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August 11, 2013 – You Spot It! You Got It!

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8/18/13 Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
You Spot It! You Got It!


We so want to judge, to criticize! We live in the present as if it were the past and project it into the future, creating our continuous experience (A Course in Miracles). You have enough life energy to heal any need every day. But each day we spend 60-70 % of our energy in our victim/perpetrator minds, and 20-30 % in our “what if” and worry stories. That leaves precious little for living in the present. We are very rarely in the present. Our perception of past events is projected onto what’s happening at any moment, and we are then missing that moment.

My friend Tra Boxer told me every time she has “something big” to do, she is almost stymied by fearful, negative feelings. She now knows this stems from when she won a scholarship to study in Paris, but was too afraid to go through with it. Over the years guilt, disappointment, even shame have been attached, and it all comes up now, every time. This is projection. We even project our pain on others, hoping get rid of it, but it comes back even stronger. Perception is pain, then projection, then suffering.

As a paralegal, I got a two month assignment to work with the notorious ‘itches in the office. Just as I expected, they were ‘itches in every way. I decided to pray, “What do I do? How would You have me handle it?” I remembered God has only one begotten son/daughter. I am that daughter, and the ‘itches are that daughter, too. We are all one. So I decided to see them as beautiful loving lights, and over the weekend, I affirmed constantly, “I love the work I do and the people I work with. I am loving and they are loving too.” Monday morning they greeted me cheerily and things were totally different. Had they changed over the weekend, or had I? We can change our lives by changing our minds! If you look for ‘itches, you will find ‘itches. So shift your perception. See the perfection in everyone, in every situation. When that is too difficult, just offer your little willingness to do it to the universe, to the Holy Spirit—or just your willingness to be willing to be willing—and the rest will be done for you. If you spot it, you got it!

And do the forgiveness work on all that stuff in your past. Say, “I withdraw any and all projections on my erroneous perceptions and I free you and myself to be who and what we were created to be: Whole and Perfect.” When in pain and suffering, look to see where your perception about someone or something might be at cause. Make the commitment to heal it. Repeat, “I am whole and perfect!” “I am whole and perfect!” “I am whole and perfect!”

August 4, 2013 – Care Awakens Bre’r Rabbit Wisdom

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8/4/13 Rev. David McArthur
Care Awakens Bre’r Rabbit Wisdom
                                           
I have been very frustrated trying to make peace, harmony and plenty in the Earth happen. Then I was given the way in which it can be done. The way is care. The mind sees so many problems which we don’t think we can do anything about. But care is not in our minds, but a feeling in our hearts, and when we respond to it, there is a flow of greater wisdom into our lives.

Uncle Remus tells of one hot ole summer when all the water holes dried up ‘cept for a spring in the woods. King Lion took it over for hisself and kept all the others away. Br’er Rabbit got an idea [care]. He ran to the hole panting, out of breath, and hollered that the lion better run for cover to save hisself from the coming “hurry-cane” [care]. Br’er Rabbit said he was going to tie himself to a tree till the hurry-cane blew over, and offered to tie up Lion first. Br’er Rabbit tied him very tightly. Then all the others came to the spring and drank [care]! When we feel we don’t have enough, the problem is we have King Lions (our fears)! There’s no care in fear. Through care, Br’er Rabbit got an idea, an answer. There is a way we can get to that place of answers. Care is a movement of the power of love within us. Get a new kind of wisdom and tie up that King Lion of fear.

Harriet Tubman, born a slave, was told there were things she couldn’t change. Her father would point to the North Star and tell her it was a place where there was no slavery. She fled one night, following the North Star. Night after night she followed it until she crossed into where she was free. Then, because she cared, she risked her new freedom and her life to go back 15 times to lead others to freedom. Did she end all slavery? No. But she freed over 300 people! Care causes us to act. It’s a core way we experience and grow in our oneness.

