Prayer of the Heart

by Rev Dr Carol Ruth Knox, Unity Minister

Part I

In order to get beyond the mind, one absolutely must move to the heart. You must move to your heart. I am going to ask you to do it right now. Keep your eyes open, keep reading, but at the same time, send your attention down into your heart. Notice that almost immediately you must become very quiet. As you are in your heart, say within, only two words: I AM. Notice that the mind still goes on, but a different energy begins to be created. Are you aware of that? Can you feel it? It is a different energy. This activity, the Prayer of the Heart, not only elevates consciousness, calms one’s being, but it is also a grounding device. Physiologically it is a centering device. It affects the body. Can you feel it? This is called the Prayer of the Heart. This is deeper than affirmation. If, when you are down inside yourself, you keep your thoughts contained and don’t allow yourself to run away into your mental spaces – don’t allow yourself to run away into your emotional spaces, although they are a whole lot more powerful – something wonderful begins to happen. The language, the new language, begins to move from being just a mind trip to becoming a heart trip. It becomes so much deeper than this I AM space, whatever it is and no one knows, it begins to talk to you, through you, as if you heard yourself on a channel for the Living Spirit within. Your thought now is no longer of the world – it has transformed into another level – the language of Spirit begins to move in you automatically. Your thought becomes the Christ Spirit speaking through you.

Every morning when I awake now, I go and sit somewhere. I go into this place within me, this I AM, this Kingdom of Heaven within – it has been in the process of being trained now for nearly four years, and I listen and I ask it to speak through me. It has a very pure statement. It says things like, “I am here with you always – trust me – I love you – I care for you – I am protecting you – I will lead you on (and incidentally, I am listening to it now) – I will guide you – I will tell you what to say next – I am the healer – that is all.” It takes tremendous trust to live from this place. A whole new energy is born, and it is not dynamic, exciting, emotional, exquisite, dancing energy. It does not especially care to talk to people. It does not really care about organizations anymore. It does not want to be hassled by the head. It only wants to pray with others through the heart. It would rather be with a flower than a textbook. It would rather be with an animal than a business letter. It would rather listen to the creative voice of Spirit than write it in a book. It would rather heal than chatter.

Courtesy of TruthUnity.net

This is one way to develop a relationship with God or Spirit or your higher Self. Stay tuned for part II next week.

Rev Airin

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Spiritual Tools for Lent

Unity has what I call spiritual tools that are ‘hands on’ or kinesthetic that are easy to use. Our cofounders Charles and Myrtle Fillmore used them. Two of them are using denials and affirmations.  Both are forms of prayer. Hypatia Hasbrouck, a Unity Minister and a former Dean of the Unity ministerial education program, wrote a book on forms of prayer called Handbook of Positive Prayer. In it are tools for cleaning your conscience and visualizing with it. There are copies in the bookstore and online of course.

The word conscience is a noun that cues you on what is right, wrong, or a shade of gray sometimes. Consciousness is also a noun that is a state of awareness. “The true temple in the “body” of Christ is a state of consciousness. In the inmost center of every man the indwelling Christ resides.” Charles Fillmore, pg. 11 from Keep a True Lent. The awareness of Christ with in, therefore is how one has the Christ consciousness and being one with the Christ.In reading any of his books, it is rare not to find consciousness on every page. Spiritual consciousness was all important to him. Again, being at one with the Holy Spirit.

Naturally there is more to having a Christ or Spiritual consciousness than just being ‘aware’ of that fact or believing it to be true. Using tools to cleanse one’s consciousness of things no longer serving us is one way and then moving into meditation for time in the presence with and as the Christ communing and listening. In Hypatia’s book, she teaches how to use the denials and affirmations to do it. Our consciousness includes the subconscious which has been like a sponge absorbing every experience, idea and residual feelings and emotions and storing it in the mind. Depending how long we have been alive, there can be a lot in there. When there is a lot going through your mind in a particular moment, it can be difficult to “Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10.

