"PROSPERITY"

To begin today I’d like to share with you the Lord’s Prayer as spoken in Jesus’ tongue of ancient Aramaic.

Awoon dwashmaya
Nith kadashe schmakh
Teh they mulkootha
Neh way say wee a nakh
Aikana dwashmaya op bar ah
How-lan lahma
Dsoon kanan yow-mana
Wash woklan hau bain
Aikana dap h’nan shwakan l hiya wayne
Wla ta'lan l'neeseeyona ella pasan min beesha
Mitol delahe mulkootha
Oo hailah otesh boktha
La alim almein amen

The topic I wish to talk about today is one that concerns absolutely everyone, and that’s “Prosperity.” Oh, I know, some people say that they don’t need any money, that they’re doing just fine. But my topic today isn’t about “Money,” although we’ll talk about that as we proceed. My topic today is “Prosperity.”

How would you like to have the expression of more prosperity in your life? I would imagine that just about everyone would like to have more prosperity in his or her life. Yet few people are willing to do very much to allow more prosperity to express itself in their lives. It’s usually easier to blame someone else for our current condition than it is to take the personal responsibility that is required of us to allow the substance of the universe to express freely through us.

One of the reasons that prosperity is such a big issue with all of us is because we live in a world that has been designed around money. Money is nothing more than a symbol of substance, a symbol of value, a symbol of prosperity, a symbol of products, goods, services, or information. And yet the symbol has become so important that we’ve lost touch with what it represents. In other words, the things that we have created to represent and remind us of the truth have obscured the truth. It’s kind of like what happens in religion when ritual becomes more important than what the ritual represents.

In Eric Butterworth’s book, “Unity: A Quest For Truth,” he quotes a UCLA Professor who defined a concept that he terms “the 5 M’s of Religion.” Simply put, the professor claims that all religions go through five phases that he defines with 5 “M’s.” He states that every religion begins with a single individual who has a unique spiritual experience that alters their life. Thus the first M is the man or individual who has this initial, unique, personal, spiritual experience. Because the experience changes this person’s life, others are aware of the changes and either ask about its origins, or else the original person seeks to share the experience, and its results, with others. This sharing process develops into the second M, the Message, a telling and a teaching about this original spiritual experience. As word spreads, the Message grows into the third M, which is the Movement. During this time, the Message begins to get altered through embellishment and the vagaries of retelling and translation. Finally the movement becomes so large and scattered and the message so altered from its original intent through the retelling that efforts are made to control it so that it remains true to the original experience. These efforts result in the fourth M, the Machine. And with time the mechanics of the machine become paramount in the so-called protection of the movement of the message of the man who had the experience. Finally, the Machine, in an effort to justify itself, creates the fifth and final M, A Monument. Tragically, however, in every case, the Monument is always to the original Man or individual from whom this whole experience evolved, rather than to the experience, itself, that sparked the change in that original individual.

Unity, I have always believed, floats mainly between Movement and Machine with occasional monument builder running around frantically trying to gather support for their latest creation. Furthermore, I have always believed that it is in the ultimate purpose of Unity, and for all religious organizations, for that matter, to put themselves out of business. In other words, the purpose of all of this is to steer us back to the point where each of us has that original, spiritual, life changing experience. And when that is achieved, churches will no longer be necessary, for the guidance of all will come from within. Now, for those of you who are attached to the idea of church, don’t let what I’ve said worry you. I merely said that churches would no longer be necessary under this ideal scenario, not that they wouldn’t exist. I’m sure that there will always be churches, though their activity and purpose will continue to change and evolve with time.

So what’s this got to do with prosperity? Simply this: prosperity has suffered from the same system that corrupted spiritual experience into religious dogma. In the opening line of Charles Fillmore’s book, “Prosperity” he says, “Divine Mind is the one and only reality.” Now, let me ask you, when you have a bill that’s due, and you don’t have enough money to pay it, what do you do to find the money to cover the debt? Do you ask for a raise? Do you think about getting another job? Do you look at where you can cut down on other expenses? Do you think about what you can do without? Do you consider having your spouse get a job, if you have a spouse, and if they don’t already work? Do you think about having the children get jobs, if you have children, and if they don’t already have jobs? Do you stay up late at night worrying about what’s going to happen? Do you think about having a yard sale? In a nutshell, how much time do you invest in any or all of the foregoing?

