Imagination & Faith to Create a New Year, January 2012
The beginning of the New Year invokes the field of unlimited possibilities and the power of imagination and faith to call our dreams into reality. The poet Rilke once said: “You must give birth to your images. They are the future waiting to be born…the future must enter into you long before it happens.”
This quote applies to this amazing spiritual power of imagination that each one of us has. Imagination can be used for good or ill, but when we approach it in a state of holiness, it will reveal amazing visions and dreams. Certainly these come unsolicited, but when we ask for a true vision and know it to be holy, what is revealed is often incredible. When we create the space, the ritual for holiness, we can find the deeper meaning. By that I mean, we can set up an elaborate ritual before prayer and meditation…for the seeking of guidance and greater vision, or we can simply set holy intention.
Rilke’s quote as stated above is a much more poetic way of saying what Napoleon Hill did so many years ago...“What you perceive and believe, you can achieve.”
Imagine good health. If you have an ailment, imagine the opposite. See all of the muscles, cells, tissues, organs, and systems of your body, healthy, vibrant, and filled with life. Take time to see yourself healthy and active. Imagine it in detail. Do not compromise in your creative visualization. Imagine what you really want, not just what you think you can probably have. Imagination gives us the ability to project ourselves through time and space and rise above all limitations. What we perceive and believe, we can achieve. We have to begin with our heart’s desire, and set holy intention. Then we envision that intention coming true.
Take time in this first month of the year to list your desires and circle the top three. If you just can’t figure out what you want personally, start listing what you want removed from your life. Then the opposite will come clear. There is great power in writing our desires, stating the time by which we wish their fulfillment if we like, and then praying that God’s Will for good be done.
We use our imagination and we perceive our desire coming true. We firmly believe it, activating our faith…so that we can achieve it. Prosperity…and all that it entails: peace, happiness, health, and plenty… is the result of deliberate thought and action. There is no reason to be afraid to ask for what we truly desire. The scriptural promise in Matthew 7:7 is: “Ask and it shall be given; seek and you shall find; knock and the door shall be opened.”
While you are listing your desires and envisioning their fulfillment, take time also to imagine your desires for our Unity Church. See it growing and thriving and prospering in this New Year. As each of us does that individually, we make a difference for the greater collective.
The future enters into us as we tune into our dreams. Let us release our worries and imagine our fondest dreams…in our own lives, in the life of our spiritual community, and in the world.
In Gratitude and Anticipation of New Birth, November 2011
On behalf of Unity Church of Santa Rosa, I want to wish you a Happy Holiday Season! Thanksgiving causes us to pause and remember our gratitude for all of our loved ones and the wonders of creation. Christmas invites us to remember the birth of Jesus and his amazing transformation through the attainment of Christ Consciousness. This season also helps us to remember that as a spiritual community we exist to assist the transformation of the planet through that inner birth taking place within each of us.
Unity continues to serve Sonoma County as a resource of spiritual nourishment and prayerful support. The board, staff, and volunteers who manage and maintain this 39 year old spiritual heritage, continue to make this center available as a beacon of light in Santa Rosa. We thank all of you for your generous time, commitment, and energy. It is this loving attention that allows us to gather together in celebration and joy.
With the generous offerings and tithes of our congregation, we are able to offer a sacred place to gather for inspiring worship services, youth ministry, classes, special events, prayer support, and many other important activities. We are grateful for your efforts to nurture and grow that which is feeding our souls and spirit with your continued love and support. Your donations to Unity Church of Santa Rosa are tax-deductible, and can be of benefit to you on many levels, as well as making it possible for us to continue to grow and prosper.
Please take this moment to join us in prayer as we send forth the healing love of the Christ Presence to bless our spiritual community, our country, our world, and each one of us throughout this holiday season. May the light of God shine in your hearts, minds, and homes filling your lives with joy and peace!
Recently I had a Q & A Session as my Sunday lesson at church. Everyone wrote their questions and I read them aloud one at a time, answering extemporaneously in place of my usual Sunday talk. Since then, I have found myself thinking about one of my answers and feeling that it was incomplete.
The question I was asked is as follows:
“I am so disappointed in, and angry with, our elected officials in Congress. It seems these men and women choose to “play it safe” and stick with the party line rather than try to find a workable compromise that helps the country and all our citizens. Help me get past the anger/disappointment and pray effectively for these officials to do their job, and for the country to get on a sound financial footing.”
My answer was something like this:
“My role model for forgiveness is Jesus, who on the cross at the moment of crucifixion said, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’ He forgave even in the moment when people were taking his life. This is the kind of forgiveness we can all strive for. In the meantime, we can remember his comment, ‘…they know not what they do.’ That means they were unconscious. Jesus said forgive them for they are unconscious. And in the recent behavior of our Leaders, it could be said we are dealing with unconsciousness. So, we pray for the awakening and illumination of our National and World Leaders. It is all the more reason why each of us must strive to wake up and become conscious each day.”
What I want to add to my answer is the reminder that Jesus was a Social Revolutionary, a Prophet. He taught love and forgiveness, yes, and he also spoke out vehemently against injustice. One of my favorite teachings of Theologian Matthew Fox is that we are all meant to be both Mystics and Prophets. The Mystic sees and is awakened. The Prophet, on the other hand, acts. The Prophet is the Mystic in action.
