It Is Enough

Every Tuesday morning my prayer partner and I meet by phone. We spend a few minutes catching up and sharing about our current life celebrations and challenges, then we quickly move on to our prayer requests and our prayer time. This past Tuesday, while sharing my challenge and prayer request about finances, I got in touch with a limiting core belief – “It’s never enough.” It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to stop for a few moments to take it in, breathe deeply and feel the impact. The weight of it was almost too much to bear in the moment, yet I welcomed the enlightening revelation.

Because I had been sharing about my desire to generate additional financial abundance, the initial recognition was that the thought, “It’s never enough,” is a belief that I have around money. Yet, the longer I sat with it the more I realized that the energy of this thought resonates through much of my life. Finances just happen to be a present and tangible measurement of its effects.

My prayer on Tuesday was that I continue to contemplate this belief, remain open to recognize the ways I have allowed and continue to allow it to limit me, and do what is mine to do to be released from the energy of it. My prayer partner held this for me as we prayed together.

One might think that I would be accustomed to swift responses to prayers, but I am constantly amazed and delighted by how quickly Spirit responds when I am open to receive. This time I was open.

Each morning, Monday through Thursday, our staff at Unity Spiritual Center Denver meets for a time of prayer and meditation. We begin with reading the Daily Word for that day.

The word for this past Tuesday was “Worry-Free” and the affirmation, “Now is the time and this is the moment to free myself from doubt” The entry continues,

“At the very core of worry is doubt…I find release from worry in the quiet of prayer and meditation – in knowing who I am as a creation of God.”

This was my first nudge toward being released from my limiting belief.

We also gather each Tuesday morning for staff meeting. I begin our meetings with an inspirational reading. This past Tuesday, just before going into the meeting, I picked up from my desk a Unity publication from December 1905. The scripture at the top of the cover page is, “Ye shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free!” That in itself was a powerful reminder, but what came next was yet another answer.

I opened to a random page and read,

“Now, here is the secret – not to doubt, no matter what comes to us. We must know and declare that prosperity is ours. The noon statement that Unity people are holding is ‘I am prosperous; I always succeed.’ Now, from a limited standpoint this may not seem true, but when we speak from the Christ-consciousness, then it is absolutely true. Let us be true to Truth; true to principle; true to ourselves, and from Truth’s standpoint we say: I am prosperous; I am conqueror, today the same as yesterday.”

I love the phrase, “Let us be true to Truth.” To what Truth are we to be true? What is the Truth that when we know it sets us free?

Despite any appearance to the contrary, God/Spirit/Life/Creation is expressing itself, all of itself as each of us right here, right now. This is the Absolute Truth.

Taking this to heart, I wrote and repeated the following. I invite you to use this or something similar for any belief that you may be allowing to block your good.

Standing firm in the realization of who I AM, the Light of Truth shines from the inner core of my being and reveals to me that the belief, “It’s never enough” is a lie. I do not need to know where or from whom I learned it or when I allowed it to become part of my consciousness. I do not need to analyze it or trace it to its root. I simply allow the light of Truth to shine forth from my heart and soul and invite the energy of that belief to dissipate, to burn away, to be released from my energy field and make way for a new revelatory vibration – IT IS ENOUGH! In the vibration of Truth, I am set free. I am free from the energy of doubt and its effects in my life. I go forward with a renewed commitment to be “true to Truth.”

It is enough to know and fully realize that we are created as the image/likeness of our Creator endowed with the potential to express all that we can image God to be. If we are true to the intention to live that Truth, it is enough. We express the level of awareness we have at any moment in time, and it is enough. Still, we never cease to strive for greater embodiment of our Truth. We know who we are and what we are as the Christ of God in the world, and it is enough.

When we find ourselves in worry, doubt, fear or distress about any situation in our lives, we can stop, breathe, invite the awareness of Spirit in, through and all around us, affirm our unity with It, and say silently or aloud – “It is enough!” Allow it to resonate in our minds and hearts and open to our own revelation.

I invite you to join us at Unity Spiritual Center Denver on Sunday at 10:00 for our service. Our Associate Minister, Trish Morris, will present the lesson. I will be back on Sunday, September 9, when I will open the lesson to your questions. It will be “Ask the Minister” Sunday. So, get your best questions ready!

More Than Human

Many are familiar with the quote by French philosopher and Jesuit priest, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

His words resonate deeply with what we know to be true about ourselves. From the dawning of human consciousness, we have sensed that we are more than physical forms living an earthly existence. We have longed to understand more of the mystery of who we are and to be in conscious communion with our Source. 

