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.

We invite you to consider three ideas as they relate to your life:

Everyone has the same life purpose: We are here to fully demonstrate the Christ within.

We have all got the same decision to make: We can choose to accept our Divinity and follow the guidance that comes from our Christ Consciousness — or not.

There is only one story in the Bible: That story is about how we use more won’t power than will power when it comes to “expressing our divinity.”

The following illustration is an example of our on-and-off-again relationship. The story comes from the 8th Chapter of John’s Gospel, verses 2-11:

1. Early in the morning He came again to the temple: (When we are centered in Spirit, we begin every morning connected to our Christ Nature. Jesus stands  for that aspect in us that understands  our Christ potential and is our unfolding pattern of excellence.) All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them: (As we intentionally “practice the Presence,” the more guidance we will receive.)

2. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand before all of them: (Our judgmentalness. which often is really hypocrisy, is represented by the Pharisees. This attitude tries to keep us mired in the letter of the law so we remain in the tight box of dogma and doctrine. Our personality attempts to discredit our receptivity to Truth principles,  represented by the woman, by pointing out our failures.)

3. They said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery: (Guarded by its self-righteousness duplicity, our ego even manufactures ways to make us feel less spiritual, while at the same time hypocritically hiding behind its own shortcomings.)

4. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test Him, so that they might have some charge to bring against Him: (Moses as an adult represents that within us that aligns more with the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law. Our judgmental nature tests our spiritual growth because it wants us to adhere to the status quo.)

5. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the sand. (This symbolizes our Christ Self lowering itself into our sense chakra to cleanse it. We  re-awaken to the realization that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.)

6. When they continued questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to cast  a stone at her.” (We remind ourselves that our old tapes have no power over us.)

7. And once again He bent down and wrote on the ground: (Our ‘I Am’ Consciousness lowers Itself a second time to strengthen us and to lead us into a right relationship with our Christ Nature.)

8. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders: (When the Spirit moves, its incredible vibration dissolves  even the strongest, most encrusted beliefs, assumptions and prejudices,  causing them to lose their impact and disappear.) And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him: (Once we put the noise of our judgmentalness aside we stand firm in our awareness of our true nature).

9. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”:  (When we allow that still, small voice to direct us, we  have power over any and all negativity).

10. She said, “No one, Sir.”: (We can say emphatically, through affirmations and denials, that nothing can separate us from our good). And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”: (Our Christ nature sees only the good in us. Once we become consciously one with our Christ nature, by going to our heart center, we will hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil. All we need to do is practice more will power than won’t power so we do not miss the mark.)

This story is about you and us and everyone on the planet. It reminds us to remember the Truth of who we really are, so we can express and enjoy our innate Divinity, the Godness that is present at our birth.

We orchestrate our experiences by the power of our thinking. Everything in the manifest realm has its beginning in thought.

The seat in which you are sitting was once a ‘Fig Newton’ in someone’s imagination. The clothes you are wearing were once a spark in someone’s thoughts. This article was once a figment in my imagination.

Everything you can see and touch has its start in thought. This is the Law of Mind Action. You already have a well-grounded understanding for thought power or you wouldn’t have been attracted to this article at all.

The reality of the matter is - we are what we think and we think what we are! Proverbs 23:7 tells us: “For as (we) think in our heart, so are (we).”

The brilliant Theosophist, Dr. Annie Besant, had this to say:

“(We) fix the normal vibration-rate of our minds. Thoughts which do not harmonize with that rate will be flung aside when they touch the mind. If (we) think truth, a lie cannot lodge itself in (our) mind; if we think love, hate cannot disturb us; if we think wisdom, ignorance cannot paralyze us. Here alone is safety and power. The mind must not be allowed to vibrate as it pleases, because that means it will answer to any passing vibration.”

Her last statement warns us to pay attention to what we think. “The mind,” she says, “must not be allowed to vibrate as it pleases, for that means that it will answer to any passing vibration.”

In other words, we’ve got to Feng ShuiShui our thinking.

When we fill our minds with the appropriate thoughts, arranged in the correct order, our choices and actions will be the perfect choices and actions. Our decisions will come from the right place, and the right place is from our Christ Consciousness.

Correct thinking comes from Divine thinking. Emmet Fox tells us: “Negative thoughts and feelings are like a spark that falls on your coat sleeve. Brush it off and it will do no damage. Let it linger and it will burn a hole.”

