How do you want to live your life? By the law of scarcity or the law of abundance?

One of the unique understandings of Universalism is the understanding of God's unconditional love for God's creation. Born in a time of hell fire and brimstone preaching of the Puritans, Universalism was a big deal, a startling contrast to the image of God preached at the time, a God of judgment and condemnation and predetermined segregation of saved and damned.

The universalists had an awesome insight into the nature of the spiritual realm. The universalists had a message for the world which, unfortunately, has grown dimer in the Trumpian era of white nationalism, xenophobia, and increasing income and wealth disparity. The citizens of the United States have created a moral morass. The immoral malady has taken over the country where over half its annual budget is spent on militarization while help for the poor is increasingly withdrawn. The United States of America has become a country most accurately described as a moral cesspool based on its policies and financial allocations. The light of understanding of Universalism is desperately needed to heal a country which has lost its way.

God loves us all unconditionally.

That is the truth on which our faith rests.

God loves God's whole creation all the time.

Human beings, however, want to be in charge. We have separated ourselves from God's unconditional love because we want to be special. To be special be must compare and in comparing there are winners and losers. Our specialness excels at the expense of others.

In the desire for specialness the law, which we have made up because it isn't of God, of scarcity has been created. The law of scarcity requires winners and losers and to be a winner we must fight, we must attack others. The corollary law is "get them before they get you." With the creation of this corollary law of "get them before they get you" we have created hell, hell on earth.

Hell on earth is of the making of human beings who are willful. It has nothing to do with God. God's world of unconditional love knows nothing of scarcity. In God's world there is enough for everybody.

How do we who understand get of the world of hell we have created to the world of unconditional love of God?

First, we need to understand. We need to understand that the hell on earth is the handiwork of mortals.

Second, we need to intend to live in a different world than the hell we have created.

Third we need to act by forgiving ourselves and others for our selfish, greedy behaviors.

Fourth, we need to love ourselves by loving others and sharing what we have not jealously protecting it.

The law of God, which all the great religions teach is, is the law of abundance.

We have to chose whether we want to live our lives by the law of scarcity or the law of abundance.

Simple choice. Easy to make. Harder to implement at first as we transition. However, with practice living by the law of abundance comes naturally.

Suggested spiritual practice of the day #10

Pay attention today to your intuitive inklings of what you think God might have created you to become.

Prophetic voices and events - Dave Eggers, The Circle

Reading literature is sometimes like looking into a mirror. We read the story and we see ourselves in it. The Circle by Dave Eggers left me chilled. Is a story about a 20 something female who gets a job at a tech company like Google. It is called The Circle and is more like a cult.

So much of this young woman's involvement as a customer service rep for this company sent chills up my spine not so much about the world we are creating for ourselves, but the world we are in already. Now that we learn about the Russians use of social media to meddle in our National election this story is even more prophetic.

With a prophetic mindset reading this novel becomes a prophetic novel of the moral dilemmas we are facing.

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

Question of the day

When Jesus said, "No man comes to the Father but through me," what do you think Jesus meant? Supposing Jesus said, "No person comes to the Father unless they do it like I did" meaning surrendering his/her ego to become one with everything?

What have you come here to teach?

The first of the six sources for the living tradition of Unitarian Universalism is "direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder..." The second source is "Words and deeds of prophetic women and men..."

Do you understand your role as a prophet? We are told in A Course Of Miracles that we all our teachers. By virtue of the fact that we are alive and interact with others and with life, we teach what we believe. Some people are more aware of what they believe and teach more intentionally than others. If you were to teach more deliberately, what would you teach?

Did you ever wonder why you were born, what the purpose of your life is?

They say there are no two snowflakes alike. There are no two human beings exactly alike, even identical twins. So why did God go to all the trouble to make each one of us unique?

And why were you born at this point in human history? Why not 500 years earlier or 1,000 years later? Why now?

During this lifetime, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to figure out why you were created to become the person you are destined to become, and why you were born at this point in human history. There must be a reason, otherwise, why would God, the Creator, go to all this trouble?

How do you discern God's will for you, to become the person you were created to become, and to do at this point in human history, what you came here to do?

The essential strategy of discernment is to ask the Holy Spirit, your muse, the Spirit of Life, whatever you want to call your source of inspiration, for help. Discernment is not a solo activity. We all need help. Not only can we not do this alone, we shouldn't do it alone because we will, undoubtedly, on our own, go astray.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7-8  Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Neale Donald Walsch in his Conversations With God books tells us that God is talking to us all the time. It is we who are not tuned in and not listening.

We are so distracted these days with media and so many consumer choices and so much drama that we rarely pay attention. To tune in and listen to the Holy Spirit, our muse, the Spirit of Life, we need quiet, stillness, silence. The Holy Spirit does not speak above the roar that we create in our won minds and hearts.

What we need to do is shut up. Stop. Step down. Back off. Disengage. Get quiet. Listen.

The Christmas song says, "Do you hear what I hear? A song, a song, high above the trees, with a voice as big as the sea......."

Today, take some time to listen, at least twice, and more if you can tear yourself away, and make time for your muse. Try to understand your purpose in this life and then endeavor to do God's will to Love yourself and humanity.

Suggested spiritual practice #9 - get more sleep

This may seem like an odd spiritual practice but it is one that, when you think about it, can be very soul soothing. Sleep is a way to re-charge our batteries. We can't give what we don't have. When we are drained, burned out, fatigued, exhausted, we cannot find the energy as easily to be kind and loving unless we are kind and loving first with ourselves.

Try it. Get more sleep. See if you don't feel more spiritual.