Spiritual Solutions

When I was in ministerial school at Unity Village many years ago, a Unity minister from Germany, Peter Wenzel, told me a story of when he was a member of the West Berlin police force. That was way back, before the Berlin Wall, when there was a demilitarized zone between East and West Berlin.

One of Peter’s responsibilities was to patrol the demilitarized zone; and it was common knowledge that if someone got too far into the East Berlin side of the demilitarized zone they were subject to being shot. One day Peter found himself in that area by himself and, all of a sudden, he was confronted by a Russian soldier with a rifle pointed right at him.

Peter, remembering that moment said, “All of a sudden I felt the presence of God with me; I looked at the other soldier and I saw that he was about my own age, a very young man. I looked in his eyes and without realizing what I was saying I said, ‘You cannot shoot me; I am your brother.’ And the man put down his gun, turned and walked away.”

How wonderful to recognize that core of oneness and know that we are, indeed, all brothers and sisters. It’s when we focus on our differences that we sometimes get into conflict and into wars.

Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, said, “Nations will forget to fight as long as we continue to remember that we’re all expressing the one life.” We’ll forget to fight one another. So we must come to that realization of oneness and connectedness.

We most often see ourselves as separate. We are separate in expression, but we are all connected at a level we call the “Christ” level. When we come to the level of the presence of God in us it is the same God, it is the same presence, and it is the same power – the one presence and one power active in and through our lives, God, the good.

That is our level of connectedness, the Christ within us.

To give you an illustration, if you think of the Hawaiian Islands you see that there are many islands and they are not connected on the surface. But if you were able to go below the surface, you would see that under the surface all of the islands are connected. They are all joined together.

Author Paul Tillich called that connectedness in us “the ground of our being.” From his book, The Shaking of the Foundations, we read, “The name of the infinite and inexhaustible depth and ground of all being is God. That depth is what the word means and, if that word has meaning for you, translate it and speak of the depths of your life, of the source of your being, of your ultimate concern, of what you take seriously without reservation. For if you know that God means depth, then you know much about Him. He or she who knows about depth, knows about God.”

So depth is what we are seeking, a deeper understanding of ourselves. As we move deeper within ourselves, we also understand God in a greater way.

It was the poet Tennyson who said, “God is closer than breathing, closer than hands and feet.” God is as close to you as that. And that’s what we have to know, that there is no separation; we are one in God.

The apostle Paul talked about that also. We read I Corinthians 12: “For just as the body is one and has many members and all the members of the body though many are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body: Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. Now you are the body of Christ and, individually, members of it.”

Sometimes we forget that we were made in the image and likeness of God; sometimes we forget that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.  We forget our connectedness. But the more we can remember our connectedness with God and with one another, the more individually and uniquely we can express the truth of our own being.

When we come from that deeper level of our life we will truly be ourselves. Charles Fillmore said, “The journey of life for each of us should be a journey of jubilance.” We should be enjoying life; it should be an expression of the highest and best of us.

We have to begin to be friendly toward ourselves because there is more to us than we have understood. It was Walt Whitman who said, “I have found that I am not only that which is between my hat and my boots.”

There is so much more to us. You are a living expression of the Most High God. You are like one of those islands that have popped up in the universe, just as the islands of Hawaii popped up in the Pacific Ocean. The universe needs you; the universe would not be complete without you. Literally, the universe is not complete without you.

We need to treat ourselves kindly. In fact, we need to celebrate ourselves; we need to validate ourselves as someone worthwhile.

As we begin to celebrate ourselves we are then able to celebrate others too, we’re able to recognize the truth of them, and we’re able to recognize the Christ within them. If we see the Christ in them, we will treat them as a Christlike being; we will treat them as a worthy person.

In the play, Pygmalion, Eliza Doolittle is talking about Professor Higgins. She says, “Anybody can do the simple things like learning how to dress properly and learning how to speak properly, but the way a person behaves is not what determines whether she is a lady or a flower-girl. It’s how she’s treated that determines whether she’s a lady or a flower-girl. Professor Higgins always thinks of me as a flower-girl, and to him I’ll always be a flower-girl. But you, you treat me like a lady and for you I can always be a lady.”

How we see a person is how we treat a person. If we see a person as stupid, then we’ll treat them as being stupid. If we see a person as being a loser, then we treat that person as being a loser. So we need to begin to look at people in a kindly way, as we would also hope to look at ourselves.

In the fairy stories, we find there’s very often a kindly act where the princess kisses a frog and the frog becomes a prince. Well, all of us feel like a frog sometimes and we all need a person to come along and affirm us as a worthy being. You are that other person; you can affirm the truth about other people.

So I invite you today and this week to do some frog-kissing. When you notice that someone is feeling low and unsure of themselves, give them a hug, give them a blessing, and give them a kiss. Do some frog-kissing; recognize the truth of them. And the truth is that they are one with you.

It was Walt Whitman who said, “In all men I see myself, not one barleycorn more and not one barleycorn less, and the good or bad I say of them I say of myself.” So when we celebrate with someone else, we are celebrating ourselves also.

Remember these words of Jesus: “If you did it to the least of these, my brethren, you also do it unto me.” In other words, he was saying we are connected; we are one with one another. Let us recognize the truth of that and celebrate the Christ within, celebrate our God-connectedness, and celebrate our oneness.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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 Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions.

Please feel free to publish this article in your blog or newsletter or share it with a friend, as long as you include this resource box.

