The three ultimate existential questions can be used for personal reflection, personal discussion with an intimate partner, and/or part of a small group discussion. Socrates said that an unexamined life is not worth living. It is healthy and joyful to examine our own.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Q & A - What would love have me do?
This Q & A refers to the article below "What would love have me do." Use it for your own reflection, to discuss with a partner, or in your small group discussion group.
Unitarian Universalism and sex.
Unitarian Universalism is neutral about sexual behavior being neither for it or against it. UU respects the person's right to conscience and the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. UU also insists on the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Having said that, UU leaves the topic of sex alone.
The main purpose of sex, of course, is procreative to assure the continuation of our species, homo sapiens. Mother Nature has also made sex enjoyable for the most part so that humans will engage in it. On the ego plane, humans have wrapped sexual behavior into a belief about special relationships which becomes called romantic love. This emphasis on special relationships when it comes to sex contributes to huge amounts of drama as evidenced in our songs, our movies, our TV shows, and literature.
When it comes to sexual attraction and behavior, the emphasis is on the body with less attention to the soul. Pornography carries this dynamic to the extreme wherein lust is stimulated by images and interactions which have nothing to do with the spirits of the people engaged in the activity. This emphasis is in violation of UUs first principle and the fourth and so may diminish the deeper awareness of the possible meaning and purpose of sexual behavior which may be to transcend the physical and enhance deeper spiritual communication. Psychologists have found that sexual satisfaction is not enhanced by mechanical actions but by the quality of friendship of the people involved.
And so we come back again to the question behind your question which is "What is the purpose of sexual behavior?" The answer is procreative and recreative and it is in the procreative aspect that unconsciously we experience the most guilt because we believe that we have usurped the creative power of God. God is the creative energy of the universe who uses us to extend God's creation and we should realize that this creative power is not ours, but comes from the Godhead working through us. Do we understand ourselves to be the extension of God's creative energy in the world when we engage in sex or do we think we have stolen this power to ourselves alone? It is this unconscious guilt that we have stolen the fire of creation from God that leads to the myriad rules that religions make about sex without being fully aware of what they are doing.
Unitarian Universalism is not a guilt inducing religion. It does not teach the belief about Original sin but of Original blessing. UU does not believe in sin, guilt, and fear as other religions do and so it is neutral when it comes to sexual behavior. Unitarian Universalism is one religion which is not into the guilting business. If UUs teach anything about sexual behavior, it is that sex should always be loving, and respectfully engaged in with an awareness of our contributing with the Godhead to the interdependent web of all existence.
Love,
Uncle David
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
What would Love have me do? Unitarian Universalist fourth principle
Dear George:
On the phone yesterday as you told me about your break-up with Judy, you cried and said you didn't know what to do. I said, "Yes, you do. What do you think?" And you told me, and it became apparent that you knew the answer all along. You were just too upset to recognize it.
We often know deep down what is in our best interests and others. Some people call this "intuitive wisdom" and this intuitive wisdom seems to be more readily available to some people than to others. In other words, some people have learned how to turn within and listen. Others look for external answers and fill their lives with screens, social media, and all kinds of external distractions. This behavior reminds me of the song, "Looking for love in all the wrong places." I will change the word "love" to "wisdom." Looking for wisdom in all the wrong places.
There is a couple of sentences in A Course In Miracles that point to this idea of intuitive wisdom. It is written, "This is a course in how to know yourself. You have taught what you are, but have not let what you are teach you." We all probably will admit that we don't know ourselves very well and very few of us knows what makes us tick. This deep level of self understanding is very rare. If you want to bring a conversation to an abrupt halt ask the person you are talking with, "Tell me, what makes you tick?" The question almost seems impertinent, doesn't it? We teach who we think we are and often our teaching is delusional at best, and harmful at worst. And yet if we deeply listen to the whisperings of the Spirit, we learn who we really are and then we begin to teach that and our lives and those of others improve.
I have shared with you before, George, my interest in Unitarian Universalism and the fourth princple of UU is to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This search, if we are serious about it, will take us inward not outward, we will search the internal not the external. And so, you knew, all along what you needed to do about your relationship with Judy, and you said to me, "Give her, her space." We agreed that giving her her space seemed to be the loving thing.
The test, George, of your decision about what to do about your relationship with Judy is whether it brings you peace and joy in the end. Breaking up is hard to do as Neil Sedaka sang, and yet possessivness, control, domination, guilt induction, retribution, are not the answer even though the ego often wants us to engage in these tactics. The answer to most of our problems is "What would Love have me do?"
Peace be unto you,
Uncle David
On the phone yesterday as you told me about your break-up with Judy, you cried and said you didn't know what to do. I said, "Yes, you do. What do you think?" And you told me, and it became apparent that you knew the answer all along. You were just too upset to recognize it.
We often know deep down what is in our best interests and others. Some people call this "intuitive wisdom" and this intuitive wisdom seems to be more readily available to some people than to others. In other words, some people have learned how to turn within and listen. Others look for external answers and fill their lives with screens, social media, and all kinds of external distractions. This behavior reminds me of the song, "Looking for love in all the wrong places." I will change the word "love" to "wisdom." Looking for wisdom in all the wrong places.
There is a couple of sentences in A Course In Miracles that point to this idea of intuitive wisdom. It is written, "This is a course in how to know yourself. You have taught what you are, but have not let what you are teach you." We all probably will admit that we don't know ourselves very well and very few of us knows what makes us tick. This deep level of self understanding is very rare. If you want to bring a conversation to an abrupt halt ask the person you are talking with, "Tell me, what makes you tick?" The question almost seems impertinent, doesn't it? We teach who we think we are and often our teaching is delusional at best, and harmful at worst. And yet if we deeply listen to the whisperings of the Spirit, we learn who we really are and then we begin to teach that and our lives and those of others improve.
I have shared with you before, George, my interest in Unitarian Universalism and the fourth princple of UU is to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This search, if we are serious about it, will take us inward not outward, we will search the internal not the external. And so, you knew, all along what you needed to do about your relationship with Judy, and you said to me, "Give her, her space." We agreed that giving her her space seemed to be the loving thing.
The test, George, of your decision about what to do about your relationship with Judy is whether it brings you peace and joy in the end. Breaking up is hard to do as Neil Sedaka sang, and yet possessivness, control, domination, guilt induction, retribution, are not the answer even though the ego often wants us to engage in these tactics. The answer to most of our problems is "What would Love have me do?"
Peace be unto you,
Uncle David
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