Unity Burbank Center for Spiritual Awareness

THREE CONSCIOUS BREATHS

2012-01-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

By Beth Outtrim

There is always so much in Pema Chöndrön’s books that it’s difficult to choose something in particular to discuss. From this month’s book, Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears, one thing struck me and stuck with me more than anything else, Three Conscious Breaths.

Pema Chöndrön approaches Three Conscious Breaths with three distinct steps:

Step one – Acknowledge that you have allowed something or someone to disturb your peace
Step two – Pause, take three conscious breaths and lean into that feeling whatever it is; anger, disappointment, fear, etc.
Step three – Relax and move on

I have been “playing with” Three Conscious Breaths since I finished the book about a week ago. I didn’t realize that I had actually been using all three steps until I sat down to write this. Of course I took step one – I wouldn’t have even thought to do three conscious breaths if I hadn’t paused to become aware that I was upset in some way. Step two I knew I was doing. In retrospect, I see that step three is exactly what I did after I remembered to take three conscious breaths.

This is truly the pause that refreshes. It is also the pause that is necessary for us to change old and/or ingrained habits. This is the month of new starts, new hopes as we make our New Year’s Resolutions. Three Conscious Breaths is a gold mine. If we can remember to pause, take three conscious breaths and relax we will find ourselves in an open frame of mind – the one within which we can make a conscious choice; we can step into our new habit or we can choose to stay in our current habits and behaviors.

A program that I was involved in years ago to quit smoking (I haven’t had a cigarette since August 31, 1981) helped me to change old habits with this bit of advice. Remind yourself that you have the choice. We always have the choice. We can change our minds again in a minute, if we want to, regardless of what we choose now. Three Conscious Breaths gives us a chance to stop and consider our choices. It also provides our minds and bodies with much-needed oxygen, which will help our general well-being regardless of choice.

SPIRITUAL RESOLUTION

2011-12-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

By Beth Outtrim

I feel that Dyer’s book for October, The Power of Intention, was a mere introduction to this book, There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem, by the same author. I hope I don’t discourage anyone by saying that this book, for me at least, was a much more difficult read. Not that Dr. Dyer is confusing – quite the contrary. He is very clear with a lot of information to consider. Nor is it a large book but that’s not really the way to measure content. It is much like January’s book, The Places That Scare You (which took me until September to finish) – you read for a bit and then it’s time to put it down, perhaps do you own investigation into a concept that Dr. Dyer (or Pema Chöndrön) has proposed and see if it “fits” in your life. That is not to say that you will agree or disagree in all or in part of the selection Dr. Dyer presents. It also makes a great book to hang onto over the holidays with family coming and going – you can read a bit when you need a break and then let it percolate for an hour, a day, a week. Maybe we should discuss this one in March!

Dr. Dyer not only explains that the problems we face are our own reflection, he also offers ways to deal with this constructively. One of which, I had practiced years ago; his CD of “Meditations for Manifestation”- the Japa Meditation. He mentions the speaking to one’s body to heal very much in the same manner as Myrtle and Charles Fillmore. He presents the theories and easy diagnostic methodology to determine which things in life are beneficial to you and those that are not espoused by David R. Hawkins, MD. Dr. Hawkins has researched and documented evidence that the body knows and responds to any stimuli within nanoseconds. Just as quickly it then signals its response which can be tested with kinesiology. Dr. Dyer puts these and many other methods down in black and white for you to judge for you.

“Mindfulness is a form of mental activity that trains the mind to become aware of awareness itself and to pay attention to one’s own intention,” is how Bernie Siegel, MD defines the practice that Dr. Dyer recommends we use to avoid “problems” and/or to alleviate the suffering we cause ourselves when we allow problems to surface in our lives. It is Dr. Dyer’s treatise that problems manifest when we allow ourselves the illusion of separation from Source and our energies become slower and lower in vibrational frequencies.

