Daily Reflections, Day Forty nine, What will you choose, Love or the Ego?

Day Forty nine

What will you choose, the miracle of Love or the fear and guilt of the ego?

“The Holy Spirit is the highest communication medium. Miracles do not involve this type of communication, because they are temporary communication devices. When you return to your original form of communication with God by direct revelation, the need for miracles is over.” ACIM.T-1.1.46:1-3

The miracle is only needed, and only makes sense, when we are on the path of the ego. The miracle reminds us and helps restore us to the path of the Spirit. If we are already on the path of the Spirit what purpose or function would the miracle serve? It wouldn’t be necessary because we have already chosen to leave the path of the ego for the path or the Spirit.

Miracles then are temporary devices which serve the purpose of helping us become directly aware of our Oneness with God. Miracles clear the way for awareness of Unconditional Love from any obstacles or barriers blocking this experience. The Holy Spirit is the link between the path of the ego and the path of the Spirit and helps us become aware of the choice we always have between the two.

The Holy Spirit reminds us of our power to choose Love instead of the things of the ego. The Holy Spirit helps us activate our witness that can observe our functioning cognitively, affectively, psychologically, socially, and spiritually so that we can objectively perceive our options, our choices.

The ever present eternal choice is between Love and fear. Fear is borne out of separation, and Love is borne out of forgiveness. Forgiveness brings about the Atonement which is a miracle in itself and having experienced the Atonement is no longer necessary.

Today, several times, I will step back, reflect, and ask the Holy Spirit for assistance in choosing Love over separation, choosing the path of the Spirit over the path of the ego. I know that when I choose rightly I will experience peace and when I choose wrongly I will be upset, afraid, and guilty.

Daily Reflections, Day Forty eight, I am called to be faithful, not successful.

Day Forty eight

I am called to be faithful, not successful.

“A miracle is never lost. It may touch many people you have not even met, and produce undreamed of changes in situations of which you are not even aware.” ACIM.T-1.1.45:1-2

The miracle is the stone thrown into the pond and the ripples proceed outward influencing things never intended by the stone thrower.

When one person changes their mind and accepts the Atonement for themselves miraculous experiences are generated throughout the whole of humanity.

We can just faintly grasp the idea of the interdependent web of existence, and yet we intuit that it is true, that all things are connected somehow in ways we can’t begin to fathom.

We are assured that Love is never lost but once intended Love does its work in ways we have no way of apprehending and the spiritually mature understand this and appreciate that Love’s will will be done, not ours..

Love is a mystery and to live with Love is an awesome and miraculous way to live and be in this world.

Today, I will take several moments throughout the day to remind myself to live in faith and not be attached to any particular outcome or results. I will remind myself that I am called to be faithful, not successful. Whether I am successful or not is out of my hands and not for me to say.

Normalization of evil

As the impeachment trial unfolds in the U.S. senate, M. Scott Peck's book, The people of the lie: The hope for healing human evil keeps coming to mind.

The basis of the lie is the denial of truth in service of one's own ego.

What we are seeing unfold in the U.S. Senate under the leadership of Mitch McConnell is evil as Republican Senators deny the truth, refuse further information, and enable Presidential lies and deceit.

Our country is in great peril when we have normalized evil and we are seeing it displayed for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. Let's call it what it is so that we can deal with it and hopefully ameliorate it.

As human beings we all not only are capable of evil but have engaged in it to protect our egos. When we were kids, it was cute and expected, but as adults it is frightening because the failure to be honest and do the right thing often has grave consequences.

We are living in a political age in the United States where evil has become normalized and even has gotten to the point where it is not politically correct to speak of it. However, we here, at UU A Way Of Life think not only that it is time, it is past time.

Daily Reflections, Day Forty seven, Who and What you are.

Day Forty seven

Who and what you are.

“The miracle is an expression of an inner awareness of Christ and the acceptance of His Atonement.” ACIM.T-1.1.44:1

This principle makes no sense if you don’t understand the metaphysics of A Course In Miracles. Understanding of the metaphysics of A Course In Miracles provides the reader and reading this principle, provides the reader with an awesome experience of the profound.

