Santa Claus, that peculiarly American avatar of Saint Nicholas, remains surprisingly controversial for a character who promotes good will and generosity among children.
Rebecca Sicree, “Is Santa Claus Real?”, Touchstone, Nov/Dec. 2021, p.15
Should we perpetuate and participate in the illusion?
Are we lying to our children and grandchildren?
The miracle is the expression of an inner awareness of Christ and the acceptance of His Atonement. T-1.1.44
The miracle principles are cryptic and difficult to understand if one does not understand the metaphysics of the Course.
A miracle is the shift in perception from the world of the ego to the world of Spirit or the world of conditional love to the world of unconditional love.
Christ is the Oneness of all of humanity as God’s Son. The Christ is God’s creation and an extension of God’s Unconditional Love.
The Atonement is the undoing of the separation of humanity from humanity’s Creator, our Transcendent Source.
So miracle principle 44 means that it is a miracle that a person has realized that they are One with everyone and that the separation from God’s unconditional love is not real but is an illusion.
In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested in step eleven that we improve our conscious contact with God. We can do that by realizing our Oneness with all of God’s sons and daughters. Salvation is when everybody loves everybody all the time. That’s heaven.
In Unitarian Universalism we join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. With the awareness of every person’s inherent worth and dignity we have worked a miracle.
Today, it is suggested that we shift our perception from our divisions and separations and focus on our Oneness with one another and with our Creator.
Never think of going somewhere. Think in terms of transforming yourself here. “There” is a cunning strategy of the mind to deceive you. The mind always makes you interested in things far away, there, so that you can be led away from here. Or at least your attention is no longer here, it is there. And you will never be there. Going from here to there, slowly, slowly you acquire the habit of always looking there, so wherever you reach, that place is no longer in your focus – your goal has shifted somewhere else.
Osho. The Secret of Secrets (p. 6). Watkins Media. P.6
Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Has anyone in UU told you that the search is not external but internal. Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is within you.
So where are you searching?
At UU A Way Of Life we encourage people to look within.
Life is the way. Life has no goal. That’s why I love the word Tao. Tao means the way, with no goal. Simply the way. It was courageous of Lao Tzu, twenty-five centuries ago, to tell people that there is no goal and we are not going anywhere. We are just going to be here, so make the time as beautiful, as loving, as joyous as possible. He called his philosophy Tao, and Tao means simply “the way.”
Osho. The Secret of Secrets (p. 6). Watkins Media.p.6
David Markham (DM) Does UU teach a way?
Harry Hollywood (HH) No. They have a covenant organized around seven principles.
DM Do the seven principles describe a way?
HH Yes, of sorts.
DM To what extent do UUs practice the seven principles?
HH Most don’t even know what they are and if they do and were asked how they practice them probably couldn’t tell you much. Ministers hardly ever preach on them and they are not a very visible and important part of UU life.
DM Is there a theology which describes the genesis of and hermeneutical value of the seven principles?
HH Very little and to find anything on the topic takes a lot of digging.
DM So is Unitarian Universalism a serious tradition which facilitates spiritual development?
HH No. They are much more interested on social justice and activism than nurturing spiritual development.
DM So, is UU a real religion?
HH It probably is better thought of as a social club like the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Elks, etc. They do good works sometimes but mostly gather for fellowship. There is very little interest in nurturing spiritual development.
DM So if a person was interested in spiritual formation they are not likely to find it in a UU congregation.
HH Yes, that’s correct.
UUs covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. To practice this principle we can approach "ineffective behavior" with curiosity rather than judgment. To what relationships can you apply this idea today>
Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind, or a state of miracle-readiness. T-1.1.43
A miracle is the shift in perception from the world of the ego to the world of Spirit, or a world of conditional love to a world of unconditional love. Miracles occur from a state of right mindedness and not wrong mindedness. Before we can become aware of Love which is our natural inheritance we must shed the barriers and obstacles placed in the path of this awareness by our socialization and conditioning by the world of the ego.
In Alcoholic Anonymous, it is suggested in the first three steps that we admit we are powerless over the things of the ego, and that we come to an awareness that there is a better way to live our lives, and that we can make a decision to turn our willfulness over to the will of our Transcendent Source. When we do this we embark on the path of the Tao.
In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This search will take us sooner or later, if we persist, from the path of the ego to the path of Spirit. Instead of searching outward we turn inward. Instead of a pursuit of aggrandisement for our false self we become aware of our true nature.
Today, we shift our attention from the world of the ego to the world of Spirit and in so doing our minds are miracle ready.
