Where would you rather go: hell or heaven?

Universalism teaches us about the unconditional love of the Divine. There is a very small audience for this idea. Most people put their faith in special relationships. They have made an idol out of special relationships. Special relationships are the home of the ego and this home is its own kind of hell.

Unitarian Univeralists covenant together to affirm and promote the respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part and then ignore this affirmation and promotion and travel along the path of the ego in pursuit of special relationships. No wonder it is a stagnant faith slowly losing membership and unable to attract new adherents. UUs don't act on what they profess to believe.

Just as we have special love relationships, we have special hate relationships. "I love you. I hate you. I love to hate you."

I get to play the victim if you will play the persecutor. "Why does this always happen to me!" is the cry of the victim.

There is a certain sense of righteousness with the expression of indignity at the projected attacks. These attacks are not only the things the persecutor did, but the things the persecutor didn't do especially not loving me enough or in the right way or only a little bit when the full attention was expected.

It is taught in A Course In Miracles that the special relationship is the ego's home. As Kenneth Wapnick, a teacher of the Course writes, "It is to protect its 'home' that the ego always strives to justify anger." p.19 (Christian Psychology in A Course In Miracles)

The path of the ego takes us to hell. The path of the spirit takes us to heaven. Where would you rather go?

What is the Love you seek?

Unitarian Universalists have developed a campaign that is branded, "Standing On The Side Of Love." What is the Love to which this campaign refers? It probably is not eros and more likely agape and philia.

We live in a culture which puts a high value on the romantic relationship, the one special relationship which we are taught to believe will make us whole, and complete, and happy.

This belief in the salvation of romantic relationships is utter nonsense as they fail more often than they succeed because they are based on the scarcity principle. This scarcity principle is the delusional belief that only this other special person can make us happy.

This belief that only another special person can make us happy is a delusion which leads us to hell. This delusion is based on the unconscious idea that the other special person can give us what we are lacking in ourselves. When the special other pays any attention to anyone else or anything else we go into panic mode that this feared abandonment and rejection will be the death of our emotional, psychological, and social well being.

This search for what is lacking in ourselves in others can only lead to failure. We are looking for love in all the wrong places and wind up playing the game described in A Course In Miracles of "Seek and do not find."

We move from one disappointing special relationship to another usually in succession, but sometimes simultaneously. Betrayal and bitterness, hurt and sorrow become the fruits of our misguided search for Love. At some point, the wise, more mature person comes to realize that the Love they are seeking is within themselves. It is the oneness with the all that they seek and that is found within and between others in a Holy relationship which is inclusive and not exclusive.

When we come to realize that the romantic love we seek is simply using other people and a subtle form of exploitation, we come to see our guilt and shame from the mistakes we have made looking for love where it cannot be found.

True love is unconditional. True love is not based on a "give to get" cycle of mercenary, conditional exchange. We come to realize that we can't give what we don't have, we can't share what we don't possess. True happiness comes from within when we realize the grace of our Oneness with Creation.

What does the term "projection" mean?

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. And they're off and running. Where exactly?

The pharisees ask Jesus, "So, rabbi, where's this kingdom of yours that you keep talking about? You know, that mythical place where everybody is supposedly happy. If I could get there, will it make me happy too? I might make the effort to make the trip there if only you would give me directions. Help me out here, pal. What's the way? Enlighten me."


The psychological term for it is "projection." Projection is an "if only" state of mind. If only this happened or that happened, if only he would or she would, if only I could, then, then, then, I would be happy.

The little mantra we repeat over and over and over again to ourselves is "(S)he could if only (s)he would, but (s)he won't because (s)he is holding out on me." And we project our wishes, our resentments, our hopes, and our grievances onto the other person or the situations that we THINK will make us happy.

Even worse, we, then, go looking for evidence that our propositions about the other making us happy are right. Oh, how we want to be right; we are sure we are right; so sure we become mad or sad that our expectations go unfulfilled, sometimes even murderously enraged.

The big mistake, of course, is that external people and things can't make us happy. This idea, we come to understand as we spiritually mature, is utter nonsense, an illusion we create in our desire for our own wish fulfillment.

We need to grow up and take responsibility for our own happiness, not project this responsibility onto others.

People are so silly, ridiculous really. Ask most people what it would take to make them happy and they say silly things like "Winning the lottery," and then they giggle because they know how unlikely and how silly this is. What is frightening is when they say it seriously as if they truly believe this would bring them deep, abiding, authentic happiness.

Jesus says clearly that the kingdom of God is among you. Jesus, when asked by the Pharisees where His kingdom is, says, and I paraphrase, "the kingdom of God is not a place. You can't say look here or look there. The kingdom of which I speak is right here, right now, between you. It is in your midst, but you don't see it because you are constantly looking elsewhere." Luke 17:21.

We are looking for love in all the wrong places.

Stop the projection nonsense. Stop the "if only" game you play with yourself and others. Grow up. Take responsibility for your own happiness. Quit projecting that responsibility onto others. Projection is a main tactic on the path of the ego. It doesn't work. It is disappointing and frustrating. Turn on to the path of the spirit and walk with love: love for yourself and your fellow creatures.

The question is not what can they do for me which they aren't doing, but rather, how do I take care of myself and in the process help them and contribute to the well being of the community?

Is it time to turn off the path of the ego onto the path of the spirit?

