January 8, 2012

Rev. Jan Chase

A woman picked through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but she couldn't find one large enough to feed her family. "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" she asked a stock boy. "No, ma'am," he replied. "They're dead." (The American Legion magazine)

Over the years of our lives, parts of us have died.
Much of our power has been stifled, blocked by cultural, religious, family and self injunctions that hold our spirit down from the flight it longs to take.

Imprisoned, those parts get little or no attention. Often they are completely forgotten as we try to be the people we feel we “SHOULD” be for our families, work, culture, etc.

Yet these parts have gifts for us. They are part of who we are and how we were made to make the world work. We are puzzle pieces in the overall picture of creation. When we play our pieces in the puzzle of life, we hold others find the places for their pieces and we help hold them in place. We are so interconnected with each other that when we release our blocks, others release theirs as well.

If you are feeling stuck, frustrated, afraid, angry, unmotivated, you will find that there are thoughts, ideas, and habits in your life that block your good.

What is that GOOD that YOU ARE?

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

It is important for us to understand the image of God in which we have been created.

The book of First John is my favorite description of God.

I John 3:4 Little children, you are from God,…; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
In other words, the divine within us is strong enough to overcome any obstacle in the world!
5 They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them.
There is Truth and there is error thinking. Truth is within us. Error thinking is the shallow, marketing thinking that tells us that what we need to make us happy is outside of us and costs money.
6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Because of the Divine Essence of Truth within us, we have the ability to discern Truth from error thinking.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. …
Because the Love of God lives within us, when we love each other, we become expressions of God and God’s Love.
11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in God and God in us, because God has given us of his Spirit.

This idea of Divine love is not just a Christian idea but is found in all religions.

Bahá'u'lláh (one of the founders of the Baha’i religion ) affirms that a loving Creator has fashioned the universe with the "clay of love" and placed within every heart the "essence" of Divine ‘light’ and ‘beauty.’”

Swami Vivakananda who was the first Hindu to teach in America and who I believe greatly influenced the Fillmore said -“God reveals Himself to the pure heart.”

Myrtle Fillmore believed that if individuals turned their attention ‘to the energies of the spiritual world,’ they would be ‘awakened spiritually,’ and realize their God-like nature. She and Charles called this state of advanced spiritual awakening the ‘Christ Consciousness’ –the same state of consciousness Jesus attained in his life-time…. She declared, ‘That is the purpose of life, to find the Christ and live the Christ life.’” Neal Vahle, The Unity Movement: Its Evolution and Spiritual Teachings p 11:

Each of us has been chosen by God.
"Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit" (John 15:16).”

Charles Fillmore, The Revealing Word. “chosen of God--God has chosen each of us as a medium for the expression of Himself as love, life, wisdom, abundance, health, and so forth."

Yet, most of the people around us did not realize that we were chosen of God. Because our parents weren’t perfect, because our teachers and friends weren’t perfect and because no one gave us or them a handbook to use with ourselves and each other, we felt wounded and allow scar tissue to form deep within us which blocked our Light and our Love.

Douglas MacArthur said: “In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber. So long as it receives a message of beauty, hope, cheer, and courage - so long are you young. When the wires are all down and our heart is covered with the snow of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then, and only then, are you grown old.”

Our pure heart has hardened. Yet is it still filled with the splendor of the divine!

Charles Fillmore: "In Divine Mind, love is the power that joins and binds in divine harmony the universe and everything in it; the great harmonizing principle known to man. Divine love is impersonal; it loves for the sake of loving. It is not concerned with what or who it loves, nor with a return of love. Like the sun, its joy is in the shining forth of its nature."

You are love.
You are an eternal being.
You are light more brilliant than the sun when you do not block your brilliance.
You are the DIVINE unfolding in this world.

Let us this day remove some of our blocks to our Christ Consciousness and let our Light and Love shine out more brightly.

