Unity Center For Spiritual Living

Abundance

By Eric Butterworth

     We are in an age of great change. Giant corporations are streamlining their workforces to reflect the need for greater efficiencies of operation and to respond to the impact of automation. Whole industries are either being eliminated or are moving into new fields. The result? Jobs once considered to be secure are being eliminated. Many workers are being faced with the need to undergo retraining for new fields of work. Many persons are launching out in entrepreneurial endeavors, calling for faith and vision and the need to tap into the universal flow of substance.

     Healthful is a common word that connotes "conducive to health"-that is, good food, plenty of rest, and an environment of high vibrations. There is no word, however, that relates to the things that make for a personal experience of wealth-and there should be. So I have taken the liberty of coining the word wealthful. It is a wonderful word. I recommend it to you.

Use it often.

     There is a great need to establish ourselves in those things that are conducive to prosperity. We need to turn the focus of attention away from lack, layoffs, and limitations, and on to the omnipresence of universal substance. We can see it in the everywhere presence of life all through nature, and we can feel it in the endless flow of creative ideas that issues forth from our minds in moments of inspiration. Just as there are experiences that are healthful to us, so are there experiences that are "wealthful."

     Expose yourself constantly to wealthful ideas-think prosperity, think substance, think affluence. Your life will be influenced for good or ill by the kinds of thoughts that rule your mind and manifest themselves in your world.

The Universal Flow

     Can you accept Emerson's dictum that you are born to be rich or inevitably to grow rich by the use of your faculties? If not, perhaps you are hung up on the age-old confusion of godliness with poverty. Lack and limitation of any kind are aberrations in an opulent universe. Any person who is experiencing lack is, in some way, living in opposition to the universal flow.

     When we establish ourselves in the consciousness of God, the whole universe moves to flow into us with its abundance of life and substance. This is obviously what Jesus had in mind when He said, "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Mt. 6:33).

     It has been commonly assumed that in times of economic reverses, we are all victims of a strange malaise about which there is little that can be done other than to wait and see. However, the study of the laws of spiritual economics reveals that there is much we can do, personally for ourselves, and in concert for our country and our world.

     The belief is all too common that financial limitation is simply a quirk of bad luck ("I have been down on my luck lately") or the result of the capricious will of God. So, ordinary people may hope for better things, and they may even try to change their luck by playing the lottery. They may also fantasize about happy and abundant living. But they will make little or no attempt to be other than what they believe themselves to be-and financial limitation is part of what they believe themselves to be.

     Even as most physical ills are now considered to be psychosomatic in origin, so we must begin to face the possibility that financial problems may be the outer manifestation of inner states of consciousness. There is no such thing as a purely financial problem unrelated to the false attitudes and emotions that caused it or to a healthy attitude or emotion that can cure.

Due Prosperity

     The word affluence is an overworked word in our time, usually implying cars and houses and baubles of all kinds. Its literal meaning is "an abundant flow"-not things at all. When we are consciously centered in the universal flow, we experience inner direction and the unfoldment of creative activity. Things come too, but prosperity is not just having things. It is the consciousness that attracts these things.

     The word prosperity comes from the Latin root – which literally translates "according to hope" or "to go forward hopefully." Thus it is not so much a condition in life as it is an attitude toward life. The truly prosperous person is one who is experiencing what Jesus referred to as the life more abundant.

     Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things.

     Considered in the broadest sense, prosperity is "spiritual well-being." This involves the whole experience of healing life, satisfying love, abiding peace and harmony as well as a sufficiency of what Aristotle called the furniture of fortune. Too often the tendency is for teacher and student to become so preoccupied with the demonstration of jobs and bank accounts as to forget that the person is a whole creature in a whole universe. We have been erroneously conditioned to believe that our lives are completely shaped by what happens around us and to us. But life is lived from within out.

     It is not what happens "out there," but what we do or think about what happens.

What Is Required

     The starting point in realizing prosperity is to accept responsibility for your own thoughts, thus taking charge of your life. You are not responsible for what is said in the Wall Street Journal, or what comes out of Washington in the form of economic indicators, but you are very much responsible for what you think about these things. You cannot afford to let the so-called experts decide how you are going to think and feel, for how you think and feel about the economy in general and your financial affairs in particular will invariably determine what you experience.

     Make a commitment to get yourself and keep yourself in the positive stream of life. Refuse to indulge in casual conversation about the bad economy, the high cost of living, or about anything you really do not want to say yes to. Eliminate such thoughts as "I can't," "I'm afraid," and "There is not enough" from your consciousness. Talk only about the things you want to see live and grow. Keep your thoughts centered in the ideas of abundance, self-sufficiency, and well-being. And occasionally give yourself a consciousness boost by affirming something like:

God is my instant, constant, and abundant source of supply.

     In a regular meditation practice, work on the realization that you are surrounded by a divine presence which wishes for you only good because you are expressing its life. The exciting Truth is that God will make you prosperous and successful in all your ways if you do not make it too hard for God. Infinite Mind will put ideas into your mind, words into your mouth, creativity into your hands, boundless opportunity before you, and guiding light on your way.

     All that is required is that you keep yourself centered in the creative flow, keep in tune through positive thoughts, keep responsive by your faith, and as Thoreau would say, "Keep moving in the direction of your dreams."

An Interview With God

By Allen C. Liles

     Probably at one time or another, most of us have wished for an opportunity to sit down with God and ask the questions of our hearts-those about who God is, who we are, and what life is all about.

     In keeping with the philosophy of Unity, the Reverend Allen Liles has written his questions and the answers he feels he would receive if he had such an opportunity. We hope that you will find his personal reflections interesting and enlightening.

Q: Who are You?

A: I am a mystery.

Q: What does that mean?

A: You cannot see Me. You cannot touch Me. You long for something you can see, touch, and understand from a human standpoint. You search for a practical, material way to define Me. I am unexplainable in that sense.

Q: Can You define Yourself in terms I can understand?

A: I am the Creator. I am Spirit, Principle, and All-Good. I am eternal, unchanging, unlimited, and the invisible essence of all life. I am everywhere present. I am never absent from any time, place, or situation. I am always approachable and available.

Q: This still seems very abstract to me. I want to know You as more than a set of principles.

A: As you grow spiritually, it will become more natural and satisfying for you to think of Me in these terms. But I understand; there will always be times when you want Me to be flesh and blood. And I am. Yes, I know what it is to be a human being-to have human feelings and experiences. For I am in you, as I am in all.

     Have you not felt Me in the cry of a newborn child, in a parent's loving smile, in a friend's warm embrace, in the helping hand of a stranger, in the care of a trusted doctor? And have you not felt Me move you to touch the cheek of a hurting child, to respond in love instead of anger, to offer a cup of water to the thirsty, to sing out for joy, to wonder in the unfolding of a rose? In these moments, you see what I am like. In these moments, you touch Me and know that I am closer "than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet."

Q: If You are always present, why do bad things happen? Why is there war? Why do people harm other people?

A: My will for you or anyone is always perfection and all good. I do not create suffering or harm in any form. However, free-will choice gives humankind the freedom to act as it chooses. If your choices reflect My divine laws, you build harmony, health, peace, and happiness. If you choose negativity, error thinking, and human separation from Me, your path will prove more difficult.

Q: What is the part You play in those choices?

A: Every choice eventually leads back to Me. I give you opportunities to return to Me either sooner or later. Most choose the longer path. That is why life often seems so painful. Self-will interferes with the straighter, more joyous path to Me.

Q: What is the key to experiencing less pain?

A: You must begin by understanding My true nature. I am love. Wherever you see love, I am being expressed. Whenever you give love, you express Me. Understand this: you are My child. I created you in My image. You can never do anything, say anything, or become anything that will cause Me to stop loving you. I love you unconditionally. Even when you choose to see yourself separate from Me, My love continues. You can curse Me, forget Me, or try to remove Me from your life. I will keep loving you during every moment that you deny Me. When the world hurts or abandons you, I am there with My love. You can lose everything the world has to give. That often happens when you seek materiality. But I will always love you. I will never leave or forsake you. This is My promise. Believe it.

Q: Where do I look for You?

A: Everywhere, but first look within. I exist in the midst of you. I am at your very core. You and I are one. Of course, you can choose to separate yourself from Me humanly at any moment. However, in reality, we are never apart.

Q: How can I feel Your presence?

A: We experience each other best in the silence. Find a restful place and enter into the stillness. Calm your busy mind. Limit your human distractions for a time. Claim the peace that resides at the center of your being. Recall what I told Elijah: I am not the wind, the fire, or the earthquake. I am in the sheer silence. In that silence, you will feel My presence. If you listen closely, you can hear My voice. I am the still, small voice that speaks when you are ready to listen.

Q: I have been taught that we are separate, that You and heaven are located somewhere above me. How can I accept that You are right here, within me?

A: First believe that you are worthy enough to be entrusted with My indwelling spirit. I express Myself through you whenever you allow it. Accept yourself as the instrument of My grace that comes to bless the world. Yes, I am both an immanent and transcendent God. I reside within and without, here and also above. I live in the wondrous glory of heavenly splendor, but that same heaven can be found within you anytime we are in alignment.

Q: How can I accept that You and I are one? How could You ever be one with any human being who has admitted to being a "sinner"?

A: Sin exists only as a temporary, human condition. Sin happens when you fail to express Me. You then miss the mark of your own perfection. Remember, sin begins in the mind. It can be reversed by correcting the error of your thought. Understand My nature. I am love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, understanding, wisdom, and faith. It is impossible to sin when these qualities are being expressed through you. You make the free-will choice to sin through the choices of your mind. You remain your true spiritual self by consciously changing how you think. You are indeed transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Q: Am I punished for my "sins"?

A: You punish yourself through your choices. You create your own heaven or your own hell. Salvation is a process that takes place within your consciousness. You find true salvation and freedom from sin by raising your conscious awareness of Me. Heaven and hell exist only as states of human consciousness. You live in hell when you believe in unworthiness, lack, limitation, loss, and pain. You reside in heaven when you align yourself with the divine ideas of life, love, peace, joy, intelligence, and wholeness.

Q: But what about evil? I've been taught that evil is all around me. I've seen it and felt it. Is evil real?