To allow whatever method we choose to work, to “do its magic” for us, we must keep ourselves mindful. For when we allow ourselves to slip into lower energy fields we are opening ourselves up to potential problems. Whether battling a health or a legal issue, this is no time to lose one’s focus by allowing one to slide into the “lower energies”, as Dr. Dyer calls it or the “dark side of the force” according to Luke Skywalker.

When we meditate we must be aware of when our minds wander from the nothingness into thinking and gently correct it, bringing it back to one’s focus. Dr. Dyer proposes that we be mindful at all times. To be aware of when we slide into judgments and gently correct, into thoughts of limitations and lovingly correct, into thoughts of lack to redirect to thoughts of abundance, into the future to worry, bring it back to the knowing that God is with us, or into the past in regret, guilt, or shame - correct to knowing we are loved, just as we are. These are low-energy thoughts are killers, spiritually, and will quite literally kill our bodies if not attended to and redirected.

Happy reading and Happy Holidays!

GRATITUDE

2011-11-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

By Beth Outtrim

I am grateful for the introduction to Louise Hay for all the marvelous new (to me) authors she introduced via this month’s book, Gratitude: A Way of Life. This anthology of different authors and their viewpoints on gratitude gave me the exposure to many authors that I had not read. It was like having assorted chocolate creams; each one a little different and all with the same sweet message.

Gratitude is the basis to making everything else work. The first rule to getting what you want is to be grateful for what you already have. The trick to that – we must be grateful for all of it; the flu bugs and the flowers, the tears and the laughter, the humility and the triumph. Every bit of it is for us. Being grateful for the lessons in our lives is a bit more difficult to envision and to practice than being grateful for the gifts, the blessings.

First, that’s a fine distinction. When a situation that appears as an obstacle first comes into our lives, it may seem to us to be a lesson that we have to “get through”. Only later in retrospect, do we see that as a blessing. These authors are suggesting that everything is something for which to be grateful from the very start.

Even if all we are grateful for is the awareness that what we have been focusing on is contrary to our stated goals. This in itself can be a wonderful gift. To quote from Louise Hay's prayer of gratitude, “I am grateful for all my past experience, for I know that they were part of my soul’s growth."

Secondly, we grow through our challenges and our acceptance of and gratitude for those challenges. As Dr. Bernie Siegel says, “We all have our problems. The key is to learn how to live with them and even how to use them.” Some of the most difficult people I’ve worked with are the people that helped me to raise and then live up to my own standards of excellence. In The Power of Intention that we read last month the section entitled Making Your Intentions Your Reality, Wayne Dyer has Step 10: As always, remain in a state of eternal gratitude. "Even be grateful for those whose presence may have caused you pain and suffering.”

Lastly, these authors remind us to be grateful for all of the things that we tend to take for granted. The abilities to hear, see, touch, smell, taste, breathe, laugh, love, cry – all the everyday things that we never think about – they’re all gifts given worthy of gratitude.

The Power of Intention

2011-10-20T10:04:00.001-07:00

The Power of Intention

By Beth Outtrim

The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way by Wayne Dyer is a great follow on to last month’s book, Nonviolent Communication; A Language of Life, by Marshall B. Rosenberg. Dr. Rosenberg teaches us how to speak gently and non-violently to ourselves and others. Dr. Dyer takes us further into intention; what is our intention in our every thought, word and deed and how can we direct those to achieve what we want to have in our life?

I, like so many others apparently, since Dr. Dyer addresses it specifically, have tried affirmations for years as though it was an exercise of the will. As Dr. Dyer writes, “Willing yourself to be happy, successful, wealthy, number one, famous, the top salesperson, or the richest person in your community are ideas born of the ego and its obsessive self-absorption…You may achieve the physical goal of your individual intention. However, your imagination, that inner place where you do all of your living, won’t allow you to feel peaceful.” He goes on to say that, “I don’t complete a book because I have a strong will to do so. That would mean that I believe that it’s me, the body named Wayne Dyer, that’s doing all of this, whereas my imagination has no physical boundaries…my imagination is my very own ‘chip off the old block’ of intention.”

