There’s new interest these days in the Placebo Effect. Traditional medicine has always recognized the power of Placebos as a healing agent. And the pharmaceutical industry uses placebos as the foundation of its multi-billion dollar drug industry. But the rise of alternative medicine and integrative medicine is changing the way the medical community is practicing medicine. And there’s one thing the medical community has always known about Placebos –  Placebos are real, and powerful, and transformational – and, well, they work!!

We have been told that if a Placebo arrests a disease or illness, it must be that the disease was “all in the mind” to begin with. We are led to believe the disease wasn’t real. We are told there’s no way we can be healed without expensive medical interventions. But there’s one thing to understand about the power of believing. It’s an inside-out process. We know that thoughts underwrite our reality. The power of the universe is localized in our consciousness.

• We believe in the power of affirmative prayer.
• We believe in the power of positive affirmations.
• We believe in the power of visualizing health, wealth, and happiness.
• We believe in affirming the highest and best. We Unitics believe in the power of mind over molecules.

Prayer, faith, positive affirmations, visualization, healing touch, meditation, and denying the power of outer appearances are all powerful Placebos. And they work because they are the out-picturing of our consciousness!

By the way, the word ‘placebo’ can be traced back to the 14^th C when it was used in vesper services. It derives from the Latin translation which was a mistranslation of Psalm 116:9, “Placebo domino in regione vivorum,” which means, “I will please the Lord in the land of the living.”

Metaphysically, ‘please’ means ‘to apply,’ and ‘Lord’ means ‘Mind’ and ‘the land of the living’ means ‘for the sake of the body.’ So, metaphysically interpreted, Psalm 116:9 reads: “I will apply  mind power for the sake of the body.

So, you see, we don’t have to please a God ‘out there.’ We are not separated from God at all. We are God expressing at the point of us. We are the architects of placebo power!

You hear about taking retreats for your spiritual enrichment and personal self care all the time. But what about taking a :Retreat Forward?” “Retreat forward” into your greatness. We’re not kidding!  We’re encouraging you to retreat forward into the person you are meant to be.

This  may sound a little like an oxymoron — “Retreating Forward.” How can we retreat forward you might ask? But think about it. What is means is to take a retreat from your busyness, from all the worries and activities of daily life, so you are able to catapult forward toward your greatness. It means making time to create that daily practice of Silence — retreating into the sacred domain of the Divine — so you can emerge at a whole new level of awareness, launching yourself forward toward a life lived from the Truth of who you really are!

You have the power to dramatically change your life;

• To turn your life completely around if necessary;
• To be the kind of person you’re meant to be
• To engineer a future that is happy, healthy, and fulfilling;

Each and every one of us has the wherewithal to achieve incredible, phenomenal, stupendous, and lasting success in whatever we do.

Sounds good doesn’t it? It’s probably something you’d expect a Unity minister to say. It’s certainly something you’ve heard motivational speakers promote thousands of times. What’s amazing is, it’s true! It’s always been true. The thing is, we’ve forgotten how powerful we are because we’ve forgotten who we are.

In Genesis 1:26 and 28 scripture says God says, “Let us give humans dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, over the cattle and wild animals, and over every creeping thing upon the earth. 28. And God blessed humans and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and have dominion over all that moves on the face of the earth.”

Here’s a Spiritual perspective of that passage:

• the earth always represents our physical body or the consciousness of our physicality.
• fish represent ideas;
• birds stand for our higher thoughts;
• cattle  equates to compliant, herd consciousness (camels weren’t mentioned because they hadn’t gotten over the evolutionary hump yet — sorry, we couldn’t help it!);
• wild animals are our untamed or undisciplined instincts;
• creeping things symbolize our limited or destructive perspectives

So, we have complete dominion over our ideas, higher thoughts, compliant attitudes, undisciplined instincts, and even our destructive inclinations. We have control over the earth – our physical body — the consciousness of our physicality! Take a moment to absorb the power of this awareness!

In Daniel  4:3 we are promised that our dominion is to “endure from generation to generation.” Romans 6:14 affirms that our error thoughts will have no dominion over us.

