UU A Way Of Life - The work

 

The work of UU A Way Of Life is primarily publishing articles on its blog which nurtures the development of spiritual intelligence. Secondarily, UU A Way Of Life advocates and attempts to collaborate with others who have a similar mission and vision. The forms of this advocacy are multiple and involve case advocacy and class advocacy. Examples of these activities are joining and supporting the UUMUAC, the Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council, The 5th Principle Project, and other interreligious organizations which nurture spiritual development based on the Perennial Philosophy. Future work might include retreats, workshops, classes, and celebratory gatherings as the pandemic passes and face to face meetings are possible once again.

How could you join the work? What are your talents, abilities, interests,

motivations, goals? What would you like to see happen as Unitarian Universalist

principles germinate and blossom in the world? Let us know in the comments below.

To be continued

UU A Way Of Life - No paywalls, no ads, provided free of charge.

Have you noticed that there is no paywall on this blog? Have you noticed that there are no ads on this blog? A person might ask, how do you monetize the consumption of the creative work you provide here? The answer is “by donations.” People are free to donate or not depending on the degree to which they desire to support the work being done, the goals striven to be achieved, the mission being implemented, and the vision being pursued.

Donations can be made in the form of time, talent, and treasure. Will you take the time to make a comment, forward a post to a friend, family member or other person you think might be interested in the ideas described on this site? Will you share your talent in the form of thoughtful commentary, expanding in some form the ideas here that seem significant and matter to you?  Lastly, you can donate money using the paypal button, to maintain and promote the blog and sometimes compensate creators for materials they are commissioned to produce for use on the site.

So what is the work being done, the goals striven for, the mission implemented, and the vision pursued? The answers to these questions will be provided in subsequent articles because these questions are worthy of more detailed descriptions than can be provided here in this article.

To be continued

It’s not what you get but what you give that engenders peace.

The ego literally lives by comparisons. Equality is beyond its grasp, and charity becomes impossible. The ego never gives out of abundance, because it was made as a substitute for it. That is why the concept of “getting” arose in the ego’s thought system. Appetites are “getting” mechanisms, representing the ego’s need to confirm itself. This is as true of body appetites as it is of the so-called “higher ego needs.” Body appetites are not physical in origin. The ego regards the body as its home, and tries to satisfy itself through the body. But the idea that this is possible is a decision of the mind, which has become completely confused about what is really possible.T-4.II.7: 1-9

A Course in Miracles . Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

A Course In Miracles can be thought of as a book of humor and its narrator, Jesus, as a comedian. The things Jesus describes in A Course Of Miracles point to the incongruities and absurdities of the ego which are funny when one understands how what the ego would have us believe is so different to how things really are.

Conditional love, based on the principle of getting, will never make one happy or contribute to an experience of peace. Conditional love is always about “more,” “more,” “more” and is never satisfied. Nothing, it seems, is ever good enough. The ego is always grasping, manipulating, bribing, blackmailing, conniving, and then, with a straight face, calls it “love.” When one steps back and simply observes this phenomenon with a degree of objectivity and perspective, it seems like such a joke, the appropriate response is to laugh. Jesus, as he was being tortured and crucified, said with a laugh, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” And they didn’t know what they were doing, and we still don’t to this very day, over 2,000 years later.

But, Jesus teaches that there is a better way and that is the way of unconditional love and the life of Spirit rather than of the ego.

Today, consider that we have a choice about what matters to us. Is it conditional love or unconditional love? Do we want to live our lives and judge their value on what we get or what we give? Today, set aside our striving for what we can get and strive to give. Start with a smile.

Like the Dude, just abide.