A: Evil exists, but it has no permanent life. Evil flourishes only when it can feast on a human mind separated from Me. When that separation ends, the parasite dies. Evil usually appears alongside ignorance, intolerance, and prejudice. When you choose any or all of those patterns, you give power to evil. You nurture the parasite. When you turn to Me, you choose the one true Presence and Power in the universe. You overcome evil with good.

Q: What about Satan? Is there a devil, or is that also a state of human consciousness?

A: Satan is a term that expresses a persona understandable on the human level. The "devil" symbolizes the adversary to your true spiritual nature. When you turn to Me, your spirituality reappears. Satan's power withdraws as you are restored to your spiritual birthright.

Q: The metaphysical term Truth is often used to describe You. Exactly what does it mean?

A: Truth is absolute, unlimited, unchanging, and complete. My Truth is the reality that never changes, no matter what the human circumstances may be. As your conscious awareness of Me expands, the true reality of our oneness becomes more apparent to you. The basic principle of Truth is that the mind of each individual may be unified with My mind. When that occurs, you express Truth as purity, love, and ideal good. Absolute Truth never changes. Relative truth is constantly changing. You may have a headache today and feel perfectly fine tomorrow. That is an example of relative truth. Here are some principles of My absolute Truth: I am prosperity, the one true source of your limitless good; I am health, the absolute total perfection of your mind, body, and spirit; I am life, the giver of breath to every living creature residing in My perfect universe; I am love, that pure essence of being that binds together the whole human family. I am omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent-the all-present, all-knowing, and all-powerful One. I am the one Power and one Presence in your life and throughout all creation.

Q: How do I learn to trust You?

A: Trust begins with prayer. Prayer serves as your most important spiritual activity. Every moment spent praying contributes to your spiritual transformation. Prayer is communion between God and humankind, between you and Me.

Q: Will You answer my prayers?

A: I always answer every prayer. However, My response often appears in ways you may not understand. Here are some specific things to remember when you are praying: Pray believing that you have already received; seek first My kingdom above all else; acknowledge our oneness; close the door on all thoughts and interests of the outer world, and let go of every unforgiving thought. Pray for My will, not yours.

Q: I feel so blessed by this conversation. Thank You for these insights and answers.

A: Please understand that you are receiving no answers from any source separated from yourself. Every one of My responses has its origin within your own consciousness. You have no special connection to Me other than the one that already exists in your mind. The answers I gave were those that reside now within your current level of awareness. Every one of My children has the same access to Me. I am always open to this type of dialogue. I desire it.

Q: So I have been interviewing myself?

A: Yes. However, think of this time as an extended prayer. Spiritual growth requires an openness to exploring new experiences. Communing with Me always moves you along My path. Come back soon, My child, I have more to share with you. In the meantime, know that I am always here. I love you.

Thank You, God.

Faith

By Michael A. Maday

     "You gotta have faith!" This we tell our despondent friend. To someone disappointed or shocked by one of life's unexpected turns, we advise, "Hey, keep the faith!"

     Faith is one of those words, like love or prayer, that gets used so much it almost loses its meaning. The dictionary defines it in many ways, including "belief and trust in and loyalty to God" and "firm belief in something for which there is no proof." In Hebrews 11:1, we read the famous biblical definition: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

     According to the metaphysical system of Charles Fillmore, Unity's co-founder, faith is one of the twelve powers, or twelve interdependent aspects of the Christ self, within us. Faith is considered a foundation power because Peter, who represents faith, was one of the first disciples chosen by Jesus.

     Mr. Fillmore defined faith as "the perceiving power of the mind linked with the power to shape substance." This dynamic definition gives fresh meaning to Jesus' statement: "According to your faith let it be done to you" (Mt. 9:29). From what we perceive, we mold in our thoughts, words, and actions a magnetic energy that draws to us its equivalent from the world. Thus, through our faith, we shape our lives.

     But if faith is a perceiving power, aren't we always using it? Aren't we virtually always filled with perceptions? Yes, we are always exercising our power of faith, but not always in positive ways.

     Do we not have faith in our fears and faith in our failures? We have faith in dumb luck; we have faith in trickery. We have faith in disease; we have faith in the power of atom bombs. Obviously, it would be wise to contemplate in what direction we are moving or rather, in what direction our minds are taking us.

Discovering Our Faith

     At some point early in our lives, it must have occurred to each of us that there was a power and presence beyond our immediate grasp. Maybe as a child walking through the dead of winter, we saw a green shoot coming up. We looked at this sign of life and were astounded. "How could this be?" we demanded to know. "How incredible life must be!"

     Or maybe it was looking up at the stars at night and feeling that sense of cosmic joy and wonder. "Wow," we thought, "This is really something!" Or perhaps one spring morning we were helping our mother plant her garden, and we dug up a pile of dirt, to find myriads of insects scurrying away and a whole world of life and order suddenly disturbed. "Something is running this show," we thought.

     Our life experience is actually the source of our faith. We place our faith in what our experience tells us is so. Our experience, of course, has as much to do with our point of view and our attitude as it does with what actually happens. So here we find that what we see is usually what we get. Much of what we perceive is defined by what we have perceived in the past; our present faith is determined by our previous faith-it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Faith can then quickly become blind, ripe with prejudice and limited thinking.

     This is why Charles Fillmore wisely tells us that each of the twelve powers, even faith, must be in harmony with the other powers. Often, the power of understanding is linked with faith. Understanding brings an openness to new ideas and an edge of discernment that is a precursor to true wisdom.

     Indeed, in collaboration with understanding and with love, faith tends to gravitate towards what we may call true faith, or faith in God. This is so much more than a belief in a given system of principles. It is a simple yet profound knowing that divinity is real and is at the core of our existence. This knowing is both mystical and practical, for it causes our souls to soar to the highest heights of ecstasy, while it also moves our feet to take all the necessary steps in our personal process of evolution.

Choice of Direction

     Faith in God is, of course, what we usually mean when we use the word faith. But faith in God is most importantly a choice of direction. We choose to place our power of faith in God as we choose not to stay stuck in the places of fear and hopelessness.

     One day as a mother was washing dishes, her teenage son walked into the kitchen and with great urgency asked her, "How can you believe in God?" He wasn't being sarcastic; he earnestly wanted to know. "When I was younger," he went on, "I used to find it easier. Now I can see all the suffering and injustice in the world, and I find it hard to believe."

     The mother paused before speaking, resting her hands (still covered with soapsuds) on the edge of the sink and taking a moment to turn within and ask for guidance. "I don't just believe," she said, "I know. I know that love is real and that God is that love."

     She paused again, because she could feel there was more.

     "It's a choice," she added. "I choose to believe because I see what the world seems to be like when I don't believe there is a God. I'm happier when I have faith. I'm nicer to people. I'm more patient. So I choose to believe over and over and over again."

     Indeed, it is during our darkest hours that we can learn the most about our faith. When life's challenges are getting us down and we feel our pain, our depression, and our childhood fears re-emerging to consume us again, our opportunity is greatest.

     When we get in touch with our personal helplessness while staying connected to the divine order of things, we trust that all is well, despite the pain we are feeling. Then we begin to discover new and deeper levels to our power of faith. In truth, the more in touch we get with our true helplessness while we stay rooted in our divine security, the more space we create for our faith to grow. The more faith we feel, the more powerful we become.

     After all, when Jesus was saying, "The Son can do nothing on his own" (Jn. 5:19) and "the Father who dwells in me does his works" (Jn. 14:10), He was giving us the greatest understanding of both helplessness and faith. Often, hiding behind our bluster of self-assurance and arrogance is a defended sense of faith in our worthlessness.

     Do you worry about whether what you just said will be misunderstood? Are you anxious that someone may not like you? Are you afraid to speak your personal truth? Through all of this, is there not a faith in unworthiness? Think about how often we choose to have faith that there is something wrong! Why else do we struggle so often to be in control?

Where is our faith?

     Indeed, only as our capacity to let go grows and we allow ourselves to truly relax into our essential helplessness can we permit ourselves to deepen our trust in God.

The Experience of Faith

     There was once a climber who had conquered many mountains. One day while he was climbing, a gust of wind unbalanced him and he missed his footing. He began to slide down the rock face toward the edge of the cliff. Just before he was to go over, his hand grabbed a ledge and he hung there, suspended in midair. Desperately, he tried to pull himself up, but he wasn't strong enough. There was nothing he could do to save himself.

     "Lord," he pleaded, "You know I've always believed in You, and now I need You. Nobody else can help me now. Please come to my rescue!"

     The Lord answered: "Yes, Harry, I hear your prayer. Before I can help you, though, there is one thing that you must do."

     "Oh, Lord," said Harry, "Anything! I'll do anything! What must I do?"

     "Harry," the Lord said, "First, you have to let go of that ledge."

     We are all in Harry's predicament. "Letting go and letting God" is never as easy as it sounds. Surrendering to a Higher Power is all about becoming more conscious and often offers us knowledge of things we initially do not want to know! Nevertheless, surrendering our personal helplessness is a critical step to knowing our true faith and our true power.

Becoming able to truly face our darkest depressions or to feel our deepest fears actually allows us, in the course of time, to feel the bliss of God's presence.

     I once watched a mother pushing her baby in a stroller down a slight hill. The mother was quite focused on not allowing the stroller to roll too fast, but her baby son was blissfully unaware of the effort she was making. He just babbled and waved his hands and enjoyed himself I realized how natural it is to have faith, how innate it is. The baby's faith in his mother was complete; he had no awareness of any potential danger.

     It occurs to me that true faith, faith in God, is like that. Life doesn't always feel like a smooth and fascinating ride guided by someone in whom we have unconditional faith. Our rides have bumps, sometimes bruises. We may sometimes fear being thrown from the carriage. At times, it seems we gain too much speed and we go out of control-or we get totally stuck and the wheels won't turn! We may imagine there is no one steering and no one knowing or caring where we are headed. However, in fact, our journey is being guided, all along.

     It is our faith that brings us this knowledge. And as we choose the direction of our faith and stay close to the faith that softens our hearts, we experience an ongoing revelation of God's eternal love.