Or, do you go to Divine Mind first? Some people go to Divine Mind first, and then they still go through all of the rest of the crap that I just outlined. They are cheating themselves. They are doing themselves a great disservice. “Divine Mind is the one and only reality.” Yard sales are not a reality. A raise is not a reality. Another job is not a reality. A bigger check in the offering basket is not a reality. Tax cuts are not a reality. Those are only the results of reality. Divine Mind is the one and only reality. That’s what we teach here, and we teach it and practice it because it is the truth. We read in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” It doesn’t say that any of the “things” are bad. It’s the manner in which they are acquired that is important. Are they the goal or the result of the goal?

How do we tap in to that kingdom of God that we’re instructed to seek first? We do it through our thoughts and our feelings, through our head and our heart. But I have had a small problem with all of this for much of my life. Try as I might, it just didn’t always seem practical. I meant it just didn’t seem to fit in with the way this reality out here is. Ever get that feeling? Of course, we all do. That’s a normal, human reaction. You know how I know that about you? Because, as it’s been said, “By their fruits, you shall know them.”

What fruits? Well, statistics show that by age 65, 95% of all Americans are either dead, broke, or still working out of necessity. By dead, they mean that a third of them are already dead. By broke, they mean that they do not have the means to provide adequately for themselves financially. People, that’s a crime. But it’s a crime that we’re free to commit, if we so choose. We can ignore the rules of the truth, of the source, and play life instead by the rules of the appearances. We’ve got that right. But, by refusing to live up to our highest potential, we provide a flawed example for others, and this contributes to the overall deterioration of the species.

If we won’t do it for ourselves, then perhaps we will do it for someone else. Let me give you another statistic. The Nazi’s, under Adolf Hitler, are reported to have murdered 6 million Jews. In addition to that, they murdered another 6 million Slavs, homosexuals, gypsies, and other groups that they had decided were inferior to their murderous selves. That’s a total of 12 million people, ruthlessly slaughtered. And I’m told that those figures don’t include the 12 million Russians that were killed, murdered, or starved to death in World War II. But let’s just take the usual 12 million figure that is most often quoted. Such an utter tragedy. Such a waste. And you know, a crime perhaps as big as those mass murders was that there were people who were aware of what was going on, but who said, and did, nothing about it. Can you imagine that? Do you know how long it took the Nazis to kill those 12 million human beings? It took twelve years, if you count from the opening of the first concentration camp at Dachau in March of 1933 to the liberation of the camp at Buchenwald in April of 1945. Twelve million people in 12 years. How could anyone knowingly turn their head and look the other way? Well, I’m going to show you how. This year, 2004, on this planet that we inhabit, 14 million children under the age of 12 will die of starvation or as a direct result of malnutrition. One child every 2 ¼ seconds. And the tragedy is that millions of people know that this has been going on, year after year, and yet little is done to stop it. The figures have remained consistent: 14 million children needlessly dying every year for some time now.

Why is this allowed to happen? Because sustaining and supporting the world’s system of economics is more important to us as individuals, and as corporations, and as countries, than the sacredness of human life and the true practice of prosperity principles. And yet, it is so unnecessary. My friends, there is enough to go around. Enough to sufficiently supply every man, woman, and child on this planet with adequate food, shelter, and clothing. If I had more time, and this were a class on economics, in addition to prosperity, I would lay out the scientific backing for those claims. But today we’ll rely upon spiritual teaching that tells us the same thing. God is the source of everything and we are all heirs to al that we can accept. So why isn’t more prosperity expressing in our lives?

On a church sign I once saw it said, “When you blame others, you give up the power to change.” This was a church that was in the midst of internal confrontation that was splitting the congregation apart. The comment on the sign was up for many months, yet no one ever commented from the platform on the subject of the sign. So I finally assumed that the sign was placed there for my own benefit since I saw it regularly and wanted to speak of it openly in the church. One day, while discussing truth principles with someone from that church, our conversation ended with them saying that perhaps they needed to go and brush up on their truth principles. I said that perhaps I needed to do the same. Well, I did, and here is one of the things that I found. It’s directly related to today’s topic and to the sign in front of the church because it point out that criticism and condemnation limit the expression of prosperity in our lives. This is straight from Charles Fillmore in his book “Prosperity:”

”Your thoughts should at all times be worthy of your highest self, your fellow man, and God. The thoughts that most frequently work ill to you and your associates are thoughts of criticism and condemnation. Free your mind of them by holding the thought ‘There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.’ Fill your mind with thoughts of divine love, justice, peace, and forgiveness. This will pay your debts of love, which are the only debts you really owe. Then see how quickly and easily and naturally all your outer debts will be paid and all inharmonies of mind, body, and affairs smoothed out at the same time. Nothing will so quickly enrich your mind and free it from every thought of lack as the realization of divine love. Divine love will quickly and perfectly free you from the burden of debt and heal you of your physical infirmities, often caused by depression, worry, and financial fear. Love will bring your own to you, adjust all misunderstandings, and make your life and affairs healthy, happy, harmonious, and free, as they should be. Love indeed is the ‘fulfillment of the law.’”

We’re almost all of us too quick to judge and criticize others. We’re goaded into doing that daily by the media and by the society in which we live. You know, I remember once hearing someone quote Jesus out of context in order to justify his or her criticism of another. They pointed out that Jesus, when confronting the scribes and Pharisees over the woman caught in adultery, said, “Get out of here and don’t sin again.” Yet here’s what really happened, in context. And remember, that Pharisees are those who insist upon living by the written letter of the law and that a synonym for Pharisee is hypocrite. This is from John:

”They said to him, Teacher, this woman was caught openly in the act of adultery.
“Now in the law of Moses it is commanded that women such as these should be stoned; but what do you say?
“They said this to temp him, that they might have a cause to accuse him. While Jesus was bent down, he was writing on the ground.
“When they were through questioning him, he straightened himself up and said to them, He who is among you without sin, let him first throw a stone at her.
“And again as he bent down, he wrote on the ground.
“And when they heard it, they left one by one, beginning with the elders; and the woman was left alone in the midst.
“When Jesus straightened himself up, he said to the woman, Where are they? Did no man condemn you?
“She said, No man, Lord. Then Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you; go away, and from henceforth, do not sin again.”

This is the example set by Jesus. Most of us fail to live up to this kind of standard because we find that it is not easy. Then we complain about getting short changed by life. Friends, the rewards of the easy way are barely enough to get by. It is those who accept the challenge of living life to its fullest who prosper the most. This is what is known as transcendence.

We can begin living a more prosperous life by doing a good house cleaning. Physically, free yourself of those things that are no longer useful in your life. Give them away or sell them, whichever you choose, but throw them away only if they are beyond use. Next, free yourself mentally and emotionally from all debts, financial or otherwise. This doesn’t mean to imply that you should just decide that you don’t owe money that you are legally bound to pay, but rather to free yourself of experiencing the debt as an inner worry or fear or feeling of obligation. Finally, free yourself of all feelings for others that do not measure up to the standards of love.

In “Prosperity,” Charles Fillmore states, “To remedy any state of limited finances or ill-health that has been brought about by worry one must begin by eliminating the worry that is the original cause. One must free one’s mind from the burden of debt before the debt can be paid. Many people have found that the statement ‘I owe no many anything but love’ has helped them greatly counteract this thought of debt … The thing denied is the burdensome thought of debt or of lack.”

The universe is designed to flow from being to doing to having. The mistake most people make is that we are always trying to swim upstream. We too often think that if we can just have, then se can do the things that will then allow us to be whom we would like to be. Why not go with the flow? Become first, and all these things shall be added to you. It’s truly an inside job.

In a class that I teach on the “A To Z Steps To Creating Affluence,” based upon chapter 2 of Deepak Chopra’s best-selling book, “Creating Affluence,” we literally work our way from the A to the Z of the alphabet. In a nutshell, the following is the A to Z’s of Prosperity.

We are a field of all possibilities. That truth is absolute, and the ultimate authority. Affluence and abundance are our natural birthright.

