Tuesday, December 15, 2009


Holiday Hope

In this season of hope and inspiration, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, to honor the message he brought to this world. His message awakens us to the God Spirit within us. The God Spirit is in every living person equally and abundantly and provides for us everything we need to live a comfortable and fulfilling life. Jesus’ message was one of peace, harmony and love. Where there was conflict, he brought peace. Where there was hatred, he brought love. Where there was darkness and despair, he brought the light of a new day and new life. He said to all, “What I have done, you can do also, and even more.”

Jesus’ words can awaken our inner power, can move us from the trenches of hopelessness and despair, can enable us to rise and move beyond the uncomfortable conditions of our lives. In the Bible, it says that without vision, people perish. So, in this season of hope and inspiration, we can take advantage of this time to reflect on our vision for the future. We can establish the vision, hold it strong in our mind, and draw on our spiritual attribute of hope to give the vision life. That which we hold in mind will manifest in our lives. Deep within our being, we know this to be true.

The consciousness of each of us individually determines the reality of our life, and the consciousness of the people on this planet Earth determines the state of the world in the future. Let each of us recognize the Power within and envision a better world and a better way of life, and know that is the reality that we are manifesting in this very moment.

Hope is a spiritual attribute that each of us possesses in an unlimited way. Without hope, we are only half alive. With hope, we dream, we think, and we work towards realization of our hearts’ desire. Hope is energy. Hope is fuel for a better way of living. Hope makes seeming impossibilities give way to the manifestation of our dreams. Just as the new life of springtime comes forth from the dark womb of winter, and just as splendor rises up out of the desolation, each of us can recognize that a hopeful thought is like a rising sun. It bursts through with glory and lights up our world. We recognize that the problems and challenges we face are merely the prelude to a better day and a better life. So, with discrimination towards none, compassion for all, and a strong desire for what’s ours to claim, we allow our hopes to rise in glory.

Joining together, we have the Power to envision our future world as a place where all of nature is held sacred, a place where the environment is preserved, and every living thing is able to flourish. We envision a peaceful Earth, where the nations of the world have joined together with a sense of unity, when battles, wars and weapons are no longer needed. We envision our world as a place where every person has a good home, enough to eat, proper medical care and all the amenities that support a healthy lifestyle. We envision our world as a place where diversity is truly celebrated, a place where every person knows their value and unique purpose, and where each of us honors and values those who are different.

We can join together and proclaim, “Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.”

Wednesday, December 2, 2009



The Art of Living
The Four Cornerstones

FORGIVENESS, of disturbing memories of the past

AWARENESS, for capturing the joy of the present

IMAGINATION, for designing the future

FREEDOM, to be all that you uniquely are!

Thursday, November 19, 2009


The three most commonly asked spiritual questions are:

WHAT IS GOD?
God is the One Power and One Presence in the Universe. We are all interrelated. God is within each and every one of us.


WHAT CAUSED US TO BE?
This universe was created using two important laws, the Law of Potential and the Law of Attraction. There exists in the universe the potential for life, and we have been created out of this great potential. The Law of Attraction enabled us to coming into being and enables us to create our world.

WHY AM I HERE?
As a human being, we each have within us the potential to create a life which is uniquely ours to live. This is our gift to ourselves and to the world. At any point in our life, we can evaluate what is working and what isn't. At any point in our life, we have everything we need to reinvent ourselves, as Jesus said, to be born again. We can reinvent ourselves as individuals and reinvent ourselves as a species. We are not bound by what we have been in the past. We can bring fresh awareness to every situation and see it and ourselves in a fresh, new light of potential manifesting Good.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Hope

In every moment, I have the freedom to dwell on thoughts that are hopeful or hopeless, and on this day I choose to submerge myself in an unwavering hope that gives me the strength to proceed forward with a positive expectation for the very best outcome.

Knowing I am one with the Divine Creator of the Universe, I fuel my hopes with positive expectation.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009



What is Unity

Unity in its proper perspective is not a religion but rather a source of spiritual nourishment. Religion can be divisive and discriminatory because doctrines, dogma and creeds are written as “the” way and not “a” way. The differences in doctrines between religions often become egotistically bloated to the point that a deep division lies between them. A quick review of history shows us that there have been more conflicts and wars in the name of God by opposing religions than there have been between civilizations.

Unity Temple is not here to impose on you religious creeds or to try and convince you of thinking in a certain way but rather we are here to help you identify your unique and individual needs and present Truth Principles that can help you not only satisfy those needs but progress to a more fulfilling life in the process. We don’t take the position that Unity is "the" way. It might very well be likely at this point in your life, your greatest need can be filled by a strong fundamental church, and we encourage to seek that out if it is for your highest good.

The teachings at Unity Temple are based on peace, harmony, love and a sense of oneness with others and your world. That vital aspect of life will never change, and we know if that is where our focus is, that is what will manifest in our lives.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009


What does it mean to be spiritual without following a particular faith?

Religion came into being to establish a moral conscience amongst the people. Over the years it has served that purpose well, but along the way it made three wrong turns which alienated many people.

The first was “playing” God and pompously asserting only the “church goers” would go to heaven, and all others were doomed to eternal hell. The second was being swept away in clouds of arrogance where the religious leaders came to believe they knew it all. Based on the knowledge of the day, they cast their doctrines and creeds in stone, many of which we now know to be gross misperceptions. The third was alleviating the spiritual experience. People were so inundated with rules, regulations, demands and punishments that the experience of being connected to God and finding the sacred in everyday life was smothered out.

Spirituality has evolved out of religion bringing with it the ancient wisdom that can be considered absolute. It is an inner process of self discovery and direction. It restores autonomy in regards to one’s relationship with God and encourages the individual to experience his/her higher power directly and freely without the confines of dogma. Rather than worshiping a spiritual master, spirituality engages one in learning how to live like a spiritual master. "Rise up from your knees at the base of the monument and walk confidently in the way of the messenger." (anonymous)

Monday, August 31, 2009

Questions along the way

Unity Temple Lesson of August 16, 2009

Questions and Answers about Unity Principles and Unity Temple from Rev. Duke Tufty

You know, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore when they began Unity, one of the primary principles that they based the movement on, was that every single person has the truth within them. And that means that you have the truth within you, the spiritual truth, the divine truth, the God consciousness within you, to make decisions on how you want to live your life, and how you want to be, the kind of personality you want to have, and the different objectives you want to aspire to; it’s all within you.

And just because I’m the one standing up here on stage this morning answering questions, doesn’t mean that I’m the one who has arrived, or I’m the enlightened one; I am no different than all of you. I am a fellow student, I am on the path, searching for answers, sometimes finding them, sometimes continuing to search – but it’s a wonderful, wonderful process of life that keeps us all moving forward.

So this morning we are just going to answer a few questions that you have and the ones that we don’t have time to answer, we’ll answer them throughout the week. They’ll be posted on the website, or if you would like, you can call us up and we’ll send you a transcript of them.

So I’ve asked Ms. Heidi to join me. Since the last time I did this somebody questioned me as to whether I was really reading the question on the card, or if it was one I was making up in my head.

Do you think each person has only one soul mate?

Actually, I do not believe that, and some of the answers I am going to give this morning would be from a person basis and not from an absolute truth basis because there’s many things we don’t know. But I think there is a realm of consciousness in which we can all find a sense of oneness with another person.

And sometimes that soul mate takes years to unfold because we have to move through the different issues that we build up over a lifetime. But I think when we arrive to that place of true, unconditional love, and we find a compatibility with somebody, that person can become a soul mate and there is absolutely no limitation to the number of soul mates we can have.

How does one cope with external events such as possible job loss, at close to retirement age, and know that abundance will always be there?

Well, that is a good question. Prosperity literally defined means having whatever we desire to the degree that we wish. And our well-being isn’t dependent upon anything else but peace of mind, and sense of harmony and love in our lives. God will provide. God doesn’t provide with money, but God does provide with Divine ideas. And I don’t believe there is going to be a single person in this room that is ever going to move to a point that they get stuck, and they cannot continue moving forward to their higher good.

Sometimes it seems like we are stuck in a problem, or a challenge, or we face devastating fears about the future, but life moves on. And no matter what happens in our lives, nothing can permanently impair our peace of mind and our sense of well-being.

How many lives do we have?

Nobody knows. I can say what I believe, that life goes on; we know that the energy within us, the Spirit within us, it never, ever decreases. It never, ever dissolves. It is eternal. It has been around for 14 billion years, it will be around for another 14 billion years. That is the God energy, the God Spirit within us.

I also know this: that each and every one of us is never, ever, going to exist again in the bodily dress that we have now. When we move on, the Spirit moves on and the body is laid to rest. I believe that we do reincarnate someplace, where, I don’t know, but there is another dimension beyond this one; and I also believe that we are able to communicate and come into contact with those people that we have loved previously.

Who is Jesus Christ in this church?

Jesus Christ is a teacher, he is a spiritual brother, he is a Way-shower, he is the one that lived up to the highest level of human potential that we know of, but we also recognize that there are other spiritual masters as well; some that Jesus learned from. Many people believe that Jesus traveled to India, and some other places, where he studied Buddhism, and Buddha lived 500 years before him.

So Jesus is an example of what we can do and how we can live, and he in his own words said that he was not the exception; that we all have this God power, this God presence this potential within us.

Where do you believe you go when you die?

Some place. Other than that, I have absolutely no idea, other than the fact that it is some place good. It’s some place good.

What is the main purpose to life?

I believe that the main purpose to life is progressive, creative expression; and what I mean by that is that we all have potential, and when we creatively draw on that potential to progress forward to higher levels of love, to higher levels of peace, and higher levels of oneness with God, that that fulfills our purpose for being here.

From a spiritual standpoint, I think the primary purpose for life is to treat other people they way that we would like to be treated. And when we mastered that, we’ve mastered life.

What do you or Unity think about “angels,” or “guides” or “protectors?” I think that there is a spiritual energy; that angels exist; that guides exist; that protectors exist. I know there’s many times when I have been faced with incredible challenges, and messages come to me that solves my problems, and helps me move beyond my challenges, and it usually has a sense of wisdom to it that I feel was provided for me by somebody in the spiritual dimension that is watching over me.

A guardian is another issue. I think that we are all guardians. We’re all here to help other people, to support other people in a spiritual way; to watch over them just as a parent watches over their young children. We are here to be guardians for those people that we love, and that doesn’t necessarily mean interfering in their lives, but it means always being there with our love. That’s the only responsibility we have for other people. We don’t have responsibility of supporting them financially or solving their problems, but we do have the responsibility to always be there with an open heart and love them.

I have a difficult time in understanding the balance between co-creating with God and letting go, letting God. When do we co-create and when do we let go?

Well, letting go and letting God involve both situations and circumstances that are unchangeable. If we lose somebody that’s very dear to us and we’re extremely troubled by it, there’s nothing that can reverse that, and that is something that we can let go and let God. Many times parents come to me and they are very worried about their children - adult children. They are living their lives in ways that the parents don’t approve of; sometimes its addiction problems and my answer to them is, ‘They are on their path, moving towards their higher good, and you just need to let go and let God be the driving influence in their lives.’

Co-creating with God is personally what we desire to have in our lives. And God is the energy within us, our imagination, our creativity, our stamina, our strength, our power – all those beautiful attributes that allow us to create what we want in our lives. Now that can be a long-term objective--perhaps I want to co-create with God to accrue vast amounts of money--but also is co-creating in every single moment.

When we walk out of this church today, and we move into the world around us, we can co-create with God the experience that we have from every situation and circumstance that we face. If there’s something that angers us and we fly into a rage, we’re co-creating with God. God provides with energy, we channel it into thoughts and feelings and attitudes and perceptions; the experience of that situation. If we step back, calm down, bless it, and bless the situation or person that caused it, we’re co-creating with God a sense of harmony in our lives.

It’s like God is the power, the power source. God is the electricity so to speak, and we are the ones that determine what to do with that power. When it comes to electricity, we can use it to electrocute somebody, or we can use it to enlighten the room. It’s up to us; we have that choice.

What do you say when someone says that ‘This is not Christianity?’

I usually say, ‘What is?’ We actually had this 15 years ago when we started Spirituality and all that Jazz in this room, and somebody wrote a letter to me and said that that kind of music wasn’t spiritual. And my only response was that everything is spiritual, whether it is jazz or whether it’s on our knees praying. We live in a vast spiritual sea of activities, and anything that helps increase the sense of well-being for one, without deterring the well-being for another, I see as a spiritual activity.

