Living the UU way of life took UUs and UU leaders to Charlottesville

LaShawn Warren in his article, "Race and the credibility of the church" asks where the church leaders are in the face of President Trump's racist remarks after Charlottesville? There was more of a reaction from the business community than from the religious community.

"In that light, perhaps more disturbing than the president’s racially insensitive remarks has been the response from key leaders within the faith community. In a complete rejection of Christian teachings, several members of the president’s evangelical advisory board—comprised of faith leaders charged with providing a moral and spiritual compass for the world—rushed to the president’s defense, an act tantamount to theological negligence. A few condemned the rally, but many faith leaders remained silent and simply watched from the sidelines as the national tragedy unfolded. None of the board members criticized Trump for his divisive comments, and all but one chose to remain on the board. This stands in sharp contrast to the White House business council members who, in a strong rebuke of the president’s response to Charlottesville, resigned in rapid succession."

It is inspiring to read that UUs are in the forefront of protesting Trump's support for White Nationalism and racist bigotry.

UU: Sunday morning fellowship or a way of life?

Bill you asked how UU A Way Of Life got its name. It comes from several sources all of which contributed to the idea that Unitairan Universalism is not a "movement" as some people call it, but a religious path which, if it is to be beneficial, must be lived.

Unitarian Universalism asks us to covenant together to affirm and promote seven principles which, it is believed in faith, will lead us to a happier life. Unitarian Universalism provides us with a sense of purpose in joining together with not only other like minded people but with the whole world.

It seems that there is a curiosity behind your question, Bill, that is wondering about a choice that a person has to make between a life without the UU principles and covenant, and one with them. That choice is one, at least for me, of a life without meaning, purpose, hope and joy, and one with those things which Unitarian Universalism can provide.

There are other paths to happiness for sure, and Unitarian Universalism is only one of many. The institutional UU church denomination which is the physical manifestation of the covenant is very small compared to other religious ways of life and yet its smallness does not detract from its ability to radiate a light of truth to the world which far exceeds its diminutive size. There is no order of importance and significance when it comes to truth and Unitarian Universalism may excel in quality although not yet in quantity.

Part of the faith of UU is that its covenant will spread eventually as the truth of its principles become apparent to others and they choose, too, to follow the principles to work together, in fellowship, to achieve a happier world.

The basis of the UU faith which comes from our Universalist tradition is love. Love is the basis of our faith. One of the UU affirmations written by Lucas Hergert sums up the meaning of Unitarian Universalism succinctly when we say together in unison:

Love is the doctrine of this church
Our faith in each other is its sacrament
Working for justice and living with compassion is its prayer.
Reverently we covenant together
to stand on the side of love, to heal and not to harm,
and to share hope with each other and with the world.

These words, Bill, could just be empty words, but if said with sincerity and intention it is not just a Sunday morning liturgical ornament of worship but rather a  commitment to a way of life which is precious.

I appreciate your question, Bill, and I am interested in your further thoughts.

Sincerely,

David

Ask yourself, "What is the purpose of this relationship?" UUs third principle

Dear Lucy:

Since our discussion about Unitarian Universalism and sex you have asked some good questions about what A Course In Miracles calls "special relationships." At 26 these are very important questions for you to be asking because our society loves to pair people off and there is pressure from family, friends and society at large to find that special someone with whom to settle down and perhaps have children with and make a family. As a species this is evolutionarily desirable because it assures the continuation of our species, homo sapiens. The problems arise when the ego wants to play games and usurp the place of God, the Spirit of Life in our lives. The ego teaches the idea of romantic love and that there is a special someone, a soul mate, who will understand you completely and be there for you always so you will never be misunderstood or lonely again. You are wise enough to understand that this is utter nonsense and impossible and some with a theological perspective might even call it idolatry because it puts love in special relationships in front of  the love of God. The faith in special relationships, as you sense, is, the path to hell on earth.