Sometimes in Unity there is too much of the Mystic and too little of the Prophet. It takes both. We must take the inner realizations of the Mystic and apply them in the world. The Mystic within us sees injustice and the Prophet within us does something about it. He or she has the potential to transform “traditional wisdom.” Jesus was both Mystic and Prophet. And I believe that each one of us is meant to be as well. So, yes we can forgive those people in leadership making what we feel are poor choices, and we may also need to act. Action may be praying for them and it may be a great deal more. That is for each person to determine.
I am so excited for Matthew Fox’s visit on September 4th and that he will be addressing this theme in his workshop entitled: “Mystics & Prophets”! I hope you join us for this profound experience. We have many opportunities to awaken the Mystic & Prophet within us and it is essential that we do for the sake of ourselves and our world.
The Sunday Series, Myth & Magic, from July 10th through August 7th*, is focused on the magical power of myth and its importance in our lives. In ancient times our ancestors began myth-making as a way to explain the world, to explore the cycles of nature and humans…and also to acknowledge our connection with one another.
Myths may or may not be factual, but they always convey truth. They map the cultural and spiritual evolution of humankind. They are the impetus for the organization and creation of civilizations. And myths also provide the foundations for world religions; infuse the ordinary with wonder and meaning; drive the urge to invent rituals; and ultimately, communicate transcendental ideas beyond words.
One of the great healing functions of myth is to show us that we are not alone with our feelings, fears, conflicts and aspirations. We are not alone. We are one part of a great story that is repeated over and over again, throughout time.
“Time itself is a mythological construct,” according to Mythologist Phil Cousineau. (Once & Future Myths). He said, “Everywhere technology is seducing us to think we have no choice but to save a moment here, an hour there, and so, finally be happy. …A mythology that says time is chasing us, means we must stay young and avoid aging at all costs. We should instead be influenced by stories of people like Grandma Moses who was painting at 100, Bertrand Russell who was active in international peace drives at 94, George Bernard Shaw, who wrote a play at 93, Clara Barton who founded the American Red Cross at 60, Albert Schweitzer who headed a hospital in Africa at 89, and Mary Baker Eddy who was the director of the Christian Science Church at 89.”
I love this story told by Unity writer James Dillet Freeman. He said, “Just a few months after my 21st birthday, I attended a 79th birthday party that I have never forgotten. It was Charles Fillmore’s. I had finished school and had just begun working at Unity. I went to a worker’s meeting. Mr. Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, was the speaker. He said, “Today is my birthday. I am 79. Seven plus nine, that adds up to 16, doesn’t it? Sweet 16 is what I am today.”
Phil Cousineau said, “We are paralyzed by the myth of speed that tells us we will fall behind if we slow down. It is a myth that creates more and more access to information, but also burnout. The old myth said, “Time and tides wait for no one. The founding myth of our culture said, “Time is money.” The streamlined myth says, “Speed is God—and we are its converts.” So, the important question is, “Are you going to live by Kronos, clock time, or Kairos, sacred time?
Frankly, I choose sacred time! The way we beguile time, is by seizing life, moment by moment, remembering the present, one day at a time, and even one moment at a time. We can consciously change our myth of time by pausing to experience timelessness, allowing ourselves to slow down and to remember, “the past is history, the future is mystery, and the now moment is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.” …..Not once upon a time, not here after, but right now.
Join us for the Myth & Magic Sunday Series! Become aware of your own heroic journey and your relationship to the greater story!
A therapist was working with a man who was feeling bad about his work. Since he always felt bad about something, she told him a riddle. “There’s a goose in a bottle. It’s a big, fat, healthy goose sitting at the bottom of a large bottle with a round bottom and a thin neck. How do you get the goose out of the bottle without breaking, cracking, melting, squeezing, vaporizing, or changing the bottle in any way?” When the man gave up after some unsuccessful efforts, she said to him, “I’ll give you four hints: Who put the goose in the bottle?...and when?...and why?...and with what?” He said he did not know, but she responded, “Sure you do. Who put the goose in the bottle? You did. When? About two minutes ago. Why? Because I told you to. And with what?”“With my mind!” he said. “It’s my mind; the problem is not in my life, it’s in my mind.”
The mind has three major tendencies: to be busy with thoughts, to think a lot of negative thoughts, and to wander from thought to thought. We cannot keep negative thoughts from busily wandering into the mind. We can, however, keep them from staying in the mind. We do this by creating a peaceful mind. A peaceful mind is the result of focusing on the opposite thoughts—those that are positive. For example, notice the difference. Think of a challenging goal in your life and then say to yourself, “How on earth did I think I could ever accomplish my goal? It’s impossible! What was I thinking?” Now think of the challenging goal again and then say to yourself, “I know my goal is achievable and I am absolutely committed to making it happen. I am willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve my heart’s desire.” Henry Ford said, “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
We have a choice to turn from negative thoughts to positive; or we can turn our attention away from the thoughts to our breath; to an affirmation; to a soothing sound like music, or prayer, or a mantra; to a memory of a serene place. Or we can watch the thoughts come and go in our mind without getting involved in them. “We can watch the birds of worry and care fly about our head, but we do not have to let them build nests in our hair.” Our mind is our world. Our thoughts are the tools with which we carve our life story on the substance of the universe. When we rule our mind, we rule our world. When we choose our thoughts, we choose results. As we open ourselves to the Greater Mind we can achieve a peaceful mind.