How do you pray to God and simultaneously know that you already have the answers to your questions?

Well, when we pray to God, we don’t pray to God to give us something. We don’t pray to God to give us the solutions to our problems, or to give us the way around a challenge, or to give us a winning lottery ticket, or whatever it might be. God is not out there to be petitioned to answer our prayers. God provides for us, everything that we need to solve our problems and move beyond the challenges.

So when we pray, we pray in an affirmative way. It is a prayer of gratitude. It is ‘Thank you God, for the wisdom you have given me, that will surface and provide me with the solutions I am looking for.’ So instead of feeling like we’re behind this brick wall, unable to do something ourselves, and we’re depending on somebody out there to intervene and do it for us, we are saying, ‘I have the wisdom, and power and strength within me, to move beyond this. And thank you.’

It is that very affirmation of realizing that we have that, and affirming it, that allows higher levels of consciousness to kick-in, and find ourselves around that which is troubling us.

Is there such a thing as evil? If God created everything, did God create evil?

Definitely, there is evil. All we have to do is pick up the morning newspaper and we see horrendous things that have happened, and evil things that have been done by people. God doesn’t create evil. God is the power of life. And once again, we have been given the power to choose what we are going to do with that life power. We can do good, or we can do bad. It’s all God, but once again, back to the co-creation of it, we’re determining what we do with the God power within us.

How does Unity reconcile the concepts of free will and God’s will?

Well, I think God’s will is our will if we are aligned with our spiritual nature. Every single person in here came into the world the same way. We came in pure; we came in innocent; we came in good; we came in beautiful; and then life shaped us. A series of events and circumstances and the environment in which we grew up in, shaped us into a person who had certain beliefs and certain attitudes, some which benefit us and some which don’t. And when we move forward on the spiritual path we take a look at those attitudes, and those thoughts and feelings that really don’t feel good to us. And any sense of hate, any sense of rage, any sense of self-condemnation or self-criticism or feelings of unworthiness – they don’t strengthen the soul; they weaken the soul. So we take what God has given us, and we move forward as students of life on the path, and continually learn, and continually progress.

Why do some people say, ‘Oh, that’s not church,’ when I say I attend Unity Temple on the Plaza, because it’s a ‘feel good’ church?

There was a study done at Emory University and they discovered that when people firmly believe in a single thing, something happens with the mind that blocks out

their recognizing a higher truth to the matter. They cannot accept it; they cannot see it; they are so immersed in what they believe that they can’t recognize anything that might prove them wrong. That goes for us as well as anybody else.

When it comes to Unity, Unity is very different. Unity isn’t a fundamental religion. We don’t take the Bible literally, and it is about increasing our well-being; every one of us. When people come in the door, increasing that person’s well-being for some might be a sandwich and a cup of soup, because they haven’t eaten for a couple of days. For some it might be a person that just lost his or her job, and they just need to have somebody sit down and pray with them in competent manner that things will be OK. So it is ‘feel good.’ There’s no doubt about that.

That doesn’t move us to a point where we turn our head to our problems, or we ignore our challenges, or we don’t have those mood swings where we feel sad, because sadness is a vital part of life as well. But, moving up to higher levels of well-being means discovering those things in life that are really joyful. If somebody discounts that, I believe, going back to my first statement, its because they so firmly believe, in the church that they go to--in the religion that they have pledged their allegiance to--,that they’re not willing to accept anything else.

And I bless them, and I honor them for their choices, but, there’s really, really nothing wrong with walking out of here with a smile on your face.

So how is it that we are one and individuals at the same time?

We all sit here today in different packages. We’re dressed differently; our bodies are different; our personalities are different; we’re unique individuals. And if you go within the body, you find cells, and those cells are very unique to you, and you alone. Beneath the cells they are made up of molecules; and the molecules are made up of atoms; and the atoms have an energy with them. They’re 95% energy and that energy, that’s Spirit within the atom, and in each and every one of us it is exactly the same as it is in you and in me. When we go to that spiritual level there is a oneness between us, where my love is your love, and all love is our love. And my life is your life, and all of life is our life; all of it, God given.

So we have every blessing of being individuals, being able to go into the world and live our lives, and what a sad, mundane world it would be if we were all the same. If I was sitting here talking to 700 ‘Dukes,’ 700 ‘Dukes’ would be dozing off. But the fact that we are individuals, yet we are one with God, it’s difficult to grasp; you can’t define it; but you can feel it.

