All IS Well

December 14, 2014

   Last week I began my talk by saying I had a confession to make… that I watched the Hallmark Channel and I liked it. Today I have another confession to make, this one far less facetious.

   Starting about three weeks ago I worked myself into a cranky, unhappy state of mind and I’ve kept the momentum going.

   Don’t you just hate it when you feel bad inside? And by bad I mean cranky, upset, unhappy, sad, depressed, jealous, angry, guilty, ashamed… just generally out of sorts.

Psalm 119:165 contends, "Great peace have those who love Thy law."

This past week I forgot the law that as you sew, so shall you reap. I forgot where my peace comes from.

   I began to tell myself that all was not well, that I did not like what I thought was about to come my way. In other words I thought I knew how something was going to be before it actually occurred, and I chose to be upset.

What it came down to was I was putting my expectations about how something outside me should go ahead of my personal awareness and “living-from-ness” of the peace of God. I built myself into a consciousness that something just wasn’t going to “go my way” and before it even had a chance to go one way or the other, I was already out of peace and cranky internally.

   That being said, I’m already in a less than optimal set of thinking when another expectation gets blown. This time I got upset over my expectation of how someone else should be treating me, over my personal connection with God. In other words, I needed them to see my needs as the number 1 priority in their life. That became more important than my need to keep my awareness on God – which naturally will bring me peace in any situation or circumstance.

   Again, in other words, I shifted the source of my peace from something inside me to something outside me, made my behavior dependent on someone else’s behavior.

Nowhere, and at no time is peace found in someone or something outside of us… something outside of God. Enjoyment can be found in outside things, but not lasting peace.

   Earlier this week Jane and I watched most of a DVD of Esther Hicks and Wayne Dyer having a conversation, and in that dialogue Esther Hicks commented to Wayne Dyer about the momentum of thinking. She said, in effect that it would be wise to put a stop to our negative thinking sooner rather than later. To illustrate the point she said imagine yourself on a road at the peak of a hill in your car. Imagine if you got out of your car and the transmission was out of gear. Now you know that it doesn’t take much in the way of a bump to set your car slightly in motion down-hill. You know that at that point you could physically stop your car from gaining momentum and heading down the hill.

   Then, she said, “Now imagine yourself at the bottom of this steep hill. Your car is rolling down the hill at full momentum and you have to stop the car.”

   ***Which is easier to do, stop the momentum the minute it starts rolling away or at the bottom of the hill?

   ***Clearly the answer is the minute the momentum begins downhill. Esther Hicks suggests the same is true of our thinking. She suggests that it takes just 17 seconds of holding a thought in mind, to set it into motion. She also suggests that another 17 seconds and another and another, 68 seconds in total, of holding a thought in mind really gets it rolling. And in this little discourse she reminds us to spend our thinking on what we want rather than the absence of what we do not want… that way the momentum of our thinking is on what we choose to appear for ourselves, that way we can find true alignment with who we are.

   So let’s spend a few minutes re-directing, if necessary, the momentum of our thinking letting these words sink deep into your mind.

   You can close your eyes if you like. Just let you mind be open to the flow of God’s love:

   You are peaceful today within yourself, so you naturally invoke peaceful feelings all around you wherever you go. Your words are peace-filled and your actions form a harmonious atmosphere around you.

   You help create your own peace and serenity by being aware of the activity of God in your life. Secure in this awareness of God, you let the peace that heals and blesses express through you.

   Your inner peace is unaffected by distractions around you. You speak words of love and peace, knowing that those words have power to affect even the most adverse circumstances. Peaceful and calm, you are God-directed to take right action.

God's presence surrounds you and infills you now. Your thoughts are positive and uplifting, and your words and actions create an environment of understanding and harmony.

   You have faith in God and in God's power to pour abundant good into your life. You do not think thoughts of lack; instead you fill your mind with images that promote peace of mind. You faithfully expect the best in all experiences.

You not only ask God for peace of mind; you promote it within myself. You are peaceful because you have faith in God to guide and protect you.

   Daily, you place myself in God's care and keeping and know that God is leading you on paths that are right, and filled with ever increasing good.

In your prayers of faith you pray, believing, and you give thanks that your prayers are heard and answered in ways that are the best for all concerned.

   You have absolute, unshakable faith in God. Confident in that relationship with God, you are at peace.

   As you give up the need to struggle, as you let go and let God help you, your mind, your soul, and your body become peaceful.

   You know that you have the mind of Christ which is your eternal connection with the peaceful wisdom of God for I believe as 1 Corinthians 2:16 states, "We have the mind of Christ."

