Author: J Douglas Bottorff

Doug is minister of Independent Unity, author of 8 books, musician and photography enthusiast. He lives with his wife and cat in western Colorado.

Achieving Inner Stillness

YouTube: Achieving Inner Stillness in a Noisy World

Voice of the Mystic: Part 7 (final)

In our noisy, fast-paced world, inner stillness can feel elusive, even impossible. Yet stillness is not the absence of activity but a shift in awareness. Jesus often withdrew to a quiet place to pray, not to escape life but to reconnect with its Source. The psalmist captured the same truth: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

Inner stillness is the doorway to spiritual clarity. When we pause, breathe, and release the endless chatter of the mind, we discover a deeper current beneath the surface. In silence, the noise of fear and restlessness fades, and we awaken to the gentle presence of Spirit within.

This stillness is not forced; it arises naturally when we cease striving. Like a pond clearing after a storm, the soul settles when we stop stirring the waters with anxious thoughts. In that quiet space, intuition awakens, guidance emerges, and peace becomes tangible.

Achieving inner stillness is a practice. It may begin with a few moments each day set aside for silence, prayer, or mindful breathing. Over time, the practice becomes a way of living—meeting challenges with calm, listening before reacting, carrying a quiet center into the busyness of daily life.

Stillness is not withdrawal but empowerment. From it flows wisdom, compassion, and strength. In stillness we align with divine love, and from that alignment, new life and new possibilities arise.

The invitation is simple: stop, be still, and listen. There, in the quiet, you will discover the living presence of God that has been within you all along.

Teach Us to Pray

YouTube: Teach Us to Pray

Voice of the Mystic: Part 6

J Douglas Bottorff

 Though we often associate prayer with religious dogma, it’s a fundamental human practice, not confined by such boundaries. We engage in it whether we are aware of it or not. When we are aware, we can think of prayer as a dialogue with the universe, a powerful tool for personal transformation. This isn’t about appealing to a distant deity; it’s about cultivating a relationship with the boundless source of energy that animates all things, including ourselves.

The first step to understanding prayer is to acknowledge it as a two-fold process of releasing and affirming. We make a conscious effort to release the negative energies that cloud our spirit: the fear, the doubt, the anger, the resentment that binds us. Visualize these emotions dissolving, flowing away like stagnant water, leaving behind a sense of lightness and clarity. Imagine a dark, murky pool, choked with weeds, slowly clearing, the water becoming crystalline, reflecting the sun. This cleansing allows us to turn our expectations to the positive.

This affirmative turning is an intentional mental and emotional acceptance that greater good is now unfolding for yourself and for all concerned. If you can’t be specific about desired conditions, you can be specific about how you want to feel when your issue is resolved. Envision the emotional outcome you wish to experience. You want peace, harmony with others, and the abundance of those things and conditions that you associate with success. Perhaps you see yourself radiating joy, surrounded by supportive people, your goals effortlessly manifesting. Hold this vision firmly in your mind and heart, allowing the feelings of gratitude and fulfillment to permeate your being. This is proactive engagement with the energy of the universe.

The power of effective prayer lies in faith. As the saying goes, “Whatsoever you ask for, believe that you have received it.” Feel the reality of your desires already fulfilled. This isn’t about wishful thinking; it’s about aligning your energy with the vibrational frequency of your desired outcome. This unwavering conviction is the engine that powers the prayer. See yourself already living the reality you desire, feeling the joy, the satisfaction, the sense of accomplishment. The universe responds to the vibrational frequency you emit, and faith is the key to tuning your frequency.

Prayer changes us. It refines our consciousness, expands our awareness, and aligns us with the universal flow of life, love, power, and intelligence. It reminds us of our inherent power, our connection to something greater, and our ability to shape our own reality. Embrace the practice of prayer, not as a ritual, but as a profound act of self-discovery and empowerment. Allow it to be your constant companion on the path to a more fulfilling and authentic life.

