Coming Home, Again

Several years ago I returned to Georgia to attend the seventy-fifth birthday of the woman who became a mother figure in my life after my mother died. I wrote about her in an earlier post which you can read here.  It was the first trip to the home of my childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in many years. While I appreciated reconnecting with many of those I saw, I was provided with ample opportunities to question the truth of the often repeated adage and title of the famous novel by Thomas Wolfe, “You Can’t Go Home Again.”

While many of my interactions with friends and family members were familiar, I cannot honestly say that they were all comfortable. I found that I was not able or willing to enter into some of the known patterns of familial behavior. Choosing a new way of being with family does not always foster a feeling of “home.” As we grow and change, so do our relationships. We often discover that the relationships which at one time felt supportive and nurturing, no longer do.

As a boy, I spent many hours of fun on my “Granmomma” Howard’s farm. Running through the hay barn, chasing the chickens and splashing in the creek are wonderful memories. Those were the care-free days of youth. My recent visit was not the same. The barn no longer stores hay, and is on the verge of collapse; there are no chickens; and the creek is all but dried up. While enjoyable, this last experience was a much more sedate experience on the farm. It was somewhat sobering.

I was not even able to return to the “home” of the Evans’ Knights, my high school alma mater. When I drove by the site on which the school once stood, I discovered that it had been razed and a Home Depot erected. I was amused by the metaphor considering that a depot is a place to store things, much like the human mind. My mind was filled with memories of what were, in many ways, more care-free days - memories I had hoped to revisit while at my old high school. Alas, it was not to be.

Through it all, I surmised that it must be true that one cannot go home again, because what we think of as “home” is never the same when we attempt to reclaim it. We are all constantly changing and growing as we experience life.

Recently, as J and I were driving to the Denver International Airport, which we have done many times since moving here, I suddenly became aware of how familiar things seemed. I turned to J and asked him if Denver now feels like home. While I was curious about his perspective, I think I was honestly asking the question of myself, particularly since we have only lived here for a year and a half. What does it mean to me to feel at “home?”

Since becoming an adult, I have moved quite frequently. I lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for 29 years, and during that time I lived in 14 different places. That is an average of just over 2 years per “home!” The longest duration in any one home was just short of 5 years. As I reflect on those statistics, it seem clear that establishing a physical location as a “home” is not high on my list of priorities. Still, I truly value and am grateful for the place I call “home.” It provides me with a place to feel safe, secure and nurtured. My home is the place I go to be fed - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

My assumption is that most who are reading this post enjoy having a home to retreat to at the end of the day where you can rest, relax and rejuvenate. I am also keenly aware of the millions of people around the world, including many in our own city, who do not enjoy such an advantage. That is one reason I am so thrilled that Unity Spiritual Center Denver is partnering with Family Promise of Greater Denver to provide temporary housing for families who are currently without a place to call home. Please read more about this ministry in our newsletter from last week.

While a physical space to call home supports our well-being, it is not the ultimate source of our comfort, or even our safety or security. It is vitally important for us to get the support we need by establishing a spiritual home. Although we often refer to it as that, I am not referring to a church or spiritual center, even though they are often places we find comfort and growth. The spiritual home I speak of is not dependent upon a building or a particular location. Our spiritual home is a place in consciousness where each of us can go at any time to feel refreshed and renewed in Spirit. 

We all need a place where we can retreat from the constant activity of the world, a world that often requires as much energy as we can muster just to stay fully present and available for life. Our spiritual home is such a place. It exists in the awareness of the One Life that is the source and imbues all life. It is at the foundation of essential nature, the ground of all Being.

We must build and strengthen our awareness of our spiritual home through prayer, meditation, contemplation and mindfulness practices. This is a place we can come home to through our intention and willingness. It is, to quote Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “nearer than breathing and closer than hands and feet.”¹ As we devote time, energy and focus, our ever present spiritual home becomes a space of sanctuary, rest and rejuvenation within.

I believe it’s true that we can’t go home again if we think of ‘home’ as a relationship, place or even an experience, because all of those are constantly changing. Life, in all of its manifestations, is never stagnant. However, we can come home again. We come home to that space within that is not disturbed by the world around us. In that space is our true nature that abides at the depth of Being.

Denver is the place in the world I now call “home.” I feel supported and nurtured in the place I reside as well as by the people in our loving community. As I travel, I am always happy to come back home. It feels safe and secure.

Likewise, I feel empowered when I remember that no matter where I may be in the world, I can come home at any time by bringing my focus to my center, breathing into that space of knowing that I am always supported by the One Life that lives as me. That is where I ultimately find rest, relaxation and renewal.

