The Promise of Life
Transcript of Unity of Fayetteville Talk April 26 2020. Done live on Zoom and written as spoken.
All around us during this unbelievably challenging time, spring is blooming in all its glory and in full force. And this has been a great comfort to me. Maybe for you too? Nature and this brilliant canvas of colors and perfumes soothes my soul in a way that little else can right now.
And for many of us right now we are actually able to take a moment and really see and enjoy it. Our routines have been disrupted, our schedules and plans cancelled. But in our own backyards and on our city streets and parks, in our beautiful Ozark mountains ~ spring flourishes. Maybe before this pandemic in a rush to get to where we were going and with our hectic work schedules we would only notice and cherish these things for a moment or a passing glance and then keep rushing on to the next thing. I don't know about you but I have stopped to look more than usual, more than a few times, to drink in the beauty of this season. It touches my heart and soul like the embrace of a good friend or family member. Like the embraces we so dearly miss right now from our friends. The beauty of this spring season comforts me to the core of my being and resonates with me on the deepest possible level. Could it be that these things comfort me not simply because of their radiant beauty ~ but because It speaks to who we are and why we are here. So I want to spend some time contemplating nature with you today, since its radiant graceful presence is one we all can safely turn to during this challenging time. And I think it has so much to teach us about the promise of this life.
In my experience the way things work in this world is very similar with everything from an atom to our solar system and all the stuff in between. I know that is true from scientific evidence and it makes sense since everything is made of the same stuff governed by the same physical and likewise, spiritual laws and it all has the same creator. And you know what that makes us? That makes us brothers and sisters - all of us. We are family. And not only family. So many spiritual teachers have taught us throughout time that we are all one. I know this is true in my heart but at the same time this brings up some issues for me. If we are all one and made of the same stuff ~ what power is at work to separate the form? What separates the rose from the cactus and the sycamore from the oak? If it's all the same stuff what separates the mountain from the valley and babbling brook from the ocean? If we are all made of the same stuff what separates you from me and the way we look and think?
Well separation itself truly is an illusion since we are not separate. We are the same. But what gives us different form and enables us to interact? The answer is intention. So all that we see around us is spirit with the intention of being a tree, spirit with the intention of being a rose, spirit with the intention of being you and being me.
Our form = spirit + intention.
But sometimes when we contemplate this “I am one with everything” realization. it can be a little unsettling. And we might think “But what about ME?” I don't want to be one with everything. Won't I just be lost in the fray? I want to be my own special thing. I want to be me! I GOT TO BE MEEEE!!
Well of course you do! That desire, that energy of wanting to be your own special thing is the very “intention” that I am talking about. That “I got to be me” feeling is your intention and what gives you your form and it is why we are here. Spirit longing to express as you, that longing to be you, is the very thing brought you into being!
So let me assure you that being one with everything does not remove how very special you are, but when you really think about it. It makes you even MORE special. It makes you more of everything. Sit with that for a second.
And when we embrace that knowing truly… something changes in us doesn’t it? A sort of calm and at the same time excitement, a feeling of expansion, of spreading out into the whole universe. And it gives us this calm and peace because the thought of these things aligns us with our true nature. We feel that calm because when our thoughts align with our spirit, our emotional guidance system goes online to the divine and we feel awesome. That is our sign that we are connected to who we really are, to our creator and essentially to each other. If you're feeling depressed, lonely, scared. It's time to go online to the divine using the keyboard and mouse of your beautiful mind. Point and click on the thoughts that align spirit and body and you will get back on track. Delete all the other stuff. Thoughts that make you scared or nurture loneliness or prop up your feelings of inadequacy or victimhood, they do help in one way. They show you when you are offline to who you really are. You are not a victim, you are not inadequate. You are an infinite child of love and divine creation and with you miracles are possible!
Lets align to the divine all together right now. Here is a practice in perception that will do just that and an affirmation to get us started.
We are the living embodiment of the force of creation.
Lets just feel into this for a moment. Let that sink in. Breathe in that truth and when you exhale surrender to the power and strength that that truth makes you. We are not separate but different rivers of intention streaming from the same eternal ocean of divine desire to be. We flow on through this life always fed from this eternal source. And as you flow on through your life you fulfill the purpose of divine creation. You are NO ACCIDENT. You are the way you are on purpose; spirit’s Purpose. We are not just randomly born. Spirit needs you to be the special ones you are or else you would not be. *Now* how special do you feel?