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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In the Easter story, one particular image in the gospel of John captures me; it is the image of Mary weeping as she stoops and peers into the tomb. The body of Jesus has disappeared. But right there quite close to her, standing near her shoulder, is a figure simply waiting for her to turn around, to turn from the tomb to life.

How often do we find ourselves in situations where we think it’s all over, that there’s nothing and nowhere to turn? Yet all we have to do is look away from the problem, away from the darkness and from what seems to be; then we can see that which we thought was dead has risen and is still alive in us.

We hear the Easter celebrant declare, “He is risen! Christ is risen!”

But what does that mean? Is it only an event which happened over 2000 years ago? Or is it something which can happen in our lives today?

The truth is, Easter is all about life made new again. When we think it’s over, it’s not. We have a God that makes the impossible possible.

When the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were flying their first airplane in 1903, an astronomer named Simon Newcomb was writing a thesis about the impossibility of being able to fly. He said, “There is no possible combination of known substances, known forms of machinery, and known forms of force that can be united in a practical machine by which men shall fly long distances through the air. It is impossible.”

You’ve got to be careful who you are listening to, and who you hang out with, because it can destroy your potential.

The Wright brothers’ father was a minister, who also founded the Union Theological Seminary. When he saw his two boys seemingly limited to working repairing bicycles, he decided to share with them his philosophy about the empty tomb and the ability to rise up into newness of life.

He said, “I shared with them my philosophy about the empty tomb and then I just stood back to watch them fly.” How wonderful it is to have someone who encourages us like that and then stands back to watch us fly, to see the potential within us take flight.

The truth is that the potential for triumph is still there, the potential to rise above limitation is still there.

In another version of the Easter story (in Matthew 28), we read that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (the mother of Jesus) went to the tomb. The stone that blocked the entrance had been rolled away and an angel sat upon it. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid.”

Not knowing what to do after the crucifixion of Jesus, the disciples hid in a room together. They were depressed, they were down. Then Jesus appeared to them in the room and said, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe!” Don’t be afraid.

That’s the first thing to remember when things happen. Don’t be afraid!

Fear paralyzes our potential. We become stuck, we become rigid.

Fear breaks down our relationship with God, our trust in God. When we become fearful, we lose the sense of trust. We may say, “Oh yes, I believe in God.” But there’s a big difference between believing in God and trusting in God.

Doubts about our potential and doubts about God’s presence within us limit our possibilities.

What are you dealing with in your life right now? What situation is present in your life? There is never any situation that is beyond hope. There’s always hope, there’s always possibility, there’s always potential.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” That’s a wonderful scripture to use as an affirmation. You may not know where to turn, but as you turn to the Christ within, as you turn to God’s presence, you are strengthened. And that which seemed impossible becomes possible.

Our God is a God who makes the impossible possible. We can come through all things. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” – through the presence and power of the living God within me. In any situation you face there is always a God-given solution available to you.

It is important to remind ourselves that even though all seems lost, the unexpected is always possible.

I’d like to share with you three action steps prompted by the Easter story:

1. Surround yourself with Easter-thinking people. Don’t get caught up with people who put you down, and don’t put yourself down. You can rise up over your limitations. Hang around with people who remind you of the potential that is always there. If you have to change your friends, do so, and let your friends be those who support you in your potential for growth.

2. Don’t be afraid; refuse to give up. On the Friday before Easter, the worst scenario happened. Jesus died. The disciples went back to their fishing; they didn’t know what else to do. Then three days later the unexpected happened. Jesus appeared to them. So refuse to give up; it’s always possible. Even death couldn’t stop God’s plan.

3. Rise triumphant. You were created to fly. You were created to soar, to rise up above any limitations, to soar above those situations that would hold you back and down. You were created in the image and likeness of God, you have the possibilities and potentials within you to rise triumphant. What’s keeping you from flying? Let your spirit soar!

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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I AM

4th Day, Saturday. Read John 10:1-18.

I am a child of the Father, and my inheritance is from Him. I AM is the Christ within me, the true spiritual being, whom God made in His image and likeness. Through the I AM (the Christ), I link myself with the Father, with Spirit, with life, wisdom, love, peace, strength, power, and Truth.

I AM is the gate through which my thoughts come forth from the invisible, and it is through this gate that I go to get into the presence of Spirit.

The I AM has its being in heaven; its home is in the realm of God ideals. I hitch my I AM to the star of God, and infinite joy follows as night the day.

The I AM always assures me that the preponderance of power is in spiritual things. Fear throws dust in one’s eyes and hides the mighty spiritual forces that are always with one. I deny ignorance and fear, and affirm the presence and power of the I AM. “I AM THAT I AM . . . I AM hath sent me unto you.”

I realize that spiritual character is the rock foundation of being. As I build my consciousness in God-Mind, I find that I am in heaven right here on earth. I let go of the little self and take hold of the big self. “Not my will, but thine, be done.” The I AM is the will in its highest aspect. The will may be said to be the man, because it is the directive power that decides the character formation which makes what is called individuality.

I boldly affirm: “I am a child of God, and I am joint heir with Jesus to abiding life, wisdom, love, peace, substance, strength, and power.”

Questions:

1. Explain the I AM.

2. Where is the home of I AM?

3. What is the rock foundation of being?

4. What happens when we build our consciousness in God-Mind?

I am free to live healthily and happily. I am free to express my talents and abilities. I am free to go forward in peace and joy.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

—————————————————–             

 Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions.

Please feel free to publish this article in your blog or newsletter or share it with a friend, as long as you include this resource box.

 If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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