Two paths: the path of the ego or the path of the spirit

Of the six sources articulated for the living tradition of Unitarian Universalism the first is "Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life." Sounds good in theory doesn't it? But are you ready? Are you ready for that "direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder...?" Not everyone is. Most people in our contemparary culture have chosen to go down a different path, the path of the ego. The path of the ego seductively entices us with materialism, power, sex, and illusional drama. Most people in our contemporary culture think the things on this ego path are real when postmodern philosophy has taught us that they simply are "social constructions."

The Dali Lama said that the purpose of human life is happiness. Profound statement. But what does it mean? The next question, of course, is, "what will make me happy?" It is in answering this question that the fun begins and people get lost in the wilderness.

Spiritual teachings tell us over and over and over again that the ego cannot make us happy. The ego promises to and seduces us into all kinds of things and activities and eventually we come up empty handed and in despair.

The spiritual path, though, leads to not only happiness, but joy, and bliss.

The Creator, our Higher Power, God, the Universe, the Ground of our Being, whatever we choose to call the Ultimate is always happy because it is the Ultimate's creation and the Ultimate could not be anything but pleased with the Ultimate's creation which the Ultimate only desires to share because sharing is part of the Creation itself. As part of this Creation we have a choice: to pursue the illusions of our separateness and what we think will make us happy in the kingdom we have created, or to pursue the Kingdom of Our Creator by discerning and following the Creator's will.

Discerning and following Our Creator's will is the narrow gate which Jesus talked about. The saying, "Many are called but few are chosen," at one level makes sense because not everyone chooses to follow the spiritual path of discerning and following God's will initially, but eventually everyone will come around to it. It's only a matter of time.

For those of us who have chosen the spiritual path to discern and follow God's will, it is our purpose to help our brothers and sisters make the same choice when they are ready. For those who follow the ego's path changing to follow the spiritual path can be a big change. It can be for some the easiest most natural thing in the world when they are ready, but becoming ready sometimes is very difficult and painful and entails much suffering because of all the mistakes that are made.

For those of us following the spiritual path, it is our job to forgive ourselves and our brothers and sisters for their mistakes for they know not what they do. Forgiveness is the path to gratitude and gratitude in the moment, the Holy Instant, is the path to the Kingdom of the Ultimate, the"direct experience of transcending mystery and wonder.".

Suggested spiritual practice #5 - Give something away

In many religious orders, priests, monks, brothers, nuns, sisters take a vow of voluntary poverty. Most of us are not following a religious vocation but we can benefit from a life of simplicity. It is a good practice to give some of your stuff away periodically. Maybe you can give it to a friend, on a re-cycle list in your area, or to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Volunteers of America second hand store. The spiritual life strives for simplicity and to give up our attachment to things.

Practice giving things away periodically like one day per month. It is better if you give things away personally one to one rather than through second hand store. However you do it, though, your spiritual life and others will benefit.

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In case you were wondering...........

Prophetic voices and events - Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is a whole new way of doing justice. Restorative justice is contrasted with retributive justice and works much better to heal us in our society. Retributive justice often just brings more pain and dysfunction.

Learn more and advocate for changes in our justice system. We now have better ways of doing justice but entrenched systems don't change unless they are encouraged to do so. Raise your prophetic voice asking for better justice practices in your community.

Question of the day

Most of us have addictions if by "addictions" we mean compulsive behaviors or compulsive use of substances we use to alter our mood. What, if anything, are you addicted to?

Can we get over our tiny selves to gain the whole world?

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. It is more than respect that is required. It is Love for the interdependent web and the awareness that the interdependent web is not separate from us but IS us.

Systems thinking helps us understand that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. With our Aristotelian logic and reductionist scientific method we gain power over phenomena by reducing the whole to its component parts and at the same time that linear, reductionist thinking enhances our understanding it also leaves us not seeing the forest for the trees.

When we talk about the Christ we are talking about the Oneness of humanity. The bumper sticker says, "You are unique like everyone else." We are separate but part of the whole. We are drops in the ocean. It is from the Oneness that we have appeared to manifest the divinity on this earth plane. Most of us, in a daze, think that the earth plane is all there is and is "reality." Some of us have seen behind the veil and know that there is more, another dimension, which we intuitively sense, but can't clearly see.

We sometimes experience revelation. It is written in A Course In Miracles, "Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension of doubt and fear. It reflects the original form of communication between God and His creations, involving the extremely personal sense of creation sometimes sought in physical relationships." T-1.II.1:1-2 This sense of Oneness is sometimes referred to as a mystical experience. In our contemporary times, with more psychological sophistication, we call this experience "flow."

This revelatory experience is possible with our surrendering to the Holy Spirit which links our desire to be special and separate with the truth which is that special and separate is an illusion because we are so much more if only we could get over our tiny self and become aware of the glorious Oneness of which we are a part.

Suggested Spiritual Practices #4 - Random acts of kindness

One day this week, perform five acts of kindness—all five in one day. It doesn’t matter if the acts are big or small, but it is more effective if you perform a variety of acts.

The acts do not need to be for the same person—the person doesn’t even have to be aware of them. Examples include feeding a stranger's parking meter, donating blood, helping a friend with a chore, or providing a meal to a person in need.

After each act, write down what you did in at least one or two sentences; for more of a happiness boost, also write down how it made you feel.

For more click here.

Editor's note:

Kindness should be a way of life not just some random acts, but a practice has to start somewhere. So start with 5 random acts of kindness in a single day and then go from there. The more practice the better you will get at it. It will become a natural way of life.