MEDITATION 17 – CHANGE
(Presented January 16, 2022, at Unity on Cape Cod Spiritual Center)
Now, as we prepare for our meditation,
get comfortable in your chair – or wherever you may be.
Close your eyes if you would like.
Clear your mind of all conscious thoughts.
Set aside your worries and your fears.
Relax your body, starting at the top of your head.
Release the tension from every muscle
in your neck, in your shoulders, in your back,
and throughout your body.
Let go of anything that is causing you stress.
Feel the loving energy of this room coursing through you
and imagine it carrying away
all of your troubles, all of your worries,
and all of your fears.
Calm your mind, and let it be a blank slate,
Take a deep breath.
Breathe out all worries and stress,
Breathe in the love of spirit.
Breathe out all fear and negativity,
Breathe in the grace of God.
* * *
Our world is changing.
It is changing rapidly and in ways that can seem frightening.
Do not be frightened, for the changes will be good.
Our world is becoming more compassionate,
more enlightened, more unified and more peaceful.
Martin Luther King pushed for these changes,
but the world was not ready for them.
The world is ready now, and the changes are coming.
It is up to each one of us to do our part to make them happen.
All over the globe, people are rising up against
corruption, inequity, violence and government suppression,
in numbers never seen before.
The forces of dark energy are fighting back hard,
but they are losing and they know it.
It is up to each of us individually
to envision the world we want to live in,
and do what we can every day to make that vision real.
Each of us holds the power to think and act
out of love, not fear,
to shine a light of hope, not despair
and to create a more peaceful reality.
Each of us holds the power to conduct our lives
with compassion, integrity, and truth.
Each of us holds the power to interact with everyone we meet
in a way that lets them know they matter,
and that we care about them.
Each of us holds the power, through the way we think and act,
to give others hope and assurance that there is goodness
to be found in a world of darkness.
Each of us holds the power to shine our light.
When we do that, we join with millions of others
all over the world
to drive the changes that will eventually create
the world we envision.
* * *
When you are ready, open your eyes and come back
to the blessings of this glorious Sunday morning.
And as you go about your life every day of the year,
embrace the changes,
let the light of God within you shine,
and watch a new world emerge from the chaos
that engulfs us today.
MEDITATION 16 – JOY
(Presented December 12, 2021, at Unity on Cape Cod Spiritual Center)
So now, as we prepare for our meditation,
get comfortable in your chair – or wherever you may be.
Close your eyes if you would like.
Clear your mind of all conscious thoughts.
Set aside your worries and your fears.
Relax your body, starting at the top of your head.
Release the tension from every muscle
in your neck, in your shoulders, in your back,
and throughout your body.
Let go of anything that is causing you stress.
Feel the joyful energy of this room coursing through you
and imagine it carrying away
all of your troubles, all of your worries,
and all of your fears.
Calm your mind, and let it be a blank slate,
Take a deep breath.
Breathe out all worries and stress,
Breathe in the love of spirit.
Breathe out all fear and negativity,
Breathe in the joy of God.
* * *
We are now in the season of joy,
although sometimes it doesn’t feel very joyful.
How do we find joy in a chaotic world
that is changing in so many ways.
We might begin by welcoming the changes with joy.
For these changes will eventually result in a new world order
based on truth, integrity, compassion, and unity.
And this new world order is arising, not from government
leaders, but in the minds of individual souls.
It starts with you and with me.
As we turn our individual thoughts and actions
from apprehension to joy,
millions of others all over the world are doing the same.
In unity we will change the world,
and realize that we all share one truth:
we are all expressions of God on this earth.
Think of what brings you joy.
It might be welcoming a new baby into your family,
or seeing friends or relatives succeed.
It could be watching a golden sunrise,
or a radiant sunset.
Then think of what you do that brings joy to others.
It might be a kind word, a loving touch,
or recognition of their struggles
met with empathy and without judgement.
Whatever it is you do that brings joy to others,
do it more, do it constantly,
and let it become such a habit
that you are no longer even aware that you are doing it.
Joy is like so many other things in life:
The more you give it to others,
the more it comes back to you many times over.
* * *
When you are ready, open your eyes and come back
to the blessings of this joyful Sunday morning.
And as you go about your life every day of the year,
let your joy be contagious, and spread it generously
wherever you go.