   Your peace will improve and your confidence will grow as you rely on the all-knowing mind of Christ within you. One with Christ, you are one with
God's peace, and nothing is impossible to you.

Dear God, I pray for great peace.
I invoke peaceful feelings within myself.
I create harmony within me, and harmony surrounding me.
I am secure in God.
God's peace heals me.
Love and peace are the order of every day.
I am calm.
My unshakable faith in my eternal connection with God, creates a peaceful umbrella of tranquility covering my every move.
In Jesus Christ's name… Amen    

Shopping With God

Sunday, December 7, 2014

   Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, and the Christmas shopping season is fully on us.

   I want to talk a little about shopping and suggest how to approach it this year.

I would suggest that it is always wise to use good judgment in our spending in order to maintain financial and emotional order and balance in our life. I know we can go out and shop without any thought of limitation or lack. We can!

   At Christmas time probably more money is spent than at any other time of the year, but at no other time do we feel so good about spending; at no other time do we feel so richly blessed. Why do you think this is? I believe it’s because we are spending not from the thought of necessity… but from the thought of giving joy and pleasure to someone else, giving in the thought of putting a smile on their face and in their heart.

More simply put: we are spending to give rather than to receive. Does that remind you of any piece of scripture? Does that help you to feel that teaching differently than how you may have thought about it in the past? What is true at Christmas is true all year long.

   At Christmas time we find ourselves a part of a richness of spirit that makes us feel truly prosperous. We have a new awareness of the flow of God’s substance that provides the fulfillment of all our needs, the substance that is our never failing supply.

   The creative substance of God that we’ve talked about in the past is represented in the fog of a misty morning.  On a foggy day we are aware, with surety, that there is water suspended in the air. On a day when the air is “clear” there is still moisture in the air, we just don’t see it.

   Think of the idea of the presence of God, the presence of creative substance, like moisture in the air; it’s there whether we are aware of it or not.

In all our shopping, in all our buying, in all our spending, let us have a joyous realization that we are immersed in the creative substance of God and we are rich – rich in spiritual consciousness, rich in love, rich in giving, and rich in receiving.

Go shopping with God this year.

   I believe that you are also aware that the greatest gifts that you can give do not cost any money. The greatest gift you can give is a portion of yourself. That’s a gift that accepts the counsel of Christ “To let your light shine.”

I’ve just spent a few minutes talking about giving away. In reality you can’t actually do it; you can’t give away anything. Sure, you can say, “If I give someone a watch, or a necklace, or an iPad, or a coat, or a pair of shoes, I don’t have them anymore, so I’ve given them away!”

   Yes, I would agree. What I said though was in Reality you can’t give anything away. What’s the difference? My definition od Reality includes: indelible, non-cyclical, unchanging, and eternal.

   The things of the world come and go; watches, necklaces, iPads, coats, shoes, etc., they all come and go; they are not real, they are temporary.

When you define something by the vision of your eyes, you are dreadfully short-sighted. You have been distracted by the scenery and missed the presence of spirit.

Take another look beyond the physical world. Look for/feel for the presence of spirit. Now you’re connecting with reality.

   In spirit you will find that whatever you try to give away is impossible, because it comes back to you multiplied many times over.

If you want to learn something, teach it and you will learn it. If you want to master something give it away. What we express in any moment is what we are giving.

Like the Bible says, “It is more blessed to give, than receive.” When you receive, it is over, unless you give from that original receiving, and when you give, or whatever you give, it just keeps multiplying back to you. That’s what’s being shared with us in the Gospel of Luke (6:38) “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

   I watched a movie this week titled, “Cancel Christmas.” In this film the Christmas Board of Directors told Santa that Christmas would be cancelled unless he could change the hearts of three boys.

   There were a number of plot twists and turns, but in the end Santa saves Christmas because he was able (appearing as a school janitor) to soften these three hardened hearts. Once their hearts were softened these three boys gave… they gave love to those around them.

   As you give this holiday season, take God into partnership with you. When your eyes open up spiritually, you will realize that plenty is here, all around you, and once your eyes are opened spiritually you will see the plenty, and rejoice. You will realize that you are richly blessed. You are immersed in the omnipresent profusion of God's good… and your awareness will become permanent the more you realize this is so.

   You have a Partner that has all the resources.

   When others talk about lack, I ask you to affirm abundance all the more persistently inside of your mind. I ask you to have faith in the bounty of God. I pray that you see your rich blessings everywhere and affirm their presence not only for yourself but also for everyone else. Deny thoughts of lack and replace them with a positive affirmation, in faith, that abundance is everywhere manifest (think of the mist of creative substance). Open your mind to the spiritual awareness of Divine abundance that is always ready to come forth in a multitude of ways and means.