While it may be true that we are not able to go home again, I know we can always come home - again and again.

Join us on Sunday for our 10:00 service as we explore further the ways we can strengthen our abilities to come home, again, any time.

¹From The Higher Pantheism by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Feeling Confused?

Following my lessons the past two Sundays, I have received inquiries concerning my recent encouragement to “lean into” our human experiences, including our grief. In my lessons I have talked about allowing ourselves to be fully present with our feelings, while also maintaining conscious awareness of our spiritual nature. I hold that the true freedom we all seek lies in our willingness and ability to be fully present for whatever life presents us with in any moment, even those things that stimulate feelings we identify as “negative.” My lessons, while comforting and affirming for some, seem to have been confusing for others. I would like to offer additional thoughts here in hopes of bringing clarity.

I believe the questions I received stem from the New Thought teaching that the Absolute nature of God as Good is the only reality and that to acknowledge anything other than that limits our realization and manifestation of our Absolute Good. A common affirmation of faith in Unity is “There is One Power and One Presence active in the Universe and in my life – God the Good, Omnipotent” which aligns with Unity’s first of five basic principles listed (here).

The second principle states that each of us is an expression of the power affirmed by the first principle. Therefore, our essential nature is of God, thus divine. Further, the third principle states that human beings experience life according to our way of thinking and feeling, thereby confirming our humanity and our authority over our life experiences.

Therefore, the question arises, if we allow ourselves to be fully present with our feelings and acknowledge our fearful thinking while feeling our painful feelings, aren’t we just going to create and experience more of the same?

?Confused?

I struggled with this conundrum for a time myself. My thought was that feeling the pain, fear, grief, and the like only served to give energy and validity to the illusion of the experience I was not enjoying. I questioned why I would ever want to do that, believing that by doing so I would likely attract more of the same into my life.

I completely understand that confusion can arise when attempting to understand New Thought philosophy and metaphysics. Trying to comprehend how the Absolute realm relates to our relative experience as human beings can be confounding. Through my own questioning and exploration, I continue to have new insights and make discoveries as I endeavor to embrace it all. What follows are some of my current perspectives.

God is Absolute Good

If, as we teach, God is Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence, then it is nonsensical for us to assert that there is anything that exists outside of God, including our thoughts and feelings, even the ones we judge as “bad” or “negative.” How could it be possible that only thoughts and feelings which we determine to be “good” or “positive” are part of God? Believing that we can be aware of, not to mention give power to something that is outside of God is not only arrogant; it is ludicrous. We attempt to create God in our own image by deciding what is and is not God. Thus, we limit our experience of the Allness that is God.

Unity principle states that God is Absolute Good with a capital ‘G’. That does not mean that we believe that only the thoughts, feelings and demonstrations that we, from our limited human perspective deem to be “good” as opposed to “bad” are God. The meaning of ‘Good’ in the Absolute is difficult, if not impossible to verbalize because any terminology is limited and therefore limiting. However, the best we can offer is that Absolute Good refers to Divine Ideals, such as Harmony, Order, Perfection, and the like. These ideals exist in the Absolute and may be manifested in our human experience. The Absolute Good that God is underlies everything, even though we may not perceive the “good” in it.¹

We Decide “Good” or “Bad” in the Relative

We are meaning-making beings. We begin learning the already agreed upon meaning of most things in our environment from the time we are born. And, we continue to make meaning of everything and everyone we encounter. That is human nature. Because we are often not consciously aware of this fact, our unexamined thoughts and meanings form our worldview, and we experience our lives based upon them. In this way, we experience life according to our way of thinking.

We decide what is “good” or “bad” according to the meaning we assign it. When we decide something is “good” we experience the effects of our assessment. The same is true for the events we deem as “bad.”

In truth, all events are neutral. As William Shakespeare once wrote, “Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

Life is Consciousness

We create our life through our thoughts, feelings, words and actions which reflect our perception. And, our perception is determined by our perspective – the consciousness from which we perceive the event. As Emmet Fox so famously stated, “Life is consciousness.” As Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore stated “Consciousness is the sense of awareness, of knowing. The knowledge of any idea, object or condition.”²

Our power as spiritual beings having a human experience³ is to claim the power of our awareness and to consciously choose where we focus it. The power of awareness lies in choosing what we will allow to abide in our consciousness.

Thoughts and feelings abide in our consciousness, mostly beyond our awareness, unless and until we decide to make them conscious, meet them directly, and allow them to transform.

