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August 26, 2012 – Love is the Most Powerful Prayer

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8/26/12 Rev. David McArthur

Love is the Most Powerful Prayer

Whatever is within our awareness is part of our consciousness. This is not always comfortable now that we know we are one with the power that makes us. Remember the good old days when we could blame our problems on someone else? Now it’s, “What is this that shows up in my world?”
Byron and Marsha Smith were shocked when Byron’s MRI came back showing inoperable cancer. He was given a month or two to live. The following day was spent sharing their special memories of their love together. Then friends and relatives remembered them in prayer, including Marsha’s father who told them when he prayed he clearly got the feeling everything would be all right. By going from fear to love Byron and Marsha opened another possibility, a whole other level of power and energy which healed Byron—he was subsequently found to be cancer-free! With darkness gone, full potential was embraced.
Eastern philosophy says this world is transient illusion. The Bhagavad Gita says that for those who love Krishna, he will dwell in their hearts and destroy darkness born of ignorance with the shining lamp of knowledge. But isn’t there something missing, something more?
Jesus went further, saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” He also said, “…as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” When you see someone else with a problem, it is part of your consciousness. So ask, “What is mine to do?” If Krishna is in the heart, who have you loved when you love your neighbor? It is the ultimate experience of understanding and love.
Whatever is going on now in your world where there is a limit—physical pain, poor relationships, financial difficulty—if you choose to love, the barriers will be removed. No matter who or what it is, just send your love. That is the greatest teaching. Then what is there is filled with light. You are divine light. That’s what you are. Call it Krishna, Jesus, or God, it is love. Affirm, “I am divine love. I am transforming my world.” We have work ahead, and it’s going to be fun!

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August 19, 2012 – Pooh & Eeyore on Prayer

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8/19/12 Rev. David McArthur

Pooh & Eeyore on Prayer

On their way to see Eeyore, Pooh and Piglet stop at a warm place in the wood. “We’ll call this Pooh Corner.”  And using sticks piled up nearby, they build Eeyore a house, as they think he has none. At about the same time Eeyore knocks on Christopher Robin’s door. Even though he lived in the coldest, gloomiest part of the wood, he wanted to go home—but his house was gone! (Christopher Robin represents the Christ Spirit; the Hundred Acre Wood is His and He takes care of everything in it.) They meet Pooh and Piglet who want to show them the house they built for Eeyore. However, it soon becomes apparent to them that they had used the pile of sticks Eeyore had up until then called home. But look! See how nice this new home is! And Eeyore agrees that it is as warm and nice as they say. Is Eeyore in any of us? Do we build in an uncomfortable place just because we’re convinced it “had to be that way”? It might be the health thing, the relationship thing, or that chewing-on-yourself-inside thing.

The doctor told Mandy Hastings that even if her two year old son lives, he’ll be severely handicapped. “No,” she said, “he will be fine.” A gravestone had fallen over onto her boy’s head, and while she and her husband were waiting for lifeflight, she prayed. She says a peace swept over her and she heard, “Everything’s going to be fine. Matthew is in My hands.” Yes, she most likely began praying from fear, but she moved her attention off of the data pouring in (that her brain was using to figure out how bad things were). She moved from fear to that place of love and connection with divine presence and power. Look for that level that brings forth health and vitality. You don’t need to ask anymore for anything. It is there within you. You are that power, that force. The boy was home in two weeks, and is a happy, healthy teen today.

Take a glance at what you’re building. If it’s “not quite enough” or “just enough to get by” or “that’s just the way I am”—it is the Eeyore within you. Activate the greater potential within you through the experience of the love, the pure light of energy of the divine which you are. Build your house, and live, at “Pooh Corner”!

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August 12, 2012 – Rev. David’s Forgiveness Experience

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8/12/12 Rev. David McArthur

Rev. David’s Forgiveness Experience

It is important that we let go of what keeps us bound. We experience pain, hurt, and loss as part of life. What is important is what we do with them. After the murder of my first wife, in those night times, I felt anger and hate. They are natural and there is nothing wrong in feeling them. But when I was in anger and hate I was not in the place of love. Love and hate are not two sides of the same coin.

Our baby girl lost everything. Less than a year old, to her, her mother was everything. I could not bring to her all the love and care she needed if I were still attached to the hate. So I prayed to be done with the hurt and anger. After that it was a little easier to pull myself away from them. But it did not take them away.

