What path will we pursue: conditional love or unconditional love?

If you want to be like me I will help you, knowing that we are alike. If you want to be different, I will wait until you change your mind. I can teach you, but only you can choose to listen to my teaching. T-8.IV.6:3-5

A Course in Miracles (p. 289). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

Jesus is reported to have said by Matthew in Chapter 22, verse 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Jesus in A Course In Miracles says something quite different: All are called but most don’t listen.” Jesus says he will wait for he is willing to teach but the student has to be willing to listen and learn.

In Unitarian Universalism, some of us join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Most people wander around aimlessly looking for who knows what or even chase madly after snipes like they are in a Boy Scout snipe hunt. The aphorism says, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” Jesus taught about the non dual Oneness and unconditional love, but most people were enmeshed in the things of the ego and didn’t listen or if they listened, rejected his teaching.

Today it is suggested that we consider what teaching we will pursue: the path of unconditional love or the path of conditional love?

Salvation is when everybody loves everybody all the time.

Healing reflects our joint will. This is obvious when you consider what healing is for. Healing is the way in which the separation is overcome. Separation is overcome by union. It cannot be overcome by separating. The decision to unite must be unequivocal, or the mind itself is divided and not whole. Your mind is the means by which you determine your own condition, because mind is the mechanism of decision. It is the power by which you separate or join, and experience pain or joy accordingly. T-8.IV.5:1-8

A Course in Miracles (pp. 288-289). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

United we stand; divided we fall. Would you have pain or joy?

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth.

Today it is suggested that we join our will with Jesus and God’s and become One with Everybody. It is in this union that our salvation lies.

To experience peace, share peace with others.

Do you not think the world needs peace as much as you do? Do you not want to give it to the world as much as you want to receive it? For unless you do, you will not receive it. If you want to have it of me, you must give it. Healing does not come from anyone else. You must accept guidance from within. The guidance must be what you want, or it will be meaningless to you. That is why healing is a collaborative venture. I can tell you what to do, but you must collaborate by believing that I know what you should do. Only then will your mind choose to follow me. Without this choice you could not be healed because you would have decided against healing, and this rejection of my decision for you makes healing impossible. T-8.IV.4:1-11

A Course in Miracles (p. 288). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

Jesus is reported to have said according to Matthew 7:21:  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Jesus teaches in this passage of A Course In Miracles that if a person wants peace they must give peace. To give peace we can join with Jesus and choose to follow his example.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us covenant together to affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. With these three things peace arises.

Today it is suggested that we experience the peace within and then share it with the people we come into contact with today.

Jesus wants to make us aware of our fundamental choice between thought systems.

My mission was simply to unite the will of the Sonship with the Will of the Father by being aware of the Father’s Will myself. This is the awareness I came to give you, and your problem in accepting it is the problem of this world. T-8.IV.3:4-6

A Course in Miracles (p. 288). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

Jesus tells us in A Course Of Miracles that the purpose in his life was to make people aware of God’s will for them as compared to the world of the ego. Jesus was not a person of the ego world. He constantly pointed out that people have a choice: to live in the world of conditional love or unconditional love, the world of the ego or the world of God. The problem lies in which thought system we choose to live by.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This worth and dignity comes not from the world of ego and conditional love, but as the Universalists taught us from the world of God and unconditional love.

Today it is suggested that we reflect on the choice we have between the two thought systems: conditional love and the world of the ego or unconditional love and the world of our Transcendent Source.

What is God’s will for our lives?

If God’s Will for you is complete peace and joy, unless you experience only this you must be refusing to acknowledge His Will. His Will does not vacillate, being changeless forever. When you are not at peace it can only be because you do not believe you are in Him. Yet He is All in all. His peace is complete, and you must be included in it. His laws govern you because they govern everything. You cannot exempt yourself from His laws, although you can disobey them. Yet if you do, and only if you do, you will feel lonely and helpless, because you are denying yourself everything. T-8.IV.1:1-8

A Course in Miracles (p. 287). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

When we are off track we are uneasy. When we are doing our own thing and not paying attention to God’s will for us, we are anxious. We feel that something is missing in our life. It dawns on us that there must be a better way. This dawning can precipitate a search for what some call “truth and meaning” but really is trying to discern God’s will for us.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This search is an effort to discern God’s will for our lives.

Today it is suggested that we ask ourselves, “What the matters the most to me in my life is ______. _______, and _______.” Is what matters most to you in alignment with what you believe is God’s will for you?

