Sunday, January 29, 2012
-The Comforter
~ Rev. William M. Heller
Today, let’s look at your journey, your life by considering your “light filled episodes.” Each of you have had these. Think of instances in your life when something occurred, a thought or an action, that validated a direction you had taken; an instant that filled you with grace and joy; one in which you experienced a sense of love and unity with those around you.
Now think of the moments in your life when you have had a turnaround, a change in direction of your experience, or thought of a matter. It may have been subtle, it may have been major. Something might have been released, which in turn paved the way to a new direction in life, a different way of seeing life. Work, family, friends you associate with, habits, relationships, goals in life, teachers you empower, paths you choose. Perhaps you can recall hearing someone in a different manner than you have before. What are these?
No matter how dark life has appeared at times, you will reach that point for yourself, of moving up, to a higher state of consciousness. It may not even appear that way at that point, but looking retrospect, you can see how some shift in your life has moved you upward in consciousness.
Perhaps you can recognize you’re being here at Unity in the Foothills can serve as an example. You didn’t get here because your parents or anyone forced you here. You arrived here as a result of choices you have made. You were looking for a different direction within your life, and apparently you found us as an answer. Your return validates your initial choice that brought you here. Something is happening within you, and it is being fulfilled through the conscious choices you make in your life. Yet what drove those choices?
The inspiration that has led to these actions is our topic today. This speaks to the wisdom that lies within you that precedes your consciousness. Today, we’re addressing the Holy Spirit within you. The Holy Spirit within you is the guide awakening you to your grandest divinity, who you are as God’s creation. What unfolds in your consciousness is the result of your willingness to be open to this existence within you. It is certainly not figured out, intellectually; it may look that way later, but realize that is but the manifestation of this divinity that is happening within you. Here now is your journey, your awakening, at a deeper sense than you can ever figure out in your conventional thinking in this world.
And this is the gift our teacher, Jesus, has brought to us. In the Book of John, 16:7-11, we read the following:
Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment; …
The Advocate, the Comforter, is the Holy Spirit. It is often referred to as the Voice for God. As God’s Creation, this is inherent within you; it is closer to you than the breath you just took. This is the link to your God Consciousness/ the Mind of God, which you have never left. And it has but one function; to enable you to discover the answer you have longed for in any matter! That answer that increases the awareness and experience of love in your life.
You’ve heard the term, “The Holy Trinity.” Is there anyone here who has not? This has been part of our upbringing in Christian Theology: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. I would like to make two points to clarify our impressions the Trinity. First, “The Son” is not Jesus alone. The Son is all of us, as God’s one Creation. Attainment of the Christ State, as Jesus demonstrated, represents our Knowing, with Absolute Certainty, we are One with God. Not the knowing on an intellectual level; instead, a knowing with no doubt-“The Father and I are One.” Secondly, the message of this Trinity speaks to our Oneness; we have never been separate from God or One another- we only believed we are separate.
So, where does the Holy Spirit fit in this trinity? Charles Fillmore has referred to the Holy Spirit as the “executive power of the Father and Son. It is the creative plan.” That executive power has the role of pointing us to our Divinity, our inheritance, our true nature. I’m convinced our life is about awakening to the truth of our Oneness with God.
In our daily lives, we’ve attempted resolutions that have furthered separation. Thoughts of taking care of ourselves alone, what’s needed to get ahead, use of competition, and projecting blame unto others are examples. Unfortunately, we’ve come to believe this is the way life is; that this is our heritage. The “gnashing of teeth” we experience within our lives, no matter what form it takes, is the result of this separation. Can you accept that?
From the quote above, we recall: “He will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.” What is the message here?
- Sin is our belief in something other than God’s creations as real: our belief in the world as we perceive it.
- Righteousness is our incessant belief in the need to be right, rather than being open to an answer from a different level of consciousness.
- And Judgment is our belief we have all the information we need to judge. In our ego based level of consciousness, we never do
Enter the Holy Spirit into the discussion. As the executive power, it is the aspect of the trinity that redirects our thinking towards the Oneness of Our Reality; our Oneness as God’s Creation. Within our existence, this is the aspect of our Mind that points us to the answer where there is no difference between ours and God’s Will; and for that matter, ultimately everyone else’s True Will. The Holy Spirit provides the correction for a mistaken thought or belief.
God’s direct communication is delivered knowing you in perfection, as God’s creation. In our state of consciousness, we are not able to accept this. For this reason, the Holy Spirit has a function; that of a translator, providing a means where in our present state, we can get a glimpse of the Divine Truth that ours.
Let’s go back to those “light-filled episodes I mentioned at the beginning. Can you recall what you thought of then? Whatever form they’ve taken, can you see that you have had results that have forwarded your life? In but an instant of being open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we have what we need. We then have the insight, the inspiration, and the enthusiasm to do what is next. Can you see that connection? Can you see that guidance available to you in that moment? That is what we are waiting for throughout every day. That is our Comforter.
I have plenty of personal examples:
Clearly, the guidance to answer the call to ministry fit this mode. An idea there off and on, say within my essence, when I answered the call, I was on fire with enthusiasm and joy.
An intimate relationship had ended, yet we locally saw one another regularly. There was a tension in our relationship. We met to resolve this. And in that time together, we both dropped whatever we had prepared to say. Instead, in a moment of release, there was a clarity, a peace. She and I were both clear we loved one another, and the intimate aspect of our relationship was complete. We both left that meeting in a state of joy; for my part, I continue to hold her in thoughts of love stemming from that moment.
Do you have such experiences in your life? A gift of clarity, unexpected, but welcome when it occurred?
The Holy Spirit, the Comforter is within you, for it is part of your reality, your Oneness with God. Those moments are steps guiding you to your awakening. Look for them, because the opportunity is there for you in every moment of every day. “Ask, and Ye shall receive.”
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