If you look to others....

I am famous for being the quintessential pack-rat.  I never know what I will find when I start clearing out my desk.

The other day, I came across this quote from Lao Tzu, a 6^th Century B.C. philosopher.  

“If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled.  If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself.  Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are.   When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”

The writings of Lao Tzu are attributed to Taoism, but that quote sounds a lot like a lesson in prosperity to me.

After all, it is when we look within that we find peace and happiness.

Spirit dwells within. 

Power dwells within.

Love dwells within.

Forgiveness dwells within.

 These things are true prosperity.  Lao Tzu is absolutely correct when he says, “When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”  . . . and then, with great gratitude remember to say, “thank you” to the Universe.

Just a thought.

                               

Namaste.

--Kay Morgan for Unity of Charlotte

Searching while impoverished

While much has been said and written about spiritual truth, it seems that few people have been empowered by the reality of the experience.

This is clear from the two main clues that demonstrate the poverty of spirit in the world today.

First, there is an abundance of fear, evidenced by the amount of conflict and violence in our world. 

And secondly, everyone is searching, although they might not be consciously aware of this.

Behind our consumption of the movie, the music and the exotic meal, behind our striving for position, power, pay and possession, behind our desire for attention, acceptance and approval… every human is searching for the three most important experiences of its existence:

• love in our relationships,
•  happiness in everyday experience, and
•  peace in our fluctuating and peace-less natures.

But the search is almost entirely externalized, which is why most of us miss the spiritual paradox of our times-

 we already have what we seek.

When we experience ourselves as we really are… soul not body, spirit not matter… we wake up to our innate spiritual qualities. 

Love, happiness, and peace never leave us; we leave them when we lose our awareness of our own spiritual identity.

These qualities of spirit are the source of all real wealth and true joy, and they are the greatest gifts we can give to each other.

---submitted by Alan Batten for Unity of Charlotte