guidance

February 21, 2016 – Love Guides My Way

by

Rev. David McArthur
Love Guides My Way

Guidance is there with each of us at every moment. With it we can ease through life. We are not meant to suffer or struggle our way through anything.

When I was learning the new world of my legal career I was in a relationship which was really important to me. I was fairly intelligent and analyzed it in my head. I could list all the reasons to spend our lives together, and all the doubts. I really didn’t have a clue. Was this woman to be the life-time mother for my little girl? Or were we simply in a wonderful relationship for the time and then with love and respect we’d go our separate ways?

I was learning as well the world of my spirituality. So I went to my heart to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all things will be given you.” We created an affirmation together. If we were right for each other and are to be together, that it would become clear to both of us; or if not, then that would become clear.

Then about a year and a half later I was at my parent’s looking out at the beautiful mountains beyond Jackson Hole, and suddenly I knew. I knew it would be right. I wasn’t “thinking”, I was “knowing”, and with that knowing the questions disappeared. So I proposed and June is our 40th anniversary!

I found guidance works better if I check in regularly. The guidance is always there—such love, such care! Whenever I feel uncomfortable it is one way I know I need to get into the connection with my heart. This is checking in, looking forward, “what are my next steps?”

There is a difference when change happens in the moment. Lani, who leads our youth program here, has a deep connection with her spiritual self. At her job at Whole Foods she was called into the office. She had lost her job. Her immediate reaction was to put her hand on her heart and focus on the love there. She told me she knew she was cared for. She told her supervisors that she understood how this was hard for them, that they had to do what they had to do. She chose not to be a victim! And she told me her guidance when she got the job had been clear that she would work there for 2 years, and it had been two years and two weeks! It was time she move on.

There is an intelligence, a path to your soul that will reveal itself to you. It is love. Love will guide your way. When you get to the knowing the yes/no argument fades. The soul has said “Yes. What I have for you is already prepared and is waiting to be given.” Affirm, Love guides my way! Love guides my way! Love guides my way! It’s a beautiful, beautiful experience. Whatever you need to know is already given. Ask! Go to the beautiful wisdom of the spiritual being that you are. The response is love. That’s what guides your life!

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February 21, 2016 – Love Guides My Way

by


Rev. David McArthur
Love Guides My Way

Guidance is there with each of us at every moment. With it we can ease through life. We are not meant to suffer or struggle our way through anything.

When I was learning the new world of my legal career I was in a relationship which was really important to me. I was fairly intelligent and analyzed it in my head. I could list all the reasons to spend our lives together, and all the doubts. I really didn’t have a clue. Was this woman to be the life-time mother for my little girl? Or were we simply in a wonderful relationship for the time and then with love and respect we’d go our separate ways?

I was learning as well the world of my spirituality. So I went to my heart to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all things will be given you.” We created an affirmation together. If we were right for each other and are to be together, that it would become clear to both of us; or if not, then that would become clear.

Then about a year and a half later I was at my parent’s looking out at the beautiful mountains beyond Jackson Hole, and suddenly I knew. I knew it would be right. I wasn’t “thinking”, I was “knowing”, and with that knowing the questions disappeared. So I proposed and June is our 40th anniversary!

I found guidance works better if I check in regularly. The guidance is always there—such love, such care! Whenever I feel uncomfortable it is one way I know I need to get into the connection with my heart. This is checking in, looking forward, “what are my next steps?”

There is a difference when change happens in the moment. Lani, who leads our youth program here, has a deep connection with her spiritual self. At her job at Whole Foods she was called into the office. She had lost her job. Her immediate reaction was to put her hand on her heart and focus on the love there. She told me she knew she was cared for. She told her supervisors that she understood how this was hard for them, that they had to do what they had to do. She chose not to be a victim! And she told me her guidance when she got the job had been clear that she would work there for 2 years, and it had been two years and two weeks! It was time she move on.

