The Power of Forgiveness

This week finds me wanting to speak to the broader purpose behind our current series based on the book, Birthing A Greater Reality by Robert Brumet. I know that some of you have purchased the book and are following along. Some have expressed interest and appreciation of the material, and are enjoying being able to go deeper into the book. I also know that some are eagerly anticipating the end of this series. The majority of you likely fall somewhere in between, which is to be expected.

I will admit to having miscalculated the depth and intensity of the material and my ability to relay it all. I may also have assumed shared level of interest in general. All of this would have been better addressed in a class format, rather than a Sunday series. That said, I wanted to share my initial motivation with you, and ask for your forgiveness in my miscalculation. As divine order would have it, this Sunday’s message has us considering the power of forgiveness. 😊

Looking out upon the landscape of our world, I felt called to offer something that would speak to the depth of what so many are experiencing, some of which is still hard to articulate.
Basically, I wondered how I could address the sense of uncertainty and uneasiness that we are all feeling, while also holding the space for a greater purpose at work within it all. To be clear, I didn’t have the answer, just the desire to provide some structure by which we could explore it all together.

In addition to our own personal growth, we seem to find ourselves in a collective growth spurt.
I suppose that this has always been the case, since our growth as individuals is always tied to the collective experience, and vice versa. Maybe I am just finally waking up to it, but this shared connection and the impact of it seems more imporatant than ever. This made me want to offer a series that promoted a deeper exploration of ourselves while also considering how our sense of self is created through the larger structures of family, culture and society as a whole. Some of these are the very structures that are being tested and tried in our world today. This helps to make sense of why our own sense of identity may be feeling a little shaky.

It feels like a lot because it is. I believe that we are divinely designed to meet the challenge. And we are being called to excavate that divine design within ourselves so that we can know and claim our spiritual identity apart from all of the ways we have been taught to identify ourselves. I believe that this will greatly support us in moving forward at this time.

Yet, it is human nature that pulls us to revert to what we know- to what feels safe, predictable and familiar. This is especially true when we feel threatened and fearful. We see this happening all around us, and, likely within us at times. I wanted to share Brumet’s work because it offers a solid explanation of how and why this happens. Namely through the function of the personal ego and the development of a corresponding false self and shadow self.

In Birthing a Greater Reality Robert Brumet attempts to offer a path that speaks to the fullness of our experience as Spiritual beings through our very human experience. Both experiences are part of the whole, they are equally important and valuable. This is the deep quest of spirituality; to fully live this human experience and come to know and grow into the fullness that we are in Spirit.

We in Unity have long been tempted to transcend some of our human experience in favor of the Spiritual experience. By that I mean that we have overlooked and underestimated the power of our physical and emotional experiences, seeking to transcend them with Spiritual truth. This is a particular temptation when it seems to provide a way above the difficult feelings or challening experiences.

I will admit to having taken the bypass only to learn that I can’t truly transcend anything that I am unable or unwilling to first face. It is in that process itself that transformation and transcendence has truly occurred for me. Just as we learned in the discussion on Spiral Dynamics, each level of development includes and transcends those below it. In essence, the spiral goes upward by way of the growth and learning done within each level below it.

Spiritual transformation begins with self- awareness. I brought this material to you as a way to try and meet the call of our times while providing an opening to understand ourselves more deeply. I hope that it has offered you all something to consider despite it being a lot to cover in a Sunday talk. I have certainly learned a lot in the process.I appreciate the patience and grace that has been afforded to me along the way. 

Our journey continues with the practices of grief and forgiveness as tools for healing and growth.  Two more weeks....

Please join us this Sunday at 10am.

Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash