| Dated: Feb. 15/00 |
We had an impressive number of people come out for our December 31, 1999 celebration. It was held a few minutes ago in our new facility and we enjoyed ourselves greatly. Thank you for all that attended! For some of the ceremony see this page.
Burning Bowl Meditation.
written by Henk Ketelaars.
1999
Preparation for “Letting Go”
“Boundaries emerge from deep within. They are connected to
letting go of guilt and shame,
and to changing our beliefs about what we deserve. As our thinking
about this becomes clearer, so
will our boundaries.” -- Melody Beattie
From the moment we are born, we
are given “must’s” “should've” and “have too’s”. You must
work, earn a living, put your fork
on the right side of your plate. Save for a rainy day. Some
of
these rules have served us and
some of them have stifled us. “Children should be seen and not
heard”. You are now grown
up. We can let that go...
I see this picture of us walking
with a convoy of suitcases full of “stuff”. We go through live,
dragging a whole train of suitcases
full of old stuff. History, that we want to release. All the
stuff
we are afraid to let go.
Any idea how cumbersome that is as we go through life desiring growth?
Many of our teachers (parents, friends
and relatives) have conditioned us to accept their values.
We want to forgive them, for they
did not know what they were doing. Now we are empowered
with a new God understanding.
We are grown up. We have grown in awareness. We want to do
some “Empty-ing” to allow us to
top up to prosperity and abundance. To do that we need space.
Unclutter. Put out our garbage.
Release, to recycle.
Unity teaches us that we are:
1 - One with God and God is good.
God is the source of all supply
and she is my banker.
2 - We are all one consciousness
in Christ. Our soul is a creation created
in God’s image so WE are creators.
3 - We become what we most think
about. All thoughts are energy. The accumulation of energy
becomes form. We manifest what we want by filtering our thoughts.
Desire.
4 - Prayer works. We become
what we affirm When our thoughts are sorted
out... We then develop them
into affirmations. These affirmations are instantly communicated
with Creation for a response.
5 - We receive what we put in motion.
When we put our desire into action ... we create. When we put
fear to action. we get more fear. When we put LOVE to action,
we get more LOVE. These are the 5 Unity principles in a nutshell.
We are creators: We have created our life AS WE LIVE IT TODAY
And if we keep doing what we have been doing.... We get what we got.
What do we want to change... to get different results.....
Luke 23: 34, JESUS said on the cross: “Forgive them for they know not what they do..”
To give again. When we are
blocked, we can not flow. We are stagnant. We can not give.
If I
am hurt by my mother, and I am
angry at her, I close down my interaction. I stop giving. I
am
blocked with her. When I
“for give” her, I can give again. The interaction can flow again.
For..
Giving...
Most of all.. We want to forgive
ourselves. When we were children, we acted like children and
did not have the same understanding.
As we grow.. we grow in wisdom. We grow in trust. We
grow in our relationship with God.
We can give to ourselves again, for we did not know what we
were doing.
Forgiving is an attitude.
When we shift from our head, into our heart, we develop a different,
loving, understanding. Love,
is from the heart. We shift our attitude, understanding and trust
when we are centered in out heart.
That is where we find wisdom.
Let us pray;
Dear God: Guide us, Help me find my elevator. Within it, I’ll push the button in the shape of a heart that represents my heart. As I arrive in my heart, I feel Your love and wisdom. I understand how to forgive myself and others. I desire to understand the power of Your love so that pure Love can flow. Through me and lighten my load as you have intended for me. Thank You God for making life an adventure of fun and exiting lessons of joy.
Writing a letter that we burn...........
To help with awareness, I’ll open
up some of our suitcases and we can look into them to see what
you want to throw out.
Suitcases:
Relationships: How many
people are you avoiding that we desire back into our life.
Family,
friends, fellow workers, authority
figures.
Home: What do I desire different in my home. Space, privacy, noise, clutter, gadgets.
Finance: What do I consider
as abundance, responsibility. What is my flow like. What am
I
willing to release.
Occupation: Work, school or social responsibilities, what do I want to be different. What is it that I want to release.
Faith / Church What am I willing to involve in.
Leisure time: What is preventing
me from attaining health, leisure and health. Time and
contentment.
You might want to end your letter
with: Dear God. I am a co creator with You and Your love
for me is unlimited.
I herewith release the content of my letter to make more room for Your
love.
