Universal Truth

March 20, 2016 – Destination or Destiny: Which is the Goal?

by

Rev. Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
Destination or Destiny: Which is the Goal?

Jesus wasn’t a saint. He was a man. He knew what was coming and said “yes”. Everything he said and did was to show us what we could do, that others who would come after him will be able to say yes to their purpose.

I have wondered for a long time why the story of Palm Sunday says that Jesus had instructed the disciples to bring the young donkey colt with its mother so he could ride it into Jerusalem. It’s my “-ism” that he did so because the mother ass would walk with her colt to share its burden, showing that our mother/god would make her presence known to carry our load at the times we can’t take authority to bear it ourselves. And it was a sign of humility, “your king will come humbly.”

Are we willing to say yes to what we don’t even know is coming? Are we willing to let God walk beside us, trusting, and accept our purpose, which was chosen before we came? Are we willing to do what it takes to move to the highest level of consciousness, the Christ consciousness? He accepted his divinity. He knew what it was and he used it. He knew what was coming—condemnation and death, to be hung on the cross between thieves—and he went toward it in peace. He knew he’d never be led to anything he couldn’t handle.

We are saved now from what keeps us, limits us, by our willingness to say we will go and see what lies ahead. The preparation has already been made. Something amazing is about to happen for us. Nothing can stop me or keep me from my goal, my purpose, because the way has already been prepared. We are royalty; without conceit we are to honor ourselves. We are not the scum of the Earth, not lowly worms in the dust, but sons of God. Each and every day walk out “in royalty”.

The story continues, “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” “Name” means “nature of”, so blessed is he who comes in the nature of the spiritual law of highest spiritual truth. When we align with universal laws, the highest spiritual revelations, we can’t fail. When things are put before us God says “prove me”. Put it to the test; exercise your spiritual muscle. “It works if you work it.” With life-threatening illness or loss, put God to the test. Go to see what the end will be. Say yes and go forward, trusting.

To be fulfilled means filled full. The Trinity of Fulfillment is 1) forgiveness—trust and forgive what and who seems to have prevented us from fulfilling our purpose. 2) compassion—have compassion for yourself and others who are struggling to find their way in their misperceptions and unknowingness and are in your way. 3) peace—it comes as we walk our pathway, and it “feels right”. Things hum. It is the peace which passes all understanding. “I feel, I am, peace.” For however long, whatever the pitfalls, Through forgiveness and compassion I find peace. Through forgiveness and compassion I find peace. Through forgiveness and compassion I find peace.

Have a wonderful journey!

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March 20, 2016 – Destination or Destiny: Which is the Goal?

by

Rev. Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
Destination or Destiny: Which is the Goal?

Jesus wasn’t a saint. He was a man. He knew what was coming and said “yes”. Everything he said and did was to show us what we could do, that others who would come after him will be able to say yes to their purpose.

I have wondered for a long time why the story of Palm Sunday says that Jesus had instructed the disciples to bring the young donkey colt with its mother so he could ride it into Jerusalem. It’s my “-ism” that he did so because the mother ass would walk with her colt to share its burden, showing that our mother/god would make her presence known to carry our load at the times we can’t take authority to bear it ourselves. And it was a sign of humility, “your king will come humbly.”

Are we willing to say yes to what we don’t even know is coming? Are we willing to let God walk beside us, trusting, and accept our purpose, which was chosen before we came? Are we willing to do what it takes to move to the highest level of consciousness, the Christ consciousness? He accepted his divinity. He knew what it was and he used it. He knew what was coming—condemnation and death, to be hung on the cross between thieves—and he went toward it in peace. He knew he’d never be led to anything he couldn’t handle.

We are saved now from what keeps us, limits us, by our willingness to say we will go and see what lies ahead. The preparation has already been made. Something amazing is about to happen for us. Nothing can stop me or keep me from my goal, my purpose, because the way has already been prepared. We are royalty; without conceit we are to honor ourselves. We are not the scum of the Earth, not lowly worms in the dust, but sons of God. Each and every day walk out “in royalty”.

