Finding Our Way Home

Lead me from the unreal to the Real (Upanishad 1.3.28)

The other day Denese and I were returning from a friend's house, and decided to take a different route than we normally would. The route involved a number of lefts and rights and created a challenge for our memory of how we got there in the first place. Now you know I am directionally challenged, but that does not deter me from claiming to know which way to turn, at every choice point, even though my sense of direction is wrong about 95% of the time. And so it was that we came to an intersection, and Denese said, "turn right." I was sure we needed to turn left and so I did. Within 3 blocks, it became clear that my directional dysfunction had not remitted on this trip. I turned the car around and we found our way back home again.

Jesus also shared a story about a directionally challenged young man who followed his inner guidance only to end up far from home and miserable. The prodigal son was certain that he would find his joy in the world. He followed his desire for a better life, convinced that it could be found somewhere out in the world. In the end, when he hit the skids, he realized his navigation error; that what he longed for was not in the world but back home.

We can all relate to this story because, at least spiritually, we've discovered the errancy of our guidance. Many of us come to ourselves and realize that we've been looking for our happiness in all the wrong places, in all the wrong faces. Because this world is such a powerful opiate that dulls our spiritual sense of direction, this is a tough dysfunction to correct. Under the influence of this illusory world, we are convinced that something or someone will give us what we need. When the quest does not pay off, we usually convince our self that a new something or new someone is the way to go. Yet, no matter how many times we set out to find peace or fulfillment or love in the world, our journey is doomed to failure. It can be no other way. The reason we can't find fulfillment in life is not because we're not looking but because we have the whole thing upside down, and inside out. Our understanding of cause and effect is upside down. In our confusion, we think the cause is outside ourselves.

A valid spiritual solution is one that reverses our erroneous beliefs and turns us in the direction of our true home, where our needs can truly be met. When we reverse our thinking and turn our attention from the world, which constantly changes, to the eternal self (the indwelling spirit) we find fulfillment that is unwavering and unconditional.

Such a teaching is A Course In Miracles, which I've referenced in many of my Sunday talks. This Sunday we begin a four-week series of lessons based upon the themes and teachings of A Course In Miracles. A.C.I.M. has been called a self-study program of spiritual psychotherapy and a modern day interpretation of the teachings of Jesus. A.C.I.M. has many parallels with Unity's philosophy and teachings and we will look at how its teachings can help us turn our lives around, call off the search in the world and return us to our home in God.

Answer the Call

We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known. We need only to follow the thread of the hero's path. And where you had thought to find an abomination, you shall find a God... And where you had thought to travel outward, you shall come to the center of your own existence. And where you had thought to be alone, you shall be with all the world.

- Joseph Campbell from The Hero With A Thousand Faces

Every great adventure in life begins with a calling...a call to leave the old life behind and venture forth to explore what is possible beyond the horizon of present circumstances. The stories we love most, have this hero's journey motif running through them. We love these stories because they awaken a sense of longing in us to be more, to experience more, and to stretch the limits of our current understanding of life and self.

Initially, we may interpret this call as dissatisfaction, malaise, or discontent for life until we recognize that it is an inner urge to explore the life beyond what we currently think is possible. Of course, this scares us and we are likely to reject these inklings at first. Or, we may categorize these feelings as caprice of the ego and write them off. However, if this urge to leave the comforts of home persists despite our attempts to deny its validity we can know this is the real deal; a mandate of the soul; a divine calling. It is the soul's call to realize more of itself through our human journey.

The Bible has many stories depicting the hero's journey. Moses, Abraham, Noah, Mary, all were called out of their comfort zones to experience more, and to stretch the limits of their current understanding of life and self and to be more. Cinematically, we saw it in Alice in Wonderland, who was prompted to venture down a rabbit hole, Dorothy's discontent lead to a whirlwind that carried her far from her comfortable home in Kansas, Harry Potter was summoned out of an oppressive life so that he could learn of his great powers. Each of these characters displayed disbelief and a reluctance to answer the call at first. In each case, something extraordinary happened to convince them to say "yes" and embark on an uncharted path to an unknown destination. Everything that lied ahead was obscure; the only certainty was the calling. If subtle insight is not our strong suit, we may need a burning bush, or a talking rabbit, or an angel in the night, or a house full of owls carrying letters to convince us to move!

