The First Leg of Your Journey to Spiritual Wholeness | Rev. John Riley

Well good morning and welcome. Today we are going on our, continuing our spiritual journey of finding wholeness, the journey to finding spiritual wholeness in our lives. Now, last week we began our journey, really, at base camp and we learned a few tools for us to practice as we move along this path, some tools that you would learn as you’re getting ready to climb the mountain. As you are getting ready to start that journey, you’ll learn the tricks of the trade and you’ll start to practice them. And so, our practices that we were using this last week are the practice to love, to bless, to do good and to pray. Now, if you like a deep dive into those practices, I invite you to listen to last week’s talk but just very quickly, of course, to pray. We’ll start there.

Affirmative Prayer

In Unity we teach, we practice and teach affirmative prayer. And this is a prayer that’s not beseeching or asking or pleading. Rather, this is a prayer that is affirming the truth that is within us, affirming that we are open to that infinite flow of life, love and wisdom that flows in, through, and as each one of you. And then as we bring that out into the world and we affirm that and really connect with that in our lives, then we can do good in our world. We can do the right thing. We can live and practice from those spiritual teachings every day. And as we live and practice and do good in the world, we become a blessing to the world. We begin to bless people by sharing that energy, that infinite flow of life, love and wisdom, that harmonizing power that flows through us. And then we’re expressing that idea of divine love that Jho talked about earlier, that idea that infinite source of divine love that flows in, through and as you. And so, that’s the practice that we have as we continue this journey and discovering and looking for and seeking that experience of wholeness. 

Now, of course, wholeness within us is that knowing and that living from that infinite flow of life, love and wisdom and allowing it to guide us every moment of the day. And sometimes along our journey, there is confusion, and with all the confusion that’s in our world right now, with all of the competing opinions, with all of the different thoughts and feelings about what’s happening, all of the confusion in whatever storm you might be experiencing right now in your life, whether it’s a light rain, just a light drizzle or whether it’s a thunderous downpour, the practice is to know that right now in this very moment you have within you everything you need to stand in your power with courage and strength, to stand in your power with courage and strength. 

The First Leg of the Journey – Communion

And so, today we begin that first leg of the journey out of basecamp and up the mountainside. And as we’ve been using the book The I of the Storm by Dr. Gary Simmons, The I of the Storm, embracing conflict and creating peace. And the first attribute of wholeness, as he puts it, is the attribute, the idea of communion. You may have heard this word communion in your life. It may be something that you grew up with in your own experience and maybe something that you heard about in someone else’s experience. You may think about it, when you hear that word, as a religious ritual or something, a rite that you do, as a practice that you might do at certain times. Often it comes with this idea that you must be worthy before you can receive it. But I want to go a little bit deeper into the idea of communion and really define communion a little bit differently. If you go to the dictionary online, the definition that I found to be very helpful for communion is the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially on a mental or spiritual level. Communion, the sharing of our thoughts, the sharing of our feelings at a deep level, our intimate feelings. That is who we truly are, the sharing of who we truly are. 

Now, this communion can show up in multiple ways, of course. The first idea – well, let me first say that Dr. Simmons likes to define communion as being connected, connected to life, connected to God. And so, of course as Jho said, we are always connected to that infinite flow of life, love and wisdom, that God, that one presence and power in the universe, is within us at all times. But it’s intentionally connecting to it. It’s intentionally being whole with it, being one with it, allowing it to be in our lives regardless of the situation that’s happening around us. 

And so, on an interpersonal level, experiencing communion is how we relate to one another, when we can relate to that divine essence, that divine love, that spark of divinity, that goodness within someone else. When we can bless someone else with our energies, that’s that communion between people, between one another. 

