Issue # 52

UPWARD BOUND J * O * U * R * N * A * L
SPIRITUAL LESSONS FOR YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH
To get a sense of the reality of ancient times Ive tried to imagine
Jesus living 2000 years ago in the daily circumstances and challenges of
an outpost region of the Roman Empire. The politics were dictatorial, the
religious dogma was strict and life was harsh. The Jewish people were
oppressed by the Emperor and his Army; the Emperor considered himself
to be a god and required that he be worshiped accordingly; the Hebrews
recognized only one god and prayed for the power and strength to defeat
the Emperor and to be set free.
And then there was Jesus.
Jesus was a good and devoted Jew, a Rabbi and a knowledgeable
student of the Torah who was able to see far beyond the restrictions of his
own religion and the conflicting differences with the rules and regulations
of the Empire. Jesus saw what no one else was able to see; he imagined
solutions while both his people and the Romans saw only their conflicts.
He lived at a time when the accepted philosophy was rule or be ruled
with little open ground or compromise in between.
The mythology of the Greek and Roman gods influenced the peoples
of the Mediterranean for hundreds of years, and while the Greek
philosophers believed in individual human achievement to make each life
worthwhile, the Romans developed a much different perspective.
According to Stephen Bertman, PhD, and author of The Eight Pillars
of Greek Wisdom, Individualism was not the nature of Roman character,
it was their willingness to subordinate ones own needs to the higher needs
ofthe state. Romans were not curious about who they were as men,
but were self-confident and self-assured about their place in the world and
their right to rule it by force. So rule by force they did! Conflict was a
Love Is The Way
way of life for everyone.
When we look at Libya and Iran and other dictatorships of the Middle
East today, we get a pretty good picture of the tyranny and oppression that
was common in Jesus time. In these instances not much has changed.
One of the great attributes of Jesus was that he was not caught up in
the melodrama that surrounded Him. Clearly He was prayer centered
and prayed up, divinely guided in all that He did and said. Whatever
was going on around Him, He knew and He taught others to seek first the
Kingdom of Heaven and all else would be added unto them. He knew He
had to keep His Spirit connection open all the time and offered the same
advice to everyone He met along the way.
Birth of a purple Daisy Photo by Art Holt
He spoke to the common man, the oppressed and the under-
privileged. He knew that making war was not the answer and physical
resistance was not only futile but doing so was an act of lowering ones
self to the oppressors level of consciousness. Today, many of us are
aware that it is our consciousness that creates our life experience; many of
us that is, but not nearly enough; and back then He may have been the
only one.
To subordinate ones personal needs and desires for the good of the
Empire, was all it took for the Emperor to hold everyone in bondage to the
state. To be connected with God, one has to elevate his and her
consciousness.
Jesus devoted his life to teach the way up, to demonstrate the
enormous power of an elevated consciousness. And His message was as
simple as it could possibly be. He emphasized two Commandments:
You shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul and with all your mind. And a secondYou shall love your neighbor
as yourself, (Matt: 22:37-39). To emphasize this He also said, This is
my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you, (John
15: 12). How can we not understand that our neighbors and one
another are simple terms that include every living soul on earth?
Other Biblical writers of His time understood what Jesus was trying
to accomplish and they added a few more ideas to this basic
understanding. The writer of I John not only declares that God is Love,
and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. He
goes further and says: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out
fear We love because he first loved us, (I John 4:16-19).
I think it is safe to say that a consciousness of love was not only
Jesus personal objective, it was the lesson he wanted to pass on to
everyone. Love is the answer, whatever the question. Love is the way.
As Christianity began to develop and grow you would think that a
consciousness of love would not only have been the basis, but the guiding
light of the new faith. Love God, love your neighbor, love yourself, and
love one another (as I have loved you). It hasnt turn out that way, it
certainly isnt the energy of the church today, and it appears doubtful that
it will ever become the Christian churchs life blood if things continue the
way they are. But why?
The early organizers and leaders of what was to become the Christian
Church were more materialistic than idealistic; their state of mind was
generally to rule or be ruled and that meant that they sought power and
control over others, very much like the rulers of the Roman Empire. To
love one another is idealistic to those who dont understand the power of
our consciousness, whether from an individual standpoint or a group the
size of a nation. When the Apostle Paul said, Do not be conformed to
this world, but be ye transformed, by the renewal of your mind, he
probably was not thinking in terms of consciousness but his words
certainly do apply.
For well over a thousand years the consciousness of the Christian
church was we are right and if you dont agree, you are a heretic and we
will burn you at the stake (which they did thirty-five thousand times).
Loving one another was lost in the fervor of religious dogma.
For Jesus, His message was intended to be inclusive, welcoming
everyone with love and compassion; walking with your enemy, even the
extra mile. What began as a loving invitation gave way to zealous
recruitment to save the world from sin. So today what is stopping us
from accomplishing the simple, yet profound objective He set out for us
way back then? It appears we have as much to un-learn as we do to learn.
Here are five possible considerations
1. What is love anyway? The kind of love that Jesus was referring to
is not the love that is limited by physical desire or by lusting after
someone or something we want to possess. Nor is it limited to the kind of
love that we use to support our close friends, families or colleagues, or
those with whom we agree politically, religiously, or financially. The love
of Jesus was not directed at accumulating wealth and possessions, and
certainly not at high-end labels, or living beyond our means.
