God

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

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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!

October 11, 2015 – Tithing Partnership

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10/11/15  Rev. David McArthur

Tithing Partnership

We often focus on the amazing capacity within, which is love. If you are working with spirituality you are working with love. Another way to work with this is with the spiritual practice of tithing. I watched people who followed it. I realized there’s a quality, a difference, as to how they met their challenges with a presence of peace. They weren’t always peaceful but they could get to it. There was a fear not present in their world.

Two things are generally shared in teaching this, expansion and protection. From the book of Malachi, 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven…” and “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops…” 3:11. But there is a third not often spoken of: 3:12, “…yours will be a delightful land…” This isn’t talking of quantity but QUALITY, the real blessing of opening to a deeper relationship to the divine presence.

The Quaker church tested tithing. A cubic inch of grain was tithed and the remaining 90% was planted. Each crop for six years was tithed and proved to be protected from the pests of the surrounding fields. The miller engaged for this test said normal practice would have yielded over 52 hundred bushels of wheat. At the end of the six years, however, the tithed crops yielded over 72 THOUSAND bushels—you can’t get there by coincidence! We have at-oneness with divine presence in the material world. It is a major challenge in our lives to see expansion as the expression of oneness.

Tithing brings the experience of the divine down into our world. A greater experience of goodness and flow is there, and we direct that connection. Tithing doesn’t make a difference in how God loves you—the love is never lessened. But it makes a difference in us and how we open to the flow.

There’s also a greater sense of protection. When my life was threatened several weeks ago I found a real potential for fear, but I also found a real sense of protection coming into the physical world which let me come to love and understanding more easily with the other party. That divine presence in the midst of the difficulties of life is part of my appreciation of the practice of tithing.

Be very conscious as you tithe. Reawaken to experiencing fully what’s there. If you are not tithing go to your heart and ask if this is a practice that would have meaning in your spiritual life, to know that God is my source. God is my instant, constant, abundant supply. God is my source. God is my instant, constant, abundant supply. God is my source. God is my instant, constant, abundant supply. Every time something is needed. It has to be so because God is good all the time!

October 11, 2015 – Tithing Partnership

by

10/11/15  Rev. David McArthur
Tithing Partnership

We often focus on the amazing capacity within, which is love. If you are working with spirituality you are working with love. Another way to work with this is with the spiritual practice of tithing. I watched people who followed it. I realized there’s a quality, a difference, as to how they met their challenges with a presence of peace. They weren’t always peaceful but they could get to it. There was a fear not present in their world.

Two things are generally shared in teaching this, expansion and protection. From the book of Malachi, 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven…” and “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops…” 3:11. But there is a third not often spoken of: 3:12, “…yours will be a delightful land…” This isn’t talking of quantity but QUALITY, the real blessing of opening to a deeper relationship to the divine presence.

The Quaker church tested tithing. A cubic inch of grain was tithed and the remaining 90% was planted. Each crop for six years was tithed and proved to be protected from the pests of the surrounding fields. The miller engaged for this test said normal practice would have yielded over 52 hundred bushels of wheat. At the end of the six years, however, the tithed crops yielded over 72 THOUSAND bushels—you can’t get there by coincidence! We have at-oneness with divine presence in the material world. It is a major challenge in our lives to see expansion as the expression of oneness.

Tithing brings the experience of the divine down into our world. A greater experience of goodness and flow is there, and we direct that connection. Tithing doesn’t make a difference in how God loves you—the love is never lessened. But it makes a difference in us and how we open to the flow.

There’s also a greater sense of protection. When my life was threatened several weeks ago I found a real potential for fear, but I also found a real sense of protection coming into the physical world which let me come to love and understanding more easily with the other party. That divine presence in the midst of the difficulties of life is part of my appreciation of the practice of tithing.

Be very conscious as you tithe. Reawaken to experiencing fully what’s there. If you are not tithing go to your heart and ask if this is a practice that would have meaning in your spiritual life, to know that God is my source. God is my instant, constant, abundant supply. God is my source. God is my instant, constant, abundant supply. God is my source. God is my instant, constant, abundant supply. Every time something is needed. It has to be so because God is good all the time!