Our power and glory come from being a part of the whole.

Power and glory belong to God alone. So do you. God gives whatever belongs to Him because He gives of Himself, and everything belongs to Him. Giving of yourself is the function He gave you. Fulfilling it perfectly will let you remember what you have of Him, and by this you will remember also what you are in Him. You cannot be powerless to do this, because this is your power. Glory is God’s gift to you, because that is what He is. See this glory everywhere to remember what you are. T-8.III.8:1-8

A Course in Miracles (pp. 286-287). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

If we as individuals are like drops in the ocean, it is good for us to recognize and acknowledge that the power and the glory belongs to the ocean and so it belongs to us.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the awareness of the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. We can perceive the parts of the whole and some of us become aware that the whole is greater than simply the sum of the parts.

Today it is suggested that our power and glory comes from unity not from our individuality which is, from the perspective of the whole, an illusion.

Where are Truth, Goodness, and Beauty to be found?

God wills no one suffer. He does not will anyone to suffer for a wrong decision, including you. That is why He has given you the means for undoing it. Through His power and glory all your wrong decisions are undone completely, releasing you and your brother from every imprisoning thought any part of the Sonship holds. Wrong decisions have no power, because they are not true. The imprisonment they seem to produce is no more true than they are. T-8.III.7:5-10

A Course in Miracles (p. 286). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

There are many wonderful lessons in A Course In Miracles. One of them is the idea that we can change our minds. Another is we are encouraged to try again. Bill said to Helen, “There must be a better way” and this was the precipitating event that started the dictation of what we now know as A Course In Miracles.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This search entails changing our minds about what we believe to be true.

Today it is suggested that we ask the Holy Spirit to guide our thinking and understanding of what Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are. Truth, Goodness, and Beauty are to be found in unconditional love not conditional love.

What are you intending to do with your life?

You can encounter only part of yourself because you are part of God, Who is everything. His power and glory are everywhere, and you cannot be excluded from them. The ego teaches that your strength is in you alone. The Holy Spirit teaches that all strength is in God and therefore in you. T-8.III.7:1-4

A Course in Miracles (p. 286). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

We are not gods in spite of what the ego tells us and we want to believe. The fact is that God is in us. Exchange the word “life” for the word “god” and the meaning of this passage becomes clearer.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person which comes from “Life” and is innate to our being.

Today it is suggested that we consider the Life that is within us and what we intend to do with it.

United we are holy and divided we are in hell.

The Kingdom cannot be found alone, and you who are the Kingdom cannot find yourself alone. To achieve the goal of the curriculum, then, you cannot listen to the ego, whose purpose is to defeat its own goal. The ego does not know this, because it does not know anything. But you can know it, and you will know it if you are willing to look at what the ego would make of you. This is your responsibility, because once you have really looked at it you will accept the Atonement for yourself. What other choice could you make? Having made this choice you will understand why you once believed that, when you met someone else, you thought he was someone else. And every holy encounter in which you enter fully will teach you this is not so. T-8.III.6:1-8

A Course in Miracles (p. 286). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

Sometimes the idea is stated as “The kingdom of God is within you” but this is the ego talking. The Kingdom of God is among us when we join together. The Kingdom of God is found in the non dual Oneness not in separation and division.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person which we all share in together.

Today it is suggested that we consider that united we are holy and divided we descend into hell.

We are a part of something far greater than our individual ego.

The Holy Spirit teaches you that if you look only at yourself you cannot find yourself, because that is not what you are. Whenever you are with a brother, you are learning what you are because you are teaching what you are. He will respond either with pain or with joy, depending on which teacher you are following. He will be imprisoned or released according to your decision, and so will you. Never forget your responsibility to him, because it is your responsibility to yourself. Give him his place in the Kingdom and you will have yours. T-8.III.5:7-12

A Course in Miracles (p. 285). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

When the drop of the ocean looks only at itself it doesn't realize that there are other drops that make up the ocean of which they all are a part. When the drop realizes that all the drops make up the whole ocean great peace and bliss arises.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the awareness of the interdependent web of all existence. With this awareness an experience of completeness and fulfillment arises.

Today it is suggested that we reflect on the wholes of which we are a part and express our gratitude for being a part of something greater than just our individual ego.

Cosmic Consciousness

The goal of the curriculum, regardless of the teacher you choose, is “Know thyself.” There is nothing else to seek. Everyone is looking for himself and for the power and glory he thinks he has lost. T-8.III.5:1-3

A Course in Miracles (p. 285). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

What are we born to do? We are born to become consciously aware of our Transcendent Source which abides in the Universe of which we and our brothers and sisters are a part..