Let the joy of God within you shine,
with everything you say and everything you do.
MEDITATION 9 – ENLIGHTENMENT
(Presented June 7, 2020, at Unity on Cape Cod Spiritual Center)
As you now prepare for our meditation,
get comfortable wherever you may be.
If you are still in bed, stay there.
If you are with someone close, hold their hand.
Sit quietly and calm your thoughts.
Close your eyes if you would like.
Sense the wonderful loving energy of Spirit
that enfolds you wherever you are.
Let the spiritual energy of the living earth
rise through your body and into the universe
carrying away your fears,
calming your worries,
and easing anything that is troubling you.
Focus on your breathing
Exhale
Inhale
Breathe out all tension and stress
Breathe in the love of Spirit
Breathe out all worry and care
Breathe in the grace of God
Exhale
Inhale
As we face the overwhelming disruption
of so many ways that we have been living,
we see that many of the practices and beliefs
we have long accepted as normal
are not appropriate to an enlightened life.
The spiritual energy of our world has changed,
and we need to change with it.
This is the time to reevaluate our thoughts,
our beliefs, and our expectations.
We stand on the brink of a new age of enlightenment,
ready to create a new more compassionate normal.
Here in Unity we understand that we create our reality
through our conscious thoughts and expectations.
Now is the time to create a new reality
of unity, equality, and compassion.
Tune out the negative news.
Read the headlines to keep informed,
but do not lend energy to the old behavior
of violence, authoritarianism, and divisive rhetoric.
Envision instead a world of universal cooperation
working for the benefit of every person;
A world where nobody is hungry,
where nobody is homeless,
where nobody is oppressed.
Envision a world of highly enlightened people,
where unity has displaced division,
where compassion has displaced hatred,
and where love has displaced fear.
This is the world that millions of people
all over the planet envision as the new normal.
Each of us must do our part to make it real.
Remember to shine your light of love
on all those around you
who are living with fear, anxiety, or illness.
Help those you can; bless those you can’t reach.
(Pause)
Once again, feel the angelic energy of Spirit embracing you,
and joyously celebrate this new life
that we are all creating together.
And so it is…
MEDITATION 8
(Presented March 15, 2020 at Unity on Cape Cod Spiritual Center)
As you now prepare for our meditation,
place your feet on the floor
and get comfortable in your chair
Sit quietly and calm your thoughts.
Close your eyes if you would like.
Sense the wonderful loving energy in this room.
Let the spiritual energy of the living earth
rise through your body and into the universe
carrying away your fears
and anything that is troubling you.
Focus only on your breathing
Inhale
Exhale
Breathe in the love of Spirit
Breathe out all tension and stress
Breathe in the grace of God
Breathe out all worry and care
Inhale
Exhale
This is a challenging time for all of us
as we deal with the universal fear
of an unknown threat.
Inhale
Exhale
Let go of your fear, for it is the opponent of love.
Choose to be loving and not fearful.
Remember that the light of God resides
in every cell of your body
and that you are wrapped in the love of God.
Know that you are an expression of God on earth
and you hold the power of God to define your life.
Choose to be safe; decide to be well
When fear sneaks in; shine your light of God
and drive it away.
Close the door on disease
When illness breaks in; shine the light of God on it
and drive it away.
You are far more powerful than you have been
taught to believe.
Use that power to guide your thoughts
Use that power to guide your beliefs
Use that power to guide your expectations
Expect to be safe
Expect to be healthy
Expect to be healed
And shine your light of love on all those around you
who are living in fear or suffering illness.
Help those you can; bless those you can’t reach.
Always remember, the power of God protects you
and the presence of God watches over you
wherever you are.
(pause)
When you are ready, open your eyes
and come back to this room.
Once again, breathe in the love of Spirit.
feel the angelic energy of this room.
and joyously celebrate this life we are sharing.
