization that the divine substance is everywhere present, in every part of the consciousness.”

Think about how you felt when you realized a spiritual Truth. What was the energy behind an epiphany you had? If you were like me, you were so excited and couldn’t wait to share your news with someone close or special.

That energy comes from Source. It fills you up and just the memory of it can make your day.

I recall my first time at Unity Village for a week of classes. What a wonderful experience. When I got back and was at my home Unity church, many people expressed the peace that still shone on my face. I can still recall some of that feeling from so long ago.

THAT is the hidden manna.

The 2^nd promise is a White Stone

The white stone is an ancient ritual.  Back in ancient times, when someone served time in prison or in bondage of any kind, they were given a white stone when they were released.  It served as a symbol that they had done their time and they had been given passage to live with all the rights of a free person. Each of us comes from the bondage of past nonsense – false limitations, old beliefs, error thinking that have been a prison to us.  With surrender of the belief in separation and bondage comes a sense of worthiness:  we are beloved, one with the Divine, free, and unlimited. 

Hold your stone in your hand. Feel the energy there. Remember, everything is made of energy. If you quiet yourself, and close off any outside noise, maybe you will be able to feel it.

The 3^rd promise is a New Name 

In Biblical times, a name was a very sacred thing.  Every name represented a quality that was in the person who carries the name. Parents didn’t choose a name for their child just because they liked the name. They chose it for whatever essence they saw in the child.

Abram, meant ‘high father, & as he grew in spiritual awareness, he became Abraham, ‘father of many’.  Sarai, his wife went from ‘my princess’ to Sarah, ‘noble woman’.  Simon, ‘to hear’ was named Peter (Faith).

The meaning of Sandy is “Defender of mankind,” or “she is brave”. The name comes from the Greek, Alexandra.

So, when we surrender to the inner Spirit, we take on a new identity, a new name so to speak.  This refers to the new, higher realization of the I AM, a new awareness of our God Self, our higher self.  And this is where the Ceremony called White Stone” comes in. In the passage, we are told that “I will give a white stone and on the white stone is written a new name that no knows except the one who receives it.” 

So, I invite you to meditate on what you’re being called to in the new year and claim that as your new name. 

In our oneness with God, we surrender our human identity to recognize our full potential.  We let go of unnecessary baggage.  Picking up a white stone is a symbol of receiving our “hidden manna” to feed us and is our white stone of freedom.

Hold the white stone in your hands and open your mind to “hearing” your new name.   At any time in the next few minutes as I am speaking, if the new name comes to your awareness, hold it your heart.  Don’t be hasty. Let it resonate with you.

If nothing comes to you during this ceremony, continue to ask.  Be open to an answer to your asking.

Allow yourself to ask a question: Who or what am I called to be in this coming year? As I let go of my old habits, those I released during the burning bowl ceremony, what is it that I am called to be known as?

Let your awareness drop from your head down into your heart: from your intellect and into your deep inner knowing; to an awareness of Divine Love and Wisdom. Listen for a moment to your still small voice. 

Open your imagination, allow Wisdom to speak, give your ego a few minutes off and let that divine holy Voice in you come through. Perhaps there is a new career, a new title, or a new quality that Spirit is pressing out through you.

Charles Fillmore says this new name is your concept of yourself. 

The White Stone is your sign of a clean slate.  Whatever has gone on in the past, let it go.  Give yourself permission to know that as you release that which no longer serves your highest good, you can claim a new quality, a new name.

This word can be an overall intention…a way of being in the world…something to grow into…something that allows a deeper Truth to express more fully through you. 

As you hold the white stone in your hand, hear the Christ Self that is you saying, “Behold, I make all things new.”

This is a sign of your ability in this moment to live in this new beginning. This is a moment in which you know you are free, free from all that has bound you.

And so, as you are guided by Spirit, I invite you to trust in this now moment, ….as Spirit gives to you in this sacred place…in this moment of Truth…an insight into your divine purpose…an insight into your holy essence, and so in that secret place of the most-high, I invite you to allow yourself to hear the new name that is speaking within you.

And, as that name becomes clear, just allow yourself to write it on your stone…If a name has come to you, remain quiet and allow yourself to ask for a deeper understanding, to ask if there are any steps to take. 

In this moment allow yourself to simply open to Spirit, to say, “God in me reveals my true essence.  God in me reveals my next step.  God as me, lives a joyous, peaceful, fulfilling life.”

Pause – silence-

Anytime you look at your white stone realize that you have the gift of choice; the gift to live differently, to live a more fulfilling life, to begin again, to connect with God and create with God.

