Celebrate Yourself This Christmas Season

Happy Holidays!  Welcome to this glorious season of light, festivity, and joy.  As we become focused on creating the perfect holiday experience, we may find that we are placing a high expectancy on those around us to bring us joy.  You may have heard of the "Christmas Billboard Battle" (as reported by The New York Times) outside the Holland Tunnel:  The Catholic League responded to the American Atheist's billboard of a nativity scene that reads: "You know it's a myth. This season, celebrate reason!" with their own nativity billboard reading: "You Know it's Real. This Season, Celebrate Jesus." You may be wondering how the Christmas story is real for you this year.  How can we let go of our holiday expectations and experience the true gifts of the season?    

In Celebrate Yourself, Eric Butterworth includes a series of inspirational essays which all center on his recurring theme of releasing our imprisoned splendor so that we may find the Truth within ourselves.  While this book was not written specifically about Christmas, I believe it holds many of the keys to experiencing the spiritual gifts of the season.

Gift #1: LOVE

As you peer into the manger, what do you see?  You may notice the wise men bearing gifts and remember that this is a season of gift giving and sharing.  You may notice the angel and the star of David and see the light of peace they bring.  What is the unseen presence that makes this setting so magical?  It is the Presence of God, the Presence of Love. 

EB shares the magical ingredient of the holidays: "Everyone can make a positive contribution to the peace of the whole world by following Jesus' injunction to love one another." (p. 178) Love is the "one creative force" of the universe, and is of highest value and impact in our lives, creating memories that we most treasure. (p. 175)  

As you engage in the celebrations of the season, remember that "you are the universe celebrating itself as you." (p. 1)  As we live from the awareness that life is lived from within-out, we celebrate by "giving a very special blessing to something." (p. 3)  In celebration consciousness, follow EB's guidance and "bless your family, friends, and co-workers as fellow travelers along the journey of life." (p. 3) As you send an extra blessing of love out this season, your love will create a ripple effect that brings joy and healing to our planet.  

As EB states: "Without a doubt the world needs love like a parched desert needs water." (p. 178)  Make loving choices in your gift giving and holiday plans, and know that love makes the biggest impression.  Give yourself the gift of love by letting go of the need to create a perfect holiday, and use the time to spend with your loved ones and friends instead of rushing about. Take time to celebrate yourself! Make one less dessert or trip to the store and use that time, perhaps, to read a beloved Christmas story or poem or just relax in the glow of the lights from your tree with a mug of hot chocolate. 

Gift #2: INNOCENCE

Christmas is a time of benevolence and purity of heart.  The warmth of the season brings memories of our younger years when we approached life with awe and wonder.  What does the innocence of Christmas mean to you today?  Innocence may mean making a choice for unity.  When family comes together, situations may arise which can lead us to focus on all the things that separate us and we may fall into old habits of negativity.  Instead of taking sides, you can do as EB suggests and "be a positive onlooker." (p. 74)  This is not a passive or "yes-man" position, but one of "an arbiter of good feelings, a center of love." (p. 75)  Let go of judgment because "when you become judgmental, no matter what you say you stand for, you are on the side of the problem." (p. 75)  Become a channel for love, because love is what the world needs.  

You may think that now is the time to set things right by sharing the truth teachings you know.  However, as EB states: "...don't delude yourself that the world needs your religion....The world needs unity, not theology." (p. 76)  He continues his theme of seeing things right rather than setting them right by guiding us to a better approach: to "be a meta-missionary." (p. 76-77)  This means making the effort to see the people right rather than the "misguided effort to set them right." (p. 77)  Become a center of love and "your influence will be more in what you are than in what you say." (p. 77)  Because you have lifted your consciousness to the awareness of love, "you will be centered in a circle of protection" and "no harm can befall you." (p. 77-78) You will lift all those around you to your higher level of consciousness.  EB teaches us to build bridges in our lives through love, and perhaps we can once again experience Christmas with the innocent wonder of our younger self. 

