We Are One

Charles Fillmore, cofounder of Unity, in describing our movement once said,

“Unity is a link in the great educational movement inaugurated by Jesus Christ; our objective is to discern the truth in Christianity and prove it. The truth that we teach is not new; neither do we claim special revelations or discovery of new religious principles. Our purpose is to help and teach mankind to use and prove the eternal Truth taught by the Master.”

What is the eternal Truth that was taught by the Master Teacher Jesus Christ? And, how do we use it and prove it?

Jesus stated his primary Truth in a number of ways attempting to teach his followers the foundational Truth of the universe. He said things such as, “The Father and I are One;” “Those who have seen me have seen the Father;” “I am in my Father, and you are in me and I am in you.” He was stating the Truth of Unity, our Oneness with all creation.

Jesus, who knew intimately his union with Universal Life Energy, often referred to it as Father, or the more endearing term “Abba.” It was his attempt to have his followers understand that they, too, could open to the awareness of their own innate and intimate relationship in the Divine. He said, “The Kingdom of God is within you,” and “The Kingdom of God is among you.” Meaning that the abode of God Energy is within, around and among us. We are one in it, as It. We are in no way separate from it, not in body, mind or spirit.

Later, the apostle Paul, expressed this Truth when he said, “In him we live and move and have our being. As some of our own poets have said, we are his offspring.”

While the association of God as Father may evoke images of a human form, we know that God is not a person, but is the Life Energy which is the Spirit and Substance of all that is in form and all that is formless. Referring to God as Father simply indicates that we, as well as all creation, are “offspring,” or manifestations of It.

While it has taken centuries, science is now proving that what Jesus knew and taught is Truth. The concept that everything is energy, existing as pure potential and possibility until consciousness perceives it and shapes it into an impression of form, is now becoming more widely proven by the growing field of quantum physics. Even some classical physicists, while not completely accepting the findings, are beginning to admit that, after decades of research, they are unable to locate the smallest particle that they believe forms the foundation of matter. It seems that no matter how deeply they go in their search, there is always more (or less) to be discovered. Yet, many are still reluctant to admit that there might be a power that imbues all that appears as form and that holds all matter together.

Why is it important for us to discern, prove and use this Truth?

It matters because conscious knowing and conscious application of this Truth has the power and potential to transform our lives and the entirety of life on Earth and beyond.

From our purely human perspective, we appear to be separate and distinct individuals. When we know that, in Truth, there is no such thing as an individual, we begin to treat our fellow humans and all sentient beings with more care, respect and compassion. We are all God Energy taking form through consciousness and playing in this realm. When we realize that we are One Life, we know that we are inextricably connected to each other and to all creation. Everything we do affects the Whole because we are aspects of and constantly in relationship with the Whole. In this realization, we undoubtedly will be more conscious of our words, thoughts and actions.  In Truth everything we do, everything we say, indeed, every thought we think, affects the Whole.

In Truth there is no such thing as you and me. In the field of eternal, limitless Source Energy there is only One. You are that One. I am that One. There is only One of us here. There is only One Life living itself as what we think of as “you” and “me.”

Somewhere along the journey of our evolution, our collective society denied our connection with the elements, the Earth, and her inhabitants. We sacrificed our consciousness of our oneness in favor of our individualism and materialism. Our disconnection has resulted in us polluting the air, raping the land, warring against our brother and sisters, and disregarding and abusing the animals. We have become a people of competition and isolation. Our belief in separation is destroying us and our planet.

Now is the time and we are the ones to return to the Truth that the master teacher Jesus taught. Now is the time and we are the ones to begin to embody and live the Truth. It is the “Truth that will set us free” (John 8:32). When we do, we will set ourselves free from the need to struggle, from the desire to compete with our neighbor, from the belief in scarcity that causes us to cling to what we have and grasp for more. We will reclaim our compassion for one another as well as our connection with the Earth, and we will honor all for whom she is Mother.

A return to the Truth that Jesus taught, remembering our Oneness, is our salvation. It may be the only thing that will save us and restore us to the Wholeness that is our Truth.

Yes, it is ours to prove and to use the Truth taught by the Master.

