The poverty of Unitarian Universalism because of its lack of sacraments

Having been raised a Roman Catholic, I was taught about the seven sacraments for the Roman Catholic church which, unlike most of the Protestant denominations, is a sacramental church. These sacraments occur at points in major transitions in the human life cycle: infant baptism at birth, first Eucharist and penance at the "age of reason" around age 7, confirmation in adolescence, marriage and ordination as a gateway to adulthood and generativity, and last rites at death. Other religions have similar rites of passage. Which rites of passage have been meaningful to you in your spiritual life?

Currently, at 71, I am an elder and it is a role I am still learning how to enact for myself and others in my life. Our contemporary society doesn't help much, as there are no clear rites of passage into elderhood other than obtaining Social Security, Medicare, and, perhaps, retiring from one's main career or professions although many continue to work if they are able at least part time.

Elderhood is also a time of generativity when there is a concern about helping the younger generation benefit from what one has learned from one's life experience. This role is not taken by all older people. As one wag put it, "Growing old and growing up are two different things." As we continue to be alive we all grow older but whether we grow up is a choice and intention we each must make. Growing up has to do with spiritual development. It is the ever increasing development of wisdom.

Socrates said an unexamined life is not worth living. If one has lived and is living an examined life, wisdom is the result, it not, then not so much.

Having moved over to Unitarian Universalism I miss the sacramental way of life. UU sometimes celebrate rites of passage with dedications, marriage, funerals but these rituals seems secularized and can be engaged in in other places than in church.

Many of the UUs I have met are also converts with a small minority being cradle UUs. Perhaps one of the contributing factors to the decreasing UU membership is its failure, as a faith tradition, to provide meaningful ways of celebrating major life transitions imbued with spiritual meaning.

UUs first principle: deeper reflections

In yesterday's post we discussed who the "person" is in UUs first principle that has inherent worth and dignity. The point was made that "the person" is not the body, but rather the spirit. And the inherent worth and dignity of the person's spirit springs from what Emerson called the "Oversoul" or the membership in the cosmic consciousness, in the ground of being which belongs to homo sapiens and all living things.

Once we remember that we are not our body but rather our spirit we have to decide to which, our body or spirit, we will give our allegiance. In most religious traditions this awareness is called "remembering" as in re-member, becoming again consciously aware of our membership in the body of Christ, the cosmic consciousness, the Oneness of Creation.

In A Course In Miracles, this decision to re-member the Oneness from which we have come and to eschew the separation is called "right mindedness." We no longer are insane in thinking that the egoistic world is real and recognize that we have created a world of illusion. It is written in A Course In Miracles: " The exaltation of the body is given up in favor of the spirit, which you love as you could never love the body." T-19.D.5:4

A friend of mine, Peter, said to me one time, "Dave, don't you think there is so much more to life that we just don't understand?"

I said, "Yes, sometimes I have that thought and feeling too. It's like there is a glimmer of something beyond. I reminded of that old Peggy Lee song, 'Is that all there is?'

"Yeah, well," said Peter, "I've decided to pay more attention to that feeling and sense and less to the drama of my every day life. It seems to make me happier. Do you think I'm nuts?"

"Many people would," I said. "But I don't. I get it, and I'm with you."

"Thank you," Peter said. "You're a good friend."

"Likewise, coming back to you," I said. "What about those Bills this year! Doing pretty well aren't they?"

The "person" is not the body.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote seven principles the first of which is the inherent worth and dignity of every person. The question, of course, is what do we mean by the word "person?" Is the "person" their body or is there more to them than that?

We mistakenly think we are a body and not a part of the mystical body of Christ or a part of the cosmic consciousness or a part of the godhead. We are an extension of the energy and force of the universe. As such we don't die we just change form. The form changes but not the content. We are part of the All and the All is what we are not the body.

This identification with a body degrades our peace. Our ego engenders distress on so many levels in so many areas. The ego creates drama all the time. As a client said to me the other day, "It seems things just keep happening to me. It's one thing after an other!" We laughed. It is funny. The dramas we construct are often incongruous and absurd.

A Course In Miracles teaches that the answer to our lives of drama is to turn them over to the Holy Spirit and ask the Holy Spirit to judge for us, because, if we are honest and being authentic and genuine, what do we know?

A Course In Miracle suggests we say this little prayer:

"Take this from me and look upon it, judging it for me,
Let me not see it as a sign of sin and death, nor use it for destruction.
Teach me how not to make it an obstacle to peace, but
let You use it for me, to facilitate its coming."

The modern day version of this prayer would be:

"Dear Lord, help me! Fuck it. Don't worry, be happy."