One afternoon I was playing with blocks on the floor with our daughter. When I sat back on the couch I saw that she was still playing with someone. She was playing like she was in the presence of her mother. I was overwhelmed with the experience of love. I lost all awareness of the couch and of the room. As Patricia Grabow has said, “It was love to the millionth power.” I have no idea how long it lasted. It remains the most beautiful experience of my life.

From that point forward my life was different. I had no anger. I had no hate. I was free. Free to put my attention on that beautiful child without being pulled away by the pain. I was healed of the great pain I had needed the hate and anger for. It did not take away the loss. It was just different.

Later that year I went to the mental institution for a meeting with the man who had taken my wife’s life. His mind still buried what he had done. I did not feel hate; I did not feel love. I felt deep compassion. His was the other life that had been destroyed.

What I learned was in two parts. The first, the experience of forgiveness, I have talked about before. The other part is to see goodness even in this experience, and in every experience —to see the goodness of God —that God is good all the time. I saw in this experience a presence and power that healed me and freed me to be about what is important and meaningful in my life.

I understand how we do it (hate and indignation). I also understand that in each of us we desire to be free and to know what we are about. I never asked for forgiveness—only to be free. Even as I have listened to others telling of great personal violation that I felt was unforgivable, I have seen them open to love and find forgiveness and freedom.

There is a love inside of you that is so powerful and forgiving that you can heal your pain, and you can walk free! Your heart can ask to be healed and fulfilled so that you can go about what you are here to be.

However right it is to feel the hurt and anger, there is healing. And if there is ever a time for you to be free, that time is now!

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August 5, 2012 – Unprecedented Favor

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8/5/12 Rev. Linda Lowery

Unprecedented Favor

In a restaurant, a four year old is asked by the waitress, “What can I get for you?” He answers, “A puppy!” He thinks everybody is getting whatever they want. We in Unity really believe that whatever we want we can have. Some times we feel, though, that we have to earn it to have the entitlement, to have the authority. But Jesus said, “does not scripture say that we are gods?”

Marianne Williamson says in A Return to Love, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us… You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.”

Olympic athletes from around the world keep their hearts and minds on what they pursue. So too must we become fortified, grounded in truth, and reach a higher plateau for our lives. We must be rooted like a tree which withstands the storms when they come. And as each athlete is a part of a very dynamic team, so are we. Affirm, “We are all on the same team.” Like the five rings in the Olympics symbol are intertwined and represent the five geographical “hearts” of the world, our hearts, too, are intertwined—on the cellular level and intergalactically! It is decreed by God.

We can transform our lives. Prayer changes things. (God is so good!) When we are in our storm and wavering in fear it is not time to think of yourself, but to give of yourself. Be in prayer with others in their need and members on your team will also “hold the space” for you. They are champions; we are champions.

When you know Who You are, not who you think you are, you know you are the author with a pen to re-write your destiny, and you have the authority. “I am a child or manifestation of God and every moment in this life love, wisdom, and power flow through me. I am One with God.”

You are the only one like you on Earth and in any universe. You can no longer afford to be diminished. Like a child, let your heart-light shine!

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July 29, 2012 – Questions From Your Heart

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7/29/12 Rev. David McArthur

Questions and Answers

Why is there evil? Where does the bad stuff come from?
There isn’t evil. There is no power that is opposed to God. That’s not to say we don’t keep creating a world with pain in it, but we can transform this. As long as we choose to give pain we have it. When we choose love and healing, that’s what we bring into the world.

Why is there such political discord, duality and chaos today?
We are making a shift in consciousness as humankind from this 3D world, where the brain is the power, into the 4th dimension, where we perceive with the heart. The conflict makes the energy intense. We see points of stress and pain. When we respond with love it lifts us all into greater harmony and expression of the divine. Respond with compassion; invite service. See not duality, but the Oneness. Send your love.

Where does Unity stand with gays and lesbians?
They are beautiful children of God! And what a wonderful thing to affirm– that we are all a little different!

How can I say thanks?
Only way I know is keep sharing the rich blessings we have. What we walk in is so exquisite! There is only the presence of divine love. That is all there is.

Why are there atrocities like the massacre in Colorado, and how do we respond?
It’s less important to know “why?” than “what do I do about it?” Judge with great caution. Some beings, working through the dark places in our consciousness, have chosen paths that are difficult to understand, yet that person is a child of God. Choose to respond with compassion and learn to live a better life.

Should I worship God or Jesus?
To worship is to acknowledge value by living in accord with that value. If you live in that state of love you worship God, and Jesus, and Mohammed, and the Buddha, and all the others on Earth, living not the religion of Jesus [“worship”] but what Jesus taught.

