Unity Spiritual Center of Anchorage

Join us for the Journey!

Unity Spiritual Center of Anchorage
PO Box 240173
Anchorage, AK 99524

Faith and Phones

by ,

I bought a new mobile phone yesterday. I know folks who like to keep up with the latest technology, not me, I want it to last as long as possible, but I do like to have my technology work.

I had reached the point of daily annoyance with my former phone, repeated restarts were not bringing more ease to my life.

While I could have probably limped along with it for a while longer, I would be spending more and more of my time dealing with it’s hiccups. Now I have to put some time into setting up the new phone, but at least that is temporary.

There are so many parts of our lives that compare to this experience, things we hold on to long beyond the time they serve us, it’s just habit to stick with what we know even if they are causing extra effort.

Our faith is no different, it is something that has grown and changed with us over our lifetimes, and sometimes folks get caught in a belief system that grates and so throw it all out or just spin in place instead of taking the next step.

Consider, children have a concrete way of understanding the world, and so their faith and understanding of God will likely be anthropomorphic. Most of us grow through this stage into a more nuanced understanding and experience of faith and God.

But you know there is no final destination with faith, even enlightenment for most is a fleeting experience not a constant. As our understanding of the world and ourselves changes so too must our faith. When it is causing more trouble than good and bumping into who we really want to be, then, like my old phone, it’s time for an upgrade.

In Seminary I read this interesting book called “Stages of Faith” by James Fowler. He speaks of the progression of faith development and it was one of the books I have found myself considering most often in the years since. One of the interesting things was that for the first 15 years, the faith development mirrors, as one would expect, the usual cognitive development of the age. From there however, there is no timeline, each person makes their way in their own time.

Now we may be tempted to look at the brief chart and say oh well I’m this and that other person is that and I am SOOO much more enlightened. But friends, we know that isn’t very helpful, and hopefully we know that making others less than us is a recipe for separation. The truth is we can’t be anywhere other than where we are, and this is the truth for each of us.

What I find helpful about this book and this concept is that it helps me understand myself and my journey. In addition it helps me understand where other folks are coming from when they act in ways that seem to me to be hurtful or illogical.

When we can have compassion and understanding for our fellow humans then we are actually able to influence change. Ask yourself, what is the unmet need or desire that is influencing this action and then see if you can use that understanding to build connection.

It is certainly easier to see ‘them’ as ‘wrong’ but that is why we plug into a faith upgrade. Can you respond with love in the face of hate? Can you respond with compassion in the face of discrimination? Can you respond with steadfastness in the face of injustice? Loving the people who are ‘like’ us is easy, it’s the others that are where the real work happens. The world is at a choice point, one where we can tip the scales of consciousness to love.

All it takes is all of us choosing to continue to upgrade our faith.

Prayer Requests

by ,

‘If you could spare a moment would you please pray for…’ ‘I don’t ask for much but…’ ‘I’ve done all this… and I still need your prayers.’

I see these and similar pleas for prayer in person and on social media frequently. I often shake my head in wonderment, not about the prayer request, but that it is presented with some kind of proof that the requester is worthy of your prayer.

You are worthy to request prayer. Just as you are. Even if you make a request every single day.

Because no one is counting and keeping track of how much prayer you request. And if they are, maybe they could mind their own business.

You are worthy to request prayer. Just as you are.

If it is on your heart, then I am honored to share in lifting up your concern or joy. Period.
A number of Unity authors including James Dillet Freeman and May Rowland have said that the purpose of prayer is to change us. In prayer we call forth wisdom, wholeness, faith, abundance and know that they are moving in and through everyone who is a part of the situation.

When we ask for prayer, we are saying that we’re ready for the situation to be different, to be improved, to be as we wish to see it. We are ultimately opening our hearts for that change in us that clarifies who we are and who we’ve come to be.

If you want support knowing you are healthy (because sometimes it’s hard to see for ourselves) then you call on others to pray with you.

