Spiritually Empowered Wholeness

Connecting the Dots                                                                                             

The battle lines drawn between cats and dogs are not set in stone nor demanded
by nature.  And though I have had dogs with cat buddies, my Petey isn't one of them.  When he sees a cat, he sees an enemy.  Is there any hope for true wholeness and freedom as long as I define the 'other' as an enemy?

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Creative Intentionality                                            
                                                                                                                        

Charles Fillmore often used the phrase "seed thoughts" and wrote in  Jesus Christ Heals that  All things are in God as potentialities. I believe creative intentionality can be defined by weighing the difference between creative passion and technical perfection in musical performances.  When Michael Turner, one of our musicians, plays his sax, his whole body sings with the music.  By contrast, a pianist I once knew could perform beautifully on the baby grand piano at Unity Village.  His performance was technically perfect, but there was no corresponding passion uniting him with the music and none of us would have dreamed of approaching him.

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Spiritually Empowered Wholeness

A Talent for Growing    
A Talent for Growing                                                                                    

Spiritual growth is the movement from an ego-centric view of the world and "what's in it for me" to an open and loving acceptance of one's self and others as children of God;   created by a loving Father to learn and grow in understanding and compassion and to become good stewards of the natural world.   When we develop healthy, creative interdependent relationships and begin consciously living in the now, we discover a deep and abiding joy welling up from within us. 

Happiness has been defined as an emotional response to a positive event,  such as getting a raise or receiving an unexpected gift--a temporary event dependent upon external events. Joy is often defined as the product of  happiness, but true joy comes from deep within one's own being and is not bound or limited by people,  places or events.   And therein lies its power.

I can still experience true joy, even when the world around me appears to be spinning out of control.  Instead of trying to fix everything and everyone,  I turn my attention to the inward journey of spiritual growth.  My personal growth has a ripple effect in my world.

When my inner life is lively and well nurtured my relationships improve dramatically. 

We need to learn how to value and care for ourselves, to enrich our "centers" in order to make them safe, strong, renewing places to be.  We need to relate to other people and to the world out of this center, out of inner wholeness.

Jesus used parables, earthly stories with a heavenly meaning, to teach the multitudes and His disciples.  The Parable of the Talents appears with slightly different details in both Matthew and Luke.   It is set in conjunction with other stories teaching that we know not when He (the Master) shall return and must be ever ready.  In Matthew, the Master gives His servants 1, 2 or 5 talents, each according to his ability, to be invested during the Master's absence.  Both the servants with 2 talents and 5 talents invested wisely and doubled the Master's return. But the servant with 1 talent hid his for safekeeping rather than risking loss.

Those who invested (used) their talents and multiplied their good were blessed and rewarded by the Master, but the one who hid his talent lost that which he had as punishment for not using it.  And then, Jesus states what appears to be an inexplicably hard teaching:

For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

If we develop the spiritual gifts (talents) which God has given us, then our lives will be blessed with the riches of the Kingdom of Heaven.  But if we deny our spiritual gifts and hide away for fear of loosing that which we have been given, then even that which we have received will be lost in our fears and doubts.  Job stated it best, I think: That which I have feared has come upon me. 

I believe that the greatest reward of spiritually empowered wholeness in my life is the feeling of a deep and abiding sense of peace and joy.  Oprah offered this definition:

I define joy as a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace - a connection to what matters.

Rev. Claudia Naylor

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Spiritually Empowered Wholeness

Life Is More Than Occupying Space                                                                                 

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a clear demonstration that death is not final, nor is it the ultimate failure.  The refusal to live to our fullest potential is the only real failure.   Death signifies the transformation from the purely physical to the purely spiritual.  Though our eyes no longer behold the human being we have treasured, our loved one has not ceased to exist but has translated into pure being, pure energy.

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Spiritually Empowered Wholeness

Moving Mountains                                                                                               

A first rate teacher seems irreplaceable, but a truly great teacher sets His students free to grow into their full potential.  Jesus was such a teacher.  He taught parables,  precepts and by example.  He sent them out to teach and to heal, to practice the principles He taught them.  But more was required.

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