Tag: god

An Act of Faith

YouTube: An Act of Faith

The Freeing Truth of Letting Go

There are times when life presses us to release what we’ve been clinging to—plans, relationships, expectations, or even the image we’ve carried of who we are. To the mind, letting go might feel like failure or loss. But to the soul, it is freeing.

Letting go is not doing nothing, and it’s not giving up. It is a quiet acknowledgment that our limited grasp of the situation cannot hold all the factors that belong to Divine order. When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, “Not my will, but Thine be done,” he was not surrendering to defeat; he was surrendering to the Infinite Wisdom that sees the bigger picture that may be hidden from us. 

Faith begins where our ability to control ends. The moment we release our tight hold, something larger can move through us. The need to manage outcomes is replaced by a calm expectation that Love, operating through all things, is bringing forth what serves the highest good. Letting go becomes an act of trust in a power and a wisdom greater than our own.

We are not always quick to see or even imagine new possibilities, especially when we’re caught up in appearances. The tree releases its leaves before new buds appear. The same law governs the soul: release precedes renewal. We see this rhythm in operation throughout the natural world. The old is let go and the new takes its place.

To let go is to say yes to life’s deeper current. It is to affirm, even without visible proof, that divine wisdom knows the way when we do not. The act of release opens our mind and heart to unseen possibilities. We keep the door of our faith, our expectation open with the understanding that God’s infinite wisdom is paving the way for something good.

Faith, then, is not an effort to believe harder, but a willingness to loosen our grip—to trust that what falls away was never meant to imprison us. In that newly gained freedom, the soul discovers what it means to rest in God.

Calm Expectation: The Perpetual Prayer

YouTube: Calm Expectation: The Perpetual Prayer

“According to your faith be it done unto you.” — Matthew 9:29

You have heard me say that faith is more than belief; it is expectation—a calm assurance that the cause we set in motion will bring a corresponding result. When we say, “I have faith in God,” we may unconsciously place the outcome beyond ourselves, waiting for divine involvement. But when we say, “I am working with divine law; therefore I expect results,” we recognize that we are participants in the process of creation.

We live in a universe of law. Every desire becomes a cause that must produce an effect. The clearer our cause, the clearer the result. If our desire is vague, our outcome will be blurred. Write your desire plainly. See it, feel it, give it form in thought. Then release it with calm expectation.

Know that you are working with law. With calm expectation of a corresponding result, you know that all necessary conditions will come about in proper order.

True faith does not strain. It does not plead or push. Like a seed planted in fertile soil, calm expectation knows that growth is already taking place. We do not dig up the seed each morning to check on its progress; we tend the soil and trust the process.

It is helpful to remember the phrase, “this or something better.” We often think we know exactly what form our good should take, but divine intelligence sees farther than we can. Many times, the “better” is not what we envisioned, yet it meets our deeper need.

Each morning, picture your desire fulfilled and give thanks that it is unfolding now. Each evening, rest in quiet gratitude that the same law continues its work through the night. Calm expectation is not idle waiting; it is faith at rest—an inward knowing that order is establishing itself.

Affirm often:

God, the living law within me, is now guiding me in all ways. Every step I take is the right step. I move through my life in confidence and peace.

This attitude keeps the heart open and joyful. In calm expectation, we cease striving and begin cooperating with the creative process of life itself.

Thank you, God, that this is so.

The Power of Silence

The Paradox of Power in Silence

It seems counterintuitive to associate power with silence. The squeaking wheel, after all, is the one that gets the grease. In the world of circumstance, there are moments when squeaking is necessary—when we must speak up, advocate, or act decisively. Yet the development of our spiritual awareness unfolds in an entirely different arena. Its work is done in stillness.

This “stillness” is not mere quiet. It is a shift of awareness—a turning from the restless surface of the mind toward the deeper current of life itself. The Psalmist’s invitation, “Be still, and know that I am God,” is not a command but an opening. It reminds us that knowing the Divine is not an act of intellect but of intuition. The Creative Life Force that sustains our being is ever present, but it works in silence, as a hidden, living fountain of energy.

The Restless Mind

Anyone who has ever tried to meditate knows how easily the mind resists stillness. We close our eyes intending to move into silence and find ourselves chasing thoughts, replaying conversations, or solving problems that do not need solving. Many of us have spent twenty minutes “worried with our eyes closed.”

This is the central challenge of entering the silence: learning to let go of thought patterns that have no real value. We are conditioned to stay on the mental treadmill, running hard but getting off exactly where we got on. What Jesus called “going into your inner room and shutting the door” is the act of stepping off that wheel—of releasing the outer noise to rediscover the quiet center that is always waiting.

When we touch that inner place, we emerge changed. We move into life with fresh enthusiasm and clearer vision. The external world has not altered, yet our relationship to it has. We respond from strength rather than react from fear.

Coming Home to the Center of Power

Silence is not escape from life; it is the re-entry point into our true home. In stillness we return to the center of our being, where all that is real abides. The “Father who sees in secret,” as Jesus said, rewards us openly—not with material prizes, but with the subtle grace of a life that begins to work.

