Note from Ellen ee CLEF NOTES ee
Yesterday morning I got out of bed feeling exceptionally good. I enjoyed my morning walk and finished in time to get my car over to a car shop to be inspected. I had been having problems with a "check engine" light and finally after a great deal of effort by the car repair shop, the problem had been solved and I was set to get the inspection done.
As I was sitting in the car inspection waiting room, I thought about how good I was feeling and it reminded me of the Unity affirmation "Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul". I made an inner note not to ever let anything disturb me and I realized anew that it is always a choice we make about how we react to life's events.
The car inspection went smoothly and I opened up my purse to pay and there was no wallet. I always have my wallet in my purse and I began to feel panic and fear. I could not have the car without paying for it so I went home (fortunately only 6 blocks) and searched everywhere for my wallet. There was no sign of it anywhere.
I walked back to the shop with a check but they could not accept it without a photo ID. I asked if I could have the keys to search the car for my wallet and very reluctantly they let me search the car. I looked all over the front seats….no wallet. By this time my fear of losing the wallet was mounting. I had just put my life together after the purse-snatching incident in March and just could not face having to go through all of the process of replacing cards, etc.
I spotted a tote bag in the back seat and looked in it and THERE IT WAS!!!. How did my wallet get in my tote bag? I can't remember putting my wallet there but I felt extremely joyful and extremely thankful.
After getting home, I began to reflect on the ups and downs of my mood and emotions. Just after deciding that I would not let anything affect the "calm peace of my soul", I went through a crisis and allowed myself to give into fear and panic. This experience revealed to me just how easy it is to give in to outer circumstances in our lives.
I have learned several lessons from this experience. One is that I need to focus on one thing at a time. I tend to be doing things while thinking of something else. My thoughts and actions need to match. I also need to refocus on the idea that it is a choice on how I react to events and to remember to keep centered in tranquility, peace and love.
We choose how we go through our life experience. Why not choose to enjoy it?
The next 2 months I will be doing my Sunday morning talks on prosperity as taught by Catherine Ponder.
See you soon!!!
Ellen
July 13th, 2008
Ellen Davis: Prosperity
Kathryn Kalahan - Music Director
Check out our website at www.unityofnewhope.org. Thanks to Denise Jackson for being our webmaster.
Note from Ellen: I am very thankful to Colleen Pierce for being the volunteer Administrative Assistant.
TOLL FREE PRAYER LINE
877-203-3917
Mission Statement:
We at Unity Church of New Hope embrace the God Spirit within through prayer and meditation.
PROGRESS ON NEW BUILDING
The expansion is still going strong. New doors were installed this week in the sanctuary that open into the Fellowship Hall of the new building.
"The perfect is the enemy of the good"
(from Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart:
Thirty-fiveThings You Need to Know Now
by Gordon Livingston, M.D. 2004)
The quote above is a chapter title in one of my favorite books. Init, Gordon Livingston talks about the control implicit in perfectionism. Perfectionists, says Livingston suffer from an "illusion" of control and "tend to be demanding of themselves and others". He asserts that the same obsessive attention to detail and perfect performance that can be an asset in some work environments can spell disaster in relationships. The "paradox of perfectionism", says the author, is that in some settings, especially intimate relationships, the only way to gain control is to relinquish it.
Now maybe this is a stretch, but consider the relationship you have with Spirit. Doesn't Unity teaching encourage us to relinquish our ego-based control? Don't we often hear some variation of "Let Go and Let God" repeated in our literature and Sunday messages? It occurs to me that Spirit is ready, willing, and able to lead us to joy, but is sometimes blocked by our insistence on churning out our own rigid version of perfect performance. Sometimes it takes courage to allow the relaxed vulnerability necessary to laugh, to sing, and to love. I recall a hypnosis demonstration in which I was a participant. We were guided to a relaxed altered state before receiving the suggestion to laugh. What was amazing was that although we were aware of being on display, the laughter we emitted was deep, rich, and spontaneous. I felt as though I was "being laughed" – it was that easy. Our laughter produced contagious laughter from the delighted audience and for nearly a full minute we all enjoyed ourselves immensely.
Music shares with laughter the quality of being able to facilitate enjoyment. In clinical settings with a variety of therapeutic modalities, other therapists sometimes envy music therapists as patients regale them with tales of the good time they had improvising, creating, and/or performing music. Ronald Borczon in Music Therapy: A Field Work Primer, (2004) writes, "When you provide an environment in which joy is experienced, you are giving a rare gift…lacking in many clients' lives".
