A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #75, The light has come.

 Lesson #75

The light has come.

The past is gone, the future is not here yet, all we truly have is right now, that’s why it’s called “the present.”

Dwelling in the past except to learn from it is a waste of time. Worrying about the future other than to prepare oneself for future contingencies which may never happen also can be a waste of time. Center yourself, and be here now.

In Alcoholics Anonymous we are advised through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with the non dualistic Oneness of which we are a part. We are drops of the ocean. We are a ripple in the wind. What came before and what comes after only generates distress and fearfulness in our mind. We are advised to slow down and take things one day at a time. Easy does it.

In Unitarian Universalism, we covenant together to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth because our faith informs us of the light of the universal and unconditional love of our Higher Power.

Today we intentionally seek to look past darkness to the light and we rejoice in the peace and comfort of the Light which has come.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #74, There is no will but God's.

 

Lesson #74

There is no will but God’s.

Another way of saying today’s lesson is “There is no will but Love’s.” The perennial question we can use over and over and over again when faced with stress of any kind is “What would Love have me do?” If we discern the correct answer we experience peace and joy arising. If we turn to the wrong answer, the experience of distress will increase.

We are asked in step three of Alcoholics Anonymous to make a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of Love. The choice is simple: it is the false promises of the ego or the peace and joy of Love?

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to engage in the free and responsible search for truth and meaning affirming and promoting the inherent worth and dignity of every person and a respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part.

Today, we are asked to take two 10-15 minute periods and think of some distressful, difficult, troubling decisions we have to make and ask ourselves, “What would Love have me do. There is no real path other than Love’s.” We can also use this same question to orient ourselves throughout the day when we are challenged by difficult situations.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #73, I will there be light.

 Lesson #73

I will there be light.

Holden Caulfield, the narrator of J.D. Salinger’s classic novel of adolescent angst, The Catcher In The Rye, called the path of the ego, “the big lie.” The big ;lie is all the nonsense that society tells us will make us happy. This con by the ego is nothing more than a marketing scam. When we have had enough of this insanity it dawns on us that there must be a better way and this dawning triggers our search.

In Alcoholics Anonymous the first step is the recognition and admission that our lives in the world of the ego are unmanageable. This recognition and admission leads in step two for the search for a power greater than ourselves that can provide some sanity. It is this sanity which today’s lesson is naming “the light.”

Similarly, in Unitarian Universalism we affirm and promote the free and responsible search for Truth and Meaning as we go looking for the Light. Unitarian Universalists have come to believe as a matter of faith that the Light of Truth and Meaning is around somewhere and that our mission is to go in search of it and find it.

Today, we are asked to take two 10 - 15 minutes of going within to search for the Light beyond all the ego’s nonsense. We also are asked to seek the Light immediately upon becoming aware of any grievance, resentment, guilt, fear, anger.

As we recall, Leonard Cohen’s great song, Anthem, “there is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” The crack is the Universe’s tease to pay attention and look beyond the illusions that cloud the days of our lives.

Buy two Flaming Chalice T-shirts: one for you and another for a gift.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #72, Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation.

 Lesson #72

Holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation.

The most fundamental question that A Course In Miracles raises is “Am I a soul in a body or a body with a soul?” The ego wants you to believe that you are a body. Period. We are conditioned by society to believe this. Slowly, as we mature and become more spiritually conscious it dawns on us that we are souls with a body. The body is constantly changing. How could the body be the Source of my identity?

In Alcoholics Anonymous, in the eleventh step, we have come to realize that our recovery is based on  prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with the Transcendent Source of existence asking for knowledge and understanding of the Transcendent Source’s will for us and the power to carry it out. This requires giving up our grievances against our own body and other bodies as well.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the respect for the interdependent web of all existence which is another concept for our Transcendent Source. This affirmation and promotion of respect for the interdependent web requires that we give up grievances against the perceived attacks on the path of the ego and pursue, instead, the search for Truth and Meaning which takes us on the path of the Soul.

Today, we are asked to take a minute or two several times throughout the day to remind ourselves that holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation and that we are first and foremost souls not bodies. The soul is the Divine Spark that resides within every human being and provides their inherent worth and dignity. Rather than hold grievances, we recognize and acknowledge that it is God’s plan for  salvation that we honor and uplift that Spark of the Divine joyfully rather than dwell on grievances about bodies..

Spiritual book discussion book for November, 2020, Scripture Unbound: A Unitarian Universalist Approach by Jonalu Johnstone

 Spiritual book for discussion in November, 2020, is Scripture Unbound: A Unitarian Universalist Approach by Jonalu Johnstone. Buy it now to be prepared for November's discussion. You might also consider it as a holiday gift.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson # 71, Only God's plan for salvation will work.

 Lesson #71

Only God’s plan for salvation will work.

“They could if only they would and they won’t because they are such jerks.” The famous last words of the ego which is to blame the lack of salvation on others. Some people call this “the blame game.” It is the favorite game of the ego. It is bound to fail because we have given all our power away and have forgotten where our real power resides which is in our alignment with the will of our Higher Power.

In the third step of twelve in Alcoholics Anonymous we make a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understand Him. “Thy will be done,” not “my will be done.” Some people make the distinction between “willfulness” and “willingness.” The words sound almost the same but their distinction makes all the difference in the world. The one is from the path of the ego, and the other is from the path of the Spirit.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote a respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. We UUs come to recognize, acknowledge, and respect that our navels are not the center of the universe but that we are part of something much greater that we would do well to respect and hopefully even come to love.

Today, we asked to take 10 - 15 minutes to consider what Love would have me think, say, and do. We acknowledge that the way of the ego to engage in blaming others and circumstances for not making us happy will never work. We, instead, ask Love what it would have us think, say, and do. It is in turning our will over to our Higher power that salvation is found and works.