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barrierswithin yourself that you have built against it.” -Maulana Jelaluddin Rumi http://faith786.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/islamic-quotes/ (Accessed 4/29/11)

In case you think you resist change, I invite you to think over some of the changes you have gone through in the last 20 to 40 years.
1970 vs. 2001
1970: Long Hair
2001: Longing for hair
1970: The perfect high.
2001: The perfect high yield mutual fund.
1970: Keg.
2001: EKG.
1970: Acid Rock.
2001: Acid Reflux.
1970: Moving to California because it's cool.
2001: Moving to California because it's warm.
1970: Growing pot.
2001: Growing pot belly.
1970: Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Elizabeth Taylor.
2001: Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Elizabeth Taylor.
1970: Seeds and stems.
2001: Roughage.
1970: Popping pills, smoking joints.
2001: Popping joints.
1970: Killer weed.
2001: Weed killer.
1970: Getting out to a new, hip joint.
2001: Getting a new hip joint.
1970: Rolling Stones.
2001: Kidney stones.
1970: Take acid.
2001: Take antacid.
1970: Passing the driver's test.
2001: Passing the vision test.

Time passes and change comes. However, we have a choice in what and how we change.

"Your life is what your thoughts make it." -Marcus Aurelius

Sometimes it seems that what we want to release is a physical problem, a handicap, a disease. Even that can be overcome by our thinking about it and about ourselves.

Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul has numerous stories of women overcoming physical challenges, including Olympic running Champion Wilma Rudolph overcoming a paralyzed leg as a child because her mother told her she would walk some day despite the doctors predictions. Keeping her mind positive, allowed her to go from many last place finishes to next to the last, until she made it to first place. Then eventually the Olymics where she became the first woman to won 3 Olymic golds.

Stacey Nasalroad was born missing her left arm from the elbow down. Doctors encouraged her mother not to treat her differently than the other girls.
When she said she couldn’t peel potatoes because she only had one hand, Stacey mother said: “You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes.” She did.

She her 2nd grade teacher lined up the class to swing across the monkey bars, Stacey left crying as kids laughed at her. After telling her mother that night, Stacey’s mom took her to the deserted playground the next day and together then learned how Stacey could pull herself up so high that she could hook the bar with her other elbow. After much practice, when the class lined up again at the monkey bars, everyone stood with their mouths open.

The encouragement Stacey’s mother gave her allowed her inner spirit to shine out into the world in many ways, giving encouragement to those around her.

That is the way it works. As we release our blocks, our light shines and encourages others.

"A human being is part of a whole, called by us ‘universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish the delusion but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind." - Albert Einstein (February 12, 1950)

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Many of us are not limited by physical challenges but by fear.
Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us that "Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world."

Fear is a learned response to many things and we can unlearn, relearn the way we respond to life.
Denials: This thing I fear has no power over my life.

“You achieve much once you stop telling yourself you can't do things.” — Elizabeth Kadetsky

Affirmation: I am free to live my life to my full potential.

"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." -Walt Disney

"Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around."- Henry David Thoreau

"Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones." -Benjamin Franklin

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problem."- Mohandas Gandhi

"As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves". -Mohandas Gandhi

"Infinite love is the only truth. Everything else is an illusion." David Icke

What does your heart call you to do and be?
What brings your life meaning?
What do you see in the world that needs to be done? Maybe it is yours to do.
What gifts and talents are just sitting there unused or undiscovered?

What seems to be blocking you?
What is the answer to these?
Fear of failure…(All successful people fail, that is why they eventually succeed.)
Fear of success…( There is no guarantee that we will succeed forever at one thing, life is filled with ups and downs)
Fear of relationships…(Relationships are points of growth for us and others. See their challenges as opportunities for everyone involved)
Fear of money challenges…( God is our source, when we are following our bliss, the money follows, however, we may need to change our thinking.)

Beliefs in limitation: physical, financial, mental, emotional

Negative self esteem: (As we get in touch with our core spiritual essence, we find that we are spirit, we are love, we are unlimited. That I AM self is who longs to express in this world. Keeping it locked in and down, is depressing.)

Habits, patterns, self talk that waste precious time: (We tend to fill up our days with play that becomes addictions, covering up our feelings and our inner spirit. We can become addicted to almost anything, even and especially thinking. Drugs, cigarettes, shopping, games, talking, texting, etc. Relaxing is important, but we lose if we let it take over our lives.)

 The Nature of the Ground. “The…ultimate reason for human existence is unitive knowledge of the divine Ground – the knowledge that comes only to those who are prepared to ‘die to self’ and so make room…for God. …the opportunity for coming to unitive knowledge will…continually be offered until all sentient being realize Who in fact they are.” – Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy

Saint Theresa's Prayer
May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be .
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received,
And pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.
As we release blocks to the expression of the divine within we gain Freedom & infinite Joy!