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October 4, 2015 – Can’t Touch This

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10/4/15  Rev. Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.

Can’t Touch This!

We have chaos and conflict around the world, religion against religion, violence, anger. It is said, however, that chaos precedes order; it is something calling to be birthed. Look at the shootings in Umpqua. Some say we need more guns, some say less. But the solution is in our hearts.

In Unity we use affirmations and denials. Many say that’s denying what’s really happening, but that’s not so. What we deny is that what’s happening has any power over us. That it has any power to take us out of the truth of our being, which is we are centered in the Christ Consciousness—we can get through anything! It is the “Christ in you; the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27.

It is not the Christ in Jesus which is your hope of glory, it is the Christ in you. Hope is not wishy-washy, mealy mouthed. It is the expectation of our future good that inspires the certainty that our good is ours right now. And glory is the merging of our mind with God mind. This is our “bookmark”. It holds the space for us as we wander off into our anger, fear, and doubt when we are lost. The Christ presence is our place holder. It’s always there. You can’t get rid of it even if you try. And it never interferes, but always leaves us our choice.

There are three steps to get there. 1) “There is nothing greater than God.” 2) “I AM one with God.” Finally, 3), “Therefore, there is nothing greater than me.” That last one might be difficult for you but it’s the truth. Can you believe it? Say, “yes!” It’s logic. You “Can’t touch this!”

When there’s less bank account and more bills, say, “I am poised and centered in the Christ Consciousness. Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul.” “Can’t touch this!” When you’re in the doctor’s office and the diagnosis almost stops your heart, it’s not that the condition is not real, it’s “I am poised and centered in the Christ Consciousness. Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul.” “Can’t touch this!” When a relationship sours, stand in the face of the impossibility of it and embrace the possibility that “I am poised and centered in the Christ Consciousness. Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul.” “Can’t touch this!” Take this home with you. Stuff will come up this week. Be prepared and say, “I am poised and centered in the Christ Consciousness. Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul.” “Can’t touch this!”

October 4, 2015 – Can’t Touch This!

by

10/4/15  Rev. Sheila Gautreaux, L.U.T.
Can’t Touch This!

We have chaos and conflict around the world, religion against religion, violence, anger. It is said, however, that chaos precedes order; it is something calling to be birthed. Look at the shootings in Umpqua. Some say we need more guns, some say less. But the solution is in our hearts.

In Unity we use affirmations and denials. Many say that’s denying what’s really happening, but that’s not so. What we deny is that what’s happening has any power over us. That it has any power to take us out of the truth of our being, which is we are centered in the Christ Consciousness—we can get through anything! It is the “Christ in you; the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27.

It is not the Christ in Jesus which is your hope of glory, it is the Christ in you. Hope is not wishy-washy, mealy mouthed. It is the expectation of our future good that inspires the certainty that our good is ours right now. And glory is the merging of our mind with God mind. This is our “bookmark”. It holds the space for us as we wander off into our anger, fear, and doubt when we are lost. The Christ presence is our place holder. It’s always there. You can’t get rid of it even if you try. And it never interferes, but always leaves us our choice.

There are three steps to get there. 1) “There is nothing greater than God.” 2) “I AM one with God.” Finally, 3), “Therefore, there is nothing greater than me.” That last one might be difficult for you but it’s the truth. Can you believe it? Say, “yes!” It’s logic. You “Can’t touch this!”

When there’s less bank account and more bills, say, “I am poised and centered in the Christ Consciousness. Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul.” “Can’t touch this!” When you’re in the doctor’s office and the diagnosis almost stops your heart, it’s not that the condition is not real, it’s “I am poised and centered in the Christ Consciousness. Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul.” “Can’t touch this!” When a relationship sours, stand in the face of the impossibility of it and embrace the possibility that “I am poised and centered in the Christ Consciousness. Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul.” “Can’t touch this!” Take this home with you. Stuff will come up this week. Be prepared and say, “I am poised and centered in the Christ Consciousness. Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul.” “Can’t touch this!”

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September 6, 2015 – Peter Pan Teaches Enlightenment

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09/06/15 Rev. David McArthur
Peter Pan Teaches Enlightenment

Ever sit in the black night right before dawn, waiting for the light to come? There’s a feeling in it—a desire to watch the world change around you. It’s the desire for enlightenment, innate, a call from the soul to awaken. It is acknowledged in Jesus’ teachings as, “know the truth and the truth will set you free.” One of the most misunderstood passages, it’s usually said to mean, “Agree with what I say and you’ll go where I want you to go.” To me it means that when you know (feel) the experience of the divine presence you will feel free!

Feeling daring? Ready to learn how to fly? On this journey of enlightenment I enjoy the fascinating symbol of Peter Pan. The story starts in the nursery. Wendy (the feminine, feeling nature) has grown to where she has to leave and step into the greater feeling world. Peter Pan invites her and her brothers to visit Neverland. To get there they have to learn to fly, which is to let go of how we think the world has to be, to rise to the experience of a new, greater consciousness. Tinker Bell (a beautiful angelic symbol, free of Earth, who can touch what is high and bring it low, to Earth) and the fairy dust express our desire for enlightenment, to see from above, where we know there is a greater understanding. Happy Thoughts are our even higher desire to know (feel) the presence of God. It’s a shift of desire within and we enter that happy place and we’re free and we fly!

We focus thought and feeling on that goodness with “God is good all the time! All the time God is good!”. When we feel it we open the path to it. But the one I use most because it is so simple and so lovely is “God is sooooo good!” Feel it!

The journey to Neverland is “straight on till morning” to the light! You’re thinking, “I’ve got control” and then you run into the limits of your thoughts (the Lost Boys) and you get captured by your fears (the pirates).

Peter Pan can always fly knowing the presence of God. He and Wendy go to see the mermaids, who fly in the water. But a very important feminine (feeling) symbol, Tiger Lily, gets caught by Captain Hook—gets “hooked” by fear! You are dealing with pirates in your life in this third dimension when your feelings are bound with fear designed to take away your freedom. It is hard to raise your thoughts.

We can think of beautiful feelings, but we have to FEEL them. We have to “believe in fairies”! Clap if you believe. Say “yes, I believe within me is the ability to touch the divine presence!” Free your feelings. Dust your ship with fairy dust. Fill it with Happy Thoughts. Your ship is filled with divine illumination for viewing the world from a higher place! God is sooooo good! God is sooooo good! God is sooooo good! Have fun flying!

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August 30, 2015 – Finding Our Laffin’ Place

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I have had interactions in my life in which I have made the connection to my heart; I have made it into my heart. I saw that the blame thing was gone (as much fun as it can be) and I made the connection to the compassion in my heart for the other person. But there was still something uncomfortable in my heart. I knew it was time for the graduate course.

Symbols are often more effective than just words alone, and the tales of Uncle Remus have plenty of symbols. Today Br’er Rabbit is snoozin’ in the woods. Awaking slowly he realizes he’s not in the woods any more, but a deep dark cave, and there’s a fire cracklin’! There’s Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear and he’s tied up and they’re talkin’ ’bout eatin’ him for dinner! Br’er Rabbit symbolizes the part of ourselves that can shift our awareness. The cave symbolizes our subconscience. Something captures us in there. We’re fearful and it controls us. Br’er Rabbit shifts his attention to a place where he is free. He opens his mouth and laughs out loud.

Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear are stunned. “We tole you we gonna roast you on this here fire! You otta be skeered!” Rabbit laughs even louder. “Why you laffin’!?” “Oh, I been to my secret place.” Now what happens when you say you’ve got a secret? Yup, Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear just have to see this secret place. They mostly untie Br’er Rabbit, but leave a long rope to keep hold of. He leads them out of the cave into the woods all the way to an old tree with a big hole in it. Laughing loudly he cries, “There it is! My laffin’ place!” Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear say they don’t feel like laffin’. Rabbit has them stick their heads way deep inside. “Do you hear?” They heard the buzzing of thousands of bumbly bees! With the bees swarming after them they bolt from the tree and drop the rope. The bumble bees, an angel symbol, are small but cause the release, symbolically, of what controls us. They go to places of beauty between the upper and lower. The rope is dropped and we are free.