Communion with God is probably the most important and the first thing that we should do. And we achieve that whenever we intentionally turn within and we intentionally draw forth those ideas of truth within us, those values that we live from, whatever our core values might be in life. Maybe you value the idea of love, of harmony. Maybe you value the idea of peace in your life. Maybe you value the idea of connectedness, of freedom, of enthusiasm, of joy, of zeal. Whatever those words are that guide you, that ground you in that experience of this divine essence, when we live from those, we are connecting with that infinite source within us. Communion is when we take the time to go into stillness like we did at the beginning of the service before the talk. Communion is taking the time to go into meditation so we can still our thoughts. As we focus mindfully on our breath, we move into that higher realm of consciousness where we are connected with Source. Communion is when we affirm the truth about the nature of our being, when we affirm that we are innately good. When we believe that and have faith in that goodness then we are bringing that goodness out into the world. This idea of communion is so important on this journey of finding wholeness because without that core, that foundation, without that foundation the rest of the journey becomes very, very difficult. 

We have to work on our core powers, our inner core, and maybe not this core, but the core of our being, the core of our soul, the core of our consciousness, and identify fully and firmly with this idea that we are one. You and I together, we are one and we’re one through this idea called God, this infinite flow of life, love and wisdom., this energy that flows between us, this consciousness, the whole of the consciousness that is beyond our collective, beyond our individualism, the whole of the consciousness, the allness of wisdom, that we’re all one in that. That’s communion, when we can look at each other and look at ourselves from that perspective. 

Focus on the Fundamentals

Now, with any journey, you’ve got to focus on the fundamentals. You have to build your core. You have to build your endurance. I was in Yosemite once, many years ago, and it was in the springtime and the waterfalls were just roaring and we thought, wouldn’t it be fun to go look at Yosemite Falls. The top of Yosemite Falls, that’s over 2400 feet elevation change and I think 7 miles or something like that, but there is a lower falls that is a little bit closer. Well, when you start up the trailhead for Yosemite Falls, you are going back and forth, back and forth, and up and up and up and up, and I have to tell you by the time I got up just that first quarter climb, I was like, “We can see the falls just fine from the valley floor. Let’s do that”. If you are going on a journey, if you’re going to practice, if you’re going to do some of these big climbs, we don’t just go out there and do them. We have to build up, build up the core energy, build up our stamina, build up our ability to go back to it quickly, build up our reserves so that when we are making it up to that top of that little switchback section we’re able to continue on. That’s what today is really about. It’s about building the reserves of our oneness, building those spiritual reserves, that spiritual energy within us, building that reserve that is tapping into that infinite flow and feeling that flow go through us through whatever storms that we’re going through. Because whatever storm that you have in your life right now, in this very moment you have all of the resources within you to stand in your power with courage and strength. 

Communion with Forgiveness

As we go through this idea, this idea of tapping into and being one with his flow of the universe, being one with this flow of energy and Spirit, it’s important to realize that there is one thing that will take you out of the flow quicker than anything else. There’s one thing that will put a stop to this growth quicker than anything else, and that one thing is unforgiveness. And so, our practice this week is practicing communion with the idea of forgiveness. Now, before you run out of the base camp and head back to the village of sorrow and suffering, hear me out, because we often hear this word forgiveness, and we look at it from a standpoint of something out there, some condition that’s out there. And I’ve said this many times, but it’s so fundamental to knowing your oneness with God, to putting God first, to allowing that energy and that idea to be your fountainhead from within you, to guide you up the mountainside. It’s from that that we begin to experience the idea of wholeness. But any sense of unforgiveness is going to block us from that. This is so important for us to realize that forgiveness is not this outer experience. Forgiveness is not something that happens out here but it’s something that happens in here, within us, in our consciousness, in our soul and in our heart. When we let go enough so that whatever we’re holding onto no longer has a vice grip on us, it no longer guides our light, no longer leaves us and leads us into suffering. We are ready to let go of that. 

