Happiness on this earth makes happiness in the next less attractive. If happiness in the next looses its appeal what is the need of the priests, the pastors, the Imans who promise it? The clergy offer grand promises and if you feel insecure, inadequate, lonely, these promises are very appealing.
True spirituality is nourishment in the here and now, not in the hereafter. A spiritual person has no need of clergy making false promises and threatening with false punishments. Peace comes from the liberation from supersitions and delusions. Peace comes from being at one with cosmic consciousness.
Jesus told us to be aware of false prophets. An irrevernt saying in Buddhism is "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." And being in touch in our hearts with the Tao relieves our fears, our lonliness, our depression, our anger, and we achieve serenity here on earth as it is in heaven.
The 4th principle/value of Unitarian Universalism is "A free and responsbile search for truth and meaning." The key word here is responsible. What do you suppose that means? That would make a good topic for a sermon or a study group discussion question.
Friday, June 7, 2019
Ask Alexa - Does the soul survive bodily death?
Of course, the soul does not die but becomes one with the All.
Alexa: Did you hear about the bagger in the grocery store who asked his manager if he could be re-assigned to the deli where they make smoothies out of veggies and fruits?
Yes, the manager told the bagger - "Sorry, but baggers can't be juicers."
Tracy Chapman - All That You Have Is Your Soul
The helpers - Bonnie Kimball, Mascoma High School in New Hampshire
The helpers is a regular feature on UU A Way Of Life ministries blog which appears on Fridays.
The second principle of Unitarian Universalism is to affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations.
Did Bonnie do the right thing?
Was Bonnie's firing just?
Have you ever been attacked for helping someone?
How did you handle the attack?
The helpers - The Reynolds brothers
The helpers is a regular feature of the UU A Way Of Life ministries blog which appears on Fridays.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Ask Alexa - Where does the fear of death come from?
Attachment to the ego which is but a social construction, an illusion, and nothing but a figment of the imagination which must be discarded to become one with the all.
Alexa:Did you hear about the woman named Penny who wrote her funeral wishes in her will stating that she wished to be cremated so that her ashes could be kept on her daughter's mantle.
Yes, the daughter told the rest of her family and friends that "a Penny saved is a Penny urned."
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Unitarian Universalism is a beacon of light in a dark world.
What happens to the people when its leader is an unethical con man? What happens to a people when corruption undoes the law of the land? What happens when people elect people who make laws which are antithetical to a society's well being and favor only the powerful few with privileges others can't enjoy?
A person can blame the leader. A person can blame people with privilige who practice corruption to escape accountability to the just laws of that society, or a person can look ino his/her own heart and attempt to understand how such people were put into power to begin with and why they continue to vote for them so they can continue in their positions allowing them to exploit.
Most people love a con man and will vote for a person who practices corruption because the person would like to be like them. The person enjoys the pain and suffering and exploitation. It is like the audience who is titillated watching a bully assault the victim. People love the titillation of vengeance and attack. It is emotionally arousing and for the bored, the emotionally blunted, attack is entertainment.
Deep down a person feels inadequate and defective. The person has been told that he/she was born with Origninal Sin and is doomed to damnation unless there is a blood sacrifice to redeem them from a wrathful, malevolent being who looks on them with contempt and disdain. A person gets defensive and thinks, "Well if I am bad, I am not as bad his him/her," and points their finger at the other to displace the burden of their own guilt onto someone else. He/she enjoys the victimization because it is comforting knowing that the other is being attacked and not them.
It is this displacement of guilt on the other that leads to the love of corruption and attack. There is a justified satisfaction. This justified satisfaction creates and maintains the evil in the world.
Unitarian Universalism sees the world from a different lens. UUs believe in the Original Blessing not Originanl Sin. UUs believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person and do not play the blame game of "one or the other." UUs affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion and do not believe in vengeance, blood sacrifice, and attack. Redemptive violence has no place in the UU covenant and principles.
Unitatian Universalism provides a view of the world which is counter cultural. It is a beacon, a light for the world. This view, this light, begins in individual hearts and is a choice that saves the person and the world.
Ask Alexa - Body or spirit?
All the mystical traditions of the perennial psychology teach that you are spirit with a body.
Alexa:Did you hear about the man whose wife was sick and refused to see a doctor so he thought of leaving her?
Yes, but his friend advised against it saying, "The unexamined wife isn't worth leaving."
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