Click HERE to view Rev. Jimmie Scott’s guided meditation during the service.
All right, you ready for my question tonight? Maybe; yeah. So the question for you tonight is: Do you believe that you’re safe? Do you believe that you’re safe?
Because you could be in a secure vault with armed guards all around it, with electric cameras and maybe a barbed wire fence, and you could be — with all of that security — and still not believe that you’re safe. We have people every day that live in great fear, and the chances of them being harmed in any way are so small.
So the question for you tonight is: Do you believe that you are safe? And that question has two different levels to it. There’s the rational, measurable, statistical information that says how safe you think you are. But then there’s the emotional side of that, which is your beliefs and whether you feel safe.
Louise Hay had an affirmation that went, “I am totally safe in the universe. I am at peace everywhere and I trust life.”
Will you say that with me? “I am totally safe in the universe.”
Together: [with congregation] “I am totally safe in the universe.”
“I am at peace everywhere.”
Together: [with congregation] “I am at peace everywhere.”
“I trust life.”
Together: [with congregation] “I trust life.”
See, I think this brings up the question, do you believe that your beliefs create your experience? Right? Do you believe that your beliefs create your experience? “As you believe, it is done on to you.” So do you believe that your beliefs create and impact your experience? How many want to say, “Yes; I can believe that”?
How many of you want to believe that what you believe actually interprets the information that’s all around you? So if you believe that you should be frightened, you’re frightened, even if there’s no reason to be frightened. But our beliefs actually interpret the information around us.
And how many of you want to believe that both are true? That they not only create your interpretation of the information, but they’re actually creating your experience.
See there’s a story about two little boys that they were doing a test on. And the first little boy, they stuck into a room, and there was just horse poo that just filled the entire room. And the little boy just began to cry saying, “This is how every aspect of my life goes. It never works for me. Everybody else gets a better room and I get a room filled with horse poo.”
Second little boy, they brought him into the exact same room — a room filled with horse poo. And dives in. [Congregants laugh] And he starts digging. And they said, “Wait, wait, wait; why are you doing this?” He said, “With this much horse poo, there has to be a horse in here somewhere.” [Congregants laugh] Right?
And I want you to see that those two positions are where most of us live. We either believe that life is for us and here to bless us, or we believe that life is scary and we need to run from it. We need to hide from it. We need to try to protect ourselves. And those two conditions create a reality. Do you expect to be safe? Do you expect to be blessed? Or do you expect to be harmed?
The History Network created this group of social scientists and asked them the question: Is the world safe? And this is what they said. [Laughs] Now just hear the whole thing:
“Despite a few minor wars …”
Which for the people in them is problematic, right?
“… and not-so-minor terrorist attacks, it seems clear that more citizens of the 21st century, both in terms of raw numbers and percentages of overall global population, will lead mundane, peaceful lives than at any other time in history. And that bears repeating. Today, a far greater percentage of the world’s population live in peace than in any other time in history, which is a non-trivial curiously unreported statistic. By any reasonable measure, the world is living in a golden age of peace and security, even if it may not always appear so.
Is this trend part of the permanent change or are we merely experiencing the latest respite in the catastrophes or is there an actual movement toward peace? The answer depends greatly on the explanation for the current age of stability, which is subject to robust academic debate. But it is worth noting that history contains precious few examples of the return of institutions deemed by society to be outmoded, barbaric or futile. In other words, normative evolution typically is unidirectional. Few would argue, for instance, that either slavery or dueling is likely to reappear in the century. As long as technology, science and the economy remain relatively stable and doesn’t take unprecedented steps backwards, the likelihood of a major war is likely to continue to diminish in our lifetime.
While the future is a unknowable, there’s at least a very good reason to believe that the future may be far more peaceful than we’ve ever been led to believe.”
So here’s the deal. What if everything in life is moving in a productive way? In a positive, uplifting way? And yet, we’re still feeling a level of fear? Could it be that our emotions have not caught up with the actual world that we’re living in?
Albert Einstein said, “I think the most important question facing humanity is: Is the universe a friendly place? This is the first and most basic question all people must ask for themselves.”
See, one of Unity’s fundamental principles is that there’s only One Presence and One Power. There’s one Power and that that Power is absolutely good!
And yet, most of us were raised in this idea that on this planet it is a struggle between good and evil. And I can show you throughout human thought where that idea was first established: it was established in Zoroastrianism. And Zoroastrianism had this belief that on the planet, it was a cosmic struggle between good and evil. And that idea became so prevalent in the first century that it’s been passed down from generation upon generation that we believe that we are in the midst of this struggle.