The story continues, “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” “Name” means “nature of”, so blessed is he who comes in the nature of the spiritual law of highest spiritual truth. When we align with universal laws, the highest spiritual revelations, we can’t fail. When things are put before us God says “prove me”. Put it to the test; exercise your spiritual muscle. “It works if you work it.” With life-threatening illness or loss, put God to the test. Go to see what the end will be. Say yes and go forward, trusting.

To be fulfilled means filled full. The Trinity of Fulfillment is 1) forgiveness—trust and forgive what and who seems to have prevented us from fulfilling our purpose. 2) compassion—have compassion for yourself and others who are struggling to find their way in their misperceptions and unknowingness and are in your way. 3) peace—it comes as we walk our pathway, and it “feels right”. Things hum. It is the peace which passes all understanding. “I feel, I am, peace.” For however long, whatever the pitfalls, Through forgiveness and compassion I find peace. Through forgiveness and compassion I find peace. Through forgiveness and compassion I find peace.

Have a wonderful journey!

March 13, 2016 – The Force of Compassion

by

Rev. David McArthur
The Force Of Compassion

In Unity I found the beautiful universal truths of Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. “The scriptures of all the nations of the world testify to the existence of an invisible FORCE moving men and nature in their various activities. Not all agree as to the character of this omnipresent FORCE, universal Spirit, but it serves the purpose of being their god under whatever name it may appear.” (Chas. Fillmore, “Atom-Smashing Power Of Mind”) Many of us call it “love”.

Stacy Smith, an American woman, found it difficult to comprehend Mother Theresa’s level of experience. Inspired, and to confront her own fears, she went to India. There she entered a concrete room filled with rows of cots with ill and dying women. Stacy noticed a woman struggling to breath and in great pain. She felt deep compassion. She had such a different experience from hers. She didn’t even know the woman’s language. All she could think to do was sing to her. She noticed the woman’s breathing was better. The woman opened her eyes and “looked with clarity into my eyes.” Two women, bound together in need, sharing their deep soul. “The moment slipped away. I continued to sing. In a short while the woman took her final breath.” That force of compassion can reach beyond.

In Hindu scripture, Krishna instructs Arjuna to be compassionate to friend and enemy alike, to “see yourself in others” to know this beautiful force. Jesus instructed, “love your enemies… Feed the hungry, clothe the naked…for whatever you do for one… of mine, you do for me.” In the scripture of Islam, it is expressed as “God is compassion.” And from the Jewish scripture, “Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless…for  ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’

Many years ago I was in a Palestinian refugee camp in a room with a mother and her four children. The window had a hole where the father had been shot. We were totally different. I was a “rich” white man; she was a poor woman in a culture dominated by white men, a single mother confined by that culture. I told her, “I lost a spouse and I’m sorry you have, too.” Her response as it was translated to me, was “You don’t understand. Was your spouse killed by a gun?” I said, “Yes.” I saw her face change. She looked me in the eye. This is a culture in which a woman does not look in the eyes of any man but her husband’s; she had changed to do this. I looked in her eyes and saw her soul. I saw tremendous pain, loneliness, fear for her children, and a yearning for a husband to care for her. She saw into my soul; she saw my journey. The force of compassion took down impossible barriers and we were just two people, soul-to-soul, understanding. In our culture there is a commitment to separation and the belief in our differences. It is my belief the force of compassion cuts it down.

This week hold your friends in the compassion of your heart when they feel separate. I hold you in the compassion of my heart. I hold you in the compassion of my heart. I hold you in the compassion of my heart. I promise every time you reach for it, the FORCE will be with you!