Paradoxically, the time to be still often arrives when stillness seems impossible. We want to “do” something, to solve the upset that has thrown us off balance. Yet sitting quietly, releasing the urge to fix, is often the very thing that restores order. The silence re-centers us in the awareness that we are expressions of the Infinite—not isolated minds scrambling for control, but emanations of the same creative power that holds the stars in place.

The Modern Maze of Distraction

Technology has multiplied our distractions. We carry devices that promise connection but too often deepen our fragmentation. In earlier times, when the phone stayed in one place, we didn’t wonder where it was; now we feel uneasy if it’s not in reach. The more connected we become externally, the more disconnected we risk becoming internally.

This makes the commitment to silence more vital than ever. The silence is not opposed to life in the world; it is the grounding that makes life in the world manageable. It is where the noise of outer activity meets the still rhythm of the soul.

Experiencing, Not Thinking

The silence cannot be understood intellectually. It must be experienced. Reading inspirational books can be helpful, but reading about stillness is not the same as entering it. We may become addicted to uplifting words, returning to them like a pleasant habit, yet never touching the experience itself. The true invitation of “Be still and know” is to be still and know—to feel the reality of God, not merely to think about it.

This is not about solving problems. It is about solving the problem of the busy mind. When we drop beneath the whirl of thought, we encounter a different order of knowing—direct, wordless, whole.

Finding the Doorway of Receptivity

Emilie Cady likened the receptive attitude to a bird bathing in the sun. There is no effort, only openness. We do not make the light shine; we simply stop blocking it. Sitting quietly, we relax the body and center the mind. If thoughts drift, a simple affirmation such as “I am” can help restore focus.

Do not force anything. If the mind refuses to settle, get up and return later. The silence is never achieved through strain; it opens through willingness. The fruit of practice often comes in unexpected moments—a sudden wave of compassion, a surge of peace, a quiet joy that needs no reason. These are signs that the intuitive door is opening and the light of God is beginning to shine through.

The Inner Healing Flow

Myrtle Fillmore’s healing story beautifully illustrates the power of this inner awareness. When she heard the words, “You are a child of God; therefore, you cannot inherit sickness,” something awakened. She began to enter the silence daily, speaking gently to each part of her body, affirming that the life of God was active there. She wasn’t commanding healing—she was acknowledging a truth already in operation.

In the same way, when we quiet the mind and release stress, we cease interfering with the natural intelligence that sustains us. The body follows the mind’s lead: as thought becomes calm, the physical system relaxes, renews, and restores itself.

The Treasure Hidden in the Field

Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a treasure hidden in a field. The silence is that field. In discovering it, we “sell” everything we own—our stress-producing thoughts, our need to control, our limiting ideas—and trade them for the simple awareness of Presence. The intellect can grasp the logic of this; intuition alone can make it real.

This path does require discipline and commitment, not as burden but as devotion. We commit because we recognize the truth of what calls to us. If God is truly within, then the question becomes: How will I experience that?

The Direct Experience

Direct experience of the Divine is not reserved for saints or mystics. It is the birthright of every soul. Yet few seek it because they imagine it difficult or remote. In truth, it is closer than breath. We overlook it precisely because it is so near.

The spiritual life is not about becoming something we are not. It is about awakening to what we already are. As you sit in stillness, you may discover that the freedom you’ve been seeking was never absent—it was only veiled by thought.

To be still is to know. To know is to remember that the treasure you seek has always been within.

Perfection: The Target No One Will Hit

YouTube: Perfection: The Target No One Will Hit

Many of us were taught to see Jesus as “the perfect man demonstrated,” the flawless figure against whom our own lives are inevitably measured. While this image may inspire, it can also create a burden. Perfection becomes the target no one will ever hit, leaving us discouraged when we discover our flaws and limitations.

Paul’s own description of the resurrection offers a different perspective. He wrote, “It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body.” His words point away from physical immortality and toward transformation of consciousness. His encounter with the risen Christ was not about seeing a body restored but about awakening to a reality so profound it altered the course of his life.

Modern near-death experiencers testify to something similar. Their reports rarely focus on physical details. Instead, they describe a profound peace, an overwhelming sense of love, and encounters with familiar and unfamiliar figures who radiate welcome. They return to this life deeply changed, often free from the fear of death. The miracle is not that they avoided dying but that their perspective shifted.

When Jesus is seen as mystic rather than unreachable icon, we are released from the crushing demand to be flawless. Our aging bodies, our frailties, our scars do not disqualify us from discipleship; they remind us that what is most real is not the body at all, but the enduring self beneath it. The mystic teaches that we are more than flesh. We are Spirit expressing through flesh.

If perfection is the measure, we will always miss the mark. But the mystic invites us to another way—not to hit the target, but to awaken to the presence of God within. In this awakening, the search for perfection gives way to peace.

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.

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.