To “Retreat  Forward” means going into the Silence – which means connecting with our Christ Nature – which means becoming one with the Truth of us – which means claiming our power through prayer and meditation, affirmations and visualizations. It means we’ve got star dust in our DNA.

If we don’t retreat forward it’s difficult to have dominion because we’re coming from  coma consciousness instead of Christ Consciousness. Coma consciousness is the worship of outer appearances. It’s giving dominion to material things. It’s denying our divinity or taking it for granted. It’s looking for hamburger when we have steak at home (the hamburger being worldly appetites, the steak being Spirit).

And dessert! What about dessert? How many of you eat dessert with every meal? How many of you eat a couple of desserts? How many of you have ever eaten dessert first? How many of you have used dessert as your meal? My favorite desserts are home made cherry pie and corn bread in milk. And all of the above apply! Here’s a dessert story for you:

 After a three year battle with cancer an 84 year old woman was told she had stage four cancer. This courageous woman called her minister and told him she wasn’t giving up, she was just giving out. She was a faithful truth student and was ready for her next assignment. She explained how she wanted to make her transition.

She told him what songs she wanted sung, what scriptures she wanted read, and what pictures she wanted displayed of her family, accomplishments, and interests.

Then she said a very strange thing, “Pastor, I want to be buried with a fork in my hand.”

“What?” he countered. “A fork?”

“Yes,” she chorused. “Let me explain. Whenever I went to potluck dinners at church I always kept my fork when they bused the tables because I knew that the best was yet to come. The best I’m talking about is dessert, things like apple pie, chocolate cake, and ice-cream. So, when my relatives and friends see me lying in state with a fork in my hand I want you to tell them I’m doing that because the best is yet to come.”

We believe that when you:

• Choose goodwill over ill will, the best is yet to come.
• Forgive others and even yourself, no matter what they’ve done or you’ve done, the best is yet to come.
• Do not confuse your self-worth with your net worth, the best is yet to come.
• Are willing to give up a lackluster career, an unfulfilling relationship, or possessive wealth, the best is yet to come.
• Do the right thing, the best is yet to come.
• Move from won’t power to will power, the best is yet to come.
• Retreat forward into your greatness, the best is yet to come.

So, keep the faith and keep your forks because when you truly embrace your Divinity, when you behold the Christ in others – and yourself, when you thoughtfully and enthusiastically retreat into your greatness, the best is yet to come. Retreat Forward as you walk the spiritual path on practical feet!

You are all probably familiar with the parable of the Prodigal Son which appears in the 15^thchapter of Luke’s gospel. If not, you may want to take a quick peek at it before reading this spiritual, metaphysical interpretation.

From a literal standpoint, it is an interesting parable of separation and reunion, with a bit of human ego thrown in! On the one hand, we have a younger materially-minded  son who asks for his inheritance early, gets it, squanders it, and is then welcomed back into the fold,  forgiven, and rewarded with more material  things. On the other hand, we have a devoted older son who feels left out, taken for granted, and a bit jealous. We also have a father who has the wherewithal to reward both sons, loves them equally, and would do anything for either of them. If this was all there was to this story, it would be a homecoming filled with questions and mixed blessings.

But there’s more to the story. Much more! Let’s take a closer look. A more spiritual, metaphysical look:

The younger son symbolizes our undeveloped awareness of our true spiritual nature, a nature that tends to let our ego get in the way. Like him, we learn Truth principles, use affirmations and denials, experience Truth principles working in our lives, our good manifests, and then we forget about our connection to Spirit. Sound familiar?

 We use our inheritance (our manifested good) from our Father (the I AM Presence within us) and go to a “far country” (which stands for our material consciousness). Enticed by the lure of plasma TV’s, expensive homes and cars, Wall Street promises, lotteries, alcohol and drugs, and coconut rum ice-cream, we squander our good because we are inconsistent  in our Truth walk. Advertisers tell us we are incomplete unless we buy this or go into debt for that. And we believe them! We allow our material appetites to trump our spiritual common sense.

 Then we awaken to the truth of who we really are (the prodigal comes to himself) and realize our connection to Spirit (in the story the younger son says: “I will rise and go back to my Father”). When we go to our I AM Presence, we find the happiness, peace and prosperity we seek.

