Unity Spiritual Life Center Blog

So - what fiery furnace are you living through? What "outward appearance" is attacking your belief system? The good news is each of us has within us the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego qualities that, when strengthened, give us the power to stand solid in Truth in the midst of the fiery furnace, and not merely survive, but thrive!

Of course, the question is, how do I do that? We’d like to share a quick formula, with a very specific "How-To" added as a bonus.

1. Know your Truth! Know that you know that you know the Spiritual Essence of who and what you are. We call this the Abednego quality of spiritual wisdom. It is one thing to repeat Truth rhetoric; it is a totally different thing to KNOW and understand it. One of Unity’s Truth principles is "There is only one presence and one power in the universe and in my life and affairs: God the good, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent." We say it - but do we truly understand the meaning of it? Whenever we give power to outward appearances of lack, or jealousy, or anger, or fear, or health challenges, we are creating a rift between ourselves and the Truth of what we know.

I am reminded of children reciting the Lord’s Prayer. These are things that I have actually heard! One child believed God’s name had to be Harold, because he always said, "Our Father who art in Heaven, Harold be thy name!"

Another contemporized the prayer by saying, "Leave us not in temptation, but deliver us some email!"

In our understanding of the Truth principles, we encourage you to move beyond just saying Truth, and grow in your understanding so Truth becomes a part of your consciousness and shows up in your reality.

2. Recognize the LINT (Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking) and stop it as soon as possible! How important is that? Think about a beautiful black wool suit, with one little teeny piece of lint. Where do your eyes go right away?? To the lint! The same is true in our consciousness.

Allow us to share the Parable of the LINT (not from the Bible) - from the Holton household we were presenting a Prosperity class at another church, and were   staying in church member’s home. We shared a nice breakfast in the sun room before leaving for the church. When we got to the church parking lot, we realized that Bil’s suit was covered with long white cat hairs! We had not even been aware of it before!

Now let’s stretch the metaphor - we are often living smack in the middle of LINT (Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking). When we don’t recognize the source of it, it sticks to us and becomes part of our consciousness and experience.

You recognize the LINT by the way you are feeling (agitated, irritable, frustrated, stressed); by what you are saying (negative focus, self critical); and/or by what is manifesting in your experience. As soon as you spot it, perform the GAP assessment (Here’s that specific "How-To" we advertised at the beginning of this article):

• Guilt-free, go from where you are
• Acknowledge the separation
• Pray and meditate to close the gap and reconnect with Spirit.

3. Transform the LINT: Come out of your prayer and meditation, ready to use Truth principles in your life. Be proactive in living the Truth as you face the world of appearances, and be on the lookout for ways to see things from a new perspective.

A person who exemplifies this point is Cesar Lopez, a musician and composer from Bogota, Columbia. In USA Today, 04/19/06, you can read about how he created the escopetarra: an electric guitar he designs from shotguns collected by the police from crime scenes.  Lopez says, "the weapon is still present, but when you strike the first chord, everything that is violent about it disappears. That’s the kind of transformation we would like to see in our country."

So-as you identify the LINT in your life - Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking -that separates you from the Truth of who you are, perform the GAP assessment. Then you can use your power to transform the LINT into a life of joy, prosperity, and unbelievable spiritual wisdom.

Drs. Bil & Cher Holton are Spiritual Leaders at Unity Spiritual Life Center in Durham, NC, where they practice positive, practical, progressive Christianity. Visit their website at Unity Spiritual Life Center and sign up to receive a complimentary 4-week e-course.

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This article is about lint-free living. L I N T - free living. It’s about moving past bothersome lint. Sometimes you have to pick it off or flick it off. Some people use a lint-free roller that has sticky paper which gets rid of the unwanted lint. Other people use Scotch Tape to lift lint off clothing. We’ve even seen people use clear packaging tape to dispose of lint.

Oftentimes one of your friends will remove a piece of lint from your clothing. ("Oh," they say, "you’ve got a piece of lint there, I got it! It was a piece of lint.)

Nobody likes lint on his or her clothing. We are even going to ask you to refrain from picking lint off your clothing while you’re reading this article.

Seriously, though, all of this L I N T discussion is raised to make a point. The L I N T - free living we are talking about is really an acronym which stands for Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking.

It’s the type of thinking that spoils our consciousness and soils our spiritual walk. It’s the kind of thinking that negates our goodness and conceals our Godness.

Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking comes from a consciousness of lack, fear, resentment, and discouragement. People who have PhD’s in this kind of LINT say things like:

"I can’t do that!"

"I’m not smart enough."

"I’m too out of shape."

"I’ve been a failure all of my life."

"I don’t have much to offer."

"I don’t I can’t I’m not" Those people wear their LINT like a badge.