For Jesus, love was the understanding that we are just as connected to
the homeless beggar on the street, or the Muslim praying in the Mosque,
as to the national sports hero or the super philanthropist. The love that
U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
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Jesus referred to is the recognition that every human being who ever was,
is or will be is cut from the same cloth. We are all created by God and
together we make a colorful tapestry of oneness called Humanity. Love is
simply the link that connects us all together.
2. We have personal beliefs that are counter intuitive to love as a
power greater than war. The most common reaction to any kind of
personal attack is to defend ones self. Fight or flight is not only intuitive
its instinctive. Its in the primordial soup from which we have evolved.
Whats true of us as individuals is also true at the national level. To offer
love instead of defense is counter intuitive, but if we examine what it
means to get into a posture of defense physically perhaps we can see that
we crouch and become rigid, becoming much more animal like than
human. We mentally sink to the same level as the attacker. Victory does
not come from brute force, it is the result of a clear mind and a well
conceived plan. We have to rise above the challenge.
Coming from a place of love creates a peaceful presence of mind that
is much higher than that of the attacker. Gandhi and Mandela are the two
most prominent people who come to mind as examples of the
effectiveness of that higher state of consciousness. Both of them stopped
national bloodshed through non-resistance and their ability to keep their
mental focus on a level spiritually higher than their opponents. The
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., also had a dream, and with a loving
consciousness and peaceful non-resistance, he did more to raise the level
of equality for African-Americans than the KKK ever has in tearing it
down.
Love may be counter-intuitive as a reaction to an attack, but it is the
path we must learn to walk and trust. To do that we have to change the
way we think. Maybe the Hippies of the `60s had the answer after all.
However
3. Changing ones self isnt the easiest thing to do, but it is essential.
We all resist change, its a built-in part of our belief system. Everything
weve ever seen, heard, experienced or been taught coalesces into a
network of beliefs deep in our subconscious. Our beliefs guide the way
we act and the way we react to the myriad of events that we encounter
daily. Whatever the situation, we react in such a way that the vast majority
of our beliefs will be kept intact. In other words, it is our beliefs, buried in
our subconscious, that automatically resist change. At the same time our
conscious mind, our problem solving, analytical and imaginative mind, can
see and even demands the need for changeout there - just leave me out
of it. Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, famously said, people ask
me how they can change their boss or their spouse or the shop keeper, but
they never ask how they can change themselves. And yet thats the only
thing they can change.
We recently had the privilege of spending a weekend with Bishop
John Shelby Spong, along with a number of people from our local area
Unity Churches. If ever there was a clergyman who does serious scholarly
research as he questions his own religions dogma, its Bishop Spong. We
were thrilled to be participants, but we found out that not all the people
from the various church groups felt the same way. Many would not attend
and were quite vocal about their negative opinions.
I wondered why so many people from Unity were open to hearing
Bishop Spong and others were so opposed. My conclusion was that in
order to embrace what we teach in Unity, you have to have an open mind;
open to new and different thoughts and ideas. Open to change or modify
your beliefs.
That same kind of open mindedness was what brought the earliest
people into Jesus teachings and who became the followers that evolved
into the birth of Christianity. Open mindedness is the key to change and in
the lesson we are presenting here, it is the key to learning to love one
another, as I have loved you.
When two people with opposing viewpoints (beliefs) clash, the idea of
open mindedness is generally one sided. Each person wants the other to
open his or her mind so that he or she will accept their point of view. But
open mindedness is really about recognizing that the view you hold may
not be as factually based as youd like to think it is. And therefore, to be
open minded means to become willing to find the facts, find the truth, and
modify your point of view accordingly.
In politics today we see two Parties entrenched in their individual
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U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
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ideologies, unwilling to budge. What is lost is
the consideration for whatever is in the best
interest of the Nation as a whole. Thats closed-
mindedness at its most stubborn extreme. To
make matters worse, each side throws out
negative punches, loaded with opinions and
exaggerations, attacking the opposing side.
The serious consequence is that any
negative statement, repeated often enough,
becomes a belief held by the listener, whether it
contains an ounce of truth or not. What we need
to realize is that many of the personal beliefs we
hold today are nothing more than the unfounded
opinions of others. If we truly want to reach the
state of love that Jesus preached, we need to
become open-minded enough to seek the truth
behind the beliefs that keep us separated from
one another.
4. We have no real concept of the effectiveness of a love centered
way of life.
Do we have a concept of a love centered way of life? Not obviously.
If there is a way of life that is centered in universal love, harmonious
differences, freedom of personal expression and individual achievement,
where is the example? Where is the model? Im not sure that one actually
exists today, were going to have to put our heads together in order to
create one.
We had the potential in the founding of the United States. People who
were in search of religious, personal, economic and political freedom were
the founders of our country. But killing native American Indians to get the
land, importing slaves to work the crops and allowing personal greed to
become the hallmark of our free enterprise system sure has screwed up our
ability to abide by Jesus Commandments. We lost the idea of love one
another a long time ago.
If the possibility to live in a world where love of God and loving