 In the story, while the prodigal son is yet far off his Father sees him (that means even though we forget our oneness with our Christ Nature by giving power to outer appearances, God knows us  and welcomes us with awesome abundance once we honor our God-Mind connection).

 The older son, who stayed with the father all along, represents our moralistic and judgmental poverty consciousness.  Like him, we lose sight of our abundance because we block our good with our doubts, fears, lack of faith, impatience, jealousy and any other form of lack consciousness that separates us from enjoying the abundance we can have. All we have to do is ask, believe in our worthiness to receive, and enjoy our abundance. But we go to a “far country” instead of Headquarters!

Whether we go searching for our good (like the younger son) or fail to appreciate it when we’re standing in the middle of it (like the older brother), we end up in the same place if we are inconsistent in our meditation, prayer, faith, forgiveness, and tithing.

These are the metaphysical keys to accelerating our prosperity. The sooner we outgrow our prodigal choices and the sooner we make prosperity-affirming choices a habit, the sooner we’ll enjoy the inheritance that is ours, pressed down and running over … and walk the spiritual path on practical feet.

One of the most difficult words to handle is NO, especially when we desperately want something, or feel it is critical for our success and happiness. According to sales research, NO is the leading cause of ‘fear of rejection’ complex that causes so many people to get out of business!

As we looked back over our years as consultants, we remember that NO was a tough word for us to hear when we generated amazing proposals, only to find someone else was selected to do the job. But we discovered a fascinating way to hear the YES in NO.

We started saying “Thanks for saying no!” When we received the news that we weren’t selected to give a keynote presentation, for example, we would immediately follow up with a little note, thanking the potential client for giving us the opportunity to be considered ~ and our affirmations for them having a great conference.

We followed this up with offering our services for future events, and also indicated that, should something occur at the last minute where they found they needed a speaker, to feel free to contact us. Then we topped it off by including a copy of one of our books as our “Thanks for saying no” gift.

Incredibly, we discovered that more times than not we were contacted immediately to confirm dates next year’s conference! And we can identify three specific instances where unforeseen events occurred with the selected speaker, and we got the call to replace them! We learned how to find the YES in NO by looking at a more long-term response.

How often do you experience obstacles that seem to wave a big red “NO” in front of you? Giving in may feel like the easiest plan, and say, “Forget it!” But in Mark 10:27, Jesus makes an incredible statement: “With God, all things are possible.”

What is HE talking about? It tends to conjure up all kinds of debates, like “Yeah, possible, but how probable?” Or “This sounds good, but it won’t work in the real world!”

So let’s look at the Unity perspective of what this verse is really talking about, we get a whole different view. It says that as we make that connection with the Christ of us, our God center, we are receptive to the Divine Flow of every thing we ever need. But until we spend that time in Headquarters, in meditation and prayer, our human self sees the appearance of obstacles, of “NOs.”

Here are three keys to discovering the YES in every NO you seem to encounter:

• Spend dedicated time in the Silence, strengthening your connection with Spirit.
• Counter every appearance of NO with a big “Thank You for saying no!” Then identify ways to send positive energy to the situation or people.
• Recognize that there is no being out there in the sky saying NO. We have the power to Divinely order our experience, and create the life we choose. Refuse to let the appearance of NO have power in your life!

What do an old silk hat, corn cob pipe, button nose, and boots have in common?? They all belong to a lump of snow called Frosty, the Snowman.

To the general public, Frosty the Snowman stands for joy. The joy of living. The joy of laughter. The joy of hearing children play. The joy of spontaneity. The joy of meaningful work. The joy of being with the people you love. Frosty, the Snowman symbolizes all of that. He is joy personified.

Most people, when they hear the words, Frosty, the Snowman, break into a smile. A gleam appears in their eyes. Children ages 3 to 93 identify with Frosty’s playfulness and zest for life. But Frosty represents much, much more.

When the traditional Christmas story is read, it’s either the Gospel of Matthew or Luke that are used. In each of these Gospels you find beautifully-told pieces relating the miraculous birth involving both the Divine and the human. The authors of Matthew and Luke also seek to place the birth of Jesus in a particular historical and cultural setting. Jesus is the son of poor Jewish parents, but is also described as a descendant of Israel’s greatest king, King David. His birth is given a definite time and place.