In its simplest form, Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking expresses itself as racism, sexism, violence, gossip, envy, and jealousy. These types of LINT are caustic. They embed themselves in the fabric of our consciousness and are difficult to extract.

Complicated — but not impossible! The Hebrew Testament story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego gives us the recipe for lint-free living. You may remember the story. It appears in the 3rd chapter of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.

It is the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who are friends of Daniel. They refuse to worship the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar, and are thrown into a fiery furnace. In an amazing turn of events, they remain untouched by the fire, and they are joined in the furnace by a fourth individual. When the king sees they have not been destroyed by the fire, he permits them to come out and places them in high positions of authority.

From a Unity perspective, this is what the story means:

King Nebuchadnezzar represents a condescending ego

Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image signifies our egotistical, supercilious nature

Shadrach is that quality within us that represents humbleness

Meshach symbolizes an unfailing appreciation for the truth

Abednego means a high degree of spiritual wisdom

4th person denotes the Indwelling Christ

Fiery furnace is the all consuming, destructive power of negative thinking which filters our life experiences

So what does the story mean for us? When we experience an intense, consuming negative outlook (the furnace), we tend to give power to outer appearances.

However, if we remember who we really are if we remain humble to the direction of Spirit, stand firm in our unfailing love for truth, and seek a deeper understanding of principle, we will receive the guidance we need from the Christ of us, that uplifting Presence within us.

We don’t need to fear anything. We don’t need to bow to anyone or anything, or to any form of Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking. We are divine beings that have phenomenal spiritual abilities and inner capacities that can empower us over any physical situation.

Drs. Bil & Cher Holton are Spiritual Leaders at Unity Spiritual Life Center in Durham, NC, where they practice positive, practical, progressive Christianity. Visit their website at Unity Spiritual Life Center and sign up to receive a complimentary 4-week e-course.

Cher’s fishing expeditions can be counted on ONE FINGER! And it was not with her father, from whom she inherited her lack of fishing interest! It was with her maternal grandfather. He was a carpenter by trade, and in addition to the house that her mother still lives in, he also created his own fishing boat. My wife decided one summer that she would enjoy going fishing with him. But her concept of going fishing was to carry along the transistor radio (remember those?) and crank the music up loud! As you can imagine, her fishing adventure didn’t go too well! Her grandfather determined the music would scare away the fish ~ and Cher was adamant that it would attract them! Needless to say, my wife lost that battle, and lived through one of the most boring afternoons in her memory! Luckily, she has tons more joyous memories of times with her grandfather!

We both get much more energized about fishing for Divine Ideas  and we know we have access to an abundance of Divine Ideas! There is NO problem that does not have a solution  if we approach it the right way. But too often, we are like the disciples in John 21:1-6. who worked like crazy - yet came up empty. What does it take to connect with Divine substance which holds everything we need? For the disciples, it took a net, tossed on the right side of the boat. Here’s a spiritual net designed to catch so many Divine Ideas that you will just have to say, "Holy Mackerel!"

N = Narrow your focus

How many times do we get a great idea, and then proceed to talk ourselves out of it because of all the ridiculous issues we allow ourselves to get distracted by? Here’s an analogy: Whenever I watch basketball, I continue to be impressed at how the majority of these professionals can perform so well at the foul line, with the fans for the opposing team waving their arms, cheering and jeering, making all kinds of disruptive commotion. How do they do it? They narrow their focus. Larry Bird, winner of an incredible number of foul shooting titles, said it best, in his book, Drive: The Story of My Life. He said, "You’ve got to concentrate every time.  When I go to the line, I am always thinking, ‘All net. No rim or anything else. Just all net!’" That’s narrowing your focus. You only see what is important, what relates to your successful achievement. Everything else just disappears from your radar!

The best technique to narrow your focus is to spend some time at Headquarters. This should be your initial response to any overwhelming problem. When you receive some bad news, or run into a difficult situation, or  find yourself staring head-on at a problem that looks like an insurmountable mountain, and you experience the tension building, the worries starting, the imagination going wild — just stop! Take a few deep breaths, and then go somewhere where you can spend at least 15 minutes in the Silence. I literally say (yes, out loud), "Okay God" (I’m talking to my indwelling Spirit), "This is yours! My human self cannot see any solutions, but I will not allow this situation to have power over me. I let go of my hold on it, and give it over to you for divine solutions." Then I go into the Silence. Without exception, I come out of that experience with new ideas. They may seem weird or impractical, but I jot them down and give them thought. And if I don’t have ideas, I simply affirm that Divine Ideas are flowing to me, and I release all worry about this issue. Believe me, the ideas do start flowing!

E = Expect Solutions

One of the neatest things about Truth principles is that we don’t wish we’ll get results - we KNOW! And knowing what we know, we must approach our fishing excursions from that state of expectancy! When you expect something, you set your intention ~ and things just start showing up!

T = Take action!