The first principle derives from the spirit not the body

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote seven principles the first of which is the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This inherent worth and dignity springs from their spirit not their body. Bodies come in many shapes, colors, sizes, and abilities. Identification with and defense of the body leads to many spiritual problems such as racism, homophobia, discrimination against people with disabilities and other physical characteristics.

Did you ever notice that people who focus on the body to the exclusion of the spirit wind up becoming disillusioned and miserable? Have you ever noticed the fleeting pleasure that the body provides only to become satiated and then anxious again for another fix for whatever it is craving? Does it seem that nothing is ever good enough and there is a greedy belief that more and more is better? Have you noticed that this chasing after bodily pleasures deprives us from any lasting peace?

There is something perverse and sad about the preoccupation and obsessions and compulsions that drive our physical attempts to soothe our troubled cravings. We have misplaced our focus on the expected source of our desired peace and joy on the body instead of the mind.

It is written in A Course In Miracles:

"The body can bring you neither peace nor turmoil; neither joy nor pain. 5 It is a means, and not an end. 6 It has no purpose of itself, but only what is given to it. 7 The body will seem to be whatever is the means for reaching the goal that you assign to it. 8 Only the mind can set a purpose, and only the mind can see the means for its accomplishment, and justify its use. " T-18.B.i.10:4-10

The tendency to objectify the body and submit to lust rather than take interest in and appreciate the spirit is a mistake. This mistake, while momentarily can give us pleasure, robs us of longer term joy and well being. The mature person who has achieved a degree of wisdom knows this.

The abundant well of Unitarian Universalism lies in its covenant

"Spiritual longing is a sort of loneliness for an unknown yet deeply perceived presence. Some call the presence God; some call it peace; some call it consciousness; some call it love. Its source rests in the well of our hearts. When we slow down, quiet the mind, and allow ourselves to feel hungry for something we do not understand, we are dipping into the abundant well of spiritual longing."
-Elizabeth Lesser, The New American Spirituality, p. xiv

John Bradshaw called this longing the "hole in the soul." Clients go to psychotherapy complaining of depression and anxiety and they cannot identify the source of their anguish. In our materialistic society we have been conditioned to fill the hole in our souls with stuff, chemicals, compulsive behaviors, and special relationships. Some more mature souls recognize the anguish as a separation from the godhead, the ground of their being. This awareness sometimes is only a slight glimmer and comes sometimes only on the heals of tragedy.

Sometimes religion provides a path to greater spiritual awareness and sometimes it obstructs our awareness of Love's presence in our lives.

When have you felt that there is something bigger in life than what you had been aware of before? If you pursued it, how did you connect with it?

Many people come to Unitarian Universalism looking for something. That something is a connection which facilitates and enhances the sense of what Lesser calls the "abundant well. The abundant well is contained in the covenant to affirm and promote basic principles. Unitarian Universalism would flourish if a greater sense of focus and mission were placed on this mission.

The major existential questions.

Question - How can I think about spirituality so I can enhance it in my life in a more deliberate way?

Answer - There are many models of religion but only one of spirituality. This one model of spirituality has been called the perennial philosophy. The perennial philosophy describes the elements of spirituality that is described in all major religions. Over the next several weeks we will be describing these elements.

In this article let's consider the major existential questions that all human beings become aware of and reflect on.

Why was I born?

What is the purpose of my life?

What happens when I die?

Who (What) will make be happy?

Who loves me or will love me?

Who (what) should I love?

When I make mistakes how should I correct them?

Life is a school room and as it teaches in A Course In Miralces we are given the above curriculum. We have no choice in the curriculum. Free will only allows us to choose when and how we take it.

Symptoms of spiritual poverty - gun culture

The United States is a country of fear. Citizens arm themselves against fellow citizens. This cultural norm is mistaken. It is nothing than Unitarian Universalism teaches. UUs stand on the side of love, not on the side of fear. The UU way is a path to heaven on earth while the U.S, gun culture is a path to hell which we witness weekly in our media.

It is absurdly funny that the politicians who take money from the NRA to promote the gun culture encourage people to pray for the victims in Las Vegas and other mass shootings while they do nothing to change the glorification and enthusiasm for guns.

Guns, being a tool of destruction, are recommended as an antidote to fear of attack by a hostile other who is portrayed as intent on bodily harm. This is the hell on earth that the NRA and our politicians have promoted and encouraged not for the betterment of humanity, but rather to increase the profits from the sale of weapons and ammunition.

These activities of promoting a gun culture are huge mistakes begging for correction and yet profit takes precedence over human well being. This is a symptom of extreme spiritual poverty in the United States of America which promotes a culture of fear and death rather than a culture of well being and happiness.

Change begins with each one of us altering our mindset from one of fear to one of love and helpfulness. Our spiritual well being does not depend on our bodily safety. This is a sophisticated idea because egos identify so strongly with their bodies they fail to realize they are so much more.