Thoughts and Feelings are Energy

Thoughts and feelings that we ignore or suppress do not dissipate; they remain in our consciousness as energy that will continue to increase in intensity. They will continue to require additional effort from us, whether conscious or subconscious, to keep them “under control.” These unacknowledged and unexpressed feelings will eventually eat away at our life energy. They can create disturbances in our physical and emotional well-being.

Unity cofounder Myrtle Fillmore shared her experience of this in How To Let God Help You. She shared that in her healing process she asked Spirit within what was keeping her body from getting well. It was revealed to her that while she was taught and believed that not expressing feelings was virtuous, that in fact, denying her feelings was contributing to her continued physical dis-ease. She said, “I determined to handle all that came to me, rather than swallow it, and allow it to irritate, cut and weaken my nerves and organs.”⁴ Her body began to be restored to health as a result. A modern day depiction of this same realization is portrayed beautifully by Anita Moorjani in Dying To Be Me.

We Are Not Defined by Thoughts or Feelings

I wish to be clear that I am not in any way encouraging that we allow painful feelings or emotions to consume us, or that we should identify with them. On the contrary, I am suggesting that by acknowledging them and allowing ourselves to feel them, we free ourselves from being controlled by them. We are not our thoughts or feelings. We are not the events that happen in our lives. However, when we ignore or suppress them, we give them the power to define our lives.

Thinking and Feeling are Gifts

Our thinking and feeling natures are gifts of the Love, Power and Intelligence from which we are created. They are beautiful expressions of our Life Energy. Allowing ourselves to fully experience, feel, and connect with our individual Life energy helps make us fully alive, fully whole spiritual beings having a human experience.

You Are Not Alone

Please know that I am here to support you, to the best of my ability, in whatever life event you are walking through. You do not need to face your feelings alone. As author Mark Nepo says in his book, The Endless Practice,

“As if by design, life is demanding enough that no one can make it alone. This ensures interdependence. It seems a requirement of experience: to receive Life in its Wholeness, we need to hold each other up, and open.”

If you are looking for a place to explore your questions and a home for spiritual growth, please join us for classes and Sunday messages at Unity Spiritual Center of Denver.

¹ Heart Centered Metaphysics, A Deeper Look at Unity Teachings by Rev. Dr. Paul Hasselbeck

² The Revealing Word by Charles Fillmore

³ Pierre Teihard de Chardin

⁴ How To Let God Help You by Myrtle Fillmore

Salvation

For the past few days Jami Lula’s song, “Something’s Calling Me,” has been running through my head. 

Something’s calling me
A little bit deeper than I’ve
Ever been before

Spirit gently wakes me from my sleep

Could it be that something is calling me? Could it be that something is calling you? Could it be the same “something” calling us? Yes. It is our true nature calling us to a place of remembrance. It is the voice of the Divine at the center of our hearts calling us to let go of limited concepts of ourselves and accept who we truly are. It is saying, “Wake up. Wake up. Wake Up!” 

I am convinced that whether or not we are conscious of it, our deepest desire is to awaken to our true nature; to know ourselves as the Divine; to live in conscious awareness of the One Power and One Presence expressing in, through and as us. 

Some Eastern spiritual traditions place a great deal of emphasis on what is commonly known as “awakening” or “enlightenment.” In the traditional Christian tradition “salvation” is the focus.

Growing up in the Baptist tradition, I believed that “salvation” was an event, a conscious decision born of an internal conviction of our sinful nature and our need to accept Jesus as a personal savior. I learned the “once saved always saved” doctrine. This means that once you accept Jesus you are “saved.” Although, of course, you can “backslide” and revert to your sinful ways. The moniker “born again Christian” is used to identify one who has made a “decision for Christ.”

I have spent some time pondering the ideas of “salvation” and “enlightenment” this week. Specifically, I have contemplated the words of Jesuit priest and teacher, Anthony de Mello, who said,

“Enlightenment is absolute cooperation with the inevitable…and the only thing that is inevitable is what is happening in the moment.”

I interpret that to mean that enlightenment is not necessarily a state of consciousness one attains and then maintains. Rather, it is a conscious choice to be present with whatever life presents in any moment. “Absolute cooperation” is a state of allowing everything to be just as it is and experiencing it fully without resistance or attachment. Enlightenment happens moment-by-moment as we make a conscious decision to be fully awake and present in the moment. I hold that Spirit is constantly “calling” us to be awake and present so that we are able to be the presence of Love in every situation.

