Unity Church of Tucson

by Larry Swartz

Following a question and answer service we always have a few questions that for whatever reason we didn’t get to.usually the culprit is time.so randomly I will address them.

Why do we (yet) do the Lord’s Prayer? It doesn’t seem to fit with the teachings of Abraham. And a similar question: Does it (the Lord’s Prayer) fit within the Power within? The Lord’s Prayer is pretty much a given within any Church or organization that acknowledges its Christian roots. I would re-write it and would firmly state that because the same Energy that moved through Jesus is available and moving through each, you have that same privilege. On the last Sunday as we morph the prayer experience into ideas extracted and then placed within the melody Finlandia, we strain at some people’s sensibilities even doing that. We really don’t know for sure that Jesus even spoke the words as we see them today and after translations and interpretations that now are found within the various versions of the Bible. Perhaps the best prayer we can ever pray is one that comes from within us and speaks to empowerment and Oneness.

How does one reconcile the Abraham teachings with traditional “Christian” teachings? Can’t, and because Truth needs no defense-ever, if these traditional teachings need to defend their turf that effort should speak for itself.

Please give a report of the INTA Congress. Having just come back from a week’s worth of meetings I would report a very successful gathering. I have stepped down from service on the Executive Board after 3 terms or 9 years.whew! Attendance was up this year and well known speakers were prolific in their inclusion, such people as John and Jan Price, Roy Eugene Davis, Terry McBride, Edwene Gaines, Walter Starcke.even Mary Ellen and I. At the banquet, Charles R Fillmore, grandson of the founders Myrtle and Charles, received the INTA’s Torch-Bearer Award and received it with such grace and humility. Those present came from Thailand to Africa and points in-between, indeed then it is a co-creative coming together of like minded people.

Where is heaven? Hmmm.where would you like it to be? Heaven isn’t initially a place but a state of consciousness of being awake within ourselves as an extension of Source Energy.then it becomes a place for we are all someplace-we are all where we are and we are the ones who allow it to be a heaven or a hell.

How do we know that the statement on the wall, “…glory that I knew with Thee before the world was,” is about each of us and not just about Jesus. After all most of us don’t remember ourselves before the world was. Very true, and you may have taken note that we do not speak the words at the end of our services any longer, for like my answer to the Lord’s Prayer, within my present evolving state of consciousness I now find myself wanting to re-write it also for I no longer see the world as something to escape, which can be extracted from the statement.sorta.but as an experience where as a creator and co-creator I allow my identity as an extension of Source Energy to add to the very expansion of the Universe itself. Like the Pattern Prayer, we really do not know the authenticity and accuracy of these words that Scripture states that Jesus spoke. And, I am learning to listen to and trust more the words that come forth from within me for they are current and always based upon me and my moment of the now and its interaction with the flow of Source.of God.

Are we, as spiritual beings having a human experience, powerful or powerless? (think of 12 step). We are the extensions of an Energy-not the child of, and not even the son or daughter of-but extensions of an Energy that creates solar systems. This is one of the questions I spoke to on Sunday, but after a conversation with a friend I want to clarify what I said and add an addendum. The 12 step programs indeed have helped literally millions of people into lives that are clean and sober.and more. Each, however, begins with a statement of powerless over something, be it alcohol, drugs, food, tobacco.even sex. Granted, the steps then lead to one’s complete power to do and be whatever then equates with the freedom they desire and seek. However, a statement of powerlessness is sort of generic and has the tendency to spill over into other areas of one’s being and world. Our minds do not compartmentalize too well. I would see a statement such as: Having temporarily lost sight of my innate power over (something), from awareness of myself as an extension of Source I now choose to no longer allow (something) to be a dominant power in my life.I choose sobriety (or ?).

We have a great choir, why don’t we have them as a part of our services more often? Well, now they know your request as well as your kudos. Yes, they are good and they sound much larger than they actually are, and we are blessed to have them. For the most part they are not professional singers, but people who come together under the special leadership of Linda Ackermann, for the purpose of fun and satisfaction. Almost all are working people and a different schedule would entail more practices. Like you, I look forward to the Sundays when they sing.

Am I in your world? Dunno, what world are you in? If we each are the creators of our own reality and our lives are a process of interpreting energy, then I suppose it is possible for us to share very little or a lot of each other’s world.

Give a simple definition of metaphysics. Simple, huh? Defining metaphysics is somewhat different from defining metaphysical. That being said.metaphysics is the study and ever deepening understanding of the process of mind or thought being behind all manifestation.

We know that the universe is a field of energy. Why or how do we attach the essence of God-love to what would seem to be a neutral field; in other words, how is Source connected to goodness? Excellent question from an obvious thinker. The question might be paraphrased, “Are we living in a Universe where the odds are stacked toward joy or despair, or just perhaps, are joy and despair perceptions we each are free to make?” This would further bring up the question: Is Source (God.First Cause.Father-Mother.even Allah) very anthropomorphic in nature complete with the extremely human trait of anger, vengeful vindictiveness even to the point of needing what some see as a very painful and bloody (ask Mel Gibson) occurrence which “the Church” has capitalized upon and calls it our vicarious atonement? That being so incredulously impossible, I am left with a belief that “the deck” is stacked in our behalf.always, and that to me translates into my perception of the Universe being equated with goodness.

Then, a rather lengthy question and difficult given the size the paper about evil in the world and the perceived need to be at least aware equating “ignoring (leaving) us more vulnerable.” Building upon my last answer that I judiciously placed just prior this question/comment, and adding the understanding that we live in a vibrational Universe based on inclusion, we are understanding that as we are the creators of our own reality, we actually decorate and people our path based on the vibrational signature we offer as then the Law of Attraction draws (I actually like the term chelate because it better describes the process) to us its equivalents within all aspects of our lives-in other words, money or the lack of it, wellness or the lack of it, satisfying relationships or the lack thereof on into every aspect of our lives and living. This being said, if it isn’t in our vibrational signature by virtue of that to which we are giving energy neither will its equivalent experiences. Give energy to evil and beat the drum of it and it will appear. Stay centered in the goodness of the universe and your worthiness of only this goodness and you can walk unscathed through any “evil” moment. Now, if you are in the trenches and it appears to be yours to confront evil, then do so, but don’t insist that everyone else march to that drummer.