MEDITATION & BURNING BOWL CEREMONY

On your paper is the following guide. “I release the following thoughts, habits and limitations that block my good and I open to the Spirit of the Divine within me to raise my consciousness and my life to be a channel for Love.” You may use it or use something else to assist you in your release.

Bring your slip of paper and
light it from the candle’s flame
Drop it into the burning bowl
and watch it as the Holy Spirit of Love consumes it in its purifying fire.”

Letters to the Divine Within
January 1, 2012
Rev. Jan Chase

The holiday party season is upon us, so please be safe and take a cab . . . or bus. To emphasize how important I think it is that you do, I share an experience with you all, about drinking and driving. A couple of nights ago, a man was out for a few drinks with some friends and had a few too many beers and some rather nice Merlot. Knowing full well he may have been slightly over the limit, he did something he’s never done before - He took a bus home.

He arrived home safely and without incident, which was a real surprise, as he had never driven a bus before and was not sure where he got this one. (sent in by Jim Marshall – smile in his direction!)

Happy New Year 2012!

This is the time when our minds automatically look at what changes we want to make in our lives. What do we want that is different? And what are we willing to change to bring about that different result?

When I look at my health, I know I want to change the way I eat and exercise.

When I look at my stress and success, I know I want to incorporate more meditation and spiritual guidance into my days.

When I look at my stuff, I know I need less and want more order.

When I look at my relationships, I know I want to live more from the compassionate wisdom of my heart.

When I look at my mindset, I know I want to be more grateful for what is.

When I look at the challenges facing the world around me, I know I want to be more effective at spreading tools for Inner and Outer Peace. I want to co-create a world that works for all!

And when I get too serious, too overwhelmed, I remember that I need to play, to relax, to BE HERE NOW and enjoy it all.

Yet, as I make these choices and as I ask you to consider what changes you might want to incorporate in your life, I ask you to remember who you are.

FROM MIKE DOOLEY:
If it's not yet obvious to you, the real reason for this, and all seasons, is you, Beloved. A more perfect child of the Universe has never lived. Until now, only celebrations cloaked in myth and mystery could hint at your divine heritage and sacred destiny. You are life's prayer of becoming and its answer. The first light at the dawn of eternity, drawn from the ether, so that I might know my own depth, discover new heights, and revel in seas of blessed emotion.

A pioneer into illusion, an adventurer into the unknown, and a lifter of veils. Courageous, heroic, and exalted by legions in the unseen.

To give beyond reason, to care beyond hope, to love without limit; to reach, stretch, and dream, in spite of your fears. These are the hallmarks of divinity - traits of the immortal - your badges of honor. May you wear them with a pride as great as the immeasurable pride we feel for you.

Your light has illuminated darkened paths, your gaze has lifted broken spirits, and already your life has changed the course of history.

This is the time of year we celebrate (Your Name).

Bowing before Greatness,
The Universe

It is easy for us to forget our divine nature and the power that is inherent within us.
It is easy for us to go along with the outer world’s illusions of superficiality, lack and limitation and negativity.
Those of us in the New Thought Movement are called to remember and to help others remember who we are as spiritual beings with the power to live our lives with focus and meaning which brings great joy to ourselves and to the world!

The New Year is not the only time to make changes. We can and do make them all year round. However, this is a good time to release old patterns that keep us stuck by trying on new habits, setting new priorities and seeing how they work, how they feel, how they improve our lives and how they allow the DIVINE WITHIN us to FLOW more easily through us. This could be called REBIRTH or Being Born from above!

John 3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."
3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."
4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above.' “

Unity’s co-founder Charles Fillmore defines “new birth --The realization by man of his spiritual identity, with the fullness of power and glory that follows.
A birth is a coming into a state of being. Man first is born, or comes into a state of physical being; he thinks of himself as flesh, material. The "new birth" is the coming into a higher state of being that is alive to the fact that man is like God, one with God.”

Next week we will look at what we no longer need to hang on to as we put thoughts that don’t serve us into the Burning Bowl.

Last year we wrote letters to God and some of you have gotten then back. Jacqi has some here to give you. I encourage you to open them and read them and notice how well your intensions were met this year. Sometimes we get though things quickly, other years it takes longer. As we open our minds to set intensions, our being aligns around those intensions to manifest them.

I encourage you to use your wonderful IMAGININATION to picture yourself expressing your divine essence.
You have an abundance of GIFTS within you that are excited about being expressed in new ways.

