Hope is Here

The Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel – Isaiah 7:14

This Sunday begins the Advent season. Advent is the period leading up to the celebration of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. For us in Unity, the birth of Jesus represents the fulfillment of the possibility and potential of the Christ that each of us is and that we can fully realize as our divine nature.

‘Hope is Here’ is our theme for Advent this year. One definition of ‘hope’ is: A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

The following came to me as I meditated on this definition. I activated my power of Imagination, and I imaged myself as a Jew in Ancient Israel.

I have heard the reading of the Scripture at temple since I was a boy. Today, I am especially remembering the words of the prophet Isaiah who foretold of the birth of a child born of a virgin and of the house of David who would be called Immanuel; the promised and long-awaited Messiah. This Scripture always fills me with hope, for I am one of a people who have been persecuted and enslaved by invading empires for centuries. I am one of a nation who longs for peace, equality and freedom. I am hopeful that the Messiah will soon come to deliver us from our bondage and return us to our place of honor and prosperity. I have lived with this desire, as has my father and his father before him. We are a people of hope. We live in expectation that the prophecy will be fulfilled. And, still we wait.

This is the essence of the attitude of mind and heart we call ‘Hope.’

Hope begins with a promise of a desire yet to be fulfilled. In the case of my imagined self, it is the desire for freedom from bondage and to enjoy peace and equality. That is a desire we all share. We all want to experience freedom. We all want peace. We all want equality. We all want to be valued simply because we are.

Unlike my imagined self or many who still await the coming of a savior to deliver them from bondage, we in Unity know that our freedom is not dependent upon the birth of a man or the coming of a long-awaited deliverer. Our freedom from enslavement, the bondage of our own limited thinking and beliefs, comes from the birth of the Christ, the one true light of God, in our consciousness. We can invite the birth, or awakening, of the indwelling Christ in every moment.

I am reminded of an analogy that Eckhart Tolle uses in The Power of Now when speaking about the power of our presence. He says that we should approach every moment with the same attention as a cat watching a mouse hole waiting for the mouse to emerge. I compare that image to the anticipation we feel as we embrace the attitude of ‘hope.’

Hope is living with eager expectancy of the discovery of the Christ born in us every moment, and the acceptance of the Christ expressing in each person we meet. The birth, or awakening, of the Christ in our hearts and minds is our deliverance from the bondage of the limited self and our belief in our separation from God and from each other. From that perspective, the Christ is our savior, the Christ revealed as us.

This week, as we begin Advent, we embrace ‘Hope’ as our attitude of mind and heart as we honor our desire for freedom and live with the expectancy of the freeing power of the indwelling Christ born as us in every moment.

‘Hope is Here!’ It is available to each and every one of us right here, right now. My prayer is that you embrace this truth as you observe Advent and open your heart to the birth of the Christ that you are.

 

Divine Human to Divine Human

When I was a child, Thanksgiving, even more so than Christmas, was a time for gathering with family, both immediate and extended. It was a time to acknowledge and celebrate the bond we shared. From my adult perspective I know that it was not the romanticized Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving family, but from my perspective at the time that is exactly what it was. I realize that not everyone has such childhood memories. I am grateful that I remember it as I do. It is a warm memory of love, nurture and safety.

It has been many years since I have been with my family of birth on Thanksgiving. I have blamed time and distance, but in truth I know that I could have easily made the choice to travel to Georgia many times over the years, especially during the holidays: I simply made other choices.

I made those choices because as I grew older the childhood Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving image I cherished faded and was replaced with a grainy Polaroid depicting dysfunction and loneliness. Until recently, I have chosen to distance myself from my family because I have judged them. I have blamed them. I have labeled them. I have instilled in my mind a picture of each of them, and I have related to them as who I believed them to be.

I say “until recently” because I have experienced an epiphany. It may, at best, seem odd that I am just now realizing this truth, but I have recently recognized that my family members are not static images any more than I am. I acknowledge and celebrate that I have changed and grown. Why would I think that they haven’t?

Not one of us is the same person he or she was – even five minutes ago. Likewise, neither are our spouses, partners, friends, co-workers, children, parents or others - no matter what labels we choose to put on them. When we label ourselves or others, we assign a fixed identity to one who in reality is a vibrant and ever-changing being through which the One Life is expressing.

We are constantly evolving beings, expressing from new perspectives, and encountering new thoughts and emotions moment by moment. When we label, we limit. We relate and interact around that label. But we are not labels. We are not even the roles we play. We are fully alive as thinking, feeling and connecting beings, constantly changing. It is vital to our well-being that we acknowledge this – for others and for ourselves. It is important that we honor this aspect of our humanity because the Divine is expressing and experiencing itself as our humanity. When we label or deny our humanity, we deprive ourselves and the world of an integral aspect of Life itself.