It’s a part of life to have fear and discomfort in our subconscience. But we can be free, no longer caught by that stuff, by focusing our attention on the divine. From the Bhagavad Gita, “Therefore, having been born in this transient and forlorn world, give all your love to me. Fill your mind with me; love me… always…”

It is a connection with the divine. Jesus said, “Our father that is in heaven” (“heaven” symbolizes the exhaulted state of consciousness greater than we know on Earth) “hallowed be thy name.” (Name” is the nature of something; “hallowed” is the divine, the pure love) “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.” We experience that connection all the way down to where we are and what we’re doing.

What helps me make that journey going down the road tied to the rope is gratitude. I am grateful for all the loving goodness of God always waiting for me. I am grateful for the all-loving goodness of God! I am grateful for the all-loving goodness of God! I am grateful for the all-loving goodness of God!

It puts us in touch with who we truly are—that oneness. Lao Tsu said that when you realize where you come from, you become tolerant…kind as a grandmother, and you can deal with whatever life brings you. Tolerant. Free.

Have fun at your “laffin’ place”!

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August 30, 2015 – Finding Our Laffin’ Place

by

08/30/15 Rev. David McArthur
Finding Our Laffin’ Place

I have made the connection to my heart; I have made it into my heart. I saw that the blame thing was gone (as much fun as it can be) and I made the connection to the compassion in my heart for the other person. But there was still something uncomfortable in my heart. I knew it was time for the graduate course.

Symbols are often more effective than just words alone. Today Br’er Rabbit is snoozin’ in the woods. Awaking slowly he realizes he’s not in the woods any more, but a deep dark cave and there’s a fire cracklin’! There’s Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear and he’s tied up and they’re talkin’ ’bout eatin’ him for dinner! Now Br’er Rabbit symbolizes the part of ourselves that can shift our awareness. The cave symbolizes our subconscious. Something captures us in there. We’re fearful and it controls us. Br’er Rabbit shifts his attention to a place where he is free. He opens his mouth and laughs out loud.

Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear are stunned. “We tole you we gonna roast you on this here fire! You otta be skeered!” Rabbit laughs even louder. “Why you laffin’!?” “Oh, I been to my secret place.” Now what happens when you say you’ve got a secret? Yup, Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear just have to see this secret place. They mostly untie Br’er Rabbit, but leave a long rope to keep hold of. He leads them out of the cave into the woods all the way to an old tree with a big hole in it. Laughing loudly he cries, “There it is! My laffin’ place!” Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear say they don’t feel like laffin’. Rabbit has them stick their heads way deep inside. “Do you hear?” They heard the buzzing of thousands of bumbly bees! With the bees swarming after them they bolt from the tree and drop the rope. The bumble bees are small but cause the release, symbolically, of what controls us. They go to places of beauty between the upper and lower. The rope is dropped and we are free.

It’s a part of life to have fear and discomfort in our subconscious. But we can be free, no longer caught by that stuff, by focusing our attention on the divine. From the Bhagavad-Gita, “Therefore, having been born in this transient and forlorn world, give all your love to me. Fill your mind with me; love me… always…”

It is a connection with the divine. Jesus said, “Our father that is in heaven” (“heaven” symbolizes the exulted state of consciousness greater than we know on Earth) “hallowed be thy name.” (Name” is the nature of something; “hallowed” is the divine, the pure love.) “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.” We experience that connection all the way down to where we are and what we’re doing.

What helps me make that journey going down the road tied to the rope is gratitude. I am grateful for all the loving goodness of God always waiting for me. I am grateful for the all-loving goodness of God! I am grateful for the all-loving goodness of God! I am grateful for the all-loving goodness of God!

It puts us in touch with who we truly are—that oneness. Lao Tzu said that when you realize where you come from, you become tolerant…kind as a grandmother, and you can deal with whatever life brings you. Tolerant. Free.

Have fun at your “laffin’ place”!
 

 

August 16, 2015 – Giving is Abundance

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08/16/15  Rev. David McArthur

Giving Is Abundance

We get to play with creative spirit by giving—choosing where divine abundance goes. In a story Jesus told, wealthy men passed by the treasury and dropped in large donations from their abundance. A poor woman’s small gift “was all she had to live on.” She gave everything. As a woman, she represents our feminine, our feeling side, which was experiencing poverty, lack. Jesus, the Christ, the Atman, our one-ness with the divine, sees her act as a transition from a place of poverty to “It’s all God”, our consciousness expanding into this awareness.