But, there is something totally different in Jon. There’s no nativity, no shepherds, no Magi, no star in the sky, no heavenly hosts, not even so much as a Mary and Joseph.

John’s gospel instead is some rather esoteric sounding language about something called “The Word:” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” Several verses later you read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us” Then, not too many more verses after that, Jesus is suddenly baptized and begins his ministry. If John’s account were all we had to go on, we might be celebrating Christmas a little differently.

What John’s Gospel tells us is the Word became real, became flesh, became incarnated and became a living, breathing part of us.

Christmas is an incarnation story. It is the saga of the Incarnating Christ in each of us. It is the chronicle of our unfolding Christhood.

So what does this have to do with Frosty the Snowman? Think about it: Frosty came to life one day, dwelt among us and told us It would be back again one day. The metaphor is obvious.

Joyfulness, not struggle, is the message. Laughing and playing, dancing around in a silk hat, ball cap, boots, sandals or barefooted is the message. We are here to enjoy this Earth experience to spend this incarnation, happily, healthily and prosperously to dance and play and create and achieve until we melt away.

From Frosty, we can learn a new set of “Three R’s”:

I. Release any worries about the future, and put your attention on now.

II. Recognize the Source: It’s not in your hat – it’s in your heart!

III. Reaffirm Joy, no matter what!

And KNOW that you cannot be separated from your good, from God, because you and God are one! And that is cause for JOY!

No is one of the most difficult words to deal with, especially when we desperately desire something, or feel it is critical for our success and happiness. In sales, NO is the leading cause of ‘fear of rejection complex’ that causes so many people to get out of business!

‘No’ was a difficult word for Bil and me to hear when we created amazing proposals, only to discover someone else was selected to do the job. But here’s how we began to hear the YES in NO. We started saying “Thanks for saying no!”

For example, when we received news that we weren’t chosen to give a keynote presentation we immediately followed up with a note, thanking the prospective client for giving us the opportunity to be chosen ~ and included positive affirmations for them to have a terrific conference.

Then we offered our services for up-coming events. We also indicated that, should something happen at the last minute where they found they needed a speaker, to feel free to call us. We usually

Incredibly, we found that we were often contacted immediately to discuss next year’s conference! We had learned how to find the YES in NO by looking at a more long-term response.

How often do you run into obstacles which seem to wave a big red ” NO” in front of you? It seems so easy to just cave in, and say, “Forget it!” But in Mark 10:27, Jesus makes a remarkable statement: “With God, all things are possible.” What exactly does that mean? It creates all kinds of debates, like “Yeah, possible, but how probable?” Or “This sounds good, but it won’t work in the real world!”

Suppose someone asked you to cut a hole in a 5×7 card big enough for a person to step through it. Because you’re a good Truth practitioner, you’d want to act like a believer. So you’d say, “All things are possible” and you might even take action – but in the end you might throw up your hands and say, “This stuff doesn’t work!”

As we make that connection with the Christ of us, our God center, we are open to the Divine Flow of everything we ever need. However, until we make that connection, our human self sees the appearance of obstacles, of “NOs.” So, how do we move through that process, so we can always find the YES in No?

THE ‘YES in NO’ PROCESS:

1) Expect the Yes in No

This relates completely to an attitude of expectancy. So often, we get exactly what we expect. Not necessarily what we want, or what we hope for – but what we expect! Shakespeare said it long ago: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

Sometimes we create huge NO’s simply due to our expectations, which translate into our behaviors. For example, from a survey of top personnel executives of 100 major American businesses, here are some of the accounts of bizarre behavior by job applicants:

• “… said she was so perfect that if he didn’t get the job, it would prove that the company’s management was incompetent.”
• “… announced he hadn’t eaten lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and french fries in the interviewer’s office.”
• “Balding candidate suddenly excused himself. Returned to office a few minutes later, wearing a hairpiece.”
• “…she vomited on my desk, and immediately began asking questions about the job, like nothing had happened.”
• “When asked the reason for leaving last job: They insisted all employees arrive at work by 8:45 am every morning. I couldn’t work under those conditions.”

We do it to ourselves! So what do we expect?