I appreciate and completely agree with the second part of Teilhard de Chardin’s statement, but I do not fully agree with the first part of the quote. We are multi-dimensional beings. Whether or not we are consciously aware of it, we exist simultaneously in this earthly plane, as well as in dimensions beyond.

We are human beings, and we are having a spiritual experience. Better stated, we are human beings and we may have a spiritual experience. Having a conscious spiritual experience is dependent upon the perspective from which we view ourselves and our relationship to our Source and the world.

If we are trapped in the belief that we are separate and alone and defined by the conditioned consciousness, which Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore termed the adverse ego¹, we may not be open to perceiving life as a spiritual experience. When we are willing and ready to begin to expand our awareness through meditation, prayer and contemplation, observe the conditioned consciousness, and question its content, we begin to see that we are more than we may have previously believed ourselves to be.

As we continue our practices and expand our awareness, we will begin to encounter the Divine within ourselves and in all that is around us.

HUMAN BEINGS – Being human and all that it entails, including the messiness, pain and joy of it, is invaluable to the personal and collective evolution of human consciousness. Rejecting the value of our human experience is tantamount to denying the manifest expression of God that each of us is.

SPIRITUAL BEINGS – We are also spiritual beings. We have existence beyond our physical forms. Our spiritual nature is the unconditioned consciousness of who we truly are, absent of our human conditioning. We sometimes refer to this as our “True Self” or “Higher Self.”  This represents the individuated unique expression of the Divine that each of us is. Our spiritual journey is about making this aspect more conscious, embodying it, and expressing it. In that way, we are spiritual beings expressing and experiencing the Divine.

HUMAN AND SPIRITUAL – The deeper truth is that, while we are human beings and spiritual beings, our ultimate reality is that we are Spirit expressing and experiencing Itself as each of us as we live this life journey.

Why is it valuable for us to know that we are multi-dimensional beings?

When we are willing and able to access the higher dimensional aspects of ourselves, we have access to higher wisdom. Whether seemingly unimportant or life-altering, the answer to every question we can conceive of can be found through our conscious connection with our non-localized Self.

It also helpful because knowing this assures us that we are not and cannot never be alone. We are ever connected to the Source of all Light and Love. Each of us is, however, responsible for the level of Light and Love that we allow into and through our lives. We are always at choice.

Each of us has equal and unlimited access to the resources of Source, Love and Light which is the Spirit and Substance which imbues all life. As we grow into this as a knowing, it can be empowering and freeing no matter your current life circumstances.

We are “children of God.” We are “heirs to the kingdom.” In other words, we are expressions of an inexhaustible Source, and we, through our conscious connection, have unlimited access to all the Good available to us.

Knowing this and embracing this truth, frees us from the belief in lack and limitation. When we know that we are channels of infinite supply, we can open ourselves to the inflow and the outflow of all the Good/God we can imagine.

Yes, we are human beings, and we are oh so much more than that.

Join us on Sunday at 10:00 for our service at Unity Spiritual Center Denver. You are welcome here!

¹ Revealing Word

NOTE: When I wrote this post I intended for this concept to be the topic for my Sunday lesson. I have since received a different inspiration. My lesson on Sunday is entitled “Your Energy Signature.” I hope to see you there.

Our Ultimate Purpose

During my lesson, Building Our Spiritual Muscle, on Sunday, July 29, at Unity Spiritual Center Denver, I shared that from my perspective embodying the Christ consciousness is the ultimate purpose for engaging in our spiritual practices and building our spiritual strength. Further, that as we embody the Christ, our divine nature, we express it as did Jesus Christ, our way shower, through acts of love, service, compassion and healing.

As frequently happens, following service that day I facilitated “Discussions with David,” where a group gathers to discuss and share thoughts about the lesson. One of members who attended that gathering asked what I meant by the word ‘ultimate.’ This lead to further conversations about “Divine Plan,” “God’s Will” and “Freewill.”

I appreciate these dialogs. They invite us all into a deeper connection with what we believe, know and experience. They certainly inspire me to greater contemplation and more in-depth inquiry.

Since we did not have time to delve deeply into the topics mentioned about, I thought I would offer some of my thoughts in this forum.

