When I was a child, I took piano lessons for several years. As much as I admired other children my age who played the piano well, and hoped I would too; nonetheless, I never excelled. It seemed no amount of practice made a difference. While I certainly learned some fundamentals about music that will always be with me, there was no apparent talent there to play the piano. Year after year the frustration and embarrassment became harder to endure. Finally, my mother agreed with me, that it was time to let it go.

There are times when it is obvious that withdrawing from a particular situation is the wisest move one can make, because exerting additional energy would be in vain.  Coming to grips with what the highest good, or the best action to take in any given situation, is sometimes a process of surrender.  

The word “surrender” may trigger emotions that include feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and defeat, making it difficult to make that decision that is ultimately the highest good. It may suggest “giving up” what seemed like a good idea at the time.

Yes, there is a “giving up.” However, it is not a process born out of weakness. In fact, giving up the lesser for the greater is an action born out of strength and courage. What I am talking about here is giving up ideas of failure, fear, struggle, or disappointment that keeps us in bondage.  These ideas have a tendency to separate us from a greater expression of love, peace, harmony, and wholeness when focusing on our expectations regarding career, health, relationships or supply, or where ever personal fulfillment is our desire. I’m talking about the giving up the apparent struggle and accept the inevitable “way” of the greater power within us. 

Surrendering to the Higher Self, that Higher Power within ourselves opens us up to life in a greater way than ever before, and we become the instrument through which Divine Wisdom flows.

While all aspects of one’s self are spiritual (Spirit, Mind, and Body); there is that aspect that has never been touched or affected by the world of change. It is that part of ourselves that has never been hurt, harmed or disappointed; and in Its purity is the Perfect Guide for our lives. Acting as First Cause of our lives, It is unlimited in Its capacity to give Love, Peace, Harmony, Joy and Abundant Good.

Acquainting ourselves with this Divinity of ourselves is a journey of awakening spirituality. It is a progressive unfoldment of self-awareness. It is an ever-evolving consciousness of personal identification. At least that’s how I would describe it.

With child-like faith we may begin, at any time, to surrender beliefs of limitation and let this Spirit of Life permeate our entire being, guiding and directing every decision and choice that is ours to make; and every action that is ours to do.

When we surrender to the Divine Nature of the Presence of God, within us, we create a world that works for everyone.

---

This Week’s Affirmation

Today I freely release the struggles in my life.  I trust my Higher Self to make all things new, beautiful, and a blessing to the world.

by Judy Hilley

This is a Universe of Wholeness, Allness, Oneness.  Spirit is a transcendent, perfect Whole that, in its Infinite inclusivity, harmoniously embraces all seeming opposites.
~ Core Concept Five, The Science of Mind ~

“Let’s go upstairs!” is the way the late Rev. Dr.  Homer Johnson often began each prayer. He was inviting us to move into a higher state of consciousness in order to see through the appearance of duality. 

Michelle Obama offers the following wisdom, saying, “When they go low, we go high.” Her words may remind us that we are always at choice regarding the direction of our attention. The “they” are not only the unenlightened “others” of our times, but they are the unenlightened thoughts within ourselves that, unintentionally, create the undesired circumstances of our lives.

Rising above the pairs of opposites such as good/evil; right/wrong; disease/health; peace/war; happy/sad; and ego/Christ, to name just a few, is not an easy task. It means being awake, alert, and aware; i.e., conscious beings in our comings and goings through this thing called life.

The opposites of the human experience are nothing more than points of view about what we see through our senses, the out-picturing of mental images.  They can be likened to two sides of a coin, unified in Oneness. To fight against them is much like shadow-boxing, because in reality, there’s nothing there of substance, a temporary thing, easily replaced with a higher idea about the person, place or thing being observed.

Be careful that this is not interpreted as a spiritual bypass; i.e., engaging in complacency or putting one’s head in the sand by denying the issues we are facing on the world stage –   individually, as a nation and globally.  The answer lies in discovering for one’s self, “what is mine to do?” 

Adhering to Holmes’ idea to be “for something” and “against nothing” is a beginning point that the enlightened and mystics of all time have agreed. This means taking an honest assessment of the true values, beliefs, and principles that govern your individual life; the ones that are the guideposts for your daily living.  

