As we honor the life and legacy of President Jimmy Carter, who passed on December 29th at the age of 100, I am especially inspired by his commitment to living a life that was both informed and guided by his faith. He was truly a “good and faithful servant.” One of his most noted quotes embodies this commitment:
“I have one life and one chance to make it count for something…
My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am,
whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have
to try to make a difference.” (1976 Presidential Campaign)
Our “practical” Unity teachings reflect a similar commitment to “walking our talk” – “living our truth” – and “being the change we want to see in the world”… within the awareness that life happens from the Inside > Out.
In other words, as Truth students, we are committed to ongoing spiritual growth and maturity so that our actions reflect our highest consciousness, and are grounded in compassion, accountability, forgiveness, love, and oneness.
As Einstein famously said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking [consciousness] we used when we created them.”
Meaning, given the current challenges facing our nation and our world, it is more important than ever that we evolve our individual and collective consciousness in order to become more effective change agents.
The book, Practice the Pause, by Spiritual Director and writer, Caroline Oakes, introduces new developments in brain science that have recently proven that an intentional practice of pausing for a few minutes of meditation, prayer, or other contemplative practice actually rewires our brain in ways that make us calmer, less reactive, and better able to see the bigger picture.
Using easy-to-understand explanations of how this new brain science is confirming what every spiritual tradition has been telling us for millennia, Oakes both shines a spotlight on Jesus's own centering pause practice as a transformative path for personal and social change – and explains how by learning to “practice the pause,” we become more self-aware and better able to understand others. In essence, we become more "God aware," and better equipped to cultivate the common good in the world.
It seems like a good way to start off this new year…I hope you’ll join us for this series – and for the discussions that will follow each service.
Namasté,
Vicky
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