MEDITATION 7
(Presented February 23, 2020 at Unity on Cape Cod Spiritual Center)
As we prepare for our meditation today
Get comfortable in your chair
Place your feet on the floor
Close your eyes if you would like
Take a deep breath then slowly exhale
Focus on your breathing
Inhale; exhale
Bring in the air; let out the air
The air you are breathing is everywhere on earth
and is the same air breathed by everyone
no matter where they were born, what they believe,
or what they look like
Inhale – exhale
Now begin to relax your body
Release any tension in your face and your neck
Think about every part of your body
while you let go of tension in your arms, your chest,
your legs, and your feet
As you focus on relaxing your body
realize that the person you are
is far grander than your physical body
Remember that you are an expression of God
having a human experience on earth
The real you is a piece of God;
a complex bundle of quantum energy
that envelops and animates your body
and lives on for eternity after your body is worn out
Understand that every person on this earth
is also an expression of God
having a human experience
See that an expression of God can only be pure love,
with no nationality; no religion; no political affiliation,
and no ethnicity
Every one of us is on the same journey:
a journey toward enlightenment,
raising our spiritual energy
and becoming closer to God
As we progress on that journey
we gradually move away from the human concepts of
fear, hatred, violence, and divisiveness,
and consciously strive to think and act more like God
Know that as each of us strives to
raise our spiritual awareness
and to think and act out of love,
shining our light of compassion and unity,
those dark energies of fear and division
will gradually fade away
and we will see that
we aren’t really so different after all
(pause)
Now open your eyes and come back to this reality
Feel the loving energy in this room
Remember that you can shine light into a dark space
but you can’t shine dark into a light space.
There are billions of people all over this planet
who are shining their light into dark spaces too
People of all races, all religions, and all nationalities
Keep shining your light,
and know that it is changing the world
MEDITATION 6
(Presented November 17, 2019 at Unity on Cape Cod Spiritual Center and repeated for recording in January 2020)
As we prepare for our meditation,
place your feet on the floor and get comfortable in your chair.
Close your eyes if you would like.
Let your body relax;
release the tension beginning at the top of your head
and down to your toes.
Sit quietly and calm your thoughts.
Try to clear your mind of all conscious thought.
Let it be a blank screen
while you absorb the wonderful loving energy in this room.
Focus only on your breathing
Exhale
Inhale
Breathe out all tension and stress
Breathe in the love of Spirit
Breathe out all worry and care
Breathe in the grace of God
With your mind clear of conscious thought
open yourself to the intuition of Spirit
Remember that God is within you.
Every cell in your body contains a bit of quantum energy
that connects you to God;
That connection is the solution to any problem in your life.
Know that you are a magnificent expression of God on earth.
You have far more power to control your life
than you have been taught to believe.
You are an expression of God;
You have the power to create the life you desire
by focusing your thoughts and expectations on what you want,
and dismissing any negative thoughts or beliefs.
You are an expression of God;
You have the power to heal your wounds.
Decide to be well; expect to be healed.
You are an expression of God:
You have the power to forgive yourself.
Live in the moment;
yesterday is gone and tomorrow has not yet arrived.
You have the power to control your past.
Bring back the good memories and celebrate them.
Bring back the bad memories and show them the door;
tell them to be gone and delete them from your memory.
Know that while you speak to God through prayer
God speaks to you through intuition.
And don’t ignore God when times are good.
Constantly express gratitude for everything in your life.
even the painful lessons.
When you are faced with any challenge, Ask the ultimate prayer:
“Dearest God, what do you want me to know?”
Then listen for the answer.
Most importantly, know that you are never alone.
You carry an entourage of angels with you wherever you go.
And God is always inside you waiting to help.
When you are ready, open your eyes and come back to this room.
Once again, breathe in the love of Spirit.
feel the angelic energy of this room.
and joyously celebrate this life we are sharing.
MEDITATION 4
(Presented at Unity on Cape Cod Spiritual Center)
Now, get comfortable in your chair.
Close your eyes if you would like.
Sit quietly and calm your thoughts.
Clear your mind of all conscious thought,
while you absorb the loving energy in this room.
Focus only on your breathing
Breathe out all tension and stress
Breathe in the wisdom of Spirit
Breathe out all worry and care
Breathe in the love of God
Let your body relax.
From your head to your toes, release every muscle.
Feel the energy of the earth flow from your feet, through your body,
and out the top of your head,
carrying away every bit of stress.
Let the tension go from your neck, your back, your stomach,
your legs, and your feet.
With your mind calm and your body relaxed
focus on your essence—the real you.
Your essence is that bundle of quantum energy that is your soul.
