Unity Spiritual Life Center Blog

It sounds really good that we desire to be totally connected - that we increase our spiritual might simply by giving all we have to Spirit. But that really scares a lot of people. They believe you have to go to a mountaintop somewhere, or escape into the wilderness in order to be that committed. But nothing could be further from the truth!

The truth is we are always connected, regardless of where we are or what we are doing. We cannot be not connected to Spirit! The issue is that we are not always grounded in that awareness of our connection ~ and that’s when we begin to feel a sense of separation. So to really increase our MIGHT, we must become so completely grounded in our awareness of our oneness with spirit that no outer appearance can throw us off balance. Then it becomes a way of being to live life full out!

A great analogy of this is the ocean and the wave. They are one, and cannot be separated, yet each wave is unique and individual. However, it is still a part of the ocean. You can take a pail and bring some of the ocean water home collect some of the ocean water to take home - and you know that even though it is separated, it’s still the ocean. But a wave can no longer do what waves are meant to do, unless it is where it’s destined to be  in and of the ocean. Only as a part of the ocean can waves live life full out!

It is the same with us! We are in and of this daily life we have chosen to live. Our adventure is to allow our Divine nature to unfold as we live our life full out! When we have that solid grounding in our oneness, it becomes second nature for us to give our all to Spirit.

The question remains: How do we do that? We’d like to suggest three ways you may want to try. It is the "3-S Formula for Living Life Full Out!:

SILENCE:

You create a solid grounding in Spirit by spending time in the Silence. The connection gets stronger even if you think nothing is happening.

It’s like going to Weight Watchers! You stick to the eating plan, and each week you go in for your weekly weigh-in. You may not feel any different - but you find out you are a mere quarter of a pound lighter! It is so teeny you almost deny its value. But several weeks of this, and all of a sudden you are able to wear a pair of jeans that were uncomfortably tight, and now, magically, they feel great! You didn’t realize what was actually happening, until you performed some kind of action that made it real.

Spending time in the Silence is sort of like that. What you are doing is putting your Intuitive Connection on Alert. You’ll find that by spending time in the Silence, you begin getting messages, insights, ideas, strength, wisdom, things you need. By giving time to Spirit, you gain a life of spiritual growth, inner peace, and pure joy.

SERVICE (Through SHARING):

Albert Schweitzer said, "I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."

It’s interesting that all of us can give. We all have gifts, talents, opportunities to help others. We just need to be aware that there are some things an individual can’t do alone. For example - We’ve read that people are able to hold more weight in one hand than the other. In fact, we bet we can think of something you can hold in your right hand that you cannot hold in your left hand, regardless of how strong you are! Ready? Stretch out your left arm - and bend it. Now, place your left elbow in your right palm. Okay - you are now holding your left elbow in your right hand. Show us how you can hold your left elbow in your left hand!! See - there are certain things we just can’t do on our own!

It’s incredible - whenever you are experiencing a sense of self pity, or going through a difficult time, one of the best remedies is to do something for someone else! It transforms your whole viewpoint!

There are lots of opportunities to serve: community projects; volunteering; visiting people who are shut in or sick; taking food to a family in need.  A first grade class in Green Bay WI saved their chore money and bought 22 baby books for a hospital’s newborn intensive care unit. A group of nursing home residents created quilts, which they donated to a homeless shelter in Ohio.

Giving and receiving is a cycle, and we get into that cycle through giving. It doesn’t have to be money. (A friend of ours observed that it was much easier for her to tithe when she had a little money than when she got a windfall!)

By giving to Spirit through sharing, you claim a permanent spot in the cycle of giving and receiving!

SNACKS!

We know - this sounds weird! But give us an opportunity to explain! What do you think about with snacks? Feeding yourself, in delightful ways that bring you joy! The snacks we’re talking about in this formula are low calorie/high Consciousness ones. Snacks like making time to feed yourself spiritually, by consuming books, classes, retreats, labyrinth walks, or group discussions.

The neat part is, just like food snacks, spiritual snacks become addictive. You find that the more you snack, the more you want! And the more you want, the more you snack! And the more you snack, the stronger your grounding in Spirit, the stronger your awareness of NO separation! And that changes the way you THINK - the way you ACT - the way you live your life! When you hit life’s little problems - or the BIG ones - they just can’t knock you off center! You are grounded, and able to stand firm in Truth.

