Politics, Unity, and Quakers

This is taken from TruthUnity.com

Charles Fillmore Comments On Quakers

NOTES AND COMMENTS

By Charles Fillmore

Is Unity a branch of the Society of Friends, pop­ularly known as the Quaker church?—Extract from a letter received by Unity School.

UNITY is not a branch of the Quaker church. Unity is a school of religious inquiry, investigation, and demonstration. We study and apply Christianity in its broadest mean­ing. Our research has convinced us that Chris­tianity combines in a practical way more truth of man’s spiritual being than does any other reli­gion. In fact, Christianity is the youngest and most up-to-date religion that has been evolved by mankind.

The Quaker church stands very high among the sects of Christianity. It has maintained a unique and impregnable place in the Christian religion, because of its reliance on the “Inner Light,” instead of on written authority, for the guidance of its adherents.

Quakers are universally credited with honesty, justice, and peaceableness. No religion of modern times has so stamped its tenets upon its people as has the Quaker religion. Quakers seem to have an ingrained spirituality. With most persons religion is one thing and daily life is quite another. Usually in modern Christian civilization a man’s religion cannot be detected by his costume or his conduct. Quakers are the exception. By this we mean orthodox Quakers. Reformed Quakers have their up-to-date churches and are hardly dis­tinguishable from other Christians. But old-time Quakers, who silently seek the “Inner Light” and are moved by the Spirit within in all their ways, are a “peculiar people.” They are peculiar because they are so steadfast in their reliance on the indwelling God as the moving factor of their lives. They are noted as a dependable people because they rely on the immanent God for inspir­ation and conduct. This reliance develops individ­uality and poise. It sometimes tends to too much self-sufficiency, but never to intolerance. A Quaker is often blunt in stating his opinions, but he allows others the same privilege.

The practice of silent prayer is fundamental in the Quaker religion. In this respect Jesus was a Quaker. He told His disciples that when they prayed they should enter into the inner closet, close the door, and pray to the Father in secret. He said, “The words that I say unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father abiding in me doeth his works.” Jesus told His followers that they would be tempted to follow false spiritual lights from outer sources. “Neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Jesus taught that the Scriptures are not authority for man but that they tell of the Christ within man. He said to the Pharisees, “Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me; and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.”

George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, once rose in one of the prin­cipal English churches and rebuked the minister in his sermon for declaring the Scriptures to be the source of divine truth. “No,” cried Fox, “it is not the Scriptures; it is the Spirit of God.” He was immediately imprisoned for his audacity.

Unity’s interpretation of Christianity is much like that of George Fox, which is not original but quite in harmony with the teaching of Jesus.

There is a very pronounced revival of interest in the Quaker religion since the nomination of Herbert Hoover for President. In this connec­tion The Kansas City Star recently printed the following editorial, “The Inner Light”:

Herbert Hoover is a Quaker. He was born of Quaker stock. He regularly attends services at the little ivy-covered meeting house of the Friends on I street in Washington. The Quaker doctrine, which he drank in throughout his boyhood, is evident in the social and political philosophy of Hoover the states­ man.

That doctrine centers about the teaching of the “Inner Light.” George Fox, who established the Society of Friends in England in the seventeenth cen­tury, was the promulgator of this teaching. “I saw,” he wrote, “that the grace of God which brings salva­tion had appeared to all men and that the manifesta­tion of the Spirit was given to every man to profit withal.” Again Fox wrote, “The Lord opened to me how every man was enlightened by the divine light of Christ.”

The Quaker needs no intermediary to approach the throne of grace. He approaches it through the wit­ness of the Inner Light. So in the Quaker service there is a period of silence while each worshiper is communing with the Unseen. Then various members testify as they are “moved by the spirit.”

Here is the very essence of individualism. The soul has its own revelation from on high. It is not dependent on church or minister. Divine guidance floods in on it, directs it, comforts and sustains.

In his theory of business and of social progress, Hoover is imbued with this sort of reverence for the individual. The future of America, he has said, depends on the initiative and resourcefulness of the individual. Any policy that weakens that initiative and resourcefulness he instinctively distrusts. Society cannot save us, he says in effect; government cannot save us. Each of us must work out his own salvation. We must cultivate the Inner Light and be guided by it.