As you Align your Mind with Divine Mind within you, you are guided in new ways to express yourself and to express the Divine: MIND IDEA EXPRESSION.
And then you will fly like a butterfly, released from the limitations of old cocoons of habits and patterns of thinking and doing.
It is important to be gentle on yourself, and allow yourself to make small changes that open new channels for the Divine in you to express more freely.
You may want to make them in a number of areas or just in one area. The key is to listen to the Divine within You.

There are a number of areas that I have identified to listen to for instructive wisdom.

The first and the last involves an intention to BE HERE NOW, which is exemplified in Jacqi’s banner CONSIDER THE LILIES OF THE FIELD.
When we set an intention to be total present of each now moment as it unfolds, we open ourselves to be ONE with ALL that is and JOY dances through our senses.

When we sent an intention to spend time in the SILENCE, to meditate on a regular basis, we open ourselves to commune with our Divine Essence. Deep healing occurs at all levels and wise guidance springs forth. Even if we begin by committing one minute a day, we are acknowledging the Sacred within us and we will be blessed.

As we are present and connected to our inner essence, we become aware of the blessings all around us and within us. We move into a consciousness of GRATITUDE where we can GIVE THANKS IN ALL THINGS. This is a high state of consciousness that brings even more awareness and joy.

This week while I was visiting old friends and mentors in Kansas City, a prayer was said for me that invoked focus. It made me think about the ORDER of things. Intention and focus without attachment to outcome allow all things in the universe to work together for Good in our lives and the world. They are connected. I also know that as I get my things in order, my life flows more easily.

What we eat affects how we feel? Do you want to eat more consciously? How? I find I feel better when I have 2 meals instead of 3, so I plan to modify my eating patterns.
How we move our bodies affects our health. They say exercise is the best thing you can do not only for your body but for your brain. Do you want to commit to move in new ways. I want to incorporate YOGA movements and more walking into my daily routine.
Allowing ourselves to play creatively and consciously and to enjoy our play is important to bringing balance our lives. Let us learn to play together. Let us teach the world to play together in new ways. Let us relax and love life and laughter.

All blessings flow from GOD and bring us various kinds of PROSPERITY. As we align with the FLOW of LIFE and are willing to ACCEPT the GIFTS, to Love What Is, that sometimes come as challenges, we find enormous blessings. What prosperities are there? health, money, friends, work, play, food, rest, etc.

And then there are RELATIONSHIPS. These sometimes seem like a blessing and sometimes like a curse, the same ones. Relationships are often our growing point, challenging us to be in our heart, where we can truly hear what another is saying. Our relationships here in this church community Bless us deeply as we share our ups and downs, as we encourage each other by seeing the Christ within each other.

But I have discovered that happiness comes mostly from SERVICE, from meaningful giving. When I feel I am making a difference in your lives, when I feel I am helping Peace bloom within us and in our community and world. Then JOY radiates out.

One of my heros, Albert Schweitzer said: In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

Schweitzer also said: I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.

AS WE WORK TO CO-CREATE A WORLD THAT WORKS FOR ALL, PEACE SPRINGS FORTH and All is Well.

In Oprah’s New Year’s email she writes:
Stop resisting what is. Either change it or find a way to move with the flow.

That is my new goal: to become what a Sufi teacher recently shared with me "A Feather on the Breath of God." Flowing where I can best be used in service to my calling.

You are here on a spiritual mission, whether you remember it or not. The world awaits your joyous spirit playing its song, dancing its dance.

What does your spirit call you to in this new year?

We will write a letter to our DIVINE selves during meditation, a LOVE LETTER asking for support and Guidance in various areas of our lives.
Know that your sacred I AM Essence is there for you, is in fact you. As you call it forth in new ways, relax and enjoy the ride.

The weight of Santa's sleigh loaded with one Beanie Baby for every kid on earth: 333,333 tons.

The number of reindeer required to pull a 333,333-ton s sleigh: 214,206 -- plus Rudolph.

To deliver his gifts in one night, Santa would have to make 822.6 visits per second, sleighing at 3,000 times the speed of sound.

At that speed, Santa and his reindeer would burst into flame instantaneously.

The illusion of Santa is not really a myth if you look beyond the material aspects. For the spirit of Santa is the Spirit of Giving which is the Spirit of the Christ within us all.

On one hand it is physically impossible to have a sleigh loaded with gifts for children all over the world, drawn by reindeer delivering in one night.

