Unity Connections

  Last Sunday I shared the idea from Unity Minister Frank Giudici that “all problems and challenges stem from this one basic problem, the inability to love ourselves totally and unconditionally.” From a spiritual standpoint, we might ask, why is it so difficult to love ourselves?  If we know that the Truth of who we are, is an expression of Divine Intelligence, a perfect idea in Divine Mind, then why in the world is it so hard to love ourselves?   The short answer lies in the word, world .  We are spiritual beings contained for this time in a physical body, in order to navigate the physical world. As such, we have been conditioned by the world , in various ways.  Very little of our conditioning centers on our true innate value and worth. Nor does it tend to support the plethora of ways that we might express ourselves, if we were not conditioned otherwise. And, the more that our identity varies from the agreed upon social norms that inform our conditioning, the ...

  We will wrap up our series on The Five Principles this Sunday. However, the implementation of the practices that support our expanded understanding of God and our oneness with It, is a lifelong quest. I believe it may be the most worthy quest, and one that is calling to more and more people each day! The first Principle alone requires us to release our outgrown understanding of God that greatly limits both God and ourselves. Thankfully, it can also begin to remedy and heal some of the abuse and egregious misuse of power to control and harm people, in the name of God. The following quotes from Emilie Cady is helpful grow such a mindset: "God is not a being or person having life, intelligence, love, power. God is that invisible, intangible, but very real something, we call life. God is perfect love and infinite power. God is the total of these, the total of all good" ( Lessons In Truth, 18 ). "God is the name we give to that unchangeable, inexorable principle at the s...

This Sunday will offer an opportunity to come together in community for a time of remembrance  and to hold all of grief that has fallen upon us, most recently in the past two weeks, with the tragic events in Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX. It is also an invitation for us all to remember those who we have loved and lost. A s a result of the restrictions of the pandemic,  many have had to endure the loss of loved ones without the shared community support that we are accustomed to. I hope to offer this time together, in sacred community as a way to support, love and steady each other and ourselves. What we love, we grieve. We all love and we all experience the depth of grief as a response to losing those that we love. It is so important to have community for all that we celebrate and all that we mourn in this human experience. We will also observe Memorial Day, (originally called Decoration Day), which was established as a National Holiday in 1868 in order to remember those...

  How have your thoughts been treating you? Have you noticed if they are grounded in the Truth of love and oneness, or in a belief in fear and separation?  Have your thoughts impacted your experience in a positive or negative way is another way to find the answer. The good news is that we have the power to choose the nature of our thinking, thought by thought. Last week we explored Unity Principle 3 which holds that human beings create their experiences through the activity of their thinking/feeling. Everything in the manifest world has its beginning in thought. It is useful to think of Principles 3- 5 as   practices that help us align more fully with the truth of the first two principles which are the basis for everything. Everything! 1. God is Absolute Good, always present. 2. Human beings have a spark of Divinity within them. Their very essence is of God, and therefore they are also inherently good. Principle 4 states that, Prayer is creative thinking that hei...

  As part of my Mother’s Day lesson last Sunday, I posed the idea that we are being called to grow up spiritually, in order to embrace the challenges of our times as opportunities to propel a quantum leap in our spiritual growth. Such a leap not only assures our own personal sense of well-being but also ensures that human evolution continues to flourish. I was inspired by Ellen Debenport’s reminder in book The Five Principles that the word ' bisha'  from the original Aramaic that was eventually translated as ‘evil’  originally meant immature, or unripe. Debenport concludes that, “We as humans are immature or unripe, not yet living from divine consciousness.” This moves the source of evil from a superhuman entity or force at odds with God, to the level human error that results from our immature understanding of who and what we really are! We misuse our creative power when we think and act from that level of immaturity, which is grounded in fear. If we believe, as Princ...

We are continuing with our series on The Five Principles by Rev. Ellen Debenport.   These are the main tenants of our Unity Teachings.   Principle One states that God is the Source of all that is, and the nature of God is Good.   This means that all of the natural world, including humanity derives its essence from the One Source, God, by whatever name you may choose to call It. The nature of that Source is good.   We use the word good in so many ways. Ice cream is good. We wish each other a good day. "Good" is the common response when asked how we are. When it comes to describing the nature of the Source of all that is, words are limiting. I have come to understand God as good to mean life giving and affirming, the creative intelligence that continually harmonizes all of life toward greater wholeness. The point is that this Source is not withholding, punishing or punitive. We may be, but God is not.   This is really the foundation of all that we t...

As you consider where you are in this process of transition- recall what you have discovered in the two phases of Endings and The Void. What has ended for you? What has that ending lead you to discover or uncover in yourself? What has been revealed to you that you have outgrown, or are ready to release? Take a few moments now to center into your courageous heart. Acknowledge the pain and confusion that you have endured as a result of this ending. Breathe in the awareness of the strength and guidance that you have also discovered through your time in the wilderness.  Connect with the I Am - The Eternal Truth of your Being, as it reveals to you the ways that you have limited It in yourself.  Release any sense of limitation now. Prepare to step into a true new beginning. Connect with the truest desire of your soul- what is calling you ? What is trying to come through this space that you have cleared? Listen for your soul’s true desire. Robert Brumet offers the following inquiry i...