Go first class all the way and the universe will reward you with better and best.

Carefreeness and charity are necessary to the experience of affluence.

Discover what demands we can supply and then learn to supply them with love.

Exult in the success of others. Expect the best.

Failure contains the seed of success.

Show gratitude and generosity. The abundance of God is accessed through the gap between our thoughts. We can’t achieve goals if we have no goals.

We are here to bring happiness to humanity.

Accomplishing what we wish in life requires intent or intention.

Judgment is unnecessary and keeps us from our good.

Knowledge contains organizing power.

Love everyone and accept luxury as our natural state.

Making money for others and motivating others opens the doorway to achieving our own dreams.

Say No to negativity.

Life is the coexistence of opposites. Our good comes to us through opportunities created through open and honest communication.

Discover our purpose in life and recognize that we are pure potentiality.

Question outside authority.

Receiving is as necessary as giving.

Money is like blood; it must flow. That flow expresses through spending and service to others.

Transcendence is necessary if we expect to accomplish what’s important to us in life. Timeless awareness frees us from the past and the future and tunes us in to the abundance of the present. Establish a talent bank of individuals to assist us in what we are doing. Tithing is giving freely a portion of what we receive.

Understand that there is unity behind all diversity.

Without values there is chaos.

Wealth consciousness implies absence of money worries.

Express honest appreciation and thanks to all who help us.

Youthful vigor results from a consciousness of affluence.

Have zest for life.

And finally, we are our attention.

How many of you are familiar with Louise Hay? While driving from Albuquerque, New Mexico to El Paso, Texas some years ago for a wedding, my wife, Sherri, and I, were listening to a Louise Hay tape upon which she has a very effective prosperity meditation. I’d like to close with that meditation today. So let’s become comfortable, relaxed, and still.

Louise Hay Meditation:

”Visualize a beautiful beach. The clean, white sand is stretching as far as you can see. There are palm trees, a few seagulls, and some white, fluffy clouds, way off in the distance. The sun is shining, and there is a light breeze that feels so good on your skin. The waves lap gently at the shore, and you walk in your bare feet, almost to the water’s edge. This is the ocean of life. This is the ocean of prosperity.

“As you stand there, you notice that there are also other people, standing along the shore in both directions. Each one of you is standing there with a container in your hands, a container that will enable you to take from the ocean of life and prosperity. Look down at your hands and notice what kind of container you are holding. Is it a teaspoon with a hole in it? Is it a cracked small cup? Is it a mug? Is it a glass? Is it a pitcher? Is it a vase? Is it a quart? Is it a gallon? Is it a soup Tureen? Is it a bucket? Is it a washtub, or a bathtub? This container represents your state of consciousness. It doesn’t matter what size it is now because you can always expand your consciousness to a larger size container. You are never stuck.

“As you look along the beach in both directions, you notice that no matter what kind of containers your neighbors have, and no matter how much they take from the ocean, they do not rob you in any way. There is plenty for everyone. It is impossible to dry up the ocean, no matter how much everyone takes. The ocean is infinitely abundant and completely generous to everyone.

“It is also possible for you to go beyond the concept of containers, and to hook up a pipeline so that you always have a continuous supply of everything you need and desire. As you stand there in the pleasant sunshine, with the gentle breezes caressing your body, notice how good you feel, knowing that all that the ocean has to offer is yours, just for the taking. You deserve to share in this abundance, just because you exist. It is your birthright. You claim your birthright, right now, in this very moment.

“I am one with the power that created me. This power has supplied me with an abundance of all that I shall ever need or want. My breath is abundantly supplied. I deserve to breath just because I exist. All my other needs are abundantly supplied. Everything I need to know is revealed to me. Everything I need comes to me in the perfect time space sequence. I deserve to experience all this because I exist. It is my birthright to prosper in every area of my life. I am one with the ocean of life and I rejoice that it is so. All is well in my world, now and forever. So be it.” Amen.

Prosperity and affluence are yours for the taking. You can be part of the 5%. One of the purposes for Unity is to help you understand how to accept that into your life. Take the chance and become all that you can be. I love you.


- posted by Charles DeTurk @ 12:00 AM