Esther and Jerry Hicks talk about the same thing in The Vortex. They offer a twelve-step solution; a clock-wise manner of getting yourself to a place of full belief in the affirmation of your choice. You answer a series of questions with affirmations starting from the smallest that you can fully believe, “I believe that my boss really wants the best for his company”, for example, and then step-by-step to a full blown affirmation that has the best intention for all parties. Working with this has been very beneficial to me in several different venues – our new domicile is a result of performing one of these exercises.

It is also a great lead-in to the upcoming visioning session at our Unity Center home. It will help us to prepare our words of intent for what we would like to see our church become. We intend having so many people in our sanctuary on Sundays that we need to buy more chairs. We intend to have our Children’s Church staffed with Unity-trained teachers in a well-developed program to cater to more age groups. We intend to have a full-time Unity minister to support the needs of our Unity Community. Phrasing our intentions in this manner beckons the universe to assist us achieve our intentions whatever those might be.

COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION

2011-09-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

By Beth Outtrim

This month’s book, Nonviolent Communication; A Language of Life, by Marshall B. Rosenberg reminds of one of the books we read last year, The Places That Scare You, by Pema Chöndrön. Not from the content so much as from the perspective that there is so much in the book to work with, to grow from, that to try and encapsulate or distill it into a paragraph or a twenty-minute talk is nearly impossible.

I went to the website, www.cnvc.org, for help. Under the section for trainings I came across the following quote about becoming a Certified Nonviolent Communicator that helped me sum up what I wanted to say:

“CNVC brings a unique perspective to trainers who want to become CNVC Certified Trainers… The Certification Team members who support trainer candidates on their journey toward certification are called "assessors." They create a partnership with a candidate -- what we call a “power with” process, rather than domination or “power over.” This paradigm shift allows assessors to carry out their roles in a spirit of shared respect and shared power…”

Dr. Rosenberg’s point is so well represented in that paragraph. It immediately changed this whole piece. He writes about all kinds of situations where we do violence to others and ourselves, not in ways we normally consider as violence but by shutting them down, coming across to them like we’re better than they are – power over.

Here’s a simple example: A business associate was explaining what was going on in his life. Instead of empathizing, per Dr. Rosenberg’s recommendation, I immediately told him what I thought he should do! The result is not too surprising once you’ve read Nonviolent Communication. The business associate quickly brought the conversation to a close and I left feeling uneasy, dissatisfied with my actions.

This is a great example from two different standpoints; not only did I show by business associate my “power over” him by coming off as the “know-it-all” and telling him what he should do, I then turned around and did the same thing to myself. “Boy, you really screwed that one up. You should have asked him more questions. What makes you think you’re so smart?”

Dr. Rosenberg explains that our language evolved from people who were educated which, in past times, were the people who ruled. Therefore, our language is framed around “should”, “have to”, ‘must”, etc. - not only to others but to ourselves. It hurts others, it hurts us, and it perpetuates violence. The challenge is not solely to change what we do and what we say but to change how we think and what we tell ourselves.

FORGIVENESS

2011-08-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

The premise of The Little Soul and the Sun, by Neale Donald Walsch is that, prior to entering into this lifetime, we negotiated and agreed with other angels, or souls, that we would participate in each other’s lives. We agreed to provide the conditions that are necessary for you to respond in the God-like attribute you have chosen to bring into the world. In return, you will provide that same service to us. In that manner, we ensure that we have the opportunity to display God’s love, forgiveness, kindness, etc. to others during our lifetimes. Using film terminology, we have agreed to play “the heavy” for someone else at one point, just as they have agreed to do that for us or someone else has.

We have chosen, as angels, each of us, to come into this life to help each other heal. We would not be able to provide that service for each other if we all behaved as angels. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we display the trait that we came here to provide either.