Guidance

By Sarah Katherine Hart

     Have you ever felt as if someone had turned the lights out on your life and gone home?

     When you need guidance, you may feel this way. But you always have a guide with you. You always have the presence of God with you to show you the way out into the light again.

     Just for the moment you are reading this sentence, think about a decision or choice you need to make. Does it seem overwhelming? Is it taking all your time and energy? Are you torn between what you really want to do and what may seem right for you to do? When you put your options on the scales of your consciousness, do they weigh out in an answer that you really are not comfortable with?

     How can we always know what is right? How can we know that what we choose for another person will be the very best for him or her? Can we find peace in making decisions, whether they are the seemingly insignificant ones of everyday living or the life-changing ones that come along only a few times in our lives?

     Yes, there is a way. There is a way because we are in the presence of God at all times and in every place. God is with us as the understanding and insight we need to make good choices. What we need is to be with God.

The Truth About You

     The truth about you is that you are a child of God. This is important for you to know because as a child of God, you have the mind of God. Because you have the mind of God, you have the intelligence and the wisdom to make good decisions. You also have the heart of God. Because you have the heart of God, you have the courage and the compassion to make good decisions.

     God has a plan for you and for your life. In making decisions, what you really want more than anything else is to do what is in harmony with God's plan. This is your most heartfelt desire whether you realize it consciously or not.

     Your deepest desire as a child of God is to experience the presence of God in everything you do. Your wanting to make right decisions brings you ever closer to this realization.

Praying for Guidance

     Identify the decision you need to make. Be as clear and as honest with yourself as you can. Make a list of all your options and alternatives. Make a mental list of the good consequences of each as well as the negative ones.

     Close your eyes. Let yourself relax Forget about your decision. Forget about your lists. Forget about your need to choose. Remember and think of God.

     For one minute, this minute only, let yourself be completely in the presence of God. The presence of God is your peace and your light in the darkness. Be in the presence of God now-not with your problem but with your entire self.

     If your problem should resurface in your thoughts, if you should feel yourself tensing up, stop. Stop again in the silence and think of God.

     As you think God in the silence, let the feeling of the presence of God touch your soul. Feel it within you and around you. The presence of God is light, and when you realize that you live in the light of God, in the presence of God, you see your way clearly to greater expressions of understanding and love.

     Now listen. Listen to God. Just speaking your mind in prayer is not enough. You need to listen. As you quiet your thoughts, as you quiet your inner voice that is always talking, you can listen, really listen, to what God is saying to you.

     You may not hear a voice, but you will feel it. You may not touch a presence, but you will feel one. You may not see your way clear right at this very moment, but let yourself see the possibilities that stretch out in front of you as a road through the desert to the oasis of God's peace.

     It is very important, friend, that you not confuse your prayer time with study time or work time or decision-making time. This time you spend with God is only for yourself and God. Keep it pure. Keep it holy.

The Answer Will Come

     Will your answer come to you in just this one minute? Maybe. Maybe not. But by clearing yourself of any thought, of any feeling other than of God, you are clearing the way for the answer to come. And it will come to you.

     The answer you seek and the peace you desire about it will come from within you. There may be things that you need to do before your answer becomes clear. In 1935 Unity minister Ernest C. Wilson said, "Go first direct to God; go next to man as God directs." This is still good advice.

     You may need to study and to check out the various possibilities that lie before you. You may need to speak with a professional or two professionals. You may need to consult with the people whose lives will also be affected by your decision. Whatever it is that you need to do, do it, but do it after your time with God.

     When answers seem vague and indistinguishable, rely on your intuition. Your intuition and your conscience are two of your God-given faculties. Use them. Let that still, small voice inside your heart and your head whisper to you the answers you seek in the silence.

Let Go and Let God

     Have there been times when you made up your mind, made the best decision you could at that time, only to second-guess yourself and find yourself going through the process again and again and again?

     If, after your prayer times, the answer still seems to elude you and you are still hesitant, let it go. Do not let yourself be bullied into making a hasty decision. Let your problem go. Put it into God's care, and wait for the answer to come to you.

     God is always active, and if you will allow the presence of God to work in and through you and the situation you are facing, you will find that the answer will come.

     Your willingness to let God guide you is a key to finding the right answer. Do you think you already know what is best? If so, you really may not be willing to let God lead you, because your preconceived notions are leading you in another direction.

     Be willing to let go of preconceived ideas. Be willing to let go of your old ways of thinking and doing. Be willing to let go of any attitude which is not of God, which is not accepting of the goodness that God is. Be willing to let God use you.

     Lighten up. Give yourself permission to make the best decision possible. Then give yourself permission to make a mistake. Often our inability to decide comes from our fear of failure.

     Give yourself permission to think clearly. Do not see yourself as limited by anything. If you could do anything you wanted to do, what would it be? And what are the steps you need to take to get there?

     If you could provide for another person what you feel he or she needs, what would that be? And how would you get there?

     Follow through with the guidance you received when you were centered in God. Have the heart and the courage of your convictions. Do what needs to be done. Simply praying for guidance and then not acting on the answers you receive will not get you where you want to go.

     Friend, there is light for your way. There is light that shines from within you. When all is said and done, you can make right choices. You have the intelligence. You have the ability. You have all that you need because you have the mind of God, you have the heart of God. You have the peace of God, the love of God, the light of God, the wisdom of God with you and around you at all times.

     Be sure you can do all the things that you need to do.

Healing

By Sarah Katherine Hart

     Life-we love it, we cherish it, we hold on to it with all the will we have. We love others, and in so doing, we love their lives and hold on to them as tightly as we do our own.

     When we think about life, when we think about ourselves and our loved ones, what single need touches us more than any other?

     What single need gets our attention and turns us as individuals toward God quicker and more forcefully than any other?

Yes, the need to be well and whole, the need for healing.

The Truth About Your Body

     Born into a physical world, we human beings inhabit physical bodies. Some seem to be more "perfect" than others, some more physically fit for the rigors of everyday living. But what is the real truth-the underlying, unchanging truth-about the bodies in which the human spirit resides for a moment, a year, eighty years-a lifetime?

"We are the temple of the living God" (2 Cor. 6:16).

     Try thinking of your body as a temple or as a vessel, a container for the spirit of God. It's both humbling and awe-inspiring, isn't it?

     The physical body is made of complex organisms called cells, which when joined together, make bones, tissues, organs, hair and skin, nails and cartilage, and the many other member components.

     Our minds are complex computers, taking in data and returning needed answers. Our eyes are large lenses that capture the world in pictures; our ears are auditory receivers that translate action into sound. Our arms and legs allow us to move ourselves and other things from one place to another at our will. Every cell and every organ has a special function, and each one operates in cooperation with all the others to accomplish the proper functioning of the whole body.

     Yet we are so much more than a physical body, and being healthy and whole means more than simple physical well-being.

     Within the heart of everything is an activity that we call God. In Truth, we are whole in the mind of God. In God, there is no death or disease, for "God is spirit" (Jn. 4:24), and nothing can separate us from God. "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God" (Rom. 8:38-39).

     As a temple of the living God, your body deserves your respect and your faithful attention. Take time out to appreciate it, to give thanks for the things that you can do with ease and efficiency. Do not take this temple of the living God for granted; it was created especially for you.

The Will to Live in Health and Wholeness

     The will to live is strong in the human body. How many times have we heard stories of people who miraculously survived plane crashes or automobile wrecks to once again live very effective. lives? But can we will healing?

     Being well and whole is part of the human will; that's true. And it is that will or that desire which sends us seeking help medical and spiritual-whenever we are faced with ill health. It is our will to live and to live good lives that sends us to the doctor's office or to the prayer chapel or to a friend's house when we experience conditions which our bodies are not comfortable with or which frighten us.

     We do not want to be ill, we do not want to suffer, nor do we want to see those we love be ill or suffer. This is why we seek with all our hearts for a cure, for "living water" (Jn. 4:10), even a fountain of youth.

     In seeking the healing that our hearts so long for, many questions arise. Why do some people respond to medical treatment and others do not? Why do some people respond to spiritual treatment and others do not? Why are some children born with birth defects or into impoverished areas of the world where they will never receive the medical help they need to live long lives? What about the innocent victims of accidents or incurable diseases?

     We do not have the answers to all these questions. On a personal level, one-to-one, we can say that we do not know why life happens as it does, because we do not know what is in another person's soul, nor should we judge. What we must put our faith in is the fact that every person as a child of God is on an eternal journey back to God, and the vehicle which will carry us there is not the physical body but our awareness of God.

     It is our awareness of God that sees us through the challenges of life. It is our awareness of God that gives us new life in the face of death. It is our love for God and our faith in God that lifts us from the depths of despair into the heights of joy.

     We do know, however, that if we should give our bodies less than the proper nutrition and exercise they need, we may put them in jeopardy. Sometimes it seems that we are in jeopardy when we have done nothing to put ourselves in that place. What then? How did we get there? More important yet, how do we get out of the place we have found ourselves in?

     There is something we can all do, no matter what our financial or physical conditions may be. We can pray whenever we are faced with the uncertainty of accident or illness. We can turn our attention to the life of God within us. We can put our imagination to work and visualize the life energy that moves the cells of our bodies in orderly ways, giving them new life and new energy.

     Prayer helps us better handle the situations we face because it creates a channel through which we can receive the strength and courage we need. God is our strength, and through prayer, we realize that God is always with us to help us in whatever way we need.

     Yet, how often when we pray for healing do we make promises to God? How often do we hear ourselves pray, "God, if You will just heal me, I will serve You all the rest of my life." We make our service to God conditional on the outcome of our prayers. Can we then be open channels through which God as life can come forth in the physical body we inhabit? Only when we come to understand that our loving and serving God need to come before anything else do we see that life in the physical body is God's way of expressing the life which God is.

Praying for Healing

     Probably the first thing most of us need to do when we are praying for our own healing or for another's is to calm down. Anxiety or tension, those feelings that just seem to rise within whenever the body is not functioning properly, can disrupt our prayer process.

 Take just a moment to breathe steadily. Do it consciously. There's nothing magical about breathing or being aware of it as you do. It simply takes your attention from outside of yourself and puts it back inside yourself.