Your essence is the expression of God that is your consciousness;
that animates your body and brain;
that carries your personality through many lifetimes.
Your essence is the you that lives forever.
It is the light that others see when they look in your eyes;
when they feel your compassion;
when they see God in you.
That light grows brighter when you think and act as God within you.
Shine that light wherever you go, whatever your do;
not just here on Sunday, but at home, at work,
and in all your interactions with others,
no matter how small or insignificant those interactions may be.
When you are ready, open your eyes
and come back to our three-dimensional reality.
But always remember that you are more than the body you currently occupy;
and you are playing an important role
bringing light to this troubled world.
MEDITATION 2
(Presented at Unity on Cape Cod Spiritual Center May 2018)
As you now come back to your seat,
place your feet on the floor and get comfortable in your chair.
Sit quietly and calm your thoughts.
Close your eyes if you would like.
Let the spiritual energy of the living earth
rise through your body and into the universe
carrying away anything that is troubling you.
Clear your mind of all conscious thought
Let it be a blank screen awaiting a message from Spirit
while you absorb the wonderful loving energy in this room.
Focus only on your breathing
Exhale
Inhale
Breathe out all tension and stress
Breathe in the love of Spirit
Breathe out all worry and care
Breathe in the grace of God
Sense the caress of angels surrounding you,
for they are your ancestors
and other loved ones who have crossed over.
Know that you too are an angel wrapped for now in human form.
Feel the magical balance between your body, mind, and spirit.
Remember the words of the Christ Jesus, who said “I AM”
You might say “I AM an expression of God on this earth,
raising my spiritual vibration, and shining my light
of compassion, acceptance, and authenticity for others to see”
Know that you are in charge of your life, your thoughts,
your health, and your emotions.
Tell your body “I AM healthy, I AM healed,
and I AM infinitely grateful
for being here today
surrounded by the love of friends and family”
Know too that while we speak to God through prayer
God speaks to us through intuition
and thoughts that we do not consciously create.
With your mind clear of conscious thought
open yourself to the intuition of Spirit
Ask the ultimate prayer: “Dearest God, what do you want me to know?”
The answer will appear in your thoughts
but not come from your mind.
Say that silently to yourself and listen for the answer
“Dearest God, what do you want me to know?”
(pause)
When you are ready, open your eyes and come back to this room.
Consider asking this question when you arise every day
to bring the wisdom of Spirit into your life.
Once again, breathe in the love of Spirit.
feel the angelic energy of this room.
and joyously celebrate this life we are sharing.
BRINGING ENLIGHTENMENT TO EVERYDAY LIFE
(Lesson presented to Unity on Cape Cod Spiritual Center – September 3, 2017)
A year ago, I stood up here and delivered the first sermon I had ever given. It was well-received and struck a responsive chord with many of you. My subject was the spiritual energy in this room, which I called the angels in the room.
Since then many of you have told me how something I said changed the way you think about life. It wasn’t my thoughts on spiritual energy that struck a chord, though; rather it was my comments on enlightenment.
So today I want to expand on those comments to define what enlightenment is; to suggest an easy way to take it beyond the church steps into everyday life; and to explain why I believe that is important.
Of course, speaking to this group about enlightenment is the classic definition of preaching to the choir. So, let me ask you, what is your definition of enlightenment? Anyone? (several parishioners responded).
Charles Fillmore, the founder of Unity, called enlightenment “the awakening of man to spiritual consciousness, the dawning of light in his mind.” In my talk last year, I called it thinking, acting, and living in a saintly or God-like way.
The best definition I have heard came from my favorite spiritual channel, who called enlightenment “the compassion of the Creator within”. The compassion of the Creator within; what could be more consistent with the teachings of Unity? We understand that the spirit of God resides within every one of us; we just need to tap into that spirit to shine its light in everything we say and do. We need to light up the room, not just on Sunday, but every day.
Some good indications that you have reached a high level of enlightenment, that I offered before, are:
1. you have set aside your fears and seldom worry about anything;
2. you decline to participate in family or workplace dramas;
3. you no longer take on other people’s problems as your own – including those of your adult children, although you still love and support them in finding their own solutions; and
4. you treat every person as special, important, and equal, regardless of their social status, education, job position, or ethnicity; and despite their attitudes, beliefs, or behavior.
