Visit and subscribe to Recognizing System Racism - Suppressing the black and Native American vote.

Visit and subscribe to Recognizing Systemic Racism. To visit click here.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations and the right of conscience and the use of democratic process without congregations and in society at large.

Republican efforts to suppress the black vote is in direct contradiction to UU principles. Some would call these efforts a sin against humanity.

Religion In The Public Square - Trump 2020 campaign based not on policy but on fear mongering.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Having watched parts of the 2020 Republican National Committee's convention this past week, one in which they adopted no platform, it is apparent that the Republican campaign strategy for 2020 is gin up fear in the American electorate and then present their candidates as heroes who appear, deus ex machina, to save the American public from the monsters being falsely depicted and described.

This fear mongering is in direct contradiction to the UU principles of justice, equity, and compassion in our human relations, and the search for truth and meaning

How does a person of faith manage the fear mongering being unleashed in our society?

The first step is to recognize, acknowledge, and name the problem to ourselves in our conversations with others.

The second step is to identify the objects of the fear being engendered and  assess their risk and potential harm.

The third step is to generate ideas of ways to manage the valid threats identified.

The fourth step is to join with others in collaborate efforts to mitigate potential harms and improve the collective well being.

Unitarian Universalists know how to do this and voting for Donald Trump and his allies to lead us is a bad choice that will only further expand on the harms already being done.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #28 - Above all else I want to see things differently.

Lesson #28

Above all else I want to see things differently.

In our dichotomous world we see things as yin or yang, good or bad, sweet or sour, high or low, right or left, beautiful or ugly, rich or poor, worthy or unworthy, of God or the Devil. This comparison and contrast is the ego’s way of making sense of the world. Yet, we know, deeper down, that good and bad are heads and tails of the same coin, as are sweet and sour, pleasure and pain, etc.

The lesson today encourages us to want to see things whole, not separate. In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote a respect for the interdependent web of all existence. It might be more accurate to say, “love” instead of respect. We UUs promote and affirm a love for the interdependent web of all existence. In other words we  affirm and promote seeing the yin and the yang as interdependent parts of the same whole.

When we separate things out and exclude some things while we include others we are seeing with the ego mind and not discerning the soul, the spirit which animates the universe. And so, today, we are asked to remind ourselves hourly to “above all else see things differently.”

A Course In Miracles Lessons Perpetual Calendar.

Buy for yourself or makes a wonderful gift.

Good news for 08/29/20 - Being creative: Putting smiling face photo's of children in empty classroom.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #27 - Above all else I want to see.

Lesson #27

Above all else I want to see.

The lesson for today is very similar to the Unitarian Universalist principle which affirms and promotes the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. The further implication is that there is a search we are engaged in and that we know what we are looking for and where to look.

We are learning that there is nothing of value for us in the world of the ego which is full of false idols which are impermanent. The “miracle” that A Course In Miracles is referring to is the shift in our search and perception from the world of the ego to the world of the Spirit.

We are asked today to make this statement, “Above all else I want to see,” every twenty minutes or so throughout the day. When we make this statement we might also include the other UU principles such as the first and the seventh: the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and the interdependent web of all existence.

The purpose of today’s lesson is to train our minds to eschew the things of the ego and to focus on the things of the Spirit. How determined are you and committed to shifting your apprehension from the path of the ego to the path of the Spirit? “Practice makes perfect” as they say.

Above all else I want to see the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

Above all else I want to see the interdependent web of all existence.

Above all else I want to see.

Good news for 08/28/20 - Eight police reforms that work and reduce police violence and killings.

Since black people are nearly three times more likely to be killed by police than white people, these recommended policies are what we need to adopt — right now. How inspiring that these young people have helped galvanize this push for solutions!

Here are the eight reforms they studied and recommend based on the results of those studies:

1. Require comprehensive reporting (every time officers use force or threaten force against someone, they have to report that)
2. Exhaust all other means before shootings (unsurprisingly, this can reduce police violence by 25 percent)
3. Ban chokeholds and strangleholds
4. Require a use-of-force continuum (this limits the weapons or force that can be used depending on the situation)
5. Require de-escalation (officers have to communicate with subjects, maintain distance and otherwise defuse tense situations whenever possible)
6. Duty to intervene (officers must stop other officers from using excessive force, and report incidents)
7. Ban shooting at moving vehicles
8. Require warning before shooting

And here is their chart showing the reduction in killings associated with each restriction:

For more click here.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations and the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

My Kind Of Church Music, Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen by folks in Spain

This happened in Spain in the summer of 2019. This is church at its best.