My mind and body are in an ongoing conversation.  My body responds to my thoughts, and my mind continually receives messages from my body….

As I bring my spiritual awareness into the conversation between mind and body, I keep myself in balance….with Spirit-centered thoughts, words and actions, I claim my true identity as a whole and healthy expression of God–mind, body and spirit.

Unity Worldwide Ministries

Ten Golden Moments

Life is for Living, by choice–not default.  In James 1 we are told to be doers  of the Word, not hearers  only, because it is only in the doing that we truly learn and grow in spiritual wisdom.  It is through our thoughts, words and actions that we grow from seeker to doer.It is easy to say with Isaiah:

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

But how do we do that?!  Life is for Living by Eric Butterworth speaks to that longing in each of us to come up higher with three different examples.

The first, an M.D., related the story of his realization at age 50 that his body was deteriorating and life was miserable.  The doctor began a morning regimen of affirmative dialogue with his body, creating a receptive mood and a positive expectation for the day ahead.  Twenty years later, his physical health was far superior to his younger self.

Butterworth quoted Robert Frost on the same topic:

It has always seemed to me that happiness in life comes from man’s ability to mold and shape things. And so every morning on arising,  I have made it a practice to do two things before anything else: first, I make up my bed; second, I make up my mind.

Butterworth was so impressed with the doctor’s story that he and his wife  immediately put the idea to work for them.  He extended the idea to a five minute session in the morning and again at night:

…this is done in concert with the prayer-conditioning exercise.  The whole ritual–from the first conscious thought to the alive, alert, and enthusiastic individual standing beside the freshly made-up bed with the well-ordered mind–has taken no more than five minutes.

The five minutes in the evening is focused upon clearing up and clearing out the day–relaxing and releasing in preparation for a restful sleep.  Several years ago I began the practice of writing out a list of tasks for the following day and then giving over all tasks and concerns into the Father’s keeping for the night.

Ten Golden Moments begins with centering our thoughts immediately upon awakening:

1.  Hit the reset button with breathing exercises.

2.  Stretch as you gently reawaken the body.

3.  Bless the entire body, affirming I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

4.  Affirm:  I am confident and competent.

5.  Get up, make up the bed and make up your mind.

Five simple steps which can be modified to personal needs and goals.  The important thing to remember is this:

How do we change?

We change by doing it–one step, one choice at a time.

]]> http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/life-is-for-living-series-3/feed/ 0 Admin seize http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/lenten-study-guide/ http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/lenten-study-guide/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:25:19 +0000 Admin http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/?p=987 ]]> Be sure to order your Lenten Study Guide from Unity Worldwide Ministries:  click on  lent

Mindfulness

We love to sing our affirmations, filling our entire being with powerful vibrations of truth and hope and joyous anticipation.  This morning’s praise song, This is the Year, by Kemp and Provost is a wonderful example:

This is the year you find Christ within. This is the year you are glad to live; This is the year you have much to give.

But what does that really mean–This is the year!–and how do we get from here to there?  This is the year and this is the time and this is the place because we choose to make it so.  When we truly desire to change, the whole universe is behind that desire.Transformational living requires that our thoughts and words and actions be in harmony.  Not only must we be committed to change, but to the actual demonstration of that commitment.  It’s useless, even counter-productive,  to affirm that we will get more exercise in 2012 while snuggled up on the sofa with the remote in one hand and a bag of popcorn in the other.  It just doesn’t work that way!

We have all heard the phrase, he has a mind like a sponge.  What he hears, what he reads, he remembers.  Now, that implies a mastery of facts which is great on multiple choice tests or game shows.  But it does not guarantee learning, the mastery of the subject, the ability to draw conclusions and make connections.  Neither does it guarantee understanding and wisdom.

Our minds were not created to be storage facilities with limited capacity.  Rightly used, our minds should filter out the garbage and work as an interconnected system of receptors and processors within the  whole of consciousness.  When we begin to access and activate the true power and purpose of the mind, then we finally begin to realize and fulfill our divine potential.

