At a spiritual level we don't know what anything means

Unitarian Universalism promotes seven principles, the fourth of which is a free and responsible search for truth and meaning and the seventh of which is respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. In some ways these principles are contradictory and paradoxical. The third principle encourages us to gain greater control of ourselves and our world through increased knowledge and understanding, and the seventh principle acknowledges the mystery of belonging to something much larger than ourselves which we will never understand. In grasping for knowledge and meaning we create anxiety because at a spiritual level we become aware that we don't really know what anything means.

So many of my clients come to therapy complaining of anxiety. Their physicians have prescribed various medications and they don't seem to bring the relief desired. And so the question psychotherapists get asked is "can you help me?"

The common response to this question is to recommend a course of CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or some other form of psychotherapy which are myriad. At a spiritual level these psychological approaches miss the point and may actually do more harm than good. Adding more knowledge and techniques for managing symptoms of anxiety can be somewhat ameliorating but don't really get to the root of the problem. At a spiritual level, the client needs less knowledge not more. The client needs to rise above their worries not find better ways of managing them which paradoxically makes their worries even more prominent as a focus of attention.

The spiritual strategy for dealing with anxiety is to "turn it over to their Higher Power". As they say in Alcoholics Anonymous, "Let go and let God." AA teaches the Serenity prayer, "Dear God, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Heather complained of her anxiety especially when she was trying to fall asleep at night and during the day when she was in groups of people. In exploring the factors that seemed to contribute to these feelings of anxiety and her attempts to deal with these factors we made a little progress but Heather still not have the peace and confidence she was seeking and both she and I were frustrated with her situation. Finally, I turned my frustration over to the Holy Spirit seeking guidance and I was inspired to ask Heather,"What is your interior spiritual life like?" Heather paused, seemed to look inward in a pensive way, and said, "What an interesting question." We went on to talk about her prayer life, her attempts at meditation (mindfulness), and she began to noticeably relax.

It seemed that Heather did have an interior spiritual life which had not been recognized and acknowledged before. In reflecting on her engagement with her interior spiritual life, her pervasive anxiety began to subside and she reported longer periods of peace.

It seemed to me that her recognition and acknowledgement and further engagement with her interior spiritual life allowed Heather to let go of her anxieties and trust her intuition of her inner Higher Power.

At the end of the day, when we die, we all have to learn to let go unless, as Bruce Cockburn sings in his great song, Last Night Of The World, "we all have to be pried loose." What ultimately are we afraid of? We unconsciously sense that we have cut ourselves off from our Creator and this separation creates anxiety and deep yearning we often can't clearly identify to go back home. Peace comes from remembering what we really are and in that re-membering we become one with the all which brings a peace beyond understanding.

The Source of our Unitarian Universalist faith

The third principle of Unitarian Universalism is to covenant to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations (and around the world.) What does this acceptance and encouragement consist of? Becoming aware of the unconditional Love of the Spirit of Life and extending it through ourselves to others. This is the "miracle" of which A Course In Miracles speaks.

The Beatles got it right in their song, Love Is All You Need. In the last analysis, after all the drama, Love is all there is. We forget this and get caught up in judgment and strife. But underneath the insanity we create, we sense there is Love. It is true that Love is all you need, but more importantly is the awareness that Love is all there is. And so why do we fret and stew and suffer?

The Buddha taught us that suffering comes from attachment. A Course In Miracles teaches us that suffering comes from separation of ourselves from God and from one another. We forget our Source and in our willfulness even reject and resent our Source. In the drama that occurs with the creations of our egos we smother the awareness of our Loving Source.

In therapy when clients are describing their problems with me I will ask "What do you make of all that?" and they will retreat somewhat and say, "I don't know." and I will say, "Yes, you do." and they will look inward and come up with an answer or if they still resist, I will say, "Guess" and they always come up with something.

We do know deep down that our source is Unconditional Love which we have forgotten. Sometimes this awareness is so repressed that we have lost contact with it, but if we ask the Holy Spirit for help we become aware of the timeless wonder of the Love that is all there is.

The truth of the fourth principle is "keeping it real."

The fourth principle of Unitarian Universalism is the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We live now in a media and digital age where "Fake news" is the accusation of the day when we become aware of anything we don't agree with. What is the truth becomes even more questionable. And so, the question "What is the truth?" becomes even more important.

 A Course In Miracles teaches that Truth is the existence of God's unconditional love which goes beyond definition. It says in the Course's introduction, "The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is our natural inheritance." Can we give up our egos and get out of our own way? The drama of our egos are blocks to our awareness of love's presence and the truth.

In dissolving our egos or rising above them, we become mirrors of God's Holiness. God's love reflects off our beings as off a mirror. As Stephen Gaskin said one time, "In the last analysis all we have to offer others is our own state of being." What condition is your condition in? Is your condition authentic, genuine, sincere?

Lying, now called "spin," has become so acceptable that we have come to expect it from politicians, advertisers, proselytizers of all stripes, and even from friends and loved ones. Back in the 60s we would ask whether a person had his/her "shit together," whether in communicating with him/her we got "good or bad vibes."

My granddaughter said to her mother upon meeting the mother of her school friend in the mall, "Mama that woman is off. Isn't something wrong with her?" Indeed, the woman was very histrionic and full of hyperbole and my 8 year old granddaughter had picked up on it. At a young age, people know the truth.

And so, we might say that "truth" is very close to authenticity. People in California talk about "keeping it real." How authentic, how real are you keeping things in your life?

