Midweek Faith Lift
Reinventing Yourself – All Things New!
Todd Davis, Guest Speaker
January 3, 2023
Good morning, friends, and welcome to Unity Church of Ames! Happy New Year’s! How’s it goin, eh?
My name is Todd Davis, and I am Rev Deb’s husband. Deb is currently attending a silent retreat in Kansas City. Thank you all very much for joining me and it is an honor to be here this morning. It is fantastic to “see” your beautiful faces & spirits. Both here and online!
It is hard to believe that it is already 2023! Somehow, I get the feeling that it is going to be an odd year. Upon reflecting on this topic, it made perfect sense to talk about new beginnings and the “freshness” that comes with a new year. New discoveries await when we listen to the Divine and move out of our comfort zone.
So, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
So here it goes. I have a list of New Year’s resolutions that include losing 10 pounds, signing up for a gym membership, taking 102 herbal supplements and thinking of lots and lots of positive thoughts and jumping out of bed every morning at 5 AM and stating loudly, “Boy, am I excited!” Well, I think that sounds kinda foxy. (Gag) I’ll think happy thoughts over my tea and crumpets……..until about January 4th or 5th. This plan works very well…..until it doesn’t.
Honestly, I am not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I prefer to focus on intentions and a long-term vision of personal growth. I know from experience that growth takes time, and it requires a lot of self-kindness & patience.
So, how do we work on reinventing ourselves, KNOWING that there is nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with who we are NOW and where we have been? Everything that I state here are my personal reflections and they may not make sense to everybody. I am only sharing my own wisdom. About 12 years ago, I met a holistic financial counselor from Santa Fe, and some of what I will share with you was inspired by her. Her name is Joan Sotkin. I’ll share a few tidbits:
-Tap into your innate knowledge of who you are and where you would like to go.
-Trust yourself! Trust your perceptions & intuitions. Don’t question yourself
-Find out who you are not. (Elaborate, past jobs)
-Don’t follow into other’s footsteps. Create your own.
-We are wired to need connection with other people.
-The brain does not know how to deal with change. The amygdala yells, “danger, danger”. (Talk about moving stupids)
-What does prosperous living mean to you?? (Explain, dog lover ex.)
-Creating deep feelings of satisfaction.
-Satisfy your heart!
-Generate love within yourself to attract love in others, not only romance, but friends & family as well.
-Most of all, trust God and trust your process.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight.
I personally believe that resolutions are cliché and somewhat superficial. Its crucially important to dig below the surface of your desired changes. Also, it bears to note that you can commit any time of the year as every day is a new day. New Year’s Day is only a human made marker. Also, try to steer clear of the reward & punishment model and instead embrace a model of intrinsic motivation & outcome.
In Unity, we have talked about the Law of Mind-Action many times. I believe in it when we do the underlying work needed to bring about change.
Unfortunately, the conversation usually stops here as this law is incomplete in my opinion. It is often treated as a formulaic solution and is only a piece of the picture. If you do or say A, then the result will be B.
What about the Law of HEART-Action?? I have never heard of this term before, and I made it up last week. I looked it up online and there were exactly zero entries. So, I coined the term. If your heart is not completely into growth & manifestation, change oftentimes doesn’t happen. It’s actually very uncommon, like booking a flight on Southwest Airlines. I am talking about having a heart felt desire & need for the change, not just visualizing and saying affirmations. An important question. What is your heart telling you this very moment? When you combine these two “Laws” long-lasting change is much more likely. You need both.
I would like to read from the Book of Revelations.
Revelation 21:1-6
The New Heaven and the New Earth
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home[a] of God is among mortals.
God will dwell[b] with them;
they will be God’s peoples,[c]
and God himself will be with them and be their God;[d]
4 God will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for[e] the first things have passed away.”
5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also, he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then God said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.”
Metaphysically, I see the New Heaven as your spiritual nature and the New Earth being your physical nature.
My challenge to each one of you and to myself as well is to do at least one thing that is brand new this year. It can be significant, or it can be small. Just do something new. For me, that will be to no longer criticize my brain in its limitations but to instead bless it. I’ve told myself in the past that I have halfheimers disease, scatterbrain, synapse collapse, space cadet, and needing a lobotomy among many other adjectives & nouns. I am a very bright person, however, my brain doesn’t always work the way I would like it to. Can any of you relate to this? I plan to bless my creativity, my humor, my intelligence, and my originality. That is my order for 2023. That may not seem like much, but it is a very tall order! We ALL have amazing minds and each one works very uniquely. We are ALL gifted!
My second large commitment is to be truly mindful with my impact on the planet. This is incredibly important. With climate change and dwindling resources, I will pay close attention to all the choices that I make on a daily basis. Currently, my largest drag on the planet is that I fly very frequently, and I take long showers. I pray for the power and will to minimize my footprint.
Below are a few ideas that may get your creative juices flowing:
Travel to somewhere you have never been before, even if it is here in Iowa.
Start a vegetable garden.
Start a walk regimen.
Research in detail any health issues that you may have.
Read a new book on a new topic to become more educated.
Get rid of the items in your home that causes energy to stagnate.
Take up an art class in painting, photography or ceramics.
While on Facebook a couple of days ago, I saw the following passage. It reads, “When in doubt, use more glitter. Forgive generously. East dessert first. Watch the clouds go by. Remind a friend of their super-powers. And remember you are loved!”
In closing, I would like to read a few lyrics from a song from 1965. The song is by the Byrds and it’s entitled, “Turn, Turn, Turn.”
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing
To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late!
Thank you all so much for joining us today! Now, to our meditation song………