You Don't Need Fixing — Just Alignment

From Rev. David McArthur (edited by Mike McGuire, not reviewed by the speaker)

You hypocrite!  “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” But looking to fix others only brings you back to fixing yourself. Most of you are self help addicts. But “you will wake up and know you don't need fixin'.” An alignment is all that's needed. “It's a time shift into silk and a field environment of love.”

Appreciation.  A business woman confessed, “I am the queen of roadrage!” She went on to say that every morning when she pulled out onto the highway to go to work, she felt every car was out to get her. By the time she got to work she was already exhausted and out of sorts, and everyone knew it. But now she was telling of a discovery she had made. Appreciation. She had a whole new attitude from appreciating things. On the drive to work now, she appreciated the road and the scenery on the way. When she got to work, she appreciated she had work. She had committed to an experience of appreciation. It's alignment. Use appreciation for alignment day after day. “It's a time shift into silk and a field environment of love.” It comes from all the great teachers. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” It's not fix it, it's alignment.

Peace.  Love one another. Appreciation is a part of love. Peace is also a part of love, and finding that spiritual center is alignment. It is all that's needed. Lao-tzu, from the Tao Te Ching: “She who is centered in the Tao can go where she wishes, without danger. She perceives the universal harmony, even amid great pain.” It is not ignoring the great pain which we touch in life, but “...she has found peace in her heart, centered in the Tao.”

It cannot not be there.  Like the small child who takes you by the finger and brings you into her world, connect with someone who loves you. It's always there! You are a beloved child of God! And the One who loves you is within. Reach in and take a hold of it! It's always there. It cannot not be there.

Alignment.  You will wake up and know you don't need “fixin'”. Not now, not ever. The great thing is neither does anyone else! Phew! That makes it easier. There is an alignment—that's all that's needed! Bless you!

Love God in all things

Jesus taught that the greatest commandment is, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and that the second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself. The experience of love for self is experiencing God because God is love. Appreciating the frequencies, the energies, the textures of life is part of the experience of heaven. The sweetness of life is God; the wonderful flavor and richness of life is God. God's love is the only way that the richness of life is open to you. Your body is love with a physicality to it, so that you may play in the things you love. Every moment there is divine energy moving through you – you don't even have to be right! It's absolute love. God is everywhere and in everything. God is abundant. Let the love of God in.

The people in your life are God expressing, asking you to step up to be who you can really be. You are loved. There's not people and God, there is only God. The child falls, and gets up, it does something wonderful, it makes a mess. Regardless, the parent delights in the child. And God delights in us, messes and all. We are so blessed.

So let in that which fills your heart. You are loving yourself; you are feeling God. You don't have the power not to have it, only not to feel it. Let it in, fill you up, overflow in and through you, as you. You are the love.

from Mike McGuire, PrayerTeam
Summary of Rev. David's sermon

Our words create our world

Do you want to affirm your limitations? Do you want more of what you are complaining about? Then keep complaining! When we speak our words, we put our power of creation out into the world. We put our thoughts into three dimensional being. We must become conscious of our creative power. By putting our thoughts into the three dimensional world we draw to us that which we speak.

The nature of God is wholeness which is always present. Let us affirm the wholeness of the goodness of God. Acknowledging even the darkness as part of the whole, let us speak the world we want to exist. Break through to the next level. Join others in creating a Complaint Free World. Join in the “ripple effect which will become a cascade of positivity around the world bringing about greater harmony, understanding, prosperity and peace.“ – from the vision statement, AcomplaintFreeWorld.org

from Mike McGuire, Prayer Team
Summary of Rev. David's sermon

Attitude of Gratitude

This is a warm part of the year, despite the approaching winter season. I'm referring instead to the Holiday Season, when we take the time to warm up to those near and far from us. It is so appropriate that it begins in earnest with Thanksgiving. How important it is to recognize our gifts and give thanks. 

Being grateful is more than an obligation or an opportunity to repay kindnesses, however. It is an opportunity to re-align ourselves with God's grace. Of course, God's love is always flowing to us and through us, but so many times we are oblivious, even hostile. An attitude of gratitude keeps us turned to the light, open to participate fully in the flow of love and life around and in us. Rather than miss it, we are then aware of the good that is coming to us.

“Today is the perfect day to appreciate the many blessings in my life. I pray a prayer of thanksgiving, expressing gratitude... I stop for a moment to give thanks... I am blessed beyond measure.” Daily Word — November 26, 2009

So stop for a moment. Notice your heart beat is like the beat of the sacred drum which gives thanks for all that we have, for all that we are. Your heart beats out “thank you, thank you, thank you...” 

Mike McGuire, Prayer Team
Summary of Rev. David's sermon

The Power of Thanksgiving

You know this amazing power because you have used it many times. You have felt the transforming experience of your deep gratitude for something in your life. It may have been your heart recognizing the beauty in a moment with a special friend, or receiving the blessing of a break-through that you had long desired. It may have been as simple as feeling the warm sun on a crisp fall morning, or the touch of a little one’s hand in yours.

When your heart opened to that very special feeling of thanksgiving, you felt uplifted, blessed, renewed and filled with hope. Even if it was a dark rainy day, you felt an inner glow.

The power that lifts us, opens us and blesses us is the presence of Divine Love. When we experience true thankfulness, the power of Spirit flows into our lives. In that sacred moment we have opened to consciously perceive God’s goodness. That goodness desires to pour itself through our lives in every moment. The feelings of thanksgiving have the power to open our lives to this unlimited goodness.

Rev. David McArthur

Appreciation

The second most powerful force in the earth… is “appreciation!” It is impossible to feel it or express it too much. The deeper you go into the consciousness of appreciation, the more you will behold the infinite life that right now is flowing into and through you.

Appreciate for a moment your body, with its amazing organs and systems, and your mind, with its miraculous capacity to perceive and understand life. Appreciate the constant provision for your material needs that are being met every moment.

You can appreciate the things in your life that bring deep fulfillment, your family and friends, the capacity to understand, heal hurt, comfort another and receive support. Yet there is more—even more amazing gifts: of your life itself, your eternal soul, your oneness with Divine life and intelligence, the amazing love that enfolds and lifts you every moment, every choice, every experience for eternity.

To appreciate is to reach into the infinite and find it is already in your own heart.
—Reverend David McArthur

Giving Thanks

What are the treasures in your life now? Do they include a special person that you can share with? Someone who accepts you just as you are? Is there a child, young or grown, who brings that special warmth to your heart when you think of them? Do you remember being touched by the smile of a stranger or that special glow in your heart when you were enjoying being with good friends—their laughter, their thoughts, their presence? Are there quiet moments of serenity that your heart treasures?

I was recently filled with joy at smelling wood smoke from a neighbor’s chimney. It awakened memories of hauling firewood, fireplaces on snowy days and cozy evenings with the delicious smells of family meals. I looked in at a gathering of people in our Center and saw their joy as they were eagerly learning of the great wisdom spread through the world’s religions. What a delight to see the richness of their understandings. I listened to our musicians as they shared their gifts with us last Sunday and treasured both the beauty of their talent and the joy it gave them.We are so richly blessed. There is so much to appreciate in our lives each day. As we treasure the amazing quality and beauty of the simple things that fill our lives, we open the door for God to pour ever greater goodness into our receptive hearts. Thanksgiving isn’t just a day—it’s the only way to really live.

—Reverend David McArthur