Unity Connections

  This Sunday will begin a new series on affirmative prayer, using the book, How to Pray without Talking to God , by Linda Martella- Whitsett. Before you make plans to skip this series, let me assure you that this is not meant to condemn anyone for talking to God. Talking to God has been promoted as an obvious way to connect and express our needs, our joys and our sorrows. Heartfelt prayers always make a difference, regardless of their form or wording. If your prayer practice is effective and fulfilling and centers on conversing with God – by all means stick with it. I also lovingly invite you to join us, with an open mind as we explore how to deepen of our prayer practice. Talking to God is not problematic in and of itself, except that it so easily perpetuates a sense of separation. If in prayer, we are centered on connecting with the Divine presence within, who, or what are we talking to? The important idea here is to be sure that we are using the power of prayer to grow ...

Last Sunday, we explored the concept of true belonging- which stems from a deepened connection with our true, authentic self, despite the constrictions of our conditioning.   That conditioned sense of belonging minimizes our authentic self, in favor of conformity. At some point along the way we all learn to contain ourselves in in order to fit in, which we mistake for true belonging. In her book,  The Gifts of Imperfection , Brené Brown defined belonging as: “ The innate human desire to be part of something larger than us. Because this yearning is so primal, we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it. Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance .” The irony is that our self-acceptance has been hinged, at least in part, on fitting in and seeking ap...

I recently received and an email promotion with a subject line that caught my attention. It read, “The age of going in alone is over.” E ven as a moderate introvert, I felt a huge sigh of relief. I have long felt the constriction of trying ‘to go at this’ alone, and, yet it remains my default. While I know that I am indeed part of the extended family of humanity, I am not immune to the deeply grooved pattern that has supported us all in just “grinning and bearing it” rather than reaching out for companionship and support. Life in this human experience has always come with its share of pain and joy, both of which lend themselves well to sharing. These times that we are living through are pushing us all a little harder and a lot deeper. Imagine what might be possible if we pull the plug on trying to grin and bear it, a nd, instead come together to share in it, learn from it, and collaborate on how to grow from it. It is ultimately up to us, as individuals to collectively decide and be...

  As I look toward Independence Day this year, like so many of us, I am being called to reflect more deeply on the idea of freedom.  I know that I have experienced a great many blessings  as a result of living in this country that hails as “the land of the free”.   I whole heartedly applaud the noble ideals set forth by the Founders of this Nation. In seeking to expand their own freedom they also sought to carve the path for a Nation where all people could have access to such freedom.  Economic and religious freedom were the initial driving forces behind these efforts. Inherent in such freedom was an assumed sense of physical freedom, enhnanced with the opportunity to explore a whole new land, and to reap the benefits of such exploration. A fantastic opportunity to be sure. We now know that this opportunity of greater freedom for those new arrivals had a devastating cost for the Indigenous peoples already occupying these lands. Freedom would also be denie...