So, how do we get from where we are now to where we want to be?  How do we begin the process of spiritual growth?  When we attend a class or begin a new study, there are three basics steps which will lead to positive outcomes.

1.  Process:    take time to ponder, to evaluate and choose the best ideas.

2.  Pray and Meditate:  be open to spirit; seek guidance and understanding.

3.  Practice:   get out of theory and focus on application.

Then, repeat the steps until you’ve got it.  This is how we grow, how we come to understand our purpose in being.  There are no shortcuts, no pat answers. Active participation in creation is the path to transformational living.

]]> http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/life-is-for-living-series-2/feed/ 0 Admin joyful http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/life-is-for-living-series/ http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/life-is-for-living-series/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:19:55 +0000 Admin http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/?p=979 ]]> Life is for Living!

Unity teaches that God is the creative force behind all of life, that God is everywhere equally present and that His will for us is absolute good.  Believing this allows us to see a world full of possibility and promise.  In the book Life is for Living,  Eric Butterworth wrote:

Things may happen around you and things may happen to you, but the only things that really count are the things that happen in you.

We choose to believe in God not because we can see or touch ‘Him’, but because there is an inner knowing, a presence which assures us that He is real.  We choose, also, to change and grow spiritually as an act of faith. Life is for the living, those actively involved in the search for spiritual understanding and a willingness to apply the truth in our lives.

John 10:9-10 and 14:6 are very instructive:

I am the door, if anyone enters by me, he will be saved. I have come that they may have life, and they may have it more abundantly.              

I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.

I am the door;  I am the way.  How do we experience life more abundantly?  How do we come to know the Father?  Not through the man Jesus, but through Christ Consciousness, the I am within each one of us. What does that mean and how do we do that?

1. We weed out the negative, release resentment and allow the calm peace of God fill us.

2.  Practice the Presence:  we study the Word, the teachings and then pray     and meditate.

3.  Practice mindful use of the I am. Pay attention and correct what we attach to our true name, the I am.  I am healthy. I am vital and alive in the now moment.  I am free………

We must never believe in less nor settle for less than our God given birthright as the sons and daughters of God.   In the Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood we read:

I must never, never whine nor sit down with my old body and pity it. 

No excuses!  Neither age nor education, neither appearance nor location determine the quality of our lives.  Forget pity parties–they tend to be solitary events.  Get up, get out, get going!!

We have all heard the phrase Today is the first day of the rest of  your life.  A cliche, but one founded in spiritual truth.  New Years Day provides a perfect opportunity for releasing the old and stepping up to new opportunities.  In our Burning Bowl Ceremony, we begin with forgiving and letting go the past as the first step toward choosing a new vision and claiming the good which is our birth right.Life is change, yet many of us instinctively resist changing circumstances rather than exploring the evolving possibilities with child like faith and curiosity.  When we allow ourselves to approach change without fear, life becomes an adventure.  When my daughter was a toddler, taking a walk was short on exercise and long on patience until I began to see things through her eyes.  A simple mud puddle contained a world of possibilities and every storm drain led to faraway places. Surely, this is what Jesus referred to in Luke 18:16-17 when He said:

Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

What would happen if instead of letting go gracefully, we tried to hold onto every single item we ever bought or received as a gift–good or bad, treasured or tolerated.  We’d end up having to rent storage space to hold it all, thereby, using our current resources to house the past.  Remember the broken tennis rackets and that insane sweater set great-great-whosis sent when you were a size 6 and totally not into hot pink?  Or the rollerblades you were afraid to try.

