Youtube: Getting Out of God’s Way

Guest Speaker: Erika Satie

What does following your intuition and joy look like to you? Does it mean that you are dialed in to the Truth of who and what you are and that you are being guided by that inner knowing? Some say that your feelings are indicators of your alignment with Source – do you believe that to be true? What if this was taken more seriously? I do know from experience that the feeling of joy is almost always a clear indication that you on the right path and that you are in the flow of Life itself. On the other hand, when you feel dark and negative it can seem that you are somehow lost and alone and that things will never work out. When this happens, know that you have simply forgotten who and what you are. You have let it slip your mind that you are a powerful and naturally joyful expression of the Divine. Be grateful to know that you no longer must let these dark feelings be predominant in your life, as you always have a choice on what to focus on.

I have found that the more we lean into our spiritual practices, the easier it becomes for us to allow better feelings into our life and experience. Unfortunately, if you look around you most people seem to be in low spirits much of the time, but every once in a while, you meet a person who is upbeat and positive. It’s as if they see the silver lining in everything that has taken place. I don’t think that these people are special or unique, I believe that this mindset is here for all of us. Not as a spiritual bypass, but as a way of training ourselves to go back to God when we happen to find ourselves in a place that feels cut off from the source of Joy that is always flowing to us.

Youtube: I Am The Vine

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).

Using this simple metaphor, Jesus beautifully illustrates the relationship each individual has with his or her spiritual source. God, our creator/sustainer, is like the vine from which we grow. To abide in God is to live with the awareness of God as the source of our being.

Because we often draw our identity from external sources—job, family, social level, etc.—we may feel overwhelmed when challenges sweep through our lives. These words from John remind us to pause, and to reconnect to our source. In the seventh verse, Jesus makes this promise: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.”

How do we abide in God? Through prayer. In Unity we teach that prayer is a two-fold process. First we are to release the negative energy that appearances stir in us. This is called, denial. Let go your emotional attachments, your fears, your anger, to that which you do not want. Speak words like this: I now release all emotions of fear and doubt. Next, move into the second half of the prayer process by affirming, God is my source, God is my strength. My life is now unfolding in divine order.

Allow yourself to experience the lightness of letting go, and the infilling of assurance that your life is unfolding perfectly, according to the divine blueprint that is being imparted from within your being.

In the same way the fruit of the vine manifests from within the branch, so a spiritually ordered life will manifest through your inner being and through every facet of your life. Abide often in the awareness of God as your source, then ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 

Youtube: The Dynamics of Challenge

Excerpt from: A Practical Guide to Prosperous Living

It is important to realize that every new enterprise, every decision you make to pursue your passion is going to evoke some level of confrontation between the stronger and the weaker elements of your self-image. You will set your goals based on your strengths, your talents, your interests and your dreams. In the process of manifesting them, however, you will encounter challenges that will summon all your weaknesses as well. Self-doubt, fear of failure, feelings of lack, impatience, anger, lethargy and indifference will all creep in at the most inappropriate times. Like Job, you may find yourself saying, “The thing I feared is upon me and the thing I dreaded is now before me.” Many worthy undertakings have been brought to a grinding halt by these unwelcome thieves of our creative energy.

You need not be taken by surprise when this seemingly negative side of your consciousness arises. While it may not always be comfortable or convenient, the arousal of these stifling elements is both inevitable and necessary. They arise from that limited aspect of your identity which is crying out to be redefined from the basis of your soul.

Because of the discomfort or even pain involved in dealing with them, the temptation is to suppress these unwanted elements. But unless the things you fear most come upon you, unless they are brought into the full light of your awareness, you will never be able to trace them back to their sources and permanently release the negative influence they have on your circumstantial tendencies.

Youtube: Faith in The Greater Good

While we commonly associate faith with a set of religious beliefs, it is much more than this. Faith is one of our most important faculties, one that works closely with the imagination. Consider the overall feeling that you carry about your life. Think about how you imagine it to be. If you find that you carry a feeling of apprehension, and that you often entertain a negative vision for your life, it may be time for a reset.

It is helpful to remember that any feeling of apprehension we carry is simply an accumulation of unprocessed thought and emotion. By unprocessed I mean those things we think about but do not resolve. We leave them hanging. We lay them in the mental inbox thinking we’ll deal with them later. But it doesn’t take long for the inbox to fill up, leaving us with the looming feeling that something ominous is lurking.

We can address this feeling by taking those things we have put on hold and bringing them into the light of our faith in greater good unfolding. When we can’t literally take action to resolve an issue, we can decide to resolve it emotionally. It may be helpful to revisit a book that inspired us, to read again those meaningful passages we have highlighted but forgotten. There is a reason we have stepped upon this path of faith that we travel, and we may rediscover helpful reminders that encouraged us in earlier times.  

Faith in the greater good translates as peace of mind. Faith, accompanied with any action we can take is a stress-dissolving combination. We inventory our inbox with the intention of addressing the items we have tossed in there. The simple decision to do so is an empowering act of faith in the greater good. The simplest step in this direction has a way of opening doors that we may have thought were locked tight.

If you carry any sense of apprehension, make the choice today to revive your faith in the greater good unfolding now. It doesn’t take much to change the way you feel about your life.

Youtube: This Battle is Not Yours

Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s.

2 Chronicles 20:15 

Everyone has moments of uncertainty, of trial, of self doubt, and even despair. In these moments we seek help from all kinds of sources: books, counselors, ministers, doctors, friends, or family members. Any one of these may pass on some level of assurance that things are going to work out, that harmony will be restored in our body or in our affairs. With this bit of assurance, we rest a little better, regain some of our optimism, and turn our attention to more creative endeavors.

  It is a freeing thought to realize that the strength we seem to draw from others is really a process of opening our minds to our own deeper resource. In consciously returning to this inner resource we find the battle is not ours, that the great harmonizing power of God working through us is bringing about a satisfying solution. In quietness and trust in this truth, the flame of new strength is kindled.

When we are consumed with a problem, we have simply relegated our attention to one miniscule aspect of our being. Our entire universe revolves around it. There is nothing that can sever your connection with God, your limitless source of energy and inspiration that lifts you out of even the apparently tightest corners. Regardless of how far you feel you have strayed from your God center, God is still present and still flooding your being with the strength and assurance you need to move beyond this current stretch of uncertainty.

Begin now to know that whatever the challenge, whatever the battle you are involved in it is not your battle but God’s. Enter the peace of letting go your frantic search for answers. Be still and trust that the answers you need are now forthcoming. Turn from the apparent adversity and let new strength and courage rise from the core of your being.

This battle is not yours, friend. Know that God is working through you in beautifully satisfying ways right now.