Care is a powerful ability to access the wisdom within ourselves. There are things that our minds tell us we can’t do anything about. But in your heart let yourself feel the care about those things. Acknowledge “I do care and my heart knows the answer.” “I do care and my heart knows the answer.” “I do care and my heart knows the answer.” The time has come for humankind to wake up. Our care will move us to that deep place of wisdom because we all have that beautiful Br’er Rabbit wisdom!

July 28, 2013 – The Light and Love at the Core of Your Being

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7/28/13 Rev. David McArthur
The Light and Love at the Core of Your Being

Dr. Peter Russell, PHD in physics, is looking into how the universe really is and the way we actually perceive things. How does our consciousness do it? Reaching a state of pure consciousness by meditating, he “transcended thinking… It was different from waking, sleeping, or dreaming.” He explained that perception is like light moving through film to project out our reality, and when he meditated, he was turning his attention to the light of the projector. But then he knew his was the same light which shines in every sentient being.

In the Upanishads it is said, “Those wise ones, seeing the consciousness is the same in all, is to see it is one; we are one.” From the Koran, “God is the light of heaven and earth. The light that arises into the experience of the mind is where we touch the divine.” Jesus said, “You are the light of the world”. It is from the Christ consciousness that we experience the light, the source. Dr. Russell said unconditional love is always there at our core, that pure consciousness is pure love. “I, in my true essence, am love.” It is the truth of your being.

Dr. Eben Alexander, a Harvard educated neurosurgeon, in his Proof of Heaven, wrote that even though all the electronic sensors showed his neocortex was not functioning, that he was fully conscious throughout his near-death experience, and the he knew instinctively that everything he experienced was true. He relayed the beauty and meaning of his experience this way, “You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever. You have nothing to fear. There is nothing you can do that is wrong.” Say, I am loved and cherished, dearly, forever. Dr. Alexander went on to say that modern physics tells us the universe is a unity in which every particle is weaved with all. There is no separation. He said both Einstein and Jesus spoke of it in their different ways.

These scientists and teachings confirm there is a place where there is power to transform whatever situation we might find ourselves in—where there is the power to transform the self. To do it, journey within, and take attention away from the situation. Move your attention to that place of power. You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever. Say I am loved and cherished, dearly, forever, (no matter how badly I screw up; no matter how everyone around me screws up). It is true, because love is who you are!

July 21, 2013 – The Shepherd and the Sheep

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7/21/13 Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
The Shepherd and the Sheep

Writing the 23rd psalm, King David recognized that the Lord (metaphysically “Divine Law”) protects us and leads us when we follow. By Divine Law, we “lie down in green pastures” (we are provided with abundance) and we are restored by the “still waters” (calmed, reborn with a new consciousness). We are led in righteousness–right thinking, thinking from the heart, a place of non-separation, oneness, according to the name (nature) of who we truly are.

As the sheep are led through the valley, wolves and other predators cast shadows down upon the path as they watch the sheep from the hilltops. The shepherd uses the rod as a weapon and the staff to prod or to pull the sheep to safety. So too we can take comfort with the protection and guidance of Divine Law, as light destroys shadow.

Even in the presence of our “enemies” (our fearful thinking) our table is prepared with good things and our “cup” is overflowing. There’s more than enough! We are forgiven even before we ask, because our Shepherd never held anything against us in the first place! As oil prevents destructive parasites from getting inside the sheep’s head, Divine Law protects us from self destructive thinking.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” where “follow” actually means “pursue”. We are already in heaven and don’t even know it, because we haven’t been even a little willing to be led by Divine Law! You are in the house of the Lord, right here, right now. You don’t have to wait for it.

So how do we follow our Shepherd?
1. Ask for Guidance. We have free will so Divine Law waits for us to ask. Then ask for a sign that you will understand, that you see that Divine Law is real, so that you can.
2. Follow with Trust.
3. Stay on the Path. Do not take your eye off the Shepherd. 
4. Look for the Signs. Expect to see them. When we expect, we get.
5. See Only the Good. It’s not easy, so practice, practice, practice! How you see it is how you will experience it. Be willing to see the perfection in it.
6. Forgive Everything. Don’t condone the action, but forgive the person. Otherwise you will carry it around with you.
7. Live Daily in a Consciousness of Heaven Now. “I am in heaven.”

