$50.00 for essay on ACIM and UU

We will pay $50.00 for an article of 400-500 words answering the question, “How does A Course In Miracles enhance my Unitarian Universalist faith?” if we choose to publish in on UU A Way Of Life. Send your submission to davidgmarkham@gmail.com.

“Secret teachings” of spiritual development.

Some people have asked about the purpose of the UU A Way Of Life blog is. As it is written in the masthead, the mission of UU A Way Of Life is to nurture the spiritual development of people around the world. Nurturing spiritual development implies that there are stages of spiritual development and that there are milestones of spiritual growth. Given this model of spiritual development, it is understandable that UU A Way Of Life is not for everyone. Its purpose is to nurture the spiritual development of people at intermediate and advanced stages of spiritual growth.

In the gnostic literature some of the teachings of Jesus are called “secret.” Jesus would sometimes take one of two of his disciples aside and discuss spiritual matters which were not meant for the majority of people. These teachings were not “secret” in the sense that they were hidden from anyone, but in the sense that they were over the heads of people not capable of understanding them because they had not mastered the prerequisite knowledge. A good teacher does not give 8th grade material to 3rd graders. The 8th grade material is not secret in the sense of hidden but in the sense that it is not appropriate given the level of understanding of the students.

If we conceived of the level of spiritual development as beginner, intermediate, advanced, post graduate, the UU A Way of Life blog is not meant for beginners but for people at the intermediate, advanced and postgraduate levels.

In our current society in the United States the level of spiritual development of the population is very low. 50% of the population have not even begun a spiritual journey. They are still asleep as the spiritual literature describes. Maybe 30% have started seeking for spiritual truth and meaning and are at beginner level.15% may be at an intermediate level, and 5% are at advanced and post graduate level.

What are the stages of spiritual development? One model will be described in our next post. In the meantime, if you are reading this most likely you have embarked on your spiritual journey seeking truth and meaning beyond any one religious tradition. It is helpful in this journey to have a map otherwise the traveler can just wander and get lost.

To be continued

UU A Way Of Life - The work

 

The work of UU A Way Of Life is primarily publishing articles on its blog which nurtures the development of spiritual intelligence. Secondarily, UU A Way Of Life advocates and attempts to collaborate with others who have a similar mission and vision. The forms of this advocacy are multiple and involve case advocacy and class advocacy. Examples of these activities are joining and supporting the UUMUAC, the Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council, The 5th Principle Project, and other interreligious organizations which nurture spiritual development based on the Perennial Philosophy. Future work might include retreats, workshops, classes, and celebratory gatherings as the pandemic passes and face to face meetings are possible once again.

How could you join the work? What are your talents, abilities, interests,

motivations, goals? What would you like to see happen as Unitarian Universalist

principles germinate and blossom in the world? Let us know in the comments below.

To be continued

UU A Way Of Life - No paywalls, no ads, provided free of charge.

Have you noticed that there is no paywall on this blog? Have you noticed that there are no ads on this blog? A person might ask, how do you monetize the consumption of the creative work you provide here? The answer is “by donations.” People are free to donate or not depending on the degree to which they desire to support the work being done, the goals striven to be achieved, the mission being implemented, and the vision being pursued.

Donations can be made in the form of time, talent, and treasure. Will you take the time to make a comment, forward a post to a friend, family member or other person you think might be interested in the ideas described on this site? Will you share your talent in the form of thoughtful commentary, expanding in some form the ideas here that seem significant and matter to you?  Lastly, you can donate money using the paypal button, to maintain and promote the blog and sometimes compensate creators for materials they are commissioned to produce for use on the site.

So what is the work being done, the goals striven for, the mission implemented, and the vision pursued? The answers to these questions will be provided in subsequent articles because these questions are worthy of more detailed descriptions than can be provided here in this article.

To be continued

UUAWAYOFLIFE is ad free

 

Out of respect for our readers and the Transcendent Source we serve, UU A Way Of Life is ad free.

Pay it forward by commenting and sharing its posts with others and join us in sanctifying the world.

No cash donations needed.

We are getting deluged with end of the year requests for money from all kinds of non profit organizations. Many with the lure of "matching funds" from some mysterious source that will double the amount of your donation.

Have you noticed that we never ask for money on UU A Way Of Life? There is a donation button in the right hand column but only one time in the existence of this blog over 10 years or so has anyone used it to donate money.

Bono from the band U2 said one time, "The god I believe in isn't hard up for cash." Here at UU A Way Of Life we seem to believe in the same god as Bono.

So, here at UU A Way Of Life we don't ask for cash. We do ask for a little bit of your time and energy in reading our material and thinking about the ideas we share. The thing you can do for our UU A Way Of Life ministry is pay it forward, meaning that you can share the ideas that you find useful and helpful with others as we work for the salvation of the world from the wiles and snares of the ego to return to the unconditional love of the creative force we call God.

May the year of 2022 be the best year ever for you and all the people of the world. Jesus said the way to the kingdom is "to love as I have loved." So let's get on with it and keep the faith as we move forward.

No donation required or expected.

My email inbox as well as my snail mail mailbox if inundated with requests for money today 11/30/21.

UU A Way Of Life is not in it for the money and doesn't request or expect any donations. God's love is unconditional and free of charge. All one need do is look within and become aware of what is already there.

Our ministry which is about reminding folks of their natural inhertiance is free of charge and available to all.

Be well. Stay well.

Peace and joy.

The series of posts on a Course In Miracles and Unitarian Universalism.