Today, when someone greets you and asks, "Hi. How are you doing?" You might try responding, "I'm great. I'm keeping it real." Being authentic, genuine, sincere, is mirroring the manifestation of God's love and creating heaven on earth.

Unitarian Universalism and the good life and good death

Nothing can provide a spur to one's spiritual life like a brush with death. Facing one's mortality square in the face brings existential concerns front and center. Considering one's imminent death leads one to reflect on what one has done with one's life and what is left to do - the so called "bucket list."

For me consideration of the end of my life left me feeling full of gratitude and thinking of all the people I was grateful to and wanted to say good bye to. It dawned on me that getting to the end of one's life and being full of gratitude is the sign and largest criterion for what we call "the good life."

The "good life" is one, the philosopher's tell us, comprised of virtue. Has one lived a life based on honesty, kindness, compassion, effort, good work, appreciation of beauty, recognition of evil, and awareness of one's Higher Power?

A life of reverence is better than a life of cynicism although cynicism has its place. "Don't mistake my being kind for being a fool," is an important principle. However, love and forgiveness trumps everything else.

Facing one's imminent death focuses one's attention and priority setting becomes much more desired. What is really important? "Will this make a difference after I am dead for the world left behind" becomes the navigational North Star by which one can make decisions.

People have said that they never started living until they were faced with their imminent death. Nothing focuses one's attention as well on what is really important.

What does Unitarian Universalism have to teach us about how to die well? Having lived a life based on the seven principles and using the six sources is a blessing. Perhaps Unitarian Universalism could flourish more if it promoted its principles as a way of life that leads to a good death full of satisfaction and fulfillment because of a life well lived.

Unitarian Universalism cannot be a "movement" if it is survive and flourish

Salted With Fire: Unitarian Universalist Strategies For Sharing Faith and Growing Congregations edited by Scott W. Alexander and published by Skinner House Books in 1994 leaves a lot to be desired and indicates why Unitarian Universalism is losing membership and not growing as a religious denomination.

A major flaw occurs when Unitarian Universalism is referred to as a "movement" rather than as a religion. If UUs consider their religious faith to be a social movement rather than a deep well of spirituality, it is doomed to increasing irrelevance.

While Unitarian Universalism has articulated its six sources, it has done a poor job of articulating the perennial theology than flows from these sources. Rather it has become distracted by social justice issues which are better dealt with by NGOs who specialize in those problems. Religious faith, while it is made manifest in good works, is not based on those works but on the beliefs, values, preferences, and intentions which motivate them. It is in the failure to nurture this spiritual foundation which contributes to the demise of Unitarian Universalism as a well spring of religious faith.

Consequently, there will be fewer posts on this blog, UU A Way Of Life, and more on Notes on the Spiritual Life. Readers of UU A Way Of Life are welcomed at NSL

UU witness is needed to redeem the U.S. from the sin of Trumpism

Trumpism manifests the dark underbelly of American culture characterized by sexism, racism, religious intolerance, xenophobia, and fear mongering intimidation. This shadow side of American culture is partially hidden most of the time even though it erupts continuously in pockets of subjugated and oppressed subcultures where victims are powerless to combat it. The majority of the population politely ignores these manifestations of injustice with excuses such as "I didn't want to get into it," "there was nothing I could do anyway," and "it has nothing to do with me." Now, Trumpism is rubbing our proverbial noses in it with a societal drama that is a caricature of what has been present all along, but which we, as a society, have preferred to ignore and deny. Americans and people around the world have been woken from their slumber by the wolf at the door threatening the stability and well being of a whole nation and people around the world.

Unitarian Universalists have a far different view of the world that the one presented by Trumpism. UUs with their seven principles affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person not just the wealthy, the beautiful, and the powerful. UUs with their seven principles affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations not predation, unequal treatment, and contempt and disdain for those unwilling or unable to comply with the requirements and expectations of the more powerful. UUs affirm and promote a free and responsible search for truth and meaning not lying, manipulation, and blaming and shaming of those who would disagree or question the assumed righteousness of the powerful. UUs affirm and promote the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all not the "pay to play" "give to get" mentality that characterizes Trumpism.

If there is a modern example of sin one need look no farther than the statements and behavior of those who espouse Trumpism  where assault is encouraged at rallies and disrespect for others is cheered with vicious emotional arousal bordering on riot.

At this time, more than ever, the UU witness is needed in America to counteract the toxic poison of Trumpism. UUs need to call the nation to repentance with the goal of redeeming our nation from the scourge of the hell being envisioned and the Trumpists are attempting to create.

All UUs must reject Trumpism and promote and affirm the inherent worth and dignity of very person

Donald Trump's lewd conversation with Billy Bush on the Access Hollywood bus is not locker room talk. It is the talk of a sexual predator. Rudy Guliani trying to normalize sexual predation saying on the Sunday morning talk shows that "all men talk like that" is sadly mistaken. The men I associate with do not talk like that, think like that, or behave like Trump described himself as doing "I moved on her like a bitch."

Trump's attempt at normalizing sexually assaultive talk, thoughts, and behavior is antithetical to UU principles and should be identified and rejected by all courageous men and women of UU faith. Donald Trump's vision of making America great again where men are men and women are the targets of their lustful assaults is a vision of a hell on earth which all  UUs must reject as they continue to work on building a world where the inherent worth and dignity of every person is affirmed and promoted.
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