This week, make it an adventure to live life full out by give your whole self to Spirit! As you strengthen your grounding in Spirit, you’ll increase your spiritual might by practicing Silence  sharing  and spiritual snacking. Know that your time will reap millions in spiritual currency. Don’t settle for a penny less!

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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In Matthew 20:1-16, we read an interesting story that many find confusing and problematic. This selection is the story of the landowner who paid his field workers the same wage when they worked in his vineyard, regardless of how much time they put in. But from a metaphysical standpoint, the story is rich with practical applications for spiritual development.

There are a few curiosities I want to point out before I move from the literal to the metaphysical. The literal perspective leaves us a little inorganic when we discover the landowner’s treatment of the laborers and his attitude toward them.

Verse 1: Come unto me all of you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. This is what the Christ guaranteed us if we follow His teachings. To labor is to rest — rest in the understanding that all of our hard work pays spiritual dividends when we seek to know the Christ of us.

Verse 2: the usual daily wage - The denarius was the typical wage. Today’s equivalent is 25 cents.

Verse 3: He went out about 9 o’clock. Generally work began at 6 a.m., so 9 a. m. would have been the third hour. He went out a second time at noon and again at three and finally at five; 12 noon is the sixth hour, 3 is the ninth hour, and 5 is the eleventh hour (the commonly held belief is that the 11th hour means the last minute, with time running out, etc.)

Verse 7: He hires the ‘eleventh hour group’ and mentions nothing about their wages. He simply tells them to "go and work in my vineyard."

Verse 8: All of the workers were paid at the completion of the day. This would have been in accordance with Leviticus 19:13b, ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.’ The landowner paid the last workers first and then gave wages to those who worked first. So those who worked all day actually got to watch how  much  those were paid who put in less hours than they did.

Verses 10-11: The workers who were hired first believed they would receive more, but they received the same amount as those who were hired at the end of the day. If this story is taken literally, you can see the problem here. The laborers who put in a full day’s work didn’t receive any more pay than those who only worked one hour (from 5 to 6 p.m.). It just doesn’t seem fair, does it? Some scholars speculate that those hired later were more experienced and deserved to be paid the same.  Others suggest that those hired later performed different responsibilities requiring more expertise which justified their pay. No matter how you look at it, the literal interpretation is unfair and upsetting.

Verse 15: When the workers who had been on the job the full day objected to the inequity in treatment, the landowner simply replied, ‘Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?’ The landowner explains that he has paid the first group according to his fairness and justice (v.17) and the laborers coming in later according to his good will and generosity (v.15). And then in verse 16 says, as a way of explanation, "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

What’s interesting about this is if we go back to Matthew 19:30 (which is the end of the conversation Jesus has with His disciples regarding the rich young ruler) Jesus says, "but many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." In Matthew 20:16 He uses the same tact but reverses the clauses, "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Taking this passage literally, it seems that Jesus is being a bit cavalier as He tells the story, and that He endorses the landowner’s unfair treatment of the workers. But let’s take a different approach at a more spiritual meaning of the parable!

It should come as no surprise that, metaphysically, this complete story happens in our consciousness. Without being too laborious - excuse the pun, let’s discover what this story means at a higher level of interpretation.

20:1 - For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. The original wording says the,  "kingdom of heaven is like this. "  There’s no comparison of the kingdom to an anthropomorphic being. The metaphysical interpretation of the main characters and concepts follows:

The kingdom of God is the Absoluteness, Is-ness, and Beingness of God. The ‘kingdom of heaven,’ on the other hand, refers to our conscious awareness of our innate divinity.

The vineyard represents the domain of structured truth principles of which we are invited to partake, so we can enjoy the fruits of enhancing our spiritual understanding.

The laborers stand for our thoughts, intentions, and beliefs.

The landowner is our Christ Consciousness.

The ‘usual daily wage’ represents the blessings we receive when we pay attention to divine guidance. The income is the same for everyone. It comes in the form of divine ideas, inner peace, radiant health, confidence, and so on!

