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.