Now, whenever you hear the word forgiveness, how do you receive it? When I hear it, often what comes to mind is the big dark thing that happened in my life that’s looming out there. But with any practice, we can start with the small stuff. Instead of tackling Yosemite Falls right away, that’s going to be my first climb, maybe I do something a little gentler. Maybe I go out to the Bay line, climb those little hills or out to the foothills in the Bay Area here and do some smaller climbs. You think that might be wiser? You think that might help to build endurance? Maybe I can walk around the block. I will just start right there. Instead of tackling those big things in our lives, tackle the little things in our lives. And a lot of us think “Well no, no, no, no. I don’t have anything to forgive about. I’m cool. I’m good”. If you have any little bit of annoyance happening in your life, forgiveness. If you have any little bit of a feeling put down, feeling shut out, forgiveness. If you have any inkling of “I’m not welcome here”, forgiveness. Practice this on the little things in life every moment of the day so that we build the reserve. And we practice by communing, by all of our principles of meditation and affirmative prayer, by all of our practices of being grateful at the end of the day, being grateful at the beginning of the day and all of those practices, and by forgiving. 

I know there’s some people who use this idea of forgiveness as it’s really like spiritual, it’s really like — what did I call it? I have it written down here — emotional extortion. Have you ever heard that one? Emotional extortion. “I’ll forgive you if …” “I’ll forgive you if you say sorry first”. “I’m sorry. No, no, no, no. I’ll forgive you if you say sorry that’s really meaningful for me”. “I’m really sorry. No, no, I’ll forgive you if you say sorry and then grovel a little bit and then go tell all of your friends how wrong you were”. Have you ever experienced that idea of putting forgiveness out there on someone else? And that’s not forgiveness at all. That’s practicing resentment. Think about that. All of that outer forgiveness work, all of that language, is practicing resentment. 

So instead, we turn within, and we get ourselves into a place where we’re ready to let go of the bondage that we’re putting ourselves in by the poison that we’re giving ourselves, letting go of all of that. Because what we do in life is, we have a relationship especially and someone does something that ticks us off and it’s like “Oh yeah, no problem, that’s good”. But what we are really doing is we’ve got our dossier on this person. “Oh yeah, no problem. Tick.” The next time it comes around, “Yep, here’s the pattern. Tick. They are always like this. There it is again. Tick.” And so, we’re not really practicing forgiveness. We are starting to record all of the good, all the bad things that are happening in a relationship. But what about the good things? Do you record those too? I bet if you recorded the good things, they would well outweigh the bad in our everyday relationships. 

But forgiveness is the willingness to simply put down the pen and paper. That’s it. There’s nothing external that needs to happen. That person can still do the things that they’re doing because of my forgiveness, because I’m anchored in this communion with God, I’m anchored in this idea that I am more than what you’re saying or what you’re seeing in me. I am the living expression of the image of God. I have within me creative power, and I have within me love and excitement. I have enthusiasm. I have faith and I am strong, and I am willing to stand up in the middle of all of it, in the middle of the storm and say, I am spiritually whole. In my soul, I am spiritually whole. I am one with the Divine flow of life, love and wisdom. And yes, there will be times when I will not think that way. And yes, there will be times that I will not feel that way. And yes, there will be times that I will not act that way. But the sooner we can let go of that, the sooner we can get back to that communion, that oneness that’s within us. 

All Forgiveness is Self-Forgiveness

Dr. Wayne Simmons once said, once wrote that all forgiveness, all forgiveness is self-forgiveness. When we’re forgiving somebody out there, we are really forgiving ourselves, perhaps forgiving ourselves for being caught up in the story, perhaps forgiving ourselves for reliving the experience of trauma every day, perhaps forgiving ourselves for not showing up with courage, for not doing the things that we thought we ought to do, for really letting go of the chains we put on ourselves so that we can experience the joy that flows from within. 