Salvation, like enlightenment, also happens one moment at a time. It is not, as I was taught, something that happens once or as a condition of good behavior. We are “saved” from our limiting, and often damning concepts of ourselves, others and the world, each time we awaken to our Christ nature and make the choice to see all as the Christ in expression.

We are “born again” in each moment that we awaken to the fullness of Life expressing in and as all that we encounter. We are “born again” when we are willing to see ourselves, others and the world around us through the eyes of Spirit as perfect, whole and complete.

The master teacher Jesus said,

“The kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the Earth, yet men do not see it.” – Gospel of Thomas, Saying 113¹

 “The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 3:2

In the moment we accept that the kingdom of heaven is here and now present, and choose to see it reflected to us in all that we perceive, we are truly “saved” from the illusion of separation. We are “born again” to a new way of greeting the world.

We can choose to greet every moment from an “enlightened” consciousness of “absolute cooperation.”

I encourage us all to listen to Spirit calling us to a deeper, broader and more complete understanding and acceptance of the truth of who we are. When we truly know that truth, we are awakened and we are set free. In that way each of us can receive “salvation” and be “born again.”

Come have your own experience of “salvation.”Join us on Sunday for our 10:00 service as we welcome special guest artist Gary Lynn Floyd.

¹ The Gospel of Thomas English Translation

Living Whole-ness

Over the past month I have been reading; no, I have been devouring Mark Nepo’s book, The Endless Practice: Becoming Who You Were Born To Be. In it, he quotes the following poem by William Stafford.

There is a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change. People wonder about what you are pursuing. You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see. While you hold it you can’t get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die; and you suffer and get old. Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding. You don’t ever let go of the thread. – The Way It Is

Nepo’s book and Stafford’s poem remind me of the value of bringing our presence to every moment, living it fully, while consistently remaining mindful of the thread of life that connects us to something greater than ourselves. This something greater is the Source that imbues all life. It is what Thomas Merton referred to as “a Hidden Whole-ness.” Merton said,

“There is in all visible things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness, a hidden whole-ness. This mysterious Unity and Integrity is Wisdom, the Mother of all, Natura naturans. There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fount of action and joy. It rises up in word-less gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being, welcoming me tenderly, saluting me with indescribable humility. This is at once my own being, my own nature, and the Gift of my Creator's Thought and Art within me…”

It is this Whole-ness that we know at the depth of being, that we can sense in our heart of hearts, yet we cannot see or touch. It is this Whole-ness that sustains us through the many and varied experiences in the continuing unfolding of life’s journey. Each of us faces loss, disappointment, death and pain in life. These are all aspects of the human experience. Holding to the thread of life that ever connects us to the hidden Whole-ness within helps us not only to survive all that life brings our way, but also to move through it and thrive once again.

Nepo says,

“Since we’re each a living part in a living Whole, one challenging art in being human is to live out our particular life while comprehending the Whole. One aspect of the endless practice is to feel both the depth of our feeling and, at the same time, to stand on the ground of all being which exists independent of what happens to us.”

Life is not about avoiding the pain or denying our feelings. Life is about leaning into whatever presents itself; not getting lost in it, but allowing life to awaken within us the awareness of our inner Whole-ness.

Throughout life’s journey we are constantly and consistently held within the Whole-ness of Life itself. And, we hold within us the Whole-ness of Life as our true nature. Our opportunity is to experience life in its wholeness, with all its joy and pain, while knowing that we are forever held within the Whole-ness of the unfolding Universe, and while holding to the thread that connects us to the hidden Whole-ness within us.

When experiencing a loss, perhaps the death of a loved one, rather than avoiding the pain, lean into it. Allow the experience of your humanity. Enter the depth of the experience. All the while holding to the thread that connects your awareness to the eternal stream of Whole-ness at your core. Immerse yourself in the ebb and flow as you dive into the pain and sink into the comfort of knowing you are held within the Whole-ness of the Universe. Engaging with the whole of Life restores us to our innate Whole-ness as we practice the integration of body, mind and Spirit.

We are holy, holy, holy whole. We are perfectly human and perfectly divine. The truth of both are held within Whole-ness in which we live, move and have being. Let us reclaim our Whole-ness and live it wholly.

Please join me for our service at 10:00 on Sunday as we explore together how we can live a life of Whole-ness.

Prince of Peace

Happy New Year! While there is nothing magical about turning the page of a calendar from December 2015 to January 2016, the beginning of each New Year holds the promise and potential for a new beginning. It is up to us to take advantage of this opportunity by making new choices moment by moment. When we set a clear intention to make positive changes in our lives powerful and surprising demonstrations can, and often do occur.