There is an intelligence, a path to your soul that will reveal itself to you. It is love. Love will guide your way. When you get to the knowing the yes/no argument fades. The soul has said “Yes. What I have for you is already prepared and is waiting to be given.” Affirm, Love guides my way! Love guides my way! Love guides my way! It’s a beautiful, beautiful experience. Whatever you need to know is already given. Ask! Go to the beautiful wisdom of the spiritual being that you are. The response is love. That’s what guides your life!

October 18, 2015 – Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

by

10/18/15  Cindy Farris, L.U.T.
Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

This one friend always says, “It’s not your circus! They’re not your monkeys!” Do you know what that means? Have you ever taken on more than you had to? Have you ever felt like you were the only one who could fix it? —the only one who was doing it right? Are you a control freak? Are you “capable”? Do you get hooked into things you wouldn’t normally do?

I do. I am partners in a yarn shop. 11 women in a co-op. Now there’s a circus! A few weeks ago we moved the shop. It had been decided it would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for the move. Unbeknownst to me, a couple of the “sergeants” decided to start moving on Sunday. I usually work there on Mondays, so on Monday when I texted “When should I come in?” the reply was “Don’t come in. Stay home.” My ego was a little miffed, but I got a lot of work done at home. Over the next few days I did go in for a few hours. There were plenty of Ringmasters and I was not needed. It was a circus, but it wasn’t mine. I got to see what it looks like when I’m in controlling mode. The sergeants mirrored it back to me.

Do you see lots of things that aren’t being done well? “If they just did them my way I’m sure things would go better”. There are clues which can tell you if it’s your circus or not. Ask, “Does this situation really involve me?” Most of us have gotten involved when it was not our business. And at what cost? —our time and money, energy and health? Can I really bring something to a table I wasn’t asked to sit at? This is the butt-out part.

When we butt in, we could be taking someone off their path. We have to be mindful, “Do I have some responsibility here?” If the answer is no, butt out. Am I doing my actual work or taking over someone else’s job? Am I butting in because of my ego or lack of self worth? Am I doing something so I feel more fulfilled, to show I am capable? I could be in places where I am truly filled with joy on my path. It is ultimately God’s will to be done. At times I have to be the monkey with my hands over my mouth, or my eyes, or over my ears.

Tuesday through Thursday I teach science at a charter school. I am a master teacher, and I am Ringmaster in my classroom. That’s what I was hired for and I am good at it. I like it. It is my circus. Most of my students are boys and often the coach will come by and call all the guys to the baseball field. This school was founded and is paid for by a major league baseball player. When my students leave, I am no longer responsible for them. They are not my monkeys. I am free. I know when it’s my circus when I have empowered my monkeys to soar!

October 18, 2015 – Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

by

10/18/15  Rev. Cindy Farris, L.U.T.
Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys

This one friend always says, “It’s not your circus! They’re not your monkeys!” Do you know what that means? Have you ever taken on more than you had to? Have you ever felt like you were the only one who could fix it? —the only one who was doing it right? Are you a control freak? Are you “capable”? Do you get hooked into things you wouldn’t normally do?

I do. I am partners in a yarn shop. 11 women in a co-op. Now there’s a circus! A few weeks ago we moved the shop. It had been decided it would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for the move. Unbeknownst to me, a couple of the “sergeants” decided to start moving on Sunday. I usually work there on Mondays, so on Monday when I texted “When should I come in?” the reply was “Don’t come in. Stay home.” My ego was a little miffed, but I got a lot of work done at home. Over the next few days I did go in for a few hours. There were plenty of Ringmasters and I was not needed. It was a circus, but it wasn’t mine. I got to see what it looks like when I’m in controlling mode. The sergeants mirrored it back to me.

Do you see lots of things that aren’t being done well? “If they just did them my way I’m sure things would go better”. There are clues which can tell you if it’s your circus or not. Ask, “Does this situation really involve me?” Most of us have gotten involved when it was not our business. And at what cost? —our time and money, energy and health? Can I really bring something to a table I wasn’t asked to sit at? This is the butt-out part.

When we butt in, we could be taking someone off their path. We have to be mindful, “Do I have some responsibility here?” If the answer is no, butt out. Am I doing my actual work or taking over someone else’s job? Am I butting in because of my ego or lack of self worth? Am I doing something so I feel more fulfilled, to show I am capable? I could be in places where I am truly filled with joy on my path. It is ultimately God’s will to be done. At times I have to be the monkey with my hands over my mouth, or my eyes, or over my ears.