     Let yourself calm down. Relax For just an instant, do not think about the problem.

     Do not let your fearful thoughts surface. If they do, however, gently remind yourself that for this minute, just this one minute, you are not going to let them rule your thoughts.

     Now, think God. Say God quietly to yourself. Let your every thought go to that place of God within you. Let your every feeling be only of God. This is what you need and what you really want-an awareness of God, a moment in the presence of God.

     God is always with you, but this moment you are with God. And this is what makes the difference in your life and in the lives of those you are praying for. You are with God. Let your voice speak what is in your heart. O God, l am here with You now, in this very moment. Thank You for always being here for me.

     For as long as it takes, rest in this awareness. Let the assurance that God is with you touch all the cells of your body. See them filled with the light of God that directs their movement and function. See them working as a team-well-trained, well-coached, physically capable of doing what needs to be done. See them reaching out to one another, helping one another accomplish the goal of good health.

     Hear the love of God as the symphony of life being sung from your cells. Imagine them as a great choir singing only for the glory of God. What beautiful music they make!

     Let yourself be filled with the zeal of God. Let the feeling that rises within you carry you into the day ahead. Let it put a smile on your face. Let it fill your voice with love and compassion. Let it light up your eyes with understanding. And let it fill you with peace as you lie down to sleep each night.

True Health and Happiness

"For God all things are possible" (Mt. 19:26).

     We believe that there is no condition beyond the power of God to heal. This is why we always pray for healing.

Life is eternal, and because we cannot know what is in another's heart or what path another's life might take, we pray for the healing of the whole person-mind, body, and spirit. When the person is whole, then the mind and body and spirit express that wholeness in every way possible.

     Like so many things in life, we may think that if we have really good health, then we will be very happy. It is true that good health makes it possible to enjoy the things of life so much more than if we are suffering with ill health. However, it is also true that being healthy does not insure our happiness. Only wholeness will make us happy, wholeness in the sense of being whole in spirit, whole in God. This realization is what makes life truly worth living.

     When we pray for healing and it does not seem to happen, we do not question God or our faith in God. However difficult it may seem to be at times, we hold to the truth that healing has taken place-maybe not the physical healing our hearts have longed to see, but healing of another kind, perhaps spiritual healing, healing of a relationship, healing of the understanding.

     And when those we have prayed for pass on in death, we know that even then healing has taken place. We believe that sometimes healing comes through death. It comes through the release of the physical pain and the acceptance of the gift of eternal life.

How Unity Interprets The Bible

By Frank Giudici

     Unity considers the Bible to be its basic textbook for the teaching of Truth and a manual for the unfoldment of the human soul.

     While Unity encourages readers of the Bible to study it as a historical document, our main approach to biblical study is metaphysical. In other words, we look for the spiritual meaning underlying everything. In doing so, we see the people, places, and events mentioned in the Bible as representative of an idea or a state of consciousness.

     When interpreting the Bible, we believe it is very important to understand that there is no one interpretation which can be considered universal-or applicable in all cases. We interpret the Bible according to our present understanding of Truth, and as long as we stay tuned to our own indwelling guidance, the interpretation that is right for us under our present circumstances will be revealed to us.

     Another important thing to remember when we are interpreting the Bible is that whatever we need to know for our spiritual growth is already prepared for us in Spirit. By being open and receptive to the Bible as a metaphysical instrument of God's guidance, we can avail ourselves of those truths that will fulfill our needs and bless us and all that concerns us.

     To better understand Unity's method of Bible interpretation, let us look at a few people from whose stories we can gain some helpful metaphysical insights.

Old Testament Insights

     In the Hebrew Bible, commonly called the Old Testament, the book of Genesis is a fertile field for interpretation. One of the principal characters of Genesis is Abraham.

     Traditionally, Abraham is interpreted as representative of the spiritual quality of "faith." We know that having faith is important to living successfully. Therefore, by studying the story of Abraham, we can learn much about the practice of faith or the lack of it.

     Abraham was called by God to leave his homeland and journey to a land that God had given him and his descendants.. Acting on his faith in God, Abraham complied with God's directive and, taking his wife, his nephew, and all their possessions, departed immediately. At this point, Abraham is a strong, positive example of faith, but let's see what happened next.

     When Abraham and his family arrived in Canaan, they found that there was a "famine" in the land, which can be interpreted either literally or metaphysically – the metaphysical interpretation being that the word famine is used to represent "some kind of trouble." How did Abraham meet this situation? He disregarded God's initial instruction and journeyed into Egypt, where he encountered more trouble. Abraham exhibited his lack of faith by taking matters into his own hands.

     Does this sound familiar? When we are divinely guided to take a certain action, do we, like Abraham, act upon it immediately or do we hesitate or even refuse? Then, when we have responded positively to God's guidance and are faced with a challenge, do we meet it with faith in God or do we, like Abraham, take matters into our own hands and seek another way to our good?

      As Abraham's story continues, he sometimes exhibited his faith in God, and at other times, his lack of faith. In the end, however, he remained true to God and returned to the land that God had prepared for him.

     The message of the Abraham story, metaphysically, appears to be that by holding on to our faith in God, we, like Abraham, will ultimately be led to the good which is ours by divine right. When we work with God, no matter how difficult the task, our success is assured. This is highly encouraging news!

Moses and David

     This same process of interpretation can be applied to other characters. Once we begin to identify with their stories, we find that ideas begin to percolate in our minds and we learn lessons which aid us in our spiritual journey.

     We can identify with Moses as he leads the Hebrew people through the wilderness to the Promised Land, because we often have to guide our positive thoughts through a "wilderness" of negative ones while being pursued by "Pharaoh's army," thoughts of fear, anxiety, resentment, and anger persistently trying to take control.

     Or we can identify with David, who generally represents the spiritual quality of "love." While he was able to unite the twelve tribes of Israel into a single nation, David was later unable to unite his own family. Sometimes it seems we can do better in establishing harmonious and peaceful relations with others than with some of our own family members.

New Testament Insights

     We can also relate to Peter, who is the New Testament representative of "faith." Peter's faith was strong at times and weak at other times, just like ours. In the end, he turned out to be one of the pillars of the early church. As we did with Abraham, we can learn much about the practice of faith by allowing ourselves to identify with Peter in his successes and failures.

     For many people, the greatest spiritual guide of the Bible is Jesus Christ. No matter how one might regard Jesus historically, His life and teachings as presented in The Gospels are the source of great metaphysical insights. Through His presentation of precepts, parables, miracles, and actions, Jesus opened the door to a vast reservoir of spiritual truth.

     Unity sees the name Jesus as representative of the "human" aspect of being and the term Christ as representative of the "divine" aspect of being. Therefore, when Jesus speaks in The Gospels, we believe that He is actually speaking from two levels of consciousness.

     For example, when Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn. 10:10), we think of Him as speaking from the human level of consciousness as our Teacher and WayShower, encouraging us to follow His teachings, which will lead us to an abundant life.

      This statement can also be understood as being spoken from the "Christ" or "divine" level of consciousness. In this way, Jesus is telling us that if we take time to listen to the voice of our own indwelling Christ, we will intuitively sense the same message: "I, your own Christ self, have come into your awareness so that you may follow My guidance and be led to a life of abundance."

      We all need at times to be inspired by the words of a fellow human being and to be assured by hearing the Truth spoken by the spirit of Truth within us. Therefore, it is often helpful to interpret the words of Jesus as being spoken from one or both of these levels of consciousness.

Jesus and the Parables

     Jesus sometimes spoke in parables, all of which dealt in some way with the kingdom of God. Parables draw a mental picture that is easier for the mind to work with, and perhaps Jesus used them so that once His listeners finally discerned the message of the parable, it would be more firmly fixed in their minds. However, it is true that some of the pictures drawn by Jesus' parables are somewhat unclear and not very easy to figure out.

     A familiar parable is the story of the prodigal son. A young man left his home, squandered his inheritance, and then "came to himself" and realized the error of his ways. When he returned home, his father welcomed him, not asking a single question about his absence or uttering a critical remark.

     The reason this story is so familiar is that we can identify with the prodigal son. We-sons and daughters-have done things that we think have alienated us from God. We need forgiveness, or so we think. But here in this story, Jesus seems to be saying that no matter how short of the mark we think we have fallen, God still loves us.

     In truth, there is nothing so terrible we could ever do that would cause God to love us any less than God loves us already. Also, there is nothing so wonderful we could ever do that would cause God to love us more than God loves us now. God's love for us is unconditional and constant, no matter what we do or fail to do. Divine forgiveness does not enter the picture, because with God, the universal Presence and Power of love, there is never criticism or condemnation.

Other Biblical Elements: Places, Objects and Events

     Other elements of the Bible are also open to metaphysical interpretation. Places can have special meaning. The Garden of Eden, for instance, can represent that "ideal consciousness" in which we long (and were meant by God) to live.

     Adam and Eve first lived in Eden under divine guidance and protection. The implication is that they were initially obedient to God's divine will. When they disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit, their lives in Eden became anything but Edenic.

     Our lesson? When we follow God's guidance, we enter a heavenly, blissful, contented state of mind that produces positive results in our outer world. When we fail to follow God's guidance, we create a living hell for ourselves. It is not a matter of God punishing us, but a natural consequence of the use or misuse we have made of our God-given free will.

      Objects, such as dwelling places, also provide us with spiritual insight. "Houses," which can be viewed as permanent in nature, represent states of consciousness in which our "thought-people" live. To check on our spiritual status at any given moment, we can ask ourselves: "Whom am I allowing to live in my 'house' of consciousness? Am I harboring positive thoughts or negative thoughts?"

     Tents also house people but are of a transitory nature. Here we might ask ourselves: "Do I have a shifting consciousness, constantly changing from one frame of mind to another? Or am I able to stand for what I believe in when it is appropriate for me to do so?"

     Churches contain congregations. Metaphysically, a "congregation" represents "an aggregation of spiritual ideas." Jesus told Peter, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (Mt. 16:18). Metaphysically, this verse is speaking of the spiritual church-the aggregation of ideas that comprises the spiritual consciousness we build within ourselves on the basis of faith. In other words, through our faith in God, we build spiritual consciousness, which manifest themselves as the ideal world we all want to live in.