Its whole perception of other egos as real is only an attempt to convince itself that it is real. “Self-esteem” in ego terms means nothing more than that the ego has deluded itself into accepting its reality, and is therefore temporarily less predatory. This “self-esteem” is always vulnerable to stress, a term which refers to any perceived threat to the ego’s existence. T-4.II.6:6-9

A Course in Miracles . Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

A Course In Miracles is so rich that it cannot simply be read and understood. To benefit from its wisdom its passages have to be unpacked a few verses at a time. When one does this, laughter arises as the incongruities and absurdities of previous understandings become conscious. In the above three verses, it is stated that the “ego” only sees itself as real in comparison to other egos. Self esteem is related to thinking that my ego is better than other people’s egos. “Stress” is when the sense of superiority is threatened. The old saying is that “misery loves company.” The ego does not celebrate other egos successes without a twinge of jealousy and the desire to attach our ego to another ego’s success benefiting from the “halo effect.”

A Course In Miracles teaches that in spite of what society has socialized and conditioned us to believe, our ego and other people’s egos are not real. They are an illusion. They are the shadows flickering on Plato’s cave walls. As The Dude says in The Big Lebowski, “Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.” The Dude knows that the life of egos is just bullshit.

Today, avoid the bullshit. Rise above it. Look inward to what is real. As is said in the Big Lebowski, “The Dude abides.” Today, just abide.

How do we give?

Only those who have a real and lasting sense of abundance can be truly charitable. This is obvious when you consider what is involved. To the ego, to give anything implies that you will have to do without it. When you associate giving with sacrifice, you give only because you believe that you are somehow getting something better, and can therefore do without the thing you give. “Giving to get” is an inescapable law of the ego, which always evaluates itself in relation to other egos. It is therefore continually preoccupied with the belief in scarcity that gave rise to it.T-4.II.6: 1-6

A Course in Miracles . Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

Giving to get is often the name of the game. We give with “strings attached.” Giving is based on the ego’s principle of conditional love, “I’ll love you if…..”

The higher principle upon which to operate is unconditional love. I give just because I want to give with no strings attached, with no expectations, demands, implicit quid pro quos.

Today, it is suggested that one reflect on their motivations in giving. Is it truly a gift, an end in itself,  or a means to some end?

Do you want that which would hurt you most?

Undermining the ego’s thought system must be perceived as painful, even though this is anything but true. Babies scream in rage if you take away a knife or scissors, although they may well harm themselves if you do not. In this sense you are still a baby. You have no sense of real self-preservation, and are likely to decide that you need precisely what would hurt you most. T-4.II.5: 1-4

A Course in Miracles . Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

Once again we observe Jesus’ humor. He is calling us babies because we cling to our egos. He points out that we can have a temper tantrum when the ego is taken away from us just like a baby from whom scissors or a knife is taken away from when the baby wants to play with them.

In Alcoholics Anonymous people are upset in step one when it is pointed out to them that their lives have become unmanageable because of alcohol. They will deny it, minimize it, blame other people or circumstances and insist that they can control the ego’s impulses and cravings. There is a belief that some people are not willing to seek a better way until they hit bottom. Their false belief in willfulness interferes with their peace.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This search takes us ultimately to the realization that the ego has misled us and that the only way to peace is through unconditional love.

Today, it is suggested that we give up our scissors, knives, guns, and other attachments that we think will keep our egos safe. In the place of these attachments to the things of the ego, it is suggested that we abide in only that which is real, which is the unconditional love of God.

Relaxing into the Unalterable

Everyone makes an ego or a self for himself, which is subject to enormous variation because of its instability. He also makes an ego for everyone else he perceives, which is equally variable. Their interaction is a process that alters both, because they were not made by or with the Unalterable. T-4.II.2:1-3

A Course in Miracles . Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition. 

Once again verses in ACIM can make one laugh. We each make an ego and the ego is conditioned and socialized by society. We believe that the ego we have created is real. As we mature, we become aware that the ego is illusionary and is not who we really are.

In Alcoholics Anonymous it is suggested, in step eleven, that we improve our conscious contact with God through prayer and mediation. We step away from the ego and enter into communion with the Unalterable.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person and we come to understand that this inherent worth and dignity does not come from our ego nor in the case of other people from their egos. Inherent worth and dignity comes from the Unalterable.

Today, it is suggested that we take a moment several times during the day and drop our egos and relax into communion with the Unalterable.