That Your Joy May Be Full

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4th Sunday of Advent

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

Jesus is often depicted as one who carried the heavy burden of the world’s sins on his shoulders but he apparently experienced a deep and abiding joy. One of the hallmarks of the spiritual awakening is, in fact, the experience of joy. All the great mystics through the ages write or tell of their unspeakable joy. It’s a joy that comes with observing one’s indestructible spiritual nature; that deeper reality that transcends all the material limitations that have kept us in bondage.

While joy and happiness are high among our objects of pursuit, we should remember that the state of joy is actually a byproduct of our spiritual awakening. Much like a hot air balloon naturally rises when its ballast is cast off, substantial joy sets in when material burdens are cast off.

Casting off material burdens does not mean that we withdraw from material pursuits and material improvements. It means that we begin to understand the material realm as an effect rather than a cause and that we stop trying to squeeze joy from things and let it rise naturally in us as we awaken to our deeper nature.

Jesus never advised withdrawing from the material plane. Rather, he said our heavenly Father knew we had material needs and would provide them for the asking. He was pointing to the fact that the invisible is translated into the visible through us, that it is an ongoing natural process that we direct through the use of our imagination and the manifesting power of our faith. You and I are energy and we are working in an unlimited field of energy. There is no limit to how we can form this energy as the things and conditions we want to see in our experience.

Understanding the relationship and the connection between your spiritual nature and your material level of expression is a joyous revelation. We are not meant to struggle beneath the weight of the material realm, but master it through understanding how we shape it. Begin now to experience the joy of knowing you can bring your world into conformity with even the most lofty vision you hold!

 

The Attracting Power of Love

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Third Sunday of Advent

Love is the focus of the third Sunday of Advent which makes a lot of sense considering that Advent is a season of preparation for the Messiah. Love is an attracting force, a healing power, as well as an energy that dissolves unwanted conditions in our life.

It’s helpful to realize that love is not something we do; it is something we are. We try to love others around us and we are not always successful. This is because we see love as a thing we have to give or withhold rather than as the essence of our being. The closer you get to your real Self, the more loving you are … without even trying.

Our anticipated Messiah is that level of our being that opens to the Infinite. James tells us to “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (4:8). This also makes perfect sense when you realize that God is that deeper level of your being, that fountain of life and love that yearns to rise into your conscious mind, to impart the peace, the love, and the joy that bring new meaning into your life.

Because love is an attracting power, think lovingly of your goals and desires. Imagine love opening the way for your good to manifest, drawing to you the right ideas, the right people, the right circumstances to clothe your desires in their material counterpart. Think of yourself as love in action, a harmonizing vibration that draws the good you want and dissolves that which is not for your highest and best.

When you think of areas in your life you would like to change, imagine love doing its perfect work to bring about changes in ways you understand and appreciate, ways that are clear and easy. Scripture tells us that the crooked places will be made straight when the Lord goes before us. This is the work of love.

You are the greatest attracting power. Open yourself to love and see what it will do with you.

 

 

Expectation

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1^st Sunday of Advent

Advent is a season that anticipates the coming Messiah, either the first or second, depending on how it is being celebrated. The four Sundays of Advent acknowledge the four qualities of expectation, peace, love, and joy, essential elements of a consciousness receptive to a saving level of experience. It is appropriate that we begin our advent vigil with an expectant mind.

I have often said that faith and expectation are synonymous terms. If you want to get an understanding of where your faith is, look at your expectations. You may say, “I have faith that God is unfolding greater good through this situation,” but you may expect that things are going to be the same as they’ve always been: a constant struggle just to keep your head above the water.

Unity teaches that our saving Messiah was not born in a manger or is a divine man that will descend from the clouds to change the world for the better. Salvation consists of awakening to a subtle, inner power that is not affected by negative appearances. As we commune with this inner presence, it imparts to our consciousness its qualities of steadfastness, harmony, and peace. As we bring these qualities into our thoughts and our actions we see them expressed in all we do, and our world of circumstance out-pictures them. Our “peace on earth and good will toward men” becomes an external reflection of the peace and good will that floods our internal sanctuary.

It’s important for us to understand that salvation is not just about rising above negative appearances. It is about elevating the way you see yourself. You are an infinite expression of God and you are entitled to the quality of life that your true nature implies. However, you must, in some degree, know your true nature. You must have some grasp on the reality of this limitless Self before you will see evidence of it in your daily life.

As Emerson pointed out, you are an inlet and can become an outlet to all that God is. Turn an expectant mind to God in moments of quiet introspection. Expect to see and understand this emerging new identity and be open to the many ways that you can assist in its birth.