Joy is another sign of enlightenment that I noted before, when I said that although you might still feel blue or overwhelmed now and then, most of the time you feel nothing but pure joy and gratitude every minute of your life.
A few weeks ago, Paula and I attended services at Unity on the River in Amesbury. The minister, Ogun Holder, gave a wonderful lesson on Joy. He noted that two of the most enlightened people on the planet, the Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu, were the most joyful people he had ever seen, despite the many hardships both had endured.
As a frequent world traveler, the Dalai Lama is known for his practice of joyfully greeting the housekeeping staff whenever he stays in a hotel or inn, treating them as he would treat any world leader.
Just as with most everything else in life, there is a long spectrum of reality between the least enlightened and the most enlightened among us. Most of us fall somewhere in between, and often struggle to set aside our anger and our egos when dealing with aggravating behavior by others.
It is also clear that there is no relationship between enlightenment and intelligence. The world is full of simple souls who are purely enlightened, while many of the most brilliant people in government and corporate offices seem to be dangerously unenlightened.
So what characteristics and behavior would we expect from an enlightened person? Surely the top one would be love. Here in Unity we know God as pure love and only love. If we are shining the light of God within us, the greatest expression of that love is compassion—caring about and for others.
At the other end of the spectrum we find the opposite of love, which is fear. All other attitudes, feelings, and beliefs arise out of or express either love or fear. Fear has a crippling effect on our efforts to be more enlightened.
As part of my thought process about enlightenment, I compiled a list of 35 attitudes and behaviors that would be universally considered to be expressions of the Christ spirit within us. And next to them, I listed the opposite attitude or behavior that nobody would expect to see from an enlightened person. I won’t list them all, but here are some of the top contenders:
Enlightened people tend to be:
• compassionate,
• understanding,
• authentic,
• serene,
• respectful,
• forgiving,
• grateful,
• and most of all, joyful.
All of these characteristics are positive and universally desirable. They clearly represent the energy of light.
Unenlightened attitudes and behaviors that oppose these characteristics include being:
• fearful,
• hateful,
• blaming,
• angry,
• secretive,
• deceptive,
• combative, and
• morose.
These are all negative and universally undesirable characteristics. They represent the energy of darkness.
It’s easy to think that dark energy is taking over the world because that’s what makes news. But look again and you will see that the old dark energy is not in fact winning or doing much of anything. The energy of our planet has changed. Enlightenment is beginning to emerge; it just doesn’t make headlines.
In his sermon at Amesbury last month, Ogun Holder said the fear and hatred that dominates the news is bubbling to the surface so that it can be healed.
Remember that it is not our job to cure the world of all its ills by ourselves. But it is our job to shine our light into every life that we touch. As each of us does that, we will collectively raise the consciousness of the whole planet.
Another way to measure enlightenment comes from psychologist Abraham Maslow. I mentioned him in my earlier talk describing people he called “Sunday Christians” who leave their spirituality on the church steps after the service. While Maslow wrote extensively about the psychology of religion, he was best known as a professor and business consultant. His defining work was a theory of psychological health culminating in what he called self-actualization.
Maslow defined self-actualization as “what a man can be, he must be.” Of course, he was referring to “man” in the generic sense, applying to all persons. That strikes me as a good description of the purpose of becoming enlightened: what a person can be, they must be.
Here are some of the characteristics Maslow saw as signs of self-actualization:
• Acceptance of themselves and others for who they are;
• Ability to see life situations objectively without excessive emotion;
• Resistance to trends and fads, but not purposely unconventional;
• Highly creative and problem-centered, rather than self-centered;
• Having strong moral and ethical standards, democratic attitudes; and concern for the welfare of humanity.
And the key characteristic that Maslow defined as common to self-actualized people: frequently having what he called peak experiences. Peak experiences are those moments in life where everything suddenly comes together exactly as you would wish it to happen, despite all odds to the contrary.
Maslow’s contemporary, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, said that events are “meaningful coincidences” if they occur with no causal relationship, yet seem to be related. He called these events synchronicities. Wayne Dyer called them “real magic”. I call them spiritual intervention.
These are the moments when Spirit steps in to help us realize our fondest dreams. That could be anything from landing your ideal job or meeting the perfect partner, to finding a parking spot next to the door during a storm.