Tuesday through Thursday I teach science at a charter school. I am a master teacher, and I am Ringmaster in my classroom. That’s what I was hired for and I am good at it. I like it. It is my circus. Most of my students are boys and often the coach will come by and call all the guys to the baseball field. This school was founded and is paid for by a major league baseball player. When my students leave, I am no longer responsible for them. They are not my monkeys. I am free. I know when it’s my circus when I have empowered my monkeys to soar!

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July 26, 2015 – Goodness Is Now

by


07/26/15 Rev. David McArthur
Goodness Is Now
 
In the midst of that “stuff” we get into, there is a beautiful moment of wisdom we can get. It is the now moment. One of our favorite and best teachers about this is Uncle Remus: Bre’r Rabbit and Bre’r Terrapin have made a fine fire for the evening and are talking about a great dinner they don’t have when they hear a scary noise in the forest. It’s Bre’r Fox and Bre’r Bear comin’! They’ll likely roast them up and eat ’em both right there at their own fire! Hiding his fright, Rabbit invites them over for a delicious fish dinner! But Bre’r Fox and Bre’r Bear don’t see any dinner at all. Rabbit explains they have to go down to the pond to catch the fish. (Bre’r Rabbit here is the Christ self and shows us there is always an answer!)

With the bright moon’s reflection on the water, Rabbit tells everyone the moon has fallen into the pond and scared all the fish away. “Unless we get that moon out of the pond, we ain’t gonna get any fishes!” (The moon in the pond is the lower reality. We get so involved with the stuff in our lower reality!) While Rabbit runs back for a fishin’ net, Bre’r Terrapin tells Fox and Bear about a secret pot of gold in the pond. “Don’t tell Bre’r Rabbit.” Rabbit brings the net and Bre’r Fox and Bre’r Bear jump in the pond with it. They spread it out in the muddy water but no moon, no gold. When they get sufficiently tangled in the net, Bre’r Rabbit and Bre’r Terrapin take off into the forest skipping and laughing.

In this moment the wisdom is no matter what is taking place. In this moment God is, but only at one time—in the now moment. In Buddhist mindful meditation, we learn to be in the present moment. When someone in traffic makes a sudden move, we’re in the present moment, but this isn’t the now moment, the connection with the pure love that is God-expression within us.

I was walking down the beach one wonderful day. A dad was showing his baby the ocean for her very first time. As the waves washed over her toes she squealed with delight, with a joy so pure it brought everyone into their hearts. It was a goodness that was an expression of God, of love, of love of life and discovery for that little being. In that moment there was a beautiful burst of love added to the universe. I guarantee no one was thinking of their taxes or of filling their tanks with gas. We were all there in this heart-awakened moment—here—now.

One way is just to appreciate the wisdom and presence in these people about you here, now. God’s goodness fills this moment! Right now! God’s goodness fills this moment! God’s goodness fills this moment! In this moment this goodness, this wisdom is present in each of our worlds. And we can laugh and skip like Bre’r Rabbit and Bre’r Terrapin when they took off into the woods!

July 26, 2015 – Goodness Is Now

by

07/26/15 Rev. David McArthur
Goodness Is Now

In the midst of that “stuff” we get into, there is a beautiful moment of wisdom we can get. It is the now moment. One of our favorite and best teachers about this is Uncle Remus: Bre’r Rabbit and Bre’r Terrapin have made a fine fire for the evening and are talking about a great dinner they don’t have when they hear a scary noise in the forest. It’s Bre’r Fox and Bre’r Bear comin’! They’ll likely roast them up and eat ’em both right there at their own fire! Hiding his fright, Rabbit invites them over for a delicious fish dinner! But Bre’r Fox and Bre’r Bear don’t see any dinner at all. Rabbit explains they have to go down to the pond to catch the fish. (Bre’r Rabbit here is the Christ self and shows us there is always an answer!)