On the other hand it happens. And it happens because that spirit of giving that spirit of love comes forth from within us and performs its miracles of love and giving.

We had many miracles this week.
 The miracle of 2 families asking us to be their santa, was one. Our community stepping up to give is another miracle. And the miracle of our partners at DCFS bring bags of toys was the third miracle.
 The miracle of our way being made clear and safe to Inglewood to officiate at the funeral of Ollie Moore was like being Santa on his sleigh, doing the impossible on a day when the 60 freeway was totally shut down and there were warnings to stay off the clogged highways. It was the fastest trip I ever made to LA
 Seeing one of our 91 year-old women improving daily after her fall, as she relearns how to walk is a miracle.

SATISFACTION:
Those of you who have studied A Course in Miracles know that “Miracles occur naturally as an expression of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense, everything that comes from love is a miracle.”
Love is our nature and our natural inheritance.
And Yet how can we raise our consciousness to be aware of the love that we are, the love that ties us to each other and to the divine?
That is what the traditional Christmas story if about: The Birthing of the Christ within us. Let us walk into the story.

Luke 1: The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

The Universe knows that God is with us and within us. God sends many angels or messages to us with that message, and yet, how many of us hear it and what does that mean? It is our intuition, our divine feminine aspect that Mary represents that can hear that still small voice of the Divine within us saying: “The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
How often do we feel so negatively about ourselves that we refuse to hear good news? We refuse to let in hope and joy. We discount good news. Something about the change of hearing the power and present of the divine within us often brings fear.

30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

Fear is our EGO’s reaction to our spiritual essence and to change. Until we shift our patterns of learning, until we raise our thinking to a place of love and intuition, until we trust spirit to lead our lives, we will suffer from fear.

34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God." 38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

A virgin is one who does not have experience, and is free from contamination of the world. There is an innocence about a virgin’s mind that allows the Holy Spirit to envelope her, to impregnate her with the Good News of her Sacred Essence.
We all return to our virgin mind when we open ourselves to the will and wisdom of Spirit. It is then that Our Inner Christ begins to grow our awareness.

Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth recognized the Divine Child growing in Mary’s womb. She recognized it because the divine child growing in her own womb left.
As we come together as a spiritual community, as we allow ourselves to see the divine in each other and share that good news with each other, we help each other to grow in spiritual awareness.
“The Christ in Me Sees the Christ in Thee.”

Mary's Song
1:46-53pp -- 1Sa 2:1-10
46 And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation

After Mary’s time with Elizabeth, she sang, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” As we support each other, as we see the glow of the Christ within each other and let the other know we see their essence, there comes a time when we, like Mary can own that Divine Essence within us and rejoice! Our hearts are light. That is what spiritual community is for.
The Divine within us grows until it is time for it to be born into the world. Until a time when we are able to nurture the Christ in a more public way.

The Birth of Jesus
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

Joseph represents our logical masculine aspect. To nurture our Christ Spirit openly in the world we need to be grounded in logic as well as guided by intuition, for our spiritual essence needs to learn how to balance being Human with being Spiritual.
We need the masculine and feminine aspects of our being to birth the Christ that dwells within us.
We need to look at the paradox of the struggle between our earthly needs and concerns and our spiritual needs and concerns. There is a push and a pull in our lives in many ways. As we open to embrace both our humanity and our spirituality, our masculine and our feminine, our thinking and our feeling, our sensing and our intuition, our inner world and our outer world, we prepare for the birth of a Greater Reality for ourselves and for the world.

6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
There is a natural progression of development within us to prepare us to birth the Christ, to “put on the Christ…which is the true self of everyone, the fulfillment of self” as Charles Fillmore, co-founder of our Unity Movement says.

Just as carrying a baby to term requires self-care, attention to what we put into our minds and bodies; so Carrying the Christ within to term requires attention to what we put into our minds and bodies. It takes spiritual study, time in prayer and meditation, time with supportive community.

But like childbirth, it is a natural process, one that we were built for and supported in.

When the time for labor comes, we need to humble ourselves, for it is God that is birthing this divine aspect of ourselves. We need to be humble, as in a stable to keep the EGO from taking over. We need to be in awareness and honoring of our animal nature, our emotions by being mindful of them without giving them the power to take over, as Mary and Joseph honored the animals whose stable they shared.

Labor is about expansion and contraction, paradoxes moving us to push out the divinity hidden within us so we can nurture it in the world. So we can be the very expression of the Christ in the world.