Affirm: “I am guided and protected by the ever-present Love and Wisdom of Divine Mind.”

July 14, 2013 – Abundance Principles

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7/14/13 Rev. David McArthur
Abundance Principals

You are a beautiful child of God, a beautiful spiritual being, with spiritual assignments and challenges—challenges like “not enough”. We might experience it financially and emotionally, as individuals and as a community. We might feel we are not drawing support and wisdom from family and friends. We might not be allowing ourselves to be provided for with abundance in our lives.

We have learned in our response to feelings of lack to put God first and pray. We pray to open our hearts and minds to accept the loving abundance that we know is always there. We pray to let this awareness in. “God is my instant, constant, abundant supply. I am grateful for more than enough.”

Our second response is love and appreciation. We acknowledge the loving abundance flowing into and through our lives, and appreciate the wonderful people in our lives. We have also learned that putting God first means we tithe the first ten percent, from love, and through this experience of love, all else follows.
There is also the principal of balance. We are most effective at allowing the flow of abundance in our lives when we are in balance, like not spending more than we have coming in.

The Law of Mind Action—thoughts and emotions in mind produce their kind—is referred to by Eric Butterworth in Spiritual Economics, “If ever there is lack of any kind, whether it is a need for employment, or money, or for guidance, or even healing, something is blocking the flow. And the most effective remedy: Give!” Give!—change from the feeling of lack to the feeling of rich abundance. It is a different, powerful state of consciousness. In his book Prosperity, Charles Fillmore says, “God is the divine givingness of the universe. In your spiritual quest you are striving to establish alignment with that givingness.”

Spirit understands that we want to see proof. Some see it quickly, others not so. This is not a magic bullet. It comes according to one’s alignment to universal laws of abundance. Step into the alignment of consciousness with that divine givingness. Give from the never ending flow of God’s goodness. “God is my instant, constant, abundant supply. I am grateful for more than enough, for more wisdom, creative opportunity, beautiful peace, and love to heal all that stands in the way of abundance!” Bless you!

July 7, 2013 – Freedom From Not Enough

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7/7/13 Rev. David McArthur
Freedom From Not Enough

As spiritual beings we have access to an experience which can completely free us. Jesus said it this way, “Know the truth and the truth will set you free,” and “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and …all these things will be given unto you.” Viktor Frankl said it in Man’s Search For Meaning, “…Love is the ultimate and highest goal… The salvation of man is through love and in love… Man can, through loving contemplation… achieve fulfillment… ‘The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.’ ” To be in that state of appreciation!

That is your capacity to be free, to touch that love regardless of what’s happening on the outside. Knowing this is experiencing the reality within that God is love; your love is God. Seeing transcendence of limitations within helps us see the amazing power we have.

Outward conditions are reflections of our own limitations. We are caught in a world of emotions and judgments that sometimes what we have is not enough—not enough harmony, vitality, or money. In our spiritual community now we have the state of consciousness that there is not enough money. But we can bring wholeness into expression; we can transform these things together. And in our personal lives as well. Change your consciousness first. Go into prayer. In Unity we don’t ask a God “out there” to intervene in a situation we think He didn’t know anything about. It is not as if our abundance is not here; we know everything needed already exists in the spiritual realm. We pray to open ourselves to it. “God is our instant, constant, abundant supply.” Otherwise you focus on something which is not the truth.