Driving in the Los Angeles area serves us well. Are we able to remember when we’re cut off in traffic, that the angel in the other vehicle is giving us an opportunity? We are far more likely to remark, “He did that on purpose! She deliberately cut in from of me and then slowed down!”, than we are to remember that these “angels” are here to fulfill their end of the contract and to allow us to learn to forgive.

Or that homeless person that we must walk past on our way to work each morning – he smells so bad and we would prefer that he sit on someone else’s street or, better yet, take a bath, get a job, or something - other than remind us of his presence. Do we remember that he agreed to help us learn to love unconditionally, not just our family members which, God knows, is hard enough some days, but each and every other living being?

In the book God is quoted as saying, “I have sent you nothing but angels.” Unfortunately the reality is that those angels don’t look like angels to us. They don’t even look or act like we believe that humans should, much less angels! It would be so much easier to love them all if they talked like us, looked like us, had the same values, the same sense of responsibility.

Conversely, to reneg, or to interfere by "saving" someone from their lessons, you deny them their unique place in God's plan for the evolution of manking. As a parent, it is tempting to try and "save" your children fromhurt and pain. When our children hurt, we hurt--we attempt to make the hurt go away by distracting them from it or by providing them with something fun to :make up for it". The truth is, if we succeed, we break the contract that they have made with that other angel thereby denying them the chance to fulfill the contract they made, to potentially learn the lesson to which they agreed, and to attain grace.

Beth Outtrim

EMBRACING PEACE

2011-07-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

When we hear “Embracing Conflict, Creating Peace”, the subtitle of the Book-of-the-Month for July we tend to think of external conflict, external forces, and peace amongst peoples, amongst countries. Perhaps that’s just our natural instinct – to think that the things that we deal with to grow and to evolve are outside of ourselves – sometimes the impetus is external. Most times though the stimulus is external, the impetus, the desire, is internal.

I spent part of the weekend in the company of a couple with a small child. At one point, the conversation between the two parents went something like this, “Do you want to change her or should I?” It occurred to me that that is how we view our life most of the time – someone or something outside of ourselves is creating the change for us. And, like children, we either allow this change to happen peacefully or we fight it, wiggling and resisting with all of our futile strength to make it stop. Also like children, if we embrace the change, allow it to occur without resistance, we are more comfortable during the change, the change is over more quickly, and we are once again feeling warm and loved.

As the author of The I of the Storm; Embracing Conflict, Creating Peace, Gary Simmons, says, “It is important to remember, however, that conflict does not come to us, it comes from us. It arises from within as an effect of two competing intentions: a compelling desire to feel safe, okay, and valued, and the drive to fulfill the soul’s purpose.” It is our very soul that cries out for change – taking us away from our comfort zone to grow and evolve into the purpose we have come here to fulfill.

Yet, even knowing this, it is easy to get distracted and resist when the conflict arrives! We create peace in the world around us by having peace in ourselves. We create peace in ourselves by keeping our focus on our intention; to fulfill our soul’s purpose. We do this by embracing the conflict within us and allowing the unease to pass through without any resistance.

Beth Outtrim

When It's Time For A Change

2011-06-07T12:57:00.001-07:00

A MESSAGE FROM REV. NICOLE

		"When you're finished changing, you're finished." ~Benjamin Franklin

Most people have been raised to expect stability and certainty in life. It’s easy to believe that there will come time when everything gets good and stays that way. However, if we truly make ourselves receptive to the Divine plan for our lives, rather than steamrolling ahead with ego-based plans, we find that the path to our destiny is filled with necessary changes. Though we might try to resist, we ultimately come to embrace change as the ultimate catalyst for our spiritual growth and personal transformation.

At this time, I have an opportunity to make a change that would allow me to move toward the fulfillment of my calling to establish a learning center for exceptional children with learning differences. As many of you know, I have spent the last two years building a similar program at a charter school in the Pasadena Unified School District. God has blessed it with a strong reputation that has quickly expanded enrollment. For more than a year, I searched for a location to house an independent learning center where I could also develop spiritual support programs for parents. Last month, I was offered an opportunity to house my vision at The Church of Truth in Pasadena, where I received my ministerial ordination.