This letter is taken willfully and burned, to symbolize the letting go.
Write a new letter and you might start with:
It is now December 31, 2000, a year
from now. You want to write to You, God, saying: “Thank
you for all the Love, Acceptance
and Prosperity this year.”
I particularly want to bring to mind the:
Joy of relationships: Put
in lots of personal details.
Joy of my home:
Joy of my finances:
Joy of my professional activities:
Joy of faith / church:
Joy of physical health / leisure
time:
Thank you God for such a year of growth and joy.
This letter will be mailed to you
next Thanksgiving. Or... You might decide to put this letter
in
your bible.
Unity of London had a wonderful Burning
Bowl Celebration scheduled for the December 31, 1997 at 7:30PM. Attended
by about 35 people. Included
under this main area is the entire talk by our wonderful Christina [formally
Verna] Brighton. On December 31,
1998 we also had a great service, but the
details have not been recorded.
Usually, there will be songs, a talk, perhaps a meditation, and the special part of the evening; the Burning Bowl Ceremony, itself. Papers are handed out, usually 1/2 a sheet to keep the amount of paper down. Each person will write the things that they want to get rid of in their lives. A line of people will slowly come up to the bowl [with the small flame in it - or with a candle beside it to ignite the paper] and folding the paper up, they will place it in the flames and watch the paper burn. Special precautions are needed, just as in the Candle Lighting Ceremony, with regard to fire, and in this case, in regards to smoke. [Smoke ventilation or doing it just outside the church, and the presence of fire extinguishers.]
This was a spiritual celebration of Renewal and Personal Empowerment.
I have found that it is absolutely necessary in my life to be 'willing' to forgive, if I am going to continue to grow spiritually and to help facilitate the growth of others. At the top of the list is the 'willingness.' There is a story that explains this quite uniquely. It's the story of two monks - not Unity monks - for these monks have taken the vow of chastity and poverty.
One day it was raining and the two monks were walking down a road toward a swollen river. There at the river a woman was crying and really carrying on. The older Monk asked "sister what are you crying about?" She replied "I need to get across the river, my children are there on the other side." The older monk said "No problem. Climb on my back, and we'll get you across the river." So she climbed on the elder monk's back and they crossed the river. After the mother was reunited with her children, the monks continued on their way. About 20 miles later, the elder monk sensing something was very wrong, turned to the younger monk, and said "Son, I am sensing something is very wrong here, what is it?" The younger monk said "I can not believe that you broke our vow of chastity, our vow that we should never touch a woman." The Elder monk looked at him and said "My son, I carried her across the river, you have carried her for 20 miles..."
So I ask you, is there a burden that you have carried for 20 miles, or for 20 years? Is there something in your life that you are not willing to let go of? You know those memories that come back..... a spouse that left you; a partner that cheated on you; someone who hurt your pride; someone who stole something from you; or your parents that abused you, or an employer that fired you? Occasionally don't we have those memories that come back and are so difficult to let go? The good news is that we can let go of those memories. We can let go by the "tool" of forgiveness. We can be "willing" to open that gate of forgiveness and continue on, free on the Spiritual path. Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 18:21 when Peter came and asked him. "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as 7 times?" But Jesus said to Peter "Not 7 times, but I tell you 70 times 70 times, 70 times." Now, I don't believe that Jesus was concerned about arithmetic - but that we are continually to forgive - to forgive and give, and to be in a state of consciousness of forgiveness.
It's just not an occasional gesture, but a lifestyle. A lifestyle of continuing to be in the consciousness of forgiveness. Asking for forgiveness and forgiving others is a process that involves our deepest empathy, our humanity and our wisdom. I believe without forgiveness there can be no lasting love, no lasting loving relationship, no healthy change, no growth and no freedom. And the good news is that forgiveness is possible. We need to see that, we need to know that and we need to experience forgiveness in our own individual lives. However, forgiveness is only possible when we are first willing to forgive. "Willingness" is the key that unlocks the gate. Would you repeat that with me. "I am willing to forgive." When we make this statement it is truly a bold choice. For we can choose to forgive or not to forgive. We must remember that to be forgiven and to forgive involve the same dynamics. If we hope to be forgiven for wrong doings by others then we are compelled to do the same. If we are unable to forgive others, then we can not expect others to forgive us. Harboring unforgiveness and resentment in our hearts does not hurt others. That was such an aha...in my life, for I thought that as long as I held on to these hurts and these resentments, that I would be hurting "them"...It was a new revelation that they were not hurting at all, they were going along in their jolly, happy lives. I was the one that was hanging on to the hurt and resentment. A teacher said to me "Don't let them live rent free in your mind - do your forgiveness work." No matter how educated we are in Spiritual principles unless there is complete forgiveness in our lives we wither and we die spiritually, emotionally and yes, sometimes, even physically. Because we are working in direct opposition to our basic nature. And that Basic nature is love. Ultimately, we must forgive if we are to experience love, healing, prosperity, peace, good; all the good that God wants us to experience.