This belief runs through all his writings and actions. His little book, “American Individualism,” expressing his fundamental philosophy of life, is inspired by it. Should he be elected President the Quaker influence would be dominant in the nation—the doctrine of individual responsibility, developing the individual to his highest capacity, guided by the flame that burns within.

* * * * * * * *

I shared this here because it gives us insight on how Charles describes what Unity is about. It also gives an inside view of President Hoover’s faith as well as what the Quakers believed. Charles also shared his political beliefs here and there without being obvious.

In my view, the presidential race began as soon as it was over in 2020 by one individual unofficially running again with rallies until they finally declared their candidacy this year. For me, it feels like there has been no respite from the presidential election. Normally things settle down and the new president does their best to run the country with their cabinet and support from congress.

One of my take aways from this article is that it is not up to the president or government to solve the problems. It’s up to each of us to take responsibility through our faith or philosophy or whatever we use to govern our lives, and resolve the problems together.

I might read Hoover’s book mentioned above, also.

What do you think? Your comments are always welcome below.

Rev Airin

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Prayer of the Heart Part III

Last week I mentioned the Prayer of the Heart booklet that Rev Toni Boehme wrote. It is no longer being printed. Her website is here to check out and see her other books: Toniboehme.com and you can put Toni Boehme books in google search and they all appear on the page.

To conclude this series, I am sharing the poem by James Dillet Freeman, Unity minister and poetry Nobel laureate. It remains very powerful for me. I didn’t realize that this poem was taken to the moon by James Irwin on Apollo 15. It is stored there in a microfilm file for future space explorations.

I had the privilege of hearing James read it out loud at Unity Village in Missouri in 1994. After he read it, we had a break in the class and as I walked outside, I could hear it echoing as it continued to resonate in my heart. At that time, I had gone through some significant events in my life, wherein it provided a healing lifeline for me.

This might be considered his prayer of the heart because of the circumstances taking place in his life when it came through. For the whole story you can go here: https://www.unity.org/article/story-i-am-there-james-dillet-freeman   In 1947, he was at the bedside of his wife, Katherine, who had just had surgery for cancer. He prayed out loud asking God if he was there. He remembered hearing a voice speaking to him and naturally, looked around and there was no one else in the room with him. The words he heard were: “Do you need me? I am there.”

I AM THERE

Do you need Me?
I am there.

You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by.
You cannot hear Me, yet I speak through your voice.
You cannot feel Me, yet I am the power at work in your hands.

I am at work, though you do not understand My ways.
I am at work, though you do not understand My works.
I am not strange visions. I am not mysteries.

Only in absolute stillness, beyond self, can you know Me
as I AM, and then but as a feeling and a faith.

Yet I am here. Yet I hear. Yet I answer.
When you need ME, I am there.
Even if you deny Me, I am there.
Even when you feel most alone, I am there.
Even in your fears, I am there.
Even in your pain, I am there.

I am there when you pray and when you do not pray.
I am in you, and you are in Me.
Only in your mind can you feel separate from Me, for
only in your mind are the mists of “yours” and “mine”.
Yet only with your mind can you know Me and experience Me.

Empty your heart of empty fears.
When you get yourself out of the way, I am there.
You can of yourself do nothing, but I can do all.
And I AM in all.

Though you may not see the good, good is there, for
I am there. I am there because I have to be, because I AM.

Only in Me does the world have meaning; only out of Me does the world take form; only because of ME does the world go forward.
I am the law on which the movement of the stars and the growth of living cells are founded.

I am the love that is the law’s fulfilling. I am assurance.
I am peace. I am oneness. I am the law that you can live by.
I am the love that you can cling to. I am your assurance.
I am your peace. I am ONE with you. I am.

Though you fail to find ME, I do not fail you.
Though your faith in Me is unsure, My faith in you never
wavers, because I know you, because I love you.

Beloved, I AM there.