U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
one another is our way of life, then we need to
start creating it right here, right now. It will
take a big change for every single one of us. It
will require acting from our heart rather than
our head.
We must open our minds and give
unconditional love rather than act from
predisposed prejudices and beliefs. All
religions, all forms of worship, all sects,
cultures and faiths must be equally welcomed
and given respect, including the people who
have no faith. Jesus would not have given us
this Commandment if it were impossible to
accomplish or wasnt worth the effort.
5. Love is the uniting energy force of the
universe. God created human life as the
ultimate expression of Itself. God is Creator
and the Creation. God is also the energy that
runs the universe and the glue that binds it all together. That means
whatever God is, is a part of us. The substance, the energy, the life force,
the finite and the infinite; its all God. What we call this energy, the life
force and allness of God is Love, and its all a part of us because we were
made in the spiritual image and likeness of God. No wonder Jesus wanted
us to learn this simple lesson: God is love and whomever dwells in love,
dwells in God, and God dwells in them.
As expressed earlier, it is safe to say that a consciousness of love was
not only Jesus personal objective, it was the lesson he wanted everyone of
us to learn. Love is the answer, whatever the question. Love is the way.
Richest blessings,
Art Holt
Purple Daisy in full bloom
am these days, there will be something for me to appreciate
and a sense of timelessness that will fill me with
satisfaction.
My guiding light now is knowing that there is no urgency
to get to wherever I am going, and no hurry to leave soon
after I arrive. I can just be. Wonder and appreciation are
sensations that exist beyond the boundaries of time and
even space. My earthly experience may be for just a few
seconds or days-on-end. The time makes no difference as
long as I am in the present moment. And in my minds eye I
know I can return whenever I want and for as long as it
matters.
This is what it is like to be in a state of appreciation and
contentment. I choose that contentment now and invite it
to be the hallmark of the rest of my life. Each moment is
precious, each moment is awesome, each moment is
fulfilling the dream I call my life.
Where is that place for you?
I remember a picnic in the sand, sitting with our backs
up against a weathered log, protecting us from the wind,
and in the quiet of that place I put my head back and closed
my eyes. Colors from every part of a rainbow radiated in
and out of my vision, filling me with a sensation that was so
peaceful it was inspiring. Perhaps I will go there again now.
All I have to do is close my eyes
Ahh
Amen
What if there was no reason to ever be in a hurry.
Imagine a place you have wanted to visit or somewhere you
may have been before that moved and blessed your spirit. I
recall a remote ocean beach on the coast of Washington
State that I hiked out to, once upon a time, long ago. I was
so busy planning a return visit that I neglected to quietly
appreciate the moment I was there. And I have never
returnedphysically that is, only in my memory.
Here in my imagination I not only see the awesome
power of the ocean, and the strength of the granite
pinnacles that stand silently on guard along the shore, and
the smell of the salt sea air misting along the shoreline from
the cool summer breezes, running atop the crashing waves,
I am there. I am there, immersed in everything that makes
this place unique, but I am there without urgency or sense
of time passing by. I am there fully and completely soaking it
all in, knowing that here in my imagination I can remain for
as long as I want.
Perhaps it is because this place is so far off the path
well traveled that it has such special meaning to me, for I
know that it is very unlikely that I will ever see it again in
person. But visiting it in my minds eye reminds me of
something very important; my choice to be fully in the
present wherever I am.
There are many beautiful and special places in this
world, far more than I will ever be able to see, touch, smell,
and use to regenerate my senses and my appreciation for
the awesome wonders. And I have learned that wherever I
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C O N T E M P L A T I O N