Gift #3: NEW BEGINNINGS

We rejoice in the birth of Jesus because it represents the birth of our inner divinity.  Remember EB's theme that Jesus placed the emphasis on you, on your unfoldment.  EB notes that the good news of the gospel is: "not that Jesus alone was divine, but that all persons are inherently divine." (p. 64)  While your Christ consciousness is birthing within you, know that you have a reason to celebrate yourself!  This universe made you in and of itself and there is an upward pull in you - what EB calls a "god spell" - to realize your Oneness with God. EB tells us to let go of stress and strain and know that the universe has a vested interest in us.  Rejoice in the essence of Jesus' message: "Take heart! The whole universe is on your side! You can achieve! You can succeed! You can overcome!" (p. 65)

What is real about Christmas this year is that Love is alive and awakened within you.  You have the power to celebrate who you are today, knowing that you are on the right path and divinely guided in the fulfillment of all of your dreams.   We can follow Jesus' great teaching to love one another, and we must begin by becoming a center of love. We start by loving ourselves and celebrating all that we are and our great potential within. 

May you discover all the spiritual gifts this season has in store for you, and remember to celebrate yourself with love!  

                                                                       

In Gratitude for the Gift of Spiritual Classes

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I focus with gratitude on the many gifts of this past year.  I am reminded of the wonderful connections and experiences I have had with teachers and fellow students in my spiritual education classes.  There is something special that happens when like-minded thinkers come together for the shared purpose of personal growth.  These are the gifts that come forth from our Oneness with each other when we can let go of ego and give way to the power of the group dynamic.



Whenever I think I may be on this path alone, I call to mind the blessings of hearing the thoughts and intentions of others who have motivated me by often expressing the same dreams and questions as mine.  In one person's story may be the answer I have been seeking, or the lesson of some unresolved situation.  Hearing of a classmate's success inspires me to keep dreaming and moving forward.  I never know what gift a class has in store until I get there and witness the class unfolding in its own order based on the consciousness of each person present. 

In The Universe is Calling, EB brings clarity to our understanding of what is happening energetically when groups come together for prayer and discussion of spiritual laws.  This small group style of prayer and learning is how Christianity began.  According to EB, "Christianity began as a movement within Judaism" of enlightened Jews who met in small groups to pray and discuss "the spiritual laws revealed by Jesus." (p. 143)  As mentioned in Unity: A Quest for Truth, Unity has been called "a return to first-century Christianity," and I can see this reflected in the emphasis Unity places on experiencing spiritual growth in a small class atmosphere.  We know that it is not enough to know spiritual truth teachings, we must apply them in our lives, and it is in the classroom that we are given a forum for sharing our ideas and progress.

EB gives a mystical definition of the group dynamic that occurs in a spiritual class.  He explains that out of the common bond uniting people who gather together in shared interest arises what he calls a "group soul."  This is a "transcendent awareness of the I AM," and is what Jesus was referring to when he said, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20) (p. 144)  When we come together "in a commitment of spiritual union," a process takes place which EB calls "the power of the swarm." (p. 144-5)  The group takes on a "group soul" which is a collective consciousness "to which each person gives and from which each person receives." (p. 145)  This "soul" contains the collective needs of the group, and has within it all the answers for each individual's needs in the group.  Through the mystery of what occurs in this shared experience, we join in Oneness to meet the needs of each other while finding answers to our own needs. 

This doesn't just mean that if you attend a spiritual class, you are guaranteed this transcendent experience.  As EB states, if you can "let go of self and its ego needs, and give one's self over to the larger good of the group," then you can reap the benefits that this gathering has available in potential.  (p. 145)  Like all things in life, you get out of it what you are willing to give.  You will receive a great blessing from this group experience if you "give yourself lovingly to the group, and trust the process" while making a "commitment to the greater good of all." (p. 146) 

I invite you to take a moment now to remember the special bond created when you have participated in prayer groups and spiritual classes.  We know that these experiences are always available to us, whether at Unity Village, your Unity center, or in an online course through Unity Institute.