And what would it take for our world to fully accept this idea that life is good? That life is meant to be good? And could we actually tolerate a worldview that says everything is working together for our highest good?
Now, how many of you think: “Well, what would I do with my day?” [Congregants laugh] “Like what would I do in any given day if there wasn’t a problem or a challenge or a catastrophe or a drama or a situation that I’d have to overcome? Because wouldn’t that get boring? Wouldn’t it be terrible if there was nothing happening to give me a little drama fix?” And what would it look like in your life if you really believed that everything – everything! — was for your highest good? That everything was here to bless you?
See this I of duality is this great deal of symmetry in the universe. See, at this level of life — at the human level of life — there is duality. There is birth and death and darkness and light and cold and hot. And we function from this human level from this level of duality, right?
But many of us are becoming aware of non-dualism. And non-dualism or non-duality is … What’s interesting even about that is that duality is so accepted, it gets its own word, right? Non-duality is the opposite of duality. And instead of saying “oneness,” we call it non-duality. Because so few people actually believe in non-duality that it doesn’t really get its own word; it just gets the opposite of duality! So it’s not duality; we’re over here in somewhere else.
And what I want you to see tonight is that this idea of moving to a non-duality mindset is part of our spiritual evolution. That part of our growth — part of our transformation — is when we begin to entertain the idea: What if it’s all good? What if everything has the possibility to absolutely be for us? And what if all the fear and anxiety that we’ve been holding on to for years isn’t really helping us move forward, because it’s actually supporting this idea that life isn’t safe?
Could you imagine for a moment getting up every day and not being afraid of what was going to happen, but just being curious how you were going to be blessed that day? “I wonder how God is going to bless me today?!?”
Let’s say that together: [with congregation] “I wonder how God is going to bless me today?!?”
Now, does your anxiety level go up when you make that statement?
Now, if you get up every morning and you say, “I wonder how the dirty dogs are going to take me down today?” [Congregants laugh] Do you find that increases your level of anxiety or minimizes your level of anxiety?
Like there’s something that happens when we actually believe that we live in a safe universe| It actually changes our whole internal system: our blood pressure, our healing, all the anxiety and fear that most of us have learned to cope with. The moment we truly believe we live in a safe universe that is absolutely here for us, that everything is here to bless us. The moment we integrate that, our whole mindset — our whole life — begins to shift.
Gary Simmons, in his book, The I of the Storm wrote this. He had an encounter with a spiritual teacher, and this is what the spiritual teacher said to him: “No one is against you. You have no adversary in your life. There is nothing in the universe that is against you or your purpose. That is what is meant by an awakened future. You must leave this room knowing only one thing: nothing is against you. Nothing opposes you. Every experience you may have to the contrary is just evidence that your mind is rooted in a sense of separation and illusion.”
Like, one of the huge — one of the big steps — that we make in our spiritual journey is when we stop scaring ourselves. How many of you like to go … Like, it kind of amazes me how many people go to scary movies. I am not a devotee; I don’t like to be scared. I don’t! And yet, scary movies are so popular! So many people go to scary movies. Why? Because it’s a fabulous way to get an adrenaline high. Like, you get so much adrenaline coursing through your system in two hours of a scary movie, It wakes you up! [Congregants laugh]
But what I want you to see: Even if you go to every scary movie, how much of your life are you creating situations to spike your adrenaline and give your ego something to overcome? And what if tonight you began to entertain the idea that, with God, you are not only safe, but you are wildly blessed.
There’s a story in Genesis where Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers. And I’m going to read from Genesis 50, beginning with Verse 18:
“His brothers came and fell down before him …”
This is after his father died …
“… and said, ‘Behold, we are your servants.’ But Joseph said to them, ‘Fear not, for I am in the place of God. As for you, you meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. So do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones.’ Thus he reassured them and comforted them.”
So it’s this idea that, if we tell ourselves the truth, we know that from time to time, we have people that come into our life that aren’t always thinking for our highest good. Is that true? But what I want you to see is, even if in those moments, God is using those situations for our highest good. Because God is greater than their intent. And God can even use their ill motives as a way to bless us.
But if we are running around scared day after day after day, we’re not even open to the possibility that something greater could come from that situation than their motives. We feel like their motives are the most important thing. And they’re not! But we have to be in the mindset that says: Everything that comes into my life is there by divine appointment and is there to bless me.
Jesus, in the experience of the crucifixion, said this: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Now, were all those individuals at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion … Were all of those individuals in it for his highest good? No! But because they played their part, did something greater come from that experience? Yes! That he demonstrated the overcoming of physical limitations. He was crucified and was born again. And because of that, something far greater has happened.