We are not amassing numbers of prayers to petition God like those online contests for cutest baby. We join in prayer to hold the consciousness of health that you are aiming for. We pray together so that the requester can have their faith raised in knowing they are whole.

It’s true, that in some faith traditions there has been some talk about worthiness or petitioning, but Unity doesn’t teach it that way. Because we believe you are worthy as-is. The only one who can say if you are worthy of love, prayer, consideration etc is you!

You are worthy to take up space, and if you want to ask for prayers every single day, then do that.

However there’s one more thing to consider, prayer is a faith-boost. And the most faith-filled thing you can do once you have prayed about a topic is to trust that it is done. Do not spend your energy fretting, instead turn your face back to the knowing that it is done. Ask your prayer partners to know this too.

Asking knowing that others joining in your consciousness of prayer makes a difference is also an act of faith. Ask on dear friends, ask on.

Won’t you be my Neighbor?

by ,

February 19th, 1968 the world made a new friend. That is the date Mister Rogers Neighborhood first aired on television. My guess is that at some point, either as a kid or a parent, you have come across Mister Rogers and his wonderful world of kindness and imagination.

Many people know that Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister tasked to continue his work for children, but it may not be common knowledge that he initially went into television because he disliked what he saw on television at the time and wanted to create something better. He used his show as a way to invite children into being curious about the world, sharing ideas and feelings, and creating a safe place. By all accounts, his off-screen persona was the same as the kind cardigan wearing friend I grew up with.

Mister Rogers continues to be an inspiration to me. He was a modern example of the greatest commandments. When a lawyer asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment, he replied: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matt 22:37-39

Mister Rogers considered everyone his neighbor and his mission was to be kind. He treated kids as valuable and interesting, he had patience, he taught about feelings. His guests were from a variety of backgrounds, abilities, and ages and each were important. He gave the gift of being present, which is a way of saying ‘you matter’.

It can be hard sometimes to see those folks who are pushing our buttons as a neighbor, and that’s what’s so wonderful and simple about the Mister Rogers plan. Be kind, be curious, be present. Or as he said: “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.”

Take a moment to imagine how wonderful our world would be if we all took even a few moves in the footsteps of Fred Rogers.

It starts with an easy question:
Won’t you be my neighbor?

Fierce Love

by ,

I saw a quote from someone recently asserting that the people saying we need more love have it wrong. They said we need more justice, action, inclusion. I understand where they’re coming from, however, I disagree because I think their definition of love is to narrow.

If you define love as the squishy puppy dog love of preteen angst movies, then I agree. However, I understand love in a different way. Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore wrote in Revealing Word:

love–The pure essence of Being that binds together the whole human family. Of all the attributes of God, love is undoubtedly the most beautiful. In Divine Mind, love is the power that joins and binds in divine harmony the universe and everything in it; the great harmonizing principle known to man(kind).

Divine love is impersonal; it loves for the sake of loving. It is not concerned with what or who it loves, nor with a return of love. Like the sun, its joy is in the shining forth of its nature.

If we see love as the harmonizing power of the universe, as the glue that connects us all, then, I argue, that activating our love is the most productive thing we can do.

Yesterday I was watching Kung Fu Panda 2 with my husband because he loves Kung Fu Panda and he was recovering from a cold. In the movie, the head henchwolf upon first seeing Po (the Panda) he says he’s so soft and cuddly looking. Then Po and the Furious 5 lay down some Kung Fu and defeat the pack of wolves.

Po is a good example of how we can take love to the next level. In our day to day life, we’re interacting with those close to us, going about our business, some may call it soft and relaxed. But when there is injustice or harm happening, Po leaps into action to fiercely defend and protect.

This is the part that we need more of, fierce love. Fierce in the common vernacular means an intense or heartfelt, it can be used negatively, but it can also be an unapologetic focus.