   In Psalms 105:40 the Bible states, "They asked, and he brought quails, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance." (Where is the scripture that says, “They asked and he shortchanged those suckers because they didn’t deserve it.”?)

The blessing of the Lord cannot be contained. It is meant to be shared.

   This Christmas shopping season, shop with the spiritual awareness that you are abundantly blessed… and you will experience abundant blessings.

Givers: Let your light shine upon others, uplifting them in subtle and not-so-subtle ways by giving them a gift that will last a lifetime; the gift of your Spirit.

Receivers: Let your light shine upon others, uplifting them in subtle and not-so-subtle ways by receiving the givers gift in a way that will last a lifetime; through the gift of your Spirit.

   It’s going to be a great Christmas!

Family Stories 2014

Sunday, November 30, 2014

There is no Monday Message this week. This past Sunday three congregants shared the pulpit telling us personal stories of tolerance, perseverance, and surrender.

Thanks to each of you for opening your hearts to us.

Bless everything,
Rev. Brad

This Need Not Be

Sunday, November 23, 2014

I want to talk some more about the idea that there are but two “voices,” or thought systems to which we listen and choose from. One voice encourages that we lash out, feel guilt, shame, anger; that we belittle another, roll our eyes and laugh at others, and so on, and demands that we pretty much see ourselves as separate and apart from everybody and everything else.

The other voice invites us to see the interests of everyone else as our own.

We are, after all, all interested in having internal peace, in feeling safe and secure in the world.

One voice says love begets love - and that’s how we achieve our goal - and the other says attack, no matter how small, begets power (which it mistakes for love) - and that’s how we achieve our goal.

What do you think?

The voice that speaks for attack – the one that encourages us to lash out - can also be called the ego. The ego wants us to be anxious, in fear, and feeling guilty all the time. The ego is the thought system that says, not only is it possible, but it’s true that we are separate from God and each other. It’s the voice that tells us our self ends at the outer surface of our skin. No wonder we can feel isolated, anxious, and all alone!

This need not be.

The other of the two voices, the Voice for God, can be heard when we are quiet and listen for it. The voice for God can also be heard in some of the words attributed to Jesus such as these in MT 6:25, "Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life."

Haven’t you seen people actually work themselves up into such a frenzy that they bring on an anxiety attack, or become so mentally and emotionally paralyzed that they can’t do anything to help themselves? (That’s probably happened to each of us at one time or another.) I believe you know the importance of releasing negative feelings and letting go of painful memories.

God is with us always.

Well-being and contentment is found only in the Voice for God. The more we choose that voice, the more we accumulate the feeling of well-being and contentment. God loves you. Through God’s love, Divine love, you can release whatever may have happened in your childhood, the past year, yesterday, or a moment ago.

You are whole and free NOW.

The past does not limit or defeat you.

If we cannot hear the Voice for God, it is for one reason only; we do not choose to listen for it.

How do we know to which voice we’re listening? It is demonstrated by our attitudes, our feelings and our behavior. Whichever voice we listen to will manifest in our attitude, feelings, and behavior.

Which voice will you listen for and to?

The apostle Paul talked about looking through a glass darkly. This is how the ego sees; its vision is obscured and thus doubts, worries, fears and feels guilty, then attacks to save face.

The indwelling Christ presence does not need saving; it is unchangeable, eternal, indelible. Ask yourself this: how does the indelible need saving?

The Persian Poet, Rumi so eloquently wrote, “Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field. I will meet you there.”

Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and right doing is the Presence of God. I will meet you there.

Your mind is one with God’s. Denying this – that your mind is one with God) and thinking otherwise is what holds the ego together. Think with God’s mind and the ego dissolves.

Which Voice (teacher, guide) you follow is your choice.

Please remember always that you are not alone. God is with you in this moment and God will be with you through all the days of your life. God is your present help in every need.

When you are sad, know that it doesn’t have to be that way. Depression comes from a sense of being deprived of something you want and do not have (awareness of God’s wisdom/guidance/love/peace). Remember that you are deprived of nothing except by your own decisions. Remember that and then decide otherwise.

You are a beloved child of God.

You are not your ego no matter how much it insists you are.

Side with God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit consistently against this deception that you are small and unworthy.

When I first had my real estate license and was fresh on the job, I inadvertently gave away the strategy of one of my fellow agents, Charlotte, to an agent from another company whose clients were competing with Charlotte’s clients. Needless to say Charlotte’s clients did not get the property they wanted so very much.

I felt terrible.

Ego screamed at me that I was small an unworthy and I refused to let that deception take root. I realized I made a mistake, mistakes can be undone.