Upward Bound of Unity, Inc.
10870 SW 71st Circle
Ocala, FL 34476
Phone (352) 861 - 5518
Email: UpwardBoundRev@aol.com

Upward Bound Journal
is a Unity publishing ministry based on Biblical teachings and dedicated to
writing and presenting spiritual, inspirational, and metaphysical principles
which empower people to enrich and transform their lives.

For more information about Upward Bound email us at:
UpwardBoundRev@aol.com or go to our website:
www.upwardboundjournal.com.
Issue # 52 - LOVE IS THE WAY
Upward Bound Journal is of Upward Bound of Unity, Inc. 2011

Member: Association of Unity Churches International, SunCoast Unity Ministers Association, and
affiliated with: Unity Institute and Silent Unity, publishers of Daily Word. Upward Bound of Unity, Inc.
is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), charitable corporation sustained entirely by your tax deductible gifts.

(All photographs herein are by Art Holt unless otherwise credited.)
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U P W A R D B O U N D J * O * U * R * N * A * L
WORDS WE LIVE BY
Our words create our reality. Let us acknowledge another word that will
impact our lives in wonderful ways. Our word is Commandment.

The Daily Word for the day I was writing this issue of Upward bound
Journal was Commandment. It could not possibly be more appropriate
and so I share it with you again here in UBJ # 52.

Commandment...
I act lovingly toward others.

Before the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples' feet as a
demonstration of love and humility. As he did, he commanded
them to love one another. As I think about Jesus' words, I
consider the ways in which I express love to others.

There are many types of love: the love of a parent for a child
and of family members for one another; the love experienced in
friendship and companionship; the love expressed in sharing ideas
and beliefs.

Considering Jesus' commandment, I make a new commitment
to actively express love toward others. I look for opportunities to
give and receive love, knowing that I am putting into motion the
truth that Jesus shared--that love is the greatest power of all.


I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just
as I have loved you -- (John 13:34).


Daily Word offers inspiration and practical teachings to help people of all faiths live healthy,
prosperous and meaningful lives. Each issue of Daily Word magazine includes two months of
daily affirmative messages, feature articles and spiritual poetry. Subscriptions are available in
print (regular size, large type or Spanish) and the new online edition with audio--Daily Word
Digital Magazine.
Subscribe today at www.dailyword.com .
Rev. Arthur Holt
Unity Minister
Dottie Holt
Licensed Unity
Teacher
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Journal, Journal, Journal, Journal,

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Buchart Gardens - by Unknown
CORRECTION
In the last issue of Upward Bound
Journal the credit for this photo was
given to my son, Doug Holt. When
he emailed the photo to me I
mistakenly assumed he had taken it
himself. As it turns out neither of us
knows who the photographer is, but
we sure do give thanks that he/she
was present in Buchart Gardens when
the colors were so beautiful.
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What a wonderful blessing you are...
Thank you,
Art & Dottie Holt