When we stand up to challenge the status quo, it is often out of this fierce love. When Cari Lightner was killed by a drunk driver in 1980, her mom Candice didn’t just grieve, she started advocating for a change in laws and Mothers Against Drunk Driving was born. Not only did she love her daughter, her goal was to not have any more mothers have to experience what she went through. That’s fierce love, big enough to know that she could stand up and push for a something that wouldn’t change her story but could change countless others who may not even know her name.

The person who said we didn’t need more love and instead need justice and action I think is missing something, because what is the motivation for these things? A sense of morality or doing what’s right you might say. How do we know what is right?

Researchers have been able to show compassion as an inherent trait in toddlers. Fairness and helping someone who is hurt or drops something is hard-wired. How does a toddler know that we are all bound together in the universal principle of love? Maybe the question should be how have so many grown-ups forgotten?

Fierce love isn’t about doing the things that are easy, they are easy and hopefully we’re doing those already. Fierce love is about doing the hard things because they are what needs to be done.

Last week comedian Sarah Silverman made headlines for her response to a man who had called her a slur on twitter. Instead of ignoring him or saying something mean in return, she went to his twitter feed and saw that he seemed to struggle with a lot of pain. Then she reached out to him, acknowledging his pain and asking what he might need to feel better. When he shared that he couldn’t get the medical treatment he needed, she tweeted out to her followers for leads to get him some help. Folks responded with offers of support.

She realized that he was speaking from his pain, and decided to respond with compassion. Fierce love is just that, seeing the human who needs compassion beyond the smokescreen of hurt they throw up.
Fierce love means showing up when its hard, inconvenient, or cold. It means being willing to listen to the stories that are hard to hear and then asking how you can help to resolve the situation.

Certainly, we cannot passionately support every cause, but we can do something, and something meaningful is what we are called to. Mother Teresa famously said: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa wasn’t talking about puppy love, she was talking fierce, compassionate, unwavering love.

I challenge you to step into the places where it’s hard, where it’s uncomfortable, where the need is greatest. Show up as love, as someone who truly believes that we are all expressions of the harmonizing power of the universe and as such will work for our earthly situations to reflect it.

With great love,
Rachel

Confidence

by ,

My husband Bill works at the check-in counter for an airline. Recently he came home and told me about this interaction.

A young man approached the counter and Bill determined quickly that this customer was likely someone with some cognitive delay.

Bill: “I see here Joseph* that you’re going to ‘town’, is that right?”
Joseph: “Yes”
Bill: “Are you going to need any help getting to your gate?”
Joseph: pause “My dad says he has total confidence in me”
Bill: “I have total confidence in you too.”

Bill said that it didn’t seem like Joseph had total confidence in himself, but that he knew that his dad did.

First, that is very sweet, and second I see what a wonderful tool Joseph’s father had given him.

One of the best gifts we can give to those around us is our confidence in their ability. The best gift we can give ourselves is confidence in our ability. There have been countless times when I have done something that was new or scary, and I can say with assurance that a trusted someone’s faith in me boosted my own faith.

There is the common saying ‘fake it til you make it’ I don’t really like this because it seems false, like you’re pretending. I prefer ‘faith it til you make it.’ Subtle but powerful difference, even if all you have is 1% belief that you’re going to make it, that’s enough. Someone else’s sliver of belief is enough.

Joseph’s father knows this. When Joseph is walking into the airport of his layover, he knows his dad has confidence in him. That’s not to say he might not need help, but the attitude he approaches the situation is from a can-do place.

You’ve likely met someone as I have who has had the opposite experience, of being told that they didn’t have the ability to achieve. This can be very hard to overcome or learn to not believe.

Let’s help those near to us achieve their best. Let’s notice the language we use towards others and ourselves. Let’s have our focus be on the chance of success and allow it to grow.

Let’s use our words to imbue confidence like Joseph’s dad.

I believe in you!

*Not his real name