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Say YES to the Flow

Talk 1 of The 7 Keys to Spiritual Abundance

Rev. John Riley | Unity Palo Alto Spiritual Center

What does it mean to say YES to the flow of spiritual abundance?

Introduction: The Seven Keys to Spiritual Abundance

Good morning, Unity. Good morning. What a joy it is to see you here today. We’re starting a four-week series on the seven keys to spiritual abundance.

Now, when I say the word abundance, I know many of us think about things like more. More money, more time, more energy, more opportunities, more breathing room, and I’d like it by Tuesday, thank you very much. And in general, I’m generally in favor of those things. Are you? Yes. Yeah, those aren’t bad.

But if abundance only means having more, then abundance is always just out of reach because the human mind can always imagine something more.

Spiritual abundance is a deeper understanding. It’s deeper than having more. It is knowing the Source of our good as God, the One Presence, the One Power, the one experience of life, and learning how to live through that and in that flow.

In this series, I’m not going to talk just about getting more. Really, I’m going to talk about becoming more. More aware of Source, of flow, of the presence of good that is already in your life, active and flowing.

We’ll be talking more about becoming a greater expression of that good, that energy, that love that Deborah sang about, about how we will show up and how we will allow and let that love flow through us.

And it begins by committing to being a greater expression. It begins by committing to becoming a greater expression of the flow of energy, the flow of divine love, the flow of divine life.

Ego Abundance vs. Spiritual Abundance

Now, ego abundance, see if anybody recognizes this. Ego abundance will say, “How much do I have?” That’s what our ego says to us.

But spiritual abundance says, “How am I connected to Source?”

Ego abundance says, “I am abundant when I have enough.”

But spiritual abundance says, “I am abundant because I live and move and have my being in the One Presence and the One Power, God, the good omnipotence.”

That presence that is always available and active and living and moving in, through, and as us, which we have and live and experience life. It’s always there and always flowing.

Spiritual abundance says, “I am abundance because of that, the inexhaustible Source of my good.”

Do Not Worry About Life

Now, one of the most powerful lessons on abundance that I’ve heard, and it’s really the expression of true prosperity and how we bring that abundance into our life, is from the master teacher, Jesus, as told in Luke 12:22-34.

I’m going to paraphrase it and talk a little bit about it, but Jesus says this: “Do not worry about life. Don’t worry about what you will eat, about your body, or what you will wear. For life is more than food, more than the body, and more than clothing.”

Now, it doesn’t mean that food and clothing don’t matter and aren’t important. Everyone wants food and clothing, yes? Yes.

And the master teacher’s not asking us to pretend that those needs don’t exist, that those needs aren’t real, but rather he’s asking us to not make our needs and our desires the object of our attention, the focus of our life.

Because that’s what happens with us when we get so focused on the things that we’re wearing, the things that we’re eating, the things that are happening the next day. We start worrying about all of the things that may come.

What’s that worrying called? Pre-suffering? Pre-suffering.

We worry, pre-suffering, about all of the things that are going to happen later today. We’re so focused on the material aspects of life that we forget to focus on life itself, on that breath of life that’s breathing you, on that energy and flow that’s always flowing within you, and to become part of that.

Jesus talks about the ravens and the lilies, and the ravens will be fed, and the lilies will grow in their own beautiful, unique way.

He’s saying creation is not standing outside of the flow of life trying to earn its place in the universe. All of creation is not standing outside of this flow of life trying to earn its place in the universe. It’s already in the flow, yes? Yes.

And Jesus is inviting us to see that we are all part of that divine flow of life. We’re all part of that energy. So let go of our pre-suffering, and just be in that flow and the essence of life.

Abundance Is Aligning With Life

Spiritual abundance is not forcing life. It is aligning with life.

When we are in the flow, we do not have to force what Spirit is already moving within us. We just simply need to be in it.

When we’re in the flow, we recognize that that healing, harmonizing energy is already moving through us. There’s nothing we need to do to earn it. It’s there and present. We are in the flow. We don’t have to force what Spirit is already moving.

There’s deep wisdom in the Taoist culture that says, “Those who flow with life do not need to force life.”

And when we’re not flowing with life, what are we trying to do? We’re forcing life. We’re forcing other people. We’re forcing our experiences.

Instead, go back to the center of our being. Go back to that energy, that presence within, and flow from life. It’s a beautiful way to understand the idea of abundance, of true abundance.

We’re not trying to wrestle a blessing out of the universe. We’re learning how to live in cooperation with the blessings that are already moving.