While I am extremely excited about the possibilities, I have had to face the realization that as a wife, mother of three young children, a minister and an educator, it is not humanly possible to give the best of myself in all of these roles. In an attempt to consolidate my professional and personal commitments, I recently made a difficult decision to resign from my role as Spiritual Leader at the Unity Burbank Center for Spiritual Awareness.

The past three years at Unity Burbank have been an absolute blessing. I have enjoyed being a part of the stabilization and evolution of our ministry. You have been so supportive of my growth as a minister; for this I will be forever grateful. Because of you, I now embrace my life calling as a minister and spiritual teacher and look forward to serving the spiritual needs of the children and families that God has trusted to my care.

Although my resignation ushers in a season of change for Unity Burbank, I feel certain that Spirit has a plan for this ministry that will take it even further than any of us can presently imagine. As I depart from the center to build my learning program, please know that I have full confidence in the ability of our board of directors to identify a new spiritual leader for the church. Our team of speakers (Rev. Jenenne Macklin, David Brown and Jimmy Burns) remains committed to leading worship services each week. I trust that God will continue to deliver a blessed and inspired word through each of them.

Since my new program, Innerlight Children’s Collaborative, will open for business in August, my last Sunday at Unity Burbank will be July 3, 2011. Please plan to worship with us that day. A farewell luncheon will be held in the fellowship hall immediately after service. I plan to personally address each one of our members and visitors that day to let you know the ways in which you have touched my life.

Thank you for your support and vote of confidence over the past three years. I pray and affirm that God will continue to bless and expand this ministry in the coming years.

Rev. Nicole

A Message From Rev. Nicole

2011-05-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

A MESSAGE FROM REV. NICOLE

		"The Ark of Peace is entered two by two." --A Course in Miracles

In the month of May we will explore how our relationships with others offer us the greatest opportunity to have a direct experience of God and enter the kingdom of heaven. In May's book of the month, The Vortex by Esther and Jerry Hicks, we are invited to view our relationships not as obstacles to experiencing peace or joy, but to instead see our relationships as the playing field of God's love.

I am sure many of us have experienced moments in our spiritual life when we want to sell everything we own and go to a solitary place to meditate and find peace. While it's always easy to have peace while we are alone and turning within, the true mark of spiritual development is not shown to us until we enter into relationship and are able to demonstrate that peace in the midst of an argument or in dealing day to day with others. We can say we know peace, compassion, forgiveness - all of the virtues that Christ called us to demonstrate-but we don't really own them until we can consistently demonstrate these virtues in relationship.

What better time than during the month of May to demonstrate our forgiveness, compassion, kindness and love than with our mothers on Mother’s Day. Our mothers offered us our first experience of human relationship through their unconditional love. Their patience and compassion reflected for us the love of God and set the foundation for

future relationships in our lives. Some people might say, "Well, my relationship with my mother was not a positive one. That's why I am unable to have a good relationship with anyone else!" Another way to experience that is to understand that a challenging relationship with our mother offers a soul growth experience.

In The Vortex, the idea is that when we look at a person that we are in relationship with and focus on seeing the best in them, the more of the best of them we'll see. Likewise, the more attention we put on what is annoying or upsets us about the person, the more we will draw that out in them. The goal is to stay aware of the presence of God in the other - the more we can see God even in the hurt and the upset, the more we can call out God in that person.

In our relationships with our Mothers, we sometimes project our negative experiences on her character. We insist that, "She did this wrong!" or, "She didn't love me enough! or “She didn't let me follow my dreams!" As long as we hold this perspective, we can never get to the place with our mother where we see what God sees about her. We often hold a one dimensional view of our mothers. But when we open ourselves up to seeing as God sees, we allow room to have experiences with our mothers that we never thought possible. We come to know whole aspects of our mothers that we never knew existed.