Jesus said, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you this kingdom. “Accept this consciousness of ever increasing good in your life. I invite you to carry this white stone or card as a reminder of that promise.

Remember this:

Your greatest power is the power to be:

To be more loving

To be more courageous

To be more joyous

To be more friendly

To be more sensitive

To be more aware

To be more forgiving

To be more forgiving

To be more tolerant

To be more humble

To be more patient

To be more helpful

To be a greater human being

A prayer for the New Year from Howard Thurman …

Grant that I may pass through the coming year with a faithful heart.
There will be much to test me and make weak my strength before the year ends.
In my confusion I shall often say the word that is not true and do the thing of which I am ashamed.

There will be errors in the mind and great inaccuracies of judgment…
In seeking the light, I shall again and again find myself walking in the darkness.
I shall mistake my light for Your light and I shall drink from the responsibility of the choice I make.

Nevertheless, grant that I may pass through the coming year with a faithful heart.
May I never give the approval of my heart to error, to falseness, to vanity, to sin.
Though my days be marked with failures, stumblings, fallings, let my spirit be free so that You may take it and redeem my moments in all the ways my needs reveal.
Give me the quiet assurance of Your Love and Presence.
Grant that I may pass through the coming year with a faithful heart.

  T.S. Eliot – “For last year’s words belong to last year’s language; and next year’s words await another voice.”

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

It’s so good to see you this morning. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Whether it was with family or friends, or our furry angels in disguise, I pray it was just what you wanted and needed this year.

Today is an important Ceremony for us, as we leave the past year behind us and prepare for the new year to come. I hope you have been searching your heart for what needs to be released today. As we release what no longer serves our growth or our soul’s growth, we enjoy freedom. Freedom from attachments and from suffering over things in the past that are no longer true. Remember, there is only the NOW. Living in the Now is all we have. It is there we find freedom. Freedom from the heavy weight of not forgiving ourselves and others.

‘Attachment is the source of all suffering.’ Buddha

We all yearn for that freedom. Our yearning is the Divine within us all, waiting for us to open to the light and grace that is ours to behold.

Burning Bowl

The Burning Bowl Ceremony is all about releasing; meaning to set free. Anytime you want to clear out unwanted memories and conditions from your life, a burning bowl ritual offers a sacred and powerful way to release negativity.

The goal of the burning bowl ritual is to make space for new beginnings. It can be done at any place, at home alone or in a gathering like this, with others.

For centuries, indigenous groups used smoke as a symbol of their thoughts and prayers rising to the Great Spirit. Even engaged couples have also released the past in a burning bowl before taking their vows.

Whatever the circumstances, the purpose of the ceremony is to shift consciousness. It’s about becoming still, naming what you want to release, and letting it go.

When we let go and let God, we experience freedom. Letting go opens us to the power of inspiration, insight, wisdom, and love.

AS you bring to mind what it is you need to release, Let the feelings come to you

Lao Tsu, wrote in the Tao Te Ching: “In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.”

It is your conscious awareness that begins the activation of the release of problems, thoughts, and things from your life.

Describe the events as much or as little as you want. It can be as simple as a name or word, or more in-depth. Let your heart open to the flow as it releases old wounds, negativity, or unhealthy thought patterns. 

 Fire is the symbol of transformation. The use of a Burning Bowl Ceremony can be a transformative ritual. to release old wounds, disappointments, unfulfilled expectations or mistakes that might be holding us back.

For those of you at home, if fire is not safe for where you are, use water, it has cleansing attributes too.

Many of us (if not all of us) have things that seem to cling to us and hold us back. Attachments.  It could be something that someone has said to us, or unfortunate events that we’ve experienced, inappropriate reactions, uninspiring thoughts, outdated ideas that have served their purpose in the past, but which now serve no useful purpose, or it could be the negativity we hold, etc. All these seem to cling to us, and other things, too, and can hold us back from being who we are meant to be.

Our reactions to life events, if we’re not careful, can become something like a weight that clings to us, that weighs us down, but it is so subtle sometimes, or we’re so used to the same actions and reactions, that we are hardly conscious of it.

“In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” – Deepak Chopra

It’s a celebration of the end of all that is holding us back, and the release into something new.

I hope you share with me the new you that you are sensing, seeing, as it comes into fruition.

Then, when you are ready, on a piece of paper, write down your release. Letting go begins the moment you put pen to paper.

As you watch the paper burn, visualize your unwanted thoughts rising up in the smoke, being released from you.

Allow yourself to experience whatever you are feeling: fear, anxiety, sadness, loss, gratitude. Let the feelings lift as the fire consumes your paper.

 

 As the smoke travels up, say words of letting go such as:

“Easily, gracefully, I release the past so that I am free in this moment.”