What is the metaphysical antidote to greed?
Love! You don’t need to GET anything; you lack nothing! As you live in love, the universe will respond. Let that love flow through you. Everything you need to live and love is already given.

God is good all the time! All the answers are within!

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July 22, 2012 – Knowledge Precedes Transformation

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7/22/12 Rev. David McArthur

Knowledge Precedes Transformation

Have you ever felt “in the dark”, in the middle of something unfolding, but you didn’t have a clue? Or have you been in the unfolding and known you were in it—that you could get through it ? That time you had illumination.

“The light of God illuminates my path.”

It starts with knowledge. Knowledge precedes transformation. We acquire knowledge so we can be here successfully in the 3D world. Then we begin to gain knowledge of the fourth dimension, the spiritual side of life. So we study it so our mind can say it’s all right to accept this 4D.

“The light of God illumines my path.”

Betty Sheets, a nurse, was afraid of her anger-filled father but nevertheless wanted to comfort him in his suffering from lung disease. She sensed his fear in his pain. She shared how, by entering into prayer, she had worked through the overwhelming fear she had experienced. She described how she gathered the fear into her hands, and holding them out, how she let God take the fear from her. Her father angrily said that God was against him. He went on to say how he had prayed to God in the midst of a deep crisis, and that God had not helped him. She felt compassion for her father, seeing how alone he had felt all these years since then. Through her spiritual understanding, she helped him see that God had answered his prayer all those years ago, because his failure at that time turned him to the career in which he had excelled. That was the business that allowed him to provide so very well for his family. She had looked for that One—that single mind—and shared the illumination, knowing there is something greater.

“The light of God illumines my path.”

The knowledge is wonderful but it doesn’t give the freedom. Choose compassion. Choose the light. The light illumines your path, which is filled with goodness!

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July 15, 2012 – Pooh Bear on Getting Unstuck

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7/15/12 Rev. David McArthur

Pooh Bear on Getting Unstuck

The “gospel” of Winnie the Pooh tells us a lot about ourselves. When Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit’s front doorway because he ate too much, it’s like when we get stuck from our own best intentions, but blame someone else for our stuckness.  Stuck with relationship, with health, with money. However, your first step is knowing your are stuck. The second is turning to God for help, like Rabbit running to get Christopher Robin.

Step three is a point where you let go and figure out you can’t figure it out. You don’t get to—you already tried that. You did the math; you figured there’s no way out. And after all the disappointments, asking for what is impossible seems pretty foolish. What seems impossible by yourself is not to God! Let go. Ask in prayer for what you really need. Jesus demonstrated mastery by showing you need to be a co-creator. “The Father already knows. The Father will, if you ask.” Isn’t it time to be free? But you have to ask, to be willing to go to that place of sincere prayer, step four.

Lao Tsu wrote, “The master observes the world”– recognize you are stuck.
“but trusts his inner vision.”– turn to God, that beautiful inner wisdom that can guide you.
“He allows things to come and go.”– let go, and allow life to unfold.
“His heart is open as the sky.”– open to infinite possibilities of the Divine Presence that doesn’t buy into your limits. It is sincere prayer.

Most prayer comes from the head, as if Infinite Intelligence doesn’t know what you’re about. But God is good all the time, and letting go isn’t about right now, right away. It’s not about giving up, it’s about giving over—giving over to an intelligence which is part of you but you haven’t been using. God is good when you are stuck. God is good when you are figuring there’s no way out. God is good when you are feeling foolish but listening to what you are guided to do. And God is good when you are allowing it to unfold, open to infinite divine possibilities.

“But Christopher Robin looked at Pooh lovingly and said to himself, ‘silly old bear!’ “

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July 8, 2012 – Communion of the Heart

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7/8/12 Rev. Susan Galvan

Communion of the Heart

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’ Matthew 22:37

How do we do that? It’s all about relationships. It’s the essence of the spiritual life. Life is not a solo project. We are all connected in a web of relationships. It comes down to two words, “be with” —another, your self, with the divine. Be present, with an empty center—a beautiful emptiness without attachment, and allow the breath of God to flow through. Fools Crow, of the Lakota, called it being “a hollow bone”.

How is being empty being with another? Let go of your concerns, judgments, and cravings. Enter a state of deep receptivity. Listen with the heart, open, free of agenda. It is a sacred space where veils fall away and you are available.