Please join us this month as we enter "The Vortex" of relationships. The challenge for the month is to see the one we are in relationship with as God sees them - perfect, whole and complete - and to experience the kingdom of heaven through our interactions with them. This month, let us hold fast to the idea that we don't enter heaven alone, we go two by two.

Rev. Nicole

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our March newsletter)

2011-03-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” - Kahlil Gibran

There are rare moments in life when the spiritual fog suddenly clears, and the vision you have struggled to see for so long comes into clear focus. I was blessed to experience such clarity of vision and focus when I first read our March book of the month, Go-Givers Sell More.

Like me, many members of our congregation affirm God’s promise for prosperity in their personal business affairs. As a body, we also hold a vision of financial abundance for our spiritual center. We stop many times during our spiritual walk to wonder where our manifestation of abundance may be hiding, and how it cleverly manages to be so evasive. It is during these moments that we benefit from being reminded that God has established an orderly universe that is constantly conspiring to deliver our highest good. When it appears that our good cannot be found, it is then that we must look to realign ourselves with God’s unchanging universal laws.

Our book of the month uses a secular approach to reiterate the well-known universal law of giving and receiving. It gently reminds us that our income and our potential in business and sales is a direct reflection of the level of spiritual impact we are making in the world. It challenges us to shift our immediate attention away from the money we wish to attract, by focusing on the number of people whose lives we can positively impact through the giving of our spiritual gifts. Each one of us has a unique area in which we can add value to the lives of others. By giving freely of ourselves, adding value and increasing our positive impact on others, we activate the spiritual laws that govern our measure of abundance. Understanding and embracing this truth frees us from the doom and gloom financial statistics of the day and ushers us into a spiritual economy that operates in a stream of constant flow.

It is rare that I implore the congregation as a whole to read a book selection. However, I truly feel that taking the teachings of this book into meditation and prayer may offer you the same clarity of vision that I received from reading it. Spirit has shown me a new way to approach the establishment of my learning center, and I pray that you will be equally inspired in your area of business.

Please join us each Sunday this month as our four speakers share inspired teachings on the spiritual law of giving and receiving. We look forward to bearing witness to your spiritual awakening!

February Message from Rev. Nicole

2011-02-01T12:48:00.000-08:00

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart”

-Psalm 3:4

During the February season of love, our spiritual family here at the Unity Burbank Center for Spiritual Awareness has taken up a month long study of the Law of Attraction. For many followers of practical spirituality and metaphysics, the first question that comes to mind when considering the Law of Attraction is: how can I use this law to get the things or the love that I desire? This month, however, I would like to encourage you to view these teachings with fresh eyes and begin with a new set of questions:

What is your heart’s true desire? Who influenced you to want the things you desire?

No one likes to consider the fact that the thoughts they think, or the ideals they pursue, may not originate from within their own being. As a member of a global society, you are constantly exposed to other’s ideas about what you should want, what should make you happy, and how true love should look and feel for you. If, when practicing the Law of Attraction, you set your thoughts and intentions to attract things or people into your life simply based on popular opinion, you may very well find that you are not at all satisfied by what you eventually manifest. Instead, if you take the time to meditate, connecting with the Spirit of God within, you will open yourself to manifesting at a much higher vibration. In this space, you can quiet the noise of outer persuasion and become clear about the things that truly bring you joy. Perhaps your heart truly desires a 2,000 square foot dream home instead of 5,000. Perhaps your heart’s true love is someone who shares your passion for world travel, rather than someone whose wealth and status impresses your friends. Perhaps your dream job is one that offers you the most flexible work schedule. That may be more important than a large income for you. Whatever it is you seek to bring into your life through the Law of Attraction, be sure that the desire, and all the details that surround it, have originated from within your own soul. Only then will you manifest a life you will love to wake up to each day.

We welcome to join us this month as each of our four speakers present motivating and life changing teachings on the Law of Attraction. My prayer for you is that by worshipping and practicing spiritual principles with us, you will become open to receiving all that is stored up and waiting for you in the Kingdom of God.