Because this story describes how Divine Order works, here is the significance of the last is first, first is last — and three tips for your spiritual growth:

1. Practice Patience and Nonjudgmentalness . If we’re patient and trusting, even when outer appearances seem to say different, we will receive the "usual wage" (the manifested good we desire). The 11th hour indicates the point at which we let God and let go.
2. Practice the Presence . This whole vineyard story illustrates how Divine Order works! It is a three step process: Mind, Idea, and Expression. When we ‘practice the Presence,’ we acknowledge our oneness with our Christ Self at every level of our being. If we ‘practice the Presence,’ Divine Ideas will come. In the ideation process, it is a well-known fact that the most effective ideas usually come last. So the first ideas we have become the catalysts which bring us the "Aha’s" we need to manifest our good.
3. Practice Perseverance . Spirit encourages us to stick with it instead of becoming lukewarm in our Truth walk, which is represented by those laborers who were idle at noon. Jesus is simply clarifying for us to follow the invitation of our Christ Consciousness to harvest our divine ideas in accordance with Divine Order, no matter when our ideas show up (morning, noon, or night); then we canrest in the assurance that we have the wherewithal to manifest anything we desire.

(Luke 10:25-37)

As we researched for this article, we Googled the words “Good Samaritan” and the request brought us over 281,000 references of the Good Samaritan on the Internet. There were thousands of hospitals and medical centers named Good Samaritan, hundreds of Good Samaritan awards, scores of charitable trust funds named Good Samaritan, and a multitude of newspaper articles on Good Samaritan heroics and helpfulness. But what is the source of all these references?

Let’s take a peek at the Biblical Good Samaritan story, and then interpret it metaphysically, to present the real main character to you. You may want to read the whole story before continuing with this article. When you’re finished, come on back. We’ll wait for you!

Let’s start by taking a look at a few specific verses from Luke 10:25-37, to provide some historical background.

• v27: The legal expert responds easily, reiterating the passages from the Torah (Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:18). He wanted to prove he was a student of the law, that he knew his Torah.
• v29: He desired Jesus’ approval to abide by the letter of the law and to restrict who he considered a neighbor. It would be like asking for permission not to help a member of a hate group who was hurt (like a neo-Nazi or a clansman.) The Greek work for neighbor is plesion which is interpreted as “the close one.” It meant people similar to you in social status, religious faith, ethnicity, etc. The lawyer hoped that’s what Jesus meant.
• v30: In this verse, the phrase “a certain man” derives from the Greek Word anthropostis, which means somebody/anyone. Jesus was not going to give the lawyer a way out. The road between Jericho and Jerusalem was dangerous and notorious for bandits. Jericho was below sea level.
• v32: The law was if a person touched a dead body or came into contact with the blood of someone unclean, they would be defiled for seven days and not permitted to carry out their assigned religious duties.
• v33: The Jews abhorred the Samaritans. Samaritans were the descendants of those Jews who remained in northern Israel after it was conquered by Assyria in the 8th Century B.C. They were uncircumcised, intermarried Gentiles, and refused to acknowledge the temple in Jerusalem.
• v37: The lawyer probably paused before he responded to Jesus’ question. He, like other Jews, detested the Samaritans so much he was unable to bring himself to say the word Samaritan. He said, “He that showed mercy.” And Jesus responded, “You got that right.” We’re paraphrasing, of course.

For Jesus, there were no untouchables in the Kingdom of God. And the point He wanted to make to the lawyer - and to us - is to not let our religion to replace our spirituality or compassion. If the only point of Jesus’ parable had been simply promoting a sense of civility and goodwill, it would have been a good message. But it has a much deeper meaning. Let’s take a metaphysical view, so we can add a higher consciousness perspective to the parable.

• Lawyer = our inclination to use the letter of the law to justify our behavior
• Injured Man (the main metaphysical character) = human consciousness; the thoughts, feelings, and actions in all of us
• Jerusalem = Heart-centered consciousness of peace and spirituality
• Jericho = Materially-focused desires which spring from the ego’s fears and selfishness
• Robbers = our selfish, destructive thoughts that deplete our body of its energy and vitality
• Priest and Levite = religious inclinations which fail to see the connection between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law
• Samaritan = the Christ of us
• Oil and wine = oil is love; wine is abundant life
• Inn = pure, receptive Divine thoughts
• Innkeeper = the Holy Spirit
• 2 denarii = the price we pay for reconnecting the human personality with Spirit
• Neighbor = our physical body and emotions which are affected by our thoughts

The metaphysical implications of this parable are quite clear. When we choose to leave the peace and serenity of our spirituality (Jerusalem) and follow the temptations of our material sense consciousness (Jericho), we rob ourselves of our energy and vitality. Our error thinking can take us over dangerous emotional and physical ground, sometimes resulting in life-threatening illnesses.

