Unity of Blairsville

"Centered in God, I create a fresh, new life."
Daily Word Jan. 1st

"Grateful for the lessons of Life experience, I release past disappointments with a forgiving heart. I find harmony in my relationships as I look beyond differences and focus on the divine
life & love that unites all people.

"This year, I will thrive in all areas of life as I feel God's presence
everywhere I go and in everything I do."

New Year's Resolutions--not!
Rev, Kurt Condra

So 2023 will be about shifting mindsets. Instead of a strategy that relies on willful determination to fulfill intentions/resolutions/desires, I’m implementing a gentler approach. It involves self-acceptance and curiosity rather than judgment and condemnation. By learning to regard lapses as guidance pointing to what works and what doesn’t, I expect I can make incremental adjustments and celebrate small successes along the way.

It’s a strategy I learned in meditation, and it’s much more about a shift in thinking than a change in behavior. It starts by disarming the battlefield of one’s mind.

https://www.unity.org/article/key-keeping-resolutions?fbclid=IwAR2riA-UiNxXm-jeaPix4p2di78UiVu1YYlIWbzu2nPA2yMSw_p4dVzn7jI

Christmas Day 2022
Blessed Are They Who Believe
By Rev. Tawnicia Rowan

“What does it mean to welcome the birth of the Christ through us? Mary, the mother of Jesus provides a perfect example for us to follow. How might our lives, our experiences, and our world be different if we, like Mary, believed that we could be channels for the birth of the Christ—for the expression of the spirit of God in the world? What if we said yes to God’s invitation to speak peace in times of conflict and bring light in times of darkness? What if we were willing to offer hope to the hopeless, companionship to the lonely, and food to the hungry? What miracles we could bring into manifestation!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABl3Ah9zBcI

Mary did you know-Michael Crawford Michael Crawford's rendition of Mark Lowry's "Mary Did You Know", the story of Christ.

Four Candles to Light Your World
By Re. Juan del Hierro

“Christmas Eve, then, is an affirmation of our hope, trust, and faith that a new day will dawn even in the midst of our own chaos. Celebrating Christmas Eve reminds us that in the midst of struggle, we can know something new is being born and celebrate being on the cusp of it.”

Advent: Joy

"When you come to realize that the Christ is born in you each day, it is then your charge to take every opportunity to become a beacon of light in your community. In the midst of chaos across the world, let us hold to the vision that divine love is the healing hope, the healing peace, and the healing presence that lights up the world. Choose to be the expression of joy for those around you."

Shakira Taylor

James Dillet Freeman
on Christmas

Christmas is affirmation that though the cold winds may chill our bodies and the short days darken our world, they will not chill our spirits nor darken our lives.

https://www.unity.org/article/embracing-christmas

Embracing Christmas Embracing Christmas By James Dillet Freeman Christmas, like spring, comes on gradually. Its first signs appear in store windows and newspaper ads as soon as Halloween is over. Sometime in November street decorations start to go up. The lights come on in shopping centers by Thanksgiving, and the wise...

Advent

"A Christmas riddle: What is the special gift you already have that, when given away, you have even more of?

"Offer a moment of the thoughtfulness, generosity, care, or kindness and feel the power of love fill your own heart as it ripples into the world."
Rev. Lesley Miller

Advent 22: Love

“Love is an act of will with intention and action. Loving means practicing being vulnerable every day, seeing and accepting others with new eyes—differences and all—and engaging forgiveness. In doing this we leave an echo of perfection, the thumbprint of our loving, divine nature that says, ‘Love was here.’”

Rev. Kelly Isola

Advent 22: Love

“The season of hope, peace, love, and joy reminds us of a larger Truth at work. While there is and may always be pain and suffering, there are also always human beings striving, intervening, and helping to heal and comfort. They rarely make the news, yet their daily demonstrations of love are nothing short of miraculous.

“Just in time for Christmas we can choose love over fear, love instead of hatred, and love rather than division.”
Rev. Ken Daigle

Advent 22: Love

"The creation of the world set love in motion as God fulfilled all that is. We are love when we open our hearts to love in the midst of chaos and drama; when we are caring, kind, and compassionate…

“…as expressions of God’s presence, we are called to give and receive love ceaselessly, to be the love we want to see in the world.”
Rev. Margo Ford

Advent: A Christmas of Light & Peace
by Angie Olson

”As my children have grown, our numerous family Christmas traditions have dwindled. I’ve elected to use the holiday as an opportunity to ‘reset’ myself spiritually and emotionally. This reset often takes the form of simply being; sleeping in more, watching Christmas movies, reading meaningful content, spending relaxed time with family.

“This season I invite you to take time for yourself every single day. Light a candle. Calm your mind. Breathe….”

“I release expectations and find ways to peacefully connect with my own divine nature.”

