Church of One Love

The Necessity of Asking Questions

As a girl brought up in a fundamentalist Christian church, I learned that to even question what I was taught as the (one and only) truth about God and the nature of the universe was dangerous and sinful, and left me teetering on the brink of hell.  What I know now is that the power to question is fundamental to our freedom as human beings, and that any spirituality that is coerced rather than chosen freely is no spirituality at all.  Let’s explore some of the most important questions to ask of ourselves and the universe.

The Activity of Prosperity

Last month we talked about the consciousness of abundance. We know it is necessary to change consciousness in order to change outer conditions, and learned how we impoverish ourselves in multitudinous ways when we hold a consciousness of lack.  We also hinted at how difficult it can be to change consciousness so that we see changed results in our outer world.  This week we will talk about specific activities, attitudes, and habits we can cultivate to bring about the change in consciousness that allows us to live the abundant lives we are here to live. 

Easter Sunday w/ Rev. Rick Horsey

The Energy of Community

 

Jesus made his final journey into Jerusalem with a large group of disciples.  Why?  Is there spiritual strength in numbers?   

Each of us has within us all we need to be fully at one with the love and power of the One.  Yet, this is difficult to remember and to practice in the face of a world of ego that often looks, thinks and acts as if we were separate from God and from each other. In Spiritual community, we join in awareness of Truth, we experience love, support, & compassion, and together…we more firmly and consistently remember the truth of who we are.

The Consciousness of Abundance

When people talk to me about fundraising, I like to talk instead about consciousness raising.  When we understand that we are not separate; that what is ours to give can never be taken from us; then we are full participants in the ongoing flow of Divine Abundance. We begin to experience the freedom of forgiveness, the truth of our oneness, the joy of generosity, and fear no longer has a foothold.

The Power of Prayer

Traditional prayer models in the Judeo/Christian/Abrahamic religions  consist of beseeching, petitioning, or begging a God that is somewhere “out there” for mercy or special favors.

At cool we pray affirmatively: from an understanding that the Presence of Spirit is within us, therefore our desires are known and there is no need to beg or convince any separate “being.”   Instead, we pray to bring that Presence into our full awareness, and to align our human will with the energy of Divine Love which is always for our good.

Special Guest Speaker Chris Miller: Perfectly Imperfect

“There is a crack in everything, that is how the light gets in.” -Leonard Cohen

 

We all are perfectly Imperfect.   How can we use art to learn the lessons of our perceived imperfections? What if our imperfections are spiritual opportunities? Author artist, and speaker CJ Miller discusses universal lessons learned from making art. We are all creators. Lessons learned from making art apply to our Spiritual journey.

The 4th Agreement: Always Do Your Best

We try to so hard to meet standards set by others, or our own false ones.  The truth is that doing our best is actually the BEST we can do, and when we acknowledge this we cease to punish ourselves for not doing or being “better.”  When we become aware of our inner “judge,” we can begin to let go of arbitrary “rules” that have nothing to do with truth. We go within to find our own personal best and live in peace as we practice it. 

The 3rd Agreement: Don't Make Assumptions

We humans hate the unknown (and most things in this world are unknown).  In the absence of information we make up stories—assumptions not based on truth but on fear.  These assumptions are harmful—even devastating-- to ourselves and others. When we stop these assumptions, our joy increases a thousand-fold.

The 2nd Agreement: Don't Take Anything Personally

What other people do is ALWAYS about them, and never about us. Yet we torture ourselves with the words and actions of others every day.  If we change only this one fundamental agreement, our lives are dramatically transformed.