Please, only one person at the Bowl at a time for safety. Give the person ahead of you space for their release.

We sit in quiet contemplation as we wait for the folks to complete their release.

Once you have completed the ritual, now is a good time to consider the future.  to visualize what you want to take the place of what has been released. What do you want to experience in life now? How do you want it to take shape?

Write your intentions  for the new year.

As we write, be aware of your words.

we can let go of those words that have kept us back from our full potential. Words like can’t and try. We know that Yoda loves to say: “Do or don’t do, there is no try.”

“Trying” prevents us from ever achieving our goal. “Try” is a word that signals commitment avoidance, lack of confidence, and it undermines our success.

Another word to release: “need”, as in “I need to do X.” Use “choose” instead, because “choose” takes the activity from the realm of mandatory into the realm of choice, where it belongs.

”Want” is another word to release. Remember in the book, “Conversations with God,” it is made clear that we cannot have what we “want”, as long as we want, we acknowledge lack. So, instead of saying “I want X,” say “I choose X.”

Maybe you have a habit of saying “It’s always something” or other phrases that we say without thinking…. “This is just like pulling teeth”, “I don’t believe it”, “It’s too good to be true.”

It’s time to think before we say things out of habit.

Eliminate the words “ought,” & “should.” Use ‘choose’ in their place.

Remember; “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” -Maulana Jelaluddin Rumi

That works for all our good. That is whet we did with the fire and now we write our intentions to do our part to manifest our future.

When you have completed your letter, place it in an envelope, address it to yourself and we will mail it to you next June. If at home, place the letter some place out of the way and make a note on your calendar to read it on a day of your choosing, but at least 3-4 months away. I like June because it gives us plenty of time to do what is ours to do.

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

Welcome to our 4^th Sunday of Advent, Joy.  Now all our candles are lit. Hope/Faith, Peace, Love and now, Joy.

I hope as we have brought each candle to life, you too, were feeling that emotion? And maybe, sharing that feeling with a season, it made it even more memorial.

Let’s get to the Joy in Autumn.

We all have experienced ‘growth opportunities’ with this pandemic and all that it has brought to us. I say growth opportunities because if we look back, we are bound to have learned a lesson or two, maybe more, that will aid us in our future.

We certainly learned a lot here at the Spiritual Center… how to do Services virtually and all the different ways we could reach out to our people and the greater community.

And, spiritually, emotionally, and sometimes, physically, we’ve learned a lot too. Many of us are still working through some of those issues. Please reach out to me, or the prayer chaplains, if you could use a helping hand.

When we light the Advent candle for joy, we remind ourselves of the spiritual truth of this season: “Unto us a child is born.”

In telling the Christmas story, the Gospel writers remind us that when things seem darkest, joy can come in unexpected places and small packages.

Children are great reminders to us of the joy of playing, giving, learning, and loving. In the presence of such joy, our inner child can awaken our Christ nature and then we are reborn in the teachings of our brother and way-shower, Jesus.

Joy is almost contagious. If you feel joy spreading out from your friends and family, it’s very difficult to fight it. It spreads from within, soon to fill you with feeling joyful along with them.

Christmas is not an event that happens only in December or 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. Christmas happens as we open to the possibility of hope, when we live in the understanding of peace, and when we give and receive love.

The joy that is Christmas—the birth of the Christ, happens all the time, every minute of every day. It happens when we smile as we pass our neighbors, as we let a driver in the flow of traffic, when we open the door for a stranger, when we buy a cup of coffee for the next person in line, when we hold a pet close to our hearts. It happens in so many ways when we open our hearts, as they naturally spread love to our world.

As the days get shorter and darkness seems to close in, we light the candle for joy to remind ourselves of the power and presence within us. Then we celebrate the season with newfound glee. Keeping our hearts open, keeping connected to our higher power within, this is Christmas.

Joy to the world, the Savior is here and has been here all along, the Christ within us all. We are our saviors, each individual one of us as we open our hearts to the Divine within us. We are made in the image & likeness of the Creator. When we get connected and keep connected, we save ourselves by being One with all.

I truly believe Happiness can fade, but joy does not. Joy comes from a deeper, more profound place of connection with the Divine in all its expressions.

Most of us want more joy and happiness and, in our humanness, we are often deluded into looking for it from things and people outside of us. But joy is within, and it’s always there. There is no ‘more joy’ it’s just us, letting it shine through.

In The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama explains how to cultivate joy.