I stand firm in my belief that the pinnacle of human experience is the attainment of Unity consciousness - the realization of our oneness in God/Spirit/Divine Life/Unified Field of Consciousness, or by whatever name or nature we know It to be. In fact, as I understand it, that is the “Divine Plan.” We are here, individually and collectively, to awaken to the indwelling Christ, to embody that Divine Ideal, and to manifest a world that exemplifies the qualities of the Christ through our thoughts, words and actions.

Unity cofounder, Charles Fillmore, in The Revealing Word, defines “Will of God” as,

God's determination is always perfection and all good for all [God’s] children; perfect health in mind and body; abundance of every good thing including joy, peace, wisdom, and eternal life. [God] does not will suffering or imperfection in any form.

We often think of “God’s Will” as a directive. We may have interpreted this to mean that God uses the Power of Will or will power to assert or impose a specific plan upon us. That does not jive with the God of my understanding. In researching synonyms for ‘will’ I found ‘spirit’ listed. Replacing the word ‘will’ with ‘spirit’ gives this concept an entirely new energy.

I suggest that each time we hear “God’s Will” we translate it to “God’s Spirit.” God’s Spirit of love; God’s Spirit of courage; God’s Spirit of forgiveness; God’s Spirit of abundance; God’s Spirit of joy; God’s Spirit of wholeness; God’s Spirt of peace, etc. God’s Spirt is accessible and available to each of us, yet never forced upon us. We get to choose.

We enjoy the gift of freewill. In his book, In the Flow of Life, Unity minister and author Eric Butterworth says,

The only predestination in life is the ultimate unfoldment of the divine creature you are. But the direction you take in realizing this outforming of the Christ indwelling will always be determined by your consciousness.

The content of our consciousness, the prevailing energy patterns of thoughts and feelings, determine our path, not some predetermined arbitrarily assigned role or plan for our lives. We have the power to affect the nature of our consciousness.

Regarding the “ultimate purpose” for our lives, I share this from my book, In This Moment: Prayers from the Well of Awareness ¹,

The sole purpose of life experience is to be a channel for [God.] “Why am I here?” or “What is my life purpose?” are questions asked by most of us. Many spend a lifetime seeking these answers, yet never finding them. The problem is not with the answer, but with the question. The question implies that the one asking has a purpose that is different and somehow separate from the one purpose of humanity – to be the expression of Love on Earth.

The questions often asked about purpose are truly questions of calling. The questions could very well be worded, “What is [Spirit] calling me to contribute to the world, and how do I accomplish it?” or “How can I, as an individuation of [God] freely share Love in a way that is life-enriching and uniquely suited to my gifts and talents?” Those are questions that open the channel of freedom, allowing the expression of all that desires to be born in the one asking.

Each of us has a unique part to play in the unfolding of the “Divine Plan” as we awaken to the indwelling Christ, and through the power of freewill, become God’s Spirit in action.

In addition, we are divinely guided on the path to our greatest unfolding. Eric Butterworth also said in In the Flow of Life,

Divine guidance is not an exterior force action upon you. It is the seed of your divinity (the Christ of you) seeking to fulfill its pattern in the outforming process of your life. God could never do for you that which you do not inherently want for yourself.

As we center our awareness in our hearts, we attune to the voice of our inner guide. When we listen and follow the knowing at the depth our being, we are lead each step of the way in the fulfillment of our unique pattern of the Christ that each of us is.

I will explore more about this idea in my lesson at 10:00 this coming Sunday, August 19, at Unity Spiritual Center Denver. My lesson is entitled, “Your Internal GPS.” If you are in the Denver area, please join us. If you are not able to join us on Sunday, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. My lessons are uploaded each week.

¹ Sign up for my email list, and I will be happy to email you an electronic copy of my book. You may also purchase a paperback copy here.

When the Pray-er Becomes the Prayer

In 2007, I published a collection of “prayers” in a book entitled, In This Moment: Prayers from the Well of Awareness ¹. I place “prayers” in quotation marks because these are not prayers in the traditional sense. In the book, I refer to them as “statements of truth from the Presence of Truth that have arisen in mind as thought and incarnated as word.”

Further, I say that they are intended to “assist you in positioning your mind toward truth and in opening a portal of your mind in order that it may know itself as Presence Consciousness.”

If I were to edit the book and issue a revised and updated version, I would choose to use ‘God’ in place of ‘Presence.’ I wrote this at a time when I had an aversion to the word ‘God’ and assumed that potential readers would as well.