In my Sunday lesson on October 18 (listen here) I shared that while we are not in control of everything that happens in our lives, we are in authority over it. Our authority lies in our freedom and ability to choose our thoughts, thus shift our perspective and determine how we will respond.

We claim our authority first by becoming consciously aware of our mental activity, which includes our thoughts and feelings. Only by becoming consciously aware of them can we choose something different. As long as we allow them to remain unconscious, we give them power to determine our experience by default.

It is vitally important that we understand the power of the mind (thoughts and feeling) to determine how we experience life, and to realize the power that we have to affect it. We are not in control of everything that happens, but we are in control of what we think. I encourage us to claim our authority and begin 2016 with a renewed commitment to own the power within us to determine our present and our future.

As I was reviewing files on my computer this week, I rediscovered a story I wrote several years ago as a final project for a class. It speaks directly to the authority each of us has to determine our life experience and to remember our truth.  I hope you enjoy it.

The Land of Peace^©

I invite you to come with me to a place that is beyond what we know as space and time. It truly is no place at all and exists only as the Eternal Now. Come with me to this mystical realm where abundance abounds and there is no thought of lack. Here, everyone has enough to eat, and no one takes more than is needed to sustain them. Everyone has a home, and not one more elaborate than the other. Each one is clothed and warm. The land is revered. All living things are honored for the expression of life that they are. Creativity is celebrated, but there are no celebrities. There are no laws here, except the one Law of Love.

This is not a realm that is ruled by a king or a queen, yet each of its citizens is a prince or a princess. And, like any prince or princess, each one inherits all the abundant riches of realm as a birthright to use in any way they choose. Each is heir to all the wonders he or she can behold. From birth, everyone is encouraged to know that he or she is born into a royal heritage and possess all the knowledge to choose his or her own path in each and every moment of each and every day. All who abide here know that they have the power to command of this realm anything they desire, because, after all, they are all princes and princesses. They are not told what to do or not to do, what is right and wrong, good or bad. In this realm, everyone lives from his or her own guidance and inspiration. No one struggles to be or to do anything other than what they are called to do in the moment. There is nowhere to go or nowhere to be, other than here. 

You may be asking, “So, where is this place that is no place?  What is this magical realm beyond time?”

It is an oft forgotten, yet ever present realm known simply to all who live there as Peace. 

In this land, there once lived a young man, himself a Prince of Peace, who was a born explorer. Always curious, he questioned everything. He was always asking his mother or father, “Who? What? Why? When? To which they would always reply, “You have the answer. You only need listen to your own wisdom.”

To which he would always reply, “But, I want to know now!”

One day as he was sitting beneath the shade of an ancient live oak tree, his treasured spot to sit and ponder, he had a thought, “I wonder if there is something beyond this land of Peace, some other realm different, unique, and exciting – just waiting for me to discover it.” As was his practice, he immediately ran to ask his parents. Who, much to his dismay, said to him, “You have the answer. You only need listen to your own wisdom.”

 To which he replied, “But, I want to know now!”

So off he went asking others in the realm if they knew. No one claimed to have any personal knowledge of such a place. There were some who said they had heard rumors of a far away realm, but as far as anyone knew no one had ever left the serenity of Peace. Not one person could tell the young prince anything that would satisfy his curiosity. Everyone he asked said virtually the same thing, yet no one discounted the possibility that there might be another realm, for in Peace, all potentiality exists. They were all content to abide in Peace and enjoy the comfort and prosperity of the realm. Although they provided no useful information, no one tried to convince the young prince of Peace not to explore, for in Peace each one is supportive of the other’s unique expression. Even though no one in Peace shared his curiosity, because the prince had always been encouraged to trust himself and follow his own guidance, he could not discount his thought that such a place must exist. 

Knowing as he did that all possibility exists in the field of pure potential, he decided that he was going to venture out and indeed discover if there was another realm beyond his home land. As he pondered the possibility, he realized that he had no means of travel, after all no one in Peace had ever left, so of course no one had need of transportation. Being a Prince of Peace, he did not let this stand in his way. As he had heard many times from his parents, he knew that the solution would arise from his innate creativity and inspiration as he allowed it. 

So, one day as he once again sat in quiet reflection beneath the ancient live oak, an idea came. He leapt up in excitement and immediately began to sketch the vision that he had received. Once the plan was firmly envisioned and set down on paper, he began the process of constructing his transport vehicle, which he called the Modular Inter-Dimensional Navigational Device or M.I.N.D. for short. It was revealed to him in his vision that with this device he would be able to travel anywhere with just a thought. Of course the manifestation of the device progressed without delay or interference because in Peace there is nothing that impedes the fulfillment of an inspired vision.