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our December newsletter)

2010-12-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

During this Advent and Christmas season, let us be reminded to “Seek first the Kingdom.”

In so doing, we will witness how order, harmony, and serenity can be restored in our lives, especially during times of uncertainty and change. We can come to a place where we begin to actually reside in that Kingdom, that prized state of divine consciousness. This is the gift we receive when the spirit of Christ is born in us on Christmas. This shift represents a renewal of mind, a remembrance, a recollecting of who in fact we have always been - spiritual beings who are deeply connected to one another, to the Source, a part of the very fabric of God.

When Christ is born in us, a renewal of mind and spirit takes place. We experience sudden insight into how we may need to change a job, reach out to and restore harmony with family members, or make an earnest effort to change a habit that has slowly eroded the quality of our lives. Whatever change we are led to, let us embrace it joyfully during this holiday season. Make the most of the gift that God has so freely offered. The Kingdom is at hand now!

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our November newsletter)

2010-11-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good

Jonah 2:9

Deep within the soul of every spiritual being, there are numerous gifts and talents patiently waiting to be cultivated. Truly, there is enough talent and untapped ability lying dormant in each of us that, if actualized, could change the course of this planet in a single day. Many people recognize that they possess incredible spiritual gifts. Yet most find it difficult, if not impossible, to apply the degree of discipline and focus that are required to move raw talent to the level of mastery.

Think back over the course of your life. How many times have you set an intention to exercise daily, enroll in college, start a business, sign a record deal, or write an award-winning screenplay? Surely, we are sincere as we meditate and pray for these visions to become realities in our lives. When these dreams fail to materialize, there is a tendency to assume that it must not be God’s will, or that it’s just not our time to shine. We may look at those who have accomplished our dream and decide that they are either lucky or highly favored by God. But we know that God is no respecter of persons. The same Christ light that shines in them, shines also in you.

A closer investigation of the situation will often reveal that those who actualize their talents and achieve high levels of mastery in their fields of service are those who make good on what they have vowed to God and to themselves. How do they accomplish this? Through discipline, focus, and repeated practice. They thank God for their gifts by committing themselves to the process of mastery.

God has already given you all the gifts you will ever receive. Each one of them is inside of you, begging to be nurtured and cultivated. While this is something that only you can do, it’s comforting to know that your spiritual community is here to help you reach your spiritual goals. Join us during the month of November as we thank God for our spiritual gifts by making a commitment to mastery. Each Sunday, our speakers will motivate and inspire you join the legions of masters by adopting the discipline of practice. As Jonah said, we will praise God with a song of Thanksgiving. It is time to make good on what we have vowed to ourselves and the Christ within!

Shine,

Rev. Nicole

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our October newsletter)

2010-10-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

The Art of Surrender

Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. -Psalm 37:7

Upon hearing the word surrender, most people think of giving up or accepting defeat. For this reason, the idea of surrendering seems almost impossible for many on the spiritual path. In warfare, surrender is certainly associated with defeat. However, in the realm of Spirit, the act of surrender often signals the critical turning point that makes our ultimate victory possible. By practicing the art of surrender, we allow the Christ within us to take the reins and lead us to places our ego would never allow us to go.

So what does it mean to surrender in spiritual terms? Surrendering your life to God means:

• Acting on Divine guidance without knowing your destination

• Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when your prayers will manifest

• Anticipating a miracle without knowing how God will provide

• Trusting God’s purpose for your life without knowing the full plan

You know you have surrendered to God when you trust God to work out the affairs of your life instead of trying to manipulate others, or exert undue control over people or situations. You let go and let God work. When you have mastered the art of surrendering, you realize that you don’t have to always be “in charge.” Instead of trying harder, you trust more. As you trust more, the divine hand of God begins to move in your life in ways you could have never imagined or orchestrated.

During the month of October, you are invited to become mindful of the areas in which you have exhausted all of your earthly resources trying to make life work according to your plan. Your spiritual family will be in prayer with you each day as you commit to practicing the art of surrender. Remember, “letting go and letting God” is often the fastest route to answered prayer.