Charles Fillmore said in his provocative book, Atom-Smashing Power of Mind: “The most important issue before (us) today is the development of (our) spiritual (mindset) and through it unity with God The taproot of all our confusion is our failure to use our mind intelligently. The gods determining our faith are our own minds working on our brain cells and on the world. This will eventually be found to be true, and the discovery of the law of Mind Action will be the greatest revelation of all time.”

If he were writing today, he might say, “We’ve got to Feng Shui our thinking!”

Inquire of yourself what you desire out of life:

Do you want to be joyful?  Healthy?  Feng Shui your thinking!

Do you want to enjoy abundant prosperity?  Feng Shui your thinking!

Would you like to have financial security and be incredibly giving? Feng Shui your thinking!

Can you imagine yourself contributing significantly to your favorite ministry? Feng Shui your thinking!

Can you envision yourself in the perfect work for you and expressing your incredible gifts?  Feng Shui your thinking!

Have you found the perfect relationship? Someone who is the perfect life partner for you?  Feng Shui your thinking!

If you haven’t experienced those things already then - Feng Shui your thinking!

Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, shared, “The most important issue before (us) today is the development of (our) spiritual (mindset) and through it unity with God The taproot of all our confusion is our failure to use our mind intelligently. The gods determining our faith are our own minds working on our brain cells and on the world. This will eventually be found to be true, and the discovery of the law of Mind Action will be the greatest revelation of all time.”

So, Feng Shui your thinking. And create the life you deserve to have.

There is a great story that demonstrates the advice Jesus gave His followers when He sent them out to tell people the good news - the news that the Kingdom of God is within. It is about a struggle between the Wind and the Sun, about who was the strongest. The Wind thought he was stronger because of his destructive might in tornadoes, hurricanes, sand storms, and thunder storms. He pointed out his ability to transform a simple cigarette or lightning strike into a raging forest fire which could level hundreds of thousands of acres of woods.

There was not a day that went by without the Wind bragging of his power. The Sun grew tired of the Wind’s arrogance and planned to settle the matter once and for all. He challenged the Wind to a contest.

"Look, you old wind bag," bragged the Sun, "I’m going to prove you are not as powerful or influential as you think you are."

"Oh, you are, are you? Just how do you plan to do that?" taunted the Wind.

"See that elderly Truth Student down there taking a walk?"

The Wind whirled himself around to get a better look. The Wind smiled his joy and sent a taunting gust of wind to throw the Truth Student off balance.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes, I observe him. Kinda wimpy isn’t he? Surely you can find a better subject than that pathetic old Truth Seeker!"

The Sun’s voice did not change as he leveled his dare. "I dare you to blow the Student’s jacket off his back."

"Ha! You’re making this much too easy. In a short while," he boasted, "I will rule Heaven and Earth."

He began to blow, gently at first, to disorient the Truth Seeker. To his amazement, the man clung to his jacket. The Wind blew harder, sending the man ricocheting to and fro across the street - but the elderly Truth student grasped his jacket even tighter! The harder the Wind blew, the more the man resisted.

The Truth Student’s tenacity angered the Wind, so he sent huge gusts of wind, which pushed the gentleman into parked cars and against the sides of buildings. But the man would not release his jacket. One more fierce gust of wind blew the man’s hat off and knocked him to the ground, but the man clung to his jacket even harder.

Finally, the Wind gave up and challenged the Sun to succeed where he had failed.

The Sun smiled and sent radiant rays of warmth upon the Truth Student. The man stood up and brushed off his jacket and trousers, grateful for the change in the weather. In a short while, he began to perspire. Beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead and neck.

The sun sent even more radiant light and warmth upon the Truth Seeker who first unzipped his jacket and finally removed it.

The Sun’s "soft sell" approach was much more persuasive, wouldn’t you say? The Wind’s agenda was to blow the coat off the man against his will. The Wind had mixed up loving invitation with harsh influence.

The Sun, on the other hand, understood the essence of tactful influence and that the greatest kind of persuasion is showing warmth, kindness, and understanding through letting its light shine - instead of intimidation, power, judgmentalness, or humiliation.

The Sun applied the same secret Jesus practiced when He warned His disciples not to force Truth principles on others. He recommended a soft metaphysical approach. The message is in three of the four Gospels, so it is a valuable teaching. It appears in Matt. 10:7;10-14; Mark 6: 7-11; and Luke 9: 1-5.

The literal translation is fairly straightforward. Share the Truth with those who are ready to hear it. If you meet with resistance or disinterest, don’t force things. Shake the dust off your sandals and non-judgmentally move forward on your Truth journey.