— James Dillet Freeman

Until we connect again on this blog,

Rev Airin

Prayer of the Heart

Part II

In part one last week I gave you one of the ways that Carol Knox connected with God. There are other ways, too, with the primary one being meditation. Spending time in the silence and listening for a message from God, Spirit, or your higher self. One of my mentors said to have a particular chair in the house, that is the only place you commune with your higher power. Whenever you sit in that chair, you and your body know, almost like muscle memory, that it is time to meditate. Some people don’t sit still well, so walking in nature as a meditation works for those individuals.

You might have a question that you need an answer to, so say it at the beginning of meditating after you have centered. If you don’t receive it at that time, know that it could happen anywhere, anytime. You will know that it is from God because it will resonate deep in your soul. It will also be the highest and best for all concerned. Often, I will receive 3-to-6-word answers, with clear and distinct words.

When I was just beginning to develop a relationship with God, I would sometimes use the needle drop method with the Bible. I would have a question and ask it. I would randomly open the Bible and put my finger on the page where it opened. Then I would read the verse that it landed on as well as the verses before and after it to give it context. Sometimes this was helpful. Since Unity teaches the metaphysical interpretation of the Bible, using this method makes it fun, too. Metaphysical interpretation is looking at the meaning beyond the words as opposed to reading the Bible literally.

There is another fun way to connect with God. A mentor taught me about saying “Good morning Holy Spirit” and good night daily. She told me that eventually it would answer back, and it did happen. It was a neat experience.

The ultimate goal is to pray without ceasing and these methods bring us back to the Prayer of the Heart that another mentor, Rev Toni Boehm, wrote as a published booklet. I am in the process of getting a link and will add it in Part III.

“The Prayer of the Heart is an ongoing prayer held in the heart, directing your life towards God. Are you ready for a shift in your life experience? Are you ready to move higher and deeper?”

This booklet contains a ‘How To’ process on creating a prayer of the heart that you repeat over and over. It is a short prayer or affirmation that will come to your lips when you need it the most. This continues to be a powerful experience in my life. The one I chose is “Christ Heals and Reveals, I am Silently Trusting.” It is an acronym for Christ that was written by an instructor from Unity.

Last night the prayer came right into my mind and was comforting when I was thinking about a situation in my life. If I am unsure of the outcome and need to trust it will come to me. Do any of you have a prayer or affirmation that you use that may bring you peace and comfort during turmoil? I also will use the Prayer for Protection, by Unity minister James Dillet Freeman. It doesn’t come to me as fast as the prayer of my heart does, however.

Stay tuned for Part III.

Rev Airin

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

Conspiracy Theory or Truth?

Since I became a student of the Unity teachings 36 years ago, over half of my life, I have learned about the power that lies in the words that I use. As I may have mentioned before, I began to change my life one word at a time, one sentence at a time, to a new thought. This slowly transformed my life. We can only change ourselves, no one else. However, one can be an example inspiring another by living their truth that works for them.

The word Truth means a fact that has been proven with data. A theory is a group of ideas that logically explain an independent idea and isn’t proven. For example, the idea that Trump won the presidency couldn’t be proven. There was no empirical data to support it. This brings us to the word conspiracy. This means that a group of powerful people agree to work together in secret and create a plan or event that will cause an end to something. This will only benefit the conspirators and not us.

How I tell Truth over conspiracy theory is the way it feels in my gut and heart. Trust and honesty play a big role of course. If the Truth of someone else that is shared with me, causes me to feel fear (false evidence appearing real) then I need to stop giving those words power in my mind and life. In essence, a conspiracy theory does not have a happy outcome. So why would I want to buy the book about a shadowland and fill my head with ideas that lead to a crummy ending?

Truth tends to be for the highest and best for all concerned. It is above board and feels good. Sure, not all facts make one feel good, but they are proven reality and don’t feel icky. To be clear, I am not creating a duality of Truth vs Conspiracy Theory. They just happen to be opposites which is the definition of duality of course.

Moving to Metaphysics, Truth means The Absolute, or God, the information we receive directly from Source. It is unconditional and unlimited information with infinite access. It is pure and it has been proven when one acts upon what they receive and has results in real time that are for the highest and best for all concerned.