Abundance Is a Living Stream

When we are in fear, we tend to force, we tend to push, we tend to clutch and control. We hold on tighter and tighter.

But abundance is not a stagnant pond. Abundance is a living stream and a flow of energy, and all of that energy is constantly flowing. If you’re trying to hold onto that stream as it’s flowing down the river, how hard is that? It’s always flowing and always moving.

Ideas flow. Money flows. Love flows. Encouragement flows. Creativity flows, and blessings flow.

It’s not a stagnant thing. It’s not a fixed object. It’s something, it’s an energy that it’s always moving. It’s a spiritual energy that’s always moving in, through, and as us.

Abundance is not things in a pile.

Abundance is not a pile of gold, my water bottle, and my darling Kleenex, which I will be taking home with me. Abundance is not a pile of things. Abundance is the flow of energy, the flow of these things, the flow as they move in, through, and as us.

A pile is something we want to protect. Nobody touch my Kleenex. Got my eye on you, Whitfield.

Flow is something that we participate in. Yes?

So it’s not how much can I hold? The real question is, how much good can I move through me, in me, as me?

How much of that good and that energy can I express into the world, can I allow into, through, and as me?

We’re in the flow when we do not have to force what Spirit is already moving.

Worry Keeps Us in a Box

And so don’t worry. That’s what the master teacher is telling us. Don’t worry about all of these things. Be present. Be in that flow of life.

Those crystallized stories, those fixed habits put us in a box, and we can live inside of that box even if we don’t realize it.

The box is made of our routines that we never question, our thoughts that we keep repeating, our fears that we keep obeying, and the stories that we keep telling ourselves.

It’s like we’re running around in circles in this little box, and those stories are the writings on the wall. Every time we come back around, there’s the story again. Anybody experience that or know somebody who’s experienced that?

Yeah, we’re stuck in this box.

We get up and we do the same things. We think the same thoughts. We react the same ways. And after a while, the walls start to feel like reality, start to feel like this is our life, and that we’re stuck in there.

And here’s the tricky part. There can be a lot of movement inside the box. We can be very busy. We can be very productive. We can get exhausted, but that movement isn’t the same as flow.

You can walk in circles inside a locked room and call it activity, but it’s not true freedom.

So Jesus asks of us, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?”

Worry is an activity without flow. Faith is movement aligned with Source. Worry puts us in a locked box. Seeking the Kingdom within unlocks the door.

The First Key: Commitment

And so here’s our first key to unlock our door. Our first key is commitment.

Everyone take a nice, deep, cleansing breath.

That word commitment may have reacted within you, may have sparked something within you. Just take a nice, deep breath.

Abundance begins with a sacred YES.

Before life can multiply, can manifest, can be expressed through you fully, we must commit ourselves to participating in the flow of life.

Not as spectators, not as victims of circumstance, not of people waiting for the outer world to tell us that we’re okay, that we’re good enough, that we’re safe.

The first key is commitment because commitment changes our relationship with life.

Think about this, think about the moment where you’ve ever said, “I’m in.”

“Hey, John, do you want to join us on this exciting adventure?”

“I’m in.”

Have you ever had that “I’m in” experience? Yeah. That’s spiritual commitment. I’m in.

When you say, “I’m in,” that changes and shifts something within you.

We begin to stand in our spiritual power. We begin to take ownership of our own consciousness, of our thoughts, of our words and our actions.

When we say, “I am in,” it’s a realization of abundance as not just something that we’re trying to get from life, but rather it’s something Spirit is seeking to express through us, as us.

Now commitment is not pressure, it’s alignment.

Commitment is a deep alignment with that spiritual principle and it is the moment we stop being spectators of our spiritual life and we start becoming participants in it.

How Are You Participating in Life Today?

So here’s the big question for you: How are you participating in life today?

Just take a moment to let that sink in and think about the ways in which you are participating in life. No blame, no shame, no guilt.

If abundance is this flow, the most powerful questions that we can ask are, “How am I receiving?” and “How am I adding to life?”

Notice I didn’t say what. I didn’t say, “What am I receiving?” Because that puts our attention on the object, yes? Yes. That puts our attention on the thing out there and gives the thing value.

But rather, how am I receiving from life?

Am I receiving with gratitude? Am I receiving with joy? Am I receiving with openness, curiosity? Am I receiving with a sense of inner balance?

So whatever it is that life is giving to me, I can look at it more objectively.

How am I receiving, and then how am I adding to life?

How do I want to show up? What is mine to be? How am I going to be in this world?

How am I adding to my home, my church, my relationships? How am I adding to the atmosphere around me?