When Jerome [Johnson] was singing earlier, [You know the answers to your questions] all of us became one listener, and we forgot about our individuality, we forgot about our uniqueness, we forgot about our problems that we had; we were just one together in that experience. And that’s one of the greatest glories of life, that we can merge together with a sense of oneness, and yet move out and follow our individual paths.

Has the mission or message of Unity changed over the years, and how?

Yes it has. It’s changed greatly. One of the biggest problems I have with fundamental religion--and this isn’t a complaint or criticism, but it led me to find something else--is that much of their belief system is based on information and perceptions that are 6,000 years old. And a lot of those perceptions haven’t changed. There is still, one God. That hasn’t changed.

But, as science has moved forward, and technology has moved forward, and psychology has moved forward, we’ve come to discover much, much more about who we are and the universe that we live in. Charles Fillmore, one of our founders, once gave a lecture and somebody in the audience raised their hand and said, ‘Now wait a minute. I was here two weeks ago and you answered that question totally differently.’ And he said, ‘In two weeks, I have learned, differently.’

And Unity is an evolving message. We can’t get stuck. And there’s even a struggle within the Unity movement that everything should stop when Charles Fillmore died in 1947; that we should hold to what he believed. If he would have lived, Unity would have continued to progress like it is. But if you think of all the things that happened since 1947 - with the Hubble Telescope, and the incredible electro-microscopic abilities we have to explore the body, and the cures…Any message has to have a foundation of traditional beliefs that are unchangeable, yet at the same time be able to move, and to grow and to discover more things about our world and who we are.

In the 20 years that you’ve been here at Unity Temple on the Plaza, how has it been to see how lives have changed during that time? People’s jobs, their kids, the college, the membership of the church…?

It’s been absolutely incredible. Many of you remember, because you were here 20 years ago, and it was 25 years ago that I was secretary here; and at that time women were frowned on for wearing pants to church. The ushers could only be male. There were no cells phones, there was no internet, the communication was much slower, and we depended on letters, and that is one thing that has allowed us to expand our rate of knowing. We learn much faster today then we did then.

But another thing is the spirituality; how that has advanced in the last 20 years. And I see science and spirituality, from both sides, building this bridge where someday they’ll be looked on as one and the same. Science is not the enemy. It if disproves certain beliefs we have, then we have to say, ‘Well, great, what is the spiritual essence of that?’ Our spirituality holds on to faith, which science can’t recognize because there is no physical evidence of it; or it holds on to spirit or to love…that is great. But science is also discovering that. They are discovering that 95% of this universe is made up of something that we don’t know what it is. And as they discover that, I feel like they are discovering God; that God is this everywhere present, Spirit, power, life force…and science is moving toward admitting that, and saying, ‘Yes, that we can’t detect all that there is,’ but spirituality has a real strong influence on what that can be - and they call it God.

How do you respond to those who say Unity is a cult?

I would say, ‘What’s a cult?’ You know, when I looked up at the balcony earlier, I forgot that the seats had been taken out, and there’s this whole group hovered over there, and I said, ‘God, is that a cult building up, up there check?’

But, in my understanding, a cult is something that overpowers people. It dictates that they follow a particular line of thought, and line of action. Unity is the exactly the opposite. It empowers people. You will never hear anything from this stage, or from that lectern, that overpowers your free will, or overpowers your freedom of choice, or overpowers your right to choose how you think. It’s all about empowering you. I mean, go within and find your answers. And if there’s disagreements in this church about certain things that are said, I applaud that. Because anytime there is a disagreement, it allows us to search out, perhaps a higher understanding that both sides can agree upon.

So, a cult we are not. A wonderful, spiritual source of empowerment we are.

Thursday, August 27, 2009


Affirmations for Positive Living

As an expression of the One Presence and One Source from which all things come forth, I rise to new thinking and claim my potential to live the good life of my dreams.

I am one with it all, for God is within me. Therefore I am at peace right now.

My thoughts create my life, so I choose to think thoughts that will bring forth the life I want.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009


CREATIVITY

As an expression of the one Presence and one Source
from which all things come forth,

I claim my power of creativity
to provide me with solutions for every problem,
reconciliation with every conflict,
liberation from worries and fears
and higher insights that allow me to experience
greater levels of peace, joy and love.