The only real mistake we make is choosing to follow or believe in the council that comes from the wrong voice, the voice of the ego (the voice NOT for love) rather than the voice for love.

I needed to continuously remind myself after giving away the strategy of Charlotte’s clients that I am a child of God.

There is no limit to the power of a child of God. We can limit the expression of our power as much as we choose, but there is no limit to it. Your mind and Spirit can unite in releasing the strength of God into everything you think and do. Please do not settle for anything less than this, and refuse to accept anything but this as your goal.

Rejoice in who you are. Daily learn to let go and let God. You are God's beloved child, unlimited and able to accomplish great things. God is your present help in every need.

I believe in you wholeheartedly.

God bless you.

I’ll close with this scripture found in Psalms 62:5: "For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from God." Psalms 62:5.

"Abbacatastasis"

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Today is “Big Word Sunday.” I have three big words in mind for today.

The first one is a word I’m confident everyone here knows. What word comes to mind when I wave my magic wand over this top hat?

Abracadabra, that’s right.

Ok, one big word down, two to go.

The next word is one I will have to introduce to you because I’m guessing it might be the first time you’ve heard it.

Actually, after I say the word if anyone knows its definition, or would like to take a guess at it, please raise your hand… and by the way, I’m also going to ask you to use it in a sentence. ;-)

Apocatastasis.   (APO KUH TAS TUH SIS)

Apocatastasis has two meanings according to dictionary.com (SLIDE): 1) “The state of being restored or reestablished: restitution,” and 2) “The doctrine that Satan and all sinners will ultimately be restored to God.” When we say, “All paths lead to God in the end” we are talking about apocatastasis.

(Note: Apo means “away from,” also, the farthest point from (i.e. apogee) catastasis is “the third part of an ancient Greek drama, in which the action is heightened for the [forthcoming] catastrophe. Apocatastasis: the furthest point away from catastrophe”)

We are “returned,” “restored,” “reestablished” to the awareness of God.

Two big words down, one to go. The last word was coined, as far as I know, by a Unity minister named Chris Chenoweth. Chris says it’s a word and an idea he uses in workshops;

“Abbacatastasis.”

Abbacatastasis means, “What looks like disaster today, God will turn into good tomorrow.” (because God is Good and everywhere present)

God's good floods our lives constantly and Divine help is accessible to us at all times. It’s up to us to open ourselves up and “let it in” to our awareness.

The next time a seemingly bad thing happens to you say "Abbacatastasis" (would you say that with me please, Abbacatastasis) to remind yourself that God's good will come to pass in the most surprising and uplifting ways by letting it, God/God’s good, into our awareness.

Please let, what Unity teaches, be firm in your understanding that it is NOT the will of God for disasters and bad things to happen. (I’m not the Public Information Officer for God… just saying this is how we see it in Unity) It IS the will of God to help you pick up the so-called pieces and turn around, what you view as, your misfortune to the best of possible outcomes.

Affirm for yourself that these outcomes, where we invite God in; ask; listen; and put into action that guidance are always better than our human mind could conceive. In a few minutes I’ll tell you a few stories to illustrate that point of how including God gives you a better outcome than you can manage on your own. For now, please remember that God always knows a way out because God always knows the way.

“Bad things and events” sometimes appear to happen to very good people… like you, for instance. When you are in the consciousness of “bad things happening to me,” say to yourself, “Abbacatastasis” as a reminder that God's good will come to pass in the most surprising and uplifting ways by letting it into our awareness.

From this moment forward, I invite you to hold positively to the belief in good outcomes. Make “good outcomes” your strong belief.

Rev. Chris tells the story of a woman that lost her job (she was fired) and started to think of herself as an unfortunate victim destined to suffer.

Then she said to herself "Abbacatastasis" to again remind herself that she was not alone. She prayed and God gave her the idea to move to a larger
city to look for another job. Times were tough for a while and the change was difficult. She struggled on the little money she had left. Each day, God was fortifying her with inner strength. She was led by God to apply for a different type of job then she had ever done before. She got the job and she said later that the new job "fed her soul." She felt needed and
wanted in the new workplace. She felt valued, and eventually rose within the company to become a vice president.

Please don’t be misled. This story is not about the outcome, but about the process that led to a better outcome than the “destined to suffer” outcome she had been imagining for herself

She said that, getting fired was the luckiest thing that ever happened to her, and she was blind to it at the time.

"Abbacatastasis"

When something bad happens to you, I ask you to say this word aloud “Abbacatastasis" – to again remind yourself that God is your help in every
need, and will turn this misfortune around to bless your life.