Right now, if your life is not exactly what you want it to be, chances are you need to do some forgiveness work. If you don't believe that, take it on faith and ask to be shown. Sitting quietly, ask God to reveal whatever needs to be revealed. This affirmation usually quickly uncovers the work that needs to be done by us, and once this forgiveness work is revealed then, it's time to start our course of action. Forgiving may not be an easy process but it is possible. There are many methods, many steps, to be used in forgiveness, and I believe if you continue to ask God to show you which method to use, the right method will be revealed to you. Remember these methods, these tools are just that. They are tools, they are NOT the power, the POWER is the CHRIST within that does the work. So this evening, I put together a few ideas that have helped me in my forgiveness work. I am sure you have others that you can add to this list, that work for you - but the number one thing that I must do, in order to experience forgiveness in my life,
1. Is to be 'willing' to forgive, and if I am not 'willing' to
forgive, then my responsibility is to pray. Pray for willingness;
'willingness' to forgive.
2. I need to pray for that person, situation, that I need
to forgive. I need to pray for that person to experience love,
joy, peace, and serenity. I need to pray for that person, for
the same things in their life that I want to experience in my life.
I need to say "Name" I love you, and God give "name"
Peace, Love, Joy and serenity. It becomes easier the more often
you practice it. I didn't begin to "set"
things right, I began to "see" things right.
Absolutely necessary or me to pray for that other person, and for God to
give that person what they deserve.
3. Then it is necessary for me to write about it - Not
only about the outer activities that took place, but also what I experienced
in my inner world. What were my feelings around it? What
were my feelings around the situation and How did I play a part in it....until
you experience another ha... so important for me to write about it.
4. Then I usually need to share it with another individual.
One who can keep the confidence. I select an individual who
knows nothing about the other person, or the situation, because it's important
for me to look at my motives and what has happened.
I have to be careful not to be a martyr about forgiveness. Ok, I'll forgive you, but you need to do this, and this, and this. That's not forgiveness, that's emotional blackmail. So be careful in not becoming a martyr. Forgiveness has nothing to do with the other person, it has everything to do with me, and with you. I also need to be 'willing' to forget. As long as we forgive, but maintain the memory of the hurt, resentment, or feelings of being violated, as long as we live in the shadow of hurt, true forgiveness has not occurred. Does that mean that I want to forget the actual event, NO, that's not what I'm saying. I am saying that I have been able to forget the pain, the resentment, and the hurt around the event. Somewhere I've heard that to forgive and not forget, is like burying the hatchet in the ground with the handle still sticking out, so we can simply wait there in a waiting pattern for the next battle to begin. If you bury the hatchet bury the whole thing, don't leave the handle sticking out.
And then, I must remember that I am a beloved child of God, I hear,
some people saying - "If only God would forgive me, I will pray to God,
and God will forgive me." --Well surprise, surprise
- God does not forgive for God holds no unforgiveness, and God does not
judge! God is ABSOLUTE PURE LOVE! God has never judged anything.
Then, I need to be gentle and loving with myself. I need to
keep in mind that there is nothing 'wrong' with me. If forgiveness
is difficult, and as we work with forgiveness it is important to look at
our thoughts and feelings and let them come up - don't judge them, just
observe them, without judgment and be gentle with ourselves. Sometimes,
in this process when I get stuck, I need to go back to the beginning and
pray, "God help me to be 'willing' to forgive."
Somehow, as long as I stay open to the 'willingness' to forgive, the other
steps take place in time, and forgiveness takes place.
Forgiveness is truly a bold choice - it is a conscious decision that enables
us to release the negative and to grab hold of the positive things in life.