With the bright moon’s reflection on the water, Rabbit tells everyone the moon has fallen into the pond and scared all the fish away. “Unless we get that moon out of the pond, we ain’t gonna get any fishes!” (The moon in the pond is the lower reality. We get so involved with the stuff in our lower reality!) While Rabbit runs back for a fishin’ net, Bre’r Terrapin tells Fox and Bear about a secret pot of gold in the pond. “Don’t tell Bre’r Rabbit.” Rabbit brings the net and Bre’r Fox and Bre’r Bear jump in the pond with it. They spread it out in the muddy water but no moon, no gold. When they get sufficiently tangled in the net, Bre’r Rabbit and Bre’r Terrapin take off into the forest skipping and laughing.

In this moment the wisdom is no matter what is taking place. In this moment God is, but only at one time—in the now moment. In Buddhist mindful meditation, we learn to be in the present moment. When someone in traffic makes a sudden move, we’re in the present moment, but this isn’t the now moment, the connection with the pure love that is God-expression within us.

I was walking down the beach one wonderful day. A dad was showing his baby the ocean for her very first time. As the waves washed over her toes she squealed with delight, with a joy so pure it brought everyone into their hearts. It was a goodness that was an expression of God, of love, of love of life and discovery for that little being. In that moment there was a beautiful burst of love added to the universe. I guarantee no one was thinking of their taxes or of filling their tanks with gas. We were all there in this heart-awakened moment—here—now.

One way is just to appreciate the wisdom and presence in these people about you here, now. God’s goodness fills this moment! Right now! God’s goodness fills this moment! God’s goodness fills this moment! In this moment this goodness, this wisdom is present in each of our worlds. And we can laugh and skip like Bre’r Rabbit and Bre’r Terrapin when they took off into the woods!

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February 1, 2015 – Snow White – God is Good

by


02/01/15 Rev. David McArthur
Snow White – God is Good

Each archetypal symbol in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is some aspect of ourselves on our spiritual journey. When the soul enters the Earth it loses sight of its identity as a child of God, taking on a false idea outpictured by the stepmother, the Queen. She goes to the mirror. That outpictures our insecurity. We are concerned how people see us. We need the world to like us.

The Huntsman cannot kill Snow White (the feminine, our feeling side). He thinks he can hide her like we think we can hide our feelings. The 7 Dwarfs (the 7 chakras) can be seen as not fully grown, an early picture of our spiritual development. The mirror tells the Queen that there is something more powerful, more beautiful than she. So the poison apple.

The Dwarfs are so dualistic. Full of fear that Snow White is dead. But it is a false fear. Our journey is to know fear but learn there is nothing but God. Snow White is taken up the mountain by the 7 Dwarfs, the 7 centers of knowledge. It is the rise of awareness that there is no duality. But they cannot put her in the ground because they are still touched by her presence. The Prince just has to come riding by. He is also us, the thought part of us that knows but cannot feel. He finds the feeling self (Snow White) deep asleep. So we open to our feeling world and find incredible beauty with Love’s First Kiss.

A young 20-something guy lost his very closest companion, his dog, and plummeted into a deep depression. His friends wanted to help, so held a memorial. The young man wrote a eulogy, but found it difficult to deliver. “I could barely continue, but right at the point where I released myself into my feelings there was a pinpoint of light through my grief, and a smile. This point of happiness expanded rapidly, vastly, and immensely into a paradoxical experience of grief and happiness, into a greater sense of well being than I had ever had.”

 Give into that where the soul is awakened. It is not loss because there is only one power—the goodness of God. There is no fear. It is beautiful. Once we touch it there is no more evil Queen. She holds no power over us. This is what Jesus and Lao Tzu taught. God is good all the time. Yes, there is strain when things all come apart, but God is good all the time. This week there will be someone to challenge you, but check it out: God is good all the time.

I Am There
By James Dillet Freeman

Do you need Me?

I am there.

You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by.

You cannot hear Me, yet I speak through your voice.

You cannot feel Me, yet I am the power at work in your hands.

I am at work, though you do not understand My ways.