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March 13, 2016 – The Force of Compassion

by

Rev. David McArthur
The Force Of Compassion

In Unity I found the beautiful universal truths of Charles and Myrtle Fillmore. “The scriptures of all the nations of the world testify to the existence of an invisible FORCE moving men and nature in their various activities. Not all agree as to the character of this omnipresent FORCE, universal Spirit, but it serves the purpose of being their god under whatever name it may appear.” (Chas. Fillmore, “Atom-Smashing Power Of Mind”) Many of us call it “love”.

Stacy Smith, an American woman, found it difficult to comprehend Mother Theresa’s level of experience. Inspired, and to confront her own fears, she went to India. There she entered a concrete room filled with rows of cots with ill and dying women. Stacy noticed a woman struggling to breath and in great pain. She felt deep compassion. She had such a different experience from hers. She didn’t even know the woman’s language. All she could think to do was sing to her. She noticed the woman’s breathing was better. The woman opened her eyes and “looked with clarity into my eyes.” Two women, bound together in need, sharing their deep soul. “The moment slipped away. I continued to sing. In a short while the woman took her final breath.” That force of compassion can reach beyond.

In Hindu scripture, Krishna instructs Arjuna to be compassionate to friend and enemy alike, to “see yourself in others” to know this beautiful force. Jesus instructed, “love your enemies… Feed the hungry, clothe the naked…for whatever you do for one… of mine, you do for me.” In the scripture of Islam, it is expressed as “God is compassion.” And from the Jewish scripture, “Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless…for  ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’

Many years ago I was in a Palestinian refugee camp in a room with a mother and her four children. The window had a hole where the father had been shot. We were totally different. I was a “rich” white man; she was a poor woman in a culture dominated by white men, a single mother confined by that culture. I told her, “I lost a spouse and I’m sorry you have, too.” Her response as it was translated to me, was “You don’t understand. Was your spouse killed by a gun?” I said, “Yes.” I saw her face change. She looked me in the eye. This is a culture in which a woman does not look in the eyes of any man but her husband’s; she had changed to do this. I looked in her eyes and saw her soul. I saw tremendous pain, loneliness, fear for her children, and a yearning for a husband to care for her. She saw into my soul; she saw my journey. The force of compassion took down impossible barriers and we were just two people, soul-to-soul, understanding. In our culture there is a commitment to separation and the belief in our differences. It is my belief the force of compassion cuts it down.

This week hold your friends in the compassion of your heart when they feel separate. I hold you in the compassion of my heart. I hold you in the compassion of my heart. I hold you in the compassion of my heart. I promise every time you reach for it, the FORCE will be with you!

November 1, 2015 – Focus On The Source, It Brings Understanding

by

11/01/15  Rev. David McArthur
Focus On The Source, It Brings Understanding

13.5 billion years ago the Singularity, the point of infinite density, expanded. (The Big Bang.) In that expansion is the evolution of the universe. On that little speck called Earth, evolution developed to where we began to gain knowledge and find out the laws that brought all this amazing stuff into being. I believe now there’s another level of evolution happening: our ability to know the source of all that. A description is found in the Gospel when Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain and appeared in light to them with Moses and Elijah, the Transfiguration. Moses=the law, i.e. gravity, chemistry, etc. Elijah, the flow of energy into creation and us; and Jesus, the incarnation of God expressive within each being. These are the symbols of the source, the divine presence. The symbols of our capacity to perceive the divine, are the three apostles. Peter=faith. James, the capacity for wisdom, to see the nature of this reality. And John, love, that beautiful harmonizing power within.

Karen’s son CJ, sixteen years old, lost his life. In extreme pain, she prayed, “Why? Why?” But then her prayers came from a different part of her being. “My soul cried out, ‘I need to know that he is all right!’” When she met her ex’s new wife in the driveway, his new wife said that she had to tell Karen something. That very morning, her five year old, CJ’s half brother, told her that CJ had come to him in a dream and told him to “please tell my mother I’m ok”!