Why show the contrast between Truth and conspiracy? I felt it was important to discuss it because there is so much about conspiracy theories in the news. A while back in my life, I weighed the value of my time and decided that I would be more conscious of what I spent it on. There is so much out there that can consume my time and I can unconsciously fill it or waste it. I haven’t done it perfectly yet.

Leading with and from Love, responding with Love, and seeing it unfold in love. Instead of a crummy icky ending, life moves forward enfolded in Love and continues on a higher plane of existence.

What are your thoughts on this?

Rev Airin

Leading With Love

Part II

“Love Letters” by Ylanite Koppens/ CC0 1.0

Leading with love can be tough when our adolescent country and even our own state brings events up close. One wakes up and heading to work, checks in with National Public Radio, NPR, and hears the following news example (paraphrased from CNN): There was a shooting of more than one person at a sweet 16 birthday party in Alabama. 32 people were injured.

This was just one of the 165 mass shootings that have occurred in the United States in the first quarter of this year. It’s important to know what is going on but not give power to the headlines. Sometimes, after a flood of emotions pass through me, I remember to say NO to them and move on. It’s important to acknowledge them and not ignore or stuff them because they will eventually come out at an inopportune time. Carl Jung, known psychologist, writes about this in his Shadow work.

Applying ‘Leading with Love’, for example, one can visualize covering all of them, even the perpetrators with a blanket of love. Sending Love, prayers, or positive thoughts out into the Universe acts like a magnet and attracts others like it. This creates an energy vortex of love when quantum physics is applied. Quantum physics is the study of atoms vibrating at different frequencies every second of the day and that “like attracts like.” We and everything else are made up of these energy particles. All of this has been proven.

*Abdu’l-Baha spoke in 1912 at the Green Acre Baha’i School in Eliot, Maine.

“When we observe the phenomena of the universe, we realize that the axis around which life revolves is love, while the axis around which death and destruction revolve is animosity and hatred. Let us view the mineral kingdom. Here we see that if attraction did not exist between the atoms, the composite substance of matter would not be possible. Every existent phenomenon is composed of elements and cellular particles. This is scientifically true and correct. If attraction did not exist between the elements and among the cellular particles, the composition of that phenomenon would never have been possible. For instance, the stone is an existent phenomenon, a composition of elements. A bond of attraction has brought them together, and through this cohesion of ingredients this petrous object has been formed. This stone is the lowest degree of phenomena, but nevertheless within it a power of attraction is manifest without which the stone could not exist. This power of attraction in the mineral world is love, the only expression of love the stone can manifest.”

Referring to the metaphysical definitions in Part I of this multi part series, the Unity teachings say that Love is another name for God. Therefore, Love is the foundation for everything. God existed in the very beginning and all of us have the Divine spark within us. A Love that is eternal and pure.

I know of a woman, I will call her Jane, whose home is now a room in a nursing home. Right after she moved into her new home, she knew she would be living with another woman who would be her roommate. Sure enough, a woman I will name Anne, moved in the next day. Jane is always in a good mood and sees things from a positive perspective. She is a little forgetful, yet her mind is still sharp. Anne, however, is often in pain and her meds make her sleepy. So, she whines and groans from the pain sometimes and has trouble sleeping. She also has some dementia and according to Jane, gets anxious and confused in the early evening.

Jane has learned to be patient with her because Anne can’t help what is going on. It occurred to me to suggest to Jane that she try coming from love and compassion because love lays a foundation for what can follow. She said that she will try that. Jesus still looked at Peter with the eyes of love, even after he denied knowing him.

Leading with love isn’t always easy but if one looks for it and focuses on it, more love will be seen, and more will be expressed by each of us. I certainly prefer to focus on love, and it doesn’t give me a negative vibe like other things that can be emotionally upsetting. This doesn’t mean that we insulate ourselves from the news by ‘living under a rock.’ We need to be aware of what is going on in the world. One of my mentors said, “We are how God gets around.” We can see things rightly, not feel like we have to set them right.