Join us on Sunday at 10:00. My lesson is entitled, “We Are One.” Come explore with me the Truth that sets us free.

Living the Adventure

This past week, with the help of a couple of friends who are also part of my spiritual support group, I discerned a new vision statement for myself – I am open to the adventure that calls me to my highest potential.

During a workshop with Rev. Aliza Bloom Robinson this past Sunday, my statement took on new life energy and has evolved. It is now – I am living the adventure that calls forth my highest potential. I like that it is now stated in the present and that it speaks to calling forth, from within me, my highest potential. It is much more active and energizing.

When I shared my statement with a congregant and friend, she asked, “Is the statement just for you?” My immediate response was, “Yes, I am choosing for it to be my guiding vision statement.” 

However, her question stuck with me. I decided to take the question within and ask my Inner Knower if, indeed, the statement is just for me.

The answer I received was, “Yes, it is for you, and No, it is not just for you. You are to invite and welcome others into this adventure with you.”

I interpreted that to mean that this is to be, not only mine, but also the theme for Unity Spiritual Center Denver for 2018.

In numerology, 2018 reduces to an ‘11’ (2 + 0 + 1 + 8 = 11). In numerology the number 11 is a Master Number – ‘Master’ meaning it is of intense/high vibrational frequency and works within the ethereal, magical and transcendental realms of creation. Master numbers possess great potential for learning and growth, and can bring major transformations in your life. ¹

You may not believe in the science of numerology. I am not suggesting that you must. I am, however, suggesting that we embrace 2018 as the year that we commit to living our mastery. As I have said in earlier posts and in previous lessons, we are all Spiritual Masters, awakening to our mastery and mastering our mastery. Now is the time for us to live the adventure that calls forth the Master within.

I am open to inspiration from Spirit for how this adventure unfolds and how I, and we, can step into and participate in it. I invite you to vision with me.

Are you ready for a new adventure in Spirit?

Are you eager to embrace the Master within?

Are you excited about living your highest potential?

If so, welcome.

Some of the paths for exploring this adventure that have come to me are-

Adventures in Wholeness
Adventures in Prosperity
Adventures in Faith
Adventures in Love
Adventures in Courage
Adventures in Compassion
Adventures in Peace and Nonviolence

I want to hear from you. Please take time to go within, connect with your Inner Knower, and share with me your inspired path of adventure.

I look forward to sharing this adventure with all of you.

Please join us on Sunday for our 10:00 service as we begin our adventure with my lesson, “Navigating the Mind Field.” I will explore what we mean when we use the word ‘mind’ and share some ideas about how we can stay alert as we access and move through the energy field of ‘mind.’

¹ UniversalLifeTools.com

Three Phases of mind

In my lesson this past Sunday at Unity Spiritual Center Denver, which you may listen to here, I said that the only power our minds have is the power to align us with the Spirit of God – the One Power that truly exists. I encouraged that we not get too caught up in the idea that we have the power to affect change in our lives through the power of mind. Instead, I stressed the need to turn all our cares and concerns over to the indwelling Power and Presence of God and allow It to do Its perfect work in us and through us.

Following the service, a friend and congregant came to me and asked for more clarity in reference to some things I said. If I interpreted correctly, his questions were, in effect, “How do we use our minds in conjunction with the Power and Presence of God? What about free will? He commented that what I said seemed to go against Unity's foundational teaching.

While I can understand that what I said may seem to contradict one of Unity’s primary tenets which states: We create our experience through our way of thinking. However, when we look more closely I believe we will see that what I said is in alignment with that principle. I was attempting to bring more clarity to it when I said that the power of mind is in aligning with God indwelling as our consciousness.

I am always grateful when someone questions what I say because it invites me to enter more deeply into the question and listen for the voice of wisdom within. As I asked and listened, I recalled one of my favorite lessons from Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore. In the book, Keep a True Lent, he expounds on the three phases of mind – conscious, subconscious and superconscious. He explains the importance and true function of each and how they all work together.

It is helpful to me in understanding the real “power of mind.” I hope it is helpful for you, as well. Quotes from Mr. Fillmore are in italics.

We are all well acquainted with the conscious mind. Through its use we establish our relations with the outer realm and recognize our individual entities.