Once we begin something deep in us, now awakened, calls us forward, to follow its lead, despite the dangers, despite the uncertainties. Perhaps we intuit a tacit promise, even in the absence of outer assurances, that we will become more for having taken the journey.

The promise of the spiritual journey is that we will discover more of who we truly are. This motivates us, while it also scares us. We want the boon of knowing the deep truths about ourselves while we fear the dragons that devour our beliefs that keep us small but safe.

As Joseph Campbell noted, we can be encouraged by the many that have gone before us on this treacherous journey of self awareness. The labyrinth is known, and marked, by the thread of intrepid seekers, master teachers, and ordinary heroes who answered a call, faced down their fears and were led to a greater life.

Everyone is called; few choose to listen, and even fewer accept the call. Free will means we can choose. Given the choice, let us choose life over fear. In our community, you do not need to risk the adventure alone. We are with you.

Life after life

Every life story, the "little me" story, is ultimately unsatisfactory. - Eckhart Tolle

I am writing this message on Good Friday, the day that recalls the story of Jesus crucifixion and death. From the mortal mind, it is hard to see any good in this event; rather it appears to be a monumental tragedy! How else could you see it? Jesus, the great messiah, this benevolent wise master of life, at the peak of his powerful ministry betrayed by his closest friends and followers leading to embarrassment, humiliation, degradation, enormous suffering and ultimately death. This great enlightened one among men, who offered immense hope to humanity, embodied unimaginable love, compassion, extraordinary healing prowess, the quintessence of a truly good leader that could lead the world out of darkness....snuffed out!

From the "little me" perspective, that looks at the apparent facts, it is not a satisfying story. It leaves us yearning for an explanation, demanding an answer to make sense of this great loss. From this perspective, Jesus is seen as victim, and the world suffered a great loss that day in Golgotha.

This tendency to view life as tragic or at least unsatisfactory is in every one of us. Every one of us might look at our own lives, and say it is not satisfying; it didn't work out the way it should have; it's not the life we imagined, something failed, something went horribly wrong, it shouldn't have happened.

There is another way to see life. The enlightened perspective never comes to those who look at life myopically. As Cervantes said, facts are the enemy of the truth. Jesus called this enlightened perspective, "being born from above," and told the disciple, Peter that human sight does not reveal the reality of who we are. The facts of Jesus death and tomb also temporarily blinded Mary Magdalene from seeing the Christ that could not be contained in the ground.

If we are to see beyond the darkness of tragedy, loss or a life that seems to have gone wrong, we must rely on inner illumination, the "light that enlightens every man (woman) who enters the world." Through the light of spiritual understanding, we can perceive reality beyond appearances, and behold a life that retains possibility, purpose, and promise.

The Easter story proclaims that Jesus resurrected from bodily death. Amongst believers, this is non-controversial and accepted as true, while some question whether this is a factual event. Honestly, it doesn't really matter to my faith. What matters is that I step back from the appearances of life, and recognize the enduring power of love, and the irrepressible life force that is undeniably present in this precious instant that is my life. I can see it in nature, especially in the Spring landscape revival. I can feel its presence like a wave of peace when I accept life on its terms. I make way for love to arise in me when I'm able to suspend judgment of someone or something. In such moments of openhearted clarity, I can fully embrace the notion that nothing can contain Life's onward impulse, nor entomb love's power.

Jesus knew he (and we) would have trials and tribulations, and warned us not to judge by appearances. Superficial appraisal of life situations lead to dissatisfaction because it is outer focused. We cannot satisfy our deep soul needs through outer conditions no matter how "happy" they might appear. It is only in building our inner awareness of Life and Love through sincere spiritual practice that we can hope to endure the trials of life with our faith and "good cheer" intact. As we accumulate a deeper appreciation for life, we will stop looking for the "living among the dead," stop regretting our past or looking to an imagined future for our happiness.