     The Temple in Jerusalem plays an important part in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. It was the place of worship for the Jewish people and the early Christians. Metaphysically, there is a "temple" within each of us where "services" are being conducted at all times. It is the temple of our consciousness. Realizing this, we can ask ourselves: "What kind of services are going on within me? What thoughts am I worshipping? Are they constructive or destructive?" Thinking about the temple within can draw our attention to important changes we need to make regarding our inner worship.

     Finally, biblical events can also be meaningful. Perhaps the most important event in the Hebrew Bible is the Exodus, the deliverance by God of the Hebrew people from bondage in Egypt. This event became for them a spiritual experience a rebirth that gave meaning and purpose to their lives.

     We can see a lesson in the Exodus for ourselves. While most of us would probably say that our lives began with our physical birth, it is really our spiritual birth or rebirth that is important. As we grow physically, life seems to be pretty much a mystery. We go through all sorts of experiences and wonder why a particular thing happens to us while other things don't. It is not until we are reborn spiritually that life seems to have meaning. It is then that we may review our life in the light of our spiritual birth and gain insight into ourselves.

     Our spiritual birth, which has changed how we look at our world and ourselves, gives us hope for a brighter future. We know more deeply that we can achieve happiness, peace of mind, and success in all areas of living as long as we stay tuned to the guidance of our own indwelling Lord. Like the Hebrew people, we find meaning and purpose in life as the result of our spiritual experience.

     Two other events in which we can find meaning are the crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. We all experience "crucifixions" in life, in that we daily go through negative experiences, some of which may feel as severe to us as the actual crucifixion Jesus went through. But just as there was a crucifixion in Jesus' life, there was also a Resurrection.

     Just as Jesus brought His body back to life through the resurrecting power of God in Him, we, too, can use that same power to lift ourselves out of the mental "tombs" of despair, worry, fear, and negative experience into the light of happy, peaceful, and productive lives.

Jesus Christ

Who is Jesus Christ? Teacher? Friend? Elder Brother? Savior? Messiah? Religious Revolutionary? Mystic?

     For centuries, people of all races and creeds have tried to define Jesus and His role in history. Many Christians proclaim Him to be God incarnate and the one and only savior of the world. Others see Him as a great teacher, prophet, and leader-one who truly lived the principles He set forth.

     In Unity, there are probably as many different personal ideas about Jesus as there are Unity people. Although we may never reach complete agreement about Jesus, there is an important point of agreement for everyone: Jesus gave us an invaluable gift-teachings that are simple, plain, and perhaps most important, livable. Through these teachings, He gave us new hope, new ideas about loving, new ways of living, and new ways of thinking.

     Where others saw darkness and sin, Jesus saw light and hope. When others judged and condemned, Jesus forgave. When others walked away in self-righteous indignation, Jesus showed compassion and understanding. When others voiced their hate, Jesus radiated love.

     Even today, through His words of so many years ago, Jesus reaches out to our hearts with hope and understanding, with peace and forgiveness. He reaches us with the teachings and the principles of God and shows us the way to live in love and happiness.

     Although Unity's understanding of Jesus differs from mainstream Christian thought, the entire Unity philosophy is based upon the message of Jesus; the teachings of Jesus; the humanity, as well as the heart and soul, of Jesus.

Jesus, the Man

     Scholars seem to be in agreement that a man named Jesus actually lived in Judea and that He preached, gathered a group of followers, and was executed. After His death, Jesus' followers, who had abandoned Him upon his arrest and crucifixion, suddenly began proclaiming that He had returned from death-that, in fact, they still felt His presence among them. This small group began to grow-first among the Jews, but soon among the entire population of the Roman Empire.

     If anything can be said with certainty, it is that the life Jesus lived and the ideas He taught-indeed, the person He was-had a power which transcended His death. This power caused people to question their most basic assumptions about God and about their lives.

     What was it about Jesus the man that could have inspired such profound change? Was it a unique quality? Or did Jesus simply express something transcendent and eternal that lies within us all?

     In order to find an answer, we need to understand His distinctly different roles: Jesus, Jesus Christ, and the Christ.

Understanding the Christ

     In Unity, we believe that God's thought of humankind is perfect, just as we believe that God is perfect. This idea of humankind in the mind of God is what Unity calls "the Christ."

     The Christ is the presence of God within us all. The apostle Paul wrote: "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). The term the Christ does not refer exclusively to Jesus nor to any person. The Christ is that spark of divinity within all people, regardless of where they may be on their spiritual journeys.

     A noted Unity minister, Eric Butterworth, wrote: "Christ in you is your hope of glory, for it is that of you that is of God and is God being projected into visibility as you. Christ in you is your own spiritual unity with the Infinite, the key to your health and success."

Jesus Christ, the Perfect Human Being

      The Christ is what God "sees" when God looks at a human being. God, being perfect, can only see the perfection that humans are, for we are created in the image of God.

     Yet the Christ is more-for the Christ abides in each person as potential perfection. When Jesus the man came to the understanding of His own Christ spirit, He became Jesus Christ. At this point, He was fully aware of the Christ presence within Himself and within all people.

     Through Jesus' expression of the Christ, He brought us the understanding that we, too, can give expression to the indwelling Christ presence. When we are totally loving, giving, accepting, and forgiving of others, we find that we, too, are expressing the Christ presence within ourselves.

The Way-Shower

     Jesus is our Way-Shower. He showed us that change, real change, takes place in the heart and mind of a person and that to change our outer world, we must first change our ways of thinking and feeling.

     When we look at the events and people in our world in a different light-through eyes of love, understanding, appreciation, and compassion-we perceive the changes we would like to see take place in our world.

     Jesus also showed us how to live the abundant life. He showed us how to love one another, how to be healed, how to be prosperous, how to get along with our enemies, and how to experience the fullness of life in all its aspects.

     Jesus showed us how to pray, how to make contact with the divine presence within us, and how to use the spiritual principles that govern our universe. He showed us that God is not something to be thought of as far away and removed from our everyday lives, but that God is within us, expressing life as us!

     Nothing seems more devastating to the human soul than the feeling of separation from its Creator. Jesus showed us that we cannot be separate from God, because God is everywhere present. We cannot be where God is not.

Lessons From Jesus

     Jesus' birth, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection are events that have significant meaning for us as we seek to live fuller, more meaningful lives. In them, we begin to see our own potential for reaching the fullness of spiritual understanding that Jesus did.

     The birth of Jesus was marked by the humility of a stable, the awareness of shepherds, the wisdom of Wise Men, the mystery of a star, and the magnificence of angels.

     Though none of us has been born under the circumstances of Jesus' birth, we have all been born with the attributes of humility; kindness; gentleness; wisdom; and, yes, even some mystery and magnificence. And every day, we are reborn-born into a new world filled with choices and decisions.

     As we live our lives, we find that we also experience trials. Who has not experienced a trial? Have we not felt judged unfairly by a family member, a peer, or a stranger? Have our friends not seemingly forsaken us or denied us? Have we not had to stand alone for what we felt was right and true?

     What happened to Jesus happens to each of us. Jesus, however, demonstrated that by understanding spiritual principles, we can see things from a new perspective. The Christ presence within gives us the strength, the courage, and the determination to do what we must do in the face of adversity.

     After the trial of Jesus came the crucifixion. After we experience a trial, we may feel that a part of us dies. Through the Crucifixion, Jesus showed us that as we are willing to give up our perception of what we think we are for the realization that God is present in every situation and every person, we achieve more than we could ever dream possible.

Death and Resurrection

     The moment of Jesus' death represents the opening of the door of humankind's consciousness to spiritual understanding. Just as the curtain was torn in the Temple, the barrier-any barrier-between God and humanity was torn away so that every person can freely enter the "holy of holies." Jesus showed us that nothing separates us from God, that God exists not only in the temples in which we worship, but in the temple of the human heart, the human mind, the human awareness.

After the trial and the crucifixion came the Resurrection.

     Jesus the man could not have accomplished resurrection. It was Jesus Christ – the embodiment of the divine idea of humanity in the mind of God – that was able to rise above physical death. It was the Christ presence that compelled this ultimate expression of divine love and understanding.

     Jesus completely realized His oneness with God. He understood that there was no separation between God and Himself, that because God is eternal life, He (Jesus) could demonstrate eternal life.

     How many of us have been resurrected physically or even expect to be? Yet, many of us have gone through personal trials and "crucifixions" and have risen to new understandings, to new lives.

     Have we not all realized a resurrection experience simply in overcoming the challenges that face us? We do not have to die physically to experience resurrection; we need only to realize our oneness with God, to allow the Christ presence within us to raise us to new levels of spiritual understanding and insight.

Making God Personal

     These ideas of "Jesus," "the Christ," and "Jesus Christ" may be new for some of us, because we have been taught to believe only things we can see, touch, taste, smell, and hear.

     The eternal-the invisible things of Spirit-must be understood spiritually, however, with the eyes and ears and hands of faith.

     Was Jesus Christ the true Son of God? Yes. And you, too, are a son of God, friend! There is only one idea of humanity in the mind of God, and while Jesus Christ fully demonstrated this idea-the idea of the perfect union of the physical person with the spiritual person-each of us has that same potential.

     A Unity minister wrote, "If we really seek to see the kind of person Jesus Christ is, then we can discover what God is like; and this means we can discover what each one of us really is like." Truly, the possibility is embedded in our potential.

Although we may not all agree about Jesus, we can agree that He came to teach us, to show us the way. He came to show us that we, too, can have life and have it abundantly in this lifetime and beyond. He came to show us a way that can bring peace to our own hearts and peace to the world. "Not my will but yours be done" (Lk. 22:42), He said. Are we listening?

Peace

By Peggy Pifer

     The men were sitting in the boat when the storm came up. The waves tossed the boat mercilessly, and the men began to panic. They feared that this storm would end their lives. All but one, that is-the one who rested calmly and peacefully in the bottom of the boat. When they awakened Him, He calmed the sea with the words: "Peace! Be still!" (Mk. 4:39). So at peace was this man with Himself that He could command peace around Him.