Metaphysically, this story is rich in timeless wisdom. I’ll explain the key words and concepts first and then offer a metaphysical interpretation:

Jesus: that within us which recognizes and conscientiously works to fulfill our Christ Potential

Kingdom of Heaven: Christ Consciousness

Twelve disciples: the twelve higher consciousness powers within us

Town or village: a group of accepted attitudes, a belief system, a particular point of view, socially accepted behaviors

House: individual human consciousness

Shake the dust off your feet: denying the power of the superficiality of materialism or the unhealthy lure of outer appearances to cloud our spiritual understanding

Metaphysically, there are three valuable lessons with a spiritual meaning:

1.As we apply our growing awareness of Truth principles (the 12 powers, each standing for one of the 12 disciples, which are quickened by our (I Am-ness) to our current beliefs and habitual ways of thinking, we will experience some internal resistance. It is natural to experience some inner fighting whenever we are expanding our spiritual awareness.

2.Some of our beliefs will be easy to change. Others may take a while. Be patient with yourself as you refocus your thinking to the new, greater spiritual Truth.

3.When we encounter resistant thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs, we need to deny the power of materialistic inclinations to cloud our understanding (shake the dust from our feet) and continue to walk the spiritual path on practical feet.

Dr’s. 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.

We love the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the multitudes because it is so inspiring! It contains the formula for never-ending prosperity. Jesus shares it so clearly –step by step! It’s as simple as A–B–C!

Writing about prosperity always reminds us of Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert cartoon. We saw an interview with him in Fast Company magazine, where he said that his business plan was very basic: to make more than I spend! Now, there’s a down to earth, no nonsense prosperity plan!

As you formalize your prosperity plan, here’s the formula to guarantee continuous prosperity flowing in your life:

A: Acknowledge your abilities, not your weaknesses!

When we get into difficulty, it is so easy to focus on limitation — on the proverbial  problem. But Jesus demonstrated that it is more important to focus on the opportunities. The disciples were centered on the issue of feeding 5,000-25,000 people. But Jesus said, “Let’s provide them something to eat!” In the Gospel of Mark, He asks: “How many loaves do you have?” He is demonstrating the need to focus on what we have. He is asking the disciples to imagine what CAN be done, rather than on what can’t be accomplished.

Keep yourself in the frame of consciousness of always being focused on potential rather than the problem. One way is to create Attitude of Gratitude Lists, at the point of a stressful situation. On this list, you can pinpoint specific things for which you are grateful. This literally transforms your consciousness into a more positive frame of reference.

B: Bless everything you possess.

The initial thing Jesus did was bless the loaves and fish that were offered. It was not a begging prayer — for example ‘Oh, God, make this be enough to feed all these people!’ It was a prayer of gratitude. He had no doubt there was plenty, because He understood the principle of Mind Action.

C: Claim and share your prosperity!

It is important to move your feet — step out on faith, knowing our prosperity is manifesting. Jesus handed the bread and fish to the disciples and instructed them to distribute it. The small amount of bread and fish must have looked kind of puny — and perhaps the disciples thought Jesus had lost it! But they followed His instruction! And not only was everyone  fed, there were twelve baskets of overflow!

So, don’t ever see mountains of limitation. Instead see peaks of potential. And don’t ever, ever, ever confuse your net worth with your self worth.

A well-dressed young man saw a breath-takingly gorgeous woman walk past Chicos in the mall. He was so smitten that he followed her as she made her way toward the center of the mall.

The lady observed his reflection in the store windows as she passed them and finally turned and demanded: “Why are you following me?”

He responded innocently, “Because you are the most gorgeous woman I have ever observed, and I’ve fallen madly in love with you at first sight.”

The woman smiled and answered,” I believe you need to look behind you at my younger sister who is ten times more attractive than I.”

The excited suitor turned around quickly and noticed what he considered to be an average looking girl walking toward him.

“She’s no where near as attractive as you,” he lamented. “You tricked me!”

“No, you tricked me,” she countered. “If you were so madly in love with me, why did you turn around?”

“I…Ah…Well…Ah…”

His answer was a case of a ‘Definitely Maybe’! He claimed he definitely thought the young woman was the greatest thing since sliced bread — but next he thought maybe there’s better sliced bread.

What is amazing is, people do that all of the time. ‘Definitely Maybe’ people live their lives through a chronic ‘yes — no’ perspective. They short-change themselves because they ‘under mind’ who they are. They are decisively indecisive.

• Sure I can. Maybe not!
• I absolutely want that. Okay, maybe I don’t.
• I will never do that again. Or maybe….

“We are unable to serve two masters,” Jesus shares in Matt. 6:24, “for either we will despise the one, and love the other; or else follow one and hate the other. We cannot serve God and physical substance.”