I too did a lot of “why?” praying after I lost my first wife. I had to have a baby sitter for my one year old. The sitter’s little boy told her he saw a woman in their house, but he wasn’t afraid. His mother didn’t know what to think. One day they brought my daughter home and came into our house and the boy pointed to a picture of my dead wife and shouted, “That’s the woman!” This was not an answer of information, but of understanding, the response to my prayer which took me to my source.

Who we are is not limited to the forms we touch. I understood then that when we shift our awareness from the stuff in our universe to the source of it, there is an understanding, a beautiful flow to our need, our being, of understanding. After that we see life differently. Life is sacred. Not just forms, but joy, laughter, tears, discovery, confusion, loss—all is sacred—all is within what we call God.

God is my source. I experience the sacredness of life! What a beautiful thing to experience! God is my source. I experience the sacredness of life! The beautiful, the scary, the magnificent. God is my source. I experience the sacredness of life! What we find is that ALL of life is incredibly beautiful!

Play

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November 1, 2015 – Focus On The Source, It Brings Understanding

by

11/01/15  Rev. David McArthur
Focus On The Source, It Brings Understanding

13.5 billion years ago the Singularity, the point of infinite density, expanded. (The Big Bang.) In that expansion is the evolution of the universe. On that little speck called Earth, evolution developed to where we began to gain knowledge and find out the laws that brought all this amazing stuff into being. I believe now there’s another level of evolution happening: our ability to know the source of all that. A description is found in the Gospel when Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain and appeared in light to them with Moses and Elijah, the Transfiguration. Moses=the law, i.e. gravity, chemistry, etc. Elijah, the flow of energy into creation and us; and Jesus, the incarnation of God expressive within each being. These are the symbols of the source, the divine presence. The symbols of our capacity to perceive the divine, are the three apostles. Peter=faith. James, the capacity for wisdom, to see the nature of this reality. And John, love, that beautiful harmonizing power within.

Karen’s son CJ, sixteen years old, lost his life. In extreme pain, she prayed, “Why? Why?” But then her prayers came from a different part of her being. “My soul cried out, ‘I need to know that he is all right!’” When she met her ex’s new wife in the driveway, his new wife said that she had to tell Karen something. That very morning, her five year old, CJ’s half brother, told her that CJ had come to him in a dream and told him to “please tell my mother I’m ok”!

I too did a lot of “why?” praying after I lost my first wife. I had to have a baby sitter for my one year old. The sitter’s little boy told her he saw a woman in their house, but he wasn’t afraid. His mother didn’t know what to think. One day they brought my daughter home and came into our house and the boy pointed to a picture of my dead wife and shouted, “That’s the woman!” This was not an answer of information, but of understanding, the response to my prayer which took me to my source.

Who we are is not limited to the forms we touch. I understood then that when we shift our awareness from the stuff in our universe to the source of it, there is an understanding, a beautiful flow to our need, our being, of understanding. After that we see life differently. Life is sacred. Not just forms, but joy, laughter, tears, discovery, confusion, loss—all is sacred—all is within what we call God.

God is my source. I experience the sacredness of life! What a beautiful thing to experience! God is my source. I experience the sacredness of life! The beautiful, the scary, the magnificent. God is my source. I experience the sacredness of life! What we find is that ALL of life is incredibly beautiful!

July 5, 2015 – Freedom from Within

by

07/05/15 Rev. David McArthur
Freedom From Within

That freedom thing! Have you been celebrating? Freedom to choose our leaders, and freedom to disagree with them. Freedom to worship as we choose. They’re from without.

For the spiritual being there is another kind of freedom from within, which preserves the quality of our lives and what our lives are creating. Like 7 years ago when we were replacing our old building and there was a recession when everybody got afraid at once and the economic flow stopped. The lenders stopped lending out of fear. Fear took away freedom. But here, we chose to be free. God is our source. We can free ourselves from the fear of lack.

Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Charles Fillmore, in “Prosperity”, wrote, “Pour your living words of faith into the omnipresent substance, and you will be prospered though all the banks in the world close their doors.” God is our source, not banks. Because of that no one and nothing can withhold my good from me. We kept to this and our fear started to release. So a bank which had quit lending and which didn’t do church loans did for us.

Of those who lost family in the church in North Carolina, many said to the gunman, “I forgive you.” “Hate won’t win.” “We have no room for hate.” “I pray God for mercy on your soul.” “May God bless you.” That’s freedom! It was not an easy choice, but in it they found freedom from hate and destruction. It’s one of the most powerful choices available to us. They made the choice of love and used it to go to forgiveness. Freedom from hate, from what we’ve all done, that’s freedom!

I keep looking back at the experience of Viktor Frankl as he told it in “Man’s Search For Meaning”. Suffering the worst of man’s depravity in a Nazi concentration camp, he clung to his wife’s image in his mind until it grew more luminous than the rising sun. For the first time in his life he knew that love is man’s highest goal, that the salvation of man is through love and in love. He said he understood how even a man who has nothing left may still know bliss. This freedom from within that even the worst depravity cannot take away is in you. It is yours anytime you choose to love.

If Viktor Frankl can do it where he was, then maybe I can do it. If those families in North Carolina can, we can too. That’s the real freedom. We have freedom to choose love. If I understand his journey, that is the only choice that matters. I am grateful for those that showed me how. I choose love; I am free. I choose love; I am free. I choose love; I am free. What a treasure to live in a country that holds that. What a way to be! Enjoy!

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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July 5, 2015 – Freedom from Within

by


07/05/15 Rev. David McArthur
Freedom From Within

That freedom thing! Have you been celebrating? Freedom to choose our leaders, and freedom to disagree with them. Freedom to worship as we choose. They’re from without.
 
For the spiritual being there is another kind of freedom from within, which preserves the quality of our lives and what our lives are creating. Like 7 years ago when we were replacing our old building and there was a recession when everybody got afraid at once and the economic flow stopped. The lenders stopped lending out of fear. Fear took away freedom. But here, we chose to be free. God is our source. We can free ourselves from the fear of lack. 
 
Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Charles Fillmore, in “Prosperity”, wrote, “Pour your living words of faith into the omnipresent substance, and you will be prospered though all the banks in the world close their doors.” God is our source, not banks. Because of that no one and nothing can withhold my good from me. We kept to this and our fear started to release. So a bank which had quit lending and which didn’t do church loans did for us. 
  
Of those who lost family in the church in North Carolina, many said to the gunman, “I forgive you.” “Hate won’t win.” “We have no room for hate.” “I pray God for mercy on your soul.” “May God bless you.” That’s freedom! It was not an easy choice, but in it they found freedom from hate and destruction. It’s one of the most powerful choices available to us. They made the choice of love and used it to go to forgiveness. Freedom from hate, from what we’ve all done, that’s freedom! 
 
I keep looking back at the experience of Viktor Frankl as he told it in “Man’s Search For Meaning”. Suffering the worst of man’s depravity in a Nazi concentration camp, he clung to his wife’s image in his mind until it grew more luminous than the rising sun. For the first time in his life he knew that love is man’s highest goal, that the salvation of man is through love and in love. He said he understood how even a man who has nothing left may still know bliss. This freedom from within that even the worst depravity cannot take away is in you. It is yours anytime you choose to love. 
 
If Viktor Frankl can do it where he was, then maybe I can do it. If those families in North Carolina can, we can too. That’s the real freedom. We have freedom to choose love. If I understand his journey, that is the only choice that matters. I am grateful for those that showed me how. I choose love; I am free. I choose love; I am free. I choose love; I am free. What a treasure to live in a country that holds that. What a way to be! Enjoy!
 

