Walking in the spirit of love makes us free. We talk a lot in Unity about oneness and spirit and awakening, and it's sometimes difficult to explain to others, how do you get there? How do we practice it? What does it really mean to be awakened to spirit? For me, it is walking the path. It's walking that light of my own journey, which is going to be different from everybody else's journey.
Because we really awaken to the truth when we walk on the holy ground and follow the great I am. In Unity, Jesus is our way-shower. And so when we stop and think, well, what would Jesus do? Right? How would Jesus proceed in this moment to create that peace within ourselves to create that love as ourselves, for ourselves, to create that greater understanding of what life is really about? What I came up with this time was to be in balance. And what I mean by that is to be in balance in our heart and in our soul.
That's when the awakening really takes place, when spirit is alive in us, as that love, as that harmony. That's when we experience oneness. Oneness not only with ourselves, but with all that is right. We shift into that truth of our being into that higher consciousness. And we do it through faith, because I have yet to find a blueprint that works for everybody. If anybody has one, please let me know. Because that's my analytical mind. I'm going to try to figure it out, right? We each have to figure it out for ourselves. What works for me is may not necessarily work for you, and what works for you may not necessarily work for someone else.
At the same time, we all get to the same place of that love, that spirit rising in us. Jesus showed us the way to enter that higher realm through faith. Through faith and that inner spirit of law. And what I mean by that is that law being the truth of our mind, of our being, that divine mind, the greater than we are mind, it's how humanity is saved. It's how we, as individuals are saved. I don't use that word a lot in Unity because it scares people. You know, when I start talking about "being saved," I'm not talking about the physical outside act of a baptismal. I'm talking about an internal acceptance of who you are, and where you're at, and how you're unfolding.
What does that transformation look like in you? What do you realize and recognize as the conscious shift? Because many of us seek outside of ourselves. I know sometimes I do, like trying to figure out what's going to come next. And it's like, instead of going within, I kind of reach out and say, "Okay, what's the pulse in the world what's going on? And where do I fit in it?" When I stop. And I think, "Okay, that's not going to get me my answers. My answers are going to come from within me." And so stopping just to be present in that moment with spirit and saying, "Guide me, guide me to that space within and show me the way. I will follow if I know the way."
It makes life a lot easier when we ask from within. When we ask outside of ourselves, it's like, we're asking the mirror of ourselves to show us the way the artificial self, instead of that within us, that spirit. Allowing ourselves to realize that it's okay, when we're seeking outside of ourselves. But know that when we seek within the real answers come, the grace that we are looking for shows up. When we see and enter for ourselves.
Jesus told us that we have to be born anew. What does that mean when we're finding spirit, to be born anew? Well, for me, what it means is to change and find a new way of being, and it can be a small change. It doesn't have to be a life shattering change. It's just a change in my consciousness. That takes me a little bit higher in that realm of spiritual being, that I already existed. So it can be the little modules of change.
I'm going to do yoga for 30 days. I'm going to take time for self care. And what does that look like? That looks like being quiet, maybe painting or drawing or reading or just sitting without thought, without having to be at that next Zoom meeting in this day and age that we are living in. It's really important that we take these little nuggets of self care, and that is awakening to our own spiritual self. It's our own healing that we're embracing when we do self-care.
It's not selfish to do self care. The world will still be there. If you take an hour out of every day, to be quiet, to go for a walk, to do yoga, just to be caring to you; because when you embrace yourself in that love, think about what that feels like and the emotions that arise within you, that you then radiate out into the world. So it's that inner peace that radiates when we do our own self care, it's that inner love that radiates change our thinking at the deepest levels of consciousness. So our beliefs, our patterns have to change, but they don't have to all change at once. It can be in small doses, because that's really the enfoldment of spirit. So when you're working in harmony with that divine, universal consciousness, cosmos, whatever word you give it, spirit, that's when you're really seeking to live from that kingdom within.