Jack E. Addington said, “Jesus found his inner peace to the point that nothing anyone did to him could ever take it from him. He had found the Kingdom of God within himself. We think we live in a difficult time, but Jesus lived in a very troubled time. There were few rights and little civil liberty for the Jews of his time. But he found the peace that passes all understanding.” And he promised that we can do what he did and even greater things. He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give
to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Let us practice a peaceful mind, through changing the negative to positive; by focusing on what is right, rather than what is wrong; by centering on the breath, or an affirmation, or some beautiful music. And most of all by knowing there is a great Divine Order at work in the universe and the peace that passes all understanding.
Jesus was a visionary who activated a paradigm shift for humankind. The metaphor of resurrection describes such transformational change. It is the phoenix emerging from the ashes of the old, to begin anew, and is always preceded by the breakdown of structures, comfort zones, and old ways of doing and being. This level of change causes the crucifixion experience for it is never without pain and struggle. It is a death of the old and death always brings grief, just as new birth brings joy. Resistance and denial are part of the process because we tend to fear the unknown.
In this new season, let us pause and remember that it is time for a Spring cleaning. We can ask ourselves, “What old ideas, habits, and beliefs do I need to give up? What am I willing to release so that I can resurrect from the ashes of the past into a new life?”
The amazing part of such willingness is that the smallest change can make all the difference. The metamorphosis from one world view to another in a paradigm shift rarely occurs in only one area of a life or a culture. There is always a great ripple effect that changes everything. When we make a simple personal change, our entire life can shift, and when the greater collective makes such a change, the world can be altered.
Jesus was willing to speak out against the status quo in the life of his community, and like throwing a pebble into still water, the wave of change that he started continues to this day. He was and still is the great teacher of the mystery of resurrection. Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity said, “The resurrection is the lifting up of the whole (person) into the Christ consciousness. The whole person is spirit, soul, and body. The resurrection lifts up all faculties of mind until they conform to the absolute ideas of Divine Mind, and this renewal of the mind makes a complete transformation…Through resurrection man becomes an inhabitant here and now of ‘a new heaven and a new earth.’”
The resurrection takes place in us every time we rise to the realization of the perpetual indwelling life that is connecting us with God. Through prayer, meditation, reflection, and a deeper experience of nature, we can consciously experience it. Happy Easter!
Once again, at the beginning of another new year, it is time to ask our self, “What are the deep desires of my heart? What is it my soul longs for?”
Today, rather than focus on resolutions, let us instead think of capturing a vision of our dreams. To build our dreams we must first ignite them with an idea. From the void of nothingness an idea catches fire setting off the creative pro-cess. As creation is described in the Book of John: “In the beginning was the word.” The word is the idea that we plant in the rich creative soil of our mind. But not just any idea will do—the ideas that grow great dreams come to us from the deep longings stirring in our souls.
One of the best known parables of Jesus is that of the seed sower. He teaches that following our Divine insight is no different than growing a crop. For dreams to manifest they must take root in our mind.
Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop; some a hundredfold, some 60, some 30. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
What does it mean that seed fell by the wayside and the birds came and devoured it? Some of us possess closed minds or fears so that the seeds of vision fall by the wayside. Some fell on stony places without depth of earth. Dreams come and we think, “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” but the feeling lacks depth. But when the sun was up they were scorched and because they had no root they withered away. When our dream is scorched by a negative thought, we tell ourselves, “It is over,” “I don’t have the money, the education, the health,” “It’s a foolish fantasy.” Our negativity kills the dream. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Some of us have a beautiful dream to plant but we become fearful or distracted. We don’t take action; we just dream and think, “I’m bored with my job, maybe I’m too old for school.” These fears are like thorns—like weeds choking the dream.
But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop. When our dreams are so grounded in a heart’s desire they become like those plants you see that even break through cement. When we let go of life-choking thoughts, our mind can be sown with the seeds of inspired insights.
This New Year let us invoke the power of light—to burn away the thorns, the weeds, the fears, the false beliefs—all that which limits us from achieving our dreams, the true desires of our heart. Let us ignite the power of vision that we may know the dream of our life and enter into this New Year with powerful intention—the kind that shapes light into manifest form.
Becoming Christ Conscious
Spiritual Practice for the Holidays, November 2010
Giving birth to the Christ is a daily process. Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, believed that each of us should seek to build the Christ Consciousness into our thoughts, our body, our very cells. She said, “Study and practice daily, keeping your mind and heart, your vision and your emotion fixed on God—God in you. The more you think about your indwelling Christ,” she asserted, “the greater will be its expression in you.”
(Vahle, Neal, Torch-Bearer to Light the Way, p. 57)
Through this holiday season, let us open our hearts to the inner Christ. Through daily prayer and meditation, we can reflect upon the man Jesus and consider his capacity to give, to love, to heal, and to bless others. We can meditate on his words and take them deep into the Silence with us, as though we would plant a seed in the ground. We water the seed of his words in our communion with God and through our thoughts, words, and actions. Some of his words were: I am with you always. Be still and know that I am God. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the light of the world. I am the health of my people. I am that I am. I am with you always.