Our source is the same, you and I. And yet we get to enjoy spirit’s intention to be the wide variety of life around us all at the same time. One source fills you and me and all the folks in this church community and not only that but this delicious spring blooming everywhere. That outside, that beautiful red bud tree is spirit with the intention of being a red bud. If you have a window near by, look outside for just a moment and find a tree or a flower or a bird or a cloud. And here is a thought that will shift your perspective. That is you out there… as a flower as a tree as a bird. It is truth that those beautiful creations out there are a part of who you are right now and you are a part of them. Can you reach out to what you are looking at right now with that knowing? Take a moment to breathe that in. Now come back to your computer screen and flip through all the faces in this zoom meeting. Those beautiful faces out there are a part of who you are right now and you are a part of them. This knowing can make us all stronger wiser more resilient than ever.
This makes love thy neighbor as thyself take on a whole new level of understanding doesn't it? When we send out our love we are always sending and receiving at the same time. This is why the power of love is so very strong! When you send out love to others when you give love you are included in that loop.
As you contemplate the bird and the flower and the red bud tree and how your oneness with those things does not take away from your specialness but ADDS TO IT remember that your life, like those lives, comes with the blessing and assurance of our creator. This blessing and assurance is the promise of life. The promise of life is that we all are endowed with spirits intention to be the thriving healthy happy version of ourselves. That is spirit's intention for us. That is our purpose. And you can rest in the knowledge that if you are not happy and you are not thriving - the promise of life says that you were born with everything you need to be just that. That you have everything you need to be happy and thrive right now. The eternal ocean of divine intention that is your source will never dry out and its only intention is to expand into ever greater joy. For the flower there is blooming. For the tree there is the bearing of fruit and the growing strength of the roots that dig ever deeper. For the human being there is joy, contentment and satisfaction.
So after meandering through that contemplation exercise here are 4 points to remember about the promise of life.
Promise of life #1
We are never alone. Never. Being alone is one of the biggest illusions of all.
If you are feeling lonely any time and especially during our stay at home isolation, use the connection contemplation we just did and divert the thought energy of “I am lonely and or/I am so alone” to “I am a child of the universe and flowing from the same source as...fill in the blank. And often you can fill in the blank with someone you highly respect or something you feel comforted by the thought of. Or look outside and see something lovely or strong to compare yourself to. “I am a child of the universe and flowing from the same source as my rose garden or the maple tree across the street. And then maybe go sit beside that garden or that tree and languish in the presence of your sister the flowers. Or your brother the maple tree.
Our thought energy resonates through every cell of our body, when you do this sort of connection contemplation we are actually solidifying and strengthening those connections, And our cells remember all at once that they too have beauty like a rose or grounded roots like the tree, or the resilience of the race horse. We are made in the image of our creator, so we thrive and bloom when we too create. And it doesn't matter what we create as long as it brings us joy You can make a mowed lawn from an overgrown lawn or a new poem from random words or song from random notes or a new friend from random people, take one moment out of many moments for self care to relax, you can make tea, or make dinner for your family. And what makes form from the energy? Your Intention. We will know if we are thriving by the joy we create in our hearts from the things we make. Take some time every day to create joy for yourself.
Promise of life #2
We are always supported.
I have to read Mathew 6 25-34
New living Translation Version JESUS SAID “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.
I think Jesus was doing a bit of a connection contemplation here too. The purpose of life is to grow and expand. This I have found to be true. And it resonates with my heart which is my best judge. And understanding the nature of true growth brings this understanding into clearer focus. Anger and hatred tare down, Tare down our bodies health, our relationships, our communities. Love builds, love repairs, love heals. If you desire anything in your life, the universe wants you to have it or do it. If it brings you true joy (not pathological joy) and comes from a place of love you are serving the purpose of the universe to grow and expand and you are SUPPORTED period. Just do it. Lean on this knowledge for your strength. If you have anything that you want and in your mind you think any sentence that starts “I can't because…” fill in the blank, I invite you to transform that sentence into I can because the universe supports me and
Promise of life #3
We have everything we need to be happy right now and always.
How can that be ginger you ask? You would not come to this life without what you need to bloom. That’s Like a rose bush with only thorns or a cherry tree that doesn't make cherries. It's not a cherry tree anymore! You were built to be able to achieve happiness because your happiness and you journey towards happiness serves the purpose of the ever expanding universe. Like the rose… to bloom is inherent. And your happiness is inherent in you. Now where we get lost I think is when we might be trying to do something that someone else thinks we should do to be happy. Or following someone else’s idea of happiness. Or even going against what we know to be true in our hearts. Listen to the whispers of your heart.
And the last promise of life I want you to remember is this.
Promise of life #4
You are eternal and always will be !
I know that’s redundant but we sometimes need to reaffirm things.
It is important for us to remember the promise of life. It is yours in every moment. And it is your inheritance as one with all creation.