Lowell Fillmore shares how Adam named the animals in the creation story, and says that in like manner, we can name our conditions as either bad or good, yes or no. Since we have this creative power, why not name things good?

Look at how fickle the concept of Good versus Bad is. Just one example: Is coffee good or bad for you? Depends on what research you find. A recent Harvard research article outlined in WebMD that coffee lowers your risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and colon cancer-lifts your mood and treats headaches-improves athleticism, and can even lower your risk of cavities!

So begin now to Expect the Yes in No!

2) Embrace the YES in NO.

This means creating an attitude of joy, knowing that at the level of spirit, it already is. It is important to realize that what you think of or experience is more important than the thing or experience itself. Whenever you become aware of a blockage that seems to be saying “NO!” immediately affirm YES!

We create what we call the “Apostrophe Effect” ~ which we’ve shared before, but believe it is so important we want to share it again. When you face the NO’s of life, remember this. Imagine the word IMPOSSIBLE. Put an apostrophe between the ‘I’ and the ‘M.’ what does it spell now? I’M POSSIBLE! Practice creating the ‘Intention of Embracing the YES in NO.’

3) Expand the Yes in No.

Here we’re indicating the need to it on projecting the attitude of hope and encouragement to others. You can begin educating others so that instead of asking “Why did this happen to me?” they learn how to ask the question, “How can I use this for good?” Here’s a little tip for you: It’s all in how it’s spelled!

You run smack into a difficult situation, and immediately you see N-O, NO! But suppose you changed the spelling to K-N-O-W, KNOW? This becomes a trigger to remind you that you KNOW there is a YES in that No, and you KNOW that you are one with Divine Substance, where all things work together for good – where all things are possible!

And just in case you run into a really tough situation that challenges your belief to the fullest, contact us to show you how you can step through a 5×7 index card.

We K-N-O-W, KNOW, that all things are possible when we we connect with our Christ Center! And as you practice the art of ‘Expecting the Yes in NO,’ ‘Embracing the Yes in No,’ and ‘Expanding the Yes in No,’ you will reap the benefits in terms of walking the spiritual path on practical feet!

WE absolutely love the TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ~ because it personifies the human spirit, and the deep inner desire we have to reach out and help others. A hallmark emotion of this show is “Delight”

• the incredible delight of the family, when they view their new home;
• the obvious delight of Ty and the design team, in sharing the home;
• the heart-warming delight of the builders and volunteers, who always claim they receive so much more than they give!

Delight is an intense emotion, and one that truly opens the Consciousness to allow a free-flow of abundance and prosperity to come to you, in ways you would never begin to imagine!

As part of our Sunday service, we share a Prosperity Blessing during our offering time, in which we repeat together, “Divine Love, through me, blesses and multiplies all the I have, all that I give, and all that I receive.”

These words are actually a perfect outline for understanding an Extreme Level of Delight. Most people tend to think about money when they hear this blessing, but let’s “amp it up” into a description of our consciousness, and see a deeper message!

Delight in all you have:

Of course, this tells us to be grateful for the things we have without begrudging what others have, or always longing for what you wish you had.

But there’s a deeper level to consider: don’t we all have things we don’t particularly feel grateful for? For example, things like illness, money problems, work issues, etc.? The real secret here is to live from a state of delight, even in the midst of these kinds of issues. Regardless of what we “have,” we are grateful! Not for but from! Living from that sense of delight in knowing we are one with God and all is well, we can recognize that every experience is simply “curriculum,” from which we can learn and grow.

Delight in all that you give:

This section of the blessing reminds us to delight in the things we give to others, but it goes so much farther than that. Become aware of other ways you give and pay attention to whether you are giving gratefully. We give by way of words; expressions; help; comfort; time. For example, we recently hosted some out of state friends. Ten of us met to share time together for a dinner, ranging from age 17 months to 89 years old! It was an incredible evening, because everyone gave their time, joyfully, to come together as family and friends. What a joyful gathering we all had!

Give joyfully! We write “Gladly” on all our checks (right above the words “Pay to the order of”), and it helps us experience a sense of joy as we send our money out into the world. By allowing a sense of delight to flow through us, we can send that joy out to others through our words and actions. Giving with delight enriches your prosperity, and the prosperity of all those whose lives you touch!