This is the phase of mind we typically refer to when we speak of the power of mind.

The subconscious mind is the vast, silent realm that lies back of the conscious mind and between it and the superconscious.

I’m not sure that phases of mind have locations, but I guess the visual image can be helpful to understanding.

To one who does not understand its nature and its office, it is the "great gulf fixed" between his present state and the attainment of his highest desire, his good.

This is an important piece of wisdom. Reading further, we see that only when the subconscious is regenerated by the superconscious are we able to live our highest desires.

The subconscious may be called the sensitive plate of mind. Its true office is to receive impressions from the superconscious [A state of consciousness based on true ideas, on an understanding and realization of spiritual Truth ¹] and to reproduce them upon the canvas of the conscious mind.

Man, however, having lost the consciousness of the indwelling Father as an ever present reality, has reversed the process and impresses the subconscious from the conscious mind. In this way the [subconscious] is made to register impressions of both good and evil, according to the thought held in conscious mind at the time the impression is made.

And since it is the purpose and the nature of the subconscious mind to reproduce, or to throw upon the screen of the conscious, the exact impression that it has received, the conscious mind is thus made to express two sets of opposing ideas. No enduring structure can be built by one who is "a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Please listen to my lesson, specifically the part about FEAR. It can be used as an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. As humans, we look at the effect, the world of form, and use it as evidence to support a false belief. Or, we develop B.S. (belief systems) based upon our misperception of the world we observe. These are then impressed upon the subconscious, which receives them, and reproduces them upon the conscious mind. The conscious mind then projects them onto the world and the cycle continues, unless we make a conscious decision to intervene.

Man must go back to his Source and let its clear light flood his whole being with Truth. He must lay aside forever the idea of serving two masters and must look to the one Master, even Christ, the spiritual consciousness within.

The superconscious mind is ever ready to pour forth the divine blessing, quick to respond to the call of the conscious, which it meets on the middle ground of the subconscious.

The superconscious mind lifts up, or regenerates, both the subconscious and the conscious, transforming them into the true image and likeness of God. The conscious mind must be faithful during this transformation. It must look ever to the superconscious for all direction and instruction. It can of itself do nothing with assurance, because the Spirit of wisdom rests in the superconscious.

This is the crux of my lesson from Sunday. If we are to live our highest potential, it is imperative that we allow the Christ Mind – Superconsciousness – to be the focus of our conscious mind. When we allow the Christ Mind to source our thinking, we surrender to the Power of God that is living as us. It is the only power that is REAL. It is Radiant Eternal Abundant Life (again, please listen to my lesson).

The Superconsciousness reaches to the depths of the subconscious and sets free the energies bound in error thought; that having been done, man can easily reach and mold the subconscious, in harmony with divine ideas. The regeneration of the subconscious is not the work of the conscious, but of the superconscious mind acting in harmony with the conscious.

When we seek the Superconsciousness and make conscious connection with it we harmonize all the forces of mind and body; we lift up the subconscious until a complete, conscious unification of the three phases of mind is affected and we become established "in singleness of . . . heart." We fear nothing, for we know that we draw on the divine ideas in God Mind and that they all are good.

As Mr. Fillmore states, and as I said on Sunday, it is not the conscious mind that does the work. The master teacher, Jesus, said, “It is not I, but the Father within that does the work.” It is the same principle for you and me. However, that does not negate the power of our free will in making a conscious decision to connect with Superconsciousness and allow It to do the work of regenerating the subconscious and restoring us to the consciousness of unity in the One Power and Presence that does the work in us, as us.

The power of the conscious mind is the power to consciously connect with the One Mind – Superconsciousness – and to be diligent in staying focus on the Divine Ideas available in that connection.

We make those conscious choices and connect with Superconsciousness through prayer, meditation, contemplation, or any activity that opens us to the experience of Higher Consciousness.

I invite you to join me for an hour of conscious connection. I offer two weekly sessions of guided meditation, visualization and intuitive insights. These sessions are offered via teleconference and video conference on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. MST and Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. MST. If you would like more information on how to participate, please email me at david@davidhoward.com.