MADE IN THE IMAGE OF THE ONE SPIRIT
I KNOW I HAVE THE POWER TO MANIFEST IN MY LIFE
THE IDEAS I CREATE IN MY MIND.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

TODAY

TH THE EARLY MORNING SUNRISE

IN HEART AND MIND I PRAY

THAT ALL MY LOVE AND KINDNESS

WILL OVERFLOW UPON THIS DAY

MAY I SEE BEYOND THE SHADOWS

OF ALL DISLIKES AND FEAR

AND KNOW THIS PRECIOUS DAY OF LIFE

IS SO VERY, VERY DEAR.

ALTHOUGH IT’S ONE OF MANY

IT SHALL NEVER COME AGAIN

SO I’LL CREATE A PLEASANT MEMORY

THAT LIVES BEYOND THE SUNSETS END

MAY I INSPIRE THOSE WHO NEED IT

GRASP THE OUTSTRETCHED HAND

PUT A SMILE UPON A SADDENED FACE

AND WITH COMPASSION MAKE MY STAND

THIS DAY CAN BE THE GREATEST BLISS

FREE OF ALL ANGST AND SORROW

IF WE PULL OUR THOUGHTS FROM YESTERDAY

AND HOLD THEM BACK FROM TOMORROW

Tuesday, June 2, 2009


We Are God Expressing
A Prayer

In this moment, I move to my highest realm of consciousness and connect with my Higher Power, God, the Source, all Good.

The Perfect Idea, for my world and for my life, is manifesting on earth in this moment as I rest in this sacred space.
 
Today, I receive whatever I need to enrich my body, mind and spirit, and there are no limitations to my well being.

I release all thoughts and actions that do not come forth from harmony, and try to forgive myself and others who disrupt my peace of mind.
 
I pray that I may stay centered in God Spirit and be free of that which causes separation and fear.
 
For there is One Power and One Presence uniting all of life and expressing through me today as love, compassion, joy and wisdom.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009


THE FAITH PRAYER


The challenges I face

are like the unexpected storm

that quickly darkens the sky;

the clamor of thunder,

like the fear that attempt

to shake the foundation of my belief.

Yet faith is my fortress,

where worry and doubt cannot enter

and the light of hope never dims.

The storm will cease.

The sun will rise in glory

and the light of truth

will shine brilliant

on the good that lies ahead.

 

I REST PEACEFULLY

IN THE TRUTH OF GOD’S PROMISE,

“I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS;

THIS TIME TOO SHALL PASS.”

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Love


  THE LOVE PRAYER

Today I remove all  boundaries and walls,
Once used as  a means of defense,
I forgive those things from  the darkened past,
That in love's divine realm make no spiritual sense.
 
Releasing all worries, all burdens and doubt,
I bring light to the shadows of fear.
By centering myself with a loving thought,
Harsh judgements I no longer hear.
 
The greatest experience that life has to give,
Is love from an open heart,
For it moves me to appreciate all that there is,
And I'm one with it all, not apart.
 
It's love that brings me closer to God,
And leads me according to God's way,
Love's light warms my spirit. it nurtures my soul,
and assures me everything is okay.
 
I AM ONE WITH GOD AND NEVER APART,
AS I LIVE THIS DAY WITH AN OPEN HEART.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009


Joy

The joy I experience this day flows forth from my outlook on life, and will not be hampered by what is happening around me; by what has happened in the past; or by what might happen in the future.

I choose to see the beauty of my life and the promise of my good to come for I am a child of the living spirit and my potential for joy can not be bound.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

OUR PRAYER

By

Duke Tufty

 

We pray in the name of God,

The one all pervading  spirit in whom

We live and move and have our being.

We pray that we may open our minds

To the new vision of World peace

To the health and well being of all people

To the dissolution of all conditions that may separate us.

We pray that we may deepen our understanding of nature,

Radiate our compassion  to all of life

And realize our oneness with the natural world.

We pray that we may restore the Earth

To a pristine wellness so  it can thrive

As our source of wellness and prosperity.

We pray that each of us may  be

A beneficial presence to our World

By adding to it our peace, love and harmony.