In Unity we teach that whenever Jesus said “I am…” he was speaking from Christ Consciousness. In other words, he was aware of his complete oneness with God. We can also affirm those same statements for ourselves.
In addition to reflecting upon the man Jesus and his words, let us meditate deeply upon the Christ. Who is this Cosmic Christ that pervades the Universe? What is this perfect pattern of wholeness in all of creation and in me? We can pose the question or just simply sit in silence with the words, “Christ,” “Christ Consciousness,” or “Cosmic Christ.”
Thanksgiving and Christmas are wonderful times to remember the Spirit of Love that is everywhere present. The collective thought is intensified during this special season. Let us practice each day to feel grateful for our blessings, to see the good in all things, and to look past the outer appearance to the Christ in one another.
May your holidays be filled with a deeper experience of Christ Consciousness, and may you truly know that you are the light of the world.
I have been thinking a lot about prayer lately. Teaching about prayer* always reminds me yet again why it is so important. Here are some of the reasons to pray:
It allows us to commune with God.
It is the only action we can take that truly makes things different.
It changes our thinking as it calms, uplifts and renews us.
It allows us to access inner peace.
It releases the highest form of energy in the universe, as it links us with the God energy that is our Source.
It stirs into action an atomic force and releases a potent spiritual vibration.
It helps us accomplish whatever we do in shorter amounts of time.
It activates the working of higher laws.
It releases a spiritual force that shatters fixed states of mind.
It crashes through negative thought strata.
It makes the impossible become possible.
It makes us more irresistible to our good.
The question that emerges from this is, “Why wouldn’t I pray?” “What could possibly keep me from it?” Perhaps for some of us it is a busy life, for others it is because we have not quite realized the power of prayer. Or it could be that we do not feel clarity about whom or what we are praying to.
If our history includes a punishing God, then prayer might be low on our list of priorities.
In Unity we teach that we do not pray to change or appease a God outside of us. We pray to lift ourselves into the consciousness of the Christ. We pray to condition our minds so that we can let
go of error thought and awaken to the truth of who we are and who God is. Through prayer we learn that God is love.
We can imagine ourselves in a dark room with the sun shining outside. The sun is a metaphor for God and we are inside with the doors and windows boarded up so that no light can enter. We are praying, “Please sun! Shine!” But we cannot see it because of our thoughts and beliefs.
There is a remedy for this condition. Prayer opens the doors and windows of our mind and lets the light in. And we do not even have to beseech God for that to happen. We pray to change our mind, not God’s, and affirmative prayer is the means by which we transform our consciousness. We first release the old: “I release this thought and let it go. It is powerless over me.” Then we affirm the truth: “I am a child of God and worthy of good, happiness, love, joy, peace, prosperity,” or whatever else we would like to add. We release fear and we affirm whatever we desire to see in its place...because that is in fact the truth of our being.
Unity writer, Emilie Cady said, “Desire in the heart is God tapping at the door of our consciousness with His unlimited supply…a supply that be forever useless unless there be demand for it.” So we have to ask. We have the power to claim our good. Let us enter each day into an awareness of
THE ONE and live in that consciousness.
*Come join us for our Prayer Class on Wednesdays starting September 22, 6:30-8:30pm! View Calendar
4-Week Sunday Series on Creation Spirituality:
An Introduction to Matthew Fox, July 2010
Matthew Fox, author and former Dominican Priest, has taught the same spiritual principles that have been emphasized in Unity Churches for many years. He has defined Jesus as we do in Unity, universalizing his message and speaking of a “Cosmic Christ,” within all life. I was profoundly influenced by Matthew Fox, beginning in the 80’s, while I was in Ministerial School. He had been silenced by Cardinal Ratzinger before he was the Pope. As a result, Fox called a press conference to let everyone know he would not speak publicly for a year, but would be writing a new book. At the end of the year, his first speaking engagement was in Chicago. He got up on stage, and the first words out of his mouth were, “As I was saying...”
His outspoken beliefs in original blessing, gay rights, and women’s rights, did not sit well with the Vatican. His progressive ideas and amazing courage, along with his books and teachings have had a large impact on my life. As a Unity Minister, I have had him visit most of the churches where I have served and I ended up attending the University of Creation Spirituality which he founded in downtown Oakland. There he brought together cutting edge scientists, artists, and mystics, in an effort to create new paradigms in education and religion, and build an awakened culture. Though the University ultimately went on and morphed into another form, Fox continues to write and teach in many different venues. He has been the voice who is closest to Unity Teachings in the mystical Christian arena, and in some ways has been able to bridge pathways between traditional and non-traditional faiths, in ways that Unity has not been able to.
I am thrilled that Matt Fox is coming to visit us at Unity Church of Santa Rosa on Sunday, August 8th. In preparation for that visit, I will be doing a Sunday Series on the 4 Paths of Creation Spirituality, as named by Fox. Sunday, July 11th will be Via Positiva—Blessing and Awe, July 18th will be Via Negativa—Mystery and Silence, July 25th will be Via Creativa—Creativity and Birth, and Aug 1st will be Via Transformativa—Transformation and Joy.