Thank you to all my Unity teachers and classmates who have shined their light into my life this year.  As I journey on this life-long path of spiritual unfoldment, I know that I am never alone, and that we continue to walk this path together in Oneness. 

Many blessings for a Joyful Thanksgiving!
 

Working with the Workable Prosperity Law

With the national unemployment rate at 9% in October 2010, and in some states up to 12% (according to U.S. Dept. of Labor statistics), I imagine that many of us are wondering how to experience the flow of prosperity in our lives.  Eric Butterworth addresses the prosperity law as a major theme in his writings. 

In Unity: A Quest for Truth, EB presents the prosperity law, one of Unity's main Truth teachings.  He states that "when you understand the law and work within it, you not only begin to draw prosperity and success to you, but you can't keep them away." (p. 61-62)  EB is clear that this is no "get-rich-quick scheme," but a way of thinking and living. (p. 61)

The prosperity basics introduced in UQT are: to acknowledge God as our Source of supply, express gratitude that within us is the potential of "opulence and fulfillment," and "condition our minds to receive and express this infinite possibility." (p. 62)  We do this through affirmations, such as the one he shares on pg. 62:  I am a rich and healthy and dynamic child of God.  I think rich and healthy thoughts, and I expect rich and healthy results.

This introduction to prosperity is reflective of EB's statements that "the entire Unity teaching might well be summed up under the headings of 'prayer' and 'right thinking.'" (p. 52) As I mentioned in an earlier post, what is missing is action.  EB delivers what I consider this missing element of action in his subsequent writings on working with the prosperity law.

In Spiritual Economics, EB shares positive actions to take in order to "resign from enlistment in the 'army of the unemployed.'" (p. 121)  EB states that many people who are unemployed actually become unemployable because they have firmly established in their consciousness "the idea of lack and inactivity." (p. 121)  The thing to do is to first change your self-image. See yourself as "ready to work," rather than unemployed.  When you do this, you can stop identifying with Labor Department statistics, and realize that you do have a job.  This job is to get work.  EB suggests that you get up early every morning and go about your important task of finding a job, including packing your lunch and dressing for work.  This change of approach is in line with EB recurring theme that life is lived from within-out.

EB reminds us that we each have something unique to contribute, and that somewhere there is a need for exactly what we have to offer.  We live in an orderly Universe, and we are "an individualized expression of the creative flow." (p. 122)  When we understand the order of the Universe, we know that for every job seeker, there is an employer looking for the right person with the gifts that job seeker has to offer. 

According to EB, the reason why we feel "fear, self-pity, and a sense of insecurity" when we are unemployed is because we have subtly accepted that this condition is permanent. (p. 123)  The way to change this thought is to remember that recurring scriptural statement: "it came to pass."  EB assures us that you will feel "oneness with the divine flow" when you hold the thought of this Truth, and your confidence will be restored. (p. 123)

I also found helpful EB's action step of approaching a career challenge as a project rather than a problem.  Problems bring on ideas of burden and self-pity, but projects invigorate us to tune in to the awareness that the answers are unfolding from within.  This involves making the choice to see a challenge as a growth opportunity, and putting our faith in the principle that "all things work together for good." (p. 128)

In The Concentric Perspective, EB offers a term for the process of living from within-out: concentrics, which he defines as continually returning to the center.  In this book, he includes another action step in the process of working with the prosperity law: the art of giving yourself away.  When your goal is only your paycheck, you are out of the receiving flow.  EB suggests that you "think of work as a giving process." (p. 63)  When you allow your work to "be an outworking of the creative flow, engaged in through the sheer joy of fulfilling your divine nature," you will prosper because you will be in the consciousness of giving. (p. 63)

When you give less than your best to whatever you do, you lack fulfillment in life.  Even if you don't like your job, EB emphasizes that "if your work is essential to anyone, it is ennobling to perform." (p. 70)  When you change your approach to your work to think "give," new opportunities become available.  If you are unemployed, this "give" technique will help make you employable because you will cease looking for work solely for a paycheck and will be "eager to serve, to give yourself away." (p. 71)  When you take this approach, "you will draw to yourself or be drawn toward the kind of work opportunities where you can be blessed and be a blessing." (p. 71)   

This is just a small selection of EB's action suggestions for working with the prosperity law.  These two books are excellent resources for further growth in experiencing true prosperity, and their timeless wisdom is just as relevant now as it was when they were first published.  If you are approaching the job market, change your outlook from being unemployed to "ready for work," and remember to begin with the concentric perspective, knowing that it is in giving from within-out that we become open to receiving. 