We seek to live in the little moments, not just the big ones. The little transformations give us a place of unconditional love. And here's the thing, the more we practice awareness of the little things, the more we become aware of our own unfoldment. Sometimes I I'm just in awe of the way the universe all aligns up in harmony and things just unfold. And I'll be like, "Wow, I couldn't have made this happen in a hundred million years." Yet, when you align with yourself, in yourself, in that harmony, with spirit, it's easy, it's graceful. There's nothing hard about it when we allow it.
I talked about self care, but we also have to let go of the expectation of something in return. So as we awaken to spirit, we have to realize that we are open and receptive to all the good in the universe and we send all the good in the universe outward without any expectations of anything coming into us, specific things. We know that God is our source, and therefore in spirit, we are always taken care of. But when we give with the expectation of getting something in return, we're looking once again outside of ourselves, instead of giving as an unconditional love, and just being open to whatever good the universe is, because we know it's already ours, so we don't have to worry about it. We don't have to think about it. It's already manifested in us and through us. So we seek that transformation from within, through that oneness in our mind, in our body, and in our spirits.
We have to realize that when we're in that space of oneness in the Trinity or the Holy Spirit, that it's not, I, the little "I" that does the work, it's the Christ within, the spirit within that's rising, that actually does the work. You know, I say that in our nine o'clock meditation, that's the first thing I say every week. "It is not I, but the Christ within who does the work." And that's important for me to remember that I don't have to force it to happen. I don't have to create this big analytical diagram of the way the world's going to flow in my world, because sometimes I can get caught up in all of that. What I do have to do is just breathe and allow spirit to unfold in the universe with me. Allow that Holy Spirit to become alive.
Part of our outer world experiences of the baptism of the Holy Spirit have always been focused on the outer cleansing of our physical body, with the water and the purification. The real truth of what the Holy Spirit baptismal is about. It's about when our heart and soul join together and find that spirit within us. Know that from consciousness, there are no limitations that we are free, that we walk together free in this life with ease and grace. And we do it not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. And so we can be baptized in that Holy Spirit at any time every day, if we choose to be because we can do it ourselves, that cleansing of our thoughts and our alignment of our heart and soul. Charles Fillmore tells us that there is a great fundamental truth behind baptisms. People feel cleansed and their purity arises within them. There's fundamental changes that happen, but the water didn't really have anything to do with it, it's just the outer symbol that we use. What we found is that inward grace and claim that the omnipresence is alive within us, as us. That spiritual principle enters into our consciousness and cleans it. And that is the spiritual power of awakening, and we can each do it on our own.
Another unpublished work, this is a quote from Charles Fillmore from May 16th, 1923, "the baptismal of Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit is the baptismal in which you breathe upon yourself. We are told that Jesus did breathe upon his disciples and said, 'Receive ye the Holy spirit.' And they received it. They got something. They went through a transformation in the organic structure of the body. The cleansing force went down into the very cells of the organism. And those disciples became what we call the redemption, the renewal of this cellular force of the organism, and that is eternal life. And there is no other eternal life."
That spiritual power that we receive through the Holy Spirit is what heals every molecule in our being and in the world around us, when we join together as that one awakened spirit. And that's when we're all truly living as peace. It starts with us. It starts within. And it radiates out. It is available to each and every one of us. Peace is available to each and every one of us. Not only within ourselves, but in our outer world that we create and manifest, but it starts within. We each have to say, "I let go and I let God." Get out of the way and let the great I am show you the way.
It's not easy. Sometimes fear will challenge us and show up in different ways. Remember the spiritual power is within you. And so when you develop those greater senses, and you become aware of other people's unrest, breathe. Breathe into your spiritual power and allow them to unfold. The pain in your own heart will shift from self to empathy for others. So we have to start with ourselves to heal the pain before we can reach out and assist others in healing the pain.
Your prayer work will become prayer work for others, because there's a greater oneness, a greater consciousness and state of being for all. So just take the moment and be. Be in that spiritual power that you are radiating that unconditional love and walking through the grace of life.