     Have there been times in your life when you wanted to be able to calm the storms around you? What do you do when you feel this way? Do you have a special way of getting away from your problems, a place of quiet within you where they seem not to exist?

     Peace is probably one of the most needed qualities in our lives. If we don't have peace, what do we have? Chaos and fear among other things. If we don't have peace in our hearts, how do we face the challenges and disappointments of life?

Without peace, we are like the men in the storm. With peace, we can, like Jesus, command "Peace! Be still!" and calm the troubled waters that rock the boats of our lives.

     Where do we find peace? How do we find peace? How does our peace of mind affect others? Let's explore these questions together.

Where Is Peace?

     Jesus' way of dealing with the problems and challenges that arose in His life was not to find a place away from them-although He did go apart from the crowds to pray and center Himself. Jesus' way of dealing with the sick and the lame and the poor, His way of handling the literal as well as the figurative storms of life, was to be at peace within Himself. And He found this peace by knowing where it came from and by being consciously one with its Source.

     You can do this too. You can find peace within you because you can tap the Source of peace within you. God is your peace, dear friend. God is the source of peace for everyone, and the more you turn to God for peace, the more strength you have when trouble arises.

     Before we can calm the troubled waters outside ourselves, we first need to learn to calm our inner selves. Peace is not something outside of us that we have to assimilate and draw within. We do not have to look to outside sources to comfort and calm our souls. Rather, peace is something we already have within us. It is a God-given quality we can call upon at any time to hold us up and keep us strong.

Finding Peace

     Peace is something that no other person can give you. Someone else may be able to temporarily alleviate your fears, but that person cannot give you peace of mind. Someone else may be able to assure you that things will be all right, but that person cannot put peace in your heart.

     There is a simple way of achieving peace-trust God. Yes, trust God, not to give you peace of mind, but to be your peace of mind. And this peace, this peace of God is within you right now. You don't have to wander in search of it; you don't have to depend on others to point the way for you.

     Look within your heart. God is there. Peace is there. When you find it, you discover that you don't view the circumstances of life in the same way. That doesn't mean you'll never face another challenge. It means that you can face any situation with a calmness in your soul and an attitude of serenity in your heart.

     How can you find peace within you? Go to God within you-pray, meditate. Do what it takes for you to feel the presence of God within you, because when you feel God's presence, you will feel peace – wonderful, calming, sustaining peace.

     You will find that spending time regularly in prayer will help you feel the presence of God, the presence of peace. When you pray and how much time you spend in prayer are, of course, up to you and will depend on your available time. If you don't have a regular time to pray each day, you may want to begin with a fairly short time of prayer. You can increase your prayer time gradually, as you feel it easier to give more of your attention to God for longer periods of time.

     Let your times of prayer simply be time with God, not time pleading or asking for peace or wondering where peace is. Try letting go of your cares and concerns for one short period of time and just be with God. Don't be concerned about keeping your mind focused on anything. Gradually give your attention to God. If you find this difficult to do, don't be concerned. It will get easier. The more you practice relaxing and turning to God, the longer you will be able to keep your attention only on God and the more you will feel the presence of God, which is your goal. Remember, feeling the presence of God is feeling the presence of peace in your heart, because God is your peace.

     As you spend more time with God, you will discover that you don't just think of God when you pray. During different times of the day, the idea of God may come to you. When this happens, you are becoming more aware that God is always with you, that God is a part of you. And when a distressing moment arises, you will find yourself thinking first of God, not of how upset you are. You will begin to find that there are peaceful ways of handling the things which previously drove you to distraction. You will be expressing the peace of God within you.

     There are times when situations arise that may momentarily make you forget you are one with God and one with the peace of God. These are temporary and last only as long as you allow them to, because you can go to God at any time and any place. During times like these, if you have a favorite prayer or Bible verse, you may find yourself calling upon these words that you have implanted in your mind and heart for help. This is good, because this activity is another way of reminding yourself that you are never alone, that God is with you.

     You may already have your favorite prayer or perhaps a Bible verse to use.

     A prayer that Unity students have been using for a very long time is:

"The Prayer of Faith" by Hannah More Kohaus:

God is my help in every need;

God does my every hunger feed;

God walks beside me, guides my way

Through every moment of the day.

I now am wise, I now am true,

Patient, kind, and loving too.

All things I am, can do, and be,

Through Christ, the Truth that is in me.

God is my health, I can't be sick;

God is my strength, unfailing, quick;

God is my all; I know no fear,

Since God and love and Truth are here.

     You can use these words, especially "God is my help in every need" to calm yourself during a stressful situation. Saying "God is my help" and taking this realization into your heart will give you such a sense of peace.

Others have found comfort in the words of Unity's

"Prayer for Protection"

The light of God surrounds me;

The love of God enfolds me;

The power of God protects me;

The presence of God watches over me;

Wherever I am, God is.

     Wherever you are, God is! How comforting and how peaceful! With this assurance, you can face any challenge, centered in the peace of God.

     The words above can get you started or serve as an instant reminder of God's presence with and within you, but the words of another may not be as helpful to you as the words of your own heart. When you pray, let the words flow from you to God and listen. Listen for the assurance of God's peace within you.

The World Around You

      Do you know what an influence you have on others? Your actions, your words, even your thoughts stimulate positive or negative responses from others.

     Your attitude, whether you are calm and levelheaded or fearful and agitated, affects those around you. When you approach other people or situations centered in God, you bring peace and calmness with you. In turn, people will unconsciously respond to your spirit of inner peace, poise, and confidence.

     Think of yourself as a radiating center of peace, because that is precisely what you are. The presence of God within you, your peace at all times, will radiate from you to others-to the neighbor whose dog woke you in the night, to your co-worker who disagrees with you on a project, to your child, who is upset about a classmate-all these and more.

     When you take time to pray, speak words that bolster the idea of being a center of peace. You may want to pray something like this:

Dear God, You are part of my very being.

You are my peace.

With You in my heart, l am a radiating center of peace.

Help me radiate this peace to everyone I meet today.

     From this place of peace within you, you shine as a beacon of peace to everyone whose life you touch. More than that, your inner peace flows to others you do not even know. Because you directly and positively affect one person, you indirectly affect others whom that person deals with. You become part of a chain reaction, heart reaching out to heart, that flows outward to the entire world.

     So you see, this peace of God that begins in your heart and blesses you every moment of every day also blesses people around the world. Peace is vital to you and to your survival and wholeness and success as a human being just as it is vital to the entire world.

     Most important, peace keeps you calm, collected, and poised. It helps you calm the storm and keep the waves of life from rocking your boat. Be at peace.

Practical Christianity

By Allen Liles

     Practical Christianity has been described as "the teachings of Jesus Christ applied to everyday life." During His brief ministry, Jesus taught eternal values that still serve today as a practical guide for living. His timeless instructions offer us helpful insight for any situation that might confront us.

     What are some examples of how the teachings of Jesus can be used to deal with the concerns most of us face each day?

"Do Not Worry"

     In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus counseled His listeners about worry. In this illumined but matter-of-fact discourse, He advised: "Do not worry about your life .... Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?... Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow" (Mt. 6:25, 27, 32-34).

     Jesus offered His listeners this most useful insight because He knew that worry saps the energy of even the strongest person. For example, our economic worries can often seem overwhelming. Most of us have, at some time, been distressed about the lack of a job or job security as well as about rising debts, future retirement, or the need for financial support for ourselves or others.

     Yet, Jesus promised that God can be trusted to furnish what we need. Perhaps we will not receive everything we want, but God always supplies what we need. Jesus told us not to worry about things, such as food, drink, and clothes. He also gave us the secret to not letting worry consume our thoughts and immobilize us so that we fail to take positive action to improve our lives. He did this by reminding us to be free of anxiety about tomorrow-or, simply, to live one day at a time.

The bottom line of this practical advice: An abiding trust in God's benevolent promises reduces or eliminates worry.

"Do Not Judge"

     Many people live in a world that seems beset with critical voices. Surrounded by so much criticism in the media and in our daily lives, we allow conflict to become a way of life. Jesus focused on the negative results that come when we dwell on tearing down other people.

     Again, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us a wise bit of practical advice: "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged" (Mt. 7:1). Or do not criticize and you will not set yourself up to be criticized, in turn. Jesus taught us to first focus on our own shortcomings before we take the inventory of others. By honestly assessing our own lives, we often find the traits we dislike in others mirrored in ourselves. Accepting our own humanness brings us a less judgmental attitude toward others.

     The practical bottom line: Examining ourselves before we judge others brings more forgiveness and harmony for all.

"I Will Get Up and Go to My Father"

     We make literally dozens of decisions every day. When to get up, what to wear, what to eat, and how to react to the countless things that happen to us are only a few of the choices we encounter each twenty-four hours. Using God's gift of free will, we can shape our lives any way we choose.

     In His teachings, Jesus used parables, miracles, precepts, and actions to give us clear direction on how to shape our daily choices. The parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke, Chapter 15, illustrates how a spiritual decision can overcome otherwise negative circumstances. The younger son disregarded his father's authority. He took his share of the family wealth and left home. Soon his money was gone and he was reduced to feeding pigs for a living. Poor choices had caused him to hit bottom-a reality that many of us may confront at some point in our lives. Yet, the pain that comes with bad decisions often acts as a catalyst for change, and in this parable the son decided to return home and admit his failings. He planned to ask his father for a job as a hired hand. However, the father also faced a decision when he saw his son approaching. He could have turned him away with an "I told you so!" Instead, he rushed out to greet his son with a kiss and warm embrace. The father's choice demonstrated love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and understanding.

     In considering the daily decisions that influence our lives, choosing these everlasting values can help keep us on track. As we set about to consciously apply the concept of practical Christianity to making choices, we first turn to the presence of God that dwells within each of us. When we go to God in prayer and meditation, we discover the divine guidance that lights the path to a correct and beneficial decision.

     The practical bottom line: I have within me the answer to every question and decision, and I can find it through prayer and meditation.

"The Father and I Are One"

     Today's hectic and often chaotic pace of life has produced a high-decibel stress level that touches almost every person. We find our peace and serenity challenged as never before. Unremitting stress can produce serious health problems and a personal unhappiness with our lives, in general.