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is giving as growth in spiritual awareness. It’s our true nature. Often young people haven’t gotten into adult patterns yet. A six year old walking to school with his mother passed a homeless lady with a sign “I’m hungry. Please help.” Without hesitation he took out his lunch and gave her half of his sandwich. It was a natural thing for him to do. The child says, “Of course. We’re all one. I can rectify this; I have and you don’t.”

A nurse helping with a food line somewhere in Africa saw a young girl get only a single slice of bread. The nurse knew it was all the food the girl would have that day. But she had to hide her tears when she saw the girl tear it in two and hand the larger half to her little brother. That’s who we are. Of course!

It feels good to give because we are experiencing the divine within us which we truly are. It’s the nature of the divine to give. No giving “when you get your act together”. We experience that divine presence in a very beautiful form moving through us.

And it comes back multiplied, blessing us. We don’t know how it will happen. On his way to work, a young man stopped to buy his lunch. The woman behind him was obviously very nervous and worried. So he paid the cashier and grabbed a single rose at the checkout. Giving it to the woman behind him he told her to have a good day. Later he was called to a meeting to meet a new corporate executive and it was the same woman! She was very thankful for his gift; this was her first day. You never know how you will experience the flow!

Sometimes you think you cannot give. A homeless man on the street was trying to care for some kittens but couldn’t find enough food for them. A man with a dog gave him some money and the homeless man explained he needed to find a better home for the kittens. So the donor took them to his vet. She was so touched she found the homeless man and gave him a part time job and a place to sleep.

God’s blessings flow generously through me. God’s blessings flow generously through me. God’s blessings flow generously through me. As we experience that it’s part of what we call fun!

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August 16, 2015 – Giving is Abundance

by

08/16/15 Rev. David McArthur
Giving Is Abundance
 
We get to play with creative spirit by giving—choosing where divine abundance goes. In a story Jesus told, wealthy men passed by the treasury and dropped in large donations from their abundance. A poor woman’s small gift “was all she had to live on.” She gave everything. As a woman, she represents our feminine, our feeling side, which was experiencing poverty, lack. Jesus, the Christ, the Atman, our one-ness with the divine, sees her act as a transition from a place of poverty to “It’s all God”, our consciousness expanding into this awareness.

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is giving as growth in spiritual awareness. It’s our true nature. Often young people haven’t gotten into adult patterns yet. A six year old walking to school with his mother passed a homeless lady with a sign “I’m hungry. Please help.” Without hesitation he took out his lunch and gave her half of his sandwich. It was a natural thing for him to do. The child says, “Of course. We’re all one. I can rectify this; I have and you don’t.”

A nurse helping with a food line somewhere in Africa saw a young girl get only a single slice of bread. The nurse knew it was all the food the girl would have that day. But she had to hide her tears when she saw the girl tear it in two and hand the larger half to her little brother. That’s who we are. Of course!

It feels good to give because we are experiencing the divine within us which we truly are. It’s the nature of the divine to give. No giving “when you get your act together”. We experience that divine presence in a very beautiful form moving through us.

And it comes back multiplied, blessing us. We don’t know how it will happen. On his way to work, a young man stopped to buy his lunch. The woman behind him was obviously very nervous and worried. So he paid the cashier and grabbed a single rose at the checkout. Giving it to the woman behind him he told her to have a good day. Later he was called to a meeting to meet a new corporate executive and it was the same woman! She was very thankful for his gift; this was her first day. You never know how you will experience the flow!

Sometimes you think you cannot give. A homeless man on the street was trying to care for some kittens but couldn’t find enough food for them. A man with a dog gave him some money and the homeless man explained he needed to find a better home for the kittens. So the donor took them to his vet. She was so touched she found the homeless man and gave him a part time job and a place to sleep.

God’s blessings flow generously through me. God’s blessings flow generously through me. God’s blessings flow generously through me. As we experience that it’s part of what we call fun!