So, when one is cleansing the consciousness of the mind, it is the subconscious that is being cleaned which creates a faster and faster connection when you are in meditation and prayer. The subconscious mind also contains the intuitive faculty, which is the direct connection with other human minds (race mind) and the superconscious phase of mind (the mind of God in us).

A denial is a statement that withdraws the hold or power that a belief or habit has on you that you would like to eliminate. You only say it once because you don’t want to keep declaring it over and over. An affirmation is a statement of what you would like to be experiencing instead which replaces that belief or habit. You want to repeat this statement several times because you are establishing a new habit or belief. For example, years ago, I realized that I was afraid of driving in the bad weather. Denial: I am no longer afraid of driving in bad weather. Affirmation: I drive safely with God as my pilot. I didn’t include any words in the affirmation that I didn’t want to keep experiencing like, afraid. Feel how you would feel as though it were already taking place in your life. There is a lot more to this, but I gave you the cliff notes version to get you started if you are interested.

In the name and through the power of Jesus Christ, It is Done!

Have fun with the tools, too.

Rev Airin

Consciousness and Relationship

⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.             John 1: 9-11

My credo has been, life is about consciousness and relationship. Therefore, the consciousness that you show up in dictates how the relationship unfolds. An example would be a person gets bad news before they go to work, and this affects their consciousness for the rest of the day. One always has choice in how much power they give the bad news and one can choose to begin again and have a better day.

I have always used the credo regarding humans and pets, and it didn’t occur to me until recently that it could include ‘things.’ For example, darkness was mentioned in this first week of Advent talk that Rev Pat Bessey gave. What is my relationship with darkness? What kind of consciousness do I have about it? I really had never thought about it before. I wasn’t afraid of the dark growing up and maybe it’s partly because my sister and I shared a room and slept in bunk beds. I was in the top bunk of course. We also had our flashlights and our pet cat that would sometimes sleep with us.

Light is a subject that seems to have an uplifting quality to it. Sunlight is always good therapy for someone who is depressed or sad. Generally, a topic people are more interested in talking about. The above quote from John chapter one is referring to Jesus’s birth. Historically this was a dark time for the inhabitants of Bethlehem and the surrounding towns because the Romans were occupying the area. This was like the Russian forces occupying Ukraine today. It makes perfect sense why so many people came to the birth in Bethlehem because it was a sign of hope and so much more.

Here is a perspective on looking at the darkness:

“Just like the seed that starts its life in the darkness of the soil, or the child that starts its life in the darkness of the womb, all beginnings are in the dark, because darkness is one of the most essential things for anything to begin.” p 138, OSHO, A Practical Guide to OSHO Meditations

For me, this gives darkness a better reputation. The book of meditations looks interesting, and you can preview it on google. It goes on to talk more about darkness. There are many other quotes on darkness or the dark, that I looked up and it has been helpful in reflecting on what I think about darkness.

And…I am still looking at what my relationship with darkness is. An activity we were given from Rev Pat was to set a timer for 3 minutes and write about what darkness is to you.

All the best,

Rev Airin

Self-Care Nurtures

Nurturing oneself is self-care and self-care is nurturing. This is a good time of year to keep it in mind with the holidays coming. Self-care is a practice that is good any day and anytime. Ideally, a person wouldn’t want to wait until they feel depleted. In my case, I learned about it before I needed to put it into practice. Becoming a Unity Minister, it was part of the curriculum along with cultivating a prayer life which included spending time centering in daily meditation. Unity’s cofounder, Charles Fillmore would spend hours every day in meditation. He was affectionately called ‘Papa Charlie’ and was always smiling and going on spur of the moment picnics.

Selfcare isn’t age or gender specific nor is it only certain occupations. Many of you reading this may have heard about practicing self-care sooner than in your late 30’s like I did. I am sure I could have used it sooner. All genders are affected from male and female to transgender. Taking time to nurture yourself is important.