Advent 2022
A Christmas of Light and Peace

“Peace in this season of Advent is not born in the absence of war, conflict, and the ways of the world. Advent’s gift of peace stirs deeply within the hearts of humanity amidst the noise and chaos of the world. Rev. Karen Romestan

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” John 14:27

2nd Sunday of Advent 2022

“For most of us, the holiday season is a busy time. It seems as soon as the last Thanksgiving dishes have been cleared that we start the race toward Christmas Day. Planning parties and other gatherings, shopping, sending Christmas cards…"

I can choose to shift my focus:

“The distractions of the outside world, as well as the scurrying chatter of my mind, subside.

“In these precious moments, I am free just to breathe. In peaceful solitude, I stop and reflect on the events of the day and how I have shown up as they unfolded. Was I present to those around me? In gratitude, I bless the day. I acknowledge any perceived shortcomings, forgive myself, and release any lingering upsets. I restate who I desire to be in the world and go to bed at peace, knowing I have done my best.”

Rev. David Adams
“A Christmas of Light & Peace”

Do you hear what I hear?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqtWpyh6naE&list=PLdGG3CQziqU4_Z2Vy39LmiLWDC92TjRoR&index=1

Robert Goulet - Do You Hear What I Hear? "Do You Hear What I Hear?", the beloved Christmas song was written by Noel Regney, in 1962 with Gloria Shayne, his wife at that time. It was recorded by Bin...

Making Peace with Grief at Christmas

“The holiday season can be difficult for those of us who have experienced change and loss, who are grieving. It may be filled with memories and feelings about people or pets who have died or perhaps those who are no longer present at our holiday celebrations.

“My peacemaking practice for the holiday season is to accept, acknowledge, and allow. I accept it will be different. I acknowledge I may be uncomfortable. I allow the feelings and emotions to come as they may.”

Rev. Therese Lee
“Light & Peace”

BODY AWARENESS pg 34

“A simple form of this practice is to just sit for a few minutes and notice the sensations that appear in the body. For example, you may feel the touch of clothing on your skin; the warmth or coolness of the air in the room; a bit of tension in the back; a little tightness in the belly, and so on. That is the basic practice.

A Gratitude Practice for Everyday

https://www.unity.org/article/gratitude-practice-thanksgiving-every-day?fbclid=IwAR3kkd4fonFOMRqCbfuKGuqjPuYtXgbqcM0gtd-AqJ92Ro17XyvZZyZL3E4

A Gratitude Practice: Thanksgiving for Every Day There are countless benefits to being grateful year-round. A regular gratitude practice helps us live happier, healthier, and more productive lives. So let’s get into it, shall we?

Thanksgiving = Giving Thanks for the abundance of God's creation.

Radical Self-Awareness

"This practice is to be aware of my present moment experience
and to be aware of my mental/emotional/physical response to this
experience and to be aware that I am aware of all this.

"We are not creating a goal of 100% awareness every minute of every day. This is very unlikely to occur; but that is the direction in which we constantly move."

Coffee, Community & Conversation
Today, Nov 22nd at 11am
in person

'Living Originally: The Spiritual Practices to Transform Your Life'
Ch.2
by Robert Brumet

"Freedom comes from awareness without resistance."

The Nature of Spiritual Practice
Robert Brumet

"The active element of transformational practice is to intentionally engage in activities that disrupt the habituated patterns of the egocentric identity.

First, transformation involves dissolving ego-identification; this does not mean dissolving the ego itself. The ego is simply one’s sense of self."

Coffee, Community & Conversation
Nov. 8th at 11am

"We are spiritual beings having human experiences. Our purpose is to create a life of wholeness for each of us and for our brothers and sisters (of all species) who share this planet with us.

Our challenge is to become both fully human and fully divine as we journey together in our quest for wholeness."

Together we can do anything!!

Quest: Ch 8 The Hero’s Journey
Robert Brumet

“Our hero’s journey is not necessarily a singular event. We may journey many times during our lifetimes.’ Changed, ‘we may return to our former community, or we may return to another.

“In returning we see that our journey was not for ourselves alone but was also for countless others whose lives will be impacted by our experiences of wholeness. In returning we see that we are not, and cannot be, separated from any other human being or any other form of life.”

Example: Jesus often went apart to pray and medicate before great events. Luke 6:12-13 The Twelve Apostles

"Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles."

The Quest for Wholeness
Oct 18th at 11am
Cabin Coffee in Blairsville

“We alone must give a sense of meaning to our life, and we alone must decide how we will live.” Corey

“Herein lies the paradox. To fully appreciate the richness of our relationships with one another and with the universe, we must delve deeply into our own experiences of aloneness. As we fully enter the solitude of our own being, we eventually discover the universe is waiting for us.” Brumet

The Quest by Robert Brumet

“The questions I would ask are: ‘Have I loved well? Did I take every opportunity that I could to be kind, to show compassion, to help another? Did I miss opportunities to forgive, to see beyond the imperfections of another; and to embrace the perfection of his or her divinity? Have I loved others as much as I wanted others to love me?’”

