My Kind Of Church Music, A Change Gonna Come, Sam Cooke

The Helpers - Dr. Terrence Newton

Daily Reflections, Day Forty two, Walking out of the shadows of darkness into the light.

Day Forty Two

Walking out of the shadows of darkness into the Light

“The miracle dissolves error because the Holy Spirit identifies error as false or unreal. This is the same as saying that by perceiving light, darkness automatically disappears.” ACIM.T-1.1.39:1-2

We often use the metaphor of “seeing the light.” When we come to a new understanding, a new appreciation, we say that we have been “enlightened.” Just as light cancels out darkness, so does Love cancel out the ego.

When we enter into the space of Love, there is no ego, no guilt, no sin, no fear, no pain, no suffering. When we observe this experience in ourself, and/or in others, we say it is “miraculous.”

Often we are confused about what to choose, what to do, where to focus our attention, energy, and effort. It is a simple thing to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. The Holy Spirit will gently nudge us in the direction of doing what Love would have us do.

When we move in the direction of doing what Love would have us do, we feel peace and joy no matter what the activity and its outcome. Even in dying, the obituary will read, “Died peacefully on _______________ at _____________.

Today, I will take some moments when I am upset, confused, perplexed, angry and simply ask, “What would Love have me do?” Then I will choose rightly following the course of the Spirit and ignore the temptations of the ego. I will walk into the Light and the shadows of darkness will dissipate and disappear.

Editor's note:

You can access all the Daily Reflections by clicking here.

My Kind Of Church Music, For What It's Worth, Buffalo Spingfield and friends

Thanks to Phil for the referral.

Dialy Reflections, Day Forty One, Be at One with the Big Picture

Day Forty one

Be at One with the Big Picture

“The Holy Spirit is the mechanism of miracles. He recognizes both God’s creations and your illusions. He separates the true from the false by His ability to perceive totally rather than selectively.” ACIM.T-1.1.38:1-3

The meme of systems thinking is that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This awareness that somehow the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is the mystery which the miracle allows us to apprehend. We come to realize that the separation is not real, it creates an illusion of understanding and control, but it is missing the whole understanding and experience.

The Holy Spirit was given to us, members of the Body of Christ, to help us see beyond the illusion of separation and to remember that the ego and its works are not real. When we understand this, we see the truth beyond what we believed which now we understand is false.

We come to see that what we believe is true which turns out to be false is the result of our projection and our egotistical desires to control and satisfy our ego driven desires. We come to realize that the things of the ego world are really messed up, insane. We would do well to turn our will over to the Holy Spirit for guidance and join with It to experience the greater whole of which we are merely a part.

Today, I will not take my projections and desires so seriously. I will admit I don’t really know what anything is for. When I am upset, frustrated, angry, resentful, fearful, I will ask the Holy Spirit to help me rise above my petty grievances and be a peace with the Big Picture.

Religioin in the public square - A March in New York City on January 5, 2020 against anti-semitism.

Book Review - The Gadfly Papers - What's wrong with Unitarian Universalism

The Gadfly Papers: Three Inconvenient Essays by One Pesky Minister by Todd Eklof is a very interesting collection of essays about what troubles Unitarian Universalism in our current times.

I found it very validating as Rev. Dr. Eklof points out several of the dysfunctional dynamics which plague the UUA and many UU churches.

In the first essay, Eklof, to put it bluntly, writes that policial correctness is killing us, and forcing us into identity politics which diminishes the importance of our shared humanity.

In the second essay, Eklof argues that it may be time for a divorce because the merger of Unitarians and Universalists has not served the NRM, New Religious Movement, well leaving its members and outsides confused about our identity, mission, and vision. In other words, Eklof writes that we have lost our way because we have not remembered our history and without a sense of our history we have no joint vision of our future. Amen! I have sat through enough incoherent and irrelevant sermons to last me for the rest of my life.

In the third and last essay, Eklot argues from a position of scholastic logic how the brouhaha over the hiring controversy back in 2017 leading to the resignation of the UUA President, Peter Morales, and several of his staff, was based not on sound human resource management policies and ethics but on identity politics and inbred conflicts of interest when a board member wanted a job as a paid staff person and cried foul when she wasn't selected for the job.

I was already on the edge when it came to my committment to Unitarian Universalism because I have felt for many years that its governance structure left a lot to be desired as well as its lack of a clear mission and vision for its organizational efforts.

I don't like Eklof's cute and self-denigrating title. His critique is substantive and it amounts to more than just being a gadfly and his being "pesky." He is a deep thinker and a skilled writer and anyone who cares about Unitarian Univeralism should give his book a serious read.