     Jesus Christ also faced incredible stress. He dealt with ridicule, rejection, and misunderstanding by His closest friends. He endured persecution, trial, and crucifixion. How was He able to cope and move forward with an incomparable mission that would forever shape and uplift humankind?

     Jesus knew who He was. He was confident of His divine assignment. He believed in His role as teacher, healer, comforter, way-shower, and instrument of God's grace. Although He was in a stressful world, He was not of it. He was able to detach Himself from the pressures and personalities around Him and focus on His true destiny. In John 10:30, Jesus said, "The Father and I are one." He sought to always dwell in a consciousness of pure harmony with Spirit, and in this state of oneness with God, the stress of human life was powerless to deter Him from His mission. By constantly affirming God's presence and power in our lives, we, too, can experience "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding" (Phil. 4:7).

     The practical bottom line: Knowing who you are spiritually can alleviate the stress created by the material world.

"I Am the Light of the World"

     Everyone has encountered or will encounter minor or major health problems at some point. Almost all of us have taken a deep breath or said a prayer before receiving the results of a medical examination or test. The practical truth is that good health adds tremendously to the overall quality of life. What pragmatic advice do Jesus' teachings offer us about our health concerns?

     Jesus Christ was the greatest healer who ever lived. He sought to attune us to the healing power within. He taught that the true source of all healing flows from God. He demonstrated His divine power by raising people from sickness and death. Jesus brought the light and love of God to heal, cure, and bless.

     In healing the man blind from birth, Jesus told the disciples, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (Jn. 9:5). The healing light that shines within us to counter any health problem originates from God. But the mending of our physical minds and bodies can also come from God's reflection-through doctors, nurses, proper medications, and state-of-the-art medical procedures and technology. When faith and confidence in our divine connection to the source of all life are united with the spiritual power of prayer, any healing is possible.

     The practical bottom line: We are better able to confront any threat to our health when we focus on the spiritual power and perfection of God that reside in ourselves and others.

     Jesus taught His practical methods for living in a loving but direct manner. For dealing with these and all other human challenges, His teachings are positive instructions about how to live life from the inside out, rather than reacting to an always changing outer world. The mark of any great teacher lies in the ability to inspire his or her students to realize their own divine potential. According to this standard, Jesus Christ succeeded by leaving us a priceless legacy: practical Christianity.

Prayer

By Mary-Alice and Richard Jafolla

     Since the beginning of time, people of all civilizations have prayed. From prayer beads to prayer wheels, from solemn Gregorian chants to foot-stomping gospel music, from the fervent worshipers flogging their backs with a rope to the seeker quietly sitting cross-legged atop a mountain, there are as many ways of praying as there are people who pray.

     When human circumstances seem overwhelming, we instinctively turn to prayer. There is something comforting about taking time out to commune with a Higher Power-to savor the sweet luxury of special moments of conscious awareness of God. The soul seeks the experience of raising itself to a spiritual level, where it can think and feel from its innate divinity. It is these heightened moments which satisfy-which give us the strength to go forward, the joy to warm our hearts, the comfort to ease our sorrows.

What Is Prayer?

     Prayer in its simplest form is any conscious attempt to experience the presence of God. Prayer is a deliberate activity-one of seeking to recognize our oneness with God, of opening ourselves to the power of God as it moves through us in new and wonderful ways. Once this happens, however, prayer becomes something even more. As our awareness of the presence of God expands, prayer becomes the experience of being part of God, of centering ourselves directly in the creative flow of the universe, of perceiving things not with human eyes or human ears or human minds but from the divinity within us. We pray not to God or for God, as something separate from us, but from that sacred presence which is our very essence.

     And so we come to see that the purpose of prayer is not to fill an earthly need-new car, better relationship, healing-but to satisfy the natural longing in our souls not only to experience our Creator but actually to live from that experience. Even if we pray for specific things, the underlying need is really the need to experience our spirituality, to feel our oneness with God, to sense the comfort and the guidance and the healing which rise up out of opening ourselves to God.

     Can "things" ever really satisfy our souls? Sooner or later we realize that true satisfaction comes only from finding God. As Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity declared, "The real search of all people is for God. They may think they are looking for other things, but they must eventually admit that it is God they seek."

     While historically we may have prayed to a Higher Power outside ourselves, imploring for things and outer changes in our lives, we are now discovering that this Power is omnipresent and dwells within each of us.

     As a separated drop of ocean water eventually makes its way back to the sea, we are inexorably drawn back into the awareness of our oneness with God. The drop of water may evaporate and be drawn into the clouds to be blown by wind and fall as snow on the highest mountain. Eventually the snow will melt and the drop will become part of a trickle and then a stream and then a river until finally it returns to the sea. If we could suspend reason for a moment, it might seem that at various points in its journey, the drop may pray to melt or to be part of the trickle, or it may pray to join a stream or a river. But what it really "wants" is to find the ocean again.

     Our prayers are to find God again-to be lifted by Spirit as It speaks and thinks and acts as us.

The Purpose of Prayer

     Virtually every religion embraces some form of prayer, and followers of each religion are told to pray. But seldom are they taught how to pray, and so most people are troubled by doubts about whether they have been praying correctly.

Since the purpose of prayer is to know God, the highest use of prayer, then, is to announce our intention of opening ourselves to the presence of God. It is our endeavor to merge with and accept all the qualities of God-a heartfelt invitation to allow God's life to be lived through us.

     Therefore, we don't have to pray specifically to change people or circumstances. Our prayers are for the purpose of knowing God. Yet, interestingly, when we pray to experience God, the people and circumstances in our lives do change! Why? Because prayer has changed us. Centered in God's presence, we then deal with the people and the circumstances of our lives in more loving ways. Prayer-seeking more of an awareness of God-changes us, and in changing us changes all aspects of our lives. It's been said that prayer doesn't change things; prayer changes people, and people change things. And this is so.

     There is no need to beg God for anything, because we already have access to all that God is. So prayer becomes the way to express our thanks for life and its blessings-those we already have and those still to come. This is sometimes referred to as "affirmative prayer." It acknowledges the truth that God is present in us and in every situation, and therefore the potential for us is beyond anything we can humanly imagine.

     Thus, if we are praying specifically for more prosperity, for instance, we may attain it simply because we are focusing our energy on prosperity and making it a priority in our lives. Such attention may yield the results we are looking for. But that is opening ourselves to only part of what there is for us to experience. We have limited ourselves and may not be fully open to all the rest health, love, joy, peace, and the teeming font of absolute soul satisfaction which is available simply because we are filled with the presence of God.

How to Pray

     What exactly is the right method of prayer? There are as many "right" methods of praying as there are people who pray!

     More important than the method of praying is the reason for praying. Prayers are not to change God. They are to change us-to lift us into the experience of the presence of God.

     The Creator cares about, sustains, maintains, and expresses Itself through the created. God is waiting for us to open ourselves to the sacred Presence being lived through us. God is waiting for us to express our willingness to be guided and nurtured. Therefore, one of our prayers might be to express this willingness: "Here 1 am, God. Live Your life through me."

     By opening our hearts to the love already there, by expressing our willingness to let the sacred Presence live through us, we take a big step in getting into a prayer mode. We each will do this in our own unique ways, of course, but a helpful means of preparing for our prayer experience is to relax the body, breathe easily, and turn the attention inward. And while there is no one "secret" method of prayer, the acknowledgment of the presence of God is always a meaningful .way to begin. This may take the form of words, aloud or silent.

     What kinds of words? Whatever is in our hearts. Praying is a very simple activity and requires no special words-only the willingness, the hunger, to know God. Whatever phrases, in any language, that help move us into the place deep within our souls where we can begin to feel our oneness with God-these are prayers. (Some prayers are included later.)

Beyond Words

     Eventually, however, we move beyond words-beyond thoughts-into the vaster realm of pure Spirit. This is what is sometimes called "the silence." During our times of prayer we discover what is waiting in the silence to be discovered. We dip into the eternal wellspring of divine life that exists within us. And there, in the absolute stillness, we simply rest in the exquisite sense of the presence of God.

     During our quiet times of prayer we want to let go of any preconceived ideas, any doubts, any desired outcomes, and surrender ourselves completely to God. If we find a parade of thoughts marching by as we sit in the stillness, we can merely become indifferent to them. We can just allow them to pass through and then gently bring our focus back to the inner silence. Nonresistance is the key here, so that we remain tranquil and able to savor the experience.

     "The secret place of the Most High" is an inner space, a very personal place of total silence, which no one else can ever enter or disturb. It is that eternal, changeless part of us that waits like a safe harbor to welcome us in calm or storm, in peace or turmoil. It is in the silence that we feel infused with God. It is in the silence that we find our peace and our strength, our joy and our healing.

     A few moments in utter stillness will quickly bring us back to the realization that we are part of our Creator, part of the universe, and that truly we are not alone.

Always Available

     There are numerous opportunities every day to still the body and quiet the mind, allowing us to slip between the cracks of our outer world and into the inner one of silence. It might be in the quiet of the early morning or during some wordless moments of a prayer service or even during those brief times when we sit in noisy traffic waiting for the light to turn green! The stillness, in other words, is always available.

     If we are newcomers to prayer and communion with God and are harassed by thoughts, feelings, and memories during times of prayer, it is important not to give up. By making it a daily habit to become consciously aware of the presence of God, it becomes easier and easier. Each prayer experience builds upon the previous one, having a cumulative effect.

     Ultimately, through prayer, we will be transformed into the God-centered beings we are meant to be. Our "joy will be full," for we will be experiencing the unimaginable wonder of God's presence expressing through our lives.

What of Miracles?

     Sometimes things happen as a result of prayer which are so far beyond what we would have expected that we call them miracles. They happen when we get ourselves out of the way so that the activity of God can work freely. It is like removing the dam in a brook so that the water can tumble and flow where it will. What we call "miracles" are really natural out-workings of the activity of God, even when they take place instantaneously.

     If we believe that we need a miracle in order to have something change in our lives (or someone else's), if we feel that only a miracle can help, then we are automatically limiting the power of our prayer. In focusing too specifically, we are ignoring the fact that the very nature of God is wholeness, abundance, and love. As part of God's creation, we already have access to all that. To tap into these attributes is natural, not miraculous. To pray for a miracle is to see wholeness, abundance, and love as the exceptions and not the rule.