For most people special relationships are imprisoning and require the individual to give up his/her freedom.  In the twentieth century this was jokingly referred to as the "ole ball and chain" meaning that getting married was a life of possessiveness, restriction, and servile compliance with the desires of another. Rather than being liberating, marriage, committed relationships, were seen as enslavement.

As you seem to sense, true love is freedom and by placing yourself in bondage you separate yourself from freedom and embark on a path of misery and claustrophobia.  The trick of the ego is to tell us that we have to give something to get something and the price of marital bliss is sacrifice. Sacrifice though will never make you happy but leads down a path to resentment, fear, and suffering,

The biggest lie ever told is that sex is the ultimate proof of love. The ego wants us to believe this, but all we have to do is watch pornography and we can tell this is not true. A body sexually aroused is just that and often nothing more. When we realize this, we feel betrayed and disillusioned, and depressed and sometimes suicidal because we are greatly confused about the meaning of life.

To get ourselves better oriented we should look for the divine spark in people and focus on that. Joining in mutual purpose with other human beings is great joy. When we experience this lift in our awareness and consciousness, we feel a grace and a blessing which is very liberating and brings an enhancement of hope, faith, and confidence in the goodness of Life. A good relationship is one that is turned over to the Holy Spirit for use as a schoolroom for salvation and reunion with awareness of being a part of the Godhead. Does this relationship help us become a better person and relate to the world in more beneficial and loving ways? The true test of loving relationships is peace.

Unitarian Universalism teaches all this in a deep reading of its seven principles with the first probably being the most important: the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This principle is not referring to bodies but to spirits, to souls. The best question you can ask yourself as you try to sort out your thoughts and desires about relationships is: "What is the purpose of this relationship?" Unitarian Univeralism says in its third principle that we should be focused on the encouragement of spiritual growth. The more difficult question to answer is "How do we do that?" Many ways, Lucy. Use your talents and abilities in ways you find satisfying and fulfilling and you will grow and the people you are in relationship with will benefit as well.

Love,

Uncle David

What's romantic love got to do with it? UU and its seventh principle.

Hector, in your comment yesterday on the article "Cosmic Consciousness and Unitarian Universalism" you wrote, "In the couples I counsel the often hold a secret resentment which goes, "You used to love me and still could, if only you would, but you won't because you________." We blame our unhappiness on our partner as if it were in his/her power to make us happy. This assumption is, of course, delusional, because our partner can't make him/her self happy. How could (s)he take responsibility for our happiness? The answer is not to look for happiness in external relationships, but to seek happiness within. Jesus said, I believe, that the kingdom of God is within you." Unitarian Universalism teaches that happiness resides in the respect for the interdependent web of all existence.

It is interesting how we, in Western Civilization, put special relationships, especially those based on romantic love, on a pedestal to be worshiped. This worship goes on in our arts such as music, movies, TV shows, literature, as well as gossip, and personal stories where these relationships are held up as a path to our salvation or damnation depending on the arc of the story. We have ignored or forgotten that these special relationships are but a small part of the interdependent web of all existence and often they blind us to it because of the intense focus and drama which these relationships entail for us. We would do well to remember Tina Turner's great song, What Does Love Got To Do With It?

To those with higher levels of consciousness, there is an awareness that romantic love is an illusion and special relationships are a counterfeit substitute for the authentic fulfillment and completion of ourselves that we seek. That authentic fulfillment and completion can only come with reunion with the creative energy of the universe, the interdependent web of all existence of which our physical bodies are only a temporary manifestation. We spent so much time and energy looking for that fulfillment, completion, and peace in all the wrong places.

Universalism teaches that God loves us unconditionally and forgives our separation and is waiting patiently for our reunion. And so, Hector, thank you for your comment and sharing what you have learned from your couples' counseling. It helps us understand a tremendous source of our unhappiness on the ego plane. It would be well if we could rise above the idolatry we practice with romantic relationships. Overcoming this idolatry would be a major step in bringing a higher quality joy and peace to our human existence and creating heaven on earth.

All the best, and thanks for your comments,

Davd

UUAWOL fiction book of the month, September, 2017 - Heroes Of The Frontier by Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers latest novel, Heroes Of The Frontier, is the UUAWOL fiction book of the month for September, 2017.

