In the Kingdom Of God time is meaningless.

We have repeatedly said that time is a learning device to be abolished when it is no longer useful. The Holy Spirit, Who speaks for God in time, also knows that time is meaningless. T-5.VI.12:5-6

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

Time divides and separates in the world of the ego. In the Kingdom of God there is no time. There is only the Holy Instant.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning which takes the seeker beyond time to the timeless.

Today, it is suggested that a few minutes be taken to go with the flow where time stands still. There is no experience of time there. Time has become meaningless.

Discerning the lessons of the Holy Spirit.

The ego speaks in judgment, and the Holy Spirit reverses its decision, much as a higher court has the power to reverse a lower court’s decisions in this world. The ego’s decisions are always wrong, because they are based on the error they were made to uphold. Nothing the ego perceives is interpreted correctly. Not only does the ego cite Scripture for its purpose, but it even interprets Scripture as a witness for itself. The Bible is a fearful thing in the ego’s judgment. Perceiving it as frightening, it interprets it fearfully. Being afraid, you do not appeal to the Higher Court because you believe its judgment would also be against you. T-5.VI.4:1-7

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

Some of the world’s major religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam are called “the people of the book” because the authority for their doctrines comes from a major text like the Talmud, the Bible, and the Quran. Jesus tells us in A Course In Miracles that these texts are often used by the ego to engender fear  which prevents the adherent from looking within and taking responsibility for their own spiritual life.

In Unitarian Universalism people covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. The principle encourages the investigation of multiple religious traditions and practices.

Today it is suggested that the seeker search for wisdom outside their usual circle of familiarity and discern what the Holy Spirit wants them to learn.

We can choose the Mind Of God or the voice of the ego.

Let the Holy Spirit remind you always of His fairness, and let me teach you how to share it with your brothers. How else can the chance to claim it for yourself be given you? The two voices speak for different interpretations of the same thing simultaneously; or almost simultaneously, for the ego always speaks first. Alternate interpretations were unnecessary until the first one was made. T-5.VI.3:3-6

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

“Fairness” in the above verses refers to the teaching that the Mind Of God is in every person as it was in Jesus. However, the Mind Of God is often marginalized and superseded by the voice of the ego. When we share the Mind Of God with our brothers and sisters we strengthen the awareness of the Mind of God in ourselves. 

The verses above remind us that the Mind Of God and the voice of the ego give us different interpretations of our perceptions and that the voice of the ego usually supersedes the Mind of God because we make the voice of the ego up while the Mind Of God is always there. To attend to the Mind Of God we can set aside, or overlook the voice of the ego.

In Unitarian Universalism we join together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning which is to be found in the Mind Of God not in the voice of the ego. The search involves learning to tell them apart so we can focus on the Mind Of God rather than on the voice of the ego which we usually hear first.

Today, it is suggested that we practice being mindful by monitoring our awareness for which interpretation of our perceptions we are focusing on: the Mind Of God or the voice of the ego.

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.