The Healing Method of Jesus

YouTube: The Healing Method of Jesus

Voice of the Mystic: Part 5

One outstanding feature of the ministry of Jesus was its healing aspect. “And many followed him, and he healed them all” (Matthew 12:15). While we’re given the impression that he healed by the hundreds, indications of the methods he used can give us some practical insight toward our own healing needs.

In some cases, he simply spoke the word of healing with such authority that the person responded. Healing affirmations grounded in the understanding that the soul is now whole, and this wholeness reflects in the body, can play an important role.

There were times when Jesus simply touched a person, or they touched him, and the healing occurred. In the case of a leper, this would be especially significant since it was believed that physical contact increased the chances of contracting the disease. This indicates that Jesus did not see disease as a power, but as an effect subject to the true power of God within.   

Maintaining a God consciousness through meditation and prayer was probably his greatest healing asset. He obviously had a first-hand awareness of God, which means he would see God in all people. Prayer was the calling forth of the God potential within those he encountered.

In many cases, he attributed the faith of the person healed as the true source of healing power. Faith is expectation. Those who shifted from doubt to high expectancy moved into the condition of wholeness.

Another interesting healing tool was that of the placebo, in his case, mud. Does mud have healing qualities? Probably not, but the belief that it does brought about change in some cases. Perhaps such an attitude can justify medications that help increase our faith.

A final healing element was the forgiveness of sin. Some who associated sin with disease were healed the moment they believed they were free from the scourge of sin. I think Jesus the soul as totally free of the consequence of sin. He was not forgiving sin. He recognized the person already free of sin.   

Any one of these healing elements may represent a tool we can apply to our own healing need.

YouTube Announcement

Dear friends,

Yesterday, I started posting YouTube Shorts, excerpts from our Sunday YouTube program. My plan is to post one or two per day. These short videos (60 seconds or less) are highly recommended by all the gurus in YouTube land.

Yesterday alone, we jumped from 18 views to well over 2,000, so it is definitely a great way to expand our reach.

If you are not subscribed directly to our YouTube channel and would like to be notified when these Shorts post, you can subscribe through any of our YouTube videos or visit our site: Independent Unity. If you are subscribed only to this Word Press blog, you will not receive notifications when a Short excerpt is posted.

As always, thank you for your continued support and interest in Independent Unity.

Blessings,

Rev. Doug

The Moving Parts of Manifestation

YouTube: The Moving Parts of Manifestation

Voice of the Mystic: Part 4

“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. 28 The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” Mark 4:26-28

In this parable of the sower, the man scatters seed, sleeps and rises as the mystery of germination begins. The earth then produces the result. Notice that even though each of these steps is presented sequentially, the intention is to call attention to the operational components within the single creative system.

Think of the running motor of a car. Many things are happening at the same time. Fuel ignites, pistons pump, oil lubricates, coolant circulates, oxygen is taken in, exhaust expelled. The running motor is not a future event; it is the present example of a perfectly orchestrated multitude of individual processes. 

In a similar way, Jesus is calling attention to the kingdom, not as a coming event, but as a present, dynamically responsive process. He does not bother to specify the type of seed planted because this universal, creative process will produce from any kind of seed. Neither does he associate the kingdom with the harvest. He is simply calling attention to the mechanics of the manifestation process. The kingdom functions like this entire assembly of components: the seed is being planted, the mystery of germination is taking place, a new crop is emerging. It’s happening now. What kinds of seeds are you planting?  

Unlike the running motor of a car, no one starts the manifestation process. It runs 24/7. The kind of crop we get depends on the kind of seed we plant. This is the heart of the lesson. The creative process is in full swing. How do we make sure we get the crop we want? We plant the seed of expectation. If you get up everyday thinking life is such a grind, you will not be disappointed. Life will give you what you expect. Brambles do not produce figs. If you begin lifting your expectations, planting new seeds open to greater possibility, this same natural creative process responds accordingly. The motor is running. The question now is this: Where do you want to go?  