The John 21:1-6 story shares that in order for the disciples to pull in that record-setting load of fish, they had to do something! Jesus didn’t just snap his fingers and cause the fish to appear. He told them what to do  and even though they were a little skeptical (we’ve fished all night right in this area and haven’t had a bite!), they followed His direction, and experienced outrageous success! You can discuss Divine Ideas all day long ~ but to see results, you must take action.

We are surrounded by Divine Ideas! But we often get so caught up in the busyness of paralysis of analysis and dealing with the distractions from the world of appearance, that we completely miss the Ideas! When you find yourself running on empty, and no solutions seem to be coming, it’s time for you to recall the NET formula.

Fish from the right side of the boat by going to Headquarters, then Narrow your focus, Expect solutions, and Take action! It really represents the Trinity: We go into the Silence and narrow our focus by becoming one with Divine Mind ~ that’s the Father; with our state of expectancy, we receive an idea ~ that’s the Son; and then we take action, which is the expression of those Divine Ideas ~ that’s the Holy Spirit. And then we take a step back and see what we’ve created, and we just have to exclaim: "Holy Mackerel!"

I can count the times I joined my dad on a fishing expedition on one hand, actually on three fingers. But those three fishing experiences were memorable indeed! I was an inquisitive seven-year-old and was ecstatic about going fishing with my dad.

Whenever I threw out the line, I caught something — and my lines never even hit the lake. On my first attempt, I hooked my father’s favorite fishing hat, yanking it unceremoniously off his head. I remember his initial irritation turning to amusement as he helped me reel his hat in. I also remember how the wet hat looked on his head. He refused to fish without it.

On our second fishing trip, I hooked the back of my shirt — twice! I did manage to catch several fish. It wasn’t many. I remember they were little, and I learned how to talk fisherman’s talk. I discovered what is meant by ‘catch and release.’ If the fish are too small, you throw them back!

I’d catch a tiny cat fish or snag a turtle and look at my dad and ask, ‘Release?’ And he’d nod his agreement. When it came to fishing, I was not giving Dad much to celebrate.

On my third and final fishing expedition with Dad, I snagged his left ear lobe. I didn’t do it on purpose! But I hooked it good! I didn’t need to ask about ‘catch and release’ that time. I remember thinking, "Holy mackerel, is he going to throw me overboard?"

When I look back on those fishing fiascos with my dad, it struck me that our time together was the valuable thing. After I ‘hooked and released’ I wanted to immerse myself in a book, take/jot down notes, and compose something of my own while Dad fished. I didn’t realize it then, but those initial writing projects were the start of my writing vocation.

My father liked to catch fish — and I liked to catch ideas. Later I learned they’re the same thing. I also discovered that most fishermen catch their best fish by the tale — TALE — and I learned nothing grows as fast as a fish from the time it bites until it slips away.

I’ve got another fish story for you. It is found in the Gospel of John — John 21:1-6. But it is more than just a fish story. It’s about how the brain functions.

If you take this story at face value, seven fishermen took the advice of a person who never fished in the pond, so to speak. Obviously, there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Metaphysically, this story has incredible truths to teach us:

There are seven disciples mentioned: Simon Peter (faith), John (love), Thomas (understanding), Nathaniel — who is the same as Bartholomew — (imagination),  James, son of Jebedee (wisdom), and two more anonymous disciples who were most likely Simon, the Cananaean (Zeal), and James, son of Alphaeus (order). These seven disciples symbolize the spiritual qualities which assist us in manifesting ideas.

Sea of Tiberias = the spiritual insights we can gain when we put our spiritual powers to work

Fish = spiritual ideas. (In verse 11 it says the disciples caught 153 large fish — which they didn’t ‘catch and release’ — 153 represents the number of known species of fish at the time of this Gospel story. When we connect with Spirit, we have access to an inexhaustible supply of ideas)

Net = Our mind, which catches ideas

Fishing at night from the left side of the boat = literally means we are fishing in the dark if we try to comprehend spiritual principles from a left-brained material consciousness

Right Side = Always symbolizes the side of truth. It also stands for the right side of our brain, our intuitive side, our creativity.

So, when we work out of our sense consciousness (Fish at night), we find ourselves working like crazy, but end up empty. However, when we connect with Spirit and practice truth principles (fish from the right side of the boat), we can tap into an inexhaustible supply of Divine Ideas which bring us the prosperity, peace and joy we want.

Holy mackerel! All we have to do is harmonize both sides of our brain to capture Divine Ideas.  It just takes using a little bit of our "net" worth.

Drs. Bil & Cher Holton are Spiritual Leaders at Unity Spiritual Life Center in Durham, NC, where they practice positive, practical, progressive Christianity. Visit their website at Unity Spiritual Life Center and sign up to receive a complimentary 4-week e-course.