We are always, always, always adding to life.

The question is, how are you adding and what values are you bringing to it?

What Energy Are You Bringing to the World?

Are you adding fear and complaint? Are you adding contraction, lack, and limitation? Are you adding a sense of anger and frustration?

Or are you adding faith, generosity, beauty? What else? Joy. Joy, love. Peace. Peace. Humor. Humor. Music. Music. Kindness. Kindness. Patience. Patience. Beauty. Generosity. Fun. Hey, not that much fun out there. Possibility.

This is not about guilt. This is about expressing your spiritual power.

Every day we’re making a contribution to the atmosphere in life. Every day we’re bringing an energy and something of value to life.

How are you giving to the world today? What energy are you bringing to the world today?

How will you love today? How will you express that divine energy of love, the healing, harmonizing, prospering energy of Spirit that is already moving in, through, and as you in this very moment?

The spiritual question is whether we are contributing from fear or from faith.

We get to see and notice when I am acting out of fear, fear that’s generated from the stories that are written on the wall in my box. That I’m reacting from anger and resentment from the stories that I wrote down on my last circle around.

Or faith, faith from being able to know that we are one with that allness, that One Presence and One Power, that expression and experience of love and patience and kindness and virtue.

A Daily Spiritual Practice for Abundance

So in these next three weeks, I’m going to be bringing you the next six keys.

But the first key is commitment.

And here’s our spiritual practice. It’s an opportunity for you to very gently every day to commit.

When you wake up in the morning, commit. What good are you willing to add to life today?

Choose one concrete way to express your good each day, throughout the whole day.

And notice when you’re expressing that. Notice when you’re expressing encouragement, patience, generosity, beauty, forgiveness, service, prayer, gratitude.

Notice when you’re adding financial support to where you’re spiritually fed.

Notice when you’re adding your full presence to someone who needs it.

Notice when you’re giving of your time and your talent.

Notice when you’re lifting someone up.

Notice when you’re just simply listening and being present to someone, and notice that that is your gift, that how you’re giving to the world in that moment.

How will you add your full presence to the world today?

Where Did I Notice Abundance Today?

Then at the end of the day, part two, the second question is: Where did I notice abundance today?

You maybe start off with things that you received, but then shift to, how did I receive? How did I experience abundance? How did I take this love in that’s always flowing?

Because the challenge is we are so good at seeing all the stuff in life that we don’t like. Yes? Yes.

You know what I mean by stuff in life that we don’t like, right?

How am I noticing the abundance in life?

We are so good at noticing when things are going wrong. Can we notice when things are going right? Can we celebrate that? Can we add that to a list? Can we say, “All right, things are going right.”

Where did I notice abundance today, and where did I participate in the flow today?

This is what commitment is. Commitment is really understanding who we are in relationship to this divine presence.

Commitment is saying, “I’m here, I’m in, I’m showing up for life. I’m showing up for you might call it God. I’m showing up for the Allness. I’m showing up for the flow. I’m showing up for Love. I’m showing up for my family. I’m showing up for my friends. I’m showing up so that I can be present.”

You Are Here to Be a Blessing

Abundance is not wanting something outside of us and deciding whether we’re worthy based on that.

Why do you think people continue to hoard and collect and get? Because they have no sense of abundance in it. The mind will always think there’s more. The ego will always think there’s more, and I’m not good enough until I have it.

Abundance is the nature of God. Abundance is the movement of life.

It is the flow of Spirit seeking expression in, through, and as you.

As we sang earlier, you are the hands, you are the heart, you are the voice of Spirit on Earth.

You are here to allow that flow, to say yes.

Are you in? Yes.

To say yes to life, to say yes to Spirit, to say yes to your own growth, to say yes to the good that wants to move in, through, and as you, to say yes to being not just a receiver of blessings but a giver of blessings.

Yes? Yes.

Affirmation

Let’s move to our affirmation.

I’m going to read our affirmation and invite you to affirm it with me with that same energy of “I’m in.” Let’s just do it as a call and response. We’ll do it one line at a time.

I live in an abundant universe.

God is the source of my good.

I say yes to the flow of life.

I give generously from the abundance of Spirit within me.

I am blessed and I am a blessing.

And so it is.

Closing Reflection

And everyone take a nice deep cleansing breath.

It feels nicer when it’s something positive than when it’s something negative, isn’t it?

The world was not merely given to you, you were given to the world.

And when you give yourself fully to life, life has a way of giving itself back to you tenfold.

Let’s take this into our time of meditation and affirmative prayer.