As always, I invite you to join us for our service on Sunday at 10:00 as we welcome special guest speaker Rev. Aliza Bloom Robinson. Rev. Aliza will present a lesson entitled Learning the Dance of Ease. She will also facilitate a workshop from 12:00 to 2:30 based on her best-selling book, Falling Into Ease. Learn more about Aliza by visiting her website – DivineAwakening.org. Register for the workshop – HERE.

¹ The Revealing Word

I Release. I Let Go. I Let God.

During my meditation this morning, I found myself singing the chorus of the Rickie Byars Beckwith song, “I Release and I Let Go.” It is a popular song in Unity and other New Thought spiritual centers. The lyrics to the chorus are,

I release and I let go
I let the Spirit run my life
And my heart is open wide
Yes I’m only here for God

No more struggle, no more strife
With my faith I see the light
I am free in the Spirit
Yes, I’m only here for God

I have sung this song countless times over the past twenty-plus years. I even know the lyrics by heart. And, today the words arose from my heart, and I felt them more deeply than ever before.

I believe these words are Spirit’s response to my asking, “What is mine to do in 2018?” So, I am choosing this as my mantra and my intention for this year (and beyond).

I fully realize that to live this intention I must continually affirm and know that I am only here for God and make choices, moment-by-moment, to let go of all struggle and strife; keep my heart open wide; ignite my power of faith; and surrender to Spirit.

If you resonate with this message, I invite you to join me. Use the following statements to align your mind and heart to the energy of this intention.

I am only here to be the highest expression of God that I can be in any given moment. I am only here to embody the unconditional Love of God, behold all through the eyes of Love, and express that Love for all creation, including myself. I commit to keep my heart and mind focused on the God of my being, to love God with all my heart, mind and spirit, and to love others as myself (Matthew 22: 37 – 39)

I let go of the struggle and strife that comes from believing that I have to do it, whatever “it” is. I stand with my brother and teacher, Jesus, and proclaim, “The words that I speak (and the works that I do) are not my own. Rather, it is the Father in me who is doing the work” John 14:10. I choose to release the idea of a “self” separate and apart from God, for this belief is the beginning of all suffering.

I breathe deeply into the area of my spiritual heart, which is just behind and to the right of my physical heart. I consciously open. I open to allow the flow of Divine Love. I am a channel for Infinite Love and Light as I open to welcome the awareness that all people are and all creation is the Living Light of God. I choose moment-by-moment to keep my heart open wide. I am a vessel for receiving and giving to the world all that God is as me.

I focus my attention on the area at the center of my head and ignite the blue light of Faith which is my power to perceive the activity of God in and through all circumstances. Faith is also my power to behold, with conviction and joyous anticipation, the fulfillment of my deepest desire, which is to know myself as I am known in the Mind of God. With my power of Faith, I see the true Light and Life of God living itself through all that was and is and is yet to be.

I surrender to the indwelling Spirit in all things. I realize that the spirit of Life and Love, in whose image I am made, is the Intelligence, Presence and Power that sourced all creation, holds it all in perfect harmony and order and responds to my every thought and feeling with precision. I surrender now to a power greater than I have up till now believed myself to be. I reclaim the power of Spirit working in, through and as me to do its perfect will. Again, I stand with the master teacher, Jesus, when I say, “Not my will, but thy will be done” (Luke 22:42). I surrender the will of the ego-identified self, and reclaim that the will of Spirit is my will.

Stating each of the forgoing declarations is an empowering step toward living the intention. Making these declarations aligns us with the energy inherent in them. It is a beginning. It is not sufficient to make these declarations only once, no matter how emphatically we do so. It is imperative for us to continue to align ourselves.

I have printed these statements and posted them on the wall just above my computer screen so that I can look up, see them, and read them aloud multiple times each day. They will serve as a constant reminder of my stated intention. I encourage you to do something similar.

I also encourage us all to make the commitment to staying aware of when we slip into old patterns of worry, struggle or strife. Commit to noticing when we are trying to take control, and instead make the conscious decision to release and let go. Trust and know that the Spirit of God indwelling is doing its work in its time.

Proclaim unabashedly and with conviction, “I am Free in the Spirit. I am only here for God.” And, so it is!

Join us on Sunday at 10:00 as we explore further how we can “Release, Let Go, and Let God.”