Showing posts with label Susan Schmidt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Susan Schmidt. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

What is a person's basic nature? Are we born with the original blessing or with original sin?

by Susan Schmidt

It is written in A Course In Miracles, "You are a work of God, and His work is wholly lovable and wholly loving. This is how a man must think of himself in his heart, because this is what he is." T-1.III.2:2-4

This statement affirms the idea that human beings are born with an original blessing and are basically good. It is the drama of the ego plane which distorts their perceptions which influences dysfunctional behavior.

As the 4th Tuesday night class emphasizes, the Unitarian Universalist value of the inherent worth and dignity of every person puts UUs at odds with much of the culture they find themselves living in. This has significant implications for a UU way of life which won't be described here at this time but which you can pause and imagine in your own mind. I'm sure, if you are living the first principle, you have your own story of conflict and disagreement with the predominant culture you are living in.

It is written in A Course In Miracles, "As long as a single 'slave' remains to walk the earth, your release is not complete. Complete restoration of the Sonship is the only goal of the miracle-minded." T-1.VII.3:13-14 If we are to take this statement from ACIM seriously, it means that we UUs have a lot of work to do to raise the consciousness of our fellow human beings who are "slaves" to norms and beliefs in our culture which are antithetical to the Atonement. The most important function of UUs in our contemporary world is to witness to the truth, and in this case, the truth which we covenant to affirm and promote is the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Amen! May it be so.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Susan Schmidt - Are you miracle ready?

By Susan Schmidt

David Markham in his Tuesday night class #3 discusses the meaning of the word "person" in the first principle of Unitarian Universalism. He asks the question, "What does it mean when we say the "person" has worth and dignity?"

My understanding of A Course In Miracles is that humanity is on an evolutionary trajectory to become aware of the Atonement which is, in Course terms, better articulated as the At-One-Ment. John Lennon in his great song, Imagine, points to the awareness of this reality when we humans are able to rise above our divisions demarcated by national boundaries, religious creeds, colors, sexual orientations, sex, and any number of other dividing practices that we humans engage in in an attempt to make ourselves unique and special. What we forget when we engage in these dividing practices is "yes, we are special and unique just like everyone else."

Unitarian Universalism takes us closer to the awareness that Mr. Markham is pointing to when we consider our seventh principle, the respect for the interdependent web of all existence. Rev. James Ford describes himself and a few other UU pastors as "first and seventh principle preachers." It would seem that all Unitarian Universalists who really embrace the UU Way Of Life should be first and seventh principle UUs.

Mr. Markham quotes A Course in Miracles when he says in his talk, "Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them. By being united this mind goes out to everyone, even without the awareness of the miracle worker himself." T-1.III.7:7-8 The question might be are you ready, are we ready as a church, to work miracles? A miracle in the Course's terms is a change in perception. A miracle is seeing the world in a new and different way than the way of the ego. A miracle is when the light bulb goes on and we have a rise in consciousness and we realize the wholeness of life and that we are utterly dependent on the whole and in this realization are filled with gratitude.

It says in the Course, "You respond to what you perceive, and as you perceive so shall you behave." T-1.III.6:1

"Since you and your neighbor are equal members of one family, as you perceive both so you will do to both. You should look out from the perception of your holiness to the holiness of others." T-1.III.6:6-7

May you experience your day as a miracle.

Editor's note:

Susan Schmidt is a long time student of A Course In Miracles, and she is interested in studying the resonance of the Course with Unitarian Universalist values and understandings. She will be writing a regular column for UU A Way Of Life.
Print Friendly and PDF