Praying for Others

     Often we find ourselves wanting to help someone else through prayer. This is good, for love and caring are built into our hearts and it is natural to want to help those who appear to be going through a difficult time in their lives. But how do we do this?

     Once again we come back to the premise that it is the experience of God which is the real need of all people. Humanly, we are limited in the level of help we can give, but we can step up to a higher level. By living God-centered lives, we lift others by our mere presence. We become that unwavering bulwark of faith which sees the sacred Presence in everyone and every circumstance-even the ones which might be deemed needing "help." When we live this way, we serve as blessings to everyone who touches our lives. Praying for others, therefore, becomes a matter of releasing those people to the activity of God and continually strengthening our own awareness of this activity in them.

A Holy Time

     Prayer is a holy time within our hearts a time of worship, joy, and thanksgiving deep inside ourselves. It is a time of lying down in green pastures, being led beside the still waters, and having our souls restored. We come away from prayer renewed in body and mind and at peace with ourselves and our world.

     Let us take time to pray, for it is the highest blessing we can give ourselves and others.

Prayers You May Want to Pray

     Thank You, God, for Your ever-present sanctuary of love and joy and peace within my heart. My only need is to savor Your sweet presence in my life. I trust-truly trust-that 1 am in Your care and that all is well. Thank You, God.

     Thank You, God, for Your living truth as it speaks to me in unmistakable ways. l still my body. I still my mind. I relax completely. I surrender myself to You, God. Fill me with Your presence as I listen in the silence.

     Holy Presence within me, I am willing to release all feelings of hurt and anger and resentment. Help me know true forgiveness and see each person as part of You. Let my words and my actions serve only to glorify You. May they heal and comfort and harmonize my life and the lives of those around me. Thank You, God.

     Great Spirit of this universe, how glorious are Your ways. My human mind cannot fully grasp the magnitude of all You are, yet I know I am Yours. Thank You for the safety of Your guiding Presence-wherever I am, whatever I do.

     Thank You, God, for the growing awareness of who I am. You have created me to express You. I make the commitment today to be Your hands, Your voice, Your heart. Live Your life through me-fully and completely.

     The cells of my body shout for joy as they resurrect into new life! Thank You, God, for Your powerful healing presence as it touches every atom of my body, calling forth a radiant wholeness.

     I choose this day to serve You, God-to let my love radiate to all people and to be an inspiration to help lift others. My only prayer is to know You. Aware of Your sacred presence within me, I am a blessing to all whose lives I touch.

     Gentle Spirit, I have heard Your call. I feel You drawing me closer to the realization of Your presence in my life. I hunger to know You more. I want to love You more and serve You more. I am willing to let You take charge of my life. Show me Your way, God, for I am ready.

Extra Prayer Support

     Sometimes people need help in praying-extra spiritual support when it feels too difficult to go it alone. In times like these it is comforting to be able to contact a prayer ministry such as Silent Unity, one of the oldest and largest prayer ministries in the world. Silent Unity serves people of all faiths. There is never a charge, and all prayer requests are treated with reverence and strictest confidentiality and are enfolded in prayer for thirty days.

     The work of Silent Unity is based on the belief that true soul satisfaction can only come by knowing God-that experiencing the presence of God is the real need. In other words, God doesn't have what we want-God is what we want.

     Silent Unity is there to help people know their oneness with God, that they may open themselves to the presence of God and recognize this divine presence in all people and circumstances.

Prayer support is available 24 hours a day by calling

(816) 246-5400,

or by writing

Silent Unity,

1901 NW Blue Parkway, Unity Village, MO 64065-0001.

(Should you ever be unable to pay for your call, you may use this toll-free number:

1-800-669-7729.)

Science And Spirituality

By Sir John Templeton,

Chairman,

The John Templeton Foundation

     What a joy it is to explore with the Unity family hopes for progress in learning more about spirituality as we look toward the twenty-first century!

     In 1992, I retired after a 50-year career of helping investors manage their money in order to devote my time to encouraging the pursuit of new spiritual information. The annual Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion began in 1973, with Mother Teresa of Calcutta as the first recipient. And in 1987 the John Templeton Foundation was established to bring scientists and theologians together to foster the acquisition of new spiritual information through scientific research.

     It appears that the Creator has brought humanity through long stages of evolutionary development-first, as physical beings; then, as conscious beings; and finally, as spiritual beings with enormous potential for whatever God has in store for creation in the future. Until the emergence of human beings on the face of the earth, evolution on this planet proceeded routinely, unfolding the rich complexity of mineral, vegetable, and animal life. Now, with human intelligence capable of studying the Creator and the creation, evolution no longer travels only on its own path. Possibly, it was God's plan that one day humankind would serve as useful tools for creative purposes.

     With the advent of intelligence there came also a strong sense of curiosity, a need for us to understand. Thus was born science-first, perhaps, in Greek and Egyptian medicine; then, in Arabic astronomy and mathematics; and finally, in the full flowering of empirical science in the West since 1800.

     In my lifetime, the acceleration of learning through science has become breathtaking. More than half the discoveries in natural science have been made during the twentieth century, and it is estimated that at present the amount of new information is doubling every 2 years. Not only is the rate of our learning accelerating, but along with it has come a new awareness of just how big and complex the universe is. Most scientists are now willing to admit that they never will reach the end of learning, and some are even talking about other sources of truth-philosophy and, especially, theology-as crucial components in the search to comprehend reality. A new kind of humility has begun to express itself as we recognize and worship the vastness of God's creation and our small place in the cosmic scheme of things.

Humility-The Key to Progress

     In fact, humility is the key to progress. Without it we can be too self-satisfied with past glories to launch boldly into the challenges ahead. Without humility we may not be wide-eyed and open-minded enough to discover new areas for research. If we are not as humble as children, we may be unable to admit mistakes, seek advice, and try again. This humble approach is for all of us who are not only concerned about the future of civilization but also want to help. It is an approach for all of us who are not satisfied to let things drift and who want to channel our creative curiosity and enthusiasm toward helping build the kingdom of God.

     Through humility we can begin to get expanded perspectives on the infinity of God. Also, in humility we learn from each other, for it makes us open to each other and ready to see things from another's point of view and to share ours with another freely. By humility we avoid the sins of pride and intolerance and avoid all religious strife. Humility opens the door to the realms of the spirit and to the acceleration of research and progress in religion.

     I have called this new kind of humility, this new awareness of the unlimited, all-pervasive, all-encompassing creative spirit "humility theology." Perhaps, with this guiding principle we can begin a new phase of evolution, a spiritual exploration using the tools of science that have been so productive in the physical sphere.

     But, as we embark on this search for new spiritual information through scientific research, we encounter a stumbling block-egotism, the closed-minded attitude of those who think they know it all. Natural scientists, by and large, have overcome this hurdle. They are more openminded. They research the natural wonders of the universe, devising new hypotheses, testing them, challenging old assumptions, competing with each other in professional rivalry. The physical future of human civilization is in their professional hands, guided by relatively tolerant and open minds.

     This is not always equally true concerning our spiritual future. Some theologians, religious leaders, and lay people can be blind to the obstacles they themselves unconsciously erect. Many are not even aware that the spiritual future could, or should, be better than anything which has ever been before. Many do not realize that spiritual reality can be researched in ways similar to those used by natural scientists. Some do not want even to consider the possibility of a future of progressively unfolding spiritual discoveries.

     Why not? Many devoutly religious people are not devoutly humble. They do not realize that their worldview may be limited. Some are not open to suggestions that their personal theology might be incomplete. Some do not yet entertain the notion that other religious people can have valuable insights to contribute to expanding the understanding of God and God's creation. When people take a more humble attitude, they welcome new ideas about the spirit just as they welcome new scientific concepts about how to cure headaches, how to heat and cool their homes, or how to develop natural resources.

The Search for Spiritual Truth

     To aid in the new search for spiritual truth, the John Templeton Foundation has expanded in scope, with the formation of a research center for the acquisition of new spiritual information. The new center has been named the Humility Theology Information Center and has as two of its major endeavors the development of a series of research programs and a close working relationship with an advisory board of prominent scientists and theologians interested in the progress in new spiritual information and research. An operating approach of the center is the application of empirical and statistical scientific methods to the discovery and testing of new ideas on spiritual information and concepts.

     To heighten awareness of the potential importance of progress in additional spiritual information and research, the Templeton Foundation has sponsored academic programs to stimulate the teaching of hundreds of university courses in science and religion, worldwide lecture programs organized around the concept of humility theology, and prizes for articles on humility theology published in science and religion journals. In addition, essay contests have focused on "laws of life"-universal spiritual laws as described in Worldwide Laws of Life, which is a compilation of two hundred laws and proverbs from nearly all the religions that are deeply embedded in human history.

     Recently an essay contest on humility theology began with thousands of college and university students who have participated in award-winning academic courses on science and religion. These various educational programs may provide a solid foundation for future scholarship and rigorous research in this new interdisciplinary field of progress in religion.

Current efforts to encourage rigorous scientific research programs have involved donations to two major initiatives. One is the encouragement of research about spirituality's benefits to health. Two research organizations are currently active, the National Institute for Healthcare Research (NIHR) and the Mind-Body Medical Institute of Harvard Medical School.

     The NIHR is developing a network of highly competent research fellows whose research programs will be enhanced through various foundation funds and other sources. The Mind-Body Medical Institute is also developing a major intellectual network and is helping graduate programs in a number of major medical institutions.

     Both NIHR and the Mind-Body Medical Institute have convened highly successful conferences of respected researchers and health-care providers to emphasize the opportunities for a major impact on disease through spiritual therapies. These conferences are developing into a regular yearly series. In addition, medical school education is being impacted through a program of prizes awarded by NIHR for courses in medicine and religion.

     Everyone is invited to join in this spiritual journey, with humility theology as an inspiration for accelerating progress. Perhaps we are at the beginning of a great period of spiritual renewal, in which science will join with theology to bring vast, new revelations to augment what we comprehend of God from the wonderful, ancient Scriptures.