I recently began reading, The Endless Practice: Becoming Who You Were Born to Be, by Mark Nepo. The “endless practice,” referred to in the title is the practice of being fully engaged in experiencing our humanity. He says,

“To bring who we are out and to let the world in is a brave and endless practice that clarifies and solidifies the gifts we are born with. There is no arrival point or destination here, only the chance to be more alive as we move closer to the Mystery…The ever-changing practice of being human involves learning how to strengthen our heart by exercising it in the world through caring, building, holding and repairing.”

We honor our humanity by engaging in a relationship with ourselves, not as static beings, but as fully alive, fluid, ecstatic and sensuous human beings. We engage with ourselves in order that we may engage with life, including the life that is being expressed as every other person we encounter as well as every animal, plant and other life form.

Before we can connect with another where they are, we must be willing to connect with ourselves where we are. And, we must be willing to stand with authenticity and integrity to speak our truth, whatever that truth happens to be in the moment, knowing that it is fluid.

We must be willing to acknowledge and celebrate ourselves – what we need and what we feel – before we can enter into a meaningful relationship with another. Until we are available to and for ourselves, we will not be able to truly be present with another and what they think, feel and need.

I also understand that there are people who remain fixed in their points of view and behaviors, those who do not grow or evolve in self-awareness, and those who do not stop to question their worldview or their limited beliefs. As we practice self-love and compassion, it may be necessary to avoid contact with those who continue to stimulate pain in us, whether emotional, physical, mental, or spiritual. I do not advocate anyone putting themselves in a potentially hurtful or harmful situation. 

As we observe the tradition of Thanksgiving this year, whether it is with our birth family, our spiritual family, family of choice, or alone my prayer is that we take time to center ourselves in the awareness of the Life that is expressing as our humanity. May we see the perfection present in it, honor our feelings and needs, and celebrate them.

My hope is that each of us enters into an intimate relationship with ourselves, and then becomes willing to enter into a consciously connected relationship with others, letting go of any preconceived ideas or static images of who they are and, instead, opening to their humanity. Again, only when our safety is not threatened in doing so.

Listen to the hopes and dreams, desires and disappointments, fear and love being expressed behind the words. Listen with the heart and hear what is not being said. Listen for the humanity beneath the label. Honor humanity connecting with humanity, and know that it is, in truth, the Divine reflecting itself through the human form.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Best Christ You Can Be

This Sunday, I will finish my series of talks based on Deepak Chopra’s book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, with an exploration of the Law of Dharma or Purpose in Life. My guess is that most, if not all of us, at some point in our lives have ask the questions: “What is my life purpose?” “What is God’s will for my life?” “Is there a Divine Plan for my life?’

I have often shared in my talks and writing that from my perspective embodying the Christ consciousness is the ultimate purpose in life.

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 our “life purpose,” I share this from my book, In This Moment: Prayers from the Well of Awareness,

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.

We are here, not simply to awaken to and to embody our Christ nature, but we are here in this time and space experience to share our gifts and talents from our conscious awareness of the Christ so that we actively participate in bringing the Christ consciousness to bear in all our affairs and into manifestation in our world. As we embody the Christ, our divine nature, we are called to express it as did Jesus Christ, our way shower, through acts of love, service, compassion and healing.

Stated succinctly, as Rev. Paul Hasselbeck, of my instructors at Unity Institute used to say, our purpose is to “be the best Christ we can be” in any moment. 

The Heart's Desire

This Sunday, I will continue with my series of talks based on Deepak Chopra’s book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. I will be exploring the concepts of ‘desire, ’intention,’ and ‘detachment.’

In the Buddhist tradition, the second noble truth is that desire and ignorance are the cause of all suffering. The Christian tradition also seems to teach that one should not desire things, often citing Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store up treasures on earth…but store up treasures in heaven…”  Books and movies like, The Secret, encourage us to use the law of attraction to manifest our desires. Some denounce that concept as too materialistic. Desire is a natural aspect of our nature, but often we feel guilty for engaging our desires. To better understand the innate drive called “desire”, to learn to honor and respect it, rather than attempt to avoid it, let’s explore it.

Abraham, through Esther Hicks, teaches that desire is the beginning of all creation.

Charles Fillmore, the co-founder of Unity, says, in the book Prosperity, “Desire is the onward impulse of the ever evolving soul. It builds from within outward and carries its fulfillment with it as a necessary corollary.”

Marie Watts, in The Ultimate, says, “Mind is never impoverished. Within Its infinite Self-containment all that It can ever desire eternally exists. Every right desire and the conscious power of fulfillment of that desire are contained with this all-knowing Mind.”

Deepak Chopra says, “We are each multidimensional beings, and the different levels of our being give rise to different desires. At the physical level, our body has certain needs and desires for food, water, comfort, nourishing touch and other essential elements for health and vitality. The subtle or psychological level of our existence, which includes our mind, ego, and intellect, desires emotional security and connection. And the causal or spiritual level wants to express itself and experience oneness, expansion, and unity.”