So, let’s begin the journey to practice for this week in terms of braving forgiveness. I’m going to take just three of the seven ideas from the braving model, and the first one I think is important because as we begin to forgive ourselves it becomes easier to step into our spiritual oneness, our knowing that divinity –whatever you want to call it, knowing my good side, knowing that I can do good in the world, knowing that I can be a blessing in the world, knowing that I can be an expression of the harmonizing energy of Divine love in the world – and by living more according to — we do this by living more according to those things that I value, the core values that we might have in our life. And those values may change over time but the values that bring meaning to who you are, the values by which you choose to live. You may value wisdom. You may value the combination of wisdom and harmony using your wisdom in a harmonious manner. You may value the power of faith, that ability within you to shape substance, to create, to manifest in your world. You may value one of my favorites, fun-loving. I like having a good time. I know, call me crazy. Fun is good and I value that in my relationships. I value that within me and my ability to use that. So, as I draw more and more upon these inner values, I’m able to align myself more and more with that infinite flow of life, love and wisdom. I am able to do good in the world even when things are looking pretty murky, even in the rain, in a downpour.

The Principle of Integrity

And so, the first principle is the idea of integrity. Now, what Brené [Brown] says is, I cannot trust you and be in a trusting relationship with you, if you do not act from a place of integrity and encourage me to do the same. So, integrity means choosing courage over comfort. Integrity means choosing right over fun, fast and easy and integrity means practicing your values — not just professing your values, but putting them into work, putting them into practice by showing up who you really are. And when we slip, when we go off course, forgiveness is simply correcting course, getting us back on track, doing whatever amends we need to do, doing whatever forgiveness we need to do, doing whatever letting go work we need to do, but getting us back on course so that we are back in the flow of those core values. We are feeling them. From a personal standpoint the question is, can I trust myself to act from a place of integrity? That’s where the self-forgiveness goes out the door, if I’m not acting from a place of self-integrity.

Reliability

The second component is reliability. Can I trust myself to do what I say I’m going to do, internally and externally? Am I clear on my own limitations and do I set realistic expectations for myself? Can I constantly rely on myself? A big part of our unforgiveness of self is when we don’t show up. We don’t show up the way we say we’re going to show up. We don’t show up for ourselves for our highest good. We don’t show up in the way that we want to show up. Can I be reliable? And as I practice that reliability, it comes to me more easily and there’s less unforgiveness. There’s more self-love. There’s more self-compassion, integrity, reliability and accountability. Am I accountable to my own inner compass, my own inner values, my higher awareness? Internally, do I own my mistakes and how often do I put the blame on other people? When we act from our own internal accountability, then we are moving through the forgiveness process with ease and grace. You just move through it. Creating that sense of self-forgiveness helps us to continue to move forward, helps us to remain, stand strong in our values, stand strong with courage, stand strong with our faith. Those three practices are integrity, reliability and accountability. Jho is our platform leader and she always likes to come up with acronyms. So that is the IRA, creating your IRA, your own spiritual IRA by practicing integrity, reliability and accountability. And to practice, to continue practicing every day. 

My son’s baseball season ended at Palo Alto High School. He is on the junior varsity team and the last game was Friday and so the game’s over and guess what he’s going to do this summer. That’s right, he’s going to play football but he’s also going to practice baseball because next year he wants to play baseball again. And like anything, if you don’t practice it, you lose it. If you don’t put into practice this idea self-forgiveness, you’ll lose it. It’s an ongoing everyday thing. He’ll be practicing football and then he will once in a while he’ll take some swings with the ball. We have to keep moving. We have to keep active with it because with that activity comes the experience of joy, comes the experience of allowing that energy to flow through us. 

Let’s move to our affirmation for today. The affirmation is on the screen. I’m going to read it once and then I’ll invite you to affirm it with me. 

I consciously centre my heart in God and direct my life with integrity and authenticity founded on spiritual principle. 

Would you affirm that with me? Together: 

I consciously centre my heart in God and I direct my life with integrity and authenticity founded on spiritual principle. 

Whatever storm is going on in your life, if you’re feeling the sprinkle of raindrops, if you’re standing in the middle of a downpour, know that in this moment through that self-forgiveness, through communion with God, with all that is, with the sum and substance of life, love and wisdom, you have within you all of the resources you need to stand in your power with courage and with strength. 

Our topic next week is going to be learning to live from principle by seeing things right and not making them right. This is where we’re really going to take this spiritual practice of communion and put it into action. So, join us next week for that.