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our September newsletter)

2010-09-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

“Life is what is happening in this instant.”

- Krishnamurti

In any situation where there is anxiety, stress or even depression, practicing Mindfulness can help to stop the negative spiral of our thoughts and let us see the moment for what it really is. The art of mindfulness allows us to experience the richness of each moment instead of moving through life with most of our attention trapped in the past or future. The revelations that come from the practice of mindfulness help us be more intentional in establishing positive thought patterns that support our life mission.

Mindfulness asks only one thing of us- that we surrender at all times to the present moment. When practicing mindfulness, our goal is to clear the mind of every thought and every judgment, and simply experience the present. This simple act enables us to see each moment for what it is, free from the limitations of any pre-conceived notions or distracting thoughts. It is here in this space of pure awareness that Spirit communicates with us and transforms our hearts and minds through direct experience. In that very moment of pure non-judgemental awareness, we open the door to a life lived without conflict and duality. Unexpectedly, we find that we have ushered in an experience of heaven on earth!

The art and science of mindfulness will be the focus of our Sunday lessons during the month of September. . Together, we will commit to the practice of mindfulness, making ourselves fully present and available to experience the work of God in every area of our lives. Our prayer is that through these lessons, and the group energy of unconditional love and support that fills our sanctuary, you will be strengthened in your ability live in the now moment. We look forward to supporting you in this important step in your spiritual journey.

Rev. Nicole

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our August newsletter)

2010-08-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

Every one of us was born with a tremendous storehouse of divine potential. We were designed by God with a charge to live as creators, transformers and healers. From time to time, it’s important to turn within to determine if we are maximizing our potential and making a significant impact on the world as God intended. If not, then we must be willing to look deeper to discover what stands between us and what is possible for our lives.

Genuine self-acceptance is the key to unlocking divine potential. Many people suffer under the weight of childhood stories, memories of lost opportunities and thoughts of perceived failures- all of which lead to a low self-image. These stories often serve as blinders, keeping us from having a clear view of our power. In order to activate this divine energy, we must come into a full acceptance of who we are. This means embracing every aspect of ourselves- our full range of emotions, our physical bodies, our mistakes, our dream and our personality traits. Once we are willing to embrace those aspects of ourselves that we have ignored, run from or rejected, we are in a position to see ourselves just as God sees us- perfect and whole. From that space, we release the pain these stories have caused us for decades. Our divine potential is activated in that very instant, for it is the pain caused by our stories and lack of self-acceptance that blocks us from becoming all that God has designed us to be. Once we move fully into self-acceptance, all of the energy we once used to analyze, criticize, judge and protect ourselves is now available to be used as pure love energy. This energy out pictures in the world as service, creativity, new business ideas, innovative solutions or award winning scripts. There is no limit to what is possible for every person who is willing to step into the vibration of acceptance.

During the month of August, we will explore this concept of self-acceptance by reading our book of the month, Loving What Is by Byron Katie. Please join us each Sunday as our speakers take us on a journey through the process of reclaiming our spiritual power from the stories that run our lives. Now is the time to release the pain that stands between you and your divine potential!
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Nicole

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You can read the entire August newsletter here.

Unity Burbank Center for Spiritual Awareness

THREE CONSCIOUS BREATHS

SPIRITUAL RESOLUTION

GRATITUDE

The Power of Intention

COMPASSIONATE COMMUNICATION

FORGIVENESS

EMBRACING PEACE

Beth Outtrim

When It's Time For A Change

"When you're finished changing, you're finished."

~Benjamin Franklin

A Message From Rev. Nicole

"The Ark of Peace is entered two by two."

--A Course in Miracles

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our March newsletter)

February Message from Rev. Nicole

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our December newsletter)

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our November newsletter)

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our October newsletter)

The Art of Surrender

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our September newsletter)

A Message from Rev. Nicole (as shared in our August newsletter)