I am at work, though you do not recognize My works.

I am not strange visions. I am not mysteries.

Only in absolute stillness, beyond self, can you know Me as I am, and then but as a feeling and a faith.

Yet I am there. Yet I hear. Yet I answer.

When you need Me, I am there.

Even if you deny Me, I am there.

Even when you feel most alone, I am there.

Even in your fears, I am there.

Even in your pain, I am there.

I am there when you pray and when you do not pray.

I am in you, and you are in Me…

When you get yourself out of the way, I am there.

You can of yourself do nothing, but I can do all.

And I am in all.

Though you may not see the good, good is there, for I am there.

I am there because I have to be, because I am…

February 1, 2015 – Snow White – God is Good

by

02/01/15 Rev. David McArthur
Snow White – God is Good

Each archetypal symbol in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is some aspect of ourselves on our spiritual journey. When the soul enters the Earth it loses sight of its identity as a child of God, taking on a false idea outpictured by the stepmother, the Queen. She goes to the mirror. That outpictures our insecurity. We are concerned how people see us. We need the world to like us.

The Huntsman cannot kill Snow White (the feminine, our feeling side). He thinks he can hide her like we think we can hide our feelings. The 7 Dwarfs (the 7 chakras) can be seen as not fully grown, an early picture of our spiritual development. The mirror tells the Queen that there is something more powerful, more beautiful than she. So the poison apple.

The Dwarfs are so dualistic. Full of fear that Snow White is dead. But it is a false fear. Our journey is to know fear but learn there is nothing but God. Snow White is taken up the mountain by the 7 Dwarfs, the 7 centers of knowledge. It is the rise of awareness that there is no duality. But they cannot put her in the ground because they are still touched by her presence. The Prince just has to come riding by. He is also us, the thought part of us that knows but cannot feel. He finds the feeling self (Snow White) deep asleep. So we open to our feeling world and find incredible beauty with Love’s First Kiss.

A young 20-something guy lost his very closest companion, his dog, and plummeted into a deep depression. His friends wanted to help, so held a memorial. The young man wrote a eulogy, but found it difficult to deliver. “I could barely continue, but right at the point where I released myself into my feelings there was a pinpoint of light through my grief, and a smile. This point of happiness expanded rapidly, vastly, and immensely into a paradoxical experience of grief and happiness, into a greater sense of well being than I had ever had.”

Give into that where the soul is awakened. It is not loss because there is only one power—the goodness of God. There is no fear. It is beautiful. Once we touch it there is no more evil Queen. She holds no power over us. This is what Jesus and Lao Tzu taught. God is good all the time. Yes, there is strain when things all come apart, but God is good all the time. This week there will be someone to challenge you, but check it out: God is good all the time.

I Am There
By James Dillet Freeman

Do you need Me?
I am there.
You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by.
You cannot hear Me, yet I speak through your voice.
You cannot feel Me, yet I am the power at work in your hands.
I am at work, though you do not understand My ways.
I am at work, though you do not recognize My works.
I am not strange visions. I am not mysteries.
Only in absolute stillness, beyond self, can you know Me as I am, and then but as a feeling and a faith.
Yet I am there. Yet I hear. Yet I answer.
When you need Me, I am there.
Even if you deny Me, I am there.
Even when you feel most alone, I am there.
Even in your fears, I am there.
Even in your pain, I am there.
I am there when you pray and when you do not pray.
I am in you, and you are in Me…
When you get yourself out of the way, I am there.
You can of yourself do nothing, but I can do all.
And I am in all.
Though you may not see the good, good is there, for I am there.
I am there because I have to be, because I am…

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January 4, 2015 – Creating With Our Hearts

by


01/04/15 Rev. David McArthur
Creating With Our Heart

It’s an amazing and powerful thing when a whole society is of a single mind, as with New Year’s resolutions. Our heads give us long lists of resolutions. We fail to keep them and in a few weeks we’re filled with guilt. The problem is the list is not from the heart. I thought I’d like to change some things this year. The usual—lose some weight, exercise, and so on. But I knew I really didn’t care! But in my heart I wanted the energy and agility to go rafting with my grandkids. So I have no problem getting out and becoming active.