May 3, 2015 – Secret to Greater Spiritual Growth

by

05/03/15 Rev. David McArthur
Secret To Greater Spiritual Growth

I saw how my parents grew by sharing with others what was valuable to them. Every time we give spiritual support to another we open ourselves to spiritual growth. When I was drawn to Unity, I found it was all right to be appreciative of different ways to grow. But it was a while before I could share because I carried pain from my experiences. I had to heal. So often the first inflow of spiritual energy goes to healing. I had to fill to overflowing before I could share. That’s when it becomes the instrument of our growth. It’s a spiritual truth. It must happen. That beautiful flow through us is a principle which always works. This overflowing energy draws to us those who are quickened by it (but there are those in our lives we know not to share it with).

Jesus spoke this truth: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” He was not so much teaching as sharing a truth, and it’s more about the attitude you use is the attitude it will be given to you.
Lao Tsu, “If you want to be given everything give everything up.” When we give beyond ourselves, when we give up “it’s mine”, we open to the flow. “To be lived by the Tao,” the divine presence, is to be living by what’s most important to us. Then can we be taken to who we really are. Every time we give we give to ourselves.

Walking aimlessly in Reno, Sherry Maddox was awed by an astounding sunset. She wanted to share it, but everyone just shuffled by. So she grabbed a saleslady just inside a store and insisted she step out to see the sunset. They looked for several seconds when Sherry said, “God is in his heaven and all’s right with the world.” A few years later, divorced and living in a trailer park, Sherry was doing her laundry in the laundry room. She picked up a Unity magazine and read a story by a saleslady that had been pulled out into the street in Reno to see a gorgeous sunset. The lady wrote that the truth that was shared with her turned her life around. That turned Sherry’s life around! It comes back!

It’s a heart commitment, not with everyone, but those who value it. I share freely and I receive joyously! I share freely and I receive joyously! I share freely and I receive joyously! It comes back! What a way to live! It unfolds again and again. We really are one, and we know who we are giving to. What a delightful way to live!

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

May 3, 2015 – Secret to Greater Spiritual Growth

by


05/03/15 Rev. David McArthur
Secret To Greater Spiritual Growth

I saw how my parents grew by sharing with others what was valuable to them. Every time we give spiritual support to another we open ourselves to spiritual growth. When I was drawn to Unity, I found it was all right to be appreciative of different ways to grow. But it was a while before I could share because I carried pain from my experiences. I had to heal. So often the first inflow of spiritual energy goes to healing. I had to fill to overflowing before I could share. That’s when it becomes the instrument of our growth. It’s a spiritual truth. It must happen. That beautiful flow through us is a principle which always works. This overflowing energy draws to us those who are quickened by it (but there are those in our lives we know not to share it with).

Jesus spoke this truth: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” He was not so much teaching as sharing a truth, and it’s more about the attitude you use is the attitude it will be given to you.

Lao Tsu, “If you want to be given everything give everything up.” When we give beyond ourselves, when we give up “it’s mine”, we open to the flow. “To be lived by the Tao,” the divine presence, is to be living by what’s most important to us. Then can we be taken to who we really are. Every time we give we give to ourselves.

Walking aimlessly in Reno, Sherry Maddox was awed by an astounding sunset. She wanted to share it, but everyone just shuffled by. So she grabbed a saleslady just inside a store and insisted she step out to see the sunset. They looked for several seconds when Sherry said, “God is in his heaven and all’s right with the world.” A few years later, divorced and living in a trailer park, Sherry was doing her laundry in the laundry room. She picked up a Unity magazine and read a story by a saleslady that had been pulled out into the street in Reno to see a gorgeous sunset. The lady wrote that the truth that was shared with her turned her life around. That turned Sherry’s life around! It comes back!

It’s a heart commitment, not with everyone, but those who value it. I share freely and I receive joyously! I share freely and I receive joyously! I share freely and I receive joyously! It comes back! What a way to live! It unfolds again and again. We really are one, and we know who we are giving to. What a delightful way to live!