Signals from Antiquity 2

https://youtu.be/pW3Rf9MM7AAYouTube: Signals from Antiquity 2

The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit. 

The Greek word pneuma can reference the wind, spirit, or breath. Wind can be heard and felt but not seen. Spirit is understood as the animating force, the vital essence, the soul of all living beings. We cannot see it, but we see evidence of its presence in everything from the blade of grass to the human being. Each breath we take, also invisible, is vital to our physical existence. From this we get that spirit is unseen but felt.

The Hebrew Bible’s book of Job connects the innate wisdom of the soul to the breath of the Almighty. “It is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.[1]

The main thing I get from this saying is that the full wisdom of God is present and working in and through me now. We do not have to know how the answer to our need will come about, we only need to know that the Father is working, and I work, and greater good is unfolding.

If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 

The parable employs the symbolism of earthly things to illustrate heavenly things. The notion of a new birth is lost on the intellectually trained Nicodemus. His education does not allow him to make the connection between the symbol and the spiritual abstraction behind the symbol, a problem Jesus also encountered with his disciples: 

13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?[2]

What I want to make clear here too is that the Jesus sect was not pushing for a mystical approach to Judaism. They were pushing for a leadership that would blossom into the Christian orthodoxy we see today. As I’ve already discussed, I do not believe the early leaders of the Jesus movement and the more formal church that followed shared the mystically-based ideology.

No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, [the Son of man].

How would this passage qualify as something a mystic would say?

The author of John or a later scribe includes the Son of man as an obvious reference to Jesus. Because the mystic would not bring attention to themselves, we shouldn’t think of this heavenly figure, he who descended from heaven, as a specific personality, but rather as a faculty of mind.

The material and spiritual realms, symbolized here by earth and heaven, are not two separate things, but two ways of expressing one thing, like steam and ice are the same water in two different states. The faculty of intuition is that which moves comfortably between these two realms. The intellect forms concepts about the spiritual domain, but only the intuition can move from the conceptual to the experiential level, or ascend into heaven.

Signals from Antiquity

Signals from Antiquity: Voice of the Mystic: Part 2

When an astronomer picks up a faint signal from a distant star, galaxy, or other celestial object, the signal may be very weak, obscured by all kinds of cosmic noise. To extract a meaningful signal, the astronomer must filter out the noise.  

With our gospels, I propose that through many of the sayings attributed to Jesus, there is a faint signal belonging to a mystic. In our filtering process, we isolate this signal by asking: Does this sound like something a mystic would say? Following the specific criteria spelled out in Part 1, we can identify likely candidates, filter out the extraneous “noise”, and lift the passage from the distractions of its Gospel context.  

Focusing on the nighttime conversation between the Pharisee Nicodemus and Jesus, I have extracted six passages that sound like something a mystic would say.

  1. Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
  2. Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 
  3. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
  4. The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. 
  5. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 
  6. No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven.

In today’s lesson we’ll look at these sayings and consider the spiritual value of each. In our mainstream, larger-than-life version of Jesus, there is much noise around these faint signals from antiquity. With an understanding of the kinds of signals for which we are looking, we discover a treasure-trove of wisdom and practical guidance.

Voice of the Mystic

YouTube: Voice of the Mystic

Part 1

Biblical scholars have worked extensively to identify Jesus’ genuine sayings, separating them from those modified by the Gospel authors or subsequent scribes. Many appear to base their decision on their interpretation of Jesus’ ministry. What was the focus of his message? While many see him as an apocalyptic prophet, preaching the end is near, I believe he was a mystic teaching the kingdom of God, not as a coming event, but as a present, internally accessed spiritual dimension.

When I read passages attributed to him, I ask this simple question: Does this sound like something a mystic would say? To address this question, I look for sayings that include any of these four elements:  

  • God and the kingdom of God are understood as an omnipresent spiritual dimension that is present and intuitively rather than intellectually grasped.
  • The soul is an expression of God. God and the soul exist in a relationship of oneness.
  • Communication with God is an internal experience accessed through the narrow gate of the contemplative process. As the prophet Jeremiah stated, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts.” Jeremiah 31:33
  • One’s thinking influences the nature of one’s experience. The beginning of change is a change of faith and affirmative thinking.