Endeavoring to lead with love or come from love,

Rev Airin

*In the early years of the 20th century, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—the eldest Son of Bahá’u’lláh—was the Baha’i Faith’s leading exponent, renowned as a champion of social justice and an ambassador for international peace. https://www.bahai.org/abdul-baha

Leading With Love

Part I

As everyone knows, love is a big subject. How to lead in any capacity is also a big topic and I am merging them together in ‘How to lead with love.’ Most of us are familiar with love on various levels.  Some, however, did not know love from birth or have attachment disorder or other estrangement conditions. The latter would be a topic for another article. For this one I am going from the assumption that the reader has some inkling of what love is about.

I will begin with the definition of love from the online Oxford Dictionary:

1. an intense feeling of deep affection.

“Babies fill parents with feelings of love”

2. a great interest and pleasure in something.

“His love for football”

Since there is more to this than one can see with their own eyes, metaphysically speaking, here is the meaning of love from the Unity teachings.

The metaphysical meaning of love is as follows:
The pure essence of Being that binds together the whole human family… Love is an inner quality that sees good everywhere and in everybody. It insists that all is good, and by refusing to see anything but good it causes that quality finally to appear uppermost in itself, and in all things.

Love is the great harmonizer and healer. Whoever calls on God as Holy Spirit for healing is calling on divine love. Divine love will bring your own to you, adjust all misunderstandings, and make your life and affairs healthy, happy, harmonious, and free, “Love therefore is the fulfilment of the law” (Rom. 13:10).¹

 Love is a divine attribute; it is an idea in the one Mind. God is love and love is God, or a quality in Being. The difference between divine love and human love is that divine love is broad and unlimited, a universal and harmonizing power. Human love is based on personality and is selfish, lawless, and fickle.²

I will use this definition for ‘Lead’:

1. the initiative in an action; an example for others to follow.

“the US is now taking the environmental lead“

In the Unity teachings, Jesus is our Brother and Way-shower, not a God that is worshipped. We endeavor to follow in his footsteps through his example and teachings. He, in my opinion and others, taught us about unconditional love. Loving without an expectation of being loved in return.

Now that masks aren’t a requirement except in Doctor’s offices or if one has a type of immune disorder, I am grateful to see a person’s whole face. It’s easier to connect. One day leaving Home Depot, I was ‘smiling hi’ at people passing me who were going into the store. I had no expectation or condition that they had to smile back. This one woman smiled in response to my smile and then smiled a bigger smile. It was as if to say “hey, I like this!”

This is just a simple way of ‘Leading with Love.’ My definition of leading with love, is leading with unconditional love or loving without putting conditions on it or necessarily having it returned.

Stay tuned for Part II next week for as the saying goes, ‘where the rubber meets the road,’ where it isn’t as easy as the first example I gave. I will also address the metaphysical definitions more.

I invite you to try ‘smiling hi.’

Rev Airin

¹ pp 124-125, The Revealing Word, Charles Fillmore, 1988 Edition, Unity

² p 406, Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, Charles Fillmore, compiled by Unity School of Christianity, 1931

A Transcendent Easter Practice

A month ago, we had a speaker, Fred Brancato, who wrote the book, “Mystery and Manifestation: Reflections on Life Experience Beyond Ideology, Theology, and Belief Systems.” who spoke about having a transcendent experience and some ways he believes one can achieve it. (See
revairin.wordpress.com/2023/03/27/god-incidences-and-divine-timing/  Meditation is the overarching key to creating it. A meditation practice builds that relationship with the Universe, or Love, or God, or what ever your name is for the one power and one presence. We all know that Jesus spent a lot of time in meditation and prayer.

Recently I listened to a talk by Eric Butterworth, who is a well-known Unity Minister. It is called The Easter Perspective in April of 1979, found here: https://www.truthunity.net/ebup/the-easter-perspective . Some of the ideas I will share here are from his talk. It amazed me that the same problems that he referred to in the world such as energy use, oil and Saudi Arabia, fires, etc. are still ongoing today.

