Video talk on Lesson #326 - I am forever an Effect Of God

Quote of the day - "If you keep talking, I'm leaving."

 "Disagreement and other ideas are seen as a threat and attack and some people immediately take on a victim role and say things like 'I didn't come here for this. If you continue talking, I'm leaving.' This is a very common strategy for managing conflict and tension in UU congregations."

David Markham in Notes on the Gadfly Papers.

Editor's note: The described tension management technique is a violation of several UU principles especially principle 3 and 4.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #326 - I am forever an Effect of God.

 Lesson #326

I am forever an Effect of God.

We are extensions of God’s Unconditional Love. This is what the Universalists teach. As such, we always were perfect, are perfect now, and will be perfect into the future until time no longer has any meaning.

In Alcoholics Anonymous it is suggested, in step eleven, that we improve our conscious contact with God Whom we have never left but only forgotten.

In Unitarian Universalism we join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person which stems from being an Effect of God.

Today it is suggested that we remember who we are, from whence we came, and in which we abide as we go through our day.

Quote of the day - The pernicious dynamic in Unitarian Universalism

 "Safetyism is a pernicious dynamic which is stultifying the life and grace of Unitarian Universalism especially in light of the fourth principle which is the free and responsible search for truth and meaning."

David Markham, Notes on The Gadfly Papers

Editor's note - Safetyism refers to shutting down of free speech by claiming that the words of the speaker are harmful to the person objecting because it hurts their feelings.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #325 - All things I think I see reflect ideas.

 Lesson #325

All things I think I see reflect ideas.

The world we see is a projection of the ideas in our mind. If we expect to see bad things, we see bad things, and if we expect to see good things, we see good things. So the major question is what kind of a life do we want: good or bad?

In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested, in step ten, that we continue to take a personal inventory and admit what we find both good and bad. Socrates said that an unexamined life is not worth living. So what kind of ideas do I find reflected in my thoughts?

In Unitarian Universalism we join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning and where we look will have significant consequences for what we find. The ideas we choose to explore project our thoughts. It is called “confirmation bias''. If you expect to find bad things you will find them. If you expect to find good things you will find them. What is it that you are expecting to find in your search for truth and meaning? All things I think I see reflect ideas in my mind.

Today it is suggested that we be aware of our biases. Our biases are the filter through which we selectively perceive and these perceptions create our experience. Do you believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person starting with yourself? Searching for this inherent worth and dignity is a choice you have.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #324 - I merely follow, for I would not lead.

 Lesson #324

I merely follow, for I would not lead.

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Will it be my willfulness or my willingness to discern and follow God’s will that I follow? That is the question.

In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested, in step three, that we make a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understand God.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning which takes us eventually to discerning what God’s will for us is. This is a lifelong quest. Socrates said that an unexamined life is not worth living. How many people do you know who live examined lives? Are you one of them? An examined life is one of curiosity, reflection, compassion, and reverence. We endeavor to appreciate the good, the true, and beautiful. These attributes are usually not of our making but something that we are blessed by when we are in a receptive frame of mind and heart.

Today, I merely follow, go with the flow, allow the world to unfold exactly as it would. Am I becoming the person I believe deep down in my heart God wants me to become, and doing with my life what it is deep down in my heart God is calling me to do? Polonius says in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, “Above all else to thine own self be true.” Polonius is not referring to the ego but to our alignment with God’s will for us. I merely follow, for I would not lead.

Quote of the day - Has post modernism gone to far with "microaggressions" requiring "trigger warnings"?

 "Nowadays there is a new vocabulary which has emerged stifling free speech and expression of ideas under the umbrella of "microaggressions" which require "trigger warnings" to spare people hurt feelings and the complaint of not feeling safe."

David Markham, Notes on the Gadfly Papers.

Editor's note: It is interesting how in post modern times everybody has become a victim of hurt feelings by things other people say even if the feelings are hurt unintentionally and inadvertently. Speakers, teachers, must apologize and warn people of what they are about to say because only certain things are acceptable and unacceptable. 1984 has arrived with the thought police becoming ubiquitous. UUs, who tend to be more progressive are particularly good at this game which is antithetical to their professed principle of the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.