Unitarian Universalists, and many other Americans, look at what's happening on the U.S. southern border and are horrified and deeply upset. This is not the first time the world has witnessed such governmental child abuse.

U.S. President, Donald R. Trump, is not the first leader in the world to abuse children. King Herod does it in Palestine at the beginning of the Christian era when he ordered all the male babies under two to be killed.

It is written in the gospel of Matthew, chapter two, verse 16, "When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi."

There are similarities in the personalities of Donald Trump and King Herod. They both are narcissistic, grandiose, paranoid, and brutal bullies.

What should we make of Herod killing babies and Trump separating children from parents at the southern U.S. border?

One of the lessons to be learned is that the path of the ego is littered with death, destruction, and aggrandizement at the expense of others for power. The quest for power, the maintenance of power is an exploitative enterprise which deprives the human community of health and happiness.

When an ego has riches, the other thing to crave is power, domination, subjugation to enhance one's own willfulness.

The will to power is the antidote to Love.

Love does not exploit, it supports. Love does not harm, it nurtures. Love does not bully, it collaborates. Love does not demean, it uplifts. Love does not bully, love respects the dignity of others.

Millions of Americans voted for a narcissistic, grandiose, paranoid, rich, brutal bully. They are getting what they voted for and the children and their families and the human community has been brutalized and are suffering.

It's time to remind ourselves that we are all part of the same human family and turn off the path of the ego onto the path of the spirit and get on the Love train.

It also is time to make changes in our U.S. government at the mid terms so that the abuse can be stopped and respect and collaboration restored.

Are you controlled by fear?

Universalists flourished in a puritanical America with the idea of unconditional Divine love. Why did this idea fade? Why is it no longer preached from every UU pulpit? Why has the message lost its attraction to Americans in the dark days of Trumpism?

"A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."(Jeremiah 31:15 NIV). 

It is written in the introduction to A Course In Miracles, "The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite."

In John's first letter, he writes, "God is love...There is no room in love for fear." 4:18.

The major psychiatric disorder in the United States are anxiety disorders. Psychotropic medications flood the market as well as alcohol and street drugs such as cannabis. The rise of Trumpism in the United States manifests the dark underbelly of racism, mysogony, xenophobia, bullying, suicide, homicide, and deceit.

Politicians campaign for election stoking fear throughout the land which only they can save the population from.

And the population votes for walls, white supremacy, sexual assault, privilege of wealth.
The wise person laughs at the fears the ego generates and reassures the fearful and encourages them to lay their hate and fear aside.

The wise person suggests that the fearful lay the illusions of their sufferings aside as the joke of the ego. The wise person knows that the Divine loves all the Divine's creations.

UUs need to return to their roots. A great revival is needed throughout the land and UUs and other people of faith are the yeast in the dough, the salt of the earth.

Jesus is knocking. Will you answer the door?

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Where does that truth and meaning lie?

Jesus tells us in the book of Revelations, chapter 3, verse 20, "Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I'll come right in and sit down to supper with you."

But we don't really want to see Jesus. He calls us to leave our egos behind and join Him on the path of the spirit and we don't want to. The ego offers us all kinds of pleasurable and distracting things to amuse us, and Jesus only offers us peace and love.

We are still children who like our ridiculous play things and if there is a threat to take them away from us we cling to them and run away and hide.

What Jesus offers us is there at the door. Can we overcome our fear and answer the knock?

Not yet. Things will have to get worse. We have yet to hit bottom. Then maybe when we are desperate we will look for a better way. Sometimes it takes great suffering for the dawning to occur that the way of Jesus is a better choice if we want to become truly happy.

Answer the door.

What is the one decision which makes all the difference?

Unitarian Universalists are a pretty egotistical bunch. They don't think much of a Higher Power and argue among themselves not only what the Higher Power is like but even if there is a Higher Power at all. Is such a theological position one of arrogance and willfulness or one of humility and willingness? If the function of a church is to facilitate the development and nurturance of saints, the harvest has been meager.

Yes, we have separated ourselves from God. We think we are in charge of our own lives. This idea, of course, is ridiculous. We were born from the Oneness and we will return to the Oneness. In the meantime we feel guilty, unconsciously, of our separation.

This guilt which is better called "shame" is the knowledge that we are not separate from God, and our willfulness will cause problems.

What kind of problems you ask? How about violence, attack, anxiety, depression, compulsive and addictive behaviors, and general all purpose misery? The variations of misery and suffering are as numerable as the stars for every individual is unique and special and his/her suffering is unique and special as well.

And so, we are afraid of more suffering, hurt, and pain, and it our hurt and pain rather than admit our mistake, we insist we are right and project the cause of our suffering onto other people and circumstances. In our misery and pain we come to see ourselves as victims rather than as agents. This defensive strategy for most people is very entrenched and clung to with every fiber of one's being to preserve the ego which has been created.

Of course, all these defensive attempts to protect our egos are bound to crack at some point, perhaps at death when we have no choice but to give up the fight and our stubbornness is overwhelmed. Rather than die peacefully, we die clinging to the last shred of ego we have defended our whole lives, and die in agony.

As is taught in twelve step programs we need to recognize that our lives of the ego are unmanageable and that there is a power greater than ourselves. We then in step three decide to turn our will over to our Higher Power whatever we conceive of that Higher Power to be. This turning over of our will allows us to perform the miracle of changing willfulness into willingness and this decision makes all the difference.

This decision involves the turning from the path of the ego onto the path of the spirit and it makes all the difference.