“An inner awareness of Christ” is what the hippies called, back in the 60s, “Christ consciousness,” which referred to the experience that all of humanity is One or as the Roman Catholics call it, “The Body Of Christ,” the second part of the Trinity.

Some people have attained the appreciation that “no man is an island” as poet John Dunne phrased it. No person is complete in and of themselves.

“The acceptance of His Atonement” refers to the awareness that we are not separate selves but part of the interdependent web of all existence. We, essentially, are made up of star dust to be poetic or, we are an extension of God’s Grace.

If we ask a person, “Who are you?” “What are you?” most people would stammer and stutter and have no way of answering those questions. People, though, who have experienced the inner awareness of Christ and who have accepted His Atonement know perfectly well who and what they are. They have left the path of the ego and dwell on the path of the Spirit.

Today, take several moments during the course of your day and reflect on who and what you are. Feel the peace and joy arise. Experience the miracle.

Use of the death penalty decreasing in the United States

From America Magazine, 01/20/20

The report by the Death Penalty Information Center, based in Washington, highlighted state actions against the death penalty such as New Hampshire voting to abolish capital punishment, making it the 21st state to do so; California's decision to put all executions on hold; and Indiana's 10-year mark since its last execution.

The report said that all together, 32 states have now either abolished the death penalty or not carried out an execution in more than a decade, and it said this number directly contrasts with the federal government's announcement this year that it would resume executions after a 16-year hiatus.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

The America Magazine article reads: 

This past June (2019), the U.S. bishops voted to revise the death penalty section of the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults, reflecting an earlier change made by Pope Francis and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2018. The Catechism of the Catholic Church now states that the "death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person."

As a Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalist I believe in the sanctity of human life and the possibility of human redemption. Every person is worth more than their worst act. Join us here at UU A Way Of Life to work for the end of the death penalty.

Daily Reflections, Day Forty six, Will we experience miracles arising?

Day Forty six

Will we experience miracles arising?

“Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind, or a state of miracle-readiness.” ACIM.T-1.1.43:1

Kenneth Wapnick, a teacher of A Course In Miracles, calls the “state of miracle-readiness” right mindedness compared to the way of the ego which is wrong mindedness.

Even though, the Course In Miracles can seem very esoteric and complicated to most readers because the metaphysics are so counter-cultural, its teachings are very simple. We have a choice to make: the world of the ego or the world of the Spirit. The path of separation and projection of blame and guilt or the path of joining, alliance, and Unconditional Love.

The Universalists, as a religious denomination, make the choice for Love a couple of centuries ago. Why the witness of Universalists for this choice has fallen out of popularity the last several decades is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps it is our capitalistic, industrialized, urbanized way of life in pursuit of ego gratification which have pushed the other choice into the background. With the coming days of climate change and consequent suffering perhaps a period of reflection, re-prioritizing, and a change in decision making will occur.

The survival of homo sapiens and other species on this earth will take great Love something, up until now, it is not clear that humanity is capable of. However, humanity has not been put to such a test before.

A Course In Miracles teaches that miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind, meaning a loving mind which is congruent with the path of the Spirit. As human beings, who make plenty of mistakes, we can always choose again and find a better way to proceed with our lives. Hopefully, we will choose Love and experience miracles arising.

Today, when I realize I am getting upset, I will pause and recognize it never is for the reason I think. I am upset because I have chosen fear, guilt, resentment, blame, rather than Love, forgiveness, joining, and peace.

Should Roman Catholic Unitarian Universalists celebrate Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday this year, 2020, is on February 26th.

As an RCUU should you celebrate it? Will you celebrate it?

Ash Wednesday is the day we are reminded from Genesis 3:19 that from dust we have come, and to dust we shall return."  This idea is memorialized in the Stoic prase "Memento Mori" which translated from Latin into English means "remember you will die."

Ash Wednesday is the celebration of our mortality and a reminder to use our time here in this incarnation wisely. Memento Mori and Ash Wednesday can be invigorating and a reminder to live each day to the fullest with a sense of priority and urgency.

Ash Wednesday is intended as the beginning of the six week perior of Lent when we are encouraged to exercise enhance discipline to focus our attention on our purpose and mission to become our best selves and to serve others and our world.

Join us here at UU A Way Of Life this year as we prepare to celebrate Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season.