Shaping the Light

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Jesus-Mathew 7:7 We have been exploring the major tenets of Unity philosophy in these articles and our Sunday lessons.  This week we look at the principle that perhaps causes the greatest confusion and difficulty in accepting and understanding its implications and application in our lives.  It is the notion that each of us has co-creative power to affect our lives. Sometimes called the Law of Mind Action, it claims that "thoughts held in (our) mind, produce after their kind." Quite simply this spiritual principle contradicts the fatalistic belief that life happens to us. Conversely, this tenet asserts that we are not helpless to affect life experiences because we have dominion over our lives.  It is the conviction that our thoughts and feelings have creative, formative power in our life experience. While most people, regardless of religious or spiritual orientation, would generally agree with the notion that our state of mind can affect our state of affairs, there is significant disagreement as to how literally and to what extent this principle is valid and useful.  This is a long discussion that the scope of this article cannot do justice but suffice it to say that when it comes to this principle there is a wide range of understanding of what it really means.  Just like in religious circles within a given faith, adherents to this principle range from literal fundamentalists, who believe that we can, and do, create everything in our lives by the content of our minds, to those who see it as an awareness to take us deeper into our true self.  I'll admit my leanings toward the latter camp.  Again, the whole explanation can't be unpacked in this short treatment, but let me give you a glimpse of my take on this much debated spiritual question. Clearly we are creative beings, as offspring of a Creator; we share its creative nature.  Quantum science bears out the implication that our presence in the field of infinite possibilities is significant and causative to particular outcomes. There seems to be no escaping the idea that our perception of reality is fundamental to our experience. As some have said, "we see the world not as it is, but as we are." That said, the question for many of us is how we use that ability to create better lives; a better world.  Some of us have played with the manifestation powers of focused intention, created treasure maps of ideal life situations, and witnessed the magic unfold before our eyes. However notwithstanding the creative successes there often remained a lingering discontent that the acquired stuff of life did not alleviate. Such discontent is the ache for inner wholeness; the back story of every human want or desire.  Simply, it is our desire to know God, or more universally, to know our true self, the imago dei. Once we come to realize the deepest need of our soul then that becomes our focus, our raison d'etre, and it follows that the most appropriate and effective use of our creative power is to maximize that awareness. Jesus emphasized this singular focus in many of his parables about the kingdom of God, suggesting that the worldly gains will not take us where our souls will find comfort.  He said "seek first the kingdom of God...and these things will be added unto you." In other words if we make peace, love, wholeness, and harmony the predominant thoughts and goals for our life, we direct the universe to match our life experience according to these inner qualities.  If we do it in reverse (I have) we get the sports car, or house overlooking the ocean, and still feel spiritually bankrupt, and then were back at the drawing board trying to figure out what would really satisfy us. The truth says that you have the kingdom of God within you now; the treasure map points inward. When we focus our creative power on manifesting these spiritual qualities, we create a world that works for us immediately, without exception or condition. And, as Truth would have it, the rest of the world is equally blessed by our brighter light.