Choose the Kingdom of God or the world of the ego.

Remember the Kingdom always, and remember that you who are part of the Kingdom cannot be lost. The Mind that was in me is in you, for God creates with perfect fairness. T-5.VI.3:1-2

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

The Course reminds us that we have only two choices to make in life: the Kingdom of God or the world of the ego. The Course then tells us that the Kingdom of God, while it can be forgotten, denied, marginalized, is never lost even when we become heavily engaged in the world of the ego. Jesus tells us that the Mind that was in him is in us as well.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Do we believe that people are inherently good or bad, pristine or defective, beautiful or ugly? Were we born with original sin or original blessing?

Today, it is suggested that we take some time to be mindful of the Kingdom of God within us as we interact with the things of the world of the ego. We might even recognize and acknowledge the Kingdom of God within others with whom we interact and pay them a compliment or express some form of appreciation.

Go with the flow.

God offers you the continuity of eternity in exchange. When you choose to make this exchange, you will simultaneously exchange guilt for joy, viciousness for love, and pain for peace. My role is only to unchain your will and set it free. Your ego cannot accept this freedom, and will oppose it at every possible moment and in every possible way. And as its maker, you recognize what it can do because you gave it the power to do it.T-5.VI.2:6-10

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

God offers us the continuity of eternity in exchange for the constant change of time in the world of the ego. Most people don’t know that they have a choice between the ego’s world of past, present, future, and the Kingdom of God which is eternal joy, love, and peace. Jesus tells us that his role is to make us aware of our choice so we can become free from the self imposed limits of time. We can enter a flow state in many ways and just be present in the here and now.

In Unitarian Universalism, we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. This truth and meaning is not bound by time but allows us to be free forever.

Today it is suggested that we experiment with ways to enter flow. The simplest way is through meditation which can be entered into at just about any time, any where.

I like being old.

I’ll be nearly eighty when this book is published, so it shouldn’t surprise me that I can sometimes see the brink from here. But it does. I’m even more surprised by the fact that I like being old.

Palmer, Parker J.. On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, & Getting Old (p. 16). Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

Parker Palmer writes that he likes being old. There is a joy and peace in acquiring wisdom from a lifetime of experience. 

Osho teaches that there is a difference between growing old and growing up. As a biological organism we grow old, but growing old does not guarantee that we grow up, that we mature, that we blossom, that we bear good fruit, that we leave the world a better place than we found it.

Growing up involves a development of our spiritual intelligence. Religion and churches are social institutions whose purpose is to nurture and enhance this spiritual intelligence. Are there wise elders in your church? To what extent are you one yourself? How do the wise elders facilitate the development of spiritual intelligence?

Stop and smell the roses.

It (Continuity of the past) gives the ego a false sense of security by believing that you cannot escape from it. But you can and must. God offers you the continuity of eternity in exchange. When you choose to make this exchange, you will simultaneously exchange guilt for joy, viciousness for love, and pain for peace. T-5.VI.2:4-7

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

The ego dwells on the past and engenders fear of retaliation, rejection, and other harm. To experience the here and now, the present, is to taste God’s eternal joy, love, and peace.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning which does not come from dwelling on the past or anxiously envisioning the future, but in abiding in the present now.

Today, it is suggested that we take some time to quiet our thoughts and just rest in the now. That means to recognize, acknowledge, and savor the moment. “Stop and smell the roses” as they say.

We are better than our worst mistake

Guilt feelings are the preservers of time. They induce fears of retaliation or abandonment, and thus ensure that the future will be like the past. This is the ego’s continuity. T-5.VI.2:1-3

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

The ego dwells in the past rather than in the present, the eternal now. Dwelling on the past engenders fears of retaliation and abandonment. These fears make the ego real for the person experiencing these fears. To eradicate the fears we must see the illusion the ego creates that attempts to make it  real.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This inherent worth and dignity is not based on the belief in the ego but rather the belief in the Divine Spark that animates every person's consciousness.

Today, it is suggested that we name the producer of our guilt and recognize and acknowledge that mistakes have been made and that we are better than our worst mistake.

Where did the time go?

 

Where does time not exist?

God in His knowledge is not waiting, but His Kingdom is bereft while you wait. All the Sons of God are waiting for your return, just as you are waiting for theirs. Delay does not matter in eternity, but it is tragic in time. You have elected to be in time rather than eternity, and therefore believe you are in time. Yet your election is both free and alterable. You do not belong in time. Your place is only in eternity, where God Himself placed you forever.T-5.VI.1:1-7

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

There are expressions inEnglish such as “Time stood still,” “Where did the time go?,” “I lost track of the time.” There is a part of our mind that knows that time is an illusion and in the Oneness there is no such thing. Time only manifested with the separation and will disappear when the separation is healed and the Atonement is achieved.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning and in this search we come to understand that time is merely a device we use for our cognitive understanding in the world of the ego but does not exist in the Kingdom of God.

Today, it is suggested that we take some time to withdraw into an experience of the Oneness where time does not exist.