Of course, the most obvious reason for forgiving is not for the other person,
the most obvious reason is for us, so that we can let go of the resentment
and the anger, and be at peace. Forgiveness is a process, and
during this process I need to remember that I don't have to be treated
like a doormat. Perhaps that might also apply to others here
tonight. During this forgiveness process I don't have to be
trampled on, and just because I am willing to forgive, doesn't mean that
I have to change any outer activity in my life.
There are also a few things that I have learned that forgiveness is
not. Forgiveness is not condoning negative, inappropriate behavior,
your own, or anyone else's. Forgiveness does not mean that
you approve or support the behaviour that has caused you pain.
Forgiveness is certainly not assuming an attitude of superiority or self
righteousness. Forgiveness does not mean that you must change
your outer behaviour. Remember that forgiveness is a decision
to see beyond the limits of another's personality. Remember that
forgiveness is a process that requires us to shift our perception again
and again. Forgiveness is a way of life. It is
a continual way of life that gradually transforms us from being helpless
victims of our circumstances to being powerful and loving co-creators with
God.
So this evening we come together in Spirit to release the past - to view ourselves and our relationships in a new light. It is time to make that decision to be 'willing." Or just to be willing to be willing - to forgive, to release and to begin a new. Of course, we make this decision to be gentle and loving with ourselves. Symbolically we do this by writing these things on a piece of paper. You have on your chair paper to write on. Then we will burn the paper in the cleansing light of our own God image and this is symbolized by the flame in the burning bowl. As we drop this paper into the bowl of nothingness, to symbolize our acceptance of the purging fire of Spirit within us, that does the work. It also symbolizes our willingness to forgive and then in the days, and the weeks and the months ahead we will always be in the process of releasing and letting go. This whole process is like a mental bath. Just as we bath ourselves physically, forgiveness is like a mental bath, cleansing, releasing and letting go.
So I invite you to come to the burning bowl, and release whatever you feel needs to be released. If you have a notebook full, please leave it on your seat, and write down a few words describing what is in your notebook. You might want to head your sheet with these words. "I now release these errors, I forgive these people, and I let go of these hurts." We will take a few moments to sit silently and write down a few words. Feeling words, or short phrases that represent the whole situation. Do not reread them. Remember you are emptying them from you heart and mind, so cover your writing with your hand or fold the paper over as you write on it. After (10 or 15 minutes) Now fold the paper and begin to tear it to shreds. As you do, repeat these words. "I now release these errors, I let go of these emotions, I forgive and give them to Spirit for cleansing." Then one by one, please come forward and place your paper into the flame and say "Divine Love consumes these errors, the energy is released to be reused in a new and better way." (this may be said more than once as the individual's papers burn.)
In the days ahead, should you happen to recall any of the thoughts that you have just burned, gently dismiss them. Tell these thoughts that they have served their purpose in your life and they are now to leave. You are moving on. A good affirmation might be "I have no more need for that thought, memory, or feeling. Spirit deactivates it and releases the energy." or immediately replace the thought with another positive thought, such as "I am centred and poised in the peace, love, joy, and strength of Spirit."
To end the burning bowl - write a new letter to God.
Begin by sitting quietly, relaxing, reconnecting with the Presence of Spirit.
Take a few deep breaths and let your mind go forward in time, into the
coming year - perhaps Thanksgiving, Oct. '98. You have just
received your letter from God. What will it say.... What
do you desire? What have you accomplished? How Thankful can
you be??? The level of Thankfulness will quicken the manifestation
process. Or Request "Dear God/Spirit, I sincerely
desire to add these things to my life this year. I ask for
my Spiritual inheritance through.......... list what you sincerely
believe would bless your life in the coming year. You may ask to
change yourself, but NOT others. Your physical desires, your
emotional desire, and mental desires. Set out how you see yourself
Spiritually Blessed. Be as specific as possible." Then
close your letter "This God or whatever would be for my highest Good.
I give thanks that You work in and through me to bless my life."
Sign your letter, and enclose it in a self addressed, stamped envelope.
Leave it with a trust worthy person, who will mail the letters back to
you sometime around Thanksgiving. (in Canada Oct. 10th).
Make sure all letters are kept in a safe and secure place. God Bless
each and every one of you. During the meditation, and writing of
the letters, play a meditative piece, or have someone softly play meditative
music. (flute is very soothing and appropriate)
Drop us a line! We
would love to hear from you! Page maintained by Robert Russell who can
be reached at e-mail address [email protected].