World day of Prayer
Tag: #unitychurch
2nd Principle
So, I am reading a novel. It is for fun. Because of my ministerial studies over the past 6 years, I have mostly read serious and study related books. So, now that I am approaching the end of my studies, I have given myself permission to read just for fun. I like crime stories particularly those that is mixed with a bit of romance. It is important for me that it is light hearted and fun. It is also important that it is engaging and the characters are interesting and relatable. I have chosen Amanda Quick’s (pseudo name) novels.
I like her books. They are witty and engaging; they are not too violent and they have wonderfully complex characters. I must admit that the rather explicit sex scenes got me by surprised but I realized that there are hardly any TV shows or major films without at least one explicit sex scene. So, I concluded that this is the fashion these day. Most of her books take place in the regency era in England.
The book I am reading right now, Mischief, – a rather interesting title for a book that has not much mischief in it, in my opinion – has two main characters: an earl and a lady of little means. They are a married couple who need to untangle some mystery and series of crimes. The story is interesting but I am more fascinated with the two main characters who display wonderfully human characteristics.
Whit Monday
What is Whit Monday?
Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, and most commonly as Whit Monday, is a holiday that is celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast that is determined by the date of Easter. Whit Monday specifically represents the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, also marking the resumption of Ordinary Time after Easter.
The name “Whit Monday” actually comes from the English name for one of the three baptismal seasons in Pentecost, being “Whitsunday”. The origin of “Whitsunday” itself is generally believed to come from the white garments that used to be worn by those newly baptised on this feast.
The Holy Spirit
Who or what is the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost?
In my understanding, the Holy Spirit is the ‘guide’, the ‘connecter’, the covenant between the individualized soul – which is a spark of God – and the Divine Presence . The energy that we call God or the Divine Presence is our source of being but we not able to connect with it because we have ‘turned away’ – often called sinned or errored – from our source.
Imagine that you always look downwards – which we actually do – instead of looking upwards that would enable us to connect with God.
The Holy Spirit is our covenant, it connects us seekers with the Divine Presence through various means such as ‘hunches’, inner experiences, unexpected events and more.
In a way, God, realized that the souls living in each human being had gone dormant because of their downward gazing state. So, God ‘sent’ a covenant, the Holy Spirit, to help the souls finding their connection back to God.
Enlightened masters, such as Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Mohammed, etc. were ‘carriers’ of the Holy Spirit because of their deep connectedness with the Divine Presence. In their teachings they extended the gifts of the Holy Spirit onto those who were attracted to their teachings.
The Holy Spirit has different names in different traditions but the functions are the same.
Below is a quotation from Charles Fillmore, one of the founders of Unity. Please remember that this text was written in the later 1800’s by someone who was raised in the Christian faith but was later inspired to create a spiritual movement that embraces all religions, all faith, all races and other spiritual movements.
What I love about Unity
In this short podcast, I talk about what I love about Unity and how I see it embraces all people and offers a spiritual home for anyone regardless of faith, culture, race, etc.
God is within
Revelation 21:3 ESV
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
The dwelling place of God is ‘within’ man. As we walk the inner journey of meditation and contemplation, we start feeling the Loving Presence of the Divine dwelling with us and guiding us throughout our lives.
Revelation 3:21 ESV
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
As we remove the barriers and limitations from our consciousness, as we conquer our own fear based ego, we start becoming aware of the presence of God, and we will feel as if we were sitting in the presence of the Divine all the time.