When the device was finished, he ran through the realm announcing to his friends and family that he was leaving on a new venture. They all cheered and wished him well without any thought of concern, because in the land of Peace there is no judgment. Everyone knows that freedom abounds and all choice is allowed.

So, the young prince entered his M.I.N.D., closed his eyes, and voila – with one thought he was transported. As he opened his eyes and looked around, he was a bit perplexed. He saw the same landscape, the same houses, and the same people. His surroundings appeared to be unchanged. In that moment, he began to doubt himself. He thought, “Oh, I must have done something wrong. I must have misinterpreted the vision. Maybe I’m not smart after all. Maybe I just can’t do it right. Maybe I’m too young to try this anyway.” And, the thoughts continued in a similar spiral.

As he began to observe through his M.I.N.D., he saw that the houses were worn and old and ugly. As he encountered his neighbors and family, he saw that some were skinny, some were fat, some were old, some were white, and some were black. In his M.I.N.D., labels and judgments began to appear where before only acceptance and love had been. While they looked the same, something was different. In that moment, he realized that he was no longer in Peace. 

Never before had it occurred to him that he was different from all others, but in his M.I.N.D. he began to think thoughts of a separate self. People were talking to him, and he heard words that sounded like criticism and blame. For the first time in his life, he saw himself alone and felt lonely.

He felt something odd happening. His body began to ache and feel heavy. His heart raced. His head pounded. He thought “I just want to run away and hide.” These feelings and thoughts were unknown to him; he did not know what to do. He ran to get away from them, but no matter how hard or fast he ran, he kept meeting his own thoughts, the thoughts that separated him from all that he encountered. He thought, “What could be happening to me?” “Where am I?” “It all seems so familiar, yet so foreign.”

As he continued to wander around, his body began to get tired and weary from all the discomfort he was experiencing. Navigating in his M.I.N.D. was beginning to feel heavy and weigh him down. In the moment that he was about to collapse, he came upon the tall live oak tree, so he decided to walk over and sit in its shade for a bit. As he rested, he soon fell asleep and began to dream. 

In the dream, he saw a light in the distance. The light intrigued him, and he began to stare at it. As he focused, the light seemed to grow larger and move nearer. Being the curious explorer that he was, he arose and walked toward the light. He wanted to know what it was. As he grew closer he noticed that the light was not just a light, but that it seemed to have form. He experienced no hesitation, only a sense of wonder and awe. As the light became more clearly visible, it began to look familiar. When he was nearly face to face with the light, he stopped. He was amazed to realize that the light looked exactly like him. Surprised by the vision, he asked “Who are you, and why are you here?” 

The light replied, “I am you, my friend, and I am here to remind you of your truth and show you the way home.”

“What do you mean you are me? How can you remind me of my truth?” asked the young prince.

The light replied.

“I am the light that is your true nature. I am that part of you that speaks in the silence whenever you stop to listen. I am always with you to remind of who you really are. You see, you have been exploring a realm where false evidence appears to be real. It’s called FEAR. In this realm the limiting thoughts you have of another or of yourself seem to be real, but they are just illusions that appear when your M.I.N.D. takes you to FEAR. Because the light does not shine as brightly there, FEAR is often a dark, dreary place. It’s difficult to see clearly, so things appear to be what they are not. The heaviness you felt also happens in FEAR. It is how the body reacts to the atmosphere. When you are in this heavy, dark place, it can be difficult, if not impossible to remember that you are a prince of Peace. If you stay there long enough, it can become challenging to find your way back home. There are some who have been there so long that Peace seems to be only a distant dream.”

“You created this device you call your M.I.N.D. so that you can explore other realms. You created it so well that every thought takes you precisely where you choose to go. It is indeed an amazing creation and very powerful. It can be used for wondrous things if you do not allow it to become heavy and burdensome. Always remember that you created it, and it is yours to use. Remember, too, that it does not have to be used to take you from Peace; it can be used in Peace as well. I am here to remind you that you had the power to choose the thoughts you think in your M.I.N.D. and to control where it takes you. It is entirely up to you.”

With that, the light was gone and the young prince awoke. 