    Life for many in our congregation and the world these are challenging times.
I believe that we are being pushed and pulled to a place where we birth the Christ. Unity Author Robert Brumet writes about 5 things to birth the Divine in his book “Birthing a Greater Reality”. We are being called to do all of these!
1. Make friends with paradox. Embrace the pushes and pulls in our lives and trust that they are calling us higher to a perspective where both are important. As Indian sage Nisargadatta Maharaj and Jimmie Jensen said, “Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. And between the two my life flows.”
2. Cultivate the power of attention and intention. As we intend to be mindful of our emotions and physical sensation and thoughts without becoming attached to them, we learn to live in the present of the Sacred Presence. We can intend to align with the Christ within, so it will be born more quickly into this world that is awaiting it’s saving grace.
3. Embrace everything; be attached to nothing. As we realize that there is God and Good in all our experience, as we embrace them but do not cling to them or push them away, we realize that there is a power greater than us that is guiding our process. We can Let go and let God.
4. Listen, listen, listen – the universe speaks in a thousand ways. Philosopher Gebser writes: “we see the world as alive with meaning and ourselves an intrinsic part of that meaning. We experience a profound sense of belonging and a deep intimacy with the universe” when we are in Integral Consciousness.
5. To birth new worlds, we must dance with chaos. Chaos theory shows us that there is a hidden order in the universe. As we dance with chaos in our life, we open the door to personal and global transformation as we are “open and mindful of the hidden rhythms in our life.”

    We need other miracles now. We have at least three people in our church community with emergency needs. If anyone wants to contribute to creating miracles in these lives, please give the money to me.

In closing, Rabbi Zev Feyer sent me this quotation from Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook at my request.

There is one who sings the song of one’s own soul, and in this soul s/he finds everything, full spiritual satisfaction.

And there is one who sings the song of one’s people, for s/he finds the circle of the private soul not wide enough, and so goes beyond it, reaching for more powerful heights. This one unites oneself with the soul of the community, sings its songs, suffers with its sorrows, and is delighted by its hopes.

And then there is one whose song lifts beyond the limitations of the community to sing the song of humanity. This one’s spirit expands to include the glory of the human image and its dreams.

And then there is one who rises even beyond this level, becoming one with all Creation and all creatures and all the worlds, and with all of them sings a song.

And there is one who rises together with the bundle of all these songs. All of them sing out, and each gives meaning and life to the others. And this completeness is the song of holiness, the Song of G*d.

Journey of the Magi
12/11/11
Rev. Jan Chase

(Based on the book Birthing a Greater Reality by Robert Brumet)

Matthew 1: 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 2: 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

Let us explore the part of this story about the wise men metaphysically.

Let us look beyond the surface of the story to see what the characters and events have to do with our own lives.

The Christ child was born, and the scripture says “they will call him- Immanuel which means ‘God with us.’”

That God with us, that Immanuel, has been born within each of us! It is our Christ within.
What the Jews call our spark of divinity within.
What the Hindus call Brahman, the Cosmic Spirit within.
One of their scriptures, the Upanishads reads:
“That in whom reside all beings and who resides in all beings, who is the giver of grace to all, the Supreme Soul of the universe, the limitless being- I am that.”

It is in you and it is in me.

How do we find that eternal, unlimited core of our Self?

How did the wise men find the Christ Child?
They saw his star in the east and they came to worship him.
The wise men were astrologers, who studied the stars and understood the interconnectedness of the universe. When they saw the star, they intuitively knew that a wondrous event was occurring and they followed the Light to experience this Holy One.

Like the Wise Men, we can study the signs of our lives, we can follow the LIGHT within us to find the Christ Child, the Sacred that is at the core of our essence.

Charles Fillmore, co-founder of our Unity Movement wrote:
wisdom--Intuitive knowing; spiritual intuition; the voice of God within as the source of our understanding; mental action based on the Christ Truth within. Wisdom includes judgment, discrimination, intuition, and all the departments of mind that come under the head of knowing. This "knowing" capacity transcends intellectual knowledge. Spiritual discernment always places wisdom above the other faculties of the mind and reveals that knowledge and intelligence are auxiliary to understanding.

We have been built to know. However, there is work to do to find that Divine within us. As much and as important it is for us to come together for Church on Sunday Morning, it is important to journey beyond that. The Wise Men stopped what they were doing and took a journey. To find the prize within our selves, we must do the work of Spiritual Study, Meditation and Prayer, in a spiritual supportive environment. As we surround ourselves with like-minded people who share our values we continue to be guided by our inner star.