Now this is the best reason why we should all be striving to shine our light of compassion, caring, and authenticity into the world around us: the light that we shine reflects back at us like a parabolic mirror, magnifying what we send out, bringing those peak experiences into our daily lives.
So just how do we go about becoming more enlightened? There is, of course, no single path to spiritual enlightenment. Our service script reminds you of that every Sunday. Whatever works for you is the path you should follow.
My own path is simple and straightforward: I try to watch my thoughts, my words, and my expectations. As some of you have unfortunately seen, I’m not always successful. I admit to being human and too often losing my cool or letting my ego get in the way.
But I try to keep my thoughts, words, and expectations positive. When fearful or negative thoughts creep in, I face them; try to figure out why they arose; then deal with them or dismiss them. When I let them linger, I always feel bad afterward. If they don’t carry light, they don’t belong in my life.
You might ask, why bother? We come here on Sunday; we feel the presence of spirit; we enjoy the wonderful sense of community; and we leave feeling ready again to deal with all the stuff that life throws at us the rest of the week.
My answer is, when you carry the effort to shine your light throughout every minute of the week, life tends to throw less stuff at you. You begin to see the synchronicities, have the peak experiences, and occasionally enjoy a miracle.
Most of all, when you keep your focus on shining a positive light on everything you say and do, you begin to feel a closer and more constant connection with the Christ spirit that resides in your heart. And that connection will make every aspect of your life easier and more rewarding. So, shine on, and wherever you are or whatever you are doing, be the person who lights up the room.
MEDITATION 1
(Presented November 27, 2016 at Unity on Cape Cod, Hyannis MA)
As you now sit quietly and calm your thoughts
place your feet on the floor
and get comfortable in your chair
Close your eyes if you would like
and absorb the wonderful loving energy in this room
Let the spiritual energy of the living earth rise through your body
and into the universe, carrying away anything that is troubling you
Clear your mind of all conscious thought
Let it be a blank screen awaiting a message from Spirit
Focus only on your breathing
Exhale
Inhale
Breathe out all tension and stress
Breathe in the love of Spirit
Breathe out all worry and care
Breathe in the grace of God
Feel the magical balance between your body, mind, and spirit
Sense the caress of angels surrounding you
Know that you too are an angel wrapped for now in human form
Remember the words of the Christ Jesus, who said “I AM”
You might say “I AM an expression of God on this earth,
raising my spiritual vibration, and shining my light of compassion,
acceptance, and authenticity for others to see”
Know that you are in charge of your life, your thoughts,
your health, and your emotions
Tell your body “I AM healthy, I AM healed,
and I AM infinitely grateful for being here today
surrounded by the love of friends and family”
Know too that while we speak to God through prayer
God speaks to us through intuition
and thoughts that we do not consciously create
With your mind clear of conscious thought open yourself to the intuition of Spirit
Ask the ultimate prayer: “Dearest God, what do you want me to know?”
The answer will appear in your thoughts but not come from your mind
Say that silently to yourself and listen for the answer
“Dearest God, what do you want me to know?”
(pause)
You now have your answer
Remember this message from Spirit
When you are ready, open your eyes come back to this room
As you slowly return to conscious thought think about what just happened
Consider how you can use this exercise every day
to bring the wisdom of Spirit into your life
as you do your work, carry out your chores,
and interact with all those around you
Once again, breathe in the love of Spirit
feel the loving energy of this room
and joyously celebrate this life we are sharing
And so it is
ANGELS IN THE ROOM
(Lesson Presented August 21, 2016 at Unity on Cape Cod, Hyannis Massachusetts)
There’s something special about this room. Every Sunday I get here early and take my seat – one on the aisle with extra legroom – then I sit quietly while I absorb the energy around me. I might listen to our musicians rehearsing, which is always a treat; I’ll share hugs and greetings with those around me; or I might simply meditate. As I do this I always feel a loving spiritual energy filling the room. I know—and am grateful—that God is here.
Over the years I have worshipped in majestic churches and grand cathedrals. I’ve felt the power of their choirs and mighty pipe organs; and participated in their timeless rituals. Often, though, I’ve left feeling empty—as if God had overslept and missed the service.