Amen

 

MY PRAYER

I pray in the name of God,

The one all pervading spirit in whom

I live and move and have my being.

I prayer that I may open my mind

To a new vision of World peace;

To the health and well being of all people;

To the dissolution of all conditions

 that separate me from another.

I pray that I may deepen my understanding of nature,

Radiate compassion to all of life

And realize my oneness with the natural world.

I pray that I may do what I can to restore the Earth

To a pristine wellness so it can thrive

As my  source of wellness and prosperity.

I pray that I may be

A beneficial presence to the world

By adding to it my peace, love and harmony. 

Friday, February 6, 2009

Belief


Everything is what we believe

There is a seven-step creative process that you presently use to create what happens in your life. By utilizing this process, you can actually create what you would like to see happen in your life. The most important ingredient in the seven-step process is the third step, which is belief. If you believe in the process you will have the perseverance and conviction to overcome obstacles and move beyond challenges that are the natural by-product of any goal.

There is evidence of this seven-step creative process everywhere you look. Everything comes forth in this way, and it is easy to see and believe. However, when it comes to oneself, for some reason it is more difficult to accept. Self-doubt sweeps in and infiltrates our thoughts with the erroneous insinuation that we are not capable of creating, or not worthy of receiving what we desire...


For more on The Gold Road,
click here.

Friday, January 16, 2009

The Gold Road

Everything you see around you came forth from a creative process: the clothes you are wearing, the home you live in, the chair you are sitting in, the television program you watch. The ability to create what you want in life isn't a mystery nor is it a special talent reserved for a select few. Your creativity comes from following the "creative process" which leads from the invisible realm of inspired thought to the manifestation of actual experience.


Over the next eight weeks, you will be learning the spiritual art of creating what you want in your life based on unwavering Universal Principles. Please know that you will succeed in this process for everything is within your potential to understand. You are going to learn how to utilize the incredible spiritual power within you to create.


There are seven steps to the creative process, and over the next seven weeks you are going to become thoroughly familier with each step. This will allow you to become the architect of your destination and create the life you desire.


To find out more about the seven steps, click here for a free download.

Thursday, January 8, 2009


“What do you consider a meaningful life?”

As the minister at Unity Temple on the Plaza, I have on several occasions sat at the bedside of a person who is very close to dying.  The most difficult transitions are when the dying person is looking back on his/her life in a regretful way.  They regret things they did; they regret things they didn’t do;  and they  regret not fully living their lives to their hearts desire. Each of us has the freedom to live our lives the way we choose as  long as we don’t violate the God-given rights of another person to do the same.  The first point of a meaningful life is to reach the end without regrets. 

The second point of a meaningful life is to live in a way in which your presence is beneficial to the earth and its inhabitants.  It is a very comforting thought to know that somehow, someway you make a positive difference. Your life counts for something good. You matter.

The third point of a meaningful life is to continually grow in knowledge, wisdom and conscious awareness.  Each of us has a vast, unlimited mental, emotional and spiritual potential and nothing can bring the satisfaction, meaning and fulfillment that comes from the self becoming more than it has ever been before.

“Learn as if you will live forever; live as if you’ll die tomorrow!”

Saturday, January 3, 2009


IS IT IMPORTANT TO BELIEVE IN THE EXISTENCE OF HEAVEN?

We can perceive “Heaven” in two ways. As a destination of peace, harmony and love available to us when we leave this earthly plane.  We can also perceive heaven as a state of existence on this earthly plane that is characterized as one of peace harmony and love. Heaven is a state of mind, whether on earth or in the hereafter that comes about as a result of our thoughts.  When we align our thoughts with the thinking of the great spiritual masters we automatically receive the benefits of a heavenly state. 

The universal principle of cause and effect states the nature of any cause is found in its effect.  If love is the cause of your thoughts, words and actions, love is going to be the effect.  The same holds true for hate, resentment and conflict, which create an uncomfortable condition in our lives  often referred to as hell.  Each of us individually creates the emotional state of our existence.

We have the free-will to chose the thoughts, words and actions we express.  By choosing to express peace, harmony and love we create situations in our lives that are of “heaven”.   You are responsible for the conditions of your life.  So, the next time you are feeling greatly disturbed, hateful, in conflict or out of harmony ask yourself,  “What IN hell am I doing.”