Fillmore says: wisdom and divine understanding--These attributes come from the Spirit of Christ within us. The price that we must pay for the conscious attainment of divine wisdom and understanding is the letting go of the personal self with its limited beliefs.
This letting go of the personal self is a journey within to bring clarity to what is real and to release those things that cause suffering in our lives.

Unity Author, Counselor and Teacher at Unity Institute Robert Brumet writes in his book Birthing a Greater Reality: “…our happiness or our suffering does not depend upon the conditions of our life; it depends only upon how we respond to the conditions of our life…. It is possible to experience unconditional happiness, but only if we see deeply into the cause of our suffering. This leads us to seek a spiritual practice that facilitates this deep seeing.”
Robert explains that our ego comes from a sense of self which develops from a “strategy designed to get what we need and to avoid pain and anxiety.”

The ego is who we think we are, but it is not who we truly are. “Our essential nature, our true self, is, was and always will be free of craving, aversion, delusion and suffering. Our true self is an expression of the One.” - (Brumet)

Can our ego be satisfied? NO! It lives in fear and dissatisfaction that covers up our amazing spiritual essence.
Maya is the veil, the illusion of a dualistic universe in which we appear to exist as separate beings in time and space.

The Buddha identified 3 characteristics of maya, the conditioned world.”
1. Dukka (unsatisfying)
2. Annica (Impermanance)
3. Anatta (Having no inherent self or reality)

That which is wise in us can see beyond this conditioned world.
That which is wise in us can move beyond that which causes us to suffer.
What causes us to suffer?
Christians may call it sin, and many religions list things not to do to keep from sinning, moral codes such as the 10 Commandments.
In New Thought we talk about listening to the “Still Small Voice” within for Guidance. But most of us have many voices within. There are many parts of our personalities within us. So how are we to distinguish which to listen to.

The Buddhists list 3 causes of suffering.
1. Aversion: Trying to avoid something, especially trying to avoid feeling something. Which doesn’t work at all but feeds the ego about the idea of separation and unworthiness.
2. Grasping: Trying to attach to something and get it or keep it. I will be happy if or when I do this or have this or when this happens. We keep putting off happiness. If we look at the statistics for happiness in the world today, we can see that richest country in the world has some of the most unhappy people. Stuff doesn’t do it. Desire is not the cause of our suffering, but attachment to the object of our desire is.
3. Delusion is the third cause of suffering. Robert defines Delusions as “unconsciously projecting the cause of our suffering onto the external world rather than seeing that suffering is caused by the mind.

In Unity we hear that our Mind has great power.
How we use our mind affects everything in our lives. When we believe that the external world is causing our suffering, then we also look to the external world to relieve our suffering and ADDICTIONS come into play, because although they do not relieve our suffering, they often give us an experience of pleasure, which we become attached to. Sometimes we suffer while we experience pleasure, because we are thinking about the pleasure coming to an end!!!

I have 3 suggestions for how to use our minds in a positive way.
1. Keep your attention on the Present. The EGO lives in the past and the future. The ego does not know how to live in the presence where the Christ in you resides!!!! When your mind wanders into what happened before or what might happen, just consider the shoes on your feet or the clothes on your skin and you come back into gift of the present where you will find many presents.
2. Feel your feelings. Good, Bad or Ugly. Don’t stuff them into your body, where they will create dis-ease. Learn to develop skill to feel them and let them go.
3. Find ways to give of your self. Bring your gifts to the Christ Child within.
The wise men brought gifts to the Christ Child. The gold, frankincense, and myrrh that the Wise Men brought when Jesus was born are symbolic of the inner resources open to the Christ child.
gifts, of the Magi are Offerings of love to the Christ; inner resources open to the Christ Mind.

Our gifts are from God. From Fillmore's Revealing Word: gift--"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). God's greatest gift to man is the power of thought, through which he can incorporate into his consciousness the Mind of God.

Charles Fillmore writes on gift, spiritual--The manifestation of Spirit in each of the members of the Christ body according to each man's receptivity; giving to each member a particular work in the redemption of the individual.
We have each been given different gifts to share. And when we come together in a spiritual community we can be amazed at the diversity of our gifts and the ways they go together.

