Resolutions

Every year around this time, many of us begin thinking about making New Year’s resolutions. We may resolve to lose weight, quit smoking, stop gossiping, find a new job, or save more money, just to name a few. Most often though, by the time spring comes around; we have forgotten what our resolutions were. I made one final New Year’s resolution several years ago: I will not make any New Year’s resolutions! That is the first one I have ever stuck to.

This year, however, I am rethinking the idea. I stand with Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore in saying, “I reserve the right to change my mind.” No, I am not thinking of going back to making the same old resolutions. Any behavioral choice or external change I make would simply be a strategy to satisfy a much deeper inner longing. I am thinking of making resolutions at a deeper level of desire.

In musical terminology, “resolution” is defined as “the progression of a voice part or of the harmony from dissonance to consonance.”  For those who aren’t musicians, that can be interpreted as a progression from a sound that is out of tune and unpleasant to your ear to one that is pleasingly in tune. My resolution this year is to bring those areas of my life that are dissonant – those things that I find displeasing and out of tune with my Divine Nature – into harmony with my Truth.

Where I am telling myself I am restricted or trapped, I will resolve into freedom. Where I am telling myself that I don’t have enough, I will resolve into the truth of my abundance and prosperity. Where I am experiencing fear, I will resolve into love. Where I am living in stress, I will resolve into the peace of God.

My resolution for 2019 is to truly know myself as an expression of God and to experience all that living from that consciousness means. I hope you will join me. Perhaps we can gently and lovingly assist each other in making and keeping this most life-enriching New Year’s resolution.

This year will afford many opportunities for all of us to grow into this Self-awareness through classes, workshops, Sunday services, and sacred service. We do not have to be alone in making or keeping resolutions that move us closer to our Truth, our Divine Nature. 

If I can assist you in any way with your resolution of moving into your God nature, please let me know. I hold you in the light of your highest Self in this coming year and always. 

Happy New Year!

Christ Is Born As You

“God’s first “idea” was to become manifest—to pour out divine, infinite love into finite, visible forms. The “Big Bang” is now our scientific name for that first idea; and “Christ” is our Christian theological name. Both are about love and beauty exploding outward in all directions. Creation is indeed the Body of God.

In Jesus, this eternal omnipresence had a precise, concrete, and personal referent. God’s presence became more obvious and believable in the world. The formless took on form in someone we could “hear, see, and touch” (1 John 1:1), making God easier to love.”- Richard Rohr

We celebrate Christmas as the birth of our teacher and way shower, Jesus of Nazareth. We honor him as our example, one who revealed the fullness of the Christ embodied in human form. We also celebrate Christmas as the recognition that the same potential, the Christ, is born as each of us. Every moment is our opportunity to behold the Divine as ourselves and as all creation.

Exploring the Jesus story as a metaphor for our own story, we recognize 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 was revealed to itself, as itself. Jesus exampled this by awakening from attachment to the human conditioned consciousness, and realizing his Oneness with God, whom he referred to as the ‘Father,’ he courageously exclaimed, “I and Father are one.” (John 10:30)

In every moment, we come full circle in our journey with Jesus when we acknowledge that the same potential to accept and realize our Oneness is inherent in each of us and 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 and God, the Creative Life Force that is constantly and consistency living itself in us, through us, as us. As the writer of the book of Acts says, “In [God] we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28 NRSV)  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 if the foundational Scriptures of Christianity and one that was drilled into me in the Baptist church 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.” (NRSV) 

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.

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. 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 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 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.

We have come full circle in the realization that 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 in you today. Allow Christ to be born and revealed as you today.

Let us affirm together,

“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.”

Merry Christmas to all!

You Are Christmas

Metaphysical Bible Interpretation was one of the first classes I took when I began my path to Unity ministry. I loved it! This class opened my mind to a new way of reading and understanding the Bible. It also opened my heart to a greater appreciation for so many of the stories that I had previously struggled with.

Charles Fillmore, the cofounder of Unity, taught that all people, places, animals and inanimate objects in every Bible story, when approached from a metaphysical perspective, represent aspects of each of us. These stories are not just about events that happened a long time ago; they are about what is happening right now in us.

The Christmas story, also known as the nativity of Jesus, is no exception. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, wise men, angels, and the star all signify aspects of us. Understood metaphysically, they are representations of states of mind and heart that occur as we awaken to our Christ nature, give birth to it, and begin to allow it to grow in our awareness. It is our story.

Even if, and especially if you have previously given up on the story because you question the extant story’s historical accuracy; or because you no longer believe in the hardcore tradition that Jesus is the one and only son of God sent to save us from our sins; or even if you no longer consider conventional Christianity your spiritual path, I invite us to reclaim the story as a glorious depiction of our story - yours and mine.

In what is arguably his most profound legacy, The Metaphysical Bible Dictionary ¹, Charles Fillmore explains the significance of each of the characters and elements of the story. Reading this story and interpreting the metaphysical meaning has given me a renewed love for the narrative and has given me a greater sense of comfort with it.

The angel, Gabriel, who appeared to Mary and Joseph represents the wisdom of the Divine in humankind. The voice of wisdom continually reminds us to not be afraid and to trust the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Moving from fear to faith is essential if we are to allow the Christ to have its life as us.

Mother Mary represents the embodiment of spiritual love. Spiritual love is open, receptive, and willing to give of itself in service to greater good. It may require more of us than we have imagined, just as it did with Mary. Surrendering to spiritual love is necessary as we give birth to the Christ.

Joseph represents strength, wisdom and courage. Spiritual wisdom does not rely upon what has been or what can be known through experience. Spiritual wisdom is born of an inner connection with the Divine and is open to what has yet to be known by the human mind. Giving birth to the Christ often requires us to let go of what we think we know, and to be open to the previously unknown. Further, it asks us to step out and follow our guidance with conviction, courage and strength.

Shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks represent the thoughts that guide us “in the paths of righteousness.” They are the thoughts that are in alignment with Divine Mind, our Source. They inspire us to keep our minds stayed on the Christ of our being and to stay alert to any thought that might endanger the newly born Christ awareness. It is important for us to care for the pure, innocent thoughts which the sheep represent in the story.

The star that shone over the stable and pointed the way to the Christ child represents the illumination of our intuitive faculty. The Light within us is constantly guiding us to our highest unfolding. When we follow our inner Light, or intuition, we can trust that we on the path of service to the Christ and to the world.

The wise men traveling from a distant land and bringing gifts to the baby represent the powers of our spiritual self that may be hidden from us until we awaken to our Christ nature. They are then revealed to us and bless us with their gifts.

The baby Jesus represents the pure potential of all humanity to awaken to and express the Christ, the perfect blueprint for all creation, born as each of us. As Christ is born in our consciousness, we begin our journey of embodying Christ in its fullness. This is what Jesus taught us through his words and his life as an example.

When understood from a metaphysical perspective, the Christmas story reveals to us so much about our nature and about the faculties we possess that aid us in recognizing the indwelling Christ, giving birth to it in our consciousness and living it in our daily lives.

As you celebrate Christmas this year, honor the birth of the one we know as Jesus, our teacher and guide. Also honor you, for you, too, are the Christ born to bring light to the world. You possess all the potential of the divine expressing as you. You are Christmas!

¹ Metaphysical Bible Dictionary online

Why Christmas?

In a recent meeting at Unity Spiritual Center Denver, a member shared that after attending services and classes at Unity for a while and learning of our perspective on Jesus and the Christ, she speculated about what Christmas would be like for us, questioning whether we would even celebrate Christmas. She shared that she was surprised to find that not only do we celebrate Christmas, but that we display a nativity scene on our platform, and we hold a Christmas Eve candle lighting service.

I completely relate. When I began studying New Thought philosophy and teachings, I also wondered why we celebrate Christmas. Moreover, I was deeply troubled that we sang the same Christmas carols I learned and sang in the Baptist church. Because we do not teach a doctrine of “sin” or salvation through the blood sacrifice of Jesus, I did not understand why we would sing about Jesus as “savior,” “lord,” and “messiah.” Perhaps others have pondered this as well.

In Unity, we celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, not because of how or why he died, but because of how he lived. We honor Jesus as our example, teacher and guide. He showed us what is possible for all of us. He fully awakened to oneness. He realized his unity with God and proudly proclaimed it when he said things such as, “The Father and I are one;” “Those who have seen me have seen the Father;” and “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” He invited us to do the same.

Image credit: Body and Blood (detail), Janet McKenzie, janetmckenzie.com

In what we know today as the “sermon on the mount” as presented to us in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 – 7, Jesus outlines his instructions for attaining oneness consciousness and living it. Here we find his teaching on the “beatitudes,” attitudes of being that open us to embodying Christ consciousness; as well as instruction on how to pray, love our neighbors, forgive, give, and seek the kingdom of God. When we understand these teachings from a metaphysical perspective and apply them as practical tools for our lives, we can truly follow Jesus as our teacher and guide. For additional information on the metaphysical interpretation, I suggest reading The Sermon on the Mount by Emmet Fox and/or Discover the Power Within You by Eric Butterworth.

We honor Jesus as “Lord” not because we see him as ruling over us, but because he exampled for us one who obtained dominion over, thus became the “Lord” of his consciousness. In the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore says,

In the Old Testament ‘Jehovah,’ in the New Testament ‘Christ,’ is referred to as Lord. Jehovah and Christ both represent spiritual man. Lord then is another name for spiritual man.

As Lord spiritual man is ruler of himself, of his faculties, and of the world. The Lord consciousness is one of dominion. When we enter into our lordship we rule. We rule over ourselves, our thoughts, our body, our environment, and all the creatures and creations of the earth.

We may refer to Jesus as “savior,” not because he died for our sins, but because he overcame ‘sin,’ which we understand as thoughts and actions which stem from a consciousness of separation.

Through the conscious recognition of his relation to the Father, and the inherent divine force dwelling within him, [Jesus] was able to redeem himself from all possibility of sin¹ and taught by his life that what he could do, everyone could do, and in this way was the Savior of the world, and inasmuch as we help a brother to see the Life, the Truth, the Way, do we become Saviors as also. – Unity Magazine, December 1905

We call Jesus “Messiah,” not because we see him as the one and only “Son of God” sent to redeem the world, rather because he realized and embodied the power of the indwelling Spirit to accomplish his mission on Earth. In this way, he is our way-shower. Charles Fillmore explains,

There is quite a bit of misunderstanding on the part of both Christians and non-Christians with regard to the meaning of the words Christ and Jesus, and their use as applied to Jesus of Nazareth. Christ, meaning "messiah" or "anointed," designates one who had received a spiritual quickening from God, while Jesus is the name of the personality. – Jesus Christ Heals

Even though some Christmas songs may stimulate outdated theology still embedded in my consciousness from earlier times, I proudly celebrate Christmas as the birth of our elder brother and way shower Jesus of Nazareth who showed us the way to a life empowered by the Spirit of the Christ, our indwelling expression of the Divine. In Unity, we also celebrate Christmas because it is a reminder that the same Christ born as Jesus is also born as each of us. Every moment of every day is our opportunity to remember and embrace this Truth. Finally, we celebrate Christmas as a time of remembering and for recommitting ourselves to following Jesus on the path of living the Christ in the world.

¹ ‘sin’ - Metaphysical Bible Dictionary