Search This Blog

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Mind Your Own Business

I have been studying Discover the Power Within You by Unity minister, Eric Butterworth, in preparation for the class that Phyllis Hoover and I are currently facilitating.  While reading from this book, the title for my lesson this coming Sunday came to me in a flash – “Mind Your Own Business.”

With the aid of Eric Butterworth’s profound metaphysical exploration of the verses from the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 7: 1-6, I came to the conclusion that Jesus was, in a kind and compassionate manner, telling us to “mind our own business.” I invite you to consider that suggestion as you read below.

 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.”
Jesus is instructing us to cease judging others, stop paying attention to what others are doing, or not doing, and discontinue trying to convince others to accept our spiritual understanding and insight.
Unity’s third basic principle states that we experience life as the effect of our consciousness. Judgment of another first occurs in our consciousness, thus we suffer the effects of it. The one upon whom judgment is levied is affected by it only if:  1) they are aware of the judgment, and 2) they choose to accept it, and then 3) finally they incorporate it into their consciousness.
Jesus is telling us to pay attention to what is happening in our consciousness. We are to focus on what we are projecting and experiencing in the world. In other words, we are to mind our own business. If we notice we are in judgment, it is our opportunity to become aware of our beliefs, release those that are not in alignment with our Truth, affirm what is True, and transform our own consciousness. In doing so, we change not only our perspective of others and ourselves, but also how we experience life in general.
As Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good, and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NRSV). The “will of God” according to Butterworth is “The ceaseless longing of the Spirit in you to completely fulfill in the outer the potential within you.” With the aid of Butterworth’s definition, we see that what Paul is saying is that the demonstration in the outer is a reflection of our consciousness which must be transformed in order that we may manifest the highest and best good for ourselves and humanity. We renew our minds by getting still and consciously connecting with our Truth; as the psalmist says, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). In the stillness, we know our unity in the God. We know the Truth, and the Truth sets us free (John 8:32). Our consciousness is transformed and we are in conscious communion with the will of God, the “ceaseless longing of Spirit.” We are then free to fulfill in the outer all that we know.  We demonstrate the potential within us by first discovering, claiming and embodying it in consciousness, and then thinking, speaking and acting in alignment with it.
Likewise, others’ actions are the outer demonstrations of their consciousness. We cannot control another’s consciousness, only our own. It is often easy for us to observe the lives or our family and friends and diagnose and prescribe solutions to their problems. And, while often well intentioned, our solutions are usually tinged with judgment and evaluation of what they are doing “wrong.” Butterworth says that our job is not to “set things right, but to see them rightly” and we can only do that by removing the “log in our own eye.” In other words, we are to remove from our consciousness the thoughts that are not in alignment with the “Power Within” – theirs or ours.  These thoughts block our vision of the Truth and prevent us from seeing clearly the Divine Potential expressing and fulfilling in and through the lives of all.
In Matthew 7:6 quoted above, Jesus was not encouraging us to use derogatory terminology to refer to those who don’t agree with us when he said “do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine.” Instead, he was using the metaphors to demonstrate clearly the potential for rejection and even humiliation when we attempt to convince others to adopt our spiritual understanding and perspective. Everyone has their own spiritual path and those who are open will receive their own revelation of Truth. It is not ours to make that determination for anyone other than ourselves.
Our business is our consciousness.  In this portion of the Sermon on the Mount we are focusing on, the master teacher Jesus is reminding us that we perceive others and ourselves according to our consciousness; we create our experience of the world as a reflection of our consciousness; and we experience revelation of Truth through our consciousness. As we focus on the content of our consciousness and less on the action, inaction and beliefs of others, we will discover that the power is within us and that focusing on others blocks our awareness of it and frustrates the flow. The ultimate message from Jesus, Butterworth and me this Sunday is “Mind Your Own Business.”

Join us on Sunday for our 10:00 service to learn how to apply the spiritual principles and “Mind Your Own Business.”

6 comments :

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Being a social animal, a member of social organizations and of a family, how can I mind my own business and still feel that I am a constructive and vital part of my church, my club and mostly my family? I understand the idea of "Mind Your Own Business" concerning judgement(s), however, do I need to wait to be asked to offer a suggestion? Sometimes I feel the need to "Stick My Two Cents In" (another of dear old Dad's favorite sayings). How do I understand when to "Stick my Two Cents In" and when to "Mind My Own Business'?

    ReplyDelete
  3. It is challenging to find that balance between offering our "help" to others and minding our own business! My sincere wish is to learn how to do this better and I am so grateful that this non judgemental approach is being taught by David in church. How might the world be if more religious institutions taught this? All The Best

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. From my perspective, minding our own business does not require us to refrain from making a contribution to another or refrain from offering help where help is needed. Minding our own business does, however, require us to be mindful of the state of consciousness from which we feel compelled to offer the help. It is vitally important to ask ourselves, "Are we seeing the situation or the other person from fear or in love?" If we are coming from a consciousness of fear, the "help" we offer or the "contribution" we make most likely will not serve our intended purpose. In fact, it will frequently exacerbate the issue we are addressing. If we are coming from love and choose to offer "help" we will be more likely to do and say the things that will, in fact, help to transform the situation, if not for the other, at least in our own minds. Minding our business begins first with the awareness of our state of consciousness in the moment, and if we notice we are in fear, worry, frustration, anger, or any measure thereof, we must first transform our consciousness in love before we speak or take action. Our consciousness is "Our Business;" no one else's. And, the same applies for every human being on the planet. Life is consciousness. We cannot transform consciousness for another, but as we work to transform our own, we can impact those around us and, yes,even the consciousness of humanity.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just finished "The Power of Now" and Echart Tolle addresses this in many ways that I am just beginning to fully understand. Many of the bible verses you quote here Tolle does also. I love the way his message and yours and Unity in general are converging for me. Each time, another piece of this puzzle, that my inner being has been patiently waiting for me to complete, comes forward... and I grow ever so slowly toward the realization of the Power of Now or Within or that which we call God.

    Tolle has taught me that when I offer my "two cents" worth it is usually from the ego mind which is caught in the web of differentiation. The ego wants to be held out as different which makes accessing the Christ Within very difficult because the ego cannot differentiate itself in this Christ consciousness. I have just recently come to realize that most (though not all) the times I offer my two cents I am really attempting to make sure "they" know I am different and therefor separate from them, which is the same thing as being separate from the Christ consciousness... and why would I want that?

    When I am more fully conscious, my two cents worth are about what we have in common and more about what I am hoping for or desiring than about what is wrong with them or their idea. I have found that this creates a space for moving forward in love and often (as in martial arts) catches the other a little off balance. And if I choose, I can catch them and hold them (as opposed to taking advantage of them.) For a brief moment we may be able to recognize each other as the One Being that we are, and that we actually share the same desires and are not separate from each other. And if this is true, what more needs to be said.

    I hope this does not sound manipulative, as when am centered it is not, though when I am not, it may be. For me, experiencing consciousness and unconsciousness is like a dance I don't know the moves to. I am flailing back and forth, in and out and not always knowing it... except in those fleeting moments when I am truly in the presence of God. But then another second elapses and here I am... back here, where every word I just wrote seems more unconscious than conscious. And I have no idea what another may think of it and fear that this is really just my ego blathering on.

    Regardless, it was good for me to write this. Thanks for providing the forum.

    ReplyDelete