Ridiculous as it sounds–trying to store the past in the present– that’s the very thing we do when we fail to clean our mental and emtional house regularly.  When we change by choice rather than by force or by accident, we open up to growth as we become more receptive to new possibilities. Letting the past be past and leaving behind old ways of thinking and acting, we can begin a new life.  Eric Butterworth wrote in Life is for Living:

We cannot be healed by thinking about sickness, nor can we be prospered by thinking about lack.  We cannot achieve our goals by thinking about our mistakes. Every time we dwell on a thought of limitation about our life, we cause a restriction in the flow.

Forgive one another, Let Go & Let God.  These are not cliches, but a formula for positive, creative living.  We do not condone another’s actions by forgiving them.  We do break the cycle of pain and resentment, thereby freeing ourselves to heal and grow.  To forgive is life-affirming. To forgive is self-affirming. To forgive, freely, is to live the image and likeness of God.

I dedicate this day to new ideas, new viewpoints and renewed living.  I leave behind outgrown thoughts of past limitations and lack.  I let go of old grudges and outdated viewpoints. resh ideas refresh my mind.  I make room for new, vital, healthy and prosperouts ideas.  Daily Word  Jan 1, 2012 

New Years Day

2012

We lovingly release that which no longer serves our highest good, thereby clearing the way for spiritual growth in wisdom and understanding.  As the New Year unfolds, we claim all the good our hearts can hold.

I believe that Christmas with one’s own small child is one of the greatest gifts of God.  And though  we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child on Christmas morning, as long as we view that birth as an event distant in time, we completely miss the greatest gift of all.  This moment, not an event frozen in time but this very moment, is when joy and love came down into the world. The true gift of Christmas is the birth of the Christ light in each one of us.Many years ago my eighteen-month-old daughter presented me with a very special gift.  Had her grandfather not been snapping pictures that day, her gift could have been lost so easily amid the clutter and business of Christmas morning.

The brightly colored ribbons and wrapping paper were a child’s delight–sparkling clutter everywhere and no one fussing about the mess.  She tried on the boxes for the perfect fit and wore the ribbons with abandon.  The picture he took, caught her tossing away the gift and snatching up the shiny wrappings.

Years later as I sat holding the picture, I found myself wondering how many times I, too, have missed the inner gift of another because I saw only the outer wrappings.  Have I failed to understand the hidden meanings of events in my life because I was too caught up in the trappings of life itself?

Thank God for the gift of a child in my life.  How else might I discover myself?

]]> http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/christmas-day-2011/feed/ 0 Admin JenC - Copy http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/christmas-day-service/ http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/christmas-day-service/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:55:01 +0000 Admin http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/?p=954 ]]>                                           Christmas Day Service                                                                             December 25th at 11:00 a.m.    

Fullness of Joy

The Advent journey we began just three short weeks ago is nearly complete, as we follow the star to our heart’s center like the wise men of old.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

We seek our King in the quiet places of the soul by preparing sacred space  in heart,  mind and body.  We have cleared away the mental clutter and allowed the peace of God to settle into every nook and cranny.   In stillness, hope is reborn in our hearts and we see the world in a new light, overflowing with possibilities for good.  As joy bubbles up from deep within,  we reread the Daily Word for December 18, 2011:

Turning my attention inward to the Christ of my being,  I rest in the peace of God.  I let go of cares and concerns and entrust all to God.  From within this inner sanctuary and awareness of God’s presence, joy spontaneously arises and I am lifted up.

The traditional symbols of Christmas take on a deeper meaning for me as I prepare for the Christ Child.  The angels came as heralds, awakening in me the Divine Idea of the Christ.  The shepherds watching over their sheep symbolize an earthiness grounded in the natural life. Jesus would come to represent the spiritual life as the Good Shepherd.

The wise men represent the intellect in its search for signs and wonders as the path to understanding.  The star illuminates the journey to the Christ Child on earth and in consciousness.  At Christmas in Unity, we light a candle symbolizing the Christ in our midst and twelve individual candles which represent the twelve spiritual gifts within each of us.  Together, in perfect balance, these spiritual gifts represent the fullness of being, the Christ.