Ray, a highly successful business man, worked so hard he lost his wife and family. He wasn’t there for them. Through divorce, his dreams were demolished. Seeking relief from deep depression he entered a bicycle race and encountered Lance Armstrong. He asked Lance how he had overcome divorce and then cancer. Armstrong put his arm around him and with a squeeze said, “It could have been much worse.” In that moment Ray’s life changed. He understood that he was not alone, there was still a lot of life in front of him. Lance Armstrong, in a moment of empathy, gave a wonderful gift. This empathic gift is in you and me. We are all redeemers. Give the gift of a listening heart. It is transformational. Step out of your own energy and have empathy for the other being.
Ibn Arabi said, “My heart has become capable of every form; it is a pasture for gazelles and a convent for Christian monks, and a temple for idols and the pilgrim’s Ka’ba, and the tablets for the Torah and the book of the Koran. I follow where the camels of love go. That is my religion.”

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July 1, 2012 – Self Love Through Forgiveness

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7/1/12 Rev. David McArthur

Self Love Through Forgiveness

July. Freedom. We only get freedom if we are willing to do self love. Otherwise we let a lot of things hang on and control us.

Lao Tzu, in the Tao Te Ching, wrote, “The Master stays behind; that is why she is ahead. She is detached from all things; that is why she is one with them. Because she has let go of herself, she is perfectly fulfilled.”

Anita Moorjani, as a girl at a Catholic school in Hong Kong and a Hindu of Indian heritage, was very much the outsider in her classes. Repeatedly the subject of cruel bullying throughout her school years, she recalled, as an adult dying of cancer, how so much of the time she had felt bad about herself. But she knew that being bound this way was not ok. In her near death experience she saw how this led to her deadly cancer. However, she also saw this wasn’t who she was at all—but that she was a magnificent spiritual being, and that should never be hidden. “I am a magnificent spiritual being!” Filled with this knowledge her body would not support the cancer, and on what was expected to be her deathbed, she became free of the cancer.

The way to spiritual freedom is forgiveness. We are trapped in perceptions of ourselves which are not true. Forgive yourselves and those “bullies” in your memories. They have journeyed with you long enough.

Steve Backman, trying to deal with his “bullies” by drinking, drove his car one night into one driven by Chris Loukas. With nearly every bone in his body broken, Chris Loukas hovered near death in a coma for six weeks, but eventually roused. Finally, unable to tolerate his anguish any longer, Steve braved the Loukas family and asked if he might see Chris. He begged Chris’ forgiveness, and Chris opened his arms and they hugged and wept. And they both were freed.

Enter into freedom through forgiveness—of others and of yourself. Love yourself enough to let go of all that stuff! Be free. Be who you really are—a magnificent spiritual being! It starts when you love yourself enough to let go of yourself. “Because she loves herself enough she is fulfilled.” “I choose to be free and live in my fulfillment.” When you make that choice it really gets fun!

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June 24, 2012 – The Heart Path to the Christ

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6/24/12 Rev. David McArthur

The Heart Path to the Christ

There are those who, in great pain, have prayed to Jesus for help and have gotten it. Others have prayed to Krishna and have touched incredible love. Some do not attribute this beautiful, powerful experience to Jesus, Buddha, or Krishna, and yet their experience is very real. There are those, too, who find deep in their being a voice that says, “Do not put your faith in another. Get about helping yourself!”

Those who call on Jesus call on someone who stepped into the consciousness of the Christ, of that infinite wisdom, an incarnation of God. Is Krishna an incarnation of God? Of course he is! We are all talking about beings of consciousness that have traveled before us and are available to us according to how our soul calls. There are those too that have to do it themselves, but we are all doing the same thing. It’s an awareness of the higher self (Atman) and an awareness of connection with the all, the cosmic soul (Brahman). And it’s ok to get help upon the way.

It’s about learning to love a little more. In her book Love Without End, Glenda Green spoke of her conversations with Jesus. To Jesus, the heart is sacred. He said that it integrates your own unique character with that which is beyond your own comprehension. She goes on to tell us that Jesus said that the highest intelligence is love itself. “Love alone holds the ultimate secrets and solution of existence.” Repeat, “Love alone holds the ultimate secrets and solution of existence.” If you have an experience with Jesus or Krishna, it is love. If you look inside yourself for answers, it is love you have found.

If you want to do it through Jesus, thank God! If you want to do it through Krishna or Hindu chants or through lighting the candles of a menorah, thank God! You are the love of the divine, here, now! Live it! Experience it! Enjoy it!

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