But we have to be in a mindset that doesn’t allow us to be limited by what other people’s intentions are. And the moment we open our mind and heart to the experience that good and only good comes into my life … The moment you decree that; the moment you believe that – that good and only good comes into your life — whatever intentions or situations may come to you, you have claimed a higher possibility that demands a higher level of good.
And as spiritual people, we have not fully used that ability to claim a situation for good and only good.
And I want you to look in your life right now and to see the situations in your life that you’ve been afraid of: that you’ll believe that somebody could take your good away from you. That you have allowed their ill intention to scare you into thinking that they could actually harm you in some way instead of bless you.
And the moment you decide that good and only good: there is only one power in my life and that power is God and that power is good … The moment you declare that possibility and decree it as your reality, you actually move into a higher level of good. That only good can come to you!
But you have free will. And if you don’t use the power of free will to claim the level of life that you desire, then we’re now getting banged around by all the craziness of the world.
“Good and only good comes to me now.”
Together: [with congregation] “Good and only good comes to me now.”
Now, one of the things I want you to see about this is that we are learning the full capacity of our soul. And sometimes the way we learn the full capacity of our soul is in getting spiritually worked out. And so sometimes when life is happening, we actually are strengthening our spiritual muscles to acknowledge that good and only good is going to come from that. And as you stand in that — as you decree that — you actually create a new level of life.
One of the most profound things that Jesus said in John 10:30 is: “I and the Father are one.”
I believe that is the ultimate experience for all of us. That is the ultimate experience for all of us. That all of us, through this life experience, are learning to experience our oneness with God. That that is our divine purpose, is to know our oneness with God. And the moment that becomes the most important thing, then everything in your life is working to bring you to that realization that you are one with God. And everything in your life — no matter what the situation is — is here to perfect you, to heal you, to bless you, to empower you, to make you greater than you have ever been before.
But there is only One Presence and One Power. Life is not here to knock you around. Life is here to teach you that you are fully one with the living, moving presence of God. And as you claim that reality, that is established unto you.
“God and I are one.”
Together: [with congregation] “God and I are one.”
One more time: [with congregation] “God and I are one. are one.”
So here we go. You ready? Here’s your homework. I want you to look — seriously look — at anything in your life that might be scaring you. Does everybody have something? Health, finances, spousal issues? Children issues? Government issues? Does everybody have at least one thing? If you don’t, talk to your neighbor; I’m sure he’s got two or three. [Congregants laugh] Right?
And I want you to see tonight that you have a God-given right to be as scared in that situation as you want to be. Right? You get to be freaked out! You get to run around like your hair’s on fire, because you have free will! You get to be as overwhelmed and put out of shape, and you get to have whatever experience you want.
But there’s a moment in your soul’s evolution when you’re going to stop the madness. When you’re in the place of whatever is in your life, you’re going to stop the madness and say, “Good and only good is coming from this situation.”
Together: [with congregants] “Good and only good is coming from this situation.”
And you’ll decree it! You will establish the spiritual truth of that! And at that moment, you have dominion over life. Because in that moment, you are no longer writing the up and down waves of life. You have taken dominion, and you will know your oneness with God because you’ve claimed it!
“Good and only good is coming to me now.”
Together, “Good and only good is coming to me now.”
And I want you to feel the power of that! Because, for me, that’s the difference between being a spiritual child — a child of God — and being a man or woman of God. When we’re in our childish fears, the boogeyman is always in the closet. And it doesn’t matter what the boogeyman is; there’s always something scary chasing us.
But there’s a moment in our soul’s evolution where we put away childish things. And we decide in a moment that your God is bigger than anything in your life. And you decide! And the moment you decide, it is established unto you. As you decree a thing, it will be done unto you.
“Good and only good is in charge of my life.”
Together: [with congregation] “Good and only good is in charge of my life.”
Will you pray with me?
And I invite you to open your mind, your heart, your soul to the activity of God. That today we take another step in our spiritual maturity. We decide that we are no longer a victim to circumstance. That whatever comes into our life comes into our life by divine appointment. We are not a victim to circumstance; we are actually here to claim the glory of God in every situation of life. And the moment we begin to claim the glory of God in every situation of our life, we no longer live frightened. We live as a master: a master over circumstances.
Today I want you to claim your mastery. I want you to claim the power of God. I want you to make that inner decision that good and only good comes to you now.
Together: [with congregants] “Good and only good comes to me now.”
In the name and through the power of the Living Christ, it is done. Amen.
Copyright 2024 Unity of Phoenix Spiritual Center/Rev. Richard Rogers