I offer that true desire is born of Love. It is Love loving Itself, and Love perceiving Itself as the impulse toward manifestation. The fulfillment of desire rests in its complete acceptance and allowing of the one who receives the conscious awareness of it.

At the foundation of all true desire is the expression of Love. God, as Love, loved Itself into being as the only begotten idea for humankind, the Christ. The Christ is the essence of each of us, and as Love in expression, must therefore also be Love. Love cannot create anything unlike Itself for it knows none other.

Encoded in the very essence of us is the desire to realize ourselves as the Christ and to be the Christ in expression as Love. The ways in which we do that are unique to each of us. I have often wondered why there are more than seven billion humans on the planet. The answer must be that it takes each and every one of us to complete Love’s calling to bring Love into manifestation. Each of us has a role to play in the unfolding of the desire for Love realized and demonstrated on the earth.

Embedded in the heart of each of us is our unique expression of Love in the world. We can choose in every moment to open to the conscious awareness of it as it calls to us from the depth of being. Within that, love reveals itself to us as our heart’s desire.

As we awaken to Love’s call as desire, we are drawn to listen for the still small voice of Love at the heart of our being which speaks to us through many avenues, including inspiration and intuition. Inspiration and intuition are our personal guides to the fulfillment of our heart’s desire.

Inspiration is present in every moment and may make itself known to us if we are open to the acceptance and conscious awareness of it. It may manifest through the voice of a friend or trusted guide, in the pages of a book, in the silence of meditation, in times of connection with nature, or even on a billboard as we drive down the street.

Intuition is our connection with the “inner knower” that guides us toward Love’s fulfillment. We must allow ourselves to be aware and awake to the life that is present in every moment as we follow our intuition, usually one step at a time.

As we respond to inspiration and follow our intuition, we are guided to what we need. We often mistakenly think of a “need’ as something that is lacking, and we frequently feel tension when considering a need. Eric Butterworth, Unity Minister and author, helps us to reframe the concept of a “need” when he states in his book, The Universe is Calling, that “a need is a vessel to be filled.”

When we choose to think of a “need” as a vessel to be filled, we awaken to a different perspective. Rather than viewing “need’ from a consciousness of lack, we can instead think of it as a container that when filled helps to facilitate the fulfillment of desire, thus the expression of Love.

Before the so-called need is met in the physical form, the vessel must first be filled with the divine substance of our consciousness. Substance is not matter. It is not present in physical form. Emilie H. Cady in Lessons in Truth says,

“God, then, is the substance (from sub: under and stare: to stand) or the real thing standing under every visible form of life, love, intelligence, power.” 

The vessel called “need” must be filled by the conscious awareness of God (Love). Once the need is filled with divine substance in our consciousness, then the physical manifestation must occur. It is the law.

We fill the “need” in consciousness by setting a clear intention. Intention is the method by which we focus our minds on the manifestation of our heart’s desire. Setting a clear intention sets up a field of energetic vibration that draws into itself all that is in resonance with it and all that will assist us in giving expression to our desire.

Granted, because the manifestation of our desire usually happens over time, it is often essential for us to practice our power of faith. As Paul said in his letter to the Hebrews, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Even when the evidence has not yet appeared in the physical, through the practice of faith, we know beyond all appearances that as we remain open and willing to follow where Love leads, that every “need” is met because true desire contains the power of its fulfillment. We trust that as we remain true to Love’s call, that the need is met in perfect time and in divine order.

As we practice our power of faith, we release all attachment to our ideas of outcome and surrender to the intelligent, loving working of the Universe to bring into demonstration that which is in perfect alignment to our desire. It may be something greater than we have even begun to imagine. This is the practice of detachment.

Desire is born from the Love expressing in us, through us, as us. It is not, as we sometimes believe, born from the awareness of something lacking. True desire contains its own fulfillment, thus we need not seek it in the external. We must seek it only from within. As Charles Fillmore, the cofounder of Unity, stated, “Desire…builds from within outward and carries its fulfillment with it as a necessary corollary.” 

Desire is the impulse of Love moving as us. Inspiration and intuition guide us to what is needed in every moment. Intention draws us to and draws to us that which is needed to manifest our desire. Through the power of faith, we know that every “need” is met. Therefore, we can detach from the outcome knowing and trusting the Goodness of God in all things. Step by step we are led toward the fulfillment of our heart’s desire.

Honoring the desires of our hearts by listening deeply for the still small voice at the center or our being, acting on our inspirations, following our intuition, setting a clear intention, exercising our power of faith to bring into manifestation all that is needed to fulfill our desire, and detaching from the outcome, we honor the God within us, and we demonstrate Love in the world.

As we honor the desire that moves us toward a greater expression and experience of Love, that which we truly are, we bring the consciousness of Heaven to earth. Isn’t that The Heart's Desire?