Considering the hours spent by our generous congregants in preparing the beautiful music we enjoy, the systems which let us hear it, and see it online, and considering those whose financial commitments renewed and continue to support our beautiful facilities, where’s the lack? Move from “not enough” to “more than enough”! Don’t even consider “just enough”. There is always more of the divine which wants to move through you! (Abundance does not come to you but through you!) Because we are one, what comes to one of us comes to all. Repeat, I am grateful for more than enough! I am grateful for more than enough! I am grateful for more than enough! There is an infinite power setting you free now. Freedom is a good thing. Enjoy more than enough!

June 30, 2013 – I See The Love

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6/30/13 Rev. David McArthur
I See The Love

Does the traditional god thought lift you to the next level of your spiritual journey? It does not support or nurture me. Yet, I still experience an amazing love.

An old mission church in remote New Mexico has a very plain room with a hole in the middle of the floor. Out of it I’ve seen people take the dirt and rub it on themselves, seeking healing which others have found there. The walls are lined with crutches and in the hallway outside there are many many pictures and letters about those healings.  In Rome I have seen magnificent churches. They illustrate so fully the primitive god thought that was so prevalent at the time, that God is way up there and we’re down here. In one, people were singing with great beauty and love, their voices expressing a complete and total love for God. How these people understood God is not how I do, but their love of God touched me at depth!

In the walled city of ancient Jerusalem I passed a woman dressed in religious robes. When she looked at me, she sent such a great flow of love that it took my breath away and stopped me in my tracks. She chose to know love and it grew in her, around her, and was her. We shared God together. I was powerfully blessed—even now! Whether she was Muslim, Jewish, or Christian, I was certain she was deeply devout in her perception of God, which was probably as alien from mine as you can get, yet I experienced the love of God!

(From the gospel of John), Jesus said, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?” In New Mexico, I saw the people in the love of the Father and the love of the Father in them—a beautiful love, visceral, so real I could step in and feel it. The people brought it there. It was there for me and from me. When we felt the love of the singers in Rome, we felt the one unifying, harmonious power that keeps our universe in order. We were in that love and it was in us. It didn’t matter that they wouldn’t explain it that way. When I saw the woman in Jerusalem, she was in that love and it was in her. As my heart opened to receive it I was in that love.

Will we let ourselves experience that love, be one with it? I wish to be able to walk into any church and feel the love. Choose to see their love. Affirm with me, I am love; I behold the love in you. I am love; I behold the love in you. I am love; I behold the love in you. Can you do it in your family, where they do not understand your path, where words do not serve? Can you see their god thought and their love there? Can you see the world this way—where there is only love? There is only love!

June 23, 2013 – What Is Your God Thought?

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6/23/13 Rev. David McArthur
What Is Your God Thought?

We have grown in the way we think of God. Imagine you were a shepherd 3000 years ago and the night sky filled you with incredible awe. You wondered about the power that created it. You sensed how much greater than us that power must be, and how insignificant we are. With the light of dawn the fears of the night faded as the sun revealed the familiar world. In the dark what we didn’t know, what we couldn’t see, we feared must be evil. All cultures have had these natural thoughts.

So we developed stories explaining our understanding of God, and passed them down, like the pillar of fire. We thought that if we follow the rules, God will give us the goodies; if we don’t, we’ll lose them. The God thought handed down to us is probably as wrong as it is right. We tend to use the God thought that lets us feel close to the power, the I Am, Atman, the Buddha Mind. What works for you?

There are beings who see this relationship more clearly than others. Over time these people were written about. “The light that shines above all others is within you.” is from Hindu scripture. Jesus taught “The Father and I are one.” (Not out “there” and separate, like a pillar of fire.) He taught to move our consciousness to the divine part within, as in “The kingdom of heaven is within.” (And that it is not possible to be lost.)

In Unity we say we are spiritual rather than religious because we feel we have no need to defend the God thought of others who went before. Our God thought is expressed in “God Is Good All The Time.” What if we replace “God” with “Goodness”? “I AM Goodness All The Time.” “I AM Goodness All The Time.” “I AM Goodness All The Time.” Which God thought is most helpful to your journey?