When he awoke the prince remembered the dream vividly. He immediately closed his eyes, and thought of his family and friends and all the love that surrounds him in Peace. Then he shook his head, and when he opened his eyes, he instantly began to feel lighter. As he looked around, he was aware of the same trees, the same houses, the same people, yet something was different yet again. Now, instead of old, ugly, fat, thin, white or black, he saw only the beauty and the perfection of everything, and he felt warm and safe and joyous. He thought of what the light had told him in his dream and realized that his light was now shining so brightly that he was able to see everything in its true nature. That’s when he realized that he was back in Peace.

He ran home as fast as he could and began telling his parents all about his adventure. They celebrated with him for a time, and when the excitement subsided, his mother asked him, “Would you be willing to share with me the wisdom that came to you through this wondrous time of exploration?”

The young prince stopped for a moment in wonder.  He was delighted that he was being asked to share his wisdom, and was pleased to be able to give his mother this gift.

After a few moments of contemplation he said, “Well Mother, I have learned that you and Father were right, I do indeed have the power to go anywhere and do anything I choose. I can even choose to explore the realm of FEAR for a time if that’s what I want to do, but I also learned that FEAR can be a pretty scary place. Most importantly, I learned that even if I visit FEAR, I know that I can return home to Peace with just one thought.”

As he was about to run out the door to join his playmates, he turned to his Mother and said, “If you really want to go there, I’m pretty sure your light will show up to remind you how to get home. In case you forget, just remember to listen. Remember who you are. We all have that choice.”

And with that, the prince of Peace was off on yet another exciting adventure.

Christ is Born

As we celebrate Christmas we honor Jesus being born in human form while simultaneously coming into the world as the Christ, a full and complete expression of the Divine.  We revel in the realization that through Jesus, as through each of us, the full potential of the Creative Life Force (God) poured itself forward into creation in order that it might be revealed.  To put it simply, in all its complexity, (God) is revealed to itself, as itself, as the Christ in humankind.  Jesus exampled this by awakening from attachment to the human conditioned consciousness, realizing his Oneness with God, whom he referred to as the ‘Father’ and living from the awakened Christ consciousness. He courageously exclaimed, “I and Father are one.” (John 10:30)

The same potential to accept and realize our Oneness is inherent in each of us as we willingly surrender to it.  In fact, it is only due to our belief in separation that we can ever see a distinction between ourselves, Jesus and God, the Creative Life Force that is constantly and consistency living itself in us, through us, as us.  As St. Paul says, “In [God] we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28 NIV)  God is pouring itself into the world every moment of every day as you and me.  It is ours to choose to awaken to that Truth, realize our Oneness, and live from that Consciousness.

One of the foundational Scriptures of Christianity is John 3:16 & 17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (NIV)  This Scripture has traditionally been interpreted to mean that God sent Jesus to atone for the sins of the world by sacrificing him on the cross.  Further, that if one believes that Jesus was God’s only son, then he or she will be saved from what would otherwise be an eternity in hell.

 

In his book, Discover the Power within You, Unity minister and author Eric Butterworth said,

“This scripture has been cited by many Christian preachers as positive proof of the divinity of Jesus, and his special dispensation as the Son of God. However, this takes on new meaning when we see it through the perception of Meister Eckhart, one of the great mystics of the Middle Ages. He says that God never begot but one Son, but the Eternal is forever begetting the only begotten.”

Unlike traditional Christianity, we in Unity do not view Jesus as the only son of God sent into the world to redeem it, but rather as one whose life may serve as an example for the potential within each of us to recognize, realize and reveal our Oneness.  Jesus was a human being who experienced the conditioning of family, religion and society; similar to what each of us is subjected to, yet through a process of awakening he recognized, realized and revealed his Christ potential and his Oneness with God.  The same potential and possibility is inherent in each of us.

  

Interpreted from a metaphysical perspective, John 3:16 & 17 might read something like,

God, the Creative Life Force, loved itself into creation as the Christ and gave itself to all, as all, so that whoever exercises the power of Faith (consciousness centered in God) will know that God is eternally living and giving itself to the world and will realize their oneness with it.  God did not love itself into the world to condemn it, but so that the world could save itself through its own recognition, realization, and revelation of Christ expressing. 

From the realization of Oneness, we might even say,

I, being one with God, am giving my Self through Love to the world so that the world can be redeemed as I show the way and model a life lived from the conscious awareness of Christ as the only Truth of all creation.

Through our realization and revelation the world is redeemed, or to use the traditional Christian word “saved.”  The world is saved through each one of us awakening to the glory of the Divine that he or she is.  And, as we awaken, we assist others in awakening as well.  Christ redeems the world through the world’s conscious recognition and realization of itself as the Christ.  And, as Christ is recognized and realized, anywhere in any moment, it is revealed as all creation.