Our wholeness will be restored when we ramp up our consciousness (the Inn) and accept the wisdom and support that comes from our inner Divinity, which provides comfort through the Holy Spirit.

So you see the parable is not about the Samaritan at all. It is about us.

• It is about our relationship with the Christ of us.
• It relates to our falling in and out of a state of grace.
• It reminds us of our awesome and unfailing oneness to Spirit.
• It encourages us to have Christ thoughts so we can make Christ choices.
• And — it assures us that we shall be comforted.

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.

In Part 1 of this article, we learned how we are all guilty of being lured by Tourist Traps - on vacations and on our Truth walks. No matter how disappointed you may be by your ventures with New Age products that are all hype and no substance, you can benefit from these adventures. Just try applying three tips we’ve learned from our vacation tourist traps that will help you as you maneuver your way through the Tourist Traps in your Spiritual Journey.

Tip #1: Recognize Tourist Traps for What They Are!

There’s really nothing wrong with Tourist Traps ~ they are just being what they are supposed to be: created to separate you from your money in exchange for some kind of reminder of your trip. We are actually real suckers for tourist trap shops! But we’ve found over the years to know exactly our goals as we stroll through them. We usually go with the intent of simply enjoying the visit, with a strong intention NOT to buy anything. That way, we can enjoy the tacky stuff, ooh and ahh over the gorgeous but overpriced stuff, and totally ignore the outrageous junk. We can walk in and out without any judgment or guilt. After all, we realized it was a Tourist Trap when we went in! And some places that appear to be Tourist Traps can actually be a wonderful surprise once you get inside.

On your Spiritual Journey, it is important to be able to identify Tourist Traps for what they are, as well. Occasionally they are so well disguised that they seem to be part of the journey, when in fact, they are the biggest traps of all. The best way to recognize Tourist Traps on our Spiritual journey is to have very definite goals! Set intentions that are clear and specific. Then, when something comes along to distract you, the first question to always ask is, "This is interesting, but - How will this assist me in my journey toward this goal?" If the answer is it won’t, you are aware it’s just a Tourist Trap, dressed up like something spiritual!

Tip #2: Know your personal temptations!

It’s always interesting when you are with a tour group, to observe what people purchase! You look at some people’s souvenirs, and wonder what they were thinking! Of course, they may be thinking the same thing about your buys! We all have our own temptations! When we realize what our temptations are, we can be very focused when entering a Tourist Trap, to prevent impulse purchases.

As we travel our spiritual life journey, we have similar personal temptations  those concepts that hook us before we know it. Even Charles and Myrtle Fillmore (Unity’s founders) had to deal with this! Here’s what Myrtle admitted, as recorded in Torch-Bearer to Light the Way (pg. 7): "I had always reserved the right in the privacy of my own mind to judge if certain person’s lives accorded well with their professions. It is the hardest to overcome of all the errors I am trying to outgrow-to withhold judgment."

Once we recognize what our personal spiritual tourist trap temptation is: negative thinking, gossip, judgment, spiritual "addiction" (going from one spiritual practice to another, always looking for the next emotional high); judging; etc. - then it is much easier to overcome it.

Begin paying attention to what your tempters are; what is it that takes up your time, and creates an illusion of separation between you and Spirit? Pay attention, and then begin a campaign to refocus your thinking, and avoid those tempting Tourist Traps!

Tip #3: Be aware that sometimes you can actually discover a real gem in the midst of a Tourist Trap!

Getting real, there are times we simply cannot avoid a Tourist Trap. We find ourselves put there, and just have to deal with it. If we keep our eyes open, it is amazing incredible what we can discover! Here’s an example. We were part of a tour group visiting the beautiful city of Pisa. Following the initial group tour, everyone was on their own, with instructions to meet back up at a certain time, at a designated area. We got done a bit early, and found ourselves waiting for everyone else. As you can imagine, there was a full-fledged, bigger-than-life Tourist Trap right at our designated meet area! We strolled in, recognizing it for what it was, and confirming our commitment to avoid giving in to our temptations! We spied a rickety little bookshelf covered with dusty touristy-type statuettes of the Leaning Tower, Moses, and other tourist spots. We were giggling over them, when we noticed a hint of color mixed in with the dust. Low and behold, we pulled out an incredible statue of dancers, going for about $10 American money! Naturally, we walked out with this fabulous bargain!