Otherwise, a consciousness of having to contend with an opposing force, keeps the undesired energy intact, resulting in the same scenarios repeating itself generation after generation. Albert Einstein reminds us that, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” 

The clearer one becomes in knowing what he or she is “for” and begins to think, speak, and act from that perspective, the sooner the veil of separation is lifted. Soon a community of conscious people (common unity) of all walks of life who have a vision for a world that works for everyone, begins to evolve. The great discovery of “what is mine to do” may very well reveal the unique talent, skill, and ability that are a reservoir of untapped potential within you that is ready to unleash peace on earth and good will towards all people.

---

This Week’s Affirmation

“There’s always another level up. There’s always another ascension. More grace, more light, more generosity more compassion, more to shed, more to grow.”

~ Elizabeth Gilbert ~

The spiritual path may become a wearisome one for the faint of heart. It takes great courage to set out on a journey of uncharted territory, depending upon the discipline of prayer as the one essential and dependable companion.

Regardless of our religious persuasion, the fundamental beliefs we entertain about God, the universe or our individual relationship to it all; we each turn to prayer when faced with circumstances and desires that seem beyond our personal control.

Sometimes the prayers we pray are not called prayers at all. Nonetheless, their purpose is always the same – to move us from where we are to where we want to be.

Prayer is the power that realigns us with our true nature. Once in touch with the nature of who we are, there is a realization of our innate ability to rise above any adversity which is nothing more than an erroneous thought-force. Erroneous thoughts have no sustaining energy and are dissipated by their replacement with Truth-thoughts that are an irresistible force for good.

There are many forms of prayer, and all are applied faith. After all, to engage in prayer at all there is an expectancy of change. However, the acceptance of the change is always the next step. Acceptance means to follow the guidance received from prayer. It’s been said, “Faith without works is dead.” When describing effective prayer, Ernest Holmes puts it simply, saying it is the combination of “faith and acceptance.”

Like me, you may have discarded the prayer you memorized by heart as a child, as well as the image of God that you prayed to; neither being acceptable any longer. A more mature form of prayer I often practice is Contemplative Meditation. Here I set aside some alone time pondering what “I” believe to be so about existence; i.e., life, living, and the cause behind it all, asking, what is my idea of God, really?  This process of prayer always leaves me with a perception of Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience. 

I continue in this prayerful mode, contemplating, my personal existence, who am I, really?  This process of prayer always leaves me with a perception of being born of this One Creative Spirit, fully endowed with all of its nature. I perceive Perfect God, Perfect Man, Perfect Being.

Another form of prayer is one of The Prayer of Affirmation. Here I tell myself the spiritual truth about myself and the desired good I embrace, regardless of what is appearing as my present experience. This supports me with a clear vision for my life.   

All this I reason out through the consciousness of the following prayer, first printed in the 1898 issue of Wee Wisdom, the Unity monthly magazine for children, and memorized by many. 

“God is my help in every need; God does my every hunger feed; God walks beside me, guides my way, Through every moment of this day. ~ I now am wise, I now am true, Patient and kind, and loving, too; All things I am, can do, and be, Through Christ the Truth, that is in me. ~ God is my health, I can’t be sick; God is my strength, unfailing, quick; God is my all, I know no fear, Since God and Love and Truth are here.” (Hannah More Kohaus)

With these words deeply embedded in consciousness, we may slip into the Prayer of Silence. Here we simply surrender to what is, knowing all is well. 

---

This Week’s Affirmation

As I contemplate my prayer, I perceive Perfect God, Perfect Man, Perfect Being.

By Mary Jane LaBonte, RScP

I notice that the idea of “God’s Will” keeps coming to the surface of my consciousness, demanding my attention and greater clarity while I navigate a life of conscious living. I find that I must continue to explain to myself what I really mean when I use or hear this term.

~ ~ ~ ~

In my formative years, I heard things that implied that God’s will and my will were separate. For example, it was a common belief that the experiences of sickness, death, tornados, and such were God’s will, all serving a purpose in some great cosmic plan. Or, they were God’s way of punishing humankind for some mis-take they had made along the way. On the other hand, my will was selfish, desiring material things and physical experiences that would bring me personal pleasure, and this displeased God. At least, this is what I think I heard.

All this kind of thinking precipitates the idea of God being an anthropomorphic being; i.e., one having human characteristics – moody, unpredictable, revengeful, and secretive. 

Today, these kind of thoughts about God are so removed from my conscious mind that it seems ridiculous to even mention them. Yet, they bring me to the place of asking myself, “So, what do I mean when I say “God’s Will?”

~ ~ ~ ~

I now know that The Creator of all things, God, is Love and Law.  It is God’s Will, I tell myself, to express Itself. “Love points the way – Law makes the way possible.” (Ernest Holmes) 

This Undeniable Force is always taking place within me.