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. The Truth is to be found within oneself and among us.

Today it is suggested that we look within and clear our awareness of all the detritus to the world of the ego and rest in the Oneness of all creation. This is called “cosmic consciousness.”

Make our encounters with others holy.

When you meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter. As you see him you will see yourself. As you treat him you will treat yourself. As you think of him you will think of yourself. Never forget this, for in him you will find yourself or lose yourself. Whenever two Sons of God meet, they are given another chance at salvation. Do not leave anyone without giving salvation to him and receiving it yourself. For I am always there with you, in remembrance of you. T-8.III.4:1-8

A Course in Miracles (p. 285). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

To meet anyone and have it be a “holy encounter” the person must have a non judgmental attitude.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth.

Today it is suggested that we interact with others on two levels: first we must take care of whatever business the world of the ego requires from us and second we can bless the other as our brother and sister and make our encounter holy.

Align our will with God’s will for us asking the Holy Spirit for guidance.

 

The Will of the Father and of the Son are One, by Their extension. Their extension is the result of Their Oneness, holding Their unity together by extending Their joint Will. This is perfect creation by the perfectly created, in union with the perfect Creator. The Father must give fatherhood to His Son, because His Own Fatherhood must be extended outward. You who belong in God have the holy function of extending His Fatherhood by placing no limits upon it. Let the Holy Spirit teach you how to do this, for you can know what it means only of God Himself. T-8.III.3:1-6

A Course in Miracles (pp. 284-285). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

As St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, “If God is with you, who can be against you?” You and God are a dynamic duo. You can extend God’s unconditional love into the world. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Mother Teresa was asked, “Who should I love?” Mother replied, “Whomever God puts in your path.”

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. We believe that this is God’s plan for us.

Today it is suggested that we align our will with what we believe is God’s will for us asking the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Peace and bliss of nondual Oneness or suffering of separation and divisiveness of the world of the ego?

To fulfill the Will of God perfectly is the only joy and peace that can be fully known, because it is the only function that can be fully experienced. When this is accomplished, then, there is no other experience. Yet the wish for other experience will block its accomplishment, because God’s Will cannot be forced upon you, being an experience of total willingness. T-8.III.2:1-3

A Course in Miracles (p. 284). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

The non dual Oneness is the Ground Of Our Being. We get distracted by the division and separation of the world of the ego. Peace and joy is to be found by joining the non dual Oneness. This is a choice we have. If we choose nondual Oneness, peace and bliss is ours, if not, suffering will be our experience.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the awareness of the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. With this awareness peace and bliss arises.

Today it is suggested that we consider our choice between the non dual Oneness of our Transcendent Source or the separation and divisiveness of the world of the Ego.

We have a choice between conditional and unconditional love.

Glory to God in the highest, and to you because He has so willed it. Ask and it shall be given you, because it has already been given. Ask for light and learn that you are light. If you want understanding and enlightenment you will learn it, because your decision to learn it is the decision to listen to the Teacher Who knows of light, and can therefore teach it to you. There is no limit on your learning because there is no limit on your mind. There is no limit on His teaching because He was created to teach. Understanding His function perfectly He fulfills it perfectly, because that is His joy and yours. T-8.III.1:1-7

A Course in Miracles (p. 284). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

Oh happy day when we choose to turn from the world of the ego to the Kingdom of God, from the world of conditional love to the Kingdom of unconditional love. The love is in us already because it is from this that we were born and to which we will return after our lives of learning here on earth where we become consciously aware of the Love of creation in us.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning and that search takes us eventually to unconditional love. It is unconditional love from which we have come and to which we consciously, if we choose, return,

Today it is suggested that we consider the choice we can make between conditional and unconditional love. It is up to us. We can ask the Holy Spirit for help to illuminate the way forward.

Do you watch shadows or seek the light?

To what else except all power and glory can the Holy Spirit appeal to restore God’s Kingdom? His appeal, then, is merely to what the Kingdom is, and for its own acknowledgment of what it is. When you acknowledge this you bring the acknowledgment automatically to everyone, because you have acknowledged everyone. By your recognition you awaken theirs, and through theirs yours is extended. Awakening runs easily and gladly through the Kingdom, in answer to the Call for God. T-8.II.8:1-5

A Course in Miracles (p. 283). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

When the seeker turns from the shadows on the cave walls and goes to the opening of the cave and sees the light, there is great joy in the seeker and those who will listen to what the seeker has become aware of.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This means turning from the shadows of the world of the ego to the sparkling light of the Kingdom of God.