Emily Cady said we are of two parts. The first is our personality. That’s how we identify ourselves in our mind. The other is “our individuality” which expresses the being we were before this human experience. It is creative in expressing itself, and says, “Yes! I want to enjoy this creation that I am.” It is the divine creative power within us. It wants to express this year.

The mind has to compare and compete. It has made marvelous things. But it grasps with a closed hand; the heart with an open one. It is time to create with the heart. Lao Tzu wrote “Therefore the master has but does not own…when her work is done she forgets it and it lasts forever.” Do not become attached to the outcome. Do what you like to do and you will be in harmony. Use the energy of the heart to energize and activate that which you really want. Once that consciousness is created it is a part of who you are.

What is your heart’s desire? I thought I should publish a book this year. I’ve done it before and did not care for all the details of publishing. But I asked my heart, “What is this about?” I got, “To share it with someone else is sacred. This information has touched you—what an opportunity to share the blessing with someone else!” Now, that I can do. That will get me to the computer.

What fulfills your heart? A young lady graduated college as had her parents and grandparents before her. She had been taught to fear failure, and was confident of her future. But by 28 she was a single mother who couldn’t even feed her child without government assistance. When she realized she was a total failure, her fear of failure went away—there was nothing else to fear. She asked herself what did she really want to do? She wanted to write children’s stories, even if that didn’t pay much at all. It was J. K. Rowling. Now a billionaire, but money was never on her mind. She let herself do what her heart was calling her to do. She let her heart create what was hers to bring.

Do we just want to finish a list this time or do we want to say Yes! to our hearts this year? I say YES! to my heart. I say YES! to my heart. I say YES! to my heart. As you bring forth that commitment, what is created will be a huge blessing for everyone. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

January 4, 2015 – Creating With Our Hearts

by

01/04/15 Rev. David McArthur
Creating With Our Heart

It’s an amazing and powerful thing when a whole society is of a single mind, as with New Year’s resolutions. Our heads give us long lists of resolutions. We fail to keep them and in a few weeks we’re filled with guilt. The problem is the list is not from the heart. I thought I’d like to change some things this year. The usual—lose some weight, exercise, and so on. But I knew I really didn’t care! But in my heart I wanted the energy and agility to go rafting with my grandkids. So I have no problem getting out and becoming active.

Emily Cady said we are of two parts. The first is our personality. That’s how we identify ourselves in our mind. The other is “our individuality” which expresses the being we were before this human experience. It is creative in expressing itself, and says, “Yes! I want to enjoy this creation that I am.” It is the divine creative power within us. It wants to express this year.

The mind has to compare and compete. It has made marvelous things. But it grasps with a closed hand; the heart with an open one. It is time to create with the heart. Lao Tzu wrote “Therefore the master has but does not own…when her work is done she forgets it and it lasts forever.” Do not become attached to the outcome. Do what you like to do and you will be in harmony. Use the energy of the heart to energize and activate that which you really want. Once that consciousness is created it is a part of who you are.

What is your heart’s desire? I thought I should publish a book this year. I’ve done it before and did not care for all the details of publishing. But I asked my heart, “What is this about?” I got, “To share it with someone else is sacred. This information has touched you—what an opportunity to share the blessing with someone else!” Now, that I can do. That will get me to the computer.

What fulfills your heart? A young lady graduated college as had her parents and grandparents before her. She had been taught to fear failure, and was confident of her future. But by 28 she was a single mother who couldn’t even feed her child without government assistance. When she realized she was a total failure, her fear of failure went away—there was nothing else to fear. She asked herself what did she really want to do? She wanted to write children’s stories, even if that didn’t pay much at all. It was J. K. Rowling. Now a billionaire, but money was never on her mind. She let herself do what her heart was calling her to do. She let her heart create what was hers to bring.

Do we just want to finish a list this time or do we want to say Yes! to our hearts this year? I say YES! to my heart. I say YES! to my heart. I say YES! to my heart. As you bring forth that commitment, what is created will be a huge blessing for everyone. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

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