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Christmas Blessings 

Dear Ones, 

Hush! Can you hear it? Be still. Can you feel it? The sweet anticipation of this Christmas is upon us. The leaves are falling, the rains have begun and nights are long and cozy. 

We are making preparations for our holiday services at USC. We will have opportunities for community, prayer, celebration and feasting. As we remember the old stories, the journey to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus, I encourage you to set aside time to connect with the birth of the Christ within. 

For Jesus was born…

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Angels Arriving 

We are having the perfect November—it’s chilly and rainy, and the leaves have turned. Autumn is the time for long dog walks by the river, snug evenings bundled in sweats, and crock pots full of hot and hearty soup. It is also the herald of winter and the holiday season. Many years around this time I notice that angels begin arriving in the most unexpected forms and places.

I had planned to go to Wal Mart yesterday, after my dentist’s appointment. While in the dentist’s chair, I heard the siren’s song of…Read more

The Joy of the Journey 

How many times in life do you feel stuck, stalled or short-circuited? Are there times when your dreams seem to be in a holding pattern, and you keep running around the same circle looking for a way out? If so, sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey!

In our high-pressure, goal-oriented society, we sometimes forget that life unfolds according to divine timing. There is a natural rhythm to our progress, with periods of high accomplishment followed with times of inactivity. Know that there is real work being… Read more

Dog Tales 

Sometimes it is difficult to see God in every situation, but I’m learning to look closely, listen carefully and to be open to the gifts that can be found even in  painful circumstances.  I think back to one of the most challenging times I have experienced:

In June 1996 I found a lump on the side of my dog Chelsea Blue.  It felt like a soft golf ball.  When I took her to the vet, he diagnosed it as breast cancer and scheduled surgery.  He could not give a prognosis, and advised me that this type of cancer…Read more

When God Says Go and You Say No 

So many times in our lives we seem to be led into experiences that are not of our own choosing—divorce, bankruptcy, serious illness and other losses may make us doubt God’s ever-present love and power.
 
Such was the case with the Prophet Jonah.  We read in Jonah 1:2-3, when God spoke to Jonah, “’Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.’  But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”  Jonah then boarded a ship and fled…Read more

Ho'oponopono 

I believe we are the Masters of the Universe. That we volunteered to participate in one of the greatest dramas in all creation—that of free will. Those of us on the Earth plane today have shown up to awaken, to heal, and most importantly, to love.

We read from Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len: “The purpose of life is to be restored back to Love, moment to moment. To fulfill this purpose, the individual must acknowledge that he is 100 percent responsible for creating his life the way it is. He must come to see that it…Read more

Creating Affluence 

Affluence, and wealth of all types, is not something that we need to attract to us—for we already possess it. The challenge that we face is releasing the thoughts and beliefs that block us from recognizing it. As we look deeply within, we discover that our worldview, our definitions of life, are contrary to the effortless realization of wealth.

We often begin our quest for prosperity at the wrong end of this dilemma—we focus on that which we believe is missing—money, things, a comfortable lifestyle, friends…Read more

Tomorrow's Church 

(based on the Minister’s Message at USC’s annual Membership Meeting)
The last two weeks we’ve discussed Tomorrow’s God during our Sunday lessons. The corollary to Tomorrow’s God is Tomorrow’s Church. There are numerous books, and seemingly endless theories, about the future of religion, and about how churches must be willing to adopt a new paradigm in order to meet the needs of Today’s People.

I think that one of the downfalls of organized religion is depending on voices of the past for guidance, and for… Read more

Keep a True Lent 

Many folks who begin attending Unity churches have rejected the teachings of their childhood religions, especially the ideas of sin and damnation. I was not from a church-going family, and I grew up with prejudices about the Bible and Jesus. Unity’s teachings about the original innocence of humankind, and Unity’s metaphysical Bible interpretation, allowed me to gain a new understanding of Jesus and the Judeo-Christian mythos.
 
Newcomers to Unity sometimes resist hearing about Jesus, and the scriptures.…Read more

"On Them Has Light Shined" 

The Prophecy of Isaiah 
Isaiah 9:2, 6 
 
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined... For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, prince of Peace.’”
 
We interpret this scripture thusly:  Some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed his coming. In you and me, Isaiah…Read more

Language of the Heart 

We’ve heard it said, and sung, that “love is all around,” and “love is in the air.” When we connect this idea with the knowing that we live, and move, and have our Being in God Mind—and that God is Love—then all we need to do is open our minds and our hearts to the never-failing Presence that envelopes us in the energy of Divine Love. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was having a bad day. Unable to shake this gloomy mood, I went back to bed—after sharing with a couple of friends and colleagues that I was not…Read more

Infinite Expressions of the One God 

In the beginning there was the One God. In a great bursting forth of creativity and love, the One God gave expression to myriad aspects of itself, each containing the original spark of that Oneness, each mirroring to the others a unique manifestation of that same Oneness.

In this manner, the One God grew in self-awareness and gave freedom to the infinite forms of created life. As we move through our years on earth, we each reflect to all others an authentic version of the One God. Our holy mission is to use…Read more

DILLON MODELS THE "I AND THOU" RELATIONSHIP 

On a typical workday morning as I rode the El to the Chicago Loop, I would be jostled as I moved through the crowded car to a seat. The train was noisy and uncomfortable, and passengers would be flung against one another and knocked about as it screeched around the sharp curves. When it descended into the subway tunnels, there were showers of sparks and the internal lights blinked off and on. This daily experience was an assault on the senses and the nerves. 
Many passengers buried their noses in the Chicago…Read more

My Country 'Tis of Thee 

My country, ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty…America. The land of hope, of dreams, of promise. Of thee we sing. For thee we pray. 
We let go of any ambiguity about our nation, and remember the times when it was simpler to love this land. America. The New World. A place of wide-open plains, mighty rivers, and miles and miles of unexplored grandeur.
 
America lives in the hearts of her people. America is an ideal as much as it is a place. It is the ideal of a country where all people are welcome, all people…Read more

A NEW HUMAN MANIFESTO 

Things have changed since 2012. There seems to be more light in the world. It’s like we were waiting to exhale until we successfully passed that landmark year and could believe that we were going to be successful in realizing the new heaven and the new earth.

There may also seem to be more darkness in the world—both natural and human-made disasters. But know this: we are experiencing the storm before the calm. The human race has reached the tipping point, and we are approaching our destiny in fulfilling the…Read more

DANCING TOGETHER IN THE LIGHT AND DARK 

Light and dark, young and old, aggressive and receptive, motion and stillness, male and female, life and death: there is a powerful dynamic to our existence that is created by the interplay - the dance - of opposites. In some philosophies it is seen as dualities with judgmental connotations of good and bad: the light is divine; the dark is evil. The reality is that both are necessary. They are polarities and they require balance within the world and us. Is that not the basic nature of the sacred dance -- an…Read more

THE INESCAPABLE GOD 

Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence?
 If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
 If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
 even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast.
 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
   and the light around me become night’,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
   the night is as bright as the day,
   for darkness is as light to…Read more

Angels In Disguise 

Last Saturday I went to the local farmers’ market. I follow a plan when shopping there—I walk down one side and back up the other, noting prices and inventory, and sampling the fruits that I am interested in buying. After making one pass, I go around again—this time purchasing the produce that I’ve selected. 
I came prepared this last time—I had borrowed a wheeled shopping cart from a neighbor. It is orange, rather large, sturdy and has a little plaque that says “Angel” on the front.
 
I stopped at the first…Read more