  

Redemption, or salvation, happens in the instant that we are willing to let go of the idea that we are separate from the Creative Life Force (God) and surrender to and realize our Oneness.  Then, from the consciousness of realization, Christ is revealed as we choose to know it for ourselves and for the world.

Christ was born not only through Jesus, but Christ is born every moment that we are willing to surrender and allow God to have its full, undiluted, unencumbered expression in us, through us, as us.  The Christ is born in you today.  Allow Christ to be born and revealed as you today.

Let us affirm together, “I know myself as the Christ. I give all of my Self, the Christ of my being, in every moment so that the world might awaken to the Divine expression of Christ that it is.”

Christmas Presence

J and I just returned from a visit to Texas where we attended and celebrated his eldest son, Yale’s, college graduation. We enjoyed spending time with family and seeing friends. I also had the honor of speaking and singing at Unity of Dallas this past Sunday.

J’s mother, Virgie, who is an 88-year old lifelong Baptist made the drive down from her home in Oklahoma to join in the family celebration. Saturday, on the drive from the graduation ceremony back to J’s brother’s house, Virgie asked me what I was going to speak about the next day. Although I felt a twinge of apprehension, I told her that the title of my talk was “The Reason for the Season.” I was sure I knew what the follow up question would be. I was not wrong. She then asked, “What is the reason for the season?”

If you read my post from November 25, you might understand my hesitance in discussing with her the content of my talk. Even though she has heard me speak many times and has always complemented me on my lessons, I was reluctant to have an in-depth conversation with her about what I believe to be the reason for the season. I had the idea that she and I would not exactly see eye-to-eye, and I didn’t want to risk disrupting the joy of the weekend. So, I jokingly replied, “Presents, of course. Presents are the reason for the season.” She laughed and we shared a few exchanges about the joys of giving and receiving gifts, as well as our thoughts on the commercialism of Christmas.

Later, as I reflected on my comment, I realized that while I made it in jest and from care and concern for our relationship, that there is actually a depth of truth in it. I don’t mean to imply that I believe that presents are the reason for the season. However, I do believe “Presence is the reason for the season” is a statement of truth.

In my book, In This Moment – Prayers from the Well of Awareness, I use the word ‘Presence’ as a descriptor for that which we might otherwise call God, Universe, One Mind, to name a few. I chose to use ‘Presence’ in my attempt to alleviate some of the resistance many have about the word ‘God.’ In the book I say:

“I use the word Presence to give name to that which is before and beyond thought, thus beyond definition. I cannot attempt to provide even the most rudimentary conceptualized image of Presence, since it is the absolute absence of all form – and yet all form is its life. It is the All as all, yet is no thing that can be quantified. Presence simply is. Presence is the essential – the essence of Being.”

Unity principles teach that there is only One Power and One Presence and that we are that Power and Presence in expression.  This Presence in expression is also what we in Unity call the Christ or the I Am. Christmas is the honoring the Light – Christ – that enlightens everyone coming into manifestation through the one we know as Jesus Christ¹. It is also a celebration of the conscious awareness of the Light of Christ being born in and as each of us.

Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore said,

“The true light (the Christ or Word) that lights every man coming into the world is and ever has been in man...Up to a certain stage in his unfolding man does not recognize this truth; now however, this mystery, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” is being revealed to the race with more and more clarity and with greatly increased power.²”

While is it fun to give and receive them, presents are not the reason for the season. Presence is the reason for the season. The greatest present we can give ourselves is the gift of the conscious awareness of Presence expressing in us, through us and as us.

I share the following prayer from my book as an affirmation you may want to use as you embrace the season.

Presence is living Itself in, through and as me this moment.
I am here as a unique expression of Presence.
In this moment, I choose to release attachment to any thought, idea, concept, or feeling that would keep me from complete acceptance and realization of this truth.
As I release, I open myself to become all that Presence is – I Am – in this moment.
I accept my birthright and all it holds for me. And, so it is.

The next time someone asks you, “What is the reason for the season?” you can with complete assurance say, “Presence, of course” and allow them to draw their own conclusions. 

Please join us on Sunday at our 10:00 service as we come together to celebrate the Power of Presence and Rejoice in the Magic of the Season.

I also encourage you to join us on Christmas Eve for either the 5:00 or 7:00 service. Both services will be filled with story and song as we celebrate a Magical Mystical Christmas.

¹ John 1:9
² Mysteries of John