 

What is the difference between Jesus and the Christ?

In Unity, we use the phrase: "I behold the Christ in you," or, "I behold the Christ you are."  Does this give you the image of a little tiny Jesus inside of you?  Do you think Christ was Jesus' last name?

In response to the volumes of questions Eric Butterworth received about Jesus, he shares with us his second book, Discover the Power Within You (I will refer to as DPWY).  In this popular best-seller, he gives a thorough response to this frequently asked question: "What is the difference between Jesus and the Christ?," while using an approach to exploring the teachings of Jesus as a way of life that is you-centered.  

The awareness of the Christ within is not new to Unity.  It can be found in Paul's Letter to the Colossians 1:27, where he states: "Christ in you, the hope of glory."  According to EB: "Paul is not referring to Jesus, but to the divine potential within every person that Jesus discovered in himself." (DPWY p. vi)  This book presents a further expansion of EB's Christology as stated in UQT, Chapter 2.

Most likely none of you believe there is a tiny Jesus in you, but do you believe that you can do the works that Jesus did and greater? (John 14:12)  This is the "power within you."  EB states that it is not enough to believe the things about Jesus, we must believe for ourselves what Jesus believed about himself, and apply these teachings to our lives. (p. ix) 

EB reveals his thesis statement on page 12: "'Christ' is not a person. It is not Jesus. Christ is a degree of stature that Jesus attained, but a degree of potential stature that dwells in every man." 

Jesus discovered the divinity in man: "Now He knew Himself to be an expression of God, or the activity of God-life and intelligence pressing itself into visibility. Now He knew that the Kingdom of God, the wealth of the Universe, was within the depth-potential within Him." (p. 7)

This "depth-potential" is the Christ consciousness, as EB quoted from Charles Fillmore: "The unfoldment of this consciousness by Jesus made Him God incarnate, because Christ is the Mind of God individualized." (p. 9) So, you see, the "Christ in you" is your potential perfection in your consciousness, it is "your spiritual unity with the Infinite, the key to health and success." (p. 45)  This is our Divine Nature. 

EB's view of God and Jesus in DPWY is in line with Unity's metaphysical teachings: God is the Mind which is the infinite Source of Divine Ideas. Man is the expression of the Ideas. Jesus dropped his personal consciousness and was one with pure Being. We all have this potential within us.  EB references Meister Eckhart to support his claim: "...God never begot but one Son, but the eternal is forever begetting the only begotten." (p. 11)

If you are still wondering about Jesus' last name, EB shares that people back then did not use last names.  The word Christ "is simply the Greek version of the Hebrew word meaning messiah or savior." (p. vii)

How can we explain God? What is Oneness?

How can we explain God?  In my first Metaphysics class, I was given a clear Unity definition that I reference whenever I try to explain the BIGNESS of God: God is Omnipresence (everywhere present), Omnipotence (all Power) and Omniscience (all Knowledge). Notice the tense of these words: not Omnipotent, but Omnipotence, delineating the difference between "all powerful" and "all Power." I also look to our first Unity basic principle which states: God is Good.  Let's take a further look into what EB has to say about God in UQT.

EB claims that to "define a thing is to limit it," (p. 29-30) and I agree. There is the experience of God that goes beyond words, like the energy we feel when we come together for Sunday service, the sense of sacred space in our prayer room with the chaplains.  Can you put words to that amazing feeling?  Unity does not ask that you accept a certain definition of God, but invites you to find your own.  So, what is our history of understanding God?