 A fellow said to me, "All you have on your site is stuff about A Course In Miracles. I thought it was suppose to be about Unitarian Universalism?"

His comment made it clear he hadn't read many of the articles or he would have realized that every article does relate the lessons from the Course not only to Unitarian Universalism but also to the spiritual teachings of Alcohol Anonymous one of the biggest programs for spiritual development in the United States today.

The lessons of A Course In Miracles can be challenging in their seemingly intellectualized formulations. They don't make a lot of sense, often, unless the practitioner is familiar with the metaphysics of the Course. However, when the practitioner understands the metaphysics of the Course, the meanings of the lessons can be profound and inspiring and very practical in developing one's spiritual life.

If you have been regular reader and practitioner of the UU ACIM lessons here, I'd love to hear from you what you think of them and how you have used them. Send me an email at davidgmarkham@gmail.com.

Thank you for your consideration.

No, I am not a UU minister

 Somebody asked me the other day, "Are you a UU minister?"

No, I am not. 

I am not affiliated in any way with the UUA or a UU congregation.

I am just an average guy living his life trying to apply the UU principles to his daily activities.

I am not ordained or sanctioned in any way by anybody other than God.

It would be accurate to say, I think I am on a mission from God to help make the world a better place. 

So reader, beware. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating" as they say.

I, like Jesus, have no authority, but my own, hopefully as a conduit of God's will and love into the world.

They mocked Jesus and called him "Rabbi" which would be like calling someone in a mocking way "professor" or "pastor."

Jesus didn't care and went on teaching. As you know, He came to a bad end when they killed Him. Many of His early disciples met the same fate of persecution and execution.

So it is dangerous to rock the boat in the ego world and go against the grain and disturb the status quo. This is what John Lewis and others in the Civil Rights era called "Good trouble."

I hope that UU A Way Of Life is a force for good in the world, but that remains to be seen.

No, I am not a UU minister. 

Thank you for asking.

UU A Way Of Life Weekly Review - 08/09/20 - 08/16/20

UU A Way Of Life reader satisfaction survey

Blog management - Explanation of feature "Letters from Hilton, NY."

History of UU A Way Of Life and what do you think about the viewership?

Leave a comment.

 Email me privately at davidgmarkham@gmail.com

 Call or text at 585-967-8510

Pageviews by countries for UU A Way Of Life from 08/02/20 - 08/09/20

I have no idea what this data means. There is the saying by Jesus that one cannot be a prophet in one's own land. And it seems to be accurate for this blog.

There were 2016 views of UU A Way Of Life blog pages outside the United States while only 245 in the United States. The viewership outside the United States is almost 9 times greater.

I have no ideas about how to explain this or how to use this information. If anyone has any ideas please leave them in the comments or email me privately at davidgmarkham@gmail.com.

Overview of the Grieving Process on Markham's Behavioral Health

The author, producer, and manager of the UU A Way Of Life blog also writes, produces, and manages three other blogs that may be of interest to readers of UU A Way Of Life.

Here is a recent posting on Markham's Behavioral Health entitled, "Overview of the grieving process." If you visit Markham's Behavioral Health to read the article you can subscribe to the blog in the upper right hand corner.

Taxpayers pay for police malpractice allowing it to continue - Recognizing Systemic Racism

The author, producer, and manager of the UU A Way Of Life blog also writes, produces, and manages three other blogs that may be of interest to readers of UU A Way Of Life.

Here is a recent posting on Recognizing Systemic Racism entitled, "Taxpayers pay for police malpractice allowing it to continue." If you visit Recognizing Systemic Racism to read the article you can subscribe to the blog in the upper right hand corner.

Does Media Collude With Law Enforcement to Glorify Police Violence? on Markham's Slow News

The author, producer, and manager of the UU A Way Of Life blog also writes, produces, and manages three other blogs that may be of interest to readers of UU A Way Of Life.

Here is a recent posting on Markham's Slow News entitled, "Does Media Collude With Law Enforcement To Glorify Police Violence." If you visit Markham's Slow News to read the article you can subscribe to the blog in the upper right hand corner.

Levels of difficulty in comprehending article content.

The article on the UU A Way Of Life blog can be classified by levels of difficulty. The levels used here are beginner, intermediate, advanced, pro. The classification of levels are rated by two main criteria: metaphysical knowledge, and religious literacy.

Many of the articles here require a higher level of metaphysical knowledge and religious literacy to be understandable to the reader. Without the appropriate mental models there is not enough understanding of context to comprehend the ideas in their thoroughness.

It is hoped there is something here for everyone interested in a spiritual life and yet some of the articles may challenge the reader's understanding. Readers are encouraged to continue visiting the blog and reading its content and it is hoped that as they grow in understanding, the visits and reading will become more satisfying and understandable.

From now on, articles will be tagged along with their topic, their level of difficulty: "beginner," "intermediate," and "advanced," "pro." By clicking on the level of difficulty tag, all the articles in that category can be accessed.

This system of categorization is not perfect and there is often overlap. It is hoped that this categorization system though will help the reader access content which is more satisfying.

UU A Way Of Life is not on Facebook due to deliberate choice.

Have you noticed that UU A Way of Life is not on Facebook? This is a deliberate choice not an oversight or lack of computer saavy.

What might be the reasons that UUAWOL is not on Facebook? Can you guess what they might be?

Suggestion box

Did you notice the suggestion box added to the right side-bar of the blog page?

You are encojuraged to make use of it if you have ideas about how the blog format and content can be improved or anything else that is on your mind.

I look forward to your ideas and comments.