The main hero of Eggers' novel is Josie, a dentist, who loses her practice through a malpractice claim against her when she failed to diagnose an oral cancer in an older woman she was treating.  Josie, divorced, takes her two kids, a son aged 8 and a daughter aged 5 and decides to go to Alaska to visit a foster sister. The story is about this adventure.

The morals of the story are many and in the mind of the reader. Share your thoughts through out the month.

Cosmic consciousness and Unitarian Universalism

Kevin, I know that you were raised as a Christian and have taken your faith seriously for most of your life. However, when you told me that you are starting to question your faith I, for one, reassure you that this is a good thing for many of the things that we are taught by our religion can impede our spiritual development unless we  question some of the teachings that don't seem quite right to us.

You asked me about Jesus' statements in Matthew's gospel where Jesus says "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it"10:37 This teaching is rarely understood and preached on because it is so foreign to what our society's norms are and what people want to hear.

The ego wants us to put special relationships ahead of God because the ego teaches that these special relationships are what will make us happy although when we are honest we must admit that these special relationships bring us as much suffering, anxiety, anger, hurt, and destruction as they do joy and peace. The reason these relationships disturb our joy and peace is because our desire for union and completion (belonging) is misplaced. What we unconsciously are really desiring is to become one again with the universe and enjoy the enlightenment of cosmic consciousness. Can special relationships ever give us that?

When we realize that we have been looking for love in all the wrong places we feel foolish and ashamed. We think we should have known better all along. We may also be angry and sad that we have wasted so much time in the drama and enervation of trying to achieve the unachievable. Jesus tries to set us straight, to point us in the right direction, but largely, even by churches that profess to follow His teachings, His teachings are either not understood or ignored as being too difficult to act on.

Unitarian Universalism teaches the unconditional love of the creator and reassures us that the Spirit of Life would never abandon us or condemn us to punishment. UU encourages us to not get people into heaven but heaven into people and asks us to covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person not just some people or special people. One of the ways to get heaven into people is to recognize and acknowledge that all people are special in the sense that everyone is unique just like everybody else.:-)) Jesus is calling us to a higher path when He tells us we must detach from special relationships and first and foremost devote ourselves to the Holy, the union of everybody with everybody all the time which is heaven.

Kevin, this calling by Jesus is a call to a miraculous way of living in which we change our perception from the special relationships on the ego plane to the cosmic consciousness of oneness with the Godhead.

As they say in AA, "Let go, and let God." Continue to question authority on the ego plane and seek the guidance of the inner voice of God. The way you can tell the difference is if the ideas give you peace.

Uncle David

How do UU parents explain Donald Trump's election to their kids?

Dr. Ava Sigler wrote in her book, How Do I Explain This To My Kids: Parenting In The Age Of Trump, "Beyond these threats to our democratic way of life, Donald Trump's performance during his campaign and presidency has seemingly validated a long list of behaviors we strive to get our children to recognize and reject, from rudeness, prejudice, and bullying to dishonesty, greed, and shamelessness." p.ix

Here in New York State most school districts start school this coming Wednesday, after Labor Day, on September 6, 2017 and the societal tension will increase as adults, parents, teachers, and other adults must address the problematic behavior of the U.S. President and what to tell the kids?

What ideas do you have? What have you told your kids? What would you hope would be taught to them in school? If Donald Trump exhibited his campaign and post election rally behavior in school he would have been suspended or expelled. Yesterday, I heard a focus group on TV and these were people who voted for Donald Trump, discuss the idea that they no longer expect him to act "presidential" because they stated he doesn't even act professional. Many of the members of the group stated that they would be fired from their place of employment if they acted like Donald Trump, and most kids would be place on some sort of disciplinary protocol if they acted like Trump in school.

Even more egregious are the congressional members of Donald Trump's party who fail to act, and who by their silence allow the behavior to continue uncensured. Evil triumphs when good people do nothing and look the other way.