I-Am-Age-Ing

For my current series of Sunday lessons, entitled “Life as Art” I am embracing the metaphorical image of God as the Master Artist of all creation, the great Mind in which all creation is envisioned and from which all creation is expressed in its divine potential.

The Master Artist envisioned each of us as an individuated expression of Itself. We call that individuated expression the “soul.” The soul is the aspect of us that is the image-likeness of God. Charles Fillmore, the cofounder of Unity, said, “In its original and true sense, the soul of man is the expressed idea of man in Divine Mind.”

In his book, Spiritual Economics, author and Unity minster Eric Butterworth, says,

“You are already created in the image-likeness of God, not can be if you speak a lot of positive affirmations of Truth. Your true image is not something to get; it is reality to discover. There is that of you that is the likeness of God. It is your “I-Am-age.” This is what you really are, what you have always been.”

Borrowing from Butterworth, I have chosen as the title for my lesson this Sunday, “The Art of I-Am-age-ing.” I had originally considered titling it “The Art of Imagining,” but when I remembered this quote, I felt more inspired by this idea. The true power in the faculty of imagination, one of the Twelve Powers of Man discerned by Charles Fillmore, is our ability to first conceive of the essence of our divine nature -- our soul. Once we imagine the magnificence of our soul, then we use our power of imagination to envision the divine potential, the qualities of God, innate within us. Further, through the power of imagination we imagine ways in which our divine potential might be expressed in manifestation. Then we can receive inspiration that will inform our thoughts, words and actions so that we can be in service to our souls, thus be in service to God.

Our soul, our “I-Am-age,” is like a seed that is encoded with the energy of God. It embodies the full potential of what we are here to express. Just as an apple seed, when planted in fertile soil and nurtured, will produce an apple tree, so it is with our souls. The “soil” in which the seed of our souls must be planted is the conscious awareness of our hearts and minds. Once “planted” we must continue to nurture it with our focused attention through prayer, meditation, contemplation and mindfulness. This is the foundation of the practice of “I-Am-age-ing,” in other words, putting the awareness of our “I-Am-age” into action.

Through this practice, we begin to embody the energy of the soul and connect consciously with its divine attributes and the unique expression of God that we are here to express. As I said in last week’s post: “Your soul is God’s work of art. What you do with it is your work of art. Through your expression of your soul, you are God’s gift to the world.”  Author and spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson stated this eloquently in her book, A Return to Love, “We are here to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us…” You are the Glory of God. You are God’s masterpiece.

Are you ready to create a work of art that reflects the majesty of your soul? Are you ready to embrace yourself as God’s masterpiece? Are you ready to live your full potential? Are you ready to share your soul as God’s gift to the world? If the answer is ‘YES’ I encourage you to be with us for the remainder of this six-week series as we delve deeper into the practices that can assist us in living “Life as Art.”

Please join us at 10:00 this Sunday as I explore more fully the practice of “The Art of I-Am-age-ing.”

If you missed last week’s lesson, you may listen to it here, or watch it here. Future messages will be published soon.