What Jesus is saying is: ‘definitely maybe’ doesn’t work. You cannot steal second base with your foot on first. You cannot squeeze orange juice out of a peach. You cannot put the toothpaste you have squeezed out back into the tube. And you cannot walk the spiritual path on materialistic feet.

A ‘definitely maybe’ mind set typically ends up sending mixed messages. The following story is an example. A televangelist stopped a couple of girl scouts at the street corner and asked for directions to the post office.

“Down this street three blocks. You’ll pass girl scouts selling cookies, so buy some, then turn to your right,” the oldest youngster replied.

“You appear to be a smart young lady,” said the televangelist. “Have you ever watched my nationally televised show?”

“Nope”

“Well, if you will watch Channel 22 tomorrow morning with your folks, I’ll tell you how to get to Heaven.”

“Aw, I doubt it mister. You don’t even know how to get to the post office.”

What sort of mixed messages would we send if we affirm, on the one hand, that there is only One Presence, One Power, and One Intelligence in the Universe and then at the first sign of trouble give power to outer situations?

What if we say we are one with the Inexhaustible Source of our abundant supply — and then worry constantly about money?

We have the power to be persistent about our truth walks. We also possess the power to give away that power. Some folks like sliced bread. Others like an uncut loaf of bread. Some individuals choose slices of Truth. Others want the whole Truth — unbiased, uninterpreted, and non-dogmatic — so they can render their own interpretations. The important thing is to be able to stand for something instead of falling for anything.

One of the toughest jobs we've ever done as corporate teambuilding consultants was to help a very large health care organization "come clean." The person who hired us was the senior executive Vice-President of Customer Care.  We had worked with her before when she was an exec with another Fortune 100 company.  When she left there she took us with her.

In her new role she was mandated to resurrect a customer care department that was hemorrhaging.  After conducting the usual internal audits and  interviews, systems assessments, 360 feedback, and customer surveys, we identified key pathologies, conducted aggressive team development sessions, stirred up the proverbial hornets nest; and, when all was said and done, made several recommendations, including what amounted to a 25% reduction in force.  Our client acted on our recommendations and cleaned house.

You can imagine the upheaval, the surprise and disbelief that ran through her division.  But it was necessary, because of the old beliefs and ideologies that ran head-on into the new vision.  Not everyone embraced it! It was tough, but six months later, her Customer Care  Division won a national award for service excellence.

We witnessed a similar housecleaning at Unity Village Spiritual Education and Enrichment Center.  Students attended from all over the world and from all walks of life.  Most were from a combination of Christian and New Thought backgrounds and many were in some kind of life transition.

The 'coming clean' we're referring to usually came during days 4 or 5.  After almost a week of mind boggling class discussions, homework, team projects, and peer discussions about Truth principles, the Bible, and metaphysics, a few of the students (probably 30%) suffered meltdowns.

The Unity term for this meltdown is chemicalization.  When we receive life-changing information that blows our mind, our old programming resists the new information and we experience an internal upheaval. 

Our definition for this chemicalization experience is 'spiritual Alka Seltzer.' Alka Seltzer is a great metaphor for that stirring up of things to burn off the old ideas and create that relief of a higher spiritual awareness: chemicalization.

That's what we believe is happening in Matt. 21:12-14.  Jesus has just made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Read Matt.21:12-14 to see what happens.

Here is the metaphysical meaning.  You may want to fasten your seatbelts:

We believe this event describes a chemicalization experience! A spiritual Alka Seltzer moment.  It happens inside our heads.  It is a consciousness shift, a spiritual deepening.  When we are in that state of receptivity we are ready for spiritual growth, ready for the Indwelling Christ to speak to us.

Growth usually comes when our Christ potential (our Jesus quality) creates dissonance in our old belief system (represented by the money changers) and turns our old beliefs upside down (the tables).   When this happens, we experience chemicalization - Spiritual Alka Seltzer.

As we grow on our spiritual journeys, we are bound to run into moments when our old beliefs run head-on into our new-found understanding … and we may experience some form of chemicalization.

Go back in your memory bank to some difficult experience you have moved through in your life.   Not something you are struggling with now, but something from your past.   Pick something specific.   Recall (without the emotional baggage) the struggle and difficulty of living through the situation.  Consider how you grew - personally, professionally, and spiritually from the experience.

Once we drop in a few Spiritual Alka Seltzers we feel the sizzle of enthusiasm, the plop, plop of expectancy, and the fizz of the faith-lift we receive as our lives are  transformed forever!