Additionally, while I resonate with the description, “positioning and opening the portal of your mind,” I would rephrase that. I would say that these are statements that arose in my mind and incarnated as word when I was in a conscious state of union in the Divine. Further, that these statements are intended to attune our thought frequencies to God Consciousness and align our energy fields so that we begin to more fully demonstrate and manifest all that is in harmony with the Truth of God that each of us is.

The following is an excerpt from the book jacket of the hard cover edition which is no longer in print. I have edited it slightly. In addition to a few selected word changes and additions, I have chosen to replace the word ‘Presence’ with the word ‘God.’

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In This Moment: Prayers from the Well of Awareness brings within reach the treasured mystical insight that has echoed through the centuries: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God (already at hand, within) and all these things (hopes, dreams, desires) shall be added unto you.”

The usual progression of spiritual evolution is marked by four stages:

1. God and me

2. God through me

3. God as me

4. God: “I am”

In This Moment is your guide to entering the transcendent final stage of

God awareness.

I know that humankind’s conscious awareness–that awareness that comes together to create the shared experience of life on the Earth–is continuing to evolve. As human awareness evolves and embraces the essential Power within itself, we are inspired to release the bonds of the physical, soar to new heights, and create a new and expanded consciousness of God. We desire to know Truth, not just the truth of physical creation. We desire to know what is and has always been the Truth: Our Unity in God.

When the mind is filled with the resonance of God Consciousness, the emotional body begins to react, aligning with the Peace that is its Truth. The body and one’s physical experiences then begin to align as well. The energy field of the individual begins–sometimes slowly– to clear itself of heavier vibrations, and the perceived external reality begins to mirror the new awareness of Truth. Divine Ideals are reactivated in this cleared energy field, and one’s life begins to abundantly reflect experiences of a similar vibration.

Although our mental processes are, by their very nature, limited in their abilities to grasp and fully comprehend God Consciousness, they are the starting point for our journey within. Ultimately, we arrive at the understanding that we cannot change our life experience by focusing solely on the experience of it.

We cannot change our experience by seeking anything outside of ourselves. We can only change our experience by embodying the Truth that we are already the Wholeness of God expressing.

When we truly experience our true nature, the external will be its mirror.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This moment, I come home to I AM.
I release any concept of a “me” this is separate from the One.
My I-dentity is sourced beyond and before any concept of mind.
I AM lives and moves and has Its life in and through this life I call my own.
I AM the stars.
I AM the Earth.
I AM the sun.
I AM the Universe.
I AM the very life of God as It expresses as each particle of Creation.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When we approach prayer as a process in which we enter into a state of remembered union in God, prayer has the power to transform our lives.

Join us this Sunday, August 12, 2018, at Unity Spiritual Center Denver, as we delve more deeply into the meaning of the statement,

When we truly experience our true nature, the external will be its mirror.

My lesson will be “When the Pray-er becomes the Prayer.”

¹ If you would enjoy receiving an electronic copy of my book, please visit my website, DavidHoward.com, sign up for my mailing list, and I will email it to you.

You may also purchase a paperback copy of the book through my website.

Seven P's for Building Spiritual Muscle

In my lesson at Unity Spiritual Center Denver this past Sunday (watch here), I shared that as I have been contemplating the ways in which increasing physical strength is analogous to increasing spiritual strength, I devised what I am calling “Seven Ps for Building Spiritual Muscle.” After service, a couple of people said that I only mentioned six of them. I apologize. I am sharing them here in case I missed one on Sunday and for others who are interested.

Purpose

Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore once said,

“Your mission is to express all that you can image God to be.”

The ultimate purpose of our spiritual practice is to integrate and embody Christ consciousness. We engage in conscious spiritual practices to transcend the limits of our conditioned human minds, our learned and habitual ways of thinking and being, and begin to live the mission set forth by Mr. Fillmore.

We are here to express the qualities of the Christ, which were powerfully demonstrated in the consciousness of our elder brother and way shower, Jesus, and lived as love, compassion, and inclusion as he healed the sick, raised the dead, and fed the hungry.

The shorthand version is – Our Purpose is to Practice the Presence of God in all we think, say and do.

Practice

It is imperative that we engage in daily spiritual practice.

Meditation focuses awareness deep within to the quiet of our center. It helps to remove our awareness from the constant mental chatter and invites us into the stillness and silence. Meditation also opens our inner senses so that we are more readily able to hear the still, small voice of Spirit and see into the true nature of Being.

Prayer is the conscious attunement of our minds, our thoughts and feelings, to the Mind of God. Through the activity of prayer, we emanate energy from the consciousness of God and bring our outer world into alignment with our inner realization of God.

