One Power, One Presence and It’s All Good
February 2, 2020
Su Podraza – Nagle LUT
Happy fun day Sunday!
We will be journeying through Ellen Debenport’s book, “The Five Principles” this month, and encouraging conversation with our young people, as they will be exploring These Unity Basics also.
This month begins some fun times in the Youth Ed area and to get it started and to show how much fun we are going to have, I have combined the lesson I’m going to talk about with a bit of Youth of Unity flair. If it speaks to your heart, we’d welcome you as a volunteer.
Principle One:
God is Absolute Good, everywhere present.
In my hand, I have a ball of yarn. It’s thick and soft and fluffy! Let’s see if we can unravel it so that everyone here, has a part of it in their hand. It’s all good!
Charles Filmore, in the Revealing Word states, “God is not a person but Principle. The Infinite. God as principle is absolute good expressed in all creation.” Yes, in ALL creation. Some may not be awake yet.
In all creation, Principle has many names. God, Holy Spirit, Creator, Divine, One Mind, Kali, Shiva, Abba, and for Star Wars fans, “The Force”! And many more.
Let’s start our example:
Some of these questions come from one of the Y.O.U lessons on Principle One.
Answer these questions silently by switching the yarn from one hand to the other.
• If you ever thought that there must not be a God. Switch hands.
• If there was a time you were sure there was a God. Switch hands.
• If your name for God has changed through the years, switch hands
• If you think God created the world in six 24 hour days, switch hands
• If you think God is present in everything and everyone, switch hands
• If your understanding of God has evolved as you have grew up switch hands.
The yarn represents the Absolute. It is always there. Your conscience choice of switching hands was a representation of your spiritual evolution. BUT the fact remains. Our colorful, fluffy representation of God was always there. And it’s all good.
Another Youth Ed. Example:
I have a gallon of water in this jar. I need a volunteer to pour food coloring in it:
(do so)
God is everywhere present. We may not see this Absolute, but as we become more spiritually aware, (add food coloring) we come to know this truth. We see or discern it within us and we then share it with others and the world around us. (thank you for your assistance)
From the quarks and leptons to the super cluster Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall. To the heart that beats in everyone of us, the Omnipresent Energy flows. It’s all there is.
Ahh, you may question.. but Su what about all the bad stuff? What about the perception of evil doings?
I’m glad you asked. Here are some points to ponder taken from the book “The Five Principles”:
• Humans were created with free will and we make mistakes. The word sin originally meant missing the mark. Some miss it by miles.
• Good and evil are simply labels that humans give to events based on our opinions at the time. What first appears to be a tragedy may turn out to be a blessing.
• The Aramaic word that became “evil” in the Bible is “bisha,” which means immature or unripe. We as humans are not yet living from divine consciousness.
Do we see ourselves in these examples? Have we made mistakes? When have we allowed our free will to run rampant. Think of a time when you lost your temper and said something you later regretted? This is an example of missing the mark. Are you able to revisit that situation, in your mind and use loving, kind words to express your displeasure? We have a favorite at home when there’s a disagreement, “I love you but I’m not liking you right now.”
Many of the life lessons we’ve learned the hard way (tragedies) were blessings farther down the line. We couldn’t see the blessing until we arrived. That means we moved our feet, make a change in our consciousness and evolved. We became active in our education, our communities and our spiritual lives. Yes, challenges arise and life gets uncomfortable. We have the ability use our Power of Wisdom to act or react.
In all of these examples, permeates the Divine Source. In past talks I’ve talked about a light switch being turned off and on. When the room gets dark after turning off the lights, the electricity is still there, coming into the house. It’s just waiting for us to turn the light back on again.
Here’s another example:
Here’s an excerpt from James Dillet Freeman’s "I Am There"
Do you need Me?
I am there.
You cannot see Me, yet I am the light you see by.
You cannot hear Me, yet I speak through your voice.
You cannot feel Me, yet I am the power at work in your hands.
I am at work, though you do not understand My ways.
I am at work, though you do not recognize My works.
I am not strange visions. I am not mysteries.
Only in absolute stillness, beyond self, can you know Me as I am, and then but as a feeling and a faith.
One Power and One Presence moves in and through us. It’s all there is.
Namaste~