The main question that he asks is how is celebrating Easter helpful for our challenges today in the world and in our personal lives. Mankind has been on a quest learning about himself from the search for the Holy Grail to now. Jesus was no different when he came into the world. He was a man on a quest who went through the temptations in the desert and always worked to rise above his challenges.

How was Jesus able to do that? As mentioned earlier, he had a meditation and prayer life that help him develop a relationship with God. He may have had other daily practices. A foundational one was pausing, lifting his eyes, and seeing beyond the appearance or problem, which was transcending the situation and seeing it from a higher perspective, naturally listening to God’s guidance in that moment.

Jesus told us that we have the same abilities that he had. Everyone can develop a relationship with God, listening for him in meditation and prayer without going to a priest and asking them to intercede for you. Jesus demonstrated that it was possible to have transcendent (God) experiences. Rev Eric Butterworth calls being in the tomb with our challenges such as accidents or firing from a job, “Tomb of Limitations” *. Many of us may work very hard to set things right and we are blocked with questions that we can’t answer.

“The need is not to set things right but to see it right and get it” * on a higher level of consciousness. We don’t need to know the how or why it happened, which is the natural path we take, “trying to know all the ins and outs of it.” * We want to see it rightly.

Butterworth pointed out that if you notice in the New Testament wherever Jesus performed a healing or multiplying the loaves and fishes, that he lifted his eyes up. He was seeing things from a higher perspective or consciousness and calling on God of course, having a transcendent view of things.

The Transcendent practice that rolls the stone away from the tomb of limitation can happen in this way. We are confronted with a problem that may have felt like a crucifixion (not all of them do). We pause and go within, lift our eyes, seeing from a higher perspective, affirming the new view that we are seeing with the eyes of God.

“Fundamentally, Jesus demonstrated for you and for me and for all persons who have eyes to see and ears to hear, that if we lift our eyes and look out the right window, we can see allness in illness, we can see all sufficiency in insufficiency, we can see full potentialities even in limitations, and we find the key to overcoming and the key to a victorious, transcendent life. This is what it’s all about.” *

This can be an everyday practice to become a Master of it like Jesus.

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”                                                                                                          Albert Einstein

Rev Airin

*Direct Quotes from Rev Butterworth’s talk

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

Life After Life After….

I haven’t had a near death experience, have you? Joe Geraci has and I learned about it during his Ted Talk. One of the things he said was there were no words in our vocabulary that could describe it adequately. He did say he felt love and he was the love, the brightness, and the peace.  Below is a poem he wrote about it, over 30 years later. He wrote some others, too, about his view of life on earth.

Fleeting Voyage

From up here the stars pass like street lights

as I sit back and stare into ancient history

I’ve never been this far away from home

the thought comes just as easily as it goes

She takes my hand and my thoughts cascade into a blur

I can feel the hum of the universe

to a land of dreams

She says she’ll take me far away from everything

just as I wake

Copyright © Joe Geraci | Year Posted 2012

As a chaplain at the hospital, I will sometimes get asked about it. Honestly, none of us know what it is really like unless we have had a near death experience or we have been with someone or read or heard about what others have said. And then we need to consider that it is interpreted through their own filters. The one thing that I inherently believe is that it is peaceful.

Einstein is known to have said it was beautiful. Steve Jobs said, “Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow! His sister said that he was a romantic and had a capacity for wonderment. Italian artist, Raphael’s last word uttered was, “happy.” When John Wayne died, he turned toward his wife Marie and said, “Of course I know who you are. You are my girl, I love you.” Bo Diddley as he listened to a song called, “Walk around heaven,” he said. “Wow.”¹

Some people say that the experience after death is what one believes it will be. I was told by an intuitive that he had a visit from a friend after she died. She said that the after life was everything that they had talked about.

Unity teachings are spiritual and metaphysical and say that the physical body dies but that isn’t the end of ourselves. Everything is energy, our soul lives on and we transition to another form for a bit. Death is a new beginning. Charles Fillmore, our cofounder, taught that we are reincarnated, when we come back in a physical body we have another chance to do things better.

I am planning on an “Oh wow” experience. How about you?

Rev Airin

¹https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/58534/64-people-and-their-famous-last-words