Contemplation opens us to deeper awareness and revelations as we focus our attention on a specific word or phrase. In the practice of contemplation we consciously attune our minds to a thought frequency and attract all that is in harmony with it. One of my favorite phrases for contemplation is, “God Is; I Am.”

Spiritual practices can also include physical movement, such as Tai Chi, Yoga, Sufi dancing, drumming and many other kinesthetic activities.

Presence

Focusing on the breath is one of the most effective means I have found to bring awareness into the moment. Notice every aspect of the breath. Feel the temperature of the air as it enters your nostrils. Feel it cooling your sinus cavity. Follow the flow down into your lungs. Notice the expansion of the chest and abdomen as your lungs fill with air. Stop for a second before exhaling to sense the fullness. As you exhale, be aware of the diaphragm gently rising to expel the air. Feel the warmth of the air as it is expels through your nostrils. When we are fully consciousness of the movement of breath, we are fully in the moment.

Now that you have brought awareness to the breath, think about the thousands of times each day that this process happens without you having to do anything. You are constantly in the flow of life, and breath is one tangible demonstration of that truth.

In the same way that we can bring attention and focus to the breath, we can also do the same with the body sensations, thoughts and feelings. In our spiritual practice, it is important to be present with ourselves and notice what is happening with the energy of thoughts, feelings, and body. Only when we are aware of it can we effectively adjust what might be out of alignment.

Charles Fillmore is reported to have said that self-awareness is the prelude to Christ consciousness.

Patience

I know! I get it! We want to be enlightened now! Well, the truth is we are, we just haven’t fully realized it yet. That’s where patience comes in handy.

It is important for us to be patient with ourselves. When we get impatient, we tend to judge ourselves for not doing it better and faster. That is not helpful. For most of us, growing spiritual understanding and strength is a process that occurs over time with consistence, intention and practice.

Think of it like learning the principles of mathematics. We learn our numbers. Then we learn addition and subtraction. We move on to multiplication and division. Once we gain more complex understanding, we can apply the principles to algebra, trigonometry, and calculus.

We begin right where we are, and we take the next step as it reveals itself in perfect time.

Perseverance

For most of us, there are times along the spiritual path when we are tempted to throw up our hands and say “Enough! I give up!” I know I have been there a time or two.

It is at these times that faith is paramount. Faith is our ability to see beyond the limits of what is currently manifesting to the activity of God at work in and through all situations. As Paul said, ‘It is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

When we feel discouraged or disheartened along the journey, it is helpful to go back to step one and recall our purpose. When we have a clearly defined intention for why we are walking the path, we can be strengthened in our resolve.

Call upon the Life of God which is the source of every breath you breathe to be the power to carry through. Know that the Life of God is your life. Know that the Strength of God is your strength.

Persistence

Continue to make your spiritual practices part of your daily activities.

It is not necessary to meditate 30 minutes twice a day, or set aside an hour for prayer and contemplation. You may get to that level someday if you are not already there. Choose a practice that is not too daunting for you. If it seems like too much to do, you won’t do it.

Decide on a practice or practices that you enjoy and that you can easily include in your daily routine. If you can only start with a five-minute practice, do that. Once you realize the benefits of the practice, you will want to increase the time and the frequency.

Whatever you do, persist in your practice.

Praise

Last, but certainly not least, is ‘Praise.’ I recommend that we each stop occasionally and reflect on the path we have walked and the distance we have come. Celebrate!

This is not about being egotistical. It is about honoring ourselves for our intention and dedication to growing our spiritual strength.

It is also about giving thanks and praise to all those who show up along the journey to assist us in our growth.

Charles Fillmore said,

Praise is closely related to prayer; it is one of the avenues through which spirituality expresses itself. Through an inherent law of mind, we increase whatever we praise. The whole creation responds to praise, and is glad.

Animal trainers pet and reward their charges with delicacies for acts of obedience; children glow with joy and gladness when they are praised. Even vegetation grows best for those who praise it.

We can praise our own abilities, and our very brain cells will expand and increase in capacity and intelligence when we speak words of encouragement and appreciation to them. ¹

As we are growing in spiritual understanding, I hope these “Seven Ps for Building Spiritual Muscle” will be beneficial.

Join us on Sunday, August 5, for our service at 10:00. All are welcome at Unity Spiritual Center Denver.

¹ Excerpt from Christian Healing