“Creation Spirituality is an ancient tradition named and articulated most emphatically beginning in the 70’s by Spiritual Theologian Matthew Fox. Fox writes, ‘Creation Spirituality is not a newly invented path, but for 20th century Westerners it is a newly discovered path.’ He further suggests, ‘Creation Spirituality is a tradition: it has a past; it has historical and biblical roots; it boasts a communion of saints.’”*
“Honoring all creation as original blessing, Creation Spirituality integrates the wisdom of Eastern and Western spirituality and global indigenous cultures, with the emerging scientific understanding of the universe, and the passion of creativity. It is both a tradition and a movement, celebrated by mystics and agents of social change from every age and culture.”*
There are twelve principles of Creation Spirituality that many Unity students can certainly relate to:
The universe is fundamentally a blessing.
God is both immanent and transcendent. This is panentheism—God is in us and we are in God.
God is both Mother AND Father, as much Child as Parent, as much God in mystery as the God in history, as much beyond all words and images as in all forms and beings.
In our lives, it is through the work of spiritual practice that we find our deep and true selves.
Our inner work can be understood as a four-fold journey involving: awe, delight, amazement (known as the Via Positiva), uncertainty, darkness, suffering, letting go (Via Negativa), birthing, creativity, passion (Via Creativa), and justice, healing, celebration (Via Transformativa). We weave through these paths like a spiral danced, not a ladder climbed.
Every one of us is a mystic.
Every one of us is an artist.
Every one of us is a prophet.
Diversity is the nature of the Universe.
The basic work of God is compassion and we, who are all original blessings and sons and daughters of the Divine, are called to compassion.
There are many wells of faith and knowledge drawing from one underground river of divine wisdom. The practice of honoring, learning, and celebrating the wisdom collected from these wells is Deep Ecumenism.
Ecological justice is essential for the sustainability of life on Earth.*
Do yourself a favor and come to hear Matthew Fox, who will be speaking at the Sunday Service. Be sure to stay for his powerful workshop on the marriage of the Divine Masculine and Feminine. It is his workshops that are always the most inspirational.
Healing is the journey and wholeness is the destination, or the realization of the true harmony that is ever-present within and around us. The emergence of our wholeness involves crucifixion of the ego and release of a state of consciousness that prevents our harmony. Often the pain that we experience in the process is as much the birth pain of wholeness as it is a symptom of illness.
Unity teaches that each of us has an inherent blueprint of wholeness, we call the Christ. It is the pattern of perfection that indwells us and is the truth of our being. In fact, Unity began with healing and acknowledgement of this inner Divinity. Because co-founder, Myrtle Fillmore released a false belief and embraced her wholeness, the tuberculosis she had struggled with for a lifetime, disappeared. Her husband, Charles Fillmore, also transcended an old way of thinking, and focused on the realization of health, rather than illness, and he too was healed.
We certainly hear a lot about healing today. Our way of life, our civilization has taken its toll, and healing is still greatly needed. The stress under which we live, the hazards of our diet, the struggle for survival, the state of the world, not to mention the pollution of our environment, increase the search for health and wholeness. Unfortunately, many medical schools train their doctors to treat disease, rather than to promote health.
“We do not have a culture like that of the ancient Chinese in which the doctor was paid when everyone in the community was well, and was chastised when people became ill, and whose healing herbs were not intended to cure symptoms as such but to correct imbalances between the body’s yin and yang forces.” (Sanford, John, Healing and Wholeness).
Fortunately, however, in this time and culture, there are alternative options and endless possibilities. The journey to wholeness has countless signposts along the way. If anything, the many options available can be difficult to choose. Inevitably we must follow our own guidance and discernment.
On Friday, May 21st and Saturday, May 22nd, Unity Church of Santa Rosa is hosting a Somatic Healing Workshop by David Quigley. (See the description on p. 3). We will have other healing workshops and clinics in the future.
In the meantime, here are just a few suggestions from the realm of unlimited possibilities for your personal healing journey: 1) Begin your day with prayers of gratitude before your feet touch the floor; 2) Release thoughts that focus on the problem; 3) Focus on the solution or intended outcome; 4) Imagine your heart’s desire and feel the joy of its fulfillment; 5) Journal and record your dreams; 6) Pray affirmatively; 7) Experience more pleasure than pain each day; 8) Laugh a lot, even if you have to rent a funny movie; 9) Play more; 10) Follow your heart.
It’s resurrection time again! That means we must to be ready to sacrifice the old and embrace the new. Are you ready? It can be quite a challenge to release and let go of favorite habits, negative thinking, fear, resentment, and a host of ego’s behaviors. For some, it is akin to a crucifixion experience, where we have to suffer and wrestle until we are willing to let go and let God. But our good is always calling us, and we are led to deeper levels of awakening.
Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, said, “Know that the Holy Spirit is filling your being with its illuminating, resurrecting power and that the all-knowing One shines in you as it did in Jesus and that you manifest greater and greater spiritual understanding.”
