Do you believe in Life?

How else can you find joy in a joyless place except by realizing that you are not there? You cannot be anywhere God did not put you, and God created you as part of Him. That is both where you are and what you are. It is completely unalterable. It is total inclusion. You cannot change it now or ever. It is forever true. It is not a belief, but a Fact. Anything that God created is as true as He is. Its truth lies only in its perfect inclusion in Him Who alone is perfect. To deny this is to deny yourself and Him, since it is impossible to accept one without the other.T-6.II.6:1-11

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

Reading this paragraph several times, it finally made me laugh. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden they separated themselves from the Oneness of their Transcendent Source and created the world of the ego. 

In our pride we think that we are separate from our Transcendent Source but how could this truly be? The animating force we call “life” is still the basis for our existence and self awareness. Neale Donald Walsch says if you don’t like the word “God” substitute the word “life.” A person can say “I don’t believe in God.”. But they can’t say with their heart pumping and their lungs breathing “I don’t believe in life.”

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. In doing so we recognize and acknowledge the Transcendent Source which animates their very existence.

Today it is suggested that we take some time to set our egos aside and reflect on our Transcendent Source that animates our very existence.

See the Divine Spark in every person.

The Holy Spirit begins by perceiving you as perfect. Knowing this perfection is shared He recognizes it in others, thus strengthening it in both. Instead of anger this arouses love for both, because it establishes inclusion. Perceiving equality, the Holy Spirit perceives equal needs. This invites Atonement automatically, because Atonement is the one need in this world that is universal. To perceive yourself this way is the only way in which you can find happiness in the world. That is because it is the acknowledgment that you are not in this world, for the world is unhappy. T-6.II.5:1-5

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

There are some profound ideas in this paragraph that become clearer with unpacking.

There is a Divine Spark in every person and when this Divine Spark is recognized and acknowledged it gives rise to the Atonement which is the healing of the separation as we come to realize that we are all One with our Transcendent Source. In this realization we have left the world of the ego for the Kingdom of God. Some call this “enlightenment” and others might call it “realization.”

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. The application of this principle moves us closer to the Atonement.

Today it is suggested that we look for the Divine Spark in every one we meet.

Looking for and acting on common goals.

We have learned, however, that there is an alternative to projection. Every ability of the ego has a better use, because its abilities are directed by the mind, which has a better Voice. The Holy Spirit extends and the ego projects. As their goals are opposed, so is the result. T-6.II.4:1-4

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

Projection is when we take our own thoughts and feelings and put them on someone else. Projection is a me/them split. Extending is the mechanism of the Holy Spirit and it is a me/us unification. As the slogan says “There is no I in team.” However there are other slogans such as “One for all and all for one,” and “United we stand and divided we fall.”

In Unitarian Universalism some of us join together to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth. This encouragement is accomplished by extending our Divine Spark to others.

Today it is suggested that we  try to find what we have in common with others. There are many things which can divide us and many things which can unite us. We can look for and act on common goals.

To what extent are you at peace belonging to yourself?

 To whom do you belong? To what extent do you belong to yourself?

The place we belong is in heaven.

According to A Course In Miracles the problems for humanity began when humans separated themselves from the Oneness of God at their incarnation. This separation, when the drops separated themselves from the Oceanic Oneness, gave rise to the ego which vainly thinks it is the author of itself and dissociates itself from the Transcendent Source and the other drops to maintain its illusion of its separate existence.

Have separated themselves from the Transcendent Source, the ego, unconsciously, feels guilty and lives in fear that it will be punished. This guilt gets projected onto everyone and everything else as anger, condemnation and judgment, and contributes to attacks, overt and covert.

Deep down, though, there is a yearning to return home to our Transcendent Source and when it dawns on us that the world of the ego is not our real home this recognition precipitates a search for what Unitarian Universalists call in their fourth principle “truth and meaning.” Others sometimes call it “goodness, truth, and beauty.” Jesus called it the Kingdom of God and  in contemporary times people call it “heaven.” In the metaphysics of A Course In Miracles it is called “Atonement” which is simply the healing of the separation.

Heaven is our true home. The question might be “how does one get to heaven?” How does the Atonement occur?

UUs believe that “heaven” is not in the hereafter where we go when we die,  but here on earth, and Jesus and many spiritual masters do as well. The Atonement occurs through loving forgiveness.

What do you think? Is there a heaven? Can it be on earth as well as in the after world? How does one go there? What’s it like when one arrives?

What makes belonging important?

 What makes belonging important?

1. It’s fun.

2. Facilitates spiritual growth.

3. Safety

4. Status

The correct answer is B. Facilitates spiritual growth.

Protecting ourselves from our own insecurities.

Projection and attack are inevitably related, because projection is always a means of justifying attack. Anger without projection is impossible. The ego uses projection only to destroy your perception of both yourself and your brothers. The process begins by excluding something that exists in you but which you do not want, and leads directly to excluding you from your brothers. T-6.I.3:5-8

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

“I might be bad but I’m not as bad as them.” When we say this we feel better. However, our altered better mood is based on separation and exclusion which is based on an illusion which is false and at a deep seated, often unconscious level, causes guilt. The guilt contributes to our acting out even further against ourselves and others.

In Unitarian Universalism some of us covenant together to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and the encouragement to spiritual growth. The application of this principle requires that we give up our judgemental attitudes.

Today it is suggested that we catch ourselves before we criticize others and put them down or push them away so that we can protect ourselves from our own insecurities.