Life situations are part of the changeable landscape of our lives; they are not the eternal Life we have in God. Life cannot be created or destroyed. Therefore, we can release all forms, no matter how precious to us, and still have a life, even an abundant life, as Jesus promised and demonstrated. There's life after divorce. There's life after a major illness. There's life after job loss or bankruptcy. There's life after the death of a loved one. Will it be difficult, or painful? Perhaps. Yet life continues, and offers us new opportunities to express the irrepressible life and love within us. Jesus legacy to us is to remember that we don't need to stay in the tomb. We too can be lifted as Jesus was lifted up, and we too can bear witness to the Christ spirit that lives on through it all!

Happy Easter.

What Was Jesus Thinking?

Did you ever wonder why Jesus willingly entered Jerusalem knowing what awaited him there? I mean after the palms, high fives, and Hosannas celebration, Jerusalem became a nightmare for Jesus. Just what was he thinking?

Now we know according to traditional Christian doctrine, Jesus passed through those gates in acquiescence to a life ending fate; willingly undertaken to save humanity from the consequences of its sinful ways. According to this interpretation, Jesus death is seen as no less than the supreme purpose of his life.

In Unity, we look at the same set of "facts" through a different lens of understanding and come up with a radically different interpretation. We believe that the supreme purpose of Jesus' life was to realize and demonstrate a relationship with God that transformed him at depth. His success in overcoming the world of appearances, as a man who realized complete oneness with God, became a profound legacy for humanity to follow.

So why did Jesus go there? Since Jesus was bent on breaking down the barriers to realizing his oneness with the Divine he would need to face and overcome each and every temptation to believe otherwise. Whatever belief would persuade a person to believe that they exist apart from God, or that the world is against them, or are separated from Life, must be challenged. In other words, Jesus knew that the path to liberation would take him through the gates of ego hell. Our ego bears witness to separation from God, testifies relentlessly to a bottomless pit of needs that can never be satisfied, and a life of lack, suffering, and death. This is the grand illusory world that we face, even though as A Course In Miracles states "we are at home in God dreaming we are in exile."

Jesus had obviously made great progress in overcoming the illusions of the ego, yet the grandest illusion of all awaited him in Jerusalem. Most of us could not imagine a more gut wrenching faith-ending scenario, than to be betrayed, abandoned by friends, and turned over to people who would torture, and destroy your body. Was Jesus tempted to back away from this dreadful fate? Yes, we know he doubted his mission in the Garden by his passionate plea to take the cup (of his fate) from him. However, Jesus ultimately knew that a realization of oneness with God would need to stand up to all tests. If love were the greatest power in the universe, it would not fail him even through this horrendous ordeal. It was only in going through the most powerful illusion of separation from life and love, that Jesus could establish for himself (and all of us) that Life and Love are eternal qualities, not circumstance dependent.

Jesus fulfilled his supreme purpose and was transformed by his difficult journey. Stripped of the last vestiges of his ego, he was able to emerge from the tomb of darkness, and bear witness to the Light of truth and his true being.

Perhaps you are facing the prospects of a difficult journey right now in your life. You may feel trepidation as you contemplate the risks of what lies ahead. You may be tempted to back off and take a safer course. I invite you to ask yourself this question before deciding how to proceed: What is my supreme purpose in this life? Once you have answered that question, see how it guides your best course of action.

I have not always walked courageously into risky situations. Sometimes I saved my skin, and lost my soul. During those times when I did muster the courage to face the dragons of uncertainty and fear I was frequently rewarded to find my true self, and authentic self expression.

When we are committed to a journey of transformation, when our desire to know God intimately, as an indwelling presence that never leaves us, we are drawn through the refining fire of circumstances. This can be painful as the narrow gate strips away our cherished but limited beliefs of who we think we are in order to make way for our true self to emerge.

The gates of transformation are wide open for you. Go ahead and enter, trembling if you must, knowing God goes with you. As you enter you may hear the angels sing, Hosanna, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.