In this series, I’ll demonstrate this selection process using the story of the Pharisee Nicodemus visiting Jesus in the night. From this conversation, I have identified six passages that sound like something a mystic would say. I will also explain why this approach is different from that of a standard metaphysical interpretation.  

It is almost certain that the encounter between this Pharisee and Jesus is the creation of the author. Understanding how he did this and why, will shed much light on how the gospels were developed. It is believed that these authors were working from collections of sayings and stories that circulated orally for decades before they were written down. These ancient story tellers worked much like story tellers work today, creating scenes and linking them together to follow a plot. The spiritual gems contained in these scenes are the treasure we seek.

Own Your Path

YouTube: Own Your Path

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44)

One of the most important components of Jesus’ teachings was his understanding of the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven. Through parables like this, it becomes clear he wasn’t describing the traditional image of heaven with pearly gates and streets of gold. In Luke, he points out that the kingdom is within. This requires a whole new way of thinking.

My quest for an understanding of this kingdom began in the “field” of mainstream Christianity. Who owns this field? A two-thousand-year-old religious institution. How do I purchase this field? I become willing to sell or let go of all preconceived ideas. If I don’t take ownership of my quest for truth, I will always be the trespasser.

The treasure I found is in the teaching of Jesus that points to the kingdom of God as an inner experience. The owners of the field say this kingdom is a coming event and that Jesus will return and usher it in. The more I take ownership of this field, however, the more I see this is not what he taught.

Each one of us is an expression of God. Our path to understanding this relationship of oneness with God is a very personal quest. No one else has worked it out for us. Yes, there are those who have written about this path and given us valuable insights. Ultimately, however, our relationship with God is ours and ours alone. Jesus said the gate that leads to this path is narrow, that few find it. The reason this is true is because few are willing to sell their indoctrinated possessions and purchase the field.

I have had the experience of standing on a beach and seeing the ocean stretch out before me. It occurred to me that this was my ocean. This is my place on the beach that allows me to have this experience. The same is true with God. I’m standing on a beach with the wholeness of God in my possession. My relationship with God is mine and mine alone. I have every right to walk this path on my own terms.

The Question of Evil

YouTube: The Question of Evil

In her book, Lessons in Truth, Emilie Cady made this controversial statement: There is no evil. Over the years, many have asked me why I thought she would make such a statement. You can’t watch the news for ten minutes without seeing there is no shortage of evil. How could this woman of such profound insight be so naïve about what’s going on all around us?

She wasn’t naïve. She was approaching the problem of evil from the absolute point of view. Like most of us, Cady was exposed to the mainstream Christian belief in two powers: good and evil, God and Satan. For me, it often sounded like Satan was just as powerful as God. There is a strong negative drag on anyone who believes there is an evil force working against their every effort to live a good life. Cady was offering a way out of this trap.

By saying there is no evil, she is saying that a power of evil does not exist as a first cause. For a helpful analogy, we can turn to the law of mathematics. In mathematics, there is no law that forces error. Error is not a power but the result of our miscalculation. Because there is no power that is seeking to trip us up with wrong answers, we can erase the chalkboard and correct our mistake.

What we call evil at the human level has its origin in human consciousness. People are capable of heinous acts, but none can say the devil made me do it. There is always an underlying psychological imbalance involved.

Unity’s foundation statement affirms there is only one Presence and one power in the universe, God, the good, omnipotent. When we make this statement, we are essentially stepping up to our chalkboard, erasing our miscalculations, and starting over. Regardless of what has transpired, we envision the best and highest outcome for ourselves and all involved. We release all feeling that some negative power is working against our highest good. We affirm that one Presence and one power is at work smoothing out the rough places, bringing light where there seemed to be darkness, and bringing peace where there once was chaos.