Today it is suggested that we turn from watching the shadows on the wall of the ego and watch the sparkling light outside of the cave of our imprisonment in the Kingdom of God.

What have we done and do to our detriment?

When I said, “All power and glory are yours because the Kingdom is His,” this is what I meant: The Will of God is without limit, and all power and glory lie within it. It is boundless in strength and in love and in peace. It has no boundaries because its extension is unlimited, and it encompasses all things because it created all things. By creating all things, it made them part of itself. You are the Will of God because that is how you were created. Because your Creator creates only like Himself, you are like Him. You are part of Him Who is all power and glory, and are therefore as unlimited as He is. T-8.II.7:1-7

A Course in Miracles (p. 283). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

The above passage makes little sense unless one understands the metaphysics of A Course In Miracles which is based on the non dual Oneness which some call “God.” We are part of the non dual Oneness whether we are aware of it or not. The non dual Oness has no limits and is infinite.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This inherent worth and dignity arises from an awareness that we are all the non dual Oneness which is perfect.

Today it is suggested that we consider the non dual Oneness from which we emerged at the separation and as the Course teaches is an illusion of the ego world which has conditioned us and which we have created to our detriment.

Will we choose conditional love or unconditional love?

The ego tries to teach that you want to oppose God’s Will. This unnatural lesson cannot be learned, and the attempt to learn it is a violation of your own freedom, making you afraid of your will because it is free. The Holy Spirit opposes any imprisoning of the will of a Son of God, knowing that the Will of the Son is the Father’s. The Holy Spirit leads you steadily along the path of freedom, teaching you how to disregard or look beyond everything that would hold you back. T-8.II.4:1-4

A Course in Miracles (p. 282). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

In the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus was contemplating what was to become of Him at the hands of the Romans, in His anguish He finally says, “Thy will be done.” As the Romans were killing Him He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Jesus was free. He did not see Himself as a victim. He rose above the world of the ego and had already entered the Kingdom of God when He aligned His will with the will of God. Most of us will not be executed physically by the dynamics of the world of the ego, but we will have opportunities to choose to be free from it.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning which eventually will take us to discerning God’s will for us with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Today it is suggested that we reflect on our challenges, and the decisions that we are having to make. It is further suggested that we ask the Holy Spirit to help us discern what God’s will is which fundamentally is our own whether we are consciously aware of it or not. God’s will and our own is choosing the path of unconditional love instead of conditional love..

We are part of God.

The ego cannot teach you anything as long as your will is free, because you will not listen to it. It is not your will to be imprisoned because your will is free. That is why the ego is the denial of free will. It is never God Who coerces you, because He shares His Will with you. His Voice teaches only in accordance with His Will, but that is not the Holy Spirit’s lesson because that is what you are. The lesson is that your will and God’s cannot be out of accord because they are one. This is the undoing of everything the ego tries to teach. It is not, then, only the direction of the curriculum that must be unconflicted, but also the content. T-8.II.3:1-8

A Course in Miracles (p. 282). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

The ego teaches that the separation is real. The separation is not who you are. It’s as simple as that. You are God’s will and as much as the ego attempts to get you to deny this fact, the ego will always fail because what the ego teaches is not true and the Truth will set you free.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning and the truth is that you are part of God’s creation as much as you would deny it and look for truth elsewhere.

Today it is suggested that we reflect on our true nature and come to know that we are part of God. If God is Life, it is God in which we participate and become increasingly conscious of.

We are unconditionally lovable.

The ego has never given you a sensible answer to anything. Simply on the grounds of your own experience with its teaching, should not this alone disqualify it as your future teacher? Yet the ego has done more harm to your learning than this alone. Learning is joyful if it leads you along your natural path, and facilitates the development of what you have. When you are taught against your nature, however, you will lose by your learning because your learning will imprison you. Your will is in your nature, and therefore cannot go against it. T-8.II.2:4-9

A Course in Miracles (pp. 281-282). Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

What is better than the peace and joy that comes from aligning our will with God’s will for us with the help of the Holy Spirit?

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and truth and meaning are to be found in aligning our will with God's will. To make this alignment, we have to eschew the things of the ego and its false promises and get back to basics which is our essential nature.

Today it is suggested that we reflect on human nature. As a creation of God we are unconditionally lovable.