Abraham Maslow wrote 60 years ago of Sunday Christians who leave their spirituality on the church steps when they head home on Sunday morning. I understand why they do that and suspect that it rarely happens here.
I first came to Unity on Cape Cod about two years ago, and recently became a member. I come here from a spiritualist tradition, however. I was baptized in a New Jerusalem church 75 years ago. That church is based on the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, a nineteenth century Swedish mining engineer and philosopher who began communicating with spirit when he was 56.
Swedenborg went on to write 18 works in 30 volumes on spirituality and biblical interpretation, and was an important contributor to the beginning of the New Thought Ministries. Ralph Waldo Emerson ranked Swedenborg with Plato, Shakespeare and Goethe, calling him “A colossal soul … not to be measured by whole colleges of ordinary scholars.”
Three themes that sound familiar today pervade Swedenborg’s writings, even though they were written more than 150 years ago. The first of Swedenborg’s themes is that the established religions had strayed from their original teachings and become more interested in money and power over their congregants.
The second theme is that the bible had been distorted and misrepresented by church leaders. And the third of his themes is that there is a relationship between the physical, spiritual, and divine worlds that would explain how matter relates to spirit.
Swedenborg called this last concept his “correspondence” theory. This is an idea that was a century ahead of its time, and is only now being embraced by quantum physicists. Swedenborg believed that angels and spirits were omnipresent in everyday life.
How can I describe what I feel in this room? I agree with Swedenborg, and call it the presence of angels. Not cloud angels like this one that flew by my window a few years ago. And not Sunday school angels in flowing robes with enormous wings. I believe what I feel is the energy of an entourage of spirit beings that surround each of us all of the time.
As children, we called them our guardian angels; as adults we might call them our spirit guides, our higher self, our over-soul, Jesus, Mary, or any number of saints. I call mine Henry. More likely they are the spirits of departed family members or ancestors we never knew. Whatever we call them, they are all a part of God.
As I look out here, I see a room full of old souls and understand that most of you know exactly what I’m talking about. You feel it too. Now, the term “old souls” is a bit of a misnomer – all souls are ageless; they always were and always will be. But old souls have lived many lives on this earth and with each life have grown closer to their higher selves – the angels that surround them.
Most of us in Unity are in constant communication with the higher selves that serve as our direct connection with the Creator. We rely on that connection for ideas and inspiration. We use that connection to guide our words and our actions in a way that shines light on the world. It is that connection with God that helps us to recognize our purpose in life and our personal path to spiritual enlightenment. We don’t just talk to God through prayer; we listen to God through meditation and intuition.
By spiritual enlightenment, I mean thinking, acting, and living in a God-like way. In metaphysical terms, enlightenment quite literally means raising the vibration of our spiritual energy so that we shine a light of compassion and authenticity. That light can be sensed even by people who don’t understand why, but somehow feel that they want to be around us. We haven’t reached a level where we have visible halos, but we are heading in that direction.
The best indications that you have reached a high level of enlightenment are when you seldom worry about anything; you decline to participate in family or workplace dramas; and you no longer take on personal responsibility for other people’s problems – including those of your adult children. You might still feel blue or overwhelmed now and then, but most of the time you feel nothing but pure joy and gratitude for every minute of your life.
In addition to the spiritual entourage that follows us everywhere, each of us radiates an energy that is our soul being—our consciousness. Consciousness is the energy that animates our bodies and defines us as living beings. This energy is not visible to most of us, and not yet measurable by science. But it does exist, and suggests that each of us is an angel too, temporarily occupying a human body.
I think there is a scientific explanation for this metaphysical concept that will someday be discovered when we learn more about quantum energy. We live in a world of three dimensions: width, height, and depth. You can call time a fourth dimension. There are many more dimensions to the universe, however, most of them aspects of quantum energy we have not yet learned how to see or measure.
We can observe the effects of some quantum forces, though. Gravity, for instance, is a quantum force that is totally counterintuitive but obviously real. We know what it does, but don’t really understand how it works. Magnetism is another form of quantum energy. We see it holds our shopping list to the refrigerator door, but don’t know why. Cosmologists know that theoretically all of what appears to be empty space is actually filled with a quantum something or other that they call dark matter.
I believe that angels too are a form of quantum energy. I think the energy of angels is the same energy of consciousness that animates our bodies. When you see a lifeless body you know the consciousness has gone. The consciousness of that person remains with us, though, as a form of quantum energy.