As you find yourself trapped in situations you’d describe as Spiritual Tourist Traps, be on the lookout for the gem: the lesson you can take from it; the opportunity to practice a principle; the good you can make from it. Then you can leave feeling, as we did, that you got away with a deal, and grew spiritually in the midst of a land mine!

On this spiritual journey we call life, you are going to run into all kinds of Tourist Traps, designed to create within you an illusion of separation from Spirit. Just recognize them for what they are, be very aware of your personal temptations, and always be on the lookout for the gems! We wish you safe and joyful travels!

‘Tourist trap’ is a familiar phrase to any vacationer. Every city, every resort, every vacation spot in the world has them. If you’re not careful, you’ll spend a lot of money purchasing items that you just don’t need.

The phrase ‘tourist trap’ describes any business or group of businesses specifically designed to separate tourists from their money. The quality of those products and the price one is willing to pay is in the eye of the beholder. And, I might add, based on the size of the wallet or purse of the traveler.

For example, a recent Associated Press release announced that the next great tourist trap could be the Moon. The company who pioneered commercial space travel by sending "tourists" to the International Space Station is planning a new mission: rocketing people around the far side of the moon.

The price of a round-trip ticket: $100 million.

The first mission by Space Adventures could occur in the next year, and is planned as a first step to an eventual lunar landing by private citizens.

"For the first time in history, a private company is organizing a mission to the moon," Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson said, a day after the space shuttle Discovery safely returned to Earth.

Anderson reported he already has prospective "private explorers" who anticipate the trip and can afford the ticket.

For many people, tourist traps are part of the vacation experience. For others, the trips themselves are part of the trap.

Swiss psychologist Carl Jung had this to say:

"People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. They will practice yoga and all its exercises, observe a strict regime of diet, learn theosophy by heart, mechanically repeat mystic texts from the literature of the world, adopt the sayings and follow the example of the latest guru - all because they cannot get on with themselves, and have not the slightest faith that anything useful could ever come out of their own lives."

That quote was recorded 50 years ago. We feel he is referring to a different kind of tourist trap - the trap we fall into when we buy into New Thought messages which cause hiccups on our truth walks.

Because we are higher consciousness explorers - people attracted to the deeper meaning of life - our journeys into the world of New Thought can become huge traps, if we buy into touristy things like:

• The latest snake oil sold by individuals who know just enough about higher consciousness stuff to be dangerous;
• Clever sayings and sound bytes which can take bites out of our spiritual growth;
• Close-minded religious fundamentalism which ignores our God-ordained divinity;
• Negative, self-defeating behavior which blocks our good;
• And, yes, we’re going to say it - questionable and misleading literal translations of Biblical scripture which keep alive the myth of our separation from Spirit.

These tourist traps are like the couple driving an RV, who got hopelessly bogged down in an unexpected muddy ditch along a dirt road. After a few minutes, a local farmer happened by on his tractor and offered to pull them out for $45.

After the motor home was back on dry ground, the man said to the farmer, "At those prices, I bet you’re pulling vehicles out of this mud day and night."

"Can’t," replied the farmer. "At night I’m busy filling the hole with water."

It’s the classic business strategy of creating a need and then filling it. It’s a business philosophy based on purely hip pocket interest.

Remember the definition of tourist traps? They are any business or group of businesses specifically designed to separate tourists from their money. From a metaphysical perspective, a tourist trap is any misleading teaching or philosophy, attitude, or activity designed to separate truth students from their money and, as it turns out, from their spiritual growth.

On our vacations into higher consciousness, we will no doubt find ourselves doing lots of touristy things. We have gone to our share of disappointing workshops and questionable seminars. We’ve read our fair share of substandard books that did not live up to their hype. But we also realize tourist traps are part of the journey. Our caution is not to turn them into THE journey.

Just as there are exciting finds in the proverbial tourist trap, there are truth nuggets in commercialized New Thought as well. In Part Two of this article, you will learn how to locate them, and put them to practice in your Truth walk.