Christmas state of mind

Who said:

 “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas”? 

You get a stocking full of Christmas joy if you said it was Calvin (“Silent Cal”) Coolidge! 

Indeed, if we were to live as if every day were Christmas, (not including the shopping rush) we would approach life with more love, joy and peace.

We at Unity of Charlotte join with millions of others to wish you the true spirit of the season.  It is also our wish that you enjoy it throughout the year.  Give yourself the gift of peace and take the spirit of Christmas within. 

Or as Charles Dickens said: “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

Merry Christmas!

Alan Batten for Unity of Charlotte

Christmas Kept

‘Tis the season . . .  right?  I read a lot, and I read many different types of things.  I recently came across an excerpt from a piece called “Keeping Christmas” by Henry Van Dyke.
 In the midst of all the hubbub and busyness in which we find ourselves at this time of year, I found this little gem a real touchstone for keeping the true meaning of Christmas alive in my heart not only now, but throughout the year. 

 After all, keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year long wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it?  The excerpt goes as follows:

       “There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas Day, and that is, keeping Christmas.  Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you; to ignore what the world owes you, and to think what you owe the world; to put your rights in the background and your duties in the middle distance, and your chances to do a little more than your duty in the foreground; to see that your fellow men are just as real as you are, and try to look behind their faces into their hearts, hungry for joy; to know that probably the only good reason for our existence is not what you are going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life; to close your book of complaints against the management of the universe, and look around for a place where you can sow a few seeds of happiness—are you willing to do these things even for a day?  Then you can keep Christmas.”

Remember, these are not my words but Mr. Van Dyke’s.  A wise man in my book and his sentiments echo words I’ve heard coming through in Sunday lessons shared by Rev. Nancy and Rev. David.  They are food for thought for me.  I hope they will be the same for you as well. 

May your Christmas be filled with many blessings, not the least of which include an awareness of how very blessed you are.  

Namaste.

Kate Morgan for Unity of Charlotte

You're so kind

Kindness can be as simple as a smile directed at a stranger—that includes children, who are often overlooked as the individuals they are. 

 It can be retrieving a dropped item not noticed by a fellow shopper, or while walking through a parking lot.

Kindness can be allowing someone to go in front of you in the check-out lane when your basket is full and they only have three items in their hands; it is taking the time to listen when someone is in need of “an ear;” it is sharing yourself with another, just because you can. 

The opportunities to express kindness are endless.

They are so abundant I could not possibly list them all here.  Some expressions of kindness are more personal than others.  For example, writing a check is not to be reviled in any way shape or form but, face it, it is less personal than a one-on-one experience with a fellow human being which usually leaves an imprint on the heart. The kindnesses to which I refer are those born out of expressing the best side of our humanity face to face, soul to soul.

There are those who might say I’m not referring to kindness at all, but rather compassion, generosity, and love.  I think kindness embodies all of those qualities.  It is the physical and emotional manifestation of our basic Unity Principles.  It is a reflection of the teachings of Christ.  It is our Christ-self in action.  The surprising benefit is--or maybe it’s not surprising at all--t feels good when put it into practice. 

We have just celebrated our best and most unique holiday in our country, Thanksgiving.  Gratitude and kindness—things we generally put into practice at Thanksgiving—go hand-in-hand.

It comes fairly easily to most of us at this time of year, and now as we slip into the holiday season we are reminded time and again that this is a time of giving, and gratitude, and love.  Wouldn’t it be lovely if we focused on these positive approaches as we move through this holiday season?   

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we decided to create a touch-stone called “kindness” to use throughout the holiday season and throughout the coming year? 

I have a suspicion that most of us have something we would like to improve upon in our lives, or in the world.  Perhaps taking the idea of kindness and incorporating it into your daily life could be your contribution to achieving that goal.  I’m sure you’ve heard the term, “practical Christianity” when it comes to our Unity teaching.  It is what many people say Unity is.

I’d like to suggest that from this day forward we each start practicing kindness, toward one another as well as toward ourselves.

 Meditate on this as we move through December and into the New Year.  Contemplate the wonderful and selfless act of kindness.  Then, put it into practice and give yourself the best Christmas present anyone could ever receive.  Love.

Namaste :)

Kate Morgan for Unity of Charlotte

I am music

“I am
A hole in a flute
That the Christ’s breath moves through—
Listen to this
Music.”
                  —Hafiz (Ladinsky), The Gift

Ladisky is the internationally acclaimed best-selling translator of six books of mystical poetry including The Gift, Love Poems From God, The Purity of Desire, and I Heard God Laughing.

The Bloomsbury Review says “[Daniel Ladinsky] sees God everywhere.”

Thanks 365

 

We all know that this is the time of year to celebrate Thanksgiving.  But do we know that we can and should celebrate it more often? Not just annually, or monthly or weekly or even daily. We should and must give thanks for every moment in our lives.

Meister Eckhart, the 14^th Century theologian and mystic, famously said:  “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘thank you’, it will be enough.”

Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude.

Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness.

Thankfulness may consist merely of words.

Gratitude is shown in acts.

So when we act out of gratitude, we are indeed on a higher spiritual path.

Melody Beattie noted: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”

In this season of gratitude, remember what counts. Not the feasting or the gifts, but a simple act of gratitude can go further than a whole sleigh full of goodies.

--Alan Batten for Unity of Charlotte

Be a love warrior

...from the words of Eknath Easwaren. "Not even the greatest of worldly achievements will satisfy us completely. Nothing finite can ever satisfy us. Sooner or later, all the vitality that has gone into pursuing countless goals in the outer world must flow into one huge desire to discover the divine presence within. This supreme discovery is what matters most in life. We are all born to seek the supreme truth."

"...what [is] the supreme truth...? He doesn't answer it but tells us it is everyone's job to seek it. Take a minute to think what your answer would be. You don't have to accept what others tell you because this is a personal journey. I think the sages of the past can be guides for our search because they lived the message and searched also.

I think the supreme truth is for us all to find a way to contribute love to the world and all its inhabitants and to eliminate violence by all of the residents becoming love warriors and replacing indifference, rejection,abuse, war and violence with the love of the earth and all of its inhabitants.

So search for your truth and think of it as if you are running a marathon, or are on a journey. Coming in first isn't the issue but finishing the marathon, completing the journey and finding enlightenment is.

You are more than you give yourself credit for, believe me.

To be compassionate to those who suffer is the key. So get out there and do it. Live your authentic life and the truth will become evident to you and all those who know you...."

--Bernie Siegel, Mind & Heart Matters. Excerpt from Milford-Orange Bulletin, November 13, 2013

Thinking on

 

Quote #1 is from Ralph Waldo Emerson.  He says:

"Never loose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting."

 

Quote #2 - is from Ernest Holmes, and comes from his book, "The Science of Mind."  In the book he says:

"True Prayer must be 'Thy will be done' . . . It is a knowledge that the Will of God is always GOOD."

 

  Namaste

--Kate Morgan for Unity of Charlotte