If you enjoy having pets like dogs or cats, spending time with them usually makes one smile and petting them increases the hormone Oxytocin that makes you happy and them also. This also reduces stress and anxiety. Also, meditation helps with your breathing and ability to relax more easily. A study was recently published in JAMA Psychiatry on the reduction of anxiety using meditation vs taking a daily dose of 10-20 mg of Lexapro. The results showed that they both reduced anxiety by 20%, NPR article here: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/11/09/1135211525/anxiety-medication-meditation-lexapro

One can take a mental health day and go to a favorite place outside or stay home and not have to go anywhere which includes having fun. Parents and especially women may feel guilty or that it is being selfish to take time out to relax and reenergize oneself.

A few years ago, I did a study on doctors and how they practiced self-care as part of a research project during my chaplain training. I had read in the research literature that they had the highest number of suicides. This was concerning to me, and I asked the 10 I interviewed that question. The average age was 45 and they had learned to take time for traveling, recreational activities with family, reading fiction, and some journaled and danced.

Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith is a mom, medical doctor and researcher who helps “the overstressed deal with their work-rest imbalance and find actionable answers to the thriving lifestyle they desire.”

From her website: https://ichoosemybestlife.com/resources/

She emphasizes rest and what that means. There is even a quiz you can take to assess yourself.  She also says that you can do short daily activities as part of your routine for self-care.

So have it be something fun and relaxing to keep yourself energetically charged for the day.

Rev Airin

It is a Prayer

Life itself is a prayer. Why do I believe that? Unity minister, Eric Butterworth, was one of my mentors in Unity who wrote in one of his books that he dedicated himself to a life of prayer. “I dedicate myself to living a life of prayer.” There is a little more to it and when I find the actual copy, I will tell you where I found the quote. I kept it in my wallet for years and it got quite tattered, so I took it out. I have also shared it in prayer classes, making copies.

Why would this be so important to keep with me? I had made the decision to put God first in my life. This would prompt me to do that. I had learned this from Unity’s cofounder, Charles Fillmore. There was a gradual transformation that began to take place in my life. I had begun meditating every morning and began tuning in for signs from God during the day. I had a landscaping business I had started just before I discovered Unity and was outside all the time in nature.

When living a life of prayer then everything I think, say, and do is a prayer. It is a prayer even if one isn’t dedicating a life to it. One of my classmates in ministerial school would say, swearing isn’t a prayer. I would say, yes, that is what you are affirming or putting out there to the Universe! What do you want for your life? I would ask him. It involves taking charge of one’s thoughts. This practice changed my life, one word at a time, one sentence at a time to one thought, to the outer manifestation of that thought.

Some of you may find the above paragraphs familiar if you have been following my articles that also show up in the Unity Center for Spiritual Growth newsletter. It is worth repeating because it has been the foundation of my life in Unity. Gradually through studying the teachings of Unity and Eric Butterworth, that the Christ presence was inside me as my GPS.

In the book, Go to Elf! by Lauren McLaughlin, the character Tony in the story asks his friend Molly if she believes in something inside of her that guides her. She calls this presence fairies that she talks to. She said that when she recently asked them a question, she didn’t hear from them. Tony said that she might want to try rephrasing the question. Also, he tells her to listen to her feelings.

 Eric Butterworth, writes in Practical Metaphysics: A New Insight in Truth,“You can become what you really desire because your divine potential or, as Paul would call it, the Christ, is within you always. Not some of the time, not if you take a class and acquire more knowledge. Human potential studies don’t put potentiality in anyone, but they help you to understand the potential that is always present. You can become what you really desire to be, not because of some divine intervention, not because of some newfangled metaphysical system you’re going to learn, not because someone puts his hands upon you and works some spiritual magic. You can do this because your divine potential, the Christ of you, is always present within you as the Allness of the infinite process expressing as you. This is an important principle by which you can deal with life.”

In living a life of prayer, the Christ presence inside you is guiding you 24/7. When you spend time listening to your feelings and in focused prayer and meditation, it makes it much easier to achieve your dreams and goals. Meditating helps you still your thoughts and listen to guidance. I find myself telling people who are feeling helpless and powerless that they always have choice even if it doesn’t seem that way on the outside, that it begins with our thoughts. If I don’t like what I am feeling and how it is affecting me physically, what have I been thinking and giving the power to? When I realize that I haven’t been following my inner GPS, God’s Positioning System, and giving the power to something else, I can make the course correction.