Another chapter in Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart is entitled "Of All the Forms of Courage, the Ability to Laugh is the Most Profoundly Therapeutic." This statement reinforces the assertion that laughter is a risk form; and music performance, which requires a similar kind of courage, also provides profound therapeutic value. Whether laughing or music making it is difficult, if not impossible, to get to the genuine joy when you are busy monitoring your "performance" in order to control the response of others. If you're worrying about whether you are laughing too loudly or about your pitch control or vocal quality being judged, you are not having a good time.
You are hereby encouraged to deepen the relationship you have with Spirit by adding joy to your life, simply by laughing out loud and by risking some kind of music performance. You may not wish to stand on stage and sing at the top of your lungs, but you can do so in the shower and in your car without judging yourself, or with "safe" friends at a Karoke venue. I hope you will allow yourself to mimic one of the participants in the 2004 Singer Wannabe workshop who stated, "my goal"…in risking this public singing experience… "is to let 'er rip!"
Wishing you the joy of Love, Laughter, and Song, Kathryn
Bookstore
The Bookstore is open for business. Please stop by and let Lou, Carla, Pamela or Darlene know if there is anything they can order for you.
Announcement about Fall Program
The 7-week Fall Program at Unity Church is always a major event. This year we will be studying The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.
Please let us know you are interested and we will "interview" you for a position on the delivery team. I'm sure there is a job that will be perfect for you!
The Fall Program will begin in September with the always much anticipated Prayer Vigil and Labyrinth Walk.
Thank you!
Susan Keith
Reclaim Your Life Seminar
Lane Pierce will be presenting this seminar again on July 18th and July 19th. Lane had tremendous positive feedback after the class in March. This is a powerful two day class concentrating on Your Prosperity and Your Ability to Manifest what you want. This class is priced on a Love Offering Basis. Contact Lane Pierce at 972-809-6680 or Colleen Pierce at 972-837-6240 for information.
Make Pretty Committee
Still needs a Chairperson for this committee. Please consider the opportunity to dream big and work hard.
Landscaping Committee
This committee needs volunteers to assist with keeping the grounds looking attractive. Please contact Dale Yeatts for information
Classes at Unity of New Hope
Sunday
SPIRIT QUEST
Facilitated by Lance and Mary Oliver
The Spirit Quest forum, much like the Round Table of old, places great emphasis on the importance of growing spiritually strong together. Spirit Quest is devoted to helping everyone empower themselves, through such things as: Meditation, Totem Animals, Huna, Sacred Space, Spirit Communication, Angels, Esoteric Studies, Reiki Healing, ect...
Spirit Quest is a truly open forum, that highly values equitable participation, mutual respect, and is dedicated to making our lives and those we touch the most fruitful they can be!
Call Lance or Mary Oliver at 940-591-1494 for meeting times
Monday
YOGA
(each Monday at 6:30 PM)
Sue Greenwood , Registered Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist
This class is for all levels, anyone who wants to explore the breath and create space in the body.For more information or to schedule a private therapy session with Sue please e-mail her at su3f@yahoo.com or check out her website at www.sadhanayoga.org
MEDITATION MONDAYS
(each Monday at 7:30 PM)
Lane Pierce, Facilitator
Meditation is good for the mind, body and soul. If you have never participated in a group meditation, it is something to be experienced. Getting to know God is an urge and craving of all beings. Meditation will help you make that connection.
This special program is supported through your love offering and the most important part is your participation. Come to the church or set aside the time and meditate with us from your home if you cannot make it in person. Be a part of something bigger.
http://meditation.meetup.com/504/
Wednesday
Spiritual Discussion Class
(each Wednesday at 10:30 AM)
Ellen Davis Facilitator
VISIONING CLASS
(each Wednesday 7:30 PM)
Ellen Davis and Lane Pierce Facilitators
The Wednesday night visioning class has decided to begin planning for the second half of 2008. The class is currently working on putting their goals in writing to correlate with the images in their books.
Visioning is all about dreaming, fantasizing, clarifying and energizing your life. You decide what it is you want in your life and then begin to envision those things. By collecting and organizing images of items or important words you can surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, or where you want to vacation, your life changes to match those images and those desires. Between Ellen's commitment to the system of Visioning and Lane's commitment to goal setting there are many lessons to be learned in any one night of Visioning class.
This class is supported by love offerings.
A Vision Book is really an inventory of your desires - come stock your shelves.
Buddhist Meditation
Wednesday 7:00pm
Unity of New Hope now hosts a Buddhist Meditation night. Feel free to come join in with them at 7:00 every Wednesday night.
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Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com!
(http://www.tourtracker.com?NCID=aolmus00050000000112)
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