Fillmore writes on Wise Men--The Wise Men of the East who came to visit the baby Jesus may be likened to the stored-up resources of the soul that rise to the surface when its depths are stirred by a great spiritual revelation. In scriptural symbolically East always means the within.
Our work is out of the East for it is inner work. But we need a supportive Spiritual community to help us do that work. We need people who will assist us in remembering the truth of our being and the gifts that we are and have.

Concerning Waking up to who we are.

Life has a way of challenging us to wake up. The push and pull of change, the challenges we find ourselves in, call us to travel to the Christ Child within to know the truth of the situation and the truth of our ability to deal with whatever comes our way!

This week our dear Emma fell and found herself first in the hospital and then in a nursing home. I can tell you that was not what she wanted. But Emma turned within and found the wisdom and strength to deal with her situation. She turned her mind to the healing of her body, instead of dwelling on what was happening that she did not want. Let us join her and Jack in knowing that her healing is swift and than the Christ within Emma is guiding her every step of the way.

In the meantime Jack is without Emma for maybe the first time in his life. Yet that Christ within Jack, knows that he has power over his thoughts which have power over how he deals with all these changes. And the Universe has stepped forward to assist Jack. A neighbor has been bringing him to Emma and has invited him to all their family meals!

Jack and Emma are using Truth to not only help them through this challenge but to help them know at deeper and deeper levels the power and the presence that resides within them and connects them to all.

Concerning Following the Star
We all have gifts and it is up to us to listen to what and when to share our gifts with the world.

When I visited Emma, it was a gift to me to be with her and with Jack. But I wanted to honor her in some new way and it came to me to buy Emma some new clothes to work out in as she journeys back to health. I felt like Santa as I shopped for Jammies and work out clothes for her. I was following my bliss.

Another way I was led this week to follow the star leading to my inner Christ was through a hearing in San Bernardino. The group Progressive Christians Uniting was asked to help a mosque in the Montclair/Chino area to get a permit to build a mosque that they have been working with the planning commission on for 26 months. Every time it is almost approved, neighbors come forward with new complaints or concerns.
I attended this hearing for 6 hours on Thursday. As I awaited my turn to speak, listening to so many other pro and con statements, a lightbulb went off in my head. Instead of for and against, what if God is drawing these people together to work on issues that have been plaguing this community for over 40 years: that of water run off.

So when my turn came as next to the last, I found myself asking the commissioners to find a way to bring this two groups together and work with them to solve the challenge that the neighbors were complaining about, therefore allowing them to work together, get to know each other and find common ground.

I believe that the commissioners heard me for they said virtually the same thing as they approved the conditional use permit.

Spirit guided me there and guided me in what to say that was useful. I was able to be a part of a civil rights proceeding, that brings our country out of the latest fear into justice and democracy for all.

We may not even know the gifts we are bringing to a situation. But if we listen deeply and open to what is ours to do, I believe we will be astounded by the wisdom that pours through us.

Concerning Bringing Gifts

We had our semiannual Christmas Party and Auction last Sunday afternoon and it was an amazing success.

Many people brought their gifts from the center of their being to share to make this party a success.

Rosie not only collected many of the items for sale, but organized the door prizes and the money collection. Something not many could or would do! And she did it all masterfully.

A team including Jacqi, Lisa, Irene and Michelle decorated both upstairs and down making it look and feel a lot like Christmas.

Stephen was the Auctioneer’s assistant helping us raise almost $1000.

Many of you came and brought friends and relatives as well as items to sell and treats to eat.

Many of you bought items, some for Christmas, some for yourselves, and some for each other!

Some of you stayed to clean up.

Together it was perfect. Without each unique gift from you, it would not have been the same.

Not only did you bring your gifts, you were the gift!
For you brought the Christ Child within you to share with us all!

What is going on in your life that is calling you to journey to find the Christ within YOU?
What tools are you planning to use to get to this Sacred Space within?
What Support are you building around you to encourage you on your journey?

What gifts is spirit within you calling you to give to the world? One way to tell is to see what needs you notice in the world. What would be better if someone would only step up and ________do something? That may be your gift to bring to the world right now.

I encourage you to seek the Christ within through spiritual study, meditation and compassionate service in a spiritual community. Hopefully this one!

As you allow yourself to be present in the Now Moment, Feelings Feelings, rather than stuffing them, you will find yourself opening and your gifts will pour out to a world that is ready and grateful to receive them.
You will find personal Happiness and the Satisfaction of helping co-create a World that Works for All.