| When faced with a radical crisis, when the old way of being in the world, of interacting with each other and with the realm of nature doesn't work anymore, when survival is threatened by seemingly insurmountable problems, an individual life-form-or a species- will either die or become extinct or rise above the limitations of its condition through an evolutionary leap. -Eckhart Tolle from A New Earth
We live in a time in history that is rife with crises for the human family. The current financial fiasco added to the existing energy and environmental crises has our human family living precariously close to the edge of survival. Depending on your faith and expectations, these are either the worst of times, or the best of times. While some religious philosophies probably see the current crises portending an apocalyptic end time and might even welcome the destruction of the world, in order to make way for the kingdom of heaven, we in Unity see these times as extraordinary opportunities to awaken to a new way of being in the world.
We believe that the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus talked so much about will not come "by expectation" or by looking outside for a better time or place but by going within to the inner realm of our Being, to our essential spiritual nature where wholeness, abundance, peace, and love are already perfectly established. Such a view makes an enormous difference in how we respond to crises of any magnitude and the world we create by living from this truth. While some might consider life on earth a spiritual wasteland, a temporary way station until we get to some other dimension, we see this life as holy ground where we can awaken from the dream of separation and experience the heavenly awareness of oneness with God and one another.
Even within Unity and other New Thought traditions there is controversy on the true path of spiritual growth. Some would emphasize the power of mind, to co-create an outer reality that meets ones needs, i.e.; creating heaven out there. Those of us who lean more toward the transformative approach, embrace the inner work of awareness and seek to break through to an inner kingdom. The later approach is the basis of Eckhart Tolle bestselling book, A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. We have chosen this book for our fall series of lessons and in home study groups because it is an exceptionally clear, profound manual for spiritual awakening that goes right to heart of transformative spiritual practice. The book places responsibility and ability for our awakening squarely upon us, and provides clear explanations of how our ego deceives us. Most helpfully, Tolle tells us how we can move beyond this false self to the self that we truly are and to the peace and well being that reside within us.
For too long we have carried out our ability to have "dominion over the earth" as an egoic crusade that mindlessly and heartlessly claimed resources of the world out there to satisfy our needs. Like prodigals, we now find ourselves still wanting with precious little left out there to harvest. If we are to find true and lasting nourishment and peace, we must let "the first earth pass away." Whether we are dealing with personal or planetary crises, it is ego based thinking that creates and perpetuates the suffering and blocks us from experiencing a new earth, where peace, prosperity and harmony reign supreme, within and without.
We hope you will join us over the next seven weeks as we commit to realizing that what we have been seeking, striving and battling to achieve is here and now. To do so, we will adopt the willingness to see through the illusions, the fear based perceptions, that have masqueraded as "the way" so that the true light might shine through us and illuminate the inner and outer landscape that is our world.
This Sunday we begin with the lesson, A New Heaven, A New Earth, focusing on what is urgent and what's possible about awakening right now. There is no better time for us to take these powerful teachings seriously to heart. Together we can move from fear about surviving, to faith in our ability to thrive in these times.
Much love,
Larry and Denese |
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