It is very comforting to know that even in spite of ourselves, we are waking up! Resurrection is both, awakening to, and integrating the consciousness of the Christ, which is the perfect pattern of wholeness in all of creation. In the resurrection we move beyond an initial awakening to a complete unification with the Divine, and we are born anew.
The life of Jesus metaphorically demonstrates the spiritual process for each of us. According to Fillmore, “Jesus was born into the race thought so that He might reconstruct it in conformity with the divine law. He thus became our Way-Shower...” As we follow His example, we are shown how to walk our life path according to divine law. Our personal illumination impacts the whole. For the collective resurrection to occur, each of us must take responsibility for our own spiritual development. This Easter Season and beyond, let us take time out for meditation and self-reflection; let us open ourselves to Divine inspiration as we focus on the life and teachings of Jesus. Daily affirm: I AM the resurrection and the life.”
Another new year brings a sense of new beginning—new opportunity. We all long to do and be our best and to improve certain aspects of our selves. We know this is true by the way we feel when we tend to fall short of our own hopes or expectations. We may tend to criticize ourselves, in subtle or sometimes very overt ways.
It seems easy to do our best when we are excited about something or when we are in a good frame of mind. But we all have our challenges that are both universal, and also uniquely ours: money, job problems, or perhaps relationship difficulties. We may not be feeling well physically, or we are wrestling with ourselves in one way or another. In those circumstances we do our best through heart-based intention.
I love what Gary Zukav teaches about intention. He said, “Every experience, and every change in your experience, reflects an intention. An intention is not only a desire. It is the use of your will. It is a determination to act in a certain way.” He goes on to say, “Every intention sets energy into motion whether we are conscious of it or not. We create in each moment. Each word that we speak, each act—carries intelligence—and therefore is an intention that shapes light.” That is exactly what the Fillmore’s, the co-founders of Unity taught. Our intention and attention or faith shape our experiences. What we intend becomes our reality.
A mission statement is a statement of intention. Jesus had a mission, a statement of intention. He said that it was “to give life, and give it more abundantly.” All of his activities flowed from that intention: Turning water into wine, healing the sick, raising the dead. teaching others, throwing or attending parties, challenging the “enslaving” religious system of that time. Every action flowed from or related back to his intention for “abundant life.”
If we are not conscious, we will desire to release a painful pattern from our experience and see it reappear again and again. In fact, the world in which we live has been created by unconscious intentions. So it is time to become conscious. Let us set an intention to wake up to make our own lives and the world a better place!
The realization of heaven takes place when we bring the consciousness of our heart and soul to our intention-setting process. Rather than letting our personality direct the show, we bring God into the experience. In other words we ask, “What is God’s will?” “What is my heart telling me?” “What do I really want?”--not “What do I think I should want.” Then we create a reality that reflects God’s Will; it reflects our heart and soul rather than our ego.
There are times when we need to strengthen our will and stick with our commitment. Some steps to remind us are: 1) Intention--We first set our intention from the heart—making a commitment to accomplish something. 2) Attention--We focus our attention on what we want rather than what we don’t want. 3) Action--We determine the necessary steps and we take them. 4) Repetition--We practice through repetition.
I invite you to determine your primary intention for the year—a personal mission for 2010. Ask that it be given to you. Write it down. Then do your best. Remember, Intention, Attention, Action, and Repetition.
Planetary Pilgrims—Bearers of Light, November 2009
We are made conscious of the presence of the Divine Mystery in the very act of gratitude. When we give thanks for our blessings we become aware of the whole beauty of creation. Instead of focusing on problems, we are lifted up beyond the mundane into the realm of Spirit. Such is the gift of this Season.
The holiday of Thanksgiving reminds us of more than that historical feast in our country’s early days. It calls us to remember that we are planetary pilgrims on a great journey, traveling together through the vastness of space. We are involved in a cosmic dance, a collective mystical quest to penetrate and understand the sacred source of life.
The earth is a bearer of life only because of the sun and its radiant light. Our yearly pilgrimage of the earth around this great source of life becomes a sacrament celebrating our relationship with the Divine Mystery. In ancient times, as the days grew shorter and darker, people became anxious and depressed, fearing that the sun was dying. In order to invite the source of light and abundance back, they created rituals of Thanksgiving, culminating in a great Winter Solstice Festival. Fires were lit to petition the gods, and ancient ones danced to bring back the sun.
For contemporary Planetary Pilgrims, the passage from Thanksgiving to Christmas is a beautiful metaphor for the awakening that can occur through the power of gratitude. Saying thank you to the music that enchants, the person that inspires, the animal that protects, the clothes that adorn, awakens one to the light of love that is shining within everything. It helps to birth a consciousness of the Christ, the Light of Lights.
Jelaluddin Rumi, Sufi seer and poet said:
For sixty years I have been forgetful,
every minute, but not for a second has this flowing
toward me stopped or slowed.
I deserve nothing. Today I recognize that I am the
guest the mystics talk about.
I play this living music for my host.
Everything today is for the host
Let us feast on our blessings this Holiday Season. We are especially grateful for our new church home! As we share our love, praise one another, and give thanks for all things, we become bearers of Light, illuminating the hearts of others. Happy Holidays!