What is it that you have been ‘praying’ in your life and how are you feeling about it?  Let me know if you choose to do this, or have been, what insights you have discovered and leave a comment here on the blog. Rev Airin

Releasing Processes for Selfcare

I recently created this first ritual to help someone release their anger toward an individual. I followed it with a forgiveness process that many of you may be familiar with from New Year’s Eve:

There is a process or ritual that you can do to free yourself of the anger if you would like to try it. 

When you have an hour or so for yourself, and maybe out in a special place in nature or in your home.

Take a pad of lined paper or sheets of notebook paper and a pen and as you listen to the water lap against the shore and rocks or some meditative music.

Write down all the things that come to mind that you are angry about that happened, just let them flow onto the paper without questioning it. There is no maximum or minimum of sheets of paper used.

Then twist it up like a cigar and burn it and let the ashes wash down the sink or out to sea.

Because you have created a vacuum or space, you then need to write a letter or make a list to the person of all the things you love about them. 

This way the universe, which abhors a vacuum and will fill it with whatever, you will have only loving thoughts in its place.

Then, at another point in time there is a forgiveness of self and others process you can do when you are ready. I have done this process a lot and periodically our church does it once a year on New Year’s Eve. 

In this process you take a sheet of paper and write at the top on the first line :  I forgive myself for ______________ whatever flows out, don’t question or think about it, 

Keep writing out the same words at the beginning of each line

Keep writing until nothing else comes up to forgive yourself for, I have found it is hardest to forgive myself. Pay attention to your breathing that it is from your abdomen, crying is absolutely natural but not required . You can then think of someone else that you want to forgive and do the same writing it out process.

Then you do the same burning process in a bucket or whatever and let the ashes flow out to sea or down the kitchen sink.

Then you write a letter to the universe for the good things you would like to have happen in your life, goals or projects that you are working on, any relationships with friends or family you are wanting to have healed.

What both of these processes do is free you up of weights that you have been carrying. It removes things metaphysically that have been blocking your way on a human 3rd dimensional level. It also increases your clarity on all levels including intuition.

Getting physical is also good because this process works on a physical level and gets released from your body that has been holding it as well, for a mind, body and soul healing. So going for a walk or a sail after do something fun. Also drink lots of water.

Notice how you feel the next day for both rituals.

Whenever after doing each of these things may come up from a deeper level later in the week or month, so just make an appointment with yourself to release more and it won’t take as long. You will be able to go longer and longer without needing to do the ritual.

We are Thoughts in God’s Mind

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happened.”  Kahlil Gibran

 How are we thoughts in God’s Mind? “The individual mind is a state of consciousness in the one Mind.” Ed Rabel, Unity Teacher.  Our minds are filled with knowledge that comes from our thoughts resulting from our experiences and emotions, ideas acquired from living, reading, and listening to others. First and foremost, from time spent in meditation listening to our higher self or God.

Had you ever realized that one has excess to more information than the encyclopedia? Take a few minutes in the moment, by yourself and ask your question focusing on your existence in God’s mind where you are one with the One. Listen for the answer which may come in the form of your own voice, or as a feeling that comes into your mind or body confirming what you already may have surmised.

What if nothing happens? Garth Brooks in one of his songs says that: “God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CNEwm-c018

Something always eventually happens in some form. It could be in a book or a song, or on a billboard as your driving or a thought that floats into your mind. You can ask that the answer be made known so you will know without a doubt, what is yours to do.

You may be wondering; how do you know if it’s yours to do or if the message was for you? One wouldn’t be given someone else’s message. You will know because it resonates deep within you. One might not agree with what they get or want to move in the direction they have been given. Or it might feel too risky taking you out of what is comfortable. The more you act on the guidance you get, the more you will receive.

Our life is the result of the thoughts we have been thinking, the outcome of accomplishing goals we have set. Choosing to take advantage of the God Mind in which we reside, gives us access to it all.

Staying aware of this fount of Wisdom is key.

Rev Airin