Delight in all that you receive:

Think about a gift you gave to someone recently. Recall your excitement in choosing it (or making it), and how you felt as you wrapped it up and delivered it. Now, imagine that you get no acknowledgment at all. Nothing is more disappointing than giving something, and not feeling a sense of appreciation on the part of the one you gave it to. It breaks the flow of the giving and receiving cycle.

Consider a compliment you received, that you negated and threw back at the giver! Think about offers for help, that you have glibly refused. When you do not receive with delight, you cut off the cycle of giving and receiving, and you put a kink in the prosperity flow into your life.

Experience shows that receiving with delight is the toughest challenge of all – particularly when we find ourselves in a place of need, where we must take help from others. But if we can just remember that in receiving with delight, we are actually helping those who are giving – and we are maintaining that Giving/Receiving Cycle, keeping it flowing in our lives!

Charles Fillmore is quoted as saying, “It has been found by experience that a person increases his blessings by being grateful for what he has. Gratitude even on the mental plane is a great magnet. When gratitude is expressed from the spiritual standpoint, it is powerfully augmented.”

When we live life from a Spiritual Consciousness of Delight – delighting in all that we have, all that we give, and all that we receive – we will discover that everything we ever need flows to us as we align ourselves with Divine Abundance.

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.

Each swept floor prompts another sweep. Every child bathed invites another washing. Every lawn mowed requires another mowing. Every breath taken requires another breath.

The sun ascends each morning and sets every evening. The moon shines each night. Tides ebb and flow every day. Birds sing wonderful songs today and sing them again tomorrow.

Oysters open their shells when the moon is high in the sky. The chambered nautilus forms a new chamber in its spiraled shell each lunar month.

When we breathe, we do not stop breathing because we have taken in all of the oxygen we will ever need. We stop because we have all the oxygen we need for that particular breath.

When we exhale we stop exhaling so we can prepare for the next inhalation. We will need to repeat the process; however, no matter how perfectly we have inhaled and exhaled.

What these scenarios are telling us is what is finished invites refinishing.

So what do we do after we become enlightened? We become more enlightened. Once we are aware that we are one with the Infinite Isness we are prone to think we are finished, that we are finished, that we have reached the pinnacle of our perfection.

But nothing can be further from the truth. There is a Zen saying which goes like this: Before enlightenment, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers. At the moment one is enlightened, mountains are no longer mountains and rivers cease to be rivers. After enlightenment, mountains are again mountains and rivers are once more rivers.

A current version of this Zen koan comes from Unity minister, Jim Rosemergy who reminds us: “Mystics do not turn from the world once they turn to God. They remain in the world but not of the world. Even mystics have bills to pay.”

Once we are enlightened, that is, once we positively, absolutely, unequivocally realize we are God expressing as us, we stay in the world, but not of the world to demonstrate to others the path of enlightenment.

That is our spiritual mission: to fully express our divinity and help others to do the same. It is the same commission expressed in Matthew 28:19-20.

We will share the New Revised Standard Version and then offer an ontological version from the New Metaphysical Version of Matthew to add spiritual depth.

After His resurrection Jesus announced to His disciples in verse 19:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

Metaphysically Jesus was referring to three specific nations: our body, mind, and soul. Baptizing the nations signifies purifying our body, mind, and soul from unhealthy sense attachments.

We are to do this ‘in the ‘name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.’ Name signifies ‘in the nature of.’ And, ontologically speaking Father, Son, and Holy Spirit represent the three aspects of Divine Order (Mind, Idea, and Expression).

So, we are to cleanse our body, mind, and soul by becoming one with the nature of the Christ Presence within us so we can divinely order our experience.

Matt. 20 says in the New Revised Standard Version: “Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you, remembering that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”"

Metaphysically ‘teach them’ means to walk our talk with integrity. ‘I am with you always’ means we have an indivisible, unshakable, universal oneness with Spirit. To the ‘end of the world’ means moving from one level of spiritual awareness to another.

Matthew 20 means we are to walk our talk by letting our Christ Light shine as we achieve one level of enlightenment, one level of completion, to another.