In order to define God, Christian tradition looks to the words and stories of the Bible.  The Bible reflects our human understanding and relationship with God throughout the ages.  The God depicted in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) was "stern, autocratic, and sometimes cruel God, a God of vengeance who destroyed whole cities with all their inhabitants."  (p. 31)  The evolution of our understanding of God is apparent in Jesus' relationship with God as a loving Father.

In John 10:30, Jesus shares His greatest statement of Truth: "The Father and I are One."  Jesus revealed in His ministry that we can do the things that he has done and greater, and that His healings occurred through the power of God within the person healed: "Your Faith has made you whole." (Mark 5:34) Unity is "concerned more with finding the consciousness of oneness with God, and then seeking to express God in thought, word, and act." (UQT p. 33) Let's take a closer look at the concept of Oneness.

In Charles Fillmore's (Unity's co-founder) quest for spiritual unfoldment, he stated: “In this babble I will go to headquarters. If I am Spirit and this God they talk about so much is Spirit, we can somehow communicate, or the whole thing is a fraud.”  He set aside an hour each evening to be still and commune with God.  He eventually did, and the Unity teachings focus on our ability to commune with God in prayer and meditation, thus experiencing our Oneness with Spirit.  EB states that "Unity is probably the most difficult religious discipline in the world -- simply because you are face-to-face with God and with yourself." (p. 41)  I also find that this discipline is truly rewarding.

While EB claims the Bible as Unity's primary text, I have found that it is important to include other Unity books as primary texts in our Truth studies to understand the message of Unity.  I read many Unity books before my studies brought me back to the Bible, and I found they have allowed me to evolve in my spiritual understanding so that I was open to see the message of the Bible with fresh eyes and find its message for me in the present moment.

What Unity books have most inspired you? I would say that Charles Fillmore's The Twelve Powers and the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary would be considered primary texts.  Please comment on what others you might add to this list.

Release the Imprisoned Splendor! Unity: A Quest for Truth

 

In the Introduction to Unity: A Quest for Truth (UQT), Eric Butterworth (EB) invites us to "take a look in a mirror and ask what your life would be like if you released your 'imprisoned splendor.'"  Let's take a look into UQT, and see what imprisoned splendor it holds.

UQT introduces Unity's message with an approach that answers the question: "What makes Unity unique?" from the perspective of a Unity minister who was asked the same questions so many times that the demand for this information in printed form became clear.  Those of us in Unity often find ourselves faced with the question, "What is Unity?," knowing that there is no simple answer.  A good look at EB's main themes should give us a solid basis so that we can be conversant with people of all faiths on what we believe.

EB emphasizes that Unity teaches a firsthand experience of God.  According to EB, "God is not only the God of history ... God is also the God of today."  (p. 4) In the Introduction, he states his theme that revelation is ongoing.  Because Truth is ever unfolding, we need a faith that focuses on what God is revealing to us today.  God is Life, Love, Substance, Mind, and you are an expression of God, a child of God. (p. 34)

Since we are teaching of a present-day God, our religion must reflect modern thought in order to be influential.  (While I am aware of few religions that have done this, Unity continues to evolve as evidenced by the recent publication of Heart-Centered Metaphysics by Paul Hasselbeck which introduces the language of Oneness, reflecting our current interpretation of traditional languaging with the understanding that there is no separation between us and the presence of God.)

EB's ecclesiology, or his view of the church's role in an individual's life and the individual's role in the church, is another primary theme in UQT.  EB states that movements such as Unity have formed in reaction to the failure of traditional Christian churches to realize that "Christianity is yet to be discovered." (p. 14)  Unity has been called "a return to first-century Christianity" because its focus is on Practical Christianity, which implies that Jesus intended us to practice his teachings.  Unity is unique from other organizations in the New Thought movement because its teachings are centered on the interpretation and articulation of Jesus' teachings.  Unity places Jesus as its true authority, and calls itself a Christian movement.

EB’s Christology (his view of Jesus Christ) presents a differentiation between Jesus Christ and the Christ consciousness.  In Unity, we see Jesus as our Way-Shower.  Jesus taught that “the kingdom of God is within you,” and he placed the emphasis on you, your unfoldment.  “Christ is the perfect idea of God for us,” (p. 29) and Jesus Christ was the perfect human demonstration of that idea.  