“Joy is the reward, really, of seeking to give joy to others. When you show compassion, when you show caring, when you show love to others, do things for others, in a wonderful way you have a deep joy that you can get in no other way. You can’t buy it with money. You can be the richest person on Earth, but if you care only about yourself, I can bet my bottom dollar you will not be happy and joyful. But when you are caring, compassionate, more concerned about the welfare of others than about your own, wonderfully, wonderfully, you suddenly feel a warm glow in your heart, because you have, in fact, wiped the tears from the eyes of another.” 

Joy can be felt in a connection with other people, with nature, and with other beings. It is the wonder, the delight, the welling up of loving energy—so that we feel our connection with God in all its forms—that brings forth the light of the soul as joy. It can be the joy of the first snowfall, the first signs of spring, the birth of a child, the stars at night. It is seeing the miracle of life and celebrating it.

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

And since God is everywhere present, that joy can be brought forth just by noticing, and appreciating what is all around you.

And that is how we can associate autumn with joy.

Close your eyes for a moment. Now connect with your inner child and recall the joy you felt as you walked through the leaves that have fallen, going out of your way to kick them up in the air. I actually do this when I walk the dogs, there one area when the road is filled with the leave from the nearby trees. I try not to kick the leaves too much, don’t want the leaves too far out on the road, they can be dangerous for bikers.

Or recall jumping into the big pile that was just raked together by Mom or Dad or big brother or sister. The laughter following you as you sink into the center, maybe your dog joining you barking and running over and over again.

Maybe you even did this as a young adult too. Not so much now for me, but many of you can still replay that scene and be able to get up again!

That is joy.

Autumn is also a teacher of change. School and work resume, and soon the year begins to wind down. Following the harvest, the growing season ends, and we enter a period of slowing down. The autumnal equinox is a perfect time to meditate on balance.

Autumn invites you to reflect on your priorities. It’s an opportunity for metamorphosis, a chance to liberate yourself from outdated beliefs, resentments, or relationships. Ask yourself, “What are my burdens? How can I release them?” Autumn offers a deeper experience of your own transformation and spirituality.

As the leaves flutter from the branches, we too can let go of those people, places, things, events that no longer serve us. And when we finally let go of that pain, that thought, that scene locked in our mind, we will feel joy bubbling from within because you have taken a step toward freedom from your past. A step to wholeness on this physical plane.

We’ll prepare for the Burning Bowl in a couple of weeks. Keep in mind what you wish to release.

SO yes, Autumn is a season of change. And if we use it as an example, we can note how easy it is to change. It’s letting go and letting God. The seasons are governed by the laws of our planet’s tilt with regards to the sun.

If we would go with the flow, so to speak, as our seasons do, we would BE the spiritual person filled with love that we truly are. Easy, right? Unfortunately, & fortunately, we have choice, free will. That can mess us up and our spiritual journey thrown off course just as it provides us with opportunities to grow.

When we notice nature, as we have through this Advent Season, we can see that following the flow of natural law would be a great way to keep us on the spiriual path through all seasons, no matter the ‘growth opportunity’.

We have seen an example of transformation with each season, with each Advent …..

Autumn, one of learning to let go when it’s right, winter; a time to go within and allow transformation to take its place in our being, spring; a time for planting our new seeds of being who we want to be, summer; growth but also fun, leisure time, warmth.

GREAT MORNING BELOVED!!

The Peace of Winter

Welcome back to our Sunday Celebration, anticipating the coming Birth & rebirth of The Christ, the Child, and the essence of that Child within each and everyone.

This morning, we light the second candle of Advent, this one representing Peace.

“Peace isn’t something you have to search for or create. It is always present. Available the very instant we stop fighting and accept what is.” Rev. Michael Gott

Rev. Teresa Burton says, in the booklet, “A Christmas to Remember”: “Peace is presence. Peace is attention. Peace is not getting rattled over things that don’t really matter.”

And in Job 22:21; “Agree with God and be at peace; in this way goodwill will come to you.”

Those statements follow a story Rev. Burton talks about trying to do everything and be everything during the time leading up to Christmas. Isn’t that what we so often do? Buy the presents, wrap the presents, bake the cookies, make the special dinners.

In my family, with a strong Italian heritage on my mother’s side, we would often spend so much time baking and cooking, little time was left for the fun things…getting together with family on both parents’ sides. Traditionally, Christmas eve was spent with my Grandparents on my mother’s side.  We would travel to their house in the next town and as soon as you opened the door, that wonderful aroma would fill us with anticipation.  The long table was filled with all things Italian and the small home with many, many relatives.

After my grandparents passed, my mother did a smaller version of that Italian celebration. So many things to make and bake and cook, not to mention the shopping. Special sausage from the cousin’s store. Special mincemeat from another.