So, what will we do after we are enlightened?

We stay in the world but not of the world. We live as monks and mystics in cities, towns, and communities.

We light up the world with our example. Like the enlightened beings who became enlightened before us we will teach others how to teach others.

We will appear as typical men and women, but our values and the manner in which we live, move, and have our being will show our surrender to our higher calling.

We might have human challenges, but we will not be subdued by them. We may wear glasses or contact lenses, hearing aids or artificial heart valves, but we will not be defined by them.

We may take medicine or require hospitalization, but we will not be incarcerated by them. We may experience a world that is not perfect, but we will not be limited by that imperfection.

We will be in the finishing and refinishing business. We will pot and repot ourselves daily. We will renew and keep renewing ourselves. We will tool and re-tool ourselves constantly.

We will continue to seek enlightenment because enlightenment is a verb, not a noun. It is a process, an unfolding, and a movement from one exhilarating level of consciousness to another.

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.

Jesus loved sharing parables as a way of teaching Truth principles. But sometimes His stories sound somewhat strange and even harsh. It is necessary to delve a little deeper, to figure out the metaphysical interpretation and how it relates to our lives.

A perfect example is the story of the unclean spirit, shared in Matthew 12:43-45 and Luke 11:24-26. Jesus shares the story of when an unclean spirit leaves a person; it wanders waterless regions searching for a resting place. Finding none, it decides to go back to the house from which it came. Finding it swept clean and in order, the spirit then brings along seven of his buddies to join him. The end result is that the state of the person is worse than it was before.

Wow! That’s a strange story to read. So let’s explore some of the important elements, for a deeper meaning.

Unclean Spirit: error thoughts or habits that contradict our Divinity and get in the way of our Spiritual growth.

Waterless region: environment that lacks spiritual enrichment.

House: our consciousness.

Swept and put in order: a consciousness that has created a vacuum by recognizing and eliminating error thoughts, without replacing them with spiritual ideas and principles.

Seven: represents completeness in the world of phenomena (unusual or extraordinary)

So let’s take a look at this parable again, with this new information. Here’s what it is saying:

When a person identifies error thinking and, through denials, refutes its power, those error thoughts depart, leaving a void which must be filled. If it is not filled, the bad habits will return, and become even stronger than before, making the person more skeptical and frustrated with the world of appearance than when they started their spiritual journey. This is why it is so critical to create a regular practice of prayer and meditation, coupled with denials and affirmations, to refuel and rejuvenate yourself as you continue strengthening your life built on Truth principles.

3 Keys to Unlock a New Level in Your Spiritual Consciousness

Denials: cleansing your Consciousness by refusing to give any power to your error thoughts;

Affirmations: claiming a mighty spiritual principle and affirming it. Keep in mind, things do not become true because you affirm them; you affirm them because they are Truth!

Prayer and Time in the Silence: providing opportunities to realign, reconnect, and receive Divine guidance, ideas, and inspiration.

When, with good intentions, you clean up your spiritual act, without creating Truth-based spiritual practices, you will feel like that poor subject of the parable you will feel too busy to practice Truth principles; too embedded in the world of appearance to focus on Truth; and too skeptical to allow Divine Wisdom and Ideas to flow to you.

But when you create the time to practice denials, affirmations, and time at headquarters, you will have “cleaned your house” and redecorated your thinking and habits, so there is no space for those spirits to come back with their negative buddies! You are aligned and ready to co-create the amazing, healthy, abundant, spiritual life that you deserve by right of Consciousness!

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.

For lots of people, the Book of Job is a difficult book. It relates the story of a righteous man who loses every precious thing he possesses, who suffers horribly, who seems victimized by the very God he worships. Let’s start with a snapshot of Job’s story. We only have space for a few glimpses although our journey will take us through the entire book of Job, chapters 1 thru 42.

The narrative begins with a description of Job as a man ‘perfect and upright, one that feared God, and turned away from evil.’ (1:1) Job’s goodness is so incredible that God says to Satan in (1:8) ‘There is none like him on earth.’