I love Unity’s teachings about God. First of all, we are panentheistic, meaning that we are in God and God in us like the wave is in the ocean and the ocean is in the wave. Also, God is Principle/Personal, Mother/Father, Law/Grace, Transcendent/Immanent…both/and. God is One Presence and One Power active as the Universe, and that Power is good. “There is no spot where God is not.”
When I found Unity I felt that the personal God I had been talking to and communing with my entire life was finally described in the same way I believed, at least as much as God can ever be described. And God still remains a mystery, which is emotionally and philosophically satisfying.
I had that same feeling of confirmation when I read Deepak Chopra’s book How to Know God. Deepak has written over 50 books by now, although I have no clue how he does it since he shows up everywhere. He writes frequent articles on Huffington Post, is a guest on many television and radio programs, travels widely teaching and conducting workshops, and serves as CEO and founder of the Chopra Center for Well Being in La Jolla, California. He is a medical doctor who has been involved in the healing arts for many years. Also Chopra is a Hindu, who has written extensively about other religions as well, including books about Buddha and Jesus. He is also a great friend to Unity.
How to Know God is Deepak’s masterpiece, I believe, since he describes the evolution of our God concept in seven stages. Deepak invites us to awaken to who we really are and helps us to understand a lot about consciousness and our connection with the Divine, while weaving quantum physics with Eastern and Western thinking.
Why is it so important to know God? Because all that we are, all that we have, and all that we do….arise from God and our connection with Him/Her. That is why we will come together for 7 weeks during Sunday Services and follow-up Wednesday night classes, to deepen our relationship with the Divine in spiritual community. Beginning October 4th, come journey into the mystery with God, Unity, the words and spirit of Deepak, and one another!
How do we create prosperity when the conversation everywhere is about lack? We read the paper or turn on the news and hear about our "bad economy." We have a conversation with a stranger and discover he is a victim of the current "meltdown," having lost his job. We discover that a relative has lost her house. Or perhaps it hits closer than that, and we have been more personally impacted.
Last year I was serving a church that was engaged in a building project, and when the new Youth Education building was three quarters of the way complete, the lender stopped all funding.
He had wanted the church property from the beginning. It had a huge ripple effect that ultimately impacted my job and forced me to leave since the church could no longer afford to pay a minister.
Two days after the board and I announced to the congregation that I was leaving, my landlord sent me an e-mail that he had to sell the house that I had lived in for five years. He needed to sell in order to save his other house where he lived with his family, because of a mortgage deal gone bad. Suddenly, I was impacted on both fronts: work and home. At that point I said, "Ok, God. It's obvious you have something else in mind for me. I surrender." And I did. I relaxed and let go and stopped resisting. That's when God took over and everything began to unfold in perfect Divine Order.
I saw that Unity Spiritual Center, located in Windsor (now Unity Church of Santa Rosa) was open, so I applied. It was a match, so the rest is history. I'm grateful to be in a church with a long Unity tradition, yet open to eclectic teachings. Also, I found a lovely house on the golf course, so I have a huge green backyard, filled with deer and jack rabbits, who show up in the early morning or at sunset. The icing on the cake for me is that my son Chris and his wife Melanie live here in a house that is half way between home and work. If I had held on to my resistance, I suspect it would not have turned out so beautifully.
With countless people "out there" looking for work and housing, it's easy to feel hopeless. Somehow that thought never entered my head because I know that there are spiritual laws that can be applied, even in the midst of outer economic turmoil. The truth is that we are immersed in a field of unlimited possibilities, and through our thoughts, words, and actions, we can co-create a prosperous reality. We must envision, think, believe, feel, and speak it. Then we continue to focus on what we want, rather than what we don't want. Our perseverance results in manifesting abundance.
I love the song called "Lord of the Dance," and in mythology the "Lord of the Dance" is the God of Death. And he is also the God of Birth and Eternal Life—for whenever there is death, there is also new life, new birth. That is the great message of Easter—that even out of the deepest despair there is always the possibility of new beginnings, new life.
The entire season of Spring which always includes Easter, signifies the birth of new life and greater light in the world. This is the time of year when it is important to reflect on these concepts. In Unity we teach that the crucifixion is the crossing out of error thought, old beliefs, and the fears of the ego, so that we may be born anew. And resurrection is an inner awakening to our Divinity—to the Divine life pulsing through and within everything. It is an emergence of the Christ—the perfect pattern of wholeness within each one of us. Collectively, resurrection is a critical mass of individuals waking up to the Christ Presence or the Divinity within all life. This is the Second Coming—the great cosmic awakening.
Jesus was the historical man who achieved Christ Consciousness, and he taught that we can do what he did and even greater things. This theme of crucifixion and resurrection that he embodied, is inherent throughout the mythology of the world because that is the dance that we are engaged in as humankind—the dance of life and death and rebirth. It is said that the Creator "dances" creation since all of creation is a great dance.
In our daily lives we experience crucifixion and resurrection every time we die to the old and give birth to the new. It is the process of change and transformation. Actually we are resurrected each time we pause and appreciate the wonder around us, or when we surrender and say, "God, I can’t do it alone anymore." Then we can just watch the Divine taking over for us.
This Season let us remember the Divine Life pulsing within everything. We have only to pause and listen to the cosmic harmony and know that God is always inviting us to a new dance…one where we release and let go of the old and give birth to the new…one where life is abundant. We just have to say "Yes," and then learn to practice and follow.