And of course, the gift shopping…and wrapping.

Christmas day was spent with family on my father’s side. Not as much special preparation, but still time consuming with the cooking and visiting.

And of course, it all had to be perfect. I don’t know about my grandmother, but my mother placed a lot of pressure on herself for everything to be as ‘right’ as possible. I guess she compared herself to her mother as many of us do to our own…is the pie crust good, my sauce was never as good as hers, she liked her sand tarts thin while like a little more cookie!

One thing she did do, as the years went by, she adjusted what needed to be on the Christmas Eve table, so she could handle it and she finally allowed us to help. My grandmother would never have settled for that!

Still, Where’s the time to truly prepare for the coming of the Christ Child? How do we fit in the preparation of our hearts and minds for this important reminder that we are of God, that all-encompassing Spirit of power, and truth, and knowing?

Now think about winter.

Not about the cold winds, and wet, blowing rain. No. Think of the quiet, peaceful presence of perfect white snow, lying everywhere you look. Step outside and just listen. No cars, no snowblowers yet. Just the peaceful presence of a noiseless moment in time. If you’re lucky, it will be more than a few moments.

Just stillness, and peace.

Take a deep breath. It’s almost like the air is cleaner during this part of winter.

WINTER is a going Inward time, a time for sensing our Truth.

From “Folklore, Customs, Legends and Mythology.”The winter solstice time is no longer celebrated as it once was, with the understanding that this is a period of descent and rest, of going within our homes, within ourselves and taking in all that we have been through, all that has passed in this full year which is coming to a close… like nature and the animal kingdom around us, this time of hibernation is so necessary for our tired limbs, our burdened minds.

Our modern culture teaches avoidance at a max at this time; alcohol, lights, shopping, overworking, over spending, comfort food and consumerism.

And yet the natural tug to go inwards as nearly all creatures are doing is strong and the weather so bitter that people are left feeling that winter is hard, because for those of us without burning fires and big festive families, it can be lonely and isolating. Whereas in actual fact winter is kind, she points us in her quiet soft way towards our inner self, towards this annual time of peace and reflection, embracing the darkness and forgiving, accepting and loving embracing goodbye the past year.

“Winter takes away the distractions, the buzz, and presents us with the perfect time to rest and withdraw into a womb like love, bringing fire & light to our hearth”.

.. and then, just around the corner the new year will begin again, and like a seed planted deep in the earth, we will all rise with renewed energy once again to dance in the sunlight

Winter welcomes you to quiet your mind, be still, and listen. It is associated with the element water and its properties of conserving energy and tranquility. Sounds about right.

During the dark of winter, icy winds blow. Trees become dormant. Bears and other animals hibernate. Did you know chipmunks hibernate?

Sometimes we feel like hibernating! And many do, in a sense. We tend to stay home more, snuggle up with a blanket and a good book, maybe a cup of hot tea or chocolate…don’t forget the tiny marshmallows!

We dress in colorful sweaters, layering up with the thought of layering down when necessary. We even dress up our dogs in sweaters to keep them warm when it is really cold outside. pic

What other things are on your favorites list?

Winter is exciting because it takes you to your depths. You reflect on your progress and areas that need growth.

We have the Burning Bowl in a few weeks, a time of reflecting on what no longer serves us. An opportunity to leave behind us people, situations, experiences that we have resolved with our inner work and can now release and move forward.

And after that we look to our future with the White Stone Ceremony, listening for our word or phrase that will be our strength and guidance for the new year.

The letter we then write, going into some detail about what we are looking to accomplish in the new year is the next activity as we look to what might be in this new year. It might be associated to the word or phrase you received for your White Stone, or something altogether different. Maybe your goals for the new year.

Still, it’s something to look forward to, when our letters arrive in June, or if you are at home, something you will bring out and read on the date noted on your calendar.

Inspiration can and most often does, come from the dark days of winter. As a former gardener, one of the things I loved to do, and most avid gardeners did also, was ordering the gardening catalogs and planning our gardens. The BURPEE catalog was my favorite. It is always filled with wonderful photos of the new and favorite flowers and plants. They even include some designs to inspire our imagination. I might just order one again and dream a little….

In every process of change, there is a season of winter in which hidden progress is taking place as our prayers are answered in their right time and way. It is up to us to nourish the work we are working on with quiet time, introspective time, prayer, meditation & contemplation time.

As I suggested last week, we all may want to make time for prayer, meditation, contemplation during advent as we anticipate the Birth of the Christ Child and our own rebirth, acknowledging our true selves…of God, in God…all One.

Let’s make a point to prioritize our preparation for the coming renewal, for the coming of the Christ Child, our own rebirth.