Satan implies that Job is pious because he has been blessed and protected. Satan says, ‘Put forth thy hand and touch all that he has and he will renounce you to your face.’ (1:11)

Jehovah allows Satan to deprive Job of everything he has in order to test him. Job loses all of his material possessions, his children, his livestock, his servants, everything! Job is crushed, but he still continues to worship God.

When Jehovah rejoices that Job continues to praise Him, Satan mentions that only Job’s possessions and family have been affected. He tells God that if Job himself is afflicted, he will turn from God.

So Jehovah says to Satan, “Behold he is in thy hand, only spare his life.” (2:6) Job is smitten with painful sores and boils all over his body (2:7). Chapter 3, verse 25 explains Job’s difficult situation. It says: “What Job feared came upon him.” Does this have a familiar ring to it? Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Listen to what happens next.

Three of his closest friends (Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar) learn of his plight and come to comfort him. Chapters 3-31 contain conversations between Job and his friends.

Eliphaz believes Job is suffering because he has sinned; Bildad ponders that if Job was more upright, he would not be in the trouble he’s in; Zophar rebukes Job for being so self-righteous and fearful, and urges him to repent.

Job reproaches them for their judgmentalness and feels forsaken by his friends and God. “I have been wronged. I cry for help, but there is no justice.” (19:7)

Finally Job looks deeply within himself, and then declares in (31:35) “Let the Almighty answer me!” At that moment, his three friends go away and Elihu comes to his rescue. With the arrival of Elihu, Satan backs off. The story ends with Jehovah giving Job twice as much as he had before (42:10) and Job lives happily ever after.

Despite the happy ending, the literal interpretation of this story leaves more questions than answers. Why did Job need to suffer in the first place? Why did God co-conspire with Satan to bring about Job’s suffering? Are we simply pawns in the battle between good and evil? What was God thinking, you might ask?

All of these questions are perfectly natural questions — if we take this extraordinary story literally. The spiritual meaning of Job’s suffering becomes clear when we take a metaphysical look. Metaphysically, the Book of Job is a case study in Mind Action. And as we mentioned earlier, Chapter 3:25 tells us why Job suffered: “What Job feared came upon him.”

The people mentioned in the Book of Job are the thoughts, personal qualities, attitudes, and beliefs we hold in our consciousness. Their metaphysical interpretations are as follows:

Zehovah stands for the Christ of us, our God-Self

Satan symbolizes the tendency within each of us to forsake our divinity.

Eliphaz represents our half-hearted desire for spiritual wholeness

Bildad is our on-again/off-again acknowledgment of our Christ potential

Zophar represents our fault-finding nature which blames others for our troubles

Elihu is the Holy Spirit, the still small voice

Job represents that aspect of us that outwardly seems centered and dedicated to truth principles, but inwardly chooses to be deceived by outer appearances and then allows fears, doubts, and a sense of unworthiness to get the best of us.

So, here’s a metaphysical interpretation of the story of Job:

Our God-Self (Zehovah) honors our power of choice, even if it means allowing us to deny our divinity (Satan). When we experience difficult times, the Job in us, (represented by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zohar) fears the worst in outer appearances and allows those things to get the best of us. However, once we remember that it is our own error thoughts which have caused us to miss the mark; we can go to our Christ Center (Elihu) and listen for that still small voice. In the story, God doubled Job’s prosperity. The number ’2′ represents the two natures of us, human and divine, becoming one.

So, what can we do when we experience those dark night of the soul experiences?

1. We can change the outer world by changing our inner world . Become aware of what you are really thinking, and claim dominion over your thoughts. Choose to remember your Spiritual nature.
2. We can refuse to give power to outer appearance . When the ‘Job’ in us refuses to give power to outer appearances and accepts our divinity, it will be the second time fire is discovered by the human race – the fire of the discovery of our divinity. At that moment, there will be no more suffering, wars, or dis-ease. What an incredible world that will be!
3. We can claim our oneness with God . We suffer because we believe we are separated from God. And because we believe we are separated from God, we believe we are separate from one another. And because we deny our oneness with one another, we perpetuate a collective error consciousness, which gives power to outer appearances that strengthens our belief in our separation from our God-ness. That belief is the cause of all suffering.

So to avoid suffering, acknowledge and celebrate your oneness with God! Your prosperity, inner peace, and joy will return to you, multiplied!

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.