Revolve, or Resolve to Evolve

Enlightenment is evolving. It is no longer found only in the bliss of timeless Being; it is found also in the ecstatic urgency of evolutionary Becoming. -Andrew Cohen, spiritual teacher and author, Evolutionary Enlightenment. At the beginning of every year many people take the calendar mark as a point to reflect and ponder their intentions for the unmanifest days ahead. It can be a time to reflect on those aspects of life that are in need of renovation or clearance. For many people it's a time to refresh past goals previously abandoned for want of resolve on an earlier path of good intentions. Or it's a time to create some new intentions to improve the quality of life. The practice is an effective way to focus one's vision and energy in the direction of worthwhile goals; to be energized by the release of past disappointments and emboldened by the promise of new possibilities. While these goals are worthy of our time and attention it is important in the spiritual sense, to evaluate any decision for change within a context of meaning and purpose - our raison d'être. Why is as important, if not more so, than what. Those of us, who have been down this path long enough, have discovered, as Socrates observed, that the unexamined life is not worth living. That is, we have observed the brief shelf life of satisfaction wrought through mere external modifications to behaviour or accomplishments devoid of meaning. Unless our resolutions connect with our soul's agenda, to grow our understanding of our true self, we will find any outer success to be a temporary distraction from a deeper discontent. What most deeply summons us is an often faint, but persistent call to reunite with our Source. As long as we seek to accomplish, achieve, and possess our way to contentment, our soul remains in exile. We seek but do not find when we strengthen the false self, which is identified by possessions, the approval of others, and our status in the world. So it is important, if we are going to adopt new ways of showing up in life, that we catch the vision of our essential nature, which  inexorably leads us to authentic expression, freedom and true contentment. As the Psalmist noted, Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. While this call to deeper reflection and authentic goal setting may seem like a high bar to clear, it offers a sure and safe landing. When we feel the impulse of soul growth, nudging us beyond comfort and ordinary success, we can trust and follow its lead to take us to the next level of self-knowledge. Every great mystic, sage and spiritual realizer has sought and found the deepest truth within the sanctuary of consciousness itself. This is holy and fertile ground, where Life can grow and flourish through us. What we are truly seeking is seeking us. The happiness that eludes us is not being kept from us by circumstances, other people or a reluctant Creator. In this truth, Jesus was emphatic, saying, It is the Father's good pleasure to have given you the Kingdom. In Unity, we hold to the unwavering principle that there is only one, ever present, beneficent Power in our life. To our little ego self this is a radical notion that it would dissuade you from believing.  But I believe that you and I are ready to take the evolutionary leap of understanding that accepts and yields to the life affirming impulse that would have its way through us. Simply put this is allowing God to be God in us. In so doing, we make the choice to evolve rather than revolve. If we do what we've always done, then we'll find ourselves back right where began next year at this time. If we hazard the leap, and let Life lead us higher, we'll enjoy the rarefied air and clearer vision of somebody remade in the image and likeness of our true self. Resolve to evolve!