The past few years have been ones of dramatic change in our world, our country, our Unity Movement, and our ministry, Unity Spiritual Center of Sonoma County. It seems that nobody is exempt from the call to transformation!
In 2008 Unity Spiritual Center sold a building, moved Sunday Services to the Windsor Community Center, searched for a new church home, and hired a Minister. All of this was done in great faith and sometimes while losing people along the way. And now, that faith is coming to fulfillment. I am happy to be here as your Minister, and we are about to move into a new church home!
The new building space we are negotiating will be within our proposed budget for our new church home. It is in a great neighborhood, across from Molberry’s Market in the Larkfield Business Park. That takes us back into Santa Rosa, but far enough north so everyone coming from that direction can get there easily. While our interior space is constructed in Building C, we will be able to temporarily have our offices and Sunday Services in Building B, right next door. This will help with our transition and the cost of moving. Though we do not have an exact date, we anticipate very soon. We invite you to hold the vision with us for this new site.
We are on the upswing, and that kind of energy attracts. Sometimes however, we resist change, even when we have prayed for it. But we cannot have change without change! Transformation is challenging, tumultuous, and also energizing and exciting. It includes both labor pains and the joy of new birth.
Whether we are in the midst of personal upheaval in our own lives, in the life of our church, our country, or the world, let us relax and let go of any resistance. Let us trust that a greater Divine Order is at work, and "go with the flow." When we become conscious agents of change, we can trust that we are guided in whatever we are going through. We can choose positive thoughts, words, and actions as we continue to affirm our faith. And best of all, we can know that at the other end of the chaos of change, there is a bright new beginning.
The beginning of a New Year seems to connect us with the field of unlimited possibilities. It is a time of hope and vision, a time to release the past and begin anew.
One question we can ask our self is: "What four things do I most look forward to this year?" For me, they are: 1) An even deeper connection with God; 2) Another visit to see my first grandchild…he is living in North Dakota and will be 1 year old on December 28th!; 3) The excitement of a new facility for Unity Spiritual Center; 4) The other wonderful surprises in store this year.
I would suggest writing your top four dreams down on paper…and if you feel inclined to write more, go for it! Visioning at the beginning of a year helps us to set intention that activates our dreams. This is very different than New Year's resolutions, which tend to activate resistance because we feel we “should” complete them. When we do not follow through on resolutions, a cycle of guilt can ensue. Looking into the future with anticipation, however, creates the positive thoughts and emotions that attract our good.
Another way to help set intention is to pick a special word, which can become your guiding word throughout the year. The best way to do this is through meditation. Allow the word for the year to come into your mind. It may be: grace, love, faith, patience, or something completely surprising. Then watch how your year is impacted by the meaning of that word.
Let us hold bright new visions for 2008, in our personal lives, our spiritual community, our country, and our world.
Becoming Christ Conscious:
Spiritual Practice for the Holidays, December 2008
On behalf of Unity Spiritual Center, I want to wish you a happy Holiday Season! I am anticipating the joy of celebrating the upcoming holidays with you as your new Minister.
This time of year reminds us of the birth of Christ Consciousness individually and collectively. Giving birth to the Christ is a daily process. Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, believed that each of us should seek to build the Christ Consciousness into our thoughts, our body, our very cells. She said, “Study and practice daily, keeping your mind and heart, your vision and your emotion fixed on God—God in you. The more you think about your indwelling Christ,” she asserted, “the greater will be its expression in you.” (Vahle, Neal, Torch-Bearer to Light the Way, p. 57)
Through this holiday season, let us open our hearts to the inner Christ. Through daily prayer and meditation, we can reflect upon the man Jesus and consider his capacity to give, to love, to heal, and to bless others. We can meditate on his words and take them deep into the Silence with us, as though we would plant a seed in the ground. We water the seed of his words in our communion with God and through our thoughts, words, and actions. Some of his words were: I am with you always. Be still and know that I am God. I am the resurrection and the life. I am the light of the world. I am the health of my people. I am that I am. I am with you always.
In Unity we teach that whenever Jesus said "I am..." he was speaking from Christ Consciousness. In other words, he was aware of his complete oneness with God. We can also affirm those same statements for our selves.
In addition to reflecting upon the man Jesus and his words, let us meditate deeply upon the Christ. Who is this Cosmic Christ that pervades the Universe? What is this perfect pattern of wholeness in all of creation and in me? We can pose the question or just simply sit in silence with the words, "Christ," "Christ Consciousness," or "Cosmic Christ."
Christmas is a wonderful time to remember the Spirit of Love that is everywhere present. The collective thought is intensified during this special season. Let us practice each day to feel grateful for our blessings, to see the good in all things, and to look past the outer appearance to the Christ in one another.
May your holidays be filled with a deeper experience of Christ Consciousness, and may you truly know that you are the light of the world.
Vision Statement: Centered in God, we create a world of love, harmony, and abundance for all.
Unity of Santa Rosa
4857 Old Redwood Hwy, Santa Rosa CA 95403 Get directions 707-542-PRAY (7729) | info@unityofsantarosa.org
Sunday Service and Sunday School: 10:30am