Tues, Oct 11th at 11:30am
Meeks Park at covered bridge
Walk, Class, & Lunch

The Quest for Wholeness: Healing Ourselves, Healing Our World
Love as Forgiveness

Love: The Heart of Wholeness
Robert Brumet

"Love heals and unites. Loving oneself and others is an essential part of becoming whole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NYKmoHLYnM&list=RD_NYKmoHLYnM&start_radio=1

I Love Myself so Much Provided to YouTube by CDBabyI Love Myself so Much · UmaLove Notes℗ 2014 Blue Rhino, Eternal Dance, Steve Gibb/PolygramReleased on: 2014-05-13Auto-generated ...

The Quest for Wholeness
Why isn’t it working?

“Just as a grain of seed needs to mature and take root in the soil, so too our seeds of faith need to mature and take root in our consciousness.
“Through the exercise of faith, we are cocreators in the healing process. We dance with God. Sometimes we lead; sometimes we follow.”

The Quest for Wholeness
by Robert Brumet

“The faith which heals, the faith which moves us into wholeness, is this faith which is grounded in the reality of the oneness of all life.

“We begin with conscious desire, yet the deep experience of faith seems to come only after we surrender. Faith is not something we get as much as it is something we allow to enter.”

The Quest for Wholeness Faith and Medical Science
By Robert Brumet

“Every health professional knows that a patient’s beliefs and emotions can have a major impact on his or her own healing process.
“Perhaps the objective world of nature and the subjective world of faith are not separate at all but are simply two facets of the same underlying reality. It could be that reality has an inner and an outer dimension and that healing can be effected from either one or both.”

Charles Fillmore said about healing: “Go to God first, then to man as God directs.”

I have faith in God as my instant, constant, and abundant supply.

The Quest for Wholeness Responsibility: The Double-Edged Sword

“Maybe we should shift our question from ‘What caused this?’ to ‘What am I to do with the life experience that I’ve been given?’

“Understand that though you may not have created them, your soul may still be attempting to communicate something to you through them. The question is not so much what to do about our suffering, but what to do with it.”

The Quest for Wholeness Responsibility: The Double-Edged Sword
by Robert Brumet

Ch. 5 was written for everyone who has struggled with understanding the tenant of personal responsibility for creating the life that we live, for good or for ill. Why would anyone choose suffering?

“The journey to wholeness begins when we are willing to take responsibility for our part in the healing process.

“A metaphysical paradigm sees the origin of all disease to be in the mind. In this view, all of the external circumstances of our lives are reflections of our beliefs, thoughts, and emotions. It empowers the individual to be in charge of his or her own life and life experiences.

“Jesus said, ‘It was not this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him.’ (Jn. 9:2-3) He went right to the basic Truth that we are here to express God and that the conditions of our lives are exactly what we need to do that.”

Meeks Park outing
Thursday 15th at 12:15

We'll be meeting to walk, talk, and picnic in the Park this Thursday following the ACIM meeting. Gather near the first parking lot and covered bridge.

Coffee, Community & Conversation
Tuesday 11am

The Quest for Wholeness
Crucifixion and the Resurrection

“Our experiences of suffering can transform us if, instead of getting lost in fear, anger, and resistance, we can open ourselves to the possibility of resurrection on the other side of our crucifixion.

“Facing the hidden parts of ourselves is not easy.

“When we pay attention to our suffering with open minds and with attitudes of nonresistance, we open ourselves to the possibility of being transformed by our experiences.”

The Quest for Wholeness
Crucifixion and the Resurrection

“Crucifixion symbolizes the ‘crossing out’ of illusions held within the human personality. This crossing out can take many forms.

“The human personality is somewhat like a caterpillar. In the unawakened state our vision is earthbound and limited to the appearances before us. Like the caterpillar, we voraciously consume our environment, seeking to fill the never-ending hunger of the separate self. For the butterfly to be born, the caterpillar must die.”

Remembering those who have gone before us.

The Quest for Wholeness
Robert Brumet

“Because of our habituated way of seeing, we may fail to recognize that the very thing we try to avoid is a ‘bag of gold’ in disguise.

“Meeting the experiences of our lives with nonresistance is a way to begin seeing God at work in every event in our lives.”

We must ask ourselves: “Is there another way to see this?”

Creating the Healing Vision
Robert Brumet

“We embrace our divinity by fully embracing our humanity, even though our humanity may seem very limited and vulnerable.

“Suffering is not punishment but is a natural consequence of living in the experience of separation from our Source. Suffering shows us that we are in conflict with ourselves—that we are not yet whole and have not integrated all the opposites within the personality.”