The Bible is Unity’s primary textbook: "essentially a record of human experiences in the quest for God and for Truth."  (p. 39)  EB’s most frequent reference source is the Bible, and his metaphysical interpretations of the Bible give authority to his concepts.   

Unity presents "a new science of prayer." (p. 5)  The possible overriding theme of EB’s theology is “you can change your life by altering your thoughts.” (p. 1) Prayer is our tool for altering our thoughts to get into alignment with the creative energy of the Universe.  Prayer is used to change ourselves, not God.  We do not stop thinking, we experience “high-level, creative thinking.” Unity uses affirmative prayer, “claiming and accepting” (p. 51) our good through the power of the I AM (i.e. I AM strong.) It requires disciplined effort to practice the presence of God, and we are “saved” when we choose to think positively and pray constantly.  EB’s soteriology (study of salvation) is expressed in his belief that we are saved by the power within. Most wisdom lies locked in the depths of our mental potential. "We are incurably religious" by nature and are "born to inquire after Truth." (p. 10)

Sickness is never God’s will, but is the result of an idea of limitation held in consciousness. Unity recognizes the value of medical science, but teaches that true health comes from within.  

We may believe we are limited to our physical existence, but EB shares that “we are spiritual beings living in a spiritual world governed by spiritual law.” (p. 71) EB introduces Unity’s theory of reincarnation as our answer to the question of how we can fully demonstrate the Christ life, but it is not the object of our study.

Unity teaches the prosperity law, that God is our Source,  and “within you is the “unborn possibility of opulence and fulfillment.” (p. 62)  

One theme of EB’s that I have questioned is his concept of the forgiveness of God.  He says that in reincarnation, we are given a second chance “through the forgiveness of God.” (p. 74)  To me, this statement implies that if we do not achieve perfection in this lifetime, we have sinned or done something that requires forgiveness.  He also gives a prayer treatment on pages 80-81 for accepting the forgiveness of God.  I will be interested to see if this concept of forgiveness continues in the same manner in his other works.

I also question his statement that “the entire Unity teaching might well be summed up under the headings of ‘prayer’ and ‘right thinking.’” (p. 52)  I believe what is missing here is expression, or action.  

While this book is small, it is densely populated with the main tenets of Unity.  When I first read this book, I was awed by its many revelations, and believe it continues to hold much of the splendor that is Unity.  I will be using the themes I have presented in this posting as the basis for evaluating how EB develops these ideas in his subsequent books.      

Welcome to my Eric Butterworth Blog!

As those of you who know me know, I am a big fan of social media. You can often find me posting on Facebook and Twitter, and I get so much joy connecting with my family and friends in this way.  I am currently in my first semester of online classes in Unity Institute's Master of Divinity graduate program, and one of my courses is the Theology of Eric Butterworth. 

As an alternative to a term paper (a rather lengthy one, at that!), I chose the option of creating an interactive blog to explore the elements of best-selling Unity author and minister Eric Butterworth's theology.  I will most likely be writing much more than the paper required, however, in this format we can explore the ideas presented in his books together, which is much more fun, right?  I invite you to share your comments as I delve a little further into Eric Butterworth's (EB's) writings in this interactive environment.

In this blog, I am proposing that EB's first book, Unity: A Quest for Truth (which I will refer to as UQT), can be used as a basic outline for the themes presented in EB's library.  I will begin with an analysis of UQT, determining what ideas EB is introducing to us about the Unity movement and its principles.  I will follow this with subsequent posts discussing each EB book which we are focusing on in the course, what themes it presents, where these themes may (or may not) be found in UQT, and how his theology had evolved since UQT. 

Since this is my first time approaching these books from an analytical perspective, we are on this Quest together!  It is apropos that we are beginning with UQT, since this was also my first Unity book.  I will be posting soon on UQT, so I invite you to follow this blog and share your insights. 

Thank you for joining me on this Quest!