Do you know you are more aware of the different God thoughts around the world than any of the people who wrote the Bible? You can look at the world with a new God thought! Again, imagine you are on the hillside 3000 years ago looking up at that sky in the night. But look with awareness that you are a part of the creation you are observing. Be aware that you are One with the creative force that set those heavens in motion. As you observe, you are aware of the life you have created—with love and loss, with tremendous joy and tremendous pain. You are observing the Created and the Creator, observing the Divine unfolding. What God thought works for you?

June 16, 2013 – Who’s Yo Daddy?

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6/16/13 Rev. Sheila Gautreaux
Who’s Yo Daddy?

The word “father” has many aspects, and invokes many things in us. Some warm and loving, some not so warm and loving. Metaphysically, the Bible uses “Father” as the Divine Masculine; the Intellect; the Masculine aspect of Creative Principle. It uses “Son” to mean the Soul; the Image and Likeness of God; the Perfect Self; the Student on the Journey.

So in Luke 10:22, “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal to him” means only the divine masculine knows the soul and only the soul (Son) knows the divine masculine. The Son is that truth of our being that has the relationship with the divine masculine.

Regardless of how you might feel about him, what if you had the perfect human father for the development of your purpose for being here, for what your soul intended by coming into this world? If you had known this would you have experienced the pain which caused you to seek the relief and the benefits then gained? To the personality judgment is the result of suffering. To the soul suffering is the result of judgment. Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional. The soul sees there is a reason, a blessing to be found. What if the person gave you exactly the experience you need to fulfill your purpose? What if the father was perfect for you? The people who cause us the most suffering are the souls who love us the most, to lower themselves to bring you just what your soul desired.

Breathe into possibility around that person called father. You cannot be a victim and creator at the same time. There are no victims. You are a creator. Affirm: I honor myself. I honor my father. I honor my experience of my father. I am willing to see the perfection in what happened. I choose peace. I am at peace. I am at peace. I am at peace.

So who’s your daddy?

June 9, 2013 – The Lazarus Blueprint

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6/9/13 Rev. Suzanne Leonard
The Lazarus Blueprint

The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the tomb teaches us to bring back to life a state within us that has been dead. Use the power of your voice. There are 100 trillion cells excited about what you’re going to say. A hundred trillion cells wait the direction of your voice.

Your own voice is the most important voice for you to hear. Recently I broke my foot. The x-rays showed the foot, which is God’s although I am using it, was broken in 3 places. I did not claim this as mine. Aloud, I gave thanks and claimed health. I used the “G” force—I claimed my Good, my Glory, my Growth, and my Guidance. As givers we miss the receiving part. (Just try to breath out without breathing in.) Your heart has to open and close. You have to be “in circulation”. As the medical professionals tended to me, I spoke to myself, “I’ll co-operate with your healing while instituting mine.” There was hardly any pain. Today I am walking in high-heels!

Lazarus was already dead when Jesus arrived at his home. But Jesus is the perfect presence, and had taken the time to prepare. So He had arrived at the point in time in which the miracle needed to happen. The Lazarus in you is the unhealed part, the pain entombed in a dark corner of you. Arrive at the point in the time that healing needs to happen. Roll away the stone of believing in your problem and let the “stink” come out, and with it the possibility of healing. Mary and Martha are the hope, the knowing that something else can be done. Explore and then expect healing. Jesus spoke with laser-like expectancy, “Lazarus, come out!” Not someday. Now is the time.

Then give thanks before receiving! Write a pre-thank-you card. Pre-pray the situation, put your light out there. “Come out!” Heal what is entombed in you. What are you waiting for?

Then “Unbind him and let him go!” Pray the prayers and walk the steps. Use affirmations and evict those negative people in your head. “Open sesame!” It’s the power with which you say it—the conviction. I invite you to roll away the stones in your life today. Unbind what you were told you are and be the person you truly are. You are precious to your family, your community, the world. Step forth and be who you are! God bless you!