Love is always First Cause, the invisible idea of good entertained in one’s mind, while “Law is a blind force, and whatever goes into the subjective state of our thought tends to return again as some condition.” (Science of Mind)

For example, when ideas of perfect health, financial sufficiency, the ideal home, or any life-enhancing human experience is desired; it is the consciousness of Love that is pointing the way; the Law sets forth to bring about the specific good, according to one’s mental acceptance.

Because my nature is a projection of God’s nature, I have free will, the freedom to choose my own thoughts and follow my own paths. With this freedom comes the corollary— accountability for the outcomes of the choices I make. For example, ideas of lack, limitation, fear, etc. result in the image and likeness of those particular embodied thoughts. However, it is still Love operating on my behalf because Love only knows Love; and the Law executes my will with exact precision. 

The good news is, each one of us may choose what we are thinking and when we are not satisfied with what is showing up, we may change our thinking and change our lives, “For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.”  (1 Corinthians: 9, 10)

It is from this awareness that I navigate the waters of life, turning to the Indwelling God time and time to deliver me safely from where I am to where I desire to be.

---

This Week’s Affirmation

 “I have to believe it, to see it”

By Keith Childers

Dr. Robert Schuller taught, “If it’s going to be it’s up to me.” Matthew Fox, translating the works of the 14^th Century mystic, Meister Eckhart, said: “And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace and if I am not also full of grace?”  In both instances, these gentlemen are speaking to the idea of practical spirituality.

Spirituality, in the context of applying definite universal principles as a way of life, has become a widespread concept. The Soul of those who “catch” this idea, leaps for joy, arousing sweet memories that have been lying dormant.

In many ways the awakening is like stepping onto the next rung of the ever-expanding, upward-spiraling journey of life. In many instances, it is religion, a disciplined practice of reading and studying the lives of enlightened ones who have performed seeming miracles and influenced the masses, that leads one to this point of self-realization.

Like all new adventures, there is much to be learned while becoming familiar with the terrain of self-reliance. For example, while spirituality is the common thread running through all religions as well as the fundamental foundation of them all; it transcends the practice itself. 

Spirituality is awakening to the Indwelling Presence of one’s own being. It is the aligning oneself with the self- governing power within us that is ready to be unleashed as Peace, Love, Wholeness, Harmony, Wisdom, Joy and Unlimited Supply. However, we have to shift our own gears from limited thinking to possibility thinking.  

In a very real sense, the nature of spirituality is scientific; inasmuch as it is absolute and infallible, therefore reliable and dependable. It goes without saying that in order to experience the benefits of any science, we must first obey its principles. Mystics of all time have made it plain, that ultimately, the universe does not play favorites; i.e., “What It’s done for others, It will do for you.” 

When old limiting beliefs began to shift to a new way of seeing things, it is a result of our own efforts. No one else can do that for us; yet they can teach us that it is through changing our thinking that our life begins to change. 

 How wonderful it is to find ourselves in a community where we can turn to the spiritual leader and practitioners to support us as we learn to apply spiritual principles in our lives. Their expertise in this field of study, based on the data they have accumulated, tested, and proved firsthand, is truly a blessing.

However, in the final analysis, it is always your very own acceptance of the good/the healing declared on your behalf that sets in motion the Perfect Law of Life. Ultimately, no matter how you slice it, the path of conscious spirituality is always a Do It Yourself endeavor.  

Spirituality is a mental atmosphere of one’s awareness of its unity with the Divine. I love contemplating the far-reaching implication in the declaration: “I AM the way, the truth, and the life.”

---

This Week’s Affirmation

My eyes have seen the Glory within, and I consciously direct, celebrate, and give thanks for life’s possibilities for good.

By Angela “Chris” Beam

---

A Tribute for Paula

The blink of an eye. Often that’s how change appears to happen – particularly to others. Yet the blink may take months, even years.

 I can still hear Paula complaining about everything – whether it flew, it crawled, it laid there or it walked. In the blink of an eye, I heard her express care, concern and gratitude for the people, places and things that came her way. 

As she went from project to project there were hiccups but she had learned to express appreciation for what worked…. thereby opening the doors to the abundance that was hers to claim. 

What a beautiful butterfly Paula Clancy morphed into. She spread her wings and her colors shone brightly. Now she has flown away in the blink of an eye. 

~ submitted by Clarice Martin 8/31/2021 ~

---