Overview of UU AWOL podcast

This is the first in a new podcast series on UU AWOL. Within the next few days it will be syndicated on most podcast providers. It is being debuted here for you on the blog site.

Quiz #5 - What is the path embarked on when a person is no longer religious but spiritual?

After the dawning, the turning occurs which leads to the search. The person searching often describes themselves as “spiritual” but no longer “religious.” This awareness takes the individual on what has been described as a path that is:

1. Scientific
2. Rational
3. Atheistic
4. Mystical

The correct answer can be found in the comments

Brockport man accuses fellow committeeman of being "a real asshole."

Brockport, NY - Behind closed doors, Brett Landow, told Barry Brown that Al Johnson is a "real asshole."

"I can't stand the guy," said Brett. "He thinks he knows everything and takes over every meeting."

Barry agreed but was in no way as passionate about the opinion of Al's assholishness as Brett.

"Sometimes," said Barry, "you have to just take people where they're at."

"Can't do it," exclaimed Brett. "The guy will ruin the whole thing."

"What do you want to do," asked Barry?

"I'm gonna complain to Pastor Beverly," said Brett.

"Ahhhh," stammered Barry, "I'm sure that will do the trick," rolling his eyes

A nonjudgmental attitude is a milestone on the walk of Love

Unitarian Univeralists covenant together to affirm and promote acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth.

This acceptance is employed with a nonjudgmental attitude and an unconditional empathic regard for the divine spark in each of our brothers and sisters in the world.

Another milestone on the walk of Love on the path of the spirit is a nonjudgmental attitude.

A nonjudgmental attitude is an unconditional empathic regard.

"To judge is to be dishonest, for to judge is to assume a position you do not have," is written in A Course In Miracles. It is written further, "Judgment without self-deception is impossible." In other words how could you know the heart and mind and soul of another? Most of us don't know our own heart and mind and soul, let alone that of another. At the best we can only guess. Who made us God?

And so the walk of Love is one of nonjudgment. It is not for us say or even to think. The recognition that there is more going on than meets the eye is a hallmark of wisdom and the sign of a more advanced soul on the path of the spirit.

Honesty is the best policy

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote seven principles and none of them mention the importance of honesty. This oversight has caused great problems for the denomination and contributes to its low and dwindling membership.

In it's efforts to be open minded and accepting and compassionate it has marginalized a key indicator of virtue. Without honesty one cannot know who one is nor who other people truly are to him/her. The bedrock of loving human relations has been overlooked in a misguided effort to be open minded and tolerant.

The second milestone on the walk of Love on the path of the spirit is honesty.

Honesty is credibility. Do you mean what you say and say what you mean? Do you do what you say, and say what you do?

Along with honesty and credibility comes dependability and reliance.

People who value honesty know who they are. They do not pretend.

People who are honest are authentic, genuine, sincere. In this, there is great peace.

An indicator of whether a person is walking the way of Love is his/her honesty. This is the bedrock on which the good life and heaven rests.

Those that deceive, create a hell. Self-deception is the worst hell, for nothing in the person's awareness is authentic and genuine. To pretend to yourself and others that you are other than you really are, and things are not the way they seem, is to create an insanity that corrupts any experience of peace and bliss.

False prophets are numerous in the world as are false promises and false pretenses. The path of the ego is littered with the false, the counterfeit, the dishonest, the empty deception which while in the short term may glitter, and gleam, and shinily attract, wind up contaminating our awareness with rot and decay resulting in anguish and suffering.

Honesty is the best policy even when it seems to hurt.

What do you trust?

When Unitarian Universalists are asked in what they trust, what do they believe, what is their faith, they stumble, babble, and all too often become embarrassed.

UUs covenant together to affirm and promote seven principles. In these seven principles is there a common theme or thread? Can the seven principles be summed up in a few words or in a simple sentence?

If asked what is the mission of the Unitarian Universalist church and what is its vision, usually what one hears, if anything, is psychobabble that is somewhat incoherent.

The UUA's vision statement is "We Unitarian Universalists (UUs) envision a life filled with compassion for all, shared in beloved community, and lived in a just world."

It is the teaching of UUAWOL that  the vision for human kind is to achieve the At-One-Ment when everybody loves everybody all the time. The mission of UUAWOL is facilitate the achievement of this vision by facilitating the development of an interior spiritual life for every individual in which they are pursing the path of the spirit by walking with Love.

What are the milestones on the path of the spirit?

The stages of spiritual development have begun with the dawning which has triggered the turning which has triggered the search. The search has necessitated the awareness of the witness which reflects on one's spiritual progress and functioning.

After multiple attempts to identify a way, a method, which facilitates spiritual growth, the individual finally discovers the walk of love. The person learns to ask the Holy Spirit, Jesus, God, Mother Nature, whatever one conceives one's Higher Power to be, "what would love have me do?"

The person comes to learn that the first milestone walking in Love is trust. Some might call it faith. Love cannot be defined. Love is too big to be fathomable. The opposite of Love we are told in A Course In Miracles is fear. Fear makes us chose between attack and forgiveness.

The seeker who is walking in Love learns that forgiveness is essential, and forgiveness takes trust and faith that the laws of Love are the right way to proceed. Forgiveness is the undoing of the beliefs of the path of the ego.

In order to proceed in trust the individual must go through the turning away from the path of the ego to the path of the spirit. This turning away from the path of the ego to the path of the spirit takes a period of "sorting out" of choices. Do I chose Love or money? Do I chose fame and status or integrity? Do I chose judgment or compassion and acceptance? Do I chose punishment and revenge or forgiveness and healing?

As the individual gets practice in making these decisions between the ego or the spirit there is a period of relinquishment. Idols are not important any more. The seeker gives up stuff and gets rid of shit. Some call this, instead of relinquishment, a purification and a liberation.

The fourth step after relinquishment comes a settling down. The seeker is more aware and confident in choosing what is really important.

This settling down can lead to a sense of disillusionment and depression. There is a sense of depression that comes with an awareness of how dysfunctional the ego's beliefs about the world are and the extent to which people have chosen mistakenly and had gone astray. A Course in Miracles calls this stage "a period of unsettling."

Lastly, the seeker comes to trust that (s)he has chosen wisely to leave the path of the ego and embark on the path of the spirit. There is a sense of peace, and bliss and gratitude for this achievement of getting on a better track.

The first milestone on the walk of Love is called trust in the path of the spirit. This trust in the path of the spirit is what we can confidently entrust our faith.

As the jokester says, "In God We Trust. All others pay cash."

Study: UUs waste over 500,000 hours per years in committee meetings

Brockport, NY - A recent study performed by the Amelioration Institute found that Unitarian Universalists spend over 500,000 hours per year in committee meetings with very little to show for it.

"If Unitarian Universalism has a mission in the world you'd never know it by what gets accomplished, " said Barry Donovan the study's lead researcher. "UUs love to talk about things but that's as far as things go. They seem to love talk more than action."

"They seem to enjoy the coffee and cookies," said Sarah Barbarito the study's co-author. "It's more about socializing for a small click of people than organizational accomplishment. Their lack of focus on their mission has lead to a dwindling of membership and we predict this small denomination will dissolve in the next two decades due to its inability to support itself."

"Without a meaningful mission, and no attention to measuring the degree of accomplishments, most organizations lose members, money, and talent and die," said Dr. Donovan. "Studying Unitarian Univeralism as a classic example of organizational demise as its mission becomes increasingly irrelevant to its members and the people the organization purports to serve is very informative of the organizational dying process."

Sarah Barbarito said, "The denomination is on life support now. I would estimate their life expectancy is down to 20 years."