Years ago I worked with a man whose wife, Barbara, had very strong psychic abilities, and was especially good at reading tarot cards. At that time my life was pretty much of a mess and I was willing to try anything to get things back in line, so I had Barbara read tarot for me several times.
For all her psychic ability, Barbara was always getting lost and forever late for appointments. One day when she was about twenty minutes late for our reading, the first thing she said was “Oh good, I’m glad you’re not angry.” I asked how she knew that and she replied that she could tell by the color of my aura. That was my introduction to one more metaphysical concept.
I’ve since learned that our aura is also known from ancient Jewish lore as a Merkabah. The Merkabah is our spiritual essence – our consciousness – and the part of us that endures when our bodies wear out. I know that at least one of you can actually see auras, and I suspect many more of you have the ability.
But those of us who can’t see auras can still sense them. That’s why the hugs and handshakes we share each Sunday feel so good. We are not just sharing greetings; we are sharing spiritual energy.
This is especially true when we gather in a circle of peace and love at the end of each service. When we do that we are combining our angelic energy so that it is multiplied and projected into the world. I know I’m not the only one who wells up with tears of joy from the power of that energy.
Unlike those church-goers who drop their spirituality at the door when they leave, most of us in this room live with spirit every minute of every day. We meditate regularly; we pray often; we speak and act with authenticity. Many of us serve our communities by volunteering on town committees, helping out in schools and libraries, or serving meals at the Salvation Army.
We collect shoes to send to the shoeless. We give books to children who have none. We take flowers to people in nursing homes. We gather care packages for military people who are far from home, and for others who have no home. We contribute generously to food banks, United Way, and to our little church. We help our families, our neighbors, and strangers as well when we see a need.
What more could we do? We need only to shine our light as angels; and let the spirit of God that is inside us show through every thought, every action, and every encounter with another person. That light shines brighter than you know; others may not realize what it is, but they know there is something special about you.
Here are some of the ways you demonstrate your angelic wisdom:
You treat every person as special, important, and equal, regardless of their social status, education, job position, or ethnicity; and despite their attitude, beliefs, or behavior. You realize that people who radiate negative energy are those most in need of your compassion, understanding, and acceptance.
You are constantly aware of the need to be kind and compassionate. Wayne Dyer once said “If your choice is to be right or to be kind; choose to be kind”.
You have stopped lending energy to negative behavior. The daily news is full of negativity because that’s what makes news. Compassionate behavior doesn’t make headlines. You might even have unplugged your television and turned off the radio news. You might catch the headlines on a newsfeed, but you don’t obsess about problems and behaviors that you can do nothing about.
My daughter asked me how to deal with all the violence and hatred that is so prevalent today. I suggested that she send compassionate energy to those who can do something about the problems; and send healing energy to the victims of those problems. Then let the problems go. The universe does not distinguish between positive and negative energy. Both feed and strengthen any situation, so we need to be careful to send out only positive thoughts.
You don’t need to solve all the world’s problems by yourself. I like to compare this thinking to the way many people behave when invited to a pot-luck dinner. They will bring enough food for everybody, so much of it is wasted. If instead, each shared only enough food for one or two, everybody would have enough. The same goes for solving the world’s problems: each of us solving the problems surrounding our own lives at the moment contributes to healing the larger issues of the planet.
So, why is the angelic energy of this room important, and what should we do with it? My response is to use it to magnify all of the prayers, the affirmations, the wishes, and the desires that we express to spirit in private. We have felt the power of our communal prayer for peace, when we all join hands and project it into the universe. That same power is available to each of us individually.
We can use that same power of communal energy to heal any illness or other trouble that we encounter in ourselves, even when others are not praying with us. While you are in this room full of angelic energy, visualize yourself as healed, as healthy, and as whole as God intended you to be. Feel the spiritual love and peace of the room, and absorb that love and peace into your soul.
And that’s all any of us need to do; we just need to listen to our angelic spirits, emulate them in all that we say and do, and radiate the joy we feel for knowing we are each a piece of God on this earth—constantly grateful for the lives we live and the people around us; and showing the world that wherever we might be or whatever we are doing at the moment, we are the angels in the room.
What's Happening 